Part Two! It took a while getting this done but I was more focused on finishing Episode 2, hehe. But taking breaks help with the brainstorming part of things. Enjoy!
Thank you for the reviews too. It's really appreciated.
The cast followed Nihilego and Poipole through the forest to find the campgrounds, where they'll be spending for an indeterminate amount of time, stretching up to slightly longer than a month. Unfezant and surprisingly Musharna, has managed to catch up with the group.
They were walking for almost an hour, with Dedenne and Bayleef complaining about how they were starting to get tired, getting Empoleon to yell at them to suck it up in response. Vivillon looked bored and wasn't paying attention when Skwovet interestingly gaped at her luggage. Gossifleur and Oricorio were engaging in casual conversation.
Soon enough, they managed to reach a small open forest clearing. The area had unlit torches strewn around and in the center of all of this were fallen logs, that serve as makeshift benches and seats to sit on, facing a large campfire, currently unlit of course, but the ashes within it were signs that it was used beforehand. Nihilego directed the contestants to take a seat… or just hang around the campfire.
The more reserved contestants like Gossifleur, Bayleef and Oricorio all decided to sit down while the more… eager contestants like Empoleon, Chansey and Unfezant were all choosing to keep a safe distance from the others. In Chansey's case, she gave up her seat to a really emotionally checked-out Vivillon.
Standing by the firepit were Nihilego and Poipole, who shared an eager expression, whether it be natural or just faked for the cameras. The jellyfish hostess clasped her tentacles together as she confidently faced the crowd of contestants, "Everyone, again, I would like to welcome you to Total Poke-"
"Ultra Revival, yeah. We know," A small blue mouse Pokemon grumbled, walking towards the hosts from the forest. She had a white belly, red ears and a long black crooked black tail with a blue ball at the end. She wore thick glasses, a beige colored scarf and had dark circles around her eyes. She carried a hot coffee cup with an apathetic expression. "I am a bit amused that you're still keeping the 'Ultra' part of the title though… but that just might be me."
"Well, you're saving us time!" Nihilego said with a smirk as she turned back to the contestants, gesturing to the blue mouse. "This is Marill. And she's the camp counselor and private instructor. She's VERY multi-faceted and really adorable too! Be sure to give her a lot of compliments. She loves them a lot, mmhm."
Marill's grip tightened on her coffee cup, "I prefer not to be biased, just because someone flattered me… but it is still appreciated, either way. Besides… don't expect me to be… around anyways. That's just pretty much a title. I did not sign up here to be your therapist."
"Eh, I've seen better," Teddiursa commented, putting a paw to her mouth innocently. Marill gave her an annoyed expression, which she casually ignored.
"You lot should actually be thankful I'm here or Nihilego would take AGES explaining everything," Marill told, rolling her eyes before flashing a smirk, pointing at the cast, feeling determined, "But I'm efficient. Let's see. So let's get down to business and divide you into groups! You'll also be competing with your teams in challenges, where the losing team will have to go to elimination. There won't be an elimination every day. We'll set some break days in between to give everyone a chance to recuperate or strategize." She then tapped her chin thoughtfully. "These groups will determine your sleeping arrangements but no, the cabins are not co-ed. Deal with it."
"Aw, I wanted to sleep with the men," Teddiursa commented with an innocent look. "Who would protect little 'ole me?"
"Oh my, that sounds obscene!" Magearna commented, covering her mouth at the shock and horror, that is Teddiursa suggesting to share a cabin with the potentially perverted males of the cast. Chansey and Pikachu both nodded in agreement.
"There are two rooms in each cabin. Don't worry about… anything… ugh, don't be creepy and gross basically," Marill ignored the various complaints from Teddiursa and Vivillon as she continued speaking. "I'll start grouping you up. If I call your name, please stand to my right. Let's see here… on Team A are… Empoleon and Bayleef."
Empoleon smirked as he walked forward, "Winning team right here…" He then paused as he noticed Bayleef following him, making him groan, "Of course, I'm stuck with deadweight."
Noticing Empoleon's mild annoyance, Bayleef gulped to himself, "T-this will be a long summer…"
Marill cleared her throat shortly before continuing, "Magearna." Empoleon sighed in relief. A Mythical Pokemon would be useful. Magearna looked a bit unsure as Marill continued, "Musharna." Musharna was still asleep but managed to float over to Marill's right.
"Chansey." The nurse gasped in realization that she'll be on the same team as her idol, giggling like a schoolgirl. "Unfezant." The pigeon looked apathetic as she took her place next to Bayleef, who was doing his best not to draw attention to himself.
"Teddiursa." Teddiursa giggled and winked at her future team.
"Pikachu." Pikachu examined his team with an unsure expression. "Could be worse…" The mouse muttered to himself.
"Floatzel." Floatzel's eyes narrowed as he walked to his new team, suspicious of any potential evil lurking within.
"And Sableye." The gremlin smiled widely, excited to meet new friends but they all instinctively took a step back, because the Dark/Ghost type hasn't had the time to take a bath since his arrival… and because it was his natural odor even otherwise. "Aww…"
"You all are now officially part of 'The Shining Shuppet'!" Nihilego announced, confusing the group of 10.
"Why Shuppet though..?" Unfezant questioned, crossing her wings.
"Eh, you don't need to know why," Nihilego said, waving a tentacle dismissively.
"Can we be renamed to the Really Cute Teddiursa instead?" Teddiursa asked, raising a paw.
"I take it back. Shining Shuppet is fine by me," Unfezant commented, crossing her wings, to Teddiursa's dismay.
"I still do want to learn about the history of the name though," Magearna admitted, hands in front of her steel body. "Since I doubt that Shuppet is part of this island's ecosystem." Noticing the confused looks of her teammates, she sighed, "I did a background check on the island."
Marill shook her head with a long sigh, "You should know by now that Nihilego's not the type to answer questions on a whim but continuing on… those names I call out starting now, stand to my left." She cleared her throat before beginning to announce the members of the other team.
"Cramorant." The phone addict wasn't listening and was focused on trying to repair her waterlogged cell phone. "Vanilluxe." Vanilluxe was about to say a pun but Vivillon glared at him threateningly to stop.
"Gossifleur." Gossifleur had a neutral expression. "Gourgeist." The pumpkin looked listless and bored.
"Dedenne." Dedenne shrugged, not really caring too much about how the groups shaked out.
"Oricorio." Oricorio clapped her wings together eagerly. "Give me a T! Give me an E! Give me an A then a M! This is my TEAM!"
"Vivillon." Everyone instinctively gave her a look then averted their gaze when the bug type noticed. "Skwovet." The squirrel pumped a fist at this, muttering to himself, "Sweet, I'm with Vivillon."
"Klinklang." The gear Pokemon doesn't react.
And "Magcargo." The snail looked enthused to meet his team. "Hi guys!"
"You are now officially 'The Twinkling Trubbish'!" Marill announced, finishing up with the teams.
"Trubbish and Shuppet? Those aren't exactly badass Pokemon," Empoleon commented with a bored expression. "You should've named them the EPIC EMPOLEON and the EPICCER EMPOLEON!"
"Or like I said earlier… The Really Cute Teddiursa!" The bear added, pouting and batting her eyelashes cutely.
"UH… I'll give those suggestions a rain-check," Marill said, taking a step back, avoiding the penguin's gaze… before retreating into the woods with a last shout, "My work here… is done!"
The contestants all blinked in confusion. Well, that was an… exit. Even with their teams in place, they awaited further instruction from Nihilego and Poipole.
"That was anticlimactic," Magcargo commented. "I expected a smokescreen or like… boom fireworks!"
"She was just an intern… I think," Dedenne pointed out, eyes staring at the direction where the blue mouse left. "Either way, she's not a host or co-host so I think we'll not see her much anyway."
"But uhh… what now? Do we sit here and… eliminate people?" Magcargo asked, laughing awkwardly.
"I hope not. So many dreams… they all will be crushed," Gourgeist said, feigning concern but her bored expression pretty much spells out how much she cared.
"Uhh… obviously not," Nihilego answered, a bit put-off by the Gourgeist' constantly morbid tone. "Follow me and Poipole again. We're heading to camp!"
The cast all had mixed feelings to this. Empoleon pumped a fist, just excited to get things started. Gourgeist looked bored for a moment… before suddenly flashing a wide grin, scaring Vanilluxe and Cramorant who were standing next to her, "I'm so excited! Show me to the cabins! I wanna bite a pillow until all of its stuffing's all on the floor!"
"H-hehe… sure? Let's go," Nihilego said as she started floating back into the woods, to the direction of the camp, with the rest of the cast following suit.
After a short trip through the woods, the group finally reached a larger clearing than the previous one. This one had two parallel and adjacent large log cabins… which looked sturdy? The wood looked like it was chipped off and was barely holding itself together. Both cabins had a door, three windows at three sides, aside from the side opposite to the door and a chimney for no reason. The only difference between both cabins were the banners on top of the roofs. The left cabin had a grayish purple banner with a Shuppet and a moon on it while the right cabin had a dark evergreen banner with a Trubbish and a sparkle symbol on it. There's a cobblestone path leading out of both cabins and out of the clearing and another path leading into another wooden building at the center of the two cabins. There's also a quaint wooden shack near the edge of the clearing. Its walls are deteriorating from lack of management and disuse. There were other buildings in the area too but they were further from where they were standing.
Nihilego turned to face the cast as they poured into the clearing, "Okay. Before I let you guys get settled, it's time for a grand tour!"
"Yep! I'll even throw in a cherry-flavored lollipop if you manage to survive!" Poipole added with an innocent giggle. He hasn't been too talkative for a while, due to his… lack of experience talking to other people, save for his fellow Ultra Beasts.
"Let's just get this over with," Oricorio said with a shrug. "Give me an I! Give me a D, and give me a C after that! What does that spell?!"
"Major annoyance," Vivillon answered with an annoyed expression.
"Easy there. Save it for the actual competition," Dedenne said, frowning at the haughty flying bug. Vivillon glared at him before deciding to look away and mind her own business.
