Total Pokemon: Underdogs

by Dark Arcanine 33

Oh god, they're back AGAIN! This time, 44 Total Pokemon underdogs have been brought back for a chance at 5 MILLION POKE! What will happen this time? Find out here! (Season 7)

38. Alpha Catch a Alpha

Announcer: Last time on Total Pokémon: Underdogs, the game got a little nostalgic. Instead of having the final five compete for their spots in the final four, the trial contestants were brought back in order to represent them. Five teams of four were created, and while the trial players competed, the final five got to spend their time on the S.S. Kyogre.

The challenges for the trial players were relatively harmless and easy to manage, while the point system that was utilized was most definitely not. From riding Tauros, to eating disgusting food, to the good 'ol cliff dive, it was a much simpler feeling all around.

However, as previously mentioned, the point system was rather wonky. By the final challenge, the hosts were going to have to decide the winner based on challenge performance. Luckily, Dade explained the situation and offered a better solution. This is why you should always stick to the standard; if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Ashton, Connor, and Phill were automatically safe, due to the point system and the fact that no one thought they could beat Zahku's time. So, it came down to Aura's team of Chip, Kay, Lynn, and Lucky vs. Morgan's team of Kane, Sasha, Tonya, and Marley. Kay, Lucky, Sasha, and Tonya were out of the running, as they competed in prior challenges, so it was down to the pairs of Chip and Lynn, and Kane and Marley, to bring it home for one of the girls.

In the end, due to Marley not really trying and treating it as a joke, as the challenge didn't affect her, Morgan was the one sent packing. Luckily, they all could still chill on the S.S. Kyogre.

We're down to the final four, and we know you can't take any more. Only two episodes left after this and I'm sure it won't be missed. Who's gonna go tonight? Stay tuned, alright? Here on Total… Pokémon… Underdogs!

000

*Intro plays*

000

Day slowly faded, turning to night. The final four players had returned to the island, having said goodbye to Morgan and the other former players.

Aura and Phill were currently inside the Loser Cabin, lying on their backs next to each other on one of the bottom bunks. They were at the final stretch of the game. Only two more players stood in their way. After that, it wouldn't matter which of them won.

"Well… we're in the final four," Phill commented. "Never thought I'd get this far."

Aura let out a sigh, "Yeah…" Despite being happy to be there, she just hated that Morgan got taken out how she did. Marley got the silent treatment from almost everyone, aside from her own cast, for what she did.

At the end of the day, though, Morgan was a threat and she was gone. Now everyone was on an even playing field. She turned to Phill, "Well… We know that the two of us are sticking together. What are we gonna do about Ash and Connor?"

"I mean… The only thing we can do is convince one of them to vote with us," Phill elucidated. "The question is which one…"

"I mean… between the two, I think Ashton is the one we need to worry about more," Aura opined. "She's a lot savvier, and she has her vines as an advantage. Now that Connor can't use any more statues to save himself, he should be easy to deal with once Ash is gone."

"Are you sure?" Phill inquired. "He's still stronger than us physically."

Aura let out a sigh, as Phill had a point. "Well, not all of these challenges are really physical," she countered, "so, I still think Ashton is the bigger threat. Plus, if Connor is still mad at her for voting out Titan, it'll make things even easier."

Phill nodded in response. He understood what she was talking about, but the uncertainty still plagued his mind.

000

"Ok… Uh… I'm not sure which way to go from here," Phill awkwardly chuckled. "Ashton and Connor are both threats, so even if we eliminate one of them, we'll still have another one to deal with."

"I'm just worried about choosing the right one," he sighed.

000

Deciding to actually stay around the campgrounds, Connor was lying alone in the bed that he and Taylor shared on the other side of the Loser Cabin. After spending time with him, as well as a few of his other friends on the boat, the Bouffalant felt much more relaxed.

He really needed something to calm his nerves now that he was practically on his own. He wanted to be more confident, but given his current circumstances, he wasn't sure.

He sighed, "Well, Aura and Phill are still together in the game. They're more than likely gonna stick together, so unless I win immunity, I'm screwed."

He recalled Ashton pleading with him to still work with her after Titan was eliminated, so he still had that option. He just knew that having both halves of a couple together this late in the game was terrible for him. He just hoped that Ashton realized that it was just as bad for her.

Suddenly, by mere coincidence, the door creaked open, revealing the Meganium in question on the other side. Upon seeing him, her eyes widened momentarily before she said, "Oh… You're actually here. I was just looking for you around the cave."

Connor sighed, "Yeah, I'm here. It's down to the wire, and after being with the others again… I don't wanna keep isolating myself."

Ashton nodded, a small smile forming on her face.

"Plus, I forgot how moderately comfortable the actual beds are in here," the Bouffalant chuckled.

As Ashton lay on a bed across from him, Connor let out a sigh. He knew that he would have to say something, given how things went the last time they interacted prior to the vacation. Looking at her, he called out, "Hey."

Ashton looked over to him, but she didn't say anything. She had been looking for him to try and talk, but if he was going to talk first, she was going to listen.

He continued, "I just wanna say… I'm sorry for snapping at you after the Titan vote. I was just bitter, and I shouldn't have been as harsh toward you."

Ashton hadn't really expected an apology, as she could understand how hurt he felt. She let out her own sigh, "You don't have to apologize. You reacted normally. I should have been more transparent."

After nearly half a minute of silence, Connor smacked his lips. "Well… I guess it's up to us to take Phill and Aura out, huh?"

Hearing this, the Herb Pokémon smirked. "Well, that depends on if you're willing to work with me again."

Connor threw her a playful look, "It's not like either of us has a lot of options. They're together, since we didn't get rid of one of them when we could have."

Ashton awkwardly looked to the side, as their current dilemma was partially her fault.

"So we have to stick together or else it's a guarantee that they win regardless," Connor reasoned.

Ashton nodded, "I'd say that we could try to get Phill to work with us, but I doubt he'd leave Aura's side now."

"No way," Connor replied. "If Taylor was still in the game, I'd definitely still stick with him, so I doubt they'd split up. We just need to make sure that neither of them wins immunity."

"Right," Ashton concurred, "because, in the end, it's gonna end up being a tie. And… wait… What happens with a tie at this point?"

"We're gonna have to find out," Connor stated.

000

Returning to the Hall of Origins once again, Mew let out a breath. "Well, on one hand, the trial players actually did pretty well intermingling with the current players. On the other hand… Marley made the end result pretty lackluster."

Xerneas let out a sigh, "Well, we can't control how they handle things. I could see her point, but it didn't really do her any favors."

"I doubt she cares," Virizion chimed in. "She's a prankster. They usually don't care about anything aside from getting a reaction and laughing and the person they pranked."

"At the very least, we're at the final four and really close to ending this thing," Mew commented.

As they approached the kitchen, they spotted Entei leaving the vicinity with a bag of gummies in his maw. Mew greeted, "Hey, Entei."

"Hey," he responded, placing the bag down to nuzzle the New Species Pokémon in greeting. "Already back? I expected you guys to be back a bit later."

"Well, today was partially a vacation day for the players, so… Here we are," Virizion explained. "Nice to see you out again, even if it's just to get Leo something."

The Volcano Pokémon huffed, "I was actually out here since we got a couple more newbies." He looked down at the bag of candy. "The gummies are a bit of an afterthought..."

"More newbies?" Xerneas inquired curiously.

"Yep… Miraidon and Koraidon," Entei explained. "All we've got from them so far is that they represent the past and the future, and they're another couple."

"Oh, that's nice," Virizion commented with a smile. "They're in the living room area, right?"

"Where else would they be?" Entei countered, picking up the bag and turning back around to enter the kitchen again.

-000-

In the living room, there appeared to be two large reptilian beasts lying on the couch. One was completely reddish-orange. It had a feathery crest and two long antennae. A wheel-shaped growth was protruding from its neck, and it had webbed hands and feet. One of its hands was wrapped around a bluish dragon that had a futuristic appearance.

It seemed to have antennae that resembled bolts of lightning. Its neck looked very smooth and glowed purple and yellow, with a few light blue streaks coming across. Its legs seemed to be much shorter, resembling jet engines of sorts, and its long tail had a similar setup to its neck, being purple and yellow as well.

Surprisingly, this time nobody else was around. The duo was simply watching a movie on the television. Seeing them, Mew cocked a brow. "Um… Are they okay? Usually, the others pester the hell out of the new guys."

"Well, they got here a while after you guys left, so the others have had their time to question and prod them. Now, they're just trying to relax," Entei explained.

Xerneas blew out a breath, "I completely understand that."

"Well, nevertheless…" Virizion began, stepping into the living room briefly. Clearing her throat, she greeted, "Hi there."

The duo turned to her, with the blue one, Miraidon gasping upon seeing her. "Hello, there~," he greeted, having a slightly feminine tone.

