The Upside Down

"The Upside Down" is the 1st episode of Total Pokémon Fandom. The episode aired on March 4th, 2021.
== Summary ==
4 years after the events of Total Pokemon: The Return of Mew, Shaymin is drunk in a bar recalling past memories, when he gets the call that Total Pokémon has been renewed for another season. 28 shipmates (16 returning contestants and 12 new contestants) travel aboard Starship Total Pokemon, competing each week in challenges themed around pop culture franchises and fandoms. The winner of the season will receive $100,000,000. 
We are re-introduced to our returning contestants, many of which have had personality changes in the gap between seasons, while the new contestants arrive via train. Upon boarding the starship, Shaymin explains many of the seasons twists, including the double hidden immunity idol twist (two idols are hidden on the starship - 1 real, 1 fake - if the fake idol is played, that shipmate will automatically be eliminated from the game). Shaymin then teleports the shipmates to a dimension inspired by The Upside Down from the series Stranger Things. Their first challenge of the season is to avoid being captured by the Demogorgon monster, with the last 3 remaining shipmates being named the captains of this season's 3 teams. During the challenge, Shaymin's nephew Ponyta is brought aboard the ship as an intern, but his continued mishaps cause Shaymin to prematurely kick him off the ship.
Many alliances are formed and broken during the course of the challenge. By the challenges end, Haunter, Lucario and Typhlosion are the final 3 survivors (after the branch holding Typhlosion, Glaceon & Lucario snaps and Glaceon is the only one to not climb her way to safety) and are named the 3 captains. Shaymin's sister him before he names the teams, pushing him to add Ponyta as the 29th shipmate, to everyone's dismay, while ensuring that if he gains any special treatment, he will be disqualified from the game. The 3 teams are formed: Team Star Wars (captained by Typhlosion), Team Battlestar (captained by Haunter) and Team Star Trek (captained by Lucario). As the 3 teams return to the starship, they bond in their dorm rooms. Haunter is shown to possibly have some affection towards Sprtizee (to the surprise of Charizard), Lucario gives a rousing speech to his team about them being one member short compared to the other teams, while Typhlosion gets jealous of Glaceon spending more time with Leafeon, and storms off in disarray.
== Major Events ==
* The returning and new shipmates board Starship Total Pokemon.
* Porygon-Z is introduced as this season's new co-host.
* Typhlosion & Glaceon are shown to be having relationship problems due to Typhlosion's newfound overconfidence.
* Galarian Ponyta is introduced as Shaymin's estranged nephew and is later added to the game as a last-minute add-on.
* Typhlosion, Lucario and Haunter are the last 3 standing and are named as the team captains.
* The hidden immunity idol and Top 10 Rankings System twists are introduced.
* The teams form.
== Cast ==
*All characters in this episode are voiced by Andrew of Ultimatum Productions*
=== Hosts: ===
* Captain Shaymin
* First Officer Garchomp
* Lieutenant Commander Porygon-Z (debut)
=== Shipmates: ===
* Typhlosion
* Lucario
* Haunter
* Dewott
* Raichu
* Marshtomp
* Leafeon
* Fraxure
* Grovyle
* Skitty
*Charizard
*Glaceon
*Minccino
*Totodile
*Ivysaur
*Shelgon
*Chikorita (debut)
*Spritzee (debut)
*Chespin
*Fennekin
*Froakie 
*Absol (debut)
*Larvesta (debut)
*Shiny Larvesta (debut)
*Cursola (debut)
*Aipom (debut)
*Vulpix (debut)
*Ralts (debut)
*Ponyta (debut)
=== Starship Total Pokemon Staff: ===
* Mewtwo
* Lieutenant Commander Blissey
* Lieutenant Delibird
* Lieutenant Beedrill (debut)
* Second Officer Skarmory (debut)
* Ensign Jirachi (debut)
=== Other Characters: ===
* Bartender Sudowoodo (debut)
* Emboar
* Demogorgon (debut)
== Trivia ==
* This episode acts as both a sequel to the previous series and a soft reboot, with many characters undergoing massive personality changes, while still acknowledging the events of the prior seasons. This was done so that newcomers could watch the new season without needing to watch the previous outdated seasons.
*This is the 1st episode of the series where no elimination takes place.
**Because of this, this also marks the 1st episode where the Wailord of Losers does not appear.
* The 3 team captains (Typhlosion, Lucario & Haunter) are the final 3 of Total Pokemon Island.
* The 3 team names are named after popular science fiction franchises (Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek).
* The following characters use the confessional for the 1st time in this episode:
** Marshtomp
** Skitty
** Raichu
** Shelgon
** Charizard
** Grovyle
** Haunter
** Lucario
** Glaceon
** Typhlosion
** Shiny Larvesta
** Larvesta
** Absol
** Chikorita
** Garchomp
** Fennekin
** Spritzee
** Vulpix
** Shaymin
** Dewott
* Emboar (who competed in Season 1) makes a cameo appearance in the episode's cold open (showing he has fully evolved since TPI, also implying his relationship with Snivy has ended prior to the episode). This is the 1st time a contestant has appeared in a season they did not participate in (not counting the brief cameo of the TPE cast in the TPI finale). 
* This episode establishes that both Galarian Ponyta (pansexual) and Emboar (bisexual) are LGBTQ+ characters, marking the 1st time any such characters have appeared in the series.
* Larvesta, Shiny Larvesta & Galarian Ponyta are the 1st contestants introduced that are relatives of existing characters (the Larvestas are twin sisters while Ponyta is Shaymin's nephew).
* Galarian Ponyta is the 4th contestant (after Lucario, Fraxure & Leafeon) to be introduced as an add-on contestant.
** He is also the only contestant to be an add-on in the 1st episode of a season.
* Froakie's lines upon putting on his Darth Vader helmet are all archived audio of James Earl Jones as Darth Vader in the Star Wars films.
* Minccino references the anime Dragon Ball Z and Attack on Titan when speaking with Lucario in the forest.
* Shaymin references Sarcastic Slowking's TPI series The Island Strikes Back multiple times while explaining the Rankings System.
Category:Total Pokemon Fandom Episodes