Totally Real World Tour Touch Grass For Once!, a Pokémon + Total Drama series Crossover fanfic

Episode #2: Touch Grass For Once!

The cargo hold of the plane was bathed in silence, save for the chorus of snores echoing off the metallic walls. The contestants were scattered across the space, nestled against the hard metallic ground or even finding comfort on some of the dusty crates lingering around the room.

At least until the peaceful ambiance of sleep was suddenly shattered by a sudden shrill, blaring alarm. Red emergency lights began to pulse violently, casting the hold in an eerie, strobe-like glow throughout the room. One by one, the contestants stirred awake, eyes wide with panic.

Lianne shot up with a start, her body twitching in surprise. "Who set the kitchen on fire this time?!" she yelped, glancing around in alarm. When every bleary-eyed stare turned toward her, she blinked and remembered where she was. "Oh… right. TV show," she muttered, deflating as she slumped back slightly.

"What's happening?" Frank asked, concern etched across his face.

Levi grumbled, pushing his sleep mask up and squinting at the flashing lights. "If I'm correct, it's the alarm for—"

"Whatever it is," The Peak boomed, interrupting without hesitation, "The Peak can and will protect everyone!" He stood dramatically, flexing his biceps.

Above them, Batgirl, who had been hanging upside down from the high pipe, yawned and slipped. She landed with a thud before leaping up into a groggy, yet defensive stance, tired eyes scanning left and right in confusion. "Huh—Where are they?! Who's attacking?!"

Levi sat out, steadying himself on a crate. "Guys, it's just—"

Suddenly, a violent whoosh filled the room as the hatch of the plane burst open.

Wind roared into the cargo hold, and everyone screamed, scrambling to cling to whatever they could reach. The force was immediate and overwhelming—loose objects and contestants alike were being pulled toward the opened hatch.

"WOOOOOHOOOOOOO!" Sebastian's voice echoed out. Unlike the others, he hadn't latched onto anything and was already soaring out of the open hatch, arms spread wide as if he were on a rollercoaster.

"Sebastian!" Lianne screamed, eyes wide with horror.

A few moments later, Sebastian floated effortlessly back into the room with a roll of his eyes. "Relax, Grandma, I'm fine!" he called out with a smirk.

But just as he reentered, Lianne's grip slipped. Her eyes went wide. "Lianne!" she screamed, as she tumbled out of the plane.

Sebastian blinked. "Did she just scream her own name?"

"Hang on, hot ice babe! The Peak will save you!" The Peak yelled gallantly. He released his grip, and in a flash, he too was sucked out of the aircraft. "AHHHH!"

Outside, Lianne had spread her wings, flying up to the cargo hold with a large smile spread across her face. "Nevermind! I forgot I had wings—" The Peak's body collided into her, knocking them both into a freefall.

Back inside, Kacey clung to a metal bar, her eyes wild with panic. "What the hell is wrong with this show?!"

Yuki, meanwhile, was clutching both the pole and her plush toy, but her grip on the latter faltered. "Yami!" she cried out in alarm as the plush flew out of her arm.

"I got him!" Batgirl shouted, diving forward. Her wings extended just in time as she swooped through the air and caught the toy. But Yuki had let go too, slamming into Batgirl mid-rescue. The two—and Yami—tumbled helplessly out the hatch.

In the middle of it all, Loki stood with wild glee in their eyes. "Yes… yes! Chaos!" they howled, lifting their arms in triumph— "AAAAHHHH!" They joined the others, vanishing into the swirling winds.

One by one, the remaining contestants lost their grips, their screams echoing through the open sky as they were dragged out into the air, leaving the cargo hold eerily empty and still—save for the current of wind and the pulsing red lights.

The contestants were scattered across a mossy forest floor, landing in various states of disarray. The adrenaline from their unexpected descent still pulsed through them, mingling with groggy confusion and panic. Around them, the sight of a forest stretched out in a serene sprawl—towering trees casting large shadows over the mossy ground, and distant bird Pokémon called out through the sky above, that looked to be littered in thick, rolling clouds, some darker than others.

Sebastian was the only one who looked remotely thrilled by the whole ordeal. He floated down to the forest floor with a wide grin, laughing all the while.

"Hell yeah! What a rush!" he whooped, flippers spread wide. When the others glared at him, he blinked. "What?"

Kacey, still brushing leaves from her body, shot him a sharp look. "We literally could have died!"

Finn, who was shaking the dirt and twigs from his feathers, gave a weak smile. "Thank goodness we didn't!"

Frank looked him over with a raised brow. "Finn, you have wings. Why are you hurt?"

"Oh! Well, Batgirl and Lianne weren't using theirs, and no one else had wings, so... I would've felt bad if I did," Finn replied casually, shrugging his shoulders as if it was no big deal.

Nina muttered under her breath, "Must be nice to have that kind of decision…"

Vienna shook off the dirt clinging to her fur and looked around at the groaning group. "Is everyone okay?"

There was a collective chorus of unenthusiastic grumbles in reply.

Enot, smirked and slinked over to Vienna's side with a suave tilt of their head. "It'd be even better if you gave me your phone number—"

A mechanical whirring interrupted the moment. A golden drone descended from the sky, a slim TV screen suspended beneath it. The screen flickered on to reveal the familiar faces of the hosts.

"Good morning, contestants!" Penelope greeted cheerily. "How are you all doing today?"

Dez growled low in his throat, brushing mud off his fur. "Fine, until we were shot through the sky like rag dolls!" Yuki quickly clamped her paws over Yami's plush ears. "Sorry…"

Rowan waved off their frustration with a laugh. "It woke your lazybones up at least!" He snickered at the glares shot his way. "Anyway, welcome to Santalune Forest! Home of trees, bugs, and all that nature crap rooted in the Kalos region!"

Ruby was scrolling on her phone, or at least trying to. "T-There's no signal…" she muttered under her breath.

"That's right!" Penelope beamed. "In Santalune Forest, there's hardly any cell towers, so you can finally be one with nature and actually touch grass for once!"

Ruby's eye twitched, but that quickly vanished when she pulled out a book from seemingly nowhere and flipped it open, instantly absorbed.

Loki's jaw dropped. "How do you do that?" They watched her with awe. Ruby simply shrugged.

O'Reilly stuck a cigarette between their lips and squinted at the screen. "Can I ask why you decided to strand us?"

Jeff groaned. "Yeah, and before breakfast! I'm starving!"

"Ah, well, in that case…" Rowan grinned smugly, "sucks to be you!" He laughed obnoxiously as the contestants collectively groaned again.

"Because right now," Penelope continued brightly, "you're officially taking part in your very first challenge!" A soft breeze rustled the leaves as the contestants' collective enthusiasm deflated like popped balloons. "Don't worry, it's simple!" Penelope assured them. "Nothing drastic!"

"Dammit!" Sebastian muttered.

Frank shot him a disappointed glance. "Dude, we were literally forced to free fall out of a plane!"

"I know!" Sebastian said, still annoyed. "Why start off so rad if we're just gonna do something lame right after?"

"...I think you missed my point."

Penelope ignored them. "Complaints aside! Your challenge will be a camping challenge. All you have to do is journey through Santalune Forest and reach Santalune City. The first two teams to check in at the city inn with all their members will be safe from elimination!"

Levi blinked. "That doesn't sound like camping if the goal is just to reach a city."

"That's because it's recommended you stay the night in the forest first," Rowan explained, rolling his eyes. "This place is huge, so unless you want to bulldoze your way to the city without a break, good luck."

Aquamarine folded her arms. "Well, thank you, but I don't think anyone would ever want to do that—"

"Oh, we're totally doing that!" The Peak cut in, raising a fist to the sky. "TEAM VICTORY!"

Yuki, still holding onto Yami, narrowed her eyes and held the plush over her face, "You fool. How can we reach the city with no directions?"

As if answering her question, three backpacks—one yellow, one blue, and one red—fell from the sky and landed with soft thuds near the group.

"Each team gets one bag!" Penelope explained. "They'll have a few survival supplies: a compass, a map, some berries, and a canteen."

"I also threw in a pot and a single sleeping bag," Rowan added with a devilish grin. "So you losers can fight over it. It'll be hilarious."

Frank bent down and grabbed the blue bag, weighing it in his hands. "So basically, we just have to reach the city inn to win?"

"Correctomundo!" Rowan confirmed, giving a mock salute. "It shouldn't be hard—we gave you a literal map and compass. You're welcome, by the way."

"And don't worry," Penelope added, "If you get hopelessly lost or are just incapable of reaching the city by tomorrow night, we'll come rescue you."

"But please," Rowan added, smirking, "try not to suck that bad. You are on national television, so at least pretend to be competent." More glares were cast toward the screen, but the Sneasler snickered mockingly at them.

The drone began to lift back into the sky, humming softly as it disappeared from view. "Good luck, everyone!" Penelope's voice called cheerily from the distance.

With the drone long gone and the challenge officially underway, Frank bagan opening the blue backpack while Dez and Vienna claimed the yellow and red bags for their respective teams.

Nearby, The Peak was already charging ahead. "Alright, Team Victory! Move out!" he barked, pointing dramatically into the woods.

"Hold on!" Dez called after him. "We need to check the map!"

"Check it while we walk!" The Peak waved a dismissive hand over his shoulder. "Gotta get a head start on the other teams!" The other teams exchanged glances—half confused, half irritated. "What? Obviously we wanna win!" The Peak added.

Nina lifted a timid stubby paw. "W-We should probably…" she trailed off as he disappeared into the underbrush, ignoring her completely. "Ignored again…"

With various levels of reluctance and side-eyes, the rest of Team Victory followed him into the forest.

Meanwhile, Frank unfurled the map across a mossy log, squinting at the paths marked in colored lines. The rest of Team No Name peered over his shoulders, eyes scanning for some semblance of direction.

"Alright," Frank said, tracing a path with his finger. "There's a few routes, but this one looks the fastest. We camp here—" he tapped a little clearing icon, "—then wake up and take a left after fifteen—"

"When do we get food?" Yami asked, as Yuki held him up.

"Yes!" Loki chimed in. "The Lord of Chaos demands a fresh meal!"

"We'll focus on getting a move on," O'Reilly said, eyes narrowing toward the other team. "Then we'll talk grub."

"I'm down!" Sebastian said, stretching his ghostly limbs, before an excited gasp fell from his lips. "You think we'll find a bear on the way there?!"

Lianne's eye twitched. "W-What?!"

Frank quickly shook his head. "That's not happening. Hopefully." Lianne let out a small squeak. "Alright then, let's head out, team!"

With that, Team No Name began their trek into the woods..

Off to the side, Team Enot lingered. Levi was still studying the map, his brows furrowed and lips pursed. "Well," he mumbled, turning the map slowly, "if they're taking the quickest path, maybe we should follow, wherever that is?"

Jeff, arms crossed, gave a dramatic groan before snatching the map. He flipped it over with a flourish and slammed it back into Levi's paws. "You fool. It was upside down."

Levi's fur bristled. "I knew that!" he huffed. "I was just... evaluating all available options. Clearly."

Vienna stepped up beside him and pointed at another route. "Honestly, we should find our own way. The quickest route isn't always the best. This spot here," she said, tapping the map, "is near a river, has tons of trees for firewood and berries, and there's even a cave nearby."

Enot purred. "A cave, huh? I haven't had a rendezvous there in quite a while…" The others instantly looked away.

Kacey frowned. "What if something's already living in there?"

Batgirl had her back to them, cape fluttering slightly as she crossed her arms. "Don't worry, I'll protect you," she said, voice low. Then she stiffened. "A-And everyone else, of course," she added quickly, coughing and pulling her cape over her face.

Jeff rolled his eyes but smirked knowingly. "Yes, yes. Though no one would be foolish enough to spite us anyway." He tapped his temple. "My pure, raw EVIL shall drive any thoughtless fool away!"

Enot grinned. "I wouldn't mind your pure, raw—"

"Heathen!" Jeff snapped, recoiling as if the Furret's words had burned him.

Levi rolled his eyes and marched forward. "Let's just go, the other teams are already ahead!"

The rest of Team Enot followed, grumbling or shrugging, but ultimately falling into step behind Levi. Vienna cast one last glance at the cloudy sky, her tail twitching.

However, none of them noticed the pair of eyes watching from behind the trees.

Camouflaged in the brush, a shadowed figure brought a walkie-talkie to their mouth, watching Team Enot slip between the trees. "Hey boss," the figure muttered, voice low. "I think I've got some info you're gonna like."

"Sure, I know nothing about camping, but I do know a thing or two about saving the day!" The Peak exclaimed, slamming his closed fists against each other. "This is my chance to show everyone just how much of a hero I am!"

Cracking his fingers, he smirked, "And I'll do that by giving them a free win!"

Floating in the confessional, Sebastian let out an amused laugh. "Getting blown straight out of the plane was GREAT! It was so unexpected too- good play, producers! You really know how to keep us on our toes!" He clapped his flippers together in a respectful way.

"But now we're just camping. What a total snoozefest," he deflated, groaning slightly. "I guess I can go along with it, but I'll need to find ways to keep it a little interesting at the very least."

Levi glared in distaste, "Me and camping do not go well together. I absolutely loathe the idea of the outdoors. It's dirty and it smells and there's absolutely nothing of value! I wouldn't go into a forest for more than a day if I had a choice in the matter…"

"However, I'm already stuck in this situation. I'll just allow the others to take control because this is not my element," he continued, smirking slightly. "Just they wait 'till I have my chance, though…"

While the contestants struggled through the forest, things were considerably more comfortable up in the airplane. Inside the kitchen, Rowan lounged on a throne made of golden luxury cushions, his legs draped over the armrest like a bored king. His assistant stood beside him, dutifully feeding him chunks of banana as he chatted animatedly on his phone.

"That's right, one room," Rowan said, mouth half-full. "Make it flashy, but not too flashy. And, y'know what? Throw in that cable package. 'Cause why the hell not!"

Penelope stood nearby, arms crossed, watching him in exasperation.

"He just threw them all out of a plane a few minutes ago," she muttered. "And now he's planning to reward them?"

Will leaned against the counter next to her, a sigh escaping his lips. "Unfortunately, that's just how reality television works," he said. "If we keep throwing torturous challenges at them with only one big reward at the end, they'll start to feel like it isn't worth the trauma. But if we give them small incentives along the way—a night in a luxury suite, a bonus, maybe a lifetime supply of bread, the point is they stay motivated. They start chasing the little wins. Crumbs now… cake later."

"Seems manipulative," she muttered. "Which means it's exactly what Rowan would come up with."

Rowan ended his call and looked over at her with a wide grin. "Me? Manipulative? I provide nothing but the cold, hard truth, Darling."

"Debatable," she replied dryly.

"Hurtful, but fair," Rowan said with a shrug. He took another bite of banana before casually waving off his assistant. "Maybe I just want to give back to the less fortunate. I have so much cash, I don't even know what to do with it! Why not reward the winning team?"

Will tilted his head. "You literally dropped eighteen people out of a flying plane, sir."

"And now I'm rewarding whoever survives with a beautiful night in the Santalune Inn!" Rowan shot back with a grand gesture. "That's called balance, Will. Learn it." He turned back to Penelope, a smug sparkle in his eye. "Besides, you're trending on socials again. You're welcome!"

Penelope's ears twitched. "Most of the comments were just creeps or people claiming I slept my way into the job."

Rowan raised both brows innocently. "Hey, I never said it was positive trending." She shot him a glare. He groaned dramatically. "Look, these things take time! Trust me, once the drama kicks in and we start throwing in more hair-raising challenges, the show's gonna explode in popularity. And then? Everyone will love you, too." He argued, thinking for a moment and smirking. "Well, they'll love me more, but they'll tolerate you."

Will stared at the Sneasler in appreciation. "You know… you're taking your role surprisingly seriously."

Rowan smirked and stood up from his throne, stretching his arms above his head with a yawn. "If there's one thing I want out of this, it's for the show to do well." For a brief second, he seemed oddly sincere. Then— "Anyway! It's nearly noon! Time for Zumba!" Rowan grinned, hopping off the seat, strutting out of the room without another word, humming an upbeat tune as he went.

Penelope blinked after him. "That was… weirdly genuine."

Will chuckled. "Maybe he has grown up."

From the other side of the door, Rowan's voice echoed back. "Yo! Should I wear the pink shorts with the rainbows or the purple ones with the stars? …Nevermind! Found the yellow ones!"

Penelope snorted. "Doubtful." Then a thought hit her, as she turned to the ice-type in a panic. "Wait… Will—who's flying the plane?!"

Will gasped, eyes wide. "Oh no!"

Penelope's fur bristled. "What?!"

He grinned. "Kidding. It's on autopilot."

Penelope scowled and gave him a playful punch on the shoulder. "Don't do that to me!" Laughing, Will followed as she marched out of the room.

The forest leaves rustled above, the distant chirping of bird Pokémon, and the not-so distant sound of someone dramatically sniffing the ground.

That someone was The Peak. Down on all fours, The Peak buried his nose into the mossy earth, inhaling deeply as the rest of Team Victory stood behind him in awkward silence.

Nina grimaced. "Is he… sniffing grass?"

"Yes!" The Peak shot back, voice muffled slightly by the greenery. "I'm making sure there's no bad guys around!" He took another exaggerated sniff and then—without hesitation—licked the ground. "My Peak Senses aren't tingling," he muttered thoughtfully, smacking his lips. "But it tastes like there were others in the area—"

"We're in a public forest," Dez interrupted flatly. "I'd be more shocked if there wasn't any sign of life."

Behind them, Ruby winced as a sharp blade of grass nicked her leg. She hissed, glancing down at the small cut with a frown. "Ow."

Finn gasped, and immediately fluttered over to her side, eyes wide with concern. "Oh my goodness! Are you okay, Ruby?"

Ruby shuffled nervously, eyes flicking away. "G-Grass…"

"The grass cut you?" Finn said, looking toward the offending weed, and when she nodded again, he gasped. "I'm so sorry!"

Nina, watching with confusion, tilted her head. "Aren't you a steel-type? How did that even break the skin?"

"Come on, guys!" The Peak suddenly barked from up ahead. "We need to get a move on!"

Dez folded her arms. "Do you even know where you're going?"

The Peak scoffed, thrusting a finger into his chest. "Of course I do! I'm The Peak! I can lead us out of here, no problem!" With a dramatic spin, he pointed decisively ahead. "We go right!"

Aquamarine raised a brow, but offered a smile and held up the map. "Actually, sweetie, I think left would be better. There's a river that has water for us."

"You could've just asked The Peak if you wanted that," he replied, puffing out his chest. "Hell, I can fill our bottles with water right now if you want—"

"No!" Everyone shouted in unison, cutting him off so sharply he blinked in surprise.

Aquamarine forced a bright, sugary smile. "Let's just go left, please. I'm sure with your big brain and strong muscles, you'll lead us to our first win."

Dez and Nina shared a silent, mutual grimace at her tone. Finn gave an approving nod, and Ruby… was licking her cut.

The Peak blushed, but he let out a satisfied, almost bashful chuckle. "Of course! Alright then, left it is!"

With a confident stride, he took the lead once more, Aquamarine and Finn trailing close behind. Ruby followed slowly, dragging her feet a bit and humming softly to herself.

Nina stood frozen, trembling slightly. "Do we r-really have to follow h-him?"

Dez gave an exhausted sigh and trudged forward. "Unfortunately."

Reluctantly, Nina followed, looking over at the Feraligatr they were stuck with, and muttering under her breath, "Peak senses my ass…"

"I want nothing more than to simply take a backseat and let everyone else focus on this challenge," Aquamarine stated, rolling her eyes. "Not only am I not a camper, but I put a lot of attention on myself by cooking last night. I don't need to take control of the challenge too!"

She smirked, "At least that hard-headed brute can be easily swayed, so while he makes a fool of himself, I can sit back and observe." Thinking to herself, she spoke aloud, "He may prove useful to me later. I'll have to keep an eye on him."

Rolling his eyes, Dez muttered, "I'm not the biggest fan of "The Peak" and it's not much of a secret." With a scoff, " I don't think I've heard him talk about anything but himself, so of course he wants to lead the team."

"If we lose, I already know who I want out of here, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt…" He continued, his expression turning dark. "For now."

Team No Name trekked steadily through the thick underbrush, the chirps of distant bug Pokémon echoing above them in the trees. At the front of the pack, Frank moved with a quiet confidence. He stopped suddenly near a row of trees, gesturing to the thick trunks with a sense of pride.

"These are Oran Berry trees," he announced, placing one clawed hand on the bark. "You can tell by the darker color and the pale accents along the edges."

Without hesitation, he slammed his pincers into the tree. It gave a heavy shake, and several berries tumbled to the ground. Frank bent down, picked one up, and held it aloft with a victorious smile.

"And now," he said with a satisfied grin, "we have ourselves a hiking snack."

Frank stood proudly in front of the camera, "I come from a small town, so I know a thing or two about nature!" He smiled widely. "It helps that I used to be a boy scout, so I'm pretty confident that I can help out where needed."

"Things do feel a little tense though. Nobody got much sleep, and we'll have to walk for a while," he admitted, scratching his pincers. "But I'm sure once we set up camp everyone is going to loosen up and feel a lot better!" He smiled.

"Food!" Loki screeched, darting forward and in seconds, they were shoveling berries into their mouth at breakneck speed, cheeks puffed out as they stuffed themself.

"Um, Loki," Frank stammered, eyes widening with concern. "You're actually supposed to wash those before eating."

Loki looked up, cheeks crammed full. "The King of Chaos disagrees!" they declared through a mouthful of pulp before stuffing in another berry.

Sebastian, watching in interest, nudged Lianne with a flipper. "You bet I could eat more than him?"

"What? No, I—" Lianne blinked, clearly thrown off.

"Nah, no need to explain," he said, winking as if they'd just shared a silent agreement. Then he shouted, "Yo, dude! Bet I can stuff more in my mouth!"

Loki's eyes lit up. "I'd like to see you try!"

And just like that, the competitive chomping began. Sebastian floated over, cheeks inflating with each bite as he attempted to match Loki's manic pace. Berry juice flew. Oran peels hit the dirt. The forest bore witness to the world's least dignified eating contest.

Watching from a safe distance, Yuki hugged her doll to her chest as the two watched with mild disdain.

'Yami' spoke, "Idiots."

Yuki whispered quietly into her toy, lips curling with amusement. "My money's on the ghost winning." Yami didn't respond, but if the little stitched face could smirk, it probably would have.

Team Enot trudged through the dense forest, and at the very back, Batgirl remained vigilant, her eyes scanning the trees and underbrush, while Jeff stood near her, fixated on his cellularinator, completely absorbed in his telenovela.

"Edmundo! Save Roxi from the EVIL clutches of—" Jeff's dramatic cry was abruptly cut off as the screen turned to static. "CURSES!" he shouted, frustrated.

Batgirl, still looking around, glanced over at him. "How are you even able to watch that?"

Jeff flashed her a smug grin. "I'm an EVIL genius, that's why!" he declared, pointing a finger up in the sky. "When are we finding a suitable camp? It's been ages!"

From the front of the group, Vienna's voice floated back, "Should be another ten minutes!"

"Useless! That'll take forever!" Jeff yelled, clearly annoyed.

Enot slid up beside him with a mischievous grin. "If you want company, I can certainly—"

Jeff shoved them away with a quick motion. "Begone, fiend!" he snapped, before turning to give them an accusatory finger. "I am no stranger to boorish mating rituals!" He puffed his chest with a smirk. "So many women used to swarm around me that I had to beat them back with a stick!"

Kacey, who had been walking ahead of him, grimaced. "I doubt that."

"It's true!" Jeff argued, rubbing his beard thoughtfully. "They tried to get the bargain prices, but I was always victorious! Imagine their surprise when I'd steal it instead of paying! Because I am EVIL!"

Levi rolled his eyes. "Ah, groceries. Of course you're talking about that."

Enot chuckled. "We lucked out having a bad boy in our group," they teased, smirking at Jeff.

Levi shook his head. "You do realize he's like, fifty, right?"

"I'm only forty-two!" Jeff shot back, defensive.

Enot shrugged nonchalantly. "Hey, if it's legal, it's fair game."

At that, Kacey, Vienna, and Levi quickly picked up their pace, distancing themselves from the conversation. Enot, however, walked lazily behind them, still wearing that smug smirk.

Batgirl, who had been walking behind them, started to follow, but Jeff held up a hand, signaling for her to stop. "Stay back for a moment," he whispered, his voice low and urgent. "We have much to discuss!" His exclamation, though he quickly amended it by whispering once more, "Quietly."

Batgirl raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Oooh, that's pretty out of character for you. Must be serious."

Jeff squinted ahead, making sure the others were far enough away before leaning in to whisper. "You know how we're sworn enemies, right? How we would never work together."

Batgirl nodded, eyes narrowed. "Of course. You're evil and I'm not."

"Exactly!" Jeff hissed. "And that's why we should secretly work together."

Both of them shuddered at the thought.

"They know we hate each other, so they would never know," Jeff continued, a sly smirk on his face. "I'll make you a deal. If I win, you get ten percent of my winnings. If you win, you give me ninety percent of your winnings. We both get money in the end—"

Batgirl's eyes widened. "Wait, hang on. Why do you get more money than me if I win?"

