Announcer: Last time on Total Pokémon: Underdogs, emotions ran high as the significant others of the remaining players came for support, love, and to aid in challenges. After being burned by Morgan, Anthony and his alliance decided to sever ties with her. However, with her newer, larger alliance deciding to target Anthony next, she didn't really have much to worry about. Or did she? Holly and Ashton told Klavier about her plan to get Titan to waste his statue, which he then told Anthony, who was surprised by it. And with Sally and Amethyst feeling ignored by Connor and Taylor's alliance, it seemed that a plan was set. In the reward challenge, Anthony and Marie absolutely smoked the competition, earning them a special lunch and giving all of the other couples a chance to communicate about their home lives and the game. In the elimination challenge, a parody of 'The Newlywed Game', the couples' memories and knowledge of each other were put to the test. And with the final round consisting of a battle, if a tie occurs, Shade easily won immunity for Shine due to his reputation alone. After some deep thought, and aid from other loved ones, plans wound up changing, and in the end, neither Morgan nor Anthony got eliminated. Instead, it was Taylor who was taken out.

With fifteen left in the game, the pressure is on. How far will these remaining players go to win? Find out right now on Total… Pokémon… Underdogs!

000

*Intro plays*

000

Two days had passed since Taylor's elimination, and a few of the players were still patting themselves on the back for the move, despite Raiden, someone who was on the outside looking in, being the one to form the plan.

Following the Milotic's elimination, there was a clear shift on the island. Not only had the other alliance lost one of its leaders, but Titan walked away from it due to the revelation of Morgan's scheme. Now, it was unknown where that alliance stood.

This was great news for Anthony and his alliance. They had weakened Connor's alliance, and since they brought in Amethyst and Sally as extra numbers, they had the high road, now.

-000-

The Sun shined down on the island, bathing it in a warm light. In the Loser Cabin, Anthony, Kojo, and Klavier were all occupying themselves. Klavier had gotten a stick and was whitting it with his claws, Kojo was resting on his bunk, staring at the ceiling, and Anthony was still asleep.

A few minutes later, the door creaked open, and Phill entered the cabin with a few wrapped energy bars in his hands. "Well, looks like we've got a challenge, today, guys," he announced as he started tossing the bars toward his friends.

Klavier caught his bar with ease, Kojo's bar hit the back wall before bouncing onto one of his legs, and Anthony groaned as his bar hit him in the face.

Kojo let out a soft sigh as he let his legs dangle off of the edge of his bunk. As he started unwrapping his energy bar, Phill climbed into the nearest empty bunk. The Raticate inquired, "So, what do you guys think of our chances, now?"

Klavier hummed to himself before replying, "I think we have a decent chance if Amethyst and Sally decide to stick with us."

"I mean, we're pretty much the only real option that they have," Kojo reasoned, taking a bite out of his bar. "Unless they decide to do something drastic, I don't think we have much to worry about."

Phill nodded in agreement, "Yeah, Sally made it known that she's not happy with Morgan or Shine, so I don't think she'll be working with them and their alliance anytime soon."

"That's true, but I'm just not sure," Klavier worried. "Those two are wildcards just like Titan. They were trying to work with the other alliance first; they only came to us because they were mad at them for not voting how they wanted them to."

"That's true," Kojo concurred, "but, they still didn't get their target because Raiden's idea was ten times better. So, if we vote for Morgan next, we may get them to stay loyal to us."

"Emphasis on 'may'," a gruff voice responded. Anthony rolled over, with his energy bar hitting the floor. He had been listening to their conversation ever since Phill hit him with the energy bar. "Sally is probably the type to work with you, get her desired results, and then move on to something else."

Klavier followed with a reminder, "I mean… sheand Amethyst were working with Holly and Ashton, and a few of the others from the other alliance, before Amethyst screwed things up and made them all quit. Sally was the only one still willing to work with her, so I guess that can be seen as loyalty?"

"Oh, so it's really Amethyst that we'll have to watch out for going forward," Kojo reasoned.

"Well, she's been acting 'better' ever since she realized that the others were annoyed by her 'newfound confidence'," the Gliscor explained.

"Then we'll just have to keep a watchful eye on them going forward," Anthony concluded. "Right now, our targets are Shine and Morgan, and they're in agreement that they need to go. We just have to hope that one of them doesn't get immunity today."

000

In the other side of the Loser Cabin, Amethyst, Sally, Holly, and Ashton were having their own conversation, as they all had been up for a good while. It wasn't entirely game-focused, though.

"Jet is still kinda… off-put about having kids," Sally explained. "I'm not sure why he is, but… I want it to be a mutual decision for us."

"Did he tell you why?" Ashton inquired.

Sally sighed, "He still doesn't feel like he'll be a good father. It's been over two decades and he's still just… I don't know…"

"I thought he was softening up a bit in All-Stars," Holly commented. "He seemed to be a tad bit more social there."

Sally rubbed her arm, "Well, he didn't exactly end that season well, if you remember. He had the… bike accident and was pulled from the game."

Holly and Ashton both winced at the memory, while Amethyst was a bit confused, as she and Sven hadn't watched the past two seasons. "I'm… a bit out of the loop, here," she chimed in.

"Oh, right… You and Sven hadn't been watching the show a lot," Sally remembered. "Well, uh… Long story short, there was a challenge, Jet was sabotaged, and he ended up getting injured pretty badly and feeling embarrassed about it. He still does to this day…"

"That may be why he reverted back," Ashton mused. "The fact that it happened on television, mixed with the popularity of the show, that means that there's gonna be a ton of people talking about it for a while."

Sally let out a soft breath. "Well, at the end of the day, I can't force him to do anything he doesn't want to. I just… I really think that it'd be good for us. He'd be a great father. The way he always took care of his sister proved that to me. He cares a lot about family…"

"Well…" Holly began. "I'm sure he'll come around eventually. You have your entire lives to think about it."

Sally nodded. "I guess…"

She then looked to Amethyst, curious about her thoughts. She never really added to their conversations much when topics like these arose, but given her atypical behavior when Sven was there, maybe there was a change. However, Ashton beat her to the punch.

"How about you, Amethyst?" the Meganium inquired. "Any change in thoughts about kids? Have you and Sven-

The Aurorus' face immediately turned a burning crimson as she interrupted the Herb Pokemon. "U-Uh… So, who's the next person we're going for?" she asked, wishing to change the subject immediately.

Sally sighed, "Amy, you can just say that you don't want to talk about it; you don't have to try to change the conversation. Plus, I thought that you were fine. You were kissing and nuzzling Sven a lot and even agreed to start experimenting sexually when you got back home."

"S-Sorry," Amethyst whispered. "It's just… one step at a time, y'know?"

"Okay, I can understand that," Ashton reasoned. "It's fine and… I guess it couldn't hurt to talk about the game. Right now I feel like we're in a decent spot, though."

Holly nodded in agreement, "Yeah, all we have to do is stay calm and keep voting out the others. No one's really looking at us."

Sally huffed with a laugh, "Yeah, they're not looking at you two. But Amy and I are probably prime targets over there."

"You think so?" Ashton inquired. "They didn't seem too concerned about you guys last time. They were trying to go after Kojo."

"Yeah, but they don't like me and Amy because we wanted to eliminate Morgan," Sally replied. "And them going for Kojo was probably because he's making himself a bigger threat. The fact that he and Summer knew a lot about each other in such a short time..."

"...I mean, I don't think that really means anything," Holly opined. "Them loving each other and learning a lot about each other in a short time doesn't make Kojo a threat, it just makes him a good partner."

"Okay…" Sally nodded, somewhat agreeing with her, "...but between Kojo and Anthony, honestly, who would you see as a bigger threat? The seemingly calm guy who has a good amount of knowledge and strength, or the annoying loudmouth who is quick to talk trash?"

The other gals thought about it for a moment, exchanging looks before looking back at the Ampharos. "Okay... I can see your point," Ashton replied. "But if they're focusing on him, then you girls have nothing to worry about until they manage to vote him out."

"And that probably won't happen anytime soon since we have the numbers advantage now," Holly added.

"Hopefully we can just eliminate Morgan after this next challenge and it can just keep being smooth going forward," Amethyst commented.

Sally nodded in agreement.

000

Inside of the jail office, Morgan, Shine, Aura, Aspen, and Ace were all resting. Despite having won immunity, Shine hadn't been given admittance into the Winner's Cabin, so she had just been bunkering down in the jail with the others in the meantime.

Ace let out a sigh as he lay on the couch between Aura and Aspen. "This sucks…"

Aura deadpanned, "What? The fact that we're still sleeping in this dumb old jail? Or the fact that we're pretty much screwed because Taylor's gone and Titan refuses to work with us?"

The Sylveon huffed, his ears lowering slightly. "Both…"

"Anthony is getting more and more irritating by the day," Shine opined, shaking her head.

"You're just now figuring that out?" Aura replied. "Aspen and I have known ever since we worked with him. He's annoying as hell. And with the fact that he not only screwed us with the vote, but also spilled the beans to Titan, he's gonna have a field day."

"Maybe we should've just let Sally and Amethyst work with us…" the Furfrou sighed.

Morgan scoffed, "Please. She wanted me gone. She probably wouldn't have worked with us until she got what she wanted…"

"And what about Connor?" Ace inquired. "I haven't really seen him since Taylor got eliminated."

"He's probably trying to think about what he's gonna do now that his second-in-command is gone," Shine reasoned. She then let out a soft sigh, "I'm not too sure about what we can do this time unless Titan actually helps us…"

"Ugh… why couldn't there be two immunity statues?" Aspen queried as she rested her head on the arm of the couch. "It'd make things a little bit better…"

"I feel like the only chance we have will be based on if one of us wins the reward and one of us wins immunity," Morgan commented, sitting up in the chair she was in. "Then we can choose reasonable people from the other alliance and try to convince them to help us out."

"Yeah… somehow I don't see that going too well," Aura replied. "Considering that we voted for Kojo last time, Anthony wants nothing to do with us, Phill and Klavier are loyal to them, and Holly is connected to Klavier, our only choice is Ashton."

"Well, considering how buddy-buddy she is with Holly, you can throw that idea out, too," Ace deadpanned. "We literally have no chance…"

"There's always a chance," Morgan commented. "We just have to look for an opening."

000

Connor took up residence in Brian's cave after Taylor's elimination. He wasn't too sad about it, as Taylor had spoken about quitting before. He was actually glad that the Milotic stuck it out until he was actually eliminated.

Now, though, he was a bit lost. He still had his alliance, at least he hoped, but he wasn't sure what to do as a next move. Anthony and his alliance outnumbered them, so his options were rather limited. He let out a sigh of frustration as he paced back and forth in the cave, "Fuckin' eh…"

He eventually settled into a corner with huff, "This sucks…"

A few moments later, he heard a familiar voice calling out to him from outside of the cave. A vexed expression formed on his face as he rose to his feet and walked toward the mouth of the cave. "What do you want, Titan? You've already screwed our alliance…"

The Galvantula sighed, "Listen mate, I'm still willing to work with you. We've worked together and spoken somewhat earlier in the game, so we should be fine."

