CROSSOVERPAIRINGLOVER

Tis was the season for many things.

Tis was the season of travel and of kindness.

Tis was the season of vast commercial profit and corny television specials.

Tis was also the season that boggled Cynthia's mind.

Not the idea of giving, she wasn't Scrooge.

Not the idea of fighting each other hand and foot for electronics, she had once put someone in a headlock over a nice swimsuit. In her defense though, she had shoved her aside first quite rudely.

Not even the idea of dressing up in a female Santa costume.

However what really boggled her mind was...

"What was the impetus of this holiday?!" Cynthia asked aloud, her teenage face twisted in a mixture of confusion and frustrations as she shut a historical codex closed.

Next to her Professor Carolina shook her head before petting her on the back.

"Whatever it was, it doesn't have to be figured out this holiday season. Enjoy yourself Cynthia, and leave the overthinking for next year."

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VIRORO-KUN

Flint had spent the whole year making sure that night's operation would be absolutely flawless.

While Fantina and Wake's roles remained the same as the previous year, he had made every adjustment to ensure his cover wasn't blown: a swimming cap to hide his afro, some scotch tape to ensure Infernape's tail didn't pop out of the sheet, and he even made sure to mock the 'Ghost of Christmas Past' routine with Volkner while giving no hints that he'd employ it again. Volkner had no way of expecting him, and they would snap him out of his holiday funk for good.

He turned back to his co-conspirators, grinning behind the sheet. "Alright, I'm going in. Wait for your turn here."

"Alright, go for broke!" Wake said, grinning back.

Fantina gave him a wave and a wink. "Bonne chance, Flint."

And with that encouragement, Flint and his Infernape rushed inside, making sure to wobble in place and hiding in the shadows whenever he could. Being Volkner's best friend meant he knew exactly where every camera of the Sunyshore Gym pointed towards, and after several years of practice he knew how to infiltrate it.

Thus, Flint and Infernape wobbled their way further inside, up and up until he reached Volkner's room. Under the sheet, the Elite Four member and his partner grinned at each other, stared at the door, and then barged in.

The door snapped open, and inside was Volkner. The Gym Leader perked his head up and stared at him, and Flint began his routine as he flailed his arms.

"Vooooolkneeeeeeerrrr..."

"Oh, hi Flint." Volkner raised his arm matter-of-factly. "I was wondering when you were going to come by."

"Who's Fliiiiint?" Flint cranked the eerie voice up a notch, inching closer. "I'm the Ghost of Christmas Paaaast, here to show you the-"

As he saw Volkner's grin and his relaxed posture, Flint dropped the act and tilted his head. "Wait, you aren't depressed."

"Why would I? This year's been pretty good overall." Volkner shrugged as he paced towards him. "Can you close the whole Gym for me? I'm going to Sho's home for dinner and then a special Christmas training session."

Flint's jaw hung open behind the sheet as Volkner placed the Gym's keys in his hands and walked past him.

"Merry Christmas Flint," Volkner said as he closed the door behind him.

Now alone, Flint continued to remain still. As what happened finally sunk in, he rubbed his forehead and groaned. Of all the years to have a Christmas miracle and have Volkner happy for a change, that had to be it?

Flint grumbled as Infernape passed him his PokéGear, Fantina's number already selected. "Say, Fantina, you don't happen to know someone else that needs some 'Ghosts of Christmas' treatment, right?"

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PARTNER555

There was a saying, that the more things changed, the more they stayed the same, and Christmas was one of the constants.

Celebi flew around the city at night as she kept to the shadows and out of sight of every other living being.

She looked at all the Christmas decorations that had been put up.

Between Aura Guardians, Psychics and the like becoming Bloodliners, between Trainers and Rangers becoming segregated into two separate sides of a bloody conflict, between the world becoming a more dangerous place in general, Celebi was glad that the holidays remained the same between the current timeline and the previous one.

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FOX MCCLOUDE

The Christmas spirit had taken over Vaniville Town. Like every other family, the Gabenas had their own traditions for this time of the year, which included baking their special cookies to share with the neighborhood, and making Christmas cards for their friends in and outside of town. And that was the first year they would send a card outside their home region.

As she waited for the oven's alarm to go off, Serena was cutting the cardboard and the ribbons for the cards. The list was ready, and she enjoyed making them and writing the messages for the receivers, always making sure to say something different for everyone. But she never imagined she would have it so hard to decide what to write for a certain someone in particular.

"I wonder how he's doing right now?" she mused, as she glanced out the window with nostalgia, watching the snow fall. His last letter had said that, outside of the traditional 'spending the holidays with his mother', he didn't have any particular plans. Too bad there was no 'Winter Camp' in Pallet Town; otherwise, she would've gladly signed up for it.

Right then, the entrance door opened, and the coated figure of her mother entered the living room. The brunette woman lowered her coat's hoodie and wiped the snow off her shoulders.

"Oof, it's really cold today. I need a good hot chocolate after this."

"Welcome home, Mom."

As Serena went to greet Grace, she quickly noticed she hadn't come in alone. Another woman in a winter coat and wearing protective glasses was accompanying her. Before Serena could ask who she was, she lowered her hoodie and removed her glasses, revealing a blond hair of a lighter shade than Serena's and gray eyes, but otherwise almost identical to her.

"Hey cous', long time no see," she greeted.

"Y, is that really you?" Serena exclaimed upon recognizing her. Her cousin, Yvonne Gabena, or simply "Y" as she liked to be called, and her middle namesake as well (which neither of them liked very much).

"Found her on the way home," Grace said as she hung her coat on the rack. "She was in town, so I told her if she didn't want to spend Christmas all alone, she could stay with us."

"So… I'm assuming aunt Vera isn't coming this year either?" said Serena with a tinge of sadness.

Y didn't utter a word, but there was no need. While they didn't see each other that often, the Gabena cousins had something in common: both their mothers tried to pressure them into following their footsteps, though at least that didn't stop Grace from being loving and caring, while Vera hadn't been on speaking terms with her daughter for some time. It was incredible how the two sisters could be so alike and yet so different, as well as sad to think about those family quarrels, many of which were for rather petty reasons. Not even for Christmas could they call a truce to try and reconcile.

"Well, let's not ruin the mood with that, shall we? Hmm, something smells good here, what is it?" said Y, catching the scent coming from the kitchen.

"Ah, the cookies are almost done," said Serena. "Let me hang your coat, I'll serve you some as soon as they're ready."

Serena took Y's coat to hang it on the rack, and with that, the three females walked towards the kitchen. Sure enough, the alarm went off, and Serena put on the cooking gloves to open the oven and extract the metal tray. The delicious aroma of the freshly baked cookies caused Y's appetite to increase. As they waited for them to cool off, Grace began preparing some hot chocolate, while Y took a seat by the table her cousin had previously been, gazing at the Christmas cards.

"Seems I came at just the right time. I was dying to help you guys with these," she said. "You're improving, Serena, but they could use some fancier ornaments, don't you think?"

"If you want to help me, feel free to do so," Serena replied, taking a spatula to place the cookies on plates.

Y giggled, and began checking the cards one by one. In a town as small as Vaniville, it was rare not to know everyone's names and faces, not to mention their family was one of the most loved in the neighborhood by just about everyone (Grace's sister notwithstanding). However, she was surprised to find, not just a name she didn't recognize, but also an address outside of Kalos.

"Hmm, what's this? Pallet Town, isn't that in the Kanto region?" the girl asked. Aside from the address, the card only had the receiver's name, but it still had no message. Y also noticed that it looked unusually better adorned than the rest, as if Serena had put extra work on it. "Who's this Ash Ketchum?"

"Serena met him at Professor Oak's camp," Grace replied.

"Ah, that summer camp you said you didn't want to attend?" Y asked. "How did you endure it?"

"Well, it wasn't as bad as I thought," Serena admitted. "I made some friends, and in the end I had a lot of fun."

"Of course, for Serena the best part was meeting Ash." Grace winked, causing Serena to blush slightly. "A nice friend to make over there."

"Hmm… is he a friend, or do you mean... a 'friend'?" Y asked without hesitation. Serena turned around, but was unable to hide her blush, and that was all the answer Y needed. "Oh, don't tell me my favorite cousin got herself a boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Serena shouted, her face turning redder than a Slugma. "And have you forgotten I'm your only cousin?"

"Serena, there's no need to feel embarrassed," Grace said as she poured the chocolate on three cups and gave one each to Serena and Y. "Ash is a really nice boy, and good-looking to boot."

"Mom, you're not helping!" Serena only felt more embarrassed at that.

"Maybe we should invite him sometime?" Y winked too. "I'm sure Serena would love to catch him under the mistletoe."

"By Arceus, Y, don't go starting you too!"

As she downed her chocolate, Y stared at the card. Even without the written message, suddenly it made sense why it looked better adorned than the others. So her dear little cousin had found someone she liked? That definitely sounded interesting.

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BRANDON369

Even as Christmas approached, Cinnabar Island still kept its warm weather. It was the perfect environment for those who wanted their holidays to be warmer than usual. The local Gym still attracted challengers, and at the moment a heated battle was underway. The atmosphere was burning, not just due to the constant fire attacks, but also for the Sunny Day bathing over the field. The match was pretty even, with a Gyarados firing its powerful attacks against a speeding Rapidash who dodged with amazing speed, creating clouds of steam all over the place.

"Let's finish this, Gyarados! Fire a Hyper Beam at full power!"

"I'm counting on you, Rapidash! Flare Blitz!"

Rapidash began running engulfed in flames, but the aquatic serpent fired a powerful energy stream, hitting the fire stallion head on. Much to the challenger's shock, the Gym Leader's Pokémon was not deterred by this; even after taking the full brunt of the Hyper Beam he continued charging forward, his flames burning up with more and more power. He finally overcame the energy attack and delivered a powerful flaming tackle right on Gyarados' midsection, sealing the match.

"Gyarados is unable to battle, the winner is Rapidash! As the challenger has no Pokémon left, victory is for the Gym Leader!" The young redhead acting as referee smiled, proud of having witnessed another victory for her grandfather.

"Dang." The challenger recalled his Gyarados and shook hands with the Gym Leader. "That was a heated match, old man. I knew my eighth badge would be tough, but I never imagined it'd be this tough."

"You're pretty good, kid. Keep up your training and you'll make it far in the league."

"The way you used Sunny Day left me impressed. You beat me even though most of my Pokémon are Water-types."

Blaine nodded. The kid seemed to be on his way to become a great Water-type specialist. The only Pokémon that wasn't a Water-type was the Nidoqueen he brought out at the beginning of the match, and even that one had Water Pulse in her arsenal. Funnily enough, he too used the Rhydon from his times prior to becoming a Fire-type specialist.

"Well, for now, I'll be off to train very hard. I'll be back for my badge after the holidays. Until then."

As the challenger left the place, Blaine let out a tired sigh. That was the last match before he had to close the Gym for the holidays. He definitely needed some days to rest. His granddaughter approached, carrying her Flareon in her arms.

"Sorry Grandpa. I promise next time I'll bring you a much stronger challenger."

"Come on Ali, this trainer was able to surprise me. He's got some interesting strategies."

"But he could only beat two of your Pokémon."

"He was very close to beat the third."

The Gym Leader's granddaughter wasn't fully convinced. "You'll see, the next challenger I bring will test you to the limits and you'll have to unleash everything you've got to beat them."

"Ali, there's still so much you need to learn." The Gym Leader gave a few chuckles. His granddaughter had always been like that: enthusiastic to see her grandfather's greatest battles. No doubt she had a fiery spirit. "Say Ali, what's the thing that you always await and while it never tells you everything, you know it's coming?"

"Another riddle, Grandpa?" The girl tilted her head. Sometimes her grandfather's riddles could be confusing. Not that time, though; she did know what he meant.

"The answer is: the Christmas dinner!"

"I know, and I'm going to work very hard on it. It'll be Flareon's first Christmas after all."

"Flare?" The Pokémon glanced at her in curiosity.

"Trust me Flareon, you're going to like it." The girl was already picturing the Christmas dinner in her mind, not realizing that her skin was turning red and her body temperature was increasing.

"Ali, Overheat…" Blaine watched as his granddaughter took deep breaths until her temperature went back to normal. "I think we need to work more on your control."

"I know, Flareon and I have been trying very hard on our training. Last time I unleashed my Overheat it just took me a couple hours to recover, plus I've almost mastered Flame Charge."

"Flare." The Fire-type began talking to his trainer. Lucky her for being able to understand him.

"Yeah, I know things didn't go so well when I tried to practice Fire Punch, but I still have time before we start the journey."

"Ali, your time to begin your Pokémon adventure gets closer every time. I know you'll be ready when it comes, but I can't help but feel worried."

"Rest easy Grandpa. I'll catch every Fire-type Pokémon and bring out Flareon's full power. He'll be faster than your Rapidash, stronger than your Magmortar and his flames will burn hotter than your Magcargo's."

Blaine sighed as he glanced at his granddaughter, who talked to her Flareon about his plans. She had grown so fast, and she would soon go out to face the world, only with her Pokémon partners. He had done his best to prepare her, and felt there was nothing left for him to teach her. Even so, while the world was now safer than when Blaine began his own adventure, there were still many dangers out there, especially for a Bloodliner. But most importantly, the Fire-type trainer would miss her a lot. They had been together since she was a little girl, and Alish certainly brought a unique joy to his life. He couldn't imagine his everyday without her.

The Master of the Riddles recalled the day his daughter Yakimono began her own journey along with her Eevee. While he felt proud, seeing her depart was one of the hardest moments of his life. Alish was the spitting image of her mother, so Blaine was aware he'd have to let her go, however hard it was.

"Let's go Grandpa! I'm gonna prepare you those Lava Christmas Cookies you love so much, and then we can set up the Christmas tree."

"I just hope it doesn't end up like last year."

At the reminder, the redhead let out a sigh. "Grandpa, how many times do I have to say that was an accident? I was too excited and before I noticed I was…"

"Hahahaha, easy Ali, I was just kidding," Blaine replied in amusement. "Let's go, I can't wait to taste those cookies."

His granddaughter smiled and grabbed his arm to drag him. "You'll see, this will be the greatest Christmas we've ever had."

The old man smiled, willing to spend all the time with his granddaughter before she departed. Since that would probably be the last Christmas party they would spend together in a long time, he had to treasure every single second.

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CROSSOVERPAIRINGLOVER

"No no...errrr..."

"Why can't it be better..."

"Be pleasant to look at!"

It was a faint memory, a memory that Lillie occasionally recalled, but it was one that had always stuck with her.

It was a holiday many years ago. Not the 24th, nor the 25th, but just before it.

She was young then. Still a little girl, still having both her parents, still shorter than Gladion.

It was at night, long after everyone else had gone to bed. She had only been awake because she was thirsty, and only because of that had she heard the voice.

She had thought it was Santa being early at first, but the snap had given her a clearer idea of who it was.

Her mother.

Hours after they had set the tree up, she was still staring at it. Still thumbing with things, and still being frustrated.

So frustrated she had been, that she didn't even see her until Lillie poked her in the thigh.

She turned to her, green eyes ablaze with frustration ebbing away into gentleness when they saw her.

They always did that, at least once upon a time.

"Lillie dear, why are you still awake? It's way past your bedtime."

"Why are you still awake?" Lillie had asked back. Her mother sighed, and looked at the tree sadly.

The tree decorated in a hundred ornaments, adorned with wonderful bright lights. It only smelled slightly of decaying sap. It was a perfect tree.

"It's not done yet." Her mother told her.

"It isn't?" She had asked her back innocently.

"Don't you see? The lights aren't even, the ornaments don't hang evenly. They all dip too much or too little...it just makes the entire thing ugly." She had declared as she looked at the tree sadly.

"It'll ruin everything."

She hadn't seen what her mother had meant back then. She still didn't see it.

"It looks wonderful." She had replied honestly. Her mother looked at her in disbelief.

"Even if the star is hanging below the chimes and the..."

"Yes." Lillie wasn't sure she could match the joyful chirp her younger self had given. Few Pokémon probably could match it even among the cutest frankly.

The earnest of her reply stunned her mother, who sighed sadly.

"I wish I could see it like you could little one."

With that she had picked her up and took her back to bed, before going to bed herself. She had listened for the sound of her going back, and didn't hear it.

She did hear the sound of her father whispering something to her mother in a calming way, that somehow led to a lot of odd sounds and tones that was quite mortifying to have Lana clarify what had happened bluntly to her a while back.

But that was another story.

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VIRORO-KUN

Clemont and his Luxio huffed in sync as they left the laboratory, flopping over the kitchen's table with a tired sigh. They had just finished a seven-hour session of tinkering and building their latest invention. While they reached a breakthrough for it, Clemont and Luxio really needed a few minutes to recharge now, quite literally in the latter's case.

"Whew." The inventor adjusted his glasses, then smiled and stroked Luxio's fur. "Thanks for all the help."

The Electric-type purred softly, and Clemont continued to ruffle his fur. Right at that point, two pairs of hands placed a cup of hot chocolate and a bowl of Pokémon food ahead of the inventor and his assistant.

Clemont and Luxio paused, observed the food and then turned ahead, finding Meyer and Ampharos flashing matching grins at the twosome.

"Some fuel for your brains here." Meyer folded his arms and gave his son a proud look.

Clemont smiled as well as he grabbed the cup and took slow sips. "Thanks, dad."

Meyer took a seat as his son continued to drink, letting him enjoy his rest while Ampharos put the kitchen in order.

"So, what are you working on today?" Meyer asked, inching closer.

Clemont chuckled and adjusted his glasses again. "It's a secret, you will see once it's ready."

"I look forward to it, then." Meyer laughed back, then glanced out of the window. "By the way, Bonnie's waiting for you outside. She said she has a surprise for you."

Clemont froze mid-sip, and ended up with a coughing fit before calming down again, paler than a bed sheet and staring vacantly at his father. Luxio stopped eating as he stared at his trainer in shock.

The boy gulped down the chocolate, and then gave the outside a panicked look. "Oh, no! Not again!"

Meyer understood what his son was thinking, and sighed. "Come on, she's just a kid. You know she means well."

"I know, but..." Clemont groaned, observing the mug pensive before taking the last few sips. "I don't want a repeat of last year, you know."

"I'm sure she learned her lesson." Meyer rose back up, waiting for his son to finish. "Come on, let's go see what she wants. I'm sure you don't want to make her sad."

Clemont sighed again as he placed the empty mug aside, then smiled back at his father. "Alright."

Meyer gave his son a thumbs up, and after Luxio finished his Pokémon food the trio walked out of the house, ready to meet Bonnie.

The father flashed another smile as he opened the door. "So, Bonnie, what did you want to-"

His jaw dropped before he could finish. At his side, Clemont had grown about sixty-four shades of red and Luxio just stared on blankly.

Just outside of their house now stood at least fifty young women, all rather gorgeous looking and all apparently waiting for something. Ahead of them stood a young blonde girl in a Slurpuff snow jacket, grinning from ear to ear.

"Here, big brother! Look how many keepers I've found!" Bonnie extended her arms to the side as she beamed. "Merry Christmas!"

Clemont opened his mouth, stared at all the 'keepers', and promptly fell unconscious. Luxio hurried at his side and pawed at his face in fear.

All the while, Meyer crossed his arms and tilted his head. It was a good thing he had bought quite a lot of chocolate that morning...

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PARTNER555

"On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love sent ta me," said Lara and Hex.

"Twelve drummers a-drummin'!" said Leeroy.

"Eleven pipers a-pipin'!" said Larry

"Ten lords a-leapin'!" said Fuko.

"Nine ladies a-dancin'!" said Dex.

"Eight maids a-milkin'!" said Rex.

And the Pokémon at the ranch continued to enjoy the carol as they reached the climax.

"And a Pidgey in a pear tree!" finished Lara and Hex.

