I didn't think this would be necessary, but apparently it is. Okay, note: for all those who think that many Dex Holders seem out of character in SY. Well, of course they act differently than in Pokémon Special. What did you expect? The OLDEST Dex Holder to appear (non-cameo) in Pokémon Special is 17 (Red, Green, Blue in FRLG E post birthday, Gold, Silver in HGSS post birthday). The YOUNGEST in SY is 18. Gold, who is 27 here, will NOT act/behave/think exactly the same as his manga self, who is at most 17.

Be sure to check the very important update on my profile page (under Alternate Communications). To put it short, I have a Tumblr account. If you followed SA and SR, this is the 3rd time you see this message. If you still haven't gone to see it or follow it, well… there's a 4th message coming in the SL update.

Speaking of repeating messages, here's the start of another one (or two):

It has come to my attention that there are stories out there stating that they were inspired by something from S-EARLY and mentions my ID.

It has also come to my attention (a while ago, actually) that there are drawn arts out there depicting scenes within S-EARLY and also mentions my ID.

Now… I wasn't told about them (been told about some of the art, but none of the stories), for reasons unknown. I mean, I think it stands to reason that if you make an art/story inspired by/based on someone else's work AND you mention that person's ID, you at least TELL that person so they can check it out.

Anyways, I don't mind the existence of those stories/arts. Not at all. I just wish I was TOLD about them so I could check them out. So! If any of you know of these stories/arts, I would highly appreciate it if you would let me know. The arts will be posted on my blog as I find them (only the good ones. But I have VERY low standards when it comes to art, so they all seem good).

Chapter 9: The Originals

Goldenrod City, Johto, 3 pm…

Gold and Ruby peeked through the windows. Platinum and Sapphire were still in the daycare center, but weren't arguing. They both had their backs turned to the other and refused to talk. But the atmosphere was bone-chilling. They haven't started physically attacking each other, so… things weren't that bad. … For now, at least. But soon, fists would be thrown. Hair will be pulled. Faces will get scratched. Many furniture and male Dex Holders would be broken in half. And then things will be fun (to watch).

"Damn, that cold war is still going on," Gold muttered.

"At least they're not fighting each other," Ruby commented.

"Come on, you girls! Start fighting!" Gold said. "I want to watch the fight! You can't even pay to see stuff like this."

"You do know that Sapphire might hear you, right?"

"… I said nothing."

The two male Dex Holders stayed outside, occasionally ducking in cover whenever one of the female Dex Holders turned to look in their direction.

Inside the daycare, Sapphire and Platinum still faced opposite directions with their arms crossed. Sapphire spent the time thinking of things she could say to Platinum, such as clever insults and ways to humiliate her. Platinum simply ignored Sapphire's presence and focused on her Pokégear, sending messages to the servants and guards back home for updates on her parents' condition.

The cold war continued for another hour until Crystal returned. Sapphire and Platinum quickly pretended as if absolutely nothing happened the moment the Johto Dex Holder entered the daycare. Gold and Ruby silently followed her inside.

"Okay, I'm back," Crystal announced. "Those hell raisers are really a handful. Emerald will be very busy from this point on until I return."

"More hell raisers?" Ruby asked. "… Why are there so many troublesome orphans in that city?"

Crystal sighed. "I don't know. The Dunsparce Wars did orphan a lot of kids. And it just happened that… there were many troublemakers in that bunch."

"The Dunsparce Wars were that bad, huh?" Sapphire muttered.

"Yeah. You've seen the new Sprout Tower, right?" Crystal asked. "The old one was completely destroyed in the wars. So did the Tin Tower of Ecruteak." She soon noticed something. Something in the atmosphere… "Did someone turn on the air conditioning, or something?" she asked as she rubbed her arms.

"… No," Gold answered, rather surprised by the lack of heat inside the daycare. Damn, so Platinum's anger really was cold. Literally, somehow.

"Why were you and Ruby outside anyways?" Crystal asked Gold.

"Oh, no reason," Ruby quickly answered. "We weren't doing anything suspicious."

Crystal raised an eyebrow. "… Right."

"Senior Crystal, I think we should head to Pallet Town now to meet seniors Green and Blue," Platinum suggested, forcing her tone to be lighthearted.

"Okay. But first, let's go to Violet City again. I think we gave Black and White enough time alone."

