Early release; I shall explain more at the end of the chapter. Special thanks to CDW, CriticaLee, Dark Arcanine 33, Dearest Milo, DeltaXtreme, GiratinaEmpress, InfernoMaster64, Jalien26, JetRetroKoopa, KingOfkinghts, maycontestdrew, Nihilego Fanatic, RoyalAbsol, Shuckle Master, Soul of the Witch, Sweet brisk, Tricky Magic, Vexan, watyrbottleperson, Zeryas, and my old friend, Jared, for making this all possible. Additional thanks to Autonomous Orange, Bronzern, CoGreen20, Dark Amphithere, LiveLaughLoveTourmaline, and SuperDaikenki for bits of inspiration.
Enjoy.
Chapter #1
TPReboot: Total Drama Island - Episode #1
Not So Happy Campers - Part #1
"Welcome...To Treasure Island."
With the press of a button, a video camera sparked to life. Before it, and the camera crew just out of view, was a lush, massive island, with more trees than the eye could see, and mountains large enough to tear through the clouds. From the perspective of the wooden dock the camera stood atop, it looked truly unruly and beastly in nature. A relic of the "before times", when humans ruled the Earth, and Pokémon were little more than savages. Yet as the times changed, here it was, still standing, same as it always had been, except maybe with a few additional infrastructures, such as the aforementioned dock and a handful of buildings close to here.
"A large, uninhabited island just off the shores of Melemele Island. Home to hundreds of native feral Pokémon, over fifty unique types of plants, and exactly one shiny Zigzagoon." The voice said off-camera, as a figure moved into view with a wide, false grin, their buckteeth beaming proudly in the daylight. "And the location of the world's newest, biggest reality show ever. Total. Drama. Island!"
The figure was some sort of rodent, namely a beaver, with beady black eyes and the previously mentioned pair of buckteeth. He had a wide, sort of flabby body with layers of well-distributed fat, providing a nice, natural coat. Using his webbed paws, he adjusted the bright red bowtie wrapped around his neck, before plucking out a comb from his short, puffed up tail, running it along the fur on his head and showing off the massive, almost exaggerated pompadour he wore with all the confidence in the world. In fact, that was what set him apart from his species; confidence. For such a universally insulted, goofy Pokémon, he seemed uncharacteristically prideful and self-assured. It looked downright uncanny.
"I'm your host, Bidoof, and in the coming minutes, eighteen Pokémon from all over the world will arrive here to compete in the competition of a lifetime." His grin grew, as he explained, "Every few days over the course of this hot, sunny Summer vacation, these campers will have to compete in challenges that'll test their strength, their intelligence, and their willpower to win! Come out on top, and they stick around; lose, and they have to eliminate one of their own and send them home. This back-and-forth will continue until only one remains, who'll claim the grand prize...Of two-hundred million Poké!"
A briefcase was then thrown from off-camera to the Bidoof's feet, only the throw was just off enough to land on them. The Plump Mouse Pokémon's eyes went wide in pain, before hollering out a cartoonish howl, pulling out his crushed feet and holstering them up into the air, rubbing them and whimpering. The beaver turned to the camera crew. "Whoever did that is fired!"
After another minute of rubbing his feet, Bidoof breathed in, got a hold of himself, and relaxed back into his previous posture, forcing another smile and saying, "But yes...Two-hundred million poké! Just imagine the possibilities; you could go on vacation, pay off your student loans, eat a five-star dinner, and throw half it into the sea, and you'd still probably be made for life!"
Chuckling, he shrugged. "Or you could just blow it all in a day. Not my money. With that said though, let's meet whose money it might end up being." Clapping his hands, the camera crew took the hint and adjusted their equipment ever so subtly toward the end of the dock, where off in the distance, something was sailing toward the island at great speeds. They were long-necked and blue, with a nice, comfy shell on their back; a Lapras.
Floating up the dock, someone stepped off of the plesiosaur. She was a quadrupedal, blue-skinned creature with white fur that covered most her body. She had a sickle-like horn jutting around from under a comb-over of fur and had long claws poking out from each of her feet. Sunglasses were laying atop her head, linking comfortably to her horn, and a small, blue handbag was wrapped around her head. She had on a bright, big smile, and though her posture was notably sloppy for her species, she nonetheless held a youthful love for life.
"Introducing, Absol, of Serene Village!"
The Disaster Pokémon grinned at this, walking forward while saying, "Hi! It's really nice to be here-"
As she was saying this, though, the dock gave way, as she stepped forward only to have her paw break through the wood, dropping her body slightly as she yelped out in surprise. Blinking, she attempted to pry it out of the newly formed hole, only for cracks to form underneath her, something she didn't notice until it was too late, as the dock caved in and dropped her into the water below with a scream. The whole moment had been so fast Bidoof hadn't even had time to react; one second Absol was there, and the next, she was gone, a good portion of the platform having gone with her.
"Can someone repair that please?" Bidoof called off-screen, before walking up to the hole and watching to see if the girl would resurface.
He got his answer. Surfacing from the water, Absol spat up a thin stream of it, pouting as she felt a thick layer of damp fur fall over her eyes. "Dang it..." Looking up, she called out, "Can I redo that?"
"Sorry, one-take show," Bidoof explained with a knowing smirk. "You want some help getting out of there or you think you can swim to land?"
"Uh...I'll be fine!" She called back a bit too quickly, already swimming off, "I'll be up there in a minute!"
Chuckling to himself, Bidoof turned back to the camera, explaining, "Yeah...If it isn't obvious, most of the stuff here is pretty old. Nobody's lived here in a couple of decades. Or at least, nobody worth acknowledging." With a smile, he added on, "Which is why we told them we'd be staying somewhere totally different. No way would they have agreed to compete otherwise."
Bringing up one of his paws, he scanned the waters, before saying, "Speaking of, here comes our next contestant now!"
After another minute, the next Lapras arrived, dropping off the second player. Compared to Absol, he was notably chubby, with a dark purple body and pointed ears. The species' normally sinister grin was replaced by a long frown, his red eyes darting back and forth nervously as he walked forward- only to let out a brief scream at the hole in the ground. He shook, then paced around it nervously, forgetting he could fly at the moment. It almost felt like every movement registered as a risk in his mind, as if he were afraid to take his eyes off his surroundings for even a second. Wrapped around his shoulders was a large, red backpack, with close to a dozen different zippers and some sort of spray hanging off the side of it.
"Gengar, dude, you good?" Bidoof asked the twitching ghost type. After a moment, a large smirk grew on the rodent's face. "You seem a little spooked." Nobody reacted. Bidoof gave himself a mental high-five anyway.
