Chapter 2: Loneliness

August 10, Saffron City, Kanto, 1 pm…

"And… ah, here they are. C10 through 16," Red said as he glanced at the seat numbers on the magnet train. "Well, technically C8 through 16."

Blue looked at the 8 seats that Platinum had reserved, even though only 6 would be occupied this time. "I suppose the juniors should have the window seats. It's not easy for them to ride the magnet train connecting Kanto and Johto."

"All right!" Y exclaimed happily without raising her voice too much. "Sightseeing!"

Red and Blue stepped off to the side, letting the juniors take the window seats. Y rushed ahead first, but stopped abruptly before taking a seat.

"Something wrong?" Blue asked.

Y shook her head. "No, I just realized… Miss Platinum, you should pick first."

"Oh? Thank you," Platinum said with a smile. She soon picked the window seat, but facing away from the direction of the train.

Y took the seat on the opposite side of the table from her. Red sat next to Platinum, leaving Blue to sit next to Y, while Black and White took the window seats on the table on the other side of the aisle from the rest. Red set the "lunch bag" on the empty seat next to Black, and Blue set the miscellaneous supplies bag on the empty seat next to White, while the juniors put their luggage on the space provided overhead.

"Ooh, comfortable," White commented as she leaned back into her seat. "But I'm starting to get hungry. When do we eat lunch?"

"Once the train starts moving, we'll eat," Blue said. "Since this isn't on a direct path to Goldenrod City, it's going to take a few hours. Once we arrive, we should have just enough time to reach Route 35 and set up camp before making dinner. So… Y, you should cut down on the snacks."

Y took a sip of her slushie. "I'm almost done."

"You don't want to spoil your appetite," Red said. "The packed lunch is very good."

Y nodded, and quickened her slurping speed, aiming to finish her slushie as fast as possible.

White chuckled a bit. "You can't easily take candy from a child, right? Once they get a taste of sugar, they just get hyper attached to it."

Y cast a quick glare at her senior. "You say something?"

"Just kidding," White said with a smile. She glanced at her junior's wrists, looking at the Mega Ring on the left wrist. "Huh. Why do you still have your Mega Ring on? You don't have any Pokémon that can Mega Evolve at the moment. And given your other wrist accessory, I'd imagine that having both on at the same time can be a bit… frustrating and confusing."

Y glanced at her wrists. "Eh, not really. Once you get a Mega Ring and get used to it, you just don't really notice it anymore. Besides, while I used to press the button on the Mega Ring on my left wrist quite often, I have no reason to do anything like that for the Badges on my right wrist, so it's not confusing at all."

"I suppose once you obtain your own Mega Ring, you will feel the same," Platinum said. "You will still have your Xtransceiver, so you will have the Mega Ring on your other wrist."

White glanced at the Xtransceiver on her wrist, and then at her other wrist. "Oh, I'd probably get confused so badly… I'm sure I'd end up calling someone on the Xtransceiver when I wanted to Mega Evolve something." She laughed a bit. "Oh, wouldn't that be amusing. Mega Evolve! … Oh whoops, I just called the VP."

"Once you get used to it, it probably won't happen," Blue said. "At first though… yeah."

"Still, even with the confusion at first, it's definite worth it," Red said.

"Absolutely," Platinum agreed.

"Being able to use Mega Evolution significantly boosts your team's overall battle proficiency," Blue said. "Depending on circumstances, you can have your stronger Pokémon Mega Evolve to further boost its own power, or you can also have the weaker Pokémon Mega Evolve, which then allows your other team members to focus on coordinating attacks instead of supporting or defending. And in the event that you have more than one Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution, the possibilities increase even more."

"Yeah. So Y, once your new Pokémon fully evolve and thus become capable of Mega Evolving, your team would be much stronger than your previous team," Red said. "And you'd definitely be able to beat most of your seniors who don't have Mega Evolution. Like Black."

Black grumbled something and glanced over at Y, who was grinning triumphantly. He could tell that she was absolutely delighted to hear it. She looked over at him and smiled before taking a slow slurp of her slushie.

