Chapter 10: Christmas is here! Part 2
Lucylicious used Hydro Pump; it dealt a total of 679 Water Damage to Magcargo due to type.
Magcargo used Flamethrower on Lucylicious, dealing 59 Fire Damage (Blocked 229 Damage due to type).
Houndoom used Bite on Lucylicious, dealing 29 Dark Damage (Blocked 98 Damage).
Lucylicious used Withdraw. Raises Defense by 25% for 30 seconds.
Lucylicious used Roar on Houndoom. Houndoom runs in fear for 10 seconds.
Lucylicious used Swagger on Magmar. Magmar is now attacking Lucylicious with its attack raised but has 30% chance to miss on its attack.
Magmar used Fire Punch on Lucylicious, but it missed.
Lucylicious used Whirlpool. Enemies inside the radius are hit by continuous water damage.
Magcargo was hit by Whirlpool for 396 Water Damage.
Houndoom was hit by Whirlpool for 578 Water Damage.
Magmar was hit by Whirlpool for 433 Water Damage.
Magcargo fainted. Gained 1829 Experience.
Houndoom fainted. Gained 1528 Experience.
Magmar fainted. Gained 1187 Experience.
Lucylicious leveled up and is now level 37. +289 HP, +36 PP, +3 Attack, +5 Special Attack, +8 Defence, +6 Special Defence, +2 Speed.
"Whoa…" Synthia was astonished by the Ralts playing an online game on her computer.
"Pretty cool, huh?" Lucy said proudly.
"But, why a Blastoise?" The Sylveon asked as she stared at Lucy's character, the huge, big turtle Pokémon.
"Cause Blastoise are awesome! Plus, I'm a tank, and everyone loves an awesome tank like me!" Lucy replied while typing in commands, causing her Blastoise to flex his muscles, and yes, it's a he as well.
"What game is it again?"
"It's called Pokémon Heroes; and it's a hit MMORPG on our school!" Lucy replied and showed her a CD case of the game.
"What's a MMORPG?"
"Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. You can borrow it if you like, I guarantee that it's fun!"
"Thanks a lot. I'll try this out when we get back home." The Sylveon said excitedly "But I think Jax already plays this; he can be a nerd when he wants to be."
"You'll love it, trust me on this." Lucy said proudly as she controlled her Blastoise again.
Lucylicious aggroed a wild Houndoom.
Lucylicious aggroed a wild Magmar.
Lucylicious aggroed a wild Charmeleon.
Lucylicious aggroed a wild Rapidash.
Lucylicious aggroed a wild Magmar.
"Whoa, isn't that too many?" Synthia was surprised by her action in taking on five of them at once.
"Watch this, and fear the power of Blastoise!" Lucy said out loudly.
Lucylicious used Withdraw. Raises Defense by 25% for 30 seconds.
Lucylicious used Whirlpool. Enemies inside the radius are hit by continuous water damage.
Lucylicious used Rapid Spin. Reduces incoming damage by 20%, gains Levitation and immunity to Status Effects but immobilizes you while dealing continuous normal damage to enemies within radius.
"This is Blastoise's specialty; it can tank multiple enemies at once, while dealing tremendous AOE damage at the same time. Making this Pokémon perfect for raiding dungeons like where I am right now, inside the Volcano of Cinnabar Island."
"What's an AOE?"
"AOE stands for Area of Effect, meaning it can attack multiple enemies at once instead of a single target."
"I see…" Synthia was listening intently, growing more and more interested in this online game.
Meanwhile… at the Supermarket…
The girls were at the cashier, finally finished with their shopping, although only Esper and Victoria were exhausted from pushing the heavy carts full of the things they need, but their on-going conversation seemed to lift their mind off the gruelling physical work they were doing.
"Really? I've never heard of that game before." Victoria was surprised.
"Well, it's a very popular online game on Lucy's school; even she's hooked up to it." Luc chuckled.
"W-wait, isn't video games supposed to be unhealthy for young people?" Esper asked concerned on how it may affect their attitudes.
"I don't think so." Luc shook her head, which shocked the two of them.
"W-why not?"
"Their school is even encouraging them to play Pokémon Heroes."
"Ehh?" They're even more surprised than before.
"It's an educational game, at least that's what the school says, since it helps the young audience to quickly understand how battles are done, although not exactly, it allows them to grasp the basics in battling and how moves work out."
"Oh I see…"
"It also has Parental Control features that allows parents to fix their playtime on a day, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. Plus Lucy's grades skyrocketed after getting hooked onto playing it."
"Maybe we should get Synthia to play that game too." Victoria suggested.
"Maybe. I feel that that will be the first thing she's going to ask us once we get home." Esper replied.
"Oh yeah, where are your parents? I haven't seen those two for a long time now." Luc suddenly asked.
"Well, they're travelling the world, so to speak. And they haven't called us for a long time either." The Espeon replied.
"I see."
With their goods purchased and packed inside bags, they were now ready to leave the supermarket.
"W-wait, we HAVE to carry all of these?" Victoria was shocked since there were about one and a half dozen of bags on the counter.
"Yep. That's why I brought two of you along since Jax is busy helping out in the kitchen."
"Don't worry; I'll carry some of the bags." Luc said and went ahead and took two bags on each arm, leaving the rest for them to carry by themselves.
"Now I know how Jax feels…" The Vaporeon whined as she continued to stare at the stacks of bag waiting for her to carry them.
