Total Pokemon Ultra Revival Chapter 8: EP 5: Beneath Suspicion (Part 2), a Pokémon + Total Drama series Crossover fanfic

You put up the walls and paint them all a shade of gray

"EEEEEEEEEK! Have we lost them?!" Cramorant screamed at the top of her lungs, sprinting at full speed. She took a glance over her shoulder, relieved to see no sign of the pursuing Sunflora. "O-okay! Omigosh, I think we lost them…"

"How can you be so sure?! That Sunflora is a TRAINED PSYCHOPATH!" Vivillon snapped, her wings starting to falter as exhaustion set in. "They could be hiding in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike!"

"Can't we just take a break?!" Skwovet huffed, his short legs struggling to keep up. "We're gonna run out of energy eventually… and if that Sunflora isn't giving up, it's just a matter of when they catch us."

An uneasy silence fell over the group. No one could argue with Skwovet's grim logic. With a collective groan, they slowed to a stop, panting heavily. It was only then they noticed their new surroundings: a dazzling chamber filled with shimmering purple and pink crystals embedded in the walls, ceiling, and even jutting from the ground like jagged sculptures.

"Uh… did we, like, leave the cave and stumble into a completely different one?" Cramorant asked nervously, her eyes darting between the crystals and the dim glow of her phone screen. "Is it just me or…"

"No, it's not just you," Klinklang interrupted dryly. "Clearly, we retraced our steps but ended up in an entirely new location. It's… unsettling. There's something peculiar about this cave."

"I mean, the whole mountain literally appeared out of nowhere," Dedenne deadpanned, crossing his arms. "Are we really surprised it's completely bonkers? Like, come on! A straight hallway in a cave?! That should've been our first clue." He groaned, placing his paws on his hips. "Don't you agree, Oricorio?"

Dedenne blinked, his confusion growing as he realized there was no response. He turned his head quickly, scanning the group.

"Uh… Oricorio?" Cramorant's voice echoed through the chamber as she spun in circles, frantically searching. "Oh no… don't tell me she got lost!"

"It was a straight path!" Dedenne exclaimed, his hand trembling as unease washed over him. "How can someone be lost when we were all running in the same direction… and last time I checked, there weren't any alternate paths to even take!"

"So, that's why no one's been here to cheer us on," Vivillon muttered, rolling her eyes. Noticing the judgmental look Dedenne gave her, she groaned. "I don't know why she would get lost. Last I checked, she was ahead of us!"

"Maybe, she was too fast and broke the sound barrier and ran into a wall!" Cramorant suggested, scratching the back of her head as everybody looked confused by her words. "W-what?! Klinklang said this cave was weird af so… that is a possibility, right?!"

Skwovet sighed, "Can't exactly argue with that logic…"

Dedenne shot his friend a look, raising an eyebrow. "Excuse me? I don't want to assume she got hurt out there... but it would be pretty reckless. I know she can take care of herself, but that doesn't make this any less of a mess."

"What do you mean?" Cramorant chirped.

"We sent Gossifleur and Gourgeist off to find help from Nihilego," Dedenne explained, sweat starting to form on his brow. "And considering they went the same way we did... they might be in trouble too." He paused, hands starting to tremble further in front of his face. "And Magcargo? They're probably lost in the middle of nowhere by now! We're all scattered in a challenge where we need to stick together!"

Reality began to sink in for the rest of the group, and panic set in. Cramorant fidgeted, tapping her phone screen desperately, hoping it would come back to life. Klinklang, while calm on the surface, looked around, as if trying to show concern. Vivillon was more fixated on the dingy surroundings. Skwovet, on the other hand, was edging closer to a nearby floor crystal, practically drooling.

Dedenne groaned as he noticed this, calling out, "Skwovet, don't go too far. We can't split up even further!"

"B-but it's a shiny crystal!" Skwovet pointed out, head turning back and forth from Dedenne to the crystal he had his eyes on. "It's so shiny and… I want it!" He groaned as Dedenne stomped his foot on the ground to rein him in, "H-hey! At least, I'm not stealing from anyone! It's just gems in some random cave! They don't belong to anyone!"

Klinklang's expression shifted as he floated closer to the scattered gems, his gears humming softly with concentration. "Hmm... these aren't diamonds," he muttered, inspecting them with a keen eye. "They look... like they're from another world." His gaze flickered across the stones before he gasped in shock, taking a step back. "They radiate... a strange energy. I can't put my finger on it, but it feels... deeply unsettling."

Skwovet, his eyes gleaming with curiosity, trotted over and crouched next to a large crystal protruding from the ground. He chuckled as he ran his paws over its smooth surface. "It's so smooth... and so purple!" He said, mesmerized by its glow.

"Skwovet, I know I've called you an uncultured swine before, but please, stay away from that!" Vivillon said, her voice laced with concern for once. "It might be dangerous!" She sighed in exasperation as the squirrel remained completely fixated on the glowing crystals. "Hmph... I see we've lost him already."

"Skwovet… you should know not to trust random crystals in a cave… no matter how shiny they are!" Dedenne added, glancing over at the squirrel before turning to Cramorant, who was tapping his shoulder. "Yes, Cramorant?"

The bird gave a nod, then proudly displayed a bracelet she had crafted in less than a minute, using one of the crystals as the centerpiece. "I got bored, so I made a lucky bracelet for—" She was cut off by a sudden slap as Dedenne knocked the bracelet out of her wings. "W-why did you do that? Omigosh, that was so rude!"

"It might be cursed!" Dedenne drawled, folding his arms. "We aren't going to have that right now. Almost half of the team is fucking lost and you're going to potentially give us bad luck too…"

"B-but it's not bad luck!" Cramorant said pleadingly.

Klinklang rolled his eyes as he quickly fired a Charge Beam at the fallen bracelet, obliterating it to pieces, "We're not risking anything." The bird gawked at this, falling to her feet as she put her hands on her face.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Vivillon scoffed as she floated past the fallen Cramorant to face Dedenne, "Okay genius. What do we do now? We're literally lost and our 'so-called leader' is not even here… figures. We have a challenge and we haven't even found diamonds… unless" She looked around before grumbling, "Okay… obviously, I would know what an actual diamond looks like and all these crystals are just those gaudy crystals you can buy in a thrift shop…"

"... we need to keep going… staying in one place wouldn't bring us closer to those diamonds," Dedenne stated matter-of-factly.

"Great... good luck with Cramorant and Skwovet then," Vivillon remarked flippantly, clearly uninterested. Dedenne looked confused, groaning as he scanned the area. He found Cramorant performing an impromptu burial for her now-dead bracelet, while Skwovet was still hugging the glowing crystal.

Klinklang wordlessly approached the squirrel, gently pulling him away from the crystal. The squirrel looked up to him in disappointment. "I apologize, Skwovet. You were entranced."

"Who are you again?" Skwovet asked, genuinely confused, his brow furrowing. Then, realization hit him, and his eyes widened. "OKAY... what just happened?"

"The crystals," Klinklang explained simply.

"Holy shit... thank you, Klinklang," Skwovet said, nodding in gratitude. Though he still wasn't exactly happy with the gear, he appreciated that Klinklang had snapped him out of his stupor. "This was the worst possible time to give in to my impulses..."

"OKAY… our leader is gone… and we've got nothing figured out. We're so screwed." Dedenne commented, obviously unamused.

Dedenne faced the remains of his team, as they were all seated in a circle around him, starting to get impatient. "OKAY! Now that we're all not looking at those hypnotic crystals… we need a plan!" He cleared his throat, adjusting his glasses. "We need to hold hands so that nobody randomly gets lost!"

"I don't have hands…" Klinklang pointed out flatly. "Vivillon can't even fly while holding anyone's hands either. That plan is already at fault…" The electric mouse groaned at this rebuttal as the gear continued to drone on, "I have suspicions that this cave has some properties that bend the fabric of space-time… which is how Oricorio and Vanilluxe somehow aren't with us, despite the fact that we all ran away in the same direction."

"Wait… Vanilluxe is missing too?" Skwovet remarked in shock… before shrugging, "Okay… I won't lie, I actually didn't notice…"

"Who is Vanilluxe?" Cramorant chimed in, waving her wings around. "I would obvi browse through my contacts but my phone is dead so…"

Dedenne face-palmed, trying to compose himself, "OKAY! My plan's not working and I honestly forgot about Vanilluxe. So that's… FIVE people, who are missing in action right now?! Great… I hope the other team's having just as much trouble as we are right now…"

"We should spli-" Cramorant started only to squeal as Dedenne leaned closer to her with a deadpan expression.

"Didn't you just forget that splitting up is pretty much suicide, especially in a cave we can't even map out…" Dedenne reminded her in his best congenial tone… which just ended up really cold. "So… we have to do our best to stay together… but given Klinklang's argument… it's going to be a bit hard."

"What if I can ride on Vivillon?" Skwovet suggested, laughing as the butterfly turned to glare at his direction. "What? I'm not that heavy… okay, maybe that's a lie but hey, it might be fun."

"Oh please… fun for you maybe," Vivillon rolled her eyes, trying her hardest not to lash out, "But I'm a butterfly with wings almost as thin as paper, we wouldn't even be able to take off from the ground." She scoffed as Skwovet booed at her comments, "I'm not even trying to sound all stuck-up. It's called being realistic!"

"If I can't ride on Vivillon, I'll have to settle for Klinklang then…" Skwovet said with a mischievous grin… which turned to disappointment as Klinklang threatened him with a stray Charge Beam flying past his head. "Oookay… I guess you're not good with that either…"

"We should all just… walk in a single file and try not to stray too far from each other." Klinklang suggested. "Oricorio went way too ahead… and I suppose Vanilluxe is with her."

"Or Van somehow split up from her and they're both alone!" Cramorant chimed in, putting her sunglasses down over her eyes.

Dedenne face-palmed, shaking his head. "Let's not jump to conclusions here!" He muttered, to everyone's exasperation. "Let's just… walk and keep an eye on each other and try not run way ahead… I get that we ran for a long time but we're losing time here!"

Begrudgingly, the entire team followed Dedenne through another hallway, leading out of the crystal chamber, with Skwovet whimpering as the little mouse slapped him on the shoulder when he tried to run back for a crystal.

Gossifleur hummed as she struggled to find the right time to ask Gourgeist for help and for her to answer her many many questions. Due to this, she had been so distracted that she hadn't noticed that they had been walking for an oddly long amount of time, when naturally… they should've found an exit by that point…

Gulping, she walked closer to the pumpkin, mustering up a bit of courage to ask something, "G-Gourgeist… how are you so unabashedly… awful?" She slinked back as the Gourgeist glared at her for her awkwardly phrased question, "O-oh… oh no… I think I must've phrased it wrong… but well… you're just so bad… that it's actually so inspiring!"

Gourgeist doesn't reply, just focusing on the task at hand… which was honestly a bad idea as Gossifleur's eyes glimmered with interest, intrigued by the pumpkin's constantly contradictory personality.

"Uhhmmm…" Gossifleur shrunk even further, as she blushed in embarrassment, thoughts rushing in and out of her head. How long had they been together?

Her heartbeat started to quake… she couldn't hold it in. She had always been held back by rather strict expectations… so she didn't exactly get the opportunity to… go against the grain, as what she read. She didn't even know much about the world before the game… hell, she was lucky enough to be here and that grilled her even further about her life story.

"Okay… why am I… so indecisive… oh no… Gourgeist might hate me, if I keep asking her weird questions though?"

"Gossifleur, are you okay?" The pumpkin asked flatly, confusing the flower even further. It seemed like the taller grass-type had almost reverted to her original personality on the first day they met: Straightforward, cold and calculating… which gave Gossifleur chills, yet at the same time thrilled her.

"I-is this an adrenaline rush?! Wow… I kind of like it… I didn't know this is how it feels li-"

"Gossifleur, I was asking you a question," Gourgeist interrupted her thoughts yet again, slowing down to focus on the smaller flower. "You're the person I trust the most on this team… you can literally tell me everything…" She paused, tapping her chin with her tendrils, "Weeeell, everything I haven't read from your mind, as of now obviously!"

Gossifleur blinked in confusion, "You can read my mind? I… don't know how to feel about that…"

"It was a joke," Gourgeist deadpanned, patting the small flower Pokemon on the head, "It's humor 101… and always a good non sequitur for discussions… so spill, what's on your mind?"

"Err… I am still int-" Gossifleur started only for the pumpkin to quickly cover her mouth.

"Don't tell me, you're going to ask me why I'm 'awful'..." Gourgeist stated flatly with a cold expression. "I'm a cold-blooded fortress. Don't expect me to break down my walls… it'll take a few more bonding moments for me to truly open up. But in case you must know, I'm a dog person."

"What's a dog?" Gossifleur asked in confusion. Gourgeist blinked as she stopped to think, urging her companion to stop as she caught up.

"... I actually don't know…" She muttered, rubbing the back of her head. "Hmm… I think I confuse myself sometimes…"

The flower laughed nervously, eyes shifting to the side, "I think that might be an understatement…"

"Gossifleur is my ride-or-die after Pikachu decided to unalive himself… so I have to take what I can get," Gourgeist stated with a confident smirk. "I'm literally controlling everyone like mindless puppets and they don't even see the strings!"

"I-in the end, I was too embarrassed to even ask anything! I feel very disgusted and disappointed with myself…" Gossifleur cried out with a frown. "I-I… got too cocky… I thought that a burst of courage would be enough but…" She stopped herself as she positioned herself more comfortably on the toilet seat, head dropped down.

"Well… summer isn't over yet so… I have to keep trying. I mean, I didn't exactly… sign up for this show in an instant after all!" She exclaimed… before laughing nervously, until it quieted down to a sigh. "..."

"F-Floatzel… this isn't f-f-funny…"

For the first time on the island… Bayleef was actually alone. He wandered through the cave hallway, searching for Floatzel, who he thought went too far ahead of him… yet, it felt like he was walking in circles, gulping as he examined the cave markings.

"I t-think I saw that star-shaped w-wall marking six times by now…"

Absent-minded, he grunted as he bumped into… something hard. Steadying his vision, his eyes widened at the sight… of an outrageously large boulder, conspicuously laid out on the center of the hallway, "W-what? Is this normal?!"

"..." He whimpered as he noticed the boulder roll a tiny smidge closer to him, "I-it's moving?!"

He started to sweat profusely… as it rolled closer to him. Wait… roll!? Needless to say, the dinosaur was frozen in his spot as eyes appeared on the face of the boulder, gazing right into his soul.

It was a Golem… and from the looks of it, it looked annoyed after being woken up from its sleep by the distracted starter. Bayleef whimpered as he slowly took a few steps back, "O-okay, I'm s-sorry if I woke you up! I w-was just… really caught up in my thoughts and…" He shrieked as the rock-type doesn't seem to get closer… getting into rolling position. "D-d-don't roll on m-" He paused as he then thought to himself, "Wait… I'm a grass type… grass beats rock! S-so I should be able to-" Oops, no time! The dinosaur's thoughts were easily interrupted by the rapidly approaching Golem.

Left with little time to think, Bayleef could only do one thing…

RUN as fast as he can in the opposite direction, hoping that he can tired the rock out… though he wasn't too confident in that idea as tears streaked down his face as he yelled for ANYONE to help, "E-Empoleon?! Aaaah, I n-need youuuuu! Okay, now I'm thankful you made me run around the island but AAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Unfortunately for him, there wasn't anyone nearby so the dinosaur was left to run away from a rolling boulder. It was as comical as it sounded as it didn't seem like the Golem was struggling to catch up, yet Bayleef couldn't afford to trip and get caught, worried that he would get rolled over if he even stopped to breathe. "MOOOOOOMMY!"

"..."

Oricorio and Vanilluxe were silent as they trudged through the straight hallway, which showed no signs of letting up… or until, Vanilluxe laughed nervously in a loud voice, disturbing it.

"Why do I feel like we're being followed?" He asked rhetorically, starting to sweat. "Like… really… is this a normal feeling to have? It feels so weird…"

"D-don't scare me like that!" Oricorio stammered, starting to get nervous from the ice cream's sudden outburst. "What do you mean? We're in a cave… in a straight hallway…" Her voice trailed off, and she shuddered. "Don't tell me… Sunflora somehow caught up with us? I really thought we outsped them… I do hope the others aren't in danger since I think they're just behind us…"

"Uh... uh..." Vanilluxe stammered, still sweating. "It's just a gut feeling... but I swear I'm hearing light footsteps right behind us..." He froze, flinching. "Wait... something just fell!"

"H-how can you even hear this? I can't even hear anything you're describing," Oricorio admitted with a bashful look. "N to the O, it's a no no no…"

Vanilluxe laughed nervously as he stopped walking, urging the cheerleader to stop walking as well, "S-sorry… I just have really good hearing…"

"..." Oricorio looked a bit skeptical but didn't want to just disregard the ice cream's suspicions, taking a deep breath, "... if someone really is following us… shouldn't we just continue walking… I mean… seeing as we already met a killer Sunflora… I wouldn't be shocked if we met other murderous creatures down here…" She shuddered, putting a wing on her head, "Thinking about it is already giving me a killer headache…"

"W-well… uhhmm… that wouldn't be so ice…" Vanilluxe joked.

"Y-yeah… I-" Oricorio started, only for her eyes to narrow, "Waaaait, did you just say ice? Give me an O! A M! And a G! This isn't the time to say a pun, Vanilluxe!"

"... y-yeah… l-let's uhhh… just keep going?" Vanilluxe quickly changed the topic, his face turning bright red. "W-we don't want to lose to the other team here!"

Oricorio affirmed with a nod as she started sprinting with the ice cream floating at a reasonable speed, "We're burning daylight but we can FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!"

As the duo disappeared further down the hallway, Empoleon, hidden in the shadows with his face pressed into the cold ground, slowly lifted his head with a groan. "Those two are so... so loud. Thankfully, they didn't spot me... but I'm amazed that ice cream almost caught me. I need to be more careful…

Raising himself off the ground, the penguin carefully continued following the pair, the shadow of something ominous watching their every move from the gaps in the walls. The layout of the cave seemed to shift once again… but again, nobody notices a thing.

"WOW, I'm not good at ice breakers… maybe cuz I am ice cream! GET IT!" Vanilluxe said, bursting into a sharp and loud laugh… which slowly devolved to a long sigh as he slumped on the chair, "OOKAY, maybe I need to work on that…"

Sableye was dragging behind a dour Teddiursa, who was still recovering from her concussion from hitting the wall abruptly. The little bear was fully conscious and annoyed as her head kept hitting rocks on the cave floor, lifting a fist in frustration.

"S-Sableye UWU! You can stop dragging me already! As you can see, I am awake and you're going to give me more concussions just dragging me through the oh-so hard ground!" Teddiursa urged. "I think I'm getting a lot of internal bleeding already…"

Sableye blinked… blushing in embarrassment before he dropped Teddiursa's legs abruptly with a loud THUD. The little bear's left eye twitched at this, "S-SABLEYE?! Be more gentle UWU!- OOOOKAY, it actually HURTS!"

"I-I'm sorry… I d-didn't mean to hurt you even further…" Sableye stammered, twiddling his fingers. "M-maybe I should pick you up a-" He yelped in surprise as Teddiursa shot a death glare in his direction, "Was it that painful? I'm sorry, hehe…"

"..." Teddiursa deadpanned, crossing her arms as she struggled to stand back up, only managing to lift her upper up while her legs laid on the floor battered and beaten, "Sableye…"

"Yes Teddiursa," Sableye asked in anticipation.

"... you have to carry me now!" Teddiursa whimpered with a pout. "You don't want me to get too injured and get medevacced, don't you think?"

"Do I lift you by the legs or-" Sableye queried only to be forced into silence as the little bear covered his mouth with a grunt.

"No, we're not doing that again. By carry, I mean… bridal carry!" Teddiursa explained… before giggling faux-cutely, batting her eyelashes cutely, "I'm the kewtest bear on the island, don't'cha think?! So this would be a real big honor!"

"You're the only be-" Sableye started, only to whimper at Teddiursa's smile quickly changed to a scowl. "O-okay! C-coming right up, Teddiursa!" Sableye wheezed as he picked up the little bear off the ground. "Is that okay now?"

Teddiursa giggled, hugging the gremlin tightly. "My hero!" She kissed the gremlin on the cheek, making his face flushed pink. "Awww, you're so adorable when you're blushing! Oh… you even smell better! Don't tell me you finally discovered the existence of soap!"

"Y-yeah… I had some help from C-Chansey…" Sableye sputtered out, legs wobbling as he started walking while carrying the Normal-type. "It smelled good. I tried eating it but Chansey told me it wasn't good for me so…" He paused, voice trailing off. "... I thought it was edible, cuz it smelled better but I g-guess just because it smells good doesn't mean you can eat it…"

Teddiursa blinked in shock. She still wasn't sure if the Dark-type was just stupid… or if his memory was just really really foggy. "Uhm! It's a good thing Chansey told you that, cuz I think you could actually choke and die from that soap!" She remarked in a low voice. "Sableye… are you like… okay?!"

"Huh? Why do you ask? I-I'm just fine, hehehehe! Life is not really that stressful!" Sableye said with a clueless wide grin. "And this game has been fun, e-even if I have some off days once in a while!"

Teddiursa nodded, still uncertain. "Well, that's a pretty cute mindset to have! I mean… I wish all my days were just as stress-free so that I can keep being cute!"

"Aww, I think you're always cute, Teddiursa!" Sableye exclaimed.

"You're such a flatterer, aren't you?" Teddiursa giggled into her paws as she leaned her head on the Dark-type's back. "I'm glad you think so, though! _ This might sound surprising but cuteness is temporary and weeeeell, I wasn't always a cutie like this, you know! Some might say I'm…" She paused, pouting. "... scary? You don't think I'm scary, right?"

Sableye started sweating as he looked to the side. "A little bit…"

"Awww phooey! You're supposed to tell me that I'm a complete angel!" Teddiursa whimpered… before breaking into a cute cacaphony of giggles. "Nah, I'm just kidding! I'm glad you can say it to my face, bestie! You're a real one for that!"

