Announcer: Last time on Total Pokémon: Underdogs, the contestants were in for a shocking good time. Still somewhat reeling over Taylor's elimination, Connor was given Titan's immunity statue, giving him more power in the game, while keeping the target on Titan's back. Much to everyone's surprise, we found out that Aura and Phill had begun dating following the loved one challenges. We don't know whether to be happy or to vomit… but that's now a thing. In the reward challenge, which had the players plucking Joltik off of Yamper, Sally and Anthony caused a stir that ended the challenge early by verbally berating Shine in front of everyone. This gave Titan's team a victory, but due to what happened, only he, Anthony, Kojo, and Phill went on the reward, a yacht trip, where Anthony disclosed that he doesn't mean what he says and only says the negative things to lower morale. In the immunity challenge, some of the players stuck back, while others got to shoot each other with Tynamo. Man… these challenges are getting weird. In the end, Ace stole immunity from Shine, but it didn't really matter. Despite Anthony preaching about the importance of getting rid of the Espeon, his previous behavior and overall attitude led to him getting eliminated instead.

We're at the final fourteen. Wanna find out what happens next? Find out right now on Total… Pokémon… Underdogs!

000

*Intro plays*

000

For the past few days following Anthony's elimination, Phill and Aura had been spending more and more time together. Their bond had gotten even stronger in those days to the point where they were sleeping together in the same bed. Of course, nothing spicy happened, as neither of them were that committed just yet.

Her behavior was causing a bit of worry and confusion among the others in her alliance, aside from Aspen who already knew, but she didn't seem too worried about it. She was actually happy for a change and she was having a good time with Phill, and even got to know Kojo and Klavier a bit better as well.

At the moment, the pair was lying on the edge of a cliff, staring up at the stars. Phill chuckled to himself as his eyes wandered across the night sky. "You know… coming back to this game is always a big reality check…"

Aura, lying beside him on her back, nodded. "Yeah, " she replied, her eyes focused on the sky as well. "Seems like every season is just a chance for people's dirty laundry to be aired out, people to find new partners, or just realize something that they probably wouldn't have before."

She continued, "If I didn't come back, I probably wouldn't have become friends with Aspen, somewhat made up with Shine and Ace, or… have really acknowledged you at all."

Phill chuckled. "Yeah… I get that. I don't think anything would've changed for me, really. Aside from becoming good friends with Klavier and starting a relationship with you… nothing major's really happened that's gonna affect me."

Aura giggled, "Well, you are one of the most nonchalant people ever..."

"Fair…" Phill replied. "I just accept that the world is a pretty fucked up place and good and bad things happen all the time. Some things are worse than others, but again, the world is fucked up. So, there's no point in being stressed..."

"Oh…" Aura replied, a bit surprised by his explanation. "That's… That's pretty pessimistic. I mean, I understand, but…"

"Yeah," Phill said, sitting up. "It's a pretty negative way of thinking, but it's still the truth. And the truth can be painfully negative. But, like I said, there's no point in being stressed about it. There's worse things going on than us just playing a game that people take too seriously."

As he got to his feet and took a few steps, Aura rolled onto her stomach before getting up and stretching, "I guess you're right. Things could be worse…"

Phill nodded before letting out a sigh. "Well, we should probably start heading back. It's getting late."

Aura nodded in agreement, but not before pecking the Raticate on the cheek. She started walking down the cliff, her hips swaying slowly. Phill's face burned a light crimson before he chuckled to himself and began to follow her.

000

Aura sighed dreamily. "I never thought I'd be happy dating a rat. But… Phill's really good company. He's sweet, charming, and strangely enough, he always makes you think about the way things are," she explained.

"He's just… an all-around great guy," the Fresh Snow Pokémon replied.

000

The couple made their way back to the campgrounds, where they saw that everyone else was surrounding a large crater. Curious, the pair approached, with Phill inquiring, "Uh… What's going on here?"

"Something fell from the sky and landed here a few minutes ago," Kojo explained, gesturing to the large crater in front of them.

What appeared to be a purple rock with triangles and pentagons jutting from it lay in the center of the crater, flashing red.

"Is it a fucking space bomb or something?!" Sally exclaimed, taking a few steps away from the crater.

"It's not really beeping," Ace reasoned. "Bombs usually have sounds that let you know that they're about to detonate. So, I don't think that it's a bomb."

"I mean, it's obviously a meteor of sorts," Morgan commented, leaning a bit closer toward the crater. "And if it's not, it certainly looks like one."

Klavier, unnerved about the strange object, suggested, "Maybe we should just leave it alone for now. It looks… off. Mew, Virizion, and Xerneas should know what to do with it when they get here."

"And who knows when that'll be?" Sally argued. "They may not come back for a couple more days…"

"They're coming tomorrow," Shine stated matter-of-factly. "They always give us about two or three days to recuperate after a challenge day."

"So, what? We just leave this thing here and hope that nothing bad happens?" Aspen inquired, rather unsettled by the glowing object as well.

"Well, unless one of us wants to waste time out here watching this thing, yes," Kojo replied.

"That's a good idea," Holly chimed in, earning a few looks of surprise from the others, specifically Klavier.

"And… why is it a good idea to waste time watching this thing?" Aura inquired. "For all we know it could be nothing special."

"That's true, but given its shape and flashing lights, I'd say that there's something going on with it," the Swoobat explained. "For all we know, it could be some kind of space egg or grow into something huge."

"I mean… that'd be a possibility if this was a movie, but…" Connor began.

Morgan sighed, cutting him off. "Okay, look, we don't know what it is. Let's just leave it alone like Klavier suggested and deal with it when Mew and the others get back here. If something happens, then they'll deal with it."

The Persian started heading back toward the jail, with Shine and Ace following suit. Despite winning the opportunity to stay in the Winner's Cabin, the Intertwining Pokémon just couldn't bring himself to stay there after what he had done. Even after being told that it was alright, he refused.

"Yeah, mates I think I'm just gonna get goin'," Titan stated as he started to leave the vicinity, with Connor following him.

The remaining players all exchanged looks of uncertainty. Holly was still adamant that someone should watch over the 'meteor', but nobody was really up for it. Eventually everyone else started to turn in, leaving Holly and Klavier outside.

The Swoobat sighed, "I just want to be cautious… We don't know what this thing is. Isn't it a better idea to be wary?"

Despite his hesitance, Klavier nodded in understanding. "Well… With everything we've had to deal with throughout the duration of the show, I don't think we need to mess with whatever that thing is. It could cause us a lot of trouble."

Holly breathed softly before looking down at the glowing object. "I… I guess you're right."

Klavier nodded, "Let's just head to bed. Okay?"

Holly nodded before the two of them headed to the cabin. She looked back at the crater in uncertainty before Klavier closed the door behind them.

000

The next morning, Xerneas and Virizion both woke up in their room, with the former yawning softly. With Anthony no longer in the game, the unlying stress that the two of them had dissipated. So, they spent the past few days simply hanging out with Cobalion and getting to know the new Legendaries that made their way to the hall.

But, now it was time to get back to work. Today was a challenge day and they had to get ready to head out.

"Morning, sweetie," Virizion greeted.

"Morning," Xerneas groggily responded before the two shared a kiss.

Once broken, the Life Pokémon slowly got out of their bed, so as to not disturb Cobalion, who normally slept in. As she stretched, Virizion did the same.

"Do you know the challenge plan today?" the Fairy-type inquired in a whisper. "I thought I did, but I forgot."

"It's just a tournament-style battle challenge," Virizion explained as she moved toward the door. "Nothing too extravagant this time."

As Xerneas nodded, the Grassland Pokémon continued, "I'm gonna go wake Mew. I'll meet you in the showers after a while."

"Okay," Xerneas responded as she followed her out the door.

-000-

After knocking on his door for a good three minutes, Virizion sighed. "Please don't tell me that he's out cold again…" she whispered to herself.

"Hey!" she suddenly heard from behind her.

A small, yellow bulb-like creature made of electricity was standing behind her, waving one of its cage-like arms.

Seeing her, Virizion greeted, "Oh, uh… Hi, Regieleki."

The Electron Pokémon responded with a cordial inquiry. "How're you doing this morning?" The Electron Pokémon was pretty nice and seemed to be pretty observant based on the few days she'd been there.

Virizion responded, "I'm doing fine. But um… I know that you're new and all, but have you seen Mew anywhere?"

The Electric-type looked slightly confused, "Uh… Aren't there two of them?"

Virizion sweatdropped, "Yes, but I'm looking for the little one. He's not answering his door and he's usually up by now."

The Electron Pokémon hummed in thought. "Oh… Well, yesterday I kinda saw him with one of the thunder cats."

That was all Virizion needed to hear. There were only two thunder cats in the hall, and she knew exactly which one he was likely with. "Alright, thanks," she replied as she started walking back toward the stairs.

-000-

Mew was still sound asleep next to Zeraora in her bed. He hadn't expected this to happen, but he was too tired to really do anything else after the previous night, so he ended up crashing in the Thunderclap Pokémon's room. Of course, the Electric-type didn't mind; she was actually happy that he was there.

The two were snuggled pretty close to each other, with Zeraora softly purring with her arms around Mew. However, given what needed to be done, it was due to be disturbed.

Knocking was heard, causing their faces to twist in annoyance. They let out soft groans as they heard Virizion's voice from the other side of the door. "Mew! It's time for you to get up, come on!"

Mew let out a soft sigh as he sat up, rubbing his eyes. He yawned softly as Zeraora sat up as well, scratching her head. The knocking started again, causing him to shake his head. "I'm up, V! I'll be out in a few minutes," he called back.

"Okay," Virizion replied. "But uh… be sure that you take a shower, too…" she teased with a giggle.

Mew blushed as they presumed that she walked away, "Yep, I knew that'd happen…"

Zeraora giggled, scratching the back of Mew's head. "Well, just set them straight again. It's no big deal…"

"Yeah, I guess…" Mew replied, stifling a chuckle.

Zeraora's tone then turned a bit serious as a blush spread across her face. "Though… would you… want to...?"

Knowing what she meant, Mew blushed a deeper crimson. He really enjoyed being with and around Zeraora, but right now, with the show still going on, he wasn't ready quite yet.

"I would… but, just not right now," Mew explained as he floated out of her bed. "This game's still going on and I'd rather have it be over and done with before committing to a relationship again…"

Zeraora smiled, as there was still a chance. "So, I just have to wait until the show's over?"

Mew chuckled, "We'll see…"

000

Giratina and Arceus were returning to their room, having just finished showering together. This was their usual routine. They'd usually wake up early, shower, and then discuss schedules, other Legendaries, and other miscellaneous

information in their room.

Climbing back into bed, Arceus sighed before turning to her husband. "Alright, what's supposed to be happening today?"

Giratina hummed in thought as he took out their planner, which was located on the nightstand beside their bed.

Opening it, the Renegade Pokémon flipped through pages of marked dates until eventually reaching today's. "Today we need to speak with Regieleki and Regidrago about their trial show," he explained.

Arceus nodded, "Okay. We can probably do that after lunch."

Giratina added, "And we also need to get into contact with Eternatus and talk to him about these Power Spots. Mewtwo and Deoxys have detected that fourteen more have popped up in regions other than Galar within the past two days."

Arceus sighed in slight agitation. She did not enjoy conversing with Eternatus. He was so rude and callous. Even the likes of Victini, Yveltal, and Kyurem had some decency at times, but Eternatus was much like Giratina before he was banished and reformed. The only difference between the two was that she still found Giratina attractive, even when he was a heartless prick. Then again, she created him, so she couldn't truly compare.

Eternatus came from a meteor, much like Deoxys and supposedly Kyurem, but unlike the latter two, he lacked respect for the world that she created. For that, she despised him.

Seeing the look on her face, Giratina continued, "I know that you don't like him, but we have to reach common ground with him."

The goddess looked to her husband with pleading eyes before taking a soft breath. "I'd ask if you could handle things on your own, but… I don't trust him alone with you. He's worse than Silvally… He worships you."

Giratina planted a kiss on her lips. "And I worship you. Don't worry, hon. It'll be fine…"

Arceus sighed. "I hope…"

As the Alpha Pokémon nuzzled close to her mate, a knock was heard at their door. Arceus cleared her throat and sat up while still close to Giratina, still wanting to appear professional.

Giratina inquired, "Who is it?"

"Deoxys," they heard from the other side. "I have more news regarding Power Spots."

Arceus mentally groaned before granting the alien access to their chambers. "Come in…"

The DNA Pokémon entered their chambers, clipboard in hand. Giratina inquired, "What's the new report?"

"Four more have appeared in different areas, including the island that Mew, Virizion, and Xerneas are hosting their show on," she explained.

Arceus sighed, whispering to herself, "You've gotta be kidding."

"Well, knowing them, they'll probably still continue with their show" Giratina commented. "Regardless, we still need to work on getting this resolved."

"And it's probably imperative that you notify Mew, Virizion, and Xerneas about the situation," Deoxys spoke up. "Considering that their island is now a Power Spot, their contestants may be affected."

"We'll be sure to speak with them before they leave for the day," Arceus assured her, her tone bold and serious. "Thank you."

Nodding, Deoxys left the alpha couple's room. Once the DNA Pokémon was gone, Arceus immediately turned to Giratina and kissed him roughly, catching him by surprise. Once the kiss was broken, Giratina inquired, "What was that for?"

"I need to destress a bit before we do anything with this…" she explained before kissing him again. Getting the idea, Giratina chuckled to himself before rolling over on top of her. He didn't think that it was a good time for this, but if she needed something to calm her nerves, he was there for her.

000

Despite the initial uncertainty regarding the 'meteor', after seeing that nothing had transpired in the middle of the night, a majority of the contestants decided to just go about their business. Holly was still a bit hesitant, but relieved that nothing had happened.