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CROSSOVERPAIRINGLOVER

One would not normally associate a young woman like Emmy with the seedier shadows of Castelia City.

Bright blue clothes. No visible tattoos. Hoop earrings. No leather.

But none the less she found herself here amidst the falling snow, her snow boots crunching against the sand darkened snow as she knocked on the rough door.

The door swung open to reveal a mop of tinsel covering a young man's face, his leather jacket being quite typical for the location they were in.

It was also glittering.

"Tinsel," was the explanation that followed her confused face.

"Again?" She questioned his state.

"Again. I mean, I wanted to look good for the holiday bash tonight, but I was'n expecting to be wearing Edmond's closet."

She began giggling as he shook off the tinsel, revealing the most thuggish face this side of Nimbasa with a pair of sharp red eyes.

The harshness of his face though, was broken by his great, genuine, smile.

"Yeah yeah, I'm just bad luck. Now, baby, I do believe there is a bash that's sorely lacking a pretty young woman and her lucky bay Gray. Now, shall we? Can't exactly leave Mickey, Edmond, and Raymond alone for too long can we?"

He held out his hand, which she quickly took before the two walked through the alleyway snow, not a care in the world as a slight trail of glitter followed in their wake.

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FOX MCCLOUDE

"I still don't get it, why would she ask us to come here of all places?" said Frey.

"The lake outside of the city, plus she also said 'bring your ice skates'," Lorelei added. "Surely you don't think she's planning to…?"

And as they made their way through the trees surrounding the aforementioned lake, they saw it, bathed by the moonlight. Exactly what they were thinking.

A smooth layer of ice coated the lake in its entirety, and all over it there were many sculptures in the image of several Pokémon, including Dewgong, Lapras, Charizard, Feraligatr and many others very familiar to them. If they didn't know better, they'd guess someone had been watching that movie featuring the Snow Queen lately.

"Well, would you look at that." Lorelei smiled. "When she said she was going to give us our private ice rink, she meant it."

"In that case, it would be rude of us to waste her gift," Frey added, lowering his skates to put them on. Lorelei quickly followed suit.

That Christmas, Lorelei had been discussing their plans, and a couple nights ago they had thought about going to the local ice rink. Problem was, that season it was so crowded with people, especially kids, they would always bump into other skaters at every turn. And that was before a group of teenagers decided to make an improvised hockey game that quickly dragged everyone else close by and ended with the police having to temporarily shut the area.

They were lucky to have a friend with ice-based powers. That lake was pretty far away from curious eyes, so they could have it all night long just for themselves.

...

Not too far from there, a pair of icy-blue eyes gazed at the couple through some binoculars, and with a smile on her face. She was wearing winter clothes just to cover appearances, but cold never bothered her anyway. The only thing that could make that scene perfect was perhaps some background waltz music, but sadly she couldn't afford sound equipment for that. So she went for the next best thing.

"Are you guys happy now? Just wait, there's still the best part coming up."

Hearing some wings flapping, Krysta looked up, and saw an avian silhouette approaching, framed by the full moon. She had heard rumors of an Articuno being spotted around the area, and following a hunch she decided to find out if they were true. The blue Legendary Bird fluttered over the frozen lake, and Krysta watched through her binoculars again, just to see the couple's surprised faces. But soon enough surprise made way to big smiles on both of them, when the bird flapped his wings to make it snow over them.

"I wonder if he would teach me how to do that?" Krysta chuckled.

She only knew how to summon Hail, and that wouldn't exactly be romantic. But she had already had to sacrifice her Nevermelt Ice just to ask the Articuno to bring some snow for Lorelei and Frey, so she wouldn't abuse the Legendary Bird's goodwill.

"Merry Christmas to you both, Lorelei, Frey."

On that same date, they had gone through many difficulties to reunite her with her parents, who had been looking for her for almost a decade. That was her way to thank them for it.

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PARTNER555

It was the season in Crimson City, and a ten-year old girl with blonde hair and grey eyes was writing a letter in her room at the apartment she and her mother recently moved into after her father's death.

She wiped away a tear that formed as she recalled what happened. Her father found out that she, Tsurugi, and her mother, Katana, were Bloodliners, and attacked them.

Sighing, she extended a white blade from her hands. Thankfully the Officer Jennys were understanding and her father's death was ruled to be in self-defense.

Shaking her head and putting the memory aside, she continued writing her letter:

Dear Santa,

I don't want a toy for Christmas.

What I want for Christmas is for people to accept Mother and me.

I know that's a lot to ask for, but even one person would be enough.

Tsurugi.

Tsurugi reread the letter before she placed it in an envelope and went to her mother, who shared her hair and eyes.

"Mother, I finished my letter for Santa!"

"Thank you dear, and now it's time for the main reason we moved here."

"The Fisher Clan Christmas party?"

"Yes, and I heard Kazuto made the cake bigger this year, so there's more to go around. Kaoruko said something about it being the first Christmas since they discovered Jeanette had an affinity for the Victreebel line not seen since Utsubotto himself."

"Nice!"

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VIRORO-KUN

If there was one thing Big Town was known for around Johto, it was the city's exceptional festivals. Even if it wasn't as sparkly as the ones in other Johtoan cities, Big Town's Christmas Party was still highly renowned and brought a large influx of visitors to the city.

Among the many ways of celebrating the holidays, the Pokémon Christmas Tree contest was probably the most well-known: during it, a number of citizens tried to build a Tree based on a certain Pokémon in decorations or general appearance. It was open to everyone and rated by the local Pokémon Contest judges, and everyone looked forward to see what creative solution they would bring to the table.

It just didn't spark interest in the human populace either, as a large amount of wild Pokémon was observing the ongoing contest from a nearby rooftop, most notably a Wooper, a Magby, a Teddiursa, a Smoochum, a Smeargle and an Azumarill. They were known all around Big Town as the 'Pichu Posse' from their leaders, two brothers named Pichu Big and Pichu Little, which were now observing the displayed trees with a quite critical eye.

"This year the trees are pretty lame, right?" Little asked, turning to his brother.

"Yeah. Like, they didn't even try." Big played with his scruff of fur, rolling his eyes at the latest exhibit. "That guy only dyed his tree half white and half brown and called it a Snover, come on!"

Little sighed and gave the next trees a bored stare. "I bet we could do something better."

Big turned to his younger brother, tilting his head. And then, he grinned and placed his stubby hands on his hips. "You know what? Why don't we try?"

Little widened his eyes at Big, then crooked an eyebrow. "Are you serious?"

"I don't remember the rules saying anything about Pokémon not being allowed." Big shrugged.

Little scratched his head, frowning. "I dunno..."

"Trust me. I've got the best idea ever to blast off the competition!" Big grinned, giving him and the Posse a thumbs up.

The other members of the Posse briefly debated, but Big's sheer enthusiasm and confidence was enough to win them and Little over. And thus they took off to follow their leader's grand plan.

…

In the meantime, the Pokémon Christmas Tree contest continued as scheduled, with several more or less well-crafted trees shown to a progressively more bored audience. By the time of the last one, a simple yellow tree with a pair of cones passed off as a Pikachu tree, half of the spectators was struggling not to yawn too loud.

"And that was the last tree, people! We will now move to the evaluation part," a way too chipper announcer declared as he stepped in.

Between grumbles and whispers from the crowd, the announcer sighed and waited for the judges to do their part and for the Contest to be over.

However, a shrill cry grabbed his and everyone else's attention, and as they all turned around they could only stare with gaping mouths at what was coming: out of nowhere, several Pokémon rushed in while bringing a tree with them, placing it on a moving platform like every other tree of the contest and bowing to the crowd, with two Pichu in particular waving at them.

No one knew what to make of it, and even the announcer blinked a couple of times before clearing his throat and focus again.

"Looks like some wild Pokémon decided to join in. Well, this is unusual." He flashed a grin and gestured dramatically. "But hey, let's see what they have to show!"

Taking that as their cue, Pichu Big and Pichu Little raised their arms and started climbing to the top of the tree.

As they leapt from branch to branch, every other member of the Posse popped out from the leaves: Azumarill and Wooper sprouted water up above, while Smoochum above them froze the streams in nice decorations.

Above them, Magby rotated on himself and unleashed a ring of Flamethrower all around the tree, the stream of fire never touching the leaves even as it circled all around the wood, melting the ice into shards that hailed gently down the branches.

As decorations formed and the fire lighted the tree up, Smeargle popped up here and there to paint each level of the tree of a different color, while Teddiursa saluted the crowd with a happy grin while rearranging every painted leaf he could put his paws on.

As each member of the posse continued their jobs, Pichu Big and Pichu Little finally reached the treetop. They shared a nod and put themselves back-to-back while taking a star position, and then they fired a Thunder Shock skyward, lighting up the tree from above.

The Pichu brothers and their gang pressed on with their act, steadily adding more elaborate moves to their routines. What should've been a simple Christmas tree display turned into a small show, one from which the audience couldn't tear their eyes off, the boredom of earlier completely forgotten.

Even the announcer seemed to have recovered his spark as he grinned and observed the ongoing spectacle. "Looks like these wild Pokémon know their stuff about entertainment!"

With the crowd enraptured and curious, Big and Little traded another nod. Then, Big snapped his fingers for the grand finale.

Everyone stopped their routines and withdrew inside the tree. Then, a series of red and white balls popped out, all far bigger than your usual Christmas decoration.

Then the balls opened their eyes, and everyone paled at the small army of Voltorb hanging from the tree. More than a few stepped back, while others froze in fear.

Little gulped, and tugged at his brother's arm. "Uhm, Big, I don't think people will-"

"Let's go, boys!" Big didn't listen as he grinned and snapped his fingers again.

The ensuing flash of light and explosion could be heard and seen all across Big Town, and smoke cloaked the stage from view while everyone tried to scream and run for their lives.

The few brave or foolish people to stuck around waited befuddled as the smoke cleared, and once it did they could see every single tree now burned to a crisp, all the decorations and hard work lost forever. And in the middle of it, quite a few charred Pokémon stood over a now bare tree. All were confused, and many glared in the posse's direction.

Big observed the destroyed trees around him, then the angry audience, and then the unimpressed posse.

He smiled sheepishly and forced a laugh while rubbing his neck. "Well... I guess we won at least, right?"

In response, everyone glared at him. And then, the whole posse ran for their lives with the rather angry staff and crowd in tow.

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CROSSOVERPAIRINGLOVER

The holiday felt rather odd that year.

To most people there wouldn't be anything wrong with it. It was just a normal Christmas.

Snow was falling in the places it fell. The major stores decked their halls long before they frankly should have. Eggnog was purchasable.

Astrid was still in the minority who preferred Eggnog without Shuckle Juice in it.

To pretty much anyone but her, it was a perfectly normal holiday.

But to her...

"Your face is going to freeze like that you know."

The teasing voice snapped Astrid out of staring down a rack of hats, different only in what ribbon they were tied up with.

Turning, she found herself facing the grinning face of an older blonde, gray eyes mirthfully lingering after her expression apparently changed.

"I've never had to think about this before, give me a break." Astrid told her fellow blonde, who tapped the red and white helmet atop her head.

"Not much of a hat person I take it? I can understand it, helmet hair is just as bad."

"That's not it." Astrid told the girl bluntly. The area around the hat rack was silent for a minute, Astrid not giving anything else nor the skater going away.

Astrid sighed.

"Truth is... I'm not used to buying gifts, that's all." Astrid explained.

"Korrina, I think I've mentioned this before, but I'm an orphan. I didn't have parents growing up. Never did get the story why, unlike Pendula. Holidays were a scramble for donations before the older kids took them all, not a time of giving. Traveling with Absol was the first time I started really having money of my own. And yes, I've surprised Absol and the others with treats or ribbons before, but this is different. Pokémon aren't picky..."

"And neither is Granny." Korrina told her empathetically, hands on her shoulder and looking her right in the eye, using all the extra height her additional year of life had given her.

"She loves everything that any of her grandkids give her. You, me, Pendula, Herbert, Yvonne...it doesn't matter as long as it is from the heart. She's not like Gurkinn..."

Astrid knew it was time to change the subject. Better than get into that can of worms.

"It's weird isn't it: most everyone my age who hasn't given up and doing minimum wage for survival's obsessed with being independent and never looking back, and here I am wondering what to get my granny for Christmas and living under her roof. Aren't I atypical?"

The joke seemed to keep Korrina from entering a funk, and led the skater gym leader to laugh.

"We're all strange aren't we: Herbert can pull off a cosplay of Weevil without ever seeing the show, I keep trying to get fingerless gloves to be cool, Pendula has to fear low ceilings and door frames, Corentin taught a wannabe samurai how to electrify his Marowak, and Freman was actually rooting for Snagem in the match."

"Take all the time you need to find the hat that Granny will love: I have my own shopping to do."

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SHADOW NINJA KOOPA

"All right numbskulls gather round!" Guzma called out as he stood on the stairs in the foyer of Shady House. Before him stood the grunts of Team Skull, all waiting to hear what their boss had to say. Each one was a mess as they were covered in tinsel and lights and the occasional cookie batter. "I said this last time and I'll say it again, no gift of the Magikarp or whatever it was called. Some if you didn't listen and screwed yourselves over. Ain't that right A?" Eyes went towards the grunt who shifted slightly.

"Nah I'm B Boss! A is over there. Can none of you tell us apart yo?"

"Yeah!" B's twin called out. "B has smaller ears than I do."

"And A's eyes are slightly bigger!"

"Alright, next year you guys are getting name tags!" Guzma shouted. "You are so lucky we already got you gifts this time around."

'And there is no way their eyes or ears are different sizes, right?'

"Anyway, no selling your stuff again. Next, some of you guys apparently don't celebrate the holidays. I get that so bring it in you two!" At his call, Golisopod and Plumeria's Salazzle emerged from a hallway, their arms full as they brought out a half melted plastic tree that had seen better days. Decorations of all kinds of holidays covered it as if to show just how disjointed the whole thing was.

"Boss! That is so cool!"

"About time that someone set something like that up!"

"It appears the dark ones are indeed amused by your presentation, my lord Beelzebub."

"Yeah, yeah I know it's good, eyes back on me!" Their boss called out as the Pokémon set the large thing down. "Two more things before you lot do whatever it is you do. Whichever one of you did this, tell me now." Reaching behind one of the walls, the man grimaced as he picked something up. In his hands was a Goomy wearing a bandanna over its mouth as well as a certain cap and necklace. "I'm looking at you Macross!"

"I understand my lord Beelzebub." A girl with long dark hair with white highlights gazed at the amount of attention she received and pulled her purple bandanna up further to hide her blush. Her red and grey eyes gazed around before focusing on the Pokémon on her shoulders and head. "However, neither I nor my four Holy Devi of Creation are behind this! Nor can I pierce through the truth with my evil eye!" Her four Pokémon consisting of a Pachirisu, Dedenne, Emolga and Togedemaru nodded their agreement as the others stared at the insane girl and her delusions.

"So that's where you went!" Another girl called out. "Sorry boss about him, he got mad at me and wandered off."

"He yours?" Guzma asked as the girl tangled in Christmas lights nodded.

"Yup, that's my boy Goozma!"

Laughter filled the room as the small dragon jumped off the boss' hands and slithered back to his trainer. "Ok that was pretty funny! You're off the hook for that!" Guzma shouted. "Now, no more pretending to be Santa on the roof! Two of you have already broken your legs being idiots so no more!"

'Besides, Plums is already making me do that anyway and patching up the holes is a pain in the ass. She better forget about it this year though, especially after this…'

"Oh yeah almost forgot!" Putting two fingers in his mouth, Guzma gave a sharp whistle. From a hole in the roof, a Vikavolt flew down, passing over the amazed grunts heads before landing on Guzma's own. "I ran into this one the other day with her spawn and decided to take her on as my own. Her kids on the other hand…" Giving a signal, the insect let out a loud cry as he doors flew open. Standing before them was Plumeria and eight Charjabugs. Each of the bugs were in their own little car as they raced around the room, the grunts eyes lighting up in amazement. "They're all yours! Race them to your hearts' content!"

"Thanks boss!" The group cheered as they raced after the escaping bug types and their cars. As they left, Guzma sent a smirk towards Plumeria.

"And you said I wouldn't pull through with this plan. Maybe now they'll let us compete in more events if we have the stuff for it." Plumeria just smiled and shook her head in amusement.

"Not bad Guzma, but don't think that means you are getting out of the usual business." She said lifting a much loved Santa hat. At seeing the old headgear, Guzma lowered his head as Vikavolt cackled in her new trainer's misery.

"Damn it. I hate you Plums."

"Love you too Guzma, love you too."

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JIGSAWPUNISHER (Edited by Fox McCloude)

Everybody knew of Byron's love for fossils, great enough to have a storage room (as far as it was known) full of them.

In fact, that was the reason why, despite the date, he went back to his Gym for a few hours, to do some maintenance in the storage room and a fossil inventory, to make sure everything was in order. In other words, business as usual.

"Alright, that was the last one," he said as he marked the last name on the list. Good thing everything was where it was supposed to be; he wouldn't stand anybody coming here and trashing the place, or worse, losing some of his fossils. He glanced at the clock on the wall and noticed he still had a couple hours left before going back to Oreburgh City with his family. "Hm, seems I can get some rest before getting back."

All he had to do was to go pick up the presents, and once he had gotten them all he'd leave. And so he did, until he realized the most important one was missing: the present for his son.

"What the…? WHERE THE HELL IS IT?" He tried to recall where it could have been, but after a few minutes, he went around retracing his steps trying to find it. As this yielded no result, he brought out his Bronzong. "Bronzong, I need you to look into my memories today, so we can find my son's present!"

Bronzong used his telepathy to scan Byron's memories trying to help him find the gift. After a few minutes, Bronzong couldn't help but use one of its arms to slap its 'forehead' and pointing to where it was. All the while it had been inside his backpack, the one place he forgot to look into.

"This never happened, okay?" Even though he had said that, he knew perfectly Bronzong wouldn't take long to tell everyone about what had happened, though that became second priority when he realized he had one hour left before the family dinner, and he had said he would arrive ahead of time to help. Thus, he left the Gym with his gifts after getting Bronzong back into its Ball and thanking it for its help. It was definitely lucky that Canalave and Oreburgh weren't too far away, and he had the fastest way to get to his destination.

"Skarmory, I need you to take me back to Oreburgh. If you can make it in half an hour or less, I promise I'll make it worth your while!" Skarmory smiled upon hearing that. "FULL SPEED AHEAD, JUST LIKE I LOVE IT!"

Right in that moment, he was happy to have bought that Floating Stone. With it, Skarmory could go much faster when he had to fly, though he would only use it when he had to travel.

Twenty minutes of a rather speedy journey later, he reached the entrance to Oreburgh. After landing, he gave Skarmory a few Sitrus berries and placed him back in his Pokéball after thanking him for his help. Ten minutes later he was at home. His wife was almost done preparing dinner, so after greeting her he went to get the table ready for the guests. Obviously the first to show up was Roark, whose Gym was close by, though some of the guests had called to let them know they would come in a little later. Fortunately there were no mishaps once all of the guests had arrived for dinner, so between some laughs, jokes and chatter about trivial topics, they enjoyed a lovely night, especially the Pokémon when Bronzong showed the others what Byron had to do to find Roark's gift, showing how, as he tried to remember where it was, he head-butted against the wall and even considered getting his Steelix to use Iron Tail to smack his head to see if it jogged his memory, among other things.

After that rather embarrassing moment, Byron decided it was time to deliver the gifts for the family. The last one to get his was Roark.

"Alright, son, now is your turn. Here you go. Trust me, you're going to LOVE this."

As he opened it, Roark saw it was a Pokéball, and became excited when he burst it open, revealing an Archen.

"Where did you get it, Dad?"

"A friend in Unova sent me the Plume Fossil, and your mother and I asked the guys at the museum to restore it in secret for you. We wanted it to be a surprise."

