Set in the City, where we find characters like Bill, Alex, Lilia, Paul, and Davy, 'The Mayor's Christmas Carol' is my 2014 Christmas fanfiction. I was inspired heavily by Charles Dickens and his classic, 'A Christmas Carol.' What happens? Well, you'll just have to see.

THE MAYOR'S CHRISTMAS CAROL

Mayor Winston Winslow Washington III was a fat, pompous, arrogant soul. If you asked the inhabitants of the City, they would say he was a fool and a dandy, but at least he hadn't ruined the economy. If you, however, asked Mayor Winston, he would say he had created thousands of jobs, was smarter in business than anyone, and had singlehandedly saved the City from the sun's energy burst that year. I hope this gives you an idea as to how egotistical Mayor Winston was.

Every year on Christmas Eve, Mayor Winston gave a speech. This speech, officially called the Mayor's Holiday Welcome, consisted of three hours of Mayor Winston extolling what he himself had done during the year and one minute acknowledging other Pokemon's contributions. The talk in the Café Na Rigara and the Radiant Star around this time of year always focused on what Mayor Winston would claim credit for in his 'Mayor's Merry Mush-Mouth.'

After every Welcome, Mayor Winston would send his employees home and make his way to the large mayoral mansion in the middle of town. There he would eat seven bluk berry pies, thirteen batches of Harry's Christmas rolls, and forty jars of pickled walnuts. Then he would go to bed and sleep for three days.

This year, though… something changed.

"And thank you to Armor for stopping the energy burst from the sun," Mayor Winston said. He rubbed his chin and nodded. "Thank you all for coming out here in this blistering cold. I wish you all could have better jackets, but unfortunately that's not possible. Have a marvelous Christmas, everyone!"

Mayor Winston raised his arms in the air, expecting resounding applause. There were a few scattered claps, but aside from that the Plaza was silent. "Well…" Mayor Winston coughed. "You are all free! Go home! Or shop! Preferably shop! It's better on my wall- I mean our economy."

"That was an even shorter acknowledgment section than Mayor Winston usually has," Bill commented. Lilia nodded in agreement.

"I wish something would change him…" Lilia said sadly. "He could be such a good mayor. Oh well. I guess I shouldn't hope for miracles."

Bill gave her a quick hug. "Don't worry, dear. Now, I'll be home in a bit. I have to pick up a few things. Alex, are you going into the Business District?"

"I am, actually," the Ampharos replied. "Jasmine, why don't you go with Lilia? Is that okay with you, Bill?"

"It's no problem at all, Alex. Jasmine, Lilia, go on! We'll be back in an hour."

Jasmine started walking away with Lilia. Alex and Bill watched them disappear around a corner before turning to each other. "Are the others ready?"

"As ready as Harry's nanab skillet on a cold day."

"Right, let's go."

Mayor Winston lay on the floor of his office. This was the second unusual thing. Celia, the Clefable secretary, sat at Mayor Winston's desk, simultaneously writing up year-end reports and playing therapist.

"And there was no applause!" Mayor Winston complained. "There's always applause! I wonder if I need a new speech-writer…"

"I would advise against it, de- Mayor Winston," Celia murmured. She reddened slightly at her error.

Mayor Winston sat up. "You know what? I think you're right, Celia. Well… then why didn't they applaud?"

"Perhaps their paws were too cold. They needed to hold another's paws to warm up." Celia put one page aside and started on another. "It's really no surprise, Mayor. It was below zero today. Just go home and rest. I'll fix everything up here."

"Hmmm…" There were two things Mayor Winston liked: being lazy and taking credit. He decided to opt for the former. "All right. Thanks, Celia. You're a doll."

Those words filled Mayor Winston as he left the office, unaware of the red flushing Celia's cheeks. He always said them. Always. "You're a doll." Did he mean them? He wasn't sure. All Mayor Winston knew was that this retrospection was another strange thing in his day.

"I hope that Delibird brought my food…" Mayor Winston mumbled, wrapped in his three-layer flannel overcoat.

"So, we're all agreed?"

"I think so. I'll be first."