"Black, White, you two should aim to get a Mega Ring of your own," Platinum suggested.

"But we don't have any Pokémon that can Mega Evolve, though," White said.

"While I do not know about Black, surely you will be able to change some of your Pokémon," Platinum said. "You have once said that you have captured some of your Pokémon due to their potential in the BW Agency. Which means you will be able to capture some more Pokémon for a similar purpose."

Y nodded. "Yeah. Think about the possible uses in the Pokéstar Studios. Oh no, the hero's Pokémon is going down! But suddenly, BAM! Mega Evolution to turn the tide! Or… the villain could use Mega Evolution to be an even bigger threat. And imagine if the villain could somehow Mega Evolve multiple Pokémon at once!"

White thought about the potential uses for a brief moment. "… Good idea. I guess it could work. But maybe I should do a bit of a test first. Like… Lady Platinum, maybe I can borrow your Lopunny and Altaria for the protagonist role, and Y, I can borrow your eventual Salamence and Garchomp for a villain role."

"Why are my Pokémon going to be villains?" Y asked with a frown.

"Think about it. A Garchomp snarling in anger while swinging its razor sharp claws, destroying everything in its path…" White began. "… Definitely more of a villainy vibe."

"Especially with the dual reaper blades upon Mega Evolving," Blue added. "Although I think a Hydreigon would be best suited for a villain role than Garchomp or Salamence, even if it doesn't have a Mega Evolution yet. The Dark typing certainly adds to that."

Y pouted a bit. "No way. Saza is too adorable for a villain role."

Black frowned. "… Adorable?" He checked his Pokédex. "… The Deino evolution line goes from being an Irate Pokémon, to a Hostile Pokémon, to finally a Brutal Pokémon. And you say that it's adorable? I'm pretty sure it's closer to being atrocious."

"No!" Y reached into her bag and sent out her Zweilous. "Check it for yourself."

The Zweilous landed on the table and sniffed at the air. It soon caught Y's scent and happily turned towards her while wagging its tail. Y smiled and reached out to pet it. The two heads of the Zweilous both rushed towards the incoming hand, as if competing to get petted first.

"See?" Y said as her Zweilous leaned into her, as if it was trying to either embrace her, or prompting her to embrace it. "Look how cute it is!"

"… Maybe," White said, walking over to approach the Zweilous. She slowly reached out towards it with her hand. "Easy, Saza…"

The Zweilous sniffed at the air and caught an unfamiliar scent approaching. Both of its heads quickly turned to face the incoming hand, and the closest head quickly chomped at the air while the other head snarled viciously. White quickly pulled her hand back and stumbled backwards.

"Okay, okay!" she cried out once she was out of its biting range.

Platinum reached out towards the Zweilous next, but after sending out her Glaceon first. The Hostile Pokémon caught her scent as well, and snarled again. Platinum didn't try to pet it, however, and kept her distance. The Zweilous acted first, almost leaping towards the heiress to chase her away. Platinum pulled back as her Glaceon flash-froze a thin wall between its trainer and the charging Zweilous. The Hostile Pokémon hit the ice barrier and stumbled backwards, surprised by the sudden collision. Realizing that an Ice type Pokémon was out in the vicinity, the Zweilous let out a whimper and pulled back towards Y, seeking protection.

Y gently embraced her Zweilous as Platinum's Glaceon hissed angrily. She let out a short sigh. "Saza's in a bad mood today, I think. It usually doesn't do that."

"Uh-huh, sure," Black said from the side. "It sure looked to be in a good mood when it first went to you."

"Seriously, it never did this before," Y argued. "Maybe it just needs to get used to the surroundings."

"Don't worry about it," Blue said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's in their nature. Once it evolves and gains sight, it'll likely recognize its trainer's friends and allies."

Black checked his Pokédex again. "I don't know about that. Apparently Hydreigon will attack anything that moves. It responds to movement by attacking. And I'm sure a Dragon Pulse isn't the best way of saying hello."

