He unbuckled the belt that he had fastened over his shirt, glancing at it with tired eyes. The silver chain wrapped around the cloth belt acted as a magnet towards Poké Balls, which had intrigued Derek. Now, though, it was only uncomfortable to try and sleep with on. He undid the belt hanging in his pants' belt loops as well, laying both belts beside him.

A sigh escaped from the boy's mouth. The rain had stopped, he could tell, but the air was still damp. No matter how long he lay there, no matter how hard he tried to calm his mind, he couldn't sleep in these conditions. Giving up, he stood up and, after a moment's hesitation, grabbed both his bag and Soran's Poké Ball. Careful not to wake Damion, he slipped past the boy's sleeping figure towards the door, gently loosening the wooden door's lock before exiting through the opening.

He grimaced as the damp air touched his skin. Instinctively, he tugged at his jacket to cover himself, to fend off the moist winds. It wasn't that he minded the cold—he just couldn't stand the feeling of water. It almost seemed to sting, like a sudden burst of temperature against his body. Strangely enough, there had never been problems drinking water. Maybe his skin just wasn't suited for wetness.

The serenity and calmness of the silent Viridian City seemed to push aside the thoughts. The dark moonlight, along with the scattered lampposts, were the only sources of light in the dark city. He could see the stone streets, colored with shadows of trees and buildings. The wooden houses all showed boldly in the dark, almost as if they were glowing. The only noises Derek could hear were his own steady breathing and the rare scurrying of the nocturnal Pokémon.

It was really quite boring.

Derek unzipped the opening of his backpack and pulled out several objects, trying to find something he could distract himself with. The TM Case he had received, the first-aid kit Setsora had insisted on, the spare clothes, his wallet, his Berry bag—nothing of interest popped up, until he reached the very bottom of his bag. There was a little bundle, which seemed to be a small, soft black blanket, folded up into a square. Derek pulled it out, frowning at his uncle's antics. He hadn't needed such a thing—even if it was nice of him to think of doing so. With a slight reluctance, he slowly unfolded it.

When he unraveled the entire blanket (which turned out to be only big enough for Derek's legs), something red fell to the ground. He picked it up, feeling the cloth in his hands. Judging from the strong smell, Setsora had sprayed it with some kind of scent—either that, or Derek was hungry and smelling the Berries in his Berry bag.

Somehow, he recalled the smell. It brought back memories of warmth, and with it, a strong sense of nostalgia. It took him nearly a full minute to remember what the cloth was, and where it had come from. A memory, so brief he almost missed it, flashed into his head. It was so sudden, so quick, that he almost believed it was just a fleeting thought, and nothing more.

But he did remember. It had been three years, but he still remembered.

"Yuki..." he whispered to himself, staring down at the cloth. No...not cloth.

He grasped Soran's Poké Ball in his hand. He stared down at it for a few moments, recalling just how amazed he had been the first time he had seen the Eevee hatch from her egg, before releasing the Pokémon inside. Soran leapt gracefully into the air, landing softly on the ground, staring up at her Trainer with sleepy yet curious eyes. Derek gazed at her, a frown of regret forming on his lips. He felt a deep emptiness in his chest, the way he always did as he felt close to tears. He tied the gift he had received from Yuki around Soran's neck.

"It's where it always belonged," he whispered sadly. "I can't believe that after all this time, I completely forgot you used to wear this Red Scarf around your neck."

Soran mewed softly, touching the scarf with a paw gently. She stepped forward, laying down on Derek's lap and closing her eyes, purring with satisfaction. Derek, realizing that the blanket had been for Soran, draped it over her, stroking her fur softly.

"Remember the time you hatched, Soran?" Derek murmured ever so quietly, staring up at the dark clouds that blanketed the night sky. She looked up at him, opening one of her eyes. "You really didn't like me all that much, did you?" He let out a sigh, almost as if in a laugh. "Only Yuki could pacify you."

"Ee...Eevee."

He glanced at her. "I really do wish I could understand you sometimes. It's a bit strange, really. But I think that someday, I'll be able to understand you, and that this journey will help me to do that." He turned back towards the moon. "But who would have thought Yuki could understand you so easily? She knew all you wanted was a bit of love and care...I was just scared, is all."

A jolt of pain ran through Derek's leg. He winced, looking down to see that Soran had bit him. He frowned. "What was that for?"

"Eevee," she answered simply, in an almost insulting tone.

"Geez." He scowled at her. "Just like old times. What, do you feel nostalgia as well?"

She made on of the most common human actions: she turned her head away.

"Did you ever think about where that Oran Berry came from, though? It just dropped right out of the sky—it's really kinda funny."

"Ee."

Derek rolled his eyes. "What, not amusing for you? I guess you would think about that quite the while; after all, you're named after that incident, huh?"

