Category: SE


Chapter 11: The Other

Pallet Town, Professor Oak's research center…

"Oak, we have a problem!"

Surprised, Crystal turned to look at the picture phone. She could see Professor Rowan, looking rather alarmed.

"Hello, professor," the Johto Dex Holder said after a polite bow. "Professor Oak is currently busy. If you'd like, I could give him a mess-"

"This is an emergency. Get the professor on the line, quickly!" the elderly professor said.

"Yes sir."

Crystal quickly left to fetch the professor. She didn't know what this 'emergency' was, but she hoped that it wasn't world-threatening or serious. She remembered the last time when a professor contacted her due to an emergency. She remembered the emotional pain she went through upon hearing that her friends and seniors had been turned into stone…

She snapped out of her thoughts when she walked into a wall. She put a hand on her nose and groaned… she had never been lost in thought that deep, to not have noticed the wall right in front of her… She hoped that no one saw that…

"Uh… Crystal?" came Professor Oak's voice. "Are you okay?"

"Oh… yes, I'm perfectly fine," Crystal quickly replied, blushing in embarrassment. "Professor Rowan called. He said it was an emergency…"

Professor Oak quickly went to answer the phone while Crystal remained outside of the room. She figured that whatever the emergency was, it wasn't related to her. But to her horror, when the professor returned, he looked rather grave.

"Crystal, gather everyone."

Two hours later, all 15 Dex Holders were gathered in the main room of Professor Oak's lab. Before long, the professor entered, having contacted Professor Rowan once more.

"So, professor, what's up?" Red asked.

"First, let me tell you something," the professor started. "Platinum, this involves you."

"Me, professor?" the heiress asked, confused.

"Yes. The truth is, the Pokédex you have was… not supposed to go to you. The daughter of the television company in Sinnoh had contacted Professor Rowan and asked for a Pokédex. The professor knew that this girl was quite… greedy and arrogant, and overall, not suited to have the Pokédex. So he lied, saying that it was to be given to someone else. The girl demanded one anyways, and the professor was running out of excuses. Then, a week later, your father asked for the three Pokédexes, one for you and the others for your bodyguards. I'm sure you know more about what happened afterwards than I do."

"Yes, professor. Due to a misunderstanding, Diamond and Pearl received them instead."

"Now… shortly after the crisis on Mt. Coronet and the Battle Zone, this girl… I think her name was… Violet, was it? Anyways, she went to Professor Rowan and eventually found out that you 'snatched' her Pokédex. Though she fell ill shortly after then forgot about the Pokédex incident afterwards, she now remembers it and is coming here to take back what was supposed to be hers."

"What? The Pokédex is now Platinum's. The other girl has no right to demand it," Gold said, crossing his arms.

"Yes, well… Professor Rowan and I can't handle this girl… she's way too demanding and aggressive. I think the only way to get her to change her mind is… either to show her how dangerous it is to be a Dex Holder, or to have Platinum compete with her to see who will receive the Pokédex. The choice, I leave up to all of you."

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Professor Oak jumped in surprise.

"That's probably her! She can't see me here! Crystal, distract her!"

Crystal simply looked at the professor as he scurried away to hide somewhere. After a short sigh, she went over to the door and opened it. She could see a younger girl with long yellow hair and green eyes.

"Can I help you?" Crystal asked with a smile.

The other heiress simply walked past her, not even acknowledging Crystal's presence.

"You, Berlitz!" she yelled the moment she saw Platinum. She quickly stormed towards her and without warning, slapped her across the face. "Give me my Pokédex back!"

Platinum looked shocked as she put a hand on her cheek. She looked at her seniors, wondering what to do. Crystal narrowed her eyes while Red and Gold looked back and forth between the two heiresses. Sapphire rose to her feet and simply threw the other heiress backwards.

"Platinum, are you okay?" she asked.

"How dare you!" the other heiress screamed. However, none of the Dex Holders were paying any attention.

Platinum nodded as she rubbed her cheek. "Um… perhaps we should find another place to settle this dispute," she said quietly.

White rose to her feet. "I think I have the perfect solution!"

