IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER CROSSOVER SPECIAL! YEEEEEEEAH!

000

Following the crossover with Shaymin and her cast, the Sunne and Moone Pokemon were both feeling confident about their show's popularity. The exposure from the more well-renown show really helped boost their ratings and self-confidence.

At the moment, both hosts were in the hall; it was 8:43 at night, meaning that Lunala was the one up and about. The lunar bat was heading from the kitchen after getting a few popsicles for herself, ignoring the loud noises coming from the living room, where the guys were STILL having their movie marathon, which was understandable considering the amount of movies that were in the world, but it was getting annoying.

Passing by Solgaleo's room, she heard the faint ringing of a telephone. She didn't know anyone who'd call Solgaleo since majority of all of the legendaries were here already, so her curiosity was piqued.

Floating through his door with her ghostliness, she picked up the phone.

"Oh, hey Victini…" she greeted.

"..."

"Uh...yeah, sure…" she replied, a bit nervous, hearing his tone of voice. "Uh, are you feeling okay? You sound nervous about something."

"..."

"Uh...no one's dead on our side," Lunala replied, sweat dropping. "So, try to calm down."

"!"

"Yes, the dimension thing is confusing, but just try to-"

"..."

"Uh...alright then, we'll see you tomo-"

She heard a thud over the phone, followed by a dial tone, causing confusion on her side. "Hello? Victini?" she queried, a bit unhinged from the good Victini's panicked tone. She eventually shrugged it off and hung up the phone.

Lunala floated over to Solgaleo's sleeping form; the large white feline was lying on his back with his covers over him, the blankets moving up and down in sync with his breathing. She almost didn't want to wake him. Almost.

She smacked him with one of her wings, which only caused his nose to twitch. She sighed in immediate exasperation; she remembered that he sometimes doesn't feel a thing when sleeping. She covered his muzzle with one of her hands, which initially didn't do much, but in due time, the Sunne Pokemon started struggling and shifting in his sleep.

Eventually, his eyes popped open and he saw Lunala suffocating him. Once his eyes popped open, Lunala released his muzzle, allowing him to breathe. "WHAT THE HELL, LUNALA?!" he croaked, catching his breath.

"Sorry," she apologized. "You just got a call from Victini and he said that he and his competitors would be coming tomorrow."

Solgaleo sighed. "Okay," he responded before promptly passing back out.

Lunala shook her head with a sigh before floating out of his room.

000

16.1 hours passed

000

Five out of the final six contestants were all on the seventh floor. Most of them were still recoiling from their experience on Shaymin's island. Those guys really had it rough. Incineroar, having not gone, was filled in by Lycanroc once they got back, and based on what she said, things sounded pretty decent for the most part.

"I hope that we never have another collaboration again," Hakamo-o stated brashly. "That was so annoying! Magikarp worshipping? A worthless challenge!? What was that!?"

"How do you think I feel?" Dhelmise asked.

"I don't care about how you feel!" Hakamo-o exclaimed, her eyes tightening in a glower toward the Sea Creeper Pokemon.

"I'm not surprised that Tsareena was able to handle herself poorly," Lycanroc said, sitting in Incineroar's lap. "No offense to her."

"No, no. Offense," Dhelmise yielded. "She did practically nothing to help her sorry excuse of a team."

"Dhelmise, why didn't you take out their entire team when you had the chance?" Lycanroc asked tentatively. "I mean, I think I understand, I just want-"

"Oh yes, get one point for taking out eleven people, that's completely fair," Dhelmise snarkily said, rolling his non-existent eyes.

Lycanroc shrugged, her assumption being correct.

"Well, I'm just glad that Shiinotic's gone again," Incineroar spoke, stroking Lycanroc's fur.

"Hey, the creep completely abandoned the challenge and kidnapped two of Shaymin's players," Dhelmise explained. "It was inevitable."

"Exactly," Hakamo-o replied.

"Well, I wouldn't say that we should never have another crossover again," Pyukumuku chirped. "It's fun interacting with other people! And at least knowing that we're not truly alone in these types of shows."

"We watch television, we know we're not alone in these situations…" Dhelmise said tonelessly.

"Well, maybe if we have another one, you guys will like the people there more," Pyukumuku cheerily suggested.

The other four exchanged looks momentarily.

"Doubt it," Hakamo-o stated.

"Ditto," Dhelmise agreed.

"I didn't experience it, so I don't really care," Incineroar informed with a shrug.

"Eh, I'm half-and-half about the situation," Lycanroc admitted, raking her fur back only for it to flop back forward. "I don't mind, but I'm also not too fond of it."

Suddenly, Hakamo-o's stomach grumbled, as she hadn't eaten anything yet. And ever since Togedemaru was eliminated, all of the food had actually started tasting better.

"Well, I'm gonna go get some breakfast," Hakamo-o said, standing up and heading to the elevators.

"Fine. No need to announce it…" Dhelmise replied.

Hakamo-o glared at him before continuing to go. The remaining four sat in silence for a while before Pyukumuku spoke up. "Wanna hear about how weird my life is?" he queried cutely.

The other three exchanged glances.

000

Hakamo-o made it to the buffet area and started to gather some food on a plate. It felt a bit empty with Togedemaru gone, but it was far better without her. She decided to peek out the window just to admire the view, but noticed something completely shocking. She noticed that other Pokemon were walking down the street toward the hotel...led by Victini!

Her eyes widened and she immediately rushed out of the buffet area and toward the elevators.

-000-

"And that's why my life is strange. The end," Pyukumuku finished as Incineroar, Lycanroc, and Dhelmise had disturbed expressions on their faces.

"Uh...how did you even-"

"GUYS!" Hakamo-o exclaimed, jumping out of the elevator. "I don't know what the hell is going on, but Victini's outside and he's got other Pokemon with him!"

"WHAT?!" they all exclaimed.

Lycanroc growled angrily. "That little bastard had better not be here to fuck with me…"

"I honestly doubt that he's that dumb," Dhelmise replied.

"What Pokemon were there?" asked Incineroar. "How many?"

"Uh, I don't know, I didn't count. As soon as I saw Victini, I came back up here," Hakamo-o replied.

"I swear if this is an ambush, it'll be therapy all over again," Pyukumuku said.

"COMPETITORS! REPORT TO THE LOBBY IMMEDIATELY FOR ANOTHER IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!" Solgaleo roared.

"Wait...if Victini's here, does that mean-"

"Oh...FUCK!" Hakamo-o swore in realization.

000

The five of them made it to the lobby, where they saw both hosts waiting yet again, only this time, both were wide awake.

"Why is Victini outside?" asked Lycanroc, baring her teeth.

"Calm down Lycanroc, that's not the same Victini that fucked with your family's graves," Solgaleo explained, trying to calm her down. "It's a different, good one."

"What?!"

"We don't know," Solgaleo replied, not really caring about the dimension problem. "However, what we do know is that he is here with his own contestants for another crossover merge special!"

Hakamo-o and Dhelmise let out a shared moan of displeasure.

"Oh get over it," Lunala jeered. "You'll be fine. They're at their merge as well, so there's a lot less to deal with."

"As if that makes a difference," Dhelmise said, rolling his eyes.

Looking over the competitors, Solgaleo noticed that someone was missing. "Uh, we're missing Tsareena."

"Who cares?" Hakamo-o said with shrug. "She'll probably mess something up this time and get herself eliminated again."

Lunala immediately teleported the ditzy Fruit Pokemon into the lobby with the rest of them. She was completely wet, so it could be assumed that she was in the shower.

"Aw...I ended up wetting myself again," she moaned, looking at her arms. "That's no fun…"

"It's only fun when it's the place between your legs that's wet," Dhelmise commented.

"What are legs?"

Dhelmise sighed at her idiocy.

"Just hurry up and bring them in. They're on our island now, so we have the control this time," Incineroar commented boldly, folding his arms.

"You're still gay. Stop trying to act tough," Dhelmise jeered, earning him a death glare from the tiger.

-000-

Solgaleo and Lunala exited the hotel, with a few of Victini's contestants staring up in complete shock. "What's up, Victini?" Solgaleo greeted.

"Well, an obnoxious pig nearly killed us by crashing into Paniola Ranch, but it's fine because this shit literally happens every day for me," Victini responded, his eye twitching. "How are you?"

"Just fine," Solgaleo replied with a pleasant nod.

"Hello again, Solgaleo," Hariyama said quietly, with a respectful nod.

"Hello Hariyama," the large feline greeted in return.

"Uh, hello! I'm here, too," Lunala interjected, a scowl plastered on her face.

Hariyama chuckled. "How could Hariyama forget? How have friends been?"

"Pretty good," Lunala replied. "Barring one unbearably annoying contestant…"

Victini glanced ahead into the hotel. "Uh...why is your cast glaring at me? Is this what culture shock feels like?"

"Nah mate, you're just ugly," Tepig said, walking forward with the rest of the cast. "Wonderful. More legendaries."

"Wonderful, more contestants," Solgaleo retorted. "And there are...eleven of you. Interesting number, I suppose."

"Well, twelve, if you count-"

"We don't count MR. PINEAPPLE, Tepig!" Victini snarled. "Sorry about Tepig. Ignore him and he'll probably leave you alone."

"Oh, don't you mind. We have our very own 'Tepig' in the hotel right now," Lunala said. "He's actually worse. A LOT worse."

"Blasphemy," Tepig hissed.

"Hey, anyone who's not Tepig, want to introduce yourself?" Victini shouted, interrupting the snarky pig before he could continue his rambles. "How many contestants do you have left, Solgaleo?"

"Six," the lion responded.

"Ahh. Final stretch, is it?" Hariyama said with a chuckle. "Looking forward to making with the meeting of them."

"Well, you may enjoy some more than others, so…" Lunala remarked. "You may take that back."

"Hariyama has spent many millennia-ER decades! Decades spent with little shits. Nothing I can't handle."

"If you insist," Solgaleo shrugged. "Come on in."

The Sunne and Moone Pokemon headed back to the hotel doors, with the lion holding the door open for them all.

000

Once they were all inside, the final six looked over the final eleven from the other show intently.

"Well, lookie at what we have here," Dhelmise snarked. "Eleven little losers from another shitty show."

"Was the bit about us being losers really necessary?" a perturbed looking Zorua asked.

"That's Dhelmise," Lunala introduced. "Like we said, worse than your Tepig…"

"Well of course, he's an ugly ass living anchor," Tepig snorted. "What else can he do with his life? Doesn't seem to have the limbs necessary to do most jobs."

"Okay, two things," Dhelmise started. "One. I'm fucking seaweed, and I'm also a ghost, so my lack of limbs isn't a hindrance at all on my life. I could still fuck your bitch. And two, you're literally part of a balanced breakfast. We've eaten a lot of your kind here in our great hotel, so you have literally no room to talk down to anyone. Especially when you sound like a bootleg British snob."

Tepig grinned. "Ohohoho. I'm getting back at you for that, you magnificent green bastard."

"We'll see about that," Dhelmise replied.

"Hey, douchebag bonding, how pleasant," Hakamo-o commented, rolling her eyes as she folded her arms.

"Wonderful, there's two of them now," Zorua muttered. "Least Ninjask's gone."

"You know, I'm actually offended that MY assholery wasn't mentioned," an Umbreon grumbled. "I am also a registered douchebag, and I demand to be treated as such."

"Yeah, no. You're the second-place Eeveelution cum dumpster, second to only Flareon, of course," Dhelmise replied. "That status of your species completely overshadows your individual personality."

"Sorry 'bout that, sheila," Tepig said in a mock sympathetic tone. "Biological makeup screwed you over."

"Hey! If you three will stop flirting, I was wondering if there were any unassuming, small Pokemon that stay under the radar?" a Munchlax piped up. "Cuz if there are, you're among friends."

"Oh, well he's not necessarily under the radar," Lycanroc started, looking down beside herself before kneeling down and picking him up. "But, we have Pyukumuku."

"Hello", the Sea Cucumber Pokemon chirped, waving a hand.

"Join our merry band of pirates!" Munchlax shouted, gesturing to Shuckle, who groaned in response.

"Uh… Okay, I guess," Pyukumuku responded.

"I can just tell you now that doing that isn't going to go well for you," Hakamo-o explained, eyeing Pyukumuku hesitantly.

"We're not selective!" Munchlax said.

"Apparently, not, given the Scrafty situation," Shuckle deadpanned.

"-So you should join us too!" Munchlax said to Hakamo-o hopefully.

"Uh, no thanks. I'd rather stick to my guns," Hakamo-o replied, folding her arms. "No offense, but I doubt either of you will make it further than this."

"Haka!" Lycanroc scolded, hands on her hips.

"Hey, it's common sense!" Hakamo-o replied. "People trying to stay under the radar hardly ever win these shows anymore. It's a useless strategy."

"NOBODY CALLS MY STRATEGIES USELESS!" Shuckle shouted. "I'LL KILL HER!"

"Dude, calm down," Munchlax whispered.

"I AM VERY SORRY, BUT I'VE BEEN COOPED UP ON THAT PLANE TOO LONG!" Shuckle shouted. "I need to get the screaming out of my system!"

"So, are we going to move on to the challenge or are we just gonna keep standing around and listen to these guys?" Incineroar inquired.

"Well, we're gonna offer you guys a bit of a grace period to get to know each other and let Victini's contestants get a breather considering their near-death experience," Lunala explained, eyeing the thirteen visitors thoughtfully.

Incineroar sighed. "Fine," he groaned.

"Sweet!" shouted an Infernape that looked like he had been dying to insert himself into the conversation. "Can we get a tour?"

"Here's your tour," Dhelmise started. "This is the lobby. Second floor is for food. The third through sixth floors are our rooms, and the seventh floor is the recreation floor. There."

"Seems reasonable!" Infernape said.

"Wow, actual organization?" Slowking asked. "Victini, you could learn a thing or two."

"Can it, Sleeping Beauty," Victini growled.

"So, it's... 11:24 right now," Solgaleo noted, looking at the clock. He turned his attention back to Victini's cast. "We usually start the challenges around 10, but since you guys got here unconventionally, we're gonna just leave you all together and you'll just deal with each other until noon. That's when we'll start the challenges."

"Oh come on!" Hakamo-o roared. She just wanted to get the challenges over with; Shaymin's crossover really soured her opinion of these publicity stunts.

"Deal with it," Lunala retorted. "Victini, Hariyama, you're welcome to come to the hall with us while they interact and such."

"Uh...sure," Victini said. "Enjoy yourselves in the meantime, guys!"

The three hosts and Hariyama teleported out of the hotel in an instant, leaving the seventeen contestants alone in the lobby, exchanging unsure glances about what to do next.

