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Worma-Sir
Welcome back, glad to see you again! Hopefully, you will update your story soon. I really want to read it. Yep, Rhyhorn is getting out of his secret base. You will see more of him from now on.
InfernoMaster64
The level of strategy Drifblim uses is the equivalent of myself. So, if you wonder how I will fare in a TPI-like setting, just think of her.
Good luck with Lucario… Trust me, you are going to need it. My best advice, remove all Lucarionite from his proximity. You don't want to see Mega Lucario…
You are tempting me to include Decidueye in one of the later seasons. You really are.
Yep, TSI shouldn't be animated. If I really want to, I can create a TPI animation and probably call it Total Scizor Island. (Get it? TSI) The host will be different and the setting will be bland. This will probably never happen considering how many stories I planned.
Parousia45
The tier list thing is supposed to be a parody of the list of male contestants that other TPI authors commonly use. I want to stand out from them.
Certain villains only suit certain stories. I read your story and I know that you are a good author. Don't worry about that.
Yeah, I know it's short but that's because I really want to finish this before September. At the same time, I don't want to rush it. That's why I simplify a few things to make it shorter and easier for me to write.
OctoRiter
Shedinja and Cryogonal aren't official yet.
Except Houndour and Ledyba, Darmanitan is probably one of the nicest contestants.
I think Duosion has a lot of plot relevance. There are a lot of tension between her and Meowth. She also despises Lucario.
Houndour returning? He might. I want to develop him more and show his other qualities other than niceness. However, I feel like there are more undeveloped characters than him.
Fallenstreet01
Sorry for eliminating another of your favorites. I can't do anything about that. The finale and everything has been determined already.
Nosepass has many bad qualities and I see why you dislike him. However, he's more sympathetic than anything.
Episode 23: Coupling Competition
The camera turned on and we saw two brown lines on a cheek of a cute, cream creature. The camera soon zoomed out and a ferret-like creature appeared, wrapping herself around Skarmory. She waved to the camera politely once Raticate gave the signal.
"Great to see you all return to our show, viewers. You might wonder why my wonderful wife is here with me this time." Skarmory said lovingly, turning to her.
"That's because two heads are better than one, right, my handsome husband?" Furret replied, staring knowingly into his eyes.
"Yep, we got a twist. However, we won't reveal it now. Anyways, back to the usual. Last time…" Skarmory signaled through eye contact for Furret to continue.
"…lies were everywhere! Meowth victimized himself by ordering Lucario to threaten him, diverting all of the attention to the athlete." Furret made it sound dramatic.
"Our intern also lied about many things, her age, weight insecurities and best friend." Skarmory stopped after a sentence.
"Lucario endured all the dares and earned himself another individual immunity." Furret didn't seem thrilled saying that.
"However, the truth limped behind the lie, waiting for the opportunity to strike. That opportunity is when…" Skarmory tried to make his voice suspenseful.
"Drifblim orchestrated a masterful plan, exposing both Meowth and Lucario while Ledyba and Miltank got eliminated." Furret revealed.
"What will happen this time? What will the twist be and will Lucario win again? Hopefully not. Find out in this coupling episode of…" Skarmory dragged the last syllable.
"Total Furret Island!" Furret finished it for him. The two seemed a bit embarrassed after finishing their little wordplay.
Lucario and Meowth both seemed despondent after yesterdays' events. There was no chatter; there were no smiles. The two dragged their feet lifelessly to the beach like two jobless bums.
"Meowth, I'm sorry. It is my fault. I'm responsible for keeping both of us safe but I can't even hide us properly. I don't deserve to be your bodyguard, fire me." Lucario blamed himself.
"It's okay. I can imagine worse cases without you around. Don't be too harsh on yourself." Meowth said consolingly.
"No, I need to accept the responsibility. I'm the great and almighty leader of the Aura Beast. I need to win no matter what. I will make it up to you one way or another." Lucario yearned for redemption.
He opened his right hand and aura manifested itself in a form of a destruction sphere. The professional athlete threw it across the sea, travelling long distances with unstoppable velocity. It soon exploded into a spectacle. Meowth spectated everything with slight confusion.
"Good for nothing aura! Only if I take the time to attend aura reading classes…" Lucario regretted.
"I don't wish to reiterate myself, Lucario. Don't be harsh on yourself. You are an expert in the field of sports. It is a waste of precious time to learn something you don't need. We don't need to close our doors yet. I assure you that we are still in this game. As long as we divert their attention to Heracross, we can buy ourselves at least one more day." Meowth told, placing a hand on his shoulder.
'Thank you for… being by my side. Without you—my friend, my follower—, I don't know my own identity in Total Skarmory Island. Am I a monster? Am I a dictator? Am I a respected leader? In the Aura Beast, I know who I am. The invincible leader that keeps food on the table for everyone but here does anyone really need me? Maybe they rather let Houndour lead or Duosion lead because I can be too bossy, pushy and demanding." Lucario released his innermost feelings, sighing.
"You are my bodyguard." Meowth reminded. "If no one wants to hire you, I will be the one." He said prettily.
Lucario straightened his face into a stern expression, awakened from defeat. "Thanks for reminding me of my job, Meowth. I won't fail you. You can count on that." He smiled before leaving from the beach with a newfound strength. Yet an aura of loneliness surrounded him.
Meowth watched his desolate figure with a solid but concerned face. Lucario had good intentions for his team but one by one, they turned their backs against him. All because they couldn't accept his ruthless ways and authoritarian rule. As a result, Lucario banished them all from his heart.
Darmanitan was a fool that admired him for the wrong reasons.
Aromatisse only saw him as only a dirty barbarian.
Shedinja thought nothing of him despite the few times they interacted.
Cryogonal snapped at him when he tried to get his way.
Duosion held a deep-seethed grudge against him and couldn't have a lower opinion for the troglodyte.
Lucario suffered quietly to himself. His biggest fear was losing. To be precise, losing friends, family, followers and fans. However, his team would never see this side of him. He couldn't show sadness, guilt or fear in front of his team. That's because Lucario thought a leader needs to be invincible, strong, serious and capable of motivating his teammates even to the extent of heartlessness. Needless to say, Lucario had a twisted perception of leadership.
Lucario grew up in an ugly world, his friends and family were poor. He learned things the hard way. Kindness was a disease that shall be cured. Teammates shall be sacrificed for the sake of the team. Love was only a distraction.
However, one thing differentiated him from the jerks, criminals and villains of the world.
The ecstatic fans that cheered and chanted his name whenever he won.
His family that watched the event from a colorless television. His little brother who jumped up wildly every time he beats his opponents up mercilessly.
The followers that had a mixed opinion about him. Still, they respected and admired his power and skill.
Most importantly, a friend that would rant about relationships with him. A friend that would beat his competitors with him without hesitation. A friend like Meowth.
Even if Meowth wasn't exactly the most trustworthy or friendliest, he was the one that understood him the most. Without him, Lucario wouldn't be the same Lucario that we knew. He would be the drunk alcoholic seen in the ruined hotel.
Or worse, the true beast.
Confessional
Meowth: "I fear that my audacious bodyguard will get himself eliminated. Without him, I got no employee. While I can work as a sole proprietor, I prefer to kick back and manage. Meowth & Co. needs to pass down its legacy as the best alliance ever created in Total Drama. With that kind of reputation, customers will rush over to my business." He rubbed his hands together.
Lucario: "I will do everything to keep Meowth in this game, including lying, backstabbing, threatening, blackmailing, anything! I can't afford to lose him or else I will be lost again." He clenched his right fist tightly, tenaciously holding firmly to his convictions while his eyes showed desperation.
Early morning in the Feckless Flygon girls' cabin…
'…and that's why I believe Meowth gave the advantage to Heracross. He wanted to vote Ledyba off the island." Duosion rambled on about Meowth and yesterdays' elimination.
Cryogonal fully paid attention to her psychic friend while Aromatisse pretended to be listening by nodding a bit. The fairy type was applying her make-up.
"Aromatisse, are you listening?" Duosion asked, expecting a reply. However, Aromatisse just nodded. Duosion sighed. Cryogonal whispered something to her slyly and she smirked.
"Decidueye is outside, Aromatisse! Go and meet him quickly!" Duosion lied in an urgent tone.
"What?! My handsome prince, wait for me!" Aromatisse rushed outside, scrambling around to find Decidueye. The two girls giggled as they watched.
"Not funny." Aromatisse growled once she realized that they tricked her.
"Well that's why you should listen when others are speaking." Duosion taught her a lesson.
"Duosion, it is too early in the morning. Can't we talk about this later? I need to do my make-up after having my beauty sleep." Aromatisse complained.
"Fine, fine. Anyways, I realize our biggest flaw now. Communication. We need to learn how to communicate better." Duosion told.
"Just now? Seriously? You should learn this since Scolipede's elimination." Cryogonal didn't seem impressed.
"Yeah, I must admit that's my mistake." Duosion said apologetically. "Still, we need to communicate better. Care to tell me why you voted for Rhyhorn again, Cryogonal?"
"Well, he is just mysterious and silent. I can't get a proper conversation out of him. He might be secretly evil. Besides, I think he might work for Meowth." Cryogonal explained.
"Good point." Duosion could see the reasoning behind it.
"Well, girls, if you excuse me, I will go and grab breakfast. All of you should too. Eat the sludge and get it over with." Aromatisse suggested and left, bringing the make-up kit with her. Duosion and Cryogonal soon followed.
Confessional
Duosion: "Rhyhorn nearly severely injured me once. I don't exactly have the best relationship with him either. After Meowth, Lucario and Heracross, I will probably vote him out next."
Aromatisse: "Is it so wrong that I want to take my time to look pretty so I can attract top tier guys? If you are a girl on a dirty island with a bunch of low tier guys, you probably want some eye candy too."
Inside the mess hall…
Nosepass carried his empty plate to Chef Drapion. However, Lucario cut in front of him.
"Hey!" Nosepass shouted in annoyance. Lucario turned around slowly, piercing though Nosepass' eyes with intimidation. The timid coward lowered his head and turned silent.
Lucario had no love for Nosepass. In fact, he enjoyed terrorizing a poor weakling like him. The professional athlete saw Nosepass as nothing more than a cheap fodder that didn't deserve to make it this far, let alone getting into the merge.
Nosepass stored the grudge inside his head. There must be a day for his uprising. A day where the strong will tremble to the weak. The day he would reign sup-
"Hurry up and get your food!" Chef Drapion hastened angrily.
"Sorry." Nosepass said submissively. He accepted the food obediently in a docile manner and left to find a seat with his head hanging down dangerously close to the sludge. Consequently, his nose accidentally touched it.
"Ugh, go me." Nosepass said sarcastically.
"Here, clean yourself up." Drifblim handed him a tissue after watching everything.
"Thanks." Nosepass placed his plate down before he accepted the tissue, wiping his nose clean. The two sat together, quickly eating their breakfast. Drifblim nudged him after they finished, signaling that they should go and have a private conversation outside.
"Tired of Lucario?" Drifblim asked, expecting an obvious response.
"Yeah, stupid athlete. I wish that I can beat him up so he knows how it feels. But, it's only a wish that will never be true. I mean he is smarter, faster, stronger and so much better than me." Nosepass expressed his hopelessness.
"I don't think so." Drifblim disagreed.
"You think I can beat Lucario?" Nosepass scoffed.
"Nosepass, a silver medalist can't beat a gold medalist. Duosion, Farfetch'd and everyone else including myself stand no chance against him. Why? Because Lucario know very well what each of us are capable of. He will be prepared." Drifblim constructed the idea to Nosepass.
"But I'm not capable of anything." Nosepass insulted himself. Suddenly, he was enlightened.
"Are you trying to say that…" Nosepass opened his mouth in awe.
"Yes, because you are absolutely unthreatening, Lucario got nothing to fear. He will go easy on you. When he lowers his guard, you take him down and kick his butt out of the immunity challenge." Drifblim punched thin air for extra emphasis.
"With no immunity, Lucario is as good as gone. Everyone will vote for him." Nosepass understood the plan now. Drifblim smirked.