Ignoring the frankly poor punchline, Gengar turned back to the host with a mutter, "Y-Yeah, I should be good. I uh...J-Just need a minute." Talking looked to be a struggle for him, as if every word physically pained him to say.
"First time away from home?" Bidoof wondered, getting his answer when the ghost nodded. "Aw, don't worry big guy, it ain't so bad...Well, besides the fact you're on an abandoned island that has who knows what on it."
"A-Abandoned?!" Gengar spat, "I-I thought we were staying at a resort!" Reaching behind him, he pulled out from his backpack a brochure, "S-See! Hano Grand Resort! I-It had a relaxation spa! It's supposed to relieve stress! Where's the resort?!"
"Oh yeah, we were just talking about that," Bidoof chuckled, "yeah, we lied." Gengar's expression fell. "Sucks to suck, my friend!"
"Y-You can't keep me here! I'm leaving!" Gengar screamed, jumping into the air and quickly floating toward the Lapras- only to see it was already sailing away.
"Yeah, sorry bud, not happening. And something tells me you won't catch up to a Lapras on water." Bidoof mocked. "I mean, sure, you could float back to land...But that'd violate your contract. And then you'd have to face something far scarier than anything this island's got."
Gengar gulped. "A-And what is that?"
"Lawyers!"
The Shadow Pokémon screeched at this, coming to his senses (if only for a moment) and floating past the host and toward the other end of the dock, clutching his head and whispering sweet nothings to himself. Bidoof chuckled. "Gets 'em every time."
"Okay, no need to panic, Gengar," the ghost mumbled to himself, "you can do this, you can do this-"
"Hey!" Turning to the sound, Gengar saw Absol running along the beach and up to him, passing by a tree...Which promptly fell over, smacking against the sand just behind her, something she didn't even bother to acknowledge.
Running onto the dock, she brought up a paw and brushed some of her fur out of her face, offering the ghost a smile. "Hi, I'm Absol...Well, I mean, that's not my name, obviously, but contracts mean I can't tell you it, and that's off-topic, and I'm rambling," interrupting herself with a quick, forced cough, she course-corrected and instead simply said, "hi."
Gengar once more had paled at the sight of the girl, his body shaking horribly as he whimpered to himself, backing up a few feet and holding out the brochure in hand as a makeshift weapon. Absol merely stared at him in complete bewilderment.
Not long after came the third contestant. She was a pale purple, bipedal bulldog, with large fangs peeking out from her prominent jaw. Despite this nasty detail, however, compared to much of her species, she was actually quite...Appealing? Perhaps not quite the right word, but she was notably thin, and at that decently attractive, which was certainly not a trait shared by many of her relatives. Her fur was also well-groomed and clean, and based on that expensive-looking red-jeweled necklace hanging off her neck, she was quite wealthy, or at the very least, had considerable disposable income.
Then again, even without the necklace, the literal mountain of luggage behind her certainly gave as much away.
"Granbull," Bidoof hummed, watching her approach as she pushed up the sunhat and glasses she had been wearing to defend against the beaming sunlight.
"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii," she drew out with a smile, walking around the hole in the dock with little thought, "sorry if I was a little late. I just needed to be absolutely sure I didn't forget a thing."
"On the contrary, you're technically early; third one here," the beaver host corrected, watching in interest as the bulldog looked over her surroundings...And her optimism began to give way.
"So...Is this it?" She questioned. "I thought we were staying at-"
"A resort? Yep, sorry for the rude awakening doll, but just as I explained to Gengar over there, that was just a bit of deceptive marketing to ensure you didn't chicken out early." With a chuckle, he added on, "But hey, it's not so bad out here. You're on an isolated island away from the bustling streets of civilization, without all the greenhouse gases and taxes. And hey," he gestured to the shoreline beside the dock, "we got a pretty sick beach, don't you think?"
"Yeah...Yeah!" Her grin promptly returned. "You're right." She walked toward the others before stopping. "Oh, can you get one intern to grab my stuff for me?" Bidoof sent her a thumbs-up, to which she responded with a quick, "thanks!"
As soon as she had walked over to the others though, Bidoof snapped his fingers. And on cue, one intern walked over to the pile and simply kicked one of the bottom ones away. And like a Jenga tower, it all came crashing down, piling into the water and out of sight.
"Well, that takes care of that." Bidoof chuckled.
Following this bout of laziness and disregard for one's possessions, the fourth player arrived, and in a change from the others, seemed to carry no luggage of his own. He was a hulking beast, layered in thick steel armor with two horns protruding from his head, and eyes iced over in blue. His fists had seemingly rusted, turning them a faint red color, and battle scars laid scattered across his mass, or as he saw them, proof of his many victories. Narcissism ran deep within him, from how he saw himself for his faults, to how his purposeful and powerful posture; the crown atop his head almost felt like overkill to that degree.
Bidoof beamed at the giant, opening his mouth to greet-
"It is I!" The man beat him to it, throwing himself forward and into the host's face, bellowing out his name, "Aggron!" The sheer volume of his scream sent Bidoof sprawling to the ground, his eyes wide as he covered his ears, the Iron Armor Pokémon laughing uproariously as he stared out at the tiny, fragile mammal.
"What's wrong, cat got your tongue?!" It seemed like the man didn't have any sort of inside voice; every word was making the poor plump mouse's ears ring in pain. "Up-and-at-em!"
Reaching down with one of his big, meaty hands, Aggron pulled an annoyed Bidoof to his feet once more, lazily dusting him off with a single wave of his hand before smacking him lightly on the back. Well, "lightly", considering it was still strong enough to almost send him to the ground again.
"There we go! Good as new!" With another cackle, Aggron beamed down at the host, "So, we starting this thing?!"
"Y-Yes!" Bidoof screamed back, unaware of how loud he had become in this behemoth's presence. Coughing into his hand, he dialed back the tone and explained, "But first, we need everyone to arrive. You're only number four, so-"
"Ah, so my competition is late, is what you claim?" Cruelly chuckling under his breath, Aggron folded his arms and shook his head mockingly. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. How expected of them; wouldn't be surprised if some of them chickened out."
"Well, actually if they did they'd get sued-"
"No matter," Aggron was fairly obviously ignoring the beaver much to Bidoof's agitation, "even if they'll ultimately be nothing compared to me, I can still work with it." With another boastful laugh, he demanded, "Now, point me to these prior three, would you?"
Glaring at the armored Pokémon, Bidoof pointed behind him, Aggron following his hand…
And seeing what looked to be a dog casually talking to some sort of dog-cat-something, and some sort of floating purple blob nervously chittering to itself.