"H-hahaha, let's all get along now!" Chansey chimed in, twiddling her digits together.
"Shut the fuck up. If you really expected everyone to be all rainbow and sunshine… then maybe you shouldn't have signed up," Unfezant scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"Do not be so uncouth…" Magearna said, patting Chansey on the back in support.
"I don't even fucking know what uncouth means," Unfezant retorted, crossing her wings with an annoyed huffs.
"While I love catfights… we still have a whole tour to go through with… so save that for later," Nihilego interrupted as she gestured for everyone to follow her.
Nihilego first led the group to the large wooden building in the middle. It looked really unmaintained as the wildlife was already starting to reclaim it, as seen from the moss growing on the sides but nevertheless, Nihilego entered with an unchanging smile.
The inside was just… a regular mess hall with two long tables with benches. Behind the counter on the opposite side of the room, there's a door leading to the kitchen but there's a sign saying 'ONLY INDEEDEE ALLOWED'. On both sides of the mess hall were windows to serve as ventilation.
"This is our MESS HALL, or cafeteria or Indeedee's cabin or… whatever the fuck you want to call it," Nihilego declared, gesturing to her surroundings.
"Oh, it's like a summer camp… quaint," Unfezant commented with a deadpan expression since this wasn't exactly defying her very low expectations.
"What gave it away? The log cabins, the campfire or the fact that we're in the middle of nowhere with no cell service?" Dedenne drawled, looking around in interest. Cramorant, who was standing near the entrance, paled at his words.
"Summer camps are not cute," Teddiursa pouted, squeezing her cheeks. "But okie dokiekins, Teddiursa will cuten the place up once I'm done decorating. I even brought a lot of decor and-"
"Don't do that. Indeedee won't like that," Nihilego warned, crossing her tentacles as traumatizing flashbacks flashed through her mind, making her shudder.
"W-who is that?" Bayleef asked, shivering.
"Oh, he's the-"
"No, I-I m-meant… w-who's that person behind you?!"
Nihilego suddenly paled as she turned around to the sight of a small dark purple and white bipedal Pokemon. He had a white face and upward turned spiral horns, blue markings in-between his eyes, a generally more navy body and more white around the legs. He had both of his eyebrows raised in confusion, "What are you doing here?"
"G-giving a tour!" Poipole answered, hiding behind his fellow Ultra Beast.
Indeedee looked unconvinced, "..." He then looked past the hosts, noticing the contestants… then his behavior does a complete 360 as a smile forced its way on his mouth, "Hi! Nice to meet you all! I'm Indeedee! I'll be the camp chef! I hope you can all enjoy my cooking now, okay?!"
"Hi Indeedee!" Gossifleur greeted with a sweet smile. Indeedee nodded in response. "I can't believe we have our own private chef!"
"Same! I'm hungry!" Magcargo admitted as his stomach rumbled as loud as he talked. "Is it time for lunch or something?"
"Perfect timing, it's dinner time!" Indeedee intoned, clapping his hands together as he started walking to the kitchen. "I'll cook for everyone." And with a raspy laugh, he walked into the kitchen and the contestants dispersed.
Nihilego and Poipole both decided to situate themselves near the counter to let the contestants eat.
After a few moments of deliberation, the contestants decided to just sit with their teammates, to start mingling and getting to know each other. The Shuppet were on the left table while the Trubbish were on the other table. Indeedee finally exited the kitchen with a tray of food..? Well, it looked edible at least. Since what was on the tray looked like brown mush of unknown origin. Soon enough, everyone had a plate of mush… or as what Indeedee called it: mystery meat, if mystery meant what possible disease you get from eating unknown food.
Bayleef whimpered as he held his form with a vine and poked it into the mush. The fork sunk in, letting the mush ooze with a strange liquid, "I d-don't think I'm hungry anymore…"
"You're overreacting," Empoleon scowled at his fellow starter Pokemon as he waved a forkful of mystery mush at Bayleef's face. He then wordlessly put it in his mouth and swallowed it without gagging. "Tastes like chicken."
"Really?" Magearna's eyes twinkled as she decided to follow suit and take a bite of the mystery mush only for her face to crinkle and turn mildly green. "..."
"A-are you okay?" Chansey asked, preparing to get her medkit, in case of emergencies.
"T-this doesn't taste like chicken at all…" Magearna answered, swallowing the mush. She gagged in disgust. "Is Indeedee even a qualified chef?"
"Probably… I mean… he doesn't look qualified," Pikachu commented, eyes darting left to right. "H-he's not nearby right? I can't exactly smack talk a chef… they might poison me!" He said that with a loud gulp.
"Don't worry! Poisoning someone is a crime so… they won't be doing any of that, unless they really want this show cancelled on the first ever episode.," Floatzel assured, not even bothering to touch his plate of mush.
"That doesn't sound any better!" Pikachu stammered, eyes bugging out in nervousness.
"Indeedee is just an uncute meanie! Don't worry! Teddiursa's got your back!" Teddiursa said confidently with a cute giggle… but she stopped as she noticed everyone's faces. "Why are you all giving mezies a scariez expression?"
The bear Pokemon turned around, paling to realize Indeedee was staring at her, holding a knife. The Emotion Pokemon said, expression darkening, "Are you seriously choosing this time to mess with me? After I labored in the kitchen to cook you all a meal? I don't deserve this."
"..." Teddiursa doesn't say a word and just nods.
Indeedee's expression then flipped back to happiness, putting his knife down, "Oh! What was I saying again? Oh yeah! Enjoy your meal!" And with that, he skipped back to the kitchen.
"Hehehe, wow!" Sableye commented before turning to Musharna who was STILL asleep. "Can I get your portion?" The crystal-loving gremlin actually finished eating his meal. Noticing Musharna wasn't replying, he didn't say anything as he grabbed her plate, digging into it as fast as he could, without breathing.
"This is already shaping up to be the worst summer ever," Unfezant drawled, just stabbing her mush. "Thanks mom." Her last word dripped with vitriol.
"It's only Day 1, try to be optimistic," Chansey urged as she gobbled up some mush… her face turned green but she forced a thumbs-up. "It tastes like mildly decaying chicken. Empoleon's not wrong after all!"
"This is a CRIME…" Floatzel grumbled, looking away from his meal.
"Uhm…" Chansey was about to say something but Magearna beat her to it.
"Err… perhaps, we should start by introducing ourselves so that we can distract ourselves from the fact that this is…" Magearna looked around for any signs of the chef's presence. "... not the full-course meal we shouldn't even be expecting? This is a competition… I'm doubtful that Nihilego and Poipole would splurge to provide us with a decent meal in the first place."
"Well, they should've!" Teddiursa complained with a childish pout.
"Oh please, are you giving up?!" Empoleon questioned as he had cleared both his and Bayleef's plates. "I won't accept being on the same team as a quitter so you guys better eat! We'd need it to help us with the challenges… unless you're somehow going to convince me that you can carry us on an empty stomach! HA! Just saying that makes me laugh!
"Yeah whatever… I don't care what you think in the first place." Unfezant scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"And what is THAT supposed to mean?" Empoleon yelled at the bird who just stared at her talons nonchalantly.
"Look at it this way… this competition will only have 1 winner so no amount of trying will guarantee that, don't you think? So it's best to let yourself get used to disappointment." Unfezant explained flatly.
"Oh, don't give me that behavior! If someone told me that before a competition, I would smack a lot of sense into them!" Empoleon warned.
"Whatever."
"We're veering off-topic here. Let's introduce ourselves so we can get more acquainted with each other for the competition?" Magearna reminded the group, pushing her bowl of mush at Empoleon's direction.
"HMPH! Fine, I'll start since well… I'm never anything but first! I'm Empoleon! I'm a professional swimmer on the Nimbasa City Swim Team… but I also wrestle and play some football! You can never have enough sports!" Empoleon introduced himself, pointing to himself with a confident smirk. "Not to brag but I'm the strongest player on this team!" He flexed a flipper, making Teddiursa and Floatzel exchange a look. "See this!? That's from a lot of hard work!"
"W-wow…" Bayleef remarked, impressed. "Uhm… t-that's tough to follow up on but I'm Bayleef and I'm just graduating from high school so… I don't have much to say?"
"Awww! BayBay, I'm sure you have a lotta interesting stories to tell!" Teddiursa said, resting her face on her palms. "I mean, Empy's really strong but I'm sure you have a different niche to fill!"
"Uhm… well, I hope so? Some people like to say that I'm a b-bit too… overreactive since I have so many irrational fears but it's not like I wanted to be s-scared, you know?" Bayleef admitted, head leaf drooping down as he kicked the air in disappointment.
"Don't be too hard on yourself." Floatzel murmured, giving the dinosaur a sympathetic look. "I had a friend who had some moments when he was… pretty out of it, but I still think he's the strongest and bravest person I've ever known…" His voice trailed off as he stared off into the distance.
"Thank you… I r-really appreciate it. It makes me feel… slightly better about signing up for this competition." Bayleef said, smiling slightly.
"That's really nice to hear." Chansey said. "I guess I'll go next then! Hello everyone! I'm Chansey and if it wasn't obvious from my outfit… I'm a nurse and if anyone gets hurt, you know who to go to!"
"What's a nurse?" Sableye asked before letting out a loud belch that made Pikachu slowly move his seat away from him. "Ugh… my head hurts right now."
"I don't have any medication with me since… it wasn't allowed… but I'll suggest some water and some bedrest. I know that sounds too oversimplified but that's the best I can do with what I have." Chansey suggested.
"Then, what's in your first aid kit?" Pikachu asked, twiddling his hands awkwardly. "Y-you know… we can never be too sure that anyone of us is going to get seriously injured. Do you think Nihilego even prepared for that?! What if someone breaks their arm or something?!" The electric mouse grabbed at his sweater as he starts hyperventilating. "I don't know but I'm getting stressed!"