"N-no problem… I just speak my mind…" Sableye admitted. "It h-helps me think…"

"Hmm?"

Sableye's head bobbed down as he frowned. "I… well… I told Floatzel this… but he didn't believe me completely, but I don't really remember much about my life. I don't even remember having a mom and dad-"

"Well! I think having a mom and dad is overrated T-B-H!" Teddiursa huffed, leaning in with an intrigued expression.

"That doesn't make me feel better about it…" Sableye whispered, clenching his fists. "It just feels like a hopeless situation, trying to… remember. It's hard but I appreciate all the help I can get."

"Hmmm…"

"Teddiursa?"

"Mrrrgrrr…"

"Teddiursa, what are you doing? Are you uh… pumping yourself up or something, h-h-ehehehe…"

Teddiursa shook her head, winking playfully as she stuck out her tongue. "Nah! I was just thinking! Maybe, you can try retracing your steps, Sable! What were doing before you signed up for this game?"

"That's uh… hard to answer…" Sableye gulped, sweating nervously. "I… don't even remember signing up for this game, hehehehe… is that a bad thing? I-I didn't tell Floatzel about this since I knew he'd be even more suspicious that I-I'm uhh… hiding something…"

"Hmmm… weeeell, I don't care about that! You're still the same old Sableye!"

"Thank you…" Sableye muttered.

Teddiursa crossed her arms, staring at the camera, looking very battered as her fur was all messed up and there was bruises covering her body, "I'm soooo glad that Sableye finally realized that he could've carried me instead of dragging my cute unconscious body on the hard cave floor for ages! OWO… I'm starting to bruise! I hope this doesn't scar!"

She tapped her chin thoughtfully, "But I guess it wasn't a complete waste! I feel like I'm starting to understand him a little bit more, UwU!'"

"Well! That went better than I expected, hehehe…" Sableye commented, giving the camera a resounding thumbs-up.

Chansey had a perpetually flushed expression as she followed after Magearna… while she was starstruck when it comes to the Mythical Pokemon, this was a different case. They were alone in a cave with no signs of anyone else, and Chansey felt that even if she shouted to the top of her voice, nobody would even hear her.

She gasped for air as she put a hand to her chest, "I can't believe this is all happening… I'm a-alone with Lady Magearna…" She lifted her face to gaze at the Mythical Pokemon's back. The steel type was focused on getting to the diamond chamber that she wasn't even talking nor has noticed Chansey's quickening heartbeat and low hyperventilating. "I didn't really expect this to happen, when signing up for this… yet, it's clearly happening!"

Chansey could barely stand as she was too caught up in her thoughts, resulting in her leaning closer to the wall for support as she walked, fanning herself with the other hand. While she didn't want to be… too overbearing with her admiration. This was a bit too much for her. It felt like tears of joy were actually leaking out of her ears. "Lady Magearna… I always did wonder what type of lavish lifestyle she lives… t-though, she hasn't shared much… hmm, it does make sense considering her sta… tus?"

She paused, stopping on her tracks as her thoughts flickered back to the night of the last elimination. Musharna had told her that Magearna had been lying… not just about the game… but about everything. While she still trusted Magearna… she was starting to get skeptical, gasping in surprise, "Oh heavens no… w-why am I starting to doubt Lady Magearna? She had saved lives… Musharna only said those things, because of her tumultuous relationship with the lady and-"

"Chansey, are you taking a break?" Magearna questioned, snapping the nurse out of her stupor. The mythical had stopped walking to turn around to check up on her companion with a concerned expression. "We can stop, if you want?"

"O-oh, that's really kind of you to say, La- errr… Magearna," Chansey stumbled on her words as she struggled to compose herself as her heart continued to beat out of her chest. "I'm… just feeling… very lightheaded. It has been a long time since we've entered the cave after all…"

"How long exactly?" Magearna asked, arching a brow.

Chansey tilted her head to the side, answering, "Hmm… I think about three to four hours by now… which is actually a shock, since we've been walking through the same hallway for hours…"

"Yes… it had been so long. I almost forgot what sunlight even looked like…" Magearna muttered, putting both hands on her hips. She chuckled dryly, cocking her head down, "I wonder if the others are doing better with this challenge… since at this point, I don't even think there is a diamond chamber in this cave… and if there is, it feels like it's nowhere near us even…"

"I'm sure we'll find it eventually… or well… at least, find the exit somehow…" Chansey muttered, smiling weakly.

Magearna sighed before turning to stare at the nurse, humming to herself, "I hope so… it would be terrible if we lose this challenge… I don't even know who to vote off?"

"Err… we still have the alliance… so we can vote together against Bayleef," Chansey pointed out, scratching her cheek.

"Oh, yes… we do have that…" Magearna whispered… before sighing, looking clearly distraught.

The nurse blinked, confused by her idol's mood suddenly dampening, "M-Magearna, is anything wrong?"

"Do you trust me?" Magearna questioned abruptly with a hurt expression. Chansey blinked… shocked. This was straight out of nowhere and caught her off-guard. She didn't even know what to say, yet her idol continued to talk in an off-puttingly cold tone, "I… have been getting chills down my spine. I just had a passing thought that Musharna's final words have snowballed… and I'm just worried that the rest of the team think I'm expendable. I mean… Empoleon is lambasting me for being 'useless', despite my Mythical status…"

"..." Chansey opened her mouth to talk but was interrupted by the steel/fairy's type long and drawn out sigh, "If you don't trust me… then you can vote me off next. I understand. I had a feeling that I would have a target on my back regardless, because of people's suspicions and disappointment in me…"

"I-" Chansey continued to be interrupted by the pensieve Magearna, who put a hand to her face.

"... save it… everyone has been giving me the cold shoulder… and I'm honestly hurt. Teddiursa called me fat. Empoleon doesn't like me. Sableye laughed at me as if I were a joke. Floatzel is starting to follow me, because of Musharna's accusations," Magearna listed, using her fingers before continuing to drone on, "I just want to help people… I don't see why people would think I'm suspicious or up to no good…"

"Magearna…" Chansey sputtered out, flushed. She sighed, clenching a fist, "D-don't say that… I'm on your side. You don't have to worry… I promise I'll defend you."

"R-really?" Magearna quivered and Chansey winced at the sight. At that moment… the mythical looked frail and delicate, that it made the nurse feel… a bit guilty for even doubting her… but nevertheless, she nodded in agreement.

"Thank you… I really appreciate it," Magearna said, smiling warmly as she leaned back with a sigh of relief.

"N-no problem obviously! I want to do my best to assist you, in any way I can!" Chansey explained. "You have done so much for me… it's crazy!"

"Hmm?" Magearna tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I'm glad to hear. I didn't expect my work to touch the hearts of others… I mean, I only wanted to help… I didn't think it'd make that much of an impact honestly."

Chansey shook her head, finger swaying in front of the Mythical Pokemon's face. "It made a huge difference to me… I don't know what I would've done if I didn't get to meet you… errr… I mean… discovered you on the internet."

Magearna clasped her hands together with a warm smile. "Awww… you're so sweet, Chansey!" She then looked to the side, muttering, "Hmmm… but… let's get going now!" The nurse nodded awkwardly as she blushed in embarrassment as she followed her idol, with only one thought flooding her head.

"Did I mess up? I probably did…"

"ARE WE THERE YET?!" Skwovet complained loudly as he rubbed the side of his arm with a groan. "We've been walking for ages… maybe I should've stolen one of those crystals and fixed it up, to make it look like a diamond to fool the hosts…"

"Stop complaining!" Vivillon scoffed, rolling her eyes. "And people call ME the complainer…" This spurred some giggles from Cramorant and Dedenne, making Skwovet roll his eyes, annoyed.

"I have really stubby legs and I'm still in front of the pack!" Skwovet pointed out. "And we haven't stopped walking for what?! Ten minutes?! So, I'm already tired! It's justified!" He whimpered as Vivillon smacked him on the back of his head, "HEY?! What was that for?!"

"I'm also tired and your complaining is EXHAUSTING me," Vivillon stated impatiently. "We don't know how much time we have left before anyone finds the diamond chamber, so we have to keep walking or we'll lose!"

Skwovet chuckled playfully, leaning on the butterfly cheekily, "Maybe if you give me a little ince-" He groaned again as the butterfly slapped him on the face, "OKAY! How the fuck is your slaps painful when your wings are paper thin?!"

"Guys… stop arguing…" Dedenne chimed in, deadpanning. "Vivillon is right… even if she didn't need to hurt you to get her point across. Everyone's tired of walking… heck, I'm already starving…"

"ARCEUS! You have reminded me of my empty stomach… did anyone bring any food?!" Vivillon questioned nobody in particular, expression dropping. "HEAVENS, at this point… I'm willing to PAY for it even." A thoughtful smirk popped up on the kleptomaniac's face at this… which was quickly ruined by the butterfly rolling her eyes in contempt, "No… not you obviously. I know you were stealing from me."

The squirrel's eyes flinched at this accusation. "Excuse me!? I didn't! Everyone else can vouch!"

"Please… it was so obvious," Vivillon said flippantly before turning to her other teammates, who all exchanged a glance in silence. "See… nobody is saying anything so I must be right!"

Skwovet's eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms. "Are you serious!? Dedenne… I told you that I was going to h-hold myself back… and try to control myself… b-but you're not going to defend me?!"

Dedenne's eyes darted to the side awkwardly. "I mean… it's not like I have any way to confirm that you haven't been stealing anything while I wasn't looking…" He muttered. "For all we know… you could be robbing the other team blind."

"What?" Skwovet started trembling as he balled his paws into fists. "I… I didn't even do anything this time! I… w-wasn't even planning on doing ANYTHING! I literally just said I'm tired… you didn't have to agree with Vivillon saying that I was doing anything shady… because I wasn't!"

"Hmm… it's not like you're acting any differently from how you usually act." Vivillon pointed out, staring down at him judgementally. "So… you're not really good at conveying that."

"Huh?" Skwovet gawked. "So… you want me… to act differently? Is that really going to change how you think about me?"

"It would help!" Cramorant chimed in, eyes darting from side to side.

"Huh…" Skwovet's voice trailed off as his pupils shrank. "..."

"Are we done arguing? Don't we have a challenge to get to?" Klinklang pointed out. "Unless… you all forgot about that…"

"Hmph… I'm hungry though…" Vivillon scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I am already lacking the energy to even keep my wings flapping… but I'm still flying high. But… I believe that I would just collapse if I don't eat at this instance."

"Did you not eat breakfast?" Klinklang asked flatly.

"Why would I? Indeedee's cooking is terrible! I would rather starve than-"

"Well… look at that. You brought this to yourself." Klinklang remarked, shaking his head in exasperation. "I don't like his cooking either… but… I know that starving myself would not be a logical thing to do."

"I mean, yeah!" Dedenne chimed in, crossing his arms as his eyes shifted to the side. "I ate… a bit of his gross mush this morning, since I'd rather not drag us down in these challenges…"

Cramorant looked bashful as she stared at her phone, typing in something, "Errr… uhhhmm, I didn't eat breakfast either… and I'm kinda hungry too, el oh el…"

"... And whose fault do you think is that?" Klinklang replied flatly.

Vivillon deadpanned, face-palming, "... so if we don't complete this challenge soon… we're just going to starve to death here?"

"Can't we be more optimistic?!" Dedenne asked with a frown.

"I'm hungry. I don't even think I can continue on with this challenge anymore," Vivillon said haughtily.

"Then, you should've eaten breakfast." Klinklang chided.

"I already told you… I'm not even going to try Indeedee's terrible cooking."

Dedenne clicked his tongue, rolling his eyes. "Gee, it must be nice to live the high life with private chefs, huh? Everything else just isn't up to your standards." He crossed his arms. "Just suck it up. You should've seen this coming."

"Oh, I could do without your irritating comments," Vivillon retorted, her wings fluttering in annoyance. "Yes, we know that you're a know-it-all. Stop pretending you know everything."

Dedenne's jaw dropped, his eyes narrowing as he put his paws on his hips. "Excuse me, what?" He spat, voice incredulous. "Vivillon, I like you, but right now you're being overdramatic right now."

"L-O-L! Drag her!" Cramorant giggled.

"I am not being overdramatic!" Vivillon snapped, her glare sweeping over the group.

"Hey, I have berries!" Skwovet announced as he waddled back to the group, holding a small bundle of purplish-green berries in his paws. "I went ahead while you guys were, uh... talking. I needed to clear my head after—" He hesitated, shaking his head as he frowned for a split second. "So, uh, here!"

"You went ahead?" Klinklang interjected, raising a brow. "What if you got lost in the caves?!"

"Well, I'm still here! So chill out!" Skwovet said with a sheepish smile, looking away as he held out the berries.

"I said... not Skwovet," Vivillon grumbled, her tone sharp. She paused, however, as her stomach let out a loud, unmistakable growl, earning surprised looks from her teammates. Flustered, she crossed her arms. "This is all Indeedee's fault for not feeding us anything edible..."

With a heavy sigh, Vivillon face-palmed, clearly swallowing her pride. "Fine... give me some."

Skwovet's face lit up with a grin so wide it seemed to stretch from ear to ear. He eagerly handed over a handful of berries, which Vivillon took with an air of reluctance. Without wasting a moment, she popped them into her mouth. After a brief pause, she raised a brow in confusion.. "...Well, this is quite... bland," She admitted, wings fluttering slightly in resignation. "But I suppose it will have to do."

"You're seriously just eating random berries that Skwovet found lying around in a cave?" Dedenne remarked, looking away. His ears twitched with unease. "Don't you think that's a bit risky? What if those berries are, I don't know... poisonous or something?"

Klinklang floated closer to Skwovet, tilting his gears as he scanned the remaining berries. His expression grew more intrigued—and cautious. "...These don't resemble any documented berries I've come across... not even remotely."

"Yeah, same here," Dedenne added, pushing up his glasses as they slid down his nose. He leaned in for a closer look. "Purple berries with green leaves, sure, I've read about those. But berries with weird green splotches all over them? That's a new one for me."

"Hey now! I just found this off the ground! Maybe it's undiscovered berries!" Skwovet suggested, not really absorbing any of this new information. "That'd sound incredible, huh?"

"L-O-L," Cramorant giggled as she plucked a berry and held it up to her beak. "Sooo... you literally have no clue what these are?" She gave the berry a cautious sniff, her eyes squinting. "Smells kinda funny. Like, I dunno, funky science experiment vibes or whatever. You think it's related to... I don't know... something bad?"

"You fools couldn't have said that BEFORE I ate it?" Vivillon snapped, gritting her teeth in frustration. "What if it really is poisoned?!"

"Hey! Poisoned would imply that I had something to do with it…" Skwovet murmured, twiddling his fingers awkwardly. "And well… I didn't do anything. I just picked them off the ground."

Cramorant tilted her head to the side as she tossed the berry in her wing to the ground. She stepped on it with a loud squish, the berry splitting open to reveal an unexpected pink liquid. "Huh… purple and green on the outside, but pink on the inside. That's... weird, right? Like, is this even natural?"

Vivillon's expression fell even further as she raised her voice in worry, "Well… that sounds great… I probably ate a deadly berry then… this is great!" She let out broken laughter, accentuated by her left eye twitching. "Ugh… let's just… continue this challenge then ask Nihilego about it after we're done…"

"Yes. That sounds logical." Klinklang nodded in agreement. "Let's proceed."

Cramorant's eyes were glistening as she held up the berry up to the camera. "This berry is like… totes interesting! I took one for myself cuz well… duuuuuh, I need to get a better look, you know!? I'm not gonna eat it like Viv did though! You never know what to expect!"

She tapped her chin thoughtfully as she pouted. "This island has a lot of interesting secrets, huh?" She then groaned, leaning forward. "I wish my phone wasn't broken so that I could snap a few pics, you know? For future reference!"

Vivillon was hunched over the seat, face green, "Okay… I hate this challenge… a LOT…"

Gossifleur was nearly out of breath as she finally caught up to the speeding Gourgeist. "G-Gourgeist... why did you suddenly speed up? Did you find something?" She panted, her petals drooping down.

The pumpkin Pokémon turned and nodded enthusiastically, prompting Gossifleur to follow her gaze. But as her eyes landed on the supposed discovery, her face fell flat. It was a solid wall.

"Uhhh... Gourgeist? This is a dead end," Gossifleur pointed out, tilting her head in confusion.

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Gourgeist replied, twiddling her tendrils with a mischievous smile. "This is clearly the exit."

Gossifleur blinked, pressing a hand against the wall. "It's... a wall," She said cautiously, "I think maybe you're just seeing things and—"

Before she could finish, Gourgeist rammed the wall with her head, the force shattering it into rubble. Light poured in as the outside world came into view, revealing Nihilego and Poipole staring back in stunned silence at this sight.

"O-oh... okay!" Gossifleur stammered, her eyes wide. "I guess this works?"

"We made it!" Gourgeist cheered in her usual monotone, flicking a stray piece of debris off her tendril. "Did we win?"

Nihilego blinked, dropping her magazine… before folding her arms with a frown, "Did you find a diamond, like the challenge rules stated? How did… how did you even?!" She quickly turned to Poipole flabbergasted, "The tunnels literally disappeared a few hours ago and these two managed to break out, for no explicable reason…"

"It is Gourgeist!" Poipole pointed out, clapping his hands together. "I'm pretty impressed!"

"You know what… you have a point. But anyways, you're not the winners since you need the diamond AND everyone from your team outsid ehte cave," Nihilego explained.

"Oh… I guess I'll die then…" Gourgeist said with a sad expression… before being interrupted by Gossifleur, who was waving her hands frantically.

"G-Gourgeist, haven't you forgotten why we're here in the first place?!"

"To win a lot of money and a lifetime supply of food?"

"N-not the game! We went the opposite direction from the others to save Magcargo!" Gossifleur explained before turning to the two hosts, blushing in embarrassment, "Errr… w-we need your help. You see… Magcargo actually fell into a pit and-"

"He died," Gourgeist added flatly, surprising Nihilego who nearly choked on her pina coolada.

"WHAT?!" Nihilego gawked, putting a tentacle to her mouth.

"N-no… he's fine… but he fell into a pit… and we don't know how to save him," Gossifleur corrected. "This cave… is really confusing…"

"..." Nihilego turned to Poipole, concerned. "Poipole… what do we do? What is even going on with this cave!?"

"I think it's some sort of dungeon with a constantly changing layout!" Poipole explained… while the jellyfish just gaped in shock at this sudden revelation. He's only telling her this NOW?! "So… that's why the tunnels disappeared. They just switched places elsewhere! I think the tunnels are now higher up in the mountain and-"

"W-what!? So, it's a mystery dungeon!?" Nihilego exclaimed, tentacles trembling. "T-that'd mean that everyone would have a harder time finding their way out…"

"Err… could someone please elaborate?" Whimsicott piped up, her tone light but curious. She was seated casually nearby, one hand cradling her camcorder as she reviewed footage she'd captured over the past few days. Her fluffy head tilted slightly. "Is something wrong?"

Nihilego gulped, trying her best to calm herself down… but she continued to shake. "... N-nothing is wrong, Whimsicott! There were just… unforeseen circumstances! Where did Marill go? She should know what to do…"

"Oh, she left to show the new interns around." Whimsicott answered. "Gallade's here so you can ask him-"

"Gallade doesn't know anything about this!" Nihilego yelled, throwing her tentacles up in exasperation.

Gallade opened his mouth to interject… before closing it immediately, "..."

With a resigned sigh, Nihilego turned her attention back to Gossifleur and Gourgeist. "Okay, you two should just stay here. It's safer. If you head back in, you'll just risk getting even more lost." She paused briefly, her voice softening. "We'll figure things out. Just wait here until we sort this mess."

"Oo… kay?" Gossifleur commented, a bit taken aback. Gourgeist, however, merely shrugged indifferently, as she and Gossifleur moved to sit near the hosts, settling in to wait out the rest of the challenge.

"So, you're a psychotic serial killer for a living?" Magcargo asked his new companion, the initially murderous Sunflora, who had grown exhausted just from being with the talkative Magcargo. "So… do you sell your victims' organs for a living… or do you steal from their dead corpses?"

Sunflora deadpanned, putting his hands to his hips in exasperation, "What the fuck are you even talking about?"

"I mean… your 'friendship bracelet' was clearly a ruse to fool me into being killed by you!" Magcargo pointed out, giggling cluelessly. "So, I was thinking that it was your usual strategy to kill people and well… seeing as there's not any dead bodies in this cave, I figured you were doing something with them!"

"..." Sunflora blinked… completely confused by what the snail was even saying… though he wasn't allowed to refute, as the Fire-type continued to drone on, "You see… I was kind of surprised, that of all the Pokemon… it turned out to be Sunflora, who'll be the deadliest Pokemon in here. I expected an Ursaring or a Bewear or a Klefki honestly but I guess twists like this make life more fun, don't you think?"

"I feel somewhat offended…" Sunflora remarked dryly.

"You're right! I shouldn't be surprised! Every Pokemon was made uniquely! Any Pokemon can be a psychotic murderer!" Magcargo exclaimed with a wide grin. "A Vanilite, a Swirlix… even as GOOMY can be a killer. Thank you for opening my eyes, Sunflora!"

"..." Sunflora was internally screaming at how spatially unaware his companion was.

"Sunflora? Are you okay? You're shaking…" Magcargo queried, starting to get concerned as the flower started to shake in fear. His eyes widened as foam started to seethe out of Sunflora's mouth, "O-okay… I think you're running out of sunlight already!"

Sunflora groaned, wiping off the drool with an agitated look, "... you're weird…"

"Thank you!" Magcargo said, humming to himself.

Sunflora looked to the side awkwardly. "... you do get that I'm here to destroy you, right?" He hesitated, as he traced a finger ominously across his neck. . "Like… I want to kill you. Why are you acting like this?"

