Everybody's waiting for you to break down.
Everyone's waiting… for a reason to break you down.
DISCLAIMER: This episode contains triggering and harsh words, so tread carefully.
Episode 11: Hearing Is Bereaving
The day after Chansey's elimination, Klinklang was seen pacing around the porch of the Twinkling Trubbish cabin with a persistent frown on his face. Ever since the elimination, Magcargo had decided that he would rather sleep anywhere but in the same room as him, and it was visibly affecting Klinklang.
"Magcargo, you're being immature right now." Klinklang called out, rolling his eyes. No reply. "I know you're in there. Vanilluxe told me."
"..."
Klinklang sighed, pausing to stare at the closed door, preparing an attack to break it down. He knew Magcargo would be mad with his decision to vote Chansey off, but he had miscalculated just how mad he would be. "Magcargo… if you need a more in-depth explanation on why I did what I did, then… I can give it to you. Just let me in… please?"
"No! Stay away! This is my private comfort zone!" Magcargo finally responded, his voice dripping with animosity. From inside the cabin, sounds of clattering could be heard. "You should go and talk to Dedenne and Cramorant instead, cause that's clearly the type of people you want to work with!"
"I… it was nothing personal, Magcargo." Klinklang tried to reason. "You do know that my loyalty is still placed with you, right? Just because I voted with Cramorant and Dedenne once doesn't mean we're going to keep voting together."
"So does that mean you'll vote them off?"
"..."
"Answer me, Klinklang!" Magcargo yelled out.
Klinklang sighed, looking to the side as his gaze faltered slightly. "As you already know… the merge is so close, that I feel like-"
"Is that a roundabout way of saying that we need to work together with them!? They're trash, not good people at all!" Magcargo interrupted, his talking speed faster than usual. "I mean… it's not them taking out Chansey that I'm mad about, it's the fact that they did nothing but call Empoleon useless and expendable, but then decided to keep him in anyways without even informing me?! I know Chansey told me it was fine, but even after sleeping it off, I can't get myself to forgive you, so don't think you can just make plans around me instead of with me!"
"C-Chansey's gone?" Vanilluxe chimed in with a surprised tone. "I-I-I didn't even get to tell her I liked her!"
"You liked Chansey? How did I not know that?" Floatzel asked flatly.
"You never bothered to ask, since you're always focused on Teddiursa and Sableye! I bet you don't even remember if we're on the same team or not." Vanilluxe spat, still rather put-off by the weasel's behavior towards him.
"I-"
Klinklang groaned, slamming the door with his gears. "Could you two please shut up? Magcargo and I were having a private conversation."
"No we're not!" Magcargo countered.
"M-Magcargo! You need to listen to me! Don't just-" But Magcargo had stopped responding. Klinklang looked frantic for a moment, before he shook his head, his expression turning back to the usual cold demeanor that was typical for him. "Magcargo… I hope you can get over this soon. I… I apologize if this incident hurt your feelings, but you should not forget that at the end of the day, this is a competition. Not everything can go your way-"
"Just buzz off, friend! You are no help, hehehe!" A familiar and chipper voice suddenly interjected from within the cabin.
Klinklang blinked. Despite their limited interactions, he was quick to recognize the voice. "Sunflora? Are you also in there? How did you even… I'm personally shocked you weren't ejected from the island, considering your actions!"
"Oh please! Magcargo helped me become a better person, not to mention he hid me from the hosts! He is a true friend indeed!"
"What!? Floatzel… Vanilluxe… are both of you just FINE with this?!" Klinklang questioned.
Vanilluxe laughed nervously. "H-hahaha… once you get to know him… he is pretty chill… no pun intended."
"HMPH! I-I did a thorough investigation, and he doesn't seem to be doing anything suspicious right now. Even if he did tie me up really tightly before, he's the one tied up now, so I call that karma at its finest." Floatzel added.
"Hmm… I did not expect either of you to be so… forgiving… especially you, Floatzel. But anyways… if Magcargo ever changes his mind about not wanting to talk to me… just tell him that he knows where to find me… okay?" Klinklang said before leaving.
"I… well… I am fully adept at handling situations like these. Friends are just future enemies who haven't turned on you… yet. I have no reason to let this affect me. After all, I am wholly satisfied with being alone." Klinklang remarked, giving the camera a vacant stare. "And if you think that I am hurt by Magcargo's sudden change of behavior, then you have another thing coming. I am not the type to just… just… be broken and bruised because of one miscalculation. You can expect such behavior from ineffective competition like Empoleon and Floatzel, but myself? I am fully prepared for this. I knew it was bound to happen."
Inside the guys' side of the cabin, Magcargo was seen covering himself in blankets, as he was holding back tears. A tied up Sunflora leaned on his back with a blank expression. Vanilluxe and Floatzel both stood by the door, exchanging looks of concern. Magcargo had always been the most vibrant and unabashedly positive person on the island… so to see him so low was a bit uncomfortable.
"Magcargo… are you alright?" Floatzel asked, walking over to the bed that the lava snail had been holed up in since the elimination. "I mean… I'm still shocked that you just forced your way into our cabin but uhm… I want to know… are you alright? I mean, you burnt through ten sets of blankets already, and I'm pretty sure Gallade's not going to bring us any more if you keep burning through them."
"Was Klinklang right? Is Chansey really gone-" Vanilluxe was about to add, only for Floatzel to grunt, smacking him in the side and giving him that glare that said 'Not the perfect time to remind him about that, don't you think?'. "O-oh… you know what? Forget I said anything. I uhm… you can lick me if you want! People eat ice cream to feel better, right?"
"I don't want to…"
"You don't want to lick me, or you just don't want ice cream?"
"Vanilluxe!"
"Hey, I was just trying to help!" Vanilluxe said, peering away with a childish pout.
Floatzel rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "Well, it's definitely helping Magcargo feel better, of course! Carry on!"
"Okay… your obnoxiously obvious sarcasm doesn't make ME feel any better…" Vanilluxe added, a dark shadow casting over his frosty facial features.
Floatzel sighed, face-palming. "I'm sorry if I offended you, but this is about Magcargo. I'm feeling very anxious honestly, since Chansey kept telling me about how Magcargo was such a handful of sunshine when we were on the same team, but now… he's like this. Who can even fix him? Another Magcargo?!"
"I can help-" Sunflora suggested, only for Floatzel to hold up an arm to interject, stopping Sunflora from speaking.
"I know I said I wasn't gonna worry about you… but that doesn't mean I'm going to take your help, especially when you're the one that tied me up!" Floatzel reminded him, stomping on the ground repeatedly. "You're very LUCKY that I have a lot on my plate to be worrying about defeating evil villains like you!"
"But I'm not a villain! I just want to be your friend!" Sunflora explained in a singsong voice.
"Friends don't tie their friends up! That's not how friendship works!" Floatzel retorted with a clenched fist.
"But-"
"Say another word, and I'll beat you up!"
"That doesn't sound so heroic of you, friend!"
"Stop calling me friend!"
Vanilluxe laughed nervously, arching a brow. "U-uhm… Floatzel, I don't want to burst your bubble, but… Magcargo?"
Floatzel nodded as he shot one last glare towards the Grass-type. "Just know I'm watching you… now SCOOT!" The weasel then pushed the sunflower aside as he took a seat next to Magcargo, who had gone silent by this point. "Magcargo, I know we haven't talked… like at all… but uhh… you can let it out with me?"
"..."
"Magcargo?"
"..."
"Okay, when Magcargo of all Pokémon isn't saying ANYTHING, you know it's bad." Vanilluxe remarked, holding himself back from making a poorly-timed joke.
"Well… I'm not Chansey, so I don't think I can say anything to make him feel better…" Floatzel commented, narrowing his eyes.
"What if you pretend to be Chansey-"
"UHM? No? Do I sound anything like her?!"
"Uhhhh… just uhm… sound like a girl?"
"Vanilluxe, do you know what she sounds like?! Have you ever even talked to her before?"
"I was shy, okay!"
"You two are so funny when you talk about nonsense!" Sunflora commented with a vacant smile.
"Oh, shut up! Magcargo will talk to people when he's ready." Floatzel said flatly as he stood up. "I'll get going now… it doesn't look like he's budging…"
The weasel immediately went to the door, only for Vanilluxe to yell out.
"W-wait… you're leaving me with him?!"
"You can leave too, you know!"
"B-but… I don't know if we should leave him alone with Sunflora!"
"I'm sure he can handle it!" Floatzel assured the ice cream before leaving.
Vanilluxe's mouth lay agape at the sight of him being left alone with a moping lava snail and a deranged sunflower. "O-okay!? So, is this my life now!?"
Vanilluxe was almost at a loss for words as he stared at the camera, not knowing what to say. His face turned a light shade of pink, and he laughed nervously. "I don't want to sound like I know what I'm doing… cause I don't. Magcargo just came to our cabin and went to bed immediately… when he woke up, Sunflora was also there, telling him to just let it all out… and apparently for Magcargo that means being very, very, very sad. It's a long story, but basically I'm not sure what to do! I mean… I want to make him feel better but like… that's tough! He's the happiest person I've ever known, but now I guess he's the saddest person too!"
Vanilluxe looked to the side, sweating nervously. "It probably doesn't help that I accidentally gave away to Klinklang that he was hiding in the cabin… b-but it's not like I knew they had a fight or anything! This whole situation is a mess, and I don't like it…"
Teddiursa, Oricorio and Gossifleur were on the other side of the cabin, having woken up from the noise coming from the guys' side of the cabin.
Oricorio sat up on her bed with an annoyed look, as she promptly removed the blanket off her body. "What is even happening over there? Did someone die..? Okay… hopefully not! But still, why is everything so loud, as if it's the 4th of July all of a sudden?"
"I know, right! I wanted to have more cutie sleep but OWO, they really said FUCK TEDDIURSA, huh?!" Teddiursa affirmed, dark circles around her eyes. "But judging from the voices, it looks like it's between Klingy, and Maggy, and uhhm… I don't care about them cuz they're on the other team, so why are they here?!"
"It seems like Magcargo might be staying with the boys on our team." Gossifleur looked the most unaffected of the three. It helped that it was part of her routine to wake up bright and early, so she could have a brisk jog around the island.
"Okay, okay… so if both of them weren't voted off… and Magcargo's mad, then… does that mean..?"
"Chansey was voted off!" Teddiursa finished with an audible gasp. "Okay… I'm actually like… so shocked, since Empoleon was injured back there! But, I guess they decided to vote off the nurse instead? But why?! Was it because she was nice!? I'm not sure if that was a smart move, but it's not like some people here have a good track record of making smart decisions!"
"Oh! I can't say I expected that, either… I don't know what's going on with the other team, but wow… I guess anything can happen, huh?" Oricorio remarked, covering her mouth while her eyes struggled to stay open from exhaustion.
"I mean, it's like what? The Final 11? At this point, everyone's going pretty hardcore! Honestly, I'm shocked it didn't happen sooner, but I'm glad it happened, since dealing with Magearna took away a lot of years from my life, and I felt like that made me less cute…" Teddiursa murmured as she buried her head underneath her pillows.
"If Chansey's gone, then… that means there's only four girls left…" Gossifleur added with a sigh. "I can't say I'm not surprised when we voted Vivillon off our team…"
"Okie dokie! That just means we have to grab Cramorant and promise not to vote each other off then!" Teddiursa said jokingly before deadpanning. "Easier said than done. Cramorant probably voted Chansey off anyways… She was never a girls' girl…"
"I suppose you have a point there… but uhm… that's still really concerning that we're getting eliminated left and right. I guess Gourgeist quit, but uhm… the statistics speak for themselves…" Gossifleur murmured, expression turning downtrodden. "I'm not one to promote gender war, but I don't see any reason for the three of us to turn against each other…"
"You got a good point there, Gossifleur." Oricorio murmured, looking to the side wistfully. "I'll be honest… I wasn't so sure about my position on this team, after you guys voted Skwovet out. I have nothing to hide. We were allies, but he's gone now, so I'm basically alone."
"I mean… you're not alone there, girl… I'm pretty much left in the dust right now. By the way, I voted for you, Gossifleur."
"W-what!?" Gossifleur's eyes shifted from side to side. She was in a VERY good position right now, and she wasn't going to share that information freely. "Er-hem… well… I hold no ill will towards your vote, Teddiursa. We're both still in the game, so I believe we can work things through."
"Yeppers! So uhm… if us three are going to be working together, that means we should be voting together too, huh?" Teddiursa said.
"Of course! Does that mean we're going to gun for Floatzel, then? He's the only name that makes sense."
"I love that plan!" Teddiursa snickered.
Oricorio shrugged as she laid down on her pillow. "I don't have any problem with that either. Let's do it."
Gossifleur nodded as she jotted down a mental note about this new alliance in her head. "OKAY! With that in mind, are either of you free to join me for-" Gossifleur laughed nervously as the reply she got were her two companions just burying themselves underneath blankets and pillows, preparing to sleep again. "Oh, okay! I guess I'll just eat breakfast alone then!"
"Don't get me wrong! I'm a morning person, but when someone just… interrupts your sleep, it just ruins my whole mood." Oricorio explained matter-of-factly as she twiddled her wings over her lap. "Like… UGH!" She waved her wings around her face as she groaned. "Okay… I'm done complaining. If there was anything good to come from this… it'd be this sense of camaraderie forming between three of the last four girls in the game. I know I haven't been… focused on strategizing but well, there's nothing you can do when all your allies are going home. Give me a Y-E-E-S-H! I need a break!"
"My father told me to maximize my potential by forming connections with anyone I meet, if the opportunities arise for it." Gossifleur said, looking to the side with a concerned expression. "Though, I don't know if being this overconnected will bite me in the behind… since I feel like with the threat of an upcoming merge, this will just get all tangled up… and not in a good way."
She sighed, pouting. "HMM… though, this is making me a bad girl, right? Making so many promises that I don't plan on keeping? OH MY GOSH! I am such a bad girl! Father is looking at me right now, isn't he?!"
Teddiursa stared at the camera with a bored expression, playfully biting her nails. "Meh. I don't care for alliances. Like… after what Floatzel did?! I bet they're probably talking shit about me behind my back! But whatevsssss, I do want to get further in the game, so like… yaaas, it's time to care about my social and strategic game again! Yay, I'm definitely not falling apart because of you know who! Don't even call me out for mentioning him! I LOVE being happy and satisfied!"
Empoleon was on his bed, staring at the ceiling as he sifted through his soup of thoughts. Ever since Chansey was eliminated, he had always found himself lost in thought about… well… everything. He didn't like thinking about his past, but there he was, back on memory lane, remembering every step he took to get to the point he was at now.
The two most prominent figures in his thoughts were a young Piplup and Prinplup, who both looked like they were defenseless, and couldn't protect themselves. That was him too. Even if he wanted to make it look like he was always strong and unbeatable, he was-
"Empoleon, what are you doing?" Dedenne called out from the bunk across his. The little rodent looked up from what he was reading, intrigued by the fact that the penguin was feeling all pensive after his injury. "I mean… your brows are all furrowed, and you looked so deep in thought… I'm shocked since I didn't expect you to… think that much… no offense, obviously." The Electric-type laughed nervously, as he looked to the side. With Empoleon's injury, even he didn't want to say anything too rude when the penguin was already hurt enough… no matter how tempted he may be.
"Oh, fuck you."
"Hey, I took back all the things I said about you and Bayleef! Don't be too upset now." Dedenne said, rolling his eyes.
"Whatever… I'm at that point where I just don't give a fuck about what you say." Empoleon said with a resolute expression.
"Okay, okay… I guess you're still not gonna talk to me? I voted to keep you in, you know?"
"I didn't need your sympathy. Besides, I don't think you voted to keep me because you wanted me in the game anyways." Empoleon remarked. "You voted Chansey off because you wanted her gone. It's as simple as that."
Dedenne blinked. He didn't think Empoleon would clock him like that, but he always did underestimate the penguin, trying to effectively play with his head. "Oh… I uhh… can't deny that, huh? But if you must know, it was CRAMORANT's idea. I was perfectly onboard with voting you off."
"Cramorant, huh? I honestly don't give a fuck. I'm glad to be here, but that doesn't make me less angry about how you treated me. Like, give me an ACTUAL explanation on why you'd think it'd be funny to keep mentioning Bayleef in front of my face."
"It wasn't funny-"
"Don't fucking lie to me."
"..."
"Dedenne?!"
Dedenne groaned as he jumped off his bed, covering his ears. "You know what!? This conversation is over!"
