Total Pokemon: Hoenn

by Dark Arcanine 33

Zeraora and Silvally host a Total Pokemon competition! Fourteen competitors from Hoenn compete IN Hoenn for 100,000 Poke. Who will win? Read and find out!

2. Episode 2: Let's Starter Off

000

Following their introduction to the game, the rules, and living arrangements, the contestants had to deal with their most difficult task: being in each others' presence. Things actually seemed to be going well on the first night, but when it came to going to sleep, some players had tougher times than others.

000

Cacturne was lying in bed, resting as comfortably as she could in the queen-sized bed. Her spikes made it quite difficult, as she always ended up puncturing the mattress and tearing it whenever she turned. She had finally gotten into a comfortable spot, when she was awoken by a loud, beeping sound.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

She immediately sat up, pulling out a blade in self-defense. However, upon turning to her right and seeing Blaziken's phone vibrating and illuminating on the counter between them, she growled to herself. Placing her blade back underneath her pillow, she immediately lied back down as she heard the creaking of the hen's bed.

Blaziken got up, stretching as her phone alarm continued to blare. She tapped the red 'Stop' button on her screen. Letting out a breath of relaxation, she looked over to Cacturne's bed and saw that the Scarecrow Pokemon was still asleep, or at the very least pretending to be.

She eyed her cellphone, which was attached to her charger, warily. The Blaziken was heading toward the shower, and was tempted to bring her phone in with her incase someone called. However, given that it was only 6:15 in the morning, she felt that she didn't need to worry.

Once Blaziken was out of the room, Cacturne groaned in relief. How could they allow the hen to have her phone here? Didn't these shows usually look down upon outside contact and technology? As Cacturne drifted back off to sleep, her eyes immediately popped back open as she heard running water nearby.

Growling, the grass- and dark-type picked up her pillow and covered her head with it.

000

"First day… and I still dislike her…" Cacturne stated. "Why the hell does she have her phone alarm on anyway? And I will never, for the life of me, understand why people get up so early."

000

Hours passed by, with the girls slowly beginning to wake up from their peaceful slumbers. Blaziken had gotten out of the shower and was in the kitchen, making breakfast. Due to her nature, she was unsure about if she should make enough for everyone.

She decided against it, having already made dinner for nearly everyone previously. She took out a carton of eggs and opened the freezer to take out bacon.

A sharp yawn was heard as Numel made her way out front. Seeing that Blaziken was already up, Numel rose her brow. "Good morning Blaziken…" she greeted.

"Good morning, Numel," the hen responded as she cracked a couple of eggs into a plastic bowl. "Sleep well?"

"Can't really complain," the Numb Pokemon replied, hopping up into one of the chairs. "Armaldo and Spoink are pretty good roommates so far. And, on the plus side, neither of them snore. How was Cacturne?"

Blaziken shrugged. "Can't really complain, either," she replied. "She's pretty quiet, I suppose, so no real issues…"

Armaldo and Spoink headed to the front, with Spoink looking cheery, and Armaldo looking rather… perturbed.

"Hey, look at who's up," Blaziken playfully addressed. "You girls have a goodnight's sleep?"

"Yep!" Spoink chirped. "The beds here are so soft! It was like sleeping on a fluffy cloud!"

"I know, right?" Numel agreed cheerily. "And the sheets were like being wrapped up in cotton!"

Armaldo still looked a bit uncomfortable, as she was scratching her arm with a soft sigh. Hearing the sound, the girls turned to her apprehensively.

"You okay, Armaldo?" Blaziken queried, seeing her demeanor.

The Plate Pokemon ceased her scratching momentarily before looking down. "I'm okay. I guess I'm just not used to sleeping outside of my pod…"

"Well, hopefully you'll be able to get accustomed to it for the next two months," Numel replied brightly.

"Or you could always just recreate your pod with your bed and sheets," Spoink said, springing into another chair at the table. "We all have to be comfortable…"

"Well, comfort is hard to come by when you're a cactus…" they all heard as Cacturne sulked toward the front. She went down toward the couches and sat down with a groan. "Especially when your roommate's alarm wakes you up three hours early…"

Blaziken, upon hearing that, gave her a look. "So, she was just pretending to be asleep," the hen thought to herself. Though, if she was being honest, she couldn't blame the Scarecrow Pokemon for being agitated. If she wasn't an early bird and someone woke her up unexpectedly, she'd hold a bit of resentment as well.

"Well, my apologies for that," Blaziken stated, whipping the eggs in the bowl she had. "I suppose I should have warned you about my alarm…"

"Yes, that would have been appreciated," Cacturne replied, staring at the ceiling. "And I must also ask that you turn it down or do something to negate the chance of me being woken up by it…"

Blaziken, upon hearing that, could only shake her head. She got up early every morning to shower, go out for a jog or early workout in general, and then showered again before making breakfast for herself and her son. She should have realized that being in this game, and having a roommate along with it, meant that it was going to be difficult for her to continue her routine.

"Wait, how is she supposed to keep you from being woken up by it?" Numel queried.

"Either turn it off or find some headphones…" Cacturne replied.

"And if you find some, you'd better bring me some, too!" they all heard a loud voice bellow as Salamence stomped toward the front. "That fucking bitch snored all night! I kept thinking that a fucking plane was about to crash into the damn cabin!"

"Salamence, calm down. It couldn't have been that bad…" Spoink replied.

"Quiet, bacon, you don't know anything!" Salamence growled, glowering at the Bounce Pokemon.

Exploud came to the front, yawning. "Man, those beds are great on the back…"

"I'm so glad that you got to enjoy it…" Salamence replied sarcastically while glaring daggers at the Loud Noise Pokemon. "At least someone in the room was able to…"

"What? Did your bed suck?"

Salamence twitched. "I'm going outside. Nobody fucking bother me…" the dragon demanded as she walked to the door.

Once she left, Exploud rose a brow. "What the hell's her problem? It was a simple yes or no question…"

"Uh… According to Salamence… You snore," Armaldo explained. "So, I'm guessing she's pissed that you actually kept her up for a good portion of the night…"

Exploud scoffed. "Please. I've heard plenty of people tell me that and whenever I record myself, I never hear anything…"

"What?" Numel queried. "That's not how sound works…"

"Main point, I don't snore, therefore Salamence is just being her normal, bitchy self," Exploud reasoned. "So, whatever she tells you regarding me, will be false…"

"That's a pretty broad generalization based on a single idea," Blaziken spoke.

"It's true, though," Exploud replied. "So, to avoid this happening often, I say that whoever's on her team vote her out after the first challenge…"

"Or we can wait until the teams are made, see how she performs then and not potentially ruin our chances," Cacturne spoke. "She may not even be on your team and if she is, you never know, she may be a worthy asset…"

"She is a dragon-type after all…" Spoink stated. "I can see it."

"Yeah, sure…" Exploud retorted, rolling her eyes.

000

"Please. We all know that Salamence is practically asking to be eliminated first," Exploud replied. "Her shitty attitude won't serve any purpose other than to irritate everyone."

000

Outside, Hariyama and Volbeat were engaging in a game of catch, using a football that they found in one of the closets. They had a pretty rough encounter with Salamence, who attempted to torch their ball when it accidentally flew in her direction. Volbeat had to rush over to it and grab it before she reduced it to ash. She retreated into the trailers, leaving them alone for a while.

"Sheesh, what the heck is wrong with that girl?" Hariyama queried, tossing the ball toward the Firefly Pokemon.

Volbeat shrugged as he flew up to catch the ball. "Who knows. Women are complex creatures that we will never truly understand…"

"I can agree to that," Hariyama replied as Volbeat threw the ball back toward him. "My ex-wife divorced me because she thought I was fucking one of the strippers at the club I worked at."

"...Were you?"

"Well, unless you count mouth fucking… not technically…" Hariyama answered sheepishly.

"Aw, come on dude. You have to be faithful to your lady if you don't want her to leave you," Volbeat said as he caught the ball thrown back to him. "But, then again, my relationships never lasted more than eight days, so what do I know?"

"Whoa… That's fucked up," the fighting-type commented sympathetically. "What do you do?"

"That's what I wanna know!" Volbeat exclaimed. "Like, I don't do anything wrong! I take them out to dinners and movies, we spend money on each other, we usually make out sometime in between… Then, randomly, something stupid happens, someone takes one thing as something else, or she hears something about me, and then she dumps me right then and there!"

"Yeesh," Hariyama remarked. 'And how many relationships have you had?"

"Forty-two…" Volbeat replied embarrassedly, his tone a decibel just above a whisper.

Hariyama's eyes widened upon hearing that. "You're kidding me…"

"I'm not," Volbeat responded with a sigh. "It's sad, but true…"

"I… I'm not about how to respond to that," Hariyama replied.

"It's okay, ya don't have to," Volbeat said, tossing the ball back toward him before flying back toward the cabin.

Catching the ball, Hariyama watched the bug-type return to the cabin. A feeling of guilt washed over him as he let out a sigh.

000

"Okay, I didn't mean to make the guy feel bad," Hariyama replied. "It's just shocking! What would you say after you heard that?"

000

As the Arm Thrust Pokemon entered the cabin, he was immediately met by stares from the other guys. He chuckled sheepishly.