Magcargo looked confused by this. "Huh… and?" He asked, blinking innocently. "I think if you wanted me dead, you would've attacked me while my back was turned… but you're just following me and doing nothing, so I don't think you're that dangerous!"

"Huh..?" Sunflora muttered, getting even more confused. "I mean… why would I kill someone who's acting this… this…" His eyes narrowed as he bared his sharp teeth. "... CLUELESS! It doesn't seem fair!"

"I'm not clueless!" Magcargo retorted, rolling his eyes with a huff. "I've just dealt with people who've done far worse things than you could imagine!" He softened his tone, offering a warm smile. "Honestly, I appreciate that you're so upfront about your intentions. It's like a breath of fresh air compared to all the sneaky types out there."

Sunflora folded his arms, his expression flattening into a deadpan stare. "I… don't get you…" He muttered under his breath. "...She never mentioned how confusing Pokémon outside this island could be…"

"Hmm, did you say anything?" Magcargo queried.

"It's nothing…" Sunflora deflected with an unreadable expression. "So, what exactly do you do? You keep asking me about what I do but you haven't shared much about yourself… I'm shocked you saw through everything. That really hurt my feelings, y'know?"

Magcargo blinked, raising a brow. "Huh? You want me to talk about myself?!" A wide grin crept up his face as he chuckled. "Aww, I always knew you were a softie! I didn't want to talk too much about myself… cuz I'd end up talking too much! But a little thing about me… I work at Pokestar Studios and I am the personal assistant and secretary and PR Manager of uhm…" His voice trailed off as his eyes darted to the side. "... hmm… I don't think she'd want me to share too much."

"I'm shocked you can shut up, when you put your mind to it, pal!" Sunflora drawled, rolling his eyes.

"It's not that complicated—there are just some things you shouldn't share with just anyone," Magcargo explained with a casual shrug. He then tilted his head to the side. "By the way, Sunflora, do you… live in this cave?"

"Huh?"

"I mean… you just came up behind me from out of nowhere!" Magcargo pointed out. "And I doubt you came from outside, since the hosts are all waiting there!"

Sunflora's eyes widened as a tinge of anxiety crossed his expression. "There are… people here..?"

"Yep!" Magcargo confirmed. "There's a reality TV show happening right now!"

Sunflora stood still, his expression shifting into something unreadable.. "Golly gee… that's interesting to hear," He muttered, his voice low.

"Hmm? Are you okay, Sunflora?" Magcargo asked, face shifting to that of concern. "Did I say something-"

"Oh! I'm fine, pal!" Sunflora lied, smiling.

"..." Magcargo didn't say anything, as he looked down at the ground with a concerned look.

"Teddiursa, I… I think I can see the exit," Sableye's voice trembled, his breath shaky after walking down the same endless hallway for nearly an hour, all while carrying the little bear. By now, Teddiursa had recovered from being dragged, though she chose to stay silent. "I… I see a light!"

Teddiursa raised an eyebrow, squinting into the distance. "Hmmm? I don't see anything," She whispered, leaning back in confusion. "Are you seeing something, bestie?"

"Y-yeah… I see… a…" Sableye's words faltered as he suddenly collapsed to the ground, dropping Teddiursa with a thud.

"Oof! Sableye, a little warning next time, please!" Teddiursa huffed, pushing herself up from the floor.

"Ngggh…" Sableye could do nothing but groan as he struggled to lift himself off the ground. "... it… hurts… my legs can't move…"

Teddiursa glanced to the side, her expression tinged with guilt. "... I s-shouldn't have made you carry me…"

"No… I hurt you… so I-I needed to do it, hehehe…" Sableye stammered. "Let's… just take a break here, okay? I need… to catch… my breath…"

"Yeppers! Let's take a break… but I don't need you to carry me anymore!" Teddiursa said, clasping her paws together. "I'm feeling better already…" She paused, putting a paw to her mouth. "Hmm… maybe, I can carry YOU, UWU!"

"H-huh?" Sableye gaped in shock. "Y-you don't need to do that, hehehe… I can walk on my own feet!"

"UWU! You're clearly exhausted!" Teddiursa pouted, trotting over and effortlessly lifting the gremlin onto her back. "Upsy daisy!"

"H-huh?! You don't-"

"I'm stronger than you think!" Teddiursa giggled, giving him a playful wink.

"Ah…" Sableye murmured, face flushed pink. "T-thank you, I guess… hehehe…"

"UWU! Don't sweat it!" Teddiursa chimed cheerfully, before her expression quickly shifted to one of surprise as she squinted into the distance. "Hmm… I think I can actually see a light now! That's gotta be the exit!"

"Y-yay!" Sableye cheered, his voice filled with excitement as Teddiursa sprinted toward the light without hesitation.

"Ninety-nine ice cream scoops in a large sundae cup, ninety-" Vanilluxe sang to himself as he followed Oricorio through the hallway… only to be stopped by the said cheerleader's small frame, grunting as he bumped into her, "Ori? Anything wrong?"

Oricorio stood frozen, gaping in shock at the scene before her. Vanilluxe, intrigued, floated closer. "Oricorio? What—" His words trailed off as he floated past her.

It was a wide open chamber… which would usually be not notable, but this one was littered with a blue crystalline gemstone: Diamonds, which were what they were trying to find in the first place. Moving, as if their bodies were in sync, the duo headed into the chamber, scrambling to pick up the lightest diamond they could find.

"Y to the A to the Y! We did it!" Oricorio cheered, examining every diamond in the room slowly but steadily, "I can't believe our luck… we actually found it!"

"I know right! The diamond stars in the sky are shining bright on our team again!" Vanilluxe affirmed with a wide grin. "Let-" Before Vanilluxe could finish his sentence, he was suddenly hit by a strong blast of water. Oricorio's eyes widened at this.

"Vanilluxe!" Oricorio's eyes widened in shock. She whipped her head around frantically. "W-what?! Is there another killer P-pokemon in here?!" Her voice trembled as she scanned the chamber as Vanilluxe laid on the ground, writhing in pain. "Is anyone there?!"

Her eyes narrowed as it noticed a familiar Pokemon, pilfering diamonds near the corner of the room. It was Empoleon, who had a cocky look on his face. Oricorio clenched a fist, calling out to him, "W-wait a minute! You're from the other team! What's your problem?! Why did you just decide to hurt my teammate?!"

"This is a competition! Everything goes," Empoleon scoffed, firing a Gyro Ball at the cheerleader's direction, while holding a small diamond on the other. "So, your team has to lose and what better way to make it easier for me than to knock you out. Nothing personal."

"That's just rude!" Oricorio huffed, starting to dance around and wave her pom poms. "I'll kick your BUTT!"

"Why the fuck are you dan-" Empoleon started only to scream out in pain as static started to envelop his body. "What the fuck?!" He yelled out as he fell to his knees.

"Leave my team alone! I heard what you did to Vanilluxe, Cramorant and my other teammates in the first challenge!" Oricorio recalled, continuing to dance and fire sparks towards the struggling penguin. "YAAAAAAAAA!"

"Crazy bitch!" Empoleon growled, firing a Hydro Pump at the bird, hitting her wing. The flying type hissed in pain as she cradled her hurt wing with the other. "Just give up, and I'll make this less painful for you."

"Y-you're the crazy one!" Oricorio stammered, firing a Thunderbolt while dodging attacks, but missing due to being distracted by the pain caused by the penguin's attacks. "Let's talk this through. We can both get a diamond here. They're many to spare-"

"I HATE LOSING!" Empoleon yelled, interrupting the bird's pleas.

Oricorio screamed as she barely dodged a Hydro Pump that made a clear dent on the wall of the cave chamber and destroyed some nearby diamonds. Her eyes quickly gazed over to the fallen Vanilluxe… they had to get away from ANOTHER danger. At this rate, they were going to get even more hurt, just because of Empoleon… and Oricorio didn't want to risk that.

She dodged another blast of water, scurrying over to help Vanilluxe up. "V-Vanilluxe, get up! We need to go, or Empoleon-"

"Oricorio… everything hurts…" Vanilluxe groaned, teary-eyed… though he deadpanned, "Not to the point of being medically evacuated obviously… I don't want to worry you!"

"It's alright. We just need to get away from-" Oricorio's eyes bulged as another Hydro Pump shattered a diamond close to them. "Empoleon's not even trying to hold back?!"

The bird's anger began to boil over at that moment, quickly overwhelming her worry and concern for the hurt ice cream. She knew that this was a game… but this was going too far. Though, a look of realization came to her face as she smirked.

She had a plan.

The group of five members of the TwinklingTrubbish trudged along the seemingly endless hallway, still searching for the elusive exit. At the back of the pack, Vivillon lagged behind, her complexion pale and sickly. She leaned heavily against the wall for support, her movements unsteady.

Focused on their own progress, none of her teammates noticed her discomfort—until a soft thud echoed through the corridor. Vivillon had stumbled and bumped her head against the wall.

"What was that?!" The little mouse questioned, whipping his head around frantically before he locked his gaze on the butterfly, arching a brow, "Vi… villon? You look greener than usual… are you okay?"

"W-what do you think?!" Vivillon blurted out squeamishly. "I don't know why this is suddenly happening… but everything hurts!"

"You were fine a few minutes ago though…" Cramorant pointed out, waving her phone around in confusion.

"I'm not fine NOW!" Vivillon growled before turning away to gag. "It almost feels like something is burning my insides…"

"Maybe, you ate something bad," Cramorant suggested. "Like errr… Indeedee's bad mush surprise. Yeah, that would def make your insides pop a lot!"

"I haven't eaten Indeedee's food today…" Vivillon reminded her before she turned to glare at Skwovet, who flinched at the sight, "It was clearly Skwovet's berries. He is POISONING me!"

"What are you even talking about?!" Skwovet said in disbelief. "I j-just picked those off the ground! D-does it look like I'd carry poison around?!"

"You gave me POISONOUS berries earlier… ON PURPOSE!" Vivillon snapped in frustration before groaning into her wing, "... feeling so… squeamish…"

"They… weren't… poisonous?" Skwovet attempted to defend himself but ended up sounding too unsure. "I… I'm not even sure…"

Cramorant crossed her wings, raising a brow. "Errrr… like… you just grabbed berries that nobody knows about… plucked them from like… the cave floor, without consulting any of us if they were good to eat, y'know…" She reminded him. "So like… it might be likely that you feed her poison, L-O-L! What a troll you are!"

Skwovet paled as he threw his hands on his head. "I…" He stammered, "I… I d-didn't know! Does it look like I finished school?!"

"You clearly didn't… it's common sense to not just eat random berries off the floor." Dedenne said flatly. "Though… I guess that puts Vivillon's intelligence into question since she ate it with barely any hesitation."

"I already told you… I was… starving…" Vivillon defended with a wide grimace. "Don't… ugh… I could barely argue right now…"

"Aaaaand maybe that's a good thing!" Cramorant said cheekily.

"Oh… fuck you…" Vivillon grumbled.

"Well, we clearly can't move on, with Vivillon like this." Klinklang piped up. "She would get left behind and potentially get lost. That's too much of a risk that we can't really plan around."

"You have a point there…" Dedenne sighed, shaking his head. "Let's just… sit back then… and do nothing."

"Awks really?!" Cramorant gawked, waving her wings around in an exaggerated and animated fashion. "That sounds boring!? Maybe, we can play a game while waiting for Viv to get better?"

"Does it look like… hrk… I'm in the mood for games… when Skwovet hasn't apologized for… hrk… poisoning me?!" Vivillon exclaimed.

Skwovet's brows furrowed as he stared down at the cave floor. "I… didn't even… do it… I didn't know!" He defended. "I had no idea what berries were poisonous in the first place…"

"HMPH! Maybe, you shouldn't have been held back so much!" Vivillon chided.

"..." Skwovet remained silent as he looked to the side.

"Actually… Skwovet, why would you skip school?" Dedenne queried, raising a brow. "You do get that education is very important. I'm sure Klinklang can agree with me there."

"... it's been years. Does it look like I care?" Klinklang said nonchalantly.

"I mean… I thought you would." Dedenne admitted, stroking his cheek awkwardly. "I guess not…" He then turned back to the squirrel who was still clammed out as he was now looking at the cave floor. "Maybe, you should just uh… take responsibility for the berries so that Vivillon here doesn't keep complaining."

"I'm completely justified so I do not know why you are saying that so passive aggressively." Vivillon scoffed.

Skwovet groaned as he glared at the butterfly. "I'd apologize but you're going to just keep looking down at me, because you always think I'm up to something!" He yelled out, balling his paws into fists. "And… I'm just so tired of people just thinking that they know what I'm planning to do! And it's not just her! Klinklang, you literally accused me with barely any proof!"

"In my defense… you were caught stealing from Vanilluxe the previous day…" Klinklang reasoned matter-of-factly. " So… I was accusing you, using that as a basis. I already apologized for jumping the gun anyways, did I not?"

"Your apology was shitty!" Skwovet exclaimed, throwing his paws up in frustration. "And no, Dedenne, it wasn't that great either! He made me feel like shit, thinking I actually did something wrong but I don't see that included in his apology at all! YES… you were so annoying but it felt like you were downplaying your terrible attitude and sugarcoating things for the sake of closure and I hated it!"

"OMG… you're so right! He IS annoying!" Cramorant affirmed, bobbing her head up and down vigorously. "Like… coooome on, Klingy! You're so annoying and ugggh… like, you ate like you know everything! And don't even think I don't know you've been calling me a bimbo in your private confessionals… like, that's just rude af!"

"I don't appreciate you both trying to gang up on me right now." Klinklang said flatly. "Also… don't call me Klingy."

"I concur! Are we just going to move on from the fact that I was poisoned?!" Vivillon gawked, the green from her face dissipitating and replaced by a pale sickly complexion. "I get that Klingklang is annoying but Skwovet is just as annoying!"

"OMFG, you're so obsessed with Skwovy and it shows!" Cramorant exclaimed, rolling her eyes.

Vivillon's wings fluttered sharply as she gasped, her eyes narrowing with indignation. "EXCUSE ME?! What exactly is that supposed to mean?" She snapped, her voice rising in disbelief.

Cramorant shrugged, tilting her head dismissively. "You're ridic, OMG…"

"You're the one who's ridiculous here…" Klinklang interjected, shaking his head in exasperation.

"UHMMMM-" Cramorant began, puffing up in protest, only for Dedenne to swiftly cover her beak with a firm paw, his expression deadpan.

Dedenne sighed heavily, rubbing his temple with his free paw. "Please… why are we suddenly fighting?" He snapped, his voice cutting through the mounting tension. He casted a disappointed glance at the group."Can we please calm down? We all messed up… I get it. Can we not be stupid and just fight over nothing?!"

The group all fell silent at the Pikaclone's words. He was right. While they all had their specific set of grievances… they still had a challenge to complete and any moment they spent arguing, gave the other team an opportunity to beat them.

"... Dedenne's right…" Skwovet was the first to speak, eyes shifting from side to side as he took a deep breath. He was still very annoyed with everyone… but he didn't want to prove them right by dragging them down, with these arguments. "We need to stop fighting and continue with this challenge or we'd just lose. And well… that'd suck."

Vivillon nodded in agreement as her wings' flapping slowed down as she calmed down. "I hate to disagree with a filthy thief… but… yes… if we lost, then I would've been poisoned for nothing. It would be dreadful." The squirrel raised a brow at the 'filthy thief' comment but looked away in a huff.

"Awww… but it was just getting good!" Cramorant exclaimed, looking down in disappointment. "It was like… an all-out flame war!~"

Klinklang rolled his eyes as he floated to the front of the group. "You should know the things that happen on the internet… do not match the actual intensity of fights that happen in the real world." He pointed out in a dry tone. "But yes… let's continue with the challenge."

"UHM… did you just imply I'm an idiot who can't understand the diff between RL and online sitches?" Cramorant questioned, putting her wings on her waist as she glowered at the gear. "I'm not that dumb, you know?"

"... let's just continue with the challenge." Klinklang repeated, ignoring the cormorant's words.

"Did everyone forget that I'm still sick right now?" Vivillon chimed in, her voice low as she could barely keep her eyes open.

The rest of the group exchanged a look of realization. They actually forgot about that amidst the fighting…

Dedenne stared at the camera with an exasperated expression. "Well… this team is definitely more dysfunctional than I thought. It's like we're all being kept together by a little bit of duct tape and Oricorio… since Arceus… we're already a mess without her." He commented, burying his face in his paws. "Gourgeist wasn't even with us so we can't even blame her for making us all go crazy… there's just so many variables at play, so I think even Klinklang can't handle this."

He sighed, slamming his head on the side of the confessional with a gentle thud. "I'm barely keeping myself together too… and to think, we're the team on a winning streak too… how much crazier is the other team for them to be this terrible at challenges?"

Chansey followed after Magearna, her head a jumbled mess of thoughts. She had been spending the last few minutes thinking of MORE things to say to the Mythical Pokemon. While she liked to think that they had gotten closer in this competition, it felt like there was still a huge wedge between them and it didn't help that it felt like Magearna was ignoring her right now.

"Was it because of something I said earlier..?" Chansey thought to herself. "I shouldn't have acted so… casually, to someone of Magearna's-" Her thoughts were then interrupted as she bumped into the Steel-type's wiry frame. "-status..?" She blinked in surprise before focusing her gaze forward.

Magearna was completely frozen, her eyes fearful as her body was starting to tremble in fear.

"Magearna, did you see… some-" Chansey's voice trailed off as her eyes fell on something in front of them, her eyes widening in horror. The 'thing' in their path was… something she had never seen before. She wished it was just a feral Pokemon, living in the caves… but it wasn't. Instead, a grotesque gray-colored mass of tendrils and oozing sludge sprawled across the path. Its unnatural, shifting form pulsed faintly, as though alive.

She instinctively took a step back, putting her hands in front of her face, as if it'd be enough to shield herself. "W-what is that!?" She stammered out, her voice trembling. "Magearna… d-do you know what that is?"

"I… I…" Magearna found herself at a loss of words as she couldn't move from her spot, out of complete fear. "I… don't know either. She didn't tell me about this at all… t-this is nothing I've ever seen before."

"Is it a new Pokemon?" Chansey whispered, falling to her knees. Thankfully, the abomination was just fixed in place, choosing not to draw closer. "I… it feels alive… somehow."

Magearna turned to her, eyes still wide. "It's a massive blob of flesh…" She pointed out, her voice at a higher pitch. "D-do you think it's alive!? I don't think it even understands any of us!"

"... help… help… help… help…"

Chansey's eyes widened as she crawled over to the Steel-type. "I t-think it just said something…" She whispered. "It said… help-"

"Nah nah nah! I can't hear you!" Magearna said, laughing nervously. "This thing can't talk in the first place! It doesn't even have a mouth! It's… a monster…"

"A monster…" Chansey repeated, falling back. "... I see. It's… strange… b-but… I wonder why it's calling out for help…"

"Chansey, you can't just believe everything you hear!" Magearna chided, her tone almost condescending. "That… thing just wants to fool you to think that it doesn't mean any harm but… it's…" Her voice faltered as her arm began trembling, her mechanical fingers twitching involuntarily. The mass of sludge was beginning its advance toward them, slow but relentless. "Ah… AH-"

"M-Magearna, look out!" Chansey cried, her voice cracking as she watched the abomination lurch toward her idol, its grotesque tendrils reaching out. It seemed like Magearna was seconds away from being consumed.

But before the creature could close in, it was abruptly engulfed in a soft pink aura. A powerful force shoved the blob backward, sending it hurtling down the hallway until it vanished from ground ahead rumbled, shifting unnaturally as a wall erupted between them and the creature, sealing off the threat, with a new hallway available on each side of the newly formed wall.

"Okay… it's okay now…" Magearna was breathing heavily as she put a hand to her chest. "C-Chansey… are you okay?"

Chansey just nodded as she hugged herself. "I'm… fine. What was that supposed to be?" She sputtered out, "N-Nihilego didn't tell us anything about this… is this… normal?"

"Hmmm… I did hear from a conversation between Arceus and Giratina that this island was supposedly housing an Ultra Wormhole of some sort…" Magearna admitted, looking to the side awkwardly as she held onto the nurse for support. "I guess… that might explain why that thing was down here with us."

"Ultra… Wormhole?" Chansey asked, twiddling her fingers awkwardly. "Err… is that why Nihilego and Poipole are hosting their competition here?"

"I'm not sure… but well… I don't exactly have any way to fully fact-check my sources…" Magearna pointed out. "So… think of that, as you will."

"... Okay…" Chansey murmured, still rattled. "Uhm… did you use your attacks on the abomination?"

The Mythical Pokemon nodded, breathing steadying itself. "Yes. I didn't want to use violence… but… our lives were at risk… so I absolutely had to. I'm glad that you're not hurt from that, Chansey!"

"Thank you, Magearna… I owe you my life…"

"I feel terrible for doubting Lady Magearna in the first place… when she just saved my life…" Chansey admitted with a guilt-ridden expression. "Perhaps Floatzel, Musharna and Teddiursa were wrong all along…"

Floatzel was whistling to the tune of S.S. Anne as he exited the cave, generally unscathed. While he was worried about Bayleef earlier… he held on to some hope that he would find his way out.

He tried to retrace his steps to try and reunite with the dinosaur, with little to no available. He only found himself walking in circles until he ended up lucking out on a random exit appearing right in front of him.

He immediately rushed over to Nihilego, crossing his arms with a huff. "What happened to my team?" He asked. "I don't know what's going on with this whole mountain… but the layout was confusing and I don't know how… but Bayleef and I were forced apart from each other even though we never even got that far from each other."

Nihilego started sweating as she waved her tentacles in front of her to serve as a barrier between herself and the detective. "H=hey now… does it look like I am completely aware of what's happening here!? I'm… not even fully sure what's happening in there since Whimsicott's microcameras have a limited reach."

"Microcameras?" Floatzel repeated, raising a brow.

"Oh! They're a pet project of mine that helps me film in inconvenient places!" Whimsicott chimed in, holding up her camcorder. She then pointed to the opening Floatzel came out from. "Like… this whole cave! I can't film myself, since I'd just get lost too… so I had discreetly attached a microcameras on everyone while you weren't looking!"