But Jeff ignored her question, continuing, "However, there's only two of us. We need more minions on our side. We each look for one additional ally to work with for separate, lesser partnerships, so no one is suspicious. We'll secretly be running the entire team."

Batgirl opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, Jeff added, "I also call dibs on the cat. He amuses me with how dumb he is while perceiving himself as so smart! You must decide between the weed and the hound!" He paused, narrowing his eyes. "You are not allowed to entertain that fiendish ferret—"

Before he could finish, Enot appeared out of nowhere, stepping between them with a wide grin. "Did someone call for me?"

Jeff's eyes widened in horror. "NEVER!" he shouted, his voice rising. Without another word, he turned and bolted, leaving Batgirl to scramble after him.

"W-Wait for me!" Batgirl called as she flew after him.

Enot just sighed dramatically and whistled, strolling along with an exaggerated kick in their step as they followed the pair.

Booming laughter filled the confessional, as Jeff stared up at the ceiling in glee. "I am a genius I say! Genius!" With a smirk, he rubbed at his beard. "No matter what happens in this team, now that I have that foolish Batgirl on my side and soon enough that ignorant catboy, I will rule them all with an iron fist!"

"The best part is that no one will see it coming!" He added, laughing all the while.

Batgirl has her back facing the camera, her cape flowing in the nonexistent wind. "I'm not too sure if working with Jeff is the right answer, but it will help me keep an eye on him. You know what they say, keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."

Shuffling in place, she glanced at the camera from over her shoulder. "B-But uh working with Kacey or Vienna?" Her voice wavers. "How do I choose between them? T-They're both so cool and pretty and... oh gosh…"

Team No-Name boredly watched the contest between Loki and Sebastian. The latter of the two, using his ghostly abilities, effortlessly expanded his ethereal form, stuffing berry after berry into his body.

Loki, on the other hand, was struggling. Their cheeks were puffed to capacity, and their eyes bulged. They managed to sputter out a muffled accusation, "You cheater—" they spat out half-chewed berries from their mouth. Collapsing to the ground, they gasped for air.

Sebastian, floating a few inches off the ground, raised his flippers in triumph. "Too easy!" he boasted.

"Predictable," came the calm, flat voice of Yami.

"Agreed," O'Reilly muttered, placing a cigarette between their lips with a flick. Their eyes narrowed as they glanced over the mess of squashed berries on the forest floor. "And now all the food has gone to waste."

Loki averted their eyes guiltily. Sebastian simply folded his flippers across his chest and shrugged.

Frank stepped forward with a placating smile. "Don't worry, everyone. It's fine. We've got a few miles ahead and plenty of trees to forage from."

But O'Reilly scoffed. "No, it's not fine," they snapped. "They still wasted food. In case you've forgotten, the rest of us haven't eaten yet."

"W-Wasting is super bad!" Lianne agreed, nodding her head rapidly. "That's why my sibl—uh, my workers at my Bed and Breakfast always eat every leftover! Nothing goes to waste!"

All this did was guide several looks of disgust toward her. "That sounds like a health hazard…" Frank muttered.

Yuki, hugging Yami tightly to her chest, let the doll do the talking. "As disinteresting as this conversation is," Yami said, "we should move along if we don't want to lose."

"The toy speaks the truth," O'Reilly grunted.

Loki turned to glare at Yuki. "Why even mention the cheap trash? It's just the weird girl talking, not the useless doll!"

Yuki flinched and pulled Yami closer to her face, shrinking back under Loki's words. "How dare you—" Yami hissed, a low growl vibrating in Yuki's voice.

"Okay! Enough!" Frank said firmly, stepping between them with arms folded. His eyes flicked between them with authority. "Let's just find a place to set up camp, alright?"

Loki huffed. "Nobody tells the great Lord of Chaos what to do!" But as Frank held his ground, Loki's bravado deflated. "T-Though on second thought… the King of Chaos could use some rest."

"Great!" Frank said brightly, and with a clap of his claws, turned toward the deeper woods. "Let's get moving then!"

The group began to move forward again, still slightly tense from the exchange. At the back of the pack, Yuki trailed behind, clutching Yami close. Her eyes narrowed in frustration.

Yuki and Yami sat in front of the confessional camera, staring directly at each other, with Yuki looking visibly irate.

"They called me cheap," she muttered gruffly, moving the doll erratically as if he was the one speaking. "Cheap!"

Yuki lowered her ears, whispering, "And they called me weird…"

"We'll show them," she moved Yami's body once more, speaking gruffly, "They'll regret ever crossing us."

The forest thickened as dusk crept in, casting long shadows over the winding dirt path. Team Victory trudged behind The Peak, who marched ahead with theatrical bravado. Ruby lagged near the back, her steps slow and uneven.

Dez glanced back and stopped. "Hang on. I think Ruby needs a minute."

Nina perked up from her slouch. "I-I'm also tired… just putting that out there."

The Peak groaned and halted in his tracks, clearly irritated. "We're not stopping! If we take a break, we could lose the challenge!"

"But I think everyone else is camping for the night," Finn spoke up, offering a gentle smile. "So we should be okay."

The Peak blinked, staring at him like he'd just appeared out of thin air. "Whoa! How long were you here, dude?!"

Finn tilted his head. "I—I've been here the entire time? We're on the same team?"

The Peak rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. "Are you sure?" Finn's jaw dropped.

Dez rolled his eyes and muttered, "Let's just take a break. We're all exhausted." He motioned toward the two girls. "There's kids here. Think of them."

"I-I'm eighteen," Nina mumbled, voice barely above a whisper.

Aquamarine chuckled, her voice like silk. "Personally, I would love a break myself." She purred the words, shooting a look toward The Peak, who looked conflicted under her gaze.

With a begrudging grunt, he gave in. "Fine," he said, opening the pack and rummaging through it. "But I call dibs on the sleeping bag!"

Ruby didn't wait. She collapsed gracelessly onto the dirt path, letting out a soft exhale. Around her, the rest of the team spread out, looking for places to rest.

Dez pulled the map from his pocket and studied it. "Huh," he said, eyebrows raised. "Ironically enough, if we rest now, we might reach the inn without much trouble tomorrow."

"What did you say?" Nina looked up at him with wide eyes, panic rising. "Did you j-just jinx us?"

The Peak stood tall, striking a flexing pose. "No jinxes exist when The Peak is here!" Behind him, Ruby sneezed softly. "The Peak says bless you!" he shouted without missing a beat.

Ruby turned her face away. "T-Thank you…"

Nina looked away. "W-Who's getting the firewood?"

"The Peak will grab everything!" he declared, puffing his chest and striking another pose before dashing off into the forest.

The team collectively exchanged looks of disdain. As the dust settled, Finn suddenly noticed the canteen sitting on the ground where The Peak had been standing.

"Wait! You forgot the canteen!" Finn called out. He picked it up and forced a smile. "It's okay! I'll get us some water." He turned toward the group, hopeful. "Anyone wanna join?"

Dez shook his head. "I would, but I should gather more food. I don't trust whatever he's going to bring back."

Aquamarine stretched and sank onto a nearby tree root, fanning herself lazily. "I would join either of you, but my feet are killing me. I think Ruby could use some company, too."

Ruby silently inched away from her.

Finn turned toward Nina. "Ni—"

"No," Nina said flatly. Dez shot her a hard look, and she quickly added, "I-I'm tired too…"

"It's okay!" Finn said, still chipper. "I can go on my own!"

Dez sighed and pushed off the tree he was leaning against. "No, I'll go with you. We'll pick some berries along the way—since some of us don't feel like helping." His eyes fell pointedly on Nina.

"They aren't helping either…" Nina muttered, barely audible.

"Ruby is hurt," Dez sighed, "and Aquamarine cooked for everyone."

Aquamarine's smirk returned at the compliment, basking in the acknowledgement.

"You need to pull your weight too," Dez finished firmly.

Nina said nothing, turning to look away.

"Told you that cooking would put in a good word for me!" Aquamarine grinned, sending a wink at the camera.

With a quiet grunt, Dez hoisted the backpack over his shoulder and turned away from the group. Finn flinched slightly at the sudden motion, his wings twitching with unease.

He turned to Nina, offering a small, shaky smile. "Hey, don't worry! I'm sure you can help out next time!"

Nina didn't respond, she just trembled in place, her wide eyes fixed on the two retreating figures as they disappeared deeper into the forest.

Behind her, Aquamarine stretched her arms above her head with a relaxed sigh. "Well, it looks like it's just the three of us, isn't that right, Ruby?" she smiled.

She turned toward where Ruby had been resting—only to find the space empty.

Her smile faltered. "Huh. Wonder where she wandered off to."

She glanced around the clearing, but Ruby was nowhere in sight. The forest around them was quiet, save for the occasional rustle of leaves and the distant chatter of birds. Aquamarine blinked once, then shrugged with a sigh, lounging back against a tree as if the missing ant weren't her concern at all.

Nina glared at the camera, trembling slightly, "T-The double standard, I swear. S-So what if Ruby got a tiny cut? O-Or that Aquamarine cooked? I-I'm allowed to be tired too!"

"This team is the worst," she grumbled.

Team No Name had made their way into a grassy plain tucked within the forest, the tall trees parting to reveal open sky. Frank set the backpack down with a relieved sigh and turned to the others, his usual bright grin stretched across his face.

"This looks like a great place to set up camp!" He announced enthusiastically.

No one replied.

He laughed, awkwardly. "I know we only have one sleeping bag, but we can at least build a shelter! I can cut some trees down and maybe we can—"

"Food and water first," O'Reilly cut in coolly, gesturing toward the team behind them. "I bet this is the most they've worked out in years."

"I'm a ghost," Sebastian said flatly. "I don't even walk, dude."

Walking past him, Loki flopped unceremoniously onto the ground. "I'm fine!" They wheezed.

"Imagine using your legs," Yami spoke and Yuki shot him an irate look.

"Must be nice…" she added in a whisper only the toy could hear.

"If needed, I can assist in putting something together!" Lianne piped up with a twitching smile. "I have no idea how to actually make a shelter, but I can learn!" Her forced laughter came out a bit too shrill, a little too high.

Frank and Sebastian exchanged a glance. "Are you okay, Lianne?" Frank asked gently.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?!" she chirped, twitching again.

Before Frank could say anything more, O'Reilly stepped forward, cutting the conversation short. "You should all rest up," they said, nodding toward the others. "I'll grab some food for us." Their gaze fell on Loki and Sebastian. "Can't trust you two to do that."

"C'mon, dude, we were just having fun," Sebastian protested, flippers raised in mock innocence. O'Reilly rolled their eyes and turned to leave.

Frank perked up. "Oh, hold up, O'Reilly! I'll go with you!" He smiled wide again. "It's always important to have a travel buddy while exploring new grounds."

"In that case…" O'Reilly turned slightly, gaze drifting to Lianne and Sebastian. "Someone should gather water." He paused, deliberately. "If you two want to be useful, get on that."

"I'm on it!" Lianne said, a little too cheerfully.

"Uhhh…" Sebastian hesitated. "I don't mind doing it, but why me?"

"You said you weren't tired," the Lairon stated.

"I said I don't walk!"

"Same thing," O'Reilly deadpanned.

"That's a great idea!" Frank chimed in again, pulling the map from the backpack and handing it to Lianne. "Okay, we're here, so the river should be just this way…"

While Frank pointed out their location, O'Reilly turned back to the two still on the ground. "Rest up, little ones." They popped a cigarette in their mouth. "Once you're feeling better, you should gather firewood. You don't have to worry about starting it until the adults get back."

Loki growled at the steel-type. "I'm twenty-one!"

"And she is twenty," Yami spoke. "And far more mature than this fleabag."

"Hey!" Loki snapped. "My fleas have feelings!"

Frank chuckled nervously and waved a hand. "It's an honest mistake! You two just look young and O'Reilly didn't know—"

"I knew," O'Reilly said flatly, striding off.

Frank blinked, but quickly recovered and shot the rest of the team a thumbs-up. "We'll be back really soon, I promise!"

As the two disappeared into the woods, Lianne immediately took off in the opposite direction, map clutched tightly in her hands. Sebastian hovered beside her, peering over her shoulder.

"Lianne."

"Hm?"

"That's not where the river is."

"Shhhh!" she whispered. "I have a plan."

Sebastian raised a brow but didn't question her further. With a sigh, he floated after her anyway

Lianne trembled slightly, her eyes darting in every direction. "I can't take it anymore! I don't like being outdoors, better yet, I don't like being away from my precious Bed and Breakfast!"

"I'm finding town and ditching the map, then we'll lose, and I can go home!" She exclaimed in a hushed whisper.

"Is following her super shady?" Sebastian asked... Himself. "Sure. Is it bound to be more exciting than actually getting water?" He smiled. "Definitely."

Loki flopped onto their back with a dramatic sigh of relief. They waved a paw lazily in the air and declared, "The Lord of Chaos requires a nap! You find the firewood yourself!"

Yuki didn't even look at them directly. Instead, she turned to the doll in her hands. "We weren't going to ask for your help anyway," Yami said coolly. "You're too stupid to do this type of work."

Loki's ears twitched. They turned their head to glare at them, fur beginning to rise along their back. "What?!" They barked, scrambling upright. "I'm not stupid! It's just picking up sticks! It's not rocket science!"

Yami's beady toy eyes stared deep into the mongoose's soul. "Sit down," the toy said. "We don't need your stupidity to mistake sticks for rocks."

"I'll do it myself!" Loki snarled, puffing up their chest as they turned tail and scampered off into the woods. "The King of Chaos is more than capable of such a simple, meandering task! Certainly more so than you!"

Yuki watched him vanish into the trees, crashing through bushes and shouting complaints about every branch he saw. She and Yami exchanged a look and then, with a soft, almost private smile, she let herself sit back down.

"Predictable," she murmured.

"The Lord of Chaos is not stupid! I can do anything! I'm going to be the sole reason everyone gets fire today!" Loki declared, slamming a tiny fist against the sink, flinching to themself at the pain. "Ow— I mean!"

They hid their aching paw behind their back and snarled. "They should all be grateful someone like myself is helping them!"

Team Enot pushed past a pair of fallen leaves and stepped into a clearing, greeted by the sight of a glistening waterfall cascading into a crystal-clear lake. The roar of the rushing water echoed through the trees.

"Whoa…" Kacey breathed, her eyes wide in awe.

"It's too loud!" Jeff cried, clamping his hands over his ears. "Someone turn it off!"

Levi rolled his eyes. "You can't tune out nature. Trust me, I've tried."

"Oh please," Jeff scoffed. "You fail to grasp the power of EVIL science!" He threw his arms up just in time for a loud clap of thunder to rumble in the distance. He flinched and scowled at the sky. "Where did that come from?!"

Vienna kept her eyes on the map. "The sky," she replied. Jeff huffed but said nothing. "That's why I was insistent on finding a cave," Vienna added, tapping the map with her paw. "From the look of those clouds, we're going to get rain today."

The word "rain" snapped Enot out of their idle humming. They gasped, their entire demeanor shifting as they recoiled from the group. "Did you say r-rain?" They whimpered, wrapping their tail tightly around their abdomen, visibly distressed by the thought.

Enot nervously brushed his tail, eyeing the confessional. "I don't really like the rain. Actually, I hate the rain. It's just… " They shuddered. "I can't be caught in it!"

"And to think that I was thoroughly enjoying my time in my home region for the first time in years! And spending it with such a group of beautiful souls too." The Furret deflated. "The possibility of rain just had to ruin it!"

Batgirl glanced down at the map, brow furrowed. "Surely there should be a cave around, right?"

The group scanned their surroundings, searching for any sign of a cave for shelter, but unfortunately for them they didn't see anything.

"Ugh! We're going to get soaked!" Jeff groaned, throwing his hands in the air. At the mention of "soaked", Enot visibly shuddered, pulling their arms tight around their torso. "What's wrong with the strange one?" Jeff asked, eyeing them suspiciously.

"N-Nothing!" Enot stammered, trying to regain composure. They cleared their throat and offered a shaky smile. "I was just… cold."

The others glanced at the fur covering Enot's body but chose not to comment.

Vienna stepped forward. "It's okay," she said, slipping the map back into the backpack. "Even if there's no cave, we can at least search for some kind of shelter. Then we'll build a fire and wait out the storm."

While she spoke, Levi pulled the backpack over to himself anf rifled through their belongings and frowned, pulling out a squished, half-eaten berry.

"What happened to our food rations?" He asked suspiciously.

Jeff, who had been licking his fingers, scowled and thrust out his arms in mock outrage. "Those EVIL hosts ate our food supply!"

The rest of the team looked at him with unamused suspicion. Levi sighed and fished out the canteen. "Well, we needed water anyway."

"Alright," Vienna said. "Let's split into pairs. One group can look for shelter, another can search for food, and someone can stay here to get water and firewood." There were collective nods and low murmurs of agreement among the team. Vienna offered them a cool grin. "So… who wants to join me on shelter duty?"

At once, everyone turned to look directly at her—except for an apathetic Jeff.

Batgirl had her back facing the camera, her eyes staring at the mirror in the background. "I was thinking about what Jeff was saying earlier, and I think I want to work with Vienna."

She let out an awkward cough and glanced away from the mirror, muttering, "Kacey seems fine? She's just a little blunt and distant— Which isn't bad! But Vienna seems more approachable a-and she's really nice and cool and pretty and…" She covered her face with her cape and made an embarrassed squeak.

Folding her arms, Kacey rolled her eyes, "I'm already stuck having to camp with a bunch of strangers, I am not dealing with the dork knight, the supervillain wannabe, or whatever Enot is."

"If I had to be with someone, it'd be Vienna, or maybe Levi. They're at least sane." She shrugged.

Tinkering with his machine, Levi narrowed his eyes. "If I had to choose anyone to be stuck with, it'd be Vienna. She's the most normal out of this group, but if I had to choose an alternative, then Kacey."

"You can't pay me enough to walk into the woods alone with one of the other three," he sneered.

Batgirl, Kacey, and Levi all opened their mouths to volunteer, but Enot beat them to the punch, practically sliding into place at Vienna's side.

"I'll go with you!" Enot beamed, snuggling their head against her shoulder. "You're so warm!"

Vienna promptly pushed them away, her tone flat. "Thanks." She quickly turned to the rest of the group, her expression softening. "Anyway, let's all meet back here, yeah?"

The team responded with various degrees of agreement—though Kacey and Levi sounded noticeably bitter, and Batgirl looked visibly disheartened.

Without another word, Vienna and Enot headed off, leaving the others behind.

The moment they were out of sight, Kacey and Levi turned toward each other—only for Jeff to suddenly grab Levi by the arm with a wickedly wide grin.

"We shall grab the food together!" He declared with maniacal delight. "In the name of EVIL!"

"Wha— I don't want to work with you!" Levi protested, but Jeff was already dragging him away at full speed.

"Too bad!"

Kacey and Batgirl were now the only two left. Kacey looked annoyed, arms crossed, while Batgirl awkwardly kicked a small rock off the path.

"So…" Batgirl began, only to be interrupted as the canteen was tossed her way. She fumbled it but managed to catch it.

"You grab the water. I'll get the firewood," Kacey said curtly, not even looking at her before turning and walking off.

Batgirl watched her go, her shoulders sinking. "Water. Of course." With a sigh, she made her way to the lake. But just as she reached the edge, a rustling noise made her pause.

She froze, turning her head toward the sound. "Did you hear that?" She called out, half-expecting someone to answer.

"It's just the wind, keep up!" Kacey's voice echoed distantly from deeper in the trees.

Batgirl didn't look entirely convinced, glancing warily at the woods before crouching down to fill the canteen. The wind stirred again, rustling the trees around her—but this time, she didn't look back.

Deep within the forest, The Peak was hard at work, slamming his fist against a sturdy tree with a confident smirk. A flurry of ripe berries rained down into his waiting arms.

"Ha!" He bellowed with a victorious chortle. "Might as well grab some firewood while I'm at it!"

Without hesitation, he turned to another nearby tree and delivered a powerful blow to the trunk. The tree shook violently, creaked under the strain, and then crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.

The Peak struck a victorious pose, flexing proudly. "Score two for The Peak!"

Still grinning, he approached the fallen tree and stooped to grab it. But before he could hoist it up, a small, trembling voice called out from within the branches.

"H-Hey! You! Stop!"

The Peak blinked, puzzled. "Who's out there?" He glanced around but saw no one.

A pair of anxious eyes peeked out from the splintered branches. Nestled among the leaves was a Metapod, his voice trembling in fear. "It is I, Prince Mathius Cornelia Baguette the Fourth! You've laid hands upon my noble home!" The bug Pokémon sniffled. "Please, if you seek gold, spare me! My father, the king, will pay any price, so please don't harm me—!"

Before the creature could finish, The Peak casually grabbed the tree and slammed it against the ground several times without a second thought. The Metapod's voice cut off with a pathetic thud, and he promptly fainted.

Cracking his neck with a satisfied grunt, The Peak shrugged. "Nice. The tree shut up." He flashed another grin, completely unbothered. "Make that score three for The Peak!"

Flinging a handful of berries into his open maw, The Peak swallowed them with no hesitation and let out a laugh. "This camping stuff is way too easy! I already got firewood and food! I just need to grab water, and everyone should be fine."

Flashing another flexing pose at the camera, he offered a sharp green to it. "Just an average day for a hero like myself!" Realization soon hit and he went cross eyed. "Uh… what do I put water in?"

Frank and O'Reilly trudged back toward their camp, the former's hands full of berries from their recent foraging trip. The faint crunch of twigs beneath their feet was the only sound that accompanied them until they stepped into the clearing.

Frank stopped short, the berries tumbling from his arms in alarm. "Oh no."

O'Reilly scoffed as their gaze swept over the empty campsite. The backpack lay abandoned on the ground, the canteen resting beside it. "I know," the Lairon muttered, grinding their teeth in frustration. "They didn't even bother to grab water or firewood."

But Frank's eyes widened with concern. "No, O'Reilly! Don't you see?" He turned to face his teammate, his hands placed firmly on his hips. "Something happened to everyone! Why would they just leave the backpack? Or the canteen?"

O'Reilly raised a brow. "Maybe they're just a bunch of lazy thugs who bailed to dodge responsibility."

"All four of them?" Frank challenged. "Come on, we're in the middle of nowhere! They could've been eaten by bears! Or, or—captured by one of those evil forest-dwelling organizations that beat up teenagers and—"

O'Reilly snorted in amusement. "You watch too many movies, kid."

Frank frowned. "Not to be rude, but I'm pretty sure we're around the same age." O'Reilly rolled their eyes. "Look," Frank continued, pointing to the darkening sky, "It's already evening. And with daylight savings time in Kalos, it's gonna get dark real fast."

O'Reilly tilted their head, skeptical. "How do you know that?"

"I learned it in school," Frank said with a slight shrug. "Didn't everyone?" He shook his head, catching himself. "Wait, that's not important right now. We need to find our teammates!"

A beat passed in silence.

"…Fine," O'Reilly muttered, sliding a cigarette between their lips.

Frank blinked, surprised. "Really?"

"I'll indulge in this," the steel-type replied, "only because we need those slackers to win the challenge."

"Alright, great!" Frank nodded, then faltered. "So… where do we start?"

O'Reilly gave a sharp grin and pointed at the ground. "Easy. We follow the footprints." Their claw traced the path. "Two sets head that way." He gestured to the left of the clearing. "The moth and the dragon float, so they won't leave prints. But if your theory's right, they're all still together."

Frank blinked, impressed. "Whoa. Nice catch."

"I'm a private eye, kid," O'Reilly said, already walking ahead.

"Same age!" Frank called after him, exasperated. O'Reilly didn't respond. With a resigned sigh, Frank followed close behind.

Drumming his fingers against his side, Frank sighed, "So, O'Reilly and I came back and everyone was missing! O'Reilly thinks they were dodging 'responsibility' but I know everyone came into this game to win. They wouldn't just leave for no reason!"

"I just hope that nothing bad happened to them," he muttered, worriedly, "I've heard stories about campers disappearing during their trips. I mean, it's never happened to me, but you never know!"

Vienna carefully made her way along the side of the craggy mountainside, her paws pressing against uneven rocks as the wind tousled her fur. Her progress, however, was made all the more difficult by the furry weight wrapped tightly around her neck.

"Enot," she said flatly.

A soft purr rumbled against her shoulder. "Yes?" The Furret replied, lifting their head with an innocent blink.

"Can you give me just a little bit of space?" Vienna asked, trying to remain polite despite her irritation. "Right now."

Enot blinked at her with their glossy black eyes, then nodded slowly. "Right…" They mumbled. With some effort, they untangled themself from her and plopped to the ground with a quiet thud. Once free, Enot wrapped their tail around their middle, their body shuddering as they stared up at the sky with a sense of growing dread.

"Hey, Vienna?" They asked softly.

Vienna glanced back down at them. "Yeah?"

"When do you think it's going to rain?" Enot's voice was low, uneasy.

Vienna looked to the overcast sky, her expression thoughtful. "Can't say for sure," she said, "but given the sky and the change in wind power, it'll probably be soon." She looked back. "Why?"