"How's the show for you guys?" Lucario asked. "Fun? Because in our case…"

"It's pretty much the same mind-numbing, painstaking drivel that we all have to deal with," Dhelmise explained.

"But, on the bright side, we get good food, television, actual beds, and a place to play games and lift weights…" Lycanroc chirped.

"Eh, come to think of it, we don't have it too bad either," Scrafty admitted. "Besides the island's general crappiness, at least we're actually getting good food now."

"Cool," Pyukumuku replied.

The two groups continued standing around in silence.

"So, what games you guys got?" Munchlax asked, trying to break the silence.

"I'd like to get a workout in, if anyone wants to show me where I can find it. Anyone want to be my sparring partner?" Lucario asked. "I'd ask Infernape, but I think the continuous blows to the head might start to become a threat to his already limited brain cells."

"Hey, then he'll be perfect with this ditz," Dhelmise said, pushing Tsareena toward the chimp, who started blushing slightly.

"Uh...h-hi," he greeted.

Tsareena blinked in response. "What's hi?"

"See what I mean?" Dhelmise drawled.

"Incineroar and I can show you to the workout room, Lucario," Lycanroc replied, answering the jackal's question. "And I'm sure Hakamo-o would love be your sparring partner. Right, Haka?"

"Love… Might be an understatement," Hakamo-o replied, passing Lucario a competitive smirk.

"Careful, she's a raging dyke," Umbreon warned. "Not sure if you want to get….intimate with someone like her."

"I will Aura Sphere you to oblivion," Lucario growled, hands covering her eyes in embarrassment.

"Oh there's no problem with gays here," Dhelmise chimed in. "We've got a raging fag right here," he said, gesturing to Incineroar, who twitched.

The tiger growled savagely, clenching his fists. "I WILL RIP YOU OFF OF THAT DAMNED ANCHOR AND IMMOLATE YOU TO SHIINOTIC'S GOD!"

"See what I mean?" Dhelmise replied.

Incineroar was prepared to fulfill his threat, but Lycanroc held him back. "Okay, uh… Lucario, why don't you just come with us?" the wolf asked, still trying to prevent her friend from harming Dhelmise.

"Uh… sure," the jackal replied tentatively.

Hakamo-o started heading to the elevators, with Lycanroc hopping onto Incineroar's back before following her. Lucario was still hiding a partial blush due to Umbreon's comment, but followed the three of them.

"Don't drop the soap!" Dhelmise called.

"Fuck off!" Hakamo-o retorted, glaring at him as the elevator doors closed.

Once the four of them were gone, the room filled with silence. Munchlax spoke up once again.

"So, is no one going to answer my question?" the bear inquired. "What games do you guys have?"

"Well, we've got stuff like GTA, Halo, Call of Duty, Mario Kart…" Pyukumuku started.

"W-wow," Munchlax said, drooling a little. "We had like….nothing back at our camp. Do you know how boring Wii Sports gets after a while?"

"This place is the first time I've ever played a video game," Pyukumuku said with the same cheeriness in his voice. "Well, the ones that they've got here anyway. And there's no Wii…"

"Wait, how do you play games with one hand?" Shuckle asked.

"Oh, I haven't played that much lately, but I just leave it on the ground and press buttons," Pyukumuku explained, giving a thumbs up.

"I'd respond in kind, but uh….noodle arms," Shuckle said sheepishly.

"So can we go?" Munchlax asked, his eyes wide.

"Please," Dhelmise insisted. "Being around people like you annoy the hell out of me. Pyukumuku is okay, but two more losers is just… ugh."

"I'll take you guys," Pyukumuku said, hopping toward the elevators. Munchlax and Shuckle glared at Dhelmise for a few seconds before following the sea cucumber to the elevators.

Once the three of them left, Dhelmise floated to the sitting area and groaned. Tepig and Umbreon exchanged glances before deciding to head toward him, leaving Tsareena alone with Infernape, Slowking, Zorua, Gallade, and Charizard.

"You look….REALLY smart Tsareena!" Infernape said, giving her a look of awe.

"What's smart?" Tsareena replied, tilting her head in confusion.

"Whoa, and she's so contemplative," Infernape whispered. "It's like she's so smart she isn't smart, right?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Slowking asked, mystified.

"She's so philosophical!" Infernape said. "She can barely even stand in her enlightenment!"

"I….suppose there's no way one could truly be THAT dumb," Slowking said hesitantly. "What do you have to say to that, Tsareena?"

"I like soup," she replied.

"Oh my God! Soup is like, your favorite thing!" Infernape yelped. "Coincidence, I think not!"

Tsareena blinked in response.

"Stop wasting your time over there!" Dhelmise bellowed from the side. "She's a complete dunce. Asking questions or talking her doesn't do shit for her! She'll just stare at you."

"Well did you try staring back?" Infernape shouted back, before glaring at her.

"I'm not dealing with this, someone feed me," Zorua groaned.

"You should've gone with the three stooges, they're the only ones who'd give a damn," Dhelmise yelled. "Plus, like I said, it's on the second floor."

"Eh, whatever, I'll go with you," Charizard said with a shrug. "I'm always hungry after plane rides."

Slowking raised a hand. "Is there anywhere I could lie my head down? I have narcoleptic issues."

"I call bullshit, but there's beanbag chairs on the seventh floor where the other idiots are," Dhelmise explained. "Or, you could ask Pyukumuku when you get up there. He'll let you sleep in his room."

Slowking teleported away.

"D-did you know he could do that?" Zorua asked Gallade. "Wait, you're a psychic. Can YOU do that?"

"I've never tried," Gallade admitted. Zorua shrugged and left with Charizard, leaving Tsareena and Infernape staring at each other.

-000-

"Any particular reason you two are still here?" Dhelmise questioned, as Tepig and Umbreon were sitting in front of him. "I've told you about the hotel, so why don't you skedaddle?"

"Because being annoying on purpose is fun?" Tepig asked with an innocent smile.

"I uh...actually had a question that I kinda wanted to keep...er...under the radar…" Umbreon said, looking back and forth. "You're a grass type, right?"

"Yeah?" the seaweed responded.

"I was wondering if you had access to-er…..you know," Umbreon stammered. "Stuff?"

"What do I look like? The neighborhood dope dealer?" Dhelmise inquired. "I don't do that trash and I don't know why anyone with a functioning brain would."

"Psshh, Umbreon with a functioning brain?" Tepig asked. Umbreon punched him in the stomach, causing him to squeal.

"Look dude, that plane ride was stressful as shit. Do you know anyone that might know then?" Umbreon asked.

"Well, if Shiinotic was still here, he could probably hook you up," Dhelmise replied. "Though, he'd probably ask for your internal organs as payment. That bastard was on something, but we don't know what."

"He sounds like a fun guy!" Tepig snickered.

"Okay, Tepig, do you have anything to add to this?" Umbreon snapped. "Ugghhh, I'd totally give a lung for some weed right now."

"I hope you realize that I'm talking about almost everything, right?" Dhelmise questioned. "Intestines, heart, brain, tongue, stomach…"

"Wait, does that work for other people? I wouldn't mind removing some of Charizard's organs," Umbreon said evilly.

"SO," Tepig said, on a desperate track to change the conversation. "What do you do for fun, Dhelmise?"

"What fun do you think exists here for me?" Dhelmise inquired. "I eat, sleep, plan, and piss these dumbasses off whenever I feel like it. They get upset so quick that it's almost too easy. I don't do video games or work out like the others, and when we go to the beach, I either sink or watch them. The only thing that could maybe be called fun is pissing them off. What about you?"

"I do everything, mate. Pissing off people's fun, though," Tepig admitted. "They DO make it way too easy, don't they? If only there was someone that could provide a satisfying challenge…."

"Fuck it, I'm going to see if I can find some organs in the refrigerator. You two have fun with your bromance or whatever," Umbreon said, turning around and walking away.

Dhelmise watched her go and scoffed. "Eh, I guess I can see why Umbreon get plowed into so much. Still not much to look at though. And I hope she realizes that Shiinotic is gone, so her quest for organs will be for jack shit."

"She won a beauty contest, if I remember right," Tepig said. "Ooh, you want dirt on her? Go for that point. She HATES it when people mention it."

"Thanks for the tip, pork chop," Dhelmise replied. "With your ragtag band of misfits, this'll be very fun for me…"

Tepig pulled out a data file with information on the entire cast. "Hell yeah, it will. Let's do a bit of secret sharing, shall we? Get this crossover done right!"

"I'll be honest, none of these nimrods really have many secrets," Dhelmise said. "Plus, Pyukumuku and Lycanroc are the only ones here that are actually pretty 'unbreakable' in a sense. Pyukumuku doesn't really get that offended by much, and uh… let's just say that Lycanroc is off limits."

"Oh?" Tepig asked with a mischievous grin. "Do tell."

"Tell what? I literally just said that those two don't have much to go off of. Well, Pyukumuku does, but it's literally sad, so it's a bit pathetic to try to go for that point. Plus, it doesn't really bother him that much."

"Yeah, Infernape gets his ass handed to him so often it's no fun to target him either. Everybody else is on the market. Especially Gallade. Gallade's fun," Tepig said. "What's up with Lycanroc, though? Are you two….?"

"OH ARCEUS NO!" Dhelmise bellowed, as if offended. "Love is bullshit and I will never look for that mind-numbing shit. Plus, she likes Incineroar, which is very humorous."

"...He's gay, in'he?" Tepig asked.

"Gay and engaged," Dhelmise replied. "Some stupid Lucario actually found that attractive and is planning on marrying it. And I gotta say, he's really plowing into him with the way he acts."

"Haha, gross," Tepig said. "Incineroar sounds like one of those types that take a joke. Like Charizard. Also are you sure that you're not into Lycanroc? Cuz I have a radar for that."

"Oh please. The only 'attraction' I'd have to her would be because of her personality, but I don't like it much either," Dhelmise explained. "110% sure that I'm not into her. I respect her, I'll give her that, though."

"Okay, okay," Tepig said, raising his hands in surrender. "This is gonna be a fun challenge, though. Brand new Pokemon to mock, and now I get to watch another Ninjask mock the hell out of them too? Dammit, if only if it was recorded…."

His eyes lit up. "It IS recorded."

"Yeah, we're still on a shit show, remember?" Dhelmise replied.

"Even better. You know, Dhelmise, I feel like this is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship," Tepig said, teary eyed.

"I don't have friends. Acquaintance is more to my liking," Dhelmise replied with a nod.

000

"Yeah… he's gonna be eliminated soon… I can just see it," Dhelmise opined. "Talking to me about alliances or friends gets you eliminated. Ask Togedemaru and Oricorio…"

000

"So...uh...you're a lesbian, huh?" Incineroar inquired inquisitively, eyeing Lucario as she lifted weights. "Got anyone back at home?"

"I have a lot of stuff to figure out," Lucario said awkwardly. "I-I have a boyfriend, but I'm beginning to think that maybe...he might've just been a smokescreen. I got called a lot of names for being the tough girl, so looking back I might have just started dating him to throw them off."

"Oh? Tough girl who was made fun of for it…" Lycanroc started. "Hmm… I wonder why that sounds so familiar…"

The wolf turned to Hakamo-o, who was remaining silent, lifting 50 pound weights. Upon hearing that, the dragon- and fighting-type sighed. "Lycanroc, please don't start…"

"C'mon! You two are almost the exact same!" Lycanroc said, rubbing her shoulders as she stopped lifting the two weights. "Share some advice! Maybe you can help her out."

"Yeah, that doesn't sound like a bad idea!"

"But, I'm not… y'know, gay," Hakamo-o replied.

"That doesn't matter! You both have similar backgrounds. Just talk to her!"

Hakamo-o gave her wolf friend an annoyed glower before finally groaning and dropping the weights.

"Maybe you should take her to your room. We don't want you to air your dirty laundry with the guys here," Lycanroc said, gesturing to Pyukumuku, Shuckle, and Munchlax, who were playing Halo in the game section of the floor.

"I-uh...don't think they're even paying attention…" Incineroar spoke up, glancing over to them.

"Just go. Privacy is always better…"

"Okay, fine," Hakamo-o groaned, facepalming herself. She glanced at Lucario, who had stopped lifting her weights. "Come with me…"

"I….uh okay?" Lucario said, scratching her head.

Hakamo-o led Lucario to the elevators, leaving Lycanroc and Incineroar with the three guys and the games.

000

Hakamo-o and Lucario arrived on the third floor, where the Solgaleo females still slept. She walked to her door and opened it, holding the door so that Lucario could go in, first.

Lucario looked around the room, admiring the setup of the rooms. Hakamo-o walked ahead of her and sat on her bed. She pat her hand on the area next to her, though she really didn't think doing this was necessary.

Lucario took a seat next to her and Hakamo-o took a breath. "Okay… just, explain what your problem is and I'll see what I can help you do…"

"I mean it isn't a problem, per se…I'm fine. I just feel like a bit of an asshole is all," Lucario said. "Something I'll have to sort out with the guy once the season ends. Also, you don't seem much of the listening type."

Hakamo-o let out a sigh. "There it goes again," she said, rising up. "People always assume things about me just from how I look or what I 'seem' like without actually trying to get to know me. I knew I shouldn't have agreed to this…"

"Well I don't judge it on appearance," Lucario said. "I can read auras and in all honesty, yours reminds me of mine."

"Oh, well...I don't know whether that's a compliment or not," Hakamo-o replied, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

"To be honest, me neither," Lucario admitted. "I've never been too good at judging myself, much less other people. Ugh, do you want to just do something fun? I'm not a big fan of talking about feelings."

"Thank ARCEUS you said that. Feelings aren't my forte either," Hakamo-o said. "But, uh...neither is fun, really. I don't know what it is, but I don't think I can have fun."

"Wanna fight? You seem tough," Lucario said. "I've been training for a tournament, and I've basically just been challenging everyone I can."

Hakamo-o gained a smile. "Now battling, that I can do. And let me guess… the Pokken Tournament?"

"Hell, yeah," Lucario said, cracking her knuckles. "You should try it sometime. Uh….maybe we shouldn't fight here though."

"We can go to the beach…" Hakamo-o said with a shrug. "But, uh...I don't think we'll have much time. Solgaleo said noon and it's...11:43 right now…"

"Maybe we can just go outside," Lucario suggested.

"That works, too," Hakamo-o replied.

000

The guys were still playing Halo on the seventh floor, with Lycanroc and Incineroar watching the shocking intensity of the situation. Even Incineroar didn't get this crazy about a game. Pyukumuku was still just being himself, but Shuckle and Munchlax were well...

