Ivory's Point of View:

Seven isn't so bad. After all, it's above average a bit, which is good enough for me. My heart was racing during the scoring session, and it only beat faster when I saw the ridiculous numbers people were getting. Karma, that giant Charizard that always messes around with Claudius got a nine, which is making me real paranoid.

It was up until Claudius was getting his number that I wasn't really being too thoughtful of numbers. But, when I saw the eleven on screen, I just couldn't believe it. I was jumping for joy knowing he got one the best scores of all time, let alone out of all the other tributes. It was for sure just going to make them even more displeased of Claudius, but he seems way to confident to care. He's like that all the time, anyway.

Hearing about the interviews made me gag, especially since they are live. People back home in district eleven will watch them, which includes my parents, Fin, and just about everyone else. The Hunger Games is one of the most important events to everyone, whether they like it or not. Rooting for your district's tributes is usually what you should do, unless they die out and there's a fan favorite in the game still. Yet, so far, I don't see anyone who could possibly be a fan favorite.

Being a 'fan favorite' is like being the hero of the event. You get treated well, you play well, and most of the time, you end up winning. The way this is done is by being liked by everyone, including the Capitol and game makers. If you are able to be loved by everyone, apparently, the odds will shift in your favor, to have the story everyone wants.

People love a good guy ending, where the winner is someone who feels remorse, has a lot of 'backstory' and whatever. Long story short, the Hunger Games is treated like a reality show about teenagers killing each other. How sad.

Interviews were beginning, and all the tributes were lined up in the same order as they were for private sessions. Claudius looked very uncomfortable heading into them. Occasionally, you could hear the outside crowd exploding in laughter at something the tribute on stage said, which is always annoying.

Arly had just put me in a cute pink and blue dress to match the physical appearance of my body. It worked really well, to say the least.

Before me was an Alcremie who went on and on about how she did not like the careers. Sure, nobody else did, but they made it sound like they were an evil organization that terrorized the world. She then said something about how she is going to help others against them, which I personally have no idea how that's going to work. I turned around to see Claudius leaning against the wall, not a care in the world about what was going on. Kat leaned over to look at me, giving a worried grin every so often.

Eventually, all the tributes in front of me had disappeared, and it was my turn for the interview. I walked through the entrance, behind the curtains, next to a sign that said, "Listen for your name to be called."

"Everyone, please welcome the wonderful girl of District Eleven, Ivory Printilla!" a voice, the interviewer, exclaimed loudly, with an excited applause of the crowd following. I came out from behind the curtains, revealing myself, to which the applause grew louder. I couldn't help but smile at the sight. I saw the interviewer next.

Veldeen Gerthintis, a Mr. Mime with actually fixed hair, and a not creepy face. He had been the interviewer for almost twenty years at this point, ever since he was twenty-three. Veldeen is actually really good at this job, or atleast from what I've heard from past winners. Two chairs centered the stage, with a long corridor in front of it, hundreds of people all seated within, eagerly waiting for me. I sat down on the chair opposite of Veldeen, and crossed my legs, trying to look pretty.

"So... Ivory." Veldeen said. I grinned. I need to make the best impression I can with the crowd. Interviews can also decided whether or not you can get sponsors, as it will show off your personality and things about you they wouldn't have known by just looking at you. "Might I say you look way more beautiful in person."

I smiled wider. I've been known for my attractive looks back at home, or atleast I've heard. Nobody tells me about it face-to-face. But, I have to make the impression.

"Oh, I've been told. Trust me." I say. Minor yet obvious chuckles came from the crowd.

"Well, Ivory, the way things are gonna work is I'm gonna ask you some questions, we'll talk about you, you're life, the Hunger Games, stuff like that." Veldeen explained, to which I nodded. "Okay, first, what do you plan on bringing to the table in the Hunger Games?"

I hesitated for a second. "I'm not exactly the fighting type of pokemon. I'm definitely going to be having other things I'll be worrying about, rather than the other tributes." I say, thinking about Claudius.

"What kinds of things?"

"Oh, you know..." I reply, trying to put a humorous tone in my voice. "...my life."

The crowd's laughter turned more apparent, surprising me.

"Seems so, as you did not sign up for this." Veldeen says, reminding me of The Reaping and how miserable I felt that day.

"Yeah. I had to put everything behind me. Life back home was great." I say. "I already miss so many things about district eleven."