Confessional
Drifblim: "My plan is proceeding smoothly. If Lucario loses immunity, he will be out. Without Lucario, Meowth is vulnerable. Without Meowth, my biggest competitor is out of the game and I win."
Nosepass: "Lucario will go down and I will be the one to do so." He had a sudden moment of courage. "I-I'm kidding, right? It's Lucario! Even with his eyes closed, hands and legs tied, he can still beat me. I'm delusional!" His courage disappeared in an instant. It was safe to say that he wouldn't be chosen by the Darkforce of Courage.
Duosion, Aromatisse and Cryogonal entered the mess hall some time after Drifblim and Nosepass left. Lucario was gone as well.
The three sat down and chatted for a while, slowly eating their food.
Unexpectedly, Shedinja entered the mess hall. This early?! After a few days ago, his sleeping schedule changed a bit but still… it was a surprise and the girls' reaction reinforced that.
"Am I dreaming?!" Cryogonal widened her eyes in shock, rubbing it a little to confirm the reality.
"If I'm dreaming, it better be about Decidueye." Aromatisse stated.
"It is highly unlikely for you to show up at this time. Did someone rouse you by any chance?" Duosion asked.
"No. I slept a bit early and wazah, I woke up a bit early." Shedinja drawled.
"Wazah? Did you ever say that?" Cryogonal thought his choice of words was rather peculiar.
"Wazah? Did you ever say that? I can ask the same question." Shedinja parried.
"Touché." Cryogonal admitted that he made a point.
"Anyways, I got something to show you. Follow me." Shedinja motioned for Cryogonal to follow him.
"What is it?" Cryogonal seemed curious as she followed him out.
Aromatisse and Duosion exchanged a glance.
Confessional
Aromatisse: "Is he finally…"
Duosion: "…asking her out?"
Cryogonal's icy body heated with intense curiosity as Shedinja led them toward what appeared to be the clearing with the giant tree in the middle. She ran many things through her mind as to what possibly could be his intention. Some were too embarrassing to think about.
"Close your eyes." Shedinja instructed as they were about to enter the clearing.
"Fine." Cryogonal obeyed, a bit confused as to why it was necessary.
Shedinja guided her over to the tree and told her to open her eyes. Cryogonal gradually opened them, surprised to see a wooden plank being tied to a gigantic branch like a swing. Each side of the plank had a hole, where the rope went through to tie a knot.
"You like it?" Shedinja asked with slight enthusiasm. "I made it on my own."
"Why did you do this?" Cryogonal didn't get it.
"As a thank you present for all the things you have done for me and a little consolation after Ledyba got eliminated. What are you waiting for? Sit on it." Shedinja urged, sitting on the plank eagerly. Cryogonal rolled her eyes at his out-of-character enthusiasm.
"Are you some sort of illusion, disguise, Ditto, Zorua, Zoroark? I don't think the Shedinja that I know likes to do any of this stuff." Cryogonal accused, sitting on it with a suspicious look. The ropes looked a bit stressed out by her 140.7 kilograms of weight.
"I assure you I'm still the Shedinja that you know. I just open up a bit. The reason why I made this swing is because it is rather nostalgic." Shedinja explained, swinging back and forth.
"Nostalgic?" Cryogonal sounded interested, swinging alongside him.
"Yeah. When I was still a Nincada, my parents brought me over to the swing set in the local park all the time. They told me that it will help me to stimulate flight. I always got excited because I thought that it will be really cool to be a Ninjask and fly around at an insane speed. They often pushed the swing hard and I would jump out, flapping my legs like wings only to plant my face on the ground." Shedinja recalled, amused.
Cryogonal giggled. "You seem very brash as a kid." She commented.
"That's true. I'm pretty hot-blooded as a Nincada. Popular with the girls, athletic, pretty handsome as well." Shedinja boasted.
"Ugh. Stop rubbing your own ego." Cryogonal slapped him playfully. Shedinja smiled, enjoyed getting a reaction out of her until he remembered when everything changed.
The swing slowed down.
"Playing with a swing is fun when it's fast. However, I… could never be a Ninjask in the end. I will never know how it feels to truly have wings." Shedinja paused for a moment, looking down. Cryogonal followed his eyes, staring at the ground.
"Ninjask got family, friends and speed. Everything I want. I hated him for always showing off that he is better than me. I hated myself for being jealous of him even more. Worst of all, I despised my parents and friends for leaving me. That's why I decided to discard my childhood away and left to live alone. Even then, I still cried every night, agonizing over the loss of everything I used to have. Getting revenge by stealing his audition tape didn't make me feel better, only worse. For a short period of time, I couldn't focus on my work and got scolded for it. I blamed my own emotions, believing that I'm better off without them. That's why I decided to desensitize myself and live in apathy." Shedinja suddenly lifted his head up and turned to face Cryogonal. Her eyes gleamed in delight and her cheeks caught fire, gazing into his passionate eyes.
"However, everything changed after I met you and Trumbeak. You two taught me that repressing my emotions is no different than running away from my problems. It will only push those that care about me away. I wanted to experience happiness, excitement alongside everything else too. I don't care anymore if jealousy, hatred, trepidation or whatever else comes at me. It will just make the good times all the even better. I don't want to annoy Ninjask or make my parents and friends regret what they did anymore. I care about the future. The future that I want to share with-" Shedinja's moment got ruined as the swing couldn't support Cryogonal's weight anymore.
Snap! The rope submitted to the pressuring force. The two fell down, levitating before hitting the ground.
"Oops, sorry. My species are generally heavy. Can't do anything about that." Cryogonal said sheepishly. Shedinja didn't look impressed.
"I bet you love the chef's food so much that you gain weight here. No wonder why you can't sit on a Rapidash." Shedinja teased.
"Hey! I said sorry." Cryogonal replied in annoyance.
"You should lose some weight, you know? At this rate, your bed will collapse." Shedinja continued to poke fun of her. Cryogonal swung one of her snow chains at him but he ducked.
"Stop making fun of my weight, you jerk! You can't make fun of a lady's weight like this. Eat your own mean words this instant." Cryogonal started chasing him around.
"Catch me if you can. Only then will I eat my own words and hopefully it won't contain that many calories." Shedinja challenged, floating speedily around the clearing.
Cryogonal and Shedinja laughed as they had fun chasing each other around jokingly. It was one zany date…
Confessional
Cryogonal: "I'm legit curious as to what he was about to say though. Hopefully, he tells me later about it."
Shedinja: "Well, I built all of that up for nothing. Great, just great." He said sarcastically.
Heracross and Drifblim discussed about strategy privately inside the Crawdaunt girls' cabin.
"Girl, I want Shedinja out but we need the votes so how do we do it?" Heracross asked, keening to listen.
"Lucario and Meowth are desperate. They will vote with us for sure. I think I can convince Nosepass that Shedinja is a threat. Relax." Drifblim assured.
"That's only five votes though, girl. That isn't enough." Heracross pointed out.
"Heracross, one of the most important rule of Total Drama is to not overplay yourself. You don't want others to see you as a threat. Let Meowth do it." Drifblim told.
"What do you mean let Meowth do it? I don't get it." Heracross scratched her head, baffled.
"Meowth is on everyone's radar at the moment. Just tell him to find the votes to get rid of Shedinja and he will do it. Like they say in business, the best position is management. He will serve as a shield in case the plan backfires as well." Drifblim clarified.
"Girl, you are a genius! With you around, it will be easy to get rid of Shedinja." Heracross praised.
"Yeah but, you still can't be overconfident. I don't want to lose Meowth just yet. He has a potential to create more drama and Lucario will be enraged if he's gone. If Meowth really needs to go, I hope Lucario blames someone else at the very least. Keeping ourselves safe is the priority." Drifblim reminded.
"I'm pretty sure Lucario will blame Duosion and her gang, not us. Isn't that obvious?" Heracross was pretty sure Drifblim would approve her point this time.
"Until he watches the footage and kill us all. Besides, Lucario is unstable. He might decide to attack everyone without any discrimination. Take his object of comfort away and he will hunt you down. He will probably keep his guard up at all times as well. If that's the case, Nosepass can't beat him and we all lose. Lucario will just win all the immunity challenges and crushes whoever left in the finale and this show will be a failure. Short-sighted, Heracross." Drifblim lectured, shaking her head in disapproval.
Heracross seemed disappointed in herself, she smacked her own skull.
Confessional
Heracross: "The girl is too smart. I think she will win this game. After me, I sure hope she wins, especially when she will help me to get rid of Shedinja."
Drifblim: "I doubt that Heracross even watches this show before signing up." She sighed. "No wonder why most antagonists and strategists of Total Drama nowadays are just bland cardboard cut-outs. Offense intended, Bisharp. They are all just unoriginal archetypes. Oh, I'm the model. I'm beautiful. I can trick boys/girls to vote with me and do make-up all day. Yuck." She expressed her disdain.
Rhyhorn barricaded himself in his secret base. The traps were all cleared out. It was as if he was ready to move out. The only thing left was an A2 sized paper filled with bad handwriting or mouth-writing. It was quite a struggle to read, incomprehensible on certain parts.
"Darmanitan is trustworthy…" Rhyhorn mumbled as he wrote down something. He paused, trying to recall for a second before continuing to list past events, strategies, analysis on remaining contestants. A few names like Ledyba and Miltank got crossed out.
Confessional
Rhyhorn: "It will benefit everyone if I just disappear without a trace. I don't really talk much to anyone except for Nosepass so none of them will miss me. The viewers also got no reason to root for me. I did nothing to deserve to win this game. At first, I really wanted the advantage to lessen all the drama and make everyone happy. However, that plan is out of the window since Heracross got to it first or rather one of the Treasure Trio members. I saw Ursaring throwing a fit of rage inside the Skarmory Cave several days ago. I suspect that Meowth gave it to her."
"Contestants, gather around my shop because the next challenge is about to start!" Skarmory publicized. The contestants eventually arrived, wondering about Skarmory's devious look.
"Chef Drapion, give me the surprise." Skarmory ordered. Chef Drapion grumbled as he handed the host a bag of twelve candies, wrapped in six different colors: light blue, dark blue, green, pink, purple and black. Two candies for each color.
Skarmory placed the bag on the ground. "Enjoy your treat." He smirked. Drifblim saw through his trick and smiled knowingly.
Lucario pushed everyone out of his way to pick first.
"Rude." Aromatisse glared at him. Lucario simply ignored her. Meowth realized that Lucario tried to taunt everyone to target him again. The businessman moved to the end of the line, avoiding attention.
The professional athlete picked dark blue as it was one of his favorite colors. Drifblim nodded slightly at this. She got to choose next.
The ghost picked purple. In addition, she took the last dark blue candy out of the bag.
"One per Pokemon, Drifblim." Skarmory disallowed.
"I'm giving it to Nosepass. Look, he is at the back of the line, looking all hungry and depressed. While everyone got their lunch boxes, he ate the chef's food for days. Is this so wrong?" Drifblim clarified, making an emotional appeal. Everyone seemed touched by this except for Rhyhorn, Lucario and Meowth. Nosepass was actually drooling a bit which made this even more believable.
Skarmory sighed. "I can empathize with that. Chef Drapion's food sucks. So, I will allow you to give it to him."
"Hey!" Chef Drapion seemed offended.
Drifblim seemed relieved, floating to Nosepass and handed the dark blue candy to him.
"Thanks." Nosepass seemed grateful, unwrapping the candy and moved out of the line. Meowth took his spot, eyeing Drifblim suspiciously.
"You got a problem? I'm speeding up the line for you. What's wrong?" Drifblim noticed this, acting innocent.
"Oh, it's nothing." Meowth put up a smile on his face, shaking his head slightly.
Farfetch'd was the third in line. "Mr. Stalk is green so I choose green." He stated his reason.
Duosion picked green as well since her body was green. Aromatisse unwrapped the pink candy and ate it.
Cryogonal and Shedinja decided to choose together.
"I will take black." Shedinja drawled.
"Edgy kid, I want light blue." Cryogonal disagreed.
"Special snowflake, I want black." Shedinja argued. The two bickered for a while.
"Err… Homies, my turn yet?" Darmanitan waited awkwardly. Cryogonal apologized and quickly took the black candy, giving a Shedinja a dirty look. He only returned her a playful look.
