TPReboot: Total Drama Island Chapter 2: Forest Grumps, a Pokémon + Total Drama series Crossover fanfic

Author's Note

So…Oof on wanting to update every month, amirite? Okay, being real; holy fuck did life just…Not like me for a little bit! In fact it arguably still doesn't. Namely this chapter actually was set to be released in March and has been done for literal months. But then I lost my job, and worse than that…I got hit by a car. For those who weren't aware of that part, don't worry, I've since recovered. But since then I also got a pretty bad cold that lasted a whole month after said recovery and I've been having to continue said job search, so increasingly writing this story became more and more of an afterthought for what I'd call fairly valid reasons.

With that said, genuine thanks to those on the TPI Discord for their unbelievable support to me both while I was recovering and trying to write. It meant a lot, and it's a big part of why I knew I wanted to keep writing. So, y'all have been waiting and I'm not content to keep you waiting even longer. So, let's get right into the second episode of TPReboot…

After some quick review responses.

- Tricky Magic: Definitely feeling my way out with the newer characters who I didn't work with in the prior versions, but for the most part, I think I'm getting the hang of things. I do feel super confident in all the returning characters, so hopefully they're working as well as I hope they are!

- Jalengu: Honestly the old chapters existing at all is probably a big part of helping me write Ep1 at all- I really can't underrate to any new writers out there that beginnings are always gonna be the roughest to write. It's kinda crazy how much more I was able to write after it was done.

- Squirtle: Yeah from what I've been able to see, the Charizard are the favorites as far as teams go; funny coincidence considering their mascot's own popularity as a starter. Intro chapters can be rough, but you're right that now I can get it to the fun stuff!

- InfernoMaster64: Definitely agree; third time's the charm! I ain't letting the past hold me down- I'm giving this story my all and I'm genuinely excited about what's ahead. I really do want people to get the most outta this.

- Pyroau: Yeah, the word count is fairly easily the most notable flaw of the first chapter, but in the end, I don't regret it…Too much. I got everything I wanted written out and at least now I don't gotta worry about trying to top it or anything, since I definitely ain't writing a chap that long again- at least on my own.

- SuperDaikenki: I appreciate the review! Gengar and Salazzle are interesting picks, glad to see them get some love though since they were pretty fun to write.

CAST REMINDER

Ferocious Blastoise: Absol, Arrokuda (and Cramorant), Drifblim, Espeon, Lampent, Samurott, Scrafty, Trumbeak.

Killer Charizard: Cranidos, Druddigon, Fletchinder, Gabite, Gloom, Luxray, Scolipede, Sneasel.

Screaming Venusaur: Bisharp, Cyclizar, Dubwool, Gengar, Growlithe, Noivern, Salazzle, Typhlosion.

Episode #2: Forest Grumps

Rain poured down en masse as storm clouds flooded the sky, the brisk early morning replaced with an uproar of gray skies and thunderous claps in the far distance.

And standing idly on the dock, a showman grin on his face, was Bidoof, his brown umbrella protecting him from the harsh elements…Not that the same could be said for Armarouge though, who was currently getting soaked, the flame above her head having been put out as she tried to shield herself with her hands.

"Welcome back to Total Drama Island," Bidoof greeted to the camera (and by extension, the crew behind it, who oddly waved at him in confusion), "now, I know, it's been a while-"

"A-Actually," Armarouge spoke up, "it's been less than a day-"

"But as you no doubt remember," Bidoof carried on, ignoring his assistant, "the campers here at Camp Ivy got their first taste of the Summer camp experience. Whether it be meeting the under qualified staff, tasting the disgusting food, or dealing with the less than ideal sleeping conditions, we here on the production side of things pride ourselves on having fully replicated the realistic experience you'd have if you were actually sent to one of these dumps," Bidoof 'humbly' recapped, "but, there are two things the campers have yet to truly experience that are vital to the camp experience; weather...And nature."

"Technically, weather actually could be counted as part of nature-"

"So, just to really show them what they'll have to deal with out here," Bidoof started up once more as a grin spread across his face, "we decided we'd introduce them to this facet of camp life the only way we knew how..."

A serene melody of birds chirping and a soft breeze passing through the leaves of the trees above provided what some would assume was the perfect sleeping conditions for the campers of Camp Ivy. They laid in their beds, snoring softly to themselves, happily oblivious to the world around them.

In particular, resting atop the top bunk of his bed, Drifblim turned onto his side, a pool of drool having formed on his pillow as he wrapped his body around himself. And with an uproariously loud yawn, he lifted his head up, his eyes flickering open-

And was greeted by a roof of thick leaves and branches, Brazil nut trees towering above him and having covered every inch of the surrounding area.

He stared up at them for a few moments, allowing his eyes to adjust, before he felt the realization hit him that this wasn't the cabin he had slept away in the night before. Turning his eyes to the other bunks, he saw them scattered haphazardly in the same small patch of grass, his teammates none the wiser of their situation. But just as alarmingly, so were the rest of his peers, all twenty plus of them now sitting atop their beds, in the middle of the woods, no cabins to be seen.

Drifblim stared…Then shrugged, and readied himself to go back to sleep-

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" Gengar screamed, his own head lifted, which managed to wake everyone else up.

"Ugh…You horrid, fool- would you keep it down?" Noivern asked, lifting up his head and pulling up his sleep mask. "I'm trying to-" he himself then screamed. "W-What?! Where are the cabins?!"

"W-Where are we?!" Absol asked as well, getting off of her own (largely broken) bed. Most of the campers had woken at this point, with only Gloom still laying in his bunk as if nothing was wrong.

"How did we get out here?" Salazzle added, a twinge of panic in her voice. And that twinge was enough to spread to the rest of the cast, as they looked around their surroundings in worry.

"Everybody, there's no reason to be alarmed," Cyclizar urged, "I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation to all of this."

"Right you are, Cyclizar!"

"And there it is…" Cyclizar groaned, folding his arms as he turned a glare toward the approaching voice.

Turning their heads toward the sky, the cast watched as a Corviknight descended from above. In its claws was a carriage that carried a familiar, pompadour-headed rodent; their "lovely" host, Bidoof and his actually lovely co-host, Armarouge.

The former jumped off, flashing a showman's grin before asking, "Good morning, everyone! Hope you slept well, cause you're gonna need all the energy you can get!"

Cyclizar could feel his scowl hardening in frustration at his former boss, huffing and turning away in annoyance.

"Yeah, sure, I may have accepted I'm in the game now…But that doesn't change the fact Bidoof essentially fired me on TV," Cyclizar commented with a cocked brow, "let's just say I'm already pretty fed up with him. Waking up outside is just icing on the cake."

"Why the heck are we out here?" Luxray asked impatiently.

"Settle down, cub, I'm getting there," Bidoof replied, oblivious (or apathetic) to the lioness' rising scowl, electricity sparking off her mane, "the reason you're out here is because for your first challenge, is to hike through the forest and return to camp unscathed…Or at least, mostly unscathed."

"W-Wait," Gengar interrupted in worry, "d-didn't you warn us yesterday that the woods are dangerous around here?"

Bidoof sent the ghost-type a glare, before nodding, "Under normal circumstances, yes, we don't advise you wander off into the jungle. But today is an exception, because what sort of Summer camp experience would you be getting if you didn't get the chance to see nature close-up and personal?"

"A better one?" Scrafty grumbled, rubbing her eyes.

Ignoring the girl, Bidoof pulled from the carriage a trio of backpacks roughly the size of his body, each the color of the teams "Everything you guys will need are in these bags. Including snacks, a map, that sort of stuff; you know, things most experienced travelers use to get around, that'll totally come in just as much handy in the hands of a bunch of newbies like you guys." He pushed the bags out in front of him (with considerable effort!), before turning to Armarouge-

Who opened up a massive map of the island. She pointed to a spot at the northmost point along the sea, and explained, "The camp is north from this spot. It's a few hour walk, so to ensure you guys don't overexert yourselves, we left some camping supplies in your bags as well to get some rest. Spend a night out here, then walk back in the morning; simple!"

Bisharp, Druddigon, and Espeon grabbed their team's respective bags. As this happened, Trumbeak asked, "So, just to be clear, what's stopping anyone from just sending one of their flying players ahead, getting directions, then flying back to lead them?"

"Well, besides being a massive waste of time for anyone who can't fly, anyone attempting to cheat the challenge with their special little wings can consider themselves disqualified," Bidoof explained sternly, narrowing a suspicious eye at the bird, "capiche?"

After getting a nod, he smiled, "Anyway, last team to arrive loses, and is going to elimination tonight. So...Try not to be last place."

Gengar stepped forward again and begged, "T-This is insane! We could die out here!" Gengar's peers had to be credited for not immediately reminding the ghost that he was already dead. Their willpower is stronger than they know.

"Yeah, sure, but hey, you should be fine as long as you guys watch your backs and don't disturb any of the local wildlife," Bidoof explained indifferently as he stepped back into his carriage.

Armarouge began to follow- only to feel a tug as she turned to see Scolipede staring her in the eyes, his many arms gripping onto her as he pleaded, "Don't leave us out here, this is insane!"

A twinge of guilt flashed across her face. "I-It's alright! I promise, I made sure the trail was safe!"

"Armarouge!"

Glancing back, she gave the centipede a smile. "You'll be okay. Promise." She pulled away (quite easily, actually- as if he wasn't actually trying to keep herself in place), walking back to the carriage and stepping inside.

"Try not to die!" Bidoof called out, and like that, the Corviknight took off, flying into the sky.

"This has to be illegal in some way, right?" Fletchinder questioned.

"It's a game," Bisharp commented, "you signed up for it. Accept those consequences. Now," she abruptly commanded, "Venusaur! Move out!"

Reluctantly, Bisharp's teammates chased after their newly self-appointed leader, some a bit slower than others as they ran after him. The Blastoise quickly took off after the Venusaur, not wanting to potentially lose too much ground.

The Charizard were about to follow suit- "Wait!" But planted their feet at the voice, looking back to see Luxray standing beside the beds, backpack hanging off her tail. "Before we do anything, we need to take inventory."

"Okay, sure, this isn't what I'd call an ideal situation or anything, but there's a bright spot to this," Luxray explained, a smile on her face, "...You know, bright? Electric-type. Heh- you get it. But seriously, I'm used to exploring the unknown! Back home I used to be part of an exploration team…Well, you know," she scratched the back of her head uncomfortably, "emphasis on used to, but still, I've done this sorta thing before!"

Smirking, she let out a chuckle, "I can totally lead us through these woods…If they listen to me."

Exchanging looks, the Charizard trekked back to the beds as Luxray quickly scavenged through the pack, spilling its contents onto the ground in a big pile. Among some of their supplies was what they expected; binoculars, some pens, tools to make a tent, water purifier, rope, anything of that sort.

"Alright, cool…Where's a map?" Fletchinder questioned.

"Guess they expect us to make our way using our own intuition," Luxray said.

"I-Isn't that dangerous?" Gabite questioned meekly, catching her team's attention- though as soon as she noticed their prying eyes, her face flushed a bright red and she lost all train of thought. She went mute, her mouth agape as if she were gonna say something, but in the moment had somehow…Forgot.

At least, until Fred spoke up. "What the girly means is that crap be mad stupid! I ain't no country bumpkin, I don't do woods, toots!"

"First, don't call me that," Luxray stated sternly, "and second, you're in luck- I do this kinda thing all the time. If anyone can get us back to camp, it's me."

Cranidos scoffed, turning away with a glare. "Oh yeah, that totally makes me feel better. Look around, lady! I doubt this is like some bullshit nature trail…"

Scolipede stifled a laugh, glancing at the dinosaur with a condescending smirk. "What, you scared of the big, bad forest, shortie?"

"O-Oh! Like you're one to talk!" Cranidos spat in rage. "You're the one who went crying to Armarouge like a big baby!" This only made Scolipede snort. "What's so funny, huh?! You got something to say, asshole!"

"You really think that was real?" Scolipede smirked, pulling out from a hiding spot just under his outer shell to reveal-

A map.

"Woah," Sneasel said in alarm, their other teammates staring in similar confusion. The only clear exception was Gloom, who realized what had occurred and tapped his chin in interest.

"Where'd you get that?" Druddigon asked.

"When I was grabbing onto Red, I distracted her with what I was saying so she wouldn't pay attention to what she was holding," Scolipede commented with a smirk, "made it pretty damn easy to swipe."

"Daaaaaaaaaaaamn, you snuck that right off toots, just like that?" Fred whistled out from Gabite's arm.

"Sleight of hand…" Gloom added…Before nodding. "Clever."

"Hey, when I said I'd do anything to win, that includes this," Scolipede smiled, "I ain't above playing dirty, especially when someone makes it so damn easy for me."

Gloom stroked his chin in thought, nodding to himself. "Interesting…"

"Dude, this is freaking sweet!" Sneasel exclaimed. "We got a map and the others don't?! That rules!"

"We got a real life cheat code!" Fletchinder further added, the two girls cheering.

"Hold it!" Luxray interrupted, turning a glare on Scolipede. "You sure that was a good idea? What if we get penalized?"

He shrugged. "Eh, bit late to bring that up when I already took the thing. Can't change that now."

Luxray glared at the centipede, about ready to speak her mind- though Druddigon walked up beside her and said, "I mean…We already have it, and like he said, we can't exactly give it back now. At this point…Maybe we should just use it?"

"Yeah! Let's get the Hell outta here, baby!" Fred called out from Gabite's hand, the dragon nodding along in agreement.

"...Ugh…Fine, whatever," Luxray shrugged, repacking the bag with Druddigon picking it up, "then let's get going."

The Charizard began to walk into the deeper parts of the forest. The only one who lingered momentarily was Gabite, as Fred bapped onto her shoulder. "I-Is everything okay-"

"Get your attitude in gear, girl! I'm doing all the social work here!" Fred grumbled.

"I-I'm sorry, Fred! I-I'm trying, r-really!" She whimpered.

"Don't look like you're trying, toots!" He bawked out. "Case you forgot, stupid- we attached! If I wanna win, you gotta pull your weight!"

"...Y-You're right, I'm sorry," she sighed, hanging her head.

"Ahhh, c'mon, don't get like that, you'll make me all sad and crap," Fred told her, "just think for once, 'kay? We gotta schmooze our way into these folk's good graces, then we can start making some big moves! Get me?"

"Yeah…Good graces…O-Okay," she whispered.

"Hurry up, Gabite!"

"C-Coming!" She called back, giving chase.

"I-I'm not great with the outdoors…" Gabite admitted. "I've spent most of my life in my house…Fred's my only real company most of the time. He's always been better with this."

"Damn right, I am! But I'm also a freaking puppet!" He told her. "Nobody'll take us seriously if I've got the only brain between us!"

"You're right, I'm sorry!" Gabite whined.

Fred shook his head, turning to the camera. "Jeez, Louise; you see what I'm working with here, people?" Gabite whimpered again.

"W-Where is it, where is it?!" Armarouge questioned herself from the carriage, patting herself down in search of- "Where's the map?! Oh…I hope I didn't drop it…"

Bidoof meanwhile was staring down at a little tablet, a smirk forming on his face. "Looks to me like Scolipede nabbed it off you." He turned to her with a laugh. "Rookie move, kid!"

"W-What?!" Armarouge pulled the tablet away and watched as, indeed, Scolipede handed off the map on camera to Druddigon. "H-He tricked me!"

Bidoof nodded. "Yeah. Not bad."

"No, this is very bad!" Armarouge replied. "Now the challenge is super unfair! We have to go back and take it from them!"

"Ehhhhh…Then I'd have to pay the Corviknight an extra hour," Bidoof began, glancing up at the bird carrying their flying taxi. He hummed to himself if it was worth it…Then shrugged, "we can just deal with it when they get to camp."

"But-"

"Now quiet, I got some footage to look over," he snapped at her, prying the tablet away again and switching to a different camera, "and what do you know…Looks like we got the Venusaur figuring out the power dynamics…"

"Attention!" Bisharp barked out, the Screaming Venusaur lined up in front of her like troops in an army. "Roll Call-"

"I'm not doing that," Noivern dismissed with a roll of his eyes- only to jump at Bisharp getting right into his face, "ahhh-"

"Quiet." Bisharp hissed, and Noivern did as told. Quiet. No words. Silent. Terrified.

Stepping back, Bisharp looked over her team, and nodded, "It appears that we're all here…Good. Now, it's time to assess the situation." Bisharp tossed the backpack forward, Typhlosion catching it. "If we're to find our way back to camp with haste, we need to determine our options, mark the perimeter, and follow regulations to the tee. Do you all understand me?"

The team exchanged awkward glances, Gengar raising a hand to question-

"I said, do you understand me!"

"Yes!" The team returned in unison, much to the soldier's satisfaction.

"I come from a military family; my father was a soldier, as was my grandfather, and so on," Bisharp explained, "though as a girl, I was naturally looked upon as weak by my peers. A weaker woman would have given up, but I refused. I took the time to train my body into physical perfection, and with hard work, I became top of my unit."

She smiled at her own accomplishment. "I've dealt with plenty of difficult men over the years. I can whip this team into shape with my hands tied behind my back."

Typhlosion, seeing the initiative being taken, took a hefty step forward and pounded her hand to her chest. "Where shall we begin, commander?"

Appreciative of the woman falling in line, Bisharp nodded, before sending a hand signal out toward the nearby woods. "We need to get a clear view of the surrounding vicinity. Find a vantage point, analyze our surroundings and return to report your findings at once."

"Yes, commander," Typhlosion nodded, preparing to take off-

"You know," Cyclizar began, speaking up and saying, "since I used to work here, I saw plenty of maps of the island." He scratched his chin, "I'm sure if someone could just give me a landmark to work with, I could lead us back."

"Unfair advantage, much?" Noivern not so covertly coughed into a closed fist, something not lost on the lizard as he rolled his eyes in annoyance. The regal bat shrugged. "I'm just saying~" He flashed a smirk. "I mean, don't you think using such information is a little informal? Honorless? Maybe cowardly?"

Cyclizar snapped a glare at the bat for his words, Noivern merely smirking in response.

"Not to say I wouldn't use such advantages myself, but y'know," Noivern shrugged haughtily, "best to get my licks in when I can. Don't want anyone getting too high on their own britches."

"Noivern, that's enough," Bisharp barked out. Noivern promptly complied, though not before wiggling his eyebrows at the annoyed lizard beside him, "now then, Cyclizar- are you sure you could lead us out if given such intel?"

Cyclizar, seeking to regain some respect after this bat's little interjection, immediately replied, "Definitely. It could be literally anything that looks even a little different."

"Well, then like I said, we need to fan out and find it," Bisharp commanded.

Meanwhile, Growlithe inched around where he was standing in awkward silence.

Growlithe smiled at the camera in what almost seemed like anticipation. "Y'know, I'm actually pretty excited for today's challenge! Nature walks are my thing- hiking, traveling, camping, all that!"

"I really think I can help us win today…Just gotta hope I don't screw things up," he managed a smile, nodding at the camera, "wish me luck!"

"Uh…Hey, Bisharp, permission to speak?" Growlithe asked.

"...Granted," Bisharp nodded, curious to hear the dog's thoughts.

"I'm actually pretty good at climbing trees," he began, "I could just climb one really quick and get us some…Well, 'intel', that way."

"Desperate to be a teacher's pet, are we?" Salazzle asked condescendingly.

Noivern stifled a laugh. "Careful dear, you wouldn't want to anger the puppy."

The two joined together in laughter, Growlithe turning away at the two's insults- only for a loud stomp to distract the three. Bisharp, looking over the three…Turned and nodded to Growlithe. "Make it quick."

His face lit up with enthusiasm. "Y-Yes, ma'am!"

With a wide smile, Growlithe ran toward the nearest tree and sunk his claws into the bark. The Screaming Venusaur watched on in admitted awe as they watched the dog absolutely tear it up the length of the tree.

"Woah," Cyclizar whistled out.

"Whoo! Climb that thing, doggie! Yeah!" Dubwool cheered out.

"H-He's so fast…" Gengar added. "A-And so fearless! H-He could so easily f-fall!"

"We're gonna have to deal with you saying things like that all day, won't we?" Salazzle asked out of spite. Gengar's swift turn away said it all to her.

Soon enough, Growlithe reached the top of the tree. Staring out at the long forest ahead of them, he narrowed his view, looking out for any landmarks…And bingo!

"See anything?" Cyclizar called up.

Growlithe slid back down the tree, jumping off in front of the team as he pointed ahead. "I see the boathouse to the east around five miles away!"

Cyclizar hummed, snapping his fingers in realization and stating, "If we head that way and just shift our trajectory a bit, we should get to camp before dark! No major obstacles or roadblocks or…Anything!"

Bisharp nodded, stating, "You heard the man! We're heading north-east, pronto!"

"Yeehaw, y'all!" Dubwool cheered, and suddenly took off running. "C'mon, slowpokes; let's get this 'ere victory and rub in those dirty blue and red faces!"

"T-That sounds awful outta context!" Gengar whined.

But Dubwool didn't catch his words, already sprinting off into the massive ocean of trees before her without even bothering to wait up for the rest of them.

"Quick, follow her!" Bisharp demanded, running off herself.

The rest of her team groaned in response, with Salazzle in particular saying, "We aren't exactly athletes, you know!" But all it took was one glare from Bisharp to force the lizard, and the rest of the team, to follow her orders nonetheless, and took off after them.

As they ran forward, Growlithe finally made it back to the ground, pushing off the tree. He was about to give chase too- only to stop when a hand placed on his shoulder. He looked up to see Typhlosion, giving the dog a nod. "Good work, young pup. Quite the bit of aid on your part."

The dog smiled at this brightly, beaming brightly as he let out a chipper laugh, "O-Oh, well…It was nothing!"

"Don't downplay yourself, now," Typhlosion shook her head, affirming, "this early, such self-loathing could be your downfall."

Now that took the dog aback, "Uhhhh, wha-"

"Now, we must make haste and stay with the pack!" Typhlosion declared, running forward at full speed. "Charge!"

"W-Wait a second!" Growlithe mumbled, running after her. "Hold up!"

Growlithe just looked confused, "I mean…I'm glad I could help the team, but…W-What was with those freaky words from Typhlosion? It was kinda creepy…And ominous."

He shivered, though forced a smile. "Maybe that's how she shows love?"

"In my time, self-doubt was the true killer of most of our failed expeditions," Typhlosion huffed, glaring at the wall as she clenched onto her sword tightly, "in the midst of war, one must steer clear and true, remaining firm in their rulings. If you can not standby your decisions, or your worth, then all you ensure if your doom…"

She shook her head, glaring at the camera, "I refuse to allow this team to fall to such failure of firmation!" She huffed…Then realized, "...I believe that isn't actually a word, but too late now! Standing true!"

The footage flashed forward to a shot of the stormy sky, rain coming down hard onto the grass as the Ferocious Blastoise ran by.

Leading the pack was Trumbeak, the bird calling out to her team with, "Come on guys, we're off to a good head start! Let's not lose it now!"

"Back home, I'm the head of every non-optional extracurricular activity in school," Trumbeak bragged, "so I'm pretty used to leading a bunch of losers toward actually achieving something with their lives."

"This team may be pathetic now, but by the time I'm through with them, they'll know their place." Trumbeak smirked at the camera. "Just watch; I'm gonna make winners out of these mons!"

"So, what's the plan?" Arrokuda asked nobody in particular, his voice casual on account of not being the one running. In fact, Cramorant looked downright uncomfortable having to keep his mouth agape while sprinting.

And taking initiative, Trumbeak came to a stop, catching her team's attention as she called out, "Simple; we just gotta keep on the move." She rolled her eyes and added, "The other teams are gonna waste time by taking breaks or getting distracted, so if we keep our eyes on the prize, we'll beat them to camp by default."

The rest of the Blastoise looked…Kinda underwhelmed actually.

"Is it technically a plan? I mean…Sure," Scrafty shrugged, "but like…Relying on other teams to mess up…I don't know, anybody else get the vibe that isn't how things are gonna work out?"

Another player seemed to share Scafty's thoughts, though in a more overtly negative manner.

"That's your plan?" Drifblim asked with a laugh. "Seriously?"

Unsure how to respond to the sudden rebuke, Trumbeak scoffed. "I don't hear anyone else suggesting anything," she replied in kind, eyeing the balloon with a hard glare, "unless you have something to add?"

