It's getting really hard to write for me lately. So much homework... and I have a writer's block.

I'm still trying to write this story too, and...

I still don't have a full entry list!

The OCs are the property of their respective owners.

Chapter four: Dark and Early for Spicy Food

"Up and at 'em! It's morning!"

Dark and early as it may seem, the streets of Pokétopia were just bright enough to see just about anything in the city. Street lights were still on, and the sun hadn't risen over the ocean yet. The skies, however, were foreshadowing the coming of a bright day.

"Please…" said the muffled voice from under the covers. "Let me sleep."

"It's better to be up and early than later! The Contest Class session will start in around three hours! Come on, man!"

Connor DuPont jumped out of his bed immediately and began to dress up. Regular-sized jeans and a light blue polo shirt made up most of his appearance, if not counting a pair of typical black sneakers. Indeed, as he dressed in the Pokétopia suite, he couldn't help but remark how modern Pokétopia managed to keep this place.

"Breakfast is served downstairs," his cousin reminded him. "You might as well have it on the go. Grab something on the way out, yeah?"

Connor began packing his things into his navy backpack, including his five Pokémon, and a bottle of fresh water. Additionally, he also opted to wear a pair of glasses too.

Last but not least Connor grabbed his Light Pastel Battle Pass on the way out.

While he waited on the elevator to arrive, he realised he wasn't the only one who chose to get up early and down. Another boy arrived to wait at the elevator.

"Good morning," the boy said.

As shy as he could be, Connor didn't show it. His dark brown eyes shifted to see the boy more clearly. In Connor's opinion, this boy who seemed younger than Connor by several years had an unappealing appearance.

Consider this: a black t-shirt, black combat pants, black combat boots, a black bag, a black vest with blue-and-orange checker pattern made up this boy's apparel. Never mind the silver belt, the diamond piercings, the blue scarf, the orange tie, or the sunglasses over his black-and-blue-and-orange city hat. Or even the shiny Pokétopia Gold Battle Pass in his hand. Or the platinum blond hair.

Or even the unnatural colour of the eyes: a purple one and a red one.

Talk about unappealing! Connor subsequently kept quiet.

"Hey," the boy said, and for once Connor actually noticed that the voice was polite, to say the least. "Is something bothering you?"

"Nothing at all," Connor replied.

The boy seemed unconvinced, but extended a hand. "My name's Evangelina, or Eva for short."

In that moment, Connor tried to hold back a small laugh. Although he succeeded in holding it, the thing was that Eva could tell he tried.

"What's so funny?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know," the dark brown-eyed boy answered. "It's just that… don't you think that your name sounds – no offense – feminine?!"

The elevator doors sounded to signal the arrival of – well – the elevator. Before Eva had a chance to reply, they had to get into the elevator first. He went in, and Connor followed.

"Blame my family," Eva said. "It's sort of a tradition we've had for decades and they would always name their third child Evangelina no matter what the circumstance."

It was a fast and silent trip on the way down, but Eva knew that Connor must be laughing inside. Still, Eva would have to get used to that. Hadn't he already had similar experiences back home at Twinleaf Town in Sinnoh?

"I'm not laughing. Seriously," Connor tried to make up for some humour.

The two boys walked out of the elevator to the residence suite lobby. Already, they could smell the delicious aroma of a hearty breakfast not too far from the 12 and 16 year olds. Casually, they walked over there to have breakfast.

It was fortunate that it was dark and early in the morning. Although there were plenty of people in the kitchens working away and staff cleaning the tables and floors, there were next-to-no people sitting at the tables. The dining hall was virtually empty.

"Morning, Colin!" Connor waved to the 11-year old boy sitting alone at a distant table. "Mind if we join you?"

"You don't have to shout across the room, yo!" Colin called back. "I can hear you just fine!"

Eva scoffed. "I guess we can safely say that's a yes."

As usual, Colin was wearing his regular green t-shirt with a Poké Ball and jeans.

They politely took seats at Colin's table, and already Connor and Eva began to feel hungry. Judging by the cup of juice, a plate with croissants and fruit, it was no wonder that Connor immediately got up and went to help himself.

"Eva, this is Colin," Connor gestured. "Colin, this is Eva."

"You guys are up early," the 11-year old shook hands with Eva. "What did you say your name was?"

"Evangelina," Eva said. "Or Eva, if you'd like."

Eva was dead certain that Colin had tried to laugh, but there was no reaction.

Yet, the moment was broken by Connor, who didn't take long picking out foods before returning with a plate of waffles on a tray and a coffee. The food was set down on the table shortly after.

"Breakfast is served," Connor said, and began to pick up his fork and eat.

Eva and Colin watched him eat, and then Eva got up.

