This chapter comes out very late because of Breath of the Wild for the Nintendo Switch. If you want to monitor how much I procrastinate, send me a friend request.
On an important note, I fixed Chapters 1-17 and a little bit of Chapter 18. New readers should have a better reading experience. Please understand that nothing will be perfect and there might be mistakes because I work on this story alone. I don't want to burden anyone with the task of proof-reading for me either. Sometimes, I need to choose between delaying an episode for one day to proof read more efficiently. Or release it one-day early with less proof reading time.
Reply to Reviews
InfernoMaster64
I already PM a reply to your review. I feel like that's already enough.
Parousia45
Yep, you are supposed to laugh at Larvitar when he failed. He is a laughing stock character. He served his purpose. Shedinja and Cryogonal relationship is unique and difficult to write. They aren't necessary romantic around each other or take care of each other well. Rough like you said.
Fallenstreet01
Sorry that I made you hate Grovyle. He isn't the worst contestant in my opinion though. The likes of Skrelp and Larvitar are worse. Interesting choice, you like Heracross. Your predictions are interesting. That's all I can say.
Octoriter
I understand. You don't need to feel sorry. I don't have enough time to read your story either. I'm plan on giving it a shot soon. I want to develop every character sooner or later. That's why Magikarp and Feebas will return for Season 2. Yeah, Grovyle really left a bittersweet feeling in our mouth sometimes. I create him not necessary as a villain but someone that is difficult to understand.
Worma-Sir
I understand. In your shoes, I will probably do the same thing if all of my favorites are eliminated. The thing is I can't please everyone. Your favorite might be someone's least favorite contestant. Farfetch'd will get his development. Don't worry. Skrelp and Grovyle are kind of pre-merge villains. They served their purposes. They obviously can't compete with the likes of Lucario. Your prediction might change a little after this chapter or maybe not.
Guest
I really appreciate your reviews. It really does make me feel motivated. I want to live up to that expectation of yours. Yep, you are lucky. But sooner or later, your favorites won't be safe.
Dark Ampithere
You are by far my biggest inspiration. I already reply to your review so that should be enough. Knowing that you read my story really makes me want to step up the quality.
Episode 19: Local Delicacies
Skarmory stared into his same old coffee mug. It was routine for him to consume caffeine daily at this point. The eyes of the host showed that he knew very well the negative side effects. Yet, his beak sipped the brown liquid subconsciously due to the addiction. The taste was stale and bitter. Regardless, it energized and stimulated the brain of the host to work.
"Welcome back viewers, to another exciting and entertaining episode of Total Skarmory Island." Skarmory recapped, eyes wide-opened. "Last time, we got another revenge special, featuring Larvitar. The residential bully got his revenge against some of the contestants with a toy hammer, a water gun and a slapstick yet he was still ungrateful and unsatisfied." Skarmory crossed his wings and shook his head slightly.
"Aromatisse completely destroyed Larvitar in the final duel and earned herself individual immunity. Triple G got exposed and became Goner Guy Grovyle. What will happen next? Will Lucario finally win an immunity challenge? Will Cryogonal get what she wants with Shedinja? Stay tuned to find out in this tasteful episode of Total Skarmory Island!" Skarmory announced.
Bisharp sat on the edge of his bed, looking down solemnly on the ground. His arms were stiff and rigid like pillars of steel. Capable of resisting strong gusts of wind. However, they seemed unsteady at the same time. Very vulnerable to seeds of anxiety and distress.
Bisharp reclined and relaxed his arms on the bed, adjusting his sights to the ceiling. The lights were all off. Bisharp gazed at them ambiguously. Did he want them to be turned on? Up to your guesses.
"Must be nice to be with someone that understands you…" Bisharp mumbled quietly to himself, before getting off his bed.
Before he was about to leave the cabin, he caught a glimpse of the recently awoken Farfetch'd. Bisharp immediately set his sights on him.
Farfetch'd rubbed his eyes a little before replying to Bisharp's eye contact. "Yes?"
"Farfetch'd, I thought about what you said yesterday and… I think I can ease some of your concerns." Bisharp insisted. Farfetch'd's expression turned sour, cocking his head in disapproval a little. He didn't seem fond to hear this topic brought back up again.
Bisharp noticed his annoyed facial features and sighed quietly.
"Farfetch'd, you said that I might influence your vote. I can safely assure you that isn't the case." Bisharp pleaded. "Please reconsider."
"Really? In order to fool your enemies, you need to fool your friends. You said it yourself." Farfetch'd retorted. "I will be blunt. We don't appreciate being fooled, Bisharp. I don't know what you gained from acting all sullen about Jumpluff and faking a revenge plot but we don't like that. You got us worried for nothing. Jumpluff too."
Bisharp realized it just then what grave mistake he committed. He wasn't careful with his choice of words. What Farfetch'd said was true. Bisharp acted a little desperate for revenge so that Grovyle will dissociate his involvement with Lucario's doing.
Fortunately, Farfetch'd misunderstood and merely thought that Bisharp was just bluffing about getting revenge. Bisharp felt relieved temporarily.
The strategist dreaded the worst. If Farfetch'd was this mad because he merely got fooled... How would the bird react if he found out that Bisharp crafted a masterplan to fuel tension between Grovyle and Lucario that… possibly caused the fist fight yesterday? Jumpluff too…
"…" Bisharp struggled to come up with a reply, only silence was returned.
"Bisharp, I'm really sorry for your loss. I know that you are alone without any friends here. I wish to be your friend but I can't. I'm not popular either. Without Mr. Stalk or my girlfriend, I would be a man of solitude. My so-called 'friends' aren't the friendliest bunch either. They thought I'm crazy and hedged bets on when I will get eliminated!" Farfetch'd told, consoling a little with empathy.
With a friendly but apologetic smile, Farfetch'd exited the cabin. Bisharp stared at the wooden floor of the cabin wistfully.
Confessional
Bisharp: "I shouldn't have done that, fooling him. But I need to! I need to plot some sort of revenge against Grovyle and show my aptitude to my parents. I need to fool them as well. If they don't see my revenge coming and can't piece things together before I reveal it, they will be impressed. I just can't balance things right! I don't want to lose Jumpluff or Farfetch'd either. Without them, I feel so lonely and scared like a helpless hatchling about to be consumed by darkness." He said gloomily.
Farfetch'd headed to the beach, viewing the waves until he saw Dedenne doing the same.
"Enjoying the view?" Farfetch'd asked. Dedenne turned to him with a bittersweet look on her face.
"I'm just wondering about what Grovyle was trying to say before he left. Is it something good? That's all. What about you?" Dedenne asked the same.
Farfetch'd gazed at the sea dreamily before he answered without eye contact. "My girlfriend… She looks so beautiful on the surface of the sea. She promised me that she will come and take a look at my progress. I sadly left too soon to see her." Farfetch'd sounded disappointed and depressed at the end.
"Girlfriend? Surface of the sea? Is she a Swanna by any chance?" Dedenne assumed.
"Yes. How did you know?" Farfetch'd seemed shocked, widening his eyes in surprise.
"I met with her on the fourth day. She is so nice. She helped me with my mission. What a righteous girl with an unwavering moral compass." Dedenne explained, describing their short but memorable meeting. She expected Farfetch'd to be happy upon hearing this but…
"Mr. Stalk, we just need to last one more day." Farfetch'd sobbed. "One more day…"
"Are you alright?" Dedenne asked with concern until the impending thought struck her. She caused this. The little mouse tried to console him to the best of her ability. Regardless, Farfetch'd cried for a while. The sounds of the soothing sea waves didn't help one bit.
Confessional
Farfetch'd: "Mr. Stalk, we need to take this competition more seriously. No more failing, alright? We need to make her proud by winning with integrity." He sniffled before mustering up resolution.
Dedenne: "I never thought that this game is going to be this heartbreaking and difficult. I start regretting joining now after everything."
Lucario had a wild temperament. The thought of Aromatisse and Duosion turning against him snapped him into a fit of rage. Lucario started pummeling trees around the forest area like an unrestrained beast.
"How dare they?!" Lucario roared.
Meowth heard the noise and quivered with fear before he made his way to the professional athlete, slowly.
Meowth coughed, getting his attention. "Lucario, I got something to report." He tried to sound normal but fear was preeminent in his voice. Especially after Lucario breathed heavily after beating the trees down.
"Perfect. Tell me right away." Lucario demanded, calming down a little.
"Miltank got closer and closer to Heracross. All the girls in our team seemed to interact with the enemy team. Scolipede as well in the instance Ledyba was with them. Bisharp is the most threatening contestant in the Crazy Crawdaunt. From my observations, you can only rely on Darmanitan, Shedinja and myself." Meowth informed nervously.
Lucario absorbed all the information in before he replied. "You have done well. Keep on spying. You are my ears and eyes. Make them feel safe, bond with them and when they are about to eliminate me, tell me." Lucario relayed his orders and Meowth nodded submissively.
Lucario smirked. "My team… Most of you need some mental adjustments."
Confessional
Lucario: "I will deal with Miltank first…"
Meowth: "Yes, I'm his spy. That is the only way I can socialize with the other team… safely. Lucario, you can order me around for now. For I won't let you degrade me for long. I'm supposed the boss around here, not some low rank employee." His tone took a dark turn during the last sentence.
Darmanitan exited the cabin with Scolipede next to him. The homie boy looked at the skeptic in a friendly manner.
"Homie, want to hit the gym together? I want to meet some new faces. Lucario will be there too." Darmanitan invited. Scolipede didn't look interested.
"No thanks." He rejected the offer and left. Darmanitan looked disappointed, frowning.
"Did I do something wrong?" Darmanitan wondered.
Miltank heard and decided to answer. "No, not your fault, homie boy. It is Lucario's fault. No one likes him."
"Why? The homie is great." Darmanitan argued. "He saved me yesterday."
"Yes, you. His prized fanboy. He ditched Scolipede's item for yours, didn't he? Will he choose me over you? Hella no." Miltank gave him some food for thought before she left as well.
Confessional
Darmanitan: "Ow man, the homie should care about his other teammates too. Not just me. I feel like I got a special treatment." He looked guilty.
Miltank: "When Darmanitan leaves Lucario's side. It is basically hay day for me and Heracross. With that beast out of the competition, no one can stand up to us."
Pacing around the forest…
Scolipede thought that it was ludicrous for Darmanitan to invite him. Was that guy dense or something? No one liked Lucario, even his own teammates. Yesterday made it worse. Everyone could feel the bloodthirsty aura of the professional athlete when he beat Grovyle up unprofessionally.
"Darmanitan is either a blind fanboy or he is trying to fool everyone. His zen thing is sketchy as hell." Scolipede mumbled to himself, questioning a lot of things.
"Scolipede, let's eat lunch!" Ledyba's words were like music to his ears. It made him relax every time he started getting anxious and doubtful about things.
"I'm coming!" Scolipede shouted, excited.
Confessional
Scolipede: "I'm never thankful enough for her in this game. Without Ledyba, I'm a paranoid mess. She looks beautiful and has a vibrant personality. Why can't I find someone like this before Leavanny?"
Nosepass and Rhyhorn were making their way to the mess hall as well. With Rhyhorn around, Nosepass felt a tiny bit braver. With Nosepass around, Rhyhorn felt a bit saner. The two complimented each other very well.
"Rhyhorn, I wonder about your secret base. You don't go there lately. What are you going to do with it?" Nosepass asked, hoping for a specific answer.
Rhyhorn paused for a moment before generating a response to the question. "I abandoned it."
"Really? That's great. Who needs it anyways?" Nosepass said rhetorically. The answer elevated his mood, making him careless. The Nose Pokemon walked nonchalantly, each of his steps were unsettled. He didn't press his feet firmly on the ground enough. Therefore, a harmless, tiny rock tripped him up. Gravity was about to claim another victim until…
Rhyhorn caught Nosepass with his horn, preventing him from a nasty fall. The latter recovered his footing and faced Rhyhorn with grateful eyes.
"Thank you." Nosepass said in a very genuine tone. For the first time in his life, Nosepass felt… completely safe. His nose inhaled the sweet air around him, enjoying the escalating sensation of joy.
A smile grew on Rhyhorn's face.
Confessional
Nosepass: "Rhyhorn is like a real family member to me. Without him, I don't know what to do. Maybe… I can be stronger with him around." He spoke with surprising confidence.
Rhyhorn: "Having Nosepass around might be a good idea after all." He said things vaguely as usual.
Talks about Lucario spread like a wildfire in the mess hall. After his showcase of pugnacious violence yesterday, the target on his back enlarged multiple times its original size.
"Lucario is emotionally insecure. He voted Houndour out because he was scared that the Feckless Flygon will be less competitive with Houndour around." Duosion analyzed. "That is just the most ridiculous reason ever. I can point out so many flaws in that logic. Houndour is extremely loyal to him. He is willing to sacrifice himself for that troglodyte. Yet, Lucario voted my boyfriend off!" She exploded in sudden rage, breathing heavily.
"Calm down." Ledyba appeased her anger, caressing her back slowly.
"Sorry, it is just that I miss him so much. Poor Houndour…" Duosion grieved.
"Also… What does troglodyte mean?" Ledyba asked, confused.
"A cave dweller. In ancient times, many Pokemon lived in caves, isolating themselves from the outside world. Troglodytes are narrow minded brutes, they only care about their fellow cave members. I believe that the comparison isn't far off from reality." Duosion explained.
Ledyba nodded as well as Scolipede and Aromatisse. All of their vocabulary paled in comparison to the likes of Duosion and Skrelp.
"You know what is a shame? Lucario seems to really care about his team. I remember the time when he saved me from that torrential stream… then yelled at me." Aromatisse's tone shifted immediately from sentimental to bitter. "Only if he acts less like a dirty barbarian and more like a civilized, fabulous leader, we probably won't turn against him."
"Good point." Scolipede agreed. "Eliminate him now will make things a lot more peaceful."
"Yeah, I guess…" Ledyba didn't seem to support the decision to eliminate Lucario like everyone else. However, she went along with it for now.
Meowth sat on the opposite table, remarking and noting down their harsh choices of words.
Confessional
Duosion: "I wonder if Houndour will be mad at me for saying all those things." She sighed.
Ledyba: "Lucario did so much for us. I don't think I can bear to eliminate him."
Meowth: "My, my… Such strong language. Lucario will be enraged if he hears their words."
More and more Pokemon entered the mess hall like Lucario, Darmanitan, Bisharp and Dedenne. They grabbed their plates of special delicacy and sat down. Currently, everyone was presented in the mess hall except for Cryogonal and Shedinja.
Dedenne held her head down on the table once again, agonizing over the events of the past few days. Grovyle still lingered in her mind, bugging her, tormenting her. She contemplated why Grovyle did all those horrible things. Surely, there must be a reason that she didn't take into account. Was Grovyle just a horrible Pokemon? No, Dedenne knew that much.
Suddenly, a poisonous voice interrupted her train of thoughts.
"I predicted that gecko moron will get second or worse and I'm right! Taste my delicacy, *beep*. Hahaha!" Chef Drapion bragged insufferably.
Suddenly, everything made sense. The way Grovyle acted around Bisharp and Skrelp… The way Grovyle tried to earn recognition from others… The way Grovyle perceived morals… Grovyle's background… Combine all of this with how Chef Drapion degraded him and Dedenne suddenly understood his behavior.