"What happened?" Glalie asked. "Volbeat said that he was gonna weep into his pillow while singing 'Baby'..."

Hariyama let out a sigh. "Uh… A combination of memories and girl issues…" he explained vaguely, not wanting to reveal Volbeat's business.

"Uh… girl issues are a staple for males," Masquerain stated. "There's nothing embarrassing about it. All of us go through it. So, no need to be vague..."

Hariyama sighed as he walked toward the couches and plopped down next to Pelipper, who was being quiet and simply listening.

"Well," he started, dropping the football on the ground. "I threw the ball a bit too far, and it almost hit Salamence. And, being who we her as so far, she decided to try and burn it. Volbeat got it back, and when she went into the trailer, we started talking about how women were creatures that we'd never understand."

"As any sensible conversation begins…" Glalie commented sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Then, we started talking about our past relationship experiences… and uh… that's when things got a bit unhinged," Hariyama explained.

"Ah, the mention of exes, either a man's biggest relief, or biggest upset," Masquerain commented. "What exactly was spoken of?"

"Well, I talked about how my wife left me because I got a blowjob from one of the strippers at my job…" Hariyama started, not necessarily ashamed of admitting it.

The other guys gaped in shock upon hearing that. Hariyama expected this type of response, and waited for them to regain their composure. After about three minutes, the three guys came back to their senses.

"So, you ruined your marriage by getting oral sex from an exotic dancer," Pelipper simplified in his own words. "Odd choice, but I suppose that it's reasonable that she left…"

"Yeah," Hariyama replied. "Anyways, when it came around to Volbeat… uh…"

"You just told us that you got a blowjob from a stripper and got a divorce. I doubt Volbeat's issue pales in comparison to that," Glalie reasoned.

"Fine…" the Arm Thrust Pokemon groaned. "But if he gets upset or embarrassed, I'm blaming you guys."

"That's fine," Pelipper chirped.

"Basically, the guy's had forty-two relationships and none of them lasted more than eight days," Hariyama revealed. "So… essentially he's got it bad…"

"Hell, I'd rather forty-two relationships that fail than none at all," Glalie replied. "I don't really see the problem other than the length of the relationship. He just needs help…"

"And I'll be the kind soul that helps him out…" Masquerain offered. "He's a cutie, so he should be easy to fix…"

"There. Problem solved," Glalie replied. He then turned to a clock hanging in the kitchen. "Now, it's almost eleven o'clock, so we still have at least one hour of freedom. So, the question remains. Who the hell is going to make breakfast?!"

The guys exchanged looks.

000

Silvally was lying on a blue cushion inside of Solgaleo's room. He was simply keeping the larger lion company, along with Entei. Entei was nudging a bowl of soup toward the Sunne Pokemon, who was just lying on his bed with a distant look on his face.

"Come on, Leo… you've gotta eat something. You haven't eaten in three days…" Entei urged, very concerned about him.

"I'm not in the mood," the large lion replied. "My head is killing me and I still feel worthless."

"Solgaleo, hungry headaches exist," Silvally chimed in. "Maybe if you actually eat something, your headache will lessen."

"How long have you been in here?" the large feline asked tonelessly, not turning to eye the chimera, but recognizing his voice.

"Just a couple of hours," Silvally responded, rising up from the cushion he was sitting on in order to accompany Entei on the side of his bed. "I was a bit worried about you and Entei invited me to come and see you."

The lion's eyes momentarily moved toward the Volcano Pokemon, who nuzzled him, making him roll his eyes before they went back to the wall. Entei sighed. "Come on man, just eat," he urged.

Solgaleo groaned to himself. "I'm not hungry, okay? And I'd really appreciate some alone time, if it's not too much. Maybe I'll eat something later…"

Hearing that, Entei sighed in defeat. "Alright, fine," he said before leaning up and kissing the lion's cheek. "I love you…"

Solgaleo faintly blushed, grumbling to himself after the act of affection was initiated. Silvally and Entei both chuckled to themselves, seeing the red tint spread across the white lion's face.

Deciding to oblige, the two of them exited the Sunne Pokemon's room, leaving him to roll over, facing away from the door.

-000-

"He's so cute," Silvally chuckled. "I'm sure he'll warm up to the thought…"

Entei smiled. "Well, right now I'm only worried about making him feel better," he explained. "Working him is going to be on the backburner until his spirits are up again."

Thinking about what the emissary said, Silvally grew a bit perplexed. He had known about Solgaleo's depression, but he wasn't truly able to identify the cause of it. "Hey," he started, turning to Entei. "Do you guys know what really caused his depression anyway? He said that he still felt worthless..."

Entei sighed. "Well, the show that he and Lunala did played a part in it. But, I think that he was already like this before. And I don't think Darkrai, Kyurem, and Victini saying that he and Lunala were worthless wastes of space because of all of the other 'Sun' and 'Moon' based ordinary Pokemon helped him at all…"

Silvally sighed. It always had something to do with one of those three. "Well, hopefully he gets better. I would think that everyone knew to ignore any and everything negative those three have to say…"

Entei shrugged. "That doesn't always work for everyone."

"True enough," he replied.

"Silvally!" the two of them heard from below. Looking over the banister, the two of them spotted Zeraora standing at the bottom level with her arms folded. "Come on, it's about time for us to head back!"

"On my way!" he shouted back as he watched her retreat toward the living room.

The chimera turned toward his friend before letting out a breath. "Well, wish we luck, man…"

Entei nodded with a smirk as Silvally began heading toward the slide. Being that he wasn't going to be in Solgaleo's room for a while, Entei decided to to walk down with him. Going down the slide with him, Entei grew a bit curious about his and Zeraora's show, specifically the contestants.

"So, what type of no life losers did you guys recruit for your show?" Entei queried, hip checking the Synthetic Pokemon.

Silvally chuckled. "They're a cool bunch. Pretty diverse, in my eyes anyway. You'll have to wait and watch the show to see 'em."

Entei pouted. "Really?"

"Yes, really," Silvally replied playfully.

Groaning, Entei leaned against him, "Great. More work than necessary."

The chimera nuzzled him. "You'll be fine," he replied as they walked into the kitchen. "Well, I'll talk to you later…"

Entei gave him a thoughtful look. "Okay," he responded, nuzzling him back. "Good luck."

As the lion began walking away, Silvally actively found himself watching him go. Turning back around, he saw a familiar electric feline staring at him with a brow raised and a small smile on her face. This caused Silvally to blush a bit.

"Uh… Y'see-"

Zeraora rose a paw, signalling him to stop. "It's fine," she replied. "Just come on…"

She began walking toward the front door, with Silvally following her. The co-hosts exited enormous building and headed toward their bus. "So, Sil, how are you and Entei doing with Solgaleo? Has he had a breakthrough yet?"

"No, but he does seem to need therapy or something of the sort," Silvally replied as he entered the bus and took a seat.

Zeraora nodded as she got into the bus and stood next to the dashboard. "And I assume that you and Entei are growing a tad bit closer, hmm?"

Silvally gave her a look. "I know what you're insinuating, and you're wrong. Entei's cute and rugged, yeah, but we're just friends."

"Okay," the Thunderclap Pokemon replied, raising her hands in defense. She pulled out the microphone. "Hoenn. Littleroot Town."

She took a seat, folding her legs. "I'm just saying, you guys have a lot in common and would make a pretty cute couple. You're both strong, want someone who doesn't want you, have the same sense of humor, similar mannerisms… The list goes on."

Silvally rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Please. He likes Solgaleo; I doubt he sees me as more than a friend."

"You never know…" Zeraora replied. "He was nuzzling you affectionately…"

Silvally rolled his eyes. "Let's just ride…"

Zeraora giggled to herself. "As you wish…"

000

As 11:54 rolled around, a few of the contestants made their way out onto the front porches. The only ones unaccounted for were Swampert, Salamence, Exploud, Cacturne, and Claydol. The campers waited for their hosts to arrive and either engaging in conversation or simple activities.

Spoink, Armaldo, and Numel had set up a horseshoe game, Glalie and Masquerain were watching them, Blaziken was doing pull ups in the doorway of the girls' cabin, with Volbeat and Hariyama eyeing her like a hunk of meat, and Pelipper was sitting on the roof, watching over everyone.

After a while, the large vehicle that picked all of them up the day prior came into view, leaving tire marks in the ground. Everyone turned to the bus as Zeraora and Silvally exited it.

"Good noon, everyone," Zeraora greeted with a wave before putting her hands on her hips. "Everyone get a good night's sleep?"

"NO!" Salamence exclaimed, coming out of one of the trailers. "I had a snoring bitch as a roommate!"

"I don't snore," Exploud stated sternly. "So, please blame whatever night terrors or wet dreams that plagued your mind last night…"

"And why were wet dreams something that came to your mind?" Glalie queried tonelessly, but confused.

"How about we not get into that and introduce you guys' first challenge?" Zeraora cut in, not wanting that conversation to go further. Looking around, she noticed that a few contestants were still unaccounted for. "Uh… where are Swampert and Claydol?"

"Claydol is sulking and Swampert's still asleep," Masquerain explained.

Cacturne sighed. "Typical men…" she muttered to herself.

"Can one of you gents go and get your comrades so we can actually get this show on the road?" Blaziken asked, turning to the guys.