…

Meanwhile, in Violet City, Black simply sat beside White in the med bay and silently stared at the wall. White remained silent too, and just waited for Black to say something. Although he had entered the med bay a couple of hours ago, he still hadn't said anything.

Black sighed again. He did have a bunch of things to say to White. But the moment he entered the med bay, he forgot them all.

The silence continued. Each time the second hand of the clock ticked, it seemingly became louder and louder. White stared at it as it continued its endless journey around the clock. Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore. She had to say something to end the silence. She felt as if she already waited for years anyways.

"Black," she started quietly. "For whatever it's worth… I'm sorry."

"… Yeah…" Black muttered.

White gently put her hand on top of his. Black stared at her hand before he pulled back. White slowly withdrew her hand and sighed.

"… I really missed you. I thought I'd never see you again. You have no idea how much that hurt me."

"Miss President," Black said abruptly. "… Why didn't you tell me about Curtis?"

"Because he wasn't important. I don't know what he thought, but to me, he was just some employee," White answered. "I never liked him."

"And all those pictures of him and you?" Black asked. "You two looked pretty happy together. As if you were dating."

"… He asked me to be in the picture with him. I didn't refuse because I didn't want to appear cold. But when he kissed me, I warned him not to do it again. But then he started to claim that we were dating and that I was his girlfriend. I fired him for that, years ago." White looked into Black's eyes. He was still suspicious of her, and it hurt. "… Black, don't you trust me?"

Black sighed. "Miss President… I do trust you, but… I don't know. I mean, how would you feel if some random girl named Yancy or something suddenly came out of nowhere and claimed to be really close to me?"

White looked down at the floor and sighed. "… I see your point, Black. And there's nothing I can do about it."

"… Sorry."

"Odd how you mentioned that name," White muttered. "Yancy works for me in the Pokéstar Studios."

"Oh. What a coincidence."

"See, Black? Being suspected of something you didn't do can be quite hurtful." White shook her head and got off of the bed. "I know you don't have anything to do with her. She's already dating someone. … Or was, anyways. I think she got dumped."

Black got off the bed too. He took a deep breath as he prepared himself. "Miss President, I'm glad you brought that up."

White turned to look at him. "Huh?"

"I don't know for sure if I want to believe what you're telling me. I know what I heard from you when you were mind controlled. Now, I'm sure your kidnapper didn't instruct you to say these things. He wouldn't know about Curtis if he did instruct you. But if he didn't, then everything you said to me is all true. So, until I can sort this mess out…"

White gasped and she suddenly looked pale. "… You… you're breaking up with me…"

Black grimly nodded. "Yes. Sorry."

"But… I…" White stammered, trying to say her last thoughts. But her thoughts were jumbled up thanks to the sudden breakup.

Black looked away from her shocked expression and left the med bay. He closed the door behind him just as he heard a sob from the inside.

White sobbed for a few minutes but soon calmed down. She wiped away her tears and sighed.

"… Got dumped…" she muttered sadly. "… I never thought this could happen… … What did I say to him? …" White looked down at her own body. The cute clothes she was currently wearing bothered her now. A couple of years back, she put them on so she could… impress Black. And now, they were just a painful reminder. "… Black, how could you do this to me?"

White closed her eyes. She didn't want to see her cute clothes anymore. So with her eyes closed, she proceeded to take off her clothes and threw them on the floor. She then un-did her cute hairstyle and simply sat on the bed of the med bay.

After another minute of simply sitting on the bed without really wearing anything, White perked up as a thought occurred.

"… This is… temporary. Black didn't say that he didn't love me. He said "until"… until this mess is over. … He will return to me one day…"

With another sigh, White tied her hair back into the long ponytail she had when she first met Black. It was more comfortable than the two circular… whatever she had recently. Afterwards, she picked up her discarded clothes and straightened them out. She didn't want to see the clothes in full, as they still reminded her. Instead, she'd modify them so she'd still be reminded, but with her own thoughts added.

White searched the cabinets in the med bay until she found the pair of scissors. With them, she proceeded to cut off the sleeves of her own shirt. Once she was satisfied with the new sleeveless shirt, she quickly put it on. Even though Black was unlikely to re-enter the med bay, wearing only her undergarments was bound to create an embarrassing scene. With only her shirt on, White focused on the black leggings/tights. They weren't comfortable to wear. They were suffocating, actually. So she cut them too. Into shorts. She misjudged the length so the new shorts ended up a bit… short. But that didn't matter. She'd still keep the beige shorts… skirt thing over the newly created shorts.

