A/N: Hey everyone! Seeing as how today's Christmas, I decided to write this fic now. I'm hoping to have this one up as a Two-Shot. I'll have to see how it plays out. I must also say that this initially had a T rating, mainly because of some swearing and violence. But after some revising on my part, this has been pushed to a very hard M rating. Also, towards the end of this chappy, there is some strong profanity used as well. So, please use your discernment when reading.
So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you A Christmas to Remember!
I do not own Pokémon. That privilege belongs solely to the…um…who does it belong to? Anyway, bottom line is I don't own Pokémon. So don't hurt me!
Caroline smiled to herself as she stirred the brown sugar, Dijon mustard, and pecans for her glazed ham in a mixing bowl. She was so excited that her children were coming home for Christmas. Max left about 9 years ago to pursue his dream of becoming a better pokémon trainer than his dad. It was a bittersweet moment for Caroline to see her youngest child off, but she knew she couldn't keep him from fulfilling his life-long dream. About a few years into his journey, Max decided to take a break and stay at home to help his parents, much to Caroline's delight, often taking Norman's place at the gym when he wasn't able to do it himself.
Caroline also noticed that the few years Max was away, he had grown—a lot. He was now just a few inches shy of his father's height and leaner. His voice was deeper and his hair was just a few centimeters away from being shoulder-length. He also changed his horn-rimmed glasses to half-rimmed ones, claiming that he needed a new style to go along with a still-growing body.
As Caroline went to get some pineapples from the fridge to go with her ham, her mind drifted toward her oldest child. May had also grown a lot since the last time she saw her, too. She had grown a few inches taller and her body, too, grew leaner and curvier. Her breasts were slightly bigger and her hair was longer. Not to mention her stomach nearly tripled in size with the growing life now within her.
Caroline was nearly brought to tears as she thought of how, in a few months, she'd be a grandmother.
'My little girl, a mother,' She thought to herself.
She was so caught up in her thoughts, Caroline forgot she wasn't alone in the kitchen. It wasn't until she heard her name a third time that she finally heard what her friend was saying.
"Caroline Maple?"
"…Delia?"
It took Caroline a moment to remember that she invited her son-in-law's mother over to help her cook their Christmas meal.
"Finally, you respond! I was getting a little worried about you."
"Oh no, I'm fine. Just thinking about the kids is all."
"Ahh…I know. I've been thinking about Ashy, too."
"Can you believe that in just a few months, we're gonna be grammas!"
"I know! Seems like just yesterday I was holding Ash in my hands. Now look at him. He's married….has a baby on the way…"
"Where did the time go Delia?"
"Whew….I don't know."
"Well, I guess all we can do is savor what's happening now before we miss that, too."
"I hear that."
"Oh Delia, could you check on the ham for me? It's in the oven."
"Sure."
Getting back to work, Caroline shook her head and started to slice the pineapples as Delia walked over to the stove.
As Caroline was chopping the pineapples, she heard the doorbell ring.
"Max, honey, can you get that? I'm a little busy right now."
"Sure, Mom."
Max raced down the stairs to the front door. He was wearing a long-sleeved polo shirt and black dry denim jeans with black cap-toe oxford shoes. He was called out by his mother before he reached the door.
"Maxwell Maple, what have I told you about running in the house!"
"Sorry, Mom."
The look on Max's face as he opened the door could best be described as astonishment. Before him stood an ochre-skinned man with seal-brown spiky hair. He was dressed in a black embroidered casual guayabera shirt and black slacks with black plain-oxford shoes.
"Brock? Oh my gosh, how long's it been? Like 12 years?"
"Yeah, it's definitely been a while. It's good to see you again, Max - in person, that is."
"Good to see you too, Brock."
"….Well…are you gonna let me in?"
"Oh! Yeah, right. Come on in."
As Max let Brock in, he called out to his mother.
"Hey Mom, Brock's here!"
Caroline stepped out of the kitchen and into the entrance of the living room to see her new visitor. She was stirring some home-made apple cider in a mug.
"Hello, Brock. It's nice to see you again."
"Nice to see you too, Caroline."
As Brock said those words, Caroline noticed Max's occasion-inappropriate attire and was not going to let him go unnoticed.
"Max!"
"Y-Yes Mom?" Max answered warily, thinking that maybe she caught sight of his disgusted expression.
"Couldn't you have put on something more suitable for the occasion? Jeans and polo shirts are not suitable for Christmas. I told you to wear something dressy today."
"Mom, this is the only dressy thing I have."
"What about that sweater I bought you last year with the little Stantler and Snover on them?"
"Mom! That'd be social suicide!"
"Max, honey..."
"Even if I wanted to wear it Mom, I couldn't. It's too small for me now."
"Oh…Okay honey…" Caroline said before she walked back into the kitchen to finish making her cider. There was a hint of disappointment in her voice, though it went unnoticed by Max, but not by Brock.
"Is that shirt your mom bought you really too small for you, Max?" Brock asked, suspicion clearly etched in his voice.
"Yes, it is. I'd suffocate if I tried to put it on."
"I'm sure your mom could make alterations to make it fit better."
"Ugh. Brock, I'm not wearing that sweater, period. End of discussion," Max said while folding his arms.
"Okay, okay. Change subject. How're you and Vivi doing?"
"Winstrate?"
"Yeah."
"Okay I guess. She went out of town with her family to go support Vito at some convention for past League Champions or something."
"Heartbroken?"
"Me? Heck no. Vivi went to go support her brother just as how I would go to support May. I have no problem with that. She should spend Christmas with her family like I am doing with mine. Besides, she's beginning to get a little too clingy for me. Don't get me wrong, I love Vivi with all my heart, but we need our space. She's getting to be a little irritating."
"I see."
"So, how's you and your girlfriend?" Max asked with a sly grin on his face.
"…Girlfriend? What girlfriend?"
"What do you mean what girlfriend? Lucy!"
"Lucy…Lucy who?"
"Pike Queen Lucy? Your girlfriend of 5 years?"
"Hmm…Her name's not registering in my mind."
Max nearly slapped himself at Brock's statement.
"Lucy, Brock! Pike Queen Lucy! Queen of the Battle Pike! One of the Frontier Brains!"
"Oh! That Lucy!"
"Yes!"
"We're not seeing each other anymore."
Max fell anime-style onto the ground.
"What? How? Why?"
"We grew apart. It was time to move on. With me being a pokémon breeder and her being a Frontier Brain, it was very difficult for us to keep a relationship. We decided to take break for a while."
"Awww, poor Brock. Never could keep a girl that long, could you?"
"That hurts, Max. That really hurts."
"I bet I get married before you do, Brock! That'd be a laugh, huh?"
Some time while Max was talking, Brock went to go huddle in a corner somewhere, mumbling something about how little boys could be so cruel, causing Max to sweatdrop.
"Some things never change," Max said while shaking his head.
The doorbell rang for the second time.
