HEEELLLO! New chapter time! It's going… to be… well, a SHOCK! But enjoy!

It was a sunny day on the currently unnamed island. Magcargo hummed to himself as he took a walk on the beach, preparing himself for the day. While he didn't expect to be in a winning streak, he wasn't going to waste this chance to relax and unwind.

Magcargo's eyes gazed at the water, searching for any fascinating cryptids that might pop up, "It's such a nice day today…" He stopped crawling, smiling warmly without any worry. The challenges… were very physical so Magcargo wanted to forget about how he could barely help them.

He slowly squinted as bubbles began to form in the water, "Holy Arceus, is it a Manaphy?! I didn't know their mating season happened this time of the year… maybe, I should tell Magearna about this. I mean, she should be friends with all of the Legends and the Mythical Pokemon, right?!" He gasped as something seemed to be emerging from the water. It was a purplish hue. "OMIGOSH! IT'S H-"

He froze as the figure that emerged from the water ended up to just be Sableye, who looked to be out of breath from being underwater too long, "O-oh, it's just another person on the other team. This is the worst moment to not memorize the entire National Pokedex because I literally don't know who he is… wait…" He paused, gasping in realization, "Shouldn't I be helping him?!"

He quickly crawled over the water's edge… or well, in his case, 'slowly' since Magcargo weren't known to be agile creatures. He groaned as he could do nothing but watch as Sableye struggled to stay afloat. "Don't drown! Drowning is deadly, and while I think it would be interesting to have the first contestant casualty on this show, it is inhumane and really really scary, in hindsight and doh, I should be focusing on crawling faster than talking, r-"

"AAAAAAAH!" Sableye yelled at the top of his lungs, waving his arms around… only to blink as a life preserver was tossed onto him from a close distance… before continuing to yell, "AHHHH, I'm being eaten by a donut!"

"That's a life preserver! Grab on it!" Chansey came into view, walking over to the beach from the opposite direction of Magcargo, nearly out of breath. "You shouldn't have went swimming if you knew this was going to happen, Sableye…"'

Sableye let out a loud groan as he struggled to swim to shore, grabbing onto the life preserver Chansey threw at him, "I got a sudden stomach ache, hehe…"

"Well… you're lucky I was at the right place at the ri-" Chansey started only to turn to Magcargo's direction in realization. "Oh wait, you're also here! Hello! You're on the other team, right?"

"Uhhmm… I am…" Magcargo eyed the nurse with a casual smirk. "I was going to help your teammates over there…" His eyes darted over to the now-beached Sableye, who was lying on the sand to rest. "But you know… Magcargo struggles are real. I'm not exactly the fastest Pokemon out here."

Chansey nodded at this, "I understand. I appreciate the sentiment, given that well… you're on the other team. So, it's a bit unprecedented that you're claiming that you're not going to take advantage of Sableye getting himself hurt… on that note…" She turned to Sableye with a stern look, "Sableye, you have to be more careful next time… have you eaten recently?"

Sableye groaned, barely able to mutter out, "Only… had… Indeedee's secret stew… to eat… it was dry…"

"Dry soup? Made by Indeedee! That sounds delicious!" Magcargo commented, surprising the two members of the Shuppet. He cocked a brow in confusion, "What?! His dishes are really chewy and have an exotic taste! It reminds me of the cafeteria food back home. Ah, the memories! Don't tell me you guys don't feel the same?!"

"Well… I have vague memories…" Chansey answered with a sheepish expression. "They weren't good memories…"

"Urp… cafeteria food gave me indigestion once… and they got mad at me for eating from the trash…" Sableye admitted, struggling to sit up.

Magcargo blinked in confusion, "W-wait?! You eat from the trash?! Why though..?"

"You can't let good food go to waste!" Sableye answered with a weak grin before breaking into a coughing fit, "But maybe, in retrospect… it was a bad idea… yep, totally regret it… though…" He put a hand to his chin thoughtfully, "Since Indeedee's food is already being called trash, wouldn't it not change much if I eat it directly from the trash, hehe..?"

Chansey and Magcargo both exchanged a concerned look, with the nurse walking over to the gremlin, to put a hand on his shoulder, "Sableye… trash is not for eating… I know you're a ghost type but you should be more mindful of your own health, unless you want to die twice…"

Sableye gaped at this, before sighing quietly, "I didn't even know I already died… shucks… but I'll be more careful, Chansey…"

"No problem!" Chansey intoned, making a cheerful face.

"Wow, you're really reliable like Oricorio, our leader!" Magcargo exclaimed, impressed. "I guess being a nurse means you're really really calm under pressure and know what to do, in times like this! This must be why Vanilluxe kept talking about you after you patched him after the first challenge!"

Chansey blushed in embarrassment, twiddling her fingers awkwardly, "W-what?! I-I don't…"

"I mean… you somehow have a life preserver coincidentally as if you knew Sableye was about to drown!" Magcargo pointed out with a gasp. "Do you… perhaps… have E.S.P.?!"

"W-what?! I don't believe s-so…" Chansey answered, grabbing a hold of her small bag hanging around her waist. "I h-have my bag, which has things for emergencies like this, including an inflatable life preserver… you never know…"

"Wow! You're really prepared! Vanilluxe was telling the truth after all!" Magcargo complimented the nurse, making her flushed expression intensified. "I wish you were on my team! Having a nurse would've been pretty cool!"

"W-what did Vanilluxe even say about me?! I'm well… not that great…" Chansey murmured, eyes shifting to the side. "If you want to consult a professional, I can direct you to Magearna… if you think I'm an expert, then she makes me look an amateur!"

Magcargo snorted playfully, rolling his eyes, "Pshaw, everyone has something they're good at. And if you're asking me, I think you're better than Magearna alre-" He noticed the nurse's expression sadden, smiling weakly, "Uhh… n-not that I think Magearna's terrible. I just think you're more approachable than her right. Heck, I haven't even talked with her at all!"

"Uhmm… maybe I should arrange a meeting between you two. I mean, Magearna's a better person than I am!" Chansey insisted with a sheepish expression. "So uhmm…"

"Well, I think you're a good person either way!" Magcargo commented before gulping, "Unless you're one of those shady doctors who secretly harvest the organs of your patients. If so, warn me first!"

"Uh well… I hate to disappoint but…"

"You're a black market organ harvester?!" Magcargo interrupted the nurse before she could finish talking, mouth agape. "WELL, if it's for a good cause, then I am in no place to judge. We all have our dark secrets and if your dark secret is your hidden relations with the black market or the mafia then I'm fine with that. I mean, I think you're a good person and-"

"Magcargo, I'm don't harvest organs," Chansey corrected, deadpanning. "I don't… actually have experience with surgery. But Magearna's a different story… she is also a licensed surgeon. She's such a grea-"

"But I wasn't asking about Magearna," Magcargo interrupted yet again with an unsatisfied look. "I was asking about you! I mean, Magearna's great and all but-" Noticing Chansey's dampening mood, he sighed, chuckling nervously, "O-okay… you know what… I-I'll talk to Magearna, if you want!"

Chansey's smile returned as she tilted her head to the side cheerfully, "That would be great! Maybe, your friend Vanilluxe would want to get to know her as well!"

"Uh… I'll tell him… and Klingklang too!" Magcargo said, starting to get lost in his thoughts as Chansey smiled warmly to his direction. "Eerrr… what about Sableye?! Is he alright..?"

"OH! I almost forgot!" Chansey gasped in shock, walking back to the gremlin, who's groaning and lying on the hot sand. "Magearna wouldn't have forgotten something important like this…"

"..." Magcargo looked concerned as he watched Chansey help Sableye up, mumbling to himself, "I have… mixed feelings right now…"

Sableye, who overheard this, nodded in agreement, "Yeaaaah… same."

"I wasn't talking to you, but I'm glad we feel the same!" Magcargo replied, laughing awkwardly, eyes shifting to the side. "Hahaha!"

Sableye laughed with the snail, not really knowing the context of why he mumbled quietly to himself, "Awkward laughing is the best! I know this is the first time we've actually talked but you're already fun, haha!"

"Thank you?"

"Swimming is really scary because I'm a fire and rock type and I don't know how to swim. That, and I'm really really heavy. So seeing Sableye nearly drown gave me chills. I'm glad he's okay. Though, it makes me wonder if Nihilego would even force us to swim in a challenge?!" Magcargo admitted with a shudder, though a smile remained on his face. "But I'm NOT worried, since uuhhh… you know what they say… swimming is easy, it's just… a few hours of learning, right?! Like riding a bike, like baking a cake, like taking a long time in the bathtub…"

His left eye twitched as he laughed nervously, "It's easy!"

Chansey sighed as her eyes darted to the side awkwardly, "I'm not used to being well… praised. So uhh… that was very very awkward…"

Magearna yawned to herself as she sat up on her bed, just having woken up from a deep sleep. She quickly turned over to the bunk bed next to her's, looking up to a half-asleep Musharna, "Good morning, Musharna! I see you're still… asleep? At least, you're not floating, I suppose…"

"I'm awake," Musharna replied, surprising the Mythical Pokemon, floating down from the top bunk. "I don't sleep that much, you know… though, I guess you're right that I have a sleep-floating problem…"

Magearna blinked, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly as she nodded in confirmation, "Y-yes… you do have that problem. I'm still quite confused with how you could do that though…" She snapped her fingers as she looked at the tapir thoughtfully, "Is it the side-effect of your lethargy?"

Musharna snorted at Magearna's words, rolling her eyes, "Not everything has a reason for it, girl. I float while I sleep, since who fucking cares? I mean, if Unfezant was still here… then sure, she would probably get pissed and annoyed but she isn't so whatever I do in my sleep is fine, by everyone… aside from probably Empoleon but he's not sleeping here."

"Well… it's a bit… distracting," Magearna commented, sitting up on her bed, leaning forward closer to the tapir who winced, "T-though, I wish not to offend you obviously."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that…" Musharna murmured, closing her eyes as she yawned. "We just have a lot of free-time on this island. It's pretty good for catching sleep but you know what, let's talk about something and see if it's enough to keep me wide awake. Any ideas?"

Magearna blushed in embarrassment, shocked that the lethargic Psychic-type wanted to actually talk to her, "Err… m-maybe we can talk about the game! I mean, we did a pretty great job last round, voting Pikachu off… which was actually far more complicated than I expected, to be perfectly honest with you."

"Hmmm? It wasn't too complicated honestly," Musharna countered, shrugging nonchalantly, eyes gazing over to the nearby dresser. "I mean… you told me about Pikachu's failed attempt at scheming… and Pikachu was expendable so whether it may be him or Bayleef out the gate, nothing changes. We take out the weakest link out the gate. Though… how did you know Pikachu wanted me gone though?" Magearna smiled weakly in reply, putting her hands on her lap.

"Well… actually, about that…" She started, hands balled into fists on her lap. "Pikachu came to me that afternoon… it was a few minutes before I came to you. And he suggested voting you off, because all you do is sleep. And well… I didn't want to expose our alliance so I agreed with the idea…"

"Hmmm… I guess that… checks out," Musharna said, voice quieting to a hush.

"Y-yeah… I initially wanted Bayleef gone but that really helped me with my decision. Teddiursa actually wanted to keep Bayleef to not risk Empoleon going mad," Magearna continued to explain. "So yeah… I'm actually shocked it was unanimous since well… I expected Bayleef to stick with his friend… but I guess he changed his mind?"