"Chef Drapion, it is all your fault! You triggered him! Only if you didn't hurt his feelings... Everything would turn out differently." Dedenne snapped, sobbing at the end.
"How dare you blame me? I did nothing wrong, you little *beep* mouse!" Chef Drapion fumed, swearing outrageously.
Lucario's ears twitched as the noise disturbed him.
"*beep*! Shut the hell up!" Lucario silenced them both with his deafening voice. Everyone blocked the voice from obliterating their ears, gritting their teeth.
Confessional
Dedenne: "Those rude jerks are making me running out of my patience. Can't they stop swearing?"
Aromatisse: "I need an ear surgery after this."
Miltank: "Is he trying to make us deaf?"
Bisharp: "How inconsiderate."
Darmanitan: "The homie needs to chill out, big time."
Lucario: "In order to shut someone up, you need someone with a louder voice."
Cryogonal opened the door, Shedinja was behind her. The two finally arrived for lunch. They should felt fortunate as many were still groaning and suffering from Lucario's voice.
"What happened?" Cryogonal asked, glancing around with a confused expression. She wondered why a few still covered their ears.
"Maybe you are too loud." Shedinja joked.
"Not funny, Shedinja." Cryogonal wasn't amused.
"Lucario destroyed my poor ears." Nosepass whimpered.
"Rather than competing in Pokeathlon, you should make Pokemon deaf for a living, Lucario." Drifblim suggested, swirling with a headache.
Lucario didn't look guilty one bit. He simply crossed his arms and muttered something under his breath.
Cryogonal headed to the table with her friends (Duosion, Ledyba, Scolipede and Aromatisse) and motioned for Shedinja to sit with them.
The ghost bug followed with a placid expression. Once he sat, Aromatisse gave him a slightly resentful stare before she averted her eyes. Cryogonal noticed this, seemingly worried.
"Shedinja, maybe you should apologize. Make amends with her so we can all be friends." Cryogonal advised.
"Apologize? For telling Lucario the truth? Why?" Shedinja questioned emotionlessly.
Cryogonal casted him a disapproving glare. She was about to scold him until…
"No, he is right." Aromatisse interrupted. Cryogonal looked a bit surprised.
"He is just telling the truth. I messed up. Shedinja, let's put that behind us, shall we?" Aromatisse reasoned maturely, putting her right hand forward. Shedinja eyed the hand for a few seconds. Cryogonal anticipated his response nervously.
"Fine." Shedinja said unenthusiastically and shook her hand.
Confessional
Cryogonal: "Wow, they dealt with it more maturely than I thought."
Aromatisse: "I don't want to hold any ill-will toward Shedinja. Especially because of a petty reason like that. I'm the new Aromatisse now. Half as beautiful but twice as fabulous."
Skarmory called the contestants over to the beach area. There, they witnessed a familiar pirate ship sailing toward them.
A bowsprit in the shape of a Toucannon's beak… Black sails with a white skull design… Trumbeak stood next to the steering wheel…
"Reusing a challenge? I'm disappointed in you, Skarmory." Drifblim criticized, shaking her head.
"Sure, jump the cannon (idiom- jump the gun), why don't you?" Skarmory sighed at Drifblim's constant criticism of his profession.
"Anyways, today's challenge will take place outside the island. It's not good for your health to stay in a remote island for ages, you know? The objective is to get local delicacies for me to enjoy." Skarmory inhaled deeply, salivating at the thought of those delicious delicacies.
"Are you going to give us money?" Drifblim asked. "Because we need them to buy the delicacies for you."
"No, that isn't fun, isn't it? You can't buy those delicacies with money and no stealing either. In addition, you can't tell them that you are in a game show or else you will face disqualification." Skarmory explained. Many contestants looked baffled. However, a few like Shedinja got 'creative' ideas.
"Yay, begging." Shedinja drawled.
"You can beg but there might be a better idea. Let me tell you about the location first or should you, Trumbeak?" Skarmory gestured for his intern to explain.
Trumbeak brooded about something, holding his chin with his left wing in thought. However, Skarmory's words snapped him back to his senses. The intern quickly turned to face the contestants.
"We will go to Toucannon Island. A lively place for shopping fanatics. There are over one hundred food stalls and a wide variety of shops for many demographics. The Pokemon there are also friendly. If you help them, they will surely reward you with local treats. Oh, and there's Toucannon Mall." Trumbeak described in a matter-of-factly tone. Despite his connection to the island, his voice lacked any sort of euphoria.
Skarmory eyed Trumbeak a bit worriedly, alongside a few contestants like Shedinja and Meowth. Did Skarmory know Trumbeak's background? The host soon spun back to the contestants.
"Board the ship to Toucannon Island, contestants. Return after sunset. The contestant with the tastiest local delicacy wins. Quality over quantity, alright? One last thing, if two or more contestants happen to bring my favorite delicacy to me… I will award multiple immunities as long as there aren't too many of you. Have a safe trip." Skarmory finished his explanation.
Confessional
Drifblim: "Multiple immunities? Interesting…"
Duosion: "This slightly increases the odds of Lucario winning the immunity. Hopefully, that isn't the case. If that happens, we might need to vote Darmanitan out instead."
Meowth: "A perfect challenge for a businessman like me. I expect to win this immunity out of the rest."
Farfetch'd: "Mr. Stalk is a professional chef. This victory should be ours. For Swanna…"
Scolipede: "I get to talk to the locals again. Hopefully, they are as nice as that Furfrou."
Aromatisse: "A shopping mall? Hopefully, someone there can fix my face."
The contestants all boarded the airship, finding a comfortable seat (on the floor). This was especially true for Darmanitan, who meditated peacefully. Unlike the others, Lucario didn't sit. He leaned on the wooden mast instead.
Trumbeak activated auto-pilot mode and the airship flew on its own toward Toucannon Island.
Apparently, Heracross and Miltank couldn't sit still and invaded the captain's cabin. Wait, was the advantage from the pirate challenge inside there? Trumbeak didn't notice them trespassing into his private cabin.
"Girl, look inside this room." Heracross opened the door, inviting her friend inside. "We might find something good."
"Yeah, maybe those goddamn interns hide an advantage here, who knows?" Miltank wondered as she observed the room.
The room was neatly decorated to say the very least. A table located in the middle. On it, a bunch of paperwork organized perfectly in a pile. There was a small table lamp and a world globe to the side. A box of stationary equipment could be seen near the edge. The chair behind the table was made out of wood, yet it got a modern touch by having wheels.
To the left side wall, a pirate ship inside a bottle was hung up for show, alongside a golden painting of the ship itself. A cutlass leaned itself against the wall as well.
To the right, there were many books lining up inside a glass container bookshelf. Next to it was a black safe, hiding something precious inside.
Most noticeably, a painting of a Toucannon family hung on the middle wall. Seemingly, they took the picture near a luxurious mall.
The Toucannon to the left was feminine, wearing a magenta business suit and a fedora with a similar color scheme. She got lipstick on the end of her beak. Her most prominent feature was her affectionate eyes, light blue and wide-opened like the vast ocean.
The male Toucannon to the right wore a black and gray business suit. A necktie bound his neck tightly. He held his head up high; he was a man of serious disposition.
In the middle, a small Pikipek could be seen. He was very young and premature. However, that wasn't necessary a bad thing as his innocence created a smile on his face.
"This room is filled with a bunch of garbage. If I own all these junks, I will sell all of it in a garage sale. Except, maybe this sword." Heracross lifted the cutlass up and slashed the air a few times just for fun.
"Check the safe. There's gotta be something." Miltank gestured for Heracross to come closer. The two inspected it, trying to find a combination to crack the safe. However, their attempts ended all in vain after the door creaked open.
"What are you two doing inside my room? Get out!" Trumbeak shouted furiously, pointing outside.
Miltank groaned as she walked out with a disgruntled face. Heracross tried to plunder the cutlass only for Trumbeak to seize it out of her hand at the last second.
"Geez, stingy much?" Heracross frowned.
Confessional
Miltank: "There is still the returning trip. Something good must be inside."
Heracross: "I'm not trying to steal. Back where I live, we call it borrowing." She emphasized.
Trumbeak sighed as he fixed his eyes at the painting. Nostalgia overwhelmed him for a second. Until…
There was a knock on the door.
"Are you trying to steal my personal treasures, again?" Trumbeak assumed with a hostile voice, turning to the door.
"No, it's me, Shedinja." Shedinja drawled. Trumbeak sighed again.
"Come in." Trumbeak allowed, turning back to the painting.
Shedinja opened the door and looked with interest at the painting.
"Are you fine? If you don't want to see your old man then why don't you just tell Skarmory the whole story?" Shedinja asked.
Trumbeak answered without eye contact. He kept gazing at the painting. "Skarmory is very close to my old man. Toucannon Mall is the second biggest sponsor of his show, just behind Bronzong Enterprises. That's why I work here. Skarmory knows everything by now. I don't know whether he supports my side or my old man though."
"I see…" Shedinja looked deep in thought. He never acted like this around anyone… "I will leave now then." The ghost bug exited the room, leaving Trumbeak all alone to himself.
Cryogonal waited for him outside, curiosity burning in her eyes.
"Why did you go inside? You really do like your captain, huh? You should act like this around everyone else." Cryogonal advocated.
"There are only two Pokemon around here that made me feel something. You are the first and Trumbeak is the second." Shedinja explained.
"I get it. Maybe, we can do it again, you know?' Cryogonal hoped.
"You better if you really want me to open up to everyone else for real." Shedinja stated apathetically before he left. Cryogonal looked at his back with sorrowful eyes.
Confessional
Cryogonal: "I spent so much time and effort for him. I can't give up now."
The airship finally arrived at Toucannon Island. Why was it named like this, anyways? Was it just because the Toucannon pirates own the island? Not really…
The entire island was shaped like a Toucannon. The island had a rather unique naming system…
Countless boats parked near Toucannon Talons…
Toucannon Chest had countless visitors lying around, enjoying the food and view...
There were no houses… This island existed for a sole purpose, shopping.
The airship landed on the dock near Toucannon Beak. Many sales-boats floated around it, inviting customers with aquatic goods.
The contestants descended down the ladder one by one. Some like Lucario opted to go down first. Some like Nosepass decided to go down last.
"It's a long way down." Nosepass whined as he climbed down slowly.
After the contestants landed, they got a closer look at the island itself. Some like Meowth eyed the place with familiarity. Some like Scolipede felt like a foreigner totally.
The dock itself was like a floating market. Many sales-boats surrounded it, advertising their products. Some waved flags to get attention of customers. Some used music boxes to attract customers. Some were lazy and did nothing.
The most eye-catching area, however, was Toucannon Beak.
(Let's use our imagination for a second, shall we?)
The dock itself was like the tongue of the Toucannon. It gave visitors the first taste of an unforgettable experience. Heading deeper, we met the upper beak and the lower beak. To be precise, the shops were the beak itself…
Fifty stalls lined up on the left side were known as the upper beak. The right side had fifty stalls as well, lining up in a straight line. The roofs of the stalls were colorful. Some red, some blue, some green, etc. This gave the beak an appearance of a rainbow.
As visitors walked down the tongue, they entered the beak, the mouth. They got their eyes chewed by the stalls to the left and then the stalls to the right. Everyone worked hard to sell their delicacies. All the stalls got their own specialty, their signature dish. Smoke rose out of grills… Food melted on a frying pan… A knife slammed down to chop artificial meat…
Before the visitors were digested, they met the Toucannon Eye. More accurately, the Toucannon Mall itself.
The mall was a five-story building. On the top, giant letters spelt out the name of the mall itself. It was painted blue for the first floor, black for the second, white for the third, red for the fourth and rainbow for the fifth. The color scheme was wild but attractive.
Lastly, there was a path to the right of Toucannon Mall. It connected to Toucannon Chest, a resting area for eating and relaxing. After that, the visitors boarded their boat and departed. The island worked in a systematic order like the digestive system. However, for maximum enjoyment in this island, it was recommended to not think of it that way.
Many contestants were astounded by the unique beauty of Toucannon Island.
Confessional
Scolipede: "Why am I unaware of this place's existence for so long? This place makes me feel young again, like a little boy running around inside an amusement park."
Meowth: "I have been here multiple times. I'm no stranger to Toucannon Island or any other places where business deals can go down. Heh, heh."
Aromatisse: "I will come back here again and again. Hopefully, there are a lot of beauty boutiques in the mall."
Nosepass: "I like this place but there are just too many Pokemon around here, you know what I mean? Too many scary Pokemon." He gulped.
Duosion: "Maybe I can bring Houndour here for a date in the future."
Darmanitan: "Time to chill out, homies. Take this one easy, Lucario. Relax and chill. Chill and grill."
Dedenne: "I'm not a shopping girl by any means but this place doesn't look half bad. Hopefully, the prices are fair and square."
"Contestants, meet me near Toucannon Talons before sunset, alright? This is the arrival dock not the departure one. I hope you all understand." Trumbeak informed before he drove the airship up into the sky once again. Many visitors eyed the unusual occurrence with astonishment. It wasn't every day that you will see a flying pirate ship. Although, the shop owners seemed used to it.
"Team! I suggest that we help each other to win multiple immunities. Then we can vote out the other team." Lucario addressed the Feckless Flygon members. However, none of them seemed keen to work with Lucario, except Darmanitan.
"You are alone, Lucario. Oh, you got Darmanitan." Duosion said coldly before she and the others left. Lucario gaped, shocked at how his 'teammates' treated him. Darmanitan patted his back consolingly.
Confessional
Lucario: "They all… left me?" His eyes were stupefied.
Duosion felt a mix between satisfaction and guilt after she did that to Lucario. She wondered how Houndour will react and dreaded the worst.
"Duosion, we are going to work for a pizza stall, want to come with us?" Ledyba invited, derailing her thoughts.
"No, thanks. You can go with Scolipede." Duosion rejected the offer. She needed some time alone.
"Alright, take care." Ledyba said before she left with Scolipede.
Duosion started her analysis of the food stalls. She took the number of customers, the types of food and the price into consideration. The psychic tried to find the delicacy with the most optimal chance to please Skarmory. However, nothing fitted all of her criteria just yet.
Therefore, Duosion decided to tour the mall for restaurants instead. This was a risk. Unlike the stalls, the food was much more expensive and take-outs weren't always available.
On the interior of the Toucannon Mall, stores were jam-packed with customers. There were two methods of travelling between floors: escalators and elevators. Heavier Pokemon required the use of elevators by standard. Between the escalators going up and down, there was an information board for visitors to check.
Duosion read the information board, searching for ideal restaurants. There was one restaurant that caught her eye. It was called 'Psycho Churros'. Perhaps, it involved an element of psychic that could potentially be affable for Duosion. The restaurant was on the second floor, just to the right of the escalator.
Duosion floated up the mall and observed the restaurant from outside.
It was a café-based restaurant with light brown wallpaper. As a result, take-outs were available. The café itself was pretty small, holding up to twenty customers at maximum. Currently, fifteen customers sat inside. A list of food and beverages was seen on the top of the counter. Apparently, only one Grumpig worked there. He wore a purple cape with a hood attached.