"I got it!" Max yelled as he walked over to the door. Max almost had to hide his smile when he saw the newcomers.
"Hey, Misty!"
"That you Max? You've sure grown," said the Cerulean City Gym Leader.
"So have you… I mean…" Max started before he was cut off by another person who was standing behind Misty.
"Dammit! Can't you two talk once we get inside? It's freaking 20 degrees out here!" said the other visitor.
"Well, excuse me!" Max said as he moved aside for Misty and her friend to come inside.
"Hey, Brock!" Misty said as she hung her coat up.
Brock, who had already recovered from his state of depression, looked up to greet his friend.
"Hey, Misty! How are yo-aruh!" Brock was taken aback once he saw who Misty had arrived with.
"P-Paul? What are you doing here?"
"I drove here, jackass!" was the purple-haired man's response.
"Paul! Sorry, Brock. Paulie's just a little upset cause he hasn't eaten anything yet."
"Misty, what the hell? I told you not to call me that in front of other people!"
"Excuse me!" Max cleared his throat to get everybody's attention. "Isn't anyone gonna introduce me to this stranger, who doesn't seem to know what the term respect means?"
"Why, you little…"
"Paul! Do not make me take out my mallet!" Misty threatened her partner, causing him to sweatdrop and scowl.
"Paul's a trainer Ash and I knew back in Sinnoh," Brock said, his shock from earlier still evident on his face.
"What a surprise. The jackass remembers me," Paul said nonchalantly.
"Paul…" Misty said in frustration. But it vanished as soon as she saw the look on her friends' faces.
Brock gave her a look that said 'You've some serious explaining to do!' That same look was reflected in Max's eyes, who just gave her a look that read 'You better control your boy before I have to kick his ass!'
"I'll explain everything once the others have arrived," Misty said with a sweatdrop.
"Brock, could you come help us in the kitchen? I have need of your skills," Caroline called from the kitchen.
"Sure thing, Caroline."
Brock went to go help Caroline and Delia in the kitchen when the doorbell rang again.
"I got it!" Max yelled as he went to let in the next group of visitors.
"Does he have to say that every time he goes to the door?" Paul said with disgust, earning an elbow in the stomach by Misty.
Max didn't have any expression on his face when he saw his next pair of visitors since he didn't know who the pair was. The first person he saw was a young woman with long navy-blue hair that flowed down to the small of her back. She wore a pink scarf around her neck with matching pink boots. The other visitor was a blond-haired young man with bright amber eyes. He wore an orange scarf around his neck and brown boots.
"Hey! You must be Max!" said the dark-haired woman.
"I'm sorry, I don't think we've meet."
"Oh, right. I'm a friend of your sister and Brock," she said cheerily.
"Um…I don't mean to sound rude, but can we please come in. I'm freezing out here!" cried the blond-haired man.
"Um…okay," Max said while letting in the couple, still not quite sure about who they were.
"Whew, it's warm in here," commented the young woman.
"Um, mind telling me who you are now?" Max asked with an inquisitive tone.
"Is that Dawn I hear out there?" Brock said as he reentered the living room.
"Brock!" Dawn exclaimed as she ran up to give her friend a hug.
"Nice to see you again, Dawn. I hardly recognized you without the yellow barrettes in your hair," Brock said cheerily.
"Oh, it's so good to you again, Brock! It's been too long!" Dawn said with just as much cheer.
The moment, however, was interrupted as two throats were cleared.
"Mind introducing us now, hun?" the blond-haired visitor asked with a suspicious tone. A cold chill ran down Brock's and Max's spine as he said that last word.
"Yes! Please introduce us," Max said after recovering from the brief shudder.
"Max, this is Dawn. She's a trainer who used to travel with Ash and me back in Sinnoh. She's a coordinator like May."
"And this hunk of a man right here is Barry, my long-term boyfriend and best friend…Well, one of them."
Barry smiled at hearing his name being paired with Dawn's. Max, however, still wore a confused look on his face.
"And how do you know my sister, exactly?"
"Max, remember when May came to Sinnoh a few years ago to compete in the Wallace Cup? Well, that's when she met Dawn."
"We even competed against each other. I of course won, but that's another story."
"Remember now?" Brock asked.
"Hmm…vaguely. That was so long ago. We taped the show, but I never really watched it since May lost. But I'll take your word for it."
"Are we late? I don't see anyone here. Oh, I bet we're late. Oh, Dawn, you're so slow. Why do you women always have to take so long in the bathroom? We just barely missed Rush Hour Traffic!" Barry feverishly said, his statement causing Dawn to put her hands on her hips.
"Actually, you're early. The food still has another good 3 hours before it'll be finished," Brock answered.
"See baby, no need to worry…"
"Ugh, not you again," Paul grumbled as he came out of the bathroom.
"Paul? What are you doing here?" Dawn said with a confused look on her face.
"I drove here, bitch. I…"
"Whoa…hold on a minute there, partner. Bitch? Did you just call my girlfriend a bitch?"
"Who the hell are you? Whatever. I don't care."
"You better care. You better hope I heard you wrong buster. Nobody talks trash about my girlfriend!"
"Whatever you dumb blond. I don't care…"
"What did you just call me?" Barry could feel his face getting red.
"Look, I don't care who you are or why you're here. I'm only here for food and because my girlfriend…convinced me to come. Do whatever you want with your little trick. I don't care."
"Whoa! Whoa! TMI Paul! TMI!"
"I don't really give a damn, you navy-headed bitch."
"That's it!"
Barry lunged for Paul, but was restrained by Brock and Dawn.
"Barry, please don't! He's not worth it!" Dawn screamed as she held her boyfriend back.
"Let me go, Dawn!" Barry screamed back, still trying to pry himself loose from her grasp.
"Whatever, losers. You're wasting my time." And with that, Paul walked leisurely into the den.
"Hey! You're supposed to ask permission before you go into someone else's den!" Max called out to Paul.
"Nice to see you too, Paul!" Dawn yelled out at Paul, only to be flipped off by him in response.
"You're lucky Dawn's holding me back, you sorry son of a bitch! You'd be dead by now!"
"He's gone now, Barry. Don't worry about it."
"It's just…what he said…about you…and then…" Barry was cut off as Dawn's lips met his. When she pulled back, Barry was blushing feverishly.
"Thank you for standing up for me, sweetie. Now don't worry about it. We came here to celebrate Christmas with my friends. Paul, for whatever reason he's here…I don't know…just…"
Dawn was cut off as the bell rang again.
"I'll get it," Brock said with a huff.
Brock went over to go answer the door as the young couple made out some more. Max just sat there at dinner table with his arms crossed, mumbling something about Paul being an arrogant bastard.
As Brock peered into the eyehole, a smile lit up on his face when he saw who was on the other side of the door.
"Hey, guys! Kanto's and Hoenn's most beloved couple is here!"
"Brock, will you please let us in?" a feminine voice called out.
