NOTE: And here we are; rounding out the TPReboot trilogy, we have our final entry…Lights! Camera! Action! Which, as expected, will be acting as our interpretation of Total Drama Action. As always, I'm Reboot, also known as Fuzz. And also here to join me is my co-writer for this season…
Hello, I'm Swift Swellow. It's a pleasure to be here!
Admittedly, unlike the previous two times…I don't really have anything to add here. You all understand the premise of these stories, though it may be strange for some to see Action as the third entry instead of the second, but hey, it happens. Regardless, we have big plans for this story. Perhaps bigger than anything you could possibly see coming…
Reboot and I have already worked out the behind the scenes detailed planning for this, and we're both excited for it to come to fruition. We both sincerely hope you enjoy reading as much as we enjoy writing.
Oh and one last thing; special thanks to CriticaLee, Dark Arcanine 33, DeltaXtreme, GiratinaEmpress, InfernoMaster64b, Jalien26, Kai the Raichu, LordCharizard, Nihilego Fanatic, Premasaur, pyroau, RoyalAbsol, Singular Scissor, Soul of a Witch, TheGrimTroupe, Tricky Magic, Vexan, and Zeryas for making this all possible!
With that said…Enjoy~
TPReboot: Lights! Camera! Action! - Episode #1
Quiet on the Set - Part #1
A flash of light, however brief, found itself illuminating the edge of a table. Its wood old and torn, its own set of scratches and scar buried deep into itself just like the decaying logs it once stood beside in the forests of Galar. A slender finger tapped on it rhythmically; once, silence, then twice, silence once more…And repeat. The tone is as dull as the eyes of their owner.
And as he sat at the edge of the table, his eyes readied forward, he found his breath pulling back at the brief sight…Of a pair of flames, their glow standing out amongst the darkness of the room. And the fire, flickering upward and soldering light, were blooming with different colors; one a warm, inviting red, while the other was a harrowing, hissing purple. Colors shared by their eyes, which themselves poked out from the dark of their surroundings.
It only took a moment for the man's body to relax, a withered smirk growing across his face. "Ah. Agents. Thank you for coming. Though I'd have preferred a, 'hello', first."
The flaming gaze of the two fire type's never faltered, though the red hued agent lowered her head. "Hello," she replied, without haste. Her purple hued counterpart quickly nudged her, shaking her head, to which red could only shrug.
"Nevertheless, I have another mission for you both, though this may be more…Long term than what you've traditionally dealt with," the man explained-
Then with a flick of his wrist, he sent forward, spiraling from the launch, a large pale folder. It slid up to the opposing edge, the purple agent stopping it, then quickly holding it up. She narrowed her eyes at the image on the front of it, as red slowly leaned in to give it a look as well.
"I'm certain you're both aware of the name Kingston," he began, earning nodded confirmation from both agents, "good, because you'll both be working directly under him for the Summer as part of your mission."
The beat of a second passed after the man's words, allowing the two to open the folder, their eyes glimpsing through the contents. Narrowing her hardened gaze, the purple hued agent muttered, "...Action?"
An amused breath escaped the closed smile of the man in front of them, as he said, "Congratulations, ladies. As of now, you're the new hosts of an upcoming reality show…"
The two looked up, then found themselves exchanging a wary glance, as realization slowly dawned on purple, while red's eyes began to shine…
Blurred and a nearly distorted picture of distinct colors and objects were plastered on screen, until the camera zoomed and focused in, allowing the picture to become fully clear to the audience at home…
Revealing that before it stood what could only be described as an entrance only befitting that of the Gods, a large golden gated entrance, with large stone walls beside it surrounding some sort of area on all sides. Above the entrance read…
Pokéstar Studios…
"Gooooooooooooooooood evening, world!"
In the blink of an eye, an armor embodied warrior hopped into the frame's picture. The striking golden pieces of armor around the body of black and various shades of red stood out from the immaculate background behind her.
The intimidating appearance of the flaming figure was instantly quelled by her cheerful demeanor, as she excitedly waved a hand to the camera. "I'm your host, Armarouge, and together with…"
Armarouge noticed the empty spot by her side, and sighing, she walked a few steps off screen. Afterward, she came back, pulling in another figure with her; and in terms of appearance looked distinctly similar to the red hued knight, except her flames were shades of purple and she held a pair of fiery blue blades on either end of her arms.
This second figure sent a harsh glare the Armarouge's way- only to instinctively cringe back at the camera's gaze, as the crew centered its focus onto her. The violet hued knight glanced off awkwardly, desperate for a savior who wouldn't come, before admitting defeat with a sigh, "...Ceruledge."
"We'll be bringing you television's next big reality series!" Armarouge carried on, excitedly clapping her hands together. Ceruledge meanwhile just…Awkwardly dinked her sword-like arms, the flames sparking from the impact but otherwise remaining painfully apathetic.
"You might be thinking, 'Armarouge, how do you know this will be the next big thing?'," she falsely questioned, followed by an exaggerated gasp, "well, I'll explain!"
She stepped to the side, aiding Ceruledge to fall into step with her, before gesturing to the gated studio behind them.
"As you can all see, we are in front of the Pokestar Studios! The very place that has made hit movies such as, but not limited to, Ghost Eraser, Everlasting Memories, Red Fog of Terror, and-"
Ceruledge nudged the flame warrior, sending her a pointed look. Armarouge sheepishly giggled, placing a hand behind her neck and rubbing it, awkwardly.
"Sorry, but you get what I mean, it's a big deal!" She laughed. "It's also going to be the main place we will call home, alongside twenty-five lucky contestants, who will have the privilege of competing in…"
Armarouge gestured her arms to the Ceruldge beside her, promptly ignoring the heated stare she was receiving. Not taking her eyes off the camera, she loudly whispered, "It's your cue to say the show's name."
Unamused, Ceruledge bluntly stated, "Lights camera action-"
"Lights! Camera! Action!" Armarouge repeated, yet with much more enthusiasm than her partner. Ceruledge once again gave the dullest of claps in response.
"Soon enough, our cast of unique players will be granted access behind these prestiges gates and into the studio, where they will compete in various sets of challenges that will test them on their wits, their strengths, and their sanity!" She explained, stepping back into the center of the gates, the camera panning along with her.
"You all might be thinking, 'Armarouge, why would they agree to compete in these type of harsh challenges?'" She mused, before pointing a single palm at the side, where Ceruledge stood. "Well, Ceruledge, why exactly are they competing?"
"Money."
Armarouge's expression remains the same, despite the blunt one-worded response she received. "That's right, because the sole winner of this show, the best of the best, the MVP, will receive a cash prize of over a million poke! Isn't that exciting?" Two swords dully clinking against each other radiated over them.
"People tend to do really dumb things when it comes to money, so in our show you can expect to see all types of drama, new romances, heartbreak after the romance phase, and much, much, much more!"
"It's almost like these shows are all the same," Ceruledge added…Dully. Her tone had been nothing if not consistent.
"Yet ours will be the best one out of them all," her companion beamed.
"Doubtful."
Ignoring her, Armarouge patted her shoulder. "You're right, it's about time that we meet the cast! I'm sure they're as excited to compete as we are to host them!"
Ceruledge shivered in dismay, her body shrinking under the pressure of the cameras, and the newfound reality she'd been handed so suddenly. "Right…The cast…"
Pulling out a smartphone, Armarouge looked down at the time. "It seems like we'll be expecting one of the buses in about…" As she was saying this, a rather large, worn down city bus parked in front of them. The gasses spewing out from the pipes and under the hood looked dangerously concerning. "Now!"
The bus's doors swung outwards, allowing a long necked, yellow creature to step out. The giraffine Pokemon wore a leather slouch hat over her head, and had a red bandanna tied around her the bottom portion of her neck.
"Girafarig, welcome to our show," Armarouge greeted.
The giraffe walked forward, her eyes never leaving the sight of the gated studio behind the hosts. Her mouth dropped, letting out a breathy whisper, "Wow…It's so big! And shiny!"