Sally and Amethyst had decided to leave the cabin early in order to discuss their next moves. Amethyst was still feeling a bit apprehensive about continuing to work with Sally, fearing that the Ampharos would drag her down with her with her attitude.

They met up in the forest clearing, as usual. Sally had been irritated by the fact that Kojo didn't go and that Anthony called them out for trying to flip. Now, it felt like they were sitting ducks. Nobody else had said anything about it, but it was still a bit off-putting.

"Okay, so what are we gonna do?" Sally inquired. "We're getting down to the wire, so we need to figure out who we're going to align with and who we need to get rid of."

"Why can't we just stick to the alliance we already have?" Amethyst asked. "Why rock the boat?"

Sally gave her a look of confusion, "Because we need to make sure that we get as far as we can. We may be in the 'majority' alliance at the moment, but as soon as the others are gone, who are they gonna go for? Us..."

"You don't know that for sure," Amethyst argued. "This is still a game. They may not be scared to turn on people who may beat them at the end. They'd probably want the weaker players to stay."

"Amy… Kojo, Klavier, and Phill are really good friends, so I doubt they'll be turning on each other. Holly is dating Klavier, so she won't go anywhere just yet. And Ashton is Holly's good friend, so they won't vote for each other either. They have connections outside of the game…"

"Well, so do the others," Amethyst retorted. "Aura is essentially Ace's mother-in-law, Aura and Shine have their history, and Morgan and Aspen are in-laws."

Sally groaned at the fact that the Tundra Pokémon had a point. "Well, we need to do something…"

"We stick with the alliance we already have and just work with them until there is something that we can really do," the Aurorus stated. "That's the only thing we can do…"

The Ampharos huffed, "Whatever…"

The Light Pokémon began heading back to the campgrounds, leaving Amethyst to sigh to herself. She desperately needed to rethink her options. Anthony called her out, meaning that their current alliance was probably wary of her, and she pissed off the opposite alliance by acting entitled when they didn't vote how she wanted. And of course, since she was silent and with her for both occurrences, she was guilty by association.

000

"I need to clear my head and think about this, because this is going awful for me," Amethyst explained with a sigh. "Sally's just ruining everything and I don't want to deal with it anymore…"

000

After coming back from the gazebo with energy bars, Phill tossed them to the others in his alliance, as well as Aura, who had once again spent the night with him. The Raticate climbed back into bed with the Glaceon as she yawned.

"Pleasant dreams last night?" Klavier teased as Holly leaned against him.

"I'd be lying if I said that damn thing in the crater outside didn't cause a bit of unease, but otherwise, decent," Aura replied.

"Well, since today's a challenge day, we should probably discuss what we need to do about Sally and Amethyst…" Kojo explained. "They tried to flip on us and get rid of me at the last ceremony."

"I mean, the most sensical thing would be to vote them out next," Ashton explained. "But if we do that, then Morgan and the others will have power again, so it's a double-edged sword."

Kojo huffed, "Well, it's not like that really matters if those two have jumped ship." He gestured to Aura and threw his hands in the air as he expounded, "There are six of them, eight if those two go with them, and Titan goes whichever way works for him!"

"Maybe there's a way we can convince Titan to use the immunity statue on one of us if it comes down to it," Holly suggested. "I mean, the more threatening players are in the other alliance. We're the underdogs over here."

Phill stifled a laugh, "Whaddya know? Just like the name of the season…"

"I mean, jokes aside, I'm sure that if you guys want to get rid of Sally, the others in my alliance wouldn't mind," Aura explained. "We don't like Sally, either."

"We're sure you guys would vote for her, but that's not good for us, numbers wise," the Meganium spoke up.

"Actually… Have we ever separated Amethyst from Sally?" Klavier inquired. "Maybe she'll want to keep working with us."

Kojo doubted that, having seen how the two of them operate. "She's attached to Sally by the hip. What makes you think she'll-"

"Actually… Klavier has a point," Aura spoke up. "When we were in the stadium after we got eliminated, Sally did all of the talking and Amethyst just stood there quiet, like she looked a bit unsure."

Kojo wore an expression of surprise, scratching his head, "Well, if that's the case, we do need to get to her and see what's going on. At least then we'll still have an even shot, with Titan being the only outlier…"

"We'll have to see if today's challenges give us opportunities to talk to her alone, because I'm not sure if Sally will let her be alone for long, or even at all," Phill commented.

The others nodded in agreement, with Aura simply listening in.

000

"Okay, so I'm a bit of a double agent, I guess," Aura explained. "Well, not really an agent. I'm not gonna tell the others their main plans, but I will mention the notion of wanting Sally's annoying ass gone."

"I'm kinda unsure about what I want to do now," she continued. "I mean, I like these guys now, but I'm still good and have closer ties to the others. Phill's obviously not gonna wanna flip on them, and they seem to still acknowledge that I'm in the other alliance, yet they still just spoke about their plans as if I wasn't there, even after I gave a bit of help."

She sighed, "I'm really in a weird place right now."

000

Back in Brian's cave, Connor and Titan were conversing about their next game plan now that Anthony was gone. The idea was to eliminate Kojo since he was a good candidate to win, but Anthony getting eliminated instead was just as beneficial, as he was the de facto leader of the other alliance.

"Well, with Anthony out of the picture, we may have a better chance in challenges," Connor mused.

Titan gave him a look, "Mate… No offense to him, but that lug didn't really pose any true threat in challenges. So, I don't think our chances are any better or worse. We all would've been better off if they just got rid of Shine instead."

"But then I'd have to waste the statue…" Connor reminded him. The Bouffalant was still planning on sitting on the statue until he or his allies needed to be saved.

Titan disagreed with the notion, as it didn't make sense to him. "And why would you want to use it on someone who has a much higher chance of making it further than you?"

"I mean, she's still part of my alliance," the Bash Buffalo Pokémon explained. "I still want us all to get further together."

"Mate, you've gotta use your brain…" Titan deadpanned. "Those other five… They don't care about you. They're all connected. If you save them and you all end up making it far together, guess who's gonna be the first one to go? You."

Connor sighed, as what Titan said had a ton of truth to it. He was the outlier in the alliance, and if he made it further with them, they would be quick to eliminate him.

Seeing his face, Titan commented, "So yeah, it'll probably be best for you to just keep that statue on hand. But, it's up to you. Just remember our deal…"

The Bouffalant let out a gruff sigh, "Well, now I have more to think about… Thanks…"

Titan accepted the sardonic expression of gratitude, knowing that Connor was annoyed that he'd have to rethink everything. After what Sally said after their last immunity challenge, he was a bit wary. He felt like they were going to target him soon, but at the same time, he recognized that she could just be toying with him. Nevertheless, he needed to get Connor to reevaluate his options with the statue.

The sound of rustling from the surrounding foliage got their attention, accompanied by the sound of heavy footsteps. Someone was coming.

Pretty soon, the cause of the noise was revealed as Amethyst stepped out of the bushes. Spotting the two of them, she hesitantly approached them.

"Um… H-Hey," she greeted, looking down as she stopped in front of them.

"Oh, uh… Hi, Amethyst…?" Connor replied with a tone of confusion. He glanced over at Titan, who was just as surprised by her appearance. "What're you doing here?"

The Aurorus sighed. Truth be told, she was just taking a walk and trying to clear her head. She wanted to break away from Sally and play her own game, but didn't know where to turn to. Her only plan was to keep going along with the alliance she was in and hope that they didn't vote her out because of Sally.

"I… I just…" she began.

Remembering the look that she had on her face when she was with Sally last time, Titan felt that he knew what was going on. "You want to get away from Sally, don't you?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

Amethyst looked to him in slight shock, before laying down on the ground. "She's ruining everything!" she cried.

Connor's eyes widened a bit, having not expected this emotional response. Apparently Titan knew how the fossil Pokémon was feeling and approached her, patting her leg in comfort.

"Well, you can always just leave her to her own devices," the Galvantula advised. "Or better yet, help do us all a favor and vote the annoying light pole outta here!

"I… I know that I can, but… I just don't know!" Amethyst exclaimed. "She was the only one from my original alliance that stuck with me after everything happened. I'd feel like I'm betraying her if I decided to just leave her alone…"

Connor, feeling a bit bad, cleared his throat. "Well… This is a game at the end of the day," he stated. "I'm sure she'll understand. All but two of us have to go eventually…"

Amethyst let out a shaky breath. "I… I guess…"

"You'll be fine," Titan assured her. "Once she's outta the picture, you'll be free to work with whoever you please…"

A small smile formed on Amethyst's face for a few seconds before turning back into a small frown. She didn't like it, but if it was necessary to keep her in the game, she'd have to do it.

000

Morgan hummed as she stared at the elevator in the office. The Persian had been getting suspicious as to why Aura was spending more time with the other alliance lately. It didn't really make sense to her, as she didn't really have any connection with anyone on that side, or so she thought.

"What's wrong, Morgan?" she heard, snapping her out of her trance.

She turned to Ace, the questioner, and let out a soft sigh. "I'm just a bit concerned about Aura…"

Aspen, who was sitting in the sofa chair, perked up at this. "Shit…" she whispered.

"She's been hanging around the other alliance a lot lately and it's got me a bit worried that she's trying to work with them again now that Anthony's gone," Morgan explained, causing Ace and Shine's eyes to widen slightly.

Aspen's eyes widened slightly as well, as it was a valid possibility. She hadn't even thought about doing that. However, she wasn't willing to do that now, as she had a close bond with Morgan, too. Knowing that she'd need to cover for Aura, the Furfrou spoke up.

"Uh… She's just trying to gauge where their heads are now," she fibbed. "We voted out their leader, so now she's just trying to see if there's any cracks."

"Oh… That's actually kinda smart," Morgan replied. "We'll have to get her back here and talk to her about what she's found out."

"That… doesn't really explain why she hasn't come back here in the last two nights, though," Shine pointed out.

"She's probably just sleeping in their cabin, too," Aspen replied. "She's still with us, I'm sure of it. No need to worry."

"If you're sure…" the Espeon shrugged.

000

"I don't know what's going on with Aura, but I don't like it," Shine explained. "Aspen's trying to make it seem like nothing's wrong, but Aura hasn't been back to sleep in the office in the past two days, she's spending more time with Phill and his group, and her entire demeanor has changed."

"I feel like she's planning something against us now that Anthony's gone," the Sun Pokémon explained. "We really need to get her back and talk to her to see what's going on…"

000

Holly stood at the edge of the crater, still watching the flashing object that sat in the center. Still inside of the cabin, Aura commented, "She's been looking at that thing for the past five minutes… Is she okay?"

"Uh… I have no idea," Klavier answered. "I mean, it is a bit freaky, but… nothing's happened."

"Well, today is a challenge day," Phill stated. "Mew, Virizion, and Xerneas will do something about it."

Suddenly, Virizion's voice echoed throughout the island, "CONTESTANTS! PLEASE REPORT TO THE STADIUM! IT'S TIME FOR TODAY'S FIRST CHALLENGE!"

"And that's our cue to get outta here," Kojo stated as he hopped down from the bunk he was on. "We'll figure this stuff out when we get there."

000

The remaining fourteen competitors made their way to the stadium, where they saw Mew, Virizion, and Xerneas standing in the center. There were eight poles standing behind them. Each pole was made out of wood and had multiple footholds.

"Well, this looks… interesting," Ashton whispered to herself as they walked in, staring up at the tall posts.

Xerneas greeted them, "Hello contestants! How've things been?"

Virizion followed up immediately, "We heard that you guys had an experience last night."

"Yeah," Sally spoke up. "Some meteor or whatever crashed on the island, right outside of the cabins. It's pretty freaky..."

"We're aware," Mew explained. "However, for right now, it's best that you guys just leave it alone. It'll be handled by the time your immunity challenge begins."

Holly let out a small sigh of relief.

"Now, with that out of the way, let's get to the reward challenge," Virizion began. "You guys will be separated into two teams. Each of those teams will be required to pick four people to participate."

"The four from each team will be hoisted onto the top of the poles and must hold onto it for as long as they can," Xerneas explained. "The person who's able to stay up there the longest will win the reward for their team."

Mew spoke up, "And, I think this'll be interesting, because the reward actually doesn't happen right after this challenge…"

This piqued the contestants' interest, as that was typically the case. What made this one so special?

"The team who wins this challenge will get to spend the next three days in a luxury hotel, returning the day before your next set of challenges," Mew explained.

Everyone's eyes lit up as cheers and conversation began to happen. They would be able to get away from this island for three whole days. This challenge was going to be extremely important to them; they were going to have to hope that their team wasn't too handicapped, as the majority of the remaining contestants were quadrupeds.

"Now, there are rules for this," Virizion stated. "No Psychic-type or Fairy-type assistance, no floating, and no holding the top of the pole. We don't want any cheating."

"And with that out of the way, let's get these teams settled…" Mew stated.

-000-

"Alright, after a random draw, we've got Aura, Phill, Titan, Holly, Ace, Sally, and Morgan on one team, and Kojo, Shine, Aspen, Connor, Amethyst, Klavier, and Ashton on the other," Mew stated.

"And from each team, up on the poles are… Sally, Phill, Ace, and Aura for Team One," Xerneas described as the camera panned to show each player up on a pole, "and Shine, Kojo, Klavier, and Aspen for Team Two."

Upon seeing that his team was composed of all quadrupeds besides Klavier, Kojo immediately lost hope. He and Klavier were likely going to have to be the ones to rely on since Shine couldn't use any of her abilities and both her and Aspen had a disadvantage.

All of the remaining players sat on the sidelines watching the challenge unfold. It was going to be a rather tedious one since not much action was involved, but since the stakes were high, that didn't matter.

