"Somebody knows."
Magmar turned around and saw Electabuzz call out to him with a cracked egg in his hands. Magmar went to pinch his lips shut before his volume started to alert anyone.
"Are you trying to get us caught, Buzzhead?" Magmar whispered angrily, making a hand motion that signified shutting the hell up before someone hears. Electabuzz would push Magmar off of him and nurse his sore lips with one hand, holding the egg with the other and passing it over. "What do you mean, someone knows?"
"Open the egg, there's a note in there." Electabuzz would huff at him, Magmar opening the egg and looking at the note that had been left over the night. Magmar rolled his eyes, tossing the eggshells away and chose to burn the note with his fire breath, dusting his hands off afterward.
"This would mean a lot more if this guy was confident enough to show himself." Magmar would cross his arms.
"Or herself." Electabuzz added, before Magmar thwacked him on the head.
"Doesn't matter. Point is, it's gonna take more than anonymous threatening notes to convince me this guy's a threat." Magmar would say.
"Part of me wonders how the hell it got inside the egg…" Electabuzz would say, scratching his head where Magmar had hit him moments ago. "I mean… a note inside of an egg that wasn't broken into before… that's odd. Does Chansey have some special powers with that stuff?"
"If she did, we'd have no way of knowing since she's gone." Magmar shrugged. "Besides, we kind of know she wasn't the one responsible for it, because it makes no sense to leave that as a note when you get voted off. Someone probably used it to scare you in some goofy fashion."
"However they did it is enough to make me think… you sure we shouldn't listen to this guy?" Electabuzz asked.
"If they can't say it to our face, then they have nothing on us, plain and simple. Besides, if they go public with it out of the blue, they'll get questioned and we'll immediately know who left the note. We have the wiggle room here." Magmar confidently said. "Now, go to bed, we have a game in the morning."
Magmar then turned on his heels and started to head back to his cabin. Electabuzz, looking as if he wanted to say something else on the matter, decided against it and went to his cabin. He was hoping that their game plan wasn't immediately ruined by the mystery note, but he had an idea that there would most likely be another note tomorrow.
After all, if they agreed to the vote… they'd need to know who to vote for.
000 The Next Morning 000
The morning came without much fanfare that night, with Mew and Mewtwo waking up early and warming themselves up with coffee while waiting for the meeting to kick in with the birds. Mew shook his head once he finished his second cup of coffee. "They're twenty minutes late… if it was anyone else that made us wait this long, they'd-"
"Be fired on the spot." Mewtwo finished with a bored tone, sounding like he was tired of hearing Mew talk, with Mew then crossing his arms after the fact.
"You know, I asked you to cohost with me out of the kindness out of my heart, but it sounds like you don't even want to be here with me." Mew would say, his tail swishing behind him.
"Apologies for that, but… yesterday was rough, for more than just the campers." Mewtwo would reply back calmly. "You freaked out about a chair and a failed challenge, wasn't exactly a good day for television."
Mew would uncross his arms and sigh, floating more dejectedly as he heard those words. "Yeah… you're right. I was a little… cranky, the other day."
Mewtwo went to testify on the phrasing there, but Mew cut him off. "Little bit cranky. In any case… I'll try to calm down a little more today. After all, we have a good challenge today, and no matter how it goes, it should bring me some joy after the last challenge's shortcomings."
With that said, the screen would turn on by itself, and both Psychic-Types would turn their heads to it. The three birds would be looking to them, and they seemed to be in a good mood. "Hey boys." Articuno smiled, looking rather confident. "We wanted to mention that we have our challenge idea."
"Oh, more good news!" Mew would smile, Mewtwo chuckling under his breath. "Things are looking on the up and up now! What's the idea for it?"
"Sent it to your little communicator, higher ups said it was to make sure a camera didn't leak it before it was revealed." Zapdos mentioned. He moved out of the way… and it seemed that there was no more icy tundra behind them, but rather a serviceable resort that wouldn't look out of place in the Alola region.
Mew floated his communicator over, and read the message. His eyes went wide, and he then soon gained a smile on his face. "That's rather interesting… I wouldn't have thought one like that, mostly because we weren't told about it. But, I'm liking where that's slated to happen."
"This'll be our last message to ya before our challenge. The caveat is that the both of you gotta be here for when we do the challenge, to make it official and all that." Moltres stated, with Articuno clearing her throat.
"Which means our next message to you guys will be the day before our challenge, that way you guys have enough time to prepare the trip over here." Articuno nodded, with Mewtwo standing up while Mew went to float beside him.
"That should be more than enough time for us." Mew nodded, suddenly appearing to have a lot of energy for today. With the challenge from the birds now set in stone, it was one less thing to worry about for the sprightly host.
"Good. The Overseers shall be happy with this." Zapdos grunted from behind Articuno, before their feed was cut. The birds didn't like to spend more time than they needed with the trivial affairs of the contest.
Once the screen turned off, Mew turned to Mewtwo. "So… how's your personal challenge coming along?"
"Not telling."
"Dammit."
000
Meowth was currently sitting before a tree, using one of his claws to scratch at the bark as if he was drawing. He was enjoying the alone time, and was even talking to himself.
"Competition is only going to start ramping up from here… tensions are starting to form if last night was any indication. Rocky and Muscles seem to have a thing against each other, and hopefully one or the other takes off before the teams merge." he said to himself as he then winced.
He pulled his claw from the bark and shook his hand a bit. He had chipped the very edge of his claw. "Damn bark… these trees ain't good drawing trees like the ones I have back home."
"There's drawing trees?" a voice asked him, with Meowth turning around. He was met with Farfetch'd, the bird strolling up to him with his trusty leek at his side. Meowth would lower his paw and shrug.
"Sure there are. Some of the bark back home is easier to carve into than others, hence the name. Didn't think you were wanting to strum up conversation with me though." he would mention, with Farfetch'd looking rather surprised at that comment.
"I want to meet with everyone I can, no matter the occasion… save maybe for Gyarados, but I think I can get him at a good time." Farfetch'd would reply, with Meowth shuddering.
"Yeah, good luck with that. I still feel sick after the last challenge with him." he would then go back to the tree, with Farfetch'd clearing his throat.
"I give you my condolences for that treatment. But, why are you surprised at me wanting to at least meet your acquaintance properly?" the bird asked, with Meowth shrugging again.
"Eh. I got the sense that you were one of those "honor above all" kinds of people, and I've dealt with a lot of those back home. Would have thought that you were upset with my less than charitable behaviors in the challenges or something." he stuck his claw in the tree again and would try to break down some of the bark again for a drawing.
"While I admit that I'm not… fully impressed with how you choose to play the game, I'm not foolish to think that I can force change in one's playstyle. We're all here competing for the money, so it only makes sense that some play dirtier." Farfetch'd stated, causing Meowth to pause momentarily.
Sensing that Farfetch'd got his attention, he would continue. "In the last challenge, I got paired with Jigglypuff and Sandshrew. You were brought up in conversation a bit."
Meowth plucked his claw out from the tree again and turned around. "And what exactly are you getting at?"
"Calm, like I said, I don't mean anything by this. Jigglypuff seems to have taken a bit of a liking to you." Farfetch'd replied coolly, but Meowth didn't seem to be taking it as well. In fact, he seemed rather annoyed, as if he was being called out for something.
"Good for her, but I don't think she needs your permission to be chummy with me. What, you wanna make sure that she's not getting manipulated?" Meowth replied.
"I didn't say-"
"Doesn't matter. It's what your thinking." Meowth cut the bird off and narrowed his eyes. "And you can save it. You just said it, we're all here for the money, so we can play the game how we want. If she's choosing to play the game by spending time with me, then an honorable guy like you has no problem letting her play her game how she wants to."
He then turned around and didn't bother with a goodbye, walking off in another direction away from the bird. Farfetch'd sighed and shook his head. "Quite the assumptious individual… but those assumptions aren't too far off."
000
Farfetch'd would twirl his leek effortlessly in his wing while looking toward the camera. "Jigglypuff is a nice girl, I just don't want to see someone potentially being taken advantage of within the game. She seems to put her trust in those who might not deserve it… for her sake, it might be worth keeping an eye on him and making sure her trust is well placed."
000
Meowth crossed his arms. "Ooh, Birdy's on my short list. Too many people back home are like him, looking down at me like they're all better than me. I might do some underhanded things, but that don't mean I'm a scummy guy. If they were in my shoes, most of them would back off of me." he looked to the side, his angry gaze to the wall softening as he looked to be in thought.
000
Bulbasaur was walking through the forest, brushing up against foliage that looked to be dying and using his abilities to bring new life to the plant life around him. He smiled as an almost dead flower was able to return to it's glory, and made his way deeper into the forest.
"Geodude looked upset at Machoke… they must have been paired together in the challenge, but that alone shouldn't be enough to annoy them." he said to himself.
The grass type would stop his outspoken thoughts when he felt a chill in the air. He nervously stopped in his tracks, before he turned around to see Haunter magically appear behind him.
"GAH!"
