FOX BLUEREAVER

It was so weird. Since Daisy could recall, she, Violet and Lily were used to have whatever they wanted, when they wanted, and how they wanted, and that hadn't changed. So then, why weren't they happy?

Oh yeah, because they were still prisoners. A gilded cage was still a cage, or something like that.

"Gosh, like, what did we do to deserve this?"

Well, aside from forcing a rookie trainer into a battle he shouldn't have won, to put an end to their losing streak and spare themselves from being ousted as Gym Leaders. They just wanted to keep their lifestyle, was that so bad?

On the bright side, maybe they'd be spending their Christmas in prison now. When that "Emissary" showed up in their cell, and offered to bail them out, they immediately accepted. Never mind that a guy capable of teleporting and hidden under a sinister cloak shouldn't be trusted.

At first, it seemed like a great deal: they could have whatever they wanted, in exchange for doing company to a lot of hot guys. A few months later, however, they were told that they wouldn't serve for the "purpose" they were brought here. Daisy admitted to not being too smart, but she got the gist that they were sought just to procreate, and somehow those cosmetic surgeries they had apparently had to do with the "fertility issues" they were experiencing.

That being the case, the logical thing would be that they let them go, but instead decided they could be useful in 'other ways', whatever that meant. The way they said it gave them the creeps.

"Hey, Daisy, Violet, check this out!"

Lily had just called out to them, while being in front of their room's computer. At the very least, they allowed them this much to have some contact with the outside world, if still keeping an eye on them so they wouldn't think about calling for help. Then again, they had no idea where they were, so it'd be useless anyway. But at least they wouldn't get bored to death.

"What's up, Lily?" Violet asked. "This better be good, like, I was trying to get some beauty rest here."

"Check out who I found on the social networks."

Daisy and Violet looked at the screen. It was a Facebook page, and there was a post with a bunch of recent Christmas photos. Nothing too much, until she saw the name: Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. The kid who didn't have the decency to let them win as a good rookie, so they wouldn't get into trouble.

But soon enough, the blonde realized that he wasn't the one her pink-haired sister meant. Rather, she was pointing at someone else in several of the photos in that post.

"Like, isn't that… Misty?"

Indeed, that freak of a younger sister of theirs appeared in almost all of the photos with the boy. There were also two other girls, a dark-skinned, purple-haired one, and a shorty with pale skin and lavender hair. All of them wearing horrible, old-fashioned Christmas sweaters. Gross, who in their right mind would wear that?

"What's she doing there with him? Are they, like, dating or something?" Violet asked.

"Come to think of it, maybe they were in cahoots all along? She could have send him to the gym to get revenge on us?" Lily offered.

"Like, that's just plain dumb," Daisy replied, knowing that was implausible, if not outright impossible. "Though… she looks a tad different."

Both her sisters turned at her, looking confused at her remark. She proceeded to explain she obviously meant her appearance; aside from her tacky fashion sense in wearing that sweater, she'd also let down her hair and grown it longer, while also wearing an earring. That seemed unthinkable, since she'd never cared much for her own appeal, unlike the three of them.

"But that aside… she looks kinda happy there," she concluded.

The three sisters glanced at the photos. Indeed, in every photo, Misty looked unusually happy, smiling widely and having fun. Especially in the photos where she was with the Ketchum boy, so he probably had something to do with it.

Maybe they were dating and all; the boy was good-looking and close to her age, so she couldn't say the runt had bad taste.

Daisy felt a sting in her chest that she couldn't describe. Something made her uncomfortable, to see her youngest sister so happy. Like she was mocking them, of their current misfortune, rubbing in their faces how she could enjoy her freedom with her boyfriend, while they were prisoners here.

No, who was she kidding? In reality, she felt jealousy inside, of seeing her enjoy her Christmas happy and free, while they were locked up in there. Was that what people called karma?

"She probably asked her boyfriend to post those pics just to annoy us."

"You're right, what a showoff!" said Lily. "She's, like, there enjoying her Christmas while we're stuck in here!"

"Urgh, when we get out of here, I'll give her a piece of my mind!" added Violet.

"Ah, shut up you two!" Daisy interrupted, feeling sickened at the comments. "What happened to us is not her fault, and she has no way to know. And even if she knew… who could blame her if she doesn't care, after all we did to her?"

Her younger sisters gave her a look and opened their mouths, but ultimately stayed silent. Even she herself was surprised at what she said, even if she'd known it for years.

Admittedly, the only reason they claimed they despised Misty was because… because their parents drilled into their heads that she was nothing but a nuisance who didn't deserve to be part of their family. Years later, they understood that was because she was an unplanned child, and even felt tempted to abort her so they wouldn't have to deal with her.

As children they didn't understand the implications, but when they grew older… it sickened them that they had even considered something like that.

Deep down, they didn't believe Misty deserved to be treated that way, like a servant instead of their daughter. But fear of their parents removing their privileges from them, or worse, treating them the same way, always dominated them, and thus they went with the flow. It was all their fault for spoiling them that way.

'No, who am I kidding?' she thought. 'After all, we continued to treat her the same way even after they were gone.'

They did. Things only worsened when Misty revealed she was "special". They actually felt a little envious of her Bloodliner powers, thinking it was cool to be able to breathe underwater and communicate with their Pokémon understanding their speech, something none of them could do. But their parents drilled into their head that she was just a 'freak', not to mention the then-ongoing collective hysteria over Bloodliners, so anybody who fraternized with them became a pariah. By the time their parents died, that idea was so ingrained they couldn't get it out and treat Misty better. They ended up believing it themselves after so many years.

Even when they weren't obligated to do so, they even kicked her out of the Gym, just to 'respect' their parent's dying wish, who didn't want to let her become the Gym Leader under any circumstances. Which, in hindsight, made little sense, considering that she was more talented as a trainer than all three of them combined.

"Do you think… if we ask for her help, she may come for us?" asked Violet.

"Don't even dream it," Daisy quickly shut it down. "They're watching us, anyway. She doesn't need to spend her Christmas worrying for us."

"Yeah. We've ruined too many for her," Lily concluded.

Yeah, this was the first time they saw their sister smile on Christmas. Surrounded by people who cared for her, unlike them, who did nothing at all whenever their parents kicked her out of home, and out of the parties they made.

They'd never treated Misty as part of their family. If she found herself a new one, the least they could do was let her be happy with those people.

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VIRORO-KUN

Silver exhaled, pacing through the snow outside his large home in Viridian City. Once again, his father was unable to be there with him for the holidays. Even the fact that his birthday fell on Christmas's Eve didn't make his dad any more willing to make time for him.

The six-year-old child knew why, of course. The family business was important, whatever it was. But being told of that over and over made him wonder how much his father truly cared. He barely got to see him most days as it was, every time promising that they would get to spend more time together once he was older. He wanted to believe him, but it could've just been another grownup lie. His mother and father were very good at it, after all, like all the times they told him they'd come home early only to never do so. It made him wonder if they ever spared a thought about him.

The boy looked over at the cloudy sky, frowning at the heavens. Sometimes, he wished some giant bird came and swooped him away, far from that life where no one wanted to be with him. Perhaps, that way his family would've finally shown some care.

He shook his head, sighing to himself. He knew it was selfish, but he still couldn't shake off that thought, hoping for something, anything to prove him wrong.

Nothing of the sort came, and he kicked away at the snow, his brows harshly glaring down. Just like every other Christmas's Eve.

"Sneasel snee!" came a sudden cry, catching the boy's attention. Turning his eyes to the horizon, he could see a black blur running through the snowy fields, quickly taking the shape of his Sneasel, the one Pokémon his parents had given him for companionship. Silver smiled.

"Where have you been, Sneasel?" he asked, head tilted in curiosity. The Ice/Dark-type had been running away and back for the last few days, and in spite of trying, the boy had yet to understand what his friend was up to.

The nimble Pokémon didn't waste time saying anything, simply gesturing to him and then jolting back the way he came. "Snee sneasel snee!"

"Hey, wait! Don't race before I'm ready!" Silver shouted, immediately running after his Pokémon. It was hardly the first time they played that one, but it sure was the first time he got so eager.

"Snesnesnesneh!" chuckled out Sneasel, only running faster as he smirked back to the boy. Silver grinned back, accepting the challenge.

