Announcer: Last time on Total Pokémon: Underdogs, the contestants had some fun with some treasure. Now on their own, Sally and Amethyst concocted a couple of ideas to keep themselves in the game, even thinking about getting Titan to use his statue on one of them. Morgan had the same idea, but had the advantage of being chosen by the Galvantula to come along with him in the Winner's Cabin. While there, she had Titan promise to use the statue on her if things looked bad, much to his chagrin. Anthony and his alliance decided to target either Taylor or Shine depending on who got immunity due to how threatening they were. The challenges' theme was treasure, so the players had to steal treasure from each other for a reward, and find keys to unlock other treasure chests to avoid elimination. During the second challenge, Sally blackmailed Ace into letting her and Amethyst into his alliance with Connor, Taylor, Aura, Aspen, and Morgan. Word got back to the others and the idea to ax Sally formed, but Connor had a better idea. In the end, Amethyst ended up receiving immunity, and in a close vote between Shine and Summer, Summer was the one who got the boot.
There's sixteen left in the game, and someone's closer to fame. Who's next to go? Just watch the show. Right here on Total… Pokémon… Underdogs!
000
Returning to the Hall of Origin, Virizion and Xerneas immediately began searching for Mew. The pair made their way to the last place they told him to go: Reshiram and Zekrom's room. They were hoping that the New Species Pokémon was either still there or, if he wasn't, that he at least spoke to them like they asked.
Knocking with a hoof, Xerneas called, "Reshi! Zek!"
It took a while, but the door eventually opened, revealing the Deep Black Pokémon. Rubbing his eyes, the groggy dragon inquired with his deep voice, "What's up?"
Peering inside of their room, Virizion and Xerneas saw that their lights were off, with the only light currently coming from Zekrom's tail.
"Sorry to wake you," Xerneas apologized. "I didn't know you guys were turning in early…"
The Dragon and Electric-type shrugged his shoulders, having nothing of worth to say in response to that. However, he knew why the twosome was there. With a soft yawn, he explained, "If you're looking for Mew, he may be in his room. If not, then try to find and ask the newbies."
Practically confirming that Mew had come to see them, Virizion inquired, "Did anything important come up when you guys spoke with him?"
Zekrom let out a sigh, leaning against the doorway. "He pretty much told us the same stuff I'm assuming he told you. About how he can't just break away because he doesn't want to be a quitter like Victini, no matter how much it hurts him mentally, and how annoyed and depressed he is about everything."
"Oh…" Virizion responded in a saddened tone. "Well… What did you tell him?"
"We tried to urge him to stop and just let you two handle the rest of the season, but he refused," Zekrom explained. "So, I suggested that he try to start dating again so that he has something else to focus on besides the season, itself.
"And how did that go?" Xerneas inquired, a bit curious about the possible progress.
Zekrom sighed once more, explaining, "He told us that no girl here really likes him and that most of you were already taken, but I reminded him of the few new ladies that arrived not too long ago. So, he could have either started trying, or he just went back to his room."
The girls nodded thankfully. "Thanks Zekrom. Goodnight," Virizion responded.
Zekrom nodded back before closing the door. Walking away together, Xerneas let out a sigh, "Do you think he's actually talking to one of the new girls right now?"
Virizion shook her head in uncertainty. "I don't know… Maybe? I'm not sure if he'd want to, given how he's feeling. We should check his room first," she suggested.
-000-
Approaching the 'wall of doors', the two of them immediately went to the pink feline's door, once again knocking with their hooves. They got no response, causing them to exchange looks of slight worry. Virizion called, "Mew!"
She started knocking on his door once again, but they still got no answer. The Grassland Pokémon sighed in frustration, as Xerneas looked over and saw Entei and Zacian walking toward the kitchen from the main hall.
"Hey! Entei! Zacian!" Xerneas shouted, getting the pair's attention. "Have either of you seen Mew?"
The Warrior Pokemon shook his head, having had limited interaction with Mew since he and his sister appeared on their show. Meanwhile, Entei replied, "Hmm… Last I saw him, he was trying to talk to Urshi, but she ignored him and he left. Haven't seen him since…"
It was now Xerneas' turn to sigh as she replied, "Okay. Thanks anyway…"
The pair proceeded into the kitchen as the two hostesses exchanged looks of concern. As they began walking away from his door, Virizion queried with a worried tone, "Where is he?"
"Maybe we should check the living room," Xerneas suggested. "He may just be napping in there."
Virizion let out a breath. "Maybe…"
The two of them started heading toward the kitchen, following Entei and Zacian.
-000-
Passing through, the pair reached the living room, where they finally found Mew, but… he wasn't alone. The New Species Pokémon was asleep on the couch, but he was sleeping on the stomach of a grey and yellow feline, who was also asleep on the couch.
Nearby, Victini and Darkrai were taking pictures of the two. No doubt for some sort of blackmail or to embarrass one or both of them down the line.
"What the hell are you two doing?" Virizion challenged with a glare.
"Doesn't concern you," Darkrai responded evasively as he snapped another picture of the sleeping pair.
Victini chuckled, snapping another picture, "This is too good… Zeraora just got here and Mew's already all over her. So sad..."
Virizion scoffed at this, "Him moving on and actually trying to connect with someone is sad to you? Pathetic…"
"Don't you two have anything better to do?" Xerneas snapped with a glare.
"Nope," Darkrai lazily replied, "but, I'm done anyway…"
The Pitch Black Pokémon sunk into the floor, disappearing into a void. Meanwhile Victini snapped a few more pictures while giggling like a giddy schoolgirl.
"Victini!" Both girls shouted, making the Victory Pokémon groan and roll his eyes. "You two are lame…
The rabbit floated away, leaving Virizion and Xerneas in the living room with the snoozing pair. They exchanged looks with each other.
"They do look cute together," Xerneas commented, observing the two of them. Somehow, they hadn't stirred at all even after their yelling. "Should we leave them alone for right now? He seems to be okay…"
Virizion looked back at the pair, a small smile forming on her face. "Yeah. We'll talk to him in the morning…"
With a concurring nod, Xerneas started walking back toward their and Cobalion's room, with Virizion in tow. She looked back at them once more before smiling again.
000
Immediately following the ceremony, Anthony and Phill went back to the Loser Cabin, an expression of anger on the Shellfish Pokemon's face.
"This is fucking bullshit!" Anthony exclaimed. "How the hell did we lose Summer?!"
"I mean… She got voted out," Phill answered as he sat down on one of the bunks with his candy bucket.
Anthony gave him a look, "No shit! I meant how the hell did she get eliminated when we had the numbers?!"
Phill shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Who knows? Maybe things aren't as they seem."
He was a bit upset that Summer was gone, but he was more upset for Kojo, as he knew how much he loved that woman. A few minutes later, the Mienshao returned to the cabin wearing a face of extreme disappointment and anger.
"Someone needs to pay," he stated with an intense glare.
Phill responded, "Well, we don't even know what happened. Aside from the fact that Aura probably had something to do with it."
"I'm getting really sick of those bitches," Anthony seethed.
Just then, the trio saw Aspen, Aura, Shine, and the others all walking past the cabin. Bringing up the rear was Morgan, who stopped outside of the cabin and turned to them.
Given that she was with them, and they were assuming that the majority of them were the ones who voted for Summer, Anthony glared at her. "So, you were with them this whole time..." he accused. "Thanks a lot…"
Morgan let out a sigh, not wanting to make them upset or make them completely distrust her. "Look guys-"
She was cut off by the furious Blastoise, "No. I'm getting fucking tired of this shit. You guys are literally coming to us, pretending to be on our side, and then just voting us out instead!"
"But that's-"
"I don't wanna hear it!" he shouted. "Just run along with your little group of assholes and have fun picking us off, since I know that's all you guys are gonna start doing…"
"That's not-"
Anthony slammed the door in her face, not allowing her to get a word in. She didn't want to burn the bridge that she had with them, just in case something happened.
Knowing that the Blastoise was stubborn and bitter when he was betrayed, the Persian let out a sigh, "He's not gonna listen to me… Maybe I can talk to Phill or Kojo, instead. Hopefully they're more reasonable…"
She started walking away, trying to catch up with the others.
000
Connor and Taylor's alliance returned to the beach, with Sally and Amethyst joining them. The former was visibly annoyed, while the latter was simply glad that she was immune. Everyone else that was there wore a look of agitation.
"What the hell was that?!" Sally bellowed. "You were supposed to vote for Morgan! Can't you people see how much of a threat she is?!"
Taylor huffed, "Okay, one, bitch, you don't run anything. We are the ones in control. Two, you literally just tried to insert yourself into our alliance by blackmailing Ace. And you thought that it wouldn't get back to us?"
Sally glowered at Ace, who gave her a smug smirk in return.
It was Connor's turn to speak up, continuing from where Taylor left off, "Three, yes, Morgan is a threat, but not only was Summer far more threatening with her and Kojo's engagement, but her intensity during challenges, too."
"And yet Morgan is the one going on the most rewards," Sally deadpanned. "Summer was just intimidating because of her personality. She was not a threat in these challenges. But whatever makes you feel better…"
Eventually, Morgan caught up with them, panting softly. "What's going on…?"
Seeing Sally and Amethyst, the Persian growled to herself. Sally, seeing her there, was initially confused, but eventually gained an understanding.
"Oh… Now I see… You're protecting her since she's a part of your little alliance, here..." Sally reasoned, glaring at them.
Rolling her eyes, Aura demanded, "Sally, shut up… You're lucky that you're even still here."
The Ampharos huffed, annoyed at the fact that they felt that they had complete power over her. She retorted, "And I'm gonna make you guys regret that decision."
The Light Pokémon started walking away, leaving Amethyst with them for a few seconds before she started waking after her.
Once they were out of the vicinity, Morgan shook her head in vexation. "Screw them…" she stated. "I get that this is a game, but come on..."
"Well, we have the upper hand, now," Connor acknowledged. "So, nothing that she does will really impact us at all that much…"
"So let's focus on taking her out, next," Aura suggested. "I do not want to deal with her going forward."
Shine rose a brow, reasoning, "If we just took out a huge threat, and lowered their chances of being able to have any impact, doesn't it make more sense to just ignore them going forward and keep going for threats?"
"Right," Taylor chimed in. "It may be a better idea to go for Anthony next, instead."
Aura groaned in annoyance. "She's just gonna keep annoying us! Why do we want to keep her in?"
"Aura, if you can't handle a little annoyance or learn to just ignore people, then I don't know what to tell you," Ace stated.
"Yeah, if Sally wants to waste her time, just let her," Aspen replied, nudging her. "We're better off just continuing to vote out the other members of Anthony's alliance and moving forward in the game."
The shiny Glaceon groaned in annoyance. "Fine, whatever…" she groused. "So stupid…"
000
The next day, Klavier was back in the forest with Holly and Ashton, a few muffins among them. It was a sign that there would be yet another set of challenges on that day.
Unlike Anthony, Kojo, and Phill, somewhat, they didn't have much of a reaction to Summer's elimination. Sure, it was upsetting to see her go, but they didn't really have that much of a connection to her. Well, at least Holly and Ashton didn't.
Klavier let out a sigh, "Well, last night was… interesting… I know that Kojo's definitely angry and annoyed."
The girls nodded in response, with Ashton commenting, "Yeah, and I can understand why. He loved Summer, and now she's gone. For now, at least. It's probably a big blow to him."
"Not only to him, but to you guys alliance as a whole," Holly added. "Now there aren't that many of you involved and the others can just keep picking you off."
Noticing the way they were speaking, Klavier grew a bit confused. "Hey, you guys are a part of the alliance, too. You vote with us, so you're involved as well."
"That's true, but compared to Anthony and Kojo, we're nothing," Ashton reminded. "So, realistically we'd probably be the last ones on their hit list."
"So, what? As soon as they're all gone you're gonna jump ship and try to work with the other alliance? Because they'll still vote you out, regardless," Klavier replied, annoyed by her response.
Holly, sensing a bit of hostility, immediately spoke up. "Klavier, I don't think that's what she meant."
"So what does she mean, then?" the Gliscor challenged, folding his arms. "Because it sounds like she doesn't care about what happens as long as she's not the one being eliminated, which will still happen anyway."
"I think she just meant that… Kojo and Anthony are the bigger threats, so they're more than likely going to be the next targets, so unless they win immunity, that's just the way it's going to be and we can't do anything about it," Holly explained. "I don't think she's saying that the alliance dwindling doesn't matter…"
Ashton only nodded along, though what Holly had said was only partially true. The fact of the matter was, as long as she wasn't the main target, she wasn't really bothered. It was a selfish way to think, but at that point, when it's clear that your alliance is just getting picked off, self-preservation was key.
"Um… Maybe we can try and talk to Titan," Holly suggested. "He has the invincibility statue and he was still kinda working with us, wasn't he?"
"I sincerely doubt that he'll give up his immunity," Klavier responded. "If anything, he is still the biggest threat! That statue can be used after the votes are read, so unless he gets a bunch of votes piled on him and we force him to use the statue, he'll just keep it until the finals. I don't get why they're not trying to handle that problem…"
"Well, the thing is, Morgan mentioned an idea like that during yesterday's reward challenge," Holly explained. "She wanted to have votes on both Titan and Amethyst so that Titan would use his statue and Amethyst would be eliminated. I don't know what happened and why it all changed, though."
"W-Why didn't you tell me that?! I could've told the others and we could have tried to do something!" Klavier bellowed in shock.
"It kinda just slipped my mind…" Holly sheepishly replied. "I didn't really know what to think about it."
Ashton chimed in, "Plus, they still had more votes. It wouldn't have mattered. Summer would've still gone."
"Not if we let Morgan know that we were in on it…" Klavier deadpanned, giving her an annoyed look. Just then, the Gliscor had an idea; maybe their alliance still had a chance. "Y'know, tell me this now… I think I have an idea."
The girls exchanged looks of curiosity.
000
Morgan sighed as she and Aspen sat in the showers. Hearing her exhale, Aspen grew a bit concerned. "Something wrong, Morgan?" she asked.
The Persian looked down at the drain below her as the showerhead continued spraying her with water. Last night's elimination was beneficial for her game, but she felt that they had bigger fish to fry. "I'm just trying to think about what the do next," she explained. "My main plan was to try and weaken Titan by getting him to use his statue to save himself, but it just ended getting pushed to the side because of Sally and Amethyst blackmailing Ace…"
Aspen sighed, "Well, you still could have brought it up again…"
"I could have, but Titan was involved in the plan. They needed him for the vote and I just didn't think about it," Morgan explained as she turned the water off.
"Well… You could still do that. With that statue, Titan is still the biggest threat…" Aspen explained. "All you have to do is either convince Kojo and his group to vote for him, or get our alliance to vote for him."
"If our alliance votes for him, then whoever they vote for gets eliminated instead…" Morgan explained as she grabbed a towel. "And Anthony doesn't trust me anymore, so I doubt that he'll even listen…"
The Furfrou could immediately understand, imagining that Anthony would begin treating Morgan the same way he treated her and Aura. "Yeah, he takes that kinda stuff very personally for some reason, but, maybe you can talk to Phill. He's the most level-headed out of the rest of them."
Morgan sighed as Aspen started turning her water off as well. "Maybe…"
The Poodle Pokémon reasoned, "If you can get the… six of them to vote for Titan, then you'd just need three more people to vote for him, too. The rest of our alliance can vote for somebody else, and we'll still be alright."
Morgan nodded as a smile formed on her face. "Well, you, me, and Aura make three… It'd just come down to talking to Phill and seeing if he can convince the others to vote for Titan, too."
Aspen nodded back. "Hopefully, Aura will be on board and stop being bitter about Sally and Amethyst…"
"Right…" Morgan concurred, continuing to roll in one of the towels that was there.
000
Klavier had gone back to the cabins in order to relay the information that he received from Holly and Ashton, to the others. Phill and Kojo, having been there when Morgan came up with the idea, simply exchanged looks. Anthony, though, he was even more annoyed.
"So, you're fucking telling me that you guys were told about this big plan to get rid of Titan's immunity, and you didn't even fucking tell me!?" Anthony exclaimed. "We could've had more leverage!"