"Dedenne, wait-" The little rodent ignored the penguin's yells as he ran out of the room immediately, not wanting to deal with the Water-type any longer. Empoleon sighed as he held his good wing to his face. "Okay? Well, I guess he doesn't want to explain ANYTHING to me. FUCK FUCK FUCK… nothing changed at all…"
Hours later, more people were having breakfast in the mess hall. Teddiursa and Sableye were sitting together, a few meters away from where Floatzel was eating… alone. Sableye kept sparing a glance towards the weasel, out of concern.
"Teddiursa… are you and Floatzel..?"
"It's complicated." Teddiursa said simply, stabbing her mush with her plastic spoon. "It's soooo one week ago, and I'd prefer to talk about things that matter… like my cuteness quotient… or whether or not I'll ever, ever, ever have a CUTIE RENAISSANCE!"
"B-but-"
"Let's talk about you, Sableye! Where were you last round? I haven't seen you since we split up!" Teddiursa didn't let her friend finish his sentence as she brushed off any possible discourse about he-who-must-not-be-named. "I mean, we both know that I talk about myself oh-so-much, but you don't talk about yourself at all!"
Sableye's gemstone eyes darkened as the gremlin looked down at his clasped hands, struggling to say anything. "U-uh… I don't know what to say honestly…"
"OwO?! Are you sure?! Everyone's got a story to tell! What's your favorites and what's your LEAST favorites? I promise I won't judge!" Teddiursa urged, leaning closer.
The gremlin laughed nervously, as he did his best to avoid the little bear's focused stare. "I-I told Floatzel tha-"
Teddiursa pouted, resting her chin on her paws. "Okay, I am NOT as mad at Floatzel now, but can you not bring him up when I said not to?"
"O-oh… it's just that… we talked, and-"
"You guys had an actual private conversation… without ME?!" Teddiursa gasped in shock, smacking the side of the table loudly, drawing the attention of everyone else in the room, including Floatzel. The little bear laughed quietly as she lowered her voice to a hush. "Okay… I'm not jelly or anything, but I'm shocked since I felt like he was walking on eggshells when all three of us were together…"
"W-well… he went to me first, and uhm… cleared the air… I really appreciated it." Sableye admitted, looking to the side. "I thought he hated me completely, h-h-hehehehe… but we… actually got along more than we ever expected. For the first time… it's something that's uhm… familiar."
"Oh!... OH!" Teddiursa gaped at this before she covered her face, hiding the red flush forming. "O-oh… okay. I think that's actually sweet… and OKAY, maybe I am a little bit jelly you two are bonding without me, but that cunt hasn't even… he didn't even TRY to defend me against Skwovet's shittalking. No amount of apologies would ever get me to- UGGH! Inaction is like sooooo uncute, don't you think?"
"I guess…"
"Nuh-uh! It's not just an 'I guess'! It's a 'OMG, YOU'RE SO RIGHT!'" Teddiursa huffed, wagging a paw at the gremlin's face.
"I can see y-your… point? Is that what you want me to say? I… I don't know what to say…" Sableye mumbled.
Teddiursa sighed, scooping another spoonful of mush into her mouth. "Whatevs. I shouldn't be hard on you, I guess. You are really precocious!"
"W-what does that mean?"
"I dunno… just feels like there's a… childlike innocence vibe to you, like you actually don't know much about the world. It's cute, but honestly you're making me worried, and you know it's legit!" Teddiursa explained with a giggle.
"Am I… like a child? I uhm… don't think so… r-right, hehehehehe…"
"Well, you said you don't have much memory on well… anything. You literally needed help from me and Floatzel to get used to this game, and well… actually getting your shit in order. You smelled like a DUMPSTER on day one but now, you just smell like a wet cat." Teddiuraa pointed out playfully.
"I uh… well…" Sableye looked down, blushing from embarrassment. He wanted to try and defend himself, but it's not like Teddiursa was wrong. Everything before the game had been a blur. "I guess you're not wrong there, huh?"
"So… what did you and Floatzel even talk about? Asking not because I'm jelly! I'm just curious!" Teddiursa leaned close, resting her chin on her paws as she stared at the Dark-type expectantly. "Did you gossip about me? Did you talk about your secret crushes?"
"We didn't!" Sableye stammered out, waving his hands around frantically. "We just uhm… cleared the air… wait, didn't I say that already? D-do you want me to explain the whole conversation?"
"Mmhm! How did you clear the air? Did you give him your long laundry list of crimes?"
"N-no! I r-really don't do crimes… I think… h-hahaha!"
"That level of confidence is just awe-inspiring!"
"Really?"
"That was sarcasm, silly~!" Teddiursa giggled, winking playfully.
"Oh, okay!" Sableye said. "I'm still getting used to that, sorry…"
"You don't have to apologize! It's Floatzel who has to apologize to me first!"
"I'm pretty sure he's going to apologize… y-you two just have to talk about it…" Sableye pointed out.
Teddiursa looked away, covering her mouth. "Hmm? Do you really think so? I'm like… over it by now, but like, he deserves to know that his actions have consequences!"
"I guess you have a point there…"
"Honestly, I don't care if it was a miscommunication. I'll let Floatzy apologize to me NOT because I miss him or anything, I'm just oh-so-benevolent, and I've been getting less cute, worrying about this!" Teddiursa explained with puffed up cheeks. "I mean… I'm still MAD, but stewing in silence was so much fun! Wasn't it just so fun getting tied up for nearly a whole challenge because Gossifleur and Oricorio were slow?!"
She laughed stiffly before glaring at the camera. "Don't try to think that I've forgiven Floatzel, when he hasn't even bothered to give me an explanation…"
"Teddiursa seems really stressed… she was so out of it during the l-last elimination, and almost got herself eliminated…" Sableye remarked with a frown. "I don't want them to just… go home. They're the only friends I have…"
Dedenne groaned, resting his face on the table as Klinklang took a seat across from him. His interaction with Empoleon left him feeling more exhausted than expected.
He looked up at the gear, managing a smile. "How was your talk with Magcargo? Is he..?"
"He's still mad." Klinklang said matter-of-factly, darkness cast over his expression. "I should have known better. I still think it was the best vote to make, given the information we had, but… I…"
"Don't tell me you've gotten chummy about that lugger or something." Dedenne teased, rolling his eyes.
"We have a mutual partnership."
"Mhm, sure you did." Dedenne scoffed. "But whatever, I won't bug you if you so insist. Empoleon gave me ENOUGH problems as is!"
"Hmm? How did Empoleon react, exactly? He should be grateful he is even in the game still. This is his what? Fifth time he was almost taken out? He's not exactly the most likable." Klinklang said flatly.
Dedenne gave him an annoyed look, face-palming. "Don't get me started. He's still mad because I kept joking around about his 'alleged' crush, but it's not like I said it was true. I just wanted to get into his head, but I guess it backfired."
"Hmph… based on my calculations, we will have to remain under the radar until this all blows over."
"What about Cramorant? She voted with us too." Dedenne pointed out.
Klinklang's eyes narrowed. Sure, he had a bit of an unofficial truce with Cramorant last round, but he had not been planning on working with her long-term… however, given Magcargo's current behavior towards him, it did not seem like he had any other options. "... I will be honest. I didn't think we'd need to work with her for more than two votes… but she IS the swing vote, in the occasion Empoleon and Magcargo vote together."
"Ooooor… we could throw her under the bus? No offense, but she's not exactly… how do you put this lightly? She has a few screws loose up there." Dedenne said.
"With the merge-"
"Merge this, merge that! I literally lost both Skwovet and Vivillon on the other team. Will we even make it to the merge at this point!?" Dedenne said, deadpanning. "I don't know what's going on over at the other team, but let's focus on our own teams first? Let's not overcomplicate things…"
"Cramorant would vote with us during the merge-"
"Weren't you the one arguing over her because of her screen-time or whatever? Shouldn't you WANT her to go home?!"
"I prefer to think more logically rather than emotionally."
"Mmhm, okay. That sounds good and all. But uhhh… you need to start being more consistent and try to look at things my way. but get this! What if Cramorant's NOT on our side? She's a free agent. She can whore herself out to Empoleon or Magcargo, and try building a new majority alliance. There's five people left on this team, so we have no room for error. HELL, I'm not the type to stand out in a crowd, but I'm sure there are many eyes on me right now, and that scares me."
"Do you think I'm not scared right now?"
"No, actually. You kind of have that resting bitch face all the time-"
"I wasn't asking." Klinklang bellowed, glaring back at the rodent, who rolled his eyes.
"So okay… we can't agree on anything. Magcargo and Empoleon are wholly against us, and we have to rely on a bumbling phone addict to carry a majority… that sounds great! Amazing, even! It's not like Skwovet and Vivillon were waaay more reliable allies than her!"
"Thank you for the vote of confidence, Dedenne. It is greatly appreciated." Klinklang drawled.
"Whatever…"
"Don't get me wrong… Klinklang is… OKAY… but meh! He's a bit… off sometimes. But it's not like I have a choice. I don't know how Oricorio got BOTH Skwovet and Vivillon voted off, when she only needed ONE vote to at least TIE the vote, so I don't know how she could mess that up… so now I'm left to my own devices, and HOO BOY… I'm not exactly the type of guy to lead a group to do anything. I prefer to give people a helpful nudge in the right direction… not delegate tasks!" Dedenne complained, crossing his hands with a grumpy expression.
"Whatever. I'll handle it… I'll handle it. It's not that hard."
"I did not expect Dedenne to be more… emotional than I expected. Perhaps I overestimated my competition." Klinklang remarked with a despondent gaze. "But rest assured… I shall not fall victim to such… pathetic display."
"What are you two talking about?!"
Dedenne and Klinklang both looked towards the direction of an approaching Cramorant, waving casually with a wing to her hips. They immediately stopped talking, not wanting the bird to discover that they were plotting behind her back.
"We were talking about… Dedenne's strange infatuation towards Empoleon." Klinklang lied casually in a flat tone.
The rodent gave him an annoyed look as he huffed. "W-what!?" Klinklang glared at him in a way that basically said 'Don't give it away'. The mouse only sighed in response. "Yes… I'm just… so obsessed with Empoleon. He's so… masculine. Yay."
"Oooh?! You have a crush on Empoleon!? That's like… sooooo surprising! I mean, I know you're a twink but like, I didn't think he'd be your type. I thought you liked #intellectuals or something?" Cramorant said, putting a wing to her beak in surprise.
Dedenne face-palmed before waving a paw at the bird flippantly. "By infatuation, Klinklang clearly meant admiration… not a crush. I don't like Empoleon in that way. It's just so impressive that he… can be… so… weak?" The little mouse shrugged at this. "Okay, that's all I can say."
"... yes…" Klinklang gave him an unamused look, before turning back to the cormorant. "That aside… Cramorant, I would like to say that I appreciate your cooperative nature and strong passion towards your phone."
"... oookay? What are you saying?"
"I misjudged you. You are clearly more capable than appearances show." Klinklang explained, expression unchanging.
"UHM?! Rude!? You really think I'm deadweight?"
"Negative. I thought that you were not capable of playing this competition, but clearly you have some good ideas in that head of yours." Klinklang continued. "Your experience with… exploring the Internet is such a hidden gem that is quite… useful… for the competition."
"It sounds like you just insulted me like five times." Cramorant drawled, eyes narrowing. Her honey-like tone had all but disappeared as she crossed her wings. "Stop it with this failure of a suck-up session! You need me, don't you? I mean, it's like so obvious. I can see it in your face."
Klinklang sighed before focusing his gaze at the cormorant. "Fine, I won't sugarcoat anything. Dedenne and I were talking, and we would like to extend our partnership in this competition, even after these teams dissolve. I am fully aware that we did not have the most amicable relationship, but I want to amend that."
"So, you're talking me up because you want my vote?" Cramorant asked, cocking a brow as a smirk started to form. "Heh! O-M-G! Why didn't you say so?! I got your backs, besties!"
"Wait, really?" Dedenne asked, shocked by the cormorant agreeing almost immediately. "I expected more pushback. I mean, I don't mind obviously, but I'm honestly shocked."
"L-O-L! Do you really think I'll ruin my own plans just because I have a petty grudge against Klingy here?"
"Don't call me Klingy." Klinklang said, a small crack appearing in his cold exterior.
"Awwww, but we're ALLIES now! Don't I get a special privilege to hand nicknames?!" Cramorant pointed out, rubbing her wings together with a smirk. "I mean, you let Magcargo-"
"No. Just… no." Klinklang interrupted, closing his eyes. "Just call me Klinklang. I have no use for nicknames. It's irrelevant in the grand scheme of things."
"If it's irrel, then you shouldn't care if I call you Klingy then!" Cramorant pointed out. Klinklang opened his mouth to interject, but he was very weak to valid explanations. "Okay, that makes it official then, Klingy. And Dedenne… I'm sorry to say but like, your nickname is kinda weird, so I hope you can accept it with pride and grace! Welcome to the world… DEDEDEDEDEDEDEDE-"
"That's a dumb nickname." Dedenne remarked, annoyed.
"Would you rather be called Nene, Dene or Dedie?"
"My username is UnofficialVoltTackler24664." Dedenne said flatly.
Cramorant tilted her head to the side, gasping. "My username is- WAIT, this is about online, O-M-G! I would love to DM you after the game but like, this is your nickname which is like… an username but in real life."
"... do I have to?" Dedenne queried rhetorically.
"Just take the fucking nickname already." Klinklang said threateningly in a monotone voice.
The rodent groaned as he slammed his head on the table. "FINNNNE… Dede, it is then!"
"I don't know what force is making Klinklang want to work with Cramorant, but whatever. I'm going along with it, while I can. I'm not going to be 100% with them, anyways. I think it's time for me to search for greener pastures, because I do not trust Cramorant. Klinklang is a bit too opportunistic, but hey, I know him more than I know Cramorant. She likes phones, she's emotional, she's something alright. I don't know what she's thinking, and honestly I have a weird feeling in my gut that she's up to something." Dedenne admitted, staring at the camera seriously.
"But it's fine, I guess. Skwovet and Vivillon weren't exactly the most reliable type of people either, but I had more of a read on them, when they were still here…" Dedenne added. "I guess it'll take time to get a better read on Cramorant. I've been keeping my eye on her since the start of the game since that's something I'm very good at, but is it repetitive of me to say that I got nothing?"
"Klingy and Dede are both kinda shady sus! I think they were in cahoots since the OG days up to the swap!" Cramorant surmised, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "But, it's so NICE to see them squirm for once! I'm finally at the top! And honestly, I wanna stay there for as long as I can, so if I have to push people off for the sake of my game, then uhm… let's dance! THOUGH, not literally obvi. Empoleon like fell… and uhm, nobody else needs to fall, y'know?"
"EVERYONE, PLEASE HEAD TO THE BEACH FOR YOUR NEXT CHALLENGE!" Nihilego's voice blared through the loudspeakers all over the island.
The beach looked different when the Final 11 arrived. There were many elevated wooden platforms dotted around the beach, located in cardinal directions, alongside a table with two colored chests on each different platform, and a rope leading to the top of said platform. There were also makeshift wooden barricades dividing the beach into five sections for each cardinal direction, with the center having climbing holds scattered on the walls, and a small gap next to the barricades, going under the sand and the barricade to the other side. In the center was a small area of sand marked with black tape underneath thick rope netting. The water, which was by the northern quadrant, had buoys marking an area for the challenge, with a larger buoy at the end of the makeshift path.
Nihilego and Poipole were both standing near the barricade next to the southern quadrant where the contestants were.
Teddiursa blinked at the sight of the jellyfish, tilting her head to the side in shock. "Wowie~! Nihilego, is that you!? Or is this a sign that I died and you're an angel, UwU!"
"... stop that." Nihilego said, slowly backing away.
"I mean, you were missing for a couple of challenges." Oricorio pointed out, rubbing the side of her wing awkwardly.
"I was sick. Now, I'm not sick. Is that enough of an explanation?"
"No-"
"Too bad. I don't give enough of a fuck to even bother elaborating. Let's just get on with the challenge already. We can't dilly-dally." Nihilego cut the cheerleader off, face-palming in annoyance. "Anyways, I'm sure nobody has questions, so-" Nihilego groaned as she noticed Magcargo bobbing his head from side to side to get her attention. "Yes, Magcargo?"
"What happened to Unfezant's sister? Was she fired?!" Magcargo asked.
"... who?"
"Unfezant's sister! The loud one! You know, Unfezant's sister! We all know her! She said stuff about theater, hosted this show while you were gone and she even-"
"Are you talking about Staravia? I thought you already knew that Staravia isn't related to Unfezant. They're just both birds. Nothing else." Nihilego explained, deadpanning. Magcargo opened his mouth to make a rebuttal, but Nihilego ignored him as she continued talking. "Any relevant questions? Nobody? Okay, Poipole will now explain the challenge."