"Microcameras are really small cameras!" Poipole clarified. He then turned to the cottonweed expectantly. "And Whimsicott wouldn't let me have any! Whimsicott, can I have some? Do you know that my birthday is uhm… a few months away… yeah!"

"Nope!" Whimsicott expressed, shaking her head. "After what happened to my cameras… I can't just give them away, you know!? They're a valuable resource!"

"Awww…" Poipole whimpered in disappointment.

"Wait… can't we use your microcameras to check where everyone else is?" Floatzel asked, arms crossed. "I don't want anyone to get hurt from this challenge…"

Whimsicott blinked, confused. "Huh? They're just cameras… not trackers…" She murmured before her eyes lit up with interest. "OOOOH! Wait a sec… I can view footage directly from the microcameras on my camcorder!" She giggled, winking playfully. "Which by the way… don't ask about that! I have my ways!"

Without waiting for a response, she clicked a button on her camcorder and began sifting through the latest footage from her miniature cameras. Her brows furrowed with each clip she reviewed, her expression growing more confused.

"Huh… huh… HUH?! WHAT THE ACTUAL FU—" Whimsicott cut herself off, her voice rising in shock.

"Is something wrong?" Floatzel queried, trying to get a better look by peering over the cottonweed's shoulder

Whimsicott's face flushed bright red as she snapped her camcorder shut and clutched it to her chest. "I-it's nothing!" She stammered defensively. . "Just… something weird in Magearna's footage, but it's not important! Really!" She waved at the weasel dismissively, avoiding eye contact. "You should, uh, get back to your friends! I'll handle this…" She paused, her voice faltering before adding, "... on my own!"

"..?" Floatzel's eyes narrowed but before he could press further, Nihilego pulled him towards the picnic blanket where Sableye and Teddiursa were just lying down, resting from their exhausting trek in the caves.

"Some of your team made it back earlier… so feel free to mingle… or rest with them!" Nihilego suggested, her expression uneasy. She then floated away hurriedly to rejoin Whimsicott. From the distance, Whimsicott let out a visible sigh of relief only to cover her expression as she noticed Floatzel's gaze drifting in her direction from the picnic blanket.

"I think they're hiding something…" Floatzel muttered, tipping his hat. "I don't know why… but… it's definitely interesting…"

"What are you talking about..?" Sableye chimed in, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "Did Whimsicott say something?"

"Oh… I forgot you were here too…" Floatzel drawled, clearly bothered by the gremlin's presence. He wanted to think that it's just because he was still paranoid… but at the same time, his mind immediately drifted off to their last conversation on the docks without any sort of warning, making his face flush pink in embarrassment. "Ugh…"

"Uhm… your face is pink…" Sableye pointed out.

"It's adorable!" Teddiursa chimed in, giggling into her paws. "You should just be embarrassed all the time so that we can see you act like a gap moe! UwU!"

"I wasn't!" Floatzel argued, face-palming. "I was just… thinking, okay?!"

"You really love to do that a lot, huh?" Teddiursa commented.

"I dunno! It sounds like a lot of fun." Sableye murmured, switching positions to lie on his back. "What do you usually uhh… think about, Floatzel? I don't really think that much, h-hehehe…"

Floatzel doesn't reply as he looks away. It was hard to believe that this was the same Sableye that came forward to him, to try and bare his heart… and actually looked genuine while doing so.

"UWU! Look what you just did, Sable! He's thinking again!" Teddiursa teased.

"It's nothing, really." Floatzel said flatly.

"Uh-huh! Well… we're glad you're here, Floatzy! We were getting bored, waiting for y'all to show up! The pumpkin girl and Gossi aren't exactly fun… the pumpkin girl just walked away as soon as I tried to say hello while Gossi literally splashed water at my face, claiming it's a baddie moment like OwO, she really thought that was badass!" Teddiursa recalled, tapping her chin with a pout. "What happened with you, by the way? Why are you alone?"

"We split up." Floatzel started to explain. "I went with Bayleef. Chansey went with Magearna. Empoleon went alone. I somehow… got separated from Bayleef and I tried my best to meet up with him again but the cave wouldn't let that happen and I somehow escaped faster than seeing anyone else again."

"GASP… well, I hope Chansey is alright with Magy!" Teddiursa said.

"I still don't get what's the deal with them…" Sableye admitted.

"You don't have to! We'll cross that bridge when we get there!" Teddiursa huffed.

"OKAY… something is going on and I don't know what it's all about…" Whimsicott admitted as she was searching through the footage on her camcorder, her skin pale. "What the hell was that abomination!? I told Nihilego about it immediately and she didn't know either, so I'm making an assumption that they're native to this island." Her voice faltered as she gulped. "But… that'd mean that we have no idea what else this island is hiding! Nobody knew this mountain existed. Nobody knew about this weird abominations and they showed up on my footage since after Pikachu was voted off… so… w-what are they?"

She took a long deep breath, shaking her head. "I don't want to worry too much. Nihilego had put too much into this show for anything crazy to happen… so for her sake, I hope this isn't a prelude to anything serious!"

"Don't be scared. Don't be scared…"

Tears were streaming down Bayleef's face as he continued to run away from a rolling Golem that didn't show any signs of stopping. He wanted to stop, take a break… HELL, at this point, he would've been fine getting crushed but fear was controlling every movement he made.

"Breathe, breathe… o-only a few more steps and this Golem will get tired, right?!" He gagged as he struggled to breathe. He was starting to get out of breath, from running too quickly.

"What would Empoleon do?" He thought to himself, letting out an awkward cough. "Surely, he would be able to fight off this Golem without running away… r-right?!"

While he wanted to fight back, due to a small spur of courage… he was quickly reminded of his fear as the Golem let out a loud resounding roar, which made him want to crawl up into a ball and die in a corner in the middle of nowhere.

"W-what am I even saying!? I can't do this! I'll die before I can e-even land a single blow!"

His eyes widened as he noticed something damning in front of him…

A dead end. He was absolutely and completely screwed. There was no other way to run. Was this the end of his Total Pokemon journey? Ejected, because he was crushed by a Golem, of all things.

"E-Empoleon… SAVE ME!" His face turned red from embarrassment. After all of that talk with Floatzel… in the end, here he was, expecting Empoleon to come in and save him. He felt pathetic.

"E-Empoleon! If you're anywhere close, I n-need you!" Bayleef screamed loudly… but because of him being distracted with finding help, he forgot that there was a wall in front of him, bumping into it, head recoiling back as he tried to steady himself. "W-w-w-why did I forget there's a wall back h-" He was again interrupted by something tapping on his back.

He gulped knowingly… it can't be. Turning around, Golem faced him with the scariest grin that he could ever imagine…

Of course, he immediately fainted, confusing the Golem who tilted his head to the side.

"I was just asking if he needed help…" Golem sighed, disappointed. "Am I that scary?"

"F-fine… I give up…" Oricorio said pleadingly. "P-please spare us… w-we'll let your team win… j-just stop hurting me and Vanilluxe…" She turned to pat her fallen teammate, who didn't seem to be responsive, "V-Vanilluxe is already unconscious… and I'm on the verge of fainting already…"

The penguin looked confused by this. A few moments ago, the Oricorio seemed more plucky and determined to defeat him… yet now, here she was waving a white flag around, nearly driven. Empoleon didn't want to admit… but he felt mildly guilty. Only mildly guilty though. But Empoleon was obviously not going to let this situation pass without taking advantage of it.

"Are you sure?" He asked again.

"Y-yes… I'm… not exactly that strong…" Oricorio admitted longingly. "I'm just a cheerleader so while I am quite agile, I don't have the firepower to boot…"

"..." While Empoleon remained skeptical, his grip tightened around the diamond he was holding as he slowly walked over to the distraught Oricorio.

"If you try to do anything silly… you know what's going to happen, right?" Empoleon threatened. The bird nodded in agreement. "... you're surprisingly very easy."

"Excuse me?" Oricorio gawked in shock at this.

"I mean, you gave up so fast. I'm almost disappointed," Empoleon scoffed as he lifted the bird off her feet, "I'll be grabbing you n-"

"V-Vanilluxe, NOOOOW!" Oricorio yelled, making the penguin's eyes widen.

"WHA-" was all Empoleon could say as he was then encased in an ice block, thanks to a groggy Vanilluxe firing Ice Beam at him.

"O-okay… t-that plan was straightforward… but it worked!" Vanilluxe remarked, floating closer to the Oricorio. "I don't know Empoleon mistaken a pile of dirt for me though… I almost feel offended…"

"Yep… I feel a bit awful about it though…" Oricorio commented before shaking her head, "BUT, Empoleon was starting to get on my nerves anyway… so it had to be done! Let's grab a few diamonds, just in case… and get going!" The ice cream nodded as he proceeded to collect diamonds in another side of the chamber.

Soon enough, the duo had managed to gather a sizable amount of diamonds… and at that point, the ice encasing Empoleon was starting to melt, with the penguin growling at the duo.

"Y-y-y-you lied to me!" He growled, shivering from the cold.

"H-hey! You tried hurting me AND Vanilluxe here!" Oricorio pointed out. Empoleon's eyes narrowed as he scoffed.

"I didn't even know t-t-t-there was a Vanilluxe in this game!" Empoleon yelled out, making the ice cream groan in annoyance.

"Yeah yeah, I don't care," Vanilluxe said, laughing awkwardly before floating over to one of the exits, "L-let's get going before the ice fully melts off…" The bird nodded, following Vanilluxe into the hallway. In the end, Empoleon was left alone…

And he hated it.

"They fucking double-teamed me… that's not fair!" Empoleon complained, clenching a fist. "I-I… I could've beaten them if I knew Vanilluxe was behind me and-and…" He sighed, putting both hands on his head, "Did I lose my touch? That psycho pumpkin bitch wasn't even involved and I-I… I still lost… ME?! The strongest person on the island. I haven't won a single fucking challenge…"

He looked up, with a pained expression, "I must be so pathetic to be like this…"

"Empoleon is really terrible, trying to attack us, to incapacitate us just so we would lose this challenge…" Oricorio huffed, arms to her hips. "From what it looks like, he's the apparent leader of the other team… and that's the type of behavior he's trying to influence?! Now wonder his team is in a losing streak. He's not setting a good example!"

She sighed, shaking her head, "Okay… I'm not exactly one to judge. I mean, it's not like I asked to be the leader of my tea- Wait… is that even official?! I don't even know… Dedenne and Skwovet probably drilled it into everyone's heads to rely on me… but honestly?"

She blushed, embarrassed by herself, "I think I'm just the motherly one, who dotes on everyone… b-but that's a secret they don't need to know. It might feel too weird…"

"Wow, I can't believe we actually defeated Empoleon!" Vanilluxe said proudly, puffing out of his chest… before repeating, "W-wow… I can't believe we actually defeated Empoleon…" He shuddered, quickly turning to Oricorio, teary-eyed. "W-what did we just do?! Empoleon probably hates us a lot and will try hurting us painfully in future challenges! Maybe we should go back and apologize… or maybe, I should tell him a very funny pun?!"

"V-Vanilluxe, calm down…" Oricorio assured him with a weak smile, trying to stay calm. The high of defeating Empoleon… QUICKLY crashed, as the weight of reality dawned on them. Empoleon was their competition… and they have just enraged him even further. Gulping, she put a wing to her mouth, "Okay… w-we need to calm down! I know some mantras!"

"Now's not the time for mantras!"

"Uhm… you keep telling jokes at the wrong moments… no offense," Oricorio pointed out.

"... let's just keep walking… and hope we find the exit… and that Empoleon's not secretly following us again…" Vanilluxe said with a weak smile.

"Hopefully, it's not too… hard?" Oricorio said before trailing off… noticing that the diamonds were somehow shining a light to the front of them. "Okay… I know that diamonds can reflect light or something… but why do I feel like these diamonds are the ticket to getting to the exit quickly…"

"So, we should follow the light?"

"That sounds weird… but yep! We can do this!" Oricorio said confidently as she and Vanilluxe sprinted faster, guided by the diamond illuminating their path out of the cave.

"UGH?! Are we there yet?!" Vivillon screamed before coughing loudly as she held up the back of the pack. "I can't believe we're still walking through an entire straight hallway. You would think this cave would have more interesting things but noooo, Nihilego wants to make this boring for all of us."

"Stop complaining. We're all on the same boat," Klinklang drawled, rolling his eyes.

"WELL, I was poisoned!" Vivillon managed to spit out, glaring at the back of the squirrel's head. Skwovet scoffed at this, crossing his arms.

"You don't have to rub it in!" He grumbled, covering his ears to block out the butterfly's complaints. "I already told you that I didn't know! I'm sorry, okay?!"

Cramorant giggled as she still tapped on her phone, "OH EHM GEE! It looks like cabin fever is setting in and we're like… already starting to get sick of each other~"

"SHUT UP! You're making it worse!" Vivillon snapped at the cormorant, gritting her teeth. "I'm still starving, by the way! I hate this cave!"

"Vivillon, you're being irrational now…" Dedenne admitted.

Vivillon was about to rebute… but decided to retract her statement, grumbling quietly to herself. Dedenne sighed in relief at this, "Okay… let's… just keep going… we're bound to find the exit eventually… hopefully… I mean, we're going the right direction, right?"

"Hmm… analyzing our surroundings… I can't say for sure honestly," Klinklang admitted dryly. "The walls all look the same."

"What about this Bayleef-shaped rock though, lol?" Cramorant chimed in, redirecting everyone's attention to her. She blushed in embarrassment, "Oookay, stop giving me that look. I'm like… super shy…"

"What is this about a Bayleef-shaped rock?" Dedenne queried, arching a brow. The bird just nodded, pointing down to her feet… to reveal Bayleef, lying on the ground, groaning in pain. "Oookay… what? I think there was a Bayleef on the other team, right?"

"I think so too…" Klinklang affirmed, nodding in agreement. "Should we just leave him behind?"

"Obviously?! I mean… there's no reason for us to take him with us!" Dedenne pointed out. "If anything… it gives our team a better chance if he stays unconscious until all of us are out of the cave-" His voice trailed off as he noticed the expressions he was getting. "What? Did my idea sound too callous?"

"I mean… this cave is like… so scary and there's also some psychotic Sunflora in it!" Cramorant pointed out, deadpanning. "If we leave him behind, he might get killed and this show might as well be cancelled. Would you be happy with that?"

Dedenne blinked in realization. "I didn't think of it that way." He sighed, looking to the side guiltily. "You're right, Cramorant. This is a competition but getting killed by a psycho sunflower wouldn't be a great way to die."

"How in the world are we carrying him though?!" Vivillon exclaimed, raising a brow. "Bayleef is a coward but at the end of the day, he is heavy… none of us are strong enough to carry him. None of us were strong enough to lift Magcargo out of a pit in the first place. It'd be a fool's errand in the first place!"

"Can't we just lift him together?" Skwovet suggested.

"Can you please have better ideas for once?" Vivillon huffed, rolling her eyes. "Does it look like I can fly and help carry someone at the same time? I'd just plummet immediately!"

"That was a real suggestion!" Skwovet sighed, clearly worn out after the long day. "But... fine, you've got a point."

"At this rate… we're better off waiting for him to wake up…" Dedenne said with a tired shrug.

"That might take ages though." Klinklang said.

"We dont exactly have any better ideas here…" Dedenne countered, eyes glancing over the unconscious dinosaur

"... help…"

"Yeah, Vivillon, we know you're not feeling great. You don't need to shout for help every time," Skwovet retorted, face-palming with exasperation.

Vivillon gave him a confused look. "What? I didn't say anything."

"You said help!" Skwovet argued, pointing at the butterfly with a frown. "I know it was you since who else would be saying help…" He paused before turning back to Bayleef. "Unless… it was him…"

"He's unconscious. He can't speak." Klinklang reminded him with a scoff. He floated over to the dinosaur, prodding him with his gears. "... still out cold."

"Then, who was it!?" Skwovet questioned, eyes widening in shock.

"Maybe you're just hearing things?" Dedenne assumed, pushing up his glasses. "I didn't hear anything…"

"Are you serious?!"

"... help…"

The faint voice croaked again, barely audible. Skwovet's ears perked up as he whipped his head around, scanning the area frantically.

"SEE! I heard it again!" He exclaimed, throwing his paws up in exasperatio. "Someone's calling for help! It's really quiet but-"

"I still can't hear it…" Dedenne admitted, still unsure. He gave Skwovet a skeptical look, but the unease was beginning to creep in. Watching Skwovet grow more agitated only added to his nerves. "Can you describe what you're hearing?"

"It's like… a really… strained voice calling out for help…" Skwovet said, eyes widening in horror. "I don't think it's anyone from the other teams and… it's…" He paled, covering his mouth. "I think it's getting closer…"

Vivillon looked up, raising a brow. "... now that you've mentioned that… I'm starting to smell rotten eggs…" Her face turned green as she gagged. "Hrk… ugh… it's giving me a terrible mental image, just thinking about it…"

"... I'm smelling that too…" Dedenne remarked, pinching his nose as his eyes narrowed in concern. "G-guys… what do you think is coming?"

"Do you think it's the Sunflora again?" Cramorant suggested.

"If it was him, it wouldn't be this ominous." Klinklang retorted before sighing deeply. "... I can't believe I'm implying that something could be worse than an unhinged killer but… I'm starting to hear the voices Skwovet was talking about."

"OMG! What do you guys think it is then?!" Cramorant asked nonchalantly. The rest of the group gave her a look. She was oddly calm about everything. If anything, she was just looking off to the side, checking her nails like there wasn't a challenge at stake. She tilted her head slightly, pouting, "What? You're confused why I'm chill? Y'all clearly don't play enough games to know that you need to be mega chill to absolutely slay~"

""Moving on... we should just carry Bayleef and—" Klinklang began, but his words faltered as he noticed the dinosaur starting to stir. Bayleef let out a faint mumble, his eyes flickering open and closed.

"Hmm..." Klinklang murmured, leaning closer.

"Empoleon... I'm so w-weak..." Bayleef whimpered, his voice trembling as consciousness slowly returned. "I'm sorry you had to train me... for nothing..."

"Bayleef's awake!" Dedenne exclaimed, sighing in relief.

The dinosaur slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes with a vine as he scanned his surroundings. He then gasped as he noticed that he was surrounded by members of the opposite team. "H-huh..? Was I c-captured? I remembered a Golem being around and..?"

"Bayleef, I'm glad you're awake!" Dedenne remarked, putting a paw on the dinosaur's back. "I think something's coming and we don't want to leave you behind in this… really terrible cave." He shuddered. "There'd be terrible consequences." He then paused, arching a brow. "What's this about a Golem though?"

"A G-Golem was following me… and he looked really scary…" Bayleef called, eyes darting to the side. "And… when he got c-closer… I just… I just…" He gulped as he finished, "... fainted. I don't remember anything after that… I'm sorry."

"We never saw a Golem…" Cramorant whispered.

"I don't think he's lying about that…" Skwovet said. "Unless you're all just choosing not to listen with people, like you did with me."

"L-O-L… so true!" Cramorant giggled cheekily.

Skwovet rolled his eyes. "Well… we need to get going since-"

Skwovet's words were abruptly cut off as the ominous voice started calling out to the group from a nearby distance.

"...help... gurgle It hurts... I shouldn't have... hrrrrrk... sizzle..."

The group froze, turning toward the source of the eerie sound. Emerging from the shadows, a spiny, metallic, grotesque lump of flesh clung to the ceiling, its movements unnervingly fast.

"What... is that?!" Dedenne gasped, stepping back in horror.

The creature had a singular enormous, veiny eye on its body fixated on them, unblinking and glowing with an ominous red glow as it scuttled closer. Its presence was suffocating, each step accompanied by a wet, squelching noise as it made its way closer.

"What..? What..?" Dedenne took another step back, stumbling and falling onto his knees. "WHAT IN THE DISTORTION WORLD IS THAT?!"

"It looks familiar…" Klinklang stammered as he remained in place, eyes focused on the monster's eye. "... I…"

"K-Klinklang… are you an idiot!? W-we need to leave!" Vivillon called out, fear evident in her expression. "That looks like a deformed theater costume!"

Skwovet's face was green as he was starting to get sick. "It smells… l-like the berries… hrk…"

"OH… don't you make me even more sick!" Vivillon said, gagging.

"H-huh? What i-is that?" Bayleef asked, voice coming out as barely a whimper. "I-it's… getting closer…"

A gaping hole suddenly formed in the creature's chest, lined with jagged, razor-sharp teeth. From within, a grotesquely long, ratcheting tongue slithered out, writhing and snapping as it inched closer to the frozen Klinklang.

"KLINKLANG, PLEASE FUCKING DODGE!" Dedenne screamed, starting to make a desperate crawl away. "YOU MIGHT ACTUALLY DIE!"

"..." Klinklang doesn't move, now hypnotized by the monster's unyielding gaze. "I… can't. I'm trying to move but my body's not reacting at all."

"I'll miss you, Klinklang…" Vivillon said half-heartedly, fluttering her wings sharply as she made a quick escape, flying back where they came from.

"Vivillon, you can't just leave!" Skwovet yelled, reaching out for the retreating butterfly. He turned back to the grotesque scene, eyes widening in horror as he could do nothing but watch as the monster wrapped its tongue around the paralyzed Steel-type. "Guys… w-we need to do something!"

"I'm on it!" Dedenne nodded as he fired a volt of electricity at the monster… which only affected Klinklang as he yelled out in pain. "Well… i-it's not working!"

"Vivillon's gone… and I don't think Bayleef and I can do anything to kill this thing…" Skwovet stammered.

"..." Cramorant raised a brow, putting her phone to her beak. "Hmmm…"

"Cramorant, you've been awfully silent this entire time. Please tell me you have ideas…" Dedenne pleaded.

Cramorant's eyes shifted to the side. "Hmmm… I'll just have to stare this monster down until it leaves Klinklang alone!"