"Well, we didn't really think about it at the time. You were so hung up on eliminating Shine, so we decided to just go with that," Kojo shrugged. "It's not like it would have changed anything, anyway."
Phill concurred, "Yeah, if we had voted for Titan, he'd use his statue, and Summer would've still wound up getting eliminated…"
"Yeah, but we'd have Titan on our side for sure, then," Anthony explained. "He's always just popped in and out, not completely connected. Without his statue, he'd have to work with us since it's Morgan's idea to flush out the statue, and she's working with the enemy."
"I mean, why don't we just tell Titan that Morgan's out to get him and get him on our side right now?" Klavier inquired.
"Because he still has the statue, and he's too powerful with it…" Kojo explained. "He's likely only going to use it to save himself, so we need that out of the way, first."
"What if he uses it to help one of us?" Klavier argued. "Isn't that a chance, too?"
"Oh, it's a chance, but it ain't gonna happen," Anthony declared matter-of-factly. "If I was in his position, I would save that thing for me and only me. So, we need to get it out of his hands…"
"Well, we'll need like… three more votes," Phill replied. "And I don't know who's gonna work with us from that other alliance… They seem pretty tight."
Not too long after he said that, there was knocking at their door. Anthony growled to himself, "If it's not Holly or Ashton…"
Kojo opened the door, revealing Amethyst and Sally, the latter of which had a serious look on her face.
"Ugh… What do you two want?" Anthony grunted, looking away from them.
"We need to talk…" the Ampharos stated sternly as she and Amethyst entered the cabin.
The guys all exchanged looks of surprise.
000
Virizion and Xerneas sauntered out of the shower together, having been surprised by Cobalion last night. It was a new day, and after finding out that Mew was okay, and also having a great time with their boyfriend, they were feeling much more relieved.
Now, instead of only being concerned about Mew's mental state, they were also curious about him and Zeraora. The way that they were snuggled together raised multiple questions. They didn't know what happened while they were gone, aside from what Zekrom told them, and really wanted to find out what went on between the two.
However, they weren't sure if Mew would even tell them if something was going on. Zeraora was relatively new there, so he probably wouldn't want to tell them a lot.
"So, do you think that they're… " Virizion trailed off, knowing that Xerneas would put two and two together.
"I'm not sure," the antlered doe replied. "They could have just fallen asleep together after hanging out. Or Victini and Darkrai could have set them up that way. We'd have to ask Mew about it."
"If he's up for it, anyway," Virizion replied.
The twosome entered the kitchen, where they saw Mew sitting at the kitchen table with Zeraora. The Thunderclap Pokémon was munching on a piece of partially burnt toast, with Mew sitting across from her with another bowl of cereal.
Smiling, the girls walked over to greet them. "Hey Mew," Virizion addressed, nuzzling him as Xerneas pecked him on the cheek. "How are you feeling?"
Partially blushing, Mew answered, "Um… I'm sorta alright. I did what Zekrom suggested and now… Zera and I are talking."
The electric feline was quiet, though a faint blush formed on her face as she continued listening to them while munching on her toast. She didn't have much to say, as Mew already explained everything.
Xerneas giggled, "Well, good to see that you're dipping into the scene again."
Both of them blushed as Mew cleared his throat, "Can we not?"
Xerneas suddenly gasped, getting the others' attention. "This just gave me a better idea for today's challenges!"
"Oh no…" Mew whispered to himself, while Zeraora curiously rose a brow.
000
Aura groaned as her hind legs trembled out of stress. She really hated the idea that they were just going to let Sally stay in the game when she could screw up everything.
As the Glaceon continued to sit at the gazebo and think, she suddenly had her thoughts interrupted by a familiar voice. "You okay, Aura?"
Turning to Ace, the shiny Glaceon sighed, "Do you actually care or are you just-"
Ace interrupted her with a sigh, "Aura, stop it. Shine and I are not your enemies, nor do we want to bother you. I thought that we were over this…"
She turned, giving him a look, but didn't say anything. He was right, it was getting old. Not to mention, she had an agreement to be civil with Shine a while back. She was consistently retreading old ground and… it was honestly tiring.
Aura sighed, "I'm just tired of not being heard. You guys just keep making your plans that you think will be beneficial and ignoring all of the other possibilities."
"Is this about Sally and Amethyst?" Ace assumed. He sighed, "Look Aura, they are not threats. Why would we vote for one of them when there are bigger threats to worry about…?"
Aura groaned, "You're proving my point. You're not even listening. You guys keep throwing the threat angle out there, but most of the real threats are in our own alliance."
Ace gazed at her thoughtfully as she continued her explanation. "Shine's a threat, Morgan's a threat, Connor and Taylor are threats… You can't ignore that just because you think you have power. And I honestly think that Taylor and Connor believe that they have all of the power right now. We should do something about it..."
Ace, despite agreeing with her, still had some reservations about that. "Look Aura, I hear you. Trust me, I do, but we need to worry about preserving control and taking out the opposition, first. So, say… Once we get rid of Anthony and Kojo, we can talk with the rest of the others and we can start taking out the others…"
Aura shook her head, "I really think that we should just get rid of Sally as soon as possible. She'll find a way to screw us over, I know it!"
"If she does, that'll be our fault," Ace shrugged. "But right now, I think that staying with the current plan is in our best interest."
Aura just let out a sigh, shaking her head in disappointment.
"CONTESTANTS! PLEASE REPORT TO THE BEACH FOR YOUR NEXT CHALLENGE!"
"Well, I guess it's time to go," the Sylveon stated. "Hopefully today's challenges aren't too lame or tough…"
000
All of the contestants made their way to the beach, where Mew, Virizion, and Xerneas were waiting. There were numerous puzzle stations that were facing the ocean, each one seamlessly connected to a large transparent box hanging over the water.
"Alright," Virizion began. "Hello and welcome to today's reward challenge. I hope you all are doing well…"
Anthony huffed, folding his arms, "Some are doing much better than others. That's for sure..."
He was glaring at Morgan, who rolled her eyes dismissively.
"Well, after today, I'm sure that most of you will feel a lot better, because today's challenges involve…" Xerneas paused for suspense before finishing, "...your loved ones!"
Everyone was shocked and ecstatic to hear this, so cheers erupted from the group. After only dealing with each other for the longest time, they would finally get to see the ones that they love! This wasn't the deal for everyone, but that didn't stop the excitement.
"Yep, you'll all be doing challenges with, and spending the day with, the ones that you love," Virizion explained. "However, these are specifically your significant others. So, those of you who are dating someone still in the game, you will still be competing with them…"
The two pairs that this pertained to, Klavier and Holly, and Taylor and Connor, had different reactions to this. Klavier and Holly exchanged looks with each other. They were fine with it, albeit a bit disappointed, as they were hoping to see other family members before the clarification was made.
On the other hand, Taylor actually let out a soft sigh of relief, coiling around Connor, who smiled softly. Having heard about the Milotic's family, the Bouffalant was glad that they clarified that it was specifically significant others. Taylor was also glad that none of Connor's relatives were coming, as he was terrified of what they might have tried to do to him.
"Wait, what happens if you're single?" Phill inquired, raising a hand.
Mew spoke up, "Well, since you and Aura are the only single people left in the game. You two will automatically be paired together."
The Mouse and Fresh Snow Pokémon exchanged looks of displeasure. They didn't have any kind of problem with each other, the situation was simply poor for them.
"Now, for the rest of you, let's get all of your spouses here!" Xerneas announced.
Mew's eyes glowed a bright blue as multiple familiar Pokémon appeared next to them.
The first one was a Sawsbuck, who was still his Winter Form; he looked noticeably older as well. Amethyst gasped softly as her lips began to quiver. She began to tear up as she started to step forward.
Mew began, "Welcome back-"
"S-Sven…" Amethyst whimpered.
"Amy…" Sven responded walking toward her as well.
The Aurorus rushed toward him before lying down and nuzzling him, tears streaming down her face. "I miss you so much…" she sobbed.
"I miss you, too, sweetie…" the Sawsbuck responded, kissing her forehead. He took a step back, admiring her new size. "You're so much bigger," he chuckled before nuzzling her again. "And stronger, too…"
She blushed, sniffling again before instinctively locking her lips with his. This surprised the Season Pokémon, as she never was the one to initiate any sort of intimacy like this. "I love you…" she professed, breaking their kiss.
Still in shock, it took a while for Sven to recuperate before he smiled back at her. "I love you, too…"
Virizion and Xerneas, as well as a few of the others, smiled, while Mew kept his emotions to himself. "Alright Sven, stand over there," Mew instructed, pointing to an area of the sand sectioned off by a black square of tape. "After this challenge, you guys will be able to spend as much time together as you wish before you get called back."
The Sawsbuck nodded before walking to the designated section of the beach. Amethyst wagged her tail slowly, continuing to eye Sven lovingly as she continued to lay down in the sand.
The next Pokémon to appear was a Venusaur wearing a smile. "Welcome back, Raiden!" Mew introduced.
Ashton's eyes glimmered as she immediately rushed toward the Seed Pokémon in complete joy. "Raiden!" she exclaimed as she made it to him and greeted him with a nuzzle.
The Venusaur nuzzled her back before responding, "Hey, hon. How are you doing?"
"I'm fine…" Ashton replied, giggling sheepishly. "Even better now that you're here…"
Raiden chuckled as Ashton kissed him on the cheek. "I love you…" she proclaimed, resting her head against his.
"Love you, too," Raiden replied.
"Alright, Raiden," Mew began. "Good to see you again. Now go ahead and join Sven in the square."
Raiden nodded as Ashton lifted her head off of his; he proceeded to join Sven in the square, where the two of them proceeded to engage in a bit of conversation.
This process continued, with each remaining player's significant other being brought in. Kisses, hugs, nuzzles, and 'I love yous' were exchanged each and every time.
The last person who had their partner brought to the island was Aspen. A rather scruffy Houdoom was teleported there, a smug smirk on his face.
Aspen immediately sauntered toward him, swaying her hips a bit, "Hey Dommy~"
"Hey baby…" his gruff voice responded as she sat in front of him and started stroking the sides of his face. "Everything going alright here?"
The Furfrou nodded. "Can't really complain too much at this point," she answered. "But, I'm really glad to see you, DD…"
Dominic chuckled at his nickname before the two engaged in a quick kiss.
"Alright Dominic, head over to the others, and we can get this reward challenge started," Mew instructed.
"Gotcha, chief," he responded with a nod. He looked back at Aspen, who sensually rubbed her tail underneath his chin as she turned around to walk back to the others.
Hex, who was already standing in the designated section, could only shake his head in embarrassment from his sister's actions. Though his eyes opened and became focused in a glare as Dominic came over. Upon seeing Hex, the Houndoom let out an audible gulp.
"Wow…" Virizion began, looking over everyone that was standing in the square: Sven, Raiden, Jet, Chase, Shade, Hex, Cramad, Marie, Summer, and Dominic. "All this is telling me is that you guys spent way too much time together throughout this game. Only one person here hasn't competed on this show at all."
"Well, technically, Floatzelle hasn't competed on the show," Phill chimed in.
"She is not coming here!" Kojo shouted.
"If I see her, the bitch is getting her ass handed to her…" Summer growled.
"Okay!" Mew interrupted. "Changing the subject. Let's explain the reward challenge!"
"Right," Virizion began as she cleared her throat. "Each of your partners will be placed inside one of those boxes suspended over the ocean, holding a flag…"
Xerneas picked up from where she left off, "...When we say go, the rest of you will run toward your puzzle stations. You must complete the puzzle, which will give you five numbers. You'll run to the next area, where you must figure out the correct combination in order to unlock a box that has a red button inside."
"Once you hit the button," Virizion chimed in once again, "your partner's box will open, dropping them into the ocean. Then it's their job to swim back to shore with their flag and place it on a miniature flagpole."
The camera panned to a small, miniature flagpole near the edge of the beach.
Mew concluded, "The first pair to do so will win a special lunch and will gain access to the Winner's Cabin until we call you down to the best challenge."
A few cheers erupted from the players, though Aspen had a look of worry on her face. "Um… Dominic knows how to swim, but only in smaller bodies of water."
"And some of us aren't that great in the water anyway," Klavier spoke up, rubbing his claws together sheepishly.
"We'll be taking a few precautionary measures in order to aid those who aren't as adept in the water," Mew explained.
000
Klavier was standing inside of the hanging box with an inner tube around his waist and a couple of pool floaties around his wrists. "This is not what I had in mind…"
Along with the spouses of the players, Klavier, Phill, and Taylor, much to his extreme fear and discomfort, were inside of the boxes suspended over the water.
-000-
Back on the mainland, Connor wore a face of worry, while the others got settled at the starting line.
"Alright contestants, get ready," Mew instructed. "Remember, the first pair to finish gets a special lunch and private time in the Winner's Cabin."
Looks of determination formed on a few of the contestants' faces. Some of them who were lacking the appropriate limbs were already a bit nervous and felt that they had a lower chance.
Wanting a better chance, Amethyst spoke up about the inequality. "Um… How are Connor and I supposed to have an equal chance with our body structures the way they are?"
"Amethyst, you can either use your head or hold yourself up on your hind legs like some of us four-legged people do. You are not handicapped," Aura gruffly responded.
Amethyst huffed, turning red out of slight embarrassment and annoyance.
"And on that note, let's just get started," Virizion replied. "In three… two… one… Go!"
-000-
The thirteen of them immediately rushed toward the puzzle section. Reaching the first station, they saw that there were multiple puzzle pieces on either side of the empty space.
The players with actual arms got started quickly, trying to figure out where the puzzle pieces went. A few of the quadrupeds were slower, having a few issues with the puzzle pieces.
Anthony paused for a moment, having spread out his pieces to get a clearer view. He saw a few edges with sections of white, which would form the numbers he needed.
As he proceeded to move the pieces around and attach them to each other, he glanced down the row to see what Shine was doing.
As expected, the Espeon was using her Psychic-type capabilities to figure out her puzzle.
Growing agitated as he continued to put his puzzle together, he commented, "Do you ever get tired of just automatically finishing these challenges with your little telekinesis and Psychic abilities, Shine?! You make yourself look like a bitch."
Shine ignored him, continuing to scan and move her puzzle pieces.
He continued, "Why don't you stop relying on that and get on the same playing field?"
"And why don't you focus on your own puzzle instead of on hers?" Ace countered. "We all have capabilities that give us advantages over each other. Get over it."
Connor chuckled at the interaction, as both sides were correct. It got him thinking.
000
"Anthony made a good point…" Connor began. "If Shine stays in the game, she has a huge advantage, so it makes a lot of sense to get rid of her, now."
He hummed, "However, she and Ace are practically joined at the hip. So, if we vote her out, Ace will likely be very upset and see it as a betrayal, and we don't want that…"
"So, for the time being, I think our target is gonna have to stay Anthony…"
000
Holly was having the toughest time with her puzzle, despite also being a Psychic-type. She only had her two legs and numerous puzzle pieces to sort through and piece together.
Amethyst let out a sigh, having been situated next to her. Her sails started turning a pinkish-red, as she was growing increasingly aggravated. "Ugh… I hate this…" she grumbled to herself. "I just wanna be with Sven…"
"Then… Why are you trying?" Sally inquired with a whisper as she lied against her puzzle station. "All the winner gets is food and a couple of hours in the cabin. All of our loved ones will still be here, regardless. Let them waste their time…"
Hearing this, Amethyst stopped, a small smile forming on her face. She stopped and lied down in the sand to watch the show.
A few of the other players already had similar thoughts, having their own reasons to not be as urgent.
Morgan could see Hex whenever she wanted thanks to the jail phone; Kojo didn't really care about the lunch date, he was just happy that he'd have another day to see Summer, so he was taking his time; and Aura, despite wanting the special lunch, didn't really want to spend time with Phill inside of the cabin.
Connor knew that he and Taylor would be fine without the lunch and ; he was only trying to participate so that he could get Taylor out of his box.
-000-
Suspended over the water, the other players were simply engaging in conversation, as they were all positioned close to each other.
"Never thought that I'd be back here," Jet commented as he sat against one of the walls. "I told Sally that I was never competing again…"
"And yet here you are," Phill teased. "But, at least you're not really competing. You guys are just here for today's challenges. The rest of us still have to deal with everything else."