Five minutes passed, with hardly any movement from the eight at the tops of the pole. There was a bit of shifting here and there due to discomfort, but overall, all of them were doing surprisingly well.

The poles were ten feet tall, so if somebody fell, it was bound to hurt a lot unless someone caught them before they hit the ground.

Phill let out a sigh, shifting slightly at the top of his pole, "Well, this is boring…"

"Phill, please don't do this," Sally groaned. "We really want this reward… Just because you don't have the will to do these things doesn't mean you have to ruin our chances."

The Raticate defended himself, stating, "Woman, I'm just saying that this is pretty boring. I'm not gonna drop out because of it."

"Sally, you really need to get a grip," Aura growled with a glare, unappreciative of the Ampharos' tone towards Phill. "You saw what happened to Anthony after he was continuing to be an asshole."

Sally rolled her eyes, "Why do you even care about what I say to him? You're not in their alliance. As a matter-of-fact… Why the hell have you been spending so much time with those guys lately?"

"That's none of your fucking business," Aura countered.

"Actually, it kind of is our business," Shine chimed in, shifting a bit. "Aspen told us one thing and I'd just like some clarification from you…"

Aspen huffed as she tried her best to keep her paws stable. She was in a very uncomfortable position, but she was sticking it out. "Seriously Shine? You're doing this now?"

"Sally's the one who brought it up, first," the Espeon deflected.

Aura, not wanting everybody to know her business, growled to herself. "It's fine. I'm literally just getting to know these guys more."

"Uh huh… So when I saw you sleeping in Phill's bed the other day, that's your way of getting to know them?" the Ampharos revealed.

Audible gasps and looks of complete shock came from those on the ground, as well from the others on the poles who didn't know.

Ace's eyes widened and he lost his focus, causing him to slide down the pole and try to catch himself with the footholds. He managed to use his ribbons to keep himself from completely sliding to the ground, but he was now much closer to it.

Aura was seething, as Sally held a neutral expression on her face. "You fucking bitch!" the Glaceon snarled as she tried to fire off an Ice Beam in her direction, only for Sally to counter it with a Thunderbolt.

Aspen groaned in annoyance, glaring at Sally. "You know what, Sally, this is why nobody really likes you. Before, it was fine, you were just playing the game, but now you're just being a cunt."

"I'm still playing the game!" Sally argued. "How is me telling her alliance that she's literally sleeping with the opposition me being a cunt?!"

"I can think of two good reasons," Kojo finally chimed in. "One is that the two of them were trying to keep their relationship underwraps since they both knew how others would see it. And you made it sound like she was a slut."

Sally huffed, rolling her eyes. "Uh huh… Right…"

The Mienshao continued, "The other is the fact that at the last reward challenge, both you and Anthony talked shit about Shine. And now you've insulted Phill by insinuating that he didn't have the will to go on because he called this challenge boring…"

"And he usually just says that anyway," Klavier added.

"Right," Kojo agreed. "So yeah… I'd say Aspen is right in saying that you're being a cunt."

Sally was about to respond, but from below, Amethyst spoke up, "You're just ruining relationships with everyone and dragging me with you. You're… You're acting worse than when I evolved and… and I don't wanna work with you anymore if you're like this!"

Hearing that from Amethyst of all people, someone she's considered a friend for the longest time in the game, it actually hurt. Looking back, she had been more abrasive than normal.

She let out a sigh as she shifted herself again, "I'm not trying to be an uber bitch or anything. I'm just trying to play the game and you guys keep taking it so seriously!"

Morgan scoffed, "Uh huh… After what you-"

The Ampharos interrupted her, "Plus, you guys seem to be forgetting that Shine pretty blatantly called me and Amethyst useless and what I said to her was to stop acting like that and that we could still help in some other way. Anthony was the one who pushed it."

"Yeah, but you're the one who started it!" Ace argued.

"I didn't start anything!" Sally defended. "You guys started it. You guys don't like me because I wanted to vote out Morgan, so you had this negative attitude toward me ever since. Then Shine said something negative to us and I'm the bad guy for talking back?"

Recounting what happened, Shine's face grew a bit guilty. She was a bit condescending to her and Amethyst in the last reward challenge, so the Ampharos' frustration at that time was warranted. Internally, she just felt like she wasn't picking up things as quickly as she thought she should've been.

These thoughts were interrupted as Ace let out a groan, "Okay, you know what? Screw this… You don't deserve the reward…"

As he started climbing down, Shine shouted out, "Stop!" The sudden outburst startled nearly everybody.

All eyes now on her, Shine let out a sigh. She turned to Sally, "Look, I'm sorry. You're right; I was a bit of a jerk to you at the time and what you said was a bit warranted."

Sally rose a brow as the others all looked at Shine in confusion.

"Really Shine?" Morgan asked, completely bewildered as to why she would apologize. "Why are you apologizing?"

"I said that we could've won without them and she got frustrated," the Espeon explained. "So it's kinda my fault."

"Yeah, but doesn't mean she should lash out back," Ace replied, still holding onto the bottom of the pole. "I'm done…"

The Sylveon stepped off of the pole.

"And Ace is the first one off of his pole," Virizion stated. "It's been nearly twenty minutes now…"

"Wait what? That dumb conversation lasted that long?" Titan commented from the sidelines. "Jeez, you drongos need to stop cracking the shits and get over it. It's a game and folks are gonna say things. Ya gotta grow thicker skin for Arceus' sake, it's been decades…"

Xerneas let out an exasperated sigh, "We're honestly getting tired of the constant negativity and snippinest in these challenges," Xerneas stated. "We thought you guys got rid of the annoying, negative loudmouth, but you guys are just continuing to be petty anyway."

Everyone exchanged looks, realizing that what was said was still holding true.

"Carry on with the challenge," Mew said with an irritated tone, folding his arms. "Ace is down. Whoever wants to win, just last as long as you can."

"Or, you can just continue this pettiness and jump down just because you don't want somebody else to win," Virizion added, clearly irritated as well.

Nobody said a word, and Ace started looking down in slight shame, as he now felt like he was immature for stepping off just so Sally had a less likely chance. He wanted the eward, too, but he really stepped down over her? He had already regretted his decision.

Klavier was struggling to keep himself on his pole. He had been mostly quiet for the duration of the challenge, not wanting to really distract himself too much. He was still surprised that the remaining quadrupeds were still there.

Eventually, he was unable to hold on well and started sliding down. He dug his pincers into the wooden pole to stop himself and successfully halted his sliding. He let out a sigh of relief.

000

"Everyone was just yelling at each other over what happened a few days ago, and I'm just trying to not get too involved and stay focused," Klavier stated. "And what happens? I still end up going lower."

"This is bad…"

000

Aspen's hind legs were trembling as her forelegs started to get tired. Pretty soon, the Poodle Pokémon found herself sliding all the way down and off of the pole. She sighed in disappointment, resting her head against the pole.

"And Aspen is down for Team Two," Virizion stated. "It's even: three-three."

The Furfrou walked over to the others on the sidelines as the remaining six continued to battle it out on the poles.

Phill groaned as his toes began to cramp a bit. He didn't want to give up, despite his discomfort, just to prove that he could do these challenges.

He looked down and saw that Klavier wasn't doing as bad as he was when he was at the top of his pole. "Ey, Klavier! How're you holding up down there?"

The Gliscor deadpanned, "Uh… I guess I'm alright. My claws are helping me out…"

"Damn it…" the Raticate grunted. "I was hoping you'd say it's easier down there…"

Aura raised a brow as she shifted her hips a bit and tried to reposition her legs, "How would it be easier? The poles are all the same and I don't think being lower helps you when you're slipping."

"I dunno… Better grip and more caution?" Phill replied.

"Yeah, that doesn't make much sense," Sally commented with a grunt as she tried to readjust. Her legs were starting to cramp and she ended up standing up straight for about a second before having to squat back down and keep her grip on her pole.

Shine took a deep breath as she shifted slightly, wrapping her tail around the pole. She felt that Kojo had the best chance and wanted to step down since she felt that she wasn't going to be able to hold herself up for much longer. It was extremely uncomfortable.

"Alright, you guys have been up there for thirty minutes now," Mew commented. "So, now we're gonna start trying to tempt you down…"

"Wait, what?" Ace inquired, turning to them from the sidelines. "What do you mean, 'tempt them down'?"

"Zahku!" Xerneas called.

A few moments later, the Hariyama walked into the stadium, wheeling a cart with a covered tray sitting on top of it.

All eyes were focused on the approaching Fighting-type and the cart.

"So… You're gonna try and use food to get us to come down?" Kojo chuckled.

"I mean, you guys' meals aren't too spectacular, especially on these challenge days," Mew explained. "So… We're gonna see who breaks…"

"First up…" Xerneas began. "Ribs!"

Zahku removed the cover, revealing a large plate of ribs smothered in a sweet and tangy barbecue sauce and topped with a parsley garnish. A couple of sliced Nomel Berries sat on the plate as well.

Everyone gasped immediately. The smell assaulted the nostrils of everyone on the ground floor, while the competitors in the challenge couldn't really smell them. They could only see them.

The only one on the poles who could smell them was Klavier, who started twitching.

"Yep. They're really close aren't they, Klavier?" Virizion teased with a smirk.

Phill scoffed with chuckle, "You guys really are evil…" Aspen stated with a giggle.

"Klav… Do not give in," Kojo urged. "We'll be able to eat whatever food the hotel has when we win!"

Shine concurred, "Those ribs will only last you for a few minutes. The hotel will last longer."

"Nah, go ahead Klavier, have a taste," Sally prodded. "Why think ahead when you can live in the moment?"

"Last call," Virizion made known. "It'll go to the others down here if none of you guys wanna take it…"

"Bon appetit, you guys," Kojo stated immediately as he turned his head away.

Phill was extremely tempted to climb down now that he actually had a reason to. And as he thought about it, even if his side lost, it'd be beneficial since he'd pretty much be alone with Aura. Sure, Holly would still be around, but she'd definitely give them privacy.

However, being in a hotel with Aura would probably be a lot more fun.

Aura growled to herself; she really wanted to win the hotel, but her thighs were cramping and her forearms felt numb."

"I'll take it!" she shouted out as she attempted to move a bit down the pole. "My legs are killing me, and I might as well get something out of this if we still lose "

"Alright then. Aura's the first casualty of the temptation method," Xerneas stated as Mew aided the shiny Glaceon in getting down.

Sally let out a sigh, as now the only people left for her team were herself… and Phill. She didn't have much faith in Phill, evident by her outburst earlier, given how he's behaved in challenges before.

"Alright, it's two versus three, now," Mew stated as Aura moved to the sideline with the others. Zahku placed the plate of ribs in front of her, as she smiled to herself.

"Hey babe, please save me some of those," Phill called to her. It didn't really matter what they referred to each other as at this point, as Sally just outed them.

Aura rolled her eyes playfully. "We'll see…"

Morgan and Ace, still completely flabbergasted by the fact that Aura and Phill were dating, only exchanged looks before the Persian approached her. Nudging her, the Classy Cat Pokémon stated, "We're gonna need to talk."

"Yeah, yeah, I know…" Aura responded with a sigh.

000

AURA and PHILL?!" Ace exclaimed. "HOW THE FUCK DID THAT HAPPEN!?"

The Sylveon shook his head with a groan, "I don't know what to make of this… What the hell are we even gonna do about it. Do we vote out Phill?"

"No… Then Aura wouldn't wanna work with us anymore… and Aspen would probably go with her, too," the Intertwining Pokémon reasoned.

"Do we just vote her out?" he asked himself. He then immediately shook his head, "Then we'd be weakening ourselves…"

"Ugh… This is gonna be complicated…"

000

After a few more minutes, Sally started to groan as her legs started to go numb.

"Fuck…" she whispered to herself.

She glanced over to Shine, whose legs were trembling somewhat. She looked like she was about to fall.

"Kojo... Klavier..." Shine called. "I-I think I'm about to drop out. My legs are slipping and getting numb."

The Mienshao was impressed that she managed to stay up there that long to begin with, so he didn't really care too much, while the Gliscor was relatively indifferent.

"Okay," Kojo replied. He looked over to the pole Klavier was on. "Uh… You still good over there, Klavier?"

"My pincers are secure," he replied.

Shine nodded before starting to slowly climb down.

Once her feet touched the ground, Virizion stated. "And Shine is out. It's a two versus two now."

The Espeon stretched her back and legs, "That sucked…"

000

Shine sighed, "I could've lasted up there a lot longer, but I'm not interested in hearing about how I have an advantage in everything. I'm just tired of it."

"So now, it's up to the guys," she stated.

000

After another five minutes, Phill let out a yawn as he continued clinging to the pole.

Being on the pole right next to him, Kojo stifled a laugh."Getting tired, bud?"

A few seconds later, Kojo yawned as well before giving the Raticate a look. "Really?"

Phill snickered, "Gotta love the contagious yawn." He then turned his attention to the hosts, "So, when's more food supposed to be coming out?"

"Right now, actually," Xerneas replied.

Zahku wheeled out the same cart, but with an actual lid on the plate this time.

"What's it gonna be this time? A burger?" Sally teased with a chuckle, trying to get a better grip on her pole.

Virizion shook her head. "Nope… Even better."

Zahku removed the lid, and immediately rose out. What was revealed was a large plate with a large piece of steak, accompanied by potatoes, small leaks, and a side bowl of macaroni.

Eyeing the plate from above, Phill's eyes bulged for a moment as he shook his head in annoyance, "Oh come on… That looks like something my grandmother would make…"

"Yep, I can attest to that," Kojo concurred, looking down. "His grandma makes some bomb ass food…"

"Same deal as before," Mew stated. "One of you can have it, or it goes to the people down here."

"Why the heck can't we have these kinds of meals normally?" Connor inquired, eyeing the potatoes and leaks on the plate.