"I mean… Empoleon has him tied around a leash or something…" Musharna pointed out with another yawn. "So… I think something has to be done about that sooner or later."

Magearna gasped, putting a hand to her mouth, "Are you saying..?"

"Obviously… I mean, it was inevitable, right?!" Musharna answered, staring intensely at her. "Empoleon may be the strongest player on the team… but he definitely needs to be taken down a peg… and if we can't afford to lose our strongest player… then we should aim for his greatest ally instead."

"I'm… not sure about that honestly," Magearna admitted with an insecure look as she quickly grabbed her pillow for a hug. "Like… wouldn't Empoleon be really angry with us and-"

"Magearna, weren't you onboard with booting Bayleef last round?" Musharna interrupted, starting to get impatient.

Magearna fidgeted at Musharna's words, starting to feel more uncomfortable, "W-well… Teddiursa made a really strong case so I'm not fully sure… besides, they're only two people. We have the majority, regardless… so we can keep them in the game longer."

"That'd pretty much mean Floatzel's the target… you know that, right?" Musharna remarked skeptically. "Mmhm… that doesn't… give us… op- zzzzz…" The tapir's eyes flitted open and close as she fell asleep, floating in front of Magearna's bed. Magearna frowned as she clapped her hands repeatedly to wake her back up.

"H-hey! Don't just fall asleep while you're in a conversation with thee… it's not only rude but can be quite surprising!" She expressed, smiling weakly. She sighed in relief as one of Musharna's eyes opened. "Oh thank goodness! You're awake again!"

"Mmm…" Musharna mumbled, closing her eyes again, to Magearna's disappointment. "We can… talk about this after the round…"

"M-Musharna… M-Musharna?! Oh no, are you asleep again?!" Magearna asked the sleeping Pokemon, groaning loudly as none of her pleas stirred her companion from her sleep. "T-this is such a hassle to deal with…"

"Magearna… is really suspicious… hmmm… I suppose that's just proving the theory I had during the first challenge honestly…" Musharna commented, smiling confidently at the camera, eyes half-shut. "I… am quite not sure how to use this information… hmm…" Her smile widened even further, "What am I even saying? I know exactly how to use it!" She raised a hand to point at the ceiling only to groan, from exhaustion.

"Ookay… maybe after another nap… I need my rest… it's very…" She trailed off as she slowly pulled herself back to sleep.

"I don't get why Musharna likes to sleep a lot… but I don't want to find out why…" Magearna gulped in the confessional, looking to the left then to the right, "Please don't air this…"

Bayleef sighed as he stared at his full bowl of soup with a nervous expression. And scarily enough, the soup looked like it was staring back at him with bubbles forming on the surface. It was a pale sickly greenish color with a half eaten carrot floating on it. He shuddered at the mere sight of it, "Gosh…"

Teddiursa, who was sitting next to him, giggled in response, "Why are you still surprised?!" Her volume decreased to a murmur, "Indeedee is not exactly known to cook edible foodies, tee hee~"

"... w-well… uhm… i-it looks better than yesterday's?" Bayleef stammered, trying to cheer himself up. "Hopefully?!"

Teddiursa cocked a brow in confusion, "Well? If you think so! Though, I guess you must be really full of energy after the last round, huh?! That whole voting scramble was a heckin' clusterfuck!"

"You're telling me…" Floatzel spoke up from the other side of the table, just stirring his soup with a dissatisfied look. "I didn't even know what was fucking happening until Empoleon told me." A smirk formed on his face as he waved his spoon around, accidentally splashing soup into Bayleef's face, who just groaned in silence, "THOUGH, it did prove to me that there's a hidden villain masterminding everything!"

"Hidden… villain?" Bayleef asked, confused.

Teddiursa shrugged, leaning on the table, "I dunno either. But that's just Floatzel's thing. I'm surprised you're still confused, when you sleep in the same room for like… almost a week now."

"T-to be honest… E-Empoleon keeps taking up a lot of my time…" Bayleef admitted, laughing nervously.

"Empoleon… is intimidating…" Floatzel agreed with a curt nod. "Though… I guess… begrudgingly, I can appreciate his honesty… it's way better than anyone who hides their secrets!"

"W-well… he is very scary…" Bayleef intoned with a long sigh. "B-but… he saved me twice already…"

Teddiursa cocked a brow at this, "What do you mean? It was unanimous~ All the girls voted for Pikachu, UWU!"

"H-he didn't give up on me…" Bayleef murmured, head-leaf drooping forward in sadness. "He's… v-very confusing… h-he keeps claiming that he's going to make me a winner?! But I don't even know what that means…"

"UWU! If I were in your position, idk what I would've done but tee hee~ I told the girls that I wasn't going to vote for you so you can count on me, tee hee~" Teddiursa said with a playful smirk.

"Uhmm.. t-thank you?" Bayleef answered, eyes darting off to the side as he continued to ignore his meal. "P-Pikachu was my friend… so I still feel bad…"

Floatzel grunted, crossing his arms, "I would disagree. Would a true friend vote for you? And target you behind your back? Only a villain would do that. If he didn't do that, I would've voted against Sableye!"

"I guess…" Bayleef muttered, looking up at the ceiling, wincing the mold starting to grow on it. He flinched as he noticed Floatzel staring at him intently, "W-what?! Did I do a-anything wrong?! I'm not a v-vi-villain! Please trust me!"

"YOU NEED TO OPEN YOUR EYES!" Floatzel explained, slamming a fist on the table, flinching a bit. "Not everyone is a FRIEND. They will backstab you if you let them too close and you lower your guard. TRUST ME, I would know."

"W-wha-"

"So that's my word of advice!" Floatzel interrupted the dinosaur with a determined look on his face.

"Thank you?" Bayleef uttered. "I don't know if it'll even be helpful…"

"TRUST ME! It's going to be very crucial!" Floatzel assured. "I mean! I've been scoping the area AND gathering data on everyone so you can go to me for any questions on who's trustworthy or not?!"

"Am I trustworthy, Fwoatzel?" Teddiursa piped up.

Floatzel flushed in embarrassment as he avoided the little bear's gaze. "That's purely confidential."

"AWWW, you like me! You would've called me a villain otherwise!" Teddiursa guessed, giggling to her paw.

"... ANYWAYS…" Floatzel abruptly turned back to Bayleef, clasping his hands together. "IF YOU WANT IN-"

"I d-don't need it…" Bayleef answered nervously. "I'll uhh… d-do it on my own… E-Empoleon would have my head if I used 'shortcuts'..."

"WOW, you really must care about what Empy thinks of you then!" Teddiursa noted, putting her arm on the table, leaning on it. "Are you two…" She clasped her hands together, winking suggestively as she made a pouty look, "Together?"

"W-what?!"

"Teddiursa, you're changing the topic again…" Floatzel face-palmed in exasperation. Teddiursa groaned, rolling her eyes playfully in response. "Sheesh, only VILLAINS interrupt… but I'll let it slide, since we're literally just talking right now…"

"U-uhmmm… a-are you two…" Bayleef asked, eyes awkwardly shifted to the side. "Together?"

"WHAAAAT?!" Teddiursa and Floatzel exclaimed at the same time, eyes wide. "NO OBVIOUSLY. Bayleef, it was a joke. You s-" The duo stared at each other, realizing they have been in-sync.

Teddiursa deadpanned, crossing her arms, "We literally only hung out… once or twice. Stop assuming we would be really close after so little time. This isn't some random soap opera, Bay~"

"S-sorry…" Bayleef said, before muttering to himself, 'I w-was hoping it would change the topic away from Empoleon…"

"What was that?" Teddiursa queried.

"It's n-nothing…" Bayleef lied, quickly shoving a spoon to his mouth that made him gag. "T-this soup has a… s-strong flavor!"

"Indeedee said it was made of mystery meat or something…" Floatzel pointed out, flinching at the sight.

"O-oh…"

"A-after being saved not once… t-twice… it made m-me think… I s-shouldn't be too… scared?" Bayleef admitted, breathing heavily. "B-but it's easier s-said than done… I l-literally don't know what do… I w-woke up earlier to i-impress Empoleon or something but I think i-it just made head hurt really hard…"

Dedenne scoffed as he watched the comical scene of the Shuppet from the table on the other side of the room, "Why are they so… loud? Do they think they own the place or did they forget we were here…" He turned to Vivillon and Vanilluxe sitting next to him. The butterfly was just admiring her reflection in the mirror while Vanilluxe was jotting something down on a small notebook. "So uhh… anyways, are you two going to eat?"

"What do you mean? What's there to eat? The food is HORRENDOUS!" Vivillon yelled loudly, but not too loudly to attract Indeedee's attention. "I'm better off STARVING and ruining my gorgeous figure rather than dying because of food poisoning. The world is not yet prepared to lose a dazzling diamond like me."

"Ever the paragon of humility, I see…" Dedenne mused playfully.

Vanilluxe chuckled at this, jotting something down on his notes, "I mean… Vivillon is really… vivid-llon? So she has… the right… to be…" He slowed down, upon noticing the dissatisfied looks of his teammates, "HEY, I was experimenting, okay. I wanna use original puns for the game!"

"Well, full fucking offense but your puns have been very very cringe," Vivillon exclaimed with a huff. "You should've known better… I MEAN, get a better personality. I'll even let you copy mine~"

"B-but… that's imposturable!" Vanilluxe snapped back, concerned, "I mean… aren't my puns very very funny? Don't they make you laugh, even if it's in an ironic way? Ironic jokes are still jokes in the end after all!"

"I kind of… agree with Vivillon here… but less offensive," Dedenne affirmed with a shrug. "I don't care much about jokes but yeah… they are very… bland? That's a nice way to put it…"

Vanilluxe sighed as he closed his notebook shut, "I uhh… appreciate the comments, I suppose. I'll just think of funnier puns!"

"Or don't," Vivillon suggested, deadpan.

"H-haha… you're so funny, Vivillon. Maybe, you should learn to become a comedian too!" Vanilluxe exclaimed, laughing nervously.

"..." Vivillon replied coolly, "That's not a good idea though…"

"Butterfly, you're so funny?" Vanilluxe tried to reason. "I always knew I needed a partner!"

"What kind of pun is that even?" Vivillon questioned.

"But… butterfly? G-"

"Aaaand you explained the pun…" Vivillon drawled, rolling her eyes. "I literally have the money to hire better comedians than you. How disappoi-"

Dedenne quickly covered the bug type's mouth, smiling sheepishly, "UHHH… what she meant to say is… she's not into comedy. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Vivillon is just very very bold and can tend to use the wrong words sometimes…"

Vivillon grunted as she removed the hand from her mouth, "EX-CUSE-"

"If you make Vanilluxe hate you, he'll vote you off," Dedenne whispered. "So if you want to survive, you have to suck it up."

"... I hate how you're right…" Vivillon murmured, annoyed.

"Vivillon may be… a pompous bitch, but hey… she's not that bad. I mean… I like her enough. Skwovet either likes her or just wants to steal her things and Oricorio genuinely wants to know more about her. So obviously, she was a natural fit for the alliance we had," Dedenne explained, leaning back onto the toilet seat. "But obviously, she has to be likable or we'll be neutered by the other six votes in the team. I can't say it's working though honestly… but hey, at least she's trying?"

Dedenne quickly decided to change the topic, noticing Vanilluxe's mood dampen, "UHHH… why did you decide to be a comedian, Vanilluxe?!" Vivillon was about to interject but stopped as Dedenne turned to glare at her to stop. "We are both basically dying to know!"