Poipole blinked, giving the jellyfish a confused look. "Me? I thought you said you were going to explain the challenge? I mean… I still don't know what the challenge is!"
"I already told you the challenge ten times at this point. Do you really need another explanation?"
"Yes please!"
Nihilego took a deep breath as she turned back to the contestants. "Okay, the challenge involves blindfolds."
"Ooh! Kinky!" Teddiursa remarked, giggling into her paw.
"That's not-"
"I'm ready to use my body for any challenge!" Gossifleur exclaimed, pumping a fist with a confident smirk. "My bad girl training is going to pay off when I-"
"Gossifleur, don't listen to Teddiursa. I'm pretty sure the challenge won't be that gross… or so, I hope." Oricorio said. "Right? Nihilego, is Teddiursa right or wrong?"
"Obviously not, but why the fuck is that everyone's first thought when I mention blindfolds?!" Nihilego gawked.
"What other challenge would it be?" Poipole pointed out, hands to his hips.
"A PINATA CHALLENGE! UGH, people these days…" Nihilego said with a worn out expression. "The challenge won't have pinatas. Just wanted to mention that yes, there are alternative challenges that involve blindfolds. Don't make this weird. This is not weird at all."
"Didn't we have a challenge with chains and handcuffs scrappe-"
"POIPOLE! That's confidential information, and you're making it sound like I have an agenda. I don't, but it's not like anyone would believe me." Nihilego said.
"S-sorry… I didn't know that was a sore spot…"
"It's whatever."
"Uhh… are you two just going to chat, or are we gonna get the challenge? We don't have all day." Dedenne interrupted the two hosts' conversations with a bored expression.
Nihilego turned back to the contestants, clearing her throat to hide the flush forming on her face. "Er-hem… yes, I was getting to that. This challenge is a test of communication and teamwork, and this is how it'll work. Each team will assign a caller, who will be the only member to not put on a blindfold, and will be standing by the side. They will be the ones to give directions to their teams. We will be providing tablets, so the callers will get an overhead view of the challenge. The blindfolded players will then all be separated, with one player per team on each quadrant, excluding the central area. Their goal is to get on top of the elevated platform and unlock a chest."
"To unlock that chest though, the blindfolded players must communicate the engraved markings on said chest to their callers, so that the caller can put in the markings on their tablet to unlock the chests. These engraved markings are very clear, and can be identified by touch… or at least, I hope. Once you unlock the chest, inside is a shovel piece that you need to bring to the center so that you can reassemble a shovel!" Nihilego continued, pacing across the beach thoughtfully. "You can't start digging until the shovel is fully reassembled. Once that's done, the players must head to the central area to start digging. The caller will have information on where they must dig, and should communicate that to make it easier… You'll be digging out the colored flag of your respective team, which you'll then give to your callers. Then, they'll start swimming out to the large buoy, where they will attach their flags. The first team to do all of that wins immunity!"
"That sounds… convoluted." Dedenne remarked.
"Hey! I don't know about you, but it doesn't sound too hard! I mean, we pretty much know what the whole layout looks like, so there shouldn't be much of a problem." Gossifleur pointed out.
"Oh? Did I forget to tell you?" A smirk formed on the jellyfish's face. "There are hidden teleport mines in the sand that will teleport you to a random place on the beach! So I hope that doesn't give you any problems! Of course, the caller will know their locations!"
"Oh… not so easy." Gossifleur gulped, looking to the side.
"Okay, now that you all know the rules… I'll give you time to discuss who gets to be the caller. Twinkling Trubbish, you have one extra player on your team, so you'll have to decide who gets to sit out of the challenge."
"My father taught me that proper communication is required to run a 'business'. After all, you need to make things clear, or it'll just get lost in translation." Gossifleur explained, staring at the camera listlessly. "Obviously, this is not exactly the type of situation I expected to apply those teachings on, but I guess I could say that it wasn't a complete waste of time!"
"HMMM… though, I could throw caution to the wind, and just ignore the rules. I mean, I'm a bad girl, right? I shouldn't be so worried!"
"So, who gets to be the caller?" Cramorant asked, waving her phone around. "T-B-H… I wanna volunteer bc I wanna use Nihi's tablet, but eerrrrrr, I'm soooo considerate that like, I'll let y'all make this choice but like, be biased for me, O-M-G!"
"Magcargo-" Klinklang started, only for Magcargo to go in front of him with a wide grin.
"I KNOW! What if Klinklang does it for us, since he LOVES telling people what to do, without any consideration for what they may think!?"
"..." Klinklang looked down, some glimpse of sadness in his expression.
"Well, I don't think Klinklang would make a good caller. No offense, but he's a bit hard to understand sometimes." Dedenne pointed out, crossing his arms.
"WHAT!? B-but that's what I love the most about him!" Magcargo gawked, still avoiding the gear's gaze. "I mean, he's really really smart, and I like how he's not afraid to lie to my face, even though he should know that I trusted him a lot and really really loved him!"
"As a friend?" Cramorant chimed in.
Magcargo ignored the cormorant as he continued stammering, "ANYWAYS, I don't think I'd make a good caller since I'd have to swim and I'm a terrible swimmer. I'd just sink to the ground, so we'd pretty much lose the challenge on the final lap."
"I'm not a good swimmer either, so that excludes me. And judging from Empoleon being oddly silent and his broken arm… I don't think he can-"
"FUCK YOU! I can swim with a broken wing!" Empoleon interjected, glaring at the rodent. "You know what?! I'll be the caller! I can do it, even with a broken wing! You don't have to act like I'm suddenly useless!"
"I mean… how many challenges did you win for your team again?" Cramorant pointed out, giggling.
"Oh, f-fuck off… just saying… I can do it! B-but if you're so confident, then maybe, you should do it!"
"UHHMMMM? Okay? Well, I'm like… not an athlete, so I think you'd still do better than me with a broken wing so sure, you can do it for us but like, if we lose… we're blaming you." Cramorant drawled, deadpanning.
"Yeah, thanks." Empoleon looked to the side, almost regretting his decision to volunteer.
Empoleon stared at the camera, eyes narrowed as he crossed his flippers. "Okay, I would like to make another apology to Chansey for taking you for granted. This team is complete garbage now, and no, it's not because they're fucking weak. I don't think I can trust anyone here except for Magcargo, and he's busy being passive aggressive against Klinklang!"
"We're so going to lose this challenge." Cramorant said simply, staring at the camera with a bored expression.
"Okay, who wants to sit out of this challenge?" Oricorio asked her teammates. "Personally, I don't want to sit out, since I already sat out during the fear challenge and well… I don't want to do that again."
"UwU, I would volunteer to sit out but I'm so generous and benevolent that I will volunteer to do this challenge instead!" Teddiursa answered. "How about you, Gossi?"
"Me?" Gossifleur cocked a brow.
"I mean, you're so small and frail AND cute! Maybe, you shouldn't be doing hard challenges!" Teddiursa teased, giggling into her paws.
The flower's face turned red from embarrassment. "I'm not small, frail OR cute! Who said that!? Floatzel, did you say that? I assumed you did not like me that way, but I suppose that my honeyed words got you feeling that way? But, if you must know, I am not allowed to date without my father's permission and I have little to no interest in you as a potential partner."
"I didn't have a crush on you, but you didn't have to put me down that much…" Floatzel said, face-palming.
"Oh! I guess I made the foolish assumption that Teddiursa is so in-tune with what the majority thinks!" Gossifleur commented, averting her gaze. "AHEM… but back on topic, I want to compete! I mean, I don't think this challenge's that hard. It just needs a lot of great communication between teammates!"
"You know what that means!? FLOATZEL, you'll be our caller!" Teddiursa suggested with a nod.
The weasel blinked, pointing to myself. "Is that another insult?"
"If you want to, it can! I mean, you deserve soooo much! But well, you're just really loud and annoying that you can use your annoying voice to distract the other team while giving us directions!" Teddiursa explained in a half-insulting manner.
"I-"
"G-guys, let's not argue!" Vanilluxe chimed in, sweating.
"You call that an argument? I haven't thrown fists yet!" Teddiursa pointed out nonchalantly. "I mean, I could point out that Floatzel collects toenails and we should've known from then, that he's a creep and a scumbag!"
"..."
"D-don't worry… nobody thinks that…" Sableye whispered to the Water-type, who was starting to get downtrodden from the little bear's continued hostility. A small smile crept up Floatzel's face at the gremlin's words.
"Okay, we're clearly moving off-topic. Nobody even volunteered to be the caller or our sit-out. We need to make our decision before Nihilego chooses for us, like Staravia did during the fear challenge!" Oricorio reminded the group.
"I c-can sit out…" Sableye suggested. "H-hehehehe… I mean… I don't think I'd do well, listening to instructions."
"I think you're good at following instructions, Sableye! You've got a sabl-EYE for details!" Vanilluxe quippedj, to everyone's disdain. "W-what?! That was a new type of joke! It was an EYE joke! … nothing? Nobody's going to say anything? Wow, tough crowd. And I thought my mom was difficult…"
"Anyways… I don't want to be the caller. I know I'm the Water-type and everyone thinks I'm a great swimmer but… no, just no." Floatzel said, looking down at his feet, hiding his expression behind his hand.
"Aww, looks li-" Before Teddiursa could throw another jab at the weasel, the ice cream floated to the middle of the group with a flustered expression while he looked like he's melting more than usual.
"I'LL SIT OUT!"
Oricorio blinked, shocked by the ice cream's sudden outburst. "V-Vanilluxe? What's come over you? Where did this come from?"
"I-I… well… i-it's not like I can do this challenge, right? My head is too huge to fit underneath the blindfolds… and uhh… w-well… it's not like anyone wants to listen to me talk anyways… h-haha… I… well… I… I sit out because I like… sitting?"
"..." Oricorio's eyes narrowed skeptically before she waved a wing in front of her flippantly. "Okay, fine. So Vanilluxe is sitting out. Floatzel can't be the caller… so who gets to be the caller. I'll assume Sableye can't do this since he stammers a lot so he'll butcher the instructions. So it's down to myself, Teddiursa and Gossifleur."
"Pass~ While it'd be soooo cute, screaming at Floatzel with him having no choice but to listen, it'd be terrible for my voice!" Teddiursa said, taking a step back.
"Okay… so Gossifleur, how about you?"
The flower looked to the side, opening her mouth to speak but looking back at the cheerleader, eyes turning into spirals. "UHHH…. UHHH… w-well… I-I…"
"I'm guessing that's a no?"
The flower nodded at this, making Oricorio face-palm as she sighed. "Okay… so I'll be the caller then?"
"Don't get me wrong. My father taught me everything I should know, when it comes to delegating orders and proper communication but w-well, I don't want to seem overqualified! I mean… I want to be a bad girl, not daddy's little angel! I mean… sure, I can p-perform well as the caller but that's what's expected and that's not exactly going to be getting much attention and-" Gossifleur paused, realizing that she said too much as her eyes widened.
Gulping, she turned to the side as a red blush covered her face. "W-well… ignore that! Bottom line is I will do my best following Oricorio's instructions. I trust in her skills!"
"This challenge doesn't look that hard…" Floatzel commented, crossing his arms with an unimpressed look. "Or… at least, that's what I hope. You don't know what to expect in this game honestly."
Oricorio and Empoleon were now both standing by the water, near the northern quadrant, holding their tablets while the rest of their teams were separated into the four quadrants. Floatzel and Klinklang were in the north quadrant; Gossifleur and Cramorant were in the east quadrant; Sableye and Dedenne were in the south quadrant; while Magcargo and Teddiursa were in the west quadrant.
"Okay, is everyone ready?" Nihilego asked rhetorically before sighing with a slow bob of her head. "Well, we can't give you enough time to get ready so on to your marks… get set… go… or whatever." The jellyfish then floated to the bench where Vanilluxe and Poipole were sitting, grabbing her phone and immediately texting while waiting for the challenge to be over already.
And just like that… the challenge was underway. Empoleon and Oricorio immediately went over their tables, scanning their maps, preparing to give instructions.
"G-Gossifleur, go left!"
"Okay!" Gossifleur just nodded as she moved over to her left… only to be teleported away.
"Gossifleur, I meant the OTHER left… MY left!"
The flower sighed as she found herself in the west quadrant near the barricades. "Well… you should've made that clearer…"
"MAGCARGO, MOVE FORWARD!"
"Forward back or forward forward?"
"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!"
While Empoleon and Oricorio were focusing on other quadrants, Dedenne sighed as he decided to call out the gremlin, who was standing across the room.
"So… Sableye… are you still there? Are you okay?"
The Dark-type's mouth was agape at this as he started looking around for the source of the voice. Dedenne rolled his eyes as he face-palmed. "Sableye, you do get that you're blindfolded, right?"
"O-oh!? I forgot."
"How can you forget? We literally just started the challenge."
"I was thinking, h-h-hehehe…"
"Okay? Well, how are… you?"
"Why are you talking to me?" Sableye's expression suddenly disappeared at that moment, making Dedenne feel a bit anxious. Sure, he didn't WANT to talk to Sableye but he thought that it would be a great idea, building a connection with him to prepare for the merge.
"I-"
"I don't know you, sorry." Sableye said in an unsettling monotone voice before turning away.
"Sableye? Sableye!? Don't just ignore me!" Dedenne called out, stomping his feet on the ground repeatedly to try and get his attention again. He groaned as the Dark-type didn't even respond. "Okay… conversation over then? Was that even a conversation?"
"At least, you can't say I didn't try." Dedenne said flatly, gazing deadpan at the camera.
"Gossifleur, there's a rope in front of you. Just grab it."
"Okay!" Gossifleur nodded as she grabbed in front of her. Oricorio had been focused on giving instructions to her and her alone for the challenge by this point and… after a few missteps, she had ended up in the north quadrant with Floatzel and Klinklang. "Hmm… this feels squishy? Is this a squishy rope?"
Floatzel's face was red as Gossifleur had managed to grab onto him as the flower conveniently teleported right next to him. "..." He didn't know what was happening but all he knew was that something was touching him and it was Gossifleur.
"This rope is very… meaty! Hmm… maybe I should squeeze it!" Gossifleur remarked as she grabbed tighter.
The weasel's face turned even more red as he tried his hardest not to react.
"I do not think it's ideal to squeeze something that has a meaty texture…" Klinklang pointed out.
"Uhh… Gossifleur, why are you not grabbing onto the rope?"
"I am! I don't know how I'd climb this though! It doesn't feel… reliable." Gossifleur explained, letting go of Floatzel for a brief moment, giving the weasel a few seconds of relief before she pinched his chest again, almost making him scream in surprise.
"Gossifleur, that's Floatzel!"
"I-I already told you I don't have a thing for Floatzel!"
"NO! I mean, you're pinching Floatzel… well… manhandling? I'm not sure honestly. Let go and go for the rope. He's to your right!"
Gossifleur's face turned red as she immediately turned around. "F-Floatzel… d-don't mind me… I didn't know, I swear!"
"It's… it's fine." Floatzel breathed out, putting a hand over his face.
Gossifleur was about to grab onto the rope when Empoleon yelled out, "KLINKLANG, USE A RANGED ATTACK TO YOUR LEFT! GO, GO, GO! Gossifleur is about to climb!"
"..." Klinklang said nothing as he fired a Zap Cannon at Gossifleur's direction.
Oricorio noticed this immediately, screaming, "DUCK!"
The flower gulped as she crouched to the ground as the Zap Cannon barely grazed her head. "W-what was that?"
"Empoleon is playing dirty!" Oricorio intoned, glaring at the penguin, who chuckled as he put his healthy hand to his hip.
"Hey, it's fair game. There's no rules against it so you can't say I'm playing dirty. If anything, I'm playing the game how it's supposed to be played. BESIDES, you can't seriously say that when your fucking teammate-" Empoleon paused, looking away as he gritted his teeth. "You know what… hold that thought. It still hurts. KLINKLANG, you can float, right? Float to where you fired that Zap Cannon and you should be able to dodge the teleporters on the ground!"
"Understood." Klinklang said.
"W-what!? FLOATZEL, USE HYDRO PUMP TO YOUR RIGHT!"
Floatzel nodded as he did what was told, hitting the gear's body, knocking him back, making him hit the barricade.
The gear doesn't say anything as he picked himself off the ground, "... Empoleon, why did you not tell me to dodge?"
"I was fucking thinking, okay! Y-you can't expect me to think that fast!"
"As expected." Klinklang mumbled under his breath.
"Teddiursa, how do you do those… thingies?!" Magcargo questioned his companion. Since the game began, he had called out to every single possible player he could be stuck with… until he found out that it was Teddiursa with him.
The little bear tilted her head to the side in confusion. "What thingies, silly? You have to elaborate, OWO!"
