Now that the Intermission scenes are all out of the way, nothing will stall SA anymore!
And here is the chapter that was originally one chapter along with SA #032: Priority Shift.
Chapter 33: Home Field Advantage
August 22, Pallet Town, 2 pm…
Platinum kept walking. She didn't look back and just kept walking straight as fast as she could manage. She didn't know what else she could do. Her mind was filled with so many thoughts, she couldn't focus on anything. She needed time to calm down and sort out the chaos.
… Diamond loved her? … Diamond loved her? All this time she knew him… he loved her?
'He loves me? … How could that be possible? I thought he was a good friend… but does this mean he did not think of me as a friend? … Was he only being nice to me because he loved me? But… does that mean he will no longer be nice to me if he does not love me?' Platinum pressed her hands onto her temples and shook her head. But she couldn't fight off the waves of panicked thoughts. 'Does this mean everyone who was being nice to me also love me? … Pearl? … Senior Red? … … Senior Sapphire? N – No! No! This is insane! Irrational! But… how do I know? Why did I not realize that Diamond loved me? Was I blind? Or do everyone really love me? And who do I love? What is love? Do I love everyone who I care about? Ah, this is all so illogical and crazy… I – I need help!'
Platinum soon arrived back at the lab. Before she opened the door, she looked back at where Diamond had taken her. She felt so sorry for him… for walking out on him like that. But she really had no clue what to do or say in her current situation. She panicked. And now she broke his heart. But surely that broken heart could be easily mended together, right?
"Oh, I am such an idiot," the heiress muttered as she hit her head against the door. Or she tried to, but her RLS system repelled the hit. Sometimes, that shield system was really inconvenient.
The heiress entered the lab and quickly isolated herself to a dark room. Okay, she needed to discuss this issue with someone. Someone who knows about love and has some experience with it. Because she couldn't make heads or tails of this situation by herself. Blue was obviously the best candidate, but she was gone.
Preferably, she should get help from a female Dex Holder. With Blue and White dead, there weren't exactly a lot of options.
Platinum sighed and pressed her hands against her temples again. Her fingers were icy cold now from anxiety and sheer panic. Her toes were probably in the same state, but currently, her nervous system seemed to be out of whack. This all felt like a dream… The world felt like it was spinning… which it kind of was, physically. She felt dizzy. So dizzy. And her vision was starting to blur. She shook her head to try to make her vision perfectly clear. But it didn't really help.
Again, the heiress shook her head and forced herself to leave the dark room. She stumbled forward, not knowing who exactly she should talk to.
Before she realized what was happening, she found Crystal through the windows. The Johto Dex Holder was still seated on her wheelchair, staring at the horizon. Platinum looked at her for a second before she made her way towards her. In her panicked mind, she came to the conclusion that Crystal would be the most helpful, as she was experienced with love.
Crystal snapped out of her thoughts when she heard someone approach. She looked to her left and spotted Platinum walking/staggering towards her. With a sigh, the Johto Dex Holder signaled Emerald to turn the wheelchair so that she could face the heiress.
"What do you want, Platinum?" she asked the moment the heiress came close.
"Senior Crystal, I… really need help."
"What is it?"
Platinum took a few deep breaths before speaking. "Diamond… said he loves me. I… I really do not know what to make of it, senior. How do you know if you are in love? And how do you know tell the difference between someone who loves you and someone who simply likes you as a friend?"
Crystal simply stared at her junior in disbelief. Now even Platinum was going to rub it in her face? First Green, now Platinum. Who's next? Red?
Her stare rapidly changed into a glare as she gritted her teeth. Platinum realized her mistake when Crystal started to tremble in anger.
"How dare you…" she muttered out, her good fist turning pale from being clenched so hard.
"Ah, s – senior, I am so terribly sorry," Platinum quickly stammered out. "I – I did not intend to-"
Crystal didn't let her continue. "You dare remind me of him too? Oh, you're loved by Diamond? Good for you! You don't have to rub it in my face, damn it!"
"S – Senior…"
"Shut up! So what the hell are you doing here, huh? You want some tips on possible date locations? Well guess what? I don't care! Just take him and get out of my sight!"
"Senior, I… I…" Platinum couldn't continue as Crystal maintained her deadly glare. The heiress trembled in terror as she slightly backed away from the infuriated Johto Dex Holder.
"Well? Get lost!" Crystal screamed out again. Platinum remained frozen, so she threw Gold's billiard cue at her, which harmlessly bounced off the RLS system. "GET LOST!"
Platinum quickly bowed to her senior and fled, making sure to avoid looking in her direction at all. Crystal maintained her glare at Platinum until she scurried away back into the lab. Only then did she let out a long frustrated sigh.
"Damn it…"
Emerald quietly picked up Gold's billiard cue with his Magic Hand Extensor and held it in front of Crystal. The girl stared at the cue as tears welled in her eyes.