At her words, Enot's shoulders hunched and their long tail twitched anxiously. "Let's just say I don't really do well with rain," they murmured, eyes now fixed on the rocky ground. "The feeling, the atmosphere, the sound…" They trailed off and began to pet their tail with small, repetitive motions. "I really don't want to be caught in it."

Vienna studied them for a moment, her expression faltering as her eyebrows lifted ever so slightly.

"I haven't known Enot that long, but this is the first time I've seen them not be a little sex pest. They were actually kinda vulnerable. It felt... Real." Vienna admitted, her tail swishing in place.

She frowned. "I'm not exactly sure why it's rain specifically they're uncomfortable with, but I guess that's not my place to know."

Vienna stopped to look down at Enot, who trembled just slightly beside her. "Hey," she said gently, placing a comforting paw on their head. "We'll find some shelter soon. You can stay there while I go get our teammates."

Enot's eyes sparkled, and in a flash, they leapt onto her with surprising enthusiasm. "Oh thank you!" They cried, flicking their tail across her face. "I knew someone as beautiful and rugged as you would be helpful!"

Vienna groaned and pushed them off. "Another thing," she said, brushing her fur with mild irritation. "Can you please try not to do things like that?"

"Like what?" Enot asked, tilting their head in confusion.

She sighed, "You have a habit of getting too close—"

"Like this?" they grinned and slid up next to her again.

Vienna sighed, firmly pushing them away. "I'm being serious, Enot. When you do things like that or say those things, you're making everyone uncomfortable."

Enot scratched the side of their head. "Uncomfortable?" They echoed, clearly puzzled. Then they shook out their fur and added, "Oh come on, it's just friendly flirting! I'm not hurting anyone!"

"I wouldn't say that," Vienna replied. "Please, just try not to be so…" She paused, trying to choose her words with care.

"Charming? Charismatic? Handsome?" Enot offered, batting their lashes.

"Invasive," she said flatly.

Before they could reply, something behind her caught Vienna's attention. A large, jagged rock jutted from the cliffside. Beneath it was a shaded alcove, just large enough for a small group to take cover under.

"I think I just found the perfect campsite," she said, already walking toward it. "It'll protect us from the rain and won't snuff out the campfire. We won't freeze tonight."

Enot, however, looked anything but relieved. Their wide eyes stared up at the sky and their ears pinned back. "B-But… that won't stop us from seeing the rain…"

"Not much we can do about that," Vienna said, glancing back at them. "We haven't seen a cave, and it's probably better this way. We don't want to get smoked out from a fire inside a closed space."

Enot looked away, unwilling to meet her gaze. "But the rain…"

With a gentler tone, Vienna stepped forward and ruffled the fur on their head. "Hey. Don't worry. It won't touch you." She turned to leave, eyes flicking to the graying sky. "I'm going to go find the others. You should probably stay here so you don't get caught in it. Maybe get started on setting up?"

Enot watched her disappear around the bend, then slowly looked around the area. Clutching their tail with trembling paws, they whispered, "Right… sure."

They padded toward the designated shelter, but something about it made their skin crawl. "This won't do," they muttered, casting frantic glances around. "This simply won't do…"

Their eyes landed on something across the way—a small, round hole in the ground, partially obscured by some brush. They tilted their head and reached behind them, gently pulling the egg from their tail fur.

Holding it close, they whispered, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

The egg didn't respond.

"I know! We'll have to do this quick," Enot continued, fur starting to frizz with tension. A single droplet fell from the sky, landing beside them. They jumped. "Really quick," they murmured, darting toward the hole with the egg clutched protectively in their arms.

Aquamarine carefully stacked firewood into a small pile. She wiped her brow and let out a satisfied sigh as she stepped back to admire her work.

"Oh my, that was such hard work," she murmured.

Nina, who was sitting nearby with a bored expression, rolled her eyes. "No it wasn't. All you did was pick up sticks."

Aquamarine huffed. "It was a lot of bending for these sticks." A scoff came from the Bergmite, followed by a sharp click of the tongue. Aquamarine looked over at her, but she offered her a small smile. "Nina, was it?" Aquamarine asked, shifting her posture to face her teammate.

Nina, refusing to make eye contact, looked away. "Yeah."

Aquamarine's voice softened, her eyes glinting with a touch of curiosity. "How are you doing, sweetie?" Nina shot her a hard look, an unamused expression flashing briefly across her face. "What brings you to do this type of show?" Aquamarine asked.

"Money." Nina poked idly at one of the stray sticks near her feet. "That was a dumb question."

Aquamarine, her smile faltering slightly, nodded as if understanding. "Ah, I see."

There was a pause. Aquamarine opened her mouth to continue, but before she could speak, Nina groaned loudly, clearly frustrated. "Can you drop the small talk?" She snapped, rolling her eyes. "I don't want to talk to you. I literally don't care. I'm just here to win some money."

The atmosphere shifted. Aquamarine inhaled slowly, her smile now barely visible. "Okay. If that's what you want," she said quietly.

Nina, already turned away, and Aquamarine scowled at her, before turning away herself to settle on her thoughts.

"I can't be the only one who sees how obviously fake she is," NIna scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Then again, who isn't in this game? Fake people resonate with fake people."

Aquamarine looked over her nails, an annoyed frown tugging at her lips. "I can see she might be a problem moving forward. Unlike the others, she doesn't mince her words and is too lazy to care about challenges, or her teammates."

"That also means that she'll be her own undoing. You'd have to be a fool to think she would ever be beneficial in this game." She smirked.

Loki scurried through the forest on all fours, their movements sharp and erratic. Grumbling under their breath, they muttered to themselves, frustration rising in their voice.

"Too stupid for firewood?" Loki mumbled. "I can collect all of the firewood in the world if I wanted to!" With that, they suddenly rose onto their hind legs, chest puffing out with exaggerated pride. "I am Loki! Harbinger of chaos!"

The only response they received were the sounds of the rustling leaves overhead and the occasional click of a bug nearby. No grand reaction, no shifting winds, no thunderous applause.

Loki deflated, their chest deflating with a deep grumble. "Now, if only I knew where to find it," they muttered, gazing up at the towering trees that surrounded them. Their eyes narrowed as they inspected the branches, a sour scowl tugging at their features. "There's only tree branches! Give me firewood, damn you!"

Surprisingly, a single stick came hurtling out of the trees, striking Loki with an unexpected thud. They flinched, a small yelp escaping them.

"Ouch! Who dares to harm the mighty—" Loki stopped mid-rant, their eyes widening as they looked down at the stick. A slow grin began to spread across their face. "Oh sweet, that works!"

And then another stick appeared, followed by another, and another. The ground before them was littered with the scattered branches, all seemingly leading somewhere.

Loki's grin widened to an almost mischievous stretch. "Jackpot!" They couldn't help but let out a triumphant laugh, their earlier irritation forgotten as they eagerly followed the trail of sticks.

Loki held up an armful of sticks, laughing triumphantly. "Take that you weird doll loving girl! I am not stupid!" Grins victoriously. "I have proven myself as a true SMART Lord of Chaos!"

They laughed maniacally in victory, throwing the sticks up as if to bask in them— but they immediately fell onto them. "Ow!"

Behind a thick berry bush, Yuki and Yami crouched low, their eyes peering through the leaves as they watched Loki eagerly gather the scattered sticks. Yuki's arm wrapped around the small toy, looking down at it.

"Is this really necessary, Yami?" she murmured as she turned the toy slightly toward herself. "We could have just left them to fend for themselves."

"Yes, we could have," Yami spoke, the words smooth and calm. "But then they had to go and call us names." Yuki moved the toy's head so it could "look" at her. "That is unacceptable."

Yuki glanced back at the dirt path where Loki continued to gather the sticks. With a quick flick of her wrist, she tossed another stick into the clearing.

She then shifted her gaze toward the distant entrance of a nearby cave, where the low rumble of feral snoring echoed from within.

"This should teach them a lesson," she said, tossing another stick with a calculated air.

"Tch. I wouldn't be surprised if they're too stupid to understand it," Yami's voice muttered with clear disdain, the words carrying a sense of superiority.

A small, wicked laugh escaped Yuki's lips as she continued to watch Loki from their hidden spot, the two of them thoroughly enjoying the spectacle.

The forest was calm, the only sounds being the rustling leaves and the occasional call of a bird overhead. Beneath a cluster of berry trees, Jeff and Levi stood, contemplating the best way to get the food down from the branches.

Jeff scratched his beard thoughtfully, staring up at the berries. "How do we get our food down from the tree without resorting to physical labor?" He muttered, eyeing the berries with a narrowed gaze.

Levi glanced over at Jeff. "Doubtful you could do that," he remarked.

Jeff glared at him, his irritation growing. "I can do anything, you little rat!" He snapped, his voice rising. Levi, unfazed, simply rolled his eyes.

"I am Jeff! I am EVIL—" Jeff continued, puffing out his chest dramatically.

Levi sighed, cutting him off with a scoff. "Yeah, sure, I get it. 'Evil' and 'genius,' apparently," he said, stepping forward. "Stand back and just let me work."

Jeff laughed, his voice mocking. "Ohoho! You think you could gather all that food with those tiny arms of yours!" He threw his head back in amusement. "I'd like to see you try!"

A smirk tugged at the corner of Levi's mouth. His eyes suddenly glowed a bright blue as he raised his paw. The berries on the tree resonated with psychic energy and began to float down, landing directly on Jeff's head.

Levi flicked his tail with a smug grin. "I'm sorry, but what was that you were saying?"

Jeff stood frozen for a moment, stunned by what had just happened. He shook the berries off, growling under his breath. "I could have done that!" He grumbled. Levi shot him a hard look, and Jeff, realizing he was out of excuses, gave a reluctant sigh. "Okay, maybe I don't possess 'psychic abilities,'" he admitted. "But I have something better! My EVIL mind!"

Levi raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "And how does that even help in this situation?"

Jeff laughed mockingly, shaking his head as if the answer was obvious. "You stupid, furry little fool!" Levi grimaced at the insult. "It means that with my EVIL mind, I can create an inator that replicates psychic abilities! I am invincible!"

Levi blinked, confused. "I'm going to regret this, but what even is an 'inator'?"

Jeff rolled his eyes dramatically, obviously pleased with his own genius. "They are EVIL machines that do my bidding in world domination!" He raised a strange device in his hand with pride. "Like this!"

Levi's eyes widened in horror as he looked at the contraption in Jeff's hand. "Ew! What is that!" he exclaimed, stepping back in disgust. "Why is it covered in that gunk?"

"Maple syrup!" Jeff responded, grinning proudly. "This is my cellularinator! Made from scrap iron, glass, and, of course, all the components of a standard—"

"Cellphone," Levi interrupted, his voice dripping with disbelief. "It looks like a crappy cellphone that needs to be put out of its misery."

Jeff's expression darkened, and he glared at Levi. "This is a perfectly acceptable inator for one's pleasure!" He argued. "I can watch any cable program without the need for wifi or cable packages!"

Levi's face twisted in disgust. "That sounds incredibly stupid."

Jeff rolled his eyes. "I doubt someone like you could do any better."

Levi smirked and pulled out his own device, holding it up with pride. "Actually, I have my own tech," he said. "It's a translation device that—"

"Lame!" Jeff interjected before Levi could finish.

Levi shot him an annoyed look. "You didn't even hear what I was going to say!"

"I don't need to!" Jeff responded, cutting him off again. "You designed a contraption that not only looks boring, but does something a simple cellphone can do!"

Levi narrowed his eyes. "So does yours! At least mine doesn't look like I pulled it out of a dumpster!"

Jeff huffed. "I could make your garbage with my eyes closed and with less fancy gadgetry!" he said smugly. "I bet you didn't even add a function that can change your outspoken language to a foreign language, so you won't embarrass yourself trying to pronounce it yourself!"

Levi paused, his eyes widening as he thought about Jeff's suggestion. "Well—" He started, his voice uncertain. "That's actually not a bad idea. Surprisingly." He looked at his device, now feeling a bit self-conscious. "Why didn't I think of that?"

Jeff grinned triumphantly. "Because you're boring! You lack the intellectual mind of EVIL!" He said as he grabbed the berries and began to walk off, still muttering under his breath. "Someone like you ruins the name of science. RUINS it!"

Levi stood there for a moment, watching Jeff walk away. He scoffed, but his eyes lingered on his translation device. He shook his head and followed after the Galarian.

"How is someone so annoying so… Right?" Levi placed a hand over his head, his eyes wide in disbelief. "It's strange. He's obnoxious, he looks like a homeless man, and his invention belongs in the junkyard."

Confused, he lowered his hand, dropping it to his side. "Yet, it is "unique" and he did offer weirdly good advice for my own device." Turns to the camera, baffled. "Is he actually smart?"

Jeff took a bite out of a Pecha berry, smirking victoriously. "Not everyone's mind can be as great as mine! My EVIL genius is unrivaled! That dumb cat's inator is proof of that!"

"Some dumb wannabe geniuses simply are unfit for knowing the true power of science!" Jeff exclaimed, rubbing his beard in thought. "He has potential, but I no longer see any use for his incessantly dull mind. He isn't even EVIL!"

He took another bite, laughing all the while… until he started choking. "CURSES!"

Dez and Finn stood at the edge of a small pond, the latter of the two took a deep breath before grabbing his canteen and dipping it into the water.

"It's a good thing we noticed The Peak left the canteen!" Finn exclaimed, looking up at Dez with wide eyes. "Otherwise, we'd have nothing to drink. The potential horror of a dry mouth!"

Dez let out a small grunt. "Yeah, the horror," he muttered dryly, opening the backpack that was filled with various berries. He rummaged through it briefly, then glanced back at Finn. "There should be room in here for the water."

Finn capped the canteen and placed it carefully in the backpack. "Seems like we found everything we could possibly need," he cheered, clapping his wings together.

Dez nodded but wasn't fully convinced. "Yeah, if only we didn't have to sleep on the grass," he said, his voice laced with mild discomfort.

Finn offered a friendly grin. "Just look on the bright side," he moved closer to him, placing a wing on his back. "We get to enjoy the authentic camping experience!" He paused, waiting for Dez to react, but the other didn't seem convinced. "Just think about it! Laying down under the stars. The smell of pine in the air. The sound of beautiful music from the bug Pokémon... Oh! Oh! Also—"

"Not to interrupt," Dez interjected, cutting Finn off as he moved away from him, "but why not finish whatever this is while walking back to camp?"

Finn's eyes brightened, and he immediately agreed. "Great idea!" he exclaimed, grinning widely as he placed the backpack onto his body and fluttered up into the air. He buzzed ahead, continuing his train of thought as he flew, "Now, where was I? Oh! Maybe before we go to bed, we can make a cute shelter! Then we can sing campfire songs! I know a great one! It's called the campfire song song, and it's a really nice tune that—"

Dez shook his head with a small amused laugh. He was about to follow when something caught his eye. His gaze shifted to the edge of the forest, where Ruby, absorbed in a book, walked deeper into the woods. Her face was hidden behind the object..

Dez hesitated, his eyes narrowing slightly. He glanced back at Finn, who was still happily prattling on, oblivious to the fact that Dez had stopped following him. Dez turned his focus back to Ruby, watching her disappear further into the trees, before sighing deeply, his expression unreadable. With a final glance at Finn, he began to walk in the direction Ruby had gone.

Dez dully stared at the camera. "So much for staying together as a group. The Peak," he rolled his eyes, "is off doing who knows what. Ruby is now off doing who knows what, and I can only hope Nina and Aquamarine actually stayed put and got firewood."

"At least I know Finn can make it to camp on his own. Weirdly, he's one of the only ones I have a little faith in. He at least seems to care about putting in the effort." He sighed.

Lianne flew through the dense forest, her wings buzzing slightly as she tried to make sense of the map in her hands. The trees around her seemed to blur as she flipped the paper over and backwards. Near her, Sebastian trailed, trying to balance a Pecha berry on his nose.

"Ugh! How do you read this?" Lianne muttered aloud, her voice tinged with annoyance. She twisted and turned the map, hoping it would somehow make sense. "Who even uses maps anymore with GPS?"

Sebastian, whose berry had just fallen off his nose and was now precariously spinning on his flipper, glanced up at her. "I'm guessing for campers and hikers. Since there's not many cell towers out here," he replied, his tone dry.

Lianne turned her head to look at him and, in doing so, let out a sharp scream, startling both of them, as Sebastian screamed back.

"What's wrong?!" He asked, clearly concerned.

Lianne's face turned red as she realized what had happened. "I forgot you were here!" she exclaimed. "You haven't said a word!"

Sebastian blinked, looking mildly irritated. "I've been talking this whole time. You were just so focused on the map, you haven't responded." He flipped the berry into the air and caught it again. "So, I just decided to entertain myself. This challenge is so boring."

Lianne shook her head for a moment, then forced a smile, offering the map to him. "Do you know how to read maps?" She asked, trying to hide her frustration.

"Yeah," Sebastian replied nonchalantly, catching the berry on his nose once more. "Sorta why I told you we were going the wrong way."

Lianne froze, her eyes narrowing as she processed his words. "Well... that's because I'm going to the inn!" She said quickly, rubbing her hands together. "I need to make a phone call, and me getting there would mean we win anyway."

Sebastian narrowed his eyes at her. "Actually, we all need to be there for us to win," he said, his voice tinged with suspicion. "So that's probably a bad idea."

Lianne dismissed his concern with a quick wave of her hand. "I'm sure they'd eventually make it there, and if they don't, then I'll take the blame!" She giggled, though her eyes twitched erratically for a moment. "Oops! Oh well, huh?"

Sebastian stopped in his tracks, a look of confusion settling on his face. "Okay, what's this really about?" He asked. "Do you really not want to be here?"

Lianne took a deep breath, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "Of course not," she muttered, almost to herself. "I never even signed up for this show. If we don't win, then that means I can go home!" She leaned in close to Sebastian, whispering. "Without any lawyers getting involved."

Sebastian blinked in surprise. "Why didn't you just say that?"

Lianne shook her head, avoiding his gaze. "Because everyone here is trying to win! Some of them clearly want the money, and if I tell them to their faces that I'm trying to lose, that's like saying their wants don't matter!" She turned away, the weight of her words sinking in. "I don't want to disappoint them—not to their faces at least... But I need to go home and get back to work."

Sebastian scoffed, clearly unimpressed. "I don't get how you'd rather sabotage a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity just to keep being a boring adult. You can work whenever you want. You can't say the same for a full-on game show!"

Lianne gave a tight, forced smile. "It's called having responsibilities!" She shot back, her tone sharp. "It's something I'm sure you'll have to deal with one day."

Sebastian threw his flippers up in exasperation. "No way! That sounds lame!" He sighed deeply, his face softening a bit. "What's the point of living if you can't have a bit of fun?!" Lianne's expression softened slightly, but she shook her head.

"...Look, if this is what you want to do, I'll help you out," Sebastian added after a pause. "Mostly because you weren't even on the correct route. You actually made the trip a lot harder on yourself." He twirled the berry in his flipper. "Besides, gives me something to do. I can only nature walk so much before I feel like I'm going crazy."

Lianne took a deep breath, feeling a little lighter. "Thank you, Sebastian."

Sebastian gave her a casual grin. "Quick question though... Why not just ditch the map? Can't win if we can't find town."

Lianne looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. "Are you kidding? I don't wanna spend all night out here!"

Sebastian laughed, clearly enjoying himself. "Wow, you really are lame. No sense of adventure at all."

Lianne, now genuinely confused, tilted her head slightly. "If it's not too much, can I ask how old you are?"

"Twenty-two," Sebastian replied, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"

"No reason," Lianne muttered, turning to fly off. "Okay then! Let's get going—"

Sebastian raised a flipper to stop her. "You're still going the wrong way."

Lianne's face flushed in embarrassment. "My bad!" she said quickly, shifting directions and flying the other way. Sebastian chuckled to himself and followed after her.

Sebastian twirled the berry on his flipper, offering the camera a shrug, " I know a thing or two about maps, mostly because of my," he coughs, "home life. Whatever, I wanted something to spice up the day, so why not help Lianne sabotage the team? It's not like I'd get in trouble if she literally wants to go home."

"Plus if she sticks around any longer, she could sabotage the actually cool challenges that are worth winning!" He shook his head with a scowl. " If she wants to go work a nine-to-five, then go ahead. Better her than me."

"Twenty-two years old and no responsibility. That must be nice." Lianne grumbled with a roll of her eyes. "Good for him, but to think that you can go through your entire life with no ambition is not a great mindset to have."

Sighing, she grumbled, "I'm all for others living their dream and having fun, but it doesn't last forever." She looked away from the camera. "I just have to get through this with him for a little while. Once my team loses, it's back home where I belong!"

Rain had started to fall in gentle sprinkles, dotting the forest floor as Kacey stomped through the underbrush. She looked thoroughly unamused, an armful of twigs cradled against her chest.

"Of course it starts raining," she muttered with a sigh, glaring up at the cloudy sky. "Just my luck." She bent down, reaching for another twig. "Not like it could possibly get much worse."

The moment she tugged, the twig resisted—then twitched. Kacey shrieked and stumbled backward, dropping the twigs in a flurry as a long, twig-like leg recoiled into the undergrowth.

"What the hell?!" She exclaimed.

A loud, disgruntled voice shouted back at her. "What do you mean!" The Spidops erupted from the brush. "You're on my turf, missy!"

Kacey stared in confusion. "Why are you just lying in the bushes?!"

"I live here!" the Boomer Spidops retorted. "Some of us ain't got money for fancy rooms and homes!" He jabbed a stick-like limb at her. "What gives you the right to assault—"

His rant was cut short as a dark shadow loomed overhead. Both he and Kacey looked up. Perched on a tree branch, silhouetted against the grey sky, was Batgirl.

She crouched low and growled, her voice gruff. "Is there a problem here?"

The Spidops squinted up. "What even are you?!"

Batgirl's glare sharpened. "I'll be your worst nightmare if you don't leave the girl alone."

Spidops threw his arms up with an exasperated groan. "Bah! Kids of today! Back in my day I swear—" He muttered as he scurried off into the underbrush, disappearing from sight.

Batgirl dropped down lightly in front of Kacey. "Are you okay?" She asked, concerned. "I heard you scream and thought something had happened."

Kacey, still shaken but pulling herself together, took Batgirl's offered claw and stood. "I'm fine. I just wasn't expecting… that." She dusted herself off. "Thanks… Ladybat?"

Batgirl stared down at their appendages, before quickly pulling away, turning from her completely. "Batgirl."

Kacey raised a brow. "Do I seriously have to call you that?"

"I can't reveal my identity to anyone," Batgirl replied, crouching to gather the dropped twigs. "They could become a target for Jeff's evil inators."

Kacey gave her a flat look. "Yeah, the guy on our team who smells like a burning tire. So scary." She grabbed the last twig and stood up again. "You're just two dorks from Hoenn playing dress-up."

Batgirl's head snapped toward her, eyes narrowing beneath her mask. "How do you know we're from Hoenn?"

"Your accents," Kacey replied, deadpan. "I've worked with clients from there. You stress syllables the same way."

Batgirl fell quiet, adjusting her cape as she murmured, "What does it sound like?" Kacey didn't answer, turning to head back. Batgirl quickly fell into step beside her. "What do you do for work?" Batgirl asked, voice softer.

Kacey snorted. "Sorry, can't reveal my identity to anyone. They could be a target."

Batgirl paused, then gave a sheepish cough. "I maybe deserved that."

Rain began to fall harder, droplets of water splashing on their heads and across the scattered twigs. Kacey looked up with a frustrated sigh. "What'll be the point in firewood if it's too wet to burn?"

Batgirl glanced at the bundle in her arms, then peeled off her cape and draped it over the twigs. "Here. You can borrow this to cover them." She avoided Kacey's gaze, adjusting her mask. "It's waterproof."

Kacey blinked, a little surprised by the gesture. She accepted the cape, wrapping it around her twigs. "Uh... Thanks again, I guess. You're surprisingly resourceful for a cosplayer."

"I'm not cosplaying," Batgirl exclaimed, puffing herself up. "I'm someone who fights on behalf of the innocent who can't fight for themselves." She placed a claw over her chest, standing proud. "I'm a hero."

Kacey glanced at her sidelong and, for the briefest moment, a twinge of a smile tugged at her lips. "Alright then, hero. Let's get back to the others."

Batgirl nodded silently and followed behind.

"'Batgirl' isn't too bad, surprisingly. Quirky and weird? Yeah. But I'd rather be around her than the "evil mastermind", or... Enot." Kacey admitted, shuddering at the mention of the last name. "The whole cosplaying thing is weird, but as long as no one is getting hurt, I don't care, I guess."

She rolls her eyes. "As long as she's not too loud and respects my space, she's fine."

Batgirl has her back turned to the camera, looking down at her pincer. "I-I held hands with a girl…" She coughs and turns back to face the camera, holding her cape up to cover the lower portion of her face. "I might have misjudged Kacey a little."

"Okay, maybe not completely, but I can see she's really smart, and she actually has a sense of humor in her. She doesn't really smile, and I don't think she likes small talk much, but... She's a lot more approachable than I expected." She mentioned, lowering her cape. "I don't think she takes me seriously as a hero, though. But I know I can prove her and everyone else wrong!"

