Survivor: Dewford Islands

by Gomamon

Sixteen castaways are about to begin an adventure of a lifetime. For thirty nine days, they will be stranded on the islands of Dewford with a minimal of protection and assistance against the harsh environment. Who will be the Sole Survivor?

6. Episode 6: Strike Out

Survivor: Dewford Islands
By: Gomamon

Last Time on Survivor:

James feels that nobody in the Huntail tribe understands him and wishes there is a way to free himself from this tribe. His wish comes true when May and Takuya partakes in a twist that changes the dynamics of both tribes. May sends James to the Gorebyss tribe, while Takuya sends Cassidy to the Huntail tribe. As a part of the twist, they both receive immunity necklaces that they could use at any tribal council up until the Final Four. While James feels relieved to be on a tribe when everybody welcomes him with open arms, Cassidy despises her tribe and thinks she is an outsider in Huntail.

After losing their fourth consecutive immunity challenge, Gorebyss heads to tribal council once more. Mimi feels obligated to befriend James in order to secure his vote at tribal council. At the end, James decides to side with Takuya, making Mimi the fifth person voted off in a unanimous vote of 4 to 1. Eleven remain, who will be voted off next?

Episode Six: Strike Out

Gorebyss: CASEY – JAMES – RIKA – TAKUYA

Huntail: BROCK – CASSIDY – DREW – JP – MAY – TAKATO – TK

- - -

DAY 16

It was a restful morning at the Gorebyss camp. A flock of tiny Swablu flew across the cloudless sky, chirping a soothing tune through its beaks. The only noise that drowned out the pleasant melody was Takuya's loud and raspy snores from inside the shelter. Almost everybody in the tribe was still sleeping – or that was what they were doing until an energetic holler suddenly woke everyone up. A drowsy James poked his head outside the shelter to investigate where the voice originated from. He was not surprised to see Casey standing outside, wearing a toothy grin on her enthusiastic face.

"Breakfast is ready, you guys!" Casey shouted, clapping her hands enthusiastically. "Come on, come on! Rise and shine! You don't want the food to get cold, do you?"

Takuya groaned. He curled himself up into a small ball as an attempt to go back to sleep.

"Good morning, Casey…" James yawned as he slowly climbed out of the shelter.

"Gooooooood morning, James!" Casey grinned. She grabbed the Team Rocket member's hand and pulled him towards the campfire, where four bowls of apple slices were neatly laid out on the sand. "I cooked breakfast this morning! We need all the energy we can get if we want to win the reward challenge today!"

"Yeah, I suppose so." James smiled weakly at the petite girl.

"Gorebyss for the win!" Casey pumped her fist into the air.

James: I'm really impressed at how well Casey is coping after last night's tribal council. A lesser person would be moping and sulking about having these kinds of odds, but she just wakes up the next day with a huge smile on her face, almost as if nothing happened at all! After a night of sleep, she's already able to get over the loss of Mimi, who I believe was a close friend of hers.

The tall and handsome Team Rocket member gave a small chuckle.

James: Casey has the rare ability to forget her past and just move on. I'll never understand how she has so much enthusiasm, but I admire that go-getter attitude of hers. If I wasn't playing this game as an opponent against her, I would totally be rooting for Casey to win the entire game!

Takuya didn't sleep well last night, so he didn't feel like waking up so early. But after the loud and noisy rattle that Casey made, he had no way of going back to sleep no matter how hard he tried. Besides, the rest of his tribe had already woken up and was sitting around the campfire, eating the apple slices that Casey prepared for them as breakfast.

"She's annoying." Takuya silently mouthed to the cameras, pointing his finger at Casey's back. He reluctantly hopped out of the shelter and joined the rest of his tribe for breakfast.

"Hey…" James said as he nibbled on a slice of apple. "I kind of wished we had more to eat on this tribe. I'm starving."

"We all are," grumbled Rika.

"I know, but as much as I loathe Huntail, they seem to have an endless supply of food over there. But this tribe…" James paused, wincing. "I looked at the container with the rice today and I noticed how little rice we have left. We're going to run out soon."

"I don't think Mimi rationed the food properly in the past two weeks," said Casey with a small sigh. "She used to cook these really delicious and satisfying meals, but she doesn't realize how much food she's wasting in the process."

"How typical of her," said Rika as she took a huge bite out of an apple. She did not look impressed.

"I'm not used to this extreme hunger. Back when I was home, I used to eat three nutritious meals a day." Casey sighed as she reminisced about her real life three weeks ago. "But out here, I feel like I'm famished no matter how much I eat."

"Oh, we could tell." James said sadly, folding his arms against his trembling knees. "You look really skinny, Casey."

"Do I? I haven't looked in a mirror for so long, I don't even know what I look like anymore," chuckled Casey.

"I'm sorry, but you look like someone who had not eaten in ages," said James dramatically. "You look horrible!"

"It's true." Rika added, nodding her head.

Rika: The lack of food is taking a huge tow on everybody's bodies. When we leave this game, it's going to take months before we could recover from the drastic weight losses. Despite that, I think most of us will be okay, except Casey. She…she has lost the most weight out of everybody. She usually wears a baggy shirt that drapes over her body, but I notice that her bones are beginning to stick out a little too much. I'm not a doctor, but that doesn't look like a healthy symptom to me.

She frowned, crossing her arms across her chest.

Rika: Casey started the game already as a very tiny and skinny girl and she's just looking worse and worse as the days pass by. At this rate, I seriously doubt she has the energy to last on this island for the next twenty three days.

"Ah, whatever. I wouldn't worry too much about it." Casey shrugged. "I don't like to worry."

"You don't have to act tough," said James, sounding a bit concerned. "I know how you feel. My body is deteriorating too and I'm freaking out about it. It's not just tough physically, but it's also a huge strain mentally to see your body collapse right in front of your eyes."

"It's difficult for all of us…" Rika muttered.

"Yeah," echoed Takuya.

Casey leapt up from her seat, putting both of her hands on each side of her hips. The confident smile on her face seemed to have grown even wider than before.

"Come on, people! I thought we're stronger than this! There's no point of getting upset over something that you can't change." She shook her head very quickly. "No, we can't think like this! This pessimistic frame of mind isn't healthy for us!"

"I think you're being too naïve." Takuya said, pausing for a few seconds to recollect his thoughts. "Stop beating around the bush, Casey. Sometimes, we have to be realistic about life and face our problems upfront."

"You're wrong. That's loser talk, Takuya, and you know it. We can never win a challenge if we just complain about our problems," said Casey, raising her voice. "I'd like to eat more food too, but instead of just whining about how we don't have enough to eat, I'd rather we actually do something to change that problem!"

"I agree," said Rika.

"You do?" Takuya asked, looking a bit surprised at his friend.

"Casey is right. We have to stop talking in circles and actually dosomething to change the situation." Rika said, carrying a look of determination in her icy blue eyes. "We need to change our habits and start working more often."

"Yeah! I…I will go help hunting too, if that helps!" James said, feeling the sudden rush of motivation rising inside of him.

"And I'll forage for even more food in the forest each day," added Casey in a rapid voice.

She turned her head towards Takuya, waiting for the goggle-head's reaction on the situation. The young man shrugged his shoulders as a small grin spread across his boyish face.

"Well?" Casey asked, prompting him for a response.

"Well, what are we waiting for then?" Takuya said, getting up on his feet. "Let's start working!"

"That's the spirit!" Casey said. She grinned at all of her tribe members. "We can do it!"

- - -

JP yawned. He sat slothfully inside the motorboat with both of his feet on the steering wheel. Had his left hand not been holding onto a fishing rod that hanged at the edge of the boat, nobody would have known that he was actually fishing. Drew, who sat beside the chubby Frontier, looked a little annoyed at the posture of his fishing buddy. But of course, he was smart enough to keep his mouth closed about the subject matter. Instead, he turned his attention to the vast blue sea, gazing at it as if he was in some sort of trance.

"Do you think we'll catch anything today?" Drew asked.

"With the top of the line fishing gear that we're using, we have to catch the best fish in this ocean!" JP laughed loudly. "Seriously, we better catch a freaking whale or I'll lose my patience, man!"

Drew: Whenever it's possible, JP always volunteers to go fishing with me on the boat. I think he likes this job because he gets to sit on his ass all day and look like he's working. I guess that's an interesting way to squirm off work. Everybody thinks he put in the effort to work, even if he rarely catches any fish. Personally, I don't appreciate JP at all. I think he's a fat and lazy buffoon. But hey, that's just me.

"So, what do you think of the new girl?" Drew asked, eyeing his fishing buddy with interest as he asked the question.

"Ah, Cassidy is alright," said JP, not putting much thought into his words. "She's not as bad as I thought she would be, but I've a feeling that she's toning it down a little to fit in with our tribe."

"That's understandable. She already has a large enough target on her back as it is," said Drew, smirking smugly.

"And don't forget that she has an immunity necklace that she could whip out at any tribal council." JP frowned. "If she makes it to the merge with that thing, it'll be really difficult to get rid of her…"

"That's true, but Cassidy isn't the biggest threat in this game right now." Drew said, shaking his head. "I told you this numerous times, but if either of us want to win this game, we've to break apart the alliance between Brock, May and Takato."

"Not this again…" JP muttered, but Drew didn't let him finish.

"You said that you didn't want to align with James for personal reasons, fine. Good for you." Drew glanced at JP, talking to him in a very condescending manner. "But James isn't in this tribe anymore, and you don't hold a grudge against Cassidy, right?" JP shook his head cautiously as Drew continued. "Then there should be no problem for you to vote Brock or May out!"

"Yeah, but it's more complicated than that." JP said, looking uncomfortable. "May deserves to be here more than a few other people on this tribe. It's the same thing with Brock."

"JP. Open your eyes!" Drew let out an exasperated sigh. "This is the best opportunity for you to take apart a powerful alliance that is controlling Huntail. If the four of us gang up against the three of them, then we'll have total control over our tribe."

JP didn't reply back.

JP: Damn, damn, damn. Since I haven't gone to tribal council for so long, I'm actually growing accustomed to not thinking about who to vote for! But uh, that Drew kid is really persistent. His mind is always thinking about the game. Whenever the two of us have a conversation together, he always brings up the subject of the vote. He wants me to vote for people who I don't think deserve to get voted off, but at the same time, I understand that I must do it in order to survive.

He sighed to the cameras as he cast his eyes on the ground.

JP: It's a selfish game…

"If you don't vote them off, they're going to vote you off," said Drew, sensing that JP's uncharacteristic silence was a moment of vulnerability. "Think about it."