Y gently petted her Zweilous. "Maybe the ones in the wild would do that. But I'm sure Saza will be just nice and fine." She suddenly shivered a bit, as the temperature seemed to have dropped quite significantly. She then realized that Platinum's Glaceon was still glaring at her. "Um… Miss Platinum, could you please ease your Glaceon?"

Platinum placed her hand on her Glaceon's back. The Glaceon looked at its trainer, and upon seeing her warm smile, it dropped its hostility and stopped emitting chill from its body.

"Well, at the very least, if Y's Dragon type Pokémon won't restrain their destructive urges, then Platinum's Ice type Pokémon can force them to calm down," Red said.

Y clenched her teeth but didn't say anything. She simply looked at her Zweilous, and sincerely hoped that it would not attack anything on sight upon evolution.

…

A couple of hours later…

…

Blue slowly yawned as she woke up from her sleep. Realizing that she had dozed off shortly after lunch, she quickly blinked to shake away the sleepiness as fast as she could. Hopefully, the juniors didn't need her in the time she was asleep. That would be rather embarrassing.

She glanced to her right, and saw Y staring out the window, occasionally taking pictures as the train sped past various sights.

Ahead of her, Red and Platinum were both fast asleep. Red had an extremely content look on his face as he lightly snored. Given the empty containers stacked on the table right in front of him, he had obviously eaten some more of the packed lunch after finishing his share.

To his left, Platinum slept while leaning against something fluffy and white. It took Blue a few seconds to realize that it was the girl's newly captured Swablu that had evolved into Altaria. The Altaria had cuddled up between its trainer and the train window, acting as an extremely soft pillow. One of its cottony wings had wrapped over Platinum's shoulder, acting as a small blanket as well. It had then fallen asleep while leaning into Platinum's soft hat, using it as its own pillow.

Platinum's Glaceon was also sleeping in its trainer's embrace. It had taken residence in the gap between its trainer and the table, held securely in her arms while comfortably resting its head on her chest.

Platinum smiled contently as she slept, enjoying the warmth provided by her Altaria and the coolness of her Glaceon in her embrace.

"Aww, isn't that cute…" Blue muttered with a smile.

Y heard her and looked over and grinned as she saw Platinum and her two Pokémon as well. "This is one for the albums…" she whispered as she took a photo of the scene with her camera. She glanced over at the other side of the train and grinned again as she saw Black and White looking out the window while holding hands. "Ooh, another one for the albums…"

Blue looked over at the two Unova Dex Holders and smiled. "They sure suit each other nicely…" she said quietly.

"I wonder why White keeps denying it," Y said in a whisper. "Surely she doesn't think that we haven't noticed yet."

"Maybe she's just embarrassed to openly admit it," Blue suggested. "Like Ruby and Sapphire. Mostly Ruby, I guess. Everyone knows it and can see it, and they know that too. But they just won't say it."

Y briefly contemplated about her own situation before a thought occurred. "What about you? Do you have anyone?"

Blue momentarily paused from the sudden question. She quickly realized that she had sort of walked right into such a question given the topic of conversation. Her eyes briefly flicked towards Red before she quickly looked over at Y.

"Not really, no," she lied, keeping as straight of a face as she could manage.

Y frowned a little as she had seen the brief motion in her senior's eyes. "Something tells me that's not entirely true," she said, casting a glance at Red. "Especially since in your case-"

"I mean it, Y," Blue said hastily, raising her voice.

Y jumped in surprise at the sudden yell. She blinked repeatedly as she wondered why her senior had reacted so abruptly.

Blue realized that she had raised her voice a bit too much. Now Black and White were looking over at her, and Red and Platinum had woken up from their sleep. She quickly lightened her expression. "Sorry."

"What's going on?" White asked.

Y momentarily cast a glance at Red before she devised a story. "I just took a picture of a certain couple holding hands in full view of everyone," she answered. She showed the last saved picture on her camera to White and smiled. "And I was going to try to extort you for it, but… Blue yelled at me to not do that."

"Give me that!" White said, trying to snatch away Y's camera.

