It seems that the little Ruby/Sapphire cameo at the end of the last chapter gave thoughts that SL #003 would be the start of the RS segment. That is incorrect, I'm afraid. The cameo is to set the start of RS segment at a later date. SL #003 is the start of the DPt segment.

Segment: Diamond & Platinum.

Chapter 3: Candidates

April 21, Sandgem Town, 12 pm…

Diamond and Pearl followed the old butler Sebastian as he led them towards the main guest room in the massive Berlitz Mansion. Platinum had invited the two boys over, saying that she would appreciate their company during a special event she had to participate in. Diamond and Pearl didn't know what she meant, but they weren't going to refuse the invitation. Once the door to the main guest 'room' (felt more like an entire house), they saw Platinum sitting on a chair with a bored expression. The heiress looked over and upon spotting her two friends, beamed in joy.

"Diamond! Pearl! I am glad you two could come!" she said happily as she ran over towards them.

"Hey, Miss Lady. What are you doing in this room?" Pearl asked after a friendly wave.

"I have been-" Platinum was interrupted by a servant who appeared in the doorway to the guest room.

"My Lady, your tenth suitor has arrived."

Platinum sighed. "Thank you. But I do believe that the term 'suitor' is inappropriate for this situation."

"Suitor? What's going on?" Diamond asked, managing to hide his surprise and horror.

Platinum sighed again as she sat down on her chair. "My mother wishes for me to go on dates, and numerous people who are… interested have come already. It is my duty today to personally see those candidates and determine whether I like him or not. But this event has been terribly boring. I did not like this idea to begin with but I cannot disobey my mother. As such, I have invited you two over to accompany me."

Diamond felt his stomach lurch at the thought of seeing Platinum go on a date with someone. He felt terrible dread, afraid that he waited too long in trying to win the heiress's heart and that someone else may beat him to her. But Diamond still couldn't tell Platinum how he felt, as he was afraid that the heiress may not like him back. He simply stood beside her along with Pearl and stared ahead with a blank look.

Platinum straightened her skirt and indicated that she was ready to meet her 10th 'suitor'. The door opened and a tall boy entered. He introduced himself as the son of the president of the Pokétch company, and claimed that he personally designed Platinum's Pokétch. A blatant lie and all 3 Sinnoh Dex Holders knew it. The heir knelt in front of Platinum and took her hand. Diamond closed his eyes, unable to watch such a wretched scene. He wished that he was deaf when he heard the heir starting to deliver all sorts of compliments.

Pearl glanced at Platinum's face and realized that her expression was stone cold. It became evident when the heir tried to kiss her hand. Platinum pulled her hand back and politely refused the offer of seeing him ever again. Though her words were kind, Diamond and Pearl have been with her long enough to know that her voice and tone were as harsh as she could possibly manage.

Once the heir left with a sullen expression, Platinum let out a sigh in relief. Diamond also let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"So Miss Lady, what was so bad about that guy?" Pearl asked.

"I have seen his interviews a few times on television," Platinum replied. "And believe me. A Magikarp would have higher brainpower than him."

"Ouch," Pearl muttered. "Hey, this is kind of fun. Miss Lady, if the next guy isn't to your liking and he tries to kiss your hand, could you slap him for us?"

Platinum looked surprised at the request. "You… wish me to hurt the next visitor?"

"Yeah. It'd be very fun to watch, and it'll feel good for you too. But only if he's invading your personal space. Because then, you'll have every right to slap the hell out of him."

"If… if you believe he deserves it, then…"

The next heir (from the Sinnoh branch of Devon Corporation) immediately tried to kiss Platinum's hand. The heiress was slightly hesitant at first, but managed to slap him across the face. The next 'suitor' was no different, and ended up being slapped by Platinum.

"Pearl, you are right. It is fun," she said with a happy smile. She then rotated the diamond on her ring so that it would come in contact with the next visitor's face should he trigger Platinum's desire to slap him.