"Allow me," Hariyama spoke up. "I am a bouncer after all. It's in my job description…"

Cracking his knuckles, he proceeded toward the cabin again. A few minutes later, the Mud Fish and Clay Doll Pokemon were thrown out of the cabin, landing next to Pelipper, who looked at them, along with the others.

"Ugh… What the hell was that for?!" Swampert exclaimed, rubbing his head while glaring at the Arm Thrust Pokemon."I was getting up!"

"Well, you were still late," Glalie replied. "Doesn't excuse it…"

Swampert grumbled to himself as he got onto his feet.

Claydol only sighed and floated upright. "This is going to be an awful day if this is how it's going to start…"

"Anywho…" Silvally began. "You guys' first challenge will be rather simple, and it will start here, but extend all the way to Route 101, Oldale Town, and Route 102…"

"What about teams?" Numel queried, confused at how they were being flung into the first challenge without knowing their teammates.

"This challenge will determine what team you're on," Zeraora explained. "Now, since we are competing in Hoenn, we have decided that you guys' first challenge will involve the starters."

"There are numerous, wild starters roaming the areas that we have designated for this challenge, which again, are here, Oldale Town, and Routes 101 and 102," Silvally began. "Your goal is to bring back any six of the starters, as long as they are part of the same evolutionary chain."

"Basically, you have to find two starter evolutionary chains and bring them all here for evaluation," Zeraora expounded. "The two players that are able to bring them all to us the fastest will be declared team leaders and will choose who they want on their teams."

"Now, any questions before we begin?" Silvally queried, already knowing that there were going to be a couple.

"Yeah," Cacturne spoke up. "Are they allowed to be killed and brought back that way? Also, how do you want us to bring them back? One at a time, as a group…?"

"You can use whatever method you see fit. Except the killing method, we're not going to allow that…" Zeraora replied.

"Um, won't Swampert and Blaziken have it easier since they're already starters?" Exploud queried.

"Yeah, I feel like a handicap should be implemented for these two," Glalie chimed in.

The chicken and mud fish rolled their eyes.

"They will not be allowed to include themselves and none of you are allowed to use them, either," Silvally explained.

"Can we get hints as to how to lure them out?" Armaldo queried. "From my understanding, finding starters in the wild is very rare."

"Well, we've had a friend bring in a plentiful amount. Nine of each, meaning that there are eighty-one starters roaming the grounds," Zeraora responded. "And while they may hide, it should not be completely difficult."

"What if you don't want to be a leader?" Swampert asked tonelessly, not wanting to take part in all of that work.

"You still have to participate, Swampert. It's the first challenge of the season. At least show your worthiness to your fellow competitors and the viewers," Silvally urged.

The water- and ground-type groaned. "Fine…"

"So, if there are no further questions… let the starter search begin!" Zeraora announced. She clapped her hands, causing a booming, thunderous sound to echo throughout the area.

The contestants all scattered, with Salamence and Glalie taking to the skies, and the others remaining at ground level. Claydol slowly floated behind everyone.

Once they were out if the area, Silvally turned to Zeraora. "So, who do you think is going to get back first?"

The feline shrugged. "Not sure. We don't really know what they're capable of."

"Hmm… true enough," the chimera said with a nod.

000

Swampert, despite following the others, immediately turned back toward Littleroot Town. He wasn't really interested in this challenge, but since he was pretty much obligated to do it, he had to participate.

He had signed up for the show for the cash prize so he could pay off the landlord and maybe move into another apartment complex with actual furniture. But, despite that, he knew that activities like these were going to annoy him.

He let out a sigh as he wandered behind the cabins. "Why couldn't this have been a simple 'get to know you' trivia session?"

Behind the cabins, he saw that there weren't any Pokemon, or indications of one, in the area. The only things there were a trampoline, behind the boys' cabin, and a pile of tires, behind the girls' cabin.

Seeing the trampoline, he walked over to it in interest. "Huh… haven't been on one of these since I was a kid."

He climbed onto the jumping device and began jumping on it. He let out a happy cheer. "Whoo-hoo!"

A green blur zoomed across the trampoline. Once the large Mud Fish Pokemon landed, he suddenly fell straight through the trampoline and onto the hard ground below. "Ow…" he let out a deadpan exclamation of pain.

Groaning, he sat up, causing the trampoline to lift and land on its side. "What the-" he turned to the device and saw that there was a cut down the middle of it. "Where'd that come from?"

Shrugging it off, he decided to continue his search. He headed toward the tires behind the girls' cabin and noticed bit of rustling from the woods.

Suspicious, he walked toward the source of the shaking foliage. "Hello? Who's there?" he queried.

He got no response, causing him to push further. Immediately, he found himself being tackled to the groan, knocking the wind out of him.

Looking up, he saw a Grovyle looming over him, with three others surrounding him. The one looming over him was actually standing on his stomach.

"Hey!" he exclaimed.

Immediately, all four Grovyle scattered, leaving him on his back. He rolled onto all fours and looked around at the different directions that they had run off to.

He let out an annoyed groan. "Fuck my life…"

000

Spoink, Numel, and Armaldo decided to stay grouped together to elevate their chances of winning a spot as a team captain.

As they searched Route 101, a thought entered Spoink's head. She groaned to herself. "Dangit! I didn't bring my treasure hunting gear!"

"Um, you could always go get it," Armaldo simply uttered. "We're not that far from the cabins."

"Yeah, but I just know that when I leave, you guys are gonna run into one of the starters and I'm gonna feel bad," Spoink replied.

"We'll be fine, Spoink," Numel assured. "Go and get what you need to get and we'll wait for you…"

"Yeah, plus nothing's really showing up around us, so I think it'll be okay," Armaldo added.

"If you girls say so," the Bounce Pokemon responded, hesitance oozing from her voice. She sprung back toward Littleroot Town, leaving the girls to wait.

Numel looked around the vicinity, taking note that Cacturne was stalking around, checking the woods, as the open area was not teeming with much life.

"She still scares me a bit," Armaldo whispered, looking over in the Scarecrow Pokemon's direction.

"Yeah, she is kinda weird," Numel replied. "But I don't think she'll cause any harm."

-000-

Cacturne knew that the two girls were watching her, and she didn't really care. She was only focused on winning this challenge.

If she had the opportunity to choose her team, there was a chance for her to make it further. She knew of a technique involving the clacking of sticks that could lure different grass-types into a vicinity.

She walked toward a tree, pulling off a long stick and breaking it in half. She began smacking the sticks together in a specific fashion.

Cl-Clack-Clack-Clack Cl-Cl-Cl-Clack-Clack-Clack

Rustling was heard from the bushes, getting her attention. She hadn't expected it to be so quick, but then again, there were twenty-seven of the grass-type starters hidden and venturing around the designated locations.

After a few moments, she saw a Treecko peeking from the bushes. She smiled to herself upon seeing it and stealthily approached it. The Wood Gecko Pokemon retreated back into the bushes, causing Cacturne to growl to herself.

"Great… Back to square one," she muttered to herself as she went back over to pick up the sticks. She repeated the same pattern of clacks.

-000-

"What's she doing?" Numel queried, watching as Cacturne picked up her sticks and began banging them together again. The faint sound echoing throughout the area. Gazing around, the two took note of rustling that was occurring near them.

A couple of Treecko hopped out of the foliage, startling them as they rushed past their feet. "Hey!" Armaldo called after them before attempting to chase after them. She ended up tripping over a ledge, making her groan upon landing.

The Numb Pokemon padded up to her in worry. "Are you okay, Armaldo?"

The large rock- and bug-type picked herself up, shaking her head to clear it from fuzziness. "Yeah, I'm okay."

They glanced back over at Cacturne, who had effectively lured three Treecko to her location.

"Hey, she's got three. Let's go ask her if we can use one!" Numel suggested, turning to her friend.

"Again, she still scares me," Armaldo replied, looking back down at her. "Also, isn't this a challenge? I doubt that she'd try to help us."

"Well, my nana always tells me to try to look for the best in people," Numel spoke cheerily. "She may be a bit… peculiar, but we can still ask."

Armaldo forced out a defeated sigh. "Well, you can go ask. I'm gonna wait for Spoink to come back," the fossil Pokemon stated, staking a seat on the ledge she tripped over.

"Okay, if you say so," the fire- and ground-type replied as she padded over toward Cacturne.

-000-

Spoink hummed to herself as she hopped down the hallway of the cabin and opened the door to the room she, Numel, and Armaldo shared. She leaned downwards, reaching underneath her own bed, and slid out a flat disc with a small nub-like knob and a red bulb next to it.

"Alright, Felix, let's go find some treasure!" Spoink said sprily as she grabbed a plastic bag from a box and hopped back out of the room.

Spoink pressed the button on the top of the knob, causing a handle to extend from it and the red bulb to glow. As she bounded out of the cabin, her device immediately started beeping slowly. She smiled, waving it around on the ground. Hearing the sound speed up slightly, pointing it in the direction of the trailers, she gasped.

"Already!?"

She bounced over toward the trailers, with the hosts watching her in confusion. They exchanged looks of unsurety.

Spoink, upon getting closer, heard her device beeping louder. However, she soon realized that the device was only beeping because of the trailer being made of metal. She sighed in disappointment before hopping back in the direction of Route 101.

"You okay there, Spoink?" Silvally queried.