"Nah, but I'll gladly criticize yours," he said, winking at the bird as she left out a growl.

"Yeah, I ain't the type to get chummy with other peeps," Drifblim said nonchalantly, "especially annoying prep kids like Trumbeak. Girl's so into herself she probably smells her own farts." He laughed at his own lowbrow joke. "Bet you on it now; whatever comes after this confessional is one-hundo gonna be her just whining on and on."

"How dare you undermine my authority!" Trumbeak spat out at the balloon. "I'm at least trying here!"

Drifblim, meanwhile, just continued to egg her on. "Ooooooh, trying, how attention worthy." The bird looked about ready to kill him already.

"Well, guess we're stuck here for a bit," Arrokuda complained.

"I don't know, I personally don't mind," Espeon mused with a growing smile as he watched the two, "at least this is mildly entertaining."

Scrafty took it as a chance to stretch herself, saying, "Yeah, and besides, at least we can relax for a second, right?"

"Oooh, guys, look!" The team turned, and Absol was running her hands through the team's bag. She plucked out an item; an energy bar. "They gave us snacks!" She held it out, anyone want one.

Arrokuda wave it off, "Nah, I ain't really into that health food nonsense."

Espeon gave the fish a coy smile. "What, you one of those, 'I can live exclusively off fast food' kind of guys?"

"Nah," Arrokuda shook his head, "Cramorant just cooks and I'd rather not junk up my stomach with protein powder and sawdust."

Absol turned from staring at the fish, back to looking at the bar, then shrugged with a smile, "More for me then!" With a smile, she pulled up her sun hat and placed the bar underneath it. "I'm saving you for later."

Nearby, Lampent was floating around in a circle nigh endlessly, distracting themselves in the only way that made sense to them- before reaching a conclusion. "Interesting."

"What's up?" Scrafty asked.

"I think we're missing a fairly taller than average, roughly two-hundred and eight pound water-type with fashioned armors and swords," Lampent said…Then shrugged, "don't know who though."

The three exchanged odd glances- but Absol quickly picked up on it. "Wait…Where's Samurott?"

Rain peppered Samurott's face, his eyes opening up as he took a moment to stretch out his arms. Aside from a small creak in the back, all things considered…Not a bad night at all. He's certainly had worse. With a heavy breath, he turned over-

And proceeded to fall out of the tree he had slept in. But of course, he was expecting as much. As he fell toward the ground, he brought out a seamitar and plunged it into the tree beside him, the sword dragging all the way down before finally coming to a stop mere inches from the earth.

Stepping down, he walked into camp nearby- and was met with…Nothing. Nobody was outside. Nobody was talking. He didn't even hear anyone.

"Strange."

Samurott glanced about, turning his attention toward the cabins nearby. He threw open the door- and shockingly, nobody was in there either.

"Even stranger."

Then he caught it- the faintest sound of discussion. And it was coming from the main lodge. But with how bizarre the current circumstances were, he wasn't taking chances on who may be inside.

And so, instead of entering through the front, he slinked around the outside, dragging himself along the ground and making his way behind the lodge. And so, just outside the kitchen, he looked inside-

And there Snorlax was, personally feeding Palafin and Rhydon as he handed them plates full of pancakes. "And so, buds- breakfast is served!"

"Glorious!" Palafin laughed, giving a nod of thanks to the man. "Appreciated it, fellow everyday blue collar worker!"

"Yeah, thanks," Rhydon grunted out, clearly apathetic as she shoved a bite in his mouth- before spitting it out, "the Hell is in these things?!"

"Oh yeah, I threw in some chocolate!" Snorlax laughed…Before admitting, "...Though it might have been expired. Who cares though, it's chocolate!"

Rhydon glared down the chef in frustration. Palafin meanwhile looked to be in utter bliss. "Oh you delicious carbs of sweet, unending persuasion, how I missed you!"

"You two," Rhydon pointed between them, "you're a couple of freaks."

Samurott rolled his eyes at the whole interaction, preparing to leave…Until-

"So, how do you think the gang is handling the forest?" Snorlax asked, eating his own food happily while attempting to stir conversation. "I know I couldn't handle it out there."

"Oh yeah, those kids are screwed!" Rhydon laughed, "None of them got the moxie to make it out there. Betting 'ya now, two of 'em are coming back in body bags!"

"That's absurd!" Palafin scoffed. "It's just a day! I have full faith in their capabilities."

"Yeah, yeah, be an optimist all you like, but admit it- only a couple of those kids know what they're doing in the woods; most of 'em are sitting ducks!"

And that's all Samurott needed to hear. Narrowing his eyes, he took off toward the cabins once more.

Throwing open the door, he stepped inside. He walked over to the nearest bunk and tore the bed sheet off of it. Using a seamitar, he began to fashion off the sheets and tear them off into narrow lines.

The camera cut away, flashing ahead to him opening the door to the cabin, only now he was completely decked out. Homemade rope, scent markers, stakes and more, all at the ready. He pulled up a pillow sheet, and with his seamitar, made a marking of his current position; the camp.

With a confident smirk, he took off into the forest, ready to begin the search for his team.

The distant, echoing sounds of screaming made Gengar jump, the ghost glancing back in fear as he nervously tapped his fingers together in worry, "W-What was that?"

"Relax," Salazzle stated, currently filing her claws, "probably just one of the other teams making idiots of themselves."

"O-Oh…Yeah…" Gengar chirped a laugh, "R-Right…"

Salazzle rolled her eyes at the ghost, inspecting her claws as she smugly said, "You know, for someone who auditioned to be here, you sure are a big wuss about it, aren't you?"

Gengar, rather obviously, took offense to such a comment, "Hey!"

Salazzle smirked at the clear effect of her words. And similarly, Noivern seemed to take a bit of amusement from it as well. "Careful now, dear. Push back any further and he'll have to think of a proper comeback."

Once again, taking clear offense and somehow not seeing the punchline in clear view, Gengar sputtered another useless, "H-Hey!" And, of course, such a response only elicited mocking laughter from the pair, the ghost's face flaring up a bright red in embarrassment.

"You two!" The two turned their attention back to see Typhlosion pointing a glare, "Stop this mockery at once! We're allies; no need for interpersonal conflict, especially toward our most inexperienced unit."

Rather obviously, the two didn't take her words very seriously. "Oh, go stick that sword where the sun doesn't shine, mom," Salazzle rolled her eyes, "we're just having some fun."

Someone who did though was Gengar, who had managed to find himself further brought down as a result of the knight's well-meaning, though ultimately poorly worded defense.

Gengar was slouched down into the confessional seat, meekly rubbing his arm as he grumbled, "Back home, I didn't really get out much; my neighbors kinda…Freak me out…Well okay, most things freak me out. But that shouldn't be a big deal. I can usually handle it! This show is just…Putting me on edge…That's all…"

He narrowed his eyes, "And what's worse is everyone's making fun of me for it. Nobody takes me seriously, least of all my team it feels like…" He groaned…Then straightened. "Y'know what? No! I won't let this be like my last Summer camp experience! I'm not just gonna let them push me around. I'll show them I can stand on my own! They'll see-"

As if on cue, a Caterpie String Shot down from the ceiling of the confessional, right into Gengar's face. The ghost screamed out in fear, falling back and slamming against the wall in his panic.

"Oh, ever so competent leader~" Noivern whistled forward toward the front of the group, "How much longer? My aching feet are in need of a break."

At the front of the pack, currently being headed by Bisharp, Cyclizar, and Growlithe, the former called back, "No breaks! We stop when I give the command to do so," she threw back a pointed finger, "and I better not catch any of you trying something!"

Noivern glared at the soldier, though just scoffed and turned away with a huff.

Keeping an eye on the bat, Bisharp eventually turned to Cyclizar, asking, "Anything we should know coming up?"

"Uhh…Nah, I think we'll be good," Cyclizar shrugged, "I mean, besides a river I guess, but hey, how bad could a little water be?"

"Actually…Water is technically one of the most dangerous and unreliable parts of nature," Growlithe chimed in with an awkward though confident smile, "especially in a strong current, so we should-"

"No offense and all, but I wasn't really interested in getting a lesson about it," Cyclizar deadpanned, the lizard's eyes thrown up at the dog as he stumbled back.

"Ohhh, uh…Yeah, fair! Totally fair!" Growlithe kept up the smile, though he'd be lying if he thought the lizard's words didn't hurt a little. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize," Bisharp told the dog, "you were simply providing context. There's nothing wrong with that…" She turned to Cyclizar. "Right?"

Put off by suddenly being put on the spot, and seemingly made out to be the bad guy here, Cyclizar managed to snap back to reality enough to play damage control. "Oh uh…Yeah, you're right…" Truth be told, he didn't even think what he said was that bad, but he probably shouldn't say as much.

Now somewhat vindicated, Growlithe's smile shifted toward a more genuine expression, though it quickly changed once again. This time, to confusion. "I just realized…I…Don't hear Dubwool anymore."

Bisharp, noticing as much herself, twisted her head upward; sure enough, the ram's rather loud hooting and hollering had gone from distant to outright quiet. Not a great sign. "...Neither do I," she found herself growling…

"The moment Dubwool and I exchanged but a few words, I was made keenly aware she would be a rather abhorrent thorn in my side going forward," Bisharp grunted firmly, "and true enough, she showed my estimate was correct. But it's not an issue…Yet. If she wishes to run along, fine; as long as she makes it back to camp, it won't validate a demand for consequences."

She narrowed a scowl. "Still, she better not think I will forget any time soon how unreliable she clearly is…"

"I don't see why everyone's complain' 'bout being out here; this island's the best!" Dubwool cheered. "Fresh air. Tons of trees. Dirty! Nothing like Hammerlocke," her expression fell, "there, everyone gets all angry at 'ya if you ain't clean and playin' fair and junk. Just makes things real boring if you ask me. But here," her grin returned, "I can do what I want, when I want! And even when I'm doing what that dang rodent is tellin' me to do, it's sure as a hoot at least fun!"

"Yeeeeehaw!" Dubwool screeched out into the world as she landed on the ground, her feet dragging across the dirt as she came to a complete stop and shook her body wildly!

She had been running down through the forest for a good while at this point. Not that she actually knew how long it had been; it wasn't her job to keep track of that sorta stuff! Nah, it was her job to scout ahead so they can win this thing!

"Okay, scouting!" Dubwool hollered, taking a moment to internally psyche herself up, as she threw her head around. The first thing she saw; more trees in all directions. "Plants!" Next, what looked to be a bird's nest hanging from a branch. "Birdies!" And lastly…A big ol' rock! "Pebble!" With a laugh, she threw her weight forward, smashing her skull into the rock and sending it flying forward as if it were a missile, and with how hard it impacted a bush nearby, it might as well have been!

"Man, it feels good to be alive!" Dubwool cheered. "Almost forgot what it felt like to really live it up. The farm's got nothin' on this!" With that she laughed once more…Then hummed. "Now then…" She looked behind her…And remembered she had left the trail a good bit ago. And had lost her way from it.

"...How do I get back?" Just as she asked this question though, she felt a seemingly heavier raindrop hit her head. Then another. Looking up toward the sky, Dubwool was greeted by a sea of gray, and what had once just been light sprinkling turned into a harsh downpour, smashing into her and the ground and drenching her within seconds…

She stood there for a moment…Before shrugging, and jumping backward onto the ground, now rolling in the dirt as she began a laughing fit.

Using the map as a guide, Druddigon pushed a large section of greenery to the side, his attention drifting about before he pointed off to the right. "I think it's this way."

Continuing down the pointed path, the Killer Charizard trekked deeper into the forest. And while it wasn't that bad of a hike for most, some were certainly adjusting rougher than others to the outdoors.

In particular, Fletchinder, her flight catching up with her as she felt the rain lightly pelt the back of her head, the trees doing little in the way for cover. She couldn't help but growl at the circumstances, a frustrated scowl forming on her face.

"Eh, what can I say? I'm a city girl, through and through," Fletchinder admitted with a shrug, "I've never understood the appeal of camping. It's boring, and uncomfortable, and outside- yeah, not my drift."

"Dude, you good?" Sneasel asked, tuning her guitar while she walked. It had been the only item she'd brought with her that she'd been allowed to keep, so she hadn't so much as left it out of her sight.

"Wha- oh, yeah, sure," Fletchinder weakly assured the weasel, "the rain's just annoying me is all. Didn't really anticipate having to deal with it.

"I know what you mean, I barely go outside enough to have to deal with it," Sneasel nodded along, smiling almost nostalgically, "back in Spikemuth, we mostly just chilled in the garage pumping out classics, if you catch my drift."

"Uhhhhhhh…I played Guitar Hero at the arcade?" Fletchinder admitted awkwardly. "Does that count?"

"...Yeah, not really dude," Sneasel shook her head.

Back up ahead, Druddigon came to a stop. His large body in conjunction with the team's prior consistent movement lead to him effectively forming a wall which the rest of the team proceeded to ram into.

"What's the hold up?" Cranidos barked out.

"Uhhhhhh…J-Just give me a sec," Druddigon muttered, forcing the map closer-

Before having it pried away by Luxray. She looked it over…Then just felt confused. "Which route have you been following?"

"...The middle one?" He admitted, somewhat confused to her word. Her deadpan expression said it all. He let out a sigh. "Sorry, I don't do this sorta thing."

"It's cool," she nodded, before flashing a dominant smirk, "but I'm taking the reins here." She let out a whistle. "Move it up!"

The rest of the team exchanged glances, though shrugged, following along regardless as she began to lead them down a different path. The only one who seemed at all hesitant was Druddigon, who could help but feel a little defeated.

"Man…" He groaned.

Seeing as much, Fletchinder, against her greater instinct, fluttered up to the man and smiled. "I mean…I appreciate you trying. I'm not exactly great with this sorta stuff either."

"Yeah," he nodded, forcing a smile in appreciation, "back in Lumiose, we don't got much outside of parks, and with my pop's store open, we never really leave town."

"I get it; my parents own a gas station, so we always gotta hang around ourselves," she replied.

Druddigon couldn't help but laugh. "Guess we're both a couple of city kids."

Blushing at the laugh, Fletchinder couldn't help but giggle too, nodding along with a smile. "Y-Yeah…Guess we are."

Feeling a sense of relief, Druddigon began to follow the team again- though momentarily stopped in his tracks as he reaffirmed a stare at a certain member of his team…

Gloom. He was following in order like everyone else, his eyes hidden behind those sunglasses. He couldn't tell what he was thinking, but just looking at him made Druddigon deeply insecure.

"Druddigon?" Fletchinder asked, looking up at the gentle giant.

"...I'm alright, just got some sun in my eyes," he made up an excuse, then carried along, trying to avoid staring at the grass type.

Unlike another member of the team, who outside of guiding the way, was very keenly keeping an eye on Gloom. In fact, Luxray was so focused on him, she was getting in her own head about it.

"I've been feeling Hella weird ever since I got here, then all of sudden last night, I saw Gloom walking around while everyone else was partying," Luxray stated, humming aloud as she glared at the wall, "and when I asked about it, he totally blew me off. I can't get a read on the guy, outside of just feeling super suspicious. He's up to something…"

She flashed a grin of determination. "And mark my words, I'm using our isolation to figure out just what…"

"Man…I'm trying to not let it get to me but every time I see Gloom, I just…Freeze! Totally cold turkey!" Druddigon groaned, facepalming, "I need to get it together. I don't think he's recognized me, but if I keep acting like a dumbass, he definitely will."

Fluttering up just above the treeline, a large leaf strapped to her head as a sort of makeshift cover from the rain, Trumbeak stared out at the horizon of trees, looking for any signs of the other teams, or better, any signs of camp.

"Bidoof said we couldn't fly ahead to get directions to camp, but he didn't say anything about not being allowed to use them to give us some leads," Trumbeak explained smugly, holding her head high in superiority as she bragged, "see, it's that kind of strong thinking that's gonna be why I win this game."

"Any luck?" Trumbeak called out.

Sure enough, floating above the treeline as well were the only other flying capable members of their team, Drifblim and Lampent. Though neither of them looked to be taking it as seriously as her. In fact, the former seemed to be lounging more than actually looking.

"Nah," Drifblim lazily replied. When Trumbeak sent a glare his way, he didn't bother to respond with more than a shrug.

Then came the other voice, "Hey, look what I found!"

"Good, at least they're trying-" Trumbeak began to think-

Only to see Lampent holding up a seriously gnarled tree branch covered in honey…With a Kakuna latched onto it. "Check it out, I got one of those old-fashioned walking sticks!" They beamed, before finally noticing the living cocoon stuck to it. "Oh hey, little guy."

Trumbeak just looked on in disbelief, so distracted she didn't even notice Drifblim slowly floating back down below the trees in alarm. "Lampent, put that back! You don't know if their parents are nearby."

"Don't worry, it isn't such a big deal," Lampent smiled, adding on, "what's the worst they could-"

Then they felt a tap on their shoulder. Lampent turned around…And saw two very angry Beedrill glaring at them and Trumbeak.

"Oh, hey! That's funny, we were just talking about you."

Trumbeak was back in the confessional, very clearly covered in bee stings. "...Even if I do have to drag my teammates along with me…"

Drifblim floated back down toward the ground, smirking to himself as he heard what sounded like squawking above him. As soon as he landed, Cramorant stepped up to him, Arrokuda asking, "So, how'd it go?"

"It was…Funny," Drifblim smiled, still staring up at the tree tops, "beyond that, no luck."

"Well, that sucks," Scrafty commented, currently sitting atop a rock and staring out at the trees in front of her, "and where are the other two-" And just like that, Trumbeak's scream broke through, her body falling from the trees and hitting the ground just in front of the fighting type. "Oh, nevermind, there she is."

"Help…Me…Up," Trumbeak growled from the ground.

Lampent followed not long after, looking…No worse for wear, actually. Beyond some barely noticeable scratches on their glass dome, they looked totally fine. And they were still holding their branch, albeit without the Kakuna. "Neighbors are pretty cool."

"They are not!" Trumbeak snapped as Scrafty pulled her up- before just as quickly pulling her wing away from the exhausted girl as soon as she was up.

"Ehhhh, I don't know," Drifblim hummed, floating up beside Lampent and explaining, " those bee stings just gave you more character!" He wrapped an arm around Lampent, pulling them close and offering a smile, "Right, bud?"

Lampent looked over the balloon…Then pointed out, "You have a leaf on your face." Drifblim threw on a face.

"I like Lampent," Drifblim casually explained, "they got a real, 'I have undiagnosed autism with a side of ADHD' vibe to 'em. Seems pretty gullible too," he snickered, "maybe they can help me out; could always use a right hand man, or woman, or…General thing to back me up when I need it…Or to throw in front of me to take some blame," he shrugged, "whichever comes first."

Absol was staring at her team in relative silence, only momentarily distracted when she felt something drip onto the front of her nose. Confused, she poked at it and took a taste, flinching as she muttered, "Honey?" Then another drip. She looked up-

And the Beedrill was back. Though unlike before, it was targeting her this time, stinger at the ready as she flew at her. Her eyes went wide, the dark type screaming as the bee got closer and closer-

Until a pink aura surrounded the bug. It cringed at its abrupt stop, looking around in a panic, before it was suddenly launched out of view and right back into the trees with a fling.

Absol blinked in confusion, oblivious to what just happened, only to find her answer in someone stepping out from the trees. "Y'know, being psychic really is kinda overpowered," the voice mused, revealing themselves to be Espeon as he stepped out with a crooked smile, "especially to a dumb bee."

"You know, when you put it like that," Arrokuda began, "you end up sounding kinda racist."

Espeon rolled his eyes, "A pleasant 'howdy-do' to you too…"

"And where were you exactly?" Trumbeak narrowed her eyes onto the new target of her frustration.

"Relax, birdy; I was just taking a leak," Espeon lazily explained, "you guys find anything?"

"Nah," Drifblim shook his head in response.

"Well, nothing we can really do about it besides keep going, right?" Scrafty asked.

"Exactly," Trumbeak nodded…Before oddly pushing up against Scrafty and stating, "so try and stay focused and keep up," and when the lizard flinched, she turned the same glare on the rest of the team, "and that goes to all of you! Move!"

A chorus of grumbles came not long after, as the Blastoise promptly began to follow their pseudo-leader into the woods. Though rather obviously, Espeon lingered somewhat, his eyes darting to the forest. His eyes flashed pink for a moment, and in the distance, he saw it…

A tripwire; one that flashed pink as well, only to look invisible to the eye otherwise. With affirmation of his trap having been set, Espeon carried on.

"Future Sight; not exactly a showstopper, but if someone steps into it, I'll be given a handy look through their eyes for a sec," Espeon explained, a mischievous smirk on his face, "maybe it'll tell me where another team is, or give me some insight into something I didn't know about—doesn't really matter, regardless, if someone's somewhere they shouldn't be, I wanna know about it."

His eyes flashed again, and this time, he found himself having cast an invisible net along the edge of the confessional, his smirk growing. "Including anyone who comes in here…"

The river stream flowed into the island from the outer lake, its turbulent rapids and sharp, jutting rocks spearing out from the water's surface ensuring that only the fiercest of sealife could venture down its path.

Walking through the stream, barely paying the rapids any mind, was Samurott, humming a low tune to himself as he crossed onto the opposite side. He glared up toward the sky; the storm was gonna get worse, but he still had some time.

Samurott took his seamitar and engraved an "X" into the tree closest to him, before painting over a quick scent marker, one whose thick smell of lavender would be hard to miss; a sign for where he had gone. Leaving such a mark could be a risk; if another team were to find it they may follow it. Though the chance another team was gonna find them was unlikely in a forest this vast.

…Wait, no- he wasn't gonna think about that. He didn't have a lot of time as is…It was time to make up ground.

Breathing in, he focused and traveled into the deeper forest…

"Headbutt!"

Flying across the ground at truly incredible speeds, bounding off step by step, Dubwool smashed her whole weight and horns into a tree. Uprooted at its core, the tree was subsequently thrown forward, landing between two steeped hills and creating a bridge for the ram.

"Heck yeah!" Dubwool laughed. Sure, she could have probably just…Leaped the gap; it wasn't that far of a jump. But hey, this was more fun! And so, she walked across.

Dubwool hadn't stopped walking since she had wandered off. She wasn't going to bother trying to find her team; the challenge was to find camp before the other teams anyway, so she was going to do just that, with or without those city folk behind her.

Though, because of the gray skies clouding the trees in darkness, and the fact she could feel her coat being dragged down by the rainfall, she wasn't making as much progress as she had been hoping. If only she had a way to see-

Wait, duh.

Dubwool smiled, raising up her head. In her horns, a strange, sort of bright white energy began to form between them, using the horns as lightning rods of sort to maintain the power. She grinded her teeth, and with a grin, shot it forward, "Hyper Beam!"

In an instant, the beam traveled across well over a mile of jungle in front of her (and completely decimating several trees in the process), lighting up the way…And disappearing just as quick. She blinked…Then scoffed. "Well dang, that was useless."

She heard something scurry in the bushes. And her smile returns. Where one lucky break fades, another makes itself known. With a 'woop' and a cheer, Dubwool bounced off the ground and into the air, aiming herself toward the bush, "Dogpile!"

Dubwool hit the bush with all her might, and a yelp of pain burst from it. The bushes shaked a moment, before the sheep popped back out, only now, hanging off her horn in fear…Was a Scatterbug.

"Why, hello there, 'ya little thing; name's Dubwool," she greeted, a smirk rising over here, "outta curiosity, my newfound buddy…You know these woods well by chance?" The bug chittered nervously, as she let out a low laugh. "Good, good to know…So…How 'bout you do me a favor…And lead me out of 'em?"

The Scatterbug winced, shrinking down as it realized how long this night was about to become.

"My 'pa always did say I had a way with nature," Dubwool bragged, letting out a knowing laugh before cheering with a, "I'm ruling this dang game, I tell 'ya what!"

"Twenty one bottles of beer on the wall, twenty-one bottles of beer."

The Charizard were currently following Luxray, as they traveled up an inclined hill. And just behind her, carrying on the tune, was Sneasel, who started singing again with the rest of the team as backup, playing her guitar to the beat. "Take one down, pass it around! Twenty bottles of beer on the wall!"

