RISE OF THE YOUNG ADVENTURERS: CHRISTMAS SPECIAL 2
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OCs. This is a side story to the epic I'm working on alongside NEBSparky86 and EmperorDraco7. And the protagonists are the descendants of my OCs Jonathan and Abelia, as well as some other characters that will appear later on in my story. I hope you will enjoy that… and Happy New Year to everyone!
For Francesca and Marco Seabright, respectively the daughter and son of two of the Elite Four of the Oblivia Pokemon League, a special day had come… finally, it was Christmas, the day both of them had been waiting for so long, and as soon as the alarm clock on the side of her bed showed half past seven, Francesca bolted up, lightly slapping herself on the cheeks in preparation for a new day!
"Alright, it's Christmas time!" the little girl exclaimed, her long silver hair – with just a small fringe of chestnut on the forehead – waving happily as she quickly climbed out of bed and put her slippers on! In the other bed, Marco woke up with a start, as he was having what seemed like a nice dream, only to be jolted out of it by his twin sister! "Hey, Marco, you Slowpoke! Aren't you going to wake up now? This is the day we've been waiting for so long, after all!"
Francesca's ace Pokemon Cerberus, a muscular and agile Houndoom who was sleeping in a large kennel on the other side of the room, grumpily woke up and stretched, murmuring something about the high spirited Fire and Dark-type user being sometimes too happy for his liking… and Marco slowly sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes, his silver hair – the same color as his twin sister, in fact – getting disheveled in the process. "Hmm… just now that I was having a nice dream, Francesca… couldn't you have waited until I had finished?" Marco murmured, getting out of bed and putting his slippers on as well.
As Cerberus stood up and walked towards Francesca, greeting her good morning with an affectionate lap of his tongue on her arm, the girl petted the dark dog on his head and neck, and then turned to her twin brother and winked jauntily. "I could, but then you'd have to miss out on the moment where we all open our presents together! Plus, remember we will be going to the Aqua Resort port to greet Heather, Noel and Shelly. They will be here in a few hours, you know… and it would only be fair that they meet us to fetch them!" she added, referring to a group of friends they had met in the Reborn continent, where they had helped defeat the dreaded Team Meteor and their leader Lin.
"You're right about that, Francesca." Cerberus told his trainer. "Heather and Noel should also have almost completely recovered from our battle with Lin, so it would be good to see how they are doing as well."
Marco stretched a little. "Well, you're right about that too…" he said, as he, Cerberus and Francesca headed out to the living room. The Seabright house was quite comfortable and beautiful, as their parents Jonathan and Abelia had quite a high income from their position as Elite Four members, and the small, irregular blue tiles decorating the floor gave the rooms and the corridors a relaxing atmosphere, along with the light bulbs decorating the walls. The huge living room, furnished with soft armchairs and a large TV set along with a soft carpet in the midst of it, was decorated with Christmas lights and festoons already, and a rather tall, colorful Christmas tree was lit up beside the TV, living a welcoming atmosphere… but what surprised Francesca and Marco as they arrived, was seeing a pair of small Santa Claus dressed figures sitting cross-legged in front of the tree, with a rather large pile of wrapped gifts in front of them. Along with them was Zeus, Marco's proud Manectric, looking quite embarrassed because of the fake reindeer horns tied to his head!
"Hohohohoooo! Merry Christmas, everyone!" the smallest figure said, with a cute female voice that tried rather pointlessly to sound deep and gruff. Her long brown hair was tied in a pair of pigtails, and she was wearing a pair of large, pink-rimmed glasses that immediately gave her identity away… along with the telltale burn scar on her left cheek, arm and thigh. "You all slept well, children? Good, 'cause it's time to unwrap the presents! Hohohohooo!"
"Vanna, was it really necessary?" said the other Santa Claus, whose identity was immediately recognizable by his somewhat dark complexion and shining eyes. "I mean, I know we have to celebrate Christmas, but isn't this kinda over the top?"
"Plus, I make for a terrible reindeer!" Zeus murmured, glaring at a snickering Cerberus. "Hey! You try putting these fake horns on! They itch like crazy!"