"Hey," Koraidon greeted, waving with his other hand.

"Hey, uh…" the Grassland Pokémon started as Xerneas and Mew came forward as well. "We weren't exactly here when you guys got here, so we just wanted to say 'Hi' and introduce ourselves. I'm Virizion…"

"I'm her wife, Xerneas," the Life Pokémon added.

"Mew," Mew said with an awkward wave.

"Oh~," Miraidon commented, sitting up a bit as he leaned against Koraidon a bit more. "So Entei was right, there are more gay Legendaries in this universe. Interesting~."

"Well, technically, we're both married to Cobalion, but we still consider ourselves each other's wife, too," Virizion explained.

"Same difference," Miraidon replied with a giggle. "Well, even though you've probably already been told about us, it's only fair that we formally introduce ourselves, too. I'm Miraidon, looking forward to the future, and this is my husband, Koraidon, who's stuck in the past~."

Koraidon stifled a laugh, "Really, babe?"

Miraidon kissed his cheek, "Love you~."

"Well, uh… It's good to meet you," Mew replied, clasping his hands together. "We'll see you guys around. Don't wanna bother…"

"Oh, no. You're not bothering," Miraidon insisted. "I mean, feel free to stick around if you want."

Virizion and Xerneas shared a smile. "Well, we just may…" Virizion commented, really liking the vibe of the new pair.

As the two of them approached the couch, Mew floated back into the kitchen, catching up to Entei as he headed back to Solgaleo's room.

-000-

"Well, at least you're almost done," Entei said as they entered the Sunne Pokémon's room.

Mew, now holding the bag of gummies, nodded in response. He then watched as Entei approached Solgaleo, greeting, "Hey sweetie."

Then, surprisingly, the two shared a kiss. No, it wasn't just Entei kissing Solgaleo. Both of them initiated. Mew's eyes widened in shock, "Uh… Hold on. Hold on. Did I miss something, here?"

Entei shook his head as he walked back toward Mew. "You didn't miss anything," he said, grabbing the bag from him.

"Uh… Obviously, I did. Leo never reciprocates the kisses you give him," Mew pointed out. "What'd you do?"

Solgaleo didn't feel like explaining, as it didn't matter too much. So, once Entei placed the gummies down beside him, the Volcano Pokémon explained, "I didn't really do anything. Hell, he kissed me earlier today. So, I don't know if that means anything. He hasn't really said anything at all, today."

Looking up at the large lion, Mew let out a sigh, "Well, whatever it means… Hopefully, he's actually okay."

Admittedly, when the kiss happened earlier, Entei was astonished as well. He never expected it. He was really hoping that it wasn't a case where he was just doing it to do it. He didn't want this to feel like the result of 'conditioning'. Sure, earlier, it may have been an obsession, but he legitimately had feelings for Solgaleo and wanted him to feel better.

"Yeah, I hope so, too…" Entei said softly.

Hearing that, Solgaleo was surprised. However, he once again remained quiet. Truth be told, at that point, the Sunne Pokémon actually had feelings for Entei as well. He disliked how he only treated him as a hunk of meat and kept only wanting him for sex.

However, as time passed and he saw this other side of him: the one that was actually protective, humorous, understanding, and caring, he couldn't help it. His attitude was pretty attractive to him as well. He still had those negative thoughts plaguing his head and an overall weak feeling, but Entei being around actually helped him a bit.

As he thought about it, he slowly sat up. He brought Entei closer to him with one of his paws before lying back down.

Entei blushed, looking at the white lion beside him. Their eyes met momentarily before Solgaleo turned away again. Mew chuckled, "Well, whatever this ends up being, I'm not sticking around for it."

Knowing what he was insinuating, Entei gave him a look, "Ha ha… Why don't you go see what you and Zeraora will end up being?"

A blush formed on Mew's face this time as he folded his arms. "Touché," he huffed.

The New Species Pokémon exited the room, leaving the pair alone.

-000-

Back outside, Mew let out a sigh as he started making his way to his own room. However, much to his chagrin, a familiar face was waiting for him.

With a growl, he commanded, "Get away from my room…"

"Shut up," Victini shot back quickly, his arms folded. "So you brought the trial guys back and didn't tell me?"

Mew gave him a look, "You're not watching or engaging with the show anymore, remember? Why the hell would I tell you?"

"I'm still coming back for the finale, and I don't know… Maybe because those guys were the first players we had," Victini stressed. "We hadn't heard from any of them in decades aside from Zahku! They're fucking special!"

"And whose fault is that?" Mew retorted flatly. "Sure, I have some blame, but you're always the one so eager for new seasons nowadays. Now, what the hell do you want? Are you just pissy that you weren't there to be a prick to them?"

Victini huffed, "You know what, you're right. Maybe down the line, we can get them involved again…"

Mew let out a dry chortle, "If you think I'm doing this again, you're outta your damn mind."

The New Species Pokémon teleported into his room to avoid the rest of the conversation. He expected Victini to follow him to continue his tirade but was pleasantly surprised when he didn't. He was honestly pleased that Victini was the one pissed for a change. Granted, it was minor, but still.

As he flopped on his bed, he took a deep breath, "Just four more players. Four… more…"

000

The sun had been hovering over the horizon for a while, with Phill finally deciding to wake up after a while. Aura was still sleeping in, so the Raticate decided to once again head to the gazebo to see what the breakfast was going to be that day.

Exiting the cabin, he immediately started heading to the gazebo. He was still relatively uncertain about what they were going to do. He wasn't gonna turn his back on Aura, but he also knew that Ashton and Connor wanted to try to work with him.

On his way, he saw that Ashton was heading back with two moderately-sized breakfast items that were wrapped in foil.

"Oh, hey Ashton," he greeted. "What's the score looking like today?"

"Um… It's just breakfast burritos," the Meganium explained, shaking one of the food items in question. "Nothing big, y'know."

"Nice!" Phill beamed, his eyes darting in the direction of the gazebo.

Ashton nodded before continuing back toward the cabin. Seeing this, Phill began walking toward the gazebo but stopped. He knew that he'd be better off trying to talk to Ashton sooner rather than later. With a sigh, he turned around, calling out, "Wait!"

Ashton stopped, turning back toward him. "Yes?"

Phill sighed as he approached her once again. "Look, I know we had that whole idea about me, you, and Connor… but what would you say about changing it to me, you, and Aura?"

Ashton cocked a brow. What she and Connor said last night was definitely proving to be true: the two of them weren't going to split up. "Uh… sounds interesting, but… Why?" she inquired, despite already knowing the answer.

"Well… Aura's my girlfriend, and I wanna make sure that both of us make it to the end…" he explained, not realizing what he just said.

Ashton sighed, "So, you just want to make sure that it's just you and Aura at the finals."

Now realizing his mistake, Phill paled. "Wait, wait, that came out wrong," he quickly backtracked. "I mean that between you and Connor, I think I can trust you more. There's no guarantee that Aura and I will make the finals. I just-"

Ashton put up a vine to silence him. "It's fine Phill. I understand, but I can't do that. You and Aura are a pair, and that's a threat to me. And from what you just said, I'm right."

The Herb Pokémon continued back toward the cabin, leaving Phill alone. The Mouse Pokémon let out a sigh before proceeding to the gazebo to get his and Aura's burritos.

000

Phill facepalmed, "Well… That could've gone better."

000

Returning to the cabin, Phill entered, holding the remaining two burritos. By that time, Aura had gotten up and was waiting for Phill to return. "Hey," she greeted as he approached, placing one of the burritos in front of her.

"Hey," he replied with a sigh as he hopped onto the bed and started unwrapping his burrito.

Noticing that he wasn't his typically chipper self, Aura grew concerned. His entire vibe just seemed off. "Are you okay? I mean, I'd think you'd be eager to devour whatever this is…"

"It's just a breakfast burrito," he responded with a shrug before taking a bite of it.

"Well, sure, but… You just seem upset," she expressed, scooting closer to him.

"I'm not really upset," Phill explained before swallowing what was in his mouth. "I'm still just… worried. Especially even more so now that I probably messed up."

Confused, Aura inquired, "Messed up how?"

Setting the burrito down momentarily, the Raticate expounded, "I told Ashton that I wanted her to work with us…"

Aura let out a sigh, facepalming herself. "Phill, she's the one we need to be trying to get rid of! Why would we try to work with her? She's the main threat, now!"

"I mean, she declined away," Phill added. "She said that the two of us are threats since we're a pair. And she had two burritos, so I'm guessing she's with Connor."

Aura groaned, "And if Connor actually goes with her, it means that it's just gonna end up being a tie at the end. I thought that he'd still be upset at her for lying!"

"I mean, we just came back from a brief vacation," Phill reasoned. "Maybe they hashed things out there."

Having not taken that possibility into account, Aura took a deep breath. "Well, if they're gonna be working together, then we'll just have to make sure that we fight even harder in these next challenges," she stated.

