First, I must apologize for my laziness during the dressing room and Smeargle's part last episode. It was a bit rushed. While none of you complained, I'm not satisfied with it so I made a minor change. This chapter is re-uploaded due to notification issues.
Reply to Reviews
Parousia45
Those two genres are my favorites as well. Although, tragedy and adventure can compete for the spot. Don't worry about Shiinotic. It was all an act. Skarmory x Furret is a story that I will write in the future. Hopefully, I can write fast enough to deliver it within a reasonable amount of time. My Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Story is looking to take one year to complete at the very least while Desire Land is estimated to take eight months.
Thank you very much for caring about my health. From now on, the chapters should get shorter and shorter until we approach the finale.
Fallenstreet01
Bisharp has potential to win but Lucario ruined his chance. I like Bisharp. That's why I'm contemplating to write about the Amazing Race Pokemon even though no one asks for it.
Purrloin and Zorua? Maybe. I think they are more suited for the Amazing Race as I planned an ambiguous homosexual newbie for season two. A few slots are still available so anything is possible.
Ledyba got decent odds to win. Her biggest weakness is the fact that she trusts others too easily so it might be a bit difficult for her to survive.
Roran the Zoroark
I really appreciate your reviews. It really made me guilty that I neglected your story for quite some time. After I finish Chapter 22, I might take a break to review some of my viewers' stories.
InfernoMaster64
You are right. I want to trick all of you, both the challenge and Purrloin. I succeed, didn't I?
While I want to comment on all of your points, it will take too long so let's select a few.
You should be worried about Rhyhorn. Let me tell you this, he got the darkest backstory. Leafeonlive's level. Yes, I watched Wave's show as well. Although, not every season and I forgot some stuff.
I love Nosepass too… as a character. I don't want him as a friend because he is the type that can throw you under the bus at any moment out of fear. Will he change?
The rock brothers aside, I really appreciate your support and the fact that you invite some friends over to check my story. I don't mind the procrastination because I'm guilty of it myself.
Guest
Thank you very much for the support. I will try my best to entertain you further. Making people happy is the best part about this draining hobby.
Episode 21: The Legend of Raticate: Eighteen Elements
The grill was cooking some ugly meat skewers, sending smoke into the air around the dock. Chef Drapion turned the meat skewers upside down, heating the other side.
"I better get a pay raise for doing this." Chef Drapion grumbled to himself, wiping the sweat off his face. "Where is that lazy host?"
Skarmory landed on the dock at that moment. What a great coincidence.
"How are you doing, my hard-working chef? You know what? I thought about giving you a pay raise but you just reminded me that I'm too lazy for that. Thanks, Chef Drapion." Skarmory smiled mockingly. Chef Drapion groaned.
"Whatever, I'm leaving. Do it yourself or let someone else do it. I don't care." Chef Drapion complained as he left.
"Your loss, chef. I'm going to eat all of it by myself." Skarmory didn't seem to care. He started snacking on them before spitting them out seconds after.
"Should've known from his one-star cooking skills…" Skarmory muttered. Apparently, he resorted to the chef's cooking because his wife was too busy.
"Can I have some? Gotta zap my stomach juices." Raticate pleaded, sounding hungry.
"Sure, have them all." Skarmory said without hesitation.
While the camera filmed Raticate feasting on the skewers like a starving rat, Skarmory started the recap.
"Last time, the contestants wandered around cluelessly in the ruined hotel. Mysteries were uncovered and fears resurfaced as Heracross and Ledyba got their minds shredded by Druddigon. Bisharp solved nearly everything only for Lucario to steal his victory at the last second. Speaking of the professional athlete, please be mindful of someone else's remote. Angry at his former teammates, you would expect Lucario to eliminate Duosion. However, he targeted Bisharp instead. Will Lucario continue his domination? Find out in this smoking episode of Total Skarmory Island." Skarmory finished, cringing at how Raticate ate mannerlessly.
"Sorry." Raticate wiped the meat sauce off his mouth with his hands.
Duosion lowered her head in the mess hall, staring at her plate of special delicacy. Yesterday, she survived through pure chance. Today, she ran out of luck. She knew that without Bisharp, she was Lucario's biggest target. Regrettably, she also didn't want Houndour to see her in this kind of state.
The door of the mess hall opened up slowly, Aromatisse and Cryogonal entered to check their friend. Duosion turned to face them unenergetically as Cryogonal closed the door quietly.
"Duosion, you don't seem to be having a fabulous day. Are you still upset over yesterday?" Aromatisse asked with concern.
"Yeah, that jerk, Lucario. Who the hell does he think he is?" Cryogonal said scornfully.
"I'm okay, you two. Thank you for coming here to see me. I'm just having a headache. I think… I'm going to be eliminated next." Duosion told in a hopeless tone.
"Duosion, there are like so many other contestants here and you know probability very well. I don't think you need to worry. Most of us won't vote for you. Besides, Lucario can't win all the time." Cryogonal assured.
"That's true. I just have a feeling that Lucario will get his way somehow." Duosion forebode.
"It's okay, Duosion. You are one of the strongest girls around here, not physically but you get what I mean. Girls like Heracross step over their own foot and run after Lucario gives them a scare. Unlike them, you stand up against that barbarian fabulously! I must say you look better than those beauty models on the runway." Aromatisse roused her spirits. "Don't worry."
"Thank you very much for your encouraging words. I'm grateful to have friends like you two." Duosion looked touched. Soon after, she glanced around a bit as if missing something or someone.
"Where is Ledyba?" Duosion asked. "Scolipede?"
"Yeah, she is with him. After they got together, she spends less and less time with us." Cryogonal answered. "Honestly, I get it, relationship and stuff. My little sister is no different than her. However, I personally prefer it if she gives it a break."
"Can't blame her. I can totally empathize with that." Duosion got a similar experience with Houndour.
"Personally, I don't get why she has her eyes all over Scolipede. I mean his looks are average at best and his personality is just meh like most of the other boys here." Aromatisse stated critically.
"You are just butthurt that Bisharp tricked you into calling him hot. Looks like Jumpluff is about to have some competition." Cryogonal teased, nudging her friend playfully.
"No! That's not true. I have a high taste in men. Bisharp is in the bottom tier in terms of look and personality." Aromatisse denied, blushing heavily.
"Your look says otherwise." Cryogonal pestered. "Admit it. Confess now."
"Says the girl who likes Shedinja." Aromatisse retorted. Now, it was Cryogonal's turn to blush.
"That's not true. I don't like that emo kid." Cryogonal denied, shaking her snow chains.
"Cryogonal likes Shedinja, Cryogonal likes Shedinja…" Aromatisse repeated in a rhythmic way.
"Shush you!" Cryogonal chased Aromatisse in circles.
The two continued their banter for a while. Duosion spectated, laughing uncontrollably.
Confessional
Aromatisse: "I will never date any of the boys here, especially Lucario and those that already got their girlfriends. They aren't good enough for my fabulous standards. I can make so many rude remarks and point out so many flaws against them but I won't because I don't want to hurt their poor feelings."
Cryogonal: "Ridiculous, I don't like Shedinja." Her face was still flashing red. She sighed, rubbing her flustered face. "Fine, maybe... just a little bit. A tiny, microscopic bit."
Duosion: "My friends… I can never be thankful enough for them. If Lucario tries to go after any of us, he will need to fight against all of us."
Scolipede and Ledyba were cuddling in the forest. The trees and bushes protected their privacy. Their eyes were closed in a relaxing pose. All the stress accumulated got rubbed away, dissipating alongside the heated rays of tension.
The day seemed hotter than usual. Plants were oversaturated with sunlight and water evaporated at a faster rate. Despite this, a certain professional athlete remained calm. Instead of venting off his anger, he paced around the forest quietly. Yesterday, he was victorious. Today would be the same.
An aura of confidence surged throughout the forest, relaxing the couple unintentionally in mysterious ways.
"I don't want to stop. Ahh…" Scolipede said with pleasure.
"Me too…" Ledyba agreed.
Meowth passed by, looking around for Lucario. He caught a glimpse of the couple and cringed, covering his mouth. He quickly averted his eyes. Luckily, he saw Lucario the instant he left the smooching couple.
"Oh my, our professional athlete is here. Ready for the next event? We need to meet our projected target of getting the gold or else I'm afraid I must let you go." Meowth indicated. Lucario had a light chuckle, staring at him with overconfidence.
"All this talk about failure is unnecessary, Meowth. I never lose when I'm going full force, especially without carrying those burdening losers." Lucario assured, serious as ever.
"Well, the challenge might be out of your specialized area. Regardless, I will employ certain individuals to ease our process under one condition." Meowth negotiated.
"What is it?" Lucario asked.
"I choose who to eliminate." Meowth revealed.
Confessional
Meowth: "I operate my business under the satisfaction of my customers and employees. They are like labor workers that build the foundation of my empire while I feed them with pretty words. A prime example is Lucario. He is bound by my lease. I lend him temporarily safety while he works day and nights stacking blocks of concrete to pay me back slowly but surely."
Lucario: "Those losers will regret challenging their own leader. I will put them all on a leash and drag them back to me."
Heracross sat inside her cabin, rubbing her head. She got bandages all over her body. Name a place and chances were likely that she got one there.
"*beep* Lucario! He won't stop chasing me until he fricking buried me in rocks." Heracross groaned.
"Unlucky, girl. You are in the Crazy Crawdaunt. If you are his teammate, he won't really harm you. I nearly got punched once but that's it. Still, I can't let that jerk treat my friend like crap. Let's destroy him with our might! *beep* Lucario!" Miltank yelled, raising her fist.
"*beep* Lucario!" Heracross repeated, raising her fist as well only to aggravate her own injuries.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Heracross gestured for Miltank to go open it since she couldn't move properly.
"Who's there?" Miltank asked as she grabbed the doorknob.
"Your trustworthy acquaintance, Meowth." The voice revealed itself with a sweet and charming tone.
"Alright, what's your business?" Miltank permitted him entry. Meowth entered leisurely, giving Heracross a pitiful look.
"What the hell are you looking at? Haven't you seen an injured Pokemon before?" Heracross asked rudely.
"Oh, my apologies." Meowth bowed his head slightly. "I propose we make a deal. The physical pain must irritate you greatly but the mental side must be worse. Shedinja annoys you greatly, doesn't he?" He surveyed, expecting an obvious response.
"Screw that stupid bug!" Heracross shouted with venom in her voice.
"I don't get how you can help us, Meowth." Miltank questioned his helpfulness. "We are already powerhouses. You look like one of those string beans Bellsprout sitting behind the desk at the farm. Like do we need paperwork to beat Shedinja?" She scoffed.
"Oh, my helpfulness will be evident soon enough. I assure you I'm a skilled workforce. I can work like a machine. No rest, full productivity. I suggest that both of you prevent him from winning immunity. Sabotage his friends as well to exceed our projected goals. I will return the favor greatly by giving you two a few votes, deal?" Meowth offered.
"Yeah, my time to win immunity for once. Shedinja won one time because he just got lucky that all the challenges so far were stupid. I have a feeling that we will get a real physical challenge today." Heracross asserted. Her injuries made it strongly unbelievable that she would win though.
"Deal. Kick the ghost bug out of here." Miltank agreed.
"Nice trading with both of you." Meowth grinned smugly as he left.
Confessional
Meowth: "I have done my job. Those two brainless laborers will do all the drudgery for me. First step of the process, they will sabotage Shedinja and his friends. Second, Shedinja and his friends will be distracted by them. The final step is Lucario winning the challenge. Oh, I forgot one step. Preparing a feast to celebrate my imminent success."
Miltank: "I still ain't believing that Meowth is useful. He is small like those pipsqueaks. He needs muscles like these." She started flexing.