"Nice try you two," Marco said as he recognized both of the Santas as his and Francesca's youngest sister Vanna Seabright and her boyfriend, Hayato Kaiou. "But you get an 'A' for trying though."
"See Vanna, I told you they were going to recognize us," Hayato said to his cheerful girlfriend as he shed the Santa outfit that he was wearing.
"How come you're not with your family, Hayato?" Francesca asked Hayato.
"Mom and Dad are with Dad's family and I couldn't get a flight back home in time," explained Hayato. "Vanna suggested that I just stay here. Besides, Ren, Mizuki and their Pokémon siblings are busy with their schedules. I thought that I told you that. Plus your parents wanted me to come home with Vanna anyway."
"What about Cynthia?" asked Marco as he was referring to Hayato's cousin, born to the recent members of the Atlantica Islands Elite Four.
"Cynthia and her family went to the Kanto region to see her dad's family," answered Hayato. "I heard that her big brother wasn't going with them to Kanto this time."
"All of us know that Cynthia and her Victini are inseparable," Vanna informed her boyfriend as she took off her Santa outfit. "Besides, he always tries to hit on the mothers for attention and affection."
"Enough about everyone else," said an eager Francesca, "I say we dig and start unwrapping our presents."
'Hold on a minute,' Vanna's Sylveon, a cute little pink creature called Oberon, said to Francesca. 'Don't you think that we should wait until the others get here? I mean there are presents for them too.'
Vanna and Hayato both gave a slight nod in agreement to the suggestion that Oberon gave to the children. Francesca let out a long sigh as she so desperately wanted to open her presents, but her sister's Sylveon did bring up a valid point. Putting down the wrapped present she was going to open, everyone heard the phone ring. Oberon sent one of his ribbon-like feelers and picked up the cordless handset, giving it to Vanna.
"Hello, this is the Seabright residence," Vanna said to the caller.
"Hi there Vanna," replied the caller in a joyful tone.
"Heather, is that you?" Vanna asked the caller she recognized the caller right.
"Yeah! Hey we're at the Aqua Resort," the friend of the Seabright siblings and Hayato. "Where do you guys live, we'll come to your place."
"Who's calling us on Christmas Day?" Marco asked his baby sister.
"It's Heather," answered Vanna as she looked to Marco. "She said that her, Noel and Shelly are at the Aqua Resort."
"Already?" asked a dumbfounded Hayato. "How did they get here so fast?"
"I guess we'll ask them when we go fetch them," Vanna answered her boyfriend as she had her hand over the speaker. "By the way, I haven't seen Achilles, where is he?"
"I had sent him back home after my manager... 'mysteriously disappeared,'" explained as he explained what happened to his Aerodactyl, Achilles.
'Well, at least he won't try to snack on Vanna,' Cerberus said as he was a bit relieved to hear that Hayato's Aerodactyl was not present.
"I still have Ichigo," Hayato said as he was referred to the shiny male Togekiss he trained up from a Togepi. "Plus Sora, Donald, Mjolnir, Ifrit and Blizzard too."
Vanna then looked up and saw Hayato's Togekiss, Ichigo, above her and Hayato with a mischievous grin on his face and some mistletoe being held in his feet above both Vanna and Hayato. Ichigo gave Vanna a slight nod as if to say 'You know you want to kiss him.'
'Just give me time, Ichigo!' Vanna answered, speaking telepathically to the Fairy / Flying type Pokemon. 'I… I will see if Hayato wants me to kiss him later… possibly when we're both under the mistletoe! For now, well, I guess we need to go fetch Heather and the others at the Aqua Resort.'
"Well then… if we're all done here, I think we should go to the Aqua Resort. Heather, Noel and Shelly are all waiting for us." Francesca said, taking a good look at the time. "We don't wanna keep them waiting, after all."
"Good idea." Hayato answered. "I'm sure we can have all the time in the world to enjoy ourselves when they're here as well."