"What do you have in mind?" Blue asked. "If your solution involves a camera crew…"

"Of course it does!" White exclaimed. "We want a solution that'll have absolutely no conflicting arguments, right? We don't want both sides claiming they won. We want a perfectly clear decision. So, we'll have Platinum vs. … whatever your name was, to-"

"My name is Violet, you ignorant commoner!" the other heiress yelled angrily.

White ignored her. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. Anyways, we'll have the faceoff in a stadium filled with witnesses and have a total of 7 different competition categories. The first person to win 4 times will keep the Pokédex!"

"What are the categories?" Black asked.

White wrote the 7 categories on a sheet of paper and copied it on another. She then handed one sheet to Platinum and tossed the other to the other heiress. Platinum silently read the 7 categories but didn't look confident at all.

"I do not think I can win in any of these categories," she muttered sadly.

"That's because you're a worthless imbecile!" the other heiress yelled.

White hesitated but Blue signaled her to continue. The president cleared her throat and continued.

"A – Anyways, I'll call it… The Duel of the Year, and have it broadcast in all the regions. It'll take place in a month, in Nimbasa City's small sports court. So until then, I suggest you prepare for the duel. I've given you the categories, so you'll know what to expect."

"Fine! I'll beat that worthless Berlitz in a second!" the other heiress yelled. She soon stormed out of the lab, leaving the Dex Holders to themselves.

The moment the door shut, Platinum's expression lightened significantly. "Now that she is gone, I must show my true thoughts. I do believe that I will win this duel quite easily."

White sighed in relief. "Oh, so you were only acting. Good. I thought I made the categories way too hard for you…"

Platinum rose to her feet and looked at her seniors. "Seniors, may I ask for your assistance? I believe that I will need assistance in preparing for some of the categories and practicing on the others."

"Of course we'll help," Red said. He walked up to Platinum and took the sheet with the categories. He walked up to a chalkboard on the wall and wrote the 7 categories.

Blue looked at the chalkboard and whistled in amazement. "Wow. Those are some… interesting categories. A wide variety…" She walked up to the chalkboard. "Alright… for the Battle, I'm sure Red and Green's help would be more than enough. For Trivia… I guess you don't really need any help, Platinum. But just to be sure, Emerald and Black will help you with that. Chess Game… Crys and I will take that one. 100 Meter Dash… Sapphire and Pearl can cover that one. Pokémon Super Contest… Ruby and White, of course."

"Wait, why me for the Contest?" White asked.

"Because a Super Contest is more or less the same as the Pokémon Musical, which you created," Blue replied. "Next… Self Defense? Oh… fencing, and… really, White? Hand-to-hand combat?"

"With protective gear, of course," the president replied.

Blue shook her head. "Whatever… Gold and Silver can handle those. Which means the last category of… Cooking, will be left to Yellow and Dia. Alright then! Let's get the preparations started!"

Red and Green approached Platinum. "Come with us," Red said. "We'll make sure that you win against that other girl in exactly one hit."

Platinum gladly followed her two seniors while White began making arrangements for the Duel of the Year

One month later, Nimbasa City, Unova…

The small stadium was packed with people attending the Duel of the Year. There was a total of 5000 registered people, 1000 from each of the regions. They were all eager to witness the event, and as advertised by White, two people who successfully guessed the winner of each category will receive a reward, namely a fully paid tour around any three regions.

In the center of the stadium, the 13 Dex Holders were seated in front of the two competitors while White stood between them with a microphone on one hand and the sought-after Pokédex in the other. While the president delivered the sponsor messages and all sorts of live-event related business, Platinum took a deep shuddering breath. She had never been so nervous before… But with the help of her seniors, she knew she was going to win.

"Alright! Let's get the Duel of the Year started!" White yelled through the microphone. "Give us the first category!" she yelled as she pointed at the large screen on the back wall of the stadium. The BW Agency staff in the backstage randomly selected one of the categories and projected the results onto the screen. "Ah! The 100 Meter Dash!"

Some of the BW Agency staff quickly prepared for the 100 Meter Dash. Before long, Platinum and Violet both were standing in front of a long painted line that was exactly 100 meters long. The winner would be determined by whoever reaches the finish line first.

The two heiresses prepared for the run as the audience began voting for the expected winner. The vote's results appeared on the screen next to the one that currently showed the duel category. Platinum was rather shocked to see that roughly 85% of the people thought that she was going to lose. Then again, it wasn't that surprising. Platinum knew that she wasn't fast. Even though Sapphire and Pearl have tried their best, she didn't get much faster. She tried the same 'running' method as Sapphire and almost broke her arm as a result.