"Are you serious?! That's not going to do anything!" Dedenne gawked in disbelief.

Cramorant rolled her eyes with a dismissive scoff before fixing a menacing glare at the monstrous creature. To everyone's surprise, the creature visibly recoiled under her intense gaze. Its grotesque tongue loosened, releasing Klinklang, who fell to the ground in a battered heap. The monster thrashed violently for a moment, letting out a loud monstrous cry, before collapsing in a lifeless heap.

"Cramorant, how the heck did you—" Skwovet began, but his words were cut short as the ground beneath them gave way. With a collective gasp, the group plunged into darkness.

Dedenne was curled into a ball, eyes wide, "OOKAY… that was probably the scariest thing… I've EVER seen!"

Bayleef was whining incoherently between sobs as he was huddled up in the confessional, eyes frantically looking from left to right before he continued screaming.

"Lady Magearna… are we any closer to the diamond chamber?" Chansey asked weakly, still shaken from their encounter with the monster. "Did Lady Diancie teach you her ways to sense diamonds, to help us with this challenge?"

Magearna shook her head, keeping her gaze in front of them, "No… she hasn't taught me…" Her voice cracked a bit. It looked like even the Mythical Pokemon hasn't recovered from the frightening experience either. "I'm sorry if that's not what you wanted you hear…"

"Oh… I thought you two were close friends?" Chansey pointed out, a bit surprised.

Magearna sighed, eyes shifting to the side, "We had a bit of a falling out… it's hard to explain."

"OH!" Chansey said. "I always thought they were really close… but I guess this is why you shouldn't trust the internet too much…"

For the next few minutes, there was nothing but silence as the duo just… jogged as quickly as they could, without tiring themselves out. Chansey looked behind her, worried that another monster would pop out of nowhere again.

She sighed in relief as she saw a bright light ahead of them, stating out loudly, "Hey, there's a light over there… is it… the exit?"

"Hmm? We haven't even found the diamonds yet-" Magearna tried to remind… yet the nurse was eager to see the source of the light, running past her, making her shake her head. "Slow down, Chansey… it might be something dangerous… We don't know if we'll find another monster down here!" She sighed to herself, muttering quietly, "You're surprisingly more reckless than I expected…"

Chansey blushed in embarrassment, looking back for a split second before turning back, "Y-you're right about that… but don't worry! I might not look like it but I'm a pretty capable fighter!" The Mythical chuckled at this, making her blush intensify, "H-hey… d-don't laugh… it's not funny…"

"Keep being you…" Magearna said, eyes shifting to the side as she twiddled her fingers awkwardly as she watched Chansey chase after the light.

Which turned out to be a confused Magcargo and Sunflora. Sunflora… was just leaning on the wall for support, having been tired out by Magcargo's long anecdotes while the snail just blinked in shock… before it quickly changed to a wide grin as he noticed that it was just Chansey.

"Chansey?! Is that you?! Long time, no see! How are you guys doing with the challenge?!" He asked with a wide grin plastered on his face. "Ooooh, are you alone? I actually got lost and-"

"Errr… who is the Sunflora next to you?" Chansey interrupted him, tilting her head to the side in concern. "And, no… I'm not alone. Magearna is here…" She turned around to gesture to Magearna who just waved awkwardly before turning back to the snail. "Not to offend obviously…"

"OH!" Magcargo was taken aback… but recovered relatively quickly, laughing loudly, making the nurse wince at how loud he was, "Sunflora here is my new best friend. Say hello Sunflora!" The sunflower rolled his eyes, waving weakly before grunting, folding his arms. "I found him in this cave and he almost tried to kill me but we're not best friends!"

"What's this about k-" Chansey chimed in, only to get cut off by the snail, to her mild annoyance.

"Don't worry, don't worry! While Sunflora might seem homicidal at first… he's very nice when you get to know him better!" Magcargo assured with a husky chuckle. "He's harmless!" Sunflora groaned, putting both of his hands to his face, making Magcargo nudged him on the side with his head… which accidentally mildly burnt his hand. The flower hissed, taking a few steps away, "OOKAY… I'm sorry about that, Sunflora. I almost forgot that my body's really hot sometimes…"

"Okay? Did you… well…" Chansey looked baffled, struggling to complete her own sentence.

Magcargo chirped in reply, "What? Get lost? NOPE! I fell into a pit. Sunflora found me there and he's leading me to the diamonds slash exit! Whatever we can find first. He's just so nice!"

"I didn't promise that!" Sunflora said, starting to get flustered.

"Aw…" Magcargo bowed his head down in disappointment. "Anyways… soooo… wanna go together?"

"Err… the more the merrier, I suppose…" Chansey said, composing herself, "Magearna, what abo-" She turned around to find… that her idol had disappeared into thin air. She frantically turned back to Magcargo, looking more panicked. "Where did Magearna go?!"

"Hmm? I was so busy talking to you that I didn't even notice!" Magcargo admitted, "Maybe, she took a short walk while we were talking and accidentally got lost!"

"..." Chansey didn't say anything as her eyes began to bug out.

"OKAY! I should've paid more attention and maybe Lady Magearna wouldn't have been l-lost… she-she…" Chansey began to sputter incoherently as she stared at her shaking hands. "I…"

"M-Magearna… lost? I…" Chansey was starting to grow incoherent, to Magcargo's concern. "W-what if something happens to her?!"

Magcargo turned to Sunflora for help… but the flower just shrugged, confused by the fact that he's even relying on him, who isn't even a player in the game, for help. Clearing his throat, he sputtered out, "D-don't worry, Chansey! Let's just try and find the exit, so we can finish w-with this challenge and hopefully meet up with M-"

"I… don't even know what to do…"

Magcargo gaped in shock, slightly off-put by the nurse's defeated expression… which made him feel the same but he quickly shook his head to cheer himself up quickly.

"That's just cave madness doing you in! You need some fresh air and you'll be back to normal!" Magcargo said, a bit unsure with what he's even trying to say. "Besides… Magearna is strong enough to protect herself! She's not a Mythical Pokemon for no reason!"

"..."

"Okay… I might've phrased that wrong. I'll go a-"

"JUST FUCKING STOP, I thought you're still trying to leave this cave and you're stalling for time! Shucks, you guys are more useless than I thought…" Sunflora interjected, deadpanning, "So chop chop, get to work!"

"S-sorry! I got carried away there," Magcargo admitted, gesturing for Chansey to follow him, "Let's get going, Chansey. The others might be outside by now… or worse, the diamonds might be found by now and we're the last people for our team…"

Magcargo groaned as he noticed the Normal-type, starting to get absentminded.

"Chansey?"

"What..?"

"We have to go!"

Chansey blinked, smiling with a sheepish expression, "R-right…" She looked to the side, frowning. "I'm just worried since… w-we just escaped this monster-"

"Monster?" Magcargo's eyes widened in horror as he glanced over to Sunflora who just shrugged. "Uhm… not to be a downer, but maybe you should elaborate further on that since I haven't seen a single monster and I know you're going to say…" He looked to the side, raising the pitch of his voice to imitate Chansey. "Magcargo, Sunflora is technically a monster!" He then looked to the opposite side, returning to his normal voice. "To that, I say… Sunflora's just misunderstood! He hasn't even been to the outside world yet!"

"Uhm… what?" Chansey smiled weakly, confused. "I didn't get a single t-thing but to elaborate… it was… a blob-like thing… made of flesh… calling out for help…" She put a hand to her chest guiltily. "I don't know why… but I genuinely thought they were really in need of help… so I felt bad that I couldn't do anything… I know it was a monster but I guess I care too much…"

Magcargo smiled warmly at her, shaking his head. "Well… you shouldn't feel bad! That's why you're just a great person, Chansey! You have a lot of empathy for people who might not deserve it! I don't know what this monster looked like but I think you made the right move! You can't help everybody!"

"I'm shocked you're saying that after you're so insistent on being my friend…" Sunflora chimed in, deadpan.

"Because, you're different!" Magcargo reasoned. "You just have a few screws loose… and well, I'm not surprised! You're a Sunflora who hasn't gotten the opportunity to see the sun! So I want to make that dream a reality for you!"

"That wasn't my dream…" Sunflora drawled, arms crossed. He yelped as the lava snail just glomped at him again. "H-hey… c-can you stop glomping on me without warning?!"

"I'm sorry! I can't help it!" Magcargo chirped.

"You two are… close, huh?" Chansey said, looking down in disappointment. "Magearna never lets me hug her… But I get it… she's a celebrity. I'll never be at her level…"

Magcargo's eyes furrowed in concern. "Chansey… I think you should… not… be too parasocial with her. I mean, Magearna is living in another world and sometimes, it's easier to put aside your personal feelings for people who are more focused on their careers." He frowned, head drooping down. "I personally find that easy to do, instead of trying to tell yourself that there's a chance to try and keep a good work-life balance… but it just never happens, because there's too many eyes watching and-" His voice trailed off as he let out an awkward chuckle. "BUUUT, that's not really important, you know?! I just think you're an incredible person too and you don't need Magearna's opinions to be validated! But that's just my two-cents honestly!"

"Thank you…" Chansey murmured, a small smile creeping up her face.

"I don't get why Chansey's too obsessed with Magearna honestly," Magcargo admitted, "I mean… she's just like any other Pokemon. I mean, she's not any different from the normal Pokemon I meet in school and in real life so I am quite weirded out. What makes her special?!" He groaned, rolling his eyes, "Okay, I don't want to judge her but well, she's being strangely emotional just because Magearna disappeared into thin air. It's almost as if something happened."

He paused, muttering, "Okay… I think I need to ask one of her teammates for more info since I'm honestly very intrigued on what the big deal is… no offense to her obviously!"

Nihilego's expression was unreadable as she kept her eyes on the new opening that popped up on the side of the mountain. Since Floatzel, no other player had exited the cave… so she was starting to feel very worried.

"Poipole… do you think something happened to them?" Her voice camed out weak and unsteady as she glanced over to her co-host who was holding a small cup of hot chocolate in his hands as he looked up to his superior, innocently unaware of anything happening within the game. "I mean… Whimsicott told me that she saw monsters in her footage… MONSTERS!"

Nihilego cupped her tentacles over her mouth, her anxiety bubbling over. However, when she noticed Floatzel standing up and casting her a suspicious look from the distance, she quickly hunched over, lowering her voice to a barely audible whisper. "I… d-don't want to jump the gun but… w-we never put monsters in the cave ourselves… unless… you did it…"

"What monsters?" Poipole asked, raising a brow and tilting his head curiously as he took another sip of his drink, leaving a frothy chocolate mustache on his face. "Are they, like... cute monsters?"

Nihilego deadpanned. "What? Of course, not. They were actual legitimate monsters you would find in a sci-fi horror movie."

"Ah! That sounds messy!" Poipole said, still clueless about the implications. "I hope the contestants are fine!"

"I hope they're fine too…" Nihilego sighed, putting a tentacle on her head. She felt a migraine coming in. She then scanned the area afterwards. "Where's Marill? I think I might need her opinion on this…"

"I think she's still showing the interns around!" Poipole chirped.

"Oh great… what about Whimsicott?" Nihilego asked.

"She said she saw something in the footage so she left to uhh… go get Indeedee…" Poipole answered.

"Indeedee?" Nihilego said, puzzled. "Why him?"

Poipole shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't know either! Apparently, he has a lot of killing power!"

Nihilego gulped at this. "If that's why she's getting him… then I'm even more worried. Poipole… you might as well call Lopunny over at this point honestly…"

"Huh?"

"Someone might get hurt… and we need someone on stand-by immediately!" Nihilego explained. Poipole nodded as he set his cup down on his seat before rushing away to call Lopunny over to the scene.

Nihilego sighed heavily, leaning back into her chair. "This can't seriously be happening again... we're not even past Episode 5, and-" Her words trailed off as she noticed Bellossom, one of the new interns, walking toward her. The flower dancer held a glass of water in one hand and a small tablet in the other.

"...You're that new intern, right?" Nihilego asked, eyeing her cautiously.

Bellossom nodded eagerly, holding up the tablet with a cheerful smile. "Yep! That's me—Bellossom! I noticed you were looking super stressed, so I brought you something to help with any headaches or migraines. Thought it might come in handy!"

"Uh... thanks?" Nihilego replied, hesitantly taking the medicine. She studied the intern's suddenly enthusiastic attitude for a moment before asking, "Is Marill's tour done?"

Bellossom beamed. "Mhm! Staravia's already gone ahead to organize her things in the intern compound. As for Carracosta... uhhh..." She paused, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Okay, I might not have been paying attention to where he said he was going. He's probably just... you know... existing, or something!"

"Ah, I see… thank you for the pain medicine, I guess…" Nihilego muttered with a sigh. She quickly popped the pill into her mouth and took the glass of water from Bellossom, drinking it to wash the tablet down. She put her tentacles on her seat's armrest, expecting Bellossom to just leave. Surprisingly, the Grass-type just stood there, hands clasped in front of her as she waited for more instructions. "Uhm… don't you have better things to do? Maybe, you can join Staravia and make yourselves at home in the intern compound?"

"Oh! I just want to help you, if you need it!" Bellossom replied with an unsettling wide smile. "I am very capable, so you can trust in my abilities, Nihilego!"

"Uh… huh?" Nihilego said, sweating nervously as she could feel the flower dancer's burning gaze even when she looked away.

Empoleon's eyes fluttered open as he gradually regained consciousness, the sting of his defeat by Oricorio and Vanilluxe still fresh in his mind. Blinking groggily, he took in his surroundings and immediately noticed something was very wrong. The glittering diamond-encrusted chamber he had been in before was gone, replaced by a far more unsettling scene.

The walls of the chamber were now lined with towering tubes filled with a glowing green liquid, each containing strange, amorphous blobs suspended within. A chill ran down his spine as his gaze swept across the room. At the far end, one tube stood out for having a different appearance, the glass surface fogged up, obscuring its contents. Despite the misty barrier, a faint outline of what appeared to be a large, yellow form could just barely be discerned if one squinted hard enough.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS..?!" Empoleon thought to himself as he could barely pick himself off the ground from the pain of Oricorio's electric shocks still running its course through his body. "FUCK… I still can't move… that fucking Oricorio… ugh…"

Empoleon grunted as he dragged himself across the eerie chamber, every movement slow but filled with determination. The strange tube looked like it could answer some questions… or give him a clue on what happened to the diamond-filled chamber he was in earlier. He was confident that nobody dragged him to a different chamber, that's for sure.

Soon enough, he reached the fogged-up tube and leaned against it, using it o prop himself up. His flipper brushed against the glass, wiping away some of the mist that obscured its contents. What lay behind the veil made his breath catch: a yellow dragon-like Pokémon, suspended in the tube's viscous green fluid, its body eerily still, as though frozen in time.

"Is this… a prop for the challenge?" Empoleon murmured, his voice barely audible as he kept his gaze on the sleeping dragon. "Nihilego and Poipole really went too far with this…"

"Empoleon, where are you?" A tiny voice chirped from out of nowhere, making the penguin nearly jump up in surprise as he looked around frantically… until his eyes fell on a tiny device on his jacket's sleeve. "It's me, Whimsicott!"

"How the fuck are you talking to me right now?!" Empoleon demanded, eyes widening in shock.

"Microcameras!"

"What?!"

"Ugh, I don't have time to explain it all," Whimsicott sighed, her voice crackling slightly. "But… it looks like you're in one of those chambers Nihilego set up for the challenge. At least, that's my best guess…" Her uncertainty was very clear, though thankfully for her, Empoleon didn't catch it.

"So… this is all just part of the challenge? What is even happening here? I was beaten up by Oricorio and Vanilluxe in another chamber but I woke up here!" Empoleon exclaimed, crossing his flippers. "This feels too much for a challenge. Can you tell the hosts that this challenge is fucking stupid?!"

"I'm so sorry, but I'm not with Nihilego right now!" Whimsicott replied, eyes furrowed in concern. "I just wanted to check in and keep everyone in the loop! Nobody won yet but Gourgeist, Gossifleur, Floatzel, Teddiursa and Sableye have made their way out… and well… the challenge is different now! The diamonds aren't worth this pain so the challenge is escaping the dungeon!"

"Dungeon?"

"Oh, did you not know? This whole mountain is a mystery dungeon!" Whimsicott clarified. "So… that's why the layout is changing by the second… so that's probably why you're in a different chamber right now after regaining consciousness!"

"Well, this whole mystery dungeon thing is confusing me honestly." Empoleon remarked with a drawn out sigh. "I mean… I'm in a lab right now… and there's tubes around. There's even a dummy in one of them too! You guys really outdone yourselves!"

Whimsicott's eyes shifted to the side awkwardly. "Yes… we did."

"So… I just have to leave this place then?" Empoleon asked, to which the cottonweed nodded. The penguin scoffed as a confident smirk formed on his face. "Well… that sounds easier than trying to look for stupid diamonds that the other teams could just snatch from you! I'm game!"

"I'm glad to hear… but about those tubes you've mentioned-" Whimsicott's words were cut off as Empoleon crushed the tiny device before making a sprint out of the chamber.

"I've never lost a competition in years… until this stupid fucking game!" Empoleon revealed, crossing his arms as he glared at the camera. "So, I'm rightfully pissed that it took a stupid psychotic pumpkin for my win streak to just be ruined!" He let out a loud battle cry as he puffed up his chest. "I'm not going to see us lose ANOTHER challenge… the fourth time in a row, if that happens! I don't even think that should be possible!"

He shook his head vigorously as he pointed at the camera with a determined expression. "I'm not going to let that happen! Not on my watch!"

Oricorio and Vanilluxe exchanged a look as they stopped in their paths to answer Whimsicott's sudden transmission through the microcameras she slipped into Oricorio's skirt and Vanilluxe's top hat. They retrieved a diamond… for no reason, since apparently the scope of the challenge was different now.

"Well… that's kind of unfair to us…" Oricorio murmured, looking down at disappointment. "I feel bad being rough with Empoleon, knowing that it's not going to amount to anything other than him being mad at us now…"

Vanilluxe gulped as he nodded in agreement. "I d-don't know why they're switching the challenge AFTER we found the diamonds but well, I won't deny that they have a point! This cave does NOT rock and no, that wasn't a pun!"

"I should've known it was a mystery dungeon…" Oricorio said. "They taught us about that in History class… but well… I won't lie that I rarely paid attention in the first place!"

"Hahaha… I guess that class is history, huh?" Vanilluxe laughed nervously as he watched Oricorio drop the diamond to the ground. "So… what now? We're nowhere near the exit… and everyone else might be just as lost. Whimsicott only mentioned that Gourgeist and Gossifleur made it out for our team so that means Magcargo might still be trapped in a pit. That doesn't sound so holesome at all!"

"I hope Magcargo's doing alright…" Oricorio sighed, drooping down. "I don't know if he could survive being stuck alone…"

"I think he can do it! I mean… he has a lot of FIRE in him!" Vanilluxe joked.

Oricorio let out a dry chuckle, resting her wings on her hips. "That joke didn't land… but well… let's focus on leaving this place… since I doubt we'll be find anyone else in the middle of a mystery…" She trailed off as she just noticed that their surroundings had completely changed again. Instead of a straight hallway, they were now in a vast cavern with a river cutting through its center, accompanied by the loud sound of a waterfall cascading from an unseen source above.

"... dungeon..?! When did the room change?!"

Vanilluxe blinked as he floated closer to the cheerleader. "D-don't look at me! I didn't notice the room change either!" He looked around with a concerned stare. "... I don't remember mystery dungeons being this chaotic. A normal cave hallway into… this?! That's honestly… scary, just thinking about it…"

"Well, we just need to remain vigilant, O-K?" Oricorio urged.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Vanilluxe expressed as his eyes were sweeping across the room. "You don't have to tell me twice!" Vanilluxe expressed as his eyes were sweeping across the room. The sudden sound of a loud splash could then be heard from the river. D-did you hear that!? I think something fell from above us!"

"Above us?" Oricorio asked, arching a brow. "Errr… do you think we should try investigating this waterfall or..?"

"I think we should check out what fell… though I have a bad fee—" Vanilluxe's words were cut off as a massive splash of water struck his back, sending a cold shock through his entire body. His eyes widened in alarm. "WHAT WAS THAT?!"

He and Oricorio spun around, their hearts pounding, only to witness an unbelievable sight. What they thought was a simple river wasn't a river at all—it was a massive, living body of water. The liquid had turned into a towering form with a gaping mouth, glowing cerulean eyes, and a pulsating red gem embedded in its chest.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?" Vanilluxe screamed at the top of his lungs.

"It's… a Water-type Pokemon…" Oricorio speculated. Her body then instinctively moved into a dance, sending a shockwave towards the hulking body of water. She exhaled in relief as the monster recoiled. "Okay, I think I'm right—it's weak to my dancing!"

"S-should I freeze it?" Vanilluxe asked, his voice trembling.

"Go for it, Vanilluxe!"

Vanilluxe nodded, firing a beam of ice at the creature. To their surprise, it worked as the frost spread throughout the water creature until its entire body was encased in a block of ice, its glowing eyes dimming as it froze solid. The ice cream let out a heavy sigh of relief, closing his eyes to steady his nerves. "Okay… our attacks worked…"

"Yep, it did! I don't know what that thing was… and, uh, is it just me, or does it feel kind of anticlimactic that we beat it so quickly?" Oricorio mused, tilting her head. "Also… monsters? Is that really part of the challenge?"

"I-"

"It's part of the challenge!" Whimsicott's voice suddenly chirped through the microcamera devices on their clothes. "Don't worry, though! They're interns, so try not to get too violent, okay?"

"Don't worry! It's frozen!" Vanilluxe assured with a wide grin.

Whimsicott raised a brow at this. "I see? Well… I'm glad to hear! That's all!" The microcameras then clicked off.

"That explains it… I guess?" Oricorio muttered, still staring at the massive, ice-bound figure in disbelief. "I don't know how an intern could be that huge, but… whatever. Let's keep moving."

