I'd like to note that the book cover is the main character.
Chapter one: Youngest Double Pokétopia Champion
"Once again, everyone who's just listening or just arriving, I'd like to welcome Trainers around the world to the Pokétopia Endurance Championship," Colosseum Master Joe read out from a speech. "Here, Pokémon Trainers will be facing a series of matches occurring in each of our ten world-class Colosseums, but there will be given a short timeframe to complete the championship: two weeks, in fact. Also, the idea is that from the moment the challenge begins, you will be given a whole session to complete as many battles as you can, but no extensive breaks between battles, including complete restoration of Pokémon, will be allowed to uphold the idea of endurance. However, you will be allowed a 5-minute break after half an hour has passed, and you may only take a break only at this time."
Joe was standing on the centre of the Gateway Colosseum, where crowds on the stands far away listening and watching, and where it stood on the waters in front of the Pokétopia megalopolis. Bright buildings lit up the skies above.
"This year, Joe continued, "Pokétopia Authority has decided to separate the championship into unique classes: first, the benchmark class which holds Pokétopia's proud history is the Battle Class! Second is the newly formed Contest Class, and so, if you win, you will rightfully claim the titles of Pokétopia Endurance Champion or Pokétopia Endurance Contest Champion! For such harsh feats, podium finishes will be acknowledged too!"
Distant but loud cheering was audible throughout the borders of Pokétopia and everywhere.
"How the scoring system will work is that scores are point-based and kept track by judges at each Colosseum," Joe continued to explain, "and basically to win the title means you have to score points in every Colosseum. For the Battle Class, points will be awarded by performance, time, how many Pokémon were knocked out, and how long your team can last to the end. There will of course be bonuses to those who defeat an opponent. It's kind of like a tourney tree, you see. We start with eight contestants, and after battling they will divide into two groups of four, and so on and so forth (details will be shown later). Of course, any circumstance like the move Explosion will fall under the Pokétopia regulations and will be reviewed. For the Contest Class, Pokétopia will be using the same scoring system as established and used by the International Contest Federation and Pokémon Activities Committee. A select judge will be judging alongside the regular judges, and as well as the Colosseum Leader."
Joe took a deep breath, and then added the final words of the speech. "Competitors must compete for points in a given order of Colosseums anyway, since only a handful of them will be open and closed over the next 16 days, and they will only be open at certain times. Plan wisely, and manage your time well! Above all, be consistent: because these endurance battles will put your Pokémon, body, mind, and spirit to the test!"
"It's been a while since I've had a challenge. I'm going to enjoy this!"
Much further away, at a very peaceful residential bloc called Sunset Village, which overlooked the spectacular view of Sunset Bay (but without Sunset Colosseum…), a little 12 year old girl was watching the Pokétopia broadcast from her private two-storey home in the village. The girl was in fact Maria Lougheed: the Trainer almost everyone in Pokétopia had heard about.
The reason? It's because Maria unexpectedly took the title of Pokétopia Master during one Pokétopia Championship season when she was only 9 – an astonishingly young age. Maria also caused a number of shocks two years later: at 11 years old she took the tile again, and recorded three class wins in that year's Masters Class Series.
Needless to say, the other four classes were out of Maria's performance.
Now sitting drowsily on the low sofa, Maria could only reflect on her accolades: 12 years old, and she had two championship titles and three Masters class wins to her name. For her achievements at such a young age, Pokétopia invited her to be a special contest judge in the Endurance Championship, and along with that giving her the title of Master Senior.
In short, I'm pulling off double duty with the contests and battles…
She didn't need to remind herself that she was in Battle Class too.
Maria was dressed in the trademark products of Pokétopia: a teal headband with a white Pokétopia logo on the side neatly pulled some her brown neck-length hair back, as if the hair in front was neatly combed. If not for the headband, her hair would fall to her shoulders.
Two distinctive Pokétopia items were her choice of clothes as well: a black-and-silver sleeveless dress with two silver designs on the sides similar to the Pokétopia logo, the Pokétopia logo itself emblazoned on front and centre in silver; and black-and-silver pants with the same silver designs of the Pokétopia logo. A Pokétopia gold badge, a little memorabilia from taking the Pokétopia Master title, was pinned on Maria's left, where a typical badge would go. Not to mention shoes that covered her ankles and added two inches to her height and these were definitely not heels.
And, of course, black-and-white fingerless gloves.
These were the same clothes that Maria wore when she took her three class wins in the Masters Class Series. Come to that, she bought them the night she was crowned Pokétopia Master for the first time. In short, these were the same clothes she wore when she took the title the second time.
"You're going to need a lot of time on your hands," her cousin said. "Especially when you're going to pull off double duty."
"Hey," Maria countered, "you're battling too."
