At long last, Legacy has now officially started.

Chapter 1: Rendezvous

August 10, Pallet Town, Kanto, 7 am…

Blue lightly hummed to herself as she continued rolling up the rice with the dried seaweed. She was careful to not overdo with the ingredients, keeping the delicate balance to make each cut portion to be perfectly filling and flavorful but not overly big. Once she was satisfied that the roll was not overly filled and that it wouldn't fall apart, she took the knife and sliced the roll into perfect sized bites. She neatly stacked them in the lunchbox before taking out another sheet of dried seaweed to make another roll.

Unfortunately, she had to pack quite a lot, given how many people would be eating this lunch. And since Red was completely helpless in terms of preparing food, Blue had to prepare everything herself.

Not that she minded, of course. Red had offered her a place to live when she had nowhere else to go, and he was letting her live in his house for free, providing her the care and warmth that she realized she had been longing for a very long time. Making the meals was the very least that she could do. And honestly, Red had tried to make her food once, and that was a disaster, so… things were better this way.

For another hour, Blue kept preparing the lunch while humming to herself. She soon heard a creak in the stairs and realized that Red had woken up from the alarm clock and had wandered downstairs to see what she was up to.

"Good morning, Red," Blue said cheerfully as she turned to look at him.

"Morning," Red said with a wave, still looking half asleep. He let out a long yawn. "… I am not used to waking up this early…"

"I know. I'd prefer to catch a few more hours of sleep myself," Blue said, returning to work. "But… can't be helped this time. You don't want to let your juniors know that you didn't go out to greet them because you were asleep."

"Yeah, I know," Red said as he stepped closer. "What are you making there? Our breakfast?"

"No. This is going to be our lunch," Blue answered. "We'll need something to eat for the trip, don't we? Especially the visiting juniors."

"… Can I have some though?" Red asked. "I'm getting hungry."

"No, Red. This is for the juniors. I'll make our breakfast afterwards. I'm almost done."

Red let out a short groan. He kept his eyes glued on the nicely packed lunch, occasionally glancing at Blue to make sure that she was distracted. Once she started on a new roll, he slowly and carefully reached for the open pack so that he could steal a bite. Blue felt the motion behind her, alerted by the fact that Red was being too quiet, and quickly turned to look at the hand reaching for the food. She quickly but lightly swatted it away.

"I said no, Red."

"Ow?" Red said as he pulled his hand back. "… Can't I just have one?"

"Nope. You must be patient, Red. Patience."

"Oh, but I'm starving right now," Red whined as he planned his next move. The moment Blue turned around again, he quickly swiped a piece out of the lunch pack, and stuffed it in his mouth.

Blue obviously heard and felt the rapid motion, and swiveled around once again. She noticed the empty piece in the neatly aligned grid of pieces in the pack. "What the…" She lightly glared at Red, who was averting eye contact while feigning innocence. He apparently didn't account for the fact that there'd be rice pieces stuck on his face near the mouth. She let out a short sigh. "Oh well. I guess it can't be helped. You can have the rest of this row. But no more, mister. This has to be neatly packed for the juniors."

"Thank you!" Red said as he began moving the pieces onto a plate. He finally began to chew the piece he had stolen. "Wow, this is good."

Blue smiled as she watched him stuffing more pieces into his mouth before he even finished eating the last piece. She resumed preparing lunch and by the time she had finished, Red had finished eating the few pieces he was given and was waiting patiently.

"There. And now we can have breakfast," Blue said with a short sigh of relief.

"And I will wait patiently," Red said as he moved towards the kitchen counter once more to stack the lunch boxes inside a small bag.

Blue watched him and noticed that there was still a rice piece stuck right next to the corner of his mouth. When he turned to face her, she instinctively reached out with her fingers, with the intent of brushing away the rice. But just before her finger made contact with him, she paused. … This action was way too intimate. … She could not do it. She must not do it, either. Red looked over at her hand, wondering why she was reaching out for him. Blue quickly reacted and used her outstretched hand to point at the rice.