"Damn it, Gold…" she muttered. "Look what you made me become…" She closed her eyes and could see Platinum's terrified expression. For the first time since the two girls have met, the heiress was actually afraid of her. And it was because of irrational anger. "Damn it… Platinum, I'm so sorry…" Crystal took Gold's billiard cue and stared at it. "Gold… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry… but… I have to move on… This… this can't continue."
Crystal ordered Emerald to push her wheelchair towards Gold's grave in the backyard of the lab. When she arrived, she forced herself off of the wheelchair for the first time in days and approached the grave. She stared at the billiard cue with tears in her eyes. With a long sigh, she kissed the billiard cue and carefully placed it in front of the grave before returning to her seat. Just like Red said, she had to move on. At least for the duration of the final battle.
Crystal looked down in shame. Red had talked to her about this already. And she was acting like this again. She wasn't the only one experiencing a loss. But she was the only one moping about it all day long. Well, she didn't want to, but she kept getting reminded of Gold's death and she kept reacting badly. The Kanto champion said that she was being cold to her juniors now. And it was true. Platinum had come to ask her for help and she screamed at her to go away. And she couldn't believe it.
She knew she had to apologize to Platinum. Definitely. But first, there was a more pressing issue. Someone else she had to comfort first.
"Emerald," Crystal started. "I'm sorry for how I've been acting. I know I've been cold to you too. And I'm sorry. I promise I'll change from this point on."
"It's okay," the Hoenn Dex Holder said. "No matter what happens, you know I'll help you."
"Thanks, Emerald." Crystal let out a long sigh. Now to move on to the real pressing issue. "… Emerald, take me to Green right now. What we're going through… this can't continue."
Emerald obeyed the order and gently pushed Crystal's wheelchair once more. Crystal kept her eyes closed for the ride. She had to think about what she was going to say and how she was going to approach this problem. Whether she succeeded in her plan or not would determine how well the Dex Holders fared in the final battle, so she had to make sure she successfully calmed Green. At all costs.
Meanwhile, Platinum kept running. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe she was so stupid. Of course Crystal was going to react badly… She quickly ran back into the dark room and locked herself in. With a groan, she sat down on the floor and leaned against the door, with her hands pressed against her temples. The heiress berated herself for being stupid and sincerely hoped that Crystal would calm down on her own. Until then, Platinum was going to remain hiding in the dark room.
The outside world was certainly scary. And she kept making these mistakes. When Platinum first met her seniors in Red's birthday party, she made a series of mistakes that made her want to go back home and hide. And now, exactly two weeks later, here she was again, hiding in yet another dark room, trying her absolute best to avoid Crystal, Diamond, and Pearl.
…
Next day, August 23, 9 am…
…
Platinum woke up from her sleep and immediately noticed that she was still seated right in front of the door to her hiding place. It seemed that she had fallen asleep while trying to sort out the chaos in her mind… somehow. She checked her Pokégear. There were no messages.
She rose to her feet and carefully opened the door. She peeked out first to make sure no one was nearby before making her way outside. Hopefully Crystal had calmed down by now. If not, Platinum would avoid her like she was avoiding Diamond and Pearl. She probably had to avoid Emerald too, as he was always in close proximity to Crystal.
Platinum exited the lab as quietly as she could manage. She still needed help with her problem. And right now, there was only one person she felt comfortable talking to.
Within a couple of minutes, the heiress stood in front of Red's house. Finding the house wasn't really a problem. All she had to do was look for the house that had a massive Legendary Pokémon perched right outside, staring at the sky with unblinking eyes. The Lugia sensed her approaching and looked down at her. The heiress gave it a friendly wave and hoped that she didn't offend it. The Diving Pokémon looked back up at the sky, and Platinum was able to reach the front door. After a couple of deep breaths to calm herself down, she knocked on the door, hoping that the Kanto champion was awake. If not, she'll wait an hour before trying again. To her surprise, the door opened and Yellow appeared in the doorway.
"Hi, Platinum," she said with a warm smile.
Platinum bowed. "Good morning, senior Yellow. May I come in?"
"Of course."
Inside, Platinum spotted Red sitting at the dinner table, drinking a glass of water while staring at a sheet of paper. The Kanto champion looked up and gave the heiress a warm smile.
"Hey, Platinum. What's up?"
The girl bowed again and sat at an empty seat. "Senior… I came because I need your help."
"What is it?"
Platinum sighed and took another couple of deep breaths. "… Diamond… came to me yesterday and said that he… loved me."
"That's great," Yellow said happily. "So, what did you say to him?"
Platinum looked down in shame. "I… I did not say anything. I panicked and… left."
