Announcer: Last time on Total Pokémon: Underdogs, the final eight experienced another throwback to simpler times. Or, well… not so simpler times. An alliance was made by Kojo, Morgan, Phill, and Aura during the previous challenge, which was immediately sussed out by Amethyst.
At the end of it, Kojo wound up revealing to Ashton that he was technically intending on betraying her by voting out her friends first and also told her the clue to the statue. Smooth move, Adam…
Meanwhile, Mew, fed up with everything going on in his head, as well as Victini's pestering, went on a trip to another dimension. This left Xerneas and Virizion both worried and upset, but they managed to keep it together and continued with the challenges.
In another throwback to previous challenges, the final eight were linked together in pairs, with their successes and failures impacting both of them. At the very end, the pair that did the worst would be automatically eliminated.
In the end, after many leaps, bounds, secrets, and arguments, the results declared that it would be Kojo and Amethyst who would be leaving the game. How funny…
We're down to the final six, and we're sure the hosts have a few more tricks up their sleeve. Who'll remain in the game and who's going down the Suck of Shame? Find out right now on Total… Pokémon… Underdogs!
000
*Intro plays*
000
The following night, after returning to the Hall of Origin, Mew took a deep breath and gazed around the vast vicinity. The large, stocked kitchen, the long hallways that led to different rooms, the fresh showers, the living room, the club rooms, the wall of bedrooms, compared to the rather limited spaces of sector 13-X, this Hall had a lot more character.
Sure, the occupants of said Hall ranged from lovely and empathetic, to outright sociopathic, but he would much rather be there than back in 13-X. Another sigh escaped his nostrils as he took it all in.
"You alright, Mew?" Xerneas asked in concern, having heard the breath and noticing the expression on his face.
Snapping him out of his thoughts, the New Species Pokémon looked up at the deer beside him and flashed a small smile. "I'm… fine. I was just thinking to myself," he explained. "This place may have jerks and people can be annoying to deal with, but… I'm happier here."
The ladies smiled down at him as they started walking toward the kitchen in order to get to the living room. Surprisingly, the kitchen was mostly unoccupied, the exception being a particular Electric-type feline who was sitting at a table eating a box of soft cookies.
Upon seeing them, Zeraora smiled as she hopped out of her chair to approach. Mew had to hide a blush, scratching the back of his head.
"Hey guys…" the Thunderclap Pokémon greeted softly, her eyes glancing behind her momentarily. "Are you doing okay?"
"Well, we are now," Virizion explained with a relieved sigh. "The most important thing is that Mew is okay…"
Zeraora squatted down in front of Mew. "Yeah, I heard about what happened. I really hope you're doing alright," she said, rubbing his head.
Mew gulped, his blush still decorating his face. "Yeah…" he replied softly before realizing what she said. "W-wait, how'd you hear about it?"
Zeraora gestured to the doorway that led to the living room, where faint chatter could be heard. Mew let out a sigh, "Figures…"
He turned around, not wanting to be hounded with questions and insults. If everyone who was in the living room knew about his situation, he knew that he was going to be in for an overwhelming barrage. "I'm going to my room. I don't wanna deal with whatever's going on in there…" he stated as he started floating back toward the lobby.
"You sure?" Xerneas inquired, not wanting to risk him leaving again. He said that he was fine, but she just wasn't sure.
"I mean… I may just check in on Solgaleo and Entei, but aside from that, I'm gonna go to my own room," Mew explained. "I'll talk to you girls later."
Mew exited the kitchen, leaving the three ladies there. Turning back to Zeraora, Virizion let out a sigh of frustration. "What exactly was said about his situation?"
Zeraora folded her arms, explaining, "Victini found out, somehow, and has been going around telling everyone. Some of them are annoyed that he did that, some don't care, and some find it hilarious and wanna know how it went."
Xerneas scoffed, "And they're all in there waiting, right?"
"A good number of them are, though another newbie came in today, so that's sorta taken up some time," she expounded.
Virizion huffed, "Well, regardless, I think we should probably set some things straight. We'll tell them how things went for him…"
Zeraora shrugged, "Whatever you girls think is best. I just hope that he's actually okay."
Xerneas and Virizion both nodded before walking into the living room. Zeraora simply gazed back at the other doorway that Mew left from.
-000-
Entering the living room, Virizion and Xerneas immediately saw that a good number of their fellow Legendary and Mythical Pokémon were there talking amongst themselves while simultaneously watching a movie. Among the ones present were Victini, the Legendary Birds, Celebi, Jirachi, Ho-Oh, the Eon Duo, Shaymin, Darkrai, Cresselia, the Forces of Nature, Hoopa, Tapu Lele, Keldeo, and one of the Urshifu twins.
Their eyes immediately fell about a pink humanoid creature floating on a cloud next to Thundurus. They were reminiscent of Tornadus, Landorus, and Tornadus. They had four horns, a close mustache/beard combo, and a snake-like tail that was coiled around its neck.
"That must be the newbie…" Xerneas whispered to herself.
Virizion sighed, "Well, this is going to be an awkward first impression…"
Upon being actually acknowledged, Victini, who was sitting in the middle of the couch, chuckled. "Well, look who it is!" he announced.
Everyone turned to them, with the two of them responding with annoyed glares.
"So, where's the sad sack?" Victini inquired. "We know that he came back already. Probably couldn't handle it over there, either."
"First of all, Victini, go fuck yourself," Virizion growled, her glare piercing through him. "You knew that he was going through a lot of shit, mainly because of you, so you're the reason this even fucking happened!"
"Second of all, all you need to know is that he's here," Xerneas added. "So leave him the hell alone for a change. You're so obsessed with making him feel bad, it's disgusting."
"Blah, blah, blah, don't care," the Victory Pokémon responded, rolling his eyes. "We just wanna hear what it was like over there… Wherever he went, so where is he?"
"Yeah, I really need to hear why he felt that just outright abandoning this place to go somewhere else was actually a good idea," Articuno chimed in, folding her wings.
"Hey, I don't blame him," Hoopa spoke up. "I leave this place all the time where you losers annoy me."
"He left because of Victini constantly throwing negativity in his face, and was just feeling down as a whole," Xerneas explained, throwing the Victory Pokémon a dirty look.
"So, his former friend keeps acting like an asshole? Boo-hoo," Celebi spoke up. "We all have to deal with Victini's bullshit on a regular basis. He's not special. Especially since he was part of the problem before…"
"Yeah," Jirachi concurred. "I mean, this is his own fault. He could've just left the show alone and sent the players home, but he chooses not to. That's his own problem at this point."
"Come on, guys," Latias chimed in. "Not everyone feels the same way or deals with things the same way. Mew did what he had to do to make himself feel better, so why not just let him have that and leave it alone?"
"Because he's doing it to himself," Zapdos said accusingly. "I mean, sure, Victini is a nuisance… but if we've all learned to ignore his bullshit, why hasn't he?"
"UGH!" Victini groaned aloud. "Nobody cares. Mew is just a whiny baby who started to get tired of the show and was starting to actually 'feel bad' about certain challenges. I just like poking at him to see how he reacts, and I'd like to hear the fruits of my labor, thank you."
"Uh… I don't mean to speak out of turn," a rather deep, feminine voice spoke up. It was the newcomer, Enamorus.
Thundurus snorted to himself, "This should be good."
Enamorus flipped him off before folding her arms. "Now, I'm new here, just got here this afternoon, but from everything I've heard as a whole, including this, all I have to say is a good chunk of you seem to have some real deep-seated hate towards each other. Nearly everyone here acts like a vindictive ex towards one other person, whether they've actually been together or not," she opined.
Latios hummed, looking around before nodding along, "Yep, that sounds about right."
"And… why is that?" Enamorus inquired. "Of course, all of you being in this large space together is bound to have some clashes, but the amount of vitriol I'm sensing is sickening."
"Well, as you said, you just got here," Moltres answered. "We've had to deal with each other for weeks, to months, to centuries. It gets pretty damn hectic."
"Okay, but why does it have to be?" she questioned once more. "Again, yes, clashing personalities, but I'm sure that there's common ground to be found."
"Oh, there is," Cresselia spoke up. "There's plenty of common ground, and we should be able to get along in some regards. It's just that some of us are either resistant to it, have that anger towards certain people, or are just irritable."
"Okay, if this is gonna turn into some stupid therapy session, then I'll go find out myself," Victini responded, flying past Virizion and Xerneas.
"Hey!" Xerneas called as she and Virizion went after him, leaving the others there to listen to Enamorus.
000
Following the double-elimination, Phill let out a disappointed sigh as he, Aura, and Morgan entered the Loser Cabin. With Kojo gone, he felt that he was essentially on his own.
Sure, Aura and Morgan were there, but he felt that Morgan would consider him as dead weight, and Aura was his girlfriend, but she still had her moments. His mind was a bit scrambled, and Kojo's whispering to him didn't really help.
-000-
"Don't trust anyone," Kojo whispered. "You know what the statue clue is. Don't tell it to anyone else, not even Aura and Morgan. Especially not Morgan," he said, giving the two of them a side glance. "You got this, dude. Just do your best."
-000-
What was he supposed to do now? The Mienshao had told him not to trust anyone and to not share the clue to the statue with anybody. Phill could understand where he was coming from, but his warning and directions were meaningless. Kojo had already told Ashton the clue before the challenge.
Not only that, but there was a chance that she could find it, or already had it. This was very probable, considering that she was paired with Titan.
Regarding his trust, the only one remaining that he felt he could rely on was Aura. The other four were just a bit too strong for his liking.
"Are you okay, Phill?"
The Raticate's eyes moved up from the floor, meeting Aura's cyan orbs. He let out a sigh, "Yes and no? I'm honestly feeling a bit lost now."
The Glaceon let out a sigh before taking a seat next to him. She felt a lot of sympathy for him, as she was the same way before. "Well, I get that. You saw how I was when Aspen got eliminated," she reminded.
Phill chuckled, looking back, "Yeah, I remember."
Aura nuzzled him with a smile. "Then you know that I've got your back, just like you have mine," she explained with a smile. "So, you don't ever have to feel lost…"
Phill blushed a bit, a small smile forming on his face. The shift in Aura's demeanor over the course of the game had been very pleasant to see.
"There's not really much for you to feel lost about anyway," Morgan chimed in. The whole time she'd been silent, not wanting to cut in on the couple's conversation. "Out of everyone left, I think you're the main one who's guaranteed to be safe going forward," she commented.
"How do you figure?" the Raticate inquired with a huff, doubting the validity of her statement.
"Well, no offense to you, but… out of everyone left, you'd probably be the easiest person to beat in the finals," Morgan reasoned. "So I have my doubts that you'll be targeted at any point going forward."
Aura shot Morgan a look of displeasure, as she made it seem like Phill was just weak bait and that any one of them could beat him with ease. She looked to the Mouse Pokémon, who didn't look too bothered by the comment. She should have known that he'd be blasé about it.
"Well, in that case, I don't really have to do anything," Phill chuckled. "Free ride to the finals!"
Morgan rolled her eyes, but then realized what she'd just said and what that'd do to everyone else's chances, including hers.
000
"Hm… Okay, now I'm a bit skeptical," Morgan began. "Phill is very beatable in the finals since he probably won't even try. That sounds good, but… that takes away a spot that I could have. If no one targets him, then we're just giving him a free 50-50 chance at 5 mil!"
"Maybe a change does need to be made…" she murmured to herself.
000
"Whatever," Morgan scoffed, lying in one of the bottom bunks. "Now, onto more important matters… I'm kinda curious about what Kojo whispered to you and why he gave us the side-eye while he did it…"
"Yeah," Aura replied, turning back to him. "That was kinda weird."
Phill sweatdropped. If he told them what the Mienshao actually said, things would likely become a bit tense. He would have lied, but at this point, he didn't really feel like it mattered. He let out a sigh, "He uh… He just told me to do my best, and to not trust anyone."
Morgan and Aura exchanged looks of confusion and vexation. What was that supposed to mean?
"So… what? He gave us the side-eye because he was saying we're untrustworthy?" Morgan scoffed. "Give me a break…"
"You're not really gonna believe that are you?" Aura inquired. "I mean… You still trust us, right?"
Phill let out a sigh, "Well, considering everything that I know… Yeah. I don't really have a reason not to."
Aura smiled, kissing his cheek. Morgan was still a bit irked about Kojo apparently not thinking they were trustworthy. Did that mean that he really didn't intend on sharing the immunity statue clue with them, whether they were interrupted or not? Curious, she inquired, "So, what happened to the statue clue?"
Phill sweatdropped. "I should've known that'd come up," he sighed. "Well, the thing is… Kojo didn't want me to share the clue, but he already told Ashton the clue."
"He WHAT?!" Morgan exclaimed, surprised by that revelation. So, Kojo felt that they weren't trustworthy, so he told Ashton, who was linked to Titan?! "What kind of idiotic move was that?!"
"He told her to try and make things right with her," he explained. "He pretty much told her that his plan was going to be to eliminate all of her allies and leave her by herself, and she was, understandably, pretty hurt about it. So, he told her the clue and she left. I thought that it was a bad move, but he did what he did."
Aura huffed, "So there's a chance that either she or Titan has it now since they were together in the last challenge."