The issue, which was obvious to everyone there…Was that Sneasel seemed to be the only person in the mood for the jingle. Everyone else's voice sounded at best dull and at worst tired. They seemed to have been walking for quite some time at this point…

"Oh," Sneasel started up again, "twenty bottles of beer on the wall-"

"Holy crap, make it stop!" Gloom pleaded to nobody in particular.

"He cracked first," Scolipede smirked at Sneasel, "called it." The ice type sighed, reaching into the guitar's hole and pulling out a bill for the centipede.

"Come on, guys," Luxray called out, ignoring the peppering rain as light static pooled out her mane, "we gotta keep it moving."

"As if we could do anything else," Scolipede snarked under his breath, the only one to hear it being Sneasel, who chortled at the joke.

Cranidos grumbled as well, rolling his eyes as he walked at an even faster rate, passing Luxray- only to feel her tail suddenly pull him back. "Hey! What's the big idea-"

Luxray pointed forward, which Cranidos followed- to see he had almost walked right off a cliff. He yelped, running back slightly as the camera panned across the gorge, revealing the nearly fifty feet between one side and the other piece of land across, and more than that, the nearly hundred foot drop inbetween.

"That's the big idea," Luxray stated, "you're welcome, by the way."

Cranidos, face red with anger and embarrassment, grit his teeth in frustration, especially at the sound of laughter from Scolipede and Sneasel. "S-Shut up!" Grinding his feet across the ground, he stomped toward the back of the group.

Looking out over the gap herself, Luxray hummed out in thought, her eyes glancing about- before settling on a rope bridge not too far away. "Guys, over here!"

Cutting to the Charizard now in front of the bridge, the team looked at it with…Mixed response.

"Yeah, not happening," Scolipede chuckled, "that thing ain't gonna hold."

Sure enough, the bridge looked considerably worse for wear than not. It was on its last legs, with ancient wood and flimsy rope keeping it together. And considering just how big most of the team was, it'd be hard to argue it definitely wouldn't hold some of them.

"M-Maybe we should look for another way across?" Gabite suggested.

"That would take twice as long!" Luxray pointed out sternly.

Gabite flinched, Fred bapping her nose. "Yeah, ignore this galute- she's a dummy!" Gabite whimpered.

"Look guys, we're not going around- we'll lose a lot of time," Luxray told her team.

"I think it's simple; if you don't cross and stay here whining, you're on the chopping block tonight," Gloom grumbled out pointedly to Scolipede, "I think that's fair."

Scolipede prepped a glare at the weed, about to respond- but Luxray beat him to it. "Yeah, no, you are not making commands here."

"Less a command, more common sense, sweetheart," he shrugged, tone apathetic to say the least.

"Oh, you do not get to call me that-"

"Hey, guys, eyes on the prize!" Fletchinder fluttered between them.

With one last glare toward the short weed, Luxray rolled her eyes though nodded, "Right, right…Okay, whatever. Either way we gotta cross." She turned toward the bridge. "Alright, who's gonna go first-"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" Cranidos screamed out a roar, and took off running toward the bridge, booking it across it with reckless abandon.

"Woah," Scolipede's eyes went wide in shock!

"Dude!" Sneasel's mouth went agape!

"Cranidos, wait!" Luxray called out.

But Cranidos ignored the calls, storming across the wood with fire in his eyes. Every step shook the whole bridge as he tore across it like it was nothing. He made it to the other side with a final hefty thwomp, sticking the landing then roaring another battle cry.

"Yeah! Hell yeah!" Cranidos turned to face the other side of the gorge laughing. "That's right! I did it! What of it! Hahaha!"

"Good job, man!" Sneasel commented, throwing him a thumbs-up.

"No, not good job!" Luxray interjected. "Cranidos, do you even know what that kind of tension can do to a bridge like this?!"

"Oh, whine, whine, whine!" Cranidos growled back. "Shut up! I did the stupid thing, so now you-" And just as he said that, he saw how badly the bridge was shaking. "...Uhhhh-"

And then, one of the ropes across snapped. The entire left side fell to its side pathetically, falling over and making the bridge useless.

Cranidos looked at the bridge. Then at his team. They looked at him.

"...Oops."

Cranidos scoffed. "Whatever…I cleared the gap, that's what matters here! Sure, the bridge fell, what of it?! That's not my fault! It was old, and stupid, and probably was gonna cave-in anyway. At least I got across it before it did…"

"Its foundation sucked anyway; who the Hell only maintains a bridge with two faulty ass ropes?! Freaking weak, what lazy builders…"

Sneasel was in the confessional, miming out something. "And the little dude was all like, roooooooooooar, and then went like, zoooooooom, and totally barrelled forward while the bridge was going like, cha-cha-cha-cha, and I was like, wooooooooah!"

She laughed, sending a nod and a wide grin. "It was epic, man! Ain't nobody couldn't enjoy that!"

Luxray was banging her head against the wall over and over again in frustration.

The Venusaur were just…Staring…In total silence. Their eyes were wide. Their expressions reading of shock and horror. And the only sound was coming from the water in front of them…

"...Cyclizar," Bisharp began, her tone the usual amount of cold and calculating, as she slowly turned to the lizard, "when you said there was a little river…"

She turned back to the obstacle in front of them…A river; or rather, what they were seeing, a malevolent serpent of water! Its rapids roared like the wrath of an angry god, churning with a relentless fury that devoured all in its path. The water, a frothing torrent of icy blue, was studded with jagged rocks that gleamed like the fangs of a ravenous beast, ready to shred any who dare approach. Ghostly mists hovered above the surface, and what looked to be Carnivine jumping in and out of the water. Even the bravest souls could tell its currents were as swift as death's embrace, and crossing it was a fool's errand, a one-way journey to oblivion.

"...I believe you understated the matter."

Cyclizar let out an awkward laugh, scratching behind the ear as he muttered, "In my defense, it looks…A lot more doable from a map drawn up a hundred-feet in the air…"

…Not long after he said as much, he facepalmed in embarrassment. "Dammit…"

"There's no time for squabbling!" Typhlosion spoke, stepping up as she looked over the horrifying river, "We need a plan to pass this river styx!"

A beat passed.

"...Would any of thou like to contribute to such a strategy, for I admittedly have nothing!"

Salazzle thrust a pointer at Noivern, saying, "Couldn't you just fly us across?"

"Me?!" He exclaimed in disgust, scoffing out, "Please! As if I'd lay my perfectly manicured hands onto any of you. And besides, look at all of you! You'd just drag me down with you…"

"Did…Did you just call me fat?!" Salazzle growled at the bat, causing him to yelp and hide behind Gengar, who in turn yelped as well.

"...In fairness, I kinda doubt he'd be strong enough to get most of us across anyway," Cyclizar admitted, albeit reluctantly.

"Agreed. Same goes to Gengar," Bisharp finished, nodding to the ghost-

Who was just gone. Like outright not there. The team looked around-

And sure enough, Gengar was on the other side of the river…Hiding behind a tree. Not that hiding did much for his massive frame, but still, the point was being made.

He just sent a nervous thumbs-up with a smile, "G-Good luck, guys!"

The team groaned, though it's not like they expected anything else. Back to business.

"We need to think of a plan!" Bisharp demanded again.

And once again, the solution seemed to come from an unlikely source, as Growlithe stepped up, looking over his reflection in the water in thought.

"Once, while on a hike through Kanto, I had to take a ride on the St. Anne," Growlithe began to explain, "but mid-journey, we hit some rough waves and I was knocked off the ship! I managed to survive by making a floatation device out of my scarf and floating on harsh waters for two days straight, despite being a fire type!"

He grinned confidently, exclaiming, "If I can make it through that, then I sure as heck can beat a river!"

"Hey, guys," Growlithe spoke up, "we got some rope in that bag we were given?"

The team looked around, though Bisharp nonetheless nodded, reaching into the bag and pulling it out, "What of it?"

"Noivern, before you can fly over, take that rope and wrap it around the top of that tree," Growlithe said, pointing his nose toward a shorter tree just beside a small incline in the hill.

"Ew, you want me to touch that?" Noivern flinched at the…Nature, in front of him.

"Noivern, you heard his wish," Bisharp stepped in, grunting, "now listen, grab the rope, and go." She held it out for him to take. "Now!"

"I will do no such thing!" Noivern scoffed, turning away with folded arms. "You're hardly my boss."

Bisharp growled, about ready to throttle the bat, only to be pulled back by Typhlosion.

Thankfully for Noivern, someone else stepped in too; Salazzle, who immediately got into his face. "Just do it, already," Salazzle grumbled, leaning in with her claws out, "before I remember your little comment from earlier!"

Noivern, weighing his options, groaned, accepting the rope from Bisharp and flying up, latching onto the side of the tree and doing as Growlithe instructed, wrapping it around the trunk of the tree. "There, happy?"

"Not yet," Growlithe continued, "now, fly to the other end of the river and wrap it around the bottom of one of the trees parallel to us."

Noivern flew off, following his instructions as Bisharp stepped up to Growlithe with a hum. "What's your plan exactly?" But before she could get a response-

"Done," Noivern called out, stepping aside-

And revealing that now, there was a makeshift zipline across the river, just above and out of the way of the dangers below!

"Presto!" Growlithe laughed, a massive grin extending across his face. "Now we don't even need to step foot in the water!"

And to say his teammates looked surprised would be an understatement. "Woah," Cyclizar muttered.

"Okay, color me impressed," Salazzle smiled.

"Huzzah!" Typhlosion cheered, laughing triumphantly and she leaned down and wrapped an arm around the smaller dog. "Brilliant work, little artificer!"

Bisharp, up to this point largely stoic, even managed a light smile, stepping up to the dog. "I must agree." She patted the dog's shoulder with a nod. "Good job."

Growlithe sheepishly smiled at the compliments, chuckling under their kind words. "Oh, well, y'know…It was nothing."

Though one contestant looked a little less enthused, as Cyclizar felt his expression fall, a deep feeling of insecurity flooding forward as he averted his gaze uncomfortably.

Bisharp hummed in thought, speaking forwardly, "Of my teammates, Growlithe has shown himself to be an unexpected gem. In spite of his tiny, frail, largely less than notable frame, he is very well versed at surviving these conditions." She stroked her chin. "Perhaps he's attended boot camp…"

Growlithe smiled, his face a deep red as he let out, "Usually I travel on my own, so…Seeing how supportive everyone has been of my hobby has been…Kinda great, actually? I never thought I'd find other people who could see the same worth in this stuff that I do, but hey, I guess anything's possible out here!"

"Growlithe truly is quite the fantastic little wizard!" Typhlosion laughed, tightening a fist and holding it up victoriously. "He's got quite the head on his shoulders; had we shared a battlefield on the same side, I'm sure he'd have led many a troop to glorious conquest!"

However, her expression just as quickly hardened, "And still, I cannot deny that such tactical lordship is…Worrying. A wise enemy is unlikely to leave such untapped potential to frolic freely, and while intellectually competent, I fear Growlithe may not have developed the wisdom needed yet to keep his talents from the eyes of those who seek to use it against him…"

Cyclizar sat in the confessional in silence, his head slightly slumped as his eyes traveled from one end of the confessional to the other…

Scolipede maintained a deadpan expression as he seemingly…Flew through the air. Well, that was inaccurate actually. He wasn't flying, he was being flown, by Druddigon specifically, who had both of his meaty hands clenched on the centipede and was flying him across the gorge.

Druddigon glanced around awkwardly. "So uh…How're you-"

"We are never talking about this again," Scolipede grumbled.

"Yeah…Yeah, agreed."

With the final heft of his might, Druddigon made it to the other side and dropped Scolipede onto the ground. The centipede carried himself forward to the others on the other end of the gap in the form of Cranidos, Fletchinder, and his previous carryweight, Luxray.

"Good job, man…" She turned her attention back toward the rope bridge-

Where three mons were crossing it…On the side. They were using it at this point as a sort of balancing rope, using the turn-over top as what to walk on while having the rope as support to keep them upright.

The group was made of Gloom in the front, Gabite (and Fred) just behind him, and Sneasel in the back.

"Come on, guys! Keep it up, you're doing great!" Luxray called out to them.

"Yeah, keep going!" Fletchinder added.

"Good job!" Druddigon further-

"Stop it with the fancy nancy words of encouragement already!" Gloom spat, growling out. "I'm trying to focus here."

Druddigon cringed, stepping back in alarm. Noticing as much, Fletchinder narrowed a glare at Gloom, before turning and saying, "Guess some people can't handle someone being nice, can they?"

"Uh…Y-Yeah, maybe," Druddigon nodded, trying to stay quiet.

With the players on the bridge though, things seemed mostly alright-

Until Gabite felt her foot slip forward, throwing her off balance. Her eyes went wide, reaching up and grabbing the rope, but still falling back. Gabite was thrown from the bridge, only a rope keeping her from falling into the chasm below.

"Gabite!" The team called out in fear.

"Dude!" Sneasel gasped.

"H-Help…" Gabite squeaked out.

"Help us 'ya goons!" Fred begged as well.

"Guy, we gotta help her!" Sneasel called out to Gloom-

Who ignored her and kept up his pace, grunting out, "Not my damn problem." Luxray narrowed a glare from land at such an action, not that he bothered to notice…Or care for that matter.

Sneasel, however, couldn't just do nothing…

"Okay, I ain't really like…The hero type or anything, man…But dude, I couldn't just stand there," Sneasel began, shaking as she groaned, "this bites…"

"Gabite, reach up! Grab my hand!" Sneasel called down, leaning down and lowering a hand to the girl.

Gabite, for her efforts, reached up to try and grab it…But considering her "hands" were more like scythes, this slight shift in balance cause whatever grip she had to slip.

And she fell.

"Gabite!" Sneasel screamed.

"No!" Everyone else joined-

Except for one man acting on instinct. Running forward, Druddigon leapt from the cliffside. His wings extended out in the air, his whole force gliding down toward the falling Gabite-

Where he caught her!

Cheers roared out from the cliff at the dragon's rescue…Well, cheers and sheer amazement in Fletchinder's case, her face lighting up a bright red as she tilted her head and her eyes went wide. "Wooooooooooooooooowwww…"

It was so intense her little glasses quickly fogged up, much to Scolipede's surprise. "...Uhhhh…Yeah, not asking."

Druddigon made it back up to the cliff, dropping Gabite- who instantly latched back onto him with a hug. "T-Thank you!"

Flinching, Druddigon looked around, forcing a smile. "I-It was no problem!"

"Nah, man, legit- great job," Luxray nodded…Before turning a glare to a newly arrived Gloom, who was dusting himself off, "unlike you."

"Oh please," he rolled his eyes, walking right past her.

Gabite finally let go of the large man- giving another girl just enough time to swoop in as well. Fletchinder, face still beaming red, could barely get out, "M-Man, Druddigon…That was…Y-You're so…Wow…"

Druddigon, again feeling both elated and a bit uncomfortable with all this attention he was getting, could only smile. "I mean…I just did what came natural, I guess." This only made Fletchinder blush brighter, her whole expression twisting into pure attachment.

"Hey, uh…Guys?"

Everyone turned back to the bridge…Where Sneasel was still trapped. "...Could I get a lift real quick, too?"

Fletchinder was leaned forward like a sent schoolgirl, her eyes utterly warped as she let out a heavenly sigh. "Isn't Druddigon so…Coooooooool…And hotttttttttttt!"

Druddigon continued to awkwardly shift around, managing a smile, "I mean…I don't think what I did was that special. I didn't want her to get hurt, so…I acted! Not a big deal…"

Though eventually, he slumped in his seat, scratching behind his head awkwardly. "So much for staying under the radar though…"

Gloom was tapping his chin in thought, nodding to himself as a slow smirk began to rise up.

Time flashed ahead, the Blastoise moving at a relatively brisk pace through the forest. Of the group, Lampent was floating overhead, going tree to tree and picking off different objects, from moss, to loose tree bark, and really anything else that caught their eye.

Arrokuda looked at such a thing and just shook his head, pointing out to Espeon, "Seems Bidoof gave us the resident klepto."

Espeon, for his worth, seemed to shrug this off, "Eh, they can have their fun. Not like it's getting in our way."

Drifblim smirked at the psychic, leaning in and saying, "Don't let Miss Uptight hear you say that, she looks itching to start a buzz."

At the front, Trumbeak's expression read as pure rage, the three boy's laughter (plus a gargling Cramorant) echoing from the back as she shook with anger. Scrafty, the closest to her, offered a smile, "Hey, don't let it get to you; they're just playing around."

"That's easy for you to say, you're probably used to that," Trumbeak grumbled, turning away.

Once again, Scrafty found herself thrown for a loop in her attempt to even try speaking to Trumbeak. "Dang, okay…Sorry I said anything."

"Yeah, you should be," Trumbeak stated, not bothering to acknowledge the reptile with more than a glance.

"Seriously, what the heck did I do? I was just trying to help, damn…" Scrafty grumbled, her head leaning down onto an elbow as she glared at the wall. "She's got to have something going on, right?"

Trumbeak threw up a brow at the camera, scoffing as she explained, "Just because some of us are fine settling for retail work and taking whatever's thrown at them, doesn't mean I have to! I'm better than that!" She glared at the wall. "Who does she think she is, trying to tell me how to feel!"

While those ahead of her talked though, Absol simply followed along, an oblivious smile on her face…Until she started to realize…

She was…Shrinking?

Blinking, she looked herself over- and came to a horrifying realization. She was sinking into the ground, deeper and deeper.

"U-Uhh! Guys!" Absol called out. "N-Not to alarm anyone but I'm sinking!"

The Blastoise doubled back, most gasping at the sight as they ran back to see Absol was stuck in-

"Quicksand?" Arrokuda questioned. "The heck is that doing out here?!"

"And how did literally all of us seem to avoid it, except you?" Scrafty questioned.

Although she seemed confused, Absol looked oddly understanding, just awkwardly giggling as she gave a shrug. "That uh…Just sorta tends to happen around me." She felt a tug on her arm, and realized it was pulling her down faster. "S-Seriously could I get some help!"

Trumbeak groaned, spitting out, "We don't have time for this!" She turned a pointed look to Espeon, demanding, "Pull her out!"

The psychic gave her a look. "Uh, why me exactly?"

"Cause he's sooner gonna laugh at her then help," she stated, pointing a wing at Drifblim (who shrugged at the claim), "and I doubt anyone else here is strong enough. Besides, we saw what you did to that Beedrill. This is completely doable for you."

Rather obviously, the entire team turned to Espeon. The psychic looked around, then groaned, stepping up as his eyes began to glow, "Fine, give me a second."

"You get half of one."

"Being a psychic has plenty of pros, but a major con is the second most people meet one, suddenly they're hoisted with far more work as a result of their abilities." Espeon was flicking his tail back and forth in front of him, his expression reading as bored as he let out a sigh. "And something tells me my team might rely on me to solve anything they don't wanna deal with, but y'know what- who cares! If it somehow validates to them that they should keep me around, who am I to complain?"

He narrowed a glare, "Still, I hope me having to save Absol in particular isn't gonna be a pattern. Between this and the bee, the poor girl is looking more and more like a bad luck charm. It's kinda sad…And equally pathetic."

Absol sighed, hanging her head though maintaining a smile, "Yeah, this sorta thing is pretty normal for me, so it's not too surprising." Her expression fell slightly, though not enough to remove the faint traces of optimism. "Feel bad I might be slowing down the team a little though…I'm not doing it on purpose, really! If I could just turn all of…This off, I definitely would!"

Smashing his seamitar in between an incline in the rocks, Samurott pulled himself up the cliffside with a heave, his energy wavering as he felt his breathing grow weary. He grabbed hold of another jutted out chip from the cliff, allowing momentary relief as he let out a heavy breath- only for said relief to give way as the chip fell apart, with him only managing to recover by pushing his paw into an indent beside it.

He was a good…Thirty feet into the air, if he had to guess. This was perhaps one of the tallest parts across the entire island, if he had to guess at least. With a heavy heave, he hoisted himself up again, grabbing hold of another chip and pulling himself up. Again, and again, and again, over and over.

With a gasp, he had done it, throwing himself up one last time and grabbing hold of the edge of the cliffside. Clenching his jaw, he threw his upper body up, landing on the edge. He let out a breath…And heard a crack.

As the edge started to give way, he reacted fast, and with a scream pulled the last of himself up, before jumping forward as far as he can. Where he had once been standing fell away, the cracks tearing at the foundation and dropping what could only be described as a good fifty or so pounds of rocks to the Earth below.

But Samurott was fine. He made it to the top.

Groaning, he gazed out across the horizon of trees. Aside from the cloudy skies, heavy winds, and harsh rain…It was a genuinely beautiful sight. Nature in its purest form, away from the urbanization of the modern world. Away from all the poverty, the cruelty. Somewhere holy unaffected by the mistakes of those who ruled the Earth. It could almost bring a smile to his face, had it not been for how exhausted he was right now.

But even beyond that, he needed to focus…Were there any strange sights…

Samurott narrowed his eyes, gazing out- and caught a glimpse of yellow. A Beedrill- no, two of them, with a Kakuna under one of their arms! They were looking for something…Or someone.

Beedrill, just by sheer instinct even when including their base intellect and sentience, both of it may well be muted from this more isolated environment lacking any sort of village or group structure whatsoever…Are very territorial. So they tend to stay where their hive is. If they're flying away from it…

Then chances are someone disturbed it.

Bingo.

Smirking, he readied himself…Then realized he had to climb down from this cliff now, and promptly groaned.

The Blastoise rounded a hill, a quick call from Trumbeak signaling the crowd to follow after her. And of course, rounding out the back of the back was the lethargic Drifblim, the balloon clearly uninvested in the travel.

He glanced to the side, the nearest figure to him coming in the form of Lampent. Smirking to himself, "So…You a camping kinda thing or nah?" The balloon asked, glancing sideways at his companion.

"Nope," the lampent replied, their tone flat, "I don't sleep so I don't really camp, and usually for forests it's easier to fly over them than through them."

"Yeah, yeah, I getcha," Drifblim nodded, "pretty pragmatic, aren't you?"

"I don't know that word."

"Don't worry about it," he ignored, leaning in toward them, "well, clearly this has been a treat then, right? Getting lost, and attacked, and rained on- that's fun, right?"

"I think everything you just described is technically the opposite of fun." Lampent explained rather dully.

"Sarcasm, pal," Drifblim bluntly snapped back, before forcing a smile, "but yeah, all this…That's what our whole Summer is probably gonna be! Which I'm guessing isn't what you signed up for."

"It is-"

"Well it's not what you're good at," he grumbled in frustration, before wrapping an arm around the lamp with a smirk, "lucky for you, I'm an expert on these kinda things. Yeah, real survivalist, right here."

"That is fortunate," Lampent replied without a hint of irony. "I do not know what I am doing."

The blimp suppressed a laugh, shaking his head. "Yeah, I figured as much. Tell you what, I'll guide you. For a price, of course."

"A price?" the androgynous person repeated, tilting their head slightly. "What kind of price?"

"Oh, nothing much," the man said, grinning. "Just a little favor. You see, I ain't exactly a people pleaser. Ain't my vibe. But if me and you coordinate our votes if we were to lose, suddenly we've got a quarter of the votes, right?"

"Mathematically, yes."

"That means we have more control, which is mutually beneficial! So, I help you out with surviving the whole camp life thing for the Summer, and you work with me going forward," Drifblim explained, "how about it?"

Lampent's expression went blank, just staring forward into dull emptiness. Drifblim, slightly put off, looked around in mild confusion, though eventually was interrupted with-

"Yes, I agree to these conditions!" Lampent nodded.

The man blinked, caught off guard by the bluntness. "Uh, alright, great!" He cleared his throat, regaining his smirk. "Y'see, this is the beginning of a beautiful partnership. Just stick with me, you little freak, and you'll be fine."

"Understood," Lampent said, quickening their pace as they noticed the group ahead moving faster, "their legs are faster than ours." They looked down. "...Probably cause we don't have them." They tapped their glass dome. "I wonder how our bodies work? How do we float?"

Drifblim just gave the lamp a look, baffled at how quickly and easily they were distracted, as he shook his head in disbelief. "You're a weird one, you know that?"

"Yes," they replied. "I have been told this before."

He laughed again. "Most people wouldn't admit it."

"There is no reason to lie," Lampent said, their tone matter-of-fact. "It does not benefit me."

