Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, or any of the characters related to it, or Pokémon Christmas Bash, or any of the tracks on said CD. Nor do I own Santa Clause (ahem, does anyone own him?), nor am I making money by publishing this story.
A/N: Finished a week ago, 12/23/11, as a Christmas present for my little sister. Based on the songs from Pokémon Christmas Bash, one of the Pokémon music CD's released a while back. (If you haven't listened to it, you really should. It's fabulous.) The snatches of italicized lyrics serve to separate scenes in the story, although it's all from Ash's POV. Merry Christmas, all! Please review if you read!
Yuletide Party
There were Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Gligar, and Togepi. There was Pikachu, of course. There were Psyduck, Pineco, Heracross, Poliwag, Geodude, Zubat, Goldeen, Vulpix, Arbok, Victreebel, Noctowl, Staryu, Weezing, Onix, Totodile, Wobbaffet, Squirtle, and Meowth. Also present were Jessie, James, Misty, Brock, and Ash Ketchum. But they don't really count.
The important thing was, it was a party. A Christmas party. With cookies, music, laughter, lots of people, and even more Pokémon. And they were going to party like there was no tomorrow—or at least, no day after Christmas.
Gottacatch'emallGottacatch'emallGottacatch'emallGottacatch'emallGottacatch'emall
"All right, Professor Oak, we'll see you soon!" The screen went blank, and Ash Ketchum turned to his friends. "Professor Oak and my mom will be here by tonight." He pumped his fist into the air. "Let's get this party started!" A chorus of cheers rose up from dozens of people and Pokémon. Brock had a glass of punch, and Misty was heading for the flashy dance floor. Ash propped his hands behind his head, staring at all the partygoers as he wandered around. Wasn't Christmastime just awesome? He couldn't keep himself from grinning if he'd tried. When would Santa come, he wondered, and what would the old elf bring? It was almost enough to make him forget about his dream of becoming a Pokémon Master. Well, almost. As the thought crossed his mind, he ran off to a table to write his Christmas letter. And he knew exactly what he was going to ask for. He laughed as he ran. It was impossible for anyone to not like Christmas!
Canyahelpmegofaster?Canyahelpmegofaster?Canyahelpmegofaster?Canyahelpmegofaster?
"But how can you not like Christmas?" James incredulously asked Meowth. He and the rest of Team Rocket were sitting at their own table, drinking hot apple cider and stuffing their faces with cookies. He (and the other two, too) was at a loss as to how they had managed to be guests at the party. Had someone invited them? He couldn't remember. At any rate, no one moved to throw them out. That was highly unusual. Maybe it was just the jolly spirit of Christmas. Everyone seemed a little gayer.
Except Meowth. He sat with his hind paws folded and his claw tapping the tabletop. He was glaring out at the festivities as though they were a personal insult to him. "Nobody don't like Christmas," he said bitterly. "Spendin' time with family and friends, feastin' on ham and turkey and roast goose? Sure! Who wouldn't like it? Dey wait for Santa Clauz ta come and bring dem lotsa presents. Everything's just dandy, ain't it?" He stopped running his Meowth for a moment before continuing. "But what if da goose comes out of somebody's dumpstah? What if ya've got no family o' friends, and everyone in da woild seems more cruel than usual on Christmas Eve?" He narrowed his catty eyes at his comrades. "What if yer broke and on da run, and Christmas is just anuddah day like all da rest? What den?"
Jessie seemed moved to tears by his little speech. "What then?" she repeated with clasped hands. James didn't know what to say, but then he had an inspiration.
"Hey, I know what then!" he cried. "If Santa would never fill our stockings—seeing as how we're such nasty, rotten bad guys," he acknowledged with pride, "then what if we fill their stockings?" He gestured grandly—and vaguely—at the people milling around. Meowth and Jessie stared at him as though he'd said something really stupid.
"That idea is so shocking it's brilliant!" Jessie suddenly exclaimed. "After all, no living soul knows what to expect from Team Rocket!"
"Yeah! We can fill 'em with moldy cheese, and smoke bombs, and battery-operated toys without the batteries!" added Meowth. He and Jessie started dancing a gleeful tango, Meowth's paws high above the ground. James bit his lip. He couldn't help thinking that his partners weren't thinking the same as he was thinking.