The treasure hunter sighed before giving them a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine," she replied as she continued on her way, her device beeping slowly.

As she left, Zeraora shook her head, while Silvally chuckled. "We have to just let them do them…"

000

"Well, so far this show is still about as generic as all of the other ones," Glalie commented. "Having a boring, stereotypical searching challenge as a start of your series is not a sign of greatness in the future. It only sinks this show lower into the hole of shit that all of its predecessors have established for all of these new competition shows. Though, I will give them credit for having the reward be that the winners can choose their own teams. Not many shows do that."

"And, seeing who my competition is right now, I'm going to need to step up my game up in order to procure that."

000

Glalie was floating overhead, getting an aerial view of the locations. The Face Pokemon felt that taking the higher ground would be best choice, as he could locate what he needed to. Peering down over the lush foliage of the route, Glalie took note of a few feral grass-types in an opening.

He rose a brow. "Hmm…"

Floating down, he was unsure if all of them were starters, so he decided to check them out. Getting closer, the ice-type noticed that among the grass-types, or what he thought to be grass-types, there was a Shiftry, two Combusken, a Sceptile, a Tropius, three Sudowoodo, two Bonsly, five Trevenant, and a Venusaur, of all things.

"What the hell?" he queried to himself. "What is this?"

His eyes focused on the Combusken and Sceptile. If he captured the two of them, he'd only need to find the pre-evolutions and evolutions. However, that proposed a dilemma. He could very well search the water or moist areas and find the entire evolutionary line of Mudkip, so he had to choose wisely.

"Okay, let's see," he muttered to himself as he hid behind the leaves of a nearby tree. "The Sceptile is the only singular starter there, so it could be rare to find, especially considering the number of trees around the routes.

He let out a breath and floated upwards. He prepared to use Ice Beam, but a sudden blackish-purple beam struck them all from above, causing numerous trees to bend away from the force and smoke to envelop the area.

Glalie turned away and closed his eyes to keep the dust from irritating his facial features. When he felt that the dust was settled, he looked upwards, seeing Salamence flying down toward the group, Glalie swiftly flew toward the area in order to get the Sceptile.

It seemed that Salamence saw what he was about to do, and so blasted a Flamethrower in his direction. Glalie could hear the roaring of flames heading in his direction, so he swiftly floated out of the way and fired an Ice Beam toward Salamence in defense.

She swiftly dodged it and charged toward him, fire in her eyes out of pure anger. He was not about to mooch off of something that she had done.

Glalie floated down to the Sceptile and used Ice Beam, freezing it in place before lifting it onto his head. "PUT THE GRASS-SICLE DOWN!" he heard from above.

Ignoring Salamence's shouted and threats, Glalie continued on his merry way. He wasn't interested in dealing with an aggro dragon, especially when she still had a chance to get a starter. He wasn't touching the Combusken, anyway.

The Dragon Pokemon attempted to blast him once again, but ended up missing. Landing, she growled, glaring daggers in the direction that the ice-type was going. She gazed around at the unconscious Pokemon in the area before grabbing hold of one of the Combusken's arms with her mouth and flying up with it.

000

"I'm going to kill that ice rock," Salamence growled. "He'd better hope I don't catch him alone…"

000

Blaziken decided to start from the furthest location and make her way forward. It seemed to be the best option, as most of her competition was still near the front or in Oldale Town. However, despite that, Hariyama and Volbeat seemed to have followed her example, deciding to come to Route 102 as well.

She didn't really mind the company, so long as they didn't pester her in any way. She was a nice girl, but she could be violent if need be. As she approached the small pond, she could hear footsteps approaching her from behind.

"Any luck?" she heard a voice ask. Recognizing it, she turned around to face the Arm Thrust Pokemon standing behind her.

"No," she replied, folding her arms. "No luck just yet. I was about to check the water, but…"

"I stopped you, right…" Hariyama replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, uh, I'd be happy to help if you want. I don't really care about being leader that much."

"Uh… Thanks for the offer, but no thanks," Blaziken replied, facing back to the pond. "I'd rather do this alone."

"But, you're a fire-type. Won't you get weak, or sick, or something?"

The hen scoffed, looking back at him with a smirk. "Please. I'm not worried about a little water. I've built up a tolerance as a part of my training…" she stated as she stepped a foot into the pond.

Watching her submerge herself, Hariyama couldn't help but smile to himself. Blaziken, looking back to see that the big galoot was still watching her, glowered at him. "Y'know, I'm sure you just standing there watching me fits into the categories of 'uncomfortable' and 'creepy'..."

"Oh," Hariyama grunted, a blush spreading across his face. "Well, sorry about that. Guess I'm just used to watching hot girls do-"

Blaziken's glare tightened as he continued speaking. Seeing that look, Hariyama swallowed in fear, his blood running a bit cold by the piercing stare. "I'll just… move over there," the fighting-type said as he walked toward Volbeat, who was investigating the tall grass.

Blaziken, seeing the bouncer leave, rolled her eyes as she dove down to scope out the small pond.

000

"It's always guys like him who gawk at me, act like they've never seen a 'fit' girl before, and try to offer me help over menial things," Blaziken stated. "It gets really annoying really fast. Some girls may take it as a compliment, but to me, it just comes off as the guys being horny…"

000

"Well, I don't think she's going to like me any time soon…" Hariyama grumbled as he approached the Firefly Pokemon.

"How come?" Volbeat queried.

"I watched her go into the water and uh… stared at her for a few minutes," Hariyama explained. "Then, she called me creepy…"

"Well that's no good," Volbeat remarked. "I watched a girl take a bath through her window once and she didn't mind…"

Hariyama stared blankly at him for a few moments. "Uh… I'm pretty sure that counts as being a peeping tom…"

"Oh, no, she was into that kinda stuff, oddly enough," the bug-type explained. "But, then the police drove by, handcuffed me, and she had to bail me out and explain. Then she dumped me..."

Hariyama facepalmed. "What kind of girls live in your city?"

"The kind that you don't need to try to impress…" Volbeat replied. Hearing a faint splash, the guys turned back toward the pond to see Blaziken rising out of it, her fur and hair glistening as droplets of water dripped from it. She held a Mudkip close to her chest, which seemed to be very comfortable, as it held its eyes closed, snuggling into her chest.

The Blaze Pokemon began walking toward Oldale Town.

Watching her butt sway as she walked away, the guys slowly exchanged looks.

000

"Why the hell is she so hot?!" Hariyama exclaimed. "Hell, she even gives the girls at the strip club a run for their money!"

He groaned. "Arceus, why the hell doesn't she like me? I try to be nice and helpful, but she takes it the wrong way or just rejects it. Hmm… Maybe she's gay…"

000

"I'll admit, Blaziken's cute. But, she's way out of my league, and she doesn't seem to be interesting in anything dating-wise…" Volbeat replied. "Usually girls that look as hot as her flaunt their looks, essentially begging for a boyfriend. I guess she's different."

000

Exploud was looking through each house in the wide-open range of Oldale Town. "Arceus, this is going to be all too tedious. The grass is so green and there's so much space between these buildings. How is anyone supposed to find six Pokemon in these areas?"

As she entered the Pokemon Center, she gazed around the interior. She didn't see any sign of a Pokemon inside, though she did notice three pokeballs sitting on the counter. She rose a brow as she approached them. "Interesting…"

She picked up two of the balls and tossed them up, releasing a Torchic and a Mudkip. Stifling a laugh, the Loud Noise Pokemon returned the two of them to their Pokeballs. "That was easier than I thought," she thought jovially. "Two down, four to go…"

She proceeded to walk out of the healing location, wanting to go ahead and take the two starters that she had already procured back to the hosts to add to her score. On her way, she noticed Blaziken leaving Route 102, a Mudkip cuddled in her arms.

Out of all of the girls, Exploud felt that she could find herself tolerating Blaziken the most. She didn't know why she felt that way, but she did. Just her demeanor in general was enough to get the normal-type to find her likeable.

"Blaziken!" she called out to her as she ran over to her.

Blaziken, having heard her name be called, turned to the source and rose a brow upon seeing Exploud heading in her direction. The purple pipe organ beast approached her with the two pokeballs in her hand.

"Uh, hi Exploud…" she greeted. "What's up?"

"Nothing. Just wanted to walk with someone," Exploud replied. "You're heading back to the hosts, right?"

"Yeah…" the hen replied, a bit hesitant. She didn't know if this was a ruse or not. But, seeing two pokeballs in her hands, she decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. "Well, I suppose it's okay."

Exploud nodded as the two began walking in the direction of Route 101. On the way, the two spotted Masquerain and Pelipper flying overhead, heading back toward Oldale Town. The Loud Noise Pokemon would have told them that the place was pretty barren, but then again she didn't check the trees or the houses near the water.

Not wanting to remain in silence as the two walked, the normal-type attempted to start up a conversation. "So, how long have you been a fitness instructor?"

Blaziken didn't expect that question, so she wasn't able to answer as quickly as she normally would. She didn't really care for personal life questions, but she would still answer so she would not come off as rude.

She let out a soft sigh. "About… fifteen or sixteen years now," Blaziken answered.

Exploud was shocked. "Wow, how old are you?"

"Thirty-one," Blaziken answered with a shrug.