Heracross: "Sabotage? Now, I can do that plain easy. Just give Shedinja a few knocks on the head and the job is done. My revenge will soon arrive! Mwahahaha…" Heracross laughed evilly.
Drifblim looked through the window of the Crazy Crawdaunt girls' cabin and shook her head slowly before floating away.
Each passing day, Meowth kept consolidating his power. His premises grew and business boomed. Lucario cemented his land. Miltank and Heracross intimidated customers into buying his products at a rip-off. Ledyba maintained his positive reputation. Drifblim herself, to an extent, contributed to his business empire.
Watching the game as a superfan, Drifblim had a list of things to do, a clear image of how she wanted the game to be. This season was by no means perfect.
Things started off slow at times. Certain boots like Magikarp and Feebas were too predictable. Certain personalities dragged their relevance like Larvitar and Oddish. Certain challenges were mediocre.
She wanted this season to be more… special. Because she was in it, obviously. Drifblim didn't need the money like Heracross or protect her honor like Farfetch'd. She didn't need to prove herself to her parents like Bisharp or in desperate need of a real friend like Jumpluff. Frankly, she could play however she wanted.
Drifblim desired to be a huge driving force of an entertaining season.
Confessional
Drifblim: "When I replay this season back home, I don't want to regret losing to Meowth. It will be a dream come true if I win. However, I can't win the boring way. Well, I suppose I can just hide behind Meowth and snipe the victory that way. However, the viewers are going to be mad to see such an undeserving winner. Looks like I need to initiate my plan at the very least today."
Nosepass loitered around the mountain area, pondering and reflecting about a lot of things.
"Should I go and see big brother Rhyhorn? Why is he suddenly becoming distant? Is it because of that stupid cape or that stupid Grumpig?" Nosepass contemplated, moving around pointlessly from place to place.
"No, it's Duosion!" Nosepass blamed angrily, sighing.
"Maybe, it really is my fault. He must be tired with taking care of a coward like me. He must see my safety as a burden. Maybe, I'm just too weak to be with him and living with his killing psychics stuff." Nosepass kept wondering.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps of Rhyhorn exiting his secret base. Quickly, he ran away.
Rhyhorn surfaced, seemingly unsuspecting.
Confessional
Nosepass: "I'm not ready yet to face him. Maybe, I will be ready in the next ten years. Just maybe."
"The challenge is about to start. Gather near the beach." Skarmory announced.
Scolipede and Ledyba stopped making out, frowning a little.
"I want it to be a bit longer but a challenge is a challenge." Scolipede sounded really disappointed.
"Me too but there's always next time. Plus, the challenge might be fun." Ledyba said positively.
Scolipede chuckled, lightened up because of her positivity. "You are right. Let's go."
Seeing his happy mood, Ledyba nearly hesitated to tell him something. However, she knew the truth couldn't hide forever. With a determined look and an accepting smile, she held onto Scolipede's side to gain his attention.
"Scolipede, before we head off to do the challenge... I want to tell you that I trust you and I know that you trust me too. Therefore, I want to tell you something. I kept a secret. Before I tell this secret, I want you to know that I didn't hide it from you out of distrust but rather shame and regret. Alright?" Ledyba mustered her confidence.
"I'm ready to hear it." Scolipede was keen to listen. He didn't look angry one bit, just curious. It remained this way for now. Ledyba inhaled deeply and exhaled before she started.
"You remember the Zorua that I mentioned a pretty long time ago?" Ledyba asked.
"Oh, the guy that you saved? Of course." Scolipede answered. Ledyba's lips quivered a little but she smiled knowingly nonetheless.
"I used to be his boyfriend but we weren't too happy with each other and we broke up." Ledyba released the words. She didn't explain things in detail though. The ladybug anticipated his response rather optimistically.
Scolipede smiled. "This is what I like about you. You can't keep secrets for long and you trust me. I don't care what happened in the past. Let us just leave it be, both of our pasts." He encouraged.
"Thank you so much, Scolipede, for understanding me. A bright future awaits us." Ledyba felt touched. The two embraced each other for a moment before they made their way to Skarmory.
Confessional
Ledyba: "I know that Scolipede needs trust the most. Therefore, I will give him just that. I want him to be at ease, not worried or paranoid. Only if I treat Zorua the same way…" She quickly snapped the thought out of her head and smiled.
Scolipede: "If it was any other girl, they wouldn't have such an easy time confessing secrets like Ledyba. She is just my type. The type that I can trust, dependable and feel comfortable around."
Upon arrival, Nosepass nearly fainted out of fear. Aromatisse covered her face in a terrified expression. Darmanitan didn't look so 'zen'. Lucario fully displayed confidence.
The other contestants looked shocked/bored/scared/excited/fearless, viewing a terrible machine. The cream underside and the brown back represented normal features of an ordinary Raticate. Everything else though…
The tail was shaped like a broken horn of a monster, releasing filthy, poisonous smoke through many holes.
There were eight colored legs in total:
The front left leg was red, holding an infernal flame sword. It shaped similarly to a barbecue fork, two spiky edges on top. The sword (barbecue fork) looked ready to grill some ugly kids.
The second left leg was blue, holding a long aqua trident. Formerly wielded by ancient Primarina tribes but crafted by amateur artisans. Bubbles boiled the weapon for its heating revenge.
The third left leg was silver, holding an iron mace. The spikes were soft and kid friendly. A good smashing wouldn't hurt but it would make the ugly kids look uglier. A certain fairy type's worst nightmare.
The hind left leg wore a brown, rocky boot. The sandy sole pressed firmly onto the sand. It was ready to rock your world by kicking, dancing and stomping you. Stone salsa time! A kick dealt rock type damage while a stomp dealt ground type damage.
The front right leg was green, holding a scourging vine. It would whip a smoking mark on those ugly kids' bodies until they washed it off with iced water.
The second right leg was yellow, holding a giant Triple A battery branded as Triple G. This weapon was certainly a good guy's first choice.
The third right leg was light blue, holding a toy version of the legendary Toucannon sword. It paid tribute to an ex-intern.
The hind right leg wore a pink high heel. It was pretty like one of those fairy tales shoes. However, a good heel to the face will send stars and fairies twirling around your head.
The mouth opened a little, revealing a cannon inside. In addition, there were six shiny, white teeth. Three on top and three on bottom. From left to right on top to left to right on bottom were the following symbols:
Punching Glove
Snowflake
Fortune Telling Orb
Black Teeth
Gastly
Spider Web
A pair of draconic wings were attached to the back of the Raticate toy. Its bony and metallic structure was prevalent. The skin of the wings was torn. The livid purple and red colors emphasized the disgraceful damage further. Instead of looking like real dragon wings, they resembled Halloween costume rejects that were sold at a 90% discount because they were so lame and uncool that no one would buy them.
Last but not least, the eyes of the Raticate were bloody red. They flashed strange, ominous orange and blue lights for a second. Perhaps, they could shoot lasers.
"What the hell is this monster? I'm scared!" Nosepass screamed, trembling and cowering.
"Your next challenge. Today, Raticate will attempt to get his revenge by knocking all of you out." Skarmory explained, observing the contestants' reaction. "Don't worry, you won't get severely injured." This relieved some of their fears.
"Yes, otherwise you will get sued." Drifblim retorted.
"I'm pretty sure you are addressing Raticate as he will be taking most of the blame for the severe injuries." Skarmory dodged the responsibility. Drifblim shook her head in disapproval.
"What?! Why me? That's not fair. Boss, you don't even pay me." Raticate protested, scowling. Skarmory ignored his complaint and continued the explanation. Raticate groaned and grumbled to himself. The contestants had no love for Raticate so none really cared about him.
"This challenge is simple. While Raticate attempts to torture you without making it illegal, you just need to destroy his Raticatebot Multitype. That is the big objective. However, if that is too difficult, you can search the island for objects with Raticate stickers. There are eighteen in total. Destroy them to weaken the Raticatebot, making your job easier. No moves are allowed but everything else is fair game. If all of you fail, no one will win immunity and I will give Raticate 50,000 P straight out of your 1,000,000 P prize." Skarmory dropped a surprise.
"Hell, yeah! Time to smoke up my revenge. I don't care about the lawsuit thingy or whatever anymore. Ugly kids, time to pay up. Your old man wants some cold, hard cash." Raticate's motivation received a huge boost.
"You are an insufferable host!" Drifblim insulted furiously. "Although, Lucario will probably destroy him anyways." Her tone completely changed at the end.
"Indeed, this is unnecessary. There is no way he will win with me around." Lucario's words were filled with confidence. Raticate didn't seem intimidated, however.
"That's more than what I earned in a year!" Heracross yelled.
"That equates to five percent of the winnings. Not a big deal, except when the money goes to Raticate." Duosion stated, holding grudges.
"Every single P of profit is important in business but charity is also important." Meowth reminded. Ledyba nodded at this. Scolipede narrowed his eyes at the businessman.
"An extra incentive to win the challenge even more, isn't that great?" Skarmory asked.
"Yay, as good as my store non-financial incentives plan. Work all day, all week and get a free gym membership for two weeks. How amazing." Shedinja said sarcastically.
"Oh my, such horrible showcase of Pokemon Resources Management skills. I'm appalled." Meowth criticized, addressing the convenience store.
"Done talking yet? Good. Perfect time to start the challenge. Go now, Raticate will start chasing you." Skarmory initiated suddenly.
Raticate got up his Raticatebot and pressed a button on his remote control. Instantaneously, rocket boosters appeared behind the boot and the high heel. The machine accelerated toward the contestants at a high speed.
Confessional
Nosepass: "Enough with these non-Nosepass friendly challenges! I'm fed up! Why can't they be safe and easy for once?" Nosepass cried, having a moment of self-pity. He wiped his tears away and lifted his face up. "Come on, Nosepass. Stay strong and just survive. If Lucario wants to win, let him win."
Farfetch'd: "Mr. Stalk has a feeling that the eighteen stickers have something to do with each typing."
Darmanitan: "Like that Raticate guy needs to chill out. Enough with all the smoking and ugly kids."
Miltank: "Heh, homie boy is trembling without Lucario. I will pick him up as a free vote. Although, he needs to stop with all the homie and chill. He's annoying as hell."
Heracross: "Raticate, you won't take my money. You will take my fists instead!"
Duosion: "Raticate is no better than those bandits in ancient times that rob others. Between the bandit and the troglodyte, I very much prefer the royal army to obliterate both of them."
Drifblim: "Another revenge again? Skarmory, these challenges are getting repetitive. What's next? Skrelp returning for the next episode?"
Meowth: "Meowth and Co. are pleased to announce our newest product yet, Lucariobot. Its primary function is to perform a wide variety of strength intensive tasks. Let us demonstrate." He bowed down politely before leaving.
Lucario: "Prepare to get eradicated, Raticate!"
Raticate: "My Raticatebot Multitype isn't just a toy. Not anymore. Now, it is a killing machine. Get hype because I will smoke those ugly kids! That includes you, Lucario."
Lucario stood tall and proud while the other contestants fled. He got the eyes of a belligerent beast.
"Get smoked!" Raticate pressed a button. The Raticatebot thrusted the barbecue fork at Lucario. The professional athlete responded by jumping skillfully to the left.
Lucario locked his sights onto Raticate and jumped up high, aiming for his face with a powerful mid-air kick.
Raticate pressed a different button. This time, the machine raised the battery up. It released a shockwave that formed an electrical barrier around him.
Lucario canceled his attack, pulling his leg back and landed safely on the ground.
"You will need more than just a battery to challenge me. Face my wrath!" Lucario heated up as he rushed in and punched the underside of the robot rapidly. Raticate countered by pressing multiple buttons.