Haunter, uncharacteristically, would notice his mistake and look apologetic. "Yikes, my bad. Sorry about that, phasing in and out and all that is so natural to me, I sometimes forget about my surroundings." he laughed it off, a disembodied hand reaching out to Bulbasaur. "Was taking a little nap before the challenge today, felt you just walk right through me! You all good?"
"U-uh… yeah…?" Bulbasaur weakly tapped the hand with his shoulder, showing he forgave the ghost. Haunter would then "stretch" his "arms" and yawn, hamming up the idea of him waking up.
"Good, good. So, heard a little bit of your strife before you walked in me. Wanting to know something about the last challenge?" Haunter asked.
"O-oh, uh… wait, you're on the other team. Why do you… how do I say this without being mean…" Bulbasaur trailed.
"Why do I care?" Haunter asked with a smile, not hurt at all.
"U-uh… yeah?" Bulbasaur repeated himself on accident, before Haunter shrugged.
"Just because we're on other teams, doesn't mean that we can't be civil to one another. Besides, games like these, the teams go away eventually. Wouldn't wanna make enemies too early, you know?" Haunter smiled, brushing up beside Bulbasaur with a chummy smile that the grass type didn't find too endearing as of right now.
"I suppose so…"
"See? Now, what did you wanna know? I might know a thing or two."
Bulbasaur cleared his throat and looked to the ground. "So… right now, I'm friends with Geodude. He's helping me become a bit more brave and game savvy, and in return, I sort of become his transportation for the island. But, the last challenge, he looked like he was really mad with Machoke, but I wouldn't know why. I don't wanna pry into it with him, because it's not really my business, but…"
"It might affect you down the line if it goes unchecked, yeah?" Haunter finished the thought.
"... y-ye-" Bulbasaur almost repeated himself again, before he simply nodded his head. "Would you happen to know why?"
"Well, I phased through a lot of the walls underground, so I heard a bunch of conversations that didn't pertain to me." Haunter smiled, shrugging. "Buuuuut, I do remember hearing a snippet of Rocky boy's conversation with the muscle man."
"You do? Did you hear what made them upset?"
"I did. However… it's not information I'm wanting to give out just this moment." Haunter then lowered himself to the ground.
"W-what? Why even ask me if I wanted it then?"
"Because, I can tell you if you simply do something for me. It's not difficult at all." Haunter would specify. "Simply put… I want you to go up and ask Geodude about it himself."
"You… want me to ask Geodude? I was kind of going to after you told me no… but why do you want me to do that?" Bulbasaur looked as if his head was going miles a minute with keeping up with this conversation.
"It's a twofold deal. You get to act upon this bravery training he's been giving you to ask the uncomfortable questions you might not want to… and I get to hear what his answer is."
"His answer? Do you think he'd lie?" Bulbasaur asked, now looking more confused.
"Not necessarily. However, this is a pretty big game we're playing, and he might choose to tell the truth… or he might wish to give you another answer to save his hide." Haunter would warn, a finger going to Bulbasaur's direction.
"H-how do I know you're not the one lying if you tell me?"
"I don't have anything to gain by lying to you. I said it already, I don't want to make enemies of those on the other team." Haunter would repeat himself this time. "And, I did hear them talk. It's not exactly fun for me to make up conversations that people didn't have with each other. Simply put, I have more of an insight as to what was said… and I'm an unbiased third party. Geodude might simply just tell you a side that makes him look good."
Bulbasaur looked to be in thought about this deal… and he was making sense about this for the most part. "Say I do ask him, and I want your input… where do we meet up for it?"
"Eh, right here's all fine and dandy to me. Besides, I like what you're doing with the place, gives me good Viridian vibes." Haunter put on a fake accent as he complimented the newer flowers.
Bulbasaur laughed at the exaggerated voice, seemingly a lot less worried about the Ghost. A deal had been made between opposite team members.
000
Bulbasaur looked conflicted about the deal he had made. "While I'm not as worried about Haunter's motives… I'm still worried that I might not like the answer Geodude gives me if he decides to talk about it. Haunter raised some good points, and now I can't really decide which option Geodude's more likely to go for. Curse my trusting nature…"
000
Koffing and Ekans were in the mess hall, thankfully the only ones at the table. This allowed Koffing to at least be by a table to enjoy his food without feeling guilty that he was gassing anyone. And with Ekans able to take the gas due to his typing, this allowed the smog ball a rare moment of relaxation as he ate the food provided by Mewtwo.
"Sorry that you got caught up in the cave in the other day." Koffing would say to Ekans, who only sported a small bandaid on his head from it. Everyone that had been caught up the other day had minor to no injuries reported, thankfully.
"Eh, I'm still here, aren't I?" Ekans grinned. "I'll be fine. Anything, people might be inclined to keep me around a couple more days because they feel bad. Which is fine by me, I appreciate being under the radar."
"I suppose… at least we lucked out in our team not losing anyone." Koffing would muse, feeling bad that Chansey got eliminated… but in the name of the game, she would have had to go eventually if they wanted to win.
"After the BS that was Gyarados being given to them, I'll take that." Ekans would scoff, before his tail would come up to the table they were sitting at. "Oh, by the way. Found these." He would throw some corks up on the table they were at. Koffing looked confused.
"Corks?"
"Yeah. Remember when we were talking about how you wanted to be around people? Plug some holes up and all that?" Ekans reminded, gesturing to the corks. "I reckon three or four at a time will keep that smog to yourself a bit more, and allow for some closer interactions."
Koffing looked touched that Ekans remembered their conversation, and it hadn't simply been forgotten due to the crazy challenge the other day. "I'm… I'm touched, Ekans. Where did you even find these?"
"Asked Mewtwo if they had any bottles they weren't using. Just plucked the corks from the ones he gave me. Apparently, Mew drank a lot the other night when the cave in ruined the challenge… his tolerance must be incredible if he's acting like himself again." Ekans scoffed again, before slithering onto the table.
"T-thank you, so much!" Koffing looked genuinely happy for the first time since the show started, with Ekans trying to play it off.
"Don't put too much thought into it. I'll put some of them in, you got a preference on which ones?" Ekans asked, before the door opened.
The poison types turned around to see Beedrill entering, before she looked at the scene at the table. She cleared her throat and awkwardly looked away, also having heard the last sentence with no context. "I'll… simply come back, if there's something happening here." She left the mess hall, with both poison types looking at each other and sharing a small glance.
"You're not my type." Ekans would remark sarcastically, Koffing not reacting to that comment.
000
Koffing sported a couple of corks toward the front of his body, the gas coming out from his back slightly intensifying as a result of his body rerouting the expulsion of gas. "That was really nice of Ekans to do that for me… now I feel like I can actually have a sliver of a social game! I do feel… kind of bloated, but I can take that if it means actually talking to people."
He then made a sound as if it was a fart coming from his body… he looked awkward, but tried to play it off. "Must be the corks, hehe…"
000
Dewgong looked rather dejected as she sat in the elimination area, looking back on the previous night. She indirectly caused Chansey to get eliminated because she had been associated with her in the previous challenge, and she felt guilty as a result.
"She didn't even do anything… she was trying to get me to stop acting so rash, and they voted for her?"
000
Dewgong shook her head. "Last night was a pretty good wakeup call for me, thinking I can just have everyone like me. Dragonair made it pretty clear that she just doesn't like me through no fault of my own."
She then straightened her posture. "In that case… I'm done worrying myself about her and what other people think. Worrying got a friend of mine eliminated just because she was on my side. As long as I stay true to myself, then that's all I need."
000
Dewgong's brief wallowing wouldn't go unnoticed by someone, a spectator within the nearby treeline. A small rock with arms would be seeing her current state, and instead of going to check on her…
Geodude turned around and went the other way. He sighed deeply, looking rather conflicted about it, but otherwise went to simply leave in the opposite direction.
000
"Therapy and all that's not my strong suit. Besides, I can only help out one person who needs it at a time." Geodude defended himself. "I spread my resources too thin, it could backfire. Besides… compared to Dewgong, I'd much rather have my chances against Bulbasaur in the finale."
000
Machoke was angrily lifting a fallen log as weight, still thinking about the comments Geodude had made to him last challenge. The log was providing no challenge to him, the fighting type easily able to lift it throughout his reps.
The harder part was trying to ignore the spectator he had garnered. Poliwag was looking at him with less than subtle eyes, almost hypnotized by the sight before her. Usually, this would put him a good mood… but after the other day, as well as the fact that he was on the show right now, this wasn't doing much for him.
Machoke set the log down at his feet and looked over to her. "Was there a reason you wanted to watch me work out, other than a good visual?" He asked sarcastically.
The tadpole would shake out of her stupor and look up to the athletic Pokemon. "S-sorry! I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, I just… I'm a bit jealous." She blushed a shade of purple on her blue cheeks.
"Jealous?" Machoke asked, looking to his arms. "I could see how, but care to tell me why? That way I can know if it's something I can focus more on." he bragged with a grin, Poliwag giggling at that.
