Reply to Reviews
Worma-Sir
Skrelp was always intended to be insufferable. However, she doesn't do it to the extent of Larvitar. In addition, she doesn't exactly show her true colors in the first episode. I'm not morphing my characters into what you said about them. Unless, the character is poorly written. Then, I will try make some adjustments with my reviews. Yeah, Houndour and Duosion relationship is quite obvious. That isn't hard to figure out. However, there will be unexpected couples. Is Drifblim really the main antagonist? There are a few possible main antagonists. I like to keep my viewers guessing. Perhaps, I'm doing this to confuse you. I agree with your point about Lucario. I will be very mad if I'm forced to run ten laps. Houndour isn't intended to be a Gary Stue. However, I want him to be competent. Perhaps, I accidentally overdo it. Well, I won't say anything else as it might be a potential spoiler.
magnemitegeek
First, I must tell you that I like the Magnemite line. They are probably in my top 20 list of favorite Pokemon. I like the Magnezone Sheriff in the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Game. I don't put my favorite Pokemon in Total Skarmory Island (except Skarmory as the host) because I might feel tempted to rig the game for them. All of these contestants are Pokemon that I feel neutral towards. I also agree with your point about cliché. Well, it is unavoidable. Thanks for your review.
Episode 3: Berry Master
The camera zoomed in toward Skarmory. The host sipped berry juice this time before he started the episode.
"Welcome back. Last time, the contestants scrambled to earn Skarmory tokens. Only a few were lucky enough. However, due to Houndour's and Grovyle's generosity, most ended up with a cup of noodle or rather, half a cup. Delicious drama occurred everywhere. Lucario forced his team to exercise, sending two members of his team to the infirmary. Skrelp's profanity damaged Jumpluff's fragile feelings. Eventually, they competed in the Key Relay challenge. Meowstic miscommunicated with her team, sending the Feckless Flygon back to the bonfire ceremony. However, Magikarp was voted out instead for… being a Magikarp. Will a contestant be sent to the infirmary again? Will the Feckless Flygon stop being feckless? Will Skrelp be eliminated next as the last remaining water type? Find out in this episode of Total Skarmory Island!" Skarmory announced excitedly.
Houndour stood in front of Skarmory Cave, his eyes stared intently at the entrance. He tried to gather his courage with a few deep breaths. After a while, he stepped forward into the dark, deep cave.
There was no source of light, Houndour clung to the wall for support and navigation.
"Is this even worth it?" Houndour asked himself. He looked back at the exit briefly before he continued with his exploration.
Suddenly, he slipped on a mysterious object and fell flat on the ground.
"What the hell is this?" Houndour groaned as he checked his body for any signs of injuries. Luckily, there was none. He then picked up the object, it was a shining, sliver gemstone.
"What is this, a Steel Gem?" Houndour asked himself as he exited the cave.
Confessional
Houndour: "I'm not exactly the bravest Pokemon around here. However, I know how to deal with fear. I feel like this Steel Gem worth a lot of Skarmory tokens. So, there is no need for me to explore deeper."
Houndour met Duosion outside of the cave. She eyed the gemstone with interest.
"Did you find a Steel Gem in this cave?" Duosion asked.
"Yeah. Do you want one?" Houndour was about to offer his Steel Gem.
"No thanks. I want to find one on my own. Although, can you accompany me?" Duosion requested.
"I totally understand that you might be scared. I'm scared as well. Therefore, I will go with you as a friend." Houndour decided to help her.
"I think you misunderstood. I'm neither scared or lonely. I just need a source of light and you can breathe fire." Duosion corrected. Houndour realized just then that his first attempt at conquering the cave could have been much more convenient.
"How did I forget about that?" Houndour said as he scratched his head sheepishly.
"I believe it is because you are scared. You even said so yourself." Duosion teased Houndour jokingly. Houndour blushed slightly at this.
"Get over it." Duosion nudged Houndour for him to follow her.
Houndour used Flamethrower to illuminate the cave. Both of them could now at least see what's in front of them. The interior of the cave consisted of dull gray walls and rocky surfaces. Occasionally, there were sharp looking rocks pointing from the ceiling and the ground. Houndour stopped breathing fire temporarily due to tiredness.
"No treasure yet. You seem tired, why don't we take a short break?" Duosion suggested.
"It's alright. We should continue." Houndour continued to walk and breathed fire. He accidentally stepped on a pressure plate. It released cries of a Zubat horde.
"Yikes!" Houndour got a jump scare from one of Skarmory's many tricks. Duosion snickered at this.
"You are easily frightened, aren't you? Are you scared of caves? That is weird, considering that you are a dark type." Duosion asked.
"Well, you see… When I was younger, a horde of Crobat swarmed me inside a cave similar to this one and that left a traumatizing mark. Just because I'm a dark type or an adventurous Pokemon doesn't mean that I can't be scared." Houndour replied, his eyes were warier of pressure plates and traps.
"I understand and I'm sorry for asking you to come here as well as making fun of you a bit." Duosion apologized, feeling guilty.
"It's fine. Hey look! A Rock Gem!" Houndour shouted enthusiastically as he found a Rock Gem in front of him. He gave it to Duosion.
"Thank you very much. Both of us should be able to afford decent food for now. Do you want to leave?" Duosion asked with concern. Houndour looked forward into the dark depths of the cave.
"It is better if we leave." Houndour retreated from the cave as he sighed in relief. Duosion noticed it but she didn't say anything.
"Are you really not scared?" Houndour asked with disbelief, Duosion didn't show any signs of fear the entire time.
"I'm not speluncaphobic or chiroptophobic by any means. If you don't know, they are phobias of caves and bats. I explore many ancient caves and ruins. I'm used to it by now." Duosion answered.
"Having you alongside me makes me feel more comfortable. You are very reliable." Houndour complimented with a look of respect.
"I think you overestimate me…" Duosion said humbly as they just exited out of the cave. The sunlight shined upon them once more. Meowth walked by, eyeing both of their gems with interest.