"Maybe…" Phill responded.
"Well, do you remember the clue at least?" Morgan inquired, hoping that the Raticate at least had some recollection of what was written on the scroll.
The Raticate hummed to himself before climbing up onto the top bunk that Kojo was sitting on when he told Ashton the clue. He lifted the pillow, revealing an unraveled scroll. "Got it!" he announced, grabbing it.
Morgan let out a sigh of relief, "What does it say?"
Phill cleared his throat, reciting, "Finally ending it may sound very bleak, but you won't be without a paddle while going up a creek. Swallow your pride and maybe by luck, your time in this game won't actually suck."
Aura and Morgan exchanged looks of bewilderment. The Glaceon huffed, "Whoever's writing these clues needs to stop trying to force rhymes…"
More focused on the clue, rather than the presentation, Morgan began thinking aloud. "Okay, so… paddles… creeks…. Your game won't actually suck… What the hell is that supposed to mean? We have to find a creek?"
"I feel like that's a metaphor," Aura reasoned. "These clues are hardly ever that straightforward. Plus, I don't think I've seen a creek here. Just the lake…"
"So, maybe just focus on the second half of the clue," Phill suggested. "Swallow your pride and maybe by luck, your time in this game won't suck…"
"Swallow your pride… and maybe by luck… your time in this game won't su-" Morgan thought to herself before her eyes widened in realization.
000
"Swallow your pride; your time in this game won't suck… It has to be around the dock!" Morgan reasoned. "That dumb, sucking elimination thing is there, and the first part of the clue was like… 'finally ending it', so maybe it's talking about ending your time in the game!"
"I really hope I'm right. If not, I've got nothing," she sighed.
000
Morgan was tempted to tell Aura and Phill her thoughts, but given what Phill told them about Kojo, she didn't really feel too obligated. Not to mention that now that Kojo was gone, she was the biggest threat in the game. She needed that immunity more than anyone else.
The Persian immediately sprang into action, rushing out of the cabin door. Aura looked at Phill in confusion, with the Raticate commenting, "Well, I think she figured it out…"
The two of them immediately gave chase to the Classy Cat Pokémon, wanting to see if wherever she was going was the correct spot.
000
"Well… Amethyst's gone," Connor sighed as he lay in the mouth of Brian's cave. "What're we gonna do now?"
The game was truly winding down. With only six of them left, things were most definitely going to have to shift around if anyone wanted to make it to the end. Connor knew that Titan was essentially just dead weight at this point, but he was the closest ally that he had at the moment.
He worked with Phill, Morgan, and Aura in the previous challenge, and it proved to be beneficial. However, he didn't know if he could fully trust them in the rest of the game. Phill and Aura were together, and Morgan and Aura had been working together for a long while. Not only that, but Morgan was still a huge threat.
"I don't know," Titan responded flatly. "I mean, Phill, Morgan, and Aura are all together, so no matter what, we're likely gonna be screwed."
Connor let out a sigh, "Where's Ash? Do you think she'll still wanna work with us?"
"I don't know," Titan repeated firmly. The Galvantula knew that he had more than likely deterred her from working with them due to his… less than stellar performance in the previous challenge. He still didn't entirely care and was fine with letting whatever happens, happen, but he knew that Connor really wanted something to work out.
He let out a sigh, "I mean, she may want to work with you. Not so much me…"
The Bouffalant didn't ask for any elaboration, as he didn't think he needed it. Knowing Titan's current attitude toward the game, he could easily put together that the Galvantula rubbed Ashton the wrong way. He let out a sigh, "Well, even then. Whatever she and I decide, I'd just relay it back to you, anyway. It's not like we have a lot of options."
A few seconds later, Titan cocked a brow as he remembered something relatively important. Well, not necessarily important to him, but to the sulking Bouffalant beside him. "So, have you just given up on looking for the statues?"
Connor gave him a look. "Considering that Kojo won the clue and more than likely shared it with his group, I have a feeling that one of them may already have it. "
"Hey, you never know…" Titan encouraged. "It could still be out there. Or you could try and find one of the two hidden ones."
"We don't have any clues," the Bouffalant sighed. "If Mew doesn't even know where they are, how are we supposed to know?"
"By just looking?" Titan responded flatly. "You can't always depend on others. You have to just keep going out and looking."
Connor gave the Galvantula a look of irritation. "Y'know, it'd be a lot easier if you actually helped me look!"
Titan remained quiet in response, eliciting a groan from Connor.
000
"He's really no help at this point," Connor deadpanned. "Ashton doesn't wanna work with him, the others don't trust him, and he doesn't even really wanna be here anymore."
The Bouffalant let out a sigh, "I have no idea what I'm supposed to do now. I could try to find the immunity statues, but I've searched all the major areas, and without a clue, it'll be impossible."
"I need to find and talk to Ash…"
000
Ashton was down by the beach, watching as the small waves crashed to shore, soaking the sand beneath her feet. She let out a depressed sigh. Not only had she lost her closest ally and friend, but she lost the guy that she pledged her allegiance to.
Granted, he was aiming to eliminate her other friends, but still. Losing two allies at the same time really sucked. Now, she didn't really know where she stood among her fellow competitors. She had a feeling that Aura and Morgan wouldn't want to work with her since she told the guys their initial plan, and Titan truly irritated her in the last challenge.
She felt that Connor and Phill could be reliable, but they were already in allegiance with the others. She'd have to figure something out and likely do it quickly, as she was currently the odd one out.
She recalled the clue to the statue that Kojo told her. That statue could be her ticket to the finals, so if she could find it, she'd be golden. "Paddle… creek… uh…" she mumbled to herself. "Game won't actually suck…"
She had talked to Amethyst and they had figured that it was around a place with water. The Meganium let out a sigh as she started walking along the beach. She started walking toward the dock, keeping her eyes peeled for anything in the water.
The bright, full moon was her only source of light, beaming down on the water and causing it to shimmer slightly. As she continued walking toward the dock, her eyes set upon something peculiar floating underneath the dock, attached to what appeared to be a rope.
Her eyes widened in disbelief. That definitely had to be something! However, as she approached it at a leisurely pace, the sound of urgent steps caught her attention. Glancing over, she saw Morgan running toward the dock.
She had no idea what she was doing, but if she was going to the dock quickly, then it had to mean that she also knew that something was there.
000
"The idol is the only way I'll have easy power in the game," Ashton reasoned. "I couldn't let anyone get it. Especially not Morgan!"
000
Ashton's pace became a bit brisker until she saw that Morgan was actually climbing onto the dock, much to her relief. She stood at the side of the dock, sneakily using her vine to grab a hold of whatever was attached to the rope. She yanked it a few times until the rope around it unraveled.
"Uh… Hey Morgan," she greeted. "What's wrong?"
The Persian was inspecting the dock and had only glanced at the Meganium on her way there. With her being there, the feline couldn't help but be a bit suspicious. Considering that Kojo told her the clue before Phill just told them, and she was already near the water before Morgan got there, the chance of her having the statue was high.
Morgan hummed, "Nothing. Just… thought something might be here."
A few moments later, Aura and Phill came up, what latter panting heavily. "Did you find…" Aura paused upon seeing Ashton there.
"No," Morgan answered. "I don't think anything's here. Just this… dumb suction thing," she said, gesturing to the Suck of Shame.
Aura glanced at Ashton, who seemed to have a rather confused expression on her face. The Fresh Snow Pokémon sighed, "Well… Maybe we can look somewhere else later when it isn't dark out."
Phill cocked a brow, confused by the way the ladies were talking. He decided to remain quiet, though. Morgan and Aura proceeded to walk away from the dock. "We'll see you later, Ash…"
"Uh… okay," the Meganium responded before she started to walk away as well. This left Phill alone on the dock, confused by what had just happened.
000
"Why are they acting like they can't say anything about the statue in front of Ashton?" Phill inquired. "It's not like it'll change anything. Kojo told her the clue, and I told them the clue."
"If Morgan didn't find anything there, then either Ashton has it already, which is okay; or, it's actually not at the dock," he reasoned. "I don't get why we can't just work with Ashton, anyway."
000
Ashton made her way to the gazebo, still holding whatever was attached to the rope under the dock. She hadn't even inspected it, but she could feel that it was a bag of sorts. Sitting at the gazebo, she opened it, unveiling a small Mew-shaped statuette.
Her eyes glimmered with hope and excitement. "Yes!" she softly exclaimed. She looked around, making sure that nobody was nearby. With nobody around her, she let out a sigh of relief. As long as nobody knew that she had the statue, she could keep it on hand for the next couple of rounds and make it to the final three, at least.
However, despite now having the statue, a bit of paranoia began overtaking her. Morgan had obviously come to the dock to look for the statue. What if the Meganium's being there alerted her, and now she was going to be a target? After all, Phill was there when Kojo told her the clue. He could have told the girls about that situation, not out of malice, but just to let them know.
She'd be safe, regardless, thanks to the statue, but she didn't want to lose it so quickly when it could help her long term.
"This is going to be interesting, at least," Ashton muttered to herself. "Where am I gonna hide it, though?" she asked herself.
000
"Okay, the statue is mine," Ashton said to herself. "I think the smartest move now would be to hide it near the elimination area so that I could pull it out easily if I need it…"
000
"I'm sorry," Mew apologized, resting against Entei's leg. The New Species Pokémon had just explained what happened, much to the shock of his friends.
Entei let out a sigh, resting his head against Solgaleo's arm. The Sunne Pokémon was relatively quiet. He was stunned to hear what Mew did, but he didn't have it in him to judge. He literally hadn't left his room since his own show ended.
"As long as you're okay, I guess…" Entei replied. He was irritated that Mew had gone to such drastic lengths in order to try and feel better, but he was glad that he was alright. "But you know damn well that you need to just come in here whenever you feel low."
Mew nodded, nuzzling into his fur. The three of them had really become closer the past few weeks, so they were all a lot more comfortable with each other.
"Aww… How pathetic," a new voice chided. Immediately recognizing the sour voice, the three felines turned to the source: Victini.
"The hell are you doing here, jackass?" Entei growled. "Haven't you caused enough shit?"
"Haven't you realized that Solgaleo doesn't want you?" Victini countered flatly.
Solgaleo gave the Victory Pokémon a side glare, which went unnoticed. Entei was about to stand up but felt Solgaleo's tail usher him back down.
"I'm not even here for you," he replied. He turned his attention to Mew, who wasn't even making eye contact with him. "You there, crybaby. How was the other dimension? Was it everything that you hoped?"
"Fuck off," Mew shot back. He had nothing more to say to Victini. He most definitely wasn't give him the satisfaction of knowing he had a pretty bad time there. However, Victini seemed to piece that together easily.
"Ha! I'll take that as a no," Victini teased. "How did you really think that leaving this place would be better for you? Our sector is probably the most relaxed one in the universe, and you're having breakdowns over petty shit. Pathetic…"
Mew tuned him out, as the things he was saying were already old to him. All Victini did was say the same things, but in new ways, each and every time.
"Victini!" Virizion shouted, entering the room with Xerneas in tow. "Get the hell outta here and leave them alone!"
Victini rolled his eyes, shaking his head, "You're all really sad, you know that?"
"Just get out," Xerneas replied exasperatedly.
Victini couldn't believe how they were still so sensitive towards the things he said. Majority of the others in the Hall had either learned to shoot back or ignore him altogether, so he was honestly just becoming bored. Sure, it was fun seeing Mew continue to sink lower, but it was getting stale. He cleared his throat, "Well, I guess I should tell you this before I go…"
"We don't care," Virizion deadpanned. "Just-"
Victini cut her off, "It involves the statues y'all are so damn confused about. Hush."
Mew cocked a brow. After all this time, now he was going to bring up the statues? What happened to him not watching the show anymore? As much as he'd like to shoot back, he knew that it wouldn't do him any good.
"Now, yes. There are those two statues that I told the contestants about at the beginning of the game," Victini explained. "One of them's in the stadium on the very top row, and the other's just in a random tree hollow by the school. But, the thing with them is that they can only be used before you tell them who's immune, so there's more danger with them."
"And you're telling us now? When there's only six players left!?" Xerneas exclaimed in disbelief.
"I know. It's great, isn't it?" Victini chuckled. "But, I'll leave you sad sacks be. Your sensitivity is starting to bore me."
He began exiting the room, leading to the remaining five Pokémon to glare at him on his way out. Once he was gone, Virizion let out a sigh, turning back to the three felines. "You guys alright?"
"At this point, I'm just over him," Mew deadpanned. "So, fuck everything he said. I don't even know if what he said about the statues was true."
"We'd have to check," Xerneas said with a sigh. "Why the hell would he even tell us this late? It's not like they really matter at this point. They're only useful until the final four."
"And it's funny how he claimed to stop watching but knew that his statues were brought up," Mew commented flatly. "He's really a piece of work.
"Victini's a liar," Solgaleo reasoned. "He might have said that he 'stopped watching', but he really hasn't. I mean, if he's reading you bad reviews and trying to hammer it home that he's 'free' from you guys' show… It's likely he's just saying it all to get under your skin for the hell of it."