Duosion entered the café to check the following prices:
Classic Churros = 50 P each, Chocolate Churros = 60 P each, Deluxe Churros = 80 P each, Coffee = 30 P each, Hot Chocolate Special = 50 P each, Psycho Churros = 100 P each (recommended).
Duosion nodded at the prices. The café seemed to fit her criteria.
"Want any churros? They are dirt cheap and tasty." Grumpig persuaded once he saw her nod.
Turning to the Grumpig, Duosion requested to work there. "Mr. Grumpig, can I work here in exchange for the churros instead?"
"You want to join the Secret Psycho Churros Society? I will gladly accept a new member. Yes!" Grumpig exclaimed, upper-cutting the air with his right fist in joy. Duosion looked a bit weirded out by his actions.
"Come here." Grumpig gestured for Duosion to float inside the counter. She obeyed and looked at him, expecting further instructions.
"First, you need to wear this staff uniform." Grumpig opened a drawer and took out another purple cape. He gave it to Duosion, who wore it and gave him a questioning look.
"What is the Secret Psycho Churros Society?" Duosion asked out of curiosity.
"The Secret Psycho Churros Society is a sacred group of legendary churros lunatics that swear an oath to only eat churros every single day. Awesome, isn't it?!" Grumpig revealed dramatically, flying a churro through the air with Psychic before dipping it in chocolate sauce.
"Junior! Stop talking about your Secret Psycho Chubby Society and get back to work!" Suddenly, someone from the back of the café shouted. The voice was feminine and a bit senile.
"Mom! Don't embarrass me in front of my friends. Also, it is the Secret Psycho Churros Society, not Psycho Chubby!" Grumpig pouted. Duosion snickered.
"I thought you work alone." Duosion acknowledged a door behind the counter.
"That's my mom. She makes the churros and I sell them. Churros are just the best!" Grumpig proclaimed, floating a churro in front of her face temptingly before he tossed it inside his mouth. The pig chewed mannerlessly, bits of churro flew out of his mouth. Chocolate infested his teeth. Even worse, his breath was smelly as hell.
"Ew." Duosion showed revulsion on her face.
"Sorry." Grumpig apologized and stopped eating. Duosion started to doubt the idea of working in this strange café. However, it was too late to change her mind. Grumpig promised to pay her with a cup of coffee and one serving of Psycho Churro if she helped him with the calculations and receipt printing.
Confessional
Duosion: "Well, my work experience there was interesting…"
One stall drew the attention of Ledyba and Scolipede. It was a pizza stall in the name of '1, 2, Go Pizza!'. A male Gogoat apparently worked there, accepting orders from multiple customers. The toppings on the pizza had both variety and quality. Shrimps, berries, pork and much more gave off an alluring smell. The cheese complimented the bread greatly, making this a prime candidate to win the challenge.
"Mr. Gogoat, can we work here in exchange for two slices of pizza?" Ledyba pleaded, clasping her hand together.
"Alright." Gogoat accepted. He eyed the couple, trying to find a suitable job for each of them.
"Ledyba, can you bring my Skiddo son to his special class on the third floor of the mall? Head up the escalator and turn right for a while then turn right again and you should see it." Gogoat made a rather humiliating request. His son skipped his special class and he failed as a parent to force him there. He couldn't do it himself with all the customers lining up in front of him either.
"Of course." Ledyba accepted the task. Gogoat gave his Skiddo son a criticizing and mean stare.
"Go with her, son." Gogoat demanded in a harsh tone. Skiddo grumbled before he exited the stall and followed Ledyba.
Suddenly, a phone rang inside the stall. Gogoat received the call and nodded, writing something down before ending it.
"Scolipede, please deliver five plates of pizza to Skarmory Island." Gogoat ordered.
Confessional
Scolipede: "Skarmory Island? How am I supposed to travel across the sea over there without a boat?"
Ledyba: "My job doesn't seem difficult. Hopefully, Scolipede has an easy time as well."
Heracross glanced around the Toucannon Tongue. She tried to find a sales-boat with a delicious-looking delicacy. Most Pokemon sold seafood there, whether it be sushi or fish fillet.
"Heracross, want some of my oysters? I got the best oyster sauce around here." A Dhelmise close to her encouraged. He sounded somewhat old.
"Is it for free, gramps?" Heracross assumed rudely.
"Hey, I'm still young. No way I'm giving my oysters away for free. You got to work for it." Dhelmise replied, annoyed.
"What is this work, then?" Heracross asked.
"You see, I got the best oyster sauce around here. However, my rival, Minior got tastier oysters than me. We eventually agreed to exchange our recipes. Please do it for me. He should be around the right side of Toucannon Beak." Dhelmise requested, concealing a grin.
"Seems easy enough." Heracross accepted, taking a cookbook from Dhelmise.
Confessional
Heracross: "Gramps is just old. He can't do much by himself. Like they say, pensions aren't for everyone."
Around the right side of Toucannon Beak…
Miltank watched a few amateurs ruined their food and sneered at them. It wasn't unusual at all since there were over one hundred stalls. Not everyone was experienced in Toucannon Island.
"Fools. I can cook better. Enjoy the hell out of your cardboard food." Miltank scoffed at their cooking skills.
"Miltank, try my oysters." A blue core Minior persuaded in a young, energetic voice. He was smaller than most Minior.
"Sorry, kid. I will pass unless you give it to me for free." Miltank was being one tough customer.
"Hey, I'm not a kid. Ugh, if you want one for free... You see, I got the best oysters around here but my oyster sauce is just horrible. My competitor, Dhelmise got the better oyster sauce. We decided to exchange our recipes. Can you do that? He is around the dock." Minior requested, smirking deviously.
Doesn't seem difficult." Miltank accepted, catching the cookbook Minior threw at her.
Both Miltank and Heracross met each other around half way, eyeing each other's cookbook.
"You got a job from a Minior?" Heracross asked.
"Yep, you got one from Dhelmise?" Miltank asked back.
"Perfect, let's exchange and get this challenge over with." Heracross smiled at how easy it was. The job was done. The two quickly returned to their respective shops.
"Dhelmise won't know what hit him." Minior giggled quietly to himself.
"What?" Miltank didn't seem to hear it.
"No, nothing." Minior acted innocent. "Return back here after I learn the recipe and I will give you one of my oysters, served with a delicious sauce.
Confessional
Miltank: "It better be good. That kid better not play a trick on me or else I will let him taste my light but powerful fists."
Dedenne surveyed through the stalls with a disgusted look on her face. Some of the chefs didn't even bother washing their hands/wings/limbs.
"I don't think these Pokemon follow the Consumers' Health Protection Law." Dedenne mumbled to herself.
Worst of all, a Munchlax sat on a pile of pancakes! He rubbed his butt cheeks against the delicacies. As expected, he got no customers.
"Anyone wants to buy my pulverizing pancakes?" Munchlax asked, looking around with pleading eyes. Everyone (even poison types) either ignored him or looked at him with disgust.
"Why is everyone so mean? Nobody buys my pancakes." Munchlax cried quietly to himself.
"Munchlax, don't you know about the Consumers' Health Protection Law? Why are you sitting on perfectly edible food? I can report this to the authorities." Dedenne reprimanded.
"I'm sorry! This is the only method of cooking I know." Munchlax cried even louder. Pokemon around him murmured among themselves.
Dedenne sighed. He looked so sympathetic to her. Maybe, it was too cruel to report him to the authorities. Just maybe…
"Stop crying, I will help." Dedenne submitted to his pitiful condition.
"Really? You can have as much pancakes as you like if we get some sales." Munchlax offered.
"Yeah, the clean ones." Dedenne stated as she observed the stall. The little mouse criticized him for many things. After all the scolding was done, she suggested many improvements to the store.
Confessional
Dedenne; "It feels good to help those that are in need without an incentive for reward. Only if Grovyle is really like this…"
Evidently, not every stall had high standards. Some stall owners like Munchlax were newbies to this business. It was a very competitive environment in Toucannon Island. If you couldn't break-even, you couldn't pay rent and you couldn't stay there.
A few stalls like '1,2, Go Pizza!' made a name for themselves. They got reputation, they got loyal customers. This made it much more difficult for new stall owners to get the right footing on the ground. They couldn't really rent the expensive space inside the Toucannon Mall either.
Other than Munchlax, there was Garbodor…
"Anyone wants my special delicacy?" Garbodor asked, lifting up his plate of green sludge for the public to view. The reaction wasn't pretty. Some even puked and vomited.
"Looks like we are closing down, my poor special delicacy." Garbodor said depressingly. He then started crying.
"Mr. Stalk wants to know why are you crying?" Farfetch'd asked as he passed by.
"It's over for me. I used to have a Drapion friend. We learned in the same cooking school (a one-star cooking school). He got first place while I got second. We owned the store together. Back then, we got poison type customers until… a Skarmory hired him!" Garbodor cried in rage.
"A Drapion? Mr. Stalk outperformed one in a cooking contest before." Farfetch'd told.
"It must be a different Drapion. Back in school, I was known as the Gastro Green Sludge and he was known as the Putrid Purple Sludge. We invented our special delicacies together. However, he was a better chef than me. He was perfect. Without him, I'm nothing. It is time for me to live on the streets." Garbodor moped, crying a river.
"But is he a five-stars chef like Mr. Stalk?" Farfetch'd bragged.
"Five-stars? Are you serious? I mean we don't use that kind of grading system around here. Isn't that for restaurants chefs? We are just stall owners." Garbodor seemed taken by surprise.
"Do you want us to demonstrate?" Farfetch'd asked. Garbodor nodded. The duck and his leek stalk entered the stall, stretching a bit before showing off their cooking expertise.
Confessional
Farfetch'd: "Mr. Stalk isn't surprised at all that Chef Drapion used to work there. Their cooking methods are too similar. Garbodor mashed everything together carelessly like Chef Drapion. I wonder what kind of cooking school educated them. We really want to win this challenge. Not only because of Mr. Stalk's pride as a chef but also for Swanna."
Drifblim observed both sides of Toucannon Beak. She tried to find the most popular stall, preferably one with ginseng tea. However, the ghost blimp already reached the entrance to the mall. Yet, she couldn't find one.
"Hey, want my meat skewers? One costs 60 P, two cost 100 P." Magmar bargained, his stall was at the end of the left line.
"No thanks, I'm buying one for my friend. He is a Skarmory. I doubt that he likes something hot." Drifblim told as she glanced at the grill. The flame was weaker than she expected but that didn't convince her. Would Skarmory eat something like this?
"Rest assured, my meat skewers aren't hot. Steel types can eat them. I got one customer that is a Skarmory, you know?" Magmar assured.
"No thanks." Drifblim refused, floating away. She wasn't convinced one bit. Magmar looked dejected but he said nothing.
Drifblim got lured by a different stall instead. It located at the end of the right line. It was Halloween themed with paper ghosts hanging from the ceiling. The color scheme was primarily purple, fake dead trees were behind the stall. A painting of a haunted mansion hung behind the counter. The stall owner was a male Dusknoir. On the counter were pumpkins of various sizes.
A face was carved on each of them. The smallest pumpkin got a frowning face with a cheap price of 100 P. The biggest pumpkin got an overjoyed face with an expensive price of 750 P.
"Welcome to my stall, buy or I will haunt you in your nightmares forever!" Dusknoir threatened, making a scary face. Drifblim didn't seem scared one bit.
"Oh, I jest. Welcome, what do you want?" Dusknoir immediately stopped once she didn't fall for it.
"What are inside these pumpkins?" Drifblim asked, eyeing them with curiosity.
"Life leeches of death!" Dusknoir screamed with a horrifying voice. "I jest, gummy worms. I have all kinds of flavors. Ghost ones, flying ones, choose right away." He informed.
"I want the biggest pumpkin with steel gummies for a friend. Can I work here instead?" Drifblim requested.
"Oh, definitely… no! I will kill you! I jest, I jest. You aren't scared at all, are you?" Dusknoir sounded disappointed. Drifblim shook her head.
"You know what? I like you. We are both ghost types and I scared enough customers to earn a decent amount of P. You just need to go to Toucannon Talons, find a boat with a black flag and retrieve a box of steel gummies for me." Dusknoir instructed, handing his boat key to her.
"If you fail…" Dusknoir was about to try scaring her again but Drifblim already left for the gummies. He muttered quietly to himself.
Confessional
Drifblim: "I'm a ghost type as well. Should I be scared? I don't think so. What a lame publicity stunt. I wonder if Skarmory will like the steel gummies. This is the next best option I got other than finding ginseng tea."
Darmanitan toured around Toucannon Beak with Lucario. The homie boy sought after something chill to eat. A certain stall enticed him…
"Homie, we should go over there together." Darmanitan pointed toward a stall with an Infernape. The guy sat, meditating. Surrounding him in a circle were frozen yogurts, cold and chill like he wanted.
"I will pass. You should go with me…" Before Lucario finished, Darmanitan already left him.
"Sorry homie, I gotta chill out with my other homie." Darmanitan looked apologetic as he left Lucario's side. The professional athlete was now alone.
"Homie, can I work for one of these yogurts?" Darmanitan asked, pointing.
"Sure, brotha. Help me look after the stall. Keep it chill and meditate." Infernape instructed.
"This is how I like it, homie. It is a shame that Lucario didn't want to come." Darmanitan said, a bit disappointed. He then crossed his legs in a meditative position and chanted out "zen" slowly.
"Perfect, brotha. You are a natural. Zen, zen…" Infernape did the same.
Confessional
Darmanitan: "I don't understand why everyone thinks that us fire types are hot-heads. I mean we are chill most of the time."
Nosepass and Rhyhorn entered Toucannon Mall after the former complained about how the knives and grills looked scary outside.
"Can't they stop with all the chopping and burning?" Nosepass complained, clinging to Rhyhorn.
"Then, how are we going to eat?" Rhyhorn responded, giving Nosepass food for thought.
Nosepass sighed. "I guess you are right. I'm just a coward." He bashed himself.
"No need to be harsh. Just try to fight the fear." Rhyhorn advised. "Besides, you got me."
Nosepass lightened up as he heard this. "You are right about that, big brother." Rhyhorn smiled as well.
The two approached the escalator and Nosepass suddenly looked tense. His legs shook rapidly.
"We should head up the second floor. There's not much other than clothes around here." Rhyhorn suggested, noticing Nosepass' fearful demeanor. "You are scared of escalators?"
Nosepass nodded, his face reddening in the process.
"We can take the elevator then. I can't take the escalator because of my weight anyways." Rhyhorn indicated. Nosepass beamed in joy immediately.
The two entered an elevator. It was gigantic, twenty times the size of Rhyhorn himself. Huge Pokemon like Aggron stayed in the elevator with them. Nosepass didn't seem comfortable with their presences, but was reassured with Rhyhorn next to him.
The elevator made a ringing sound as the door opened. Nosepass and Rhyhorn excused themselves as they exited.
"Look, there's a café." Nosepass pointed out the nearby Psycho Churros. "Should we work there?"
"Let's check." Rhyhorn replied. Everything seemed normal at first. They were just checking a store. What could possibly go wrong? Well…
Rhyhorn came to a sudden halt in front of the café. His red eyes turned bloody… They were deeper than tunnels… They were blackholes.