White put on her "new" clothes and threw away the remnants. She looked down at her bare arms and legs and focused on the borders of her clothes. The cut marks were quite visible. Good.

"… Black will come back to me someday. Until then, I'm like my clothes. Damaged, imperfect, incomplete. But when he does come back, I'll change into new clothes. New… and improved…"

…

Several minutes later, Gold, Crystal, Ruby, Sapphire, and Platinum returned to Violet City so they could take Black and White to Pallet Town. Black greeted his 5 seniors from outside the private jet.

"Black, did you talk to White?" Platinum asked.

Black nodded. "It took a long while, but yes."

"And did you sort things out with her?"

"Yes. Sort of."

"Sort of?" came a female voice from the doorway of the private jet. "I don't think that's what happened. You were pretty definite."

Black looked back and spotted White in her "new" clothes. White walked down the stairs and stopped in front of her seniors. Purposely ignoring Black's curious look, she gave her seniors a polite bow.

"Hello, my name is White, and I'm from the region of Unova."

Gold, Crystal, Ruby, and Sapphire all shook hands with her. Platinum was exempt, since she had already talked to her once before. Sapphire looked at the "new" clothes of White.

"So… what did you do to yourself?" she asked. "When we rescued you, you weren't wearing… those, exactly."

White cast a slightly resentful glance at Black. "He would know."

Ruby and Gold noticed the icy look on White and instantly glanced at each other. Yep. This was happening again. Another ice-cold girl… Time to flee like men the moment her anger faced their direction.

White soon lightened her expression and bowed to Ruby, Sapphire, and Platinum. "Thank you for saving me. I really appreciate your assistance."

"Don't mention it," Sapphire said. She cast a slight glance at Platinum. "It's our duty to save a fellow Dex Holder from trouble. Especially when an entire region is in da-"

"We should hurry," Platinum said, effectively interrupting Sapphire. "In order to put a complete halt to the chaos in Unova, we must get help from our Kanto seniors."

White nodded. "Yes. We should put a stop to the chaos in Unova as soon as we can. So if we are all ready, I'd like for us all to go over to Pallet Town together. And once we have all met, perhaps we can get to know each other better."

"Yes. We should," Platinum agreed. She focused her attention to the guards she brought along. "I would like you to stay here and guard the private jet. But be ready. I will call you to come and get us when we are all ready."

"Yes, my Lady!" the guards said in unison.

"And if you see Curtis," White said to them. "Can you tell him that he's fired, was fired, and always will be fired, and that he's not allowed back on the private jet?"

The guards all looked over at Platinum so that she may verify the order. The heiress gave them a nod.

"Consider it done," one of the guards said.

"Thank you."

…

An hour later, 4:30 pm, Pallet Town, Kanto…

…

"I think this is it," Crystal said as she got her Xatu to slowly land. "Yeah. This is it. We're here!"

The other Dex Holders all landed beside Crystal and all the Dex Holders returned all of their Pokémon. Once everything was ready, Crystal knocked on the front door.

"Do you come here often?" Sapphire asked.

"No. I see Green and Blue regularly, but only in Professor Oak's lab. We rarely visit each other's homes," Crystal replied. "Not that we need to, because we see each other every day."

The door soon opened and a woman appeared in the doorway. She had bright blue eyes and long brown hair, and appeared to be in her mid 20s.

"Hi, Crys!" she said happily the moment she saw the Johto Dex Holder. "And Gold too."

"Hi, Blue," Crystal said with a bright smile. "How are you doing?"

"Good, good." Blue looked over at Ruby and Sapphire and blinked a few times. "… Ruby and Sapphire? Wow, it's been so long. Look at you guys. All grown up."

"Hi, Blue!" Sapphire said with a short bow.

"I wonder what brings you all here," Blue said as she looked between her known juniors. "And who are you guys?" she asked as she faced Black, White, and Platinum.

Platinum gave her a polite bow. "Hello, senior Blue. I am Platinum Berlitz, a Sinnoh Dex Holder."

"I'm Black, Unova Dex Holder," Black said afterwards.

"And I'm White, Unova Dex Holder," White added.