"I'm sorry, ma'am. I'm gonna need to see some identification."
"Well, you can't very well do that until you open the door now, can you?"
"Brock, man, c'mon. Let us in already," called a male's voice, soon followed by a "Pika Pika."
"Brock, we're not the only ones out here freezing, you know."
Brock grew pale as he thought about what the woman said. He quickly proceeded in opening the door to let the couple in.
"Well, look who's home," Brock said as he looked at the pair.
The man had raven black hair and wore a sangria red hat on his head as well as a red scarf around his neck. He also had on an onyx sweater and black dress shoes. There was a Pikachu perched on his shoulder wearing a navy blue hat and a blue mini version of his trainer's sweater. The woman had copper brown hair and wore an emerald-green bandana on her head with a matching sweater and Quai D'Orsay emerald-green high heels. On her shoulder, a female Pikachu was perched, also wearing an emerald-green bandana on her head and a mini version of her trainer's sweater.
"Hello to you too, Brock," May said as she walked inside the house, but not before giving her friend a hug first.
"Brock! How's it been?" Ash asked as he hung his coat up.
"Great. I…" Brock was cut off by twin "Pika".
"Oh, sorry. My bad. Hey there Pikachu…and Pikachu."
"Pika! Pikachu!" They answered simultaneously.
"Where's everybody else, Brock?" May asked as Ash helped her take off her coat.
"They're in the living room. But after hearing the your Pikachu, and after hearing my announcement earlier, they should be here in about…"
"May!" Dawn and Misty said vehemently.
"…Zero seconds."
"Dawn! Misty!" May exclaimed as they ran up to give each other a hug.
"Oh my gosh, May, it's so good to see you!" Dawn chimed.
"I know! How's long's it been?" May cheered.
"Too long!" Misty screamed.
All the girls squealed simultaneously.
"May! You're huge!" Misty exclaimed.
"I know…" She sighed.
"It looks good on you." Dawn said.
"Really?"
"You've got to tell me how you do it so I can prepare myself later on!" said Misty.
All girls squealed simultaneously again while Ash stands next to Brock with a dumbfounded look on his face.
"Brock, are they always like this?"
"I don't think we'll ever understand women, Ash. You think this is much? You missed a whole lot of drama here a few minutes ago."
"Do I even wanna know?"
"Probably not. But it may come up again later on."
After shaking his head, Ash walks up to the group of squealing women. "What? I don't get any love?"
"Looks like May gave you enough love for all three of us," Misty said with a smirk.
That remark caused Ash and May to turn as red as her hair and Dawn to giggle uncontrollably.
"Oh, come over here, Ash!" Misty exclaimed.
Ash hesitantly walks over to Misty.
"Oh c'mon Ash! Can't you take a joke?"
Ash still felt uncomfortable with the situation, and just eases over to her. Misty, however, not accepting that offer, crushes Ash into a huge bear hug. This is soon followed by Dawn. Soon, both girls have Ash in a crushing embrace.
"Misty…Dawn…Can't…Breathe…"
"Oh grow up, Ash. Of course you could breathe. You'd be dead if you couldn't," Misty said with no clear emotion after releasing him from her grasp.
Ash, gasping for breath, fell to the floor and held his throat.
Max walked away from the dinner table he was sitting at and toward the group to go greet his sister.
"May?"
"Max, is that you!" May exclaimed, happy to see her not so little little brother.
"Wow May! You're huge! You're bigger than your Snorlax!"
May's cheery expression disappeared, only to be replaced with one of discouragement.
"That's not funny, Max! You think I like looking like this!" May screamed, pointing at her expanding belly for emphasis. She was nearly brought to tears by her brother's statement.
"May, I…"
"That's not nice, Max!" Dawn joined in.
"You should be more sensitive about your sister's condition!" Misty exclaimed.
"Yeah!" Dawn replied.
"But…But…" was all Max could say as sweat began trickle down his face after being targeted by all three girls.
Brock, seeing Max in this situation, went to go help him.
"Wait a minute. Just a few minutes ago you girls were laughing about May's pregnancy. Now you're targeting Max?"
Brock realized his mistake as all three girls stared daggers at him for making such a statement.
"We were joking, Brock! You know I can't possibly look good like this!"
"Max didn't say it as a joke! He said it with disgust!"
"How dare you just jump in here and question our judgment!"
"You had no business just coming into this conversation!"
"How could you be so rude and cruel towards May!"
"Yeah!"
Brock just sweatdropped and held up his hands in defense. He was about to say something before being cut off by Misty.
"C'mon May. Let's go in the living room and sit down."
"If we stay around here too long, we might get infected with their malevolent mannerisms."
"Yeah, I do need to relax. I feel so stressed and tired right now."
All three girls continue to talk as they walk into the living room. Brock waited until he was sure they were all the way in the other room before he dropped his hands and let out a sigh of relief.
"Whew, Brock, thanks for taking them off my shoulders. Oh….that would have been ugly," Max said as he patted Brock on the shoulder.
"Don't mention it."
Ash leisurely walked over to his friend with a huge grin on his face.
"Why are you smiling?"
"I could have told you not to do that. Believe me, I've had my share of my experiences with May, especially with this baby coming. Hormones all over the place. I know what I should and should not say to her. I thought you'd know not to jump in like that?"
"Ash, he hasn't been in a relationship long enough to know."
Max's statement causes Brock again to go huddled up in a corner somewhere, mumbling to himself about how teenagers can be so cruel, causing Ash and Max to sweatdrop and laugh nervously at seeing their friend in this state.
"Was that my little girl I heard coming in here a little while ago?" Caroline chimed.
"Mom!"
Seeing the two Maple women embrace each other causes Ash and Max to sweatdrop again.
"Oh boy. Here we go again."
"Just try not to say anything about May's appearance."
"Aww. You're taking away my brotherly rights?"
"Did you not just learn your lesson? Take it from me Max, don't say anything to May about how she looks for the rest of the night."
"What'd she do to you?"
"Horrible things, Max. Horrible Things."
"Mom? Are you sure Dad won't make it this Christmas?"
"I'm not sure honey. He said he's snowed in. It'll probably be days before he can even get out of the building let alone back to Hoenn. He said he'll try to make it back for New Year's but there's no guarantee," Caroline said while picking up the tray of cookies and eggnog she left for them to eat until the food was completely finished.
"Couldn't he try to get out?"
"Now May, you know that's not an option. If he even tried to get out of the building in the state it's in, it would most likely collapse and everyone in it will be buried under the cabin and snow. You wouldn't want that now, would you?"
May grew pale as she pictured her father lying limply on the ground buried under heaps and heaps of snow and wood.
"No! No!"
"Good. Please try to understand May. He sends his wishes and he wants you to promise that when he does get out of that blizzard that you'll show him that sonogram picture of the baby like you promised us."
"I will once the whole family is here to see it."
"May, the kid'll be an old man by the time that happens," her brother said smartly, earning himself a cold stare from his sister.