"I think I'll get some food too," he said, and then he left.

After that, Colin and Connor turned to their meals in near silence, and they continued to eat.

"What are your plans now?" Connor asked. "The Battle Class session doesn't start until somewhere around midday. I'm in Contest Class, but still…"

Colin put down his fork briefly, and picked it up again. "I thought I'd take some time exploring Pokétopia while it's early. Since I have lots of time, I thought it'd be nice to see what the resort has to offer. I might even check out the islands around here, and maybe drop by Main Street to watch the competition too."

He speared a kiwi slice and put it in his mouth.

Knowing there wasn't much to say, and also knowing that his breakfast would get cold soon, Connor also continued to eat. From the looks of it, it looked like a regular breakfast morning. They would bite, chew, swallow, and maybe have a sip of their drinks.

"Dark and early in the morning, and what better way to start the day with spice!" Eva proudly stated, with an evident tone of satire.

An aroma of spicy tomato sauce wafted through the air. It was strong. It was spicy. It, from a fair distance, could reach the noses of Colin and Connor from twenty paces away.

It definitely smells spicy, Colin thought. Maybe I ought to get some too.

By then, one or two more Trainers showed up in the dining hall for breakfast. For Colin, he had just finished his.

Meanwhile at Sunset Village, where it was much darker since it was on the western part of Pokétopia, Maria Lougheed woke up with the sensation of tears. She was crying, but for no reason at all! She was sniffling, and crying. Tears slid down her cheek and soaked into the pillow.

But she knew exactly why.

"Argh! Leon!" Maria jumped out of bed and stormed downstairs to the hardwood flooring of the kitchen. As Maria ran downstairs, she was literally in tears as she walked down the stairs, and the closer she got to the kitchen, the harder she cried. It didn't help that once she got there, Leon was standing before a very bad mess: a spicy red puddle had splattered on the floor.

"Ah, sorry, Maria," Leon grinned. "I seem to have accidentally broken a huge bottle of boiling spicy sauce as I was making breakfast. Would you mind cleaning it up?"

The question was rhetorical, because Leon knew that Maria always cried when she was in the presence of any spicy food. Mild spicy was at the limit where she couldn't cry, and anything spicier would send Maria in tears.

No wonder –Leon knew – Maria didn't like cayenne pepper in her omelette.

"Waah…!" Maria seized the tissue box from the countertop and walked away to the outside balcony. As quickly as she could, she grabbed a tissue and wiped her tears away, but more came to replace them. Tissue after tissue replaced the ones she had used.

Leon soaked a massive hand towel and began to clean up the floor. Additionally, he sent out his Octillery to make the cleanup process faster.

"If we don't get this place cleaned up, Maria won't be having breakfast," Leon said. His Pokémon nodded approvingly and began to spray bursts of water on the floor. Leon, meanwhile, went to find a mop, and possibly some soap.

Meanwhile, Maria was standing outside wiping her tears and blowing her nose with tissues. Already, she started to stop crying, but the spicy scent still lingered around. For her, it was unbearable, but at the very least she'd be doing herself a favour by venting out the horrid spicy smell.

She sniffed. She coughed. She rubbed her eyes with tissues. Eventually, Maria could tell that the spicy smell had dispersed, but she was still sniffling.

"It's okay!" Leon called out. "Maria, you can come back in now! Octillery and I have cleaned up the mess! You wouldn't want to miss breakfast, would you?"

The thing was, when Maria walked back in she could still smell the strong spicy scent lingering in the air. Silently, she felt a tear roll down her cheek.

"Now, don't cry on me now," Leon warned. "You've got a box of tissues still in your hands."

Reluctantly, Maria grabbed a mop and began to clean up the mess too. She knew they had to be quick, since Leon was participating in the Contest Class session and Maria would be on the judging committee.

But by the time the two cousins were having breakfast – eating a bowl of simple tomato-and-bean chili with chickpeas – Maria dropped her spoon and began to cry again. Runny nose first, then tears, and finally hiccups from the Master Senior.

"Leon! What did you put in here?!" Maria said. Her voice caught between whining and choking. The tears streamed down her face and started to drip off her jaw and splashing on her Pokétopia dress.

"It's only chipotle," Leon raised his hands in defence. "Okay, maybe not. It sure tastes nice, but I thought adding a healthy concentrated shot of sun-ripened chili powder – and a fragment of a Spelon Berry – was the best way to spice up your life. You need zest!"

"You're mean! Mean! Mean! Mean!" Maria cried.

Leon grinned. But still, he got of his seat to reach the fridge and took out a large bottle of Aloe Vera water. As slowly as he could, just for Maria, he poured out a glass for her.