"Calm down! That's not going to happen when I'm here to carry us through challenges. You don't even need to lift a finger!" Empoleon boasted… before sheepishly adding, "Okay, actually… help at the very least, and we'll have the upper hand over the other team!"
"That sounds good and all but, it's pretty bold of you to think that you're going to beat the other tribe alone…" Unfezant spelled out, tapping on the table with a bored look. "I bet that ice cream guy can beat you in a fight even."
"Oh shut the fuck up!"
"You'd love that, huh?" Unfezant spat back smugly.
"Guys guys! Let's not fight!" Magearna urged before her eyes darted over to the sleeping tapir. "Let's talk about… Musharna! You haven't said a thing this whole time!"
"..." Musharna doesn't move… or say anything.
"Is she…" Pikachu muttered before his face turned pale. "Did she die in her sleep?!"
At that moment, the tapir's eyes opened for a split second to glare at the mouse. "No…." She then closed it before returning to sleep.
"..." The group became silent as they tried to comprehent Musharna's mere existence.
"Soooo… do you still think you can carry when we have THAT on our team?" Unfezant smugly asked the penguin who just gaped in shock at how unresponsive the Psychic-type was.
"I already told you this… SHUT UP!"
Meanwhile, he Twinkling Trubbish were having less problems with their meal. Klinklang just stared at it wordlessly. Gourgeist, Magcargo, Skwovet and surprisingly, Gossifleur were eating it with relative ease. And the rest chose not to complain, seeing what happened at the other table.
"Tch, one meal that I like… won't post online," Cramorant said, just looking at her phone to distract herself from her growling stomach.
"..." Dedenne just stared at his plate before sighing, pinching his nose with one hand while forcing mush into his mouth with the other. He shuddered a bit as he swallowed. "This isn't what I signed up for…"
"Don't worry, team! As a cheerleader, I ate… worse, so we can survive through this!" Oricorio encouraged as she pecked her meal and pretended that it's delicious. "You know what they say… if it's bitter, then it's good for you."
"That's MUSH appreciated!" Vanilluxe joked to lighten the mood. Vivillon glared at him, flinging a handful of mush using her spoon. "Vivillon, be MUSHture!"
"..." Vivillon just glowered at the ice cream, rolling her eyes. "That wasn't funny."
"Needs more work," Gourgeist agreed. Vanilluxe slumped in his chair in disappointment. Skwovet gave him a sympathetic pat on the back, eyes shifting to the side as he was quickly overcome with temptatation as he spotted a keychain dangling around the ice cream's bumps.
"I don't know about you guys but I think I'll give compliments to the chef!" Magcargo remarked as he hopped off his seat, walking over to Indeedee who returned from the kitchen to watch everyone eat. "Hello!"
The chef looked shocked as the snail was basically beaming up at him… he didn't even know who this snail was and why he was smiling. The positive energy didn't really help in making him feel any better. "Uhm… hello? What are you doing?"
Magcargo cleared his throat before speaking… without taking a break. "About your food! I don't know what ingredients you used but it's really good! It has a good mouthfeel and the smell wasn't too overpowering to overstimulate my senses to stop me from eating… and it was easy to show! You see, I don't really have teeth so it's hard for me to eat some things so I'm glad that you're being very considerate with your meals! Its taste was a bit bittersweet but I love it! You really put a lot of heart and soul into this, didn't you? It's definitely giving off that homemade traditional meal feel! It wasn't oily and I'd recommend it to all of my friends… though, what are the nutritional contents and-"
"What did you say?" Indeedee blinked, barely comprehending what the snail just said… but at the very least, he understood that SOMEONE actually liked the food he was making. "You… liked the mush? I'm shocked."
"Yep! Gourgeist, Skwovet and Gossifleur also liked it!" Magcargo added, nodding enthusiastically. "Since when did you start cooking, dude?"
"... it's a recent thing. It's a touchy subject but…" Indeedee sighed, shaking his head. "I don't see why I'd need to tell that to someone I've just met but I really appreciate your critique, Magcargo."
"Don't worry. If I had any complaint, it'd be the fact that you might've added two extra pinches of salt. It clashed with the flavor a bit but I don't mind. Salty flavors rarely faze me!" Magcargo added.
Indeedee blinked… even more shocked as the lava snail returned to his seat. "How did he know how much salt I accidentally added?!"
As Magcargo returned to his seat, Oricorio arched a brow, giving him a look. "Err… what did you tell Indeedee?"
"I just let him know that I love his cooking!" Magcargo answered. "Once you get through its appearance and its initial bitter flavor, I think it shows a lot of promise."
"Interesting way to put things…" Oricorio commented, smiling.
"Eh, it's still pretty bitter… it's pretty overwhelming. Some flavors just never change… and I don't care if this is childish but I hate bitter foods." Dedenne commented, pushing his plate away. "At the very least, add some sweeteners or whatever."
"I don't know what you usually eat but hey, it's definitely better than the food back home." Skwovet admitted, clearing his plate. He looked over to Vivillon's untouched plate. "Are you eating that or..?"
"Tch, I'll be eating it obviously… at my own pace!" Vivillon grumbled. "I have experience eating disgusting gruel and I suppose Oricorio put it best… it's… urgh… good for you."
"Yes. It is better to be unhappy but full rather than unhappy and starving at the same time." Klinklang pointed out. "I do not have much comments on the meal but it serves its purpose of providing sustenance so I have no complaints."
"Well, you're a Steel-type! You can't even be poisoned if they tried." Vivillon gawked, eating a spoonful of mush, holding back a disgusted expression. "Tch… this is terrible! And no Skwovet, that's not permission for you to grab it… even if I know you'll grab it regardless."
"Was it that obvious?" Skwovet laughed nervously as he looked around frantically.
"Yeah, you were kind of looking at my keychain weirdly earlier…" Vanilluxe pointed out defensively.
"Oh! R-really?! My bad! Sticky fingers and everything! At least everyone knows I'm nothing but transparent, huh?!" Skwovet said.
"I'm sure you're great at parties." Dedenne drawled.
Almost an hour later as the contestants finished eating, Nihilego and Poipole finally decided to take their place in the center of the room.
"Is everyone satisfied with their meals?" Nihilego questioned rhetorically before adding with a hush whisper, "Say yes or Indeedee will have your head…"
A majority of the castbegrudgingly nodded, save for Skwovet, Sableye, Magcargo and Empoleon's enthusiastic nods as Nihilego sighed to herself, "I see it's divisive, huh? Oh well… we'll be moving on with the tour… let's see… the elimination area was where we formed the teams. I'll let y'all tour the cabins yourself. The other areas are a secret and I'm tired. The infirmary's not yet set up… so uhh…"
Gourgeist cheered dryly, "Can't wait to be painfully injured to go to the infirmary."
"L-let's hope it doesn't come to that!" Chansey huffed, tugging at her hair.
"Okay… that's everything. I guess you're all free to leave… though one last thing… the confessional!"
"Oooh confessional!" Poipole cooed in interest, eyes sparkling innocently. "It's a place of secrets, fun and uhhmm… confessing!"
"I'll let you guys find out for yourself. Just head for the shack near the edge of the clearing," Nihilego explained before walking out of the mess hall. Poipole clapped his hands… before realizing Nihilego left without him. With a huff, he also walked out of the building.
"I'm not going to stretch too much of the details," Nihilego said as she sat on what looked to be a small cramped outhouse. Moss was starting to grow on the walls and the toilet paper there was close to running out. Multiple profanities were carved on the wall. A sign of life before the show. It's a good thing the camera wasn't showing the entire lavatory, which also consisted of a constantly clogged toilet and a mostly cracked mirror, which is covered by the camera. "So this is the confessional, where people…" She waved her tentacles around for dramatic effort, "Confess their secrets, vent their hearts out or explain their reasonings… that's the ideal situation. Always good for ratings."
Her tentacles gracefully landed on her lap as she smirked, "I had a bit of a… slump earlier but honestly… I'm getting used to it and hey, this might not be as bad as I expected."
Pikachu looked over to the side, gagging as he noticed the moss growing on the walls before facing the camera, looking uncomfortable, "I'm not a big fan of signing up into random games against my will, because of friends who want me to get out of my shell. Well? It's not working out! This is why you have to really think hard so you don't make any decisions you'll regret."
He held his head as he silently panicked, "Do I sacrifice my dignity and get myself booted first? Or prove that I'm more capable than I look? Either way, there's a LOT of negatives!" Pikachu began hyperventilating, fanning himself. "Ugh… I need to breathe..."
Teddiursa groaned as she sat up on the toilet seat, hands on her waist, "Acting all cute and saying all of these obnoxious words to make myself act clueless is so exhausting. I've been biting my tongue but ugh… that's not a good way to make a good first impression. Anyways, I'm Teddiursa and I'm like the biggest cutie in the planet!"
She smirked as she put a finger to her chin, "My strategy is simple: Be as weak as possible so that people will underestimate me. Cuteness is usually a sign of weakness and shit… so yep! I'm on my way to the million! UWU! I dunno if I'd consider myself a baddie… but well, I'm just ready to play hard and get some blood on my hands, y'know?! That's the cute spookypop aesthetic, I fear!"
"Hey! I'm Skwovet, but you already know that… but well… I have the stickiest fingers out here," explained Skwovet with a smug expression. "I'm not exactly a bigshot thief or whatever but hey, I'm making my way up there! Just doing some pickpocketing spare change and wallets in my free time… though, Dad's been going on about that but hey, it's not like I hsve better things to do, right?"
He then looked to the side, chuckling a bit. "I won't lie though… Vivillon is very interesting. I've read a lot of heist movies to know that people like her are the type of people that get robbed… I mean, she's pretty rude… so people won't care if she gets robbed… WHOOPS, correction… already took asome of her things!" Skwovet revealed lipstick, a compact mirror, eyeliner, wing wax, eyedrops, ALL dropping from his tail. "It wasn't that hard! Guess that means I have a certain knack to this huh?