Darmanitan decided to take light blue, a chill color. Rhyhorn was next, picking purple. His eyes showed that he had a purpose for it.
Heracross didn't have much of a choice and took the light blue one, leaving Meowth with pink.
"Contestants, here is a special twist. For the next two challenges, you will compete in teams. Look around, your teammate has the same candy wrapper color as yours." Skarmory revealed the surprise.
No one saw this coming except for a few like Drifblim and Rhyhorn. However, they also acted surprised.
"I got Nosepass?! Rah! Did you do this intentionally?!" Lucario roared, pointing accusingly at Drifblim.
"No, how am I supposed to know?" Drifblim shook her head and hands profusely.
"Don't accuse someone without evidence, you jerk." Aromatisse took her side.
"Stop acting like a baby." Duosion degraded. Lucario made growling noises before redirecting his anger at Skarmory.
"This is so unfair! Nosepass is such a liability. I want to compete alone." Lucario complained.
"It is fair. I let you all choose unlike other hosts who would 'randomize' it. Right, Chef Drapion?" Skarmory asked for support.
"Fair, but lazy." Chef Drapion begrudgingly agreed. "I rowed the boat for miles to Toucannon Island to get the candies while you sipped lemonade under the shade."
"See?" Skarmory left Lucario argument-less.
As Lucario threw tantrums like a ten years old that got a free candy but the flavor he disliked, the others paired up with different reactions.
"Homie boy, we gotta chew the competition." Heracross hung her arm over his left shoulder. Darmanitan looked really uncomfortable.
"We got to work together, Shedinja!" Cryogonal sounded thrilled.
"Yay." Shedinja said unenthusiastically.
"I know that you protest against my business practices. However, let us put our differences aside and work hard to win the challenge." Meowth tried to come into terms with Aromatisse. She seemed really reluctant to work with him but was soon reassured, granted through his powerless position in the game.
Duosion headed over to Farfetch'd. "Looks like I got you as a partner." She showed her candy wrapper.
"Mr. Stalk, what do you think? Is she a good partner? Aha…" Farfetch'd discussed things beforehand with Mr. Stalk. Duosion felt crept out.
"Rhyhorn, are you excited to work together with me? Let's help each other to get far in this game." Drifblim tried to get a word out of him to no avail. Rhyhorn was silent and expressionless.
Nosepass realized that this was his opportunity to eliminate Lucario. Just throw the challenge and he would be eliminated for-
"The twist doesn't end here. The next two eliminations will be double-automatic eliminations. If you lose the challenge, both of you are out. If you win, you get a reward." Skarmory dropped the real surprise.
"What?!" Drifblim was actually astonished this time. "Why the hell would you come up with this twist?"
"That equates to 33% of us in a span of two days. That's a lot." Duosion didn't like the odds.
"Hell yeah! Weed the weaklings out and thin the competition." Heracross liked the twist.
"To speed up the season. Seriously, I got other things to do other than watching all of you compete for 1,000,000 P. In addition, the broadcasting station only authorizes up to thirty-two episodes maximum for new shows. The last episode will be a bonus episode. Just do the math and you will get it." Skarmory explained.
"Great, I got Nosepass. You better work your *beep* ass off or else…" Lucario threatened Nosepass. The coward trembled in fear. Rhyhorn scowled at Lucario with spite but didn't say anything.
"Listen, everyone!" Skarmory used his megaphone to gain their attention. At the same time, Chef Drapion gave each team a booklet with five pages.
"The challenge will start shortly. It is a simple one but requires teamwork. All of you need to pass through ten stations, each has a mission. Once you complete one, you will get a stamp on your team booklet. For today, you will only need four stamps because we are starting off easy. Once you got all four stamps, head over to me and show me the booklet to complete the challenge. Any questions?" Skarmory finished explaining.
Lucario immediately lifted his hand. "Are we allowed to abandon our teammates and work alone to collect all the stamps?"
"No, you can't. It's a team challenge." Skarmory emphasized.
"Stupid teamwork." Lucario muttered.
"I thought you care about your team the most, Lucario." Duosion indicated, trying to expose him.
"I only care about my team. In my team, there's only Meowth. Nosepass is an unwelcomed loser!" Lucario made it clear with his loud voice.
Nosepass raged quietly, clenching his fists. Rhyhorn glowered at Lucario with loathe.
"Poor Nosepass, I feel so bad for him." Drifblim sympathized. "Don't you agree, Rhyhorn?" She thought for sure this time he would respond but Rhyhorn only fixed his eyes on Lucario. Drifblim frowned.
"Before we start, I will tell you the team names. Farfetch'd and Duosion, both of you will be known as the Psycho Stalkers for two days." Skarmory stated.
"Mr. Stalk doesn't like the name. It makes him look like a creep." Farfetch'd told.
"At least that's one thing we can agree on." Duosion found it hard to talk to Farfetch'd.
"Darmanitan and Heracross, the Chillhorns." Skarmory revealed.
"I like the name, homie. It's chill, calm and collected." Darmanitan gave a thumb up.
"Lame." Heracross folded her arms.
"Drifblim and Rhyhorn, Team… Reticence." Skarmory took some time to come up with a reasonable name.
"It suits the rocky guy more than me but I will take it." Drifblim didn't seem to mind.
"…" Rhyhorn's opinion was unknown.
"Cryogonal and Shedinja, Cryoninjas." Skarmory combined.
"Lazy and uninspired." Shedinja criticized.
"Don't be picky." Skarmory responded. "Up next, Meowth and Aromatisse. Team High Expense."
"Hey, I don't spend that much money on a daily basis. I just need to buy some make-up, dietary food and fashionable stuff." Aromatisse wasn't helping her case.
"That's more than what I buy in two weeks. Nice shopping list, princess." Heracross retorted. Aromatisse groaned in annoyance.
"Last but not least, Team Strong and Weak." Skarmory created lazily.
"I'm the strong and you are the weak. You should be ashamed of yourself." Lucario scorned Nosepass with belittling eyes. The coward averted his eyes, feeling worthless.
"That is a misconception, Lucario. Nosepass is the emotionally strong and you are the emotionally weak." Skarmory corrected. Lucario gaped, never expecting this in a million years.
"How does it feel now, Mr. Zero Emotional-Intelligence Quotient?" Duosion mocked. The other contestants started to laugh mockingly at Lucario except for Meowth and Rhyhorn. The latter got a small smile on his face though.
"Haha…ha…ha…" Darmanitan laughed nervously, feeling strange. Heracross snorted and slapped his back.
"You gotta laugh like this, homie boy. Muahahaahaha…" Heracross laughed maniacally. "Now, this will suit you."
"Alright, homie." Darmanitan replied uncomfortably.
Lucario blocked his ears. "Shut up!" He yelled but the laughter didn't die down for quite a while.
Confessional
Meowth: "I feel that Lucario did unnecessary things. What's the point of insulting our disloyal customers? It will not suddenly turn them back into loyal customers. In this kind of predicament, a smart business owner should apologize and crawl back to them or corner them in a dark alley or ruin reputation of other businesses or…" He listed many twisted, morbid, unfunny ideas.
Lucario: "I will beat Nosepass up if we lose!"
Darmanitan: "I feel like there are still things to be cleared between us." He referred to Lucario and himself.
Nosepass: "At first I want to throw the challenge but now I'm not so sure…"
Drifblim: "It won't be hard to convince Nosepass to throw the challenge. Trust me."
Heracross: "If Lucario isn't going today, I will take Shedinja out."
Cryogonal: "I want to get rid of Heracross but it looks like Darmanitan will be caught in the crossfire. I'm not that close to him but still it sucks."
Duosion: "Lucario will get eliminated in the most humiliating way possible. Losing because of Nosepass."
Rhyhorn: "I know what Drifblim is up to and I will save Nosepass." He seemed determined and serious.
The contestants were around the berry garden, the starting point. This was Snorlax's station. The intern told them that they needed to fill an empty basket with berries until it's overflowing. One Pokemon from each team would be inside the garden, fighting for the berries. The other would be outside, catching the berries their teammates threw at them. They were allowed to steal the berries that the other teams threw unless they were already inside the basket. The gate was locked so they couldn't trespass into the other area.
The following contestants fought for the berries: Lucario, Heracross, Shedinja, Farfetch'd, Meowth and Drifblim.
The following contestants held the baskets: Nosepass, Darmanitan, Cryogonal, Duosion, Aromatisse and Rhyhorn.
"Start!" Snorlax declared and Lucario speeded ahead of the pack. He pounced on the berries like a predator, collecting an armful before throwing them at Nosepass.
"Berries are raining!" Cryogonal shouted, floating up high so she could collect them. Duosion manipulated her basket with Psychic (not against the rules), controlling its movement well to net a lot of berries. Darmanitan got some. Aromatisse got less and Rhyhorn got the least.
Nosepass, however, got none from Lucario's effort.
"Don't stand there like an idiot and collect them!" Lucario scolded.
"I'm trying." Nosepass felt really pressured. On one hand, he wanted Lucario to lose. On the other, he didn't want to get beaten up.
Shedinja pulled a few berries out of a tree until Heracross jumped up and smacked the berries out of his hands.
"Prepare to lose, Shedinja." Heracross cracked her knuckles, readying for a fist fight.
"You are only hindering your own progress. Cryogonal got more berries than Darmanitan. Just look." Shedinja pointed out.
"I don't care. If you don't get eliminated. I will at least make sure you won't get the reward." Heracross said stubbornly.
"Fine, whatever." Shedinja couldn't care less about her pathetic attempts, floating away. This irritated Heracross.
Confessional
Heracross: "He will regret it. Acting like I'm some non-existent punk, huh? You will taste my fists, Shedinja."
Lucario: He started banging the wall of the confessional before pulling his ears, gritting his teeth. "Every single berry I fricking threw, Nosepass got none."
Farfetch'd batted a few berries, aiming accurately at Duosion's basket. Soon enough, they were done.
"Farfetch'd, let's go." Duosion hurried, bringing the basket over to Snorlax who stamped their booklet.
"Great job, Mr. Stalk." Farfetch'd praised his trusty partner before he climbed up the gate and jumped down.
"A team of three is certainly advantageous for us." Duosion tried to speak his language in an attempt to socialize.
"Indeed." Farfetch'd's reply was very short.
The Psycho Stalkers were instructed by Snorlax to head over to the first intersection. Along the way, they should meet Druddigon and his station.
Cryoninjas finished and got the stamp seconds after the Psycho Stalkers. Both teams were in the lead.
"Let's win this together." Cryogonal addressed Duosion, who nodded. Both teams headed to the first intersection together.
Meanwhile…
"Nosepass, *beep*!" Lucario swore, fed up with his incompetence. Nosepass could only stare at his empty basket as Darmanitan and Aromatisse took most of the berries Lucario threw once again.
"Cheer up." Rhyhorn gave a few words of consolation. He picked up a lone berry from the ground with his horn and placed it inside Nosepass' basket.
Nosepass grinned joyfully, glad to see his big brother back by his side.
"Big brother, you are back, right? Tell me that you are back on my side." Nosepass was hopeful for a second. Rhyhorn's reply was only silence, however. Nosepass slowly lost his short-lived happiness.
"Rhyhorn, pay attention! I'm going to throw the berries now." Drifblim snapped her partner back into reality. Rhyhorn collected the berries and started making progress of his own.
Team Chillhorns soon got their stamp, thanks to Lucario and Darmanitan. Heracross pretty much did nothing other than annoying Shedinja.
"Collect the raining money!" Meowth shouted so Aromatisse would be alerted. He threw a handful of berries at the fairy type. She collected all of them and Team High Expense completed their first station.
Team Strong and Weak competed with Team Reticence to not be last.
Confessional
Drifblim: "Rhyhorn better step up his game because I don't want to go out in the lamest way possible, through automatic elimination."
Darmanitan: "Working with Heracross is tough. I saw what she did to Scolipede. The chillhorn homie is as crazy as the shroom homie."
Team Psycho Stalkers and Cryoninjas eventually saw Druddigon and his obstacle course station.