With that, the group of children stood up, accompanied by their Pokemon, and began walking away to reach Aqua Resort and unite with their friends, under the watchful and proud eyes of a couple of veteran trainers who had been silently watching on the whole conversation…
"Our kids sure have already gone a long way, don't you think so, Abi?" said Jonathan Seabright, the 32-year-old Water-type Elite Four member of the Oblivia League and one of the strongest and most respected Pokemon trainers in the archipelago. "I still remember when our little Francesca found Cerberus when he was just a puppy…"
"Well, we did start up just like them… in fact, I think we had even less to start with, since all I had to start with were my Venipede and my Venonat…" his wife Abelia Seabright said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I agree that they have come a long way… especially since their last trip to the Reborn region where they met Heather and the others."
"It was quite a harrowing trip." Jonathan agreed with a nod, remembering what has happened only a few months ago, where their children had gone to one of the most dangerous places in the world, and had thwarted the plans of the criminal organization that resided there, Team Meteor. "I regret not having been there to help them when they had to face that demented woman, Lin, and her henchmen… but in the end, I'm glad that everything ended well, and our children even found some new friends."
"Speaking of which, I'd better start setting things up for when the kids come back." Abelia said. "It just wouldn't be Christmas if we didn't have a nice party ready for all of them."
With that, Abelia and Jonathan nodded to each other, and turned to the Pokemon who were with them… Abelia's Scolipede and Venomoth, and Jonathan's Omastar and Samurott, who were ready to start setting up for the Christmas party!
"Well, I guess it's time to get going! We'll have all the time to enjoy Christmas along with the kids and their friends later!" Samurott said to his trainer and his friends. "I'm sure we're all going to enjoy this year's party!"
"I just hope it won't get too crowded in here! Sure we live in a pretty large house, but still…" Venomoth stated, before joining the others in the preparatives.
oooooooooo
"Well, here we are… Aqua Resort. It's a really nice place, I have to say… and it sure beats Peridot Station in Reborn City…" said Heather, a 10-year-old girl with bright magenta hair, wearing a white dressed rimmed with red and dark pink knee-high boots, as she sat by a fountain in the middle of the central square of Aqua Resort, together with her best friends Noel and Shelly. "Oblivia is sure a much nicer place… I never imagined such places could ever exist, to be honest."
"I did read a lot about the other continents in the world…" Heather's best friend Shelly, a petite girl of about 12, with long braided lavender hair, wearing a green school uniform with a matching skirt, knee-high white socks, and red shoes answered, taking in the sight of the lively seaside town. "But I never thought it would be such a beautiful sight… I was so used to Reborn's bleak scenery, that I had pretty much forgotten how the rest of the world could be…"
"I'm sure we will be able to show it to our friends too, later on." Noel, a young boy about Heather's age with messy black hair, wearing a simple white shirt with black trousers and shoes, answered, looking around himself. "But for now… we should get ready to greet Vanna and the others, they should be here in a few moments…"
"I think I can see them already! Here they are!" Heather answered, pointing in the direction of the main street, where a small group of trainers was making their way towards them. In front of the team was Vanna, wearing her usual red tube top with black bike shorts, her brown hair done in two side pigtails, and her feet bare, accompanied by her Sylveon Oberon, and she was waving her arm at Heather and her friends as she quickly approached. "Vanna! Guys, I'm so glad to see you, and… whoa!"
"I'M SOOOOO GLAD TO SEE YOU, HEATHER!" Vanna yelled at the top of her lungs, hugging the Reborn trainer for all she was worth and almost cutting off her air supply! Noel and Shelly looked on in surprise as their friend was getting squeezed in Vanna's affectionate hug! "So, how are you and the others doing? You're feeling well right now, right? Hello, Noel! Hello, Shelly! Merry Christmas to you!"
"Merry Christmas…" Hayato murmured, sighing in resignation as he motioned for Vanna not to squeeze the life out of Heather! "So, how are you, guys? Glad to see you're all here… and before I forget, Merry Christmas to you!"
"Merry Christmas, Hayato… Vanna, Marco, Francesca… oh, and you too, Cerberus!" Shelly answered timidly, as Cerberus approached and gave her a lick on the face! "I'm so glad to see you all!"
"Yeah, me too…" Noel answered, shaking Marco's hand. "It sure feels strange to meet you in such a place after having spent so much time together in a place like Reborn… but it's great to see you all!"