He paused, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "OKAY… maybe, I keep getting caught but that's not because I want to… there's just some times where I can barely control the urge! Does it look like I wanted to nab Vanilluxe's ugly-ass keychain!?" He lifts a… gaudy looking keychain that was a chocolate ice cream that can be mistaken for something disgusting. "So yep, it's better to think that it's within my control so I'm ready to steal the competition! The biggest heist of my career thus far, in fact!... okay, ignore the fact that I've never really robbed banks or anything but-"
Gourgeist just stared at the camera with a blank expression. "I know you're after my secrets and if you think I will talk…"
Tears suddenly flooded out of her eyes as she held a vulnerable gaze, "I'm o-only a person! You don't have to hurt me and burn me, to know me. There's some steps you have to follow!" Her expression then returned to her trademark listless look, "Or whatever."
Chansey fanned herself, overwhelmed by the events that happened today, "Wow… when I signed up, I did NOT expect to be playing with Magearna of all people… I really want to get to know her better so I hope she's not going to put up any walls, just because she's a Mythical Pokemon. I'm eager to learn so much from her so I'm glad we're on the same team."
She then laughed warmly, clapping her hands together. "This summer will be the best… or the worst. Either way goes, but I honestly can't wait!
Floatzel sat up straight, crossing his arms with a stern expression, "Hello, I'm Floatzel and I'm going to be transparent here. I am a detective… private investigator and my goal is to discover the shadows lurking within this competition. After all, shows like these are ripe for controversy and the recent ones… didn't really have glowing reviews. I am also looking for something… but let's see if this investigation will prove to be fruitful to the cause.
He tipped his hat, smiling smugly. "Though, I guess I'll try to win this competition too! I'm sure I can manage trying to balance that with my investigations!"
"I'm the quote unquote normal guy," Dedenne started before failing to stifle a chuckle. "HAHAHAHA… seriously?! Are you kidding me? But yep, I'm the most normal here and I don't know if I should feel scared or not because back home, I'm usually labeled a weird wallflower or something. The awkward know-it-all but apparently, being smart is the outlier now?!"
Sighing, he shook his head, "Whatever… Oricorio looked dependable… and I guess my team isn't so useless. So hey, maybe in thirty-ish days time, I'll be the one who looks like a fool for underestimating them."
"Ice to meet you, camera!" Vanilluxe waved at the camera with his stubs before sighing longingly, "Don't give me the COLD shoulders. I'm just here to YOLK with you…" He sighed again, "Wait… that was an egg pun but beggars can't be choosers."
The ice cream faced the camera, trying to put up the most determined expression he could make. "I might not be the winner but I'll do my best giving everyone a LAUGH! They'll laugh so much, they'll burst their lungs!" He then stopped himself, smiling weakly, "N-not literally of course. I'd be sent to frozen hell."
Magearna laughed nervously as she twiddled her fingers, "I hope nobody asks me too much about my life outside the game…" She stared at the camera for a while before averting her gaze, "I'm… not exactly prepared for reality tv… and I guess it can be attributed to my lack of experience and my sheltered upbringing… or something like that."
She took a deep breath, hugging her body, "I tried to give myself an advantage coming in… and I hope it's enough to blow people away… or well, not make me the obvious target. I mean, I'm Magearna… people would think that because I look Mythical, I'm not weak."
Cramorant sobbed in the confessional, mourning her phone. "My phone is literally unsalvagable right now… like totally. I don't know what to do even…" She steeled herself to compose herself before sighing, "I'm like… sooo soo out of touch right now… so like, I just want to go with the flow and like that famous quote… when on an island in the middle of nowhere, you have to act calm and not panic, in case you encounter cannibals."
She paused for a bit, realizing she made a mistake with her words, "Or err… like, is it about Kalos? I don't quite remember the exact quote…"
Unfezant doesn't say a word as she kicks the door open, to the girls' side of the Shuppet cabin. Chansey and Magearna exchanged a shocked expression while Teddiursa cocked a brow, "You could've knocked."
"Yeah… not exactly my style," Unfezant answered with a shrug. "Besides… who would even be inside? A boogeyman?"
"... you have a good point…" Teddiursa murmured awkwardly to herself.
The cabin looked… regular and basic. No moss growing off the walls like the exterior sure… but it still looked boring. There was a tacky purple rag in the center of the room, with a pattern of Shuppet on it. There were a total of three bunk beds, one on one side and the other two on the other side. At the foot of both bunk beds were a dresser with a small flower pot, for… vibrance? There were windows above the bottom bunk of each bunk bed too. On the opposite end of the cabin were a small table, three chairs and a small mirror on it. Surprisingly, it's not broken.
"This is really summer camp, huh?" Unfezant muttered to nobody in particular as she decided to situate herself on the top back of one bed on the right side of the cabin. "If nobody minds, I'm taking top bunk."
"You do you," Magearna answered, entering the cabin with Chansey and Musharna to get situated. Though, Musharna was STILL asleep, to the confusion of the Shuppet girls.
"Mushawna, are you gawna wakeys up?" Teddiursa asked nobody in particular, arching both of her brows in concern.
"I mean, she managed to float in… so she must be awake, right?" Magearna pointed out with a curious expression. "Psychic types are so fascinating."
"I don't think she would even want to wake up, if you're just gonna annoy her endlessly," Unfezant scoffed. "She's just a weirdo. Leave her be."
"..." Musharna's eyes then slowly opened as she examined her surroundings, "Huh…? Is the tour over?"
"Yep, we're now choosing bunk beds," Chansey explained as she held her luggage with a slightly concerned expression. "Are you okay, dear? You have been asleep for the most of the day. Are there any medical conditions we should be worried about?"
"... mmm? Are you worried about me?" Musharna looked confused, finally getting a feel of things. "Sorry… I've just been on autopilot for the whole day. Tours are boring."
"Damn right they are!' Unfezant agreed, lying on her bed, not even bothering to arrange her luggage yet.
"Well, I'm glad to hear. We were all worri-" Chansey started. Teddiursa shrugged, Magearna smiled weakly while Unfezant coughed awkwardly. "Okay… I was worried." She said the 'I' part louder for emphasis. "But if you have any problems, sweetie… don't hesitate to ask."
Musharna gave her a blank expression before smiling weakly, "Sure… thanks mmm…" She then floated over to the bunk below Unfezant, settling her stuff under the bed. "You kind of… remind me of my mom."
Chansey blushed in embarrassment, "I'm not that old. I'm just 20. Still growing out of my awkward teens."
"Aww, that means you must be new to nursing?" Teddiursa questioned.
"Well… let's just say I had a lot of help," Chansey said vaguely before clapping her hands together. "But this shouldn't be about me. Who's getting the lone bunk? Personally, I'm fine with either. Unfezant and Musharna are bunking together so… that leaves myself, Teddiursa and…" Chansey stumbled on her own words, "... L-Lady Magearna!"
"D-don't call thyself Lady Magearna," Magearna stammered awkwardly. "We are both contestants on this reality television show so I suggest you call me by my birth name… just Magearna."
"S-sorry… I'm still feeling a bit starstruck," Chansey admitted.
Magearna laughed sheepishly. "It's alright… perhaps, I should stop speaking too formally… so you would get used to me more easily."
"I would love that!" Chansey said, blushing in embarrassment.
Teddiursa rolled her eyes in private before giggling cutely shortly after, "Oooh ooh! Can little 'ole me take the lone bunk on the left? Chanseykins and Magy are both in need of CRUCIAL bonding time, I think so." She clasped her hands together. "Like THIS! And well, I kinda need all the space I can, for my cutie space uwu owo rawr!"
Unfezant did a spit-take in confusion, "Excuse me… what?"
"Hehehe, I'm just clever with my words," Teddiursa lied, putting both of her hands behind her head. "And as the cutest member in this cabin, I think Teddiursa should be in the running for the single bunk!"
"Why the fuck are you talking in first person now?!" Unfezant questioned, cocking a brow in confusion. Teddiursa frowned at her reaction. "Hey… it's a legitimate question."
Chansey chimed in, waving a hand at the duo, "You can have the lone bunk. I shall take the bottom bunk of the one that's left while Magearna takes the top bunk. You two don't have to argue. I was fine not having the lone bunk… and I'm sure Magearna thinks the same."
"I'm fine with that arrangement," Magearna intoned, floating over to the available top bunk, dropping her bag on the bed. Meanwhile, Chansey walked over to the bottom bunk, putting her medical kit on top of the dresser while her pink duffle bag was placed on her bed.
"We weren't arguing…" Unfezant grumbled as she closed her eyes.
Teddiursa grinned from ear to ear as she decided to celebrate her lone bunk by jumping on it giddily, "Yay! Tewiuwa gets to jump!"
Unfezant groaned, covering her ears with a pillow, "When did you start talking in baby talk… and again with the first person thing…" Unfezant rolled her eyes, annoyed. "Seriously… just stop!"
"You're just jealous!" Teddiursa teased, sticking out her tongue at the pigeon fowl.
"Ugh…" Unfezant complained only to be stopped by a floating pillow. She blinked at it… until it hit her in the face, "OW! What the fuck?"
"Be… quiet…" Musharna murmured, face drooling into her pillow. "It's bedtime."
"You were asleep for the entire day?!" Unfezant pointed out, incredulously.
"..." Musharna didn't reply. She was out of commission as she fell back to sleep.
"Seriously… I'm stuck with weirdos…" Unfezant groaned in silence, hands gripping tighter into her pillow.
"Okay… this is literally summer camp. Shitty food is a check. Weird camp counselors aka the hosts are also a check. Even the buildings look like a shitty summer camp. And worse, everyone's reminding me of the last time mom sent me to these places," Unfezant listed with a shudder. She then paused, as her expression turned pensive, "... did my mom know this tv show would be like a summer camp and signed me up for it, with the potential added bonus of a cash prize and a lifetime supply of food?"
She growled, clenching a fist, "WHAT A PSYCHO!"
The male side of the Shuppet cabin… was a different experience compared to the females' side. Sableye was being barred from entering by an aggravated Empoleon.