She looks at the camera and narrows her gaze. "I'll inspire hope in them yet!"

The Peak marched triumphantly into his team's campsite, dragging behind him a thick, uprooted tree. With a flick of his wrist, he let it thud to the ground and struck a flexing pose.

"The Peak has returned!" He bellowed.

He looked around the campsite, but something felt... off. Only Aquamarine and Nina were there, sitting near what was supposed to be a firepit, but it was only a bundle of twigs and leaves strewn together… It certainly didn't help that they were all soaked.

"Uh," he said, scratching his head. "Weren't there two more of you?"

"Three, actually," Nina muttered without looking up. "They went to get supplies."

The Peak blinked at her, expecting a punchline. When none came, he let out a short laugh—then paused.

"Oh," he said, deflating slightly. "You're being serious."

He quickly straightened up, pointing proudly at the massive tree he'd hauled in. "Well, whatever! I told you all I would handle it! I got wood and berries!"

Aquamarine and Nina turned their eyes to the tree. If "berries" meant the half-crushed, dirt-caked remains clinging to a few branches, then sure. Oh—and there was also a fainted Metapod tangled in the mess.

The poor bug groaned weakly.

Aquamarine lifted a paw and pointed. "Peak—"

"The Peak," he corrected smugly.

She inhaled deeply and tried again. "Who is that?"

The Peak glanced over at the limp Metapod and shrugged. "No clue. Probably the bug that was buzzing around earlier. Could've sworn I squished it."

Nina snorted. "You tried to squish a bug?"

"I thought it was eating our food!" he defended, reaching down to scoop up the fainted Metapod. "Whatever, I'll get rid of it—"

Before he could hurl it into the woods, a cheerful voice rang through the clearing.

"Hey guys!"

Finn flew into view, landing lightly in front of them with a beaming smile. His eyes lit up as they landed on the Metapod.

"Oh! Did you guys make a new friend too?" He casually asked.

"No," Nina said flatly.

"We were just about to get rid of it," The Peak added, hefting the Metapod like a football before narrowing his eyes at Finn. "Wait… Who are you?"

Finn's smile faltered. "I'm literally your teammate! We had this conversation earlier!"

The Peak gave him a long, skeptical look, but didn't argue further.

Aquamarine tilted her head. "Wait, Finn, where are the other two?" Her voice softened just a bit, but the feigned concern was obvious. "Ruby disappeared after you and Dez left. And Dez isn't with you either. Did something happen?"

Finn sighed, his wings drooping a little. "I realized I lost sight of Dez by the time I was already near camp." He winced but quickly rallied. "He looks strong though! So I just know nothing can beat him! Plus, I met some really cool guys earlier who said they'd keep an eye out for him!"

Nina's brow furrowed. "Were they from the other team?"

Finn shook his head. "Nope! They were a group of Metapod that live in the forest. Super nice guys." He smiled fondly, wings fluttering. "It's actually a funny story…"

Finn soared through the forest, chatting happily to no one in particular.

"—and I think that's why camping is so great!" He said with a cheerful flap of his wings. "What about you?"

He turned mid-air, expecting a reply, only to find the space behind him empty.

"…Dez?" The Togekiss called, slowing to a hover. His eyes scanned the area, worry rising in his voice. "Dez?"

Finn landed in a clearing, his gaze filled with worry. "Oh man," he muttered, wings drooping slightly. "I knew this sort of thing happened back at home… but here too?" He called out once more. "Dez!"

Unfortunately, four green bodied bugs dropped from the trees above, starling the fairy into nearly screaming in terror.

"Halt!" a voice barked.

Finn froze in place as four Metapods surrounded him, each looking like they'd seen—and won—countless battles. Their shells were nicked with scars and scratches, and the leader wore a scratched metal plate bolted to his back, an eyepatch over one eye, and a lit cigarette dangling from his mouth (if they even had those) like a toothpick.

"State your name and business," the lead Metapod growled.

Finn blinked, then gave a bright smile. "Oh! I'm Finn! I'm competing on a show and camping out here with some friends for a challenge!"

The Metapods exchanged murmurs.

The leader finally nodded. "Yes… my men have spotted strangers in the area. How long will this challenge of yours last?"

"Uh, the kind hosts said to finish by morning, so probably until then." Finn shrugged, then frowned. "But I did lose one of my companions on the way back. I should really look for him."

The lead Metapod raised a brow. "Fret not, young annoying one!"

Finn tilted his head. "Young… what?"

"We shall keep an eye out for your missing companion," the Metapod said confidently. "It shan't be difficult, considering how foreign you all look."

"Oh, thank you!" Finn beamed. "His name is Dez—he's a big Masbosstiff. Hard to miss!"

The Metapods nodded sternly.

"In return," the leader continued, "there is something you can assist us with." His tone darkened slightly. "Our king's heir has gone missing… along with his royal tree. We fear bandits have taken him."

Finn gasped. "Oh no! That's horrible!"

"Indeed," the leader said, solemn. "So if you see or hear anything about him, please help. He's just a boy. A… very royal boy."

Finn nodded eagerly. "You got it, sir! I'll keep an eye out, I promise!" He hesitated, tilting his head again. "Um… just one thing. What did you mean by 'young annoying one?'"

The Metapods all broke into laughter. Finn joined in the laughter too— albeit more nervously and uncertain compared to the bugs.

Finn's voice was chipper as he wrapped up his story, but the mood around the campsite was anything but. "And that's what happened," he finished with a smile.

Aquamarine and Nina, however, stood frozen with pale expressions, their eyes locked on the unconscious Metapod lying in The Peak's hands, being casually tossed into the air like a football by the large gator.

"What's wrong—?" Finn started, then paused as the realization hit him. His face paled. "Oh my God."

The Peak glanced around at the others and scoffed. "What's with all the long faces?"

"You… You attacked the prince of the forest…" Nina stammered, her body visibly trembling.

The Peak gave a laugh, waving off the idea. "Prince? Pft. Those things only exist in fairytales."

Aquamarine leaned in closer to him, her voice barely a whisper. "I think you should put the Metapod down…"

Before he could respond, a rustling above drew all their attention upward. From the trees, several Metapods descended.

The leader landed with a thud. "Good news, annoying one," he said, addressing Finn. "Your comrades surprisingly haven't died yet!"

But the moment his eyes landed on the limp form of the Metapod in The Peak's large hands, his expression twisted in horror. "PRINCE BAGUETTE!"

Nina blinked, muttering under her breath, "Y-Your surname is Baguette… why?"

"You deceived us, annoying one!" the leader snapped, glaring at Finn with sudden fury.

Finn bounced back, panic in his eyes. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know!"

The Peak rolled his eyes and extended the fainted Metapod toward them. "Just take the dude back. We don't even want him here!"

The Metapods gasped collectively, scandalized.

"You have shamed the Baguette family!" one of the guards hissed, his glare sharp enough to cut bark. "You shall all pay for this."

The Peak unceremoniously dropped the Metapod and cracked his knuckles, stepping forward with an arrogant grin. "Oh, trying to intimidate my defenseless, weak teammates?"

Nina bristled. "W-We're not weak…"

"And I actually know some pretty good moves—" Finn added quickly, trying to salvage the situation.

But The Peak had already struck his heroic pose, his voice booming. "Come at me! I'll show everyone just how heroic The Peak is by saving them!"

Nina looked helplessly at Aquamarine and Finn. "I-Is no one going to mention that he's the one who caused this?"

Aquamarine shrugged, fanning herself with one paw. "I don't know... I do love a man in tights."

The Peak glanced back at her and offered a wink.

Nina groaned and pressed a paw to her forehead. "This is ridiculous."

"Idiots," Nina grumbled, glaring at the camera. "I'm surrounded by idiots."

Aquamarine grimaced. "I'm going to need mouthwash later for all the ass kissing I'm doing on that dumbass."

"I feel terrible for deceiving the Metapod guards!" Finn exclaimed, looking down in shame. "They seemed so nice too. I definitely would have told them not to trust me if I knew this was happening!"

He sighed, "At least Dez and Ruby are okay! According to them at least."

Batgirl and Kacey sat side by side beneath a tree, the raindrops pattering softly around them. The sky had darkened, casting a gray haze over the forest.

Kacey hugged a bundle of wrapped firewood tightly to her chest, shivering as the damp chill crept into her. "How long does it take to find shelter?" she muttered, exasperated.

Batgirl shifted beside her, fidgeting slightly. "If you want," she offered softly, "you can use my cape to keep warm."

Kacey shook her head. "No. We need the firewood dry. If the others ever bother to come back…" Batgirl let out a subtle sigh of relief, though Kacey managed to hear it, shooting her a confused look.

Before either could say more, a voice rang out from the brush. "We have returned with food!" Jeff declared proudly, striding into view with Levi dragging behind him.

Levi looked absolutely miserable, drenched from head to toe and dripping onto the forest floor. "And I'm soaked," he grumbled.

Jeff, unfazed by the downpour, simply scoffed. "Please, catboy! There's a simple remedy for this!" He pointed at the equally miserable looking Kacey. "Plant woman! Create sun!"

Kacey blinked. "What?"

Batgirl leaned in and whispered, "He wants you to use Sunny Day to change the weather."

Kacey stared at her in disbelief, then turned to Jeff with a glare. "Wow, Sunny Day… Why didn't I think of that before shivering in the wet cold?"

Jeff crossed his arms with a smug smirk. "Some minds are just not as brilliant as mine."

Levi rolled his eyes. "We can't use weather-altering moves." He turned to face the self-proclaimed villain. "Given the need to preserve regional ecosystems, it's illegal in most major cities to manipulate the weather. That's literally third-grade material. How do you not know this?"

Jeff glared, indignant. "I am an EVIL villain! I do not follow the rules!" He jabbed his finger toward Kacey again. "Create sun! It's not like they'll know it was us!"

"We're literally on national television," Kacey deadpanned.

Jeff threw his arms up. "CURSES!"

Just then, Vienna stepped into the clearing, looking notably more composed than the rest. "Hey, is everything okay?" She asked, blinking at the sorry, soaked group before her.

Everyone turned to face her, water dripping from their fur, clothes, and capes.

Kacey stood up quickly, eyes filled with hope. "Thank God." She rushed toward Vienna. "I'm over this crap already."

Levi shivered and glanced around. "Where's Enot?" He shuddered in distaste. "I didn't think I'd ever have to ask that question…"

Vienna smiled. "They wanted to stay at the shelter. So hopefully, by the time we get back, they'll already have a setup. We can get a fire going, warm up, and rest."

For the first time that evening, a sense of hope flickered among the group.

Loki trudged through the thick forest, arms already full of sticks. The sky above had turned a dark slate, and the rain was now falling in steady, miserable sheets. Water trickled down their back, soaking their fur and chilling them to the bone.

Then, through the curtain of rain, he spotted it, a dark opening nestled between two moss-covered boulders.

A cave.

The Yungoos crept closer, peering inside with cautious curiosity. The interior was dim but dry, and there, lying in the center on a bed of leaves and twigs, was a massive Pangoro. The bear snored deeply in rugged rumbles, clearly in a peaceful slumber and oblivious to both the storm raging outside and the small normal-type infiltrating its home.

Loki raised a brow and whispered to himself, "Shelter?" He glanced over his shoulder at the rain pouring harder now, relentless and cold. Then he looked back at the snoring Pangoro, sizing him up.

"The Lord of Chaos is a lot of things, but I am smart enough to know that picking a fight with a bear over territory isn't smart!" Loki declared, pointing a tiny finger up in the air with a satisfied grin.

Their eyes then widened a margin, as they quickly added, "Not that I can't do that! I can totally take on a bear! It's easy!" They turned away with a huff. "I just don't want to get my paws dirty!"

Loki turned to leave the cave when— WHACK! A barreling stick from the entrance emerged, smacking them square across the nose.

"YEOWCH!" They yelped, stumbling back and clutching their face, dropping their bundle of twigs that now scattered across the stone floor with a clatter.

Eyes watering, the Yungoos barely had time to process the sharp pain before a guttural growl filled the cave. Dread began to rise in their chest, and Loki slowly turned and looked up, their expression paling at the sight.

The Pangoro was awake, looming over their much smaller frame. And it did not look happy.

Its small, furious eyes locked on them, and before Loki could even whisper, "Nice bear..." The beast reared up and let out a deafening roar straight into their face.

"Not-so-nice bear! AHHHH!" Loki screamed, flinging themself backward just in time to avoid a massive paw swiping through the air where their head had been. The Yungoos twisted and darted out of the bear's way, their short limbs pumping, heart racing, as the enraged Pangoro gave chase with thunderous stomps.

Outside, hidden beneath a cluster of drooping branches, Yuki and Yami watched the scene with matching expressions of mild amusement.

"We'll give them thirty seconds before we help," Yuki said calmly.

Yami turned toward her. "Tch. Why would you even want to help them?" She turned back to the sight of the screeching Yungoos barely avoiding a swipe. "Let them suffer longer. Or get eaten. They're a nuisance that should have been sent to the Shadow Realm at birth."

Yuki sighed, eyes still following the chase. "We need them for the challenge. All players have to reach the inn to win." The toy in her arms stared back at her. "This should at least shut them up for the night."

Yami was silent, before grunting. "Fine. But only because I'm over getting soaked from this blasted rain." Yuki smirked. "Three minutes."

"One minute," Yuki countered.

"Fine."

Ruby trudged through the forest, her eyes still locked on the pages of her book. The sound of rain dripped softly around her. She finally stopped near a mossy log and sank down onto it with a quiet sigh, tucking a damp corner of the page back as she closed the book halfway.

For the first time in a while, she glanced up.

Silence.

Just trees stretching endlessly in every direction. No familiar voices. No footsteps. No chatter from her teammates. The forest was dense and still, broken only by the gentle patter of raindrops and the occasional rustle of leaves.

Ruby's fingers tightened around the spine of her book.

She was completely alone.

A chill that had nothing to do with the weather crept up her spine. Her brows furrowed as she scanned the area, hoping—expecting—to hear someone call out her name.

But there was nothing.

She swallowed hard and looked back down at her book in worry.

Ruby nervously clutched her book close to her, her eyes looking away from the camera, as she tapped her fingers against the hardcover of the object. "I d-don't get much exercise back home. T-This is the most I've walked in... ever."

She hid her face behind the book, mumbling, "I-I didn't want to be with Nina and Aquamarine so I followed the boys and... a-and I got lost…"

Ruby nervously fidgeted with the pages of her book, her fingers trembling slightly. She took a step back, the forest around her too quiet, too eerie. Her breath caught when she suddenly backed into something warm and furry.

"Eek!" She squeaked, turning around in a panic and smacking the figure in the face with her book.

The large creature blinked, barely flinching. It was Dez. He stared at her, mildly irritated but mostly exhausted.

"Ruby," he said calmly.

She looked up at him with wide, frightened eyes. He sighed, softening his tone as he crouched to retrieve her fallen book, holding it out to her with care.

"Sorry," he murmured. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Ruby hesitated before reaching forward, snatching the book back quickly and clutching it close to her chest. "S-sorry…"

"It's okay. You were startled," Dez said gently. "Again, I'm sorry. I can't really change my face." He tried to smile, but the gesture only revealed a row of sharp canines. Ruby instinctively flinched, and he quickly closed his mouth with an awkward grunt. "…Yeah."

"I-it's okay," she mumbled.

Silence lingered between them, thick and a little awkward. Dez cleared his throat.

"Ruby, what were you doing out here all alone?" He asked, genuinely concerned. "It's dangerous."

She muttered something under her breath—too quiet for him to catch. He didn't press.

"I won't pry," he said instead, voice calm. "But we should head back to camp. It's getting dark, and with the way this rain's starting to pick up…" He muttered something else, mostly to himself.

Ruby hesitated, then slowly stepped toward him. Without a word, she reached for one of the long tufts of fur trailing from his side and gently grabbed it, holding on like a makeshift leash.

Dez looked back at her. "Sure, that works," he said, exhaling a long breath. "Let's just hope The Peak isn't causing another mess back at camp—"

A loud explosion rang out through the trees, shaking leaves from the branches above. A flock of Fletchling took flight in a panic.

Ruby gasped and ducked behind Dez, eyes wide with alarm.

He groaned. "Please don't be our campsite. Please don't be our campsite…"

And then, a distant, booming voice thundered through the forest:

"NONE OF YOU ARE A MATCH FOR THE PEAK!"

Dez stared blankly ahead.

Ruby said nothing.

He sighed again, trudging forward in reluctance, already well aware that whatever he's going to find back at camp is going to give him a migraine. "Yep. That's our camp."

"I'm gone for less than an hour and somehow these guys are fire bombing the forest." Dez grunted, a clear look of irritation shown on his face. "What the hell happened?!"

Frank and O'Reilly trudged through the forest. The faint footprints they'd been tracking were quickly vanishing beneath the forming puddles and wet muck.

"Oh no, the rain's going down hard! We didn't have time to build a shelter!" Frank fretted, pointing down at the increasingly distorted tracks. "And they're turning to mud!"

O'Reilly sighed, rolling their eyes. "Calm down, it's just water. It ain't gonna kill you." They bent down to inspect the muddied path with a scowl. "Though this mess does make things harder."

Frank began pacing anxiously. "Oh no, no, no, no! We lost our teammates. Our lead is gone. It's pouring down rain. What else could possibly—"

"Finish that sentence," O'Reilly cut in sharply, "and I guarantee you that it'll come true in mere seconds."

Frank immediately clamped his mouth shut.

"Good," O'Reilly said flatly. "Now stop whining so we can get back to work."

"But how?" Frank asked, exasperated.

"Simple," O'Reilly replied, tilting their head slightly. Frank followed their gaze and spotted the dark mouth of a cave nestled between the trees.

"It's raining. That's a cave. Simple math," the Lairon deduced.

Frank blinked. "Wouldn't that be more like… geography?"

O'Reilly's steely glare remained unchanged.

"Okay, okay," Frank relented. "But it can't possibly be that easy—"

A piercing scream echoed from within the cave.

"AHHHHHHH!"

Frank's eyes widened. "That sounded like Loki! They're in danger!"

O'Reilly didn't even flinch. "Did you think I was lying—"

But Frank was already sprinting toward the cave, eyes wide with panic.

O'Reilly sighed deeply, shaking their head. "Rookie," they muttered before following at a more measured pace, steps quiet beneath the falling rain.

The rain pattered steadily as Team Enot finally arrived at the shelter— only to be greeted by the glaring absence of the one person who was supposed to be there.

Vienna stopped in her tracks, her brows furrowing. "They were just right here."

Jeff scoffed. "That fiend has left! How dare they!" He paused, rubbing his beard thoughtfully. "Wait. That means they can't bother us! This is a joyous occasion!"

Levi gave him a flat look. "Newsflash, genius: we need them to win. Remember? All team members have to reach the end for us to qualify."

Jeff threw his arms up. "Who says we can't lose and get rid of them? They are a nuisance!"

"Oh no," Kacey cut in, hands on her hips, "I did not walk all these miles and sit through this rain just to lose on purpose!"

Batgirl, still dripping from head to toe, sniffled slightly. "Maybe we should get out of the rain first?" She suggested meekly. "Please?"

Vienna nodded, brushing her soaked hair from her face. "That's a great idea, Batgirl." She offered her a small smile as Batgirl's tail gave a slight wag. "Let's get warm and dry, then we'll look for Enot."

Her gaze swept across the forest once more, eyes narrowing as she scanned the tree line and nearby rocks. "They couldn't have gotten far."

"For their sake, I hope not," Kacey muttered, stepping out of the rain and into the shelter.

One by one, the others followed her, letting out exhausted sighs as they shook off the cold and damp.

Vienna lingered a moment longer, eyes still scanning the area. She let out a quiet sigh of frustration before finally turning and stepping inside with the rest of her team.

Unnoticed by them all, a furry tail poked slightly out from beneath a hole in the ground nearby— then quickly burrowed deeper into the earth once a droplet of water hit it, disappearing from sight.

"Enot's not exactly well liked in the team right now and if we can't find them before the challenge ends, they might be on everyone's radar." Vienna explained, her expression tired and her jaw clenched.

Her shoulders slumped slightly, as she let out a deep breath, "I really just want them to be safe but right now I have to make sure everyone else in the team is fine too." With furrowed brows, she stated, "Tempers are high and everyone's exhausted. Someone has to make sure they don't kill each other."

The battle between The Peak and the Metapods raged on— or rather, limped on. The Metapods hurled themselves at The Peak with every ounce of rigid determination they had, launching Tackle after Tackle, but it was proving hopeless. The Peak caught one mid-air, spun it overhead, and launched it into a nearby tree with little effort. Another tried to bounce off his back with Bug Bite, only to be swatted down by the Feraligatr's massive tail.

The Peak, meanwhile, was grinning the entire battle, not even breaking a sweat as he effortlessly dodged and countered every feeble attack the bugs threw at him. One of the Metapods tried to use String Shot to pin him in place, but before the thread could even touch the hero's body, he yanked it like a rope and flung the attacker into its comrades.

"Hell yeah!" The Peak exclaimed,a boisterous laugh echoing out of his mouth. "Come on, is that all you got?!"

On the sidelines, Aquamarine, Nina, and Finn stood beneath a tree, trying in vain to avoid the rain. Nina twisted open a canteen with a groan.

"This is taking forever," she muttered, sipping slowly.

Aquamarine examined her nails with a frown. "Ugh. I think I chipped a nail picking up those sticks earlier." She caught Nina's side glance and gasped. "I mean— oh no, poor The Peak! I hope he can win!"

"He is winning," Finn pointed out, his expression filled with growing concern as he watched another Metapod get punted like a football. "Those poor guys are getting completely wrecked… All they want is to avenge their prince!"

Nina shrugged. "He's not dead."

"It's about the honor of it!" Finn cried, practically trembling. "It's so courageous!"

The Metapod leader groaned and collapsed to the ground, shell cracked and battered. "How… dare you…"

The Peak cracked his knuckles. "You guys don't have limbs or mouths. What did you expect?" He puffed up with a grin. "Besides, no one can handle The Peak!" He struck a flexing pose, showcasing his biceps.

The Metapod leader's eyes glinted with rage. "I will… avenge the prince!"

Nina, not even looking up, pointed lazily. "He's right over there." She gestured toward the fainted Metapod prince. "Just take him and leave us alone."

"Yeah," The Peak added with a scoff. "We've got a challenge to win."

"It would be nice to get out of the rain…" Aquamarine added, wringing her sunhat with a sigh.

"And the prince can get checked out by a nurse or doctor," Finn said with a hopeful, nervous smile.

But the Metapod leader didn't move. His body began to tremble— and then it began to glow. The others followed suit, their cracked shells igniting in a brilliant aura of light.

Finn gasped. "They're evolving!"

With a synchronized burst, winged figures emerged from the now opened, hollow Metapod shells. Fluttering above the battlefield, a dozen Butterfree stared down at them, their red compound eyes glowing with vengeance.

The Peak laughed, pointing at them in amusement. "You think The Peak is afraid of some little butterflies? Ha!"

The Butterfree glared in unison. A second later, their eyes flared with light as the forest lit up with bursts of psychic energy. Trees shook. Rocks were engulfed in red psychic aura, levitating in the air.

One Butterfree fluttered its wings at The Peak with an Air Slash, catching him across the chest. He staggered slightly, surprised, but quickly grabbed a floating boulder hurled by another psychic and hurled it back, causing it to quickly collide into two Butterfree and causing them to crash to the ground.

Another Butterfree swooped in behind him, fluttering its wings and using Stun Spore. The golden dust clung to The Peak's skin, slowing him down.

"Oh, so we're playing dirty now?" He growled, flexing harder. His muscles tensed, forcing the paralysis spores to crackle off his skin. "Cute."

He lunged into the air, grabbing one Butterfree mid flight and pile-driving it into the mud. Another tried to intercept the gator with Silver Wind, the shimmering white energy slicing through the rain. The Peak skidded, took the hit, then exploded forward, uppercutting the attacker into a branch above.

The Butterfree regrouped in the air and launched a synchronized Gust, causing a windy tornado to blast toward The Peak, who dodged, though his teammates were less fortunate. Aquamarine shrieked and clutched her hat when it was nearly swept away. Nina dropped her canteen with a wince. Finn held his wings over his face, eyes wide in horror.

"This is escalating so quickly!" Finn whimpered.

The Peak stood tall, feet digging into the mud. "You're gonna regret attacking these innocent lives in front of me!" He shouted.

"You were the one who dodged, genius!" Nina exclaimed, though that fell on deaf ears.

The Peak let out a battle-cry, leaping up toward the Butterfree, twisting mid-air with a spinning clothesline, slamming his arms against the butterflies and driving them into the ground.

But even when he was starting to tire, he could only smirk when the bugs somehow still flew into the sky. They were battered and barely able to even fly upright. "Alright," he panted, "I'm feeling generous. I'll give you one last chance to admit defeat!"

The Butterfree leader glared. Its wings flared once more. "Never." He and the other Butterfree's eyes began to glow.

Nina groaned loudly from the sidelines. "Oh come on."

