Poketopia Endurance Championship: the last update was August 7, 2014, and it's almost November 2014...

My excuses: I went on several weeks of vacation, and more.

So sorry that I'm taking so long! But the problem is that I'm currently a first-year university student, so my writing time has been extremely limited. My sincere apologies to those who have been waiting for an update for so long!

Even now, I'm still studying for university purposes, and I'm setting time aside just for this chapter.

My extra thanks to eeveeluvr, reven228, and SDproductions for keeping up. You get a free bar of sea-salt ice cream if you read this message!

Snowsheba, you're just in time to join in for some ice cream!

The chapter has been slightly modified due to some feedback.

Chapter ten: Interim Scores, and when Honey isn't Sweet

Giselle Reene (otherwise known as Gigi) selected an Oran Berry from the generous supply of items sponsored by Pokétopia Authority, held it delicately to her Pokémon Goddess (Gardevoir), and the latter began to eat.

In Gigi's opinion: restoring her Pokémon, especially in an event where restoration breaks were non-existent, was personally deemed essential. Even though Goddess could last longer throughout the session, it was better to boost morale and keep up her strength.

In the same way, Giselle reached into her bag to pull out a peppermint. Among the foods she liked, she could not resist just about any kind of sweet. Sea-salt ice cream… oh…! That was good. Nevertheless, a peppermint gave just the right spice. Maybe chocolate could come after.

"Time to rest up, Goddess," Gigi said. "If you ask me, I feel like sleeping already… Still, there are lots to come! Let's try to get our spot on the podium… if we get any good scores!"

Goddess shrugged, and went on chewing the bits of Oran Berry.

Earlier, upon arriving back at the colosseum plaza, Gigi had to part ways with Symphony so they could prepare for the second stage of the opener. Gigi accessed the lounge underneath the colosseum and, on the way, giving Goddess the well-deserved rest break. Symphony, on the other hand, had returned to the balconies to find a good seat.

"Does anyone know when interim scores will be posted?" someone, a girl, said. From what Gigi could see, this girl was Celestia Starr. Gigi questioned why Celestia made a huge fuss about the name 'Honey'. It was clearly written on the entry list! Gigi, though, still thought it better not to call her by that name.

However, that was what Gigi thought half an hour ago and not now. She was quite forgetful!

"You're Honey, right?" Gigi said not-so-absentmindedly. "They mentioned that they'll post the scores once the judges are finished with tallying. After all, scorekeeping isn't easy, right?"

A flare exploded in the atmosphere, or at least that's what it surely felt like.

"I'm sorry, what did you just call me…?" Celestia burst out, and caused Gigi – and Goddess – to hit the ground. "…WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME…LADY? HUH? WHAT?"

The irony was, Gigi was actually younger than Celestia by a year. If Gigi somehow knew this, she would have ridiculed her for calling Gigi a 'lady'. Nevertheless, Celestia's explosive temper got the better of that possible thinking, and everyone in the lounge stared at her.

Some say they could feel the walls shaking. Others say it could have been signs of an earthquake. In Gigi's case, it was a huge annoyance. Goddess alone shook her head in disapproval as she consumed the Oran Berry.

"Slow down, miss," Gigi retorted. Somewhere within her heart and mind, she could hear her heartbeat pounding in her chest and pulsing in her ears. "Seriously, hasn't anyone taught you any manners? I've done nothing wrong! Watch what you're saying!"

Fuel to the fire, as some would say, but Celestia and Gigi barely suppressed it.

Instead, Celestia seized Gigi's arm and quietly pulled her aside from the lounge, much to the surprise of the other contestants. Eva and Connor, sitting on adjacent seats, watched the scene unfold before their eyes, and it seemed… strange that such could occur in a championship.

"I think I'll try to mediate the two of them," Connor said, standing up and fixing his collar.

Eva's reaction was indifferent, but he nervously fixed his own tie in light of the events. Did Connor have the gift of mediation? He would never know, but Eva said, "How many times have you settled arguments?"

"More than I can count," Connor answered. "I've never like arguments since I was…"

"Very little?"

"Yeah."

Eva remained indifferent, and watched Connor stand up and walk to where Celestia had dragged Gigi off to. Penelope, Kailoni, Leon, and Veronica watched silently. What exactly was going on, anyway?

"An argument over a name, I guess," Kailoni said. "I kind of feel sorry for her. What do you think?"

"No idea," Veronica answered, first. "It reminds me of a good old treat when I was little."