"Aww… let me in, hehehe," Sableye asked with a sheepish expression. "What gives? I'm also part of the team!"
"You smell nasty!" Empoleon scowled at the smaller Pokemon. "You would spread your strench to the entire cabin. Take a fucking shower!"
Sableye laughed nervously, twiddling his fingers, "S-sorry about that… I'll uhh… take a shower..." And with that, he walked away to 'take a shower'... or whatever it meant in his terms.
Empoleon sighed to himself as he faced the remaining boys in the cabin. Bayleef was deliberately avoiding his cold stare. Floatzel looked satisfied that Empoleon managed to get Sableye to leave as he sat on the top bunk of one of the beds on the right. Pikachu cocked a brow, concerned about the mental, sociological and emotional implications of sending Sableye away.
"I know we're not a fucking dream team and I have to carry us through challenges but I expect y'all to not slack around in challenges," Empoleon said, hands on his waist. "I'm not gonna be on a team of losers and no offense, the girls are fucking more ballsy than everyone in this room.."
Pikachu crossed his arms, deadpanning, "Okay?"
"I don't think adopting a tyrannical approach is going to get you what you want, Empoleon…," Floatzel glared at the emperor penguin menacingly. "If anything, I think it'd just be our downfall! Besides, I think underestimating the girls is a bad idea in the first place. Some of my more competent co-workers are women, in fact."
"I can say whatever I want," Empoleon responded dismissively. The weasel cocked a brow with a scoff, crossing his arms. "I mean… let's face it. I'm the strongest one here."
"... you have a point there," Pikachu admitted with a sigh. "I mean… let's face it… I'm a small rodent thingie… Bayleef's scared of his own shadow. Who knows what Sableye is good at?! And Floatzel… I don't know what to say about you when you're… wearing that trench coat and hat…"
"What do you mean? These clothes are what I wear when I'm on the job! This game might just be a competition for all of you but for me… this is basically my job too!" Floatzel reasoned before, gesturing to his eyes then to Empoleon. "So… for some of you… just know that I'll be watching you!"
Empoleon rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah… let's fucking choose who's getting the lone bunk… and well, I'm fine NOT having it. I'm not that pissy. I'll take the fucking top bunk on the right."
"Sableye can take the lone bunk… since he smells horrible and all," Pikachu suggested, sitting on the bottom bunk of one of the free beds. "I'll take this bottom bunk too."
Floatzel's eyes narrowed for a short while before nodding in agreement, "I agree. I'll take the top bunk above you then! I hope you don't mind me being a light sleeper… and I sleep talk!"
"Errr… define sleep talking?" Pikachu queried, fixing his things on the bed.
"Oh, it's nothing. It's just about my dreams usually!" Floatzel explained, hand gripping on his locket. "I guess SOMETIMES, I have nightmares but rest assured that I am competent enough to fight against such night terrors. It's all in the name of JUSTICE!"
"Did you have to say justice that loud?"
"Of course! Everyone needs a clear reminder of what we need in this game… and it's JUSTICE!" Noticing Pikachu's uncomfortable expression, Floatzel sighed, putting a hand to his hips. "Okay very well. I shall tone that down, but I expect you to be cooperative when it regards to future interrogations."
"Okay, I will… wait what do you mean by interrogations?!"
As Floatzel and Pikachu worked on getting themselves settled, Empoleon approached Bayleef with folded arms. "It looks like we're stuck together." His tone dripped with petty ambivalence. "And I'm not bunking with a weakling so you better be useful."
"O-okay…" Bayleef stammered as he followed Empoleon to their bunk, with Empoleon claiming the top bunk. "I-I'm sorry I'm w-weak though…"
"Don't apologize and admit that," Empoleon scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"I'm sorry…"
"I just sa-"
"EEEP!" Bayleef sputtered out with a whimper. "I p-promise you I won't apologize i-i-i-if… you don't like i-i-it…"
"Good, you're gonna be 2nd place to me, don't forget that." Empoleon told the dinosaur with a confident smirk.
"2nd place is better than last, I guess…" Bayleef commented.
"Of course, it is! But don't even think that I'd take you to the end as a useless deadweight! No, we'll be training until you're strong enough to beat me!" Empoleon said, smirking.
"B–beat you!? I don't think I can do that… you're… so strong!" Bayleef pointed out, flopping on the floor as he started breaking down into tears. "I'm not even sure if I can do that… I c-can't even beat a Finneon back home… and I have the type advantage!"
"And that's what training is for! You'll be stronger and we can be strong together!"
"Maybe you can talk to Floatzel instead… he seems strong enough…" Bayleef pointed out.
"NO! It has to be you!" Empoleon reiterated, pumping a fist.
"What… why?!" Bayleef questioned
"Because I see potential!" Empoleon answered confidently
"Potential?! M-maybe you need to get your eyes checked!"
"Hey, don't doubt my instinct! Do you think I was always like this!? I trained my body and mind to be the best of the best and it paid off! And I can see the same energy I've had when I was younger… in YOU! So yes… I will be training you to be stronger and better. So you need to wake up bright and early every day! Make it a habit!" Empoleon said as he went over to their shared bunk. "Now, I won't take no for an answer!"
"W-what!? Please… maybe rethink it?!" Bayleef stammered as he followed after the penguin reluctantly.
"I know I'm going to be the future winner but I'm not going to win, without getting my team in shape," Empoleon said to the camera with a cocky grin. "After all, I have to set some… limits to myself, so that I don't go pulverizin' the competition."
Cracking his knuckles, he grinned, "Bayleef is a LOT of work obviously but I'm not leaving this game without shaping him to be a WINNER. But in this case, second place because well..." He gestured to himself. "He needs a LOT of luck if he wants to beat me obviously."
Cramorant sat on the bottom bunk that she was forced on, as the girls decided bunks by drawing lots. She scowled as she furiously tapped on her dead phone, hoping it would suddenly come back to life, by a sheer miracle, "Work… work… WORK!"
Gourgeist peered over the edge of the bunk above the cormorant with a deadpan expression, "What are doing?"
"My phone is like so broken! It broke so early. I expected it to tide me over for FIVE EPISODES minimum!" Cramorant cried out, putting her face into her pillow to sob. "Gourgeist, like heeeeeelp!"
"..." Gourgeist looked really confused for a bit… before deadpanning, "Is that it?"
"Bwuh? What do you mean?! My phone is my lifeblood!" Cramorant pointed out with a whimper. "We haven't even finished with intros so like… my phone didn't even have plot armor to stay safe?! Like wwwwwhhhy?! I needed it… and now..."
"It's just a phone… and you're too loud." Gourgeist commented, staring at the cormorant nonchalantly.
"Shuuuut up!"
"Shut up first then I will shut up."
"How do I block you?!"
As Gourgeist and Cramorant engaged in a… weird argument. Oricorio and Vivillon exchanged a look as they gave them a look, from the comfort of their bunks. Oricorio took the bottom bunk while Vivillon took the top bunk, leaving Gossifleur with the lone bunk for her own. But the flower decided to head out for some fresh air, a few minutes earlier.
"They are… exhausting to listen to… cravens, I'm telling you," Vivillon commented, rolling her eyes.
"I can't lie… they are pretty L. O. U. D!" Oricorio spelled, arranging her stuff at her bedside.
"Do you seriously have to spell everything?!" Vivillon scoffed.
"It's my thing!" Oricorio explained with a giggle. She then cocked an eyebrow, looking up to the butterfly, "Err… not to be… rude, Vivillon. But you were acting all bitchy for most of the day but it's nice to see that you've defrosted."
"I'm too tired," Vivillon explained, falling on her bed with a long groan. "Nihilego had the audacity to make us WALK through the entire island. I simply do not have the energy to argue or call people out for their mistakes. BESIDES… you all are less annoying than..." She silently growled as she clenched a wing. "INDEEDEE, who decided to wrong me by serving ME slop!"
"Well, don't be too hard on everyone," Oricorio said sternly. "They all mean well after all. And I'm not even going to comment about the Indeedee thing..."
Vivillon scoffed, waving her wing dismissively, "Yeah yeah, Mrs. Nice Birdie or whatever. I know you're all about morale and please, I may be an unabashed bitch but I'm not stupid. I know all of you goodie goodies would vote ME off, for telling the truth." She ignored Oriocorio's judging jeer, "I mean… you should be LUCKY I'm on this team. I provide… a refreshing personality in the mix. FULL offense but Gourgeist is fucking weird. Cramorant is mental and Gossifleur doesn't know the difference between a salad spoon and a dessert spoon."
"What's the differ-"
"Are you going to have that conversation with me right now?" Vivillon asked rhetorically. "Because I WILL explain to you the difference, through a two-hour lecture and we both know that now's not the time for something that time-consuming, after such a long day…"
"Well… I just wanted to have a casual chat, to promote team spirit," Oricorio explained with a faint blush. "Since we'll be teammates! Gooooo TRUBBISH!"
"Tch… don't remind me of our horrible team name," Vivillon commented, narrowing her eyes in disgust. She turned to the right, biting her lip, "I mean… Trubbish? That doesn't sound refined. Sure, Shuppet are also a bad team mascot… but not as bad as literal, fucking trash. I demand to speak with the producers about all of their bad ideas… this show included."
"Y-you don't have to go that far. And Trubbish isn't a bad name… or well… we can do our best to prove that we're not trash! We just smell!" Oricorio declared before covering her beak with a sheepish expression. "Okay… that sounded more badass in my head."
"Not really…"
"GIVE ME A GO! GIVE ME A TEAM! What will we do?! WIN, WIN, WIN!" Oricorio cheered in the outhoust stall, raising her wings one by one like pom poms. She giggled shortly afterwards, just elated to do some light stretching after a long day. "I'm super excited and no, it's not just because I'm a cheerleader. This team is just the best! Goooo TRUBBISH!"