Mew let out a sigh in response, "Y'know… That makes a lot of sense." He held his head, "I just can't wait for this to be over…"
"Well, we only have a few more challenges to do, and then you'll be alright," Virizion reasoned. "And we have a couple of new ideas this time…"
000
Night transformed into the day as sunlight colored the island in a yellowish hue. Hours passed as all of the remaining players were still sound asleep in their desired quarters.
Phill woke up next to Aura, the shiny Glaceon curled up next to him on one of the bottom bunks of the cabin. The Raticate sighed softly as he sat up. He had no idea what time it was, but he knew that a challenge was likely on the horizon.
He got out of bed, glancing over at Morgan, who was also sound asleep in her own bed. He decided to go ahead and make his way to the gazebo to receive whatever minor breakfast was left for them. He exited the cabin, making sure not to wake either girl.
Despite the talk that they had yesterday, the Raticate was still feeling a bit lost in the game. Morgan talked about how he was likely to not be targeted since he'd be easy to beat in the finals, which meant that he would be getting a free ride.
Now, he was initially happy about that, since he wouldn't have to work that hard to get to the finals. However, as he truly thought about it, it was a bit… insulting. He understood that he was likely the weakest physical layer left in the game, but were people truly underestimating him that much?
He felt that he had a fair shot, depending on what the challenge was. He may not have had challenge prowess, but he had heart.
000
"I'm just as dangerous as everyone else," Phill declared. "Just because I haven't done much doesn't mean I'm incapable."
"So, if everyone wants to underestimate me and take me to the end, then fine. Their possible loss will be my possible gain," he said with a chortle.
000
Phill made it to the gazebo, where he saw Ashton sitting at one of the tables with a cereal bar in one of her vines. That sign alone let him know that there was going to be a challenge today.
"Hey Ash," Phill greeted, approaching her.
"Hi, Phill," the Meganium responded. "Are you doing okay?"
The Raticate shrugged, "I'm decent enough. Can't really complain. It sucks that Adam's gone, but… I just have to keep pushing."
Ashton nodded in understanding. She was still a bit upset that Amethyst was gone, but there wasn't anything that she could really do about it. The only thing she could do was keep playing the game the best way that she could, and now that she had the statue, it would be a lot easier to do so.
An idea had come to her before she fell asleep the previous night. As Phill grabbed three cereal bars and prepared to head back to the cabin, she turned to him, "Phill, can I ask you something?"
Phill turned back in surprise. "Sure. What's up?"
"What would you say to an alliance with me and Connor?" Ashton inquired. Considering that both she and Phill lost close allies the previous day, and she felt that she could tolerate and work well with Connor, it would make the most sense for the three of them to work together. That was what she thought, anyway.
The Raticate was a bit taken aback by Ashton's inquiry, having never expected to be asked that. On one hand, it would certainly be unexpected and could help him a lot more, but on the other hand, he didn't want to betray Aura.
"Did you already talk to Connor?" he asked curiously.
Ashton sweatdropped, "Well… No. I kinda wanted to see how you felt, first. I think the three of us could work well together since we're kinda the least likely to. If that makes sense…"
Phill hummed to himself. It was definitely something to consider. "I'll… get back to you," he said. "I have to think about this, since I don't wanna upset Aura or anything…"
Ashton was a bit disappointed, but she could understand. "Okay. Just… please don't tell them what I'm offering. I really feel like they'll try to get rid of me as soon as you mention me talking to you."
"Don't worry, I won't," Phill promised. "This is just gonna be me thinking to myself."
Ashton nodded, allowing Phill to leave the gazebo with the cereal bars. As he left, the Meganium let out a disheartened sigh. She was really anticipating that Phill would jump at the opportunity, but he still had other allies to work with. She still hoped that he'd actually consider it, but wasn't sure if he really would.
"Maybe I should try to talk to Connor and go from there…" she considered.
"CONTESTANTS! REPORT TO THE STADIUM FOR YOUR NEXT CHALLENGE!" Virizion's voice echoed across the island.
The Herb Pokémon let out a sigh, "I guess I'll have to deal with that later…"
000
The final six contestants made their way to the stadium, prepared for whatever challenge was thrown their way. It was getting down to the wire, so they were expecting the challenges to become a bit more difficult.
Entering the stadium, they were immediately stunned to see that the stands were chock-full of cardboard cutouts. Some of them were of previous contestants, others were of Legendary Pokémon, and some were just random items.
They approached the three hosts, who were standing in the middle of the area, waiting. Behind them was a large monitor that appeared to have a timer on it. A light-gray bin sat nearby.
"Welcome final six," Virizion greeted. "We hope that you're ready for today's reward challenge."
"Wait, what happened to yesterday's reward?" Aura reminded them. "The tickets to that tournament in Galar or whatever?"
"That reward is happening today, as a matter of fact," Xerneas responded. "This challenge is essentially an add-on to it."
Virizion nodded in affirmation, "Yep. So, regardless of the outcome, Aura, Connor, Phill, and Morgan will be going on the reward. So, if one of them wins, they will get to choose to let either Ashton or Titan come along, and if either Ashton or Titan win, they just get to come along anyway."
"Wait, so… one of them is just gonna be left behind?!" Morgan asked in astonishment.
"Not only that," Mew added, finally speaking up. "Former co-host and resident shit stirrer Victini has been oh-so generous enough to tell us the locations of the two special statues he left behind. So, whoever is left here all alone, will receive a clue to one of the immunity statues."
"Wait, so Titan or Ashton will just get a free clue depending on who gets chosen?" Connor inquired in confusion. "How is that fair?!"
"Well, for one thing, five of you will be on a big reward, while they will be all alone with nothing and nobody," Mew stated. "I think that it's a fair trade off. You'll have to choose wisely."
"So, what's the point of all of us competing in this challenge if the majority of us are going to go on the reward anyway?" Phill inquired.
"Like Xerneas said, this challenge is just a slight add-on to yesterday's reward," Mew continued. "Whoever wins this challenge will go on, or choose who else goes on the reward from yesterday's challenge, and they will receive the clue to the other immunity statue."
Nearly everybody's eyes went wide, aside from Titan, who simply rolled his.
"Now that we've got that out of the way, time to explain today's challenge," Virizion began, turning around. "Up in the stands, you all can see multiple cutouts of previous contestants, Legendaries, and other assorted items. One at a time, when we call out someone or something, you must rush up to the stands, grab the designated cutout, and rush back down to place it in the bin."
"Whoever is able to grab and place ten cutouts into the bin the fastest will win the challenge," Xerneas finished.
"So, this is essentially like Pictureka…" Phill reasoned, having played the game before.
"More or less, yes," Mew confirmed with a shrug. "Now, we're just gonna go in alphabetical order, so… Ashton, you're up first."
The Meganium took a breath.
000
"Okay, so I need to win this, or at least hope that I get chosen to go on the reward," Ashton stated. "If I win, I get a clue to another statue, and I could talk to Connor. If not, I'll still have a clue, but I'll be all alone…"
000
Ashton stood near the steps leading up to the stands. Her eyes scanned the cutouts scattered across the stands. Raiden… Kojo… Combat… Harrison… Archie… Pia… It looked like nearly everyone who competed was represented in cutout form aside from the final six. There were so many, not to mention the random items and Legendaries scattered among them.
"Sweet Arceus, help me…" she whispered to herself.
"Alright Ashton, are you ready?" Mew inquired.
"I guess…" the Meganium responded with uncertainty, her eyes still scanning the stands.
"Alright… go find a Moon Stone!" Mew called, starting her time.
Ashton hesitantly headed up the steps and started scanning up and down the stands for a Moon Stone. There were just so many cutouts of players, many of which were positioned in specific ways that could end up obscuring others.
The Herb Pokémon moaned to herself as she continued going across the stands, looking for any sign of a Moon Stone cutout. Eventually, her eyes set upon the cutout of the gray stone sitting next to a cutout of a Nidoqueen.
Using one of her vines, she grabbed it and started running back towards the steps. Once she got down, she placed it in the bin.
"Okay, now go find R.J.," Mew directed. "He's a Beartic."
Ashton was initially bewildered, having never seen a Beartic on the show. It didn't matter, though; she just needed to find him. She rushed toward the steps once more and got back into the stands, scanning the sea of cutouts for a picture of a Beartic.
She moved across the bottom row, looking as fast as she could. She had almost made it to the opposite side of the stands before a cutout of an irritated-looking Beartic caught her attention. It was higher up, so she used the same vine to grab it again before deciding to use the other set of steps to come down. They were closer at that point, so no point in going back around.
She put R.J.'s cutout into the bin and looked at her time. So far, it already read '4:18' and was still counting as she awaited her next assignment.
"Go get Phione!" Virizion called.
Ashton had actually seen both Phione and Manaphy together somewhere. It was during a quick glance while she was looking for R.J., so if she could remember the spot…
-000-
"Jeez, this feels kinda creepy in a way," Connor commented, looking at all of the cutouts. Some of them were just staring forward blankly as if staring into their souls, while others had special poses that related to their personalities.
"I'm more concerned about how difficult this is going to be," Morgan stated, scanning the stands herself as Ashton ran across. "There's a ton of cutouts up there and you could easily miss one. Especially if they're people that we don't really know."
"It's been 6 minutes so far," Aura said, watching the clock. "And she's only gotten two. This is definitely gonna be tough. Though she's probably just slower."
-000-
Ashton managed to grab the Phione cutout and started running back toward one of the staircases leading back down. She stayed near the stairs, extending her vine to drop the cutout into the bin.
"Go find a Fishing Rod!" Xerneas directed.
Ashton let out a sigh as she went back into the stands to search for a cutout of a rod. They didn't specify if they wanted an Old Rod, Good Rod, Super Rod, or just a plain 'ol Fishing Rod. She decided to just go for one and hope that it was the right one.
The closest one she saw was a Good Rod, which was green. She grabbed it and immediately ran back down, starting to become winded. She dropped it in the bin, looking to the hosts for confirmation.
"Go find Nero!" Mew called, indicating that they were okay with the rod she grabbed.
Now, Nero. She hadn't met him, but she knew that he was a Zoroark. Her eyes darted across the stands as she ran across the walkway. "Come on, come on…" she muttered to herself.
She continued her way across the stands before her eyes set upon a Zoroark cutout sitting between a Lopunny and an Armaldo. She swiftly grabbed it and rushed back toward the steps. She placed the cutout into the bin.
"Alright, now find a Peat Block!" Virizion called.
Ashton let out a sigh. She really hadn't paid as much attention to the items, so she wasn't sure where it was. She went back up to the stands and started looking around carefully. This time, she was taking note of where specific people and items were.
"Okay… there's a Machamp, a Gogoat, a Bruxish…" she noted.
She eventually saw a Peat Block cutout next to Laxish. She grabbed it with a vine and started making her way back down. She placed the cutout into the bin and looked at her time. She was up to 9 minutes and 35 seconds. She groaned to herself.
"Find Liksur!" Mew called.
Ashton sighed as she climbed back into the stands once again.
-000-
Seeing how long this was taking her and how much action and searching would be required, Phill just shook his head. "Yeah… I don't think I'll be doing this challenge. I don't really care about the idol clue…"
Aura giggled, "I had a feeling."
"It's too much running and just look at all of those cutouts! It's gonna take forever!"
"Not entirely," Morgan hummed to herself, looking up at the stands as Ashton came back down with a Lickilicky cutout. "I think they have some of them positioned based on relationships or just game stuff."
"How do you figure?" Connor inquired.
"Well… Nero was between Hope and Aldon, and we all know what happened there," Morgan explained. "Vile and Flynn are underneath them. So, that alliance is together. Y'know, things like that"
"Okay…" Connor replied, nodding his head as a smirk formed on his face. "So, as long as we know who gets along with who, we should be fine."
Morgan was about to clarify but realized that she had just given the others a somewhat valid strategy with regards to the actual contestants. She clammed up immediately, deciding not to share anything further.
000
Morgan let out a sigh, "I feel so stupid..."
"Luckily I'm still the fastest one left in the group," she said. "Maybe it won't be so bad."
"I really need to win this. I'm probably one of the main targets, and since Ashton probably has the merge statue, having a clue to one of the other ones would be great…"
000
Titan deadpanned, "I honestly don't really care about the challenge or the rewards. I've already made my stance clear that I'm over it all."
"Though, if I happen to be left alone with a clue… I guess I could look for it and try to help Connor. I haven't really been helping him aside from voting with him, so I kinda feel bad."
000
After finding Liksur, Ashton had to also find a cutout of Karen, who she didn't know, and a Dawn Stone. Panting heavily, she stood near the steps as she waited for her final cutout. She was at 12 minutes and 43 seconds so far, so she knew that she likely wasn't going to win the challenge, much to her dismay.
"Now, find Krack!"
Ashton climbed back into the stands, probably the slowest she's gone so far. She felt that she was already going to lose, so she decided to take her time.
Her eyes scanned the highest row before slowly making their way down. Eventually, she spied a Krookodile cutout next to a Rampardos. She grabbed it and started heading back down. She put the final cutout into the bin, stopping her time.
"13 minutes and 56 seconds," Xerneas stated, looking at the clock.
The Meganium panted softly as she walked back toward the group and lay down. "That was so much…"
"Yeah, we saw," Connor commented, chuckling sheepishly. "If you didn't have your vines, it probably would've been worse for you."
