Welcome to For Her Heart, or Heart for short. It's designed to be a relatively short story, as in less than 10 chapters. It's set in a peaceful time, so there will probably not be any blood and violence or even bad f*cking language.

Some of the Dex Holders who appear will have overhauled Pokémon teams, not that it particularly matters. While other Dex Holders may also appear, the focus is strictly set on the Sinnoh cast.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Defrosted Heart

Sandgem Town, Sinnoh, 1 pm…

Platinum slid into her comfortable chair and inhaled deeply. She slowly closed her eyes and held her breath, calming herself and getting her mind and body ready for what she was going to do next.

After a minute, she slowly exhaled, while leaning into the soft padding on the chair. She resumed breathing and opened her eyes, looking out through the window right in front of her. She observed the calm peaceful day in her hometown, and felt completely at ease.

She heard movement from behind her and glanced to her side just as a maid carefully set a dish on the table, along with a full teapot, a cup, and a smaller plate full of snacks. The maid quietly retreated, giving the heiress her space and peace.

Platinum smiled and looked to her other side, where she saw a stack of books the maids and servants had picked for her today. Now she was finally ready to begin her reading session. She took the first book off of the stack, adjusted her glasses, and began reading. As she had done countless times before, she quickly got immersed in the book, focusing solely on its contents. Her eyes scanned the pages without missing a single word so rapidly that her fingers flipped the pages almost nonstop, pausing every now and then only to take a sip of her favorite tea or take a bite out of the prepared snack.

Within 10 minutes, she finished reading the first 500 page book, and with a content sigh, set the book aside. She refilled her teacup and stared off into the distance through the window of her private room in the Berlitz Mansion library. As per recommendation, she'd give her eyes a couple of minutes' of rest between books as she pondered over the contents of her latest read.

It wasn't the most amazing book she had read, but certainly something worthy of being on her recommendation list. … Admittedly, it was a list that grew endlessly, and no one else had a reading speed to match the rate of growth. Blue had the fastest reading rate of all the others, and she could only read at most 3 books per week, while Platinum's recommendation list grew by 25 per week. Hmm…

Platinum soon set her teacup down and picked up the second book. This one was a novelization of a famous historic period in Sinnoh. It was a part of a series of 10 books, however. Platinum glanced at the stack of books and saw 8 remaining. She scanned the titles and saw Book 2 through Book 9, which meant some senseless maid or servant had decided to give her 9/10 of the series for the day instead of all 10. She let out a short sigh. Oh well. Once she finished Book 9, she would go on a hunt to find the 10th book. And then she'd instruct the maids and servants to be thoughtful next time. But for now, reading time.

A couple of minutes later, Platinum snapped out of her thoughts and stopped reading her book when she felt something cold touching her leg. She blinked a few times as she took a moment to escape her immersion and return to reality. She looked down and spotted her Glaceon with its paw on her leg, looking at her intently.

"Oh? Hello," Platinum said warmly. She immediately recognized what her Pokémon wanted. "You want a treat, no?"

The Glaceon nodded and waited expectantly. Platinum smiled and looked over at one of the attending servants. The servant quickly understood and after a bow, left the room to get the Glaceon's favorite treat. Platinum tapped her lap, and the Glaceon understood and hopped onto her legs. Platinum smiled brightly and gently stroked her Pokémon while waiting for the servant to return.

Within a few minutes, the servant came back, looking a bit pale. Platinum frowned upon seeing his expression.

"I – I am terribly sorry, my lady," the servant stammered out. "But it appears that we do not have any more of that treat."

"Oh? Why not? I believe I requested it the last time we sent someone to Veilstone City's department store," Platinum said, slightly narrowing her eyes.

"Yes, but it seems that the maid who went there either forgot or could not find it, and did not check another store," the servant hastily continued. "I – I will look into this matter immediately. In the meantime, I will send someone else to procure the treat."

Platinum sighed and her Glaceon began to growl a bit while emitting a chill. Platinum pet her Glaceon to calm it down. She rose to her feet once her Pokémon hopped off and straightened out her clothes.

"That will not be necessary. I will head out to purchase the treat myself," she said, with a hint of irritation in her voice. "I expect a detailed explanation of this issue when I return, however. It would be best if we can avoid this problem in the future."

Platinum signaled her Glaceon to follow and left the library, heading towards her changing room so that she could prepare for a trip outside the mansion. By the time she finished changing, she saw a line of guards waiting for her outside the room.