"Descriptive," Ceruledge deadpanned. This time it was Armarouge's turn to nudge her co-host, causing the fire bladed mon to huff.
Girafarig hadn't noticed the insult, however, her eyes still wandering along the sights around her, including the many buildings surrounding the film set. Her eyes shined with awe, as she whispered, "...I clearly ain't on the farm no more, that's for sure..."
"Maybe not your farm, but there's likely a fake one inside one of the lotts," Armarouge offered, and the girl quirked a brow. "...Welcome to the show!"
Ceruledge shook her head, all while Girafarig slowly started to smile. "Well, er…Thanks for havin' me! The ad on the paper said there'd be some challenges involved."
"Tons of them, and they're all going to be super fun and kind of dangerous, but not like life-threatening type of dangerous, but more like you might stub your toe- er, hoof, kind of dangerous," Armarouge explained, too lost in her own world to notice the newcomer's expression turning more and more intrigued by the second, "actually, I guess someone could break their arm…If they had arms."
Ceruledge let out a low sigh, leaning over to Girafarig and stating, "Listen, she's going to keep rambling like this if you don't get a move on."
"Oh, I don't really mind the yapp-"
"That wasn't a warning for you, it was me telling you to get lost," Ceruledge explained, her tone unexpectedly harsh as the giraffe flinched back, her eyes slowly turning toward her swords.
During the exchange, Armarouge was still going on, "freak accidents are slim, so life-threatening could still be on the table-"
"Thank you for the explanation, ma'am," Girafarig suddenly interrupted, already moving past the confused fire-type, "I don't want to take up anymore of your time. More competition needs to get introduced too, right?"
"You're right!" She exclaimed, glancing down at the time. "The next bus should be here any second."
As if on cue, the motor vehicle parked across from the hosts, the doors swinging open with screeching creaks. Hopping down the small steps of the bus is an avian with smooth red feathers and scruffy white ones in contrast over his face and midsection. One flipper held onto the end of his white tail, while the other held a brown worn-down knapsack.
"Delibird, welcome to the set!" Armarouge practically screamed cheerily, all while Ceruledge cringed from the volume.
Surprised by the hostess' sheer amount of happiness spilling from her voice, the Delivery Pokemon couldn't help but crack a smile. "O-Oh, hello! It's nice to be here."
"It's nice to have you here with us," she gushed, hopping in place, as if she couldn't stand still, "tell us, what brings you here to our show? Is it money? Fame? Being an escaped convict? Tax evasion-"
"You're asking too many questions," Ceruledge interrupted.
On the other hand, Delibird looked completely unbothered, his eyes shining in delight from the questions. "Oh, it's no trouble at all! In fact, I'm not here for any of those reasons, no. Instead, I am here for a much greater purpose, that dates all the way back to when I was just a wee child. You see, it all started when my parents…"
"Skip forward," Ceruledge growled with a hardened stare, slowly bringing up her blade.
"O-Oh, okay," he relented, "I suppose we can skip to my teen years, when I was in the middle of a History lecture, I just-"
Wheeling across from the trio, another bus had halted to the stop. Fumes of smoke encased the vehicle as the tires suddenly blew out. The three stared for a moment.
"It seems our next contestant is here!" Armarouge announced, already pushing the bird out of the way and toward Girafarig.
Stumbling forward, Delibird bumped into the long-necked Pokemon and fell down on his tail with a squawk. Lifting himself up, he apologized, "Sorry about that."
Girafarig looked down at him, before leaning down with a smile, "Don't worry 'bout it partner, wasn't your fault," she said, before gently biting down and picking the bird up by the scruff of his neck and dropping him onto his feet. "Those two are just an interesting pair, ain't they?"
He turned his body back to where the hosts were, watching as the red-flamed knight bounced in excitement as the bus's doors began to open, while the purple-flamed co-host seemed disinterested in general. "Ah right, they are very different."
Girafarig nodded in agreement, following his gaze toward the two hosts, before shifting it toward the bus when a figure, much larger than her own, began to descend from the vehicle. Standing at over eight feet, the dark-magenta skinned centipede gazed his golden yellow eyes at the scene of the gated film lot, before settling it down to where the two hosts stood. An uneasy energy surrounded him, and the notable bruises and cuts scattered across his segmented body didn't help much, either.
Armarouge didn't seem affected, as she gave a friendly wave, "welcome to the show, Scolipede!"
The centipede, however, didn't pay her greeting much mind, his wary gaze glancing back and forth across his surroundings…Before he took in a deep breath, loud enough to make both hosts wince. With a sigh, he let out a low chuckle and shook his head, "Man, did I miss the smell of the city…"
However, any sense of relief he had felt disappeared as quickly as it had shown itself, turning a cold glare toward the hosts, "So, Pollyanna, Doom & Gloom, we getting started soon?"
"Actually, our names are- Ouch!" Armarouge began, only to flinch when her co-host poked her with the tip of her blade. "I mean, you're the third one here, so we won't really start for a while."
Snorting, Scolipede rolled his eyes as he skittered past the two, "Great, guess I'll just have to get used to your award-winning personalities a little early…"
Beaming from his words, Armarouge nudged her partner, "you hear that? He thinks our personalities are award-winning!" Leaning closer, she whispered, "we're totally nailing our roles!" Ceruledge sighed, shaking her head in response.
Though as if offended at the mere thought of having complimented the host, the bug came to a sudden stop. He stood a moment, before groaning, "Let it go…Let it go," he whispered to himself, stepping up to the only other two contestants on the scene with a scowl.
"Mornin' to you, pally," Girafarig nodded, her hat tilting as if on cue as Delibird nodded along from below, content to allow her greeting to speak for both of them.
"And a fine 'howdy' to you, Deep South," Scolipede grumbled, turning away from the two with a grunt as he steadied a glare toward the exiting bus.
The giraffe's left eye twitched upward, her smile widening into something less than friendly. Delibird's eyes looked between the two, constantly, as he mumbled under his breath, "Please don't fight, please don't fight, please don't fight…"
Thankfully for the bird, the next bus came to a stop in front of them. The doors screeched open, causing everyone to turn their attention toward the vehicle in question. Floating out is someone that resembles a lampshade, with a glass-like spherical shaped 'head' that holds a purple flame within it.
Waving at the ghost, Armarouge greeted them, "Welcome to the show, Lampent!" Seeing the sparkling pieces of randomly assorted jewelry atop of their head, she grinned. "Oooh, nice trinkets! Very hip!"
Beady yellow eyes blinked, as the ghost soaked in the compliment, "Thanks. I got them from my travels abroad. Souvenirs, so to speak, to remember my many, many adventures."
"Ooh, have you visited the Kanto region?"
"Yes."
"What about Hoenn?"
"Yep."
"And Unova?"
"We're currently there."
"Okay, well…What about-"
Ceruledge cleared her throat, "Enough." Pointing a blade at the road, the two looked on, noticing the silhouette of an oncoming vehicle. "The next contestant will be here shortly."
Armarouge deflated slightly. "Oh, right, we're on a time schedule." Turning to the ghost, she was about to say goodbye, only to see the lamp had already floated off toward the other contestants.
"So, you're the competition," Lampent stated while floating toward the three Pokemon. "You're all very different."
"...Is that a good thing?" Delibird asked, earning a nod from the ghost. He sighed in relief.
While this transpired, the bus had already come to a stop. Emerging from within the vehicle, is a slender feline, with shimmering purple fur that was littered in golden rosettes that resembled less of spots and more so stretched further to parallel streaks. Her right ear adorn a piercing, being in the shape of a golden helix, while the ear opposite had a few piercings.
"Liepard, welcome, welcome," Armarouge greeted, waving her over. The cat obliged, walking over to the hosts with a smile. "Thanks for joining us, though you're from here right? Shouldn't have been that long of a journey."
"Oh, compared to the other contestants, I doubt taking the bus from Castelia is all that much longer than an entire region trip," Liepard giggled. "It's great to be here, I was actually a little scared that my application wouldn't be accepted."