"Uh—well, that's not exactly—" he tried to explain. They weren't listening.
TeamRocket'shavingablast!TeamRocket'shavingablast!TeamRocket'shavingablast!
"There! All done," Ash announced as he handed the rolled-up paper to a Pidgey. The Tiny Bird Pokémon flew with it to the window and vanished into the night. Brock walked over and leaned his elbows on the table.
"Do you think it'll get to Santa in time?" he wanted to know. "It is Christmas Eve night, you know."
"Yeah, I know," answered Ash. "But it's OK. I'm sure Santa will know." He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. "And his sled'll fly real fast, with all his Stantler pulling it." He smiled. "Yeah, Santa Clause is lucky to have all those Pokémon helping him. You know what would be the best Christmas ever? If Santa had a brand new Pokémon for every kid in the world. And on Christmas morning, there would be a shiny new Poké Ball under the tree. With a new Pokémon inside!" He filled most of his mouth with a sugar cookie. "Maybe it would be a Pokémon no one's ever seen. I'd want that one. And Misty could have another Water Pokémon." He laughed around his crumbs. "There would be so many Poké Balls under your Christmas tree, Brock—too many to count!"
Brock didn't laugh as loudly at the joke, or smile as big as Ash thought he would. "I guess there would be a lot," he agreed. Maybe something was bothering him, because he rubbed his head and said, "Hey, Ash, I'm gonna go outside for a minute."
"In this cold?" the trainer from Pallet Town wondered.
"Yeah. I'm, uh, kinda hot, actually," Brock said. Ash found a hard time believing that, since all Brock ever wore was a T-shirt with a vest over it.
Myfriends,myfamily…Myfriends,myfamily…Myfriends,myfamily…Myfriends,myfamily…
Misty found Brock leaning on the balcony in the moonlight. The wind was blowing in his hair, but he didn't even seem cold. "What are you doing out here, Brock?" she asked him. He turned to look at her with surprise. Then he went back to staring at the moon.
"Well, it's just that…" he began slowly. He didn't seem sure what to say; so Misty waited. "I mean, everyone in there is having such a great time," he pointed out. "And I didn't want to be there if…"
"If what?" Misty pressed him gently.
"If…if I wasn't having a great time, too."
"You mean you're not enjoying yourself?" Misty was surprised.
"Not always," confessed Brock. He smiled as best as he could. "I love all the food, and it's great being with friends. But…sometimes…you miss…"
"Your home," Misty finished his thought. He nodded, confirming her guess.
"I'm always so far away from them now," Brock went on. "We're always going to new places, seeing new things. And that's great. As an aspiring breeder, I want that." He sighed. "It's just hard, because you don't have a place where you really belong."
"And you miss the people closest to you," Misty echoed. "The ones you grew up with, the ones who know you best. I always miss my sisters a little, but it's a lot harder on Christmas Eve. Christmastime is when you're supposed to be with your family." She smiled in a wistful way. "We may not see them this Christmas, or the Christmas after that."
Brock nodded his head. "But at least we have each other," he reasoned. "And the memories are things we can't lose. We can keep them in our minds."
"And in our hearts," Misty finished softly. Now Brock's smile was genuine.
"Keep home close," he mused. "As close as your heart."
There'''sacrowdattheparty.
The party was in full swing, and it wouldn't be long until the last of the guests arrived. Ash was in the middle of his ?th Christmas cookie. Brock came back inside and came up to him. "Aren't all the decorations great?" the Pewter gym leader asked. "I wonder who put up all the holly and mistletoe."
"Uh, yeah," Ash mumbled. He could see Misty on the far side of the room, and he wondered if it was his imagination that she was lingering under that same mistletoe. "They're…great."
"Wouldn't it be amazing to meet a girl underneath one of those lovely bunches of mistletoe?" Brock sang out in that voice he normally reserved for Officer Jenny or Nurse Joy.
"No way!" Ash said, resolute. Brock blinked an invisible blink. He went from loopy back to normal again.
"Well, what if there was someone waiting there, just for you?" he pointed out suavely.
"That's why I'm staying away from every last mistletoe I see!" Ash declared. "No one's going to trick me into meeting them there!" He shook his head as he took a bite out of two more cookies. His mind was made up.
