"I miss you so much, Serena! Have a blast on your journey, and take care. 3
Lots of love,
Lyra Saito. "
Serena read the final line of the homemade Christmas card from her old friend. It was beautifully decorated with glitter and three-dimensional cutouts of a Christmas tree and ornaments. Lyra was a young girl whom Serena met when she and her parents vacationed in Johto many years ago. Well, she would be a young woman by now. The two ladies had remained long distance pen pals ever since; Serena looked forward to sending Christmas cards to Lyra every year. This was the first chance Serena had to read the card since receiving it the previous day. She made a mental reminder to get her own card to Lyra in the mail first thing in the morning.
"That's a beautiful card, Serena! Your old friends from Unova must be crafty." Shauna and her Scatterbug both peered over at the blonde's sparklingly festive card.
"I didn't know her from my old home in Unova, actually. But yeah, she is pretty crafty, especially when it comes to Christmas." Serena smiled wistfully, secretly wishing she had the same gift as her overseas friend.
"How cool! I'd love to meet her sometime." Shauna replied. The Scatterbug on her lap chirped in delight of the colorful design. "Okay guys," Redirecting her attention to the rest of her friends, her eyes burned in excitement. "Did you all put your names into the hat?"
Warmth from the fireplace surrounded the quintet as they sat around a mahogany table. The café's chairs were so plush and cozy; it would have been easy to fall asleep in them. Serena put away her card from Lyra and held her steaming vanilla latte in her glove-covered hands, still trying to recover from the snow that awaited them just beyond the café's walls.
"Yes, I think we're ready." Calem responded. "And not to be rude, but could you please return your Pokémon? Bug types freak me out a little bit."
"No way!" Shauna cried, immediately scooping up her bug-type and snuggling all of its hurt feelings in her arms. "I just caught this little bundle of love and he wanted to say hi to you all!"
Serena laughed at Calem's increasingly scrunching face as Shauna held the Scatterbug closer to him on purpose. "I can't believe you're afraid of bug types! They're so cute!" Serena forced out between laughs. "They're one of my favorite types."
"They're creepy, I'm sorry!" With his face suddenly feeling as though it were on fire, he scurried out of his chair, furthering the distance between him and the sad bug type. The Scatterbug seemed to pout in Shauna's arms, but she held it closely enough to sooth its feelings.
"Calem, you can sit here," Tierno offered as he took the seat next to Shauna instead.
"Don't listen to that Grinch, Scatterbaby." Shauna whispered to her precious Pokémon. Glancing back at the rest of the group, Shauna's smile instantly turned to a frown. "Anyway, if we're done bullying my baby, Trevor, just pick a name already!"
Trevor jumped at Shauna's booming voice. "Sorry! Uh ..." He nervously shuffled the names around in the hat for just a few more seconds - for luck, perhaps. Trevor finally grabbed a small piece of paper and put it face-down on the table in front of him. He handed the hat full of names to Serena next. "There you go."
"Thank you." Serena smiled briefly as she took the hat from Trevor's bony hands. Please be Shauna. Please be Shauna. Shauna is easiest to shop for. She clenched the paper as she passed the hat to Calem, who was now sitting next to her. They exchanged nervous half-smiles before she returned her attention to the name she drew. If not Shauna, then just anybody but … As she delicately unfolded the piece of paper that she just drew, she put on her best poker face to mask her complete horror.Calem.
Shauna took the hat from Calem and she drew the final slip of paper. "Does everyone have a name?" Shauna asked. All four nodded. "Great! Now! Don't tell anyone who you got. It ruins the fun of secret Santa. All right?"
"We know Shauna. You lectured us about this plenty of times." Calem carelessly rolled the name he drew between two fingers.
"Yeah, for emphasis, you Scrooge." She glared at her neighbor who simply shrugged in response. Shauna's Scatterbug squeaked in agreement, as if to reaffirm what its trainer had said.
This earned a sarcastic laugh from the young man. "Je ne suis pas, mais nous savons-" He cut himself off upon seeing Serena's confused face. He was always the worst of the group when it came to forgetting Serena wasn't fluent in their language. He cleared his throat before continuing. "Point is, we already know how it works."