It was designed around the giant conveyor belt. The contestants must run through a series of obstacles while running against a conveyor belt that tried to send them back to the beginning. The obstacles included swinging spike balls, flamethrowers, a giant cannon and electric hurdles. All of it seemed controlled by a strange metal contraption, systematically activating the attacks.
"Contestants, welcome to Conveyor Carnage! Get to the end with your partner for a stamp! No psychic or ghost abilities! Skipping over any obstacle isn't allowed either!" Druddigon shouted from far away.
"How are we going to do this?" Cryogonal asked everyone worriedly.
"Mr. Stalk said that we shouldn't lump together or else the obstacles will knock all of us out." Farfetch'd advised.
"Good strategy." Duosion agreed.
The four spread out. Farfetch'd was in the front, testing out the obstacles for everyone. Duosion was behind him. Cryogonal was behind her and Shedinja stayed at the back.
Farfetch'd ducked near the spike balls and gestured with Mr. Stalk for everyone to do the same. However, there was one major problem.
The conveyor belt sent them back.
"It's not working. We need to constantly move to get through it. Therefore, what if one of us throws the other across?" Duosion suggested an unorthodox idea.
"Are you sure?" Cryogonal didn't seem fond of the idea.
"Let's do it." Shedinja said, seemingly excited. Cryogonal went with it in the end.
Farfetch'd held Duosion like a giant ball, prepared to slam her through the obstacles.
"You are making me scared." Duosion seemed a bit nervous.
"Don't worry, Mr. Stalk is a professional baseball player." Farfetch'd assured.
"That isn't very-" Before Duosion finished, Farfetch'd struck her through the spike balls.
"Ah!" Duosion screamed as one narrowly missed her.
"Ow." Duosion yelped as she got a rough landing on the conveyor belt. She quickly got up, finding herself near the glowing flamethrowers to her left. She quickly floated through it as the flamethrower shot out flame in order. Front to back. There were five flamethrowers in total.
"That's pretty easy to get through." Duosion commented, noticing that Farfetch'd just hit Cryogonal across.
"Ah!" Cryogonal nearly smashed her face into a spike ball as well. Luckily, Farfetch'd timed the hits well.
She landed near the middle flamethrower and quickly floated away before she got burned.
Shedinja opted to float through the spike balls by himself. He was fast enough to make it across safely.
"Farfetch'd, what about you?" Duosion asked with concern.
Farfetch'd was stuck with Mr. Stalk at the beginning. He tried to build up speed before running past the spike balls. However, it required a tremendous amount of energy as the conveyor belt speeded to the opposite direction fast.
"Go, Farfetch'd, you can do it!" Duosion cheered as he passed the first, unscathed.
He slowed down considerably when the second swung at him. It got dangerously close to his face.
"Mr. Stalk, I think we need to retreat." Farfetch'd ducked and the conveyor belt sent him back to the beginning.
"You can do it next time!" Cryogonal encouraged.
"Just go on without me!" Farfetch'd shouted. "I can do it by myself. I don't want help."
"I think we should." Shedinja nudged Cryogonal but she still seemed hesitant.
"Just go. We will be alright. With any luck, Lucario should be gone. Enjoy the reward." Duosion gave her a reassuring look.
Cryogonal sighed. "Fine, he helped us. I really just want to pay him back."
"You can do it later." Duosion reminded.
The Cryoninjas made it through the cannons and hurdles with no problem. The giant cannon shot at a very slow speed. It looked big and intimidating but in the end, it was a poor excuse of an obstacle. The hurdles posed a threat to only those that walk on the conveyor belt. The two could easily float up and over them.
Druddigon gave them a stamp before instructing them to go to the auditorium for Smeargle's station.
Confessional
Farfetch'd: "Mr. Stalk wants to get through this obstacle by himself. No help or anything. He wants to accomplish a difficult but satisfying challenge."
Cryogonal: "These challenges have a strong emphasis on teamwork. I can imagine things being very difficult for Team Strong Nosepass and Weak Lucario." She said mockingly.
After Team Reticence completed their first mission, Team Strong and Weak finally got a chance. Since Nosepass got no competitors, he got all the berries that Lucario rained down upon him and his wrath as well.
"Your performance is absolutely *beep* horrible! You are a failure of a Pokemon." Lucario insulted infuriatingly.
"Find yourself a new partner then." Nosepass talked back at him.
"I rather work with Magikarp than you!" Lucario shouted back. They went back and forth about how much they couldn't stand each other.
"Yummy berries." Snorlax snacked on the berries like a bag of popcorn as he watched the drama ensued.
"Enough of this pathetic digression, we should focus on an important topic like winning the challenge. Let's *beep* go!" Lucario finally had enough and Team Strong and Weak got their first stamp.
Lucario literally carried Nosepass on his back and sprinted through the forest like a speed demon.
Confessional
Nosepass: "Who the hell does he think he is? I'm the 'strong' member of this team."
Lucario: "Do I need to babysit Nosepass while doing the entire challenge by myself? He better thanks me for saving him. Without me, he will be eliminated for sure."
Farfetch'd sweated as he dropped down on the conveyor belt and let it carried him back to the beginning. He decided to take a short break to recover his strength. Soon enough, Team Chillhorns and Team High Expense arrived.
"Let's do this, homie boy." Heracross lifted Darmanitan up without his consent.
"Homie, what are you doing?" Darmanitan asked nervously.
"Teamwork, remember? I'm using you as a meat shield." Heracross answered, running toward the spike balls, positioning Darmanitan so that he would soften the blow for her.
"What?! Homie-argh!" Before Darmanitan objected to the idea, the spike ball slammed onto his back.
Darmanitan screamed in agony as he shielded Heracross from all of the spike balls with his back. It got bruised up really badly at the end.
Heracross dropped him down roughly when they reached the flamethrowers. Darmanitan regained his footing and jogged so the conveyor belt wouldn't send him back to the spike balls.
"Why are you still here?" Heracross raised her right eye after seeing Duosion. "Scared of the cannonball?" She assumed, pacing to the speed of the conveyor belt.
"No, I'm waiting for Farfetch'd. You are very selfish for doing that to Darmanitan." Duosion replied, hostility hidden in her voice.
"It's teamwork. Right, homie boy?" Heracross aggressively grabbed his arm and pulled him closer to her, demanding a positive answer.
"Yeah, she is right." Darmanitan went along with it. Duosion eyed Darmanitan with disapproval. The homie boy could only return her an apologetic look.
"Good, now let's go." Heracross pulled Darmanitan to get him moving though the other obstacles.
When they reached the hurdles, the two held each other's arm and jumped in synchronization over all of them.
Team Psycho Stalkers fell behind from first to third. All hope wasn't lost as Team High Expense was struggling as well.
Confessional
Duosion: "Darmanitan is a very apologetic and submissive person. I'm worried that he will be convinced easily by the likes of Heracross to vote against us."
Darmanitan: "Zen, chill, don't be mad at Heracross, inhale, exhale. Zen, chill…" He repeated over and over again.
Cryoninjas entered the auditorium. There, they noticed six scripts on the stage. Each with a number from one to six written on each of them. The content was hidden from plain sight as only the number was shown on the cover.
"Pick one and attempt to recreate a famous scene from books or movies. It depends on your luck what you get. Once prepared, head up to the stage and I will be the judge. The props are all in the backstage by the way." Smeargle informed. Cryoninjas nodded in understanding.
"Just pick number one." Shedinja grabbed it without a second thought.
"Hopefully, something good." Cryogonal hoped.
Unfortunately, it was about a sappy romance novel called the Miracle of Love.
"We are dead." Shedinja sounded very serious as he read the script.
Confessional
Cryogonal: "The problem is on his side. Not mine, I can act all sappy but Shedinja is just an emo, edgy kid who wouldn't even wear a bowtie."
Farfetch'd, Meowth and Aromatisse attempted at the same time. Farfetch'd dashed through the first spike ball safely. Meowth and Aromatisse held each other's hand to make themselves feel secured, running together at their maximum speed.
"This isn't fabulous. Ah!" Aromatisse screamed, luckily dodging the spike ball.
"So, this is the true meaning of manual labor. Injuries with no medical insurance." Meowth said with trepidation.
Farfetch'd jumped, flapping his wings for extra airtime. This seemed like a great technique as the conveyor belt wouldn't reduce his speed. However, precision was also incredibly important. Overshooting the jump distance and the next spike ball might collide with you. Landing improperly and you risked losing speed or tripping over.
Farfetch'd landed between the two spike balls, running on the spot to build his speed back up. He soon surpassed the last spike ball, surviving through the fierce first obstacle.
"Mr. Stalk, we did it!" Farfetch'd had his short celebratory moment. At the same time, Team High Expense jumped as well, following his example. However, they didn't stick the landing quite well. Jumping with two Pokemon was harder than one. Aromatisse tripped and fell. This sent Meowth off his balance as well.
"My face is screwed!" Aromatisse dreaded the worst as the spike ball maintained its momentum, craving for carnage.
"Help us!" Meowth called for help urgently.
"Great job, come on. Let's go." Duosion hurried, unwilling to help Meowth. However, Farfetch'd acted instinctively with no hesitation, he turned back and hauled the two to safety.
"Thank you very… much." Meowth said in a sincere but tired voice as he forced himself to keep moving immediately. Any rest or sedentary action had grave consequences and dire implications to your health.
"No problem and take care. The three of us need to go now." Farfetch saw Duosion's brooding eyes and decided to quickly move on.
Aromatisse could only nod and smile gratefully as she ran out of breath. They watched as the two conquered the rest of the obstacles with no problem. Farfetch'd jumped through all electric hurdles, unharmed to their reliefs.
After Team Psycho Stalkers got their second stamp, Farfetch'd turned to Duosion for a small conversation while walking slowly to the auditorium.
"I hope you know that we aren't trying to make us lose. If they aren't in threat of any danger, Mr. Stalk wouldn't even think about saving them in a million years. He just wants a clean cut, fair competition. Having them eliminated isn't what you wanted right? Mr. Stalk knows that you want to get rid of Lucario." Farfetch'd conveyed his message.
"I know, I'm not mad at you. Aromatisse is my friend. I just… forget about it. We should focus on the challenge." Duosion avoided his inquiring, disconcert eyes.
Confessional
Farfetch'd: "When Duosion got assigned as our partner, Mr. Stalk knew that she wouldn't fit in with us well. She gives us this weird Skrelp vibe. I think she probably wants an easy win. However, we want a hard-earned victory. Mr. Stalk also remembers that she ate Meowth's Pokepuff a couple of days ago. For someone that campaigns against Meowth, I find that odd. Right, Mr. Stalk?" He shook Mr, Stalk up and down. "Right."
Duosion: "I just can't believe that I'm willing to hurt Meowth at the expense of Aromatisse. No pun intended by the way. I wonder if I'm a horrible Pokemon…"
Aromatisse: "Farfetch'd is a returner just like me. Maybe we should keep each other safe since the others might find that to be a reason to vote against us."
Meowth: "Farfetch'd is a boat connoisseur while I run a car manufacturing business. We hardly can cooperate with each other. He got no reason to work with me and that's a shame. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate what he did. Don't get me wrong." He used an analogy.
Team High Expense received a minor electric shock at the last hurdle. After getting off the conveyor belt, they collapsed on the ground immediately. Too exhausted to move or get the stamp.
"You two better hit the gym sometimes." Druddigon suggested. "Wait, is that…" He saw something in the distance.
The Lucario Express stormed to the next station with its passenger.
"Holy mother of-" Druddigon was at a loss for words.
"Hold on tight." Lucario cautioned as he blazed through the spike balls, flamethrowers, cannonball and hurdles as if they were all a joke. He was so fast that the conveyor belt nearly caught on fire. Nosepass closed his eyes throughout the entire thing.
They went from last to fourth.
Confessional
Nosepass: "I must admit that while Lucario is a crazy jerk. He is pretty reliable."
Lucario: "I don't care about winning anymore. With Nosepass around, getting fifth is a luxury."
Team Chillhorns appeared inside the auditorium. They picked the sixth script. It was a movie called the Chill Gangsters. They were a group of gangsters that sell chill pills. Darmanitan widened his eyes and smiled as he saw the title.