"You got some food stuck on your face there," she said as she quickly pulled her hand back.

"Huh? Oh." Red felt the rice stuck next to his mouth and consumed it. "Thanks."

Blue felt her smile fading and spun around to hide her expression from Red. Instead, she chose to focus on making breakfast, distracting herself from her thoughts.

Within half an hour, Blue finished making breakfast and sat across the table from Red. For a while, the two Dex Holders ate in silence. Red was focusing on enjoying the delicious meal, and Blue chose to focus on what was going to happen in a few hours.

Red suddenly broke the silence. "When exactly are they going to arrive?" he asked, referring to the juniors that were visiting Kanto.

After the vacation trip to Alola, Platinum, White, and Y have decided to go on another vacation trip, this time to the joined regions of Kanto and Johto. Though they initially planned to arrive on Kanto before Red's birthday on August 8, White had a slight issue within her companies that delayed the trip by a few days.

Apparently White was bringing Black for the trip, so Red wouldn't be too bored or lonely, being on a trip with only girls. Y had attempted to bring X as well, but that hadn't gone according to plan, it seemed. And Diamond and Pearl were currently in Johto, so they wouldn't be coming with Platinum, but instead joining the group later on.

And upon request from Platinum, Red and Blue agreed to accompany the visitors, almost like a tour guide. Blue looked forward to enjoying a nice relaxing vacation with her juniors, and planned to use this opportunity to bond even more with them. And Red… looked forward to seeing how stronger they've become.

Blue checked the time. "They'll arrive in about three hours. Just enough time for us to finish eating, clean up, and head to Vermilion City and wait for them. Although they're all coming in different ships, so some are going to arrive earlier."

"I can't wait to see how stronger they've gotten," Red said (predictably) with a grin. "You think we'll have time for a little practice battle when they arrive?"

Blue let out a short sigh. "I anticipated this would happen, so yes. I made sure we'd have some time to catch up and… battle before going."

"Oh, I can't wait," Red said. He quickly wolfed down the rest of his breakfast. "All right. I'll clean the dishes while you get ready for the day. That'll save us some time, right?"

Blue smiled and finished eating her breakfast. "Okay then. I guess I take up more time in getting ready for the day."

…

Vermilion City harbor, 10:30 am…

…

Blue tilted the rim of her hat to shield herself better from the strong sunlight. She remained standing outside the harbor, leaning against the guard rails the prevented people from accidentally walking off into the ocean.

Red stood beside her with a large backpack that contained the prepared lunch and a variety of other necessary equipment, such as sleeping bags, kitchen utensils, and spare clothes. He briefly wondered if he had everything needed for a trip around Kanto and quite possibly Johto, but he figured that Blue would've prepared for pretty much everything, and they could always stop by a store for resupplying.

The ship from Kalos was first to arrive. Red and Blue watched as waves after waves of people exited the harbor, trying to find Y amidst the people. They eventually found her trudging out the harbor, looking very tired, as if she had just woken up from a not-so-restful sleep.

Y dragged her luggage lazily behind her. Once she had finally stepped out into the bright sunlight, she let out a long yawn and stretched her limbs. Once she rubbed her eyes, she finally spotted Red and Blue waving at her from afar.

She finally seemed to snap awake upon seeing them, and happily waved back at them. She quickly ran towards them, being careful not to run into anyone.

"Hi, Y," Blue said with a smile as her Kalos junior approached. "It's great to see you again."

"Hi, Blue, and Red," Y said happily. "And happy belated birthday, Red."

"Huh? Oh yeah. Thanks," Red said with a smile.

"So… looks like you've had a good night's sleep," Blue said jokingly, examining her junior's tired expression. "Enjoy the cruise here?"

Y let out a long groan. "Ugh… I hate water…" she said bitterly. "… I've been seasick for the entire trip here…"

"But you've been to Alola with Platinum and White, haven't you?" Blue asked. "Surely you must've taken a lot of ferries."