The Peak narrowed his eyes and cracked his neck. "Bring it." Opening his massive jaw, a spiral of water shot out, the Hydro Pump aimed directly toward the butterflies.

Lianne flitted through the dense forest, her wings drenched with rain as it pelted down relentlessly from the sky. The map in her grasp was equally soaked. Her face was drawn, her expression clouded with frustration, and the cold seeped into her bones as she pressed on, determined yet clearly agitated.

Behind her, Sebastian drifted through the trees, easily fazing his ghostly body through rocks and swarming bugs, completely unaffected by the rain.

As they flew onward, Sebastian reached up to pluck a berry from a nearby bush, diving back toward Lianne with a mischievous grin. He offered it to her, holding it out between his flippers.

"Want it?" He asked.

Lianne forced a tight smile, shaking her head. "No, thank you."

Sebastian arched an eyebrow, skeptical. "You sure? You haven't eaten."

"I'm not hungry, that's all," Lianne replied, her stomach betraying her with a loud growl. She stiffened but quickly regained her composure. "I'll eat when we get to the inn!" Her eyes remained focused on the map, trying to navigate through the pouring rain. "How close are we again?"

Sebastian hovered closer, peering over her shoulder at the map, still idly tossing the berry in his flippers. "Considering how fast you've been flying, it shouldn't take too long. We're almost there." He pointed ahead, his voice eager. "If we cut through these trees, we should be near the route entrance—"

"Great!" Lianne interrupted, already zipping past him, urgency in her every movement. Sebastian rolled his eyes and followed her.

As they darted between the trees, Lianne came to a sudden stop. Her sharp breath caught in her throat. Her eyes widened as she spotted a campsite just ahead, obscured by a large tarp. Several rough-looking Pokémon were camped, their figures mostly hidden in the shadows beneath the tarp, but there was no mistaking the dangerous atmosphere.

Sebastian, who had been following behind, zoomed past her and halted as well. His grin widened at the sight. "What's this?" He asked, clearly intrigued.

Lianne quickly slammed Sebastian to the ground, pulling him close to the damp earth to avoid detection. The sound of rain pouring from the trees masked their movements as they crouched low, peeking at the mercenaries ahead.

"What was that?" A gruff voice called out. One of the mercenaries, an Ivysaur, looked around suspiciously.

"Probably just the rain," another voice, this time from a burly Poliwrath, responded.

"Who cares?" said a third voice, this one from a Typhlosion. "Let's grab the target before the boss gets even more pissed!"

The mercenaries moved out, heading further into the forest. Lianne let out a quiet sigh of relief and released her grip on Sebastian, who, while still on the ground, was visibly confused.

"Why didn't I just faze through you? That was weird," he muttered to himself.

Lianne, still crouched low and watching the mercenaries leave, whispered, "Thankfully you didn't. They would've spotted us, and that would've been a disaster."

She glanced toward the camp, her gaze longing. "They're blocking the entrance. We can't get through with them here."

Sebastian, clearly unfazed by the threat, shrugged. "They'd probably let us through if we asked nicely." A playful smirk crept across his face. "Dare me to ask?"

Lianne whipped her head toward him in panic. "Absolutely not!" she hissed, but before she could stop him, Sebastian was already drifting toward the mercenary leader— a towering Stoutland sitting beneath the tarp.

Lianne's eyes widened in alarm. "Sebastian, no!"

But it was too late. Sebastian was already in front of the Stoutland, his voice nonchalant. "What do you want, kid?" the Stoutland barked, not looking up.

Sebastian, visibly annoyed, crossed his arms. "First of all, not a kid. Second, I just want to get to the route for Santalune City. Can me and my friend pass through?" He gestured behind him toward Lianne, who hovered nervously in the background, offering a pitiful wave.

The Stoutland glanced at Lianne, narrowing her eyes at her for a moment before grumbling, "Wait until tomorrow. No one leaves or comes in."

Sebastian's impatience flared. "But we really have to go!" He argued, his tone sharp.

The Stoutland glared back at him, her gaze turning cold. "I said—"

Lianne, flustered and anxious, flew up quickly to grab Sebastian, pulling him back. "Sorry! We'll leave now!" She yanked him into the nearby bushes before he could protest further.

Sebastian's face twisted in frustration. "What the hell, Lianne?" He exclaimed. "I wasn't scared of her! We could've just—"

Lianne cut him off, her voice tight. "We don't have time for this! You almost got us caught!"

"I just wanted to—"

Lianne shook her head, gritting her teeth. "We just have to wait," she muttered. "We don't have a choice."

Sebastian's enthusiasm hadn't waned, though. He floated up next to her, grinning. "Come on, this is exciting! They're probably mobsters or something. We could totally take down their whole operation!"

Lianne shot him a look, disbelief in her eyes. "Sebastian, this isn't a movie."

Sebastian, ever the optimist, didn't back down. "Okay, how about we sneak past them? It'll be fun!"

Lianne hesitated, unsure, and stared at the looming camp. Sebastian floated off in the direction of the camp before she could voice her concerns. "Sebastian, wait!" she called after him, her voice strained as she considered what could possibly go wrong.

She sighed, rubbing her forehead. They didn't have time to waste, but this certainly wasn't how she imagined getting through this.

Sebastian smugly grinned at the camera. "I knew I'd get something exciting to do by following her!" He fist pumped the air. "Time to shine!"

Lianne stared at the camera, mortified. "I think I'm going to die."

Team Enot sat huddled together in their shelter, the flickering light of the campfire casting warm shadows on their faces.

Jeff, lounging comfortably with his arms on his stomach, rubbed his belly contentedly. "I'm stuffed," he said with a satisfied grin.

Levi dabbed some stray crumbs from his face with his paw. "It was fine," he muttered.

Batgirl, sitting cross-legged by the fire, popped a Pecha berry into her mouth. Looking around at the group, she brightened up. "You know, this is a good opportunity to play a game," she suggested. "Like twenty-questions, or—"

But her voice trailed off as she noticed everyone's expressions. They stared at her with varying degrees of disinterest.

Kacey, leaning back with her arms crossed, gave a dismissive wave. "I think we're all a little too old for that type of thing."

Batgirl's shoulders slumped.

Vienna gave Batgirl a small, reassuring smile. "I think it was a fun suggestion," she said quietly.

Levi rolled his eyes and leaned back against the wall behind him. "Oh sure, what's next? Truth or Dare? Spin the bottle?"

Jeff groaned loudly, his face scrunching in frustration. "Boring! I have a much smarter and more EVIL idea!" He jumped to his feet, throwing his arms wide and pointing at everyone in the circle. "We shall share EVIL campfire stories!"

Levi raised an eyebrow, as he scoffed. "Doubtful anything told by you could scare me," he placed a paw beneath his chin, "but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued about what you find scary."

Kacey sighed, her posture relaxing as she leaned back. "Nothing I say will stop you, so sure, go for it."

Batgirl shrugged but noticed that Vienna's smile had fallen. She turned to the Houndoom, concerned. "Are you okay?" She asked softly.

Vienna quickly turned her head to avoid Batgirl's gaze, muttering, "Y-Yeah, of course. I'm fine."

Jeff, oblivious to the quiet exchange, grinned widely, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "Then sit back and be in awe of my storytelling skills!" he declared, a wicked grin stretching onto his face, which caused Vienna to whimper back ever so slightly.

Vienna looked around the room and whispered, "I've travelled a lot in my life and I've seen and heard a lot of things but…" Swallowing back, she sheepishly coughed, "I've never been great with scary stories. In the dark. In the rain. Outside."

"What if it's a true story or we just so happen to be near a graveyard of vengeful spirits?" Her eyes widened in fear, whispering, "Anything could happen."

Dez and Ruby walked through the rain, the rhythmic sound of water pattering against leaves and the earth surrounded them, and the cool droplets soaked onto them.

They arrived at a large, muddy pit of water. Both stopped at the edge, glancing at it with distaste. The water was dark and murky.

Dez let out a long sigh, breaking the silence. "Nothing we can do about it," he muttered, looking at the pool of water with resignation.

Without further hesitation, he stepped forward, dipping his paws into the shallow puddle before wading deeper, wincing at the sobbing wet tendrils of fur on his body getting drenched in the muck. "It's not that deep, only a few inches. We should be fine."

Ruby took a step back, eyeing the pit with unease. She hesitated, her feet planted firmly on the ground as she stared at the dark waters. Dez noticed her reluctance, his gaze shifting from her to the water and back again.

"Ruby?" He asked, his voice softening. His gaze softened when he noticed her discomfort. Realizing the vast difference in their size he wadded closer to the edge. With a knowing glance, he crouched down slightly. "Hop on," he offered.

Ruby hesitated but, after a moment, carefully climbed onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck as she lay down against his fur. Dez adjusted under her weight, steadying himself.

"Hold on tight," he murmured, his voice steady but gentle. With a grunt, he began to move forward, his legs carefully pushing through the water. The cold seeped into his fur, but he continued without hesitation.

"I'm guessing you don't get out much, do you?" Dez asked, his voice breaking the momentary silence. He could feel Ruby's grip tighten slightly, and he continued moving through the water, his movements slow and deliberate.

Ruby made a small noise, something between a hum and a sigh, confirming his guess. She didn't say much, but it was clear in the way she clung to him that she was still adjusting to this new environment.

Dez chuckled softly, his breath warm despite the rain. "It's commendable, putting yourself out like this," he mused, speaking more to himself than to her. "I would have never considered this if I was your age. Hell, I would have never considered this now if I wasn't so desperate."

Ruby remained quiet, her small hands gently tugging at his fur. Dez glanced over his shoulder at her, but she avoided his gaze. His smile softened.

"I guess in a way, we're all desperate," he added after a pause, his voice quieter, tinged with a subtle bitterness. "Why else would we do this, huh?"

Ruby stayed silent for a moment, lost in her own thoughts. But finally, her voice broke the quiet, small and tentative. "I-It's fine," she mumbled, almost inaudible against the sound of the rain.

Dez's ears perked up at the sound, and a genuine smile spread across his face. "Good to know," he said warmly, his tone softening. As he pulled himself out of the muddy pit, he grunted slightly, shifting his weight.

"Alright, let's go see what they did," he added, his mood souring slightly at the remembrance of finding the campsite with the others.

The fire crackled merrily in the center of Team Enot's camp, casting dancing shadows across their faces as they sat around it, nibbling on berries and keeping to their respective thoughts. The heavy rain pitter-pattered on the ground around them, creating a soothing rhythm.

However, that would quickly diminish when Jeff leaned forward dramatically, his face lit up by the firelight, eyes gleaming with mischief.

"Yeeeeears ago, in this very forest, the Hash Slinging Slasher used to be on a reality television game show!" Jeff's voice rose as he pointed an accusatory finger toward the group. "Just like all of you, but only clumsier!"

Kacey and Levi, sitting closest, exchanged unimpressed glances, their boredom evident. Batgirl, meanwhile, chewed on her berries, lost in her thoughts. Vienna, however, could barely sit still, her eyes darting around warily, clearly uneasy.

Jeff continued with a smirk. "And then one night, when he was thrown into a challenge with his team, where they had to camp out in Santalune Forest… he was in charge of starting the fire." He lowered his voice ominously. "And it happened."

A sudden thunderclap made everyone jump, the storm overhead roaring louder. Vienna flinched, curling her tail tightly around herself, while the others barely reacted.

Levi scoffed, "What? Did it start raining and the fire got put out?"

"No," Jeff said, clearly not amused by Levi's skepticism.

Kacey raised an eyebrow, her arms crossed. "He didn't know how to start a fire?"

"No," Jeff said again, clearly not enjoying the interruption.

"Did he sit on it?" Batgirl asked curiously, glancing up from her berries.

The Darmanitan's eyes widened, "What— No."

Vienna, her voice barely above a whisper, asked, "Did he make a fire and his team peacefully went to bed?"

"No!" Jeff's frustrated voice grew louder, as he slapped his hand onto his own palm for emphasis. "He burned his own hand off by mistake!"

Gasps filled the air. Batgirl and Vienna were wide-eyed with shock, while Levi and Kacey were clearly unimpressed.

Kacey, still unconvinced, asked, "Seriously? Burned right off?"

Levi chimed in, his expression flat. "I'd get burns, but it would take several agonizing hours of pain to do that, how the Hell did he not pull it out?"

Jeff rolled his eyes. "He was a grass-type, so he was more prone to fire accidents."

"Why would a grass-type make a fire?" Kacey questioned.

Jeff, clearly getting frustrated, shot back, "Enough! Let me finish!" He narrowed his eyes and whispered, "So he had to replace his hand with a tree branch."

He paused dramatically. "But then he was mauled by a bear!"

Another round of gasps from Batgirl and Vienna, while Levi and Kacey were still unimpressed.

Jeff carried on, his voice growing even darker. "And at his funeral… his team eliminated him!" He chuckled ominously. "So now, every…" He paused, clearly trying to remember. "What day is it today?"

Batgirl answered, her voice flat. "Tuesday."

"Ah, yes, thank you, Batgirl." Jeff cleared his throat and continued. "Every TUESDAY night, his ghost returns to that dreadful campsite in the forest to wreak his horrible vengeance!"

Vienna looked horrified. "B-But tonight's Tuesday night?"

Jeff leaned in, his expression growing deadly serious. "Then he'll be coming…"

Vienna, clearly scared, whispered, "How will we know?"

Jeff held up three fingers, his voice lowering to a whisper. "There are THREE signs that signal the approach of the Hash Slinging Slasher!" He raised the first finger. "First! Lightning and thunder will ring out overhead!"

Vienna's eyes widened in fear. "T-There was lightning and thunder earlier…"

"Then the bushes of the forest will suddenly start rustling, but no one will be there!" Jeff held up a second finger, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "And third, he will arrive in the ghost of the bear that had once ended his life!"

Levi snorted. "How original."

Jeff continued his tale, completely ignoring the sarcasm. "So he exits the bear!" He waved a hand dramatically. "And he floats through the forest with no regard for the other creatures in the forest because he's already DEAD!"

Vienna gasped audibly. "No!"

Levi, completely confused, asked, "Vienna, are you actually scared—"

Jeff pressed on. "He always goes to reality TV show contestants doing the same challenge he once was in, and he uses his wooden tree branch hand to poke at the fire." He grabbed a nearby branch and began poking it at the flames. "Tap. Tap. Tap."

Batgirl leaned forward. "Oh, that just means he's helping their fire!"

"If that's what you think, just wait until you hear what he does next…" Jeff smirked.

Vienna's voice trembled as she asked, "W-What?"

Jeff leaned closer to her, his grin wide. "Do you really want to know?"

Vienna hesitated, then shook her head. "Honestly, not really…"

Jeff grinned maliciously. "He… gets ya!"

Vienna screamed, falling back onto the ground as Jeff laughed maniacally. "HA! I told you my stories were EVIL!"

Batgirl awkwardly patted Vienna's back, trying to calm her down, but Kacey and Levi remained unimpressed, their expressions bored and skeptical.

Kacey crossed her arms. "You could have chosen something more realistic."

"It was very realistic!" Jeff shot back, affronted. "The Hash Slinging Slasher is real!"

Levi raised an eyebrow. "Right, because a ghost inside of the ghost of a bear is hiding in the bushes right now."

Almost as if on cue, the bushes rustled ominously. Everyone froze, eyes darting nervously toward the sound.

Jeff pointed dramatically. "THE HASH SLINGING SLASHER!"

Levi cleared his throat, flickering his tail with a scowl. "That's just the rain."

The bushes rustled again, louder this time.

Batgirl rose to her feet, pushing her cape back, her voice wavering slightly. "I'll go check it out."

"No… I'll go," Vienna said, standing up and walking toward the bushes, determined. "It's not real. It's not real."

As she neared the bushes, she peered inside, but found nothing.

Sighing in relief, she whispered, "It's empty…" Then her eyes widened in horror. "Oh no. It's empty."

From the shadows, the voice of an Ivysaur called out, "Get 'em, boys!"

Mercenaries leapt from their hiding spots, and a Typhlosion immediately used Flash, blinding Vienna. She stumbled back, disoriented, only to be knocked out by a sleeping powder from the Ivysaur.

"Vienna!" Batgirl shouted, rushing to her side, but she too was knocked out by the same sleeping powder.

Jeff and Levi fell asleep just moments after, the powder taking its toll on them as well.

Kacey stood there, still awake, confusion and anger written all over her face. "What the Hell?!"

A Poliwrath approached her, cracking his gloved hands. "It's nothing personal, kid." He knocked her out with a swift punch to the face.

Loki was still trapped in the cave, desperately trying to dodge the enormous fists of the Pangoro. The massive creature's every movement sent tremors through the ground, each punch a deadly threat.

Seeing how agile they are against the bear, the Yungoos' confidence grew with every second. "Hahaha! No one is a match for the Lord of Chaos, Loki—" But their bravado was short-lived. Just as they finished speaking, the Pangoro's powerful hand swept down, grabbing them with ease. A high-pitched squeak escaped their mouth. "Oh no!" Loki yelped, their arrogance now replaced by fear.

The Pangoro roared, swinging Loki around like a ragdoll before slamming them into the ground. Loki screamed in agony as the beast continued its rampage, knocking the Yungoos against every piece of rubble in the cave.

This was short-lived when a voice suddenly cut through. "STOP!" The Pangoro paused, momentarily distracted, and turned to face the source of the command—

In the blink of an eye, Frank charged in, using his pincers to headbutt the bear, pushing it back with surprising strength. The Pangoro let out a furious pained scream as it dropped the battered Loki to the floor.

They groaned, their voice barely a whisper. "T-The King of Chaos has weakened it…" They muttered before collapsing to the ground.

Frank, meanwhile, was locked in a desperate struggle with the large bear. Each strike was met with more resistance, and he apologized between punches and headbutts. "Sorry!" He slashed. "Sorry again!" Another dodge. "Just trying to help my teammate!"

O'Reilly, entering the scene with a measured pace, took one look at the situation before speaking, "One down. Three more to go. We should stop playing with the bear and get back to work."

Frank, still clinging to the Pangoro's back, his grip faltering as the bear slammed him against the cavern walls, groaned, "I'm kind of busy, O'Reilly! Ow!" He barely managed to stay on as the bear threw him across the cave.

O'Reilly grunted, shaking off the water from their steel-coated body. "Well, hurry up. Time is ticking, and those other three could be in danger like this."

Frank, recovering from the blow and gritting his teeth, muttered, "If I had some help, we could be quick!" He flinched as the Pangoro's dynamic punch sent him flying again, this time skidding to a halt near O'Reilly. "Ow."

The Pangoro, its fury still burning, crept closer. With a low growl, it bared its teeth, preparing for another attack. But O'Reilly was already stepping in front of Frank, their body poised to defend.

Suddenly, a beam of blue light shot from outside the cave, striking the Pangoro with incredible force. The bear howled in pain as it was encased in a thick layer of ice, its movements slowing to a halt.

Frank blinked in confusion, "What the—"

Another voice called out from outside the cave. "You're welcome!" The voice itself was sharp and familiar.

Frank's face lit up with recognition as he turned to see Yuki approaching, her stuffed Umbreon being carried by her mouth. "Yuki! You're okay!" He exclaimed.

Yuki held the toy over her face, as it spoke. "We heard screaming and saw you trying to take on that bear. We watched for a while, then we felt pity."

Yuki's ears flattened slightly, and she whispered to her plush partner, "Yami, don't say that in front of… everyone." She quickly glanced at the group and hid her face behind Yami once more.

Frank simply grinned. "It's okay! Thank you for helping us!"

But O'Reilly eyed the pair with suspicion. "Where were you? You heard the screaming, so you were nearby." They grunted. "Were you with the slacker and got lost, or did you just get lucky?"

Yuki and Yami exchanged a glance. Yuki hid behind her partner as Yami spoke. "We were just in the right place at the right time. My partner did turn that bear into an ice cube. You're welcome again."

O'Reilly wasn't convinced. They narrowed their eyes but said nothing. Frank, holding the unconscious Loki in his arms, turned toward Yuki with a soft smile. "These two did help us. You shouldn't talk to them like that."

O'Reilly rolled their eyes at the exchange, clearly unimpressed. Meanwhile, Yuki's plush partner scoffed. "Tch. Finally, some thanks for our efforts."

The Lairon looked at the group, their focus shifting back to the situation at hand. "That means we have only two more slackers to find. You didn't happen to see them, did you?"

Yami was the first to speak. "They went to get water but didn't grab the canteen. They went the opposite way, but that's all I remember."

Frank frowned. "Well, that's ominous. Wonder why they'd do that."

O'Reilly set their jaw. "We'll find out once we find them. Let's get moving." They turned and began to walk out of the cave.

Yuki's voice, muffled by her plush, spoke again. "Hold on. We're wet, and it's pouring outside. We should occupy this cave now that the beast is dealt with."

Frank shook his head, his concern for the others evident. "We need to make sure Lianne and Sebastian are okay. They could have been in danger, like Loki."

O'Reilly gave a hard look at the fox. "And we need all of our team members together if we want to win this." They glanced back at Frank. "If you're fine with losing, then be my guest."

Yuki's lips curled downward, but she quickly hid her face behind the plush, allowing it to speak. "Fine. Let's go find them."

Loki, still unconscious, groaned weakly. "I am the greatest…" They muttered, their words trailing off as they slipped into unconsciousness once more.

"I don't like that detective," Yami grunted, as Yuki turned his body over to look down at him.

Her ears pinned back slightly, a flash of irritation sweeping across her features. "They could be a nuisance…"

"We'll keep a closer eye on them," Yami stated, as she moved his head upward and downward, "for now."

Dez and Ruby arrived at the campsite, just in time to narrowly avoid a Hydro Pump that shot overhead, the water stream arching dangerously close to them. The force of the attack splashed against a tree behind them, instantly creating a gaping hole in the trunk of the bark, and Dez flinched instinctively, but quickly regained his composure.

The source of the blast was from The Peak, standing tall and brimming with confidence. "The Peak is not afraid of bugs!" He shouted, unleashing another Hydro Pump at the Butterfrees nearby. The water collided with the bugs, sending them fluttering against a pair of trees.

Dez and Ruby watched the scene unfold, their attention shifting to the sidelines where the rest of the team sat, seemingly worn out. A barely conscious Metapod rested in a corner..

Nina, looking resigned, muttered, "They've been doing this forever."

Finn nodded, leaning toward the others and whispering, "I don't like violence."

Aquamarine, sitting next to him, whispered back, "I don't think anybody does."

Dez gritted his teeth. He breathed in deeply before letting out a fierce growl. "Of course something like this happens..." He muttered under his breath, before planting his paws firmly on the ground and releasing out a loud, powerful Roar.

"ENOUGH!" His voice boomed, causing the fighting to come to a sudden halt. Everyone turned to face him, surprised by his outburst.

"What the Hell are you all doing?!" Dez demanded..

Finn's eyes sparkled with admiration. "Dez!" He exclaimed.

Aquamarine gave a small, approving clap, and Nina rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath, "Finally, something happened to stop this."

The Peak turned and glared at the dog. "Dude, back off. We're in the middle of—"

Dez cut him off, stepping forward with an intense glare. "Why don't you stop antagonizing them and listen up instead of thinking with your muscles?" The Peak blinked, momentarily taken aback by the confrontation. Dez then turned his attention to the Butterfrees, his voice unwavering. "And why don't you just leave?!"

The Lead Butterfree, its wings still fluttering in agitation, spoke up. "We were heavily disrespected in our own home—"

Dez glared at him, cutting him off. "We're leaving right now! We'll never come back here."

The Butterfrees were silent, their wings twitching with uncertainty. The Lead Butterfree glared at Dez, grabbing onto the prince and locking eyes with him. "If we ever find you in our forest again—"

Dez groaned. "You'll destroy us, we know. Just go."

The Butterfrees hesitated for a moment, their anger simmering, before they turned and left in silence. As the group watched them go, the tension in the air seemed to dissipate, but the team couldn't quite relax yet.

Aquamarine walked up to Dez, her eyes wide in surprise. "Oh my, Dez! I didn't think you had it in you." She batted her eyelashes playfully, but Dez only shot her a frustrated look in return.

"Oh, you're not happy," she said, her tone softening.

Dez rolled his eyes, turning to face the team. "While I was off finding Ruby," he gestured to the ant, who waved, "you guys just let this idiot fight for who knows how long!" His eyes burned with frustration.

The Peak turned and glared at him. "Hey! I'm not an idiot! They started it, and I was just protecting the team!"

Dez snorted in exasperation. "You were being stupid!" He turned to the others and continued. "And none of you did anything for the camp, besides Finn!" He glared at Nina and Aquamarine. "You didn't find shelter from the rain, you didn't even get supplies!"

Nina visibly shrank under his gaze, her voice shaking. "Y-You don't need to y-yell at us…"

Aquamarine pointed to the soaked pile of firewood nearby. "Yeah, and I fixed up the firewood!" she said.

Dez's expression remained deadpan. "We're leaving," he declared firmly, turning on his heel. "We are heading to the city and we're finishing the challenge."

The Peak scoffed loudly, clearly unimpressed. "The Peak is tired! We haven't even eaten—"

Dez cut him off again, his voice cold. "Eat on the way! That was your original plan anyway." Without waiting for a response, he turned and began walking, Ruby by his side.