"Don't worry sweetie. I'm sure he'll be just fine," Caroline reassured her daughter. And with that, she walked back into the kitchen to resume cooking.
Brock, feeling that the tension from earlier had gone away, decided that it was a good time to get a conversation going.
"So May, how far along are you?"
"6 months," she said with a smile.
"3 more to go!" Ash said proudly.
"Pregnancy is such a beautiful thing," Dawn said dreamily.
"Oh, I can't wait until I have one!" Misty said passionately.
"Yes you can! I'm not bringing up any little bastard any time soon!" Paul said with disgust, earning himself a whack on the head with Misty's mallet.
"Dammit woman, what is wrong with you!" Paul said vehemently, only to by slapped hard across the face by his red-headed girlfriend. This causes everybody else to sweatdrop.
"So May, how did you first know you were pregnant?" Dawn asked, still nervous about what was transpiring between Paul and Misty.
"Well…I took a pregnancy test."
"A pregnancy test?" Ash asked with sarcasm in his voice.
"Okay, I took 20 pregnancy tests."
Her statement causes everybody to look at her with bugged-out eyes, including the Pikachu. Prikachu was there when her trainer took the pregnancy test, but even she didn't know she bought that many.
"20 pregnancy tests?"
"In one day?"
"How'd you generate enough pee to take 20 pregnancy tests?"
"I don't know! I just did!"
"Okay, okay. Moving on…Ash, how'd May tell you about it?" Brock asked, trying to shake the disturbing image of May taking a series of pregnancy tests out of his head.
"Well…"
"Ash didn't understand anything I said when I tried to tell him about it."
"That's because you kept giving me hints. Why didn't you just flat-out tell me you were pregnant when I came home?"
"Ash, would you have really taken me seriously if I said 'I'm pregnant' the moment you got home? You probably would have had a heart attack."
"Just what clues did you give him, May?" Brock asked, interested in how Ash interpreted her explanation. He knew how dense Ash could be at times.
"Well…I started by telling him that I figured out the cause of my illness…"
"You're not gonna let me tell it?"
"Ash, if you couldn't understand what I was saying then, how will you be able to…"
"I'm not stupid, May!"
"Never said you were, baby. But fine, Ash, go ahead and explain. Just don't get it wrong."
"May took me upstairs to our bedroom and we sat down on the bed. She stared saying something about how what we did last night was good and…"
"See, I knew you would get it wrong."
"What?"
"I never said that, Ash. I said my illness may have been caused when we were in this bedroom."
"But…"
"You know what his response was, Brock?"
"What?"
"We never did anything in here. And I stress 'anything'."
This causes everyone else to stare blankly at Ash.
"What? We didn't do anything in there that could have caused May to be ill."
"Anyway, my next hint was that it was one of his favorite things do with me. And his first answer was: eat. I told him that he didn't need to do that with me. So his next answer was: sleep. I told him I contributed to that in no way. His last answer was: battle. So I left that clue alone and went onto the next hint."
"You're embarrassing me, May."
"Too bad. You should have thought about that before you started making up stuff about what really happened. Besides, you owe me from the many different times you embarrassed me over the years."
"I didn't…"
"So the next hint I gave him was …"
"No! Please don't say it, May! Please! I'm begging you!"
"Fine, baby, I won't say it…Moving on to the tenth hint I gave him. I told him it was how babies were created. He told me he wasn't following with what I was saying. So I told him when we have sex there's a good chance we might have a…and he said: orgasm."
This causes everybody to stare at Ash in disbelief, which in turn, causes him to turn a brilliant red.
"I told him you don't have an orgasm, you experience one. So then…"
"May, please don't go any further! I think they get it now."
Ignoring her husband, May continued.
"I told him that when we, or more specifically, a woman, has sex, there's a good chance she might get… and do you know what he said?"
"I'm afraid to even ask."
"He said, and I quote, 'Horny'."
Everybody stares at Ash in disbelief again, causing him to blush even more.
"So then, I told him his mother was once this, and he said: young. I'm not even gonna get into that. I'll just move on to saying my final clue. I gave him every single clue I had given him before and put them all together. I said: It's one of your favorite things to do with me, we do it in the bedroom, it can cause me, and every other woman to get…in which I will have a…Your mother was once this. She had to be in order to have you. So that means I'm…and I left it like that for him to fill in the blanks."
"May, if you love me you won't tell them what I said."
"I'm not going to Ash…You are."
"What?"
"I did my part. Now time for you to do yours."
"Aww, May."
"C'mon, Ash. Tell us what you said. It couldn't have possibly been worse than what you already told us," Max said with a grin.
Ash, realizing that there was no way he could escape, just decided to go ahead and get it over with.
"What did you say, baby?"
"…Hungry…" Ash said as he covered his face.
The room was silent. Nobody moved. The only movements seen were flabbergasted faces directed towards Ash.
"…Hungry?..."
"…Wha?…"
"Ash…"
"How the hell do you get hungry from clues like that?" Misty bellowed at Ash.
"W-Well I love eating, we eat in our bedroom, May does get hungry, you could have a baby from hunger, my mother was once hungry, and she had to eat in order to have me so…"
"Ash, that doesn't even make any sense. How could you have a baby from hunger?"
"You have to eat in order to support the baby, May. If you don't, it will die from starvation!" Ash said defensively.
"Ash…I'm not even gonna respond to that. All in all, I got so frustrated I ended up telling Ash I was pregnant. I said: Pregnant Ash! Pregnant! You have to be pregnant in order to have a baby! His response: My mother's pregnant? When did this happen? After that, I just lost it. I kept screaming at him that I was pregnant, not his mother. That us having sex made me pregnant. That his mother had to be pregnant in order to have him, and that I was pregnant all over again."
"Wow Ash…I…don't even know what to say…I mean, I knew you were dense, but…"
"Misty! We are done talking about that! Can we please move on?"
"Move on to what?"
"Move on to how you and Paul became a couple," Brock said with a raised eyebrow.
"W-Wha…"
"Yeah Misty, why don't you tell us how you two became an item," Ash said, feeling the color returning his face.
"Uh…Well…"
"That's none of your damn business!"
"Paul…don't tempt me…" Misty said with frustration.
Paul, knowing full well that Misty would whack him with her mallet in a heartbeat if she felt threatened, just scowled and folded his arm.
"Paul and I met in Sinnoh…"
"They know that, genius…"
"Paul, I'm not gonna ask you again!"
"Why were you in Sinnoh, Misty?" May asked, not wanting to witness any more disconcert between the two. It was somewhat unsettling for her.
"Well, I went there for some more water pokémon for the gym..."
"Surprise, surprise," Paul said apathetically.
"When I got there I saw the cutest water pokémon there."
"What was it?"
"A Finneon! And I saw a Shiny Vaporeon there too! I just had to have them!"
"How does Paul fit into all this?"
"I was getting to that, Ash!"