"How's Reborn doing, by the way?" Francesca asked. "Not that Team Meteor is disbanded, I'm pretty sure things are improving there."
"You could say that." Heather answered somberly, putting a hand on Vanna's shoulder, and then petting Oberon with the other. "Ever since we defeated Lin, Reborn City has slowly but steadily become more liveable. Pollution rates have gone down, and the population is steadily growing more hopeful."
"We're sorry that some people couldn't be saved…" Oberon stated. "But we were glad to be able to help before things got really worse. And as for me, I was glad to kick Fern's ass into next week!"
"Oberon! Language please! We're in front of the kids!" Titania, Vanna's Mawile, answered, appearing from her Pokeball in a flash and whacking Oberon upside the head with her fake steel jaws! Oberon's eyes bugged out for a moment, and the pink Eevolution stood there for a moment, rubbing his sore forehead.
"Ouch… you know it hurts, Titania! Us Fairies just don't agree with cold iron!" Oberon lamented. "Fine, fine… I will hold my tongue, but you can't say that it wasn't fun to put that little bully in his place!"
"I'll admit it was amusing, to say the least!" Francesca said, referring to one of their most bitter enemies during their Reborn journey, a cruel and arrogant young man by the name of Fern. "I'm sure that guy won't try bullying anyone ever again, by the time he gets out of prison. But how about you, guys? Heather, are you sure you're okay now?" Francesca took a good look at the magenta-haired young girl, seeing no visible scar or bandaging.
"Yes, I'm okay now. My injuries have healed nicely since the end of our fight with the leaders of Team Meteor." Heather answered. "And Noel's too. We had to stay put for a couple weeks, and they did sting for a while, but we're okay now."
"It was a bit tiring having to watch over us, I'd say…" Noel answered, looking over at Shelly. "I should think that Shelly didn't exactly have a fun time looking after us while we recovered, though she never seemed to really mind…"
The lavender-haired girl, daughter of the Azalea Town Gym Leader Bugsy in the continent of Johto, smiled gently. "It was what anyone would have done, Noel. You two are my best friends, and it was no problem for me to look after you." She answered. "But enough of this… I guess your parents are waiting for us at your house, and we wouldn't want to keep them waiting, would we?"
"You're right! I'm sure we're going to have loooots of fun together!" Vanna said, putting an arm around Hayato's shoulders. The young prince of the Atlantica islands blushed slightly and chuckled, pleased that they were going to spend some days together in joy and happiness… and being with the girl he had a crush on was a plus too. "C'mon, everyone! Our home is just a few minutes walking from here!"
Heather chuckled a little herself. "Say, Vanna, I can see that you still haven't gotten in the habit of wearing shoes!" she said, pointing at Vanna's perpetually bare feet. "I remember you were that way in Reborn too, even though it wasn't that nice in Team Meteor's hideouts!"
"What can I say, Heather? I never liked wearing shoes… and staying in contact with the ground helps me focusing my Fairy Aura too!" Vanna said to her friendly rival. "I know, it wasn't that comfortable when I was walking on metal floors, but I personally wouldn't have it any other way."
"That's our silly little sister for you!" Francesca said, grinning as she ruffled her younger sister's chestnut hair. Vanna murmured something in mock annoyance, trying to get away from Francesca's pleasant but somewhat nagging attentions.
"Hey! I'm not silly anymore, big sister Francesca!" Vanna protested. "I'm ten years old now, for your information! I have become more than mature enough!"
Marco and Francesca laughed a little. "You know you'll always be Francesca's little sister to her, Vanna dear!" Marco answered, taking the lead of the small team as they began walking towards the great house by the beach where the Seabright siblings lived. Even though it was late December already, the climate in the Oblivia archipelago was still warm and pleasant, and the sun was still radiating a fair amount of heat, which made the climate akin to that of a cool day of spring. "Well, anyway… we should be home in a moment! Everyone, I hope our home will be to your liking!"
"I don't think I've ever seen one of the houses where the rich live…" Heather said, her thoughts sadly taking her back to her difficult past as a street urchin. "It's going to be a new experience for me…"
"I'm sure you're going to enjoy it anyway!" Titania answered, a slight skip to her pace. "And the other Pokemon will be happy to see you as well!"