She rubbed the back of her head as her mind started to wander, "Vivillon… is obviously… unique. And the same can be said for Gourgeist and Cramorant. Gossifleur, I have no idea. Give me an I! Give me a D! Give me a K! She seemed a bit withdrawn so I'm slightly worried for her."
Meanwhile on the boys' side, the group were introducing themselves better… at Klinklang's personal request. The gear stood off to the side while he let Skwovet take center-stage to introduce himself first. Klinklang was always a very logical person so he knew that 'introductions' would be an easy excuse to get information out of people so that he can use it against them in the future.
"Okay… guess I'll be starting this off… but I'm Skwovet and I'm from Mauville City! I work part-time at a convenience store and I guess you could say… I move around a lot during my breaks." Skwovet started, putting his hands in his pockets as he looked to the side, thinking of what to say. "I am… really good with my hands and if you tell me to do something, I'll probably do it. You know… need to keep myself busy."
"... I presume it is because of your kleptomania?" Klinklang asked, focusing his gaze on the squirrel who started sweating.
"Excuse me?! What!? I don't know what you're talking about! I think you've mistaken me for someone else but my criminal record is clear… don't really have any baggage on my plate!" Skwovet argued, laughing shakily.
"You did grab my keychain earlier…" Vanilluxe pointed out, narrowing his eyes. "And don't say that it's just a joke! I know what a joke sounds like and it's nothing like a stupid excuse!"
Skwovet sighed as he casually went through his tail to grab Vanilluxe's ugly keychain then dropped it on the floor in front of him. "Okay fine… I took it… but it's not like I wanted to, you know?!"
"That's… a very ugly keychain." Dedenne commented, grimacing.
"Hey! It's custom-made!" Vanilluxe defended, blushing in embarrassment.
"Why does it look like-" Magcargo asked only for Klinklang to cut in immediately.
"Let's not talk about gaudy design choices… let us just proceed with introductions… if Skwovet doesn't want to answer my question…"
"Well… I don't really know how to answer your question, buddy." Skwovet exclaimed, crossing his arms with a huff.
"Guess I'll go next then…" Dedenne sighed before his eyes darted from side to side. "Whch by the way… I don't really have anything to hide like Skwovet. I'm Dedenne and uhm… I'm a bookworm, wallflower… whatever. I don't really like standing out and prefer standing at the sidelines… so I don't really have interesting stories to tell about my life."
"What books do you like reading?" Magcargo asked.
"There's a lot, just going off the top of my head… if I tried saying all of them, we'd be here all day and I don't think Klinklang would want us to not be efficient with our time." Dedenne answered.
"Awwww… okay then! I get it!" Magcargo said, nodding his head. "I guess I'll go next! I'm Magcargo and I'm from Lumiose City! I work as a personal assistant and secretary to someone! I don't think I'm allowed to say their name on the show but yeah, that's my job! My hobbies are watching movies and leaving reviews on them online! It just warms my heart to see so many people come together to make absolute cinema! My favorite food is-"
"Sure, add your backstory at this point." Dedenne interrupted, tapping his foot on the floor impatiently. "Don't you think you're saying too much? I don't think Klinklang wants your whole life story anyways."
"Oh sorry! I got a bit too carried away!" Magcargo admitted, laughing jovially to himself. "I'm just too much of a yapper, for my own good! And it's always fun to have meaningful conversations with people!"
"I can relate to that." Klinklang commented with a curt nod. The lava snail smiled at this, eyes glistening in response. "Vanilluxe… how about you?"
The ice cream blinked… before blushing in embarrassment as he started swaying from side to side anxiously. "Oh, I'm not prepared! I usually have jokes prepared for my introductions but I guess I'll do improv soooo uhh… a Skwovet, Dedenne and Magcargo head into a bar… the barkeep, Klinklang, gives them drinks then says out loud… damn we have a rodent problem out here."
"That's it?" Dedenne asked.
"Oh, it's not yet done! You see, Skwovet then-"
"That was rhetorical. I'm thankful for any jokes that don't drag on, okay?" Dedenne said, rolling his eyes.
"You simply don't appreciate comedy!" Vanilluxe huffed, looking away from the group to mope on his own.
"I liked the joke a bit, Vanilluxe. Just needed to stick that landing… also, I'm not a rodent!" Magcargo commented.
"I wasn't prepared, okay!" Vanilluxe defended himself, teary-eyed.
"So, is that everyone?" Skwovet asked, hands fidgeting as he looked to the side. "I want to choose bunks already so that I fix my things, you know?"
"I think you're forgeting someone." Dedenne pointed out, looking over to Klinklang who had been floating farther from everyone else.
Klinklang stared at the rest of the Trubbish boys, who started cornerning him to the wall of their side of the cabin, with a nonchalant expression. They looked to be waiting for a response from him. "..."
"Anything wrong? Butter on your gears or anything? I hope you're feeling all butter now!" Vanilluxe joked with a weak expression. Skwovet gave him 'seriously?' look, making him laugh nervously, "Sorry, I just wanted to say that… since it has been on my head since we've got here."
"A butter joke?" Magcargo asked, curious.
"No, a joke about gears!" Vanilluxe answered before turning to face the gear Pokemon, "So uhh… Klinklang, back to you. What's your deal? We alreardy introduced ourselves but suddenly, you're shutting up?"
"Can't compute," Klinklang said flatly.
"Dude, I just suggested a short get-to-know-each-other-better sesh," Skwovet pointed out. "Everyone finished and it's your turn… though I don't think we need to know about your… fungal problems, Magcargo."
Magcargo gave him an offended look, "It's important! I mean, what if it itches and there's no-"
"Please… don't…" Dedenne interrupted with a traumatized shudder. "I think I lost five hours of my life span, hearing that honestly…"
"Ugh… stop bringing that up, Skwovet even," Vanilluxe agreed sheepishly. "But this is not about our… gross secrets. Klinklang, I'm legit really curious about what grinds your gears… before we get to choosing our bunks and all."
"The pun was certainly not appreciated," Klinklang commented dryly. "But I'm still processing your questions. I did not expect to be put on the spot."
"You don't look nervous at all though," Magcargo pointed out with a curious expression. His eyes then suddenly twinkled. "Are you like… a robot?!"
"I am not. Be more logical when asking questions."
"I mean… you're like… made of metal and so are robots, so like! Wouldn't that be so cool?!"
"Stop asing stupid questions. I'm not a robot. This is just how I look."
"Okay…" Magcargo sighed, feeling a bit disappointed before picking himself up as he turned to Skwovet, "Since Klinklang's feeling shy, let's just get to choosing bunks. I call top bunk!"
"Not efficient or logical. You are heavy and would struggle climbing to the top bunk, so I suggest you take the lower bunk," Klinklang interjected, floating over to the top bunk on the right bed, closest to the door. "I'll be taking the top bunk, if nobody minds."
Magcargo made a face before sighing in disappointment again, "Yeah… I guess you have a point."
"I'll take the top bunk of that other bed too then!" Dedenne chimed in, pointing to the bed furthest from the door on the right side of the room.
"And I call shotgun to the bottom bunk!" Skwovet added with a smirk.
Vanilluxe blinked as he was left alone as Skwovet, Dedenne and Magcargo all rushed to get their stuff arranged. "So I get the lone bunk… just like that?" His eyes shimmered as he muttered quietly to himself, "They must really like my jokes then!"
Sableye has returned to the clearing, after deciding to take a swim to clean himself up at a nearby river. His body was still dripping wet, as seen by the wet footsteps he left with every step he took. As he was about to enter the Shuppet cabin, a familiar voice called out to him.
"Hello!"
Sableye's body tensed as he turned around. He watched too many horror movies, so he was expecting a serial killer… only to find himself face-to-face with Gossifleur who beamed at him with a warm smile.
"O-oh, hehehe… Gossifleur, didn't expect to see you here. Aren't you on the other team though?" Sableye stammered out nervously. He mentally face-palmed himself at how awkward he sounded.
Gossifleur giggled, covering her mouth with a leafy hand. "Oh, I was just taking a short walk. Get a more clear understanding of my surroundings and everything."
"Oh okay, hehe!"
"Where have you been though?" Gossifleur queried, staring at the gremlin's feet. "You look… wet. But I think you know that already."
Sableye sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "I uhh… took a swim, hehe…"
"Oh okay?" Gossifleur still looked unconvinced. "I'm no stranger to… such uncouth things, so you can tell me."
"I really did take a swim… folk's told me I smelled awful," Sableye explained, still rubbing the back of his head. He then sniffed his arm for a short while before gagging, "I think I might be naturally smelly… or well… have a dog smell or something… but I don't think that's a good thing, hehe…"
"What's a dog?"
The duo blinked. That was a topic they'd prefer not to talk in-depth about.
"So… uhh… I'll be heading in now," Sableye told the grass type sheepishly.
"Don't you want to hang out?" Gossifleur offered, clasping her hands together.
"Uhh… hehehe, maybe not now. I have to get my things in order."
"Are you sure?" Gossifleur asked, leaning closer to the Dark and Ghost type, who took a few steps back. "I promise it won't take too long."
"Yeah… sorry, hehe. Maybe tomorrow?" Sableye suggested as he walked into the cabin.
Gossifleur frowned, shaking her head. "I don't want to wait that long! This is a rare moment where I'm out and about… so who knows if we'll get more opportunities to talk!"
"B-but what do we even talk about?!" Sableye asked, twiddling his fingers awkwardly as the flower started approaching closer. "I don't really know… any conversation topics honestly."
"I don't know! Maybe, we can talk about hobbies? I think that's a good conversation starter." Gossifleur hummed, tilting her head to the side. "Or maybe we can talk about our life? I think that'd be a good conversation starter too!"
"Errr… you can start then…" Sableye suggested, unsure of himself.
Gossifleur nodded as she looked up thoughtfully as she recounted her many hobbies, "Hmmm… I have a lot of spare time back home so I have no choice but to adopt so many hobbies to fill in all of that time! I love reading, playing the violin, playing the piano, reading, studying foreign languages, chatting with my online friends… the usual! Though… I do wish my father was around too…" She trailed off before shaking her head. "But yes, I have various hobbies. I also cook and play other instruments. So I have put a lot of things on my plate… to distract myself, in a way. It's best to keep my mind focused on something at any given time. How about you?"