Having an inner tube around his waist and multiple floaties around his legs, Dominic chortled, "I'm just glad that I never signed up for this crap. Y'all folks have it rough."
"Hey, you're here now, so now you're gonna experience it first hand…" Hex stated. "You'd better hope that Aspen doesn't finish her puzzle and figure out the combination, or else you're gonna be taking a much needed swim..."
Dominic looked down, eyeing the water fearfully before letting out an audible gulp. He then realized what the Stoutland said and turned to him. "Hey!" he barked.
"Hey! Uh… looks like we got a leaker," Shade called out, noticing Taylor trembling erratically and his box beginning to fill with a pale yellow fluid.
The Milotic's pupils were constricted and his eyes twitched as he stared back to the shore.
"Yeah… There isn't much that we can do in this case," Marie explained. "We're trapped in here and the only way for him to get out is for Connor to complete his stuff."
Taylor whimpered as his eyes remained locked to the shore.
-000-
"Almost done and…. Yes!" Ace cheered as he finished placing all of his pieces down.
He began reading and remembering the five numbers that were on his completed puzzle: 17, 27, 30, 08, and 11.
As he did this, Shine ended up finishing her puzzle as well, followed by Anthony, and surprisingly, Aspen.
Once he felt that he had the numbers memorized, Ace rushed toward the box with the combination lock.
Shine, Anthony, and Aspen weren't too far behind, with Anthony being the slowest of the three. Just as Shine and Aspen made it to their boxes, Ace managed to get his open and press the red button inside.
-000-
Chase groaned in annoyance. "What's taking so damn long? Shouldn't Shine or whoever else be done by n-AHHHHH!"
He ended up being cut off by his box opening and dropping him into the water below.
"Huh, I guess Ace was the first one to finish," Summer commented as she sat down in her box.
"Uh… Can he swim?" Sven inquired, a bit concerned. He looked down in the water and saw that the Flareon hadn't resurfaced just yet.
"Eh, probably," Shade replied with a shrug. "Ricky mentioned something about swim classes. It probably just takes a while…"
"Jeez… You guys really don't care," the Dominic commented. "The kid could be drowning right now!"
A few moments later, Chase emerged from the water with a huge breath, with his flag floating away from him. "FUCK!"
A few moments later, he heard another splash and looked over to see that Shade had been dropped as well, followed shortly by Dominic and Marie.
After grabbing the flag with his teeth, he immediately started swimming back toward the shore.
As soon as he hit the water, Shade resurfaced and looked up as his flag slowly floated down. "I should've seen this coming," he commented as his flag landed in the water, a few feet away from him.
"What the hell am I supposed to do now?!" Dominic exclaimed as he stayed afloat thanks to the inner tube around his waist.
"Uh… swim?" Marie stated before taking off, flag in hand.
Dominic looked over and saw Shade swimming towards the shore as well. He sighed.
000
The Houndoom was shaking his head, "I have no idea how they do this shit…"
000
"And it looks like Marie is taking the lead, passing Chase pretty easily," Mew commented.
Anthony smirked, "Yes!"
Ace rolled his eyes, while Shine waited in silence, and Aspen held a face of worry.
Once the four of them reached the combination-locked boxes, the other players decided to stop, as it didn't really matter at that point.
"Well, another day, another bogus challenge," Aura sighed.
Titan shrugged, "Eh, at this point, it's to be expected."
"Hey, this was an actually interesting challenge," Ashton spoke up. "Maybe a little lackluster because of the stakes, but it's still cool."
"Sure…" Titan responded, rolling his eyes. "At the end of the day, I get to see my missus again, so that's all that matters."
Eventually, Marie made it to the shore with the flag and placed it on the flagpole. Anthony laughed as he rushed toward her and picked her up, surprising her. "Ya pulled it off just like I knew ya would!"
Ace huffed in annoyance, "Yeah, because she's a Water-type!"
Anthony sneered, mockingly repeating what the Sylveon had told him earlier, "We all have capabilities that give us advantages over each other. Get over it."
Ace glowered at him.
"Well, I think it's safe to say, THE CHALLENGE IS OVER!" Virizion exclaimed.
000
Everybody and their significant others, along with Aura and Phill, were back on the beach.
"Congratulations, Anthony!" Mew commended. "You and Marie get the special lunch and access to the Winner's Cabin."
Anthony kissed her cheek for her quick work of the challenge. "It's well deserved…" he commented.
The other couples all either rolled their eyes or gave him a look. Even Marie gave him a disapproving look, finding his comments annoyingly unnecessary.
Xerneas cleared her throat, looking at the winning couple, "You two stay behind." She turned her attention to the others, "The rest of you, go on and enjoy some much needed time with your loved ones. We'll call you back down when it's time for the next challenge."
The other players immediately headed away from the beach, leaving the Blastoise and Feraligatr alone.
"Alright, you two," Virizion began. "Follow us…"
Virizion and Xerneas began walking down the beach, with Anthony and Marie in tow. Mew let out a sigh, shaking his head. He really didn't think that this type of challenge was necessary, but the girls had the idea and they thought that it would be fun, so he allowed it.
000
Sally rested in Jet's lap and they sat against a tree. She let out a sigh of relief, nuzzling him blissfully. "I love you…" she breathed.
Jet chuckled, rubbing her back. He wasn't really the type to say 'I love you' in return too often, but Sally knew that he loved her, too.
Sven chuckled sheepishly as Amethyst kissed and nuzzled him profusely as he sat between her forelegs. "Wow Amy, you're weirdly… uh... frisky today…"
The Aurorus breathed softly, "I missed you so much… I love you..."
"I love you, too, sweetie," Sven replied, kissing her cheek.
The Tundra Pokémon proceeded to nuzzle him again as Sally sighed and turned around in her husband's lap, sitting with her back against his chest. As she rubbed his paws, she explained, "Well, we may or may not have something going on that'll push us even further in the game…"
Sven rose a brow, "Is that so?"
"Yeah, we spoke to Anthony's group this morning and we're planning on working with them to take out Taylor's alliance," Sally explained. "Hopefully they stick to what we discussed."
"Well, you're making it farther than I would have," Jet chuckled. "Congrats…"
Sally giggled, stroking the side of his face, "Thanks handsome…"
"So, what do you all do when you're not in a challenge?" Sven inquired. "Haven't really been watching this show as much since I got out of it."
Amethyst sighed, "Well, there's much to do here. We mostly either sleep or strategize."
Sven groaned to himself, "Right. I kinda remember now. These islands are pretty damn boring when there's no challenge or anything."
"Well… I know a way to make it… exciting…" Amethyst sensually whispered in his ear, causing the Season Pokémon's face to turn a deep red.
"U-Uh…" he stammered. He cleared his throat before replying, "I-I thought that you weren't interested in anything of that nature…"
"I've grown up a bit here and I… I think I'm feeling a bit better about it," she whispered before pecking him on the cheek.
Sven's blush remained as he faltered, "U-Um… W-Well, once you're back home, I guess we can start experimenting. Nothing too crazy, though."
Amethyst smiled, nuzzling him again. "I love you…"
Sally giggled, "Good to see that you're breaking away from your past, Amy. You really are growing…"
Amethyst blushed as Sven smiled at her, proud of her progress. It was something he'd have to get used to, but he was happy nonetheless.
000
Marie and Anthony continued following the two hostesses until they reached a different section of the beach.
There was a table with a white cloth covering it, surrounded by red rose petals. Two plates covered by silver lids sat on the table across from each other, with a pitcher of Lemonade and a flower between the two. Two chairs sat across from each other as well.
"Here we are…" Xerneas presented.
Marie was interested by the setup, while Anthony wore a look of dissatisfaction. "Seriously? This is it? A cheesy beach set up?"
"It's either this or the gazebo," Virizion deadpanned, growing annoyed by the Blastoise's constant complaining. "Take your pick…"
Marie covered the Blastoise's mouth, "This is fine. Thanks."
The couple approached the table, with the two hostesses eyeing Anthony with vexation as he and Marie sat down.
"Just enjoy your lunch and when you're done, you can head over to the Winner's Cabin," Xerneas explained.
The two hostesses began leaving, giving the couple their time alone.
Once they were out of the vicinity, Anthony let out a sigh. "Arceus, it's good having you back. This game has been a pain in my ass ever since you left…"
Marie huffed, "I bet…"
The Blastoise gave her a look. "Hey, it's not fault those guys keep fucking us over every time things are looking good."
"Hey, you're still in the game, at least…" Marie commented, looking at the bright side of the situation.
Anthony rolled his eyes, "Yeah, for now. If the trend continues, it may be me going home next…"
"Well, if you think you're next, then make sure that you win immunity," Marie explained. "Either that, or try your damnedest to convince others to vote for somebody else."
Anthony took the lid off of his plate, revealing a grilled steak, mashed potatoes with Pecha Berry zest, and a small side of Sweet Juicy Curry.
"Wow, this… actually looks decent," Anthony explained, picking up a knife and fork. Marie did the same and had the same reaction.
"Huh, and it smells pretty damn good, too," she replied, picking up a spoon and putting it in the curry.
As he cut through his steak, Anthony explained, "And there's supposedly a plan to take out Morgan, but I'm holding my breath. Every time someone's supposed to be helping us, they end up stabbing us in the back."
"Yeah, well… That's the game," Marie shrugged as she ate a spoonful of curry. "We gotta do whatever we can to get ahead."
Her tone then grew a bit serious as she started tapping her spoon on the curry. "And uh… I took a pregnancy test…"
Anthony immediately paused, looking up at her with eyes of sincere concern. He slowly put down his utensils. He shakily inquired, "...And?"
She let out a sigh. "It was negative…"
Anthony looked down in disappointment. It was a bit upsetting, but the look on Marie's face was what upset him more. She looked like she was about to cry, but she fought the tears and took a deep breath. He got up from his chair and walked over to her before squatting beside her and rubbing her back.
Neither of them planned for a child. They didn't even know that they were going to form a loving relationship in this game. However, the possibility of having a child, and the time they spent talking about the what-ifs, caused them to grow closer and partially hope that it was true.
Marie let out a shaky sigh and sniffled, "Well… At least you won't be taken out of the game because of this."
Anthony chuckled, "Hey, if I got taken out of this game, I'd rather it be because I was gonna be a father than because of bullshit…"
The two shared a kiss, and after breaking it, Anthony gave her a loving smile. "We'll be okay…" he said reassuringly.
Marie smiled back, stroking the side of his face.
000
Anthony cleared his throat before sniffing and rubbing his nose. "Well, like she said… At least I won't be taken out of the game…"
He sighed, "Though, part of me was kinda hoping that she was pregnant. But… whatever. Our relationship needs to grow a bit more before we have a kid, anyway…"
000
Phill sat on the top bunk of one of the beds with his half-empty candy bucket.
Summer and Kojo were lying together in the Mienshao's usual bed; Klavier and Holly were lying in the Gliscor's bed; Ashton was inside of the cabin, near the doorway. The doorway was a bit too narrow for Raiden to enter, so he lied outside the door on the porch.
Each couple was either talking or relaxing with each other, as Phill popped a piece of taffy into his mouth. "You know, I just feel like a seventh wheel up here…" he commented.
Kojo chuckled, with Summer sitting in his lap. "It's fine, dude. You and your candy bucket are gonna be okay."
"Thanks, uh… That doesn't make me feel any better, but thanks…" Phill responded with a chortle.
Klavier sheepishly cleared his throat as he sat down on one of the bottom bunks, with Holly hanging upside down from it. "So, uh… Should we still be talking about the game, or-?"
Raiden spoke up, "I mean, just because we're here doesn't mean you guys have to drop everything for us. Maybe we can even help... Well… uh… At least Summer could."
The Typhlosion gave the Venusaur a look of slight annoyance before leaning back against Kojo with a soft groan. The Mienshao kissed her neck, causing her to purr.
She then let out a sigh before beginning to speak, "Well, unless you guys have a new plan and get someone else on your side, you guys are gonna be toast. Not much else to say."
"Well, luckily Sally and Amethyst came to us with a plan to target Morgan earlier," Phill commented. "So, we may have a chance."
"Well, if those two are serious, then that'd be…" the Typhlosion began counting the possible votes, including Sally and Amethyst. "...eight votes. So, if you can get just one person from that other alliance to vote differently, you guys have it."
"Okay…" Ashton began. "So if we can trick one of them into voting for somebody else, or even voting with us-"
"Well…" Klavier spoke up."Remember the idea to try and get rid of Titan's statue? Maybe we can just tell Titan about it anyway and convince him to vote for Morgan, too. Then, later on, we can try and get rid of his statue."
"That… could work," Kojo replied. "We just have to hope Amethyst and Sally are being honest."
000
The members of Connor and Taylor's alliance all met up near the jail. Some of their significant others, having been watching the show as it aired,or having appeared thanks to the jail phone, already knew what was going on.
"So, you guys are in a pretty good position," Hex commented. "Just have to keep yourselves in check and make sure no one rocks the boat."
"Uh… hold on," Shade chimed in. He looked around before asking, "This is everyone that's a part of this alliance, right?"
Shine nodded in affirmation, making Shade sigh and shake his head.
"What is it?" Aspen inquired.
"So… There's eight of you…" Shade began. "And there's sixteen people left in the game… I'm pretty sure that just makes you guys evenly matched."
"Uh… not really," Ace explained. "Sally and Amethyst are on their own. No one really wants to work with them since Amethyst started being bitchy once she evolved and Sally tried blackmailing us into letting them work with us…"
"Uh huh… and what does that have to do with any of them?" Shade inquired, raising a brow. "Because from what I'm hearing, that's a problem that you guys have."
"He's got a point, there," Titan chimed in. "You lot were the ones who had the big problem with those two. If they manage to join up with Anthony and them…"
"Then the votes will just end up being a tie…" Aspen explained. "And then both people will probably go…"
In an instant, a new idea formed in Morgan's head, a small smile forming on her face. "Well… we do have something that could help us keep the high ground…"
She turned to Titan, who gave her a look. He knew what she was going to suggest, and immediately shut her down. "No. Not gonna happen…"
"Titan, you have the statue," Aura argued. "If you use it on whoever is getting voted for, they'll be safe and you'll still be in the majority! What's the problem?"
"Self-preservation," Titan stated firmly. "I'm helping the alliance out, sure, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna use my safety net for one o' ya."
"Well, you'd better hope that things don't go wrong, because you never know…" Chase spoke with a yawn.
"Yep, I'm definitely lucky I haven't really played this game…" Dominic commented with a chuckle.
Aspen giggled and nuzzled him before looking back, as Connor and Taylor were a bit away from the others, but still listening in. A bit concerned, she asked, "Is Taylor doing okay, Connor?"
Everyone turned their heads to the two. Connor was sitting with Taylor coiled around him tight. Given his claustrophobia, Taylor had once again freaked out and didn't want to let go of the Bouffalant. He was still softly sobbing, his head underneath his boyfriend's chin.
Connor sighed, "He' ll be okay. He just needs some time."
As the others turned back around, and started engaging in a bit of non-gameplay conversation, Cramad whispered to Titan, "I'm still not sure if Taylor is trustworthy or not…"
Titan gave his wife a look. "Well, at this point, it doesn't matter. Whether he is, or he isn't, Connor's too far gone. Best to just leave it."
"I guess…" Cramad replied. "Besides that… Are you sure that you wanna work with these guys? I mean… Aura? Aspen? This doesn't seem like the smart choice. Plus, they want you to use your statue for them."
"I know. But it ain't gonna happen," Titan replied. "They can think that I'm working with them, but it won't really be for long…"
They looked back over to the others, who were still talking amongst themselves.
000
After their lunch, Anthony carried Marie toward the Winner's Cabin, bridal style, eliciting some teasing from their friends as they made it to the door.
As the entered, they immediately headed back to the bedroom, where they crashed onto their usual bed. Marie let out a sigh as Anthony kissed her on the lips. "What happened to waiting until we were out of this game?"
Anthony chuckled, "That's still happening. Doesn't mean we can't still have some fun~"
Marie giggled as they kissed once again. "Yeah… but maybe we should use this time to just talk more, y'know?"
"Oh…" Anthony replied, rolling off of her and lying beside her. "Alright, uh… What'd you wanna talk about?"