Phill nodded back at her, though he could already feel the pressure. He picked up his burrito and continued to munch on it.

000

"I don't know why I'm suddenly feeling nervous about every little thing, now," Phill commented. "I don't like it."

"I mean, sure, I'm nearing the end of the game, but still!"

He let out a sigh, "I hate this…"

000

"I hope Phill is okay," Aura said in worry. "I think he's letting the pressure get to him, and now he's feeling more… anxious."

"I wish he could see that he's a lot better than he thinks he is…"

000

Having been called to the stadium, the remaining four contestants made their way to the vicinity in obvious pairs. Connor and Ashton were entering side-by-side, as were Aura and Phill. Battle lines had been drawn.

This truly felt like a make-it-or-break-it moment for all of them. Even though they were all friends for the most part, only one of them was coming up on top in the end.

Mew floated in wait, with Xerneas and Virizion standing on either side of him. Having thought back to his and Victini's trial season and the season prior to this, an idea had formed in the New Species Pokémon's mind earlier that day. In theory, it would be good for everyone involved, especially himself.

Once the players were standing before them, Virizion greeted them. "Firstly, congratulations on making it this far in the season," she stated.

Xerneas added, "You all have been through a lot, so hopefully when this is all over, things can just be normal for you all again."

Aura huffed, "Until we're forced to compete again in a few years…"

"Well, nevertheless… Mostly normal lives…" Xerneas corrected with an awkward giggle.

"Come on, guys," Virizion chimed in. "The challenges and some of the people are bad, but haven't all of you either made friends or fallen in love because of the show? It couldn't be a complete dumpster-fire of an experience."

The players exchanged looks, as Virizion had a point. They still had their negative feelings, but some good still came out of the game at the end of the day. The players passed a few smiles to each other.

"Well, regardless of how you feel… You guys will be free sooner than you may think," Mew spoke up.

The contestants looked at them in confusion. They knew that there were four of them left, so there'd be at least a few more days left in the competition. Connor inquired, "Wait… What does that mean?"

"There will be no reward challenges, today," Mew explained. "Instead, both challenges will be eliminations."

A collective gasp was shared among the players, as they were definitely going to need to kick it into high gear now.

000

"It's a double elimination today?!" Connor bellowed. "What the hell?!"

The Bouffalant sincerely thought that the day would be normal, but of course, there had to be a wrench thrown in.

He groaned in annoyance, "Hopefully, the challenges are actually fair. I can't go home, now!"

000

Ashton sighed, "Well… That answers my question about ties at this stage in the game: they don't happen. This certainly is worrying. It really is every Pokémon for themself, now. Connor and I are still gonna try to help each other, though. At least, I hope so."

000

"Now," Virizion chimed in, getting their attention once more. "Your challenge will be to hunt down and capture three Pokémon each and bring them back here."

"The last player to procure their Pokémon and bring them back will be eliminated," Xerneas stated. "Any questions?"

"Uh… yeah," Aura spoke up. "How are we supposed to capture them?"

"Using Poké Balls of course," Mew stated as a box containing four drawstring bags appeared next to them. "Each bag contains three Poké Balls. These are the only Poké Balls that you will get, so if you lose or damage one, you're gonna be in trouble."

"At that point, you'll have to hope that someone else also loses or damages their balls," Virizion added. "If not, that's an automatic elimination."

Everyone exchanged stern glares, aside from Phill.

000

Aura huffed, "I don't know if either of them would be desperate enough to resort to sabotage at this point, but I'm gonna be keeping my guard up."

She then giggled, "Though, considering Connor's situation… They may not really get a chance to."

000

"Now, for your assignments," Xerneas chimed in as a few note cards appeared in Mew's hands. "Ashton, you have to capture a Basculin, a Hippopotas, and a Hitmontop."

Ashton blinked in surprise. "Well… This could be a problem. They could be anywhere!"

Xerneas continued, "Aura, you're responsible for a Golbat, a Shuckle, and a Klefki."

Aura simply rose a brow, a small smile forming on her face. "Those are all mostly cave-based. Easy."

"Connor, you've got a Sneasler, a Wooper, and a Sunkern."

The Bouffalant wore an irritated expression. Not due to the Pokémon choices, but due to the challenge in general. "Of course, this challenge requires throwing ability. Why wouldn't it?"

"And finally Phill," Xerneas concluded. "You're responsible for a Polteageist, a Fearow, and a Magby."

Phill let out a sigh. "Damn it…"

Mew began handing the players their cards as Virizion explained, "Your cards each have hints that will guide you to where your specific Pokémon are. Use that to your advantage."

"And like we said, the last player back with their Pokémon will be eliminated," Mew stated. "So, grab your bags and get going. The challenge is on!"

Immediately, Phill and Ashton each grabbed two bags before all four players started sprinting out of the stadium.

"This will be interesting," Xerneas commented.

000

"Well… this challenge seems simple enough," Phill opined. "Aside from the fact that I have to get two fully-evolved Pokémon out of three"

"This sucks…"

000

Connor and Ashton decided to regroup and plan their next moves for maximum efficiency. With Connor not having the same capabilities as everyone else, he would definitely need to rely on Ashton to help him.

"Okay, so we definitely need to be quick about this," Ashton stated. "We're gonna have to stick together if we actually want a shot."

The Meganium could have easily just ditched Connor and left him to handle the challenge on his own. However, not only was she not that type of Pokémon, but she needed Connor to stay in the game if she wanted higher odds to win.

The Bouffalant sighed, "Of course, this challenge is gonna give me the most trouble…"

"That's probably why you got two easy ones and a Sneasler," Ashton responded, pulling his card from his afro with her other vine.

"I guess," the Bash Buffalo Pokémon muttered. "What do the hints say?"

Looking at their cards, Ashton cocked a brow at the 'hints' that were mentioned. "Uh… okay? The Sneasler's hint is a Gogoat symbol, a plus sign, and a light brown square. I don't really get that."

Connor tried to think as he listened, but couldn't figure it out right away. He thought that he was pretty good at riddles.

Meanwhile, Ashton continued, "The Wooper's hint says 'rake', there's a minus sign, the letter 'R', a plus sign, and the letter 'L'."

Connor nodded, "Okay, so the Wooper's at the lake. Sounds self-explanatory."

"And the Sunkern hint has a picture of a Gastly, minus 'T-L-Y', plus the letter 'E', plus… a bow and arrow," Ashton concluded.

After thinking about it for a few seconds, Connor managed to piece it together. "Gas. E. Bow. It's at the gazebo!"

Connor immediately started to rush out, but Ashton stopped him, grabbing him by the back left hoof. "Connor, we still need to figure mine out before we go," she stated firmly.

"Right, sorry, sorry," the Bouffalant apologized. Again, he needed her help, so running out wouldn't have done him any good regardless. "So, we know that the lake and gazebo have two of mine. We'll probably have to figure the Sneasler out later."

"Just not too late," Ashton added before looking at her own card. "My Basculin… is at the lake, too, I guess," she said, seeing the same hint as before.

"Well, that's good for us…" Connor opined.

"The Hippopotas hint is just a small picture of a beach, so I'm guessing it's somewhere along the beach, " she continued. "The Hitmontop hint is just a picture of jail cell bars, so that's obviously the jail."

"Okay, so I say we check the stuff closest to us now, then try to go further," Connor suggested. "That way, we can already make some progress and they don't have a chance to move around if they can."

Ashton could understand his thought process, but given the stakes of this challenge, she didn't think it'd work as well.

"Or," she started, "maybe we should just go out further and make our way back here. The same logic about them moving could be applied to the ones currently further away from us."

Despite wanting his instant gratification, Connor nodded. "Fair enough. Maybe we'll see my Sneasler along the way," he added.

Returning the nod, Ashton placed both her and Connor's bags in the Bouffalant's afro before leaving the Loser Cabin and heading into the forest.

000

"Okay, Phill… What do you think?" Aura asked as they ran through the forest. "We really need to make sure that we win this."

Phill sighed as he slowed down, still holding their cards. "Uh… Well, this another finding things challenge. So, even though we have hints, I think the easiest thing to do is to go to all of the island landmarks and see if anything is there."

Aura sighed, "Okay, that sounds doable, but I think just solving the hints would be the best option. That way, we aren't wasting time by going to places that don't have anything."

Phill chuckled awkwardly, "Right… Right." He looked at the cards and eyed the hints that were next to specific Pokémon. "Um… Okay, there's a picture of a 'Slim Jim' logo… minus 'Slim', for the Fearow," he explained. "Then, there's a 'Start' Button next to the Magby; and then for the Polteageist, it says 'Volt' minus 'T' plus an Arcanine head."

After hearing those, Aura nodded slowly, processing them before responding, "Okay… What about mine?"