"Yeah, jealous. I mean… look at me, compared to you. I don't even have arms." she pouted, with her looking at the arms of the man before her. "If I could just evolve, I could at least be of more use to the team… but I can't do much in my state right now."
Machoke would purse his lips and look to the side. This was a situation that pleasantly fell into his lap now, wasn't it? After that bull with Geodude, gaining an ally to help send him packing felt even closer to happening!
"Hmm… tell you what, I think I know how to help." Machoke said, sitting down on the log he had just used not too long ago.
Poliwag perked up, with her gaining a smile. "You do? You'd help me?!" she asked with a grin, before his big hand went to gently shush the tadpole.
"Let's not go too loud there, little lady." He played off with a smile. "I'll help you get a little stronger, and maybe even closer to evolution… and in exchange, you vote the same way I do iif our team loses. Would be rather unfortunate if we did this just to have one of us voted off, right?"
Poliwag, while muted by the big hand over her face, seemed to swoon with that deal Machoke made. He pulled his hand off of her face soon enough when they agreed.
Machoke then noticed the girl was… almost shivering with excitement. "Uh… you okay there?"
"I kinda need to squeal, can I go find the confessional to do it there?" She asked rather fast, the smile on her face throughout the request.
"I don't… care?"
Poliwag sprinted off with that permission, leaving Machoke confused as all hell as he looked toward the camera. "Mew sure knows how to pick them, I guess."
000
Poliwag just showed up. "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIII-!"
000
Dragonair was coiled up rather nicely next to Lickitung at the stairs of the mess hall, her being pleasantly relieved at how last night's elimination went while Lickitung felt a twinge… guilty by association. He had appreciated getting to know Dragonair throughout the challenge, but when they had ran into Chansey and Dewgong… that was when everything sort of went south.
Now, he wasn't silly to suggest that the situation was Dragonair's fault. Dewgong, despite the fact that Dragonair wasn't exactly being pleasant to converse with, was planning to leave with Lickitung before the Aurora Beam was fired. After that, she was snappy to Dewgong, and pretty much rubbed it in her face when Chansey got eliminated the other night.
And here Dragonair was, acting as if everything had went according to plan. It didn't sit right with Lickitung, but… he didn't want to come across as attacking his new friend. He didn't know how to approach it.
"I must say, Licky, I find myself looking back on the challenge…" Dragonair smiled, opening her eyes to the normal type.
"You do?" Lickitung asked, thinking that someone had to have been reading his mind if she was bringing the conversation up for him! "And… Licky?"
"You gave me a nickname the other day, I figured I should return the favor. Is it not to your liking?" Dragonair asked neutrally, her tone rather pleasant as if she was asking for his feedback.
"O-oh, I like it!" Lickitung smiled. "I usually don't get a lot of nicknames, but I like it. What part of the challenge did you wanna talk about, Drago?"
Dragonair smiled and softened further, before stretching out of her coiled form. "It was about my behavior during the challenge. I wanted to… apologize for being so unbecoming."
Lickitung definitely felt as if this was a higher power giving him an easy way into the conversation. "O-oh, you don't have to apologize to me. I can take hearing a few mean comments." he smiled.
"That's nice to hear. I thought you would have been upset at me snapping at you. I'll be the first to admit that I've been rather… unpleasant with people ever since the show started. I haven't had many opportunities to show my drive as a competitor, they always revolved around that ice devil getting the better of me…" Dragonair bitterly replied, not wanting to refer to Dewgong by name, it seemed.
"Right…" Lickitung nodded. "I get being upset like that. But, I work with a lot of kids back home, so I'm used to all sort of temperaments. I know firsthand that not everyone's gonna react the same way to my positive charm." he smiled, chuckling when he saw that Dragonair was trying to hold back a smile of her own.
"If that's what you call it… then I suppose you'd be correct. It must be that charm that's making it so I'm not as upset being compared to a temperamental child…" she would say back, causing Lickitung to nervously laugh as his own response.
Her tail brushed up against his back to show it was a joke. "Regardless… thank you for your time with me. I hope these talks can continue in the future, most people don't have your… patience, for someone of my behavior."
"Oh, of course." Lickitung agreed. "I'm not gonna stop being your friend just because a challenge is over."
Dragonair took a deep breath with a more genuine smile appearing on her face. "It's pleasant to hear those words come from your mouth, Licky."
The dragon type would then slither down the stairs, looking back up to him. "I'm going to go familiarize myself with the parts of the island I haven't been to yet. Maybe after the challenge, we can meet up again?"
"It's a plan!" Lickitung smiled, with Dragonair shaking her head at his positivity he no doubt exuded from the stairs. Nevertheless, she found herself wanting to come back to it again rather than rebuff him… there must be some truth to his bragging after all.
000
Lickitung looked rather conflicted. "On one hand… it's super nice to be the one that's warming up Dragonair. If this was the behavior she had on day one, I don't think last night would have went the way it did. On the other hand… if she didn't find her comments after the challenge or at the ceremony as troublesome as what she said to me in the tunnels… I might need to mention that soon."
He then held his hands up. "I'm not saying I'm gonna have her apologize to Dewgong, I like my head on my body. It'd be more along the lines of… cutting back on the sarcasm, in crucial times. I think that's a good place to start?"
000
About an hour later, all of the contestants found themselves at the Mess Hall. Those who had already ate breakfast were simply conversing with the team or staying put for Mew and Mewtwo to come into the room for the challenge. Ekans was one for the latter, thinking the host was going to come in at any minute.
Team Red's table felt like tension was going to break out into something more at any moment. Machoke was paying no mind to Geodude, while the rock was currently staring daggers at him. Bulbasaur had noticed this, and it made him want to speak up with what him and Haunter talked about, but he didn't want to do it in a public setting like this. Ironically, the tense nature Dragonair had was now muted greatly after her talk with Lickitung, who was now just enjoying breakfast alongside her new friend.
Or in Lickitung's case, his third breakfast of the day.
Team Blue wasn't faring better than Red, as the conversation Meowth had with Farfetch'd was currently bringing him in a more negative state, jabbing his fork into the breakfast that had been provided for them.
Jigglypuff took notice of this. "You okay, Meowth?"
"Just peachy." he replied back without missing a step, not being super obvious as to stare in the direction of the bird, but he wasn't going to hide his disdain easily. He stabbed into his breakfast and put what was on the fork into his mouth.
"Al…right then."
And aside from Tangela getting into a small food fight with Sandshrew that ended with a pancake narrowly avoiding hitting Gyarados in the face, there wasn't much conversation taking place.
Eventually, Mew reappeared before the 20 contestants, smiling as if all was well again. "Competitors, the next challenge is now primed and ready for you!"
"You move on from the chair?" Beedrill asked, with Mew looking as if he was suppressing what he really wanted to say.
"Yep! Now, meet in the forest clearing within ten minutes, or else obtain a penalty for your team!" he said with his chipper tone, teleporting away and causing the Mess Hall to get raucous… many of the contestants started to sprint out of the Mess Hall to get to the challenge area.
000
Beedrill looked as if she had been trampled, feet prints on her face and abdomen. "Jerkass."
000
The twenty contestants would meet Mew and Mewtwo in the clearing of the forest, and Mewtwo currently had a bunch of balloons next to him that were getting filled with standard air. Jigglypuff gave one a poke, before Mewtwo slapped her hand away. Nursing her hand, she pouted and walked over to her team as Mew looked ready to give the challenge details. Mew put his hands together and smiled.
"Today's challenge will be able to test your personal gameplay as well as how well you can work on a team. Everyone will be wearing a red or blue balloon throughout the challenge, with it being attached to your back like so."
Mewtwo would put one on Meowth's back, and… he didn't take too kindly to it. Once the balloon had been applied, he had reached behind him to feel it, and it popped once it came into contact with his claw. He hissed and shot up in the air, landing on a tree branch with his hair standing up.
The other contestants had a few muted laughs at his expense, but Jigglypuff didn't giggle like the others. She was able to see Meowth's expression after he realized he got on the tree. He muttered some indignant words for the camera as he climbed back down.
"In the case of the challenge, Meowth would have been eliminated right there." Mew explained. "Everyone will be wearing a balloon. If someone pops it, you are eliminated from the challenge. At the end of two hours, or if one team completely loses their balloons, the challenge will end. Whichever team has the most balloons, or has balloons compared to the empty team, will win and avoid elimination."
"So, it's hide and seek with balloons?" Sandshrew asked curiously as a blue balloon was put on her.
"Exactly that, my shrew friend." Mew nodded. "Now, to prevent the game from going too short, you will have a five minute grace period where no one is allowed to pop balloons. If balloons get popped by accident or by purpose, Twoey here will put another balloon back on while the period is still active."
"You did not just call me Twoey." Mewtwo would angrily state, with Mew wisely backing down and not going into cocky game show host mode on his cohost.
"A-and I take it back!" Mew smiled. "Anyway, once the period is up, that's when you're able to start popping."
"When one gets eliminated… what's stopping them from going around and popping other balloons?" Bulbasaur asked, with Mew smiling back.