"Yeah, but Miss Platinum arranged all of them, and she picked the most luxurious ships," Y said. "Those… didn't make me seasick. But this one… ugh. … Please tell me we aren't going to take another ferry…"

Blue grinned. "Oh, I was planning to include a tour of the Sevii Islands, which are only accessible via ferries."

"Yeah. Blue lived there for a while, so she knows all the best spots," Red said as well. "It would've been perfect."

Y shuddered as she recalled how many times she had thrown up on the trip to Kanto. "… I can only hope that you're joking. It's bad enough that I have to take another cheap ferry back to Kalos once all this is over…"

Blue smiled. "Of course we're joking, kid. Don't worry. This group tour is supposed to be relaxing and fun for everyone."

"Oh, speaking of fun," Red began. "I heard from Platinum that you're taking on the Kalos Gyms. How's that going for you?"

Y grinned as she held up her right hand. On her wrist was a large wristband of sorts, and on them, all 8 Kalos Gym Badges were pinned. "I got them all!" she said triumphantly, with her other hand on her hip, obviously quite proud of herself.

"Oh, wow, congratulations," Blue said with a short applause. "I didn't think you'd beat all of them so quickly. You must've beaten Platinum's record, and certainly beat Sapphire's record."

"And mine," Red said with a laugh. "Now I have four juniors who got all 8 Gym Badges of their region faster than I did."

"Oh? How long did you take?" Y asked.

Red shrugged. "I don't know. About… 14 years and counting?"

"Huh?"

Blue chuckled a bit. "Red never got the 8th Gym Badge."

"Yep," Red said. "I beat Giovanni in Viridian City, who was the Viridian City Gym Leader at the time, but… neither of us was awake, and… when I woke up I wasn't there anymore. And he wasn't there anymore. And he never gave me the Earth Badge. And I don't really care, so… there you go."

"Well, that's a weird technicality," Y commented. "But still, it's not fair to compare myself with you or Sapphire or Miss Platinum. Or Black, for that matter. You all battled the Gyms on your first travels. I did it on my second. I know that Sapphire spent a tremendous amount of time in-between Gyms to explore mountains and forests, and even paused her challenges to fight Team Aqua and Team Magma. Miss Platinum also had to deal with Team Galactic as well. While I pretty much just made a beeline for each Gym with nothing else to worry about."

"Where'd you get that wristband?" Blue asked, looking at the weirdly plastic-looking wristband. "It doesn't look like something you can get at a random store."

"No. This is something that Clemont, the Lumiose Gym Leader, gave to me," Y explained. "It has 8 slots, one for each Kalos Gym Badge, and it holds the Badges in place with a short-ranged magnetic field, so they won't fall out or anything. It's really handy. I've actually thought a lot about where I was going to pin the Badges. Sapphire has her bag, Miss Platinum has her scarf, and Black has his coat. So I wanted to pin them somewhere new, but I didn't know where exactly. And Clemont gave me the solution."

"So, are you going to challenge the Pokémon League now?" Blue asked.

Y shook her head. "No. Not yet, at any rate. Some of the battles were very tough, so I plan on getting a bit stronger before tackling the Pokémon League."

"I can help you with that," Red said. "I've been waiting to see how stronger you've gotten."

"Sure! If you're willing to train me, I'll give it everything I've got!" Y exclaimed, looking excited. But she suddenly faltered a bit. "… But not today. I still have quite a headache from all the seasickness."

Red gave her a pat on the shoulder. "No worries. Today's not the only day. It wouldn't be fun if one side of a battle had to fight a headache at the same time. So rest up, Y. And I'll see how strong you've gotten tomorrow."

…

Half an hour later, the ship from Unova arrived, and again, Red and Blue watched as countless people poured out from the harbor. Blue lightly fanned herself with her foldable fan and waited to see the familiar figures.

Red bit into the popsicle he had bought from the nearby store. Of course, he had offered to buy one for Blue and Y as well, with only Y accepting the offer. Blue glanced at Y licking away on the popsicle and momentarily wished that she didn't refuse the offer. Then again… she didn't really want one, so… eh…

"Oh!" Y said abruptly, squinting to get a better vision. "Ah-ha! Lovebirds spotted!" she said as she pointed at the entrance of the harbor.