"We're looking forward to that!" Shelly answered, looking around and being in awe of the beauty of the tropical island, a far cry from the dark and dreary atmosphere of Reborn City…
oooooooooo
It only took a short while for the group of kids to reach the Seabright residence… a beautiful estate close to a golden beach, the walls a deep sea blue with white highlights around the main door, the windows and the roof, surrounded by a well-kept garden with several pine trees growing in isolated spots. The Reborn kids looked in awe as Francesca, her siblings and their Pokemon began showing them around.
"Woooow… this house is just… I… I just don't have words to describe it!" Noel exclaimed, glancing around the place. "I mean, you never see things like this in Reborn!"
"And you still have to see how it is inside!" Cerberus stated with a cunning wink. "I'm sure you're going to like it even more!"
"Merry Christmas to everyone! Hmm, so the Reborn kids are here too? Pleased to meet you all!" said a female Houndoom of a different color, wandering near the entry path, and approaching the team. Her fur, instead of the glossy black of a regular Houndoom, was a grayish white, and her eyes glowed with a strange azure light. "Oh, and Merry Christmas to you too, my beautiful Cerberus!"
"Merry Christmas to you too, my dear! Let me guess, you overslept again, right?" Cerberus answered, before he and the oddly-colored female Houndoom began licking each other affectionately, under the surprised scrutiny of the Reborn trainers, who had never seen such a strange Houndoom before. "Oh well… not a problem anyway! Vacations are to be enjoyed, right? No need to do things hastily."
"And I've never seen an Houndoom like that!" Shelly exclaimed, her curiosity getting the best of her as she came closer to the cuddling Houndooms. "She's not a Shiny Houndoom, is she?"
"Nope… Diana is a Delta Houndoom, an odd magic mutation of a regular Houndoom." Vanna answered happily. "It's a little long to explain, but we found Diana a couple years ago, during an adventure we had in our home country… She and Cerberus hit it off pretty quickly, and we decided it wouldn't do to just leave her on her own. So… now she lives with us, and we're waiting for the day where we will see many little Houndours running around! Oh, and by the way… Diana is an Ice/Fire type, instead of the usual Dark/Fire type!"
"That's surprising… I wouldn't ever believe such a strange type combination even existed…" Heather said, looking at the two canines and petting each of them.
Cerberus and Diana turned to the group and bowed elegantly… just a little before a coarse voice greeted them, snickering at their closeness! "Hehehee… Merry Christmas to the two lovebirds! So, it seems that you can't stay separated for more than a few moments, huh? You know, you two, this is Christmas, not St. Valentine's Day!"
"Merry Christmas to you too, Nidhoggr…" Francesca answered with a small chuckle, as a massive and fierce-looking Hydreigon flew down, spreading his wings and looking at the reunited trainers and Pokemon with his three heads. Nidhoggr, Francesca's mighty Hydreigon, who had an habit of always making fun of Cerberus and Diana whenever they tried to share an affectionate moment, was coming to greet the guests from Reborn, and to wish Merry Christmas… in his own way!
"Merry Christmas, Francesca… everyone! Now, if you are done watching these two licking each other all day long, I think we can skip the formalities and go straight to celebrating, now can't we?"
Diana hmphed and turned her head away, while Cerberus growled for a moment, and then smirked in satisfaction. "Tell you what, three-heads-and-no-brain… you're right, let's start the celebrations! Oberon, why don't you come here? Nidhoggr here wants to start the party!"
"Yaaaay! That's what I like to hear!" Oberon exclaimed, hopping towards Nidhoggr, who widened his eyes in horror and tried to flee from the cute pink Pokemon! "Come, now, you big strong dark dragon, let's play a little!"
"AAAAAIIIIIIEEEEEE! Get this Fairy-type off of me!" a panicked Nidhoggr roared, beginning to run around the garden as he tried to get away from the enthusiastic Oberon! Every single one of the Reborn kids watched in surprise and shock as the terrifying three-headed dragon tried to flee from the cute, harmless-looking Sylveon, screaming like a little girl! Hayato and the Seabright siblings, more used to the sight, simply sighed.