Soon, White gave the two heiresses the signal to go. In that instant, the two heiresses began their full powered sprint. Platinum clenched her teeth as she ran. She could see that the other heiress was slightly ahead. Platinum shut her eyes and ran as fast as she could. But just before the finish line, Violet 'accidentally' kicked Platinum in the ankle, forcing her to stumble and fall. No one would've been able to see, as Platinum was a bit too close to Violet while running.

A group of Dex Holders quickly rushed to Platinum's side the moment she hit the ground. The heiress clutched her injured ankle as she looked up at the scoreboard. It was now at 0:1 in Violet's favor.

"Can you walk?" Blue asked, snapping the heiress out of her thoughts.

"I – I think so," she muttered as she slowly tried to get to her feet. She managed to do so, but was unstable.

"Unfortunately for Platinum," White said through the microphone. "Violet is the winner of this round. Can we have our second category?"

Platinum carefully rotated her ankle as she looked at the category screen. To her surprise (and back luck), the next category was Self Defense…

"Oh… even more unfortunate for Platinum, the next category is Self Defense," White said. "The Self Defense category has two sections, fencing and hand-to-hand combat. The score will be determined by professional judges and whoever scores the highest total will win the round."

Violet smirked and walked towards her supporters so that she could wear the protective gear for fencing. Platinum limped towards the other Dex Holders for the same reason. The remaining audience (15% weren't allowed to vote as they voted for the wrong heiress in the first round. They were moved to the back of the stadium, under the various screens, still watching the event) started to vote. Again, a vast majority voted for Violet (91%).

Once the two heiresses were ready, White gave the signal for them to start. Platinum soon realized that swinging an indestructible billiard cue like a madman and properly using a (fake) rapier were… completely different. She was good, but it seemed that Violet was slightly better. Platinum clenched her teeth as her ankle started to throb. She saw an opening and thrust the rapier forward. But her bad ankle made her stumble, allowing Violet to get the winning strike instead.

The hand-to-hand combat (where first one to hit the ground loses) wasn't any different. Silver had taught her very well; Platinum had no trouble blocking all of Violet's attacks. But her injured ankle made it very difficult for her to retaliate. But she had to strike back, or she'd lose.

Platinum attempted an attack but stumbled forward once again. Violet took the opportunity and kicked her in the ribs as hard as possible. Even though the protective armor took most of the impact, the kick still hurt a lot. Platinum tried to regain balance but received a kick to the chest, pushing her backwards. Violet went to deliver another kick and at that instant, Platinum tripped and the kick ended up striking her head. The impact almost knocked her unconscious and she collapsed onto the ground.

The other Dex Holders quickly rushed to her side. Blue took the protective headgear off of her junior and tried to see if she had a concussion. Diamond and Pearl took the body armor off so that the heiress could breathe.

Platinum had tears in her eyes as she gasped for air. She managed to look over at the scoreboard which now read 0:2.

"Platinum, how many fingers am I holding up?" Red asked as he held up 3 fingers in front of his junior's face.

The heiress blinked and squinted. "Th – Three…"

"Platinum, I know it's very hard, but you have to continue," Blue said with a worried look. "If you're unable to continue now, you'll lose."

The heiress nodded and with the help of her seniors (and junior), slowly rose to her feet. She put a hand on her head to help ease the throbbing. White felt really bad for her senior, but had no choice but to continue.

The third category was Cooking, in which 83% of the remaining audience voted for Violet. Platinum found it very difficult to focus. Diamond had shown her just about every recipe he knew and helped her master them. Even Yellow helped here and there, despite her… not-so-great cooking skills. But Platinum couldn't remember any of them. She didn't even know what she was doing. By the time she recovered enough from the kick to the head to realize what was happening, the scoreboard was at 0:3.

The Dex Holders all rushed to Platinum's side. White temporarily abandoned her post as the MC and got a doctor from backstage. Platinum looked at her seniors with a frightened expression. She was one more loss away from losing her Pokédex.

"Platinum," Blue started in a worried tone. "Dex Holder or not, you'll always be our friend. And I think you should go to a hospital. I really think you have a concussion."