"You found them inside this cave?" Meowth asked.
"Yes." Houndour answered simply.
"If an opportunity presents, I want to join in your little expedition. Is that fine with both of you?" Meowth persuaded.
"Definitely, the more of us, the less scary it will be." Houndour allowed. Duosion hesitated before she nodded.
Confessional
Meowth: "I look forward to our business trip." Meowth said with a grin.
Duosion: "I don't know if I trust Meowth yet. However, Houndour looked scared so another fellow companion shouldn't hurt. It was also very nice of him to help me."
Houndour: "I'm not that scared anymore. I did face my fear, right?"
Jumpluff slept peacefully with her blanket covering her face. However, a Pokemon approached her top bunk bed. Archeops shook her awake. It seemed like something bothered the prehistoric bird.
"I still want to sleep." Jumpluff complained with her eyes half-closed.
"I want to discuss something privately with you." Archeops said quietly so that other girls are not disturbed.
"Fine…" Jumpluff floated half willingly out of the cabin. Archeops closed the door and proceeded to speak.
"Why did you tell everyone to not enter the mess hall? Furthermore, you passed the key to Tyrunt? What were you thinking?" Archeops criticized in an accusing tone. Jumpluff was infuriated at this.
"What about you?! Why did you agree with Skrelp and pressured me to start? You didn't even know me personally well enough. I told everyone to not enter the mess hall because Larvitar was freaking inside. We won the challenge, there is no need to be harsh. You are on Skrelp's side right? I thought I can trust you…" Jumpluff replied in her unusual aggressive voice before she floated away quickly.
"Jumpluff! Wait!" Archeops tried to call her back. However, it was too late.
Confessional
Jumpluff: "I hate Archeops now. She probably allies herself with Skrelp."
Archeops: "Why is it so hard to… communicate with Jumpluff. I feel like she is too sensitive and takes things too far. If she really did feel pressured, she should have done a better job telling our team."
In the Crawdaunt boys' cabin, Grovyle staggered out of his bed. He then scratched his waist as he left the cabin for his daily exercise in the forest.
"I need some coffee…" Grovyle mumbled to himself. Apparently, Bisharp was fully awake as well. He sat on the benches outside with a bowl of Oran Berry cereal and a glass of milk. Grovyle rubbed his eyes immediately.
"Where did you get that? Is this a dream?" Grovyle asked as he pinched himself to make sure.
"No, Skarmory sells a glass of milk for one token and a bowl of cereal for two tokens. I luckily found a few mushrooms in the forest." Bisharp answered as he slowly ate his cereal.
"I need to get a few myself…" Grovyle mumbled as he was about to leave.
"Can I have a short moment with you? I want to evaluate how well you are doing." Bisharp requested. Grovyle walked over to sit on the bench next to him.
"I'm doing fine. Did I do anything wrong?" Grovyle asked.
"I believe you were putting a target on your back yesterday with the Heracross incident. I don't recommend that. Although, I must applause you for not giving me any Skarmory tokens. What I want you to do now is to patch things up with her and her friends. Specifically, give her your vote today. Understood?" Bisharp said in a very analytical manner.
"I see. I really mess things up." Grovyle tried not to argue even if his lips resisted. He then left to the forest.
Confessional
Bisharp: "If I give him an academic grade in this game, it will be a B-. I think he needs to keep up his cool, loyal guy personality a bit more. Argue less and make more friends."
Grovyle: "Yadada… whatever. I will listen to you just for now. Although, I probably need to patch things with Heracross."
Lucario punched a few trees and rocks in the morning. He obliterated them completely. Ursaring, who was nearby, fled at the sight of the professional athlete. Lucario released his remaining anger with a charged aura ball. This move was Aura Sphere. Lucario threw it to the sky. It exploded into a giant cloud of smoke.
"I lost two times in a row… Two times?!" Lucario was boiling once again.
"Homie, you need to chill out. Destroying nature won't help." Darmanitan appeared from behind the trees.
"What am I supposed to do then? Put a fake smile on my face and say that everything will be alright?" Lucario questioned.
"No, I think you need to meditate. Let me teach you zen meditation." Darmanitan offered.
"Fine." Lucario took the offer.
Both of them sat on the ground with their legs crossed and their arms in a comfortable position. Most importantly, they closed their eyes.
"Clear your thoughts and chant the word 'zen'." Darmanitan instructed.
"Zen," Lucario chanted. He looked quite uncomfortable.
"Keep on doing that for an hour." Darmanitan instructed as he did it as well. Lucario looked a bit stressed out.
"Zen," Darmanitan chanted calmly.
"Zen," Lucario chanted with an annoyed expression. His eyes fought to open itself.
"Zen," Darmanitan chanted calmly again.
"Z-zen. Screw this. It isn't helping." Lucario gave up as he walked away to vent off some steam.
"His case is worse than I thought." Darmanitan spoke to himself.
Confessional
Lucario: "Stupid meditation. It was useless."
Darmanitan: "I think he needs anger management."
Tyrunt and Elekid sat in the mess hall during the morning. They talked to each other as always.
"Do you want to be strong, Tyrunt? Want to grow them big muscles as a Tyrantrum?" Elekid asked. Tyrunt's face revolted at the thought of being a Tyrantrum.
"They just look ugly. I-I mean no offense to my parents but I prefer to look like this. I don't care about their big muscles." Tyrunt answered.
"Really? I want to become an Electivire like my parents. This is because no one will see me as a nerdy loser again. The bullies will run away like cowards once they stare upon my masculinity." Elekid dreamed about evolving.
"Hah, delusional losers. I will beat you nerds anytime as a bulky Tyranitar. Prepare to be stuffed to your lockers." Larvitar scoffed and laughed about their dream.
"I loathe this guy. Wait until I evolve…" Elekid fantasized further.
Confessional
Tyrunt: "I don't really care about bullies. I usually distance myself from them. Being a Tyrantrum will make it awkward to play video games."