"Okay. I'll vote with you." JP said hesitantly. "I still think we should vote for Cassidy first, but if you want to get rid of Brock first, that's alright with me."

"And TK…?" Drew asked, raising his eyebrow.

"TK will vote with us, I'm sure of it." JP said, nodding his head.

"Good job, JP." Drew smiled, patting JP on his shoulder. "You wouldn't regret this, I promise."

"Why do I get the feeling that I've just sold my soul to the devil?" JP grinned sheepishly, although Drew did not find that comparison amusing.

Just then, Drew felt a tug in his hand. He looked up and suddenly realized that the fishing rod he was holding was shaking vibrantly. He caught something!

"Quick, draw it in! It looks like it's gonna be a huge fish!" JP exclaimed, jumping up from his seat in excitement.

Drew obeyed as he quickly reeled the fish in. He actually struggled for a while, since whatever was at the end of the line put up a strong fight for resistance. But eventually, the skilful Coordinator managed to pull out a large Magikarp from the water. The orange fish hanged uselessly in the air until Drew cautiously unattached it from his fishing rod. He dropped the Magikarp into a large bucket inside the boat, where the Magikarp uselessly flopped around.

"Dude! That's the hugest Magikarp I've seen in my life!" JP laughed, raising his hand for a high-five, which Drew returned. "We're going to be eating a fantastic dinner tonight!"

"I'm pretty good at this, aren't I?" Drew gloated.

"Yeah, you know it! You're the man, Drew!" JP exclaimed.

JP: I admit, I'm a simple guy. I don't need much reason to like a person, but I think Drew is a pretty cool kid. He can catch a lot of fish, which automatically makes him my stomach's number one best friend! But besides that, I also think he's very intelligent and he knows what he is doing in this game. Dude, that kid is sharp! I want to be Drew's friend, because I definitely don't want to be his enemy.

- - -

Professor Birch patiently stood on the beach as he waited for the two representatives to arrive for the reward challenge. Like always, the professor wore a long laboratory coat over his dark t-shirt and khaki brown shorts and on his feet was a pair of sandals. He had been waiting for a while, but Professor Birch did not mind the waiting. And very soon, he saw the arrival of the representative from the Gorebyss tribe: Takuya Kanbara. The athletic young man jogged energetically out of the forest, grinning and waving his arms in the air. A crimson red buff was tied around his right bicep, which Professor Birch always thought was an indication of Takuya's masculinity and ultra-competitiveness.

"Takuya, I see you in these reward challenges a lot lately," said the professor with a small smile on his bearded face.

"Aw, you say that like it's a bad thing!" Takuya chuckled.

A few minutes later, JP emerged out of the forest, also wearing an energetic smile on his face. He was the representative sent from Huntail to compete in the reward challenge. Takuya's face lit up when he saw his Frontier friend arrive on the beach. JP flashed a victory sign to his friend and Takuya returned that gesture by grinning goofily at the chubby Frontier.

"The reward challenge today will test you on how well you know your past and current tribe members." Professor Birch explained. "You'll be given five pokeballs each. Every round, I'll ask you a question that is related to the members of your tribe. If you answer correctly, there will be no penalties." Professor Birch paused as he scanned the faces of the two Frontiers, who were listening to the instructions very attentively. "But if you answer incorrectly, you'll lose one pokeball and you'll have to keep answering that question until you provide me with the correct answer." He paused again before continuing. "The first person to lose all five of his pokeballs will lose the reward challenge, which means the other person will be made the default winner!"

"Ah…I'm not good at this kind of stuff. I'm screwed!" Takuya laughed.

"Want to know what you're playing for?" Professor Birch asked, ignoring the goggle-head's remark.

"Yeah!" Takuya and JP both shouted in unison. They watched in awe as the professor walked over to a nearby table and uncovered the reward that was concealed by a thin white sheet. On the table were blankets, pillows, rolls of toilet paper, as well as several bottles and tiny containers.

"You'll be playing for pillows and blankets, ensuring that you'll sleep comfortably every night!" Professor Birch announced, while JP and Takuya both cheered. "Also, you'll win toothbrushes, toothpaste, toilet paper, shampoo, soap and other toiletries that will make your life easier on this island! Is this reward worth playing for?"

"Hell yeah! A few of us have been complaining about not taking a proper bath for sixteen days, especially May!" JP grinned. "I want this reward so badly!"

"In that case, let's get started. I'll alternate questions between the two of you." Professor Birch said as he handed both men five pokeballs each. "Since Takuya arrived first, I'll ask you the first question. If you answer it correctly, I'll move on to JP. However, if you give me an incorrect answer, I'll take away one of your pokeballs and you'll have to give me another answer until you get the question correct. Are you ready, Takuya?"

Takuya nodded his head and pumped his fist energetically in the air.

"Which of your current or former tribe members have once dyed her hair pink?" Professor Birch asked.

"Whoa! Um, okay." Takuya scratched his head, looking slightly confused. "I'll have to do this by process of elimination since I don't know the answer." He chuckled nervously. "It's not Zoe, she'll never ruin her hair like this. And hell will freeze over before Rika ever dyes her hair pink." He paused, grinning goofily. "Okay, I don't think it's Delia, although she might have done some crazy things back when she was young…"

Takuya tapped his foot impatiently on the ground. He mumbled something to himself.

"I'll have to say Casey. She's such an eccentric girl. Dying her hair pink fits right into her persona," reasoned Takuya. He was slowly nodding his head as if to reassure himself that this logic was rational.

"That's incorrect, Takuya. Casey did not dye her hair pink." Professor Birch replied. He removed a Pokeball from Takuya's hands. "Please re-answer."

"Aw crap…I don't know." Takuya laughed nervously. "Cassidy?"

"I'm sorry, but that's also incorrect," said the professor as he took away another pokeball from Takuya.

"Uh...then, Mimi," guessed Takuya.

Professor Birch cast his tiny eyes onto the cue cards that he was holding and began nodding his head. He smiled at Takuya.

"That's correct! Mimi once dyed her hair pink before she was a brunette," said the professor. Takuya gave a huge sigh of relief, thankful to finally answer the question correctly. "JP, it's your turn. Which of your current or former tribe members was in the basketball team during high school?"

"Dude, I know this! This is easy!" JP grinned boyishly. "It's TK for sure. I also know that he was the MVP of his basketball team as well!"

"That's the correct answer, it is indeed TK." Professor Birch looked down at his cue cards to confirm the correct answer. "Takuya, we're back to you. Which of your tribe members has a sibling named Henry?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know this?" Takuya laughed.

Takuya looked up at the sky, as if he was searching for a random answer in the air.

"I know it's not Zoe. I don't think it's Rika, but then again, she hardly talks about her family. May be it is her…" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Finally, he looked up at the professor with a confident smile. "Is it Rika?"

"No, that's incorrect." Professor Birch replied, removing yet another pokeball from Takuya's hand. The goggle-head only had two pokeballs left while his opponent JP had a full set of five.

"Um, uh, umm…how about Suzie?" Takuya guessed, pulling the first name that appeared at the top of his head.

"Suzie is the correct answer. She has an older brother named Henry." Professor Birch turned to JP to ask his second question. "Which of your tribe members has a sibling named Max?"

"That's May! She talks about her annoying little brother all the time," said JP without a bit of hesitation.

"Right." Professor Birch nodded his head, looking impressed. "Takuya, which of your tribe members currently reside in a town called Pallet Town?"

"It should be Casey, I think." Takuya said hesitantly. "I heard her mention that place before, but…yeah, I think it's her. I'm pretty confident the answer is Casey."

Professor Birch glanced over at Takuya with an apologetic smile.

"No, that's incorrect." Professor Birch said. He took away another pokeball from Takuya. "You only have one pokeball left, so if you don't answer correctly in your next turn, Gorebyss would lose the reward challenge."

"Ooh, pressure!" Takuya laughed nervously. He sighed and closed his eyes. "I don't know. I don't know. But I'm gonna guess…Cassidy."

"That's wrong." Professor Birch said, taking away the last pokeball from Takuya's hand. He dropped his head in a disappointed manner. "Sorry, Takuya. The correct answer is Delia." The professor turned towards JP, who was smiling very enthusiastically. "Congratulations, you're the winner! Huntail wins reward!"

"No sweat!" JP grinned, wiping his forehead to emphasize his point.

"Your tribe members will surely be pleased when you bring the reward home, JP. And Takuya, I've nothing for ya." Professor Birch said to the two Frontiers. "You may both return to your camps."

"Actually, professor…I've a proposal I want to make to Takuya." JP smiled mischievously, while both Takuya and Professor Birch looked surprised. "I think Takuya put in a good effort – no really, you did! And you know what, I think you should…" JP paused. He walked over to the table and grabbed a white pillow and a piece of blanket. He handed them over to Takuya, who looked awestruck. "You should take these. Your tribe lost too many challenges already and the four of you need a little boost-me-up."

Takuya widened his eyes in astonishment. He was speechless for a few seconds as he stared at the presents that JP gave him.

"JP! I…I can't accept this! I didn't win the reward!" Takuya stammered, shaking his head rapidly. He tried to give the pillow back to JP, but the chubby Frontier shoved it back into the goggle-head's arms.

"No, I won the reward, so I've the right to share the prize with whomever I please!" JP said stubbornly.

"But I'm a Gorebyss! I'm your enemy from the opposing tribe!" Takuya argued.

"Stupid Takuya, you're not my enemy. You're my friend." JP laughed. He flashed a gentle smile at Takuya. "And as a good friend of yours, I don't want to see you continually suffer on the other tribe. All those losses must be hard on your ego. And besides, our tribe has won so much already! Dude, we really don't need that much prizes in our camp!"

"Are you sure about this?" Takuya asked, glancing at JP with a hint of uncertainty.

"Yeah, yeah!" JP laughed. "Now stop making such a big fuss about it!"

Takuya looked at Professor Birch for his approval and Professor Birch just smiled at him, nodding his head as if to say that sharing the reward was allowed. Takuya turned towards JP again, this time, a boyish grin appeared on Takuya's face.

"Thanks, JP." He said quietly. "You're a good friend and I...I owe you one."

"Dude, that's what good friends do. They help each other out in an emergency!" JP grinned. "Anyway, I'll see ya later!"

After the two men exchanged their farewells with each other, JP collected his remaining prizes in his arms and began hiking back to the Huntail camp. He did not know if he made the right decision to share the reward with Takuya, nor did he know if there would be a popular response if his tribe members found out what he did. But for now, none of these questions mattered to him. After all, JP Shibayama was a simple guy. He knew he helped a friend in need and that was a good enough reason to satisfy his conscience. And as long as JP felt happy with his decision, he could care less about the severe consequences that his actions might carry.