First, the Toucannon sword tried to behead the Lucario but the professional athlete merely ducked.
Second, the barbecue fork tried to stab Lucario, who jumped back before receiving the hit.
Third, the vine whip threw itself at the professional athlete. However, Lucario grabbed it and tugged forcefully, nearly ripping the green leg off.
Finally, the boot tried to stomp Lucario with its sole. This forced him to let go off the vine whip.
Raticate sweated bullets as his robot sustained some damage. The underside got a few dents. Sparks flew off the hinge connecting the green leg and the robot itself as well. While the robot itself was fairly fast, its attack speed was clearly outmatched. Seeing no other option, he activated his special ability.
"Kid, you are real tough. I gotta save you for last. Can't show you all of my smoking tricks right away. Therefore, time to activate my special ability. Raticate's Gale!" Raticate bid his farewell as Raticatebot created an updraft that propelled it into the air with its wings. The robot flew away in a heartbeat upon seeing a true beast.
"Coward! Get back here!" Lucario stomped the ground angrily. Before he lost sight of the flying robot, he witnessed something. The aqua trident exploded and fell down.
Confessional
Lucario: "I get it now. Still, weakening Raticate is unnecessary when I can simply destroy him."
While Lucario fought Raticate, many headed back to the campsite. Most reached the bonfire by now.
"Let's beat Raticate up." Heracross suggested to Miltank.
"Nah, girl. Remember what Meowth said?" Miltank reminded.
"Oh, I remember now." Heracross smirked as Shedinja passed by unknowingly. She grabbed a rock and smashed his head.
"Argh." Shedinja fainted in one hit, teleported away. He was out of the challenge in record time. Violence among the contestants was allowed to a certain extent. Heracross wouldn't be disqualified or penalized.
"Take that, Shedinja. You suck!" Heracross celebrated, unaware of one thing.
Nearly all the other contestants were watching.
"Why are you all looking at us like that? Shoo, get lost!" Miltank glared threatening at them, trying to scare them away to no avail.
"*beep*!" Cryogonal swore as she grabbed a rock from the ground and threw it at Heracross. It collided against her forehead.
Ledyba gasped. Miltank gritted her teeth. Scolipede widened his eyes. Aromatisse covered her face in fear of collateral damage. Meowth gaped. Nosepass closed his eyes and lay low. Duosion looked heavily concerned. Farfetch'd got into his defensive stance. Darmanitan looked disgusted at all the violence. Rhyhorn started to breath faster and tiny spots of bloodlust appeared on his eyes. Drifblim was nowhere to be found.
"Ow." Heracross clutched her wound. "*beep* you!" She retaliated by throwing a rock back at Cryogonal.
"Stop this madness. Chill out!" Darmanitan tried to intervene. However, he was ignored.
The snowflake dodged and picked up another rock to throw back at her.
"Cryogonal, violence isn't the answer. You are making things worse. Stop!" Duosion dissuaded.
"Stop now!" Ledyba flew over to hold her back.
"Save your face!" Aromatisse advised. Cryogonal resisted and threw the rock at Heracross before she ceased the violence.
The rock broke into pieces as it collided with Heracross' stomach. She took the hit quite well with great endurance. This only enraged her and prolonged the fight.
"Eat this rock, you *beep*!" Heracross aimed the rock at Cryogonal.
Farfetch'd couldn't take it anymore and intercepted the attack by batting a rock with great accuracy to cancel it out.
"Oh, you want some too?" Heracross redirected another rock at Farfetch'd.
"Mr. Stalk is tired of your foul play." Farfetch'd reflected it back. Heracross jumped sideways to dodge.
At this very moment, a shadow in the sky eclipsed all of them. A cackling laughter was heard as Raticate was amused by the infighting. It wasn't long, however, for his laughter to be drained out by an explosion.
"What? One of the ugly kids found one of the smoking stuff, already?" Raticate said in surprise.
The aqua trident rained down from the sky against Heracross. She couldn't dodge fast enough.
"Curse you-" Heracross didn't finish her unpleasantry. The trident stabbed her, warping the unconscious body away.
"Karma, *beep*!" Cryogonal cursed with vindication. The burning anger inside her cold body was appeased. But not for long…
"I will grill all of your ugly asses!" Raticate declared in a crude manner. The robot dived down and targeted Cryogonal with the barbecue fork. The hit connected against her back and the spike burned piercingly. Cryogonal screeched as she fainted.
"Who's next?" Raticate carved terror deep into the contestants as they all scrammed in chaos. Not really, the true reason was because…
"Get back here, coward!" Lucario approached the bonfire at an insane speed.
"Raticate's Gale, activate." Raticate hurriedly pressed the button and escaped as well.
Confessional
Cryogonal: "Heracross will regret this strongly…" Her eyes were a bit teary.
Miltank: "Great, now I need to sabotage them all alone. Stupid snowflake…" She folded her arms grumpily.
Meowth: "I don't like it when my employees pick fight with others. I ordered them to sabotage not beating others up. Brainless…" He muttered a strong line of insults and threatened to cut their pay.
Duosion: "I'm honestly more worried about Miltank. Heracross is like those mindless followers of rebellion groups. She only knows how to abuse her strength. Miltank, on the other hand, is pretty smart on her own."
Darmanitan: "They are all crazy! They should chill out in the freezer."
Drifblim had a feeling that Skarmory must be hiding something near the beach area. Otherwise, why would Raticate chase them away?
She vanished and separated from the crowd easily and headed to where Skarmory was. The host was standing next to a 2D cardboard cut-out promotional material Bisharp. The fisherman was holding a fishing rod above his head pridefully, readying a powerful swing. On the bottom, something was written about a fishing tournament.
Drifblim raised her eyes at this. "Why is there a cardboard Bisharp?" She asked, seemingly confused.
"Oh, the host of the fishing tournament got swarmed by a group of hungry and cannibalistic Sharpedo. Therefore, I'm now the new host. Just want to promote it on my own show. In case you don't know, I own 100% of Total Skarmory Island." Skarmory explained.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Drifblim rolled her eyes. She floated over to take a closer look. Skarmory just stared at her awkwardly as she observed the cardboard carefully. When she tried to look at the back, Skarmory blocked her for some reason.
"Get out of the way. You are acting suspicious." Drifblim pushed him aside. Skarmory sighed in defeat and allowed her to spot a blue sticker on the back.
The ghost didn't hesitate to grab the cardboard cut-out with all of her four arms and bent it out of shape until she broke it in the end. Skarmory winced as he looked at his poor promotional material.
"You are a monster. How could you do this to poor Bisharp? Jumpluff is going to be mad." Skarmory glared at Drifblim with contempt.
"They aren't my favorite shipping. Bye." Drifblim left just like that while Skarmory mourned the passing of his cardboard.
Confessional
Drifblim: "In this season, I don't really like any of the couples. The thought of seeing Bisharp and Jumpluff is cute and all but it doesn't suit my taste."
Farfetch'd sprinted ahead of everyone else, reaching the camp first. He decided to check the mess hall since it was a prime candidate for a hiding place of any kind.
Chef Drapion was cooking something nasty. He used a ladle to taste the purple soup inside a pot.
"Need more of my special delicacy." Chef Drapion commented and poured more sludge into the pot.
Meanwhile, Farfetch'd searched under the tables, picked up a few chairs. He found nothing so far.
Confessional
Farfetch'd: "Mr. Stalk and I need to win this challenge. Four Crazy Crawdaunt members already got eliminated. As long as there is Lucario, none of us are safe."
Aromatisse and Nosepass were the slowest of the bunch with the fairy type ahead of the rock type by a small gap.
"Smell my smoking gas." Raticate pressed a button and the robot rotated. The horn faced the two and tooted out a noxious gas.
"We are screwed!" Nosepass panicked, sounding hopeless. He stopped running, failing to find any energy to struggle any longer.
Aromatisse on the other hand, dug her feet through the ground hard. She didn't want to give up or look weak anymore. Otherwise, bottom tier guys like Bisharp and Lucario would take advantage of her again and again. She knew that she could be strong. The fight with Larvitar proved that. It was just a matter of time before she became both beautiful and brawny.
"Just a bit more, Aromatisse. You can do this. Imagine this as a runway. The crowd is waiting for you. Dig those heels. Hrgh!" Aromatisse grunted as she speeded up. True to her words, a cheering crowd was in front of her.
"Hold my hands." Ledyba offered three of her left hands. All of her right hands held onto Scolipede, who held onto Darmanitan. The three was ready to pull her toward safety.
"You can do this, homie!" Darmanitan cheered encouragingly.
Aromatisse gritted her teeth as she used the last of her energy to stretch her left arm out and grabbed the middle arm out of the three. Ledyba gripped her friend with the other two and signaled for Scolipede and Darmanitan to pull.
They burst with great effort and rescued Aromatisse from the fumes of poison. Aromatisse looked back to see Nosepass all alone, submitting to his cruel fate.
She stretched her right arm out to him. However, Miltank grabbed it instead.
"Nosepass, catch my hand." Miltank extended the rescue line.
Nosepass saw a ray of hope and ran impulsively for Miltank's hand. He thought that he was being saved. How wrong he was…
Once Nosepass grabbed her hand, Miltank threw him back toward Raticate.
"No! What have I done wrong for you to do this to me? Ahh!" Nosepass screamed in terror as the smoke consumed him. Sounds of stomping were heard and Nosepass got eliminated. Needless to say, Scolipede, Darmanitan and Ledyba didn't seem too pleased with Miltank.
Aromatisse twisted her hand out of Miltank's grasp and eyed her with disgust.
"You are disgusting both on the inside and outside. It is very mean and barbaric to fake to help him like that. Both you and Heracross have no shame. In that 80 kilograms of your fat body, I bet your heart and brain together take about one gram." Aromatisse scalded Miltank in scolding, scorching and insulting waters.
"Say that again!" Miltank dared, fuming like a smoking pot. Aromatisse didn't waste time and fled with the others, leaving Miltank with Raticate.
"Hey, ugly kid, your turn." Raticate grinned as he pressed a button. The mouth of the Raticatebot opened up and the cannon fired a boxing glove out. It collided with Miltank's face and sent her flying into the sky.
"This isn't over yet." Miltank shook her right fist and she disappeared into the sky.
Confessional
Aromatisse: "Rather than being on a diet, she should take anger management classes."
Miltank: "How dare she insult my weight? She is dead." She sounded serious.
Nosepass: "I bet every single one of those jerks planned with each other to do that to me. I hate them all!"
Raticate flew around, avoiding Lucario and picking off stragglers. He founded Duosion exiting out of the restrooms and shot a spider web at her. It immobilized her and made strange buzzing sounds. The psychic closed her eyes, suffering from severe headaches. Eventually, she fainted.
"Another ugly kid down. This is what you get for humiliating me in the desert." Raticate said with satisfaction, proud of his revenge.
He glanced around, scanning through the area. However, he couldn't do it for long.
Lucario started kicking rocks up at him. One barely missed the right wing of his robot.
"Stop chasing me." Raticate fled to the intersection. Abruptly, the poison tail exploded and smoke released everywhere, clouding the sky. This obscured Lucario's vision greatly. The professional athlete threw a tantrum at his misfortune.
Confessional
Lucario: "Coward, get back here. It is supposed to be your job to fight me."
Duosion: "I thought that it is likely for something to be inside the restroom. I guess that was a foolish move after all."
After searching through all the tables and chairs, Farfetch'd approached Chef Drapion. He fixed his eyes on the pot.
"What are you cooking, chef?" Farfetch'd asked.
"None of your business." Chef Drapion replied in a rude tone.
"Mr. Stalk has a feeling that it is going to taste bad and nobody is going to eat it." Farfetch'd spoke bluntly.