"One of us will accompany you, my lady," one of the guards said once she approached them.

Platinum glanced at the other guards, counting a total of 6 of them. She shook her head. "That will not be necessary. But thank you."

"But my lady," another guard began. Platinum held up a hand to silence him.

"I will be okay," she said, putting a bit more force into her tone. "I do not require assistance or protection for this trip. I will not be going far."

"… Yes, my lady," the guards said reluctantly. "But please return quickly."

Platinum didn't reply and simply headed outside. Once she left the front gate, she sent out her Rapidash and hopped on, and embraced her Glaceon as it hopped onto her lap again. The Rapidash began to move once its trainer was comfortably seated.

Once she was sufficiently far away from the mansion, Platinum let out a sigh. It was nice to be outside again, and away from the army of servants and maids who were sometimes so… well… stuffy that it was frustrating to be around them. And must they follow the orders to the letter, and without using any common sense?

She had ordered the maids and servants to gather at least 10 books every day for her daily reading sessions. She did not say exactly 10. So if there was a 10 book series, then all 10 should make it onto the daily reading stack, along with whatever else was also chosen, if necessary.

And for Glaceon's snacks, Platinum had given the order to get her Pokémon's favorite snack. But if that brand was unavailable for whatever reason, then any other brand would've sufficed. That would've certainly been better than nothing.

'Frustrating…' she thought with another sigh.

She forced herself to lighten her mood, and looked off into the distance. The weather was beautiful today, which certainly helped ease her frustrations. And getting to travel, no matter how short the trip, was always nice in her opinion.

Platinum glanced around as she had no idea where she was supposed to be going. Where would she be able to purchase Pokémon snacks? She didn't recall seeing such products in the Pokémart or Pokémon Center of Sandgem Town. … Maybe the shopping complex in Jubilife City? Jubilife was a big city, and a hub of activity in the western half of Sinnoh. It stood to reason that the shopping complex there would have what she needed.

After a brief moment of thought, she proceeded to order her Rapidash to head to the bus stop near the Pokémon Center, but stopped mid sentence. She smiled and lightly shook her head. … Force of habit. She didn't need to ride her Rapidash to reach the bus stop to go to Jubilife City.

Platinum hopped off and returned both of her Pokémon to their Pokéballs. She took out another one from her bag and tossed it in the air, sending out her Altaria. She carefully climbed onto her new Pokémon, gave it a gentle pet, and hung on as it flew into the air. Platinum cast a glance at the ground far below her, and gripped her Altaria a little tighter. These flights were always harrowing at first. She supposed that she would get used to it after a while, like all the other Dex Holders with aerial transport Pokémon. Platinum forced herself to relax a bit and gave the order to fly to Jubilife City.

…

Jubilife City, 1:30 pm…

…

Platinum let out a short sigh of relief as her Altaria landed near the Jubilife Mall. She got off the Altaria and took a moment to relax as she straightened out her hair and clothes, before giving her Altaria a gentle embrace and then returned it to its Pokéball.

She then looked at the shopping complex known as a mall. It wasn't really a department store like the one in Veilstone, but rather a collection of a ton of other stores. Platinum had always wanted to explore inside one, but never had the chance. Now's her chance, though!

Platinum cast one last glance at the mall's exterior before heading for the entrance. The automatic doors parted ways, allowing her to step inside. And the moment she stepped into the mall and out of the entrance area, she paused in her steps, taken aback by the sheer number of people traversing around. And there were a lot more stores crammed into the complex than she had imagined.

Platinum glanced left and right at the array of shops on the ground floor. She then looked up a bit to see glimpses of the arrays of shops on the second floor. She looked up even more to get a smaller glimpse of the array of shops on the third floor. … And was that a fourth floor? Platinum looked at her Pokétch. … Exploring this place was going to take some time.

…

Pearl stepped out of the bargain store and fished out a piece of paper from his pocket. He looked at the list of items he was here to purchase, and mentally crossed out the item he had just bought. Now he just had a small handful left and after getting a bite to eat, he could head on home. Fortunately, he didn't have to carry too many bags, as he wasn't really buying a lot of big and heavy stuff.

The next item on the list was socks. A lot of the current socks had started to wear out, and the holes were growing in size to the point of no return. There would be no repairing those socks. He had kept them because no one would be able to really see the holes anyways, but now it was getting annoying. Time for new ones.