"And how come you're coming to me now?" Connor inquired as he lay back down. "How did you even know that I was here?"

"I've been seeing you come around here often," the Galvantula explained. "So, it wasn't too hard to pinpoint."

Connor nodded, "Uh huh… And how exactly do you figure that we'll be fine when we're outnumbered?"

"Because I still have my statue," Titan answered. "And as long as I have it, I have the upper hand. But, at this point, it's honestly causing me more problems than helping me since everyone knows that I have it. So, they won't vote for me out of fear."

"Okay… and?" Connor queried.

"And, I'm willing to give to you," Titan explained, causing Connor's eyes to light up. "Everyone will think that I still have it, but it'll be all yours. The catch is… if I'm the one getting voted out, you use it for me."

"But… then what's the point of giving it to me if it's still just gonna service you?" Connor inquired.

"Like I said, they'll think I still have it, but it's yours now. So, they'll be scared to vote for me. But, if you're the one being eliminated, or someone you want to stay in is being eliminated, you can use it for yourself or them. It's only for me if you still have it at that point…"

Connor nodded in understanding. "Okay, so… where is it?"

"I'll give it to you later today. We have a challenge, anyway," Titan explained as he started walking away. "I'll talk to you later."

As he watched him go, Connor beamed as he retreated back into the cave.

000

"Just when I thought that there was nothing I could do," Connor chuckled.

"I'm surprised that Titan is giving up the statue, but hey, I won't complain! If it keeps me and my allies in the game longer, then I'm all for it."

000

Aura let out a sigh as she exited a bathroom stall and approached a sink. "Fucking Titan just had to screw everything. But, at least I'm not a main target in the group…" she muttered to herself as she started washing her paws.

She started heading out of the bathroom, only to be met with a swipe on the butt, which caused her to jump. It was so unexpected, so she didn't know how to really feel about it.

"What the-" she began, turning around quickly, only to blush upon seeing who was standing outside of the bathroom entrance.

"Hey there," Phill chuckled, leaning against the wall.

Aura glared at the Raticate, stomping towards him, "Don't... scare me like that!"

She looked around warily before setting her eyes back on him. "You're lucky that there's no one else around…" she stated as she sat down in front of him.

"Eh," Phill shrugged. "It's not like it really matters too much. It's just been a couple of days, and no one is looking at either of us when it comes to voting people off. Plus, seriously… look at me and look at you. Do you really think anyone would suspect us being together?"

Aura rolled her eyes. After the last challenge, she couldn't help but have this overwhelming feeling of loneliness. She had no loved one and her children preferred being with their fathers. And with her wretched history as a homewrecker and a sexual assaulter, despite it being a decade or more ago, she had little hope that she'd ever find somebody who can look past it.

These feelings were easily overshadowed due to the pressure of the game, but they resurfaced the next day, and she ended up going to the beach and crying.

Then, completely by chance, Phill came down, wanting to create a sandcastle out of pure boredom. He saw her crying, and he started talking to her to see what was wrong. He shared his own insecurities and she told him about her issues, and surprisingly, he was pretty helpful and understanding. After what felt like hours, she ended up looking at the Raticate in a whole new way.

Sure, he wasn't the best looking or strongest, but he was a good listener, he was understanding, and he didn't seem to really resent her at all for what she's done in the past. And, given that they were literally the only two on the island without a loved one, she thought that it would be alright to just try something out with him and see where it went. So, there they were.

"Even so…" Aura replied with a sigh, laying down next to him. "I'd prefer if nobody saw anything. They'll start asking questions… and we don't want that."

Just then, realization struck. "Wait, why were you out here anyway?" she inquired.

"I was just going for a walk and spotted you leaving your stall, so I just waited out here for you," he nonchalantly replied.

Aura giggled, shaking her head. "Well, I'm gonna need that to not happen again. It's kinda creepy…"

Phill shrugged.

"ALRIGHT CONTESTANTS! IT'S TIME FOR TODAY'S FIRST CHALLENGE! MEET US AT THE STADIUM!" Virizion's voice echoed.

"Welp, time to go," the Raticate stated with a sigh as he and Aura started walking to the stadium. "Hopefully, the challenge isn't too physically demanding. I may end up dropping early if it is…"

"So… like usual?" Aura teased.

"Pretty much," Phill replied, eliciting a soft giggle from the shiny Glaceon.

000

Aura huffed, "I know that all of you people watching me are just judging me and saying that I'm a shitty person."

"I admit that I never really cared too much for Phill before, but… Things change. We're just trying something that may or may not even last that long," she explained. She sighed, "Though, I'll admit, so far… It's not so bad…"

000

"So… yeah. Aura…" Phill began. "I never in a million years would've thought that she'd want to be in a relationship with me."

He continued, "So far, it's fine. We're just keeping it under wraps because... couples are quick to be targeted. But, I doubt that it'll last too long. She'll get sick of me soon enough…"

"On another note… first relationship! Yeah!"

000

The fifteen contestants made their way to the stadium where, upon entering, they saw two large cages full of canine Pokémon that resembled brown, white, and yellow corgis in the center, with Mew, Virizion, and Xerneas standing between them in wait.

As they approached the middle of the stadium, a few of the girls cooed at the sight of the Yamper as they barked and jumped up to the sides of the cages, their tails wagging excitedly.

"Hello, contestants!" Xerneas greeted. "Hope your morning was fine. Today's challenge will be pretty simple, and maybe even fun, depending on how much you like Yamper."

"That there's one of my favorite childhood snacks…" Titan commented, earning him a few looks of fear and disgust from his fellow competitors.

"Yeah... Without context, that sounds very disturbing, but at the same time, Titan's explained part of this challenge," Mew replied. "So, let's just move on…"

"You'll be split into two teams," Virizion began to explain. "Each team will go into the Yamper cages and try to collect as many Joltik as they can before placing them into the side bins, which hold Pincurchin. Joltik are known to absorb static electricity and like to stick to Yamper's butts, which is what Titan was hinting at."

"Yep," the EleSpider Pokémon replied with a nod.

Virizion nodded, "The team that collects the most Joltik in ten minutes will have a special lunch on a yacht."

Everyone exchanged excited looks and started cheering, as most of them had never even set foot on a yacht. The only one who didn't have much to say was Aspen

"However, one of you will not participate. Instead, you will choose a team to root for," Mew explained. "If the team you choose wins, you will join them on the reward. If not, you go back to camp with the team that lost."

"Alright, now let's get you all separated into teams," Xerneas followed.

000

"I've been on a few yachts in my life, and they're not too special," Aspen explained. "They're only special if there's other things to do on it. Otherwise, it's just a pretty boring boat ride."

000

"Alright, the teams have been decided," Xerneas announced. "Sally was a leader and she chose Amethyst, Holly, Ashton, Klavier, Ace, and Shine for her team."

The seven of them stood in front of their cage, with Ace and Shine looking rather unenthused with their placement.

"Titan was also a leader and he chose Kojo, Anthony, Phill, Aura, Aspen, and Connor," Virizion followed. She looked over to the sidelines, where Morgan was lying alone. "Morgan was not chosen, and she has chosen to support Titan's team."

"Sorry guys," the Persian commented, looking to Shine and Ace.

"Alright, the challenge is about to start," Mew replied. "In three… two… one… GO!"

000

Both teams immediately rushed into the cages, where the Yamper had one of three reactions, they either immediately flocked to them, ignored them, or growled and barked at them, while keeping their distance.

-000-

"Okay, so… What are we supposed to do now?" Connor asked as multiple Yamper jumped up at him. "Just grab at their butts?"

"They're seriously making us pick ticks off of puppies as a challenge…" Anthony deadpanned as he picked up one of the Galarian pups, only to be hit by a Thunderbolt from it. "Ow…"

Phill was literally dog-piled by some of the Yamper, being licked vigorously. The Raticate was chortling all the while, as Aura rolled her eyes as some of the Yamper nuzzled against her legs.

"Yeah, this challenge is uh… This challenge is a bit boring," Kojo said as he picked Joltik off of Yamper that approached him. It appeared that some of the Yamper were liking him the most out of the group, as multiple Yamper immediately flocked to him. Once the Joltik were off of the Yamper, they'd usually just hop onto another one, annoying the Mienshao.

He looked over and saw that the others on his team weren't really being helpful. "Hey! How about some help?! You guys are just standing there!"

"What do you expect us to do?" Anthony replied. "They like you the most! Well, besides Phill…"

Kojo looked over and saw that Phill was still being licked. He gave the others a look, "Okay, that means that they're distracted! Get the Joltik off and put them in the bins!"

"And Titan, what are you doing?!" Aspen inquired, turning to the Galvantula, who was simply sitting still, watching.

"Don't worry about it. Y'all just get busy. I'll help when I'm actually needed," the Galvantula replied with a huff.

The others gave him a look of slight annoyance. He was an Electric-type, himself! He could've made it easy for them right off the bat! Especially given what was going on with the other team.

-000-

"Sally, you're an Electric-type! Get down from there and help us!" Ace shouted upwards.

The Ampharos had been clinging to Amethyst's neck as soon as she entered the cage with the others, as the Yamper immediately growled and chased after her. "No way! Those things will start attacking me!"

"You're an Electric-type and they're Electric-types. Why does it matter?" Ace argued.

"I think it's because she's a sheep," Klavier chimed in, picking up one of the pups. "These guys are used to herding stuff, so Mareep, Wooloo, Dubwool, Flaaffy... Ampharos… They're gonna chase you down to try and get you in line."

"Yeah, well if that's the case, then there's no point in me coming down because then they'll just start chasing me again!" Sally shouted with a huff.

Shine huffed, rolling her eyes as the Yamper all ran around, the sound of crackling filling the air. She started looking around the vicinity, scanning her fellow teammates for the challenge to see if they would be fine without two people, as Sally would just be a distraction and Amethyst was… well, Amethyst.

The Espeon was actually trying to rely less on her Psychic abilities, but she still had them, so she was fine. Ace had his ribbons, Klavier was a Ground-type, Holly was also a Psychic-type, and Ashton had her vines. With this in mind, she commented, "We don't need their help. We can easily do this without them, so let's just get this done."

Hearing the way that she said that, Sally growled in irritation. She was annoyed by the Espeon's attitude and 'shield'. She fumed, "Hey! We could still help in another way! Stop acting like you're so much better than us just because you're a fucking Psychic-type! If you're so fucking smart, you could easily tell us to do something else!"

The exclamation caught everybody off guard, even some of the Yamper went quiet. Shine was silent, unsure of what to say as the awkward hush lingered for a bit. The clock continued to run down as a chuckle broke the silence.

"Finally, someone else says it!" Anthony shouted. "That bitch needs to get over herself; the only reason she's made it this far and she's able to win anything is because she just uses her Psychic-type abilities all the damn time. If she doesn't use them all the time, she's nothing."