"The game itself. Anyone who doesn't report back here after their balloon is popped will simply be wasting their time, as if they pop any balloons while they themselves don't have one, the balloons will be replaced like how they would be in the five minute grace period."
"Dammit…" Electabuzz commented under his breath.
"What if we tie?" Paras asked.
"Then sudden death will be whoever's balloon gets popped next." Mew had an answer for that too. "I'm not wanting this challenge to go on like the last one, so there are clear time limits and rules for this one."
"And I imagine popping our own balloons on accident after the grace period is…" Dragonair leaded, with Mew smiling devilishly with that comment.
"Too bad, so sad. You pop your own balloon, whether on accident or on purpose, you're down a member and your team has someone to keep in mind for elimination." he grinned, with one last question being asked.
"What about moves?" Koffing asked as a red balloon was put on him, being pushed around slightly from the gas pushing into it. He also seemed to be in a good mood as he was physically closer to his team than the last few days due to the corks.
"Not allowed. If they were, you all would get rather campy and start making forts or bases… would be boring television. Melee attacks only, or attacks that come from your body in terms of Poliwag."
"Heh, thanks…" she looked bashful as the balloon was put on her, comically as big as her.
"Now, I believe that's everything to be said." Mew had the rest of balloons put on the remaining contestants. "The five minutes start now, go!"
The contestants ran into the forest of the island, ready to guarantee their team another day of safety.
000
Not much happened within the grace period, aside from showing the contestants how they wanted to play the challenge.
Machoke, Beedrill, Magmar, Electabuzz, and Gyarados were all traversing the grounds of the challenge, eager to run into anyone for a scrap and pop their balloon.
Other contestants preferred to only fight when prompted, such as Koffing and Ekans who decided to hide up in a tree. Hiding spots were allowed, after all. As long as one had the balloon at the end of two hours, it didn't matter how they got there.
Meowth and Jigglypuff found themselves near the top of the cliff they had spoke during the treasure burial challenge, the idea being that not many people would climb the cliff just to eliminate someone. They hid pretty well, even after the fact that Meowth accidentally popped his balloon again, and reacted similarly to how he did before the challenge went underway. He refused to look at Jigglypuff as his replacement balloon was put on him telepathically.
Farfetch'd took on a protector role for Tangela, given that she can't reasonably fight back as easy as the other contestants can. They were near the dirt mounds where the treasure challenge ended, Farfetch'd patrolling like a soldier in front of Tangela camouflaging in a bush.
Dragonair and Lickitung were trying to hide together, which was proving to be difficult given Lickitung's bigger nature. They left a bush after realizing Lickitung was bigger than the bush, a sheepish smile on his face as they left for another spot.
Others were hiding super well, such as the small Pokemon like Poliwag and Paras who hadn't been picked up by the cameras even. Haunter was also unable to be found right now, but all were detected in the bounds of the challenge… so they were in good spots.
Sandshrew opted to hide with Dewgong, wanting to cheer her up as well as Sandshrew not wanting to be alone for the challenge. She felt best if she could defend and be defended by someone.
Lastly, Bulbasaur had hidden himself and Geodude in some overgrowth, allowing them some privacy for the challenge.
The grace period had ended, and the challenge's two hour time limit began.
000
Mew rubbed his hands together. "Challenges are only getting better from here on out, folks! I'm confident you all won't want to turn the channel!"
000
Mewtwo rolled his eyes. "Seems Mew's fixation of the day is this challenge being better than the last… he needs hobbies. Least it's better than the chair being destroyed."
000
Farfetch'd patrolled the bush with a determined gaze on his face, spinning his leek and not blinking for a long time… Tangela caught onto this.
"So, uh… you okay?" The vine girl asked, looking over to the bird. "Kinda been in your own little world there."
"My apologies." Farfetch'd would take a breath, but continue to patrol in a less rigid manner. "I've been lost in my thoughts since this morning. A conversation I've had has stuck with me."
"Conversation?" Tangela looked invested now, poking her head out from the bush next to a dirt mound and looking curious. "If you don't mind me asking… who's got you thinking like this? Is it a girl?"
Farfetch'd laughed, shaking his head. "No, it's not about a girl. I have a girlfriend back home." He informed. "No, I actually ran into Meowth earlier today."
"Oh yeah, the kitty cat." Tangela laughed. "I mean, aside from how he played on the first day, I don't really mind him. Then last challenge, he got paired up with Gyarados, and it looked like he went through about ten rollercoasters at the same time. On the bright side, he looks like he's interested in Jigglypuff."
Farfetch'd lost his focus on patrol as he turned his head slightly to the vine. "Interested? Romantically, do you mean?"
"Maybe? I dunno, but he kinda looks like he's just wanting to be friendly with her. They're meeting in secret sometimes, and he always looks like he tries to play it cool around her." she shrugged as best as she could.
Farfetch'd went to whisper about this new information. "That fast…?"
"What was the conversation about?" Tangela asked him to follow up, wondering what was said to make him seem so rigid in the first place.
The bird would clear his throat. "Not much. It was mostly about game plans, what I overheard him saying to himself." He fibbed, not wanting to expose all of the information he had so far. "I would be wary of him… his character seems as if he's not here to play fair."
"I mean… to become a millionaire, I don't know a lot of people who'd handicap themselves to playing fair." Tangela noted, before a popping sound was heard. She leapt out of the bush, without a balloon on her.
"Hey!" Farfetch'd would go to jump into the bush, but a pop on his back was made as well. Two blue balloons were gone already, with both eliminated contestants now staring at Paras, who had snuck into the bush and was staring right back at them.
"You're both rather loud individuals. I'd advise next time to lower your voices." Paras smiled, Tangela pouting and Farfetch'd shaking his head as he had been so easily outmaneuvered. Both members left Paras in the bush as they reported back to the clearing.
000
Paras was climbing on the wall of the confessional. "Stealth is my forte. I've had to hide from a lot of bullies pushing me around growing up. It's sort of trained me to focus in on loud voices to know how far away to be from them." She smiled, it coming off as a brag where in reality… it just felt upsetting.
000
"Outsmarted already… let's hope that the challenge fares well for my team…" Farfetch'd groaned. "One little hiccup shouldn't lower my stock too bad… I've done well so far, a misstep was bound to occur!"
000
Electabuzz was walking through the forest, wanting to catch someone off guard and pop their balloon. He was trying to keep a straight face, but his troubled expression showed that the note from last night was still on his mind somewhat.
"Who would have known…" Electabuzz kept his talking to a minimum, knowing people might overhear if he got too loud. Still, the fact that someone knew enough to leave him a note… that was worrying in of itself.
However, the more he thought about it… the note never did specify that the writer knew of which secret. Only that they knew of one. The more he thought about it actually… there might not have proof that the secret was of him and Magmar! He might not have been found out after all!
"Heh, to think I've been worrying all day because of that." he said out loud, before he narrowly avoided someone swiping at him from a sneak attack. Evading to the side, he turned around to see Machoke getting back into a defensive stance from missing an attack like that.
"Nice try, Flex!" The electric type would have a smile on his face as he got into an offensive stance himself.
"Almost got ya." Machoke grinned, liking the competitive nature that was starting to arise between the two. "Can't blame a guy for trying to pick a fight with a man his size."
"I can't. It's definitely respectable. Stupid though." Electabuzz grinned and charged at the man, Machoke looking ready to tussle. A fight that wouldn't get him in trouble is just what he needed to get out of the funk Geodude put him in.
000
The overgrowth that Geodude and Bulbasaur were hidden in was a ways away from any conflict currently taking place, so it allowed them a way to conserve energy for the challenge. Geodude definitely appreciated a more calm challenge than the one the other day.
Bulbasaur came back from the opposite edge of the spacious overgrowth, meeting up with the rock again. "Alright, defenses are pretty good. We'll know if anyone is coming to us with the traps I put up."
"You put up traps, kid?" Geodude looked impressed.
"... where I'm from, me and my friends aren't exactly the most… popular. It was nice to have a spot to hangout that we weren't risking getting bullied…" he looked to the ground, but Geodude pat him on the back, carefully as to not pop his balloon on accident.
"Don't be embarrassed kid. Those are some good skills to have, adapting to your environment and allowing you and your friends a spot to breathe." the rock smiled back, pulling his hand away after a second. "What kind of traps?"
"Oh, just… pheromones." he would fib, not wanting to go into detail. "Nothing like using any moves, but… stuff that just puts people to sleep, or paralyzes them temporarily to allow us to get distance in."
"Smart." the armed rock would nod, before gently resting so as not to lay on his own balloon. This allowed Bulbasaur to talk about something… the thing that he and Haunter had discussed earlier that day.
"Hey, Geodude?" his tone tried not to waver.
"Hmm? What's up?"
"I just… had a question, about the other day." He began, and he was able to notice the small facial reaction that Geodude had when he brought that up.
"Sure, what about?" Geodude looked like he was trying to subtly figure out what this was about, Bulbasaur picking up on that.