"As soon as we told them it was for a Christmas gift, they gladly helped us."

"Thank you both! You've just made my Christmas!"

"Well, you just wait until tomorrow, when your father and I help you train your new Archen. Though I wonder if it will be able to take an Explosion from my Claydol, hehehe." Roark and Archen shivered slightly at that.

"Worried too much, Roberta? He wouldn't be my son if he weren't be able to handle a few explosions!"

"Oh really, darling? Let's see if I can have my Claydol and my mother's try Explosion with you to make it more interesting."

"Ah, so you want to bring good old Bertha too? BRING IT ON, HONEY, I LOVE A CHALLENGE WHEN I SEE ONE, HAHAHAHAHA!"

Afterwards, everybody else burst into laughter. Despite the small mishaps, Byron and his family were able to enjoy a very Merry Christmas with their loved ones.

----------------------------------------

CROSSOVERPAIRINGLOVER

The Clay Arena holiday decorations were meant to be wonderful embodiments of beauty and cheerfulness.

Their ability to be that was hampered by the inescapable fact that they were also crooked.

Clay stared up at them, twitching.

"...Whose keister do I need to kick for this!?" Clay snarled as a worker looked over his notes.

"The town workers sir. There's a theme going on in town this year and they wanted uniformity."

"Uniformity!? Who do they think we are, Rangers?! We dress the things the way we want them dressed!? There's a reason my profession includes an underwear model, and whatever it is Burgh wears!"

"Elesa doesn't model underwear. Believe me, I checked..."

Clay ignored both points, particularly the latter point his worker said under his breath, though the splash of green flying through the air caught his eye.

On top of one of the crooked lights flew a Tranquill, though it was an odd one. Most Tranquill weren't green after all.

"Tran!" the bird shouted. Clay reached for a Pokéball so he could blast the thing before it added droppings to injury, before he recalled who owned said Tranquill.

Said Tranquill, caught by his recycled not-Lou Gehrig's/Youngblood's disease kid, grabbed a pair of crooked lights and lifted them up a few feet before resnagging them.

That crooked light stream fixed, the Tranquill flew over to a crooked wreath, before snagging it and lowering it to a more pleasing position, before going onto a third unsightly error.

It was fixed as Tranquill flew to the fourth, bringing a smile to Clay's face.

"Remind me to give him a raise, would ya?" Clay told his worker.

"It would help if you could remember his name."

"I don't remember your name, and you invited me to your brother's wedding."

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PARTNER555

'How did Akira do it?' thought Akira Jouda's father, Jin Jouda, as he saw his son talking animatedly with the Fisher Clan heiress at the Christmas party organized by the Fisher Clan. It was large, and everyone was invited, it would seem. Good thing it was at the spacious city center.

From what he heard, A.J., as his son preferred being called, first saw her at the Battle Dome Tournament, before they had their first proper meeting outside Celadon City. Jeanette suggested that they travelled together after that.

The mere fact that she even suggested the idea, plus the way they interacted in front of him, was enough to tell him that, for some reason, Jeanette took quite a liking to him, and he could tell that his son took a liking to her as well.

Somehow they both missed that the other reciprocated, but there was a more pressing question.

'Of all the boys an upper-class girl like her could pick, why Akira?' asked Jin to himself as he took another slice of cake made by Jeanette's father. It was delicious, and many Crimson City girls, and one of their mothers, agreed as they gorged themselves on slice after slice.

Suddenly, he saw A.J.'s Sandslash as he stealthily made his way through the crowd. Jeanette's Bellsprout was doing the same from the other side, carrying a stick with mistletoe on one end.

A mortified Jin saw where that was going, as Sandslash pushed Jeanette towards A.J., causing both to stumble and fall.

Jin was horrified by the position the two were in, and he became even more so when he saw how angry Kazuto and his Victreebel looked.

"Hey!" he said.

Jin thought this was the end of both him and A.J.

"You forgot the mistletoe!"

'Wait, what?' thought Jin.

Bellsprout reached the duo and placed the mistletoe above his son and the heiress, which caused the two to blush.

"That's better," said Kazuto as he turned to the teenagers. "Well, what are you waiting for? Mistletoe equals kiss! I'm not letting you two stand back up until it happens!"

Jin quickly realized that Kazuto was probably in on the two Pokémon's plan, and so was Kaoruko given how amused she and her own Victreebel was at the scene. Jin turned back to A.J. and Jeanette, who tried to avoid looking at each other while still blushing a deep red.

Eventually though, they looked back and into each other's eyes.

'Here it comes,' muttered Jin.

A.J. and Jeanette leaned into each other, closed their eyes, and kissed.

And everyone present cheered and applauded the two, including some resigned looking boys.

Jin then turned to Kazuto with a question as their respective children broke the kiss and got back up. "I've got to ask, why Akira?"

"Before she left on her journey, me and Kaoruko specifically told Jeanette to specifically look for a specific trait for her future husband," he said. "It just so happened that A.J. had that specific trait."

"And... You don't mind the class difference?" asked Jin who was still getting used to Kazuto and his way of thinking.

"Like mother like daughter," Kaoruko simply stated.

'No wonder no one in this city batted an eye at Jeanette being close to Akira,' thought Jin as their children kissed again.

----------------------------------------

FOX MCCLOUDE

Christmas in Frodomar for Ritchie and his mother was nothing to write home about. For the most part, it was just the two of them staying at home and perhaps taking part in one or two events in town. However, since Silver married Regina, life in the now-renamed Raylight home had become much more… interesting. In fact, they'd made themselves quite a reputation all over town, and wherever Silver went, there was never a single minute of boredom.

Father and son were exiting the local Battle Club, which had several shattered windows and smoke columns pouring out of them. No one among the bystanders seemed fazed at that, they just glanced at Silver and Ritchie as they carried a large bag full of money and a meritorious plate respectively.

"Did you really have to finish that way?" asked Ritchie.

"Are you complaining, half-pint?" Silver replied. "We've got the money, didn't we?"

"Yeah, but… a double Hyper Beam to end that last battle, wasn't that a bit overkill?"

Silver just shrugged. Every year, as Christmas approached in Frodomar, the Battle Club would organize a tournament destined to raise funds for the children of the local orphanage, but that year the income was so high, they could offer a heftier sum for the tournament's winner to boot.

As expected, Silver wanted to end with a bang, and in the finals, his Gyarados and Salamence finished their opponents off with a combined Hyper Beam. Problem was, the resulting explosion caused a lot of damage, including the aforementioned shattered windows, splintering several seats in the stands, and forming a large crater on the battlefield. Almost a third of the prize money was gone in paying for the repairs, and the club would probably have to close for a couple weeks until the mess was cleaned. Nevertheless, they still had more than enough for their plans.

"Pay no mind to that, son," said Silver. "This should cover our Christmas shopping list nicely. Speaking of, have you thought about a gift we can surprise your mother with?"

"You know how much she loves cooking," said Ritchie. "Actually, I recall the Dansweets Recipe Book: Christmas Edition should be at the bookstores by now, and she said she wanted a copy."

"That TV show where they prepare the best desserts? Haha, that's sweet, boy! Come on, time's a wasting!"

The twosome quickly walked around the shopping district. First they had to focus on buying the ingredients for their family dinner. About two hours later, they were loaded with bags, but they had gotten everything they needed, so they had only one more stop before going home.

By the time they reached the bookstore, much to their surprise there was only one copy left of the aforementioned book. Silver quickly walked up to the rack to grab it, but someone else wanted it too, her hand grabbing it at the same time.

"Honey?" a familiar voice spoke, and upon looking down, he met the surprised glance of his wife.

"Mom?" said Ritchie. "What are you doing here? We told you to wait for us at home."

"I felt like going out and stretch my legs," she said. "What are you two doing here?"

"What else?" said Silver. "We thought we'd get you a Christmas gift, but the surprise got spoiled now."

The woman glanced at the book's cover, showing a large Christmas cake held by a tall and muscular man with a large black afro dressed as a chef and a brunette young woman with her hair combed backwards and a bright green dress, both of them wearing Santa hats. The title appeared above "Dansweets: Christmas Edition" and below the authors' names: "Issei Tenkai & Tsukasa Oyashiki". Regina loved cooking, especially for her son and husband, and it always made her smile to see them enjoy her food.

"Oh, that's so sweet of you guys. How about that I make something out of this book for you as thanks?"

Father and son exchanged smiles with one another. Of course they'd love the idea. No doubt, the Christmas family dinner would be much sweeter from that year on.

----------------------------------------

PARTNER555

The proud parents of the newborn Joli entered their home.

"Ain't it nice that she was born around Christmas? Think she'd become a Ranger?" asked Joli's mother, Agi.

"That would be nice," said Joli's father, Agoston.

Suddenly, their baby made a sound.

"Aw, her first burp, there, there," said Agi.

When Joli finally burped, she burped a large cloud of purple gas.

"That *cough* was unexpected," said Agoston as he opened the windows.

"No *cough* kidding," said Agi. "Please be a *cough* dear and buy gas masks and Antidotes. Just say that we have a baby if *cough* anyone asks and that should stop anyone from questioning further."

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CROSSOVERPAIRINGLOVER

He had long ago figured out that returning to his world of origin never went well.

When the Celebi had, in rage, flung him across time for his capture attempt, a matter which had shown him just how tied to space time was (i.e, to a point that traveling through universes made them all but the same), time had not reduced his anger at him.

(Yes, the Celebi he encountered was male. He learned that at some point).

Now whenever he did return, he couldn't enter any part of the timeline where he came from.

He could pop in long before he was born, or long after he would have died, but that was as close as he could get. He could look into the era, he could even throw random teenagers and their Mienfoo partners through said portals, but if he stepped into it the Celebi would grab him and fling him into another universe's Dark Pestilence period.

Again.

(He couldn't even try and leave a note to himself to never attempt a Celebi capture, the Celebi was not above destroying his notes or throwing them into trenches).

He was lucky Cy had given him a vaccine for the disease. The happiest scientist in an alternate Sunyshore (who couldn't go back home because a Lysandre successfully made the world 'beautiful') was a wiz at chemicals.

Still he did return to his original universe, even if far in the past, to enjoy the holiday when he could. Normally he popped in where a celebration was under way, sing some songs, drink eggnog, and give a coin to a bellman. All the usual aspects of the season.

However this time...he might have messed up.

"...And that's the origin of the holiday known as Christmas." Clembot recited to the stunned man as he looked at the town he had just left in stunned silence, where a celebration was happening.

A celebration at the ancient town where the holiday was first celebrated. On the year it was first celebrated.

"...And the stranger who came to town, creating a day of friendship and love, with the oddest tint of commercialism..."

"Was a cloaked man, with hair between blue and gray. To those who were against it he unleashed a nightmare, and to those who needed a lift he gave a beast of the winds to them." The Clembot quoted as Tobias dropped to his knees.

"Did I create this holiday?" But if so...what did that mean?

If he was the one who caused Christmas to be created, where did the idea of it even begin?

"Ho ho ho... it is quite simple really."

Tobias looked up and pinched his neck.

Clearly a combination of the time conundrum and the eggnog was causing him to hallucinate.

It was the only reason Santa Claus could he in front of him. He hadn't mentioned that part of the mythos while he was breaking time.

The pinch failed, as the jolly old man laughed again.

"Ho ho ho, you aren't seeing things. I am just here, here as you are and ready to answer your question. The simple fact is Tobias, that you started the holiday, which led to the holiday being celebrated in your hometown. That led to yourself learning of the holiday and celebrating it, so when you would come here you would set into motion the holiday you would later celebrate as a child!"

"His older self had taught his younger self a language which the older self knew because the younger self, after being taught, grew up to be the older self and was, therefore, capable of teaching!" Clembot declared.

"He gets it!" The fictional giver of gifts declared.

"...I don't get any of you. You I'm pretty sure just pirated an E-book, but how are you even..."

Santa Claus chuckled.

"Ho ho ho, it's quite simple. I already existed and have always existed ever since the origin of these universes, I just happen to use the holiday to do good things and brighten up the hearts of men and women unlike some others of my age group I could mention. I alter the reality around people so they think they purchased gifts that I instead created, while also manifesting the value of them to their creators. Everyone who gives a gift marked from me, really have been mindwiped by myself to believe they got it." Santa declared in glee as Tobias stared at the red robed man in unease.

"That's vaguely unsettling."

"Ho ho ho ho, you think that's bad? You really should know better. After all, you've met my relative. Merry Christmas!" And with that Santa was gone, dissolved into a dust of ice reflected light and pixels.

Tobias just stared at the decaying pixels and melted ice for a moment, before turning to Clembot with a simple, important request.

"Find me a world with rum. Now."

"Are you sure you don't want more Eg..."

"I. Need. Rum."

----------------------------------------

PARTNER555

Makuhita rolled a large ball of snow.

Barlow rolled a larger ball of snow.

Once they were the right size, Barlow lifted Makuhita's ball of snow and placed it on his.

They then rolled a smaller ball of snow for the head before adding the carrot, stick and pebbles.

"Now that's one good looking snowman," said Barlow. "Ready?"

Makuhita nodded.

"Okay then, on three. One, two, three, target clear!"

The duo charged at the snowman and destroyed it. Laughing, they began making another one so they could do it all over again.

----------------------------------------

SHADOW NINJA KOOPA

"So where did Macross say she was headed?" Sketch asked as she continued her work. Something that could only be considered an abstract image of a Wimpod covered a wall as Odlaw gazed at the dark sky.

"No idea yo. She said something that secret Santa or something. I have no idea what she says half the time."

"Says the kettle about the pot," the artist murmured as she took a step back. Perhaps some more green could make the graffiti really pop.

"Mortals! We have returned!" The duo turned as the loud voice of their missing friend filled the air, disrupting whatever little peace was left.

"Bout time. What took you… Whoa! What happened!?" Odlaw's words fell apart as he gazed upon the newly arrived girl.

Macross' whole body was covered in scratches and bite marks while her uniform was ripped to shreds. Her fabled 'evil eye' (in truth her red glass eye) was missing as were two of the four Devi that always surrounded her.

"Those insufferable fiends of thunder have once again bested us, however, it is I who shall have the last laugh!" A charismatic yet insane burst of evil laughter escaped her mouth as her Dedenne and Emolga tried to join in, leaving the two grunts to stare at them in utter bafflement.

"Ok, so what happened?" Sketch asked knowing her friend would never stop unless it was truly important.

"It is simple my mad artist. To peruse my goal of acting as the legendary demon lord of the northern tundra plains, I, Macross decided to accomplish such a challenge as swiftly as the six hoofed Rapidash." Without any prompting, the girl burst into what she considered a cool pose which her team tried to mimic. "However, to receive the flycatcher known as Carnivine, I had to perform several labors of which if I had failed, would surely mean my demise as well as ruining the entire link of the beating world."

"So you had to do one of those chain of 'quests' or something right?" Odlaw asked as he scratched the back of his head in confusion, not quite understanding the whole thing. "And this was for her, right? That grunt that loves Carnivine? But I thought Nats was her secret…" a quick blow to the ribs combined with a nasty glare, courtesy of Sketch, quickly shut him up.

She would not have him ruin a chance to get the pair together.

"Fool! I was the chosen one by our Lady Asmodeus to complete such a goal! Speak out of turn again and Kis-S will feast upon your entrails while Ari-A robs you of your soul." The Dedenne licked her lips as she imagined dining upon such a treat while the Emolga rubbed her hands in devilish glee at the idea of her collection growing.

"As I was saying, the labors and challenges were fraught with true peril as the foulest of all fiends tried to tear me from this mortal form of mine. I was fortunate that Cha-O and Ribo-N were only momentarily defeated and will be able to return once the healing ritual is complete."

"Pachirisu and Togedemaru," Sketch whispered to the confused Odlaw who nodded his thanks as he tried to keep up with the utter nonsense the girl was coming up with.

"After the most atrocious of them all was defeated, the one whose name shall not be spoken of, did I learn that my evil eye had vanished as well." Macross tried to continue before she was interrupted once more.

"Yungoos got you didn't it? You alright though? We know you fear that line."

"I do not fear anything!" Macross bellowed as her team growled in unison. "Especially the likes of those… wretched beasts." As if phantom pain erupted at her words, the delusional girl grabbed her left eye as she struggled to stay upright. When it had vanished from her system, she clenched her fist before taking on another pose. "As the final part of this dark trial emerged, the Four Holy Devi of Creation and I were pitted against those electric beasts which even Lord Beelzebub hates."

A shiver of fear slipped down their spines as memories of their last meeting against the dancing Pikachus and what their boss had done.

Who knew the boss didn't like to lose dance offs?

"But at long last, I have acquired the flycatcher our ally so desires. Come forth, oh great plant and show us the power of your divine will!" From an obtained Nest Ball (that came via trade if the story was indeed true.), the flycatcher was revealed in all its glory.

"Weepinbell."

"What…" Macross muttered out as she and the remaining Devi gazed upon the Pokémon that had been earned. "Impossible… how can this be?"

"Ain't that a…"

"Weepinbell? Yes it is." As those comments left her allies mouth, Macross collapsed to her knees, utterly defeated and betrayed in every way. "It's alright though, she likes that line too." Yet Sketch's words did not enter Macross' ears.

"I despise this season," she muttered as her team tied to cheer her up. Bored of the scene, the Weepinbell decided to flick its leaves at the group, the majority cutting the girl.

Perhaps on the queen of the carnivorous plants' birthday, she would finally earn the friendship of the one person she wanted such a thing from. After all if Christmas was a bust, there were always other ways.

And perhaps even more than that if some other grunts decided to take drastic measures. After all, the pot wasn't going to be around forever.

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PARTNER555

"Congratulations Georgia!" said Marion as she and all the other orphans hugged the visiting Georgia.

"Thanks guys," she said as she hugged them back.

"A full-fledged Dragon Buster!" said one of the other orphans. "Was kinda expecting you to be a Ghost Buster though, since, you know."

"The higher-ups were of the opinion that since I had two Ice-types as opposed to one Dark-type, I had to be either a Dragon, Flying, Ground or Grass Buster. They let me choose which one though, and I don't why, but becoming a Dragon Buster felt just right."

"Can we see your Pokémon?" asked one of the younger orphans. "I heard they evolved!"

"Sure, come on out guys!" said Georgia as she threw her three Pokéballs.

And out came Beartic, Vanilluxe and Bisharp, standing proud and at attention.

"Aren't they great?" said Georgia.

"Hell yes!" said the young orphan.

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BRANDON369

Christmas was a time of joy and peace, at least for kids who enjoyed playing in the snow. However, for a certain pale, black-haired girl, not everything was joy and peace.

She had nothing against Christmas. On the contrary, it was one of her favorite holidays when she was little. And that was the problem. Seeing those kids laughing heartily in the snow, memories of what seemed like another life came to her mind. Aurora's icy-blue eyes let out her tears, as she traveled to a distant past, of happier times.

...

"Come on, my little snowflake, it's Christmas Eve. Let's go play outside in the snow!"

Tokiomi Borealis was a hard-working man. All of his effort to improve Gringy City's life conditions had made him a local hero. He was often busy, but even then he managed to find some time to spare for his little girl. And Christmas Eve would be no exception; family came first after all.

"I'm ready, Daddy, let's go play!"

"Little snowflake, you need to cover yourself before going out. I don't want you to catch a cold."

"But I'm not cold, Daddy."

Few things would get little shy Aurora Aoi Borealis as excited as playing with her father in the snow. She did like staying at home reading, but spending time with her beloved daddy made Christmas the happiest time of the year. Tokiomi would always take the day off to be with her, they'd go out and play, and when it got too cold, they went back home, sat in front of the fireplace with a good cup of hot chocolate and her father would tell her Christmas stories while smoking his pipe. For Aurora, that was magical.

"Come on, my baby girl, I'll show you how yo build a Snow-rlax! Nobody builds them like we Borealises!"