"That thing! You just did it!"
"OwO?"
"Yes, how do you owo?! I can't do it! Is it like… exclusive to Teddiursa? I mean, it's tough to do it when your face is melting every day!" Magcargo explained.
"T-B-H… I actually don't know." Teddiursa admitted.
"So you don't know how to do it?"
"NOPE! Just proof that I'm naturally adorbs!"
"Oh! You're 100% adorbs! Maybe, we should be friends!"
The little bear deadpanned underneath her blindfold. She was naturally extroverted but Magcargo's desperation came off… weirdly. "Uhhhhmmmm… maybe, we should think about the challenge first?"
"Nobody told us to do anything yet so let's just chat!"
"Uhhh… w-well… OWO… I mean, we barely know each other and like, I think it's best if we got more than a day to chat before you declare us besties!" Teddiursa explained.
The lava snail sighed, "Awwww, I guess that means you don't want to be my friend…"
"It's not like that, obvi! I just think the circumstance is not-"
"Magcargo, USE FLAME BURST on Teddiursa… QUICK!" Empoleon's loud voice quickly interrupted their conversation.
The lava snail nodded as he opened his mouth. Teddiursa pouted as she started spinning around in a circle, waving her hands frantically.
"UHM! YOU KNOW WHAT!? L-LET'S BE BESTIES-"
But unfortunately, it was too late as the little bear was knocked off her spot by Magcargo's Flame Burst, causing her to hit a nearby teleporter and warping to another location on the beach.
"Did that work?" Magcargo asked sheepishly.
"Yes. Good job…" Empoleon praised with a bashful nod before he gritted his teeth, pointing forward. "NOW, GO FORWARD!"
"?"
"MAGCARGO, I TOLD YOU TO MOVE FORWARD!"
"You still haven't clarified if you meant back forward or forward forward!" Magcargo reiterated.
"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!"
Magcargo sat in the confessional with a frown. "Ever since Klinklang BETRAYED me… I feel so sad that I don't know what to do… so I decided to do what I'd do in stressful situations: awkwardly try to make new friends to distract myself from the fact that my old friends are gone, or probably don't care about me!"
The lava snail sighed, turning to the camera. "But that's not going so fine… maybe, Teddiursa will forgive me for this? But, it's not the same. There's just something so beautiful and amazing about Chansey's kindness and Klinklang's logic that really makes me feel happy!" A small smile formed on his face as he started reminiscing… until a grimace took over. "O-oh wait! I'm supposed to be mad! I! HATE! KLINKLANG! BURN BURN BURN! Is that mad enough!?"
Teddiursa huffed as she put out the fire on her ear without saying a word. "..."
"Gossifleu-"
"KLINKLANG, USE-"
"What are you doing?" Oricorio turned to the penguin, crossing her wings. Every time she tried to give Gossifleur an order, Empoleon would immediately drop everything he was doing to give Klinklang instructions to counter her immediately… she knew it was for the challenge, but she was starting to get sick from the repetition. "Can't you just let me actually give orders? I let you hit Teddiursa but you're not letting Gossifleur climb that rope!"
"I still can't find the rope, by the way!" Gossifleur reminded, still grabbing everything in front of her… which was still Floatzel, who had gotten too used to it by this point.
"G-Gossifleur… it's…" Oricorio stammered, eyes more focused on Empoleon, who was opening his mouth in response. "It's…" The cheerleader leaned forward, clenching a wing as she screamed out, "T-TITS' TOOTH YOUR REFT! ! GOGOGOGOGOGOOGOGO!"
Unfortunately for her, Gossifleur did not understand her rushed instructions as she just kept squeezing Floatzel. "Uhm… what did you just say?
"KLINKLANG, ZAP CANNON QUICK!"
"You don't have to tell me twice." Klinklang huffed as he aimed another Zap Cannon at the flower. Oricorio's eyes widened as she could barely react in time while Gossifleur screamed as she was pushed away from her spot by the electric laser. Floatzel gaped in shock as he could do nothing but stand in place, not really knowing where Gossifleur ended up. Thankfully, the flower landed on a normal sand spot, which meant she didn't teleport to another quadrant randomly.
The penguin groaned as he stomped his foot on the ground in frustration. "YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! K-Klinklang… use Zap Cannon again but this time a little bit to the side to hit Floatzel!"
"O-oh no, you don't! Floatzel, dodge!"
The weasel grunted as he crouched on the ground while another Zap Cannon went over his head.
"Klinklang, just keep doing that to keep him on the ground."
"... of course…" Klinklang muttered.
"H-hey! T-that's not fair!"
"It's fair, according to the rules we've been given!" Empoleon pointed out smugly. "So… tough luck-"
"OH?! So that's what you want to do!? Vanilluxe, use BLIZZARD!"
The ice cream, who was just lying down on the bench, sat up with his mouth agape. "W-what!?"
"Use BLIZZARD on the field!"
The penguin gave the cheerleader a confused look. "W-what!? You can't seriously be doing this! H-he's not even competing! He's supposed to be sitting out! N-Nihilego, this isn't allowed… right?!"
While this was happening, Nihilego and Poipole were now lying down on beach loungers, reading magazines and wearing black sunglasses. The jellyfish sighed as she took off her sunglasses while putting down her magazine. "I mean… it's not like I said Vanilluxe wasn't allowed to use moves. I just said… he can't unlock the chests… or be the caller… but that? I guess there's a loophole I forgot to patch up."
"WHAT!?"
"You heard her! Vanilluxe, use BLIZZARD!"
"U-uh… this doesn't sound c-cool!" Vanilluxe whispered before laughing nervously as the cheerleader glared at his direction. "O-okay, okay! I'll use Blizzard!" Closing his eyes, he started floating as the skies turned dark. From out of nowhere, snow began falling onto the battlefield… but other than that, nothing else happened. The ice cream looked satisfied with himself as he floated back down on the bench. "Is th-"
"Vanilluxe, that wasn't Blizzard!"
"I m-mean… I don't actually know Blizzard…"
"Why didn't you say that first?!"
"S-sorry…"
The bird sighed as she shook her head as she turned back to the penguin. "Whatever… this hail will be useful… I guess?"
Empoleon rolled his eyes at this. "I mean, you're acting so relaxed for someone who tries to preach moral superiority THEN you try to use a loophole AFTER going after me for doing it!? I don't get it…"
"W-what is that supposed to mean?! I mean, you could barely cooperate with your teammates because you keep pressuring them too much and you're mad at me and Vanilluxe for… being an actual team. So, you should be assessing yourself more since you were a big jerk, leaving myself, Gossifleur, Flapple and Vanilluxe trapped in those vines back then!"
"..." Empoleon blinked at this. The cheerleader was right. Sighing, he raised both of his flippers to the sky. "Yeah… you're right… that was… my bad."
Oricorio gawked at this, not really expecting an immediate apology as a red flush formed on her face. With a huff, she looked away. "L-let's just get on w-with the challenge instead of fighting…"
"Hey, you started it." Empoleon pointed out.
"... actually, you did! But, let's move on!"
Gossifleur had a frustrated expression as she held an ice pack to her head. "Is Oricorio unaware that you need proper enunciation to be an effective leader!? I think I would have done better if I was the caller and there's no doubt about it!"
She paused after saying that, looking to the side with a sullen look. "Of course I don't want to be burdened with responsibility when it's not going to be- AHEM! Okay, what I'm trying to say is! I'm a bad girl and bad girls don't just excel with proper communication! I LOVE causing misunderstandings after all, using my wild array of skills as a bonafide bad girl!"
For the next few minutes, Empoleon and Oricorio returned to giving normal instructions, while minding their own business in the challenge.
"Gossifleur, move to your left." The little flower was basically over the whole challenge as she followed the bird's instructions.
"Cramorant, can you fly to the rope?" The cormorant squawked indignantly as she waved her wings frantically, to the penguin's frustration.
"Teddiursa, go left!" The little bear nodded as she moved to her left… only to be teleported yet again. Oricorio laughed to herself as she meant to say 'YOUR RIGHT' instead and got it all mixed up.
"Magcargo, move back forward?"
"Sableye, jump!"
"Gossifleur, turn around and move 3 steps forward!"
"Klinklang… just do what you're doing."
"Teddiursa, move to your right!" Teddiursa obliged… only to be teleported AGAIN.
"Dedenne-"
"SABLEYE-"
"Floatzel!"
"Teddiursa!"
"This challenge… was not fun… especially for my voice." Oricorio admitted, pointing a wing to her throat. "I don't want to sound too… bossy… but for the sake of the challenge… I feel like I let myself unravel so easily like that. And worse yet, Empoleon was watching it happen!"
Empoleon crossed his arms as he stared at the camera with his brow furrowed. "Oricorio was a thorn in my side in past challenges, but to be honest… I don't give her enough credit. She's actual competition and… I-I… UGH… I don't want to sound sentimental but… I-I guess if there's something this broken ass arm is good for… it's making me actually realize these things. N-Now, I'm not having a revelation all the time or something! I'm still here to win… I mean, if I win… then I can show that even with a broken wing, I can still win competitions. Simple enough, right?"
After twenty minutes of issuing orders, the layout of the contestants have changed drastically. Magcargo was still stuck in the West quadrant, asking for too many clarifications from Empoleon's instructions to ensure that he wasn't just teleported out of there. Cramorant was still in the East quadrant, staring at her phone as Empoleon gave up on actually giving her instructions. Sableye now had Teddiursa and Floatzel in the southern quadrant after Teddiursa kept getting wrong instructions, while Floatzel got tired of crouching that he stood up only to immediately get blown into a teleport. And finally, the northern quadrant had Gossifleur, Dedenne and Klinklang. Notably, Gossifleur had ended up where she started in the area, right next to the rope.
"Gossifleur, the rope… it's to your leg… just reach out to it… grab it… then start climbing."
Gossifleur sighed as she waved her hands in front of her, searching for the rope. "Rope… rope… where is it?"
"A little bit to your right!"
"Right? Well… the rope… it's…" Gossifleur was prepared to just spin around in a circle, to search for the rope… until… "W-wait… I feel something hairy… and not in the smooth and silky hairy that Floatzel felt like-"
"I-I heard that!" Floatzel yelled, overhearing this. "I'm n-not hairy, okay! CAPISCE?!"
"Yeah, you're meaty." Gossifleur affirmed as she held onto the hairy string in front of her… which was in fact, the rope. Empoleon opened his mouth, prepared to give Klinklang's instructions to retaliate… but he didn't.
"... Dedenne, move 4 steps to your right." Empoleon ordered.
The rodent scoffed, putting a hand to his hips. "Isn't Gossifleur already climbing their tower? Shouldn't we… y'know… stop them? I mean, I know you're not a genius but-"
"Just fucking move 4 steps to your right." Empoleon threatened, clenching a fist.
Dedenne rolled his eyes as he did as told.
"Klinklang, let's try floating again. Dedenne start talking in your annoying voice and Klinklang, float to his direction-"
"Oh please, why are you saying that, like Nihilego doesn't have anything to deter floaters and fliers in this challenge?!" Dedenne pointed out.
"Just… do it…" Klinklang muttered.
"Excuse me? Why are you siding with him when this doesn't sound logical? It sounds haphazard and risky! I'm not risking us losing AGAIN, just because Empoleon decided to finally be a smartass for once!" Dedenne reasoned, waving his hands around.
"Do continue."
"Okay?! I don't know what else I'd have to explain but-"
"You don't need to explain anything." Klinklang said as he… wasn't even in the same quadrant anymore, having been teleported to the Eastern quadrant. "It seems like… that idea was a failure.
"UGH! So Empoleon wasted our time while-"
"Oricorio, I'm up!" Dedenne groaned as the small flower had made her way up the wood tower. "I'll start identifying the symbols now!"
"Okay!"
"UGGGH… now, the other team has a lead over us! I mean, I don't want to sound like a pessimist but Empoleon… just tell me where the fuck is the tower so that I can get up there too before we lose!" Dedenne urged, crossing his arms.
"I'm fucking trying, okay!"
"This wouldn't happen if you didn't stop telling Klinklang to attack them!" Dedenne added, kicking sand off the ground. "I don't know if it's some sort of moral revelation but-"
"Dedenne, you do fucking get that if we just keep attacking each other, that'd put both teams in a stalemate until one of us just budges!" Empoleon explained, gritting his teeth in frustration as the rodent's derisive behavior. "I'd rather that we just do this challenge normally or we'd be here all day! SO FUCKING MOVE FIVE STEPS TO YOUR LEFT!"
"... Okay… don't have to be that harsh, you know." Dedenne scoffed as he followed Empoleon's words. "Now, what?"
"Okay, next up is-" Empoleon's full instructions are cut off as the scene faded to black.
Gossifleur ran her fingers over the engravings, making sure that she didn't accidentally mistake two symbols for one giant symbol. "..."
"So, what symbols are there, Gossifleur?"
"Hm… the first one feels squiggly… it's like a spiral? Does your screen have a spiral symbol, Oricorio?" Gossifleur asked, putting a hand to her chin thoughtfully.
"There's a shell icon, a tornado icon, a snail icon, a-"
"I think it's a shell personally… so click that."
"On it!" Oricorio nodded as she clicked the icon on the tablet. The icon turned green, to her relief. She looked up with a wide grin. "You're right, Gossifleur! There's still 3 more icons to go!"
"The 2nd icon is really… triangular… and jagged, there's lines. Is there a pyramid icon?"
"There is!"
"Okay, then click that!"
"It worked! Third icon time!"
At that moment, Dedenne had managed to make his way up as well. He had a deadpan expression as he wasted a bit of time arguing with Empoleon. Following Empoleon's instructions, he walked over to his team's chest.
"Empoleon, you can give orders to the other people now." Dedenne said.
"What is that supposed to fucking mean?!" Empoleon queried, arching a brow.
"I'll identify the icons on my own then say it to you when I'm done… so it'd be better if you can focus on another quadrant so we're not wasting our time playing telephone." Dedenne explained.
"... got it!"
"I hate it when Dedenne actually makes sense…" Empoleon admitted, crossing his arms.
This is followed by a quick montage of things happening in the challenge.
Gossifleur cheered as she managed to get a green handle from the chest while Dedenne rolled his eyes underneath his blindfold as this happened.
Floatzel and Sableye were both traveling around the South Quadrant at the same time, despite being on the same team, after Sableye misunderstood Oricorio's instructions that were supposed to be addressed to Floatzel only. This culminated with the duo running into each other, slamming their bodies on each other. Floatzel immediately took a step back, face red from embarrassment as Sableye didn't even know what he bumped into.
Empoleon is struggling to even get Cramorant to listen to his instructions as she just uses the whole time, berating the penguin.
Thankfully for him, Magcargo FINALLY moved in the direction he asked him to, so that was progress. Oricorio, realizing that nobody from her team was in the West Quadrant, tells Teddiursa to keep walking in random directions until she ends up there. After a total of 5 minutes, the little bear managed to end up in the West Quadrant, some tufts of fur out of place from all of that teleporting.
At that point, Gossifleur had managed to make her way to the center area, waiting for the others to arrive with their respective shovel parts.
Floatzel sat in the confessional with a hunched back as he desperately covered his face with his hands. "O-okay… that was weird…"
Magcargo tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. "OOOOOH… so that's what he meant by forward! Well, it's the thought that counts!
After an hour in the challenge, both teams had made decent progress with the challenge. Gossifleur, Teddiursa and Magcargo had made it to the center with their respective shovel pieces. Teddiursa notably had TWO of them, having been put to work with both the Eastern and Western quadrants.
For the rest of the contestants, there wasn't much progress. Cramorant remained stubborn… and as for Floatzel and Sableye…
"Floatzel, the rope is a step ahead of you-"
"Ok- Sableye, why do you start moving when Oricorio is not telling you to!"
"S-sorry… I'm still a bit confused about this challenge." Sableye admitted, rubbing his elbows awkwardly. "Do I move with you? Or..?"
"Just stay and don't move! I'll take a step forward and we can stop bumping into each other! Does that sound good?"
"Y-yes! … I think."
Floatzel nodded as he took a step forward… and another… only to be met with the gremlin's smaller body again. His face turned red as he took a step back immediately. "S-Sableye! Why are you..?"
"H-hahaha, I'm just so confused!"
"Well, it feels like you're twice as confused right now!"
"S-sorry! I don't mean to…"
"W-well… you don't have to apologize, as long as you uhh… bump into me gently next time? Okay, that sounded weird. This is just really awkward. I… I'm not exactly that used to…"
Sableye blinked, confused with the weasel's sudden bashful nature. "Used to what?"
"..." Floatzel looked to the side, voice quieting down so nobody else could hear them. "T-touching! I mean, obviously… I can touch villains to detain them but w-well… the other way around, it's a bit… uhhh… familiar!? Does that make sense?"