"... after the challenge, you were… really upset with Machoke about something. Like, more upset than usual, given your… crankiness?" Bulbasaur awkwardly asked, before Geodude tried to cut him off.
"I'll let that slide for now. Kid, it's just some bickering between us. We got paired up in the challenge, went on some back and forth tirade, and then we got out of the ground. We were happy to get away from each other."
"But… what made you so upset? What was said?" the grass type asked, with Geodude seemingly having a good answer on standby.
"We're just two completely different people, kid. He's the popular jock that is able to brute force his way through obstacles, and I'm one that takes their time when thinking it out. It was purely for drama that we got paired together… and it delivered."
Bulbasaur looked down to the ground, with him processing that answer. "He… didn't say anything to you?"
"Nothing specific. It was just a bunch of built up anger." Geodude nodded, looking neutral now about the topic. "It was stupid in the moment, and it's stupid now, but we're probably not going to work well with each other going forward. Just a matter of life."
"I… i see. Sorry for that." Bulbasaur put a nervous smile on. "We're sort of working together, and I was just… worried that something might have happened to affect the game."
Geodude chuckled. "If something that bad happened, I'd tell you myself. Promise." he nodded, before quieting down. Bulbasaur shut his mouth too, as they heard some quick… trampling through the forest.
"Come on out, Red Team!" Gyarados laughed, surging through the challenge area as he tried to find anyone.
Bulbasaur sighed. Gyarados was at least still cool with him and Geodude… he didn't worry too much. Although for the rest of his team, he hoped there were few victims of his rampage.
000
Geodude wiped his forehead. "Who the hell is telling the kid about my talk with Machoke? It's no one's concern but me and the walking testosterone! Not that it matters on someone telling him we got in a little bit of an argument… what purpose is there to gain from telling him that?"
000
Bulbasaur looked even more conflicted. "Geodude made sense… but something's just telling me there's a bit more to the story than what he told me. I… I might have to ask Haunter about what he heard, just to clear my thoughts. If someone is against him, I kind of want to know if it's… because of the game, or something. That… and if I'm targeted by association?" he gulped, looking at the camera with even more nerves.
000
Dewgong and Sandshrew were currently in a battle with Ekans and Koffing, after the two ice types were able to find the tree that they were hiding in. Ekans was currently riding Koffing as the ball of gas floated out of the tree and tried to avoid battle, their balloons being rather obvious targets on their back.
"Go get someone else already!" Ekans would shout back at Dewgong and Sandshrew.
"Why would we do that when we have you in front of us?" Sandshrew asked, keeping pace and slowly gaining on Koffing as he was starting to slow.
"Really appreciate it if you did…" Koffing panted, Ekans getting ready to strike once the time was right.
"Not happening. Eliminating two of you from the challenge will be just what I need to get my head back in the game!" Dewgong said, before charging in. Ekans was able to leap off of Koffing just in time, the ball floating down to the ground and unfortunately leaving himself open for Dewgong to pop his balloon.
With Koffing eliminated, Ekans cried out as he lunged after Sandshrew, the snake coiling around her as he tried to bite at her balloon to pop it. Sandshrew, sensing the danger, was furiously spinning to keep the balloon from reaching his mouth as well as to disorient him.
Dewgong turned around and saw the situation, holding back and letting this play out so as not to mess up again. She didn't want to pop Sandshrew's balloon on accident and have another failure branded on her. "Watch out, Sandshrew!"
"T-trying!" She replied, her hands reaching back and her claws almost touching Ekans' balloon.
"S-stop spinning already!" Ekans cried out, getting queasy from the constant spinning and the mediocre breakfast that he ate this morning trying to come back up. "D-don't you two have a dragon to harass? I might look like her, but I'm not!"
Ekans' little comment… tested Dewgong. "I AM NOT THE ONE HARASSING HER!" She shouted as she charged into the spinning fight.
… two balloons popped here.
Ekans was flung off onto the ground next to Koffing, feeling no balloon on his back. "Dammit…" he spat, looking to the winners of the fight.
Dewgong smiled to herself when she saw they neutralized the threat, with Sandshrew tapping on her shoulder. "That was close… hey, you-"
Dewgong stopped talking as she realized Sandshrew's balloon had also popped in the commotion, her fear taking fruit. Sandshrew looked a bit upset, but didn't throw that disappointment in her face. "Looks like I'm out… you'll have to keep going."
Dewgong, swallowing her anger at the fact she let a simple barb from Ekans get her like that, nodded and would charge off in another direction of the forest.
000
Ekans grinned. "Losing's not all bad. Least I can say I did my part today."
000
Dewgong looked down at the ground. "What is wrong with me today…?"
000
Haunter had just appeared on the challenge cameras for the first time, having snuck up behind Poliwag to pop her balloon right when she had just left the site of the last challenge. The tadpole had felt like fear incarnate just crept up on her, and Haunter capitalized easily with a simple poke to her balloon to eliminate her.
"Run along now." Haunter smiled, Poliwag pouting as she had been eliminated. He then heard some discussion taking place not too far away from him. He turned invisible all over again and went to eavesdrop. After all, him turning invisible is okay since… he's not using a move.
Down the ways a bit, Lickitung and Dragonair had paired up once again, looking for a more suitable hiding spot for the bigger guy. Dragonair didn't wish to hide by herself, more or less worried that she was going to be on the receiving end of another errant attack by Dewgong.
That, and Lickitung was someone she was slowly starting to get accustomed to spending time with, as he wasn't the worst… he had some behaviors she found appalling, but he was generally a stand up guy when it came to discussions. So, the good outweighed the bad for now.
"Are you sure you wanna be around me? I'm kind of a big target and all." Lickitung asked, keeping his voice down somewhat to avoid an ambush from someone.
"Yes, I'm sure, as I was the last two times you asked." Dragonair spoke in a somewhat miffed tone. "I don't like to change my mind all the time."
"Fair, yeah… sorry, I guess I'm just… worried that someone would get you out because they see I'm a target." Lickitung stated. "Someone pops my balloon, and then they look at you with the idea of getting another elimination or something."
"I can defend myself rather fine, Licky. I'm not a damsel in distress." She replied curtly, before looking down to the ground as they walked. "Unless… that Dewgong gets in the way. I swear, something about her is rubbing me the wrong way."
Lickitung seemed to swallow the spit that built up in his mouth, before he cleared his throat, not looking like he wanted to talk about this. "I know that… she's been causing you some headaches the past few days…"
"Oh, it's not just headaches, Licky. It's literally every time she wants to communicate. It's this "poor me, I didn't mean it" attitude of hers, followed by yet another attack. I'm done falling for it. And now that it's not working, she's wanting to complain to others about how I've been the one that's wronged her, and I haven't done anything to her!"
"No, you haven't." Lickitung said. "B-but… m-maybe…" he felt his confidence waver when Dragonair looked over to him, as if daring to finish the thought he had started. "T-this is just from a neutral standpoint here… the first impressions you made might not… help with gaining support?"
"And what is that supposed to mean? I've been wronged by her, what does it matter if I've been rude since then?" Dragonair responded, with Lickitung stopping his walk and looking more serious.
This was one of his well known "Lickitung Talks" from where he's from. "You have been, multiple times. But, it's in nature for those outside of the situation to help and assist those in need. If you're wanting help with dealing with the situation… it might help you to… lose the icy behavior?"
Dragonair wanted to interject with the ice comment, but Lickitung continued. She silenced herself and listened. "The other day, some of the contestants didn't see you relieved to be immune over Dewgong and Chansey. Some of them… saw someone rubbing it into someone else as they didn't even know if they were still in the game or not. Bragging like that, if it was or wasn't doesn't matter, doesn't sit too well with some people in the game. And this is a social game by nature."
Dragonair narrowed her eyes at the normal type, almost seeing if he was going to back down… but seeing that he didn't, she took a deep breath and calmed herself down. She nodded once. "...you're right. I suppose my behavior has been… unbecoming in more ways than I realized." she admitted, a tad under her breath, but Lickitung would take the win regardless.
"Remember this feeling if you go to discuss things with someone, like voting for someone else if we lose. Acknowledging these things allows you to become a little more approachable by others, and more deals will be open on the table." Lickitung advised.
"Hmm… I must say, Licky, you do give rather serviceable advice." Dragonair smiled. "It's rare that I find someone willing to speak their true mind like that. Most would have asked I forget the situation entirely. Have you given thought about becoming a motivational speaker?" she asked with a grin.
"O-oh, well… I am what you might call a local therapist where I'm at." he not so humbly bragged with a smile, putting on a show of confidence that allowed Dragonair to genuinely laugh at.
"If that's the case… I might want another session." she would rub her tail against his back in a friendly manner. "Thank you for that, I needed that talk."
Lickitung would have said something… but the sudden pop of his balloon alerted him to his surroundings. He looked around frantically, with Dragonair pulling her tail back. "I-i didn't do that!"
Lickitung didn't look upset. "I didn't think you did. Must have just snagged it on a tree branch or something." he huffed, before smiling back to her. "You got this. Just find a spot and hide in, we should be a decent ways into the challenge if you don't want to fight."