"If you're taking first, then I guess I'm second."

"If you don't want second, I'll take it."

"Thanks. I wanted third anyway. I think I'm rather scary."

"If we wanted scary, we'd recruit Rutger. Now, take these and get in place. Everything's ready. I've got what I need. Let's get going."

Mayor Winston walked slowly to the mayoral mansion. A wonderful structure, the mayoral mansion was adorned with gables and buttresses, arches and cobbled pathways. It was a remnant of a bygone era of City history.

Reaching into his pocket, the Wigglytuff pulled out his small key, fitted it in the lock, and opened the door. He closed it quickly behind him and, still wearing his overcoat, trudged into the kitchen. He heaved a sigh of relief when he saw his usual holiday meal sitting in the pantry.

The stairs to his bedroom were freezing, and Mayor Winston wished he wore shoes. He never had had reason to before, but this Christmas Eve was one strange thing after another. He quietly vowed to ask Celia to order him a pair of nice shoes. She was such a dear…

After reaching his bedroom, changing into three-layer flannel pajamas, scarfing down a meal that would knock a Serperior flat, and climbing the stairs again, Mayor Winston slipped into bed and, he hoped, a food coma.

As he tried to keep his eyes shut, he realized that the blinds were open. That was yet another thing that was different. The mayor opened his eyes, climbed out of bed, closed the curtains, turned and then screamed. By his bedside stood a white Lucario.

Mayor Winston squinted. "Bill?" he asked hesitantly. He had been to the Café Na Rigara before, and Bill was one of the few Mayor Winston really paid attention to in the City. Old Finn was another, and Celia was the third.

"Yes." The white Lucario nodded, weighing the words with implication. Mayor Winston gasped.

"You died?! I saw you just an hour ago!" Mayor Winston covered his mouth in horror. "Did my speech keep you out in the cold for too long?!"

The Lucario nodded slowly. "You kept many out in the cold, Mayor Winston." He shook his head in despair. "Many have fallen ill and will die, if nothing is changed tonight."

Mayor Winston jumped. "Death? What? Wait… what do you mean, 'changed?'"

"If you could not tell, Winston, I am now a ghost. I am doomed to roam the world. It is the fate of those who perish from the cold." The white Lucario pointed at Winston. "You will be visited by three others tonight, Winston. Tonight, three times will collide and produce a phenomenon known only as Change. If you choose to change yourself, things will be different in the morning. If you do not… fate will catch you."

The white Lucario looked Mayor Winston in the eye. "Listen to the Past. Pay attention to the Present. And fear the Future. Farewell, Winston Winslow Washington III." After uttering these words, the Lucario turned, opened the door to Mayor Winston's bedroom, and walked down the stair and out into the cold.

"Oh boy…" Mayor Winston moaned. Then he brightened up. He ran over and closed the bedroom door before jumping into bed. "I bet that was just a food dream. Whew… I'm glad that's not real. What if… no." Mayor Winston fell silent. "Never mind. It was just a dream. Nothing will happen."

With this fearful words, Mayor Winston fell asleep.

"Winston. Wake up."

"Wha…. Five more minutes, Mommy…"

"This is not your mother, Winston. This is a ghost. Now wake up before I push you out of bed."

Mayor Winston snored.

"Fine. You asked for it."

"Waaah!" Thud. Mayor Winston found his face pressed into the floor. "That was awkward."

"Come on, Winston. Get up. Time's a-wasting!" Mayor Winston found himself being lifted bodily from the floor. He looked around wildly and shouted as he saw a white Ampharos standing there.

"Who are you?" Mayor Winston whispered in fear. "Why are you here?"

"Didn't Bill tell you?" the Ampharos asked. "I hope so. If not, he'll have to wander for more than forever… Well, I'm the Past. A ghost of Christmas Past, I mean." The Ampharos frowned, looking at the clock on Mayor Winston's bedside table. It showed 10 o'clock. "Boy, we have to get moving! Let's go!" the Ampharos exclaimed, grabbing Mayor Winston's arm and dragging him out the bedroom door and down the stairs.