Sableye gaped at this, not really sure how to respond. He doesn't really… think he has ANY hobbies nor does he remember doing anything on his free-time. He was almost tempted to just walk away but the flower was very stubborn. "Uhh… I like… dumpster diving? That's a hobby, right?"
"What's that?" Gossifleur asked, curiously.
"It's uhm… me jumping into dumpsters… to get something to eat!" Sableye explained, trying to will away the fog clouding his memories. "Sorry if that sounds vague… my memory isn't really the b-best, hehehe…"
"Errr… Sableye… are you?"
"Am I what?"
Gossifleur awkwardly looked to the side. She didn't expect Sableye to be so… clueless about his whole sitation. "Do you have a home?"
"This island's my home… I think… h-hehehehe…" Sableye answered in an unsure manner.
"What about before the game?" Gossifleur asked.
The gremlin continued to laugh nervously as the flower was backing him into a wall. "W-what!? Well… uhhm… I don't know… I think I was living on the streets for as long as I can remember…"
"Sableye, that's…" Gossifleur gave him a sympathetic look. Now, she was feeling childish forcing him to stay for a quick chat.
"Hehehe… you don't have to worry about me. I don't think it matters that much! Life is uhh… r-really terrible? I think? That's how the saying goes, right?" Sableye asked.
"..." Gossifleur doesn't say anything as she just stared into the gremlin's gemstone eyes which reflected her concerned expression.
"I know I have to put in extra effort to fit in," Sableye admitted, slouching on the toilet seat. "My… body odor is already a big negative against me but like… I have a lot of positives, hehehe."
He looked at his fingers as he began listing his positive traits, "I'm optimistic, really funny and I'm also a high jumper… that's good, right? It's really tough trying to know… remember more… I don't know why…"
He put a hand on his head as his expression turned pained, "I sometimes get headaches… and start thinking of things I don't even remember… it's really tough, okay. So I prefer taking it easy and see where the game takes me… I think that'd be better for my head…"
Teddiursa hummed to herself as she was taking a walk around camp, after finishing organizing her luggage. Luckily, she managed to charm Gallade to do it for her. She giggled as she thought of this. From a distance, the sun was already setting, making way for the cold and harsh night, but Teddiursa didn't care. She wanted to gather her thoughts, since her cuteness act was starting to give way from exhaustion.
"Ah… good old me time," Teddiursa thought to herself with a cheery grin. "I don't think I can survive acting cute and oblivious without it too!"
As she neared the Trubbish cabin, she noticed movement coming from in front of the cabin and near the woods. Arching a brow, she decided to hide behind the side of the cabin, peering with only her head sticking out, to see what was going on.
It was… innocent enough. Klinklang floated out of the cabin with a bored expression, exhausted. An eager Magcargo crawled after him, speaking so loud yet fast that Teddiursa could barely follow the conversation. Moments later… Floatzel stomped out of the cabin with a huff with Dedenne following after him with an unamused expression.
"Stay out. This isn't your cabin. You have your own cabin, if you want to act weird," Dedenne said, arms crossed with a tired expression. He face-palmed as Floatzel opened his mouth to speak, "Why is it always the annoying ones who are loud..?"
"I'm SAVING your life!" Floatzel explained, face flushed. "There's an evil mastermind on this island! I was skeptical at first and thought the evil people were the obvious obnoxious ones like Vivillon… but my instincts are telling me there's something DARKER. So I took it upon myself to investigate your cabin!"
"Excuse me. Investigate? All I saw was you intruding on our private property," Dedenne countered, gritting his teeth. While his stature was way smaller than the weasel, he intimidated the water-type to stay silent as he spoke. "Seriously… Magcargo and Vanilluxe are already too much… you really need to step off before I say anything I regret…"
Floatzel's eyes narrowed as he glared at the smaller rodent before looking away with an aggravated huff, "Fine… I'll g-"
THUD. A loud sound of something falling can be heard from a distance. Teddiursa, Floatzel and Dedenne all instinctively turned to the direction of the sound. It came from the woods.
"... okay… what was that?" Dedenne asked rhetorically, eyes shifting side to side in discomfort.
"That wasn't normal!" Floatzel yelled, crossing his arms. "I need to INVESTIGATE!"
"Calm down. It was probably just a Pikipek pecking the side of a tree or something. Besides, we don't know what else is lurking in these woods… so yeah, better to be careful," Dedenne pointed out.
"... you have a point… but don't think I can take you off the suspect list just yetl," Floatzel said, to Dedenne's confusion.
"Wait wait wait, what is this about a suspect list?" Dedenne asked, cocking a brow in disbelief. "Me? Oh, you have got to be kidding me…"
"It's always the the ones you suspect the least…"
"Gee thanks…"
"Anyways, I'll be heading off to investigate the mess hall! I haven't checked that place too much yet…" Floatzel muttered, tipping his hit over his eyes.
Dedenne sighed to himself, "This is so annoying…" Without any further words, he walked back into the cabin.
Teddiursa, who was still hiding by the cabin's side, looked a bit confused. "For someone looking for suspects or whatever, Floatzel is soooo didn't even see me here? I thought I was way too obvious." She then shuddered as a sudden wind blew down her neck, "It's getting cold… I should probably go to bed… or beg Indeedee to cook something more edible… whatever comes first?"
And as quietly as she hid, she walked away from the cabin, thinking about Indeedee and his terrible cooking.
Another strong wind gusted through camp. And everything was still and quiet…
A shadow stared at Teddiursa's back from a distance. "..."
"So how was Floatrzel?" Skwovet asked as he watched Dedenne come back from his interaction with Floatzel.
The Pikaclone rolled his eyes as he flopped himself next to the squirrel. "Oh it was great… thank you for not doing anything the whole time, by the way…"
"Hey! Floatzel's some detective… I was trying to lay low, in case he had dirt on me!" Skwovet explained, crossing his arms. "I mean, he probably knows some of our dirty laundry, right?"
"Everyone has dirt on you. I think everyone knows you're a shameless klepto by now." Dedenne said flatly.
Skwovet arched his brow, lying down on his bed. "R-really!? You don't say… I'm not shameless though! Or anything!"
"Mmhm, I mean… you didn't really hold back on trying to grab something off everything. I saw you trying to take my glasses earlier too…" Dedenne pointed out. "And I need that to see so I don't know what your whole deal is… but you probably need to not do that, or you'll get voted off for that?!
"Hey! I'm trying to lay low AND not stealing from anyone. I took a lot of stuff from Viv… but other than that, my hands have been clean since I returned Vanilluxe's keychain… and no, it's not because everyone knows. I'm just focusing myself on other things!" Skwovet tried to assure the fellow rodent, groaning as the Pikaclone continued to look at him doubtfully. "Okay, what else do I need to do to prove myself?!"
"Get therapy."
"Haha, very funny!" Skwovet laughed nervously, gulping. "That'd be like… throwing away everything I know!"
"I don't know… you're not really good at hiding the fact that you're stealing anyways…" Dedenne pointed out.
"Hey! I return the things I steal when I don't need them!"
"Uh-huh, that's not really that much better." Dedenne commented.
Skwovet groaned as he started reaching up, "Well… fiiiine, I'll try harder then!? Trust me, my dad is trying to get me off this habit since it's been… a problem since I was 9 and well… let's just say I keep relapsing."
'"Maybe, you should be aware of the consequences of your actions, huh?" Dedenne said smugly.
"Oh wow, are you lecturing me now on how my body and mind works?" Skwovet questioned, rolling his eyes.
Maybe."
"Ugh…" Skwovet grumbled as he hasitily grabbed a pillow, squeezing it.
"And now, what are you doing? Don't tell me you want to steal a pillow too now…" Dedenne muttered.
"I'm not that impulsive!"
"Uh-huh."
"Okay, have more faith! Trust me, I won't be stealing a thing in this competition… because I want to be a good person for once, hmm!? Is that so weird for me to say?! Well, if you're that nervous for me then I might as well start a new chapter in my life to stop you from going on my case for no reason!" Skwovet said confidently.
"Well, I hope so… because I'll be watching!" Dedenne said smugly. Skwovet opened his mouth to speak but looked away, looking down at his eyes as he shuddered.
"..."
In the mess hall, Floatzel was now investigating any potential weird details while it was empty since they've just eaten. He made sure to keep his eyes on the kitchen door, in case Indeedee was hiding in there. He didn't want any interruptions.
"This place used to have a 3rd cabin… where did it go?" Floatzel thought to himself as he looked around. Other than the terrible lighting and the creaking floorboards, there weren't any clear signs of anything suspicious. He then looked over to the kitchen. SURELY, there was something hiding there.
"Indeedee… I apologize in advance… but this is for the greater good!"
Walking over to the kitchen door, his hand went over the knob… anxious about what he'd find inside. He groaned in annoyance to then discover that it was locked, stalling his investigation. It seemed like Floatzel would just have to check other places for any clues… like the closed infirmary, the forest… anywhere else really.
He was about to leave… only to stop in his tracks as he heard footsteps of someone approaching. His first instincts told him that it was Indeedee… but they were far too lighter. it had to be someone lighter than the chef. Stewing in his thoughts, he panicked, scrambling to underneath a table in a clumsy way to hide himself.
To his relief, it wasn't Indeedee, it was Teddiursa, who yawned as she walked over the counter.
"DeeDee, I'm starving! Where are you?!" Teddiursa complained, looking around the place for any signs of the chef. She went over to the kitchen, knocking politely at first. "Hellu! You there?" After getting no answer, the little bear rolled her eyes as she knocked even harder. "DeeDee! It's meeeee! Teddiursa, the cutest contestant in the world!"
"..." No reply. It seemed like Indeedee decided to leave the building… or was just really good at ignoring Teddiursa's shrill and loud shouting.