Suddenly, some of the bags glowed bright and levitated in mid-air as Esper used her psychic powers to lift half of them without the use of her hands.
"It's times like this that I am very grateful to be a Psychic-type." Esper teased her and went towards the entrance of the supermarket, leaving the Vaporeon with the other half of the bags, still waiting to be picked up.
"No fair…"
Meanwhile… at the kitchen…
The three were busy preparing the food to be cooked later when the evening feast comes; Gardenia was busy chopping vegetables, while Jax was occupied in preparing the raw chicken into lollipops and covering them with some white powder mixture, while Gloria was just staring at the kitchen sink…
"Umm, Jax?" The Glaceon called out to the Victini as he stopped in what he was doing and approached.
"Are we really going to eat these?" Gloria pointed out towards the big bowl where the live Kinglers, with their limbs and claws tied tightly, completely immobilizing them, and all they could do is to stare and form bubbles from their mouths until they meet their likely doom.
"They're all staring at me and it's freaking me out." The Glaceon slowly backed away.
"Nah, don't worry about it, they're completely harmless thanks to the rope tying them all together."
"So, how am I supposed to clean them again, do I have to touch them?"
"You don't have to. Just rinse them for a few times as if you're giving them a shower." Jax opened the sink and let the water flow on top of them.
"After a few rinses, they are ready to be cooked." He then pulled the rope, lifting all of the Kinglers up as he placed them on a very wok on top of a stove.
"Just like that?"
"Yeah, just add some wine to give off a pleasant aroma, and then a few more seasonings…" Jax drenched the Kinglers with wine and sprinkled some seasonings as well before closing the lid.
"Huh?" What surprised Gloria is when he suddenly placed clamps on the sides of the lid.
"They tend to shake a lot when they're getting cooked and may knock off the lid, so these clamps make sure that it shuts tight." Jax replied as he turned on the stove after clamping the lid.
A non-luminous flame emerged as it touched the wok while Jax backed away and stared at the wok, a few seconds later; the wok suddenly shook vigorously, causing the Glaceon to be even more afraid, while unknowingly, leaning against the Victini and hugging onto his arm.
Unfortunately, her unintentional action caught the Gardevoir's eyes who stared at the Glaceon's back with an annoyed look on her face.
'Why is she acting all innocent in front of him? W-wait, why am I jealous all of the sudden?' A lot of rage and emotion was going on inside her mind; however, while her hands were busy chopping vegetables, her eyes and mind was not... until…
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Gardenia immediately let out a piercing scream when she felt a sharp, excruciating pain, specifically on her hand that was holding the now drenched in blood, vegetables. Apparently, she just cut herself…
"O-oh no…" Gloria quickly rushed over to help and quickly realized the situation.
"I'll get the first aid kit!" Jax immediately ran outside the kitchen.
"Let me take a look at it." Gloria took her hand and tried to examine the wound.
"D-D-Don't touch it!" Gardenia panicked as her hand shivered like crazy.
"Calm down, Gardenia, please calm down." Gloria tried to relieve her in calm, reassuring tone.
"Now, let's just go over to that sink and clean it, okay?" Gloria instructed her as the psychic-type slowly nodded; they slowly went over to the sink and rinsed the cut finger with water.
"Here's the first aid kit." Jax shouted with a white kit on hand as he placed it on the table, man he's fast, opened it and looked at the contents as he brought out a bandage, a Disinfectant, some swabs, etc.
"Thank you Jax. I'll take care of it. Now we'll just go over that table and treat your wound, okay?" Gloria instructed her again while the Gardevoir could only nod her head, probably still too terrified by what happened.
She sat the Gardevoir down and picked up a cotton swab to drain the blood coming out from her wound.
"It isn't too deep, so don't worry about it." The Glaceon reassured her once she examined the wound and took the disinfectant, and coated another swab with it and wiped it on the cut.
After that, she took out a bandage and covered the wound.
"There, good as new!" Gloria smiled while Gardenia stared at her now bandaged finger more closely, she could still feel some pain but was now more tolerable than before.
"Thank you." Gardenia felt ashamed, first she was cursing her, and now she was in her debt.
"Why don't we take a break? I'll just prepare some snack while you guys wait at the dining room?" Jax suggested.
"Good idea. Let's go Gardenia." Gloria agreed and assisted the Gardevoir as they walked outside the kitchen door.
"Whew…" Jax felt relieved and cleaned up the mess, cleaning the vegetables that had blood on it, and went to prepare a juice for them.
At the dining room…
The two sat down next to each other; however, Gardenia hasn't said a word at all…
"You know…" Gloria started a conversation, hoping it would lighten up the mood.
"The truth is… I'm never good at cooking…" She confessed while the psychic-type was surprised.
"What about you?" The Glaceon asked her.
"…I'm can't stand the sight of blood." The Gardevoir also confessed and finally spoke to her.
"Figures… But it's okay now."
"How come you were so calm back there?"
"Beats me. I just suddenly acted that way in situations like that. I couldn't explain why, it's like an instinct, at least that's what my parents told me."
"And also how you treated my cut?"
"Yeah. I know a lot when it comes to treating wounds and the like; heck, my parents are even teasing me that I should become the school nurse." The two shared a giggle.
"So why are you telling me this?"
"Well, it's the only way I could get you to talk, and apparently, it worked."
"You got me there."
"So how do you feel now?"
