Episode 3
You are about to read the story of a Pokémon-themed reality game show that could take place in the real world. The entire story is a work of parody protected under the First Amendment and all events are entirely fictional. In several cases, the names of famous people or technology involved with Nintendo or The Pokémon Company may be used.
"Hi I'm Bill from Nintendo, the host of The Amazing Pokémon Journey. If you're just joining us, let me bring you up to speed on the latest information about our contestants. We have been challenging twelve elite Pokémon Trainers hailing from all over the world in all aspects of what it is like to be a real world Pokémon Master. Last week, we had the Pokémon Trainers go all over Japan in the search for a Pokémon Center, and sadly that meant the team that made it to their destination last, Team Three, had to be eliminated from the competition. This week, the four remaining teams are headed out to a remote volcanic island where anything can and will happen."
A beautiful tropical paradise off the coast of Japan faded into view as this week's episode began. The islands surrounding Japan are some of the most beautiful you will ever see, and served as the inspiration for the third generation Pokémon games, as well as their remakes, Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire.
The remaining eight Pokémon Trainers stood at the dock overlooking the incredible sea behind them. Directly behind Bill was the overbearing outline of an enormous ferry.
Bill smiled at the teams and greeted them, "Welcome back, Trainers. Congratulations to all of you for making it this far. Today, we'll be headed out to the islands of the South Pacific, the inspiration for the land of Hoenn. But before we continue with your Pokémon Journey, we need to talk about today's immunity challenge."
The remaining Trainers became very anxious in hearing there would be an immunity challenge for this round. The last episode's trivia contest had spared Team Two from competing in the elimination challenge, and if there was going to be an immunity challenge here, it could be over anything.
Bill began giving his instructions and said, "Before we start our immunity challenge, I wanted to remind you that players can do more than just training or capturing Pokémon in the Pokémon World. Anyone remember the exploits of Todd Snap, the Pokémon Photographer?"
Several of the older Trainers nodded their heads after Bill asked that question.
Bill continued, "Today's immunity challenge is a real-world version of Pokémon Snap. Behind us is the S.S. Queen Anne, which we got special delivered to us straight from Kanto. It'll be taking us to our final destination and the next step on your Pokémon Journey, the Hoenn Islands."
All of the teams cheered. A new land with new challenges lay before them.
"Along the boat ride to the islands, you will encounter Pokémon of all kinds. Some will be in the water, some in the sky and some on land. Your objective is to take pictures with your New Nintendo 3DS XL systems of as many Pokémon as you can during the ride. We will then take the photos from both of your 3DS systems and score them on their clarity, visibility and how well the Pokémon is in frame. Like with Pokémon Snap, we will only score the best photo of each individual Pokémon. The team with the highest combined score will win immunity from this challenge, and will be allowed to enjoy their day on the Hoenn Islands however they see fit."
Trainer Red leaned over to his partner's ear and whispered, "All right! I loved Pokémon Snap!"
The teams loaded onto the S.S. Queen Anne and pulled out their New Nintendo 3DS XL units. The handheld could take pictures in full 3D, but 3D photographs required a lot of light. Thankfully it was a beautiful sunny morning, with just a hint of fog on the vast ocean surrounding them. They were in the best position to take some of the most beautiful pictures ever published in 3D.
The boats sailed off at top speed from the coast of the Japanese mainland. As Red was about to sit down in a lounge chair, his partner Trainer Blue walked out of her cabin wearing a very sexy blue bikini. Red's jaw practically hit the floor when he saw her.
Trainer X and Trainer Y were seated at the forward section of the boat with their New Nintendo 3DS XL systems out and set to photo mode. Trainer X had figured that the front of the boat was the best spot to scout for Pokémon, and they would be ready for when any Pokémon appeared.
The members of Team Five were at the ship's stern. Trainer White had figured that just like with the ship's forward section, the stern would be able to get a full view of everything the ship had passed, but she was banking on the fact that the stern would be able to afford better chance to snap photos of anything that the other teams might have missed.
Team Two were sitting at the ship's port side. Gold and Silver had their 3DS systems ready to go, with their photo app enabled, and their 3D screens switched on. They had a full panoramic view of the entire left side of the ship, and they would be taking advantage of it.