"Fuck you, Anthony!" Ace, noticing that Shine was becoming a bit saddened, shouted angrily. "You're one to talk! Your ego is probably bigger than your fucking dick!"

"Seriously," Morgan chimed in from the sidelines. "You complain so much about other people instead of just worrying about yourself!"

The Blastoise huffed, "Figures you guys are coddling her. Not surprising at all. She's a grown female and she can't take what she dishes out without someone rushing to her defense like some white knights…"

The other members of her alliance were growing more and more annoyed by the second. The fact that it felt like he was personally attacking her for having a specific typing did not sit well with them at all. It made literally zero sense!

Meanwhile, the members of his alliance didn't have anything to say about it. They didn't agree with his insults, but her making it far with her Psychic-type abilities was true, but also a given since they all had their own advantages because of their typings.

"Okay, you know what, Anthony? Fuck you," Aura cursed, surprising the others. Giving their history, one would think that Aura would either agree, laugh, or not care. "Shine and I may not see eye-to-eye most of the time, but she's a much better person than you can ever hope to be!"

Anthony just huffed and rolled his eyes dismissively as the shiny Glaceon continued, "Hell, I bet you're just jealous that you're getting your ass kicked by her and just keep complaining about everything since you know that you are nothing and that you're not good at anything!"

"Yeah… I'm not gonna listen to the bitch who tried to steal someone else's husband and trapped two guys who wanted nothing to do with her by raping them," Anthony retorted.

"ENOUGH!" Phill shouted, which immediately made everyone silent again. Phill never raised his voice. "Mother of Arceus…. It's always the same stuff and none of it ever matters!" the Raticate exploded. "Anthony complains… Who cares? We've all complained in this show! About major stuff and petty stuff!"

Everyone exchanged looks as he continued, "Shine has Psychic-type abilities? So what? We all have types and abilities that help us do stuff better! Aura did something fucked up over a decade ago?!"

He paused and took a deep breath, "Seriously… Are you guys going to keep bringing up every single bad thing that someone's done every time an argument comes up? We get it! Brian made a Gay Ray for Macey, Ray fucked up multiple people, Chase beat Ace, but they're still together, Shade murdered a guy, Jason sodomized Ricky with a rolling pin, Lila castrated a guy, Vina cheated on Razor, Otto exists… We all have some kind of baggage, and most of that junk happened years ago. It… doesn't… matter... anymore… Now can you guys stop acting like children so we can see who gets the fancy boat ride?"

Once he finished, the silence remained. The hosts only listened intently as the countdown clock continued to go down from 4:12.

Seeing the clock, Titan broke the silence. "Thanks for the reality check, Philly, but it's time for us to go ahead and win this," he stated.

The Galvantula's pedipalps began vibrating and a faint whirring sound was heard. Suddenly, all of the Joltik that were attached to the Yamper's butts all hopped off and bounced toward the Galvantula. Even some of the Joltik from the other cage bounced over.

The Attaching Pokémon all bounced into the side bins and clung to the Pincurchin inside.

Aspen scoffed, "So you just sat there waiting so that you could be the damn hero?"

"What did you even do?" Kojo inquired.

"Just an old trick my uncles used to get their kids under control," Titan explained as he wove a few electrified threads to place in the bin alongside the Pincurchin, which was becoming noticeably uncomfortable with all of the Joltik on it.

"And you proved one of my points," Phill nodded with a smile. "We all have attributes that make certain things easier for us."

Not wanting more discussions or insults brought up in the middle of the challenge, Virizion finally spoke up, "Okay, since a majority of the Joltik have been captured, we're gonna go ahead and give the win to Titan's team."

"Wha- But there's still-" Sally began.

"Two minutes…" Anthony finished, looking at the clock. "You guys literally have two minutes… and like half of your Joltik came over here… So, yeah… we won."

Sally grumbled to herself, folding her arms. Noticing her quiet muttering, Ace glared at her. "Oh, so why aren't you yelling at him? He's literally bragging and acting like he's better when he didn't even do anything…"

"Enough!" Mew exclaimed. "We are not going through this again. The challenge is over."

000

The cages, bins, and Electric-types used for the challenge were no longer there as the three hosts stood before the final fifteen contestants. Looks of anger, sadness, uncertainty, and irritation were plastered on nearly every contestants' face.

The challenge was already boring, but the fact that a full on screaming match happened that took up most of the challenge time made it worse. Not to mention the fact that the challenge itself would have been over in almost an instant if Titan used his technique at the beginning, rather than sitting and waiting to be a hero.

"Okay, uh… Ignoring the animosity," Xerneas began before turning to Titan and the other members of his team. "Congratulations, Team 2, you guys win the reward. And Morgan, since you supported the team, you get to tag along with them."

"Uh… Actually, I don't think I'm going to participate…" the Persian replied. "I'd rather not be around Anthony for a prolonged period of time."

The Blastoise huffed, folding his arms, "Fine by me. If you want to abandon a reward because you I'm apparently 'insufferable', then go right ahead."

Morgan glared at him before walking over to the other team. Seeing this, Connor, Aspen, and Aura walked over as well, sharing the Classy Cat Pokémon's sentiments. Seeing this, Anthony just shook his head. "Wow… Touchy…"

Aura glared at him before sitting next to Shine.

Seeing where this was going, Mew let out a sigh, "Okay… Would anybody else like to forgo the reward?"

The only remaining people were Kojo, Anthony, Phill, and Titan. Neither Titan nor Anthony were giving up the reward, for obvious reasons.

Given how upset Aura was, Phill felt that it would be best for him to sit out the reward as well. However, he still didn't want to raise suspicion. Plus, it was a yacht, and when was he going to have a chance to go on a yacht again?

Meanwhile, Kojo wasn't entirely sure. He didn't completely agree with Anthony, but he wasn't upset enough to just give up on the reward. However, he could feel the others' eyes staring at him and Phill, as if expecting them to abandon the reward as well. So, the pressure was certainly there, as he didn't want the others to think he condoned Anthony's responses.

After a few more seconds of silence, the hosts nodded. "Alright, Kojo, Titan, Phill, and Anthony, you guys hang back. The rest of you can head back to camp," Virizion instructed.

The eleven other players started heading to the exit, leaving the four guys with the hosts. Xerneas let out a soft sigh as Virizion began explaining what would be occurring on the yacht.

"Alright, you four will be hanging out on the yacht for an hour," the Grassland Pokémon explained. "Whatever you choose to do during that time, whether you want to explore the boat, or swim back to camp once you're finished, is up to you."

"Just know that you can't take food back to camp," Xerneas added.

The guys nodded, with Mew folding his arms. He didn't enjoy the arguments that transpired, as it felt like a sign that they were reverting back to being more negative and whiny. "Alright, follow me…"

Mew started floating toward the exit as well, with the four players following him.

000

"Ugh… I can't fucking stand Anthony…" Ace growled as he returned to the jail office with the others. "Who the hell does he think he is?!"

"He's just being a whiny bully at this point," Morgan commented. "How're he and Sally gonna bitch and complain about how Shine has this massive advantage because she's a Psychic-type, when Holly was right there and she's a Psychic-type, too. Plus, Titan had a much bigger advantage because he is a Galvantula."

"Yeah, I just don't understand it, either," Aspen added. "Phill pretty much told the truth. We all have baggage and we all have our own advantages, so complaining and bringing it up doesn't really do anything but make you look petty."

Shine just lied on the couch in silence. She usually wasn't too bothered by it, as it had been a common complaint for a while now, but it just felt insulting that time. Saying that she was nothing without her typing and abilities, while technically true, was still rather hurtful.

Aura hopped up onto the couch beside her with a sigh. She asked, "You alright?"

The Espeon, like the others, was surprised to hear the Glaceon defend her. They had gotten over their issues, but there was still a hint of distaste for each other lingering. She let out her own sigh, "I'll be fine… Thanks…"

"You sure?" Ace queried, approaching her.

Shine nodded, looking down. "Neither of them made any good points, anyway," she muttered.

"Anthony most definitely needs to go after that…" Aspen opined.

"He needs to, but he won't," Morgan replied. "He's got the numbers, and I guess that the others in his cluster don't care about what he says…"

"Well, considering that Kojo and Phill still went on the reward with him and Titan, I'd say that's the jist of it," Ace explained. "It doesn't affect them, so it doesn't really matter."

"Well, fuck them and that yacht," Aura replied. "There'll be better rewards. It's just a dumb boat, and they're not even going anywhere…"

"You know… We could use this chance to talk to Ashton and Holly and see if they'd be willing to vote against Anthony because of this," Aspen suggested.

"Well, with Sally and Amethyst probably around, that'll probably be difficult…" Shine sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Fuck their feelings," Aura snapped. "They shouldn't say anything since Sally's the one who started it."

"You know that Sally will probably argue, regardless," Morgan replied. "The only thing that could've saved us was Titan, but Anthony fucked us over with that, too."

"We need to get to them. We just have to," Aspen commented. "Those two are probably the only ones who can help us out."

"It'll probably be best for us to wait until the immunity challenge is over," Ace mused. "That way what we say will be fresh on their minds…"

The girls all exchanged looks before nodding in agreement. Once the next challenge was over, they were going to have to have a serious chat with Holly and Ashton.

000

"Well, the thing is, we probably don't even need the two of them," Aura stated. "I have Phill, and if I can convince him to go against Anthony, it could work. And we don't know what Connor's doing or what Titan's plan is now, so we may be in a good position already…"

000

Klavier, Holly, and Ashton were at the lake, reflecting on what had transpired during the challenge. What happened was relatively… uncomfortable, to say the least. Klavier and Holly were both hanging upside down from a nearby tree in silence, with Ashton eventually letting out a sigh.

"Well… that was… something," Ashton commented. "Sally and Anthony must really dislike Shine…"

Holly agreed with a nod, "Yeah. I just don't see why they went after her. She's just playing the game like the rest of us…"

"Exactly!" Ashton concurred. "Like Phill said, we all have our own advantages in the game. Why does Shine have to change or dumb herself down because she's good at what she does?"

"Yeah, and Anthony especially took it too far with the insults," Holly commented as Ashton nodded in agreement. She looked at Klavier, who was just silently listening.

"What do you think, Klavy?" Holly inquired.

Klavier's eyes widened slightly as he let out a soft sigh. He agreed with the notion that Anthony went too far and that it was unfair, but he didn't know what they could do about it. "I mean, yeah… He did go a bit too hard on Shine, but what can we do? We can't control him, and he's our de facto leader."

"Hey, just because he's a leader doesn't mean he gets to treat others poorly. He was bullying Shine and calling her friends white knights for trying to defend her," Ashton explained. "That isn't right."

"Okay… I can see that, but if we vote him out, they'll have the upper hand again," Klavier replied.

"Not… necessarily," Ashton replied. "Titan may not trust them after the last elimination…"

"But Anthony also lied to him about the vote…" Klavier replied. "So I don't think he'd trust us either. Unless they end up smoothing it all over at the reward."