The black-haired girl smiled shyly at her father's pun, while they both started gathering snow.

"You know, I still remember how I met your mother. It was a snowy day like this, and we were building snowmen and Pokémon."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"You loved Mommy very much, didn't you? I hope I can find someone who loves me as much one day."

"I'm sure you will, snowflake... but nobody will ever love you more than I do! Hahahahaha!"

...

Back to the present, Aurora recalled how Tokiomi hugged her and laughed with her, and then they built the Snorlax while he told her stories about her mother. She was so happy back then, her life was like a fairy tale, and she adored her father...

But the man who replaced him when he found out what she really was… that was a horrible person. The girl didn't understand how someone who had made her so happy could make her suffer so much. Her life changed overnight, going from fairy tale to horror movie.

Even now, she still suffered because of him, finally bursting into tears as she remembered. She didn't know if her real father was inside the cold and distant Tokiomi Borealis; neither did she know whether that man who embraced her so lovingly and made her feel safe was but an illusion. And she'd never know. Tokiomi was gone forever, and she only had herself to blame.

True, that man had given her many nights of nothing but weeping, but also gave her a lot of love. Her guilt was eating her inside, none of the books she enjoyed reading would have prepared her for such a situation.

Aurora then wiped her tears. She would never have another Christmas like that, but now she had a new family. She wasn't alone. She would never be alone anymore.

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PARTNER555 (outlined by Crossoverpairinglover)

A teenage girl stood on her Magnezone as they flew up the side of Mount Auburn. That, by itself, wasn't unusual, for people had been known to travel that way. What made it unusual was that the girl, Pendula, though otherwise wearing appropriate clothing for a mountain trip, wasn't wearing the magnetic boots that made that method of transportation viable.

Pendula wasn't being reckless though, she simply had no need for them. Like her Magnezone, she could produce her own magnetic field and kept herself attached to her Pokémon that way.

They eventually found the one they had set out to seek. Outside a lone cabin was a boy, a year older and with his team, including his signature oversized Steelix that he was well known for.

As Pendula got closer, she could see that he was tall, and one of the small percentage of people taller than her, had black hair to her blonde, and dark brown eyes to her red. But like her, he had the z-marks under his eyes, the reason why she took such an interest in him, and why she wanted him to join her family.

He noticed her and Magnezone stopped in front of him. With the ease of practice, she jumped off her Pokémon.

"Hi," she said as she took off her snowboarding mask. "I'm Pendula. You're the guy who beat Astrid, Vermell, right?"

Vermell indicated he found the name familiar.

"Can we talk?" asked Pendula.

"I'd much rather not," he said, his voice tinted with a foreign accent.

"Hey, I came all this way just to see you!"

"No one asked you to," said Vermell as he turned away.

"Well, we're talking, whether you like it or not, brother."

Vermell stiffened as Pendula smirked.

…

Inside his cabin, Pendula noted it was sparse. She saw Vermell's trophy from his Kalos League win, a television, but the cabin was severely lacking in furniture. Among the lack of furniture were chairs for guests. Vermell took the only chair, and she was left standing. She wanted to say that as the guest, she should take the chair, but that wouldn't help her goal.

"What do you want from me?" he asked as he folded his arms.

"Hey now, if you're not going to call me by name, can't you at least call me sister?"

Vermell looked away. "I- I don't want to get attached. You're not the first one I met."

That surprised Pendula. "Did something happen to them?"

If there were more brothers and sisters, than she wanted to know.

"Pitjor," said Vermell. "We had a... difference of opinion."

"You can't expect that to happen between us, can you?"

"Ash and Red," he said in a flat tone.

Oh, them. It was clear to most people watching that at some point, they had a falling out and this affected their performance against Lilo and whatever-his-name-was. Even now, people were speculating on what caused it, but most commentators attributed it to a difference in combat philosophies since it was also clear they had different ways of battling.

As Pendula recalled that incident, her annoyance from being left standing was only increased knowing that Vermell's answer was a "yes" she didn't like, but she wouldn't leave without a "yes" she liked.

"Anyway, I was hoping you could join us, the Mabel's Grandkids Association! I'm the only one who calls us that, but-"

"Aturar. Why should I join your family?" interrupted Vermell before she could go on a tangent.

"Because it's a family. I can't claim to know what your family must be like, and believe me, I tried searching for anything on your mother's side, but I do know it's better to have a good family than no family. And my family is one of the best around!" she said with a large smile on her face.

Vermell scoffed. "If your family is so perfect, then do they know you're a Bloodliner?"

"Yes," said Pendula. "Well, only Granny and Freman know that I'm a Magnezone Bloodliner, but we do plan to let the others know one day."

Vermell scoffed again, but more softly, which Pendula took as a good sign. She was about to speak again, but she realized Vermell was in deep thought.

…

Could he really take the chance? His mother casted him out when she learned he was a Bloodliner, and Vermell had no family until he met her. He thought he had a family then, but the first sister he met had dangerous views on their place in the world compared to the non-Bloodliners.

"Look at us, my dear Verm. We are simply better than these...imperfect things around us. They lag as we blossom. We look better than royal portraits, especially compared to these...peasants."

He shivered as he remembered the sheer bigotry and arrogance in her words, and their subsequent falling out.

And then he met that illusion girl from Unova, Hilda. She wasn't a sister, and as his eyes kept going to her shorts, she teased the possibility of that kind of family.

"My eyes are 44.7º up, boy," she said teasingly. "Hmm, the statistics for the number of boys who even reach first base are 0%, but who knows, maybe you could be the statistical outlier."

But she and the man she worked for asked things of him he just couldn't do, and she left.

But maybe, just maybe.

"This is just a hypothetical, but say a different brother decides to join your family, what would you tell him about you and the rest of your family?" he asked.

Pendula smiled. "Well, in that scenario, I'd tell him that my birthday is the 5th of June, while dropping massive hints on what I'd like as a birthday present. I'm not interested in the Leagues but I'd like to take part in the Pokémon Showcase. Also, I'd like a Key Stone holder that can make me look and feel like a princess."

After his quick laugh, Pendula continued. "I'd tell him that Astrid likes feline Pokémon in general, and she wants to go to Alola to get an Alolan Meowth. He should know that Korrina is a skater girl, and that whatever he does, he absolutely cannot mention her grandfather Gurkinn. They had a falling out and this is coloring her memories of her entire life with him. Freman actually rooted for Casey Snagem during that Kalos League final between him and Granny."

Vermell's smile grew and grew as his sister talked about her family.

"And finally, Granny is very strict that Mega Evolution, Break Evolution, Bond Phenomenon and Z-Moves absolutely cannot clash against each other. Against themselves is fine, but not each other. She has no problems with us having them or anything, but if Croaky so much as looks at Korrina's Lucario she acts like we're juggling Voltorb. We don't have to even say an attack, she watches us like we might blow up the region."

Vermell raised an eyebrow at that.

"Yes, I know it's a strange opinion to have after she won against Casey's Bond Phenomenon Chesnaught with her Mega Mawile," said Pendula. "Freman apparently knows why, we're clueless and he won't talk. Best guess, cancer is involved, somehow."

As Pendula stood there waiting after she finished, Vermell realized he was going to have to give his answer soon.

Maybe he could take the chance, and if he got hurt again, well, he was used to it.

"Bé, I'll come."

"YES!" said Pendula, looking like she was just succeeding in not dancing in celebration.

…

Several days later, any thoughts of getting hurt again were forgotten by Vermell as he and the other grandkids all laughed together. Granny and Freman accepted him with open arms, uncaring of his Bloodline just like Pendula said, and Astrid never resented him for her defeat, though she would've liked a rematch. She apparently had her own Mega now.

He was glad Pendula found him and brought him here. As he drank another cup of eggnog, he couldn't help but think that Christmas at Granny's place was a wonderful event.

Vermell stopped, then smiled. He had only known her for a few days and yet he was already calling her Granny.

"Alegre, Merry Christmas everyone!"

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FOX MCCLOUDE

The streets of Cerulean were really cold that day. It was beginning to snow, so the local Officer Jenny quickly made her way towards the last stop of her Christmas shopping for that night, the cake shop.

However, after turning around the corner to get to the place, she saw someone in front of the window, her hand on the glass and staring at it with sadness. The youngest daughter of the Waterflower family once again spent her Christmas Eve outside. Knowing her family, it was better to take her chances on a snowstorm rather than the coldness of the household.

Jenny saw how the redhead placed a hand in her pocket and pulled out some crumpled bills, and then clenched them in resignation, staring at the glass again. The policewoman couldn't bear with that image anymore, so she slowly walked closer.

"Hey, Misty," she greeted. The thirteen-year-old turned around, and Jenny noticed she was mildly surprised at seeing her, maybe because she was out of uniform. "Would you like some cake?"

"I don't have enough to pay for a slice," said Misty. Her resigned tone didn't slip past Jenny. That was the tone of someone who very rarely got something from someone else, and yet accepted that fact no matter what. Jenny glanced at her with compassion.

"Would you like me to buy you one? I still have to buy my cake for the family dinner, but I can sure spare a bit for an extra slice," she quickly offered her.

The redhead's face quickly lit up, smiling with gratitude. "That would be nice."

Saying that, both of them entered the shop, and Officer Jenny paid for a very big slice just for Misty. Knowing the girl wouldn't have a merry Christmas with her family, Jenny would at least make sure she received something.

The Jenny family's creed had always been 'serve the public trust, uphold the law and protect the innocent'. Each Jenny usually added a personal rule of their own to those three, and in her case it would be 'do some acts of kindness for those who need them', like in this case, making a gift for a young girl, so she wouldn't feel ignored during Christmas.

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PARTNER555

As the six-year old and blue-haired Nema helped her parents clear the snow at their front yard, she couldn't help but feel frustrated as she moved another shovel of snow. Never mind that she preferred tinkering with her gadgets or helping her mother with her work, something just felt wrong about the way she dug, and the feeling grew stronger each time she used the shovel.

Nema could feel the desire to use her hands instead, and she tried to ignore it. Pushing her glasses back in place, she watched her parents Rand and Leanne as they used their own shovels to clear the snow. If hands were better at digging, then they would be using that instead.

But the feeling just kept growing.

'Maybe just this once, and if it doesn't work, then it's back to the shovel,' thought Nema.

She threw her shovel to the side, which caught her parents' attention. She shoved her hands into the snow, and dug.

Her parents were shocked to see Nema move so much snow with just her bare hands, but she didn't care. That was far more fun than the shovel, and Nema continued digging until she cleared all of the snow.

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EDINOSAUR25 (Edited at Spacebattles)

Damon walked down the streets of Eindoak Town. It was Christmas Eve and people had already gone home, so he was alone. Even in the dark, the sight of the Sword of the Vale was still impressive. His Gothitelle, Sigilyph and Reuniclus were in their Pokéballs, and he was approaching his old house, but when he arrived, the lights were off.

'They must have gone somewhere else, maybe I should look for them,' he thought. Just as he was about to leave, he heard some wings flapping, and a shiny Hydreigon descended in front of him.

"Damon, is that you brother?" asked Carlita. Before she got down, the Hydreigon sniffed him and growled with some distrust.

"Hey, Hydreigon. I haven't seen you since when you were a Zweilous." After hearing those words the dragon eased up a bit, and his sister got down and hugged him.

"I'm so glad you came, you were gone for almost a year," she said, a bit upset but wearing a smile.

He smirked a bit. "I decided to take a break and see you both. And mom?"

A shiny Golurk then descended in front of Hydreigon.

Getting off the shoulder of the Ghost type, his mother, Juanita, ran and hugged him. He always found his mother and sister incredible, even if his father had died when Carlita was only a baby. After all, his mother had caught Golurk when it was only a Golett in her youth, while his sister had actually hatched a shiny Deino, so they were popular around town.

"We were just visiting Mannes' party, and came back," said Juanita. "Come on in, we still have some food," she said as she pulled out her keys and unlocked the house. His mother and sister called back Golurk and Hydreigon to their Poke Balls and opened the door.

Just as they entered, Damon had a thought. 'One day, the Kingdom of the Vale will be restored, and our people will be united. I'll become one of the heroes of legend and lead our people back to their former glory. I might take years to track down all of the heads of the remaining People of the Vale, but it's just a matter of time.'

For now he was only going to enjoy being with his family, before returning to his quest.

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FOX MCCLOUDE

The Gym Leader and his disciple walked across the snowy path, the former carrying a couple of boxes in his arms, as they made their way to the Inazuma family's home. They were just two blocks away, and night had already fallen over the city.

"Really, Volkner, it means a lot that you accepted the invite," said Sho.

"Hey, it's the least I could do." Volkner smiled. "This has been a good year, and in no small part thanks to training with you."

"Speaking of training, you said you had something special in mind for our next session. Care to tell me what it is?"

"I told you, that's a surprise. But trust me, it'll be great."

Sho let out a sigh, his breath becoming visible in the cold, but deep inside, he was pretty excited about it. His parents had already met Volkner once, when he and Flint came to tell them about the offer to make Sho his apprentice, and groom him to become the future Gym Leader of Sunyshore in a few years. They were making plans to travel overseas next year, and meet some of Volkner's contacts, the other Electric-type specialists so Sho could challenge and learn from them. And speaking of that…

"By the way, how are things going with Elesa?"

Volkner arched an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

"No particular reason, you just… looked unusually happy when you received her Christmas postcard."

Volkner looked away. "It's not what you're thinking."

"I'm not thinking anything," Sho snickered.

Volkner continued his walk silently. Things weren't like that between him and Elesa, no matter what people said. Though he had to admit, she did look pretty good in that Santa costume. He had to be careful to not to let anybody else find that photo and get the wrong idea about them. They were just close friends and fellow Electric-type Gym Leaders, nothing more.

In any case, they had finally reached their destination. Sho grabbed the doorknob and they both entered the Inazuma residence.

"Family, we're here!"

"Welcome home, Sho." Mrs. Inazuma was the first to greet her son with a hug, and then turned to greet the Gym Leader as well. "Nice to see you, Volkner, I'm glad you made it."

"Thank you for the invite," said the leader. "I brought you guys some gifts, I hope you like them."

"Aw, you shouldn't have. Come in, please, we're almost ready to serve dinner."

A family dinner, Volkner hadn't had one of those in a long time. It was a good change of pace, especially with how dull his Christmas Days had been in the past few years, living away from his close family and with the works he had to do in Sunyshore. The warm, homely atmosphere, and the delicious smell of the freshly made food, they made the perfect scene for a family Christmas dinner.

Just for that year, it would be nice to be an honorary member of the Inazuma family.

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VIRORO-KUN

Christmas. Even after more than two millennia, it felt like a weird celebration. Having been born before it became commonplace probably had something to do with it.

And yet, the former King of Kalos didn't know what to make of it. He had seen civilizations rise and fall, the Dark Pestilence bringing suffering among his once subjects, people hated and shunned for the crime of being different, and more wars than any person should've ever had to witness.

And that celebration was supposed to highlight the goodness and kindness of humanity? It just felt like hypocrisy at work, to prove to themselves that humans were inherently good and thought about their fellow people first. No matter how much they tried to deny it, he knew it was all false.

Adjusting his clothes as he lay in the seedy alleyway of Lumiose City, AZ could only reflect. With no one but his Pokémon for company, there wasn't much else he could do.

As snow fell over him, he thought of her. He had doomed her to immortality just like himself, and she probably had to watch as humanity constantly tried to destroy each other and Pokémon alike.

He felt a knot in his stomach. Floette didn't deserve to live in such a terrible world, and yet she had to, forever, with no reprieve. And he could only blame himself for that.

AZ passed a hand over his forehead and eyed the giant Christmas tree and decorations from across the street, and all the children happily playing in the snow. All unaware of how ugly the world they lived in was.

The King of Kalos shook his head. That happiness didn't belong to him, and never would.

And then, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. AZ blinked, then turned around to see a young girl with black hair and an Espurr by her side, offering half of a baguette.

"Here, have this." She placed it in the giant's arms with a smile.

AZ observed the bread, then shook his head and gave it back.

"I'm not hungry."

The girl pushed it back to the man. "I know hunger when I see it."

"I'm convinced you and your Espurr deserve this bread better than I do."

"I can tell you don't have anything either." The girl sat near him, and stared at the cloudy sky above. "And it's Christmas. No one should be alone today."

Her Espurr floated on her arms, and the girl hugged her tightly. AZ didn't say anything as she stared at her and her ruined and patched up clothes. An orphan, probably, but definitely someone that spent all her time on the streets. Someone who definitely knew how hard and cruel life actually was.

He adjusted himself and inched slightly closer. "What's your name?"

"I'm Emma, and she's Mimi." She raised the Espurr again, and the Pokémon waved at him.

A smile almost flickered on the Kalosian King face, before it was drowned under his wrinkles. He turned away, lowering his beanie. "You should find someone better to spend time with."

"I don't really have anyone, so I'd prefer staying close to someone who needs it."

AZ couldn't help but look back to the girl, still smiling and offering the bread she had brought. The more he saw her, the more the ancient King felt a familiar warmth, one he had missed for more than three thousand years.

Finally, AZ accepted the piece of bread, and smiled at the girl. "This reminds me of an old story. Would you mind listening to it?"

Emma and Mimi nodded at once, and AZ looked back to times he thought to have forgotten. His smile only grew wider at that.

"A long time ago, when Kalos was still a young nation, there was a prince and his beloved Floette..."

The old King spent the rest of the night narrating of simpler and happier times, while Emma and Mimi kept listening intently. And for once in more than three millennia, AZ didn't feel so alone.

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PARTNER555

Anna smiled as she, Arcanine and Growlithe watched Arnold and Laila having a snowball fight. That was Laila's first Christmas with them, and yet she settled into their family so well it felt like she had always been part of it. Everyone from their neighbors, to their teachers, to their friends at school and even Anna herself had to remind themselves that they only took in Laila earlier that year.

Arnold took aim and threw a curveball, and Laila dodged it easily. It must've been fun mixing Bloodliner powers into their games, at least for the Bloodliners, though Anna did wonder about all the little coincidences.

Really, Arnold never missed, and Laila always dodged, what were the odds of that?

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FOX MCCLOUDE

Listening to the Christmas carols sung by her home's door always made her feel a sting of sadness in her chest. People looked so happy as they sang, and they radiated that joy to everyone else. She wanted to do that too, but she couldn't. Not without a voice to perform them.

After the carolers left and his uncle closed the door, he saw her sitting on the rug. She had to consciously shut her mind so he couldn't hear her thoughts. She didn't want to spread sadness in that special season.

"Hey, what's the matter?" he asked. "Feeling bad because you can't sing carols?"

'How could you tell?' she replied. She was sure to have closed her mind, so her thoughts wouldn't slip.

"You can't fool me," he said as he sat before her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Looking at you now, you really remind me of your mother. You know, she had a really lovely voice, identical to yours."

'How can you be so sure of that?' she asked. He could only hear her inside his head, after all, and she had no idea what her 'voice' would sound like.

"Because it comes from inside here," he said, pointing at her chest. "That's what really matters."

Anabel knew he was just trying to make her feel better, so she made an effort to smile in gratitude. Nevertheless, she felt sad for not being able to share out loud the joy of Christmas with everyone else.

"Why don't you sing something for me?" he asked. "I'd love to hear it."

Anabel looked up. He was biologically her uncle, but he had raised her as far as she could remember, so he was practically like her father. He had done so much for her, so why not give him that little gift?

Though she really didn't have to, she took a deep breath:

'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Stantler,

had a very shiny nose,

and if you ever saw it,

you would even say it glows.'

That was her favorite Christmas Carol. Seeing her uncle smile quickly made her feel happy too, and before she realized, she sang the full lyrics, over and over again.

Though she could share it only with him, that was fine for now. One day, she hoped, she would share it with other people. With good friends and perhaps with the whole world.