Ashton nodded back as Virizion spoke up. "You guys have to really work for this. This isn't gonna be a walk in the park," she stated.
"Well, like I said, I'll be taking a step back from this challenge," Phill commented. "Not interested."
"Not surprising," Xerneas replied. "Is anyone else not going to participate?"
"Count me out," Titan spoke up. "Too much work for little reward as far as I'm concerned."
The hostesses rolled their eyes. They honestly didn't care about what Titan had to say anymore. "Anyone else?" Virizion deadpanned.
Aura wasn't sure if she wanted to participate or not. There was a relatively high chance that Morgan would win the challenge, so her participation would be pointless. She'll just tire herself out.
Seeing the hesitance in her eyes, Morgan let out a soft sigh. "If you don't wanna participate, you don't have to," she said, looking at the Glaceon.
"You sure?" Aura inquired, still uncertain about the situation.
As much as Morgan would like any extra help, she had a feeling that just doing the challenge herself would be in her best interest. It wasn't that she didn't trust Aura, but she just felt that she would do the best regardless. "Yeah," she nodded.
"Okay… I guess it's just gonna be Connor and Morgan going next," Mew said. "Connor, you're up…"
The Bouffalant sweatdropped. He had no idea if he would be able to beat Morgan, especially given how the challenge and the stands were set up. It honestly sucked for him, because while Ashton had her vines and Morgan was lithe, he would have to actually climb up into the stands, run all the way to where the specific one was, grab the cutouts with his teeth, and run all the way back down to put it in the bin.
He really wanted that statue clue, but he just knew that realistically, he wasn't likely to be as quick as Morgan. "I…" he let out a sigh. "With a challenge like this, Morgan's the most likely to win, anyway. So, is there really a point?"
"I mean, you could still try," Virizion emphasized. "Nothing's guaranteed."
"It is when your competitor's a fast cat," Titan stated flatly, giving Morgan a side-eye. "Honestly, you lot could've just had this happen later and let the few go on the trip…"
"Thanks for the tip, Titan," Xerneas responded flatly. She turned to Morgan, who was the only other player seemingly interested in competing in the challenge. Letting out a sigh, she continued, "Well, Morgan… Everyone else is apparently either scared or doesn't care, so all you have to do is beat Ashton's time of 13 minutes and 56 seconds."
The Persian smiled, confident that she'd be able to finish. "I got this."
-000-
Morgan smirked, her tail swaying slowly as she stood near the steps of the stands. She already had a strategy in mind and had been scanning the stands during Ashton's turn, so she felt more than ready.
"Alright, Morgan are you ready?" Mew inquired, earning a firm nod in response. With that confirmation, he began, "Alright. Now… Go find Genesect!"
000
Connor let out a sigh, "I really really wanted that clue! But of course, the challenge didn't really suit me, so I would've just wasted my time."
"Morgan seriously needs to go. She's literally the biggest threat here. I really hope that the others realize that," the Bouffalant opined. "At least I'll still get to go on the reward…"
000
Morgan leapt from the edge of the stands onto the ground below, flinching a bit, before walking toward the bin with a cutout of a Magmarizer in her mouth.
Dropping it into the bin, she looked at the screen with her time.
"And with a speedy time of 4 minutes and 13 seconds…" Xerneas began, also looking at the screen. "Congratulations Morgan, you won the challenge!"
Morgan smiled, although she did wince a bit as she took a step forward. She looked down at her left paw, feeling a bit of pain from it.
After she retrieved each cutout, she had decided to leap down from the edge of the stand instead of using the stairs in order to go faster. That decision seemed to have come at a price.
Seeing the slightly pained expression on her face as she rejoined the group, Aura inquired. "You okay, Morgan?"
Morgan sighed, "I think I sprained my paw…"
"Maybe ya should've just used the stairs instead of showing off?" Titan suggested. "You were already faster than Ashton…"
Morgan threw the Galvantula a dirty look before huffing, "It's fine, I've dealt with worse."
"Well, Morgan," Mew spoke up, getting everyone's attention once more. The New Species Pokémon now had two bottles in his hand, each one having a scroll of paper inside. "As the winner, you get a clue to one of the statues, as promised."
Mew presented her with the left bottle, which Morgan grabbed with her mouth before sitting it on the ground. "Thanks…"
"And now," Virizion chimed in. "You get to decide between Ashton and Titan, who stays behind and who goes to Galar with you guys. So, who's it gonna be?"
Morgan had to think for a moment. "Okay… Ashton probably already has a statue, so keeping her from getting another one would be for the best. Plus, she'd actually be pleasant to have there."
She continued, glancing at Titan from the corner of her eye, "Although… I just don't know if I can trust Titan alone. I mean, he found the other statue quickly, so who's to say he won't do it again? Then again, he seemed to be against the clue anyway, as if he didn't want it. I'm not sure if it's reverse psychology or not, though."
"Uh… Morgan?" Connor spoke up, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"Oh! Uh, right right… Uh… I guess we'll take Ashton," the Persian said, gesturing to the Meganium. "She deserves it."
Ashton smiled. "Thank you," the Herb Pokémon stated. Honestly, it was going to be a win for her either way, so she couldn't complain.
Virizion giggled, happy with the decision, "Well Titan, looks like you'll be here all by your lonesome."
"Whatever," the Galvantula replied as Mew placed the remaining bottle in front of him.
Connor's eyes lit up immediately. Titan now had a statue clue, but because he didn't care about the game anymore, it meant that when he got back, he could go look for the statue!
"Alright, everyone except for Titan, meet us at the dock," Virizion stated. "Titan… you have fun here…"
Everybody began making their way out of the stadium, including Titan. The Galvantula was more than happy to have everyone leave. There wasn't much to do on the island, but having no one else around to possibly bother him was fine.
-000-
Now at the dock, three familiar Flying Taxis sat in wait. The signature large, steel ravens were perched atop each one, their piercing red eyes staring down at the contestants and hosts.
"Alright," Mew began. "Everyone inside of the taxis. Virizion, Xerneas, and I will meet you all at Wyndon."
Aura, Morgan, and Phill got into one taxi together, while Connor and Ashton each got one of their own. Once they were all secure inside, the Corviknight took flight, leaving the hosts with Titan on the dock.
"Alright Titan, try not to wreck anything while we're gone," Xerneas stated.
"What exactly is there for me to wreck?" Titan inquired flatly. "This place is as barren as a Nidoqueen."
The hosts all stared at him for a moment, with the girls' exchanging looks with each other. "Let's just go," Virizion responded, shaking her head.
The three hosts disappeared from the dock, leaving the Galvantula alone. He chuckled as he started heading back toward the stadium in order to retrieve his clue. Alone at last.
000
Riding in the carriages, despite being on their way to a reward, the game was still on almost everyone's mind.
Ashton let out a sigh. While she was happy to go on the reward, the fact that Titan had one of the clues was both a concern and a blessing. Titan didn't care about the game much anymore, or at least he acted like he didn't. So, if he actually did care, he could find the statue and save himself if he wanted. However, there was also a chance that he'd just give the clue or statue to Connor, which would be good because she wanted to work with him.
With Morgan now having a clue as well, things were bound to be hectic. She was already a huge threat, so her being able to find a statue would be the worst-case scenario. She sincerely hoped that she could have a moment to talk with Connor to see where his head was, and hopefully bring Phill in.
-000-
Connor let out a sigh as he lay in his carriage. Things definitely were frustrating for him at the moment. Sure, he was on a reward, but the fact that Morgan had a statue clue now slightly irked him.
If she actually found the statue, then she was definitely going to win, because she was probably the most capable of them all. He just had to hope that Titan would give him the clue so that he could try to look for a statue of his own.
He was glad that at least Ashton was on the reward, too. This would give him the opportunity to talk with her since she apparently won't work with Titan. "Just have to hope that things are fine…" he mumbled to himself.
-000-
Morgan let out a sigh, her paw feeling a bit better without weight on it. That sigh soon turned into a soft giggle as she eyed the bottle next to her.
She almost didn't want to share the clue, considering that she was the one who completed the challenge. Phill didn't even care to try, and she could tell that Aura didn't really want to try, either. However, she knew that keeping it to herself wouldn't be wise since she was still working with them. In any case, they still had the clue and it could be used to help themselves. "Well, in case Ashton does have the other statue, we at least have the clue to find another one…" she commented.
"Well, do you wanna open it so that, if something happens, we can memorize it?" Phill suggested.
Morgan cocked a brow in confusion. "What do you mean, 'if something happens?'"
The Raticate explained, "I mean if we lose it, forget it, something random happens… You never know with this game."
Aura, deciding to speak up, shrugged, "I mean, it'll be a while before we get to Wyndon. Maybe looking at the clue now will give us a chance to think about where it may be back on the island."
Morgan was a bit hesitant but looked at the bottle before letting out a sigh. "Fine…"
Unsheathing a claw, Morgan stabbed the cork sealing the bottle, and pulled it out. Phill grabbed the bottle and shook it, allowing the scroll to come out. Unrolling it, he eyed it with a hum.
"The statue you seek is near where kids hate going during the week. Look for a nook," he read aloud.
Morgan's eyes widened. "Wait… So the statue is by the damn school? This entire time?!" she exclaimed.
"I… guess so," Aura said, turning to her. "I mean, I don't think anyone has actually searched around there too much."
Morgan sighed, "Well, at least now we know. Thank Arceus this clue was straight-forward."
"Yep," Phill responded, putting the scroll back inside of the bottle before moving it back to Morgan's side. "Now we know where to look."
000
"Okay, now we've got the clue," Phill reasoned. "The question now is… if we find it, who's it really gonna be used for?"
000
After an hour, the three Flying Taxis landed in front of the Rose of the Rondelands. Unlike the last time, because they were arriving in the afternoon, the enormous hotel seemed rather normal. Connor and Ashton, with this being their first time there, were mesmerized by all of the sights and activities presented in the city.
Mew, Virizion, and Xerneas were waiting for them in the parking lot. The five players approached them, with Connor and Ashton still looking around.
"Alright. Connor and Ashton, welcome to Wyndon," Virizion acknowledged. "I'm sure you guys will find yourselves enjoying your time here."
"Now, it may be a while before the tournament actually begins, but you know that sometimes you have to get there early," Xerneas explained. "So, would you guys rather walk to the stadium, or just teleport there?"
Morgan still felt some pain in her paw, so walking would do nothing but cause her more issues. "Uh… I just…"
Seeing that her paw was still elevated off the ground, Connor offered, "I mean, you can ride on my back if your paw still hurts."
A small smile formed on her face. "Thanks," the Persian replied.
Ashton cursed in her head. If Morgan was going to be on Connor's back, then she wouldn't be able to talk to him without the risk of the Persian overhearing their conversation. Connor went over and kneeled down in order to let Morgan climb on.
"Well, if the main concern is handled, I assume that we're walking the rest of the way there," Mew replied. "So, follow us and feel free to take in the sights."
The three hosts proceeded to lead the way, with the players following them. Ashton let out a sigh before glancing back at the Flying Taxis, knowing that Morgan's clue was most likely still inside. She was very tempted to try and grab it and look over it but knew that she'd be caught if she did. Noticing that she was already lagging behind, she quickly rushed to catch up with the others.
000
Ashton let out a sigh, "I was really hoping to talk to Connor, but with Morgan on his back, I'll just end up having to wait until later."
She shook her head, "Hopefully there ends up being an opening somewhere…"
000
Titan returned to the stadium, where all of the cutouts, as well as the monitor, were gone. The only thing remaining there was his bottle. He approached it, grumbling to himself. He couldn't believe that he was about to go through this, again. He had already declared his stance in the game, but he couldn't help but feel guilty about Connor.
The Bouffalant had been trying to work harder, and Titan hadn't really helped him that much. Aside from voting together and giving him his statue to protect himself, the Galvantula had been dead in the water. And with the recent problem of Ashton likely not wanting to work with him, it could be a problem for Connor.
He picked up the bottle in his pedipalps and started slamming it on the ground, repeatedly. "Come. On. You. Damn-"
The bottle eventually shattered, allowing him to let out a sigh of relief. Picking up the clue, he read, "Immunity can help or hurt what you have planned. You can find it where there was a challenge at hand."
"You can find it where there was a challenge at hand?" he repeated in a questioning tone. He looked around his current vicinity. "Well, there was just a challenge here… So I'm guessing…I have to check here."
He was a bit bewildered, because if the statue was here the entire time, how had nobody found it? He started climbing into the stands from the right set of stairs, and began going across each row in order to look for the statue. There was a chance that he was wrong, as there were other challenges that happened in other locations.
Around ten minutes passed, "Mate had better appreciate me doing this, because this is one of the most annoying-"
The EleSpider Pokémon stopped himself as he noticed something wedged behind one of the seats on the row beneath him. "You gotta be kidding me."
Reaching down, the Galvantula picked up a wooden statuette that was carved in the shape of Victini. "Ugh… This thing is just as ugly as the real thing," he commented, "but… at least I've got it."
000
"Alright, I've got the statue for Connor," Titan commented, holding the statue in his pedipalps. "Boy's lucky."