Armarouge grinned, "Don't worry, you would have been accepted even if the show received a ton of applications, I'm sure of it." Tapping her chin in thought, she hummed. "Then again, we weren't in charge of the casting process, and we wouldn't personally know you, so who knows how true my words of encouragement are. Actually, I wonder who I would pick if I was in charge of accepting the applicants…Maybe whoever looked the funniest…"
While the knight droned on in her own thoughts, the cat stood, patiently waiting with a small smile. It wasn't until Ceruledge looked toward her, pointing her blade toward the other contestants. The leopard understood the message, turning and walking toward the contestants off to the side, with her emerald gaze seemingly analyzing the four figures ahead of her.
Girafarig was the first to welcome the newcomer, "Howdy, and welcome to our small little group-"
"-of soon to be enemies," Scolipede added dully, yawning…Before noticing everyone giving him a look, "...Judge all you want, doesn't change fact to fiction. I give us like a week tops before all Hell breaks loose, someone steals all the food, and we turn this into Lord of the Flies."
Lampent tilted their head, "What's a fly?"
"It's…" Delibird started, only to…Blank. "Huh…Actually, how do I explain this?" He shifted his gaze toward the knapsack in his flipper.
"Ignore them," Girafarig recommended, sending a particular look in the centipede's direction, only earning a glare in response from him. "The game hasn' even started yet, so no need to start thinkin' like that."
"That's where you're wrong," Scolipede stated, rolling back his segmented armor and explaining, "this is a social game. It began the moment we all stepped off that bus. Every solitary thought in each of our heads, every impression we make, and every ridiculous word that leaves our mouths is impacting our futures whether we like it or not." He shrugged. "It's just how it is."
The giraffe, already fed up with the bug's attitude, roused up, "Well, if this is a social game and all that, don't that mean you're losing right now, partner?"
"I don't know, maybe," he replied, her loose threat failing to make much impact, "I ain't the type to bullshit around social inclusivity and pretend everything's sunshine and roses, though. Some people want that around. And besides…Impressions are important and all that, but they ain't everything; at the end of this whole thing, the winner's gonna be the one whoever paid the most attention the whole way through…"
Lingering on those words, he slowly turned his gaze back toward Liepard, the leopard having remained suspiciously quiet throughout the exchange, simply…Watching them. "...Ain't that right, kitty?"
The corners of her lips tugged in an amused smirk, though it softened into a smile as soon it came. She simply shrugged in reply, "Everyone's going to play the game differently, so everyone will have their own opinions on the matter." Turning, she began to walk toward an empty spot next to Lampent, who seemed to be in their own little world right now.
As the exchange went on, the two hosts stood to the side, watching in silence. Though, Armarouge looked worried, as she mumbled, "You know, the next bus is taking an awfully long time to get here. I heard they had minimal gas, so hopefully it didn't break down anywhere."
Regardless of her worries, the bus had driven toward them, coming to a clean stop in front of them…Only, when the doors slid open, it revealed seemingly nobody inside. The hosts looked on in silence, patiently waiting as they slowly exchanged a glance, and then turned toward the bus driver, who could only shrug in response.
After a moment, it sped off, leaving no one behind. The hosts exchanged another look, as they felt the winds around them pick up. At first it was subtle, but quickly shifted more and more, their fire drifting in the breeze, bracing themselves as it battered against their armor.
Landing gracefully onto the ground below, a draconic wyvern of primarily black and purple scales stood before the hosts. He looked much smaller than his average species, though the white collared fluff poking out from the shawl around him looked immaculately clean, with a noticeable silver bangle at the end of his tail.
"Noivern, you missed the bus," Armarouge stated, though she couldn't help but stare in awe of the dragon.
"After we already paid for it," Ceruledge added, still watching the bus drive off into the distance.
"Yes, yes, I do apologize, ladies, for the little divergence. I just couldn't help myself, you see," Noivern explained casually, taking a moment to look over his nails, before swerving it into a mock wave with an equally smug smile, "I've always had a bit of a flair for the dramatic."
Armarouge's eyes lit up, "Like the musicals they would play in movies?"
Noivern just sort of…Stared at her, as if put off by her question…Only to then shrug, "Yeah, sure, we'll go with that."
The host was just about to open her mouth, only for Ceruledge to interject, "You can move on toward the others." She pointed a blade in the direction of the small group of contestants.
"Oh, yeah, be sure to make lots of friends," the red knight added.
He looked between the two hosts, a thin brow raised upward, though he silently nodded along and turned to the group. Already walking forward, his gaze swapped from each and every contestant in his eyesight.
"You're kind of short," Lampent commented, before the dragon could even utter a word.
"Oh, don't be rude," Liepard spoke. "He's still much larger than…Most of us." She eyed the nearby centipede and smirked, "Wouldn't you agree, bug boy?"
He shrugged, "Size hardly matters," …Though a smirk quickly revealed his true intent, "though being big does have its perks." The two exchanged a snicker between themselves, leaving a confused Lampent behind to loiter in obliviousness.
Noivern watched, unamused, "Charming," he bluntly stated, before turning and walking over to an empty spot nearby.
Blaring sounds of a bus's horn radiated through the area. The vehicle parked across from the hosts with the doors slowly opening to reveal…Sand. The golden grains seeped out from the floorboards, with the driver looking more terrified than anything.
The hosts glanced at each other, before looking back toward the bus to see a Cacturne, wheeling a dolly that held an irregularly shaped clay slab that had a red outline of a serpent with sharp teeth. However, the splotches of red splattered on the sides looked dangerously suspicious.
They watched as the cactus immediately left after dropping the slab off, leaving the hosts to stare at the statue. Ceruledge poked it with the edge of her blade, "...Is this it? Do we just have a rock as a contestant?"
With another poke, a light snore emitted from the slab, as Armarouge gasped, "Oh, she's just sleeping! We probably should let her rest." The co-host stared at her, which caused her to gently knock on the slab. "Excuse me, Runerigus, you're here at the film lott!"
The slab shook in place, as the irregular fragments dislocated itself, being strung together by dark shadowed limbs. A singular eye emerged as the ghoul looked down at the hosts…
…And guiltily lowered her head in shame, "I-I'm so sorry, I fell asleep on the bus after huntin- I mean…Studying. Normal life studying ran late and exhausted me. Y-Y'know, like how most normal beings get tired."
Ceruledge looked unconvinced, though Armarouge only nodded, "I completely understand. Don't worry, you can go ahead and rest over there with the others."
Runerigus nodded, grateful from the gesture, before slithering toward the other cast members. The group eyed her, somewhat suspiciously, causing her singular eye to look between each and every one of them, slightly alarmed. Thinking to herself, she gave them a determined, cold hardened look and raised her hand, moving it in a slow side-to-side fashion that was in the end…Just a simple wave.
After a moment of brief confusion, Lampent waved back- only to immediately have their hand pulled down by Noivern, who simply shook his head in disapproval. However, the ghoul felt this was a success, as she slithered past them, deciding to coil back together and resume her nap.
After a moment, Girafarig piped in, "Well, she seems…Nice?"
Before anyone could retort, the next bus had already arrived, with the newest contestant stepping off. She's a tall, slender salamander with sleek, shining gray and purple scales, with prominent pink markings on her underbelly.
"Welcome to the set, Salazzle," Armarouge greeted, as Salazzle looked over her surroundings, inspecting each detail and rummaging through hundreds of words per minute in her head.
Finally settling her gaze on the host, the salamander smirked, "Thanks. It's not everyday you get an opportunity to work at Pokestar Studios."
"Well, less work and more like…" the host replied, struggling to find the right words to compare-
"Compete," Ceruledge took over, "you're here to be entertaining. That's where your contributions to this end."
"I'm aware," Salazzle scoffed, turning to walk to where the other contestants stood, her smirk never leaving her face. "That's the whole reason why I'm here, after all. To win."
"I think that's why everyone is here," Armarouge mentioned, though the words were ignored by the lizard.