"Just some hypotheticals and… our lives when this game is over…" Marie explained. "We've talked about what we'd do if and when we had a kid… but, what if we didn't?"
Anthony let out a sigh. "Well… I'm not really sure. I guess… I'd see if I could go back to my tech job or something…"
Marie rose a brow as she sat up, "Tech job? You never told me about that…"
Anthony shrugged, "Wasn't worth mentioning. It's not like anyone else really talks about their life outside of the game. I mean, unless something bad's happened, anyway."
"Well… Did it pay well?" Marie inquired.
Anthony stifled a laugh. "Oh, so you're interested in it?"
"I mean, I have to be," Marie chuckled. "If my man is gonna be working, then I need to know how much we're gonna be making. That way I'll know if I need to get a job, too…"
Anthony smirked, "And where would you work, exactly?"
Marie blew out a breath before shrugging. "I don't know," she giggled, "Just something that'll give me a decent paycheck…"
The Blastoise shook his head, "Well, lucky for you, my pay was pretty decent. And hey, we still get royalties from these stupid shows, even though we're not even actors or anything. So, you may not even need a job…"
"That's also true," Marie acknowledged. "But the same could apply to you…"
Anthony shrugged, "Fair enough. But, I guess I'd still rather be doing something instead of just sitting around all day."
It was Marie's turn to stifle a laugh as she rolled onto her side to face him, "That's a surprise… I'd think you'd love to just sit around and do nothing."
"Hardy har har…" Anthony retorted before he let out a sigh. His mind went back to the game at hand, "So, do you really think we've got a shot at lasting here?"
"Well, unless the plan to eliminate Morgan tanks, I'd say yeah," Marie replied. "Like I said. Just try your damnedest to get the target off of you or just win immunity."
"That'll be easier said than done…" Anthony replied. "Shine is a bitch when it comes to the challenges…"
"Duh… She's a Psychic-type. She's one of the biggest threats since she relies on her abilities so much," Marie explained. "But, she's pretty much a part of that alliance, so she's not on anyone's hit list. Though she should be."
"Yeah, but Sally and Amethyst have their sights set on eliminating Morgan first," Anthony explained. "It'll come down to who wins immunity tonight and talking to those two…"
"Hopefully things go well…" Marie shrugged.
"And the challenge isn't bullshit…" Anthony muttered.
000
Shine had taken Shade into a secluded area of the forest where there was a lone tree stump in the center and multiple flowers blooming around it.
Shade was captivated by the scenery, having not recognized this part of the forest in any of the episodes of the show. As he continued to look around, Shine sauntered up to the lone stump and lay atop it, the radiant sun beaming behind her and giving her body an elegant glow.
"What is this place?" Shade whispered before his eyes fell back onto his wife.
Her eyes beckoned to him, the violet orbs screaming at him to come closer. The Umbreon obeyed, padding up to her with silent vigor. Reaching the stump, the Moonlight Pokémon locked eyes with her before climbing over her and planting a kiss on her lips. "So… I take it that you brought me here for a special reason…?"
Shine giggled. "I guess you can say that…" she responded, sensually stroking his cheek.
Shade lowered himself onto her, lying atop her with a smile before kissing her cheek. "So, where'd you find this place, anyway, baby?"
The Espeon answered with a soft moan, "I found it a few days ago. Decided to use this place to relax and clear my head…"
Shade snickered, "And now you want to use it as a place for me to-"
Sudden rustling from nearby bushes interrupted his thought as they both turned their attention to the shaking foliage. Shade climbed off of her, growling in the direction of the rustling. "Who's there?!"
A familiar Glaceon's head popped out, causing both of them to glare daggers at her.
"Are you fucking kidding me, right now?!" Shade barked.
"Aura… What are you doing here?" Shine asked sternly, her eyes keeping a glare. "Did you follow us?"
The shiny Glaceon stepped out of the bushes, stammering, "M-Maybe…"
"WHY?!" Shade exclaimed.
"Well… Everyone separated so that they could have some private time with each other and… I-"
Shine sighed before interrupting her, "So… You thought that your best course of action was to follow us? Not your son, who you've hardly spoken to since he's been here, and not your friend, who has her own boyfriend, meaning that he likely has guy friends to possibly set you up with..."
Hearing that, Aura sighed to herself. She didn't know why she decided to follow those two instead of her actual friend or family. "Look, I'm sorry… I just…"
The couple's glares didn't waver, prompting Aura to look down and turn around. She didn't know why she still felt somewhat involved with the two of them despite everything that occurred all those years ago. Once again it felt like she was retreading old ground.
000
Aura sighed, "I don't know what's wrong with me. No matter what I do, I always feel connected to those two…"
"I just want to live my own life… but when either of them are around, I just get annoyed… angry… jealous…" she explained. "I know that I don't have feelings for Shade anymore, and I'm thankful for my kids, but...
She sighed, "Maybe I should've just gone with Aspen…"
000
Ace and Chase ended up taking momentary residence inside of Brian's cave for their 'private time'. Ace let out a pleasured sigh as he lied on top of his boyfriend.
"I love you…" Ace professed, nuzzling into her neck fur.
The two shared a kiss before Chase let out a breath of relaxation. "Man, that felt good…"
Ace giggled, "Yeah… It's been a while." His face slowly twisted into a frown as he commented, "I'm kinda surprised that Aura hasn't said anything to you…"
Chase let out a sigh,"I'm not too bothered by it. If she had anything to say, she would have said it."
"Yeah…" Ace concurred. "I honestly expected her to follow us or something, but I'm glad that she's leaving us alone."
Chase chortled, "Yeah, so there's at least one positive. So, what's your plan now? This game is getting pretty heated."
Ace explained, "I'm just gonna stick with my alliance until the opposition is gone."
Chase rose a brow, "You sure you wanna do that? If you ask me, you're probably gonna wanna start working against those guys before it's too late."
Ace grew a bit intrigued. Chase was never one to really care or think about strategy too much. He asked, "What do you mean?"
"I'm just saying. It probably ain't too smart to keep those guys in much longer," Chase explained. "I mean, most of them are pretty damn strong. Keep them in and you increase the chance of you getting eliminated."
The Sylveon hummed in response, "Well, Aura did have an idea to take out some of the bigger threats in the alliance…"
Chase nodded, "Well… There you go. There's a shot. If you can work with my mom and the other people, you can start taking out those big guys in your alliance and go from there."
Ace sighed, "I understand that. I just don't think that now is the right time."
Chase shrugged, "Well babe, it's just up to you. Either you can wait until the ones against your alliance are gone, or you can take out the threats in your alliance to help yourself. Your call..."
Ace began to think, resting his head back down against his chest.
000
Kojo, Summer, and Phill were the only ones left in the cabin, the other four having left the cabin earlier.
"From seventh wheel to third wheel. We're making progress," Phill commented.
"Phill, if you want, I can try and help you find a girl once we're out of the game," Summer giggled as she lay next to Kojo in their bunk. "That way you don't have to feel.
"Wait, you know desperate girls?" Phill retorted.
Throwing his head back, Kojo groaned, "Bro, come on, you've gotta stop with the self-deprecation. I get that you have no self-esteem, but people can be interested in you without something being wrong with them."
The Raticate popped a gummy into his mouth. "Press X to doubt…" he muttered.
"Don't L.C. Noir me," Kojo retorted. "I'm being serious…"
Summer sat in the middle, unsure of what they were talking about. "Uh… Am I missing something?"
"Video game reference," Kojo explained simply, rubbing her back. "Don't worry about it."
"Well, sorry. That's just how I feel," the Raticate replied with a chuckle. "But it's whatever. So, what are you guys gonna do with your engagement? Big wedding, small wedding, or are you gonna elope?"
The couple exchanged looks, with Summer rolling over on top of Kojo. "What do you think?" she asked, locking eyes with him.
"I mean, that's up to you," Kojo replied, wrapping his arms around her. "I'll do whatever you want to do…"
Summer smiled, purring as she nuzzled him. She let out a soft breath, "I don't know… I mean… I know my parents are gonna want to meet you and everything, and they would want to see me actually get married. But, at the same time, I'm not entirely into big weddings or anything…"
"Well, would you rather do it for yourself or do things for your parents?" Phill inquired. "That's the main question…"
The Typhlosion sighed, resting against him. "I'm gonna have to think about it…"
Kojo rubbed her back with a smile. "It's fine, Summer. Just take as long as you need. We've still got this game to worry about, anyway… And I'm pretty sure I'll have to meet your parents first."
Summer giggled, "That's true. Hopefully my mom doesn't try to kill you or something…"
Kojo paled, "Um… What?"
000
Virizion and Xerneas were back at the Hall of Origin, taking a break. They had been relaxing in their room with Cobalion, who was asleep. Xerneas was lying right next to him, snoozing away as well.
Virizion was the only one awake, watching a muted movie with the subtitles on so that she didn't wake her lovers. However, the Grassland Pokémon slowly found herself dozing off as well as she nuzzled the other side of Cobalion.
Just then, the beeping of an alarm clock was heard, causing her eyes to pop back open. Virizion groaned as she sat back up. She sighed, "Of course…"
Hearing a soft growl from Cobalion, she hit the button on the clock to turn it off before climbing off of their bed and nudging Xerneas.
The Life Pokémon groaned as Virizion continued to nudge her. "Come on, Xerneas… We gotta get back to work…"
The deer let out a groggy sigh as she sat up. "Well, at least this next challenge won't be too difficult or irritating to deal with."
Virizion pecked her on the lips, "Let's hope so…"
‐000‐
Virizion and Xerneas went down to the kitchen to grab a quick snack before they got Mew. Virizion grabbed a small tub of yogurt out of the fridge, while Xerneas picked up a Chesto Berry from a bowl in the middle of the table and started eating it.
They went into the living room, where they were surprised to see two Zeraora lying on the couch instead of one.
"Uh…" Xerneas began as she swallowed her berry and Virizion put down her yogurt tub. "What's going on, here?"
One of the Zeraora started glowing pink; its form shrinking until Mew took its place. The New Species Pokémon sighed, "Nothing. Just relaxing for a while."
"I forgot that you can transform…" Virizion commented. "You really don't use that ability often, do you?"
"I don't have a reason to," the Psychic-type replied with a shrug.
Seeing how the two were situated once again, the Life Pokémon inquired, "So, now are you two… Y'know?"
The two of them exchanged looks before Mew sighed and shook his head. "No… We're still just talking right now…"
Zeraora nodded in agreement, though a faint blush started to form.
The girls nodded in understanding, but they could feel a spark between the two. "Well," Xerneas began, getting back on track. "It's time to head back…"
Mew sighed, scratching his head. "Right…"
Zeraora stroked his back to comfort him, knowing how he felt.
000
Connor and Taylor decided to return to their special spot. Taylor had fallen asleep coiled around the Bouffalant, his head resting on the Bash Buffalo Pokémon's afro.
The Bouffalant was still completely astonished and happy that Taylor pulled a complete 180 from how he used to act early on. It felt so unreal. It started as just an abusive partnership, but then it turned into a fake relationship to get him further. Then, it slowly turned into something deeper. They helped each other understand who they really were over the course of their partnership, and grew closer and closer as days passed.
Their roles had practically reversed; he was a lot more thoughtful and strategic now, and Taylor was more timid and emotional. Connor knew that some people probably still hate, and will continue to hate, Taylor regardless, but he knew that he cared deeply about him and would do whatever it took to protect him.
Now, whether he was stupid for his involvement with the Milotic overall or not was a different story, but he didn't really care either way. Taylor loved him and he loved him, too.
He began thinking about their next possible move. They were planning to target Anthony, but Shade's mentioning of the possibility that Sally and Amethyst could join with Anthony's group and cause a tie weighed on his mind. Not only that, but Titan's declaration of self-preservation and reluctance to truly help the alliance with his statue raised more flags.
"This is gonna be tough to pinpoint," Connor muttered to himself.
Taylor moaned to himself as he slowly started to wake up. He let out a soft breath as he kept his head rested on Connor's afro. He didn't say a word, still thinking about being trapped in the box.
"You okay, Tay?" he inquired.
The Milotic let out a soft sigh, "I guess… I just really wish that I didn't have to go through something like that again."
Connor understood, "Well, hopefully there aren't any more challenges like that."
Taylor nuzzled against his face.
Suddenly, Virizion's voice echoed throughout the island. "CONTESTANTS AND SPOUSES! PLEASE REPORT TO THE STADIUM FOR YOUR NEXT CHALLENGE!"
Taylor let out a sigh. "Please don't involve getting inside of anything…" he whispered. He repeated himself twice more as he uncoiled himself from around Connor.
"Come on, Tay," Connor replied, nudging him before beginning to walk off.
The Milotic took a breath before following him, fear of what the challenge possibly was still on his mind.
000
The contestants and their spouses all made their way to the stadium as they were instructed, where they saw a set of linked tables in the form of bleachers. In the front of each table section was a black screen, and a small lightbulb was situated at the top of each section as well. That set of table-bleachers was the only major thing in the stadium that they could identify, so there was a chance that the challenge was going to be simple.
They all turned their attention to the three hosts as they began to explain what the challenge entailed.
"Alright contestants," Virizion began. "Welcome to your next challenge. It's a play on a classic favorite: The Newlywed Game!"
Xerneas followed, explaining, "If you haven't seen it, then here's the rundown. Each couple will sit down at one of the tables. We will remove one of you from each pair, and ask the remaining spouse a question regarding you guys and your relationship. Once we get an answer from each remaining spouse, that's when we'll bring back your better half."
Virizion continued, "Then, we'll ask you the same question that we asked the ones who stayed. Your goal is to match what they answered. If you guys match answers, you get a point. If you get it wrong, you will receive no points. The pair with the most points at the end of ten rounds will win immunity."
"Does everyone understand?" Mew inquired. "Any questions? Comments? Concerns?"
Aura cleared her throat. "Uh yeah, hi… Single person here. What exactly am I supposed to do?"
"What she said," Phill chimed in, pointing to her.
"Well, given that you guys would be at a significant disadvantage in this challenge. I guess the only fair thing to do would be to let you both sit this one out," Mew explained.
A smile formed on Phill's face. "Nice!"
Aura raised an important question immediately," Wait, does that come with immunity?"
The hostesses, as well as a few of the contestants, gave her a look. "Um…" Xerneas began. "That wouldn't really be fair to the people who actually had to participate. So, sorry…"
Aura groaned in annoyance, while Phill shrugged in indifference.
"Alright, Aura and Phill, you two stand to the side," Mew instructed. The Raticate and Glaceon moved over to the side, the Fresh Snow Pokemon holding an annoyed glare. "Ladies, Ace, and Taylor, you all will be first. The rest of you guys, head outside of the stadium with Zahku, and we'll call you back in when it's time."
The guys turned toward the stadium entrance, where they saw Zahku standing with his arms behind his back. They all exchanged looks with each other.
-000-
Each of the girls, along with Ace and Taylor, took a seat at one of the tables. There were three rows; Summer, Marie, Amethyst, Ashton, and Holly were on the bottom row, Cramad, Aspen, Morgan, and Sally were on the second row, and Taylor, Ace, and Shine were on the top row.
"Alright ladies and gay gentlemen, are you ready for your first question?" Mew inquired, floating behind a podium with a set of cards.
His inquiry was met with nods, so he proceeded to ask the first question of the set. He looked down at the cards, reading, "Where did you guys have your first kiss?"
"Let's start with Taylor…" Xerneas started.
Taylor was a bit surprised that the question was that simple. Considering that he and Connor started their relationship there, the answer was obvious. "Uh… on this island?"
Virizion explained, "You're gonna need to be a bit more specific. Where on the island? When? Was there a specific point?"
"Well… Uh… We weren't really together at the time, but… our first 'lip-to-lip' kiss was during the volcano challenge," Taylor answered.
"Okay…" Mew replied. The Milotic's answer then appeared on the black screen in front of his table. "Ace?"
The Sylveon was able to answer easily. "Back on Parafrosyni Island, the day you guys tricked us with that pit challenge," he explained.
"Wow, nice memory," Virizion commended with a nod.
The Sylveon giggled. "Well, it's hard to forget when the guy of your dreams kisses you…"
"Oh, I hear that," Xerneas giggled before moving onto the next person. "Shine?"
