Part 2 of the prologue, which focuses on the new developments for the Sinnoh Dex Holders. And by "Sinnoh Dex Holders", I just mean Platinum, since the other two already have full teams that won't be edited. As usual, I will assume that Platinum will return the 3 Pokémon in her team that belongs to the Sinnoh Gym Leaders, since the initial deal was to only borrow them for the Team Galactic incident.
Prologue – Sinnoh:
June 6, Twinleaf Town, Sinnoh, 8 pm…
"Thank you for inviting me to your birthday party," Platinum said with a bright smile as she stood outside of Pearl's house. "I had a wonderful time."
"Thanks for coming, Miss Lady," Pearl said with a smile as well.
"Sorry we had to go for a simple party," Diamond said. "But given our current situation, we couldn't really go for a fancy event."
"Yeah, I know," Pearl said.
"Current situation?" Platinum asked. "What do you mean?"
"Our resident chef Dia here is going to attend a few culinary classes held by some of the most famous chefs in Sinnoh," Pearl explained. "And the classes begin in just a few days, so there's not enough time for a big birthday event in some remote location."
"And Pearl here is going off to spend time with his dad in the Battle Frontier," Diamond said as well. "And he's leaving tomorrow, so again, no time for a party somewhere far away from Twinleaf."
Platinum glanced back and forth between both of her friends. "Both of you are busy this week?"
"Yeah," Diamond said. "Why?"
Platinum slightly lowered her head. "I promised senior Red that I would visit him. I was supposed to visit him last week, but I had to stay here in Sinnoh for your birthday, Pearl. And now that it is over, I had hoped that I could go to Kanto with both of you."
"Oh. I'd really love to go with you, Lady, but unfortunately, these culinary classes are a special event that won't occur again, so I can't afford to miss it."
"And I'm going to see my dad because it's my birthday, so I can't delay it either," Pearl said. "… This is quite the inconvenient timing, huh?"
Platinum let out a short sigh. "Oh well. It cannot be helped. Enjoy your time with your family, Pearl. And Diamond, do try your best at the culinary classes. I look forward to seeing how much you improved." She smiled again and tilted her head a bit. "Though I do believe that you are a perfect chef as is."
"There's always room for improvement," Diamond said.
"All right then, I have to pack my stuff for the trip to the Battle Frontier," Pearl said. "I'll see you two later."
Diamond and Platinum nodded and waved at their friend as he waved back and closed the door. Platinum soon headed towards the bus stop for a ride to Sandgem Town and Diamond accompanied her.
"I'm sorry if I disappointed you, Lady," he said apologetically.
"Oh, no, it is okay," Platinum said quickly. "This is very important to you and I understand perfectly. We can always go to Kanto together at another time. Senior Red's birthday is in two months, so we can go to Kanto together then."
"That'd be great."
Soon, the two Sinnoh Dex Holders arrived at the bus stop and the bus heading to Sandgem Town came to a stop.
"Have fun and be careful in your trip to Kanto, Lady," Diamond said with a wave as Platinum boarded the bus. "I'll see you when you return."
Platinum smiled brightly and waved at Diamond as the bus door closed. She took her seat by the windows and resumed waving at Diamond as the bus started to move once more. Once he was out of sight, she let out a short sigh. She had really wanted to go with him to Kanto, and even though she perfectly understood his reasons, she couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.
…
3 days later, June 9, Route 1, Kanto, 1 pm…
…
Platinum tapped her Rapidash to signal a stop. The Rapidash obeyed and came to a stop just as it entered the boundaries of Pallet Town. Platinum let go of the luggage bag she was dragging along and hopped off of her Pokémon. Now that she was in Pallet Town, she intended to enjoy a nice peaceful walk towards Red's house while giving her Rapidash a well deserved rest.
"Thank you," she said with a smile as she gently embraced the Rapidash. She then returned it to its ball and put it back in her bag. With a deep breath, she grabbed her luggage bag and proceeded to walk towards Red's house.
