"That was intense," Kushina said after Terence had dismissed everyone for a break. They had multiple tv screens in their room, so they got to watch all of the action. "Poor Lili. She had to adapt to such a tough arena with no warning.

"I know," Mason said. "That arena gave her practically nothing to work with."

"The void medallion rule is quite interesting," Gimli said. He didn't have a different coordinating routine, except for a red scarf, which he was playing with. "They seemed to have forgotten it when explaining things earlier."

"They probably wanted to make sure we looked for medallions," Mason said. "If we knew they could be voided, then there could have been the possibility that none of us looked for them, which would have been rather boring."

Gimli nodded. "So far two medallions are gone, and one has already been presented." He smiled. "This is rather fun, isn't it?"

"I'm going to go with nerve-racking," Dustin said. He was in a standard black tuxedo, but from the looks of it, it was a tad small. "I was barely able to do a routine on a normal arena. This'll probably be harder."

"Not necessarily." Mariana said, sitting down . She had on a tight long sleeved shirt, a black mini skirt, and knee high leather boots. She crossed her legs delicately. "One of the harder things about a plane arena is that you have to make everything. Any color or design you want, you must make. The themed arenas provide you with aesthetic, and you just have to match it. I almost think it's better than having to do it on a standard field."

"I guess," Dustin said, looking back at his paper, reviewing the medallions again.

Madeleine looked up from her paper. "Hey, Gimli, do you have a medallion?"

He smiled at her. "I sure do."

"Really. Can I see it?"

He chuckled. "You'll see it soon enough."

They all waited for a bit. Soon, Terence started having everyone go back to their seats. "This is it," Mason said. "After the next five, we will be halfway through this."

Samuel came back into the room. "Gimli, you're up next."

Gimli smiled, and hopped up. "Well, looks like I'll be seeing you guys later. All of you better aim for the top, because that's where you can expect to find me." He walked out of the room, led by their guard.

Madeleine blinked. "I cannot figure that guy out."

Mason seemed to be somewhere between a scowl and a pout. "Yeah, Mr. Wilderness is a difficult one. I don't know how I feel about him. Being cocky is my bit. He can't take it like that."


"Okay, the break is over!" Terence said. "If you haven't made your way back to your seats, you'll want to get on that, because we are going to be starting back up!"

"That's right!" Tianna said, smiling. "Five down, and five more to go until another break. So are you ready to start?" The crowd cheered like crazy. "Then give it up for Gimli Miralson!"

Gimli walked out, happily waving to the energetic crowd. The pedestal came out of the ground. "Place the medallion on if you have one," Terence said.

"Well, there is a slight problem with that," Gimli said. He started reaching into multiple pockets. Finally he was done, and held up what he had grabbed. The crowd gasped. He had nine different medallions in hand.

"Impressive!" Terence said. "Place whichever medallion you want to use on bottom, and the rest on top.

Gimli pulled one out, placed it on the pedestal, and then put the rest on top. The pedestal lowered all of them inside, then lowered into the ground. Everyone waited for the arena to change.

A breeze started swirling throughout the arena. It picked up in speed, and seemed to be pulling sand out of the walls. Soon the whole thing was covered in white sand dunes, which were being blown around by random gusts of wind. There was even a cactus standing alone in the corner. "A simple, yet tricky one," Tianna said. "The desert arena! Begin whenever you are ready!"

"Sorex, you're up!" He threw up a capsuled pokeball and a sandslash popped out surrounded in sparkles. She landed nimbly and waved at the crowd.

"Let's do this. Start with sandstorm." Sorex nodded, and stuck a glowing claw into the ground. Sand started to gently whip around her. It slowly and slowly got higher, picking up speed.

"Good, now start bringing it in around you." The sand started to slowly form a sphere around Sorex. "Now start countering it!"

Sorex's form started to glow red from inside the sand. "Now strike the ground with x-scissor!"

An X glowed in front of Sorex, and the attack, backed up by the counter, rang out with enough force that the sand turned instantly to glass, making a beautiful glass X. However, there was a small crack in the middle of it. Sorex noticed it, and jumped when it spread. It fractured through the glass design, then the whole thing fell apart loudly and ungracefully.

The crowd was quiet for a moment, then started cheering. "Well, not bad at all." Tianna said. "Let's hear it for this desert duo!"

Gimli walked over to Sorex, who looked rather sad. "Hey, you did fine. It just broke, that's all." He led his pokemon away from the arena, waving to the crowd as he left.

"So, what'd you think?" Tianna asked Terence.

He shrugged. "All and all, not my favorite. The slow sandstorm and glass sculpture were both very pretty, and very well matched the arena's look. However, Most of the routine had Sorex covered to where we couldn't see her."

"Yeah, and the sculpture falling didn't look like part of the plan," Tianna said. "But it isn't up to us. You all get the vote, so give him a number!"

Soon almost everyone had voted. "Now, it is time for our next contestant," Tianna said. "Let's hear it for Mariana Kovac!"