The Espeon sighed as she dug into her memory banks. "It was back on the first island… during the… Awake-a-thon challenge."
Xerneas nodded as she and Virizion kept moving down the rows, collecting the remaining ladies' answers. Some of them were able to answer with ease-
Aspen giggled, "We snuck into a gym after hours and made out in the sauna…"
-while others had a tough time pinpointing the exact location of their kisses given certain circumstances.
Amethyst hummed. "Um… I… I don't really remember. I think it was at Sven's apartment."
Eventually, all twelve of them gave their answers, prompting Virizion to nod to Zahku, who was waiting by the entranceway.
-000-
All of the guys returned, sitting next to their significant others.
"Alright, how are you guys feeling?" Virizion inquired. "Had some time to think outside? Maybe chat a little?"
"Eh, there wasn't much to really say," Shade shrugged.
"Fair enough…" the Grassland Pokémon replied. "Now, let's see if you guys can match your spouses' answers…"
"Alright, the first question was... 'Where did you guys have your first kiss?'" Mew repeated. "Klavier, we'll start with you."
"Oh, um… Here on the island," he answered, believing that it was that simple. If he was being honest, he couldn't really remember when or if they had their first real kiss. All they typically did was exchange pecks on the cheek.
"Hmm… Can you be more specific?" Virizion inquired.
Klavier shook his head as he tried to think. "Um… In the forest?" he guessed.
Holly sweatdropped as the bulb on their table glowed red, accompanied by a buzzing sound. Klavier let out a sigh of embarrassment, holding his head.
"Nope, sorry Klavier," Xerneas explained.
"Well, most of the time we just kiss each other on the cheek, so that's all that was on my mind," the Gliscor explained.
Holly explained, "Remember after the singing challenge?"
Klavier drew a blank initially, before remembering that after the challenge was over, they had kissed for a brief moment. "Riiight…"
"No point for you guys," Xerneas noted. "Raiden?"
The Venusaur paused for a moment as he thought about it. "Uh… Fourth season… The day that we had that obstacle course challenge."
Ashton smiled as their bulb glowed green, exclaiming, "Yes!"
"Congrats, Raiden. You and Ashton have earned a point," Virizion commended.
The Meganium nuzzled him with a smile.
"Alright, Sven. You're up," Xerneas acknowledged. "First kiss; where was it?"
"In my apartment," Sven answered with a shrug.
Amethyst let out a sigh of relief as their bulb glowed green. She kissed the Sawsbuck's forehead.
"That's another match!" Xerneas commended. "Sven and Amy get a point."
"I was so worried…" Amethyst giggled quietly.
Kojo and Anthony were also easily able to answer, given that both of their relationships occurred on the current island. This earned each of their pairs an easy point.
Jet was next; he started scratching his chin. He knew that it was during their time on the original island, but he was trying to pinpoint the exact timeframe. "I guess before she got eliminated back on the first season."
The Ampharos smiled as the bulb on their table glowed green. "It was better late than never…" she commented as she leaned against him.
"That's another match," Virizion commented. She giggled, "Wow, you guys are doing much better than I expected. Typically guys don't really remember these kinds of things."
"Well, we're not exactly your typical guys," Kojo chuckled, his arm around Summer's back.
"Let's see if Hex can keep the streak going," Virizion thought aloud.
Morgan eyed her husband lovingly, knowing that he'd remember their first kiss. The Stoutland chuckled, "Well… it was when we landed in Solaceon Town. I hit the ground, and then she ended up landing right over me and we ended up kissing."
Morgan giggled as she rested against him, "It was an amazing accident~"
The bulb glowed green, signalling that he had matched her answer. The hosts were impressed. The only one who had answered incorrectly so far was Klavier, who was becoming visibly upset as more of the guys matched their significant others' answers.
000
"I feel like such a bad boyfriend…" Klavier sighed.
000
Dominic chuckled as Aspen kissed his cheek while blushing; he was able to match her answer easily, and even added a few more details.
"Titan?" Virizion spoke up, indicating that he was next.
"Aw crikey," he muttered to himself. The Galvantula wasn't that great when it came to remembering certain relationship details. "Uh… I know that it was during the first time we were out here. I'm… not too sure about the specifics…"
There was a buzzer sound was heard as the bulb on the table glowed red. Cramad let out a sigh of disappointment, "It was when I got eliminated…"
"Ah… Right," Titan sheepishly chuckled. "It's been a while…"
The Parasect rolled her eyes.
The Grassland Pokémon let out a sigh, "Well, Titan ruined the little streak you guys had going on…"
"Ey, it's no big deal," Titan defended. "There's nine more rounds…"
"If you say so," Xerneas shrugged. She looked up to the top row. "Shade…"
"First season. Awake-a-thon challenge," Shade answered. "It was pretty out of the blue, but it worked out."
"And we're back to matching! You guys earn a point," Xerneas said with a smile.
Shine kissed her husband on the cheek, prompting him to pull her closer.
"Alright, Chase you're next," Virizion stated.
The Flareon smacked his lips. "Well…" he looked at Ace. "I think it was in the forest… back on Parafrosyni Island… before that dumb pitfall challenge."
Ace's tail wagged erratically as he kissed the Flareon on the lips and nuzzled him.
"Yep, that's another match!" Virizion nodded. "That's a point for you two…"
"And let's end this round with Connor," Xerneas said. "You remember?"
"Volcano challenge. This season…" the Bouffalant answered with a smile. "All because of a slip of the tongue…"
Taylor giggled.
"And we end the round with a match," Xerneas concluded. "That's a point for you two…"
"Alright, so at the end of the first round, every couple has a point except for Klavier and Holly and Titan and Cramad," Mew summarized.
Virizion nodded, explaining, "Time for the second round. Ladies, and two gents, head outside with Zahku and let's see if you can match them as well as they've matched you so far."
-000-
The girls, Ace, and Taylor, all left the bleachers and stepped out of the stadium, leaving the rest of the guys there.
It was Xerneas' turn to read a question from one of the cards, standing behind the podium. "Alright guys, let's see how well you know your loved ones... What is your significant others' biggest pet peeve?"
"Oh, that's an interesting one," Virizion opined. "Let's start with Anthony this time…"
Anthony huffed, rolling his eyes. "Sure, why not. " He hummed, "She hates smacking. Like loud mouth chewing…"
Virizion nodded in understanding. "Ugh… Yeah, I hear that…"
"Kojo?" Xerneas followed, eyeing the Mienshao.
The Martial Arts Pokémon hummed as he thought about it. Summer was somewhat irritable, so there were quite a few things that would tick her off. "Well, I think her biggest pet peeve would be… Eating food off of her plate. She mentioned Ray doing that a lot when they were dating and said that if I did it, she'd smack me with her plate."
"Sounds… pretty darn petty," Sven commented.
Shade chimed in, "They're called pet peeves for a reason… But anyways, I'll go ahead and say that Shine hates when people are willfully ignorant."
"Yeah, I can see that," Chase commented. "Meanwhile, Ace doesn't like typists…"
Connor rose a brow, "I mean… I don't see how that's a pet peeve. Tons of people don't like typists."
"Well, typists still exist, people support them, and others defend their right to act on their hatred," Jet explained with a shrug. "So, being annoyed by them still makes a lot of sense."
"Fair enough," the Bouffalant replied. He let out a sigh as he replied, "Well, Taylor hates when people refuse to accept change."
"Hmm, I wonder why…" Shade sarcastically thought aloud, a hint of aggression in his tone. "It's not like a ton of people still haven't forgiven him for trying to kill my fucking daughter!"
Connor gave him a look. He couldn't really fault the Umbreon for feeling how he did, but refusing to acknowledge that Taylor's changed since then isn't doing anyone any favors, either. Before he could say anything, Hex chimed in with his own response.
"Morgan hates when people just assume things about others with nothing to back it up," Hex explained. "As she says, 'assuming makes an ass out of you, not me'."
"Decent spin on that old phrase, but alright, I guess…" Dominic commented. He cleared his throat, "Well, Aspen hates uneven prices. Like… she'll get annoyed that the price of something is 1.99, 2.98… things like that instead of just saying it's 2 Pokedollars, or 3 Pokedollars."
"#RichGirlProblems," Anthony deadpanned, rolling his eyes.
"Hey, most of our gals' pet peeves are small things," Dominic argued. "Just because she's got more money doesn't mean hers are different."
"Sure…" the Blastoise huffed.
"Well, I'm probably the odd one out. The missus doesn't really have a pet peeve. That I know about, anyway," Titan explained.
Chase shrugged, "Eh, not too surprised. She seems kinda like the boring type who doesn't care that much."
"Hey!" Titan shouted in defense. "Watch your tongue, squirt…"
"As soon as you watch that fake accent," Chase countered.
The Galvantula paused for a moment before glaring and turning back around, muttering to himself. A brief moment of silence followed, forcing Mew to speak up.
"Okay… uh… Four more to go," the pink feline stated, feeling a bit awkward with the silence. "Jet?"
The Floatzel let out a sigh, "Entitlement. She hates when people act like spoiled brats just because they buy stuff from certain companies or think that they're better than everyone else and deserve more…"
"Oh, those kinds of people annoy me, too," Klavier explained. "They're just unnecessarily rude and whiny."
"Oh… Well, since you mentioned 'whiny'," Raiden began. "Ash hates irresponsible parents. Letting their kids run around in public areas, bothering people and being disrespectful and overall disobedient, it gets under her skin. But, she's too much of a sweetheart to say anything to them."
"Ugh… She's not the only one who hates that," Hex spoke up. "I was at a gas station getting some snacks for Alexa, and some lady wasn't paying attention to her little kid. So, the kid just started throwing stuff everywhere, and then when the cashier called her out, the bitch had the nerve to say that it wasn't her problem and left without cleaning anything…"
Shade shook his head, "Some people…"
"Hey, that's nothing," Sven spoke up. "When Amy and I went to the movies a few months ago, a kid kept throwing popcorn and candy down at the people in the rows below him and his parents didn't do anything. And when someone told him to knock it off, the dad punched the guy in the face, and then they got escorted out…"
"Wow…" Anthony began. "You took Amethyst to a movie?"
Sven gave the Blastoise a look of displeasure, finding his joke humorless. "Anyways. Amy doesn't like when people watch porn or talk about sex in public"
"Who the hell is talking about porn out in the open these days?" Chase inquired.
"You'd be surprised by the kinds of conversations we hear when we're out," Sven responded.
"Then you've got some weird people living around you…" Kojo expressed. The Mienshao turned his attention to Klavier, the last guy left. "What about Holly?"
"Oh… She just doesn't like it when injured people refuse to be treated," Klavier explained. "Like they try to look tough when they know they're in great pain."
"Eh, that's just how some people are," Shade explained with a shrug. "I'm one of 'em…"
Anthony commented matter-of-factly, "Well, you're a demon, so…"
Shade glared daggers at him, the demon schtick getting old.
"Well, that's all for the pet peeve portion," Xerneas commented. "I like the open forum-type thing you guys were doing instead of us having to repeatedly call your name…"
"Then maybe that's how you should let it happen from now on…" Chase suggested sneakily. "Only call on us when we or our spouses have to answer."
The hosts all exchanged looks, as Xerneas said, "Let's get the gals, Ace, and Taylor back in here."
-000-
The ladies and two gentlemen returned with small smiles, having been talking with each other during the guys' questioning. Taylor wore a bit of a neutral expression, causing Connor to raise a brow.
The Bouffalant whispered, "You okay, babe?"
Taylor nodded without a word, though Connor could still tell that something was up.
"Alright," Xerneas began. "Let's get this started. We asked your boy toys… 'What is your significant others' biggest pet peeve?'"
"Now let's see if your boys know what ticks you off," Virizion started. "Let's start with you, Summer… What do you think Kojo said is your biggest pet peeve?"
Summer gave her beau a smirk. "Well, I've told him this before. Something that Ray used to do that pissed me off was when he ate off of my plate. So… I'm pretty sure he said that…"
"That is correct. That's another point for you two," Virizion announced.
Summer kissed Kojo on the cheek with a smile before being picked up and sat in his lap. She giggled as she leaned back against him.
Moving on, Virizion turned her attention to the next couple. "Alright, Marie… What did Anthony say was your biggest pet peeve?"
Marie gave him a look before letting out a soft sigh. "Well, there are a few things that get under my skin, but… I haven't told him all of them. The only things that he knows are that I hate loud chewing and blatant lying."
"Well, one or the other. Which one is it?" Mew inquired.
Anthony sweatdropped, now feeling a bit unsure. Folding her arms, Marie finally answered, "Given the dinner we just had, I'm guessing the chewing is fresh on his mind. So, loud chewing…"
The Blastoise let out a sigh of relief as Virizion announced, "That is correct!"
"Nice job," Marie commended, smirking at Anthony.
The Blastoise shrugged, "Like you said, the main one I've heard from you is loud chewing and smacking."
Moving on, the Grassland Pokémon started choosing randomly. "Alright, Morgan… What did Hex say was your pet peeve?"
Morgan giggled, "He knows that I hate when people make dumb assumptions."
"Yessir, I do," the Stoutland chuckled before the two shared a kiss.
"And that's a confirmation. Another point for you two," Virizion explained.
The round continued at the same pace, with Sally, Aspen, Shine, and Ace all matching their significant others' answers. Taylor was next, and was really thinking about what Connor would've said.
They didn't really talk about their pet peeves or anything, but they did talk about their likes and dislikes. How was he supposed to know which of his dislikes his beau chose? "I… Um… C-Can you come back to me?" he stammered, a blush of embarrassment forming on his face.
Xerneas shook her head. "Sorry Taylor. We need an answer," the Life Pokémon replied.
Connor raised a brow in surprise; he actually expected this to be an easy answer for Taylor considering how much they talked about how people view him.
The Milotic swallowed before letting out a soft sigh. He just decided to answer with the first thing on his mind. "Being in confined places…"
"That's your fear…" Shade clarified. "Pet peeves are small things that people do that annoy you, not things that petrify you…"
Taylor looked down in disappointment as Connor nuzzled him in an attempt to comfort him. Virizion spoke up. "Yeah, sorry Taylor. Connor said that you don't like it when people can't accept change…"
The Milotic's eyes widened as he suddenly felt like an idiot. He continued staring down at the table in front of them before letting out an unpleasant groan.
Virizion sighed softly, "No point there… Holly, you're up…"
The Swoobat hummed as she thought about it. "Well, the only thing I've told him is that I think it's kind of reckless when people who get injured refuse to get treated for it just to look tough and macho…"
Klavier sighed in relief; he was right.
"It's a match! That's one point for Klavier and Holly!" Virizion announced.
Holly hugged him, which he gladly accepted. They got a point this time, but it was still a bit bittersweet for Klavier since Holly's the one who earned them the point.
"Cramad, you're up," Virizion replied.
"Hmm…" the Parasect began. "I think my peeve is… underestimation. I don't really like when people judge others by appearance, type, or history and assume that they can't do anything."
Titan groaned. "I thought that you weren't bothered by anything. You're hardly complaining about anything at home!"
"Oh…" Cramad sweatdropped. "Sorry…"
"You seriously don't complain about anything at home?" Morgan inquired. "That… sounds odd."
"I just don't hold too many strong opinions on anything," the Parasect explained softly. "Well, aside from everything that's been happening in the game…"
Sensing that she was getting upset, Holly spoke up, "I mean, there's nothing wrong with that. It's just… a bit peculiar, that's all."
Dominic rose a brow, "I mean, not everyone is overly bitchy about small things. Nothing's weird about it, really. Maybe you guys are just used to complaining a lot."
"Well, we've got years of things to complain about, being a part of this shit show," Shade explained.
"And we are moving past that," Virizion stated, raising her tone. She wasn't interested in hearing more complaints from the players. "Now… Ashton and Amethyst. You two are left. What do you think your men said?"
"Well, Raiden and I have talked about this for a while," Ashton began. "Whenever we see kids acting inappropriately and their parents either don't do anything, or defend their actions, I tell him that we're never going to be that negligent."
"That's a match!" Virizion said with a nod. "And Amethyst?"
The Aurorus let out a sigh before beginning to slightly tremble. "S-Sex conversations… I just… I hate them… A lot..."