He started hyperventilating, gasping for air. "Psychic…" He said with a dark, threatening tone. One that hid years' worth of suffering. What caused all of this? The purple cape was the answer.
"Rhyhorn, are you alright?" Nosepass asked in concern.
"Die!" Rhyhorn yelled menacingly. He rammed through the door of the café and charged at both Grumpig and Duosion with bloodlust. The customers were all petrified in fear. Grumpig hid behind Duosion in cowardice.
"Rhyhorn, what the hell are you doing?!" Duosion tried to knock some sense back into him. "Stop!" She tried to use Psychic to stop him but she failed. Rhyhorn was too powerful, his adamant willpower thwarted the control.
Rhyhorn got alarmingly closer and closer. Was there about to be a tragedy?
"Big brother Rhyhorn, stop!" Nosepass' words cured the rage disease.
Rhyhorn stopped inches away from harming both Duosion and Grumpig with his sharp horn. His eyes returned back to normal alongside his breathing rate. He glanced around at those around him. They were all scared to death.
Suddenly, Rhyhorn speeded out of the door, disappearing from the sight of everyone.
"Rhyhorn, wait!" Nosepass chased after him.
"Should we call the police?" Grumpig asked, traumatized from the event.
"No." Duosion didn't want to worsen the situation.
"Big brother!" Nosepass called, extending his right arm out. "Wait!"
Rhyhorn entered the elevator and the door closed before Nosepass got the chance. He didn't dare to take the chance with the escalator and lost Rhyhorn in the end.
Suddenly, Ledyba approached him frantically. "Have you seen Skiddo? I lost him."
"Who? I lost Rhyhorn." Nosepass got a problem of his own. The elevator finally arrived and Nosepass hurriedly entered. The Nose Pokemon pressed the close button immediately.
"Wait." Ledyba couldn't get any information out of Nosepass.
Nosepass chose the third floor as his destination. He exited the elevator and wandered all alone for Rhyhorn. Unknowingly, he stumbled into the 'Romantic Dining Area'.
Confessional
Duosion: "It was highly improbable for Rhyhorn to act that way. Now, it is highly likely for him to commit a repeated offense. There must be something that he is hiding from all of us. What if he tries to hurt me again?"
Nosepass: "Was that why he didn't want me around him at first? His insanity?"
Ledyba anxiously flew around, trying to find Skiddo. She lost him when he asked for a toilet break. She didn't think for a second that he would escape. Was she supposed to enter male Pokemon restrooms and keep him in check?
"Skiddo, where are you?!" Ledyba shouted, hoping for a reply. This didn't work.
Ledyba flew up to the third floor. Looking above, she saw him on the fifth floor (the floor of the movies). Her eyes widened in absolute fear immediately.
Skiddo rested his front legs on the safe railing guard. He was merely taking a view of Toucannon Mall.
"No! Don't do it!" Ledyba mistook it for a suicidal act. Other Pokemon in the mall gave her looks as they complained about how loud she was being.
"Don't do what?" Skiddo dropped his front legs down from the railing as Ledyba flew up hurriedly to the fifth floor. Once she arrived, he gave her a confused look.
"Aren't you thinking of doing something stupid?" Ledyba seemed flushed out.
"Suicide? You acted as if you saw someone commit suicide before." Skiddo stated.
"What? No!" Ledyba's face heated up.
"Whatever. You are paranoid. I don't want to go to special class." Skiddo wasn't being cooperative.
"Why?" Ledyba started to recover now.
"It is just stupid. It's not like I got bad grades or anything. Special classes make me look bad. I rather stay in the stall and help my dad." Skiddo explained.
"I see but your dad wants you to. It isn't that bad. You might get to skip ahead of your class and learn new things faster." Ledyba tried to convince him.
"Skip ahead of the class? Then, everyone will call me a nerd. Whatever, I will attend it. You are just horrible at your job. I feel bad for you." Skiddo insulted. Ledyba averted her eyes, clearly upset. However, she wasn't being vocal about it. Skiddo got to his special class and Ledyba finished her job. Although, she didn't seem proud or happy with her accomplishment.
Confessional
Ledyba: "I hope Scolipede is having a better time than me."
Cryogonal was having a very difficult time with Shedinja.
"What about that steak stall, Shedinja?" Cryogonal pointed.
"No." Shedinja rejected.
"What about that dumplings stall?" Cryogonal suggested.
"No." Shedinja rejected again.
"What about-" Cryogonal didn't even finish.
"No." Shedinja cut her off. Cryogonal was infuriated with his actions.
"Why are you so goddamn picky?!" Cryogonal yelled. Shedinja didn't care.
"This challenge means nothing to me. There's something else that I want to do." Shedinja drawled as he floated away.
"Wait." Cryogonal followed him to the best of her ability. Seemingly, he headed toward Toucannon Talons.
Confessional
Cryogonal: "Sometimes, I really do wonder what is wrong with him."
Nearby Toucannon Talons…
To be precise, Toucannon Talons referred to two docks. Both were painted blue with a black edge near the end. The shape was exactly the same as the legs of a Toucannon. A multitude of boats and ships surrounded it, giving the appearance of a perch for the Toucannon to roost on.
Trumbeak stood on the crow's nest of his ship, viewing Toucannon Island from a high vantage point. It was certainly beautiful and breath-taking. Trumbeak's eyes showed that he held close and sentimental values to it yet, deep pain was predominant.
Suddenly, a luxurious white speedboat dashed across the surface of the sea to Toucannon Talons. It was unusual for visitors to arrive here. However, that didn't apply for the owner of Toucannon Island himself, Trumbeak's father.
The boat stopped and two opulent birds flew out. One was a Toucannon and the other was a Pikipek. Trumbeak's father and sister respectively. The Pikipek dressed in a business suit like her father. (Like father, like daughter, they say.) Both of them seemed to be in a middle of a conversation.
"Father, if a stall owner doesn't earn enough to pay rent, I will kick that unsuccessful waste of space out." Pikipek talked in a rather mature and cold manner for someone of her age-10.
"That's my daughter. You are learning fast." Mr. Toucannon seemed proud of her. His smile turned into a frown, however, when he saw Trumbeak.
"Won't you even greet your family?" Mr. Toucannon scolded.
"Good day, father and sister." Trumbeak greeted half-willingly. He flew down to meet them up-close.
"How dare you lied to me? You said that you will use our heirloom (the airship) for transportation purposes. I know that you used it for a pirate challenge, which wasn't wrong until you decided to be the pirate yourself. Don't you know that it brings ignominy into our family?" Toucannon patronized. Trumbeak looked down on the ground.
"Yes, brother. Shameful." Pikipek supported. This annoyed Trumbeak. His sister always acted like she was older than him.
"Is it so wrong? Reminding the world of our bloodline. In ancient times, Toucannon Pirates were far from the worst. There were bigger criminal gangs like Sharpedo Mafia, the bandits and much more." Trumbeak defended himself.
"It is wrong, very wrong. It damages our reputation, which can possibly damage our sales. If you want to be a pirate, I will disown you." Toucannon threatened. Trumbeak gritted his beak, clenching his fists.
"Father, I'm hungry. Let's reserve our seats at Red Quill's Nest (the most luxurious restaurant in Toucannon Island). Toucannon ignored Trumbeak completely once he heard the sweet voice of his daughter.
"Oh, we don't need to reserve a seat. Let your father demonstrates the authority that your brother doesn't want." Toucannon flaunted.
"My brother is irrational. He rather be a pirate than an heir." Pikipek remarked to Trumbeak's annoyance.
"That's my daughter." Toucannon said proudly. The two cackled as they flew away together.
Trumbeak sighed as he slumped down on the ground.
"Are you alright?" Trumbeak was shocked to hear Shedinja's voice.
"No, why are you here? You got a challenge to win." Trumbeak questioned, raising his right eyebrow.
"Well, rather than winning immunity when I don't need it, I rather help you instead." Shedinja explained.
"Help? You, out of all the contestants? When did you start feeling sympathy for me?" Trumbeak was shocked. He couldn't believe it.
"Not only sympathy but also empathy. I want to feel it once more, that feeling of joy even if it means that I will also feel pain. I'm tired of being desensitized." Shedinja insisted.
"Fine, I got an idea but we will need more help." Trumbeak told.
"Shedinja, why are you so fast? Freaking wait for me!" Cryogonal shouted from a distance.
"There, we got our help." Shedinja drawled.
Confessional
Cryogonal: "Shedinja is a Shedinja but he is fast like a Ninjask. God, annoying emo kid."
Shedinja: "Not my fault special snowflake can't catch up. Never did I say that I want her around. Well, at least she will now be useful."
Scolipede arrived at Toucannon Talons, carrying a brown pizza bag over his neck. He immediately eyed the airship and looked around for any signs of Trumbeak.
"Trumbeak, can you fly me back to Skarmory Island?" Scolipede requested. There was no reply. He sighed. "Time to do this the hard way."
Scolipede observed his surroundings. Many boats were left without their owners. Only cargos and goods were on them. Scolipede wondered why the owners were so careless. Some stuff could be stolen. However, that was none of his concern. The bug type eventually found someone pitching coins into a seafood can.
"Mr. Zoroark, can I borrow your boat?" Scolipede asked, trying to be polite.
"Zero chance, kid." Zoroark refused. Scolipede seemed disappointed as he moved on to a different boat owner. This time, it was a Scrafty who placed his hands inside his pants.
"Mr. Scrafty, can I borrow your boat? Please." Scolipede begged.
"Kid, I got something for you." Scrafty said as he delved deeper into his pants. Scolipede looked horrified as he quickly fled.
"Hey, wait." Scrafty pulled out his boat key a second too late.
"Creepy guy." Scolipede shivered as he searched for more boat owners, eventually finding one.
"What do you need, kid?" A male Octillery asked. He had greedy gleams in his eyes.
"A boat." Scolipede answered simply.
"Have a place in mind? Tell me and I will bring you there." Octillery offered to help, glancing at the bag swiftly with intrigue.
"Skarmory Island, can I trust you?" Scolipede analyzed his facial features skeptically, squinting his eyes. He seemed skinny, perhaps not well-fed. His tentacles rubbed the ground slightly in a nervous demeanor. His eyes reeked of greed. It was normal for Scolipede to doubt others, it was in his nature. However, Ledyba changed him a lot as well…
"Kid, don't make me nervous. I'm trying to help." Octillery fidgeted with his tentacles.
"I guess I can trust you." Scolipede was tired of distrusting others. He decided to trust a stranger for once.
"Good." Octillery smiled as the two got on a shabby looking wooden boat. It was already a miracle that it supported Scolipede's weight. It was more of a miracle that it got a turbo motor to speed up the trip. Scolipede tried to make himself comfortable, humming a tune to himself to pass some time.
Nothing was wrong in the first ten minutes or so. After that…
"Look, behind you! A Sharpedo!" Octillery gave off a false alarm, pointing behind Scolipede.
"What?" Scolipede turned away gullibly. Octillery took this chance to steal the pizza bag and pushed Scolipede off the boat.
"Hey!" Scolipede shouted angrily, struggling to swim.
"Hahahaha… Learn to be less gullible. What did you eat for breakfast, gullible soup?" Octillery mocked.
Unexpectedly, an orange motorboat boosted toward the two. The driver was none other than Scrafty. Octillery widened his eyes, accelerating the boat to its max speed.
"You will never catch me!" Octillery made a rapid escape.
"Kid, get up." Scrafty stopped and pulled Scolipede up his boat before the two chased after the Octillery thief.
"I thought that you are going to do something bad to me." Scolipede admitted.
"What did you think I put in my pants? A knife to stab you?" Scrafty scoffed, rolling his eyes. Scolipede looked embarrassed.
The motorboat was obviously faster. They were catching up to Octillery fast.
"No, don't come any closer." Octillery fired Octazooka at them out of desperation. Scrafty made a swift turn to the left to avoid the attack. Octillery continued to bombard them with ink. However, Scrafty successfully dodged them all with great mobility.
As the boat got close enough…
Scolipede widened his eyes as Scrafty jumped across and kicked Octillery to the face. This knocked the thief out in one hit. The pizza bag was returned to its rightful owner. Scrafty dragged Octillery's body over to his motorboat.
"What are you going to do with him? Who are you and why did you help me?" Scolipede got many questions in his mind.
"Slow down, kid. Don't you have a place to go? Tell me. Not too far and I will bring you there." Scrafty offered kindly.
"Skarmory Island." Scolipede told.
"Fine by me." Scrafty allowed, tying Octillery up with ropes before placing him down next to the driver's seat.
"Can you tell me now? Who are you?" Scolipede persisted.
"Just a Toucannon Talons guard. My job is to protect the goods from thieves." Scrafty revealed, shocking Scolipede.
"I thought the goods are unprotected." Scolipede admitted. This made Scrafty chortle.
"Did you eat gullible soup for breakfast? That's common sense. There are more guards than just me, kid. Most of us blend in with the visitors. You can call us undercover guards. For your information, I'm going to arrest this Octillery." Scrafty clarified everything and Scolipede felt like an idiot.
The two eventually arrived at Skarmory Island, just in time. After thirty minutes, the pizzas would be free.
Ursaring tapped his feet impatiently as he waited for the pizzas.
"Took you long enough. The party is about to start. How much?" Ursaring said impatiently, taking some coins out.
"1,000 P." Scolipede answered, wondering about this party thing. Ursaring paid him and took the pizzas away.
"Hurry up!" Druddigon shouted from a red truck. "The pizzas will be cold by the time we reach Skarmory Area." He mentioned, careless that Scolipede was there and heard it as well.
"I know, I'm coming." Ursaring ran to the truck and quickly entered with the pizzas. Scolipede stared at the parting truck momentarily before he got back inside Scrafty's motorboat and returned to Toucannon Island. His job was a success.
Confessional
Scolipede: "Pokemon like Octillery make me distrustful of others…" He was deep in thought. "…while Pokemon like Scrafty and Ledyba make me trustful of others. I guess this world isn't so bad after all. Also, what is 'Skarmory Area' anyways?"
Raticate: "Trumbeak will miss the smoking party. That's what he gets for forcing me to wear a bucket hat."
Drifblim was carrying a box of steel gummies back to Dusknoir. As she made her way through Toucannon Chest, she took a closer view of the place.
Toucannon Chest was like a food court area. There were tremendous numbers of tables and chairs for visitors to sit on and enjoy their food. A few drink stalls were also available around the entrance connecting to Toucannon Mall. Trees surrounded the place, giving a strong sense of nature. A Snivy ran around, flying a kite… Families talked to each other… The atmosphere was something special, hard to find anywhere else.
Suddenly, a female Piplup ran into Drifblim, holding a bunch of coupons in her arms.
"Sorry, you want a coupon? Mr. Meowth said that if I give all of them out, he will give me a free ice cream." Piplup apologized as she handed the coupon out with cute, irresistible eyes. It didn't work on Drifblim but she accepted it with a smile nonetheless.
"Thanks." Piplup left to hand out more coupons.
Drifblim read the coupon, it advertised an ice cream store. The coupon itself gave a five percent discount. Drifblim looked amused.
"Nice try, Meowth." Drifblim commented.
Confessional
Drifblim: "I see… so that's how Meowth wants to play. Using little kids to attract business."