The crowd went crazy as Mariana walked out. She waved to the crowd, even blowing a kiss to them here and there. The pedestal raised up. Mariana pulled out a pretty dark green medallion, and placed it on top. It lowered down, and the arena started to change. It was very similar to Marcus's. A blade of grass appeared. Then another. They all just started to slowly grow up until the whole arena was covered in thick, luscious grass.

"A simple arena, but beautiful all the same," Terence said. "The grass arena! You may begin!"

She pulled out a pokeball. "Okay, Vivillon! Let's do this thing!" Her pokemon appeared, showered in pink sparkles and music notes. She was a standard modern patterned vivillon. She seemed happy enough to be out, but then looked pretty scared at the huge crowd looking at her.

"Hey," Mariana said, her pokemon turning to her, "don't worry about all of them. We can do this. You can do this. I believe in you." Vivillon nodded, looking a bit more confident now. "So get out there and show them what you can do. Start making your design with powdered dance!"

Her pokemon nodded, then started gracefully flying around the arena, dropping black and green powder onto the ground. "Look at that!" Tianna said. "it seems powdered dance is a combination between sleep powder and powder!"

Once Vivillon was done, there were two giant vivillon wings drawn on the grass in black and various shades of green. Mariana smiled. "Now, gently give me a bug buzz and a hurricane."

Vivillon nodded, and took a deep breath. She opened her mouth, and out came soft, slow moving red waves, followed by a beautiful sound, like her natural noise mixed with an adorable chirp. She then started to flap her wings, sending a slight gust of wind flying around. The wind passed over the design, causing it to shift with the grass. When the red waves hit the walls, they came back, doing the same thing. The crowd gasped and started cheering. The two attacks, mixed perfectly, were causing the wings to flap. With one final wave of wind, the powder flew into the air, and vivillon stopped her attacks.

The crowd was going crazy. "Amazing!" Terence said. "Give it up for Mariana and her beautiful bug!"

"You did it!" Mariana cheered, running over to her pokemon. "I knew you could do it!" As she walked out with her pokemon she waved to the loving crowd.

"That was a pretty good one," Terence said.

Tianna nodded. "You're telling me. It took full use of the arena, and showcased the cute bug in a wonderful and simple way." She turned to the crowd. "Do you all feel like it was a good routine? Or do you feel as though it needed something else? You get to choose, so place those votes!"

Everyone was done almost instantly. "We are almost halfway through the second batch, folks," Terence said. "Hope you are still ready for more. Give it up for our next contestant, Lucas Cruz!"

Lucas walked out, politely waving and smiling to the crowd. He, like some of the others, didn't have a unique coordinating outfit.

He reached the pedestal and placed his hand on it, showing he didn't have a medallion. Tianna nodded. "An arena will now be randomly selected."

This arena change happened fast. A giant rock looking roof sprung up above everyone, sealing them off and momentarily cutting off all light. Then, a bright blue glow appeared. Various pools of blue water appeared around the arena, and everything now looked like it was made of stone.

"One of our more sturdy looking arenas." Tianna said. "I give you the cave arena! Begin whenever you are ready!"

Lucas pulled out a pokeball. "Lucario, I'm counting on you!" His pokemon appeared, showered in a few silver sparks. His pokeball had surprisingly been capsuled.

"Okay, let do this. Bone rush then stone edge."

Lucario delicately put his paws together, and when he pulled them apart, a glowing blue bone was there. He twirled it around a bit, then struck the ground. A wave of blue radiated out from him, and a ring of glowing blue stones appeared out of the ground.

Lucas nodded. "So far so good. Now, destroy them all with aura sphere."

Lucario stuck the bone rush into the ground, then put his paws together. A glowing blue sphere appeared, but it looked slightly different from a normal aura sphere. It seemed slightly smaller, and brighter, as though it was more compact.

Once Lucario was satisfied, he threw it at one of the rocks he created. It broke it, and came flying back. Lucario grabbed the bone and swung at the blue sphere, sending it towards a different blue stone. It broke and the sphere came back again. This continued for a few stones.

Then things went very wrong.

Lucario turned to hit the aura sphere again, but his foot slipped on one of the stones that popped up. His eyes widened, and he moved the bone as to bunt the attack instead of swing at it. However, he didn't get a paw behind it properly in time, so when the sphere hit it, both attacks came back and collided with his chest.

The explosion was massive. The force threw Lucario into the wall, which he bounced off and fell unceremoniously onto the ground. His blue stones disappeared.

Tianna and Terence were both on their feet. "Whoa! Is he okay?" Tianna yelled. Lucas ran over to his pokemon to check if he was okay. Putting one of Lucario's arms around his shoulders, he helped him stand up. The crowd cheered.

"Tough break, but we definitely got a good view of this pokemon's power!" Terence said. "Give them a hand!"

Moving slowly and waving at the crowd, Lucas helped his pokemon out of the arena, which was filled once again with sunlight as the arena changed back. Tianna sighed. "That was really rough."

Terence nodded. "Yeah, it was a big shame considering the potential of the routine. The extra condensed aura sphere was good for destroying the moves, but it was probably the reason both attacks were so devastating. Though, it really was a good display of power. But what do you all think? Was it redeemable, or was the explosion just too much?"