"Works every time." Cerberus said in satisfaction, smirking at the nodding Diana, before the two Houndooms resumed cuddling each other…
oooooooooo
While the outside of the Seabright estate was nothing short of amazing to the Reborn guests, the inside was even more beautiful – decorated with small blue tiles on the floor, a wide and comfortable living room, the ceiling held up by a pair of Greek-style columns, spread out in front of the young trainers, decorated with golden and silver streaks, and with a large, beautiful Christmas tree whose lights turned on and off. Several couches, complete with colorful cushions, were splayed regularly around a low glass table, upon which an elegant vase had been placed, several flowers inside of it. There were a few simple yet soft carpets on the floor, and the temperature was warm and welcoming. The large TV on the opposite side of the room was already on, broadcasting what looked like a Christmas concert, and above all, there were two familiar people standing near the TV set, greeting the children with a warm gesture and a couple of smiles.
"Well, well, here you are at last!" Jonathan said, his Samurott by his side saluting with his horn raised. "It's good to see you, kids… and Merry Christmas to you!"
"We hope you had a safe travel… Heather, Shelly and Noel, right?" Samurott said, looking at the three Reborn trainers. "It's always nice to know some of Francesca, Marco and Vanna's friends!"
"Thank you… Mr and Mrs. Seabright!" Shelly answered timidly, as she stepped forward. "It is… very nice to be here today, and I hope… we won't be too much of a nuisance!"
"Not at all, my dear!" Abelia answered, petting her massive Scolipede. "In fact, we will be happy to celebrate this Christmas with you! We're going to start the party in about half an hour, so… make yourselves comfortable, kids, we're going to have lots of fun!"
"Allow me to help, mistress Abelia!" Scolipede answered, appearing all of a sudden in front of Abelia and wearing a butler's costume that had appeared out of nowhere at all! The Reborn trainers blinked in surprise… except Shelly who, being a Bug-type enthusiast, immediately went to check on the huge Bug / Poison type!
"Wow! Now that's one impressive Scolipede if I ever saw one!" Shelly exclaimed, starting to look at Scolipede from all angles, causing the huge centipede to look at her in surprise. "I'm sure it took a lot of training to get him where he is now! Can you teach me a few tricks to train Bug-type Pokemon, later?"
"Of course, Shelly." Abelia answered with a wink. "I'm always ready to be of help to my children's friends! But now, kids, why don't you just kick back and enjoy the day? This house is yours for the whole day!"
"Awesome!" Francesca answered, giving a thumbs-up. "Thanks, Mom! You hear her, guys! Let's enjoy the day to the fullest!"
oooooooooo
The children wasted no time making themselves at home, and soon enough, the estate was simply teeming with the happy sounds of children playing, each of them exchanging gifts and wishes of merry Christmas. Their Pokemon were having fun as well, and each of them was trying their best to make it as lively as possible… even though Cerberus and Zeus found themselves having to act as raindeer for the smallest and youngest Pokemon, who were pretending to be Santa's little helpers, and were trying to get them to ride throughout the house!
"Hey! A little downtime here! This reindeer would like some rest too!" Cerberus protested, when Vanna's Flabebe and Marco's Elekid tried to ride him!
"Awww, the big tough Dark type is getting winded? And here I remember you were one of the heroes who took down Team Meteor!" Titania, Vanna's Mawile, joked.
Zeus chuckled sarcastically. "Yeah… sometimes I actually think that was easier than dealing with a group of overexcited kids!"
Francesca laughed a little at that, before turning to Heather and Noel, who were sitting on the couch beside her. "Well, guys, I guess the best time to do this is now, so… here you go! These are my Christmas presents to you… and I hope I hit the jackpot!" she said, taking a pair of wrapped-up gifts and giving them to Heather and to Noel. Both Reborn trainers nodded and thanked for the gift… and then set off to unwrapping their gifts, taking a good look at them!
"Wow! This is awesome!" Heather exclaimed, finding herself staring at a nice mound of TMs and Pokemon vitamins for her own Dragon team. "I… I just needed them for my Salamence and my Noivern!"