The team exchanged weary glances, clearly exhausted but begrudgingly following behind. However, Aquamarine smirked at this, following behind the pack at a slower pace.

"Dez and The Peak do not like each other, Nina has no friends, and Ruby's irrelevant... Oh, and Finn's here too, I guess." Aquamarine listed, her smirk growing with each point stated.

Shrugging her shoulders, she let out a satisfied laugh, "I'm basically safe as I can be on this team. They're all going to look at each other while I sit here and look pretty." She winked at the camera.

Lianne fluttered up to Sebastian, who was hunched over, intently observing the camp from behind the cover of the bushes. His eyes narrowed as he muttered to himself.

"Okay, we just need to figure out a way to sneak you past them," he said, his voice filled with determination.

Lianne, however, was less convinced. "Sebastian, please. Let's just go. This is a bad idea!" Her wings fluttered nervously, her anxiety rising as she watched the mercenaries in the distance.

Sebastian thought for a moment, then sighed. "Hmmm… you're right..." He eyed Lianne's white fur thoughtfully. "Your white fur sticks out like a sore thumb. This is gonna be pretty tricky."

Lianne glanced at her fur and then at Sebastian, who wore a smug smirk. "That's not what I meant—"

Before she could finish, Sebastian was already talking once more. "Alright, here's the deal: you wait for me to give you a signal. I'll get all the guards' attention, and while they're distracted, you just fly on through! Then we'll meet up in town!"

Lianne raised an eyebrow, skepticism written all over her face. "Really?" She whispered, incredulity in her voice. When he nodded, she added, "I expected something a little more daring from you."

Sebastian grinned mischievously. "Would you rather it be more daring?"

Lianne's face twitched. "Please no!" She slapped her hands over her mouth, pulling Sebastian down with her as she ducked, forcing him to crouch in the bushes with her.

From nearby, a mercenary gave a cursory glance around before shrugging and returning to his phone, oblivious to their presence.

Once the coast was clear, Lianne rose up and glared at Sebastian, her expression a mixture of disbelief and exasperation. "Sebastian, knock it off! You're going to get us killed!"

Sebastian casually shrugged, his nonchalant demeanor never faltering. "I'm a ghost, I'm already dead." He thought for a moment, then added, "At least, I think that's how it works."

Lianne groaned in frustration. "Ugh! Let's just head back to—"

Before she could finish, a voice cut through the air. "Hey!" The mercenary's voice was sharp, drawing both of their attention. Sebastian and Lianne froze, eyes wide with panic.

Peering carefully from the bushes, they saw a truck approaching. The back was filled with mercenaries, and they were unloading something. Sebastian's eyes widened as he noticed the unconscious bodies being dragged out.

Lianne's breath caught in her throat, her voice trembling as she whispered, "Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God."

Sebastian leaned closer to her, his whisper barely audible. "Is that one of the other teams?"

Lianne's eyes locked onto the scene before them, her voice low but urgent. "We need to call the police!"

Sebastian shook his head sharply. "Lianne, there's no cell service here. Plus, the police suck! We can't rely on them. We need to rescue them on our own."

Lianne forced a smile, though it was thin and strained. "Sebastian, the two of us can't take on an entire gang of big, scary, scarred Pokémon on our own!" She pointed towards the mercenary camp, her voice harsh with fear. "If an entire team got wiped out, we stand no chance."

Sebastian rolled his eyes, an exasperated sigh escaping his lips. "Lianne, I'm a ghost! We'll be fine—"

Lianne shot him a furious glare. "Stop it! Being a ghost-type doesn't make you invincible!" She grabbed his flipper, tugging him forward with urgency. "We need to get help!"

Sebastian, pulling his flipper back, scowled. "Not this adult crap again! I'm going to save them no matter what you say!" He turned abruptly, ready to rush in, but just as he did, a sudden gust of ice shot through the air, freezing his body completely.

Lianne's eyes widened in shock as she looked down at his frozen form. "Oops." She quickly picked up Sebastian's stiff, ice-coated body, darting her eyes around nervously as she searched for any sign of danger.

Lianne screamed into the camera, her face fully planted against the camera. "I HAD TO! HE WAS SPEAKING NONSENSE!" She breathed out and groaned, "Oh well. Maybe this'll be enough proof to keep the team from trying to go to town? It's dangerous, clearly!"

Playing with her appendages, she whispered, "And uh... Maybe it'd be good evidence to vote me out for delaying the team?" Her gaze shifted around, before stopping at the camera. "Don't judge me, I'm desperate!"

Vienna groaned as her eyes fluttered open. She tried to sit up, but her movement was restricted. Her paws were shackled to a cold, metal table, and a muzzle was strapped tightly over her mouth.

"What the Hell?" she mumbled through the muzzle, struggling against her restraints, but they were too tight to budge.

A voice broke through the silence. "Glad you could join us," came the mocking tone of a tall figure standing nearby. Vienna's eyes darted to the source, and she saw a Typhlosion walking toward her. He sat across from her, an unsettling grin on his face. In his hand, he held a photograph, which he slid across the table toward her.

"You recognize this Furret?" he asked, his tone casual, as if the question were nothing more than a passing curiosity.

Vienna's gaze snapped to the picture. It was of Enot, sitting at a beach with several women and men alike surrounding him wearing similar smiles to normal-type. A mix of worry and confusion crossed her face. "That's my teammate," she said, her voice muffled by the muzzle. "Did you find them?"

The Typhlosion's eyes narrowed, and he leaned in. "Teammate, huh? So you're with them." Vienna's confusion deepened, but the Typhlosion didn't give her a chance to respond before continuing. "Did they tell you that they're banned from this region and have a three-million bounty on their head?"

"Banned? Bounty?" Vienna stammered, her mind reeling. "What? What's going on?"

The Typhlosion slammed his fist onto the table with a loud thud, though she simply narrowed her gaze at him. "Tell us where they are, and maybe we'll spare you and your little entourage!" He threatened.

Vienna's eyes widened in disbelief. "I literally don't know! They ran off somewhere!" Her voice cracked with desperation.

The Typhlosion scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You're still protecting them, huh?" he muttered, rising from the table. "We'll crack you one way or another, but first, we'll see if your group is more than willing to give us their location."

"They don't know where they are either!" Vienna shot back, but the Typhlosion didn't seem convinced.

He smirked, a dark glint in his eye. "We'll see about that."

Levi was shackled to a similar metal table, his face contorted in annoyance. He sat there, glaring at nothing in particular. "I don't know where they're at," he muttered, his voice dripping with irritation. "I try not to associate myself with their sort."

The Typhlosion scoffed, writing something down in his notepad.

Batgirl sat shackled to a table as well, her body tense, though she still managed to glare at the fire-type across from her. "I'll never talk," she growled, turning her head away.

The Typhlosion rolled his eyes.

Kacey, nursing a painful-looking bruise on the side of her head, held an ice pack against the swelling. "Why was I the only one who got hit?!" She exclaimed.

Another mercenary, an Ivysaur, simply shrugged in response. "You were immune to my Sleep Powder," he said nonchalantly.

Kacey's eyes widened in disbelief. "Seriously, I would've complied!"

Jeff hummed to himself. "Hypothetically speaking," he began, "if I did give you the whereabouts of that furry fiend…" He leaned in close, lowering his voice to a whisper, "How much of a cut am I getting from the bounty?"

Staring him down, the Poliwrath grunted. "None."

"CURSES!" Jeff cried dramatically, throwing his head back in frustration. The sound of his outburst echoed through the room.

Jeff staggered into a dimly lit cage where the rest of his teammates were locked up. His movements were unsteady as he took a few wobbly steps forward, then stopped. Spinning on his heels, he turned back toward the bars and grabbed onto them with a scowl.

The Darmanitan shook the metal, screaming out, "You will regret the day you put the EVIL Jeff behind bars! Regret, I say! Regret—"

Kacey, holding an ice pack against the side of her swollen face, groaned in irritation. "Can you please be quiet?!" She snapped. "I have a pounding headache."

Batgirl, sitting nearby, looked over at Kacey, her expression worried. "Are you okay?" she asked. Kacey winced, shooting a glare her way. Batgirl quickly shrank back. "S-Sorry, that was dumb."

Levi flicked his tail in frustration. "I can't believe we're in this mess because of Enot," he muttered, shaking his head. "What did they even do to have actual mercenaries on their tail?!"

Vienna's face tightened with frustration. Her teeth ground together as she searched for an answer she wasn't sure existed. "I really wish I knew," she said. "They did mention something about being banned in places on the first day, during dinner. If I just listened, maybe…"

"That's right!" Jeff suddenly piped up, his voice louder and more dramatic than before. "Maybe if you listened to the fiend, we wouldn't be in this mess!" He threw his hands up in exasperation.

Levi scoffed at the suggestion. "Oh, and how about when we got ambushed?" He shot back sarcastically. "What did you and that so-called hero wannabe do in that situation?"

Batgirl flinched at the accusation. Jeff shot the Meowstic a fiery glare.

"How dare you!" Jeff pointed an accusing finger at the cat. "They had the element of surprise! If this was an even battle, I would have single-handedly destroyed them with my EVIL genius!" He paused for dramatic effect, casting a glance at Batgirl. "And Batgirl would've gotten a punch or two in, maybe. She's the only one who can keep up with my EVILNESS!"

With a sly grin, he winked at Batgirl, who responded with a small smile, though she remained silent.

Kacey groaned, pressing the ice pack more firmly to her face. "Again. Voices down. All of you, please," she implored.

Vienna, shaking her head, took a deep breath before speaking up. Her voice was calm, but the weight of the situation was evident in her words. "Guys, now is not the time to turn on each other. We need to stick together if we want to get out of here," she said, her gaze shifting toward the guard stationed outside the cage. "Somehow."

Kacey glanced toward the entrance, her expression weary. "If we're lucky, they find Enot and they can clear up this misunderstanding," she muttered, though the doubt in her voice was hard to miss.

The rest of the team exchanged glances, none of them looking particularly hopeful. The uncertainty hung in the air like a heavy fog, and Vienna let out a quiet sigh, her shoulders slumping slightly. "Yeah, maybe," she replied, though her voice didn't spark much hope for the team.

The rain had finally diminished. The camera panned over the scene, resting on a hole burrowed deep into the ground. Slowly, Enot's head emerged from the darkness, their fur matted with dirt. They shook themselves off, clearing the grime from their coat with a few quick, sharp movements.

"Finally!" Enot exclaimed, pulling themselves fully out of the hole. They wiped the dirt from their fur and took a moment to survey their surroundings. As their gaze swept across the area, they noticed something odd: their teammates were no longer there.

"Huh, where'd they go?" Enot murmured, furrowing their brow as they scanned the area for any sign of their teammates. The sky was beginning to brighten as the first hints of dawn painted the horizon.

Enot scratched their ears and chuckled, "Surely they wouldn't have left without moi?"

Just as they spoke, a voice interrupted their thoughts.

"Hey! You!"

Enot's body snapped to face the source of the voice and found themselves staring at a group of mercenaries, glaring at them with cold eyes. Enot smirked, their lips curling upward as they eyed the group, sizing them up. A mischievous gleam flickered in their eyes as they bit their lip playfully.

"Oh, hello—"

Before they could finish their sentence, one of the mercenaries—a Poliwrath—lunged forward and punched Enot square in the face.

"Feisty!" Enot exclaimed, a notable black eye circled on their face. "I haven't had one of those in a while."

Team No Name trudged through the forest path. The air was still thick with moisture, but the relentless downpour had finally eased to a gentle sprinkle.

O'Reilly and Frank led the group, walking at a steady pace, their eyes scanning the surroundings. Behind them, Yuki moved slowly, squeezing the water out of Yami's plush body. Loki, still struggling but more or less managing to stay upright, limped along, the pain from their previous encounter with the Pangoro still lingering.

"Ugh... I got attacked by a bear!" Loki groaned, their voice dripping with frustration. "Shouldn't someone carry me?"

O'Reilly glanced back, their gaze flat. "Your feet are working just fine, kid."

Loki scowled, puffing out their chest defiantly. "I'm not a kid! I'm the King of Chaos!"

Frank couldn't help but chuckle as he gave Loki a sidelong glance. "How did you get involved with that bear again?"

Loki's expression darkened. "I was gathering firewood!"

Frank shook his head, raising an eyebrow. "That doesn't really answer my question..."

Before Loki could respond, a sudden shrill scream pierced the air. "AHHHHH!" Lianne came barreling through the forest, clutching the frozen form of Sebastian in her arms. She collided with Frank, and both of them tumbled to the ground, disoriented.

Yami decided to speak. "We found the last ones."

O'Reilly, having watched the whole spectacle, placed a cigarette in their mouth and muttered, "Yep. Consider this case closed."

Frank, still trying to recover from the fall, helped lift himself up before hoisting Lianne with him. "Lianne! Are you okay—"

Lianne was in a frenzy, grabbing the Pinsir by the shoulders and shaking him vigorously. "We have to leave! They're going to get us!"

Frank grabbed her shoulders and gently stopped her. "Who is going to get us?! What are you talking about?" He noticed the frozen dragon on the ground. "Why is Sebastian frozen?"

O'Reilly raised an eyebrow. "More importantly, why aren't I the one asking the hard questions?"

Lianne pulled away from Frank and quickly began explaining, her words tumbling out in a rush. "Sebastian and I were trying to find a route to the city, and we found it, but it's blocked by this group of weird hunters who won't let us pass! They took one of the other teams hostage, and they might be their dinner!"

The team exchanged skeptical glances. Loki, however, burst out laughing. "Yeah, right! That sounds like a really bad movie plot!"

Lianne's face hardened as she held up Sebastian's frozen form. "Why would I lie about this?" she snapped. "Tell them— Oh right, frozen."

Frank raised a hand to his forehead. "Again, why is he like that?"

Yuki glanced away as Yami huffed. "Not that we mind."

Lianne, clutching the frozen Sebastian tighter, continued. "He was going to try and take on the hunters on his own!"

O'Reilly shook their head, unconvinced. "There are no hunters out here. Why would there be? If there were any real danger, the hosts would step in."

Lianne seemed to deflate a little, murmuring to herself, "I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy..."

Frank placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey, we're going that way right now. If the other team is actually in danger, we'll help them. Okay?" He smiled reassuringly. "But I'm sure the hosts are already on their way to do that with the police."

Inside the airplane, the rumbling snores from the hosts were the only sounds to be heard. Their beds were cozy, tucked neatly within the aircraft's cabin, each one in various states of slumber.

On one of the overhead screens, a panel flickered to life, displaying the live feed of the teams and contestants struggling through the dense, rainy forest. The image was slightly distorted, the colors flickering intermittently, making it hard to clearly make out the events happening.

The camera zoomed in on the contestants, but the muffled sounds of their conversation and movement were drowned out by Will's snores, though given that Penelope and Rowan wore noise-cancelling ear plugs, everyone was able to sleep peacefully.

Team Enot sat inside the dimly lit metal cage deep within the cave. The atmosphere was thick with tension and frustration. Kacey leaned back against the wall, still clutching the ice pack to her throbbing head. Vienna, restless, paced the small confines of the cage, her eyes constantly darting to the lone guard stationed at the entrance, always watching. Levi sat off to one side, tinkering with his device. Batgirl stood a little farther from the group, staring at the cave's wall, her back to her teammates. Jeff, on the other hand, was pacing in frustration, his angry muttering filling the air.

"This is vile, I say! Vile!" Jeff suddenly declared, shaking a finger at Batgirl. "You need to come up with an escape plan!"

The mercenary guard, noticing Jeff's outburst, shot a sharp glance in his direction, and Jeff immediately flinched, realizing his mistake. He quickly added, "I probably should've whispered that."

Batgirl, without turning to look at him, sighed deeply. "I want to do something, Jeff, I really do. But we don't even know how many guards are outside this cave."

Levi sighed as well. "Not only that, but brute force is a dumb idea. We need an actual plan."

Jeff was undeterred. "Then give us one, cat!" he snapped.

Levi glared at him. "I will when I come up with one, you buffoon."

Vienna stopped her pacing and sighed, clearly exasperated. "Guys, come on. We just need to—"

Suddenly, a voice echoed from the entrance of the cave, cutting off Vienna's words.

"Ah! A cave! How romantic and secluded!" The voice was full of excitement.

The team turned as one, eyes widening in shock. A group of mercenaries entered, dragging Enot behind them. The Furret seemed oddly unfazed by the situation, more interested in the surroundings.

"Hey, where's Dale at?" One of the mercenaries, an Ivysaur, asked the guard.

"No clue," the guard, a Typhlosion, replied. "I think he's patrolling the exterior after those two asked around earlier."

The Ivysaur turned back to Enot with a smirk. "Is this the one?"

"Yeah," the other mercenary, a Poliwrath, said, stepping into the cave. "The boss'll love this. We're so getting paid!"

Enot glanced around with a grin. "So, how many of us are there going to be during this special time?" They waggled their eyebrows.

Kacey recoiled in disgust. "Ew," she muttered under her breath.

The Stoutland mercenary scowled, clearly unamused. "Sofanthiel. We meet again."

Enot flicked their tail nonchalantly. "Actually, it's Enot now," they said with a wink. "It's more exotic."

The Stoutland rolled her eyes. "I'm surprised you showed your face here again. But count my lucky stars you just happened to be in the area where me and my crew were hosting our annual camping trip."

The Ivysaur grinned. "We even went fishing!"

Enot's own grin widened, "Oh, how nice! Yes, I joined this television show, apparently, and they just dropped me out of a plane into here. Funny story, huh?"

The Stoutland scoffed, unimpressed. "If you're going to lie, at least make a plausible one." She turned toward the rest of Team Enot, who were watching them with a mix of concern and disbelief. "These guys have all said they had no idea what your crimes were. Were they telling the truth?"

Vienna immediately spoke up. "We were!"

The Stoutland fixed her with a steely glare. "Because if they really aren't involved with you, we'll let them go. But we can't let the likes of you ruin any more lives, now should we?"

Enot glanced back at their teammates. They saw the pleading looks on their faces and smiled. "Oh, those guys!" They exclaimed in delight. "They're my teammates! We're doing everything together this summer! We're more than well acquainted." They winked again.

The cave fell silent. The rest of Team Enot's glares were sharp, but Enot seemed oblivious to them.

Jeff rubbed his beard in thought, "Y'know, I may be evil, but I never really thought of murdering anyone with my bare hands." He then glared at the camera. "Until now!"

"I'll kill you!" Jeff shouted, lunging directly toward the oblivious ferret.

Levi, standing nearby, reluctantly held the ape back with the use of his Psychic. With a sigh of frustration, he muttered. "Hold still."

Between the two figures stood Vienna and Batgirl, keeping a careful eye on the situation. Vienna's stance was defensive, her gaze flickering back and forth between Jeff and Enot, ready to step in if things got worse. Batgirl stood firm, folding her arms over her chest.

Enot, on the other hand, was completely unfazed, as they leaned back with an air of nonchalance.

Meanwhile, Kacey, still leaning against the wall with an ice pack pressed to her throbbing head, couldn't help but sigh. "I'm never signing up for anything ever again."

Team Victory trudged the forest, their steps slow and heavy as they made their way toward the route ahead. The atmosphere was thick with exhaustion, all except for Finn, who was cheerfully trying to get everyone to join him in a song.

"Twenty-two bottles of pop on the wall! Twenty-two bottles of pop! You take one down, pass it around, twenty—" Finn sang enthusiastically, but his attempt was immediately cut short.

"Stop singing," Nina snapped, shooting a glare at the Togekiss, whose smile faltered at her words. "It's annoying."

Finn grinned, undeterred by her words. "Oh, come on, Nina! Smile a little!" He urged, and the woman scowled. "Just like that, kinda! You just need to turn it upside down—"

The Peak groaned, rubbing his temples in frustration. "How much longer?" He asked.

"We're almost there," Dez replied with a roll of his eyes, looking ahead. "There's the route exit." He pointed towards the sign marking the exit. "Once we get through here, it's just a straight shot to the city."

Aquamarine brightened at the prospect. "I hope we're the first ones. I don't want to even think about the stress of elimination!" She paused, her eyes glinting with thought. "Maybe we can find a place to take a nice hot bath, too."

"Of course we'll be the first ones!" The Peak boasted, flexing his muscles. "We're TEAM VICTORY!"

Despite their complaints and grumbling, the group kept walking. That is, until they were stopped by a Poliwrather.

"Stop. No one's allowed in or out. Not for a few hours at least," the Poliwrath said, crossing his arms and glaring at them. "We're almost done with our business here," he added.

Dez sighed. "Look, we'll be quick. We just need to reach town. Can you just let us through?"

The Poliwrath didn't move. "I said you'll have to wait," he replied, his voice cold.

Dez's irritation flared. His glare hardened. "I'm asking you nicely."

Before the situation could escalate further, The Peak stepped forward and without warning, he swung a punch straight at the Poliwrath's face, sending the man sprawling to the ground, unconscious.

Dez turned to him, deadpan. "Really?"

The Peak shrugged, a smirk spreading across his face. "It got the job done."

Aquamarine let out an approving purr. "Smart thinking."

The Peak blushed at the praise. "Well, thanks," he mumbled.

"Is he..." Finn's voice trailed off, his face drained of color at the sight of the fallen Poliwrath.

Nina rolled her eyes. "He's alive, moron. We're just going to move him out of plain view."

Ruby, suddenly speaking up from her spot near the back, caught the attention of everyone. "I-I know how to hide a body…" she muttered.

Everyone turned to look at her in surprise. Ruby shrank back, suddenly self-conscious, hiding behind Dez as her face flushed with embarrassment.

Dez sighed, rubbing his temples. "Alright... Let's do this quick," he said, his voice firm. "Let's take down the camp so it looks less suspicious."

And with that, the team grunted in agreement, approaching the campsite.

"Hmph, it's always the quiet ones," The Peak grunted.

Ruby hid her face behind her book, mumbling, "I-I read stories… lots of them."

Team Enot sat quietly in their cage, the only sound coming from the occasional shuffle of one of the team members or the muffled noise outside. Enot was casually playing with their egg, completely unaffected by the situation. Jeff sat off to the side, brooding in silence, while Levi was lost in his tinkering, adjusting his device. Vienna kept her eyes fixed on the lone mercenary guarding their cage.

Batgirl, however, walked over to Kacey, who was seated against the wall. She slid down beside her and sighed.

"I'm sorry," Batgirl apologized. "You got hurt because I couldn't protect anyone."

Kacey looked at her in surprise but quickly looked away, sighing. "It's not like you could take on all of those guys by yourself." She didn't notice the Gligar stiffen from those words. "Look, it's fine."

Batgirl's pincers fidgeted nervously as she tried to offer more comfort. "Sorry if I'm overstepping, but... are you okay?"

Kacey seemed taken aback by the question. "It's just a headache—"

"No," Batgirl interjected, her voice turning more firm. "Are you really okay? At dinner the other night, you looked sad. Today and yesterday... you didn't seem happy."

Kacey opened her mouth to respond, but stopped when a familiar furry body squirmed in between them.

"Oh! Don't mind me, just pretend like I'm not even here!" Enot said, wedging themselves between the two women with a nonchalant grin.

Kacey scowled, frustrated. "Would you mind your own business!" She stood up, glaring at the Ferret. "We're stuck here because of you!"

Enot tilted their head in confusion. "If you don't want to be in here then why not leave?"

Kacey slapped her forehead in exasperation. Levi, who had been watching the interaction with mild interest, raised an eyebrow. "If you haven't noticed, we're in a cage."

Enot shrugged. "If you guys want to leave, I can get you out."

Vienna narrowed her eyes skeptically, eyeing Enot from across the cage. "And how would you do that?"

Enot stood up, stretching their long body and letting out a satisfied hum when a few cracks could be heard from it. "Watch and learn," they said confidently. They dipped their paws into a nearby puddle of water, slicking back their fur before shaking off the remaining grime.

With that, they strutted confidently over to the guard, the Typhlosion who stood watch in front of the cage. The badger sneered at the Furret. "Get back, or I'll make you." A burst of flames sprouted from the back of his neck.

But Enot merely placed a paw on the bars and gave a pained expression. Then, to the surprise of everyone, they started singing, "If it's true, don't leave me all alone out here," Enot crooned, subtly moving their hips in a suggestive manner. "Wondering if you're ever gonna take me there."

The rest of Team Enot stared, wide-eyed, at the strange performance. Jeff muttered under his breath, "I'll kill them..."

But Enot continued, undeterred by the looks from their teammates as they thrusted their hips against the air. "Tell me what you're feeling 'cause I need to know," they sang, twirling dramatically before finishing with a high note, "Girl, you gotta let me know!"

The guard stared at them, completely flustered, his cheeks flushing as he fumbled for the keys. "Oh wow..." he muttered, trying and failing to quickly jam the key into the keyhole.

In a dazed stupor, the Typhlosion managed to unlock the cage and strode inside. Without warning, he picked up the satisfied Furret and slammed his lips against theirs. The two began making out, rather loudly, leaving the rest of Team Enot completely stunned into silence.