"Because this is still somewhat of a survival show, so we can't really give you elegant meals unless it's for a reward or for situations like this," Virizion explained.

"Uh… You guys normally give us sandwiches and bags of chips every non-challenge day," Holly stated. "That's not entirely survival-like."

The hosts exchanged looks, a thought entering the ladies' heads. "Well, if there's ever another season after this, we know what we're going to do," Virizion whispered to Xerneas, who only nodded in agreement.

"Fair enough," Mew shrugged before looking back toward the remaining participants. "So, any takers?"

Kojo shook his head as he adjusted himself on his pole, his feet shifting slightly on his footholds, "I'm good, thanks."

"Same here," Sally commented.

"Phill? Klavier?" Mew inquired, as the two of them hadn't answered.

Phill's stomach growled, but he sighed. He actually wanted that meal, but he also wanted to win the challenge for a change. "I'm good…"

Klavier's feet touched the ground as he retracted his claws. He looked up at Kojo, who was surprised, "Sorry bro, but this stuff is right in my face and a lot more tempting than the ribs."

Aura had only eaten a couple of the ribs so far, licking her lips from the barbecue sauce. The sauce itself was good on its own, but the tender meat was great as well.

Kojo sighed, "Fine. Go ahead…"

Klavier took the plate and took a seat among the others before beginning to eat.

"And all of a sudden it's two against one," Mew stated, looking up. "Let's see where this goes."

Another ten minutes passed, with Kojo letting out a sigh of boredom and Phill resting his head against the pole. "I hate this…" he muttered to himself.

"Well, you can always make it easier for me and just hop down," Kojo teased.

With a sigh, Phill turned to him and whispered. "Bro, I'm just trying to actually prove that I can do these challenges and that I don't just quit when I'm bored."

"But you do…" Kojo replied.

"Yeah, but… I don't wanna risk a reward this big. I wanna prove her wrong," the Raticate explained. "If you drop... I'll seriously owe you one."

Kojo took a breath, as he'd have to think about that. His team was counting on him to win this challenge since most of them weren't really built for it. However, the reward was big and Phill wanted to actually prove himself to everyone. Mulling it over, of the people on his current team, he was only really close with Klavier. Closing his eyes, he sighed as he made his decision.

He suddenly started to groan, causing Phill to raise a brow. "Uh… What are you-"

"Shh," the Mienshao hushed him as he continued his act. "Cramp, cramp, cramp," he winced as he shakily stretched one of his legs out. This action, and the shakiness of his other leg caused him to actually slide down the pole quickly, stopping only a few inches from the ground thanks to Mew.

He was dropped a few moments later, groaning at his now red arms. "Fuck me…" he groaned.

"And with that, Phill and Sally have won it for their team!" Virizion announced.

The other members of their team cheered, as did Sally. Phill slid down the pole without issue and landed next to Kojo, who was sitting against his pole.

"Thanks, man…" the Mouse Pokémon replied. "I really owe you…"

"Yes you do," Kojo chuckled as he got to his feet. "Probably wouldn't have too much fun, anyway."

"Uh huh…" Phill mocked with a smile as he swatted at the weasel's tail.

000

Everyone stood in front of the hosts, some happy and others disappointed.

"Alright, congratulations to Phill and Sally, you guys have won the challenge for your team, so you, Aura, Titan, Holly, Ace, and Morgan will all be spending the next three days at the hotel after tonight's elimination ceremony," Mew explained.

"So, you'd better hope that you don't get eliminated tonight," Virizion added.

Those who were part of the group exchanged looks, hoping that they lasted. While the others smirked to themselves. If they wanted to be petty, they could make one of them the target.

"For now, though, head on back to camp and we'll call you all back when it's time for your immunity challenge," Xerneas instructed.

The fourteen players began to leave. Making sure not to leave anything, Phill carried the plate of ribs, while Klavier kept his plate of food as well.

000

Connor let out a sigh. "Well, looks like I won't be staying at a hotel. But, it does give me a chance to talk with Amethyst and see if she's fine with working with me and Titan going forward."

000

Returning to the campgrounds, everyone began to split up into their standard groups once again. Aura, knowing that she had some explaining to do, went along with her alliance members, with Phill letting out a sigh of disappointment.

Kojo, Phill, and Ashton entered the cabin. Klavier was about to do the same, when he saw Holly fly over to the crater. The mysterious item was no longer there, much to her relief. She and Klavier entered the cabin a few seconds later, closing the door behind them.

"Well… that was... something…" Ashton commented with a sigh. She looked up at Phill, "Sorry that you and Aura got outed like that…"

Ashton and Holly had learned about the two thanks to Klavier, shortly after the last elimination ceremony. It was surprising, but they didn't really have anything to say.

Phill sighed as he picked up a rib. "It's whatever… It was probably gonna be exposed at some point…"

"The fact that Sally felt the need to say all of that crap, when she's already in hot water because of what happened last time, just proves that she doesn't know what she's doing or talking about," Kojo stated firmly, folding his arms.

"Yeah, and I didn't like how she decided to shift the blame to Shine for what she said to her," Holly added. "Intentional or not, she's the reason that Anthony started his anti-Shine tirade, so she played a part."

"We just need to get her out as soon as possible," Klavier stated as he took another scoop of potatoes.

"Yeah, hopefully the others don't try and vote Aura out just because she's dating me," Phill fretted. "That'd be a dick move…"

"Well, given the reaction that they all had, that may or may not be a possibility, bro," Kojo replied.

Phill sighed as he gnawed on one of the ribs.

000

"Okay, so please explain to us why and when you started dating Phill…" Morgan instructed with a serious expression, akin to a disgruntled school teacher.

Aura was put on the spot, with Shine and Ace both lying on opposite sides of Morgan, and Aspen sitting in her sofa chair with a look of disappointment.

"Why does it even matter?" the Glaceon argued. "It's not like it changes anything…"

Morgan sighed, shaking her head. "Aura, we've all played this game a fair amount of times to know that relationships are powerful in this game," she countered.

"Actually, the better question is… Is it even real?" Ace chimed in. "If not, that makes this even worse, because you're just toying with a guy who already has low self-esteem…"

"Don't you think I know that?!" Aura shot back. "Of course it's real! I felt like shit after everyone's loved ones came for the challenge and he came down to the beach and we ended up talking. I'm not using him or anything, I genuinely like him…"

"Okay, then why didn't you just tell us?" Morgan inquired.

"Guys, she's not required to tell the alliance everything," Aspen spoke up. "She's still her own woman."

"Yeah, but it wouldn't be as suspicious as it sounds right now since it sounds like it's been going on for a while," Shine explained. "And we had to learn about it from Sally's little tirade."

The Glaceon growled upon mention of the Ampharos. "I can't stand that fucking bitch…" she groused. She gave them a serious look, "Look, they don't consider me a part of their alliance. Nothing has changed, I'm just with Phill now. So can we move onto actually important matters and make sure that we vote out that yellow bitch tonight if she doesn't win immunity?"

"Aura…"

"It… doesn't… matter," Aura stated firmly. "Seriously, why are you guys so damn suspicious? Do you not trust me anymore or something?"

Silence. The three of them exchanged looks, while Aura's eyes widened in realization. "You guys don't trust me…"

Realizing that she was hurt, Ace attempted to explain. "Look Aura, for the past few days, you-"

"No," she cut him off. "I finally started talking to someone who makes me feel better about myself, but because I didn't tell you about it, you suddenly can't trust me?"

"Aura, it's a relationship!" Morgan emphasized. "Plus, you and Aspen flipped over here to begin with! You suddenly hanging out with them more is going to make us hesitant!"

Aura shook her head before starting to walk away.

"Aura…" Ace began.

The Glaceon entered the elevator, with the doors closing a few moments later. Aspen, of course, was displeased.

"Seriously, guys?!" she scolded. "She's literally telling you that there's nothing going on and that she's still with us, and you're treating her like she committed the ultimate betrayal!"

"Aspen, why did you lie for her?" Shine inquired in response. "Why didn't you just tell us what was really going on and make it easier for all of us?"

"Because it's not my business to tell," the Furfrou explained. "If she's still working with us, why would I wanna out her relationship?"

"If there was really nothing going on, wouldn't you want to tell us so that we don't worry about anything?" Morgan countered. "Hiding things like that usually mean there's more to it! That's all I was saying. I don't mind if she's dating Phill; good for them. But it just looks suspicious when you hide something like that and it involves someone from another alliance."

Aspen sighed, "You'd guys better hope that she doesn't decide to go with them now. Because if she does, you guys are screwed…"

The three of them immediately exchanged looks of worry. They were truly hoping that they hadn't screwed anything up.

000

"I can't believe this… After everything, they seriously don't trust me because I didn't tell them that I was dating Phill?!" Aura snapped. "I even told them that they don't acknowledge me as a member of their alliance, nor have they asked me!"

"This is fucking… This is unbelievable…" Aura scoffed. "Well, they'd better say something before tonight. Or else, it'll be one of them gone…"

000

Amethyst was with Titan and Connor, a small smile on her face. The Galvantula chuckled, "Well, that sure was a way to let her know that your partnership is over."

"Yeah," Amethyst nodded. Despite feeling a bit more liberated, the Aurorus still felt a bit of guilt about how she went about it. "I kinda feel scummy about doing it with everyone around, though."

"Well, you may feel bad, but you let people know where you stand," Connor replied, thinking that she shouldn't feel bad. "That's a good thing."

"I guess…" the Tundra Pokémon replied. "I just hope that the others will actually see that-"

"Amy!"

The three of them heard the familiar voice calling out to the Aurorus, interrupting her thought. Titan sighed in annoyance, already knowing what was going to happen. "Here we go…"

Sally came out of the bushes and approached the three of them. Upon seeing Titan and Connor, the Ampharos' face turned sour. "Oh… You guys…"

"Yeah… us guys," Titan replied, his tone cold. "What do you want this time?"

Sally huffed, looking up at Amethyst. "Can we talk? In private?"

Amethyst looked back to the two guys for assurance. Connor nodded, while Titan rolled his each had their doubts that she'd say anything worthwhile, though Titan was more ticked off that she was even trying, still.

Taking their non-verbal responses as a go-ahead, Amethyst let out a sigh, "Fine." She started following the Ampharos back into the forest.

Once they were out of sight, Titan sighed, "Well, can't wait to hear what she said to her later… Should be entertaining."

000

Sitting on a rock, Sally let out a sigh. "Look, Amethyst, I'm sorry if I've upset you. And I'm sorry if you feel like I'm ruining your chances," she apologized. "I'm just trying to play as hard as I can and make it as far as I can."

"You keep making enemies with everyone and it just makes things harder for me since I'm connected to you," Amethyst explained. "The others automatically think that I'm the same way, and that puts a target on my back when I haven't done anything. I'm… I'm just tired of it!"

"I know…" the Ampharos sighed, looking down guiltily. "So… if you want to work with other people… I guess that's okay."

Amethyst rose a brow. "I… didn't know that I needed your consent to do that…"

Realizing how she took it, Sally shook her head. "No, no, no… I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that I understand if you want to follow through on what you said back at the stadium…"

The Aurorus nodded as she started turning around and walking away. "Okay. If that's all you wanted, I'm gonna go back and talk with the guys…"

Sally sighed, "Can you at least promise me one thing?"

Amethyst stopped and let out another sigh. She had a feeling that she knew what she was going to ask, but still inquired, "What?"

"Don't vote me out…" Sally pleaded.

Amethyst thought about it for a moment. "I… I'll think about it."

The Aurorus continued to walk away, with Sally letting out another sigh. "Worth a shot…" she whispered.

000

Aura returned to the campgrounds, fuming from how her alliance was acting. She knocked on the cabin door and was soon let in by Ashton.

She immediately walked in and hopped onto the bed that Phill was sitting on, laying her head against the pillow. Everyone else was surprised, immediately turning to Phill.

"Um… Is everything okay, babe?" Phill inquired. "I mean, based on how you came in, I kn-"

"They think that I'm betraying them because I didn't tell them that we were together…" Aura explained, though it was muffled since she had her head buried in the pillow.

"Uh… what?"

The shiny Glaceon lifted her head, snapping, "They don't trust me anymore because I didn't immediately tell them that we were seeing each other!"

"What? So they kicked you out of the alliance?" Kojo inquired.

"No, but they might as well have based on how they acted," Aura replied in a huff.

"Well, you know if push comes to shove, you're more than welcome to work with us," Phill offered, rubbing her back.

Aura gave him a small smile before sitting up and kissing his cheek. "Thanks…" she said while nuzzling him.

"No problem, babe," Phill replied with a smile.

The others in the cabin all smiled at the two, though Kojo was still a bit wary.

-000-

After another hour or so, Virizion's voice once again echoed throughout the island via the loudspeakers.

"CONTESTANTS! IT IS TIME FOR YOUR IMMUNITY CHALLENGE! PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY BACK TO THE STADIUM ASAP!"

Sally, who was still in the forest, took a deep breath. At this point, it was practically confirmed that she was the one on the chopping block if she didn't win immunity. She was going to have to do the best she could and make sure that she was the one safe.

She got to her feet and took another deep breath. "You can do this…" she whispered to herself. "You don't have anybody in your corner anymore. You're gonna have to take the Tauros by the horns…"

She started heading to the stadium, giving herself pep talks on the way.

000

"With Amethyst not wanting to work with me anymore, I'm up shit creek without a paddle," Sally explained. "The only way I have any hope of being safe is if I win immunity."

She continued, "Given how things have gone in the last few challenges, I may not stand a chance… but I'm not going down without a fight."

000

All of the contestants returned to the stadium, where the hosts once again stood in the middle, accompanied by Zahku. The Hariyama was holding a cardboard box that seemed to be filled with bracelets.