"Oh, now you've done it!" he shouted back, putting all of himself in matching his friend's speed.

It took all of his tenacity to even get any closer, losing sight of where they were heading towards as their surroundings became a blur. He grinned at his Pokémon, and Sneasel grinned back; there was no real ill will, just a desire to show the other who was the best. And in that moment, nothing else but that mattered.

And after a race that felt like forever, Silver finally leapt and tackled Sneasel down, both of their bodies rolling together to a stop in the snow, right inside a nearby cave entrance.

"And caught! I win again!" yelled Silver in victory, hugging his friend and bringing both on their feet. Sneasel gave a small pout, but the smirk he held right after made clear there was no ill will.

As the child and Pokémon finally separated, however, Silver caught notice of where they were. They had raced for quite a bit, and they were now in a fairly large, yet still secluded enough opening in the rock. It was quite noticeable, and yet not something Silver had ever noticed in their property. His curiosity spiked, and he turned towards his best friend.

"Sneasel, what's this place?" he asked. Sneasel seemed to have expected that, theatrically holding a paw to his heart and the other extended forward.

"Sneasel snesne sneasel!" The Sharp Claw Pokémon declared, his claws sharpening in front of Silver.

He blinked, connecting the dots. "You... you dug this?"

"Snee!" Sneasel nodded firmly, paws to his hips. Silver beamed, observing the small cave again. It was hard to believe it was the work of a single Pokémon in less than a few days, but it only made Silver more excited.

"That's awesome!" The boy pumped his fists, grinning to the Ice/Dark-type. "This can be our secret base. We can have our fun away from all the boring adults!"

"Sneasel snee!" Sneasel raised a fist of his own, touching on Silver's fist as they both sealed the deal. It would be their little hiding spot, to do anything they wished to do.

And in the midst of their shared happiness, Silver's thoughts about his parents faded in the back of his mind. He would always have Sneasel with him, and that was good enough.

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BRANDON369

Another night patrolling Nimbasa City, and another night coming back home victorious. The peerless superhero, Jimmy Ray, had once more ensured the streets would be safe during Christmas time. His rogues were under control and now he planned to take a well-earned break. To sit on his couch, surrounded by his faithful Patrat companions, and watch on TV some Christmas specials.

Little did he suspect, a surprise awaited him at home…

"You guys?" he asked upon stepping into his home, being greeted by one of his Patrat who leapt to his arms and started muttering something worrying. "What are you talking about, Number 21?"

Thanks to his unparalleled ability to speak with the Patrat, he was able to understand what his buddy wanted to warn him about, and immediately got on guard, for he wasn't the only one at home.

"The peerless Jimmy Ray. You think you're the only one with top percentage Patrat?"

The one speaking was none other than a youngster, dressed in an orange shirt and the classic blue shorts, as well as a sports cap that concealed a bit his face. Who could be this mysterious fellow? Was this the start of a new adventure for the Nimbasa City vigilante?

"Mr. Ray, you are part of a much bigger group… except you don't know that yet," the youngster added in a mysterious tone.

"Who're you?" the hero demanded, ready to jump into action should the situation turn dangerous.

"They call me James Jacobo, from Route 2," the boy replied. "I'm a representative of the Common Rodent Pokémon Appreciation Society in the Unova region."

The astounded Jimmy Ray was left speechless; he'd never heard of such a society. But the overly long name seemed important.

Seeing he didn't respond, the kid decided to continue: "The society needs you, Jimmy Ray. We require your assistance to show people how cool common Pokémon can be."

"What do I have to do?" the superhero asked, ready to face any danger to help those in need.

Both glared at each other sternly for a moment, their respective Patrat expectant as to what would happen next…

Then, the boy dropped to his knees and lowered his head to the ground, and meekly formulated a request.

"Do you think you could attend our Christmas event? We're going to deliver some Patrat to new trainers and we could use your presence. I promised to take a special guest, and since you're popular among kids…"

"Oh! Why of course, you can always count on the great Jimmy Ray," the superhero answered cheerfully.

"Really?!" The youngster raised his head, only to lower it once more. "Thank you! I was so nervous, I wasn't sure you'd accept!"

The boy then got back on his feet, before proceeding to explain all the details about the meeting, as well as the initiative from his organization. Once again, the powerful Jimmy Ray was satisfied, as he'd be fulfilling his superhero work and met many of the fans he had across the region.

He'd been preparing for such an event for a long time; he'd even trained fifteen of his Patrat to sign autographs, so he could already picture the smiles in the admiring kids' faces…

Maybe Santa Claus wasn't the only one who could deliver some happiness during Christmas Day.

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FOX BLUEREAVER

After leaving behind the Pokémon Tech, he'd told himself he wouldn't come back. Not like he had many reasons to do so; most his memories of the school were associated to being the dead last of his class, the one everyone walked over because he wasn't up to par with the Golden Generation.

So he decided to walk away, and become a trainer the old-fashioned way. It may take him some work, and he did have a bit of a slow start, but he was getting results he'd never gotten in the classroom. And he was happy with that.

In fact, there was only one person who'd have made him return, and he only came here because she'd asked him to be her date for the Christmas ball. It went without saying that he was quite surprised when she called him the other night to ask him out, even saying that she'd always liked him, despite never telling him before.

"Oh, coming earlier, Joe? I'm glad for that."

He turned around as he heard her voice, and he needed a couple seconds to catch his breath, once he processed the image before his eyes.

Giselle was almost unanimously considered the prettiest girl in the school, and for good reasons, but Joe rarely saw her dressed in something that wasn't her school uniform. Thus, when hs saw her in that elegant, deep blue dress, with matching high sandals, a white short coat and her hair done up in a high ponytail… she almost seemed like a completely different person.

"Wow… you look… really beautiful tonight, Giselle," he said as soon as he regained his speech.

"Thank you." She approached him with a smile, and Joe took notice that she too gauged him from head to toe. "You look pretty handsome today, too."

Joe knew that the Institute's Christmas' party required formal clothes, so he'd taken to wear a simple yet elegant tuxedo, if only so as to avoid making Giselle look bad. That said, he was happy to get that compliment from her, and it eased his fears about this possibly being some kind of joke.

"So, shall we go in?" she asked, grabbing his arm in a teasing fashion.

A tad nervous, he nodded, and both entered the institute's main building, where the Christmas party had just begun. The main hall's space had been cleared off and decorated for the season with lights, Christmas trees and everything else. The students were talking, dancing, and some were even exchanging gifts or trying to catch each other under the mistletoe.

Trying to rein in his nerves, he felt he should talk to her about something. Fortunately, he'd prepared a topic in his mind to bring up.

"I saw you on TV, at the Fuchsia Tag Tournament."

"Oh, really?" She giggled. "Shame on me, for you to have seen me lose in such a humiliating manner."

"Not at all. You did pretty well, especially with the partner you had," Joe assured.

"If you say so. That said, I guess it was nice to get some real competition experience. It was a good warmup for the Indigo League."

Joe couldn't help but smile. He was glad to see her so lively about the competition. It was a pity that, with the remaining time before the tournament he wouldn't gather enough gym badges to participate. His plan was to try and challenge strong gyms across Kanto, which were quite a few miles apart from each other, so he'd have to wait until next year.

"But let's not talk about that. How about we dance or eat something? It's Christmas Eve and I want to have a nice time with the sweet boy I like."

"As you say. By the way, I almost forgot, I've got something for you."

He reached into his jacket, pulling out a gift-wrapped box. His father had advised him to give her something, and while he had to run from shop to shop before they closed, he finally found something he was sure she would like.

Giselle seemed briefly surprised, but almost immediately smiled and reached into her handbag, pulling out a gift of her own.

"What a coincidence, I got something for you as well."

Right then, Joe caught the glares of some of his former classmates, all of which saw them with a mix of anger and envy, probably for being too close to Giselle and exchanging presents so early. Once upon a time he would have shivered in terror, but now, he didn't care one bit.

If she'd gone as far as getting him a present, the best he could do was to give her the best Christmas ball she'd ever have in her life.

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VIRORO-KUN

Hareta sprinted forward with decision, his feet shuffling over the grass while his Aipom friends tried to keep pace by leaping from one branch to another. It made the boy smirk; try as they might, he would always end up faster than they were. Seeing them about to catch up still gave him enough push to run forward some more, and before he realized it he was back near the thicket of woods they'd started at, skiddling to a stop with a triumphant grin.