Red and Blue looked ahead and saw Black and White exiting the harbor while holding hands.

"Lovebirds, huh?" Blue said with a short laugh. "I suppose it suits them."

The two lovebirds spotted the other Dex Holders and soon ran up to them. White waved as she ran close, still holding onto Black's hand as he dragged their luggage with his other hand.

"Good to see you two," Blue said once they got close. Her eyes flickered down to the joined hands. "Or are you pretty much one entity now?"

White looked down and realized that she was still holding onto Black's hand, and quickly released it. "Ah! I… um…"

"Too late for that," Y said with a grin. "You might as well keep holding hands from now on."

White felt heat rushing up to her cheeks and tried to retaliate. "And are we supposed to believe that nothing happened between you and X in Kalos?" she asked. "I mean, you two did travel around Kalos again… all by yourselves."

"Ha! Yeah right," Y said with a huff. "Like that'll ever happen."

"I'm sure he'd love to hold your hand if you ever extended it," White said, looking at her junior's hand. "I mean, if… … Um… Y, what is that on your wrist?"

Y grinned, as if she was just waiting for her ask. "Oh, this?" she asked smugly as she raised her right hand. "It's nothing, really. Just all 8 Kalos Gym Badges."

"No way!" White exclaimed. "You beat all 8 Gyms already? Wow! You beat them much faster than Black!"

Y started to laugh and Black narrowed his eyes. "… Why bring me into this, Miss President?"

"Sorry. But it's true! She beat the Gyms much faster than you. Even factoring out the whole Team Plasma thing…" White suddenly grinned a bit. "Y may be a stronger trainer than you, Black."

Black's eyes twitched. "Oh, we'll see about that! Y, battle me right now!"

Y licked her popsicle. "No. I have a headache today. And tomorrow, Red promised to train me, so I won't have time for you."

"What?!" Black swiveled around to face Red. "Red! Train me right now!"

Red rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know if there's time. I mean, the ship from Sinnoh is about to arrive. And once it does, I'd like to see Platinum's new team."

Black groaned as he realized that his ranking was below Platinum and Y. Platinum, he understood. But Y? … No way. He glared at Y, who was looking off into the distance while licking her popsicle. She sensed his gaze and looked over at him, only to stick her dyed tongue out at him before looking off once again.

Blue looked towards the harbor, realizing that the ship from Sinnoh had docked already as well. And Platinum was the first person out of the harbor. Most likely, the heiress had bought the most expensive ticket, which would've resulted in her disembarking first. Platinum immediately spotted the other Dex Holders and quickly made her way over.

Red and Y saw the heiress coming, as did White. But Black failed to notice, as he was looking the wrong direction and currently agitated from being taunted.

"You know, Y? It doesn't matter how strong you've gotten… or you think you've gotten. I've been training nonstop too. And you know what? I'm much stronger now than I've been when I took on the Unova Gyms. I'm probably stronger than Platinum at this point."

White opened her mouth to try to say something, but couldn't say anything. She could only watch as Platinum quietly moved to stand right behind Black, obviously not appreciating his comment.

"Really, Black?" she asked, her voice calm as the waters of Lake Verity.

Black jumped and felt a cold shiver down his spine. He slowly turned around and saw his senior standing right behind him with a rather cold looking expression. It was her normal expression, he knew, but her posture and lack of smile said otherwise.

"Would you like to test your claims?" Platinum asked, her voice becoming as cold as the waters of Lake Acuity.

Black could tell that Platinum already had a Pokéball in hand. He slowly leaned towards White.

"… Miss President, what can you tell me about her team?" he whispered. "You said that she got some new Pokémon, right?"

White let out a short sigh. "Yes. And if Lady Platinum wanted to, she could turn your whole team into popsicles."

Black blinked and looked over at Y, who licked her popsicle once again, but with a grin on her face. He leaned towards White again. "So… what should I do?"