"Anyways," Shauna rolled her eyes, "Christmas is days away. Now that we know who we're buying for, we need to start shopping asap!"
The group said their goodbyes and left the café. Serena stepped out into the bustling Lumiose streets. There seemed to be two types of people out that day. There were people like Shauna, bundled in their Christmas sweaters with coffee cups in hand, browsing store to store with the warmest of smiles on their faces. Then there were people like Serena, whose anxiety was clear to anyone passing by. For them, this time of year easily became the most stressful, as gift shopping became a silent competition of who could give the best gift. Or, maybe it was just her.
Serena walked along the sidewalk, leaving a trail of boot prints in the snow, peering inside each store window that she passed. She had no idea where to start in shopping for Calem. She shivered and tucked her hands inside her jacket pockets, hating to hide her adorable Joltik mittens. Why him, of all the friends? Why did she have to pull the name of the guy she was most obligated to impress, seeing that she was his rival? Luck could be cruel.
Friseur Furfrou Salon. Nothing to buy there. Following along Vernal Avenue, The Stone Emporium was next. Perhaps, but not the most exciting gift. Herborisite? That certainly didn't seem like home of the winning gift either. Sure, there were plenty of clothing boutiques. But what in the world would Calem like? He seemed fashionable in her eyes, meaning he was probably picky about what he wears. It had to be something meaningful, but not too personal. Something impressive, but not over the top.This is difficult, she cursed to herself. She had never really Christmas shopped for a boy before. Boys are difficult. Just what do they want?
How long did she explore Lumiose for? Serena lost track of time herself, using her exhausted legs as an indicator of how long she'd been shopping to no avail. Passing through every avenue there was to see - every alley, every plaza, examining every store possible - nothing jumped out at her that screamed "perfect gift." And there was no way she could settle for "decent gift." Not for her rival. If Lumiose - renowned as the shopping capital of the world - was a bust, then there was little hope of finding the winning idea anywhere else.
"What does Calem want?" Serena mumbled to herself, no longer caring if any stranger passing by thought she was crazy for talking to herself. "He wants to be champion. Unfortunately, so do I, and that can't be bought. Jeez." She chuckled sarcastically. "I guess I don't know Calem well enough yet to shop for him. But I know who does …"
"Hey! I rushed over as fast as I could." Shauna barged through the Pokémon Center's doors. "What did you need to see me for? Is everything ok?" Shauna set her purse down on the couch next to her friend.
"Um, I just ... I need some help. I know I'm not supposed to tell you who I drew for secret Santa, but … I have no idea how to shop for this person." She fidgeted uncomfortably.
"That's what I rushed over here for?" Shauna raised an eyebrow, but still flashed that welcoming smile of hers.
"I'm so sorry to disturb you!" Serena began, twisting the cup sleeve around her coffee cup. "But it's just that ... I moved to Kalos not too long ago, and I don't know if I'll be able to buy something that this person will really like, you know?"
"Secret Santa is just for fun. You don't need to put so much thought into it!"
"I know! It's just," Serena bit her lower lip as she averted her gaze. "It'd be nice if I had a little help to make this person happy."
"You seem really worried about this. You must have gotten Calem." If Shauna's words didn't turn her red, then the girl's flirtatious smirk certainly did.
"S-Shauna! Why would you think that? It could have been anybody."
"Uh-huh." Shauna scoffed. "So I guess you're stressing over what to buy Trevor? Or Tierno?" Serena's eyes shifted uncomfortably under Shauna's suspicion - her absolutely correct suspicion. "Please, I know Calem comes off as the pickiest, hardest-to-please person. And I know that you want to please him."
"I.. I.. excuse me?" Serena nearly spit out the sip of coffee she just took.
"Oops, not quite how I meant that," Shauna giggled, "although I wouldn't be too surprised …" She mumbled the last part, making Serena's eyebrows furrow on her increasingly reddening face. "Look," Shauna spoke up again in attempt to distract from her previous remark, "I know Calem pretends to be cool and all, but I've known him all my life. He'll appreciate anything."