"Ack! Slow down!" Mayor Winston cried as his bulk hit almost every stair. "Why do we have to move quickly?"

"Too much time, not enough to do," the Ampharos replied. He stopped. "Wait… too much to do, not enough time. That's what I meant. Let's go! The Present is coming at midnight! I gotta have you back by then! Enough chit-chat, let's go!"

When the Ampharos said 'Let's go,' he meant it. He adjusted his grip on Mayor Winston's arm and ran, Mayor Winston flying along behind him.

When the two slowed down, the Ampharos wasn't out of breath in the slightest. Mayor Winston, on the other hand, was gasping for air.

"Where… are… we…" Mayor Winston wheezed.

"The Café Na Rigara, Winston. The Café Na Rigara of fourteen years ago. Christmas Eve of fourteen years ago at the Café Na Rigara, to be exact." The Ampharos rubbed the fog on one of the front windows and gestured for Mayor Winston to look inside.

Mayor Winston hesitantly stepped up to the window and peered in. Bill was sitting at the piano, playing a Christmas carol. John, Davy, and Paul were playing one two pickle while Estelle read a book by the door. It was a scene that Mayor Winston remembered. He remembered all too clearly.

"Hey, Winston!" Bill called over the sound of 'Jingle Bell Rock.' "You made it, after all!"

Winston chuckled. "Yessir, Bill. I managed to get away from the office before Mayor Quince caught me and gave me extra Christmas Eve work."

John shook his head. "That Machoke is going to work us all into early old age. Come on, Winston. Winner at one two pickle gets a drink. We've all won so far except for you."

"What about Alex? Will he be here?" Winston asked, pulling up a chair.

Davy dealt out a new round of cards. "He said he would be. Might have gotten stuck. I hear there's a major drift down Second."

Winston jumped to his feet. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

"Sit down, Winston," Alex said as he burst through the door. He closed it quickly, but snow flurries still snuck through. "Dyan Fletchback got some folks together to clear the drift. Said it was for business, but we all know better."

"Well, come on, then," Winston replied, sitting down again. "New round of one two pickle."

"Are you buying?"

"John is."

"Well, let's get cracking!"

"This was the night Mayor Quince died from influenza," Mayor Winston murmured. "I remember that… It was two years later that I ran for office. Davy, John, Paul, Alex, Bill, and Estelle all supported me, and through them I won…" Mayor Winston fell silent. "Then I stopped coming to the Café…"

The Ampharos put a paw on Mayor Winston's shoulder. "Time to go," he said before grabbing the Mayor's arm and racing away.

"Why are we back at the mansion?" Mayor Winston asked as the Ampharos deposited him in his bed.

"You need to be ready to meet the next ghost," the Ampharos explained. "You've got…" The Ampharos examined the clock. "A half hour. Get some sleep, my friend."

"Friend? That's nice…." Mayor Winston trailed off, falling asleep where he was.

"Hey. Fatty. Wake up." A finger poked Mayor Winston in the side. "Wake up! We've got two hours to do what needs to be done here, and you're sleeping!"

"I'll have you know," Mayor Winston muttered, turning over in his sleep, "that I'm on a diet."

There was a scoff. "Yeah. A diet of fatness. Get up!"

"OW!" Mayor Winston jumped up. There was a red mark on his face where he'd been slapped. "What was that for? Sheesh…"

A white Monferno stood in front of Mayor Winston. His arms were crossed, his brow was furrowed, and his eyes were narrowed. "We have far too much to do, Winston. Now, do you think you can move quickly, or will your girth get in the way?"

Mayor Winston opened his mouth to complain, but the Monferno stopped him. "Never mind. Come on." The Monferno opened the bedroom door, pushed Mayor Winston out, and went down the stairs and onto Mayor Winston's front lawn. A bicycle with a basket sat on the path.

"What do you expect me to do?" Mayor Winston exclaimed. "Ride the bike?"

"Nope." The Monferno lifted Mayor Winston and, with no real gentleness, plopped him in the basket. "I will be riding." The Monferno jumped on the bike and pedaled away from the mansion.

"Who are you?" Mayor Winston asked.

