Character Overview:
Platinum is the female protagonist of the DP series, but she goes by the title Lady Berlitz, and her first name has been kept a secret since the beginning of the series until the story progresses to Canalave City. There were several occasions that her first name has been mentioned, but it has always been covered by other speech bubbles, as if being drowned out by other sounds or voices. This was deliberately done to wait for the release of the third sequel to Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, which title was planned as her first name.
Platinum is a descendant of the prestigious Berlitz family, which is a wealthy clan in Sinnoh with a history of more than 200 years, producing fine scholars in every generation. A family tradition calls for each individual to travel to the summit of Mt. Coronet, and collect a special material to create an accessory bearing the family crest. Like her father Sir Berlitz, she is acquainted with Prof. Rowan and has worked as his assistant before she set out on her journey, allowing her to know a lot about Pokemon.
Proud and arrogant, Platinum comes off as a spoilt girl, and only spends her nights at top-class luxurious hotels. She did not find it necessary to reveal her name to people of a lower class, as taught by her butler Sebastian, and thus refused to tell it to Dia and Pearl, whom she mistook as her bodyguards due to a mutual misunderstanding. However, Platinum actually has the heart of an innocent child underneath her perky exterior, and can sometimes come off as goofy even. As she weathered through various adventures under the support of Dia and Pearl, she gradually came to appreciate their presence, shared her glory of victory with them when she won the Super Contest, and even started addressing them by their first names after the incident at Veilstone City.
When Sir Berlitz became Team Galactic's victim of false ransom, Platinum rushed to Canalave City to find him, during which she discovered the truth about Dia and Pearl's real identities, something the boys have known since meeting the real bodyguards but decided to keep a secret from her for the sake of sustaining the ties they've worked so hard to keep. Platinum took the news hard since she trusted the boys so much, and locked herself behind close doors. After sorting out her thoughts through a fitful night's rest, during which she dreamt of the boys perishing in an explosion, she made up her mind to continue their companionship. She revealed her full name to the boys after confessing her own lies throughout their journey, an act to make them equal as friends instead of the client and bodyguard relationship they've shared so far.
According to Platinum herself, she reads at least 10 books each day since her childhood, and as a result, is very knowledgeable in many aspects, a reflection of the virtue she represents: knowledge, making her the most associated with Uxie of the Sinnoh lake trio, the knowledge Pokemon. She is almost like a walking encyclopaedia, which added to Dia and Pearl's misconception that she was a very professional tour guide at the beginning. However, Platinum believes that learning through first-hand practice is much more effective and interesting, and thus constantly wishes to try out and experience everything that comes along. It is therefore no surprise that she has decided to take on both gym and contest challenges, on top of many other things she desires to explore. She easily gets along with people due to her genuine interest and enthusiasm, and is acquainted with Cynthia, who has personally taught her about battling at Eterna.
The same cannot be said about her relationship with Pearl at the beginning though, who has a hot temper and refused to accept the rude attitude of this 'tour guide'. Pearl often got mad at Platinum's arrogance and denials, most of the time pertaining to acts that she was trying to hide from the boys. However, he was amazed at her knowledge and perseverance, and almost always ended up helping her out despite complaining about it. Dia, on the other hand, has a secret crush on Platinum, and knew right from the beginning that she is a true lady. He actively supports her in all of her actions, and strives to keep her happy and protected all the time.
Although seemingly weak and inept at battling when she started, Platinum has emerged as one of the quickest gym challengers in history, conquering six gyms in a matter of 25 days. Her journey has clearly equipped her with remarkable skills as a trainer, gaining the confidence of even Byron when she voiced her determination to thwart Team Galactic's evil schemes. Her talent lies in her ability to promptly put her experience and advice from others to practical use, with the help from her wide knowledge base. Her sources of inspiration ranged from Dia and Pearl's Manzai dialogue, her own drowning experience at the Great Marsh, and even the slot machines at Veilstone's Game Corner.
Platinum's design is based on the female protagonist of the fourth generation DS Pokemon titles, Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. With the exception of slight colour tone differences and a relatively longer scarf, her outfit resembles that of her game counterpart. She wears a Diamond Ring on her left finger which signifies the ultimate toughness, and a Pearl Ring on her right which symbolizes the ultimate roundness. Her items are mostly red in colour, including her Pokedex as well as her Poketch.
Occasionally, Platinum is seen without her scarf, and even removes her hat to put on a victory band around her forehead during training sessions with Dia and Pearl. During the Super Contest, she wears a silk dress with a laced chiffon shawl, and ties up her hair at the back into a bun. At the Great Marsh, she changed into a colland-like attire together with Dia and Pearl. On her way to Lake Acuity, she changed into new winter clothes, which match the attire of her game counterpart's Platinum design. However, she donned it again afterwards and remained in her DP outfit until the beginning of the Platinum series. Platinum's eyes are initially coloured greyish purple, and modified to a mixed metallic shade of gold and silver after the release of the Platinum game, which has the same duo colour scheme in its logo.
Platinum's journey began when she decided to follow her family tradition, and set out on a voyage towards the far-off Mt. Coronet summit, where she would obtain a special material to create an accessory that bears her family crest. She agreed to collect data on Sinnoh's Pokemon distribution for Prof. Rowan at the same time, and received three sets of Pokedexes, Poketches and three special Pokemon from him. Her father hired two professional bodyguards to protect her, and an accidental swap of enveloped caused Dia and Pearl to arrive at the agreed meeting place, and she mistook them as bodyguards intentionally chosen for camouflage purposes.