The harshness in her voice caused Ash to sweatdrop.
"Same ole' Misty," He said inadvertently.
Misty, however, heard his statement and whipped out her mallet. Ash began to panic.
"Misty! Misty! I'm with child! I'm with child!" He cried out, pointing to May's belly for emphasis.
Misty, seeing as she couldn't whack him with her mallet, scowled and put it away, much to Ash's relief.
"Anyway, when I saw the pair, I knew we belonged together. So I took out Politoed's and Corsola's pokéballs to prepare for battle. That was when Paul showed up."
Paul huffs at this.
"Without warning, he just attacked those poor pokémon with his Electabuzz, telling it to use Thunderbolt. Fortunately, the Vaporeon saw it coming and it protected itself and Finneon with Acid Armor. After that, the Vaporeon and Finneon disappeared under the water. That's when Paul and I got into an argument."
Misty's Flashback
"Finneon! Vaporeon!" Misty cried out as she saw the two water pokémon dive down deep under the water. How was she gonna catch them now? Misty looked up at the man who had driven away her potential pokémon.
"Hey you! I was gonna catch those pokémon!"
The man just stared blankly at her before looking back to where the pokémon had disappeared.
"C'mon Electabuzz. They'll be heading down south to route 220."
"Excuse me!"
"What?"
"What? What do you mean, what? Just who the hell do you think you're talking to?"
"Look lady, I don't particularly care who you are. But I see two strong pokémon that I want to catch."
"What? I was here first, buster! I saw those pokémon first! So..."
"You don't get it, do you? Those pokémon are mine. I've been camping out here for three days straight to see what those two were capable of and I've seen enough to know that they will make good powerhouses in my team. Go to the Iron Windworks if you want a Finneon or Vaporeon. These two are mine."
"Look buddy, I don't…"
"Electabuzz! Thunderbolt that bitch and shut her up!"
"Elec-ta-BUZZ!" cried the humanoid/feline electric pokémon, an electrical charge escaping from his antennas and off his body toward the red-headed girl.
Misty screamed in terror, preparing for the shock to strike and envelop her body. However, before it could make contact, a brilliant light was shown from one of her pokéballs, soon materializing into a blue pokémon with sleek blue fur, webbed feet, and hands. It had a red gem in the center of its forehead and a long blue tail. Seeing the oncoming attack on her human, the blue pokémon quickly used Protect, enveloping herself and Misty in a huge green orb until the attack ceased.
When Misty opened her eyes, she saw the creature that protected her from harm.
"Golduck?"
"Gol-Golduck." She replied cheerily, giving her human a salute before going back in her pokeball.
"How pathetic. Your own pokémon had to come out and protect you because you were too stupid to dodge it yourself."
"Why you…"
"You're wasting my time. I have two very important pokémon to catch." And with that, Paul turned around and headed out to find the two aquatic pokémon he so carelessly attacked earlier.
"Hey you. How 'bout you and I have a battle. I win, I get the pokémon. You win, you get them and I'll get out of your hair," Misty shouted while holding a pokeball in her hand.
Paul briefly turned around to see who this girl was who kept on provoking him. Just as quickly as he opened his eyes, he closed them, smirking in the process.
"Please, you're not worth my time, loser. Battling you will be a waste."
"Then there's no way you can lose, is there? Two-on-Two. You and me," Misty said as she grabbed a second pokeball in her hand.
"Hump. You wanna go ahead suffer a humiliating defeat, fine by me," Paul said as he jumped off the edge of the boulder he was standing on to go meet this girl.
"Well?" Misty said impatiently.
"Ladies first."
"Ugh. Politoed! Gyarados! Let's Go!" Misty screamed as she threw the two pokéballs. A large blue dragon-like pokémon and a green frog materialized onto the battlefield.
Paul smirks at Misty's choice in pokémon.
"You're choosing two pokémon of the same type? That's not a very good strategy."
"Instead of criticizing me, maybe you could put out your own pokémon so that we can get this battle started already."
"Hump…Electabuzz! Torterra! Standby!" Paul said as he too threw his two pokéballs. The humanoid/feline electric pokémon from earlier and a large green tortoise/ ankylosaur with an enormous tree on its back materialized onto the battlefield.
"Politoed, use Psychic on Electabuzz! Gyarados, use Flamethrower on Torterra! Let's go!"
Politoed was enveloped in a powder blue hue before releasing that energy toward the electric pokémon. Gyarados let loose a stream of fire that was aimed for the large grass tortoise. Both targets hit their mark, however, both Electabuzz and Torterra were unaffected and shook off the attack, shocking both Misty and her pokémon.
"What? It didn't have any effect on either one of them?"
Paul just smirked and lowered his head.
"Humph…Electabuzz, use Discharge. Torterra, use Wood Hammer."
Electabuzz charges, then releases electricity, inflicting damage on all the other pokémon on the field. Politoed and Gyarados cry out in pain as Torterra just stands there, unaffected by the electrical attack. Just as soon as Electabuzz finished his attack, Torterra launched his, letting loose an array of logs on the tired water pokémon. The attack causes the pokemon to cry out in pain again. Torterra winces as the recoil of the attack took effect on him.
"Politoed! Gyarados!" Misty cried as she watched her pokémon gasp for breath.
"Wow. Looks like this battle will be over than quicker I thought," Paul smirked as he looked at the field again.
Misty, growling at Paul's remark, gave her pokémon their next attack.
"Politoed, use Giga Impact on Electabuzz! Gyarados, use Stone Edge on Torterra!"
The small frog pokemon forced herself off the ground and began to spin, while the large blue atrocious pokémon glowed a dark hue as she sent an array of large rocks toward the grass/ground pokémon. Politoed then launched herself toward Electabuzz and prepared for the impact.
Paul smirked again at Misty at her attempts to launch an attack on his pokémon.
"Electabuzz, use Thunder Punch. Torterra, Leaf Storm."
Electabuzz ran toward the spinning frog-like pokémon as he began charging his arm. Torterra bellowed out as he surrounded himself in a vortex of leaves before sending them off towards the large blue serpent.
"Electa…"
"Po-oli…"
The two pokémon cried as they collided, while the other two send their attacks.
"BUZZ!"
"TOED!"
"TOR!"
"ARR!"
There was a huge explosion as the two pokémon collided, the force of their attacks sending one another back. Gyarados and Torterra cried out as they were hit by the other's attack.
When the smoke cleared, both Gyarados and Electabuzz had fainted. Politoed was down on one knee, while Torterra was breathing heavily.
"You were great, Gyarados. Now take a nice long rest," Misty said as she recalled her fainted pokémon.
"Hump…I'll deal with you later," Paul mumbled as he recalled his pokémon.
There was a long pause before Misty spoke to her pokémon again.
"Alright. It's all you, Politoed."
"Poli."
"Torterra, you better not mess this up."
"Tor."
"Now, Politoed! Use Ice Beam!"