For a moment, there was no movement from the team. They simply stared at the bizarre scene unfolding before them.

Levi stared at the camera completely stunned, placing his paws on the side of his head and screaming, "What the fu—"

The team burst out of the cave, feet pounding against the rocky ground as they bolted into the open. Enot trailed closely behind them, their fur slightly disheveled, followed eagerly by the Typhlosion, who looked to be running with them rather than after them.

Around the campsite, the mercenaries rose to their feet in alarm. Their eyes narrowed and bodies tensed, preparing for a fight. The Stoutland stepped forward, barking in disbelief.

"Who let you out of your cage?!" She demanded, clawing at the ground beneath her with a scowl.

But before any attack could be launched, Enot gracefully stepped in front of their teammates, throwing one paw up. "Wait, don't attack," they pleaded, before beginning to sing once more.

"Which way to go, 'cause I need to know. I need to know," they crooned, hips swaying rhythmically to the beat in their head. "Tell me baby girl 'cause I need to knooooooow!" Their final note rang through the camp.

To everyone's shock, the mercenaries visibly softened. One by one, their guards lowered. The Stoutland in particular melted under the gaze, practically leaping from her spot to tackle the smirking ferret.

"Oh, Enot!" She exclaimed, and with no hesitation, began peppering the Furret with a bountiful amount of kisses. "I knew you'd come back to me!"

Enot winked over their shoulder, as the rest of the mercenaries jumped in with the two. Nearby, the Typhlosion fidgeted awkwardly, clearly torn on whether or not to stay with the rest of Team Enot or—

Kacey groaned and rolled her eyes. "Oh, just go."

That was all the badger needed— he scurried after the others in a lovestruck daze, who were somehow able to lead themselves back toward the cave leaving Team Enot stranded nearby, grimacing at the sight and sounds of the group.

"Uh, we're just gonna… go wait over there," Vienna said, stepping away from the scene. She didn't receive any words of confirmation but she didn't wait for one, as she quickly ran off, followed by the rest of the team.

Vienna stared at the camera, flabbergasted, "I've traveled for most of my life, but this… I have never seen this before."

"And I wish I never had," she whispered, shuddering.

Team No Name trekked through the dense forest, Frank, holding the map, glanced over his shoulder with a beaming smile.

"Okay, it looks like we should be there soon!" He called out, thrusting a fist into the air. "Go us!"

Lianne trailed behind, tightly clutching Sebastian's frozen body against her chest. The block of ice was slowly beginning to melt, but her grip never loosened. Her eyes darted around the forest with unease.

"That means they're near," she muttered.

O'Reilly let out a scoff. "Still on about those hunters, huh?"

"They're real! I swear on my bed and breakfast!" Lianne replied sharply, her voice trembling with conviction.

"Stop saying that!" Loki whined, holding their stomach. "When I think of breakfast, I think of food— and it makes my tummy hungy!"

Yuki and Yami glanced at each other, the latter scoffing. "You said 'tummy.' What a loser."

"How dare you!" Loki barked back.

"Calm down, guys," Frank cut in before things could spiral. He pointed ahead with enthusiasm. "Look! There's the route sign!"

A weak cheer rose from the group, though Lianne remained silent, her gaze locked on the now-empty guard station. Her heart dropped.

"I-Impossible," she whispered. "They were right there. Where are they? Where are they?!"

Frank's smile faded. He stepped over and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Lianne, please. Take a deep breath."

She sucked in a shaky inhale.

"Now hold it for five… four… three… two…"

She exhaled slowly.

"Perfect," he said with a reassuring smile.

"I'm not crazy," she muttered, her voice unsteady. "I'm not crazy. I know they were here. I know it."

"Doubtful," O'Reilly commented under their breath, though their eyes narrowed as they looked around. "Though there are some weird sounds I'm picking up from nearby…"

"Probably wild folks," Yami commented, as Yuki nodded in agreement.

Frank gave them a sharp look before turning his attention back to Lianne. "It's okay," he said softly. "Maybe they were here and just… moved on? I'm sure the team that got taken escaped. They're probably already headed to the inn."

Lianne nodded numbly. "Right… they moved."

Frank gave her shoulder one last comforting pat before walking ahead to rejoin the group. She remained still for a moment, looking down at the icy form in her arms.

"I know what I saw," she whispered to Sebastian. "Because you saw it too."

She glanced back once more at the seemingly empty clearing before flying after the others.

Unseen by any of them, the arm of an unconscious Poliwrath hung limp from above a tree just across from the path.

"The kid shouldn't indulge in someone's fantasies. It ain't right." O'Reilly scoffed, placing a cigarette in their mouth.

They sighed, "He calmed her down so that amounts to something at the very least."

Frank looked at the camera, rubbing at his head with a worried look. "I feel so bad for Lianne. She's just out of her element and maybe she's just a little homesick."

"I just want her to know that I'm someone she can talk to if she ever feels overwhelmed." He smiled.

The sun rose brightly over the quaint rooftops of Santalune City, casting a golden hue across the charming streets and cobbled paths. In front of the elegant Santalune City Inn, Rowan stood tapping the face of his solid gold watch, visibly annoyed.

"Wow, these guys are taking forever!" He groaned, flinging his arms into the air. "How difficult is it to walk through a forest?"

Beside him, Penelope yawned and rubbed her eyes, her voice groggy with sleep. "You woke me up at the crack of dawn for this?"

Rowan rolled his eyes and gave the woman a disappointed look. "This is why you need to work on your sleep schedule. The early bird gets the worm."

Penelope glared at him. "What worm are we getting?!"

Before Rowan could retort, his expression changed as a disheveled group of Pokémon approached from the distance. Their fur and feathers were ruffled, some dragging their feet, their exhaustion evident.

"Welcome! Finally, our first team has arrived— oh," Rowan said, only to snort in laughter at the sight of them. "Wow, you guys look awful!"

The team all glared at him.

"Seriously," Rowan continued, chuckling, "how do you look this bad just from camping?"

The Peak glared, but stopped mid-scowl. "Wait… did The Peak hear that right?" He dug a claw into his ear, as if to confirm. "Did you say we're first?"

Penelope, now slightly more alert, gave a spin and offered a rehearsed smile. "That's right! Congratulations, Team Victory!" She winked. "You're the first ones here, which means you're safe from elimination!"

A collective sigh of relief escaped the team.

"Thank God…" Dez muttered under his breath.

Rowan clapped his hands together. "That also means you guys get to enjoy the perks of first class— at least until the next challenge. But for tonight, you've got a special reward!"

Aquamarine tilted her head, intrigued. "Reward?"

"You bet!" Rowan grinned. "For tonight and tonight only, you will sleep in a luxurious suite right here in this very inn!" He leaned toward the camera. "Because at the luxurious Santalune City Inn, rich and poor folks alike can get sweet, sweet deals in order to have a fantastic stay! Nothing beats the prices and genuine authenticity of Santalune City Inn! Located only in Santalune City!"

The team exchanged confused glances.

Penelope leaned in toward them. "He made a deal to get the rooms in exchange for a short-term sponsor."

Nina narrowed her eyes. "So you didn't pay out of your own pocket."

Rowan shrugged. "It's a win-win! This is how the rich stay rich, people. Take notes!"

Finn beamed. "Wow! It'd be so great to have a shower!"

Aquamarine's eyes sparkled. "I'd love to check if they have a hot tub."

The Peak winked. "I'd like to look for that too. And room service."

Nina muttered, "I could go for some cable…"

"Internet…" whispered Ruby, almost to herself.

Dez groaned. "I just want to take a nap."

Penelope clapped her hands. "Splendid! Congrats again on getting first place! Now, before you enjoy all the perks of the luxury suite, can you please fill us in on your thoughts—"

Before she could finish, the entire team brushed past them and walked straight into the hotel without a word.

Penelope blinked. "Wow. Rude."

Dez let out a sigh of relief, "I'm happy that we won. Thankful too. I don't think I'd have been in the best mood having to think of who to eliminate, even if I already have a good idea on who that'd be."

"The only ones who seem fine are Ruby and Finn." He glared at the camera, grumbling, "I'm still on the fence with Aquamarine, but The Peak and Nina are not doing this team any favors."

The Peak is facing the camera, flexing his muscular arms with a victorious laugh. "Yep! The Peak has single handedly helped his team get to victory!" He pulled another flexing motion, showing off his muscular back. "No biggie! Just your average day for an ordinary hero like myself."

"Now I get to just kick back and eat some food!" He laughed, turning back toward the camera. "I deserve it too, I practically did this whole thing myself!"

Aquamarine grinned and leaned back. "Ah, first place. The only place I belong." She winked at the camera. "However, I should solidify my spot on this team even more than it already is."

"It doesn't hurt to have a little more protection after all," she smirked.

Rolling her eyes, Nina scoffed, "Somehow we weren't the worst team." She shrugged. "At least we can enjoy some perks. Like a bed and edible food."

"Though I wouldn't have minded eliminating someone like Finn," she admitted, groaning to herself. "He is so annoying!"

Finn happily clapped his wings together. "We won!" He gleefully smiled at the camera. "Team Victory is victorious! Haha! Get it?" Noticing no one is around, he awkwardly let out a cough. "I'm just happy we all get to relax and in a super comfy suite too!"

Whistles to himself, "I've never been in any of these before, so I better take some pictures to show my mom later!"

Ruby has her eyes glued to her phone, scrolling through it at the speed of light.

Team No Name trudged their way up to the Santalune City Inn, their bodies sagging with exhaustion. Mud-caked feet, matted fur, and drooping wings along with their sheer exhausted expressions.

Standing near the inn's entrance, Rowan raised an eyebrow as he took in the sorry state of the group. "Wow," he remarked dryly. "You look worse than the first team that came through here."

O'Reilly's ears perked up. "First team?"

Frank's face fell. "Oh no… are we the last ones here?"

Yami scoffed. "Tch. It's the fault of that mangy mongoose."

Loki gasped, offended but confused. "I—" They stopped, then looked down in thought. "The King of Chaos doesn't know how to respond to this! It wasn't my fault… but I want it to be my fault?"

Rowan smirked. "To answer your initial question… yes." The whole team flinched, expressions of dread setting in— until Rowan chuckled. "Or at least, that's what I'd say if that were true. You guys are actually the second team to make it through!"

Penelope stepped forward, offering a polite clap. "Congratulations! You're safe from elimination!"

The group let out a collective sigh of relief.

"And," Rowan continued, "to commemorate your incredible achievement of getting second place,we're giving you a sweet reward!" The team lit up, some gasping with surprise.

"That's right," he said, arms wide, "you get to share one standard room at the inn! How great is that?"

Penelope leaned in and whispered, "You can totally sleep on the plane too, but I imagine you'd prefer beds over greasy airport seats."

The group still looked relieved, well, all except for Lianne, who groaned loudly.

"Dammit!" she shouted, throwing her arms down in frustration, forgetting she was still holding Sebastian, who had been frozen for quite a while. He fell from her grip and crashed onto the ground.

The ice around him shattered, and Sebastian lay on the pavement, his body shivering uncontrollably as he blinked up at the sky in utter confusion.

"S-So cold," he stammered. "W-Where am I? W-Where are those scary dudes?!"

O'Reilly glanced down at him, unimpressed. "Tch. Another crazy." Without another word, they stepped past him and headed into the inn.

The rest of the team followed without hesitation, all too ready to collapse into a proper bed.

Only Frank remained, quickly hurrying to Sebastian's side. Gently, he helped the shivering dragon off the ground and guided him toward the warmth and safety of the inn.

"I can't even sabotage the team right," Lianne whispered, before letting out a groan. "I just want to go home!"

"Honestly, I didn't think we'd get second, but I'm not complaining!" Frank smiled at the camera. "I know this team has potential. We just have to round out some edges, that's all."

Loki glared at the camera and announced, "The Lord of Chaos has once again shown why they are so valuable!" They smirked. "Without me, this team wouldn't have been safe!"

"And they didn't even thank me or ask to kiss my feet!" They rolled their eyes. "How dare they disrespect me!"

O'Reilly has his back to the camera, scoffing. "Of course we're safe. All in a days work."

They scowled at the mirror. "It would have been a first place win if we didn't have so many slackers wandering off when they shouldn't have." Shrugging, they gruffly muttered, "Doesn't matter now, but next time I won't let it slide."

Sebastian is shivering, several towels wrapped around his small frame. "I-I don't remember much! I just remember I was about to attack those freaky guys, then suddenly I was super cold, then boom, we were out of the forest-"

His eyes widened in realization. "Lianne… she attacked me. She totally froze me…" His confused expression turned into a wide grin as he let out a laugh. "Wow! Didn't expect her to pull that sort of stunt, but that's character growth!" He fist pumped the air. "Hell yeah! Good for her- ACHOO!" He sneezed, sniffling slightly with a groan.

Yuki and Yami sat in the confessional, the latter's body being moved by the snow fox. "We're somehow safe, even with this band of misfits."

"That means the losing team has even more incompetent players," Yuki whispered to herself.

She made the toy grunt. "I'm starting to think we're the only ones in this game with a brain."

"We shouldn't get cocky, Yami," Yuki chastised, turning away from the camera to whisper, "more analysis is needed before we form anything concrete."

The toy scoffed. "Fine, but if I'm right, you owe me a head pat."

"Deal."

Team Enot finally reached the Santalune City Inn, dragging their feet and moving as if in a daze. Every member of the team looked shaken, their fur disheveled, expressions hollow— except for Enot, who wore a lopsided grin despite the scratches, ruffled fur and bite marks covering their body.

At the entrance, Rowan greeted them with his usual smug charm.

"Wow! You guys look awful!" He said cheerily.

No one responded. The group simply stood there, staring into the distance, beyond exhaustion.

Levi was the first to speak, his tone flat. "Just tell us that we lost so we can get this over with."

Penelope stepped forward, her smile sympathetic. "I'm sorry to say, your team is the last one to arrive."

No reaction. Not even a blink. It was clear none of them were surprised.

"That means," Penelope continued, "you'll be the first team sending someone home."

Rowan nodded enthusiastically. "That's right! We'll let you know when to come to the elimination room, but for now, take the time to tidy up, get some actual food in you. Oh, and—" he smirked, "if it's any consolation, you've got the whole plane to yourselves tonight. The other two teams are living it up in the inn!"

Jeff gasped, his eyes wide with dismay. "They get to sleep in comfortable beds?" The Sneasler next to him nodded. "CURSES!"

Penelope offered a small smile. "Well, it gives you all plenty of time to strategize on who you want to vote out today!"

Kacey didn't hesitate. "Oh, I doubt we need to strategize about anything." Her eyes narrowed and she wasn't the only one. The rest of Team Enot turned in unison to glare daggers at a certain Furret.

Still grinning, completely oblivious to the tension, Enot scratched behind their ear and gave a hearty chuckle. "So, what are we having for dinner? I worked up quite the appetite!"

The entire team silently took a step away from the cheerful ferret, their faces dark with thinly veiled frustration.

Kacey had her appendage over her face, sighing deeply. "Everyone decided to go out and grab dinner after... That. We're all tired, and hungry, and just... Wanted a break."

Lowering her arm, she sighed. "I mostly tagged along cause I didn't have anything better to do, and I couldn't stay at the plane since they were apparently setting up for elimination." She grimaces and rolls her shoulders back. "I'm not big on greasy food, but maybe I can snag a fry or two and just make something after the vote."

"Please have frozen food in the plane, I just want an easy night after today," she whispered to herself.

Batgirl turned away from the camera. "I wish I could have been more helpful. We were in danger and I only managed to get caught too. I didn't even put up a fight!"

"Who knows how long we would have been stuck there because I wasn't strong enough." Turns to the camera and places a pincer against her chest. "I will just have to make it up to them next time! I promise, I won't let the team down again!

"Enot isn't exactly doing any favors for themself. Maybe they'll see just how serious this is and actually try to apologize." Vienna sighed, rubbing her head with a look of frustration. "But I'm not sure if that's even enough to save themself at this point."

"That cursed fool made us lose out on winning a chance at sleeping in a bed! How EVIL!" Jeff exclaimed, glaring at the camera. "They will be the first one out of this competition! Mark my words!"

Levi leaned against the sink, looking down at his machine with a roll of his eyes. "It should be a simple elimination at least."

Enot's spinning their egg on their paw, a smile on their face. "I expected more angry faces coming back to Kalos. I even got to see Marie again! Or was it Mary?" Rubs their chin in thought. "Shoot, I'm not good with names. I know it starts with an M."

They shrug and laugh. "I have no clue what the team wants to do for elimination, but that boring talk can wait." Catching their egg in their paw, they smiled. "We're having pancakes!"

Team Victory stepped into their luxury suite, and for a moment, no one said a word. The room was almost too perfect. A king-sized bed with perfectly fluffed pillows and soft comforters stood in the center, while modern decor added a sleek charm to the space. A door to the side led to a pristine bathroom, and across the room, glass doors opened onto a balcony that offered a breathtaking view of Santalune City and the sprawling forest below. A hot tub glimmered invitingly on the balcony. Inside, a plush couch faced a massive TV.

Finn zipped forward, his wings buzzing with excitement. "Whoa, look at this!" He cried, landing on the bed and grabbing a mint from the pillow. "Mints! Fancy!" Without a second thought, he popped the entire thing in his mouth.

A pause.

Then violent coughing. "Oh no!" he wheezed. "I forgot to get it out of the wrapper!"

Aquamarine paid him no mind, her eyes were already set on the bubbling paradise outside. "I call dibs on the hot tub!" She announced and darted toward the balcony.

"Wait for me, babe!" The Peak called after her, grinning as he followed close behind.

Nina rolled her eyes but looked pleased as she threw herself onto the bed, grabbing the remote. "I'm going to watch TV," she declared, already flipping through channels.

Ruby silently made her way to the couch and stretched out, her eyes never leaving the screen of her phone as she made herself comfortable.

Finally, Dez let out a long, exhausted sigh. Without saying much, he turned and made his way to the bathroom. "Guess I'll take the shower," he mumbled, closing the door behind him.

Team No Name pushed open the door to their assigned room and stepped inside. It was… underwhelming but still better than the plane alternative.

The room was modest, to say the least— two twin-sized beds sat against one wall, a small flat-screen TV was mounted opposite them, and a narrow door led to a basic bathroom. A single window let in a sliver of light, offering a truly inspiring view of the neighboring building's equally uninspiring window.

"Bed!" Loki cheered, immediately hopping onto one of the beds and curling up on top with a content hum.

Lianne frowned, glancing around. "Looks like most of us won't be getting our own beds…"

Frank smiled and offered, "If two of us share one, then only two people would need to sleep on the floor."

Without a word, Yuki crossed the room and sat on the second bed, perfectly composed with her Umbreon plush beside her. The toy spoke for her, "Yuki and I are sharing this one."

O'Reilly let out an annoyed huff and marched over to the far corner of the room. "I don't need a bed," they muttered.

Sebastian, still recovering but oddly nonchalant, shrugged. "Same. I don't even need sleep."

Lianne sighed. "I'll ask the staff downstairs for extra blankets. I'll sleep on the floor."

Frank glanced from Yuki to Loki, who was already halfway to snoring, and resigned himself to the obvious. "Grab one for me too," he called after her.

The greasy aroma of frying oil and sizzling patties hung thick in the air of the town diner. Inside, the place was quiet, just a few patrons scattered across booths and counter stools. A nostalgic hum of a classic tune drifted from an old jukebox in the corner.

In one booth near the window, Levi, Vienna, and Kacey sat together. Plates stacked with greasy diner food sat in front of the first two, while Kacey nursed nothing more than a shared basket of fries, her gaze distant as she stared out the window with her earbuds in.

Vienna picked up her burger, stacked high with melted cheese, onions, and lettuce, and took a big bite before washing it down with a sip of soda. She glanced at Levi, who was working on a similarly indulgent burger, and chuckled. "Didn't think you were the type to eat this sort of stuff."

Levi scoffed, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. "Basic food?" He smirked. "As successful as I am, I'm not some rich snob. I enjoy the finer things life occasionally has to offer."

Vienna raised a brow, amused. "Yeah? Like what?"

He held up his burger like it was a precious artifact. "This is an example in itself."

She laughed again and turned her attention to Kacey, sitting across from them and still locked into her music. "What about you, Kacey?"

The Roserade didn't react.

"Kacey?" Vienna repeated.

Kacey blinked, finally pulling her earbuds out. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Nothing, just trying to make small talk." Vienna smiled and took another sip of her drink. "Didn't really have the chance during the challenge."

"Oh. Yeah, right." Kacey looked away, clearly awkward.

Vienna's eyes drifted over to the lunch counter where Batgirl and Jeff were eating. "Shame the tables aren't that big. We could've all sat together."

Levi rolled his eyes. "I feel this works out better." He took another bite, then added matter-of-factly, "After Enot goes, the three of us could have a majority. If that's something of interest." He dabbed his face again. "I don't know about you, but I don't see myself working with those two."

"Can we actually not think about that right now?" Vienna interjected, her tone sharper than expected. Levi blinked, surprised. "I just want us to focus on doing our best to win. Next time, and every time after that."

Kacey tilted her head. "Isn't that a bit optimistic?"

Vienna turned to her and smiled. "What's wrong with a little optimism in your life?"

Levi shrugged, sipping from his coffee. "Maybe it's because we're in a competition? It's just a suggestion." He leaned back. "The offer still stands if we find ourselves in this position again."

Suddenly, a familiar voice popped up from Kacey's side.

"Ah yes, competition and optimism!"

The three turned to see Enot sitting beside Kacey, their fur frazzled, a wide grin on their face.

Levi flinched. "W–When did you get here?!"

Enot shrugged. "I've been here! ...Okay, that's a lie. I just came back from a fantastic rendezvous with Carol, an amazing waitress who you should all tip by the way, and I've been under your table for the past few minutes."

Kacey blinked. "Why were you under our table?" Enot only smirked. "...Leave," she added flatly.

"We really need a break from you," Levi muttered.

"Okay!" Enot chirped, entirely unbothered. They reached over and grabbed a handful of fries before scampering off without another word.

The trio sat in stunned silence, watching Enot vanish toward the counter.

After a beat, Levi turned to the girls. "We're voting them off, right?"

"I was surprised when Vienna wasn't that onboard with my idea of creating a temporary alliance. Seems like a safe option, they'd be safe after all." Levi admitted, though he simply sighed afterward.

"It doesn't matter. If we do lose again, I doubt I'll be the one in trouble." He smirked. "I'm way too important to this team for that to happen."

At the counter, Batgirl sat at one end, slowly picking at a towering stack of pancakes, her expression unreadable. Beside her, Jeff lifted a steaming mug of coffee to his lips—only to immediately spit it out with a dramatic sputter.

His eyes bulged as he slammed the mug back onto the counter. "What is this disgusting concoction?! It's vile! Soulless! EVIL!" He paused, grimacing. "But not the good kind of EVIL!"

The nearby waitress, clearly unfazed by the outburst, glanced over with a flat expression. "You didn't put any sugar or creamer in it."

Jeff gaped at her. "How dare you make me do all of the work! I am a paying customer!"

Batgirl leaned closer and whispered, "Jeff, you didn't even chip in anything. I paid for that."

Jeff shushed her loudly. "That vile woman didn't need to know that!" He turned back to the counter with a scowl while Batgirl rolled her eyes and resumed poking at her pancakes.

"This is nothing like the coffee I get back home," Jeff ranted, slamming his fist against the counter. "I have a fantastic barista from there! Coincidentally, she is also a Gligar." He paused, narrowing his eyes at Batgirl. "She could be your EVIL twin—"

"Hey, Jeff," Batgirl interrupted, her tone suddenly quieter. "Have you ever… gone easy on me during our battles?"

Jeff tilted his head. "Me? Go easy on you?" He burst out laughing, loud enough to draw a few curious glances from other patrons in the diner. When he noticed Batgirl wasn't smiling, he stopped. "Are you serious? Why would I, the EVIL Jeff, go easy on the sole nuisance to my work?"

Batgirl shrugged, finally lifting her glass of milk. "I was just wondering, that's all."

"Well, you wondered stupidly!" Jeff scoffed. He grabbed a nearby sugar packet and ripped it open, dumping the contents into the coffee. "Even lowly heroes have their off days. I was just unfortunate enough to never catch one of yours." He scoffed, tossing the empty paper packet behind him. "If I'm lucky, you'll never bounce back from this cursed day, and you'll keep being bad!"

"What kind of bad, exactly?"

Both of them jumped slightly as Enot suddenly squeezed into the narrow space between their stools.

"Back! Away, you vile beast!" Jeff cried, backing away from the smiling normal-type.

"Ohoho!" Enot chirped, eyes sparkling. "You think I'm a beast, huh?"

"Not like that, you fiend!" Jeff hissed, glaring at the ferret.

The waitress groaned loudly. "Excuse me, I'm gonna need you to keep your voice down,sir—"

"You cannot control me, woman!" Jeff shouted, pointing a single finger at her. In one motion, he scooped up a fistful of sugar packets and bolted out the front door of the diner.