"Who doesn't like honey?" Penelope added. "It's sweet, delicious, and it goes well with tea, which I normally like to add with cream or milk… maybe sugar! Now, who doesn't like sugar? It goes well with cake, and with cake there's always some sort of special occasion, and – and – huh, I can't remember!"

Penelope stopped when the three contestants stared at her with either round eyes or dizzied eyes.

"What were we talking about again…?" Leon quietly said. "I thought this was about food."

"Not in the slightest, Leon," Veronica said, with a slight roughness. "This is about honey. Wait. Since when did we start talking about honey?"

"So… what's the deal with honey? It's a good treat, right?" Kailoni said. "I wonder…"

Somehow, the purpose of the conversation was lost, and everyone knew it. In effect, no one bothered to continue the conversation any further, and they waited for the inevitable scores to be presented.

Well, I guess getting some more food for Lulu wouldn't hurt, Eva thought, as he fed two Oran Berries to his Pokémon. That reminded him…

"Hey, Leon," he said, "how're you feeling?"

Leon Pinetree looked at the platinum-blond, scoffed, and shook his head. "I've felt worse, but come on, was wrecking such a nice work of art necessary? It was a good one, too."

"It looked better when it exploded," Eva said innocently. "Everyone likes explosions, right?"

This earned many laughs from Veronica, Penelope, and Kailoni. Leon could only shake his head in frustration. True, everyone likes explosions, but this…

A short distance away, Connor DuPont arrived just in time to hear Celestia say very harsh words to an annoyed Giselle 'Gigi'. "The next time I hear you call me Honey or any variation thereof to my face, I will lose my temper, and the results are never pretty."

"Come of it, Celestia," Gigi countered. "What's the fear of a name? It's just like a name others would say. I even hear people who are named sugar or candy, and that's worse off than your aforementioned name, right?"

"Don't push it, Giselle," Celestia said, whilst crossing her arms.

"Hey, hey, what's going on?"

Gigi and Celestia turned to see a teenage boy who looked slightly older than the two of them (he was 16 compared to Celestia's 15 and Gigi's 14), and he looked confused and understanding at the same time.

"This is a private matter," Celestia said. "Not your business."

"But you seem to have a temper, you know," he said. "What's going on?

Celestia wanted to say something, but then – somehow randomly – Connor offered her a peppermint. How random was that? Celestia wanted to brush his hand aside, but found that her wrist was seized by Gigi.

"It'll get you thinking," Gigi said, a peppermint still in her mouth. "Just cool down. Come on."

In a mix of frustration, resentment, and confusion, Celestia shoved her wrist free from Gigi's and took the peppermint.

After Maria, Joe, and Rosie wrapped up a short discussion about interim scores, Maria turned her attention to her long-trusted Gardevoir, as she took her seat again.

"You know, Gardevoir, seeing Symphony and Giselle giving nicknames to their Pokémon – Colette and Goddess, respectively – got me thinking if you should have a name too," Maria said. "It's not like I couldn't keep calling you Gardevoir forever, but I figured that you should have a name that's something special between us. What do you think?"

Gardevoir pondered a long moment before sending a very, very, brief but sharp image into Maria's mind. It would be enough for Maria to understand.

As soon as the image hit Maria, Maria had the briefest thought of her home in LaRousse. It was the sort of thought that Maria could for a moment understand this was what defined Gardevoir. Hi-tech buildings, a city operated by resources with zero emissions, and a city that was dominated by oceans and temperate forests of green…

Evergreen, the thought somehow naturally floated in her mind.

"Evergreen?" Maria asked her Gardevoir, while finally snapping out of her thought of home. "Well, I guess that would be appropriate, wouldn't it?"

Gardevoir, or perhaps Evergreen, walked over to give the same comforting pat which Maria was always familiar with ever since she had evolved from being a Kirlia. Evergreen smiled as she watched Maria groan in a mix of tiredness and frustration, whilst seeing that Rosie and Joe weren't having any trouble in the slightest. After Maria, Joe, and Rosie wrapped up a short discussion about interim scores, Maria turned her attention to her long-trusted Gardevoir, as she took her seat again.

"Yeah, but I kind of grown used to calling you Gardevoir for so long…" Maria said, quietly.

Evergreen frowned, and sent a thought to Maria's mind. Maria! You're too young to be conservative! You're only twelve! Besides…

Before Maria could reply to that, it was then Maria realised that Evergreen, her Gardevoir, was communicating with her by talkative means. Wow. Since when did she get to experience this? Well, Gardevoir was a psychic-type. Perhaps that had a part.