"So, I guess together we can be Neo Eviolite," Shuckle said, jotting down some notes. "Also, Munchlax, will you calm down? You don't want to destroy another controller by accident again, do you? He's gone through three of them back at camp, and I think he actually ate one…"

"Dude, shut up," Munchlax said. He was surrounded by empty bags of Doritos. "Also, Pyukumuku is really good. I need to go full Munchlax on this one."

"Full Munchlax?" Lycanroc inquired. "Uh...what exactly does that entail?"

"And really? Three controllers?" Incineroar questioned. "I mean, I can get intense when playing games, but usually my man catches me and just...well...let's just say he calms me down…"

"You don't need to bring that up, dude," Lycanroc giggled.

"This is fun!" Pyukumuku chirped as he just kept pressing the same button repeatedly.

"Are you sure he's that good, Munchlax?" Shuckle asked, peering over. "Because it kind of seems like-"

"Shuckle. I will end you. In front of everybody. I will not hesitate," Munchlax growled. "So I suggest you back off."

"Okay," Shuckle whimpered, backing away.

"Does he always get like this?" asked Lycanroc, giggling a bit.

"No! He's usually the sweetest guy!" Shuckle said. "But once he starts playing games, then he turns into a completely different person. If Bidoof were here, Munchlax would already be beating him up!"

"Well then…" Incineroar replied. "I guess that's enough videogames for one day."

Hearing how he acted, Incineroar decided to take the chance and got Munchlax in a sleeper hold. The teal bear was trying his best to fight him off, still shouting slurs the entire time. Eventually, the Munchlax lost consciousness, allowing Incineroar to release him. He slumped over, snoozing.

"Whoa, I didn't know you knew the sleeper hold," Lycanroc acknowledged, mystified.

Incineroar shrugged. "Not that big a deal. He used to use it on me when I got too angry around jackasses, so I told him to teach it to me, too…"

"You have to teach that to me," Shuckle gaped. "This could solve like….all of my problems."

Incineroar chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I don't know. It doesn't really seem like you need it. You just need to keep this lug from videogames."

"Yeah, but say there's this really obnoxious, cigarette loving hoodlum that I can't stand," Shuckle said. "And if this hypothetical person exists, I feel like I should have a way to er...subdue him."

"So… You realize that whenever people say hypothetically, they're talking about themselves nearly 100% of the time," Lycanroc giggled. "Just say that you dislike the guy and get a response."

"Shuckle….really hates Scrafty," Munchlax mumbled in his sleep.

"As I should!" Shuckle protested. "He's totally the main antagonist of our show. Stay away from him, you guys!"

"I have no idea if we even have an antagonist here," Lycanroc opined sincerely. "I mean, Dhelmise is a snarker who gets on people's nerves, but I don't see him as such, and everyone else is… themselves."

Incineroar rolled his eyes. "Dhelmise is the jackass of our show. And head's up, you can't get away from him, really. He talks a lot of shit, as you probably have already guessed, so yeah. You guys may have it a bit easier. As for teaching you the sleeper hold for the 'hypothetical' hoodlum, I guess I could help."

"Or anyone, really," Shuckle admitted. "We have a lot of aggressive guys in our cast. I could see basically anyone snapping at this point."

"Congratulations," Incineroar remarked, hiding a smile. "I like guys that are a bit aggressive…"

"O-ho-kay, calm down there big boy," Lycanroc said with a giggle. "Just teach the little guy the technique so we can get on with what needs to be done…"

"Which is?"

"Checking on Hakamo-o and Lucario!" Lycanroc reminded. "Now get to teachin'!"

000

Hakamo-o and Lucario were outside of the hotel standing a good distance away from each other. Dhelmise, Tepig, Charizard, Zorua, and Gallade were all standing at the door, preparing to watch their battle take place.

"This is going to be fun to watch," Dhelmise commented. "Overrated Pokemon vs. Borderline-Emotionless Loser."

"Go fuck yourself, Dhelmise!" Hakamo-o snapped.

"Don't worry about it, Haka!" Tepig chuckled. "Lucario loses all the time. She's lost to Munchlax like twice now."

"Go fuck yourself, Tepig!" Lucario snapped.

"Same response," Dhelmise acknowledged. "They're a match made in the Distortion World…"

Both girls growled, faint blushes forming on their faces as they glowered toward the anchor.

"Will one of you who's not Thing 1 or Thing 2 referee the battle or something?" Hakamo-o questioned. "I'm not trying to hear those two berate us the entire fucking time."

"I'll do it," Charizard grumbled, still clutching his pineapple. "I want a clean fight, ladies."

"Okay, I guess that works…" Hakamo-o groused to herself. "So, I guess we can start. You can make the first move if you want."

"Sure thing," Lucario said, launching a swift aura sphere.

Hakamo-o swiftly dodged it before rushing forward, her arms glowing. She leapt up, attempting to use Brick Break.

Lucario played far more defensively, spinning around a bone staff to block Hakamo-o's vicious swipes.

"Make out!" Tepig shouted.

Ignoring the snarky porker's comments, Hakamo-o stopped her buffet of swipes and slid back. With a smile, she rushed forward again, her claws now a purplish color.

Lucario quickly got low to the ground, aiming a kick for her legs while ducking under her attack.

Hakamo-o, seeing how she was countering, gained a smile. She'd seen this trick far too many times. Leaping up, she focused directly below her, the Dragon Claw actually hitting its mark.

Lucario winced, but her type allowed her to survive without taking too much damage. She thrust an open palm into Hakamo-o's chest, an unseen force blasting the dragon back a second later.

Doing a backflip, Hakamo-o winced from the attack, but smirked. "Nice move. But let's see how well you handle this."

She rose a leg and slammed it down hard, an Earthquake beginning to shake and jostle everyone in the vicinity, with the exception of Charizard.

-000-

"Hey!" Charizard barked. "Can you NOT accidentally murder an innocent bystander?"

Tepig was lying on the ground, groaning. "Something just landed on me…."

"Never mind, actually," Charizard corrected. "Nobody important was hurt."

"You weren't even hurt, ya big lug. Why are you whining?" Dhelmise inquired, glowering at the flying lizard.

"I was hurt! I demand medical treatment!" Tepig snapped. "It has to be Lycanroc though!"

Nobody paid any attention to the fallen pig, they instead focused on the battle.

-000-

Hakamo-o, seeing Lucario a bit stunned from the Earthquake, decided to rush forward once again. Her arms glowed white, evident of a Brick Break that was heading the jackal's way.

"Ahh shit," Lucario groaned, throwing an aura sphere before getting into another defensive position.

Seeing the sphere heading her way, Hakamo-o smacked it back toward her using her arms before stopping. She got into an offensive pose.

-000-

"So, does anyone want to place bets?" Zorua asked.

"I just want someone to be knocked out. Bets aren't my thing," Dhelmise remarked.

Slowking stumbled over, still shaky from his nap. "Does anyone know how smart Hakamo-o is when she fights?"

"Nope," Dhelmise replied instantly. "Never really saw it before. All we know is that she has never had fun a day in her life and she's only ever trained since she was a kid or something. So, even if she is dumb when battling, it'll be entertaining as all hell."

"Interesting," Slowking said. "Lucario seems to be holding back. Perhaps she's waiting for Hakamo-o to make a mistake."

"If that's the case, we're gonna be here for a while, because that bitch there hates people making mistakes," Dhelmise explained. "I don't know if she'll even stumble or tire out if that stupid backstory of hers is accurate."

Slowking nodded a little, watching the fight with newfound interest.

"S-so nobody wants to bet then?" Zorua asked. "Aww man…."

-000-

Lucario brushed off the counter attack, glaring at Hakamo-o, who was still in a fighting stance. Focusing her aura, she created a barrier around herself.

"Your move, hon," Lucario said, cracking her knuckles.

Hakamo-o giggled at that. "If you say so."

The Scaly Pokemon leapt upwards in her same spot before crashing back down, starting another Earthquake before she leapt back, standing on the edge of the fountain. Seeing that Lucario wasn't affected due to the aura around her, she folded her arms with a smile. "Really? Aura Barrier? Come on now, aren't we a little more confident than that?"

Lucario merely shrugged and sent a wave of aura spheres, each of them homing in on Hakamo-o.

The dragon-type, who was still standing on the fountain's edge, leapt upwards at just the right moment so that the spheres obliterated the fountain, causing water and pieces of the fountain to leak out and spread around.

"Nice try, hun," Hakamo-o replied, passing Lucario a playful sneer. The dragon-type swiftly moved in a serpentine pattern, moving back and forth, switching the distance between her and the Aura Pokemon consistently. This movement looked extremely stupid to the bystanders, who saw that Lucario was just standing still.

Lucario glanced at her movements, slowly memorizing her pattern, before a sly smile appeared on her face. "Got you."

With a grunt, she sent a fully charged aura sphere towards the direction that she calculated Hakamo-o to be.

When the aura sphere went in Hakamo-o's direction and struck, she seemingly vanished into thin air. "Ooh….you were so close," Lucario heard from behind her. Hakamo-o used Brick Break, swiping Lucario in the back.

"Wait, what?!" Dhelmise exclaimed, completely bewildered. "How did she-"

"How did you-?" Lucario grunted, stumbling off balance.

"Just something one of my elders taught me," Hakamo-o explained, dusting her hands off. "It's a tactic to throw your opponent off your actual position. Your move."

Lucario slapped herself in the head to stay focused. "Alright, screw defense." She vanished and reappeared, kicking Hakamo-o in the face.

Hakamo-o stumbled back, chuckling. "Now it's a battle," she remarked, sneering. She started doing the same technique she'd done a few moments ago, moving in numerous patterns in front of the Lucario.

"What is that move she keeps doing?" Lucario muttered. She took a deep breath and calmed her mind.

Hakamo-o didn't let up, continuing to move in her patterns, her eyes locked on Lucario's.

Lucario let out a roar of defiance and let loose a Flash Cannon, this time aiming for the opposite place she expected Hakamo-o to be.

Hakamo-o smiled, using Dragon Claw on her back this time. "You have to pay attention, Luca. Not everything is what it is seems…"

-000-

"Wow, I've never seen this side of her," Dhelmise acknowledged. "She actually looks like she's enjoying herself. It's stupid. I guess her emotionless side would be more tolerable."

-000-

Hakamo-o flipped back to the opposite side of Lucario. Although it seemed like she was playing around, she was actually completely serious about this battle, and she could sense that Lucario was feeling the same way. She just loved the reactions she got from her opponents and bystanders when she used her special tactics. Training all of your life really paid off. "You want to try again?" she questioned.

Lucario took a deep breath. "You're certainly a tough opponent. But you can't get into Pokken Tournament without knowing to think outside the box!"

She charged an aura sphere and shot it at the ground, giving her the boost she needed to slam into Hakamo-o and send them both bowling over. The two girls were now forced to fight each other on the ground.

"Nice move," Hakamo-o complimented. "But you should remember that thinking outside the box doesn't always go in your favor."

She rose a fist and embedded it into ground, causing yet another Earthquake that actually launched them both up. Hakamo-o landed on her feet and began riding the Earthquake out, arms folded. Lucario landed on her feet, too, but she was panting and had her fists clenched. Seeing this, Hakamo-o smirked as the Earthquake stopped. She motioned for Lucario to come at her once again.

Lucario grinned. "You may want to end this quickly. The more damage I take the more powerful I become."

Hakamo grinned back. "And why wouldn't I want that? I love a challenge, well, a more intense one anyway…"

The dragon- and fighting-type rushed toward the jackal, her arms glowing. Lucario charged up an aura sphere but held onto it. Hakamo-o saw what she was doing and grinned, gaining an idea. She crouched down, but continued rushing toward the Aura Pokemon, still preparing to use Brick Break.

Lucario's free arm came up to block the attack, before throwing several kicks at the dragon type's stomach. When Hakamo-o faltered, Lucario's aura sphere was launched at point blank range.

Hakamo-o took the aura sphere to the back, but she continued with her plan. She used Brick Break on Lucario's legs, knocking the jackal onto her butt. Hakamo-o then did a roundhouse kick, striking her face before using Brick Break thrice more. Once she was done with that attack, she moved a couple of feet back to allow her opponent to rise.

-000-

"Well this is getting brutal," Zorua admitted. "Also, jeez they both look like they're in their own little world."

Lycanroc, Incineroar, Pyukumuku, and Shuckle, who dragged a still asleep Munchlax him, came through the door.

"There you guys are," Lycanroc greeted. "What's going on?"

"Oh, those two are battling for our amusement," Dhelmise replied.

"Sweet," Incineroar remarked. "Always wanted to see how she fought."

"I thought they were supposed to talk, not fight!" Lycanroc exclaimed.

"Fighting is obviously how they talk," Shuckle said with a chuckle. "Gives physical therapy a new meaning."

"Who's winning?" Incineroar asked.

"Lucario keeps getting shut out," Slowking explained, rubbing his chin. "Clearly Hakamo-o's spent a lot of time on her craft."

"When DOES the fight end anyway?" Infernape asked.

"Whenever Solgaleo and Lunala come back," Pyukumuku responded. "It's actually a bit past noon now isn't it?"

"Maybe they're watching the battle, too," Dhelmise assumed. "Also, Lycanroc, Tepig says he needs medical assistance or something."

Tepig gave her a roguish wink.

Lycanroc rolled her eyes playfully. "Don't you have a girlfriend already?"

-000-

Hakamo-o was waiting for Lucario's next move, as they were both panting and eyeing each other from across the way.

Lucario shot an aura sphere in a vicious curve ball, spinning to catch Hakamo-o off guard. Hakamo-o didn't fall for it, though, and used Brick Break to hit the Aura Sphere back toward her, as she did previously.

"You're going to have to rely on more than just Aura Spheres, Luca!" Hakamo-o advised. The Scaly Pokemon charged toward her once again, attempting to use Brick Break once again.

"I can say the same thing about your Brick Breaks!" Lucario countered as Hakamo-o grew nearer. She once more used Extreme Speed to vanish and reappear, pulling Hakamo-o into a full nelson.

Raising a brow, Hakamo-o heeled Lucario's right ankle. Following that, she leapt up , forcing her weight onto the jackal and causing her to fall back. Hakamo-o winced due to Lucario's chest spike, but was able to get up and glower down at her.

Lucario followed up with a headbutt, causing both of them to stumble back. Lucario fell to one knee, panting.

"Okay then…" Hakamo-o replied, rubbing her head.