"Cheerlead the way, ma'am!"

Back outside, the group of players were standing in front of the tunnel opening, waiting for the rest of their team to make their return. At this point, Gallade was now holding the tunnel open, so that it wouldn't just suddenly spontaneously collapse on itself.

"Do you think everyone's okay?" Gossifleur asked nobody in particular as she looked around in concern. "Magcargo was stuck in a pit… he might be in huge danger right now…"

"Don't worry. Nihilego said that she is handling things!" Floatzel assured, though the tinge of uncertainty in his tone didn't make the flower feel any better. "I'm shocked that nobody else has found their way out, by this point. You'd think more people would've been forced out by now…"

"It is a MYSTERY dungeon after all!" Teddiursa pointed out, paw over her mouth. "So many mysterious things are happening in there and honestly… I'm a bit jelly but at the same time, I know it wouldn't be that good for my cuteness factor!"

Gourgeist giggled as she shook her head. "It's not that fun, trust me~" She shuddered as her voice cracked, looking teary-eyed. "It's a hopeless place… with nothing to do! You'd get bored… really fast… and it reminds me of my childhood when I was caged since I was too strong even though they made me in the first place and well… too bad, I got out and I'm now free, baby!" Gourgeist giggled as she looked up, breaking out of her 'vulnerable' moment immediately. "Or something like that… it's not that fun~"

"I don't know what to think about your fake backstory but uhm… truwu!" Teddiursa cooed, nodding in agreement.

"I don't know what you mean about that… but thanks~" Gourgeist mused, putting on her headphones with a bored expression. "What are the chances someone died in there?"

"That's not a funny joke." Floatzel chided, narrowing his gaze at the pumpkin. "If anything happens… I'm going to head into the caves again to get everyone out!"

Gossifleur nodded in agreement, hand to her chest. "I'm with Floatzel. If anything happens, my fat- errr… it wouldn't look good for the show! So, I think Nihilego has something planned… just in case!"

"I h-hope everyone's fine…" Sableye commented, rubbing his elbow awkwardly. "I f-feel useless that we're just… doing nothing while e-everyone's pretty much struggling to escape…"

"You're not useless! You helped carry me out the cave, 'member?!" Teddiursa reminded him with a smile. "So, don't sell yourself too short!"

"I hurt you in the first place, hehehe…" Sableye pointed out.

"You did WHAT!?" Floatzel raised his voice, putting a paw on the gremlin's shoulder. "I knew you were up to something!"

"Floatzel… you are misunderstanding things again! Sableye kinda… tried dragging me across the floor cuz I was tired! He didn't know any better!" Teddiursa explained, throwing her paws up in between the two men. "He's like a himbo… but not buff… and smelly!"

Sableye looked down apologetically. "I'm sorry about that… I w-wish I wasn't this… clueless? Is that right..?"

Teddiursa nodded, giving him a thumbs-up. "Yep, you're def clueless!"

"Err… what is really going on with Sableye..?" Gossifleur chimed in, her soft voice cutting through the chatter and reminding the three Shuppet members that she and Gourgeist were still part of the conversation. "Is something wrong with him?"

Teddiursa giggled into her paws, winking playfully. "Nu-uh! Don't you bring my bestie down?!" She mused, tugging at her hair bows cutely. "He's trying his best!"

"Errr…" Gossifleur looked to the side awkwardly, not knowing how to react.

Just then, a familiar voice called out from behind the group. "Guys! I'm right here!" This called everyone's attention as they turned to the voice, which belonged to an approaching Magearna. She waved awkwardly as she joined the group. "I hope I didn't miss too much conversation while I was stuck in the caves!"

"Errr… where did you come from?" Gossifleur queried, hunched down as she eyed the Mythical-Pokemon with a skeptical gaze. "How did you get behind us… when we were keeping our eyes on the entrance-"

"There was another tunnel on the other side of the mountain, remember!" Magearna answered.

"W-well… it disappeared as soon as everyone headed into the mountain…" Gossifleur added, twiddling her fingers awkwardly. "And now… there's only one tunnel remaining and that's only because Gallade is doing his best to hold it up…"

"I'm so getting a raise from this!" Gallade huffed, not even breaking a sweat.

"You're doing amazing, sweetie!" Teddiursa cooed, eyes glistening with pride. Faux teary-eyed, she turned to Floatzel, paw on her chest. "I raised that kid, you know! UwU!"

"W-well… I… punched my way through the cave wall…" Magearna reasoned, mechanical eyes shifting to the side. "I'm stronger than I look. Unsurprisingly, the wall patched itself immediately. And if you're asking why I didn't join back with the group, I bolted straight for the bathroom."

Gourgeist giggled playfully, waving a tendril dismissively. "Huuuuuh!? I didn't know Mythical Pokemon needed to go to the bathroom too! I assumed y'all just go… anywhere. I mean, you're a Mythical Pokemon! Why conform to how normal Pokemon do it! Do it in the bushes… do it in front of us, we won't judge!"

Magearna crossed her arms, giving the pumpkin an offended stare. "Uhm… I would prefer it if you didn't choose to speak so poorly of me. I am not going to just ruin my own image for that!"

"I dunno! You're doing a good job on your own!" Gourgeist mused, rolling her eyes playfully. "With how feckless you're acting… I mean, you're a Mythical! And you're losing to me… thrice!"

"I-I'm holding back…" Magearna huffed. "I don't want to give myself too much of an advantage in these challenges!"

"Truw… that's believable…" Teddiursa murmured, doing an awkward side-eyed stare. "I meeeean… it's not like these challenges could've been decimated with a mega-Magearna beam or something, but that's just me spitballing mhm!"

"I'm very sorry for n-not being too useful in these challenges. I promise to do better!" Magearna said.

"What happened to Chansey? I thought you two were supposed to be together." Floatzel chimed in, arching a brow skeptically.

Magearna gulped, shoulders drooping down as her eyes barely met the weasel's inquistive gaze. "About that… we were supposed to be together but well, we encountered a monster in the mines and she decided to turn tail on me, leaving me at the mercy of it. It was a frightening experience but I made quick work of them… I wish Chansey didn't have to leave me. I get that she was scared but we could've worked together in defeating the beast."

"Chansey's the nurse obsessed with you, right?" Gossifleur queried, tilting her head slightly. "That is surprising to hear but then again, I would be doing the same thing."

"I wouldn't be mad if you did that to me, but I thought Chansey and I had a genuine relationship so I expected her to stick by my side at all times!" Magearna reasoned.

"That is suspicious to hear." Floatzel remarked.

"Yuppers! I didn't think Chansey had it in her to just… do that!" Teddiursa said. "But I guess she might be a baddie deep inside, huh?!"

Gossifleur leaned closer, laughing shakily. "B-baddie? Is that similar to how Vivillon acted that got her father's attention?"

"I don't know what you're talking abouut, Gossi… but I don't think that's remotely related to the convo!" Teddiursa said flatly, deadpanning. "But thanks for telling us, Maggy! I'll def think about that if we lose!"

"..." Floatzel doesn't say anything, tipping his hat over his eyes.

"Thank you. I trust you both with this information… and it feels better for me to get that out of my chest!" Magearna expressed with a warm smile.

"I left Chansey behind. I absolutely had too…" Magearna admitted, leaning back with a scoff, "I mean… I was going to be in BIGGER danger after what happened last round… but any bit of dirt I have on her helps out. And I can throw her under the bus for this tiny challenge failure. I mean… woah, she got lost and split away from me and lost us a challenge!" She giggled, winking at the camera, "Puts the heat on her rather than me. It won't be too hard spinning a story on how Chansey is lying to everyone after all…"

Skwovet groaned, his vision blurry as he forced his eyes open after falling from the floor above. Rubbing the back of his head, he winced at the ache before scanning the chamber around him. Klinklang was still crumpled on the ground, motionless. Dedenne, meanwhile, groaned softly, sprawled across Bayleef, who lay unmoving beneath him.

"What… happened..?" The squirrel mumbled before his eyes set on the remains of the creature that had attacked them. It had shattered into pieces on the cold hard floor, remnants of what had transpired just earlier. His hands began to tremble as he started calling out to Dedenne. "Dedenne, are you two okay over there?"

"I'm fine…" Dedenne grumbled, putting a paw on his forehead. He then looked down, quickly adding. "Bayleef broke my fall. I think he's unconscious again. Cramorant's not with us… so I guess she flew, as soon as the ground started to give out. How about you?"

Skwovet sighed in relief that he wasn't alone in this situation. "I'm fine! It wasn't that deep of a fall thankfully!"

"That's good to hear. Bayleef and Klinklang might be out of commission though…" Dedenne sighed with a bleak expression. "Do you think we're getting out of this cave? It feels hopeless…" He shook his head, rubbing his temples. "Okay, I should probably stop bringing down the mood, but at the very least, that monster is gone now… whatever it was."

Skwovet's breath was shaky as he slowly made his way over to the unconscious Klinklang. "Yeah… I feel bad for Klinklang though. He pissed me off… but nobody deserved that."

"That thing came out of nowhere." Dedenne said, hopping off Bayleef's body. "I think Nihilego has to explain what the fuck was that-"

"It's part of the challenge!" Whimsicott's voice suddenly chirped from out of nowhere, surprising the two rodents. "And if you're confused where you're hearing this like Magcargo was… I've attached microcameras to your clothes!"

"Microcameras?" Skwovet asked, confused as he started checking his hoodie for any devices. He deadpanned as he grabbed onto a small mechanical device on his hood. "... when did you even put this on us?! And how did I not notice this?! This isn't even that small… I should've noticed it…"

"No comment on that!" Whimsicott replied. "Don't d-destroy them like Empoleon did! This is my only way to talk to you all!"

"Aren't you just a camerawoman or something?" Dedenne pointed out, crossing his arms. "Put Nihilego on the line since she's psychopathic for this challenge… is she responsible for the monsters too?"

"Yep!" Whismicott answered simply. "She's uhh… sorry for not telling you this earlier but she wanted to make it a surprise!"

Dedenne rolled his eyes. "That'd be good to hear earlier… since the ground below us collapsed after the monster fell from the ceiling and well.. it's broken now, I think." He sighed, shaking his head. "Anyways, we're trapped."

"What!? I hope you guys are fine!" Whimsicott said. "We've changed the challenge, by the way! You don't need a diamond anymore… you just need to make your way out! So uhm… hang in there!"

"That sounds easier said than done…" Dedenne said, face-palming. "Klinklang and Bayleef are both unconscious from falling… so… I don't think we can even more here anytime soon-"

"... who are you talking to..?" Klinklang's voice came shaky and broken as he slowly started to lift himself off the ground. "... where… are we..?" His gaze was distant as he scanned his surroundings. "... what happened to Dura..?"

"Who? We were attacked by a monster and you were just letting yourself get killed!" Dedenne reminded him, crossing his arms. "Whimsicott just told us that we don't need to retrieve any diamonds for the challenge anymore and-" He arched a brow as Klinklang started floating past him towards a corridor leading out of the area. "Where the hell are you going!? You literally just fell AND were almost choked to death and-"

"... where is she..?" Klinklang turned to the Pikaclone, his voice hoarse as his eyes were bloodshot. "... what did you do to her..?"

"What?! Who are you even talking a-" Dedenne started only for the gear to push him back with a growl. "Klinklang, are you okay!?"

"Uhm… I think that monster thing made him see things…" Skwovet suggested, tugging at his hoodie's drawstring as he took a step back. "Klinklang, you were attacked by a monster. Can you please chill!?"

"YOU took her, didn't you!?" Klinklang snapped, glowering at the squirrel who shrank at his intimidating gaze. "I knew it was you! That's the only thing you're good at! Stealing things and never feeling bad for it! GIVE IT BACK!"

Skwovet started shaking at the gear's hate-filled words, eyes watering as he looked away. "I d-didn't do anything… b-besides… you've got it wrong… i would never, I-"

"Skwovet, he's not feeling like himself! We need to knock him unconscious and force him to see Lopunny or something!" Dedenne yelled.

"D-does it look like I can beat him in a Pokemon battle!?" Skwovet stammered, falling to his knees. "I mean… m-maybe he's right… I'm not even that good at anything, anyways. I-"

"Skwovet, don't tell me you're starting to see things too! Klinklang is not making any sense right now!" Dedenne pointed out, gritting his teeth as he picked up his glasses off the ground. "Just use some… Mud Slaps? You know that move, right? I'll try to damage him… but I'm not confident."

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire, huh..?" Skwovet stammered as he grabbed a nearby pebble, hurling it at Klinklang, who hissed in response. "KLINKLANG, CAN YOU PLEASE STOP ACTING LIKE THIS?! I don't know what you say but that doesn't mean you have to act like a big cunt… l-like you know me and-"

"... you're not making any sense…" Klinklang said flatly, barely affected by the thrown rock. "Stop lying to me. I know you're the monsters. S-" Before the Steel-type could advance further, a thick vine suddenly wrapped around his body from behind.

Skwovet looked past Klinklang, his eyes widening in relief as he saw Bayleef, now back on his feet, gritting his teeth as he struggled to pull Klinklang away with his vines.

"S-Skwovet, are you alright?" Bayleef asked, his voice surprisingly steady as he successfully yanked Klinklang away from the squirrel.

"Bayleef! Thank Arceus! W-we need to knock Klinklang unconscious… the monster made him see things and he thinks WE'RE the enemies!"

"On it!" Bayleef stammered, quickly focusing as he gathered energy for a beam of light. With a swift motion, he fired the beam from his mouth directly at Klinklang. The Steel-type barely had time to react before the blast struck, knocking him unconscious.

"Bayleef, WOW… h-how did you do that?!" Dedenne asked, genuinely impressed.

Bayleef let out a shaky breath, retracting his vines from the fallen Klinklang. "I-I used Sunny Day while his back was turned… s-so that I didn't need to wait longer to attack… I hope that helped…"

Skwovet threw his paws up as he rushed over to hug the dinosaur with a wide grin. "Bayleef, I don't know what to say… thank you! You saved me! I don't know what I would've done without your help!"

Bayleef's face flushed pink at the squirrel's praise. "R-really? I thought it wasn't that much…" He stammered, laughing as he sighed in relief. "I'm g-glad to hear that you're okay! I w-would've been… really embarrassed if all of Empoleon's trainings didn't make me any stronger honestly… s-so in a way… I'm… happy…"

"I can't believe I'm going to say this but… THANK YOU, EMPOLEON!" Dedenne yelled out, adjusting his glasses with a weak smile. "I guess this would be the perfect time to put your training into more good use…" His gaze went over to the unconscious set of gears. "Bayleef, if you don't mind…"

"H-huh?"

Klinklang stared at the camera, his eyes still bloodshot. "I don't know what came over me… but rest assured… that is not a clear picture of how I act around my peers!" He reasoned, his voice hoarse. "Dedenne filled me in that… we encountered a strange beast… so that's my justification for acting so irrationally. I… regret losing control at that moment, but it couldn't be helped. I would've never acted so… illogical, if I was aware…"

His voice trailed off as he turned away from the camera. "... for a moment, I really thought that someone… could be… real… staring right in front of me." Klinklang's gaze grew distant as his cold expression faltered. "I don't know what else to say… I'm just glad Magcargo wasn't around to see me like that." He paused, shaking his head. "Not because I value his opinion… it's for strategic reasons. He would treat me differently if he saw me like that. He would absolutely pity me… and I would hate that."

"I don't know why Klinklang did that but… well… I'm fine! I heard worse!" Skwovet scoffed, crossing his arms. He narrowed his eyes, turning his head to the side. "I mean… I'm not that bothered because well… it's Klinklang. You expect him to just not care about what he says so yeah… it's fine… I'm fine!"

Vivillon panted heavily, her wings trembling as she desperately flew further away from the monster. But soon enough, her stamina gave out, and she came to an abrupt stop, clutching her abdomen. Unable to hold it back anymore, she keeled over and vomited onto the side of the cave.

"... This challenge… ugh… hrk… is the worst," she grumbled, her face taking on a sickly green hue as she wiped her mouth with a shaky wing. "Where the hell… is the exit..?"

Vivillon turned around to check if the monster was following her, mouth quivering as she heard nothing but silence. It seemed like she had made it far enough… but at the same time, it was chilling. She had willfully split apart from the group and was now lost on her own. "Well, this is just great. I can't find the exit… I'm probably dying because of the berries Skwovet gave me and worse yet… I'm dying on a WHIMPER!"

"..."

The butterfly growled as she started continuing on her journey, albeit slowly. "Nihilego will be hearing a few choice words about this… she needs to take responsibility for this…"

"..."

Vivillon stopped, eyes narrowing as she whipped her head around to scan her surroundings… until her eyes settled on Empoleon, doing his worst job trying to trail after her. "WAIT… since when were you following me!?"

"Just now!" Empoleon lied.

"No, I definitely felt your presence earlier… since I ran away from that… thing!" Vivillon retorted, glaring daggers at the penguin. "Don't tell me you plan to play dirty with this challenge by knocking me unconscious!"

Empoleon tapped his beak as he smirked. "Hey… that sounds like a great idea! Hold still!"

"You heathen!" Vivillon hissed, darting to the side as a powerful blast of water narrowly missed her. "You're ridiculous! I didn't lay a finger on your pathetic friend and you're attacking me?!"

"Just fucking hold still!" Empoleon snapped, firing another torrent water at the butterfly, which she easily dodged. "How are you doing this!?"

"I'm just… hrrrk… quicker than you think!" Vivillon huffed, her wings beating furiously as she kept her distance. "But really, if you must know, I encountered Bayleef and I didn't attack him like you are doing to me!"

"You found Bayleef?!" Empoleon asked. "Well, he's strong enough to protect himself! TAKE THIS!" The penguin fired another blast of water. This time, it connected. Vivillon was knocked back into a wall with a thud as she groaned out in pain. "FINALLY!"

"You're… ridiculous…" Vivillon coughed out, sneering at the Water-type.

"HA… you're just salty that I beat you!"

"You're celebrating that you defeated me in a Pokemon battle? You're pathetic…" Vivillon grumbled.

Empoleon rolled his eyes, putting a flipper to his beak. "Well, I deserve it! Your psychotic teammate has been stealing wins from me and well, it's about time that my team finally gets a win and I hope you can understand that! I'll be sure to tell everyone about your bravery fighting me in the first place!"

"Oh, please, you're the one who attacked me first," Vivillon retorted. "You're still an idiot… She"then smirked as she fluttered her wings, releasing a shimmering green powder into the air. The fine particles floated toward Empoleon, who didn't even seem to notice.

Empoleon let out a sneeze before glaring at the butterfly. "What was that!?"

"Nothing serious…" Vivillon replied cockily. "Just something to help you… rest up."

"Rest up? What are you even—" Empoleon began, but his words faltered as a wave of exhaustion washed over him. His eyelids grew heavier, his legs trembling as he struggled to stay upright. His feet stumbled over each other, and he swayed unsteadily. "What… what did you… do…?"

"Just hit you with Sleep Powder." Vivillon explained, rolling her eyes. "You brought this upon yourself. I hope you're happy with making your team lose because you can't even stop relying on your attacks to do the talking." She then started flying away from the penguin, who collapsed on the ground as the Sleep Powder's effects fully set in. "Au revoir~"

"I… you…" Empoleon's voice faltered as his eyes closed.

"And that is why I stopped eating licorice on Halloween!" Magcargo finished as he, Chansey and Sunflora were still walking around the caves, trying to find an exit. Luckily enough, they haven't encountered anything strange like the other groups but by this point, they were starting to feel exhausted, both mentally and physically, from doing this for hours.

"That's… interesting to hear, Magcargo…" Chansey murmured, rubbing her eyes. "I wish I can say more but… it feels like we're walking in circles. Or is it just me?"

"Yeah, we're walking in circles, folks! I saw the same heart-shaped marking on the wall about… five times now!" Sunflora affirmed, nodding in agreement.

Chansey raised a brow. "Why didn't you point that out earlier?" She asked. "My legs are killing me!"

"This is a Mystery Dungeon. Your cottonweed friend already told ya, 'member?" Sunflora pointed out. "So, that layouts just changin' but the walls stay the same. Just makin' a guess!"

"You're right…" Chansey sighed, deadpanning. "I'm just feeling tired right now. It feels like we've been here for ages. I'm worried Magearna's in danger right now… and it's been over an hour since I've saw her."

"Why are you concerned about Magearna?" Magcargo asked. "If anything, she should be concerned about you! She's a Mythical Pokemon so she has better ways to defend herself!"

"That sounds like a callous statement to make, Magcargo…" Chansey said.

Magcargo shook his head, smiling warmly. "I'm not saying that to be rude to Magearna even though I really want to!" He reasoned, "It's just that I think you're more concerned about her that you're forgeting yourself! I mean, she floats around! You walk on your two feet… and they're absolutely killing you right now-"

"I don't think I need a reminder that my feet hurt like crazy…"

"Sorry!" Magcargo exclaimed, laughing nervously. "I'm just saying that you should uhm… worry about yourself right now since trying to stress out about something outside your reach would just be a recipe for disaster! Take it from me! I could be worrying about what's happening OUTSIDE this island while I'm here, but I'm not!"

"You have a point…" Chansey sighed as she nodded in understanding. "It's just… Magearna means a lot to me! Without her, I don't know if I'd be even here…"

"I'm not going to take away her impact from your life… just calling things by how they look!" Magcargo explained.

"..." Chansey stared down, averting her gaze from the lava snail. "Sounds easier said than done…"

"I just really think you're a super great person and you're underselling yourself trying to put yourself beneath Magearna's shadow!" Magcargo added. "I think you're witty, smart, kind and caring too! I mean, not everyone can be as highly publicized as a Mythical Pokemon but even the little things matter! We matter. I mean, I'm always behind the scenes myself but that doesn't mean I'm not making an impact. Kricketune and I rely on each other a lot!"

"Who's Kricketune?" Chansey queried.