Y pulled her hands back and began to laugh. Blue watched her for a moment before she relaxed, mentally thanking the Kalos Dex Holder for lying on her behalf.

"Yelled?" Red asked.

Blue gave him an apologetic smile. "I just got reminded of my past. You know, extortion and all that money stuff."

"It's not like Y intended to remind you of that," Red said. "She didn't even know you when you had to do that."

"I know," Blue said with a nod. She gently put a hand on Y's shoulder. "Sorry for raising my voice."

"It's okay," Y said with a smile, but staring deeply into her eyes.

Blue looked into her junior's eyes as well and clenched her teeth a bit. … Y was probably going to bring this up when they were alone. … Until then, Blue would have to come up with an acceptable answer…

…

Several hours later, Route 35, Johto, 7 pm…

…

Black let out a sigh of relief as he finished setting up the second tent. It was decided that the male Dex Holders would share one tent while the female Dex Holders shared the other one. And since there were four female Dex Holders as opposed to two male, the girls ended up with the bigger tent. And that tent was rather difficult to set up by himself.

Platinum, White, and Y worked together to set up the smaller tent (though they spent more time chatting than anything else), while Red and Blue set up campfires and other necessary preparations to make dinner. … Which then left Black to set up the bigger tent all by himself.

He looked around the campsite and saw White sitting by the campfire, busy preparing dinner while Platinum occasionally told her what to do. Red and Blue were setting up the dishes on the makeshift dinner table, and Y was staring blankly at the slowly darkening sky. Since it was summer, the sun was going to set at least an hour from now, which meant that the Dex Holders could eat dinner without having to worry about illumination.

Black stood up straight and walked towards Y. Now that she was alone, he had something important to ask her.

"Hey, Y," he said once he was close enough.

Y looked over at him with her lollipop still in her mouth. "Hm? What is it?"

"Come over here a minute. I need to talk…" Black frowned a bit. "… Where'd you get a lollipop?"

"Red bought some for me," Y answered. "Want one?"

"But we're going to be eating dinner in a few minutes."

"Yeah, but White is the one making dinner," Y said. "Have you ever had her make food for you?"

Black momentarily thought about all the times he had lunch or dinner with White. "… No."

Y shuddered. "I'd rather spoil my appetite."

Black glanced over at the fireplace, where White was busy preparing dinner. "… Is it really that bad?"

"Horrendous. Way worse than me. I would've preferred if Blue or Miss Platinum made dinner since they're very good at cooking, but White… no."

Black groaned a bit before making a decision. "Okay. Can you spare a lollipop?"

Y rummaged through her bag for a bit before taking out the candy. "Here's an orange flavored one."

"Thanks. Were there any other options?"

"I only had a few left. I'm saving the strawberry one for Miss Platinum since she loves strawberries. And the one I'm eating is grape flavored."

"Okay." Black quickly removed the plastic wrap off of the lollipop and stuck the candy in his mouth. "Anyways. I needed to talk to you for a minute."

"Okay. Go ahead."

Black led Y behind a tent and took a moment to glance around, making sure that no one else was near.

Y did the same, despite not understanding why. She briefly took her lollipop out of her mouth. "So… why are we here, and what's with all the secrecy?"

Black glanced at White in the distance, preparing dinner under Platinum's guidance… and messing up over and over. "You know that Miss President's birthday is coming up in a couple of months, right?"

Y nodded. "Yeah. And what about it?" She suddenly realized something and grinned. "Oh. I see. Thinking of a secret gift, are you?"

"Sort of," Black said sheepishly. "I already bought it. I just don't know if she'd like it."

"What is it? You don't have it on you, do you?"

"No. I left it back home in Unova," Black said. "Seems pretty silly to take it with me to another region when her birthday is still quite a while away. I only bought it already so I wouldn't forget, and have plenty of time to think about what to say." Black leaned in and whispered to her ear. "So that's what I got her."

Y grinned again. "Aww, that's so sweet! She'd love it!"