"Okay, you lost me." Sableye admitted.
"Then, move! Back away, I mean. Slowly. With your consent."
"I-I'm moving, I'm moving!"
"Cramorant, I don't know why you're being stubborn but the other team is in the lead… unless you want us to lose, which is an illogical statement to make…" Klinklang asked the cormorant as they had been stuck in the East Quadrant while Empoleon was focused on directing Dedenne to the Southern Quadrant… slowly… but steadily.
"I'm like… taking my time!" Cramorant explained. "I can clear this in a heartbeat!"
"Uh-huh. I know we have made a truce… but it is quite difficult to believe when you have not been proven to be useful in these challenges."
"Don't be so mean, O-M-G! Do you know that I could like… block you for this? I mean, I'm gonna be the bigger person and not obvi, but like… you know that I'm like… the swing vote~ So like, don't just make me angry, Klingy~"
"I thought I already told you that you can't-"
"And you let MAGCARGO do it! I'm sick of the double standards here! Like, Klangy just doesn't roll off the tongue well the same way."
"I don't let Magcargo call me that."
"You tolerate it, at the very least! Like what gives!? Why do you hate me so much O-M-G?! Is it because my phone is the latest version? I mean… I won't give you one but like, it's not my fault I'm not broke."
"I'm not even going to try and argue with you in the middle of a challenge. But just know that we're far behind in this challenge because you don't listen to instructions."
"Hon! I don't need to listen to instructions!" Cramorant assured him as she turned around then started to move forward. Of course, Klinklang couldn't see this so he couldn't even see the fact that cormorant was now casually walking about, somehow dodging the teleporters until she ended up near the rope. "See. I'm on the rope!"
"... are you serious?"
"I'm always like… really serious, y'know? So I don't know why you're surprised!"
"You should've done that earlier instead of deliberately sandbagging… for who knows what reason you had for doing that!" Klinklnag pointed out, trying his best to hide his frustration from the phone addict.
"I-D-K what you're talking about but at EMPOLEON, I'm up here already!" Cramorant yelled out.
The penguin stopped directing Dedenne through the Southern Quadrant as he turned his attention to the cormorant. "What-" He paused, gaping at shock to see that the blue bird had managed to make it up the tower without any instructions. "OKAY! How the fuck did you do that?!"
"I dunno. Intuition?" Cramorant teased, rolling her eyes playfully.
"A girl has to keep her secrets safe too, you know!" Cramorant remarked, covering her mouth with her wing. "I mean, I keep telling Klingy you can't underestimate me but he just doesn't know how to listen so I hope like… that this can convince him to take me more seriously!"
Sableye and Floatzel both arrive at the center area with matching flushed expressions.
"W-we're here… with the piece. We can start digging, I think." Floatzel stammered, hands fidgeting over the shovel piece they've brought back.
"Freaking finally! This challenge is so boring!" Teddiursa groaned, waving her hands around frantically. "I'm starting to get sick of Oricorio's voice… and don't think I'm not mad at you anymore, just cuz I'm talking to you."
"I know, I know. You don't have to remind me." Floatzel said.
"A-at least, you two are t-talking again!" Sableye chimed in.
Teddiursa turned to the gremlin's direction, arching a brow. "Uhh… why is Sableye here? Don't tell me you forced him to go along…"
"Don't even ask." Floatzel said with a shudder.
"Guys, start digging before the other team can catch up! Put the shovel together and you have to dig! The flag is behind you, Teddiursa! It's approximately five steps behind you!" Oricorio yelled out, interrupting their brief conversation. As Teddiursa, Floatzel, Sableye and Gossifleur scrambled to start digging their flag out, Magcargo watched with a concerned expression.
"Empoleon, I don't know if this is in poor taste but the other team is winning right now and I don't know if Dedenne can catch up!" Magcargo
"MAGCARGO, DO SOMETHING! I'm doing the best I can to get Dedenne to the last chest!"
"What do I do?"
"I dunno?! Burn them or something!"
"That sounds painful. I mean, I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy at all and-"
"JUST DO ANYTHING!"
Magcargo nodded as he looked around before realizing that he was blindfolded, making him unable to see anything. Laughing nervously, he ducked his head down to the ground, scooping sand into his mouth and aiming it at the nearest sound. Quickly, he then spat out the sand in that direction… which hit Teddiursa directly on her blindfold.
The little bear crossed her arms at this. "Okay, what was that?"
"The power of sand!" Magcargo explained with a wide grin.
"You do get that I'm wearing a blindfold, right? That's not going to do anything."
"It was worth a try…"
"Well, too bad cuz-" Teddiursa replied only to suddenly feel an itchy feeling around her eyes. Hands frantically reaching for her blindfold, she started screaming, "W-wait! Why is it going UNDERNEATH my blindfold!? AAAAAH! It's getting into my eyes!"
"SAND! That's the power of uhhm… kinetic sand!" Magcargo explained, not really knowing what he was saying.
Nihilego shuddered as she overheard this. "I think I just got war flashbacks just now…"
"Teddiursa, are you okay?" Oricorio asked, concerned.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. The others are still digging!"
"I have more sand where that came from!"
The little bear groaned, "YOU KNOW WHAT, sometimes… running is the bravest option!" And with that, she turned away from the lava snail… but that wasn't enough as the lava snail hurled another barrage of sand at her back which somehow went to her eyes immediately. "OKAY, HOW IS THIS HAPPENING!? I CAN'T EVEN JOKE ABOUT THIS! AAAAAH!"
"And that's why sand is not a joke!" Magcargo commented with a sheepish grin. "I mean, it can turn to glass so it can hurt… a lot! I don't know what else sand can do but wow, I'm definitely going to use sand if someone tries to hurt me at the beach! Is that a weird thing to say? I'm trying to say that it's for self-defense and I don't need to carry an extra bag when the whole beach is covered in sand and-"
A few moments later, Floatzel cheered as he managed to dig out a green flag out of the sand. Waving it above his head, he waited for Oricorio's instructions. Magcargo and a newly arrived Cramorant both look disappointed as they heard this.
"Floatzel, it's time to go to the northern quadrant so we can win this! G-O! GO GO GO GO!" Oricorio yelled, waving her tablet around frantically as she was feeling the adrenaline kicking in.
"Well, it looks like we lost." Dedenne drawled as he was still stuck in the southern quadrant.
"No, we still have a chance-"
"I'm shocked you're still being optimistic, Empoleon… but honestly, I find myself shocked with everything new I found about you but hey, you're definitely something special." Dedenne remarked flatly.
"I don't know if that's a compliment or not… but just follow my instructions. Less talking, more doing."
"Yes, slavedriver… I mean, sir!"
"Here." Floatzel said, passing the flag to an expectant Oricorio. "Are we still in the lead?"
"Yes!" Oricorio confirmed, grabbing the flag with a firm nod. She then tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Not to pry though, but why did you let Sableye-"
"J-just go! It's not important! That was embarrassing! To be an advocate for justice… and to do such things… I can't even think about it." Floatzel stammered, face turning into an intense shade of red yet again.
"Well, it was cute! You two looked really close!" Oricorio teased.
Floatzel gaped, covering his face in embarrassment. "J-just go!"
"Going!" Oricoro nodded as she jumped into the water and started swimming to the large buoy.
The scene transitioned back and forth between Empoleon and Oricorio… but it just wasn't a close battle as even with Oricorio not being a strong swimmer, she still managed to get onto the buoy before Dedenne could climb the last tower of his team.
Nihilego stood up from her chair, waving her tentacles frantically from faux-enthusiasm. "Woo! So I guess that's the challenge, huh? That was… boring and predictable but hey, at least nobody died!"
Poipole nodded as he clapped his hands together and the entire challenge set-up disappeared with the final 10 appearing in front of the two hosts. "Good job to both teams… but it looks like the Twinkling Trubbish wins immunity!"
"I- that was expected, but how did you make the whole challenge disappear?" Dedenne asked, arching a brow.
"We had help!" Poipole explained with a smile.
Nihilego rolled her eyes, crossing her tentacles. "It's a secret… anyways… let's not dally. Shuppet, we'll see you tonight obviously… BUT!" She looked around, pausing for dramatic effect. "However… tonight, the Twinkling Trubbish will also be attending the elimination ceremony! I'll explain more during the ceremony but other than that… everyone may leave!"
"It's definitely the merge." Dedenne said dryly, deadpanning.
Oricorio beamed at the camera, puffing up her chest with pride, "Winning that challenge really lifted my spirits! I don't feel proud about almost blowing up at Empoleon… but honestly, he deserved it for leaving me and Gossifleur in danger last challenge!"
The cheerleader looked to the side awkwardly. "I don't envy their position of having to vote someone off in a small group of five either. I'll just lay low… if that's even possible when I can't help but burst into cheer at any given situation, mhm."
After the end of the challenge, the contestants were all gathered at the mess hall… for their last meal before they would start preparing for the upcoming elimination ceremony. In one contestant's case, this would potentially be their last meal on the island.
The mood between the Shining Shuppet was an all-time low after their crushing loss at the challenge. They were going down to 4 contestants and Chansey's elimination was just fresh so nobody was feeling confident about the upcoming vote. It was very telling that even Magcargo wasn't starting up any conversations, focused on eating as his eyes looked down in an attempt to avoid everyone's gazes, especially Klinklang's.
Empoleon grunted as he smacked his healthy wing on the table, wiping mush off his mouth. "Okay… I know we lost but you all make it feel like we're at a funeral. Let's try to… be optimistic here!"
"Ha? Optimistic? I'm shocked you're the one trying to push that…" Dedenne drawled, poking his mush repeatedly. "Doesn't your wing still hurt?"
"Of fucking course… you don't have to remind me." Empoleon said, looking away with a grim expression. "But… I am not a quitter. I won't let it stop me-"
"Were your parents strict?"
"And where did that come from?!"
"I mean, you're pretty stubborn. You usually act really desperate too, when it comes to these challenges. Like, you NEED to win to prove a point." Dedenne pointed out.
"I-"
"L-O-L! I mean… Dededededede, speak for yourself. You're not exactly better." Cramorant interrupted, staring at her phone listlessly. "You like… act like you're better than everyone and like, it's like you're overcompensating and trying to hide how shitty you are behind being 'average'."
"What is that supposed to mean?!" Dedenne questioned, cocking a brow.
"I said what I said, O-M-G! I don't think I have to explain myself!"
"I'm pretty sure you do have to explain yourself because you're spouting bullshit."
"Nu-uh!"
"Uh-huh!"
"Nu-uh!"
"Yes, you did-"
"Can we please settle down? I know we lost embarrassingly but let's keep our dignity intact at the very least." Klinklang pointed out in his usual flat tone.
Empoleon nodded in agreement. "Thank you, Klinklang. I know we haven't seen each other eye-to-eye but thank you for making sense for once!"
"I'll pretend you did not say that." Klinklang muttered.
"OKAY OKAY… now that you two are done fighting… did everyone fucking forget we have a vote?! We really need to discuss that-" Empoleon started before face-palming with an exhausted expression. "What am I even saying!? Nobody takes these open forum strategizing seriously!"
"Hmm… I'll be frank. I can see some merit in discussing the vote together, as one group." Klinklang admitted.
"And what exactly are those merits?" Dedenne asked skeptically.
"The merge is coming so it is imperative that we reach an agreement so that we can enter the merge as a united force." Klinklang answered matter-of-factly.
"Wow, it's so NICE that you're talking about being united for once after you went behind my back last round!" Magcargo chimed in as he stopped eating to glare at the gear. "I mean… you're obviously saying that NOW when it benefits you! I mean, it's not like you voting out Chansey was a group effort at all… you're just contradicting yourself so much when you've done your best to tear this team apart!"
Klinklang's expressionless facade almost collapsed but he picked himself up almost immediately, replying in a cold tone, "I already apologized about that, Magcargo. I understand that you are mad at me and are likely to not… forgive me, but just know that it wasn't a personal move."
"That makes it worse!" Magcargo argued. "Now, you're making it look like what we had was all for nothing… I was just a game move! Someone you can use! And that really hurts my feelings, Klinklang! I really thought we had something! I am sooo tempted to just stand up and leave but I'm starving right now so I'll just eat and shut up now, since that's probably what you want from me!"
"I-" Klinklang started before looking away. "Well, you are not completely wrong there."
"Oh, so you're just proving me right, then?!"
"That is not what I meant but-"
"Then, what do you even mean?!"
"L-O-L! Klinklang said we're gonna be a united group then immediately exposed that we are not gonna be an united group. It's flop behavior, honestly." Cramorant snarked, rolling her eyes.
"Shut up…" Klinklang said to the cormorant, actually sounding like his every word had a little change with inflection. "I have made some mistakes and I know that it might sound like hogwash coming from me, but I really am apologetic about voting Chansey off."
Magcargo looked up from his plate, cocking a brow. "Well, you don't need to explain. You're probably voting me off anyways." Scooping a large serving of mush into his mouth, the lava snail then hopped off his seat with his mouth full, crawling out of the building, not bothering to give the gear a chance to explain himself further.
"..." The gear's eyes narrowed at this but he chose to say nothing in response.
"So uhhhhhh… since Magcargo's gone, why can't we just vote him out?" Dedenne pointed out, crossing his arms. "He's going to be volatile and against us if we keep him in the game. I think it's best if we just cut our losses and vote him out."
"Us? Oh, so NOW I'm part of the team?" Empoleon pointed out with an annoyed expression.
"I mean, does anyone on your old team even like you? Hell, Vanilluxe and Oricorio definitely don't like you from what they said about you when we were on the same team." Dedenne intoned.
Empoleon sighed, putting a hand to his face. "Ugh… I hate it when you have a point…"
"Oh oh! So we're voting out Maggy then? I mean, he's still really mad and like, I think he's likelier to work with the people on the other team anyways." Cramorant said, clenching her fists.
"Yeah. We already burnt him once with the Chansey vote. He's not really going to work with us after that." Dedenne added. "I'd rather take my chances with Teddiursa, Floatzel and Sableye over checking if we even have a chance to repair that broken bridge."
"Mmhm mhm! Spilling tea as always, Dedededededede!"
"It's Dedenne." The rodent deadpanned at the cormorant's direction before turning to the two steel-types. "Anyways, that's 2 votes against Magcargo. What about you two?"
"I don't like that plan." Empoleon answered almost immediately.
"What do you mean? Did you not hear me say that you NEED to vote him off since nobody even likes you and you need everyone else on your side?" Dedenne chided, wagging his finger condescendingly. "Do you have any better ideas? Oh, why am I even asking that when you cost us that challenge?!"
"Vote me off then, for all I care." Empoleon pointed out. "I mean, I deserved to go home for so long but for some reason, you're voting off people who actually don't drag the team down, so honestly it's your fault we keep losing these challenges."
"LOL! Is that shade?! It's not cute, Empoleon. In fact, it's not demure and mindful of you to be a bully." Cramorant said, deadpanning.
"You fucking voted off Chansey over someone with a broken arm. That's what I'm saying!"
"I mean, you could've quit-"
"I already told you that I'm NOT quitting. Vote me off if you want me gone from the game. You can't expect me to let myself get med-evacced like that!"
"I mean, that's the logical thing to do." Dedenne said. "It's not our fault that you have a lot of screws loose up there…"
"Stop talking to me like you fucking know everything. It's annoying."
"You're annoying!"
"Shut the fuck up!"
"I'm not."
"..."
"Okay, now you're giving me the silent treatment? Cramorant, back me up here."
"IDK what to do, Dededededede. Empy is kind of weakass. Like, I don't think he'll matter as long as the rest of us vote together."
"You have a point there…" Dedenne muttered with an understanding nod before he looked over to Klinklang. "Are you fine with it, Klinklang? You've been silent for quite some time now and honestly… while it's not completely unexpected, you usually take charge of these type of situations and not just let people like me and Cramorant decide."
The gear blinked, as he broke out of stupor after being lost in thought since Magcargo left, "Huh? Oh, are you asking for my input? Well… I suppose whatever I say would not affect your decision here."
"Well, Empoleon is a cunt who wouldn't vote for Magcargo, and Magcargo's obviously not voting himself off, so we need your vote to prevent a tie at the very least." Dedenne explained.
"Yuppers! And like, we already voted together once. Let's vote together twice for like camaraderie or something." Cramorant added, actually putting her phone away to show the gear that she was serious.
"... I don't even know what to say."
"It's a yes or no question. Would you vote Magcargo out?"
"I need time to think."
"What type of answer is that!? I expected that from Empoleon but coming from you? You're being very noncommittal. It's like you don't care about the game at all." Dedenne chastised with a judgemental gaze focused on the Steel-type.