At Oreburgh, Piplup lost its ego when it could not sufficiently protect her from the wild Kricketots and Kricketunes, and Platinum decided to take on gym challenges to help it regain its confidence. Thanks to the training sessions with Dia and Pearl, she managed to obtain victory, and gradually became addicted to the practice as they travelled from city to city. They encountered Mars of Team Galactic at the Valley Windworks, and later met up with Cynthia at Eterna, who personally taught her about Pokemon battling. When they finally reached Mt. Coronet, they discovered that the cavern they have entered would not lead to the summit, and thus continued their journey on the eastern side of Sinnoh. However, while inside the cavern, they were ambushed by Cyrus, who decided to punish them for disturbing the peace of the sacred mountain.
At Hearthome, an accident led Platinum on stage, and when her dignity was questioned, she decided to challenge the Super Contest, and managed to emerge victorious with help of Dia and Pearl. Afterwards, her real bodyguards caught up with them at Veilstone, and the two men snatched Platinum back from Dia and Pearl, whom they believed to be her kidnappers. However, before she had a chance to formally meet her bodyguards, they were banished into another dimension by Saturn of Team Galactic.
Later, following another turmoil at Lake Valor and Platinum's gym challenge at Pastoria, the trio met up with Cynthia again at the Pokemon Mansion, who helped them clear the pack of Psyducks blocking Route 210. At Café Cabin, they learnt of Sinnoh's legend of the lakes from Cynthia's grandmother, and followed her back to Celestic Town, where they encountered Cyrus once again at the ancient ruins that hold the lake legends' secrets. Afterwards, the trio found themselves back at Hearthome, where Platinum engaged in a gym challenge against Fantina. Although she managed to claim victory once again, she was exposed to the shocking news about Sir Berlitz's disappearance at the Pokemon Academic Conference, and rushed to Canalave City with the boys. There, she found her father locked up in a transparent cube with Prof. Rowan, and also learnt the truth about Dia and Pearl's identity, which devastated her due to her trust in them.
Fortunately, she eventually came to terms with herself, and decided to treat Dia and Pearl equally as her companions from then on. The three began their individual journeys at that point to the three lakes of Sinnoh in an attempt to thwart Team Galactic's evil schemes, and Platinum headed to the north for Lake Acuity. On her way, she was rescued by Candice after fainting from the cold in a skiing accident, and subsequently challenged her at the Snowpoint Gym after bumping into Maylene who was there to visit Candice. After obtaining her seventh badge, Platinum headed to Lake Acuity together with Candice and Maylene to face Team Galactic.
At Lake Acuity, the girls were confronted by the TG Commander Jupiter, whose power and skills overwhelmed them all. As a result, Platinum failed to protect the lake guardian, Uxie, from being captured, and had no choice but to retreat back to Snowpoint City. Due to the snowstorm, she stopped by the Snowpoint Temple on her way, where she unknowingly recruited the legendary Pokemon Regigigas. With arrangements made by Byron, Platinum, Candice and Maylene met up with Volkner, the most powerful Sinnoh Gymleader, at the Spring Path, where Platinum convinced the man to give them personal training, and obtained her eighth and final badge during the process. She returned to Team Galactic's Veilstone headquarters afterwards, and after reuniting with Dia and Pearl, successfully freed Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf from their restraints, sacrificing their Pokedexes to the cloaked TG grunt while doing so.
Found and gathered by Cynthia, the trio headed towards the final battleground, the Spear Pillar atop Mt. Coronet, where the legendary deities Dialga and Palkia were clashing. The fallen Gymleaders bestowed several new team members to Platinum to aid her fight, but it was Regigigas who was hiding in her bagpack all this time that really managed to really hold down the dragons to prevent the energy portal from sucking everything in. Platinum accidentally stumbled upon the ancient scripture that Cynthia was carrying, and after deciphering it, learnt about the duality nature of Dialga and Palkia. As Cyrus only had one Red Chain left, the trio tackled the moment of power imbalance and successfully freed Dialga and Palkia. Platinum managed to obtain her accessory which bore her family crest after the crisis was over, but when a creature emerged from the portal to drag away Dialga, Palkia and Cyrus, it was obvious that a new challenge was on the horizon.
With the help from her mother, Platinum learnt that the alternate dimension which her true bodyguards were sent away to was probably a place known as the Distortion World. In order to rescue them, she headed to the Battle Zone where powerful trainers congregated, and worked to gather information on the Distortion World. She was joined by the International Police Officer, Looker, who was on a quest to crack down Team Galactic.
At the Battle Castle, Platinum had trouble managing her assets, but eventually mastered the trick and defeated the Castle Valet Darach. Although she failed to learn anything about the Distortion World, a boy named Buck appeared, and told them about the Stark Mountain and its resident Pokemon, Heatran, which he believed was being sought after by Team Galactic. Buck came at odds with Looker, and went off to Stark Mountain on his own. Platinum then challenged the Battle Arcade, where her slot-machine mastery gave her an easy time, until her roulette spin was interrupted by a quake from Stark Mountain before the Brain match, her first passive event forcing her to swap teams with the Arcade Star Dahlia. It was also at this point that Looker separated from Platinum to seek Buck, and Platinum, after much mental struggle, managed to defeat Dahlia.
While sending her team of Pokemon to Looker's aid, Platinum moved on to the Battle Factory, where the Factory Head Thorton was said to know something about the Distortion World. Upon her victory however, her battered team returned with a heavily injured Looker and Buck. In order to power up herself, she quickly challenged the Battle Hall as well, and defeated the Hall Matron Argenta with Froslass. She was then approached by the leader of the Frontier Brains, the Tower Tycoon Palmer, also the father of Pearl, who has managed to find information on the Distortion World with the help of Darach. The two then made their way towards the Distortion World on Palmer's legendary Pokemon, Cresselia.
Pokémon on her Active Team
Pokémon she has had or been partnered with