Aggron looked on...Before sighing. "This'll be even easier than I thought." He then strutted past the host, Bidoof rolling his eyes as he turned back to the front of the dock just in time for the fifth contestant's arrival.
He was on the stranger side to be sure, with orange, scaly skin and red mohawk, his half-closed eyes and the lollipop hanging loosely from his mouth, giving away his utter apathy to his current surroundings. His body was narrow with long, gangly arms yet short legs, and he wore baggy yellow pants (with a hole in the back for his tail) that looked to be moments from giving way, alongside a short yellow scruff that could easily be pulled up as a hoodie. Tucked under his arm was a red duffel bag.
The player walked forward, only to stop at the hole. Confusedly, he pointed down at it with a half-smirk. "So, is that just for decor, or...?"
"Working on it," Bidoof nodded, as a Simisage intern walked past him, a toolbox in hand and some planks of wood under their arm. The grass-type quickly got to work fixing up the hole, as the player shrugged and walked up to the host, who threw back on their perfect smile. "Now then, Scrafty!" He offered the reptile a fist bump. "Glad to have you."
"Glad to be here," he similarly replied, returning the bump before looking over the place, "huh...Not really what I was expecting, but hey, life's just kinda like that, so no biggie."
Bidoof chuckled half-heartedly, nodding and saying, "I like you; you don't bother with all the questions." Scrafty nodded along to this, walking past the host and down the dock.
Noticing the approaching figure, Granbull smiled, walking up and saying, "Hi, I'm-"
"Granbull?" Scrafty mused, catching her off-guard as he let out a snicker. "Sorry, it's just easy to assume is all. Nice to meet you," he offered her a hand and rose a brow, "and may I say, you're pretty fetching today." The dog giggled at his words, awkwardly shaking his hand as Aggron rolled his eyes at the pun.
"So, where are you from?" Absol asked, walking up to the newbie as well.
"Unova; this place is definitely a change for me, but nothing I can't handle." Rolling his lollipop into the opposite cheek, he smiled, "Life's going to throw trials at you after all. May as well show it whose boss, am I right?" Absol, while not sure what he meant by that, still nodded along, as the reptile looked around. "Oh yeah, by the way...Where'd that other guy go? Didn't I see four of you down here?"
The three threw on various expressions at the question, looking around...And seeing that, somehow, Gengar had just disappeared.
"Woah. Props to the guy; for how big he is, he's sure quiet." Aggron muttered.
"You don't think he wandered off, do you?" Absol asked.
"Eh, I wouldn't worry about it," Scrafty urged with a sneer, "guy probably couldn't have gone too far." This seemed to ease his fellow dark type's tension, as she looked up at him brightly, something he returned warmly.
Yet, little did the hoodlum know how right he was, cause not too far from the rest of the cast, hiding amongst some bushes and a sturdy tree, Gengar peered out at the others, trying his best to blend in with the shadows. Namely, he was eyeing up the dark types in question, whimpering to himself as he laid close to the ground.
"Oh no, why another one..." He whispered to himself, holding himself tightly as he hid away in silence.
With Gengar's believed disappearance came the appearance of contestant number six. Namely, a short, gray dinosaur with tiny arms yet muscular legs. He had a hard dome atop his head that was shiny red in color; in fact, the boy's colors were all off for his species, as he was in fact shiny. Not that you'd be blamed for not noticing. Since so much of his body was covered in hardened dirt and mud, he could be believably stated to just have made a mess out of himself. Something that was harder to ignore, though, was the traffic cone he was wearing like a hat, for...Some reason.
Snorting, the nasty little thing stomped up to Bidoof with a growl, who greeted him with a smug, "Cranidos. Welcome to the island. I'd say it's nice to see you, but that'd be a lie." With a chuckle, he gestured over the guy. "I mean...Seriously dude. Too good to shower before you came here?"
"You trying to be funny?" The head-butt Pokémon grumbled out with a deep, though wheezing growl as he narrowed his eyes. "Cause you better watch your next words."
"Okay, okay, it's cool, dude, no need to make this a problem," Bidoof settled with his hands up defensively, though his smile leaving his face, the threat having obviously not unsettled him much, at least outwardly. Huffing, Cranidos walked past the host with a growl. And the moment he was out of earshot, the host let out a heavy breath.
Aggron, noticing the dinosaur walking up to them, grinned as he ran up to them in advance, hollering, "Hey, little guy!" Not noticing the living fossil's eyes twitch at this, the armored brute patted the top of Cranidos' head, raising a brow and asking, "You lost or something?! Seem a little young, and a little small to be here, don't you think?!"
Cringing at another reference to his short size, Cranidos tried to hold himself back, breathing in and out slowly though loudly, as Scrafty and the girls took a step back from the scene in worry. Aggron missed the hint, though, continuing to pat the guy's head with a shake of his head. "Eh, whatever though! I respect the confidence, shrimp, but don't go thinking I'll go easy on you-"
And with a thunderous crack, Aggron's eyes went wide, flinching to himself as he felt a horrible pain in his knee. Looking down, he saw Cranidos, his face having turned red from rage, had smashed the brunt of his skull into Aggron's knee, nearly knocking the giant over in the process and shaking his body. He had smashed into his leg hard enough that a crack had formed; it was a slim, barely notable one, but it seemed another scar had been added to Aggron's collection in the blink of an eye.
Aggron stared down in shock at the runt. Cranidos, still seething, spat out, "Don't underestimate me! I'm tougher than I look, you know..." The dinosaur looked oddly taken aback by his own outburst, before scoffing, the rage in his face disappearing as he stumbled over to the others.
And, seemingly at the same time, Aggron snapped out of his shock, and stared down at the crack in his armor...With a smile. "Not bad, kid..." He muttered under his breath, running a hand along the scar. "Quite the winning attitude..."
As the scene settled, the seventh player arrived, the casting seeing them from afar on the ocean blue. Similar to the last player, they were shiny compared to their species, with golden locks of fur instead of the traditional blue. Her spiked mane was a sharp black, and her body was athletic, clearly toned from years of hard work and experience. Tied around one of her legs was a purple scarf, and her eyes, beaming with pride, were strangely different from one another, with one being a crimson red, and the other a soft Christmas white.
...But there was one teensy, tiny little detail about their arrival that hadn't quite been mentioned...They weren't riding on a Lapras. They were riding a Sharpedo. And it did not look willing, thrashing wildly about the water as it sped forward, the girl grasping onto its fin for dear life yet looking as if she was having an absolute blast.