She was panting, but she was eager to continue with this battle; she whacked her with her tail before kicking her in the chin. "Come on… show me some more of that anger and strength."

Lucario let out a low growl before throwing her off, shooting a well aimed flash cannon to blast her away in midair. "I could go all day!"

Hakamo-o landed before getting on one knee as well. "So could I…" she said with a tempting growl.

"Do you guys wanna take a break?" Infernape asked. "It's been a really long time now!"

Lucario groaned. "Never. I am unstoppable..." she took a few shaky steps.

Hakamo-o had a rather crazed look on her face, happy that Lucario wanted to keep going. "Come at me!" she roared.

"Whoa, Haka, are you okay?!" Lycanroc exclaimed, hearing and seeing her friend's usual demeanor shift so quickly.

She turned to the wolf. "I'm just fine…" she said, panting with a sneer on her face before she turned back to Lucario, who was still taking steps toward her. "Come on… bring it..."

"If they keep this up, we might as well have no challenge!" Incineroar chuckled. "This'll bring in their stupid views just fine…"

Lycanroc whined. "I don't know how I feel about this…"

-000-

Once the jackal was in reach, Hakamo-o used Dragon Claw, slashing her face. She took a few steps back, panting.

Lucario groaned and threw a punch of her own, much slower than the last few had been. "Urgh, how long have we been doing this?"

"I have no idea," Hakamo-o said, chuckling as an aura suddenly surrounded herself, which launched Lucario back once the slow punch landed. "But, I'm loving it…"

Lucario pulled herself back up. "Okay. Change in tactics." She jumped in the air, throwing an aura sphere at the ground, letting loose all of her remaining energy.

"Hey guys, what's-AHHHHH!" Victini teleported right in front of the blast, the impact sending him flying head over heels.

"Wh-whoops," Lucario gasped.

"Wrong place to teleport…" Hakamo-o commented, folding her arms.

"Sorry we're late," Solgaleo apologized as he and Lunala teleported back to the island as well. "We- uh… had a bit of a hold up back at the hall…"

"What kind of hold up?" Dhelmise questioned. "No hold up should have stopped your professionalism. These two have been battling for the past fifteen minutes or so, time you could have spent-"

"SHUT IT!" Lunala bellowed, glaring at the Sea Creeper Pokemon.

Hariyama hopped down between the two. "Excellent match, though both ladies could use some more stamina."

Victini moaned. "Can I sue someone for this?"

"We're the hosts, Victini," Solgaleo replied. "We don't sue. We get sued. Now, I think we've wasted enough time, so let's get this challenge on the way."

There was a collective groan among the conjoined cast, as they all wanted for the battle to actually have a winner. Hakamo-o eyed Lucario, who ogled her back.

000

"I have to admit… that was the best battle I've ever had," Hakamo-o panted. "Most opponents I have usually get knocked out after the first few hits. Lucario, though, she's a kickass opponent. She's just amazing."

"And I noticed her looking at me a bit 'weirdly', but you know what? I'm perfectly fine with it."

000

Solgaleo and Lunala led all of the contestants to Diglett's Tunnel. Once they were there, Solgaleo overlooked the contestants. "Alright, is this everybody?"

"Uh, no… Umbreon is still somewhere in the hotel trying to scavenge for organs," Tepig explained.

"Also, have you guys seen Scrafty?" Munchlax asked. "I don't think I've seen him all day."

"Oh, so there's another one of you? Splendid…" Dhelmise said sarcastically.

"Was he even on the plane?" Charizard inquired, honestly not even caring about the hoodlum.

"Will you guys calm down?" Scrafty said, walking over. "I was just having a smoke. Why the hell do you all care?"

"A fair amount of us don't," Dhelmise said, referring to himself and the rest of the Alola cast. "So, don't you flatter yourself."

"Anyways!" Lunala shouted, getting everyone's attention again. "Today's challenge will consist of two parts. Part one will be handled by myself and Solgaleo, while part two will be handled by Victini."

"Precisely," Solgaleo added. "Your first challenge will take place here in Diglett's Tunnel, so follow us inside…"

The large lion and bat entered the tunnel, with the the contestants, Hariyama, and Victini following suit.

000

Upon entrance into the tunnel, a starting line was seen almost immediately. What followed the line, though, sent chills down everyone's spine and caused mouths to gape.

There was an obstacle course, a very very long obstacle course. It started with a silver ramp that led to a rope swing over a pit of lava. Shortly following it was a conveyor belt that was going backwards towards the lava. The conveyor belt extended a rather long way, with pools of different fluids separating them into sections that'd have to be leapt across. The fluids were Carvanha infested water, spoiled milk, and fecal matter, combined with vomit. Following the final conveyor belt was a ladder that had a log set at the top that they'd have to hold onto and roll down. Then, there were three electrified hurdles that they'd have to jump over before they made it to the exit.

Seeing all of this, Victini's cast was shocked, petrified, and impressed all at the same time. Meanwhile the cast of Alola just sighed.

"Can I just kill myself instead?" Dhelmise questioned.

"I'm sure we'd all love that, but considering that you're already dead, you cannot," Solgaleo replied.

"So what is the reward of this challenge?" Slowking asked. "Is there a winner for both casts, or merely one?"

"The way that this is going to be filmed and broadcast is going to be different than what we did with Shaymin," Lunala explained. "There will be a winner from both casts, which means that our cast will participate all together for our show, and you guys will compete together for your show."

"And we won't be telling you all the reward until we get to Victini's challenge," Solgaleo explained. "Now, the goal of this challenge is to make it through this course with the fastest time. Fastest time wins, obviously, and that's pretty much all there is to it. Any questions?"

Victini's cast all glanced at each other. Charizard cleared his throat. "Can't we do something….less dangerous? And gross, for that matter."

"Oh can it, copper," Tepig said. "Sounds fun to me."

"Plus, these challenges are always dumb, so that 'something else' could be better or worse. We never know," Incineroar explained. "Digging up cemeteries, being put in traps like in SAW movies, searching for stuff and taking a long time to do it…"

"Drinking semen-" Dhelmise added.

"FUCK. OFF ALREADY!" Incineroar exclaimed.

"Wait is he serious?" Tepig snorted. "Was that actually a thing?"

"Yep," Dhelmise replied. "'Would you rather' challenge…"

"Hilarious," Tepig said.

"Can we just get this challenge over with already?" Incineroar questioned. "I don't want to hear anything else about that shit…"

"Certainly," Lunala said. "So, Victini, would you like your cast to go first since you have more players?"

"Uh sure…" Victini said. "Or we could just do it alphabetically."

"Alphabetically per cast, right?" Solgaleo questioned. "I mean having all of the contestants do it all for one show will kinda ruin the point of watching the other show. That's what Lunala was saying. You guys get footage of your contestants doing our course to show on your show, and we won't show it on ours so people have to watch your show. And we'll have footage of o

ur contestants doing it for our show."

"Ah, fair enough," Victini said. "I guess we'll go first then."

000

"To see Victini's cast's hilarious failures and victories, please check out Total Pokkemon Island. I'm sure you won't be disappointed," Lunala said.

000

"So that's our cast," Victini said, poking Solgaleo. "Your time to shine!"

"Well, this is going to be humorous," Solgaleo commented. "You guess can head on out through the other exit. There's a television so that you guys can see our contestants go through it."

"Okay, excellent," Victini replied. "My cast, let's head out and let these guys go…"

"Hopefully they don't show us up," Munchlax commented as he and the others exited out through the other tunnel opening.

Once Victini, Hariyama, and the rest of his cast vacated the tunnel, the Sunne and Moone Pokemon began their section.

"Alright, then," Solgaleo started. "Victini's cast is all done, so now you guys get to have fun…"

"Oh boy, used equipment," Dhelmise drawled. "How lucky are we?"

"Very," Lunala replied. "So, like Victini's cast, we're doing alphabetical order, so…"

"Oh go fuck yourselves," Dhelmise expressed annoyedly upon hearing that rule.

"Yep, you're up first, Dhelmise," Solgaleo said proudly as the seaweed anchor combo floated forward. "You have fun, now."

-000-

Dhelmise eyed the course before growling.

"And you're not allowed to float!"

"Alright, fuck this, then," Dhelmise remarked, hovering back over to the group.

-000-

Most of his motions relied on floating, so being unable to do so meant that he'd be stuck in one spot. No point in continuing.

"Aw… the shit talking douchebag is forfeiting?" Hakamo-o teased. "How sad…"

"Hey, why don't you go make out with Lucario? I'm sure you'd both love that," the Sea Creeper jeered, causing Hakamo-o to growl with a slight blush on her face.

"Alright, Hakamo-o, you're up next," Lunala spoke.

"And what do you know? You'll be able to see her once you're out the other tunnel opening," Dhelmise continued.

"You can take your bullshit and shove it right back up your-"

"I have no visible ass, so your retort is already a failure."

Hakamo-o snarled in aggravation. "Okay, I'm going. Just to get away from this shithead…"

-000-

Hakamo-o approached the starting line, her arms folded in confidence. After seeing the techniques and processes of the other cast, Hakamo-o felt relieved that they had mostly did decent and only a couple did exceedingly well. She was aiming to beat the best time.

"Alright Hakamo-o, your time starts in three… two … one… GO!"

Hakamo-o dashed forward immediately, rushing up the silver ramp. She leapt forward, taking hold of the rope and using her momentum to propel herself to the middle of the conveyor belt. She continued running fiercely across the conveyor belt before leaping across the first pool of Carvanha. She continued her fierce running, eventually making it to the edge and leaping over the pool of spoiled milk. She almost tripped up, but she continued forward, leaping over the final pool of fecal matter and vomit.

-000-

"Whoo! Go Haka!" Lycanroc cheered from the sidelines.

"This is still a competition, Lycanroc," Dhelmise drawled.

"So what?" the she-wolf inquired. "We can still cheer for our friends…"

Dhelmise mentally rolled his eyes.

-000-

Hakamo-o had just finished the rolling log and sprint jumped over each hurdle, taking the shocks that were delivered when she fumbled, and crossed the finish.

"One minute and thirty-three seconds!" Solgaleo announced. "Wow, didn't think anyone could beat the lava burrow technique."

"Did you not see that constipated run she was doing on the conveyor belts?" Dhelmise inquired.

"FUCK YOU!" Hakamo-o shouted from across the tunnel.

"GET OUT!"

"Actually, Dhelmise, you should get over there, too," said Lunala. "You already forfeited, and like we told Victini, there's another television outside for his cast. Just watch from out there, though we prefer you all to wait by the doorway until everyone's done."

Dhelmise groaned. "Fine. I'll go with the bitchy dragon."

As Dhelmise started floating toward the tunnel exit, the hosts continued with the challenge.

"Alright, Incineroar, you're up next, big boy," Lunala stated.

Lycanroc pat his back supportively as the large tiger sauntered forward to the starting line.

-000-

"Alright Incineroar. Start in three… two… one… GO!"

The Heel Pokemon sprinted forward and up the ramp. He hesitated initially, backing up by a miniscule amount, before running forward and gripping the rope, propelling himself onto the conveyor belt with a THUD! He had landed on his stomach, but he quickly got back on his feet just as the conveyor belt was about to dump him into the lava. He sprinted across the conveyor belt, leaping across pool of Carvanha.

However, as he leapt, one of the Carvanha had leapt upwards, taking hold of Incineroar's tail. With a roar of pain, he looked back and brought his tail forward while still running and yanked the Carvanha off of his tail, wincing in the aftermath.

Unluckily for him, he hadn't been paying attention and ended up running right into the pool of spoiled milk. He surfaced, plugging his nose and gagging, as some of it had gotten into his mouth. He quickly tried to get out of the pool, taking a hold of the next conveyor belt in order to ride it back onto the surface. At this point, he knew that he wasn't going to win the reward, but he was still going to finish.

Once he was back onto the surface of the conveyor belt, he got onto his feet and started running again, gagging the entire time. He continued running across, though, making sure to leap over the pool of fecal matter and vomit. If he'd landed in there, he'd be scalding himself with boiling, soapy water for an entire day.

He made it to the next section of the course, rushing toward the ladder and starting his ascent. Once at the top, he took a hold of the log, but due to the milk still soaking his fur, he slipped off as soon as the log started rolling down. He landed hard on the rocky ground, groaning.

He slowly got to his feet and started running toward the electric hurdles. At this point, he was spent from all of the running, so he just ran through the three hurdles, not caring about the shocks he got. He finished before collapsing on the ground, holding his head.

Dhelmise couldn't help but to laugh at his misfortune. "Nice work, Tiger Jaw."

Incineroar growled.

"Three minutes, thirty-two seconds!" Solgaleo announced. "Not bad Incineroar. Not bad at all!"

"But also not that good," Lunala muttered. "Anyways, Lycanroc, you're up!"

Lycanroc nodded as she moseyed toward the start.

-000-

"Alright Lycanroc, show us what you've got. In three… two… one… GO!"

Lycanroc ran forward and headed up the ramp. With a fine leap, she grabbed hold of the rope and started swinging hard on the rope. Taking inspiration from what Shuckle did, she continued swinging on the rope until she had a fair amount of momentum.

Eventually, she released and launched herself forward. She almost overshot it, but she curled herself up and landed on all fours onto the second conveyor belt. Her front right arm landing off of the belt. She quickly got back on her feet and started running forward until she was at the edge. She did a big leap, landing on the next one rather unstably.

She regained her composure, eventually jumping over the fecal matter and vomit pool. She rushed to the ladder and started climbing up. She took hold of the log and rolled all the way down.

Once she was off, she rushed over and started leaping over the hurdles, eventually finishing. Seeing the others, she smiled, giving Hakamo-o and Incineroar high-claws.

"Two minutes, two seconds!" Solgaleo announced. "Nice work!"

"Well, let's see, we have with zero as a time since I didn't do shit, 'Mighty Bitch' with one minute, Lycanroc with two minutes, and 'Literal Furfag' with three minutes," Dhelmise took note. "How semi-humorous."

Incineroar was once again being held back by Lycanroc, who wanted to lash out at Dhelmise.

-000-

"Alright Pyukumuku, you're up next," Lunala said.

"Hooray!" Pyukumuku said, hopping toward the starting line.

"Alright… in three… two… one… GO!"

Pyukumuku slowly made his way to the ramp, hopping the entire way. Seeing how far Lycanroc made it, the Sea Cucumber wanted to try and do the same thing. Once he made it, he gave a mighty leap, grabbing onto the rope with his innards. He started swinging back and forth on the rope. Due to his small size, he was able to swing much easier and gain more height and momentum.