"A lot better, thanks to you."
"That's good."
And then, neither of them spoke another word as they waited for Lucas to come with some snack, when suddenly…
"I have a question, if I may?" Gardenia broke the silence and asked her.
"Hmm?"
"It's been bugging me for a long while now and I want your answer…"
"Okay… What is it?" Gloria replied with a surprised look on her face.
"Do you… like Jax?"
"H-huh? W-why'd you ask that?" Gloria was surprised as she almost stood up from her seat when she asked as blushes quickly formed on her face.
"Come on, he's been staying with you guys for a very long time. Plus, I saw that particular statue at your room where the two of you sharing a kiss."
"Oh that…" Gloria looked down, embarrassed.
"Come on, only the two of us will know…" Gardenia leaned closer, very eager to hear her answer.
"…I like him." Gloria finally confessed, although it felt like a huge weight was lifted off from her shoulders, she still felt embarrassed confessing like that.
"… Okay." Gardenia nodded and sighed in relief.
"Okay? Just like that? Wait, don't you also like Jax?" Gloria was surprised by her answer.
"I've had a crush on him since childhood…" Gardenia confessed as well.
"I see."
"Anyway, what's taking Jax so long?" Gardenia scratched her head.
"Yeah, he's been there for a while now."
But neither of them knew that the Victini was just outside the dining room, with the snacks already prepared on the tray he was holding. The only thing that stopped him from entering sooner was the awkward conversation those two had.
'Sometimes I really regret having a heightened sense of hearing…'
Much later… as the three finally arrived home…
"We're back!" Luc called out as she went inside the house and was quickly met by her husband and the two shared a quick kiss before he picked up her bags for her.
"Whoa, a dozen bottles, are we going for a drinking spree here?" Chammer was surprised to see the contents of the bag.
"Since Evan's kids are going to stay here, they might as well have fun and join our games too. Our games do have divisions for men and women right?" Luc replied with a smile.
Chammer smirked as he took the bag with him and went towards the kitchen while Esper and Victoria entered, with the water-type extremely exhausted and dropped the six bags she was forced to carry on the floor, and laid next to them while Esper simply laid the floating bags by only moving her hands down.
"Water… water…" The Vaporeon said while panting heavily as sweat were flowing from her face as steam could be seen coming from her head.
"Hey, you're all back!" Lily, Jolt, Umber and Flare greeted the two.
"Uhh, what's with her?" Lily quickly noticed the Vaporeon lying on the floor, repeating the same words over and over again.
"Oh, it's nothing. Can you be a dear and give her some water?" Esper smiled while the Leafeon did as she was told.
"W-wait…" Victoria called out, causing Lily to stop in her tracks.
"What is it?"
"Bathroom… Bathroom…" Her voice grew weak, but Lily understood what she meant and assisted her up and the two went upstairs.
"I've never seen Victoria that exhausted before." Jolt said but began checking out the contents of the bags.
"This is probably her first time doing any physical labour." Esper smirked.
"Oh, Esper?" Luc called out to the psychic type.
"Can you two carry the bags to the dining room?" The Shiny Gardevoir smiled and left the two.
"Well, you heard her." Esper lifted half of the bags in mid-air.
"WHAT?"
"Since Victoria's out, you're going to take her place." Esper waved and went towards the dining room while the floating bags followed her.
"No fair…"
Meanwhile…
"Now you finished, registering for your account, you can now play!"
The two children were busy at the computer screen, but with Synthia now playing while Lucy watched and assisted her.
The Sylveon was extremely eager to start her own adventures with her own character on the virtual world of MMORPG. She typed in her username and password and logged in and was now at a character creation screen.
"Okay, so what role do you want? A Tank? DPS? Or Support?" Lucy asked while Synthia was in a brainstorm on what she wanted the most.
"Hmm, what would best suit me? It's hard to choose…" Synthia scratched her head.
"You could try out DPS since they're the easiest role for beginners."
"Okay then." Synthia was convinced since she's really new and all and chose the role as another screen popped out, now asking what kind of Pokémon she wants to be in the following choices. She began scrolling down on the different Pokémon and was now at a brainstorm again.
"Sneasel, Zangoose, Starly, Rattata, Riolu, Abra, Chimchar, Treecko, Croagunk… Bah, I can't decide! There's so many awesome Pokémon to choose!" Synthia sighed.
"You could try out a Zangoose, Rattata, or a Starly since they're all normal types, meaning there's a lot of moves you can learn without any restrictions." Lucy suggested.
Lucy stretched out towards the doorknob of the bathroom and opened it and jumped towards the toilet. She was about to remove her pants down, when she noticed that she wasn't alone in the bathroom.
She quickly turned towards the bath tub and noticed the Vaporeon inside the filled bath tub with her eyes closed and mouth wide open where she continuously drank the water coming from the faucet. She didn't even care to remove her now soaking wet clothes that her undergarments are already visible.
"Hey Victoria, here are some towels and a fresh set of clothes for…" Lucy shifted her sight towards the door where the Jolteon opened with towels and clothes on her hands, until she noticed the Ralts as the two stared at each other.
The day quickly went by as the group was busy in preparing the house for the evening feast and the games.
About four tables were added along with a set of chairs for each as they were surprised by the huge number of guests is going to appear tonight.
Jax and his mother were at the kitchen where they were now cooking the prepared meals in a very fast manner; well that's no surprise there since the two are experts in cooking.