Phill looked at the other card. "Yours has… a picture of a Druddigon, with an arrow pointing to it that says 'Category'. There's a thing that says 'First ever challenge', and the last one says 'Skill' minus 'I' plus two 'O's."

Aura started thinking, "Well, that last one is definitely the school, but… Druddigon category? Plus, we just found out this season that there was another one before you guys'."

"Well, I'm guessing that they mean our first ever challenge," Phill reasoned, patting his chest. "They had us dive off of a cliff back on the original island, so your… Shuckle should be near the cliff. As for the Druddigon thing, since it's a Dragon-type, maybe they're saying that the Golbat is like in a cave or something."

"Maybe," Aura replied, looking around. She then asked, "What were yours, again?"

After he repeated them for her, Aura rolled her eyes before nodding. "Okay, so… 'Slim Jim' minus 'Slim' is just 'Jim', so the Polteageist is at the gym," she explained.

"Yeah, that makes sense," Phill nodded.

"Now, if the Magby had a 'Start' button…" Upon realizing, she let out a groan. "The Magby is around the stupid stadium that we just ran far away from…"

Phill let out a sigh, "Well, looks like we'll have to backtrack. What about the last one, though? Vol… Arcanine?"

Aura blinked, before smacking her lips, "Um… Sweetie, what's the one of the main things on this island that starts with 'V-O-L'?"

Hearing this, Phill facepalmed with a sigh. "Fucking… Vol-Cano, since he's an Arcanine and… Whatever… Let's just go."

The Raticate started walking, with Aura following suit, her concern growing a bit.

000

"I feel like my brain is just going blank or something," Phill groaned, holding his head. "I should have understood those hints easily! Stupid pressure!"

000

Connor and Ashton made their way to the lake, immediately scanning the vicinity for any sign of their Pokémon. They didn't spot anything for a few seconds, but eventually, Connor saw movement in the distance.

Setting their bags down and looking closer, he saw that it was, indeed, a Wooper. However, he could tell that something was off about it. "Hey, Ash… Uh, does that Wooper seem weird to you?" he asked cautiously.

Ashton walked forward more to get a better look just as the Wooper turned in their direction. The Water Fish Pokémon was sporting a pair of glowing red eyes, taking both of them by surprise.

"W-Wait, what the-" Connor began, backing up a bit. "Is it possessed?!"

As the Wooper stalked towards them with a menacing glare, Ashton took note of its size. It was larger than the average Wooper, giving her an idea as to what was going on. "Alpha Pokémon…" she muttered.

"Wait, what?" Connor inquired in confusion.

"Red eyes. Aggressive demeanor. Large size… They're having us catch Alpha Pokémon!" she expounded.

That actually made sense given what they were seeing. Connor had heard of Alpha Pokémon, but never thought he would actually see one. "Wait, we've only seen that Wooper, how do we know-"

The lake began to bubble, cutting the Bouffalant off. A large, White-Striped Basculin with glowing red eyes emerged, glaring at the two of them.

"Nevermind," Connor deadpanned before he was suddenly struck by a glob of mud, courtesy of the large Wooper. "Ah!" he grunted, the mud getting in his eye.

The Water Fish Pokémon rushed toward Connor, its tail becoming surrounded by swirling water. Swinging its tail, it smacked Connor into a nearby tree. It wasn't enough to knock him out, but it showed how strong it was in spite of its current evolution stage.

With Connor momentarily out of commission, the Wooper turned its attention to Ashton. The Herb Pokémon didn't appear to be the least bit unnerved by it. In fact, the Meganium gained a smirk, actually causing the Water Fish Pokemon a bit of unease. Ashton glanced back at the Basculin, which was still keeping its distance.

000

"...What?" Ashton questioned. "I can be just as crafty and rough as everyone else. I just choose not to be most of the time."

000

As Connor emerged from the foliage, small twigs and leaves now decorating his afro, he grumbled to himself out of annoyance and embarrassment. Had he really just been knocked aside by a Wooper?

However, those feelings of inadequacy dissipated once he set his eyes on what Ashton was doing. With her vines, the Meganium was using the Wooper like a hammer, smashing it against the, now-beached, Basculin over and over again. She was lying down with a smirk as she did this. After a couple more hits, she dropped the now unconscious Wooper, letting it lay next to the Basculin.

"Uh…"

Ashton turned to see Connor looking at her in astonishment. She simply giggled to herself as she got back to her feet. "Well, that was a bit rough on you," the Meganium acknowledged, "but at least we both have our first Pokémon."

She reached into each of their bags with a vine, pulling out a normal Poké Ball from each. She dropped both of them on their unconscious targets and managed to successfully capture them on the first try. She sighed in relief.

"Um… So why were you beating on them like that?" Connor inquired. "I mean, it was funny to see, but a bit weird seeing it from you."

Ashton smiled at him. "Hey, I'm a lot more capable than people think," she defended. "Plus, I'm a Grass-type, and they're both Water-types, so it really wasn't a big deal."

000

"Okay, note to self, try to get Ashton out after this," Connor stated.

000

As Ashton placed their Poké Balls back into their bags, she commented, "Well, we made some progress. Any ideas on where your Sneasler could be?"

Connor sighed, "What was the hint again? A Gogoat and a light brown square?"

Ashton nodded. "Yeah. The rest of our Pokémon are closer to camp, so we need to figure this out in case the Sneasler is still out here."

"Yeah, well, 'Gogoat Brown' isn't really giving me anything, so- Wait…" Connor paused. "Sneasler climb mountains, so it's probably just around there!"

Ashton understood his logic, but their other Pokémon seemed to disprove it. "I mean, I could see it, but I have a Hitmontop in jail and you have a Sunkern at the gazebo. I don't think those two really fit. I think it's just random."

The Bouffalant sighed, as Ashton once again had a point. However, as he thought about the hint again, it truly hit him. "Wait… No, it's definitely around the mountains, I just got the hint!" he beamed. "Gogoat is a mount, and light brown can be called tan. Mount-Tan. Mountain!"

It actually did make sense, confusing Ashton as she looked back at their cards. "So I was right, some of these are just random," she stated.

"Hurry, we need to get going before Phill and Aura catch their Pokémon, too," Connor urged as Ashton carried their bags this time.

000

Phill and Aura decided to make their way to the volcano, as it was one of the furthest locations. On their way, they had decided to chat more about their plans for if one of them won, since it was brought up by the others on the boat.

"So you don't plan on moving at all if you win?" Aura inquired with a giggle.

"Hey, those residuals from the show have been coming for years," the Raticate explained. "I don't really have a desire to move anywhere else. I mean, I'm a simple guy. Like I said, as long as stuff gets paid, and I've got food and entertainment, I don't really care about much else. Nothing to stress about, just… Living life, y'know?"

Aura nodded in understanding, though she was honestly envious of how simple Phill's life was. He didn't really have to worry about anybody but himself and just live off of the residuals from the show. It honestly just made her sad as she thought about her current, and past, life in comparison.

She thought back to all of the trouble she caused herself, and others, and how she made her life much more difficult than it had to be just because she had feelings for a male who was already spoken for.

She found herself slowing down the more she thought about it. She was actually very shy coming into the game, but the very moment that she laid eyes on Shade, it was like a switch flipped in her head that removed that anxiety. Everything afterward, though, could be seen as karma: her fighting with Shine constantly, getting pregnant by two guys who wanted nothing to do with her, being abused, and then having to fulfill motherly duties while dealing with custody situations and bad exes that made her even more bitter coming into this game.

A few tears dripped onto the ground as she found herself trembling and sniffling. She caused so many of her own problems over jealousy and lust. She couldn't say that everything was a problem, as she loved her kids, but what had transpired for them to even be there just made her feel even worse as she looked back.

Starting to hear sniffling, Phill turned back around and saw that Aura was sobbing. Confused, the Raticate quickly rushed back to console her. "Whoa, whoa. Babe, what's wrong?" he asked, hugging her.

Through shaky sobs, she cried, "I fucked up my own life. If I had just m-minded my own business and left Shade and Shine alone, I would've just been fine."

Phill's eyes softened. Letting out a sigh, he sat beside her, rubbing her back. "Your life isn't fucked up…" he said soothingly. "You're a beautiful girl with great kids."

The Glaceon shook her head, weeping, "No. I'm just some stupid slut who got pregnant and forced herself into other people's lives. I just… Your life is just calm and relaxing, but I just had to fuck myself over early…"

Phill sighed, standing up and getting in front of her. "No. My life is far from perfect. I'm just… easy to please," he explained. "I get what you're saying, but I think you're only feeling this way because now you see how much you've actually changed. You're looking back and focusing on your mistakes in a negative way. We all cringe when we think of our former selves."

Aura didn't reply, looking downcast as tears continued to stream down her face. Phill sighed. Not only was Aura sad, but they were losing time with the challenge. It seemed that she knew this, too, as the Fresh Snow Pokémon got up and started walking again, continuing toward the volcano, sniffling.