The cast couldn't help but look on in silent bewilderment; Granbull's jaw had dropped, Aggron just nodded along with a huge, silly grin, Scrafty rubbed his chin in thought, and Gengar...Well he only really caught her sight for a moment, but the look on the Sharpedo's face had been enough to make him faint on the spot.
As the Sharpedo sped toward the dock though, the girl was ready, jumping triumphantly through the air off of the sea critter's back, and landing gracefully onto the dock, striking a confident pose. And after a moment of silence, applause broke out amongst the staff, something the players quickly joined in, much to Bidoof's annoyance as the girl walked up to him, waving back at the ocean as her disgruntled shark companion disappeared among the waves.
"Hey, what's up?" She greeted, a wicked grin taking up much of her face.
"Luxray...Quite the shocking performance you put on for us," Bidoof nodded with a smirk, "glad you could make it."
"Oh, dude, it's great to be here," Luxray said back, a smirk settling, "I'm absolutely ecstatic in fact."
"Solid wordplay. I can already tell you're going to bring the thunder to this competition."
"Hell yeah I will. I've got that winning spark. I'm gonna shock the boat."
"Hear it here, watt off the press, Luxray is making some electrifying statements-"
"Okay, we get it!" Cranidos called out from afar, bringing an abrupt end to Bidoof and Luxray's little pun-off.
"Eh, whatever, I was probably going to run out of them eventually anyway," Luxray strut past the host and toward the others, yet whispered to him, "but by and charge...I won."
Bidoof rose a brow at her words as she walked off...Only to for his eyes to widen in realization. "Clever girl."
"Ahem."
Turning to the sudden notice, Bidoof was taken aback by the seemingly unnoticed arrival of the eighth contestant. She was a bipedal, yellow fox, whose fur ran over itself and just the right way to resemble a school uniform with a skirt. Her legs were black, and tufts of red fur popped out from her long ears, while her large, bushy tail held some sort of long, wooden rod with a metal end. She had brilliant posture, standing stiff with no allowed imperfections, though to the same degree, her expression held little emotion on the surface.
"Ah, sorry about that," Bidoof coughed into his fist and threw the girl a smile, greeting to the camera mostly, "our next contestant...Braixen!"
Braixen promptly gave a light bow to the host, a small smile forming as she said, "Greetings. Let me first begin by saying personally grateful I am to have been invited to this 'island game' of yours, m'lord." As she said this, she found her eyes wandering, humming to herself outwardly, "Though, I must admit, this sort of scenery isn't...Quite, what I expected."
"Join the club, lady," Bidoof said, "but, like it or not, this is where you'll be staying for the next fifty-six days."
The fire fox looked mildly perplexed at this, though tapped her chin, "...M'lady did suggest I needed to 'get away' from my usual surroundings..." Humming, she nodded, "Very well, it is of no issue. Perhaps this shall be 'good for me', as one would say."
Reaching into her tail, she brought from his a small, black briefcase. Bowing to the rodent once more, she said, "I bid you adieu," then walked down the dock towards the others, her pleasantries unexpected though welcome compared to the last few spitfires the host had to deal with.
"Definitely a different vibe with that one," Bidoof said to the camera, letting out a laugh as a disgruntled Simisage walked past him in the background, the hole in the dock having finally been repaired.
And with its repairs complete, the ninth contestant followed...Alongside music? Blaring bass and drums harshly from a speaker sitting atop the Lapras, a girl jumped off the living transportation with a toothy smirk. She was a bipedal weasel, with long, slender limbs and sharp claws, her navy blue skin and steely eyes pairing well with those chompers on display. Red feathers peeked out from her head and as her tail, and yellow jewels sat in the center of her forehead and on her chest. On her left shoulder was a tattoo of what looked to be a screaming Cryogonal, while a purple bandana was tied around her right arm. And of course, the only piece of luggage she was carrying was the guitar wrapped around her, its icy blue color looking freezing to the touch.
The other players couldn't help but look her over. She looked tough...
The girl continued to show off her grin...Until her face turned a faint, green hue...Then her cheeks puffed up. Bringing a hand to her mouth, she looked over the dock, and in one swift motion, proceeded to vomit off the dock, the cast cringing in disgust and looking away as fast as they could. And this continued for what felt like hours, even if it had only been a mere few seconds.
After she had...Finished, the girl took a couple of steps back from the edge of the dock, wiping her face and groaning out, "Ugh...Sorry guys, I just got a little motion sick!" Laughing nervously, she tapped her claws together, muttering, "I, like...Don't do sea transport, you know?"
And in an instant, the cast's perception of this new player being any sort of threat had disappeared.
"Well, uh...Thanks for that, Sneasel." Bidoof groaned, not looking the ice-type in the eye as he muttered, "That was certainly a...Unique introduction."
Sneasel, in all fairness, took the comment in stride, laughing it off with a wave and saying, "Yeah, but like, everyone has their moments. Doesn't change I'm here to freaking win it, you dig?" With another laugh, she started toward the others...Though froze at the sight of...Certain players.
Luxray, and her strong, athletic body, muscles glittering in the sunlight. Braixen, and her formal, adorable appearance, made Sneasel's face turn a brighter red than the girl's own fur. Absol, and her soft, friendly expression and that freaking adorable little wave she was sending her. And holy crap, Granbull looked freaking fire too. Sneasel could feel herself shaking, her breathing coming to a stop as she mentally attempted to compose herself...
While...Still being completely still. And out in the open. Everyone was looking at her. She really, really wasn't moving.
"Uh...Is she okay?" Luxray questioned outwardly.
"Heh, probably just getting weak knees," Aggron commented, "but who can blame 'em." With a flex, he proudly declared, "I'd fear going against me too."
Rolling her eyes, Luxray stated, "The only thing dumb enough to fear a meathead like you is a Wimpod without a pact."
"Oh, those fighting words, blondie?" Aggron questioned, leaning down to her level.
"I don't know, are they?" Luxray questioned back, the pair exchanging a glare as Scrafty chuckled nearby at the two's little mental duel.
As the pair stared each other down, though, Sneasel had managed to, at least momentarily calm herself down, as she walked up to the group with an awkward smile, "Sorry about that. I just, like, had a thing going down in my head. You get me? But, like, totally good now." She let out a short laugh, stiffening up again slightly at the looks she was getting.