"Yeah, well, sometimes it's about more than just benefit," Drifblim muttered, mostly to himself, his mind beginning to wander elsewhere.

"And just like that, I got this whole game on lock," Drifblim snickered, "figured Lampent for easy pickings, and what do you know, I was right! Not that I doubted myself."

"I'll keep 'em around, long as they do what I say, which…They should! But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't gonna keep my options open a little," he explained, "if I find a better meal ticket, you know like Hell I'm taking it. But for now, Lampent's just the right blend of impressionable and memetic to give me a good laugh for a bit while also happening to be useful."

Lampent was tossing a berry back and forth like it was a baseball, looking up at the camera and nodding. "I'm lucky Drifblim is apparently good with this. I don't really have to worry about camping or survival, on account of being a ghost…" They went quiet. "...Wait, he's also a ghost…"

They hummed…Then nodded. "He must really like being prepared then."

"According to this, there's a clearing with a stream just a little further ahead," Trumbeak called out to the team, falsifying peppiness as she continued, "once we get past that, it'll only be another two miles then-"

"Two miles, are you outta your mind?!" Arrokuda snapped out. "We've been walking all day!"

"News flash, you haven't taken a step," Trumbeak snidely replied.

Arrokuda looked over Cramorant, who gave him a look that said, "she's got a point", though Arrokuda continued nonetheless. "Well, sure, but what about everyone else, huh? These people aren't freaking super soldiers!"

Trumbeak looked them over. Rather obviously, most of them looked fairly tired, Scrafty in particular looking exhausted, barely standing up straight as she muttered, "Seriously, I'm dying here."

Narrowing her eyes in irritation, Trumbeak scoffed proudly, "Push through it! I am not losing the first challenge just because all of you wanted to be lazy."

"Oooh, great words of encouragement," Drifblim called from the back with a laugh, "you should write a self-help book."

Trumbeak looked about ready to fight a bit more about it, though someone else's words caught her attention, "Well guys, we should take it easier on her," Espeon began with a growing smile of his own, "after all, she's our leader, right? And clearly our leader will do what's best for us, right? She's smart enough to understand we couldn't possibly work without proper rest."

"Yes, I am!" Trumbeak spat, Espeon's less than subtle reverse manipulation somehow going right over her head. "I was just testing all of you on it, of course."

"Clearly!" Espeon agreed. "See, everyone; we didn't have to worry."

"No you didn't; all of you should have better faith in me," Trumbeak said with a smile, "we can set-up camp once we're past the stream."

"Not now?" Absol asked in exhaustion.

"Past the stream, and that's final," Trumbeak snapped.

"R-Right! Sounds good!" Absol nodded with a whimper.

"Great, I'm dying for a rest," Scrafty replied, wiping sweat from her forehead. "And maybe a snack. That energy bar Absol offered earlier is calling my name."

Absol grinned at this, readying to grab the bar from under her hat, while Trumbeak sent another glare the lizard's way, something Scrafty caught but ignored.

"The best way to manipulate someone is to convince them that your idea is actually their idea, and Trumbeak for all her talk is still just a college girl with an overinflated sense of self," Espeon explained, "really, she made it too easy."

"My team really is lucky to have me," Trumbeak bragged, "I really am far more lenient with them than I should be." She shook her head. "Curse my natural empathy; both a blessing, and a curse."

Without warning, a low, ominous hum filled the air. A strange, almost…Rhythmic buzz even. "Uh, guys?" Absol said, stopping in her tracks. "Do you hear that?"

Everyone paused, listening. The hum grew louder, more menacing. "Are those…Bees?" Scrafty asked, eyes widening as realization hit her.

Suddenly, from out of the trees, a pair of Bedrill buzzed into view. Espeon smirked, stepping forward, "Give me a second, I'll deal with-"

But then…More came out. Many more. Dozens just poured out from the trees, heading straight for them. And the entire team felt a mutual sense of genuine dread and terror all at once.

"Turn your tails and fucking run!" Arrokuda shouted, Cramorant immediately breaking into a sprint and carrying the fish away.

Pandemonium erupted. Trumbeak herself quickly followed, screaming. Espeon just barely managed to avoid a sting as he went running. Absol screamed and bolted after them. Scrafty tripped over a root but scrambled back up, swatting at the air. Drifblim and Lampent followed not long after, their own screams echoing out as they narrowly avoided stingers.

As they ran into the trees, the Beedrill chased them with relentless determination, their angry buzzing filling the air.

"This way!" Arrokuda yelled, pointing forward as Cramorant veered off the path and plunged into the underbrush.

"Are you crazy?" Trumbeak shrieked, but she followed anyway, the rest of the group hot on their heels.

The team crashed through the woods, dodging branches and leaping over fallen logs. The bees were still in pursuit, but the group was starting to pull ahead, the thick foliage slowing the insects down.

Cramorant, panting and red-faced, led them to a small, hollowed-out tree trunk. Arrokuda called out, "In here!" he said, Cramorant diving headfirst into the hollow.

One by one, the others followed, squeezing into the cramped space. The Beedrill buzzed around outside for a few moments, then gradually dispersed, the sound of their wings fading away.

Inside the tree trunk, the group were piled on top of each other, breathing heavily.

"Well, that was fun," Drifblim said sarcastically, wincing as Scrafty accidentally elbowed him in the gut.

"Is everybody here?" Lampent asked.

The team looked around. Espeon noticed something…Then ignored it. "Yeah, sure, now shut up before they come back!"

Meanwhile…

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Absol screamed in absolute horror as she sprinted through the trees as fast as she possibly could, Beedrill closing in at a rampant pace.

Absol, currently curled up in a ball and shaking in place, dozens of stingers lodged into every part of her fur as she whimpered in place. "S-So…M-Many…Beeeeees…"

Pushing a tree aside with the tip of her horns and tearing off a stray leaf looming in her way, Dubwool continued down the forest path ahead of her. The Scatterbug she had plucked off on her journey was guiding her via a twist of their head, nervously keeping quiet as it clung for dear life, trying not to piss the ram off-

"Where the heck are you leading me, little thing?!" Dubwool groaned, shaking her head and causing the bug to nearly fall off, barely catching itself as the ram glared it down. "You running me on a wild Swanna chase, bug?"

The Scatterbug, terrified, shook its head desperately in terror. She tried to lean in, which didn't exactly work on account of it hanging off her horn and all, though still threatened, "Really? Then why ain't I seeing shit! Just woods and woods, and trees, and woods! And I like me some forestry, don't get that twisted now. But I'm getting mighty impatient, understand me?"

The Scatterbug nodded their head, Dubwool's smirk twisting upward in response. "Good, cause…" She stomped forward onto a branch, snapping it in two with one mighty, thundering stomp. "I wouldn't wanna bring out worse persuasion tactics, now…"

The bug's expression paled, gulping back as she chuckled, "Nailing this whole on my own bizz-ness! Heck yeah!" Laughing, she eventually hummed out. "Wonder how those teammates o' mine are handling it…"

Cyclizar screamed as she ziplined down across the river, his flailing legs just over the rapid water below as he held on for dear life. Still, he called out, "Duck, duck, duck, duck!"

Sure enough, as he came to the other side, the combined group of Salazzle, Noivern, and Typhlosion all ducked as he flew right over their heads- and into a tree, his body sprawling out across it as his body smashed into it at full force. A sickly grinding motion hissed out as his body pathetically slipped down the length of the trunk and hit the ground, his body collapsing soon after.

Noivern and Salazzle's amused snickers were eventually drowned out by a voice calling from the other end (in the form of Growlithe), "You okay, Cyclizar?"

The lizard let out a groan, though managed to throw up a thumbs-up. "I-I'm good…Ow…"

Growlithe, the last of his team on the other side, let out a breath, before untying his cape and wrapping it along the zipline as a makeshift t-bar. With a cheer, he launched himself forward, sailing down the length of the rope to the other side, before jumping off just at the end and landing on the ground with a roll and a pose. "Wooh!"

Applause soon followed from Bisharp, Gengar, and Typhlosion at the impressive landing, though Noivern and Salazzle merely exchanged looks and Cyclizar…Continued to lay on the ground in pain.

"Yes, yes, so impressive," Noivern scoffed, before smirking, "though a reminder that I'm the one who set up the zipline. Where's my applause?"

"On the other side of the river," Bisharp replied apathetically, stomping past him, "now keep up."

The bat cringed in offense, throwing on a glare and spitting out, "How dare- who do you think you are? Do you not realize who you're speaking to?!"

Bisharp came to a stop, and looked him over. After only a moment, she stepped up, a firm glare on her face as she stated, "All I see is someone with no respect and too much money."

Noivern, again, cringed, though this time he actually looked taken aback by the sheer bluntness of her words. Salazzle began to giggle at the confrontation-

"I wouldn't laugh if I were you," Bisharp opened again, "don't think I haven't noticed your little comments either."

The lizard flinched back, her and Noivern settling scowls on the soldier.

"Noivern and Salazzle have given me the impression that they lack basic comradery and are severely lacking in any sort of discipline. All they have done thus far is either mock our teammates, act unruly, or flat out deny direct orders," Bisharp explained clearly, "and at war, such traits will only drag the unit down. It's expected of course; every team is bound to have its weak links, so it's my job to whip them into shape."

Though a groan soon followed. "However…A problem may pose itself in our other below standard team member…"

Gengar nervously glanced about as lightning struck in the far distance, the loud, booming sound echoing through the forest and causing the ghost to yelp. "W-What was that?"

"Weather," Cyclizar groaned, cracking his back as he got up off the ground.

Gengar wimped back at the interaction, wrapping himself up as Bisharp groaned. "As I said, let's move. Now. That obstacle took enough of our time as is." She turned back to Cyclizar. "Can you still lead," she leaned in, a glare on her face, "or are you not to be trusted as lead now?"

The lizard flinched. "Seriously? I made one mistake."

"One mistake is too many," Bisharp's expression hardened.

"Guys, it's okay!" Growlithe interjected between the two, pushing in with a smile as he said, "Let's give Cyclizar another chance. Worst case scenario, me or Noivern-" he noticed the bat's look, "...I could check the treeline again! Besides, I bet we're still way ahead of the other teams still."

Cyclizar looked relieved to get some kind of back-up, and while Bisharp seemed obviously hesitant to trust him again, Typhlosion's words seemed to crack her exterior, "The pup hasn't steered us wrong yet; I trust his suggestion."

Bisharp glanced between the knight, and then back to the grinning pup…Then groaned. "Fine." She nodded to Cyclizar. "Take point, cadet."

"Uh…Yes…Ma'am-" He cringed under her glare. "...Sir?" That…Oddly seemed to bother her less…Weirdly. He sighed, but shrugged and started walking, "Alright, c'mon; I think there should be a path up ahead."

Bisharp followed after, Typhlosion in tow, though she quickly gave Growlithe a nod, which the pup responded to with a quick thumbs-up.

Gengar began to follow not long after, leaving Noivern and Salazzle in the back, the two exchanging wary glances, as if trying to read the other's mind.

In spite of the good time they had been making from the bridge incident, the camp had not turned out to be as close as they were hoping. Since then, they had been doing nothing but walking. And to really hammer home their seeming lack of progress, the sky was getting noticeably darker. They weren't sure how much sunlight they actually had left…

Looking up at the sky and seeing as much, Druddigon groaned, saying, "Maybe we should stop for the night? It's getting late."

"And waste even more time?" Gloom replied.

"I wouldn't mind a break myself, to be honest," Fletchinder added, a smile on her face as she cradled up beside a confused Druddigon.

Mumblings of agreement echoed through the group, the only one seemingly unsure being Luxray, whose attention wavered back and forth between the forest and her teammates…But with a heavy heart, let out a sigh and said, "Alright, you guys win. We can stop." Relief ran through the Charizard at this.

"Sure, we could continue and maybe get closer to camp or something…But the team's tired. We can carry on in the morning," Luxray shrugged…Before glaring, "besides…Gives me an opportunity to confront that little asshole over his attitude…"

Bidoof watched the Charizard begin to set-up camp from his tablet, laying in his reclined chair with an umbrella over his head as rain pelted down onto it. At least, until said rain seemingly began to let up. He looked over the surrounding campground, before grumbling, "Man, just as it hits nightfall too. Nature really knows how to ruin my fun…"

Armarouge walked up to the beaver, folding up her umbrella while asking, "How're they holding up?"

"Eh, pretty well," Bidoof shrugged, reaching out and grabbing his drink nearby, "Charizard are setting up for the night, Blastoise just got done outrunning a Beedrill attack…Annnnnd the Venusaur just got kidnapped by the locals."

He took a long sip off his drink, ignoring the look of horror that had grown across Armarouge's face. "W-What?! L-Let me see!" Armarouge then swiped the tablet out of Bidoof's hand, much to the beaver's annoyance, staring at the screen as she gasped at the sight in front of her. "Oh my God!"

"Relax, nobody's hurt…Yet," Bidoof laughed, before tapping his chin with a hum, "y'know, it's funny- I didn't even know there was a tribe out here. Never found any during inspections of the island." He shrugged. "Eh, makes for good TV regardless."

"A-Are you kidding?! No!" Armarouge fired back, her face lighting up with frustration and she forced the tablet back into his hands and looked across the camp in alarm. "W-We need to help them! Where's Palafin, he can-"

"No, no, no! We aren't doing anything!" Bidoof stated firmly, giving the girl a pointed glare. "Our job is to get a good show out of these losers; that's where it begins, and ends!"

"But they're in actual danger!" Armarouge argued.

"Yeah, and it's gonna draw in millions!" Bidoof laughed, grabbing his sides as he chortled to a point of actual pain.

Fed up with their conversation, Armarouge let out a growl and began to storm off. "If you aren't going to do anything about this, then I will!"

"Nuh uh, you aren't," Bidoof began, a twisting smirk creeping across his face, "unless you want me to report you to Sceptile as disobeying your duties."

She came to a stop, her body freezing up in alarm.

Bidoof, seeing he had struck a nerve, continued, "It'll be real disappointing to see the new, up and comer, dragged down not cause of a lack of talent, though that's hardly helping, and rather, cause she didn't get show business! Burying her own career before it could even properly land." He shook his head dismissively. "Real shame too. Could be a real narrative page turner in the headlines once the show wraps."

Turning back to him, Armarouge tried to hold her head high, firing back, "You're bluffing! What makes you think he'll take your side and not mine?"

"Beyond being a professional, he knows what he hired me for," Bidoof smiled…Though then leaned in suspiciously, "which only makes me question further what he hired you for…"

The two locked eyes in a staredown, Bidoof's aura radiating suspicion, while Armarouge's vibrated with defiance. The two's hate surging through with their locked battle of ideals…

Just as Snorlax kicked open the main lounge door and stepped outside with a steaming pan with mitts on. "I made spring rolls!" He looked between the glaring figures, then pieced it together. "Oh…Bad time?"

Cutting ahead, the Charizard were setting up camp; of note, Scolipede and Druddigon were setting up the tent, Fletchinder was getting a fire going with Cranidos overlooking the process, and Sneasel was looking through their designated bag for anything else to work with.

Druddigon watched Scolipede work on the tent; he was oddly pretty good at it. "...Hey man, you do this sorta thing before?"

"What, camping?" Scolipede tilted a head, scoffing, "Not in the woods, but…Sure, I guess you could say I have."

The dragon smiled. "What, you do that thing where you'd camp in the backyard with your parents or something?" He noticed the bug's expression squint in anger. "...Oh shit, sorry if I pulled something, man-"

"It's fine," he grunted out.

Before Druddigon could say anything else, a ploom took away his attention. The two men turned around, where Fletchinder had successfully started a fire. "Whoo! Nailed it; level up!"

Cranidos scoffed, "Big deal, a fire-type started a fire-" Fletchinder threw a stick at his head. "Ow! Well…Okay not actually, but don't throw stuff!"

She rolled her eyes, though turned her attention to Druddigon. "What do you think, Druddigon?"

"It looks great, thanks," he replied with a smile- only to get caught off-guard for her dorky grin. Something that didn't shock Scolipede, who nudged the dragon with a smirk, only compounding Druddigon's confusion.

"Back!" Luxray called out, throwing forward a makeshift bag full of berries. "Eat up, gang!"

"Berries?" Gloom questioned. "Really?"

"There a problem?" She sniped back.

"Beyond half this team arguably requiring something a bit heavier," Gloom began, nodding toward Druddigon and Scolipede, "seems a tad underwhelming."

"Speak for yourself, man," Scolipede walked forward, picking up some of the berries, "I'll take what I can get."

"And besides, dudes," Sneasel called out as well, "we got granola bars in here! We're covered."

Luxray couldn't help but smirk. "See?"

Gloom shrugged, "Eh, we'll know within an hour if you were right." Such an answer only further frustrated Luxray.

As Sneasel continued going through her bag, she heard footsteps, turning around to see Gabite approaching. The dragon currently had the map in her clawed hands. "Oh, hey, what's up?"

"I-I just…Wanted to say…T-Tha…" Gabite bit her tongue.

"Thanks, buddy bud!" Fred continued.

"Oh," Sneasel rose a brow, "I mean…I didn't do much. You still fell."

"Hey, you tried! That's appreciated, pal!"

Sneasel couldn't help but feel a little flattered, managing a smile and standing up from the bag, "Well…Cool, I guess." She offered a fist bump. "Glad you two are good."

Gabite hesitantly returned the fist bump, stalking away awkwardly, taking occasional glances at Sneasel as she did so. She looked down at Fred. "W-Was that okay?"

"Perfect…"He whispered back sinisterly. "Now, get back to studying this map thing. Get it freaking memorized!"

"O-Okay," Gabite nodded, turning her attention back to the map in her hands, "b-but…Why am I doing this again?"

"You'll see…"

The sun was setting, casting long shadows through the dense forest. The Blastoise, or what was left of them considering their two missing members, stood in a small clearing, their faces a mix of frustration and exhaustion.

And currently Scrafty was pulling through their bag, groaning as she muttered out, "Welp, its official," she held out the bag, revealing the massive hole in the bottom, likely torn open as a result of one of the Beedrill, "we're hosed."

"Optimistic outlook," Drifblim snarked. When he got a look from her, he just shrugged, "not saying I'm any better."

"Man, this blows!" Arrokuda groaned, Cramorant currently catching his breath as the fish spat out, "We're in the middle of nowhere, we're down a man, we got no food- we're totally screwed!"

"Would you shut up!" Trumbeak screamed into the fish's face, nearly sending Cramorant falling over as she huffed, "I need to think of a plan, and I can't do that when you're whining!"

Scrafty groaned, stepping forward, "Guys, this is serious. We're completely lost, and it's getting dark."

"Maybe if you had been paying attention, Scrafty, and noticed the Beedrill early, we wouldn't be in this mess," Trumbeak retorted, her voice sharp.

This clearly took Scrafty off guard, narrowing a glare, "Wait, what?! The Hell- how am I responsible for this?! Seriously, what the heck is your damage with me!"

"You're damaged?" Lampent questioned.

Of course, Trumbeak ignored the lamp, scoffing and turning away, "I'm just saying, you could do a bit more to help."

"Me?!" Scrafty exclaimed. "All you've been doing is bossing us around." She growled, smacking her head in frustration. "God, you're just like my stupid manager! You think you're so much better than me-"

"I don't think, I know!"

"Fight, fight, fight!" Drifblim chanted from the sidelines, nudging Lampent to chant with him. "Fight, fight, fight!"

"Kiss, kiss, kiss!" Lampent chanted as well- only to get looks from everyone. "...Did I read the room wrong?"

"...I'm straight," Scrafty clarified.

"I have standards," Trumbeak deadpanned.

Scrafty's face went red, "Okay, you know what-"

Then her body glew pink. So did Trumbeak's. And in an instant, they were pulled apart, Espeon stepping between them with a side eye. "Ladies, we get it, you're both very pretty and very in the right. So how about we act like adults here and figure out a plan?"

"Boooooo, no fight," Drifblim called from behind- only to feel a glowing rock pelt him in the side. "Ow!"

Espeon rolled his eyes. "If none of you are taking this seriously, how about we just lay down? Pretty sure some of you could use a good night's sleep, if only for your attitudes."

"And why should we listen to you either?" Arrokuda asked.

"Do you hear any other ideas?" Espeon asked.

Sure enough, nobody spoke up.

"See? Now, I'm letting you two go," Espeon promptly stopped controlling Trumbeak and Scrafty, "and for your sake, get over yourselves. It's loud. And annoying."

"...Fine," Scrafty sighed, giving Trumbeak a nod- only for the bird to turn away with a huff.

Stabbing a stake into a tree and leaving a scent marker behind, Samurott continued on with his progress. He could make out the brief bits of moonlight that filtered through the dense canopy of the forest, casting dappled shadows on the forest floor. The storm was letting up, and while he wasn't personally affected by the rain much, it should at least make the travels for his teammates a bit easier.

His feet crunched on fallen leaves from the trees above, his head held high as he breathed in the fresh, earthy scent of the woods, feeling the cool air fill his lungs. The path ahead twisted and turned, sometimes almost disappearing under a blanket of moss and pine needles. He adjusted the straps of his handmade pack, feeling the reassuring weight of his supplies, though he had noticed it was considerably lighter than when he had first left.

As he rounded a bend, Samurott stopped to admire a particularly large oak tree, its branches spreading out like a grand umbrella. Taking out a crafted flask of wood, he took a long drink, enjoying the stillness around him. While he may be out looking for his team and all, he'd be lying if he wasn't enjoying this experience.

Samurott was an outdoors man by nature. He had always been a fan of camping and the like; what used to be him setting up little homes in central park had slowly turned overtime into genuine survival experience. Each day he'd travel further and further what he could barely call his old home, and nowadays, was more than used to the difficulties of the wild; hell, he'd come to prefer it to the hustle of city life, with the constant traffic and toxic pollution. And this was really no different. He was alone, and he liked it that way. The forest had been his escape, a place where he could clear his mind and find peace.

Just as he was about to start walking again, he heard a noise behind him. It was faint at first, like the soft padding of an animal. But it grew louder, turning into the unmistakable sound of footsteps. Samurott turned, his curiosity piqued.

A figure emerged from the undergrowth, moving quickly, something hanging off her. She stumbled as she ran, her footing losing balance as she launched forward!

"Hey, what're-" Samurott found himself interrupted as her whole weight smashed into the water type full force, sending him spiraling across the ground, the sudden ambusher following suit.

Both echoed groans, the figure pushing herself up to reveal the form of Dubwool. The ram grumbled, spitting up a leaf as she spat, "The Hell was that?! Leading me off a goshdarn hill- you did that on purpose didn't you-"

She prepared a glare for her captive- only to realize the little bugger was gone. She did a quick lookover her surroundings, catching a glimpse just in time of a bug squirming away into the vastness of the forest, disappearing amongst shrubbery from sight.

"Coward! Pesky little good for nothing!" Dubwool roared out in rage at the fleeing bug, snorting as she grit her teeth. "Count your days, hear me! I'll tear down this whole dang forest one of these days and give you a real beating-"

As she screamed, she heard breathing. She looked up to see Samurott towering over with his large, intimidating, oddly muscular frame…

Kinda hot.

"Ooooooh, dang sugarplum, ain't you a sight for the eyes?" Dubwool purred out, a mischievous look pouring over her. She gave a shimmy. "Staring at something 'ya like yourself?"

Samurott, after taking a moment to get over the odd forwardness of such a comment, shook his head. "What are you doing on your own?" He narrowed his eyes. "Is your team nearby?"

She scoffed. "Nah, I left those sorry suckers behind." She gave him a wink. "They were just slowin' me down."

Samurott's scowl hardened, about to continue- but the flicker of distant sound made it clear something else was afoot. "Wait…Listen…"

Dubwool, eyeing the water type some more, shrugged and opened her ears to the sounds around her…

Buzzing.

Not long after, something- or rather, a lot of something, burst through the forestry. Their large stingers and beady red eyes were dead giveaways of what they were; Beedrill, a whole swarm of them, clearly pissed off from something and very ready to make it these two's problem…

Samurott and Dubwool backed up against each other, the former grunting out, "Are these your fault?"

"Hey now, don't get something twisted that ain't there, partner," Dubwool replied, "ain't seen these folk before!"

One of the Beedrill menacingly pointed at the two, and the rest of the swarm took that as a sign and moved in. The two exchanged glances, and with a knowing nod, put aside their conversation to be had- and launched themselves right back at the bugs.