Nearly everyone looked at her empathetically, aside from Anthony who only rolled his eyes. Virizion cleared her throat. "Well, that's another match and the end of round two."
Anthony groaned in annoyance as he rested his head on his hand, "And you say that there's gonna be eight more rounds of this?"
"Sorry if it's gonna be too boring for you, but this is a classic setup," Xerneas retorted as she moved out of the way of the podium, allowing Virizion to take her place.
"Okay, guys head on-"
"Hold it!" Aura called out from the sidelines, getting everyone's attention. "Instead of making them leave every time and wasting a ton of time, why not just give them headphones whenever it's their turn to answer?"
The three hosts exchanged looks upon hearing the suggestion. It was actually a good idea, and it'd make everything a lot easier.
"Good call, Aura," Xerneas commended with a nod.
"Does this mean-"
"No," Mew deadpanned, knowing what she was about to ask.
The shiny Glaceon pouted in annoyance. Just sitting there with Phill, watching everything, was so boring. It was interesting hearing about some of their private issues, but it still just felt dull.
-000-
Per Aura's suggestion, Mew teleported multiple pairs of noise-cancelling headphones to their location. All of the guys, excluding Ace and Taylor, were now wearing them, as they would be answering for that round.
"Alright, now that your guys can't hear, let's get a bit… deeper," Virizion began, raising a few eyebrows and surprising Xerneas and Mew. "What would your partner say is your best feature?"
A few of the ladies blushed, while others were a bit confused by what she meant specifically. After missing out on a point due to a lack of true understanding, Taylor inquired, "Um… can you elaborate?"
"Basically, what part of you would they say they like the most?" Virizion inquired. "Your charm, your personality, your body… those types of things."
"Oh… Well, this will be interesting…." Marie commented, eyeing Anthony.
"So, who wants to start it off?" the Grassland Pokémon inquired.
There was a brief moment of silence before Marie decided to speak up. "Well, my body's bulky and nothing special, so I doubt that Anthony would say that he likes that part of me the best…"
"Uh… Marie, you're not entirely alone there…" Summer commented. "The only ones here with the typical 'desirable' bodies are Ace, Aspen, Shine, and Morgan… and no, that's not an insult."
Sally huffed, "I mean, I guess you're not wrong, but still!"
"The typical desired body is quadruped?" Ace inquired in confusion.
Shine shook her head, "No, hon. The typical desired body is thin and curvaceous, and the four of us happen to fit that and we're coincidentally all quadrupeds."
"Anyways," Marie voiced, getting everyone's attention again. "I'll say that he probably likes my attitude the best…" she said, folding her arms.
"Okay…" Virizion replied. "What about the rest of you?"
"Adam…" Summer began with a soft sigh. "I'm pretty sure he's a fan of my personality, so I'm gonna go with that…"
Morgan giggled, "Well, I wanna say my personality, too. Hex and I are a great match. And my body's nothing too special, anyway."
Aspen smiled, "Yeah, I don't think Hex is that concerned about body image. Dominic, on the other hand... I'm pretty sure he's gonna say my body…"
"Uh… isn't that a bit… shallow?" Holly inquired.
Aspen shook her head. "Nah, he used to be a model and we used to do a few shoots together. He loves more than just my body, but that just feels like what he'd say."
Sally's brow raised in interest, "He used to be a model?"
The Furfrou nodded back, "Yeah. We met up in a mall and we just started talking."
Sally hummed, "Well, Jet would probably say… my strength."
Amethyst immediately followed her, whispering, "Vulnerability."
Everyone looked at her in surprise, as it was extremely odd to hear that.
"Uh… right…" Ace replied, still a bit confused. "Well, knowing Chase, he'll probably say my body," he chuckled. "Arceus knows how much he likes… y'know…"
"Thank you for not going into detail…" Amethyst sighed.
"I feel like Shade would say that he likes my intellect the most," Shine commented. "He's not too outspoken about physical appearances, so I doubt he'd say my body."
"I think Klavier likes my personality the best. At least… I hope so," Holly commented.
"Same here," Ashton chimed in. "Raiden doesn't really care how people look. It's mainly their character for him."
"Hmm… Titan… I think he'd say… I have charm," Cramad commented. She couldn't really think of anything else.
"Okay… Is that everybody?" Xerneas inquired.
"No, Taylor didn't go," Ace spoke up, earning a look from the Milotic.
"Taylor?" Virizion said questioningly, urging him to speak up. "How about it?"
The Tender Pokémon had no idea what to say. He knew that Connor loved him, but… he didn't know what part of him he liked the best. After all he had done to him, he even started questioning their relationship, as much as he didn't want to. "Uh… I-I'm not sure. I… There's just… I don't know…"
He looked down dejectedly, which Connor took notice of. All of the other guys had just been sitting next to their partners in wait, resting, or simply looking around at the other guys. Connor had been waiting to see Taylor answer, despite not knowing the question, and grew a bit concerned upon seeing the sadness in his eyes.
"Come on Taylor, just give an answer. You're dating for a reason, aren't you? He has to like something about you," Morgan commented.
"Or is it just a strategy and you're using him?" Cramad chimed in.
Taylor narrowed his eyes at her in annoyance. "What happened to not having strong opinions?"
The Parasect didn't respond as Taylor let out a sigh. "I just… I'll just copy her and say charm. I have nothing…"
"Alright then, I guess. Let's get those headphones off of your partners and see what they have to say…" Virizion explained.
-000-
All of the guys had their headphones removed, allowing them to hear everything once again.
Virizion explained, "Alright boys, we asked, 'What would your partner say is your best feature?'"
"And for emphasis, we're talking about body, mind, heart, personality… Those types of aspects," Xerneas elaborated.
Almost all of the guys grew a bit worried, as there were numerous possibilities that time. Anthony commented, "You seriously left it that open-ended? I doubt if anyone will get a point this time…"
Ignoring him, Mew stated, "Let's start with Shade this time… What feature of Shine do you like the best?"
Shade chuckled, glancing at her. "Well, the sex certainly is incredible…" he teased, causing Shine run her tail under his chin with a smirk. "But… she's a really smart girl and I like that more… So, I'll say her brain or smarts or whatever…"
"We'll take it," Virizion replied. "She said intelligence, so you've pretty much got it right…"
Shade smiled as he shared a quick kiss with Shine. Following it, the Espeon huffed and looked down at the Blastoise on the bottom row. "What was that about doubting?"
"You two have been together since the first season…. Plus, you're a smarty-pants and he's a demon. Doesn't really count…" the Blastoise countered.
Shade scoffed, "Whatever you say, Leonardo…"
The Shellfish Pokémon huffed as the hosts interrupted and continued with the challenge.
"Connor?" Virizion replied, waiting for an answer.
"Hmm…" he began to think. He really loved being around Taylor after they decided to start dating. He became much more sensitive, emotional, and open, and he really liked that. Eventually, the Bouffalant answered, "Well, I like his sensitivity the best. He's been showing me this whole new side to him that nobody's really seen before, and… it lets me know that he's being more genuine."
"Aww…" a few of the other girls cooed.
Taylor's face flushed upon hearing that, but he was still a bit upset that he couldn't think of anything once again.
"Well, as cute as that is, it's not a match," Virizion revealed.
Taylor sighed, looking down in sadness. "I'm sorry…" he squeaked out. "I just… I couldn't think of anything…"
Connor sighed, "It's okay, Tay." The Bouffalant knew that his boyfriend still viewed himself poorly due to all of his prior actions, so it was understandable that he couldn't think of anything positive that quickly.
Going down the row, it was Chase's turn. After thinking about "suitable" answers, the Flareon decided to just be honest. "Okay, judge me all you want, but I love to tap this ass, so I'll say body…"
Ace giggled, "Told ya…"
Mew sweatdropped, "Yes you did… That's another match."
Chase was surprised, "Oh, you actually guessed that?" He chuckled, "Guess you know me more than I thought."
The Sylveon smiled at him, wrapping one of his ribbons around him. "Of course I do…" Ace replied as he panted a kiss on his lips.
Now that the top row was finished, and two out of three of them actually answered correctly, Anthony decided to go ahead and try for himself. "Well, there are a couple things that it could be, but what would she think that I'd go for…" he thought out loud.
Marie gave him a look, not only of irritation, but also as a hint. It seemed that he didn't pick up on it, as he answered, "Strength."
The Feraligatr sighed, holding her head. Given that reaction, Anthony knew that he had gotten it wrong. "You didn't say strength?"
"No…" the Big Jaw Pokémon deadpanned. "I thought you were going to say something about my attitude."
"Oh…" Anthony sweatdropped. Her attitude was honestly the last thing on his mind. He liked her attitude, sure, but was it her best feature? Not even close.
"Well, there's obviously no point for you two," Virizion concluded, earning a glare from Anthony. "Who's next?"
Kojo shrugged, "Eh, I guess I'll see if I match. I'll say that Summer's best feature, aside from her strength and body… Definitely her personality. She's just really fun to be around, for me at least…"
Summer giggled as Kojo pulled her closer to him.
"And that's another match," Xerneas confirmed, much to Kojo's surprise.
"Nice work, babe," he commended before they shared another kiss.
She gave him a sultry lick on the cheek before whispering, "So my body is one of my best features, huh?"
Kojo blushed immediately as she planted another kiss on his lips before sitting in his lap once again, having gotten off when he had the headphones on.
Seeing this display, Sally teased, "Sheesh, someone's being a horndog…"
Summer rolled her eyes, while a few others either ignored the situation or smirked to themselves. She didn't think that her actions were very explicit, so she responded with a huff, "Didn't know that kissing and sitting in my fiancé's lap made me a horndog. If that's the case, everyone here's a horndog, including you."
"Oh you know that's not what I meant," Sally argued, waving away her comment.
"I guess I'll go next," Hex commented. "Uh… Well, I think I like Morgan's spirit the best. She's usually happy at home, she's caring, strong, and just an overall amazing woman…" he said, turning to her.
Morgan smiled at him lovingly before nuzzling him, purring softly. "I love you~"
"I love you, too," he responded before they, like the couples before them, shared a kiss of their own.
The Grassland and Life Pokémon could only smile at the answers they were hearing. However, this wasn't a match, much to their disappointment. "Sweet answer, but…" Xerneas sighed. "...not a match. She said her personality."
The couple didn't mind, as Morgan nuzzled closer into his fur, continuing to purr in satisfaction.
Not wanting to be outdone by his girlfriend's brother, Dominic decided to go next. Clearing his throat, he stated, "Well, I'll say… Aspen is a beautiful girl with a lot going for her. And… I'll say her best feature is her charm…"
Aspen smiled at him, but she could tell by how he was talking that he was attempting to be more eloquent in order to impress Hex. While she didn't believe that he needed to do that, it was still interesting to hear. As she nuzzled him, the Houndoom glanced over at Hex, who huffed and rolled his eyes.
The Dark Pokémon let out a soft sigh as he nuzzled Aspen back.
"Well, as cute as this is, it's once again not another match," Virizion explained. "She was convinced that you were going to say her body…"
"Oh…" Dominic chuckled. "Well, I do like these sexy curves and tight-"
A low growl caused him to stop mid-sentence, as his eyes went to Hex, who was now glaring daggers at him.
The Houndoom chuckled sheepishly. "U-Uh… Y-You know…"
Aspen rolled her eyes as she looked to her brother. "Hex, come on… I know you're just acting like a big brother, but I'm a grown Pokémon."
Hex shrugged with a stern expression, "I know that. Won't keep me from being protective of you…"
"Oh come on, mate," Titan chimed in. "You just found out that you were siblings this season. I don't think it gives you the clear to automatically try and save or protect her at any given opportunity."
"No siblings, no opinion. Sorry, I don't make the rules," Chase chimed in.
"Okay, let's get back on track here," Mew spoke up. "You guys can talk about this stuff when the challenge is over. For now… Jet, you can go next."
The Floatzel let out a sigh, "Uh… Best feature…" He blew out a breath as he gazed at his wife. "I guess… strength."
Sally kissed him immediately, catching him off guard, and indicating that it was a match. "Another point for Jet and Sally," Virizion acknowledged.
Sven decided to go ahead and speak up next. "Well, out of everything, I think that Amy's courage is her best feature. It takes a lot to continue pressing forward in life after dealing with the pain that she's gone through."
Amethyst gave him a small smile, kissing his cheek. "Sorry… " she apologized. "I said vulnerability…"
"Oh… That's fine, Amy. Seriously, you guys don't have to apologize when you get things wrong. None of us are mind readers..."
Anthony pointed up to Shine, with Sven giving him a look. Rolling his eyes, he continued, "My point is… It's no big deal."
"Correction: It's not a big deal for you," Anthony spoke up. "You all are here for support, love, and to work with us in challenges. You guys aren't really in the game, so while it may not be a big deal for you, it still matters a lot to the rest of us since the winner gets immunity…"
"Do you take pride in being an abrasive asshole?" Sally scoffed. "Because it always seems like you're the main one condemning or complaining about others, or just being negative in general…"
"Uh… Sally, he just said what was true," Holly replied. "It's not really negative. It does mean a lot to us, they are here for love, support, and to work with us..."
"Yeah, but he doesn't always have to make the truth sound so… ugh…" Sally grunted.
"Uh…" Klavier began, getting everyone's attention once again. He felt a bit awkward following Sally's miniature rant to Anthony, but he decided to provide his answer to see if he could actually match Holly's answer this time. "I think Holly's best feature is her nature… She's just really kind and caring, sorta like a mom."
Holly smiled, kissing his cheek, causing him to blush.
"Hmm, well, you didn't say the exact word, but nature and personality pretty much go hand and hand, so we'll count that as a match…" Xerneas explained.
Klavier smiled in response. It wasn't exact, but he was still glad that he matched Holly.
Raiden spoke up, having a similar idea. Being that Holly stayed with them, he felt that they had similar characteristics. "Well, if I'm next, I'll say the same thing," the Venusaur chimed in. "Personality matters the most to me, and Ash's is the best to me."
Ashton nuzzled him.
"Another match," Xerneas replied.
Virizion giggled, "Wow, I am pleasantly surprised that there haven't been any major arguments or anger among any of you couples."
Morgan spoke up, "Well, considering that most of us have been with each other for years and years, it's not too hard to predict or believe that we know our partners a lot… We may forget or miss some things, but the love is still there and in full force…"
The two hostesses exchanged smiles with each other before sharing a quick kiss of their own.
Mew cleared his throat after they did this, as they still had one more player to go this round. "Titan… You're the last one. What's your answer?"
The Galvantula thought for a moment. "Well.. the missus knows how to take instruction well, she's got brains… she has spunk…"
"The first one is already giving me a few red flags," Sally whispered.
"I'll just go with her sensibility," Titan explained.
Virizion let out a sigh as she wore a look of discontent. "And… you're three for three. No points whatsoever," she commented.
"I said my charm…" Cramad replied with a sigh.
"Oh… Well you've got that, too," Titan replied.
Xerneas sighed upon hearing that as she looked up at the sky and saw that the hue was slowly shifting from blue to purple and orange. She walked next to Virizion before gesturing for Mew to come over in a huddle. "Uh… I don't think we want to keep this going until it's actually night time. So, instead of ten rounds, maybe we just do two more and declare a winner that way."
"That can work," Mew replied. "And we go by elimination depending on how many questions they've gotten wrong."
"And if there's a tie at the end, I have an idea," Virizion added. "So, I think that'll be fine."
Xerneas nodded before they broke the huddle. Mew clasped his hands together, "Okay, so change of plans. Instead of going ten rounds, you guys will only be going five, meaning that there are only two more rounds."
"And since there are couples with three points, that means that Titan, you have no chance at winning immunity," Virizion explained. "So, you and Cramad can join Phill and Aura on the sidelines."
The Galvantula groaned in annoyance. "Fuck sake…"
The bug couple left the bleachers and headed over to the Raticate and shiny Glaceon, who were still watching and listening.
"Wait, so if we miss three questions, we're out?" Taylor inquired with a worried expression, having bombed the last two questions.
Xerneas answered, "Yes, that means that you don't have a chance, so you don't need to continue. "There's only two rounds left, so you all will need to dig deep and really think about what your partner would say."
"Now, ladies, don the headphones. It's time for the guys to answer," Mew instructed.