Running after her, Phill explained, "Babe, your life isn't fucked up. Yes, you did some bad things, but we've all made mistakes. In your case, your mistakes have done you some good. If you hadn't done what you did in the second season, you probably would have never gotten brought back. You wouldn't have been able to have Chase and Autumn. You wouldn't have made up with anyone, and… We likely wouldn't have gotten together…"

Aura stopped in place as the pair reached the base of the magma-filled mountain. The Glaceon sniffled again, "I… I know. I even told the others that yesterday, but… It still just feels like I've just messed up majorly, and I should've done something different."

"Like what?" Phill asked.

"I don't know, just… anything besides what I did do," Aura explained, wiping away her tears.

Phill kissed her cheek, "Well, once we're outta this game, I can try to make sure that you're… mostly happy."

Sniffling again, Aura pecked the Mouse Pokémon on the cheek in return before nuzzling him. "Thank you…"

000

Aura wiped her eyes again. "I don't know why I just broke down like that," she said. "Just… Phill has this cozy life where he just does what he wants. He still has freedom, and it's like he's happy with what he has. It's like his perfect life!"

"Meanwhile, I wasted my late teens and young adulthood by being bitchy and getting pregnant… I don't even know if I can even have a perfect life, or if I even deserve it…"

000

The pair could suddenly feel themselves becoming weightless, a blue aura surrounding them and causing a bit of panic. "What the-"

A large teapot floated toward them, with a purple ghost emerging from it with glowing red eyes. Seeing it, Phill let out a sigh, "An Alpha Polteageist? Well, this is gonna suck."

The Polteageist flung the two of them against the volcano, with both of them landing hard. Getting up, Phill smacked his lips, "Well… I'm useless here."

Aura threw him a look. "Well, you're still immune to the ghost moves that it may use," she replied flatly.

"Also true," Phill concurred.

"You distract it, I'll attack, and you throw one of your balls when ready," Aura instructed.

"Um… Okay," Phill responded. "Uh, over here!"

The Polteageist's red eyes glared down at him as its eyes suddenly glowed blue. Phill was surrounded by a blue aura and lifted up before being slammed into the volcano again.

Aura quickly snuck around as the Black Tea Pokémon began using Psychic to pick up and throw Phill around. This was her chance to attack. She knew that it would be stronger since it was an Alpha, but she was hoping that her attacks would still do well.

A large orb of darkness started to form in front of her mouth, a Shadow Ball. Taking aim, she fired it at the Polteageist's back.

Despite being slightly weakened, the Black Tea Pokémon swiftly turned around, leaving Phill be. "Phill! Get to the bags!" Aura shouted.

Groaning from pain, the Raticate crawled toward their bags.

The Polteageist was preparing to launch its own Shadow Ball in retaliation, with the dark sphere growing larger and larger. Aura stood stationary, feeling very nervous as a reflective aura surrounded her.

Once ready, the Polteageist launched its enormous Shadow Ball. Even after using Mirror Coat, Aura flinched as the move made contact, causing her to skid back slightly. However, the Shadow Ball still bounced back toward the Polteageist, now with twice as much power.

A small explosion occurred, causing even a few rocks from the volcano to tumble down. As the dust cleared, it was revealed that the Polteageist was unconscious. Coughing, Aura quickly rushed towards it, firing an Ice Beam to freeze it in place.

She went back to check on Phill, who was getting to his feet. "Are you okay?"

As he dug through one of the bags, he pulled out a Great Ball. "I've been better…" he grumbled as he approached the still unconscious Ghost-type. Throwing the ball at its face, he commented, "By the way, that was pretty hot."

Aura blushed with a smile before nuzzling him again. Once the Polteageist was secured, Phill picked up the ball with a sigh, "Well… Now we need to get to the cliff. Joy."

000

"AAAAAHHHH!" Connor screamed as he was knocked into the mountainside, creating a crater.

As he groaned in pain, slinking to the ground, an Alpha Sneasler stalked towards him, its piercing red eyes locked onto him.

Ashton was watching this interaction transpire from the sidelines. When they first found the Free Climb Pokémon, it was climbing up and down the mountain. Despite her warning him, Connor charged into the mountain to get its attention. She tried to offer her assistance, but Connor wanted to redeem himself from being knocked aside by the Wooper earlier.

000

"I don't understand guys sometimes," Ashton sighed.

000

Getting back to his feet, Connor groaned, "Fuck… Lucky shot."

As the Sneasler swiped at him again, Connor managed to dodge out of the way. He retaliated by knocking it to the ground with one of his horns.

"You're a Poison and Fighting-type," he muttered to himself. "So…"

His afro began glowing a bright blue before he charged toward it. The Sneasler swiftly got to its feet once again. It leaped toward the mountain, clinging to the rocky foundation and dodging the Zen Headbutt.

Connor skid to a halt as the Sneasler lunged toward him, its claws glowing a dark purple. It slashed him as he turned around, with the collision causing a small cloud of dust to form.

Ashton flinched upon seeing this. The Sneasler jumped out of the cloud, panting heavily, before slowly turning toward her, malicious intent in its crimson eyes. Ashton swallowed in slight nervousness, as it being part Poison-type was a problem for her.

However, groaning was heard once again, catching the Sneasler's attention again. Snapping its head back toward the noise, the Sneasler snarled as the dust cleared, revealing that Connor was still conscious and shakily getting back to his feet. He looked worse for wear, a sick expression on his face.

"I'm not…" he paused, suppressing his urge to vomit. "I'm not done with you, yet…"

Ashton's eyes widened. She honestly thought that Connor was down. Seeing him still trying to take on the Sneasler, despite obviously being poisoned now, was admirable. This was an elimination challenge, and they didn't really have time to waste, but she wanted to see what Connor would do.

After letting out a roar, the weasel sped towards Connor, its claws glowing once again. Slamming his front hooves down, shock waves started heading in the Sneasler's direction. With a grand leap, it dodged the Earthquake attempt and came down with its arms crossed.

Seeing this, using the last of his dwindling strength, Connor's afro glowed blue once again, causing the Sneasler to collide with the attack.

Once the smoke cleared the Sneasler was knocked out cold as cold trembled before collapsing onto his side.

Ashton gasped as she quickly rushed towards them, still holding onto one of the bags.

Ignoring the Sneasler, she immediately checked up on Connor. "Connor, are you okay?!"

He could only muster out a garbled mumble before closing his eyes. In response, Ashton immediately started using Aromatherapy. Her flower began glowing, a strong scent emanating from it.

Connor's eyes twitched slightly as the odor entered his nostrils. His eyes started to slowly open up as he let out a groan. "Ugh… Thanks…"

Ashton let out a sigh of relief. "I'm just glad you're alright…"

Connor moaned as he sat up, "I feel like I ate a bunch of rotten berries and got kicked in the goods…"

Ashton blinked. "Oddly specific," she commented. "At least you managed to take down the Sneasler. Now we just need to-"

"Snea…"

Looking up, the two of them saw that the Free Climb Pokémon was starting to wake up.

"You didn't catch it?!" Connor exclaimed.

Ashton argued, "I needed to heal you, first!"

The Sneasler started to sit up, its piercing red eyes tightening into an even fiercer glare than before. Now, it looked out for blood.

Connor quickly used Earthquake, slamming his hooves down on the ground. Ashton winced as she was hit by one of the shock waves in close proximity. The shock waves managed to hit the large Sneasler this time, incapacitating it once again.

Looking at Ashton, who was giving him an annoyed look, Connor said, "I'm sorry. We just don't need it getting back up."

Ashton reached into the bag, pulling out a Heavy Ball before dropping it onto the Sneasler's chest. After three shakes, it took a while for the final confirmation, but the button stopped glowing and a few stars popped out.

The pair let out a relieved sigh. "Thanks, Ash…" Connor replied, finally getting to his feet once again.

The Meganium nodded in response. She then stated, "We wasted a lot of time here, so we really need to get back to camp."

Connor nodded back as Ashton placed the Bouffalant's bag in his afro, " Right, and uh… you need to get your bag, too."

Ashton paled as she rushed back toward her initial spot.

000

"Connor's a lot more durable than I thought," Ashton commented. "As terrible as his treatment was, I guess Taylor toughened him up more than I thought."

"I mean, the Sneasler had the advantage and still lost. Maybe I should rethink this…"

000

"So, we have a Poké Ball, a Great Ball, and a Heavy Ball…" Aura said, actually looking into her own bag. "So, I'm assuming that each ball is for a specific Pokémon of ours…"

"Well… I'm lucky, then," Phill chuckled. "I used my Great Ball."

"So you can use the Poké Ball on the Magby and the Heavy Ball on the Fearow," Aura reasoned. "I think I'll have to use my Great Ball for the Shuckle and just go from there."