- - -

If Drew had a calendar with him, he would mark today down as one of his luckiest days. Not only did JP finally agree to vote with Drew in an alliance, he also caught an enormous fish for dinner tonight. Just like that, Drew realized that he had improved his status in Huntail tremendously. His tribe members viewed him too much as an asset to vote him off and his allies feared him too much to ever backstab him. Everything was going exactly his way. Drew wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon.

Just as Drew had predicted, his tribe members began showering him with endless praises as soon as they saw him arriving to shore, carrying that large Magikarp in his bare hands. They loved him. They wanted him. They needed him. The chain of compliments almost felt like soothing music to his ears and it boosted his already massive ego to a whole other level. Drew tried to restrain himself from flaunting his cocky attitude in front of his sensitive tribe members, although it was very, very tempting to.

"You should give the fish to Brock." TK said, beaming enthusiastically. "He's a great chef…he would know how to cook it into a delicious dinner!"

"Yes, I should." Drew said, looking around the camp for the tanned Pokemon Breeder. "Where is he?"

Several of the tribe members turned their heads and looked around, but nobody could find Brock anywhere in the Huntail camp. They speculated that he was somewhere in the forest collecting firewood with May, but nobody knew where or how to find him.

"Men are so unreliable…" Cassidy muttered in an irritated manner, folding her arms across her chest. "Does this mean we have to wait until he comes back before we can eat dinner?"

"Why don't you cook the fish?" Drew asked, looking up at the tall and feisty Team Rocket member.

"No. I'm not the domestic type. I don't cook." Cassidy lied, shaking her head.

Cassidy: It's tricky to cook a fish because you've to leave it in the fire for just the right amount of time. Otherwise, you risk the possibility of ruining the entire fish. We didn't catch any fish back in Gorebyss, so I had no idea how to cook one. If I overcook the fish that Drew caught, these food-crazy lunatics would slaughter me to death. So hell no, I didn't want to be the one held responsible for cooking the fish! I don't want to be a target!

"We don't have to wait for Brock to come back. I could cook the fish!" Takato suddenly suggested.

"You?" Drew asked in a tone that almost sounded like he wanted to laugh in ridicule. "Are you serious, Takato?"

"Yeah, give me a chance! I always sit beside Brock when he's cooking, so I learned a few things here and there," explained Takato. He smiled gently at the Pokemon Coordinator. "I can cook the fish."

Drew and Cassidy exchanged glances with each other. It was obvious that neither of them trusted Takato with the cooking.

"You…you don't look like you can cook that well," muttered Drew evasively.

"Look kid, I don't want to eat scorched fish tonight." Cassidy grumbled. "We should leave the fish in the hands of an expert."

"Someone who knows what they're doing," added Drew.

"Hey, c'mon…we can trust Takato with the cooking." TK frowned, not pleased with the condescending manner that Drew and Cassidy were displaying. "I have faith that Takato is perfectly capable of cooking the fish."

"It's great that you've such high hopes for him." Cassidy said dryly. "But I don't share your optimism."

"Don't underestimate Takato!" TK snapped, still frowning in disapproval.

"I'm sorry, but he doesn't look like the clever type. I think he's useless and he has no idea how to do anything without somebody supervising him." Cassidy continued. She quickly turned to Takato with a forced smile. "No offense, kid."

"That's not true…" Takato muttered.

"Anyway, let's just wait for Brock." Drew said, interrupting in the middle of Takato's sentence. "I don't mind waiting. Do you?"

"No, we should wait for him to come back from wherever he is," said Cassidy, smirking.

TK: I don't appreciate how Cassidy and Drew talk down to Takato like he's an incompetent child who can't do anything on his own. That's an unfair judgment because Takato did a lot to prove his worth in this tribe. He may not be the strongest or the smartest person, but he knows what he's doing. If Takato thinks he can cook the fish, let him do it! Even if he messes up, Takato is capable of accepting responsibility for his mistakes.

He glared angrily at the cameras.

TK: I'm not pleased at all with Cassidy and Drew's condescending attitudes. Both of them are way too arrogant. Drew wasn't even this bad until he started hanging around Cassidy. Cassidy brings the worst out of everyone. Cassidy needs to go.

"Hey, I think I see Brock and May!" Takato said, smiling happily. "They're coming back."

"Finally we can eat! Tell that guy to get his booty here immediately!" Cassidy said, grinning like a maniacal shark.

Brock smiled as he approached the group near the campfire. May followed behind him.

"Wow, that's a big fish, Drew! Good job!" Brock grinned, exchanging a high-five with Drew. "Let me guess, you want me to cook this fish, right?"

"Thank you, Brock!" Takato said enthusiastically.

"Hmm…why didn't you try cooking it, Takato?" Brock asked, turning his head towards the petite Tamer. "You should have tried! It's really not that hard to cook a fish."

"Nah, cooking is your job, Brock. I don't want to steal it from you." Takato smiled faintly at the Pokemon Breeder.

"No, don't say it like that." Brock said, putting his hand on Takato's shoulder in a reassuring manner. "The next time Drew catches a fish, you should try cooking it. I think you could do it, Takato."

"Really?" Takato asked.

"Yeah, you've watched me cook for the past two weeks! You're almost like my apprentice, little buddy!" Brock laughed.

Takato nodded his head and beamed.

Takato: There's no other way to describe him. I think Brock is amazing. He's smart, he's strong, he's helpful, he's humble and he knows how to do almost everything. I…I sometimes compare myself to Brock and I realize how little I've accomplished in my life. I didn't even know how to cook until I've met Brock. But he taught me so much in the last sixteen days. I'm no longer the inexperienced and incapable Takato anymore. I know how to do a lot of things now, all thanks to Brock!

He smiled modestly at the cameras.

Takato: I still have a lot to learn though. That's why I don't want to leave the island yet…I still want to learn from Brock. He usually gives me lessons about survival, but that's not what I like most about him. I like Brock because he teaches me valuable lessons on how to live my life to the fullest extent.

- - -

DAY 17

Drew always prided in having sharp eyes and a pair of keen ears. In a game that was seething with secrecy, his vision and his hearing were two of the most valuable assets that a player could have in this game ("Other than my brilliant mind, of course." Drew added). Sometimes, he would use his evasive eyes to spy on his tribe members, although he never learned anything new or surprising. After all, it was not what Drew saw that mattered – it was what he heard, especially the conversations that he wasn't supposed to be listening to. And this morning, Drew heard something very, very interesting: somebody was whispering inside their shelter.

The vigilant Pokemon Coordinator had always assumed that whispering indicated secrecy. If a person had to lower his or her voice into a soft and inaudible whisper, then that person had something to hide. And right now, there was somebody who was about to exchange a secret with another person on this tribe. Drew kept his eyes closed to put on the pretence that he was still sleeping, so he couldn't see who the two people were. But like what any smart player would do, his keen ears were attentively listening to every word of the soft and quiet conversation.

"Wake up, sleepyhead. Let's go somewhere before the others wake up. I…I wanna give you something."

"Oh hey…where are we going?"

"Come with me. It'll be a surprise. Just come."

"I don't know if I like surprises..."

Then, Drew heard a soft, girlish giggle. No doubts about it, he knew that voice definitely belonged to May. And judging from the scratchy tone of the male voice, he speculated that the other person talking was probably JP.

"This is a good surprise, May." JP's voice whispered excitedly. "C'mon, let's go!"

Drew heard the shuffling of May and JP's feet as the two quietly climbed out of the shelter. Once they have left, the whispering had died out and silence filled inside the shelter yet again. Drew didn't dare to open his eyes until a few minutes have passed, only when he was certain that JP and May had departed to wherever they were going. But as Drew slowly woke up from his fake slumber, the first person he saw was neither JP nor May. It was Cassidy – she was awake as well.

"You were listening to them too, weren't you?" Cassidy asked, smirking. "Drew, you're a shady kid."

"Where do you think they're going?" Drew asked.

"Those two took the boat with them and left. I'm guessing it's that tiny island you folks tend to go to all the time," replied Cassidy, who was still a bit unfamiliar with the Huntail camp.

"And what do you think they'll do there?" Drew continued asking.

"I'm guessing he's trying to get a little something something from the girl, you know what I mean?" Cassidy winked playfully at Drew.

"He's pretty obsessed with her," said Drew.

"Too bad he's way out of her league." Cassidy sniggered. "He's going to make a total ass out of himself."

Drew: By now, both you and I can agree that JP is a big, fat and useless idiot. He's not somebody who can draw the line between his personal feelings and his strategy. For example, he'll never vote out a player that he likes, even if it means that he's in danger of getting voted off next. That's why I'm beginning to worry that his attachment to May will become a hindrance in the future. Or in other words, those two are getting in my way.

He smirked arrogantly at the cameras.

Drew: Just like in a game of chess, any piece that's getting in the way of my checkmate will have to be eliminated.

JP was not experienced with driving the tribe's motorboat, since either Drew or Brock always took the responsibility of that job. So this morning, he was admittedly nervous to be sitting behind the steering wheel of the boat. Although JP felt butterflies flying in his stomach, he did his best to hide his uneasiness from his passenger, May. After all, this was his hour to shine. This was his moment to impress May, the object of his affection. This was not the time to make a fool out of himself.

As the two of them sailed out to the sea, the pair of friends exchanged a light and fun conversation together. There was several times that JP steered the wrong way by accident, so they didn't arrive at the exotic island as early as the Frontier had predicted. But JP felt that it was a win-win consideration, considering that any quality time with May was time well spent.

"I can't stand the suspense any longer! JP, why are we here?" May asked as JP parked the boat onto the shores of Shipwreck Island. The skinny girl hopped out of the boat and her male companioned followed behind her, wearing a keen and enthusiastic smile on his chubby face.

"Well, I know it's your birthday today!" JP grinned. "First of all, happy birthday, May!"

"Aww…is this what it's all about?" May smiled modestly at the grinning Frontier. "Thanks!"

"Birthdays are a really special occasion, so that's why I wanted to take you somewhere special to celebrate today!" JP continued. His head was dropped down and his gaze was uncharacteristically averted to the sand. "I'm really sorry that I don't have a birthday cake for you or anything…"

"It's okay! It's the thought that matters…" May beamed appreciatively.

"I…uh, I got you a small gift." JP laughed. He shoved his right hand in his pockets as he searched for his present.

"JP, you didn't have to-" May gasped, but JP gestured her to stop talking. He pulled the present out of his pocket – it was a small bottle of shampoo.

"Oh my gosh! Thank you!" May grinned as she received the bottle from JP. "Is this shampoo?"