"Besides… what?" Maria asked, finally accepting that Gardevoir was communicating with her. "And also, how do I know that these thoughts aren't my imagination?"

Evergreen smiled. I kind of adapted to the name when we were really little back at LaRousse. You were starting off and I was a Ralts. It's a name that I like to carry because it reminds me, and maybe you, of home. Oh, by the way, these thoughts wouldn't be from your imagination since I know I'm the one giving them.

"Fair enough," Maria grinned. "I want an ice cream!"

Evergreen shook her head. She didn't say anything, but Maria figured that her Gardevoir didn't want Maria to increase her sugar consumption by buying extra treats. Personally, Evergreen thought ice cream could wait when the session was over.

"Aw… Gard – Evergreen! That's no fair," Maria pouted.

"Maria! Are you done with scores yet?" Rosie reminded. "We just discussed this, so it's only a matter of time, a short one, before we present them."

The third judge, Maria, typed in commands on the computer and used a mouse to complete whatever was left. There were eight scores to present, so… Maria had to make up her mind right now. Carefully, Maria selected the final scores for submission.

"It's almost time," Rosie said.

Taylor nodded and walked out to the middle of Main Street Colosseum, and at the same time the camera crews began airing the demonstration. After adjusting her mic, Taylor's voice roared off the walls and windows in Main Street plaza. "Guys and gals, the interim scores shall be presented here and by live broadcast in a matter of minutes. By then, judges Rosie and Joe, and special guest Maria, will show their decisions together. Don't go away, we'll be ready!"

Symphony Moore finished eating her bar of sea-salt ice cream and appropriately discarded the stick into a trash can. With Colette, her Minccino, sitting patiently by her side, she arrived back at the plaza just in time to hear Taylor's announcement that the interim scores would be presented shortly.

FLASH

A camera flash temporarily blinded her eyes.

"Ow…"

"Score!" a masculine voice said.

"Stop that, Joshua, you'll start freaking people out," a woman's voice added.

"Come on, Rhianne! That's Symphony! You know, the Battle Class challenger! It doesn't mean that I can't take pictures of her!"

"Joshua, that's an invasion of privacy and you know it," the woman said. "Don't you ever wonder if you've taken enough photos?"

"I lost my camera, so I'll make the most of this new one!"

Symphony turned her head to see what appeared to be a news reporter. His attire consisted of an unzipped jacket over a long sleeve with cargo pants, with chocolate-brown hair stretching down his ears to his chin, and he was wearing glasses and a fedora. The woman beside him looked less outgoing than that, given her black hair, indigo jacket, purple satchel, black jeans and white sneakers, with earphones around her neck. A third person looked even simpler than that, and he consisted of mainly black and green (black hair, green eyes, black cargo pants, green t-shirt, a hooded jacket, and a pair of green headphones in contrast to the woman's).

"Let it go, Anne," Stephen said.

"No, this guy simply crosses too many lines," Anne brushed him aside.

"Still, if he were to find his camera…" Stephen whispered, so that to Joshua it would be inaudible, "maybe he could slow down a bit. Now that I think about it, that camera was a company camera supplied to him by Lumiose Press. If he didn't have it… who knows what could happen to him? He could lose his job, and then he'll be unemployed…"

Before Anne had a chance to show any sentimentalism, Symphony said, "Pardon the interruption, but what's going on here?"

Anne and Stephen looked at each other first, and they took Symphony aside. "Could we talk about this later? Maybe over coffee? We can explain."

Symphony contemplated this, but there was also the second session of the day. "I can't. I'm a participant in the Battle Class of the championship. I have to prepare."

To her surprise, Stephen laughed, and Anne smiled. Colette looked equally confused as Symphony, and then Stephen extended a hand to her. "I'm Stephen, by the way, and this is my acquaintance, Anne. So why don't we talk over coffee? I'm a challenger in this championship, like you, as Joshua here has gladly told us your name."

Stephen and Anne showed their Battle Passes, the smooth-looking Stream Green and intensely shiny Diamond Dust respectively, to Symphony, before the latter showed her also intensely shiny Pearl Wave pass in contrast to Anne's.

At the same time, it felt overwhelming to Symphony how this Stephen character knew her name. She didn't ask, but after shaking Stephen's hand, she shook Anne's. Clearly, Symphony was at a loss for words because of the shock she was getting.

"I guess we could have coffee…" Symphony said, and her thoughts briefly went back to the morning rush with Maria many hours ago. That café could still be busy. Maybe not. But there were other things to consider besides coffee. "I'll wait. The interim scores are something we don't want to miss, right?"