Salazzle eyed the competition, taking note of their appearances and overall demeanor. She muttered under her breath, "So, this is who I'll be working with…" After a moment of contemplation, she heaved a sigh…Then smirked, "And to think I thought this would be a challenge."
"The challenges haven't started," Delibird said, earning a cold stare from the girl, which caused him to shake slightly. "S-Sorry…"
Moments after he stuttered his apology, Armarouge's overly loud voice erupted from nearby, "Welcome to the film lott!"
Eyes turned to the bus stop, watching the retreating for of the bus, before turning to the figure walking up to the hosts. It was another lizard, though this one had yellow and black scales and was much shorter compared to Salazzle. He looked around the new setting, his body shaking as if he was uncomfortable.
"Are you okay, Heliolisk?" Armarouge asked, her eyes showing concern.
"Yeah, yes," he all but squeaked, looking anywhere but at her. "T-Thanks for…Having me!" The lizard seemed to clamp down his jaw as soon as he spoke; only his second sentence here and he had already lost volume control.
"You're welcome, we were short on applications anyway, so you would be here no matter what," the host proudly stated, earning a look of confusion from the lizard. Realizing what she said, she gently nudged him away. "Now, go on and make some friends!"
"H-Huh?" He uttered, staggering slightly toward the rest of the contestants…And freezing on the spot.
Their eyes…Beady…Beaming…So expressive! Judgemental! They're staring at him! Abort! Abort-
"Are you okay-" Liepard approached, only for the lizard to scream directly into her face, then speed away. "...I suppose not."
Heliolisk scampered away from the heavy gazes of the contestants, only to bump into a slab of stone. Looking up, his eyes sparkled in awe at the artwork in front of him.
"Simplistic, yet dominating…" he whispered, awe-stricken, "Quite a fantastic piece…"
Nearby, the contestants merely stared at the electric-type, as Girafarig whispered, "Should we tell him that's not a statue?"
"Nonsense, allow the sap to live in a delusion of his own making," Noivern replied, humming to himself, "it's far more amusing that way."
Before the psychic-type could retort, the bus had pulled up, stopping with the usual ker-chunk from the worn out engine. Stepping down from the vehicle is an orange furred canine with black stripes running horizontally down his back and legs. Wrapped around his shoulders was a fluffy, clean red cape.
"Growlithe, welcome!" Armarouge greeted, her eyes pinpointing the red cape. "Royalty, perhaps?"
Tail wagging, the Puppy Pokemon padded toward the hosts, a smile intact as he replied with a lighthearted chuckle, "Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not part of a royal family like that. I'm nothing but a simple adventurer."
"That's amazing!" Armarouge exclaimed. "How many places have you been to?"
"Lots of them," he grinned. "I haven't seen the Alolan region yet, but I have other stories from my travels-"
"We don't have time," Ceruledge stated, sharply narrowing her gaze at him. "Go stand with the others."
Growlithe blinked at this statement, "Oh…Right!" And like that, the dog beamed a grin and bounded off, whistling out a quick, "Sorry about that!"
He didn't notice the host's differing expressions, as he approached the other contestants. Immediately after seeing him, Salazzle smirked, "The eighteen-hundreds called, they want their curtain back."
"The eighteen-hundreds didn't have phones to call," he laughed, earning an annoyed look from the salamander.
"I don't even think they would ask for something like a curtain," Delibird added, though immediately piped when the girl's expression was shifted toward him.
He visibly relaxed when the next bus arrived, opening its doors to allow the next participating player out. An insect of primarily pink and white colors stood across from the hosts. Resting at the top of her head, just in between her left antenna, was a single periwinkle flower, and around her neck laid a small, old photography camera. Strapped to her back was an absolutely massive backpack, one considerably too big for her, to a point where her back was bending slightly.
"Hiiiiiiiiiiii!" The mantis chirped, strolling forward with big lofty steps, only barely catching herself before the backpack threw her weight forward. "Am I in the right place? I'll admit I sorta got distracted on the way over." She giggled to herself, picking at the camera hanging around her neck, "There were so many landmarks! This city is so beautiful!"
Among the contestants, Scolipede threw up an eyebrow, "Were we staring at the same thing?" Liepard nudged him. "What? City life's gross, just stating facts here."
The hostess with the mostest, however, ignored his words, stepping forward with the same positivity she'd approached everyone prior with, "Lurantis, you are in the right place! And you're so right, it's so beautiful! The shops, the wonderful artwork plastered around every corner, the beautiful weather-"
"It was raining when we got here," Ceruledge pointed out.
Lurantis, equally as positive as the optimistic host, almost looked to be physically restraining herself from jumping in place, "And better yet, here we are; PokeStar Studios! I-I've wanted to visit this place ever since I was a little kid!"
"And now you get to practically live here," Armarouge grinned. "You'll see everything and anything there is in PokeStar…Except maybe celebrities. We're still waiting for them to call us back…"
"They're not calling back," the other host bluntly stated.
"Anyway, thank you for coming! You're more than welcome to go visit with the other contestants while we wait for the rest of the players," she continued, ignoring her partner's words.
Lurantis, wasting no time, did as commanded, "Yes, ma'am!" And started off toward the cast with an excited laugh, oblivious to the years of back pain developing in that moment.
As she approached, the other contestants noticed the overly large backpack she wore. Out of everyone, Lampent voiced everyone's thoughts with, "Are you okay?"
"Hm?" Lurantis glanced back, then grinned, "Oh, this? Yeah, I'm fine! Just needed to make absolutely, positively sure that I packed absolutely everything I needed!"
"What could you possibly need that's equal in size to your own body?" Girafarig asked.
"Do not underestimate one's necessities, farm girl" Noivern muttered, Salazzle nodding beside him, to which the giraffe merely rolled her eyes.
"Well, this is my first time away from home, so…I packed in case of any possible scenario I could be caught up in!" Lurantis explained giddily. "I've got a tent, two pillows, one for me and a friend, bug spray if I'm feeling too happy, tree sap if I'm feeling too sad, a thirty-six pack of tomato soup from Pokeco in case of a rainy afternoon, a coloring book with scented markers-"
"Gimmie," Lampent held out their hands expectedly.
"A full dining set for six, a foldable chair, two bottles of advil, a shower curtain, a portable gaming system…" Lurantis stopped to catch a breath…Then smiled again! "And of course, more important than everything else!"
She shuffled a hand into her backpack, and plucked out…A little sketchbook. Or…Notepad. Either or really, same purpose if you really think about it. "My journal!" See, same ballpark.
"Journal, eh?" Liepard mused, eyeing the item. "Anything spicy in there, by chance?"
Lurantis' face flushed a brilliant red, a low giggle exiting her as she held it close. "You can say that…" If it were physically possible, you'd be certain hearts had formed in her eyes.
The cast stared at her, uncertain how to react to this. Thankfully, the bus had arrived, allowing them to turn their attention to the next newcomer. Once the doors slid open, a fluffy white and blue mongoose hopped down and onto the pavement, though the red pattern across her chest was a stark red color that complemented the slightly worn red flame patterned band around her neck.
Before either of the hosts could greet her, the newcomer breathed in the air, before letting out an exaggerated sigh of contentment. "Man! The air hits different here than back home!"
"...You live twenty minutes away, Zangoose," Ceruledge deadpanned.
"Well, yeah, but this is the furthest I've been in PokeStar Studios!" The mongoose reasoned. "Usually, there's like, a ton of security that makes it impossible to hop the fence, let alone get a celebrity's autograph."
"We have security too, he's just taking a nap right now," Armarouge chimed, somehow only choosing to respond to that part of the exchange.
Zangoose let out a laugh, before punching a fist into her open palm, "So, when's this show getting on the road, huh? I'm prepared to wrestle down a mutated Orangaru, or even fly a replicated fighter jet!"
"We still have a lot of contestants to wait for, but once they come we'll explain the whole plan to everyone," the host explained, giving the normal-type a thumbs up, "in the meantime, you can go with the others and make some friends!"