"Let me see, let me see!" Heather's Noivern exclaimed, peeking over her trainer's shoulder and widening her eyes at the sight of the TMs. "Wow, I could really use some of those TMs too! Will you allow me to take some of them anytime soon, Heather?"
"Oh, don't worry, Noivern, I plan to!" Heather answered, petting the black wyvern on the neck, while Noel nodded in satisfaction at the stack of TMs and battle items for his team of Normal-type Pokemon.
"And thank you from me as well, Francesca! It was really nice of you!" the young boy said, before glancing at Marco and Shelly. The lavender-haired girl was gushing over the book Marco had given to her, and for his part, Marco was thanking the timid Bug-type user for the gift he had received – the model of some sort of anime mecha, complete with parts to customize it and items to do the paint job.
"Wow! That's amazing, Shelly! How did you guess what I would have liked best for Christmas! You're a genius, you know that?" Marco said, grinning gently as he ruffled Shelly's hair.
Shelly giggled awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head. "Well… I just took a good guess, based on all the clues I had taken from talking to you in Reborn! That gave me an idea of what to buy!" she answered. "And… I'm glad I got it right!"
"I'm quite amazed myself… you really are very observant, Shelly. Well… I guess it comes with being a bookworm and a Gym Leader!" Zeus, Marco's Manectric, answered.
Vanna and Hayato, for their part, were sitting under the mistletoe, unwrapping their own presents… and enjoying their time together. "Well, what can I say… I am really glad we were able to celebrate Christmas together like this!" the young prince of the Atlantica Islands said, looking at Francesca who was busy admiring the new pair of trainers Heather and Noel had given her as a present. "It's moments like this that I'm glad I was able to depart on my Pokemon journey…"
"Yeah, me too…" Vanna answered, adjusting her glasses as she sat cross-legged under the Christmas tree. She blushed a little as she turned to Hayato. "I mean, there have been hard times, and we have been in trouble several times, but I wouldn't trade my experiences for anything! And above all… I'm glad to have known you, brave Flying Prince!"
Hayato blushed a little himself, and gently ran a hand on Vanna's left cheek, stroking the rather large burn scar that was on it. "The same can be said for me, my sweet Fairy Princess!" he answered. "I don't think my life would be the same without you… and by the way, I think this is the best moment for me to give you this… this is my Christmas gift to you, Vanna… I… I hope you will like it…"
Vanna gratefully took the gift, kissing Hayato on the cheek as she did so… and quickly unwrapped it, letting out a squeal of surprise and delight as she saw what it was – a beautiful picture of her, Hayato and her siblings, along with Cerberus, Zeus and Oberon, contained in an intricate silver frame that managed to make it seem even more shiny and luminous. Vanna stood looking at the picture for a while, stunned and happy at the same time… and finally reached up and wiped her eyes from the happy tears that threatened to fall.
"This… this is beautiful, Hayato!" she murmured, before throwing her arms around the young prince and hugging him for all she was worth. "You couldn't have picked… a better gift for me! How can I hope to repay you for your kindness?"
"Oh… I think you're already doing more than enough, Vanna!" he answered, gently hugging her back. "I… I'm glad you liked it… and I really couldn't ask anything more for this Christmas!"
"Still… it wouldn't be right if I didn't do what I could to repay you!" she answered, taking out a gift herself and handing it to Hayato. "Here… I know it's not much, but still… well… I hope you like it just as much as I liked yours."
"I'm sure I will… thank you, Vanna." He stated, before unveiling the gift… and staring in wonder at the beautiful crimson racing suit, decorated with flames on the arms and legs, that met his eyes one second later! "Wow! This is amazing, Vanna! You… you really were thoughtful to choose this! I… I don't know… I'm just amazed that you picked this gift! Thank you, Vanna… that was really awesome!"
"Oh, you're welcome, Hayato…" Vanna said, as she hugged her prince once again… and the two children exchanged a kiss under the mistletoe, sealing the beginning of an unforgettable vacation!
"See? I knew they would end up kissing, before all was said and done!" Ichigo said, winking to Oberon. "You owe me a pack of Poke Snax, pal!"
"Oh, trust me, Ichigo. I don't mind paying this bet!" Vanna's Sylveon answered.
ooooooooooooooooo
END