"Well, you're friends and family are supporting you in the Hunger Games! And when you win, they'll be praising you like the goddess that you are!" Veldeen exclaimed. I slumped over a bit in my chair, nervous as ever.

"Yeah... there's a few people back home that I hope will be rooting for me specifically." I say. Veldeen raises a brow, interested.

"Like who? Your family, your boyfriend, your-"

"I don't have a boyfriend." I interrupt, trying not to cause any problems. Veldeen looks at me like he's seen a ghost.

"Really? You're a dashing, gleaming, shiny Sylveon! Surely there's someone out there that loves you like you are their queen..." Veldeen says.

"Eh... no. I've never known of anyone having any kind of feelings for me." I admit. I had to stop myself from tearing up over it.

"Well then perhaps you may have the hots for someone?" Veldeen asks, slight grin on his face, making him feel almost terrifying. I slowly nod, blush on my face. "Great! Now let me tell you what. You win the Hunger Games, become the biggest star in the world, and when you return home, they have to go out with you." Veldeen explains like it was the ultimate master plan. I shrugged, awkward smile on my face.

"I don't think it works out that way, Veldeen." I reply, trying hard to hide my anxiety.

"How come?" Veldeen asks, thinking for half a second. "...are they a tribute?"

I didn't answer his question, but I guess the pink shade of my face told them the answer.

"Ah, I see. Well then, you're just going to have to tell them what's up before it's too late."

"Yeah..." I mutter. Veldeen was finally starting to see my discomfort, and switched the subject.

"How has your time in the Capitol been?" he asked.

"I-It's been fine, I guess. The food is amazing!" I say.

"Every tribute has made that comment about the meals. They are very scrumptious."

"Claudius helped me out a whole lot with training." I say.

"Claudius... is he the Raboot who volunteered alongside you?" Veldeen asked, to which I nodded. "Can you tell me about him?"

I took a deep breath. Talking about Claudius should be easy, yet I felt nervous.

"Well, he's basically my best friend in the whole world. We've known each other for as long as I can remember. He knows how hard things can get for me, and he's been doing everything he can to help me get through the troubles." I explain, wide smile back on my face.

"He sounds like everyone's dream of a best friend." Veldeen says. My smile grew larger.

"Yeah, I really owe it to him." Silence slowly filled the air, and when I looked in the crowd, I say sympathetic smiles on everyone's faces, all intrigued and stuck in wonder. I think I did a good job doing impressing them.

"Well, we can see his thoughts on you, since he is up next!" Veldeen yells out, getting out of his chair. He took my paw and raised it in the air. "Ivory Printilla, everyone!" I raised my other arm up. If there is one thing I learned about Veldeen today, it's that he is very good at his job.

I left the stage with the crowd all in a crazed state, clapping for me, cheering for me...

Now, I can't lose. I'm the underdog here, and it looks like they are all behind me.

Claudius' Point of View:

When Ivory walked back through that curtain, I gave her a big hug, with a whisper. "Nice job out there," I said. Now that it's my turn, I need to able to leave an impact. I need to get everyone's heads up. Let them all focus on me. Gain their attention.

The way the games work is mainly by the odds, and if I can get everyone to hate me, they'll like Ivory. And when she wins, it'll be like the second coming of Arceus.

I went behind the curtain by a sign that said "Listen for your name to be called."

"Now... this next tribute is one I have been waiting a long time to interview. He has the highest training score for this year, and is now tied with five past tributes for second highest all-time score, ladies and gentleman, Claudius Emberdeen!" the interviewer, Veldeen Gerthinis, shouted out. I slowly walked on stage, paws inside of the fluff pocket on my torso. I had the most deadpan stare in the world. The crowd was roaring. Now, everyone knows I'm a big deal. And I love it.

I sat down in the chair opposite the Mr. Mime. He looked real excited. Wish I could say the same about me.

"So... Claudius." Veldeen began. I nodded my head. "How are you?"

"How am I? I don't know, Veldeen, I went through three grueling days of training, got into multiple fights with idiots who think they are the best, got mouthed off by my mentor for being mindless, and went ahead and got an eleven out of twelve. Life shakes around beneath your feet, and you just need to find some level ground."

Veldeen looked at me with a more serious look. He smirked, knowing what I meant.