Floatzel arched a brow in confusion, watching this from afar. "What is she even doing? She should just… she should just-" Floatzel's thoughts were then interrupted as he sneezed from all the dust beneath the table. "AHCHOOO!"
Teddiursa gasped in shock from the sudden noise, looking around… before frowning as she noticed Floatzel underneath a table. "Floatzy, is that you?!"
"No, I'm not here. I don't know what you're talking about." Floatzel said, starting to crawl away from the little bear… but somehow, the little bear was more agile, skipping to him immediately, grabbing a hold of his hand. "!"
"Floatzel, were you watching me?" Teddiursa asked, confused… before letting out an overly exagerrated gasp as she crouched down. "Don't tell me… you have a crush on me so you're stalking me? I mean like… suuure, not the first time someone did that but omigosh, I thought you were here to investigate the evil… not be the evil itself!"
"I… I wasn't following you… I was just investigating the mess hall and I thought you were Indeedee…" Floatzel explained, looking down with a disappointed expression. "I hid immediately… but I guess my hiding skills aren't really that good."
"Yes! Yes, it isn't!" Teddiursa confirmed, letting go of the weasel's hand. "So you're not some obsessed fan of me then?"
"No obviously. I don't know any of you before this game." Floatzel pointed out as he crawled out of the table to stand up, rubbing the dust off his trenchcoat.
"Uh-huh uh-huh! A likely story… hmm… what about your outfit? Are you a detective or something?"
Floatzel sighed as he nodded. "Yes, I am."
"Ooooh, so that's why you were trying to interrogate Dedenne earlier! You flopped with that by the way!" Teddiursa remarked.
Floatzel's face turned red from embarrrassment as he look away. "Y-you were listening on that?! I thought there were no witnesses…"
"Yep, you didn't even notice me! So I'm shocked to hear you're a detective!" Teddiursa admitted. "So… do you solve murder cases or something?"
"Well… right now, I'm investigating a…" Floatzel started before stopping himself to think to himself. Shaking his head, he quickly completed his sentence from where left off, "I'm investigating something."
"Wow, that def doesn't sound vague and sus, Floatzel!" Teddiursa giggled, clapping her hands together. "Hmmmm… I guess even you can be cute, huh?"
"C-cute?!"
"You're really cute when you try to lie and defend yourself!" Teddiursa explained, giggling into her paws. "It's really endearing! It's almost making me worried that you'd try to take away my kawaii crown… but you still have a long way to go~"
"I wasn't trying to steal your crown or anything…" Floatzel said. "I don't even know what kawaii is supposed to mean but… thank you?"
"I'm Teddiursa, be tee dubs!" Teddiursa introduced herself, shaking the weasel's hand quickly. "If it wasn't obvious, I'm a cutie… also, I'm pretty much an influencer. I have a Youtube channel and Twitch or whatevs. It's been so long since I uploaded anything there but OMIGOSH… this is like my vacay or whatever!"
"... Floatzel." Floatzel replied, looking at the hand Teddiursa shook. "You're really energetic, huh?"
"Of course! I'm just oh so full of energy! It's why I'm so cute!" Teddiursa said.
"..."
"Don't furrow your brows like that! It'll give you wrinkles!" Teddiursa advised, tilting her head to the side, while putting her paw to her face.
The weasel sighed as he face-palmed. "I'll… keep that in mind. It was very nice to get to know you better, Teddiursa. Now, I shall leave you alone to wait fo-"
"Wait wait wait!" Teddiursa said, grabbing a hold ofthe gradient-colored cloth on Floatzel's wrist. The weasel's eyes widened at this. "Let's talk! I think we can be close friends!"
"Friends..? We just met…"
"Well, we need to talk if we want to be friends so let's talk, Floatzy! I like your vibe, you know! I don't look like it but I love mystery movies!" Teddiursa revealed, winking playfully at the weasel who was still trying to break free.
"L-let go, please… you might rip the cloth apart…"
Teddiursa blinked before nodding, letting go. "Mmhm! Kay! I know some might call me a bitch but I'm not that bitchy~"
"Thank you…" Floatzel sighed in relief as he holds the arm with the cloth closer to his chest.
"Err… what exactly is that anyways? It clashes with your full brown get-up…" Teddiursa asked before the weasel could leave.
"It's… from a friend…" Floatzel answered, looking at it wistfully.
"Awww, I wish I had a keepsake from a friend but all they give me were knives to stab me on the back…" Teddiursa said thoughtfully for once… before a smile crept in, "J-K obviously!"
"... I'll go now." Floatzel muttered.
"OK! Have fun investigating or whatever~" Teddiursa giggled, winking at the weasel, who just blushed in embarrassment as he ran out of the mess hall, tail between his legs.
As soon as the Water-type left, the little bear bursted into laughter again as she wiped a tear off her eye. "Okay, that guy is not only cute… he's kinda funny! Oh, we HAVE to be besties!"
Gourgeist was taking a short stroll around the woods, completely unafraid of any wild Pokemon that may be lurking out there. Humming to herself, she maintained a stony-faced expression. She stopped as she noticed Marill, who was crouching down on something. Vaguely interested, she walked towards the blue mouse.
"Are you okay?" Gourgeist queried, arching a brow. She then smirked. "Are you perhaps… hiding a body or something? I promise I won't tell."
Marill yelped in shock as she turned back to the pumpkin. "I-I wasn't hiding a body! I shouldn't be showing this to anyone bu-"
"Hmm? Looks like a broken camera," Gourgeist commented as she peered over Marill's shoulder. The blue mouse squealed in shock at this.
"This is PRIVATE… but since you decided to NOT mind my own business… it's one of the cameras used for filming this show," Marill explained, face-palming. "And well…"
"But it's broken though?" Gourgeist pointed out.
Marill sighed, eyes shifting from side to side to see if anyone was listening in. "It's well… someone broke it…" Noticing Gourgeist's confused looks, she groaned. "It's not that hard to get. Someone broke the camera on purpose. Whimsicott came to me in distress and she told me that suddenly, one of her cameras suddenly wasn't working so I came here and looked at it… it doesn't seem like it was broken by a wild Pokemon. Someone was deliberately breaking it, seeing as it only cracked the lens and shit… and the memory card was also gone, for some reason. This is why we should've bought the more pricey cameras, ugggh…"
"Woah… maybe, they were a technophobe or something!" Gourgeist suggested.
"I shouldn't be telling you this but… you're here, even if it's not advisable to walk here at night with the Wild Pokemon… which reminds me, I should get going… and don't tell this to anyone else."
"I'll tell this to all of my friends!"
"Seriously, don't."
"Heeey, you should know by now, that I'm just pulling your finger. I don't have any friends," Gourgeist pointed coyly.
"Ugh… you know what… I trust you… for now." Marill groaned, rolling her eyes before turning to leave. "See you… I guess."
"You're not going to forge a host-player alliance with me and rig the game to my favor?" Gourgeist queried as the Marill started walking away.
"..."
"Aww… this was a waste of my time then," Gourgeist commented, deadpanning.
Nihilego and Poipole were now in their own private cabin, discussing matters about the show while eating dinner.
"So Nihilego… I feel a bit uneasy…" Poipole admitted. "And this is just my first show too!"
"What do you mean?" Nihilego asked, arching a brow. "I took extra measures to ensure that there's no repeats… of last season… not just Ultra Space… the cancelled Ultra Vacation too. So don't worry. Everything will be okay. This cast may have a bit of loose screws but I trust in their applications."
"Well…"
"I… should be the last person who should tell you this… but let's try not to worry for now. But let's keep our eyes peeled, just in case."
Poipole laughed nervously, "M-maybe you're right. I was so excited for this too… but... "
The two hosts stared at each other for a while, as they pondered. Something was amiss… whether it may be good or bad, the air was thick with a strange omen of things to come.
The scene then faded to black.
Shining Shuppet - Bayleef, Chansey, Empoleon, Floatzel, Magearna, Musharna, Pikachu, Sableye, Teddiursa, Unfezant
Twinkling Trubbish - Cramorant, Dedenne, Gourgeist, Gossifleur, Klinklang, Magcargo, Oricorio, Skwovet, Vanilluxe, Vivillon
Shining Shuppet
Bayleef, the Fickle Coward
Chansey, the Kindly Nurse
Empoleon, the Overcompetitive Athlete
Floatzel, the Paranoid Investigator
Magearna, the Philanthropist
Musharna, the Sleeper Threat
Pikachu, the Constantly Indecisive
Sableye, the Spatially Unaware
Teddiursa, the Lethal Cutie
Unfezant, the Sarcastic Emo
Twinkling Trubbish
Cramorant, the Phone Addict
Dedenne, the Smug Wise Guy
Gossifleur, the Wide-Eyed Rich Girl
Gourgeist, the Strange Abomination
Klinklang, the Pragmatic Strategist
Magcargo, the Chatterbox
Oricorio, the Cheery Leader
Skwovet, the Kleptomanic
Vanilluxe, the Punmeister
Vivillon, the Ice Queen
The Unlucky Hosting Crew
Nihilego (Female)
Poipole (Male)
Whimscott (Female)
Gallade (Male)
Marill (Female)
Indeedee (Male)
Notes: And that's the first chapter. It's mostly a getting-to-know-each-other episode so yep! Everyone gets equal share of screen time… okay not really. But I'm having fun writing this again so I'm really eager to complete this, hehe! After not writing for so long, it felt out of this world to be writing again, so I think I struggled at some parts so I made sure to take a lot of breaks between writing to avoid burn-out.
The rest of the chapters would be more manageable (challenges aside, but I'll research and try to see other TPIs for inspiration and how to write honestly) so I'm honestly excited to get this show on the roar!
A total of two characters are relics from the past… namely TEDDIURSA and VANILLUXE who appeared in my debut which is mostly forgotten by now and their personalities have been greatly overhauled (aside from a few exceptions)
Marill: I need some coffee again… but review!
Indeedee: [sharpens knife with a smile] …