"I mean, it makes sense to use the Heavy Ball on the Hitmontop or Shuckle," Phill explained. "Shuckle have high defense and a Hitmontop can kick both of our butts…"

"Well, we-"

"Wait," Phill instructed, holding out a hand. "There it is…"

There, lying across the path they were taking, was an Alpha Shuckle. It appeared to be sleeping, which was extremely lucky for the two of them. "Okay, we need to sneak up on it so that we don't end up having to fight it," the Raticate stated.

Aura nodded in agreement. As Phill mentioned a few moments ago, all Shuckle have absurdly high defense, so battling one, especially with attacks that wouldn't be that effective, would do nothing but waste time.

The two of them started to slowly approach it. It was hiding in its shell, so there was a legitimate chance that it wouldn't even know they were there. Reaching into Aura's bag, Phill took out a Great Ball as they got closer and closer.

Suddenly, Phill could feel a sneeze coming on, much to his annoyance. He quickly moved into the foliage on the side of the cliff and unleashed his sneezes.

The sneezing sounds and rustling from the plants caused the Shuckle's shell to move slightly, causing Aura to gasp as she followed Phill into the bushes.

The Shuckle slowly emerged from its shell, its red eyes glowing brightly. It looked around, as Aura and Phill kept themselves hidden among the foliage. Once it saw that there was nobody around, it retreated back into its shell to resume its slumber.

Phill let out a sigh of relief. "Well, that could've been bad," he commented softly, rubbing his nose.

Aura huffed, "We have to be careful. We can't let it hear us, and we can't let it see us."

The couple slowly made their way out of the foliage and started stalking toward the Mold Pokémon. Once they felt that they were close enough, Aura nodded to him.

Phill threw the Great Ball at the Shuckle. Due to it presumably going back to sleep quickly, there was little resistance, allowing it to be captured with relative ease.

"Okay, that's one for each of us," Phill stated as he picked up the ball. "Now, we have to get to… the gym and the school."

Aura nodded before immediately taking off, with Phill letting out a sigh before running after her.

-000-

After around ten to fifteen minutes of running, the two of them made it to the school, with Phill having to catch his breath. Panting heavily, he dropped the bags and sat on the ground. "O…Okay… I'm gonna need a break, here…"

Ignoring him, Aura started to look around the area for any sign of the Klefki. She made sure to keep her eyes and ears open, as Klefki were known to jingle their collected keys in defense. Venturing around the outside of the entire dilapidated building, the Fresh Snow Pokémon came up short, coming back to the front with a sigh.

"Nothing?" Phill asked, still catching his breath.

Shaking her head, Aura explained, "No. My guess is that it's actually inside of the school."

Phill let out a groan, "Of course."

The Raticate got to his feet again, grabbing both bags as he and Aura climbed up the steps to enter the building.

Upon entering, Phill was immediately struck by a silver beam, sending him right back out of the building. Aura gasped before turning toward the perpetrator with a growl. The Alpha Klefki had been waiting on them. Its body was still relatively small, but that attack clearly packed a punch. The Glaceon needed to be wary, as she was weak to Steel-types.

The Klefki attempted to fire another Flash Cannon her way, charging up the move as Aura fired a Shadow Ball at the Key Ring Pokémon. The attack hit, and surprisingly, it dropped to the ground quickly. Aura blinked in surprise before running back out of the building to check on Phill.

The Raticate was lying on the ground, unconscious, much to Aura's dismay. She eyed her bag before digging inside and pulling out the Poké Ball. With Phill knocked out at the moment, she was going to have to catch the Klefki herself.

She rushed back into the school, where the Klefki was, luckily, still unconscious. She dropped the ball on the Klefki's head, managing to catch it easily.

A few moments later, Phill stumbled into the school, holding his head. "Did we win?"

Aura rushed toward him, giving him a nuzzle. With her managing to capture her Klefki with a simple drop technique, she figured that she could possibly handle things better on her own since she only had one more Pokémon to catch: Golbat. She had an advantage already, so she would be fine. They needed to worry about Phill, now.

"We need to get to the gym and get your Fearow," Aura replied. "Who knows how far Connor and Ashton are?"

000

Connor groaned as he laid on the ground near the gazebo, groaning. "I hate my life…"

"Well, you shouldn't have underestimated the Sunkern," Ashton commented as she approached the downed Bouffalant, picking up a Great Ball. "At least you got it."

"Yeah, well… Now you need your Hitmontop and Hippopotas, and we'll be set," Connor grunted as he slowly got to his feet. "Come on. Let's go…"

Knowing how Connor got hurt at every venture, Ashton was a bit hesitant. She knew that she could hold her own against her remaining Pokémon and would be fine on her own. Plus, she was in close proximity to the stadium anyway.

"You need to get back to the stadium," Ashton stated, not wanting Connor to get hurt again. It would likely be against her best interest, but she legitimately felt that she would be fine.

"What?" Connor scoffed. "Ash, come on. You've helped me, so let me help you."

"Connor, you've helped yourself these past few times. I've just handled the balls," Ashton explained, placing his Great Ball into his bag. Realizing what she had just said, she immediately let out a sigh, "Well, not in that way."

Connor snickered in response, "Well, regardless, we both need to get this done so that we have a decent chance. Remember?"

Ashton nodded silently. Seeing this, the Bouffalant started walking past her. She let out a sigh, looking back toward the forest before following Connor.

000

"I honestly thought that Connor would jump at the opportunity to be done," Ashton stated. "This is still a competition, and if Phill and Aura finish before we do, one of us is gonna be screwed!"

"We'll just have to see what happens…"

000

Approaching the jail, Connor took a breath. "Alright, this should be interesting…" he commented.

Ashton extended a vine to stop Connor from entering. She was still serious about not wanting to have Connor get hurt anymore, especially if he didn't need to. "You had your one-on-one already, this is mine, now," she stated firmly, grabbing her bag.

Hearing that, and seeing the look she was giving him, Connor only nodded. He wanted to help, but if the Meganium was going to be adamant about this, then he'd just wait outside. As he watched Ashton enter, he let out a sigh. He was honestly tempted to leave her to her own devices and secure his own spot in the final three, but he knew that he'd feel bad about it. She had helped him catch all of his Alpha Pokémon, so leaving her on her own wouldn't sit well with him.

As he stood there in wait, an idea formed in his head. "Wait… her clue said that her Hippopotas was around the beach. I can go check it out and try to speed this up…"

He went into the jail to let the Herb Pokémon know, that way she didn't think that he was just abandoning her.

-000-

Inside the jail, Ashton was treating the Hitmontop similarly to how she treated the Wooper and Basculin: practically toying with it. She was twirling the Hitmontop around with her vines, slamming it on the ground, against the walls and the stairs. Whirling it around, she slammed it down on the ground, creating cracks in the ground.

Panting softly, Ashton glanced over toward the jail door and saw Connor watching her, his mouth agape. Letting out a sigh, she deadpanned, "Connor, really?"

Snapping out of his state, Connor cleared his throat. "Um… I was just coming to say that I was gonna try to look for your Hippopotas and help speed things up a bit."

Reaching into her bag to retrieve her Heavy Ball, she replied, "Well, we'll probably cover more ground if we're both looking."

She tossed the ball on the unconscious Hitmontop. The ball shook three times, with the stars popping out soon after. Picking it up and stuffing it into her bag, she came out of the jail, with Connor looking at her warily.

000

"Okay, seriously… Where the hell did this Ashton come from?" Connor questioned. "Last I checked, she couldn't really battle that well. Now all of a sudden she's beating the hell out of anything with her vines?!"

"Now, I'm getting more worried about her. I may have to just make a break for it whenever she's close to finding her Hippopotas…"

000

Tossing a Heavy Ball at a completely frozen Fearow, Phill let out a sigh of relief. Aura had handled the battling once again, while Phill simply watched on with a dopey smile. "Thanks, babe," he commented, smacking her rear.

Aura giggled in response. "Well, I had the advantage anyway," she explained away with a shrug. "Now, we need to get to Brian's little cave and find my Golbat. We haven't heard anything from Mew or the others, so hopefully that means that Connor and Ashton aren't finished."

"Yeah, we need to hurry," Phill concurred.

After procuring the ball and stuffing it into his bag, the couple started heading toward Brian's cave. On the way, Phill decided to try and continue their previous conversation. Hopefully, Aura wouldn't get upset again.

"So, you said that the money would mainly just be bills and groceries for you, too," Phill reminded her. "You asked about me moving, but what about you?"

Aura let out a sigh, "I honestly don't know, myself. I mean… Where I am now isn't necessarily too bad. Nowhere is really perfect, but with the kids essentially grown up and spending more time with their fathers… It's just… It can feel lonely with nobody else around."

Phill nodded in understanding, "Yeah, I understand that. It can feel that way for me, too, sometimes. It's kinda easier for me, since I don't have a huge connection to anybody in my family aside from my mom, but being by yourself a lot can take a toll."