"N – No, senior," Platinum said, shaking her head. "I cannot lose…"

The other Dex Holders looked on with a worried look as the doctor ran some tests with Platinum. The result was that the heiress was suffering a minor concussion.

"Lady," Diamond said as he grabbed her hands. "Please… go with the doctor to a hospital."

"I will," Platinum said slowly. "But after I win." She looked at White with determination clearly visible on her face. "Junior White, please continue with the program."

"Are you sure?" White asked.

"Yes."

White hesitantly returned to her post as MC. She grabbed the microphone again and after a sigh, got the BW Agency staff in backstage to pick another random category. The fourth category was Trivia. Roughly 95% of the remaining people voted for Violet, as they believed that Platinum had no chance given her concussion.

The BW Agency staff on the stage set up for the Trivia category, game show style. Platinum sat on her seat but still appeared to have trouble focusing. Violet, knowing that she won, smirked and sat on the other side.

"The rules are simple," White said as she cast a worried glance at Platinum. "I will ask three questions. The first person to answer two correct is the winner."

"Just get on with it!" Violet yelled angrily. "Let's get this farce over with already!"

White took a deep breath. "Okay… here's the question: What is the signature Pokémon of the champion of Sinnoh, Cynthia?"

Before Platinum even blinked, Violet hit her buzzer.

"Garchomp," she answered.

"… Correct," White said after another worried glance at Platinum. "… Second question: What Pokémon can have the Ability Drought? List in numerical order."

Again, Violet hit the buzzer first. "Groudon. Only Groudon," she answered. Afterwards, she rose to her feet and walked towards White so that she could get 'her' Pokédex. "Now give me my Pokédex back!"

White grinned. "I'm sorry, but that answer is incorrect."

"What?!" Violet demanded.

Platinum hit her buzzer. "Vulpix, Ninetales, Groudon," she answered slowly.

"Correct!" White yelled. She looked at her senior and saw that her eyes were completely focused. Either the heiress had just snapped out completely, or the blank look during the first question was a ploy. "Here's the final question: Unova Pokédex has an entry for #000, namely Victini. What is Victini's unique Move?"

Violet simply stared at White, as she had never even heard of that Pokémon before. Platinum smiled. She recalled hearing about Victini from Black and White; the advantage of being a Dex Holder… Although the two Unova Dex Holders didn't see Victini's unique Move being used, Platinum had done some research with them and learned about it.

Platinum hit her buzzer. "I believe it is called Searing Shot," she answered calmly.

"Correct!" White yelled happily. The other Dex Holders cheered as well and the scoreboard changed to 1:3. Platinum walked towards the other Dex Holders and celebrated with them for a short moment.

The fifth category was Pokémon Super Contest. 90% of the remaining people (160 remaining out of 5000) voted for Platinum. This time, Platinum won without a shred of doubt. She remembered all the decorating tips she received from Ruby and the best way to appeal to audience from White. On the contrast, Violet was a little upset from the (what she viewed as) unfair and biased questions. As such, she wasn't able to decorate/dress her Pokémon properly, resulting in 9 of the 10 Contest judges choosing Platinum. The heiress smiled in relief as the scoreboard showed 2:3.

The sixth category was the Chess Game, leaving the Battle to be the very last. 80% of the audience voted for Violet, believing that Platinum's minor concussion would hinder her again. But it seemed that the experience Platinum gained from watching hundreds of games between her seniors and even challenging them (experience that was greatly boosted by direct training from Blue and Crystal) would not be hindered by the minor concussion.

Platinum even used her concussion to her advantage. She purposely gave openings in her formation, prompting Violet to attack. The game was projected onto the big screen and Blue could see what her junior was thinking.

The moment Violet attacked with her vehicles, she regret her decision. Platinum's elephant moved in and pinned it in position, rendering it harmless unless it went for a suicide attack to take out a pawn at best.

Violet gritted her teeth as the scoreboard soon turned to 3:3. But perhaps to her advantage, Platinum looked like she was struggling to stay in focus. A huge advantage for Violet… 26 of the 28 remaining people seemed to think so too. The other Dex Holders seemed to have the same thoughts and looked extremely worried, except for Red, Green, and Crystal.