"Keep your voice down," Black said, casting another glance over the tent. "I don't want Miss President to know yet."

"Weird thing to hear, coming from you," Y said amusedly. "But… why did you tell me this, anyways?"

"I needed an opinion from someone close to Miss President. Preferably you or Platinum," Black said. "But… I don't think Platinum likes me all too well."

Y shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe it's because you're the only junior who calls her by name only."

"What does X call her?"

"… Nothing," Y answered after a moment of thought. "He never talks about her, and if he absolutely must, he does everything he can to not say her name."

"Huh. … Anyways. I also want you to help me with picking the right birthday card. And message."

"Have any ideas?"

Black blushed in embarrassment a bit. "Well, there was a card that said: This is the most special card in the whole world because… And I was going to write: This is the card meant for you. … Thoughts?"

Y clamped a hand over her mouth as she began to giggle uncontrollably. "That's so… sweet and… corny!"

"So… is that a good thing?"

Y shuddered but nodded. "I think it's just fine. I don't know where exactly you learned to be that mushy, but… I think you got it right on." She glanced over at White frantically stirring as thick smoke began to billow from the cooking pot. "… Ugh. Looks like Miss Platinum and Blue would have to try to salvage the mess that's known as our dinner. And I'll probably have to help." She glanced at Black and smiled. "But don't worry. I'll keep your mushy secret."

…

3 hours later…

…

Blue exited the "changing room" created by her Ditto, now dressed in her night clothes. By now, all the other Dex Holders were ready to sleep. Red and Black were in the small tent set up for them, most likely discussing battle strategies or whatever guys liked to talk about. And now, Blue was going to crawl into the large tent set up for the girls, about to engage in deep, meaningful, and lengthy conversations… apparently known as "girl talk".

Blue crawled into the large tent as her Ditto morphed back into normal and slimed away somewhere to cuddle up to something as something, so that it could sleep in peace. Blue zipped up the tent entrance shut and turned to face the other three female Dex Holders. They were all dressed in their night clothes as well, hair loosened, and resting in their sleeping bags.

Y stretched her limbs and let out a long yawn. Unlike the others, she had to deal with seasickness earlier that day, so she was very eager to just go to sleep. White was lying on her side while checking her Xtransceiver, looking to see if she had gotten any messages from her two companies that required her immediate attention. And Platinum was seated upright, reading one of the handful of books she had brought from the Berlitz Mansion library. While for ordinary people, a single book was enough for many days, but for Platinum, a single book only provided a few minutes' worth of a distraction, given how fast she could read. Even as Blue got settled in her sleeping bag, Platinum had flipped the page at least a dozen times.

"So, today's been sure enjoyable, right?" Blue asked with a smile.

Platinum stuck a bookmark in between the current pages of her book and looked up at her senior. "Yes. Today has been absolutely fantastic, senior."

"Yeah. A perfect vacation," Y said. "… Except for the dinner."

"Oh, come on. It's not my fault!" White argued. "Why did the ingredients stick to the pot so quickly? I didn't have any time before it started burning."

"The pot was too heated," Blue said. "You only have a limited amount of time when the pot is at the perfect temperature. If it's too hot, things will burn."

"You need more experience in cooking," Platinum said as well. "Perhaps one day, you will become very proficient. Until then, I recommend you practice with Black."

"Is that how you got so good?" Y asked.

"Yes. Diamond has guided me for many, many hours," Platinum said. "At first, I was terrible. I had no experience in cooking. But with Diamond's help, I was able to learn quickly."

"Well, Black isn't a chef, so… that won't help me much," White said with a sigh.

"Maybe you two can learn together," Y said. "Hand in hand."

White groaned and put a hand over her face in embarrassment.

"There is no reason to be embarrassed," Platinum said with a warm smile.

"Yeah. I mean, everyone already knows," Y said teasingly. "You're like Ruby and Sapphire!"

Blue momentarily smiled at the thought about Ruby and Sapphire before she suddenly pulled back in surprise. She quickly looked at Y, who was turning to look over at her now.

'Is she going to bring that up now?' she thought, clenching her teeth.