"Wow. So you've been at it since you were a teenager?" Exploud queried.

"Yep," Blaziken replied. "I needed a part time job, and I used to go to the gym a lot with my dad, so when they offered me a spot to instruct other kids my age, I took it."

"Impressive," the normal-type commented. "I have to say, you've really kept yourself put together if it's been over ten years…"

Blaziken giggled. "Thanks. And what about you?"

"Hmm?"

"What do you do?" Blaziken inquired. She didn't recall Exploud giving a profession or telling if she was unemployed on the bus yesterday. Everyone else shared for the most part, excluding Salamence, Claydol, and Cacturne.

"Oh, I work in a restaurant," Exploud explained. "I'm a waitress…"

"Huh. That's cool," Blaziken remarked, not expecting her to have that kind of occupation. "Which restaurant?"

"Georgio's," Exploud replied as they entered Route 101. "It's a Italian joint. The food usually sucks, but people come anyway, and tips are always appreciated."

"Nice," Blaziken replied as the two of them looked forward and saw Cacturne heading in their direction, coming from Littleroot Town.

The Scarecrow Pokemon walked past the two of them without making any eye contact or greeting. Blaziken rolled her eyes, while Exploud rose a brow in confusion.

"That was weird," she stated.

"That was expected," Blaziken countered. "But, not gonna dwell on it. She doesn't like me, she doesn't like me…"

The two of them returned to Littleroot Town, and one of the first things they saw was Swampert dropping a pokeball into a bin with his name on it, while lying on the ground. "I hate my life…" he muttered.

The two girls approached, with Exploud holding back a laugh. "What happened?"

"Let's just say that it took a while for him to catch a Grovyle…" Zeraora commented, looking down at the groaning mud fish.

Blaziken sighed, while Exploud shook her head with a smirk. She walked forward and helped the large water- and ground-type up. Holding his head, he turned to the hen. "Thanks…" he replied.

"It's no problem," Blaziken replied. "Double weaknesses aren't fun are they?"

"Never," Swampert groaned as Exploud walked over to the bins.

There were fourteen bins, each with separate names on them. There was also a separate bin full of pokeballs, supposedly empty.

"Where'd these bins and pokeballs come from?" Exploud queried, turning to the hosts.

"They're for keeping track of how many Pokemon each of you have," Silvally explained. "We realize that bringing back six feral Pokemon all at once may be difficult, and there is a chance that they may run off once you bring them back, so once you all were gone, we decided to implement this system."

"Well, that's kind of you," Blaziken commented, gently sitting the Mudkip into her bin, while Exploud tossed her two pokeballs into her own bin.

The Mudkip whimpered upon being put down and immediately jumped to get back into Blaziken's arms. She caught it, and it immediately cuddled back into her chest.

"Aw… That's just precious," Zeraora cooed.

Blaziken giggled, gently massaging the back of the Mudkip's head. "Aw… It's okay, cutie. It's just for a challenge," she said soothingly, looking at its saddened face.

Swampert smiled to himself upon seeing that. Walking up to the two, he looked at the small Mudkip in her arms and waved a finger in front of it. It reached for it, a small smile appearing on its face as it finally grabbed it. He let out a sigh. "I remember being this way when I was still a Mudkip," he commented. "I never wanted my mom to leave my side…"

"Oh really?" Blaziken queried as she cradled the Mudkip in her left arm and reached for a pokeball.

"Yeah," Swampert replied sheepishly. "Big momma's boy, right here…"

Blaziken tapped the Mudkip with a pokeball, causing it to be sucked inside of it. After it shook a few times, it stayed put, allowing Blaziken to place it inside of her bin.

"Who has the most so far?" Blaziken queried.

"Exploud," Zeraora replied. "Though, based on the level of difficulty of possibly finding them, I say that Glalie is probably the furthest ahead. He brought back a Sceptile already."

"Jeez…" Swampert commented, holding his head.

"Yep," Silvally responded with a nod. "So, you guys had better get going. It'll get darker as time goes on, and it'll be much more difficult."

"I hear that," Exploud responded as she rushed back toward Route 101.

Blaziken walked after her, leaving Swampert behind. He turned to the hosts. "Do I really have to keep doing this?"

000

"Come on, Pelipper, all you have to do is dive into the water and see if anything's down there," Masquerain urged as he and Pelipper sat on the edge of Route 103.

"Knowing the waters of this region, there's plenty of Luvdisc, Carvanha, Sharpedo, Tentacool, Tentacruel…"

"Pelipper, do you want to win the challenge or not?" Masquerain queried. "This can be an opportunity for you to prove yourself."

"Wait, why do I need to prove myself so early?" the Water Bird Pokemon inquired, eyeing the bug-type suspiciously.

"Because when it comes down to choosing teammates, with your kind nature, the others may view you as weak," Masquerain explained. "But, if you, or myself, are in charge of team picking, there's a bit of respect that can be added onto it and you establish yourself as a force to be reckoned with."

"Uh… I'm not so sure about that," the bird replied. "Pretty positive that everyone here is stronger than me. Even Spoink and Numel!"

"Just do it…" Masquerain groaned. "We're wasting time just sitting here."

Pelipper finally let out a sigh before flying into the water. Masquerain smirked to himself.

000

"Pelipper is going to be way too easy to manipulate," Masquerain commented. "It's almost not fun, but, I'm not here for fun anyway. I'm here to win."

000

Pelipper gasped for breath as he broke through the surface of the water. Masquerain, seeing him rise up so quickly, grew confused. "Did you even try?"

"Hey! I may be a water-type, but I'm also a flying-type! It's kinda difficult!"

"Tell that to a Mantyke or Mantine…" Masquerain retorted. "Just do it, dude!"

The Water Bird Pokemon groaned before diving back down into the water.

-000-

Under the water, Pelipper gazed around, seeing numerous Pokemon swimming in groups. He spied some Feebas, oddly enough, Luvdisc, Goldeen, a few Staryu, Tentacool, and Carvanha. He swallowed in fear, seeing them swim around.

He only hoped that none of the Pokemon around him attacked. As he started swimming, scanning the ocean floor, doubts of finding any member of the water-type starter line entered his head. There were so many water-types and such a vast amount of water all around the Hoenn region that it would be borderline impossible for him to pinpoint the location of a Mudkip, Marshtomp, or Swampert.

He stopped swimming momentarily, floating next to a bunch of rocks, in order to just relax for a bit. Truth be told, the Water Bird Pokemon didn't care about being a leader. As long as he didn't completely screw something up for his team or present himself as a threat, he felt that he was safe.

He had seen these shows before. Usually annoyances got the early boot, and so far, he didn't think he was bothering anyone. He was honestly banking on either Claydol, Salamence, or Swampert going first. Claydol was pretty depressing, Salamence was just completely irate for no reason, and Swampert's laziness could end up hindering challenges.

Thinking of Swampert, a thought came to his head about the challenge. "Wait," he started. "They said Littleroot, Oldale, and Routes 101 and 102. And this is Route 103…"

He swam back toward the surface of the water before completely flying out. He headed back toward Oldale Town, but upon reaching the area from where he and Masquerain were initially, he saw that the Eyeball Pokemon was no longer there.

"Huh. I wonder where he went…" he thought out loud, looking around.

000

"Claydol… Seriously, get up," Masquerain demanded, flying above the sprawled out ground- and psychic-type. He was still lying on Route 101, staring at the sky, the ground, and to his sides due to his numerous eyes. "We're in a challenge. I don't think lying here is going to be effective in any way…"

"There's no point. Everything about these games is formulaic," Claydol replied, not moving an inch. "A strong player and an unexpected player will end up being the team leaders, the challenges will be as dull and generic as all other shows, we'll vote out people based on lies, manipulation, or just plain uselessness, and in the end, someone unexpected will end up winning. It's all the same."

"And how do you know this for sure?" Masquerain tested, giving him a look of disbelief. "Nothing is ever exactly the same…"

"Life is," Claydol replied tonelessly. "You're born, you do stupid things, you grow up, do more stupid things, experience trials and tribulations, have 'fun' times, then eventually you die. Overall, life is just the story of how you died. Nothing matters."

Masquerain stared blankly at the Clay Doll Pokemon below him before simply flying off, leaving him alone. He let out a depressed sigh.

000

"Okay, that guy is so depressing that he makes me want to kill myself…" Masquerain commented. "So much for tricking him. I don't even want to be near him!"

000

Cacturne was dragging an unconscious Combusken by the comb, while a Grovyle was slung over her shoulder. Dragging the unresponsive fire- and fighting-type made her feel a bit better about her situation with Blaziken. Sure, she still didn't like her, but now she had even more confidence in the fact that she could beat her if she ever got out of line.

Coming from Route 102, the Scarecrow Pokemon looked around Oldale Town and saw many of her fellow competitors snooping around in houses, the Pokemon Center, and the Poke Mart. Rolling her eyes, she started walking toward Route 101.

"Cacturne!"

Stopping, she turned her to see who she was being called by. She saw Numel, Armaldo, and Spoink approach her, leading to her groaning in annoyance internally. "What is it?" she asked, a pinch of irritation in her voice.

"Uh… We were just wondering where you found those two," Numel queried, eyeing the unconscious middle stages.

"Route 102," she replied. "You realize that they're not going to just automatically be there, right? You have to search wherever you can."