Elekid: "I can't wait until I evolve. Then, I will be both smart and strong. I will look attractive and handsome as well."
Larvitar: "Delusional losers. They are still in their basic stage."
Helioptile brought Snorunt to the mess hall. The ice type shook a bit as she saw Larvitar.
"Another loser. How pathetic!" Larvitar laughed as he exited the mess hall. "Later, losers." Larvitar left an immature remark before he exited. All four of them glared at him as the door closed.
"Don't mind his mean words. There are nice Pokemon in this world. Look at these two. They seem nice. Remember our practice?" Helioptile prepared Snorunt for her first step toward socializing. Snorunt nodded as she stepped toward the two.
"Hi, I'm Snorunt. Nice to meet both of you. What are your… hobbies?" Snorunt attempted to socialize with both of them.
"I'm a professional gamer. I play video games competitively at tournaments." Tyrunt answered.
"I'm an inventor. I like to build machines and play video games a bit as well. What about you?" Elekid asked back.
"I… well I like to make small ice sculptures and watch some… shows on the television." Snorunt tried to sound fluent when she spoke. However, there were times when she paused to think about what to say next.
"Nice, building ice sculptures. That is a great talent to have. I'm glad that you share your hobbies with us." Elekid said supportively.
"Really? No one really compliments me. The kids in school always see me as a loser. You two are nice." Snorunt felt much more comfortable.
"No worries. If you need, help, we got your back." Elekid reassured.
Confessional
Helioptile: "It was nice to see Snorunt making her first steps." Helioptile said as she wiped a tear off her face.
Snorunt: "These contestants are better than I thought. At first, I believed that Helioptile was the only decent Pokemon around here. Perhaps, I should talk to others a bit more."
Elekid: "I feel like Snorunt just needs that supportive push to start being social. Well, I'm glad to help her."
In the clearing, Meowstic and Ledyba sat opposite to each other. The psychic wore her black top hat. Meowstic shuffled her cards and laid them down on the ground. Ledyba looked with interest.
"Pick one." Meowstic instructed.
Ledyba took the card in the middle.
"Now I will guess it. First, I must say my magic words. Abra, Kadabra, Alakazam! It is three of spades." Meowstic guessed. Ledyba was astonished.
"How did you know that?" Ledyba revealed the card, which was a three of spades.
"Magic. Wait, there is more to this." Meowstic indicated as she took her black top hat off and pulled another three of spades out.
"Wow, amazing!" Ledyba applauded. Meowstic smiled at that.
"She is just a swindler. A fraud." Scolipede accused as he showed up.
"Do you have any evidence?" Meowstic stood up and stared at Scolipede in front of his face.
"I have evidence." Scolipede picked up the three of spades card. He exposed the scratch mark on the bottom of the card. Furthermore, he revealed a zip in the top hat. He opened it and shook the hat. Another deck of cards fell out. Meowstic gritted her teeth.
"Screw you!" Meowstic stomped off.
"I hope you are proud of yourself, Scolipede. You hurt her feelings. Please have more respect for magicians, they are just trying to put up a show, not swindling others. I'm well aware of what she is doing." Ledyba scolded him.
"Magicians are just bunch of liars. You should thank me for exposing that filthy swindler. I guess you really want to stick by her side to get her vote, don't you?" Scolipede accused. Ledyba clenched her fist but then she left. Scolipede stared skeptically at her.
Confessional
Scolipede: "Those Pokemon are all liars. They wear masks. I saw Ledyba clench her fist. Her fake acts of kindness won't affect me."
Ledyba: "What is the problem with that guy? I nearly lost control of myself a bit there. I hate violence. I wasn't about to punch him."
Meowstic: "I want Scolipede out!"
Lucario rallied all of his teammates in the gym again. He seemed calmer than before.
"I have a change of plans today. Due to several complaints, you are allowed to train the way you want. However, I must see progress or else there will be severe consequences." Lucario ordered his team to start their daily exercise.
Scolipede ran laps with Houndour, Cryogonal and Shedinja. The bug was in the lead followed by Houndour, who was about to be surpassed by Shedinja.
"Yay, second place." Shedinja drawled as he floated in front of Houndour.
"Dude, you are faster than me? Why were you behind me last time then?" Houndour asked, a bit embarrassed.
"It is boring." Shedinja answered simply. Cryogonal looked from behind with concern.
Confessional
Houndour: "Now, I feel more brainy than brawny. These contestants are all physically stronger than me."
Cryogonal: "What's wrong with him?"
Machoke lifted dumbbells with Miltank and Darmanitan. He seemed to struggle as he started to sweat.
"This isn't heavy. I have my Machoke Super Strength technique." Machoke said before he dropped the dumbbell down and sweated horribly.
"Muscle boy, this isn't heavy." Miltank lifted it up with one arm as a demonstration. She dropped it down and allowed Machoke to continue struggling.
"Homie, you should walk the middle path and follow the principle of zen. Why don't you take a try with a lighter dumbbell?" Darmanitan advised. Machoke looked at his poor arms and decided to drop it.
"Fine, I will try it." Machoke chose a lighter dumbbell and felt much more at ease. His performance improved greatly.
"Thanks, Darmanitan." Machoke appreciated his help.
"You got the effort. However, you need to remember to take it slowly, one step at a time. Don't overdo it." Darmanitan reminded.
Confessional
Machoke: "Darmanitan was very encouraging. Only if my parents were this encouraging." Machoke's eyes looked depressed.
Miltank: "Muscle boy got an obvious problem. He is thin as hell. I wish to be that thin. However, I want to keep my muscles as well. It is difficult to get muscles like these nowadays." She flexed her muscles.
Darmanitan: "I'm glad to spread my zen principles. Take it easy, homie. Chill out."
Lucario was currently supervising Aromatisse and Oddish. Both of them were skipping over ropes. However, they were very slow.
"Faster! Keep on jumping!" Lucario demanded with his loud voice.