"Yeah, I know it's not much." JP smiled, looking slightly embarrassed. "I won that bottle of shampoo in the reward challenge yesterday, but I didn't show it to anybody until now. I saved it up just for you." He laughed. "It's yours to keep! You don't have to share the shampoo with the rest of us guys!"

"I love it." May smiled. She paused for a second as if to think something over, but she eventually walked towards JP and gave him a brief hug. "Thank you for the present, but I think I'm going to share it with the rest of the tribe." She paused again. "It just doesn't feel right to keep this present all to myself."

"No problem! You can do whatever you want with it." JP grinned.

JP: It's May's birthday today. I decided that a special girl like her needs to be treated something special. I wanted her day to start off with a bang and I think I succeeded. Dude, mission accomplished!

"You're a really thoughtful guy, JP." May smiled. Both she and JP were sitting on the sand together, gazing aimlessly at the ocean. "I bet you'll make a really great husband for a girl one day."

"Dude, I'm going to stay as a bachelor forever! If I win this game, I'll spend my money to buy myself an awesome bachelor pad!" JP laughed heartily. "No, no, no! I'm just kidding around."

May giggled. She leaned her arm against JP's shoulder and grinned.

"That's what I like about you, JP. You're so cool. You're like the older brother that I never have!" May laughed.

"Oh yeah! I'll put that on my resume…May's imaginary older brother!" JP grinned back at the skinny Pokemon Coordinator.

Suddenly, JP sighed loudly, as if there was something bothering him. May looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"What's wrong?" May asked, sounding concerned.

"Hey May, I know we've a really good friendship going." JP began. The enthusiastic grin slowly faded from his face. "But I…no, never mind. It's stupid."

"What is it? You can tell me!" May said with eagerness in her voice. "We are friends. You can tell me anything!"

"Actually, it's a question." JP muttered. "Can you promise me something?"

"Promise?" May asked, looking a bit uncomfortable with the word. "What kind of promise?"

"I know it's your birthday and this might not be really appropriate, but…" JP smiled weakly at the brunette. "But you already know that I'll never write your name down ever. I'll die and go straight to hell before I cast a vote against you in this game."

May nodded cautiously, but she didn't say anything in response.

"Can you promise me that you'll never vote for me in this game, May?" JP asked.

"Wow. Oh wow. That's a biggie." May widened her eyes in surprise. "I wasn't expecting that."

"Oh, this is so stupid! I can't believe I just asked you that." JP shook his head rapidly. "I don't want to let this game ruin our friendship. Just…just forget about it!"

"JP…" May said, looking uneasily at the Frontier. "I don't know if I can promise…"

"No, really. Forget about it!" JP sighed. "It's just that…it's so hard to not have anybody I can trust in this game. And I thought I could trust you, but…" He paused as he looked at May directly in her awestruck eyes. "But clearly, you don't trust me."

May's head dropped guiltily into her knees. She didn't say anything in response, but it was obvious from her shaky appearance that she felt very vulnerable right now.

"But it's alright. I guess I was a bit naïve to think that I can keep my closest friends around until the end of the game." JP continued as he spoke in a dramatic tone. "Oh well. Let's forget this conversation ever took place…"

May slowly pulled her head up from her knees again. A weak smile spread across her face.

"You know what?" She said, brushing a few strands of brown hair from her cat-like blue eyes. "I'll do it. I'll promise you that I'll never vote for you."

JP: Yeah, I did play up my emotional speech just a little when I was talking to May. I mean, I felt horrible doing it, but making her feel guilty about our friendship is the best form of persuasion. I don't know if what Drew has been telling me is true or not. But up until now, I've no guarantees that May will be loyal to me or not. She and her friends could have easily voted me out at the next tribal council and I could do nothing except curse at them in my final words.

He smiled sheepishly at the cameras.

JP: Hopefully with this pact, I can have May's word that she'll never cast a vote against me at tribal council. And hey, that's one less vote to worry about! May will keep her word with me, I think…

"Really? I mean…I don't want to force you into doing something that you don't want to do!" JP said, although his voice sounded a little too eager and excited in order for his words to be genuine. "Are you really sure about this, May? You…you can't break promises, you know?"

"This is my choice based on my own free will. I promise that I'll never vote for you, JP. And in return, I hope you do the same for me." May said, smiling. She extended her arm for a handshake. "Promise?"

"Promise!" JP laughed as he grabbed May's hand and shook it. "Oh man, I know it's your birthday today, but this must be the best present for me ever!"

May smiled faintly at her enthusiastic companion, but she did not reply back. She just sat there on the beach, with her long arms and legs stretched out comfortably on the sand. She stared aimlessly at the sky, enjoying the rays of sunshine that was soaking into her big, blue eyes. JP turned his head towards her and attempted to read the ambiguous expression on her face. He didn't know if May was as happy as he was about this pact that they just made, although as far as JP was concerned, she didn't appear sad either.

But it was difficult for JP to correctly interpret that vacant and carefree look she wore. It actually intrigued him a little, knowing that May was feeling a particular emotion at the moment – but he just couldn't identify which emotion.

May be it was excitement.

May be it was frustration.

May be it was regret.

- - -

After four devastating challenge losses, the number of people in the Gorebyss tribe had been reduced by half. Unfortunately, the amount of work that needed to be done remained the same, so this meant that each individual member had to contribute even more labour around the camp. Takuya and Rika would joke that the absence of Delia and Mimi didn't make a significant difference on their work load, considering that those two women didn't do any work when they were in the game.

"I like it better when there are less people in our tribe." Rika had said to her tribe as the four of them ate lunch together. "Less chatter, less nuisance and less mouths to be fed."

"And I actually get to sleep inside the shelter! I don't have to sleep outside in the sand anymore!" Takuya added, spitting out some rice as he spoke.

"Don't talk while you're eating, goggle-head. You might choke yourself," muttered Rika.

Casey sighed softly and looked away. Despite what Rika and Takuya's reasoning, Casey still believed that the absence of any tribe member hindered the growth of Gorebyss. Whether it was Delia or Mimi or even Suzie, the petite baseball lover thought that each person voted out of Gorebyss had provided an important role to the tribe. But Casey never expressed any of her strong opinions in front of Takuya or Rika. She was smart enough to keep her big mouth shut and not say anything to provoke the short-tempered pair. After all, it wasn't as if they didn't have enough reasons to vote Casey out already!

Casey: In a game of baseball, a player would be out after three strikes. Right now, I'm pretty sure I've three strikes against me. Let's see: Rika's vote…strike one. Takuya's vote…strike two. James' vote…strike three. Yep, strike ouuuuuuut!

She smiled weakly at the cameras.

Casey: I would be lying if I said that I wasn't upset about my situation, because I'm feeling really, really devastated. I have to watch three of my closest friends leave me in the past four days. Delia and Mimi were voted off against my will and Cassidy is now on the other tribe. I've lost everything…my friends, my alliance, and my safety. I've never felt so alone in my entire life. I have nothing and I'm all alone. This sucks.

The odds against Casey didn't look favourable at all. Although there wasn't a lot of talk about strategy, the unanimous opinion around camp was that Casey would be the next person voted off. Unsurprisingly, neither Takuya nor Rika felt bad about the decision that they might possibly have to make. Sure, they both knew that Casey had more energy and enthusiasm than anybody in the game. Sure, they both acknowledged that Casey contributed a lot around the camp. Sure, they both understood that Casey was a team player who only wanted the tribe to unite together and finally win a challenge. But despite her strengths in many areas, the hugest mark against Casey was her devoted allegiance to the wretched Cassidy, whom Takuya and Rika both despised. And therefore, Casey had to go.

The newcomer, James, had momentarily felt pity for Casey. In his opinion, it seemed like a shallow and narrow-minded reason to vote for a person simply based on her friendship to a certain player who was no longer in this tribe. It was almost as bad as Huntail wanting to vote him out because of his past as a Team Rocket member. But James never claimed to be a crusader for fairness and equal rights. He might have felt empathetic, but James wasn't stupid. There was no way he would risk his neck to save a little girl whom he met for four days.

"She might be a nice girl, but I'm not a saint." James explained to the cameras. He shrugged his shoulders casually. "Besides, I'm just watching out for myself."

Casey's fate was sealed, or so it seemed.

She still had one hope – one tiny beacon of light in this dark and gloomy tunnel. If only she could win the upcoming immunity challenge, she would be safe. The coveted immunity idol would guarantee her three more days on the island, three more days of hope. And as long as there was hope, Casey would not give up.

"I'm stoked about the immunity challenge, James!" Casey exclaimed as she and James went to retrieve treemail for the immunity challenge. "I don't know why, but I have a really good feeling that we can win this one!"

"You think so?" James said. He wore a small and dainty smile on his handsome face. "It would be amazing if we actually won."

"Yeah! Today is gonna be our day. Just watch and see, Gorebyss is gonna stomp the other tribe in the immunity challenge!" Casey grinned.

James laughed. He placed a hand on Casey's shoulder and smiled compassionately at her.

"I don't know how you do it, Casey. You lose challenges after challenges, but you still never give up. It would be normal for a person to feel dejected, but you…you're different. After every loss, you can get back on your feet in no time." James said. "Your combination of patience and perseverance is deadly."

"Just try harder and never give up." Casey beamed. "That's my motto in life."

Casey: This immunity challenge is very important to me. If we don't win it, I'm screwed. We might not have won an immunity challenge in a long time, but that doesn't mean it is impossible. As long as our hearts are in the right place, our determination could get us through anything.

She punched her fist into the palm of her right hand.

Casey: I'm gonna go out there and give it my best shot. I'll put in my 110 effort just like I do in every challenge. But no matter what happens, win or lose, I will never give up!

- - -

Behind the Huntail camp was a large and dense forest, swarmed with dozens of animals and hundreds of trees. Most tribe members avoided going into the core of the forest, especially since TK's encounter with a grizzly bear several days ago. But every day, Brock went inside the forest anyway. There was work that had to be completed in the forest, whether he liked it or not. On some days, he would bring a machete with him as he hacked down tree branches for firewood. On other days, he would explore the forest with May and Takato as the trio forged for food together.

"Are you feeling okay, May?" Brock asked. "You haven't been acting like yourself ever since you got back from your trip with JP."

"Huh?" May gasped. She quickly covered her embarrassment with a nervous laugh. "Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine!"

May turned her head towards a nearby tree and watched Takato slowly climbed down from it. As he walked back to where Brock and May were standing, she saw that he was carrying three apples in his hands. Takato grinned as he dropped the fruits in a pot that was by May's feet.