"Ash, who said it was a trick?" Brock seemed quite serious now, to Ash's dismay. His peripheral vision could pick out the red hair of Misty, still waiting across the room. "I happen to know that there's someone special to you, and the only thing she wants for Christmas is to meet you under the mistletoe."
Ash gulped down an uncomfortably large chunk of cookie. "WHAT?" He shivered as he stared out at the party scene. "That would be the worst Christmas present ever!"
"Well, there's someone who thinks it would be the best Christmas present ever," Brock told him. "In fact, she's been waiting under the same patch of mistletoe almost all night." He folded his arms and sent Ash his best big-brother glare. "You're not going to just ignore her, are you?"
"Ignore—?" Ash suddenly felt like a Pokémon in a Capture Net. "Huh? Wha—b-but—but—I—you can't just—that's not—" He gasped in a breath of air and took off toward the refreshment table. "I gotta get more punch!"
"Oh, no, you don't!" Brock overtook him and stood in Ash's way with his arms spread out. He took Ash's shoulders, spun him around, and shepherded him along. Ash resisted and protested, but to no avail. Strangely, Brock wasn't forcing him to the opposite side of the room, but instead toward an alcove with windows that looked out on the starry night. Ash shut his eyes and prepared for the worst, and just at that moment, Brock let him go.
The youngest trainer from Pallet Town opened his eyes and saw…no one. He turned to ask Brock what was up, but his friend had gone. "Huh? But Brock…" His voice trailed off, and he muttered to himself, "There's nobody here."
Then he felt something touch his leg. He yelled and jumped back. Was someone striking—uh, stalking—him? He cast his eyes downward and spied…Chikorita. "Wha!" He reacted on instinct, then put a hand on his chest and breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh. It's just…" He paused as what Brock had told him, suddenly made sense. "…Chikorita."
"Shika!" his Pokémon agreed. She looked happy to see him as usual, wagging her tail almost like a Growlithe.
"Hey, I get it now!" Ash exclaimed. "It was you! You were the one that…" His voice trailed off again as he thought this through. "Chikorita, have you really been waiting here all night?"
For the first time in a long time, his Grass Pokémon avoided his eyes. "Chika…" she murmured.
"For me?" Ash finished disbelievingly.
Now there were red spots on her cheeks. Chikorita looked like a Chikorita-Pikachu. She dug the toe of her front foot into the floor. "Chikori…"
Ash grinned and scooped her up, held her high. "Chikorita, merry Christmas!" And he made it truly merry when he kissed her, there under the mistletoe.
'TwasthenightbeforeChristmas'TwasthenightbeforeChristmas'TwasthenightbeforeChristmas
Jingle bells out in the night signaled the arrival of the rest of the attendees. Ash threw open the door to welcome them and saw two Ponyta harnessed to a big sleigh. He could see his mom (yeah, that was her behind that pink woolen scarf), Professor Oak (who had to be the guy with the ridiculous ski-mask-and-goggles combo), and about thirty Characters of the Day. "Hi, everybody!" he greeted them through the wind. Walking over to them while attempting to plow a trail through the snow, he took the arm of the first woman he came to and helped her to the door. She was so bundled up inside her cloak that he couldn't even see her face. "Here you go, ma'am," he said as they reached the front step. "Merry Christmas!" To his surprise, the woman yanked her hand away from him and began dusting herself free of snow.
" 'Ma'am'?" she scoffed in a much deeper voice than he'd expected. Hey! He recognized that voice. "Well, you don't have to be so insulting, Ash." The woman (no wait, it wasn't a woman) threw off her (his) cloak, and it turned out to be none other than Gary Oak.
"Gary?" Ash couldn't believe his eyes. No one had told him that Gary was going to come! In fact, Professor Oak's grandson hadn't even been invited! "What are you doing here?" He made his hand into a fist. "No one asked you to come!"
"Now, Ash, stop it," Professor Oak scolded him as he came up behind them, leading the rest of the folks inside.
"Yes, I expect a better attitude out of you on Christmas," Delia echoed as she stepped inside.
Ash hung his head. "Sorry, Mom." All the new arrivals started taking off their coats and hanging them on the coat rack.
"Honestly, I don't know why you two are always bickering," the professor remarked as he removed his parka. "You're more alike than either of you realize."