Not long after, the tenth contestant arrived, only this time by air, as she fluttered her wings down onto the dock below. She was a thin grey and white bird that vaguely resembled a starling, baring a long orange beak and equally long claws for feet. Her wings were wide and bushy, and a bright yellow bow was loosely connected by a yellow hairpin (or in this case, a feather pin) to the side of her head. She looked totally normal...Well, not counting her oddly...Professional stance. Not as in "all business", but more she knew how to perfectly angle herself for the cameras; strong posing to give off good posture while illuminating physical differences, not acknowledging the existence of the crew yet positioning herself to be the center of attention, just the right distance between herself and Bidoof to give both of them their "space," so to speak. And all with no direction.
"Staravia! Glad to see you made your entrance so unique, though I must call fowl on not informing your Lapras beforehand." Bidoof smacked his knee...Then pointed behind her. "No, but seriously, you should have done that." Staravia looked behind her to see a very disgruntled Lapras glaring at her, before swimming off. "They charge by the minute."
"Apologies," Staravia said with a bow, the Lapras huffing in response before sailing off. Turning back to the host, she continued, "Now then, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am-"
"I know already, I'm the one who introduced you." Bidoof interrupted, before pointing to her beak. "And what's with the accent. You sound like I attended a Shakespeare in the Park show." Sure enough, she was putting on a sort of voice that could only be described as faintly old English-esque, akin to classical plays or medieval times role players...
It sounded kind of annoying.
Staravia huffed. "My accent, as you call it, is none of your concern, woodland fool. Now if you'd be so kind, I shall make haste toward meeting my fellow competitors. Good day to you." Her claws gripped on tightly to her luggage (a yellow duffel bag that looked to be twice her size), before flying off toward the cast down the dock…
Only for said duffel bag to throw off her weight. Her eyes went wide, her body flinging itself forward, as she only barely managed to maintain her flight. And in the process, she had become the equivalent of a flying wrecking ball flying straight toward the cast.
And noticing this first above everyone else was Cranidos, who seemingly in mere moments, realized the danger. "Hit the deck!" Cranidos called out, as the cast ducked or jumped out of the way of the incoming, living projectile, who proceeded past them and toward a single tree. Cawing loudly, the bird braced for impact as she and luggage smashed into the tree full-force, rocking it violently as a scream rang out from it...
Only it wasn't her scream, as jumping out from the bushes beside the tree was the large, purple frame of Gengar, his eyes the size of dinner plates as he ran out from his cover. "We're being attacked by birds! The birdemic is upon us!" With another screech he threw himself face-first into the sand, quickly getting to work piling it on top of himself as if thinking it'd block him from sight.
"Wait, was that guy always here?" Sneasel questioned. "Did I miss that-"
"Lookout, she's coming back!" Granbull interjected.
And sure enough, as soon as Staravia had pried herself off of the tree, the weight of the bag came back into effect, only this time, it was carrying her the opposite direction, as she came barreling back toward the cast back-first, as she attempted to steady herself pathetically in the air. And it wouldn't have been long before it had become another projectile-
Had it not been for a hand reaching up just in time to pull down the bag out of the bird's grip before her body could commit to the motion. Staravia span the air for a moment, a low crow erupting from her as she got her balance in order. As soon as she had recovered, a grave chuckle brought her attention to the ground, where she saw Scrafty standing, her bag in his hand as he stared up at her, amused at the prior incident.
"While I don't mind a bit of excitement, I think it'd be for the best if I carried this, don't you think? The last thing we'd want is for someone to get hurt, especially yourself." He mused, lollipop still hanging from his mouth as he stared up at her with that dull sneer of his.
Blushing from her brief moment prior, Staravia stumbled out a loose, "I-I...W-Well, thank you for that, then! I do not mind in the slightest, though I hope you understand I'd like my package returned in full later."
"Of course," Scrafty nodded, placing the bag on the ground beside him as he returned to staring down the dock, oblivious to the stares being sent in his way by the others.
"I could have done that too, just for the record," Luxray muttered, "you know...If I had hands." Bringing up one of her paws, she couldn't help but glare at it, hissing, "Do better."
And just like that, the chaos was over just as quickly as it had started, the players returning to their peace. Though oddly enough, the newest arrival in Staravia couldn't help but her eyes trained on Scrafty, her narrowed glare inspecting him for...Something.
Though anything she found would have to wait, as stepping off of the next Lapras was the eleventh contestant of the day. And compared to much of the cast, he was almost on par with Aggron in terms of sheer size; a dragon, with a thick, though fit blue body and a red head, with prominent, sharp teeth and massive claws on his hands and feet. Wings sprouted up proudly from his back, and dull red thorns lined much of his arms and tail. A nasty scar ran over one of his eyes, many of his scales were chipped, and a ragged grey bandana hung from his neck. He looked tough. Oddly, despite the massive size, he carried with him only a simple brown canvas bag.
And for the first time that day, Aggron felt like he was staring at the sort of competition he was used to. "Now we're talking." Unlike the armored behemoth though, the rest of the players were...Less than thrilled by the sight of the dragon. Considering who the crowd was already made up of, it was doubtful someone like this would be any sort of positive influence.
"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," Bidoof muttered, "everyone...Druddigon."
Druddigon grunted something incoherent out, before staunchly stomping forward, the dock shaking with every step. Bidoof simple stood there in silence, his body shaking as he looked up at the draconic man, who was more than capable of sending the beaver flying if he said something the dragon didn't like. So, not wanting to take the risk and knowing how to choose his battles, he simply pointed behind him with a false smile. The cave Pokémon acknowledged the information with a simple nod.
"Thank you," he growled, before continuing forward once more. And, much to his chagrin, he watched as the cast moved out of his way, practically avoiding contact with the giant at all costs. And so he continued-
"Ahhhhh!"
Jumping back a bit, Druddigon watched as, emerging from where he had stepped, was Gengar, who spit out a thin line of sand. "Who was that-" The ghost turned his gaze up...And paled. Thus, with a scream, he spat, "Who are you?! What do you want?! Why're you attacking me?!"
"A-Attacking you?" Druddigon stumbled over his words. "N-No, I-"
"Please don't kill me, mister dragon!" Gengar begged, getting on his knees as he pleaded helplessly. "I'm too young to die again!"
"I-I didn't even do anything! How could I have known you were playing in the sand, for God knows what reason?! I just got here!" Druddigon snapped back, unknowingly barring his teeth.
And that action was enough for Gengar to screech out in fear, and promptly dip out of sight once more, making use of his status as an aspiration and fading into the sand; while he no doubt was blind within the earth, he seemed to choose lack of sight over being in the dragon's presence. A choice that left him at a loss for words.