Vivillon nodded reluctantly, avoiding the ice cream's piercing stare, "Y-yes… I agree. It's barel- err… mildly intriguing how commo- normal people go about their life."

Vanilluxe's face lit up with the butterfly's words, chuckling warmly, "R-really?! WELL, I'm always HAPPY to share! This story dates back to the ICE ages!" Groans rang out from the duo, making him feel sheepish, "O-okay… I'll try not to be too punny 'cuz I obviously can't reuse them too mush! OKAY, that's the last pun!"

"Basically, I'm just an ice cream cone from Driftveil and well… there was a GUITARIST!" Vanilluxe continued, pausing as he gathered his thoughts.

"Guitarist? I thought you were going to say clown or something…" Vivillon commented flatly. "N-not that I hate clowns for not being rich obviously. I am soooo understanding and kind, uuuggh!"

"Well… he was from Opelucid and he was soooo good with his words," Vanilluxe explained. "I know this might sound disjointed but he inspired me to take up comedy, even if it might be different from singing and playing an instrument. He really touched the hearts of all those people who listened to him… it was sooo inspiring. So, I wanna do the same too!"

"Oh, that's sweet?" Vivillon intoned.

"Yeah! So I hope I can make people laugh like he makes people smile! That was really cool… and no, that wasn't a pun, by the way!" Vanilluxe said with a laugh. "AND, if you're asking… why didn't I become a guitarist? I can't sing and can't play a single instrument! And well… hehe… he told me I can become anyone I want even though I was edible!"

"Uh… that sounds… so out of context," Dedenne admitted, smiling sheepishly.

"I know right. I didn't know I was even edible until he mentioned it!" Vanilluxe revealed, nodding. "I know I'm ice cream but I didn't think I was like… a literal ice cream? I don't know. I heard of Casteliacones…" Vanilluxe shuddered at the thought, before returning to a smile as he faced his teammates. "So, that is WHY I decided to become a comedian. Sorry, if it's not too flashy!"

"Err… it was certainly interesting, I suppose," Vivillon remarked plainly.

"What about you, Dedenne? What do YOU think?!"

"Uh…" Dedenne stammered a bit before adding, "I think it was pretty cute."

"THANK YOU SO MUCH!" Vanilluxe exclaimed, breaking into tears.

"Are you okay? You're crying… and it's kind of gross…" Vivillon commented, voice softening to a murmur.

"This is probably the first time you guys listened to me in full, without any rude interruptions!" Vanilluxe spelled out with a wide grin. "So, I'm really happy. These are tears of joy. I hope you guys are more receptive to my future jokes, cuz spoiler alert… they are a HOOT!"

"Uh… we can't wait?" Dedenne commented, laughing nervously. Vivillon, on the other, just paled at this announcement, barely able to keep herself together for the sake of the game. "Aren't we, Vivillon?"

"Uhh… y-yes… I suppose so…"

"Ugh, I hate this game," Vivillon commented, deadpan. "I should've been able to buy everyone's trust with money but apparently, that's disingenuous. So I guess, I have to do it the way poor people do? And it's really gross already…"

The general amiableness of the contestants in the mess hall was quickly interrupted by the loud blaring horn of the loudspeakers, "HELLO! TESTING TESTING… DOES THIS WORK?! IT'S TIME FOR THE CHALLENGE, SO FECKING HEAD TO THE SPECIAL CHALLENGE AREA ON THE BEACH!"

The remaining sixteen castaways gathered in front of the hosts at the beach, standing with their respective teams. Skwovet and Dedenne exchanged a shocked look, noticing that Pikachu was not anymore with the Shuppet, but chose to say nothing.

"HELLO everyone!" Nihilego exclaimed, waving wildly. "I am a new host now. I'm more soooo excited to get through these challenges! Am I right, Poipole?!" The little Ultra Beast just nodded, flashing a thumbs up. "I hope you're all ready for this SHOCKING challenge already~!"

Groans rang through the crowd at Nihilego's joke. Though, Vanilluxe was notably the only one laughing at this, accidentally making it snow all over his team from his laughing, "HAHAHAHAHAHA! Good one! SHOCKING, shocking! I can tell that this challenge will have electric types since they're a SHOCK!" Noticing the snow gathering around his team's feet, he laughed nervously. "OKAY, oops… that was an accident. Sorry…"

"Ahem, anyways…" Nihilego continued, clapping her hands together making the ground shake. The smaller contestants all grunted as they struggled to stay put as something was rising to the surface of the sand. The contestants mostly avert their eyes while some couldn't contain their anticipation, just jeering at the sight happening before them, coughing as sand is blown to the air. The dust settled to reveal two rows of seats with a gap in between, facing a lone podium with Nihilego's face plastered on the front. The left side has a Shuppet banner overhead while the right side has a Trubbish banner. "EVERYONE, take your seats… it's time for some shocking truths."

"I knew it!" Vanilluxe cheered as he followed his team to take a seat at their designated area.

After a couple of moments and tripping, courtesy of Sableye, the two teams were all seated on their respective seats. Nihilego faced them, excited. "I hope everyone's prepared because we have outfitted everyone with a really super special shock collar just for this challenge!"

"Super secret shock collar?" Cramorant squawked, wing quickly feeling her neck to notice a metallic object hugging it, "WAIT, I didn't know I was even wearing one!"

"Well… we had some help…" Nihilego revealed as Indeedee, somehow appeared next to her. She turned to the chef, bowing politely. "Thank you for doing this, Indeedee! I'm glad that the introduction was long enough to be the perfect distraction!"

"No problem…" Indeedee answered flatly. "My job is done. I'll be cooking dinner…" And with that, the chef left the area as quickly as he arrived, confusing the contestants even further.

"So… what's the challenge exactly?" Gossifleur asked, cocking a brow in confusion.

"From the looks of it… it's less physical than the previous two so…" Musharna started, half-asleep, "I think I'm liking it already. Though, I do hope Nihilego takes our suggestion and give us that long-awaited sleeping challenge, mmm…"

Dedenne scoffed at this, "Is everyone forgetting that Nihilego basically forced us to wear shock collars, without anyone knowing. This is nuts!"

"I know right!" Skwovet agreed before a mischievous grin formed on his face, "Indeedee should really teach me about how he did it…"

"AHEM! STOP FUCKING TALKING! I haven't even explained the challenge yet!" Nihilego interrupted the camper's conversation, mildly annoyed. "The challenge is simple… it's a truth or truth or truth or get fucking shocked challenge. The name of the game is 'TRUTH OR SHOCK'! It's simple, I will be sharing a random fact about a certain camper and it'll be as embarrassing or concerning as possible. The person with that secret MUST press a button!" The campers all looked in front of them to find a red shiny button. "If they don't, their entire team will be shocked and they lose a point so that's gonna be sad. First team to six points wins the challenge. So basically, that's the gist. So is everyone ready?!"

Groans and voices of complaint carried throughout the crowd of contestants as Nihilego shrugged it off as Poipole pushed as a medium-sized screen next to the podium, with it blaring to life, with the title of the challenge visible on it.

"A challenge where we're forced to tell the truth?!" Magearna stared at the camera, worried. "Okay… I don't like the thought of it… I'm not fully sure of how it'll go… doh… I'm already getting nervous and it hasn't even started yet…"

Skwovet tapped his chin thoughtfully, "I wonder how Indeedee managed to put a collar on eighteen people without being caught… I should ask him… if he doesn't come after my head, of course!"

"OKAY. It's time to start. We'll alternate between teams, starting with the Shuppet then Trubbish then vice versa!" Nihilego started, waving her tentacles around with a singsong voice.

"First question… Which Shuppet ate trash from the dumpster?" Nihilego asked. All eyes quickly fell on Sableye, who laughed nervously.

"W-what?" He stammered out, twiddling his fingers awkwardly.

Magearna deadpanned, tilting her head to the side, "Come on… it's obviously you… unless Floatzel or Bayleef eat trash… which I doubt."

"..." Sableye groaned audibly as he pressed his red button. "I mean… t-the question was phrased as if it was bad, hehe…"

"UHMM, it is. Trash is gross UWU!" Teddiursa pointed out, crossing her arms. Chansey nodded in agreement, concerned.

"..." Sableye doesn't respond, avoiding the judgemental stares of his teammates. "I-it's not bad once you tried it, haha…"

"I don't trust the advice of a VILLAIN!" Floatzel hissed at the gremlin, who laughed nervously as he slowly looked away. "HEY! DON'T YOU DARE AVOID THIS CONVERSATION! Eating trash… ONLY A VILLAIN WOULD DO THAT!"

"You can grill Sableye later… there's literally a challenge going on," Empoleon reminded the weasel, rolling his eyes.

"FINE! You can't run forever!" Floatzel threatened, pointing a finger at Sableye's direction, who blinked… before flashing a thumbs-up, nodding profusely.

"That's one point for the Shuppet… and I'm with Teddiursa there," Nihilego declared, cringing at Sableye's words. "BUT MOVING ON with the Trubbish… which Trubbish has attempted and succeeded in robbing a bank?"

"... uhh… Skwovet?" Oricorio whispered to the squirrel expectantly. "That's you, right?"

"WHAT? I mean… I haven't robbed a bank yet, but it sounds INTERESTING, I guess… but I'm not that interested in going to jail," Skwovet denied, rolling his eyes. He smiled weakly as Vivillon and Gossifleur gave him a disbelieving look, "W-what?! It's not me!"

"OMIGOSH, who did it then?! I don't wanna get shocked!" Cramorant yelled, bracing for impact. Being quadruple-effective to electricity was giving her the chills. "Like hurry up, the other team did it. So like, tell the truth already!"

"Eating trash is less serious than robbing a bank… and from what Nihilego said, they succeeded so I doubt that they're interested in revealing themselves," Klingklang pointed out matter-of-factly.

"W-wait… P-p-PLEEEEEAAAAASE!" Cramorant's voice sharpened to a shrill shreak as the entire team was shocked with nobody confessing, aside from Gourgeist who had a wide grin on her face.

"HAHA, it was ME ALL ALONG!"

"W-what?! Then, why didn't you confess?!" Dedenne questioned, annoyed.

"I wanted to KNOW how it feels to be shocked!" Gourgeist explained, expression unchanging. "It's slightly underwhelming. I expected it to be more painful, but I guess I shouldn't have expected a lot from this show in the first place."

"You're a heckin' psycho wuh the fuh?!" Cramorant exclaimed with a whimper. The shock wasn't notably strong but she was hit the hardest given her typing. "I-I don't think I can sleep tonight…"

"That's the pooooint!"

"H-hey… trash isn't that bad… right?!" Sableye attempted to defend himself with a weak grin. "R-right?!"

"This challenge has been very uninteresting thus far… where are they going to release actual secrets?" Musharna yawned, eyes closed. "I'm getting sleepy already… which isn't bad but I'm sooo bored. Where is the crying, gaslighting and screaming? I didn't sign up for a borefest…"

Cramorant pouted at the camera, "Gourgeist is a jerk…"

"Things are just going to get even juicier. Next question for the Shuppet… which Shuppet cheated on their lover on their anniversary?" Nihilego asked.

"T-that's… oddly specific…" Chansey commented, smiling weakly. "W-well… it's not me. I've been single for my entire life…"

"WHO WOULD EVEN CHEAT?! ONLY VILLAINS CHEAT!" Floatzel exclaimed, waving his hands around. "They better have a good reason!"