Once he let go, he was flung far. He ended up hitting the far wall of the tunnel, completely missing the entire course. Lycanroc quickly jumped up to catch the little guy before he hit the ground.

"You okay, dude?!" Lycanroc questioned.

"Again!" Pyukumuku chirped, apparently having not felt anything.

"FORTY THREE SECONDS!"

"WHAT!?" Dhelmise exclaimed. "HE MISSED THE ENTIRE COURSE!"

"AND YOU DIDN'T PARTICIPATE!"

Dhelmise groaned. "Fine…"

-000-

Lunala and Solgaleo turned to Tsareena, who was the last one for their cast. They exchanged glances.

"OKAY! LET'S MOVE ON TO THE NEXT CHALLENGE!" Lunala shouted as they teleported Tsareena to the end with the others.

000

"What? You expect us to really let her go? You must be out of your mind…" Lunala commented.

000

The Alola cast made their way out of the tunnel, meeting back up with Victini's cast, who had been watching the footage intently.

"Did you guys like what you saw?" Solgaleo inquired.

"I'm so proud of you!" Shuckle shouted at Pyukumuku, tackling him in a hug.

"Yay, hugs!" he chirped in response. "But, what did I do?"

"You won the challenge, dude," Munchlax said, joining the group hug.

"So, what do we win?" Tepig asked Solgaleo greedily.

"It depends on Victini's challenge. He kept it a surprise for us, too," Solgaleo explained, eyeing the Victory Pokemon.

Victini rubs his hands. "I thought of a way for us all to compete together. Hold on, let me get changed."

He teleported away.

"If he comes back here in a leotard or something else stupid, I'm going to hit him with my anchor," Dhelmise stated.

"And if you go through with that, consider yourself automatically disqualified from the challenge," Lunala replied.

"Uhhhh I could see that happening," Munchlax admitted. "Victini can be a bit….er…."

"Mentally detached?" Shuckle suggested.

Victini teleported back, now dressed as a cowboy. "Howdy folks! It's time for Victini's Ditto Roundup Jamboree!"

"Eccentric is a better word, I think," Hakamo-o stated, seeing the tight-fitting costume on the fox legendary.

"Since I can't find Umbreon, we'll just be using the ten of you!" Victini said, pointing to his cast.

"She's probably on the beach," Dhelmise commented. "There aren't any organs there, but she could probably dig up bones from where Palossand show up."

"Yeah, but sneaking up on her is something I'm not willing to do," Victini admitted, shuddering to himself. "She once tried to drown me when I offered her something to drink."

"It was pretty funny," Scrafty said with a shrug.

"I sense that he'd like to plow that ass," Dhelmise stated. "And if you're seriously scared of Umbreon… why choose her to begin with?"

"My great personality," Umbreon drawled, walking in. "Victini, stop being a pussy."

"Oh, you're here," Victini said. "Never mind, then."

Umbreon sighed. "Reluctantly."

"Okay! So uh….to make it fair for everybody, we'll split into teams of three. Two from my cast, and one per you Alola guys. There has to be one team of two though, because we don't fit completely evenly."

"All you have to do is give one of your players invincibility," Lunala commented. "Just choose someone that you know you want in the final ten."

"And how will that be fair for them, exactly?" Solgaleo questioned.

"Hey, it's his show. It's just a suggestion," Lunala replied with a shrug.

"Don't worry about that!" Victini said. "The team of two will get a surprise, super secret contestant to help them out for this challenge only."

"Could you just hurry up and explain the challenge?" Dhelmise urged.

"Chill, chill!" Victini protested. "I'm getting to it! You guys are going to gather up and capture as many Diglett as you can with some tools available. The team that captures the most Diglett wins. And uh...oh sabotage is totally allowed. Feel free to beat the crap out of each other and steal stuff. For entertainment purposes!"

"So… we're collecting Diglett. The little bastards that stay embedded in the ground. The things that you can't really hold in your hands," Incineroar started.

"And don't forget… he said that this was a Ditto Roundup Jamboree," Dhelmise added. "Looks like someone needs to fire their script writers…"

"You know, I think what people don't understand is how tiring writing can be," Victini said, his eye twitching. "Little mistakes are an inevitability, and pointing out every single one can be pretty cruel and unfair. Especially when the writer isn't EVEN BEING PAYED!"

"So you're not paying your interns who write your bullcrap. Good to know," Dhelmise replied. "Now, what about these teams you were talking about?"

"Uh….you guys decide the teams," Victini said with a shrug. "Pick whoever you want."

"Alright, this should be interesting…" Solgaleo spoke up. "And you said it's two of yours and one of ours per team? Hmm…"

"One of you sorry saps are gonna be stuck with Tsareena," Dhelmise laughed.

"Okay, just choose your teams…" Lunala stated, tired of hearing Dhelmise's non visible mouth.

000

"We call Pyukumuku!" Shuckle shouted, tackling and shielding the Sea Cucumber Pokemon from view with Munchlax.

Slowking looked over the remaining competitors. "Hmm….."

Infernape grabbed his arm, before pointing to Tsareena. "We'll take her!"

"Sure. Your funeral…" Lunala shrugged.

"Wait, hold on-" Slowking protested.

"No take backs, mate," Tepig said. "Wouldn't be fair."

"Don't you dare speak about fairness," Slowking said, rolling his eyes.

"He still butthurt about not getting his way?" Dhelmise questioned. "Sad."

Gallade tapped Incineroar on the shoulder. "Not very good at this, but want to be a thing?"

"Gayyyyy," Tepig jeered.

"One, I'm already, taken, porkchop," Incineroar started, glaring at the pig. He turned back to Gallade. "And two… sure," he finished with a shrug.

Gallade gave a half smile. "You seem like a good ally to have. We'll work well together."

Incineroar nodded.

000

"I didn't know what to make of the guy at first, but he kinda reminded me of my man when we first met as kids…" Incineroar stated. "So, why not?"

000

Lycanroc, Hakamo-o, and Dhelmise were the only ones not in a group just yet.

"Want to beat the shit out of everybody else this time, Hakamo-o?" Lucario asked with a grin.

Hakamo-o grinned back. "Oh-ho definitely."

"Make sure you have a dildo with you two. Don't wanna chafe yourselves on the ground in there," Dhelmise joked tonelessly.

Hakamo-o tried to use Shadow Claw on the ghost, who disappeared before the attack could even make contact. "Jackass…"

Zorua bopped Tepig on the head. "So, who should we pick? Dhelmise or Ly-"

"Lycanroc!" Tepig shouted. "Lycanroc get over here."

"Dude," Zorua said. "You are in. a. Romantic. Relationship."

"Oh come on, just let me have a bit of eye candy," Tepig pleaded. "You know we wouldn't have this problem if you agreed to my terms."

"Why the hell would I transform into really hot girls for you to ogle at?" Zorua snapped. "What makes you think that's even a fair question to ask?"

"I'm an optimist?" Tepig said innocently.

"You're an idiot," Zorua said. "Lycanroc, stay away from him. He's harmless but his lack of brain cells may rub off on you."

"Looks like I'll get over there," Dhelmise said, floating over to them. "Nice to see you choosing attraction over sense…"

"Noooooooooo," Tepig whined.

Umbreon shrugged. "I'll go with Lycanroc then or whatever."

Lycanroc shrugged as well, walking over.

Scrafty and Charizard glanced at each other. Scrafty cleared his throat. "I'll join Gallade and Incineroar then."

Charizard nodded. "Then I guess I'll join the two girls."

"That leaves Umbreon and Lycanroc with our super secret mystery person!" Victini said.

"Um… cool, I suppose," Lycanroc said tentatively.

Umbreon blinked. "I bet it's someone dumb."

"Hey, they couldn't be that bad," Lycanroc assured.

"So uh….should we discuss rewards now?" Victini asked, looking at the two other judges.

"Yeah, that's fine," Solgaleo answered, with Lunala nodding in agreement. "The winners of the last challenge get these state-of-the-art tracking devices."

Two pieces of machinery that resembled metal detectors were teleported to the front of the group. Pyukumuku and Tepig went forward and each got their reward.

"These devices will help you track Diglett all around the tunnel, as well as outside here," Solgaleo replied.

"Wait, there are Diglett outside of the tunnel, as well?" Hakamo-o asked in surprise.

"Gotta make it somewhat harder," Victini said, chuckling.

"And for all fun purposes, the winner of the challenge will get to choose who from the opposing cast gets the boot," Lunala added.

"WHAT?!" everyone blustered immediately.

Victini and Solgaleo gave the Moone Pokemon a look as if she was crazy, but decided to just go along with it.

"Nice twist! Better hope you made a good impression!" Victini said.

"...Uh-oh," Tepig said.

"Let's get this challenge sta-"

"Where's our extra player?" Umbreon interrupted.

"Oh, right," Victini said, slapping himself in the face. "Hariyama, bring in the mystery box!"

Hariyama dragged in a huge box with a question mark plastered on it.

Victini teleported on top of the box and undid the wrappings. "Let's see who it is!"

The box fell apart, revealing an insectoid with a giant mushroom on its back. "It is I! THE GREAT PARASECT!"

"Oh god please no," Umbreon said.

"I'd take friggin' Carbink over him!" Zorua moaned.

"Haha! It only makes sense to be jealous of my perfection!" Parasect boasted, clicking his pinchers.

"Uh… so who is this?" Lycanroc questioned.

"He was our old team leader," Umbreon said. "He got eliminated a LONG time ago!"

"Rather unfairly!" Parasect shouted. "But now I will prove my worth as a true leader!"

"You were a hardass from what I've heard," Lucario said.

"Work under my heel and we will win the challenge for sure!" Parasect boasted, ignoring the insults hurled at him.

Lycanroc blinked before sighing softly. "Just make the best of it. It's what you're good at…" she thought to herself.

"Alright, now that all of the teams are settled and you know your tasks… you all have two hours to capture as many Diglett as possible… the challenge begins….NOW!" Lunala announced.

"HOW are we supposed to capture them?!" Hakamo-o asked.

"Oh right, uh… Hariyama, bring in the pokeballs…" Victini requested.

The Arm Thrust Pokemon wheeled in another box. Instead of falling apart this time, Hariyama instead yanked off the top. Numerous normal pokeballs were scene inside, among a few drawstring bags.

The bags were thrown at each team, each filled with a specific amount of pokeballs, causing pain upon impact for a few.

"Alright, those bags are filled with pokeballs for each team, so now the challenge starts… NOW!"

Almost all of the competitors rushed back into Diglett's Tunnel, with Dhelmise, Tepig, and Zorua being the only ones not back inside.

000

Re-entering the tunnel, a fair amount of the players were both surprised, but also not that surprised to see that the course was no longer there. As the teams rushed away from each other in the large setting, Hakamo-o, Lucario, and Charizard started their search from the entrance they just reemerged from.

"So, how do you think we should do this?" asked Hakamo-o.

"I guess we can split up. We're fairly fast Pokemon, so we can cover more ground if we search different directions," Charizard said. "I'll get a bird's eye view and see if I can't spot any."

"I'll try to sense their aura," Lucario said. "How familiar are you with this place, Haka?"

Hakamo-o giggled at the nickname usually only used by Lycanroc, but kept her serious composure. "Well, considering that this is probably the first time I've been in here, I can confidently say that I know nothing."

"That makes us even then. Sure wish we had some of those trackers, though," Lucario said.

"No use crying over spilled milk," Charizard said. "We'd better get on with it. Good luck you two."

As the large dragon left the two of them to get an aerial view, Hakamo-o started walking forward, with Lucario following. The Scaly Pokemon was mainly looking at the ground, looking for holes in the ground where she suspected Diglett would normally pop up. With the other teams all around the area, she didn't really know whether or not she should go as far. "You sense anything Luca?"

"Hmmm….it's a bit hard to tell," Lucario admitted. "There are so many of them under us that I can't pinpoint exact locations.

Hakamo-o sighed. "Why do I have a feeling we're gonna have to dig for the Diglett?"

"We probably will. Dammit, I wish I knew that move," Lucario said. "Maybe one of us can break apart the ground a bit and the other can throw the poke balls?"

"I could use Earthquake and maybe drive them to the surface momentarily…" Hakamo-o explained. "Though you may get a bit hurt in the process…"

Lucario thought for a moment, before creating a bone with her aura. She slammed it into the ground, before balancing on top. "There. This way I won't be affected by the quake."

"Alright then," Hakamo-o replied before raising a leg and slamming it down onto the ground, breaking through it as the ground shook violently. Hakamo-o retracted her leg as the shaking stopped.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" she heard someone else yell from the tunnel.

Rolling her eyes as Lucario got off of her bone, she eyed the cracked ground, expecting to see any sign of Diglett. Initially, it seemed like she had done it for nothing, but after a few seconds, Diglett began popping out of the ground to see what was going on above ground.

"Quick, chuck the balls from the bag!"

Lucario nailed seven of them before the rest of the Diglett popped back into the ground. Grinning at her victory, she cracked her knuckles. "Rinse and repeat."

"Isn't that a quote from the Karate Kid?" Hakamo-o giggled as she went over to pick up all of the pokeballs.

Every time she bend down, Lucario had to turn away, hiding a blush. "L-let's just focus on the challenge."

Hakamo-o, upon picking up the last ball, saw that Lucario was blushing faintly, causing her to raise a brow.

000

"Huh, I guess she really does have things to sort out," Hakamo-o giggled. "I mean, I… I think I'm the same way. I mean, not fully, but yeah…"

000

"Alright ladies! With a plan and my Introduction to Rules: Graphic Novel Edition, our chances of victory are certain!" Parasect exclaimed.

"Eh, I prefered the movie," Umbreon joked.

Lycanroc, despite normally being talkative and outgoing, couldn't find anything to say in the group she was in. This was very unusual for her, as she usually never let anything stop her, but she just couldn't feel a positive vibe with the two she was with. Well, Umbreon was okay, but Parasect, she had literally no comment. She just started looking around the section of the tunnel they were in, yanking up the bag on her back.

Parasect pulled out several binders. "I have the perfect plan for our success. After researching this location for the past three days, I have determined the most populated areas we can exploit! Now follow me in single file!"

He scuttled off, while Umbreon fell back a bit with Lycanroc.

"Just ignore him, all right? Or make fun of him. You get good reactions," Umbreon said, shrugging.

"I'd rather not," the wolf replied, being feeling a lump under her left foot. Lifting it, she saw an Alolan Diglett looking up at her. "Hey!" she greeted.

She took off the bag and took out a pokeball. She dropped it on the Diglett, capturing it. She stood back up with a smile. "Well, that's one."