Lucario seemed demotivated. He wandered around lifelessly. His eyes lost that competitive spark. As a result, the visitors didn't realize that he was the famous professional athlete.
"Everyone… left me?" Lucario said miserably. He glanced at Darmanitan temporarily. His fanboy was having the time of his life, meditating. Lucario just couldn't understand it. He walked around aimlessly until a Magmar called him.
"Hey, Lucario. You." Magmar pointed. "Want my meat skewers? They aren't hot at all, perfect for steel types."
With nothing better to do… "Can I work instead?" Lucario negotiated.
"Fine, you look strong and muscular. Slice the meat into smaller pieces for me." Magmar instructed.
Lucario breathed in deeply as he gathered his energy back inside his body. The professional athlete lifted the knife up and slashed the meat into pieces at an insane speed. His cutting movements were advanced sword techniques. The meat got obliterated, turning into neatly thin slices.
Magmar gaped, stunned by the performance.
"I think you did enough to earn yourself one serving of meat skewer." Magmar rewarded.
"Are you sure? I can do much more than this." Lucario was just warming up.
"Alright. You can do more if you want." Magmar didn't object, obviously. The professional athlete was making his work a lot easier.
Magmar pierced the meat slices with a stick and placed it gently on the grill. He breathed a weak flame to cook it.
"Steel types eat them, you say?" Lucario wanted confirmation, chopping meat in the process. Personally, he ate hot food just fine as a steel type. However, Skarmory was different.
"Yes, I once had a Skarmory customer. You believe that? He came to my stall with his Furret wife, or at least I think. I mean she wrapped herself around his neck and they both wore similar, pure silver bracelets with bronze stripes on them. Both of them complimented my meat skewers. I'm telling the truth here." Magmar reassured.
"Wife?" Lucario wondered. Was that Skarmory his host? The host never did wear a bracelet before to his knowledge. However, he recalled that Skarmory sold a silver bracelet to Duosion. The design was different but there was some sort of similarity there.
"Those lovebirds…" Magmar evoked a memory. "Ah, I remember when Furret blew the meat skewer for him. Skarmory was scared that it will burn his tongue. In the end, he realized that it wasn't hot at all. Rather, it was tasty. I wish there is someone that cares for me that much…" He daydreamed.
To Lucario, love was merely a distraction. He didn't care about all that romantic stuff at all. If this news broke out, imagine how his fangirls would react. They would weep rivers of tears for sure. Still, the question remained, was that Skarmory, the host? A sudden thought interrupted him, however.
"Magmar, I will leave the stall for a while." Lucario excused himself. Magmar didn't seem to mind it.
Confessional
Lucario: "Miltank... you will pay for what you did." He manifested a dark expression.
Bisharp worked in a burger stall, collecting money and giving out changes. The female Breloom owner was pretty nice. She promised him a deluxe burger for such an easy job.
Working there, he caught sight of her Shroomish daughter.
"Mom, I'm going to play with my friends in Toucannon Chest. I will be back." Shroomish said energetically. She reminded him of Jumpluff so much…
"Alright, have fun. Come back before dinner." Breloom waved to her daughter as she left.
Bisharp couldn't help but to feel nostalgic. Without Jumpluff, the experience changed entirely for him. He was conflicted between making friends and trying to win. On one hand, he needed to keep the honor of his family. On the other, he was exhausted from the competition. He wished that everything would be easier.
Farfetch'd worked in a stall not far from him, serving luscious and succulent chocolate soufflés. The Garbodor owner was ecstatic. Bisharp glanced at him before quickly averting his eyes.
Confessional
Bisharp: "Farfetch'd, how I wish you would be my friend and fill this empty hole inside my chest. Or else I got nothing left other than my desire to win…"
Nosepass looked around the 'Romantic Dining Area', many restaurants were designed with the concept of love in mind. Whether it be a candlelight dinner in a restaurant called 'Lavishing Love' or a secret, seaside balcony rendezvous in 'The Sea in You'. The tables inside these restaurants were all created for a one to one date. However, a double or triple date could be requested.
There was a major coincidence in the making. A fate and destiny that entwined between two Pokemon…
Three girls and two boys waited outside Lavishing Love:
A male Charmeleon wore black sagging trousers with a hole on the back for the freedom of his tail. In addition, he wore a blue jacket.
A female Flaaffy stood next to him, holding his right hand. She wore blue jeans with a hole on the back as well. Similarly, she wore a yellow jacket like the Charmeleon.
A male Lucario read a book called 'The Miracle of Love'. He didn't wear any clothes. His body portrayed his scrawny features.
A female Lopunny leaned on his shoulder. She didn't wear any clothes as well. However, she painted her lips and eyelashes pink.
Last but not least, a bipedal, scaly Pokemon with a light gray body. Her arms and legs were dark gray and very masculine. The scale on her forehead got chipped a little, a proof of battling. She wore an Everstone necklace and a beige backpack. She didn't have much of a feminine trait. However, her red eyes were mighty, not in a threatening way but rather dependable. This Pokemon was a Hakamo-o. She folded her arms as she looked around for someone…
"Come on, Hickery-o. Why isn't he here yet? Do we need to wait for your boyfriend for decades?" Lopunny complained.
"Be patient." Hickery-o replied simply.
Flaaffy gasped. "Is it possible that he ditches you? Or did you lie about having a boyfriend?" She narrowed her eyes as she nudged her friend.
Hickery-o looked really frustrated. She paid a Fraxure to act as her boyfriend but he didn't keep his promise and left with her money. Wait until she got her hands on him…
All of her friends already got a boyfriend. She was the odd one out of the group. It would be really humiliating if her friends find out what really happened.
"We better hurry if we don't want to lose our reservations." Lucario told the group.
"Yeah, hurry." Lopunny pressured. Hickery-o sweated anxiously.
It was a mere coincidence that Nosepass passed by at that very second. He turned his head around, trying to find Rhyhorn. He approached the group to ask about the location of his big brother.
However, never in a million years did he expect a random Hakamo-o to pull his right hand by force into the restaurant.
"He is here, let's get inside." Hickery-o lied. It seemed believable, considering how Nosepass approached the group.
Nosepass panicked, he was about to scream for help until the mysterious lady whispered something to him.
"I will pay you." Hickery-o promised. Nosepass didn't say anything not because of money but rather fear. As he observed her scaly body, he gulped.
Lopunny and Flaaffy raised their eyes in suspicions. However, their boyfriends seemed oblivious.
"Wow, a Nosepass? Cool." Lucario commented, putting his book away.
"Yeah, new friend." Charmeleon nodded in agreement.
Both of their girlfriends rolled their eyes before they locked arms with their partners. Hickery-o saw this and did the same with Nosepass. The timid coward felt uneasy but didn't argue.
The six Pokemon split up into three tables. However, the tables were very close to each other. The table included a clean plate, a spoon, a fork, a knife, a napkin and a wine glass for each Pokemon. On the middle of the table was a blazing candle. A Kricketune played a romantic music, building up the mood.
"Wow, romantic." Charmeleon commented as he pulled the chair for Flaaffy. Lucario did the same for Lopunny. Hickery-o signaled for Nosepass to copy them.
The Nose Pokemon obeyed. However, he did it in a very awkward manner. Sliding the chair to the left and then right, he eventually managed to force it out with a horrible creaking sound. Hickery-o looked a bit worried but she tried to act natural. Flaaffy and Lopunny grew more suspicious, while their boyfriends were as oblivious as ever.
"Let's order some food. I'm hungry." Charmeleon diverted their attention.
"Yeah, I agree." Hickery-o said as she critically glared at Nosepass. The Nose Pokemon felt agitated. He needed to step up his lying game.
Nosepass looked into the menu, searching for something delicious to eat. Once the Noctowl waiter arrived, Nosepass ordered like an inconsiderate madman right away. The Hakamo-o was paying anyways, right? It was her fault that he got stuck in this predicament.
"I want a plate of Slowpoke tails (1,080 P), the Lavishing Love Delicacy (2,500 P), the Lavishing Love Deluxe Delicacy (3,000 P) and…" Hickery-o stopped him before she went bankrupt. (6,580P!)
"My love, I think that's enough." She took the menu away from him, before flashing him a furious glare.
"Wow, man. Are you eating all of that by yourself?" Lucario widened his eyes.
"Of course not, he is sharing it with me. We have been with each other for a long time now. He knows very well what I like to eat." Hickery-o lied, giving Nosepass a swift eye contact.
"Yeah, I know her very well." Nosepass went along with it.
"Nice to see that you two are in a healthy relationship." Lucario believed it completely. Lopunny rolled her eyes.
Everyone finished ordering their food and the difficult part started. The conversation…
"Let me introduce myself first. My name is Luca. I want to be a professional scholar. I love reading, especially romance novels. I have been dating with my girlfriend for a year now. We plan to move on and live together soon." Luca the Lucario introduced.
"Let me do it next." Charmeleon seemed eager. "My name is Chamel. I'm taking it slow and don't have a job in mind yet. I like hanging out with my friends, especially my girlfriend." He winked at Flaaffy. She returned a loving gaze.
"Hickery-o, why don't you try to introduce your boyfriend?" Lopunny suggested, trying to trip her up. However, Hickery-o remained confident.
"His name is Elionose." Nosepass nodded, going along with it. "We are gym buddies for a while now." Nosepass widened his eyes. "He is very strong but humble and shy. He likes to make others look bigger than him to cheer them up. In reality, he can actually evolve but he just can't find the special magnetic field yet." Hickery-o fabricated.
"Gym?! I always Nosepass-out there!" However, Nosepass blurted out something that he shouldn't. Hickery-o suddenly looked nervous. Flaaffy and Lopunny thought they were about to catch her red-handed until…
"Funny joke, man. Using your own species as a pun. But, I don't expect someone like you to pass out at the gym. Why did you pass out?" Chamel sounded confused.
Hickery-o fanned herself with a napkin and Nosepass immediately got an idea.
"I Nosepass-out because Hickery-o is so hot every time she works out at the gym. My heart melts and fails to function." Nosepass charmed romantically. Hickery-o was shocked at his accomplishment.
"Romantic! Perfect. Ah, my heart melts as well. You are one charming boyfriend." Luca admired.
"Wow, I want to come up with those lines as well. Great job, Elionose." Chamel praised, eyeing him with jealousy.
Flaaffy (Flona) and Lopunny (Lapiz) still didn't seem convinced.
The food started arriving. The Slowpoke tails were caramelized with honey and served alongside side-salad. Nosepass and Hickery-o took turns feeding each other. They seemed like a real couple. Every time she fed Nosepass, the coward felt protected and confident like when Rhyhorn was with him.
The Lavishing Love Delicacy was served next. It was a gigantic plate of spaghetti. Designed to be eaten by having both lovers suck opposite ends of the pasta until they touched their lips for that kiss. The difference between this and the deluxe version was that the more expensive version contained rarer meats (Flygon's, Dragonite's), which were hard to create artificially.
The couple didn't eat them the recommended way through. They just met each other! What did you expect?
They chatted for a while during their meals. Nothing much, Luca talked about his diet. Brababah… Most footage got skipped over. (This is Total Skarmory Island you are viewing, not The Triple Date.)
The Noctowl eventually came to collect the money. Hickery-o was about to pay until…
"Isn't he supposed to pay?" Flona pointed at Nosepass. At this point, Hickery-o believed that Nosepass could squeeze himself out of trouble.
"Err… I gave her all of my money. She takes care of the f-financial stuff." Nosepass stuttered a bit.
"The same man, hi-five!" Luca raised his hand up. Nosepass gave him a weak hi-five.
"Why is it so weak?" Luca wondered.
"I go easy on you. You look skinny. I don't want to hurt your hand." Nosepass didn't sound confident. However, he fell for it regardless.
"Wow, how did you know that I got a health condition? We are best friends already." Luca was oblivious. Lapiz sighed as she shook her head.
"Hey, you should give me your money too. You love me more than money, right?" Flona pressured, getting close to Chamel's face. The Charmeleon reluctantly pulled money out of his right pocket and gave it to her before he sobbed quietly to himself.
The date was about to be over…
Confessional
Nosepass: "Wow, that was just unreal. I got to eat expensive food without paying for it and met so many new Pokemon. Luca is so weak and skinny like me. I feel like I can be his friend. Chamel is friendly and pretty chill. Hickery-o is like another Rhyhorn to me. Wait… I forgot about Rhyhorn!"
Aromatisse worked in a stall called 'Face Pancakes'. The owner was a female Clefable. She made the pancakes while Aromatisse accepted the orders.
Unfortunately, the beauty boutique requested too much money for Aromatisse to afford. Her face was still messed up. This made most customers look at her as if she was some sort of monster. The way they avoided eye contact with her, it inflicted deep pain inside her bosom.
Confessional
Aromatisse: "This is why I hate looking ugly. Look at how they treated me. Stupid sports and their facial injuries."
Lucario finally spotted Miltank inside the mall. He motioned for her to follow him to somewhere quiet and private. The two stopped near an abandoned, closed-down store. Apparently, the store-owner failed to pay rent.
"What do you want, Lucario?" Miltank asked, placing her hands on her waist.
"Why did you betray our team? Why did you choose Heracross over us?!" Lucario demanded an answer.
"Why? I'm never in your eyes, Lucario. I like you. You are tough, you aren't afraid to boss others around but Darmanitan is the only one in your eyes. I have done so much for you but I got nothing in return." Miltank answered coldly.
"That's it? You just want my attention? You are jealous of Darmanitan? How foolish!" Lucario lifted Miltank up by her neck with one hand. She didn't seem scared, however.
"I don't need your attention anymore, Lucario. No one needs your attention, even Darmanitan. You are the only one that needs him!" Miltank countered. Lucario fumed, clenching his right fist. His left hand tightened the grip. He throttled her a bit before he threw her away.
Miltank crashed on the ground but she wasn't injured. She slowly lifted herself up and stared at Lucario with disobedient eyes.
"I'm not your teammate as well, Lucario. I will also make sure that Darmanitan isn't." Miltank threatened.
"Enough!" Lucario exploded, he rushed at her with his right fist.
"Exposed. You are one hella good leader. Treating your 'teammates' like this." Miltank said sarcastically and Lucario stopped abruptly mere inches away from her face. Miltank grinned as she walked away slowly, leaving Lucario seethed.
Confessional
Miltank: "Lucario, your reign is over. I will take over the livestock, the barn, everything." She grinned smugly.
Lucario: "I will prove it to them all, I will prove it to them all… that I'm a great leader!" His eyes looked demented.
It was getting late. One hour before the sunset…
Duosion completed her working hours and Grumpig gave her a cup of coffee and one serving of Psycho Churro as promised. The Psycho Churro came with extra chocolate and revitalizing jam.
"My mum prepares the revitalizing jam herself. It makes you more energetic. Perfect for someone who lacks sleep." Grumpig informed. Duosion nodded.
"Please come back again." Grumpig wished.
"I will think about it." Duosion made her answer tentative. As she was about to exit, Grumpig held her back.
"Wait." Grumpig blushed as he held something behind his back. "You are so smart, brave and beautiful. Will you… be my girlfriend?" Grumpig asked her out, showing a churro ring. He was unaware of one important fact.
"Sorry, I already have a boyfriend." Duosion rejected politely. Grumpig gawked, heartbroken.