"I can't believe my luck! Homie, this is easy. Let's chill out!" Darmanitan exclaimed.
"Alright, calm down, homie boy. Let me see the script." Heracross took the script from him forcefully.
Team Psycho Stalkers arrived next. They picked the second script. It was about an educational book, teaching kids to be proper role model students. One chapter told a 'tragic tale' about parents who don't raise their kids right.
"Um, this is feasible." Duosion said after analyzing the content. Seemingly, the script had a lot of room for deviation.
Suddenly, Team Strong and Weak stormed inside the auditorium.
The other six contestants stopped what they were doing, horrified to see the professional athlete again. Lucario grinned as he tasted their fears like delicious honey.
Confessional
Heracross: "We better hurry! I want to win that reward."
Duosion: "My worst nightmare is back again."
Darmanitan: "The movie is all about acting all chill, for the most part. The most famous scene is when the gangsters are about to be captured by the police and must find a way to escape."
Lucario: "We got a script about the movie 'Divorce Lawyer'. A story about a bickering couple. This is perfect. I will be the man, Nosepass will be the woman. I will also get to do bad things to him like water slap his pathetic face. Yes!"
Nosepass: "Great, now I need to wear a dress. Everyone will laugh at me. Screw you, Lucario."
Shedinja re-read the script multiple times, stalling the worst part…
"Shedinja, time to put on your costume." Cryogonal exited the backstage, holding a black suit with bowtie. She wore a snowy white dress herself. The costumes were all tailored for specific contestants. The backstage had something for everyone. (Big budget production, courtesy of the author.)
"No way." Shedinja retreated. Cryogonal glared at him critically.
"Shedinja, I thought you changed. Just put it on, it isn't going to kill you." Cryogonal patronized.
"Just look at how ugly it is. I bet the bowtie is made from Rowlet's body parts." Shedinja eyed it suspiciously.
"I will say this one last time. Put it on." Cryogonal sounded deadly serious.
"No." Shedinja replied disobediently. Cryogonal grabbed Shedinja and forced the suit on him.
"Stop acting like such a baby." Cryogonal ended up doing all the work.
Surprisingly, he didn't resist at all. Instead, he smiled at her as she adjusted the bowtie.
"Done. Why do you look at me like that?" Cryogonal asked in confusion.
"Thanks for putting on the suit for me. I'm too lazy and demotivated to do it. Suits are stupid." Shedinja revealed that it was his plan all along.
Cryogonal heated up with anger. "You tricked me?" She asked, the sweet exterior of her voice betrayed the raging interior.
Shedinja nodded.
"Die!" Cryogonal started chasing Shedinja all over the place, swinging her snow chains. Heracross laughed at this.
Confessional
Shedinja: "Worth it. I got Wonder Guard, she can't hurt me."
Cryogonal: "Shedinja, you little-" She took deep breaths. "I still like him but I will get back at him for sure in the future."
The Chillhorns headed up the stage first since Cryoninjas wasted so much precious time. Darmanitan wore a knit black cap with a skull design and black sunglasses. Furthermore, he wore a bling-bling necklace.
The homie boy carried two props to the stage, a cardboard cut-out version of Machoke and a box of chill pills. The cardboard opened his hands in a receiving gesture.
He placed it down and walked to the other end of the stage. Once Smeargle gave him the signal to start, the homie boy walked over gangster style to cardboard Machoke.
"Welcome to tha chill club, the chilliest in tha street. Homie, here we chillin. I got the good goods. Pimpin' like a king, chillin' like a shill. How many do ya want?" Darmanitan asked. The cardboard obviously couldn't talk so Darmanitan needed to talk for him.
"The entire box." Darmanitan soon switched back to his voice. "The entire box? Alright homie, take it and don't tell anyone."
Suddenly, sounds of police sirens were heard from a distance.
"Whatcha I do now? Homie, cover it for your boy." Darmanitan schemed by taking all of his accessories off and put them on Machoke. The technician now wore a cap, sunglasses, necklace and held a box of chill pills.
Heracross, the policewomen arrived, holding a gun. She pointed the gun at Darmanitan who raised his arms up immediately.
"Kid, I got a call that something is about to go down here today. Got something illegal?" Heracross stared at him accusingly.
"Not me, ma'am. It's him. He is trying to sell me chill pills." Darmanitan framed, pointing toward Machoke.
"Care to tell me more? He got any accomplices? Any leads, any clues? How many pills does he sell?" Heracross interrogated.
"I don't know about the amount. He got a whole gang. They are twenty blocks away from here. Turn back and head that way." Darmanitan lied.
"Thanks for the help, kid." Heracross picked her radio up. "Boss, I need reinforcements. We are going to catch the whole gang tonight." She arrested Machoke before exiting the stage. Darmanitan got away scot-free. The show ended. The Chillhorns anticipated their result.
"Give me the goods." Smeargle said vaguely.
"You mean the chill pills?" Heracross looked confused.
"No, your stamp booklet." Smeargle clarified. Darmanitan handed her the booklet with a happy face.
"Yes, in your face, Cryoninjas. I'm in the lead! I'm the best! Sweet freaking reward, here I come!" Heracross exulted.
The Chillhorns' lead ruined everyone's mood.
Confessional
Shedinja: "Great, meathead got first."
Aromatisse: "We just got there when the Chillhorns left. Apparently, our script is about a book called 'The Night Falls and the Darkness Rises." What a weird and gloomy name." She didn't remember that it was the book the Skrelp read.
Team Reticence finally got to the obstacle course.
"Rhyhorn, please cooperate with me, alright? I don't want to lose." Drifblim pleaded desperately.
"Fine." Rhyhorn said simply. Drifblim looked much better.
Team Reticence's strategy was simple. Drifblim held onto Rhyhorn as he charged through all of the obstacles. Drifblim was impressed by his speed. Rhyhorn was also strong and durable. She realized then that Rhyhorn was the black horse of this competition. He must be dealt with instantly in the final eight. Obviously, she wouldn't eliminate herself to take him out.
After they were done with the obstacles, Drifblim brought the booklet over to Druddigon. She struck a small conversation with him.
"How many injuries did you rack up today, in total?" Drifblim asked curiously.
"You are sadistic, eleven hits in total." Druddigon answered, stamping the booklet at the same time.
"Sadistic? No. I see it as entertainment for the viewers… to a certain extent. It's a good thing, eleven hilarious moments of contestants failing." Drifblim defended, accepting the booklet back.
"Not all of it is going to be aired. I like your sense of humor though." Druddigon chuckled. Drifblim did the same. Rhyhorn only watched.
Confessional
Drifblim: "I know that I'm basically asking to be hated. It's my guilty pleasure."
Shedinja and Cryogonal performed next. They sat in a dining table with a candle in the middle and two empty plates. They also got their napkins and everything.
"My sweet honey-" Shedinja said with his deadpan voice until Smeargle interrupted him.
"You failed. Your voice is monotone." Smeargle told.
"What? You are being too harsh. Shedinja's voice rarely got any emotion. It's his normal voice." Cryogonal argued.
"I'm afraid rules are rules. I must enforce them strictly." Smeargle said, unyielding. Cryoninjas left the stage hopelessly.
"I hope you two have a better time than us." Cryogonal talked to the Psycho Stalkers. They were about to perform next.
"Don't give up just yet. You can do it, Shedinja." Duosion encouraged before heading up. Shedinja sighed, not feeling any better.
The two took a while to set up the stage. Soon enough, they placed a table and a chair. The table got various books on it. Most were random, nonsensical magazines. Only one was a book about mathematics.
Smeargle gave them the signal to start, a copy of the script was on her lap.
Duosion read the magazines, procrastinating irresponsibly.
Suddenly, Farfetch'd appeared. He held Mr. Stalk with his left wing and a rolled-up newspaper on his right wing. Duosion quickly hid the magazine and acted as if she was studying.
"Daughter, are you studying for the exam tomorrow? Yesterday, your teacher told me that you failed in your type match-ups class." Farfetch'd asked worriedly.
"Don't worry, dad. I got it." Duosion replied, smiling confidently.
"Good. What is one times one?" Farfetch'd tested.
"Eleven oops, I mean one." Duosion tried to make her voice sound very dumb.
"Great job, I believe that you will do well." Farfetch'd said before he left. Duosion threw the book away and returned to reading her magazine.
Scene one was over and the two removed everything, replacing them with a couch. A newspaper was placed on it.
Farfetch'd got back up on stage. When he read the newspaper, he clutched his heart in agony.
Farfetch'd staggered off the couch before falling unconscious. The headline showed a Duosion being murdered by a Mightyena. Apparently, the young girl didn't know that dark type moves were super effective against psychic types. Furthermore, she didn't use common sense and run away.
This ridiculous story was judged mostly on body language. Therefore, they weren't a lot of words. Smeargle approved of their acting skills and gave them a stamp.
Confessional
Shedinja: "How am I supposed to show emotion? My voice is always like this as a Shedinja."
Cryogonal: "Hopefully, we manage to get through this crisis. Smeargle should be a bit lenient, honestly."
Farfetch'd: "Mr. Stalk believes that we still got a chance to beat the Chillhorns. I want to win a challenge for once."
Team Chillhorns were instructed to travel to the prison for Alakazam's station. They met him near the entrance, next to a table full of walkie-talkies.
"What is the challenge, brainiac?" Heracross asked informally.
"Skarmory requested me to explain things in a very simple manner to you, Heracross. I hope you understand and don't mind this 'special treatment'." Alakazam patronized condescendingly.
"Give my thanks to Skarmory for the special treatment." Heracross was oblivious to his sense of superiority.
"This is an easy brainteaser. One of you will enter the prison while the other stays outside. The Pokemon outside will receive five pictures of different areas inside the prison. Here's the catch. There are five differences to be spotted between the real prison and the pictures. Both of you need to work together to find them. The walkie-talkies are there for you to communicate with each other." Alakazam limited his vocabulary.
"Homie boy, you take the easy job and I will go inside the prison." Heracross dictated everything in her 'team'. Darmanitan didn't even get a say in anything as Heracross rushed inside the prison. No discussion about strategy. Alakazam teleported the pictures to him and Darmanitan sighed.
Confessional
Darmanitan: "In this team, I learn to just you know, shut up and take her orders. No point in saying anything when she won't listen."
Heracross: "I love to be the leader because you get special treatment, minions, more canned food and just basically everything."
Alakazam: "I hope my elementary explanation will suffice in aiding that simpleton. In hindsight, I should go over rules regarding forbidden actions such as the displacement of any objects. However, any sentient being with brain cells should be able to infer that axiom."
Team Reticence arrived and they got a play created by Smeargle called 'My Son is a Cardboard'. Drifblim thought it was hilarious. This play continued the cardboard Bisharp running gag. It was also pretty short, perfect for the silent Rhyhorn.
Team Strong and Weak put up a show next. The setting was exactly the same as the Cryoninjas. However, there was a divorce contract in the middle of the table. The two glasses of water were completely filled.
Nosepass reddened in embarrassment because he was forced to wear a pretty pink dress. Unlike Nosepass, Lucario got a dark blue tuxedo that fitted him perfectly. The professional athlete seemed concerned with the coward's ability to act.
"Don't fail. This is your one in a lifetime chance to assault me. You don't want to waste it, do you? Be angry, don't be scared. Show me your rage." Lucario pep-talked.
"Fine." Nosepass' face returned to normal. "I will get my revenge after all the bad things you have done to me." His voice was no longer timid, much more serious and determined. Lucario loved it.
Smeargle signaled for them to start.
Lucario banged the table furiously, before pointing at Nosepass accusingly. "You slept with another man! How could you? I'm divorcing you for your dirty affairs!" He fitted his character.
"Oh yeah? I bet you won't because you can't find someone else to babysit a whiny, little man like you." Nosepass said in a girly voice, hiding his cowardly nature.
"I can! I'm handsome and attractive. You married me because of that." Lucario crossed his arms, sounding haughty.
"Nope, I married you because of your money. Duh." Nosepass revealed. Lucario gritted his teeth, seething.