Lickitung would then run off, out of the challenge grounds with a smile. Dragonair brought her tail to her face and looked deep in thought, before slithering away to a location she could hide in.
000
Haunter whistled harmlessly. "So I went invisible and poked his balloon. That's what he gets for licking me on the first day like that! People don't forget!"
000
Lickitung looked lost in thought. "...Dragonair has a nice laugh. It felt… really good to hear that." he smiled toward the camera.
000
Meowth and Jigglypuff sat on the cliffside, both looking down toward the cliff's slope so as not to get caught off guard by any sneak attacks. Jigglypuff would be the one to glance back if she heard anyone climbing up the edge or flying behind them.
Meowth was also seemingly on edge, presumably from the balloon on his back. Jigglypuff didn't know why, but she went to distract the cat. "So, did you sleep well?"
The cat looked over to her, almost questioning why, but deciding against it. "Uh, I suppose so. Ain't exactly easy sleeping after being thrown around by Angry Fish all of last challenge, but I was able to get some… why?"
"No reason. More or less wondering if you were doing better after that." she smiled. "So, were you surprised at the last elimination?"
"...is there a point to these questions?"
Jigglypuff started to pout, a face Meowth actually found rather entertaining, the celebrity crossing her stubby arms. "If it's not obvious already… I'm trying to take your mind off of the whole balloon thing. You weren't exactly subtle when you reacted to the balloon on your back."
Meowth's tone suddenly shifted to a more dodgy and unsure one, noticeably different from his usual confident self. "... I uh… don't know what you're talking about."
Jigglypuff didn't have to say anything, simply glancing at Meowth the way she did was enough for the cat to double back. "Regardless… it's not something I'm comfortable sharing, especially with people I haven't known a week."
"You don't have to tell me, I'm not pressing for it." Jigglypuff softened. "You can keep it a secret if you wish… but if it's bothering you, I'm always open to talk."
Meowth looked more to the ground, looking conflicted. "...maybe later. For now, I'd rather focus on the challenge… as well as not popping any balloons."
"Even me?" Jigglypuff smiled, joking at her own expense.
Meowth didn't seem to find it funny, blanching a bit and becoming a bit stiff. Jigglypuff noticed this and softened again. "D-did I say something wrong?"
Meowth stuttered out something, before he was narrowly able to jump to his feet. He heard some rampaging footsteps coming his way, and went to get up. "We move, now!"
Jigglypuff would get to her feet and both were able to see Magmar blindly rushing up the slope of the cliff, seeing the two of them as easy targets. Jigglypuff would quickly grab Meowth's paw to pull him off to the side.
Meowth, as if acting on impulse, took one look at his claw coming close to Jigglypuff's body, and hurriedly pulled his paw back. Jigglypuff turned back out of confusion, but the pause was enough for Magmar. He had missed the puffball, but was able to tackle Meowth straight off of the cliff!
Jigglypuff peered over the edge as she saw the two plummet to the waves below, thankfully not being high enough to cause injuries or damage… but her face was wrought with shock and confusion.
Jigglypuff heard two balloons pop as well, the two contestants hitting the waves with that much force was no match for their balloons to keep intact.
000
Magmar was shivering, looking drenched. His flames were weak, but he didn't seem too worried about that. "Totally worth it…"
000
Jigglypuff sat on the seat, looking to the camera while in thought. "Meowth looked like he saw a ghost up there… and it was because I grabbed his hand. D-did I cause that?"
000
Machoke and Electabuzz were having a rather good fight in the challenge. Electabuzz had just countered Machoke's attempt at a clothesline, ducking and taking his arm to spin him around. Swiping at the balloon, Machoke spun out of his grasp and was able to punch the rival in the gut.
Electabuzz bent over, and Machoke looked ready to chop at his balloon from above. Electabuzz, while bent over, saved his hide by going to stomp on Machoke's foot. The fighting type reacted, nursing his sore foot and hopping away to get a bit of distance for recovery.
"Not bad… a little dirty, but I don't sense a bit of malice behind it." Machoke grinned, hobbling for a minute as he smacked his foot to offset the pain.
The winded Electabuzz would stand up, a hand on his gut as he looked ready to continue. "Power Plant doesn't raise any bitches." he laughed, before charging at the opponent again.
Machoke got his foot working just in time to plant them into the ground, and meet Electabuzz in a test of strength position. Both men grabbed at each other's hands, trying to overpower the other and take them out of the contest. Electabuzz was seemingly able to get the upper hand, Machoke's foot starting to cause him some issues in keeping his ground.
"I respect you a hell of a lot more than I did when I woke up today, so I'll let you say any last words before that balloon is popped." Electabuzz grinned, Machoke wincing as he found his foot catching on a rock.
"Don't get cocky." Machoke then grinned. "Cockiness is only for winners."
Machoke stopped pushing Electabuzz, causing the electric type to stumble forward with the pressure no longer being applied against him. Machoke broke the grasp, and was able to chop Electabuzz's neck in just the right way that it hit one of the electric type's pressure points. Electabuzz seized up and hit the ground with a thud, Machoke quickly popping his balloon by crushing it between his palms. Electabuzz groaned while he felt numb, the sting of elimination hurting slightly more to him.
Machoke stood up and dusted himself off. "Not bad at all." Machoke repeated, wincing again as he felt his foot was tweaked from the stomp earlier. He'd have to put up with it for the rest of the challenge, it seemed.
… which wasn't long. He turned around, only to shout as Beedrill had appeared silently. Machoke went to back up, but his foot made him fall to his knee. That was enough for Beedrill to reach over his shoulder and pop his balloon without second guessing herself, buzzing off without a comment.
The sting of such defeat hurt worse than the sting of elimination… which Electabuzz could relate to. The two men just groaned on the ground, defeated and sore.
000
An hour and thirty minutes has now passed within the challenge, and with the standings being 4-5 for Team Blue, Team Red needed the tide to turn.
It was unfortunate that a Gyarados rampage through the forest had somehow found the bush that Paras was hiding in, the crab flying out without a balloon attached to her as she was knocked into the sky. Gyarados saw her fly out of the forest and presumably to the edges of the challenge grounds… and laughed to himself as he stomped away some more.
000
Gyarados took a deep breath, and looked to the camera. "Truth be told… a lot of the rage I had after I evolved disappeared during the last challenge. It was fun to knock around Ekans and Poliwag some underground, given the fact that they didn't give me a chance… but, I don't want to let anyone else know I'm a rational thinker again just yet."
He grinned maliciously. "And did you see Paras go flying? Ha! Call me useless now, I dare you, Team Red!"
000
Bulbasaur and Geodude, not knowing that they were now two of three remaining people left for the team, simply spent more time in the overgrowth hiding spot they were at. It didn't make sense for them to move and risk getting caught and eliminated.
Geodude was finishing up a story about his work crew. "And then, my buddy Cubone had to beat them away with two bones! He was dual-wielding them and just throwing them around like nobody's business!"
Bulbasaur was impressed at the content of this story. "Woah… what happened next?"
"So, after all of the Pinsir left, he-" he went to continue, before he heard rustling. He stopped talking and tried to discern if it was close by to them.
He gave Bulbasaur a hand signal, to quietly alert him that there might have been someone close to them… and to get away from the side of the bush they were standing at. He was right to communicate this, as it narrowly kept them in the challenge.
Suddenly, a rush threw the bush had startled both of them. They turned to see Beedrill push inside with great speed, one of her drill arms already aimed at Geodude! "Found you, you little…!"
She then coughed, with her brushing up against the trap that Bulbasaur put up an hour ago. She touched a few leaves that had sleep pheromones put against them, and Beedrill's drowsiness caught up to her within seconds. She collapsed onto the ground, with Geodude quickly taking advantage and popping the bee's balloon before she woke up.
Geodude quickly turned to Bulbasaur. "Did you leave a side untrapped?" He asked quickly, unsure if she had teammates with her.
Bulbasaur nodded, using his vines to quickly grab a hold of Geodude as carefully as he could to not pop the balloon, before running out of the south side of the overgrowth.
000
Beedrill looked… eerily calm. "The little shit put me to sleep? … smart kid. It's not happening again."
000
About fifteen minutes now remained in the contest, and things were heating up. It was 3-4 for the Blue Team still, and a tie was still very much possible. Dragonair was rushing through the forest, not having been in any sort of commotion since Lickitung's balloon just popped during their conversation.
Currently, while she was making her way through the forest, she was thinking about Lickitung's words. She did have every intent to come onto the show and make good impressions… but she let her attitude be soured by Dewgong to the point that it was tainting her interactions with others. Sure, the Ice type was showing her up in challenges and it was getting annoying fast… but saddling that anger onto other people who are trying to help wasn't helping her at all.
She had half a mind to thank Mew for pairing her up with Lickitung how they were the last challenge. She was more aware of how she was acting, and she wasn't going to let one contestant get in the way of what she came to the show to do… that being win.
