Hello everyone! This will not be your normal TPI, I'm taking a more storytelling approach focused on certain characters. I do want to give a bit of a warning. There will be LGBTQ+ characters as well as intense and serious moments. Abuse, manipulation, and others that I have not thought of yet!
Shall we begin Nathan's adventure into his first competition? Let's go!
-000-
"I fucking quit!" A Charmeleon yelled as he barged out of Spicy Fires, a local restaurant for fire-type Pokemon. The lizard threw off his uniform hat and apron, slamming the door behind him.
"That's it! You and your family are banned for life, Nathan!" The Charmelon's boss yelled, throwing a balled-up paper at him. The paper hit Nathan in the back of the head and he turned around, ready to continue the screaming match before he looked at the paper. It had somehow unfolded a bit, revealing the words "competition" and "cash prize." Shrugging, the Charmeleon grabbed it, turning back around to head home.
It took him half an hour to get back home, the sun slowly setting in the distance. Nathan sighed as he quietly opened the door, slipping into the house as silently as possible. There were no lights on besides the television screen in the living room. There was only static on the screen of the old box television.
"He must've hit the antennae again," Nathan mumbled to himself as he strategically moved towards the kitchen, trying his best to not hit any of the empty beer bottles littering the floor. The fire-type slowly opened the fridge door and suppressed another sigh. He grabbed the bowl of leftover pasta from the night before. He carried the cold food to the other end of the house, opening the door to the left.
"Hey Emma, dinner time," Nathan whispered to a Vulpix who was playing with a few of her dolls.
"You quit again, didn't you?" His sister asked as she set her toys down.
"Yeah but I wouldn't have lasted there anyways, the boss was a dick," Nathan replied as he gave the Vulpix the bowl of food. She looked over the bowl before turning her gaze toward her brother.
"You didn't eat," Emma stated. Nathan sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as he looked to the side.
"Of course I did! I already ate my portion," he lied before he pushed the bowl towards her. "Seriously, eat. You will never win this battle." Emma let out a sad sigh, begrudgingly taking the food. Halfway through eating, she noticed her brother staring at a piece of paper.
"What's that?" She asked as she nodded her head toward the paper.
"Oh, nothing, just a stupid competition with a cash prize," Nathan replied with a sigh. "It's dumb, it's not like I could win."
"You should sign up!" Emma quickly said, her face lighting up for the first time in ages. "You're the strongest and smartest person I know! Of course you can win, dummy!" Nathan rolled his eyes playfully as he rubbed the top of her head.
"I appreciate it, kiddo," Nathan told her with a small smile.
"I am only two years younger than you, I'm seventeen! Dork…" Emma let out a huff of annoyance. However, the smile on her face betrayed her and the two started to laugh quietly.
"I suppose I can give it a shot, it'll give me something to do while looking for another damn job," Nathan said as he looked at the paper again. "What about you though? I can't leave you with him…"
"Abigail across the street can take care of me if she needs to," Emma replied. "She takes care of us already and yes, I know you hide it. You're a very, very terrible liar."
The two continued to banter as the sun finally set and the moon took its place. Nathan took the empty bowl back to the kitchen once his sister fell asleep. He looked towards the family computer, a very slow dinosaur that is very frustrating to get to work. But this… Maybe this will be worth it.
-000-
"Hello to all of my lovely viewers! It is I, Miraidon, here to bring ya a new series!" The legendary Pokemon, Miraidon, announced. The blue and yellow Pokemon was levitating above the docks to an island with a few buildings in the distance. "Welcome to Total Pokemon Island! We have eighteen players arriving shortly and they are here to compete for the grand prize of… One million dollars!"
"These eighteen players will be separated into teams and they'll compete in a new challenge every other day," Miraidon continued as he landed on the ground. "After each challenge, one of the players will be sent home until there is only one Pokemon left! That Pokemon will be the stunning winner of a lot of moneys!"
"Here comes our first contestant," Miraidon said as he turned around to see a boat coming towards him. "A rather angry fella who's ready to flatten the competition, Nathan!"
The Charmeleon walked off the boat and towards the host, giving him a short wave as he walked past. He was like most other Pokemon of his species except that he was a bit overweight and had a lot of scars along his body.
Nathan continued to walk toward the tree that he was directed to stand by. Wave to the camera next to the host, say nothing, and wait by the tree. Those were the directions everyone was given before they had to leave by boat.
"Up next is a fierce fighter, Hunter!" Nathan watched as a Gabite hopped off the boat with a grin. The Gabite waved to the camera as he made his way towards the tree Nathan was next to. Upon seeing the Charmeleon, Hunter gave him a wink, to which Nathan rolled his eyes. Nathan folded his arms as he tuned out the next few competitors, only acknowledging their names.
There was Iris the Milotic, Cain the Electabuzz, Zeri the Pidgeot, and Mort the Haunter. Even more Pokemon joined the group, the growing crowd annoying the Charmeleon already. Fred the Seviper, Doran the Mudsdale, Kane the Aggron, Rosa the Bayleef. Nathan did keep tabs on the Aggron, as he looked very strong.
Maya the Froslass, Eddie the Graveler, Tina the Togepi, Jinx the Kirlia, Jess the Nickit. At the end of the day, none of these people will matter to Nathan. They were just the competition, though the Gabite was a prominent source of annoyance to the fire-type.
"We only have two more players left to introduce," Miraidon continued as the next Pokemon, an Eevee, jumped off the boat. "An absolute sweetheart here to steal your hearts, Luxanne!" The Eevee wore a pink bow on her right ear and she smiled at the camera. Watching the Eevee, Nathan couldn't help but be reminded of his sister. The walk, the expression, the overall stance, it was very familiar to him.
"And finally, we have Maria! A very cunning Pokemon, better watch out for her, am I right?" Miraidon exclaimed as he flashed the camera a charming smile. An Ariados appeared on the docks and Nathan watched her walk towards them. Something was… Off about her movements. Probably just a creep.
"We are almost out of time for this episode but we'll end it off by presenting the teams. If I call your name, come over here please," Miraidon requested as he pulled out a piece of paper.
"Nathan, Maria, Luxanne, Maya, Kane, Mort, Jinx, Klaud, and Zeri," one by one, Miraidon watched the contestants approach him. "You guys will be Team Future!"
"That means the rest of you will be Team Past! For our viewers, this team has Hunter, Cain, Jess, Iris, Rosa, Tina, Eddie, Doran, and Fred!"
"And that is it for our first episode," Miraidon continued as he dropped the paper he was holding. "I'll be taking our players on a tour of the island during our break. We'll come back next episode with our first challenge… A series of one on one battles between the two teams! Thank you for watching and I'll catch all of you beautiful Pokemon later."
Nathan rolled his eyes with a sigh. This is going to be so annoying, he can already tell.
-000-
Team Future:
Nathan the Charmeleon (Male)
Maria the Ariados (Female)
Luxanne the Eevee (Female)
Maya the Froslass (Female)
Kane the Aggron (Male)
Mort the Haunter (Male)
Jinx the Kirlia (Non-binary)
Klaud the Wurmple (Male)
Zeri the Pidgeot (Female)
Team Past:
Hunter the Gabite (Male)
Cain the Electabuzz (Male)
Jess the Nickit (Female)
Iris the Milotic (Female)
Rosa the Bayleef (Female)
Tina the Togepi (Female)
Eddie the Graveler (Male)
Doran the Mudsdale (Male)
Fred the Seviper (Male)