She had been to Red's house a few times in the past, so she remembered exactly where it was. It was also pretty difficult to not remember its exact whereabouts since Pallet Town wasn't that big.
As she approached Red's house, she spotted someone crouching in Red's backyard. Platinum frowned as she never recalled Red ever being outside in the backyard. She quickened her pace and reached for her Empoleon's Pokéball in case of there being some foul play. But as she rapidly approached, she recognized the suspicious person in the backyard, and she stopped in her tracks.
"Senior Blue?"
Platinum tilted her head, wondering what exactly the Kanto Dex Holder was doing. But she figured that nothing bad would happen, so she resumed walking towards her. Blue seemed to have heard her coming, as she rose to her feet and turned around.
"Oh, hi, Platinum," she said with a bright smile. "Long time no see."
Platinum gave her a polite bow. "Hello, senior. It is wonderful to see you again." She made a little attempt to glance past Blue to see what she had been doing. "Are you visiting senior Red as well?"
"Huh? Well… not really," Blue answered. "… I live here now."
Platinum blinked a few times as she tried to process the information. "I was under the belief that you were living with your long lost parents."
Blue's expression darkened slightly. "I was, but… things weren't working out and I moved out. I had nowhere else to go, and Red offered me to live with him."
"Oh. I am so sorry, senior," Platinum said, feeling sympathy for bringing up a painful memory.
Blue smiled brightly once more. "But it's okay! I really like it living here. I haven't been this comfortable and happy in years!"
Platinum lightened her expression once more. "Oh. In that case… congratulations, senior!"
"Thanks." Blue took a step to the side so Platinum could see what was behind her. "Now, if you were wondering what exactly I was doing out here, crouching in the backyard… it's this."
Platinum looked at what was hidden behind her senior and saw a small berry tree growing. "Oh, a berry tree?"
"Yep. It's something I'm planting here and there for fun, and for some free berry snacks," Blue said. "At times like this when Red isn't home, I have nothing to do. So to kill some time, I've planted a few berries here and there. They're all Pecha Berries, though, because they're the tastiest and they grow quickly." She signaled Platinum to follow and began to walk towards the front door of Red's house. "So, what brings you all the way here?"
"Senior Red wanted me to visit him last week, but I was unable because Pearl's birthday was coming up. And now that the birthday had passed, I have come as he wished. Unfortunately, both Diamond and Pearl were busy so they are not with me."
"Ah, so a friendly hangout, huh? That's nice. Enjoy your stay here. It's really nice and peaceful. Red will be back in a bit, so you won't have to wait that long to see him. He's just gone over to Celadon City to pick up something from the department store." Blue glanced at the big luggage that Platinum was dragging behind her. "So… in the meantime, I guess you can unpack. Seems like you brought quite a lot of stuff with you."
"Most of these are gifts from Sinnoh," Platinum explained.
"Oh? … Got any for me?"
"Of course, senior. I will gladly show you."
…
Next day, June 10, 12 pm…
…
"Very good, Platinum," Red said as he gave his junior a light applause. "You're certainly getting more and more used to using your Mega Lopunny."
Platinum returned her Pokémon and gave her senior a polite bow. "Thank you, senior. I have been practicing with Lopunny for quite some time now. It has gotten used to its strength and speed increase and can manage itself much more effectively in battle."
Blue walked over and gave both Red and Platinum a cup of ice water. "I noticed that you still only have 3 Pokémon in your team, Platinum. That means you're effectively at only half strength in a battle. Have you considered filling up your team?"
"I have, but I do not have much opportunity to find wild Pokémon," Platinum answered. "But…"
"In cases like this, not only does the trainer have to pick the Pokémon, but the Pokémon also has to pick you," Red said. "So… going out there and catching a random Pidgey or Rattata won't work at all. … Or in your case, a random Bidoof or Starly."