"You might want to apologize," White whispered. "Just in case she decides to freeze you."

Black gulped and in a blink of an eye, dropped to his knees and bowed to his Sinnoh senior. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it."

Platinum smiled at his overreaction, but turned her attention to Red and Blue. She gave them a polite bow. "Hello, senior Red. Senior Blue."

Blue waved at her. "Hi, Platinum. Nice to see you again."

"How's the Eevee egg?" Red asked.

Platinum pressed a button on the Pokéball she was holding. For the sake of surprise, she had not told Red or Blue that the Eevee egg had hatched and then evolved, and she was going to reveal that information now.

Her Glaceon popped out of the Pokéball… and landed on top of Black, who was still bowing on his knees.

"Glaceon?" Blue said in surprise. "Oh, so it hatched and evolved already? Wow."

Platinum smiled and gently pet her Glaceon. "Yes. And thanks to the advices from senior Gold, it has warmed up to me greatly."

"But not anyone else," Y said from the side. "Be careful. That thing likes to freeze hands of those that try to pet it."

"I'm sure it just needs time to warm up to everyone else," Blue said. 'Just like its trainer…'

"Well, now that everyone's here," Red began. "Platinum, let's see how stronger you've gotten. We have some time before we need to get going, so let's have a little practice battle."

"Yes, senior. Of course," Platinum said eagerly. "Come, Glaceon. Let us demonstrate our teamwork."

The Glaceon nodded and hopped off of Black, who then finally raised himself off of the ground. The Glaceon didn't even acknowledge him and just followed its trainer towards an appropriate empty ground for a small battle.

Black let out a long sigh and followed the group. He began to regret following White, as he realized that he was in the wrong group. Given what just happened, he realized that the ranking of everyone here went as: Blue, Red, Platinum, Platinum's Glaceon, White, Y, and then himself all the way in the bottom. And he did not like it one bit.

…

Meanwhile, classified location, Kanto…

…

"We've been given the signal from the boss," said the division leader to his three assistants. "We are to commence Project K3. But my recommendations for the project's scale haven't been accepted, so we didn't get additional funding." He walked up to the chalkboard and began writing down a list of items. "I believe that this project has no value if it's not fully pursued. Which means, it comes down to us to procure the necessary resources for ourselves."

"What exactly do we need?" asked one of the assistants.

"For one, we need additional funding," said the division leader, writing it down on the board. "More the better. It doesn't matter how we procure it, as long as we procure it. I don't care if we have to win the damn lottery to get more money, but we need it. There's only so much that cheap materials can do for us."

"Easy enough," said another assistant. "We can kidnap someone and demand ransom, rob a bank, or… steal lottery tickets, if no other opportunity presents itself."

"Next up is something a bit more difficult. We need a sample of a certain machine interface. While it's common knowledge that the Pokémon Rotom can enter and possess appliances, not a lot know that it can possess any specially designed machine, allowing it fully interface with all of its functions. We need to study that for K3."

"We'll have to gather everything we know about Rotom before we can proceed with that one," said the assistant. "More unfortunately, Rotom is not native here in Kanto. So we'll have to find it in another region."

"Yes," the division leader said with a nod. "But the biggest problem and the most important is the final missing piece. We need a volunteer. And not just any volunteer. We need a calm individual that's also exceptionally brilliant. We can't nab a random person off the streets and expect the project to work. We need to find the perfect candidate. And to do that, we will most likely need the personality bios files from the main server, which of course is inaccessible to us. So, I want each of you to handle one of the major requirements. There are also a plethora of other miscellaneous requirements, but I will handle those myself."

"Understood, sir."

"Good. And remember, this is the final attempt at making this work. There will not be a K4. So this is the very last chance we have of validating our years of work and research. So let's make this work. Good hunting. Dismissed."

Note that in Cycle, Gold's "week 12" is the week that has Platinum visiting him in Legacy Prologue – Sinnoh. Which means, by the time of Red's birthday, as in, Legacy #001, it's "week 21", so Legacy main story takes place after everything Cycle.