There is a building near the front of the metropolis strongly resembling a Magnezone. It is here where all technical data gathered in Pokétopia is stored – including battle highlights and live broadcasts of Pokémon competitions. It is also here where Pokétopia Authority chooses what to present to the public.

"Here is the unofficial entry list for the PEC," the Pokétopia Authority rep handed over a data table to a technician. "Be sure to display it to the public at the crack of dawn."

"But it's already dawn!" the technician joked. "Alright, I'll get it uploaded."

Soon enough, the data was uploaded onto the technical mainframe and – at the huge broadcasting screen in Main Street – the names were displayed for everyone to see.

Pokétopia Endurance Championship Unofficial Entry List

Battle Class

Rhianne 'Anne' Barrestein

Joshua Capewell

Colin Coakley

Maria Lougheed

Symphony Moore

Aiden Quinn

Lucas Vermont

(pending…)

Contest Class

Connor DuPont

Evangelina 'Eva' Hawkelizer

Veronica Holmquist

Leon Pinetree

Honey 'Celestia' Starr

(pending…)

(pending…)

(pending…)

Symphony Moore stood outside the front doors of the Pokétopia main office in her purple minidress and gray picnic shorts. Oddly, for a dark and early morning, she was eating a light blue-coloured bar of sea-salt ice cream.

She wasn't bound to appear for the Battle Class session at Main Street Colosseum yet, nor was she ready for the session at Gateway Colosseum yet. But, Symphony didn't want to spend her entire morning at home either.

Or her Minccino, Colette, who was walking beside her.

In one hand she bit off small chunks of the sea-salt ice cream on a stick, and in the other hand she looked at her Battle Pass: a radiant Pearl Wave design with her portrait and her team of six Pokémon.

In the dim Main Street, a busy day was foreshadowed by the very faint whistling of the PTR rail lines and the dimming lights of the showcase Pokétopia buildings. Incredibly, Symphony seemed to notice for the first time, there was also an HSBC branch (Hoenn and Sinnoh Banking Corporation) located on the ground floor near the Pokétopia main office.

I wonder…, Symphony thought.

Generally, to get around Pokétopia whether by PTR, flight, or marine travel, there was always a small fee to pay to accommodate costs which would likely explain the need for the HSBC bank. However, aside from paying separately for meals and entertainment, there was also a small admission fee of 100 Pokedollars to watch the events live – with some exceptions.

Symphony wondered if she, a participant in the Endurance Championship, could be allowed free entry to watch the Contest Class events as well. With her Pearl Wave Battle Pass in her hand, Symphony knew well enough that it specified her ID number and her home region.

But there was a new description she hadn't seen before, and she was pleasantly surprised.

Entrants in an ongoing event or championship sanctioned by Pokétopia Authority, or a previous participant in a recent Pokétopia Championship season, are guaranteed complimentary admissions to that respective championship as specified by the current status below.

CURRENT STATUS: the bearer of this Battle Pass is granted complimentary guest admissions to events in the Pokétopia Endurance Championship.

Authorised/Authorized by Pokétopia Authority

Symphony sat down on a Main Street park bench and continued to eat her ice cream. As she enjoyed her treat, her Miniccino's ears perked.

"What is it, Colette?"

But right after she said this, she smelled a very delicious aroma coming from a short distance away. She looked to her right, and could see a comfortable-looking bistro a block away from where she was.

It was the smell of a spicy dish on a grill. Even though there was only one person who had come to eat, the certain dish he was having had a strong dish.

Fortunately, Symphony had a breakfast to begin with, and had no craving for spicy food… yet. Nevertheless, the food smelled nice. Besides, she still had a bar of sea-salt ice cream to finish.

Now she had a few moments sitting alone, Symphony noticed that Main Street was as brilliant in the early morning as it was in daytime or at night. It was quiet, barely busy, and asleep. It wouldn't be long before it would be busy again at around noon.

But honestly, that spicy dish sure smells nice! Symphony thought.

Nevertheless, Colette appeared hungry and seemingly begging for a taste of a spicy dish. Symphony eventually gave in to Colette's pleas and walked to the bistro. They walked across a still empty Main Street and approached the eating place.

Minutes later, Symphony and Colette walked out of the bistro each holding two kebabs. No surprise that these kebabs were laced with spices, herbs, and an unreasonably spicy pepper the bistro claimed could cause burning sensations to the hands if not consumed properly. But, Symphony figured as she ate it with small bites, how bad could it be? She had eaten many kinds of spicy food before.

Within the minute, Symphony was running around Main Street in panic; looking for anywhere that sold bars of sea-salt ice cream.

Note: "Pending..." on the entry list above means I need that amount of OCs to continue this story! Please PM them to me!