"Good job, Takato!" Brock smiled appreciatively. He clapped his hands together. "Okay, I think we've collected enough apples for the day. We should start heading back."

"Brock, can we take a short break?" Takato asked. He slumped down on the grass and leaned his head against a tree.

"Why not?" Brock nodded his head. He sat down beside Takato and grinned. "We all deserve a little rest every now and then."

"I agree! It's just so relaxing to sit in the shade like this!" May added as she sat down to the left of Takato. She sighed dreamily. "Ah, this is the life!"

Brock: The key to success in Survivor is having a group of friends who will remain loyal to you. There's no point of building an alliance if nobody trusts each other. I'm very lucky in that I have two very loyal friends by my side. Unlike the others, our alliance is built on a foundation of trust. We know that we'll never betray each other, so that's why we have stayed together for so long.

"Hey May, I know I've said this to you before, but…" Takato smiled sheepishly at the Coordinator. "Happy birthday, May!"

"Here, pretend this is a birthday cake." Brock grabbed an apple from the pot and handed it over to May. "Close your eyes and make a wish."

"Brock, that doesn't even look like a cake!" Takato laughed.

"It's the thought that counts." Brock chuckled. He elbowed May lightly in the shoulder. "Right, May?"

"I'm using my imagination and I picture that I'm eating a strawberry cheesecake with a chocolate milkshake on the side." May giggled, licking her lips as she spoke. She took a nibble out of the apple that she was holding. "Mmm…delicious! Simply delicious!"

Takato and Brock laughed.

"You guys…" May said, smiling appreciatively at the two men. "You guys are the best friends that I could ever ask for."

"Me too." Takato blushed. "I'm so glad I met you two."

"This game would have been really different if we started out on different tribes," said Brock.

"Totally!" May nodded her head, adding, "I probably wouldn't have survived on the Gorebyss tribe!"

"Everything happens for a reason." Takato said. "Destiny or fate or whatever it's called, something brought the three of us together right from the start."

"Yeah…" May said quietly.

An air of silence fell upon the trio. Takato turned to his left side and glanced at May, who was uncomfortably looking away. Then, he turned over to Brock and watched his uneasy reaction as well. Neither of them said anything to him.

"Do you guys think that the three of us could make it to the end together?" Brock finally asked. His voice sounded low and solemn. "Is that even a possibility?"

Silence again.

"I…I don't know." May replied.

"They might try to vote us out because the three of us are so close together." Brock continued, "If we make it to the merge together, they will target us because of our strong bond."

More silence.

"I don't care. No matter what happens, I'm going to stick with you two for the rest of the game," said Takato. "And I hope that the three of us will be in the Final Three together."

"Same here!" May said, feigning a chipper tone in her voice.

"Yeah, the three of us…final three…" Brock grinned. "We'll work together until the bitter end! They can't tear us apart!"

Takato: Sometimes, I wonder if I'm cut out for this game. I never liked lying or deceiving people, even though that's supposed to be a huge part of the game. Luckily, I never had the opportunity to do much of either, because we've won most of the immunity challenges. May be it put me in a false sense of security, but nuh-uh, nothing you say can convince me that going to tribal council is a good thing.

The petite Tamer was sitting on the ground as he spoke to the cameras. His hands were clutching nervously onto his ankles.

Takato: The only time we lost, my friends were there to support me. I know that Brock and May will always have my back and I'm very grateful for that.

"Brock, Takato…" May paused as she turned around and looked at the two men nervously. "I have to tell you something."

"What is it?" Brock asked, grinning nonchalantly.

"I…I made a pact with JP this morning. I promised him that I'm not going to vote for him," muttered May.

"Whoa!" Brock exclaimed. He raised an eyebrow in surprise. "That's not good. Why…why did you make such a deal with him?"

"Didn't we decide a long time ago that we're going to vote JP out if we go to tribal council?" Takato asked, although he sounded uncertain in his tone of voice.

"I'm sorry, but I just felt so bad. I couldn't say no to him…" May frowned. She dropped her head into her hands. "I'm so sorry."

"It's alright, May." Brock patted his friend on her shoulder. "It might not be the smartest thing to do, but I don't blame you for it. Don't worry."

"We can always vote Drew out, right?" May asked, pulling her head up from her hands. "Besides, JP promised us that he would stay loyal to Huntail if we spared him at the next vote. We really should consider his offer!"

"I know you don't like Drew because he's a bit of an asshole…" Brock said. He folded his arms across his chest. "But that kid is going to be loyal to us when the merge comes."

He nodded his head as if to reassure himself what he was saying.

"JP will flatter us with proposals because he's in a desperate mode. He's a good kid, but he lacks sincerity in his words. People can lie, but the facts are always truthful. And the fact remains that Drew voted with us at the first tribal council, when JP and TK both cast votes against us." Brock shook his head in a disapproving manner. "I can never trust them after they tried to vote Takato out."

"Well…" May sighed. "Are we sure that Drew is going to vote with us in tribal council?"

"I trust Drew with my entire life." Brock said, smiling confidently. "Did you forget about our plans, May? He's the fourth man in our alliance. He's not going to betray us."

"Wait, if we aren't going to vote for JP, then who are the four of us going to vote out?" Takato asked.

"Cassidy has the immunity necklace, so it has to be TK…" May murmured.

"I'm okay with that. His leg injury makes him a liability in challenges." Brock shrugged his shoulders. "He's going to sit out another immunity challenge today. I can't help but feel that we're carrying him to the merge."

"And on the other hand, JP won a reward challenge for us yesterday," added May. "That alone proves JP is more worthy of staying in the game than TK."

"That's true…" Takato slowly nodded his head.

Although he did like TK as a person, Takato understood that TK was weaker than JP in physical challenges. And because of his injury, TK also had to rest more in the shelter, so he also did less work than JP at camp. Even in terms of strategy, TK put in less of a visible effort to save himself from the vote, whereas JP had been campaigning to stay since he realized he was in the minority.

May and Brock were right – JP did deserve to stay longer in the game. After weeks of hard work, he finally earned that right.

And at that moment, TK Takaishi became the new replacement on the chopping block.

- - -

When the two tribes arrived for the immunity challenge, Professor Birch made a shocking announcement.

"This will be your last tribal immunity challenge," said Professor Birch. "After today, all of your immunity challenges will be individual, since you'll be merging into one tribe soon."

Casey smiled confidently at the professor. This was it – her one and only hope of staying in the game. If she could win this immunity challenge, she would avoid tribal council and secured herself three more days in the game. She would also be able to escape from her precarious position in Gorebyss and increase her chances of survival if she made it to the merge. If only.

"Bring it on, professor!" Takuya exclaimed. He pointed his index finger at the golden Pokeball that Cassidy was holding. "We're bringing home that sucker today!"

"First things first, I'll need the immunity idol back." Professor Birch received the golden Pokeball from Cassidy. He held it up proudly in the air. "This is the last time you'll be playing for it! Immunity is back up for grabs!"

Cassidy glared at the four members in the Gorebyss tribe and smirked.

"On each of my side is a locked treasure chest, one for each tribe to carry. Both of them are filled completely with sand inside." Professor Birch explained. "For today's challenge, two members of your tribe will have to carry that treasure chest as they run as deep into the ocean as possible. One hand must stay on the treasure chest at all times." He paused and waited as his words seeped into the players' heads. "They will have three minutes to run as far as possible. After those three minutes, two other members from the opposite tribe will enter into the ocean and try to chase after the people with the treasure chest. Whoever touches the opposing tribe's treasure chest will win immunity!"

A few players nodded their heads. Brock was already developing a strategy and explaining it to Takato and Drew, who were standing by the Breeder's side.

"Huntail, you have three extra members, so you've to sit three players out. JP has to be one of them, since he participated in the reward challenge today." Professor Birch explained. "Who else is going to sit out?"

"May and I are going to sit out this one, professor." TK said, raising his hand.

"Now, each tribe has to choose two people who will carry their treasure chest and two people who will chase after the other tribe's pair," said the professor.

The teams were quickly assembled. For the Gorebyss tribe, Takuya and James were going to carry the treasure chest, while Rika and Casey were going to the chasers. For the Huntail tribe, Brock and Cassidy volunteered to hold the treasure chest, while Drew and Takato would swim after the other tribe.

"Everybody, get into your positions! When I say go, the people who are carrying the treasure chests will have three minutes to swim as far into the ocean as possible." Professor Birch said, "After three minutes, the chasers will go into the ocean and swim after them." The eight participants nodded in comprehension.
"Survivors ready? Go!"

Takuya grabbed his hand on a handle of the red treasure chest, while James grabbed another handle on the other side. The two men lifted the treasure chest from the air and began jogging with it. They were both surprised to find out how heavy the weight was. A large container filled completely with sand had a lot more mass than either anticipated. James briefly glimpsed over at the other tribe. Huntail was also struggling with carrying their treasure chests away.

"Don't lift it up! Drag it!" Cassidy screamed into Brock's ear. Realizing that their movement was slow, the quick-witted Team Rocket member changed strategies. It proved to be effective and gave Huntail a slight lead as they dragged their treasure chest into the ocean first.

Once at the sea, Cassidy and Brock had a difficult time trying to swim and pull the treasure chest with them. Brock had a difficult time clutching onto the handle of the treasure chest, while Cassidy had problem staying afloat in the midst of the waves. Although they did have a twenty-second lead over the other tribe, they made very little progress as Gorebyss caught up.

Soon, both pairs got the basic technique of swimming in the water and carrying the treasure chest at the same time. Neither tribes were moving very quickly, but they did manage to isolate themselves a fair distance away from the shoreline. Meanwhile, the chasers were doing exercises and stretches as preparation for going out into the ocean.

"C'mon, Huntail! C'mon! C'mon!" Casey yelled enthusiastically into the sea. Both tribes were evenly matched in the race, but Casey's imagination had hoped that Gorebyss scored a slight lead over Huntail.

"Three minutes are up! Chasers, you may go!" Professor Birch announced.

The four swimmers frantically ran into the water, with Drew arriving first. He launched himself into the sea and began swimming, although Casey followed very closely behind him. The two Tamers, Takato and Rika, were slightly behind the two agile swimmers.

It was very obvious that the chasers were swimming at a much quicker pace than those who were carrying an extremely heavy treasure chest. The small and skinny Drew was the most agile in water as he swam gracefully in the sea, chasing after James and Takuya. By now, physical exhaustion had taken a tow on Casey and she seemed to be losing a bit of steam in the water. The gap between Drew and her was becoming visibly larger as they swam.