As they approached, Xerneas greeted them. "Welcome back to the stadium. You guys ready for your challenge?"

"Sure, why not?" Titan spoke up. "The faster we finish, the faster we can get to the elimination and hotel…"

"Time doesn't work that way," Aspen replied. "You guys would still have to wait until it's nighttime."

"Eh," the Galvantula grunted.

"Okay, today's immunity challenge is a Dynamax Battle Tournament," Mew revealed, immediately causing looks of confusion to form on the competitors' faces.

"Dynawhat now?" Ace inquired.

"You mean those battles where people grow big and have those crazy moves?" Kojo inquired, apparently having a bit of knowledge of the phenomenon. "I thought that only happened in Galar…"

"It did," Virizion explained. She then let out an irritated sigh, continuing, "But, Eternatus has been venturing away from Galar, leaking energy, and just dropping Wishing Stars randomly. And since he's the reason Dynamax and Gigantimax even exists, it's now spreading…"

"Luckily Arceus and Giratina are planning to talk to him and get him to stop," Xerneas chimed in, "but, in the meantime, we're gonna have some fun with this."

Mew began to explain the rules. "I'm sure you all know how tournaments work by now, so I won't bother with that. This is how Dynamaxing will work."

He took out one of the bracelets, which was white in color. Blue and pink stripes lined the ends of it and a black 'screen' was seen on it. "This is a Dynamax Band. We're able to use the Wishing Star from the campground to create them. These will allow you guys to distort space and grow large during battles."

"You'll only be able to Dynamax for three turns, but during those turns, you'll only be able to use extremely powerful moves called Max Moves," Virizion added. "Some Max Moves can impact the field, so be careful. You don't want to accidentally put yourself at a disadvantage."

"So, we just grow big for a few minutes and then what?" Connor inquired. "We just go back to normal?"

"Yes," Xerneas answered. "It's relatively simple. Any other questions, comments, or concerns?"

"Does it hurt?" Aspen inquired.

Mew shook his head. "No, you wouldn't feel anything. You'd just grow."

"And could we uh… keep those bands after this is over?" Phill inquired, a small smile on his face.

The hosts gave him a look, having an idea of why he wanted to know. "No, Phill…" Virizion answered. "They wouldn't even work. There needs to be a Power Spot in the area."

"Dang it…" he groaned.

Mew spoke up once again, "Alright, let's get you all into your pairs, equip your Dynamax Bands, and get this show on the road."

000

"Alright, the pairs have been made," Mew stated. "We're gonna start with our first pair of ladies. Aspen and Morgan, you guys are up."

Morgan groaned as she stood up. A bit annoyed that she'd have to battle against Aspen right off the bat. "Why do I feel like this was set up?"

"You guys saw us draw names out of a hat," Virizion reminded. "It's a coincidence and nothing more."

"If you say so…" Aspen retorted as she and Morgan made their way to the center of the stadium.

Once they were in their respective areas, the Persian and Furfrou waited for their cue to begin.

"Alright… first battle! Morgan vs. Aspen. Winner moves on," Mew announced. "In three… two… one… GO!"

-000-

Aspen immediately started with a Dark Pulse, blasting a beam of black and purple rings toward Morgan.

The Persian swiftly dodged the attack and charged toward her. Aspen held her ground as Morgan grew closer, eventually leaping out of the way when she attempted to swipe at her with black, glowing claws. "Damn it, wait… Shadow Claw won't work on her…"

The Poodle Pokémon attempted to fire another Dark Pulse at her sister-in-law, who had to quickly snap out of her thoughts and dodge. Aspen quickly charged toward her, a light-orange aura surrounding her.

Morgan ran towards her in retaliation, leaping over her when the time was right. She turned back around as Aspen skidded to a halt. Her gem glowed a bright red as she fired a beam toward her.

The attack made contact, causing Aspen to wince and skid across the ground. Aspen got back to her feet and started rushing toward her, her tail glowing a bright white. Morgan's head gem glowed a bright red again, blasting beams toward the approaching poodle.

Aspen leapt up, performing a single flip before slamming her tail onto Morgan's back. The Persian hissed in pain before growling softly. Being that Aspen was still in close range, she immediately tackled the Furfrou, a cloud of smoke surrounding the two of them.

The Poodle Pokémon was flung out of the cloud a few seconds later, landing on the ground with a THUD!

Panting heavily, Morgan commented, "Come on, Aspen... I know that you've… you've got more fight in you…"

Aspen groaned softly before she shakily started to get back to her feet. She began panting softly as well, lifting her leg to eye her Dynamax Band. "So… Are we supposed to do this Dynamax stuff now?"

"You could have done it from the beginning!" Virizion shouted from the sidelines.

The girls looked at each other and then at their bands, which started to glow. They touched them, immediately causing a pink light to surround both of them. They slowly started to grow larger and larger, with pink clouds hovering above their heads once they were large enough.

Luckily, the stadium was large enough to hold them, even with their newfound size. The others on the sidelines just watched in awe. They were all going to be able to do that?

"Whoa!" Morgan stated, her voice echoing. "This is… weird…" she said, looking over herself.

"Yep!"

The Persian turned back to see a stream of spikes heading toward her. She was hit by the spikes, but didn't go down. She flinched before growling, looking back at Aspen, who smirked. "Cheap shot!" Morgan called.

"Hey, it's a challenge," Aspen countered with a smirk.

Morgan sneered back, "Oh, well in that case… I'll just finish this up…"

Immediately following suit, the Persian's body glowed and sparked yellow as a bolt of electricity shot into the sky. Thunder boomed as a cloud formed in the sky, causing Aspen to look up in fear. She couldn't go anywhere!

A large bolt of lightning slammed down onto the Normal-type, also causing a field of electricity to appear on the ground. The pink light erupted from Aspen as she slowly shrunk and collapsed onto the ground, fainted.

"And the winner of the first battle is Morgan!" Xerneas announced as the Persian began to shrink, herself.

The Classy Cat Pokémon was winded, but approached her fainted sister-in-law, who was slowly coming back to her senses.

Aspen let out a pained groan as she sat up. Seeing Morgan, she sheepishly smiled. The Persian smiled back, commenting, "You did pretty well…"

She slowly got back onto her feet, nodding appreciatively. "Thanks…"

The two moved onto the sidelines as the electricity on the field dissipated.

000

Their return was met with a bit of applause from the others. "Good job you two, that was a pretty good battle," Ace opined.

"Yeah, those Max Moves looked crazy, too," Connor observed.

Aspen moaned, "It feels like getting hit by a truck. But, it was an alright experience anyway. Just wished that I had won." This comment earned her a hip check from Morgan, who stifled a laugh.

"Hit by a truck, huh? Well, this is gonna suck for me, then," Phill stated.

Titan, wanting to move on, decided to try and move the challenge along. He just wanted to get to the hotel reward already. "Alright, who's next?" he deadpanned.

"Next up are Holly and Sally," Virizion stated.

The Ampharos smirked, while Holly only sweatdropped. Holly knew that Sally had an instant advantage over her, so she was going to have to hope that she landed hits quickly and got away from her when she started zapping.

"This'll be quick…" Titan muttered to himself. With the obvious disadvantage that Holly had, this battle should only take a few minutes, or even seconds, which was fine by him as long as it sped up the process. The Dynamaxing was cool and all, but he was ready to get the hell off of that island.

A few of the others had heard him and gave him disapproving looks, which he didn't notice. Aura hummed to herself.

000

"Y'know… Sally is pretty annoying at this point," Aura began, "and Titan still has that dumb immunity statue. Maybe we can split the votes tonight if neither of them get immunity. Getting rid of Titan's statue and Sally. It'd be a win-win…"

000

Holly and Sally stood on their respective sides, with the Ampharos wearing a confident smirk and the Swoobat having a worrisome expression on her face.

The two of them waited for their cue. Eventually, Virizion began counting down. "In three… two… one… GO!"

-000-

Immediately, Sally touched her Dynamax Band. Knowing that she had a huge advantage, she wanted to finish this quickly.

Holly paled as she watched the Ampharos grow large. She quickly tried to tap on her Dynamax Band in order to grow larger, herself. As the pink aura surrounded her, Sally took the opportunity to launch an attack. She fired a bolt of lightning into the sky, similar to what Morgan did.

Thunder began booming as Holly finally reached her full Dynamax size. Before she could even launch an attack of her own, a large lightning bolt slammed onto her, knocking her out in an instant. She started shrinking back down, as did Sally, who wore a smirk on her face as she folded her arms. That was one person down.

The Ampharos took a breath and approached Holly in order to help her up, only for Klavier to beat her to it. The Gliscor had glided over to his partner and scooped her up, giving the Ampharos a look of displeasure before flying back to the sidelines.

She looked over and saw that a few others were giving her the same look. The Ampharos sighed, holding her head. Looks like even when she won, she was the loser.

000

"I was literally about to check up on her… but I guess I'm not allowed to do that," Sally grumbled. "You know what, screw it. They're all planning to vote me out, anyway. If they wanna treat me like some kinda pariah for playing the game, screw them."

000

After returning to the sidelines, Sally sat in wait, ignoring the few looks she was getting from her fellow competitors. Holly had gotten back up, a bit dazed, but she was fine.

"Alright," Virizion spoke up. "Next up we have Shine and Amethyst…"

Amethyst, having no confidence in that pairing, immediately inquired, "Uh… Am I allowed to forfeit?"

"You just don't wanna try to fight at all, do you?" Aura commented, shaking her head in disapproval. The Aurorus' tendency to just give up when things seem tough was growing tired.

"Yeah, seriously Amethyst, you always give up and forfeit with these kinds of challenges," Phill spoke up. "Actually try this time. You never know what you can do!"

"Hey, hey, if she doesn't wanna try it, let her forfeit," Titan replied. "Plus, she's going against her." he said, gesturing to Shine. "Do you really think that she's gonna give her a chance?"

Shine scoffed, "Wow…"

Titan gave her a look, "Given how you've handled challenges in the past, I'm not really wrong to think this, now am I? Plus, given that you're married to-"

"Okay, that excuse is really getting old," Ace interrupted. "You're really still blaming her and acting like she's a bitch just because she's smart, strategic, and her husband is tough…"

Titan deadpanned, "Uh… mate, I think you're projecting. I was just saying that she's dangerous and would want to win, so she'd make it quick like Sally did…"

"No, you're just being a-"

"Okay!" Amethyst shouted, interrupting them and startling the others. "I'll just give it a try… but don't expect me to do well…"

"So… Is this happening or not?" Virizion inquired.

"We're coming," Shine stated as she walked ahead, with Amethyst in tow, a nervous look on her face.

They each took their spots on the field, with Shine wearing a serious expression and Amethyst wearing a faux look of confidence.

"Alright, in three… two… one… GO!" Xerneas called.

-000-

Shine didn't move an inch. She only looked at Amethyst. She was tired of getting negative labels thrust upon her just because she was viewed as strong. It just made no sense why people were so negative toward her just because she could win challenges.

So, this time, she was going to let Amethyst get the first lick. "Just go ahead and hit me. I'm not a bitch. I'll give you a chance."

"Uh… O-Okay…" Amethyst replied as a pink aura surrounded her. She began to grow large slowly. Red clouds swirled around her head as she looked down at the Sun Pokémon.

Shine sweatdropped, a bit unsure if she made the right choice.

Amethyst lifted her head up and blasted a beam in the sky. Icy clouds formed in the sky above Shine's head as massive hailstones rained down toward her. Her eyes widened and started running back and forth in an attempt to dodge the hail.

Eventually, one made contact, causing a lot of damage as an actual hailstorm began. Wincing, Shine slowly got up, giving the Tundra Pokémon a look of surprise. She hadn't expected her to actually be strong.

However, now that Amethyst had her turn, it was her turn to fight back. The Espeon's eyes glowed a deep blue, as the Aurorus' body was surrounded by a blue aura.

"W-Wait! I thought-"

"You had your hit…" Shine replied, her Dynamax Band glowing as a pink aura surrounded her. The Espeon started to grow, keeping the Tundra Pokémon in place. "Now it's my turn…"

Amethyst's pupils shrank in fear. A purple aura surrounded Shine as she stopped using Psychic, allowing Amethyst to move freely again.

The Aurorus quickly tried to use a Max Hailstorm again, but the Espeon beat her to it. Multiple pieces of household furniture and kitchen appliances formed and floated around her before slamming into Amethyst at full force.

Unsurprisingly, this caused the Tundra Pokémon to faint, with her shrinking afterwards.

"And Shine wins!" Mew announced. "Really not surprising at all", he thought to himself.

The Espeon began shrinking, as the hail slowly dissipated. She stretched before walking over to Amethyst. Sally walked toward her from the sidelines as well to check up on her.

Amethyst sighed to herself as she got up, disappointed in herself despite knowing that her chances were slim.

"Hey…" Sally greeted, patting her side. "You did a good job, anyway."

Amethyst sighed to herself, not offering an actual response.

"Yeah," Shine agreed, sitting next to them. "You surprised me with the first hit. Those Max Moves are powerful. Don't get yourself down. "

Amethyst nodded, though she still didn't feel any better. At least she tried, though.

000

Returning to the sidelines, Amethyst sat down with a soft sigh, with Connor nudging her. "At least you got a chance…"

"Wasn't good enough, though…" she responded softly.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up about it," Phill remarked. "At least you were actually a part of the action, as limited a time as it was…'

Amethyst didn't respond, as Sally pet her side in order to comfort her. Amethyst still didn't want to work with Sally, and she was still apprehensive about her request to not vote her out. However, she still appreciated her support.

"Alright, last pair for the ladies: Aura vs. Ashton," Mew stated. "Let's see what you girls got."