The Screaming Venusaur moved steadily through the trees, their footsteps muffled by the thick layer of pine needles on the ground. Rather obviously, Bisharp was leading the group. Though notably, ever since earlier, Growlithe and Typhlosion were rounding out just behind her.

A fact that Cyclizar wasn't blind to, an awkward expression falling over him. And it wasn't blind to the dragon beside him either, as Noivern leaned in with a smirk. "What's wrong? Jealous you're not with the in-crowd."

Cyclizar groaned. "Knock it off."

Noivern shrugged. "I'm just saying, pretty clear who Miss High and Mighty is starting to prefer, is it not?"

"It's day two," Cyclizar rolled his eyes, "and besides, I'm not worried." He flashed a smirk at Noivern. "After all, I at least want to help, unlike you."

Noivern gasped in offense. "How dare you! Were it not for me, how would we have gotten across the river?"

"We'd have figured it out," Cyclizar stated, before walking ahead, "now buzz off. I'm trying to focus."

Noivern leveled a glare at the lizard, scoffing to himself. Salazzle moved up beside him with a look of her own. "Well, this is certainly not looking good for us, isn't it?"

"Pardon?" Noivern curved a brow. "What are you on about?"

"You said it yourself, there's certainly a popular crowd forming, isn't there?" Salazzle said, pointing forward the growing group of four ahead of them; Bisharp, Growlithe, Typhlosion, and Cyclizar, if he counted at least.

"Oh please, darling, I was just trying to mess with him a little," he grumbled.

"Sure, but are you wrong?" She asked, earning the man's interest. "You heard how Bisharp spoke to us earlier; she clearly isn't a fan of us, and it's not hard to notice that clearly her word goes here."

Noivern scoffed, turning away, though with the way his lip curled and his gaze drifted, his expression wasn't difficult to read. "...You may have a point."

"Of course I do," Salazzle smirked, "but don't worry about it just yet. I have a feeling we can turn things around on this…"

The bat hummed, giving her a smirk, "And why are you telling me this?" He flaunted himself slightly, stating, "If you're trying to butter me up, while flattering, I don't quite swing that way."

"Oh please, you're hardly my type," she rolled her eyes, though forced a smile regardless, "but let's just, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'. Common ground and…Whatever."

Noivern nodded, smirking as he gave a shrug. "Works for me, friend." He teased, before stating, "Though don't think I won't be keeping an eye on you."

"I'd be disappointed if you didn't," Salazzle giggled.

"Sure, Noivern rides that line of an annoying, outdated stereotype, but I can also tell he's a lot smarter than he looks," Salazzle explained, "he's just spoiled. And hey, so am I. But just because we're not used to this hard work routine that Bisharp seems to love to enforce, doesn't mean we can't get things done. We just do it our way, and frankly, I'd rather have a bird of a feather on my side than not."

She leaned in with a smirk, "Especially because, spoiler alert, but something's telling me this little team of ours is about to go to war." She sent a wink. "Stay tuned!"

Bisharp's stare slowly twisted up toward the sky, watching as the moon slowly ascended higher and higher. After a moment, she turned to the approaching Cyclizar and asked, "How far out would you say we are?"

"Well, the whole island is only like…Twelve miles, and considering we've been walking all day, and keeping the river in account," Cyclizar muttered to himself, "at most we're probably only like…A mile or two away. At most."

Bisharp smirked, letting out a sigh. Looks like they'd be back soon. But a quick glance at her teammates did bring her momentary pause. Namely how sluggish everyone was moving. It was a lot of walking after all, and they'd hardly stopped even once.

"If I could-" Typhlosion began.

"No need," Bisharp interrupted, turning to the team and stating, "you've all been working hard…Some more than others." Gengar scratched at his arm awkwardly. "So, I say you've all earned a break."

"Oh thank God," Salazzle groaned dramatically, ready to lay down-

"For five minutes." Bisharp affirmed. Everyone groaned; nobody liked that. "We're this close to the finish, I am not giving up right at the end!"

"Okay, but like…Could we maybe extend it to ten? At least?" Cyclizar asked reluctantly, really not wanting to get on the soldier's bad side.

Bisharp's glare hardened, about to come down onto this sense of disrespect she felt- though, again, Typhlosion stepped up. "If I could, I say the truest issue here is a complete lack of sustenance." She turned to the soldier. "After all, none of you have eaten this fine day."

"I'm not hungry," Bisharp huffed…Her stomach than growled. For the first time the soldier seemed a little embarrassed.

Still, Typhlosion ignored it, simply letting out a hefty laugh and a nod, "Of course! I can understand part of your training was forcing your body to adapt to long periods without food. I dealt with much the same while alive." She leaned in, adding, "Though keep in mind; our allies have not the same sort of experience."

Bisharp looked over the team, her eyes wandering mon to mon, a sense of reluctance slowly pulling her confidence down a peg. As much as she hated to admit it, Typhlosion had a good point. But…

"Well…We could do a bit of both?" Growlithe pointed out.

"I swear if you suggest walking even more after I just sat down," Salazzle began, "I will kill-"

"No, I mean…I can scrounge up some food, and maybe while I do so, Bisharp can use the chance to scout ahead a little so we can make the route back a bit easier?" Growlithe explained. "Win-win!"

Bisharp didn't look particularly onboard with that; she'd still much rather keep moving and simply tackle the obstacles as they come. Though with Typhlosion currently over her shoulder and the rest of the team behind her…

"...Fine. I can work with that." Bisharp grunted.

"Fantastic!" Typhlosion cheered with a laugh. "See? A bit of diplomacy helped more than it did not, yes?"

Bisharp didn't respond, instead holding a glare, storming off as fast as she could. Growlithe, noticing how quick she was moving, immediately gave chase.

"This is not a democracy, diplomacy shouldn't be priority in the name of victory," Bisharp stated, her arms folded and scowl staring down the camera, "so their attitudes are…Frustrating. Perhaps my team is even weaker than I had initially believed…"

As two rounded a bend and disappeared into the forest, Typhlosion grinned to herself, turning back to the group. "Now, then- rest thine heinies!"

Noivern and Salazzle effectively collapsed onto the ground, barely moving…Or breathing. Gengar meanwhile just…Awkwardly went crisscrossed on the ground, trying to not look anyone in the eye as he seemed content in his own form of isolation.

Cyclizar, though, didn't actually seem that tired, instead walking up to Typhlosion. "So…What are your thoughts on all this?"

"Hmm?"

"Well, y'know, Bisharp and the leading…All that," Cyclizar continued. Typhlosion just stared at him blankly, not getting what he meant. "Well, just…You kinda seem like a leader-type yourself."

"Yes?"

"...So…Aren't you a little mad you're not in charge right now," he continued, "I mean…Everyone's kinda just listening to Bisharp by default, so-"

"I can stop you there," Typhlosion hummed, turning to him, "I may prefer to lead but I'm also not deaf to the concept of being led myself. Every leader at one point had to follow, and may have to follow again."

"Oh…That's…Reasonable," Cyclizar nodded, now feeling even more awkward about it though. "...But…Do you think she's a good leader?"

"I'm testing that."

"...Wha-"

"It's nothing you need to worry yourself over, Cyclizar," Typhlosion slapped, throwing up a hand and smacking it hard against his back, "relax! You're among friends!"

Cyclizar gave the mongoose a look, his gaze traveling mon to mon with decreasing returns. "Yeah…Sure." With a roll of his eyes, he turned his attention to the woods-

And he saw it.

A flash of gold through the woods. Taken aback, he jumped away, whispering, "...Hey, Typhlosion-"

"Get behind me."

Just believing her instinct, Cyclizar stepped behind the knight as she unsheathed her sword. The rest of the team noticed as much, Noivern giving them a look. "What are you two up to-"

Then he felt a prick at the back of his head, and he felt himself pale. For pointed at him very clearly…Was a spear.

The fire crackled in the center of the Blastoise, the dim light casting flickering shadows on the faces of the six campers huddled around it. The tension was thick, almost tangible, as they sat in uneasy silence.

Trumbeak sat with her back straight, her eyes fixed on the fire. She couldn't help but mentally list everything that had gone wrong today. "How did this all go so wrong? We had everything we needed! Everything!" she said, breaking the silence, her frustration clear.

"We probably could have handled some things better," Scrafty sighed out.

Drifblim leaned back, resting on his elbows. He glanced at Trumbeak and shrugged. "Yeah, well, hindsight's twenty-twenty, right?" He smirked, glancing to his right-

Where he saw that Lampent was staring into the flames, their expression unreadable.

Lampent giggled. "Flicker, snip, fire, lit! It's so pretty…"

Cramorant laid back, Arrokuda hanging outside his mouth as he groaned and picked up a pebble near the bird's head. "This is a joke. We're sitting ducks out here with no supplies." Cramorant glanced at the fish. "No offense, bud."

Espeon shrugged, his eyes gleaming in the firelight. "Complaining won't make anything better."

Scrafty sighed heavily. "Arguing isn't helping either. Look, we're all tired and on edge. Let's just focus on staying warm and keeping the fire going."

Trumbeak nodded, trying to regain control. "She's right. Let's just stay calm. We'll get through this." When she noticed Scrafty smile slightly, she just as quickly threw a glare back, silencing her attempted enthusiasm.

Drifblim snorted. "Sure, we can just pretend everything's fine and dandy." He smiled. "I can make us imaginary smores and we can sing campfire songs all night."

Arrokuda glared at Drifblim. "You always have something smart to say, don't you?"

"Better than nothing," Drifblim shrugged, going back to laying down.

Espeon took a deep breath. "Let's try to get some rest. Tomorrow, we'll figure out a way back."

The group fell into an uneasy silence again, the fire the only sound in the still night. The night stretched on, long and uncertain, but for now, they had the fire and each other. And that would have to be enough.

Though as they all laid down to rest, they had yet to notice the other missing person…

"Hello? Guys? A-Anyone out here?" Absol called out as she pushed through a bush, her white fur covered in stingers. She had managed to get away from the Beedrill- or they just got tired of chasing her. But now…She had no idea where she was. "Guys?"

Absol stumbled over a tree root, nearly losing her balance. She caught herself on a low-hanging branch, which promptly snapped and left her flailing. "Okay, okay, no big deal," she muttered, righting herself. "Just another root. They're practically everywhere."

Absol pushed through some bushes, trying to ignore the way the leaves seemed to conspire against her, slapping her face as she went. "Stay positive," she told herself, "there's got to be a way back. People get lost in the woods all the time and survive."

She stepped into a small clearing, only to have a loud "caw!" from above send her stumbling backward. She threw her head up, catching sight of a Murkrow glaring down at her, before promptly taking off from a branch, leaving her heart pounding.

"B-Bye, birdie!" Absol called out with a nervous smile. She took a deep breath and resumed walking. "Just a bird, Mari. No need to freak out."

She looked up toward the sky, catching sight of the moon, whose silvery light only made the shadows around her darker. She forced a smile. "At least the stars are out," she said, looking up. But then she tripped again, and landed flat on her back. She lay there for a moment, staring up at the sky. "Okay, universe, I get it. Very funny."

After a minute, Absol sat up. As she stood, she heard a rustling behind her. She spun around, eyes wide. "Hello? Is someone there?" Her voice echoed back at her, making her cringe.

She took a step backward and felt her foot sink into something wet and squishy. "Oh, gross!" She lifted her foot, now covered in mud. "Perfect. Just perfect." She tried to wipe her feet on the grass, but it only made things worse, staining her fur. "Great."

Determined to keep moving, Absol picked a direction and started walking again. The forest seemed to close in around her, branches snagging her fur and twigs snapping underfoot. She nearly walked into a spiderweb, jumping back just in time. "Nope, nope, nope," she said, shuddering.

She sidestepped the web and carried on, her eyes straining to make out any signs of a path. A sudden noise made her freeze. It sounded like rushing water. "A stream! That's good, right? Maybe it leads to…Something." She followed the sound, pushing through more undergrowth until she reached the edge of a small river. She leaned down to drink, but the muddy bank gave way, sending her splashing into the water.

Absol sat in the shallow water, soaked and shivering. "Of course," she said, her voice thick with sarcasm. "Because why not end the night with a swim?"

She pulled herself out, wringing water from her hat. "Well, at least I'm not thirsty anymore," she said with a wry smile. "And now I have a story to tell. 'Hey guys, remember that time I got lost in the woods and fell in a river?'" She shook her head, chuckling, ignoring the growing anxiety attack.

With a deep breath, Absol stood and looked around. "Alright, woods. You've thrown everything at me, but I'm still here. Let's see what else you've got."

She took another step forward and promptly fell into a hole, her scream echoing out as she fell.

The Killer Charizard flinched from the loud scream off in the distance. Fletchinder herself especially noticed, snuggling up close to Druddigon. "What was that?"

"Probably just a tree falling…" Druddigon quickly excused…Before noticing Fletchinder gripping onto his arm. "...Uhhhh…Can I have that back?" She ignored him. He groaned.

Scolipede himself noticed the scream as well, thinking something to himself a devious glint flashed across his eyes, as someone else spoke up.

"Well, would 'ya look at that?" Gloom began, staring down at the now empty pile of food. "I was right. Not enough."

Luxray growled at the weed, rolling her eyes, "Oh screw off, I didn't see you joining me or doing any work yourself."

Gloom shrugged, staring at the fire. "Doesn't excuse your poor turnout."

"Oh, I am so-"

"Chill, Thunderbolt," Scolipede stood up, a weirdly off putting smile on his face, "I can head out and grab some food." He immediately began to walk away. "Later."

"See you, dude," Sneasel called out, messing with her guitar again…Before feeling ready. "Alright, I got this thing down and ready, dudes! Anyone up for some jamming?"

"And I'm leaving," Gloom stood up and left.

Noticing as much, Luxray stood up as well, following behind him. "Me too."

The rest of the team lingered though. Fletchinder pushed up closer beside Druddigon. "You have any love songs~"

"Uhhh…Not really my genre, but I do got one about the garbage man!" Sneasel revealed, preparing her guitar. "Alright! A one, a two, a one, two, three-"

Scolipede chuckled cruelly, "Yeah, that wasn't any tree. Don't know who that was, but whoever they were is in for an even nastier surprise."

Luxray glared, "This is my chance; Gloom's gotten lucky the rest of the day, but he ain't getting out of this talk…"

Gloom continued walking, listening up and responding with a frank, "You're not very subtle, are you?"

"Not when I want answers," Luxray called back, barring her teeth as she approached.

"Answers for what?"

"You know what," she narrowed a sharp scowl, "what were you doing last night?"

"None of your business."

"Bull." Luxray narrowed a glare. "That was shady as Hell whatever it was you were doing, and if you think I'm just gonna let that go, then you got another thing coming!"

Gloom didn't so much as flinch…Hell, he even managed a smile. "Then I suppose we've got a bout between us…" This just made Luxray's glare harden, the two now locked in a mental feud…

With the sun now fully hung down in the sky, Bisharp couldn't help but flinch at the light breeze through bristles just above her. Her body was tense, and her eyes narrowed in suspicion; she couldn't help this feeling that something was going to happen…

Meanwhile, near to her, Growlithe was quite the opposite, his eyes wide with wonder as he took in the sights and sounds of the woods. He was just grinning at the surroundings, collecting some of the surrounding mushrooms (after making sure they weren't poisonous, of course). He was gladly displaying an expression of genuine optimism and excitement. When he turned to show such to her, he couldn't help but feel small compared to her…

Sure, Bisharp wasn't that tall, in fact she was actually fairly short for her species. And yet compared to him, she still stood proud, and certainly felt a bit imposing. Her stern expression and rigid posture commanded respect and hinted at a life lived by strict rules and discipline. She seemed completely different from him in just about every way it mattered…

Still, he'd be lying if he said he didn't want to make a connection in spite of that. He managed a smile. "You know, Bisharp, I'm sure these woods are home to some really rare plants. Probably types we've never even seen before- maybe ones that can't even be grown in our home regions!"

Bisharp didn't react much to his attempt at forced conversation. Nonetheless, he continued to wander his claws across the scraped trees, inspecting them with youthful determination. "Heck, we're probably some of the only people who have seen these trees in…Years, maybe?" He stifled a laugh. "Pretty cool, right?"

Bisharp barely glanced at him, her gaze fixed straight ahead. "We're here to forage and scout, not to get distracted," she replied curtly.

Undeterred, Growlithe smiled. "I get that. But…We'll be living out here for a while, right? At camp, sure, but we'll still be dealing with these woods a lot, we may even need to camp out here again. And survival out here means understanding your environment, right? Knowing what's edible, what's dangerous? That kinda thing."

Bisharp's eyes narrowed, but she nodded slightly. "That's true. But it's not about fascination; it's about necessity."

He couldn't help but feel his expression fall, turning away. "...You're not really into this much, are you?"

"I know what I need to, and that's enough," she replied curtly.

"Well…Aren't you a little curious-"

"Camping isn't why I'm out here," Bisharp stated firmly, "I am here to win. That's that. Anything else is nothing but an obstacle to be dealt with." She narrowed her eyes. "Will you be an obstacle going forward?"

Growlithe flinched under her unyielding gaze, shaking his head. "N-No! Of course not! I'll do everything I can to help!"

"Are you positive? You seem quite adept with nature; kind in tune with it," she snapped, leaning in toward him with a harsh scowl, "why are you here, Growlithe?"

"W-Well…I want to win-"

"Do you?!" She spat, stabbing her clawed hands into the tree beside him. "Can you say that clearly!"

"I'm here to win!" He muttered, shaking where he stood. "I-I'm here to win…I just…Y'know…Want to look around…Travel…"

She could see him smiling faintly. "You're…Not wrong. I love the outdoors. I love traveling. I love seeing the world. Camping's a lot of fun. Foraging is even better. Seeing what can be done out here that just…Isn't the same back home. It's…Great."

He sighed dreamily. "The money's great, and it'd make me happy…But isn't the experience worth it too?"

Bisharp, however, just stared at him. Her expression hadn't moved so much as an inch. In fact, she looked…Disappointed.

She stared silently…Then pulled back. And began to walk away. "Let's get back to the others."

Growlithe blinked, eyes glancing toward the holes in the tree beside him, which caused him to cringe at the thought of his head being there. Not wanting to frustrate her, he kept pace, following her.

"Bisharp's…A lot…But I think she's…I don't know, I feel like she's misunderstood," Growlithe admitted sheepishly, "she seems really stressed. I think she has a lot more riding on this than I do. I can see someone being a bit intimidated by her, y'know- she's kind of scary. But…She's also just…Determined. She wants to win really badly. I can't hold that against her."

He smiled to himself. "It's funny…I kinda thought it'd take me a bit, but I think I learned a lot about Bisharp. I like to think we're a bit closer now."

"...Growlithe…What a disappointment…" Bisharp harshly blurted out, slamming her knee with a clenched fist. "After everything today, I had thought his heart was in this. But no…No that's not the case. His heart flutters elsewhere…And all it'll do is drag us down with him."

"Layabouts, cowards, instigators- I can deal with them. I can mold them." She glared at the camera. "But one thing I will not tolerate…Is a distraction…"

"Yee-fuckin-haw!" Dubwool cheered as she bounded across the air, her hooves launching off a trunk of a tree, her horns glowing brightly as she Headbutted into a Beedrill, knocking the bug into the dirt while the swarm riled around her.

Nearby, Samurott parried two passing Poison Stings from flying Beedrill, managing to swipe one out of the sky with a swing of his seamitar, a subsequent Aqua Jet taking out the other- but in the ensuing attack, all it took was that brief distraction for another to get in a String Shot, his arm launched to the ground and stuck to it with web.

Bounding back, Dubwool ripped up the webs sticking Samurott to the ground, a Fury Attack of swings onto her back feeling less than effective as a result of her thick wool, allowing her the chance to kick back her legs and smack the Beedrill in the face. "Take it, you dang sucker punching twig! That all you got?!"

The subsequent fury of rage was all the answer she needed, the swarm circling past her. Dubwool and Samurott stood back to back, their breaths coming in short, quick gasps. The Beedrill buzzed around them, a menacing cloud of black and yellow fury.

"...Hey so uh…Won't lie; there's a lot of 'em still," Dubwool chuckled, not wanting to admit she was running out of breath.

"I know," Samurott grunted, himself feeling a little tired from the ongoing fight.

Glancing up, Dubwool caught wind of the growing moonlight, and worse, the storm encroaching once more. "We gotta wrap this crap up fast," the ram shouted, tackling a Beedrill as it got too close.

"I know!" Samurptt yelled back, his voice strained. He swung his seamitar in wide arcs, the blade glinting as it sliced through the air.

The bees were relentless, their stingers sharp as daggers. One dove at Samurott's face, but he ducked just in time, bringing his seamitar up to cleave back the Beedrill with a thrust. Another Beedrill lunged at Dubwool, but she thrust her hooves forward, her sudden strike causing it to fall to the ground, writhing.

"C'mon you little shits, I can keep this up all night!" Dubwool laughed.

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeah, I probably couldn't keep it up all night, but hey, you can't tell them that," Dubwool explained with a shrug.

"We need a plan," Samurott panted, his eyes scanning the treetops for any sign of escape.

"No shit, Sherlock!" Dubwool proceeded to curbstomp a Beedrill's head into the ground, though a sudden pierce of a stinger into her side made her flinch back. "So get on with thinking of one already!"

Samurott narrowed a glare, glancing about- then he caught a whiff. Lavender. His mind raced, launching through where he had been that day, and suddenly-

"There's a cave up ahead," he said, pointing with his seamitar, ducking back just in time to avoid a sting, "if we can make it there, we might be able to hold them off."

Determination flashed across the ram's face, nodding as she exclaimed, "Heck yeah! Lead the way, bud!"

They moved as one, cutting and ramming their way through the swarm. The Beedrill buzzed angrily, but Samurott and Dubwool pressed on, their desperation giving them strength. The cave loomed closer, a dark mouth in the rocky hillside.

"Almost there!" Samurott shouted, slashing back another bee with a Razor Shell.

They reached the cave entrance and ducked inside, the bees swarming after them. Samurott turned, swinging his seamitar to keep the bees at bay while Dubwool ran further in. She was weighing her options; with him keeping them busy, she could hide and make a break for it when they took him out-

But hiding was for quitters, and she ain't no dang quitter! Instead, she scanned the cave floor, her eyes landing on a pile of dry leaves and branches. A flash sparked across her face, grabbing a handful with her jaws and running back to the entrance. She threw them forward just toward the front-

Then rounding up her legs, smashed her hooves against the slimmed rim of a jagged rock, a spark flying off. Samurott had just enough time to see as much, jumping back to see the spark hit the leaves.

Flames roared to life, creating a wall of fire that the bees hesitated to cross. The Beedrill buzzed angrily, their ranks thinning as more of them fell back from the heat and the swinging swords. Samurott and Dubwool backed further into the cave, their eyes fixed on the entrance. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the bees began to retreat. One by one, they buzzed away, defeated by the fire and the fierce resistance of their prey.

The two heaved sighs…Dubwool eventually hollering with laughter. "Hell yeah! That's right, run 'ya bunch of yellow-bellied bitches! That's what 'ya get!"

Samurott was a lot less openly enthusiastic, more glad the ordeal was over than wishing to celebrate it. "If they know how to cut their losses, they won't be coming back…" Looking over the space, he hummed… "Nice cave."

"Huh? Oh uh…Yeah." Dubwool looked around, and screamed- "Echo!" Sure enough, it did echo! "Hehe, nice."

"Charming," Samurott rolled his eyes, putting his seamitars away as he caught a glimpse of the moonlight outside as the flames began to disperse, "...Too dark to travel any further, especially with the Beedrill out. They'll certainly be territorial after all that…"

Dubwool stifled a laugh. "What? You ain't ready to get your hands dirty?"

"I'm not going to start a fight for the Hell of it." He stated simply, turning and walking up to the wall of the cave. He began to unpack his supplies.

"The heck you doing?" The sheep asked.

"Setting up camp."

"Oh…Nice!" She laughed. "I could use a nap."

Samurott gave her a look. He admitted really planned for her to camp with him…Though seeing how everything was outside, he wouldn't feel right kicking her out either. So with a reluctant sigh, he accepted the circumstances reluctantly, and got to work.