He started sobbing, snot coming out of his face. Afterwards, he ran inside the door behind the counter. "Mom, I got rejected. My life is over!" Grumpig cried, moping miserably. Duosion cringed and quickly left the café.
Confessional
Duosion: "There is zero percent chance that I'm coming back."
On the airship, there were boxes and boxes of coconut juices. In addition, there was a box of fireworks next to them as well.
Trumbeak, Shedinja and Cryogonal were all inside the captain's cabin. Captain Big Beak sat on his chair while the other two floated in the air.
"Everything is ready except for one thing. I need my old man to see the show. This is the most important job. Can you go to Red Quill's Nest and check for him, Cryogonal?" Trumbeak requested.
"Where is it?" Cryogonal asked.
"Fifth floor of Toucannon Mall." Trumbeak told.
"I won't fail." Cryogonal assured. She glanced at the two and gave each of them an encouraging smile before she left.
Trumbeak looked tense as he turned his chair around and fixed his eyes on the painting.
"Are you nervous?" Shedinja asked.
"Very nervous, aren't you?" Trumbeak asked the same. Shedinja shook his head.
"I guess I'm the only who feels that way." Trumbeak stated, staring at his mother in particular.
"It looks like you need some time alone, I will leave." Shedinja assessed the situation and left. Trumbeak didn't argue with his decision. He actually needed some time alone.
After a while, there was a knock on the door. Trumbeak turned to the voice.
"Trevor, I'm here. Your mother. Can I come in?" Mrs. Toucannon asked.
"Come in, mom." Trumbeak allowed.
The door opened slowly and a female Toucannon entered. She looked exactly like the bird inside the painting. The only difference was her age.
"Thank you for supplying us with everything, mom. I just wish you are there for me… sooner." Trumbeak expressed his disappointment.
"You are all grown-up now. I can't treat you like a hatchling anymore. Besides, we got your sister to take care of." Mrs. Toucannon replied with a hint of guilt in her voice.
"That's all both of you care about, my sister! Am I even your child anymore?" Trumbeak vented off his frustration, turning the chair back toward the painting.
"Trevor, your father… he was very sick when your sister was born. You didn't know the joy in his face when he saw her for the first time of his life. He suddenly got better. I don't want this dispute to curse and tear us apart anymore. So, please forgive all of us after the show's over, alright?" Mrs. Toucannon pleaded.
"That's up to how the old man reacts." Trumbeak said in a detached tone. Mrs. Toucannon frowned slightly.
Confessional
Shedinja: "I'm not nervous. I'm terrified. Trumbeak's fate rests in my hands."
Customers cluttered near Garbodor's stall. Farfetch'd's soufflés were extremely popular right now. Not only because they were delicious, but they were also cheap. Each one costed 20 P.
"I want twenty chocolate soufflés." Hariyama ordered.
"I want ten!" Swinub shouted from the end of the line.
"Give me fifty of those." Swalot showed a 1,000 P coin.
Farfetch'd's struggled to fulfill the demand of his customers. Eventually, he raised the price to 30 P. There were still a lot of customers. He raised it to 50 P. The line still stretched for quite a while. Some customers even bribed other customers to skip ahead of the line. God!
In the end, he was forced to close the shop down.
"Mr. Stalk apologizes for any inconvenience. We are out of stock. No more soufflés can be made." Farfetch'd bowed his head down. The customers complained among themselves as the line dispersed.
Garbodor drooled as he gazed upon his riches. Today, he earned a total of 30,000 P worth of profit.
"Thank you, Farfetch'd for everything. For teaching me the recipe and turn me into a better cook. Thank you, thank you, thank you…" Garbodor thanked profusely. He then lifted up 15,000 P for Farfetch'd to take.
"Mr. Stalk wants you to keep the money. Five-stars restaurant pay more than that. It is his decision, not mine." Farfetch'd refused to accept it.
"Thank you, Mr. Stalk. Thank you, thank you…" Garbodor repeated the same word over and over again for Mr. Stalk as well. Farfetch'd sweat dropped.
"Before you leave, both of you, I got a present. Ta-da!" Garbodor showed his newly improved special delicacy. It was a green tea soufflé.
"Mr. Stalk knows someone who will like this." Farfetch'd accepted the gift.
"From this point onwards, I'm now the Gastro Green Soufflé." Garbodor changed his nickname dramatically.
Farfetch'd smiled as he held Mr. Stalk close to him. The professional chef then left the stall. However, he immediately witnessed something horrible.
Meowth strode jubilantly as he dragged a cart of local delicacies behind him. The businessman helped so many stalls that he lost count. Imminent victory should only be ahead of him, that's what he thought.
"Munchlax, we got some money, see? You improve the hygiene of your store and suddenly, there are customers." Dedenne taught Munchlax an important lesson.
"Yeah. You can have all the pancakes you want." Munchlax offered generously.
"I will take one." Dedenne was being very fair toward Munchlax. She packaged the pancake with a smile until she saw Meowth checking their stall.
"My, only one measly pancake? The future is dark for you, Dedenne. How about I help you? Sausages, sushi?" Meowth showed off.
"No way that I'm accepting your ill-gained delicacies, Meowth." Dedenne rejected with a frown.
Meowth gasped as he covered his mouth. "Such strong accusations, Dedenne. I earned them within fair share of my rights." Meowth assured, faking a charming smile.
"As if I will believe you, dirty, little businessman." Dedenne degraded.
Meowth scowled at her as he left with his cart of goods.
Dedenne looked satisfied with the outcome until… Lucario sprinted at her with a bottle of meat sauce. He opened the cap and aimed for the pancake.
Munchlax cowered in fear as Dedenne trembled. Lucario struck as fast as lightning, ruining the pancake with an overflowing amount of meat sauce.
"You jerk!" Dedenne yelled.
Farfetch'd witnessed what happened and came to the rescue.
"As a professional chef, Mr. Stalk discourages any sabotage, especially against well-made food." Farfetch'd proclaimed. The duck tried to pull Lucario back from doing any damage but…
Farfetch'd became the second victim instead.
Lucario took the green tea soufflé by force and dumped the rest of the meat sauce on it. Lucario was shameless, he felt no guilt at all. This wasn't against the rules. He wouldn't be disqualified.
"Lucario, if you don't win immunity today, you are gone." Dedenne said with spite as she left. Farfetch'd shook his head in disapproval with a mean glare before he left as well.
Darmanitan watched all of this with depression.
Confessional
Farfetch'd: "How unprofessional. Mr. Stalk has never seen someone so cutthroat in a kitchen before, even with years of experience. Is this how you play in the Pokeathlon? I hope you are proud of yourself, Lucario. Your fans sure won't."
Dedenne: "I'm tired of all this cheating and drama! It is just too much for me. First Grovyle, now Lucario." She sobbed.
Lucario: "I'm only doing this against the other team. I'm helping my team to win. That's my job as the leader." He was lost in the deep end.
Darmanitan: "Homie…"
Heracross walked over to collect her delicacy from Dhelmise. However, she was shocked to see black, rotten oysters. The sauce was still perfect but it wasn't enough of a saving grace.
"Minior, you will pay for tricking me!" Dhelmise shouted as he headed straight for the meteor Pokemon.
Heracross groaned as she took the black rotten oysters. At least, she got something.
On the other side…
"Dhelmise!" Minior headed for the anchor Pokemon as well. The sauce was poisonous, greasy and vile. It dripped all over his perfect oysters.
Miltank groaned as well, taking the inedible oysters.
The two met halfway and started insulting each other.
"Minior, you impudent child! Respect your elders." Dhelmise scolded.
"Dhelmise, you old geezer! Respect the next generation!" Minior countered.
"Minior, you are a coward. You need Shields Down to win fights." Dhelmise mocked.
"Dhelmise, you pathetic seaweed. You need an anchor look tough." Minior returned the favor.
The two continued the exchange for a while until a firework appeared on the sky.
Confessional
Heracross: "Great, those two tricked each other and I'm screwed because of them. When will I get an immunity win?"
As the six exited 'Lavishing Love', the two dense dudes separated with the group. Not before they waved at their girlfriends, of course.
Flona and Lapiz glared at Hickery-o immediately after the two were out of sight.
"You lied, don't you? Elionose or this random Nosepass isn't your boyfriend!" Flona accused, pointing threateningly.
"Totally, did you think that we are stupid?" Lapiz questioned angrily, raising her chin up.
"He is really my boyfriend." Hickery-o kept this pretense going, trying to look serious by stressing her eyes.
"Tell me, Nosepass. Where does she live? Don't intervene, Hickery-o." Flona tested.
Nosepass sweated his bullets as he struggled to answer. He glanced at Hickery-o, who only looked down on the ground.
"Maybe Lesteel?" Nosepass guessed randomly, shrugging.
"Wrong! Lesteel is extremely far away from Toucannon Island. What makes you think that? Your answer is also vague. You guessed with the name of a main land." Lapiz criticized.
"I'm sorry! She promised to pay me if I lie!" Nosepass threw her under the bus out of fear.
Hickery-o widened her eyes. She didn't expect Nosepass to submit to them so easily.
"Pathetic. See? You can't find a boyfriend even if you pay them millions and millions of P. You are one ugly, scaly Pokemon. Just admit it." Flona sneered. Hickery-o averted her eyes.
"You will be even uglier when you are a Kommo-o. Might as well stay this way forever." Lapiz suggested coldly. Hickery-o clenched her fists. However, she didn't harm them. This Hakamo-o cleary had more self control than a certain 'professional' athlete. Nosepass only observed the situation like a passive observer.
How ironic, he became a coward because no one helped him. In the end, he was no better than his parents, or his teachers. He idly stared as the two girls bullied the one who paid for his food.
Nosepass remembered something else as well…
He lost Rhyhorn because he didn't take the escalator. He hated it, he despised it. His cowardice.
"Stop!" The three girls turned to him. "You two are so mean. Is this how you normally treat your friends and boyfriends?! Yes, she might look ugly to you because the outside is what matters the most to you narrow-minded freaks. I don't care about any of that. I just want someone strong that can protect me. To me, she is the most beautiful Pokemon in this world. Even if we aren't a couple before. We are now." Nosepass finished and took Hickery-o left hand by force as he left. She looked touched. The way Nosepass asserted himself and grabbed her hand… It left a lasting impression, a lingering sensation inside her.
Lapiz and Flona stood there, dumb-struck. They got burned by Nosepass out of all Pokemon. Their lips pressed and their faces strained. In a petty fit of rage, they turned around in a huff.
After the two mean girls were out of their sight, Nosepass let go of her hand. He then quivered.
"Are you going to beat me up because I told them everything?" Nosepass was still the same good old coward, shutting his eyes tightly for no good reason. A coward that suddenly became brave then reverted back to his unattractive former self soon after. Nosepass lacked that confidence. He believed that all of his bravery acts were just flukes.
"Ridiculous! No one has ever done something like this for me before. I-I appreciate it so much." Hickery-o blushed deeply. Nosepass aroused great joy inside her.
"Really?" Nosepass slowly opened his eyes. Hickery-o nodded. She then quickly grabbed his left hand.
"Let me thank you for what you did. I will buy you my favorite delicacy." Hickery-o said eagerly, she didn't wait for his response. Rather, she pulled him over to the escalator right away. Nosepass' worst nightmare. He resisted immediately.
"No, not the escalator!" Nosepass squeaked. Hickery-o faced him with a confused expression.
"What's wrong?" She asked with concern.
"I'm scared of… escalators." Nosepass confessed in an embarrassed tone, looking away in shame.
Hickery-o eyed him with sympathy but a smirk quickly replaced it. "Let me help you face your fear." She tugged his hand forward and hopped on the escalator. Adrenaline rushed down Nosepass' body.
The coward expected the pain of tumbling down the escalator. His poor body would collide against the rough surface, making him howl in agony. Then, he would be transported to a hospital, removed from the game. Who will pay for the medical bills? He thought.
In reality, he landed safely. His heart skipped a beat as his feet found the right balance on the escalator. The way the escalator gradually descended down overflowed his body with joy. It made him feel like an angel descending down from the heavens. It made him feel invincible. For the first time in the seventeen years of his life, he took the escalator.
"I'm safe?" Nosepass doubted the reality, looking around for any signs of injuries.
"Yes, silly Nosepass." Hickery-o assured. "It doesn't look scary now, isn't it?"
Nosepass tightened his grip on her hand. Hickery-o understood Nosepass more and more, every second she spent time with him. Nosepass was insecure like an abandoned child that never received that helping hand. He was haunted by his fears, alone. No one gave him the support. Consequently, he learned the only defensive mechanism the world taught him.
'Prioritize yourself over others. Do whatever it takes to survive even betraying what little friends you have.'
"Nosepass, what is really your name?" Hickery-o spoke up after a while. They were on the second floor now.
"Um, I can't really tell you." Nosepass remembered what Skarmory said.
"Oh, alright." Hickery-o seemed disappointed. The two took the escalator again. Nosepass was still hesitant but he eventually did it after several deep breaths. A few Pokemon behind them complained.
"How about your age?" Hickery-o asked something else. She wanted to know more about him.
"Seventeen." Nosepass told truthfully. He didn't see any reason to hide that. The coward was younger than most contestants. Although, a few like Tyrunt was younger than him.
"Nice, you are only two years younger than me." Hickery-o commented, revealing her age.
Hickery-o noticed that Nosepass was unusually quiet. Every time she talked to him, his replies were short, simple and straight to the point. Something was on his mind.
"We compliment each other well, you know? When you evolve into a Probopass, you can fend off fairy types for me while I take care of fighting and ground types for you." Hickery-o pointed out. Nosepass merely nodded. He was lost in thought. She frowned at this.
"I'm sorry but I need to go now. I need to find someone." Nosepass released her hand. Hickery-o forced a small acknowledging smile on her face.
"I understand. Just wait here for a moment. I will bring a treat back to you really quick." Hickery-o gestured for him to stay near the entrance of the mall as she ran out to a stall. It was pretty far away, right around the middle of lower Toucannon Beak.
Nosepass looked around, tapping his feet to pass some time. He dodged to the left slightly to not obstruct the entrance.
Hickery-o soon returned. "Here you go." She delivered him a chocolate crepe, it got extra cream and Oran Berries inside. Nosepass accepted it, holding the wrapping paper around it.
Hickery-o scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "I want to pay you with real money but you ordered too much. Sorry." Hickery-o apologized.
"It's okay." Nosepass didn't mind it. He started snacking on the crepe right away. (What about the challenge? The crepe was a present from his 'potential girlfriend' for god's sake. If you are Nosepass, will you give it to Skarmory?)
"I need to go now." Nosepass bid his farewell, waving to her before he continued to search for Rhyhorn. Hickery-o got a bittersweet smile on her face.
Snacking deeper through the crepe, Nosepass saw something hidden inside the wrapping paper. It was her phone number, redacted to protect her privacy. (Kudos to Skarmory for being professional.)
Confessional
Nosepass: "She wants to continue being in a relationship with me? A coward like me? I actually didn't mean it when I said we are a couple… Maybe, we really are a couple now." Nosepass' face turned pink.