"THAT WASN'T IN ONE OF THE PREVIOUSLY DESIGNATED AREAS I ASSIGNED!" Parasect screeched. "IT DOES NOT COUNT!"

"Shut up," Umbreon snapped.

"Okay," Lycanroc spoke up. "Why don't you follow your plan, and we'll follow ours, that way we're still working together and we just combine the amount that we get at the end?"

"NNNNNNNnngh," Parasect twitched.

"Just go," Umbreon said, rolling her eyes.

As Parasect scuttled off, grumbling to himself, Lycanroc let out a sigh. "This is gonna be a long challenge…"

"I say that every day," Umbreon said, shaking her head.

"Well, I can't really complain," Lycanroc replied. "Everyone was and is quite a character here."

"I know and I hate it. Look, do you want to dig underground or something?" Umbreon asked. "Or we could just skive off and forget the challenge."

"Digging underground should be a good enough strategy," Lycanroc answered. "Why would you want to shirk off? Don't you want to win?"

"I just don't care," Umbreon said. "I still have no idea how I've lasted this long in the competition. Plus, Parasect ruined the challenge for me."

"So, you just let other people determine how you feel instead of trying think and act for yourself?" Lycanroc questioned. "That's not a good way to live, you know."

"No, I just really don't like Parasect," Umbreon grumbled.

"Well, he's just different," Lycanroc said with a shrug. "Honestly, I don't anything to say about him since I don't know him. What is it about him that you don't like?"

"I just don't do well with people in general, and he's annoying," Umbreon said.

"Okay, and why is that?" Lycanroc prodded.

"Why do you care so much, anyway?" Umbreon asked.

"Because there's always a reason why people act the way they do. Whether they be antisocial, overly shy, 'bitchy', a jerk, you get the picture," Lycanroc explained. "I just try to help people come out of that phase. I know I can never change anyone, but it's just interesting to know."

"You'd want to talk to Zorua, then," Umbreon noted. "I don't have any special story or anything; I've kinda always been prickly. Probably the music I was obsessed with as a kid."

"No bad experiences? You just choose to be this way?" Lycanroc inquired. After a while, she shrugged. "Okay, that's fair, I guess."

"Well, if you're serious about winning this then we'd better start digging," Umbreon said, resigned to doing work. "Any good at it?"

Lycanroc giggled. "Me and my cousins used to dig pits along the pathway in front of my house just to see if people were paying attention. You wouldn't be surprised at how many cracked their phones or glasses thanks to us."

"Sounds devious. You can take the lead then. I'll take care of the captures," Umbreon said, grabbing a few pokeballs.

"Uh… okay, cool", Lycanroc said as she began digging in the spot she was standing in.

000

"Alright, I'll go see if there are any Diglett around the front entrance, Slowking, you look after Tsareena," Infernape said as he walked to the front.

Slowking sat down, thinking. "I may have an idea. Can you use sweet scent, Tsareena?"

Tsareena turned to him. "I could, but then again, where'd be the fun in that?"

"Er….so we could win the challenge?" Slowking asked.

"But why would I want you to win?" asked Tsareena.

"Well, you would win as well," Slowking said, trying to sound patient. "We all succeed."

"You didn't answer my question. Why would I want you to win?" she inquired softly, getting close to the Royal Pokemon. "It's obvious that you're a threat. You know that you're a threat, and you're afraid of anyone seeing your lack of self-confidence as a weakness. That little display of petty complaining during the last challenge just showed me who you are. A frightened little bitch who hides behind his 'superior' intellect in an attempt to feel better about his pathetic existence."

Slowking raised an eyebrow. "So Infernape was somehow right about something?"

"I wouldn't say that," Tsareena responded. "He was correct about my true intellect, but, that buffoon was kind enough to actually try to understand me rather than brush me off as a brainless liability."

"Well, isn't your intention to act like a brainless liability?" Slowking asked. "You clearly managed to fool almost everyone."

"Yes, but I never truly expected to be treated as such," Tsareena replied. "This was majorly a test for me to see who actually has a heart and who will actually care to help someone who seems mentally challenged. As a result of this test, it showed me that here, if you stand in the way of someone and a prize, it doesn't matter your disability. I was eliminated first because no one bothered to help me until it was far too late."

"Well, my apologies for patronizing you," Slowking said, bowing his head. "But why did you choose to tell me specifically?"

"Because I know for a fact that you're the main player that almost everyone from your cast is watching for," Tsareena replied. "And the way that you pleaded desperately so that Tepig didn't win really interested me. Y'see, my test has already been failed by the people on my side, so I'm going to make sure that they learn their lesson. But you, someone with much higher capabilities, complaining about someone finding an easier way to get something done? That's just purely idiotic. Nobody knows my capabilities, and I intend to keep it that way until it's too late."

"I merely found Tepig's loophole unfair," Slowking said with a shrug. "I wouldn't call it pleading per se. Though I wasn't expecting Shuckle to counter my argument."

"I know that you wouldn't call it pleading, but myself, along with the others, saw it as such," Tsareena replied. "The Great Slowking, bitching about unfairness when he has psychic abilities that could help him with anything. You don't get to use them in a single course, so you decide to complain about someone's genetic makeup that allows them to proceed easily. Don't you get that psychic-types have the biggest advantage out of any type? Being able to read minds, levitate on a whim, control other people's movements and thoughts, among much more. But nope, he's a fire-type, he shouldn't be allowed to use his genetic makeup and resistance to lava to help him!"

Tsareena sighed. "Bottom line, Slowking. You're not gonna be winning this challenge. That's the end of that."

Slowking rolled his eyes. "Fine. Think what you will. So I assume you aren't going to put in any effort in helping me?"

Tsareena blinked in response.

Slowking sighed. "Fine then. I'll figure something out by myself. Have fun with your experiments."

Infernape ran over just as Slowking was walking away. "Uh….what's his problem?"

"What's a problem?" Tsareena inquired.

"That's a really nice philosophy to have, Tsareena!" Infernape said.

Tsareena smirked to herself.

000

Outside the cave, Dhelmise was floating along with Tepig and Zorua. Surprisingly, they hadn't been speaking to each other or making quips as of late.

Feeling annoyed in the silence, Dhelmise groaned. "Come on, it can't take that long to find Diglett!"

"Oy! Zorua! Here's an idea!" Tepig said. "You could turn into a REALLY sexy female Diglett and attract all the males."

"Dude, they have Arena Trap. I'm not getting sexually assaulted over a challenge," Zorua growled.

"It'd be more action you'd get from Ampharos," Tepig snorted.

"I-that's-" Zorua stammered. "Shut up, Tepig. Oh hey, the tracker is picking up something."

"Is it detecting an excuse to change the subject?" Tepig asked.

"Why don't you pester Dhelmise for a while?" Zorua snapped. "I thought you'd be bored of me by now."

"I'll never be bored of you," Tepig said. "Dhelmise, who should we vote for when we win?"

"Hmm," Dhelmise started. "Well, I enjoy everyone's company sooo much," he said sarcastically. "But, I say Pyukumuku. His innocent cuteness will drive him further and force a stereotypical underdog story."

"Okay," Tepig said, shrugging. "I don't really care for who leaves in our gang. I think we're trying to take out Munchlax?"

"Well, Scrafty essentially has him wrapped around his finger," Zorua said. "Scrafty wants to get Slowking eliminated. So in good faith I'm making him drop Munchlax."

"Ooh, two underdog stories for the price of one," Dhelmise acknowledged. "Though, I would think that you'd want to get rid of the annoyingly obvious threat that is Slowking. Ignoring him for too long will propel him further. Come to think of it, all of you have a reason to get the hell out. Well, other than Ditto fox here."

"Oh? And do tell why…" Tepig urged.

"Well, let's see…" Dhelmise started. "You've got a bitchy psychic-type who can't handle things not going his way, police brutality, two underdog stories, an idiot who should have been eliminated, a snarker who gets on everyone's nerves, a druggie, male stereotypical 'badass' threat, female stereotypical 'badass' threat, and a wannabe thug who thinks he runs shit. If you're serious about making it further, I suggest you target the big threats or the losers who are trying to convince you to work with them. It'll put them in their place."

Tepig shrugged. "Whatever works, mate-"

"Hold on," Zorua said, batting him aside. "Look, leverage is everything. Sure, Slowking's clearly a threat, but everyone knows that. It's the reason why Scrafty is so desperate for him to leave in the first place. I may not like him in the game, but I'm in the position of power here."

"Yeah, but how long'll that last?" Tepig drawled. "Why not just take out Slowking now instead of dragging him out."

"Well, I've always seen these games like a puzzle, if that makes sense," Zorua said. "Each piece can be put in a perfect place, but if you force it then it'll break. Scrafty is so desperate for Slowking's elimination that he'll do anything in his power to keep me until that happens. Not exactly something I want to waste, you know?"

Tepig uncapped a bottle of milk. "I'm just here for the shits and giggles, love. Do what you will?"

"So, you rather risk yourself getting eliminated due to random circumstance just to keep a singular punk begging for your assistance… instead of trying to gain other allies to take down threats that could likely kick your ass?" Dhelmise inquired. "Alright, whatever. It's your funeral. And I can guarantee that if you drag this out, Scrafty will get tired and get other assistance. Everyone knows Slowking's a threat on your side, so it'd be pretty simple to get other help. And if we win this, I'm gonna take full advantage."

There was silence once Dhelmise made that call, Zorua gave him a glare as he and Tepig forged ahead to search for the Diglett. Suddenly, the tracker began beeping, signifying that there were Diglett underneath them.

"So, can you use your anchor powers to trap them?" Tepig asked.

"We're sorry, but the person that you are trying to get to dig is unable to at the moment," Dhelmise replied. "May I suggest little miss pawn master? She could turn into an Excadrill and dig us a hole.

"My powers don't work like that," Zorua said. "The form I take is always just an illusion."

"Look's like we're going with the original plan!" Tepig said, giving her a saucy wink.

Zorua took a deep breath. "Fine. But I swear to Arceus if I get pregnant I'm going to kill you. And use Dhelmise as the weapon."

"... I have no objections," Dhelmise replied.

"Neither do I," Tepig said. "Go on then. Do it!"

Zorua rolled her eyes. "Let's just get this over with."

She hopped in a hole, already changing her form.

"So, want to get a drink?" Tepig asked.

"Didn't you just drink the Miltank tit juice not that long ago?" Dhelmise inquired.

"Eh, something heavier. I heard there's a really nice Alolan bar at KoniKoni city, where they put the little umbrellas in your drink."

"Meh, no thanks. I don't really drink," Dhelmise replied.

Suddenly, a shriek was heard from inside of the hole, but the two of them shrugged it off.

Zorua burst out of the ground, still in her Diglett form, sprinting away as fast as she could before dozens of them began popping out from the ground. "I USED THE WRONG FORM AND THEY THINK I'M FROM A RIVAL GANG!"

"...Did you know they have feet?" Tepig asked, a split second before he was overcome by the stampede of Diglett...

Dhelmise floated upwards, watching the chaos. He started to whistle as he floated their back of pokeballs to himself. "Sad. So so sad," he said as he started dumping the balls out on the stampeding Diglett.

A good majority of the balls actually hit the Diglett, fourteen to be exact. After that, the Sea Creeper saw that the stampede had stopped and they were now beating up on Tepig, as Zorua returned back to her normal form. The fox approached him, panting and growling.

"Ow...shit….damn...why are they hitting me? You're the one that insulted their cultural norms," Tepig groaned.

Zorua chuckled. "You're great bait, Tepig. Keep up the good work."

Dhelmise picked up the remaining six balls and tossed them at more of the Diglett. "We need more balls. Fetch, foxy."

Zorua growled as she started heading back to gather more pokeballs.

Tepig groaned, rising to his feet. "It's lovely to have supportive friends."

"Sure, whatever you say," Dhelmise replied.

000

"I think we have a pretty decent lead right now, but I have a feeling that we're gonna get fucked over by something," Dhelmise stated.

000

Incineroar lifted up an abandoned cart to check underneath it. He acknowledged that there was a singular burrow underneath it. Gallade had been searching nearby, while Scrafty was just smoking while watching the two. Or what he called 'supervising'.

"Hey! I wound a burrow over here!" Incineroar called. The two others moved toward him in interest.

"Blech," Scrafty said. "You two still smell like spoiled milk. Take a shower or something."

"Oh, my apologies. I didn't mean to offend your senses with the odor of something that was part of the last challenge," Incineroar replied brashly. "And sorry, but we can't take showers right now during the second challenge, but if we could, I would happily do so."

"It's okay, I forgive you," Scrafty said, snickering. "Anyway, you guys are going about this challenge all wrong."

"How so?" Gallade asked in a low voice.

"We're already at a major disadvantage because two of the teams have trackers, yeah?" Scrafty said. "Well, we don't need trackers to go the same route as the people tracking them."

"Hmm, so you expect me to follow either a team with a good friend or a jackass, both of whom will realize what's going on?" Incineroar responded, folding his arms. "It sounds like a decent plan, but seriously. They could lead us down a shitty path for all we know."

"Look, I know it's not exactly morally sound, but we're in the late game," Scrafty said. "We're going to have to get our hands dirty if we really want to go all the way. Tell you what, if you don't want to sneak attack them then we can just challenge them formally."

Gallade shrugged. "Victini DID say it was a part of the challenge…"

Incineroar rolled his eyes. "Fine. We can go back out and go after Dhelmise and his team."

"Fair enough," Scrafty said. "How good is Dhelmise in a fight, anyway?"

"I don't know. I don't think I've ever seen him battle," Incineroar replied with a shrug. "He may be able to verbally kick your ass, but physically, it's pretty iffy."

"Then we'd better get going if we want to find them," Scrafty said. "Usually I just follow Tepig's squealing."

"They didn't go anywhere, so we just have to walk back outside…" Incineroar replied.

The three of them started heading back to the exit of the tunnel, passing by a few other teams, whoupon seeing them, turned away with their collected Diglett. As they approached the exit, where the ground was royally cracked to shit, Scrafty couldn't help but feel eyes staring at him from behind.

"Charizard? Fuck off…" Scrafty stated.

Charizard flew over and landed next to the three of them. "Where are you three going? I don't see any Diglett on you."

"All of our pokeballs are still in the bag," Incineroar said, gesturing to the bag on his back. "And you're right, we haven't found any Diglett yet. That's why we're going outside. Having almost every team in here makes things difficult."

Charizard nodded. "I'm right behind you then. I haven't caught as many as I thought I would have."

"Whatever, just stay out of our way," Scrafty muttered.