"Dubwool's…Loud. But she earned her stay," Samurott explained, seemingly more to himself than anything, "still, hope she's not a snorer…"

Absol groaned from the bottom of the hole, staring up at the night sky. "Really?" she asked the universe, her voice echoing off the dirt walls. She pulled herself up, using the roots and rocks hanging from the walls of the hole as makeshift ladders, and finally managed to scramble out, her paws covered in grime.

She dusted herself off, her humor wearing thin. "Okay, maybe it's time to start worrying just a little bit." She picked a direction—any direction—hoping it would lead her to safety. She hadn't gone more than a few steps when she heard a rustling in the bushes.

"Oh no, not again," she muttered, clutching a branch for defense.

Out from the bushes bounded…A Zigzagoon, its eyes gleaming in the moonlight. Absol relaxed. "Oh thank goodness, it's nothing bad-" The Zigzagoon, however, had other plans. It hissed and lunged at her, latching onto her leg. "Ah! Get off!"

She shook her leg wildly, trying to dislodge the furious critter. It finally let go and scurried off, leaving Absol panting and with a torn pant leg.

"You're not cute anymore," she said, glaring in the direction it had disappeared.

She continued her trek, limping slightly from the Zigzagoon's attack. "Stay positive, stay positive," she chanted, though it was getting harder to believe her own words.

However, her next obstacle quickly revealed itself- and it came in the form of a dark figure standing in the path ahead. One that was large, and imposing, and looked nothing like her teammates. Absol's heart stopped. She squinted, hoping her eyes were playing tricks on her.

The figure stepped closer, and she could make out the glint of something metallic in its hand.

"This cannot be happening," she whispered. The figure moved with a slow, deliberate menace, like something out of a horror movie. From where she was standing, they were entirely eclipsed in shadow, which only made them that much more intimidating.

Absol's mind raced. "Think, Mari, think! What do they do in the movies?"

…Absol took the opportunity and bolted into the woods, adrenaline giving her the speed she needed. She didn't dare look back, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Branches whipped at her face, and roots threatened to trip her, but she kept running.

"Why am I doing this?! Sure, they do this in movies but it also gets them killed!"

She burst into another clearing, her legs burning. She collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. "Okay, that…Could have been worse," she panted, trying to catch her breath. "What's next? A bear?"

As if on cue, she heard a growl. Absol froze. "I was joking!" she shouted at the sky.

But the growling continued. She turned slowly and found herself face to face with an Alpha Ursaluna...More specifically...A Bloodmoon Alpha Ursaluna. The beast stood up onto its hind legs, letting out a low, guttural growl as it began to close the distance.

Absol raised her hands slowly. "Nice bear. Good bear. I'm just passing through, no need to eat me." The Ursaluna seemed uninterested in her speech and took a step closer. Absol reached under her hat, feeling around desperately for anything useful.

…And her fingers closed around an energy bar. The one she had taken earlier and stuffed away for later! She just stared at it, then back at the bear.

"H-Here, you want this?" She tossed the bar at the bear's feet. The bear sniffed at the bar, then looked back at her. The bear snatched it up and retreated into the woods, apparently satisfied.

Absol blinked, then let out a long breath. "I can't believe that worked." She sat down, her back against a tree, and closed her eyes for a moment, savoring the temporary peace.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching. Her eyes snapped open, heart pounding again. "Please be a ranger. Please be a ranger," she whispered.

The footsteps grew louder, and Absol's pulse quickened. She jumped to her feet, ready to run again.

The figure from before emerged from the shadows, the metallic item in his hand revealing itself to be a large axe. She saw him hold out a hand. "Stop right there."

Absol's breath caught in her throat. She glanced around, desperate for an escape route. The man advanced slowly, "Are you lost?"

Absol backed away, her mind racing. "Please, I don't want any trouble."

The man chuckled. "Oh, you're not in trouble," he extended a hand, and Absol turned to run, but he was too quick.

He grabbed her arm.

Absol struggled, kicking and screaming, and in a surge of desperation, she managed to wrench her arm free and swing at him. He stumbled, taken aback by the sudden force, and she took off running again, adrenaline giving her speed. She didn't know where she was going, only that she had to get away.

The forest seemed to close in around her, branches clawing at her fur and face. She heard him crashing through the underbrush behind her. Her lungs burned, but she couldn't stop. She had to keep going.

She burst through a thicket and found herself at the edge of a steep ravine. She skidded to a halt, teetering on the edge. Behind her, the man appeared, "Wait, stop!"

Absol's eyes darted around, searching for any escape. There was nowhere to go. The man stepped closer-

And she felt the ground give way beneath her. She fell. She could only scream as she felt her body tumble down the ravine, her body slamming into rocks and branches as she plummeted into the abyss.

She hit the bottom with a sickening thud, pain shooting through her body. She lay there, gasping for breath, every part of her aching. Absol's vision blurred, the edges of her consciousness dimming as she groaned, "That hurt…Ow…Ow…"

"Little girl! Can you hear me?"

Her eyes went wide, looking up to see the man staring down at her, still entirely eclipsed in shadow. Absol screamed, forgetting the pain she was in and taking off like a bullet, running as fast as her little legs could carry her into the night.

Ever since Scolipede had heard that scream, he had been making slow but deliberate progress through the forest. He didn't know exactly who he was moving toward, but considering there were only two teams out here anyway, so its not like he had a ton of options.

Still, he'd be lying if he said this whole thing wasn't a little exhausting. Maybe he should stop for a minute, just to catch his breath a little.

So, he did just that. Scolipede came to a sudden stop, leaning his body up against the nearest tree and taking in a heavy breath. Even just this momentary relief was doing wonders for him. "Hell yeah, that's the spot…"

With a long sigh, he leaned back, staring out at the woods. He'd hardly call himself a fan of the forest or anything, but honestly, this late with a full moon in the sky? It ain't bad-

Did that tree just move?

Throwing up a brow, he watched that tree like a hawk…And indeed, after a few moments, he watched it begin to move some more. In fact…It was walking. "What the Hell?" He whispered…But he could feel something moving behind him too.

He slowly looked up, and his eyes shrunk back in horror. As standing tall just above him…Was an Alolan Exeggutor. An absolutely massive one, its large glowing eyes staring down at him with a slack jawed maw. And it wasn't the only one…

Scolipede wasted no time, as he immediately took off running. And behind him, going off the loud echoing stomping, they were chasing him, them and a veritable stampede of pissed off walking trees!"

"Wait…This is perfect!" Scolipede thought, glancing back as a smirk rose over him. "I lead these fuckers to the suckers ahead and force them to deal with it while I make a run for it!"

He couldn't help but laugh, a steeled grin growing across his face. He looked back, calling out, "Come on, you lanky ass freaks! That all you got?!" Their echoing roars of anger were all the response he needed, as he just picked up the speed.

"Where the heck is Scolipede?" Luxray questioned, currently resting beside the campfire with the rest of the Killer Charizard. "Didn't he leave like an hour ago?"

"Maybe he had to use the can?" Sneasel shrugged, still playing her guitar.

Cranidos snorted, "Taking the world's longest shit." Druddigon gave him a look. "What? Just saying…"

Gabite, who was currently reading the map, looked up and said, "S-Sorry…N-Not sure if it matters, but…Maybe he's just a bit lost since it's dark out."

Gloom hummed at this, glancing at Luxray and grunting. "Well, you heard the girl- you go and find him then."

"The Hell- why me?"

"You damn cats have your weird night vision shit," he roughly explained, "and besides, you got your electric crap, so just spark yourself for a light." He hollowed a glare. "Unless you're fine with him being lost?"

Luxray groaned, standing up, "I'm gonna go look for him-" She heard a bush rustle, and threw up a brow. "Or…Maybe not?"

She and the rest of the team slowly turned toward the bush in question…

…Where they saw, standing about twenty feet tall, nearly four times its usual size, was some sort of bear. A massive, imposing one, with glowing red eyes…

An alpha Ursaluna.

"Oh crap…" Luxray whispered.

"Shit…" Gloom similarly muttered, standing up in alarm.

The team slowly began to back up, their horror on full display, before the Ursaluna let out a horrible roar. In an instant, the cast broke out into fearful gasps and screams for life, as the bear ran at them.

"So, an Ursaluna usually isn't that much of a problem with a group…But an alpha?" Bidoof explained in the confessional, before cracking into laughter. "Those kids are in trouble."

"Run!" screamed Luxray, her voice cracking with terror. The Charizard scattered, but the Ursaluna was fast, too fast. It swiped its huge paw, slashing at and sending the tent flying and leaving deep gashes in the earth.

The tent smashed into Druddigon, sending the dragon flailing backward across the ground as Fletchinder gasped out, "Drudi-baby!"

"Drudi-what?" Gloom questioned- narrowly ducking under a Scratch over his head. "Screw this!"

The grass-type took off running- but Cranidos. No, that wasn't his style. Instead, he ran up to the fire, snatching a burning stick from the fire and waving it at the bear, trying to keep it at bay. "Get back! Get back, asshole!" he shouted, but the Ursaluna was unfazed. It lunged at him, its jaws snapping just inches from his face. "Help! Someone get him off me!"

Noticing as much, Luxray's mane brimmed with electricity, as she let loose a Thunder Shock, while Sneasel…Just started throwing rocks, though to her credit she was at least breathing on them to leave behind a icy hue. When she got a look for it from the lioness, she just shrugged. "What? I don't know a lot of special moves, brah."

However, despite the two's effort, nothing seemed to work. The Ursaluna was relentless, its eyes filled with hunger and rage, grabbing one of the rocks mid-throw and swinging it back, the rock barrelling across her jaw and sending her onto the ground.

Though using the distraction, Cranidos reared up his head, smashing down a headbutt onto the bear's clawed paw. All this did was piss it off though, the Ursaluna throttling the dinosaur and chucking him like a projectile, his body smashing into Luxray and sending them both tumbling forward onto the ground.

With a growl, the Ursaluna looked around- then noticed with a smile its energy bar. It leaned down to grab it- only to watch Gloom run right over it, unaware it was even there. The ursine's eyes glowed red with hate, and it roared with fury. Missing its initial swipe, it instead glanced about to notice a large boulder on the edge of the clearing.

Stepping up to it, the Ursaluna reached down, twisting its claws under the rock, and with all its mighty strength, pulled it up with a gasped grunt. And in mere moments, raised up from the ground, a boulder clutched up onto its mighty, broad shoulders. And with its weapon in hand, it slowly turned back toward the corner group, a furious grin twisting onto its face, as it raised it even higher.

Some of the collapsed campers just looked up, their faces pale with fear. Though one girl managed to run toward the beast- Gabite, her eyes fixed on the bear.

"Gabite, no!" shouted Luxray.

"That is a bad idea!" Fletchinder added.

But Gabite ignored them. Instead, she picked up a fallen branch and brought it up to her mouth. She opened her maw, a Dragon Breath pulling forward and coating the tip, a dark blue energy pulsing over it and crackling like rock candy- before it flashed, a twisting mangle of flickered energy.

The Ursaluna snarled, its breath hot and foul. But Gabite didn't flinch. She looked the bear straight in the eye and began to speak, her voice steady and calm.

"You don't want to hurt us," she said, her voice oddly calm and reserved. "We're not your enemy. Go back to the woods where you belong."

For a moment, the bear hesitated. Its growl softened, and it lowered its head, Gabite staring right back at them.

"She's gonna die," Gloom muttered from afar, currently hiding from sight behind a bush.

Gabite took another step forward, her heart pounding in her chest. And that was a mistake. The Ursaluna grit its teeth, and readied to throw the boulder- and so Gabite snapped her branch forward, blowing on the tipped stick and spraying out a massive wave of Dragon Breath all in front of her.

The Ursaluna screamed out in pain, letting go of the boulder as it waved at the spray in front of it. Gabite used this chance, running up to the boulder, her claw gliding across the ground, digging into it. And just as she reached the boulder, she threw it up, a mighty Bulldoze flying out from her arm and sending the boulder flying forward, hitting the bear in the face.

Luxray, Sneasel, Druddigon- everyone looked on in amazed disbelief. But Cranidos was right back on his feet. "Come on, assholes! This ain't over!"

The Ursaluna, in a daze, tried to push themselves up- only to feel Cranidos' head smash into his chest. This was immediately followed by a discharge of electricity hitting him square in the face, with Sneasel running up soon after and dealing a series of slashes to its legs, causing it to take a knee-

Where Druddigon ran up and punched it, square across the jawline, throwing it back and hitting the earth. Just as it tried to push up, it got a front row seat to Fletchinder flying just above him, and with a caw, let loose a flicker of Embers, which landed just in front of it, causing a surge of flames to spark up.

The Ursaluna roared, crawling back in horror as it finally managed to get to its feet. It bared its teeth, roaring out in anger as the group stood in front of it.

"Yeah, that's right!" Luxray laughed. "That's what you get!"

"Get freaking destroyed, dude!" Sneasel similarly cheered.

"Hey, idiots!" The team turned back, Gloom currently taking off running. "Now would be the time to run!"

"What?" Druddigon questioned. "Why?"

"Yeah, we're winning!" Cranidos smirked-

Only to see Ursaluna stepping through the flames, the bears' body caught on fire…And not seeming to even mind!

A dawning realization hit them…It didn't look that effected…If anything…It just looked pissed.

"...Yeah…Run!" Luxray screamed, the whole team taking off running in a panic, all while the bear let out a roar of fury.

As the team ran, Gabite noticed the map sprawled across the ground. She reached out to grab it.

"No, don't do that…" Gabite stood straight, her eyes slowly turning down toward the puppet on her arm. "You've been studying it all night…Like I wanted…"

"Y-Yeah…" she whispered.

"Then you don't need it…Use it as a chance to play hero, champ…"

Gabite shook, glancing back at the map- then she heard the roar. With a scream, she ran off, leaving the map rotting in the dirt…

Bisharp and Growlithe had been walking for some time since their conversation had ended. And…Well, Growlithe would be lying if he said it wasn't a little awkward. Bisharp hadn't said so much as a single word to him since they had left.

He felt kinda bad. Did he do or say something to her? Should he say something else, or would that just make things worse? This wasn't exactly his expertise, he didn't want to make her more uncomfortable or unwilling to open up to him.

And yet, eventually, he opened his mouth anyway, "Hey, Bisharp-"

"Wait…" She came to a stop. "...Do you hear something?"

Growlithe perked a brow. And he did. Was that…Was that the smell of smoke? "Did they make a fire?"

Bisharp brought up her arm, keeping her arm spikes at the ready. "Follow me…Quietly…" Growlithe gave a nod, and she pushed forward…

And when she saw the sight, she couldn't help but feel a sense of anxiety rush through her.

Just ahead, now tied up along the rim of a tree, were the other members of the Venusaur; Cyclizar, Gengar, Noivern, Salazzle, and Typhlosion. All tied up by the waist, but also by each of their arms, legs, and mouths, stopping any of them from easily casting moves. And just in front of them, tending to the fire…Were these strange, orb-like figures, marching around it in a circle, over and over.

They were a living phalanx of what looked to be disciplined warriors, their glossy, yellow helmets gleaming from the flame. Each of the six units, compact and sturdy, bore a crimson crest atop their heads, contrasting sharply with their metallic, armor-like bodies. The five troopers, smaller yet formidable, flanked the larger, commanding leader who spearheaded their formation with an air of unwavering resolve. Their synchronized steps created a rhythm of clinks and clatters, a testament to their unity and precision. As they moved, their piercing, round eyes, peeking out from beneath their helmets, scanned the surroundings with a vigilant, almost sentient awareness. It was as if each was but a cog in a grand, sentient machine, their collective might and coordination forming an indomitable force.

"Wait…Falinks?" Growlithe questioned. "What are they doing out here?"

"Quiet," Bisharp harshly spat.

"And line up!" The top Falinks called out. "Alright…What'd they have on them!"

"Sir!" The smallest called, bringing forward a bag. "Camping supplies! Give it a look yourself!"

The Falinks commander stepped forward and inspected the bag, then let out a roaring cheer, "Hell yeah! We got ourselves a verifiable motherload here, boys! Woooooh!"

"Hooooooooooo!" They snapped back a cheer in return.

"Good job, boyos!" He laughed. "We get more hauls like this, we could be good for a whole month!" He then commanded. "Now…Staircase formation!"

The Falinks proceeded to march in turn, forming a staircase that traveled up to Cyclizar. The commander ran up them, then at the top, pulled the rope from Cyclizar's mouth. The lizard readied to lean in and bite the Falinks- but stopped when he felt the Falinks push a spear to his face.

"Nuh uh uh, you ain't getting away with that! Think smart now," he warned. Cyclizar, taking the warning, pulled back, "good job! Now…There any more of you?"

Cyclizar let out a growl…Then sighed, "I mean…There's two other teams running around. They're trying to go somewhere, just like us."

"Two more groups?!" He exclaimed, then leaned in. "They got stuff too?"

"Yeah, plenty- so let us go, you already cleared us out," Cyclizar urged-

Only to feel the rope snap back over his mouth. The commander cheered. "We're gonna get more loot, boys!" The Falinks all cheered.

Bisharp squinted from afar, growling, "Bandits…Cowards…"

"Again, how are they out here?" Growlithe asked. "We haven't seen any signs of the locals; no housing, or farming, anything! It's only been what's at camp."

"Doesn't matter…But they have our team, so they must be dealt with." Bisharp affirmed.

"Yeah, sure…But they also have a clear six-to-two odds on us; we'll be at a disadvantage in a straight fight," Growlithe reasoned.

"Maybe…But that's hardly the only tactic at war," she whispered, "follow me."

She ran off. Growlithe took another glance at his team…Then reluctantly followed.

Howling echoed across the skyline, landing at the feet of the Blastoise. As of now, most of them were laying down, resting in a pile of scattered limbs and snoring heads as they tried to comfortably rest away the lousy day they've had thus far.

Only two of them were up. The first was Trumbeak, the bird having pulled herself up onto a fallen tree trunk and keeping herself close. She was frowning, keeping herself close and trying ti ignore the world around her. The second…

Was Scrafty, having just gotten up from her nap and letting out a yawn. She pulled herself from the pile, something Trumbeak quickly noticed, giving her a look. "Why're you up? I thought you were one of the main people who wanted a break."

"Yeah, well…I'm used to not getting a lot of sleep," she grumbled, rubbing her eyes, "but what about you? Aren't you tired?"

"I'll sleep when we're back at camp, thank you, in a real bed and not the filthy ground," Trumbeak huffed, turning away from the lizard.

Scrafty just rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever…" She took a seat on the other end of the trunk, and just tried to ignore the bird.

"Don't think I can't see that you're up to something."

And that lasted about as long as she expected. Scrafty lifted her head, giving the bird a roll of her eyes. "I'm not doing anything, but sure, you caught me or…Something. Whatever validates you enough to ignore me."

"Oh you'd like that wouldn't you? So you have an opportunity to pull something on me, right?" Trumbeak grumbled.

"Jeez Louise, just shut up!" Scrafty groaned. "Just leave me the Hell alone!"

"Stop making yourself the victim here!"

"Well maybe stop making it so easy you freaking psycho!"

Little did the two girls know, someone was listening. Espeon perked his ears up, a smirk rising up as he listened in.

"Like seriously, do I know you or something?" Scrafty asked the glaring bird. "Like did I get your order wrong one time? Or something equally petty? Cause sorry, I guess? Otherwise, I don't get why you've been on my ass so much."

Trumbeak scoffed, "I just have standards-"

"No, stop with that vague crap!" Scrafty grumbled, her teeth gritting and her eyes looking strangely red along the edges. "I'm done! Fuck you, and fuck your superiority complex!"

Trumbeak, taken aback by the rather sudden shift in tone, pushed back on the log. "Uhhhhh…Why are you-"

"God, shut the fuck up already! I can't get your stupid voice out of my head!" Scrafty screamed, grabbing at the sides of her head as she began to breathe heavily. "So fucking sick of it! So annoying! And naggy! God, you're such a Karen!"

"A what-"

"I said shut up!" Scrafty roared. By this point, Trumbeak had noticed Scrafty's body was tensing up and her breathing had halted to a disturbing extent.

All the while, Espeon just listened in- those after a moment, he felt a pink flash fly across his eyes. "Wait…Future Sight?" He whispered.

He sat up, catching Trumbeak's eye. "Espeon? What are you doing up-"

"Duck!" Espeon called out.

Trumbeak, blinking, turned- and watched as, rolling into the clearing was a massive centipede, his body wrapped up in a large, armored rolling ball. Trumbeak screamed, flying out of the way as he sped past her.

But Scrafty wasn't so lucky, bearing the full brunt of force as Scolipede smashed into her body. She was laid out across the ground with a groan, as Scolipede kept rolling forward, unrolling and landing on his feet, as he glanced back and caught the Blastoise's eyes.

"Scolipede?" Arrokuda questioned, having awoken from the commotion.

"What are you doing here?" Drifblim complained.

Scolipede, though, just sent them a smirk and a nod, "Good luck, assholes! Seeya in the morning!"

And so, he took off into the forest. The Blastoise stared at where he had been, unsure what he meant- at least until they heard the growling.

They slowly looked up…And staring down at them was a crowd of angry Exeggutor.

Prodding at the newly lit campfire with a wooden stick, Samurott let out a heavy sigh as he took a look over his shelter. Considering the circumstances, it was…Fine. Still, he'd be lying if his underlying perfectionism wasn't bothering him a little bit. Grimacing to himself, Samurott began to prod at the flame more, just trying to pass the time till eventually exhaustion would cause him to give in to sleep.

"Echo!"

He flinched, glancing up to see Dubwool sitting on a rock, part of her laying on the rock with a smile as she laughed to herself. "'Ya know, I've always wanted to sleep in a cave! It's so…Primal. Real caveman vibes!"

Samurott didn't respond, focusing instead on laying out their bedrolls, made from grass he had gathered on his long walk. He arranged them side by side, then busied himself with maintaining the small fire. The crackle of the flames was a welcome sound, filling the silence that his wordless actions left behind.

Dubwool watched him, her eyes twinkling in the firelight. "You know, pal, you really should smile more. It's good for the soul."

He glanced at her, a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, but he quickly suppressed it. "And you should talk less," he replied, though there was no malice in his tone.

She laughed, a bright, ringing sound that filled the cave. "Nah, where's the fun in that?"

The fire crackled and popped, casting dancing shadows on the cave walls. Samurott settled onto his bedroll with a heavy sigh, stretching out his tired limbs. Dubwool, undeterred by his gruff demeanor, lay down beside him, her body close to his.

"Tomorrow's a big day," she said with a loud sigh, her earlier exuberance slowly feeling tempered by the quiet of the night, "tomorrow we gotta win this thing for our teams."

Samurott nodded, his eyes already half-closed. "Yeah, a long walk ahead of us."

Rather suddenly though, Samurott felt Dubwool shift closer, her head resting on his chest. He stiffened at first, unused to the abrupt intimacy, but then he relaxed, the warmth of her wool body seeping into his. She laid a hoof on his chest, feeling the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

"Night, bud," she whispered, her breath warm against his skin, her voice oddly…Sultry, in a way he did not expect after her prior behavior.

He mumbled a reply, his voice a low rumble. "Goodnight."

"Do not stop running!" Luxray screamed back at the rest of the Charizard as the team sprinted through the woods as fast as they could.

"Oh, real words of advice! Stopping was going to be my priority!" Gloom snapped, the weed beginning to slow down from exhaustion.

"Less fighting, more running, please!" Fletchinder spat as she fluttered ahead. "Who knows how far behind it is!"

Scolipede couldn't help but smirk as he strolled through the forest; because of him, the Blastoise would likely be distracted all night. Without any rest they'd be totally useless come morning, and all he and the rest of the Charizard would have to do is-

Where are they?

As soon as he reached the campsite, Scolipede was met with none of his team around. They were gone; everything was set-up, sure, but they weren't around.

"The fuck?" He questioned- before hearing growling behind him. He turned around…

Where the Alpha Ursaluna was staring down at him, a wide set of teeth and clawed fists at the ready.

"...Shit."

Within moments, the centipede's screams echoed across the island.

"Happy thoughts, bud, happy thoughts-" Arrokuda screamed to a flailing Cramorant, "wait no, look out!"