Blue tilted her head as she thought about Platinum with a Bibarel or a Staraptor. "… And I don't think either Pokémon will suit you." She smiled as she glanced over at Red. "But I think we can help you with at least one Pokémon."
"You can?" Platinum asked in surprise.
Red saw Blue's gaze and soon nodded. "Yeah. See, just a few days ago, my Vee and Blue's Ditto got together and had an egg. And I'm thinking that it'd be best if you took care of it for us."
"An egg?"
"Yeah. It'll need someone to take good care of it. Someone with experience in hatching, preferably. And while we could ask Gold to do it since that's his job and all, but… given his ability to get the hatched Pokémon to take after his own personality, we figured that it'd be best if the Eevee was given to someone else," Red said.
"You once told us that you took care of a Manaphy egg," Blue said. "And you even took care of the hatched Phione. So we figured that you'd be the best person to take care of the Eevee egg."
"And once it hatches, I'm sure it'll become a great addition to your team," Red said.
"So Platinum, could you take care of this Eevee egg for us? And can you promise to give it the care and affection it needs?" Blue asked, studying her junior's expression.
"Oh, senior! I – I would be delighted!" Platinum exclaimed happily, clasping her hands in front of her. "Thank you so much!"
"Great," Red said with a smile. "Come on in, and I'll give you that egg."
Platinum quickly followed Red as he headed back inside his house. He led her upstairs to his room, and on a desk was an Eevee egg inside a portable incubator canister. Red gently lifted the canister and looked at the egg inside for a moment before he handed it to Platinum.
The heiress excitedly but carefully received the canister with both hands, as if she was handling something insanely fragile. "Thank you so much, senior," she said, unable to contain her joy. "I promise to take good care of it and live up to your trust in me."
"I'm sure you'll do well, kid," Blue said with a smile.
"Oh, I must show everyone," Platinum said as she practically hugged the incubator canister. "May I use the picture phone here?"
"Go right ahead," Red said. "It's in the living room."
"Thank you." With a quick bow, the girl excitedly left to make a series of calls to Sinnoh.
"Giving the egg to Platinum was a really good choice," Red said as he looked over at Blue.
"I didn't think she'd be this happy," Blue said. "But it's great to see her like this. And knowing her, she'll definitely take care of that egg and the eventual Eevee much better than anyone else. And it'd certainly be better than having a Gold-natured baby Eevee that gambles with cards and plays billiards. We don't want to have a repeat of his Togepi and Pichu. Even though he may be behaving pretty well lately… he's still Gold."
Meanwhile…
"Gold! Stop sneezing on me!" Crystal said angrily as she stood up from her seat. "I told you to watch your manners!"
"But… but…" Gold stammered out, feeling the dread of yet another failure. "This isn't my fault!"
Crystal shook her head. "Your behavior might be improving, but you still have no manners. So close, yet so far. Try again, Gold." With a huff of disgust, she wiped away the spittle splattered on her face with a napkin and stormed out of the restaurant. But once she turned around, she let out a quiet sigh of relief and smiled.
"Argh!" Gold groaned as he smacked a hand over his face. "… And so the cycle begins again! This… infinite cycle has to come to an end some day!"
…
Several days later, June 16, New Bark Town, Johto, 1 pm…
…
Platinum gently held the egg canister with one arm as she knocked on the door to Gold's house. Now that she had to take good care of the Eevee egg, Platinum was determined to give it the best damn care possible. And to do that, she had to know what to do with it, by asking for help with those who were far more experienced in dealing with eggs.
The first thing that came to mind was the daycare center in Solaceon Town of Sinnoh, since that was where she got to take care of the hatched Phione with Diamond and Pearl. But the daycare couple had talked about Gold, so the heiress figured that asking her senior would be quite beneficial as well. Although Red and Blue were a bit concerned about Gold's ability to pass his own personality traits onto the hatched Pokémon, if Platinum just got advice from Gold instead of letting him hatch it, surely there will be no problems?
Before long, Gold opened the front door and momentarily looked surprised to see her.