"Well, if we get rid of Anthony and Titan works with us, we'll still be fine," Ashton explained. "So, I think it'd be best to just vote out Anthony the next chance we get."

Holly nodded in agreement, while Klavier remained silent once again.

000

Klavier sighed, "On one hand… Getting rid of Anthony gets rid of a decent threat and gets rid of the biggest source of annoyance on the island. But, on the other hand, the other alliance could do something to put themselves in a much better position…"

"Ugh… I know that I can't tell Anthony, but… ugh… Maybe I can talk to Phill later."

000

"Man, it's all too easy," Anthony laughed as he picked up a slice of pizza.

He, Titan, Kojo, and Phill were all on the bow of the yacht under a large umbrella. They were sitting at a table that had a decent array of food. They had pizza, macaroni, salad, a basket of rolls, and a pitcher of tea.

"They're so damn sensitive and insecure that they're letting me get in their heads," Anthony mocked.

"Wait, so you weren't being serious?" Kojo inquired.

The Blastoise gave him a look. "I'm not that much of an asshole, nor am I a fucking idiot. Shine is way too damn good at this game and she has an alliance that'l defend her no matter what. That's just proving that she's a much bigger threat than any of us will ever be."

"So... You're just trying to knock her down a peg?" Phill said questioningly.

"Exactly," the Shellfish Pokémon replied. "Let them think negatively of me. I couldn't care less. They're showing their weakness and we're the ones coming out on top."

Kojo and Phill exchanged looks, not sure of what to say. Titan was just listening, soaking in all of this information like a sponge so that he could relay it to Connor later. Anthony had lied to him about the last vote, so he was much less inclined to work with him and his alliance. Plus, with the Blastoise revealing his true intentions, it's giving him another reason to vote for him.

"So Titan, how do you feel?" Kojo inquired, picking up a roll. "You're not still mad at Anthony are you?"

"I don't know why he would be," Anthony replied. "I told him the truth about what they were trying to do and he's still in the game. If lying about a single vote negates those things, then I have no idea what to even say…"

Titan rolled his eyes, "I'm fine, mate. Just don't have anything to say. What happened, happened. Just gonna move on."

"Good," Anthony nodded. "Now, Shine is still the main target, but if she somehow wins immunity again, Morgan needs to go. Can we all agree on that?"

"Sure," Phill replied in indifference.

Kojo shrugged his shoulders, apathetic about who went next as long as it wasn't him. Titan, however, perked up a bit upon hearing that. On one hand, he was more than willing to help get rid of the conniving cat, but on the other hand, he wanted to get rid of Anthony for partially orchestrating all of this. So, the Galvantula had two options, each one being beneficial to the opposing alliance in some fashion.

He was going to have to think on it, as he was now a free agent, not loyal to either alliance.

"Titan!" he heard, pulling him out of his thoughts. He looked to Anthony, who asked, "You agree with that, right? I mean, she's the one who-"

"-Was trying to make me use my statue. Yeah, mate, I get it," the EleSpider Pokémon deadpanned. "Fine by me."

"Alright good," Anthony replied, taking another slice of pizza. "Now… pass me that macaroni…"

000

"Okay, so I can either cut the head off of the snake of this alliance, or I can get immediate payback for Morgan lying to me and plotting against me," Titan reasoned.

"This'll be interesting. I'm gonna have to think about it..."

000

Connor was lying in Brian's cave once again, thinking about what he could do with the immunity statue once he had it. He could easily save himself, but he honestly had doubts that his name would be brought up anytime soon now that Taylor was gone.

Titan said that he was working with him, but that he would have to use the statue on him if he was getting eliminated. Being that Titan was a loose cannon, he wasn't sure if he really wanted to do that. He still had his alliance with the girls and Ace, though he hadn't been around them much, lately.

His best move, once he had the statue, would probably be to use it on one of the girls. Based on Anthony's behavior during this past challenge, and the ones a few days ago, it seemed to be a given that Shine was going to be their main target. However, if she won immunity, the target would definitely be moved to Morgan.

"If I do that and the other alliance loses a member, we'll be on an even playing field again," Connor reasoned. He then sighed, "But then what would happen if the votes end being a tie again. Are they just gonna do multiple double eliminations? I really hope not..."

The Bouffalant knew that he was going to need to think long and hard about what his decision was going to be. He didn't even know if he wanted to tell the girls, since that'd probably put a target on his back, and they'd immediately try to get Titan out.

So, for now, he was on his own.

000

"Okay, if one of the girls, or Ace, is in danger, I'll use the statue on them, save them, and put us on an even playing field again," Connor stated.

"Maybe… Just maybe... We can convince one of them to join us for a bit afterwards," the Bouffalant replied.

000

Xerneas let out a sigh as she lay in her shared bed with Virizionand Cobalion. Knowing what was wrong, Virizion nuzzled her. "I know, NiNi…" she sighed. "It feels like they're starting to regress… but, they should be fine…"

"I know, but it's still… irritating, you know?" the Life Pokémon responded, leaning against her. "And it's Sally and Anthony's faults since they started this crap in the last challenges…"

Virizion nodded, "They just can't handle that the others are doing better than they are…"

"Or… they're just playing the game. Part of which includes elements such as trash talk," Cobalion stated from the opposite end of the bed. "Y'all are really getting worked up over things that normally happen in these dumb shows…"

"Coba, they often take things too far, and complain far too often for it to be normal," Virizion explained. "They should be more mature and used to it by now."

"Just because they should be something doesn't mean that they're going to be something. Doesn't matter sometimes," the Iron Will Pokémon replied. "Best to save your breath and just not worry about them too much. You've already said what you needed to say a while back, so now it's up to them."

The hostesses exchanged looks, as their hubby was telling them the truth. They couldn't really control how the contestants behaved unless they wanted to be extremely petty and threaten them with instant elimination. Xerneas sighed, "Well, I guess we just have to hope that things get better."

"Better than just complaining," Cobalion muttered as he rolled over onto his side.

The ladies both rose up and walked toward the resting Swords of Justice leader with smirks. Cobalion looked back over and sighed before rolling onto his back. "God damnit…" he whispered to himself as Xerneas pressed her lips against his, with Virizion doing the same after she disconnected.

-000-

Mew and Zeraora were in the living room relaxing again, with Mew once again in the guise of another Zeraora. Zeraora was nuzzled against him as the two watched a movie for a bit.

"Ugh… Will you two just make out already?" Latios groaned as he entered the living room and saw the two of them on the couch together. "You two have been under each other for a while now and haven't done shit."

"Latios, go away…" Mew deadpanned, as he and Zeraora had been simply spending more time together to get to know each other and form a bit of a bond. The New Species Pokémon had actually been feeling a bit better, but hadn't been really showing it, preferring to let the ladies take the reins a bit more.

The Eon Pokémon scoffed, "I came in here to watch a movie since you guys are normally just gone by now. So, screw you."

Mew and Zeraora exchanged looks before rolling their eyes. Not wanting to argue with him, they got up and started heading out of the room, leaving the disgruntled jet-dragon with the remote.

Mew grumbled to himself, changing back into his petite pink self. "Why the hell does he need the TV in the living room? All of our rooms have televisions in them. Why didn't he just stay in his room?"

Zeraora awkwardly rubbed her arm as they walked through the massive kitchen. "Do you… wanna go up to my room?"

Mew blushed, scratching the back of his head. "W-Well…"

Noticing his hesitance, Zeraora clarified, "I don't mean like… that. Just to… hang out like we've been doing."

Mew perked up, "Oh… Y-Yeah. Uh…" He let out a sigh of realization, "Well, it'll have to be later. Me, Virizion, and Xerneas have to go back to the island and finish up today's challenges."

Zeraora nodded in understanding. "Okay, I'll wait for you to get back."

"Hey, maybe you can get to know some of the others in the meantime. You've only really talked to me, y'know…" he suggested.

Zeraora grew a look of discomfort, folding her arms. "I'd… I'd rather not. I doubt that I'd have anything in common with the other girls…"

Mew chuckled, "Well, I can sorta get that. The girls here aren't really that… affable… Aside from maybe you, Latias, Reshiram, Virizion, and Xerneas."

Zeraora nodded, scratching the back of her head. Mew sighed, "Okay. I'll see you tonight."

The Thunderclap Pokémon started heading toward her room, with Mew teleporting out of the kitchen.

000

Anthony, Kojo, and Phill returned from the yacht with full bellies. As they returned to their cabin, they saw that the only ones there were Sally and Amethyst. Sally was lying on one of the top bunks, while Amethyst just sat in a corner.

"Oh, you guys are back already?" Amethyst inquired.

"What all did they have for you to eat?" Sally followed, rolling onto her stomach to look down at them.

Phill answered as he walked toward the back bunk, "Macaroni, pizza, rolls… Stuff like that."

"Sounds good," Amethyst commented as Anthony sat on his bunk and Kojo climbed up onto another one.

"It was alright. My folks make better food than that," Anthony grunted as he started lying down, "but, it still made me pretty damn tired."

"Did Titan say anything useful?" Sally asked, folding her arms. "Or is he still pissy that we lied to him about the vote?"

"He seemed to be alright," Kojo answered. "So I think he's still on our side somewhat."

Sally let out a sigh as she rolled onto her back, "And the bastard still has the immunity statue…"

"It's probably best not to worry about that until the other alliance has dwindled enough so that their votes mean nothing," Kojo suggested.

"And there's only six of them, so all we really need to do is vote out two more of them," Anthony reasoned. "Then, we can split the votes. We'd have nine, so five of us would have to vote Titan, and the other four would vote for whoever's left on the other alliance."

"So, I'm guessing that Shine and Morgan are the two we're still gunning for?" Sally replied.

"That's the plan," the Blastoise nodded. "They're the biggest threats we have."

"Okay… So what happens after the next challenge?" Amethyst inquired. "If whoever we don't vote for tonight wins immunity?"

"We'll plan for that when we get there," Anthony replied. "Right now, we need to just focus on making sure that neither Shine nor Morgan win immunity."

"And that'll just depend on the challenge," Phill commented.

"CONTESTANTS! REPORT TO THE STADIUM FOR YOUR IMMUNITY CHALLENGE!" Virizion's voice reverberated throughout the island.

Anthony groaned, "Jeez, can they not? We just got back from the damn reward. At least wait a few hours…"

"Let's just get going and hope that this challenge isn't a snoozefest or something stupid…" Sally remarked as she climbed down from the bunk.

The last challenge was one of the most boring ones yet, and one of the quickest ones to go off the rails. Sure, she started it, but the fact that it escalated so quickly was both humorous and stupid. Hopefully another situation like that didn't happen.

000

All of the contestants made their way to the stadium, with Connor and Titan being the last ones to arrive. There were what appeared to be paintball guns on a table and belts to go alongside them. The most interesting thing was the fact that there was a huge tank filled with Tynamo next to the table.

Once they were all lined up, the hosts presented the challenge, as curious and skeptical expressions formed on the contestants' faces.

"Alright, today's immunity challenge may be a bit more enjoyable for some of you this time around," Virizion assumed. "Today, you will be doing a free-for-all shooting match."