Pearl saw the position of the diamond ring and grimaced. 'Perhaps that's a little extreme… Oh well…'

But the next 'suitor' was very different. He was the heir of another wealthy family, and appeared to be very well mannered. He gave Platinum a formal bow and introduction and kept his eyes on hers at all times (instead of drifting towards her skirt). Unlike his predecessors, he respected Platinum's personal space and offered only the classiest compliments.

An alarm went off in Diamond's mind and he examined his 'rival'. The heir was kind of tall and statuesque, appeared very intelligent, and (Diamond hated to admit it) very good looking. The Sinnoh Dex Holder glanced at Platinum and she, too, appeared impressed. Her cheeks started to turn red from the barrage of clever compliments…

Diamond felt as if his world was falling apart when the heir offered Platinum a dinner date. He then felt as if those pieces all exploded when the heiress accepted the offer. Once the heir left, Platinum looked over at Pearl with excitement all over her face.

"Wow… I did not expect to meet anyone like him today."

"That's great, Miss Lady. I'm really happy for you," Pearl said with a smile. "Right, Dia?" he said as he looked over at Diamond. "… Dia?"

Platinum looked over at Diamond and noticed that he appeared rather… sick. She instantly became extremely worried, as he appeared to be on the verge of hyperventilation.

"Diamond, what is the matter?"

"Yeah, Dia. What's wrong?" Pearl asked.

"I – I don't know," Diamond lied. "It might've been something I ate."

"I shall go get a doctor at once," Platinum said as she hastily headed towards the door.

"No!" Diamond yelled out. "I'll be fine… I think I'll just… go home now. Have fun with your date, Lady, and I'll… uh… see you later…"

Platinum tried to stop him and insist that he sees a doctor immediately, but Diamond left anyways. Pearl followed so that he may find out what was actually going on. Platinum contemplated in following as well, but decided against eavesdropping on her friends. Instead, she went up to her room so that she may see them through the windows.

"Alright Dia, what's wrong?" Pearl asked once Diamond stopped near the Pokémon Center. "And don't tell me it's because of what you ate. We both ate the same thing and I'm perfectly fine here. And don't say you're allergic because you've been eating the same food for years now."

Diamond buried his face in his arm leaning against a tree and began pounding the tree with his other fist. "The Lady's going on a date with someone…"

"Yeah. And you should be very happy for her since she's your friend," Pearl said. A thought occurred and he appeared rather surprised. "Unless… … Oh boy…" He let out a sigh and ran his hand through his hair. "You like Miss Lady, don't you? That's why you're acting like this now that she has a date…"

"I just… can't believe it."

Pearl paced around a little with his arms crossed. "Alright Dia, no… Diamond, since when did you like Miss Lady?"

"Since we first met," Diamond said slowly.

"Ah, so it's that 'love at first sight' stuff. And I assume you didn't tell her, correct?"

Diamond nodded. "I couldn't tell her…"

"Alright, so you're acting like this because you think that you're going to lose her to someone else." Pearl sighed again. "What a messy problem… Miss Lady doesn't know you like her, you're too… nervous to tell her directly, and she's too oblivious to find out for herself. Great…"

"So… What am I going to do?"

"I'm thinking that you have… 3 choices. The first one is that you go to Miss Lady and tell her right now that you love her. I'd say it's the best choice because it takes the least amount of time and effort. The second choice is that we take her on a journey somewhere. That'll take her away from potential date candidates and you'll have ample time to tell her how you feel. And there will be plenty of times when you're alone with her and she may figure out that you like her on her own. The third choice is that you back off today, let Miss Lady enjoy her date, hope that she doesn't like the other guy, and look for another opportunity. That's probably the worst choice here because it's riddled with uncertainties. Pick one or you're kind of screwed, buddy. You can't sulk forever, you know."

Diamond sighed as he thought for a while. Eventually he made up his mind and spoke. "Your first choice seems too hasty and the third choice seems too… slow. I think the second choice is the best course of action."