"Maybe," absentmindedly examining the split ends in her long hair, she suddenly found it difficult to put her feelings into words, "I want something that will impress him. Something good enough for him, you know? As his rival, it's sort of my unspoken job to 'wow' him."
"I see." Shauna surveyed the ceiling, thinking of a solution. "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I can't say if there's any material thing that he wants." Sure, that had a double meaning, but Shauna would leave that alone for now. Disappointment befell Serena's expression. "If you needed help ten years ago, I could have helped you more easily."
"What do you mean?" Serena asked.
Shauna shook her head and gave a light giggle. "When we were little, Calem and I couldn't wait to get Pokémon for ourselves. I remember he always liked fire types. He would make a long list to Santa of fire-types every single year until he outgrew Santa. I guess he'd be pretty proud of himself now, having his own Fennekin."
Serena spaced out as her imagination painted the picture of Calem as a child, zealously scribbling down a list of Pokémon, probably a few legendaries, in hopes of becoming the strongest Pokémon trainer ever.
Shauna was probably zoning out into her own memory of such moments. "But Calem isn't a little kid anymore." She snapped herself out. "Calem would appreciate thought over cost. Why not try making him something?"
"Making him something? You think he'd like that?"
"From you?" Shauna smirked, "absolutely."
"OW! Dang it!" Serena dropped the needle and sucked her stinging thumb. Proceeding to shake her hand profusely, she took a deeply exasperated sigh. "I suck at this."
Sylvester and Chase watched in half amusement, half pity as their beloved trainer threw the mystery article of clothing on the floor, the sewing needle and some spools falling down with it. The "beanie" lay on the floor, along with the half-finished scarf, the asymmetrical mittens, and the one-armed sweater with lopsided buttons.
'Poor Serena. You think we can help her?' The tiny Eevee cried.
Chase shook his head. 'Serena should give that trainer boy a big box of Poké puffs. I know that's what I'd want.' The Chespin's eyes lit up excitedly at the thought of his favorite chocolate-flavored dessert.
'Yeah. Me too!' Sylvester's tail swished happily, but stopped when his eyes returned to his disgruntled trainer. 'Being a human seems complicated.'
"Guys, what am I gonna do?" Serena massaged her temples, of course not expecting an answer from her Pokémon. "Shopping was a bust. And within the past three days, I've learned that I can't knit, sew, or crochet to save my life." The disgraceful proof was making a mess of her room. This was her first time back at home in Vaniville since departing on her journey, and she couldn't even relax. She collapsed backwards into the loving embrace of her bed. "This shouldn't be this hard. I bet the others are all finished shopping and are back to training." Sylvester took the opportunity to climb on top of Serena's tummy and lie down comfortably. This made Serena smile as she gently scratched the Eevee's head. "Thanks Sylvy. And you too, Chase.' She directed at her starter. "I promise we'll get back to training real soon. I guess I'm prioritizing this stupid present too much. I'm sorry if I've been neglecting our progress as a team …"
'No need to say sorry.' Chase also nuzzled into his trainer's side, making her feel super comfortable in this cuddle pile. 'You gotta show this rival kid who's boss. Take as much time as you need to show him up with a better gift than he could possibly give.'
'Chase! I don't think Christmas is a time for competition!' Sylvester cried, to which Chase simply scoffed in response.
"You both are so important to me." Serena unknowingly interrupted the dispute. "You should always be the focus in my life. Calem and his team are very strong too. I bet his Pokémon are the most important part of his life." She remained lying on her back, silently staring at the ceiling as thoughts swarmed through her head about her Pokémon, how far ahead Calem probably was by now, and of course, the present.
"Wait …" She suddenly sat up in her bed which unfortunately disturbed Sylvester's sleeping position. Both Pokémon eyed her curiously with anticipation. Perhaps as she finally started thinking rather than panicking, a fresh wave of oxygen was able to get to her brain, for she had a sudden idea that might just work.
Serena scurried to her desk and powered on her computer. "Yes.." she absentmindedly whispered when she saw the "online" icon next to Lyra's name.
She quickly cleared her throat and fixed her hair as she issues the video call.
"Hey! Serena?" A perky voice on the other end answered. What luck that she was online!