Trainer Gold turned to Silver and said, "Let's make this interesting. I got a Dragonite download code from GameStop before we headed over to Japan. I haven't used it yet, but if you snap a Pokémon picture before I do, I will give it to you."
Trainer Silver squinted her eyes and said, "Fine. I've got a Legendary Meloetta stored in the Pokémon Bank. If you get the first picture I'll trade it to you for a Pidgey."
Gold nodded his head and said, "Deal."
Almost as if on cue, a Pokémon appeared off in the distance just as Gold and Silver shook their hands. It was a giant blue Gyrados. The show's art department had really outdone themselves in making such a large and detailed statue of the famous Pokémon. The statue was half submerged in the water with its head slightly above the waterline. As the boat passed, the statue squirted some water out of its mouth.
Silver opened up her 3DS and snapped up Team Two's first picture. The confident woman then turned to Gold and said, "Pay up!"
Gold pulled the Dragonite card from his pocket and handed it to Silver. As he promised, the code was intact, and had not been used.
As the Gyrados passed, the boat continued through the photo area at a slower pace. There were certainly more Pokémon for the teams to snap. Every team was able to get a decent picture of the next Pokémon to appear, a full sized Charizard. It was easy to spot because the show's effects team had rigged it with an actual flaming tail and the ability to breathe fire from its mouth.
More Pokémon began to appear in front of the Trainers. A really good attention to detail was paid on which Pokémon to put in the area. They capped off which Pokémon would appear at Generation 3, due to the fact that they were trying to replicate the land of Hoenn.
Back at the front of the boat Trainer Y saw something out in the distance. Her partner saw it too. Trainer X looked over to Y and said, "I think that's a Sharpedo."
They both raised their 3DS systems and snapped a few pictures. They weren't the only ones. A few minutes later, Team Two was able to spot an enormous Lapras off in the distance. Team Five was also able to get some photos of that Lapras, but nobody else saw it.
The boat was slowly getting closer to its destination. Once the members of Team Six were able to see the enormous docks in front of them, they decided the challenge was over and began closing up their cameras.
As the boat slowed to dock, the members of Team One also decided the challenge was over. Trainer Blue decided she had gotten enough sun for the day, and also began to pack up her Nintendo handheld.
Blue looked over at Trainer Red, who was near her travel bag, and asked him, "Could you throw me my beach dress? It's in my bag."
At the stern of the boat, Trainer Black thought he could see something out of the corner of his eye. There was a giant rock protruding out of the ocean, but he was sure he could see a Pokémon was hiding behind it.
He looked over at Trainer White, pointed behind the rock and asked, "Honey? Do you see that behind the rock?"
Trainer White pulled up the zoom function on her camera and tried to look as close as she could to what was behind the rock. A statue of a Pokémon with very short arms and a very long tail looked as if it was floating slightly above the water.
"Oh my god," replied his fiancée, "Honey, I think that's Mew."
Trainer White snapped up a few pictures of the Legendary Pokémon, then went back to searching for more. None of the other teams had spotted Mew, and Team Five was going to keep that secret for themselves.
The boats docked, and the four teams grabbed their belongings and exited. As they came onto shore, Bill from Nintendo greeted them at the dock.
Bill looked over the teams and said, "Before you go any further, turn your New Nintendo 3DS XL systems off, and present us your system's MicroSD cards. Don't worry about losing any of your data, we marked every one of those cards before we gave them to you, so we know whose card belongs to who."
The Trainers shut their systems down and handed each of them to several of the show's stagehands.
The eight Trainers were escorted to a giant stage set up on the beach.
Bill from Nintendo came onto the stage when all the teams arrived. He was dressed in a classic safari outfit which looked quite appropriate given the hostile conditions and addressed the three remaining teams, "Welcome to the Hoenn Islands trainers. They are among the most remote and beautiful islands in the world."
As Bill continued his speech, two supermodels dressed as Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny began returning the New Nintendo 3DS XL units to their respective trainers.