"They won't confess if you intimidate them!" Magearna pointed out, frowning, only to be surprised to see Teddiursa cutely press her button, "T-Teddiursa, it was YOU?!"

"WHAT?! It wasn't like we were that close," Teddiursa said with a nonchalant shrug. "AND HEEEEY, you didn't have the whole thing. I was cheated on FIRST, hmph! Don't bully me UwU"

"U-uhmmm… h-hang in there?" Bayleef said.

"Thank yuwu!" Teddiursa said with a giggle.

"..." Floatzel's eyes narrowed for a bit but he sighed, brushing it off.

"Shuppet now has TWO points. It's the Trubbish's turn. Which Trubbish… accidentally went on a date with their teacher, thinking they were a student?" Nihilego asked.

"Gourgeist, is it you again?!" Cramorant asked, glaring at the pumpkin. "I don't wanna get shocked again!"

"It's not me," Gourgeist revealed, fiddling with loose strands of hair. "I wouldn't make such a stupid misunderstanding. HECK, I would've asked if they were a teacher first sin-"

"NO, we don't need to know!" Vivillon cut her off with an annoyed look.

"If it's not Gourgeist, who else could it be then?!" Skwovet asked, confused. "SOMEONE, PRESS THE BUTTON SO WE CAN GET A POINT ALREADY!"

Magcargo sighed as he hit his button with his head, "Since we're losing…" His teammates gave him an intrigued look, "W-what?! It was a legitimate mistake. She looked so YOUNG!"

"UH… I guess ANYONE can make that mistake then?" Vanilluxe asked rhetorically.

"Uhmm… no, we wouldn't," Vivillon argued before sighing, "BUT I suppose you have a point there."

"I mean, we should be more concerned about the teacher even accepting to go on a date with their own student…" Dedenne added with a curt nod. "I don't know how you could deal with that, Magcargo."

"It was definitely awkward for a while, but she apologized since she made the same mistake too and thought I was older," Magcargo explained, embarrassed. "It's less embarrassing than it sounds, okay!"

"I mean… your expression says otherwise," Klingklang remarked.

"I-it's not! Trust me!"

"OKAY, maybe it was very embarrassing for both of us! UGH, maybe I shouldn't have pressed my button…" Magcargo admitted, blushing in embarrassment. "LIKE, what were the chances that I only found out on the first day of school… SO YEAAAAAAH-" He paused, eyes widening in realization. "Why am I even sharing that on national television?! It's making my face turned even redder!"

Floatzel sat in the confessional with an inquisitive expression, "Maybe I need to spend more time with Teddiursa! She's hiding more information from me than I thought and I'm not sure how to feel! THOUGH, I also need to keep looking for the hidden villain on the island and this challenge is the perfect opportunity. I have my eyes on them!"

"Next question… which Shuppet wrote an anonymous erotic novel on a private forum online?" Nihilego asked ominously.

"..." Chansey sweatdropped at this as she nervously eyed the red button. She is older now, she can own up to this… right?! Then her gaze hovered over to Magearna, who smiled warmly at her, making her face turn beet-red. "..."

"OKAY, who writes erotic novels among us?! And can they share a copy?!" Teddiursa raised her hand with a faint blush on her face. "Asking for a friend, of course. I'm a cutie! UWU"

Empoleon grunted, silently folding his arms, "It was definitely not me…" He turned to Bayleef, scaring him a bit, "Was it you… or not? It doesn't make sense for it to be you personally."

"W-what?! Why would it be m-me?!" Bayleef stammered, blushing in embarrassment.

"It's usually the quiet ones!" Floatzel pointed out.

"I-it's not me!"

"Then, who could it be?! Chansey? Magearna? Seems unlikely, if you ask me," Teddiursa mused, rolling her eyes. "Maybe, it could be Musharna but I highly doubt it."

"W-what if it's you?!" Bayleef accused then… ZAAAAAAP! The dinosaur groaned as the shocks were administered. "O-okay… nobody wants to confess?!"

"I mean… it's really embarrassing in hindsight?" Magearna pointed out, eyes shifting to Chansey who was still flushed.

"Well… it's a point we lost…" Empoleon grumbled to himself silently.

"BOOO, is nobody going to confess?! Sheesh, you guys are pussies or something. The score is at 2-1 right now. Let's move on to the Trubbish again for question number 3!" Nihilego started, gesturing to the screen next to her. "Which Trubbish… is currently recovering from a substance addiction."

Vivillon cocked a brow, "Isn't that just Cramorant since she's sooooo obsessed with her phone?"

"W-what?!" I'm not that obsessed, oh ehm gee!" Cramorant snapped back, glaring at the butterfly. "OKAY, maybe I was like… addicted but like, it's totes not the substance Nihi is talkin' about lawl…"

"Then, who else can it be then?!" Vivillon complained with a shrill groan. "We need to tie things up if we even want a chance of winning!"

"Well… whoever's secret this is… I won't judge them for their past life decisions…" Oricorio chimed in solemnly.

Gourgeist giggled to her appendage, rolling her eyes playfully, "I will! It's more fun that way… oh before I can forget…" She mindlessly pressed her hair on her button with a grin, "Yeppers, it was me. It was soooo boring and that addiction literally lasted for like… a DAY!"

"Ookay? Trubbish get their second point? I have no idea why Gourgeist can casually have some really interesting secrets and be fine with them being revealed, to be honest," Nihilego remarked bashfully.

"YEAH, you robbed a back AND you're a recovering addict?!" Dedenne exclaimed. "What else are you even hiding?!"

"I mean… not much, to be honest," Gourgeist just shrugged, unabashed by her secrets being exposed by herself. "I mean… we're winning and that's what matters~"

"Technically, it's tied," Dedenne corrected.

"We still have a pretty good chance!" Oricorio encouraged her teammates, waving her pom-pom wings around.

Gourgeist stared at the camera, eyes as big as saucers, "I have a lot of secrets… but the WALLS have eyes!" Abruptly, she began shrieking, convulsing spontaneously.

Chansey smiled sheepishly, squeezing her cheeks in embarrassment, "I… did some really really embarrassing things. I'm really thankful I found Magearna or else, I don't know what would've happened to me. I'm so embarrassed. I can't believe Nihilego's airing out all of these secrets!"

She paused, leaning her head on the side, "Though, I am a bit curious… what is MAGEARNA's secret?"

"Next question: Which Shuppet still wets their bed?" Nihilego asked.

"Bayleef, I'm sorry… but I think that's you," Magearna commented, smiling sheepishly. "Uhhmm… no offense? But you seem to be the type…"

"Nonsense, I'm Bayleef's bunkmate and he hasn't fucking peed the bed at all," Empoleon defended the starter with an apprehensive look. "I personally think it's one of you six."

"It's not me!" Floatzel chimed in, "BESIDES, my secret wouldn't be as STUPID as this!"

"Then, who the fuck pees their bed?!" Empoleon asked, starting to get annoyed. "This might literally be the only challenge we might beat the psycho pumpkin in!"

"Y-you're still caught up on that?" Bayleef sputtered out instinctively.

"We're not losing a third time!" Empoleon snapped, face-palming to hide his annoyance. "I'm literally really tired of los-" BZZZZTTTTT! He screamed out in pain as electricity shocked him and his teammates. "OKAY, what the fuck?! That wasn't even that embarrassing of a secret!"

At that moment, Musharna's eyes slowly opened as she yawned, bored, "Electric shocks woke me up… what happened?"

"Nobody would admit they still pee in the bed!" Empoleon exclaimed, waving his arms around.

"Oh… that's me…" Musharna admitted, eyes half-open.

"Why didn't you press the button then?!"

"I was asleep…" Musharna defended, annoyed. "This challenge is really helping me catch up on my sleep." Noticing Empoleon's left eye twitch, the tapir rolled her eyes at this, "Calm down, I won't fall asleep again. Don't worry…"

Meanwhile, Nihilego asked the Trubbish, "Which Trubbish is notorious for being held back for skipping out on school too many times?"

Skwovet groaned, pressing his button, "Yeah yeah, it's me. Who fucking cares?! I got us another point! Woooo!"

"Uh… that was fast. Trubbish are now in the lead 3-2," Nihilego announced, rolling her eyes as Empoleon groaned loudly in reply. "Only three more points left and they win the challenge but let's wait a see!"

"Back to the Shuppet… which Shuppet hoards their clipped toenails?" Nihilego asked, slightly gagging at the secret she just revealed. "I may be a hostess but it's still pretty gross."

Sableye laughed at this, picking his nose, "I dunno… it doesn't sound too gross. Toenails have a certain fl-" He gulped as everyone groaned at his words, "O-okay… maybe it's a bit gross BUT I don't hoard toenails! I have l-limits!"

"Musharna, is it you again?!" Empoleon glared at the lethargic psychic type, who cocked a brow in annoyance. "WHAT?! I mean, you still wet your bed."

"Mmmhm… but I don't collect toenails," Musharna argued, rolling her eyes.

"How are you so sure?!" Empoleon questioned threateningly.

"It sounds fucking stupid!"

Floatzel, on the other hand, laughed nervously to himself as he eyed his button. He collected toenails as EVIDENCE, but of course it was going to be difficult explaining that so he was a bit unsure of pressing the button. Unfortunately for him, shocks were quickly administered as they lose another point, "AAACK!"

"UGH!" Empoleon groaned in annoyance, waving a fist at the sky.

"W-we still have a chance!" Bayleef tried to be optimistic but the tears flowing out of his eyes said otherwise as he whimpered at Empoleon's outburst.

"We better win this…" Empoleon grumbled to himself.

Musharna stared at the camera, deadpanning, "Empoleon is this close to snapping. I can't wait to capitalize it. I mean… sure, he's the strongest person on the team but he's starting to get on my nerves. I want him gone."

Floatzel laughed nervously, eyes shifting to the side, "WOW, TOENAILS? What kind of villain would even collect them?! Though, in my opinion… it was less collecting and more hoarding… not that I would know, of course."

"This challenge is a cakewalk. Where are the actual jawdropping secrets though?!" Skwovet complained, folding his arms. "I mean… it's been sooo tame. Though, I guess it's a good distraction to keep nabbing Vivillon's valuables…"

He shook his tail, revealing nail polish, wing gloss and jewelry, "She's too easy… I want a challenge, but hey, not complaining honestly. I'm shocked she hasn't noticed yet!"

CURRENT SCORE:

Shuppet - 2

Trubbish - 3

"Next question of the day… which Trubbish is accidentally mistaken for a robot?" Nihilego asked.

Klingklang deadpanned as he pressed his button easily, "That wasn't even a secret?"

"HEY! You didn't exactly give us much to write about in your application," Nihilego argued. "So consider that a freebie question…"

"THIS IS UNFAIR! Where is OUR freebie question!" Empoleon piped up, glaring at the hostess, making her flinch.

"UGH! Fiiine, which Shuppet is such a sore loser?" Nihilego questioned, rolling her arms. To her surprise, nobody quickly pressed the button. "Okay wow, that wasn't even a secret?"

Empoleon's eyes narrowed, "What kind of freebie question was that?!"

"Uhmm… Empoleon, press your button," Musharna suggested flatly. The penguin blinked in confusion as he pressed his button… only to gawk as Nihilego flashed a thumbs up.

"WHAT?! I'm not a sore loser!" Empoleon argued, hitting a wing on his button repeatedly in annoyance.