The firework show started. Blazing flames lit the sky, capturing the attention of everyone. Stall owners and visitors alike headed to the Toucannon Tongue to witness the spectacle. The contestants did the same. Most of them finished their tasks already. However, Rhyhorn was still missing.
High into the sky was an airship. Trumbeak held his megaphone to announce something. He donned his usual pirate uniform. Eyepatch… A hat with a skull design, red quill hanging out… A fancy pirate shirt with cuffs… Golden toggle chain…
"It be a perfect day, mateys of Toucannon Island. For plunderin' and treasure huntin'. Me, Captain Big Beak be sellin' drinks. Buy more and more, put a smile on me face. Then, ye enjoy the show more and more. Ye ready for some keelhaulin' and pirate battles?!" Trumbeak stimulated the crowd, encouraging a wild reaction as he flapped his wings in an upward motion.
Wild cheers and cries were heard as everyone was excited for the show. Mrs. Toucannon opened a coconut juice stall in the center of the dock. This attracted many thirsty customers. Behind the stall were several giant treasure chests. What could possibly be inside?
"Let the show begins!" Trumbeak initiated things by firing off a cannon into the air, alongside multiple fireworks. They all exploded and formed a skull shape smoke in the air, increasing the excitement of the audience. Trumbeak threw the megaphone away. He got an earpiece that connected to the speakers near the dock. Shedinja as well.
"Captain Big Beak be the most notorious and dirty pirate of Toucannon Island. He be rich!" Trumbeak kicked a treasure chest filled with chocolate coins down the airship. They all scattered as the audience fought for them.
"He be strong and powerful!" Trumbeak lifted his cutlass up and multiple side cannons fired. The crowd screamed.
"Hell yeah, awesome!" Heracross threw her fists into the air.
"Best of all, me beak be loud-" Trumbeak got cut off by a certain ghost bug.
"And raucous." Shedinja added monotonously. The crowd turned to face him as he floated right in front of the ship with a wooden sword.
"I'm Captain Monotone Mouth. I want your blissful beak of a real pirate. I shall sever it off your face and the power of pirate speech shall be mine." Shedinja drawled in a threatening manner. While his tone was certainly not enthusiastic, he succeeded in creating a dark tone for himself.
"In yars dream, scurvy dog! Ye challenge me, ye pay with yars life!" Trumbeak flew ahead and struck Shedinja with his cutlass. The ghost bug blocked it lazily.
"Enough talking, Trumpet Beak, we fight." Shedinja catalyzed the action. This was the moment the crowd was waiting for.
Shedinja nodded at Trumbeak determinedly, signaling the message. Trumbeak understood it very well that they must succeed at all costs.
Failure was unacceptable.
Shedinja knocked Trumbeak back with a diagonal strike. The bird landed on the forecastle deck and positioned his sword in a guard position. The bug floated in swiftly and performed a powerful vertical slash, pushing the cutlass down. Trumbeak gritted his beak. With a determined grunt, he tried to push his sword back up only for Shedinja to slam his chest with the hilt of his wooden sword. Trumbeak got pushed back to the rails of the deck.
The crowd gasped. How could a wooden sword be this strong? The show was obviously scripted but most of them didn't know that Trumbeak went easy on Shedinja.
"Boo! Destroy Shedinja! Get him, Captain Big Beak." Heracross cheered.
"Just warmin' up. Time for the eight deadly strokes of death!" Trumbeak announced. He jumped straight at Shedinja for a vertical strike. Shedinja parried it but Trumbeak spun midair to the side for a sneaky upwards diagonal strike. Wonder Guard nullified the attack but the pirate didn't give up yet.
Trumbeak struck twice quickly in a horizontal motion from right to left, left to right. Shedinja easily blocked it by holding his sword straight and followed Trumbeak's sword movements.
Trumbeak thrust his sword forward but Shedinja merely floated to the side.
The sixth stroke was a high-level horizontal strike, Trumbeak knocked Shedinja's wooden weapon away successfully. He went in for a stab and then a powerful spin attack. Both attacks failed because of Wonder Guard. Trumbeak sweated heavily. Shedinja was invulnerable, what was he supposed to do? The crowd spectated attentively, curiosity burning in their eyes.
Shedinja quickly retrieved his sword. "Tired yet?" He seemed bored.
"Captain Big Beak, nay ne'er exhausted!" Trumbeak went in for a desperation attack. Shedinja smirked as he vanished with Phantom Force. He appeared behind his back and slashed diagonally. Trumbeak yelped in pain as the attack connected. Shedinja relentlessly struck again, this time knocking him down the forecastle deck. Trumbeak had a rough landing with his back on the main deck. His cutlass pierced the wooden board close to him.
"Who are ye?" Trumbeak panted as he tried to get up only to fall back down.
"Your mere mortal attacks aren't a match for me for I'm already dead. I'm the legendary pirate of one hundred years ago. The great captain who commands a crew of formidable pirates. The one who got everything but the voice of a pirate, Captain Monotone Mouth." Shedinja explained as he flew over to the steering wheel.
"I shall plunge you into the sea of darkness and then sever your beak off!" Shedinja threatened aggressively as he dived the ship down.
Trumbeak looked down at the crowd with pleading eyes. Most of them looked at him with sympathy. They cheered for Trumbeak because he was the underdog in this fight. The viewers all thought that this was the climax. In reality, it was just the beginning. Everything went according to the plan so far…
"I need yars help, blast me power-ups!" Trumbeak begged the audience as he pushed the giant cannon down the airship with his last remaining strength. The cannon landed safely on the shallow sea next to Toucannon Tongue as planned. Therefore, it wouldn't accidentally smash someone's head to bits.
Shedinja stopped the ship momentarily, pretending to be confused.
What power-ups? Well…
"Blast mysterious power-ups to help Captain Big Beak. Each present box costs 1,000 P!" Mrs. Toucannon pitched, opening the giant chests. There were numerous present boxes inside, varying in sizes.
"I want three! For Captain Big Beak!" Garbodor announced loudly, having more than enough money to waste. He paid 3,000 P and quickly shoved one small present box and two large ones inside the cannon. He lighted it up quickly and fired. Many cheered for his generosity.
Shedinja quickly directed the airship down, trying to drown Trumbeak. The present boxes exploded mid-air. The small one got three Leppa Berries and two Sitrus Berries. The other two got a boomerang and a wooden shield.
Trumbeak instantly ate all the berries, recovering his strength and flew over to Shedinja with his newly-acquired boomerang and wooden shield. The boomerang was crafted to deal flying type damage.
The bowsprit nearly submerged under the depths of the sea. Luckily, Shedinja was alarmed by the boomerang and ditched the steering wheel before the ship sank.
Trumbeak threw the boomerang and Shedinja ducked. The boomerang missed but it soon returned. However, it hit the wooden mast and got stuck. Trumbeak hurriedly flew over to retrieve it but Shedinja intercepted. The bug swung his sword at him. The wooden shield protected Trumbeak but it got knocked off the airship. Shedinja and Trumbeak exchanged an eye contact.
They wanted to drag this battle as long as possible before sunset.
Confessional
Shedinja: "Cryogonal, please hurry up."
Cryogonal reached Red Quill's Nest. The entrance got blocked off by two red, giant grand doors. The door handles were designed to look like a bird's nest. A male Talonflame stood guard, holding a fake lance. He wore a fiery, red knight armor. Was this a restaurant or a castle?
"Excuse me, can I go and see Mr. Toucannon inside?" Cryogonal asked politely.
"Your reservation?" Talonflame asked.
"Err, I got none." Cryogonal answered.
"Then, please wait for another five hours." Talonflame told, checking a list. He was just doing his job.
"Can't it be faster?" Cryogonal complained. The Talonflame shook his head.
Cryogonal frowned. This wasn't going to be easy. She needed to come up with an idea. Bribing? She doubted it. Not like she got any money with her anyways. Forcing her way in? He was a fire type. Surely, that was a bad idea.
The Talonflame brushed dust off his knight armor, preening himself. Perhaps…
Cryogonal smirked as she got an idea. She left momentarily to a popcorn shop near the movies. No one was there, they all left for the show. Perfect. She sneaked inside and stole a cup of soda pop.
Cryogonal then returned and acted natural, drinking the soda. However, when she got close to the Talonflame, she intentionally spilled it on his armor.
"Hey!" Talonflame looked annoyed.
"Oops, sorry." Cryogonal whistled innocently. Talonflame groaned as he went to the restrooms to clean up the mess.
Cryogonal floated comfortably inside, trying to act like she got a reservation so none of the staff members grew suspicious.
The interior of the restaurant was majestic. Floors were plated with top quality wood seamlessly. The walls were red and shiny. The chairs were all designed like throne chairs of kings and queens. The tables were decorated with red quills, hence the name of the restaurant.
Mr. Toucannon sat with his daughter, enjoying their food together. Cryogonal approached them.
"Who are you?" Mr. Toucannon raised his brows.
"I'm a friend of your son. You need to come with me." Cryogonal said urgently.
"Why? How can I trust you? Lastly, why should I care about what the hell my disobedient son is doing?" Mr. Toucannon refused. "I want to enjoy my time with my daughter."
"Indeed." Pikipek agreed, nodding.
"Because he is your son! Don't you care about him? You need to go with me, right now." Cryogonal ran out of her patience. It was getting late. She didn't have much time left.
"I don't care. I will call the guards." Mr. Toucannon threatened. However, Cryogonal wasn't about to deal with his crap. She kidnapped him with her snow chains and stormed out of the restaurant.
"Guards!" Mr. Toucannon alerted, resisting to no avail. He wasn't much of a fighter. He couldn't even use Beak Blast.
The Talonflame heard his voice and started chasing Cryogonal immediately, alongside Pikipek.
"Hurry up! Save my father." Pikipek hastened and Talonflame nodded. He used Flame Charge to build up his speed. Flames consumed him as he rushed toward Cryogonal.
The snowflake Pokemon floated down the mall, glancing behind her swiftly to see the Talonflame catching up fast. Luckily, Rhyhorn was nearby on the fourth floor. He was pacing around aimlessly.
"Rhyhorn, help!" Cryogonal shouted desperately as she floated past him. "That freak is trying to hurt us." She wrapped Toucannon's beak to prevent him from talking. Mr. Toucannon's eyes showed signs of fear. Talonflame was getting closer, pointing the lance at Cryogonal.
Rhyhorn evaluated the situation and faced the Talonflame. "I won't let you hurt them." He rammed straight at the bird. Because he was too fast, Talonflame couldn't change his direction.
"Ouch!" He yelled in pain as Rhyhorn dealt major damage, penetrating through his armor. Cryogonal grinned as she floated down to the first floor.
"W-ere ar- t-e oth- gu-rds?" Mr. Toucannon wondered in a muffled voice.
A Hitmontop and a Hawlucha were currently watching the show, drinking coconut juices. They wore black glasses.
"Did someone call for us?" Hawlucha got a weird hunch.
"Nah, man. Just your imagination." Hitmontop shrugged it off. "Let's help young master to win this." He suggested, taking a 1,000 P coin out. Hawlucha did the same.
Heracross and Miltank sat on both Dhelmise and Minior respectively.
"Help, she is so heavy. Argh!" Minior screamed in pain as Miltank punched him.
"Don't you dare insult my weight." Miltank shook her right fist threateningly. "Got it?!" Minior gulped.
"Hey, you two got some money? Pay us 1,000 P and we will let you two go." Heracross offered.
"I only have 500 P." Dhelmise told.
"I got 500 P as well." Minior said the same. Heracross snatched both of their coins and left with Miltank. The two groaned as they cursed under their breath.
Heracross bought a giant present box and shot it at Trumbeak. "Beat Shedinja up!"
The airship was filled with weapon and items. Rocks, flaming torches, berries, swords of various kinds…
However, Trumbeak got knocked down on the ground even with all the items. He struggled to get up, trying to use a long steel sword to support him but failed. Luckily, a box of Sitrus Berries landed in front of him. Trumbeak slowly chewed the healing items and got up, as good as new.
Currently, Shedinja piloted the boat down at the sea. Of course, the boat could stay afloat (common sense). All those drowning threats were just lies to make things more intense for the viewers.
"Give up, now?" Shedinja asked.
"No!" Trumbeak refused, glancing at the audience. He wasn't trying to see their reactions. Rather, he wanted to find his old man. He wasn't there yet.
The sun descended from the sky, shining its orange light upon Toucannon Island. The orange light symbolized vulnerability and exhaustion. Even celestial bodies needed rest. The sunset proved that. It was about to head off to sleep. This was their last opportunity. Trumbeak got his responsibility as Skarmory's intern. He couldn't prolong the fight any longer.
A present box that Heracross bought arrived in front of him. It exploded and revealed itself.
A long, pure silver blade with a curved, sharp edge. The hilt was decorated by tufts of black feathers.
The mythical, legendary Toucannon Sword. The most durable and powerful of all flying type weapons.
"This be Captain Big Beak's last stand." Trumbeak lifted the sword up and tried to get a comfortable grip.
"Your head will fall off where you stand!" Shedinja lifted a stone sword that he stole from Trumbeak up and rushed at him.
Trumbeak flew up with the legendary sword. The two traded blows mid-air. Neither of them got hurt.
Shedinja vanished using Phantom Force. Skillfully, Trumbeak turned around with great agility and blocked the attack. Shedinja vanished and appeared behind his back again. Trumbeak performed a spin attack mid-flight to intercept the attack. Trumbeak then flew up the crow's nest and braced himself for Shedinja's next move.
Shedinja never felt this thrilled and excited before in his life. He felt exhilarated. Feelings rushed back into him.
"Sever!" Shedinja shouted excitedly as he clashed swords with Trumbeak. The finale was edging closer and closer. He couldn't wait for it any longer. He vanished…
Shedinja reappeared above Trumbeak and thrust his stone sword down. Trumbeak sidestepped, making Shedinja missed. The bug stabbed the sword deep into the crow's nest and couldn't get it out.
Trumbeak ascended to the sky as the sun descended. He then dived down for a finishing blow…
Shedinja wasn't scared at all. He welcomed it. The agonizing feeling of defeat…
The intern gently knocked Shedinja's head with the sword and he fainted. Heracross groaned in disappointment. She expected something more torturous than this.
The audience cheered, entertained by the exceptional show.
"That's my son!" Mr. Toucannon shouted. Apparently, Cryogonal brought him just in time to see the finale. The Toucannon was overjoyed by the amount of sales. They earned over 50,000 P within a duration of an hour. Even though it was debatable whether or not he cared more about money than his son…
He uttered those words. Trumbeak never heard them before. Tears started falling from his eyes.
"Dad!" He quickly flew down to see the Toucannon. They reunited in a touching reunion.
"You should do something like this more often. Imagine how much more popular Toucannon Island will be." Mr. Toucannon encouraged, placing his wings on Trumbeak's shoulders.
"Brother, you should!" Pikipek supported the idea as well.
"I guess I'm back in the family now, right?" Trumbeak stared at his father with pained eyes. They held back so much agony and misery. Mrs. Toucannon glared at her husband critically and he sighed.
"Son, I'm truly sorry for what I did. Sometimes, I never really see you eye to eye. Sometimes, all I see is Toucannon Island and its blinding beauty. I should accept you the way you are no matter what but I failed as a father figure. I'm sorry." Mr. Toucannon held his head down and apologized.