"Hey, it's been a while," he said eventually. "… What brings you all the way out here in Johto? … And is that an egg?"
Platinum slightly bowed while holding the egg canister with both hands once more. "Hello, senior. I have been staying at senior Red's house recently and he has given me the offspring between his Espeon and senior Blue's Ditto. I have come here today to seek advice from you, senior, as you are far more experienced in hatching eggs than I am. Can you please teach me?"
"An Eevee egg, huh?" Gold said as he lowered himself to look at the egg more closely. "Looking good so far. All right, then. Come on in."
Platinum followed Gold as he led her inside his house. And the moment she stepped inside, she could hear loud noises coming from somewhere deeper in the house, almost like… a kid's television show.
"What is that noise?"
Gold let out a sigh. "A certain freeloader is watching his damn favorite robot show. And I can't do anything about this freeloader because… if I do, senior Blue will murder me." He took a deep breath as he prepared to shout. "Hey Silver! Lower the volume, would you?!" He lightly shook his head as the television volume was increased. "I have a job to do here!" he yelled again, but nothing happened. "Don't make me tell Crys that you're interfering!" He looked over at Platinum. "You'll be my witness, right?"
"Witness?"
"Yeah. I mean, senior Red gave you an egg to look after, so you came to me for some advice. And I was definitely willing to help out, but a certain freeloader's overly loud television show was too distracting for me to properly help you. Crys will only believe me if you're the witness."
Platinum understood. She cleared her throat and prepared to talk over the loud noises. "Yes of course, senior! I will gladly tell senior Crystal about this!"
As expected, Silver rapidly lowered the volume of the television to acceptable levels. Gold smiled in triumph and gave Platinum a thumbs-up before resuming leading her towards the basement.
"So, what type of advice do you need?" Gold asked as he sat on the couch in the basement.
Platinum sat next to him and looked at the egg. "I would like to know what I should be doing in order to give this egg the optimal hatching conditions."
Gold nodded. "Okay. Now, the first thing you should know is that you shouldn't keep the egg in that canister. It's useful for when you're on the move, as the canister will prevent that egg from shaking too much. But when you're at home, you should let the egg out and hold it yourself. It'll hatch faster that way. And you can just put it back in the canister when you're done with it."
Platinum set the canister on the table in front of her and took out a small notebook from her bag. She wrote down what Gold just said onto the page.
"The important thing here is touch. You want to hold that egg yourself as much as possible," Gold continued once Platinum finished writing. "The objective here is to get the Pokémon inside to subconsciously get used to your touch. That way, the moment it hatches, it won't bite you in fright or run away. But just remember to be careful when you're holding the egg yourself. It's tougher than you'd think, but not at the same time. So just be careful, and make sure not to shake it too much."
"I will be careful, senior," Platinum said as she finished writing once more.
"Good. The next thing… is for you to talk to it often. Obviously, you can't have a conversation with it or anything, but you should still talk to it often. The objective here is to get the Pokémon to get used to hearing your voice. It may be awkward at first, talking to an egg. But do it enough, and you'll get used to it." He glanced at the egg canister. "Now obviously, the Pokémon in the egg won't hear you if it's in there. So do remember to let it out often."
"I understand."
"And once the Pokémon inside is accustomed to you, befriending it will take no time at all. And if you spend enough time with it before it hatches, it'll definitely love you, and it'll evolve into Espeon or Umbreon in no time. … Say, what do you want it to evolve into, anyways?"
"I am not sure," Platinum answered honestly. "I have not thought about it. But since senior Red has an Espeon and Y has a Sylveon, I would prefer if this Eevee evolved into something else."
Gold searched through his Pokédex for the data on Eevee. "Good thing it has like 9 million evolutions. I'm sure you can find an evolution form that you like that no other Dex Holder has." He put his Pokédex away and looked at Platinum once more. "Oh, and another thing you should know…"
A couple of hours later, Platinum finished with her "learning session" with Gold. She found him to be surprisingly helpful, and he had taught her quite a lot about egg handling without any sort of tasteless jokes. The heiress was aware that Gold and Crystal had some sort of a deal going on, and wondered if that was the cause of the huge behavior change.