"Uh-huh… sure you aren't," Nihilego drawled sarcastically. "Either way, that leaves us at 3 points for the Shuppet and 4 points for the Trubbish. The next question are going to be intense."

"Wow, my heart is suddenly beating really fast and I don't like it…" Dedenne commented with a blank expression.

"Yep… Trubbish's turn again. Which Trubbish flirted with their teacher willingly to get them to invite them to their house to get blackmail,kiss their daughter in their teacher's bedroom closer and spread the blackmail anonymously on the school website?" Nihilego asked, eyes wide.

Gossifleur gasped at this, "Wow… that's very… disjointed?"

"Okay, would someone confess to something… this… crazy?" Oricorio queried only to be interrupted by Gourgeist pressing her button with a bored expression. "WAIT?! It was Gourgeist again?!"

"I was bored," Gourgeist explained, rolling her eyes, leaning on her podium. "It wasn't too interesting. But hey, it made the Sunday more interesting, I suppose."

"Okay… I don't know whether to be thankful or scared…" Vanilluxe laughed nervously, staring at the pumpkin. As she turned to glare at the ice cream, he whimpered in response, flinching back. "Y-you know you're my pump-kin, right?! I w-would never say bad things about you!"

"You just did," Gourgeist remarked plainly, expression darkening.

"L-let's not argue and keep the momentum going, okay!" Oricorio said, putting a wing between the two to separate them even further.

"Y-yes ma'am!" Vanilluxe said out loud with a bashful expression. Gourgeist doesn't react, just shrugging with a blank look.

"Gourgeist already pressed the button thrice!" Poipole exclaimed. "Wow, I didn't know she had so many secrets."

"More like, her team is so normal and vanilla that they don't have any," Nihilego whispered with a sneaky giggle, turning to the Shuppet.

"OKAY, Trubbish only needs 1 more point to win. So next question… lying about your identity when signing up… which one of you Shuppet did that?!" Nihilego asked before admitting, "To be honest, we didn't know until we reviewed the footage." The Shuppet all blinked in confusion at the surprising question thrown at them.

"UHHH… isn't this too…" Chansey started, twiddling her fingers awkwardly. "Too… personal? I mean, what if they're hiding their identity because they're on the run from a secret villain or something… I don't want to force anyone to reveal that…"

"Hell no, we need this point," Empoleon said. "THOUGH, who the fuck would even lie about their own identity?"

"Mmm… interesting indeed…" Musharna said with an amused expression.

Absolute silence as nobody pressed their button. A certain contestant grunted to themselves, while trying their best to remain composed. Unsurprisingly enough, the Shuppet were delivered a special gift: Electric shocks!

"UGGGGGH! This is making my fur all frizzy…" Teddiursa complained, tugging at her ears.

"I mean, it's Nihilego's fault for even putting a randomly heavy secret from out of nowhere…" Musharna pointed out dryly. "Though, Gourgeist revealed all of her shit… so guess we suck…"

"Gourgeist knows how to blackmail? Ooooh, how fun!" Gossifleur commented with a clueless expression.

"This challenge has been pretty tough on us Shuppet… it's pretty unfair that the other side have softball questions, just because one of them is an unabashed psychopath though," Magearna complained with a childish huff.

"Potential last question of the day… which Trubbish hates pop music so much that they-"

Vivillon groaned, pressing her button, "SEE! I did something. Do we win?!"

Nihilego deadpanned in silence, "... okay, that felt really anticlimactic… uhh… I wish we could add more questions but we only have room of so many…"

"This wouldn't have happened if you didn't choose three secrets from Gourgeist!" Dedenne pointed out, rolling his eyes. "Not that I'm complaining since we WON!"

"Uhh… yeah… in a really… wow ending, Trubbish wins IMMUNITY!" Cheers spread throughout the Twinkling Trubbish, who celebrated their third win in a row. "Though… sorry to say, Shuppets… but you're heading to another campfire ceremony." The Shuppet erupted to a chorus of groans, with Empoleon's being the loudest among the group.

"You'll have the rest of the afternoon to discuss… so prepare yourselves… HAVE FUN~" Nihilego urged as the challenge came to a close.

"WE. FUCKING. LOST… AGAIN!" Empoleon growled and glared at the camera, hitting the side of the confessional in frustration, leaving a small dent. "How the fuck?! Is my team so useless?! At this point, it's not even funny. HELL, it's beyond insulting. Nobody's pulling their weight… and that fucking psycho pumpkin even got her team half of their points. Is this game even fair?!"

He face-palmed, breathing heavily as he attempted to calm himself down. "I need… to be patient. I can't just fucking flip out again… I d-don't want to be fucking voted off, just because people get too sensitive about my justified outbursts."

Dedenne scoffed, leaning back in the confessional with a calm smile, "Winning all of these challenges are really good for team morale and it helps demoralize the other team even further, to crush their hopes of winning… so hey, it's very good for us and well… bad for them? But does that matter? While it might start to get repetitive… for now, I literally don't care."

The alliance of Musharna, Teddiursa, Magearna, Chansey and Sableye were gathered inside the girls' side of the Shuppet cabin to discuss the vote with the door locked so no intruders could listen in on their conversation. Musharna was lying on her bed, face-first into her pillow but still awake. Teddiursa and Chansey were sitting on Unfezant's former bunk with Teddiursa checking her nails often. Magearna was leaning on her arm with a intrigued expression while Sableye was leaning on the door for 'extra measure'.

"I can't believe we lost again!" Teddiursa complained, squeezing a pillow in annoyance. "Like, I admitted my secret and everything _ Now, I feel like I shouldn't have revealed it then UWU!"

"... Thy believe that well… everyone has a reason to not have revealed their secrets back there so I shan't hold it against them…" Magearna admitted, returning to her more formal way of speaking. "Hm… and if we were to base our decision on who got us a point in the challenge, Empoleon, Teddiursa and Sableye are exempt from being mentioned as boot options!"

"I mean… it's not like I was going to target any of those people…" Musharna whispered groggily.

"Y-yeah… I was just defending the people who didn't press the button to reveal their secret!" Magearna argued with a bashful look, almost knocking herself off-balance.

"Okay?" Musharna decided to refuse to press further, mumbling incoherently to herself.

"So uhh… like… it should be between Empoleon and BayBay, right?" Teddiursa queried, cocking a brow. "Like… I wanna say that Floatzel should be out of the mix cuz he's like totes cool or whatevers lulz~"

"I mean… Empoleon may be annoying… but he's still the strongest member on the team," Chansey remarked with a sheepish expression. "So I think this means… we should just vote for Bayleef… does anyone have any problems with that?"

Teddiursa shrugged, leaning on the nurse's shoulder, "I'm not too close with him personally and well, the alternative would be Floatzel so like… I'd rather not do that…"

"Bayleef is pretty nice," Sableye chimed in before blushing in realization, "Oh wait, we were talking about boot targets, hehe… well, uhh… Floatzel is a bit rude to me… so there's my ten cents to this conversation… or was it fifteen cents, hehe… he?"

"Uhhmm… Floatzel is cool!" Teddiursa defended with a pout. "Though, he's obviously not as cute as me and if it's between him and Bay, it should be Bay!"

"But Floatzel keeps saying I smell bad and calling me a villain!" Sableye pointed out, groaning as nobody responded. "H-hey, I think I did a good-ish job getting rid of my stinky smell. Don't be too hard on me for that, haha… And I'm not a villain either!"

"You eat trash," Teddiursa reminded him with a blank expression.

"W-what?! Was it that bad!?"

"It definitely was…"

"C-can we not fight among ourselves?!" Chansey blurted out, putting a hand on Teddiursa's shoulder. "I'm sure we can reach a decision eventually!"

"I'm just doing my best to keep my bestie safe, tee hee~" Teddiursa explained, removing the hand on her shoulder. "Like uhhh… where we stand now… I think Sableye's the only one here leaning Floatzel, right? Unless somebodies has somethingz to share to the entire class. I really appreciate honesty, if that were the case U_U"

"Well… I do want to just vote Bayleef off honestly," Magearna said, shrugging nonchalantly. "That seems to be the most viable option. How about thee, Musharna?"

Musharna groaned as she lifted her face off her pillow, "Mmm? Oh… sorry… almost fell asleep back there… uhhh… who are the options? Bayleef and Floatzel, with an outside chance of Empoleon? Ugh… I do want to just nip the problem in the bud already by voting Empoleon off since he haunts my nightmares or something… but judging from how things are going… it's not going to happen?"

"He's just too strong!" Chansey affirmed with a nod.

"What if we have a shake-up though?" Musharna queried, arching a brow, intrigued.

"Shake… up?" Magearna replied, tilting her head to the side, accidentally hitting the wall. "Oof… I forgot there was a wall there…"

"Haven't you all watched other versions of this show… and that Pokevivor shit too?" Musharna asked her companions, getting a resounding no as a response, making her sigh loudly, "Wow… you really are missing out. It's a good time waster. Maybe, I should suggest it to you guys after the game… but we're moving off-topic now. In some of those shows, there was something called a 'swap' where the teams changed… so I'm suspecting that there might be a swap here too and we might not even be on the same team as Empoleon then… so wouldn't it better to not risk that chance?"

"... what if it doesn't happen though?" Magearna countered, folding her arms. "We can't base our decisions off a possibility… this sounds like something Pikachu would do, personally."

"... Pikachu was indecisive… but me? I'm hundred percent determined for this," Musharna answered, starting to detect a bit of hostility coming from the Mythical Pokemon. "So… I would really prefer if everyone trusted me on this one…"

"... I have a lot of doubts regarding your decision…" Magearna stated out plainly, deadpanning. "Isn't it better… to not risk it? I mean… we could easily stay on these teams until the merger and if we vote Empoleon off, we could be losing all of the future challenges and be down to nothing… I… don't want to risk that."

"Lady Magearna has a good point!" Chansey commented, with Teddiursa shrugging indifferently next to her. "I think we should save the Empoleon vote on the backburner for now."

"... okay?" Musharna remained skeptical, as she quickly grabbed her blanket to cover her body. "I guess… we'll just do Bayleef then… mmm, I can go take a short nap then…"

Magearna smiled warmly at this, clasping her hands together, "Oh, that's great! This means… meeting adjourned?"

"Yaaaaah!" Teddiursa exclaimed, falling on her back on the bed, spreading her arms out, surprising Chansey. "This meeting is boring. See y'all at the vote!"

"Being in an alliance is pretty fun, hehe… I feel like a super secret ninja or something…" Sableye commented, pumping a fist in excitement. "Coming in, I didn't expect to be even included in an alliance but woah, it's better than I expected. I'm not going to be the third boot~" He broke into song, dancing… pretty terribly in the confessional, stopping as he accidentally hit his hand on the side. "OOF! Uhh… s-still not as painful as stepping on a Lego?!"

Sableye waved goodbye to the people in the room before he unlocked and opened the door, walking out of the room with Magearna floating after him. As they left the room, a smirk formed on Musharna's face as she hastily threw her blanket off her body, floating off the bed and heading to the bed Chansey and Teddiursa were still on,

"Oh good, you two haven't left yet," She expressed, barely opening her eyes. Teddiursa tilted her head to the side cutely as she watched this spectacle curiously while Chansey blinked in confusion. "I have something to tell you both… especially you, Chansey."