"This is uncivilized. It isn't for a beautiful Pokemon like me." Aromatisse argued.
"What am I doing again?" Oddish acted oblivious. Smoke blew out of Lucario's ears.
"Slackers, this is how you do it!" Lucario demonstrated as he rapidly jumped over the rope in a flash. He did it so fast that the rope snapped. Aromatisse and Oddish were shocked.
Confessional
Aromatisse: "Typical athletes, they know nothing but sports. However, an elegant Pokemon like me prioritizes beauty over brawn any day."
Meowstic, Meowth, Ledyba and Duosion played basketball. The match wasn't very competitive to say at the very least. They were playing casually for fun. It was a two versus two between Meowth and Duosion against Ledyba and Meowstic.
"Pass me the ball." Meowstic signaled for Ledyba to toss the ball over. Ledyba threw it. However, Duosion used her psychic abilities to steal the ball. She passed it to Meowth who threw the ball into the basket.
"Another customer, I mean ball in the basket." Meowth said, making others laughed.
"This time, I will use my psychic powers." Meowstic informed. Lucario spectated this and he seemed dissatisfied.
Confessional
Lucario: "If they don't take the training seriously, we will lose the challenge again!"
It was lunchtime once again. The contestants were lined up for another round of Chef Drapion's special delicacy. Most of them stared at their food with disgust before they shoved them into their mouth. The lucky few got to enjoy cereal and milk. Duosion and Houndour received three tokens each, which they spent on the items. Grovyle walked over to the stall.
"How much can I get for one big mushroom?" Grovyle exchanged the big mushroom. Skarmory gave him three tokens.
"One bowl of cereal and one glass of milk, please." Grovyle bought the items with all of his Skarmory tokens. Skarmory gave him one glass of milk and a small bowl of cereal. Grovyle was about to protest about the fairness but he knew how it went last time so he left to the mess hall instead. Dedenne saw this and approached Skarmory.
"Why do you charge these items separately anyways? Last time we got a cup of noodle with one token. Now, it is three tokens for a small bowl of cereal and milk. This isn't fair." Dedenne protested
"Hey spoiled contestant, learn to appreciate what you can get. There are kids starving, you know?" Skarmory criticized.
"That is an overused excuse. It doesn't change the fact that you are ripping us off." Dedenne continued to argue. Skarmory looked very frustrated. Meowth (who was behind in the line) joined the conversation.
"Customer, you need to understand that our host is using a strategy called premium pricing. Setting the price of an item high so that it seems valuable and luxurious." Meowth sided with Skarmory. The host nodded at this.
"Finally, a grateful contestant. I will give you one bowl of cereal and milk for free." Skarmory offered.
"What? That is discrimination, you can't favor a specific contestant over the other." Dedenne argued again.
"This doesn't interfere with the challenge, the elimination or the advantage. The owner is always right in Skarmory Shop." Skarmory defended.
"There is no need to argue, a transaction can't happen when one side doesn't earn anything. I will pay." Meowth gave Skarmory one token instead of three. Dedenne mumbled something to herself.
"Hey, can I have a bowl of cereal too? Please put the milk first before the cereal. I have zero token. Will that be enough?" Oddish interrupted, the others gave her weird looks.
"Chef Drapion, beggar alert!" Skarmory called Chef Drapion over to chase Oddish out of his shop.
Confessional
Dedenne: "I thought Skarmory was a better host than this. The same applies to Meowth. I hate those sneaky business owners. In my blog, I expose their wrongdoings to the public."
Meowth: "In order to be a great businessman, you need to know how to negotiate."
Larvitar approached Nosepass in the cabin. Nosepass hid under his bed sheets.
"Coward, remember to vote with me alright?" Larvitar reminded. Nosepass fearfully nodded.
"Good, minion." Larvitar successfully intimidated Nosepass.
Rhyhorn was outside, observing the situation. Once Larvitar exited the cabin, he saw Rhyhorn in front of him. The bully ran away instantly. Rhyhorn entered to see Nosepass.
"Why do you submit to that coward?" Rhyhorn asked. "He is all talk, no walk."
"I'm scared." Nosepass replied.
"Fine, I hope you enjoy being scared for the rest of your life." Rhyhorn said while shaking his head in disappointment.
Confessional
Nosepass: "He did make a valid point. I'm a coward."
Larvitar: "I will get that rock head out of here today."
Skarmory announced the challenge through his megaphone once again. The contestants assembled in front of him in their own respective teams. The Feckless Flygon looked a bit demoralized due to their consecutive defeats.
"Contestants, I hope you feel berrytastic because today's challenge will be about berries. Follow me into the forest area." Skarmory instructed as he flew ahead of them. They eventually reached an iron gate. Skarmory turned around and continued to explain.
"Behind me is my beautiful berry orchard. Your objective is to get as many berries as possible and put them into a basket. However, here is the twist. It isn't about the quantity or the quality. Rather, it is about the variety." Skarmory said with a slight pause.
"Yeah variety, I don't expect your budget to be high enough for there to be any sort of variety. At best, there will probably be like five types of berries." Drifblim mocked.
"Thanks Drifblim for always having faith in the host." Skarmory said sarcastically.
"Nevertheless, you don't instantly get a point by collecting berries. You must describe their uses and name correctly. Furthermore, Chef Drapion will spice things up." Skarmory rubbed his wings together as Chef Drapion walked toward the contestant with a spicy meatball bazooka. Chef Drapion aimed toward Larvitar and blasted a giant meatball at him as a demonstration.
"Ahh, it burns." Larvitar screamed as the meatball got into his eyes. The other contestants laughed at this.
"Prepare to suffer, I put in extra chili." Chef Drapion threatened. Nosepass and Snorunt quivered while the rest of the contestant felt uneasy.
"Yep, Chef Drapion will chase you around to make sure that you can't put your berries into your baskets. The baskets will be positioned outside of the gate, right next to the entrance. After I open the gate, the challenge begins." Skarmory inserted the key into the lock. However, he didn't turn it right away. He wanted to take the contestants by surprise. Suddenly, he turned the key to open the gate.