Chammer was busy on the other side of the kitchen with a tray filled with shot glasses as he poured the wine equally on each glass with a wide smirk on his face.
The rest of the girls were busy in finishing the decorations of the house, well all except for Synthia who were still busy at Lucy's room; decorated the Christmas tree on the living room, large fluffy, red-white socks were hanging above along with candy canes and snowmen. And the Christmas lights placed along each doorway made the atmosphere pretty lively for everyone.
However, unknown to all except for one, has been hiding a special item all this time, just waiting for the perfect opportunity…
*RRRRIIIIIIINNNNNGGG*
Suddenly, a chiming sound echoed as everyone was surprised on who was at the door. They all went towards the entrance where Luc came over and opened the door, as everyone's eyes were shocked to see who it was.
"MOM!"
"DAD!"
They all shouted in joy as they quickly recognized the Eevee's and rushed quickly to give them a welcoming hug. Although, a certain someone just hid herself from view.
"We missed all of you." The Eevee said as he patted each of his children's heads as they continued to hug and kiss them.
"How'd you know we were here?" Esper asked as her sisters' also realized that and were interested in their answer.
"Well, we were going to surprise you back at the house, when it was under construction…" The other Eevee replied.
"Oh…"
"Then Flynn told me that all of you were staying at Chammer's place. So where is Jax? I want to meet him." The Eevee said.
"Wait, I'll go get him." Luc said to him and went towards the kitchen.
"And I'll just call Synthia." Gloria said and went upstairs.
"Lily." The Eevee's called out to the Leafeon.
"Mom?" She was surprised and came closer to her.
"Are you all right? From Flynn's story, he said that you were assaulted by a faculty, and then you were kidnapped."
"Yes I am. But it was thanks to everyone's help that I'm unharmed." Lily replied while Jolana opened her arms and gave her a hug. "Oh and Jax also saved Gloria when she fell off of a cliff."
"He's here." Luc came back at the kitchen, but with her husband and son following her behind.
"Hey, Evan! Jolana! Long-time no see!" Chammer said and gave them a friendly hug. Whilst Jax was surprised to finally see their parents in person, for the first time.
"You must be Jax." Evan said.
"Yes sir."
"Allow me to give you my endless gratitude, for protecting our family while we're away." Evan shook his hand and gave quite a firm grip.
"It's… no problem, sir." Jax felt embarrassed.
"Mommy! Daddy!" A voice called out to them as they all turned their attention towards the Sylveon with the Glaceon right behind her; the youngest sister immediately ran towards them and leapt to her parents, as the Eevee caught her and kissed her on the forehead.
"We miss you, Synthia." The two gave her a loving hug before placing her on the floor.
"Now back to the topic, as a token of our gratitude…" Evan looked at the Victini.
"You may marry one of our daughters. You have our blessings." Jolana said, leaving everyone shocked, especially Jax and you know who...
"WWWWHHHHAAAATTTT?"
As the sun began to set on the lovely Liberty Garden, we find the group in a very awkward situation.
"You may marry one of our daughters. You have our blessings."
These words came from the Mother's mouth, which surprised everyone inside the house, especially the "Hero" of the Eevee family, also the emerald-haired Pokémon if you guys completely forgot about her.
"WWWWHHHHAAAATTTT?" Flare let out a scream.
'NNNNOOOOOO!' The Gardevoir screamed inside her head as she hid herself from everyone's view and knelt down, with her hands on her mouth as tears formed on her eyes.
"What are we, items now?" Victoria added, clearly not too happy about it.
"Mom, isn't this a bit too sudden?" Esper asked in a much calmer tone than those two.
"Why not? He protected our family, and He also saved Lily and Gloria." Jolana replied.
"That's not the point, Mom…" Esper placed her palm over her face.
"What do you think, Lily?" Their mother now turned towards the grass type as everyone turned their attention to the Leafeon, now it was her turn to be placed at an awkward, uncomfortable position.
"I, uh, err…" The grass-type began to blush deeply as all eyes were staring at her as she couldn't come up with an answer, especially with him with here.
"What's with the blush? What about you Gloria?"
"Huh?" Gloria was just surprised when they involved her in this and quickly blushed red.
"Ma, Pa?" Jax stared at his parents for help as the two quickly hid their smirks and made a fake innocent faces but neither uttered a word.
"Mom, what do you say about this?"
"I think it's a great idea. The marriage between two families is like an extension of their friendship and mutual bond, right?" Luc nodded with joy.
"Dad?"
"My son, finally becoming a man. I'm so proud to be a father!" Tears formed from Chammer's eyes as he said it proudly, making a fist in the air.
"You guys aren't helping at all…"
"Gloria and Lily are suitable candidates, but they're shy and too passive about their feelings for him-"
"I'm… shy?" Gloria slowly spoke as she reflected if what she said was really true.
"Passive…" Lily looked down and went into a deep thought.
"Esper just lost a boyfriend and I think that she's still couldn't get over it up to this time-" Synthia continued, now it was towards her second eldest sister.
"W-what? I'm doing perfectly fine!" The Espeon was startled to hear that from her.
"Plus, Flare and Victoria only have great bodies and nothing else."
"What do you mean nothing else, punk?" The Flareon and Vaporeon were instantaneously pissed and tried to get their hands over that Sylveon's neck.