000

"Uh, guys, shouldn't we be back in Diglett's Tunnel?" Pyukumuku questioned, as he, Munchlax, and Shuckle were back at the hotel on the seventh floor.

"Wait...shhhh this is gonna be awesome," Munchlax said. "Okay, the order is in, so you two head back to the cave. I promise this is gonna be beautiful. Pyukumuku, can you push Shuckle in his wagon?"

"Sure," the Sea Cucumber said, grabbing hold of the wagon handle and hopping toward the elevators. He had to tug hard in order to pull the 45 pound bug- and rock-type toward the doors. "They said two hours, right? How much time has passed so far?"

"Uh...about forty-five minutes," Shuckle replied as he was pulled.

Once they were at the doors, Shuckle hit the down button on the elevators.

"So if we win, are there any jerks you want me to eliminate?"

"Hmm… not really. I like everyone here!" Pyukumuku chirped.

"Well, somebody's gotta go. I just don't want to vote off anyone unfairly."

"That's how it's gonna have to go," Pyukumuku replied. "Oh well."

"That won't be fun. Do you like, have a best friend here? Or, just into everyone equally?"

"Bewear's already gone," Pyukumuku replied. "So, no best friend. But everyone else is equal to me!"

"Oh, well I guess I'll just flip a coin or something," Shuckle said as he as wheeled out of the elevator. "But uh...if you can, try to vote for Scrafty to leave if we win. It'll make my life way easier."

"Okay," Pyukumuku replied as the elevator doors opened.

-000-

Pyukumuku and Shuckle, after twenty more minutes passed, finally made it back to Diglett's Tunnel. Pyukumuku was noticeably out of breath, which Shuckle took note of.

"Um… are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah… I'm okay..." Pyukumuku replied, sweating. "It's a shame that we wasted time getting back here, though."

"Aw, it's okay," Shuckle replied, petting his head as he got out of his wagon. "Now, let's find those Diglett!"

The two of them entered the tunnel and saw numerous holes spread across the entire front part of the cave before heading back out.

"I really wish Munchlax would tell me what he's planning," Shuckle groused. "At least it isn't Bidoof though. "Seriously though, are you okay? You want to sit in the wagon for a while?"

"No, no, it's okay," Pyukumuku wheezed. "I wanna help."

"You've helped us already by getting us the sweet tracker," Shuckle said. "Besides, I'll need your throwing arm for the Diglett."

Pyukumuku nodded as the two began to go into the tunnel. However, Pyukumuku realized something. "What, where is the tracker?"

"Ohhhhh crap!" Shuckle groaned, slamming his head against the wagon. "MUNCHLAX!"

Pyukumuku sighed. "Well, I guess we won't be winning anything."

"Chill guys! I have arrived!"

Munchlax was driving forward in a….

"I got a fuckin' bulldozer!" Munchlax said, sitting inside of the large, yellow piece of equipment. "Who's your best friend?"

"Yeah, but how are we going to get it in the tunnel?" Shuckle asked.

Munchlax blinked. "Oh. Shit."

Shuckle rubbed his forehead in exhaustion. "Oi vey."

000

Hakamo-o and Lucario decided to exit the cave for a while and ended up collecting three more Diglett in the process. The entire time, the two engaged in awkward silence, occasionally eyeing each other as they did specific tasks like moving rocks or picking up pokeballs.

"Am I the only one who feels like we're falling behind?" Lucario asked, whipping a ball at a retreating Diglett, catching it at a curve.

"I don't know," Hakamo-o said as she went to retrieve the ball. "I mean, I think we have a decent amount so far. I'm not sure how I feel about other teams suddenly deciding to come out, too, but maybe this is a sign."

"Yeah, but they have these bullshit trackers. Nice job beating Tepig's time by the way," Lucario said as an afterthought.

"Thanks," Hakamo-o replied as she placed the ball back into their bag. "Years and years of training. I love and hate how that's my explanation for everything."

"Hey wait," Lucario said. "I think I sense something metal under there. Something really big."

"Under where?" Hakamo-o asked, looking down at her feet. "The ground or the rocks?"

"Ground, I think," Lucario said, focusing. "Wait, is that a spoon? A really big spoo-"

A psychic force slammed her into Hakamo-o, bowling them both over. Slowking approached, looking guilty.

"I'm sorry about this, but I REALLY need this challenge win."

With a swish of his fingers, their pokeballs flew into his hands. "I promise not to eliminate you when I win."

He teleported away.

"What the hell hit me?" Lucario groaned, before realizing she was lying on Hakamo-o's chest. With a strangled cry she jumped away.

Hakamo-o groaned, rubbing her head. "It was that bastard Slowking. He said that he needed the win," she explained, dusting herself off before looking at Lucario, who was blushing a very deep shade of crimson. "Uh… are you okay?"

"I-uh….y-yeah," Lucario said, her voice cracking. "Wait, where are all the Poke balls?"

"The bastard took them and teleported away," Hakamo-o growled, clenching her fists, looking back at the tunnel entrance. "We need to get back in there and get them back. Ugh! Where the hell is Charizard!? He's supposed to be helping us!"

Lucario was still blushing, looking over Hakamo-o's body from a distance.

"I COME WHEN MY NAME IS CALLED! OH SHIT!" Charizard dropped Mr. Pineapple, and it bonked Hakamo-o on the head.

Hakamo-o groaned, holding the stuffed toy with a peeved expression. "Where the hell have you been this whole time?!"

"Flying around. I got some Diglett," Charizard said, tossing about a dozen pokeballs. "How's your progress?"

"FUCKING ZERO APPARENTLY!" Lucario snarled.

Charizard gaped. "What?"

"Slowking knocked us over and stole our pokeballs," Hakamo-o growled, folding her arms.

"Well, he can't have gone fucking far, can he?" Charizard asked. "He's not exactly a fast Pokemon."

"He teleported away, so he's either back in there or he's hiding somewhere to wait until the challenge is over," Hakamo-o replied.

"There's no use finding him then, is there?" Lucario asked. "Bastard must have used the spoon to distract me. Do we have any point of winning at this point?"

"With just twelve?" Hakamo-o questioned. "I don't know. Unless someone else sucked completely, we probably have no chance. How much time do we have left?"

Charizard looked down at his watch and swore. "Forty minutes. Ugh, it's over. This place has been thoroughly searched by almost all of us!"

"Well…" Hakamo-o started. "They did say that sabotage was allowed, right? Slowking just did it to us, so..."

"Assuming we can find him," Lucario muttered. "Who was allied with him again?"

"Tsareena and Infernape," Hakamo-o reminded.

"Okay, so pushovers?" Charizard asked. "Tsareena didn't seem very...er...self aware."

"And Infernape is a dunce, albeit a big hearted one," Lucario said. "If we find him we can at the very least make sure he does not win."

Hakamo-o nodded. "Come on…"

The three of them entered the tunnel again in order to locate Slowking, Infernape, and Tsareena.

Slowking sat on top of the tunnel, watching them enter. "It's about time I stopped pulling my punches."

Focusing his mind, he closed the tunnel off with a barrier. "This won't be the day I leave."

000

"So, you've never been d'ed down before?" Umbreon inquired. "Jeez. I thought that you were a party girl…"

Lycanroc blushed. "Hey, I just haven't felt comfortable with anyone yet."

"You wanna know a secret?" Umbreon asked, making sure Parasect wasn't nearby. "I haven't either. I'm just surprised we share the same reason."

"Wow, hehe," Lycanroc giggled. "I would've thought you'd be more willing. No offense or anything."

"Uh? Just the opposite?" Umbreon drawled. "I'm not letting some snotty boy touch me."

"Oh… so you're-" she started.

"That's Shuckle," Umbreon said, shaking her head. "I'm just a grumpy bitch."

"So you don't think you can find a guy that likes that?" Lycanroc queried as she overturned another rock in the tunnel. "I'm sure that I know a dozen of guys around my neighborhood that'd love a girl like you."

"I mean a grumpy bitch with high standards and a low libido," Umbreon corrected. "I don't really like physical contact much. There was one boy I liked back in high school. I broke his arm. That's my way of showing affection."

"Well, having a low libido isn't that bad," Lycanroc replied. "And the breaking his arm thing just seems like something a child would do to show affection to someone. So, what's your type of guy?"

"How the hell are you getting me to spill like this?" Umbreon asked. "You're horribly good natured. Reminds me of another guy I know."

"I'm not doing anything. I guess I just make people feel comfortable," Lycanroc said with a shrug as they approached Infernape and Tsareena, who were sitting and staring at a corner of the tunnel. "Uh…"

"Hey Infernape," Umbreon said, her feelings towards him slightly uplifted since the intensity of the last challenge. "How's my fellow Tinkerbell doing?"

Infernape grinned up at her. "Great! I have like….eight Diglett! Hi Lycanroc!"

The she-wolf waved back at him. "So um… how're things with Tsareena?"

"Well, uh… she hasn't exactly done anything except stand around and blink…." Infernape said. "But they're REALLY cute blinks. I'm sure she's just getting into the right mood!"

Lycanroc giggled and nodded. "Nice."

Umbreon chuckled. "At least she's quiet and not intrusive. She won me over already."

"Yeah, she's a pretty cool girl," said Lycanroc. "Still not sure about why she acts the way she does, but, hey, she's not bothering anyone."

Suddenly, Hakamo-o, Lucario, and Charizard entered the scene upon gaining sight of Infernape and Tsareena.

"Whoa! Hey!" Infernape waved. "Whole get together going on here!"

"Someone kill me," Umbreon groaned.

"Where's… Slowking?" Hakamo-o growled. "That bastard stole all of our pokeballs. Minus the ones, Charizard got us."

"Was it badass?" Infernape whispered.

"Infernape… now is NOT the time!" Lucario growled.

"Really?" Umbreon asked. "Because I'm really enjoying myself right now."

"It was badass, admittedly," Charizard said.

"YOU WEREN'T EVEN THERE!" Lucario roared.

"IF YOU'D JUST CAME BACK AND STUCK AROUND, MAYBE IT WOULDN'T HAVE EVEN HAPPENED!" Hakamo-o roared.

"Mom, dad, please stop fighting," Infernape whimpered.

The two angry females exchanged looks before blushing and looking away from each other.

"Okay, sexual tension twins aside," Charizard grumbled, stomping past them. "Tell me where Slowking is or I follow his footsteps."

"I-I don't know!" Infernape said. "We split up and by the time I came back he was storming off. Maybe Tsareena said something mean?"

"Tsareena couldn't string a sentence together!" Charizard snapped. "Now where the hell is he?!"

"C'mon, dumbass," Umbreon said. "Maybe if you stopped thinking out of your ass you wouldn't be so behind all the time. You think INFERNAPE would agree to sabotage someone?"

Charizard's tail slammed on the ground. "Ohohoho no! You are the LAST person I'm taking shit from today, Umbreon!"

"Oh this should be good," Umbreon drawled. "What are you going to do about it, dragon turd?"

Infernape nudged Lycanroc. "I feel like we should be preventing this from escalating."

"Yeah," Lycanroc said, getting between the two. "I don't think this is going to help anything right now, guys. Let's just try to move on and be adults about this."

"Not my fault he can't take criticism," Umbreon snorted. "Or bitches when he doesn't get his way."

"Shut up, Umbreon!" Charizard growled.

"Sylveon told me how much of a control freak you are!" Umbreon chuckled, but there was a bitter edge to her voice. "How they let a psychopath like you into the police is a mystery."

"SHUT UP!"

Infernape was desperately trying to pull Charizard back as he pawed the ground. Lucario and Hakamo-o merely gaped at the scene, while Lycanroc was tapping her foot rapidly, feeling a bit tense about the scene.

"Seriously, you make Parasect look like a follower!" Umbreon said, still laughing. "Thank god everyone can see your actions on television. After watching the footage, they'll probably take away your badge-"

"GRAAAH!" Charizard roared, elbowing Infernape so hard in the face that he toppled over, falling into Tsareena. He flew forward at high speeds, slamming his tail into Lycanroc and sending her flying. Umbreon only had a moment to widen her eyes before his hand was gripped tight around her neck and he slammed her into the wall.

Umbreon tried not to cry out in pain, but Charizard snarled at her, his face an inch away from her own. "What do you want to say now, Umbreon? Any more back talk?"

Despite the situation, Umbreon managed to force a choked laugh. "You're fucking screwed after this competition, asshole."

Charizard raised a Mega Punch, but before he could, a green powder descended over him. Groaning, he flopped over and fell asleep.

Parasect looked over him distastefully. "Dreadful, simply dreadful! No coordination or strategy, merely aggressive nonsense! I was always the better leader!"

Umbreon let out a gasp. "I uh...thanks, Parasect!"

"Do not thank me!" Parasect snapped. "If you had followed my plan, you wouldn't be in this situation in the first place! Also! How dare you claim that Charizard is more controlling than me? This is the great Parasect we are talking about, and Parasect will take credit where it is due! Now apologize for your blasphemy!"

Umbreon groaned. "Don't push it. You guys all right?"

Infernape was still lying on top of Tsareena. "Why is my nose purple?"

"Wait, where's Lycanroc?!" Hakamo-o asked, looking around and not seeing the wolf anywhere.

-000-

Lycanroc was sitting outside on the other side of the tunnel, holding her knees as she stared down at the ground.

"Uh...Lycanroc?" Pyukumuku questioned. "Are you okay?"

"Hey, we're not going to have to pay for the giant hole we made in Diglett's tunnel, are we?" Munchlax asked, pointing behind him. The tunnel had been completely destroyed behind the bulldozer.

Lycanroc didn't respond. She seemed to be in a daze, almost as if she was going to cry.

-000-

A younger Rockruff was curled up in a corner of a rather demolished living room. The couch was torn, the television was broken, the plants were toppled over, and the windows were all busted. Rockruff was whimpering in the corner as her parents argued, which was the norm every time she got home from school.

"YOU'RE NEVER AT HOME ANYWAY!" her mother, another Lycanroc, shouted toward an Ursaring. "I KNOW YOU'RE CHEATING WITH THAT SLUT EVERY TIME YOU GO TO WORK!"

"BITCH! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT GOES ON WITH ME OUTSIDE THIS HOUSE, SO SHUT YOUR DUMB ASS UP!" her father retorted.

"Ohoho please, don't you even start with that," her mother replied. "I followed you, and I saw you fucking that dirty bitch in the alley! I'm not stupid!"

"WELL YOU ARE IF YOU THOUGHT THAT WAS ME!"

"HE HAD THE SAME FUCKING TATTOO! STOP TRYING TO PLAY ME YOU DUMB BASTARD!"