He then chuckled to himself, "I'd be really great if I somehow managed to find the other statue, too. Slightly tempted to look, even without the other clue."
000
As they continued venturing through Wyndon, trying to get to the stadium, the hosts and players seemed to draw attention to themselves. From people taking pictures, to people simply staring while out on their walks, their relevance was as high as ever. However, while they received reception, it wasn't all positive.
"Oh look, it's the people from the show that lets rapists and murderers get off scot-free," one Munna bystander criticized.
"Why are we still letting Legendary Pokémon interact with us? They're nothing but trouble," a Grovyle huffed as they entered the Battle Cafe
"Your show fucking sucks!" a Grimmsnarl shouted.
"All the girls you cast have nice asses, though!" a Zoroark added with a laugh. "Maybe I have a shot since they're always horny!"
As they all received more ridicule, some being very personal and gross, but also the occasional compliment and admiration, the players began feeling very awkward, while the hosts themselves remained stone-faced, or at least tried to.
Xerneas sighed, whispering, "Well, good to see that since last time we were here, somehow the public's view on us has worsened."
In a whisper of her own, an exasperated Virizion responded, "Just ignore them. They're likely some of the people who're just now hearing about the show and are lashing out, because it's trendy."
"That's a possibility, but still… I don't think Mew should be hearing this," Xerneas responded back, glancing at the New Species Pokémon, whose demeanor seemed to have shifted a bit since they started walking. "He said that he wouldn't break down again, but I still don't want him to worry or feel bad…"
Virizion let out a soft sigh, "Well, I-"
She was interrupted as a tingling sensation overcame her. Suddenly, the group found themselves inside of a building. Cool air welcomed them as they gazed around their surroundings. A decagonal front desk sat in front of them, with screens overhead showing pictures of various champions and clips from previous battles. The floor beneath them was smooth and tiled. A rug with a black, pink, and blue design lead from the door to the desk.
"Oh… we're here," the Grassland Pokémon acknowledged as the tingling sensation stopped. She and Xerneas looked to the side and saw Mew's eyes glowing blue for a second before they returned to normal.
"Not dealing with that…" he muttered to himself as he approached the front desk, with the pair following him. This left the remaining players a bit back.
"Yeesh, that was… unpleasant," Phill commented. Aura looked down, as some of the comments made were rather foul. Noticing this, Phill rubbed her back. "It's alright babe. You know they're wrong."
Morgan huffed, "The fact that some of those bozos were calling all of us girls sluts and saying that we'd have a good time with them was just…" She shook her head, still lying on Connor's back. "A lot of them would get their asses kicked if our guys were here."
Phill sweatdropped upon hearing that. He was the only guy who had his significant other there, and he didn't do anything about it. It wasn't like there was much he could say anyway.
Ashton hadn't paid the comments any mind. Some of them were terrible and gross, but she knew that she hadn't done anything to warrant them. She felt bad for the others, as they were clearly more affected. She was much more concerned about speaking with Connor and Phill, but it was evident that she'd likely have to wait until they sat down in the stands.
Connor looked more annoyed than anything. Most of the insults thrown his way related to Taylor, so he didn't necessarily care. He was just waiting to get into the stands so that he actually had a chance to talk to Ashton.
"Alright everyone, let's go take our seats," Mew said, handing a ticket to each player. "
000
With nobody else around and nothing interesting on the island, Titan decided to try to sneak into the Winner's Cabin, as it was locked again. He had already found the immunity statue, so there was nothing more for him to do at that moment. So, what better way to occupy his time than to break into the larger cabin and relax until the others go back? Who knew when they would be back, anyway?
He managed to pop a window out of its frame and crawl inside of the building, taking a deep breath. "Much better," he commented as he entered the cabin. "These hosts of ours really need to think these things through a bit better."
He proceeded to exit the room he had entered and immediately went into the kitchen. The Galvantula had decided to make himself some lunch since he was already hungry.
Opening the fridge, he set his sights on a few packages of cheese. "Hmm. Haven't had a toastie in a while…"
He retrieved the butter, as well as multiple packs of cheese from inside of the fridge: Pepperjack, Colby-Jack, Mozzarella, Gouda, Feta, Parmesan, and Cheddar. Despite being a more outdoorsy guy, he fancied himself a decent enough cook. Despite not having the appropriate limbs, he felt perfectly comfortable crafting a couple of toasties.
After about fifteen minutes, he had managed to craft the two sandwiches, having them placed on the table. Using his pedipalps, he touched both sandwiches before using Thunder. He moved his pedipalps around, even flipping the sandwiches over to thoroughly cook both of them.
000
"Whenever Cramad's not around and I have to cook for myself, I just prefer using my own electricity," Titan explained. "Saves money and it gives whatever I cook an extra kick."
000
The Galvantula sat on the couch with his two sandwiches, watching a movie featuring a Rattata controlling a human chef. As he ate his sandwiches and continued watching the movie, he actually started thinking about the game a bit.
He was so adamant that he no longer cared about the game, but as he sat in the comfort of the Winner's Cabin, he could feel a bit of energy returning as things were put into perspective. He had just gotten the statue from the stadium, and was currently relaxing while everyone else was away.
He was in the final six and working with Connor, so he had a partner. He actually had a chance to win the game if he played his cards right.
"If you have the chance to put yourself in a good position to do what you love. You should take it…" he heard from the television.
He huffed in response, "Well, I actually hate this game, but putting myself in a better position doesn't sound too bad." He took another bite of one of his sandwiches before continuing to watch the movie.
000
Titan let out a sigh. "Alright, I guess I'll actually start trying in this game again. I found the first statue and I started to get that itch," he explained.
"If Connor can get Ashton to work with him, then we should be set if the others don't end up finding one of the other statues," he reasoned. "We can use the statue to save one of us, and then one of the other three will go. Preferably Morgan since she's the biggest threat."
"I may have to actually try to find the other statue, too," he stated. "They may have the clue, but I'm the one here."
000
Titan scuttled out of the Winner's Cabin with a purpose. He had found the first statue without an actual clue, and he just found one of the older ones at the stadium. If he was going to try to win the game, he was going to need as much help as he could get, and that meant finding the other statues.
He had one out of three already secured. The main issue lied in the fact that he didn't know where to look. Kojo had gotten a clue, but he was eliminated, and he didn't know if it was already found or not. Meanwhile, Morgan had the other clue, and there was no doubt that she was probably going to keep it away from him. He was on his own.
Now, that actually shouldn't be a problem since, again, he found the merge statue without a clue. However, the original statues were only really mentioned once, and nobody was given any kind of hint or reminder earlier on. Plus, he really didn't feel like randomly searching like he did earlier in the game.
As he moved to the middle of the campgrounds, he let out a sigh. He needed to think about where to search. The two older statues had been in their spots the entire time, and if nobody had ever found them without a clue, then they were definitely hidden well. "Okay, one was in a section of the stadium that nobody ever sat around… so, where would the other one be?"
000
"I'm thinking that the other old statue is in one of these other buildings," Titan explained. "If one was hidden in an area hardly anyone went around, then the other is probably the same way."
He groaned, "I really don't wanna go around and waste my time…"
000
A little less than an hour had passed, with the tournament having begun and the stadium stands being filled with spectators. The players and hosts were sitting on the front row of a section, munching on snacks as they watched a Gigantamax Duraludon face off against a Gigantamax Charizard. There were supposed to be three rounds in total, with this battle being the first one.
As exciting as the battle was, Ashton felt that now was probably the best time for her to talk with Connor. Their seating arrangements actually worked in her favor, as she was sitting next to the buffalo.
As the spectators around them cheered on the battle, Ashton took a sip from her drink before nudging Connor with her other vine. This got the Bouffalant's attention, but he welcomed it. He had wanted to speak with her anyway.
"What's up, Ash?" he asked.
Glancing overhead, she noticed that Morgan, Aura, and Phill were more interested in the battle, much to her relief. Nevertheless, she whispered in response, "Well… I was wondering if you'd be okay with making an alliance with-"
"Yes," he immediately replied. "I was gonna try and ask you the same thing…"
"Oh!" she responded in surprise. "Um… Okay, then. I tried to talk to Phill to see if he wanted to join, too, but he said he'd think about it."
Connor sighed. He was really hoping that this would just be between him and Ashton, but with Phill having information, it could definitely be a problem. "I don't know if Phill would actually want to do something like that," he replied. "He's with Aura and Morgan, so he probably feels safer with them. We'd be better with Titan."
Ashton gave him a look, her reluctance to work with Titan evident on her face. "After what happened in the last challenge-"
"I know that he was a dick," Connor sighed, already knowing what she was going to say. "But he's the best option we have. Especially since he has the other statue clue."
Ashton was very tempted to tell the Bouffalant that she already had a statue, but she did not trust anything. She wanted to save that statue at all costs. She groaned to herself, "Fine."
Connor nodded with a smile before glancing at Phill, who was looking back at the two of them from the corner of his eye. The Bouffalant swore to himself. Had the Raticate been listening the entire time?
000
"I noticed the two of them leaning next to each other and talking," Phill explained. "It was kinda hard to hear them, with all of the action and yelling from the people around us. But, Ash was trying to do some kinda alliance thing with me and Connor, so if he's actually into it, then I may fully consider…"
"I'll have to talk about it with Aura at some point without revealing anything," the Raticate sighed.
000
"Okay, this could be a problem," Connor sighed. "Ashton already told me that she had tried talking to Phill, and he probably heard everything we were just talking about. If he tells Morgan and Aura, then we'll probably have more trouble if we don't find the statue in time."
"This sucks…"
000
A couple of hours passed by, with the tournament eventually ending. The battles were extremely intense, with some moves even leaving residue on the people in the stands. In the end, a Grimmsnarl wound up winning the entire thing, to the surprise of many.
As they all proceeded to get out of their seats, Morgan still felt a bit of pain in her paw. She still couldn't put much pressure on it. "Damn it…" she winced.
"Need another ride?" Connor offered, noticing her pained expression.
Morgan sighed. As much as she appreciated it, she hated feeling like she couldn't help herself. With her paw sprained, though, she didn't have much of a choice unless she wanted to feel the pain. Much to her chagrin, she nodded, "Yeah…"
Ashton helped the Persian onto Connor's back as the group began making their way out of the stands. However, not wanting to deal with people's comments, Mew decided to teleport all of them back to the front of the Rose of the Rondelands. They had been pestered and recognized during the tournament, with some people taking pictures and some people throwing paper or food, which usually missed or bounced off of them.
Mew took a breath, "Okay, note to self… don't do public rewards anymore…"
Virizion let out a sigh, "Aside from the unsavory interactions, did everyone enjoy themselves?"
"Eh, it was okay," Phill opined. "The Machamp was robbed, but whatever…"
"Uh-huh…" Virizion responded, giving him a look. She threw a look to the others, expecting them to add on. "Nothing else?"
"I mean, it was cool to see and everything, it's just not really my thing," Aura explained.
"Yeah, it was fun, just don't have much to say," Connor added. He was okay with the tournament, but he was much more focused on the alliance situation.
Xerneas nodded in understanding, as she felt the same. The tournament was fun and interesting, but she didn't really have an opinion on it. The negative interactions didn't really help, either. "Well, in any case, it's time to head back to the island. Hopefully, Titan hasn't done anything outlandish…"
Connor chuckled, "Knowing him, he probably just went back to the cave and fell asleep."
Morgan was still skeptical about Titan, unsure of if he was actually still playing the game or not. She was hoping that he wasn't doing anything, but she couldn't be sure.
"It's not like he can really do anything big anyway," Mew commented dismissively. "Everyone back into the Flying Taxis."
"Wait, how come you can't just teleport us all back?" Ashton inquired.
Mew explained, "I'm sure you all would want a bit of rest time instead of heading to the island in a snap. So, go ahead…"
"Can't argue with that," Phill opined, immediately heading towards the same one he, Aura, and Morgan entered.
The others started to pile into their same taxis as well. However, Ashton couldn't help but eye the bottle on the floor of the taxi that Morgan, Phill, and Aura were in. She was really tempted to snatch it with one of her vines, but didn't want to cause a scene. She'd have to wait until later.
000
Ashton groaned to herself, "We can't let them find that statue… that could-"
Realization soon hit as she thought about the situation. "Wait… Morgan's paw is sprained; she can't walk around. That means that Aura and Phill will probably end up being the ones who look for it…"
"This could… actually work out well for me…"
000
Landing on the island dock, the players all vacated the Flying Taxis, with Morgan once again having to get assistance from Connor. She still utterly despised this situation, as she wouldn't be able to search for the statue in this condition. Heck, she probably wouldn't even be able to participate in the immunity challenge!
With that notion in her mind, a downcast expression formed on her face. With a depressed sigh, she requested, "Can you just take me to the cabin?"
Connor started heading in that direction, with Aura and Phill following behind. Phill was holding onto the bottle, as he knew that they wouldn't want to leave it behind. Slowly following behind them, Ashton saw that her assumption was more than likely going to be correct.
As they reached the campgrounds, Connor went ahead and entered the left side of the cabin. This allowed Morgan to slink down off of his back and get onto one of the beds. "Thanks…" she responded softly.