Blue slowly nodded. "I always wondered about that. Why there weren't any news of other Dex Holders after Emerald. And now, at the age of 30, I see at least 3 more juniors."

"There are two more," Platinum said. "But they are not here with me."

"So, there are 14 Dex Holders now?"

Sapphire frowned. "14? Emerald is the 10th. We have Black and White from Unova, and 3 more from Sinnoh. Shouldn't that be 15?"

Blue's expression slightly darkened. "Oh, right. We never told you…"

"… Never told us what?" Ruby asked.

Blue sighed. "… Come in." She opened the door wide so the other Dex Holders could enter. "Don't make too much noise. The baby's sleeping."

"Baby?" Platinum asked quietly.

"My daughter," Blue answered.

"How's your other kid?" Crystal asked.

"Green sent him away," Blue answered with a sigh.

"Where? And why?" Crystal asked again.

"He sent him to Chuck in Cianwood City," Blue said. "Apparently he wants our son to be as strong as he is. As in, he wants him to grow up just like him. So now, our 5 year old son is on the opposite side of Johto, going through the same training session with Chuck."

"Wow," Crystal muttered. "That's… wow."

"Yeah. Green is a… strict father for sure," Blue said. "And if he's implying that my daughter should get kidnapped at the age of 5 and be separated from me for 12 years, he's got another thing coming! I'm installing motion trackers all around the house so no bird can fly remotely close without being detected. A simple program will determine if that bird is large or strong enough to carry a child. If it is, I'll be on full alert, ready to kick it back to wherever it came from."

"I… see…" White muttered. "I assume you had some… bad run-ins with these birds."

"You can say that," Blue said. "Hmm… maybe some anti-air defenses will help…"

"Yes, Blue. Because we're so sure that our daughter will get kidnapped in the exact same fashion as you were," came a male voice from the living room. "Paranoia at its finest."

Blue rolled her eyes. "Yes, Green. Paranoia. Says the guy who installed gyrating laser grids in his Gym. Along with security cameras equipped with infrared sensors to see in the dark and through smoke."

The other Dex Holders came in sight of Green and he observed each one. He gave a slight nod to Crystal and Gold, the same for Ruby and Sapphire, and simply stared at the three new juniors.

"And they are?"

The three new Dex Holders bowed to him and introduced themselves. Green didn't respond as he sat down on a chair. Blue sat down next to him and signaled the others to sit. Once everyone was seated, Green spoke.

"Crystal, what brings you and everyone else here?"

Crystal cleared her throat and explained everything she knew so far. Black and White filled in the gaps to her explanation so no details would be lost.

"I see," Blue muttered. "So you're here to ask me and Green to help you save Unova."

"Yes. I already agreed to help, and I think it's our duty as Dex Holders," Crystal said.

"You know, ever since that dreaded Farfetch'd Uprising 8 years ago, I've officially retired as an active Dex Holder," Blue said. "Not to mention, I have my kids to take care of. Well, kid, since the other one is all the way in Cianwood."

"You can get Silver to babysit for a while," Crystal suggested.

"If I knew where he was," Blue said.

"Oh, come on. I know you two have emergency contact options always available between yourselves," Crystal said. "Plus, Daisy lives with Bill in Cerulean. You can always get them to babysit."

Blue let out a sigh. "Well, I suppose it would be nice to save the world one more time." She soon smiled and nodded. "Alright then. I guess it's my destiny to fight evil, whether or not I have kids. I'll ask Daisy to babysit for me." She looked over at Green. "You coming with me, sweetheart?"

Green shrugged. "I can't say no. I'm legally obliged to say yes."

Blue shook her head. "… You're not being sweet if you put things that way." She stared at her wedding ring and examined the diamond on it. "I still don't know how exactly you managed to propose to me."

"Blue, I wanted to ask," Sapphire started. "For a while now. What happened to Red?"

Blue and Green glanced at each other. Blue looked rather uneasy and Green didn't appear all that comfortable either.

"… Red, huh?" Blue muttered eventually.

"Yeah. Gold and Crystal won't tell us what happened," Sapphire said.

"… It's been years since we last saw Red," Blue said with a sigh. "… And Yellow."

Green rose to his feet and walked towards the windows. "Red disappeared 7 years ago after Yellow… died."

Sapphire blinked. "… What?"