"Everyone will be wearing one of these snazzy belts that Mewtwo hooked us up with," Xerneas explained, gesturing to the multiple belts. "If you get shot, the belt zaps you with electricity, meaning that you're out. The last person standing wins immunity."

Hearing that, Klavier slowly raised a claw, as he was the only player left that was immune to electricity. Luckily, though, they were prepared.

"Klavier, we know that you're immune," Mew began. "We have a belt specifically for you that acts as if Soak was used on you, so you will be able to feel the effects like the others.

Klavier slowly lowered his arm, slight disappointment in his eyes. He was hoping that there'd be a different type of belt that wouldn't be as painful.

"So… What's with the Tynamo?" Aura inquired, eyeing the tank.

"This is your ammo," Virizion explained. "The Tynamo will strike and shock you, which will cause the belt to give you a harsher zap."

"Okay… And what happens if we miss?" Sally inquired. "What happens to them, then?"

Xerneas hummed, "Think of them as… reusable ammunition. You will each get three of them, and they've all been trained to be obedient, so they'll listen to whatever you say."

"However," Mew chimed in. "You can't tell them to follow somebody. You have to actually fire them from the gun you're given for it to count."

He continued, "Now… since this is the final fifteen, and some of you, namely Amethyst, Connor, and Titan, have pretty significant disadvantages, we're gonna offer this. If you think that you're safe tonight, you can simply sit out, watch the challenge unfold back here while eating some hot wings."

A long table with multiple trays of hot wings appeared a few yards away. Multiple contestants' eyes widened immediately. They could actually sit this challenge out and just eat? Was this a trick?

"What's the catch?" Anthony inquired, not entirely buying it.

"No catch," Xerneas answered. "This is really something that we may implement more going forward to see what happens."

A few of the contestants exchanged looks with each other. Some of them did feel safe, but others were far too worried about making themselves an easy target by sitting out.

"So, if you'd like to hang back and not compete today, I'll give you a countdown to step forward," Mew began. All of the contestants continued looking around for a bit before Mew started his countdown. "3… 2… 1… Step."

Connor, Sally, Amethyst, Phill, Klavier, Holly and Ashton all stepped forward. Seeing that three-fourths of his alliance opted out of the challenge, Anthony glared in annoyance. They were supposed to be trying to make sure that neither Shine or Morgan got immunity, but most of them were going to sit this one out?!

As upset as he should have been, he couldn't be. Only one person could win immunity, so as long as one of the targets didn't win, their plan should still work.

"Alright, the seven of you, head over to the table," Mew instructed. "The rest of you, time to get suited up."

-000-

The remaining eight players were now wearing their gear. The quadrupeds that were competing had their strap around their side, while Anthony and Kojo both had theirs in their hands.

"As said before, the last player standing wins immunity," Xerneas repeated. "Now, we're gonna give you guys some time to hide and get into the positions that you want to be in. When you hear the horn, the challenge will begin."

"Now… GO!" Virizion announced.

The seven participants started running out of the stadium, leaving the remaining seven contestants with their wings and the hosts.

000

"The fact that the six of them decided to be lazy and eat fucking wings instead of helping in the damn challenge is really making me question if they really care or not," Anthony grumbled. "They're with me since we're in the majority, but when it comes to action, if they're given another option, are they always gonna take it?"

"Luckily Kojo has my back. With just the two of us, we're gonna have to watch each other's backs a lot…"

000

"Those assholes…" Ace grumbled as he and the others in his alliance walked toward the jail in order to strategize. "They really think that they're so safe that they don't even have to compete…"

"They're getting extremely cocky…" Morgan explained with a scoff. "It's so annoying. We get it, you guys have the majority, but you don't have to rub it in. Especially when you don't know what'll change."

Aspen sighed, "Well, the good thing is that there's only two of them to take out," Aspen remarked. "Then we just have to worry about each other."

"So, we just stay together, take out Anthony and Kojo, and once they're out of the picture, it's a free-for-all?" Aura suggested inquisitively.

"Sounds good to me," Shine replied with a nod. However, there was someone that they forgot to mention. "Though we'll have Titan to worry about, too…"

Ace let out a sigh as they stopped outside of the jail. "Right… And knowing him, he's probably really good at this."

"Well, if we manage to take out Anthony and Kojo without any casualties, it'll be the five of us against him," Aura reminded. "So, the odds would still be in our favor."

"Hopefully," Aspen commented as she entered the jail, with the other four following her shortly thereafter.

000

Aura groaned to herself, unsure of what to do. "Okay. I have three options here…" she thought aloud.

She began explaining, "I could just ask Phill to vote with us, see if he'd be up for it, and hopefully convince Titan to help, too."

She continued, "But then again, as much as I hate Anthony, if I decided to just vote with them, I'd be unofficially in the majority until something changed…"

"Or, I could tell Aspen about Phill and I, get Phill to pull in Klavier, and the four of us could just play the middle for a bit…" she muttered to herself.

She groaned. "This is so damn complicated. Maybe I should've just hung back with the others. Then this wouldn't be so damn difficult."

000

"I can't fucking believe this…" Anthony groused as he paced back and forth in a part of the forest outside of the stadium. Kojo sat on a nearby tree stump, eyeing the Tynamo in his gun. "We're gonna be sitting ducks because they decided that chicken wings were more important than immunity…"

Kojo rolled his eyes at the Blastoise's complaining. Had he forgotten that they had two targets? "You know that it doesn't really matter, right? No matter who wins immunity, someone on their side is going home."

The Shellfish Pokémon gave him a look, "No duh… I'm just saying. We have the majority; we should've been able to stick together, take them out, and end the challenge easily."

"Well, not everything's gonna go your way," Kojo replied with a shrug. "They have their own opinions and can make their own decisions. Can't really fault them for anything."

Anthony grumbled to himself as a sudden bullhorn blared out across the island, signalling the beginning of the challenge.

Grunting as he stood up from the stump, Kojo stretched. "Well, time to go…"

Anthony had already started walking away, still grumbling to himself. Seeing this, Kojo called out to him. "Hey! Are we splitting up or-"

"Might as well! They outnumber us, so there's no point in sticking together and risking it," the Water-type shouted back.

Kojo huffed before turning around and walking in the opposite direction.

000

"Anthony just wants everyone to do what he says in the alliance," Kojo commented. "It's honestly annoying. He's really letting his ego cloud his mind…"

"And it seems like he forgot that they're watching us…"

000

After the horn blared, the minority alliance broke up into two groups. As you would expect, Morgan, Aura, and Aspen were in one group, and Ace and Shine were in the other.

The two non-Eeveelutions, and shiny Glaceon, were warily making their way toward the campgrounds, where they suspected Kojo and Anthony were. Sure, it felt a bit too obvious, but you never knew. As they approached the camp, they decided to first check the Loser Cabins.

Peeking through the first window of the cabin, Morgan hummed as nobody was inside. She then checked the other one and got the same result. "Not in there…"

"I just don't know if we're gonna be that quick on the draw since we have to sit in order to do anything," Aura commented. "Meanwhile, they just have to aim and shoot…"

"We'll likely have to catch them off guard," Aspen said. "It'll be difficult, but we can probably do it."

Morgan nodded, "As long as we have the element of surprise, we should be fine."

Speaking of surprises, Aura was still debating whether or not she should tell Aspen about her and Phill. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. She let out a sigh as she nudged the Furfrou, getting her attention. "I need to talk to you for a minute…" she whispered.

"Oh, okay…" the Poodle Pokémon replied as they started walking away. "Be right back, Morgan…"

Noticing this, the Persian quickly called out after them. "Wait!" she started running after them before getting in front of them. "Where are you guys, going?! We shouldn't split up like this."

"We weren't gonna be too long," Aura explained, rolling her eyes. "I just need to talk to Aspen about something."

Hearing this from Aura, Morgan couldn't help but feel a bit sketched out. Aura and Aspen had a much stronger bond, since they had been hanging out with each other since the beginning. And ever since the revelation that she and Aspen were family, Morgan and Aspen had been getting closer, too. She didn't know if she was overthinking it or if Aura was up to something, but she just knew that she didn't want to be left out of anything, especially not now.

"We need to stick together," Morgan reiterated. "We don't know where those guys could be, and we shouldn't risk it."

The Fresh Snow Pokémon groaned in annoyance. "Fine… You stand here and we'll be a few feet away… That way, you can keep an eye out for us…"

Aura and Aspen turned around and took a few steps away from the Classy Cat Pokémon, causing her to huff.

-000-

"Okay… so what is it?" Aspen inquired. "We really should be more focused…"

Aura took a deep breath, "I'm gonna whisper it to you, and I'm gonna need you to not freak out. I just need to tell you and we can talk about it more later…"

Aspen rose a brow in slight worry and confusion. "Oh… O-Okay?"

Aspen leaned down a bit as Aura whispered the information in her ear. The Furfrou's eyes nearly bulged out of her head as she reeled back in shock. She was about to say something, but Aura covered her mouth quickly and shook her like. "Like I said, we'll talk about it later… okay?"

Aspen nodded her head as Aura removed her paw from her friend's mouth. Aspen was completely and utterly astonished by the revelation, having never expected that pair to come to be.

000

"What… the hell..." Aspen commented. "H-How? Why? When?!"

"Just… what the hell?!"

000

Watching the screen, Phill sighed to himself. After telling him that she didn't want anyone to know about them, she goes ahead and tells Aspen. None of them in the stadium could really hear what she said, but the Raticate had a feeling that he knew what was going on.

"Huh...I wonder what she told her that was such a big deal," Ashton commented as she took out a berry that was in a basket next to the table.

If she was going to tell her friend about them, it was only fair that he got to tell his friend about them. He was much closer to Kojo, but Klavier was a good friend, too. So, he decided to pull him to the side.

"Uh… Klavier, let me talk to you really quick…" Phill requested as he started walking away, a Maranga Buffalo Wing in his hands.

Klavier was a bit confused, as were Holly and Ashton, who exchanged looks. The Gliscor looked to his girlfriend and assured her, "I'll be right back…"

Holly nodded as Klavier flew after Phill. Landing in front of him, Klavier took a bite of the Wepear Berry he had in his claws.

"What's up?"the Gliscor inquired, taking another bite of his berry.

"Aura and I are dating…" Phill revealed.

This caused an immediate reaction from Klavier, who spit out his berry in shock. "WHAT?!"

"Now before you freak out like Aspen did, just, for a sec, hear me out," Phill explained. "Neither of us had a loved one come out here, and she was upset. Remember when I went down to the beach to mess around in the sand? That's when I saw her crying."

"Wait, so you're dating her out of pity?! Dude, that-"

"No, no," Phill shook his head. "We just started talking and we ended up hitting it off. So, we're essentially trying things. That's all."

Klavier let out a sigh, holding his head as he plopped on his butt. "Mother of Arceus, that's something to take in…"

"So, we may have an extra number if things go wrong…" Phill added.