Just as he screamed this, the entire length of an Exeggutor's neck smashed into the lower body of Cramorant, sending the bird (and fish) flying back into a nearby tree.

The rest of the Blastoise weren't looking that much better; their entire impromptu campground was getting shaken to its core by their sudden attack.

With a pained scream, Drifblim hit the ground and let out a frustrated groan. "This is ridiculous! Why are these things so angry; what'd we even do?!" With a tug, he felt himself begin to get pulled away, screaming as it happened.

"It's not what we did that's the problem," Espeon screamed back, his eyes flashing pink as he tried to push back two Exeggutor at the same time with Psychic, but their own entranced abilities and focused grip managed to push forward in spite of his mental strength, "rather what Scolipede did!"

Trumbeak hollered as she was thrown forward, the bird grumbling, "Someone remind me to kill him when we get back-" she interrupted herself with a scream as an Exeggutor stepped forward, landing on top of her and crushing the poor bird.

Really, the only Blastoise who wasn't currently being terrorized was Scrafty, who was still unconscious, laying scattered across the ground. Though this changed as Lampent's body was thrown forward, smacking across her head. "Ow."

This seemed to wake Scrafty up. The fighting-type's eyes went wide, revealing them still to look bloody red, as she grit her teeth with rage. She could feel her mind spiraling with thoughts of pure hate, her mind flashing back to everything that day.

Letting out a roar no different than a bear's, Scrafty jumped to her feet! She stared up at the Exeggutor all around her, and without a second thought, jumped at one of them, grabbing it by the neck and biting down onto it! She started dragging it down, pulling it every which way-

Just as another face ran into the clearing. Absol, panting and screaming wildly, was saying, "Everyone, we need to hide! There's a serial killer with an ax and he wants me-"

Then she fell over herself, hitting the ground. Scrafty, pulling the Exeggutor forward, managed to make it trip over Absol, causing it to fall back-

And hit another Exeggutor, which hit another, and another, and so on! Little did Absol and Scrafty know, but they just caused a domino effect across the horde of walking trees, and the entire place was coming down with them.

The Falinks dipped the tips of their spears into the edge of the fire, watching the metal sizzle bright red, before snapping them together in unison with a cheer. They were preparing- if they were gonna loot those other camps before the end of the night, they needed to be prepared.

The tied up Venusaur, though…Well, they felt like shit. They had gotten beat up, hadn't eaten, and now, they were tied up, exhausted, low on movepools, so fighting back wasn't even full on the docket if their bodies weren't fully restricted.

Still, Salazzle was struggling in the ropes, trying to loosen them up…Not that it was working. She screamed and tried saying, "This is ridiculous!" And…Well, emphasis on trying. Her voice was coming out pretty muffled.

"Yes, keep trying, my dear, that'll go somewhere…" Noivern complained in a similarly muffled voice.

"At least I'm trying!" Salazzle spat in a muffled voice, "Unlike you…And her!" She growled, snapping her head to point-

At Typhlosion. Rather oddly for a knight of all people, she looked…Content. She wasn't even putting up a fight or trying to do…Anything. She was just smiling, staring up at the sky, as if already certain how this whole thing was gonna go. To say it was off putting would be an understatement.

"S-She's freaking me out…" Gengar muffled.

"Oh shut up! I'm so done with you being such a crybaby!" Salazzle muffled in return.

"I-It's not my fault! Today sucked for everyone!" Gengar muffled in defense.

"And yet you're the only one who made it his whole personality!" Salazzle muffled a scream.

"Hey, you," a Falinks spoke up, "shut up!"

Salazzle growled in return, pushing back against the tree as Cyclizar groaned. "Look, we're all on edge, but hey, it could be worse-"

"Oh you're hardly better, I am done with you too! All of you!" Salazzle muffled. "You're all a bunch of idiots!"

"How was I supposed to know there'd be these guys out here? I wasn't told about them!" Cyclizar defended.

"You sure seemed to not know the details of a lot of things," Noivern muffled in deadpan.

"I just wanna go home…" Gengar muffled.

"You can, idiot!" Salazzle muffled.

"Wha-"

"Dude…You're a fucking ghost!" Cyclizar muffled in annoyance.

Gengar blinked…Then looked around…And noticed his entire team glaring at him in mutual dislike.

Gengar was facepalming over and over and over again, "Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

"Not that it could do him much good anyway," Cyclizar muffled in admittance, "even if he got out, they'd notice and chase him-"

"Hey uh…Everyone…I'm here."

The team, and Falinks, turned…And saw Growlithe stepping up, dropping his mushrooms onto the ground and putting up his paws meekly. Oddly, his cheeks were puffed up, as if something was in them.

"Halt!" Falinks decreed. "Trespasser! Point at him in mutual aggression!" The Falinks did as they were told, pointing at the dog.

Oddly, Growlithe said nothing, his eyes darting around in worry, as if waiting for something.

His team looked mutually concerned, Noivern groaning out, "And our only possible source of rescue is getting himself captured…Great."

Salazzle deadpanned out, "Well, at least he might be able to burn a rope before he's pulled away." She turned to face Gengar-

And realized he was gone. "Oh that little-"

"Hmmmm," Typhlosion finally muttered, "good job, little one."

When her team gave her a look, they turned back to the Falinks, now moving in on Growlithe, as the leader commanded, "Get him, now!"

They were about to do so- but just as they got close enough.

"Now!"

And so, Growlithe let it loose- the mouthful of fire he had been keeping in his cheeks, exhaling it all over the ground and at the Falinks in front of him. The little soldiers screamed, a pair of them falling over in pain as they tried to put the fire out while the others backed up.

In the distraction, jumping out from the woods, Bisharp readied her claws. She prepared to strike at the rope with Cyclizar nearest-

Only for it to be deflected back by a spear coming in between, pushing her away. In her path was the larger leader, who mocked, "No way! It ain't gonna be that easy!" Bisharp growled, moving back in and commencing a sword fight with the soldier.

Watching the duel, Typhlosion turned her attention away and toward the forest, calling out, "Gengar, are you still there?"

After a moment, the ghost's face peeked out, his two massive eyes staring back at her in anxious worry. "W-What-"

"You need to make a run for camp; now!" Typhlosion spat.

"What?!" Noivern muffled in shock.

"If you get back to camp first, it might still count as us finishing," Typhlosion explained, "and it's only two miles out at worst. Go! Now! While you still can!"

Gengar, looking between her and the rest of the team, and the fight between Bisharp and Growlithe against the Falinks, weighed his options internally…

And proceeded to book it, screaming into the night as he flew as fast as he could.

"No!" Falinks screamed as the ghost fled, "Stop him-" Leaving him open to a punch to the face, knocking him over.

Bisharp moved in, slashing open the rope and freeing her team. Though just as she did so, she watched a pummeled Growlithe get thrown in front of them, the other five Falinks moving in.

"Ready yourselves!" Bisharp screamed, slashing her blades forward, before running in, the rest of her reluctant teammates behind her…

Morning dew came over the sightline of Camp Ivy early in the morning; the clouds had cleared away, giving into a beautiful sight of the camp, though damp with puddles from the rain, standing tall regardless in a feverish display of willpower.

And from it, Bidoof stepped out from his trailer, hot coffee in one hand, and a powered off tablet in the other. "Goooooooooooood morning, campers!" He called out…Then snickered, "Y'know, if there were any."

Setting up station at one of the tables dotting the campground, Bidoof started getting ready for the day to come while Armarouge walked up to him with a scowl. "Have a good night's sleep?"

"Yep, under my cashmere sheets and smooth cotton pillows," Bidoof smiled, ignoring the girl's clear defiance under his command, "thanks for asking."

"You know I meant that with spite!" She groaned, sitting down across from him at the same table and asking. "How is everyone? Are they okay? Please tell me they're okay!"

"Relax, jeez!" Bidoof grumbled, tapping at the tablet repeatedly, "I don't even have this stupid thing on yet!" It sparked to life. "There we go…And look at this…Seems we're opening the morning with a little bit of betrayal…"

Armarouge eyed the beaver warily, though curiosity got the better of her as she took time to check the screen as well.

The morning sky shined down into the cave, and thus Samurott's camp from above, his eyes flickering open as he let out a groan. Sitting up, he took a moment to scratch his head, before looking down to see how his temporary sitemate was doing-

She wasn't there.

Samurott flinched, before scanning the campsite…And Dubwool was completely gone.

…And so was everything!

Horror fell over him as he stood up in realization at what had befallen his camp. His supplies were all gone! His bag, his leftover rope, his food, all gone! He patted at his sides…And he growled; so were his seamitars!

"T-That…That little thief!" Samurott screamed to the winds!

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahaha!"

Dubwool lept over a hill and into view, bounding across the grass of the plains before her, a sack over her shoulder as she sprinted through the forest as fast as she could.

"Man! I can only imagine the look on that sucker's face when he wakes up and realizes he just got played for a fool!" Dubwool bragged, laughing to herself with a huge smile as she played with one of Samurott's seamitars. "Now, sure, do I feel bad for the guy? …Pfft! Nah! You kiddin'?! This is a competition! All's fair in love and war, and I don't know 'bout ya'll, but I play to win! And win I shall do!"

Waving at the camera, Dubwool shined it a smile. "Bye-bye, Samurott! Hopefully you ain't too mad when your team sends 'ya home tonight!"

"...No…No, I'm not going to lose because of her," Samurott growled, his sharp teeth on full display and his eyes filling with anger.

Looking all around, Samurott was desperate for something, anything to go off of! A hint as to where to go! What to do! How will he…Wait…

He found it. Hoovemarks, left by a certain sheep, leading into the forest…

Breathing heavily, Samurott clenched his claws, and let out a roar, the beastial call of the wild echoing through the trees with righteous fury. Jumping to a tree, he clawed into it as deep as he could, before pushing off, jumping from tree to tree.

As the last drops of rain hit the ground below, the Charizard trotted through the forest, their forms slumped and halfhearted. They hadn't gotten any sleep all night, and the Ursaluna had finally given up on chasing them…Maybe an hour ago. Possibly…It was hard to say really.

"Five bottles…Of beer on the wall," Sneasel yawned, "Five…Bottles of beer…"

"Take one down," the group lazily chorused, "pass it around…Four bottles of beer on the wall."

"Four bottles of beer on the wallllllll," Sneasel groaned, before slumping forward, "nope, I'm done. I'm dead, I don't care anymore, man…"

As he walked by, Druddigon grabbed onto Sneasel's leg, dragging her along the ground.

At the front of the group, Luxray leaned against a nearby tree, muttering, "Alright…Let's take a minute everyone."

The mere idea of a break helped the group to collapse in exhaustion. With everything in mind, it was hardly a shock they hadn't exactly taken the night very well.

Among them, Cranidos hit the ground face first; he was used to overworking his body, yet in the moment, the pain in his legs made work look cheap. "You know how some guys say they regret nothing…Well I do…Everything that led to this moment."

Gloom similarly was barely standing. Looking around, he called to Sneasel. "We got any of those damn bars left?"

Sneasel from the ground weakly pointed to Gabite, who was carrying what was left of the bag they had gotten. Not even bothering to respond, Gloom marched up and tore the bag open, pulling out the last granola bar inside and taking a sloppy bite.

"H-Hey…Don't eat the whole thing…" Luxray commanded. "Share it around…We all need some energy."

"Screw off!" Gloom spat, prepared to take another bite- though hers, along with the rest of the team's, unflinching stare, was enough to make him reconsider. "...Fine."

Luxray let out a sigh of relief, hanging her head and laying out a paw for it. Gloom handed it over…Though only after a moment. For just before he gave it to her, unknown to the poor lioness, he was dropping a little something on top of it…

Poison Powder.

And so when he handed it over and she took a bite, he couldn't help but smirk to himself cruelly.

"Don't get your panties in a twist; wasn't enough to rough the girl up too bad, but it'll knock her outta commission physically for the next day or two," Gloom stated, "wanted her off my back. I hate narcs like that…Maybe this'll teach her not to stick her nose where it doesn't belong."

Luxray handed off the bar to Druddigon after- and almost instantly felt a lump in her stomach. She clenched body, grumbling as she fell forward. "Dang…I must have really been starving…"

"The Hell happened to you guys?"

The team turned to see…Scolipede?! And somehow…He looked even worse for wear than them, on account of the multitude of bruises layering his body and face.

"Uh…We could probably ask you the same question, man," Sneasel pointed out from the ground.

"Where were you?" Druddigon asked.

Scolipede glanced around, then shrugged, "I went to get food and got lost. I went back to our campsite…And there was-"

"A bear?" Fletchinder finished. "We know."

"Yeah, I got away, but he got some good licks in," Scolipede groaned, cracking his back in annoyance, "nothing I can't walk off though. Anybody got the map?"

The team looked around at this, their faces landing on Gabite, who was the last one who had it on hand. The girl…Just looked sheepish.

"...I…Dropped it…"

Realization hit the group like a truck; Luxray facepalmed, Druddigon's mouth fell open in shock, Scolipede narrowed a glare, and Fletchinder looked outright pissed. The rest of the team just didn't have it in them to react.

"B-But I think I memorized it well enough!" She added. "R-Right, Fred?"

"Darn tootin', we did!" Fred exclaimed. "Just follow her, everyone!" Fred launched himself forward, dragging Gabite along with him into an artificial leadership role.

Scolipede threw up a brow, turning to Druddigon and Fletchinder. "Are we seriously letting puppet girl take the lead?"

"You got a better idea?" Fletchinder asked back.

And so, the Killer Charizard, no matter how reluctantly, ran after the dragon.

It had been a long…Exhausting fight. But there they lay, six Falinks knocked out on the ground, while the Venusaur were still left standing.

They hadn't gotten out spotless; they were covered in scrapes and bruises, and looked hardly well enough to handle themselves. Some were barely standing; in fact Noivern was hanging off Salazzle like she was a countertop.

"...That…Sucked," the lizard grumbled.

"...We can't waste time…We must leave…Now," Bisharp winced, pushing up and grabbing her arm.

"Are you crazy? Look at us!" Cyclizar pointed out. "We can barely move…What makes you-"

"Not. A. Word." Bisharp hissed. "You lead us into this encounter. You don't get to complain."

"I didn't know-"

"Silence!" She barked. The group went quiet. She harshly sighed. "We move…Now. No complaining. No fighting. If any of you backtalk me…I'll see that you deal with the consequences…"

She turned and started to walk, "Now move…"

The Venusaur exchanged glances, Growlithe looking on in worry as he stepped up. "Bisharp? Are you okay?"

She didn't respond. She just…Kept walking.

The dog lowered his head, though followed after her without another word. The rest soon followed, not having it in them to fight.

Though one figure looked on, not with acceptance, but rather frustration; Typhlosion. She shook her head, though followed soon after.

Typhlosion glared at the wall, clenching her sword tightly. "...It appears my expectations for Bisharp…Turned out unfounded…"

Groans and comparable sounds of misery echoed throughout much of what could have once been considered the Blastoise campground. Several trees were now lopsided or hanging off by their roots. Exeggutor lay scattered across the area, some crawling away or just plain knocked out. And rather appropriately, none of the players were in sight.

…At least until Trumbeak rose from a bush with a groan, cracking her back and calling out, "O-Okay…Role call!" She looked around. "Espeon?"

The pink psychic walked out from the woods, trying to cool a headache. "Here."

"Lampent? Drifblim?"

The lamp was hanging from a tree, vines wrapped all around them. Just beside them was Drifblim, who was much the same, but snoring. Lampent gave a thumbs-up. "Yep."

"Arrokuda? …And friend?"

Arrokuda was crawling out from a bush, dragging an unconscious Cramorant with him. "We're good…" He passed out immediately.

"Scrafty-" On cue, Scrafty fell out of the tree just above Trumbeak, landing on top of her. "...Nevermind."

The group reconvened in the center of camp…Including Absol, who was walking off her own injuries while awkwardly smiling. "Yay…We're all okay…Ow." She clenched her stomach.

Espeon eyed her, before shrugging. "Eh, probably some internal bleeding, but yeah, we're good."

"So…" Scrafty whispered. "What the heck do we do now? There's no way we can get back to camp on time."

Espeon rolled his eyes- until he felt them flash pink. He tilted a brow, slowly turning toward the forest on the edge of the clearing. After a moment, a smirk rose up. "Uh, guys-"

"Just give me a moment," Trumbeak grumbled, "I can think of something-"

"No, you can't," Drifblim interrupted, "we're lost with no map, got beat the Hell up with no sleep, and in case you and everyone else forgot, we still don't know where Samurott is-"

Then came to the rustling, the Blastoise all turning toward the forest in fear at the sound. It got louder, and louder. Slowly they assembled behind Drifblim, pushing the balloon forward. Moment after moment they just stared, waiting for whatever it was to come through.

The only one who didn't look even a little shocked was Espeon, his eyes still flashing pink with Future Sight. "Guys, we're good." He walked up to the edge of the bushes, pulling some back-

As Samurott burst through the bushes and into the clearing, momentarily scaring the team- until they realized who it was. "Samurott?" Drifblim questioned.

"You're alive!" Absol cheered, running forward and hugging the sea otter- then immediately backing up with a blush, patting his chest as she awkwardly giggled out, "Wow, you have some…Real muscle definition. Hehe…" Samurott tilted his head at her, the red glowing brighter and brighter as she slowly backed away with a smile.

"Where the heck were you?!" Trumbeak screamed. "Our night was horrid! We could have really used some help, you know!"

"Relax, oh wise leader of ours," Espeon deadpanned, nudging Samurott with a smirk, "something tells me he hardly had a good night himself."

Samurott eyed the psychic warily, who just winked in return.

"Damn, Samurott's a tough cookie," Espeon hummed, leaned back and looked over the images flashing before him as if they were a movie, "not a lot of people would have the willpower to keep going after that whole thing, especially out of spite. It's impressive."

After a moment, he watched the images dissipate, as new thoughts lingered in his mind instead, a slow, sinister smirk forging across his face. "I wonder what's going on in that head of his…"

"Well, whatever!" Trumbeak grumbled, "Either way, like he said," she pointed to a waving Drifblim, "I guess we're just screwed now, so we may as well just-"

"Follow me," Samurott grunted, taking off running.

"What?!" Trumbeak exclaimed, screaming out, "Hey, I was complaining!"

"Now!" Samurott roared back.

"You heard the man," Espeon shrugged, taking off after the sea otter, Absol, Cramorant, Lampent, and Scrafty doing as he said.

"Ughhhhhhhhhhhh, more running? Seriously?" Drifblim complained, Trumbeak sending him a glare.

Reluctantly though, the two took off after Samurott, who little did any of them know, was currently tracking his own scent markers all the way back to camp…

Sipping out of a newly made Pina Colada, Bidoof let out a sigh as he relaxed into his fold-out chair. Beside him, currently lighting up the campfire for tonight's elimination ceremony, was Armarouge, who was very carefully prodding at it to keep the newly lit flame alight to spread.

"Make sure that thing's nice and bright, 'kay?" Bidoof said. "We need to make sure the first ceremonies are a good one."

Armarouge, tending to fire, gave him a look, "Is there any reason I'm doing this, though?"

"Cause I don't have any assistant to do it for us," he shrugged.

"Yeah, because you made him part of the cast," she pointed out.

He shrugged, sipping on his drink again while turning toward the forest…Just as footsteps began to pile in from it. "Oooooh…We may just have our winners soon, Armarouge. Cause here they come now!"

And soon enough, they arrived…

In the form of a whimpering Gengar. "Help! Help!" He fell at Bidoof's feet, grabbing the beaver. "You gotta help them! T-They've been kidnapped!"

"Whoa there, calm down, man!" Bidoof grumbled. "The heck do mean by that?"

"M-My teammates, they…They…They're gone," he whined, falling to his knees, "they're probably all getting roasted over a flame as we speak-"

"Hold that thought, cause I can hear even more people coming this way!" Bidoof exclaimed, pointing toward the forest…

Just as Samurott and the rest of the Ferocious Blastoise came rushing through. With heavy breaths, the team caught themselves, looking about…And realized.

"The Ferocious Blastoise win the day!" Bidoof declared.

The eight players looked around…Then started to cheer. Uncharacteristic of the team, the seven players that had been stranded all night engulfed themselves in a massive group hug, the only one excluded being Samurott, who stomped forward with a glare.

"Where is she?" He growled, "Dubwool!"

"Right 'ova here, hon!"

The Blastoise looked over to the right…And there was Dubwool, a pair of seamitars at her side, a berry in her mouth, and sunglasses over her eyes, as she laid out on a chair of her own.

"Oh yeah, she got here like an hour ago," Bidoof confirmed.

Though Samurott wasn't focused on that, walking up to Dubwool, growling through clenched teeth. "My gear. Now!"

"Sorry to say doll, but I either lost, or ate, most of it." Dubwool casually explained with a smile, though kicked his seamitar over to him. "But hey, you still got these. Good game, sugar!"

Twitching in anger, Samurott was about to say something, only for Bidoof to interrupt once more. "Anyway, good job, Blastoise; no elimination for you guys tonight."

A relieved sigh rang through the team again…Until Trumbeak said, "No need to thank me, everyone. I was just doing what I'm good at."

And like that, celebration turned to discontent. They all turned glares on her…Before Scrafty pushed the bird over.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we won and all," Scrafty started, before narrowing a glare, "but if I got to send Trumbeak home tonight…That'd be just the shot of dopamine I'd have loved."

"We won. Neat." Lampent shrugged. "I wasn't really worried. Had a feeling it wouldn't make too much sense for us to lose when our dynamics have only begun to be established and hadn't reached their natural conclusions yet. Still, pretty cool."

"And do my ears deceive me?" Bidoof brought up a hand. "I hear even more of you coming. And based on the sounds, it's gonna be close!"

The Blastoise turned toward the forest, awaiting whoever came through…

And just like that, piling in from the forest from two separate paths were the Charizard and the Venusaur, both teams looking absolutely exhausted and battered after the night of Hell they went through. As they all began to catch their breath, however, they turned to see their enemies beside them, as both teams were left clueless as to who won.

Though, to the observant eyes of Bidoof, the choice was clear, as one team had entered mere moments prior to the other.

And that team was…

…

"And the Killer Charizard take second place, securing your own invincibility from the challenge!" Bidoof exclaimed.

The Charizard broke out into cheers, the group instantly crowding around each other in celebration.

Unfortunately, the Venusaur were the exact opposite. Bisharp in particular looked seething. "...Unacceptable," she hissed to herself, something which didn't go unnoticed by Typhlosion.

"Screaming Venusaur...Sorry to say, but it stinks to be you right now! I'll be seeing your sorry butts here tonight, where you'll be sending one of your own home…Sorry, not sorry!"

"Wait, but…Both Dubwool and Gengar got here before the other teams!" Salazzle pointed out. "How did we lose?"

"Because you needed your entire team in order to finish," Bidoof clarified, "duh!"

"You never said that; you're making up the rules as you go!" Cyclizar pointed out.

"Complain all you want, kids, but that doesn't change the final result," Bidoof shrugged.

"No…But this might," Armarouge began, stomping up to the Charizard- and prying Scolipede out of the pile.

"Hey, watch it!" He said in defiance.

"Scolipede, I accuse you of stealing my map of the island, and using it to lead your team back to camp!" Armarouge accused.

The other teams gasped, while the Charizard awkwardly flinched back. Scolipede, however, looked apathetic. "Yeah, so?"

"So…? SO?!" Armarouge screamed in dissatisfaction. "That's all you have to say?"

He shrugged. "Wasn't any rules against it."

"Wait, that's not all," Espeon stepped forward, pointing out, "he also led some Exeggutor to our camp."

"Yeah, that's right!" Trumbeak nodded, "He almost got us all killed. That's sabotage!"

Another gasp, and again, Scolipede looked apathetic. Armarouge got in his face nonetheless, saying, "Oh, so that's two infractions with additional witnesses? That's enough."

The Venusaur looked up in hope, watching as Armarouge turned to Bidoof. "The Charizard are officially disqualified-"

"No, they're not." Bidoof clarified.

"...What?" Armarouge whispered, Scolipede throwing on a smirk in the process.

"Yeah, sorry to ruin your hope, kiddies, but I never said a thing about not being allowed to steal, or sabotage the other teams," Bidoof shrugged.

"But…But that's cause that should be obvious! …Shouldn't it?" Armarouge asked.