"Anf... anf... Won again!" shouted the boy, both hands raised in jubilation as he beamed back at his Pokémon. The various Long Tail Pokémon landed right next to him, mere seconds away from claiming victory for themselves, all of them pouting at the human.

"Aipompom!" they yelled in unison, pointing at Hareta in an accusatory tone. The boy grumbled in response.

"Come on, it was a fair race." His tone quickly shifted as he beamed back, fists pumped with energy. "But if you want a rematch, I'm always on for an... aaa... aaachoo!"

His sudden sneeze startled all of the purple Pokémon, and the boy immediately huddled his arms as he shivered a bit. Now that he had stopped moving, he could really feel the cold over his exposed skin. And if he could finally feel it, that meant only one thing.

"Winter has already come, huh." He folded his arms, head tilted as he turned around. "Guess Dad is not coming for Christmas this year, either."

It was not the first time his dad had gone missing for months to end, but that had been the longest time he had left him alone with the Pokémon of the forest for. It made Hareta wonder what he was up to now, and what adventure was keeping him away this time.

"Ai..." The call brought Hareta's attention back on his smaller family members, all of which were looking over to him in concern. It made the boy smile back to them, assuaging their worry..

"Oh, I'm not feeling bad. Dad will be back with something cool for sure." He stretched his arms, recovering a bit of warmth as he glanced around. "Now, why don't we do something to celebrate? You know he wouldn't want us to mope."

"Aipom! Aiai!" cried all the purple Pokémon, thumping their tail hands over their tiny chests and preparing themselves to follow the boy's plan.

Hareta's smile widened. "Let's gather everyone. We gotta find a good tree and decorate it together!"

Everyone agreed, heading for the rest of the forest's Pokémon to prepare for the upcoming festivities. With how little time he spent among other humans Hareta didn't really recall that much of what Christmas was supposed to be about, but he did know that it was supposed to be about sharing joy with the people he cared about, and it was something their little family had in spades, with or without Hareta's dad.

And so they all worked as one, ready to celebrate the holidays in a way truly their own.

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BRANDON369

The Holiday Spirit was present all over the tropical Cinnabar Island. As it was tradition for this season, Blaine and his Pokémon were decorating the Gym and getting everything ready to celebrate Christmas. It was their favorite holiday after all.

Fire Pokémon were running all over around the gym, setting things up. He'd closed the gym earlier (much to the dismay of a couple trainers) to set everything up, and he was even eager to cook the best Christmas dinner he could. He'd been working hard on it, which was no surprise as Christmas was the time to bring families together and give happiness to others.

And honestly, the latter was the bigger goal, for he knew his little girl needed some joy, today more than ever.

"Get everything ready, guys," he ordered to his Pokémon. "I'll bring her back and we'll give her a Christmas she'll never forget."

All of his Pokémon nodded and continued decorating the place, as he exited the home and headed for the ruins of the old Pokémon Mansion. The Gym Leader was looking for his young granddaughter, as he knew she'd always head there whenever she was uneasy, sad or upset.

After going a couple floors upstairs, he knew he wasn't wrong. There she was, his little, six-year-old granddaughter Alish, curled up in a corner in fetal position, and her eyes made it clear she'd been crying a lot recently.

Blaine tried to approach her, but immediately realized how the room's temperature was quite high, and the little girl's skin was a lot redder than usual.

"Ali…" He tried to get her attention. "Are you alright?"

"Not now, Grandpa. I wanna be alone," she answered, and the temperature around her began increasing even more.

"Come on, little one. Try and relax for a bit, you're unleashing your heat again," the old man replied, although it seemed to have the opposite effect.

"I can't control this, Grandpa! I don't know how to stop it!" the girl screamed, tears coming out and her body temperature rising. "I burn everything I touch! I'm probably going to destroy everything, again…"

"Ali, I've told you this many times, and I want to make it clear: That fire was not your fault. So stop blaming yourself," he said in a firm tone. She however didn't seem convinced, as she continued to cry and her temperature rose to the point her tears evaporated at the contact with her skin.

It really hurt him to see her that way. His little granddaughter would always play with his Pokémon and bring joy to his life, so seeing her in such a state was heartbreaking. About two months had passed since they'd discovered her true nature as a Fire Heart Bloodliner, but the news had been hard to take in.

She'd been depressed since then, she was no longer the same. She remembered that mysterious fire where her parents died, of which only she survived. She went into a panic, convinced that she'd been the one to cause it, and Blaine found no way to convince her otherwise. The little control she had over her body temperature didn't help much, it was too much power for a girl so young, and she couldn't control herself. She'd ended up burning and melting many of her toys and clothes, and she was really frightened.

"Ali, stop thinking about that, okay? It's Christmas, just take it easy and let's go home. I'm sure Santa has brought you many presents," he said trying to cheer her up, even as she still continued to cry.

"He won't bring me any presents! I'm a bad girl! A fire that destroys everything!"

"That's not true. Ali, you didn't destroy anything. You…"

"Then answer me, Grandpa," she interrupted. "Tell me why? Why did I make it out alive, and they didn't?"

Seeing his granddaughter as she continued to shed tears inconsolably, Blaine felt heartbroken, trying to formulate an answer to her question. He didn't have a concrete one, but he had to act, even if it was reckless. He approached her, uncaring of how unbearably hot it was around her, and surprisingly embraced her in a warm hug.

His granddaughter was in shock for a few seconds, and then reacted once she realized something.

"Grandpa! No! Let go of me! You're gonna get burned if you touch me!" she warned him frantically.

"Nonsense, Alish. You're a nice girl, and I know you'd never hurt me," he said, unwilling to let go of her. In fact, he was hugging her even tighter than before.

He couldn't deny that Alish did feel extremely hot, as much as touching a boiling cauldron, but he ignored the pain, knowing it mattered little if it could help placate Alish's suffering.

A few seconds later, all the pain was gone and the surroundings went back to normal. It seemed like Alish managed to get her powers under control.

"You see, Ali? Just like I told you, you're too nice to hurt others, so there's no way you could have started that fire."

The girl didn't answer, only staring with teary eyes and hugged him tightly.

"You know something, Ali? Fire isn't only destruction. I would have never specialized on that type if that were true."

"Really?" she asked confused.

"Fire is also life," the old man replied. "Fire acts in harmony with nature as the source of life itself. It has a natural role of bringing many benefits to our world. Maybe it's true that you are fire itself, Ali, but you're no destroyer. Quite the opposite: your warmth fills everyone around you with life. That's why you came out alive of that incident. The last gift your mother left to save you."

"A gift from my mom?" The girl sighed. "I can barely remember her now. I really miss her…"

"Yakimono still lives inside you, Alish, and she's always watching over you," the old man explained as he stroked her red hair. "This Bloodline you developed is more than just that, it's the blood you inherited from your parents. Don't be afraid of your powers, as your parents left them to you, to protect you. It's their legacy to keep you safe. That's why you survived that fire."

"You really think so, Grandpa?"

"They loved you so much, even now they continue to protect you. You're a lucky girl, Ali."

At long last, a timid smile split his granddaughter's face, who hugged him once more and apologized for her tantrum. Blaine comforted her and carried her over his shoulders, giving her a ride as they headed home, recounting some stories about her mother and promising to teach her how to bake those Christmas cookies she loved so much.

Bloodliner or not, that girl was the biggest gift he'd received, and he didn't want to see her sad again. They'd celebrate that Christmas together and Blaine would make sure to give her all the love and affection her mother couldn't. She had a bright future ahead and the Gym Leader was certain that, wherever she was, Yakimono would feel proud of her daughter's warm heart.

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FOX BLUEREAVER

As Christmas approached, people ran all over looking for the best sales in presents, decorations, and ingredients for the dinner. Those in high places could avoid crowds and use their connections to get what they needed.

Latoya Parker wasn't one of those people. She could have relied on her dad's connections in the company to get what they needed for the Christmas party, but she preferred the idea of shopping like everyone else did. It was somewhat exciting, to run for it and grab the last cake on the shelf, and the satisfaction of getting it at the last minute was priceless.

"Hmm?" As she placed the package on her shopping cart, she had the weird feeling of being watched. She thought she saw someone hiding behind one of the faraway aisles, but decided to ignore it for now.