"… Oh…"
The heiress risked a glance at Red and Yellow. The two Kanto Dex Holders appeared to be sympathetic, not angry.
"I panicked because… I did not anticipate what he said. I thought he was a good friend, and I wondered if he was only nice to me because he loved me. And… I wondered if everyone who was nice to me also loved me. Pearl came to mind… and… you, senior Red."
Red blinked a couple of times. "I… see…"
"… Senior Red, senior Yellow, … how do you know if you love someone? And how can you tell the difference between someone who loves you and someone who simply likes you as a friend?"
"You're asking the wrong guy for that second question. I didn't even know Yellow loved me and I knew her for 10 years."
Yellow smiled and put a hand on Platinum's shoulder. "It's not that complicated, really."
Platinum looked up at Yellow, quite comforted by the Kanto Dex Holder's warm smile. She listened attentively as Yellow began to explain.
…
An hour later…
…
Yellow trailed off when Lugia outside the house let out an earth-shaking screech. She quickly looked through the window. The Diving Pokémon turned to look at her.
"It's time," Yellow said.
Red stood up. "Well then, let's alert the others." He glanced at Platinum. "You feeling okay now?"
The heiress nodded. "Yes, senior. Thank you."
…
All 10 Dex Holders gathered in Prof. Oak's lab once more. Platinum avoided looking in Diamond, Pearl, or Crystal's directions at all costs and kept her eyes on the floor. Red sat beside her, acting as a visual barricade of sorts that hid the heiress from the Dex Holders she was trying to avoid.
"What's the point of entry?" Green asked.
"Lugia says Arceus's energy has been detected near the quarantined Solaceon Town of Sinnoh," Yellow answered. "I think it's possible that Storc intends to destroy the regions one at a time and move on."
"We'll stop her at Solaceon then," Green said. "Alright people, we're moving. But first, make sure you all have your headsets ready. The battle is going to be big and we'll need to be able to communicate with each other." He looked over at Crystal as he continued talking. "And Crystal, you'll take command for this battle."
Crystal almost jumped in surprise. A lot of the other Dex Holders looked surprised too.
"What? Why?" Crystal asked. "What about you?"
"I'm going into the battlefield," Green answered. "I need to fight alongside everyone else."
Crystal pushed her wheelchair by the wheels to approach Green. "Green… something tells me you're going to try to… join Blue in this battle."
Green didn't say anything as he stared at Crystal with his emotionless eyes. "… That's none of your concern."
"Please," Crystal said. "Don't do anything reckless. You're not responsible for her death. We all need you, Green. I need you. Please. You have to take command, or none of us might make it out alive."
Green stared at Crystal intently, but didn't immediately reply. The girl waited for his response, but she already knew that he was going to accept…
"Crystal," Green said abruptly. "You can't stop me."
… or not…
"… Huh?"
Green looked angry now. His eyes contained icy fury that no one had ever seen before. "You don't know what I'm going through. You think you know. But you don't. You think I'm like this just because Blue died? No… If I had nothing to do with her death, I wouldn't be like this." Green closed his eyes for a second before he continued his deadly glare. "None of you know that Blue and I had a fight the night before she died! She said to me, right there and then, that I wouldn't come to her rescue when she needed help. She said that I didn't care about her enough to save her in time. The next morning, when I went to save her, I received her fifth automated message 5 minutes before I found her body. Given her final message, Blue died just 3 minutes before that fifth message was sent to me. I got to her less than 10 minutes too late. And you think you know how I feel?"
"Green… I…" Crystal began. "… You didn't tell me this yesterday…"
"Because you didn't need to know. But you keep telling me that I couldn't have stopped Blue's death. You keep telling me I need to stay rational." Green let out a frustrated sigh before glaring at Crystal. "But look how you've been acting! Sure, Gold might have sacrificed himself because of what he did to you, but Blue died because of what I did to her! So don't you dare try to tell me what I should or should not feel, or what I can or cannot do in this fight! You're in command of everyone else! Deal with it!"
None of the other Dex Holders said anything. Or even budge. Only an uncomfortable silence filled the lab, as no one has ever heard the Viridian Gym Leader yell like that. Not even Red, who knew him longer than anyone else. Green let out a long sigh and quickly calmed his anger. He put a hand on Crystal's shoulder in an effort to get her to relax. She was still completely frozen up, though, and was barely breathing out of sheer terror and surprise.
"… You'll do fine. It's for your own good. You can't physically fight this battle. And you have to get used to taking command some day."
Green glanced at the other Dex Holders before headed outside. The others followed him one by one, but very slowly.
"And that," Red started. "Is why I told you to watch your own behavior, Crys."
He let out a short sigh before he slowly left the lab. Yellow and Platinum followed him, with the former casting a worried glance at Crystal. Emerald was the only Dex Holder to not leave. He approached Crystal and put his hands on her shoulders.