-000-
All of the girls, along with Ace and Taylor, put on the headphones and began waiting.
"Alright, this question should be relatively simple," Xerneas said. "What is your partner's favorite food?"
The guys all took a moment to think, as this wasn't something that they spoke about too often with their partners. Plus, people's favorite foods can change all the time, so what they answer could've been their favorite food before, but currently wasn't.
After deliberating for a good while, it was time to actually give their responses. "Alright, Sven you can go first," Mew instructed.
The Sawsbuck paused for a moment before answering, "Hmm… For some reason she really likes funnel cakes… so I'm gonna say that."
"Funnel cakes?" Kojo replied. "Does she like going to county fairs or something?"
The Sawsbuck shrugged, "I don't know; we don't go out a lot. I just know that she loves them. I'm not sure if they're her favorite, but that's what she likes the most from my experience."
"Well, Sally has this obsession with potatoes," Jet spoke up. "She eats at least one potato-based food a day back at home."
"The hell?" Anthony replied. "What kind of…"
"I've asked her about it before, but she said that she just likes them," Jet replied with a shrug. "So, it's whatever."
Nonchalantly, Shade spoke up, "Shine likes dumplings. Not much else to say..."
"Ace likes them, too," Chase replied. "But, he likes deviled eggs more, I think. He scarfed a ton of them down at one of those fancy parties my dads did."
"Fancy parties?" Hex inquired. "Didn't think that Ricky and Levi liked those things…"
"They're weird, but I like them sometimes because of the food," the Flareon explained. "Otherwise, they're pretty damn boring. Autumn's pappy knows..."
Shade sweatdropped. "They can be, sometimes. I won't lie, but they're still nice."
Connor hummed in thought, as the topic of favorite foods hadn't come up between him and Taylor. However, he recalled hearing Taylor saying that he liked sweets, so he decided to say a random sweet.
"I don't really know what he likes in specific, but I know that he likes sweets. So… I'll say Chocolate Poké Puffs," the Bouffalant answered.
Hex rose a brow, "Uh… If you don't know… Why would you be so specific?"
Kojo concurred, "Yeah, you'd be better off just saying Poké Puffs. That way it's not too limiting."
"Oh, well… uh… Can I take out the 'chocolate' part?" Connor inquired.
Shaking his head, Mew explained, "No, sorry. You gave your answer already. You can't change it based on aid from others."
Connor sighed in disappointment. This time, it was likely going to be his fault that he and Taylor didn't get a point.
"Kojo?" Virizion called, signalling for him to go next.
The Mienshao chuckled, "When we talked about our childhoods, Summer mentioned how her mom used to make this Tamato Berry Casserole that she absolutely loved and how she still loves it to this day. So, I'm gonna say that casserole."
Anthony stifled a laugh, "She has that childhood thing, meanwhile I'm sure that Marie just likes any type of steak."
Dominic nodded, "Yep… I can definitely see that. She's the most carnivorous one here, appearance wise. Aspen likes malasadas, surprisingly enough."
"Hey, those things are good. When I went to Alola for a shoot, that's one of the main things I had to eat," Kojo explained. "It was one of the only things I could keep eating over and over again… before I got sick…."
"Eh, I'm not that into those kinds of things," the Houndoom replied. "Fried desserts are just… no."
Hex huffed, "Typical model behavior… 'Fried food bad'."
Dominic gave him a look, "FYI, fried foods mess up my stomach. It has nothing to do with… Wait, how the hell did you even know that I'm a model?"
Hex gave him a look, "How do you think?"
Dominic didn't respond, as apparently the answer was obvious. Just then, Shade spoke up. "Uh… Hex, you realize that you're treating him the same way Dew treated you, right?"
The Stoutland rolled his eyes. He knew how he was acting, and he knew that Aspen could take care of herself, but he was still going to be protective. Plus, he didn't entirely know him. "Yeah, I know… but you don't have a younger sister, so I doubt you'll understand it."
"I have a daughter…" the Moonlight Pokemon deadpanned. "I understand it fine…"
"Yeah… considering that you've threatened to kill Rocky if he did anything to hurt Autumn…" Chase spoke up. "I'd say that you understand it a bit too well."
"Hey! Guys… Again, can we get back on topic?" Mew inquired. "Now, who hasn't given their answer?"
"I haven't," Hex responded. "Morgan's favorite food changes every other week or month. Right now, it's this weird… Octillery Ink Pasta."
A few of the guys grew looks of confusion and disbelief; some of them hadn't heard of the food, and by the sound of it… they were glad that they hadn't before today.
"What the hell is that?" Chase inquired.
"It's pasta boiled in Octillery ink and other seasonings and coated with a sweet cream sauce," Hex explained. "It's weird, but… not terrible."
"On that note, I think I'm just going to be simple and say that Holly likes berries," Klavier reasoned. "That's mostly what we eat around here."
"And in the same vein, Ashton likes my caramelized fruit," Raiden chimed in.
Chase rose a brow, "Uh… Is that another name for your…"
Understanding how some might take it due to him being a Grass-type, he quickly explained, "No, no. She literally likes when I do caramelized fruit. I dunno if it's still her favorite, but… yeah."
"Alright, that's it. Let's see what the gals and guys say," Xerneas replied.
-000-
Removing the headphones, it was now the ladies' and two gentlemen's turn to try and match their partners.
"Well, you guys had more to say this time around, huh?" Marie commented, having actually been there and observing how often guys spoke up.
Aspen wore a look of worry and slight annoyance; while she didn't hear what either of them said, Hex's body language, and Dominic's reaction told her enough. "Hex, can you leave Dom alone? He's not going to treat me any different just because he knows that I have a brother now."
"Wait, you could hear me?" Hex retorted, raising a brow.
"No, but I have eyes, and I don't like how you were making Dominic react," the Furfrou defended. "We were fine without you and we're gonna be fine with you, okay?"
Hex didn't really react, holding his same stern expression, "Again, that won't stop me from being protective."
Morgan let out a sigh, "Aspen, we can all talk later. Let's just get this challenge done, alright?"
Aspen closed her mouth and nodded. She really didn't get why Hex was being so jerkish toward Dominic when this was literally the first day that they were meeting, especially after how she spoke of him so highly in their previous discussions. However, she couldn't worry about that now, she needed to get immunity.
"Alright," Virizion began, ignoring the slight tension. "We asked the guys 'What is your partner's favorite food?'"
"Deviled eggs," Ace stated immediately, his tail beginning to wag in delight. "I love them, I love them so much."
"What'd I tell ya?" Chase chuckled, kissing the Sylveon's cheek.
"And that's another point for Ace and Chase," Xerneas giggled. She went to the next player, "Taylor?"
"Well… I'm partial to crepes, but I think I like...biscuits and gravy the most," the Milotic explained.
Connor knew that he already had it wrong, but still inquired, "Wait, is that breakfast only or-"
Taylor shook his head. "No, I really like different biscuits and different types of gravy," he explained.
"But… haven't you lived underwater for most of your life? How does that work?" Holly inquired.
"Hey, I haven't lived my entire life underwater. They became my favorite when I decided to get out of the water," he expounded.
"Well, whether it makes sense or not, it is not a match. So, sorry you two, you're out," Virizion informed. "Go ahead and join Phill, Aura, Titan, and Cramad…"
Taylor sighed as he and Connor got out of the bleachers, having had to jump and float down from the top row, where they were.
As they moved to the sidelines, Shine was called by Xerneas, getting her attention again. "Oh," the Espeon replied. "Well, I tend to enjoy dumplings more than usual, since there are so many different types and classifications."
"And that's another match…" Virizion replied. "Another point for Shine and Shade."
"Because of course," Anthony huffed, rolling his eyes. He turned to Marie, "Why don't you go next?"
The Feraligatr rolled her eyes before speaking up, "Well, I'm a big meat lover, slick comments aside, so I have to say… pork chops are my favorite."
"See, I- Wait, what?!" Anthony bellowed. "You destroyed the steak at our lunch!"
Marie defended, "That doesn't mean that it's my favorite. Like I said, I'm a meat lover. I just like pork chops better…"
"Damn it," the Blastoise swore.
"Summer, you're up," Xerneas informed. "Or whoever wants to go next."
Once again back in Kojo's lap, the Typhlosion giggled, "My favorite food? Easy… My mom's Tamato Berry Casserole."
Kojo smiled, knowing his answer was correct. "I knew it," he teased.
Summer giggled in response.
"Another match for Kojo and Summer," Virizion commented. "Very, very impressive showing from you two, considering you guys started dating and got engaged in this season alone."
Summer let out a breath, "I guess Adam and I just care about each other a lot and like to know more…"
Kojo kissed her neck, causing her to purr softly.
"And because you guys started dating and moving at a fast pace, some of that info that you've shared is still on your mind, while some of us have been married or dating for years, so some things might get a bit lost…" Sally replied.
The couple gave her a look before deciding to ignore her. The Ampharos then followed her statement with her own answer, "My favorite food is potatoes… There's so much you can do with them and they taste so good."
Marie scoffed, "Wow, great segue…"
"Well, that's another match," Xerneas replied. "Who's up next?"
Morgan decided to answer next. The Persian hummed, "Well, Hex knows that my favorite food changes a lot. Right now my favorite food is Octillery Ink Pasta. It sounds weird, as I'm pretty sure most of you already feel, but you can't knock it until you try it…"
"And my favorite food is malasadas," Aspen revealed, wagging her tail. "They're so puffy and sugary…"
Dominic let out a sigh of relief. "Thank Arceus…" he whispered. He honestly thought that she was going to throw him for a loop and saw a different food.
"Two more matches," Xerneas acknowledged with a smile. "This is going very well."
"Amethyst, Holly, Ashton… What do you say?" Mew inquired.
"Sheesh, you three are always the last ones to say something. Speak up!" Chase groused, earning him a smack from one of Ace's ribbons.
"Well, I tend to enjoy Berry Salads," Holly commented. "But… my favorite food would probably be Raiden's Candied Fruit."
"Same here," Ashton concurred. "It's so tasty!"
"Uh… Does what I said count?" Klavier inquired, unsure if his answer counted despite Holly saying 'fruit'.
"Yes," Virizion replied. "Berries and fruit go hand-in-hand, so we'll count that."
The Gliscor let out a sigh of relief.
Amethyst, being the final player, "My favorite food is… cold pizza, I guess. I don't really think I have a favorite…"
Sven rose a brow. "But I thought you loved funnel cakes. You always talked about how much you like the powdered sugar on top and how it's like a tasty dessert pancake…"
"Y-Yeah, but we don't really make or eat them all that often," she explained. "We mostly have frozen pizzas."
Sven sweatdropped, whispering, "Dammit…"
"And no point for Sven and Amy…" Virizion informed.
"Now, before we move onto the final round, let's see where everyone stands, first," Xerneas suggested. She turned to Mew.
The New Species Pokémon began relating the challenge results thus far. "Okay, so far, five couples have gotten perfect scores: Kojo and Summer, Raiden and Ashton, Jet and Sally, Shade and Shine, and Chase and Ace. Three couples have only missed one question: Aspen and Dominic, Hex and Morgan, and Klavier and Holly."
The couples with perfect scores all either got closer to each other, or shared deep kisses. The couples that only missed one were pretty relieved, Klavier especially. The Gliscor wore a smile, glad that he hadn't done as poorly as he thought he would have.
Mew continued, "Anthony and Marie, and Sven and Amethyst… you guys have missed half of the questions thus far. So, you don't really have a chance to win immunity. So, you're gonna have to join the others on the sidelines."
Anthony scoffed, "Whatever…"
The two couples vacated the bleachers and started heading over to the others. Anthony grumbled to himself as he sat down, "Fucking bullshit…"
"Well, this'll be interesting…" Phill commented with a yawn. "Any bets?"
"No bets, but considering how nonchalant the two of them seem to be, I'm gonna guess that Shine's gonna end up getting the immunity," Connor predicted.
"Probably so, but I really hope she doesn't," Anthony muttered to himself.
-000-
The last eight couples sat and listened as Mew explained what would happen in this last round.
"Alright, this last round is going to be important. If one of the couples with perfect scores gets a point, the three couples that didn't match on one of the previous questions will automatically be out," he explained.
Xerneas chimed in, "And, if there is a tie, we will introduce a quick battle system in which the players who are not in the game will battle to try to earn immunity for their partner."
"Now, for this last round," Virizion spoke up. "The guys will have the headphones on. So, go ahead and get those on, and we'll see if we can declare a winner."
Once all of the guys had on the headphones, a smile formed on Virizion's face. "Okay ladies and Ace, last question: Before you guys got together, what did you think of your beau?"
The girls, and Ace, glanced at their boyfriends and husbands with slightly dilated pupils. Some of them were unsure of what to say, as it was so long ago, while others smiled a bit, as their response was going to be pretty simple.
"Um… Do you mean like… our first time meeting and the time between?" Summer inquired.
"Yes, all of the time between your first meeting, and when you decided to start dating, counts," Xerneas explained.
"Oh…" Summer groaned, rubbing the back of her head.
"I guess I'll go first," Shine sighed. "Honestly, I didn't think much of Shine aside from thinking that he was cute. They put him in charge of helping me overcome my shyness, and then nothing much happened. I just stuck close to him and the guys until he asked me out during the Awake-a-thon challenge…"
"So, you didn't think much of him at all? You just thought that he was cute, didn't bother with anything else, and then accepted when he asked you out?" Sally inquired.
"Hey, we were just teens, and I was still unsure. I just decided to go along with it and… I'm glad that I did," she said, gazing lovingly at Shade.
"Well, Kojo and I never really spoke often when we first met, so I had no real opinion on him, honestly," Summer explained. She let out a sigh as she gazed back at her lover, who sat with a bored look on his face, his headphones covering his ears. "And… I wish that I had gotten to know him sooner. Then maybe he wouldn't have had to deal with his shitty ex…"
"You never know," Morgan commented. "He may not have even become an actor if you guys got together before."
"I just thought Jet was this brooding loner who needed a hug," Sally explained. "And… it turns out that I was kinda right. Luckily, I've been able to soften him up a bit."
"You sure about that?" Shine inquired. "Because he feels the same, to me."
"Hey, you don't get to talk when your husband has an entire murderous split personality or something," the Ampharos defended.
Shine rolled her eyes.
"I just thought that Chase was hot," Ace shrugged, deciding to speak up. "That's pretty much all there was to it. He was a cutie and a flirt."
"I… honestly just saw Klavier as a cute, shy, and nervous guy," Holly explained. "And we're still trying to work on his confidence and outspokenness."
"I liked Raiden well enough when we first met. I felt that he was a nice, strong, and gentle guy," Ashton explained, a small smile forming on her face. "Nate and Aylesha were trying to get us together for a while before we decided to just go for it…"
"I just saw Dom as this stereotypical uptight model. I thought that he didn't care about others, was extremely picky and whiny, and was just a bore to talk to," Aspen explained. "But… I actually spoke to him and got to know him and… needless to say, he proved me wrong."
"And like a few of you, when it came to Hex, I didn't really think much of him. I was mainly with Dew during the beginning of the third season. But then we ended up on top of each other when we fell out of the plane and… we kissed and… that's when things started to heat up."
"Wow, so some of you girls just went straight into it without even knowing or caring much about your partners…" Xerneas commented. "That's… interesting."
"Well, sometimes it takes a while," Holly replied. "And forming relationships and learning more as you go seems to be an alright thing to do."
Xerneas nodded, "I'm not denying its validity, but it's still interesting to know."
"Well, now let's see if the guys can match it…" Mew commented. "Though… I'm not so sure how it'll work."
"We'll see," Virizion giggled.
-000-
All of the guys had their headphones removed and got settled with their wives and girlfriends in their seats.
"Alright," Virizion began. "Last round. Fellas, we asked your partners: Before you guys got together, what did you think of your beau?"
"Wait, what?" Klavier queried in confusion. "So, like… their thoughts on us before we started going out and talked?
"Yep, how do you think your partners saw you before you guys began going out?" Xerneas followed.
"Well, considering that this last round was shorter than usual, I'm guessing that there wasn't much to say about most of us," Shade chortled.
A few of the girls gained sheepish and embarrassed expressions, confirming his statement in a non-verbal fashion.