"W-Wait, I'm sorry for screaming, I just-" Druddigon turned to look at the rest of the cast...And found that many of them held the same glares and intimidated frowns he had grown accustomed to in the past. He stopped talking at that moment, instead groaning as he stomped further away from the others, taking a seat in the sand and turning away from the dock, as if to spare the next arrival the seemingly horrid fate of noticing his presence.
And on cue, that twelfth contestant arrived. Especially compared to the last arrival, they were considerably smaller, yet appeared just as unnerving. They were some sort of tiny, shelled bug, with a faded gold and grey color to them. Their body was unmoving, with stationary tattered wings that appeared to be more for show than anything, judging by how they floated effortlessly off the ground, and their eyes revealed a hollow, dark inside. In a strange way, they were almost comparable to a suit of armor without a host, not helped by that blank stare and their lack of breathing. They also didn't have any luggage with them, which definitely didn't help with the strange impression they gave off.
"Welcome, Shedinja!" Bidoof greeted...And instead of the usual back and forth, found himself enwrapped in an awkward bout of quiet tranquility. And this continued for well over a minute, Shedinja floating above the dock while the cast, namely the confused host, just sort of...Expected him to do...Something.
"...Wow, uh...You good there?" Shedinja just stared. "Man...Call me baffled, cause you're dead silent." Bidoof threw back on his smile at the pun...Only to notice Shedinja still appeared confused. "...You know? Cause you're a ghost. So...You're dead."
Shedinja stared for a moment. "...Ha."
Bidoof genuinely couldn't tell if that was a genuine laugh or a sarcastic one; either way, he takes those, especially since it was an actual response at least. "Okay, good, progress. Now then, how are you?"
"I'm alright," Shedinja answered...Only to hum, "I think...No, wait...Yeah...No...Hm," they nodded, "I settled on being fine."
"Ummmmmm...Cool?" Bidoof dragged off, "You sure you are though? Couldn't help but notice the lack of...Well, anything on you. The others, well, they at least seem to be able to fend for themselves. You just sorta look like you forgot yours."
"Nah, I got stuff."
Bidoof tilted his head, looking him over for proof of the claim. "Uh huh...Where-" As he was asking this though, Shedinja brought up one of their hands and reached toward their eye, "What are you doing?"
Without answering, Shedinja reached through the eye, the hand disappearing among the dark inside within, as the beaver's expression fell, while a camera guy fainted in the background. Shedinja rifled their hand inside for a moment, before pulling out something; a thin, white sheet of paper that literally has the word "example" written out on it. Showing it off, Shedinja smiled faintly. "There's...Not really much inside me. So I just sort of carry stuff in me. Makes things less of a hassle." They frowned. "Except at airports. I get stopped for security checks a lot."
Bidoof's face had turned a slight shade of green, bringing a hand up to his mouth and running to the edge of the dock for a private moment off-camera. Instead, Shedinja was left with the confused, disgusted, and outright disturbed looks of their fellow players. All of them looked...Well, to say alarmed would be an understatement...Well, with a couple of exceptions-
"That's so cool!" Sneasel cheered, running forward onto the dock and up to the bug with a grin. "So, like, you just carry anything around you want inside you?!"
Shedinja blinked, and was about to answer, only for Absol to pop up from nowhere behind them, asking, "Does it ever feel too heavy?"
Once more Shedinja was at a loss, giving Braixen just the right amount of time to walk up scratching their chin in thought. "How do you keep your supplies from getting knocked around when you're floating?"
Blinking...Shedinja shrugged, answering the questions in order. "Yeah. Not really since you get used to the weight quickly. And stuffing." Shedinja answered simply, while Sneasel grasped the sides of her face in genuine awe, Absol smiled goofily, and Braixen...Just looked confused at the last answer. Shedinja clarified by reaching back inside, and pulling out literal white stuffing, not dissimilar to the type you'd see inside a teddy bear.
"Ah...Carry on," Braixen nodded, as Shedinja let out a chuckle.
After a quick break for Bidoof to finish up, Shedinja was now floating alongside the rest of the cast, and the host had walked back out onto the center of the dock, though wasn't paying much attention to his surroundings as he hopelessly tended to his now messed up hair, trying to puff it up at just the right angle to form the shape of his pompadour once more. "Come on, come on..."
As a result, though, he missed the fairly obvious arrival of the thirteenth contestant, whose Cheshire smile wrapped around to the edges of his face. He was a slender, lilac-colored creature, who seemed to verge the likeness of cat and dog alike, with large ears and eyes. Laying in the center of his forehead was some sort of gemstone...That began to glow.
The previously patched-up hole slowly shook the loose, newly applied pieces of wood getting ripped up from their placement, yet they made no noise. And as the wood floated into the air, Bidoof continued to toil with his hair, finally getting it just right...In time to feel something pull out his right foot in an instant.
"What the-" It was too late. In one swift movement, Bidoof fell backward, right into the newly reopened hole in the dock. He only had time to call out for help as he fell into the waves with a mighty splash.
And, as if they had been given a chance by the legends above themselves, the players (and camera crew, for that matter) burst into a chorus of laughter. Grinning from ear, the newest arrival took an arbitrary bow, throwing back his head with a laugh of his own. "Thank you, thank you! I'll be here all week, and for the next few at that!"
While the new player strutted up to the cast confidently, Bidoof resurfaced from the water below, a stern glare on his face as his soaked pompadour flopped onto the front of his face. "Everyone...Espeon...Our psychic user..."
Espeon sauntered up to the others, his grin on full display as he walked into the crowd. Cranidos, however, merely rolled his eyes and scoffed. "It was just a party trick. Not a big deal-"
Apparently, his feedback wasn't appreciated, as similar to Bidoof, a light pink aura surrounded the base of his foot, and was suddenly pulled out. With a bark, he landed face first in the sand, causing a short-lived, but still present, snicker to run through some of the colder players in the group.
With that stunt over and done with, the fourteenth player arrived, and to say they were far more obvious than Espeon would be an understatement. He was a strange, navy blue flower of some sort, with four petals in the shape of orbs surrounded by thick red leaves. Drool hung lazily from his mouth, and his eyes were covered by a pair of sunglasses. He was leaning back and forth, off-balance, no doubt on account of the demon's nectar in his hand in the form of a wine bottle, which he took a swing from without a second thought the moment he stepped off his Lapras. In his free hand, he held a black, oversized briefcase.
Bringing an arm up, he hissed out a low, "Bloody Hell, who turned up the sun? The damn thing's hot enough.." His thick Irish accent carried his poor attitude well, and with a grumble, he took another swig from the wine, mumbling something under his breath as he stumbled forward.