"NO WAY!" the two trainers shouted together. It was the only thing they could agree on.
"For starters, my Pokémon are way better than his," Gary jibed his rival. He tossed three Poké Balls from each hand. From them came Nidoking, Alakazam, Blastoise, Eevee, Kingler, and Arcanine. Ash growled in his throat. He had to admit those Pokémon were pretty impressive.
"You're both talented Trainers," Professor Oak sighed. "Could you both stop fighting long enough to see that? Or at least for as long as the party lasts? It is Christmas, after all."
"All right, Professor," Ash consented grudgingly.
"Whatever you say, Grandpa," Gary agreed, though not without a smirk in Ash's direction. "We'll save our battle for later."
"You're on!" Ash cried.
!!
The Pokémon of the two opposed trainers weren't aware that they were supposed to be enemies. While Ash and Gary stayed as far apart as humanly possible, Eevee and Pikachu became fast friends. Heracross and Nidoking pushed against one another's horns to test their strength. Arcanine impressed them all with his charisma, and Totodile just drove everyone crazy.
They all piled outside when the snowstorm slackened. Brock never stopped shivering; he loudly proclaimed that he was much more suited to balmy beaches with girls in swimsuits than he was to a blue-shuttered cottage smack-dab in the middle of a frigid mountain range. With his Santa cap and a puffed-up coat, Professor Oak looked more than a little like Saint Nick himself. Mrs. Ketchum was lovely, even with all her winter clothes on. Misty had on cold-weather clothing in various shades of blue to make a pretty outfit. Ash's snowclothes were getting small for him—especially the snowpants, which were above his ankles. All the Pokémon had on adorable hats and mufflers.
The Trainers had races down the mountainside on their sleds. Gary won all of them with his toboggan. They had skiing competitions, too. Ash lost one ski on the way down and almost lost his hat. But he got to the bottom first, careening across the finish line in embarrassing fashion. Then they built snow sculptures. Misty crafted a very well-made Tentacool and pressed Christmas tree ornaments into its head for the ruby jewels. Ash made a rather shapeless Butterfree with sticks for antennae. Gary was the only one to build a snowman—Ash was shocked when he saw that his rival had, in reality, built a startling snow likeness of Ash Ketchum.
"Whoa." He stared at it in admiration. "Is that me? That's pretty good." He walked around the snowman to view it better. "Yes, sir, that's one good-looking Pokémon Trainer," he announced proudly.
"Don't get carried away with yourself, loser," Gary called. He was balling up snow. "He's just for target practice." With that, he threw a king-sized snowball right into Snow-Ash's face. The head came off and fell into the snow, and shortly thereafter, the body crumbled to the ground.
"Hey! That's not fair!" Ash yelled out, dismayed that the fabulous statue of him was in ruins.
"You're right," agreed Gary. He bent over and filled both of his mittens with snow. "I should be practicing on the real one." And he threw a double whammy of snowballs right into Ash's face.
Misty joined Ash's team and they declared war on Gary. While Brock, Professor Oak, and Ash's mom chose to stay out of the fight, none of them could help getting hit with snowy flak now and again. Neither side would give in, and neither side gained the upper hand. Finally, the fight was brought to a forced end. Brock grabbed Misty, Delia grabbed Ash, and Professor Oak grabbed Gary. The three snow warriors were dragged back into the cottage before a conclusive victory could be declared.
There'sathrillintheairwhenthere'sachillintheairThere'sathrillintheairwhenthere'sachillintheair
The rest of the night was spent in the pursuit of less exhilarating activities. Everyone drank hot chocolate around the fireplace and roasted chestnuts by using Charizard's tail-flame. Ash and his friends even ended up reading a Christmas tale with Team Rocket, somehow. Now Ash found himself lying awake, trying half-heartedly to sleep but really listening for Stantlers' bells.
What he heard instead was a thump from downstairs. He sprang from his bed to see what was the matter. Pikachu roused himself and bounded after.
It was Gary, making trouble again. Ash would have been distracted by the sight of his rival in pajamas, if he hadn't been so angry that Gary was sneaking around on the night before Christmas. "What are you doing?" he hissed. "You shouldn't be up!"