"Alright then, thanks," Numel replied as Armaldo and Spoink followed her.

Cacturne rolled her eyes before continuing along her way. She didn't really care to help anyone, especially those she felt were too weak. As she entered the route, her eyes immediately caught Masquerain, who was flying away.

She continued toward Littleroot Town, passing by Claydol, who was still in the same spot. She let out a sigh. "Don't sign up for a show if you don't plan on trying…" she muttered to herself.

She made it back to Littleroot Town and saw Glalie and Salamence already there.

"I will kill you!" Salamence growled, whipping her tail at the ice-type, who floated upwards to dodge it.

"You have major issues that you need to take care of," Glalie stated, glowering at the dragon as he floated back toward Route 101. "If you're pissy about fair play in challenges, then you don't even need to be here."

Salamence blasted a Flamethrower in his direction. The Face Pokemon floated upwards, dodging it, while Cacturne took the brunt of the attack. She glowered at the Dragon Pokemon, who growled, her eyes locked on Glalie.

"Huh, you took that like it was nothing," Glalie commented, observing her reaction. "Interesting…"

Cacturne just continued forward with her two middle stages. Salamence flew up and toward Glalie with a murder intent, much to his annoyance.

"Okay, Cacturne, now I'm interested," Silvally commented. "How were you able to take a full-force Flamethrower from Salamence?"

"I plead the fifth," she responded tonelessly, tossing the Grovyle over her shoulder on the ground.

She reached into the pokeball bin and pulled out two of them. She dropped one onto each Pokemon, encapsulating them. Once the balls stopped shaking, Cacturne picked them up and tossed them into her bin.

Checking each other bin, she saw that, so far, she was in the lead, having half collected already. "Looks like I have a chance at winning this thing."

"Yep," Zeraora replied. "All of you have a chance. It's just all about luck."

Cacturne began walking back into Route 101, determined to find the remaining members of the starter lines she had.

000

"So far, this show sucks," Cacturne commented. "Everyone here is either an annoyance or a nobody. But, I might as well try to win…"

000

Spoink was still using her metal detector; so far she had found seventy-five cents, an old amulet, a charm, and a magnet. All of these items were safely in her treasure sack, which she held over her head via kinesis.

The Bounce Pokemon continued waving her treasure finder around; it beeped upon facing the water, signifying that something was near the small pond. Scanning the ground via psychic waves, Spoink came across something small.

"Ugh… Searching the trees is going to be so tedious!" Armaldo moaned.

"Well, we were lucky that Cacturne let us get the other two Treecko," Numel reminded. "I don't think actually having to look will be such a bad thing."

"WOW!" the two girls heard Spoink exclaim.

Turning back to their friend, they saw that she was holding a watch in her hand. And, strangely enough, the watch was completely yellow. Seeing this, the girls gaped in awe.

"Is that a gold plated watch!?" Numel exclaimed in shock.

"I'm not sure," Spoink replied, looking it over. "It could just be painted or something, but still…"

"Huh," Armaldo started. "Well, either way it's probably worth a good amount. But, right now we need to focus on the challenge. It'll take us a long time to find the starters if we don't hurry."

"Well, We can try that stick clacking thing that Cacturne did," Numel suggested. "It brought her some Treecko, after all."

"But we don't need Treecko," Armaldo replied. " We need its evolutions, and then we need another line altogether!"

"Maybe it'll lure more than just Treecko this time," Numel thought out loud. "And… since you're the only one with semi-functioning arms…"

Armaldo let out a sigh. "I'm the one who has to do it. Right…"

-000-

Armaldo was holding two sticks in her arms as she stood near the trees in the forest. She shook her head. "I don't think this will work…"

"Just try it," Numel said as Spoink started bouncing around, using her metal detector. "You never know…"

"I don't even remember the pattern she used," Armaldo replied.

"Then just start clacking and see if you lure something anyway," Numel suggested.

Armaldo sighed before clacking the sticks together. The girls remained quiet, allowing the sound to echo around the the area, ensuring that it was heard.

Clack… Clack… Cl-Clack… Clack…

Continuing with that same pattern, nothing seemed to be approaching, as Numel and Spoink looked around the vicinity. As they did so, Glalie floated into the scene, raising a brow upon seeing what was happening.

"Uh… What the hell is going on here?" the Face Pokemon queried. He couldn't see the point of clacking sticks in this challenge.

"Oh, hi Glalie," Numel greeted giddily, turning to him. "We're just trying to do the same thing that Cacturne did to get a bunch of Treecko to come to her!"

"...By clacking sticks together," Glalie tonelessly replied.

"Yeah," Armaldo replied, ceasing the action. "Cacturne clacked some sticks together in a some kind of pattern, and Treecko started to appear around and go toward her."

"Is that so?" Glalie responded, intrigued by what they were saying. He didn't really know if he could take them seriously, given who they were, but the possibility of Cacturne being able to do something like that really piqued his interest.

000

"Cacturne is very interesting to me so far, albeit she's still a bit of an edgy weirdo. So far, she found the bus without any hints or notice, apparently beat the hell out of a Pokemon that she had a double weakness to, took a Flamethrower from an angry dragon bitch, and now she's some magical pied piper with sticks…"

"Someone like that can pose a huge threat, so we may have to bid her farewell soon enough," Glalie commented. "Like Masquerain said, everyone's a threat, both weak and strong. If only morons who sign up for these shows understood that."

000

"So, come on Armaldo, keep it up. Maybe your pattern will give us a Torchic or wild Swampert!" Numel proposed cheerily.

Gazing over at the pond, Glalie noticed bubbling coming from the water. He floated over to the pond as a light blue orb formed between his horns. A light blue, white, and purple beam was fired into the water, freezing it solid.

The girls turned toward him, confused.

"Glalie, what are you doing?" Spoink queried.

The ice-type smashed the ice that he created and went into the pond, not saying a word. A few minutes later Glalie rose up from the water with an unconscious Swampert on his head.

The girls gaped in shock. "Wh- How did you get that!?" Numel exclaimed.

"Uh… checking the water," Glalie replied simply as he started floating away. It was pretty self explanatory, after all.

Once the Face Pokemon was out of the vicinity, the girls exchanged looks. Spoink hopped back over toward the pond in order to search for herself. Taking a deep breath, she hopped inside of the pond. Opening her eyes, she looked around and saw a Marshtomp clapping its hands with a smile. Her eyes widened.

She rose from the water. "Girls, there's a Marshtomp!"

Armaldo dropped the sticks and headed over to the pond. Numel followed suit, just as a Grovyle came out of the forest, looking around.

Re-entering the route, Hariyama saw that the girls were already in the pond, fishing the Marshtomp out of it. He growled to himself. If he wanted to be a prick, he would have smacked them all out of the way and grabbed the Marshtomp, but he didn't really feel that it would be right.

He glanced forward and saw a Grovyle looking around. His eyes widened as he rushed toward it. The girls, turning to see Hariyama charging forward, saw what he was charging at and gaped once again.

"Hey! That's our Grovyle!" Numel called.

"First come, first serve!" Hariyama yelled back as he slapped the Grovyle unconscious. Once it was on the ground, the Arm Thrust Pokemon leaned down to pick it up, only to be hit in the butt with a purple beam, launching him into a tree.

"Spoink!" Numel exclaimed, surprised by her friend's sudden attack.

"What? He was going to take the Grovyle that you guys lured," Spoink explained. "He can't do that, so I handled it."

Armaldo shrugged. "Well, I'll get the Grovyle. You guys take the Marshtomp and I'll meet you there."

Spoink lifted the Marshtomp via Psychic before bouncing away with it; Numel looked at Hariyama, who was unconscious near a tree. She let out a sigh before following Spoink.

Armaldo walked toward the unconscious gecko and picked it up before turning back around and walking after the girls.

000

"Wow… I didn't expect Spoink to do that, to be honest," Numel explained. "I'm not really a violent person, so seeing that was a bit...uncomfortable."

"But, it was kinda warranted, I guess."

000

Hariyama groaned, rubbing his head. "Note to self: Don't annoy Spoink and try to get rid of her as soon as the challenges start."

"They were nowhere near that Grovyle and they expect me to just leave it be? Screw that!"

000

Salamence steadily circled the areas that the hosts designated to find starters. So far she had gotten a Combusken and a Torchic. She would have had a Sceptile as well, but Glalie stole it from her. She was still peeved at that fact and wanted to destroy him.

"Stupid asshole… stealing my shit…" she grumbled to herself. As she floated back toward Littleroot Town, she saw the ice-type with something on his head.

A smile crept onto her face as she flew overhead and blasted a Flamethrower down at him.

-000-

The Face Pokemon dumped the Swampert and a Treecko he had gotten from Oldale Town in front of the hosts before being hit with a Flamethrower from above.

"Ow…" he growled. He gazed upwards, seeing Salamence flying down toward them.

Once she was close enough, Glalie used Ice Beam, striking Salamence. The dragon was slowly frozen solid, but continued hurtling toward them. Salamence landed on the ground next to him. He turned back toward the hosts, who were just taken aback.

"Uh… What the hell is up with you guys?" Silvally chortled. "You guys are taking super effective attacks and not budging at all."