Rika, who was the last person to dive into the water, picked up her pace and fared a lot better in the water than she did on land. She quickly caught up to Casey and even surpassed her a few seconds later. Although she was still behind Drew, Rika was making surprising progress as she chased after Cassidy and Brock, who both seemed to be struggling in the water a bit.

"He's behind us! Crap!" Takuya muttered when he saw that Drew was approaching closer and closer to him. "We have to move faster, James!"

"I know!" James said in frustration. He kicked his feet harder in the water as an attempt to pace up.

While Drew was closing in the distance between him and the Gorebyss tribe members, Rika was making even better progress with her surprisingly swift swimming. Cassidy was having a tough time dragging the aquatic blue treasure chest through the waves and was even slowing Brock down in his swimming. This gave Rika time to bring herself closer to the Huntail team. Very soon, she found herself trailing very closely behind Brock and Cassidy.

So close…

So close that if only she reached her arm, she would be able to touch the other tribe's treasure chest…

Rika extended her right arm out into the air, hoping that the tip of her fingers would touch any part of the treasure chest…

And she succeeded.

"Gorebyss wins immunity!" Professor Birch exclaimed, raising both of his arms. "Finally!"

"YEAH!" Takuya screamed. He pumped his fist energetically in the air. "Take that, Huntail! We won! We did it!"

"Way to go, Rika!" James squealed in joy. Rika flashed him a small, defiant grin.

"Unfortunately, this means that the winning streak for Huntail tribe is over. You'll go to tribal council tomorrow and one of you will be voted off," said Professor Birch, turning towards the three Huntail members who were sitting on the beach.

"What a great birthday present, huh?" May said dryly. JP patted her on the back and muttered words of empty consolation.

"Gorebyss!" Professor Birch shouted. "Swim back to shore and retrieve your immunity idol!"

Casey began swimming back to shore, wearing a large and joyous grin on her boyish face. Even from a distance, she could still see the golden sphere that Professor Birch held gloriously in his hands. Although she had seen the idol for many times, it had never looked so beautiful, so poignant, and so magnificent before.

In this symbolically significant victory, Casey not only won three more days on the island and a guaranteed spot in the merged tribe. But she also won hope – hope for her future in this game.

A future that seemed so momentarily bright…

- - -

DAY 18

The eighteenth day of Survivor began as a sunny and windless morning. On days like these, a slothful group of Seels, the cute and bubbly seal Pokemon, would climb onto the shores of Shipwreck Island and sunbathe in the sand. On more than one occasion, Drew had voiced in his opinion that Huntail should kill these peaceful sea creatures and eat them for food. Although it sounded like a cruel idea, Drew insisted that eating these nutritious animals would greatly benefit their strength and survival as a tribe. But to this day, the Huntail tribe had yet captured a single Seel for food, mainly because of Takato's repeated interference.

Despite Drew's logic, Takato strongly believed that his tribe should not disturb the natural life cycle of these seals. After all, these creatures have been living peacefully on Shipwreck Island long before Huntail discovered the island. Even though Drew had tried pointing out the hypocrisy behind his argument ("What's the difference between killing a Seel and killing all those fish in the sea?"), the rest of the tribe supported Takato on this matter. And thus, the fun-loving Seels on this island were protected from being the breakfast, lunch and dinner of Huntail.

"Seel! Seel! Seel!"

The energetic cries of the Seels echoed in the air. Takato felt a huge grin spread across his face as he heard their voices.

"I can hear them from here!" Takato turned his head around and grinned at his companion, Brock. "The Seels are really cheerful, aren't they?"

"Yeah…" Brock chuckled. As an afterthought, he added, "Kind of like you, Takato."

The two men from Huntail appeared relaxed as they lounged luxuriously inside their tribe's white motorboat. While Takato was the passenger, Brock sat behind the steering wheel and navigated through the calm waves of the ocean. Through his squinty eyes, he could spot the distant island in front of them. That was Shipwreck Island. Ever since they discovered it in the first week, this small and exotic island quickly became a relaxing hideaway for many of the players.

From what Brock could recall, he vaguely remembered the fascinating legend behind Shipwreck Island. It was all over the newspapers in the Pokemon World when it happened - a famous luxury cruise had an unfortunate and unexpected accident in a vicious whirlpool, causing it to disappear near the coasts of Dewford Islands. The rescue team had searched for months in hopes of finding a survivor, but all they found in the sea were the mashed and mangled bodies of the crash victims. As the weeks passed, people began losing hope and soon, they accepted that everybody was dead, and even then, not all the bodies would be found.

But one day, a miracle happened. A helicopter spotted an unidentified island with a faint smoke signal rising in the air. As they investigated further, they discovered Shipwreck Island, which coincidentally turned out to be the place where the ten survivors habituated after the crash. They were immediately evacuated from the small and hidden island, much to the joy of everybody across the world. Although the tragic tales of their experiences had been horrific and depressing, the important lesson in this story was that they were all alive. No - that was not true. Out of the ten survivors who arrived on Shipwreck Island, only eight of them made it alive. One frail old woman died due to physical exhaustion in the first week, sad but understandable given her conditions.

What puzzled Brock the most was the death of the other person. He was the young and athletic ship captain, the person in charge of navigating the cruise that crashed. Various survivors reported that the ship captain used his natural leadership skills to make arrangements and help the survivors adapt to their new lives on the island. One even stated that they would all be dead without food had it not been the selfless captain. But yet, he died from hunger long before the helicopter arrived. And although there had been no solid evidence about this, many speculated that his death was due to malice and foul play. The survivors were traitors. They saw the captain as the reason why the cruise crashed, the origin of their months of despair and misery. And so, they killed him - by tying the captain up and starving him to death.

They betrayed the noble and selfless captain who helped the survivors live and survive…

Brock didn't know why, but this story always gave him the creeps.

Takato: During my spare time, I really like going to Shipwreck Island to relax and recollect my thoughts. When you have to live with the same people for this many days, you…you sometimes want to be left alone. And the island provides just that - privacy and isolation. It's my little sanctuary in Survivor, heh.

"I can't believe we have to go to tribal council tonight. It's been…so long." Takato muttered. He paused for a small sigh. "It's depressing to think about it."

"Then don't think about it!" Brock wore a nonchalant grin on his goofy face. "Ignorance is bliss!"

"Ha…you're right." Takato nodded his head, albeit a bit defiantly.

"Let's talk about something else." Brock said, still grinning. "Something more positive."

Takato didn't reply to the Pokemon Breeder for a while. After the two of them arrived on the island, they aimlessly walked around, gazing and absorbing the beauty of the island scenery. A group of Seels were lying slothfully on the sand. Some clapped their paws together in enthusiasm, seemingly happy at the arrival of the two men. Others were less energetic, for they slept lazily in the sand. Takato felt a sense of pride when he looked at these peaceful creatures on the beach. This was how nature was supposed to be. He was very glad that he had stood up against Drew for what he believed in.

"Hey Takato, I was wondering…" Brock raised an eyebrow as he turned towards his short, goggle-headed companion. "Do you have a girl that you like?"

Takato blushed slightly on his cheeks. He also looked a bit startled to be asked this question.

"Umm…why do you ask?" Takato replied meekly, hoping for a way to avert from answering this question.

"Huh? You see, I like a lot of girls." Brock grinned goofily, followed by a quick and casual shrug. "I just thought it would be cool if we could share notes." He laughed as he raised his pinkie in front of Takato's face. "So? Do you have a special someone in your heart?"

"Well...there is somebody I…" Takato said unconsciously. He shook his head. "No, never mind."

"Oh, come on! You always looked up to me for advice and I always provide you with such good ones!" Brock chuckled. "Not to mention I'm the love expert! I experienced so many heartbreaks with women, I know everything about them! Just ask me! Is there a girl that you're having troubles with?"

"No really, it's nothing…" Takato flashed a weak and unconvincing smile to his older mentor.

"Takato!" Brock put both of his hands on his hips, staring at Takato in a slightly disapproving manner. "You can trust me with girl problems!"

"Brock!" Takato gasped, covering his mouth with his left hand. "Look!"

"Don't try to change the subject now, Takato…"

"No! Look, Brock!" Takato exclaimed, shooting his index finger at a particular direction.

Brock followed his invisible line of vision and finally saw what Takato's eyes had spotted seconds ago - there was an unconscious Seel lying by a large boulder on the beach. Without hesitation, both men dashed towards the beach and reached where the Seel was lying, with its fat body spread like an eagle.

"How is it, Brock?" Takato asked, sounding concerned.

The toned Pokemon Breeder didn't respond instantly. He was too busy inspecting the body of the Seel. In between intervals, he could be heard grunting and mumbling unintelligibly. They weren't optimistic sounds to Takato's ears.

"This isn't good." Brock finally spoke up. "It's not doing too well."

"W…what's wrong with it?" Takato exclaimed.

"I think that during the hide tides, the sea waves must have carried this baby Seel with it, making it crash into that boulder." Brock sighed and shook his head. "That poor thing must have knocked its head on the boulder and fell unconscious or something."

"How can we help the Seel?" Takato groaned.

"Not much, but…" Brock averted his eyes elsewhere away from the Seel's body. "We do have a first-aid kit in our camp supplies. May be that will help…"

Although the Breeder's voice sounded uncertain, Takato was willing to grasp on any possibility to help this severely injured Seel recover.

"Let's go then!" Takato shouted. He began running towards where their motorboat was parked. "We have to bring it back to camp for treatment!"

"Okay, okay. I'm coming after you." Brock said. He kneeled down and carefully picked up the baby Seel's body in his gentle hands. He then chased after Takato and joined him in the motorboat.

"Everything is going to be okay…" Takato whispered in the Seel's ear. It didn't respond back.

"I wonder why it's separated from the other Seels on the beach." Brock suddenly asked. "The other Seels must have seen its condition, but they are ignoring…"

"May be he was an outcast," suggested Takato.

"An outcast?" Brock asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Judging from its small and awkward appearance, he doesn't seem to be very strong. He doesn't seem to belong with the other Seels on the island." Takato explained in a very soft voice. "He just didn't fit in, no matter how hard he tried to prove his worth that he isn't weak."

Takato paused. He looked up at Brock with a faint smile on his boyish face.

"He's a bit like me at the beginning of the game, I guess…"

"Takato…" Brock muttered, but he seemed to be at a loss of words.

Although Takato Matsuki was normally appeared very cheerful and friendly towards everybody on the tribe, Brock had seen the other side to the goggle-head a few times. He saw it on his face.