Leon Pinetree, Maria's older cousin, stood making breakfast in the kitchen. Since they were well away from home (that is, the City of LaRousse in the Hoenn region) and in Pokétopia, Leon ultimately became Maria's unofficial guardian while they were at the resort. Nevertheless, they had a lot of freedom to move while they were in Pokétopia.
Despite Leon being older and much taller than Maria, Leon held the rank of Major Trainer (whereas his little cousin held the hard-earned title of Master Senior).
But, Leon was the more handsome nonetheless. Girls go wild for him! (Maria would never understand why).
"I'm making omelettes to start off the day," Leon said as he served them on a plate. "They're not made from a Pokémon Egg, I assure you. They're too big. Chansey eggs taste better too."
Maria smirked and took her seat near the panoramic window, which viewed the shoreline of Sunset Bay. Sometimes, Maria wished she could live here as much and as long as wanted, but she still had her original home in LaRousse. After all, Pokétopia was just a battle theme resort, despite Maria's prestige.
"Do you want cayenne pepper with your omelette too?" Leon asked.
"No, I don't like cayenne pepper!" Maria protested. "Make it black pepper!"
"And here's your breakfast, Maria, with pepper," Leon passed a steaming plate right under Maria's nose. The smell of fresh cooking wafted through the air.
"Thanks, Leon, you're the best," Maria grinned. She picked up her fork, and began to eat and at the same time viewed a PEC (Pokétopia Endurance Championship) timetable with her free hand.
Pokétopia Endurance Championship (PEC)
Each session will be score-based, and championship titles and podiums will be awarded to challengers who finish the championship in the top three scores.
Colosseums will be open for a certain number of days, and for a certain amount of time before closing by the Colosseum Leader or Master. Participants who fail to attend the designated session will not be awarded championship points, but are still eligible to attend any future session in the season.
Points will be awarded based on performance, length of battle, and endurance. At the end of the match, the appropriate amount of points will be awarded to the winning and losing side, and the defeated may continue with a half-restored team until the session is complete.
Any occasional circumstance in the match, including double knockout and the use of the moves Selfdestruct and Explosion will fall under the jurisdiction of Pokétopia Authority and match judges to be reviewed.
Each Colosseum will host one session per day, and therefore; will host two sessions over two days, and during a specific time as listed. Also, some Colosseums will have established their own special rules for competing at the venue, and the challenger must abide by those rules.
Day 1:
Gateway Colosseum: twilight to midnight
Session 1: Battle Class
Main Street Colosseum: morning to midnight
Session 1: Contest Class
Day 2:
Gateway Colosseum: twilight to midnight
Session 2: Contest Class
Main Street Colosseum: morning to midnight
Session 2: Battle Class
Day 3:
Waterfall Colosseum: morning to twilight
Session 1: Battle Class
Day 4:
Waterfall Colosseum: morning to twilight
Session 2: Contest Class
Day 5:
Neon Colosseum: twilight to midnight
Session 1: Contest Class
Crystal Colosseum: morning to twilight
Session 1: Battle Class
Day 6:
Neon Colosseum: twilight to midnight
Session 2: Battle Class Fortune Battle
Crystal Colosseum: morning to twilight
Session 2: Contest Class
Day 7:
Sunny Park Colosseum: morning to twilight
Session 1: Contest Class
Magma Colosseum: morning to twilight
Session 1: Battle Class
Day 8:
Sunny Park Colosseum: morning to twilight
Session 2: Battle Class
Magma Colosseum: morning to twilight
Session 2: Contest Class
Day 9:
Sunset Colosseum: twilight to midnight
Session 1: Battle Class
Day 10:
Sunset Colosseum: twilight to midnight
Session 2: Contest Class
Day 11:
Courtyard Colosseum: midday to morning
*note: a session in Courtyard Colosseum will be extremely long. Stay well rested!
Session: Contest Class Endurance
Day 12:
Courtyard Colosseum: midday to morning
Session: Battle Class Survival Battle
Day 13:
No Colosseums open except for practice sessions at Lagoon Colosseum. This day is used for transition in preparation for the Endurance Championship finals.
Day 14:
Stargazer Colosseum: midnight to morning
Session 1: Contest Class Finale
Day 15:
Stargazer Colosseum: midnight to morning
Session 2: Battle Class Finale
Day 16:
Closing ceremony at Stargazer Colosseum.
Pokétopia Endurance Championship participants/challengers are encouraged to attend all appropriate sessions when possible in order to increase the likelihood of better championship standing.
It was a long read. Maria continued to munch on her breakfast as she took in the information. Leon on the other hand began to serve a breakfast for himself to eat.
"Anna made a call here just an hour ago," Leon reminded his cousin. "You know, Anna the receptionist. She's reminding you that you're judging the Main Street Colosseum contest tomorrow, and you're expected to meet with the judges today and prepare how ruling will turn out."
Maria sighed. She knew that as a Battle Class participant and as a Contest Class judge she had a massive time constraint in her hands. It would mean early registration into Colosseums and miraculous arrangements. Although there was more than enough leftover room on the entry list, and lots more in the Colosseums, that did nothing to help the time situation.