Politoed began absorbing energy, then launched a beam of solid ice towards the large pokémon.
"Torterra! Intercept it with Solar Beam!"
Torterra began charging energy for his next attack. As he did this, Politoed's Ice Beam hit him square in the chest. Torterra cried in pain as he felt a portion of his body freeze from the ongoing attack. When the attack ceased, all of Torterra's chest and one of his front legs were frozen.
Paul grimaced as he saw the display.
"Torterra, now! Use Solar Beam!"
The tortoise pokémon launched a beam of solar energy toward the frog-like pokémon. Politoed cried out as the attack hit its mark. Politoed fell towards the ground struggling to get back up.
"Poli…"
"Politoed! Are you okay?"
"Pol…"
"Politoed, you've got to get up!"
Politoed struggled to get back on her feet. As this was happening, Paul scolded Torterra as he too started to fall to the ground.
"Torterra! Get up and continue this fight!
"Tor…"
Misty was beginning to panic. Politoed was getting weak. Too weak. She knew she couldn't continue this battle much longer. She could see those pokémon slipping from her grasp. Misty knew that if she didn't figure out something soon, she'll lose the battle and lose the Finneon and Shiny Vaporeon she wanted so badly.
"Alright. Politoed! Run towards Torterra! Then use Bounce to get up high in the sky!"
"Pol. Poli…"
The frog-like pokémon ran towards the large tortoise, gaining momentum as she launched herself high in the air above Torterra.
Paul, seeing this, ordered Toterra his next attack.
"Torterra! Use Leaf Storm now!"
The large pokémon bellowed as he released the array of leaves again. It only being the second time used, Leaf Storm was still a powerful enough attack to knock Politoed out.
Sweat began to trickle down Politoed's face as she saw the green vortex come towards her.
"Now Politoed! Use the force from that Leaf Storm and use Mega Kick!"
"Politoed did what her trainer asked her as her foot began to glow. As the vortex surrounded her, Politoed kicked off one of the walls and launched herself forward as she dived down towards the large grass pokémon at impregnable speeds.
Paul looked at the ongoing attack ominously. He knew that if that attack hit, it would be over. He knew that at that speed and force, Politoed would not yield if he launched an attack, but he had to do something and quick.
"Torterra! Use Wood Hammer on the vortex now!"
Torterra didn't move.
"Torterra!"
Torterra looked in horror at the little frog who was gaining on him at such speed. She had determination in her eyes, and from the speed she was going, there was no way he could deflect the attack. Too afraid to move, he looked at her in horror, knowing that it was over.
"Torterra!"
Paul was about to go strangle his pokémon for disobeying him. Why wasn't he listening? He knew he heard him. Paul was in a panic. He was about to lose the battle. He had to break Toterra's trance, otherwise, his two powerhouse pokémon would be out the window.
"Torterra! Attack Now!
Torterra remained there, unmoved.
Misty took this chance to launch her final attack.
"Now Politoed! Use Ice Beam!"
The frog pokémon began charging, waiting until she was at a satisfying distance to launch her attack. As soon as she was in his face, Politoed released the beam of ice, right in Torterra's face.
Torterra cried in pain as the force of the attack sent him flying towards a cliff wall, crashing into it, and causing a huge cloud of dust to form around him.
When the smoke cleared, Torterra laid there on the ground, the look on his face unmistakable. The spirals-for-eyes—a clear indication of a knockout.
Paul grimaced when he saw his tortoise on the ground. It was over. He had lost. A humiliating defeat, from this random girl who just snatched his powerhouse pokémon away from him just like that. He couldn't believe it. Torterra would definitely suffer the consequences later on.
Misty looked on, awestruck at how her planned worked out. It had started off with just a Mega Kick in the chest. But after witnessing Politoed's determination, she decided that she should do something more. Something that would guarantee her win. So when Politoed got close enough, she put that final phase into action and told her pokémon to use Ice Beam. It was a stretch, but Politoed could pull off.
And she did! She won!
Misty looked at her faithful companion, tears welling in her eyes. The look on her Pokémon's face mirrored hers.
They did it. They won.
Misty, so overwhelmed with emotions, ran up to her partner and enveloped her in a Snorlax-sized hug.
"We did it, Politoed! We won! Oh Politoed, I love you so much!"
"Poli-Politoed!"
Paul looked on at the display with pure disgust as he recalled his exhausted and compunctious pokémon back.
"I'll deal with you later."
Paul walked up to the girl who had cost him his two new pokémon.
"I'm going to Lake Valor. It's rumored that a legendary pokémon lives there. I'm gonna go see if I can add it to my team. I have too many weaklings and they're intervening with my primary objective."
Misty looked up in confusion at the guy she had just beaten. He didn't even congratulate her on her win. Come to think of it, he didn't even bring up the battle at all. He talked to her as if it'd never happened. After he bad-mouthed her so much beforehand. What was with this guy?
Wiping her tears, Misty stood up with an outstretched hand, prepared to shake her opponent's hand.
"That was a good battle. You and your pokémon are pretty strong. I didn't think we'd make it out of this one," She said cheerily.
Paul just turned his head away with a 'Humph' at this girl's modesty.
To say Paul's actions upset Misty was an understatement. Who does this guy think he is?
"Are you gonna be a sore loser about this or…"
"Sore loser?"
"Well that's how you're acting! If you're upset that you lost…"
"I didn't lose! My pokémon just didn't listen to me! I would've won if that dumb-ass did what I told him to do! But he freaked!"
"How could you call your pokémon a dumb-ass? If you're upset about what happened that's one thing. Bad-mouthing your pokémon is something completely different. If you're hurting you could at least talk…"
"There's nothing to talk about! You won! You get the Finneon and Vaporeon! End of discussion! I don't give a damn what you do now or if you catch those pokémon! I've moved on! They're not worth my time anyway."
And with that, Paul turned around and began to walk away from her.
Misty face turned red as the anger inside her started to build, causing her Politoed, who, in all the excitement, she had forgotten to recall, to get a worried a expression on her face.
"That's it! Just what the hell is your problem buddy?"
"You're my problem bitch! Why the f—k do you keep talking to me? Leave me…"
"No, the hell I won't! Just what is your deal?"
"Will you just…"
"Shut up! You had your time to talk, buster! Now it's my turn!"
"The hell it's your f—king turn! I…"
Paul was cut off as the burning feeling of a slap across his face from Misty caused his jaw to swell.
"What the fu…"
"I said shut up! Now I don't give a damn who you are or what the hell you've been through, no one deserves to be talked to the way you talk to your pokémon!"
"Look, you little…"
Paul again was cut off as Misty delivered another slap to his now red cheeks.
"You barbarous bastard! How the hell can you treat your pokémon like that! I mean…"
It was Misty's turn to shut up as Paul punched Misty square in the jaw.
"Just what the f—k is your problem, lady? You don't know shit about me or my pokémon! So you shut that behemothic hole in your face you call a mouth and leave me the f—k alone!"