Connor nodded before proceeding to leave, allowing Phill and Aura to enter. After closing the door behind them with his tail, Phill placed the bottle next to Morgan, who wore a look of dejection on her face.
Noticing the Persian's downcast expression, Aura inquired, "What's wrong, Morgan?"
Morgan gave her a look. "My paw is sprained. I can't walk, meaning that I can't help you guys look for the statue, and I probably won't be able to compete for immunity!"
Aura paled in realization. Morgan was essential to the alliance. If she couldn't compete for immunity, then she was bound to be voted out! "That's… That's a huge problem…"
Morgan let out a sigh, "Unless you guys are able to find the statue, I think I'm done for. I mean, I'm still gonna try; I'm not gonna lay down and die. It's just gonna be kinda tough…"
"Well, Phill and I can try and find the statue!" Aura offered. "We know that it's around the school, so we'll search there until we find it!"
Hearing that, Phill remained quiet, sweatdropping a bit. Morgan was a threat, so her being eliminated didn't really bother him that much. However, he knew that saying that would likely cause an upset. He thought that he was being inconspicuous and supportive by just listening, but Morgan noticed his body language shift a bit after Aura mentioned finding the statue for her.
"Come on, Phill," Aura said, heading to the door. "We need to go before we have to head to the immunity challenge!"
Phill let out a breath before reluctantly following her. Now alone in the Loser Cabin, Morgan started to think. Judging by Phill's body language, it seemed like finding the statue didn't seem to be a priority to him. If that was true, then there was a chance that he was working with the others behind her and Aura's back. "He won't help…" she scoffed softly. "He'd be perfectly fine with me going because he'd be safe regardless…"
She could understand, as she was essentially a big threat compared to the others. That didn't mean that she had to like it. With a growl, she glared down at her sprained paw. She didn't know how long she had before the next challenge, but she needed to do something about her paw. There was no way she was going to be taken out because of an injury.
000
Outside the cabin, Ashton had been eavesdropping on them, standing close to the door without being seen in order to procure any useful information. As soon as she heard Aura mention it being around the school, she started heading in that direction. She made sure not to let them know that she was nearby by calmly walking away from the cabin and into the forest.
000
"Okay, now I know that the statue is around the school," the Meganium said to herself, a thoughtful look on her face. "The question is where around the school. Inside? Outside? There are a lot of trees and bushes around."
"Not to mention that Aura and Phill are gonna be looking for it, too…" she added. She let out a sigh, "This is needlessly complicated…"
000
Connor had quickly made his way to the cave that he and Titan frequented. Inside, he saw the Galvantula resting on the ground. The EleSpider Pokémon's decision to sleep there, when there were fully functional beds available, confused him. His poor choice in sleeping arrangement aside, the Bouffalant needed the clue, so Titan was going to need to wake up.
"TITAN!" he shouted.
Startled, the Galvantula immediately jumped and fired an Electroweb in the Bouffalant's direction, which he quickly moved out of the way of.
"What the hell, mate!?" the cranky Galvantula yelled.
"Sorry, sorry," Connor apologized. "We just got back, and I need to go try to find the statue ASAP."
Curious, Titan inquired, "What happened?"
Beginning to pace around the cave, Connor explained, "Well, aside from the fact that Morgan still has the other statue clue, I was able to talk to Ashton and she's down to work with us."
"Okay, that's a good thing," Titan stated, anticipating what the Bouffalant was going to add. He knew that there was going to be a downside based on his initial statement.
"The problem is that she talked to Phill about it, too," Connor elucidated, stopping in place. "I'm not sure, but I think he overheard us talking…"
Titan was a bit confused. How exactly was that a problem? Phill was the only one, aside from himself, that didn't really do much. Him being involved would just give them another number. "I fail to see the issue, mate. It's Phill…"
"And Phill is working with Aura and Morgan!" Connor countered. "He could easily rat on us and stir up trouble. Hell, they're probably looking for Morgan's statue right now!"
Titan took a few steps towards the Bouffalant, a bored expression on his face. "Mate… it's… Phill," he repeated flatly. "What trouble could he possibly stir up? Morgan already knows that she's a threat, and if her paw's still aching, that means that she likely won't be able to win immunity, meaning that we can literally just vote her out tonight…"
Connor hadn't really thought about that. His mind had immediately gone into panic mode once Ashton mentioned Phill. Realistically, based on how the game had gone thus far, Phill was the least threatening player left. Plus, Titan was correct that Morgan's paw was still giving her issues, so the chance of her winning immunity, especially if the challenge was physical, was slim to none.
"I… guess you're right," he responded hesitantly. "Kinda just got worried since Morgan was involved and we know how much of a threat she is…"
"Yeah," Titan replied, walking back to the spot he was initially laying on.
Seeing this, Connor rose a brow, "Uh… There's still a chance that Aura could find the statue and give it to her."
"Eh, maybe," Titan replied as he started digging at the ground. "I don't think she will, though. Doesn't seem like the type."
"W-What does that even mean?" he inquired in confusion. He grew even more confused as he watched the Galvantula. Approaching, he asked, "What are you digging for? Did you rebury the clue or-"
The Bouffalant fell silent upon seeing what the Galvantula was holding in his pedipalps. "Wait… is that…?"
The small Victini statue was placed on the ground next to him. "I haven't been helping ya too much lately, so I went ahead and found the statue for ya."
"T-Thanks! Where was it?" Connor inquired in an excited tone.
"High in the stands…" Titan revealed. "I tried to look for the other one without a clue again, but I gave up. If it took so long to find this one, I wasn't gonna waste my time."
Connor chuckled, "Well, I'm sure Ash will be happy to know. Now, we're safe. And, now that you mention finding the other one, Aura is probably out looking for it by now…"
"You have fun with that," Titan deadpanned. "I helped with one; you can get the other one yourself."
Connor chuckled in response, understanding him. As he started heading out of the cave, he shouted back, "Thanks again!"
Once he was out of view, the Galvantula chortled to himself. Digging a bit more, he eventually uncovered a second statue of Victini. He let out a sigh, "They're gonna be wasting their time…"
000
"It took me a while to find that damn second statue," Titan explained. "Going off of my logic, since the first one was in the stadium, then the other was likely in or around one of the other challenge buildings."
He continued, "I spent nearly a whole hour searching the damn jail, but found nothing. I was just about to go back to the cave. I passed by the school and decided to try and search around there. I saw all the trees, and since I found my first statue around a bunch of trees, I decided to check them, first. After nearly half-an-hour, I ended up pulling this… ugly piece of crap… out of one of the tree holes."
He took a breath, "I gave Connor one, and this one is gonna be for me. Nobody needs to know that I have it. They can keep searching for it and wasting their time. It'll be a surprise."
000
Having reached the school, Aura immediately rushed up the stairs. "Come on, Phill! We need to hurry!"
Phill was lagging behind purposefully. He didn't see the point in finding the statue for Morgan if there was a chance that she could beat them at the end. Yes, they were in an alliance, but think broadly, what they were doing was very counterintuitive.
The Raticate let out a sigh, "Are we sure that we wanna do this?"
A look of confusion formed on the Fresh Snow Pokémon's face. "What do you mean? We're in an alliance; we're supposed to help each other."
"I know that, but… Morgan's a huge threat! We're working with her, yeah… but when it comes down to it, she could easily beat both of us!" Phill explained. "We're better off getting rid of her sooner rather than later!"
"Okay, where is this coming from?" Aura inquired, walking back down the stairs. "Did one of the others talk to you?"
"I'm just thinking realistically," Phill explained. "Seriously, out of everyone left, who has the highest chance of winning?"
Aura wanted to respond, but couldn't, as Phill had a point. Morgan was a threat, but keeping her around actually allowed them to take out the others easier. "Okay, so if Morgan gets eliminated, then what? The others will just gang up on us and we'll be the next ones to go," she argued. "We need to keep Morgan around for our own safety. Plus, her paw is sprained, so she poses no threat to anyone anymore."
"We're better off trying to go for Ashton or Titan…" she continued, with Phill beginning to rethink. Now, Aura had a valid point. Morgan was hurt, and sprains could take weeks to heal depending on the severity. So, her chances of winning immunity were low. However, she was still a big threat, regardless.
The Raticate sighed, as this was a complicated affair. At the end, no matter what his decision was, he knew that someone was going to be upset at him.
000
Phill groaned, "Morgan is a threat in the game! Keeping her in longer doesn't make a lot of sense, but at the same time… if I join Ashton and Connor, they'll probably go for me and Aura next!"
"Maybe the right choice is to go for Titan next…" Phill reasoned. "Then, there will be five of us, and I'll be in the middle. It'll be much clearer, then."
"CONTESTANTS! PLEASE REPORT TO THE JAIL FOR YOUR IMMUNITY CHALLENGE!"
"Well, time to fail…" Phill deadpanned.
000
Having brought a halt to most of their vigorous statue searching, all of the players gathered outside of the jail, barring one.
The hosts were standing in front of the jail next to a rectangular bin filled with, what appeared to be, white crash-test dummies. A monitor stood on the other side of them, a timer already on the screen.
Noticing the absence of a player among the group, Virizion reasonably inquired, "I assume that Morgan will be sitting this challenge out?"
"You… assume… wrong…" the group heard. Turning their heads toward the source, they saw that Morgan was limping towards them, a grimace on her face with every step.
"Morgan…" Aura sighed softly. They hadn't gone to get her due to her injury. They knew that her participating in the challenge would only make it worse.
Connor, Titan, and Ashton were shocked that she was still coming despite her injury. They were really hoping that she'd be unable to compete! If she did, and did well regardless, they would have to go with another plan.
The Persian joined the group, wincing as she sat down, lifting her still-sprained paw. The paw looked redder than before, appearing to be a bit swollen. "I'm here," she breathed out.
The other players turned to the hosts, waiting for a response. The hosts exchanged looks before looking back to the group, with Xerneas' eyes going to Morgan.
"Morgan… uh… while we respect that you're willing to compete regardless of your injury, we don't want to risk you making it worse," the Life Pokémon stated. "So, you're gonna have to sit this challenge out…"
"No!" Morgan rejected in an instant. "I'm not gonna lose this game because of a dumb injury I got for actually choosing to compete in the first challenge!"
"This isn't a matter of discussion, Morgan," Xerneas stated firmly. "You're actually very lucky that we're not pulling you from the game entirely, but we may have to if you're not feeling better by the next challenge."
"So it depends on if your fellow competitors would be generous enough to offer you help," Virizion added, eyeing the other players. She knew that some of them could easily help Morgan feel a bit better, but it was up to them.
Morgan huffed, looking down. With her threat level, she knew that nobody would be willing to help her aside from Aura. So, to her, this was essentially them telling her that she was just screwed.
000
"Well, if they won't let me compete, I guess I'm just gonna be gone tonight unless Aura or I find the statue," Morgan grumbled.
000
With that situation handled, the hosts began to detail the immunity challenge for the day.
"Okay," Mew began. "Today's challenge is relatively simple, but exhausting. One at a time, each of you will race into the jail and look in the different cells until you find a dummy. You have to retrieve dummies and bring them back out here, one at a time, placing them into this bin," he ended, tapping the bin beside him.
"The player who is able to retrieve three dummies the fastest will win immunity," Virizion explained.
After hearing the challenge synopsis, Morgan growled to herself. She was the fastest one! She could've easily won immunity! It just wasn't fair.
"Any questions?" Mew inquired.
Morgan attempted to raise her paw, but a stern look from Xerneas halted her. Their eyes meeting, the Persian slowly lowered it back down. Aside from that, nobody said anything. The challenge actually sounded feasible and wasn't as bad as the others.
"If not, let's go ahead and get the challenge started…" Mew replied. "Any volunteers?"
The others exchanged looks. The challenge didn't sound bad, but the fact that it was timed meant that whoever went first was immediately at a disadvantage.
Eventually, Phill spoke up, "Eh, I'm probably not gonna do that well with this, anyway. I'll go…"
-000-
Phill stood at the jail's entrance, a look of indifference on his face. As he said, he wasn't expecting to do well, anyway. He also knew that getting it over with would be better for him.
"Alright Phill, in 3… 2… 1… GO!" Mew exclaimed.
Phill ran into the jail and immediately started heading up the stairs. He figured that he would start at the top and make his way down, that way everything would be easier. There were seven floors in that building, after all, and it was much easier to descend stairs than ascend them. After a while, he made it to the top level, panting heavily.
He flopped onto his stomach, panting heavily from running up all of the stairs. As he caught his breath, he cursed, "Fuck my life…"
He almost didn't want to continue the challenge, knowing that he'd have to race up them again if there wasn't a dummy on the first floor. He got to his feet and started walking toward the left side, first. Running past multiple cells, Phill let out a groan as he soon realized that none of the cells he had just passed had a dummy inside.
"Ugh…" he groaned in disappointment. Running back to the bridge, he started checking the opposite side. Once again, running past all of the grimy cells, he came up short. No dummies were on the highest floor.
He sighed, "Maybe I should've just started from the bottom…"
He sulked toward the stairs, starting to head back down. He was burning time by going at his leisurely pace, which was expected of him.
Now on the sixth floor, he repeated his previous actions, checking the left side first before moving to the right.