"The ten years we are together, you never care about me? That isn't true. That isn't true! I'm perfect!" Lucario asked in denial. The feeling mixed with rage perfectly.
"No, you are just a short-tempered, insecure little man. That little head of yours only got pride and arrogance. You never admit that you are wrong. Must I be the only one who make mistakes? Get off your high horse!" What Nosepass said was kind of… accurate. Not perfectly accurate but you got the idea.
"You evil *beep*!' Lucario splashed the water at Nosepass.
"My dress is now wet, you jerk!" Nosepass water-slapped him back, his impulse coming into handy. Despite his enraged look, Lucario was pleased inwardly at the coward's boldness.
"Rather than a divorce, I will kill you!" Lucario yelled, lunging at Nosepass.
The table got knocked down as the man and the women wrestled. This was the end of the script. However, they continued rolling around, holding onto each other until Smeargle gave them the approval.
"Enough, both of you. Come and get the stamp." Smeargle ceased the fight.
"Aw, I want to see Nosepass beat Lucario up with a pink dress on." Aromatisse sounded disappointed. After finishing her rehearsal, she had a great time watching the soap opera.
Confessional
Nosepass: "I just did what he said. He doesn't have any rights to beat me up or get any revenge. I feel like my hatred against him overshadows my fear… slightly."
Lucario: "I went easy on him. Nosepass is just so pitiful that he needs a ridiculous play to humiliate me. It was all just an act. I hope that no one takes this seriously. I will never get into a relationship, ever."
Heracross entered the staff area of the prison. This was her first time to get a closer and clearer look at the place since she was the prisoner.
To the right, installed a jacuzzi tub. It was filled with water. To the left, a refrigerator cornered itself to the wall. In front of her eyes were multiple objects:
A light brown couch with a red square pillow.
A board game of monopoly with dices, chance cards and moving pieces. No money or deeds were to be found.
A collection of green bean bags, four of them in total.
A table with two golden keys and three police hats.
The ceiling got an air conditioner.
However, Heracross wasn't detail oriented. She called Darmanitan to tell him her dismal observations.
"Homie boy, I see like beanbags, Monopoly, keys, hats and other shit and stuff. Got anything different?" She listed, lacking in detail.
"Um… no. Is there a refrigerator, air conditioner and jacuzzi tub inside?" Darmanitan asked.
"Yeah. I will move on." Heracross put the walkie-talkie away.
"Wait-" Darmanitan didn't get to finish.
Confessional
Darmanitan: "I was about to tell her that Duosion and Farfetch'd just got there, listening to Alakazam's explanation. Second, there are only five areas she need to check, the staff area, the cameras room, the jail cells, the mess hall and the working station. Frankly, I want her to chill and calm down for a second so I can talk to her properly."
Heracross: "This challenge is just stupid. It is for mentally-challenged kids. I want a physical one not whatever mental, detail stuff this is."
Farfetch'd soon entered the prison to Heracross' dismay. At first, Duosion opposed to the idea as he was unfamiliar with the place. However, the duck insisted and got his way. Farfetch'd wanted to tour the prison for himself and Mr. Stalk.
"Mr. Stalk, find anything?" Farfetch'd asked his trusty partner as he glanced around the room for any object of interest.
"Farfetch'd, you only need to check the staff area, the area you are currently in. The camera room, to your right. The jail cells, head through the middle door. The mess hall, the area after that and the working station toward the right of the mess hall. Need a repeat?" Duosion informed.
"Nope, we got it. Also, don't hang up. We should constantly communicate with each other." Farfetch'd suggested.
"A good idea. Does anything catch your eyes or do I need to give you a few pointers?" Duosion asked.
"Mr. Stalk finds Monopoly to be a bit strange. There are no deeds or any cash at all." Farfetch'd told.
"There are no deeds and cash in the picture either. Anything else?" Duosion asked further.
Farfetch'd crouched down to take a closer look. He widened his eyes immediately. "There's no jail area on the board. It got replaced by the jacuzzi tub." He observed.
"Fantastic, Farfetch'd!" Duosion praised. "I squinted at the picture and my board got a jail. I will mark it. Proceed to the next area."
Farfetch'd smiled at Mr. Stalk as he went to check inside the camera room.
Confessional
Farfetch'd: "We are making decent progress so far. All thanks to Mr. Stalk. He stalked the board long and hard for that easy to miss detail."
Team High Expense started their recreation of 'The Night Falls and the Darkness Rises.'
The lights were all turned off to create a dark and dreary atmosphere. Only a lonely moon shined down the stage. The background showcased a hill. The viewpoint at the top connected to the dark sky.
Sounds of panting and moaning were heard from our protagonist, Meowth. He ran away from a flock of fiery pitchforks. Sweated covered his body as well as scratches and bruises. He barely survived those government dogs. Among one of them was his mentally-ill brother.
You would be confused because this was the climax of the story. To summarize the whole book, it started off as an ordinary plight of the poor style of story with third person narrative.
The protagonist was a Zoroark, He lived in a small village where drought and famine took lives of many. Yet, the corrupted government pressured them to pay preposterous amount of taxes. They were doomed to live cruelly or die painfully.
Among all those that gave up, there's our protagonist. He had a crazy little brother (one year younger), who needed to be treated.
The brother was a secondary lead character, who put the psychological thriller into the genre of the book. He completely lacked self-consciousness. He never cared about how the public viewed him and often wandered into dangerous territories recklessly. In reality, he wanted to find his brother who disappeared every single night and captured the mysterious being who called himself the Darkness.
The Darkness was in fact, our protagonist. Underneath his cool exterior, he was filled with stress. With so much responsibility, he was pushed to the extreme. As a result, he attacked government officers each night and stole their resources. The Illusion ability was in fact underused as the protagonist felt the need to come clean. He wore a black cape to hide his identity though.
There were many scenes where his little brother nearly discovered his identity. All were thrilling and tense.
There were much more to the story like the cause of the brother's insanity, the backstory of the government officers and many more supporting characters. However, it would be too long to list them all. Shamefully, the reveal of the Darkness' identity was supposed to be a surprise.
Preceding the event of the climax, the little brother reported his own big brother to the government.
What did Skrelp say about the ending? The protagonist died, of course.
Meowth eventually collapsed on the ground out of exhaustion. Aromatisse slowly walked over to him, hiding a knife behind her back. She played the role of the protagonist's girlfriend.
The female lead character rarely appeared in the story. However, every time she appeared, it was obvious that she had a lot of influence over the protagonist's actions. Unfortunately, the main villain, the rich son of a government officer disguised himself as a poor villager and slowly gathered information, mostly from the little brother until he found the location of her family and threatened her to kill her own boyfriend.
Team High Expense acting was acceptable and Smeargle gave them a stamp.
Confessional
Aromatisse: "I even put on fake tears for the crying scene in the end. I can't believe how messed up it was. The book is definitely not my cup of diet drink."
Meowth: "I need to wash all the fake blood off." He wiped his bloody face and revolted in disgust at the amount of fake blood.
Team Strong and Weak arrived at the prison. Lucario chose to go inside while Nosepass stayed outside.
The professional athlete didn't waste any time. He searched through the place like a madman, rushing to find every single, tiny detail.
"Nosepass, what is the color of the beanbags? Answer now!" Lucario demanded. "Faster, idiot!" He already insulted him one second after he asked.
Nosepass cringed at his loud voice, suffering from a headache. Working with Lucario wasn't easy.
Confessional
Nosepass: "God, I hate Lucario. This and that all the time, take a break."
Lucario: "We got a chance to win first place now but Nosepass is too slow. On average. it takes him five seconds to respond. In the Aura Beast, my members take three seconds maximum to respond to me."
Heracross checked the jail cells, finding cardboard cut-outs of Grovyle, Archeops and Skrelp in three different cells.
Grovyle buried his face on a pillow. Skrelp read a book. Archeops looked all crestfallen, staring at the ground guiltily.
"Grovyle, Archeops and Skrelp, all cardboard." Heracross notified.
"Homie, everything looks to be the same here but-" Darmanitan didn't get to finish as Heracross ended the call again.
She headed over and gripped Archeops' jail bars.
"What's up, Archeops? What's with that face? Cheer up, at least one of our alliance members should win. Probably Drifblim but still… Be happy, girl. You are a pretty good leader. No one back where I live promise to pay, you know? You got a generous heart, girl.' Heracross talked to a cardboard like a crazy dweeb.
Confessional
Heracross: "You know what? Archeops is one of the few I'm willing to be led by. Stupid Skrelp, I wish I can break her freaking cardboard face. But… I'm smarter than that. It's stupid to destroy stuff in prison, you could get in serious trouble for it. They will sentence you to years of labor."
Darmanitan: "I want to tell the homie that Grovyle catches some Zs."
Duosion: "We found another difference. The belt conveyor system lost one of its pulley in the actual prison. It reminds me of Houndour so much that I got side-tracked a bit." She seemed a bit embarrassed.
Farfetch'd: "Duosion just gave me a history lesson about conveyor belts. How it originates from manual treadmills and something about method of punishment against prisoners or whatever. Mr. Stalk doesn't care one bit. He wants to concentrate on the challenge."
Lucario: "One of the shovels inside the working station got placed upside down. At the very least, we spotted one, which is a miracle with Nosepass as your partner."
Team Reticence got their act together.
A crying Drifblim sneezed into a tissue paper before she threw it away. She entered a cardboard store and met the Rhyhorn owner. He wore a cardboard hat with the word 'Owner'.
"Mr. Rhyhorn, my Bisharp son just died! The world took him away so soon. Please bring him back! Wah!" Drifblim cried harder with the help of fake tears.
"I'm very sorry for your loss. I hope the angels bless his poor soul and you can find comfort and solace in your happiest memories." Rhyhorn commiserated. "Anyways, I have a replacement. Please take a look." He lifted up a cardboard Bisharp and Drifblim squealed in joy.
"I will never let you go again, my son." Drifblim hugged cardboard Bisharp affectionately.
(Behold, the greatest plot twist of all time!)
Suddenly, the screen transitioned to an advertisement, taking place in Loser Island at night (after yesterday's elimination). A goalie cardboard Machoke spread his arms and legs wide to protect the goal.
"Enter the new generation where all of your friends, family and loved ones are cardboard. Got annoying, athletic friends that beat you at sports all the time? Say farewell to defeat with cardboard friends." Skarmory promoted before moving out of the way.
Tyrunt kicked the ball lazily into the goal. "Yay, my first goal ever!" He celebrated.
The screen transitioned to the beach, showing Dedenne having a romantic date with cardboard Grovyle. They sat under a giant beach umbrella. There was a bowl of Sitrus Berries between them.
"Got a dirty, backstabbing and untrustworthy lover? Don't worry with a carboard lover." Skarmory continued to advertise.
"I love my Triple C. He is the caring, considerate cardboard!" Dedenne shouted lovingly before feeding him Sitrus Berries.
The screen transitioned to the dining table. Bisharp stood between two cardboard Bisharp.
"Got parent issues? Forget about that when you have cardboard parents!" Skarmory yelled to attract attention.
"Cardboard father and cardboard mother, can Jumpluff be my girlfriend? If you don't say anything, that means yes." Bisharp asked for permission from his cardboard parents.
Cricket noises were edited into the advertisement.
"You did it, dude!" Houndour congratulated off-camera. Jumpluff suddenly rushed over to hug him. Bisharp had a shocked and worried expression.
"Oh my god! Oh my god! I thought that we will never get to be together… I thought that you will leave me…" Jumpluff broke down into tears of joy.
"Be careful of the blades. You might get hurt." Bisharp warned, pushing her back a little.
"I'm just glad that we can be an item now. Jumpsharp for life!" Jumpluff whooped.
"Uh, we are just shooting an adverstisement. You know that, right? We aren't official until I ask my real parents." Bisharp corrected the misunderstanding.
"Oh, silly me. Your parents will now think that I'm an idiot." Jumpluff sounded ashamed of herself.
"Don't worry, I will convince them otherwise. I will make them appreciate your lovable zeal just like I do." Bisharp vowed. Jumpluff seemed very touched.