Ashton sweatdropped, "Well, this could be bad…"

Aura giggled. "Never count yourself out. You never know," she replied, walking out to the field. Amethyst followed her, a bit uncertain about her chances.

Once they were in their respective places, Virizion began the countdown. "In three… two… one… GO!"

-000-

Unlike the previous battles, the two ladies didn't Dynamax right away. Ashton decided to start it off, petals surrounding her before she launched them toward Aura.

Aura smirked to herself as a white aura surrounded her. Once the attack made contact, it was reflected back toward Ashton, whose eyes widened as the petals came back toward her much faster and with more power behind them.

Her antennae glowed as a barrier formed in front of her, keeping the attack from hitting her. Aura sprinted toward her at that moment.

Seeing this, Ashton dropped the Protect and immediately stretched her vines toward the shiny Glaceon in an attempt to immobilize her.

Aura countered that by blasting an Ice Beam at them, freezing them. Aura eventually got close enough and opened her mouth as ice covered her teeth.

With a daring leap, she sank her teeth into Ashton's neck, causing a good amount of damage to the Herb Pokemon, who promptly shook her off.

Part of the Meganium's neck was covered in ice, causing her to shiver a bit from the cold feeling. She opened her mouth and fired a barrage of green orbs toward the Ice-type, who started to run in order to dodge them.

Unthawing her vines by slamming them on the ground, Ashton used them concurrently while continuing to fire Energy Balls.

Too busy dodging, Aura got tripped by one of the Meganium's vines allowing multiple Energy Balls to strike her in a row.

Aura growled to herself as she shakily got to her feet. She looked at the panting Meganium on the other side and smiled. "So, you do have more in you than just kindness…"

Ashton smirked, "Can't always judge a book by its cover…"

000

"I'm really bad at battling, I feel. I just picked up a few tactics here after we all had to fight those Legendaries earlier on," Ashton sheepishly explained.

000

Aura rushed toward her again, firing an Ice Beam toward her. Ashton's antennae illuminated briefly as the same barrier from earlier surrounded her, preventing contact.

Ashton moaned to herself, as all of her moves, aside from Protect and Vine Whip, were categorized as "special". Because Aura knew Mirror Coat, she could easily reflect her stronger moves back at her.

Aura started charging toward Ashton once more, this time her tail glowing a bright white. Knowing that she couldn't keep using Protect, Ashton once again tried to use her vines to immobilize the Eeveelution.

Aura repeated her same tactic from last time, firing an Ice Beam at the vines. However, Ashton maneuvered her vines out of the line of fire, and managed to grab a hold of the Glaceon's legs.

She started swinging her around before slamming her onto the ground with a loud THUD, causing dust to surround. When the particles cleared, it was revealed that Aura was unconscious.

The others were shocked! Especially the hosts, whose mouths were agape. Xerneas, realizing that they needed to move on, cleared her throat. "Uh… and the winner of this battle is Ashton!"

Even Ashton was surprised that she won, as Aura had done more in the battle. And neither of them even Dynamaxed!

Ashton once again used Vine Whip, this time to pick up Aura and carry her to the sidelines.

000

"That was amazing, Ash!" Holly commended. "You didn't even have to Dynamax to beat her, and she had the advantage!"

"Yeah, that was impressive," Connor acknowledged.

Morgan nodded, "Let that be a lesson. Never underestimate your opponent. Some people may look kind or weak, but you don't know what they've got going on deep inside."

As the others continued to praise Ashton for her surprise victory, Aura let out a disappointed sigh. She really thought that she had that battle won, but the stream of Energy Balls and the spinning and slam took her out quicker than she expected.

The loss made her feel weak, but luckily, Phill was there to comfort her. He patted her back, "Aw, don't be down, babe. I'm probably gonna lose my battle, too. Probably even faster."

Aura gave him a look, trying her best not to laugh. However, a small smile formed on her face, which Phill caught. "There it is…" he acknowledged. "Plus, you shouldn't be down because not only did you show us what you had in the tank, you were hot while you did it! So, I'd call that a win."

The Fresh Snow Pokémon playfully scoffed, before rolling her eyes and nuzzling him.

"Alright, the ladies are all done for this round, now it's time for the guys to shine," Xerneas commented. "Connor, Klavier, come on down…"

The two guys exchanged looks, unsure of what would be the outcome would be for their matchup. After receiving a kiss on the cheek from Holly, Klavier glided toward the center of the stadium. Connor took a deep breath before heading toward the center as well.

000

"Right now, with Tay gone, I'm still not really seen as a big threat," Connor explained. "I need to keep it that way so they don't think about voting for me for a long time…"

000

"In three… two… one… GO!" Virizion counted down.

Being daring, Klavier immediately flew toward Connor, one of his pincers glowing a bright light blue. Connor took a breath before slamming his hoof down, causing a row of stones to emerge from the ground.

Acting fast, Klavier dodged the large stones before eventually reaching and striking the Bouffalant with his claw. However, the move didn't seem to phase him at all. He had hit him on his afro, so he had a lot of cushioning.

Connor took this opportunity to use a brief Head Charge, headbutting the Fang Scorpion Pokémon and sending him into one of the stones.

The Bouffalant sweatdropped, having not expected to deal that much damage. Klavier shook his head before attempting to attack again. This time his claws glowed a light orange as he flew toward him and aimed for his body.

He successfully landed multiple Brick Breaks as Connor winced each time, slowly getting weaker. The Bouffalant decided to drop and pretend to be unconscious.

"And… Klavier wins!" Virizion called.

The Gliscor smiled, happy that he actually won. He expected the battle to go on for a while, but, then again, Connor wasn't necessarily the strongest guy. Or at least, that's what he wanted them to believe.

The Bash Buffalo Pokémon let out a soft groan as he got back on his feet. "You're lucky you had a Fighting-type move…" he commented with a smirk.

Klavier responded, "Yeah, I was surprised that you went down so fast, though."

"Still don't have a lot of experience," Connor sweatdropped as he and Klavier returned to the sidelines.

000

Titan eyed Connor suspiciously as he returned to the sidelines with Klavier. He knew that the Bouffalant had gotten much stronger and would have been able to take Klavier with ease. Heck, when Klavier used Guillotine, it didn't even affect Connor, meaning that he was objectively "higher leveled".

Like Ashton, Klavier was somewhat swarmed by positivity and praise for taking out his supposedly stronger opponent. Titan, however, went over to Connor to see what happened.

"Uh… Mind explaining what the hell that was?" Titan inquired in a whisper.

"What do you mean?" Connor responded, feigning ignorance.

The Galvantula gave him a look. "You and I both know you're stronger than him," Titan retorted, gesturing to Klavier. "All that time with Taylor made you more resilient and confident. And aside from that, you're beefy and he's not…"

Connor sighed in defeat, knowing that his facade wasn't going to phase Titan. As the others continued talking to Klavier, he whispered back, "Look, this challenge is one where we see who's strong and who isn't. I'm not putting a target on my back just to win this…"

Titan looked at him in understanding. It was a very valid strategy, especially with only fourteen of them left. It got him thinking that maybe he should do the same. Sure, the others had seen him in action before, but the only time they saw him truly battle lately was when he had to fight Regigigas.

"Alright. Kojo and Titan, you guys are up next," Mew announced.

Kojo took a breath and walked out to the center of the stadium, with Titan looking back at Connor before walking to the center as well.

Neither Kojo nor Titan had a clear advantage over each other, so this battle was definitely doing to take a while.

"Alright… In three… two… one… GO!"

-000-

Unlike the previous two battles, Kojo quickly decided to Dynamax himself in order to try and end the battle quickly.

"Alright. Since you want this challenge to end quickly… I'll oblige," the Mienshao stated as he was surrounded by a pink aura and started to grow.

Titan let out a sigh. He was tempted to fight back, but thinking about what Connor had done, he decided to use the same strategy to try to lower his threat level.

Once Kojo was at his full-size, he slammed his foot down on the ground. A large slab of rock emerged from the ground before tilting down toward Titan, who paled. "Fuck…"

The slab slammed onto him, kicking up a large cloud of dust. Those who were able to, shielded their faces from the dust. As it cleared, it was revealed that Titan had, in fact, fainted.

"And Kojo wins his battle with one move!"

Kojo smiled as he started shrinking, folding his arms. He walked back to the sidelines, while Titan slowly regained consciousness. He looked over and saw Connor nodding. He groaned.

000

The Galvantula sighed, "Well, at least it was quick."

000

"Y'know, I actually expected more fight outta you, Titan," Morgan commented as the EleSpider Pokémon came back.

"I just want this challenge over," Titan explained. "So, I didn't really care much."

"Oh right… You still have your little safety net with that statue…" Aura reminded them. "You're guaranteed to be safe, regardless…"

Titan gave her a look. "I just want to move on and get to the hotel. You're the one bringing up the statue."

"I mean, her point still stands," Sally countered. "You don't have to worry about anything and just want us to wrap everything up because you're already safe and don't care about who goes."

"If this is your ploy to move the target onto me, I can guarantee you that it's not gonna work out in your favor," Titan stated firmly.

The others exchanged looks, beginning to mull over their options a bit more.

"Okay… Let's move onto the final battle of this first round. Phill vs. Ace, let's get to it," Virizion stated.

Ace headed toward the center, with Phill letting out a sigh as he followed suit. "This'll be quick, no worries…" he jested.

Once they were both in the center of the stadium, the usual countdown commenced. "Final round…" Xerneas began. "In three… two… one… GO!"

-000-

Phill went ahead and sat down, accepting his fate. Seeing this, Ace sweatdropped, "Okay, uh… Phill…"

"I'll be fine. Go ahead," Phill assured him. "Not a good battler at all."

"What? So you're not gonna even try to fight back?" Ace inquired, letting his guard down. "You told Amethyst to try when she knew that she wasn't that great…"

Phill explained, "Yeah, but that's because she was already shy and hardly did certain challenges. This is different."

The Eeveelution turned to the hosts. "Um… So, what happens now?"

Mew sighed, "Phill… Are you forfeiting?"

The Raticate shrugged, "Yeah, I guess."

"Alright…" Mew replied. "Ace wins by a forfeit!"

"It was a tough fight, but you pulled it off," Phill joked as he started walking back to the sidelines, leaving Ace confused.

000

"I… I don't know if I'm ever going to understand him…" Ace stated with a sigh.

000

"Alright," Virizion began. "Round One is over. Moving on to the next round, we've got Morgan, Sally, Ashton, Shine, Klavier, Kojo, and Ace."

Xerneas added, "Of course, this is uneven. So, once again, the pairs will be chosen by a hat draw. Whoever doesn't get paired with somebody gets an automatic pass to the third round."

"Let's draw for pairs and we'll continue on to Round Two," Mew stated.

-000-

Ashton, Sally, Ace, Shine, and Morgan were still on the ground level of the stadium, while the others were up in the stands, watching.

Kojo and Klavier were standing on the battlefield, each of them wearing a small smile on their face.

"Alright, the first match of the second round is Kojo vs. Klavier," Xerneas announced. "Let's see who comes out on top. In three… two… one… GO!"

Klavier immediately took flight before crossing his arms and flying toward the Mienshao at a high speed, a white 'X' forming in front of him.

Kojo jumped out of the way, causing Klavier to quickly shift direction and fly upwards to avoid hitting the ground. The Mienshao cupped his paws as a blue orb began forming between them.

He launched the attack toward Klavier, who was able to dodge it with relative ease. The Gliscor tried diving toward his friend again, his claws glowing blue. Seeing this, Kojo smirked and decided to stand in place, welcoming the attack.

Seeing this, Klavier immediately grew cautious and stopped himself mid-air. Kojo smirked at his hesitance. "Good call, bro," he commended. "Guillotine doesn't do anything unless you're legitimately a higher level."

Klavier growled to himself, having forgotten that caveat. With one of his moves now worthless, Klavier decided to dive toward the ground, his claws in front of him. He slammed his claws onto the ground, causing a massive shockwave that knocked Kojo off of his feet.

Klavier swiftly shot toward him, his arms crossed. As Kojo sat up, he saw Klavier approaching and held his arms outward, surrounding him in a protective barrier. Klavier landed the attack, but Kojo didn't feel a thing.

He got back to his feet, slamming his fist into the ground. Multiple stones shot up from the ground, one of which struck Klavier in the gut.

Kojo followed up with another Aura Sphere as Klavier looked as though he was going down. The Gliscor managed to dodge the attack before landing on the ground, groaning while clutching his stomach.

The Mienshao took this chance to fire another Aura Sphere at Klavier, who flew out of the way to dodge it. Klavier looked at his Dynamax Band and tapped it, causing a pink aura to surround him as he started to grow large.

Seeing what he was doing, Kojo quickly did the same, a pink aura surrounding him as well. Klavier inhaled sharply before blowing out a tornado of wind toward Kojo. The Mienshao slammed his foot down, once again causing a stone slab to emerge.

The slab blocked the stream of air, and tilted toward Klavier, slamming onto him. This actually knocked the Gliscor out, the damage from the previous Stone Edge playing a part.

Klavier began shrinking again, with Kojo letting out a sigh of relief.

"And Kojo wins!" Mew announced as the Martial Arts Pokémon began to shrink again.

Kojo smirked as he started walking toward Klavier, who sat up, rubbing his head. "You did good, dude. Especially since you don't battle often."

Klavier sweatdropped, "Thanks…" He then let out a sigh, "I need to learn more Flying-type moves…"

Kojo chuckled, patting his back. He was honestly surprised that the Gliscor did as well as he did, but the fact that he was a Flying-type made it easier to understand.

"Alright, Kojo, head on over to the right side. Klavier, join the other spectators in the stands," Virizion instructed.

000

Klavier sighed, "I feel like if the Flying-type Max Move hit, I would have won. Oh well… At least I know that I won't be voted out at least."