----------------------------------------

PARTNER555

A young girl with blond hair ran through the thick forest as she tried to escape the purple flames.

She paused for breath against a tree before jumping back in shock as the tree caught fire.

Looking around, she was surrounded by the purple flames.

And everywhere she looked, there were pupil-less yellow eyes, and all of them had a cruel gleam.

The young girl screamed as the fire closed in on her and burned her…

"Betty!" shouted Jamie as he shook her awake.

Betty got up and looked around. She was with her boyfriend in her mother's apartment.

"That must have been a bad nightmare. Can you tell me what happened?" asked Jamie as he looked at her in concern.

Betty looked away and noticed that his Pansage, Pansear and Panpour looked equally concerned. She turned another direction and her Zebstrika, Emolga, Joltik, Galvantula, Stunfisk, Eelektross, Charjabug and even her newly caught Pikachu all looked worried for her.

"I- I don't want to talk about it," she said, averting her eyes. She flinched when she saw the Great Ball on their dresser.

Jamie noticed. "You had a nightmare involving Palossand?"

Betty remained silent before she steeled herself. "Chandelure. Please, don't ask about it anymore."

"I understand," said her boyfriend as Betty walked out to the balcony. Once she left, Jamie turned to the Pokémon present as they tried to figure out what to do.

…

Betty gazed at Nimbasa City from her mother's high rise property as the sun rose. Since Elizabeth was a world-famous supermodel, she could afford the luxury apartment.

"Betty dear?" And speaking of her mother, there she was, standing at the doorway to the balcony.

"Yes Mama?"

"Jamie told me what happened," said Elizabeth. "Want to talk about it?"

"Not really," said Betty.

"Like that's going to stop a concerned mother. The thing with the Chandelure was years ago, before even the Reaper murders, and for the nightmares to come back now? I know it has something to do with that Palossand."

"What do you want me to do about it? I'm not risking people's lives by letting out."

"You don't have to. Don't forget, I have Elesa on my contacts list, and she's got Shauntal on her contacts list. It's the season of giving, and we can give the Palossand to Shauntal," said Elizabeth. "You'll be rid of it, and the Palossand will be under a Trainer who can keep it under control. And you remember why Shauntal decided to become a Ghost-type specialist?"

Betty remained silent for a while.

"To redeem the dangerous Ghost-type Pokémon of the world," she said eventually. "Okay, we'll do that."

"Good, we'll make the arrangements later. For now, let's get back in and have breakfast. Your boyfriend is preparing something nice."

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VIRORO-KUN

Getting lost on a snowy mountain wasn't really how Alain thought he would spend his Christmas that year.

The mission seemed simple enough: reach an ancient temple and recover the Abomasite held within. The kind of task mister Lysandre always put him on.

And then the temple collapsed on him, he had to rush outside from a side entry, and he ended up completely lost on a white mountain during a snow storm.

By some miracle he had managed to find a cave to rest in and be safe, but the tempest outside didn't show any sign to let up. Odds were that he would've remained there for about a day, maybe even longer; he didn't know enough about weather patterns to predict it. And this time, there didn't seem to be any strange giants to take the brunt of the storm for him.

Alain sighed and adjusted himself over the cave wall, grabbing one of his Poké Balls. A second later his mighty Charizard stood by his side, his tail flame instantly warming up the area.

The trainer smiled and rubbed his friend's scales. "Thank you, Charizard."

The Kanto starter let out a pleased roar, as Alain looked back to the snow outside. That was far from his first foray in harsh weather, and knew that he had to be patient.

Memories of years past flashed by. Expeditions with Professor Sycamore, mostly, including one time around Christmas where he and the Professor were stuck in a snowed in cave for more than two days. They had to use Charmander's Ember to burn the snow as they dug their way out, and through it all the Professor continued to joke around about how they had a Christmas dinner to attend and it was their duty as gentlemen to not miss on Sophie's treats.

In the end they didn't make it, and Sophie gave them an earful for letting her food go to waste. Professor Sycamore never scheduled field trips around the holidays as a result.

A nostalgic smile lit up Alain's face. Even when things got rough or difficult, the Professor always managed to make them seem light or even fun. It was probably the quality he admired more of his old mentor.

And then the nostalgia morphed into guilt. When was the last time he talked with Professor Sycamore? He couldn't even remember.

He grabbed his Holo Caster and studied it. He still knew Sycamore's number, and with some luck there might've even been some reception.

Alain continued to study the device before sighing and placing it away. Too much time had passed, and he couldn't just call him out of the blue. It would've also led to questions, ones Alain wasn't ready for. He really couldn't burden Professor Sycamore like that when he should've relaxed and had fun.

Yeah, contacting Sycamore would've only caused problems to everyone. No matter how much he really wanted to call him, he couldn't do it.

He felt a claw scratch at his shoulder, and Alain turned to see Charizard look over him in concern.

Alain forced a smile. "I'm fine, I was just thinking."

Charizard continued to stare through him, but he quickly left the argument die. Alain turned back to the snow outside, still harshly beating around the mountain.

He sighed, and grabbed a bar of chocolate from his backpack. He divided it in two, and then faced Charizard again.

"It's a bit meager, but I guess this will have to do." He offered one half to him. "Merry Christmas, Charizard."

His Pokémon grabbed the sweet, and trainer and starter ate the bar at once.

And thus, as the snow storm rampaged outside, Alain enjoyed that lonely Christmas with the only friend he had left.

----------------------------------------

PARTNER555

It was snowing, and yet father and daughter were training.

"Ready Evanna?" asked Kyle as his six-year old daughter stood in front of the rock. "Go!"

Fists glowing, Evanna punched the rock again and again, with her punches getting stronger and stronger, until finally, the rock broke into pieces.

"You did it!"

"Yes! Does this mean I get cookies and hot chocolate?" asked Evanna.

"You know you'd get them either way," said Kyle as he and Evanna walked back home.

----------------------------------------

SHADOW NINJA KOOPA

The sound of explosions echoed throughout the cave as One Eye stirred from his light slumber. His remaining eye scanned the makeshift nest for threats as he clutched the small green and purple egg closer to his body. In the shadows, he could see his Crash still deep in their dreams, a slightly plumper Lickitung curled up into a ball that Electabuzz used as a pillow. Seeing nothing amiss, the Rhydon pulled himself to his feet as he searched for the noise.

From the cave's entrance, situated right by the ocean, One Eye could see the flares of light dancing in the sea. Watching carefully, he could see they were reflections from the sky as fire lit it up due to human explosives.

Screams and cheers of joy from a nearby inhabited island could be heard as they became louder and louder. It was as if they were having one big celebration for the night. Perhaps to celebrate the clearing of another island to populate.

"I apologize, Unborn One," the damaged beast whispered to the egg as he turned his back from the bright, multicolored lights, trying to protect it from the sounds. "The loathsome beasts don't care about who they hurt with their noise or lights." Bringing the small egg to his face, One Eye touched it with his chin. "Especially with their machines."

They were lucky to have found the egg. The island they were currently on was being cleared for more of the human settlements. More Pokémon were left homeless as others were captured and removed from their families.

But the most unforgivable of all was the smashing of eggs and leaving the unfortunate few without warmth. All but one remained when they attacked, close to the one inside never being born at all. It was truly fortunate they found it before it was too late.

Even louder shouts of New something filled the air as the Rhydon scowled. Celebrations for destruction, how disgusting. "Time to go back to sleep for now, Unborn One, the humans can continue their celebrations. We can decide what to do in the morning, maybe a small wave to wake them up." With one last scowl, One Eye began to wander back over to his Crash, prepared to face the bones that danced in the night sky once again.

----------------------------------------

CROSSOVERPAIRINGLOVER

Even in a city in the midst of crawling out a pit of wretchedness, there was always a place for small acts of kindness.

The Gunjou Bakery was but a humble Gringy City establishment, never really being stable enough to lay lax on its laurels. However, on that holiday night it wasn't above a bit of giving to the needy.

In front of the door bolted shut by several layers of metal was a simple metal table.

On said table was a paper plate, weighed down to prevent being swept away, were dozens of glazed spheres.

Doughnuts, a food capable of being made from little fairly quickly, free to the night dredges this holiday night.

The only catch being a little sign fluttering in front of it that said.

DON'T BE GREEDY

At the sight of the sign a hand reached forward nervously, wondering about the statement, before a second hand joined it in snagging a pair of them.

They were quickly swallowed by a (patchy and worn) layered little girl with black hair and red eyes, who reached for a third before thinking otherwise.

With some reluctance, she turned and left the source of food, and perhaps the only treat she'd get this holiday night.

As was always the case frankly.

----------------------------------------

BRANDON369

The Johto region was a weird place. At least that was what Fitzdane thought as he waited in the snowy streets of Palmpona. It was curious how the pamphlets said it was a rather hot city, but not even that had spared it from the season's snowfalls. Maybe it was some global warming stuff, or that strange weather disaster that happened in the Orange Islands.

Nevertheless, Fitzdane wasn't bothered by the weather in the least. It brought him comfort to see his Pokémon playing in the snow; Heliolisk and Quilladin were running after each other throwing snowballs, while Fennekin stayed by his side to keep him warm. It was a shame he couldn't let Noivern and Tyrantrum out of their Pokéballs, but Johto wasn't used to seeing dragons and dinosaurs running around the streets.

As he journeyed through Johto, he came to realize how different the region was compared to his native Kalos; at first glance it seemed more traditional, but it was also more dangerous. He still recalled when they went to Azalea Town to visit the local Gym and meet Master Ultima's friend, but in the end they were unable to do it; a mob of angry people drove them out of town. They were used to escaping whenever someone discovered their powers, but that time they almost got lynched just because Ciel accidentally stepped on a Slowpoke's tail.

Granted, not everything in Johto was bad: he encountered many Pokémon he had never seen before, he met many very good trainers, some of which had become his rivals, and there was also the fact that the region apparently had a lower age limit to enter a bar. Ciel had forbade him from doing that, but it was still one of Johto's advantages.

He sighed as he thought about his girlfriend; when they arrived in town, she said she wanted to take a walk by herself, but Fitzdane knew the truth. She always did the same thing year after year: going off to get him a Christmas present.

The only problem with that, Fitzdane wasn't exactly very good at picking gifts, but he didn't want to come back empty-handed. A bit hesitant, he glanced at the small box he kept in his hand, and then at Fennekin.

"Are you sure she'll like this?"

"Feen, fenn."

Despite his Pokémon's confident glance, Fitzdane was nervous. He would have liked to give her something else, in fact a weird salesman almost convinced him to buy a Feebas, rambling about the many advantages they had as Christmas presents. He almost bought it, but Fennekin revealed it was just a Magikarp covered in paint. In the end, the small Fire-type Pokémon chose the gift.

"Hey Fitz! I'm back!"

The boy saw his girlfriend coming back, along with Greninja, whom he had sent along with her just in case she needed protection. He also noticed his Water-type carrying a bag on the back.

"What's that, Ciel?"

"Surprise!" Fitzdane wasn't surprised in the least, but it always felt good to see Ciel happy. "Greninja brought the best Pokémon food we could find."

Upon hearing this, Quilladin quickly jumped over the bag, followed by Heliolisk. Greninja gave them their share of food, splitting it evenly for each of them. Fennekin just thanked Greninja before starting to eat, while Quilladin had pretty much swallowed his full ration.

"Looks like they liked it. Just make sure we keep some for Tyrantrum and Noivern, OK?"

"That's not the only surprise." The girl produced a box she had kept hidden beneath her suit's wings, handing it to her boyfriend. "Merry early Christmas, Fitz!"

The trainer curiously opened the box, finding a blue muffler inside.

"Do you like it? Blue, the same color as Greninja." The trainer glanced at the muffler, it definitely went with his hat, plus it was his favorite color. "This way you won't get sick anymore."

"Thanks Ciel, you're the best girlfriend ever." Fitzdane quickly noticed the blush in his girlfriend's face as he put on the muffler. "For the record, I got something for you too."

This time it was the girl's turn to be surprised, when her boyfriend handed her the small box. Excited, the girl opened it, finding a small necklace, with the carved image of a Pidgeotto spreading its wings.

"I hope you like it, to be honest I didn't know what to get you and…" Fitzdane's speech was cut off, as his girlfriend glomped him, causing him to blush.

"Thank you Fitz! I love it!" As Ciel hugged him tightly, Fitzdane could almost swear his Fennekin gave him an 'I told you so' glance. "This will be my lucky charm, I'll never take it off!"

Maybe Fitzdane and Ciel were alone in the middle of the snow, but they both agreed on something: that would be one of their best Christmas. As long as they were together, nothing else mattered.

----------------------------------------

FOX MCCLOUDE

Money wasn't life, just vanity, or so the saying went. Wiser words had never been said.

Year after year it was always the same. If it wasn't an executive meeting, it was a trip to meet accountants. But no matter what, her parents were never there. Instead, her only company were the house staff, and her boorish tutors in all subjects. Being sent to boarding school would have at least given her a chance to make friends, but no, her parents had to pay for the best private tutors their vast wealth could afford.

She glanced out of the window, seeing a few kids around her age sliding down a snowy hill. She couldn't hear them through the glass, but they were laughing to their hearts' content. She seemed to have forgotten what it felt like to laugh…

"Miss Vedia?" Her tutor's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "If you were so kind as to give me your full attention?"

"I apologize." She went back to take notes from the board and answering the questions. Rather boring, since these calculus problems came easy to her.

Another year, another Christmas without family or friends. What good was having so much money when you had nobody to share it with?

----------------------------------------

PARTNER555

It was Christmas Eve, and Professor Ota would like to be able to relax back at his nice, and more importantly, warm hotel room.

Instead, he was chasing a blue-haired five-year old girl in rags around the cold alleys of Geosenge Town. He and his team were returning back from an excavation site when he dropped the tablet. The girl then picked it up and looked at it with interest before running in panic when he called out to her.

'She's only five! How is she so fast!?' wondered Professor Ota as he stopped to catch his breath.

Looking around the empty alleyway, he thought he lost her and the tablet when he heard a sound.

"Beware the two great powers of destruction," said a small voice.

Ota headed in the direction it came from.

"The shadow of the dark device will grapple with the prisoner of the unearthly urn."

Ota turned a corner and found a makeshift tent.

"The sacred city will be no more as day is swallowed up by night."

He looked inside.

"Darker still for you when they return to lay waste to the world."

There was the girl, with her back turned to him.

"But no human knows the secret to soothe the powers and guide them back to the shadow world," finished the girl.

"Impressive," said Ota.

That startled the girl and she reflexively threw a ball of white energy. He quickly dodged that while recognizing that it was one of the forms Ancient Power could take. When the five-year old raised pieces of the ground in the other form the attack could take, Ota realized he needed to calm her down.

"Hey, calm down, I was just impressed that you were able to read it," he said in a soothing voice. That seemed to stop her from attacking, though the rocks were still levitating. "I'm Professor Ota, what's your name?"

Though the girl clearly did not trust him just yet, she at least answered Ota's question.

"...don't know," said the girl as the stones slowly fell.

Ota realized she probably had lost her family before she could remember them. His eyes turned back to the tablet she had.

"Why did you take the tablet?"

"...I like old things," said the girl as the rocks harmlessly landed. "Last year, a giant told me all about old stories and I wanted to learn more."

A giant? He heard stories of a giant of a man who travelled around Kalos and beyond, but he thought that was all they were. Did he teach her to read the language on the tablet? He wasn't sure whether it was more impressive that the giant could teach her or that the girl could learn it.

"Well, I also like old things," said Ota. "In fact, I know a lot about old things."

"Really?!" she asked as her whole demeanor changed. "Teachmeteachmeteachme!"

"Slow down!" said Ota. "I can teach you, but only if you return the tablet and come with me. Also, promise me that you don't take things like that. People don't like it."

"I promise!" she said as she gave the tablet to him, all too eager to learn what Ota had to teach.

"Now, before we go, you need a name. Have any you like?"

The girl simply shook her head.

"Okay, I'll try to think of one. Hmm, coming from Kanto, I'm not familiar with Kalosian names, but what would be a good name?" Ota then remembered what day it was. "Okay, well, today is Christmas Eve, so is Eve okay?"

"Eve?" said the girl as she considered the name. Eventually, she smiled. "I like that."

----------------------------------------

FOX MCCLOUDE

*RIIIIIIIIINNNNGGGG!*

The bell went off, signaling the end of the semester at the Vien Town Ranger School. The entire first-year class quickly jumped off their seats and ran off outside of the classroom in disorder, celebrating their freedom.

"Yahooooooo! School's out!"

"See ya after the holidays!"

But obviously, there was someone who didn't quite share their cheerfulness.

"How many times do I have to tell you, don't run in the hallways!"

"Sorry, Mr. Kincaid! See you next semester!" one of them replied.

Once the student wave had left, Kincaid let out a sigh. It was always the same, when the semester ended and the Christmas break began. Why couldn't that bunch of brats behave themselves and be a little tidier and more organized?

That being said, they had potential. Determination, intellect, initiative... All they needed was the proper motivation, and a little patience from his part. Besides, he had the whole Christmas break to relax and have some peace and quiet.

----------------------------------------

CROSSOVERPAIRINGLOVER

As the door to his office opened up, Maxie was quick to hide the backscratcher from the last holiday in his desk.

If it was Tabitha entering, he might have to worry about his action being noticed, but it was his other admin.

Courtney was brilliant, but she had the social awareness of a drunk Deino. It was why she was standing weirdly.

"Leader Maxie, you seemed troubled," she told him.

He'd say 'it was that obvious?', but to most it probably was. For Courtney to have picked it up though...

"Yes, I suppose I am," Maxie mused.

...

"I really have been in a funk today, haven't I?" In a base far from Maxie's office, his opposite had similar musings.

"Sir, if it's about Matt's choice of cake..." Shelly began as he laughed her off.

"No, no, I like all cake! No cake is wrong in my book. It's just...well I was just wool gathering is all. Tell me, are you aware of Team Zenith?"

...

Courtney was looking at him.

It was a testament to how long they had been working together that he knew that was her 'of course I know' look rather than 'what is it' look.

"Then I'm glad I do not need to go into details unnecessarily. Before I founded Team Magma, I worked with the organization as part of my desire to fix the world. I thought I was amidst those who were like me, who saw what still needed to be fixed."

...

"Course, ever heard that saying about putting five people in a room and getting six opinions? That was Team Zenith. We all wanted to make the world better, but there were hundreds of ideas competing on how to do it. Expand the land, clean the skies, kill the Draconids, make everyone mutant fish people...our ideal was just one of many."

"Mutant fish people?" Shelly questioned as Archie shook his head.

"Zenith had many brilliant people in it, and Maxie. And then dozens of people who had crack pot ideas. There was a section of them that figured that 'sexual deviancy' was a problem. I never liked them at all."

...

"It was a constant shifting of alliances, groups working together to remove mutual enemies while striving towards competing ideals. On the outside it looked like we had an ideal, but truly we just had thousands jockeying for power. You would not have fared well in it, even I struggled to keep up." Maxie stated bluntly.

Courtney didn't give a sign of disagreeing with his assessment, so he continued.

"It was towards the end of the organization that is weighing on me heavily, around this time many years ago. An attempt to rename the team 'Team Utopia' had failed, and several of us went off to obtain the very information we are putting into play now. It was sealed away in a mountain fortress, hidden deep in the Draconid Mountains."

...

"The group of idiots who figured all would be smiles and rainbows if the Draconids were all dead tagged along with the mish-mash of groups, figuring they could do what they always dreamed of while the rest of us were busy. They all died, though not because of Draconids. Never saw any of them. They mostly got swarmed by Zubat, or fell off cliff sides. One poor smuck I never liked got eaten by a large Whiscash."

Archie made a slurping sound to demonstrate how the man had died, a slurp that visibly bothered Shelly.