"I'm sorry to interrupt this heart-warming moment. However, can you please explain to the viewers what's happening right now?" Skarmory requested. Bisharp nodded, turning from Jumpluff to face the camera.
"Viewers, all of the ex-contestants from Loser Island have decided to host a little competition of our own. We will compete to see who can sell the most cardboard cut-outs of themselves. The winner will get a cardboard trophy. Credit to Skarmory for the idea." Bisharp explained.
"You are welcomed." Skarmory seemed pleased.
Rudely, Larvitar barged in front of the camera. "I know that people will buy cardboard Larvitar the most because I'm the most awesome and popular contestant. I'm also-"
"Larvitar, it's time for you to do the chores!" Helioptile dragged his tail out of the camera's view.
"No, not the chores!" Larvitar clawed the ground in a futile attempt to escape. Bisharp and Jumpluff stopped hugging each other and cringed awkwardly alongside Skarmory.
"Wow, he just ruined the entire advertisement." Skarmory commented before the screen cut back to the auditorium.
"Viewers, let's get into the important detail. The price. Each cardboard contestant costs 950P. However, you can buy a couple like Bisharp and Jumpluff at a discounted price of 1,500 P. Saving yourself 400 P by doing that." Drifblim enticed.
"Or buy a lonely loser like Larvitar for full price." Rhyhorn suggested an unpopular option. Team Reticence laughed about this foolish idea as the number 98012-376-6432-SK appeared on the screen. (Try calling it, Skarmory might reply. ^-^)
Needless to say, Smeargle gave them the stamp.
Confessional
Drifblim: "Skarmory, Skarmory, exploiting your viewers for a profit? That's low of you." Drifblim shook her head in disapproval. "Each cardboard costs like 10P to manufacture. Maybe, even lower than that. Luckily, I'm one critical superfan. I won't fall for your tricks."
"Nosepass, what's in the mess hall? Give me a detailed report, quickly!" Lucario pressured his partner.
"Be patient! Four tables and… wait a second, let me count the chairs." Nosepass paused.
"Hurry up, my grandma is faster than you!" Lucario pulled the grandma card.
"Four chairs around one table, six around the other, five around another and the last got eight." Nosepass tried his best to please Lucario.
"Took you long enough. There is one table with seven chairs; the one on the top right corner. Three of them are on top, the other three on bottom. One on the left side. I suspect the one missing is on the right side." Lucario speculated.
"Left, right, what? I don't get what you mean." Nosepass wanted clarification.
"*beep* rotate the picture so you view it as if you just enter the mess hall, *beep* idiot!" Lucario swore, running out of patience.
"Sorry." Nosepass meekly apologized. A subtle hint of anger hid in his voice.
"God, I rather work with Feebas than him…" Lucario muttered.
"My bodyguard, how is your day?" Meowth greeted. Team High Expense just arrived at the last station. Lucario lightened up immediately.
"Meowth, let me help you…" Lucario planned on telling Meowth everything. Meowth grinned.
Confessional
Meowth: "Looks like either one of our teams will be first."
Aromatisse: "How did Meowth spot two differences so soon?"
Lucario: "I'm glad that Nosepass is never in my team. I will never accept a loser like him. He is the type that will never improve no matter how hard I try."
Nosepass: "If Lucario shout at me one more time, I might throw the challenge and get both of us eliminated."
Farfetch'd: "Mr. Stalk found another difference inside the mess hall. His tingling professional chef senses prove useful in spotting missing chairs for our dinner guests."
Heracross: "Homie boy sucks. He can't find any."
"From first to last." Shedinja seemed demotivated as he stared at the script in hopelessness.
"There's gotta be a way for you to show your emotions through words." Cryogonal didn't want to give up just yet. She floated back and forth, trying to think of something.
"It is not impossible but very difficult. I remember that I show emotions with my words when I fought Trumbeak." Shedinja indicated.
"Really?" Hope lit itself in Cryogonal's eyes. "Tell me more about it."
"I can't do it naturally or by myself. I need to feel it." Shedinja tried to explain.
"Feel? Does that mean… I need to make you really want to say those cheesy lines to me from the bottom of your soul?" Cryogonal asked, flustered a bit.
Shedinja nodded, possibly hiding his ulterior motive.
"Come closer." Cryogonal gestured. Shedinja liked where this was going.
"Close your eyes and prepare your lips." Shedinja instructed. Cryogonal obeyed, shutting her eyes tightly and made a kissing face.
She anticipated the kiss, all jittery, curious and excited. She wondered about how it would taste like. To an extent, she lusted for it.
Finally, the moment everyone had been waiting for… Her lips touched something and it… tasted like cardboard.
Cryogonal opened her eyes, shocked to realize that she kissed cardboard Shedinja.
"Did you really fall for it? Hahaha…" Shedinja laughed.
"You jerk! You are laughing… You can show emotion all along. You lied, die!" Cryogonal snapped, hitting him with the cardboard.
"Ouch, that really hurts." Shedinja said sarcastically.
"Whatever, can we just do the challenge and get it over with now?" Cryogonal's face heated, embarrassed after she got tricked again.
"Let's do it then." Shedinja said eagerly.
Team Cryoninjas floated up the stage, resolved and serious this time.
Confessional
Shedinja: "I'm not pranking her to be a jerk. I do it because it helps me to show emotions. Her reaction is pretty cute and attractive too. Friends are supposed to help each other, right?"
Cryogonal: "I can't believe that I like this guy. Ugh."
Back at the prison, Team Reticence joined the race for first. Rhyhorn stayed outside while Drifblim explored inside the prison.
The duo noticed the Monopoly board difference and rose to fourth as Team Chillhorns still got nothing so far.
Team Strong and Weak, Psycho Stalkers and High Expense were tied for first as they all got four differences. They missed one difference in the jail cells area.
Confessional
Heracross: "Homie boy better step up his game. I don't want to get eliminated because of him."
Darmanitan: "As long as we chill, we should be able to do it."
Meowth: "Working together with Lucario makes it easier for the both of us."
Drifblim: "I feel relieved that we are no longer last."
Duosion: "I want to stop Lucario and Meowth from winning."
The Cryoninjas sat on the dining table, eyeing each other affectionately. Cameras, light, action!
"My sweet honey, your words make me feel full. Not even the most scrumptious Slowpoke tails can hope to compare. I will eat your words rather than food on my plate. I don't care if obesity and heart attack will take my life for I just want to ask for one more lip bite." Shedinja exaggerated his voice.
"Oh, my love. I will feed you with my love everyday. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, I don't need you to bring me to fancy restaurants and luxurious cuisine. I desire your devotion to me more than anything." Cryogonal used her snow chains to hold his hand.
"I will devote my entire essence to you, both body and soul. Even if the world ends, I shall reincarnate again and again until you finally become my lover once more." Shedinja tried to keep his act up.
"You don't need to reincarnate to meet me. I will threaten the gods and cheat death itself. I will love you no matter what, even if you become a beast, a monster, I will never leave your side." Cryogonal leaned in for a kiss. Shedinja did the same.
"Both of you pass, you don't need to actually kiss." Smeargle ruined the chance.
Confessional
Cryogonal: "I actually wouldn't mind kissing Shedinja but I have a feeling that he doesn't like it."
Shedinja: "Who created the stupid book? It is cheesy and unrealistic, not romantic at all." (Not the author, he created the person who created the book. This doesn't count.)
Farfetch'd called Duosion to give him very specific details of the jail cells and to keep her volume low.
"All the jail cells have ten bars. Grovyle slept on his pillow. Skrelp-" Duosion got interrupted.
"What is Grovyle's sleeping position?" Farfetch'd questioned. "The Grovyle inside the prison buries his face on the pillow."
"Really? The Grovyle that I see sleeps normally. He stares at the ceiling." Duosion told. "I will check with Alakazam to see if it is right."
Alakazam verified that they spotted all the differences correctly.
"Perfect. Let's get our first victory, Mr. Stalk." Farfetch'd walked out of the prison naturally then, ran. Team Psycho Stalkers got their last stamp. Alakazam directed them toward the haunted house to find Skarmory.
Soon enough, Team Strong and Weak got their last difference as well. Lucario threw the booklet at Alakazam.
"Stamp quickly!" Lucario rushed impatiently. Alakazam caught the book with Psychic.
"Patience is a virtue." Alakazam reminded.
"Enough with that stupid platitude! I want to win first place!" Lucario was being impolite so Alakazam intentionally took more time to stamp the booklet. Nosepass glared at the professional athlete.
Lucario jerked the book off Alakazam's hand and picked Nosepass up before rocketing toward the haunted mansion.
"Mr. Stalk, you hear what? The sound of Lucario? We need to hurry up, Duosion!" Farfetch'd alerted urgently.
"I can't go any faster. Look, Skarmory is in front of us!" Duosion saw Skarmory. The host stood in front of the mansion.
"Prepare to get crushed, losers!" Lucario tried to demotivate them. "I will win and win again. Accept your pitiful defeat."
Team Psycho Stalkers started to feel anxious as Lucario got closer and closer. Farfetch'd turned to Duosion and clutched her.
"What are you doing?" Duosion asked, nervous and confused.
"You need to trust me. Think fast!" Farfetch'd didn't wait for Duosion's reply. He hurled her up and batted her toward Skarmory.
Duosion reached Skarmory first, thinking that she will win.
"Both of you need to be here if you want to check in for first." Skarmory didn't validate their placement yet.
"Oh no, it doesn't work." Duosion turned around and saw Lucario surpassing Farfetch'd. Her partner only nodded at her, giving her some sort of message. Suddenly, it clicked.
"Hahaha, another victory for me." Lucario celebrated early, gaping once Farfetch'd got pulled past him with Duosion's Psychic. The professional athlete stopped running as the Psycho Stalkers reached Skarmory first.
"We did it!" Duosion celebrated. Farfetch'd had a triumphant smile on his face.
Nosepass seemed satisfied that Lucario's streak came to an end.
"Congratulations, Team Psycho Stalkers. You two won four VIP movie tickets for the 'Hero of Darkness'. It will be aired a few months later." Skarmory revealed their reward. Lucario only smirked as he heard the title.
Confessional
Duosion: "This is a great reward. I will watch it with Houndour. As long as the movie doesn't have a character like Lucario, I will probably enjoy it."
Farfetch'd: "Mr. Stalk has a bad feeling about the title. He told me that my girlfriend won't enjoy it, neither will I."
Lucario: "Enjoy seeing me on the big screen for one hour, losers."
Team High Expense finished third and Team Reticence finished fourth. It was a deathmatch between Team Cryoninjas and Team Chillhorns. Both teams currently spotted zero difference so far.
"Wow, meathead, you should take a brain surgery. You still find nothing after an hour? Haha." Shedinja mocked.
"Shut up, stupid bug, I will beat you and my team will get fifth!" Heracross tried to sound confident. However, she panicked internally.
Shedinja decided to waste no further time with Heracross and ignored her. The street punk got a sneaky idea. She decided to eavesdrop Shedinja's conversation with Cryogonal.
Heracross rested her back on the bean bag and closed her eyes, snoring. Shedinja chuckled, lifting his walkie-talkie up to talk about the Monopoly board. He underestimated Heracross. She heard everything and told Darmanitan.
Confessional
Heracross: "Hey, I got some street smarts, you know? That's how I survive on the streets. Thinking about it, I should come up with this a long time ago when Farfetch'd arrived. Oh well, it takes time to come up with a smart idea."
Shedinja: "Meathead is a plain imbecile. She can't come up with anything smart."
Shedinja observed Grovyle's cell while Heracross struck a conversation with cardboard Archeops. Shedinja cringed at this before talking to Cryogonal, unaware that Heracross was listening.
Shedinja went inside the camera room. Heracross positioned her left ear on the door, overhearing everything.
Shedinja glanced around the mess hall. Heracross noticed that he locked his eyes on one of the tables and communicated with Darmanitan properly this time to find another difference.
Shedinja entered the working station and Heracross didn't bother being secretive anymore. She just stood behind him, copying what he said to Darmanitan.
"Cryogonal, is everything correct? I see, we should win then. What? Darmanitan is now checking with Alakazam? How is this possible?" Shedinja realized it then as he turned around and saw Heracross.