"I already told you that I need time to think!" Klinklang snapped at a fit of rage, face turning red. "Good plans need time to simmer."
Dedenne nearly fell off his seat, shocked by Klinklang's sudden outburst. "Okay okay? Don't need to glare at me like you want me dead."
"IDK. I think it wasn't out of line." Cramorant said with a dismissive shrug.
"Ex-cuse me?! Don't act like voting Magcargo off was my idea! You said it first!" Dedenne pointed out, arching a brow.
"I dunno. I was just throwing out ideas and you jumped on that-"
"There's FIVE people on this team! It was always going to be between Empoleon and Magcargo and you chose to throw Magcargo's name out there first!" Dedenne argued, growling at the bird. "So stop pushing the blame when it was YOUR idea first."
"I mean, you were still out of line."
"With what!?"
"I dunno. Ask Klingy."
"Klinklang, what does sh-"
Klinklang groaned, rolling his eyes at the scene unfolding before him. "Just shut up. I'm starting to get a migraine from hearing you two bicker."
"I- You know what, let's talk about this after we eat…" Dedenne said, face-palming in defeat. He wasn't going to get Klinklang to cooperate anytime soon…
"FLOP BEHAVIOR!" Cramorant gawked.
"Just shut up."
"I don't know. Cramorant has a point there," Empoleon snickered, leering at the rodent before continuing to eat.
"With the upcoming vote… there are far little options available for me to take." Klinklang admitted. "It is not exactly commonplace for me to push myself into the corner but I suppose I was foolish to assume that eliminating Chansey would be good for my game, despite my thoughts back then. I was foolish to assume that Magcargo would not be overly mad at me for it. I thought that he wouldn't take it personally, and-"
The gear paused. "This is giving me a terrible sense of deja vu, and I do not like it."
While the whole commotion was happening over the Shining Shuppet, both Teddiursa and Sableye left the mess hall, having finished eating earlier than the rest of their team.
"UwU, what do you think is going on with the other team? They kind of sounded intense over there. They were like… screaming and shouting all over the place. Do you think they didn't notice that we could hear them?" Teddiursa commented, giggling into her paw. "I mean, I wouldn't be shocked! Some people are just spatially unaware~"
"I m-mean… it sounded so serious. I don't envy them at all, hahahaha… we're the lucky ones, huh?" Sableye admitted.
"You betcha! I bet the other team fights all the time. I mean, I'm not shocked. Empoleon is just that overwhelming T-B-H." Teddiursa spoke while her eyes darted up to the twilight sky. "It did make me think though!"
"Think about how you should forgive Floatzel?" Sableye suggested.
Teddiursa put a paw to her cheek, looking deep-in-thought before she snorted, rolling her eyes. "Naur! That sounds super dumb! I mean, I'm mad at him, but it's not like I go to him every chance I get to scream at his face like what the other team is doing. We're like… civilized."
"I don't think ignoring someone for ages and expecting them to come for forgiveness sounds that civilized." Sableye pointed out, sweating profusely as Teddiursa's smile dropped. "W-what I mean to say is uhhhh… m-maybe you should drop more hints at Floatzel t-to patch it all up. Y-you did say that some guys are so dumb that t-they need things to be spelled out right in front of them to understand."
Teddiursa blinked before looking to the side thoughtfully. "Truw! I did say that, huh? I mean, I could do that! But like, I still can't stand the look of Floatzel's adorably rugged face and loud booming voice! Uggggh, why is he so cute AND annoying at the same time?! This wouldn't be happening if he didn't try whoring around Skwovet for no reason. Like Skwovet?! I get that we're both brown Normal-types, but he's not even that cute! Sableye, who's cuter? Me or Skwovet?"
"Y-you obviously, haha!"
"SAY THAT WITH MORE OOMPH!"
Sableye took a step back in shock. "U-uhh… what?"
"I mean, you sound so unsure of yourself. It's almost like you actually think Skwovet's cuter than me, and that hurts my feelings!"
"That's just how I talk though, h-hahahaha…"
"Again, that is true!" Teddiursa admitted. "Honestly, I don't know why you talk with a stutter, but it's a bit cute. It's like you're also after my cutie crown!"
"Is that a compliment?" Sableye asked.
"Obvi! Being cute is like… the biggest praise you could ask for!" Teddiursa explained.
"Uhm, t-thanks. I'm sure I liked being cute… or something, hahahaha-"
"Liked? What does that mean?" Teddiursa asked, crossing her arms.
"It's n-nothing. Slip of the tongue!"
"Sableye?"
The gremlin laughed nervously as he did his best to avoid the little bear's gaze. "Uhhhh, this is awkward but well… I don't really… have… memories."
"What?"
"I can't remember anything from two months before this game."
"What?"
"It's-"
"No, I understand what you said. I'm just shocked you're saying it now, deep into the game." Teddiursa explained, putting a hand to her chest. "So, you're saying that you can't remember much, and that's why you smelled like garbage when you came into the game?"
"I think so?" Sableye said, unsure of himself.
"You sound confused right now." Teddiursa pointed out.
Sableye sighed, putting both hands on his face. "I-I'm really sorry. I just… it's hard. I was just playing this game, following you and Floatzel's lead that I didn't think I had to admit anything about myself… I don't even know why I signed up for this."
"That sounds heavy." Teddiursa admitted. "Uhm, can we switch topics?"
"O-oh… did I creep you out?" Sableye asked, looking down in disappointment. "Floatzel said he would help me out and I thought-"
Teddiursa cocked a brow at this. "Floatzel knows? Uhm, are you talking to him behind my back?"
"N-no! I mean… well… yes! But well… he felt bad for treating me terribly and I can't help but tell him everything and-" Sableye stopped as he noticed Teddiursa's expression fall completely. "T-Teddiursa?"
"So, you didn't trust me enough to tell me?" Teddiursa asked. "You must think I'm faker than press-on nails!"
"N-no, I don't! And-" Before Sableye could make his rebuttal, Magcargo stormed out the mess hall in a huff… stopping in his tracks as he noticed the turmoil brewing between the little bear and the gremlin.
"Teddiursa? Sableye? What are you two doing here? I don't think it's a good idea to stand in front of the entrance but uh, I'm not here to judge you for your life choices!" Magcargo commented, looking to the side awkwardly.
"It's nothing!" Teddiursa huffed, crossing her arms as she deadpanned. "Sableye and I were just chatting!"
"Well, it sounded like you two were getting heated. I think there's a bit of a misunderstanding going on there but hey, I don't know what relationship you two have!" Magcargo commented. "I mean, I thought I knew Klinklang too, but it turns out he's a liar. Don't trust him!"
"How is Klinklang-" Teddiursa blinked as the lava snail just crawled away immediately before she could even ask about his weird comments. "Okay, that was weird. Sableye, I won't lie. I am very pissed. Floatzel said he can't trust me and now, you're implying that you trust Floatzel more than me. I would never leave either of you out, so I feel hurt that you'd leave me out of this… I mean, if you told Floatzel, then surely you trust me too… r-right?"
"I t-trust you! I'm sorry! I didn't think that it mattered if I told it to him first…" Sableye admitted, looking down at his feet out of guilt.
Teddiursa sighed, rubbing her arm. "Well, I get it… I guess. I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at-"
"Teddiursa, are you still…" Floatzel walked out of the mess hall frantically. He had rushed through eating, hoping he could catch up with the little bear and to his relief, she and Sableye were still waiting at the entrance. "Phew, you're both still here."
"Oh great, you're here." Teddiursa grumbled. "Is the whole world scheming to drag down my cuteness today? First, Oricorio works me to the bone and now, I have to see your face?"
"I just wanted to… apologize for what I said about you during my conversation with Skwovet." Floatzel said.
"So, you're confirming that you actually believed in everything you said?"
The weasel sighed, staring dead-on at Teddiursa's eyes. "Teddiursa, I already told you that I was pressured to say them. Skwovet was really prodding on me so I had to-"
"Say that we're not best friends? That's just cruel! And I thought I was the one who's fake!"
"I-"
"HMPH! Sableye, let's just go before this JERK follows us again!"
Sableye's eyes went back and forth between Floatzel and Teddiursa while the little bear grabbed onto his arm. "W-wait! Let's hear him out!"
"I think I've heard enough." Teddiursa said as she started walking away, dragging Sableye behind her. The Dark-type extended a hand reaching out for Floatzel as he got further and further away.
"Ah!"
Floatzel closed his eyes as he turned around, "..."
"Well, you can't fault me for not trying…" Floatzel remarked.
Sableye sighed as he looked at the floor. "I f-feel bad since I feel like I just hurt their relationship further… I didn't want to do that at all. I just hope they make up already!"
An hour after dinner, Dedenne awkwardly followed Empoleon back into the cabin. The penguin turned around as soon as they came back.
"So, why are you following me? I already told you that I have no intentions of working with you."
"I just wanted to talk to you. One-on-one." Dedenne explained. "So, let's do it. Talk."
"Are you serious? Do you really think you can change my mind?" Empoleon gawked, annoyed by the little rodent's unashamed behavior. To think that he was acting so confident that he'd even give him the time of the day when he had done nothing but be terrible to him for the entire game… it was very grating. Empoleon was impressed that he managed to find enough restraint to not just get his hands on the other guy.
"I already said it was a joke, alright? You don't have to be so butt-hurt about it." Dedenne said, rolling his eyes. "It was just a tease. Besides, it's not like I doubled down after you broke your arm or something."
"I'll give you that, but you still fucking kept getting into my head about my relationship with Bayleef, and I don't think you need anyone to explain why that was fucking bullshit." Empoleon alluded, hopping onto his bed and burying his face underneath his pillows. "Just… I don't want to talk to you right now or ever."
"Come on, don't be like that. I thought you had a winning mindset or something." Dedenne pointed out. "Shouldn't you separate your feelings from the game… or do you let them cloud your judgement? I'm surprised that you still claim to be a strong athlete or whatever…"
"I-" Empoleon was about to interject but paled immediately, remembering Oricorio's words earlier.
"W-what is that supposed to mean?! I mean, you could barely cooperate with your teammates because you keep pressuring them too much and you're mad at me and Vanilluxe for… being an actual team. So, you should be assessing yourself more since you were a big jerk, leaving myself, Gossifleur, Flapple and Vanilluxe trapped in those vines back then!"
"You know what… fuck you. You have a point there, but that doesn't mean I'll talk to you, just because you're right!"
"Are you serious? Then, who are you voting off?"
"Is it not obvious? I'm voting YOU off!" Empoleon answered.
Dedenne gaped, walking over to the penguin's bed. "Are you serious?! That's stupid!"
"Then, vote me off."
"That's even more stupid! Why would I vote you off when the merge is coming!? You don't exactly have a choice but to work with us, since you're not really a threat in cha-" Dedenne stopped as he noticed Empoleon glaring at him as he lifted the pillow off his face. "AHEM… just saying, it wouldn't be smart if you just voted me off, when I'm one of the few people in the game who would ever work with you!"
"I can't deny that, but why should I even trust you when you literally don't make logical decisions! You voted off CHANSEY over me for no reason, and don't even use the merge as a reason when I was fucking injured. You'd rather risk losing twice instead of just dropping me off to increase your chances of winning this challenge!?"
"Well, it's basic math. We all know the merge is happening when we reach the halfway point, and half of twenty is well… ten. I know you're a meathead, but I didn't think you would be that dense, huh?"
"Stop acting like I'm fucking stupid-"
"I mean, you could only be good at one thing and you decided to be a jock so hey, I'm not judging you. I guess that's just how the cookie crumbles sometimes." Dedenne commented judgmentally.
"I'm not fucking stupid!"
"Okay, okay… I'll stop calling you stupid-" Dedenne started before smirking. "IF you vote with me, Cramorant and Klinklang!"
"This is getting annoying. I'm voting you off. You can't change my mind. You're making me repeat myself so much right now… who the fuck are you even voting off? Were you serious about the Magcargo vote?"
"Do you really think I'd tell you when you've proven to be unreliable?" Dedenne mentioned, narrowing his gaze.
"Then just leave me alone!"
"Fine fine…" Dedenne climbed onto his bed, rolling his eyes as he then muttered under his breath. "Cunt…"
Oricorio hummed to herself as she walked over to the bathroom… only to stop as Marill walked right in front of her, to her confusion.
"Excuse me? Marill, was it? What are you doing here?"
"I should be the one asking questions here." The blue mouse said coldly, tapping her finger over her shoulder. "Are you free?"
"I just finished eating and was going to the bathroom. Is there anything wrong with that?" Oricorio asked, arching a brow.
"I heard that you found that Flapple in the woods, and I also heard that she's been talking her head off while you were stuck together." Marill explained. "I don't know where you found her specifically… but well, she has had history with the show."
"She told me just as much." Oricorio admitted, looking to the side.
"Did she tell you that she used to be the former casting director?" Marill continued to ask.
"Yes. She said she casted most of the show and-"
"She wasn't lying about that, but she just disappeared and I was called in to be her replacement." Marill elucidated. "I finalized the cast and helped Nihilego decide the challenge order. But here's the bottom line: Flapple has shown signs that she's a bit… unwell."
"Unwell?" Oricorio turned back, putting a wing to her mouth. "Where is she right now? Is she alright? Gossifleur sat on her for most of last challenge, so I'm worried she might've broken a bone… but then again, I guess Gossifleur isn't that heavy, O-K!"
"That's not what I meant… what I meant was that she's been a bit delusional, even when she was working for the show." Marill clarified. "She's spontaneous, and acts emotionally to the point that she almost got this show cancelled with her casting options. I had to step in to make sure that everything was above board."
"So she's out of the island now?"
"Oh! She's still on the island! We've been interrogating her on her whereabouts for the past few months." Marill answered. "She just disappeared in the middle of production, so we were worried that she was hatching schemes."
"I-D-K… what does that spell?! I don't know! I don't know about you, but she genuinely seemed trapped back there. I don't know if she was actually thinking of a plan!"
"You shouldn't trust people that easily, don't you know?" Marill advised, eyes darting from side to side. "You don't know what people are hiding in their closets. There might be a couple of skeletons in there."
"I don't know why you're asking me, of all people. Y-E-S, I did get to talk to Flapple, but I don't think we talked that much. Gossifleur was also there!" Oricorio pointed out.
"Gossifleur is-" Marill started before immediately covering her mouth. She sighed as she flailed her hands in front of her chest. "Okay, this is hard for me to explain, but I know Gossifleur's not the type to spill information freely, so even if I went to her, I wouldn't get anything out of her.
"Okay? That sounded weird, but if you must know, Flapple didn't overshare, nor did I ask her any questions since I'm just here to compete, not dig around within the show. Is that clear? Give me a Y-E-S! YES!" Oricorio spelled out, wagging her wing at the mouse.
"I don't-"
"Just give me a yes or a no!"
"Yes yes, fine… sure, it's a yes." Marill answered reluctantly, waving her arms around frantically.
"Thank you! Now, can you move so that I can head to the bathroom? That mush… didn't sit right with my stomach."
"I-"
"That wasn't a question!" Oricorio said, face turning green as she ran past the blue mouse straight for the bathroom.
The Water-type blinked at this before she took out her clipboard to jot down notes of what happened.
Empoleon was now lying on his bed, reading a novel that he had brought to the island. Dedenne had left the room to strategize with everyone else so Empoleon decided to finally make use of his private time. He didn't want to admit it but he was an avid reader… embarrassingly so. While he does remember making fun of Chansey for being addicted to romance novels, he was a bit too into mystery novels for the intrigue they brought.
"..." Empoleon turned the page with a calm smile finally plastered on his face. He hadn't gotten the opportunity to read until now, because he was either focused on Bayleef or trying to prove a point… but honestly, he felt relieved. It was a strange feeling but for some reason, he was fine with it.
"Empoleon?"
Well, that was fast. Empoleon cursed himself for jinxing himself but he sat up, throwing the book back into his belongings, to find Magcargo staring at him with a wide gaze.
"Magcargo, what the fuck are you doing here? I thought you didn't want to come here since you were still mad at Klinklang or whatever. I don't care about that obviously."
"What were you reading? I didn't know you read! Wait, that sounded wrong. I just didn't expect you to be the type to read." Magcargo admitted.
Empoleon looked to the side awkwardly. "The brain is also a muscle. Do you really think I wouldn't fucking be working hard on that too?!"
"I won't lie! A little bit!" Magcargo answered.
"Fu- You know what, I'm not really in the mood to argue with you there." Empoleon sighed in exasperation, face-palming. "Dedenne already done enough fucking damage… it's sick."
"Dedenne? Oh, I hate him too!"