Crystal buried her face into her hands as she thought about her actions yet again. "… I can't believe it… all this time…"
"Are you okay?"
Crystal sighed and slowly pulled her face from her hands. "… There is only one thing I can do to get over this shame. Only one…" She looked over at Emerald. "… If I have to take command of everyone else, then I have to make sure everyone survives this. I owe them that. But it's impossible for me to come up with a full plan right now. So Emerald, during the battle, I want you to give me routine status updates. I need to know what's going on if I am to help everyone."
"No problem."
…
Outside, Platinum approached Red as the Kanto champion prepared to leave. Sapphire was there as well, as she had to talk to Red too.
"All right Sapphire, Platinum," Red started. "Are you ready to end this?"
The two girls looked at each other before nodding to Red. "Yes. We are."
"Good."
Sapphire spoke first. "Red, I want you to know… No matter what happens in that final battle…"
"It has been such an honor to fight alongside you," Platinum finished. "We are very proud and honored to be your juniors."
Red smiled and patted both of them on the shoulder. "Don't talk as if we're all going to die, though."
"Even if we die," Sapphire said. "We have no regrets. There's no shame in death while facing a big enemy in glorious battle."
"…"
Platinum looked serious though. "And senior… I would just like to thank you… for everything. And especially for stopping me from… killing myself several days ago. If you did not stop me, I would have been put to shame far more than I could imagine. My death would have been shameful then. But… if I were to die today, I will be able to do so proudly."
"No problem. … Now let's stop talking about death and dying. Let's just get going. We got some evil ass to kick."
…
An hour later, Solaceon Town, Sinnoh…
…
Crystal hesitated before she reached to everyone using her headset. She wasn't used to giving orders to everyone in battle, but as Green said, she had to get used to these things. And she also had to make up to everyone for acting the way she has for the past few days.
"Okay… Um… Yellow, you're on medic duty. Do you think you can handle that? I imagine it will be very difficult for you to use your powers so much."
"I'll be okay, Crystal."
"Okay. Um… Sapphire, you'll attack from the east. Ruby, from the west. Everyone else, if you can utilize Kyogre's Drizzle to your advantage, stay in the east side. If you can take advantage of Groudon's Drought, stay in the west. If you can't really use either, do precision strikes. Hit where the infected Unown cluster, because whatever Storc plans for them can't be good. Emerald, you're on recon and chaff duty. Pay close attention to that Darkrai Storc has, and more importantly, where it's aiming Dark Void. Neutralize that attack at all costs."
"Incoming!" Yellow yelled out.
The sky above Solaceon Town seemingly glowed white as a portal ripped into existence high above. A giant ball of infected Unown came through the portal, along with thousands of non-clustered infected Unown. At the very end, a Starmie floated through the portal, with Storc riding on top.
Storc seemed slightly surprised to see all the Dex Holders gathered, but didn't seem to be bothered by that fact.
"In one fell swoop," she muttered with a smile.
"All right! Prepare to fight!" Crystal said through the headsets.
The Dex Holders all took out their Ultra Balls and prepared for the battle when the skies started to distort. 3 more portals appeared around the controlled Arceus. The portal to its bottom left was blue, the one to its bottom right was pink, and the one on top was gray. The blue portal suddenly widened and a single Pokémon came out, glowing eerie dark blue as it hovered beside the controlled Arceus. The pink portal did the same and a Pokémon glowing dark pink appeared as well. The gray portal widened and another Pokémon came out, this one not glowing any color.
Storc laughed while the Dex Holders simply stared in shock. So it seemed that they had to face not only the controlled Arceus, but Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina as well. So that was why Arceus had to go into another dimension for all this time…
The final battle starts! … … Well, it has been approaching for some time. And I admit I've been stalling as much as possible. Can't stall anymore though, can I?
And if you want to see Crystal's talk with Green, go read SE #038: After Image. More or less the same.
Below is the alternate line I could've used this chapter for a bit of referencing/humor.
Alternate Lines:
"Slipspace signatures detected!" Yellow yelled out.
Crystal looked over at Yellow. "… What?"
Suddenly, the skies over Solaceon seemingly glowed white as a massive pulse of energy swept over the land, emanating from a single point of entry in the sky. The energy pulse was enough to knock all the Dex Holders to the ground and force some weakened buildings to collapse.
"What the hell just happened?!" Red asked as he coughed through the dust clouds.
"Slipspace rupture! It must've weakened the support rails!" Yellow answered.
"… The hell are you talking about?!"
Current Dex Holder KIA/MIA list: Blue, Gold, White.
This chapter was split from SA #032: Priority Shift because… well, because of Intermission Part 4. That thing had to come up at some point, and if it didn't pop up at the last chapter, there would have been no suitable alternatives. More explanations at the next chapter.