"Synthia!" A loud, deep voice called out to the Sylveon, immediately interrupting her as well as shocking everyone inside the room as everyone cantered their attention towards the Eevee.
"…Yes, Daddy?" Synthia slowly spoke as she became scared.
"We were just joking. We were messing with you guys from the start." Evan said, as everyone's eyes widened in surprise, while Luc and Chammer, on the other hand burst out laughing; as they stared at each other.
"Eh?" Synthia was surprised of them all.
"We were trying to tell you but you wouldn't stop." Jolana smirked and patted the stunned Sylveon who finally let go of Jax.
"Owned yourself right there, huh?" Flare added and was now laughing at the fairy-type.
"And you're still just a body with no brains!" Synthia added, quickly responding to Flare's attempt in teasing her.
"Why you little!" The Flareon was defeated again as she quickly lost her temper yet again.
"Save me!" Synthia happily jumped into Jax's arms, forcing him to keep her from Flare's reach.
"They never change, do they honey?" Evan said as he laid his hands over the shoulders of his husband.
"Yeah." The Jolteon leaned closer to his face as their cheeks touched; as they watched their children enjoying themselves.
"Okay, now that's finished. Why don't you guys sit and relax at the living room. You two must be very tired from your trip." Chammer said to the two.
"Thanks. We'll just get the gifts back at the car." Evan replied, quickly catching the
The evening feast had begun as everyone is in their festive mood as they all dug in at the buffet table filled with varieties of food. The table where the adults were staying is already having a blast where laughter, snorts, and other whatnots are already creating quite a noise.
"Whoa, they're pretty lively there." The Glaceon said as she stared at the other guests happily enjoying themselves.
"So you really endured those six years?" Gloria asked the Victini who also happens to be her seatmate.
"I just got used to the noise quickly, although I still preferred it a little quieter like in your place." Jax replied.
"Oh I see." The Glaceon slowly nodded.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot, where's Lucy?" Synthia suddenly asked.
"Upstairs in her room as usual, she doesn't like noise that much." The Victini answered.
"Doesn't she get lonely all by herself?" Jolt asked.
"Not exactly." He replied while the Sylveon smirked as she knew why.
"Do you mean that popular online game, umm, what is it called again?" Victoria said.
"Pokémon Heroes." Synthia replied.
"Ooh, looks like Synthia already played it huh?" Flare added.
"Yep. I already made my own account, and once we get home, I'll install this game right away!" The fairy type happily said to them, excited about her plans.
"Aren't video games bad especially at your age?" Flare asked.
"Well, Luc told us earlier that teachers of their school are even encouraging them to play that game since it boosted their grades, especially when it comes to battling." Esper explained as everyone who didn't know like Flare, Lily and Gloria about it were just surprised.
"I know a better idea! Why don't both of you play it then?" Synthia asked, pertaining to the Vaporeon and Flareon.
"Very funny." Victoria said with an irritated look on her face.
"It would greatly help the two of you, since you're both airheads and all…" She added as she giggled.
"Do you want me to stand, go there and put my hands around your neck?" Flare's temper quickly snapped.
"Big brother, save me from this monster!" Synthia quickly leaned and hugged the Victini.
Meanwhile…
"lyt scrn me!"
"spam hydro pumps"
"I can tank tis kk?"
"I nid pp ups"
"reflect now!"
"wers the heal?"
"Ran out of berries!"
"its gona use flare blitz"
"quick, some1 do mirror coat"
"I nid a revive"
"got burned! Nid burn hyl!"
"almost ter!"
"com on guyz!"
"juz a little mor"
Groudon has been defeated. Your party gained 5628 experience each and 200 legendary points.
"!"
Back at the dining room…
"Did you guys hear that?" Gloria asked everyone as she heard a faint scream somewhere.
"Hmm? Hear what?" Victoria shook her head.
"…Never mind."
An hour later, as everyone was stuffed and left their plates on the tables and didn't have any more room to go back to the buffet table for another round.
Luc stood up from her seat and went towards an open space where she got a clear view on everyone as they all stared at the Gardevoir.
"Now that everyone's finished. Shall we proceed with the games?" She announced.
"HELL YEA-" The Hariyama quickly stood up from his seat and was about to roar and thrust a fist to the air when… "URP!" He quickly covered his mouth and went back to his seat as everyone laughed at his failed attempt.
"You ate too much again, didn't you?" The Breloom said as she placed a palm on her forehead.
"Couldn't help it! Needed the strength." He said as he tried to flex his arms.
"First up will be the arm wrestling match." Luc announced as she pointed her hand towards the kitchen where the Medicham came out with a tall table, complete with doughnut-shaped rubbers where wrestlers place their elbows to make sure their arms are secure while small rubber pillars which acts as a goal where players have to make their opponent's hand touch it to win.
"You guys know the prize right?" Luc asked them all as she revealed a small card from her pocket.
"Lifetime membership at your gym!" The Primeape answered with intensity.
"The rules are simple as usual; best of seven rounds, and everytime a player wins a round, he has to take a shot from this tray. Vomiting during the match will disqualify you." Luc explained the rules and pointed out at a tray where plenty of shot glasses were arranged. Even Evan's kids were stunned on how their games work.
"I thought it was just a simple arm wrestling…" Gloria said.
"Ooohh, I want to join." Flare stood up from her seat and was excited to try this game out.
"Eh? You sure?" They were all surprised.