Having all she needed. she headed for the cash register. She pulled out the credit card from her purse to do a quick pay, and after exchanging good wishes with the cashier, she left the shop without any rush, heading for the mall's parking lot. Today she'd borrowed her father's car instead of coming on her bike, since she was carrying a lot of bags.

And much to her surprise, there was someone trying to force the car's door to get inside. Meanwhile, two other suspicious-looking guys watched the surroundings, in case someone showed up, and seeing they couldn't open the locks, they started smashing the glasses with a baseball bat.

Tough luck for them, it was bulletproof glass, and thus harder to break.

She was about to drop her bags to go and give them their just desserts, but she remembered one of her father's lessons about "keeping appearances", and decided to just call the police, pulling her phone out of her purse.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, sweetheart," a male voice said behind her, as she felt something touching her from behind. "Now, drop all your valuables and nobody gets hurt."

Now she got where that strange feeling at the shop came from. The guy was probably following her around to make sure she wouldn't call the police.

Fortunately, thanks to training with her father, she was quick to notice he was using his fingers, instead of a gun. She had to hold back the urge to sigh; this dumb thug had no idea who he was messing with. But she'd better take it easy and use minimum violence to solve it.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Listen, can I at least keep my house's keys? I don't wanna get locked outside," she said, raising her hands and trying to speak in the best fake nervous voice she could.

"Fine, but be quick. Me and my buddies have plenty of work to do before Christmas."

'Yeah, so do I,' she thought, as she reached into her purse to pull out her keys.

What this guy didn't know, obviously, was that she'd always carry some security gadgets her dad had invented, just as a precaution in case things like this happened. The keychain, for instance, was equipped with a flash so bright, it would leave anybody blind for a long time. All she had to do was press a button and…

"AAARRRGHHH, MY EYES! UGH!"

She didn't give him any time to recover, and immediately gave him a kick in the gut, before decking him on the back of the head to leave him on the floor. Naturally, the scream alerted the rest of the thieves, and she hid behind the wall to ambush them.

"What the hell, what's going on? Ugh…"

Another of her gadgets was a tranquilizer dart gun hidden in her wristwatch. Her dad had built it based on a comic about a detective kid who'd often use it to put people to sleep, and she did exactly that: she aimed at the thug with the bat and fired a dart at his neck, to leave him unconscious next to his partner.

"The heck?! Billy, what's the matter?! Ugh…"

And she got rid of the second in the same way, hiding behind the wall to fire at them. Now there was just one left and she had to make sure he wasn't armed first, but he quickly noticed her presence and ran at her.

"Aha, gotcha! You're not getting away, I'm gonna—AAAAAAARRRRGHHHH!"

He couldn't end the statement, as Latoya immediately pulled out her third gadget to put thugs out of commission: a taser gun. The guy was left on the floor twitching, and she immediately overpowered him, twisting his arm against his back, and holding her phone with the other hand as she quick-dialed the number of their police force contact.

"Hello, Commissioner Jenny? Latoya Parker speaking. I'd like to report an attempt of assault, robbery and grand theft auto."

"Well, isn't that a surprise?" the Commissioner replied from the other side of the line. "Though from the way you speak, I assume you have everything under control?"

"I was able to handle it. Even so, could you please send a couple officers to pick up the felons? Right now I'm at the grand mall's back parking lot."

"Gladly. Thank you for helping us keep the streets safer."

"I'm just following my dad's example, you know that," she said with modesty. "Oh, and a Merry Christmas for you, by the way."

The police's response time shouldn't be more than five minutes. Until then, she'd just have to make sure these four idiots wouldn't go anywhere. They made a grave mistake thinking she'd be an easy prey, and now they'd spent their Christmas jailed.

While she still didn't officially assume the mantle of Gligirl, she figured her dad wouldn't mind that she helped keep the city's streets a little safer, especially during Christmas time. More joy for everyone with less criminals on the loose.

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VIRORO-KUN

"Thanks for the homework, Chloe," said Goh from the other end of their online call. The video feed came from just above one of the side screens of his fairly impressive computer setup, allowing the young girl to see her friend working on something in between their conversation.

Used to such a scenario, the girl slumped a bit on her room's chair, petting Yamper on her lap. "It'd be nice if you could tell that to my face. I don't even remember the last time we met in person."

"Sorry," he replied, with a grin of excitement as he focused on another screen, his typing growing quicker. "There's been a large amount of recent Mew sightings all around the web, and trying to verify their credibility and find the pattern takes a lot of time."

"Goh, it's almost Christmas time. I'm sure that even Mew gets to enjoy the holidays."

"That's something we still gotta make sure of."

She let out a long sigh. "Always the one-track mind."

"Hey, you know that catching Mew is my destiny. It's my future, and I can hold it in the palm of my hand!" He raised his closed first to the sky, acting like his goal had already been fulfilled before immediately going back on his data gathering. There was no distracting him, and Chloe knew she had to be direct.

"Don't you ever think about grasping at your present, first?" She frowned, coming closer to the screen. "Mika is planning a Christmas party at her house, and she's inviting quite a few of our classmates. She'd like you to be there."

Hearing the prospect, Goh paused his search, turning to the camera in puzzled bewilderment. She patiently waited as the boy appeared to consider the idea, scratching his chin. "Is Yeardley gonna be there?"

"Unfortunately."

He scowled. "Then no thanks. I'm good."

Chloe wasn't surprised. He was never the most willing to socialize in class after his earliest days, but ever since that small altercation where he broke Yeardley's nose to defend her from a prank (which she was grateful for), he had been trying to put particular distance towards him in particular. She wasn't yet sure how much was legitimate concern for the event to be brought up again and how much it was an excuse to avoid interacting with others, or even if it was a bit of both. But she knew she couldn't let him have this win.

"Come on, you know that there's many people in our class that like you. A bit of distraction can do you good, and you can ignore that guy."

He furrowed his brow, twirling around on rotating chair away from the camera. "I can distract myself at home. I don't need anyone else."

Chloe pouted. She knew how stubborn Goh could get and he had clearly made up his mind already. So, the only solution was to beat him at his own game.

She let Yamper on the ground and rose from her chair with decision. "Then it's settled, I'm coming to your house."

"Wait, what?" Goh twirled back to her, an eyebrow crooked upwards.

"I can't let you spend your Christmas alone. Your family is away at work and your grandma has another of her karaoke competitions, right?" He didn't reply, but the way the boy gulped was enough of an answer. She let out a sigh, turning to the side to fill her bag with things to bring along.

"Mika will understand, even if she really wanted us there..."

She spied to the side, continuing to look as forlorn as she could. It seemed to crack into Goh's shell, enough for him to question his choice. He bit his lip in confusion.

"Hey, come on, you don't have to do this-" Chloe turned her gaze down, continuing to prepare herself for her hostile house takeover. Before Goh even finished his reply, the boy finally exhaled, both hands raised. "Alright, alright, I'll come. But I stick with you, alright?"

Chloe chuckled out. "Sounds romantic."

"H-hey, don't take it the wrong way!" The boy's cheeks had turned just a bit redder, shaking his head. "I just don't want you to make a problem for yourself!"

"I kid." She smiled to him, leaving Goh to be slightly less agitated. She added the Christmas gift for Mika to the bag she was already preparing. "I'll be outside your house in a couple hours, then we head to Mika's home together. Alright?"

Goh smiled back at her. "Deal. See you later, Chloe."

She waved at him, and the call ended on that note, bringing a smile to herself. He was stubborn, and hard to talk into things more than once, but in the end just a good person that needed to come out of his shell. She was hardly as successful as she wanted, but any small victory in bringing him along and spend time with him was worth celebrating.

That would be a very fun Christmas party.

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BRANDON369

Contrary to popular belief, signing up for a criminal organization on Team Rocket's level had many advantages. Maybe one of the favorites of all recruits was the huge Christmas parties Team Rocket would throw every year.

Despite the coldness he was known for, Giovanni seemed quite magnanimous when he financed these events for his loyal subordinates. One day a year they could forget about robbery and con operations to focus on the best of the holidays, one day where admins, executives and high-ranked officers could drink and toast with their soldiers and grunts. It was simply magical.

Or at least, that's how Ken, Al and Harry, members of Team Rocket's "Elite Trio" saw it. They were at their own table, enjoying great food and celebrating their achievements that year.