"I caught these two skulkers hanging around like burglars!" Gary retorted. Only when Gary pointed at them did Ash notice Team Rocket by the hearth. Jessie was frozen in the act of reaching for the stockings.
"What are you three up to now?" Ash demanded to know. He glared furiously at them. "Are you trying to steal our presents?"
"Mind your own business, twerp," snarled Jessie.
"Leave our stuff alone!" Gary warned them. He was already taking a Poké Ball from his hip.
"Yeah!" Ash joined in. "You're not taking any of my Christmas gifts! And even if Gary's is coal, you can't have that, either!"
"What?" Gary forgot about Jessie and James for a second and rounded on Ash. "Are you saying coal is all I'll get in my stocking?"
"Not all you'll get—" Ash tried to explain. James interrupted them.
"For your information, we weren't going to steal anything from these stockings!" he defended them indignantly. "We were going to fill them!"
"That's what you think!" Ash shot back.
"You're not leaving coal in our stockings!" Gary yelled, not without an irked glance in Ash's direction.
"Shut ya flappin' gums!" yowled Meowth. "We ain't got no coal fer nobody, got it?"
"No coal?" Ash repeated. Now he was confused. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Then it must be bombs!"
"No bombs, either," Jessie informed him almost boredly.
"Well…well, it can't be anything good!" Ash insisted.
James's smile was almost sad. "I wouldn't be so sure about that." To Gary and Ash's shock, he and Jessie began putting presents—yes, brightly-wrapped presents—into the stockings crowding the mantel.
"But…" Ash couldn't think of anything else to say. "But…"
"Team Rocket is out to shock you, this year!" Jessie proclaimed with a grin that really wasn't as nasty as she might've wished it to be.
At that moment, everyone heard the unmistakable sound of sleigh bells overhead. They all gasped as one. Hooves hit the roof in droves. Gary started pushing Ash toward the stairs. "Get back!" he warned him. Ash struggled; unlike the others, he had no reason to be afraid of getting caught here.
"No—wait!" he whispered. "I have to—"
But then, with no time for any of them to react, the giant elf was stepping out of the fireplace. The four people and two Pokémon stared dumbfounded up at him.
"You have to what, Ash?" he asked in a deep rumble. Pallet Town's hero, unfortunately, couldn't find his voice. Santa Clause looked around at their little assembly. "My, my, all of you still awake at this late hour. You ought to be in bed."
"We were in the middle of doing a noble deed, Santa," Jessie hastened to say. Not quite as bold as his partner, James folded his hands in a pleading gesture.
"We're very sorry, Mr. Clause, sir—please don't put us on your Naughty list!" Meowth leaped onto James's shoulder and began clonking him on the head.
"Don't give the old man any ideas, lame-brain!" he snapped.
Gary shoved Ash out of the way and stepped forward to insert his two cents. "We're not doing anything wrong!" he protested.
"Enough, all of you!" Santa Clause boomed. "You're all close to being labeled as 'naughty,' you know!" Those words were enough to silence everyone. Only Ash was brave enough to speak up.
"Santa," he said quietly, "I know we're not supposed to be up this late, and I'm sorry. But you have to know something." He lifted his head to meet the old elf's eyes. "It's not their fault for being here. Team Rocket was trying to…do something nice for us." He didn't know what was more weird: that he was defending Team Rocket, or that they deserved his defense. "And Gary was just trying to keep the cottage safe. So please don't blame them."
Santa slowly smiled. "Don't you think I already know all that, Ash Ketchum?"
Ash gave a surprised start. "You do?"
The elf nodded. "And I know more than that. I know that you were planning to put presents into Team Rocket's and Gary's stockings because you knew they might not get presents otherwise."
"Huh?" the trio of baddies blurted out at the same time.
"You mean, you were going to do that for us?" James asked in wonder. Gary, arms folded, had a sort of grudging gratitude in his eyes. Not that he'd ever admit it.
"But Jessie, James, and Meowth got a head start," Santa Clause continued, "because they decided to be nice instead of naughty on Christmas day." He smiled, with that twinkle in his eye that all of them knew well, although they had never seen it until now. "And do you know, they weren't doing it to curry my favor. They just wanted to do a good deed."
"Oh, great, now we sound like a bunch of twerpy goody-goodies!" Jessie groaned. Santa was looking down at Gary now.