"Why not? It looks like fun, and that's what this party is all about right?" The Flareon answered as she exercised her arms.
"Count me in, sis." Victoria also stood up from her seat and began stretching her arms.
"Hey! You two want to join?" Chammer saw the two preparing themselves as he approached them and asked.
"Yep! We just want to try it out."
"Heh, that's the spirit!" The Medicham smiled while tossing a camera towards the Victini. Clearly, he knew what his job was and followed him as his father accompanied the two towards the arm wrestling table.
"You girls will be fighting with the other girls like Bretha, Polly, Jinkee, and Ina." He said to them while pointing out their opponents: the Breloom, Poliwrath, Jynx, and Infernape.
"Whoa. Can we even do this?" Victoria was surprised to see their older, taller, and surely stronger opponents.
"Don't worry about it. Watch this." Chammer said to them as their eyes widened in surprise by his statement.
"Since two of Evan and Jolana's kids are joining with the women's division: How about we add a new rule?" Chammer announced.
"Sure, why not?" The Breloom smirked.
"Heh, every year you guys come up with another new rule to this game." The Poliwrath chuckled.
"It's the usual best of seven rounds for you guys, but they only need to win a round to advance." He said as they were stunned by the new rule he added.
"Well, at least we don't have to drink those." Victoria whispered to the Flareon while pointing towards the shot glasses.
"Don't know if you're just pulling our legs here, but I like it." The Infernape seconded the idea.
"Same here." The Jynx said.
"Don't worry girls; we'll try to go easy on you." Bretha said to the two and smiled at the two.
"First up, will be Flare and Jinkee." Chammer announced.
"What?" Flare was just as surprised as everybody else; she gulped down her throat and slowly made her way towards the table.
"Go easy on her, Jinkee." The Breloom said.
"Don't worry, I'll make this not too quick." The ice type replied as she approached her side of the table.
The two placed their elbows on the doughnut shaped rubber to secure their arm from moving; the Flareon was frightened as the Jynx's bigger hands gripped hers very tightly.
"Good luck Flare! You're going to need it!" Victoria rooted for her.
"So, are you two ready? Round 1 will start in 3… 2… 1…" The Medicham counted down as sweat already dropped from Flare's face.
"GO!" Round 1 had started as the Flareon immediately tried to move the Jynx's hands to touch the goal; while her opponent on the other hand, didn't move at all, as if she's just testing her out.
"Don't worry hon. there are still more rounds to go." Jinkee suddenly said to her.
"Huh?" Flare quickly turned her attention towards the Jynx's face where the ice type made a seducing look at her, winking her eyes, and puckered her lips which disgusted the Vaporeon and made her lose her concentration.
The Jynx smirked as she took this opportunity and quickly overpowered her as the Flareon's hand touched the goal.
"Jinkee wins the first round!" Chammer announced.
"Hey, she distracted me!" Flare quickly complained.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that, players are allowed to distract his or her opponent but it shouldn't be physical like kicking, spitting on his or her face, etc."
"Why do I feel that you just made that up on the spot?" Flare said to herself as she stared at the Medicham making an innocent look at her.
"Don't worry about it, the following rounds will be a challenge for her since she has to drink a shot glass every time she wins a round." Chammer reassured her as he brought a shot glass towards the Jynx while she stared at it for a bit before drinking all of its contents.
"Yuck!" The Jynx stuck her tongue out as the taste of the liquor very strong than she expected.
"Okay, ready for round 2?" Chammer said as the two positioned themselves at the table, but with the Jynx already making a weird face at the Flareon.
'Hmm, looks like I should still let her win for two more rounds and I'll take advantage of the fourth round once she's drunk!' Flare smirked about her brilliant plan as she gripped Jinkee's hand tightly.
Round two went by quickly as Flare didn't exert a lot of effort into it while the Jynx had to drink another shot glass, but now she began to rub her eyes now…
Victoria smiled as she realized the Flareon's intentions are and stared at the Jynx who was swaying a little bit.
*SLAM* Round three was finished quickly while the Flareon didn't care at all since she just stared at the Jynx taking her third shot glass now.
"WHOA!" Jinkee shouted out loud as she held her head as she suddenly felt dizziness on her noggin.
"Woot! You can do it Jinkee!" The Infernape rooted for her while the others chanted for her opponent's name.
"You guys…" The Jynx got annoyed as she slammed her elbow against the table and gripped the Flareon's hand very tightly.
Flare gulped down as she stared at her opponent's serious face thanks to their cheers. Now she is afraid that her plan backfired.
"Round four, begin!" Chammer shouted as the Flareon put all her might on her arm since this was the last round, plus making her opponent drunk and unable to concentrate didn't go so well either.
However, the Jynx's arm didn't budge at all, much to her dismay…
"DO YOU THINK YOUR LITTLE PLAN WILL WORK AGAINST-" Jinkee suddenly shouted at her as she slowly forced her hand against her opponent, however, when the Flareon's hand was merely an inch away from touching the goal, the Jynx suddenly stopped.
*BLARGH* Her huge lips were wide open as she regurgitated the food she ate onto the table, drenching both their arms with warm, predigested food.
"JINKEE IS DISQUALIFIED! FLANNERY IS THE WINNER!" Chammer announced the victor as the grownups laughed hard at the outcome of the match while the rest were downright disgusted.
"GROSS!" Flare freaked out at her arm covered in vomit as she quickly let go and ran towards the kitchen.