Crystal let out a sigh and put a hand on Gold's for comfort. Gold patted her on the back as he recalled what happened.

"Red and Yellow were finally dating," Blue said. "But one day, Red had to go on a champion's meeting in Sinnoh. Yellow couldn't go with him. None of us could."

"And while he was gone, she got sick," Green said. "A specific strand of virus that only affects those from the Viridian Forest. Giovanni had it, but he was cured by Celebi. Lance had it, but his powers were strong enough to survive. Barely. And Yellow got it much earlier than them. But she didn't have Celebi to help her, and her powers weren't strong enough. And it seems that this virus affects those with powers much faster than those without. Giovanni lasted a few years before he was cured. Lance suffered for a couple of days before the virus died. And Yellow… died in a week."

"Couldn't you have helped her?" White asked.

"Yes. We could have," Green said. "If she told us. She didn't tell any of us. She thought we'd be too worried."

"I only found out because I went to visit her," Blue said. "And she looked like death. I called everyone over, including Red, so we can find a way to help her. But by that time, she had passed the point of no return."

"Before we could even figure out what was bothering her, she passed away," Crystal said quietly.

"And this was before senior Red returned," Gold added. "He came as fast as he could, but Sinnoh was just too far away."

"Red took the news hard," Green said. "He thought it was his fault that Yellow died. Irrational survivor's guilt, of course."

"I think it bothered him more to know that he wasn't there for her death," Blue said. "He returned to Kanto a day after she died. And… … I never saw him behave like that…"

"And a day after he returned, he just disappeared," Crystal said. "He left behind all his stuff, took only his Pokémon and we never saw him since."

"Did you at least look for him?" Ruby asked.

Blue nodded. "Of course. We searched everywhere. Including the depths of Mt. Silver. I almost got caught in a rockslide, but I searched that mountain inside and out."

"Now we just hope that one day, he'll return to us," Crystal said. "We all miss him."

"That's too bad," White muttered. "I really wanted to meet him."

Blue examined her new juniors. "… There may be a way to find him."

White perked up. "There is?"

"Yes. We couldn't find him because Red knows us and we're very well known around here. Every time we heard of a trace of him and we went to find him, he vanished because he heard about us coming," Blue said. "But he doesn't know you. He knows up to Emerald, but no one after. So, Platinum, Black, and White, if you three went to find him, he wouldn't disappear again."

Gold and Crystal slowly rose to their feet. "We'll start digging up information. Unusual occurrences, that sort of thing."

"Great. Do hurry." Blue let out a short sigh. "Red… I miss him." She looked over at her juniors and smiled. "If you do manage to find him, he'll be a lot more helpful than me or Green. We retired and focused on building a family. Knowing Red, he probably spent all this time training or fighting. He'll be very useful." She glanced at the clock to gauge the time. "Gold and Crys will probably return with the information tomorrow. Until then, you can stay here and get to know each other better."

Abrupt ending. Had to stop here, or risk a 9000 word chapter.

Just like SL, SY's incorrect attire shifts for Black and White are being reverted. Odd, if you think about it. White hints at the existence of Rakutsu with the "dumped Yancy" thing, yet Black is wearing Rakutsu's attire. Ha. And just like SL, SY's attire un-shifts don't make much sense. And for the sake of logic (however little the logic may be), White's SY attire is Faitsu's BW2 attire, but in the shape of White's BW attire. Why? Because White wouldn't be carrying her old attire with her everywhere she went. She's not Ruby.

For those who might find it weird that Ruby and Gold keep running away from possible girl-rage, it makes sense, really. Out of all the female Dex Holders, who's the scariest when angry? Sapphire. And probably Crystal. Who's closest to them? Ruby. And Gold.

And as I said in the beginning of SY, there will be 5 Dex Holders who will not appear for various reasons. All 5 have been mentioned, and the reasons given.

Diamond and Pearl, because they're on a random comedy trip to Johto. For the same reason, they're MIA even though Platinum and the others WERE in Johto. And Diamond's presence would screw with the Sapphire vs. Platinum thing going on.

Emerald, because Crystal's forcing him to stay behind (and off-screen) to prevent the 4th Generation hell raiser orphans from burning down the orphanage.

Silver, because Giovanni went missing and he's on a journey to find him.

And Yellow, because she's dead. Oh, boohoo.