The contestants all scrambled through the door as Skarmory flew away to avoid the stampede. Lucario made it through the gate first.
The berry orchard was gigantic with abundant berry trees. Noticeably, they aligned in many, different rows. The trees were naturally short. Therefore, any contestants can harvest the berries. The common berries like Oran Berry, Pecha Berry and Cheri Berry obscured the rarer ones.
Confessional
Drifblim: "Fine, Skarmory has a bigger budget than I thought."
Lucario: "I'm going to do everything to guarantee our victory."
Skrelp: "The intellectual part is for me. I prefer to not compete in harvesting berries."
Tyrunt: "That meatball looked tasty…" Tyrunt licked his lips before he realized what he did. Tyrunt eyes widened as he fled the confessional again.
Nosepass: "Why must Chef Drapion chases us? Now, I have more things to worry about."
Ledyba: "My parents own a berry garden back at home. Hopefully, my knowledge of berries will help the team a bit."
Larvitar: "*beep* you, Chef Drapion!"
Aromatisse: "Eww… Meatballs are certainly not my style of make-up. Please don't hit the face."
"Spread around and cover the entire orchard!" Lucario ordered. The Feckless Flygon members obeyed.
"Do the same." Archeops ordered the Crazy Crawdaunt. Lucario's face was filled with frustration. They copied his tactic. However, a smirk on his face suggested that he knew how to get his revenge.
"Chef Drapion, your aim sucks. I bet that you can never hit me!" Lucario taunted before he moved to a certain spot.
"Oh, you are going to get it!" Chef Drapion fumed with anger.
The poisonous chef blasted a meatball toward Lucario. At the very last moment, Lucario dodged by jumping sideways. The meatball hit Archeops, who was behind Lucario.
"This is very cheap, Lucario." Archeops said as she wiped the meatball off her wings.
"See? Your aim sucks, Chef Drapion." Lucario taunted again. Chef Drapion blasted another meatball. Lucario used the same tactic. This time, Archeops was prepared for it. She flew out of the meatball range. However, it collided with Grovyle's face instead.
"My face, it burns!" Grovyle shouted in pain as he ran over to the fountain in the middle of the orchard to wash his face.
"Oops, my bad. Sorry, Grovyle." Archeops apologized sincerely.
Meanwhile, the other Feckless Flygon members started to pick up some berries.
"I got Oran Berry in the basket!" Darmanitan announced.
"I got Cheri Berry as well!" Miltank said as she dropped the berry into the basket.
Lucario used himself as a distraction to keep Chef Drapion away from his teammates. It was currently working very well.
"Your sharp shooting skill sucks. You will never get a gold medal at any sports events." Lucario taunted once again. Chef Drapion shot another meatball. Lucario ducked down as it hit Bisharp. Obviously, the strategist was enraged at this.
"Stop Lucario!" Bisharp shouted furiously to his teammates. They stopped finding berries and chased Lucario around the orchard. The athlete ensured that his opponents were as far away from the rare berries as possible.
"Chef Drapion, you sucked!" Larvitar tried the same strategy at the same time. Chef Drapion blasted another meatball at him. Larvitar evaded it… and the meatball hit Nosepass instead.
"Wrong target." Nosepass said as he wiped the meatball off him.
"You should learn how to dodge." Larvitar retorted as Chef Drapion blasted another meatball at the bully's face.
"Ahh! Not again." Larvitar screamed as he ran to the fountain.
Confessional
Bisharp: "Lucario, this is a new low for you. Now, you are officially in my hit list."
Archeops: "I never know that Lucario is this kind of person…"
Miltank: "Lucario is real tough. He isn't scared of anyone."
Darmanitan: "I feel bad for the other team. The homie is being too competitive."
The Feckless Flygon gained a huge lead. Shedinja collected the Pecha Berry and was about to deliver it to the basket. However, Heracross blocked his way.
"You need to get through me first." Heracross indicated as she rushed in to steal the berry.
"Look, behind you." Shedinja alerted in his usual bored tone.
"As if I will believe you." Heracross said as a meatball blasted her back. Lucario lured Chef Drapion over to shoot her.
"Told you." Shedinja drawled. The bug made his way slowly to the basket. With his Wonder Guard ability, Chef Drapion didn't bother to shoot him.
Meowth saw a giant tree at the end of the orchard. At the very top, there was a berry with a question mark pattern. He looked around to see Ledyba close to him.
"My lovely acquaintance, can you give me a lift? I really want to acquire that berry." Meowth persuaded.
"Of course." Ledyba lifted Meowth up as he harvested the berry.
"It looks like I have rose to the top of the hierarchy. Can you keep me airborne until I reach the basket?" Meowth requested further. Ledyba nodded as she flew to the basket. Chef Drapion saw this and aimed at them.
"Take this, suckers." Chef Drapion blasted another meatball at the two of them. Meowth dropped himself down from Ledyba grasp so he can dodge it. The meatball hit only Ledyba. As Meowth landed, he looked at Ledyba with concern.
"I'm fine. This is for the team." Ledyba assured as she went to the fountain. Meowth ran to the basket. Chef Drapion blasted a meatball toward him again. The cat closed his eyes and braced for the impact. There was a sound of meatball colliding. However, it collided with Machoke instead.
"For the team!" Machoke exclaimed as Meowth ran ahead with the mysterious berry. He passed Chef Drapion successfully out of the gate and placed the berry into the basket. He smiled at the collaborative effort of his team.
Confessional:
Meowth: "I always reward my loyal customers with loyalty cards."
Machoke: "I took one for the team because I felt useless during the entire challenge. All I see are Oran Berries. I hope my team is proud of me."
Scolipede: "One for the team? It is tough to see the hidden antagonists than I thought… This is very frustrating!"
Ledyba: "Sure, Scolipede will now suspect me of having a hidden motive."