000

Klavier flew toward the stands, joining the other 'losers'. He was met by a kiss from Holly and a pat on the back from Phill.

"You did well, Klavier…" Holly commended.

"Yeah, you were giving him a run for his money for a while, there," Phill commented. "I honestly thought that you were going to take him down."

Klavier shrugged, "I kinda did, too. But… Kojo's strong."

"Hey, we're all strong in our own ways," Aspen stated. "And you really did put up a good fight, so don't put yourself down or anything…"

Klavier nodded.

000

Kojo sat against the wall with a sigh, "Man, I got lucky…"

"I'd say you did better than expected," Shine commented. "Just like Ashton, you beat your opponent, who had a clear advantage over you. Really commendable."

"Thanks…" Kojo replied, scratching his head. "If he had landed that Max Move, I probably woulda been done for…"

"Hey, you never know," Ace shrugged.

"Alright, next up… Shine vs. Morgan," Xerneas announced, looking over at them. "Come on down!"

Morgan took a breath, "Here we go…"

The Espeon gigged, "I expect a good fight outta you, Morgan…"

"We'll see what happens," the Persian replied. She knew that she was going to have to be careful going against Shine. She was strong, but also very cunning.

The two of them approached the center of the stadium as Xerneas began counting down. "In three… two… one… GO!"

-000-

Right off the bat, Morgan rushed toward Shine, one of her paws being engulfed in darkness. Shine braced herself as Morgan got closer and leapt up in order to use Shadow Caw.

Shine dodged it, letting Morgan land. Her eyes glowed a bright blue as an aura surrounded Morgan, who slowly felt herself start floating off of the ground.

She couldn't move, immobilized by Psychic. She was raised high into the air before being abruptly slammed back onto the ground. She winced as she got to her feet, her forehead gem glowing.

The Persian began firing beams toward Shine, who leapt out of the way of each beam. As she did this, Shine began preparing a counterattack. A few bluish-purple masses began forming around her before she fired them at Morgan, who had to stop blasting Power Gem attacks in order to dodge.

Morgan ribbed, "Good to see you use something other than Psychic…"

Shine gave her a smirk in return. "Don't worry, even without using Psychic, I can handle you just fine…"

Morgan proceeded to use Power Gem, firing beams toward Shine once again. The Espeon surrounded herself in a bright, rainbow sphere, causing the beams to bounce off of her. She started rushing toward Morgan, who kept trying to fire at her.

Eventually, she tried and failed to dodge the attack, sending her sprawling across the ground. She wasn't done yet, though. As beaten as she was, she quickly rushed toward Shine and tackled her, a cloud of dust forming around them as she slashed and headbutt Shine multiple times before leaping out of the dust cloud, panting heavily.

As the dust cleared, Shine was still standing, albeit a tad bit worse for wear. The Sun Pokémon's eyes glowed blue as more masses of bluish-purple energy formed around her. She fired each of them toward Morgan, who immediately started sprinting away in order to dodge each one.

When she had the opportunity, she tried firing another beam from her gem, which actually struck Shine and sent her across the field that time.

Morgan decided that now was the time to Dynamax. She had landed a few moves on Shine, so maybe a Max Move would actually take her out.

A pink aura surrounded her as she slowly began to increase in size. Shine, seeing what she was doing, used another Psyshock attack while the Persian was mid-growth.

Morgan winced, giving Shine time to Dynamax herself. The Espeon began to grow as well as Morgan attempted to use Max Phantasm. Multiple appliances surrounded Morgan before flying toward Shine. The Espeon's eyes glowed a deep blue as a wave of Psychic energy was fired from her gem, stopping the appliances in place and causing them to disappear. The wave didn't stop there, as it approached Morgan, whose eyes widened.

000

Morgan groaned, "Guess I should've seen that coming..."

000

"And Shine wins!" Virizion announced.

From the sidelines, Sally rolled her eyes, "As expected…"

Morgan was lying on the ground, moaning softly, as Shine approached her. "Hey…" she greeted as she helped the Persian back up onto her feet. "It was a good battle…"

Morgan sighed, "I guess… I was hoping to be the one to actually take you out..."

Shine giggled as she returned to the group that was still waiting on the sidelines, "Well, I'm sorry to crush your hopes…"

"No you're not…" Morgan chortled, shaking her head in return as she started walking toward the stands.

000

"And yet another piece of evidence that proves that the devil's wife needs to go as soon as possible," Titan commented.

"Oh be quiet Titan," Aspen retorted. "Shine's strong, you have the immunity statue, and Sally's annoying. There's plenty of reasons to eliminate anybody. Except Phill, I guess. No offense…"

"None taken," Phill retorted with a shrug.

"I mean, that's true, but that doesn't mean he's wrong," Connor explained. "I mean, Shine's cool, but she's won immunities and she's proven that she'll be tough to beat. It's not hard to see…"

"We're not getting rid of her yet," Morgan stated, having overheard them as she approached. "We have bigger fish to fry…"

Klavier rose a brow, "But the longer Shine stays, the harder it gets for all of us. Including you..."

Morgan stood firm. "No…"

000

"We need Shine to stay so that she can keep winning these challenges," Morgan explained. "You saw that they voted out Anthony since he was being an annoying prick. And the plan is to vote out Sally for trying to play so damn hard and being a bitch."

"Neither of them are in our alliance. So, the onger Shine stays, the higher the chance that they'll keep cannibalizing each other," she said with a smirk.

000

Sally and Ace were now on the battlefield, leaving Ashton as the one with the automatic entrance to the third round. On one hand, Ashton was glad that she didn't have to battle again and could just move on, but on the other hand, there was a high chance that she would be demolished.

Sally really needed this. She was on the way out, and it seemed like nobody was truly thinking logically, instead thinking emotionally. She was hoping that she would be able to end the battle quickly and not waste too much time.

There was a look of determination on Ace's face. He knew that he would be safe, regardless of his placement. However, he also knew that he couldn't let Sally win. She didn't have a chance against Shine, but he didn't want to risk it, anyway.

"Alright. Last battle of the round, Ace vs. Sally," Virizion acknowledged. "Let's see who's moving on… In three... two… one… GO!"

-000-

Like in her battle against Holly, Sally decided to Dynamax right out of the gate. The pink aura surrounded her as she slowly grew in size. Ace's eyes tracked her as she slowly towered over him. He was a bit unnerved by this, as he didn't really experience this in the last round.

The Ampharos used Max Lightning, dark clouds beginning to form in the sky. As the lightning bolt struck down, Ace managed to leap out of the way, narrowly dodging the attack. However, despite the attack not inflicting any damage to Ace, the after effects of the Max Move still occurred.

Electricity surged across the battlefield, causing Ace to growl in frustration. With Electric Terrain now active, Sally's Electric-type moves would be even stronger.

The Sylveon stretched out his feelers as a pink mass of energy formed in his mouth. He fired the Moonblast at Sally, who couldn't dodge due to her size.

The attack hit, causing Sally to wince, but she fought back immediately by using Max Lightning again. Ace was unable to dodge this time, getting struck by the move. With Electric Terrain in effect, the move did even more damage.

Amazingly, Ace wasn't immediately knocked out. He was heavily damaged, but he wasn't had just wasted two of her turns, so now was the right time for him to retaliate. One of his feelers swiped across his Dynamax Band, engulfing him in a pink aura.

Taking a chance, Sally fired a beam from her gem into the ground, causing a slab of rock to emerge. Now fully grown, Ace was immediately greeted by the Max Rockfall, which slammed against him. The move not only knocked the Sylveon out, but kicked up a sandstorm as well.

Ace began shrinking in defeat, much to Sally's delight. She soon began to shrink as well, as the battle was now over.

"And Sally wins the final spot!" Virizion announced. "Ashton, Shine, Kojo, and Sally are moving on…"

Shine frowned at this, having hoped that Sally would be taken out. Ace got back to his feet, a look of disappointment on his face. Not only did Sally beat him, but it felt relatively quick, as if he didn't really stand a chance.

With a defeated sigh, he started making his way to the stairs that lead to the stands where the others were.

000

Ace sighed, "This sucks… If Sally ends up winning this somehow, I'll have no idea what to think."

000

"I swear, if Sally somehow pulls this off…" Aspen trailed off.

"It'd just make her more of a priority to eliminate," Morgan replied. "Not to mention we'd have to shift the target for tonight," she murmured under her breath.

Ace sighed softly as he approached the section of the stands the others were in. Taking a seat next to Morgan, he lamented, "Sorry that I blew it…"

With comforting smiles, Aspen and Morgan turned to him. "You did fine, Ace," consoled Morgan, scratching the Sylveon's head. "Don't get yourself down."

"Yeah. Sally may just be tougher than we all think," Klavier chimed in.

Phill reasoned, "Well, she has Jet just like Shine has Shade. So, I think we can assume that she's gotten some tips and training from him outside of the game, too."

"Ugh, right…" Aura groaned. "She does have that under her belt…"

"Well, depending on these next pairings, we'll see if we're gonna end up with a big battle at the end…"

000

"Alright, after another pull, we've determined the next pairs," Mew explained, tossing away a black hat.

"First up… Kojo vs. Ashton…" Virizion directed.

Kojo let out a sigh as he got to his feet. Having seen what Ashton was capable of against Aura, the actor was a bit wary.

Ashton was just as wary, knowing that the Mienshao was resilient and smart. She was going to have to be careful.

As they went out to the battlefield, Sally folded her arms as she gave Shine a side-eye. "You're just gonna make sure that I don't have a chance, aren't you?"

The Espeon gave her a look, not even bothering to respond. The Ampharos wasn't worth it.

Kojo and Ashton were in their respective places on the field. Both of them wore a face that was a mix of confidence and hesitation.

"Alright, the first battle of the penultimate round," Virizion announced. "In three… two… one… GO!"

000

Ashton got the battle started by using Vine Whip, wanting to immobilize Kojo as quickly as she could. Seeing the vines coming in his direction, Kojo slammed one of his legs onto the ground, causing multiple jagged stones to emerge from the ground.

The stones blocked her vines for a moment, giving Kojo an opportunity to use them to his advantage. He jumped across each stone, steadily approaching Ashton before landing a swift kick to her neck. The Meganium winced as the Martial Arts Pokémon did a backflip to once again get distance between them.

With that one attack, Ashton was already feeling fatigue. She didn't even know what the move was. She decided to start firing Energy Balls, which destroyed the stones and gave her a clear shot at him. Petals formed around her before being fired in his direction.

Kojo extended his hands outwards, creating a barrier in order to avoid damage. The petals bounced off of the barrier as Kojo lunged forward, forming a mass of energy between his palms. With a leap, he launched the Aura Sphere at Ashton.

The Herb Pokémon countered with an Energy Ball, causing a small explosion. She used Vine Whip again, this time managing to grab a hold of the Mienshao's leg. She lifted him up and began using the same technique she used against Aura, spinning him around before slamming him back onto the ground, kicking up a bit of dust.

Kojo grunted as he got back to his feet, only to be met by multiple Energy Balls heading his way. He used Protect again quickly, the impact from the Energy Balls causing him to slide back a few inches.

He slammed his foot onto the ground, using Stone Edge once again. The stone pillars rushed toward Ashton, who once again started firing Energy Balls to shatter them.

Once they were cleared, she didn't see Kojo on the other side anymore. It was then that she was struck by an orb from the side. She said across the field momentarily before looking over and seeing that Kojo was now to her right.

She attempted to use another attack, but flinched from the damage she had suffered. Seeing this, Kojo rushed toward her once again.

Ashton quickly used Vine Whip again, but Kojo dodged them as they shot in his direction. Once he was close, he landed another quick kick, this time to her left leg, before doing another flip and landing away from her.

Heavily damaged, Ashton was really close to fainting, but held on. She could still Dynamax, but it felt like another blow could put her down.

She decided to take the risk and swiped one of her vines against her Dynamax Band, surrounding her with a pink aura. As she started to grow, Kojo took a few steps back. Having seen what attacking during the growing process amounted to, he decided to wait a bit before attacking again.

Once she was fully grown, she immediately fired seeds toward Kojo, whose eyes widened. Large mushrooms grew around him before they all exploded, damaging him rather severely. Light-green rings of energy pulsated across the battlefield in the aftermath.

Kojo knew that he was going to have to Dynamax quickly before Ashton was able to attack again. Unluckily for him, Ashton wasn't going to allow that, knowing that she was done for if he did. She used Max Overgrowth once again, now boosted by the Grassy Terrain on the field.

Before Kojo even started to grow, he was surrounded by the fungus, which promptly exploded.

When the smoke cleared, Kojo was revealed to still be standing, though his legs were trembling. After a few more seconds, he winced before dropping.

"Kojo is down! Ashton moves on to the final round!" Xerneas announced.

The Meganium started shrinking again, but was still pretty weak and tired. She panted softly before falling onto her side. "I… I'm done… No more battles..." she said between breaths.

"Are you sure?" Mew inquired.

"Yes…" she replied.

"Alright, well… Kojo is still out, and Ashton's forfeited, so…" Xerneas began. She turned to Sally and Shine. "It looks like one of you two will be winning immunity."

Mew levitated the Meganium and Mienshao to the stands, clearing the way for Sally and Shine.

000

"Are you guys, okay?" Holly inquired as Kojo and Ashton joined them in the stands.

"Just… Really tired," Ashton answered, resting her head on one of the bleachers.

"Yeah, I say you deserve it," Titan complimented. "You really surprised me down there."

"Yeah," Phill concurred. "I mean, you took out Kojo. That's a pretty good feat."

"Hey, I've never said nor shown myself to be some amazing battler," Kojo spoke up, holding his head. "But, she did good nevertheless."