"Good. We have more in common then." A smirk crept up the penguin's face. "I'm voting him out. If that's what you want to tell me… then I'm obviously going to agree with you immediately."
"Oh! That's what I was going to suggest! I had a whole pitch planned but I guess I don't need to tell them? Or do you want me to drag Dedenne for the sake of dragging Dedenne?"
"By all means, yes." Empoleon snickered. "Though, I'm shocked you're not gunning for Klinklang. Don't you hate him for voting off your friend?"
"I HATE Klinklang but he needs to stay in the game so that I can have my revenge on him!" Magcargo explained with a wide grin contrasting his intentions. "Dedenne is also his ally so hey, it's part of my revenge and leave him very isolated!"
"You do get that the other three are planning to vote you off. How are we getting a third vote against Dedenne!?" Empoleon questioned, putting his flipper on the lava snail's shell. "Is that just going to fucking pop up from thin air or something? And don't say fucking friendship."
"We can get them to stray vote!"
"Wouldn't that cause a tie? Why would they even do that when there's 5 people left!?"
"OH!" Magcargo's eyes widened in realization. "Okay, you have a point there!"
"Did you think this through?"
"I honestly just thought of this after we lost the challenge… so I haven't thought that far ahead." Magcargo admitted with a sheepish grin.
"Whatever. I don't fucking care if we have majority. I'm voting Dedenne off just to make a statement." Empoleon voiced out, crossing his arms. "He's annoying as fuck and I don't know where he got that confidence but it's been getting on my last nerves. Fuck… was I as bad as him?"
"I dunno!" Magcargo answered with a chuckle. "You haven't been too overbearing when we were on the same team personally. I would even consider you a friend even, since we both said goodbye to Chansey so any friend of Chansey is a friend of mine!"
"Chansey wasn't exactly a friend of mine. If anything, I think she fucking hated me for most of the game." Empoleon spelled out for the lava snail with a deadpan stare. "I just… wanted to hash things out since I really did her dirty."
"You're still better than Klinklang, because you actually know how to apologize! Klinklang would just balance logic and his personal feelings that he just comes off as disingenuous!" Magcargo admitted. "I mean, it's not like I want to forgive him or anything but I just really want to have my thoughts be validated but at the same time, I don't want to be right. I really loved him, Empoleon. He was my best friend and-"
"Magcargo, I think you skipped a couple of parts…" Empoleon admitted, not really understanding what the Fire-type was even saying.
"Sorry sorry! But I just wanted to say that I want to be your friend, Empoleon… can I call you Empy, by the way? I don't know who else to trust other than you honestly!"
Empoleon rubbed the back of his head, sweating a bit. "Well… fuck. I'm not sure if I'd make a good 'friend', Magcargo. I don't exactly have a good track record in this game. Bayleef hates me guts and do I even have to talk about Musharna, Unfezant AND Pikachu?"
"I trust you!"
"Shit. You really have a weird taste for friends, huh?"
"I asked Teddiursa too but she didn't really sound like she was into it."
"I stand corrected."
"Don't get me wrong. I don't hate Magcargo or think he's TOO annoying but I don't know how to feel about him… so it came out of fucking nowhere that he wants to be MY friend. Does he not know how I was in this game!? I literally scared the shit out of Vanilluxe during the first challenge but hey, I'm a good FUCKING friend, isn't that crazy?!" Empoleon remarked, staring at the camera with a surprised expression.
An awkward smile crept up the penguin's face as his face turned red from embarrassment. "T-though… I won't lie… I kinda feel relieved that he's not too intimidated to even talk to me… it makes the pain of breaking my wing… less noticeable. It makes me think back… I really intimidated Bayleef that much, huh? CRAP… I feel like shit now."
"Empoleon is honestly not the type of person I usually be friends with!" Magcargo admitted, eyes looking to the side wistfully. "But… other than Sunflora, I don't know who else I can talk to. I really feel pent up since I want to talk to Klinklang but I'm supposed to be mad at him… thankfully, Empoleon has been less intimidating in person than I expected. I would even consider him to be welcoming actually!"
He then smiled hopefully. "Maybe, this might even be the start of a beautiful relationship! And hey, if it makes Klinklang jealous or something then that would make my day!"
Meanwhile, Gossifleur and Vanilluxe were walking along the beach, just having some precious bonding time before the elimination ceremony. They weren't strategizing nor were they worrying about the game so it was relatively peaceful to the usual going-ons of the island.
"Vanilluxe, how exactly do you workshop your jokes? I'm going to be objective here and suggest that maybe, you can do stand-up instead of just puns. It's a bit too much and repetitive at times." Gossifleur told her companion, who had just asked her to give an HONEST critique on his comedy.
Vanilluxe sighed, teary-eyed. "R-really!? B-but when I try to do stand-up, people leave before I get to the punch-line! In a way, I guess you can say THAT was a gut… PUNCH!?" The ice cream stared at the flower's reaction expectantly. "Eh?"
"... Errr…" Gossifleur looked to the side awkwardly. "It might need more work. I'm not really into comedy so I am not exactly a good sounding board here."
"Awww… are you Gossi-sure?"
"Sorry. I don't quite get it."
"So what type of jokes do you like then?" Vanilluxe asked curiously.
"Well, I did read this fantasy novel where there was an inside joke between the main characters surrounding the fact that one of them was a dangerous Lycanroc yet they're traveling with a Miltank and Watchog, who are usually their food. So that gets brought up constantly in different methods to poke fun at how surprising their dynamic is, in contrast to who they are. THOUGH, they did start beating that to the ground with how many jokes they've shoved into the story." Gossifleur's eyes glistened with pride and excitement as she became more fluid with her movement, waving her arms around as she was basically jumping up and down as she explained to the ice cream. "OH! And this romance novel where-"
"Uhhhh, I don't get what you're saying there but those jokes are a pretty…" Vanilluxe side-eyed as he cleared his throat. "... novel idea, don't you think?"
Gossifleur settled down, giving the ice cream a look. "Okay, you lost me again."
"H-hey! You lost me with your novel talk!"
"I apologize for my… overt enthusiasm but it's not like I have people to discuss them with so I saw the opportunity to spill my thoughts and put them into words in the best way I can! Perhaps, it can convince you to pick up a copy at your local bookstores!" Gossifleur said before biting her nails. "I, for one, make sure to return ALL of my books to the local library… ONE MONTH late WITHOUT paying for compensation! I'm such a bad influence!"
"I'm not exactly a reader personally though." Vanilluxe admitted, ignoring Gossfleur going off at a tangent.
Gossifleur blushed in embarrassment at her struggling to even keep up with her bad girl image. "Er-hem… Really? Are you into anything other than comedy?"
"I'm uhhh… into singing!" Vanilluxe answered with a weak smile. "Though, I'm not really good at it-"
"Oh okay. Let's move o-"
"W-wait?! You're not going to insist that I sing for you?"
"You said you weren't good at it though! I don't see the point" Gossifleur pointed out with a shrug.
"I insist!"
"You said you weren't good! I would rather keep my eardrums dry and you know… not bleeding?!"
"I swear I'm n-not that bad!"
"Errrr, let's just move on?"
"I'll start singing!" Vanilluxe sputtered out, face turning red from embarrassment. "I-ICCe Ice BaBBBBy! iCE ICee BaBYYYYY~"
"Lalalalalala, I can't hear anything!"
"Is it really that bad?"
"You were VERY off-pitch!" Gossifleur remarked. "Besides, that's not really the genre of music I enjoy. Didn't you mention that your idol was a guitarist? Do you know anything acoustic… or dare I say? Smooth jazz?"
Vanilluxe immediately paled at this. "Uh… uhhh… w-well, it's not like they taught me anything… t-they were very intimidating. I don't think I could find it in me to even ask!"
"Oh! I suppose that makes sense. But well… your singing needs work. It's not like I'm a trained singer or anything but I can't help you there at all."
"Are you a trained singer?"
"..." Gossifleur sighed in defeat as the ice cream leaned forward. "Not exactly, but my father told me to specialize in so many skills. Right now, I can play 47 instruments, read 183 languages and cook 845 foreign dishes!"
"Wow, that's impressive!" Vanilluxe commented.
"N-no, it's not! I mean, sure it is! But it's not like I wanted to do them in the first place… and why would I need to cook if my father won't ev-" Gossifleur paused before face-palming. "All I'm saying is that there's no point to a lifetime of achievement if it pushes you to an edge… or if the people who actually matter in your life don't even notice those achievements."
"Oh! I uhh… wish I could say I can relate but I can't!"
"I didn't think it'd be relatable in the first place anyways…" Gossifleur said before looking up at the darkening sky. "Though, it looks like it's getting late. Maybe, we should get going and proceed to the elimination ceremony? Who knows what twist lies ahead of us!"
"Sure!" Vanilluxe nodded as he and Gossifleur turned around to start walking back to camp. "What do you think is the twist?"
"The merge! There's no alternatives here!" Gossifleur said with a wide grin.
"T-the merge!? I can't believe it… w-we really did it!" Vanilluxe remarked, gaping in shock. "This is all thanks to you!"
"Uhm… you're welcome?"
"I mean, you lead our alliance through the Skwovet and Vivillon votes really well! You're cool… even if you're not an ice type!" Vanilluxe pointed out. This caused Gossifleur to stop at her tracks.
Eyes widening, her hands immediately went to her face. "W-WAIT WHAT?!"
"Huh? D-Did I say anything wrong or..?"
"Well, I came into this competition… not wanting to stand out in a certain way. I'm here to be treated normally and try to be the worst version of myself to draw attention… not from the people who expect so much from me… but the people who actually matter. I know it's negative attention but my father told me that bad publicity is good publicity so hey, he can be proud that I'm actually paying attention to the business talk he shares with me!"
"But NOW, Vanilluxe is saying that I've been… leading? I didn't want to have that much level of responsibility on my shoulders!" Gossifleur moaned. "Now, I'd feel responsible for Sableye and Vanilluxe's longevity in the game and I obviously can't just tell them that the alliance is as good as dead!"
Gossifleur sighed as she leaned to the side of the confessional. "That was supposed to be a calming stroll but now my nerves are frazzled from Vanilluxe's stilted comedy, terrible singing skills and this realization!"
"So I'm a terrible comedian AND singer!? What am I even good for, huh?!" Vanilluxe stared at the camera with a piercing glare. "HMMM?! Wait, I'm not even good at breaking up fights either so that's a huge blow to my self-esteem, huh!? This isn't cool. Not at all. I'm MELTING! Honestly, if Gossifleur wasn't my friend, I'd be falling apart just about now… but instead, I feel a bit hurt since I don't know how to relate with her. She feels so far away!"
Vanilluxe forced a smile to his expression. "OF COURSE, part of being a comedian is always knowing how to smile in the face of adversity and the fact that your life has been shaping up to disappointment… but hey, it's all just fun and games until it's all over!"
"... what do I do..?" Klinklang was facing back and forth in the empty mess hall. Even though everyone had already left after finishing dinner, he was still stuck there, weighing in all his options. Usually, he would go for the most logical option but it was… difficult to the say the least.
"Voting Magcargo off is the obvious play here… he has no reason to trust me anymore…" Klinklang remarked, closing his eyes. "Or at least… that's what is logical? I can always vote for Dedenne too… but at least, he would actually strategize with me for the merge… perhaps, I can just force people to vote Empoleon off instead…"
Klinklang's eyes opened as he let out a feral growl, "NO! What am I even saying?! Voting Empoleon off would be worthless and make the whole effort to even save him a waste! This is an obvious decision to make… This should be easy…"
Klinklang sighed as he sat right back down, not even noticing Bellossom giving him a weird stare as she passed right by him. "..."
"What the hell is he even..?" Bellossom muttered to herself. She didn't have plans at the mess hall at first, but Indeedee asked her for a favor and well, she wasn't going to miss out on getting brownie points from her peers! Shaking her head, the flower was about to head into the kitchen but to her complete and utter disappointment, the Steel-type had finally noticed her presence.
"You… can I ask for your 2nd opinion?" Klinklang queried, floating closer to the intern.
Bellossom looked around for a quick second before awkwardly pointing to herself. "Uhh… were you talking to me?"
"I presume that was obvious, given the fact that we are the only two Pokemon inside the building right now." Klinklang pointed out flatly.
"Indeedee's also-" Bellossom was about to interject before sighing in exasperation. "You know what… trying to get into a squabble with a contestant isn't exactly helping me meet my paygrade here."
"This will be quick. I just need to get input."
"Can't you get that from your other contestant friends or something? We haven't exactly…"
"It will be quick."
"Okay… shoot. What do you want to ask?" Bellossom sighed in defeat, crossing her arms.
"If a certain… peer is mad at you for doing something behind their back… is that relationship still salvageable or do I just cut my losses?" Klinklang questioned.
Bellossom deadpanned. "Uhh… I wouldn't be in that situation in the first place. You don't just fall into that situation if you think about what you say and do. It's a matter of preparation and being more mindful."
"In a hypothetical situation that you end up at a similar situation… what would you do?"
"Cut my losses obviously!" Bellossom answered. "If a bridge's burnt down to the ground, you can't just expect that to be fine the next day… better to just not even try to repair it when there's more fish in the sea, you know? I mean… I wouldn't be burning bridges in the first place, but that's just my thoughts on your hypothetical situation."
"Ah… I see… that's logical. I see we're quite… alike." Klinklang remarked sullenly.
"I prefer to call myself a realist." Bellossom corrected. "Besides, I wouldn't be in your position, in the first place."
"That hypothetical was not indicative of my current situation, I was just-"
"Okay okay. You're in denial. Can I go?"
"A-" Before Klinklang could answer her question, Bellossom rolled her eyes as she turned around immediately.
"That wasn't a question. I'm going. Indeedee would be very annoyed if I'm later than what we had planned…" The flower shuddered as she hugged herself. "I'd rather not take that risk. Just uhh… talk to yourself again or whatever?"
"..." Klinklang sighed as the flower disappeared into the kitchen. That wasn't helping him with his decision. If anything, it made it even more difficult and maybe… just maybe… he actually made a grave mistake. While he was still unsure about whether or not voting Chansey off was good or not, the gear was starting to stomach the fact that for the first time, there's absolutely nothing right with his decision. Logically… there was no justifiable reason to vote Chansey off and he just made a foolish decision to eliminate the nurse… so why did he even do it? "... I… miscalculated… why did I not see this sooner?"
"Hm… perhaps, it was my conscious decision to even be Magcargo's friend… that was my first mistake…" Klinklang muttered to himself as memories started to crash back onto him like waves.
"You never understand! Why do you have to be so tactless?! I thought you'd be more LOGICAL and KNOW what was going on but instead, you didn't see it… you never saw it at all…"
"Duraludon…" Klinklang's eyes widened as he paled. He then shook his head, steeling his expression. "This… is nothing like that at all. There was no competition back then… I couldn't make justifications… but now, surely… there's some…" The gear paused before looking down. "-no… no… it's all wrong. I let my emotions get the best of me… I… overcompensated… isn't that right, Duraludon? I shouldn't have ignored the signs back then and now… I was focused too much on trying to play this games logically that I ignored my own feelings getting the best of me."
"... So now… what do I-"
Bellossom's head then peeked out from the kitchen, expression deadpanning. "Why are you still here? Indeedee wants this place empty ASAP… so I'd advise you to just leave and brood somewhere else!"
"I was not brooding. I was… lost in thought." Klinklang said, breath shaky. "I… will leave now. The elimination is soon anyways."
"Yeah, I can confirm that the elimination is in a few minutes! So yes, just go already."
"I-"
"No more words please. Just go."
"Of course…"
"Back then, my… friends did point out that there are just some things that phase right through me." Klinklang admitted with a hurt expression. "I assumed that I had to look at things more logically so that I can look at the big picture and stop ignoring the signs I have ignored before to my detriment… but perhaps… I have been using this so-called logic as an excuse to make stupid decisions. I know I have been quite robotic and… unnerving… and cold, as Cramorant liked to say… but looking back now… I have not learned at all."
"I should have told Magcargo at the very least… that I was envio-" Klinklang stopped himself, eyes widening. "Ahem… pardon my slip of the tongue. I meant to say… I was skeptical of his relationship with Chansey… and that made me a bit too close-minded… I should have just joined in on their friendship. Magcargo was my strongest relationship in the game and now… I do not even know if I can trust anyone else…"
Later that night, the final 11 were all gathered around the campfire, with the 5 remaining members of the Shining Shuppet all seated at the front. After a long day, the air was thick with tension and indecision as the team had shrunk down by a noticeable amount.