"Ghost of Christmas Present," the Monferno replied. "Now hush. I've got to remember where I'm taking you."

The bike ground to a halt in front of Bill's house. The Monferno got off of the bike and unceremoniously dumped Mayor Winston onto the snow-covered grass.

"Bill's house?" Mayor Winston questioned. "What are we doing here?"

"This is Christmas of tomorrow. Well, technically today, but you hopefully get the idea." The Monferno gestured to the windows. "Rub the windows, fatty. See the horror."

Mayor Winston slowly moved to the window and cleared the snow and ice away. Inside, he saw Lilia and Jasmine huddled together, crying.

"Oh no…" Mayor Winston whispered. "Oh no… Bill really did die. And Alex did, too!" Mayor Winston spun on the Monferno. "Why do you show me this?"

The Monferno shook his head and pointed to the bike. Mayor Winston gingerly climbed into the basket, and the Monferno mounted the bike and sped off.

The next stop was the Café Na Rigara. Mayor Winston knew that John and Estelle lived behind the Café.

"Please, ghost," Mayor Winston begged. "Please don't make me look in John's house. I don't want to know."

The Monferno laughed a harsh, grating laugh. "You must, Winston. Your pompous attitude and your speech caused many to pass. See what you have done." The Monferno took Mayor Winston's arm and dragged him, despite his protests, behind the Café Na Rigara. The house was dark and, by the looks of it, cold.

Mayor Winston staggered through the snow to the windows. "No… Please, not John. Not Estelle." He turned to the Monferno. "Please tell me, ghost. Are John and Estelle victims of my pomp?"

"They are." The word fell like a death knell. "And…" Mayor Winston couldn't bear to say it, but he needed to know for sure. "What about Celia?"

The Monferno patted the bicycle.

A few minutes later, Mayor Winston jumped out of the basket and ran to the window of a rundown home. The roof was missing multiple shingles, the windows were cracked, and the door was sagging. A small, flickering light was in the window.

Mayor Winston looked through the window. Celia was sitting on the edge of a small metal bed, singing softly to a small Cleffa. The Cleffa, a girl, was snoring softly. A cast was on her leg.

The Monferno pulled Mayor Winston away from the window. The Wigglytuff let out a sigh of relief. "Celia's okay…" Then he stood bolt upright. "Who was the Cleffa?" he asked.

The Monferno let a small smile crack his stern face. "Celia was once married to a Clefable male she loved. But he didn't love her enough. He left her three years ago, just before she had this child. She named her child Carol, to remind her to stay happy. But Carol recently tripped over a piece of rubble down in the Industrial District, where her school is.

"Her leg broke, and unfortunately the break was very bad. Carol does not know it, but the break let in an infection. The infection will consume her, unless…" The Monferno fell silent.

"What?! Unless what?!" Mayor Winston fell to the ground. "What does the child need?"

The Monferno looked away. "A treatment that costs five hundred thousand."

"But…" Mayor Winston murmured, "Celia doesn't make that much in ten years…"

"I know." The reply was curt. Mayor Winston lowered his head.

"Oh… I wish I could do something…"

The Monferno lifted him brusquely to his feet. "Listen up, Winston." The Monferno raised Mayor Winston's face so that he could look the Wigglytuff in the eye. "One more ghost is coming. It will be in his time that you will be able to choose your path. Choose wisely."

Letting Mayor Winston go, the Monferno walked away, leaving the bicycle on the sidewalk. Mayor Winston felt a tear slide down his face.

"Ack!" Mayor Winston yelped. Something- or someone- had tapped him on the shoulder. He spun around to find a white Zoroark. The Zoroark gestured for Mayor Winston to follow him.

Mayor Winston followed the Zoroark through the slums of the City, until they came to a graveyard. A group of Pokemon stood in front of a wooden casket.

"Why do you think he ended up the way he did?" a Feraligatr asked. Mayor Winston's eyes widened.

"That's Davy!" he exclaimed. "Davy, Kyra, Paul, Karen, and Harry! Hello!"

They didn't respond. "What?" Mayor Winston asked. The Zoroark took some snow off of the ground and shook it over Mayor Winston.