Klavier took a deep breath. "Well, I don't really know how to feel, but… I'm glad that you're actually experiencing a relationship for once."

Phill chuckled in response, commenting, "Yeah… So far it's not bad."

"Well, hopefully it stays that way," Klavier replied, getting back to his feet. Just then, the Gliscor remembered what Holly and Ashton were thinking, regarding Anthony. He sighed to himself, whispering, "Right…"

He rubbed the back of his head, " And… also, uh…"

He glanced back at Holly and Ashton before looking back at Phill. "Holly and Ash want to vote out Anthony…"

Phill's eyes widened a bit, surprised by the news. He wasn't surprised that they wanted him out, he was more so just surprised that they spoke up about it. He didn't even really mind it too much, as Aura was another possible number, as he said a few moments before. "I mean… Okay?"

"Okay!?" the Gliscor shouted in a whisper. "What do you mean, okay?"

"I mean, I don't really care as long as it's not me," Phill explained. "Plus, he is a big threat, and he's been an asshole lately. Though, that's just been a front to mess with the girls…"

Klavier rose a brow. "Wait, what?"

"Yeah, he explained it to us on the yacht. He's just being a dick to mess with them," Phill explained.

"Okay, well if that's the case, we can just tell them that and stick with the plan," Klavier replied.

"I mean… Anthony is still a threat, though," Phill replied. "I mean, sure, Shine is the biggest threat, but if she wins immunity, why not go for him, instead?"

Klavier mulled over the idea, unsure of what would be best for him.

000

"Okay… Phill's dating Aura; Aura's with the other alliance, but may work with us because she's dating him; Holly and Ashton want to vote for Anthony; Phill is fine with voting for Anthony and I'm just in the middle of all of this," Klavier stated.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do…"

000

As Kojo made his way through the forest, toward the lake, he began formulating his own kind of strategy to make it deeper in the game. He was currently in a majority alliance, but had a feeling that sooner or later something was going to happen.

Right now, the opposing alliance wanted Anthony out, and he knew that as soon as that happened he was going to be next on the chopping block. However, he was in a position of power, so he shouldn't have to worry about that, right? Wrong.

As he made it to the lake, he looked around the perimeter, pointing his gun around. Checking to make sure he was secure, he sat down against a tree and took a breath. "Sally and Amethyst could easily just flip-flop back and forth after what Anthony said…" he thought to himself. "We could get screwed over if we're not careful…"

Just then, he heard rustling from the bushes and took cover on the opposite side of the tree. He aimed his gun in the direction of the shaking shrubs as he heard a familiar voice begin speaking.

"Alright, just gotta wait it out until there's only a few people left…" Titan commented. His plan was to just let the others take each other out, come out of hiding when there were only a couple of them left, and win immunity that way.

Kojo was tempted to take him out then and there while he was distracted, but came up with a better idea. Keeping his cover, he called, "Hey, Titan!"

The Galvantula froze. He hadn't expected to be found so quickly, but then again, the lake was an obvious spot for him. He let out a sigh and turned back around, only to see nobody there. "Uh… What?"

"It's Kojo!" he revealed. "Now, I want to talk. I'm not gonna try to shoot you, and you don't try to shoot me…"

Titan was a bit suspicious at first, but after thinking about it for a moment, he was okay. The Mienshao was a part of the alliance that lied to him, but individually, he seemed to be pretty honest and straight-forward.

"Fine…" he replied. "I'll lower my gun if you come out with your lowered, too."

After a few seconds, Kojo came out of hiding and approached the Galvantula. Titan immediately inquired, "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"It's mainly about this challenge," Kojo began. "Instead of just hiding and waiting, why don't you just create some snares from your webs to capture the others as they walk by so that we can shoot them and get them out?"

Titan hummed to himself. "Doesn't sound like too bad of an idea, but we'll need to know for sure that they'll be at certain places…"

"We'll just need to trap all the major spots and maybe even be bait to lure them," Kojo explained as he adjusted his belt. "As long as we get Shine or Morgan out, or even both, it doesn't necessarily matter."

Titan would happily oblige to get Morgan, but the idea of getting Anthony out and weakening his alliance was still ripe on his mind. Despite this, he nodded, "Okay, just cover me and we'll see if we can get this done."

"Roger roger," Kojo replied with a nod.

000

Shine and Ace made their way toward the gym. They weren't entirely sure where they should go to look, so they decided to check around the unlikely hot spots, first.

Ace let out a sigh as he and Shine stopped outside of the fitness structure. "I wish there was some other objective aside from just having to find and shoot each other with Tynamo. This island is huge and half of us aren't even competing…"

Shine hummed, "I understand that, but there are only a few select places that we ever explore. I'm sure that we've only visited one-third of this island."

Ace shrugged, "I guess…"

Shine approached the building, preparing to enter. Doing so, she heard a shot ring out and rushed inside. A few seconds later, Ace rushed in as well, panting heavily. "Who the hell was that?!"

"Don't know, but it sounds close…" Shine replied, ducking behind the ring as a couple more shots rang out. "And they just wasted all three of their Tynamo, whoever they are…"

Ace sighed, "So, what are we doing? Are we just gonna sit here and hope that we don't get surprised?"

The Espeon shook her head. "No, we're gonna have to get back out there sooner or later, but I'm partially hoping that the others take out at least one of the guys first…"

-000-

Anthony was standing outside of the gym, hiding behind a tree. He was the one who had fired his Tynamo, which were currently floating back toward him. He had seen Ace sitting outside of the gym and shot at him from a distance.

"Okay, so he's bunkering in the gym, huh?" the Blastoise muttered to himself as the Tynamo floated back into his gun. "There's a lot of space in there, though…"

He didn't know if he should try to charge in there or not, as he knew that Ace was probably gonna be prepared. "If only there was a fucking back door…"

He adjusted his belt a bit with a hum. Deciding that it wasn't worth the risk, he decided to leave Ace be for now and try to find somebody else. He moved through the bushes, not wanting to make himself visible.

000

"Ace got lucky, there," Connor muttered to himself. "And if Titan's gonna work with Kojo, he'd better take him out at the end of it so he can have a different type of immunity."

"Say… Connor," he heard as he felt someone touch his side. He glanced over and saw that it was Sally. "Do you think we can have a quick chat?"

Connor raised a brow, "About what? You guys are the ones in power now..."

"Yeah, that's true, but that doesn't mean that we're gonna stick with them forever, ya know?" she explained with a sly smirk.

Connor was surprised to hear that, having expected the Ampharos and Aurorus to just coast with the majority alliance until it was time to fight back. "Uh… so, what? Are you guys not working with them anymore?"

"We are, but, we're willing to do something and shift the tide a bit," Sally explained. "So, what do you say? Should we have a chat?"

Connor was a bit hesitant, as there was a high chance that she was just lying to him so that the target got put on him later. However, given that he currently had the immunity statue, which was what took him and Titan so long, he was a bit more inclined to listen. "Alright…"

Sally nodded, "Great."

She started walking the Bouffalant over to Amethyst, who was waiting in silence while watching the screens. This didn't go unnoticed though, as Ashton watched the interaction. As the pair walked back to Amethyst, the Herb Pokémon couldn't help but grow a bit suspicious.

000

Ashton hummed, "I have no idea what Sally and Amethyst are planning, but the fact that they're talking to Connor makes me a bit worried. They were kinda alone with each other since three of us were at the lake, and Anthony, Kojo, and Phill went on the reward."

"But… they could also be trying to trick him," she reasoned. "I just don't know what to think."

000

"Amethyst and I had a chat while everyone else was out. We're gonna try and get Connor to help the two of us handle the others in the alliance…" Sally explained. "We need to get Kojo first, since he's the second in command. Anthony is an idiot, so there's no point in bothering with him right now."

"Hopefully Connor can trust us and he gets the others to agree," the Ampharos remarked.

000

"So… when do you guys think it is the right time to have kids?" Aspen inquired curiously. She had mentioned wanting to do so a while back, and after spending time with Dominic, the thought had made its rounds. "I mean, I know that we're all immortal, but… You know what I mean..."

Morgan nodded in understanding before offering a response. "Well, neither of our pregnancies were really planned, as you know, but I feel like it depends on the current state of your own life."

Aura nodded, concurring. "Pretty much like... 'Do you feel like your life is stable?' in a sense…"

Aspen looked down, taking some time to think. Just then, a branch was heard snapping, getting their attention as they stopped in place.

"Did you hear that?" Morgan whispered, looking around.

A few more twigs were heard snapping before being accompanied by the rustling of nearby shrubs and leaves. The Persian's face turned into one of focus and wariness. "Spread out a bit," she requested. "If we're too close, they could eliminate us faster."

Aura couldn't help but chortle at the irony, "First you want us close, now we need to be ap-"

"Look!" Aspen interrupted, gesturing forward. She saw Kojo running from the bushes with his gun drawn.

"He was trying to sneak around us…" Morgan reasoned. "Come on!"

The three of them began giving chase after the Mienshao. Sadly for them, they weren't able to run and fire, so all they could do is follow him.

"We need to cut him off," Morgan declared. "I'll go left; Aspen, you go right; and Aura, just stay on him."

Nodding, Aspen entered the forest part of the path they were on from the right, with Morgan entering from the left. Aura just stayed the course, rolling her eyes as she thought the plan was ridiculous.

-000-

Kojo continued running, glancing behind himself to make sure that they were still coming after him. He saw that only Aura was running after him. He was surprised by this, but kept going anyway. Suddenly, he heard rustling as Morgan leapt from the bushes and attempted to tackle him, but missed. Aspen leapt out a few moments later and followed suit.

Kojo smiled as he steadily approached the trap that was set. He made it closer to the restrooms, which was the first place they trapped, and rushed inside. A few seconds later, he heard a creaking and snapping. He smirked as he stepped out and saw that Morgan was hanging upside down by one of her hind paws.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Morgan shouted with a growl as she struggled, the webbing around her leg shocking her a bit. Aspen and Aura caught up a few moments later. Kojo immediately stepped out and shot at Morgan, hitting her back and causing her belt to give her even more of a shock.

"MORGAN IS OUT!" Virizion announced across the island.

Morgan growled in annoyance as Kojo ran off. Aspen had tried firing at him as he took aim at Morgan, but ran before any of the Tynamo made contact. Missing their target, the Tynamo returned to Aspen, while Aura used Ice Beam to try and weaken the web holding the Persian.

Morgan swung over toward the tree, using her claws to cling to the bark and bring herself into a horizontal position. Aspen used Dark Pulse on the frozen section of the web, freeing the Persian.

"I can't fucking believe this…" Morgan grumbled as she got off of the tree. "They didn't tell us we could use traps and moves!"

"They don't really tell us anything until it's too late…" Aura deadpanned.

Morgan sighed. "Well, I guess I gotta head back… You guys be careful…" she warned as she started walking back.

Aspen and Aura exchanged looks of worry before hearing shuffling behind them. Turning around, they saw both Kojo and Titan aiming at them.

000

"That went better than I thought it would," Kojo commented.