"Cheers, guys!" Ken extended his glass to his friends. "To a job well done!"

"Cheers!" his two teammates replied, clinking their own glasses.

"I must say, we did pretty well this year," Harry admitted. "We succeeded at every mission Dr. Zager assigned us, and we got all the data on the Legendary. We truly are elite!"

"That's easy for you to say. You weren't the one who ended up scorched to fulfill the mission," Al complained.

"Oh, c'mon, buddy. You have to admit it was fun. Besides, only you'd be stupid enough to provoke the region's greatest Fire-type expert."

Ken and Harry laughed out loud, while Al didn't seem to find it as amusing as they did.

"My favorite jacket was burned to ash that day!" he complained again, sighing at those traumatic memories.

"Easy, bro. What matters is that we continue to succeed in our missions this well, and we could be in line for a promotion soon."

"Oi, Harry. Do you think if we keep up this way, we could sit at that table next Christmas?"

The three glanced dreamily at the center, biggest table in the hall. Giovanni himself was on it, holding a glass of wine, accompanied by his most trusted men and women, such as Archer, Ariana or the Black Tulip. They were already imagining themselves sitting next to the boss himself…

"Well, it'll always be better than to end up on that other table over there," Harry commented, pointing at a small table on a corner, where strangely enough a Delibird and a Pelipper seemed to be sharing some food with one another.

"Hey buddy, I'm serious," Ken complained. "I really want to make it big in this organization. One single failure could send us down to the bottom of the hole. Don't you remember what happened to Deacon back at Five Island?"

"We're not gonna fail, Ken," Harry assured. "We're the Elite, and our teamwork is peerless!"

"That's right, but we can't let it get to our heads," Al advised. "Last thing I'd like is to end like Matori. Lady's gotten too smug since she was given her own Matori Matrix, I can't stand her."

"Though I'd hate to end up at the table with the scariest guys," Ken pointed at the table where the big guys like Attila, Hun, Sham and Carl were eating in an uncomfortable silence.

"Come on, you guys. We're charming, and our personality won't change just because of some success. On the contrary! We'll all be admired by the new recruits!" Harry affirmed, raising his teammates' spirits.

Their chat was cut short, as the musical show was over. Very few applauded the musical performance that Tyson and Wendy had prepared, but the Elite trio agreed they'd done better than last year. Two other members took the stage, performing a comedic duo act, but Ken, Al and Harry didn't seem as enthusiastic about them.

"Hey, aren't those Cassidy and Burt?" asked Ken. "How boring, I wanted to see Petrel's imitation show."

"I'm sure he's not called Burt, his name's Bondz," Al corrected.

"Who cares what's his name, Al, those two are boring to death!"

"You know who's a real comedian?" Harry asked. "Meowth, now that cat does know his stuff when it comes to good jokes!"

"Speaking of, we haven't seen him all night, or Jessie and James, for that matter. Are they running late? They're missing out the best of the party." Ken commented.

"Yeah, those three always liven up our table, they're always fun," Al added.

The Elite Trio recalled their three friends, how every year they'd sit at the Christmas table to have fun. They smiled at recalling Meowth's jokes, James trying to show off his bottlecap collection, or Jessie recounting some past anecdote, they'd be almost the soul of the party.

"Oi, Mondo!" Harry raised a hand to call out a young recruit, who seemingly was working as waiter. "Do you know if Meowth's group has arrived yet? I don't see them anywhere."

"Oh, about that, they told me they won't make it this year," the youth said a little disheartened. The trio was confused at this statement, but before they could even ask, he proceeded to explain. "They seem to be too busy with a special mission the big boss himself assigned them."

That explanation surprised the Elite Trio, who took a few seconds to process what they heard, as Mondo continued his waiter duties. Giovanni himself had given them an important mission? Did that mean Jessie, James and Meowth were succeeding in the organization?

"That's it, boys! We can't stay behind our friends! We too are going to rise up in the organization!" Harry declared as he raised his glass to emphasize his point.

"You're right, we have to succeed as well!" Ken clinked his own glass with his teammate's.

"Yeah! We're going to complete every mission Dr. Zager assigns us!" Al joined in on the glass clinking.

"But before that, let's continue to party!"

Thus, the Elite Trio continued to enjoy the show, waiting patiently to show the world the true power of Team Rocket. They were motivated, and they'd follow in their friends' footsteps, pretty sure that next Christmas they'd be toasting with the big boss himself as their most trusted men… Right?

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

CROSSOVERPAIRINGLOVER

The winds of Commerce City were loudest at night when they rattled the windowframes and howled.

She and Scizor sat at a dinner table, rather lonely the two of them. And it was probably her own fault it was that lonely.

It wasn't just her and Scizor anymore: with all the time she had to herself and her fifteenth birthday, she had taken to mixing things up a bit. She and the famous 'Red Lightning, scourge of Commerce City', had taken to traveling around collecting Gym Badges for themselves, and as stronger as her partner was nothing was ever just a one girl or one Pokemon show. So they had battled and captured other Pokemon to earn their eight badges for the Indigo Conference in a few months, and they did give her quiet big home some life to it. But somehow, she still felt quiet nights were best between her and Scizor, the duo that made Red Lighting work.

"My sorry for the wait Miss Luna, Mr. Scizor." Their butler apologized as he joined them, a pair of steaming mugs in each hand. They thanked him in unison as they took sips of their drinks, before a mutual look of disliked taste came over them.

"Sci."

"Yeah, I think we grabbed the wrong drinks. Switch?"

"Zor."

And they did, and the problem was solved.

"I must say Miss Luna, eight badges in as many months is a marvelous achievement for a young girl, and I'm even more impressed you did so without relying entirely on Scizor." Their butler complimented as she took a long sip.

"It doesn't make Christmas any less lonely." She sighed.

"Perhaps, but I can assure you that your parents will see you battle in a few months' time. They might have to travel everywhere, but everywhere has a television these days. Or the internet."

Sure the battle would be playing but...would they be paying close attention? Or would the needs of being world class inventors earning lots of money mean they'd only half pay attention at best?

Sometimes she wished that bike gang that helped her father come for one Christmas could manage to do so more than that one time, but alas, even small time hooligans had their matters to attend around that time.

She let the room be silent with just the three of them as the winds blew loudly. It was a familiar sound, of billowing winds in the night.

"I read that big book about legends and myths hundreds of times by myself. I know that parents are supposed to do that for their kids, but they're rarely on the same continent as me, Scizor can't read, and you're old." She mused out loud.

"Yes Miss Luna, I am old and you've had a later bed time than me for some time, what of it?"

"I like myths and how they connect to things. They're like wiring, but instead of making a machine do something wondrous they connect the world when people don't know what they are seeing and hearing. Winds like the stuff out created fantastic stories of wild hunts across the night filled with ghosts and parades of the supernatural and processions of dead kings."

The butler nodded, knowing of them.

"Inventing tangible things is fun, and you get paid to make things like that, but if you create a legend you live forever in a way. The only way to kill a story is to destroy everything around it."

"Scizor."

She nodded. Was Red Lightning an urban legend that would live on longer than them yet? Possibly, though why stop until she was sure.

When she was a young girl with only a friend and boxes of scraps, Red Lightning was a way to feel like she wasn't alone, that everyone would know of what she had created. Perhaps she wouldn't need that in a few months as Champion Luna, and perhaps there were ways of doing more with herself beyond terrorizing the city.

But really... she did like the idea of being the source of a urban legend. This Christmas like many others was lonely and quiet, but maybe in a future Christmas, perhaps when she was old and gray, a grandkid or something would give her a book about the 'mysterious' Red Lightning myth and she'd smile the entire rest of the day and no one but her and Scizor would know why.

Though that was in the far future. Today was Christmas and she'd spend some quality time with Scizor and the mailed gifts she'd get. Then she'd send Scizor out to terrorize people for the new year, train for the league, terrorize some people, win the league, terrorize some people...and maybe make a story that would last forever while she was at it.

'Tis the season of such things after all.

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VIRORO-KUN

'Dada' didn't know much of anything about how children were supposed to be raised, much less human ones. Not that it had stopped the Zarude from trying, between guesswork and visits to the nearby human settling, and that helped him get by for a few years or so.