The clothing store wasn't too far away, so he was able to purchase a couple of pairs of socks within a couple of minutes. He took out his list again and mentally crossed out the socks. So far so good. He liked this shopping efficiency. Go in, buy the item, get out. No hassle, no wasting time looking at a ton of stuff he wasn't going to purchase, no buying unnecessary stuff either.

The next item on the list was duct tape, and other standard issue adhesive tapes. He could probably find those in the "200ville" store, where most items were 200 PKD or less. … Or at least they used to be, many years ago. Now the prices reached up to 1000 PKD. Shame.

Pearl started to make his way towards the store, and as he passed the escalator leading downstairs, cast an absent-minded glance past the railing. He immediately did a double-take as he caught a glimpse of something familiar. Someone familiar, to be more specific.

He scanned the floor below and a girl soon came to his attention. A soft white hat, long dark hair, black rimmed glasses, long red scarf, a Mega Ring, black stockings, and pink boots. … Undoubtedly, he was looking at Platinum Berlitz. … But here?

Pearl briefly wondered if he should go talk to her right now, or wait until he had bought everything from the list. He did a mental coin toss, and decided to go talk to her right now. After all, as he just realized, he hadn't seen her in a surprisingly long time. Platinum had been busy with research, family duties, and even journeying across the other regions with the junior Dex Holders, such as White and Y. So the last time Pearl had seen her in person was many months ago. And honestly, he missed her quite a lot.

Pearl took the escalator downstairs, while keeping an eye on Platinum. The heiress wasn't looking in his direction, so she hadn't spotted him. She looked a little preoccupied and even a bit overwhelmed. Pearl glanced all around the girl. Was she here with Diamond or someone else? He doubted that she would come here all by herself, but from the looks of it, she seemed to be all alone.

Pearl soon stepped off of the escalator and suddenly wondered how he should approach Platinum. She didn't seem to be paying attention to her surroundings. So he could approach her from behind without being detected and then surprise her. Or he could simply call her as he got close.

As he approached, he could tell that Platinum was currently very uncomfortable, being around so many strangers who were constantly walking very close to her as they went about their business. So surprising her was likely to get a bad reaction, and not be appreciated as a joke. So he should just call her when he got close.

"Miss Lady?" Pearl called out once he was sufficiently close.

Platinum perked up at the familiar voice and call name and looked in the direction of the voice. It only took her a moment to spot her friend and immediately smiled brightly at him.

"Hello, Pearl," she said happily as she walked towards him. "This is certainly a pleasant surprise. I did not expect to see you here. But I am very glad to see you again. It has been too long."

Pearl smiled back. "Likewise, Miss Lady. It really has been too long." He cast a glance around him again. "I really didn't expect to see you. I mean, what brings the heiress of the Berlitz Mansion to a common shopping mall? And all by herself?" he asked jokingly.

Platinum smiled a bit at his question, and adjusted her tone to sound purposely very haughty as a response to Pearl's joking tone. "I am here to purchase a snack for my Glaceon. There was a slight mishap and the maid who was sent to Veilstone City a few days ago failed to procure the snack. And I am here in this common shopping mall personally, as you put it, to better show my affection to my Pokémon and I wished to shop somewhere close." She suddenly smiled rather slyly and tilted her head a bit. "And I am not exactly alone. I am not permitted to enter a populated public facility all alone. For security, there are two guards accompanying me, but from a distance for subtlety." She leaned close towards him and whispered. "They are probably observing your every movement as we speak, trying to determine if you are a threat or not. Which means, if I were to act accordingly…"

Pearl gulped and glanced around, but slowly to avoid arousing suspicion. "Uh… are they the… Berlitz Mansion shadow guards you've told me about?"

Platinum giggled a bit. "Do not fear, Pearl. I was merely jesting. The shadow guards are not accompanying me here today. A few guards wished to follow, but I have convinced them to stay at the mansion. And by now, everyone in the mansion knows about you and Diamond and that you are trustworthy."

Pearl let out a silent sigh of relief, and looked at Platinum in surprise, as he didn't expect her to make a joke like this, that involved some aspect of her family/mansion, even purposely faking a haughty tone. He didn't ever recall hearing her make a joke either, come to think of it. … Maybe that's because he hadn't talked to her in so long?

He cast a quick glance at her hands and noticed that she wasn't carrying any shopping bags. So she hadn't purchased what she was here for yet. … And looking at the store right next to her, she wasn't in the right place either. Maybe she was just exploring around right now?

"So Miss Lady, did you buy the snack yet?" he asked, though he knew the answer.