"W-what?" The nurse exclaimed, surprised by Musharna's words. Her eyes travelled over to meet Teddiursa, who just shrugged. Groaning in exasperation, she continued to speak, "I… uhmm… w-what exactly do you mean, Musharna? You're making it sound like it's serious. Maybe, you should've brought it up during the meeting…"

"Magearna was there… it would be risky," Musharna explained, cocking a brow as Teddiursa let out a chorus of 'oooooohs'. "Teddiursa… shut up. This is really important."

Teddiursa giggled into her paws cheekily, "I mean… your tone implies that it's very very big so like, I'm already excited to hear this gossip, y'know~"

"I don't like where this is going…" Chansey's head was suddenly filled with thoughts, already knowing what Musharna wanted to say. "T-this isn't about La-"

"Don't trust Magearna. That's all," Musharna interrupted the nurse with an ominous message, expression darkening. "Like seriously… she's bad news… I think she was the subject of the last secret we had… the one lying about her own identity."

"What are you talking about? Lady Magearna is a noble person who would never lie about her own identity!" Chansey defended her idol, putting a hand to her chest. "Do you even have proof for your suspicions?"

"Uh-huh… I mean… don't you think Magearna's… not acting like the real Magearna," Musharna pointed out.

"I don't know what you're even talking about! Magearna's Magearna!" Chansey snapped back, clenching a fist. "W-what are you even trying to say?!"

"... I'm just saying… don't trust her… you'll see eventually," Musharna finished ominously, floating out of the room, confusing the remaining duo even further.

"W-what?!" Chansey could do nothing but sputter out words in confusion, "What does she even mean?!"

"I don't know UWU! But things might be interesting again?" Teddiursa remarked, tapping her chin thoughtfully. Chansey groaned in frustration. "H-hey now! Don't worry! Things are going to be alright!"

Chansey sighed as she reluctantly nodded in agreement, "Let's wait and see…"

Klingklang and Vanilluxe exchanged an unsure look before turning to face a… frightening sight. It looked like a cake, but upon closer inspection, the frosting was made of mush and the toppings weren't strawberry, they were meat chunks and raisins. On the other side of the 'cake' was Magcargo, who had a wide grin on his face. He had the bright idea to ask Indeedee to make a cake to celebrate their win as a team, inviting everyone. Unfortunately for him, only Klingklang and Vanilluxe were available but that wasn't enough to keep him down.

"Thank you for coming!" He remarked, smiling cheerfully. "Unluckily, everyone else was unavailable. They… uhhmm… well… had surprising things to do when I told them that there was going to be cake made by Indeedee. I wonder why… Indeedee's great at cooking. Maybe, I should've invited him too to this celebration party, don't you think?!"

Vanilluxe paled at this, sputtering out, "W-what?! You didn't tell me there was going to be…" He gulped, looking to the left then to the right, in case the chef appeared from out of nowhere before leaning closer to whisper, "Uh… this is mush appreciated. B-but Indeedee's food is… not good."

"What do you mean? It's sooo good!" Magcargo looked unfazed, oblivious to the truth. "It's probably one of the best food I've had for days! Don't you agree, Klingklang?!"

"I plead the fifth," Klingklang deadpanned coldly. "Though, I do thank you for the invite. Winning three times in a row was the ideal scenario, for sure."

"MMMHM! That's why I wanted to celebrate! It's these little moments that make you appreciate the game after all!" Magcargo reasoned as he chuckled to himself. "I mean, we signed up for a reality tv show that might ruin our personal relationships and be a waste of time in the end but hey… at least, we can say we have these moments, right?"

Klingklang shrugged with a blank expression, "I suppose you do have a point… though, I prefer minimizing unnecessary celebrations sometimes, since it's…" He paused before shaking his head, "But for now, I will oblige in celebrating."

"I knew you would like it, Klingy! I… I can call you that, right?" Magcargo's eyes were shimmering brightly as he gazed at the gear's eyes, who leaned back uncomfortably. "Okay… maybe, I'm moving too fast with this friendship. But I'm glad you're up for this. Hehe, see! You're not as cold-hearted as everyone thinks!"

"... people call me cold-hearted?" Klingklang queried, intrigued.

"Well, Skwovet said it once. And Oricorio and Vivillon too…" Magcargo answered, looking up thoughtfully before snickering, "But they don't know you too much so they're judging you too early!"

"..." Klingklang's eyes narrowed, mumbling, "Thank you for the information. I shall use it to the best of my abilities, to improve my relationships with the team."

Vanilluxe chuckled loudly, chiming in, "I don't think Klingklang's the coldest person on the team. I mean, I am the ice cream Pokemon here!" He examined the reactions of his companions, sighing at their blank stares. "W-what?! I know it was LITERAL. But I'm trying out new types of jokes, okay!" He groaned, "Okay… fine… I'll try to think of other jokes…"

"Uhmm… you should keep trying, for sure!" Magcargo commented with a sheepish expression. "I mean, this is why practice makes perfect. I'm sure you can keep trying until you can perfect your comedy routine. Maybe, we might even have a talent show challenge, where you can showcase your talents and it would be a good red-"

"Breathe," Klingklang reminded him. Magcargo nodded in affirmation as he stopped talking to take a long break. "I still wonder how you can even talk so much without any problem or any thinking required."

An embarrassed expression formed on the snail's face in reply, "I just get too fired up and passionate about every topic I can hear. Some people mention that I'm a chatterbox but I didn't think it was too much of a problem, since I think that's just an overexaggeration. I don't talk much. I mean, in my opinion, I think I talk too little!"

"You definitely talk too much… but I guess that's your charm," Klingklang said matter-of-factly.

"Aww thanks!" Magcargo replied before leaning forward to smell the 'cake'. "Anyways, now that we're done talking… is everyone prepared to eat cake?!"

Klingklang paled at the announcement, "... can we just keep talking? I don't think I'm hungry yet."

"Oh, really?" Magcargo blinked in confusion before smiling again, "That's fine. What do we talk about? Fashion? Comedy? Best friendship? Why am I insecure about the fact that I don't have hands? The one time I accidentally joined a cult of nudists?"

Klingklang looked confused at everything he said, not knowing how to react before gathering his thoughts, "How about… we talk about the game?"

"Aw… I really did want to share all of my anecdotes…" Magcargo deflated in disappointment before perking back up, "But sure, let's talk about the game! Here's some gossip… I heard that Marill and Indeedee…" He paused for dramatic effect before gasping, "Are in a romantic relationship… bonus points since it's forbidden since Marill is part of a really strict f-"

"That's not what I meant," Klingklang interrupted, shaking his head. He perked a brow at the snail's words. "Though… where are you even hearing these rumors?"

"Pshawww, if I told you, it wouldn't a secret anymore!" Magcargo looked completely unfazed. "But uh… if that's not what you meant… what do you mean? Are you talking about the eating habits and sexual orientation of everyone here or something?" Vanilluxe winced, nearly choking on the water he was drinking at the time. "W-what?! I thought knowing those were NORMAL!"

"No, it's not. Don't tell me, you secretly followed everyone to find out about all of that," Klingklang accused skeptically.

"W-what?! No obviously! I asked nicely!" Magcargo explained… barely, since Klingklang and Vanilluxe both still exchanged a look of confusion. "OOKAY! Let's uh… change topic since I think I can now feel the awkwardness in the room… it's so thick!"

"I'm a certified chatterbox…" Magcargo admitted with a straight face, not even bothered. "I mean… talking to people and getting to know them is really fun! Klingklang and Vanilluxe are pretty much my closest friends here. Klingy… well, if he lets me call him that, is someone I really trust a lot. I'm almost sad we keep winning since I wanna see the amount of damage can deal like boom, pow! We're like a really effective dynamic duo, huh?! Oooh, what would be the name of our partnership? Klingcargo? Magklang? Magklincaklango?! There's so many to choose from!"

Klingklang gazed at the camera nonchalantly as he confessed, "Magcargo and Vanilluxe… are both generally positive people… yet, they are also some of the emotional people here so I feel that would be the source of their downfalls. Fortunately, I believe by having… a mutual partnership would benefit both parties as logic and emotion combined can be a massive force, if you know what I mean."

He sighed, staring at the camera with cold eyes, "Though, I do wish Magcargo had better taste in food…"

Floatzel was just sitting on the docks, letting his feet touch the water as he gazed at the distance thoughtfully. While he spent most of his time on the island searching for 'villain's, he wanted another change of pace for the day, feeling a bit guilty that he did something hypocritical at the challenge: Let his team down by not revealing his… sort of embarrassing secret. Sighing, he kicked the water in frustration. "I can't call myself an ally of justice if I have moments of weakness like… THAT!"

"You have room for two more?" A voice called out to him, surprising Floatzel… well, it surprised him so much that he literally jumped from where he was sitting… and fell forward into the cold water, screaming as this happened. The source of the voice blinked as they walked over to where Floatzel was sitting. It was Teddiursa, who was joined by a sheepish Chansey. She blinked in confusion as she turned to the nurse next to her, "Uh… maybe, I should've been cuter and gwomped him… maybe then, he wouldn't have fallen over…"

Chansey doesn't react, just twiddling her fingers awkwardly in response. From the looks of it, she was reluctantly following the little bear, who wanted her to join her for a walk after the conversation they had after Musharna left the cabin.

Teddiursa groaned in exasperation, putting hands to her hips, "Are you still worried about earlier, Chansey? I mean… I want you to talk to my bestie, Floatzy first… before we can talkies with your 'Lady Magearna'... wherever she is right now."

Chansey sighed, wiping a hand down her face in worry, "I'm sorry… y-you're right. I'm feeling a bit… concerned about everything Musharna said earlier… about-"

"About what?" Chansey yelped in shock, turning around to find Floatzel walking back onto the docks, soaking wet from his accidental dip in the water.

"O-oh! Floatzel… are you okay? Thank Arceus, you're a Water-type. You see, Sableye nearly drowned earlier…"

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine…" Floatzel assured, wringing out the water drenching his tail with a loud grunt. "But… I was a bit curious about what you guys were talking about?"

Teddiursa giggled into her paw, winking playfully. "We'll tell you if you let me call you my bestie!"

"..." Floatzel's face turned beet-red again as he looked away with a huff, "... you know what, I don't think I need to know…" He laughed nervously, mumbling quietly, "Clipped toenails…"

Teddiursa blinked, "W-what?!"

"THAT WAS ME?! I CAN'T HOLD IT IN ANYMORE!" Floatzel blurted out, covering his face with his hands as a blush spreaded throughout his face. "U-uh… okay… I didn't need to say that… b-but I just wanted to put it out there…"

"WAIT… you were the one who collects clipped toenails?!" Teddiursa questioned, covering her mouth… before wincing, cocking a brow, "Why though? That's almost as gross as eating trash!" She paused before correcting herself, "Okay, maybe it isn't… but it's still pretty gross."

"... it's for EVIDENCE," Floatzel explained, hands on his cheeks. "I know it sounds dumb but I get a bit too carried away sometimes."

"Why does it sound like sometimes is an understatement…"

"It isn't! TRUST ME!" Floatzel defended with a huff.

"Mmmhm… I uhh… appreciate you telling us about your secret then? Even though, I literally don't care about whatever you're even trying to hide personally," Teddiursa admitted, smiling playfully at the weasel. "Anywaysiez… to move us back to the topic…"

Floatzel looked even more confused as the duo walked closer with something in mind, eyes widening at what they told him. Unfortunately, the scene transitions before we can see the final outcome of their discussion.