000

"ASPEN AND AURA ARE NOW OUT AS WELL!" Shine and Ace could hear as they made their way toward the cliff.

The Sylveon scoffed, "Are you fucking kidding me!? How did they all go down so quick?!"

"Titan probably had something to do with it…" Shine muttered. She sighed, "Now we're outnumbered…"

Ace shook his head in disappointment. They should have had the advantage in this challenge. It was five against three for crying out loud! "We need to find Anthony and take him out… We could at least make it an even game…"

Shine hummed to herself before taking a deep breath and sitting on the ground. She closed her eyes, confusing Ace a bit. "Um… Shine? Are you alright?"

The Espeon ignored the Intertwining Pokémon's inquiry, as she allowed the air around her to massage her fur. Ace looked around, unsure of what was going on. "Shine, you're-"

Suddenly, the Espeon's eyes snapped open, revealing pure blue. Ace jumped back in surprise. A blue aura surrounded Shine momentarily as she stared forward. "He's heading to the jail," she stated matter-of-factly as she got back to her feet.

"Wait, how do you kn-" Ace began before slowly remembering what Espeon were capable of. He looked back at Shine as the blue glow slowly faded away from her body.

"Let's go," she stated as she started running back toward the jail.

Ace nodded before following her, though his opinion about the Sun Pokémon had somewhat shifted.

000

"I forgot that Espeon can read the future by feeling the air around them…" Ace revealed, wearing a look of worry on his face. "That's another thing that makes her strong…"

"I still want to keep our alliance together," he explained. "Though… I can somewhat see why the others want her out."

000

Shine sighed, rubbing her head. "Doing that always leaves me with a migraine afterwards, so I hardly ever do it anymore. Plus, even if I did, it'd just put a big target on my back…"

"In this case, it doesn't matter anyway, since I'm already being targeted for being a Psychic-type threat…"

"I just have to hope that I win immunity, or else I know they'll vote me out…"

000

Morgan grumbled to herself as she returned to the stadium, shortly followed by Aspen and Aura. Nobody said anything to them as they entered, though Sally did wear a smug look on her face.

With a huff, the three of them approached Connor, who was the only one who actually acknowledged them.

The Bouffalant sighed, "Sorry that you guys got eliminated."

Aura huffed, "Whatever… they got lucky…"

"Well, the bright side is… Sally said that she and Amethyst are willing to vote out Kojo," Connor explained in a whisper.

"What?!" Aspen responded in surprise, looking over at the Ampharos and Aurorus. She scoffed, "After what they did, you still trust them?"

"Oh, I'm still skeptical," Connor replied. "I feel like she would have been more private about it or something if she was serious, but at the same time, I could feel that she was…"

"Well, I don't believe her," Morgan replied. "She wants me out and probably wants Shine out, too. She's probably only telling you that because she thinks you're naive…"

"I don't know… Didn't really come off that way…." Connor explained. "I think, this go 'round, we give them the benefit of the doubt…"

"Uh huh… and what happens when it turns out she was lying and Morgan or Shine get eliminated?" Aura inquired. "What then?"

"That won't happen," Connor assured her. "Just… trust me."

"Connor, the only way that won't happen is if Titan decides to actually be helpful," Aspen replied. "And he's made it clear that he's only looking out for himself."

"Look, if something bad happens, that'll be my fault," the Bouffalant explained. "But I think we'll be fine…"

The girls exchanged looks with each other, unsure of what to think.

000

"I'm not sure if Connor is just stupid now that Taylor's gone, or if he's actually trusting them to help us," Aura commented. "Either way it goes, he may end up becoming a liability going forward…"

000

Seeing Connor talk with the three currently eliminated girls, Ashton couldn't help but feel even more unnerved. She hadn't talked to Holly, Phill, or Klavier about it, as they were talking to each other instead, but she decided that now was a good time.

"Uh… guys… I think we may have to watch out for Sally and Amethyst…"the Herb Pokémon warned.

The three of them exchanged looks of confusion, though they could partially understand it in a general sense. However, at this particular point, it was a bit weird.

"I mean, given how they came to join our alliance, we're always gonna have to watch out for them," Phill explained.

"I know that, but… a while ago when you guys were off talking, and Holly wasn't looking, I saw Sally approach Connor, talk to him for a bit, and lead him over to Amethyst, and they just talked for a bit before separating," she explained before nodding over to the four members of the opposing alliance. "Now he's talking to those three…"

"That… is kinda suspicious," Holly concurred, looking over to where Sally and Amethyst were. The two of them were currently enwrapped in what was happening on the monitors. "But, what can we do about it?"

"I mean, besides confronting them about it, there's not much we can do..." Phill replied. "It's probably best that we don't worry about it now, since it could be nothing. Let's just stay with the plan…"

The others exchanged looks of uncertainty, but nodded back.

000

Holly sighed, "Okay, I'm not even sure what's going on anymore."

"Anthony wants to eliminate either Shine or Morgan, but he's been such a jerk that we actually want him gone instead. But now Sally and Amethyst may be betraying us and trying to work with Connor, which may put one of us in danger…"

She groaned, "This game…"

000

Anthony, Kojo, and Titan were at the jail, which was where they expected Shine and Ace to be. Anthony had seen Ace enter the gym, but felt that he and Shine would have returned here after he left them for a while.

"You see 'em anywhere?" Anthony shouted from on the ground floor. Kojo and Titan were on the higher floors, clearing every cell that they could.

"Nah!" Kojo responded. "I don't think they're here…"

Titan let out a sigh, "Mate… DIdn't you say you last saw one of them at the gym?"

"Yeah, but that was a while ago," the Blastoise replied as he moved toward the elevator. "They probably moved by now… Hell, they may be in the office."

He pressed the elevator button as Kojo started coming down. "Well, if they're up here, it'd be two against one, so I guess I'll tag along…"

The Mienshao made it to the ground floor just as the elevator doors opened. He and Anthony entered, the doors closing behind them.

-000-

As they started heading up to the office, Titan climbed down from the level he was on. "These guys really don't use their brains that much do they?"

"Nope," he heard from behind before being hit by a Tynamo.

Being that he was an Electric-type already, the shocks that he received didn't do anything, though he did still feel them. He let out a groan. "Of course…"

"TITAN IS OUT!"

"Yeah, yeah! I know!" the Galvantula shouted back as he turned around and started walking out of the jail, passing by Shine and Ace, who wore confident smirks.

"One down… Two more to go," Ace commented. "And it looks like they went up to the office…"

Shine sighed. "Of course they did… Now they're gonna know what we did to it and-"

-000-

-fuck…" Kojo commented as he marveled at the office. "What the hell happened in here?"

Anthony chortled as he approached the couch, "I don't know, but I'm fine with it." He lied down on the couch with a sigh. "Well, now we have a spot we ca- Wait… this is why those pricks are always here!"

"Anthony, we need to go," Kojo stated. "They just said that Titan got eliminated, so they're probably still downstairs!"

"Or, they may be coming up," the Blastoise replied, sitting up with his gun.

The Blastoise accompanied him in front of the elevator doors, with both of them aiming their guns at them. They were ready to fire at whatever came through the doors.

Tension filled the air, the uncertainty of when or if they were going to come up eating at them. After waiting for a while, nothing happened. The doors never reopened, there wasn't any shuffling behind them, and there was no indication of where they could be. If Titan had gotten shot mere moments after they got to the office, then there was a chance that they didn't know that they were there.

Anthony hummed to himself as nothing happened. "I guess they didn't see us after all…" he commented.

Kojo sighed, "I guess… I just don't entirely trust it. Those two are sneaky… Especially Shine…"

"Yeah, that bitch still has a huge advantage," Anthony grumbled. "But I don't want to just sit here the entire time…"

"Then don't," the two of them heard, startling them. They turned to the side, where they saw Ace and Shine standing next to the 'phone room', which had the door open.

They didn't even have a chance to respond as Shine and Ace both fired immediately, with Anthony and Kojo doing the same. Ace ducked, while Shine side-stepped, avoiding the Tynamo heading their way, while Kojo and Anthony both got hit, earning them shocks.

Anthony growled, "Come on! That's bullshit!"

"ANTHONY AND KOJO ARE OUT!"

"Of fucking course, and then this bitch is gonna take out Ace and have immunity again…" Anthony groused, while Kojo pressed the elevator button.

Suddenly, another shot was heard, followed by a surprised yelp. A smile formed on Anthony's face, as Ace shot Shine while she wasn't paying any attention to him. The Espeon looked at him in surprise and slight anger.

Seeing the expression the Sun Pokémon wore, Ace sheepishly responded, "S-Sorry…"

"AND SHINE IS OUT! MEANING ACE WINS IMMUNITY!"

"Nice job. Now this bitch will finally get what's coming to her…" Anthony chuckled as the elevator doors opened.

As he and Kojo entered the elevator, Ace hesitantly followed suit. He looked back, but saw that Shine was already gone. He let out a sigh before entering with the Mienshao and Blastoise.

000

"Ugh! I feel awful!" Ace cried. "Shine is awesome and she's looked after me like a mother! But… she's too good! And it wasn't like anything was goin to change. One of us was still gonna end up getting eliminated."

"I hope that she doesn't hold it against me… I really, really like her. I just didn't know what I'd do if we ended up making it even further down the line!"

000

Everyone was back at the stadium. All of the weapons were gone, as were the monitors and food, though Phill was still gnawing on a wing.

"Alright, congratulations Ace. You're safe at tonight's vote," Virizion explained. "And, you can stay in the Winner's Cabin. However, no one can accompany you this time."

The Sylveon wanted to smile, but knowing that he more than likely pissed off his alliance members kept him from doing so. Nearly all of them were wearing a face of irritation aside from Connor.

"You guys can all head back to camp and we'll see you tonight…" Xerneas stated.

With this cue, the final fifteen began leaving the stadium, with Anthony giving Ace a thumbs up, which he didn't appreciate.

000

"Ace, what the hell were you thinking?!"

As expected, once the minority alliance made it back to the jail office, they tore Ace a new one for his decision.

"I-I just wanted to win for once," Ace stammered, a downcast expression on his face.

"Seriously? After what happened at the reward challenge… Your mind immediately decided that it was time for you to have immunity?!" Aura snapped. "You knew that they were targeting her!"

"I'm sorry!" Ace bellowed.

Shine, despite her annoyance, sighed, "Lay off, guys…"

"Lay off?" Aspen scoffed. "He screwed you over for his own gain!"

"I understand that, but… We can't really hold it against him. One of us was gonna be targeted anyway…" Shine explained.

"Well, remember what I said," Connor chimed in. "Sally and Amethyst want to target Kojo, so we should do that if we want to keep ourselves safe. We need to trust them this time around."

"No way," Ace scoffed. "Those two are only looking out for themselves. They're just saying that to get you to trust them."

"That doesn't really make any sense, though," Connor argued. "They're in the majority. What do they gain by lying about wanting to work with me?"