Every customer in the diner turned to watch him go, before turning their gaze to Batgirl. She sighed into her pancakes. "Sorry about that…"

"I'm not exactly sure why none of my teammates want to be around me," Enot admitted, before tucking their nose into their fur and smelling it. Their eyes widen. "Oh! I smell! That explains a lot…"

The soft hum of the television filled the cozy luxury suite. Nina was sprawled comfortably on the plush bed, flicking through the TV catalogue with a remote in one paw, her expression unreadable. Finn sat beside her, eyes darting across the screen with anticipation.

"Wait! You just passed over Star Wars!" he exclaimed, leaning forward with excitement.

Nina barely spared him a glance. "Never seen it."

Finn blinked. "Wait what?" His gasped—

"And I don't intend to," she added.

The Togekiss' enthusiasm deflated, but he managed a weak chuckle. "Oh… okay. That's fine. I'm sure whatever you put on is going to be fun!"

Nina let out an annoyed sigh and rolled her eyes. "Ugh. Why don't you go bug someone else?"

Finn looked around the room. "The Peak and Aquamarine are in the hot tub," he whispered lowly. "I think they're flirting."

"Ruby went off to the gift shop, and Dez is still in the shower." He beamed a smile at her. "So… I'm kinda out of options."

"Just my luck," Nina muttered, continuing to scroll.

The screen flickered as she finally settled on a film. Stab appeared in bold red bloody letters. Finn's face turned pale.

"Y-You're putting on Stab?" He asked, his voice cracking.

"Yeah," Nina said without looking at him. "It's a classic." She smirked slightly. "What, you've never seen a slasher before?"

Finn's ears twitched nervously. "I'm more of a… comedy type of guy— AH!"

A bloodcurdling scream from the television accompanied the image of a woman being stabbed by a black robed figure in a white mask. Finn shrieked, launching straight into the air in terror. His head slammed against the ceiling with a thud, and he collapsed back onto the bed with a groan.

"Ow…"

Nina snorted in amusement. "Hah." The smile faded as quickly as it came, and she settled in to watch the movie, leaving Finn groaning beside her.

"At least Nina smiled for once!" Finn exclaimed, before letting out a pain groan, falling over with a thud.

Frank stood quietly by the window, his eyes soft as he took in the view of Yuki and Loki, who were sprawled out on the twin beds, fast asleep. A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"They had a long day," he whispered to himself, before turning his attention to the window behind him.

He cracked it open, letting the cool breeze drift into the room. He leaned his arms against the sill and took in the fresh, open air. At least, until his phone suddenly buzzed.

He pulled out the device, his brows furrowing when he saw the notification.

From: Unknown Number
Hey, it's me. You got any deets?

The Pinsir's eyes darted around the room, before he typed quickly.

From: Frank
Not yet. I'll call you when I do.

"You're being awfully secretive."

Frank nearly dropped his phone out the window. He spun around, heart pounding, to see O'Reilly standing behind him.

"O'Reilly!" Frank gasped, clutching the phone to his chest. "I didn't see you there!"

The Lairon tilted their head, eyes narrowed. "Why are you so jumpy?"

"Because you just literally snuck up on me!" Frank snapped, before quickly placing his hands on his mouth and eyeing the sleeping figures in the room. He breathed in and lowered his voice. "I'm sorry, but you just scared me."

O'Reilly didn't move, their gaze skeptical. "Suspicious."

"No, it's not," Frank said, voice a bit too quick. He averted his eyes, edging toward the bathroom. "I just needed some fresh air. But I'm fine. I'm going to take a shower now."

Without waiting for a reply, he disappeared behind the bathroom door. O'Reilly stood in the quiet, staring after him.

"Hmm…"

"That kid is acting shady," O'Reilly grunted. "I thought it was just nerves but this might be something I need to look into…"

The Peak leaned back into the warm suds of the hot tub with a sigh of satisfaction. Across from him, Aquamarine delicately sipped her glass of wine.

"This," The Peak exhaled, arms spreading wide as he melted into the water, "is exactly what The Peak needed."

Aquamarine's lips curled ever so slightly around her glass, annoyance flickering behind her eyes, but she simply said. "I agree. And it's all thanks to you and your bravery for handling those troublesome Butterfree."

The Peak chuckled. "Of course!" He boomed, clearly reveling in the moment. "Finally, someone appreciates The Peak!"

Aquamarine swirled her drink, her voice dipping into a seductive whisper. "Don't tell anyone I said this, but…" She leaned in and winked, "You're my favorite. I sincerely think the others underestimate just how much you contribute to this team."

The Peak's face flushed red, a smug grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. He leaned back, arms spread on the tub's edge. "I know, right? I'm great! They don't respect me like they should…" He looked her over. "But you do."

"Of course I do!" Aquamarine purred. "You're a hero. Who wouldn't respect you?"

The Peak grinned, chest puffed out. "Well, just so you know, you're my favorite too. Actually…" He paused, thinking. "Since we're both each other's favorites, why don't we work together?"

Aquamarine tilted her head, placing a paw over her chest with a gasp. "You would want to work with me?"

"Sure!" He said with a smirk. "I like you. Plus, you're hot and having a big, strong man like myself could get you pretty damn far in this game."

"Oh, you are so right," the Floatzel agreed, using her wine glass to cover the growing scowl on her face.

He stood tall in the tub, water sloshing, and gave her a winning smile— only to pause.

"…Actually, uh…" He leaned in, scratching the back of his head and whispered sheepishly, "Hey… what's your name again?" Aquamarine resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

Aquamarine stared at the camera with a grimace. "I deserve a prize for putting up with that pig." She rolled her eyes, but offered the camera a smirk. "Thankfully he's an idiot. I even got him to initiate the alliance."

"I'm just too good at this game," she chuckled.

Lianne soared into the lobby, her arms filled with blankets and pillows. Her expression was one of pure exhaustion as she made a beeline for the stairs.

Sebastian silently floated up from the ground in front of her, flipper raised to greet her. "Hey—"

Lianne screamed, throwing the blankets up as she fell back. "Sebastian!"

Sebastian chuckled. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself. You just looked so tense."

Lianne scowled as she started to gather the strewn blankets. "It's because of this stupid show! I think today alone shaved five years off my life."

"It's only been two days," Sebastian replied with a grin.

"I know..." she whispered dramatically, clutching the blankets like they might shield her from further stress. She glanced up at him, frowning. "Wait… you're not mad at me?"

He blinked. "Why would I be mad?"

"I froze you," she whispered, still clearly traumatized. "Like… solid. You were an actual block of ice."

Sebastian shrugged. "Yeah, and that was awesome!"

Lianne raised a skeptical brow.

"Okay," he admitted with a laugh, "it hurt. A lot. Dragon and all. But still, I thought it was cool." He finger-gunned her, as she rolled her eyes. "You let loose to get what you wanted. I respect that."

"You're weird," Lianne muttered, turning away and flapping her wings as she floated off.

"Hey, Lianne." She stopped, halfway up the stairs. "I know you're responsible and a boring, dull grown-up and all…" He grinned, "but that shouldn't stop you from going with the flow. This whole thing? It's like nothing either of us have ever done. Wouldn't hurt to just… let it happen, right?"

She didn't answer. Just floated up the stairs without looking back.

Sebastian sighed and looked around the empty lobby. "Wait… what happened to those tough guys?" He cupped his flippers and called out toward her fading figure, "Did I at least look cool before you froze me?!"

Lianne sighed deeply, "Sebastian seems like a fine kid. Reckless and stupid, but fine," she looked away from the camera, "he just doesn't understand the real world yet."

"And I don't know if it's better for him to find out the hard way, or to continue living in this fantasy of his," she admitted.

Steam still clung to Dez's fur as he stepped out of the bathroom, towel slung around his shoulders. He let out a loud yawn as he stepped forward— then nearly jumped back in surprise.

Ruby was standing there, completely silent as her large red eyes stared up at him.

Dez blinked, startled. "Oh, sorry, Ruby. I didn't see you there."

She didn't say anything at first. Her wide eyes just stared up at him. Then, slowly, she extended her arm. Resting in it was a small object.

Dez leaned down, squinting. It was a keychain. An ugly little shrimp character with googly eyes. For a second, he just stared at it, baffled.

"T-Thank you…" Ruby whispered, voice barely audible.

Before he could say anything, she placed the keychain gently on the floor in front of him. Then, without another word, she turned and scampered back to the couch, already pulling her phone out again like nothing had happened.

Dez remained in place, watching her go. After a moment, he bent down and picked up the shrimp. The plastic charm dangled from the key ring.

He smiled. "…Huh," he murmured, rolling the keychain between his claws. "What do you know."

"I don't know what this character is, but Ruby liked it enough to give it to me," Dez admitted with a shrug. "I don't have any keys to put it on, but I'll find a use for it."

The contestants were packed tightly in the elimination room, seated in stiff chairs arranged before a wooden podium, where both hosts stood behind. On either side of the podium were two electric torches, flickering with artificial light.

"Welcome everyone, to your very first elimination of the season!" Penelope greeted them with a bright smile. The room, however, remained dead silent. She blinked. "Okay then—"

"Hold on, time-out," Rowan interjected, raising a hand. Penelope narrowed her eyes at him. "Before we send one of you to your eternal doom— AKA: leaving the competition broke and forgotten, I do have to ask, what are your thoughts on the torches?"

Everyone's gaze shifted toward the glowing props the Sneasler gestured a long arm to.

"I thought they'd add a little dramatic flair, y'know?" Rowan continued. "I wanted real torches, but apparently that was a," he rolls his eyes, putting his claws up in air quotes, "'health and safety risk.' So we went with these patio ones instead. But do they go with the decor? That's the real question."

"Why would there be torches in an airplane?" Levi asked flatly.

Rowan snapped his claws. "Exactly! Why would there be torches in an airplane? It's symbolic. Torches are a metaphor for pain and suffering, and the airplane? That's… me?" His eyes widened. "Wow. That's oddly enlightening."

"Enough about the torches!" Penelope snapped. She turned back to the contestants with a strained smile. "Here's how this is going to work. Beneath your seats, you'll each find a tablet."

There was a shuffle as everyone pulled out sleek, gold-colored tablets. They were strangely in good condition.

"When you power it on," Penelope explained, "a screen will appear with your teammates' faces. Simply tap on the portrait of the person you want to eliminate and it will give you a notification on whether or not you really want to eliminate them or not."

"And once the votes are in," Rowan added, as Will entered with a tray of airline peanuts, "we'll call out the names of the safe contestants. If you're safe, you'll get a bag of these peanuts! If not... you're out."

Jeff's eyes widened with excitement. "Snacks!"

Rowan laughed. "That's right, only the cheapest of the cheap for you guys!"

Penelope sighed at her co host's antics, before turning to the contestants. "The Pokémon who does not receive a bag will be eliminated and never allowed to return."

Rowan turned to the Lopunny, moving her aside in a whisper. "Alright, Pen, love, you're amazing, but you need to put more oomph in your voice." He narrowed his eyes. "Hosting, Pen. Hosting. Be one with the hosting gig."

"I am putting in oomph!" She exclaimed, confused.

He nodded, "Of course, of course, I'm just saying, you're not exactly Emmy-worthy right now." The woman's jaw dropped, and he spun them both around to face the contestants once more.

Snapping a claw, Rowan announced, "Alright! Team Enot is Hot!"

Enot stood up proudly. "It's Enot is Really Really Really Really Hot."

"Yeah, sure," Rowan mumbled, already moving on. "Time to vote. Unless anyone wants to give a dramatic speech before casting judgment?" Everyone was already tapping away at their screens.

"We know what we're doing," Levi muttered.

"Well, yeah, but you can at least let the viewers know!" Rowan exclaimed.

"They know," Kacey deadpanned.

Rowan sighed. "Fine, fine." Rolling his eyes he grumbled, "Boring audience…"

Ping after ping echoed as votes registered. Both hosts checked the tallies, eyes widening in surprise.

"Oh my god," Penelope muttered.

"Is everything okay?" Vienna asked.

Rowan blinked at the tablet. "Everything's fine. Just didn't expect the votes to be this… cohesive." He cleared his throat. "Alright. If I call your name, you're safe."

"Vienna." A peanut bag flew her way. The Houndoom caught it in her mouth.

"Levi." The Meowstic reached up and grabbed it with his paws.

"Kacey." The Roserade leaned out of the way, and the peanuts smacked Jeff square in the face.

"Jeff." Another bag hit him, though that didn't deter the Galarian Darmanitan in the slightest.

"Yes! Mine!" Jeff grinned, holding both bags up in the air with a victorious smile.

Batgirl looked around, her face paling with each bag being thrown to her teammates. Meanwhile, Enot rubbed their egg, looking unbothered.

"Why didn't I get one?" Batgirl whispered.

Rowan smirked. "Two possibilities. Either you got eliminated—" Batgirl went rigid. "Or you got votes but managed to survive."

Enot shrugged nonchalantly. "Okay."

Penelope turned toward Batgirl. "Bstgirl, you could possibly go home because despite portraying yourself as a hero, you didn't do anything to save your teammates from getting captured." She gestured to Kacey and Enot. "Two of them even got physically hurt!"

Batgirl looked down in shame.

"How did you know that?" Kacey cut in, narrowing her eyes at the two. "Did you know what we were going through and did nothing?!"

Rowan quickly turned to Enot. "As for you…" Enot gave the man a smouldering smile. "The things I want to say would get us cancelled faster than Turn-On" He grinned, but received no response to this. "Anyone get that joke? No?" He rolls his eyes. "Bah. Young people."

"I know a few things about turning on," Enot purred, making Penelope cringe, scooting to hide behind Rowan.

"Okay, creepy. Moving on," Rowan said hastily, holding up the final peanut bag. "This last bag goes to…"

…

Batgirl stared at the bag, trembling.

…

Enot hummed a little tune, spinning their egg on their paw with a nonchalant smile.

…

Rowan stared at them both. "Who am I kidding? This isn't suspenseful." He tossed the bag at Batgirl, who fumbled to catch it. "You're safe. Didn't even get a single vote," he muttered, albeit bitterly.

Everyone stared in disbelief. Jeff tilted his head. "Come again?"

Penelope turned her tablet around, showing the results of the votes. "The vote was unanimous. Every single vote went to Enot. Including their own."

Enot blinked, surprised at this. "Oh. I thought we were voting based on the best selfie."

"You serious—?" Rowan groaned. "Whatever. You're gone anyway."

Penelope folded her arms. "Enot, you have not-so-sadly been eliminated. Any final words?"

Enot stood up, ignoring most of the glaring teammates, save for Vienna and Batgirl who just looked awkward. "No hard feelings. These competition shows just aren't my style." The Furret said, folding their arms over their chest. "Besides, I'm a free bird! I can't be contained in this aircraft for too long…" They turned to Penelope with a grin. "Unless…"

"No," she said quickly.

"Worth a shot," Enot said, sauntering to the exit, waving a paw at them. "Goodbye, everyone! Stay beautiful!" He blew them all a few farewell kisses, before turning his attention to the two hosts. "So, is there a special ride I can catch or…"

"Glad you asked," Rowan grinned, before turning and calling out, "Will! Pull the lever!"

"A 'please' would be nice," Will muttered, tugging the red lever beside him.

The emergency exit door slid open… and that was it.

Everyone stared outside at the empty lot. The airport itself didn't look remotely busy as it did the first day, but there were definitely a few planes catching the late flights in the distance.

Rowan looked outside and hummed. "Okay, so normally this would be way more dramatic— like, we're flying hundreds of feet in the air, there's screaming, plummeting, you get the idea…" He scratched the top of his head and hummed. "Huh… I didn't really think this through, did I?"

Penelope deadpanned, "An anti-climactic end to an anti-climactic elimination. How fitting."

"No! No, we're doing this right!" Rowan shouted, leaping from the plane. "Chris! Someone get Chris! I need him to fly this perv four hundred feet in the air then drop them!"

Penelope turned back to the contestants. "We'll, uh, get Enot sorted. Everyone else? You're free for now. But remember, you'll be sleeping in the cargo hold."

A chorus of groans followed as the contestants began filing out. All they wanted now was some well-earned sleep.

"Compared to everyone else, I didn't mind Enot that much," Vienna admitted, looking down slightly. "I do understand why they were voted off and why everyone else was so adamant about it. I even tried to warn them. but apparently it went through one ear and out the other."

The Houndoom shook her head at this. "Obviously, we weren't friends or anything, but I know what I saw back in the forest. There was something more than just a flirtatious attitude about them. They were vulnerable with me… the first person on this team to actually show that, actually, so it felt a little rough having to vote for them."

"Still, I'm glad I did; no one else deserved it," she admitted. "But honestly, from here, I think it's just going to get harder and harder."

The dining area lights were dim when Kacey stepped into the kitchen, her bouquet-appendages swaying as she carried her laptop to one of the empty tables. She set it down with a soft thunk, then made a beeline toward the kitchen's freezer.

"Please have TV dinners... please have TV dinners..." She muttered under her breath, tugging open the heavy door and stepping inside. The cool air hit her face as she scanned the frosty shelves.

Suddenly, a frozen TV dinner box tapped her on the shoulder from behind. "Looking for this?"

Kacey nearly screamed. She spun around, slamming her appendage toward the shadowy figure behind her. The strike barely missed, just as the figure— Batgirl, nimbly ducked back.

Batgirl held up her pincers in surrender, one holding the box in question. "It's just me! I come in peace!"

Kacey groaned, her body relaxing slightly. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Sorry!" Batgirl said quickly. "I saw you come in here and..." She cleared her throat and tried again, this time dropping her pitch into a gruffer tone. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I got punched, I'm not dying," Kacey replied dryly. Batgirl looked down at her feet. Kacey sighed and took the frozen box from her. "Thanks for checking on me," she added, quieter this time. "Even though you didn't need to." She glanced at the box in her hands. "Pikachu-shaped nuggets and corn, huh?"

Batgirl tilted her head, her eyes trailing the cartoonish design on the package. "Do you... like this kind of food?"

"It's cheap, quick, edible," Kacey replied with a shrug. "What's not to like?"

There was a brief pause before Batgirl quietly offered, "If you want... I could make something for you instead? I mean, I'm not a world-renowned chef or anything, but I like to think I can make something more edible than... that. I-If you want, of course!"

Kacey raised a brow, scoffing at the suggestion. "Do you think I can't cook for myself?"

"N-No! Not at all!" Batgirl said quickly, flinching and turning away. "I just... I wanted to do something nice. I still feel really bad about everything."

Kacey stared at her for a long moment, then sighed. "Don't know why you're apologizing. It was Enot's fault." Batgirl didn't look up. "...Fine. One meal," Kacey relented. "That's it. And it has to be quick. I'm not staying up all night."

Batgirl's immediately perked, as she fiddled with her claws. "Do you like mac and cheese?" Kacey nodded. "With pepper?"

"Wouldn't know," Kacey admitted with a shrug. "Never tried it."

Batgirl gasped in shock, whispering lowly. "You've never had mac and cheese with black pepper?!" Kacey shook her head again, and Batgirl rushed out of the freezer toward the pantry. "I'm so sorry. I'll fix that for you— I promise!"

Kacey allowed a twinge of a smile to creep onto her face before following. "You act like it's a crime."

Batgirl stepped out of the pantry, holding up two boxes, each featuring colorful designs. "Which do you prefer, Pikachu or Eevee?" She asked, her expression suddenly turning serious. "And no, regular pasta is not an option. It takes away the fun."

"I don't care," Kacey stated. Batgirl continued to hold the boxes, awaiting a real answer. "I don't know. Eevee, I guess?" Kacey shrugged.

"Great!" Batgirl said, already heading to the counter. "I'll have it done soon, I promise."

Kacey paused, watching her move around the kitchen, grabbing the needed extra ingredients for the food. There was something oddly comforting about Batgirl's energy, and even more surprising— she wasn't annoyed by it.

Kacey leaned back against the sink and sighed, "I don't know why Batgirl keeps talking to me. I don't even know why she feels bad about everyone getting abducted." She shrugs, "Not like she could have predicted how obsessive some of Enot's exes are…"

"Whatever. I'm stuck having to eat her cooking now, but it could be worse, I guess." She sighed, looking down at her appendage. "I never really grew up with home cooked meals all that much."

Looking off camera, she grumbled. "Either way, I can deal with this for one night."

Batgirl gently set the warm bowl of mac and cheese down in front of the Roserade, the steam curling up in wisps. She took a step back, fidgeting with the edge of her cape, her eyes nervously flicking between the bowl and Kacey's expression.

"You should wait a minute or two for it to cool off," she said softly. "Or you could burn your tongue."

Kacey turned her gaze away from the bowl and toward her. "I'm sure it's fine."

She scooped up a spoonful and took a bite, chewing thoughtfully. Batgirl stood perfectly still, fiddling with her pincers nervously.

"…Not bad," Kacey finally muttered, grabbing another bite and casually flipping open her laptop.

Batgirl's shoulders relaxed, a small smile tugging at her lips. She quickly turned away to hide it. "I'm glad," she murmured, straightening her posture. "Well, I'll go clean up and let you have your space."

As she turned toward the sink, Kacey looked up from her screen. She paused, watching Batgirl for a moment, then let out a quiet sigh.

"Hey," she called. The Gligar froze mid-step and looked over her shoulder. "…Thanks," Kacey said. "You can stay when you're done, if you want." She returned her focus to her laptop like it wasn't a big deal. "I don't care."

Batgirl blinked in surprise. "Wow, really?"

She snorted, "Only if you're quiet."

A chuckle escaped the Gligar as she nodded. "Deal." She turned back to the sink, still smiling to herself as Kacey quietly continued eating.

Batgirl has her back to the camera, her head ducked low. "I-I guess the day wasn't completely bad." She let out a nervous cough. "Maybe I made a new friend? Kinda? Maybe?"

Her head snapped up, eyes wide from behind the mask as she squeaked, "O-Oh my God… I-I talked to a girl for more than two minutes… I cooked food for a girl… a-a girl ate my cooking…" She grabbed onto the ends of her cape, screaming into it.

In the dim glow of the cockpit lights, the hosts had settled in for the night. Will was quietly making his bed in the corner while Rowan lounged across one of the pilot seats, sulking. Penelope was perched comfortably on the co-pilot's chair, waving casually at the camera.

"Hello, everyone back at home!" She greeted with a warm smile. "What a crazy turn of events in today's challenge, huh? From a battle of insanely weak Metapod forest knights to a band of mercenaries who happened to be Enot's exes… who could've predicted all that from a simple camping trip?"

Rowan grumbled something unintelligible, arms crossed tightly over his chest as he pouted to himself.

Penelope tilted her head toward him and rolled her eyes. "Don't mind him," she said with a smirk. "He's still salty about the anti-climactic elimination."

"I don't wanna talk about it," Rowan groaned, flopping even harder against his seat.

Penelope simply carried on. "Regardless, the day ended with Team Enot Is Really Really Really Really Hot losing… and, ironically enough, Enot being the one to go home in a full six-to-zero vote! Our first—and probably only—unanimous vote of the season!"

She leaned forward to give an excited whisper to the camera. "What will happen in the next episode? Will alliances begin to form? Will enemies start to rise? Will even more havoc unfold?"

She sat back and threw her arms out grandly. "Find out next time on Totally. Real. Woooooooorld Tour!"

The screen slowly faded to black as Rowan grunted in the background, "You didn't even say it right…"

VOTES

Enot x6 — Batgirl, Enot, Jeff, Kacey, Levi, Vienna

TEAMS

Team No Name: Frank, Lianne, Loki, O'Reilly, Sebastian, Yuki

Team Enot Is Really Really Really Really Hot: Batgirl, Jeff, Kacey, Levi, Vienna

Team Victory: Aquamarine, Dez, Finn, Nina, Ruby, The Peak

"Whoa! Now that's camping." — Max Goof (A Goofy Movie)

The first challenge of Totally Real World Tour is completed, and I'll be honest I have mixed feelings on this one. This was always going to be the first challenge for the season, especially after the original episode #1 reward challenge was scrapped. The camping challenge was the best way to incorporate team building, opening up plotlines, showing the character's personality and goals. So, in terms of that I think I did the job well. I do think I could have handled it better, because it might be a little too much for the readers to shift through.

I can promise the next chapter won't be as chaotic as this one… there will still be chaos involved.

Moving on, let's talk about our first boot Enot! I don't think this was surprising in the slightest, given how they were portrayed in the introduction chapter. Enot is a character that was never going to make it any further than this, given they're banned in most places in the world which isn't good for a World Tour around the world. They made comments that made their teammates uncomfortable and didn't know how to give anyone space.

They were a fun character to write still, but no matter what they would never change and because of that, they were voted out unanimously. They will be missed (probably not by the cast) but this might not be the last time you see this Furret.

Before I close out this chapter, I do want to give a huge shout out to TPReboot! He's been a huge help with editing the chapter for me and making it look less messy. And I also want to give another shout out to everyone who reviewed chapter one! Thank you for all the reviews, it really fueled and motivated me to work on the chapter. This wouldn't have been possible without all of your support!

Please continue reading and reviewing!

ALTERNATIVE EPISODE TITLES

"I know nothing about camping." - The Peak

"It's dirty and it smells and there's absolutely nothing of value from here!" - Levi

"You need to pull your weight too." - Dez

"It's nothing personal!" - Mercenary

ELIMINATED

Enot the Furret – 18th