"Shut up, I'm a great chef! Poison types love it." Chef Drapion refused to accept the criticism. "Who the hell are you to judge my food?"
"Mr. Stalk is a five-stars chef and I'm just his helper." Farfetch'd told, looking at his partner. "Right, Mr. Stalk?"
"Blasphemy! He isn't real." Chef Drapion slammed the ladle down.
"He is real. Let us prove it. Mr. Stalk, you know many things about Chef Drapion. Tell him." Farfetch'd positioned Mr. Stalk forward and started speaking. "Chef Drapion formerly used to be a stall owner in Toucannon Island. He sold his special delicacies that only poison types bought. Working with him was a Garbodor. They learned together at the same cooking school. They both earned first and second place respectively. Furthermore-"
"Enough!" Chef Drapion interrupted. He threw the pot toward the both of them. Farfetch'd smashed it to protect himself. The poisonous substance covered his entire body and Mr. Stalk's too. Neither of them knew about the purple sticker on the bottom of the pot.
"Get out!" Chef Drapion pointed to the door. Farfetch'd left to clean himself.
Confessional
Farfetch'd: "Mr. Stalk wonders about this cooking school of his. It must be really horrible to produce such incompetent graduates."
Meowth paced around the intersection. He witnessed a flying Miltank just moments ago. Those two laborers disappointed him greatly. He would dock their pay for sure.
"I hired saboteurs, not violent street punks." Meowth facepalmed at how foolish they were.
"Did you hire a smoking dentist?" Raticate suddenly interrupted. Meowth turned around and lifted his face slowly, gulping at the sight of sharp black teeth.
The Raticate descended for a crunching bite. Until… Lucario appeared and saved the day.
"Don't hurt my teammate!" Lucario dashed in front of the Meowth and gave the robot a spinning kick, breaking all the teeth. Raticate gaped in a dumbfound fashion.
The scene was reversed for slow-motion. Lucario jumped up and kick all the upper teeth with his right leg. While spinning around, he used the back of his left leg to destroy the rest in an epic fashion.
"Thank you. I will recompense with valuables and riches." Meowth promised gratefully.
"No problem for my teammate." Lucario smiled complacently.
"How is it possible? My teeth all got smoking chipped like pieces of glass. Now, I can't really use dark type attacks. Kid, you will pay." Raticate scowled, pressing a different button this time.
"This is my last resort, Raticate's Fury!" Raticate announced deafeningly as his robot threw the battery high up into the firmament. Thunderclouds formed as the angry Godly Guy Grovyle appeared, blasting multiple lightning bolts at Lucario and Meowth. (Just joking, the battery shot the lightning bolts itself.)
The professional athlete tried to block the blows for Meowth. However, the lightning zapped through his body and shocked them both, causing paralysis.
"I can't move." Lucario felt a tremendous jolt of electricity overflowing his body.
"Bzzt." Meowth received a painful zap.
The battery dropped down and Raticatebot retrieved it before opening its mouth and blasted an ice cannon at both of them. The two were frozen solid upon impact.
"Time for the finishing blow. Raticatebot, blast them into smoke." Raticate ordered. The Raticatebot charged up laser beams with both of its eyes. Two red pointers flickered on their bodies before beams of normal type energy exploded the area into smoking flames.
Lucario managed to endure the rays of destruction, coughing a little. The professional athlete covered his face from all the smoke and staggered slightly over to Meowth. The businessman fainted, teleported away. Lucario clenched his fists.
"That should smoke them." Raticate said smugly as he flew away on his robot, not bothering to check.
Lucario escaped from the dome of smoke, heading toward the mountain area. Along the way, he saw burning trees. A burning leaf fell on his right shoulder and Lucario quickly snuffed it because it could burn him. This gave him the chance to take a closer look at his injuries.
He got black marks every there and then, especially on his right shoulder. However, he didn't take much damage overall. His steel typing helped a lot against the beam, the ice and the smoke. However, it was still a defeat no matter how you tried to spin the story.
"Rah!" Lucario roared in rage as he punched the ground, upset with his temporary defeat. He collapsed on the ground, not because of exhaustion or damage but disappointment and self-loathing.
Confessional
Lucario: "I'm a weak leader. That defeat, it is unacceptable. I'm supposed to win, no matter what." He said it in his unusual quiet voice.
Raticate: "I smoked him good. I mean if that tough kid survived the blast, he would swear and counter-attack me. I heard nothing and I saw nothing."
Meowth: "I'm touched by my labor worker's concern for my safety. Perhaps, I will promote him."
Aromatisse, Ledyba, Scolipede and Darmanitan ran continuously without any breaks to the snowy area. They even surpassed Meowth, who seemed troubled about his personal matters.
"I… need… a break." Aromatisse ran out of breath, dropping down to the ground.
"Let me help, homie." Darmanitan dropped down to let her get on his back.
Aromatisse hesitated to piggyback him at first. Unlike her former self, the new Aromatisse was kind of reluctant to be a burden to others. She sought after independence. Another reason was Darmanitan wasn't her dream guy to say at the very least. She knew it wasn't time to be picky and choosy over such trivial matters and rode the Darmanitan Kart.
Unlike the Lucario Express, the Darmanitan Kart was slow and chill, kind of like a recreation ride. He walked very slowly, holding his passenger securely while the aura beast raced like a speed demon.
"Chill, homie?" Darmanitan asked.
"It's alright. Thank you." Aromatisse sounded grateful. Scolipede turned back to look at them, blinking a little before minding his own business. Aromatisse seemed a bit flustered from this.
The four soon arrived at the workshop and Darmanitan dropped Aromatisse down patiently and slowly.
"You are a true gentleman, Darmanitan." Aromatisse complimented.
"I agree." Ledyba nodded.
"Nah, I'm just chill." Darmanitan replied humbly.
"I can't argue with that." Scolipede remarked. "You like cold places?"
"Yeah, cold places and cold stuff." Darmanitan answered.
"I can imagine you and Cryogonal switching types." Scolipede said, chuckling. The two girls joined while Darmanitan just scratched his head.
Suddenly, they heard loud explosion sounds and smoke rising from a distance.
"What is happening?" Ledyba asked with concern.
"Probably Raticate." Scolipede guessed.
"Indeed, you are correct." Drifblim suddenly turned visible, scaring Darmanitan. Ledyba and Aromatisse seemed spooked a little as well.
"Yikes!" Darmanitan held heart with both of his hands. Drifblim giggled at his reaction.
"Chivalry might be one of your qualities but bravery is certainly not." Drifblim stated.
"There is a reason I like chill stuff, homie. I like calm, peace and yeah the cold." Darmanitan told, waving his arms when he spoke.
"Why are you here?" Scolipede narrowed his eyes with suspicion.
"Warning you all. Raticate is coming. We should spread out and find the stickers as quickly as possible." Drifblim suggested and they all agreed.
Aromatisse and Drifblim would search through the mansion while Darmanitan, Scolipede and Ledyba took care of the workshop.
Confessional
Drifblim: "This is a very important moment for me. An opportunity to bond more with the others."
Scolipede: "I don't exactly trust her but working together for now doesn't seem to hurt."
Darmanitan: "I wonder if there are some chill pills inside the gift shop. I want some for the homie." He referred to Lucario.
Lucario lost sight of Raticate after the second intersection. The rat was smoking fast and he was no longer airborne. The Raticatebot wasn't that humongous as to be clearly visible either. Lucario estimated that its height was roughly somewhere between 2-2.5 m. Its height varied, depending on whether it stood up on its hind legs or not.
Nevertheless, Lucario decided to explore inside the auditorium. Perhaps, he would find a sticker there.
Once he entered, he was shocked to find a crying Smeargle on stage. Lurantis and Shiinotic were there, consoling her. The two noticed Lucario and walked over to him with a mean scowl on their faces, looking pissed at him.
"Why is she crying?" Lucario asked obliviously.
"Because of you!" Lurantis pushed him. Although, Lucario didn't budge one bit. He still looked baffled and oblivious.
"What kind of professional athlete are you? You don't even know your fangirl's feelings? She was hurt deeply by what you did yesterday. Get it now?" Shiinotic implied that Smeargle was hurt by how Lucario erased the wedding painting yesterday inconsiderately.
Lucario frowned guiltily. He didn't know that she would take it seriously or to her heart's discontent like this.
"Is there anything I can do to make up for it?" Lucario sounded genuine. He really wanted her back on his side. After all, he already lost Darmanitan.
"What are you waiting for? Go and talk to her! Stop standing like a statue. Seriously, you got no clue about how your teammates and fans feel." Shiinotic scolded.
Lucario lowered his head as he walked slowly to her.
Smeargle sobbed, lying on the stage, turning her back against him.
"Err… I'm sorry." Lucario apologized. Smeargle didn't respond. Shiinotic and Lurantis looked extremely frustrated at Lucario.
"Smeargle, you need to understand that I did it because…" Lucario paused, pondering something meticulously.
Time passed by awkwardly as Smeargle awaited his excuse.
"I hate relationships." Lucario said truthfully. Honesty was something that embedded itself deeply into his identity and character. The leader of the Aura Beast never lied. He never hid the harsh truth. He never cared if it hurts someone for Lucario valued the principles that he created.
"I get it… It is just a fantasy, Lucario. Just a fan art. I never meant for you to take it so seriously." Smeargle turned around, gazing at him rather sorrowfully. She soon straightened her face and gave him a weak smile. "Thanks for telling the truth, Lucario. I expect this much from you."
Lucario smiled as well. The situation went better than he thought.
"Can you help me with something? I want you to promote my new movie." Smeargle requested, taking this opportunity while Lucario got semblance of guilt inside his heart.
"Yes." Lucario accepted something that could cost him the challenge.
Confessional
Lucario: "At least, I will have Smeargle left if Darmanitan is really gone…"
Darmanitan visited the gift shop, searching for chill pills and stickers.
"Like dad says, multiple chill pills a day keep the doctor away. Didn't the homie learn that?" Darmanitan scratched his head as he continued his search.
Ledyba and Scolipede entered the café. An Abomasnow intern was inside. The two searched around the place, even asking the intern who refused to tell them anything.
"Either you order or I will ask you both to kindly leave." Abomasnow gestured politely for them to leave.
Scolipede seemed like he wanted to disobey. The two didn't explore behind the counter yet. There were collections of cups and plates, coffee beans, teabags, ice packs and a lot more. However, Ledyba pulled him outside and Scolipede couldn't resist.
"Let's be polite." Ledyba easily convinced Scolipede.
Back to Darmanitan…
"Wow, a plush of Doctor Chillman. This is very rare. He's my favorite cartoon character. My dad got a quote from this guy. He's an ice type while my mom is a Darmanitan like me. Ah, chilly childhood." Darmanitan beamed with nostalgia as he hugged the plush of a Dewgong wearing a head mirror.
Noticeably, there was a dark blue sticker on its tail. Darmanitan was astonished when he saw it.
"No!" Darmanitan screamed at the cruel, twisted fate. He dropped down to the ground miserably. Ledyba and Scolipede were alerted by the sound of his scream and hurriedly came to check him.
"Why did you scream? I thought Raticate is here." Scolipede asked.
"Are you alright?" Ledyba flew over to his side and patted his back.
"No, I'm not alright. I don't want to hurt Doctor Chillman but he got a sticker on him." Darmanitan teared up, wiping his face. "He is my favorite cartoon character."
"Grow up, it's just a cartoon character. You can find a different Dewgong plush." Scolipede patronized. Ledyba glared at him and Scolipede quietened.
"It's okay, Darmanitan. Think of it like this, the doctor is sacrificing his life to save all of us. He will always remain inside here." Ledyba consoled. She placed one of her arms on his chest. Darmanitan felt a radiating warmth and smiled.