Moments later…
The table was now cleaned, the Jynx slouching against a chair, recovering from her soberness but with the Flareon still hasn't come back from the kitchen.
"Why is Flare taking so long?" Lily asked.
"I'll go fetch her." Jolt volunteered as she stood up from her seat and went towards the kitchen.
As she entered the kitchen, she saw the Flareon at the kitchen sink and approached her slowly as she could hear the sound of running water and some rigorous scrubbing.
"I'll never play an arm wrestling match ever again!" Flare said to herself as she continuously washed her arm with soap and water, still horrified by the incident. She held a bar of soap in her hand and scrubbed her other hand as soap bubbles completely covered the arm, then she doused it with water again.
"Hey, you alright?" Gloria said to her, but as the Flareon never looked at her, instead, she shut the faucet and smelled her arm, only to open the faucet and drench it again. Poor Flare.
"You're hopeless…"
Back at the dining room…
The games resumed as it was now the boys' turn to compete amongst themselves. Shouts and laughs ensued as the players became sober as the rounds went by thanks to the very strong liquor, until a victor was called.
"This is becoming boring… I'll go watch Lucy play instead." Synthia whispered to them, clearly didn't feel the excitement that the grownups are having, as she stood from her seat and went outside the dining room.
"I'll go and accompany Umber." Umber said to them as she also left her seat and hurried followed the Sylveon upstairs.
All that's left was Esper, Gardenia and Vanessa, although the water type was a contestant, so she couldn't leave now. However, her enthusiasm earlier was also shattered due to her sister's incident.
Suddenly, Gardenia stood up from her seat and went towards Jax to keep him company.
"Hey." She called out to him.
"Hey." He replied as he continued filming the entire match with the camera while Gardenia stood close and stared at the screen.
"So you're always doing this every year?" The psychic type asked.
"Yeah; Dad says it's for old times' sake."
"Oh I see."
While the two were busy talking with each other; back at the table, the Espeon suddenly stood up from her seat.
"Hey, you're not going to watch me?" Victoria complained since almost all of them have left the dining room, with no one rooting for her.
"I'll just watch beside Mom." Esper replied as she pointed out towards the Jolteon who was now watching her husband compete, while the Vaporeon joined her.
*SLAM* The Hariyama slammed the Eevee's tiny hands compared to his, onto the goal, ensuring the victory.
"YEAH!" Harry shouted as he flexed his arm since the match was obviously easy for him, since he swept the match with no loss at all.
"Sorry, compared to the difference of our size, it's obvious who the winner was." Evan said as he approached his family, while his wife kissed him on the cheek and comforted him.
"Okay, next up, Victoria and Ina!" Chammer announced, shocking the Vaporeon.
"Good luck hon." Jolana said to her daughter and patted her on the back.
"Do I have to?" The water type whined.
"Well, you wanted to try it out earlier right?"
"Not anymore…" Victoria sighed as she slowly approached the table as her opponent waited for her.
"What's with the face? Don't worry; I'm used to drinking so I won't vomit on you." The Infernape smiled at her as she positioned herself on the table while Victoria became more discouraged than before.
'There goes Flare's plan…' She sighed since making her opponent drunk was going to be ineffective…
"Round one, begin!" The Medicham shouted as Victoria put all her might and tried to push her opponent's hand towards the goal, but the difference between their strength was obvious.
The Infernape smirked as she, with little to no effort at all, slammed Victoria's hand against the goal, ensuring victory on round one.
Victoria sighed as she watched her opponent swiftly drinking all of the shot glass' contents and didn't make any face at all.
*SLAM* Round two was quickly over as the fire type took another shot glass, and shook her face repeatedly.
*SLAM* Round three also ended in a few seconds, but when she took her third glass, she began to rub her eyes as she went back to the table, but she suddenly lost her balance and stumbled onto the floor.
"Whoa, you okay?" The Breloom knelt down and helped her on her feet.
'What the hell? I thought she was used to drinking…' Victoria's mouth was wide open, but she felt like there was still a chance for her to win.
"I'm fine! I'm fine!" The Infernape quickly went towards the place with a silly look on her face as she gripped her opponent's hand.
"Fourth and final round, begin!"
Instead of the Infernape immediately overpowering the Vaporeon and ending the round quickly, she decided to play it.
She began to sway her hand back and forth, and since she was in full control of the match due to her strength.
"Woot! Show-off!" The Breloom laughed at what the fire type was just playing around and prolonging the match; pushing her opponents hand until it was only an inch from touching her goal and vice versa; but getting a little too carried away on her match when…
*TOUCH* The back of her hand touched the Vaporeon's goal.
That was her very undoing…
"VICTORIA WINS!" Chammer announced as everyone roared in laughter.
"SHOWOFF FAIL!" The Breloom shouted as they all laughed at the Infernape.
"Fail of the year!"
They all teased the Infernape with all sorts of names and terms as the fire type slowly went to a corner with her head down as she sat on her butt and covered her face with her arms, ashamed at herself.
Another two hours have passed by as the games had finally come to an end as everyone was bidding farewell amongst themselves outside the house.
"LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP! OH YEAH!" The Hariyama shouted as he raised the card proudly.
"Thanks for the party, Chammer, Luc." The Breloom said as she bowed down to the two as they all waved goodbye at each other.
"Is it okay for us to stay here a while longer?" Evan asked the Medicham.