"We eventually did find the ancient scrolls we wanted, but that was when the traps set in. I was the bravest there, but I would never have gotten out if it wasn't for him."

...

"While my mind allowed me to see how the traps were triggered, I did not have the nerve to set them off. So, I was forced to make an ally who was willing to risk his body to see my plans through." Maxie admitted to his lack of nerve, even as Courtney mouthed something.

"..."

"No, it wasn't Tabitha. It was someone far less pleasant. Archie."

...

"Maxie is a college educated idiot with the heart of steel, but if it wasn't for his brains...well I wouldn't be here. There wouldn't be a Team Aqua, and no Team Magma either. We worked together to escape that fortress, and then the Draconids when they came around to investigate after finding some idiot's arm in the river. Took us a month to get out of the mountains, and at the end it felt like we could do anything together."

Archie let out a long sigh.

"But it wasn't meant to be."

...

"That muscle bound fool was too dumb to see the folly in his beliefs, or the correctness of mine. Yet, I can't help but think of what could have been sometimes." Maxie turned around and looked out the window, to where snowflakes were falling.

"This time of year, makes me wonder how far we'd be now if we were still working together."

...

"Don't get me wrong Shelly, I love this holiday. It just makes me think of how things could have been," Archie told his admin solemnly.

----------------------------------------

PARTNER555

As everyone at the Ranger Union HQ of Almia celebrated around them, Top Rangers Sven and Wendy were at their table.

"Another year has gone by," said Sven. "You got any regrets for the past year?"

"That thing with the Mu- don't you dare laugh!" said Wendy.

"Sorry, but I can't help it!" he said in between his laughter.

Wendy grunted.

"A toast," said Sven after he calmed down as he held out his mug.

Though still miffed at him, Wendy did the same.

"To the new year," said Wendy before they drank.

----------------------------------------

FOX MCCLOUDE

Lying on her bedroom's comfy mattress, a pen in one hand and a Christmas card in the other, Giselle struggled with herself. She had always seen herself as someone smart, so it seemed unfathomable that she couldn't think of a simple Christmas message. Then again, she wasn't used to sending Christmas cards the old fashioned way.

In the past two years she had been studying in the institute, she had preferred to spend the Christmas holidays with her family, but this time, at the end of the term she was the first to sign the list of the students who would stay at the school for the winter break. It had been an eventful year: suffering her first major defeat at the hands of that boy and his Pikachu, the departure of Joe and Mr. Datsura, the Fuchsia Tag Tournament... all of those things had led her to reconsider her mindset and her way to do things.

As she placed her pen's tip on the lips, she stared at the card before her. All she had written was a "Dear Joe:" . But there were many things she wanted to tell him.

"Aw, hell," she finally said, tossing the card and pen away. Maybe it was better to talk to him directly. Or as directly as it could be via phone call.

The brunette grabbed her cellphone and dialed a number, specifically Joe's house. With luck, maybe she wouldn't be interrupting anything. She had been wishing to talk to him for quite a while. A few seconds passed, and they finally answered the call.

"Becket residence, hello?" a deep male voice answered. She assumed it was Joe's father.

"Good evening, is Joe home?" asked Giselle.

"Who is it?"

"A classmate... well, former classmate of his. My name's Giselle, could I speak to him, please?"

"Hold on a moment."

Giselle waited, hearing on the background as Joe's father called out to his son. A minute or so later she heard some footsteps going downstairs and finally his voice rang.

"Hello?"

"Joe, how are you? Enjoying your family holidays?"

"Yeah. I thought I should take a break before continuing my Pokémon journey."

"Speaking of that, you seem to be doing well, don't you?" said Giselle. "Three badges, and two of them from Pewter and Vermillion, congratulations."

"It's no big deal, I just had some luck," Joe replied with modesty. "Anyway, surely you didn't call me just to congratulate me for that, have you?"

"That's right." Giselle took a deep breath. "To be honest, I've wanted to talk to you for a while, but… it just didn't seem the right time. I think by now there's not much point in saying 'I'm sorry' after the way I treated you."

"Hey, it's alright, you had good intentions," said Joe. "No hard feelings."

Giselle felt relieved, as well as happy to know Joe didn't resent her, not just for treating him poorly, but also allowing and even encouraging the others to do so. Even more after he started doing well in his Pokémon journey, though that also saddened her a bit, as it meant he no longer needed her.

"Anyway, do you have plans for Christmas Eve?" the girl asked.

"Nothing special, just spending time with my family, why?"

"Well… there's going to be the Christmas ball at the Pokémon Tech," she said. "I know you're no longer a student, but I'd like you to come with me."

"Surely you can find yourself a better partner. Any of the boys at school would die for it."

"I'd rather go with someone I like," the girl replied without hesitation.

"Excuse me, what did you just say?" Joe thought he had misheard that last part.

"*Sigh*, listen Joe, I'm only going to say this once," said Giselle. "To be honest, since we first arrived to the Pokémon Tech, I took a liking to you. Don't ask me why, maybe it's just that I have a thing for shy and sweet boys like you. Why else do you think I used the tutoring hours to help you when you fell behind? I really like you, Joe, I'm just sorry I never told you before."

The other side of the line remained completely silent. Not that it surprised her; Joe never had much confidence in himself and he probably was wondering what she might have seen in him. True, she was popular among the boys in her class and out of it, but she had never set her sights on anyone, except him. She had just been too focused on her studies, so she never had the chance to show it as she should have.

"Are you serious?" Joe finally asked.

"I am. Besides, that way I can avoid unwanted company, do you know how many I've had to turn down so far?"

"Giselle, please stop fooling around," he quipped in amusement.

"I'm not fooling around," she replied in the same manner. "Listen, I'm not going to force you to come if you can't or don't want to, but it would be a nice Christmas present if you did that for me. And well, if things turn out bad, be sure I won't ever bother you in your life."

Giselle heard Joe sighing on the other side. The brunette kept her fingers crossed, waiting anxiously for the answer. It was weird; it had been easy for her to say it through the phone, but she wasn't sure she would have been able to do the same face to face. Well, at least she didn't have to worry about that anymore.

He finally answered. "Alright, just this once, and because it's you."

"Thanks, thanks a lot." Giselle smiled. "Alright, it was nice talking to you. Happy Holidays for you and your family."

"Same for you. Goodnight."

The call ended, and Giselle had to focus all her efforts in not jumping on her bed in joy. She still had two weeks before the ball, so it was just a matter of getting herself a nice gown, a gift for Joe, and with some luck a few strands of mistletoe here and there. That would definitely be her best Christmas ball ever.

----------------------------------------

VIRORO-KUN

There he was, standing in his usual spot outside of New Bark Town, waiting for any young trainer about to start their Pokémon journey. He had heard there would've been some sort of starter giveaway for Christmas, and that meant a lot of inexperienced trainers that needed to discover the art of catching Pokémon would've left the town alone for the first time.

It was a bit colder than usual, but that wasn't a problem, for he was the Dude, and he would always fulfill his duty, no matter the season, weather, or political situation.

He would be lying if he said he didn't wish snow was a yet-undiscovered Ice-type Pokémon so he'd be able to catch it away, however.

In spite of his light complaint, he remained in wait just like usual. A possible apprentice could come any second, and he had to be ready to pass on his art.

Two or three hours later, the Dude was wondering if he should've just left a PokéGear number so people could call him there. Then remembered that fate never called him, and that was probably a waste of time.

And then, a familiar yet unexpected voice boomed around him.

"You're still here? Do you suffer of off-screen inertia or something?"

The Dude crooked an eyebrow and turned around, finding a malicious, incoherent mess of pixels 'staring' back at him. Or at least, he assumed it was staring.

"Oh, MissingNo." The Dude waved nonchalantly. "Merry Christmas."

"Don't you mention it." The pixels swirled in place until they formed a pouting face. "That stupid onion fairy ruined my fun with that Aura Guardian and my nemesis can't stop rubbing it to my face. I need to enjoy some suffering now. "

The Dude didn't press the question, but assumed it was connected to the side characters troubles from before. He couldn't deny it was pleasant to see the horror annoyed like that.

And thus, he shrugged. "This is what happens when you underestimate anyone but yourself."

MissingNo. would've probably widened his eyes if he had any, before spinning in place again and 'glare' at him. The Dude really wished he had studied pixel art at school.

"You really want to make me mad, I see." The glitchy mess 'grinned'. "Well, well. I know exactly how to hurt you."

And thus, the eldritch horror digitalized away in a flurry of pixels. The Dude simply stood there in confusion.

Then, he started to feel his bag heavy, and then heavier, and then so heavy he fell face-first in the snow as he tried to hold it up.

Confused, the Dude opened his bag, and his eyes went wide open.

He was rather sure to only have got six Poké Balls in his bag, so seeing one hundred twenty-two more capture devices erupting from it was quite a weird turn of events.

The Dude stood there to observe the spontaneously multiplying balls, and then it hit him. MissingNo. did mention something about cloning items back in Cinnabar Island...

As time went on, the balls continued to multiply on their own. The Dude blinked, then frowned and struck his chin. That was a weird situation, but he needed to solve it in some way.

And fortunately, the Dude was always at his best in a pinch.

…

New Bark Town was a small community, but in spite of that they really went all-out to make their houses and streets look as warmly and friendly as possible for visitors and residents alike. Several lights, decorations and even Christmas trees lined up every building and corner, and a lot of citizens were up and about to spend time together or finding presents for their friends and families. The happiness could be felt in the air.

However, there were always exceptions to the joy, and in this specific case it took the form of a lonely stand manned by two youngsters and their Rattata, a Johtoan and Alolan pair each. The Alolan youngster in particular was scowling at his Johtoan friend, while eyeing the empty containers behind them.

Tristan grumbled as he turned back to Joey. "I spent all my savings to come here in Johto again just for you, you know."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry." Joey rubbed his neck and faced away. "I didn't have enough money to afford a Pokémon capture expert to provide all the Pokémon. I thought my part-time job at Elm's could've helped, and well..."

Joey forced a sheepish smile, and Tristan sighed while petting his Alolan Rattata.

"Looks like the 'Common Rodent Pokémon Appreciation Society' will be a bust, then." Tristan slouched over the desk, glancing over Joey's Rattata. "With no giveaway, there'd be no interest in showing people how cool common Pokémon can be."

Joey folded his arms, facing the nearby Pokémon Laboratory. "Yeah. And people would probably rather have a 'real' starter than ours, with Elm in the same town."

He and Tristan sighed once more in unison. And then, they heard a voice.

"Hey, you are the kids organizing that giveaway, right?"

Joey perked his head up. "Yes, but as you can see, we don't have any-"

Both Joey and Tristan promptly froze as the huge sack of Poké Balls was dropped on their desk. Looking up, they saw a quite average-looking dude grinning at them and folding his arms.

"Here, the majority of the Rattata of Route 29." The guy grinned and thumped his chest. "Don't worry, they reproduce fast enough that this won't cause an ecological disaster. I hope."

Joey observed the sack and then their benefactor, and squinted his eyes. "You're that dude that always stands outside the city, right? Why you'd give us all those Pokémon?"

"It's 'the' Dude. The article is important." The Dude's smile widened as he raised a finger. "And, I assumed you could've used some help here. If I'm wrong, I can see to bring those somewhere else."

Joey and Tristan traded glance, as did their Rattata. The foursome nodded at once, and then they all turned back to the Dude.

"Are these good Rattata?" Joey asked.

The Dude gave them a thumbs up. "In the top percentage, you could say."

The two youngsters chuckled at once, then looked back to the hefty amount of Rattata they had to give away now. They turned back to the Dude.

"Say, are you busy? We could use a helping hand here."

The Dude smiled back. "I think I can help you out. As long as I can also show everyone how to catch Pokémon."

The boys accepted the deal, and the first Common Rodent Pokémon Appreciation Society Giveaway began in earnest.

…

As Joey, Tristan and the Dude handed out the Poké Balls to every interested person approaching the stand, a bird-like creature observed the scene with its jaw hanging open.

He had glitched out reality to ensure his Poké Balls would've multiplied indefinitely until he would've literally drowned in them. It was absolutely impossible for him to use them all before they could continue to multiply. And instead he made it again.

MissingNo. grumbled and shook its head. That didn't make any sense, not even for the chaotic remnant of a dead timeline.

"See what I've told you? You can't beat the magic of Christmas. Most people will always find a way to be happy, sooner or later."

MissingNo. rolled his eyes as his jolly adversary materialized right next to him, his laugh and warm behavior as annoying as ever.

"Our feud is not over yet, you know." The Bird-type sneered and glared at him. "And I will win this year."

"Oh oh oh, I look forward to see how, given the odds are against you." The man waved at the horror with a cheery smile. "Merry Christmas, my dear!"

As his opponent disappeared, MissingNo. gave one last glance at the happy scene beneath him before shaking his head and flying away. There must've been someone that was having a miserable Christmas around, and he really needed a break from all that sickening cheery atmosphere.

And this time, there would be no Dude to ruin his entertainment.

----------------------------------------

PARTNER555

Jolanka was decorating the Christmas tree when her daughter and her Pidgeotto came in.

"Mom, can we talk?" asked Jane.

"Sure," said Jolanka. "What is it?"

"Well, another year has gone by, and I thought about all the things you did for me," said Jane. "It must have been hard, dealing with all the stigma, even with Grandpa glaring down everyone who had a problem with it."

"It wasn't that hard, and even if it was, it was well worth it," said Jolanka. "After all, I've got a fine young girl for a daughter, even if the man who sired you never stayed."

"And he deserves a good punch for that, and a Steel Wing for good measure," said Jane. "Anyway, because of everything you did for me, I got you something."

Jane held out her present. Jolanka accepted it and she hugged her daughter.

"Thanks dear."

----------------------------------------

VIRORO-KUN

Tommy hugged his body as the cold breeze entered the cave, shivering. He really needed to make some more winter-friendly clothes.

The boy adjusted himself on the hard wall as he looked outside his cave. The now familiar scenery of the Safari Zone was coated by white snow everywhere, and a lot of the usual Pokémon hibernated until the spring, while others only left their homes to gather food. Not having to worry about Nidoking anymore had probably made things much quieter than they had been for a while, as well.

Tommy was glad to know they were probably happier now, but he couldn't deny spending most of his days alone was slowly becoming very boring. With nothing else to do, Tommy could only watch the snow fall, and think back to the past.

Even before the Safari Zone, most of his Christmas parties were held alone: his parents were constantly on the move, and rarely managed to be there at once to unwrap gifts and eat together. The few times they could be there, though, were among the fondest and warmest memories he had. Whenever he closed his eyes, Tommy remembered when he built up Christmas trees with his mother, got in snowball fights with his father, and sung Christmas carols together. It wasn't big and loud or anything, but Tommy didn't care: he was with his family, and that was all he needed.

And now he was stuck miles away from them, and probably would've never got to meet his mother and father ever again.

His Kangaskhan mother had noticed his worries, and tried to cheer him up and hug him. Tommy appreciated the effort, and told her what he missed of Christmas: building trees, singing songs, playing in the snow and sharing gifts. All very human stuff, and something he didn't expect any Pokémon to comprehend, let alone replicate. Tommy had smiled at that and hugged his Pokémon mother regardless, and then she had left him alone with his thoughts as she went to gather berries.

Tommy sighed and observed the floor again, and felt a knot in his stomach. It would've been a long, cold winter.

At that point, the boy heard steps in the snow, and perked his head up to see his mother. She was looking back at him with a big smile.

Tommy tilted his head as he gave the Kangaskhan a quizzical look. "Did something happen?"

Kangaskhan didn't answer as she walked closer to him and kept smiling. Then, she placed her hands over Tommy's eyes, and let out a loud roar.

Tommy was even more confused as he heard several steps come inside. He tried to peer his mother's hands away, but the Normal-type's grip proved stronger.

And then, Kangaskhan took the hands away and allowed Tommy to see. And when he did, the boy widened his eyes.

An Exeggutor had entered inside, its stubby and chubby body covered in leaves and bushes. Several Exeggcute hung all over it, covered in berry juices of various colors that made them appear blue, red, green and many other colors. On top of it stood a Staryu, its inner gem flashing at regular intervals. The Exeggutor danced around at a lively rhythm as all its heads smiled at once.

As Tommy continued to watch the Exeggutor, Kangaskhan turned the other way and snapped her fingers. Several Chatot and Murkrow flew inside, and started to sing some off-key but cheery-sounding songs.

While the chorus continued, several Timburr joined in, gathered snow from outside and slowly built a couple of snowmen shaped like Tommy and his mother, constantly improving every little detail.

Tommy didn't know what to say, until he looked back at his mother, beaming as she offered him a heart-shaped Pecha Berry. Tommy smiled at the gift, and went to hug her without further words.

And suddenly, the winter didn't feel so cold anymore.

----------------------------------------

CROSSOVERPAIRINGLOVER

She still remembered her favorite Christmas of all time. It was her fifth Christmas, and her only cousin May's third. Everything had just been right.

That was eleven years ago, and things had never been quite the same since. She hadn't seen May since then.

That was unwilling. There were plenty of factors from that holiday she hadn't seen quite willingly.

Not that she made herself idle in that period. She had been quite busy with herself, with something a bit more substantive than most her age worked towards.

"Hey, did you hear? There is a big Christmas jackpot they'll raffle off tomorrow tonight. Whoever gets the golden ball wins big!"

The conversation in the store would be missed by most, but she had long trained her ears to pick up on covered sounds. Idly she slowed her plucking of materials, her hand resting on a pack of new pencils, paused before she would send them to join her basket filled with new journals, writing papers to transfer the journal entries slowly into legible writing, and a SD card for her trail camera.

(That last one really ate up the budget of a self-appointed researcher. One day she'd like to become official after submitting years of her own personal studies to apply for university the same way Professor Oak did, as was common back in the days where research missions had a large fatality rate, and thus not have to really take a hit for recording data remotely)

Her eyes darted over towards the source of the sound, her blue eyes for which she was named watching a pair of rough looking guys talk.

Trainers she had to guess, and probably ones struggling to keep up. They could give up in a few months, never having gotten to league battling and other such careers.

"How big?"

One of them, a guy who really needed to shave, made a large gesture with his hands.

"Tons. If one of us gets it, we'll be able to reverse our fortunes. With all the cash we'll get, even with half of what was given going to charity, we'll be able to recover. Ever Grande will still happen, and we'll be made."

If money was all it took, she doubted the league would be as it was. As it was, they'd probably use the money, fail, and waste it all.

Now she could most definitely use the money. It could make an excellent 'you don't use enough fancy words, so I reject your years of observations' nest egg for getting into college.

They did mention a cost though...

"I already paid for both of us. Two apiece for each of us."

'Well with a price like that...'

She removed her hand from the pencils. She would be paying for those later. Now, all she needed was an address.

"It's happening tomorrow at the town square."

'Thank you exposition.'

...

The machine the balls were spinning in was a simple gambling device.

Spinning hundreds of balls around and around in a plastic cage, one would randomly be pushed out based on what was present at the right point on the machine.

To most, it was a game of luck. To see who'd get the one golden ball and take home all the money. A simple fraction, one out of how many balls there were in cage rattling around.

Everyone who would go would get slowly better odds as one ball was removed after another. Eventually someone would get the ball and they'd take home the prize.

To her though, there was more at play that simple luck. It was a game of chances, mathematically possible and trackable. And she could track it uncannily.

Reaching for her blue bandanna, she lowered it across her face to obscure her eyes as she let it loose. A blue light glowed in her eyes, in a way that no mere human could do.

The balls continued to bubble in front of her as they had before, but now the handle was no longer idle.

Every 43 seconds by her count it would flash the same color as her eyes.

That was the moment that someone would take the ball she was looking for.

Luck was something that many had to chase after. She knew how to spot the odds.

And her timing was well practiced.

'Merry Christmas, to me.'