"Homie, you are right. The doctor will sacrifice his life to cure the rage disease. But let us give him a proper send-off. Show him the beautiful world at least one more time. Let's go outside." Darmanitan resolved with a determined face and carried the plush outside. Scolipede was astounded by his own girlfriend. How did she manage to pull off this level of… persuasion?
"Scolipede, please be sensitive next time, alright?" Ledyba tried to not sound angry.
"Yes, I will." Scolipede looked whipped for a second.
Darmanitan exited the workshop and breathed in the chilly air, turning the plush around slowly.
"Doctor Chillman, you like it around here? Wherever you go, I want you to have happy memories. Repeat zen if you are scared." Darmanitan prepared the plush for the sacrifice.
"Just do it already. Rip his head off." Scolipede hastened. Ledyba gasped and Darmanitan trembled.
"Scolipede, don't do it!" Ledyba raised her voice. Scolipede immediately became silent.
Ledyba flew over to Darmanitan to console him again. Instead of speeding things up, Scolipede slowed things down.
A shadow darted across the snow. It was the machine of terrors. The rat of destruction, Raticatebot Multitype.
"Smoke a cigarette a day to keep the ugly doctor away." Raticate used his own saying as he pressed a button. The machine charged up a blast of ice.
Darmanitan inhaled deeply as he gripped the head of the plush.
"Do it now!" Scolipede shouted desperately. Ledyba closed his mouth for him.
Darmanitan got pressured by Scolipede too much. He could no longer find the strength or the will to do it.
"Doctor Chillman, let's have a chill time together." Darmanitan accepted his fate as Raticate froze all of them in solid ice.
The Raticatebot reared its boot for a powerful, super-effective kick. This shattered the ice and knocked the three out. They all got teleported away.
"Stupid Doctor Chillman, you are my least favorite cartoon character. That's why I put a sticker on you. Hahaha…" Raticate laughed before heading off to find more victims.
Confessional
Scolipede: "Darmanitan is big and strong but he is so soft inside. I can't believe someone like him is a fan of Lucario."
Ledyba: "I might need to have a chat with Scolipede later about this."
Darmanitan: "It's my childhood, I can't do it. I know I look like a crybaby for crying over the plush but he is more than just a plush to me. The memories, the lessons, the smiles he gave me. It's just too much for this homie boy."
Lucario wore a dark blue tunic and a dark blue cap. He was currently approaching a circular pedestal with a dark sword sealed in the middle.
What was Lucario doing? Promoting Smeargle's movie, of course. The aspiring Pokestar Studio trainee wanted him as the main protagonist. The movie was called The Hero of Darkness.
The story summarized into a tale of a hero who wielded the power of darkness to fight against the villain who wielded the power of light. The Hero of Darkness got sealed time and time again by the celestial barbecue fork of flames. This was his last reincarnation, the last chance to stop the primal evil that reigned supreme over the ages.
"At last, I have found the sword that seals the light, the Darkness Sword." Lucario said his line as he lifted the sword up easily.
"Cut! Lucario, you are supposed to struggle. The Darkness Sword repels any Pokemon that tries to tame it. Make it more realistic." Smeargle criticized. Lucario sighed as they redid the part.
Lucario said the same line and lifted the sword up. However, it still looked too easy. They repeated, and repeated the same scene again and again.
Confessional
Lucario: He started pulling his ears out of frustration. "That is just stupid. Why does it matter if it looks easy or hard? I'm a professional athlete, not an actor. Other Pokemon will laugh at me if they see me struggling."
Raticate stopped in front of the mansion and pressed a certain button. As a result, an army of Gastly toys came out of the robot's mouth.
"My dead Rattata minions, smoke those ugly kids if you find them." Raticate ordered and the Gastly army infiltrated the mansion.
Drifblim and Aromatisse were inside a pretty pink bedroom filled with make-up kits, dolls and plushes. A mirror located opposite to the bed. The bed got heart-shaped pillows and white-pink stripes bed sheets. It looked livelier than the first time it was shown.
Drifblim painted Aromatisse's nails for her while the two talked, having a great time laughing together.
"Hahaha… You are right about that. Most boys in this island are so bottom tier. Like did you know that Nosepass picked his nose in the public? Disgusting." Drifblim bad-mouthed.
"You are totally right, girl. Most of them have no shame. Machoke scratched his own bottom. Scolipede… Wait, aren't we supposed to do a challenge?" Aromatisse wondered.
"Girl, do you want to fight Raticate and risk your face? It might worsen the damage." Drifblim warned.
Aromatisse gasped. "You are right about that. My face still comes first before everything else. Girl, I think you have done enough for me. Want me to put make-up on you?" Aromatisse offered.
"No, I'm a ghost. I don't need make-up." Drifblim rejected.
"That's poor reasoning. I can make you totally fabulous." Aromatisse reasoned.
Drifblim averted her eyes, sighing. "Here is the thing…" To her delight, an army of Gastly invaded the room.
"Let's get out of here!" Drifblim dodged the question and the Gastly.
Aromatisse rushed out of the room through the door while Drifblim floated through the walls. The Gastly decided to chase after Drifblim.
"I won't let any of you Gastly poison me." Aromatisse descended down the stairs quickly, exiting the mansion.
The ghost-poison types chased Drifblim outside of the mansion. The two girls got surrounded by both the Gastly and the Raticatebot.
"Smoke them up, my dead Rattata minions!" Raticate commanded, pointing at the two.
"Hey! Ghost types aren't reincarnations of dead Pokemon." Drifblim seemed annoyed.
"What are we going to do?" Aromatisse asked, hoping for a miracle or a plan from Drifblim. The latter got none so they relied on the former.
While Raticate charged up his icy blast, the Gastly floated closer to them. All hope seemed lost until all the Gastly suddenly exploded alongside the middle, lower tooth of the Raticatebot.
"Who did this?!" Raticate yelled out in wonder. Nonetheless, the ice blast froze Drifblim and Aromatisse successfully. The miracle wasn't enough.
Raticate smashed them with the iron mace, knocking them both out.
"Now, time to find the culprit." Raticate pressed another button. This time, the robot shot a fortune telling orb out. Alakazam teleported next to it. Seemingly, he held a remote with eighteen buttons. Possibly, they were used to weaken Raticate.
"What do you wish to know?" Alakazam asked.
"Who destroyed my dead Rattata minions? Tell me the location of this ugly kid as well." Raticate told.
"I presume you refer to the Gastly. Farfetch'd is the one. He is near the haunted mansion." Alakazam granted his wish before teleporting away alongside the orb. This was a one-time power.
"Farfetch'd, huh? I will smoke his ugly leek." Raticate said threateningly before activating Raticate's Gale.
Confessional
Drifblim: "While I didn't win, I bonded with Aromatisse a fair bit."
Aromatisse: "Drifblim isn't a bad girl. She is someone who I can talk to."
Lurantis painted Lucario's left hand with a strange symbol. It was a circle with three smaller circles inside. Apparently, it was called the Darkforce.
"Are you done yet?" Lucario sounded impatient.
"No, I can't rush it." Lurantis replied, concentrating on painting his hand with a brush.
It seemed like this would be a long day for Lucario.
Confessional
Lurantis: "I'm honestly surprised Smeargle wanted me to do it instead. Maybe, she's over with Lucario already."
Lucario: "This is taking too long for my liking."
Farfetch'd found a dark purple sticker on a fake Pikachu corpse. Using Mr. Stalk, he sliced the corpse and weakened Raticate successfully.
"Mr. Stalk, where should we go next?" Farfetch'd asked, shaking Mr, Stalk a little. "I got it." He nodded and left the haunted mansion.
The duck and his partner ventured inside the haunted forest. They were about to reach the auditorium where Lucario was until the Raticatebot landed in front of them.
Farfetch'd prepared an offensive stance, stretching out his legs a little and gripped Mr. Stalk tightly with both wings, positioning for a strike.
"Prepare to get smoked for destroying my minions!" Raticate expressed his thirst for revenge.
"Mr. Stalk will show you how he smokes a rat for dinner. He will slice your legs like onions and stuff your filthy mouth with soap." Farfetch'd threatened as he ran forward bravely.
Raticatebot raised the high heel to stomp Farfetch'd. However, he halted and jumped back just in time. Raticate didn't hesitate to pick the most effective weapon for this battle… the battery.
"Raticate's Fury, activate!" Raticate announced, throwing the battery up high into the sky. Godly Guy Grovyle appeared, charging up an electrical blast of the century.
Farfetch'd acted fast on his leek and used Mr. Stalk to dig up a hole and hid there. The ground provided him immunity to electrical attacks.
Raticate looked frustrated. He retrieved the battery and tried to come up with an idea to punish Farfetch'd for his move.
Suddenly, he got one.
Raticate raised his boot and stomped the ground rapidly, creating an Earthquake. Since, Farfetch'd was underground, he lost his flying typing.
Farfetch'd popped his head out of the ground dizzily. Raticate finished him off with the high heel. Farfetch'd got eliminated and Raticate grew more and more confident.
"Smoking yeah, no one can beat me!" Raticate celebrated prematurely.
"The Hero of Darkness has arrived. Prepare to be sealed in the name of darkness!" A certain voice ruined his moment.
Confessional
Raticate: "How did he…?"
After ages, Lucario found the Darkness Sword. He conquered all the trials of the hero and received the Darkforce. He even got a pot lid shield from a treasure chest. The Hero of Darkness was well geared.
A shield on his right arm. A sword on his left hand. He got nothing to fear anymore.
"Good luck, the Hero of Darkness. Beat Raticate!" Smeargle cheered him on his way out. Lucario smiled a little before he exited the auditorium.
What a coincidence, Raticate was near the auditorium as well. Time to settle old business.
"The Hero of Darkness has arrived. Prepare to be sealed in the name of darkness!" Lucario ruined Raticate's moment of early celebration.
"You again, the tough kid that puts a stop to my plans all the time. I will seal you once and for all. I beat you once. I can beat you again." Raticate tried to look confident. Although, he sweated a little.
"Times changed, I'm now the wielder of darkness!" Lucario proclaimed, sprinting at the Raticatebot.
The Hero of Darkness' speed was unmatched. He disappeared in a flash and slashed the vine whip into pieces, rendering it useless. Raticatebot countered by slamming the iron mace down. However, Lucario merely jumped high into the sky like the acrobatic expert he was and performed a downward thrust, targeting Raticate.
The Raticatebot protected its master by using the battery to form an electrical shield. The Hero of Darkness was unstoppable. He let go of his sword and kicked the hilt, sending it down straight at Raticate.
"Darkness Descent." The Hero of Darkness announced his special move while moving his way through the air to land on the ground safely.
The sword itself pierced through the electrical shield and nearly stabbed Raticate. The rat luckily dodged just in time.
"Smoking *beep*!" Raticate swore as the sword pierced through the head of the robot. He pressed a few buttons to test whether or not it was still fine. Luckily, the robot was still able to swing the Toucannon Sword around.
"I will teach you a lesson!" Raticate raged, pressing the same button rapidly.
The robot swung the Toucannon sword rapidly at the Hero of Darkness. Lucario backflipped multiple times to dodge until he got a chance for a flurry rush.
The Hero of Darkness used his fists to pummel the underside of the robot until sparks flew out.
"Enough! Raticate's Protection." Raticate activated his emergency defense by pressing a certain button. The robot stabbed the barbecue fork into the ground, releasing tremendous heat energy.
"Gah!" The Hero of Darkness' tunic got caught in flames as he backflipped away.
Lucario ripped his tunic off, leaving himself with the cap and the pot lid shield.
"Burn into smoking ashes." Raticate growled. The Raticatebot charged up the lasers once again. The Hero of Darkness patiently waited, positioning his shield where the red pointers pointed to.