Underneath Takato's cheerful smile, there was a lost little boy who seemed so lonely, so insecure, and so detached from reality…

Brock: We found an injured Seel on Shipwreck Island today. Knowing its severe condition, we just couldn't leave it lying there, so we brought it back to camp. After some treatment, it's doing okay now. It didn't wake up yet, but I think the Seel would recover over time. Takato and I are very glad about this.

He smiled thinly at the cameras.

Brock: Takato has been very affectionate towards this baby Seel, mostly because he sees a mirror image of himself inside. Both of them must feel the same helplessness and isolation. But I believe that a fragile creature can recover through gentleness, patience and most importantly, compassion. Takato might be a fragile person before, but I truly believe, from the bottom of my heart, that he has strengthened into a stronger and more confident man.

- - -

May was a worrier. She had many sleepless nights on the island because she was constantly worrying about the future. Back at home, she often worried about how others perceived her - her appearance, her personality, her image, and much more. And in this game, May was also worrying. She not only worried about her survival in this risky and unpredictable game, but she was also concerned about her friends. Sometimes, May felt like she had the responsibility of watching over three people's backs. She had to make sure that at every tribal she attended, there was a no-doubt guarantee that she and her friends would survive to see the next one.

But her attempts were futile. May would always worry, no matter what the others say to comfort her. After all, she was a worrier.

However, that didn't stop her from prodding questions and seeking promises about the upcoming vote. May was not only worried, but she was also suspicious. Compared to all the chaos that happened the first time, everything seemed too peaceful and easy right now. There was a plan that TK would be voted out next with four votes cast by Brock, May, Takato and Drew, an alliance built in the early days of Huntail.

Was it still intact? Or did somebody have a wandering mind?

May: Brock and Takato…I know I can put my complete trust on them. It's Drew who I'm worrying about. I don't care what you say about him. He's a liar and a manipulator, that's all there is to him. Brock thinks he's faithful to us, but there's just something that bothers me about him. Something suspicious, something insincere, something…something that makes me think his allegiance is not with us.

May crossed her arms across her chest and pouted.

May: I need Drew to confirm that TK will be voted off at the next tribal council. He's the all-important fourth vote that we must have. While I don't think I can trust any promise Drew makes me, I'd feel slightly better about it if I hear his promise in actual words. But then again, who knows? Who knows what Drew is thinking? I certainly don't…

Hours before tribal council, she cornered Drew in the forest. May had found him sitting under the shade of a tree with his eyes closed. He was probably sleeping before she interrupted, or may be he was meditating? May didn't know or care. She just wanted an answer, a proof, a confirmation that Drew was still aligned with them.

"Hello, may I sit next to you?" May politely greeted the short, green-haired boy.

There was an awkward pause between the two Coordinators. Drew opened his right eye, looking amused to see May.

"Is there something you want from me?" Drew asked, sounding a bit blunt yet cautious.

"I want…" May said as she took an uninvited seat beside Drew by the tree. "I want you to promise me that you'll vote with us at tribal council."

"Is that all?" Drew asked. He closed his eyes again, but the smirk on his face grew larger and smugger. May was asking something from him. He was the one in control. And that made him feel very powerful over this situation.

"Drew, we made an alliance together when we voted Butch out!" May raised her voice. She hated to let Drew manipulate her emotions like this, but she suddenly felt very angry after hearing his calm and collected voice. "Brock, Takato, you and I…we are a four-person team! We put our complete trust on you and you've to honour that trust!"

"I'm sorry, but why…why are you telling me this?" Drew asked quietly.

May paused. She was caught off-guard with this surprising question.

"Uh…well…" May cringed a little. "I didn't know if you're still going to be loyal to us. Cassidy arrived in our tribe and I…I just don't know anymore. You seem too relaxed for your own good."

"May, do you remember what I promised you?" Drew chuckled.

"I know, I know. But…" May narrowed her eyes at Drew. She looked very serious. "I need you to confirm that you're loyal to us. I want to hear the words from your mouth."

Another pause occurred between the two of them. The pause didn't feel too long for Drew's words to seem hesitant, yet it didn't feel too short either for his words to seem insincere. On the calm Coordinator's face, he had a stoic and unresponsive expression that May couldn't read. Was he thinking about the decision? She wondered, but she would never know. Finally, the usual arrogant smirk returned to his face.

"May, trust me." Drew replied in a manner that was not too loud, nor too soft.

Secretly, May cursed him under her breath. Even the tone of his voice was adjusted in that enigmatic and mysterious attitude. She couldn't read him at all.

"Don't worry. You won't see your name come up in tribal council." He continued. The smirk on his face was consistently smug. "Just like we promised."

"How about Brock? Or Takato?" May asked.

"The same goes for them." Drew said without hesitation.

"Good, that's what I wanted to hear." May accidentally let a small smile escape from her consciousness. She got up from her seat. "Okay, thanks for reassuring me. I hope you keep your end of the promise, or I'll never trust you again. Whatever you do, just remember that, Drew."

Drew didn't say anything. He just smirked.

Drew: Sooner or later, I'm going to have May removed from this game. To me, she has been nothing but an annoyance in my strategic plans. Right now, I don't have the capability to vote her off and that's because of her ridiculous popularity with the tribe and JP's stubbornness to vote off a close 'friend'.

As he said the word 'friend', he used a tone so full of ridicule and mockery that it was obvious Drew was scoffing at the idea of genuine friendship in this game.

Drew: Anyway, May isn't going to be in power for long. She thinks that everything will go her way and TK will be voted off tonight. She expects her perfect alliance of three to stay intact and continue its dominance through the merge. What the spoiled princess doesn't know is that her fairy-tale dreams are about to be dashed. And there will be no prince in shining armour to save her. Tonight, she is going to get the shock of her life.

As May walked away from Drew, she turned around to cast a final look at Drew's face. Despite his feminine and soft facial features, she only noticed his emerald green eyes and that…that look. The look that was so full of smugness and treachery.

From just that one look, she knew enough.

Drew was a traitor.

- - -

As TK and JP packed their belongings inside the shelter, the two friends exchanged a quiet conversation with each other before they departed for tribal council. A keen observer on people, TK was quick to notice the uncharacteristic weary expression on JP's face. The chubby Frontier looked as if he was bothered by a huge burden.

"What's wrong?" TK asked in a gentle voice.

"I'm not going to vote for Drew tonight. May asked me to, but I refused her. I told her that I wouldn't vote for Drew, just like how she would never cast a vote against Brock or Takato." JP sighed. "It's horrible, but…I think I did the right thing."

"You're too honest, JP." TK reached his hand to pat JP softly on his shoulder. "That is your major flaw."

"And then she asked me if I could cast a vote for Cassidy and…and I told her I'll wait to see if she's going to use her immunity necklace or not." JP sighed again, this time sounding more desperate. "It's the best way for me to evade the question."

"Does she know?" TK whispered, slowly withdrawing his hand from JP's shoulder.

"I think so." JP nodded his head. "She even told me that Drew is in an alliance with her and he's playing all of us, but…" He gave an uncomfortable look to TK. "But you know…she's feeling helpless, so…I mean, I said a lot of things I don't mean when I thought I was going to be voted off."

"Drew predicted that something like this would happen," muttered TK.

"Smart guy." JP added, nodding in agreement.

"It's strange that she didn't say any of this to me." TK rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hey, do you think they're targeting me next?"

JP's eyes widened in surprise, but he couldn't say anything in response. Speechlessness was another aspect that TK rarely saw in JP.

"Let's hope not." TK continued with a nervous chuckle. The laughter quickly faded away. "But I'm wary of Drew's motives. He could be playing us again, like he did with Butch."

"I…I don't think he's lying. He's been talking about it to me for weeks. Every day. He really wants to break May's alliance up, no matter what it takes." JP said.

"JP, consider this suggestion." TK looked at his friend with a gentle face. "Why don't we agree to May's deal and vote Cassidy off if she doesn't use her immunity necklace?"

"And what will happen if she does use her immunity?" JP asked. His voice was full of uncertainty. "Who will we vote for then?"

"I wished we could tell May that we'll vote with her alliance if Cassidy doesn't use her immunity necklace, but we'll vote against her alliance if she does use it. But…" TK had a thin smile on his face. "The game doesn't work that way. We can't make promises like that."

The handsome blonde paused as if a brilliant idea suddenly flashed in front of his eyes.

"Do we know that Cassidy is using the immunity necklace anyway?" TK asked his Frontier companion.

"She's very confident in herself, so may be…" JP sighed. "I don't know. She's a wildcard."

Cassidy: I'm attending tribal council again, but with a completely different tribe. I don't feel very powerful in my position, but I am in an alliance with four people who have the majority. If everything goes according to plan, then I'll be safe from the vote. And that means I don't need to waste my immunity necklace!

Her fingers toyed with the thin necklace that hanged around her neck.

Cassidy: It's very risky, but day-um! If I can play this move right, I could get lucky. This little necklace is a lot more useful in the merge than in tribal situations. Let's see what happens.

Cassidy was washing her face by the river when Drew suddenly appeared by her side. She looked up in surprise, but conceals her astonishment with a thin smile that oozed overconfidence. She slowly got up and stood by Drew, towering him due to their massive differences in height.

"Brock's alliance is going to vote for you tonight." Drew whispered softly. "She just told me."

"Damn." Cassidy responded. She clenched her fist tightly in her right hand. "They're not giving me a chance, huh?"

"Are you going to use your immunity necklace?" Drew asked.

"Do I have a reason to use it?" Cassidy smiled confidently. She leaned down slightly and glared into Drew's face, but he seemed unnerved. "I'm in a majority alliance, so even if they throw their three votes at me, I'll still be here tomorrow!"

"Ah yes, that's right…" Drew began.

He paused. The smug smirk on his face then grew wider.

"But you never know," said Drew in a quiet and enigmatic voice. "You never know what some people will do in tribal council."

Cassidy continued staring into Drew's face after he spoke those powerful words. Her overconfidence and comfort had been fogging up her judgment, but it seemed as if Drew's words brought her back to reality. She had been too confident, too careless.

Damn. Cassidy thought. Now, she had no choice but to use the immunity necklace if she wanted to make sure that she stayed in the game.

Although the feisty Team Rocket member knew that Drew had a valid point in his reasoning, she can't help but put all the blame on him for her worrying. Cassidy was somebody who loved and needed to be in control over a situation, but now, Drew had stripped that power away from her, leaving Cassidy with this uneasy and unfamiliar feeling of helplessness. It was his fault that she couldn't keep her immunity necklace.

It was all Drew's fault.

She hated that kid.

- - -

It was an uneasy feeling for many Huntail members to return to tribal council since the third day. With the exception of Cassidy, this was only the second tribe that they attended tribal council. And although they should have been more prepared, most of them felt an anxious feeling of not knowing what to expect. From the surface, Huntail appeared to be such a strong and united tribe that dominated in challenges and thrived on togetherness. But apparently, that was not the case anymore.