Also to the charity who got half the money spent on entries into this lottery, including her own, but also to her.

...

Tony rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

He was up in two turns. By then the odds would be just a bit better.

Arceus, Santa, and whoever else was in charge of the universe would have to hear his prayers. He needed that money if he was going to win the Hoenn League.

A girl was up next, and she was a nice looking one if he had to say so himself.

Sixteen if he'd have to guess. A trim body. Long brown bangs and a nice set of blue and black clothes. Her arms were bare from her shoulder to her gloved hands, good thing they were warm here or she might be covered up.

That would be a shame, because she had a nice pair.

Perhaps he'd console her after she got a dud...

"Crap, there goes my chance."

A local voice muttered next to him. Tony turned to him, not sure what that was about.

"You're not that far behind."

The local, a twenty year old man with the eyes of a man whose dreams were failed (eyes Tony feared he had seen in his own recently) looked back at him in ill amusement.

"That girl's like you, someone who wandered in from elsewhere. Not sure where she's from, but she's not like you. She's not a trainer or a coordinator, she just...watches things and takes notes over in the woods and mountains. Like some sort of scientist." he said that word like one said something nasty and unwanted.

"So what, she calculated how to win?" Tony questioned the man, who coughed darkly.

"That's probably right. That girl, her name's Sapphire apparently, is unnaturally lucky, that's how she gets her cash. The lotto players here hate her. The people who want to get the only golden eggwich over at Dorthy's hate her when she comes for breakfast. If lotto tickets weren't handled by humans I'd raise a mob and chase her out like a freak. We still have the stuff from the last freak..."

"No, that girl just has the luck of..."

"We have a winner!"

Cries of shock and groans of despair rang out as the girl held up a glistening golden ball to the world, grinning a wicked grin with a pair of fangs popping out of her mouth.

For just a moment though, he swore her eyes were a lot bluer than usual, but that could just be the pain of his lost hopes and dreams ebbing over him.

----------------------------------------

VIRORO-KUN

Inside Rustboro City's most-renown cake shop, a Gallade and a young green-haired boy were eating sweets and relaxing together. After taking a bite of his slice, the Pokémon intertwined his fingers and looked back at the human.

"Thanks for meeting me." Gallade observed his trainer's best friend. "I hope to not have caused you problems."

Sawyer smiled as he wiped off some cream from his mouth. "Not at all. I always have time for my friends."

"Thank you." Gallade rubbed his neck, then spied the large amount of cheery decorations hanging on the streets. "So... you're familiar with this Exmas thing, right?"

"Christmas, you mean?" Sawyer tilted his head. "Sure, everyone is."

"Well, Wally is receiving a lot of gifts these days. That's what friends do, right?"

Sawyer nodded. Gallade paused before he took a deep breath.

"Well, Wally is my partner and best friend, so..." He let the obvious connection stay unheard, and then twirled his fingers and sighed. "And yet, I have no clue what to give him."

He rubbed his neck with a sheepish grin. "It's pathetic, right?"

"Nah, it happens to everyone." Sawyer smiled. "Just make something felt and that you think he would enjoy, and that should work."

Gallade perked his head up, blinking. "Are you sure?"

"Give it a try."

Gallade rubbed his chin in response, thoughtful. And then, he smiled. "Alright, thank you for your time."

"You're welcome," Sawyer replied with another smile of his own.

The two spent a few more minutes together as Sawyer finished his cake, while Gallade continued to think.

He wanted Wally to have something that could be useful and unique, and he knew exactly what to give him now.

…

Gallade barged into the hospital room with the cheeriest smile he could muster. "Hello, Wally!"

His trainer flinched from his bed, then turned at his partner with his head tilted. He quickly smiled as his Pokémon came closer.

"Hey, Gallade." Wally continued to observe him, and especially Gallade's large grin. "Did something happen?"

"Sure did. I bring gifts!" The Pokémon held up a small package dramatically before passing it to Wally. "Here! Merry Exmas!"

Wally observed the package, and then the still grinning and giddy Gallade. He then turned back to the present, and quickly opened it.

And when he found himself staring at a USB drive, Wally blinked in confusion.

"Huh, what's this?" Wally asked, turning back to Gallade.

"It's a TM, a Technical Manual! They were having a sale of those, and it was the last one in the shop." Gallade thumped his chest as his grin widened. "With this, I will become invincible!"

Wally remained silent as he studied the TM again. Gallade blinked at him, confused. He expected some joy, thanks, anything. What did he do wrong? With that, he would've been unstoppable and help Wally-

Gallade widened his eyes. He would've grown stronger, he would've benefitted from that gift, he would've gained from it. Not Wally.

He grimaced and shook his head, then quickly turned around. He was an idiot. An idiot!

"Sorry, I will go take something else." He walked towards the door, not even daring to look at Wally. "I apologize-"

"Why?"

Gallade stopped and turned back to Wally, his trainer staring at him with a quizzical look.

He lowered his head immediately, fists clenched. "I basically got a present for myself. That's not how this works."

He expected Wally to grow angry, to yell at him, to hate him. That's why he was at a loss of words when his trainer gave him a warm smile.

"You got this to help me, right?" He held the Technical Manual high, and his smile widened. "That's what matters. Thanks a lot, Gallade."

Gallade was at a loss of words. He could feel tears welling up, but he rubbed his eyes before they came out, and smiled back to his trainer. "You're welcome."

Wally chuckled, then looked back at the Manual. And then, his smile turned into a grin.

"Speaking of, I think there was a challenger that wanted to fight me in a couple of hours." He shook the TM while giving Gallade a knowing glance. "I think we could use some new moves, don't you think?"

Gallade grinned back. "Sure!"

As the two started working together as one, Gallade's worries melted away as they had fun experimenting together. And for Gallade, Wally's happiness was the only Christmas present he'd ever need.

----------------------------------------

EDINOSAUR25

The halls of Unova's Elite Four building were silent. It was getting late and Grimsley wasn't sure if he should've gone to bed. None of his gambling buddies were around at this time of year, and his Pokémon weren't the best at playing cards, or dice. He should've known, he had tried to teach them.

He had nowhere else to go. After the ruin of his family, the building was basically his home. If it wasn't because of his salary as an Elite Four, he might as well be living on the streets. Maybe he should save some money and take a vacation. Alola sounded nice.

That year, there had been no challengers for a seat, so for the holidays, Alder had gone home to be with his family, and the rest of his colleagues were doing their own thing, so the building was empty except for him.

But as Grimsley went down the stairs to make himself something to eat before going to sleep, he noticed one of the rooms had the lights on. He was rather surprised someone else was still there.

Out of curiosity, he entered the room, where a Chandelure was floating around carelessly, and saw a young woman dressed in purple sitting in front of a desk, surrounded by piles of books on and around said desk. The woman didn't notice him and just kept writing.

"Still here Shauntal?" he asked.

"Ah!" Shauntal screamed, causing some books and papers to fall over. "Don't scare me like that Grimmy!" said the Elite Four as she recomposed herself.

Grimsley smirked a bit at the nickname. "I thought you would have gone home with your family."

"I was going to, but I stayed reading 'A Christmas Carol' and by the time I noticed, all flights were booked. So I decided to stay here and write some stories of my own," she said with a smile as her Chandelure floated next to her.

"I'm curious," she said after a while. "Do you happen to know any good Christmas stories Grimmy?"

While at first he thought of saying no, memories of his family's stories flooded his mind. He was the last of his once proud family, and it was actually a good chance to ensure part of their legacy would endure.

"I think I know a few," he said as he sat down and started recounting as many stories as he could. "It all started on a Christmas Eve day like this..."

----------------------------------------

ZEEKLAERERS (Edited at Spacebattles)

He had to admit; it was hard to remember the front of the house belonging to that kindly old man who helped him the last time he had been in Anistar City. It had all been so weird; that very same day, Calem had just set foot in one of the Lumiose Pokémon Centers to take shelter from the cold, but strangely enough, he was greeted at the entrance by a messenger, who just delivered a small letter for him, before bidding his farewell with a simple and gentle "Merry Christmas".

The young trainer could barely reply to the good wish, distracted by trying to remember who the sender could have been, as he didn't recognize the name.

"Dear Young Calem:

I hope you are alright. Sadly, if you have this note in your hands, it means it's time for me to entrust you the last of my belongings. Please come to my home. Your little Chespin needs you."

Calem felt a knot in his stomach, as well as an intense chill going down his spine. He recalled immediately; that old man had gladly welcomed him in his home when he was searching for information about Legendaries; after pointing him to a historian in the city the old man had related some of his life story, especially how lonely it felt under his roof now that he had lost his lifelong partner to an untimely death.

Calem opened the note a little more, finding a key wrapped in the paper.

He had finally found the house, and his Chesnaught walked alongside him, worried about his offspring who had been under the old man's care for the past few months.

Calem realized it was the key to open the house's door directly, and so they stepped in. Jogging a bit his memory, he recalled the day he entered that place. The old man just asked him for one last thing before he left: a Pokémon companion he could care for. Calem couldn't refuse the request; after giving it some thought, he gave him the newly hatched offspring of his starter Pokémon, and he watched with satisfaction how an instant connection was born between the old man and the small creature.

Chesnaught and the brown-haired boy entered the house, and even the hinges' screech echoed in the silence between the walls. Everything was dark and empty, save for a small piece of furniture in the center of the room. Calem and his partner immediately observed with concern that the place had been vacated for quite a while, and even more after noticing another letter along with a Pokéball on the single table remaining, as well as a small black velvet box.

Chesnaught walked ahead of his partner, pressing the ball to activate it. Immediately, a flash materialized in the small figure of Chespin, who was confused and anxious. He didn't even react to seeing his former owner and father; instead he glanced around, searching for the old man.

Chespin's squeaks echoed in desperation as he called out for his companion, trying to break free from Chesnaught's embrace.

Intrigue got the best of Calem, and he immediately walked towards the letter, apparently his only means to get answers. It was a bitter feeling to not to want to read the man's handwriting, for every clue pointed that, indeed, it was definitely a final message.

"I pray that you have in your hands this letter as soon as possible, since I won't be there to greet you with a tea nor to tell you any tales of my times as an adventurer like you, young man.

As I think back of a trainer's life, I realize that our philosophy runs in promises, promises to be kept no matter how hard they are. Maybe you too have made many promises when you started this adventure of yours; you promised your Pokémon to succeed in the goal that prompted you to begin this journey, or you promised your rivals to become better and always give it your all. And from what I can see, you have fulfilled every single of them and that makes you an extraordinary trainer.

My life has been full of promises too, and I take pride in saying that I've always done my best and kept them all. I promised my wife to fulfill our goal of traveling, to grow old together and to stay by her side until the very end. And I promised you to take care of Chespin, and so I've done. But time and old age are conviction's worst enemies, young Calem. I'm afraid I made a promise I could not fulfill.

I promised Chespin we would go to Anistar's Sundial on Christmas Day so we could watch together the pillar's light flashes for the next Winter Solstice, during the festival.

So I'm begging you, please take the little guy to the show. He loves glancing at the sky with me, and it really brings joy to his heart to watch that beautiful phenomenon. I need to begin this new trip with no return at ease, knowing that my last promise was fulfilled.

Merry Christmas, Chespin. Merry Christmas, young Calem. I leave for you two the last remaining memento of my old adventure, the comet shard that I once used as the symbol for the compromise with my beloved.

Thank you both for driving away the loneliness of my life, and giving me courage and hope at the dawn of this new beginning"

A few droplets had fell on the paper, pouring out of his eyes. He silently wiped his tears, as he took Chespin in his arms, silently embracing him as the little hedgehog let out his own tears. A few seconds later, Chesnaught joined in by wrapping them both between his large arms.

...

Mourning was an odd sensation, something new to him, but it wasn't all sadness. There was a sliver of light at the end of that dark tunnel.

He had stayed a few days in Anistar, waiting for the Christmas Festival to begin. Calem and all of his Pokémon, Chesnaught's offspring included, walked along the cheerful crowd under the gentle snow at the twilight, watching nearby Anistar's Sundial a huge Christmas tree brought by the Abomasnow, decorated by all the citizens. Calmly, the young trainer sat on one of the chairs for the massive event, Chespin in his arms and the comet shard in his hand. They eagerly awaited for the ancient clock's activation, to admire its regal splendor.

Chespin watched at the sky in anticipation, and Calem couldn't hold back a warm smile. He always kept his promises, but it had been an honor and a privilege to fulfill the last promise of someone who would always watch over his little companion from wherever he was now, resting in peace.

----------------------------------------

VIRORO-KUN

The first thing Ito Jenny of Catallia City did when she entered her house was sit on a nearby chair and take a deep breath. By her side, Spinarak flopped over to the ground and matched its trainer.

The Christmas Eve ambush to prevent the Black Arachnid from leaving with the prized Shining Diamonds of the Higashikata family went as well as one could hope: that is, Neko left as usual, but they managed to retrieve the jewels alongside papers describing the family patriarch's links to several gangs rampaging throughout the city. As usual, the police force was split between those who were disappointed for not catching Johto's most famous thief and those who were praising the Black Arachnid for providing them with useful intel. Even if she was used to it, the divide still felt jarring.

The one good thing that came out of all that mess was that she was slowly climbing the ranks of the force with each operation, to the point several other Jennys and officers of Catallia City had started using Spinarak as partner Pokémon over more conventional choices like Growlithe. Discovering that made her confused and quite a bit flattered, but hey, at least it made people happy, and that was more than she could say for herself at that moment.

She sighed. At the very least, the year was almost done. A year of trying to catch her friend Neko Hachi, always failing by mere seconds, no matter how much she tried to improve or grow sneakier. Not that she was really surprised, Neko had always been the more resourceful of them anyway.

Ito shook her head and rose back up, striding to the kitchen sink for a late night coffee with Spinarak on her shoulder. She still had a report to file, after all, and then get involved in some more useless schemes to catch her best friend.

She frowned. If only there was any sort of meaning or reward to trying to catch her friend-

And then, she saw it. Right as she looked to the kitchen table, she immediately noticed the red, small gift box wrapped in green tape standing over it. One that she was positive wasn't there when she left.

Suspicious, she walked closer and examined the box, immediately spotting a familiar calling card. She quickly read it over.

To the best police officer of Catallia City.

She looked over the calligraphy again. Smooth lines, very elegant, maybe just a bit posh. She would've recognized that writing style everywhere, even if the card wasn't shaped like a spider.

And thus, she immediately unwrapped it, and then she and Spinarak flinched.

It was a small badge in the style of an official award, one featuring proudly an old picture of her and Spinarak waving ahead. Ito blinked at it, and then noticed another letter inside the package.

'This year you get the win. We will need to up our game for the next, but for now you truly deserved this. Merry Christmas, my friend.'

Ito didn't say anything as she observed the gift once more. Something that he had held with him, probably expensive, traceable.

And then Ito noticed there was a small note at the end of the letter, and read that over.

'Oh, and before you try to use this as evidence, I made sure to handle the gift with gloves, bought it under a pseudonym, and used money I earned through unlisted job requests. A true phantom thief can't make sloppy mistakes like those, don't you think?'

Ito had a chuckle at that, and her partner Pokémon did likewise. They observed the unofficial badge for quite a while before placing it right above the house's chimney, next to a picture of two children with a Spinarak and a Meowth grinning at the camera. Ito swiftly grinned with them.

Even now that they were on opposite ends of the law, Neko always knew how to cheer her up. She really couldn't let him down now, could she?

Not too far from her house, a fancily dressed gentleman with a Meowth and an Abra by his side smiled with his arms folded before he disappeared in the snowy night.

----------------------------------------

PARTNER555

As they walked through the snowy forest for their date, Kellyn was annoyed when his training Styler ran out of power.

"Kate, it happened again," he said.

"Pass it here," she said. Electricity appeared around her hand and she charged Kellyn's Styler back to full power.

"Have I ever mentioned how glad I am you can use Thundershock?"

"Maybe only several dozen times, but you could stand to mention it more."

"I'm glad you can use Thundershock," said Kellyn with a smile.

"And I'm glad I can actually use it in front of you," said Kate. "Too bad I can't use do it in front of other people."

"Hey, who knows, maybe the Ranger nations can change their mind."

"Yeah right, like that's gonna happen."

----------------------------------------

FOX MCCLOUDE

After spending the whole morning decorating the restaurant's main room and preparing the food for that night, Delia Ketchum wanted nothing more than to have some lunch, drink a good mug of hot chocolate and rest while waiting for the night to fall. Pallet Town had a rather small population, but when people gathered to celebrate, it was always big, and Christmas was no exception.

She was lucky to count on Ash and Mimey to help with the heavy lifting. Even though she could handle herself pretty well, she was glad that her son was willing to give her a hand whenever he could. In fact, she felt a little nostalgic upon realizing that would probably be the last Christmas party they would enjoy together in a long time, since next year he would begin his Pokémon journey. But rather than being saddened, she preferred to be happy. Her little boy was growing and that was enough reason to be proud of him.

"Mom, I've got the mail!" Ash called from the upper floor.

"Leave it on the table, I'll check it out later!" Delia replied.

A few minutes later, Ash walked downstairs carrying a bunch of envelopes, leaving them all on the kitchen table save for one addressed directly to him, from Vaniville Town in Kalos. However, he had no time to open it since in that very moment the bell rang, so he immediately went to the door. He was in for a big surprise when he found who it was.

"Hey hey, Merry Christmas." A girl in her twenties, with long brown hair held with a green headband and a matching winter coat, greeted him as she carried a large box in her hands.

"Daisy, hey," Ash replied as he smiled. "Mom, we've got a visitor!"

"Daisy!" The woman quickly came to give her a big hug, taking care not to squash the box she brought. "It's good to see you here, how have you been?"

"Pretty well. Since the Kanto Grand Festival is still three months away and I've earned my ribbons, I thought I could spend my holidays here with the family," the girl said. "And you already know, it's a tradition that everyone attending the Pallet Christmas Party has to contribute with something, so…"

The Coordinator and eldest grandchild of Professor Oak opened the box to reveal a tasty-looking Christmas cake, which Ash had to refrain from eating on the spot. Delia immediately allowed her in to invite her to a mug of chocolate, and get up to speed on what she had done recently. There wasn't much to tell, though, at least until Daisy noticed the Christmas postcard Ash had pulled out of the envelope to read, as well as the boy's big smile.

"Who's that from? Someone special?"

"A friend," said Ash. "Her name's Serena, I met her during the summer camp."

"Ah, I think Gary mentioned that you found yourself a girlfriend," Daisy said in amusement.

"Don't get wrong ideas, Daisy, we're just friends," Ash replied nonchalantly. Daisy felt tempted to press further, but then Delia came up.

"Ash, why don't you take Daisy's cake to the restaurant? And be careful not to eat it on your way there, will you?"

"Hey, I can control my appetite when I have to," Ash defended himself. "I'll be back right away."

Taking the box, Ash went out of the house and made his way to the restaurant, passing next to Mimey as he cleared off the snow in the entrance. Daisy stared at the boy through the window as he walked away, and then turned at his mother.

"Is it me, or he's grown a few inches?" Daisy asked.

"He's outgrown me already," Delia replied. "My baby boy has grown so fast this last year."

"I can see that." Daisy grabbed the postcard. Attached to it there was a photo of a smiling girl, dressed in dark pink winter garb, with a red muffler and his honey blond hair falling down her temples below her hat. "She looks like a really nice girl."

"She is." Delia nodded. "You're not getting jealous, are you?"

Daisy chuckled. It was no secret that when Ash was little, he harbored a huge crush on her, but obviously nothing could happen. And he pretty much had outgrown it when he hit puberty, ironically enough.

"I think I should go now," said Daisy after finishing her mug. "Gary might think I'm fraternizing with the enemy if he knows I came here. Thanks for the chocolate."

"You're welcome. See you tonight at the party," Delia replied.