"However one team will not need to join us on today's journey. As I speak, our technical experts are going over all of the photos you took on the boat ride over here, and as I promised the Team with the best combined photo portfolio will earn immunity from today's challenge and a special prize."
Bill looked over to the technical experts huddled together around a group of laptops next to the stage. They had copied the data from all of the MicroSD cards they had been provided, and were pouring over them as quickly as they could to determine which team had taken the best photos and would win immunity from today's challenge.
The technical group eventually nodded their heads in agreement, and their leader raised his thumbs up at Bill. The supermodel dressed as Nurse Joy walked over to Bill and handed him a gold envelope.
Bill quickly opened the envelope and read the ingredients out, "I see we have a decision on which team is a winner," and declared, "Team Five wins immunity."
The teams applauded for their fellow contestants. Trainer Black took a small bow as Trainer White began to blush slightly.
Bill turned to Team Five and said, "Your photos were among the most detailed of the entire group and that earned you several extra points when they were being scored. You also were able to capture a picture of the hidden Mew, which was behind one of the large rocks ashore. For your success, you two have won immunity from this challenge and cannot be eliminated today. You have also won a special gift, these cool new Charizard Tote Bags that can only be found on the official Pokémon Center website, ! Congratulations!"
As Nurse Joy brought the members of Team Five their prizes, Bill read the remaining teams their instructions for the day, "Today, you are all Pokémon Rangers. It is going to be your duty to protect these islands from nefarious individuals. These islands are practically brimming with life thanks to the volcanic soil, but many dangers are always a step away. There have been reports that operatives from both Team Magma and Team Aqua are on these islands, and we do not yet know what they plan to do here. You must trek through jungles with your supplies as you search for Pokémon Poachers. These poachers are tough and will not go down without a fight, so to defeat them you must challenge each of them to a Pokémon Battle! I hope you've been playing the latest Pokémon titles on your New Nintendo 3DS XLs during your downtime, as you will be using the teams you've built over the past few days in those battles. "
Trainer Y from Team Six shook her head, she hadn't been playing her copy of the game that much on her downtime, and she did not have any high level Pokémon in her team.
"However," continued Bill, "if you have not been playing that much, fear not because you will have an opportunity to obtain some high level Pokémon for your teams. See, we are not far from the Safari Zone, where Pokémon Trainers can catch unique high level Pokémon for a fee. Well, we've had the fee waved for today, and you all will be able to have unlimited access to catch all the Pokémon you can."
Team Five was lead away from the group by some of the stagehands so they could enjoy their day on the islands however they wanted. The three remaining teams braced themselves for the challenge to begin.
Bill resumed his speech, "On the count of three, you may begin your trek up the mountain. Remember, if you run up against members of Team Aqua or Team Magma, you must accept their challenge to a Pokémon Battle. I hope you are all prepared for this challenge, it will be the most difficult you have faced so far."
Trainer Gold looked at Trainer Silver, nodded and said, "We got this."
Trainer X pulled his Nintendo handheld out of his pocket. He was going to be headed for the Safari Zone the second that buzzer sounded.
Trainer Red looked at Blue and asked, "I don't know if I have enough high level Pokémon for this challenge. Should we go to the Safari Zone?"
Bill got out from behind his podium, stood in the middle of the stage and began the countdown, "Five, four, three, two….one!"
An air horn blasted in the background, coupled with an explosion of confetti erupting from behind the stage. The three teams vulnerable to elimination began their trek up the path in front of them.
Not far up the mountain path, the trail forked into two separate directions. A sign at the fork detailed where the splitting trails went. The left path would take the teams further up the mountain. The right path would take them to the Safari Zone.
Team Two was the first to make it to the fork. Trainer Gold looked at his partner and said, "My Pokémon levels are fine and I caught a few legendaries. I don't think we should stop."
Trainer Silver nodded, and Team Two headed up the left path, where the two continued their climb up the mountain.
The next team to reach the fork was Team One. Both Red and Blue had been playing their games a lot during their downtime, but neither one of them were sure if they had enough high level Pokémon to win the challenge ahead.
Trainer Red pointed at the Safari Zone sign and asked, "Should we go?"