Still, it was something he always felt he could improve on, and with no one else he could rely on reliably, he often took to see the humans's behavior for pointers on what to do. And over the years, he couldn't help but notice how every winter, they gathered together around decorated trees to share gifts with people they cared for. 'Friskmax' or something, they called it. And while they probably wouldn't get away with decorating the Heart Tree, they could probably make use of the remainder of that human tradition.

With his child starting to come of age, the Pokémon had decided it was perhaps time to partake in that tradition as well. And so he and his boy were now staring at each other, a sturdly package of leaves and vines between them as the Zarude smiled widely.

"Dada, what's this?" Koko asked, sniffing over the hidden object in an effort to discover what was inside.

The Dark/Grass-type folded his arms with pride. "It's a gift. For my dearest son."

"Why?" Koko blinked, looking genuinely curious. It put his father on edge on what to say.

"What, can't I just want to give you something nice?" The Zarude shrugged, dodging the question.

Koko noticed the pivot, scowling over to his Dada, but let his curiosity win over further perusing, biting down on the vine to unwrap the leaves, finally unveiling his father's present. He blinked.

"Are those... vines?" the boy asked, taking a better look at the pair of multilayered brown bracelets, not unlike a Zarude's green one in shape, pulling out a small cord extending from it. It had taken quite a bit to craft it, but with a liberal usage of Jungle Healing and more than a few attempts, the Zarude was finally able to get it done; the closest approximation of a Zarude's vine-throwing wrists there could be.

"You keep trying to follow after me. You may as well do so safely," Koko's Dada said with a smirk. It made his child's face light up with glee.

"I can use vines too now?" he shouted with joy, looking back at the bracelets once again.

"Kind of. It's not perfect, but I'm sure you'll tinker with it in no time. You have a knack for this stuff."

"Thanks, Dada!" He gave his father a quick, affectionate hug before sliding the bracelets on, fists pumped and raring to go. He leapt off to the ground. "Let's try it!"

"Wait, it's too-" the Zarude paled as Koko fell groundward, fearlessly bringing out the cord and throwing it to a nearby branch, zipping through like second nature. The Rogue Monkey Pokémon leapt in pursuit, worry overtaking him. "Wait a second, Koko!"

"Nope! I want to show this to Skwovet!" said the boy with the hugest grin, shooting another vine to a different branch before grabbing it and continuing to leap through the trees by himself, getting used to its gift.

His Dada was not pleased by how fast he was already getting. "The moment I catch you you're grounded kid!"

"Not until you get me!"

The Zarude should've groaned at the sheer audacity of his disobedient son, and yet, he couldn't help but laugh it off, doing his best to keep pace with him. He was in real need of a scolding, but he couldn't deny his pride, looking at Koko move through the forest like a true Zarude.

And in that moment, he truly felt like they were father and child.

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BRANDON369

Night was cold and windy, but for Phoebe, the most recent Elite Four member, that mattered little. She simply continued to giggle and enjoying herself as she chatted with her grandmother over cups of tea. After all, visiting her year after year had become a tradition for her.

"So, my granddaughter is now an Elite Four. You clearly take after your grandma! Maybe I should stop by and watch one of your battles," the old lady said.

"That would be great, Granny! The Elite Four's battles are always fun. I feel my bonds with my Pokémon have grown stronger thanks to all those battles."

"That's my granddaughter. Never forget it; the most important thing to be a great trainer is your bonds with your Pokémon. You know, you need to see with the heart, not just the eyes."

"Say, Granny, can I form bonds with other trainers?" the girl asked.

"Of course. Why, that's one of the best things of becoming a trainer. Any opponent you face can turn into a person very precious to you, and during these times you should appreciate such bonds. That's what I love the most about Christmas."

"I know, to appreciate those still among the living," Phoebe nodded before sighing and taking a sip of her tea. "It's just that I really miss you, Granny."

"Oi, you shouldn't feel so bad. I'll always be here to support you, and you can always come and visit me whenever you want." The old woman smiled. "Besides, I'm sure you've formed new bonds with the Elite Four. How does everyone treat you?"

"Oh! They're amazing people, Granny! Ms. Glacia is always nice to me, telling me stories about her home region. Although old man Drake has the best ones… And I wish you could meet Sidney! At first he was a bit scary, but when I got to know him better, I saw he's a really fun guy. In fact, he promised to teach me how to play guitar, he's pretty good at it."

"Well, I can see you're having lots of fun in your new post, huh?"

"Yeah, it's fantastic. Even though I don't like being the youngest, I wish I had someone close to my age there…" Phoebe commented.

"Hahahahaha, you're just getting started, Phoebe. You will meet many other trainers who'll bond with you. After all, good trainers seem to be tied to each other by an invisible thread… Or that's what they say, hahahaha."

"Thanks, Granny, you're always cheering me up."

Phoebe really enjoyed visiting her grandmother, she was the person she loved to talk to the most. Whenever she felt sad, she'd always have a good joke to make her laugh. In fact, she could still remember those times when she was a little girl, and saddened over having to move to a different region, far away from her friends. Her grandmother was the one to give her the Duskull who'd become her Dusclops, and her best friend since then. All to cheer her up.

"I have to go now, Granny," she apologized. "The Elite Four's Christmas party will start in about two hours, and I have to get ready."

"Alright, take care and come later to tell me how it went. Have fun, my child!"

"I will! Merry Christmas, Granny!" The Elite Four trainer waved goodbye.

"Merry Christmas, Phoebe!"

Then, as her grandmother vanished in the air, Phoebe left the graveyard she'd been visiting her at. She still missed her a lot, but now was not the time to get depressed. Quite the opposite, it was Christmas! Time to have fun at the Christmas party and having a great time. She'd follow her grandmother's advice, treasuring the bonds she'd made with everyone in the Elite Four, as well as making new ones with other trainers and Pokémon.

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VIRORO-KUN

"So, Flint already left?" Volkner asked on the other side of the screen.

Buck nodded, leaning back on his chair and looking back to the TV screen he was videocalling through. "Yeah. I don't have to tell you where he went, right?"

"Of course not. I think I spotted a conspicuous guy in a bedsheet shuffling outside already..."

"I'm surprised you still allow him to do that stuff. It got old like, the second time he did it."

Volkner let out a heavy sigh, and Buck couldn't blame him. If any of his friends ever tried to pull a mock 'Christmas ghost' setup year after year, he would've probably burned his bridges with extreme prejudice.

"It got stale for sure. I just wanted him to get over trying to pull the same routine every single year." Contrary to Buck's expectations, the Sunyshore Gym Leader smiled briefly, eyes filled with fondness. "But after so many attempts... guess I became a bit fond of it. It's a sign of our friendship, somewhat."

Buck blinked in confusion. "I would've sworn you were just suffering through it so others didn't have to, after he tried telling others to pull the routine..."

"Perhaps. But it's fun in its own way." Volkner shrugged, smirking back to his friend's younger brother. "I just wish it was a bit less... telegraphed."

As he claimed that, the door right behind Volkner was smashed open suddenly, eliciting only mild nuisance from the Gym Leader. As Buck recognized the cheap bedsheet ghost attire, the visible afro and flaming tail, he immediately understood why.

"Hey! Who are you called telegraphed?" argued Flint, jabbing at his friend so hard that his hand slipped completely out of the costume.

"Yeah, like that." The Sunyshore Gym Leader folded his arms, shaking his head. "You've been doing it since we were kids. How do you still don't get the concept of dramatic entrance?"

"Excuse you! I am a master at that!"

"And that's why you ruined your own arrival, right."

Flint raised a finger, ready for a vehement retort. He lowered it right after.

"... Well." Flint scratched his neck, and even with his head covered Buck could spot his sheepish grin. "Can we just... redo it?"

"Fernape..."

Volkner just chuckled out, much to his friend's chagrin. And as fun as the show was being, Buck hopped off his chair, heading for the screen.

"I'm gonna just leave you to your little games. See ya." With a wave, he closed the call, taking a deep breath as Baltoy floated back to him.

Even with Volkner's explanation, he still didn't really get what dynamic these two had and how the Gym Leader could stand Flint still. There were many things Buck admired his older brother for, but his silliest obsessions were definitely not among them. But if they had fun, all the more power to them. Not to mention, it did give him some more time to fetch his own Christmas present.