"You'd better watch yourself, bitch…" her father snarled, grabbing her mother by the neck. "I'm not afraid of going back to jail. I've made almost everyone in there my bitch, so don't think I'll have a tough time."

Her mother slashed at his crotch with her feet, causing him to yell in pain, but tighten his grip around her neck. Growling, he threw her toward the window, causing her to hit her head on the windowsill.

Her father walked away after doing that, her mother barely moving. Once hearing him leave the house, she went toward her mother, who was sobbing as she painfully rose up, shakily dusting glass off of herself. Rockruff nuzzled her, crying a bit as well.

-000-

Lycanroc buried her face in her arms.

"CONTESTANTS! TIME IS UP! IT'S TIME TO SEE WHO WINS!" Solgaleo's voice projected from his location.

"Splendid," Shuckle groaned. "Let's head back."

Shuckle and Pyukumuku hopped onto the bulldozer, with Pyukumuku noticing that Lycanroc wasn't moving.

"Lycanroc? You coming?" he asked in concern.

Hearing his voice this time, Lycanroc sniffled, looking up a bit. "N-no. I'm okay," she said getting back onto her feet. "I'm just gonna head back to the hotel and rest a bit. Okay?"

Shuckle gave a sheepish grin. "You want a ride?"

"No thanks," she replied, rising to her feet. She started heading back to the hotel, hugging herself. Pyukumuku couldn't help but feel more concerned; it felt like Drampa all over again, only without the constant barrage of hate.

"I can't tell if we should follow her or not," Munchlax whispered. "She looks like she's hiding a wound."

"Come on," Pyukumuku said, not willing to let her just walk away like that. It was so out of character for her to even be upset!"

"At the very least, we have a good haul," Shuckle said, nodding at his bag of Poke balls. "Turns out a bulldozer is great for scooping up Diglett. And Victini never specified a time limit for when we had to get back there."

"Uh… they literally just told us to come back," Munchlax pointed out.

"It 's okay. You guys can go. I'll talk to her," Pyukumuku replied as he hopped off of the bulldozer and after Lycanroc.

Shuckle and Munchlax exchanged glances.

"I don't feel good about this," Munchlax admitted.

"Well, hopefully Pyukumuku can handle it," Shuckle said. "We better get back. There's a good chance we could actually pull this off and eliminate Scrafty!"

Munchlax nodded, driving the bulldozer forwards. Underneath the vehicle, Scrafty grinned and winked at the camera, whistling Heigh Ho under his breath.

000

"Lycanroc hardly ever gets upset and she was crying about something. I don't like it," Pyukumuku explained.

000

Almost everyone made it back to the final area. Some wore larger smiles than others, while others had angry expressions plastered on their face. The hosts, seeing this, were very confused.

"Uh, should we ask why Charizard is unconscious?" asked Lunala, seeing the sleeping dragon.

Parasect chuckled. "MY TACTICS RENDERED HIM IN THIS STATE!"

"Did Munchlax get back yet?" Shuckle said nervously. "He was holding off Scrafty a while ago and I haven't seen him since."

"No, I think the better question is where's Lycanroc," Hakamo-o growled, folding her arms. "I haven't seen her since that bullshit happened in the tunnel."

"What HAPPENED in the tunnel?!" Shuckle snapped. "Lycanroc looked awful when we found her. Pyukumuku went to comfort her."

"WHAT?!" Hakamo-o and Incineroar exclaimed. Hakamo-o glared at Charizard's unconscious form. "This fucking BASTARD!" she exclaimed, kicking him in the head.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, will someone explain what the hell happened in there and why my best friend is apparently hurt?!" Incineroar snarled, clenching his fists.

"I got hurt too, in case anyone cared," Infernape sniffed, holding a cloth over his nose.

"We don't," Umbreon drawled. "Look, it was my fault.

"What did you do?" Incineroar growled, glaring daggers at the Moonlight Pokemon.

"I instigated Charizard and he snapped. He accidentally knocked Lycanroc in the way of getting me."

"Wow, sounds like everything exciting happened to everyone except us," Tepig said. "Besides me getting kicked the shit out of by some pissed off Diglett."

"So my friend is hurt because of you? But most importantly, because of this sorry bastard?" Incineroar growled, approaching Charizard's unconscious form.

"Umbreon, you're laying it too thin. You know damn well that wasn't an accident. He intentionally elbowed Infernape and knocked Lycanroc away so that he could get at you," Lucario stated. "That's bullshit and you know it."

"Charizard has anger issues! Look, I am the last person that wants to defend him, but I wanted him angry in the first place. He'll probably feel horrible about it later," Umbreon said. "Look, Incineroar, be mad at me if anyone. I'm as much to blame as he is."

"Anger issues or not, that bastard shouldn't have but any part of himself on Lycanroc," Incineroar growled. He turned to the hosts. "Just tell us who fucking won so I can go check on her…"

Victini looked over his notes. "Uh….well, shit Shuckle. Tough luck for you. You would have had the highest if Scrafty didn't sabotage you on the way back."

Shuckle gritted his teeth.

"Anyway, the winner is Slow-"

"I don't want it," Slowking said, folding his arms.

Infernape blinked. "Dude, what?"

"Give the immunity to Infernape and Tsareena, but not me," Slowking said. "I was out of line, and I caused enough problems. I stole from all your supplies and indirectly or not, I helped set off Charizard's rage out of desperation. I-I want everyone to know that it isn't me. "

Victini shrugged. "Sorry Slowking, but if you're disqualifying yourself then you're disqualifying the team."

"Dude, come oooooon!" Infernape groaned.

"Sorry Infernape and Tsareena. Uh….well the next in line is Tepig, Dhelmise, and Zorua."

"Ha! Didn't get my shit kicked in for nothing! That's how I play!" Tepig boasted.

"Where the hell were you two?" Gallade asked. "Incineroar and I looked everywhere."

"That's for me to know and you to suck on, ya blue footed boobie!" Tepig said.

"Well, looks like we have our winners, so, as Lunala said earlier, you get to choose who leaves from each cast," Solgaleo said. "And be sure to make the choice that you think will be beneficial for the opposing cast or at least decent."

"So, Dhelmise, who's going from my cast?" Victini inquired.

000

"Well, Zorua and I decided to make a deal," Dhelmise said. "She gets rid of Pyukumuku and I get rid of-"

000

"Munchlax," Dhelmise said nonchalantly.

There was a shared gasp of shock and anger among everyone. After hearing what had gone done in the cave… and how a few others were hurt, he decides to go...for MUNCHLAX?

"No. No, no, no, no, no," Shuckle said, grabbing and rubbing his head. "N-not again. Dhelmise please-"

"Sorry buddy boy. No underdog story for your friend," Dhelmise replied.

"Once again, Dhelmise proves that he's a complete jackass without a lick of empathy," Lunala remarked. "Anyway, Tepig and Zorua, who's leaving from our cast?"

Zorua looked down. "Can I change my answer?"

"If you do, I'm changing mine, too," Dhelmise glared. "We had a deal."

"WHAT KIND OF DEAL!" Shuckle cried out. "Zorua, you changed! I know you did! Don't do this now! What would Ampharos do in this situation!"

Zorua looked like a deer caught in headlights. "I-I-"

"We vote Pyukumuku," Tepig said, looking devoid of emotion. "And it was my choice, not hers. So don't get mad at her."

Shuckle was at a loss for words. "I-I'm finding Munchlax."

He crawled off as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Dude, let me help you out!" Infernape shouted.

"Leave me alone!"

There was an awkward silence once Shuckle disappeared into the cave.

"Well, this was an eventful crossover, I'd say," Dhelmise said with a sigh. "I'll be back at the hotel."

He disappeared from view, leaving the others to wallow in pity and anger.

"Well, uh… hmm," Solgaleo stated, unsure about what to really do. "I… guess this episode's over."

Victini was wiping away a tear. "Y-yeah."

"Is young Victini crying?" Hariyama asked.

"No, I just have something in my eye!" Victini yelped.

"Well, everyone get back to the hotel," Lunala said, sounding a bit saddened herself. "Congrats to our final five and Victini's final ten."

"I don't think I like this game anymore," Infernape said.

000

Lycanroc's face was buried in her pillow as she lied in her bed in her demolished room. She was sniffling, having been crying since she got back up there. She slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Pull yourself together. You'll be fine. It was a long time ago, just move on…"

She got back onto her feet and headed to her bathroom. She ran some warm water in the tub before looking at herself in the mirror. Sniffling, she picked up a tissue from the box and blew her nose before throwing it away. She then looked at the red scar extending from her lower chest and down to her stomach. She sighed.

She suddenly heard knocking at her door. She initially didn't want to answer it, just so she had alone time, but she had a feeling that it was Hakamo-o or Incineroar rushing to check up on her. She grabbed a towel to cover the scar before sulking to the door, she opened it and was surprised to see Pyukumuku there, panting heavily.

"Pyukumuku?" she asked softly. "What are you doing here?"

"You were sad outside of the tunnel," Pyukumuku answered. "That's not like you. So, I decided to come and check on you."

"Oh, well, that's thoughtful, but I'm okay," Lycanroc lied.

"Now you're lying," Pyukumuku replied. "I know you're not okay. You looked like you were hurt."

"Pyukumuku please. I'm fine," Lycanroc replied, squatting down to his level. "There's nothing for you to worry about."

When she squatted, Pyukumuku was able to catch a glimpse of something red on her chest area, and it wasn't fur.

"Lycanroc, I can see that you're hurt!" Pyukumuku prodded, gaining an upset expression. "What happened in the cave?!"

Lycanroc groaned. She knew that he wasn't going to stop. So, she decided to just give him a portion of the truth. "Charizard got mad at Umbreon and I got caught in the crosshairs," she said, sniffling. "No big deal."

"You have a scar! This is a big deal!" Pyukumuku exclaimed. "I'd never wish ill on anyone but… fudge Charizard! I hope that whoever wins for us eliminates him for this."

"I know it looks bad, but it only stings a little bit," Lycanroc assured, not once having a smile on her face. Noticing this, Pyukumuku had a feeling that there was more to it.

"So, if it doesn't hurt that much, why were you crying outside the tunnel?" Pyukumuku inquired.

"Pyukumuku. I'm sorry but, I don't want to talk about it, okay?" Lycanroc replied. "I just want to put this all behind me and move on if I haven't been eliminated for whatever reason."

Hearing that, Pyukumuku looked down, disheartened. "I just want to help, but, if whatever's bothering you is that important, you won't be able to move on by just trying to forget about it."

"PYUKUMUKU! YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN FOR ELIMINATION! PLEASE COME DOWN!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Shuckle's scream could be heard in the background after the announcement was made.

"What?!" Lycanroc bellowed. "You? Why would they eliminate you?! You're one of the sweetest guys ever!"

Pyukumuku sighed. "All good things must come to an end, I guess," he chirped awkwardly as he started hopping toward the elevators. He stopped along the way. "Just… remember what I said. You can't hold it in. And if this is something that you've always had in the back of your mind, you need to charge head on and conquer it before you lose your sanity. Okay?"

Lycanroc walked forward, dropping her towel and exposing her scar to him. Pyukumuku's eyes widened in shock as she approached. She picked him up and hugged him, tears starting to fall from her face. "Thank you."

Pyukumuku pet her shoulders. "You'll be fine. Now uh… could you help me with the elevator? I had to take the stairs to get up here since I couldn't really reach."

Lycanroc nodded, pressing the down button for him. When the doors opened, the two of them entered and she pressed the first floor button for him. Doing so, she initially wanted to see him off, but being around everyone with the scar, she knew that there would be a barrage of concerned comments rather than proper send offs. Looking down, she stepped back out and turned back to him. Pyukumuku nodded in understanding, giving her a thumbs up as the doors closed.

000

Lycanroc had her face buried in her palms, before raising it up and revealing tear-filled eyes.

000

The doors opened, revealing the Sea Cucumber Pokemon as he hopped out of the doors. Immediately, Hakamo-o and Incineroar approached him, as Victini's cast was doing their own version of a ceremony outside. "We're sorry, dude," Incineroar said glumly. "I wish we could have just did normal votes," he growled, glaring at the hosts.

"How's Lycanroc?" Hakamo-o inquired.

Pyukumuku sighed. "Just give her some time to herself. I'm sure she'll come back around soon. Did Charizard get eliminated like he deserves?"

Incineroar scoffed. "Of course not. Dhelmise's team won, and they made a deal to eliminate you and Munchlax."

Pyukumuku sighed. "Sounds like something he'd do," he responded. "Oh well."

"Well, Pyukumuku, time to go," said Lunala, levitating the Sea Cucumber Pokemon up so that he didn't have to hop all the way to the boat.

Hakamo-o and Incineroar immediately headed up to check on Lycanroc despite what Pyukumuku said, leaving Tsareena alone. She turned toward the confessional.

000

"Well, that was truly unfortunate," Tsareena commented. "Pyukumuku was one of the only ones who didn't treat me like I was a nobody or a lost cause. It's a shame to see him go already. I would have enjoyed bringing him to the finals, if I make it that far, that is."

"For now, I think it's time that Dhelmise learn a thing or two about respect," Tsareena stated.

000

Pyukumuku and Munchlax were put on the same boat as it sailed away. The three hosts exchanged looks.

"So, how long are your guys still gonna be around?" Lunala asked.

"Uh...I'm giving my guys a week long break," Victini said. "They earned it."

"Ooh, well this'll be interesting and awkward, then," Solgaleo said. "Because our cast still has challenges in the next week. I guess your cast will just be spectators."

"Interesting indeed," Victini replied.

"Well," Solgaleo started, turning to the cameras. "I hope you all enjoyed our second crossover special! It uh… surely brought out a lot of feelings. So, uh, we'll see you all next Monday will a brand new challenge here on Total...Pokemon…:Alola!

000

And...DONE! 20,000+ WORDS! WOO-HOO! This chap was just...wild. Like...very very very very wild and crazy. Uh… I honestly don't know what to say other than to check out Shuckle Master's TPI and that he was a great guy to work with! I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you next time on Total... Pokemon…:Alola! See ya guys, BYE!

000

"Read and review, guys!" Pyukumuku chirped.

000

Pyukumuku was seen on his bed. When he saw that the camera was on, he waved. "Hello! I'm Pyukumuku!" he greeted.

"Uh, I think that you should pick me for Total Pokemon: Alola, because… uh… I want to make more friends and have fun!" he expressed. "I don't want to cause any trouble and hopefully I don't get eliminated that early!"

"I think that's it," he finished. "Uh, well, thanks for the opportunity!"

He gave a peace sign.

000