The Raticatebot fired and Raticate anticipated the destruction of the hero. However, the Hero of Darkness performed a shield bash, reflecting the lasers back at the Raticatebot.
"So long, the incarnation of light." Lucario used a line from the script.
"*beep*!" Raticate used profanity as he got blasted off the robot.
The Hero of Darkness dropped his broken shield and walked over victoriously to the robot. He grabbed the hilt of his sword proudly and removed it from the head of the robot. Lucario raised the Darkness Sword skyward, absorbing the power of darkness from the heavens.
"The land shall be shrouded in darkness-" Before Lucario finished his sentence, an unprecedented event occurred.
"I will destroy you, Raticate and Lucario!" Miltank yelled as she drove a red truck toward both of them. Miltank grinned as she saw both of their shocked expressions.
"You aren't eliminated yet?!" Both Lucario and Raticate shouted in unison.
Flashback…
Miltank landed under the well in the desert area. She struggled for ages to get out. After she successfully did so, she saw Druddigon's red truck. Since he was nowhere nearby, Miltank broke through the window and stole the vehicle. Druddigon chased after it to no avail, cussing a few curse words at Miltank.
Back in the present…
Miltank crashed the robot and knocked Lucario down alongside his sword. Opportunity gleamed in Raticate's eyes as he seized control of his robot back by running up to grab the remote and fled.
"Come back here!" Miltank got out of her truck and chased after him.
"Face my fury!" Raticate initiated his ultimate attack. The Raticatebot used the last of its strength to send the battery to the heavens, summoning the god of all goodness in this world.
Godly Guy Grovyle appeared, charging up a shower of lightning bolts. The sacred deity unleashed his wrath upon the mere mortals.
The Darkness Sword flashed with electricity. The Hero of Darkness knew that this was his last reincarnation. He couldn't fail like last time. Lucario threw the sword toward the direction of Miltank and Raticate.
"*beep*!" Both Raticate and Miltank swore as Godly Guy Grovyle zapped them into the state of unconsciousness.
Lucario strode to collect his sword, raising his chin up high. The Hero of Darkness soon returned to the top of the robot, raising his sword skyward.
Smeargle opened the door to check the results. She squealed in delight once she saw the Hero of Darkness as the victor.
"The land shall be shrouded in darkness again. Darkness Strike!" Lucario said coolly before slashing the Raticatebot into a state where it could no longer function.
Confessional
Miltank: "Everything I've done up until now… It was all for nothing!"
Raticate: "My 50,000 P! No!"
Lucario: "Without the Darkness Sword, I wouldn't win. Thank you, Smeargle." His voice was strangely soft and kind.
Druddigon: "Haha, Raticate lost! Worth the trouble of getting my truck stolen. Seriously, the interns need to learn to stop giving Lucario weapons. This time is a special exception though."
Where was Rhyhorn? Well, he stayed in his cabin all day, waiting for his inevitable defeat. It was as if he already quitted the game. Not a good sign for Rhyhorn's fans.
Confessional
Rhyhorn: "Maybe I should find a different way to earn money. I don't feel like it is safe here anymore. I nearly lost it when Cryogonal and Heracross fought each other. My mentality is getting worse and worse. Soon, what happened in Toucannon Island will happen again."
After everyone heard the news of Lucario's victory, not many were in a great mood. If the professional athlete kept winning, he would soon secure a spot in the finale.
The elimination didn't seem to be a problem though, at least for now. Many agreed to vote out Heracross like Cryogonal, Shedinja, Ledyba, Scolipede, Aromatisse and Darmanitan. Farfetch'd probably would vote for her as well, alongside Nosepass and Rhyhorn.
However, Duosion got a different idea…
She invited Cryogonal, Shedinja, Ledyba, Scolipede and Aromatisse inside the mess hall. Meowth eavesdropped the conversation behind Chef Drapion.
"I suggest that we vote out Miltank instead. She is a much bigger threat than Heracross." Duosion proposed.
"No! Heracross bullied Shedinja for weeks! I don't care who is smarter between them. To me, they are equally dumb!" Cryogonal disagreed strongly.
"It is more logical-" Duosion tried to reason but got interrupted.
"Logic? Duosion, I can't believe you. You knew what Heracross did and you knew that she is hell a lot worse than Miltank yet you used logic as an excuse. Gah!" Cryogonal swung her snow chains furiously. Duosion dodged her angry eye contact.
"Calm down, I don't care if Miltank or Heracross-" Shedinja didn't get why she was making such a huge fuss.
"You don't care as well? Am I the only that cares?! Vote out Miltank then!" Cryogonal snapped and left the mess hall, banging the door shut. Shedinja looked a bit guilty as he floated after her.
"What just happened?" Scolipede couldn't comprehend everything fully.
Ledyba gaped in a flabbergasted manner. She couldn't believe that her friend would suddenly go on a rampage like that. Regardless, she got relationship matters of her own.
"Scolipede, we should talk." Ledyba sounded serious, motioning for them to leave. Scolipede looked nervous as they left.
Aromatisse patted Duosion consolingly. "Duosion, I know that you have good intentions but Cryogonal is right. Heracross bullied Shedinja for weeks and you know how she felt about him so think about this carefully, okay?" She advised, leaving as well.
Duosion seemed crestfallen as she left.
Meowth got out of hiding and paid Chef Drapion ten Skarmory tokens.
"Nice doing business with you, chef." Meowth smiled sweetly before he left to attend matters of his own.
"Yeah, pay me more next time… Wait, what is the use of having Skarmory tokens? I'm not a contestant… Did that cat sweet-talk me into helping him? Argh." Chef Drapion groaned.
Confessional
Duosion: "What should I do? Am I making the right choice? Houndour, please tell me."
Meowth: "I talked to Lucario and we got our sights on someone. You see, Miltank and Heracross are still my laborers. Despite their underperformance today, they are still two free votes."
Cryogonal rested under the shade of the giant tree, burning out after a horrible day.
"What's wrong with you? Why are you suddenly acting like this?" Shedinja asked monotonously.
"You still don't get it?! Throughout these days, I did so much for you. I tricked an innocent Talonflame to make your intern friend happy. I became the sacrifice in Shiinotic Shuffle. I yelled at Duosion so Heracross won't bother you anymore. I *beep* fought to the death for you. I befriended you but you never cared! You always acted like nothing happened! I hate it!" Cryogonal cried and yelled until she ran out of breath.
Shedinja looked down on the ground. "I never know you felt that way… I'm sorry." Shedinja apologized sincerely.
"You never know? Laughable. You rarely thanked me." Cryogonal averted her eyes, suffering emotionally and mentally.
Shedinja floated closer to Cryogonal and did the unexpected…
He hugged her.
"Why are you doing… this?" Cryogonal blushed in embarrassment, widening her eyes.
"This is my way of thanking you. You don't like it?" Shedinja let go.
"No, I like it very much. Please do it again." Cryogonal pleaded and Shedinja remained by her side, comforting her. The grass whistled and the wind chimed as the two hugged each other like a couple.
The tip of one unique tree branch was shaped like a heart. It resembled a horn of a certain contestant. Leaves that fell on the branch got hurled down to the ground.
Confessional
Cryogonal: "Maybe I'm acting too emotional. That is just embarrassing."
Shedinja: "Today, special snowflake totally looked like an emo kid." He chuckled.
Meowth rushed inside the Crazy Crawdaunt girls' cabin. He breathed deeply, looking terrified.
"What happened?" Heracross asked. Miltank raised her left eye.
"Lu-lucario." Meowth stuttered. Suddenly, Lucario kicked the door and sent Meowth sprawling across the ground.
Lucario entered, his face reddened with extreme rage. "Vote with me or all of you die!" Lucario shouted threateningly, stomping the ground and shaking his fists.
Miltank and Heracross retreated back fearfully and apprehensively.
Confessional
Meowth: "Now, I don't need to keep my promise of voting for Shedinja. He isn't my target, anyways. I look like the victim and no one will associate me with Lucario."
Miltank: "Enough with Lucario threatening us. When he loses immunity, he is gone!"
Lucario: "Meowth told me to gather more votes and I will do just that."
Darmanitan sat on the edge of his bed, glancing at Lucario's bed before averting his eyes. Soon enough, he curled into a fetal position, making him look like a baby.
Darmanitan felt like a baby today. All he did was crying over a plush. He questioned a lot of things. His morals, his actions… The homie boy felt like a failure. He couldn't cure Lucario from the rage disease and left his side like a fake fanboy.
Derailing his thoughts was a knock on the door.
"Come in." Darmanitan said quietly and unenergetically. He stood upright, erecting his back to save whatever little grace he had left in the eyes of others.
Scolipede entered with apologetic eyes. Seemingly, he got henpecked by Ledyba.
"Darmanitan, I'm sorry. I hurt your feelings." Scolipede apologized.
"No, it's okay. Homie, it's my fault." Darmanitan redirected the blame, shaking his hands.
"No, don't say that. Darmanitan, here is the thing, I never really trust you. You are always Lucario's fanboy and I don't like Lucario. I couldn't fully trust you and that's why I can come off as unfriendly and harsh at times, okay? Can you please forgive me?" Scolipede pleaded.
"Of course, homie." Darmanitan accepted his apology without any hesitation. The two exchanged smiles with each other.
Scolipede soon left and his presence was replaced with Lucario.
"Homie, what do you want?" Darmanitan asked, happy to see his role model once again. The homie boy wanted a chill conversation with Lucario.
Unfortunately, Lucario didn't have the same idea.
"You must vote with me, Darmanitan. Vote out *beep* (muted for suspense). No exceptions. Otherwise, I will make *beep* life a living hell." Lucario tried to force Darmanitan.
"No! I won't homie!" Darmanitan disobeyed, glaring at Lucario. "I thought you considered me as a friend, a loyal fan. For my sake, please stop."
"No! I won't stop! You aren't my friend! You left me. I don't tolerate insubordination of any kind. Vote *beep* out or else…" Lucario's voice grew more hostile.
Darmanitan gasped at Lucario's demonic facial expressions and trembled. His eyes were overwhelmed by darkness. His ears shaped like a beast. His mouth showed fangs of a demon. Lucario looked like the incarnation of darkness in front of Darmanitan's mild eyes.
"Fine homie, I will vote *beep* out. However, we are done from now on. I will no longer be your fan. Do you really want that? Throwing away my long-lasting admiration, respect and friendship for you just for a vote?" Darmanitan asked, praying for Lucario to say 'no'.
"Yes." Lucario didn't even hesitate. His eyes showed no regret. Darmanitan wanted to cry really badly.
Confessional
Scolipede: "I feel so much better after that apology. Thank you, Ledyba for always thinking of the best for me."
Ledyba: "Honestly, I feel bad for scolding Scolipede. Maybe, I should be a bit nicer to him. Still, I know that I'm changing him in a positive way." She smiled.
Darmanitan: He cried quietly all alone. "Why…homie…why?"
Lucario: "I did the best for Darmanitan. He isn't suited to be my fan. He is too soft-hearted like Houndour. I need strong followers that can empathize with my reasoning and logic. I need fellow beasts like Meowth." He couldn't hold back his tears anymore.
"If Darmanitan continues to be with me, he will only hurt himself and others will hate him like Duosion and Scolipede. I notice how everyone isolates themselves from him because of me. By giving him special treatment, I'm only hurting him. I hesitated at first. However, I won't take the easy route. I rather be a beast alone. Find a sword and kill me, Darmanitan. It is for the best." He sniffled.
Meowth purchased a large sum of fluffy, pink Pokepuff from Skarmory today. How did he find so many Skarmory tokens? Well, Lucario was on the list of his donators and Skarmory gave him discounts. Enough said.