"I suppose…" Joshua said.

Aidan and Lucas, on the other hand, were impressed by the performances nonetheless.

"She did put up a good fight, eh?" Aidan said.

"Veronica? Certainly," Lucas replied, and his face was replaced with a wide grin. "I'll admit, though, that that Leon Pinetree's collapse really hit the spot. Could you hear how many people around us were laughing?"

"Yeah."

They remained seated patiently for the interim scores to be presented, but it was then Lucas got up, saying, "I'm going to grab some lunch. I'm pretty hungry."

"You read my mind," Aidan laughed.

Within the next minute, the two were standing inside one of the many restaurants in Pokétopia, near the Main Street plaza. As they waited for their meals to arrive, they kept their eyes on the broadcast screen that showed a view of the judges Rosie, Joe, and Maria busily typing away at their computers. Come to that, they let their Pokémon have a share of the meals too.

Over lunch, they were met by an 11-year old boy (blue jeans, black sneakers, and green shirt with a Poké Ball no less) who sat alone at a table. He looked bored, as he was watching the broadcast too.

"Mind if we join you? There aren't any seats left, so…" Aidan started.

"Um… sure," the boy said.

Aidan and Lucas sat down and, like the boy beside them, watched the broadcast too. No one said a word, until the boy said, "I'm Colin, by the way."

"I'm Aidan." He flashed his Stream Green Battle Pass first.

"I'm Lucas," the teal-haired Trainer said, as he presented his Pokétopia Gold pass (much to Colin's amusement). "So, Colin, is it just you here at Pokétopia?"

"Kind of," Colin answered, before he flashed his lime-coloured Star Green pass. "I'm bored, since my friends are away at the session right now, so I thought I'd grab some lunch before I head back. They're both participating right now."

It took a moment before Aidan and Lucas registered that.

"Say, we have a friend participating in the session right now, too…"

Then the conversation was politely interrupted by the sound of Colosseum Leader Taylor, who was broadcasting straight from the display screen.

"Alright, everyone, the time has come!" her voice bellowed. "I'll hand over the spotlight to Rosie now, so let us all see what they have in store for us!"

The crowds cheered constantly as Taylor retreated to the judges' desk, where she saw Rosie equip a separate mic onto her ear as she fashionably stepped out to the middle of Main Street Colosseum. The eyes of almost every individual on Pokétopia, be it human or Pokémon, whether by watching it live or by broadcast, were now upon her.

"Alright, let us present the interim scores," Rosie said. "But before we do, I would like to remind everyone how the scoring system works. In Contest Class, we evaluate three disciplines for each contestant after each stage on a scale of five points: Talent, Coordination, and Endurance. Only the contestant with the highest amount of points by the end of the session will be declared the session's victor. At this point, only the Talent and Coordination judges will present their scores. So, without further ado, let us present the scores."

Everyone around Pokétopia waited. For those watching the live broadcast, the scores were displayed on their screens. For those who were watching it live, there was the biggest screen positioned on the largest building's exterior in the plaza. For the contestants underneath the colosseum floor, they watched it by live broadcast no less.

Rosie sat down, looked at Maria (who nodded back), and the two judges disclosed the scores.

Loud cheering and jeering echoed throughout.

Pokétopia Endurance Championship Day 1, Main Street Colosseum Contest Class: Interim Scores

T=Talent

Co=Coordination

1. Veronica Holmquist: 5 pts (T) + 4 pts (Co) = 9 pts

2. Connor DuPont: 4 pts (T) + 4.5 pts (Co) = 8.5 pts

3. Kailoni Deforest : 3.5 pts (T) + 4.5 pts (Co) = 8 pts

3. Giselle 'Gigi' Reene: 4 pts (T) + 4 pts (Co) = 8 pts

5. Evangelina 'Eva' Hawkelizer: 3.5 pts (T) + 3.5 pts (Co) = 7 pts

6. Penelope Lopez: 3.5 pts (T) + 3 pts (Co) = 6.5 pts

6. Honey 'Celestia' Starr: 3 pts (T) + 3.5 pts (Co) = 6.5 pts

8. Leon Pinetree: 3.5 pts (T) + 2.5 pts (Co) = 6 pts

Figuring out the points was a pain, as I had to make sure I wasn't biased toward anything, and at the same time I had to evaluate each discipline fairly, to prevent contradictions.

Now, Maria's Gardevoir shall be known as Evergreen!