"Four for the Feckless Flygon and zero for the Crazy Crawdaunt. What a landslide!" Skarmory informed the contestants.
"There is no need to rub salt in the wound." Drifblim said as she tried to deliver the Oran Berry. Chef Drapion blasted a meatball at her. However, Drifblim was a ghost type. Therefore, she vanished to dodge the meatball and delivered it to the basket.
"That's not fair." Lucario complained.
"You have Shedinja." Skarmory reminded. Lucario sighed as he continued to run away from the Crazy Crawdaunt stampede.
"Team, we need to control ourselves. Stop chasing Lucario and come closer, I got a plan." Archeops rallied her members together, she whispered something to them. They all nodded and spread out. Lucario saw this and groaned with dissatisfaction.
Meanwhile, Scolipede delivered the Chesto Berry and Duosion delivered the Leppa Berry. It was six to one with Feckless Flygon in the lead for the first task.
Elekid harvested a Cheri Berry and threw it toward Drifblim. The ghost type proceeded to deliver every single berry from now on. Chef Drapion didn't even bother blasting her like Shedinja.
"Here, take this Pecha Berry." Grovyle tossed the berry into her direction. Drifblim caught it and dropped it down to the basket.
"They are catching up fast, Feckless Flygon. It is now six to three." Skarmory updated the score.
Confessional:
Archeops: "Our strategy worked. All thanks to Drifblim."
Drifblim: "Being a ghost type has many benefits."
Tyrunt: "This game isn't well balanced. I feel like Skarmory should put restrictions on ghost types next time. A good game need patches. I remember the days when certain Pokemon dominate in virtual Pokemon battle online. It forced many players to use top tiers. Luckily, the developers nerfed them really hard. There is even a joke about it. Is it better nerf Greninja?"
Houndour saw a weird berry, it was green with hairs on its peel. Chef Drapion blasted a meatball toward him. Houndour barely dodged it by jumping away. He held the berry with his mouth and ran to the basket.
"Chef Drapion, are you blind?" Lucario taunted. However, it failed as Chef Drapion continued to shoot at Houndour. Another meatball barely missed Houndour.
On the other hand, Drifblim from Crazy Crawdaunt quickly delivered the Chesto Berry.
Archeops flew around so she can see the berry trees more clearly. There was one tree with two strange berries. They were purple with lumps surrounding them. The lumps allowed Archeops to grip one easily. Ledyba saw this and took the last berry in the tree. At this moment, Chef Drapion blasted meatballs at both of them, successfully. They lost their grasps on the berries.
"I need to wash myself again." Archeops complained. With this opening, Meowstic saw the berries and took both of them.
"Hey, give that back!" Archeops chased after her. Ledyba followed to help Meowstic.
"Help!" Meowstic screamed for help. Luckily, Cryogonal was nearby. She signaled for Meowstic to pass both of them secretly. Unfortunately, Meowstic wasn't secretive enough. She hurriedly passed them to Cryogonal. Archeops noticed this.
"Heracross, block her." Archeops ordered Heracross to block the snowflake. Cryogonal threw it to Shedinja, who caught it luckily.
"Damn it!" Heracross shouted with an angry expression on her face. Shedinja delivered both of the berries successfully. (The type is the same so it counts as one point.)
Confessional
Heracross: "That ghost bug beat me twice. Wait until the merge…"
Meowstic: "Yay, I'm useful to my team."
Houndour was about to reach the gate. However, the meatball blasted Houndour in the face. The berry was hurled up into the air.
"My face!" Houndour yelled as he ran over to the fountain, which was tainted by meatball sauce by now.
"You better clean the fountain up after this." Skarmory told Chef Drapion, who grumbled to himself at this.
Farfetch'd utilized this opening to collect the hairy, green berry.
"Mr. Stalk, our team need us." Farfetch'd stared at Chef Drapion, who was about to press the trigger of the bazooka. Chef Drapion stared back at Farfetch'd, who tossed the berry up and down. This was an intense showdown as everyone stopped what they were doing to spectate.
Suddenly, Chef Drapion blasted meatballs rapidly at Farfetch'd. There were four meatballs in total. The bird slammed the berry with Mr. Stalk, sending the berry flying into his team basket. The contestants were shocked at this. However, the meatballs were still fast approaching.
Instead of dodging, Farfetch'd swung Mr. Stalk into all four meatballs, deflecting them toward… Skrelp. The seahorse didn't react fast enough.
"*beep*!" Skrelp swore as the meatballs collided with her face. Her eyes were burning. Skarmory looked at the damage with concern.
"Chef Drapion, send Skrelp to the infirmary instantly!" Skarmory ordered. He then turned to the contestants.
"Well, another contestant is in the infirmary. We should move on to the second part of the challenge before any further incidents occur." Skarmory instructed as the teams will now tell the names and uses of the berries they collected.
Confessional
Farfetch'd: "Mr. Stalk is a professional baseball player. It seems like he doesn't like Skrelp because of her arrogant and insufferable attitude."
Archeops: "Great, Farfetch'd. Our team now lost the smartest member thanks to your stunt. She is also a member of my alliance. Your future doesn't look bright to me."
Jumpluff: "Despite what happened between us, I can't help but feel a bit of sympathy for her. Still, she deserves it."
Larvitar: "You deserve it for calling me a scullion, *beep*!"
"The final score is seven to five, with the Feckless Flygon in the lead. Head off and discuss with your team about the berries. Give me a list with all of the correct descriptions."
The Feckless Flygon were very optimistic with their lead and Skrelp being taken out of the challenge. Lucario started the discussion right away.
"We will move on from the obvious answers like Oran Berry, Cheri Berry, Pecha Berry, Chesto Berry and Leppa Berry. What about these two weird berries?" Lucario asked his team about a berry with question marks and a purple berry with lumps.
"I think I know the name of the purple berry. It is called Wiki Berry. It has these lumps to help Pokemon grip it. Furthermore, it might be used to restore health in a pinch with a possible side effect of confusion." Ledyba answered quite confidently.