He managed to find a dummy sitting on one of the beds, much to his relief. Grabbing hold of it, he started dragging it out of the room by the foot. As he glanced back at the stairs, he took a breath before another idea entered his mind. His eyes eventually went to the parapet.
-000-
Aura was using Icy Wind on Morgan's sprained paw, cooling it in an attempt to help. The Persian really shouldn't have been out there; she needed to stay in bed if she actually wanted to heal quickly. Watching this, Ashton let out a soft breath.
She knew that she could easily help the Persian, using Aromatherapy to help with her pain, and she was very tempted to do so. It was in her nature. However, at the same time, this was a competition and Morgan was a huge threat. Her being injured would make things better for the rest of them. She groaned to herself.
000
Ashton sighed, "Okay, after the challenge is over, I'll help heal Morgan's sprain. She won't be able to win immunity and I doubt that she'll find the statue in time."
000
A loud crash was heard from inside, startling the others a bit. Aura stopped using Icy Wind, turning toward the jail entrance. "Phill! Are you okay?!"
There was initially no answer, but pretty soon the Raticate responded as he pulled the dummy out of the jail by one of its legs. "I'm….fine…" he heaved.
He dropped the leg of the dummy before moving to the middle of it. He picked it up and attempted to toss it into the bin. He came up short the first time, with the dummy smacking him on his way back down.
"You little…" he grumbled, tossing it again. This time, it managed to stay inside of the bin, much to his relief. "Okay, I'm done…"
"Seriously?" Morgan deadpanned. Once again, Phill was putting in minimum effort in a challenge.
Mew sweatdropped, "Uh… Phill, are you sure? This is a crucial time in the game and-"
"There are way too many damn stairs and I doubt that I'll be faster than most of these guys," Phill explained, walking over and taking a seat next to Aura.
"Well… In that case, your time won't matter since you didn't complete the challenge," Virizion sighed.
The monitor, which read 8:49, reset to zero. Phill shrugged, while Aura let out a sigh and Morgan rolled her eyes with a huff.
000
"Phill barely really participates in these challenges and he's just gonna keep skating by," Morgan groused. "They're all so focused on me being a threat when they're letting another one slip under their noses."
000
"Alright, well… There's still no time to beat, so who's up next?" Xerneas inquired as Mew took the dummy back into the jail, presumably setting it up in another cell.
Titan continued wearing an expression of indifference. He was going to be taking the game more seriously, but he wanted to keep up an uncaring facade.
Meanwhile, Connor still wanted to know an actual time to beat, so he could adjust whatever he needed to.
Aura was more concerned with Morgan, but also felt that she had a shot to win immunity. However, like Connor, she wanted an actual time to beat.
Ashton hummed to herself. She was going to be safe regardless thanks to her statue, but she didn't want to have to use it yet. She planned on healing Morgan, so she wanted that extra security in case she managed to win the next immunity. This challenge seemed to be perfect for her. Unlike the others, she had her vines, so she felt that she had a big advantage. With that in mind…
"I guess I'll go next," Ashton stated, stepping forward.
"Okay," Virizion responded with a nod. Mew came back out of the jail, the dummy now placed somewhere inside.
"Alright Ashton, in 3… 2… 1… GO!"
-000-
Ashton immediately raced into the jail and headed toward the side with the numerous cells. Unlike Phill, she decided to start on the bottom floor and make her way up. Running past all of the cells, she managed to spot a dummy sitting on the metal toilet.
Extending one of her vines, she grabbed it by the leg and yanked it out, dragging it toward the entrance of the jail. She left it near the sidewall as she proceeded to go up the stairs.
000
"They said that we had to bring out the dummies one at a time. They didn't say that we couldn't collect them all first," Ashton explained with a smirk.
000
Having checked the second floor and coming up empty, the Meganium swiftly made her way back toward the stairs to scan the third floor. She ran toward the right side and started looking in the cells. No dummies were on the right side, so she immediately ran across the bridge and started looking in the cells on the opposite side.
Once again, there was nothing there. "Dang it…"
She started climbing the stairs to get to the fourth floor, and immediately her eyes set upon a leg that was extending out of one of the cells on the left. With a smirk, she extended a vine to grab it before tossing it over the parapet. She was about to climb up further, but decided to actually check the rest of the cells in case there was another dummy on that same level.
"Come on…" she muttered to herself as she passed by the cells on the left side. Coming up empty, she swiftly rushed to the other side, peering into the others.
-000-
As Aura resumed using Icy Wind on Morgan's paw, the Persian watched as Phill approached Connor. She let out a low hum, which got Aura's attention. Thinking that it was her, she stopped. "Sorry… Is it getting too cold?"
"Hm?" Morgan hummed once again. "Oh, no… You're fine. I'm just… worried about Phill.."
Aura froze momentarily. Keeping her composure, she cocked a brow, "What do you mean?"
"Well, remember what I said last night about him essentially being an easy person to beat at the end?" Morgan reminded her. "It… actually got me thinking that he'd be taking away a spot in the finals…"
The Glaceon looked back at the Raticate, who was now sitting in Connor's afro, before looking back at Morgan. Honestly, Aura didn't really care. If she was the one in the finals with him, that would mean an easy win for her. She understood Morgan's point, though. "Okay, well… He's in our alliance, so I don't really think-"
Knowing what she was going to say, Morgan cut her off, "Well, I don't think he's actually too interested in helping us… or specifically me."
Aura sweatdropped, "What makes you say that?"
"Well, considering that I could tell that he didn't want to look for the statue and the fact that you're the only one actually trying to help me with my paw… I think it's self-explanatory," Morgan explained.
Aura let out a sigh. The Persian was correct about Phill initially not wanting to help her, but she was hoping that their talk had given him more sense. "I think that's more so just Phill being lazy as usual…" she explained away. "I don't think we should be getting paranoid about each other. We have to stick together!"
Morgan sighed to herself as she glanced over once again and saw Phill now napping in Connor's afro. She was still very much suspicious and wary of the Raticate, but she decided to leave it be for now.
Another crash, similar to the one heard before Phill came out, was heard.
"Seriously, what is that?!" Aura inquired.
After a while, Ashton came running out, carrying a dummy in her vines. She tossed it into the bin.
"You're 5 minutes in, Ashton," Mew relayed to her.
Ashton smirked as she rushed back into the jail, using her vines to grab the second dummy. She came back out seconds later, placing it into the bin as well.
Virizion cocked a brow as she watched this. When the Meganium came back out with the final dummy, the timer stopped.
"5 minutes and 26 seconds…" Mew stated.
Ashton smiled as she panted softly, proud of her time. Hopefully, it was good enough. However, her smile turned into a look of slight confusion as Virizion cleared her throat and looked to Mew.
"I thought we said that they had to do it one at a time," the Grassland Pokémon whispered to him.
Mew nodded in response, "We did. We didn't specify what had to happen on the inside, just that the dummies themselves had to be brought out one at a time. What she did was valid."
Virizion nodded before looking back to Ashton, who wore a look of worry. "Alright, Ashton. Your final time is 5 minutes, 26 seconds. Let's see if anyone can beat that."
The Meganium let out a sigh of relief. She thought that she was going to be disqualified for her strategy. Luckily, none of the others questioned or commented on anything, so she didn't have to tell them what she did. She just had to hope that nobody had the same idea as her.
000
"Okay, uh… 5 minutes," Connor commented. He looked down and around at his body. He let out a sigh, "Fuck me…"
000
After resetting the dummies, Titan had stepped forward to make his attempt. Xerneas and Virizion simply exchanged unenthused expressions, believing that they knew what to expect from the Galvantula at that point.
"Alright Titan, if you want a shot at immunity, you gotta beat Ashton's time," Mew explained.
"Yeah, I got that, mate…" Titan deadpanned.
Ignoring his flat response, Mew counted him down. "3… 2… 1… GO!"
As the Galvantula made his way inside, Connor turned to Ashton. Phill had woken up and vacated his afro once that last crash happened, so it was only the two of them talking at that moment.
"Did you have to go that fast?" he queried. "Now I have even less of a chance of getting immunity."
Ashton giggled in response, "Sorry Connor, that's just the name of the game. All of us need immunity right now…"
Connor let out a sigh in response. "Well, luckily… Titan found the statue for me," he whispered to her.
Ashton's eyes widened upon hearing that. "He did?!"
"Yep… So I'm actually safe, regardless," Connor explained. "Though, I'd actually want to keep it for the next round…"
Ashton was tempted to tell him about the statue that she found, but decided to keep it to herself. You could never be too sure. "Well, we'll see what happens tonight," she responded, warning a nod in response.
-000-
"Okay, Phill, what were those crashes in there?" Aura inquired curiously, as the crashes had been heard during both his and Ashton's turns.
"That was just when I threw the dummy over the edge so I didn't have to carry it down," the Raticate explained with a shrug. "I'm guessing that Ashton did the same thing."
"So Aura has to do the same thing," Morgan reasoned. "And judging by how fast Ashton brought the dummies out, she probably got them all out of the cells, first."
"Huh… better than my strategy," Phill chuckled. "I was gonna try to go to the top and just make my way down."
"That could still work," Aura responded. "Make it to the top, toss the dummies over the edge as you come down, and just bring them out one at a time…"
"Yes, but Ashton also used Vine Whip, so it'd probably take longer for you," Morgan reasoned. "You'll have to be super quick, or figure out a way to use your moves to your advantage. If you don't win immunity, then we're just completely screwed unless we find the statue."
Aura sighed, "That's true…"
"Well, babe," Phill began, petting her side, "you just have to hope that Titan doesn't do it faster than Ash."
Aura looked at the timer, which was coming upon 1 minute, 30 seconds. She took a deep breath, really needing to think about her process.
-000-
Titan had already pulled a dummy out of a cell on the first floor and started climbing up the wall. He started looking in each cell as he made his ascent up the left side. As he continued his search, he eventually came across another dummy on the fourth floor. It was in the cell closest to the back wall, so he swiftly made his way toward it. He spit out a thread before yanking it out of the cell and over the stony balcony.
He was tempted to take the two that he had already procured out of the jail, as it would allow him to see how much time he had left, but he figured that doing that would waste time. Instead, he continued his ascent, passing by the remaining floors and coming up empty.
Groaning, he began crawling across the ceiling, making his way toward the opposite side. He wasn't going to waste his time climbing all the way back down just to climb back up on the opposite side.
000
Titan groaned, "Challenges are still tedious as all hell…"
000
Outside, Ashton was watching as the timer reached 4 minutes, 30 seconds. Just one more minute and she'd remain in the lead! Realistically, Titan was her main worry. Neither Connor nor Aura seemed too confident about their performances.
Ashton continued watching the timer increase as Connor let out a sigh. He really didn't want to have to use his statue already, but if he did, then that was that.
As the timer reached 5 minutes, another crash was heard, causing Ashton to pale. "Oh no, no, no…"
The jail was large, so running from one side to the other would take a while. Not to mention that, unlike Ashton, Titan hadn't moved any of the dummies closer to the door for quick access.
So, the Galvantula ran out with the first dummy being dragged behind him by a thread. He looked over to the timer, which was at 5:16 and counting, and let out a groan. "How the hell did I take so long? I thought I was going faster!"
"Same here. I'm honestly surprised that you didn't use your webs to swing yourself around," Mew commented. "Probably would've saved you a ton of time."
Hearing that, Titan could only curse in his head. How the hell did he not think about that? He was climbing and using his thread for the dummies, but not to get around. "Fuck…"
"Well… congratulations Ashton, you're still in the lead," Xerneas commented, looking over at the Meganium. "Looks like Vine Whip came in handy…"
Ashton smiled, her tail wagging in excitement. There was no doubt that she'd have immunity, now!
"Well… Aura, Connor, which of you is up next?" Virizion inquired.
"I…" Connor started. He couldn't believe what he was about to do. "I think I'm good with just letting Ashton take it."
"So, you feel safe without immunity?" Mew questioned him.
"No! It's just the fact that I don't think I'll be able to beat her time. I don't have any kinda… extensions or anything that could help me," he explained.
"You never know what you can do unless you try," Xerneas encouraged. She had expected that defeatist attitude from Phill, not Connor
Connor shook his head, "No, in this case, I think I know that I'd be bad at this… so, I'll forfeit."
The hosts exchanged looks before Virizion took the lead, turning to Aura. "Well, Aura, this is your chance. You just have to beat 5 minutes and 26 seconds and you'll win immunity."
Aura took another deep breath. She had no idea how well she was going to do; she had an idea that she was hoping would work, though. "Ready…"
000
"Well, hopefully everything works out in the end," Aura said nervously.
000
Aura was standing in front of the jail door in a ready stance, though the look on her face radiated uncertainty.
Ashton had a bit of doubt that Aura would pull it off, but she couldn't be sure. She may surprise them. Morgan was really hoping that Aura would win, as she could possibly give the immunity to her.
"Alright, Aura, in 3… 2… 1… GO!" Mew counted.
The Glaceon sprinted inside of the jail, blasting an Ice Beam ahead of her in order to move faster. Sliding across the floor, the Glaceon made it to the first set of cells on the first floor. She ran past the numerous ones on the left before turning her attention to the right.
