"You'll all love this place. I guarantee it." Gold said smoothly to his juniors from the Sinnoh region. The quartet were walking through the bustling streets of Veilstone City, or rather three of them were walking and one was riding on her Rapidash.

"We're the ones from Sinnoh. I'm pretty sure we know what places are awesome. We don't need you, right Dia?" Pearl asked his food-loving best friend, who was eating a rice ball.

"Huh?" Dia looked up from his snack and saw the look in Pearl's eyes "Oh, right! W-we d-don't need you, Gold." Dia stuttered.

"See? Dia agrees with me." Pearl said while everyone sweatdropped, knowing that Dia did it only because Pearl would have slapped him if he said otherwise. "Let's go somewhere else!" Pearl cheered as he dragged his best friend along the pavement.

"Wait! My rice ball!" Dia, with his free hand, reached for his half-eaten rice ball, which had fallen to the floor.

"They're no fun. We'll just go ourselves!" Gold, in the same tone Pearl had used before he had run off, cheered before he walked off in a seemingly random direction. Platina hesitated, remembering Crys' words. 'Follow your friends. If you're alone with Gold, something bad's going to happen. Trust me.' Platina wasn't one to doubt the words of a senior, much less one with the sort of experience Crys had with Gold, but she was curious to see what Gold found so exciting. "You coming?" Gold's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Coming!" She chimed, commanding her Rapidash to follow the boy.

"Here we are!" Gold cheered as he gestured to the shining building in front of the two. Platina's eyes widened as memories of the place flashed before her eyes.

"I-I should not be here. I will go find Dia and Pearl." She cursed silently for stuttering and turned to run away, but Gold caught her arm.

"Nonsense! Gambling's a lot of fun!" Gold pulled her inside swiftly as he said this. Once inside, he pulled Platina close to him, as if to protect her. A normal person would have thought so, as the men in the building weren't exactly of the highest class.

Cries of "Yo, Gold!" and "'Sup, bro!" rang out as the gamblers caught sight of the Johto native. One person even asked "She your girlfriend?", to which Gold shook his head no. Platina's cheeks flushed red at the question, though she hated to think what that meant.

"See? The Game Corner's an awesome place. If only Dia and Pearl were here." Gold said to her. Platina silently agreed with him. "I come here often, so everyone knows me." He told her proudly. A man approached Gold, slapped his back, and laughed heartily.

"You up for a game?" The man asked, gesturing to a pool table which was already set up with fifteen multicolored balls.

"Sure." Gold let go of Platina to walk over to the table. Unsure of where to go, she decided to follow Gold.

"Your girlfriend's cute. She looks like she's got class too." The man said as he prepared his first shot.

"'Course she's got class. Platina is from the Berlitz family." Gold bragged as the man's eyes grew in surprise, causing him to miss. Platina noticed how Gold didn't deny the fact that the man thought they were in a relationship and blushed.

"Damn...Why would a girl like her be hanging out with a delinquent like you?" He inquired cheerfully as he pocketed the two ball.

"Hey! I'm not a delinquent! Besides, I'm charming, attractive, and fun to be around. What girl wouldn't want to hang out with me?" Gold shot back happily as he hit the cue ball, which narrowly missed its target.

"I can name a few." The man muttered as he missed his next target.

"Those are a few. A whole lot more only dream to be with me." Another one of the solids in the pocket.

"Why don't they just hang out with you? You're not even picky about the girls you hang with." Yet another one sank.

"They're too afraid. She's a little different." Gold pointed to Platina as he sank two balls with one shot. The two then played quietly for the rest of the game, which lasted about a minute.

"Damn...How do you do that? You're awesome at everyone of the games in the Game Corner, except for the slots." The man said in awe as he set down his billiard cue.

"You sure? Today's my day, I'm sure of it. Watch." Gold walked over to a slot machine and started it up. The reels turned quickly, the symbols on them almost completely blurred due to the speed. He pressed the three buttons below the reels to stop them, only for three different symbols to show. "Crap! Again!" Gold started the process over again, only for three different symbols to appear again. "Damn..." This process continued for about five minutes, with Gold losing each round. "I can't do this." Gold slumped back in his seat and sighed in defeat.

"Told you." The man said proudly.

"I bet you that your girlfriend can." A different man popped up behind Platina, who had positioned herself behind Gold to observe the all too familiar slot machines.

"Aak! Y-you!" Platina stuttered in surprise, realizing that the man behind her was none other than Maylene's father, who had dragged her into the Game Corner during her journey with Dia and Pearl after seeing her skill with the slots.