A soft growl was all he got in response.

"Sora...Oran Berry...Even now, I still find that naming a bit funny. Yuki was a bit creative with her names, hm?" A sad feeling chilled his body. "I just wish I could find her. That's all."

This time, there was no response from Soran. He turned his attention to her, only to find her sleeping soundly on his lap, murmuring words in her own language. The smallest, tiniest shadow of a smile appeared on Derek's face as he watched her.

He gazed up at the night sky, remembering all the times he had looked up to it with his first friend. Almost as if it were too bright for him, he closed his eyes, letting the memories swallow him up.

ⅩⅩⅤ

"Christmas?" he asked her, curiously.

"Yeah! Didn't you know?" Her tone was curious. "Don't all kids love Christmas?"

"Christmas, huh?" Derek put a hand to his chin, trying to recall the term. A sudden thought flashed into his head. "Ah! I got this egg as an early Christmas present, I think."

Yuki turned her head, watching the egg in its insulated case. Her sapphire eyes gazed at the egg with such a tender look that Derek felt she were worried the egg might break if her gaze was too strong. "From your sister, right?"

Derek nodded, smiling for reasons he didn't understand. "Yeah. I don't know what it is, yet, but I bet it's something awesome!"

Yuki smiled at the brown-and-white egg. "What do you think it might be?"

Derek had to think for a minute. "Maybe a Sandshrew? That's what the colors look like...sort of."

Yuki laughed, ever so lightly. "Really? I was thinking more on the lines of an Eevee."

"No way," Derek said, "they're way too rare, even for Aliana!"

"Well, we'll see who's right when it hatches." Yuki turned her smile towards him. Her expression was so warm, Derek barely noticed the falling snow around them. "Who knows, maybe it'll hatch on Christmas day!"

"Think it'll hatch so soon?" Derek asked.

Yuki nodded. "I think so."

ⅩⅩⅤ

"Wow, Yuki, you really were right," Derek exclaimed, watching in fascination as the newborn Eevee shook its fur. He held out a hand to the young Pokémon. "Hey there, little buddy."

"She's so cute," Yuki whispered, eyes shining with excitement.

The Eevee, though, didn't seem to find this much of a compliment. She sank her teeth into Derek's hand, making him wince in pain. She hmphed, turning away and tending to her fur.

"Ouch," Derek grumbled, pulling his hand back. "Well, this one's pretty ferocious. How do you know she's a girl?"

Yuki shrugged. "Woman's intuition?"

Derek smiled at that. "Woman, huh? If you're a woman, I must be an old man."

A small laugh escaped from the girl. "I wouldn't say that you aren't." She turned back towards the Eevee, her expression displaying her worry for the young one. "Think she's warm enough in this snowy weather?"

Derek blinked, surprised that he hadn't thought of that before. "You're right...we should get her something to wrap herself in." He immediately began pulling off his jacket.

Yuki stopped him. "Wait, I've got a better idea." She stood up, pointing a finger at Derek. "Wait here, but try to keep her warm, okay?"

"Wait, but how?" Derek asked, confused by her actions.

She shrugged. "Hold her, I guess. I'll be right back."

He watched her go, a small frown pulling at his lips. He was glad that she was helping, but a bit reluctant to get near the ferocious creature. Mustering his courage, he crawled forward a few centimeters, just enough to be in arm's reach of the Pokémon.

"Ee..." she snarled, baring her teeth.

"I don't want to hurt you!" he exclaimed. "Honest! I just want...to...um, get to know you. As a person. As a friend."

Something about the Eevee's growls told him she didn't care.

Derek opened his mouth to speak to the new Pokémon, but before he could manage to get any words out, he felt something painful collide with his head. His immediate thought was that Yuki had thrown a (very well-made) snowball at him, so he turned around indignantly—only to find she was still gone. Frowning, he looked down, trying to find what had hit him so hard in the head. To his surprise, it was an Oran Berry.

He picked it up, looking around for any trees, but there weren't any. He glanced up, but again, the skies were filled with only the clouds and snow of the Christmas day. Turning towards the (his?) Eevee, he asked,"Um...do you want to eat this?"

The Pokémon gave no answer. Derek took it as a sign of contemplation, and held out the Berry. She twitched, as if drawn in by the meal, before slowly reaching out for it. Derek laid it on the ground gently, watching as she leapt forward and snatched it in the blink of an eye, reappearing in the spot she had been a split second ago.

"Holy—that's fast," Derek exclaimed, barely noticing the Berry disappear. "Quick Attack?"

"Ee," she answered, though he had no idea whether it was a "Shut up" or "Yeah, pretty cool, huh?" She turned towards her prize, and started taking bites with her sharp teeth. A confused frown found its way onto Derek's face. Since when did baby Pokémon have teeth, anyway? Or have enough strength to pull of a Quick Attack?