"It's okay, dad. It's okay." Trumbeak cried tears of joy. His father cried as well.
"What a happy reunion." Shedinja commented as he floated to them for a closer look, Cryogonal was behind him. Apparently, she was the one who revived him.
"You two helped my son, thank you. How should I reward both of you?" Mr. Toucannon asked.
The two eyed each other, having the same idea.
Confessional
Shedinja: "Looks like we might win immunity, after all." He lifted up a plastic bag with a mysterious item inside.
Cryogonal: "I don't know what is inside but Skarmory should like it. They don't recommend us to open it just yet." She got the same plastic bag.
Trumbeak quitted being an intern. Skarmory received a quick call from Mr. Toucannon and didn't seem to mind it. The boy wanted to spend more time with his family, after all.
The Talonflame piloted the airship back to Skarmory Island instead. He occasionally gave Rhyhorn a nasty glare. Along the way…
"Team, I want to give each of you a meat skewer. I'm confident that this is Skarmory's favorite delicacy." Lucario got enough meat skewers to distribute to everyone on his team.
However, none of his teammates wanted it.
"We know what you did to Farfetch'd and Dedenne, Lucario." Duosion eyed him coldly.
"Very, very comtemptible." Scolipede loathed Lucario. Miltank smiled at how they reacted.
Lucario looked furious. "Fine, none of you need to win! Darmanitan-" He was interrupted by none other than his fanboy.
"Homie, I like my yogurt." Darmanitan averted his eyes. Lucario couldn't believe it. Even Darmanian… left him? He was helping his team. What did he do wrong?
On the other hand, Nosepass approached Rhyhorn.
"Big brother, where are you the entire time? I'm worried." Nosepass asked with concern.
"…" Rhyhorn was silent. He just turned away and left Nosepass.
Nosepass reached his right hand out, signaling for him to come back but… it didn't work.
Duosion observed the situation. She didn't tell anyone about what Rhyhorn did yet. The psychic didn't want to worsen the situation.
Confessional
Nosepass: "Why? Rhyhorn, big brother… I'm not mad about what you did. Please come back to me."
Duosion: "For my own safety reasons, I should keep quiet about this for a while. Perhaps, it was just a one-time incident that we should forever banish in the past as history."
Dedenne: 'I hate Lucario. I hate Skrelp. I hate Meowth. I hate Miltank. I'm tired of the contestants here."
Lucario: "This must be some kind of sick joke. I did nothing wrong." He was in denial.
The contestants arrived at the beach area as the airship forever departed Skarmory Island. Miltank and Heracross forgot about the advantage completely.
"One less intern, one less contestant. Let's see who won't be that contestant." Skarmory said, walking to Heracross first. He eyed her delicacy and covered his mouth with his wings.
"Try it, it might be good." Heracross encouraged. Obviously, Skarmory didn't bother tasting the two oyster dishes.
He ate the churro from Duosion and commented that it was fine. He appreciated the coffee though.
He commented that Bisharp's burger was a bit too oily and bland.
The host appreciated that Aromatisse got a pancake in the shape of his face but that didn't earn her any bonus points.
Skarmory hated Darmanitan's yogurt. He criticized it because it was frozen solid. Darmanitan scratched his head, looking apologetic.
Skarmory checked Drifblim's pumpkin next. "Steel gummies, as if you can win with a cheap trick like this." He shook his head in disapproval.
"Hey, gummies make you smarter." Drifblim argued.
"Yeah, as if I believe that. It has been scientifically proven otherwise." Skarmory didn't buy it. Drifblim grumbled as Skarmory rated it below average.
He tasted Dedenne next with a revolted expression. "Too much meat sauce." Skarmory commented.
"Yeah, because of someone around here." Dedenne glared at Lucario.
Skarmory walked over to Farfetch'd next with high expectations. However, he was disappointed to eat something with an overabundant amount of meat sauce again.
"Farfetch'd, the soufflé is very good. I never heard of this delicacy in Toucannon Island before but it might be my new favorite. Sadly, the meat sauce ruins it." Skarmory shook his head in disapproval. Farfetch'd and Mr. Stalk glared at Lucario.
Rhyhorn was next. The host was surprised that he got nothing.
"Alright, I will move on." Skarmory skipped to Nosepass. He was enjoying his crepe as of right now.
"Can I taste some, Nosepass?" Skarmory reached his wings out to grab it but Nosepass quickly moved it out of his reach.
"It is mine. I won't even give you the wrapping paper." Nosepass said stingily. Skarmory looked disheartened.
"Fine, Nosepass, play it that way. I don't even deserve the wrapping paper. Man, my self-esteem has gone down." Skarmory suffered quietly. Drifblim gave him a mocking smile.
Skarmory walked with low expectations to Ledyba and Scolipede next. The two gave him their slices of pizza.
"Not bad. You two are in the lead." Skarmory said to their delight.
Next, everyone anticipated Skarmory's reaction as Meowth prepared a feast table for him.
"Bon appetite." Meowth saluted. "My dear customer, choose whatever you want." He guided Skarmory around, informing him about each delicacy.
Skarmory seemed a bit impressed.
"Meowth, it is great and all that you got so much food for me…" Meowth smiled as he heard his critic. "…but quality over quantity. None of this really stands out to me. You are still behind Ledyba and Scolipede." Meowth's left eye twitched, gaping in disbelief. Dedenne seemed content at the result.
Shedinja and Cryogonal were next. They opened their plastic bags to see… meat skewers. Drifblim was shocked.
"I got them as well." Lucario showed Skarmory his bag of meat skewers, glancing at his team coldly.
Skarmory decided to judge the three of them at once. He ate three meat skewers in total, one from each of them. The taste was exactly the same. Nostalgia overwhelmed his eyes.
"Lucario, Cryogonal and Shedinja, all of you are winners of this challenge." Skarmory announced. He sounded natural and looked quite normal. In actuality, he suppressed the great joy inside his heart, refraining from crying in front of the contestants.
Confessional
Lucario: "They are all stupid for not listening to me!"
Duosion: "I don't want to win if it means that I need to accept his dirty meat skewer."
Miltank: "Maybe I should take his meat skewer. Meh, not like I need the immunity anyways."
Meowth: "Time to take charge as the boss around here. If I can't win the challenge, I will win the elimination."
Bisharp: "Looks like we can't all vote for Lucario. An interesting change of plans."
Shedinja met Cryogonal once again in the grassy clearing with the giant tree.
"You got great sword skills, you know?" Cryogonal complimented. "Maybe, you can find a job with it."
Shedinja chuckled. "Maybe you are right… Cryogonal… I want to say… thank you. Thank you for… everything." He said gratefully, albeit many pauses. His voice changed entirely. He didn't drawl or talk in an emotionless manner.
Cryogonal thought she was dreaming. Did she hear that right?
"Did you say thank you?" Cryogonal was unconfident in her hearing abilities.
"Yep. I never really say that until now. Just want to get it out of my chest." Shedinja assured and Cryogonal smiled.
Confessional
Cryogonal: "He is getting better. I think he is no longer the old Shedinja."
Meowth met up with Lucario in the forest area. The professional athlete looked relieved that at the very least Meowth was still in his good graces.
"I assure you that I'm on your side. However, I can't make it obvious." Meowth reassured. "Stay quiet for a while and let me take charge."
"Perfect, Meowth. Just like you said, I can only trust you, Darmanitan and Shedinja. I will make sure the rest crawl back to me like the little losers they are. Lead the way, Meowth. We will show them all!" Lucario kept echoing his words to himself. Meowth purchased an echo chamber for the poor guy, gaining his vote for tonight.
Confessional
Meowth: "Lucario, I'm not really on your side. Just PR talk."
Lucario: "See? I did nothing wrong. I got Darmanitan who idolizes me, I got Meowth who understands me and I got Shedinja who helps me. Everyone else is just stupid and blind. They don't see their perfect leader!"
Duosion, Aromatisse, Scolipede, Ledyba, Shedinja and Cryogonal were inside the mess hall together. Meowth and Drifblim soon joined their conversation.
"I suggest that we eliminate Darmanitan. He is too obedient and loyal to Lucario." Duosion proposed Darmanitan as the alternative choice.
"I agree. I don't exactly trust him either." Scolipede supported.
"Homie boy can go." Shedinja said with more enthusiasm than usual. Cryogonal looked really surprised.
"Are you sure about this? He is nice." Ledyba disagreed and the other members turned to look at her with concern, especially Scolipede.
"What's wrong with me voicing my own opinion?" Ledyba looked uncomfortable.
"Nothing is wrong with that but we should go with the majority. If we don't get rid of Darmanitan, he will surely turn against us." Scolipede tried to change her mind.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Darmanitan opened the door slowly and entered with his head down.
"Homies, I want to apologize for what Lucario did. The homie can sometimes be too overcompetitive. I understand if all of you want to vote me out. I'm his fanboy after all so no hard feelings, alright?" Darmanitan gave them a sheepish grin as he left.
"I feel bad. Can't we go for Heracross instead?" Ledyba was really conflicted.
"I disagree. Statistically, Darmanitan has a higher chance of winning this game than Heracross." Duosion objected.
The discussion was a mess. The group couldn't reach a general consensus. Some wanted to vote for Heracross. Some wanted to vote for Darmanitan.
Confessional
Miltank: "I got my eyes on someone that annoys me for ages."
Heracross: "Miltank said that if I vote with her this time, we can vote for Shedinja next."
Meowth: "I manage to convince Drifblim, Ledyba and Darmanitan to vote for someone, perfect."
Shedinja: "Honestly, I think I might vote for Heracross."
Drifblim: "I will listen to Meowth for now, let him take charge."
Ledyba: "I trust Meowth's judgement. I managed to convince Scolipede to vote with me as well."
Scolipede: "Ledyba trusts Meowth too much. I don't feel comfortable about this."
Skarmory seemed to be in a hurry as he threw the Leppa Berries to Lucario, Cryogonal and Shedinja right away before they even got to their seats.
"What's the matter with you today?" Drifblim asked, wondering what's wrong with the host again.
"I have an appointment with someone." Skarmory answered vaguely.
"Who? Chef Drapion?" Drifblim assumed, giving him a mocking smile.
"You don't need to know." Skarmory parried the question.
Once everyone arrived, Skarmory gave the berries out right away without any redundant explanation.
"Bisharp"
"Aromatisse"
"Rhyhorn" He didn't move a muscle. Nosepass looked extremely worried about him.
"Nosepass" He put the berry away, not feeling hungry.
"Ledyba"
"Scolipede"
"Drifblim"
"Farfetch'd"
"Duosion"
"Miltank"
"Meowth" Dedenne didn't look satisfied.
"Heracross, you are a physical threat but you will stay for now." Heracross sneered at Shedinja, believing that he was the only Pokemon that voted for her.
"Darmanitan and Dedenne. Both of you have your flaws. Darmanitan, you are too loyal to Lucario. I doubt that anyone wants to keep you around." Skarmory commented. Darmanitan sighed with his head down.
"Dedenne, your attitude can really be annoying. You like to complain about businesses and fairness in general. The eliminated contestant is…" Skarmory built up suspense.
…
…
…
…
…
"Dedenne." This generated shocked reactions from certain contestants.
Elimination Confessional
What? Where is fairness in this show? Why did they choose to eliminate someone like me over Heracross? I'm done with this show. I'm leaving for good. If there is still any good and fairness left in the world, Farfetch'd deserves to win. Lucario deserves to lose.
Dedenne quickly left to the dock. There were contestants there to see her off. Two to be exact.
"Mr. Stalk wants you to have a good trip. You played fair and square, Dedenne. Even though you sided with Grovyle for a long time, we know that you did it out of good intentions." Farfetch'd waved with Mr. Stalk.
"Have a safe journey and greet Jumpluff for me. Tell her than I'm still fine." Bisharp requested.
"No problem." Dedenne accepted. "I hope both of you outlast the likes of Lucario." She said before her Lapras departed.
Skarmory didn't land to end the episode off. The ending was a bit different today.
Confessional
Meowth: "I can't let an annoying customer like her stay in this island. I want to avoid lawsuits and her constant complaints about manufacturing variations and defective products. I need none of that."
Nosepass ventured into the mountain area to find Rhyhorn. Apparently, he wasn't in the cabin.
Darmanitan got something to tell Lucario before they headed off to sleep.
Nosepass heard some noises.
"Homie, I'm tired! I'm tired of how you take things too seriously in this game!" Darmanitan exploded, slamming his arms against his thighs.
"I hunted that psychic for years and years. I joined this game to win the money to fund my research into his whereabouts." Rhyhorn talked to himself.
"Darmanitan…" Lucario tried to speak but his fanboy didn't give him a chance.
Nosepass trembled in fear, holding the wrapping paper close to him.
"You know what, homie? I won't be your teammate either until you change your attitude!" Darmanitan entered the cabin and slammed the door shut.
"When I find him, I will kill him in cold blood. Hahaha… Nosepass, I'm sorry. This insane revenge-fueling psychopath can't be your big brother." Rhyhorn apologized.
Lucario dropped down to his knees in front of the cabin.
Nosepass collapsed down on the ground.
A drizzle soaked the two. It soon turned into a stormy, thunderous, rainstorm.
Credits started rolling but the show wasn't over yet.
On the left side of the screen, Nosepass lay shivering on the ground. He only got the wrapping paper to protect him.
On the right side of the screen, Lucario dug up wet dirt from the ground, dirtying his own hands and slamming them down in rage.
Votes
Meowth: Dedenne
Dedenne: Meowth (a game of cat and mouse)
Lucario: Dedenne
Darmanitan: Dedenne
Drifblim: Dedenne
Heracross: Dedenne
Miltank: Dedenne
Ledyba: Dedenne
Scolipede: Dedenne
Duosion: Darmanitan
Shedinja: Heracross
Bisharp: Darmanitan
Cryogonal: Heracross
Aromatisse: Darmanitan
Nosepass: Heracross
Farfetch'd: Darmanitan
Rhyhorn: Heracross
Meowth: 1
Heracross: 4
Darmanitan: 4
Dedenne: 8 (eliminated)
How is it? This is the best chapter by far in my opinion. I can understand if you don't like the ample size of extra characters but they are necessary for character development of certain contestants. (Hickery-o, Wimpid for Nosepass) (Trumbeak for Shedinja). Nothing would work without them considering how I plan my story from the start.
Trumbeak will disappear forever. Honestly, he is my favorite intern. However, I feel like he got more character development than some of the contestants. He might make a cameo once in a while but I feel like his character is done.
I feel like I can be too ambitious sometimes with original locations and all that. However, my creativity is just brimming and I don't want it all to go to waste.
If you are interested about the world I'm trying to create. Wait for Desire Land or Desire Tunnel Remake. Check my profile for updates as well.
Initially, Bisharp and Aromatisse parts in this chapter are longer but I feel like it diverts the focus from the main trio of this episode: Lucario, Nosepass, Shedinja. Aromatisse already got her spotlight in Chapter 18 anyways.
Good news for all of you. I will stock up on coffee and go back to weekly updates for the next two chapters. These merge chapters are 20k words long by standard so I hope you appreciate them. I want to promise all of you this time to push myself.
Next time, we return to the haunted area for my creative, original challenge.
Are there less mistakes this chapter?