Trainer Blue nodded, and the two headed to the Safari Zone.
The Safari Zone was located not much further up the path. It was a beautifully decorated area, with a small cabin shack equipped with Wi-Fi overlooking a cute little pond. Floating in the pond were several bobbers, which likely held Pokémon below them. Next to the pond were several fishing rods, likely set up to catch whatever was in the pond.
A supermodel dressed as a bug catcher walked up to the members of Team One and said, "Welcome to the Safari Zone. Don't worry, this is a protected area and you aren't in danger of being attacked by any Pokémon Poachers here. Grab a good rod and try to pick up a floating bobber in the pond. If the bobber has a unique code underneath it, we will gift one of you a special high level Pokémon to bring with you on the journey ahead."
Red and Blue grabbed fishing rods, sat down next to the pond, and started to fish.
The Bug Catcher had one last instruction for them, "One last thing, you are allowed to stay here for as long as you'd like, but remember, your competitors may already be headed up the summit."
Meanwhile, Team Six had also made it to the fork in the road. Trainer X knew that his teammate did not have enough high level Pokémon for the challenge ahead, and knew he could have used a few more for himself, so they both headed straight to the Safari Zone without any debate.
Team Two on the other hand was making good distance up the mountain. As they continued to gain altitude, it was becoming harder for both of them to walk, but the beautiful views of the sun over the Pacific Ocean kept them invigorated. As they started to turn a bend, a very large man dressed in blue hopped out from behind a rock. He looked like one of the Pokémon Poachers that Bill had warned them about.
Gold moved Silver aside and said, "Oh crap, it's a Team Aqua Grunt. Stand back, I'll handle him."
The grunt reached into his pocket and pulled out a New Nintendo 3DS XL. The grunt took a good look at Gold and said with a gruff voice, "Battle."
Seeing that, Trainer Gold pulled out a Nintendo handheld of his very own, turned his hat backwards and responded, "Battle!"
As Team Six reached the entrance to the Safari Zone, they were disappointed to find Team One was already there fishing in the pond. The Bug Catcher walked over to them and brought them up to speed on what they had to do to capture Pokémon in the Safari Zone as Team One continued to fish.
Trainer Red was the first to hook something with his fishing rod. Once his fishing rod was connected to whatever was floating in the water, he started to wheel it up slowly. However, once he finished reeling it in, he found nothing under the float.
The Bug Catcher shook her head and said, "I'm sorry, Trainer. But just like in the game, not all catches here will have Pokémon under them. Try again."
Trainer X grabbed a spare rod and started to fish.
Trainer Y looked over to her partner and said, "I'm seriously behind in catching Pokémon. If we get anything, please let me keep the first catch."
Trainer X nodded at his partner, and the two members of Team Six started to fish.
"Oh my god, I hooked something!" Trainer Blue screamed with delight as she started to reel her catch in.
Trainer Red walked over to help her, and both trainers very quickly determined that this was no empty catch. Once Trainer Blue finished reeling her catch in, they found a tagged number at the end of the line.
The Bug Catcher walked over to Team One and read the number out aloud, "One, one, eight zero. Okay. One of you please turn on your New Nintendo 3DS XL systems, load up your game of Pokémon Alpha Sapphire or Pokémon Omega Ruby, and set it to accept a gift locally."
Trainer Red nodded at Blue and understanding the gesture, Trainer Blue pulled out her handheld and followed the Bug Catcher's instructions.
At the same time Team One was receiving the first Pokémon they caught in the Safari Zone, Team Two had just accidently stumbled upon a very large man dressed as a member of Team Aqua. He had just jumped out from behind a tree as they were making their ascent, and without so much as an extra word, challenged them to a battle.
Once Trainer Blue loaded up her saved game to check the nearest Pokémon Center for her new gift, Blue had discovered she had been given a pretty powerful Serperior by the people of the Safari Zone.
Blue looked over at Red and said, "I've got a level 70 Serperior, should we stay?"
Red shook his head and said, "No, I think we're set. A high level grass type is going to be all we need."
Team One thanked the crew of the Safari Zone and left to start their trek up the mountain. It wasn't long before Team One came across Team Two's position. Of course, because that member of Team Aqua was busy battling Trainer Silver, Team One was able to sidestep them and take the lead.