Platinum shook her head. "No. I admit I am a little lost. I am not quite sure where I should go to purchase the snack. Could you assist me?"

"Sure thing."

Pearl led Platinum towards the ground floor, towards the store that sold Pokémon snacks. But he chose a store that wasn't too crowded, for Platinum's sake. He groaned inwardly as Platinum did the exact opposite of his preferred shopping "style" of going in, making the purchase, and leaving. The heiress went into the store with him, and then proceeded to spend a tremendous amount of time examining various products and comparing every little detail between them. Then again, he knew that she liked to be thorough. And she certainly wouldn't hold back in trying to show her affection to her new Pokémon.

Platinum suddenly looked up from reading the product information and glanced over at Pearl. Upon seeing his rather bored expression, she caught on that she was pretty much forcing him to waste time, accompanying her here and waiting for her. She quickly decided and made the purchase. She wasn't sure if it was the best one for her Glaceon, but she probably shouldn't be wasting any more time.

"I am so sorry for pulling you into this, Pearl," she said with an apologetic smile. "But thank you so much for waiting and for your assistance. I greatly appreciate it."

Pearl seemed to snap out of his thoughts and quickly managed his expression. "Oh, no problem, Miss Lady." He checked his Pokétch for the time. "I think it's time to go get lunch. I was going to get something to eat before going home. Want to join me?"

Platinum thought for a second. "The guards requested that I return as quickly as possible, but surely there is no harm for eating lunch with a friend?" She nodded and smiled. "I will gladly join you, Pearl. Thank you for the offer. Please lead the way. But where will we be eating?"

"Right here in the mall, of course," Pearl said. "The food court!" He quickly realized that he should've offered to take her to a proper restaurant instead, given her status. Surely she thought that eating at a food court in a mall to be too… common?

Platinum slightly tilted her head. But to his surprise, she soon smiled and nodded. "I look forward to it. I have never been to one before, after all."

…

Platinum looked at the array of "restaurants" lined up in the food court, momentarily confused at the setup. She had never been to a food court, or a fast food restaurant. And here in the food court were all sorts of fast food stalls. … There were no seats in the "restaurants" as well, and instead, there was a large seating area in the center of the court. Were the customers supposed to take their food and eat there? Interesting…

"So Miss Lady, what do you want to eat?" Pearl asked.

"… It is difficult to make a choice," Platinum answered.

"Not the kind of places you're used to, huh?"

Platinum smiled. "Yes… I suppose I will simply follow you, then."

"All right." Pearl scanned the restaurant options and was about to choose the cheapest one but stopped. … Platinum probably wouldn't really appreciate a super cheap fast food place. So instead, Pearl opted for a slightly expensive place that was closer to the proper restaurants that Platinum was used to.

As he waited in line, he was suddenly aware of how his decisions today were affected so much by Platinum's presence, despite the fact that she didn't say anything about them. Upon seeing her, he decided to abort his quick shopping and accompany her. Sure, it didn't feel right to pretend to not have seen her or even leave her alone in a clearly uncomfortable position, but there was something more. He could have done his own shopping while Platinum was meticulously looking at the product details for her Pokémon snack. But instead, he had chosen to stay in the shop with her, doing absolutely nothing while waiting for her. And now, here he was, waiting in line at a restaurant he had no intention of going to initially, because he felt that Platinum wouldn't really like what he was originally going to pick. Platinum certainly had not asked him to accompany her. She had asked for help, but not for him to stay with her the whole time. And she certainly did not ask him to pick a place that she would like. … Interesting…

Before too long, Pearl was able to reach the cashier to make the order. Platinum stood next to him, still studying the menu portrayed above the cashier as she had been for the whole time she was waiting in line.

"Do you want something in particular?" Pearl asked.

Platinum shook her head. "No. I will simply follow your recommendations."

"Okay. In that case, I think number 3 there would be good. What do you think?"

Platinum looked at the 3rd option displayed, and nodded. Pearl made the order and immediately grimaced a bit as he stared at the cost displayed on the cashier screen.

"Huh. I wasn't expecting to spend this much. I don't think I brought enough money with me," Pearl said as he stared at the number. "Looks like I won't be able to buy the rest of what I came here for today. Oh well."

Platinum glanced at the display and smirked. "Hmph. Pocket change," she said rather smugly. She frowned as she realized how haughty she sounded and quickly thought about what she could say next to change the mood.

"I'm sure it is, Miss Lady," Pearl agreed with a slight chuckle.