"I wonder if Father would like having Licky over for dinner one night… something tells me he'd be able to speak a lot of business with him." she mused out loud, imagining her father and Lickitung in some serious conversation about… finances, or jobs even. "Father always did want me to-"
She stopped dead in her tracks once she saw the last person she wanted to see. Dewgong, still with her balloon, was staring right at her. Dragonair, thinking this was going to be about the last elimination ceremony, stood her ground and narrowed her eyes.
"..."
"..."
Neither gal wanted to make the first comment. The tension was thick, and Mew definitely had cameras trained on their interaction to see what would take place here.
000
Dragonair looked annoyed. "As much as I hated every minute of this… I wanted to test Lickitung's theory. Getting this woman out of my mind to focus more on the game… it needs to happen. So, I'll swallow my pride."
"... no matter how disgusting…" she gagged.
000
Dragonair cleared her throat. "... I apologize for my actions the other night. I acted unbecoming of how I was raised… and my bragging was uncalled for."
Dewgong didn't look to be fazed by this statement. Nevertheless, Dragonair continued. "We know it's both obvious that I said some things that were uncalled for. My behavior in the challenge, while stemming from anger of how I performed in the previous challenges, was unnecessary. And my reaction for your teammate being eliminated… even more so."
Dragonair, while easing how of her defensive stance, still kept her eyes trained on her opponent. "I know an apology will do little to ease the contempt we've had for one another… one-sided contempt, I must add for clarity… however, I wish to make the first step of absolving my rotten behavior as of late. I will no longer antagonize you… and I will keep an open mind on the circumstances that bring us together, rather than assume the worst from you."
She stood up straight, and she saw Dewgong loosen up somewhat as well. "... I don't expect to be friends. However… I believe a more beneficial and respectful relationship as opponents can come about. What say you?"
Dewgong slowly closed the gap between them, both of them now only a few feet from each other. "...Do you really mean that?" Dewgong asked, looking like she was deadly serious in asking this.
"I do. I've acknowledged my rotten behavior… and I want to do right in getting rid of it."
The two of them stared at each other for what felt like ages, Dewgong taking a moment to really process the words made by the woman that laughed in her face the other night when Chansey got eliminated. The woman that flat out told her that she didn't need a reason to dislike someone, and treat them accordingly. Now she was here proposing a… truce, in sorts?
The more Dewgong thought about it… she could tell that Dragonair wasn't doing this as a farce, or some sick twisted prank. She was able to feel the genuine nature of Dragonair's statements, with her realizing that she had been acting rather uncouth to people without hearing them out. And Dewgong was able to think about one last thing.
The words from her teammates who assisted her with this debacle to begin with. Haunter's words. "Just be yourself, and if people don't like it… they don't like it."
Dewgong took a breath, and lightened her gaze at Dragonair. The tension seemed to be dying down somewhat, but people were waiting for the answer. Dewgong got as close as she could to Dragonair without making either lady uncomfortable, and spoke.
"Go to hell."
Dewgong reacted before Dragonair could get a word in, slapping her with her tail to send Dragonair flying into a nearby tree. The balloon on her back popped when she came into contact with the trunk of it, the dragon groaning as she looked back up to Dewgong. The Ice type already turned her back on her.
"You little shit!" Dragonair cursed at her as Dewgong was leaving. "I was right about you! You're nothing but a traitorous whelp!"
But Dewgong no longer rose to the bait, and left the eliminated dragon by herself.
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Haunter whistled. "Now that was cold~ did not think she had that in her!"
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Dewgong looked at the confessional, wanting to say something… but then opted to stay silent instead.
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With it being 2-4 with only about 5 minutes left, things were looking dire for Team Red. Bulbasaur and Geodude were on the run, but it was only a minute until they were running from Haunter and Jigglypuff.
The grass type, while lugging Geodude around, wasn't the fastest to begin with… but he was noticeably slower with the rock on his back. He rounded a corner and nearly avoided getting trampled by Gyarados, who didn't look nearly as angry when facing them… but he still had a challenge to win.
So now, running from three different Pokemon was starting to catch up to the poor kid, which Geodude noticed. "Kid, throw me at them!"
"W-what?"
"You'll have an opening to either take someone else out, or run. Throw me and I'll try to bowling ball into them to pop anything I can!" Geodude mentioned to them, as the three of them were rather grouped up. "I'm sure I can at least get one, and knock the others down for you!"
"B-but what if I-"
"Don't think about ifs!" Geodude shouted, grabbing a vine as a means to reassure the kid. "Act, and then think about what you could have done later, that's how you learn! Take the chance!"
Bulbasaur took the chance on Geodude's words, and would spin around while he ran. With the momentum, he tossed Geodude directly into the three chasing Pokemon, and one could almost hear the strike sound from a bowling alley play. Bulbasaur stopped running when he heard the commotion come to a halt behind him.
Geodude had landed on Jigglypuff, popping her balloon upon impact. He got up and went to try and pop Gyarados' the same way, but was met with an unfortunate end as his balloon popped at the same time by Haunter.
Bulbasaur eyed Haunter as he got up from the mess… and Bulbasaur was confused by his smile. "What's got you happy?"
"Kid!" Geodude cried out, causing Bulbasaur to worry.
The starter turned around and saw that Dewgong had caught up to the poor kid. Before he could even get in a defensive stance to dodge, the timer had been called. The challenge was over.
Mew teleported to the scene, right above where Geodude was resting on top of a knocked down Gyarados and Jigglypuff. "And with a 2-1 finale, Team Blue takes the victory!"
Jigglypuff and Haunter seemed happy, but Dewgong was noticeably… unemotional about the win.
"Team Red will head to elimination tonight, and as a sign of good faith by yours truly, I declare that Bulbasaur is immune from tonight's vote, seeing as how he's the last survivor of the team." Mew declared, Bulbasaur weakly collapsing onto the ground from relief taking over his body.
"The usual remains. Meet at sundown, vote for anyone but him, et cetera. Ciao!" Mew winked toward the camera, the contestants starting to get up.
Haunter shot Bulbasaur a look, unbeknownst to Geodude, that wordlessly stated for him to meet with him after the ceremony. Bulbasaur tiredly nodded, before getting back to his feet.
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Ekans shook his head. "Voting again… now that we don't have a Magikarp to get rid of, we're looking at people who did sorta well this time around… shit."
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Bulbasaur looked relieved. "Being immune definitely takes a load off of my mind… but only a bit. I still have to talk to Haunter about what Geodude told me, and if Geodude was actually telling the truth to me about Machoke, and…" he trailed, before whimpering as he went to hold his head. "Too much to worry about tonight…"
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Lickitung looked nervous. "I have my work cut out for me tonight…"
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Machoke and Poliwag were enjoying a meal after the challenge, Machoke's foot now healed from the fight he had against Electabuzz earlier. "That sucker can hit, I'll tell you that. Although it was nice to get a win over someone that's not the bee." He remarked, his previous losses to the bee almost having gotten to him.
"I saw that fight when we were brought back to the spectators area. You… looked really good out there." She blushed, Machoke noticing this and deciding to play around it.
"Thanks. How did you get out, if I had to ask?"
Poliwag looked down to the ground. "Haunter… he made me feel like I was being watched, and I just… couldn't move in time."
"But… we're always being watched. We're on TV." Machoke added.
"Not like that, but like… if I did anything while under that gaze, I was going to suffer." She clarified, pouting some more. "I might be put up for elimination tonight. I haven't had the best track record in challenges as of late…"
Machoke thought about this… and she had a point. She lost in the first challenge, not by her fault really, and she had been a part of the cave in the other day. Eventually, people were going to stop understanding she'd been boned by the game, and simply vote her out of necessity. "I'll see about that. I have someone in mind to vote off instead."
"Who?" Machoke then leaned into her ear and whispered it, with her looking unsure. "Does it… really have to be that way?"
"It's either you vote that way, or you get comfortable going home in 20th." he shrugged. "We made a deal earlier, I still plan on honoring that, but it's hard to do that when you're gone, yeah?"
"...I suppose it is." Poliwag looked sad, but like he said… it was necessary.
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Dragonair was fuming, her meeting up with Lickitung by where the team's cabin, with Lickitung cautiously staying silent on the stairs as Dragonair paced in front of them back and forth.
"Of all the nerve she has… I said everything I needed to say to her, and she lays her hands on me like that?! To smack me into a tree?!"
Lickitung wanted to speak, but knowingly let her rant out of his own safety.
"That bloody hypocrite! The nerve to speak to me like I'm the one in the wrong, and when I go to rectify those wrongs, she puts her hands on me! Treating me like a rotten little gum wrapper?! LICKY, SAY SOMETHING!"
Lickitung would jump from the rant turning in his direction, yelping softly before clearing his throat. "Dewgong's actions were… uncalled for. I don't have any defense for them."
"So I'm in the right to be mad like this now?" Dragonair replied, a bit too hastily than she intended to.