"Lyra!" Serena automatically smiled upon seeing her beautiful friend from childhood. "I need to ask you a huge favor."
Christmas came faster than she expected. Even after the gift had been decided and obtained, Serena further stressed on wrapping choices, bow choices, or whether to just gift-bag the present. But now that all the decisions had been made, the only nerve-wracking step left was to actually give it to him.
"Sweetie, it's a little after four. Aren't you supposed to go meet your friends? You can open your presents tonight when you get back." Serena's mother asked her daughter who had been helping her cook all day. Grace woke up even earlier than Serena to get started on a spectacular Christmas dinner for just the two of them.
"You're sure you don't mind?" Serena asked, feeling a good amount of guilt for leaving her mother alone.
"Don't be silly; You've done enough already. Besides, I love doing this for you. Now go, have fun!"
She stepped out onto her porch for the first time in a long time. She hardly ever got to call this place home, but it was certainly nice to know it was always waiting for her, along with her loving mother. Now, it was time to meet Calem and the rest of group just down the road in Aquacorde Town.
For her first Christmas in Kalos, Serena was easily impressed at the extravagance of the Town Center. A humongous Christmas stood proudly in the dead center of the plaza, clad in gold and silver tinsel and large ornaments of every color.
The sun was about to set, but the Christmas lights hadn't been turned on yet. Behind the thin layer of clouds, beautiful hues of gold and orange hung low in the horizon. Serena clutched the gift bag tightly in her hands, often reminding herself to loosen her grip so that her hands wouldn't cramp. Great, now her hands were sweaty too. She joined her friends at one of the outdoor tables where their group first came together. Her fingers tapped the table in a broken rhythm. Everyone was present except the man she was most anxious to see.
"Sorry guys," Serena's head perked up as soon as she heard his voice. Her heart began to pound loudly in her ears and her palms grew clammy again. "I didn't mean to keep you waiting ..."
"Calem?" Serena spoke softly. He looked down at her expectantly. All the planning for his gift had been intimidating enough, but seeing him in front of her - hair slightly ruffled, one hand in the pocket of his overcoat and the other holding a present of his own- this was a whole other level of intimidating. You got this. He'll like it. "This is for you." She held out the bright red gift bag to him. To the untrained eye, she looked entirely self-assured. He'll like it.
"Thank you, Serena." He smiled amiably, shifting his eyes away slightly. "Oh, and uh," he held up his own gift bag, "this is yours."
"You?" Serena's eyes widened in surprise. "You're my secret Santa?"
"Yeah," he softly laughed. "What are the chances we'd pull each others' names?" Not bad, Fate. They exchanged gift bags, and lingered in a few moments of awkward silence. Calem's eyes wandered to the rest of the group, gathered a significant distance away, partaking in their own gift exchange. His free hand scratched the back of his head, wondering just when they got so far away. "I, uh, I hope you like it," he mumbled.
"You too," she replied with a nervous giggle. "Let's open them together?"
He nodded with relief, internally ecstatic that she took the initiative.
Excited hands dug through layers of tissue paper until they reached the prize at the bottom.
Each of their faces showed an ironic smile when they both pulled out a Pokéball from their respective gift bags.
They finally burst into a fit of laughter, whether out of nerves, or because they genuinely found the irony that funny, neither was sure.
"Great minds think alike?" Serena said through her bright, laughing smile.
"Absolutely." He said. "You first."
She was more excited than she would admit to push the center button on the Pokéball. She watched intently as a tiny, chirping yellow Pokémon materialized before her eyes. "That's..!"
"Joltik." Calem said with a small smile, carefully putting distance between the bug-type and himself. "You, uh, have a Joltik key ring on your bag, and I'm hoping that's because you like Joltik."
"I do! It's one of my favorite Pokémon. But!" Serena couldn't stop the overwhelming joy from taking over her entire expression, body, and heart. "I checked! Professor Sycamore said you can't even catch these in Kalos!" She scooped up the tiny bug-type in her hands, wanting to snuggle it more than anything. "How did you-"
"Wonder trading." He spit out, although still smiling. "Lots, and lots of wonder trading."
She swore her heart melted. "But you hate bug types."