"And Gary was as determined to keep you from getting caught, as you were to clear his name to me." He chuckled. "If I hadn't gotten down here so fast, he was planning to drag you up the stairs, Ash. The last thing he wanted was for you to make the Naughty List."
"Really?" said Ash in surprise. He tried to catch Gary's eye, but Oak's grandson was scowling in the opposite direction. Santa Clause laughed again, this time a huge laugh that shook him all the way to his belly.
"You've all been so nice to one another this Christmas Eve, and none of you want to admit it," he concluded. He smiled at them all kindly. "You know, it's people like that who are the nicest of all." He turned suddenly and filled all the stockings with movements so swift that, even though they were watching him, they still couldn't see what he was putting into each one. Then he went back into the fireplace, crouched, and put his finger on the side of his nose. "Happy Pokémon Christmas!" he cried merrily. "Catch 'em all; catch 'em all!"
PokéBalls,PokéBalls,throwthemalltheway!PokéBalls,PokéBalls,throwthemalltheway!
Ash was snoring away until Gary shouted at him to wake up. It was Christmas morning! He raced downstairs with the other children hot on his tail. The older the guest, the longer it took him to get himself out of bed. Professor Oak brought up the absolute rear. And Jessie, James, and Meowth, who were sleeping in a heap on the couch near the Christmas tree, still hadn't gotten up yet.
"Hey! Team Rocket!" bellowed Ash. They jerked awake and leaped to their feet in panic like the criminals they were.
"What?" they exclaimed. Ash grinned at them.
"Merry Christmas."
Everyone attacked his present as eagerly as a three-year-old, even those who were about as far from three as it was possible to be. Gary received everything a good Trainer should ask for (which, of course, he had asked for): Poké Balls, Potions, several different types of Heals, and rare, expensive TM's and HM's. Meowth's stocking was full of balls of yarn, and the only thing in James's stocking was food. Jessie had received a make-up kit, a glamor dress, and five tubes of hair gel. For Delia, there was a cookbook, apron, a new gardening hat, and a self-help book called How to Raise Your Pokémon Trainer Right, Even When He's Far from Home. Professor Oak had cutting-edge Pokémon research technology, as well as newly-published dissertations from other members in his field. Misty got a small inflatable pool for her Pokémon, a guidebook to Water Pokémon, and new Poké Balls. Brock got new Poké Balls, too, as well as Pokémon chow, a breeders' book of tips, and a What's What guide to all the Jennys and Joys in the area. Ash, too, received his expected Poké Balls. He also got a new pair of sneakers, a Pokémon care kit, and a tin of Christmas fudge. But his favorite thing was the note he found in the bottom of his stocking. It read,
Unfortunately, Ash, there is nothing I can do that will speed you on your quest to become a Pokémon Master. It is something you must attain yourself, without the help of others. The matter is in your own hands. This is exactly why I have no doubt that you will become a great Master someday.
Merry Christmas!
Santa Clause
Ash smiled and shoved the note into his pocket.
The party was winding down, now, and soon they would have to return home. Gary sat on the couch with his head tilted back and his eyes closed. Eevee sat on his lap. Team Rocket had drunk a little too much punch; perhaps for that reason, they had been singing "The Christmas Song" over and over in perfect harmony. Professor Oak was telling Mrs. Ketchum how he had successfully given a Pikachu in a Poké Ball as a present to Santa Clause. One Joy and one Jenny each showed up from Pallet Town, giving Brock his Christmas wish along with his Christmas opportunity.
Ash was busily eating any snacks that were still lying out. "So, did you enjoy your Christmas, Ash?" Misty wanted to know, sidling up to him.
"Yah, i' wuzh grade!" Ash replied enthusiastically, despite his full mouth. He paused as a familiar and motivational tune came on over the radio. "Hey, isn't this the best song ever?" He grabbed her hand. "C'mon, let's dance!"
So Misty got her Christmas wish, too. Ash never had to give away his back-up presents, since Santa ended up giving every last partygoer a stocking-full of goodies. So the Poké Ball earrings, the root beer caps, the catnip, and the mahogany Trainers' carrying case went unknown and unappreciated by their intended recipients. But there was always next year.
AndaHoppipNewYear!
o The End o