"You know, I'd ask if you wanted to eat anything while you're here," Gold began as he watched Platinum send out her Rapidash just outside of his house. "But a certain freeloader has cleaned out the fridge again, so there's nothing prepared left…"
Platinum simply smiled. "That is okay, senior. I appreciate your care." She gave her senior a polite bow. "Thank you so much for your help, senior."
"No problem. And hey, when you get back to Sinnoh, you should go talk to those daycare folks. They have a lot more experience than I do, so they might know something new."
"I will. Thank you." After another polite bow, she carefully hopped onto her Rapidash and headed towards Cherrygrove City. There, she would take the bus to Olivine City, where she would take the ferry to Sinnoh.
And after showing off the Eevee egg to Diamond and Pearl, she'd head to Solaceon Town to seek some more advice from the old daycare couple.
…
Several days later, June 23, Solaceon Town, Sinnoh, 8 am…
…
Platinum woke up from her sleep and stretched her limbs as she sat up. She rubbed her eyes a bit before putting her glasses on and looked at her Eevee egg that was in the canister on the table next to the bed.
"Good morning," she said to the egg after taking it out of the canister. She gently held the egg close to her heart. "Did you get a nice sleep? Yes? Good."
"I thought you were talking to me for a sec," came a female voice from the bathroom of the hotel suite.
"Oh? You were awake already?" Platinum asked.
Y stepped out of the bathroom while fully dressed in her flight suit. A few days ago, Platinum heard from White that Y had been feeling quite down lately, and asked the Kalos Dex Holder to come to Sinnoh for a visit. Y had agreed and had arrived a couple of days ago. She looked quite depressed, so Platinum had decided to take her on a peaceful journey to Solaceon Town in hopes of cheering her up.
"Yeah. I felt like flying around for a bit, so I woke up early so I can get dressed," Y answered.
"How are you feeling today?"
"Feeling okay," Y answered, not sounding too truthful.
"I am sure a peaceful sightseeing flight would be very helpful," Platinum suggested. "Mt. Coronet is nearby, and the route to the north of here has many steep hills and cliffs. You should fly around there."
"Okay. Will do," Y said.
"I will be at the daycare center in the northern end of the town. So if you need me for whatever reason, do not hesitate to come to me."
"Thank you."
Y soon left the hotel suite and Platinum let out a short sigh. She knew that Y was feeling down because one of her Pokémon had abandoned her recently and she was forced to release it. The only real way to cheer her up was to get a wild Pokémon to like her enough to voluntarily join her team. But Platinum had no idea how to do that, since she only had half of a team for years now. Although, Y now had half of a team herself, so perhaps the two girls could fill up their teams together.
Platinum gave the Eevee egg a soft kiss before putting it back in the incubator canister. Once she was sure that it was secure, she headed towards the bathroom to get ready for the day.
An hour later, Platinum arrived at the daycare center. She momentarily looked off to the north and spotted Y flying around in the distance. The Kalos Dex Holder wasn't flying around too fast, indicating that she was taking time for some sightseeing as recommended. Platinum watched her junior for a few more seconds before heading inside the daycare center.
Another couple of hours later, Platinum had finished getting lessons and advices from the old daycare couple and set out to find Y. She no longer spotted her flying around in the distance, so she figured that Y had landed there for a break. Platinum hopped onto her Rapidash and with the egg canister held securely in her arms, she steadily headed up north.
She found Y in the northern half of Route 210, sitting on top of a steep cliff. Y saw the heiress approaching and pushed herself off of the cliff, entering freefall for a bit before using her flight suit to glide forward. Platinum stopped her Rapidash and watched as Y flew straight towards her, careened off to the side and did a spiral before landing perfectly on her feet.