She spotted a dummy lying on the bed inside one of the cells and grabbed it by the leg with her mouth. She dragged it off of the bed and out of the cell, heading toward the jail entrance.
000
Aura explained, "I thought about how I could use my moves to my advantage and settled on using my Ice-type moves to slide across the floor. Hopefully that saves me a lot of time!"
000
Aura made it to the second floor, and using her strategy, blasted an Ice Beam across the floor. She started sliding across the different sections like an ice skater, looking into each cell in hopes of finding a dummy.
Unluckily for her, the second floor occupied no dummies. Sliding back toward the stairs, she climbed up, making it to the third floor. She used the same technique, and it seemed to be working well for her, as she was moving a lot quicker than she normally would. Looking inside all of the cells on the left, she came up empty, but once she made it to the right side, she managed to spot a dummy's foot sticking out of the cell door of the second to last cell.
Aura smiled to herself as she slid towards the occupied cell, "Hopefully I'm going fast enough…"
-000-
Outside, the timer was coming upon 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Ashton was watching the timer intensely, hoping that Aura's time would be worse than her's. She didn't know how far along the Glaceon was, but judging from the lack of crashes, she was likely having a rough go of it.
SLAM!
Or maybe not.
"Come on, Aura!" Morgan cheered her on. "You're almost 3 minutes in!"
-000-
After looking through the cells on the fourth floor and coming up empty, Aura started making her way up to the fifth floor. Immediately, she spotted a dummy leg sticking out of one of the cells on the left. She swiftly ran toward it, grabbing it by the foot and tossing it over the edge.
She had all of the dummies down, so now she just had to get them all out. She rushed toward the stairs, blasting an Ice Beam on the stairs, turning them into a slide. Once she made it down, she immediately started running toward the furthest dummy. She grabbed it with her mouth again and started dragging it toward the exit.
Once she was outside, she set her first dummy on the ground before getting on her hind legs in order to guide it inside. She looked at her time and saw that she was at 4:46 and counting! Gasping, she swiftly ran back inside, heading to the next furthest back dummy.
She didn't have much time and she couldn't waste it. She grabbed the dummy and started dragging it quickly. She made it back outside and did the same thing she did the first time.
Once it was in, she ran back inside of the jail to grab the final dummy: the one that she brought closer to the door. She grabbed it and dragged it out before placing it inside of the bin, stopping the timer.
"5 minutes and 23 seconds!"
The Glaceon's eyes widened in shock and excitement. "I…I won?!"
"By a few seconds, yes," Virizion confirmed. "So, congratulations! You win immunity and get to stay in the Winner's Cabin."
"Which apparently somebody broke into while we were gone," Xerneas condemned, glaring at Titan.
The Galvantula rolled his eyes. Did it really matter? He was bored when he was left alone on the island. Plus, only one person got to use it at a time, and it often went unused for extended periods. He didn't want to hear it.
"Alright, head on back to the campgrounds," Mew responded. "We know that you all will need some time to think…"
The players began to leave, with Ashton wearing a look of disappointment on her face. She had really hoped that she would win the immunity and avoid using the statue, but it seemed like that was going to be her best option. Also, now that the challenge was over, she had to do what she said she was going to do.
000
Now back in the Loser Cabin, Morgan lied back down on her bed. Despite the pain in her paw, a smile was affixed to her face. "You did it, Aura!"
"You pulled it off by a few seconds. Nice going," Phill commended, smacking her rump.
The Glaceon giggled, nuzzling him before turning back to Morgan. "Well, I'm safe, and no one's thinking about voting for Phill, but you're still on the chopping block."
"And if I don't get better by the next challenge, I'm screwed," Morgan added. As she said this out loud, her idea of asking Aura for her immunity suddenly evaporated. There would be no point in asking to be safe for one more round if she would be pulled anyway. "So… either way, I'm probably done for."
Knock, knock, knock.
Ashton popped her head into the cabin, "Hey…"
"Oh, hey Ashton," Phill greeted. "What's up?"
The Meganium entered the cabin with a sigh, "Nothing, nothing… Just… here to fix something I said I would."
She extended a vine towards Morgan, wrapping it around the wrist of her injured paw. Morgan winced at the sudden action as a green aura pulsated from the vine. Phill and Aura watched in surprise as the swelling in Morgan's paw went down. The Persian looked at Ashton in shock as the aura dissipated. Her paw no longer had the red tint, and the pain she had been experiencing vanished.
Ashton let go of her paw, feeling like she just made a big mistake. She turned around to leave, with Morgan commenting, "Wh… T-Thanks, Ashton! Why did you-"
"Don't mention it," she replied with a somber smile.
She exited the cabin, leaving the three of them alone. Phill couldn't believe what the Herb Pokémon had just done. They had the perfect way to get rid of Morgan if she hadn't gotten eliminated that night! What was she thinking?
"Well… How do you feel?" Aura inquired.
Morgan placed a bit of pressure on her paw and smiled. No pain. "I feel great!" she beamed. Though, her smile slowly turned into a confused frown. "But… why would she do that?"
"I don't know," Aura responded. 'Who cares, though?! You won't be pulled from the game, now!"
Morgan nodded, "Right…"
She looked at the door and back at her paw, letting out a sigh. Whether it was one of relief or disappointment, the Persian wasn't sure.
"So, uh… who exactly are we going for?" Phill piped up. He was still bewildered by Ashton's decision, and was hoping that it didn't bite her in the butt.
The girls exchanged looks, as it mainly came down to two options for them: Titan and Ashton. Titan was moreso an annoyance and tried to vote out Morgan before. Meanwhile, Ashton was very likeable, sweet, and strong. Considering that she came in second place in the challenge, she was definitely a threat.
However, given what she'd just done, it would be a bit hard to vote for her. It'd feel a bit cruel to do that to someone who essentially just helped you. In this competition, though, you never know what could happen.
000
"Okay," Morgan began. "On one hand, I'm not at risk of being pulled from the game and I'm still able to compete. On the other hand, I kinda feel… bad for some reason. I mean, we were suspicious of her being against us and finding the statue, but… she just healed me?"
"Though, it could just be a farewell present or something," the Persian huffed. "I just… I'm not sure how to feel."
"I need to find that statue," she muttered to herself.
000
"Well, I'm probably gonna use my statue tonight," Connor explained, lying in Brian's cave. "I don't trust this."
Titan shrugged, "Hey, it's your statue, mate. Do what you think is best. It's not like the others can do anything about it, anyway."
"Aura has immunity, and I have immunity," Connor recapped. "Though… I could save whichever one of us they end up-"
A bit of rustling from the bushes got their attention as Ashton approached them, wearing a look of disappointment on her face. She lied down next to the cave, resting her head on the ground. Noticing her distraught expression, Connor inquired, "What's the matter, Ash? Still upset about losing immunity?"
The Meganium lifted her head slightly. "That… and I think I just did something stupid by trying to be nice…"
"What do you mean?" Connor inquired in confusion.
Ashton let out a sigh before letting them know, "I healed Morgan…"
"WHAT?!" both Connor and Titan bellowed.
"You've gotta be fucking joking me, Shiela!" Titan explained. "That really was a dumb move! The hell were you thinking?!"
"Calm down, Titan," Connor responded before turning back to Ashton. "Why'd you do that? If something doesn't work out tonight, either you or Titan could go!"
"I just…" she began. "I didn't want her to stay injured if we were planning on voting her out, anyway. Knowing that I could help someone in pain, whether they're a threat or not, and not doing it just feels… wrong."
"Well, congrats. Now we're probably screwed if she finds a statue," Titan replied, attempting to plant a bit of worry in her head. He already had the second statue, but Ashton healing Morgan was just a completely idiotic move.
He also remembered Kojo receiving a statue clue, meaning that there actually was a chance that they could find that statue and use it. He just mentally shook his head.
"I don't think she will, though" Ashton replied. "I mean, we're probably going to end up heading to elimination in a few minutes, so I don't think the others will find it in time."
"And if they do, it'll be either you or me going," Titan deadpanned. "Especially if they end up finding the statue that Kojo had the clue for. Then you're little 'act of kindness' will end up getting you voted out."
Ashton gave the Galvantula a look, as did Connor. "You're not helping, dude. Now you've kinda made things even harder to deal with, because if they did find the statue from Kojo's clue, then they'll obviously use it for Morgan. Meaning that the only person to vote for is…"
"Phill…" Ashton sighed.
000
Ashton huffed, "I'm the one who has the statue from Kojo's clue, and I still don't think Morgan and the others will find the last one in time…"
She took a breath, "I don't even want to work with Titan. So maybe…"
000
The afternoon was soon overtaken by night as the players all gathered at the ceremony area. Morgan, Aura, and Phill sat together on one side, while Ashton, Connor, and Titan sat on the other.
Mew, Virizion, and Xerneas came up, once again lacking marshmallows, though at this point, it didn't really matter. "Alright, welcome back to the elimination ceremony. It's time to see who you've decided to oust from the game this time."
"We see that Morgan's paw is doing better now," Xerneas acknowledged, noticing that the Persian was no longer holding it up. "I'm assuming someone managed to help you out?"
Morgan nodded. "Yep… All is well…" she said, faking a smile.
"Well, good for you," Virizion said. "You're safe from being possibly pulled, but let's see if you're safe tonight…"
"And, before we start, this is the last time that any statues can be played, so if you have one, you'd better pay attention and use it wisely," Mew stated. A long pause followed this, as everyone exchanged looks of uncertainty.
Morgan swallowed in nervousness. She and Aura weren't able to find the statue, unfortunately, and she decided not to ask Aura to transfer her immunity, so the Classy Cat Pokémon was very vulnerable.
Connor was unsure if Morgan had the statue or not. Ashton said that she didn't think that they found it, but he just wasn't sure.
"Alright, Aura, you're obviously safe," Xerneas began. "Ashton, you're safe as well…"
Aura simply wore a look of worry on her face, not wanting Morgan to go. Ashton, hearing her name called let out a soft sigh of relief.
"Next one safe is… Connor," Mew stated.
The Bouffalant let out a sigh of relief. He didn't have to use his statue either; he was still alive in the game.
Only Phill, Titan, and Morgan remained. Phill was surprised that they still hadn't called him yet. It actually frightened him a bit. Morgan was a bit nervous as well, but was really hoping that she was safe. Titan didn't really care, remaining stone-faced during the ceremony.
"The next player safe is… Morgan," Xerneas commented. "Surprisingly…"
"And with four votes to two… the player heading home is… Titan," Virizion stated, a smile on her face.
Connor's eyes widened. Four votes? He glanced at Ashton, who couldn't meet his gaze. He let out a disappointed huff.
Phill let out a sigh of relief, leaning against Aura's side. That was way too close for comfort. However, that relief dissipated as they heard someone clear their throat.
Looking over, Connor started shaking his afro, causing the Victini statuette to fall out. "Sorry, but… Titan isn't going anywhere."
"Connor, you-!" Aura growled before being cut off by Mew.
"Uh… will somebody please pick up that statue and read what it says on the bottom?" Mew inquired flatly.
Confused, everyone looked around before Ashton used Vine Whip to pick it up. Looking at the bottom, she saw scratch marks on it. Looking closer, though, she could make out a few words. "Only… usable… before… results…" she read.
"Exactly," Mew explained. "The two Victini statues could only be used before the final results are given. That's why I said to pay attention and gave a pause."
"Oh, bugger off, mate," Titan replied. "That's not fair and you know it. You didn't tell us anything about that!"
"It's literally written on the statue, though," Aura teased. "It's perfectly fair."
Titan gave her a look, not wanting to hear anything from her.
"So, sorry Connor, but… Titan is still gone," Mew stated.
The Bouffalant let out a sigh, turning to the Galvantula. "Sorry…"
"It's whatever mate," Titan responded as he got out of his seat. "I'm fine with leaving. Better to be out of here than to stay."
The Galvantula started heading to the docks, with Connor deciding to see him off. The other four remained at the ceremony area for a bit before Morgan responded, "Thanks, Ash…"
The Meganium nodded back with a smile, though she couldn't help but feel bad about going against Connor.
000
At the dock, Connor wore a look of disappointment and anger. Ashton voted for Titan? Why woul- He had to stop immediately. Given how he acted toward her in the previous challenge, and the fact that he was being a bit of a dick toward her when she was already feeling unsure, he could understand.
Titan got into the elimination device. "Well mate, you better hope that things change soon, because you're likely all on your own," he commented. "I have some faith that you can pull through, but it'll just depend on what these blokes have you do next…"
Virizion and Xerneas exchanged unamused expressions before the Grassland Pokémon stepped on the button, which was placed on the ground for her.
000
Connor sighed, "What the hell am I supposed to do now?"
"Ashton healed Morgan's injury, and she would probably be gone next if she hadn't. And she voted with them, whether inadvertently or not," he continued. "I really hope these next challenges are things that I can actually do…"
000
"And with that annoyance gone, we're down to the final five!" Xerneas beamed. "Aura, Phill, Connor, Ashton, and Morgan."
"We only have a few more days before the winner of this season is crowned," Virizion added. "For now, we still have these five to handle. Who's the next one to go? Tune in next time on Total…"
"Pokémon…" Xerneas followed.
"Underdogs!" Mew concluded.
000
See ya guys, BYE!