"... if I were to call anyone a friend on this island… it would be Teddiursa…" Floatzel admitted, flushed… before correcting himself, turning to the side, "BEGRUDGINGLY! I mean, she's the fakest person on the island with her tryhard cute shtick. So it's surprising we're not going for each other's throats, but I suppose it's because I know more about her, than Sableye, who is still pretty SHADY as fuck… but that's just me. Not going to force that down your throats, without proof. But I'll damn remind you every time!"

Sweat was trickly down Bayleef's face as he attempted to make eye contact with a disgruntled Empoleon as they started to make their way to the campfire ceremony as the sun begun to set in the distance. Though, he struggled to find the words to say, finding confidence in one second, only to lose it in the end. As he opened his mouth to try and say something, to see how Empoleon was feeling about losing, he was thankfully saved from the awkward moment by Musharna who floated right behind them with a bored expression.

"Oh… thank Arceus, I finally caught up with you both…" She muttered, eyes fluttering open and close. Turning to Bayleef, she rolled her eyes, "For somebody who's scared of his own shadow… you're… surprisingly a fast runner. It was… really hard to get to you, guys."

Empoleon cocked a brow, scoffing impatiently, "Why are you here? Is this a fucking common trend to come and talk to me, so close to the vote?! It happened last round and now, it looks like it's happening again…" He paused, sighing as his tone softened, "N-not that I mind obviously, it's been a long fucking day…"

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Musharna turned to the penguin, intrigued as she moved closer. "Hmm… if I were to wager a guess… Magearna?"

"Bingo, it was fucking her," Empoleon confirmed… before his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why the fuck are you talking to me though? It's not like we were fucking close… and I haven't forgotten about what you did during the challenge either…"

"Hmph… it's not my fault I was born lethargic…" Musharna defended with a haughty look.

"You fucking slept past your own secret," Empoleon pointed out.

"Anyone could've done that…"

"No, I believe you're the only person that could make that mistake," Empoleon grunted, starting to get annoyed but pinching the bridge of his nose to try his best to keep calm and composed.

"Maybe so… but don't hold it against me… there's bigger fish to fry," Musharna started, eyes darting from side to side, examining her surroundings for any onlookers that might be listening in before sighing in relief, "Oh okay… we're alone…" She then narrowed her eyes in a glare as she turned at the duo suspiciously, "Unless one of you two aren't the real Empoleon or Bayleef…"

Bayleef's eyes widened as he sputtered out, "W-what are you…"

"OKAY, I know you guys won't understand anyway…" Musharna sighed in exasperation before continuing, "But anyways… Empoleon… Bayleef… Magearna wants Bayleef gone, just so you know."

Bayleef whimpered as he took in this information, "O-oh no… I s-survived two votes… b-but I don't want to be the third boot!"

"I mean… you're… yourself, so I mean… it's not like it's not justified," Musharna admitted with a blank expression. "But don't worry… I don't want that to happen. I have another idea."

"... what are you even talking about?" Empoleon looked rather intrigued, but still remained skeptical at the same time.

"I want Magearna gone," Musharna expressed plainly. "Sableye, Magearna and Chansey are set to vote for Bayleef… but if you can get Floatzel onboard, we have the numbers to stage a coup and topple Magearna out of the game. And if Teddiursa votes with them, it'll tie… and I'm confident that Teddiursa's not the type to throw her game away for someone she barely knows."

Empoleon and Bayleef exchanged an uneasy look before turning back to Musharna as she continued explaining, "Magearna's controlling this tribe right now. She's the reason why Pikachu and Unfezant left. Without her interference, it would've been Bayleef out of the gate… so I do hope that you consider… since it's Bayleef's life on the line."

"I'm not sure about tha-" Empoleon grumbled to himself before sweating as Musharna turned back to his direction. "So… all we have to do is vote with you against Magearna?"

"Obviously… we need every vote we can get and this might be the only opportunity we can get to take her out!" Musharna remarked.

"B-but I thought you girls were c-close…" Bayleef looked confused as he inserted himself into the conversation, trying to pretend he understood everything he heard.

"Well… we were… but I have a creeping suspicion that… Magearna's lying to all of us… and by lying, I don't just mean… lying for the sake of the game," Musharna said ominously. "I'm talking about… a grander scale of lying… she's lying about EVERYTHING."

"... We'll think about it…" Empoleon muttered, crossing his arms.

"I mean… the vote's soon… so not much time to think…" Musharna stated matter-of-factly.

Empoleon rolled his eyes, face-palming. "You know what I mean."

"Uh-huh, yeah sure," Musharna replied, smiling casually before floating past them, turning back for a split second, "Let's see when the votes are read then." And with that, she floated onward, leaving the duo behind to ponder their decision for the vote.

The camera zoomed out to show the vast expanse of trees as the time changed from afternoon to night… time for the third campfire ceremony of the season.

For the third time in a row, the Shining Shuppet stayed seated on their respective stumps, facing the raging fire of the fire pit and Nihilego, who held a tray of confections with a haughty smirk. Situated next to her was Poipole who was stoking the fire with a stick to keep it lit for the entire ceremony. Everyone was tired… they didn't expect to lose THRICE. But it was the reality they lived in… and soon, someone was going to be the third person voted off of the game.

"Welcome Shining Shuppets… to your third campfire ceremony. I almost feel bad at how much you guys suck…" Nihilego attempted to console, but ended up sounding more condescending as a result. "I have here… seven gooey marshmallows… these are a symbol of safety… if you receive one… good job… you're still in the game for more fun and suffering. But if you don't receive one… I'm sorry to say but your journey in the game is officially over."

"You've all casted your votes… and they were tallied by our resident vote tallier: Marill," Nihilego continued, expression sympathetic yet charismatic at the same time. "Whoever receives the most votes will be the third person voted off of Total Pokemon Ultra Revival. So… let's get this party started!"

The somber mood of the ceremony quickly dampened the hostess' mood as she groaned as she quickly grabbed a marshmallow, preparing to throw, "Arceus, the mood is garbage right now… so let's just get this over with. First marshmallow of the night goes to…" She waved her tentacle around to entice the attention of the contestants, "... Empoleon."

Empoleon smirked as he easily caught his marshmallow with ease, stuffing it in his mouth boastfully. "Chansey!" The nurse smiled sheepishly as the marshmallow landed on her lap, grabbing it and enjoying the confection in her mouth in relief of her safety.

"... Sableye!" The gremlin cheered, celebrating his safety before pausing to smile bashfully in realization that he was holding up the campfire ceremony, walking over to grab his marshmallow. "... Floatzel." The weasel sighed in relief as he followed after the gremlin, casting him a skeptic gaze as they passed by each other.

"...and Teddiursa," Teddiursa gasped faux-cutely as she opened her mouth to catch the marshmallow, to Nihilego's annoyance as it flew past her head again, making her pout childishly.

Magearna. Musharna. Bayleef. They were the last three Shuppets left marshmallow-less. Bayleef looked just as nervous as he did in the past campfire ceremonies, having received votes in all of them. Musharna looked confident as she looked on with a yawn. Magearna's eyes darted from left to right in confusion at how she was in the Bottom 3 from out of nowhere.

"Three Pokemon are left without a marshmallow… I'm sorry to say this but… all three of you received votes," Musharna cocked a brow in confusion at Nihilego's declaration. Somebody voted for her?! It couldn't be… right?! As she narrowed her eyes, Nihilego continued, "But safe with one vote is… Bayleef."

The dinosaur sighed in relief as he nervously skittered over to the hosts to receive her marshmallow. Sableye looked confused at this, tilting his head to the side.

"Only one marshmallow left… and two people…" Nihilego announced to the jeering Musharna and the concerned Magearna. "Both of you even have names that start with M… so I guess it's fitting? Or something like that…"

"This has to be a joke…" Musharna muttered, gazing at the last marshmallow greedily. "Who even voted for me..? And how…"

"..." Magearna's concerned expression quickly turned into a frown at Musharna's words. "I see…"

"The final marshmallow goes to…"

Musharna glared at Magearna, who averted her gaze awkwardly.

Chansey's eyes turned to Teddiursa for support.

Empoleon crossed his arms with an intrigued expression.

"... Magearna." Nihilego announced, hurling a marshmallow towards the mythical Pokemon's direction. Musharna gaped in shock at Nihilego's announcement, "Sorry, Musharna… you're done!"

"OKAY?! What?! Empoleon..? Bayleef?! Did you…" Musharna's eyes were wide open for probably the only time in this competition as she turned to the two starter evolutions for answers.

"I… voted with you…" Bayleef revealed with a sheepish expression. His eyes then widened as he turned to Empoleon, who just shrugged indifferently.

"Hey, I didn't fucking care about who left here… and well… it just so happens that I don't like you more," Empoleon explained, smirking cockily at the tapir.

"Are you guys fucking retarded?!" Musharna yelled threateningly. "I can't believe this… you CAN'T trust Magearna!"

Magearna gasped at Musharna's words, confused, "W-what?! I don't…"

"Very funny… I can see through your act. You're not even Magearna… so just-" Musharna started to reveal only for Nihilego to interrupt.

"Musharna, now's not the time to start a fight. You're out of the game! Time to follow Poipole to the docks and leave the island…" She said… before a sympathetic expression formed, "I'm sorry."

Musharna's glare and disgruntled expression… quickly morphed to disappointment as she cocked her head down to the ground as she followed Poipole out of the area, leaving the seven remaining members of the team with Nihilego. Sableye was the only person to wave goodbye at her, still confused by what happened.

Magearna was pacing back-and-forth in front of the cabin before she was about to head to the campfire ceremony but she was quickly intercepted by a smirking Teddiursa, joined by Chansey and Floatzel. Confused, she cocked a brow.

"What are you guys doing?" Magearna queried in confusion. "I… I'm thinking about the vote… I think I'm having second thoughts…"

"Is that second thought voting for Musharna, by any chance?" Teddiursa asked to confirm, winking cutely.

Magearna blinked, surprised. "How did you..?"

"Let's just say… it's a gut feeling~" Teddiursa said vaguely, giggling into her paw. "Us four… vote for Musharna, the worst that can happen is a tie, which I doubt, seeing as Empoleon might be losing his patience with Mushy~"

"... are you sure?" Magearna stared at her teammate skeptically.

"Why are you asking me when I have a HUGE feeling you were going to ask us right before voting?" Teddiursa rolled her eyes, cheekily, patting the steel and fairy type on the head gently. "We have your backs here. Musharna was actively trashing you so like… she's definitely not too fond of you."

Chansey nodded, affirming, "S-she told us not to trust you… but obviously, I was never going to take that advice since you're Lady Magearna! I can always trust you!"

"..." Magearna closed her eyes thoughtfully at this. Chansey twiddled her fingers, starting to get second thoughts, only to be reassured by a smirking Teddiursa. Floatzel looked indifferent, not really appreciating Musharna dropping her so-called friend under the bus, something only a VILLAIN would do, in his opinion.

"I'm in…" Magearna said simply with a long sigh, making a determined expression.

It was at that moment that their decision for the night was firmly set in stone.

"So like… why save Magy even though she's sus?! Well, it's EASY. I need Floatzel to stay safe since he's like my pseudo-number one obvi!" Teddiursa explained, smiling cheekily at the camera. "If I took out Bayleef… that just means Floatzel would be in even bigger danger… so by keeping Bayleef… he's such a vote sponge and all… he'll be the target every round while Chansey, Floatzel and I can maneuver through things more smoothly. So like… Sableye and Magearna are pretty much filler votes for my side right now…"

She winked at the camera, blowing a kiss, "But they don't have to know that obviously!"