As she made her way through the snowy path to her grandfather's lab, Daisy became thoughtful. She was surprised to see how much Ash had grown in the time she hadn't seen him, considering that she had taken care of him when he was little, coming to see him as a second little brother (despite Gary's objections). And if her grandfather saw potential in him as a trainer, she was certain he would get very far in life.

'The fact he's grown into his looks doesn't hurt either', she mentally added. Sure, he was a nice boy, and the years had certainly been very kind to him, but she could never see him that way. If he could attract a girl like Serena, she was happy for him. He deserved someone nice, and that way Gary might just stop bothering him about that crush he had outgrown so long ago.

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PARTNER555

"Professor," said Rosebay. "Letter for ye."

"Thank you Rosebay," said Adalbert Hastings as she left the office. He opened the letter and inside was a Christmas Card.

Adalbert Hastings smiled as he read the Christmas Card.

Trainers and Rangers

May there be peace between us

Now and forever

It was anonymous, but he could recognize Samuel Oak's haikus anywhere. The sketches were just icing on the cake.

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VIRORO-KUN

Christmas was supposedly a time to share joy and gifts with each other. And yet, that barely happened anymore.

He wasn't a Holiday hater, quite the opposite actually: he loved to have fun alongside his friends, but Christmas time was always the period where everyone avoided them.

It was understandable, really, but that didn't make it any less irritating. He had contemplated leaving his turf a couple of times, like he used to do in his younger days, but that would've meant losing their special place and that wasn't a risk they could afford. They fought tooth and nail for it, and it would've always remained theirs.

Of course, that meant being forced to wait for anything exciting to happen. Alas, nothing in that world came without a price.

He adjusted himself on the grass and sighed, observing the same clouds barely visible between the tree leaves. His ever-present grin came back as he enjoyed the quiet around him. That was their little domain, for them to do as they pleased. As much as boredom could be annoying, it was a far better alternative than being at the mercy of everyone else. They were their own bosses, and nobody could tell them what to do.

Sure, that also made inter-group fights the norm, but he was a respected leader and knew how to stop a fight. And at least, those were some kind of exciting.

He yawned and closed his eyes. With how little there was to do, a nap seemed the best way to spend his time.

And then, a voice boomed in the clearing. "Hey!"

He snapped awake, and rose to see one of his boys coming closer. He groaned and scowled in his direction. "What's up?"

His underling didn't seem worried. Instead, he grinned and turned back to the woods.

"The others have spotted some trainers walking at the entrance. Beginners, it seems." His underling turned back at him with pleading eyes. "Can we...?"

He grinned back at him and nodded without a second thought, folding his arms.

"Of course. We can't be impolite hosts after all." He chuckled and gave a shrug. "It would hurt the Drowning Woods' reputation."

The Haunter's grin widened, then he nodded back. "I will call everyone then. Usual pattern?"

"Usual pattern."

Haunter struck a military salute before floating back to the rest. Now alone, Gengar giggled before stepping into the woods himself, ready for the incoming show.

It looked like they would get a good Christmas haul in the end.

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BRANDON369

The Christmas holidays were a joyful season for most of the people, but for the politician Frederick Swietenia they only meant one thing: Work.

From having to give annoying press conferences to taking part in special events, being part of the Johto government wasn't easy. As the elected representative of Mahogany Town, Swietenia worked really hard, though things weren't going well: his proposal to control Bloodliners hadn't been approved yet. And in this season, people was more worried about celebrating than those monsters who threatened modern life. Didn't they have any idea about how dangerous those freaks were? There was that strange behavior displayed by some Pokémon in Gringy City last year, that mysterious storm that came out of nowhere in the Kanto region, or the more recent incident in the town of Greenfield. It was still unconfirmed, but Swietenia was certain that Bloodliners were responsible. That was one of the reasons he planned to run in the upcoming elections; he needed more power to nip this issue in the bud.

On the holiday night, the politician entered his office. He had nobody to spend the holidays with, so he decided to do some paperwork, but once he entered, he realized he wasn't alone…

"I've been waiting for you."

Sitting on his chair, there was a tall man wearing a trenchcoat. His intimidating demeanor and wrinkles in his face despite his relative young age only confirmed how dangerous that man was. Though Swietenia was scared at first, once he recognized the guy he recomposed himself.

"I've told you a million times not to come to my office. You could have given me a call so we could meet at a safer location."

"Don't push your luck, Swietenia." Despite the man's haughty tone, the politician remained calm.

"Or else what? Everybody knows you don't kill humans, you just go after those freaks." At this statement, the guy groaned, and stood up to get face to face with the politician.

"While I'd prefer to avoid it, I'll do what I have to do if anyone interferes in the mission I was tasked with." That threat definitely worked on Swietenia.

"You need to understand; what would people think if they find out the infamous Bloodliner Hunter entered my office? My reputation would go down into the mud."

"Rest easy, nobody saw me enter."

"For both of our sakes, I hope so. Where the hell have you been all this time? Last thing I knew you were presumed dead in the Sevii Islands."

The Hunter remained silent for a few seconds before answering. "As you can see, I'm very much alive."

"Let's cut to the point, Hunter. I need your help to purge Johto of Bloodliners."

"Naturally, I wouldn't be here otherwise."

The politician opened some drawers in his desk, and after skimming through for a bit, he pulled out some documents and handed them to the Hunter.

"Here, these are the trainers registered for this year's Johto League Conference. You've got more experience than me at this. Do you think some of them are Bloodliners?"

"Indeed, there's no mistaking."

The Hunter checked the documents: they had info such as age, hometown, registered Pokémon and number of badges, as well as a photo of the trainers in question. The man growled in anger as he saw the photos: many of them had that accursed mark or similar traits to several of his victims. No matter how many of them he killed, he always found more. Three of them had managed to slip away from him, including the freak who made him fall down that cliff. Well, now it was the time to finish them off once and for all. Nobody had escaped him twice after all.

"Alright, just give me the resources I need and I'll deal with them."

"Heh, looks like we'll have a merry Christmas after all."

Without further words, the Bloodliner Hunter left the office. Maybe it was Christmas, but he couldn't afford to take a rest. He still had a lot of work to do, and it depended on him for the world to stay at peace.

----------------------------------------

VIRORO-KUN

Christmas. A trying time for anyone, but none more so than the President of the Aether Foundation.

Between organizing charity events to help with funding, several employees taking time off duty to see their families and still managing to keep the Foundation afloat through it, Lusamine barely had time for herself. Work was important and she knew that, but having less time on hand to enjoy the beauty of all things couldn't help but fill her with unease.

Fortunately, it was all past her now. She could finally spend her Christmas in the only way it was meant to be celebrated.

After a few calls to excuse herself to Wicke, Faba, Hobbes and her stupid brats, Lusamine was finally stepping into the only area of Aether Paradise where she could truly be herself.

She beamed as she stepped in, her whole collection surrounding her. Pikachu, Pyukumuku, Starmie, Slowpoke, and more recently a few Dedenne and a Sandygast. All frozen in an instant, to be kept safe and eternal from any wear and aging, their beauty shining for her and her alone.

"Merry Christmas, my children!" Lusamine chirped, giggling and twirling around the display cases. "Your mother is here for you! Aren't you happy to see me?"

They didn't reply of course, but there was no need to. Good children should only listen and never talk back, and if they never talked at all, all the better. Quite unlike her stupid rebellious 'son', wasting his time and beauty by fooling around with failed experiments. But that was okay, he held no value for her, anyway.

She shook off those unwanted thoughts as she focused on the real children around her, only for her smile to turn again into a frown. It was a shame Nihilego couldn't be there; as much as she tried, that year she failed to bring it back to her once more. For all her strives to reach true beauty, the most beautiful being of all continued to be out of her reach.

The sadness melted away quickly, however, as Lusamine grinned again as she moved closer to her Pikachu, passing a hand over the ice container's surface. His eyes were still half-closed, and she couldn't help but find the dopey expression he had quite fun to see. The Pikachu had enjoyed quite a nice life before it was necessary for him to join the collection, and the care she had put in keeping him in shape definitely showed.

"You are such a perfect Pikachu." She giggled to herself. "No other Pikachu in Alola can compare to you. Am I not a good mother to raise you like this?"

He remained in silent agreement. Lusamine chuckled as she approached the rest of the collection, all waiting like well-raised children as Lusamine came closer, admiring each perfect specimen of the respective kind. All Pokémon she ensured would be the most beautiful of the Alola region and beyond.

Because true beauty couldn't be forced out of the gate, it needed to be nurtured, cared for, and then frozen eternally so it wouldn't decay or die. That was how her world was meant to be. It was a shame so many people insisted on tainting her ideal world, but she couldn't do much without it. Once Nihilego came back, she would've had nothing else to worry about but enjoying herself.

For now, she was alone among the most beautiful Pokémon she could dream of, the only beings that truly deserved her in that world, and that was all she needed to be happy.

And thus Lusamine danced and enjoyed her time with her children, smiling and talking to them of her troubles, in the most beautiful Christmas she could ever ask for.

----------------------------------------

CROSSOVERPAIRINGLOVER

He remembered the day he had become free.

It had started like any other day, a day tinged with fear with the knowledge of the facts of life.

Mother was the boss. Going against mother would end in pain. All kinds of it. Obey mother, or she'd make you obey you.

And she'd make you like it.

Then it had all changed when he, and all his brothers bar the one who had managed to escape her, saw her beaten.

The day that Heratia, the most feared woman in the Underworld, was stopped by a strange man dressed in the garb of a Gligar. He had punched her, disrupting her and ending her heist.

Her final heist.

Shortly after he had begun ending it, they had finished the job. He still remembered the man looking at them as they did so, unable to be a part of it as they ended her life as brutally as she had made theirs.

For some reason he looked at them in horror as they killed her. He had never understood why?

What was so horrible about another dying?

It was an odd thing about the Gligarman, something he shared with his fifth elder brother. Or half-brother if he had to be pedantic, none of them shared the same father.

He had always feared their mother, and yet he always looked at them with the same horror. Why was that?

It didn't really matter, it was just the memories accompanying him as he walked through the desert five years later.

The desert of Route 228 if he had to be specific: and he wasn't there by choice.

Jails were always in the most annoying places.

He had been careless. He thought he, of all his brothers, would be free of such worries. He was better than them all, not that Heratia had ever known it.

She'd have killed him if she knew. It only made sense.

He would not be so foolish to make the same mistake again. He was only 15, he'd have plenty of time to remedy for it.

First he'd remember the timing, it was late December after all. Time for a new year's resolution after all...

*CRACK*

He froze as the earth below him made the sound of crumbling bone.

The earth shattered moments after, sending him falling into a black abyss along with a lot of sand.

...

Had he been Balaur, he'd be dead.

Had he been Capriccio, he'd be dead.

Had he been Felgrand, he'd be dead.

Anyone else would be dead now. Except for himself.

Except for Heratia.

They were simply superior.

They could stand up after falls, even in the dark.

He reached for a light, pulling out a lantern from the bag he had taken from that old man he killed.

He held it up, and activated it. A blinding light engulfed the hole.

Who would even use such a light? Some sort of maniac obsessed with ruins? A Ruin Maniac if you will?

Despite the light's intensity, he slowly opened his eyes. They adjusted to the intense light, and soon they were fully open.

And what he saw...was a room lined in great stone tablets, engraved in markings. Markings he recognized.

They had all been taught useful skills. They were meant to be something that could benefit Heratia after all.

There had been some mistakes in what they were taught in his opinion: the reason his odd brother had managed to get away was because he was taught how to best use Pokémon.

He befriended some rodent and escaped because of it.

He was taught how to read ancient languages. Sleep wasn't allowed until he mastered his tasks. It was effective.

That language was one he was made to learn when he was six. It was the written language of the ancient people who had predated many ancient civilizations, from the Draconids and Sootopolians to the Alolan rule of King Kahele and the great Kalosian war 3000 years ago.

They were farther from the latter war as it was from the present day.

Their signature written language was a form of dots similar to some later written scripts, including Braille, though there were significant differences.

The dead man's bag had a pencil in it, along with a notebook. He would translate the tablets.

He had nothing else to do after all, and he didn't see a door. This civilization liked hiding doors in specific ways anyway: he'd probably need to run around the edges or do some dance to open one anyway, and the only way to know what odd task he'd have to do was figure it out.

...

By his reckoning, it was now Christmas day.

He had never really had a reason to care before, but perhaps now he could understand the odd enthusiasm people had for the holiday.

For that cave may be the most joyous gift.

Sitting down, he stared at the ceiling with a grin on his face, the open pages of his notebook holding his translations, even as the recently opened door blew a breeze in to flutter the pages back and forth.

A Bloodline to Unite the World.

When the World is United, those Alike will Come.

The World will Move in the direction They Choose...

Why just be a simple criminal after this? Destroying people from within, armed assault, smuggling, hits...what were they before what these tablets spoke of?

...Rulers of the New, Princes and Princesses

In their rule, the Born are meant for them

They will have no challengers...

People who could seal powerful golems for thousands of years in a suspended state, travel the vast seas in an era before the sail, and some suggested had an advanced belief system in observing the future with Pokémon like Baltoy and Xatu, were certainly more reliable than any average ancient people.

...The Awakened and the Dormant will create forever Awake

When made Dormant will Awake...

Even if they were wrong, it was a worthwhile endeavor.

...Conflict between those of the Same Bloodline will decide the world

Good will be marked with Evil, Evil will embrace in the heart filled with pain from being Good

After one marked with Evil fights one who Embraces it fight

The world will be set on a single path

He was better than his brothers. He would aim for something higher, something grander than a mere criminal empire.

He would change the world. Make it a world of his liking.

Merry Christmas, to him. What better for his first ever gift, than the goal for the rest of his life.

…

Decades later…

It was again Christmas.

In these years, he had been different from his brothers.

Like them, his name was still infamous, but the why was very different.

Ever since he found his destiny, he had been planning.

Learning.

Studying.

His crimes fed it. They paid for his efforts, they obtained him secrets.

He had followed ancient dusty trails, following the lines of descent to their present day descendants.

It had started slow, but technology had aided him. After the wars ended, decades of peace were open. Travel was easier, it was safer, even from Gyarados.

He had heard what a man had done. A man named Samuel Oak. He had no idea how it worked.

It was as strange to him as the Gligarman who had looked at his mother, a woman he had struck, and saw horror at her death. Or the brother they had lost track of, who looked at them like they looked at Heratia.

All three of them were abnormal.

Regardless of that odd man, what he had accomplished as the war ended gave him the freedom to track down the history of thousands.

Some had led to dead ends, a line ended by murder and injury or irrationally joining men of the cloth. Others ended with men.

But he watched them anyway. Sometimes the men would begat more useful things to his goals. Like that descendant of Sir Aaron he found about four months ago, a man who had found his way to Pallet Town.

He had a daughter.

She had been more satisfying than the boxer in Viridian.

That was the benefit of plans. One had thousands of potential options, and with plans you could maximize your efficiency. You could aim to get as many as possible in a single day, based on location and activities observed.

It was always good to know that they would always be receptive in the only way that mattered. His charm and body could do the rest.

Rolling over, he smirked much as he had in that hole all those decades ago at the woman sleeping next to him, or at what was important.

Staring at the woman's midsection, he wondered if this would be a Christmas Present just as good as finding the complete version of the Riddle of the Ages most only had in pieces.

Would this one be 'Good marked with Evil', or 'Evil who embraced it from pain from being good' that he needed?

Or would it be a bauble, a piece in a game that wasn't crucial. Something a part of his design, but negligibly.

It was hardly his only attempt scheduled for today. This was just the first thing he found under his tree, sort of speak.

FIN.

----------------------------------------

OMAKE BY VINYLSHADOW (non-canon):

Arceus jerked awake as something brushed against the outer reaches of its dimension.

Which should've been impossible, given its location, beyond time and space, supposedly unreachable by anything in the world it had created. Getting to its feet, the Alpha Pokémon moved towards the location of the disturbance and opened a window to see who had disturbed its rest.

A fat bearded man wearing a plethora of white and red gazed back at him and Arceus blinked slowly.

"Can I help you?" it asked slowly.

"Heya, Arceus!" came a cheerful voice, echoed by a few others. Arceus widened the window and blinked in surprise.

The man was sitting in an odd wooden construction, and hooked to it were Celebi, Meloetta, Victini, and Mew. Arceus felt the stirrings of fury kindle in its belly and it sighed, keeping its voice calm.

"I'm not killing you only because my children don't seem to be in any harm," Arceus said, directing its ire at the man in the sleigh. "But why are they harnessed like that?"

"Their idea, actually," the man said. "You're my last stop for the night and they wanted to make it memorable, so they replaced my usual Stantler and Sawsbuck team. It was one heck of a bumpy ride, lemme tell ya," he said with a twinkle in his eye.

"I...see," Arceus said. "Well, you may as well come in, since being out in the void isn't healthy for anyone." Stepping back, it widened the window even more and the man and legendaries all piled inside.

"Now then," the man said, clapping his hands together. "Introductions, I think, are in order. I am Santa. I deliver toys all over the world to families and Pokémon who deserve them. And I was quite perplexed on how I would reach you when Celebi ran into me and offered to guide me. The others overheard and were quite eager to meet you," he added, as Meloetta and Victini pulled a few presents out of a large sack in the back of the sleigh.

"Why aren't you in the Hall of Origin?" Mew asked as it floated around the Spartan area Arceus had chosen to dwell in.

"I have my reasons," Arceus said, voice brooking no further inquiries. Mew hesitated before nodding, eyes thoughtful.

"Here!" Meloetta said, holding a thin present in the air. "This is from Victini and I!"

"I brought food and drink," Celebi said. "You must be hungry."

"What's all this for, then?" Arceus asked, phantasmal hands coalescing into existence to take a drink, plate of food - carrots and cookies, it noted - and a few presents the others offered.

"You've really been out of touch, haven't you?" Celebi asked, crossing its arms as it hovered in midair. "Long story short, Christmas is a time you spend with friends and family. This is the first time we've had a chance to reach you, so we took it."

"Family, hm?" Arceus said absently. "I suppose that's what we are." Its eyes slid to Mew for a moment and narrowed. Mew raised its eyebrows and something passed between them before Arceus nodded and sat down. Everyone else did the same and a comfortable silence fell. Arceus let its gaze move over the Pokémon gathered and it felt some of the ice around its heart thaw. They looked well, and part of Arceus wondered if humans had become closer with its creations, or if they were still...

Arceus savagely closed that avenue of thought before it could go any further. Humans had no place here where it dwelled. It then turned its gaze on the one who called himself Santa curiously.

"What are you?" Arceus asked.

"I already told you," the man replied, meeting Arceus' gaze. The Creator frowned before it then probed the man's mind curiously and was surprised when it was let in without a fuss. Going through the uncountable years stored within, Arceus then withdrew and dipped its head, smiling slightly.

"Well met," Arceus said softly. Santa nodded and perked up as Meloetta began humming a tune. The simple melody filled the space and while it wasn't a song Arceus recognized, it could tell it wasn't something that the music Pokémon sang regularly. This was something meant only for close family and probably wasn't something any of them would hear again. Mew then added its voice and the song shifted, Meloetta letting Mew take point.

Then it came to Arceus.

The Alpha Pokémon then played every melody back simultaneously, earning a nod from Meloetta and surprised looks from the other Pokémon present. None of them had realized they'd been singing separate harmonies and they swayed in time with the music.

Santa watched the singing Pokémon, smiling into his beard as he quietly took his leave. He had done what was required of him, and it was getting late. He had a long list to check for next year, and if what he had seen was true, he'd have a lot of additions and changes to make to it. Slipping out of Arceus' dimensional bubble, Santa sat in his sleigh for a moment before tugging at his nose, causing the entire thing to vanish into a flurry of ice and snow, leaving behind nothing but the soft chiming of bells.