"How the mighty has fallen!" Professor Birch said in a ridiculously jubilant tone. Some tribe members shot a sorrowful look at the professor for his insensitive remark. "Welcome to tribal council for the second time, Huntail."

"It's great to finally be here, professor. We miss ya." JP grinned.

"That's good to hear." Professor Birch smiled cheekily. "So JP, how has things changed in the Huntail tribe since your first tribal council?"

"After the first three days of disaster, we really came through together. We started working together as a tribe, winning challenges, building friendships…oh yeah, it's awesome." JP nodded his head as he spoke.

"Hearing that must make you feel a bit antsy, Cassidy." Professor Birch turned towards the intimidating Team Rocket member. "You're the newcomer in this tribe, struggling to fit in."

"Yeah, you can say that." Cassidy smirked. Her mouth was slightly open as if she was going to add on that remark, but she kept silent with only her delicate finger toying around the immunity necklace that she was wearing.

"Are you worried that you might be voted off?" Professor Birch asked.

"If I'm going to be voted off tonight, then hell yes, I should be worried." Cassidy shrugged her shoulders. She spoke this in a tone that didn't seem like she was worried at all.

Professor Birch glared at the Team Rocket member for a few seconds, mumbling something about a 'half-ass' answer. His professionalism quickly returned to him however, and he turned to TK for the next question.

"TK, you…you've injured your leg in the past few days, didn't you?" Professor Birch asked.

"That's right, professor." TK nodded his head lightly with a small smile. "But I'm still hanging on."

"Do you think that injury makes you a liability in this tribe? I mean…you were a pretty darn good athlete before this happened," said Professor Birch.

"I guess so. But accidents happen accidentally, so I'm…" TK began.

Professor Birch interrupted with a thin smile on his bearded face.

"Wait. Can you repeat what you just said?" Professor Birch asked, looking amused.

"Something about accidents happening accidentally…" TK stopped himself and suddenly began chuckling. "Sorry, I take that back. What I said doesn't make any sense whatsoever."

A few tribe members laughed. The laughter seemed to break the nervous tension that was apparent in this tribal council.

"Drew." Professor Birch was now staring at the smug Coordinator. His smile quickly faded away. "How difficult is it for you to cast the vote tonight?"

"It's very difficult to vote anybody out, professor." Drew said instantly, almost as if this was a rehearsed speech at the top of his head.

"Do you have any idea who you're going to vote for?" Professor Birch continued asking.

"Yes, of course." Drew smirked.

"One last thing before we go to the vote." Professor Birch smiled at Cassidy. "Cassidy, you've the immunity necklace. Are you going to use it tonight?"

"Yes. I'm going to use this baby here tonight." Cassidy nodded her head, tapping her fingers on the necklace. A few tribe members shot her several looks of disdain. They were not surprised, but they did look slightly disappointed at her response.

"Okay then, it's time to vote. Cassidy is immune, so nobody can cast a vote for her. Drew, you're up first." Professor Birch gestured the Pokemon Coordinator to move.

Drew got up from his seat and crossed over the bridge to the other side, where the voting booth was located. He picked up a black marker and scribbled a five lettered name on the parchment. He held the vote up. It read: "Brock".

"Brock, you've been an excellent and respectable leader. You provided plenty of survival knowledge and skills to our tribe. Huntail wouldn't be nearly as successful had it not been for your leadership. This is a vote cast out of respect and not due to malice."

The Pokemon Coordinator paused. Then, he shrugged his shoulders.

"But being a good leader just isn't enough to survive in this game. First and foremost, you've to be a good player. You made your alliance with May and Takato so obvious and out in the open that everybody knew about it. It was painfully clear to me that the three of you will stick together no matter what the circumstances are. Brock, you showed your entire hand to everyone before you were dealt all your cards. And a good player never does that."

May voted, and then JP followed. The chubby Frontier was the second person to cast a vote for Brock tonight.

"Sorry man, but I have to do this to ya. You're just too much of a threat. I'm pretty sure you'll dominate all of the physical and mental challenges in the merge, so yeah…you need to go. Bye and thanks for everything, dude."

Takato voted, and then it was Cassidy's turn. She cast the third vote against Brock in this tribal council.

"Your plan to vote me off foiled. I've the immunity necklace and I'm guaranteed a spot in the merge. You…you, on the other hand, will not. Hell yeah, that's how it is."

Brock voted. And then TK voted, casting the last vote of the night.

All seven votes were written down on paper. Somebody was going home tonight.

- - -

As he watched Professor Birch return with the voting urn, Takato felt a queasy sensation inside his stomach. Although it was a small and harmless container, the power that it carried inside was almost intimidating. Takato knew that Professor Birch was about to pull out seven votes and one sealed fate. He hoped it was not him. While the goggle-head was fairly confident that he would be safe in this tribal council ("There were bigger fish to fry," joked Takato), he could never be too comfortable about his position in this game. The game was always changing. And people were always lying.

"Once the votes have been read, the person voted off will be asked to leave tribal council area immediately," said Professor Birch.

Takato gulped. Although his alliance was supposed to have the numbers, the majority, the four votes enough to send somebody home, he still had a bad feeling about this.

Something felt wrong.

"I'll now read the votes," said Professor Birch. He reached his hand inside the urn and pulled out the first parchment. He took a brief look at it and then turned the vote around for everybody to read.

"TK."

The handsome blonde smiled weakly at Professor Birch. It was him - the one with the injury. Brock's alliance had targeted him after all.

"Second vote." Professor Birch continued, pulling another parchment out of the urn. "TK."

TK nodded his head in comprehension. He turned to look at Brock, May and Takato - all three of them wore guilty expressions on their faces as TK's name was read out. But TK knew that once one of them cast their vote against him, all three of them will pool their votes in the same direction. That was an inevitable fact.

"TK." Professor Birch read out the third vote.

Brock flashed an apologetic smile at TK. He patted the blonde on the shoulder, as if this was a silent apology for casting a vote against him tonight. TK continued nodding his head, but he was too focused on Professor Birch to respond back to Brock. He had three votes so far. One more vote with his name on it - and he would be voted out of the game.

But tribal council was not over until it was really over. And TK wasn't about to resigned to fate until he saw his name appeared for the fourth time in a row.

Professor Birch pulled out the fourth vote. It had a different name on the parchment this time.

"Brock."

The Pokemon Breeder raised an eyebrow. He slowly withdrew his hand from TK's shoulder, looking at the emotionless blonde with uncertainty.

"Fifth vote…Brock." Professor Birch repeated his name for the second time.

Brock narrowed his squinty eyes onto the parchment, attempting to interpret the messy handwriting and identify the person.

"Brock." Professor Birch said, holding up the sixth vote. "That's three votes for TK and three votes for Brock. One vote left."

Professor Birch reached his hand inside the voting urn and pulled out the final piece of parchment.

And he turned it over.

There it was - his name.

"The sixth person voted out of Survivor: Dewford Islands…" Professor Birch sadly smiled at the tribe. "Brock."

May dropped her head in disappointment. Her worst nightmare had just come true. Brock was voted off. Her alliance was broken apart. Her friend was gone forever. She didn't even need to look at Drew to know what happened. He had betrayed them, just like she predicted that he would.

"I didn't see that coming at all," muttered Brock. He sounded angry and confused at the same time. Nobody dared to look at him, except for Cassidy, who wore a boastful smirk on her face as the Pokemon Breeder got up from his seat.

"Brock…" Takato mumbled, sounding helpless and distressed. Brock patted him on the shoulder gently, but said nothing to comfort the teary-eyed Tamer.

After retrieving his torch, Brock marched over to Professor Birch.

"The tribe has spoken, Brock." Professor Birch said as he snuffed out the flame in Brock's torch. "It's time for you to go."

Brock nodded his head. He turned around and smiled sadly at Takato and May. He didn't acknowledge the rest of the tribe in his farewell. In Brock's eyes - they were all no-good traitors. They meant nothing to him.

"Bye Brock…" May said in a soft and feeble voice, waving at the Pokemon Breeder as he disappeared into the forest.

And he was gone forever.

"This might be a trend or a mere coincidence, but in both tribal councils, you voted off the leader of your tribe." Professor Birch said, holding his hands behind his back. "Either way, it doesn't matter anymore. After tomorrow, the two tribes will be one. Did you make a good decision in voting your tribe leader off? Think about it tonight."

Takato closed his eyes. He was completely blindsided at tribal council. Out of all the possibilities and scenarios he had imagined, he did not expect Brock to be voted off at all. How could they vote for Brock? Did they forget all of his accomplishments in this game? He was the man who built a sturdy shelter for their tribe. He was the athlete who dominated in challenges. He was the doctor who treated their injuries. He was the chef who arranged their meals. Most importantly, he was the leader who made Huntail into a strong and unified tribe. Brock contributed everything to Huntail.

And they voted him off without hesitation.

Although Takato still needed time to process what just happened, he already pictured what Huntail would be like without Brock - their leader.

This was not Huntail.

This was hell.

- - -

Brock's Final Words

Honestly, I had no idea that I would be voted off tonight. If anybody even gave me a hint that this would happen, I would have prepared a better reaction when I saw my torch get snuff. They voted me out, but nobody had the courage or courtesy to even tell me about it. It kind of hurts, but I'll get over it. You win some and you lose some. I put my trust on a certain green-haired weasel and it bit me in the ass. Oh well.

Now that I'm out of the game, I've a few people I'd like to thank. Thanks, May and Takato, for always being by my side no matter what the issue is. You two are the most genuine people left in the game and I'm rooting for you all the way! I'd also like to thank the Gorebyss tribe for voting Zoe and Mimi out of the game this early. Now if you'd excuse me, there are some beautiful girls are waiting for me at the Loser's Lounge!

- - -

Next Time on Survivor –

The two tribes merge into one...
Professor Birch: Gorebyss and Huntail are no more.
(He holds up a dark purple buff in his left hand.)
Professor Birch: From now on, the ten of you are the Clamperl tribe.

Loyalties are tested...
May: Is the deal between us still intact?
(The man beside her nods his head. May smiles very gratefully at him.)

And angry emotions run high...
Casey: What the hell, Takuya?
(Casey hurls a soda can at Takuya's direction.)
Takuya: You're annoying.

All this and more on – Episode 7: His True Colours

- - -

Author's Notes: Thanks for reading the latest chapter! Please review and take the Episode 6 after you're finished with the episode. I appreciate reading your comments very much!