He looked out of the boat he was preparing himself on, towards the remote island he was about to explore. The last bastion of a long gone Infernape-worshipping civilization, full of lost idols and treasures all for the taking, provided one could pass all the traps. The perfect test for a budding treasure hunter, and the best way to bring Flint the most unique present he could find.

"Let's make it quick, Baltoy," he told his partner, receiving a nod in return. It was far from their first challenge, and they were more than ready to prove their worth once again.

And so, Buck and Baltoy headed out, ready to fetch their newest gift for Flint.

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

FOX BLUEREAVER

Some people didn't want to work for Christmas. But for those who wanted to celebrate in Pallet Town, the rule was that everyone had to contribute at least a bit, to deliver some joy for everyone else.

Or that was what Delia Ketchum said. Since Ash and Misty had decided to help at the post office, delivering gift packages for the children, Anabel and Iris offered to give her a hand with the decorations in the Pallet House restaurant, for the Christmas party. Right now, they were hanging some ornaments on the Christmas trees placed on the four corners and the center of the main hall.

"Is this fine?" Iris asked, as she placed the star on top of the center tree.

"Yes, it looks perfect," said Delia. "Thank you very much; I wouldn't have finished so quickly without your help. Now I can focus on cooking the food for the party."

'You don't need to thank us, Ms. Ketchum,' said Anabel. 'Is there anything else we can help with?'

"Oh, don't worry, sweetheart. You can take a break and eat something if you wish."

While Delia headed for the restaurant's kitchen, Iris hopped off the ladder, landing cleanly on the floor. There was a huge tray left for them on one of the tables, full of sandwiches that quickly started vanishing in their stomachs.

"So, you were going to tell me more about this celebration?" Iris asked.

Anabel raised her look. As the season continued to approach, the wild girl had been confused and curious when the Pallet residents started decorating their homes with multicolored lights, and frequently carrying gift-wrapped boxes of all sizes. Anabel had been barely able to explain her what the festivities were about, as well as some traditions and legends formed around it.

'Sure, what do you want to know?'

"You said everyone has different traditions for this... Christmas, is it? How did you celebrate it?"

Anabel thought for a bit. Admittedly, living alone with her uncle meant they didn't have many traditions, and while he did his best to make her happy, sometimes it felt a little lonely. Nevertheless, she had many fond memories of them.

'As a child, I loved Christmas Carols. That's how we call Christmas-themed songs, and often people group together to sing them at others' doors. I wished I could do it, but... well, you know why I couldn't.'

She could only 'sing' them for her uncle, in a manner of speaking. They had to keep her gifts a secret, so during Christmas time, it was just the two of them.

"Humans truly have some weird festivities. There was this one time we stopped at a festival in Kalos, where there was a lot of heart-themed decoration, and people were gifting flowers and chocolate to each other for some reason."

'That was probably a Valentine's Day festival,' Anabel guessed. 'It's supposed to be a day to celebrate love and friendship. Then again, Christmas is a good time for that as well, since it's about sharing with your loved ones, family or friends.'

"Sharing... do you think we should have gotten presents for Ash?"

'That would have been nice, but with all that's been going on, I don't think they mind. We've all been busy helping with the party after all.'

"And I'm really grateful for it." Delia had just come out of the kitchen, carrying a little bag. "Hope you don't mind, but I found these while I was cleaning up over there. After you've rested enough, do you think you could help me hang them all over the hall? I think it's all that's left to do to finish the decoration."

When she said 'these', she meant some mistletoe strands.

"Make sure not to get caught under them with someone other than my son, okay?" The woman winked at them in a rather mischievous way. The telepath blushed slightly as she understood the implications, but silently giggled. Iris however looked confused.

"What did she mean?" she asked as she grabbed a mistletoe strand. "What are these for?"

'One Christmas tradition says that, if you stand under the mistletoe, you have to kiss the person who's standing the closest to you,' Anabel explained.

"Kiss?" Iris tilted her head, puzzled but clearly interested.

'Some do it as a joke, others to have an excuse to kiss the person they like in Christmas. Not everyone follows it, but…'

"Does that mean Ash's mother would like us to be under the mistletoe with him? Or that we kiss him?"

Anabel nodded. Iris would always go straight to the point, and she was pretty quick to catch it.

'Problem is, there's gonna be a lot of other girls in the party aside from us. And I'm sure more than one would like to catch Ash under the mistletoe too.'

"So, we should make sure that does not happen?"

That seemed the sensible choice, but how to do it? Anabel thought for a moment, until she finally came up with something.

'Let's wait for Ash and Misty to come back, and ask them to help us hang the strands. That way, we'll all know exactly where they are, and none of us will get caught under the mistletoe.'

Truth be told, since they came to Pallet Town, Ash wasn't the only one who was dragging some unwanted attention. They too had caught the eyes of a few local boys who'd been trying to flirt with them, and frequently snarked about how jealous they were of Ash coming back home with three pretty girls.

As much as they fancied the idea of ending up under the mistletoe with Ash, Anabel felt it wasn't worth the risk, at least for now. They were still trying to figure out their feelings, and they didn't want to put any more pressure on Ash about it. Moreover, they still didn't know how they could convince Misty about their idea.

For now, all they could do was enjoy themselves. She only hoped this was the first of many future Christmases they would spend together.

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

VIRORO-KUN

"MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYBODY!"

As the festive explosions of psychic power and the playful giggles of the annoying pink Pokémon echoed around the area, Mewtwo snapped out of his meditation, his frown all the harsher as he turned around. Just as he expected, he found Mew wearing what appeared to be a party hat, leading a small party of clones all dancing and celebrating in their own way, from the smallest ones like Clefairytwo and Fraxuretwo to the larger ones like Charizardtwo. The clone found almost impressive how infectious he could be, if it wasn't proportionally annoying.

Mew noticed his clone's attention, quickly floating all around him with all of his usual glee. Mewtwo groaned, rubbing his temple. "Do you really have to be so loud?"

"It's a day for celebrations! Happiness! Having the best time one can have!" Mew replied, punctuating each exclamation by twirling upon himself until he was staring at his 'child' upside down.

Mewtwo shook his head, gazing beyond the cliff they stood at. "I already had one Christmas once. It was enough."

"Doesn't mean you can't have another, and one after that, and even more!" Mew looked to be pouting at that, puffed cheeks and an annoyed stare trained on Mewtwo. He grabbed his fellow Psychic-type's arm and tried to drag him towards the fun. "Come on, everyone else is celebrating. I think I saw Pikachutwo and Meowthtwo start an eating contest..."

Hearing that, Mewtwo quirked an eyebrow and glanced back at the merry gang of clones. They were all playing together, continuing the explosive celebrations and dancing all around, if they weren't taking part in the aforementioned eating contest, led by the surprisingly competitive duo of the would-be leaders of the group. They were being more than a bit dumb, signposting their presence like that- and yet, he couldn't really fault them. They deserved some time for fun, after all.

Mewtwo exhaled, losing himself back in his holiday memories. It may not have happened in 'reality', but his time spent playing and learning with Amber was still all he could think of with the approaching Christmas time. He couldn't deny it was a joyous time, but it was hard to go back to that happiness with everything he had on his plate now.

Mewtwo shook off his arms, making Mew float away as he resumed his meditation efforts. "All the more reason for me to stay sharp. You can have fun, I'll make sure to be ready if Giovanni or someone else comes our way."

"Man, you're a grump." Mew landed with all his small weight on top of Mewtwo's head, denying him focus as he looked down into his eyes. "If someone attacks us, you are not alone. I'm gonna help out, and we'll get through our problems together."

Mewtwo grabbed Mew and turned him around, staring right through him. "You won't be here all the time. And we must survive."

"But surviving isn't living." The tiny mythical unwrangled himself with ease, floating back on the tip of Mewtwo's tail, sliding down and flying back up without a care in the world. "Sometimes, you need to put aside your worries. Enjoy the moments, and where your choices have led you. It's what makes life worth it, no matter what your situation is."

Mewtwo wished to counter that, only for his retort to remain in his mind. He really couldn't stand that Mew's attitude, how he kept acting so infuriatingly carefree... and yet, he couldn't deny he had a point. He couldn't even remember any moment since his birth where surviving wasn't his priority, constantly at the forefront of his mind. The fact he had gone straight to worry about their safety after resolving to enjoy his life only showed how deeply rooted his concerns were and how hard they were to unlearn. He was just wasting his life away by doing so.