Her expression faltered slightly, as she let out a disappointed breath of air, muttering under her breath as she sulked toward the other players, "Yeah, alright, fine." As she walked closer toward the others, her mood began to lift once she noticed the very different demeanors everyone had, as she grinned. "What's up, newbies! The name's-"
"No names," Ceruledge spoke from afar, abruptly censoring the name the mongoose had said.
"-And I'm here for the biggest, most rockin' time you can have on live, national television, so if any of you are with me, raise your hand and we can make this Summer the best one that you would ever have in the entire lifespan of your life!" Zangoose finished, raising her arm upward with a lopsided grin plastered over her face.
All eyes were set on her, with a multitude of differing expressions set on each player. Eventually, some hands in the form of an optimistic Growlithe, Girafarig and Lurantis, a confident Liepard, an indifferent Lampent and Delibird, and an uncertain Runerigus, who had just pulled herself out of her slumber, rose.
"Awesome, you guys are officially the cool ones of the group," Zangoose complimented, before turning toward those who didn't raise their appendages, "and you guys, well you're the buzzkill snore bores of the group."
"Such elegant language, it hurts me so," Noivern feigns, looking off boredly, as if even acknowledging her was somehow below him.
Scolipede nodded, snorting and grumbling out, "I mean, hey, I'm all for a good time. I'm just not dumb enough to think I'll find it out here among a bunch of strangers no doubt plucked from the worst corners of the world," upon noticing everyone's offended looks…He shrugged, "full offense intended. I don't care what any of you think."
The normal-type shrugged, apparently bored with the already obvious Debbie downer of the group. Her ears twitched when the sound of the next bus rang out through the air. The doors of the vehicle slid open, allowing a pure silver and gold robotic disc-shaped being to levitate out onto the set. Their appearance aside, they had a relaxed expression on their face, using one of their sharpened claws to dust off the green sash around them.
"Metang! Over here! Hi!" Armarouge greeted, several times, hopping in one place while animatedly waving her arm while the robot took their time floating toward her.
"Ah, hey," they acknowledged, still taking their time floating over to the host, "neat place you got here. Real movies been made at this lott?"
"Yup," she responded, popping the 'p' in the process. "Tons of movies have been made, like-"
"You listed them earlier," Ceruledge stated.
"And I'd list them again if given the chance!" The hostess chirped.
"Thus why I'm here too," the co-host grumbled, shaking her head as she looked over the metallic new arrival, unimpressed, "so, what's your deal?" Metang looked more than a little confused. "You know, your gimmick? Everyone here's got one. I wouldn't call any of you very subtle."
Tapping a claw against themself, the robot shrugged. "I grew up as a ranger, it's where this sash came from." Placing their claw over it, they smiled. "I've had this since I was just a kid. My dad and I would often-"
"We don't have time for your backstory, go wait with the others," Ceruledge ordered, her sharp gaze piercing through the metallic contestant.
As the steel-type slowly etched away from them, Armarouge turned to the co-host with a proud smile. "That's the most you've said all day to someone! You're finally loosening up, like I said you would."
"How many more until we're done?" She asked, dully.
"A lot!" Ceruledge sighed at this answer.
Meanwhile, Metang had floated up to the others, waving at them. Before they could introduce themself, Zangoose grinned and spoke up, "Ranger huh? You got some cookies to sell?" The robot was about to respond- "Y'know, I used to love the heck outta those scout cookies! The Chocoberry Supremes were S-Tier."
"I don't…I don't sell cookies, I'm a ranger for Lush Jungle," Metang explained. "I help preserve the forest."
"...You can't do both?" She asked, and the robot simply stared at her.
"I could go for some cookies too, actually," Growlithe added.
As the contestants debated on about their favorite flavors of cookies, an excess amount of honks blasted through, as the next grungy bus sped past them and into the nearby fire hydrant. The hydrant dented backwards, water spouting out from the top of the cap as the bus's blinkers flashed on and off.
The host stood, confused and dumbstruck at the mess in front of them. It wasn't until a blue jellyfish-like ghost bursted out from the roof of the bus, the jingles of bells adorning the ruffles around his neck could be heard as he held up a handheld horn, squeaking it in the process.
"Surprise!" He laughed, showcasing the most innocent expression he could muster, despite the dreaded expressions of the hosts.
"Frillish, what have you done?!" Ceruledge exclaimed, expressing the most emotion she's had all day, before pointing at the bus. "Is the bus driver okay?! Also, the Hell is wrong with you?!"
"Oh, don't worry, he's not in there," he assured, floating toward them with another laugh, "I paid him a buck and a fifty-cent coupon for tomato berries to let me drive this bad boy over here…Then I realized, wow, yeah, I don't know how to drive. Honestly, a miracle this was the only accident I had on that thing. Who knew you needed legs and feet to hit the breaks, amirite!"
"W-Why though?" Armarouge asked, her eyes never leaving the emotional co-host, as she slowly brought up her swords.
He shrugged. "Why not?" Before the host could respond, he noticed the group of contestants nearby, causing him to gasp. "Oh my god, are those poor people?! Hello, poor people! Any of y'all wanna check out some of my neat-o card tricks!"
As the ghost went off toward the others, Armarouge placed a hand on Ceruledge to hold her back, while looking at the camera with a grin. "We'll return after these messages, or when we clean up the mess…Whichever happens first!"
"And we're back!" Armarouge exclaimed, giving the camera a thumbs up in the process. "And luckily, our next contestant has already arrived!"
The camera shifted away from the host and toward the short Pokemon beside her. She was round with bright yellow skin, the rest of her body heavily hidden behind a cloak of grassy leaves draped around her, leaving only a portion of her face to be seen.
"Swadloon! Hi, welcome!" The host spoke, bombarding the plant with a high energy greeting.
"'Sup," she said.
"How are you!" Armarouge exclaimed, earning a shrug from the smaller girl. After a moment of silence, the host looked at the plant. The plant looked at the host…
Swadloon walked away.
"...She's my favorite," Ceruledge stated.
This didn't deter Armarouge, as she proudly gestured toward her retreating figure. "Give it up for Swadloon, everyone!"
Meanwhile, as the plant walked toward the group, Frillish was holding a deck of cards, pulling one out and showcasing it to Growlithe. "Is this your card?"
"Nope!" He responded, almost routinely, as the fish pouted. While he looked through his deck, the puppy Pokemon noticed the newcomer and waved. "Oh, hello-"
Swadloon walked past him.
"Okay…Is this your card?"
"No-"
"Dammit!"
As the exchange was happening, the sound of persistent paws padding against the pavement turned the heads of those around. Dashing toward the hosts is a green draconic reptile, though along the left side of his torso and right side of his arm were speckles of brown-gray coloration, with a single black sweatband on his right wrist.
The dragon skidded to a stop, before rising to his feet. The hosts looked him over, as Armarouge smiled. "Hey, Cyclizar! Did you happen to miss the bus?"
He shrugged his shoulders, an expression of minor annoyance flashing across his face. "Eh, I didn't feel the need to use it. I got working legs, may as well use them."
"Gotta get that cardio," she agreed, completely ignoring the confused look the lizard sent her. "Anyway, thank you for coming to compete in our totally awesome show! We have a few more contestants we're waiting on until we get this show started, so you can make some friends with everyone who's waiting!"
"Uh…Cool, I'll do that…I guess," Cyclizar said, looking more confused than anything at the girl's peppy nature as he walked away with a cracked brow.
As the lizard walked toward the large group of Pokemon off to the side, he narrowed his gaze slightly. Noticing a few friendly waves in his direction, he tentatively returned them, before walking to an empty spot a few steps away from the group.
This earned him some looks of confusion from a handful of contestants, though it was quelled by the bus, once again, coming to a stop. Stepping down from the steps is the slouched form of a primarily red and white werewolf. She has a mane of white fur from her mid back and spiking up over her glowing red eyes. Hanging around her neck is a silver dog tag.
The dog looked around the new surroundings tensely, though it was immediately cut short when Armarouge spoke, "Lycanroc, hey! Welcome to PokeStar Studios!"