All of a sudden a giant man dressed as a member of Team Magma came out of the bushes and stepped in front of Trainer Red and Trainer Blue.
The Team Magma Grunt pulled out his New Nintendo 3DS XL and said, "Battle."
Team Two finished their battle against the Team Aqua Grunt without much issue, and continued their trek up the mountain, quickly resuming their lead. Meanwhile the battle between Team One and Team Magma started to heat up. The Magma grunt pulled out his Pokémon, a Houndoom.
Red shook his head in disbelief and said, "Darn, that's a fire type, Serperior isn't going to do much good there. Can you beat him?"
Blue was not concerned and said, "Of course I can, my starter is a water type, and I can Mega Evolve him. This will be a piece of cake."
Team Two had finished their battle with the Team Aqua Grunt and continued their way up the mountain. Along the way, they saw another large man wearing a brightly colored coat, and thought he was a Team Magma Grunt. However, the Grunt hadn't seen them yet, and did not challenge them to a battle.
Meanwhile, Team Six was close to their very first catch. Trainer X had hooked something with his fishing rod and started to reel it in.
The Bug Catcher walked over to the trainers to read out what was on the tag they just pulled out of the water, "Code one, one, three, eight. Please boot up one of your handhelds and set it to receive a gift."
As he promised, Trainer X let his partner take the first catch.
After checking her gift box, Trainer Y looked over at X and told him what she received, "It's a decent-level Raichu. We've got a good one. Should we go?"
Trainer X shook his head and said, "No, let's catch at least one more."
At the same time, Team One had finished their first Trainer Battle and resumed their ascent. However, a fog had started to roll over the mountain, and their visibility was getting reduced. It was becoming difficult for both of them to stay focused on the trail, but they figured as long as they stuck to the clearly marked path, and continued a constant upwards climb, they were going to be okay.
This fog was also making it difficult for the actors playing the members of Team Aqua and Team Magma to see the trainers.
After catching a second Pokémon which turned out to be a high level Gyrados, the members of Team Six decided to leave the Safari Zone and get back onto the mountain path. They knew they were in last place, but they figured that they had enough powerful Pokémon that they could make the ascent faster than the other teams. Trainer X and Trainer Y thanked the Bug Catcher, and Team Six went back onto the trail right into the fog.
Meanwhile, Team Two was making great time. They were able to get around the Team Magma Grunt without being seen, and just like in the game, the show's judges had no problem with their stealthy footwork. As they continued to gain altitude, they walked out of the fog. With a clear field of view, they could see the summit was within sight for both of them. A finish line had been constructed overlooking the gorgeous peak, and they were just footsteps away from it when another member of Team Magma jumped out from behind a tree. The Team Magma Grunt pulled out his Nintendo handheld and challenged Team Two to a battle.
Gold looked a little nervous when he saw the Grunt bring up a Houndoom. He looked at Silver and said, "This might be a problem, I don't have any strong water-types on my team."
Team Six was making their ascent much faster than Team One or Team Two had. As the youngest members of the group, they were used to plenty of physical activity, and neither Trainer X nor Trainer Y were feeling any kind of fatigue. While visibility in the fog was getting tougher, with the exception of the Team Magma Grunt that Team Two had sidestepped, none of the other Pokémon Poachers were currently active and able to challenge them.
Team One had become winded after their last Pokémon Battle, and paused to take a short break. They didn't know it, but they were about to be overtaken by Team Six. Suddenly both of the teammates saw the two ten year olds sprint past them at full speed. Knowing this meant they could now be in danger of elimination, they cut their break short and went racing after them.
Team Six was still outpacing Team One, but the limited visibility caused by the fog made it next to impossible for either team to see that much further in front of them. That's why it was so startling to both of them to see a giant man dressed in a Team Magma costume pop out of what seemed like nowhere and challenge them to a battle.
Trainer Y was not intimidated by the surprise, because she knew she had the right water type to take on the Team Magma Grunt, and she was ready to battle. With her newly caught high level Gyrados, she knew this battle would not take long.