"Who's the meathead now?" Heracross said with hubris.
Confessional
Shedinja: "I will admit, I should never lower my guard." He sounded disappointed in himself.
Darmanitan: "Is Heracross suddenly turning into a genius? She got everything right, how is that possible?"
Heracross: "To everyone who thinks that I'm stupid, take that as a proof of my brilliance."
Team Cryoninjas and Team Chillhorns raced to Skarmory. At the moment, they were neck and neck.
Team Chillhorns took the lead.
No, it was Team Cryoninjas now.
Once again, Team Chillhorns.
Heracross and Darmanitan were both athletic and Shedinja's speed was insane for his species.
A solid winner couldn't be decided.
Skarmory watched with excitement as they got closer and closer to him.
Team Cryoninjas took the lead.
Team Chillhorns recovered their lead.
Shedinja dragged Cryogonal to the best of his ability. She was the slowest and it might come down to that.
"Shedinja, her booklet. Steal it!" Cryogonal got a dirty trick of her own. Without the booklet, Skarmory couldn't validate their placement.
Shedinja immediately seized Heracross' booklet.
"Hey, that's cheating!" Heracross yelled hypocritically, trying to pull it back.
"You cheated many times yourself." Shedinja countered, yanking the booklet back.
"Well, technically, it's not cheating because it isn't against the rules." Skarmory pointed out.
"Whatever, we will take our victory." Cryogonal helped Shedinja to tug the book.
"Stop standing there like an idiot and help me!" Heracross shouted at Darmanitan.
"Homie, this isn't chill. Can't we play who is the chilliest game or coin toss to decide the winning team?" Darmanitan proposed. Everyone gave him looks and he scratched his head sheepishly, not helping Heracross.
"Cryogonal, find the right opportunity to let go of their book and burst to the finish line." Shedinja instructed and Cryogonal nodded.
Heracross then got another plan. She let go of the booklet and snatched Cryogonal as her hostage.
"No!" Shedinja rushed over to free her.
"Let me go, meathead!" Cryogonal swung her snow chains to slap Heracross' face.
"Feisty, aren't you? This will teach you a lesson." Heracross lifted Cryogonal up with her horn before Shedinja could free her and threw her against a tree.
"Ouch!" Cryogonal yelped in pain.
"Are you okay?" Shedinja checked on her worriedly, leaving himself vulnerable. Heracross utilized this opportunity, taking her book back from him before dragging an idle Darmanitan to Skarmory.
"Wow, so many dirty tricks. Well, none of them are against the rules so Team Chillhorns, you survive for another day. Team Cryoninjas, I'm sorry to tell you that both of you are eliminated from Total Skarmory Island.
Heracross exulted in her victory. In contrast, Darmanitan headed over to check on Cryogonal guiltily.
Confessional and Final Confessionals
Heracross: "In the end, I come out of this rivalry as the winner. How does it feel, Shedinja?"
Darmanitan: "I don't like Heracross. She better changes her attitude or else both of us are eliminated tomorrow."
Shedinja: "Whatever, meathead will never win this game. I don't plan on winning this anyways. I came, wanting to annoy Ninjask. Now, I go out with something special."
Cryogonal: "Oh well, I had a good run. I want to show the world that even orphans can play this game and socialize, striving to make great friends and win challenges. I accomplished a lot. I won an immunity challenge. I got friends. I can't ask for more other than winning the million and see Heracross losing I guess. I hope Duosion or Aromatisse wins. Anyone but Lucario and Heracross, really. Meowth, I think he is alright. Compare to everyone else, he at least got a heart. After this show, I'm probably going to work on my anger issues a bit so my little sister won't freak out. Bye, everyone."
Aromatisse and Duosion were there to see Shedinja and Cryogonal off.
"Have a fabulous time in Loser Island and avoid the Pyukumuku. Be proud that you make it this far. I mean you two didn't get voted off, just automatically eliminated." Aromatisse tried to make them feel better.
"Thanks for your consoling words, Aromatisse. I will find that Pyukumuku and teach it a lesson. You can count on me." Cryogonal said confidently. Aromatisse chuckled.
"Without you two, nothing will ever be the same." Duosion said unhappily.
"Come on, cheer up. Girl, how I'm supposed to tell Houndour if he asks me about you? You have a decent chance to win, Duosion and you still got Aromatisse." Cryogonal tried to cheer her up.
"I guess you are right." Duosion looked much better.
"Haha, Shedinja, you suck!" Out of no where, Heracross came to insult him before his departure.
"Whatever, meathead. I don't care if you think that you are superior to me just because you last longer. You are just pathetic. You waste your entire time in this island over a pointless, one-sided rivalry. Go and pick fight with other meats in the meat store. I bet you will lose to them." Shedinja's words stung Heracross. The four laughed as she became speechless. Soon enough, the Lapras departed and Heracross clenched her fists.
Confessional
Heracross: "He is gone but why am I still frustrated? I don't *beep* understand!"
Out in the ocean…
"Remember the song that got us together?" Shedinja brought the topic out of nowhere.
"With Spite, from Shedinja? Why bring it up all of a sudden?" Cryogonal asked, a bit confused.
"Well, you see... I change it a little. Let's call it 'With Love, from Shedinja'." Shedinja changed the title.
"It doesn't suit the song at all. You know that, right?" Cryogonal doubted that he was being serious.
"Of course, that is why I change the lyrics. Let me sing for you." Shedinja offered, surprising Cryogonal. This time, he sang with emotion.
"The long-forgotten days fading through time. My feelings of nostalgia banished."
"Nothing feels the same. The three of you hope for me to vanish."
"A talented boy once had many friends. He was cherished dearly by those he called 'family'.
"Nobody treated him like a bug. They surrounded and gave him a hug."
"The long-forgotten days fading through time. My feelings of nostalgia banished."
"Suddenly, everything changed. The boy evolved, shedding his broken shell."
"His parents adored him even more. The shell was ignored, living through hell."
"My feelings of nostalgia lingered. My soul chained it up, waiting for someone to break the apathy." Cryogonal never heard this line.
"Without telepathy, I can tell you three wanted me to cease into oblivion. No need to act oblivious, I suffered enough."
"The long-forgotten feelings fading through time. I banished them like my friends vanished."
"How convenient, the sentient shell ended up in a convenience store. He worked overtime to be nourished."
"You three celebrated with presents. I wished to send a gift card without resentment."
"With love, from Shedinja, your abandoned son. Here's a discount coupon, usable only in my convenience store."
"My feelings of love never existed. All the girls only wanted Ninjask. Even with Wonder Guard, I'm nothing to them."
"Only if I get to meet someone special in my life. I will treasure her more than cardboard."
"Revenge hoped for me to annoy. I did it and suddenly got bored."
"Skarmory watched my audition tape. He thought I'm a special bug but I will never get a hug."
Cryogonal suddenly hugged Shedinja and sang a line of her own.
Cryogonal: "The special snowflake sympathized and empathized with him."
Shedinja: "The talented boy was lost and confused. What does he actually want in this world, if anything at all?"
Cryogonal: "My feelings of nostalgia reawakened because of an edgy, emo kid."
Shedinja: "The long-forgotten swordsmanship reinvigorated with the help of a pirate. Everything feels better."
Cryogonal: "You never cared about me. I wished to send my love to you."
Shedinja: "My feelings came back along with love. Even with Wonder Guard, this special snowflake pierced through my barrier."
Cryogonal: "With love, from Cryogonal, the special snowflake. Here's someone that will care about you forever."
Shedinja: "With love, from Shedinja, the emo kid. Here's someone that will care about you forever."
The song ended and the Lapras clapped. The two eyed each other with affection once more before they kissed for real this time.
Instead of a closing segment, we got more footage this time as well. Two meetings took place…
Drifblim brought Nosepass out in the middle of the night. Nosepass rubbed his eyes groggily.
"It won't take long. You can go back to sleep soon. Nosepass, you enter this game because you want to prove your strength and get away from those bullies, right?" Drifblim asked. Nosepass nodded.
Lucario brought Rhyhorn out in the middle of the night. Rhyhorn only glared at him.
"Rhyhorn, I know how much you care about Nosepass. Therefore, you shall follow my orders from now on or else Nosepass will get hurt." Lucario tried to threaten him. Rhyhorn's eyes were unbreakably solid.
"Nosepass, you got your chance tomorrow! Just throw the challenge and get yourself eliminated alongside him! All the bullies will cower in fear once they heard you beat Lucario, don't you agree?" Drifblim persuaded. Nosepass looked a bit deep in thought.
"My first order is to keep me safe. If my team happens to be in last place tomorrow, throw the challenge to save me." Lucario tried to sound intimidating. Rhyhorn started laughing crazily.
"What the hell are you laughing at?!" Lucario lifted Rhyhorn up by his horn.
"Yeah. I will show that jerk to never mess with me. Tomorrow, I will throw the challenge." Nosepass agreed.
"You are nothing compare to someone I know, Lucario. You can't threaten me." Rhyhorn used the four of his feet to push against Lucario and free himself. The beast was astonished that his fear tactics didn't work on him.
Confessional
Lucario: "That guy isn't normal. Who the hell is he?!"
Drifblim: "If my plan works, the viewers will be so delightful. History is in the making. I want to be the best Total Drama player of all time."
Rhyhorn and Nosepass were surprised to meet each other in front of their cabin.
"Big brother, why are you up so late in the night?" Nosepass yawned.
"The restroom. What about you?" Rhyhorn lied.
"Drifblim wanted to talk to me about something. I will go to sleep now." Nosepass didn't have any energy left to talk.
Rhyhorn nodded to himself. He entered the Crawdaunt boys' cabin as well, watching Nosepass slept. The little brother shivered, as he didn't cover his entire body with the blanket. Rhyhorn used his horn to push the blanket up before smiling.
"Drifblim, you think you can mess with my little brother and get away with it? Wrong, you just made the biggest mistake of your life by pairing him with Lucario. Tomorrow, I will throw the challenge and get both of us eliminated. Lucario isn't the one you should fear. It's me!" Rhyhorn started laughing like a madman in the middle of the night with bloodthirsty eyes.
Placements
1st Team Psycho Stalkers
2nd Team Strong and Weak
3rd Team High Expense
4th Team Reticence
5th Team Chillhorns
Eliminated Team Cryoninjas
Rhyhorn has been awakened! He will be the main star of the next episode. Rhyhorn fans, get excited and be scared!
Next time, three Pokemon find their teammates throwing the challenges as two teams compete for first place. Expect frustration, teamwork and drama! I know I spoil the four that will be safe but it's a no-brainer at this point.
In the second season, Archeops is confirmed to return. Archeops fans, be pleased as she will be given a new start.
In the second season, Lucario is de-confirmed to return regardless of his placement. He is literally the poster child of the first season. The most influential and developed character. He is indirectly the driving force behind all of the drama. Skrelp, Bisharp and Drifblim plan strategies with him in mind. Grovyle fears him. Meowth employs him to get further. I know that some of my viewers don't really know what to think of him. That's because he is never really a protagonist or the antagonist.
Lucario is pretty much the Hero of Darkness. He did many good things and bad things all together. If you are still mixed about him, gravitate to hate him but appreciate all the things he had done for my story. Total Skarmory Island without Lucario is like Total Drama Island without Heather.
You might wonder what's up with 'The Night Falls and the Darkness Rises'. Well, originally, it is planned to be a story of its own. Skrelp is supposed to talk about it once in every while to build up the interest. However, I cancel it due to struggling to fit it in my schedule and loss of interest. I don't show the ending with Meowth and Aromatisse because it wouldn't do the real ending justice. I will give it a proper funeral someday.
Shedinja and Cryogonal fans, I hope you are happy with their ending. They are confirmed for the mythical season 3. In that season, Ninjask will also compete. Don't get excited because that's like seven years from now. I don't know if I will even write that long. What if I quit as an author someday or meet with a tragic accident? Hopefully, none of these things happen.
Final announcement, check my Deviantart account with the same name to see the development process and planning stage of TSI. There's nothing right now but wait until tomorrow and you might see a few posts. Don't worry, there will be no spoilers.