"Great. Then this is what we're going to do…"

From her mansion, Platinum watched her two friends, concerned about Diamond. She believed what Diamond had said, as she knew that her friends wouldn't lie to her anymore. And watching Diamond from afar, Platinum determined that he was suffering from food poisoning. But just to be sure…

Platinum soon left her mansion and ran towards her friends. Diamond and Pearl stopped talking when she came close and looked at her in surprise.

"Diamond," Platinum said with visible concern. "Please go to a doctor. I believe you may have food poisoning."

"No, no… I think I'll be alright," Diamond replied with a smile.

The heiress did not look convinced at all. "You appear to have been crying. Are you certain that you will be alright?"

"He'll be fine," Pearl said. "He's like a Snorlax. No matter what he eats, he won't get sick. Not for long, anyways."

Platinum smiled at the reference. "If you say so."

"Miss Lady, do you remember a year ago in Solaceon Town when we were taking care of that Phione?"

"Yes, of course."

"And you remember hearing about that Gold guy?" Pearl asked.

"Ah yes. The one whose personalities were passed down to the Pokémon he was hatching. Yes, I remember hearing about him."

"What do you say that we all go over to Johto and find him? It'd be fun," Pearl suggested. "We'll be traveling all around Johto, like the old times when we traveled around Sinnoh."

"You could challenge the Gyms there," Diamond added.

Platinum looked very interested. "Oh, that does sound very fun. When do you suggest we leave?"

"How about tomorrow at noon?" Pearl asked. "You do have that date of yours today."

Platinum nodded. "Okay, tomorrow then. I shall wait for you here and we will go to Canalave City together."

Once the heiress waved at her friends goodbye and returned to her mansion, Diamond looked at Pearl with a begging look.

"Pearl… if the Lady really likes her date tonight, I'm done for. So… could you make sure that it doesn't happen?"

"You want me to… sabotage Miss Lady's date?" Pearl asked in surprise. "I can't do that! If she sees me, she'll kill me!"

"Please, Pearl. I can't lose her!"

Pearl groaned. "Fine… though technically, you can't lose her seeing how you never got her to begin with. But if she spots me, I'm blaming you."

…

6 hours later…

…

Pearl waited inside the Pokémon Center and looked through the windows at the Berlitz Mansion. Platinum's date arrived soon and the door to the Berlitz Mansion opened. Platinum appeared in the doorway, wearing a beautiful dress. Seeing her so happy, Pearl became hesitant in carrying out his plans to sabotage her date. But he had to sabotage the date for Diamond…

Pearl sighed. 'How the hell did I get mixed up in this?'

As a result, in a way to comply with both of his friends' best wishes, Pearl decided to watch from afar and simply… test Platinum's date. If the heir proves his worth through the secret tests, then Pearl would back off and see what happens. If the heir turns out to be a complete jerk then Platinum would surely cancel the date and Pearl wouldn't have to do anything.

With his plan in mind, Pearl secretly followed Platinum and her date as they headed towards the best restaurant in Sandgem Town. Either the heir was cheap and didn't want to go to Jubilife for the date, or he had planned something in Sandgem…

Pearl sent out his Diglett and Buizel and got them to secretly create a large puddle of mud in the path of Platinum and her date. That would be the first test of character.

Platinum and her date soon arrived in front of the large mud puddle. The heiress looked left and right, wondering how exactly she was going to cross without ruining her good shoes.

"My Lady, perhaps you should use me as a method of transportation," said the heir.

"I beg your pardon?" Platinum asked in confusion.

"If I may carry you, you will be able to cross this obstacle without any concern," the heir replied.

Platinum blushed in embarrassment but didn't say anything. As such, the heir lifted her onto his arms and began crossing the mud puddle. Pearl observed the two from afar and figured that the heir had passed his first test. Now, on to the second test…

Pearl followed the two to the restaurant. Though he wasn't able to follow them into the building (reservation required), he was able to see them through the windows (from a distance). Once Platinum and her date sat at a table and ordered their dinner, Pearl moved into action. He sent out his Infernape to pick up a small rock and take position by one of the open windows.