"Lady seems to be suffering really bad," Diamond said in panic. "She won't be able to focus on the battle… She's going to lose… I can't believe it!"

"Don't worry," Red said calmly. "Platinum will win."

Crystal sighed. "She better…"

"How do you know?" Pearl asked.

"We just do," Green answered.

"Trust us. Platinum will not lose," Red said in an assuring tone. "In fact, with the help we gave her, she'll win within 5 seconds."

"Alright, let's get the final round started!" White yelled through the microphone. "Currently, we have 26 people who chose Violet to be the winner while 2 have chosen Platinum. If Violet wins, then we will draw 2 people at random for the winner of the prize! If Platinum wins, then the 2 people will be the winners! The final category is a Pokémon Battle. Both sides will only use one Pokémon, and they are not allowed to switch! Now, let's start the battle!"

Platinum sent out her Empoleon while Violet sent out Camerupt.

"I'm going to win this in a second, Berlitz!" Violet yelled. "Go, Fire Blast!"

Platinum forced her mind to focus. She pointed at the Camerupt and gave her Empoleon exactly one order. "Hydro Cannon!"

Violet screamed in anger and surprise as the Fire Blast was completely overwhelmed by the Ultimate Attack. The attack still had more than enough power to instantly knock out the Camerupt, despite its Solid Rock Ability. As Red claimed, Platinum had won the battle within 5 seconds. 3 seconds, in fact.

"Whoa!" Pearl muttered. "Miss Lady can use Hydro Cannon?"

"Yeah. We thought it was about time she learned the Ultimate Move," Red answered.

Crystal sighed. "I still don't see why I had to be her training partner for the 3 Paths…"

"Well, we weren't going to use Emerald or Dia. They can't run all that well," Red answered.

"What about you? Your starter Pokémon is Grass and you can run perfectly fine!" Crystal argued.

"I need to watch her train and make sure she's doing everything right. Green and I both needed to do that."

Crystal sighed again. "Whatever… at least it's over…"

"And there you have it!" White exclaimed in joy through the microphone. "Platinum wins! The score is 4:3! Platinum is the final winner! The Pokédex stays with her! For the remaining two people who chose correctly for all 7 rounds, please follow my assistants to the front desk of this stadium where you can claim your prize!"

The moment she finished, she put the microphone down and ran towards Platinum to check her condition. The heiress was currently crying into Diamond's shoulder, relieved that she would remain a Dex Holder. Violet seemed very angry, but with thousands of live witnesses and millions watching on all the regions, there was no way she could argue. She simply stormed away, leaving the Dex Holders to themselves.

"You did great, Platinum!" Blue said happily. "You never gave up even though you lost 3 rounds in a row. I'm so proud of you!"

"Yeah. Even with a concussion," Red added. "… Which you should get checked. Come, we're taking you to the nearest hospital."

Platinum nodded. She sighed in relief and wiped away the tears as her seniors and friends helped her towards the exit where an ambulance was waiting.

"I am really glad that I am still a Dex Holder," she said happily. "I am really proud and honored to be one of you, seniors…"


The whole duel thing was an actual event on one of the variety shows that I watch. Except in there, there were 9 rounds in total and the upset victory… wasn't there. The only category which I used from that duel (which was called the Duel of the Century, roughly translated) was the Trivia. And the whole duel isn't supposed to be funny. It wasn't in the actual variety show and it's not supposed to be here (unless I 'screwed up').

Note: by "Chess Game", I clearly didn't mean the chess game that involves a king and a queen. I meant the same game that appeared in some of the SE/SA chapters already.

Also note: V-Create is not Victini's unique move. Victini does not get V-Create on its own, as it is an Event Move. Rayquaza also gets V-Create via Event. As such, Victini's unique Move is Searing Shot. Similarly, Reshiram and Zekrom's unique Moves aren't Fusion Flare and Fusion Bolt, but Blue Flare and Bolt Strike respectively. Victini gets Fusion Flare and Fusion Bolt via Event, and Black and White Kyurem gets Fusion Bolt and Fusion Flare respectively via level up. Ignore this note if you don't know the mentioned Pokémon or Moves from BW and BW2.

Next up (non-DHC):
It's White's birthday and Platinum rented the entire Nimbasa City Amusement Park after its closing hours for the party. But something is definitely wrong…