"I'm… a ghost to them?" The Zoroark waggled his paw. "I'm… not really here." The Zoroark pointed. "They can't hear me, then…"

"I don't understand how you were ever friends with that fat balloon," Kyra said, snuggling closer to Davy.

"He was a good Pokemon, once," Paul said. Karen gripped Paul's claws.

"Maybe he was once," Kyra countered, "but then he became mayor. Why did you still try to be his friend?"

"We couldn't just let him be friendless," Rutger grumbled, walking up to the casket. "We thought we could change him… We were wrong."

"Winston 'ad gone too far," Harry added. "Laziness and luxury became 'is life. We eventually stopped. But we never stopped wishing."

"Well…" Kyra fumbled with her words. "Well, I wish he had changed. I would have liked to know him as he was."

"I know, dear," Davy murmured as Kyra buried her face in Davy's coat.

"Let's get him into the ground," Rutger grumbled. Davy patted Kyra's head and went to lift a corner. Paul, Rutger, and Harry took the remaining corners and lowered the casket into a hole in the ground. Paul quickly covered the casket with dirt from a pile. Harry placed a stone marker over where the head of the casket would be, and Davy carved a message on it. Then all six walked away, heads hanging.

"Is that…" Mayor Winston swallowed. The Zoroark gestured to the marker, and Mayor Winston hesitantly moved toward it.

HERE LIES WINSTON WINSLOW WASHINGTON III, the marker said. ONCE A FRIEND, ALWAYS A FRIEND.

"That was me…" Mayor Winston whispered. "They still wished and hoped for me…"

The Zoroark stood motionless. Mayor Winston turned to the Zoroark. "I want to change!" he cried. "I don't want to be friendless! I want to be what I was! Give me a chance, ghost! Please…" Mayor Winston fell to the ground, tears falling steadily. "Please let me change…"

The Zoroark lifted Mayor Winston to his feet, set him in the bicycle's basket, and pedaled off.

"Please… please let me change…" Mayor Winston muttered as he tossed and turned. "Please…" He woke suddenly. "I'm… in bed." A glance at the clock showed it to be 7 o'clock. "It's… seven?" Mayor Winston looked to the window and jumped. "Seven in the morning! Christmas morning! I've got... what?" His arm had landed on his pillow, and he felt a hard object underneath it. He pulled the item out.

It was a stone. On it was written, YOU CAN ALWAYS CHANGE. Mayor Winston smiled, eyes watering. "Thank you, ghosts."

Celia was sitting at her desk, catching up on reports. She had needed to go home early the night before, in order to take care of Carol. She was busily scribbling out summaries when the door to the office opened. A cold wind swirled through, but she didn't notice the lack of heat.

"Celia!"

"What is it, Mayor Winston?" she mumbled, still writing. Suddenly, she found herself standing and looking at the mayor.

"I want you to know this, Celia," Mayor Winston said seriously. "I have always found you extremely attractive and beautiful, and I want to marry you and give your child a father who actually cares." Then Mayor Winston kissed Celia.

Celia's eyes widened in shock, but then closed halfway. She pulled away and smiled at Mayor Winston. "This isn't very professional, Mayor Winston."

Mayor Winston laughed. "I'm throwing professionalism out the window, Celia! Go home and take care of your little girl! If it's okay with you, I'd like to meet her."

Celia nodded. "Of course, Mayor Winston."

"And no more of this 'Mayor Winston' stuff!" Mayor Winston exclaimed, marching over to his desk. "It's just 'Winston,' now. Of course, if we do get married, I'll ask for things like 'honey' and 'Winnie-dear.'" Mayor Winston reached into the safe under his desk and pulled out a bag of cash.

"What are you doing with your savings?" Celia asked.

"Giving you a bonus," Mayor Winston grunted as he heaved the bag of cash up off the ground and put it on the table. He began counting out the cash.

"Oh. Well…" Celia sidled over to Mayor Winston. "I'd love to marry you."