It only took a few seconds for everyone to finish. "Alright, here we go again," Terence said. "Give it up for our next contestant, Ethan Sandar!"

Ethan walked out, giving the crowd a slight smile and a polite wave. His coordination outfit was simple; just a black long sleeve shirt and grey jeans. He walked up to the pedestal, and hesitated. "Please place a medallion on if you have one," Tianna said.

Ethan took a deep breath, and pulled out his medallion. It was a really pale shade of pink, with white swirls all over it. He placed it on the pedestal, and waited for the arena to switch.

There was the sound of rushing air, and the entire arena, including the stands, was covered with pink, sweet smelling smoke. When it cleared, the change shocked just about everyone. The entire ground appeared to be made of cake. All around there were sweets of all kinds and sizes. There was everything from cake to ice cream to bubblegum.

Tianna and Terence both smiled. "This is my personal favorite arena," Terence said. "The most delectable one there is: the sweet arena! You may begin!"

Ethan pulled out a capsuled pokeball. "Alright, here we go. Show them what you got, Orbz!" A reuniclus appeared, accented by a few hearts and stars.

"Alright, let's just keep this simple." He looked around. "Use psychic to grab those gumdrops and that chocolate bar!"

His pokemon happily flew around, stopping over four giant gumdrops. Reuniclus's eyes glowed blue, and he picked them up. He took them back towards the middle, picking up a giant piece of chocolate on the way. He set the piece of chocolate on the four gumdrops making something that looked like a table. Then he picked up some of the smaller desserts, and set them up on top of the chocolate.

Ethan smiled. "Now finish up with substitute!"

Reuniclus sped over to one side of his table, and spun around. He disappeared in a puff of smoke, and in his place sat a giant stuffed green dinosaur. He then appeared on the other side, happily eating a piece of cake and smiling at the crowd.

"Wonderful!" Tianna said above the cheering of the crowd. "Absolutely adorable!"

Ethan walked over and high fived his pokemon. He then returned him, and walked out of the arena, which reverted back to normal after a puff of white smoke.

"That was cute," Tianna said.

"It really was," Terence agreed. "It was simple and enjoyable. Though it wouldn't have even been a routine without the special arena." He turned to the crowd. "So did you all enjoy it, or was it not sweet enough for your taste? Put in your votes now."

After a quick glance at her watch, Tianna smiled. "We are almost halfway there, folks. We have one more contestant before another break. So, give it up for our tenth contestant, Alex Black!"

Alex came walking out, happily smiling to the cheering crowd. For this event he had donned a black tuxedo and a white tie. The pedestal came out and Alex pulled out a vibrant yellow medallion. He flipped it like a coin, and it landed solidly on the pedestal.

There was a loud crash, and the arena started to darken. Above them, large black clouds were forming. There lightning zoomed around from cloud to cloud, followed by a loud boom of thunder. A huge gust of wind flew by, nearly knocking Alex off his feet.

"This'll be a hard one," Tianna said. "With devastating wind and various lightning strikes, I present you the thunder arena! Begin whenever you are ready!"

Alex pulled out a pokeball. "Amphy, it's your time to shine!" He threw the ball up, and an Ampharos appeared, surrounded by sparks of blue lightning.

"Let's get this moving. Start with hidden power!"

Amphy held his arms out, and multiple pale blue spheres started circling him. Then they spread out, and remained suspended around the arena.

Alex nodded. "Great, now send a dragon pulse into the sky!"

Amphy leaned back, and clapped his hands together, glowing blue. He shot a multicolored beam into the sky, which started to take the form of a dragon as it turned back towards the ground. Alex pointed at it. "After it!"

Amphy jumped extremely high into the sky. Turning to face the judges table, just like the attack was, he just barely got inside the dragons open mouth, making it appear as though the dragon was a giant, ornate headpiece.

Alex snapped his fingers. "Now, thunderbolt!"

The attack and Amphy soared to the ground, and multiple lightning strikes hit the many spheres suspended around the arena. They all broke, each destroying part of the dragon pulse. When Amphy landed, he pointed at the sky, just the top part of the dragons mouth still in place above his head.

The crowd was going crazy. "Absolutely astounding!" Terence said. "There couldn't be a better way to go on break! Give it up for them folks!"

Alex and Amphy happily waved to the crowd, Amphy's dragon pulse having finally diminished. They walked out of the arena, which brightened up once again.

Tianna smiled. "That was really cool."

Terence nodded. "That was honestly a very well put together routine. It well accented the arena and the pokemon, I think."

Tianna looked at her watch, then the crowd. "Welp, we are now halfway through the contest portion of this competition! Things are starting to heat up. Did anyone from this batch stand out to you, or are you still waiting for that one perfect routine? Will our remaining contestants be able to keep up with the competition? We'll find out soon enough. See you after the break!


Yay, more routines! So we are halfway through; which routine was everyone's favorite? And who do you think will be paired up with who based on the current routines? Hopefully it won't be too long before we see the rest of our contestants. See you all then!