"Thank you for being a loyal customer, come back again." Skarmory hoped.
"No problem." Meowth replied before making his way to Scolipede and Ledyba. They talked to each other near the pathway to the first intersection.
"Hello, my friendly acquaintances. Want a Pokepuff? For free, of course." Meowth offered generously.
"Thank you very much, Meowth." Ledyba said with delight, accepting a Pokepuff that he handed to her.
Scolipede reluctantly accepted one that the businessman handed to him. Upon closer inspection, it was smaller than the standard Pokepuff.
"Hey! Why is mine smaller than the rest? What are you trying to pull, Meowth?" Scolipede accused. Meowth looked offended.
"Scolipede! He gave it to you for free. It might just be that the rest are bigger, rather than yours being small. How pessimistic. Apologize." Ledyba whipped.
"Yes… Sorry, Meowth." Scolipede obeyed his girlfriend's demand.
"It's not a big deal. I just saw Duosion looking all dejected. It was as if she declared bankruptcy. My, my, give my consolations to her in the form of Pokepuff, can you?" Meowth requested.
"Of course." Ledyba accepted, impressed by his generosity.
"Maybe, you two should vote with her. I heard she wanted Miltank out. Doesn't seem like a bad idea." Meowth coaxed.
"How did you-" Scolipede was about to finish his sentence until Ledyba glared at him. "-know?" He mumbled quietly to himself.
"Have a good day." Meowth bid his farewell, waving at them. Ledyba did the same.
Confessional
Scolipede: "Why am I whipped all of a sudden? I don't get it. She used to be so nice until now. Maybe, girls act nice around guys until they get comfortable and whip them when they least expect it. Wait, Leavanny used to whip me as… well. No, please tell me this isn't true. Ledyba won't be mean, right?" Scolipede gulped anxiously.
Meowth: "Oh, poor Scolipede. I hope you are happy with your marriage. Heh, my plan is proceeding smoothly."
Ledyba: "Meowth is right. I should vote for Miltank to cheer up Duosion. Hopefully, Scolipede will do the same."
Nosepass searched around the forest, looking for treasures to trade for a delicious Pokepuff of his own. He stepped on a branch and freaked out.
"Eek." Nosepass squeaked and fell down.
Suddenly, he heard noises of bushes rustling behind him. Nosepass turned around and saw sharp claws and a golden gleam on the forehead of this mysterious Pokemon. He soon figured it out that it was Meowth and shook rapidly, dreading the worse. Nosepass remembered very well what he did yesterday (ruining Meowth's snacks).
"Oh, my customer, where are you?" Meowth called out, holding a Pokepuff to lure him.
Nosepass didn't fall for it. He slowly backed away. However, he knew that he wasn't fast enough. Soon, he would be tortured.
Miraculously, Drifblim appeared and pulled him behind a tree, covering his mouth. Meowth looked around a bit before clicking his tongue and left, frustrated at his failed search attempt.
Drifblim eventually freed Nosepass. The timid coward eyed Drifblim suspiciously.
"Why did you save me? You want my vote?" Nosepass accused. Drifblim seemed taken back by this accusation.
"No, not at all. I know that you are the type that hates owing others. You don't need to pay me back in any shape or form. Just remember who put you into this position. Those Flygon jerks, am I right?" Drifblim planted a seed inside his head.
"Yeah, those stupid jerks! They kept bullying us Crawdaunt members, especially Lucario and Meowth." Nosepass hated them.
"Indeed, they voted out four of our members already. You seem hungry. Want me to get a Pokepuff for you?" Drifblim offered.
"If you don't want anything from me then yes." Nosepass had his terms.
Drifblim smiled sweetly at him before she floated over to Meowth. The businessman glanced around for someone.
"Drifblim, did you see Nosepass by any chance?" Meowth asked.
"No." Drifblim shook her head. "Can I have one Pokepuff, please?" She pleaded.
"Fine, remember who I told you to vote, *beep*." Meowth reminded.
Drifblim nodded as she took the Pokepuff and gave it to Nosepass. The nose Pokemon seemed very content to snack on the delicious sweet. Drifblim smirked at this.
Confessional
Nosepass: "I hate all of those Flygon jerks. I will only vote for their members from now on. Bye, Miltank."
Drifblim: "Now, my plan has been revealed. Viewers, I will show you how to beat the strongest with the weakest. Yes, I will attempt to beat Meowth's strongest ally, Lucario with Nosepass. Please stay tuned for that." She bowed politely to the camera.
The elimination ceremony began. The heat from the bonfire rose with tension. Lucario looked smug with immunity while Miltank and Heracross got slightly worried expressions. The rest seemed confident.
"The votes are very interesting. Three of you got votes. Let's see who will be eliminated." Skarmory told and the contestants started to look worried. Three contestants? How? Meowth and his employees knew. However, they followed along with the surprised act. Darmanitan looked down on the ground in guilt.
"Lucario" The Hero of Darkness got an extra-large berry.
"Meowth" The businessman got a sly smile.
"Darmanitan" The homie boy refused to eat.
"Drifblim" She was on the edge of her seat with excitement.
"Nosepass" He glared daggers at some of the Flygon members.
"Cryogonal" She seemed much calmer than before.
"Duosion" She started to question her plan.
"Aromatisse" She glanced at the other girls, noticing their worried expressions.
"Rhyhorn" … The bonfire roused the rage inside his eyeballs.
"Farfetch'd" He gave the berry to Mr. Stalk.
"Shedinja" Cryogonal looked relieved.
"Ledyba" She held Scolipede close to her.
"Scolipede…" Skarmory paused to build suspense. Scolipede hoped that he will be safe.
"You should be worried like the skeptic you are, you are in the bottom two." Skarmory revealed. Ledyba hugged Scolipede and whispered words of comfort into his ears. Scolipede was overwhelmed by anxiety. Heracross and Miltank exchanged a hi-five. Cryogonal and Shedinja gave them dirty looks.
"Miltank…" Skarmory paused again. "You are safe." Miltank sighed.
"Heracross…" The beetle expected to be safe.
"You are…" Skarmory paused to build suspense for the final time.
…
…
…
…
…
"… tied with Scolipede." Skarmory revealed an unprecedented event. "Raticate, bring in the tiebreaker."
The contestants were all shocked. None of them expected a tie of all things. Hope lit itself in Scolipede's eyes, Ledyba's as well. Heracross got a cocky grin.
"Prepare to go down." Heracross said overconfidently.
"Wait and see the tiebreaker first." Scolipede didn't get ahead of himself.
Raticate rode his Raticatebot D-Type over. A giant Triple A battery and two guns were tied to its back.
"Contestants, I'm pleased to announce my new, original game. I like to call it Triple G, as known as Good Guy's Game. See these two guns? They shoot out electrical disks that attach itself to your opponent's body. After a certain amount of time, the battery will target the Pokemon with the most electrical disks attached. When it zaps you, it will remove all the discs, increasing the chance of a comeback." Skarmory paused for a short breather.
"The game will continue until one of you faints. Moves are also allowed. Any questions?" Skarmory finished his explanation, addressing the two tiebreaker contestants.
"You resort to ripping off Grovyle for a challenge idea? Pitiful, Skarmory." Drifblim mocked. Skarmory ignored her, fixing his eyes on the two bug types.
"Shoot stuff at Scolipede so lightning strikes him?" Heracross asked for assurance.
"Basically it." Skarmory nodded.
"Can we remove the disks? Do the number of disks increase the strength of the lightning strike?" Scolipede asked.
"First question, I doubt it but you can try. Second, yes. More disks mean more damage." Skarmory answered. The two got no more questions and the tiebreaker was about to start in the middle of the clearing.
Confessional
Ledyba: "Scolipede, you can do this, I believe in you."
Duosion: "This is all my fault… I put Scolipede at risk."
Cryogonal: "Destroy that *beep*, Scolipede!"
Shedinja: "I doubt that meathead can win."
Scolipede: "I can do this… for Ledyba and the others."
Heracross: "Scolipede is just a weak worrywart. He can't beat me!"
The other contestants all watched from a distance as Heracross and Scolipede stared each other down. They couldn't intervene. However, it seemed like insulting them was allowed.
"Heracross, lose, you *beep*!" Cryogonal swore.
"Scolipede, just give up, weakling. Heracross will stomp and hurl you into defeat." Miltank tried to intimidate him.
The two tried their best to ignore the insults, readying their guns.
"Start!" Skarmory announced as the battery was launched into the air with the help of the robot.
Heracross fired rapidly without aiming properly at Scolipede. The latter used Steamroller to roll away from the gray lightning-lure discs and shot a few at Heracross. It attached itself to her stomach successfully.
"Stop rolling away like a coward!" Heracross was getting frustrated as Scolipede kept exploiting the same tactic. Rolled away with Steamroller and shot a few discs. It wasn't helping Heracross when all of his friends were cheering for him either.
"Scolipede, I love you and I believe in you!" Ledyba motivated him. Scolipede smiled confidently as he rolled straight at Heracross.
"You are going to get it." Heracross started firing continuously at him. Scolipede leaped into the air, avoiding the discs and shot multiple discs at her horn. By now, ten discs attached to Heracross while Scolipede got none.
Godly Guy Grovyle appeared. He lifted his thumb up before putting it down below Heracross, releasing multiple lightning bolts from his thumb alone.
"Ouch!" Heracross yelled in pain as she received a mighty zap. At least, the discs all exploded as well.
"Scolipede got an early lead. Can Heracross come back from this?" Skarmory commentated.
"Screw this stupid gun!" Heracross threw her gun away and ran at Scolipede. Since she only needed to knock him out, any method was fair game.
The crowd started to laugh at her (except Miltank) as Scolipede kept rolling away and shot some more discs at her. Throwing the gun away was a stupid move. Now, instead of a fight, this looked like a circus show.
"Get back here!" Heracross yelled. Scolipede aimed a disc at her foot. This caused her to trip and fall, leaving herself vulnerable. Scolipede fired rapidly at her. This time, he attached fifteen discs on her.
Godly Guy Groyvle charged up another blast of lightning and cackled at Heracross before electrocuting her for the second time.
Heracross moaned in pain as she pushed herself off from the ground.
"Meathead, you are in for a clean sweep." Shedinja drawled.
"Shut up!" Heracross burst into a state of rage and desperation. How dare Scolipede made a fool of her in front of Shedinja? Heracross would make sure he pays for this.
"Die!" Heracross charged recklessly at Scolipede.
Scolipede looked bored of this fight. He would end this now. He shot the discs continuously at Heracross. She didn't bother to dodge any at all. Was she stupid?
Heracross got closer and closer to Scolipede. By now, she got twenty discs on her. Another zap would surely be her demise.
Unexpectedly, she wrapped her arms around his back and thrusted her right knee at Scolipede's genital part.
"Ekkarghughh!" Scolipede screamed in excruciating pain as the other contestants were shocked by how dirty and low Heracross stooped.
"Give up or else I will make sure you can't reproduce." Heracross threatened, digging her knee deeper. Scolipede was defenseless. He couldn't do anything other than cry in agony and wait for the lightning strike.
"Heracross, please stop! You are hurting him! I beg you!" Ledyba shouted desperately.
"I will *beep* murder you tonight!" Cryogonal threatened furiously.
"Your head will be displayed inside the meat store tomorrow." Shedinja sounded furious as well.
"You are severely hurting him. Stop now or else I will disqualify you!" Skarmory warned seriously.
Even Meowth disapproved of this action. The only one who seemed neutral about this was Miltank, who stopped cheering for Heracross and remained quiet. Heracross crossed over the line this time.
"Fine." Heracross spared Scolipede. He rolled around on the ground, whimpering and moaning.