"Really?!" Mayor Winston yelled, turning to her. She nodded, and he kissed her again. "Wonderful! Now, take this five hundred thousand and use it on something special. I insist," Mayor Winston said, forcefully pushing the pile of cash over to Celia.

"How… how?"

"That's my secret, Celia dear. I'll tell you later. For now, I need to be off." Mayor Winston kissed Celia one last time and scurried out of the office.

Celia touched her cheek where he had planted the last kiss and smiled, hand resting lightly on the five hundred thousand.

"Well… I hope things worked," Bill muttered. He and Lilia were walking through the sleet to the Café Na Rigara where Davy was having an employee Christmas celebration.

"What do you mean, dear?" Lilia asked.

"What? Oh, nothing."

Lilia stopped in her tracks. Bill glanced over his shoulder at her. "Is this about the flour?" Lilia's face was stern.

"Dear, you'll find out soon enough. Let's go," Bill said, grabbing Lilia by the arm and gently pulling her along.

"Morning, Bill!" Alex called from the other side of the street. He and Jasmine crossed to where Bill and Lilia were walking.

"Morning, Alex. I sure hope it worked."

Jasmine turned to Lilia. "Do you have any idea what they're talking about, Lilia? Alex won't tell me anything!"

Lilia gave Bill a thunderous glare. He looked away. "Bill won't, either," she muttered.

"Hey! Hey, wait up!"

Bill turned. Alex, Jasmine and Lilia all kept walking.

"Wait up, Alex!"

Alex's smile was large enough to split his face open.

"Wait! Oh boy, I'm out of shape…" It was Mayor Winston.

"Bill? What's going on?" Lilia asked.

"Dear, that would be telling. Let's get inside the Café. Then we can talk," Bill said, smile threatening to engulf his head.

"Then I woke up in my bed!" Mayor Winston exclaimed. "It was… it was a miracle."

"I'll say it was," John sniffed. He had caught a cold. Alex nudged John, who slapped him away.

"Well, I must say, it was quite the coincidence," Mayor Winston continued, not noticing John and Alex. "Each ghost looked like… well, like one of you!" he said, pointing to John, Alex, Frankie and Bill. Frankie choked on his iapapa juice.

"Ack… Sorry 'bout that," he muttered. "That is rather amazing, though."

Bill exchanged a glance with Alex, who nodded. John shrugged and coughed. Frankie was still recovering from choking. "Well… it's true, Winston."

Mayor Winston looked at Bill curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Those ghosts? They were us." Bill smiled sheepishly. "I was the white Lucario. Alex was the ghost of Christmas Past. John was the ghost of Christmas Present, and that's where he got the cold. Frankie was the ghost of Christmas Future.

"Davy, Kyra, Karen, Paul, and Harry all were in on the idea. The only ones who weren't were Lilia and Jasmine, since they would have disagreed with the whole thing." Lilia snorted. "Well, it's true!" Bill protested.

"I'm not saying it's not true!" Lilia said hotly. "I'm just saying you could have at least told us!"

"Well, you and Jasmine ended up playing your part perfectly," Alex put in. "Watching Two Floatzel and a Girl was just what we needed. It really drove home what we were playing at."

"Oh… well, okay," Lilia murmured. "You and I, Bill, are going to talk when we get home." Bill sighed.

"How did you get in my house? And was Celia in on it, too?" Mayor Winston asked.

"The first is our secret. But here." Alex tossed a key to Mayor Winston, who caught it. "To the second, I say no. Celia was not part of our plot. To be honest, we didn't plan on taking you to Celia's. But you asked, so John complied." Alex shrugged. "It worked, though."

"Heh." Mayor Winston leaned back in his chair. "It sure did."

Estelle came out from the back, carrying a new barrel of iapapa juice. "Who needs a refill?"

Mayor Winston moved forward. "We all do," he said, looking around. "It's on me."

"And just last night, Melody and Armor helped save the children in the City Orphanage," Mayor Winston said into the microphone. There was widespread applause. The Wigglytuff waited for the crowd to settle down. "Not only that, you all took it upon yourselves to adopt each and every child. Thank you." The applause was deafening, and Mayor Winston smiled.