"You know this dude?" Gold inquired curiously.

"Yes, she does. I'm pretty sure no one remembers but me, but this girl had quite the winning streak going on here one day. I asked her to play with me, but her promise to her friend was too important before." The man told the group.

"Is this true?" Gold turned to Platina and asked. Platina, embarassed by Maylene's father's story, looked to the ground and nodded slowly.

"Pearl made me promise to not play again because he thought I was going to get addicted." She whispered almost inaudibly.

"Well, let's see if you really are that good!" Gold exclaimed loudly, getting up off the seat and pulling Platina into it simultaneously.

"Wha...? I-I can not! I promised Pearl!" Platina told them nervously, keeping her hands away from the buttons of the machine.

"Don't worry. I won't tell him. Neither will these guys, right?" Gold assured her, turning to the two other men, who nodded in agreement.

"A-alright..." Platina reluctantly agreed and started to play. Half of her mind told her to mess up on purpose, but the other half told her to impress Gold. The other half won. She quickly pressed the three buttons, and coins came cascading out of the machine.

"Damn...One more. Just to see if that wasn't a fluke." Gold told her. Platina repeated her process, causing more coins to emerge from the machine. Platina told herself to stop after the next one, but she couldn't control herself. She soon began to play uncontrollably, her fingers moving almost as fast as the reels. Gold's expression changed from a look of achievement to a look of distress. Beads of sweat fell down his cheeks and onto the floor, with no resistance from Gold himself.

"I told you she was amazing at the slots." Maylene's father said proudly with a grin on his face. Gold, on the other hand, was biting his lip, hoping that Platina would stop soon. When it was clear that Platina wasn't going to stop by the end of the day, Gold decided to take action.

"Stop it, Platina! You're getting addicted!" He exclaimed into her ear, though it was as if she was deaf. Her determination to win was rock solid, and all of Gold's efforts to make her stop weren't working. "Stop! Stop!" With each passing "Stop!", Gold's happy-go-lucky composure drifted further and further away.

"Let the girl play. She's really good." The man who played with Gold put a hand on Gold's shoulder.

"You don't understand! I shouldn't have taken her here in the first place! I have to set things right!" Gold snapped as he slapped the man's hand away.

"She's going to stop eventually." The man, who had never seen Gold say things like what he said previously, tried to calm Gold down the best he could.

"I've got to do something!" Gold shot back. "Wait. I have an idea." Gold's panicking face was replaced by a smirk for a fleeting second before returning to its original state. He turned Platina's face towards him, and she was about to pull away before Gold planted his lips on hers. Platina's determined eyes softened before they widened in shock. Her right hand stopped and hovered just a centimeter away from the button. When Gold finally pulled away, that same smirk was plastered onto his face.

"Gold..." Platina whispered in shock as her eyes locked with Gold's.

"What's going on? You two act as if you've never made out before." The man interrupted their 'moment'.

"We'll be needing a moment. Take all the coins the girl's won. She's not going to need 'em." Gold was the first to speak. The man grinned happily and filled a nearby container with the coins that were now his. Maylene's father also grabbed a container and began to reach for the coins.

"You two have fun." The man called back as he walked away, his container halfway filled with Platina's winnings. Maylene's father said the same thing before he went off to play another game, leaving the two Pokedex Holders alone with each other.

"Why'd you do that?" Platina finally managed to say after about five seconds of silence.

"Two reasons. One, you needed to stop playing. Two," Gold placed his lips on Platina's for a second time before finishing his sentence. This time, Platina kissed back. "I love you."

"I-I am unsure of what to say..." Platina stammered.

"You could start with an 'I love you'. We did kiss twice, you know?" Gold informed her as he seated himself on a nearby chair.

"Fine. I love you." Platina said sarcastically.

"Seriously. Try and be like Super-Serious Gal." He said, using his nickname for Crystal.

"I love you." Platina said before kissing the boy again. "Can I have a nickname as well?" Platina blurted after the two parted.

"What?"

"You know, similar to..." Platina chuckled slightly before finishing. "'Super-Serious Gal'."

"How...about...Girlfriend?"

"Something creative, if you will?"

"I'll think of that later."

"If you must." Platina placed a hand on Gold's leg. "You know, now that we are in a formal relationship, do you know what we are going to have to do?"

"Tell your parents you're going out with a delinquent?" Gold shrugged and grinned sheepishly.

"Even worse. We are going to have to tell Pearl that I played here."

"And that means what exactly?"

"That he is going to, how you say, 'kill' both of us?" And Gold only laughed at Platina's comment.