"Guess we have someone else to worry about, now," Ace commented with a chuckle.

Upon hearing that, Ashton paled a bit. Maybe she shouldn't have forfeited. She didn't think about possibly becoming a target based on her performance.

000

Ashton sighed, "I was so close to losing that. But then I won and I ended up forfeiting anyway because I was extremely tired and I knew that I probably wouldn't win the last round, anyway."

"But now they all may see me as a threat," Ashton explained. "This could be a problem."

000

Shine and Sally each wore a look of determination and irritation on her face, their mutual disdain for each other about to come to a head.

Sally really disliked the Espeon's uppity attitude. The main thing she's known for is being married to Shade and having him be stolen from her. Now she's displaying this strength and strategic prowess and acting like if you weren't with her, you were below her.

Shine only disliked Sally due to her perception of her. She was just trying to play the game and got frustrated at times. She didn't see how that made her a bitch when everyone else was doing the same thing. Not to mention people were still just upset at her in general for having the gall to use her Psychic-type abilities to her advantage when there weren't any rules against it.

The feud didn't start that long ago, and it honestly was very petty and stupid. However, they felt how they felt.

"Well, I guess we're ready for the final round," Virizion stated. "Sally vs. Shine. Immunity on the line. In three… two… one… GO!"

-000-

Sally decided to use her same tactic, as it had worked both times prior. However, before she could do anything, she felt herself being stopped, as a blue aura surrounded her.

As she expected, Shine was using Psychic to stop her in her tracks. The Espeon tossed her up and slammed her to the ground.

Sally growled, getting back to her feet, "Figures that you wouldn't go so hard against your alliance member. As soon as it's anybody else, they don't really get a real chance…"

Shine, getting fed up with her complaining, opened her mouth as a sphere of darkness formed. She fired the Shadow Ball toward Sally, who countered by using Power Gem, causing a miniature explosion.

Masses of bluish-purple energy formed around Shine as she fired each one at Sally. The Ampharos used Protect, keeping the attack from damaging her.

Sally began blasting Power Gem at Shine again, but the Espeon surrounded herself with a rainbow orb and began charging toward Sally. The beams bounced off of the orb as Shine collided with the Ampharos, knocking her back a few feet.

"It's not my fault that you guys feel so damn entitled that you think that I should handicap myself in a competition…" Shine snarled.

The Sun Pokémon began firing Shadow Balls at Sally, who was starting to get up. The Ampharos, seeing the orbs heading her way, growled before unleashing yellow bolts of electricity from her body, blowing up all of the Shadow Balls.

She started blasting beams from her forehead gem again, but Shine's eyes glowed a deep blue, stopping the attack. Shine sent the move back toward her, which Sally dodged. The Electric-type used Discharge once again, sending bolts of electricity toward the Psychic-type.

Shine dodged the attack and attempted to fire a Shadow Ball at her once again. Sally's arms became engulfed in flames as she punched the Shadow Ball, stopping it. She followed up with Power Gem again, this time managing to strike Shine.

As Shine regained her composure, Sally used Discharge, striking the Espeon with lightning bolts. Sally smirked to herself. "Come on… Don't try to be empathetic now…" Sally goaded.

Shine growled as her eyes glowed blue once again. Sally was lifted off of the ground abruptly before being slammed onto the ground. Shine did this repeatedly before tossing her into the air and using Psyshock, firing the masses of energy toward the Ampharos as she fell back toward the ground.

"Fuck… off…" the Sun Pokémon stated as she fired a final Shadow Ball at Sally as she tried standing up, finally putting her down.

"And with that, Shine wins immunity!" Mew announced.

The Espeon didn't show any sign of joy, a look of irritation still fixed on her face.

000

"Alright, congratulations Shine. You've won immunity once again," Mew explained. "And as an added bonus, you will get to participate in the reward with the winning team."

"Wh- You didn't tell us that that was a part of it!" Kojo groused.

"It was a planned surprise," Xerneas explained. "If the winner of the tournament was already going on the trip, they would've had a chance to pick someone to tag along after the ceremony tonight."

Hearing that, Sally sighed in disappointment. Not only would she have had immunity, but she could have had Amethyst come with her so that they could talk a bit more.

"Alright, head on back to camp and figure out who you're going to eliminate, because after today, I'm sure some perspectives have changed," Virizion explained.

000

Shine sat in silence, taking a deep breath. "I'm really sick of this bullshit…"

000

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN DON'T ELIMINATE SALLY?!" Ace exclaimed.

Shine and her alliance members, minus Aura, were back in the jail, gushing over her win against their primary target. However, now it seemed like Shine was having a change of heart.

"That bitch has been annoying everyone and more importantly, egging you on and treating you horribly for no reason!" Ace explained. "Why would you want to keep her here?!"

"Because I want to be able to fucking deal with her and hash this out," Shine explained. "I'm tired of this and want it to end. Plus, she'd still be an annoying shield. She's an easy vote, but we need to worry about other people right now."

"Okay, now I can understand that," Morgan commented. "But if we're not going for Sally, then I suggest we try to get the others to flush Titan's statue."

"Okay, but then who do we vote for?" Aspen inquired.

The others exchanged looks.

000

"Well, we're gonna be getting rid of Sally," Kojo said. "This is gonna be a pretty easy vote…"

Having done a bit of thinking, Phill spoke up. "Actually, if she's such an easy vote, maybe we shouldn't vote for her right now."

A few of the others were shocked by this proposal. "What do you mean?" Klavier inquired. "She's been annoying some of us for a while now."

"Yeah, plus she tried to vote me out last time!" Kojo exclaimed.

"Exactly," Phill concurred. "If she's such a universal target, then maybe we should focus on somebody else right now and vote her out when we don't really need her anymore."

"Well if we don't vote for her, then who do we vote for? Shine's the biggest threat right now, but she won," Ashton chimed in.

"Well, actually Titan still has that damn statue, so he's the biggest threat. We need to get rid of that statue before we do anything else," Aura explained.

"Also a good point," Phill reasoned.

"Okay, but if we all vote for Titan, that'll give the others the power and they could vote one of us out…" Kojo reasoned.

"Not if we get them to vote for Titan," Holly suggested.

"They'd be smart enough to see right through that," Kojo countered. "Ugh… There's so many variables…"

"Okay, hold on," Klavier chimed in. "Phill, Aura, and Holly are going on the reward with Titan. What if they can convince him to give one of them the statue? He probably won't wanna work with Morgan and Ace since they wanted to target him before, so that may give us a higher chance."

"That's… actually a pretty damn good idea," Kojo chuckled. "If we can get him on our side completely and give the statue to us, we'll be sitting pretty…"

"Sounds good to me," Phill agreed. "So, we're not getting rid of Sally or Titan, and Shine has immunity…"

"I think we should get Ace," Ashton suggested. "He may not be that strong physically, but I feel like he's on par with Shine mentally, and that's a much bigger problem."

"That works for me," Kojo shrugged. "And he's supposed to be going on the trip, too… That means that their side would have no chance since it'd just be Morgan, Sally, and Shine."

Aura sweatdropped, unable to really say anything. She was still in their alliance, but at this rate, with them getting picked off, it was beginning to make more sense for her to just stick with the majority. She wasn't going to vote with them, but she also wasn't going to tell her alliance.

000

Aura sighed, "They already think that I'm working with these guys, so I might as well just ride this out for a while. I don't want Aspen to go anytime soon, though."

"This is gonna be weird…"

000

"Alright, I'll admit that I'm a bit spooked about tonight," Titan explained. "Kept hearing about the statue, and I'm thinking that they may try to flush it before they take out Sally."

"They probably won't," Connor replied. "I think Sally has pissed them off enough that they'd rather just vote her out immediately than bother flushing out the statue right now."

"I dunno," Titan replied. "I just have a bad feeling…"

Amethyst approached them with a sigh as she lied down. "So who are you guys voting for?" she asked softly.

"Going with the majority and doing Sally," Connor answered. "Pretty easy."

Amethyst looked down, "Oh…" The Tundra Pokémon had been wavering between voting for Sally, or permitting her request and not voting for her. On one hand, she felt that she owed it to Sally for sticking with and up for her, but on the other hand, she was becoming irritating and playing too hard for her own good, which messed up her chances.

"Still a bit unsure?" Titan reasoned, noticing her body language.

Amethyst nodded, "I just don't wanna feel like I'm making a mistake…"

"Well… If it makes you feel better, she'll probably end up being eliminated whether you vote for her or not," Titan reasoned. "So, do whatever you think is right for you."

Unbeknownst to them, Sally was nearby, listening in on their conversation. She was at least glad that Amethyst was hesitant to vote her out, unlike everyone else. It was bittersweet. She lost to the person she disliked and was now guaranteed to go, but at least Amethyst wasn't sure.

000

Sally sighed, "I figured that there was no point in trying to convince anyone to vote for someone else. They're so gung-ho about it, that I'd probably just be making a fool out of myself."

"All I can do right now is hope… but even that seems to be worthless…"

000

Eventually, day turned to night and everyone gathered at the beach for the ceremony. As they took their seats, Sally was the only one wearing a downcast expression.

The hosts arrived a few moments later, but something else that the contestants noticed was that there were three Flying Taxis near the dock.

Virizion spoke up, getting the contestants' attention. "Alright, today was pretty interesting, to say the least. A big reward to look forward to and some impressive battling from most of you."

"Yeah. I honestly never thought that people like Ashton and Klavier would do as well as they did," Xerneas opined. "And that's not meant to be offensive or anything."

"But, with those performances, some people may be beginning to rethink their strategies," Mew explained, shaking the bag of marshmallows. "The people who you may see as weak, may not be as weak as you think. But, that's enough outta me, let's see who's heading home…"

"Shine, once again you've earned immunity, so you'll get the first marshmallow," Virizion said as Mew tossed her the confectionery.

The Espeon caught it with Psychic and breathed out a soft sigh.

"Next up… Connor, Klavier, Phill, and Holly…" Xerneas followed, with Mew tossing each player their marshmallow.

Connor caught his marshmallow in his afro again, while Klavier caught his and Holly's, and Phill just let his treat hit him so that he could just pick it up and eat it.

"Ashton, Aura, Aspen, and Amethyst, all of you are A-Ok as well…" Virizion joked. Mew tossed the marshmallows to the girls, with Aura and Aspn catching theirs in their mouths, Amethyst letting hers miss her, and Ashton catching hers with her vines.

The remaining five players all exchanged looks of nervousness, though Sally looked the most defeated.

"Titan… Morgan… Sally… You three are also safe."

Sally's eyes lit up as a marshmallow was tossed her way. "W-What?!"

"What?!" Titan exclaimed as well, ignoring his marshmallow as it flew past him. "I thought everyone was on the same page!"

"Things change…" Shine replied simply.

Hearing that from Shine out of everyone, it made Sally feel like her still being there was her doing. She still didn't really like her, but she was thankful for it anyway.

Kojo and Ace were both unsure and worried. Kojo was hoping that Amethyst hadn't voted for him, as Ashton had gone to fill her in before they got there. Ace was confused as to why he was even at the bottom, but he was hoping that this wouldn't be the end.

"Alright, bottom two we have Kojo, who made it to the top four, and Ace, who didn't do too well, but was good nonetheless…" Virizion commented. "The player heading home is…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

...Ace."

Kojo let out a huge sigh of relief, as he had been sweating bullets. As he caught his marshmallow, Ace's ears drooped a bit, a sad frown on his face.

The others in his alliance were very shocked by this outcome, immediately turning to Aura, who didn't share the same reaction as they did.

"Well, if you're not going on this reward, head on back to camp," Mew instructed. "The rest of you, follow us to the dock."

Aspen, Kojo, Klavier, Ashton, Amethyst, and Connor all started heading back toward the campgrounds, a bit of jealousy oozing from a couple of them.

The remaining seven, and Ace, started heading to the dock.

000

Aspen sighed, "Great… just great. Our alliance loses another member, and now I'm the only one still on the island from our group."

"I don't know what happened and why Ace got voted out, but I sincerely hope that Aura didn't play a part in it…"

The Poodle Pokémon grunted, "This is gonna be a long three days…"

000

Ace received a few nuzzles from Shine and Morgan. Aura, though a bit uncertain, nuzzled him as well. "I'm sorry…" she apologized.

"You voted for me, huh?" Ace assumed from her apology.

Aura shook her head. "I knew about it, but I didn't vote for you. I'm generally saying sorry about… everything. How I treated you, everything I said… I don't know what was wrong with me, but just know that everything's okay and you won't be hurt ever again… Alright, son?"

Ace was completely stunned by this, as were a few of the others. Tears started forming in Ace's eyes as he smiled and nuzzled her back. "Thank you…" he choked out.

Aura smiled back. "As long as you're making my son happy… I'm happy, too…"

Ace sniffled as he walked to the Suck of Shame. He waved his ribbons to the others before being sent on his way through the tube.

Phill rubbed Aura's back. "That was really nice, babe…"

Aura smiled back, only nodding in response.

"Alright," Virizion began. "You guys can head on inside of the taxis and the Corviknight will take you to the hotel."

The players, despite being intimidated by the enormous birds, all got into different carriages. The inside of them smelled brand new, and the seat cushions being made of pure velvet made it even better.

"Enjoy yourselves. We'll see you soon," Xerneas commented.

The Corviknight began flying off, one after another, carrying the winning players to their destination.

The hosts faced the main camera, with Virizion saying, "And there you have it… Ace is now out of the game. These players are really starting to think more…"

"Well, they're definitely going to have to be on their toes next time because it's gonna be extra special," Xerneas chirped. "You'll see what I mean next time on Total…"

"Pokémon…" Virizion followed.

Mew, despite his slightly better attitude today, still drawled, "Underdogs!"

000

See ya guys, BYE!