The Umbreon let out a sigh. "Well, looking back on how we were introduced to each other and the time it took for me to finally ask her out… I'm gonna say that she thought that I wasn't really anyone special. They put me in charge of her for a while, but nothing much came of it. I just found her really attractive and just… dumbly professed my love for her."
Shine giggled, nuzzing him, "And I'm glad that you did."
"And with that, Shine and Shade matched once again," Virizion said. "So, Klavier and Holly, Aspen and Dominic, and Hex and Morgan, sorry, but you guys are out."
"Now, since this is the last round, you guys don't have to go anywhere, and you don't have to answer," the Life Pokémon explained. "Now… Kojo, you're next."
"Uh…" the weasel droned before blowing out a breath. "Well, we barely interacted prior to this season, so… I'm guessing that she didn't think much about me at all. Maybe she thought that I was cute or whatever when I evolved, but otherwise, she didn't really care."
The three hosts exchanged looks, with Virizion hissing in uncertainty. "You almost had it, Kojo. If you hadn't said that she may have thought that you were cute after evolving…"
"Sorry, you're out…" Mew added.
Kojo groaned, throwing his head back. "Goddamnit…" he whispered.
Summer smiled, "It's okay, sweetie. And if it's any consolation… I did think you were cute when you evolved. But, you weren't ever on my radar."
Kojo nodded, "Understandable."
"Well, we're down to the final four couples. So far, Shine is in the prime spot to earn immunity, but let's see if there will be a tie," Mew explained. "Jet?"
The Floatzel let out a sigh, "Uh… I'm pretty sure she saw me like everyone else saw me… Just some edgy loner or whatever."
"And that is a match," Virizion announced. "So, now we have a two-way tie. Chase... Raiden… It's up to you guys, now."
"Well, I'm sure that Ace saw me as a sexy stud," Chase chuckled. "I was pretty straightforward and flirty with him when we first met on the plane."
"Eh… I suppose we'll take it?" Xerneas responded with a tone of uncertainty. "He said that you were cute and flirty. He mentioned being flirty, but… 'sexy stud'?"
"Well, we told Kojo he was wrong for mentioning how Summer may have thought he was cute, despite saying that she may have also just thought nothing of him," Virizion chimed in. "So, he may have admitted to being flirty, but… Ace didn't call him a 'sexy stud'."
"You… have a point, there," Mew commented. "So, sorry Ace and Chase, you're out."
Ace let out a sigh, lowering his ears, while Chase rolled his eyes. "Whatever," the Flareon commented. "At least I don't have to risk getting my ear torn off by demon daddy over there…"
Shade rolled his eyes at the comment. Sure, he was a savage when it came to fighting, but he wouldn't have been too bad. Raiden immediately paled, as did Jet. They had forgotten about the fact that the tied players would have to battle it out and earn it for their partners.
"Alright, Raiden, what about you?" Virizion inquired.
"U-Uh…" the Venusaur stammered, fearful of having to possibly battle Shade. "I-I'm sorry Ash, but… I don't think I'm gonna be able to fight Shade and win without being seriously injured…"
Hearing the fear in his voice, Ashton let out a sigh. She understood his dilemma, as she wouldn't want to battle Shade, either. Plus, there was a high chance that she wouldn't even need immunity.
With this in mind, she replied. "It's fine, hon."
"So… Are you gonna forfeit?" Mew inquired.
"Okay, this is just rigged," Sally called out before Raiden could respond. "You guys knew that people would be afraid to battle Shade, and that he and Shine have one of the closest relationships!"
"If you guys would stop fucking calling and treating me like I'm some overpowered demon Umbreon, then maybe you wouldn't be fucking scared!" Shade snarled with a glare.
A shiver chilled down Sally's spine. She growled back, "Screw off!"
"Okay, look," Jet spoke up, looking at Sally. "We've seen Shade rip off a fucking Machamp's arm. I'm sorry, but I am not interested in fighting him."
Sally sighed. Like Ashton, she understood, but it was very frustrating. "Fine," she replied. "Just give Shine the damn immunity."
"Um… Alright then. Congrats, Shine. You win immunity!"
The Espeon smiled as she kissed him. Sally huffed, rolling her eyes.
000
"That last round was fucking bullshit…" Sally commented. "They knew that Shade would be able to kick anyone's ass. They made it that way on purpose!"
"This was totally rigged for her…"
000
Shine shook her head. "Sally really needs to get over herself. We didn't do anything wrong. We had just as many chances to fail as everyone else. Just because the tiebreaker was going to be a stereotypical 'fight for your partner' scenario doesn't mean that it was rigged!"
"If he had said one thing incorrectly, we would've been out!"
000
Once the challenge was over and everyone began heading back to the campgrounds, Morgan held back her husband and sister-in-law, as well as Dominic.
The Persian let out a sigh, "Okay… Since the challenge is over. Now we can talk…"
The Stoutland huffed to himself as Aspen took a seat beside Morgan, leaving the guys sitting next to each other.
"Hex, baby… I know that you're just trying to be protective, but… you guys just learned that you were siblings. You can't just try to insert yourself into her life and treat Dominic poorly just because he's dating her."
Aspen nodded, "I appreciate the concern, I really do, but I've dated him longer than I've known that you were my brother. I don't need you to grill my boyfriend just because you want to fill the typical brother role…"
"Again, I get it…" Hex sighed. "But just like I worry about Morgan, Alexa, and all of our other sisters, you are no different. This may be new for us, but I'm just protective."
"Okay, I can understand that, but just… lighten up a bit," Aspen said, nuzzling him. "Dominic is a great guy and I really trust him. I'd like it if you could do the same…"
The Stoutland gazed at the Houndoom before letting out a sigh. "Fine…"
Aspen smiled and kissed his cheek before nuzzling him. "Thank you…"
"But, just let it be known…" Hex stated before giving the Dark Pokémon a serious glare. "If you ever hurt her in any way… I will end you. Do you understand?"
Dominic gulped in fear. "U-Understood."
"Alright, good…" Hex commented as Morgan approached and started nuzzling him as well.
"It'll be alright, Dom," Morgan commented.
Dominic chuckled sheepishly. "Y-Yeah… I hope so…"
000
"Ugh… I really want to just get rid of Shine, but her 'intimidating' husband just had to be the first to answer and screw it all up," Sally groused, folding her arms.
"Sally, it's been established for the past decade or so that Shade is pretty damn deadly," Phill replied. "Now, all of us and our families are never going to die thanks to the show, but going up against him is still pretty dangerous."
"Plus, you came to us wanting to take out Morgan, and she didn't win immunity," Anthony replied. "So, while I want the bitch gone, too, we can't do anything about it…"
"You guys really need to stop taking this stuff to heart," Marie commented.
Sven spoke up, "I'm inclined to agree. I mean, are you seriously upset that she has an advantage as a Psychic-type? You all have advantages in certain aspects of the game."
"Whatever," Sally replied, rolling her eyes. "As long as we can get rid of one of the threats this time…"
"We just need to try to get Titan on the same page…" Kojo reminded them. "Or else we're screwed."
A new idea formed in Raiden's head as he and Ashton sat out of the doorway of the cabin. "Well, wouldn't it be a smarter idea for you all to go for someone else?" Raiden inquired.
"What?" Sally scoffed. "Morgan is a huge threat! She's gone on a ton of rewards already and she has the capabilities to win more!"
"Yeah… but if you guys are gonna try to get Titan to vote for her, too. That kinda takes away a vote from the other alliance doesn't it?" the Venusaur reasoned. "So, if he votes for Morgan, the others vote for whoever they're gonna vote for, and all eight of you vote together, that'll give you guys the upper hand again…"
Everyone looked at him in surprise. That was actually a pretty sound strategy, if they managed to pull it off.
"Ashton, you'd better give that man some good loving when this is over," Phill commented.
The Meganium immediately blushed, as did Raiden.
000
"They should have our partners come back to the island more often, because this is way better than just dealing with the shit on our own," Anthony commented.
000
The members of the other alliance all met back near the jail, with Morgan, Hex, Aspen, and Dominic appearing a bit later. Titan and Cramad were noticeably absent, but it didn't seem to bother anyone.
Connor let out a sigh, "Okay you guys, I've been doing some thinking…"
"Please tell me that we're gonna go for Sally…" Aura pleaded. "She was so damn annoying in that challenge."
"Aura… again… You need to get over that," Ace retorted. "Now, what is it, Connor?"
"Well, after today's challenges, I sincerely doubt that Anthony will realistically pose any type of threat going forward…" Connor explained. "He's generally all talk. So, I think it'd actually be a much better idea to take out Kojo."
"That actually makes sense," Shine commented. "Unlike Anthony, Kojo actually lasted longer in the immunity challenge. And the only reason why Anthony won the reward challenge was because it was around water."
"And Taylor could easily give Anthony a run for his money in the water…" Morgan reasoned. "Getting rid of Kojo does sound like the better option, now that you say it…"
"Are we sure that's what we want?" Ace inquired. "I honestly feel like getting rid of Anthony will have a bigger impact. Anthony will just keep making plans, even if we eliminate Kojo."
"Do you not think Kojo will be thinking, too?" Shade inquired. "Honestly, I feel like you all could eliminate either one of them and be just fine."
"We will be," Connor replied. "I just feel like Kojo's the better option now."
"But… What about Titan?" Aspen inquired. "He is the wild card, here. And he's not even here. He could be talking to the other alliance for all we know."
"That's… another thing," Taylor spoke up, turning to Connor. "We may have to take out Titan soon. If we don't, he'll mess up everything…"
"It'll take two ceremonies to get rid of him," Connor explained. "So, it may be better to wait until after this vote."
"Right…" Shine replied with a nod. "So we just need to find and make sure that Titan's on the same page…"
000
"Okay, y'know what? I feel like Connor and Taylor need to be brought down a peg," Aura growled. "I'll go along with their dumb idea this time, but there's going to be some changes after this next vote…"
000
Pretty soon, it was time for the elimination ceremony. All of the players' partners watched from the sidelines, waiting to see who would be the next player to go.
Mew held the bag of marshmallows as he, Virizion, and Xerneas approached the group. They all wore their same stern, serious expressions.
"Alright," Virizion began. "Today has been a day full of love, but also a day full of stress, I'm sure. But, it's come to an end, and it's time to see who's gonna be joining these guys off of the island."
"You all know the drill, so we're not gonna waste any time," Xerneas explained. "Shine, you've already earned immunity, so you get the first marshmallow."
Mew tossed the Sun Pokémon the marshmallow, which she caught via telekinesis.
"The next players that are safe…" Xerneas continued. "...Phill, Klavier, Holly, and Ashton…"
Mew tossed each of them a marshmallow, which they each caught with a smile. Raiden smiled once Ashton received her marshmallow.
Virizion momentarily took over, continuing to list the players that were safe. "Aura, Aspen, Titan, Connor, and Ace, you guys are safe as well."
Mew tossed the confectionaries at the five of them, with only Ace truly catching his thanks to his ribbons.
Xerneas continued, "Anthony, Sally, and Amethyst, you three are safe as well…"
After Mew tossed the three of them their marshmallows, Virizion spoke up once again for a few final comments. "That leaves Taylor, Morgan, and Kojo…"
Connor's eyes widened a bit, while Hex and Summer both wore expressions of worry and anger. The bottom three, themselves, were all very surprised and nervous.
"The next player safe is… Morgan…" Xerneas revealed.
The Persian let out a sigh of relief as he caught the marshmallow that Mew tossed to her.
Kojo and Taylor exchanged looks. The Mienshao was sincerely hoping that Titan didn't screw him over. The same feeling was there for Taylor, who was trembling. What had the Galvantula done?
"The player going home is…
…
…
…
…
…
…
… Taylor."
Connor gaped in shock, as did the other members of his alliance. Anthony smirked, winking over at Marie, with the Feraligatr winking back at him. Summer let out a soft sigh of relief as Kojo received his marshmallow. Raiden's idea was a success.
"W-Who…" Taylor began, just as surprised by the result.
"Titan!" Aspen growled. "What did you do?!"
"Hey, Shiela, I ain't do anything," Titan defended. "I didn't for 'im."
Anthony chuckled, "Exactly. Everything worked out perfectly… Gotta thank Raiden for the idea, though."
The members of the other alliance all stared at the Venusaur in surprise, who immediately felt awkward and moved behind Shade, who sweatdropped.
Taylor looked down in disappointment, his eyes beginning to well up in tears. Connor approached the sobbing Milotic and nuzzled him. "It'll be alright, babe… I'll try my best to win this for us, alright?"
Taylor coiled around him, hugging him close, as Titan pieced together what happened.
-000-
On the way to the beach for the elimination ceremony, Shine and Shade had filled Titan in on the plan to target Kojo rather than Anthony due to his higher threat level. The Galvantula nodded along, partially rolling his eyes. As long as it wasn't him, he didn't care who went.
However, just before they made it to the beach, Anthony and Marie pulled Titan and Cramad aside to relay the designated information to him, regarding Morgan.
"Wait, so Morgan was planning to target me and make me waste my statue?!" Titan inquired.
Anthony nodded, "Yep. She felt that you were too powerful and needed to lose that power."
"That's why she was trying to make you use your statue for her and her alliance," Cramad reasoned. "I knew something was wrong."
"Yeah, we're all voting for her tonight, but we need your vote if we're gonna send her home," Anthony explained.
"Oh-ho, she's definitely getting out of here," Titan concurred.
-000-
"Son of a… You lied to me?!" Titan exclaimed.
"About the vote, yes," Anthony confessed with a nod. "About Morgan trying to target you and make you waste your statue? No way. That's all true…"
Morgan gasped softly before turning to Titan, who glared at her. "Titan, look-"
"Save it…" Titan cut her off. "Your time is gonna be up soon."
Hex growled upon hearing that. He didn't take too kindly to the Galvantula's tone and threat.
"Alright, uh… sorry to end the arguments, but it's about time for your loved ones to go," Xerneas explained. "So, come and get in your final hugs and kisses…"
The other players, aside from the six that were either single or still had a loved one in the game, for the moment, all went to get their final kisses and hugs, for the time being. Once they were all done, the ten loved ones were slowly teleported off of the island.
"Taylor… It's time for you to go," Mew stated, as the Milotic was still holding onto Connor.
Hearing that, Taylor sniffled before slowly releasing him. The couple started walking toward the dock, leaving the other fourteen players there, some of them beginning to argue again and others simply sitting there, listening.
000
"I love you…." Taylor professed, resting his head against Connor's as tears streamed down his face. They locked lips once again. "You've done so much for me… Thank you…"
"I love you, too, Tay," Connor responded. "You've done a lot for me, too. So, I have to thank you for that as well. And… don't worry. When this is all over… You're still gonna be mine."
Taylor smiled before kissing him once again. "I'm looking forward to it," he replied with a sniffle.
"Alright you two. I have to say that you guys have had the biggest transformations ever in this game in a short time," Mew opined. "Connor, you went from being meek and timid to a strategic force, and Taylor, you've gone from being a devious, intolerant, bratty, jerk to a sensitive and emotional guy who regrets every negative thing he's ever done."
The couple exchanged smiles, blushing, before Connor's smile faded and was replaced by a serious expression. "And now I've got to take care of business and try to win this…"
"Well, Taylor, head into the Suck of Shame," Virizion instructed. "It's about that time…"
The Milotic paled as he looked at the tight tube. He began to tremble, "U-Uh… C-Can you just-"
"Please, just teleport him. He will not do well in that thing. We all know this…" Connor pleaded.
Xerneas nodded. "Yeah, that'll probably be for the best."
Mew nodded before teleporting Taylor away. Once the Milotic was gone, Connor let out a shaky sigh of sadness. "This… This is gonna be pretty rough going forward…"
"Most definitely," Virizion concurred as the Bouffalant began walking back toward the ceremony location.
The three hosts turned back to the main camera, with Virizion being the one to speak first. "And yet another shocking elimination. And it seems like some crucial information came to light as well. So, who knows what may happen next?"
"We're down to the final fifteen, so let's see if this added pressure pushes anyone," Xerneas replied. "Thank you all for tuning in and we'll see you next time on…"
Both girls looked at Mew, who sighed softly, "...Total… Pokémon… Underdogs!"
000
See ya guys, BYE!