Aura nodded in agreement. "So, I'm not entirely sure. Maybe things will be better after this, and they'll wanna come back more, but I'm not sure."

Phill rubbed her back, offering, "Well, you're always free to come stay with me whenever you feel lonely."

Aura smiled at him, "I'd like that."

Phill nodded back before she kissed his cheek.

000

Aura let out a sigh, "Kids… I'm sorry… I really am. I should've been a better mother. I hope… I hope I didn't drive you away permanently…"

000

Reaching the cave, the pair saw a large, red-eyed Golbat flying inside. Seeing the massive blue bat, Phill sighed, "Well… This is gonna be fun, isn't it?"

"Actually, I think we should try something," Aura suggested. "I'll distract it this time, and you sneak up on it and hit it."

Phill blinked in uncertainty. "Uh… Babe, I think weakening it will be more reliable…"

"Just try it,"Aura urged. "If it fails, I'll just freeze it like I froze the Fearow."

The Fresh Snow Pokémon started rushing toward the cave. Phill let out a sigh as he reached into Aura's bag and pulled out her Heavy Ball.

As he approached, a sudden screeching sound, reminiscent of nails on a chalkboard, caused him to wince and cover his ears. The piercing sound was attacking his ear drums, nearly getting him to the ground.

He continued toward the cave, ears still under attack by the noise. Peering inside, he saw Aura lying down, covering her ears in pain as the Bat Pokémon continued screeching at her.

Crawling behind it, Phill got to his feet and threw the ball at the Golbat. Unfortunately for him, the Golbat managed to move out of the way, causing the ball to miss and roll towards Aura.

The Golbat turned its attention to Phill, its fierce red eyes boring into him. Phill paled as the Golbat started to use Screech again, but was interrupted by a sudden chill.

Aura had managed to get back up and fired an Ice Beam at the Golbat from behind. Once the Golbat was encased in ice, it dropped to the ground, causing Phill to jump.

Nudging the Heavy Ball towards Phill, Aura let out a sigh. "Well, that didn't work out the way I hoped," she commented, scratching her ears.

Phill picked up the ball and dropped it on the Golbat. However, unlike the others, it actually popped back out. Hitting the ground had actually cracked the ice slightly, with the Golbat trying to break free.

"You've gotta be kidding…" Aura growled as Phill picked up the Heavy Ball again.

Annoyed that it wasn't as easy as the others, Aura fired another Ice Beam, freezing the Golbat even more. Phill tapped it again shortly after. This time, it managed to stay put, getting captured.

Aura let out a sigh of relief. If the Golbat's escape had caused the ball to break, it would've been over

"Thank Arceus… Come on, we need to get back to the stadium, fast!"

Nodding, Phill tossed her ball into her bag before they rushed out of the cave. Phill still needed his Magby.

000

Connor and Ashton were still looking along the beach for the Meganium's Hippopotas. So far, they had been searching for around twenty minutes with zero luck.

Connor was growing antsy as he constantly looked in the distance at the stadium. He had all of his Pokémon already, and Ashton made herself look extremely threatening on that day. He groaned to himself as he looked back and saw her still searching.

He let out a sigh, continuing to walk, before his hoof kicked against something. Looking down, he that it was a pile of sand. However, upon further inspection, he saw a pair of brown eyes stalks protruding from the sand.

Jumping back, Connor exclaimed, "What the-!"

The eyes suddenly popped open in a glare as the Hippopotas dramatically rose from the ground. Just then, Connor could see two figures running around the stadium, causing his eyes to widen.

"ASHTON!" he called to her.

Turning around, the Meganium saw the Hippo Pokémon as it snapped at Connor. The Bouffalant started to run toward the stadium, as the Hippopotas chased after him. Seeing the direction he was heading in, she could see faint figures running around near the stadium, causing her to pale.

She swiftly used one of her vines to subdue the Hippopotas, smacking it around before picking it up and slamming it back on the ground.

Connor continued running, as Ashton used her final ball to capture the Hippopotas. Picking up the ball and placing it in her bag, she immediately started chasing after Connor.

-000-

"Where is it, where is it?" Phill repeated as he and Aura ran around the stadium, trying to find his Magby.

As they made a full 180 around the structure, Aura had glanced toward the beach and saw Connor and Ashton approaching fast. Gasping, she wound up bumping into something as she passed by the entrance again.

Seeing that It was a familiar, red bird-like creature. "The Magby!" she alerted.

Phill turned back around just as Aura used Shadow Ball on the Live Coal Pokémon at close range. Seeing Connor speeding towards them, Phill quickly dug into his bag and threw his Poké Ball as smoke filled the air from the impact. When the smoke cleared, the ball was gone, as was Connor. Gasping, Aura and Phill rushed into the stadium, narrowly avoiding being bumped by Ashton.

Once inside, they saw that Connor was on the ground, panting heavily. "Wait, where's Phill's ball? Did the Magby get captured?!"

Phill eyed a lone Poké Ball nearby. After picking it up, he looked around and didn't see any Magby. He tossed the ball up, allowing it to open as the Magby popped out. Phill let out a sigh of relief, "That… was a close one…"

"Very close, indeed," Virizion concurred as she, Mew, and Xerneas approached. "Based on what just happened, Connor arrived back first, and Phill and Aura followed shortly after. Which means…"

Still catching his breath, Connor looked at Ashton with saddened eyes. "Ash…"

"Sorry, Ashton," Xerneas affirmed. "Your time in the game is done."

The Meganium looked down in disappointment. She was so close! She really should have just focused on her own Pokémon. Better yet, Connor's earlier idea of handling the closer Pokémon first could have actually helped her a lot.

"Phill, Aura, Connor, congratulations on making it to the final three. Your next challenge will occur in a couple of hours," Mew explained. "We know that you need a break, and we need to deal with Ashton."

000

Ashton sighed, "Well, I made it further than I did the first time I played. That's something, right?"

"At least I can just go back to my hubby and put this all behind me," she concluded. "Good luck, guys."

000

Ashton stood in front of the Suck of Shame, with the hosts and final three nearby.

"Ashton, I've gotta say, you started out not really doing much, but you really wound up proving yourself as the game progressed," Xerneas commented.

"Thanks," the Herb Pokémon responded, blushing slightly from the compliment.

"I'll miss you, Ash," Connor replied. "Sorry that it turned out like this."

The Meganium let out a sigh, "It's a game. There's always gonna be a loser. Just… keep fighting hard."

Connor nodded back, while Phill and Aura exchanged looks.

"Alright Ashton, time for you to go," Mew stated, gesturing to the tube.

The Herb Pokémon nodded before entering the tube. Phill waved, "See ya, Ash…"

Ashton waved back with one of her vines before being dropped.

The hosts turned to Connor, Aura, and Phill. "Alright," Mew began. "Congratulations once again on making it to the final three. Your penultimate challenge will happen in a couple of hours, so for now, head back to camp and try to get some rest. You're gonna need it."

The trio proceeded to head back to camp, with each of them having some degree of worry on their faces.

000

"I made it to the final three!" Aura beamed. "After all of the negativity I spread and had shot back at me...I may actually have a good chance here! The only problem is that… even with Ashton gone, Connor is still a threat."

"We really have to hope that the next challenge isn't easy for him…"

000

Phill smacked his lips, "Well, I've said it before and I'll say it again. I never thought I'd get this far."

"Low self-esteem, no physical strength… I'm essentially here just by being myself and not pissing people off too bad. Really funny to think about."

"We'll see what happens, though. I'm really worried about what Connor is actually capable of, but… It is what it is."

000

Connor took a breath, "Okay. I'm practically on my own now. Great… perfect. A couple versus me…"

"I swear, if the last challenge requires grabbing stuff, I will be beyond pissed…" the Bouffalant stated. "I started out this game as naive and soft, and I feel like I've actually grown a lot."

"So… even if I lose, which I hope doesn't happen, at least I got some things out of this crappy experience…"

000

Returning to the Hall of Origin for a brief break, the three hosts heard a bit of commotion coming from the kitchen, and by extension, the living room. Seeing a familiar feline exit the kitchen with a small yogurt cup, Mew smiled as he approached her.

"Hey Zera," he greeted.

"Oh, hey, Mew," the Thunderclap Pokémon responded, rubbing his head with a small smile. "You guys finished already? There's still light out."

Walking up, Virizion explained, "Not entirely. We just had the players go through an elimination challenge, so we're giving them a short break before we go back for the second one."

"Oh, well, that explains why almost everyone is in the living room placing bets…" Zeraora explained, gesturing behind her.

Hearing that, Mew let out a sigh. The others just loved to do bets on the shows when they're nearing their ends. "Of course they are," he muttered. "The season's almost over, so they have to make their dumb chore bets."