Having pulled himself back onto the dock, though still soaked, Bidoof held no patience for the new arrival's tomfoolery. In one swift motion, he swiped the bottle from his hands, stating, "Gloom, no alcohol allowed."
"Oi, come on then, you can't just-"
"Nuh-uh-uh, no complaining, we told you before the show; no drugs, no drinking, no funny business," Bidoof explained, "if we just let people do whatever they wanted, no way would any of you dorks give us something worth working with."
Gloom growled under his breath, and almost spoke up...But seemed to give up that losing battle with little effort, and so stumbled down the dock. Though in the process, quickly found himself hounded by a certain bug, who floated up to him with a hum.
"What's with the glasses?" Gloom paid them no mind. "You're like...A grass-type. Don't you get power from the sun?"
"I'm curious as well," a certain trickster from prior spoke up, Espeon having miraculously snuck up behind Gloom as well, "are you perhaps hiding something behind them?"
Espeon's tail slowly rose up, running along the grass-type's cheek, to try and peel the glasses away- only to be blocked by Gloom's hand, "Touch me damned glasses and I can promise you ain't getting that damned tail back." Espeon merely giggled at the threat, lurking backward though watching intently, as Gloom turned to Shedinja as well, "And you mind your own business as well. I don't owe any answer to you, you hear?"
Shedinja lingered a moment, before shrugging, "M'kay." They then floated off back into the crowd, which Gloom soon entered as well.
Though, little did he know that looking over his shoulder at the arrival, back still turned to the cast, was Druddigon, whose eyes widened at the sight of the plant in utter horror. Bringing up one of his massive, meaty hands, he shook his head, grumbling into it, "Dear Lord, why him? Why is he here? "
The fifteenth contestant arrived not long after...And like that, it felt like all the negative energy on the dock was sapped away in an instant. She was a sheep, with a coat of fluffy white and black wool (that looked to have been cut down on considerably, likely from a recent shear), alongside a grey mane protecting much of her face. Her horns were tall and pointed, though looked to be cracked and chips, with scars and scratches grazing so much of it, it almost blended into itself as a natural aesthetic. She carried a pleasant smile, and strapped onto her back was a big green box that, despite its considerable size and weight, she carried with seemingly no effort.
"Howdy," she started, her thick southern accent blending well with her high-pitched though friendly voice, yet also uncannily with her Scottish one; in fact, it almost felt like the accents were battling for supremacy, "excited to be here! Hope I didn't make 'ye wee ones wait up for my sorry behind for too long."
"No worries at all, Dubwool," Bidoof calmed her, "though a bit of a heads-up since you seem like..." He looked her over, "...A certain type of girl, be careful 'round some of those people over there." He gestured to the other players before leaning in and saying, "They could eat you alive if you aren't careful. Especially considering this is your first time away from home, right?"
"Darn right," she nodded, but merely giggled at his suggestion, "but don't worry yourself 'bout me, I know my way around a word or two. Ain't nothing they can say that can knock down my good mood!" Whistling out, she bound off toward the others, calling out, "Hey everybody, the name's Dubwool!"
"We know!"
Laughing at the response, Bidoof shook his head knowingly, "Man, those contracts were a good idea." Turning back to the front of the dock, he said, "Now, with that aside, here comes contestant sixteen!"
Jumping off the Lapras with a sneer, the new arrival stared down the host with utter apathy, the total lack of care in his voice and tone practically feeling palpable. He was a purple skunk with a long, tan stripe down the length of his back, curling upward into a cow lick with his hair. His fur was spiky, and his paws (and body) were large, while his eyes were small and half-closed. He didn't look like he wanted to be there. Laying on his back was a green, rolled-up bag that looked very thrown together last moment.
"Skuntank," Bidoof nodded along, as Skuntank strolled right past him, in no mood for conversation.
Walking up to the players, he looked them over...Then said, "Well, looks like I don't gotta worry about my competition having much in terms of brains." Many of the players flinched back at the remark, as he snorted and walked past and ignore the brunt of them as well. "If anybody needs me, I'm gonna take a nap in the tree's shade. Cool? Yeah, it's cool."
And like that, he threw down his bag against the nearby tree, and without another word, collapsed onto it as a sort of makeshift pillow. And just as miraculously, the tenth, one-thousandth of a second he had closed his eyes, he was already snoring very, very loudly. Loudly enough to where it was echoing across the entire beach, the players cringing with each snore.
"Well, I can already tell he's going to be a delight to deal with all Summer," Gloom hissed, trying his best to cover his ears.
Another snore sounded off as Luxray felt her eyes twitch and began to walk toward the sleeping skunk. "Oh, I'm about ready to shut that obnoxious mouth of his up!" Skuntank was lucky Aggron and Druddigon were quick to react, pulling the lioness back before she could act irrationally.
And unknown to the players, Skuntank felt a smile rise onto his face, one of his eyes flickering open for no longer than a second to spy on the other's reactions, before sounding off into his act once more.
The penultimate arrival of the seventeenth contestant quickly threw much of the cast for a loop. She was a bipedal, wyvern-esque creature, though whatever would pass as wings for her had clearly not grown in yet, instead remaining sharpened talons at the ends. She was pale blue, with a prominent jaw and a red underside; she almost looked shark like to a degree, especially with how her body fell off toward her tail. But most odd about her was...What was on her left hand.
It was a Banette...Or, more accurately, a Banette sock puppet. A very crudely stitched together one at that. Its eyes were jutted off in different directions, and its zipper mouth hung open lifelessly. It was very creepy to look at all things considered.
"Gabite," Bidoof started, before turning his attention to the puppet, "...And-"
"Fred."
The players, and Bidoof, were taken aback by the puppet speaking. More accurately, the voice; deep yet nasally. The puppet adjusted itself, placing its nub hands at its side as it turned its head. "Now then, how is that a way to look at your new competition! Hey-ho, it's me, Fred the Banette! And I'mma win this thing, I tell you what!"
Gabite, oddly, seemed to flinch at his voice, whispering softly, "I-I'm sorry...He gets very excitable-"
"No, toots, it's just that yous ain't being excited enough!" Fred countered back, its jaw slacking as Gabite looked off in embarrassment.
"I...Am very confused about what is occurring at the moment," Braixen muttered.
"Isn't it obvious? She's putting on a show!" Staravia claimed, flying over to the ground dragon and placing a wing to her beak. "And a quite impressive one. I haven't seen your mouth move in the slightest, and you're able to mimic an entirely distinct voice than the one of your own. Truly remarkable, well done! An example of the arts indeed."
"And of how to be annoying," Cranidos grumbled, Gloom nodding along to the comment.