"H-hey, I got the...where'd the Berry come from?" Yuki asked, appearing behind them and panting slightly. She shook the snow out of her hair. Derek noticed she was holding a small paper bag, the kind they gave you as a gift bag.

"Um, fell from the sky." Derek blinked. "Since when were stores open during Christmas?"

Yuki winked at him. "I'm just too charming a girl to resist, apparently."

"Charming, eh?" Derek echoed, chuckling. "Sure, sure. Though, what'd you get?"

She handed the bag to him. "You should do the honors, Derek. After all, she's your Pokémon." She knelt next to him as he tried to open the bag with his freezing fingers. "Did you come up with a name for her yet?"

Derek shook his head as he finally managed to get his shaking hand into the bag. "Nope. I considered Oran, but I think that's too cliché...and stupid."

Yuki smiled. "Oran...from the sky?" She paused, as if in thought. "Sora...Oran...Soran?"

"Soran?" Derek rolled the word around his tongue, and found it to be a nice name. "That's pretty nice, actually."

Her smile widened. "Why, thank you."

Derek pulled out what was inside the paper bag. It was something red, and made of cloth from the looks of it. Derek unraveled it, surprised to find it was a Red Scarf—or, at least, that's what it looked like. On closer inspection, though, he could tell it was made of different material, and the design was slightly different. It was more like a handkerchief than a scarf.

"It's a bit of a special little scarf," Yuki explained. "They told me it's impossible to cut or tear."

He smiled. "That's really cool. I wonder what it's made of?"

"I'm as clueless as you," Yuki said, shrugging.

"Well, whatever." Derek smiled at the Eevee, who was staring up at him with an intimidating glare. Still, he wasn't worried. "Was the Oran Berry good?"

She snarled. He took it as a yes.

"Well, Yuki got you...a...um...scarf. So wanna put it on?" he asked. As soon as he said it out loud, he realized how stupid it sounded. "I mean, of course, if you want to and all..."

The Eevee said nothing, again staring mutely.

Derek hesitantly moved his hands forward. In response, he got a Tail Whip and was knocked away. The only thing he could think of was 'At least it wasn't a bite.'

"Derek, mind handing that to me?" Yuki asked, gazing at the Eevee with curious eyes.

"Um, sure," Derek answered, returning the scarf to her. "Hope you know what you're doing."

"I think I do," she said simply. She took a few steps forward, close enough for Soran to take a bite at her. Yuki, instead of holding out the scarf, held her hands open, as if in a hug. "What do you say, little Eevee? I know we don't know you, and you us, but we want to be friends with you." Her tone was so delicate, so convincing, Derek found himself nodding. He shook his head to snap out of it."We won't hurt you; we just don't want you to be out here in the cold."

The Eevee regarded her with curious eyes. Her teeth disappeared with her snarl, and she took a small step towards Yuki. Derek watched, amazed that Yuki had calmed such an intimidating Pokémon. He realized a moment later how strange it was to be scared of an Eevee, and laughed despite himself.

Yuki gently picked up the young newborn, holding her against her chest. Carefully, she tied the scarf around the Eevee's neck. "There we go. How about we call you Soran?"

There was a moment's silence. The Eevee twitched slightly before turning her face towards Yuki. She licked the young girl's cheek, as if as a way of agreeing.

"Then it's settled. Welcome to our little family, Soran," Yuki said, closing her eyes in satisfaction.

ⅩⅩⅤ

Derek's eyes opened as the sunlight pierced the dark skies. His eyes stung, and he was blinded for a few seconds. It took him a while for him to realize that he was being shaken, and rather hard.

"Derek, wake up!"

"What, Damion," he groaned, rubbing his eyes with his hands. "I was having a pretty good dream, too..." 'Well, sort of.'

The boy pointed a finger at something Derek couldn't see. "That! It's so...weird!"

Derek forced his eyes open a bit wider. He could make out the vague shape of something that looked like a pair of floating magnets, except it was a dull gray color. He realized that it was a Magnemite.

"Is that...a gray Magnemite?" he asked, bewildered.


A/N - Look, I wrote this in about 6 hours, so no hating! Lol.

Well, there's your special Christmas chapter. I can't say for sure I'll be using this exact flashback for Lost Memories, Revamped! (which will be released in its entirety if I can finish it by the anniversary [which is 1/1/2012!]), but if not, it'll just be slightly edited to flow better with the rest of the story.

Merry Christmas, guys (and gals)! I hope you all enjoy a festive holiday, some good food, and some nice presents. You know what I want? A USB for my story files and a red jacket just like Derek's! (Plain, red, cloth, and smexy as hell, lmao.)

Oh, you think I was gonna say reviews? Hah! Yeah right. Way too selfish for that

See y'all in the New Year!