"Blue, what about-" Y began, but Blue didn't let her.

She let out a long yawn and stretched her arms. "Oh, wow. I'm just so sleepy now. … I had to wake up early in the morning to prepare lunch."

Y blinked a few times before slightly narrowing her eyes. "… I'm really sleepy too. Unlike most everyone else, I didn't take a nap during the train ride. And I was seasick during the entire trip here, so I didn't get much rest either."

Platinum took off her glasses. "I suppose we should go to sleep now. I expect that we will have an eventful day tomorrow as well, so more rest we get the better."

"Who's going to be making breakfast?" White asked.

"Not you," Y said quickly. "Red is apparently terrible at cooking, and I'm guessing that Black isn't good either. And since Blue made the delicious lunch for us… I guess it'd be up to me and Miss Platinum. … Is that okay, Miss Platinum?"

Platinum nodded. "Certainly. I will gladly contribute to making breakfast for everyone."

"Great! I look forward to it," Y said happily. "So… let's sleep! Good night, everyone."

Platinum gave Blue a polite bow. "Good night, senior Blue."

Blue nodded. "Good night. You too, White."

"Good night."

Blue shut off the lantern illuminating the interior of the tent and lied down in her sleeping bag. She let out a long quiet sigh, glad that she had stopped Y's attempts to lead her into that conversation. … She wasn't ready for it. And she must never explore that thought either.

…

For a while, Blue lay in silence as her juniors slowly drifted off to sleep. Y fell asleep first, as she had a tiring day thus far. White was next, though she had taken another looking at her Xtransceiver, in case something had happened to her companies since the last time she checked her email less than 30 minutes ago. Eventually, satisfied that nothing demanded her attention, she shut off her Xtransceiver and drifted to sleep.

Platinum remained awake for much longer than her two juniors, as she still wasn't accustomed to sleeping in something that wasn't a super expensive bed. And since she had taken a nap on the train (thanks to the comforting embrace of her Altaria), she wasn't that sleepy either. She tossed and turned every now and then for a long while before finally falling asleep.

Now everything in the tent fell silent. Other than three sets of rhythmic breaths, there was no sound whatsoever. Blue silently sighed and closed her eyes. She proceeded to clear her mind of all thoughts so that she could sleep as well.

… But for some reason, she didn't fall asleep. Something felt… off. She felt as if there was some mandatory condition of sleep that wasn't being met. She rolled onto her side, trying to see if changing positions was more comfortable. … It didn't change anything. Instead, she started to feel cold. She curled up into a ball, rubbing her arms to warm herself up.

… Why was it cold? Sure, it was night time, but… it was still summer. She was in a tent shared by three others, and she was in a good quality sleeping bag. There was no reason for her to feel this cold and… empty.

And things were too quiet. Platinum, White, and Y didn't make much sound while asleep. They didn't toss and turn mid-sleep, nor did they snore. Blue frowned and tried to avoid focusing on the silence. Being distracted by a noticeable lack of sound was… weird. How was lack of sound bothering her this much?

Blue suddenly opened her eyes with a slight gasp, as the reason for her discomfort struck abruptly struck her.

… Red wasn't sleeping right next to her.

… For a few months now, Blue had been sleeping next to Red on his bed, and she was now used to his presence. Red lightly snored in his sleep, and tossed and turned every now and then. And his presence itself had provided Blue the warmth that lulled her into sleep. She had often found herself with her back pressed to Red's, enjoying the warmth. His occasional movements gave her the impression that she was not alone. Someone was with her, and very close to her too.

But right now, here she was, trying to sleep by herself. … And it wasn't working. She felt so… alone. The comforting warmth wasn't there anymore, nor were the reassuring snores or movements. Blue silently groaned and put her hands over her eyes. … Even her subconscious needed Red…

… But she could not tell him that. She must not tell him either. … This was an internal struggle that she could not afford to show. And it was very difficult.

Sooner or later, Platinum and White would notice it, as Y has already. And the internal struggle would become much, much more difficult.