"O-oh!" Magcargo blushed in embarrassment as he realized what he just said. "I… I swear I'm better at keeping my mouth shut about these things but whoops, I guess I just trust you both with that information. Kricketune is-" Before Magcargo could finish, the ground below them started to tremble, knocking Chansey off-balance. "Hold that though. Is the ground shaking?!"

"I t-think so…" Chansey stammered as she extended her arms to try and maintain her balance. "Sunflora, do you have any idea what's happening and does this usually happen around here?"

Sunflora gave her a look of confusion. "OKAY… since when was I your tour guide!?" He face-palmed, not even struggling to stand up amidst the shaky ground. "I was supposed to be killing you both but ugh… this is all your fault, Magcargo!"

"Awww, thanks! You're my new friend!"

"That's-" Sunflora began before shaking his head as he sighed in exasperation. "FINE! I'll keep playing nice. Just so you know, the ground only shakes when he's around. He's not really a bad guy but he's just really intimidating and doesn't know how to restrain himself but gee, it's because nobody bothered to tell him about that!"

"Err… who are you talking about?" Chansey questioned.

"Him!" Sunflora huffed, pointing over to a Golem that was stomping to their direction.

"So he's a nice guy, huh?" Magcargo said, eyes glistening with intrigue. "Let's say hi!"

"Uhm no!? He's feeling really energetic right now, from the looks of it. I think it's best if we just run." Sunflora advised.

Chansey nodded, preparing to bolt to the opposite direction… only to halt as her eyes widened in horror as a wall had formed there, while they were talking. "Guys, there's a wall here and err… that means we're trapped…"

"So, the Golem's just going to c-crush us?!" Magcargo stammered.

"Of course not, the ground would just collapse and we might die since who knows what's below us! It could be lava, spikes… this whole place is crazy but this is the world I live in!" Sunflora huffed.

Magcargo and Chansey exchanged a look before hugging each other for comfort. Sunflora watched this with a listless expression before sighing loudly. "... you guys are really chummy. Can't say I'm not jealous! But nope! We're not gonna let this happen!" Without any further explanation, the sunflower grunted as he… casually punched a wall on the side of the wall with minimal effort, revealing the outside world as light flooded into the dim hallway.

He gaped in shock, eyes sparkling with genuine interest as he gazed at the view.. "So… this is the outside world, huh..?" Sunflora shook his head, turning to the other two. "Okay… you guys should jump before Golem arrives!"

"What about you!?" Magcargo asked.

"I can't leave," Sunflora muttered, shaking his head. "If I do, I'll get in trouble… Things have been tight ever since she left, so…" His voice trailed off, and he looked away, avoiding their eyes.

"Magcargo, we need to go!" Chansey urged, reaching out her hand toward the lava snail.

Magcargo hesitated, his gaze darting between Sunflora and the opening. Finally, with a defeated sigh, he crawled to the ledge. "Take care of yourself, Sunflora," he said quietly before hopping out, Chansey following close behind.

"... You know what… I will… friends…" A small smile crept up the sunflower's mouth as he walked away from the ledge, which was then covered by another wall as soon as he left.

Nihilego clasped her tentacles together as she waited for more contestants to complete the challenge. To her relief, Vivillon was the next to exit the cave, out of her breath… but her relief died down as the butterfly sped towards her, glaring daggers threateningly.

"What in the world was that challenge!?" Vivillon snapped. "I could've died in there… a-actually… I think I'm actually dying since Skwovet gave me POISONOUS berries! It's ridiculous… my team better win that challenge for everything you put me through!"

"I'm sorry! I underestimated the severity of this challenge, okay!" Nihilego said, eyes shifting to the side as a bead of sweat ran down her face. "I can assure you that we're going to make sure that any future challenge would be easier to complete!"

"HMPH… also… tell your interns that their fake monsters went too far!" Vivillon added.

Nihilego nodded vigorously, gesturing over to Lopunny, who had arrived at the scene just recently. "Uhh… I definitely will! You can… talk to Lopunny about being poisoned!"

"Hmph! I will!" Vivillon grumbled, flying off-screen to talk to the nurse.

Moments later, Magcargo and Chansey stumbled down the side of the mountain, leaning on each other for support, their breaths ragged from exertion.

"Lady Magearna!" Chansey exclaimed, sighing in relief as she saw Magearna among the crowd of people outside the mountain. Magcargo can be seen shaking his head in disappointment behind her. "I'm glad you're safe!"

"I'm glad you're safe as well…" Magearna's voice faltered as she looked to the side. In the background, Floatzel and Teddiursa exchanged a quick glance.

"It looks like this challenge is about to wrap up, huh?!" Nihilego declared, clapping her tentacles together as she sighed in relief. "So… that means we're only waiting on Bayleef, Cramorant, Dedenne, Empoleon, Klinklang, Oricorio, Skwovet and Vanilluxe! It's still anyone's game!"

"Nobody died yet..?" Gourgeist chimed in with a coy grin. "That's disappointing yet impressive at the same time! Maybe, I underestimated everyone, mhm!"

"Please don't joke about that… please." Nihilego urged, deadpanning. She was not having this… not right now. This might just be a game for the players but for her, it's basically life and death! "Seriously… everything's fine! Everything's being sorted out, with the help of Whimsicott and Indeedee!"

Vivillon raised a brow, confused. "Where is that cottonweed anyways? She contacted me through… devices she had placed on my ribbon, without bothering to inform me. I barely paid attention but you've just reminded me to confront her about that. My privacy is very important. I bet she's a huge fan of mine and she is desperate for exclusive content…"

"Oh, I doubt that!" Gourgeist teased, winking playfully. "I didn't even know you were some celebrity before coming in so I'm assuming you're just a C-lister, huh-" She gasped as the butterfly hissed, aiming a Silver Wind over her head. "WOW… that was completely uncalled for. It's not like I was making fun of you! I mean, I called you a C-lister, not a D-lister. That has to count for something, right?"

"Your opinion barely matters to me anyway!" VIvillon huffed, flying away from the group to blow off some steam in private.

"Aw really? That didn't look like it to me!" Gourgeist pointed out, following after the butterfly. "Now, I'm interested! You're better than I expected! Let's gab and talk about our favorite scary movies! Viiiiiiiiv, wait up!"

Back in the caves, Dedenne was now leading the group through another straight hallway. Thankfully, they hadn't encountered any roadblocks like the Sunflora and weird monster they'd stumbled into earlier that day. He looked behind him with a concerned expression as he kept his gaze on the unconscious Klinklang being dragged around by Bayleef, who was surprisingly faring well.

"Any sign of the exit yet?" Skwovet asked, arching a brow. "My legs are killing me again…"

"No, you just have to suck it up and be patient." Dedenne replied, shaking his head. He rolled his eyes as Skwovet groaned in disappointment. "I'm tired too but we can't just stop! The other team might beat us… and who knows!? Another thing might try to attack us again when we're distracted!"

"... good point…" Skwovet admitted with a weak smile. He then casted a quick glance towards Bayleef. "Uhhh… well… this is awkward but Bayleef, are you fine? Sorry we're making you carry Klinklang, even though you're not even on our team."

"It's fine!" Bayleef replied. "I… I'm just glad t-that I can help!"

Skwovet took a step back, a bit shocked by the dinosaur's welcoming attitude. They could've just left him out to dry earlier but here he was, not even hesitating to offer a helping hand. He chuckled, voice dripping with genuine appreciation. "Well… that's great to hear, dude! It's pretty hard to get good help these days!" He rolled his eyes playfully, letting out a quick whistle. "So… you're amazing!"

Bayleef's face turned pink as his neck dropped down in embarrassment. "S-stop that! I'm not used to t-this many compliments… it's… t-too much! It's not like I did anything special! I just h-helped out! Anyone would've done the same…"

"In this game?" Dedenne pointed out, arching a brow. "I have no doubt Empoleon or Teddiursa would've left us out to dry… I mean, they have no reason to even help us, when your team is on a losing streak!"

"I-" Bayleef opened his mouth to interject before sighing deeply, "... you're right. They would've just ditched you guys… n-not that Teddiursa could even carry Klinklang anyways!"

"Yeah! You're amazing for that, by the way!" Skwovet complimented, eyebrows bouncing playfully. "I know we haven't talked much before this, but hey! If you need a friend, I'm here, you know? You're stronger than you look!"

Dedenne gave him a look, his voice flat . "You're really suggesting to Bayleef that he should expand his problematic friend group to have a klepto like you? I think he's in need of actual good influences, don't you think?"

"H-hey! I'm a perfectly good influence!" Skwovet argued, his voice low. "Do I seriously have to keep reminding you guys that I haven't stolen anything since Vanilluxe's ugly keychain! I'm a new man, I promise!"

"I believe him…" Bayleef murmured, eyes darting over to the side. "H-he doesn't have any reason to lie to me… b-besides, he hasn't stolen my… w-wood piece necklace so I trust him!"

"SEE! He believes me! Have more faith in me, dude!" Skwovet exclaimed, sighing in relief.

Dedenne paused for a brief moment to give the duo a quick glance before straining a small smile as he looked away to continue walking. "Fine. I'll give you that. I guess you've been on your best behavior. Don't take that as an invitation to do anything stupid, okay?"

Skwovet saluted as he made his best attempt to form a serious expression. "Of course!"

"Uhm… y-you guys must be r-really fun to be around, huh..?" Bayleef chimed in, raising his voice slightly. "I w-wish I could tell Empoleon that he…" His voice trailed off as he gulped, sweating nervously. "I-I'm a terrible person for t-thinking poorly of him when it's thanks to his training that I'm e-even able to help with K-Klinklang right now…"

"Like I said… Empoleon's good at something… and that's getting people in line to do what he wants." Dedenne commented, "I'm sure he's serious about his skills but meh, he hasn't been good at winning these challenges so I think Skwovet and I are pretty much on the right side of history." He then pushed up his glasses, clearing his throat. "But… about those things you want to tell Empoleon… do you mind if we ask you to elaborate or is that too much or a sore spot?"

"I…" Bayleef's eyes looked down as he struggled to think of a remotely good answer.

"Well… you just dragged down the mood," Skwovet muttered, crossing his arms. "I don't think Bayleef would-" To his surprise, Bayleef stomped to the front of the pack to face the entire group with a determined look… or at the very least, his best attempt to look confident.

"No… he has a point… I c-can't just… sit with these feelings and let them stew…" He stammered as tears started streaming down his face. Forcing his eyes shut, he continued to let the words flow out rather naturally. "I'm so sorry to Empoleon in advance b-but… he's just… too much! I appreciate him a lot b-but he is really pushy and doesn't understand that not everyone is as strong as him… he wouldn't even bother to explain what he saw in me in the first place! It makes me think that I'm just being FUCKING pushed around and I'm so annoyed. He should've explained himself but instead, I feel like I'm just going with the flow of his current… and there's so little I can do! It's-" His eyes slowly opened, a feeling of catharsis setting in. "... wow… I feel so much better!"

Skwovet rubbed his elbows awkwardly. While he could recognize that the Grass-type felt better… it didn't feel right that he's spilling this out in front of HIM. They barely knew each other in the first place!

"Uhm-" He sputtered out only for Dedenne to cut him off.

"Wow… just wow!" Dedenne commented, clapping slowly, the corners of his lips curling into a smirk. "I'm honestly impressed! Well… all you have to do now is tell Empoleon!"

"I… I don't know if I could do t-that…" Bayleef admitted, biting his lip. "I a-already feel better telling you guys…"

"Well, that won't change anything. Empoleon would keep mistreating you." Dedenne pointed out.

Bayleef's eyes narrowed as he stared at the cave floor. "Let's… just move on."

"I-"

"Give him a break, Dedenne," Skwovet urged, deadpanning. "He's clearly uncomfortable…"

Dedenne scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I was just trying to help!" He then walked back to the front of the group, mumbling to himself, "Well… we needed to get going anyways…"

"I f-feel better just… admitting everything to Dedenne and Skwovet but…" Bayleef mumbled, wiping sweat between his brows as he let out a drawn out sigh, "... it's h-humiliating that I still can't bring myself to say it to Empoleon. I feel… too… grateful? Like I owe him or s-something? Does that make sense or am I just spitballing?"

He let out a dry self-deprecating chuckle as he shook his head. "Whatever… i-it's not like it matters… I'll just… keep this to myself and nothing will ever change…"

Dedenne sat in the confessional, arms crossed as he stared at the camera with a small smirk. "I feel pretty lucky that it didn't take much for Bayleef to just spill his guts to me… oh, and Skwovet was there too! In this game, information is pretty much vital so I can use this to drive a wedge between them, if we're swapped together or in the merge…" He paused, rubbing his chin skeptically. "That's… assuming that both of them are even in the merge. Their team honestly sucks so much that they might just get voted off before that happens."

"WE'RE HERE!" Vanilluxe yelled out as he floated out of the tunnel, face red from floating around for the entire afternoon. "Did w-we win?!" He scanned his surroundings, voice panicked. "Don't tell me we lost! We found the diamond but we had to drop it since Whimsicott said that wasn't needed for the challenge and-"

"Calm down. Nobody has won yet!" Nihilego assured, leaning forward on her chair in surprise. "We're still waiting on Bayleef and Empoleon for the Shuppet… Cramorant, Dedenne, Klinklang and Skwovet for the Trubbish!"

Vanilluxe nodded, his worries still not fully subsiding. "Oh… okay? W-we're losing… oh… w-we're actually losing right now!"

"Calm down, Vanilluxe! The game's not over yet!" Oricorio assured, clenching a wing with a determined look. "All we can do now is cheer our team on and hope for the best. Give me a G! Give me an O! GO GO GO! FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT! The fight's not over yet!"

"I almost forgot you were this loud…" Nihilego commented, covering the side of her face where ears would normally be for other Pokemon. "Just sit back… and try not to cheer too much? My eardrums might actually rupture!"

"Okay…" Oricorio said, a tinge of disappointment evident in her voice.

When it looked like things were starting to wind down, the relative calm was interrupted yet again.

"Nihilego, I'm… back!" Whimsicott yelled out, sprinting to the hostess' seat, face flushed. "Everything's going great right now! I had to call Gallade over for h-help too… and thankfully, he was able to help since Bellossom volunteered to help out in keeping the tunnel open with her vines! "

"I'm glad to hear… but can't I get a moment of peace?" Nihilego's brows were furrowed deeper as she put a tentacle to her face, shaking her head in exasperation. "It feels like I'm just constantly stressed this episode…"

"Sorry about that…"

Nihilego sighed, trying to appear calm. "The challenge is almost over anyways…"

As if her words carried some unspoken power, Bayleef, Dedenne, Skwovet, and an unconscious Klinklang suddenly spilled out of the tunnel entrance. They tumbled onto the ground in a disorganized heap, gasping for air.

"ARCEUS ALMIGHTY… well… it looks like we're just waiting for Empoleon and Cramorant then!"

"W-what!? Cramorant's not here yet!?" Dedenne exclaimed, lifting his face up to say these words before it fell back into the heap immediately after.

"Nope! So, it's a race between the two birdbrains on who can win this challenge!" Nihilego said, pointing at the setting sun off in the distance.

"H-hey! I was about to make that joke…" Vanilluxe said, floating around the two hosts.

"Sorry… first come, first served… or in your case… first soft serve!"

Vanilluxe gaped in shock at the jellyfish starting to crack jokes… and to his surprise, nobody was reacting negatively to it either. He frowned as he floated away, presumably to work on his own jokes.

"My feet are jelly right now… please stop with these walking challenges…" Skwovet groaned, glaring at the camera.

An hour later, the sun had already sunk below the horizon, leaving nothing but an empty dark sky with not even a single star to keep the cast company as they huddled together in front of the cave, waiting for Cramorant and Empoleon to arrive.

"Where in the world is Empoleon!?" Floatzel grunted, clearly unimpressed. "Wasn't he the one saying this would be an easy challenge!? I'm already regretting splitting up…"

"UWU… maybe he got lost?!" Teddiursa suggested, tilting her head to the side cutely.

"Oh, he's having a nice sleep inside the caves right now." Vivillon clarified with a smug smirk. "He deserves it for attacking me in the first place~"

Oricorio gasped in shock, casting a quick glance to Vanilluxe. "W-wait… so you're saying that he regained his consciousness and didn't learn his lesson… he just… chose to just attack you instead of trying to focus on escaping? That doesn't sound smart of him to do…"

Dedenne rolled his eyes, his tone blunt. "It's Empoleon. He was never smart in the first place."

"What about your phone girl? What happened to her?" Magearna queried, eyes shifting to the side awkwardly in disinterest. "Maybe, she was also in the same boat!"

"I don't know either. I thought she flew away when the ground collapsed but… I guess not!" Dedenne said.

"... if she costs us the challenge, I hope everyone's fine with her being voted off…" Gossifleur chimed in, surprising the rest of the group. She raised a brow, confused. "W-why is everyone looking at me like that? I'm just… using logic h-here!"

"I mean... you are, but I didn't expect you to be that kind of person..." Dedenne admitted. "I'm impressed though! Maybe, you should try adopting that mindset around here!"

At those words, Gossifleur's cheerful expression faltered. Without a word, she quietly stepped back, retreating behind the group, her gaze lowered to the ground.

"Guys, stop talking! I think someone's about to win the challenge—UWU!" Teddiursa exclaimed, her voice bursting with excitement as she pointed toward the tunnel. A lone shadow can be made out in the dim hallway, slowly trudging into view.

"I always believed in Empoleon!" Gourgeist yelled out, waving her tendrils in an exagerrated manner, which didn't match her deadpan stare.

"You do get that'd mean we're losing, right?" Vivillon huffed, annoyed.

"I don't care! I just want drama!"

The figure finally walked out of the cave. Everyone held onto their friends for support as they held their breath as the results. The one winning this challenge for their team… it was…

…

It was Cramorant!

The Twinkling Trubbish all erupted into a cacophony of screams as they jumped up and down to celebrate. Against all odds, they had managed to win their FOURTH challenge in a row!

"OMG… why is everyone screaming!? Did I like… win this challenge for the team?" Cramorant asked, looking around, not even surprised.

"Yep! And that does it…" Nihilego announced, "TRUBBISH wins immunity, for the FOURTH time in a row!" She then turned to the Shuppet, giving them a sympathizing stare. "I'm sorry to say but… you have to meet me later for elimination."

"OWO…" Teddiursa fell to her knees, small tears forming in her eyes. "This can't be happening… AGAIN?! Why is this happening! I've been nothing but a good girl this year!"

"Empoleon…" Floatzel tipped his hat to hide his annoyed look. "I can't even say I'm shocked but I'm… disappointed."

"Uhm… so is anyone going to have to head in to go get him?" Magearna asked, struggling to hide her frustration as her eyes were downturned.

"Don't worry! Indeedee's getting him right now!" Poipole explained.

"What does that-" Before Floatzel could finish, a familiar figure stepped out of the tunnels. It was a large pile of flesh, its face marred with scars and multiple mouths filled with gummy toothless grins. Strangely, it cradled an unconscious Empoleon in its malformed hands, emitting an unsettling yet oddly soothing gurgling noise as it moved forward. "HOLY ARCEUS… what is that!?"

"I already told you guys! It's the interns!" Whimsicott said, wiping a bead of sweat off her forehead. "Indeedee, you can show yourself now!"

As if on cue, an audible unzipping sound filled the air. The grotesque creature dropped Empoleon unceremoniously onto the ground before its form crumpled to the floor. From the collapsed pile, an utterly bored-looking Indeedee emerged, brushing off imaginary dust from their fur.

"Whoop de doo… it was me all along…" Indeedee announced, arms outstretched to get everyone's attention. "I'm the monster. Whether that's literal or metaphorical… it's your call."

"Wow… that's like so neat…" Cramorant commented, staring at the costume on the ground. "So the monsters really were interns? I'm shocked!"

"So we weren't really in any danger?" Skwovet asked, raising a brow. "I mean… Klinklang still tried to attack-"

"DON'T!" Klinklang raised his voice, eyes closed in thought. "... that was a moment of weakness. You don't have to call me out here…"

"I was just asking, okay! You really were out of it!" Skwovet pointed out, averting his gaze.

"Well… I hope that made everything clear. This challenge was a mess but everything was in our control!" Nihilego said with a small smirk. "I'm sorry for not telling everything from the start… but well, that's the fun of this game, right?"

"Sure…" Floatzel muttered, crossing his arms with an unamused look.

Indeedee nodded, clapping his hands together as he tilted his head with an angelic smile. "I'm so glad everyone made it back safe and sound! I know the elimination ceremony is in just a few minutes, but it's time for dinner!"

His announcement was met with collective groans from the group. His smile then vanished, replaced by a sharp glare that could pierce through steel. "If anyone dares to complain about my cooking being terrible…" He paused, letting the tension hang in the air before adding menacingly, "Just know I can throw you down that hole without a second thought."

Without missing a beat, his angelic smile returned, clasping his hands together. "Anywaaaays… let's go!" He chirped, gesturing for the group to follow.

Against their will, everyone was gathered in the mess hall to 'enjoy' a meal together. They were tired, battered, emotionally-drained… but here they were, seated with the respective teams, forced to eat whatever terrible dish Indeedee has cooked up for them tonight.

Even the Twinkling Trubbish, who ended up winning the challenge, weren't really into celebrating after everything they've been through with the more physically and emotionally-drained members like Vivillon and Oricorio, already half-asleep on their chairs. On the other, the mood was way thicker on the Shining Shuppet.

Not only were they forced to eat Indeedee's new creation… which were just raw mushrooms, to their annoyance; they had an elimination to worry about. At this point, Empoleon had recovered from Vivillon's sleep powder and was just looking down at his plate in disappointment, having to sit with the knowledge that HE was the reason they lost today's challenge.

Bayleef lifted his head after gagging a couple of times, just staring at the red-capped mushroom sitting on his plate, hoping he could break the silence… but struggled to find the words. Though, he internally sighed in relief as Empoleon, cleared his throat to gather everyone's attention.