"Thank you all for the wonderful year we've had. And thank you for giving me another chance. I hope this year's Mayor's Holiday Welcome has been better than any other I've given. Please feel free to leave comments and suggestions in the box on my desk. I'll get to them as soon as possible." Mayor Winston looked out over the crowd. "Now… have the merriest Christmas you've ever had!"

Mayor Winston, since that Christmas Eve one year ago, had done a lot. He had improved the single hospital, widened the City Orphanage, started a campaign to get each and every orphan child adopted, adopted a few himself, gotten married to Celia, become Carol's father whom she adored, and created jobs. He had almost singlehandedly turned around the City. With his patronage, the University was able to expand and hire more teachers. With the expansion, the enrollment at the University had increased dramatically. Dusty and Alice had become Mayor Winston's main liaisons with the University.

Even with all that he had done, the City inhabitant had done more. With the rebirth of their mayor, they began to work harder than before. As such, the City was booming, and Mayor Winston's annual speech had lasted nearly five hours as he described each thing done by each inhabitant. He knew there would be a lot of colds and a lot of hospital visits, and he promised himself to cut it down next time.

As the sky grew dark, Mayor Winston and Celia entered the Café Na Rigara. Celia held Mayor Winston's hand tightly. Around them were their five children: Carol, a Petilil named Rose, a Mienfoo named Buck, a Piplup named Samuel, and a Snover named Winter.

"Winston! Celia!" John called from the bar. "You're just in time!"

"Uncle John!" the children yelled, running for John. The Monferno came out from behind the bar and gathered the children up in a hug.

"How are you all?" John asked, smiling broadly. Estelle came out from the back and the children ran to her, yelling "Good!" and "Auntie Estelle!"

Estelle hugged each child in turn. "Oh, it's wonderful to see you all! I'll whip up something special. Uncle Bill's over at the piano," Estelle told the children, winking. "Winston, Celia! So good to see you? What would you like?"

"Uncle Bill! Auntie Lilia!" the children yelled as they clambered onto Bill's back and Lilia's lap. Lilia began rubbing Buck's head as Bill bounced Rose on his knee.

"You're getting so big!" Bill said. "Soon you'll be bouncing me, Rose."

"Stop being silly, Uncle," Rose giggled.

"I'll stop being silly when you get a boyfriend. Then I'll be serious," Bill told her, pulling an exaggerated frown. Rose giggled again and hopped off to play with Winter.

"Carol! Oh, you look so wonderful!" Davy said as he entered the Café Na Rigara with Kyra. Kyra was holding a small Pichu in her arms.

"Uncle Davy!" Carol jumped into Davy's arms.

"Oh, and so strong, too!" Kyra exclaimed. "You're feeling better, then?"

"I am! See?" Carol made a muscle. Davy and Kyra laughed as Carol ran off to see 'Uncle' Paul.

Soon enough, Paul, Karen, John, Estelle, Davy, Kyra, Bill, Lilia, Alex, Jasmine, Mayor Winston and Celia had gathered around a large table. The children had built a fort out of the tables and were pretending to fight off wild Houndoom. Rose, Samuel, Carol, Buck and Winter had been joined by Davy and Kyra's adopted Pichu son, Lance, and Alex and Jasmine's adopted daughter, a Sneasel named Melissa.

"Thank you all for coming," Davy said, standing with a glass in hand. "This year has been marvelous, too marvelous for words. So let's keep it short. To the year!" he exclaimed, holding his glass high.

"To the year!" Paul and Karen echoed. Karen had learned to read lips.

"To the year!" Kyra said.

"To the year!" John and Estelle smiled.

"To the year!" Bill and Lilia kissed.

"To the year!" Alex and Jasmine yelled.

"To the year!" the children shouted before going back to their game.

Mayor Winston and Celia looked at each other, remembering that Christmas Eve and Day a year ago.

"To the year!" Mayor Winston and Celia said, and as each adult drained their glass of iapapa juice, Mayor Winston closed his eyes.

It truly is a miracle. Then Winston Winslow Washington III, Mayor of the City and friend to all, drained his glass.