"If no one objects, I will take your words for it." Lucario observed his teammates. Everyone seemed fine with the answer. Lucario nodded at Ledyba as he wrote all the things she said down alongside the description for simple berries.
"What about this question mark berry?" Lucario asked. No one said anything.
"If we got everything right, we should lead by one point." Lucario summarized all of the descriptions before he handed the list to Skarmory.
On the contrary, the Crazy Crawdaunt were very pessimistic.
"We are done for! Might as well start thinking about who we should vote off." Jumpluff told her teammates.
"Relax Jumpluff, there is still a chance for a miracle. Only if Skrelp is here…" Archeops said as she stared at Farfetch'd. He returned the stare.
"Anybody knows anything about this hairy, green berry?" Archeops asked, giving her team a closer look. Bisharp raised his hand. Archeops pointed at him.
"I believe that it is called a Rabuta berry. It tastes bitter and can be used as a Poffin ingredient." Bisharp answered.
"We will go with that. The rest like Oran Berry, Cheri Berry, Pecha Berry and Chesto Berry should be self-explanatory." Archeops finished the discussion as well. Skarmory received both lists.
"Contestants, gather in the middle of the clearing for the results." Skarmory flew away to the clearing as the contestants followed him.
Confessional
Houndour: "Can't he announce it right on the spot? Why must we wait?"
Bisharp: "I predict our inevitable elimination. I have a few choices…" Bisharp tapped his chin as he thought about the elimination.
Skarmory landed in the middle of the clearing and sipped his berry juice. When all contestants gathered, he announced the results.
"Both of the teams got the description for Oran Berry correct. I mean it is obvious, slightly restoring your health. The next one, Pecha Berry… Both teams got it correct as well. It cures poison. Cheri Berry cures paralysis obviously. Feckless Flygon and Crazy Crawdaunt are tied with three to three. All of you should get these descriptions correct so, no surprise. The next one, Chesto cures sleep. Tied four to four. The fifth one is different for both teams. Leppa Berry restores your energy. The Feckless Flygon got it right. The Crazy Crawdaunt called this green berry Rabuta, which is correct. It is used as a bitter Poffin ingredient. If the Feckless Flygon get the next two wrong, we will do a tiebreaker. The question mark berry is called Enigma Berry. It restores your health when you receive a super effective attack. The Feckless Flygon called it a question mark berry with no description. We will move on to the last one…" Skarmory built up suspense. The contestants all anticipated the final result.
"The last berry is called Wiki Berry, the Feckless Flygon got the name and the description correct! For the first time, they win!" Skarmory declared the Feckless Flygon the winner.
"Yes!' Lucario shouted in joy as his team carried him away.
Confessional
Lucario: "Finally! Woo-hoo!" Lucario cheered with a smile on his face.
Meowstic: "Yes! I'm safe for another day. I need to make a comeback somehow."
The Crazy Crawdaunt were disappointed. It was their first elimination. They separated to their own ways. Grovyle secretly met with Bisharp in the forest. Archeops and her alliance entered the infirmary. Jumpluff headed to the mess hall with Dedenne, Tyrunt and Elekid. Nosepass was forced to go with Larvitar. Helioptile and Snorunt were in the Crawdaunt girls' cabin. Rhyhorn and Farfetch'd were on their own.
"Are you alright?" Archeops asked Skrelp. Chef Drapion applied some medicine to her eyes. She could now see and move normally.
"I have recovered. For the elimination, we should take Farfetch'd out." Skrelp suggested.
"I understand that you hate him for what he did to you. However, it was unintentional. Are you sure about this? He is a strong member." Archeops hesitated.
"There are more reasons than my personal reason. Farfetch'd is a wild card. He is unpredictable and he can't be controlled by his own team. He is extremely independent. He will be a threat in the merge. Take him out now is the best option. That little scullion Larvitar can be eliminated any day. Same with that pathetic, apprehensive Nosepass." Skrelp persuaded. Archeops nodded at this.
"Do both of you agree?" Archeops asked Drifblim and Heracross.
"Fine by me." Heracross agreed. Drifblim nodded as well.
"We need more votes." Archeops contemplated about this.
"I will handle this obligation." Skrelp removed herself from the infirmary.
Confessional
Drifblim: "Archeops is too dependent on Skrelp. Hmm… This kind of leader won't last for long. Just because Skrelp thinks she is smart doesn't mean she is the smartest. Personally, I prefer to get rid of Bisharp. He is more of a threat than Farfetch'd. That bird will get himself eliminated with no alliance. Oh well, Skrelp is taking charge and I'm in the backseat for now. I should also act a bit submissive in front of her."
Archeops: "Hopefully, the team will be fine with this elimination. I prefer to keep winning so that we will have more members for the merge. Lucario will be an enormous threat if he makes it there."
Larvitar cornered Nosepass in their cabin.
"Vote with me and get rid of that loser, Rhyhorn. Or else…" Larvitar threatened Nosepass. He nodded immediately. However, Rhyhorn's words lingered in his mind still. His eyes showed it.
Skrelp opened the door and Larvitar stomped toward her.
"Hey loser, you better vote with me or else…" Larvitar tried to threaten her.
"Or else what? You are just a scullion, a weakling that belongs in the kitchen. Do you think you even have the guts to attack me? If you commit that impetuous act, I will ensure that my team obliterate you." Skrelp threatened back, her eyes filled with rage. Larvitar gulped at this.
"What do you want?" Larvitar stepped backward as Skrelp stepped forward.
"Vote for Farfetch'd or else…" Skrelp pressured Larvitar into submission.
Confessional
Nosepass: "Larvitar isn't scary at all. So why am I scared of him?"
Larvitar: "Nosepass better vote for Farfetch'd with me."
Grovyle walked to see Heracross near the infirmary. He tried to patch things up with her.