Lycanroc flinched back, instinctively barring her teeth- only to just as quickly retract them, her expression falling into a sort of an offhand confusion, before clearing her throat, "Uh…Yeah, hey." The hostess maintained eye contact, her welcoming expression causing a twinge of discomfort to spread across the dog's face as she looked off, "So uh…Film set, huh? That the gimmick we're going with here?"
"Told you it was a gimmick," Ceruledge commented-
But Amarouge ignored her, "Yep indeed, Lycanroc! And isn't that exciting! Just imagine, you, in all your favorite movies."
Lycanroc couldn't help but snicker at this, rolling her eyes and smugly saying, "Yeah, trust me, you would not wanna be in any of my favorite movies. Especially you, since you seem super-" She bit her tongue, blinking to herself as the armored hostess stared at her with a blank, friendly look, "...Uh…You know what, you'd be fine."
The host practically beamed a smile that radiated sunshine and rainbows, causing the rock-type to instinctively flinch back. "Thank you, that's so nice!"
"...Really?" She questioned, genuine confusion etched in her voice. As soon as she noticed though, she shook away any kind of thought that dared break through the cracks, and asked, "Whatever; so, what do I do now-"
"You can go make some friends with the others," Armarouge encouraged, already pushing her toward them. "Just show off the friendliest smile you could muster and you'll knock 'em dead, for sure!"
Lycanroc's eyes nearly bulged out, as she stood in sheer shock. "I-If I smile they'll die?"
And for the first time that day, Armarouge's outer optimism cracked, as she broke into, "O-Oh, no, no, no! They won't actually die! They'll just be so impressed by you that…Well…Actually I'm not sure the exact meaning of the expression, but-"
Ceruledge butted in, "What she means is go bother them and not us."
At this, the werewolf promptly turned and marched toward the rest of the contestants…Only to sharply turn and walk several feet away from them.
This caused the cast to stare, as Salazzle scoffed, "Rude."
"Eh, one of us probably just smelled," Frillish excused, before floating up to Metang and whispering loudly, "my money is on the poison guy." The steel-type raised a brow at this, while Scolipede merely snorted apathetically.
Moments afterward, a large tourist bus came to a stop. Several Pokemon aboard were currently snapping pictures of the hosts and current cast, all while a slim, gray avian spoke through a megaphone.
"Annnnnnd to your right, you will see the one and only gated entrance to PokeStar Studio," he said, before gesturing a wing toward the occupants outside of the gates, "and in front of these pristine gates, you will find a group of degenerate losers, who think this is their best bet of getting rich quick."
Armarouge waved up at him, despite the annoyed aura her partner was radiating. "Tranquill! Down here!"
"And I am one of those degenerate losers- er, well, not a loser. I'm a winner, the winner in fact," he explained, waving a wing at the waving knight. Afterward, he hollered, "Alright, Ned! My shift's done and I quit!"
"This was already your final day, moron!" A voice shouted from within the bus, though the bird ignored it, opting to fly toward the hosts, landing in front of them with a smug grin.
Once the bus of screaming tourists fled, Armarouge gave the avian a worried look. "I'm sorry, did…Did you quit because of the show?"
Tranquill's expression turned to one of confusion, before he let out an amused snort. "W-What? You think that I would quit my dead end, minimum paying, slave inducing job for a show that can potentially make me rich and bare minimum internet famous? Pfffft. Don't be ridiculous."
The host let out a sigh of relief. "That's good to know! You know, it would have been terrible if you quit just to lose and get nothing out of it, then go back home to nothing, and then you'll be sad and we don't want that." The flying-type stared at her, unblinking. "...Anyway, welcome to the show! We still have a few more introductions to get through so in the meantime…Make some friends!"
Rolling his eyes, Tranquill raised his wings and flew toward the nearby cast, nearly grimacing at most of the glares directed at him. Landing across from them, he flashed them a grin. "What's up, competition."
"You just called us all degenerates, do you really think we want to talk to you?" Zangoose questioned.
He blinked, before shrugging. "I called myself one too, so…I don't see an issue." The mongoose narrowed her eyes, causing him to let out a squeak and slowly inch away. "You know what? I'm just gonna go over there, where it's quiet and lonely-"
Though he found himself coming to a stop, as he realized this supposed "quiet corner" of the area was already occupied by Cyclizar and Lycanroc as well, who both gave him a look.
"...Great. Just…Perfect," he grumbled, already feeling like all this was a sign of what was to come.
Meanwhile, Armarouge was scribbling something on a paper clipped to a clipboard. "Alright, only a few more contestants that need to arrive and then-"
"We'll be done?" Ceruledge asked, almost hopeful.
"-We can officially start the day!" The host finished, cheering at the thought of more work, as her partner sighed. Before either of them could utter another word, the ground below them began to shake.
"I-Is this an e-e-e-earthquake?!" Delibird squeaked, already clinging onto the nearest body, which happened to be Runerigus, who held a grim expression.
"It can't be them…I double checked and made sure I wasn't being followed," the ghost muttered, which earned an incredulous look from the nearby Cyclizar.
"I'm sorry, what did you just-" the dragon started, only to be interrupted as several of the contestants began to crowd around him, "h-hey! Space, personal space!"
"T-The end times have cometh!" Heliolisk declared fearfully, holding out his arms in defiance as he screamed, "Plead with whichever God will listen and hope they acknowledge our words! The time has come-"
"Everyone shut up!" Girafarig hollered at the top of her lungs, causing the group to go quiet. "It's just a tremor! Y'all city folk need to calm yourselves!"
Armarouge nodded in agreement. "She's right! The news channel didn't mention an earthquake today, so it's probably nothing."
At this moment the tremors came to an abrupt stop…And poking out of the Earthen soil was the head of a mole-like creature, with thick lensed goggles over her eyes.
"Hey!" The newcomer greeted, and not so surprisingly for her, a few of the contestants screamed in shock.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Armarouge exclaimed, effectively quieting the crowd. "This is just Drilbur, she's a contestant!"
"And a fiend!" Heliolisk declared, currently hiding behind Scolipede, only to shrink away under the centipede's glare.
"Yeah, sorry for the shaking and whatever, I just ain't huge on buses…Or wheels in general, I guess," Drilbur explained…Before smirking, "you can almost say I don't dig them-"
"You shouldn't say that, my dear," Noivern interrupted, before scoffing and turning away from the crowd, "seriously people, have some self respect."
"Coming from the guy who was screaming louder than us girls a second ago," Salazzle sniped, the bat sending her a glare as Zangoose and Liepard snickered to themselves.
Drilbur pulled herself out of the hole, shaking the excess dirt from her body, before deadpanning, "Wow, sounds like a hell of a group you put together here."
"Thank you!" Armarouge proudly exclaimed, in which the mole simply raised her brow in confusion. "Anyway, the next bus should be here soon…Unless, someone just decides to not use it again…"
"We really wasted money on some of these buses," Ceruledge deadpanned.
Armarouge ignored her, before pointing to the side. "You can go ahead and join up with the others! Some of them don't bite, I promise."
Drilbur stood for a moment, before turning to walk toward the others, smirking in the process. "Just a warning, I do tend to bite when I'm bothered."
"Villain," Heliolisk hissed once more, before scurrying as far away from the girl as possible while she just snickered to herself.
As the contestants conversed with the newcomer, the two hosts glanced at each other, as the red hued knight grinned. "You know, that's probably going to be our last spontaneous entrance."
Within minutes, the faint sound of muffled music boomed into their space, as a pristine pearl white stretch limousine pulled up in front of the two. Ceruledge held an expression of weariness, while her partner chirped, "I did say probably!"
Shuffling out of the vehicle were a Watchog and an Araquanid, the latter of the two had a camera around their neck. The normal-type opened the back door, allowing for a tall, fit figure to slowly emerge as the bug-type snapped multiple photos.