Pearl soon gave the signal and the Infernape threw the small rock through the open windows and onto the floor of the restaurant. A waiter carrying hot tea stepped on the rock and stumbled, spilling the tea onto Platinum's date.

"I – I am terribly sorry, sir," the waiter stammered out.

"That is quite alright," the heir said nicely as he tried to wipe away the tea with the towel he took from the waiter. "Just make sure that it does not happen again."

Pearl observed Platinum's expression and realized that his sabotage attempt had done the exact opposite of what it was supposed to do. The heiress seemed even more impressed with the gentle nature of her date… But the tests were far from over.

…

3 hours later, 9:30 pm…

…

Pearl grumbled silently as he tailed Platinum and her date from a distance. He tried sabotaging the date 4 more times and each attempt had failed miserably. He even tried setting off the fire alarm in the restaurant (by sending his Chatot to pull the fire alarm so that he wouldn't have to set the building on fire) to see if it roused any panic (and thereby cowardice) from the heir, but with no avail. The heir had calmly led Platinum out of the restaurant and headed into another one to continue their date. So now, as Pearl followed the two who were going for a nice after-meal walk, he was thinking of what to say to Diamond to report mission failure.

'Should I just tell him that Miss Lady's date is actually a great guy? Should I tell him that Miss Lady's happy now?'

Pearl snapped out of his thoughts when he heard some yelling from ahead. He took cover behind a nearby tree and looked ahead to see what the commotion was about. Platinum and her date were surrounded by 3 (probably drunk) thugs, who appeared to be mugging them for money. Pearl reached into his bag for his Infernape's Pokéball, but decided to wait a little to see what the heir would do. If Diamond was in that situation, he would probably stay between Platinum and the thugs, protecting the heiress at all costs. But right now, it appeared that the heir was… behind Platinum…

Pearl frowned and focused on his hearing. Surely the heir wasn't hiding behind Platinum… Could he be protecting her in case one of the thugs attacked from behind? Surely the heir would be doing something heroic seeing how he was such a gentleman throughout the night.

"Take the girl if you wish but let me go!" the heir yelled out.

The hasty Dex Holder groaned. He had spent so much effort trying to find a flaw in the heir and all his effort had been pointless. As it turned out, he didn't even need to do anything. If he had known that the heir would turn his tail at the slightest sign of danger… Pearl shook his head. So much for heroism… He quickly took out his Infernape's Pokéball seeing how the heir pushed Platinum towards the thugs and fled, leaving the girl to fend for herself. Platinum appeared horrified and even terrified. She wasn't carrying any Pokéballs and the sudden betrayal from her (otherwise perfect) cowardly date was all too shocking.

Platinum eyed the three thugs nervously as she tried her best to maintain some distance from them. The thugs started to reach towards her and she swatted their hands away. Just as she was about to scream for help, she saw Pearl running closer in her peripheral vision.

The hasty Dex Holder sent out his Tauros and Infernape to intimidate the thugs. But he had to get close enough so that the two Pokémon would appear right next to Platinum, otherwise the thugs might take her hostage. Platinum seemed to relax significantly now that she was surrounded by her close friend's Pokémon. The thugs soon fled in terror, allowing Pearl to successfully rescue Platinum without any problems whatsoever.

"Miss Lady, are you okay?" he asked once he returned his Pokémon after ensuring the thugs were long gone.

Platinum suddenly hugged him. "Yes. Thank you for saving me Pearl."

Pearl was surprised at the sudden embrace but soon patted her on the back to comfort her. "Uh… everything's okay now, Miss Lady."

Platinum pulled back and timidly thanked him again. She kept her eyes on his and smiled nervously. Pearl stared at her expression carefully, wondering why she was looking at him like that. Her cheeks were starting to turn red… Soon everything made sense and he groaned inwardly.

'Uh oh… Is this that 'falling in love with the hero' thing? Ah, crap… today's just not going according to plan…'

Note: the ending was done rather hastily and wrapped up quickly in order to ensure that no SL chapter is exceedingly long. The aim is to keep every SL chapter between 3000 and 3500 words (this ignores notes).