"He… raises a good point," Morgan chimed in. "You didn't really reason it as much back at the stadium…"

"I mean, it just doesn't make sense for them to lie when they're in a good position already," Connor reiterated. "So, all we have to do is vote for Kojo, and then we'll be in the majority."

"And then they'll start acting like we owe them," Aura huffed. "I already know…"

Connor reasoned, "Well, then we can just get Titan or someone from the other alliance to vote with us and take them out."

"I guess that could work…" Aspen explained.

"Yeah," Connor replied. "So, while you guys may be mad at Ace, it doesn't really matter in the end. We'll be fine…"

"I hope you're right…" Ace sighed.

Aura huffed, "Well, I'm going for a walk. I'll catch you guys later…"

The Glaceon headed to the elevator, causing Ace to sigh to himself again. However, Aura wasn't really that upset to begin with. Sure, she saw it as a dumb move, but it wasn't that big of a deal anyway. She just needed to try and talk to Phill, who she had asked to meet her at the gazebo.

000

"Anthony, we need to talk…" Ashton began as she and Holly entered the guys' side of the Loser Cabin.

The Blastoise was lying on his bunk with a smirk on his face. Upon seeing the two ladies enter the building, the Shellfish Pokémon raised a brow in surprise, as none of the other guys were in the room. "Uh… talk about what? It's a done deal; Shine's going…"

"That's the thing…" Holly responded. "We don't think that's true…"

Anthony sat up, folding his arms. It didn't make sense to him, as they had the majority. How did they not see the plan working out? "And what makes you think that?" he asked abrasively.

Holly's eyes went to Ashton, as this was something that she actually noticed. The Meganium explained, "Well, in the stadium, I saw Sally talking to Connor, and bringing him over to talk with Amethyst. Then he went and talked to the girls after they got eliminated…"

"It could be nothing, but it's still kinda suspicious, y'know?" Holly commented.

Anthony growled in irritation, "Of course those two are gonna screw this up. Why wouldn't they!?"

Ashton nodded, "Yeah, so… I was kinda thinking… Would it be a good idea to target Sally, first?"

Anthony gave her a look. "No way! Do you have any idea when we'll have another chance to take out Shine?! We need to strike when we can!"

Holly argued, "But if Amethyst and Sally are gonna try and work with the other alliance, then it won't matter what we do. They'll have the numbers, then."

"We're gonna have to pull in Titan…" Anthony groaned. "It's the only way we have a chance. Good thing you guys were paying attention. You aren't too useless after all…"

As the Blastoise moved past them, the girls' faces soured a bit. He had practically admitted to seeing the two as useless previously. As one would expect, they didn't take kindly to that.

Ashton sighed, "He makes himself so hard to work with…"

"Well, maybe Sally was targeting him..." Holly replied. "That'd be good for us."

"Maybe…"

000

Kojo held his head as he sat at the gazebo with Klavier and Phill, who had just informed him of the news about his relationship with Aura. The Mienshao couldn't believe it. He was happy for his friend, sure, but Aura? Out of all people?

Phill could tell by the look on Kojo's face that he wasn't too enthused. The Raticate let out a sigh, "Listen bro, I know that you probably don't really like Aura, but… I think we actually have something here."

Kojo shook his head. "I don't doubt that, Phill. It's just… She just has a lot of baggage. I guess I'm just putting myself in your shoes. I don't know if I'd be able to just look past everything as if it never happened…"

"We're not doing that. We both completely acknowledge our faults…" Phill explained. "And, you know that I can easily just look past that stuff."

Kojo nodded. "Yeah… Well, I hope things work out for you at least…"

Phill responded with an affirming nod.

A few moments later, Aura approached the gazebo. Upon seeing Klavier and Kojo there, she froze. She looked to Phill, who waved his tail at her. "Hey, babe."

Aura gave him a look of annoyance as she got into the gazebo, "So much for keeping this just between us…"

"Hey, you started it when you told Aspen…" Phill argued.

Aura scoffed, "How do you know I told her about us? It could've been about something else!"

"I saw her reaction… I knew that it was about us…" Phill deadpanned.

Defeated, Aura let out a sigh, "Fine… Whatever." She then looked the Gliscor and Mienshao. "Just make sure that you two don't blab to anyone. It's no one else's business…"

"Oh, no worries," Klavier replied. "I doubt anyone would believe us, anyway."

"Believe what?" a new voice inquired.

The four of them turned and saw that Anthony had walked up. Klavier started stammering, with Phill rolling his eyes with a sigh. "Believe that Amethyst and Sally are planning to-"

"-eliminate Kojo," Aura interrupted.

"What?!" Kojo exclaimed, not expecting that .

"Yeah…" Aura replied. "That's what they told Connor, at least…"

Anthony huffed, "Uh huh… and why the hell are you telling us this? Trying to get back in our good graces?"

"Hey, consider yourself lucky that I told you at all," Aura barked back. "It's... not in my best interest for Kojo to go yet. Plus, I'm tired of Sally…"

"Ah, so we're actually on the same page," Anthony reasoned, placing his hands on his hips. "Sally needs to go, but we need to get Shine out first…"

"What?!" the others exclaimed.

"Dude, did you not hear her? They're coming after me!" Kojo exclaimed. "We need to get Sally out. Forget about Shine for a second!"

"Exactly," Aura replied. "Only issue would be that, including me, you guys only have seven votes…"

"Which is why I've gotta get to Titan…" Anthony replied. "And fuck that. Shine needs to be the one to go. We won't have another chance like this."

"Are you being serious right now?!" Kojo argued. "Stop thinking about yourself for once, dude! Help me out, here!"

Anthony started walking away, rolling his eyes dismissively. "It's Shine!" he reiterated.

Kojo growled in annoyance, clenching his fists. He spent this whole time working with Anthony, but even after being told that he was the target, the Blastoise still just wanted to get his target, regardless of how the Mienshao felt.

Seeing this, Aura gained an idea of her own. "Hey… I think I have a better idea."

000

"And that's why you need to vote for Kojo tonight," Sally finished explaining her plan to Titan, who was laying in Brian's cave.

Titan wore an indifferent look on his face. He had no intentions of working with the Ampharos and Aurorus. Not only did he find them annoying, but he knew that dealing with them would just make him a bigger target.

Seeing the look on his face, Sally huffed, "At least try to look like you're interested…"

"But I'm not…" Titan replied with a stone-face. "This is pointless anyway. Like, what does this do for you? Both sides have threats, and it just so happens that the bigger threat is the pink feline. All it does is make you guys targets."

Sally rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say. And uh… you may wanna keep that idol handy. You're gonna need it soon…"

Amethyst watched Sally walk off and sighed to herself before getting up and following her. Noticing this, Titan raised a brow.

000

"Okay, so when I evolved, I had my confidence boost and I ended up making everyone hate me. Now, Sally's the one in control between us, and she's pretty much screwing us over!" Amethyst expressed.

"Shine is the bigger threat, but she's trying to break the good alliance that we already have!" she exclaimed. "I hate to say it, but… I think that she needs to go… Just so that my game won't be ruined because of her…"

000

Eventually, the afternoon turned to night, with all of the contestants making their way to the ceremony. Across the board, there were looks of annoyance, confidence, anger, and uncertainty. Eventually, the three hosts approached, with Mew holding the bag of confectionaries, as per usual.

"Alright," Virizion began. "I'll admit, today was… pretty rough all around. Lots of yelling, betrayal, arguing, and overall chaos today…"

"We're hoping that this was just a bad day, and that next time, you all will be fine again…" Xerneas followed.

Morgan sighed, "We hope so, too. Today was just… too much."

"Well, one of you is heading home tonight. Let's hope that this person is one that can make that happen," Virizion replied with a small smile. "Now Ace, you have immunity, so you get the first marshmallow of the night."

Mew tossed the Sylveon his marshmallow, which he caught with a hesitant smile.

"Alright, now for the rest of you…" Xerneas began. "Amethyst… Phill… Aura… Aspen…"

Phill, Aura, and Aspen all caught theirs, while Amethyst's landed next to her.

"Morgan… Holly… Ashton… Klavier… Sally," the Life Pokémon continued.

Mew tossed the next five their marshmallows, with all of them catching theirs, though Morgan's bounced off of her snout, first.

"Titan… Connor… Kojo… You three are safe as well," Virizion chimed in.

Kojo let out a sigh of relief, much to the surprise of those who voted for him. He caught his marshmallow, as did Titan, while Connor's got caught in his afro.

This left Shine and Anthony, the former of which wore a disappointed look. "And, unsurprisingly, we have the insulter and the insultee as the bottom two of this vote," Xerneas commented.

Anthony rolled his eyes, "Come on, I could've said much, much worse. It's not my fault she can't take a few words…"

"Well… she may not be able to take words, but she's sure taking this last marshmallow," Virizion stated. "Shine, you're safe. Anthony, you're out!"

The Blastoise gaped as he abruptly stood up. "WHAT!?" he exploded. "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?!"

"That's what you get for being a world-class asshole," Aspen commented.

The Shellfish Pokémon growled, "Learn to get thicker fucking skin! You fucks should know not to take what I say seriously!"

"That doesn't make it okay," Morgan retorted.

Anthony huffed, "Whatever, screw you all. Oh, and Sally, you're a fucking bitch for trying to flip on us, and Shine, you're lucky you have all of your white knights. Just know that it won't last forever…"

"Just get lost already," Aura groaned as Sally's eyes widened a bit. He knew about her plan? How?!

"And you can go fuck yourself. You and your girlfriend were the first to flip anyway, so fuck you," the Blastoise replied before walking away.

000

"Okay, how the hell did that dumbass know about our plan!?" Sally exclaimed. She growled, "I guess we're gonna need a new course of action now. Fuckin' eh!"

000

"What the hell happened?!" Connor exclaimed. "It was supposed to be Kojo going, but… Anthony works, too. And I still have the statue! So if they try something next time, we'll still be safe."

000

Making it to the dock, Anthony grumbled as he entered the Suck of Shame. "Fuck this game. Fuck these people. Just get me the hell outta here…"

000

"With pleasure," Xerneas replied as Mew pressed the button, sending the Kantonian Water-type starter on his way.

"Goodbye and good riddance," Virizion commented with a sigh of relief. "He was becoming insufferable."

"Well, hopefully with him gone, the game can go back to being pretty chill and fun," Xerneas replied. "Though, I'll admit the challenges today were a bit… out there…"

"Hey, those kinds of challenges are usually more fun," Virizion giggled.

"Yeah… When they actually last long," Mew replied. "Anthony and Sally ruined the first challenge, and the second challenge went by quickly because half of the players decided to sit out…"

The Grassland Pokémon nodded, "Yeah, some adjustments are definitely gonna need to be made. Let's just hope that the next challenges don't get screwed over."

Xerneas turned to the main camera, "Well, with Anthony gone, we're down to the final fourteen. Who'll be the next one to go?"

Virizion nuzzled her, adding, "Find out next time on…"

The two ladies once again turned to Mew, who sighed once again. "Total… Pokémon… Underdogs!"

000

See ya guys, BYE!