Nihilego faced the contestants with an exhausted expression. While the challenge was simpler and more laidback, hosting always took a toll on her spirit. There were just too many variables in play… but of course, this moment wasn't about her, another contestant was about to be voted out of the game, drawing them closer to the end of the competition, which is what kept the hostess going. "Shining Shuppet… you're back so soon! And Twinkling Trubbish, thank you for coming on short notice! I'd ask questions or whatever but… I'm sure everyone's itching for the results BUT then again… I can drag it out or-"
"Are you going to drag this out or can we just start voting? This is starting to get old really fast." Dedenne pointed out, crossing his arms.
"Well, too bad! Drag on, we would! Empoleon, you're still injured. You tried to redeem yourself at the challenge but you guys still lost! Do you think th-"
"Of course this team made a dumb decision voting Chansey off over me!" Empoleon answered, not letting the jellyfish finish. "I don't care if saying this would ruin my position any further or whatever the fuck Dedenne would say… but honestly, I don't care!?"
"If you wanted to go home, then quit?!" Dedenne reminded him.
"And I told you that I was never going to quit! You can call me weak… but I'm not going to fucking quit!" Empoleon declared with a smirk. Oricorio tilted her head to the side at the these words, putting a wing to her chin.
"Cramorant, do you think you're in trouble because you deliberately lagged behind in the challenge?"
"No!" Cramorant said simply.
"Y-you're that confident?"
"Mmhm! L-O-L!"
"... Okay… moving on! Klink-"
"Why are you asking us so many questions that would immediately be answered if you just let us vote?" Klinklang inquired with an exhausted expression. "Just let us vote. I don't want you to just ask useless questions that would not change anyone's minds."
"Okay… rude? But then again, this questions segment is boring. I don't know why Staravia tried to make this a consistent thing… but whatever. Let's get to the votes then! You know the drill!"
Dedenne had a coy grin as he lifted his parchment to the camera, with Magcargo written. "You weren't my ideal target but hey, you had to make do with the cards you're dealt with! And well, it's not like I liked you or anything. You were kind of… too talkative, for your own good. I'm sorry? Nah, I'm not."
Cramorant yawned before writing down a name on her parchment. "L-O-L! I'm sure I'm safe obvi but like… let's see if this goes our way? I-D-K?! I can't exactly read private DMs to confirm!"
Empoleon laughed maniacally as he placed his vote inside the urn. "I have been waiting for this moment since forever! Dedenne, you are a sick fuck and while I'm grateful that you opened my eyes to how much of a dick I was… you are still a horrible person and I hope that you go home!"
Magcargo sighed as he stared at the camera, teary-eyed. "T-this is the first vote where Klinklang and I haven't discussed anything so it's been difficult… Empoleon and I did talk enough but it's just not the same and that's nothing against him at all! I consider him a friend but Klinklang was just my-"
The lava snail sighed as he pouted. "I really want to talk to him again but I won't! I'm still mad… but I'm not voting for him since well… I honor my relationships so I sincerely hope that Dedenne goes home… pretty please?"
"What do I even do..?" Klinklang asked rhetorically, closing his eyes.
"Okay… the votes are cast. So let's get to it. When I call your name… you will receive a marshmallow courtesy of Poipole!" Nihilego announced as her co-host walked past her, carrying a tray with 4 small fluffy marshmallows.
"The first person safe is…"
"Cramorant." The phone addict's expression didn't even change as she got hit square on the forehead with a marshmallow while she was furiously tapping into her phone.
"Empoleon." The penguin arched a brow as he caught his marshmallow.
"Huh? Oh… interesting move, huh." Empoleon commented. Gossifleur's eyes darted to the side at the events happening.
"And the final person safe before the Bottom 2 is… Klinklang."
Klinklang doesn't react as he let the marshmallow fly over his head. "..."
"Okay, we're down to the Bottom 2! Dedenne, Magcargo! Two Pokemon who have a lot in common. You both yap… a lot. In Dedenne's case, you're just really rude. Magcargo, you're pretty social but maybe that scared too many people! Whatever… one of you will be going home tonight!"
"Who do you think is going home tonight?" Oricorio whispered to Gossifleur, who smiled weakly.
"I have no idea. It's pretty clear that they haven't been thinking straight on who to vote off recently…" Gossifleur commented.
"The final marshmallow goes to…"
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
"Magcargo." The lava snail gaped in shock before catching the marshmallow in his mouth soon after. Empoleon cocked a brow, surprised that their plan worked… but at the same time, relieved that his mortal enemy was just voted out of the game.
The rodent hopped off his seat, glaring at the team that just voted him off. "OKAY… what the fuck? Who voted with me here? Klinklang? Cramorant..?"
"I mean, I like… voted to eliminate Magcargo!" Cramorant answered, raising her wing.
"Okay… that'd mean…" Dedenne turned to give the gear an incredulous look. "Klinklang? You voted me off?!"
"I cannot confirm or deny that fact-"
"Okay?! OKAY?! Now,I'm a hundred percent sure that you voted me off and all I can say is… what the actual fuck!? I thought you were smarter than that! But instead, you made a dumb decision! You just screwed yourself over!"
"You're right." Klinklang started… before staring at Dedenne, right in the eye. "I made a dumb decision voting Chansey off, and if that's the root of my downfall? I will accept it wholeheartedly."
"... that made no sense at all. Magcargo wouldn't work with you anymore… so why didn't you vote him off then?" Dedenne poined out.
"Have you forgotten that everyone is listening right now?"
"I don't care. I was already voted off. Just answer me… why did you do this?" Dedenne continued to ask. "I need to know. I get why Empoleon and Magcargo voted me off but you? I thought we were on the same wavelength in this game at the very least!"
"It made… the most sense." Klinklang answered, surprising the Electric type with his firm and sure tone.
"What?"
"Do I need to explain myself further to someone who was just voted off?"
"... you… you… are you serious right now!?" Dedenne hopped off his seat, gaze glazing over. "You… you're not making a lot of sense right now, for someone who claims that this vote makes the most sense. You don't get how this game works… it's like you don't even understand."
"..." Klinklang closed his eyes as he shut his mouth.
"Okay?! You're not even going to say anything?!" Dedenne gawked, stomping around the campfire, waving his arms around frantically. "Well, I know it sounds cliche to just go be bitter and shout at everyone… but Arceusdammit, I'm not going to fucking hold back!"
Glaring, he began pointing around the Final 10 as he started to throw pointed words directed to each individual contestant. "Klinklang, you are the most confusing bastard I've ever met. You just might be more indecisive than that Pikachu! And I hope you're happy when you're voted off immediately at the merge! Magcargo, you are a fucking weirdo. You talk too much and sometimes, I wonder if you can even know how annoying you are. Do you know when to shut up?!"
"Uhhhhm…" Magcargo stammered, eyes widening as he was still comprehending the shock that Klinklang actually voted to save him.
"Cramorant, you're not only an annoying bitch… you're a fakeass bitch too. Faker than press-on nails! It's almost like you're retarded!"
"Uhmmmm… don't just say that?" Cramorant spoke up, putting her phone aside with a frown.
"Nope! I'm at my breaking point and I'm not going to just bottle this up!" Dedenne excused as he turned to the penguin. "Empoleon, I hated YOU the most. You are a fucking terrible and you're lucky that everyone else thinks you're too much of a non-factor to be worth voting off. Even if you quit now or make it to the end, it won't change anything."
"..." Empoleon clenched a fist.
"Teddiursa, you are so annoying. You do know that I don't even bother to listen to anything you say with how hard it is to take you seriously. You're so embarrassing. Floatzel, you're so loud and annoying that I'm so glad we weren't on the same team. I heard you and Teddiursa were fighting and well, I'm shocked. You both deserve each other."
Floatzel and Teddiursa shared a quick glance before looking away immediately, at the mouse's words. "..."
"Oricorio, I don't hate you as much and honestly, I'm rooting for you even though you make terrible decisions." Oricorio crossed her arms at these words, cocking a brow. "Vanilluxe, your jokes are not funny at all! Stop trying to act like your words hold weight when you just throw your words around like you're so unsure of yourself. Your words don't have any power!"
Vanilluxe's eyes widened as he started to sweat profusely. "!"
"Sableye, you SMELL!" Dedenne finished before nodding. "And that's all I have left to say."
"Uhh… w-where's my roast?" Gossifleur pointed out.
"You didn't really do anything… so I don't even know what to say."
"Didn't do anything?!" Gossifleur gawked, narrowing her eyes. "Okay, I believe you should just leave!"
"Hmph! Whatever. It's not like I wanted to stay on this island with people I can't even stand." Dedenne grumbled as he followed Poipole into the forest. Nobody even bothered to follow after them to give the Electric-type a proper farewell.
Nihilego clasped her tentacles together, looking to the side. "... well… that was awkward."
"Obviously! He-" Teddiursa was about to say before shuddering, hands going over her ears. "How can he even say that!? He doesn't even know me!"
"... He doesn't know what he's saying." Floatzel muttered, crossing his arms with a frown. "He's carrying around a large ego so should we even be surprised?"
"Uhm, I agree with Floatzel. We shouldn't be putting too much weight on anything he says!" Gossifleur affirmed, nodding.
"..."
"K-Klinklang…" Meanwhile, Magcargo crawled closer to the gear, face red. "U-uhhh, I'm sorry if I'm a bit nervous but thank you for voting to keep me… I'm still mad that you voted off Chansey but I can't deny that you're not-" Magcargo bit his lip, eyes looking to the side as the flush completely overtaken his body. "Uhh, let's talk about this later."
"Wait-" Klinklang sputtered out as the lava snail returned to his seat. He sighed, a small smile finding its way to his mouth. "At least, he's talking to me again-" He paused, covering his smile immediately. "Why do I feel… lighter? Hmm… that's… new. I.."
Nihilego then cleared her throat to get everyone's attention, clapping her tentacles. "OKAY OKAY! I know everyone knows the merge is coming and well, yeah… it's the merge but you all have one last job to do before you leave."
The remaining 10 contestants exchanged a look as Nihilego began to give a long explanation of what was about to happen. But before the viewers can find out, the scene faded to black.
At the same time of the elimination ceremony, there was… something interesting brewing up in another particular location. Loser Land, the place where eliminated contestants are sent, after they are voted out of the game! Near the docks, Unfezant, Musharna, Vivillon and Skwovet were all staring out at the distance, eyeing a boat that was nearing.
"It looks like another one is joining us…" Musharna said, between yawns.
"Tch, this place is just getting crowded. Can I get my OWN private resort? I don't want to share with so many lowlifes!" Vivillon grumbled, rolling her eyes.
Skwovet snickered, blushing. "That's not what you said when we-"
Vivillon's face turned red in turn, looking away. "AHEM! Stop ruining my character! Or do I have to remind you that you poisoned me? I can sue you, remember?!"
"Viv, that was so long ago! I can't believe you're still not over that!"
"Oh please, I'll never get over it until you beg for forgiveness, Hans!"
"Well, too bad. Looks like you'll have to keep being mad at me then." Skwovet teased, rolling his eyes. "But hey, it's better that way."
"W-what is THAT supposed to mean?!" Vivillon stammered, eyes turning into spirals. "S-stop joking around like that!"
"I didn't know you two were on first-name basis now." Unfezant commented, crossing her arms.
"We aren't!" Both Skwovet and Vivillon said at the same time before they turned to glare at each other.
"I know you read my name from my wallet! That's an invasion of privacy!"
"And I told you mine, to make up for it! Don't be too pissy!"
"Excuse me!? Now, I'll never let this go! I will find your address and… and-"
"And what? I can take you."
"I can take you too!"
"In a fight?" Unfezant chimed in, arching a brow.
"OBVIOUSLY!" Skwovet and Vivillon said at the same time.
"Mmm… stop fighting… I can sense… new arrivals… now…" Musharna interrupted as the boat had just reached the dark and its passengers started to disembark.
To everyone's surprise, it wasn't an eliminated contestant onboard, it was a doe-eyed Brionne wearing light blue sunglasses and frilly armwarmers; a Vikavolt with a deadpan expression; and an Espurr whose hands were tightening around her blue cloak.
"So Musharna, who the fuck are these people? Don't tell me Nihilego decided to get 3 additional contestants while we were gone." Unfezant asked the tapir, who shrugged.
"Mmm… I'm not sure… the feline… is too young to sign up anyways."
The Espurr's face turned red as she glared at Musharna. "W-what is that supposed to mean!? I'm at the perfect age to sign up for competitions like this but I'm not! Because I have better things to do with my life and-"
"Oh Nevs~ You should keep quiet, hehehehe~" The Brionne giggled as she walked down the dock, approaching the four former contestants waiting for them. "Hellu! Is this the island where Nihilego is hosting her show?"
"Uhh… who the fuck are you first? Do you really think we'd share information freely with a stranger? That just sounds stupid." Unfezant pointed out, deadpanning.
"Hmmmm, you do have a point there!" The Brionne admitted before looking around. "Hmm… this place looks too good to be the island." She turned to her Vikavolt companion. "Bre-Bre, I think we went to the wrong place."
"AGAIN!? This is the SIXTH time already, Poppy!" The Vikavolt pointed out.
"Sorry, Breon! I thought we'd get it right this time! You know what they say, sixth time's the charm!"
"They never say that."
"Oh hush, just play along~"
"Uhhh, so you're not going to explain who the fuck are you?" Unfezant chimed in, arching a brow. "I mean, I knew this place was just a bog standard summer camp but don't tell me, we've got Jason Voorhees now too? Don't kill me! This is all my mom's fault!"
The Brionne blinked before giggling, waving a flipper at the group. "Oh, we're not killers! I guess it's time for me to explain! My name is Poppy and well, I'm an artist, writer, dreamer, visionary and uhhhm, I'm also a former contestant of Total Pokemon Ultra Space and Ultra Vacation!"
"And I'm Breon." The Vikavolt added flatly.
"And don't forget about me! I'm Neveah and I'm NOT a former contestant but I'm here too!"
"Because you snuck onboard while nobody was looking." Breon reminded her. The Espurr's face turned red as she hastily looked away.
"Anyways… well… I heard from my sources that something was going on in the island! So I came immediately! Breon came with me! I tried to ask Luther, Icy, Jun-Jun or Randy for help but they were busy!"
"Uhh… can you explain? I'm lost." Unfezant admitted.
"I concur. Why would two former contestants even be here? That is highly suspicious!" Vivillon nodded in agreement.
"Well, I guess I need to explain… but I'll do it in the morning!" Poppy said as she walked past the group, with Breon and Neveah following after her.
Vivillon gawked as she turned to stare at their retreating back. "W-wait! You three are going to just waltz in and share this space!? You're not even contestants! I'll tell Nihilego about this! WAIT-" The butterfly huffed as she followed after them, leaving Skwovet, Unfezant and Musharna at the docks.
"... what the fuck is even happening? I think I'll lie down instead of waiting for who comes next." Skwovet muttered as he's the next to leave.
Unfezant and Musharna were left alone for a complete minute before Unfezant spoke up.
"So… are we still going to just stand here after that? That was so awkward and-"
"Unfezant, I'm going to tell you this once. I believe they were right. Something is brewing and Gourgeist told me enough."
"What?" Unfezant questioned, deadpanning.
"I'll leave it at that. You'll find out eventually." Musharna said calmly as she turned back to face the water.
Unfezant gawked as she waved her hands at the tapir. "And how am I supposed to find out when we're stuck here!? Musharna?! Musharna?!"
The tapir doesn't respond, having already fallen asleep immediately. The full moon shone over the island, bathing the duo in moonlight. What nobody knew was that the beginning of the end was about to commence.
Vote Count:
Dedenne - Empoleon, Klinklang, Magcargo
Magcargo - Cramorant, Dedenne
MERGED - Cramorant, Empoleon, Floatzel, Gossifleur, Klinklang, Magcargo, Oricorio, Sableye, Teddiursa, Vanilluxe
Eliminated: Unfezant, Pikachu, Musharna, Bayleef, Gourgeist, Vivillon, Magearna, Skwovet, Chansey, Dedenne
ELIMINATED: Dedenne, The Normal Guy (11th Place)
Dedenne is the last elimination of the premerge… and while he's not exactly the villain of the premerge, he was definitely the most villainous after Magearna so him leaving here provides closure to the lives he had tormented and opens a new chapter in the game.
He was probably the most… confusing character to write since he was just purely a negative character while still being lowkey enough to not take up too much space in the story. He started from a strong position but the moment he let his true colors, he just toppled his own blocks and took himself out of the game. If he didn't act so callous, he wouldn't have been fucked over like this and maybe, Empoleon would've been eliminated by now.
Note from Nihilego:
This chapter was hard to write since there were too many scrapped scenes because of my mental state while writing. Honestly, that's why the challenge was a bit rushed since I had to trim it down but originally, that had actual scenes and well… they're just gone now.
Dedenne: Hey… review? You'd do that, right?