"Anything I don't say is against the rules, isn't against the rules. Simple as that," Bidoof smirked, "as they say; all is fair in love and war."

"B-But…But…But…" Armarouge whimpered. "W-Wait, so…That means…"

"I get off scot-free," Scolipede answered, snickering. He nudged her, "But hey, good job trying, doll."

Armarouge's face lit up at this, turning to him, looking ready to strangle the man. She stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, turning her head to see the friendly smile of the host, "Before you attempt murder, quick reminder that this is being filmed."

Armarouge still looked conflicted, wanting to fight for what was right here-

"Don't…It's…It's okay," a voice stated…In the form of Bisharp. "...He's right. Under the rules we were given, we lost. I accept it."

"She does not speak for all of us!" Noivern stated for the record.

"Well, either way; the Blastoise and Charizard are safe," Bidoof shrugged, "so…Seeya tonight, Venusaur!" He snapped a finger. "Don't keep me waiting."

And so…The cast dispersed, ready to go about the rest of their day. All that was left behind was Armarouge, still stunned…

And of course- a smirking Scolipede. Armarouge looked him over; he didn't seem the least bit surprised by this turn of events.

Eventually, Armarouge asked, "So…Was this part of your plan? Help your team to win, try to screw another over, because you just…Thought you'd get away with it?"

He hummed in thought…Then shrugged with a smile, "Yeah, more or less. I mean, come on, I was presented the opportunity, may as well use it right?"

"...How'd you know you'd get away with it?" She asked.

"Cause it's good television," Scolipede explained away, "this is a crappy, low budget game show that plans to use drama to get people's attention. I played the villain, so now they can have people root against me. Any good show would do that."

"...So…You used me for your own gain then," Armarouge muttered, "stole my map, used my sympathy to distract me, then let me make a fool of myself on national television, just to…What? Humiliate me?"

Scolipede, slightly taken aback though he was, denied nothing. "Sorry, but it is how it is. I realized you were the good cop to Bidoof's bad cop, and just seemed to know less about what you were doing. Frankly…You were just the easy option."

Armarouge breathed in…Then hung her head. "...Yeah…You're right. It was…Foolish on my part to think I just head into my first few days as host without someone trying to take advantage of me."

"Yeah, see, you came out of this having learned something," Scolipede snickered, turning to leave, "so call this a win-win or whatever-"

But he was stopped, the girl grabbing him and pulling him close, her hardened glare staring him in the eyes, "But let me make this clear…Today was the exception, not the rule…You will never have an easier day on this island than what you had today. From here on out, I've got my eye on you like a hawk."

Scolipede blinked, then scoffed, returning the glare, "Please, you don't scare me. You're just like everyone else out here; nothing but talk. And you're still just Bidoof's patsy. Nothing more."

She pulled him closer, "Assume anything about me, and you're in for a world of disappointment."

He leaned in, "Then game on, Red. Cause I'm winning this game, and you ain't stopping me with fancy words."

The two stared each other down, eyes locked into internal warfare…Still Armarouge let go, pushing the centipede back with a huff, before stomping right past him. Looking over her as she left, Scolipede scoffed as well, before following after.

This fight of theirs could continue…Another day…

…And then out came the Falinks! All six of them, weapons at the ready…And there was nobody there. They just looked around in confusion.

"Howdy there, strangers!"

They turned around, and walking out of the forest, several logs of wood on his shoulder which he carried effortlessly, was Palafin, big metallic ax in the other hand.

"Oh uh…Hey?" The Falinks questioned.

"Are you the new interns?" Paladin questioned with a great big smile. "I could use some help carrying back this wood!"

"...In…Terns?" The Falinks looked at each other.

"Great!" He laughed. "Hold this for me would you?"

"What-" The Falinks' eyes all went wide. "Wait, no-" And then the log crushed them.

Back at the main lodge, the contestants were being treated to dinner, their first real meal in just under two days. The Blastoise and Charizard were happily celebrating their victory with small talk and the like over at their tables. But at the Venusaur table…It was a whole other story. Largely just awkward silence and a feeling of failure lingering over them all.

Eventually, someone broke the silence in the form of Noivern. "So…Why aren't we talking exactly?"

"Because…Nobody wants to acknowledge the reality here," Cyclizar affirmed, "we're kicking someone off tonight. It's a big deal."

"Well, that should be obvious then," Salazzle shrugged, "I mean, you were a pretty crappy guide."

"What- I tried my best!" He defended.

"And failed, so I guess your best isn't that important going forward," Noivern sniped, him and Salazzle sharing a laugh.

"Well, at least I'm not scared of literally everything, including myself," Cyclizar pointed out, glaring at Gengar.

Gengar was gonna defend himself…Then gave up mid-sentence. "Fair enough."

"Hey, at least he stuck with the team though," Salazzle turned a glare on Dubwool.

"Oh, oh, you wanna start something, city girl?!" Dubwool growled.

"Guys, please…Can we not do this here?" Growlithe sighed. "I really don't wanna think about this."

"Well, sorry pup, but this is how the game is played," Noivern shrugged, "something you don't seem to understand."

Growlithe flinched, though didn't offer a retort. And oddly…Bisharp nodded in agreement, though to whom it was hard to gauge.

"For my input, I say that is quite enough!" Typhlosion stood up, declaring, "It's most cruel to try and dogpile on one another here and now. At this point, I believe the choice is simple; we simply let the votes fall where they must come tonight."

The Screaming Venusaur exchanged glances…Though eventually seemed to find agreement. They stood up and began to leave the table, piling out of the lodge one by one.

Though on their way out, Bisharp stated, "Wait…You three, hold it."

At the door, the likes of Gengar, Noivern, and Salazzle glanced back, the soldier turning to them. "I'd like a word with you…"

"Oooooh, some peeps are in trouble," Dubwool laughed, passing the three as she headed out, leaving them to groan at the leader's demand.

Growlithe and Typhlosion walked side by side as they left the lodge. The former was looking down at the ground, conflicted and unsure what to do.

"Growlithe?"

He looked up, forcing a smile. "Huh…O-Oh, yeah?"

"...I hope you do not think less of me for saying this, but I wasn't fully truthful back at the meeting," she explained.

"Oh…Yeah?" He wondered. He leaned up. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is I know who I'm voting for tonight, and I want you to vote with me," Typhlosion clarified, setting a hand on his shoulder.

"Okay, um…Maybe?" Growlithe tilted his head. "Who were you thinking?"

"Bisharp."

That answer snapped through the dog like an arrow. "...Oh."

"There's a darkness in her, Growlithe- one I'd rather do without," she explained simply, "I won't force you to vote with me, but I'd like your allegiance for the time being."

"...Can I think about it?"

"Do as you will," she nodded, giving a quick bow and walking away.

And so, Growlithe was alone. He took the moment to breathe in. He didn't think it'd be so hard this soon…

Day skipped ahead into night, as the sun began to set on the horizon, giving away to darkness across the campground. Only one area remained lit up; the campfire pit. And seated at each of the stumps…Was the Screaming Venusaur. Their expressions read as tired, and their postures were sloppy. None of them wanted to be there, but they had come together to deal unto one of their own the greatest sacrifice they could make.

In front of the group was Bidoof, who sent the cast another award-winning smile. "Screaming Venusaur…In my hands…Are a plate of Pokéblocks." As he held the plate up high (or as high as it could go with how short he was), it revealed that indeed, on said plate were roughly seven, rainbow colored cubes. "At home, Pokéblocks are a tasty treat…Here, they're the only way you stay in the game."

"You've all already cast your votes in the confessional; your decisions are final. We only have seven Pokéblocks here…And there are eight of you. As I call your name, come up and claim what's rightfully yours." Bidoof explained, a serious look on his face. "And…In the end…Whichever one of you does not receive a Pokéblock, will have to head down the dock of shame, board the loser boat, and leave Total Drama Island…Forever! Which, in case it ain't obvious…Means you're out of the game."

The Venusaur exchanged glances. One of them was leaving tonight…

Cyclizar was now in front of a voting box. It had a simple layout; a paper in front of him, and a pen to his right. He picked it up…And wrote down a name.

He revealed it, which read Noivern. "I'd apologize…But you've kinda been a dick all day so," he shrugged, "you gotta work on yourself, man."

Dubwool tapped her chin onto the wall…Then shrugged, grabbing the pen in front of her with her teeth and scribbling a name. "Frankly, I don't care who goes as long as it ain't me. With that said, later alligator!" She laughed…Then hummed. "Guess you ain't actually a gator, but eh, still a lizard."

Typhlosion held the name Bisharp aloft. "You have a strange, twisting energy surrounding yourself. One I wish not to deal with, nor tolerate, any further. I can see potential in you, but such novel concepts are locked behind impenetrable walls of ego, which I shall have none of."

She placed the vote inside. "Goodbye. I hope you find what ales you so…"

Growlithe looked conflict, eyes darting back and forth from paper to pen. He breathed in…Then grabbed the pen.

The Venusaur were firmly on the edge of their seats now, as Bidoof chuckled to himself. "So…Let's get this started," picking up a Pokéblock, he held it high, "the first block of the night goes to…" He waved it around in the air. "...Typhlosion."

The knight smiled knowingly at this, getting up from his chair and swiping one of the blocks off the plate. "...Cyclizar." The dragon huffed at this, though just as look let out a sigh of relief.

"...Gengar." The ghost meekly approached the plate with a bit of reluctance. "Dubwool." The sheep bounced up, spearing hers on her horn and letting out a laugh. "And…Salazzle."

As the lizard stepped up to the plate, there were only three players yet to receive their Pokéblocks; Growlithe, who nervously looked around with an anxious look on his face, Noivern, who was smirking knowingly, and Bisharp, who looked…Oddly nonchalant considering the circumstances.

"Campers…As a reminder, the person who got the most votes will be heading home. As such…The penultimate Pokéblock goes to…"

…

"Noivern." The bat chuckled, strutting up and taking his Pokéblock in his hands with a smirk on his face.

"...Campers, this is the last Pokéblock of the night," Bidoof explained to the bottom two; Bisharp and Growlithe.

The dog glanced over to the soldier, hanging his head and letting out a sigh…

Growlithe finally found his nerves…And wrote down his own name. "I'm sorry, Typhlosion, but I'm not voting for Bisharp. I don't think she's a bad person. I think she's just…Stressed. Personally, I'd rather sit this out and not throw anyone under the bus this soon."

He smiled, "Besides, I don't want to feel cocky or anything, but…I don't think anyone else is gonna vote for me."

Growlithe offered Bisharp a smile. "Bisharp…Whatever happens tonight, I'm glad I got the chance to meet you."

Unfortunately, she didn't return this favor. Instead, she just…Glared at him, then reaffirmed herself into a strong, confident stance. He blinked in mild alarm, slowly turning back to the front.

"The final block goes to…"

…

"...Bisharp."

The block got thrown out, and Bisharp caught it. As soon as she stood up, she left a shocked Growlithe in her wake. And he wasn't the only one; Cyclizar and Typhlosion also looked noticeably surprised, exchanging glances. Dubwool herself looked mildly perturbed but seemed to shrug it off quickly.

However, Noivern, Salazzle, and even Gengar didn't look confused in the slightest.

"I…Wait…What?" Growlithe whispered, "But…Why me?"

Bisharp's eyes narrowed in, locked onto the dog in disgust.

"Wait…Seriously?" Noivern asked incredulously. "You want him gone?"

"Yeah, that's…A little weird, considering he's been one of your literal lapdogs all day?" Salazzle questioned in suspicion.

"I don't care how this comes across, I'm merely echoing the truth," Bisharp confirmed, "I will be voting Growlithe tonight."

"Okay but…Why?" Noivern questioned. Salazzle and Gengar looked equally confused.

"Simple; the three of you are garbage," Bisharp began, "completely useless in challenges, incapable of being worked with, and generally far larger nuisances than not."

"You'd be a great public speaker, y'know that?" Salazzle rolled her eyes. Though, while she and Noivern didn't look too bothered…

Gengar did. Not that he'd admit as much out loud.

"But I can deal with someone's poor performance; I can shape that into something better. Worthwhile." Bisharp leaned in. "But Growlithe has something I can't tolerate; he has no spirit. Winning is not his priority, and that will have no place on my team." She looked over the three. "I can at least see that you lot want that much."

Noivern shrugged. "Guilty as charged. Still…Why should we believe you?" He threw up his arms. "Don't get me wrong, I will gladly write down the pup's name. Just a bit of a strange ask so unprompted."

"Believe me or not, doesn't matter. But rest assured, you know my vote tonight…Which is likely better than anyone else," Bisharp got up from her seat, "just keep that in mind."

She stalked away, not bothering to defend her case further. Noivern and Salazzle exchanged glances, and with shrugs of their own, took their leave as well.

"Sorry Growlithe, but with four votes, your game is over," Bidoof confirmed, "it's time for you to go."

The dog looked around, his voice wavering a moment…Then he gave up on trying to say something. And instead, he got up, turned…And left. Proceeding down the dock of shame.

"Hmmm…Four votes…" Bisharp hummed, turning to some of her team. "Good job."

Noivern and Salazzle didn't look that beat up about it; to them, it was just a vote. Yet oddly, Gengar looked…Conflicted. Still, he nodded, "Yeah…"

Gengar held up his vote…Bisharp. "...All day I've felt so much…Worse for who I am. Even when I did what Typhlosion said and ran ahead, it feels like that didn't stick with anyone. It didn't stick with Bisharp…"

He sighed. "I…I want to get better…I really do…I don't think you actually believe that though." He glared to himself. "You just wanted a vote."

Growlithe was now walking down the dock, ever approaching the edge of the dock of shame, where just in front of him lay an old, worn-out boat. He breathed in, then stepped forward.

Growlithe sighed. "...I don't regret coming out here. I think this was a cool experience. I met some nice people. I got to explore…I…I'm glad I got to play…I…"

He flinched, breathing heavily and shaking, "I…I…"

"...I don't wanna go," Growlithe muttered, just as the boat took off from shore, sailing into the vast blue ocean before him.

Goodbye, Growlithe. 23 left to go!

"Ughhhh…" Luxray groaned as the cabin doors were thrown open. She was currently in Druddigon's arms, getting carried over to her bed. "D-Druddigon, I'm fine…"

"No, you're not," he replied with a shake of his head, "you look really sick. You need some rest."

"Druddigon, its just starvation symptoms; I'm fine now that I ate dinner," she said as she was laid down onto her bunk.

"Maybe, but just in case, try to get a little sleep, alright?" Druddigon replied.

"...Fine," she grumbled, wrapping herself in her blanket, "you're lucky this feels nice."

He managed a chuckle. "Yeah, I know I am." He got up and began to walk about. "Have a good night, Luxray."

"Night."

Druddigon closed the door behind him faintly, making absolutely sure he didn't make a sound. As soon as he was sure he was in the clear, he began to walk away-

"Wow, Druddigon…You're so sweet."

Oh no.

He slowly turned around, and sure enough, there was Fletchinder, on top of the roof, letting out a sweet sigh. "It's so dreamy of you to be so kind to a young lady like that~"

"...Uh huh," Druddigon groaned, trying to walk away.

A plan which was foiled as Fletchinder fluttered in front of him. "So, where are you going? Gonna try and get some more chow. Just going for a walk." She leaned in with a smile. "Going to the beach."

Druddigon facepalmed, shaking his head and saying, "Fletch, I have something to tell you-"

"You don't need to say anything else, Drudi-bear!" She cooed, going in for a hug, "Of course I'll be-"

"I'm gay."

Fletchinder froze. "...Wha?"

"I'm gay. I'm into dudes," Druddigon explained, "so…yeah. Sorry."

"...Oh…" Fletchinder hung her head.

"Yeah…Look, it's not your fault or anything, it's just…How I am," he muttered, "I'm flattered but…yeah, that's not gonna work out."

Fletchinder…Oddly perked up. "Oh, you don't have to say it like that. It's not a big deal."

Okay now he looked confused. "Huh?"

"Yeah; you're gay, that's fine. You don't have to apologize to me for it!" She laughed, "But thank you for telling me, I'm sure that's never fun."

"O-Oh…Well…Thanks for taking it well?" He added, now both confused and oddly happy at the same time.

"Anyway, I'mma head to bed!" Fletchinder smiled, before flying away. "Night, Druddigon."

"...Uh…Yeah…Night?" He said…Then hummed. "Wow, that went…Pretty well." He laughed. "Man, I really got in my own head about-"

"Druddigon."

The dragon yelped, turning around…Where he saw staring up at him was Gloom. The weed was sipping off a flask, as he smirked up at the dragon.

"We need to talk."

Elimination Results

Growlithe- 4 votes. (Bisharp, Growlithe, Noivern, Salazzle)

Bisharp- 2 votes. (Gengar, Typhlosion)

Noivern- 1 vote. (Cyclizar)

Salazzle- 1 vote. (Dubwool)

Cast Reminder

Ferocious Blastoise: Absol, Arrokuda (and Cramorant), Drifblim, Espeon, Lampent, Samurott, Scrafty, Trumbeak.

Killer Charizard: Cranidos, Druddigon, Fletchinder, Gabite, Gloom, Luxray, Scolipede, Sneasel.

Screaming Venusaur: Bisharp, Cyclizar, Dubwool, Gengar, Noivern, Salazzle, Typhlosion.

Elimination Order

Growlithe - (24th place)

Author's Note

So I thought it'd be fun if, whenever I finish up an episode of TPReboot, I come into here and I break down my writing formula a little bit. Explain the logic behind the decisions I made, how storylines developed through different drafts, and really anything else I can think of that might be worth elaborating on or explaining in greater detail. I like to think, if I do this well, then maybe this could be considered useful for other writers. Giving them a look into my world and why I did what I did. I am not and never will be an authority on writing whatsoever, but I like to think this can still be useful, especially for those with less experience, or in different ways, learning to NOT do what you might've not been a fan of.

Firstly...Jesus, the word count. So yeah, this was one of those things where I kinda knew already this wasn't going to be a short chapter. With 24 contestants and the story's emphasis on an ensemble cast (The plot and its narrative don't revolve around a single, "most important" main character. Instead, it shares a cast of characters with almost equal screentime and importance to the plot.), this was going to be a big boy. Still what was originally envisioned as somewhere in the 25K mark ended up getting an additional 12K on top of it...Essentially entirely by requirement. I realized with the stories I wanted to introduce simply needed more time than they'd initially have had, so it kinda just kept growing and growing until it kinda became its own beast. If you notice, most of the cast have decent screentime and this is what you can blame on why; the biggest exceptions are Arrokuda and Cranidos, and even then I still think they got enough for someone to get who they were on a slightly deeper level than the first episode.

As for why this was a decision I made, the honest truth is I think people tend to forget that the second episode is arguably just as important as the first. While the first episode has a reputation for being samey or boring or repetitive in our little inner circles of TPI creation, the same can't be said for episode two simply because they have challenges more consistently. But a big thing to remember is they serve the same goal; introducing an audience of readers to a cast of characters they're going to be stuck with for an extended period of time. The difference is where the first episode is essentially introducing their trope, the second episode is a lot more showing off why they're part of the final cast. I think an OSP comparison could help here; in the first episode, you're supposed to ask, "what is this character's deal", and the second episode is explaining their deal on a greater level. It further establishes their hidden depths and gives you a little look into who they are without necessarily stating outright why they act that way. The second episode's intention is to get you invested, essentially, and the reason people flounder out the gate and sometimes just give up at the second episode is because this is usually where it finally hits them just how massive of a workload and commitment a Total Drama-styled story actually is if you're trying to make it anything more than a joke.

Well, since I alluded to it, I guess I may as well explain the challenge a bit. And thankfully this is on the simpler side. Of the entire original version of Reboot, I'm content in calling the original camping episode the worst of the lot. And my reasoning is fairly simple and to the point; I think it did a bad job of actually exploring the characters. Just outright, a bad, bad job. Sure there's conversations, but in terms of learning more about any of them compared to what the first episode explained, the only ones who really got elaborated on were the original first boot and the person who got them out, which is so lame when I had so many characters to work with. So I wanted to redo it, in large part because...Well, I love camping episodes. While I myself hardly enjoy going outside more than I have to, seeing it as a setting for a story is a whole different can of worms to me. It really can be used to establish what a character's values are. Also its just a fun place to throw a bunch of random shit at someone and see how they react. And of course, the story takes place at a campground, this kinda has to be an early chapter or else...Well, what's even the point of the camp setting otherwise. I wish I could go into greater detail...But to be honest, I think it sorta speaks for itself, or I like to think it does.

Now, really quick, I wanna dive into the teams. This is actually one of the aspects of the story I didn't do on my own; huge shout out to my pal, Trick, for helping me shuffle these together into their current form. In my opinion, these are about as good of teams as you can possibly, realistically get. I don't really wanna dive too deep into them at the moment, but while writing these teams actually kind of evolved into their own, individual themes that I'd love to potentially hear theories or the like on. Just as advice for anyone who wants to make their own TPI and struggles with team building, my recommendation is start with one character then build from there. It's a simple, kinda boring tip but it tends to help round out the important dynamics where they matter most. I like to think that showed in how each of the teams went about handling the challenge, namely the key differences and similarities between them where it really counted.

With all that in mind...I think you can see why picking out a first boot from this cast was a little rough to say the least. Or at least, it feels rough on the surface. Unlike most other types stories, where you naturally build up casts of characters with time and develop the dynamics through that, here you introduce them all at the start and have to begin whittling them down. As a natural consequence though, you obviously have to cut off some stories, at least in their current state, earlier than others. This can be a tall order, especially if you're the type to get really emotionally connected to a character, which is really hard not to do when you're the one writing them. I say all this because I kinda wanna ease out just how difficult this was...Or...How difficult I want it to appear...

Because here's the harsh truth; Growlithe was always gonna be the first boot. I've known that ever since I started writing the first episode. This seemed to catch a lot of people off guard, either because they genuinely liked him or at the very least expected him to get a lot more focus going forward. On one hand, this was totally intentional, Growlithe is the type of character who tends to get far in these. On the other hand, the real reason he got out has nothing to do with shock value and everything to do with pragmatism. Everything Growlithe can do, someone else in the cast can also do, and when you're trimming the fat, you naturally wanna target the repetition more, no matter how minor. But also...Growlithe was the nicest person on the Venusaur, a team brimming with a lot of tension. Eliminating him, via what should be the team's leader essentially making a call nonetheless, for entirely selfish reasons, is a huge hit to the gut and naturally establishes both how cutthroat this game is, and the kind of story going on from here on out. Growlithe is a sweetheart who did everything right and yet got picked off because he said the wrong thing to the wrong person, and anybody who watches these shows knows that's a death blow you can't come back from. I like to think I established well Growlithe was going; there was a lot of foreshadowing about it not just in this episode, but the previous one too, which I hope would come across on another readthrough.

Personally, I really liked Growlithe. It's weird to say but writing the dude feels...Sincere, in a kinda dorky way. He's brimming with a very genuine curiosity for all sorts of things that happen to be wrapped up in travel. He's very good at hiking and camping and planning ahead because of course he would, he loves to see every part of the world, why wouldn't this be right in his wheelhouse! Basically everything that Growlithe does is this big extension of his own hyperfixation and I think that makes him inherently charming and kind of relatable. He's a very cute character, and I feel a welcome presence in a cast that's largely pretty snarky and down to earth. In a way I think this makes his elimination more tragic because genuinely speaking, the dude didn't deserve it. If you were shocked, frustrated, disappointed, or Hell even annoyed by him getting completely screwed over the way you did, imagine how he feels. I think everyone either knows or has known a Growlithe, it's part of the appeal, and part of why losing him is intended to hurt. I really hope his last words hit for some people because I really wanted to hit own that blunt, almost unfair introspection vibe.

But yeah, that's Episode 2. I don't think it's anything special, and it doesn't have to be. I kinda saw this as an extension to the first episode more than anything, and where I wanted it to work, it seemed to do as much for those who read it. Its not perfect; personally I still think it ran a bit long and some character probably took hits where others didn't simply as a result of the sheer gargantuan size of this cast. But I truly and very genuinely enjoyed the writing process for this one. I feel I did a lot better on my second try with the camping challenge than my first, which while not a huge bar to clear, is a meaningful one for me as someone rewriting this thing. What I will say is I'm super excited for episode #3, and I hope you all are too, cause we're just getting started.