"Y-yes, you're owed this much. You… were the bigger person, and tried to mend bridges to-"
"I AM NOT THE BIGGER PERSON, LICKY! LOOK AT ME!" Dragonair took the comment the wrong way, with Lickitung patiently looking at her to help get that across.
Dragonair realized that, and lowered her voice. "... continue."
"She didn't need to accept the apology you gave, that was her choice… but the way she went about it was not something I'm able to play devil's advocate for." Lickitung finished. "You went about rectifying the situation, she chose not to, and your anger there is justified."
"Well, it's a good thing I'm not looking for someone to justify my anger then, now is it!?" Dragonair replied, and with another patient look from Lickitung, she took a deep breath and tried to calm down. "I'm… I'm sorry. I don't know what's coming over me, I've rarely felt this… conflicted. I know you're helping, and I apologize for my snappish behavior." she shivered as she calmed down, Lickitung going to offer her a friendly hug.
Dragonair didn't know how to react to it at first, but she soon found herself… appreciating the hug around her. "You're alright, Drago." Lickitung smiled. "I can take a few angry comments my way, I know you're not really yelling at me."
She took another deep breath as the hug continued. "... I think I'm serious about wanting another session from you." she softly pouted in the hug.
"Lucky for you, my books are open." he smiled, playing along into the bit with that same charm as always. "Pencil you in for a… morning session tomorrow?"
"...I'd like that." Dragonair smiled again, pressing her head into Lickitung's shoulder to calm herself down some more from the previous outburst.
From afar, Magmar looked at the display and found himself taking note of it. These two could be dangerous if they get far into the game.
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Magmar was in the confessional with another egg in his presence for some reason. "Was wanting to run into Buzzhead again before I went off to vote to talk about this thing. But seeing the dragon and the walking tongue hugging it out like that, I couldn't risk being seen."
He cracked the egg open and found another note inside. He read it aloud. "To protect your secrets from getting out by me, I want you to prove you're taking me seriously. Vote for Bulbasaur tonight or else." he read, scoffing at the absurdity of it before burning the note and the egg to ash like he did the first. "The nerve! 'Vote for someone who's immune', what a dumbass! Ain't happening!"
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Before long, the ceremony had arrived. Team Red had met with Mew at the campfire ceremony tonight, the ten soon to be nine contestants on the team sat with anticipation and nerves… for the most part. Magmar and Machoke looked rather bored, and Bulbasaur was the only one with any sort of relief on him… as little as it was, given his situations outside of the ceremony still needed addressing.
"Who would have thought having a challenge seen to the end would be good for tension?" he asked sarcastically as nine Oran Berries appeared on a plate. In all seriousness, I must commend the hustle. A lot of you had some good moments out there! I like the takedowns by you, especially that last one by Geodude. I always have respect for someone when they use themselves as a cannonball."
Mew's genuine compliment sat well with some of the contestants. "But unfortunately, good moments aren't enough to keep you in the game. You know this by now; when I call your name, you're safe for another day. The one who doesn't receive a berry is voted off of Total PokeDrama, and must leave the island immediately."
"Now, with the obvious. Bulbasaur, being immune by me, gets the first berry." Mew tossed his berry over to the starter, the kid graciously accepting the immunity token and eating it immediately.
"Now, for the others. Also safe for the night are Geodude, Machoke, Magmar, Lickitung, and Koffing."
Six out of ten were called for safety, Lickitung looking nervous for Dragonair while Machoke gave Poliwag a neutral gaze to reassure the tadpole. Koffing looked at Ekans yet again without a berry and started to assume the worst… he did good in today's challenge, why would he-
"Also with not enough votes to eliminate them… Dragonair, and Ekans!"
The two serpents caught their berries and relief washed over them. This left Poliwag and Paras without any immunity whatsoever.
"The two Ps. Small, nonthreatening, somewhat difficult to take seriously…" Mew went on, but stopped himself when he was getting angry gazes from the other competitors. "Despite that, the both of you have had some lackluster challenge experiences. The team could only save one tonight… and the Pokemon staying for another night is…"
Paras looked over to Poliwag. "However it goes tonight, I'm happy to have met you." the nerdy crab smiled towards her.
"Same to you." Poliwag smiled back… although her eyes seemed to waver a bit.
…
…
…
…
…
… "Poliwag." Mew stated the last immune contestant.
Poliwag felt her berry bounce off of her head, not catching it in time as Paras' elimination was announced. Paras sighed, crawling off of her stump and looking to her team. "I thought I did kind of good today… but I suppose the last few days aren't just forgotten immediately either." she took her loss well.
She was led off of the island by Mewtwo, heading down to the docks while her bags were teleported. Mew looked to the remaining nine contestants on the team. "She said it better than I could. Regardless of how well you do, your mistakes may come to bite you later. Have a good night." Mew adjourned the meeting.
The groups started to separate for the night, Poliwag looking over to Machoke who had given her a wink. Voting a friend of hers off the island stung a bit… but Machoke honoring the deal they made helped ease the blow of it a little.
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Team Blue had also been going to bed, with Meowth awkwardly trying to make it to the boy's end of the dorm. He didn't want to be seen, he just wanted today to be over with and-
"Meowth?"
He hid his anger well, swallowing it and turning around to see Jigglypuff staring at him from the stairs. "Hey." he awkwardly said, with Jigglypuff going to close the distance between them and meet between the dorms.
"Are you… okay after the challenge? That was a nasty fall." she asked, wanting to whittle down that barrier he was putting up to at least understand more about him.
"Fine. Fire Butt just took me in the water, not like I was landing on rocks…" he remarked, before trying to break it up. "Listen, it's… been a long day for me. I'd appreciate it if-"
Jigglypuff shushed him before he could speak any further. "Before you sleep… could we talk?" she asked, Meowth hating to hear those dreaded three words. "I didn't get to tell you too much about why I'm really here. You only know a little bit, after all."
Meowth seemed to soften a bit from that conversation topic, rather than it be anything about him. He sighed and simply went to the stairs. "Lead the way then." he resigned, not seeing a way he was really going to get out of this.
Jigglypuff smiled nevertheless and led the two off into the forest to head to the cliffside, it quickly becoming their go-to spot. They didn't see a certain bird peeking out of the door from the boy's door… and Farfetch'd would go to follow them. The bird didn't trust Meowth after their conversation earlier today.
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Magmar would quickly enter the dorm after the elimination ceremony, the fire type not wanting to stay awake too late in the night. The challenge wasn't a fun experience after getting drenched in water earlier, but it had at least secured him some safety from his participation in eliminating someone alongside him. A shame his team lost and it was all for nothing…
But when he entered the dorm, he was shocked to see that only one was still awake for the night. Ekans was coiled into slumber, Bulbasaur and Geodude were in a good slumber after their involvement in the challenge, and Machoke was asleep as well… with a tense expression. Must have been dreaming about something rough.
And peering over Lickitung's snoring frame, that left one more person. Magmar saw Koffing floating in front of the wall, facing it and not aware that Magmar had entered just yet. Magmar, curious about the gas ball's behavior while everyone else was asleep, approached the corked Pokemon. "The hell you looking at?"
Magmar's heart froze when he watched the ball turn around with a note, having the same handwriting as that of the last two notes Magmar and Electabuzz had been warned with. Koffing… couldn't write, for one, so it must have been him stumbling upon a note.
Koffing held up the note, it being one sentence but damning if proven true. "...Electabuzz is your brother?"
Author Note: Hey, just under 5 months for an update instead of 6 months this time. Getting better somewhat. This one suffered from motivation issues regarding the chapter, as well as losing all of my progress on the chapter when I had to buy a new computer. Thankfully, that was a blessing in disguise, as I'm way more proud of how this version turned out compared to that first draft!
I also think this is a great chapter for more character development, I'm really getting a hook for these characters and I have more fleshed out ideas on what I hope to have them do in the story. The slow burn relationships starting to change, what with Geodude and Bulbasaur, Dragonair and what she has with Lickitung and Dewgong, Haunter being a little shit stirrer, and all of the other interactions I'm hoping to slow brew over time now having the seeds planted!
Paras was another number to fill, along with me realizing that I probably shouldn't have gone with a cast this big for my first outing. However, Paras was also the last truly early boot I imagine, as now I'm getting into the area of anyone's story ending early if they're eliminated, which allows me to make some creative decisions going forward.
I hope everyone's been enjoying the other stories as well! Like who's terrorizing Magmar and Electabuzz with the notes (as well as that bombshell), and the backstories among the other contestants being revealed little by little! I hope this chapter was of expectations!
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Now, before I go, time for the sole review response!
starmate3: Thank you for the kind words! I'm glad you enjoyed the new chapter despite the hiatus!
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TEAMS
Team Red:
Bulbasaur, Dragonair, Ekans, Geodude, Koffing, Lickitung, Machoke, Magmar, Poliwag
Team Blue:
Beedrill, Dewgong, Electabuzz, Farfetch'd, Gyarados, Haunter, Jigglypuff, Meowth, Sandshrew, Tangela
Elimination Order: Snorlax, Magikarp (unrecognized), Chansey, Paras
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Thanks for reading!