Specifically, she was obligated to attend every Contest Class session, but as a participant in the Battle Class she had to make proper arrangements to attend at each Battle Class Session at each Colosseum. She could skip, but that would mean missing out on scoring valuable points!
Courtyard Colosseum was the worst thing on her mind.
The thing that made Courtyard Colosseum different was that it worked under survival rules, where challengers would have to battle and contest for hours and hours until they collapsed, with the exception of a guaranteed 5-minute break every half hour. Because of this, the survival battles marked the pinnacle of the Endurance Championship, and the highest amount of points would be scored here.
Maria had to judge a contest there for well over twelve hours. After Sunset Colosseum (she figured), she would have an entire morning to get ready for judging a contest from midday (day 11) to the next morning (day 12). On the same day (day 12), she would have to get enough rest from midday again to prepare for the Survival Battle, and that could last over twelve hours. Fortunately, she could still take a day to rest before heading to Stargazer Colosseum the following night.
She was glad that Pokétopia had managed the time brilliantly. In the first place, the plan was that the Stargazer Colosseum sessions would be pushed back a day, but that would mean overlapping the times for Courtyard Colosseum, and Pokétopia Authority wasn't prepared to risk the well-being of the judges for the finale. Maria alone would have suffered a lot more based on time, and now the thirteenth day would allow her to catch her breath.
"What's your plan for the day, anyway?" Leon asked.
Maria had gotten up to put on her favourite Pokémon Trainer's bag and wrapped it around her waist, while saying, "I'll have to go to Main Street anyway to prepare for the first session tomorrow. I guess I'll take a look around the metropolis while I'm there."
"Finished your breakfast already, eh?" Leon grinned. "Have a great day, and come back by sunset too. You don't want to sleep in tomorrow."
Maria grinned and went for the door of the private two-storey home. Leon Pinetree smiled again and began to wash the dishes.
There were, essentially, only two ways to get around Pokétopia: by foot, or by rail. Since one of Maria's earned Battle Passes featured an ocean blue Pokétopia train, she figured it was most logical that this was the main method of transport. It was ideal too.
As Maria walked out of her place of residence, she could reflect by looking at her Battle Pass. Besides showing her portrait and her team of five Pokémon (a sixth one would be considered later if Maria felt like it), it also was a design showing the Sunset Colosseum and, of course, Sunset Bay. The pass design alone was also what one would describe extremely difficult to earn.
During the Pokétopia Championship, participants weren't allowed to use their own Pokémon and had to select from 16 loaned Pokémon. It was no easy task, since the Pokémon would be usually be flattened by Leader Dusty at the end.
The Master Senior began to walk to the nearest rail station near Sunset Village. A year or two earlier, Pokétopia Authority used their profits to fund and construct a rail system around Pokétopia for efficient transport, where stations were posted in every key area on the resort.
Thus, the Pokétopia Transport Rail Corporation, or PTR, was founded.
For Maria and every other challenger, a ticket was not necessary because use of PTR was guaranteed through a Battle Pass.
For PTR, the line ran in two directions: clockwise and counter-clockwise.
Since the transport engineers and mechanics were extremely lazy, they gave the names of the lines the Clockwise Line and the Counter-Clockwise Line. The names stuck. Before Pokétopia could be open to any suggestions for naming the lines, the public had gotten used to 'clockwise' and 'counter-clockwise' from first opening.
She walked past the other houses and villas in Sunset Village, walked for a little while on a paved road with trees on the sides, and finally to the junction that connected Sunset Colosseum with Sunset Village and the neighbouring roads. Needless to say the Stargazer Colosseum was clearly visible at the top of the mountain above.
200 yards away from Sunset Village, and 100 metres away from Sunset Colosseum, Maria arrived at the PTR Sunset Colosseum Station. Because Sunset Bay had a rich forest environment around it, Pokétopia Authority and PTR thought it best to preserve the environment and strategically build Sunset Village, and the PTR rail, well away from the bay. Plus, it would look better!
Maria made sure she had her Poké Balls in her bag and entered the station. A quick scan with her Battle Pass was all she needed to gain entry into the station. It was fortunate that the rail here was built on ground level, so there was no need for stairs or escalators.
Soon enough, she was standing on the Sunset Colosseum Station platform and waiting for the Counter-Clockwise PTR train that would take her to Main Street.
And here… Maria thought as the crescendo of the high-speed train arrived. My adventure begins. Honestly! I wonder how much of this – endurance – could anyone handle?
"The Counter-Clockwise Train is arriving," an automated voice said, spoken from intercoms above. "Please let passengers exit first."
There were no passengers ready to leave in the PTR train, and as far as Maria could see it was near empty. Simply, she waited for the doors to slide open, took a comfortable seat, and waited for the Counter-Clockwise line to take her to Main Street.