Platinum eased her expression and let out a short sigh. "Y has told me that I am actually lying whenever I say that."

"Huh? How so?"

"She was intrigued by exactly how much I carried in my pockets, and has investigated. And she has concluded that I actually do not carry any change, thus by definition, I do not have pocket change."

"… Huh. I guess that makes sense."

Platinum slowly shook her head and reached into her bag to withdraw her wallet. "Anyways, it is my fault that you have insufficient funds to purchase all that you have come here for. As such, I will pay for this meal."

"But that's not necessary," Pearl started, but Platinum simply smiled at him.

"And besides, this is the least I can do to repay you for your assistance and accompanying me today."

Pearl felt a sheepish smile creeping up on his face. He scratched at his cheek and slowly nodded. '… She really changed a lot…'

The two Dex Holders soon got their food and sat at an empty table so they could eat. While eating, Pearl occasionally glanced at Platinum's expression to gauge her reaction to her food. She seemed to be genuinely enjoying it, even though its quality was probably far lower than what she was accustomed to. And again, he found her reaction surprising. He had expected her to express disdain about the quality and the lack of service.

But so far, she hadn't said or done anything that reminded him that she was a spoiled heiress, like she was many years ago. Pearl smirked a bit. Maybe his view of her was greatly outdated and needed an update. Somewhere inside, he still considered her to be spoiled, and expected her to react as much. And clearly, that was no longer true.

…

After finishing their meal and talking for about half an hour, Platinum received a message from her mansion, requesting her presence as soon as possible. She lightly sighed at the message, but had no choice but to comply.

"I am afraid I will have to cut our time here short," she said with an apologetic smile.

"Oh, it's no problem," Pearl said quickly.

Platinum smiled warmly. "I really had fun today, Pearl. I really enjoyed spending time with you. It has occurred to me that I have not seen you in recent months. I would greatly prefer seeing you much more frequently."

Pearl smiled sheepishly. "Yeah. Me too. We should really do this kind of thing more often. If you have time, of course."

Platinum's expression brightened a bit. "I will be busy tomorrow, but I will be available the day after. If you are able, perhaps you can visit me?"

"I'd love to. And we'll figure out what we want to do then."

Platinum slightly tilted her head thoughtfully. "I do have an idea of what we can do together. But I will have to consider it more deeply. I will know for sure by the end of tomorrow."

Soon, the two Dex Holders left the food court. Pearl still had more shopping he had to do, but he accompanied Platinum outside and watched as she sent out her Altaria and climbed on.

Platinum waved happily at him and he sheepishly waved back. The Altaria soon lifted off and flew towards Sandgem Town.

Pearl kept waving at Platinum and she waved back as she flew off into the distance. She soon became a tiny dot in the distance, but Pearl kept waving, as he suddenly felt a deep pang of longing. … He wanted to be with her longer. He wanted to see her more. He slowly lowered his arm and stared off into the direction she had gone.

… She kept lingering in his mind, though. The image of her beautiful smile stayed in his vision, and her cute giggles echoed around his ears. … Odd, since this never happened before. Pearl had known Platinum for 7 years now, and had seen her smile and heard her giggling a lot over the years. But his mind never lingered on them before.

… Maybe it was because when he first met her all those years ago, he found her very irritable. She was annoying at times, and very much so. It took weeks before she started warming up to him and Diamond, and be like an actual friend instead of some snobby heiress. And since then, she had become an irreplaceable friend who only had traces of her former self.

But for whatever reason today, the 19 year old heiress seemed like a completely different person in a wonderful way. She was gorgeous, kindhearted, very intelligent, and very…

Pearl blinked as he pondered about his last thought. … Well, to be fair, Platinum was always gorgeous. But he never thought about it back then probably because of his initial dislike of her icy personality. Maybe he chose to put off all thoughts about her until she had warmed up enough and her apparent coldness disappeared. And over the years, as she warmed up and her heart defrosted, he sort of… forgot or didn't notice because of her gradual transition.

And now, after months of absence, he was suddenly seeing Platinum for how she was now: completely defrosted. She had matured greatly, both physically and mentally. She was very gorgeous and attractive. And kindhearted and caring. And even more intelligent than ever. And all in all, she was…

"Perfect…" Pearl muttered with a faint smile. She was now perfect… for him. "I'll see you again soon, Miss Lady. … Real soon, I hope…"

And so ends the first chapter. I hope you liked it! Please remember to review after reading. Your reviews keep the stories going and promote faster updates!