"Look buddy…"
"Why don't you go jump a lake with all your aquatic friends where you belong and leave me the f—k alone!"
"Just what do you have against me, huh? I'm trying to help you!"
"If I wanted your help, bitch, I would have asked for it!"
"What the hell is your problem?"
"I'm not the one with the problem!"
"Uha! Look you stubborn bastard, I…"
Misty was cut off as a pair of warm lips met hers. Paul suddenly had his mouth over hers. Paul, so overwhelmed with emotions, pushed his tongue through the crevice of her mouth, exploring it before stretching to get to the back of her throat.
Too confused to do anything else, Misty just allowed him to explore her mouth further, enjoying the feeling of his tongue in her mouth. What was she doing? She should have shoved him off of her, slapped him in the face, kicked him in the crotch, and stormed off. Yet, she didn't. She let him kiss her. And she was enjoying it!
Politoed just sat there, awestruck and disgusted at the same time. She really did not want to see this! Before, she was scared that her trainer and the purple-haired freak would 'take the field' and assault each other. But looking at them now, Politoed wished they had just taken it out on one another and been done with it. She really wished that that purple-haired freak wasn't hovering over her pokeball.
When Paul pulled away, both trainers were blushing feverishly and had a look of pure embarrassment on their faces. Several moments passed before anything was said between them. Finally, Misty broke the awkward silence.
"Um…"
"Uh…"
The silence lasted only briefly.
"Uh…"
"Yeah…"
"I…uh…gotta go…" Paul said unsteadily. He turned around and started to walk away before Misty called out to him.
"W-Wait!"
Paul, somewhat pleased that she did, turned around and walked back to her.
"Uh…"
"I, uh…"
"Can I, uh…"
"Come with me to catch my new pokémon?"
"Uh, yeah…"
"Yes…"
"Oh…uh…"
"You're welcome."
"Uh…yeah…"
"So…you have a name?"
"…Paul…"
"I'm Misty."
"Misty, huh?"
"Uh huh."
"…Well, I guess we'd better get going, if you wanna catch those pokémon before some other dainty skank does," Paul said with a smirk.
"What?"
"Humph…you probably wouldn't even know where to find them."
"Why you! You…"
Misty didn't get a chance to finish her sentence as Paul leisurely walked away, leaving her standing there dumbfounded.
"Oh, you…you…arg! Can you believe this Politoed! Grrr….He is the most obnoxious, self-centered, freak I've ever met!"
Politoed just rolled her eyes at her trainer's remark. If that's true then why were you just smacking lips with him.
"Hurry up, Misty. If you don't want those pokémon, I'll just take them for myself!"
"That! That! Arg! C'mon Politoed. You're probably tired by now. You should take a nice long rest," Misty said to her pokémon while holding her pokeball up.
Politoed rolled her eyes once more and shook her head before returning into her pokeball. Whatever. I don't want to see you swapping saliva with him again anyway. Plus, I'm bushed.
"Humph…I guess those pokémon are mine then."
Misty looked up to see that Paul was already miles ahead her, staring at her scornfully.
'This guy is something else….And yet, I feel somewhat attracted to him,' Misty thought to herself with a smile. She began to get a warm feeling when Paul interrupted her thoughts.
"I'm outta here. Looks those pokémon are as good as mine."
"Hey, you better not touch one scale on my Finneon and Shiny Vaporeon!" Misty screamed as she ran after Paul.
Paul shook his head and continued his walk.
'This red-head is the weirdest chick I've ever met…And for some reason, I'm find myself strangely attracted to her,' Paul thought to himself.
Paul turned around to see if this girl had gotten any further to him. Misty, in her haste to prevent Paul from catching her pokémon, had tripped over a Hippopotas and fell face-first into a huge pool of mud. Frustrated by her predicament, Misty stood back up, grumbling to herself, only to slip and fall back down.
Paul just shook his head and kept on walking.
"Humph. Clumsy, unorthodox, and cute. This'll be fun."
End Flashback
"Ever since then, Paulie and I have been inseparable."
"Dammit, Misty! Why won't you listen to me?"
"Gee Paul, I didn't think you could be such a softy. Not to mention be so bold as to kiss Misty."
"Up yours, Ketchum."
"Hey, no need to be so hostile, Paulie."
"F—k you!"
"Paul! What's wrong with you?"
"Yeah Paul, where's your Christmas spirit?"
"Man, whatever. I need a drink."
"Paul, you promised you'd stay sober this year!"
"Sorry babe, but I need a shot. I…"
Paul was cut off as Misty gasped.
"You called me babe. And with company!"
"No I didn't."
"Yes you did!"
"No I didn't."
"You did, Paulie. We all heard you call Misty your…"
"Ketchum, if you say one word, I swear…"
Paul was cut off as Misty grabbed him into a huge bear hug.
"Oh, you are in for a special treat tonight!"
"Misty…Oh, Eww! Eww! Eww! I just got a mental picture! Ahh! Get it out! Get it out!" Ash screamed as he grasped his head.
"AHH! Get it out! Get it out!"
Pikachu, seeing Ash's distress, decided to relinquish his trainer's suffering by hitting him with a Thunderbolt. When his attack ceased, Ash fell to the floor, unconscious.
"Ash!"
May ran towards her husband and shook him vigorously, trying desperately to revive him.
"Ash, baby, please wake up!"
"Pikachu! Pika Pi Pika!" Pikachu, what have you done! You could have killed him! May's Pikachu exclaimed to her mate.
"P-Pi…Pi Pika. Pika Pikachu, Pi…Pi Pika. Pika chu-uu." N-No…I didn't. I would never, I mean…Ash is okay. I know he is.
"Ash! Ash!"
"Pika…" Ash…
"W-Wha?" Ash mumbled.
"Ash!"
"May, wha? Why are you…"
"Oh Ash! I thought I lost you!" May cried as she embraced her husband.
"Okay, one, you'd never lose me, okay, that's never gonna happen. And two, May, you're not supposed to be kneeling on the floor like that."
"Oh Ash…"
"Pika Pi!" Pikachu exclaimed as he ran up to his trainer.
"Hey, buddy!"
"Pika, Pi Pikachu!"
"Hey, thanks for that buddy. I really needed it!"
"Pikachu."
"Anyway we better get going, May."
"You two going somewhere?"
"Yeah, Brock. I promised the most beautiful woman in the world that I'd take her for a walk before we got settled here for Christmas. It'd be better if I took her now before Caroline and Mom finish making Christmas Dinner."
"Well, I don't know who she is, but I know you better take me for my walk first. I am your wife, or did you forget?"
"What? May, what are you…"
"You're leaving?" Caroline asked as she stepped out of the kitchen, a bowl of some kind of sauce in her hands.
"Just a little drive, then a walk, Caroline. We'll be back soon."
"Okay. And Ash, what have I told you about calling me that?"
"Oh…uh…M-Mom 2?"