"Well," he eyed the bug cautiously, "you don't hate them."
Wow. That was perhaps the only word in her head at the moment. "Thank you so much, Calem." Her desire to hug him was almost overwhelming, but she deemed that a bad idea as she was holding one of his biggest phobias in her hands. "Oh! Now you, send out yours!"
He almost forgot he was holding the Pokéball from her as he watched her open her present. Releasing the Pokémon inside, he immediately recognized it upon seeing it. "Charmander?"
"Y-yeah!" Serena said a little too quickly, suddenly feeling defensive for some reason. "I know you already have your Fennekin for a fire-type, but when she evolves, she'll be part psychic, right? Psychic is weak to bug. Charizard is flying and fire-type, so you'll be double protected against the super scary bugs." Serena rambled a little more than she planned, but she got her point across.
Calem's expression went from surprised to completely impassioned. "You thought about this a lot, didn't you?"
"Huh? Um, I gave it some thought, sure." More like obsessed over it for four days straight.
Calem knelt down and extended his hand to the new member of his team. "Hey there Charmander." His voice was so soft when talking to the Pokémon. "I've always wanted you on my team since way before I became a trainer, you know that?" He was talking to Charmander, but he gave Serena a quick glance as he said this, making sure she had heard. "Welcome to the team. You'll fit in great."
"So, you're happy with him right? My friend - the girl from Johto - she has this really powerful Charizard, so I thought she could breed it so I could give you a really strong Charmander."
"He's great, Serena. I've always favored fire types, if you didn't know." He returned his newest team member, reminding Serena that she should return the terrifying, four-inch Joltik to its ball as well. "Mille fois merci."
"Hey, I actually know what that means." Serena grinned, her cheeks feeling very warm, "and you're welcome."
Far enough away so that conversations were hardly audible, Shauna looked through all the different Pokéballs she received as a gift from her secret Santa. There were several quick balls, timer balls, net balls, and dusk balls to make catching many Pokémon easier. Trevor was avidly reading about his gift, the TM for Dragon Dance. Tierno found himself busy taking selfies with his new camera. It was certainly more high tech than the point-and-shoots he was used to using. It was ideal for capturing the highest of quality memories.
Thankfully, dusk had triumphed the day and sun had set deeply enough for Aquacorde's Christmas tree lights to be seen luminously. The lights twinkled brilliantly under fresh night sky. Serena and Calem watched the spectacle in perfectly comfortable silence. Neither needed to say a thing, not even when the backs of their hands so tantalizingly brushed against each other. It was unclear who made the move, but somehow his hand ended up perfectly entwined with hers. They didn't dare look at each other, but they could feel each others' happiness.
Perhaps she was a bit too hard on herself, wearing herself out shopping and nearly earning a trip to the emergency room in her sorry attempt to be crafty. Her goal all along was to overdo him - to impress him with the best possible gift. Well, she decided they were equal for the time being, and that didn't feel half bad.
Author's Note: So here's a thing. It's currently 7:09AM. My anxiety kept me up all night so I thought I'd take the chance to finish this! I'm deeply sorry if there are major typos or mistakes - feel free to nicely let me know. Also, writing for kalosshipping makes me wish I took French as my third language. Please forgive any translation errors.
I imagined this pseudo-chapter taking place after chapter 4 of A Sacred Bond but I haven't published yet oops. It's fine - it's basically a fluffy filler with no plot advancement.
I haven't... ugh I haven't really established the rivalry between Serena and Calem in ASB yet, but it's clearly very prevalent here. We didn't get to see too much from Calem's perspective, but I picture him freaking out just as much as Serena about getting her a gift nobody could top as well. And omg he calls her by name and not "neighbor" here wow.
Fun fact: I don't know how to shop for boys. My first Christmas with a boyfriend was difficult. Fun fact: I ended up buying him Pokémon Black version cuz he hadn't played it. Of course he loved it.
On a side note, Merry Christmas Eve! I hope you all have lovely holidays. Remember you reason for celebrating.
If this is a hard time for you, my heart truly goes out to you. Let me know if you liked this, and be nice if you didn't because it's Christmas! Best wishes, until the next update!