"Well, thank you for the introduction, Claudius." Veldeen cleared his throat. "The way this will work is that I'm going to ask you a few questions, then we'll talk about you, your life, and the Hunger Games." Veldeen explained. I nodded, despite not really paying attention to what he said. "First, what do you plan on bringing to the table in the Hunger Games?"

"Pfft. I don't know." I say upfront. The crowd in front of me started to giggled a bit. I do know what I'm gonna do, and I've been doing it the past three days. I just don't want to reveal it out loud, because other tributes do have the ability to go back and watch the interviews if they'd like, which I assume some will do for me. I probably wont even bother with it.

"That's odd. You volunteered, didn't you?" Veldeen asked.

"I did. But I wasn't exactly prepared for... anything."

"But you earned that eleven."

"I was able to outsmart the game makers, which made them know I deserve the eleven. A lot goes into this, y'know. The way you perceive the games, the mindset and knowledge with your strategies can bring you to your goal. My goal is complicated, yet simple." I explained.

"Your goal is winning the Hunger Games." Veldeen says, assuming the obvious.

"Kind of. You remember when I volunteered?"

"You took the place of Fin Ueklint after he volunteered himself." Veldeen says.

"Yes... but tha-"

"Delvick always said that Fin dislikes you."

"Yeah, me and him were very distasteful towards each other. You could say me and him were enemies. Like- where's the camera?"

"It's right in front of us." Veldeen says, pointing to the camera, which I was now able to see more visually.

"Okay, so Fin is watching this right now." I say with a smirk. I then gave the middle finger to the camera, meant to be for Fin.

The crowd errupted, some out of laughter, some applause, and the rest just... noise. Veldeen was chuckling a bit as well.

"Let's- Let's keep this clean, Claudius!" Veldeen says through his snickering.

"Oh, alright. Wouldn't wanna have to call the custodian."

The crowd explodes into louder laughter. I guess people in the Capitol have an odd sense of humor. Looking in the audience, I suddenly saw a Bisharp, who was not laughing at all. In fact, it was glaring right at me, both angry and annoyed. Mr. Ueklint was in the crowd, watching me talk about his son. I looked at him with a devilish smile on my face.

"So the conclusion I'm drawing is that you volunteered to best Fin." Veldeen says after the laughter died down.

"Not really. The main reason I volunteered has to do with Ivory."

The entire crowd quieted down, with people shushing each other. What does Ivory have to do with anything to make them have to silence each other, just to pay attention to me?

"The interview with Ivory before this was great. She actually did end up talking about you. Something about you two being the best of friends." Veldeen explained. I raise a brow. Why would Ivory talk about me?

"Yeah, me and her are really close. Always have been." I say, smiling.

"You've been helping her out with everything?"

"I've helped Ivory with a lot of stuff. She's told me how she isn't the most fond of training... and I experienced what she meant myself. But, we found common grounds with her work, and boom, she got herself a seven! I'm real proud of her, too." I explained, the smile on my face feel more natural.

"Sounds like you're a real nice lad, Claudius." Veldeen says. I had to stop myself from laughing at his comment.

"I don't want to make it seem like that. I'm really not nice. When I try to be nice to people, it always comes off as really awkward. But with Ivory... it's just... easy. She brings the best out of me."

"What do you really think about her?" Veldeen asks.

"She's the sweetest, most delicate and kind-hearted pokemon in the world. Not to mention that I can always see a sparkle in her eye when I talk to her." I physically can't stop smiling at this point. I can feel my face warming up. Oh no...

"Do you like her?"

"I..." What now?" I... I don't know."

"Well maybe during the games, we can see the reality of your thoughts." Veldeen says, smirking, raising his brows. I gulped, with my eyes widening. I know exactly what is going on!

The audience apparently really likes Ivory. So, if she really did talk about me during her interview, then people should know about how big of a part I am in her life, like she is in mine. If I played this whole 'love' act the way I want, we can win over the crowd, and be the most memorable, most loved, and most easily... the fan favorites to win it.

"Yeah who knows? Maybe something will spark during the games..." I say.

"So you're saying, there's a chance?" Veldeen asks.

My brain was trying to process everything all at the same time. All of them all always led back to Ivory. What is it with her, being able to make me feel so different than everyone else? The audience is waiting for my response. If I say no, they'll probably be disappointed. Heck, even the Capitol is aware of it at this point. Disappointing them is the last thing I want to do.

Ah screw it!

"Maybe."