Gossifleur and Cramorant were spending their free-time by the side of their cabin. They were both invited to a 'celebration party' by Vanilluxe but declined to have some crucial girl bonding time between themselves. Cramorant giggled, waving her phone right in front of the young flower's face cheekily.

"I'm soooo surprised that you haven't heard of a phone before… like really?!" She remarked, leaning on the side of the wall, tilting her head in confusion. "You're like… joking right?!"

Gossifleur blinked, smiling sheepishly, "I'm serious… I haven't seen… a mobile phone before at all…"

"Wow, you really need to be educated then, oh ehm gee!" Cramorant announced, pointing at the sky with a determined look on her face… before scratching her chin bashfully, "Uh… hopefully? Uhmm… I actually don't know how phones work, tee bee eeeeeccch!"

"Maybe you can ask Klingklang?" Gossifleur suggested politely. "He looks like he knows a lot!"

Cramorant groaned, face-palming. "I don't like him too much… like at all, awks…" She rolled her eyes in exasperation, "Like… I tried bonding with him in the past few days and like… he's a massive jerk… no offense obvi. Don't rain downvotes on me for saying the truth!"

"Errr… downvotes?" Gossifleur blinked, confused.

"You don't like… need to know. I'll be real. The internet can be a really toxic place most of the time," Cramorant admitted with an indifferent shrug. "But yeeeeah… uhh… all you need to do is like… phones are used to like… look up information, talk to people even if you're like so far away from each other… and you can even play fun games on it! So phones are really great!"

"Wow… phones are that great?" Gossifleur tilted her head to the side. "Maybe, I should steal a phone for myself!" She giggled lightheartedly, to Cramorant's growing discomfort. "What? Do you have a cat biting on your thumb… though… what is a cat? You know what… I think I said the wrong variation of that idiom…"

"Uhh… did you just say… steal?" Cramorant pointed out shakily.

"I want to be a bad girl!" Gossifleur explained, eyes glimmering with interest.

"Why though?"

"It's simple! I heard that bad girls have all the fun!" Gossifleur explained. "And well… people tell me I'm so sweet… but I do want to have a brand new image!"

"What… brought this on, lol?"

"Gourgeist!" Gossifleur answered, to the bird's chagrin. "She has undertaken a lot of really exhilarating tasks! I want to be just like her!"

"... this is so sudden…" Cramorant stated matter-of-factly, groaning afterwards as she eyed the grass-type pleadingly. "Gourgeist is like… a bad influ-" Her eyes narrowed as a familiar squirrel was closing in on her companion, face-palming, "Skwovet?! Like, are you seriously going to jump at Gossifleur?!"

Skwovet groaned as he was discovered, jumping off the roof of the cabin and landing with a thud, "Aw… I wanted to scare you guys…"

"And probably steal all our stuffs?!" Cramorant added with an aggravated look.

"Okay… not going to even deny that…'' Skwovet mumbled before shrinking even further at Cramorant's intense glare, stammering out, "H-hey! It's not like I wanna rob you guys blind… it's just… an impulsive thing of mine…"

"That's what they always say!" Cramorant intoned in disbelief. "Awks… and I doubt that your only reason for being here was to like… scare the shit out of that… though, that's still real rude el ehm ey ow…"

"Okay fiiine… I was bored and wanted to see how everyone was doing…" Skwovet revealed, rolling his eyes. "Dedenne, Vivillon and Oricorio are all NAPPING for no reason. I don't want to talk to Klingklang, Magcargo OR Vanilluxe… so well, that leaves you two… and Gourgeist, but well… I don't want to…"

"If you must know, we're having some crucial girl bonding time so you're not allowed here!" Cramorant scoffed, jabbing a wing on the squirrel's chest in an attempt to be intimidating. "So li-"

"No, he can stay," Gossifleur interrupted, eyes still glimmering with interest.

"Why though..?"

"He can teach me how to be a bad girl!" Gossifleur explained with a firm nod.

Skwovet blinked as he sweated at the flower's words, "Say what now?!" He smiled weakly, scratching the side of his neck awkwardly, "I don't know what you even mean with that… but I don't…"

"It's not too hard. You will teach me how to do bad things and not be nice all the time!" Gossifleur explained.

"... I don't know how to… feel about this…" Skwovet commented, deadpanning.

Skwovet groaned in defeat as the grass type continued to stare at him expectantly, "FINE FINE… I'll teach you how to be 'bad'?! Even though I didn't take you to be… that type of person, Gossifleur…"

"I'm just very very interested!" Gossifleur stated.

"Awks… this will be a long game…" Cramorant muttered, sharing a nervous expression with Skwovet.

"O-okay?! So uhh… how exactly do I get started?"

"Teach me how to curse!" Gossifleur suggested.

"I don't want to get in trouble…"

"You're Skwovet…" Cramorant reminded him. "You always get in trouble for all your… shit."

"True… but this is a different thing…" Skwovet pointed out, laughing nervously.

"I'll be honest… at first, I did not have high hopes… I tried persuading Sableye but he was busy…" Gossifleur admitted with a sheepish expression. "But Skwovet steals from Vivillon a lot… so he's basically a bad boy… so I want to learn all of his ways… I mean… I'm so used to being the good girl, the sweetheart, Ms. Congenialty… I'm not at home right now so I want to let loose for once!"

Musharna looked disappointed as she floated on the boat, on her way to a famous resort in Alola. She didn't expect to be eliminated this early and even after an hour of mulling it over, she didn't know WHY she was even voted off.

A sympathetic Poipole patted her on the back, "You may be eliminated but you won't forget these memories!"

Musharna turned to him with a blank look on her face, "Gee… thanks for reminding me… now, I don't think I can even go to sleep, knowing I did shittily in this…" She groaned, rolling her eyes, "I knew I should've had a public call-out against Magearna."

"You live and learn!" Poipole continued to reassure with a bashful gaze, leaning closer. "And uhh… I'm on your side… since I know the truth… which is honestly a shock and I wouldn't have known if Marill didn't show us th-"

"... I'm eliminated… does it matter?"

"It's for CLOSURE. Magearna's actually-"

Musharna's eyes widened at what she heard, "WHAT?! Okay… I expected something else but this is… SOMETHING, for sure."

"Yes… it is…"

"..."

"..."

Poipole smiled weakly, flashing a weak thumbs-up, "Now that you know… do you feel any better?"

"Probably not… I'm too sleepy and angry at the same time… not exactly a good combination…"

"Aww…" Poipole dropped in disappointment but is propped up by Musharna, who rolled her eyes at this.

"Don't worry… I'm over being out."

"Oh thank goodness!"

Marill was typing something in a room, as she reviewed the footage for today's episode. Taking a small sip of coffee from her tumbler, she was focused on completing her work. Though, midway through, she noticed a familiar figure from the reflection of her laptop screen. Deadpanning, the blue mouse turned around, arms crossed.

"Gourgeist…" She started, trying to mask her confusion with a serious look. "... what are you doing here… and how did you even get in here?!"

"Hey… I just wanted to talk… so I invited myself in, seeing as we're already best friends, at this point…" Gourgeist's voice was ominous as she slowly approached Marill with a blank stare. "... I think you already know what I'm going to say… right?!" She tilted her head to the side… then tilted it… the entire 180 degrees. "So… are you willing to hear me out?"

"... I don't know what you-" Marill could do nothing but yelp as Gourgeist grabbed her small body to whisper something into her ears. Her eyes widened as her hands balled into fists, "W-wait… how did you…"

"Let's just say… I have an outside source…" Gourgeist mused playfully.

"... fine… close th-" Marill started, groaning in exasperation as the pumpkin extended her tendrils to close the door she came in from. "Ugh… I know that this is your thing… but it still scares me…"

"I know. I scare myself too!" Gourgeist said as the scene zoomed out, showing them starting to have a serious conversation with Marill's eyes darting all over the room in suspicion of anyone watching.

Ominous music played as the camera panned over to the security camera in the room, blinking in a red ominous light. But one thing was for sure…

Someone was watching them.

"Gourgeist… is really confusing… I should know, seeing as I actually read her application…" Marill commented, shaking visibly in the confessional. "She's lucky… that I have… a problem of mine I want to deal with… but I know I shouldn't… go far with this. I don't know what she's even capable of…"

She sighed, holding her head, "Why did it have to happen to this random show that's not even leading in views?! It… doesn't make sense!"

The waxing moon can be seen in the distance as the loud howls of unknown Pokemon can be heard. Most of the campers were asleep… save for one of them. This currently unknown camper left their cabin, after checking if all of their teammates were asleep… before slipping into the woods ominously as the scene faded to black.

Vote Count:

Musharna - Chansey, Empoleon, Floatzel, Magearna, Teddiursa (ELIMINATED)

Magearna - Bayleef, Musharna

Bayleef - Sableye

THE STORY

WOOT! This was a relatively fast chapter compared to the last ones and it can even be considered a pseudo-birthday chapter for me… even if it has zero relevance. The challenge was simple and pretty… fast-paced since it didn't need much moving around. But I can assure you all that the next one would have a LOT of moving around compared to the first few challenges… so stay tuned!

But anyways… this challenge was more on building plotlines since the bootlist is hopefully FINALIZED, at this point… or well, it exists, so we can have more ground for the next chapters. So woot! The boot was a bit obvious but the next eliminations would be more of a curveball… or not. I don't know.

THE BOOT (Musharna - 18th Place)

Musharna, like Pikachu, lasted longer originally in the headspace draft. Unfortunately for her, she became more expendable compared to the other players on the team. Yes… I said it, TEAM. Since, Shuppet was planned to lose ALL three challenges so the Trubbish weren't an option for the boot. It'll be clearer why eventually. She was fun to write, as a lethargic strategic, who fell into the unfortunate misplay of overplaying and stepping over the line, despite her poor position on the team. Empoleon did not like her for being a sleeper. And when she accidentally burnt Teddiursa and Chansey, her fate was sealed.

While I did like her and wished she could've lasted longer, the third boot is as far as she can go. She won't be forgotten and she's truly the first boot in this game that hit me hard… but the rest of the story's just going to get bumpier from here so keep your eyes peeled since the next few eliminations are already foreshadowed in this chapter.

Next Time… On Total Pokemon Ultra Revival

"Here we have… a cave!" Nihilego announced to the contestants who exchanged a confused look. Teddiursa raised her hand, intrigued. "Yes, Teddiursa?"

"Uh… when did we even have a cave X_X?!" Teddiursa questioned in confusion, turning to Floatzel and Magearna, who both had sheepish expressions.

"We always had a cave. I don't know what you're talking about," Nihilego averted her gaze as her mind went back to last night.

"Nihi, I think I accidentally blew up someplace on the island and suddenly, there's a cave," Poipole reported to his superior with a flushed expression, looking away and bracing for impact. "Uhm… I h-hope you're not mad…"

"YOU WHAT?!"

EPISODE 5: DIGGING FOR DISASTER

Musharna: PLEASE REVIEW… Okay… I'll go to bed now…

Pikachu: Do I beg the viewers to review..? But that's just feel too forceful and turn them off… but at the same time… I won't know until I try…

Musharna: Zzzz…

Pikachu: Y-you know what… r-review for better chapters?! Was that nice enough?!