"That was… dangerous," Platinum said with a slight frown as Y fixed her hair while walking towards her.
"I do this all the time, so… it's all in control," Y said with a smile. She took out a Pokéball containing her Greninja and looked inside. "And in case things go wrong, I have Kerokero here to save me." She put the Pokéball back in her pocket and looked at her senior. "So… is everything done?"
"Yes. And I have a new destination. The daycare couple told me that there is an island in the region of Alola that is famous for its usefulness in hatching eggs." Platinum looked at the Eevee egg in the canister. "I intend to go there next. I wish the very best for this Eevee, even before it hatches."
"So you're literally giving that egg the best care money can get, huh?" Y asked. "Wow. No other Eevee in the world would've had better care."
"I want you to come with me," Platinum said. "I still do not think that you are back to your normal self. Surely a trip to the vacation region of Alola would help?"
Y thought for a second before she nodded. "Okay. I'll go with you. Thank you for the offer. But we should ask White to come too. She'll need a nice vacation too. I don't think it's fair if I'm the only one that gets to follow you around in the vacation region."
"Good idea," Platinum said. "I suppose it would be more fun to be in a group."
"Can you call her?"
Platinum took out her Pokégear and called White. The Unova Dex Holder answered almost immediately.
"Hello?" came White's voice from the Pokégear, sounding a bit out of breath.
"Hello White," Platinum said calmly.
"Oh, hi, Lady Platinum," White said.
"Are you busy?" Platinum asked. "You sound out of breath."
"Oh, no. I was just taking a break, and your call just really surprised me. So… what's up?"
"I am going to the region of Alola with Y," Platinum said. "And we wanted you to come with us. Do you think you can spare the time for a vacation trip to Alola?"
"Alola huh?" White muttered. "… That sounds really nice. … Who else is going?"
"Just us three," Platinum said. "And maybe Moon if she is still in the region."
"Hmm… okay, sure," White said after a moment of thought. "That sounds really nice. Thank you for inviting me. So, where are we going to meet?"
"Y and I are above Solaceon Town in Sinnoh. We will be heading to Canalave City to take the ferry, and we will make a stop in Castelia City. So we will meet up there. It will likely be a week from now. I will call you when we depart from Canalave City."
"Okay. If you let me know ahead of time, I can certainly make arrangements so I can leave on a vacation," White said. "I could really use some R&R."
"Wonderful. I will keep you upda-"
"Miss Platinum! Look out!" Y suddenly yelled.
Platinum looked up in alarm just as Y dived towards her, quickly pushing the heiress backwards. Platinum's Rapidash quickly ran forward a bit in surprise as well, causing its trainer to fall off completely.
While falling, Platinum quickly pulled the egg canister close to her heart, and twisted her body so that she'd hit the ground instead of the canister. But before she hit the ground, there was a loud thud as something heavy hit the ground just a few feet away from her.
Platinum hit the ground and quickly tightened her grip on the Eevee egg canister, just as Y landed on top of her. Y had spread her limbs beforehand, so that her knees would hit the ground instead of her senior, and that her arms would stop her fall so that she didn't land on the egg canister.
Y quickly looked behind her to see what exactly had hit the ground. All she had seen was a blob of grayish blue plummeting towards the ground. Platinum glanced past her junior's flight suit wings and saw a very small figure in the dust cloud formed by the impact.
The dust soon settled and Platinum could see a wild Bagon pull its head out of the ground. The Bagon looked over at the two Dex Holders and let out what sounded like a very frustrated roar.
And without warning, the Bagon opened its mouth wide and shot at the two Dex Holders with Flamethrower…
Just like the last part, the events within this part of the prologue doesn't fit anywhere on the main story, but Platinum needs the three new Pokémon in her team. But given the nature of these events and the fact that the chapter would be VERY long, half of the contents intended to be in this chapter has been merged with the next part of the prologue. Since Y is following Platinum around, the merging of the events wouldn't negatively impact anything.