"It can't be helped," Xerneas commented. "Best to just let them do what they want. We need to rethink this next challenge, anyway."

Raising a brow in curiosity, Zeraora inquired. "You guys didn't plan the next challenge?"

"No, we did…" Virizion clarified. "It's just that we've realized that it's a bit too similar to the one they just did. So, we have to think of something else that also isn't too tame or lax."

"Well… What was it going to be?" Zeraora inquired. "Maybe I can help. I don't really have a lot going on, right now."

A blush beginning to form on his face, Mew immediately replied, "Sure, why not?"

"Okay, sweet," Zeraora nodded as she briefly went back into the kitchen to throw away her cup.

In her absence, Mew looked back at Virizion and Xerneas, who were both giving him knowing looks. The New Species Pokémon blushed and folded his arms. "She can help just fine," he stated.

The girls both giggled as Zeraora returned, "Okay, so… What's the plan?"

As they started walking, Xerneas explained, "We were gonna have them look for the keys to the Winner's Cabin, but they just got finished searching for and capturing Alpha Pokémon, so we don't want it to get too repetitive."

"We've done enough searches," Virizion added. "Unless there's another element, I don't wanna do another one."

Zeraora hummed to herself. "Well, what challenges have you done?"

Virizion and Xerneas looked to Mew, who immediately sweatdropped. They had nearly eight seasons worth of challenges. Listing them all was going to take hours, if he could even remember them all.

Scratching his head, Mew replied, "Well, we've got a couple of hours to spare… I'll try to tell you as many as I remember."

The four of them made their way to the Girls' Club, as that would be a good place for them to discuss and relax.

"Wait… Here?" Mew inquired.

"Well, the living room is occupied, so… Yeah," Virizion affirmed as Xerneas and Zeraora entered. "Now, come on…"

As the Grassland Pokémon followed the other ladies inside, Mew let out a sigh. He tended to avoid going into the Girls' Club due to him just not thinking that he was on good terms with a lot of them.

The whole, weird Cresselia-12A situation from decades ago with her claiming to be pregnant despite them being unable to breed had soured his opinion of their own Cresselia, even though she was a sweetheart. Celebi and Jirachi were self-explanatory. Articuno was all about feminism, so one could piece together her opinion. Moltres was just… there. Suicune was just all about getting laid and getting jealous easily.

He could go on and on, but for the most part, he felt that due to how he used to act, and how he currently feels, a lot of the females at the hall thought less of him. So, he was hoping that a lot of them were either with the others placing bets or in their own rooms. Just thinking about this got him thinking about the challenge from Action where they had the final few contestants explain the relationships of the Hall.

He stopped Darren once he mentioned Shaymin for obvious reasons, and just gave him the win despite him actually being wrong. He just didn't want to be reminded, as he was still annoyed by it in the back of his mind.

"Ugh… Well that's one challenge we're definitely not doing again," he muttered before floating inside.

Much to his relief, he saw that the only ladies inside, aside from Virizion, Xerneas, and Zeraora, were Latias, Lugia, and Enamorus. Latias and Lugia were both friendly, and Enamorus was new, so she didn't really have a reason to dislike him, at least he hoped.

He looked over to the back section of the room, where his girls were sitting on a few bean bags. Going over, he waved to the other three in the room before sitting beside Zeraora with a sigh. "Well… I hope you're ready, because this… This is gonna be a ride."

000

Time had passed by rather slowly for Connor. As he lied in his bed, alone, he let out a sigh. He had taken a nap, wanting to be at his full strength for the next challenge. It was his final hurdle before making it to the finals, and he wanted to ensure that he was at his full potential.

This was going to be one of the most important things he's done. He'd come so far from how he used to be. His life outside of the game was rather uneventful, which was why he first applied in the first place. He was relatively quiet during his first season, and got eliminated because he was trying to help his team and interacted with his brother, which took up time. This season, he dealt with so much pain before turning it all around.

He took a breath, shaking a bit in worry. Despite coming so far, his nerves were beginning to eat away at him. He was alone against a full-fledged couple. Not only that, but the earlier challenge required throwing ability, which he didn't really have. If Ashton hadn't helped him, he would have just been dead in the water. If they had another challenge like that, there was no shot of him winning for sure, as Phill and Aura would have each others' backs.

Just thinking about it was making him anxious and worried. Suddenly, his stomach growled, causing him to sigh. "Great… Now I'm worried and hungry…" he muttered to himself.

He climbed out of the bed and made his way out of his side of the cabin. He started to approach the gazebo, hoping that there was at least some kind of lunch there since there was no reward challenge.

To his relief, he saw three separate items wrapped in tinfoil sitting on a platter. He didn't know what it was or how long it had actually been there, but he grabbed one of them and started heading back. He could feel heat still radiating from it, so they were likely placed there recently.

On his way back, he could see Phill and Aura coming out of their side of the cabin. He let out a breath through his nose before continuing forward. He didn't want to be rude, but he also didn't want to talk to them at the moment.

-000-

Phill had awoken a bit earlier, his anxiety waking him up. Once he was up, he took a soft breath as he glanced at Aura, who was still asleep. Even though they successfully made it to the semi-finals, he was still worried and unsure of what his next move was.

The end goal was to make sure that both he and Aura made it to the finals. However, when it came down to it, and Connor won, between the two of them, he felt that she deserved to be in the finals more. At the same time, this could be his chance to actually show everyone what he was actually made of. Everyone counted him out and just saw him as weak, so winning would be a great surprise for everyone.

Phill sighed. "Why does this have to be so difficult?" he whispered to himself.

000

Phill took a breath, "So, on one hand, if Connor wins, I can just let Aura take the final spot, but on the other hand… I wanna prove myself."

000

He could hear Aura start to stir and turned to rub her side. Feeling his paw on her side, a smile formed on the Fresh Snow Pokémon's face as her eyes opened. "Hey, sweetie…" she greeted.

"Hey…" he replied.

Aura stretched before lying back down and nuzzling him. "Well, we're one Connor away from being in the finals," she commented. "How do you feel?"

Phill huffed, "Worried. I mean I don't think Connor's gonna be easy to beat. If he wins, then one of us is screwed and-"

The Glaceon interrupted, "Hey, whatever happens, we'll be okay." She stroked the Raticate's head. The Mouse Pokémon let out a breath.

000

"I really hope that Phill realizes that he deserves to be here, despite how he may feel deep down," Aura sighed. "If Connor does win, which I hope he doesn't, then… Hopefully, Phill gets the chance."

000

Having heard the creaking of the door to the other side of the cabin, Phill glanced outside to see Connor heading to the gazebo. Curious, he hummed, "Do you think they put more food out there?"

"I mean, there wasn't a reward, so there's a possibility," Aura replied, climbing out of bed.

The two of them started heading out of their side of the cabin as they saw Connor returning with something in his mouth. Passing by him, Phill saw the length of the object in his mouth and cocked a brow. "Are they giving us burritos again?"

"We'll see," Aura replied with a shrug.

Reaching the gazebo, the couple eyed the remaining tinfoil-wrapped food items. Phill unwrapped one of them and saw that they were essentially glorified grilled cheese subs. "Uh…Whoa. I didn't know you could make grilled cheese sandwiches with baguettes," he marveled.

Aura stifled a laugh, "If we eat this and they call us for the next challenge soon, we'll probably be too full and more tired."

"Hey, whatever happens," Phill retorted with a wink, picking up both sandwiches.

000

"...and, I think that's it," Mew finished with a sigh.

Zeraora blinked in response, a bit unnerved, while Virizion and Xerneas exchanged looks upon hearing a few that they weren't around for.

Seeing their expressions, Mew sighed, "Yes, I know. Bad."

"Well, uh…" Zeraora cleared her throat. "It sounds like you've done… a lot, and have been through a lot, too. So… maybe you guys should try to focus on challenges that you haven't repeated often. Like… maybe do another helicopter-related challenge. Or… I don't think I heard you mention capture the flag, or well… You sorta did. Or… maybe a maze."

Xerneas perked up, "Oh! I don't really remember a maze challenge, though some challenges had reminiscent properties. That could actually work for this stage in the game."

Virizion nodded, "Yeah, three players left. We can have it be a huge maze with five sections that they have to grab something from."

"And just add certain obstacles and puzzles that they have to complete if you really want it to be big," Zeraora added.

Mew just remained silent, as he was fine with the idea. Though, it would probably take a while for them to set up for. "Well… I'm fine with a maze. It'll take a while to make, but… Okay."

"Do you mind if I tag along?" the Thunderclap Pokémon inquired.

"Hey, you're free to come if you want," Mew offered with a smile.

Zeraora returned the smile, rubbing his head before getting to her feet. "Well… We should get back to you island and get this set up, right?"

Virizion and Xerneas exchanged smiles, while Mew simply blushed. "Yeah… Yeah, we should get back…"

000

SEE YA GUYS, BYE!