"Just because we're a certain type doesn't mean we're guaranteed to go down in one hit," Glalie responded tonelessly as he reached into the bin with his mouth and pulled out a ball.

He dropped the first one onto the Treecko and the second onto the Swampert. After shaking a decent amount, both pokeballs ceased their shaking and he was able to toss them both into his bin. Bring his score to four.

"Two more to go and I win…" Glalie stated before looking back at Salamence and shaking his head. "Moron…"

000

Pelipper had run into Volbeat in Oldale Town. At this point, they weren't too bothered with the challenge and were instead simply engaging in casual conversation as they flew around.

"So, have you ever been in a relationship?" Volbeat queried, interested in the other guys' dating experience. He just hoped that someone had it worse than him.

"Hmm, not really," the Water Bird Pokemon replied. "Haven't really been looking. I don't even really know my type."

In his head, Volbeat sighed to himself. The saying was 'It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.' So, he was going to take it.

"Well, that sucks…" Volbeat commented.

"Not really," Pelipper replied. "I've been living without a woman's touch for twelve years and I'm perfectly fine…"

"Um, out of curiosity, are you gay? Just because the way that sounds is like… you're happy about it," Volbeat queried, a bit unhinged by his cheerful tone.

"What? No!" Pelipper replied. "I'm just not looking."

"Okay, just checking," Volbeat replied. "So, you said that you were an accountant?"

"Yeah."

"How'd you land that kind of job?" Volbeat queried as the two of them flew back to Littleroot Town.

"Eh, my uncle got me an interview at a company. They liked me, so they got me a job," Pelipper explained nonchalantly. "Kinda boring, but it pays the bills. Can't really complain that much…"

"Huh, well that's kinda co-" the Firefly Pokemon stopped speaking as he eyed Claydol, who was still lying in his same spot by the trees. At this point, the Clay Doll Pokemon had a few leaves on his body, and a couple of Poochyena were gnawing at him.

Volbeat, seeing this, used Bug Buzz. His wings turned red and as he flapped them, red rings approached the Poochyena and Claydol, chasing the Bite Pokemon away, and leaving Claydol to let out an emotionless, "Ow…"

"Sorry about that, dude," Volbeat apologized as he and Pelipper floated over to the pessimist.

"Are you okay?" Pelipper queried, looking down at him.

"The sunlight beams down upon my body and yet I feel no warmth…" Claydol replied. "Life sucks…"

"...Alright then," Volbeat replied. "Uh… Are you gonna be getting up anytime soon? Just lying there complaining isn't going to change anything…"

"And telling me that my actions will not provide influence will not do that, either," he retorted. "We're all destined to face physical and emotional turmoil as our presence lingers in this competition."

"You mean like all of the other shows?" Pelipper queried. "That happens anyway. Things get awful, but things also get better afterwards."

"There have been more negatives in the world than positives," Claydol replied. "Senseless violence, wars, typism, cheating, death, thievery, regionism, idiocy, social media drama, awful music, awful television, rape, spoiled milk…. It all sucks ass and has a ton of impact on the world today."

"Did… Did you say spoiled milk?"

"People are lactose intolerant, the taste is a hit or miss, and when it is spoiled, it smells awful, tastes awful, and looks awful, so yes" Claydol replied in his same manner.

"Well, all of that is true, but majority of the time, people go to jail for their crimes…"

"The cops only drive around neighborhoods where dark-types live…" Claydol replied. "I saw them break into a mother Zoroark's house and arrest her just because a Delibird didn't like how she looked at him at a grocery store. She's still serving seven years…"

"Well, I have no response to that, so I'm just going to fly away," Volbeat commented as he and Pelipper promptly flew away.

Claydol let out another sigh. "Life stinks…"

000

"Ahhhhh!" Swampert yelled as he was thrown into a tree, causing the tree to snap and fall over.

He was facing another Swampert, one that looked very aggressive. The Mud Fish Pokemon groaned in pain as he rubbed his head.

The wild Swampert punched him in the face, causing him to recoil in pain. "What the hell?!"

He threw his own punch, but the feral Swampert dodged it and pounced on him, pinning him down. Swampert head butted it in the face, disorienting it.

Swampert got back to his feet, only to be smacked back down. He growled, kicking the other Swampert in the stomach, sending it on its back.

Getting atop it, Swampert's arms glowed a bright red-orange as he rose them up and slammed them back down onto the feral Swampert's chest, knocking it out cold. He groaned as he plopped on his rear.

"Not bad," he heard from the side. Turning, he saw Blaziken standing there, a hand on her hip. He got to his feet, popping his back in the process and let out a sigh.

"Thanks…" he replied. "I haven't even left this town, but shit keeps finding me and trying to kick my ass!"

Blaziken giggled. "Well, I don't know how to explain that. Maybe I should stick around here, too if that's how it is…"

"You might as well. I've seen Grovyle, this guy… or gal, and a few Torchic marched past not so long ago," he explained.

"And I just brought back a Combusken…" she replied. "So, that's pretty good for me."

Swampert chuckled softly. "Well, feel free to stick around," he said as he grabbed the other Swampert by the foot and dragged it toward the hosts.

Blaziken rose a brow.

000

"Huh, for a lazy guy, Swampert actually has some strength behind him," Blaziken commented. "That could be useful. I'll have to get it out of him if we end up on the same team…"

000

Swampert tossed a ball onto the feral species. Once it was secured inside of the ball, Swampert tossed it into his bin and turned around, to see Blaziken still standing there.

"So, do you think you can help me out?" Blaziken queried. "I know that you don't even really want to do this challenge, but-"

"Hell, you can have my Swampert," Swampert replied before letting out a sigh. "Man, it's confusing to say that…"

He paused momentarily, turning to the hosts. "Wait, am I allowed to do this?"

"No rule against it," Silvally replied. "Hell, other competitors have been helping each other the entire time. Kinda weird, but understandable, I suppose. Not everyone wants to be a leader, I suppose."

"Great," Swampert said, dropping his species into Blaziken's bin. "I wish I could give you my Grovyle, too, but… You've got the Mudkip and Torchic lines…"

"Well, thanks anyway," Blaziken replied. "Now I'm halfway finished."

"No problem at all…"

"Hey guys," Volbeat greeted as he and Pelipper entered Littleroot Town. "Anyone close to winning yet?"

A few seconds later, Armaldo, Spoink, and Numel came into the scene, holding their catches. "Alright, this should be… three for us," Spoink said as she dropped the Marshtomp and Armaldo dropped the Grovyle.

"Uh… Why is Salamence frozen solid over there?" Numel queried gazing over at the melting ice the dragon was encased in.

"She was being a bitch. That's why," they heard as Glalie floated down from the sky, a Grovyle held between his horns.

He slid the Wood Gecko Pokemon off of himself before reaching into the bin of pokeballs. The others that had arrived earlier began doing so as well.

"Wow, almost everyone's coming back," Zeraora commented, looking around at the eight players standing in Littleroot Town.

"One more and I'm automatically a team captain," Glalie gloated as he dropped his fifth pokeball into his bin. "Just need to find a Mudkip…"

"Joy…" Swampert drawled.

Grunting was soon heard as Cacturne entered Littleroot Town dragging an unconscious Blaziken and Sceptile, and cradling a Torchic in her arms. Exploud was in tow, her arms folded.

"Wow, what the fuck…" Volbeat marveled. "How are you carrying-"

"No, I think a better question is how did you catch the three of them?" Blaziken queried, seeing a member of her species being dragged by its hair.

"None of your concern," Cacturne replied as she released the two Pokemon and walked over to the bin of pokeballs.

She lightly tapped the Torchic's head, capturing it and placing it into her bin as Glalie, Spoink, Armaldo, and Numel began to leave after placing their Pokemon in their bins.

She dropped pokeballs on the Sceptile and Blaziken, and after they shook for a while, they stopped. She picked them both up and placed them into her bin before turning to the hosts. "I've got all six. So, I'm a captain now, right?"

"Yep," Silvally replied. "Congrats. You're a winner of our first ever challenge."

"Good," Cacturne stated with a firm nod.

Volbeat and Pelipper exchanged looks, Exploud and Swampert simply shrugged, and Blaziken could only roll her eyes. She didn't really care; she just knew for a fact that Cacturne wasn't going to choose her.

A few seconds later, Claydol floated into the scene, juggling six pokeballs in the air via kinesis. Everyone watched him in confusion, as the Clay Doll Pokemon had just been lying in a single space for the entire challenge while moaning and spewing negativity.

"Whoa whoa whoa… Time out," Exploud commented. "Where did those pokeballs come from and are they even filled?"

Claydol didn't reply, he simply dropped all of his pokeballs into his bin. He then turned to the hosts.

"Claydol… Did you-"

"Yes," he interrupted in his same tone. "No rule against using kinesis or psychic-type moves to aid, therefore you can't penalize me for it."

The hosts paused, exchanging looks of unsurety. The ground- and psychic-type was correct in that regard, that actually hadn't said anything regarding the use of psychic-type abilities. They didn't really expect anyone to use them anyway.

"Well, I suppose you're correct in that regard," Zeraora commented, folding her arms. "So, congratulations, Claydol. You and Cacturne are now team leaders."

The others could not believe it. Out of everyone to win a spot as a leader, the depressing pessimist who hates life wins.