His body's primarily green and white, with a red heart piece sticking out from his chest and back. His arms are in the shape of tonfas, with them being slightly longer than average and wrapped in white tape. Resting against his shoulders was a knitted pale yellow scarf, with a pair of black sunglasses resting over his eyes. Above the right side of his head a tattoo of the number '2' could be seen.
Pulling the glasses off, he held an indifferent expression as he stared forward at the bewildered looks of the cast staring at him, before a twitch of annoyance was seen. He glared at the bug near him, spitting, "I told you my left side is my good side, you know this, Parker!"
The spider flinched back in response, as the fighting-type huffed. The two hosts stared at the scene, as Armarouge spoke, "Um…Gallade, hi! Welcome to-"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he replied, discarding his sunglasses by tossing them over his shoulders and sauntering toward the two. His head held confidently upwards, as he stared down at them, "look, I'm only gracing you with my presence because my exes enjoyed that one show, I already forgot the name of it but this is the discount version…Or at least I was told it was." He glanced back at the Araquanid, who just nodded along in confirmation, "Okay, good. Not wasting my time then."
Armarouge's eyes sparkled. "Oh, you're doing this for your exes? That's really nice-" The fighting-type walked off toward the others as she was saying this, causing her to quickly holler out, "okay, have fun making friends!"
Gallade ignored her, stopping just in front of the group of castaways in front of him. He stared at them, before promptly stating, "Listen up, because I'm only going to say this once for your miniscule brains to understand." Pointing a bladed hand at himself, he proclaimed, "I am a God!" Turning his arm to point at them, he finished with, "And you are all trash!"
"Doing wonders for my self-esteem, right now, pal," Tranquill deadpanned.
He ignored the avian, promptly walking past them with his head held high, all while the Araquanid followed a short distance behind, snapping pictures of the man's left side in the process.
"...Wow," was all Girafarig could muster after witnessing the whole ordeal.
"So…Am I still the one playing the "worst game" here?" Scolipede asked the giraffe with a chuckle. She grumbled in response.
The limousine drove off, as the two hosts stood, almost dumbfounded, before Armarouge shook it off. "Alright, that was pretty fun! I wonder if the next contestant can top that entrance!"
"Why would you even entertain that idea?" Ceruledge asked.
"Yeah, you really shouldn't tempt fate."
The hosts instinctively jumped at the sudden voice, Armarouge wrapping her arms around her sister and pulling her close as the two slowly turned around at the sound of cackling, a mysterious shadow slowly shifting upward from the ground, having seethed out the limo door, and began forming a figure before the two.
Swirling out of a trapezoidal keystone is an enigmatic purple fog with green orbs surrounding the jagged green mouth and eyes of the ghost. Of particular note though…His smile. Large, lopsided, and…Eerily wide. It looked downright uncanny, as if it wasn't even real.
"Spiritomb!" Armarouge exclaimed, lessening her hold on her sister with a small laugh. "Wow! What an appearance! It was like a real ghost saying boo! Except you didn't say boo and you are a real ghost…Hi!"
"Hey back at 'ya, babe," Spiritomb winked, letting out a laugh as his ghostly form slowly resonated over the sidewalk, a low hum lifting off his form as he let loose a smirk, "so, are we working with these discount crop tops we pretend are buildings as a form of settlement? Ain't complaining or nothing, seems aces to me, just accounting on all the bed bugs and slipknotted loonies and random shankings and all that, you know?"
The host stared at him, smiling unfalteringly. "...I have absolutely no idea what you just said, but welcome to the show!" Her sister lowered her head with a sigh. "We're just waiting on a few more contestants, so until then you can make friends with the ones over there!"
"Ooooooh, friends eh?" Spiritomb cracked a brow, bellowing out a laugh as his eyes swirled into a sort of vortex, "Yeah, yeah, I can do that…" His body disappearing into a necrotic mist that slowly slithered into the cracks in the sidewalk.
Armarouge waved at him as he wandered toward the others, as she nudged the ghost knight beside her. "He seems nice, huh?" Ceruledge raised a brow at this.
"What's with all the weirdos we're getting?" Salazzle questioned, offhandedly. "The last three were absolute loons."
"Uh huh, yep yep, agreed sister," Spiritomb nodded from behind her, the lizard smiling from the affirment…Only to blink, and jump back, as he waved with a smug smile, "hello to you, dollface. What's up in your grill?"
"Get away from me!" She screamed, slashing a claw in front of him…Only for him to poof out of the way. He reappeared in an instant, shrugging with a knowing grin as she felt a sort of shiver run down the back of her spine.
Spiritomb meanwhile simply laughed, swiveling toward the rest of the cast with shifting eyebrows, "Let the record show, jury of the people, that she swung at me. I am a perfectly innocent citizen." Saying that much caused the ghost to break down into a fit once more, circling through the air like an unsupervised bird high on helium…Wait, what-
Through this display, some of the contestants stared at the ghost with unease and even some fear. However, Gallade rolled his eyes, folding his arms over his chest with a scoff, "I don't recall garbage being this loud and annoying."
"That's what you say after all of that?" Growlithe questioned, earning no response from the fighting-type.
Armarouge watched them from a distance, before leaning in to whisper to her sister, "I really hope they're all becoming great friends!"
"They hate each other," she stated.
"There's no room for pessimism here, Ceruledge!" The red hued knight exclaimed. "We just have three more contestants left to account for, and so far we've been on schedule and nothing has caught fire yet, so I consider that a win so far!"
As this was said, the next bus parked in front of them, causing the host to beam. "And look at that, right on time!"
The bus's doors opened as a small, blue mouse hopped down from the steps. She held a briefcase with her and walked toward the hosts. Before the hosts could even open their mouths, the mouse greeted, "Hello, I'm Marill. This is the meeting spot for the show, correct?" The host opened her mouth, only for her to interrupt, "Of course it is. There's only one PokeStar Studio, after all."
"...Yes," Armarouge decided, dumbly. "Well, you can-"
"Oh, so the cast is over there," Marill decided, already walking toward the cast.
The host stood, dumbfounded. "...Yes."
While the water-type approached the group, Metang spoke, "Um…Are you like, going to be semi-normalish?"
Marill quirked a brow. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Delibird gulped. "W-Well…Nothing alarming-"
"It means the guy before you is a literal psychopath," Swadloon spoke from her spot.
"To imply me as psychotic implies I am in any way diagnosed with a mental illness that acts as an explanation for my behavior," Spiritomb whistled from above, his spiritual form reforming beside the bug, before shaking his head, "the truth of the matter…Is that I enjoy running my mouth."
Her deadpan expression never faltered. "See what we're dealing with?"
"That'd be rude were it not true."
Marill stared at them, as Heliolisk spoke from nearby, having peered out from the trash can he was using as a hiding spot, "There's still time to run. Escape from the machinations of this televised prison."
She blinked, before shaking her head and saying, "If this is some way of trying to mess with my head before the game starts, it's not working. Nice try, though." With this, she promptly walked toward an open spot, ignoring the electric-type's worried gaze.
As this went on, Armarouge stared down at her clipboard in slight worry, as she nudged her sister. "Ceruledge, it says here that this contestant's bus was supposed to be here an hour ago. I kinda ignored it thinking, y'know traffic but…It still isn't here-"
In front of them, a bus suddenly pulls up to a quiet stop, a low hiss rearing outward as a low plume of smoke slowly descended from just out of sight. The two stared on, watching in anticipation as the doors slowly creaked open, a thick mist flowing outward…
Then came…The voice, "I can feel it…" It was deep…Baritone. A sort of wickedness flowed with each word, the inner cackling echoing from within as they bellowed out, "Your fear…Of the unknowable, inconceivable nature of I…"
A hiss blared out, metal sheering on top of industrial work, and then…A crash. Flying outward from the shroud of smoke came a metal projectile, its large side and sharpened edges breaking through the pavement of the sidewalk, hooking in deeply with a sickening twist; an anchor, and it had found its spot.
Watching in horror, the cast had taken a step backward while the hosts assumed positions of defense, as the laughter came forth, the clinking of metal sounding off as something pulled on the anchor, pulling itself forward.