"You know Heracross, I thought we are close. Remember the time when we arrived on this island? You complimented me. However, you went behind my back for cups of noodle. Is that something that should be an obstacle between us? I'm willing to be a bigger man and ignore that incident, how about you?" Grovyle asked as he offered his hand.
"Vote Farfetch'd with us to prove your loyalty then." Heracross said as she considered the handshake.
"Deal." Grovyle accepted as Heracross shook his hand.
Confessional
Grovyle: "Bisharp helped me to create the script. Without him, I probably will fail to patch things up with her." His eyes hid subtle rage and envy. "Man, I read off the script all the times. A protagonist like me deserves better. Maybe, I should write my own script."
Heracross: "Hey, the guy isn't bad. He isn't in the list of my hated contestants."
Bisharp paced around in the clearing. Skrelp approached him.
"We are both ingenious. Why don't we join up in a temporary alliance? An erudite man like you should have an alliance. If you agree to my terms of service and stay loyal. We might even be a permanent alliance. Do you reciprocate this?" Skrelp persuaded Bisharp.
"Deal." Bisharp accepted the terms of service.
Confessional
Bisharp: "Excellent, she didn't know about my alliance with Grovyle. This is a chance for me to be a double agent. Infiltrating her true alliance will be challenging, but it must be done."
Skrelp: "I feel like I share a connection with Bisharp. Having him on my side shouldn't be a problem."
Jumpluff looked indecisive as she asked her fellow teammates.
"Should we vote for Larvitar or should we vote for Skrelp?' Jumpluff asked.
"Skrelp, I don't like her. She is vulgar and rude." Dedenne expressed her opinion.
"Larvitar, I hate bullies. He even insulted me." Elekid thought otherwise. Tyrunt didn't know who to vote for. Everyone stared at him.
"Larvitar, because he is a jerk." Tyrunt came up with it right on the spot.
"How about this? We split the votes between both of them." Jumpluff came up with a solution. All of them agreed to this.
Confessional
Tyrunt: "I'm fine with both of them getting eliminated. I'm pretty sure it is between both of them. I mean Skrelp and a few of her friends might vote for Farfetch'd but I doubt that it will be enough.
Helioptile and Snorunt kept things simple.
"Vote for Larvitar." Helioptile told Snorunt and she agreed.
Rhyhorn looked around for Ursaring to no avail and then left to the bonfire ceremony.
Farfetch'd sat alone under a tree, staring at the rising moon.
Confessional
Farfetch'd: I plan to stick by my words, no alliances. My girlfriend doesn't want me to do that and I will honor my promise to her. There is no need to scramble for votes. If my team feel the need to kick me out, they kick me out. It is no biggie. I still have a chance at redemption. There are probably a few spots for returning contestants. Mr. Stalk and I know that we are both capable of making it back.
Skarmory sipped his berry juice before he started the elimination. Drifblim shook her head at this.
"Crazy Crawdaunt, this is your first elimination. If you receive a Leppa Berry, you are safe. Simple as that. Let's start right away." Skarmory explained simply. He rubbed as wings together before he threw the first few Leppa Berries.
"Archeops, Drifblim, Bisharp and Grovyle." The first four were happy to receive their berries.
"Helioptile and Snorunt." The two shared smiles with each other.
"Heracross" Skarmory announced the name slower to build up suspense.
"Tyrunt"
"Elekid"
"Dedenne"
"Jumpluff"
"Nosepass"
"Rhyhorn" The final three were on the edge of their seats.
"Skrelp" Skrelp had a smug look.
"Larvitar, you are a bully. Your insufferable attitude will be the end of you someday. However, is that day, today? Farfetch'd, you are a strong contestant. Yet, you don't have alliances. Will that mark the end for you and Mr. Stalk? The eliminated contestant is…" Skarmory paused dramatically.
…
…
…
…
…
"Farfetch'd," He left to the confessional, Mr. Stalk hanging lower than usual on his right wing.
Elimination Confessional
Well, Mr. Stalk and I had a great run. We know that there is still a chance for us to make a comeback. I stick by my integrity until the very end. I could be a bit more social but Mr. Stalk argues against it. Our greatest achievement is probably beating Chef Drapion in the meatball showdown. I want Rhyhorn to win. I feel like he is playing a similar game to us. Mr. Stalk also predicts that he will make it far. I don't want that arrogant Skrelp or that cowardly Larvitar to win.
Farfetch'd left to the dock. There was no one to see him off. Farfetch'd sighed as he stared straight at the shining moon on his Lapras.
"I feel a bit of sympathy for him. No one is seeing him off. He is a pretty cool contestant. Anyways, another contestant is eliminated and another contestant entered the infirmary. Will the infirmary streak continue? Will spicy drama occur? What do I have in store for the next challenge? What will I drink next? Find out next time on Total Skarmory Island!" Skarmory ended the episode. The camera zoomed away from the island.
Votes
Archeops: Farfetch'd
Skrelp: Farfetch'd
Heracross: Farfetch'd
Drifblim: Farfetch'd
Jumpluff: Skrelp
Dedenne: Skrelp
Tyrunt: Larvitar
Elekid: Larvitar
Grovyle: Farfetch'd
Bisharp: Farfetch'd
Rhyhorn: Larvitar
Farfetch'd: Skrelp
Helioptile: Larvitar
Snorunt: Larvitar
Nosepass: Farfetch'd
Larvitar: Farfetch'd
Farfetch'd: 8 (eliminated)
Larvitar: 5
Skrelp: 3
I know that a few of you like Farfetch'd. Please don't kill me, most of the eliminations were already predetermined before I write this story. There is little room for change. However, this doesn't mean Farfetch'd won't be one of the returning contestants. He might or might not be. I enjoy writing his character. It is a shame Skrelp voted him off.
The challenge was pretty basic. The next few challenges might also be a bit basic. I plan to have unoriginal challenges as well. However, there will be some sort of extra twist to make it interesting. I will release the next episode sometime during next week. I plan to have weekly updates. However, there will be no guarantee. This episode is shorter than usual. However, I hope you enjoy it.