"Well, the first challenge is now over. So, let's round up everyone and let's get the teams settled," Silvally stated.

000

As the sun slowly set over the Hoenn Region, calming wind blew through the vicinity. Everyone returned to Littleroot Town, the contestants lining up in front of the two cabins. The hosts were before them, holding smiles.

"Alright, great job in the challenge today everyone. I hope that you all enjoyed yourself in some way, shape, or form," Zeraora said cheerily.

"It was tedious as all hell and you guys allowed a last minute ass-pull strategy to win, making the majority of the challenge pointless," Glalie commented.

"Oh, s-shut the f-fuck up," Salamence growled. "You're just pissy that you didn't win because you weren't smart enough…"

Glalie rolled his eyes at her ignorance.

"Anyways, once again, congratulations Cacturne and Claydol for winning today's challenge. Now you guys have the chance to pick who you would like to have on each of your teams. So, if you both would just step forward," Silvally explained.

Cacturne and Claydol moved toward the hosts, with Cacturne standing on Zeraora's side and Claydol floating next to Silvally.

"Now, since it's generally 'ladies first', we're going to let Cacturne go first," Zeraora explained. "So… go for it, Cacturne."

Cacturne let out a sigh before looking at her fellow competitors. She wanted her team to be strong, reliable, and have no annoyances. She felt that she could rely on Exploud, but seeing her with Blaziken earlier soured that a bit. So, she went with her nex best option. "Hariyama…"

Hariyama, hearing his name be called, was surprised to be called first.

"Alright, when your name is called, come stand next to your new team captain," Zeraora continued. "So, Hariyama…"

Hariyama shrugged and walked next to Cacturne.

"Claydol?" Silvally said questioningly.

"Being a leader only puts the blame on yourself when things go awry a majority of the time, so I'm choosing Glalie to be the main leader of my team," Claydol drawled.

"Uh… alright then?" Silvally replied, completely puzzled by what he meant. "Glalie…"

"Oh joy… I'm on team depression…" he groaned.

"Well, with that attitude, you're fitting right in," Salamence replied, making Glalie glare at her.

"I choose Salamence," Cacturne stated, surprising everyone, even Salamence herself.

"Oh? I guess you realize that I'm actually a fierce competitor…" Salamence commented haughtily as she walked over to her.

"You choose from now on. I could care less, but there's nothing to really care about at all…"

"Arceus dammit, you're so depressing…" Glalie growled before turning to the hosts. "Am I allowed?"

"Glalie's fine with it, so go right ahead," Silvally responded with a smile.

"In that case, I choose Blaziken," Glalie replied. "We'll need all the power we can get…"

Blaziken sighed to herself, but walked over anyway.

Cacturne was about to choose Swampert next, due to his possible strength, but remembering his laziness and careless attitude, she decided against it. "Pelipper."

Pelipper was surprised to hear his name be called and flew over to his group. However, looking back at the others, Cacturne facepalmed herself. Exploud and Armaldo were probably much better than Pelipper.

"Swampert…" Glalie stated; Blaziken had whispered something to him about the Mud Fish Pokemon's usability.

Swampert rose a brow initially, but shrugged and lugged himself over to their side.

000

"Blaziken told me that she'd whip Swampert into shape and make him lose his laziness. Since she's a 'hot' fitness instructor, I feel that I can take her word for it…" Glalie commented.

000

Seeing Swampert be chosen next, Exploud tapped her foot rather impatiently. She expected to be one of the first players that Cacturne chose. The fact that she chose Salamence before her really irked her a bit. Sure, she was a strong competitor, but she was quick-tempered and bitchy. Why would she be so quick to choose her?

"Armaldo," Cacturne called.

Armaldo was surprised, but walked over to their side nonetheless. Exploud gaped. "Come on, Cacturne!"

"Exploud…" Glalie stated with a smirk.

Cacturne immediately sent a glare in the Face Pokemon's direction. Exploud was definitely going to be her next choice. She could see the disappointment on Exploud's face as the Loud Noise Pokemon walked toward the opposite side.

She gazed back at the remaining four contestants: Spoink, Numel, Volbeat, and Masquerain. Out of the four of them, she was tolerant of Masquerain the most.

"Masquerain," she stated.

"Finally," the Eyeball Pokemon groaned before flying over. "Jeez… I swear, I'm not as useless as you guys may think…"

"Eh… Let's let them have Volbeat," Glalie said. "Hariyama's over there, after all. Spoink, over here!"

Spoink bounced over to their side. Seeing this, Cacturne sighed to herself. Now she had to choose between a love-scorned Volbeat and a… whatever you would call Numel. A do-gooder?

Hariyama nudged her. "I can handle Volbeat if you want. He's pretty cool."

Hearing this, Cacturne rolled her eyes. "Volbeat…"

The Firefly Pokemon breathed out a sigh. He wasn't picked last! He flew over to his new team, standing on Hariyama's shoulder, while Numel gloomily made her way over to her new team. "Picked last once again. It's highschool all over again."

"Well, you guys are now in your new teams, and since we want you guys to have a bit more of a choice. We're going to allow you guys to choose your own team names," Zeraora explained. "So, consult with your teammates and let us know what you've come up with…"

"Uh… No thanks," Glalie said. "If I'll say anything about these shows, is that I enjoy the names based on legendaries or team leaders. I have no idea why, but it's a personal preference."

"Well, feel free to name your team something along those lines," Silvally replied. "We'll give you about five minutes…"

-000-

"Well, I believe that we should name ourselves-"

"Grandiose Groudons," Exploud interrupted, her arms folded in annoyance. "It fits the theme that you like and involves the region's main legendaries…"

"Meh, I don't really care," Swampert replied.

"It sounds cool," Numel commented as Spoink nodded in agreement.

"FIne by me," Blaziken added. "It's just a name…"

Glalie was going to suggest the Glorious Glalie, since he was the one acting as the leader, while Claydol just floated around. And, seeing that everyone with the exception of himself and Claydol expressed agreement, he felt that he was outnumbered. He let out a sigh. "Alright, whatever…"

-000-

"The Killer Kyogres," Cacturne stated. "Simple as that."

"Why not the Killer Cacturnes?" asked Armaldo. "It makes more sense. I don't see what Kyogre has to do with us."

"Kyogre is one of the main legendaries of this region," Masquerain explained. "I'm pretty sure that explains it. Anyways, it doesn't matter to me."

"I would thinking that we could be a bit more original than this…" Pelipper spoke up.

"Shut the fuck up," Salamence growled, making Pelipper stay quiet.

000

"Alright, have you all come to an agreement?" Zeraora queried.

"The Grandiose Groudon," Glalie drawled.

"...The Killer Kyogres," Cacturne stated.

The hosts paused, exchanging looks before looking back at the contestants. The expected names a bit more creative and extravagant than just the standard ones, but… that was their choice.

"Well, I suppose that's okay," Silvally replied, looking at Claydol's team. "I'll admit, I expected something with a bit more… pop. But, to each their own. Congratulations. You guys are the Grandiose Groudons."

"And you all are the Killer Kyogres," Zeraora confirmed.

"So does this mean we have to move cabins now?" Spoink queried.

"Of course not," Zeraora answered. "Remember, you guys are all adults, so you can choose to sleep wherever you want…"

"Now, congratulations again on your new teams," Silvally greeted. "Try not to kill each other or get on each others' nerves before next Wednesday, hmm?"

"No promises…" Cacturne muttered to herself.

"We'll see you all Wednesday, so enjoy your break," Zeraora said as she and Silvally climbed aboard the bus.

As the bus began to take off, a few of the contestants waved them off, while others just returned to their gender's specific cabin. Apparently they weren't interested in learning about each other or giving assuring words already. They would wait until it was actually time for the next challenge.

000

On the bus, the hosts exchanged thoughts about the challenge. There was a couple thing that confused them and others that they were unsure about.

"You think we should have disqualified Claydol for doing what he did?" Silvally queried.

"I mean, we didn't say anything against it, so I don't think it would have been fair," Zeraora replied. "But, then again, it's not fair to the others who had to manually hunt down the starters."

"And he apparently gave the leadership role to Glalie, so things are still okay," Silvally added. "I can just hope that things don't get bad because of the teams. Oh, speaking of that, which team do you think will be superior?"

"Uh… What?"

"You know how in these shows, one team wins more than the other or others?" Silvally explained. "That's the superior team. So, which do you think will fit that role?"

Now having an understanding, Zeraora thought about it, remembering who all was on each team. "Nngh… Which one do you think?" she retorted.

"Well, The Killer Kyogres have power behind them, but personality wise, I'm not sure how far it will help them," Silvally replied. "And then again, the Grandiose Groudon also have power behind them, too, but Claydol and Swampert are themselves, and I don't really know what Numel and Spoink will be able to do, so right now, I feel the Killer Kyogres have more going for them."

"That makes sense…" Zeraora replied. "But if Swampert doesn't decide to be lazy, he could be a valuable asset to his team."

"True…" Silvally responded with an understanding nod. "Well, we'll just have to see as the game progresses."

"Yeah," Zeraora replied with a nod of her own.

000

And thus, the teams are established. The Grandiose Groudons and Killer Kyogres… They really couldn't come up with better names, could they? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this and I'll see you next time on Total… Pokemon… Hoenn! See ya guys, BYE!