"You're all rather brave to have not yet run; others may see such courage as recklessness in my presence…I, however, welcome it…" The bus shook, nearly tilting over as something pulled itself from its vessel, just long enough for the vehicle to take off in a fright, "In honor of your tenacity, I shall reveal to you my mortal form; though be warned, you'll never forget it as long as you live!"
The anchor felt a pull…Then was ripped from the ground, pulled from its spot and flying through the air, disappearing into the smoke. All was quiet…Until, a shadowed form revealed itself from the mist, its beaming eye staring down its prey like a predator ready to strike. Their body ran rampant with dirt, hardened grease, torn away paint, and shredded barnacles, with seaweed hanging over them like a well-worn coat. They bellowed out another laugh, and declared-
"You may call me, for the remainder of this little game of ours…Dhelmise. Remember it well, for it is the name of the one that will one day rule this world, and lead the armies of pandemonium to ensure your demise!"
The hosts and contestants merely stared, unknowing how to respond…Until Armarouge took a knee, bowing to the anchor. "Greetings, soon-to-be ruler. Thank you for joining our humble show."
"Armarouge, get up, this is embarrassing," Ceruledge grumbled, facepalming with a shake of her head, "they're obviously just a dork! A dramatic one, but still! They don't even have arms!"
"Bite your tongue, wicked blade," Dhelmise cried out with a vile hiss, "for you've clearly stepped out of line. You're oh so lucky I've chosen the path of forgiveness this day, or I promise you well, you'd rue how you speak of I, the king of all there is and shall be!"
As they spoke, Gallade couldn't help but snort. "What a weirdo. What kind of loser do you have to be to think you'd rule the entire world?"
"You literally called yourself a God," Liepard quipped, earning no response from the disgusted man.
"Let's see some more whack jobs enter the scene!" Drilbur encouraged, laughing in the process. "These freaks are great!"
"I doubt that anything weirder can happen here," Lampent commented. Soon afterward, a large unseeable force descended from the sky, crashing into the pavement across from them. "...Nevermind."
"I AM HERE!"
The smoke from the debris subsided, just as an overly muscular blue dolphin emerged. The cast stared on, as the man flexed his muscles, before bellowing out, "I have heard your cries for help, citizens! And I promise, there is no need to fear, for I am here!"
Dhelmise, as if spotting through his words the man's subtle intent of his true reasons for arrival, cackled confidently, striking a pose as they dropped their anchor across the ground, tearing into it slightly as they bellowed out, "If you have intent to stop my conquest of this land, hero, you'll be disappointed to realize you've only stepped into your own demise!"
"Literally, what is happening?" Marill questioned.
The dolphin confidently spoke, "Don't you worry, young citizen. I will dispel this great evil from ruining your television show's premiere!"
"Palafin! Thank you for coming to save us!" Armarouge cried, earning a facepalm from Ceruledge, and a flex from the hero.
"It's a dying man's mistake to make promises he can not keep, fool!" Dhelmise declared, their anchor swinging like a pendulum as if preparing for the fight of their life! "Your existence alone offends me; every piece of my soul is crying out for your devastation, and so I shall grant you entrance…As the first of this world's lights I shall snuff out!"
"I commend you for the passion you exude so dearly, for we all seek a dream to pursue," Palafin complemented, before narrowing his gaze and clenching a single fist, "however, I cannot allow any type of harm to happen to the innocent lives of these citizens. If you refuse to back down now, I will have no choice but to stop you myself, evil-doer."
"Then come at me with all you got, and if you dare to hold back, all you ensure is the destruction of all you claim to hold dear!" Dhelmise announced, the world splintering around them as they laughed vigorously!
"What in the actual living fuck am I watching?" Tranquill questioned, though this was answered by no one…Except-
"Art! You're watching art unfold before our very eyes!" Heliolisk declared, tears welling up in his eyes, "It's as if I'm watching the greatest mind of our time stroke his quill across paper! It's so…Beautiful!" …Tranquill slowly turned the glare to the lizard in equal disturbance.
As the anchor and dolphin radiated energy, staring each other down…A voice called out. "Uh…Excuse me?"
Everyone turned to the disturbance…Only to see the final contestant standing in utter confusion. She's a sleek red insect with a steel, metallic exoskeleton with two large pincer claws for hands. She stared at all the eyes settled on her…To which she could only weakly wave, "...Hi. I'm, uh…Here for the show."
Dhelmise and Palafin looked on quietly…Then slowly turned back to each other. "...How about we bookmark this for later, friend?" Palafin asked.
Dhelmise huffed, "I suppose the end of the world can wait for its due."
The two nodded, giving a quick bow, before exiting the scene and making their way to opposite ends of the crowd, respecting the rules of dual. This shall continue…Another day.
"Look at that!" Armarouge gushed, running toward the steel bug and vigorously shaking her claws. "You prevented an all out war! You're the reason for world- er…Peace within this space!"
"Armarouge!" Ceruledge spat, stabbing at the ground as if to catch her sister's attention. "The show. You know…The one you wanted to host. Time to move it along!"
"Oh, right!" She exclaimed, before giving the bug a sheepish smile. "Sorry, Scizor, your introduction has to be cut short. After that whole near cartoon battle sequence, we're now pressed for time!"
"Wha-"
The host promptly pushed her toward the others, before turning to face the camera. "And there you have it, folks at home! These are the twenty-five contestants, who will be battling it out to the death! For everything this show has to offer! Money, fame, friendship, romance-"
"Wait!" Scizor asked again, "What's going on? What'd I miss?! I-I'm so confused!"
"Honestly, even with context…" Cyclizar muttered, his eyes still wide in disbelief. "...That confusion would be here to stay."
"I…I don't even know if that answered anything," Scizor stepped forward toward the hosts, asking, "is everything alright? You know if you've been having problems I could call my department to maybe get some help-"
"No!" Both hosts suddenly screamed, as the bug flinched back.
Clearing her throat, Armarouge let out a weak attempt at a laugh. "I-I mean, we're fine! Totally fine, and everything here is fine! Isn't that right, Ceruledge?"
"Yes!" Ceruledge nodded, her expression as hardened as stone, "It's fine. We're fine. End of story!"
"Well…That wasn't suspicious at all-" Frillish began, only to immediately quiet himself when he noticed Ceruledge's blade combust into flames.
Choosing to ignore the fish, Armarouge placed a hand on her sister's shoulder, pulling her back while looking at the camera with a forced smile. "Speaking of stories, this one has just begun! Tune in next week for more antics with the cast! Also, we'll be giving you viewers and the cast members more information on the game they so generously offered to play!"
"Are you seriously just addressing the camera before us?"
"I'm Armarouge, and this is my awesome co-host, Ceruledge, signing off!" The host chirped, waving to the camera as it slowly faded to black.
"...Armarouge."
"Yes, Ceruledge?"
"You…You get we have an entire second half of the episode we still gotta film…Right?"
"..."
"..."
"...T-Turn the camera back on! Quick!"
CH1 NOTE:
And so, the third story of the Rebootverse is off to a solid start! I like to think each of the three stories definitely has a sort of "tone" consistent throughout the introductions…And this one I think managed to hit just the right middleground between the normality of Island and the insanity of World Tour. This is a very unique cast and I can't wait to break them down in the future…Quite literally in fact. They're gonna go through a world of hurt.
I completely agree with that analysis. With this cast, we have quite the dynamic already between characters within the gray spectrum. It's all an equal balance, especially with that final scene we had just witnessed.
Man, I genuinely can't for y'all to see what we have planned; lots of strings getting pulled behind the scenes. But for the moment, I say we leave you in suspense. Part #2 coming soon, where we get through the rest of the standard first episode stuff…Plus maybe something a bit extra.
We'd love to hear your thoughts on this first portion, especially regarding the characters. If there's anything you feel or think we need to improve on, please don't hesitate to let us know. We hope you had a fantastic read, and hopefully we can bring in the second part of this chapter soon!
Now then, with that said…Ciao~