As Team Six hunkered down for their battle, Team One overtook them and headed for the summit. They knew they could not keep pace with Team Six's speed, so their plan was simply to try to gain as much distance as they could ahead of Team Six before Trainer Y could win her battle against the Team Magma Grunt.
Finally, after a long and painful battle, Trainer Gold was finally able to defeat the Team Magma Grunt, and Team Two was within steps of the finish line. The grunt stood defeated and ashamed, and slowly stepped out of Team Two's way.
Trainer Gold looked at Silver and said, "Break time's over, this is a sprint now."
Trainer Silver nodded, and the two sprinted for the finish line as fast as they could run. Somehow, Bill had made it to the top of the volcano before any of the teams could and was there to greet Team Two with a smile and hug as they crossed the finish line.
He looked over at the two former rivals and said, "Congratulations, Team Two, you are the first team to reach the summit and because of that you are free from elimination today. For making it to the top of the summit first, you two have won a special prize, these are gift certificates valued at one hundred and fifty American dollars each which can be used at ."
Trainer Y mopped the floor with the Team Magma Grunt in exactly one round, and now nothing was going to get between them and victory. However, Team One still had an incredible lead on them, and since Team Six had defeated the last active Pokémon Poacher, this challenge had just become a straight run to the summit.
Team Six continued to run the mountain path as quickly as they could. With every step, they continued to gain on Team One, but Team One was just too far ahead at this point to be overtaken. They cleared the fog and clearly saw the summit off in the distance. With a newfound second wind filling up their spirits, Trainer Blue and Trainer Red sprinted to the finish line and crossed it.
Bill walked over to the exhausted team and gave them the pleasant news, "Congratulations, Team One, you are the second team to reach the summit today, and that means you are free from elimination. For your victory, you have each won a gift certificate valued at one hundred American dollars good for any purchase from ."
Just as Bill said those words, the members of Team Six made it past the fog and could clearly see the stage for the first time. They saw that their competitors had made it to the summit before them, and that this meant they would both be eliminated. Exhausted and sore from all their running, Trainer X and Trainer Y were the last to cross the finish line.
Bill looked at their upset faces and said what he had to, "I'm so sorry, Team Six," began Bill, "but you are the last team to make it to the peak of the mountain, and I'm afraid you will have to be eliminated."
The young team was decimated by the news and quietly walked away from the podium to go speak with the camera crew.
Once the eliminated team walked into the confession booth, X turned to Y and said, "You know, I think we did a great job and accomplished a lot. I'm happy we got the prizes that we did, and you can be sure that I'll be playing my games a lot more from now on."
Trainer Y took a deep breath and said, "I'm just happy to be able to represent not only myself, but my friends and family. I don't think anyone thought that we would make it this far, and we surprised a lot of people."
Trainer X smiled and said, "I mean, who else could say they did this on their Summer Vacation?"
The camera cut back over to Bill, who continued to congratulate the remaining teams. Team Five had been brought up to the summit along with Bill because they needed to inform all of the teams of what was in store for them for the next episode. Suddenly, a supermodel dressed as Professor Juniper walked over to the podium and handed Bill a golden envelope.
Bill turned to the Pokémon Professor and said, "Thank you Professor."
As the Professor walked off stage Bill opened up the golden envelope and read out its contents, "Trainers, You all know that no Trainer can simply sit by and retire after they've conquered one region of the world, a true Pokémon Champion will want to conquer as many Pokémon League Championships as they can. That means we're going to move onto the next Pokémon region, Kalos!"
The teams gasped.
"Pack your bags, Trainers because you're ALL going to Paris, France!"
The teams cheered and congratulated each other. White gave Black a big kiss. Hugs and handshakes were given all around, even between rival contestants. They would be moving on with their Pokémon Journey.
As the sun fades on our magical day in Hoenn, we can only speculate on what our remaining teams must feel as we take this show out of the Pacific and into Western Europe. What will happen next for the three remaining teams? Will they be able to persevere in an entirely new country, with entirely new challenges in store for them? We will have to wait and see. Until next time, I'm Bill from Nintendo. Thank you for watching.