"So… we fucking lost… AGAIN…" He said, smacking the side of the table, "And…" He paused, putting a hand to his face in disappointment, "It's my fault… I'm so sorry…"

"You were all talk all along, huh?" Floatzel scoffed, rolling his eyes. "What even happened? We let you go off on your own, since we thought you were strong enough to fend for yourself… but VIVILLON got you beat?!"

"... you know what, you're right!"

"I know I am rig-" Floatzel started only to catch himself, "Wait… did you just say I'm right?"

"It's my fault we lost… so… it's pretty simple," Empoleon explained matter-of-factly, "Just vote me off. We lost FOUR challenges, despite my presence so it's pretty obvious that I've been really hypocritical for the past few rounds. I'm just as useless as everyone else here!"

"I don't like how you sounded humble yet put us all down, in the same sentence…" Floatzel commented, narrowing his gaze. "What's the catch?"

"I'm serious," The penguin repeated. "There's no catch either! Just vote me off. We don't need to overcomplicate things!"

Bayleef, who was seated next to him, looked rather confused by this, "W-what? Are you serious? It's n-n-not just your fault… we should've stuck together… i-it was Magearna's idea to split up!"

This captured the Mythical Pokemon's attention as she raised a brow. "What do you mean, Bayleef? Are you blaming me for our loss? Empoleon wouldn't have been fast asleep if he didn't try to fight against Vivillon! Stop trying to deflect blame!"

"I-I'm not… I'm just pointing it out there!" Bayleef explained, laughing nervously. "If you didn't suggest that, he wouldn't be f-forced to be alone… and he wouldn't have been ambushed…"

"Do I have to mention that you were helping out the other team by dragging that Klinklang?" Magearna retorted, crossing her arms. She continued, raising her voice with every word. "You could've left him behind and HE could've cost their team the loss but instead, you decided to be stupid and help them out! I am all for helping others out but given the circumstances, you just seem foolish!"

"Lady Magearna, I think that might be too hateful…" Chansey commented, twiddling her fingers awkwardly.

"I'm just giving my own defense!" The Mythical Pokemon huffed, shaking her head. "I didn't mean to attack her character but if he's intending to bring me into the spotlight then he should've been prepared for my counter-argument!"

Just then, a booming voice cut through the air, interrupting this brewing argument. "PLEASE STOP!"

Everyone quickly turned back to Empoleon who crossed his arms with an annoyed expression. "SEE… you're all fighting when I'm the one who caused us the loss in the end! I could've pushed back against Magearna's suggestion AND Bayleef… I'm not even going to comment about you helping the other team but… you did great without me… especially after you got seperated from Floatzel so do I deserve to criticize you for anything?!"

"Empoleon…" Bayleef murmured, "Y-you…"

"Uhmm… do you just expect everyone to vote against you, hehe?" Sableye asked, raising a hand… only to put it back down as Empoleon growled at him, "Okay? I was just asking…"

"If you even think of doing anything else, I would be very pissed!" Empoleon grunted threateningly, "At least, let me do something right in this game for once! We're not going to win any more challenges because of me… I…" His voice faltered as he put a flipper over his eyes to hide his remorse. "I… got too overconfident."

Magearna nodded curtly, standing up from her seat, "Understood… well… that does take a lot off my shoulders…" She then casted a quick glance at Bayleef, who shrank from her cold gaze. "I hope that nobody here has any funny ideas of voting me off~" She giggled into her hand as she turned to leave the room… a few seconds later, Chansey also stood up, blushing as she did so.

"Uhhmm… I-I think I need to ask Magearna something as well…" She explained before following after the steel and fairy type out of the mess hall. Teddiursa then shot a thoughtful wink towards Floatzel and the duo stood up at the same time and also went out to leave through the mess hall exit.

As the numbers sitting around the table decreased, Sableye laughed sheepishly as he avoided the penguin's gaze, "So… uhh… that's it? We're… voting against you, Empoleon? And it's gonna be unanimous or something..?"

"Ye-"

"You can't just DO this!"

Empoleon and Sableye's eyes both widened as they turned to Bayleef, who was close to tears as he bowed his head down in disappointment… before glaring at the penguin, surprising him with how… strange it felt, coming from the dinosaur.

"You're just going to give up after you literally forced me to improve myself?!" The dinosaur snapped, "I can't believe this… I thought you were better than this… I… I can't even believe this! You're so despicable… I-I… I won't just vote for you!" He paused, expression hardening, "Sableye… please please please, don't just vote for Empoleon. He's still the strongest person on this team."

"Uhmmm w-"

"YOU said you saw something in me… and n-now you're just quitting… that's like admitting that you were bullshitting me all along. You didn't see anything in me. You just wanted to feel better about yourself! Does it look like I'm strong enough to be in this game without y-you!? I w-wouldn't even have been strong enough to lift Klinklang without your annoying training regimes!"

"Bayleef, I-" At this point, Empoleon's eyes were wide as saucers as he struggled to think of an actual response.

"Please… just shut up! Empoleon, you're really getting on my nerves… asking to be voted off?! You might as well just quit on the spot!" Bayleef continued… before quickly covering his mouth, realizing what he just said, "Err… o-oh… u-uhh… t-that's all…"

"..."

Sableye laughed weakly, shattering the growing silence, "Uhhh… w-why is nobody… uhhmm… shouldn't we get going and prepare for the vote, heheh… ha…"

"I-" Bayleef whimpered, instantly regretting lashing out from out of nowhere.

"Bayleef… you…" The penguin started to avoid the dinosaur's gaze, feeling a bit… embarrassed strangely enough.

"... OKAY… now, I have mixed feelings…" Empoleon admitted with a blank expression.

Bayleef groaned, slamming his head on the side of the confessional, quickly complaining at how it hurted as he did so before stopping, "Why d-d-d-did I just do that?! I think Empoleon is very very mad at me right now and… oh no oh no oh no…" He spun his head around in worry before wiping away the tears around his eyes with his vines, "I… I d-don't even know what to do…"

He paused… muttering, "I d-don't even want Empoleon gone but…"

"W-wait! Lady Magearna!" Chansey beckoned, running to the mythical Pokemon the moment they left the mess hall. Out of breath, she quickly sputtered out, "A-about the challenge-"

The mythical Pokemon cocked a brow, turning around, "What do you mean?" She tapped her chin thoughtfully… before snapping a finger as she nodded, "Are you talking about us getting separated?"

"Y-you went missing while I was talking with Magcargo an-"

"Chansey, the cave had a spontaneous layout," Magearna reminded, "I think the layout changed at that moment… so we were separated from each other. I sincerely apologize… if only I was a bit more careful…" She sniffed, wiping off some residual tears from her eyes, "I'm really sorry that you got lost…"

"I-I…" Chansey looked shocked by the Mythical Pokemon's tears… and immediately felt bad, blushing in embarrassment, "D-don't worry… I'll forgive y-'' She gaped as Magearna quickly hugged her with a cheery expression, "O-okay… this is a little bit too close!"

"Uhmm… are you two done?" Chansey and Magearna simultaneously blinked as the Mythical decided to release the nurse from her clutches, turning to the direction of the voice. A haughty-looking Teddiursa was marching from the mess hall with a nonchalant Floatzel lagging behind her. "So… what were you two doing?"

"M-making up!" Chansey stammered.

"Yeah yeah! OWO I honestly don't care…" Teddiursa said with a giggle, "But uhmm… about the vote…"

"Didn't Empoleon already volunteer to get voted off?" Magearna pointed out, "It seems a bit… counter-productive to do anything else."

"I mean… he made a speech and everything," Teddiursa said, "But honestly, there's something on my mind…"

"Hmm?" Magearna arched a brow. "Don't leave us in suspense! What do you have in mind?"

"Bayleef. Like… he's cute and all, but if we're gonna judge Empy for sucking at these challenges… let's take a step back and think! Bay Bay hasn't been doing so great either!" Teddiursa pointed out, tapping her chin. "So like… let's nix the Empoleon vote and-"

"I'm in."

Teddiursa blinked in shock. Magearna didn't even hesitate for even a second. "Wait really!?"

"That dinosaur brought up my name back there… I think he might be thinking of getting me out!" Magearna explained with an annoyed huff. "Thankfully, he doesn't have enough time to scramble so us four should vote together and-"

"I don't feel good about this at all, Teddiursa." Floatzel admitted. "We… really got to bond in that cave so I think you're underestimating him. He carried Klinklang out of the cave and barely broke a sweat!"

"Hmm… just sounds like he helped the other team win, don'tcha think?" Teddiursa rebuted with a smug smirk.

Floatzel sighed as he couldn't really argue against that.

"Feel free to vote against Empy! I-D-C who goes between them anyways!" Teddiursa intoned, giggling into her paws. "I can get Sableye onboard with it, if we need an extra vote!"

"Okay…" Floatzel muttered, looking to the side, expression riddled with guilt.

Fourth time's… not the charm, as the Shining Shuppet all faced the campfire, still reeling in from the disappointment of their fourth consecutive loss. A faux-apologetic Nihilego held a tray of marshmallows as she secretly relished in satisfaction from the heavy mood of the tribe facing her tonight.

Poipole waved at the cast with a dazzling radiant smile… which almost blinded them just from his shiny teeth, "Hi Shining Shuppet! Nihilego was feeling very lazy, so-" He grunted as Nihilego hit him in the side, mouthing 'Don't fucking tell them everything I tell you', making him laugh awkwardly, "Ookay… moving on, there's six marshmallows here… yet there are seven of you! You've all already voted and I'll call your names out when you're safe to get a marshmallow."

"If you're left without a marshmallow at the end of this… then you're donezo, gone, forced out the island with no chance of returning," Poipole continued, "Uhhhm… errr… or at least that's what Nihilego told me to s-" His voice faltered as he noticed Nihilego cast him a glare. "Uhm… anyways… let's get this party started!"

The cast all held a nervous expression as they waited in anticipation for Poipole's announcement. He looked rather confused but he quickly shook it off, grabbing a marshmallow from the platter, "First marshmallow of the night goes to…" He waved the marshmallow high, taking care not to drop it, "Floatzel."

The weasel smirked as he stood up to get his marshmallow. "Teddiursa…" The little bear made a fake gasp as she attempted to catch her marshmallow… which flew past her head again, to her dismay. "... Sableye." The gremlin cheered, only to cringe as he got hit by a marshmallow on the nose.

"Magearna." The Mythical Pokemon had a knowing expression as she came forward to get her marshmallow. She shot the worried Chansey a look of reassurance. "... and Chansey." The nurse gasped in shock as she nervously scurried forward to get her marshmallow.

Empoleon and Bayleef were left without a marshmallow. Empoleon looked rather impatient, already waiting for Nihilego to announce his departure while Bayleef cocked his head down in disappointment. One of them was leaving no matter what.

"Everyone… this is the last marshmallow of the night…" Poipole announced ominously. "And it goes to…"

Bayleef's eyes widened.

Empoleon put his head on his hands in disappointment.

…

"... Empoleon," Poipole finished, hurling a marshmallow to the surprised penguin. Empoleon turned to his teammates in confusion. He somehow survived? Even when he asked to be eliminated. It was almost as if nothing was going his way…

"Guys… I thought we had an agreement!" Empoleon snapped, "And you still voted to keep me?! What the fucking hell…"

"Sorry… you were still more useful than Bayleef," Teddiursa explained with a playful wink. The penguin blinked before looking away without a word.

"... bye Bayleef…" Floatzel murmured, averting his gaze apologetically.

Bayleef, on the other hand, was crying at the news, "I'm o-out?! Just like that… I-I-I…" He stood up from his seat, running into the woods to make his way to the docks.

"Okay… Thank you for doing our jobs for us, Bayleef? Poipole, join him on the boat," Nihilego asked. The youngest Ultra Beast nodded, running off after the dinosaur. The jellyfish was about to say something but was interrupted by Empoleon, standing up to sprint out of the area. "... okay? Where the fuck is he going? Oh well… the round is over anyway. Good night."

Bayleef sighed to himself as he glumly walked down the docks to the boat where Poipole was waiting, having surprisingly beaten him to the docks. He was gone… he had mixed feelings with being eliminated. Sure, the game… was tough and Empoleon was hard on him, but in the end of the day… it all amounted to nothing and the dinosaur felt nothing but disappointment.

"I can't… I c-can't believe this actually happened… t-the moment somebody actually asked to get voted off…" He muttered to herself… unable to fight the tears. "This isn't fair…"

He whimpered, wiping the tears off… even as they continued to flow, "W-why am I even crying? It's not like this game mattered in the end b-but… I guess… e-even I wanted to prove something… b-but in the end, I…"

"Bayleef, hurry up already! We're about to leave!" Poipole beckoned.

The dinosaur sighed, nodding reluctantly, "Alright…" He had one look at the island as he rushed up the gangplank and onto the boat. The Ultra Beast pat him reassuringly on the back as the boat started moving away.

"Don't worry… you're going to a resort an-"

"I… I need some space…" Bayleef muttered, trudging away from Poipole, who blinked… mildly intrigued.

"Why is he mad all of a sudden..?"

"WAIT WAIT WAIT!" Empoleon screamed as he emerged from a thicket of bushes, hoping he didn't miss Bayleef's departure… only to stare in disappointment as the boat carrying Bayleef had already disappeared in the distance.

He fell to his knees, trembling, "No… this… I…"

"I didn't even say goodbye…"

He rubbed his eyes to stop himself from even crying. Winners NEVER cry. This was a sign that his game was not over... not yet.

"Fine... be that way. I'll win this for you, Bayleef! I won't give up ever again... you'd want that, huh!?" He said to himself with a dry chuckle as he struggled to believe his own words for once.

Sighing, he turned around, trying to push away Bayleef from his mind. "Whatever... I... don't have to think about it right now." And with that said, he left the beach.

Sableye yawned as he returned from the campfire ceremony. While he was… shocked that it was Bayleef voted off over Empoleon. It wasn't the first time he was caught off-guard by the results of the vote. Honestly, he was just thankful he wasn't somehow voted off. As he headed into his cabin… he looked confused to find a wide-eyed Gossifleur, sitting on Bayleef's former bed.

He stumbled back in shock, "G-Gossifleur… uhh… what are you doing here, hehe?"

"Oh, the door was unlocked!" Gossifleur chirped, "So, I just allowed myself in while you guys were voting someone off…" She tilted her head to the side, "Who was voted off?"

"Bayleef," Sableye answered, "But uhh… y-you still haven't answered my question…"

"I was together with Gourgeist the whole day," Gossifleur explained, "And I haven't learned anything… so I figured, I should ask a professional bad boy instead so I came here and waited for you! I'm glad you haven't been eliminated!"

"Wait… what?!"

"Can you teach me how to be a bad girl?" Gossifleur asked with a giggle.

"Uhh… can you repeat that? Cuz… I don't think I got it the first time…"

"Okay, well-"

"That was a joke… but uhh… teach you how to be a bad girl?" Sableye queried as the flower's expression changed from interest to confusion, "What exactly do you mean by that?"

Gossifleur opened her mouth to reply but shrugged as she couldn't explain specifically. Sableye groaned face-palming, "I think you made a severe misunderstanding, heh…"

"What do you mean!? I thought you were the Ultimate Bad Boy or something!? I mean… Floatzel kept shouting that you're always up to something!" Gossifleur pointed out, arching a brow. "Is he wrong?"

"W-well… I think it's because I'm smelly…" Sableye explained, embarrassed before quickly adding, "... and uhhm… i-is it weird to not have any memories before last year? C-cuz Floatzel thinks that's suspicious!"

Gossifleur's eyes widened in shock. "W-what?" She stammered, holding her head, "You… don't have memories? Or whatever you mean? Does that mean I made a terrible decision asking you?"

"Yes-"

Gossifleur shook her head, giving the gremlin a warm smile. "You know what… I'll worry about it tomorrow! I can ask Skwovet!" She put an arm on Sableye's shoulder. "Err… if you need help unpacking… that… then you can tell me…"

Sableye gulped, holding his head as he could feel a headache coming in. "It's fine… my head is starting to hurt right now…"

"Oh… okay…" Gossifleur looked disappointed.

"I'm sorry… I j-just need to get some rest…" Sableye assured. "W-we can talk tomorrow!"

"Okay…" Gossifleur replied, trying her best not to be disappointed but even though she understood… she was still a bit disappointed.

"Vivillon… why the fuck are you following me?" Skwovet asked, as he took a walk around camp, hoping he would shake off the butterfly from his tail. "Like seriously… are you still not over the so-called poisonous berries business. I already apologized so give me a break already…" He groaned as Vivillon shook her head, glaring at his back.

"Oh come on… I didn't know you were that petty…"

"Then, clearly you don't know me at all," Vivillon said with a smug look, "Besides… you have done nothing but get on my nerves for the past few days. Need I remind you that you have been pilfering some of my luxury items while I was… quote unquote not looking?"

Skwovet groaned, face-palming. "I did that on the first few days… but I stopped! I haven't stolen anything since then!"

"That's not enough. You have a record of taking what doesn't belong to you so… I need to keep my eye on you before you try to do anything else… or worse, escalate from just pickpocketing!" Vivillon continued, "So, you're stuck with me!"

"... Ughh… come on, Vivillon," Skwovet said pleadingly, "I'm sure there are other people you should be worried of… like Magcargo or Cramorant?!"

"Oh please, at this point, you're starting to grow desperate, "Vivillon scoffed haughtily, "I mean… Magcargo and Cramorant? Neither are even a threat to anyone… so that's a lazy excuse to make."

Skwovet groaned again, to her delight as she said in a singsong voice, "Now carry on with your activities. Pretend I'm just your very-much needed chaperone!"

The squirrel was about to lash back… before grumbling to himself as he stomped to another direction, with the butterfly flying after him. "Stop!"

"No can do! I don't want your ignorance putting anyone else in danger!" Vivillon said smugly. "You just might poison them by 'accident'!"

"You have got to be kidding me! It really was an accident!" Skwovet groaned, ears drooping down nervously.

"Vivillon is after my case… and that's NOT good," Skwovet admitted with a scowl. "It makes me really nervous… I'm not that good under pressure and if she's really keeping her eye on me… then… I don't know what I'd do!"

He let out a groan, holding his head frantically, "And worse! I think the whole berry incident has put me under a lot of fire… so ugh, I'm not exactly feeling good, if we do end up losing a challenge! And it all… HER FAULT!"

Carracosta stepped into the intern's compound, late at night. He had been walking around the island, getting himself familiarized with his surroundings before he could start snooping on anything happening behind the scenes.

As he was about to head into the shared trailer for the interns, a loud voice came from behind him. "Where have YOU been?!"

He turned around, relieved to find out that it was just Bellossom, giving him an unamused expression… but given their huge size difference, she wasn't doing a great job intimidating him in the first place. "Oh… I was just taking a walk."

"That was a really long walk then, huh?" Bellossom scoffed, crossing her arms. "I heard from Staravia that she hasn't seen you since the tour… so where did you really go?"

"It's none of your business." Carracosta replied flatly.

Bellossom gaped, protesting shakily, "H-hey! Marill told us to stay on stand-by, in case our help is needed! What if Nihilego needed us during that challenge!? You'd be fired for ghosting! You're lucky Whimsicott had everything under control and-" She paused before glaring at the turtle. "... but whatever. Were you just waltzing around… like you own the place!? That's definitely not suspicious at all!"

"What about you? Staravia told me you were sucking up to Nihilego, like that was in your job description…" Carracosta pointed out, arching a brow.

"W-what!? Staravia told you THAT!?" Bellossom took a step back, shocked. "I'm not sucking up for nothing… I mean… you just think of this job as nothing but well… this could be the start of something great so you better not mess this up for me!"

Carracosta rolled his eyes. "You're worried about yourself? Typical…"

"Are you looking down at me?" Bellossom asked, her expression grave.

"It's nothing. Good night." Carracosta brushed off the flower dancer's words as he opened the door, stepping into the trailer, leaving the Grass-type alone in the dark.

"What a… what a…" Bellossom's voice trembled as her left eye twitched. "CUNT!"

Her words echoed throughout the forest as the scene faded to black.

Bayleef - Chansey, Magearna, Teddiursa

Empoleon - Sableye, Floatzel

Chansey - Empoleon

Magearna - Bayleef

Shining Shuppet - Chansey, Empoleon, Floatzel, Magearna, Sableye, Teddiursa

Twinkling Trubbish - Cramorant, Dedenne, Gossifleur, Gourgeist, Klinklang, Magcargo, Oricorio, Skwovet, Vanilluxe, Vivillon

Eliminated: Unfezant, Pikachu, Musharna, Bayleef

THOUGHTS

This chapter… dragged on for far too long. So, it's nice to end another chapter. They went spelunking… but it was mostly walking around some dark tunnels.

It contained a LOT of foreshadowing and shit so I hope you guys are on the edge of your seats. I need to cover my mouth before I can share too much spoilers…

THE BOOT (Bayleef - 17th Place)

Bayleef… was a JOURNEY. He was the original second boot but I decided to keep him and have him express his grievances against Empoleon a bit more… and whoops, that relationship ended up open-ended since they… did NOT even have a happy farewell. But there's no returnees but there will be an episode with the eliminated characters so stay tuned for that.

He made it further after I pushed him out of the 2nd boot slot but I figured that this was the best moment to take him out… when Empoleon felt that he was at his lowest, not knowing he was going to get pushed down even further. While I did want to leave their relationship more ambiguous… it was a relationship built on fear, respect… and being forced into it in the first place was really toxic… Empoleon got harder on Bayleef after suffering multiple losses. While he did show some kindness and respect for Bayleef… that is nothing but a memory for him now. Since even Bayleef was starting to rethink things before his elimination.

THE INTERNS

They are there for now… but they will be important to the story so keep your eyes peeled! They were a necessary addition to fill out the cast since... well... there was a bit of a missing dynamic if it was just Marill, Whimsicott and others. So, yeah! They are gonna rock!

Newly Introduced Interns

Staravia, the Wide-Eyed Thespian

Bellossom, the Social Climber

Carracosta, the Perpetual Stoic

Bayleef: P-p-please review… I'm begging you!