Godly Guy Grovyle couldn't tolerate this injustice anymore. As a man, he understood the pain very well. The great gecko god passed his judgement by raining electric meteors upon Heracross.
The beetle looked strangely confident as the meteors stormed upon her. Did she think that she could survive the almighty attack?
The meteors exploded in such a huge radius that Scolipede got caught in it as well. Smoke clouded the result. Everyone all anticipated nervously as the smoke cleared out.
…
…
…
Scolipede fainted while Heracross stood victoriously with a red barrier around her. She used the move Endure.
"Hell yeah, I win!" Heracross was the only one who was happy. She still looked messed up from the attack though.
Scolipede was revived for his final confession and departure.
Elimination Confessional
Ledyba, I'm so sorry that I can't stay with you any longer now. I'm not mad at you because you voted for Miltank. I understand your reasoning. I voted for Heracross, just in case. Still, it wasn't enough. Well, I hope you win and stay strong without me. Heracross, please lose.
Before Scolipede departed, his friends came to see him off.
"Stay fabulous in Loser Island and avoid Larvitar." Aromatisse said her parting words.
"Don't worry about Heracross. I got our revenge planned." Cryogonal winked.
"Yeah. It will be awesome." Shedinja sounded excited. Scolipede smiled in satisfaction.
"Scolipede, I'm the cause of your elimination. I'm sorry." Duosion apologized, looking guilty.
"It's okay, Duosion. We all make mistakes." Scolipede didn't seem to blame her. He soon turned to Ledyba, anticipating the climax before his departure.
"Well, we should give them some time alone." Aromatisse referred to Ledyba and Scolipede, gesturing for everyone else to leave.
Ledyba flew immediately to hug Scolipede, crying.
"It's okay. It's okay." Scolipede repeated consolingly.
"No, it's my fault. I should have voted for Heracross." Ledyba blamed herself.
"Ledyba, please don't cry. This is so unlike you. The Ledyba that I know is always optimistic and jovial. Please stay strong for me. Promise?" Scolipede eyed her worriedly.
Ledyba wanted Scolipede to depart without any worries or else he couldn't rest easy in Loser Island, Ledyba knew that.
"Promise." Ledyba assured, wiping her tears away. The two soon kissed each other amorously, twisting their faces as they pressed their lips together. It was one sweet, unforgettable smooch for them.
Ledyba waved as Scolipede departed, putting up a smile on her face to reassure him at the very last moment.
Surprisingly, Drifblim appeared next to her.
"Why are you here?" Ledyba asked.
"Nothing, just want to view the beautiful sea. Is that a problem?" Drifblim seem concerned.
"No, not at all. Enjoy your view." Ledyba said before she departed.
"If you want to know why Scolipede is eliminated, I suggest you think about it carefully rather than blaming Duosion. It isn't her fault. Console her. Trust me, you will see the true culprit soon enough." Drifblim gave her a mysterious smile before she floated away.
Ledyba looked deep in thought. This would be something that she thinks about all night.
Confessional
Drifblim: "Most of the pieces have been put in place. Meowth, how will you respond? I hope that you put up a great fight. The viewers will want to see that."
Ledyba: "Drifblim is helping me all of a sudden. That's nice of her. Hmm… I still can't figure it out yet." She looked baffled.
Heracross opened the door to her cabin, humming happily. Strangely, Miltank wasn't inside. Heracross shrugged at this and lay on her bed to meet a shocking surprise.
Cryogonal and Shedinja borrowed the Triple G battery and placed it under her bed.
"Ahh!" Heracross screamed painfully as she would suffer for quite some time. Godly Guy Grovyle punished her in the name of justice and benevolence.
Confessional
Heracross: "Shedinja, Cryogonal… I will kill you both!" The electricity coursed through her body once more.
Drifblim entered the Feckless Flygon girls' cabin. Miltank surprisingly slept there. None of the other girls seemed to mind at least for today.
Drifblim was the only one left awake. She floated over to her bed and retrieved something from underneath it. It was her diary.
Inside her diary, she wrote analysis on many contestants and other insights that she would later post on her blog. While the superfan wanted to relax and enjoy her time here, she got some sort of responsibility as well. Well, she chose to obligate herself to the task so if she felt exhausted, she got no one to blame but herself.
Drifblim really cared about the viewers. She could really empathize with them whenever there was a horrible season of their favorite gameshow.
Drifblim cared about the contestants to some extent. She wasn't the type to hurt or help others directly. If she wanted to get rid of a good-hearted contestant, she would manipulate a villain. If she wanted to get rid of a villain, she would manipulate good-hearted contestants. It was simply an effective strategy that required a lot of thought and planning.
Last of all, she cared about the host. Despite how preposterous this sounded, Drifblim wanted the show and the host to succeed.
Skarmory was a newbie to this whole game show business. He made mistakes at times like in the equestrian challenge. Instead of finding an alternative for heavier contestants, he simply chose to disqualify them.
On the other hand, he was very original and creative. Always coming up with new ideas to keep the contestants on edge. Drifblim must admitted that she liked it when he put the prize money at stake. It was exhilarating.
Still, Skarmory made other mistakes off-screen. In their contracts, it stated that when a contestant is eliminated, they may or may not return. It simply spoiled the redemption twist for nearly everyone.
Last of all, Drifblim preferred to keep things non-personal. She didn't share much information about herself to the contestants. What she likes to eat… What is her favorite color… Things of that nature, she hid it all. The Drifblim that we saw here differed greatly from the Drifblim that her friends and family knew.
When Scolipede first entered the game, and accused the contestants of wearing masks, she was one of them.
Confessional
Drifblim: "Hopefully, no one tries to steal my diary. I got very personal and sensitive information inside."
The day wasn't over yet. Instead of a boring close by Skarmory, the host decided to replace that with more footage instead.
Meowth and Lucario walked together, side by side to the beach. The soothing ocean waves relaxed them after a long day. Soon, they sat down on the sand.
"We need to save those two employees of ours no matter what. Tomorrow, it will be an uphill battle in the stock market, I hope you are ready for that." Meowth told.
"I guess we need to save those two idiots. Can't you find votes through other means?" Lucario didn't seem fond of the idea.
"I'm afraid I can't. Duosion will probably destroy all of my ties inside the Feckless Flygon soon. What about you? Can't you persuade Darmanitan to come over to our side?" Meowth asked.
Lucario solemnly looked down on the ground.
"I guess that means no." Meowth assumed.
"Meowth…" Lucario paused.
"Hm?" Meowth had a look of curiosity.
"Will you be my friend?" Lucario asked all of a sudden. Meowth widened his eyes. Why would Lucario ask him to be his friend all of a sudden?
"If you are worried because of my violent nature or the fact that I might realize later on that you aren't really on my side and even manipulate me, don't. I'm not mad one bit." Lucario assured, giving him a reassuring eye contact.
"What are you talking about?" Meowth acted confused. Lucario placed both of his hands on Meowth's shoulders. Strangely, they were very comforting to the businessman.
"Meowth, I'm not dumb. Do you know why I knew that Magikarp voted for me instead of Feebas?" Lucario questioned. Meowth shook his head.
"Through his body language and gestures. Meowth, I dealt with sponsors and shady businessmen as the leader of the Aura Beast all the time. I know that you aren't loyal to me or the team. I know that you only see me as a lowly employee, a product to be used. I graduated school early at the age of 16 because I'm a precocious prodigy. I aced all of my classes. I worked for four years as a professional athlete. Now that I'm 20, I got a lot of experience." Lucario made a grand reveal.
"Why are you still with me, then?" Meowth asked apprehensively.
"Because we are so similar, Meowth. Both of us hate relationships. We are both in a high risk, high reward environment. We both care about our sports team and company respectively. I know who you are, Meowth. I read the newspapers unlike young Pokemon nowadays. You are the great heir to the multi-billion company." Lucario explained.
"Impressive. You aren't a labor worker after all. You are a true beast, Lucario. I must give you a raise." Meowth praised.
Lucario smiled a little at the praise. "I'm not as smart as I used to be after abandoning my knowledge of things unrelated to sports for four years but still, I'm smarter than the average Pokemon. I think my masculinity and emotional outburst hide that very well. No one knows what I'm truly thinking when they only see me as an outlandish barbarian. Duosion even called me a troglodyte and I know what it means." He said insightfully, turning to face Meowth with a warm smile.
"I can find another similarity between us. Want to hear it?" Meowth reciprocated the warm smile. Lucario nodded.
"Both of our biggest mistakes in this game is eliminating Houndour. I lost Duosion and you isolated yourself from the entire team but we both don't regret it." Meowth told.
"Care to tell me the reason?" Lucario challenged.
"Both of us have our values to protect. Values that are more important than the million. I won't work with someone who doesn't embrace the unclean side of business. Lucario, you don't want him on your team because he can't follow your principles. The principles that tie the Aura Beast together. Houndour will only suffer, working in a team that ruthlessly destroy others. I read sports articles occasionally, Lucario. I knew the history of your team." Meowth articulated.
"You are right." Lucario lowered his eyes a little. "Now, I also need to let go of Darmanitan. I don't want to turn either of them into someone like me. Meowth, do you feel depressed when a loyal customer leaves you?" Lucario asked, his eyes drowning in the ocean.
Meowth averted his eyes a little. "I used to when I was young. However, in business, you can't please everybody. I need to abandon loyal customers every once in a while."
"You won't abandon me, right?" Lucario asked the most decisive question. Meowth stared deeply into his eyes.
"No, I will consider you as a friend. Unlike all the other acquaintances, you will be the only one I care about outside of this game. Let's do some cross-promotion together. I will even invite the other Aura Beast members for a luxurious cuisine under the roof of the royal palace." Meowth answered, seemingly genuine.
"You never disappoint me, Meowth. You are the friend that I need. That friend that will destroy those traitors with me!" Lucario grinned gleefully.
"From now on, consider me as your bodyguard, not a boss or an employee. I will make sure you win this game as the last remaining Feckless Flygon member inside my heart." Lucario draped his right arm across Meowth's shoulders. The cat draped his head on Lucario's right shoulder, full of relief. They looked like best friends, despite just being friends. The two viewed the beautiful ocean waves together.
"Lucario, I have something to tell you." Meowth regained his posture. Lucario waited patiently with curious eyes.
"I got the advantage. Let's use it to destroy them all!" Meowth grinned sinisterly. Lucario chuckled darkly, slapping Meowth's left shoulder in a friendly manner. The professional athlete looked extremely pleased.
Light and darkness alike were attracted to their powerful presences.
Votes
Lucario: Scolipede
Meowth: Scolipede
Miltank: Scolipede
Heracross: Scolipede
Ledyba: Miltank
Nosepass: Miltank
Duosion: Miltank
Shedinja: Heracross
Cryogonal: Heracross
Aromatisse: Heracross
Farfetch'd: Heracross
Drifblim: Scolipede
Rhyhorn: Heracross
Scolipede: Heracross
Darmanitan: Scolipede
Miltank: 3
Heracross: 6 (tied-safe)
Scolipede: 6 (tied-eliminated)
This is by far one of the craziest chapter, isn't it? I bet you don't see Breath of the Wild being a twist coming.
Originally, the name of Raticate's special moves were the following:
Trumbeak's Gale
Grovyle's Fury
Machoke's Protection
However, I changed it because I couldn't imagine Raticate saying any of these things.
It has been a long time since I teased a returning contestant, right? Good news for Triple G fans, your favorite Triple A battery boy will come back for season 2. Will he be a good guy this time?
This chapter focused mainly on Meowth and Drifblim. However, so many other characters got their development as well.
Next chapter will be the shortest by far so expect it sometime soon. It will feature a truth and dare challenge with a twist.