"Mom 2?"
"Sorry, it's just a little difficult for me to call you Mom since I already call my mom Mom, yah know?"
"Fine. We'll keep working on it. You kids go ahead and have fun."
"Mom, we're not kids anymore."
"Ain't that the truth."
"We'll be back soon. Bye."
"Pika Pi!"
The little electric mouse shouted as he ran up towards his trainer and up his shoulder.
"You coming with, Pikachu?"
"Pika!"
"You coming too, Pikachu?"
The female mouse looked up at her trainer before looking back towards the living room. With a casual shake of the head, the mouse gave her trainer a warm smile.
"Guess she's had enough of the coldness."
"May!"
"Yes Baby?"
"You're not seriously going to where those shoes outside are you?" Ash exclaimed as he pointed at May's emerald green Quai D'Orsay high heels.
"You're kidding right? I spent $265.00 on these shoes to wear for the Christmas holiday and I'm gonna wear them!"
"But May…"
"Ash, these are pure silk shoes. Quai D'Orsay's silk shoes. Quai D'Orsay's silk high heel shoes. One of the most expensive shoes in Paris and are extremely hard to get. Very few are left which would make these one of the rarest, most valuable shoes in the world. In other words, Ashy…shut the hell up and let me out cause there's no way in Hell that I'm not wearing these shoes."
"But May…"
"Ash, Honey, Baby…we both know you're not gonna win this fight so please can we go for our walk now?"
"May, think of the baby."
"…Ash, no…"
"What were to happen if you were exposed to too much coldness? You would most likely get hypothermia or pneumonia."
"Ash no, don't do this…"
"What if the baby was affected by it?"
"Ash…"
"Don't you know you're in a state where your condition is very delicate? You have to build up enough resistance for not only yourself but for the baby as well. What if…."
"So, you're calling me a bad mother, aren't you?"
"Oh No, No, No! I would never say that! I'm just saying…"
"That I don't know how to take care of myself?"
"N-No! I just meant…"
"That I don't know how to take care of our child?"
"No. I just…"
"Who by the way is not born yet?"
"M-May…"
"Which would make the situation worse?"
"May I…"
"Ash, I may not be the perfect wife or lover but how the hell can you question if I'm even a good mother or not if I haven't even experienced motherhood yet?"
"I…I…"
"How could you be so cruel? I thought you had more faith in me?"
"I do…"
"So all those stupid classes we took on How to be the Perfect Parents were just a waste of our freaking time then huh?"
"M-Ma…"
Ash was starting to get nervous. He knew it was the hormones talking but he was still scared. Luckily, Dawn came to his rescue.
"Hey May, I have some Women's Mossimo® Kaila Tall Boots here you could wear."
May's anger instantly melted as she snapped her head back at her long time friend.
"Shut up! Serious?"
"Uh-Huh."
"Where'd you buy?"
"I didn't! Paris gave these to me. Said it was a gift for helping her get her pick out a design for the dresses her and her Lopunny were to wear at the Coordinators awards ceremony."
"The Pokémon Stylist herself? And you didn't pay?"
"Well, considering how much they originally cost no! I got a good deal. I only paid $69.88 for it!"
"My $69.88," Barry grumbled to himself.
"Really?"
"Yeah! You could have them if you want. They're tan. Or some kind of brown. No offense to Paris, but I prefer pink or black."
"Seriously, Dawn? You're giving them to me?"
"Uh-Huh. You'd look so cute in them."
"Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Ahh! I'm gonna go put these on right now! Here, Ash, hold my purse!" May shoved her purse in Ash's arms as she sprinted—for a pregnant woman—over to Dawn to try on her new boots.
Ash let out a sigh of relief and made a mental note to thank Dawn later.
It didn't take May long to put on Dawn's boots. She squealed with excitement as she walked back over to her husband.
"Oh Dawn, I love them!"
"I knew you would. They are so you. See, if I put them on, I would look a hot mess. You, on the other hand, are rockin' them!"
"Thank you, Dawn! They're so cute! Aren't they cute, Baby?" May asked her husband.
"Yeah…Well, see yah, guys. We'll be back soon," Ash said as he opened the door for May.
"Hurry back, honey."
"Yes, Mom."
"Bye, Ash."
"Bye," Ash said to his friend as he walked out the door.
Dawn, feeling left out since the last conversation, not counting the one she just had with May, decided to start another one.
"So Max, how'd you do in the Pokémon League?"
Max's cheery expression from earlier formed first into one of confusion, then into a deep frown.
"Aww man, don't remind me."
"What, did you lose?" Paul asked apathetically.
"Yeah. And it bugs me so much! I was so close! I made it all the way to the finals! Sceptile and Gallade worked so hard! They were so close to pulling off a victory!"
"But you lost."
"It was so close; they had to do a frame-by-frame play since it was a double knock out. They said that my Sceptile fell half a second earlier than Tommy's Floatzel. But I know what I saw! They fell simultaneously! At the same time! Neither one fell before the other. That…"
"Wait a minute…you had an advantage and you still lost? What was the other pokémon he used?"
"Rhyperior, why?"
"Those were the last two pokémon he had left and you still lost? With a huge advantage like that? Wow, you're even worse a trainer than that loser Ketchum."
"Hey! My pokémon worked very hard to win that battle…"
"But you lost. That's means that either you're a loser trainer or your pokémon are weak."
"My pokémon are not weak!"
"Then you must be a suckish trainer."
"You should know!"
"Stop it, you two! That's enough!" said Misty.
"Yeah! You're acting like a bunch of nimrods." shouted Dawn.
"Who the f—k you calling a nimrod, bitch…"
"Oh, hell no! I know this bastard didn't just call my girl a bitch!"
"Who you calling a bastard, jackass?"
"Jackass! Why…"
"Um, Brock? Can I ask you a question?"
"Yeah, Max?"
"How is it that as loud as Paul is, and all the swearing he does, that Mom and Delia still haven't heard a single thing since they've been in the kitchen?"
"You know Max, I really don't know."
Brock and Max just sighed as the ongoing onslaught between Paul and Barry continued. This wasn't starting out as a very merry Christmas.
A/N: And that concludes Part 1 of A Christmas to Remember. Hoped you all liked it. I know there may be some confusion about some of the shippings I used here. Don't worry about it. I'll explain it better when I start writing the fics that include them. They'll each have their own story. And for those of you who read this attentively, then you'd have seen that I gave out a few hints as to what transpires in some of my future fics. And just in case you're wondering, the Barry here is not the one from the television series but from the Diamond, Pearl, & Platinum games. I wrote this story way before he was even introduced in the series so his personality is based mainly on the games with some other characteristics I threw in there for him.
The 2nd Chapter gets a quite intense so be sure to read the author's note before you read please. In fact, I highly implore you to avoid any offense.
Anyway, I'll try to post the next chapter up soon. And don't forget to review! Love you all! And a Very Merry Christmas to you all!