"I must ask, what's your secret to the act?" Staravia questioned, leaning up to the vulnerable, uncomfortable Gabite, who leaned backward with a whimper.
"Oh, that answer's simple, baby, its all charisma!" Fred interjected once more, popping up between the two. "Cha-cha-cha-cha-cha!"
While Staravia looked over the puppet in interest, Bidoof groaned, muttering, "I feel as if I've slowly lost control over all this...No matter!" Jumping between the two (three?), he said, "Move along ladies-"
"Heyo, who you calling a lady-"
"Ladies and baby," Bidoof interrupted, "we've got one last player, and he should be here any second now. So go on, chop-chop." He clapped his hands together aggressively, and reluctantly, the girls walked off.
And just in time too, as indeed, the final contestant made his appearance. He was a quadrupedal sea-lion with blue fur, donning some sort of samurai armor, with what looked to be dual blades at the ready on both of his front legs. A beard and mustache hung from his face, his narrowed glare behind them. Beside him looking to simply be a blue sleeping bag that looked roughly big enough to how something nearly twice his size...And nothing else. Light packer.
"And, last but not least, Samurott," Bidoof introduced the lumbering water samurai to the cast.
"Hmph," Samurott grunted out, nodding his head and...Not really saying anything afterward. For the final introduction of this entire experience, it was actually a little anti-climatic, especially considering all the oddballs prior.
"Somehow that was the least headache-inducing introduction of the day," Bidoof muttered to himself as Samurott walked past him.
"So, are we good, then?" Skuntank yawned out, walking up to the dock as he muttered, "Cause I'm starving. When are we gonna eat?"
"Well, first thing's first before that, we need a group photo for the promos," Bidoof stated, pulling out from his bushy tail a camera, "now everyone, line-up on the end of the dock!"
Waving them over, Bidoof stepped onto Samurott's Lapras, getting ready to take aim as the eighteen players all got into position.
In the back row, the tallest of the cast consisting of Aggron, Druddigon, and Samurott stood high and mighty, their sheer size and power on full display, which while the former was more than happy to show off, the latter two were more than willing to humbly stand normally, as if posing for a class photo, with very little personality truly showing from theirs, beyond Samurott's perpetual frown.
In the middle row was Braixen, Gabite, Gengar, Gloom, Granbull, and Scrafty. Braixen stood properly and stiffly on the leftmost side of the dock, a smile on her face, a pose that Scrafty replicated well on the rightmost side, only he threw in a peace sign and didn't bother throwing out his lollipop. Gengar, who had only just resurfaced from the sand, still looked unnerved, doubly so on account of being between a grumbling Gloom, who had his arms folded, and a whimpering Gabite, who looked away from the camera while Fred basked in it. Granbull was in the middle of the picture, looking to mock blow a kiss at the camera.
And of course, in the bottom row, sitting down all across the dock, was Absol, Cranidos, Dubwool, Espeon, Luxray, Shedinja, Skuntank, and Sneasel. The only one who seemed to be missing was Staravia, at least until you noticed she was flying above the cast; even when trying to construct a fairly basic photo, she was trying to stand out as "unique".
"Alright, everyone..." Bidoof started, holding up the camera, "one...Two- wait...Wait, hold on." Some of the cast's dropped their poses as Bidoof pulled a cap off the front of the camera. "Sorry about that! Now...Everyone, say, 'Summer vacation'!"
Reluctantly, the cast joined along in the host's phrase, chanting out in unison, "Summer vacation!" They chanted so loud...They didn't even hear the dock break away, as it gave in and collapsed, dropping a majority of the cast into the water.
Cackling monstrously at the sudden carnage, Bidoof wiped a tear from his eye and screamed, "Yeah, it's not funny when it happens to you!"
Of course, those spared from the collapse were the handful of players who could fly and could catch themselves in time; Staravia, Shedinja, and a horrified Gengar...Also, apparently, Samurott was also spared, who magically was still on the maintained side of the dock. He merely shrugged and grunted out something wordlessly.
As some players resurfaced from the water, they heard Bidoof call out, "Now, everyone, make sure to dry off and meet me at the bonfire pit in ten. Got it? Cool!" With a laugh, the Lapras began to sail to another part of the island, though Bidoof managed to add on, "Oh, also, pretty sure some of those guys can't swim. Fish them out for me, would you Sammy?"
Samurott growled, yet listened, jumping into the water and fishing out some of the most unfortunate players. As he did so though, some players...Simply swam in place, utterly confused.
"So..." Dubwool said, "...Does anyone know where this campfire place is?" And just like that, silence fell over the group before they all let out a collective groan.
TO BE CONTINUED IN PART #2.
CH1 NOTE:
With that, the first part of episode #1 is completed. And also released early. As you can no doubt tell, I settled on splitting episodes into parts for the season; I felt it worked better for the pacing on the whole, as I'm fairly positive people would much rather read a 10K chapter over a 20K one. Also, very good for cliffhangers; I'd certainly enjoy keeping people on their toes for what's to come. Though, you can also expect finished chapters releasing far earlier now as well, since shorter chapters mean the drafts wrap up quicker, which means they're released faster.
With that said, of the rough drafts I've written up, this is fairly easily my least favorite. I simply believe the introductions of the campers in episode #1 of the original series can't be brought from screen to paper particularly well without it quickly growing dull to read and exhausting to write. That and all the appearance descriptions and the feeble attempts to establish nineteen distinct personalities in one go certainly further complicated matters. I believe I wrote this about as well as I physically could have though, so I have no regrets, but one can't help but feel the ramifications of committing to such a story when the beginnings are this dull.
Feedback is key here, so I'd love to hear some thoughts. Favorite characters? Least favorites? Challenge predictions (as I will replicate some from season #1 in my own style)? Really, anything you believe should be said, I am more than welcome to hear about. Oh, and sorry for some if your characters lacked a particular amount of screen time, especially if I introduced them more near the end of the chapter; it was hard to juggle the cast in this fashion, and alongside that, at points, it was difficult gauging how a majority of them would even react to meeting new people all at once, even with the more social ones; you can only write "pleasant person speaks to someone else, gets reaction, back-and-forth" so many times as a scene before the reader, or I, goes crazy. I do promise, everyone will get a moment to shine next time as we explore the setting and the rules. And of course, we still have two more main characters to become acquainted with, one of whom I'm aware many people are excited about if the old applications are anything to go off of.
Oh, and for those wondering, two-hundred million poké is more or less a million dollars, since I based the currency off of yen.
Bidoof: Hey dudes, don't be duped; leave a review and show off your attitude! Seriously, it's good for ratings.