He sighed, and finally forced himself to nod, never losing his scowl. "Alright, I'm going to join. But you take full responsibility if something happens."

"Oh, it won't, outside of you having loads of fun!" Giggling continuously, Mew twirled in the air as he pulled Mewtwo closer to the partying clones, the pull much stronger than expected. "You're going to want to celebrate it every single day! Don't do it, though. It gets boring."

Mewtwo rolled his eyes, keeping pace by levitating. "I can't believe you are several millennia old and I was created to match you..."

"What use is growing up, if you can't be a little childish sometimes?"

The clone actually chuckled, conceding the point. And as he continued to hold his smile, he finally allowed himself to spend some time with his family, enjoying their life together.

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BRANDON369

It was Christmas Eve, and there was no movement in that unexplored forest. Not a single creature, not a single Pokémon…

Only the man and woman running in a panic, clearly escaping from something.

"Quick! We need to get outta here!"

"I told you it was real!"

What scared them wasn't the dark, snow-covered forest, nor the constant howling of the Poochyena who lurked around the place. None of that, what scared them was that spooky female voice, coming from a humanoid, small and gray-colored figure, as it peeked through the trees.

The locals had dubbed this urban legend as "The Gray Poochyena", an unusually-colored Pokémon with the intelligence of a human being that lurked around the unexplored woods. Nobody wanted to run into such a creature…

Even though said creature was actually a (relatively) normal young woman, if small in stature, and with a long, gray mane of hair.

"That was boring, it ended too soon," she said, yawning. "You can come out now, let's see if we can find something interesting."

The wild teenager jumped down from the tree she was perched on, and a pack of wild Poochyena emerged from the bushes and followed her. Slowly and cautiously, they approached the backpacks the travelers had left behind, and after sniffing them a little she started rummaging into them.

At first there was nothing out of the norm, just a compass, a pair of empty Pokéballs, water canteens, but eventually, she found something worth of her attention.

"Chocolate!" she exclaimed, a smile forming in her face.

She'd been very lucky. With a bit of desperation, she pulled out the chocolate bar, which was slightly melted, and ate it with a lot of gusto. She really loved sweet things, as they reminded her of the chocolates her mother usually brought her for the season.

Sadly, she couldn't finish it all by herself, as her Poochyena pack seemingly craved a little, and she had to split the remains so all of them could taste, if only a little.

"Let's see what else they had."

She found some canned food that could probably help her through winter, and some pieces of male clothing that wouldn't fit her, but they could be useful to keep her pack warm in the cold. Then, she opened the other backpack and the first thing she found were some books, which made her shriek in excitement. It was the perfect way to prevent boredom, and probably the best Christmas gift she could ask for.

The Gray Poochyena pulled them out with eagerness, although she was disappointed at first. The first book was just a survival guide for the forest and she had those aplenty, the second was a "Pokémon Showdown" tome she'd already read, the third was one of the Alphanegan Chronicles that she didn't want to read (why did so many travelers carry those around?).

In the end, the only book that was worth something was one of Christmas poetry written by Clark Moore.

"Well, at least I can take this one for my collection," she mused, stuffing the poetry book intro her clothes.

She wanted to go back to her warm cave, but she still had to check the bigger backpack, just in case she found something interesting…

And found it she did: camera rolls, microphones, a few notepads, a tripod and a film camera. It didn't take a genius to solve that mystery or anything: those two were probably investigative reporters, and the reason they entered such a remote forest was probably to make a documentary or program about the "Gray Poochyena" mystery.

That worried her a lot. From the direction they'd gone, she deduced they'd soon be back in town and, if she was lucky, the scare would be enough for them to leave the forest and head home. She could only pray that none of them would take her a picture or catch her in film; that'd be the worst thing that could happen to her.

There was one reason why her mother hid her in this remote forest and taught her to take care of herself. The last thing she wanted was to leave a clue for that man to find her, that despicable excuse of a human being who kept her locked up for years, separate from her mother, and treating her like some savage attack dog.

The sole idea of being found by that man gave her chills, it scared her deeply. She'd prepared multiple traps to defend herself, but she didn't want to waste the efforts of her mother to keep her safe. Hopefully, those travelers wouldn't have taken any photos of her. She'd be terrified if she was found out…

"What?!" The Gray Poochyena was snapped out of her thoughts when one of his pack licked her hand, apparently worried at seeing her trembling. "Oh, thanks."

As she petted him, she knew he was right; it was pointless to worry about that now. The best she could do was to go back to her cave, and prepare everything for Christmas. That holiday was celebrated all over the world, but to her it also had an additional, special meaning.

She'd been born on that same cold December day. It brought her memories both happy and sad. From the times where she wasn't locked up in that cold room, from when her mother rescued her and made her happy. When she came to visit her, without fail, giving her books, clothes, and eating chocolates together. Out of respect for her, she'd always have a merry Christmas.

Christmas was an important date for the Gray Poochyena; it was her birthday, and also the anniversary of the last time her mother came to visit her…

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VIRORO-KUN

Giovanni took a sip of his glass of wine, as he took a stroll away from the attention of the party with Persian by his side. He rarely got to spend so much time around the majority of Team Rocket's agents, but such events served to remind him of just how much the organization flourished under his guidance. They were a veritable force to reckon with, one that operated in several regions and with several branches all working together to attain complete domination of every profitable venture. Something his precedessors could only dream about.

"Lovely night, isn't it?" The familiar voice brought him to turn around, and found himself looking over to Ariana, one of his most trusted Executives. And unbeknownst of most members of Team Rocket, his wife outside of work. She was glancing at the lively atmosphere away from them, a smile on her lips.

He scoffed, petting Persian's head. "This is all just theater. A way to keep the grunts motivated and like their efforts are valuable. Bolstering morale is an important skill for an enterprise such as ours."

"Always the businessman. I like that of you," the woman chuckled, coming just a bit closer to her Boss and husband. Giovanni was quick to shake her off.

"Ariana, they can see us. Let's try to keep some professionalism," he told her without much emotion. Knowing that one of the higher-ups of Team Rocket had any sort of pull on the Boss itself was a potential weak point that Giovanni could not afford to become public knowledge.

Ariana scoffed, giving her husband her back. "They're all distracted, you have nothing to worry about."

"You never know. I still don't trust Proton."

The woman conceded his point with a sigh, taking enough distance to not create any suspicion. Particularly from the green-haired Executive that still seemed to pay a bit too much attention to the proceedings for Giovanni's liking. No amount of cautiousness was too much in their line of work.

Ariana folded her arms, looking wistfully at the side, towards the comedy show some grunts were partaking in. "I wonder if we should start bringing Silver along. He is of trainer age, after all."

"We'll do it when he's ready."

Ariana sighed again. "So we're still keeping the distance even after so many years."

"He'll understand in due time. I did."

Giovanni sipped from his glass once more, considering his own words. He was aware of how in fifteen years since his birth he hadn't been as present in his child's life as he could have been, especially when they started giving priority to those Christmas parties over his own birthday. But time spent with his child was something he could always recover in due time, while the slightest mistake in how he led Team Rocket would've had much more serious consequences on both his and his son's life. It was an easy equation to solve, and one that his mother had solved already in the same way. And just like he had to in the past, Silver would eventually come to terms that his decision was for the best of everyone, including himself.

"Can't disagree. But he's still your heir, and you should prepare him for his future," Ariana told him with finality, before heading back to the table with the other executives and leaving Giovanni alone with his thoughts.

Observing his half-empty glass, Giovanni mused over his wife's words. He had more than a bit of experience with things moving in unforeseen directions; he was still planning how to tackle the loose end that was Mewtwo, after all. For as much as he wished to spare more thought to Silver's upbringing, he knew that all the times he could give him were the most his son could afford from him. He was sure the Sneasel they gave him as a partner years ago was still doing an admirable job helping out, at least.

Shaking his head, Giovanni finished his glass and headed back to the table himself, ready to discuss with the Executives of their next plans for the upcoming years. There was a time and place for personal reflections on his private life, and that was definitely not then.

Now was the time for Giovanni, Boss of Team Rocket. And he wouldn't let feelings get in the way of his glory.

FIN