"Sure! You can stay here for as long as you want."
"Thanks, although we'll be back at our house before new year comes."
"I called Flynn a while ago, and he said that our house will be done in about two to three more days." Jolana added.
"So any plans after new year?" Luc asked the two.
"Going back in traveling the world. This time, in Kanto." Evan replied.
"Eh? What about the kids?"
"I wouldn't worry too much about them; my family is in good hands by the way."
"Heh."
"Well, its past eleven now…" Jolana said as she stared at her watch.
"Yeah, time to hit the sack." Chammer replied as he stretched out his arms and yawned.
"So… Who's going to clean up?" Evan asked.
"You need to ask?" Chammer smirked.
Meanwhile… at the kitchen…
"Typical parents…" Jax sighed as he began washing the dirty dishes stacked beside the sink; he was left to clean the mess they made, not that he was complaining though.
"All of them must be asleep by now…" He looked at the clock just above them since it's almost midnight.
As he was busy washing the remaining dishes, he never noticed someone walking quietly towards him.
"H-hey…" He was interrupted when a voice called out to him as he quickly turned towards the direction of the sound.
His eyes widened in surprise as he saw the Leafeon walking towards him, but strangely, her face felt serious but was blushing red.
"Lily, you're still awake?" Jax asked as the grass type slowly approached him.
"Couldn't sleep…" She made an excuse and went to his side as she looked on what he was doing.
"Oh…" Jax went back to washing dishes while Lily remained silent at his side, quietly observing him as the atmosphere inside the kitchen became uncomfortable for the two.
"Umm… do you need something to drink?" Jax broke the silence and asked her.
"Uhh, yeah." She slowly nodded as he shut off the faucet and went towards a cupboard.
"Do you want some hot cocoa?"
"Sure." Lily nodded again while he took out some containers onto the counter as she stared at him again.
'What are you doing, Lily!' She was in deep thought, her plan was already set but she was too afraid of herself on what was going to happen next.
Jax mixed the ingredients onto a mug, poured hot water and mixed it with a spoon as he approached the Leafeon.
"Here you go." He said as he extended the cup towards her as she slowly took it from his hands.
'You can do this!' She tried to coach herself to relieve some of the tension; and with a big sigh, she suddenly stared at the Victini straight in the eye.
"Is something wrong?" He felt strange when she stared at him while the Leafeon placed her mug on the counter but kept staring at him.
"Do you know what that is?" She suddenly asked him as she looked towards the ceiling, prompting him to do the same.
"I-Is that a-" Jax looked at an object hanging right above them, it looked like a plant which looked familiar to him. However, his eyes widened in surprise as realization struck him; but when he looked back at the Leafeon, she already made the move…
Since he was clearly off guard, she stepped closer to him, with her hand holding his arm and the other on the back of his head as she pushed his face towards her while she leaned her face forward and kissed him on the lips.
Meanwhile…
'I have to do this now. I hope that he's by himself.' Another person was standing outside the kitchen, clearly unaware on what was going on inside.
The emerald haired Pokémon did some breathing exercise to remove that anxiety from her body. Now, feeling ready, she walked slowly towards the kitchen door and took a peek.
'It's do or die, now I'll just have to-" She was eager to see her crush all by her lonesome, but, she was just stunned by what she saw.
The Victiniand the Leafeon locking lips and in an intimate position, crushing her plan as well as her hopes as tears formed from her eyes.
'No… It can't be…' She covered her mouth, trying to stop herself from crying but tears flowed from her face.
She quickly ran away from the kitchen, she couldn't bear seeing him already with someone else, someone beating her to his heart… She couldn't accept what just happened.
But instead of going upstairs, her body glowed brightly as she immediately vanished in a second…
Back at the kitchen…
Lily finally let go of the hold as the two stared at each other's blushing red faces.
"I… love you Jax." Those words came out from the Leafeon's mouth as she suddenly ran outside the kitchen, leaving the stunned Victini by himself.
Two days later…
"Thank you for your hospitality." Evan and his family thanked Chammer and his as they bowed down in gratitude.
"No problem. Come visit us anytime." Chammer smirked as the two made a handshake.
"Bye Lucy, thanks for letting me borrow your CD." Synthia waved the CD towards the Riolu as she happily waved back as well.
"No problem. Can't wait to see you in game!" Lucy replied.
"W-wait, are we missing someone?" Lucia, Jax's older sister, asked as everyone stared at each other, clueless on who was missing amongst themselves.
"Oh, you mean Gardenia? She told me that she overstayed her welcome and was too embarrassed to tell to you guys." Synthia suddenly said.
"Strange girl…" Evan scratched his head.
Jax, however, was silent, he stared at the grass type as she noticed him staring at her as she looked at him, but she eventually looked away.
"Well, this is goodbye… for now." Jolana said to them.
"Hey Jax, you're awfully quiet." Lucia noticed and gave him an elbow to the abdomen.
"Aww, do you want to spend New Years with those girls instead?" She began teasing him as she placed her arm around him and grinded his head with her fist, making him yell in pain.
"Hmm?" The Glaceon noticed the Leafeon hasn't said a word at all and approached her.
"Hey, are you okay? You're suddenly quiet." She said to her.
"H-huh? Who? Me? No!" Lily broke from her trance and said it out loud, leaving Gloria stunned by her sudden behavior.
"Till we meet again, old friend." Evan bid farewell as he waved his hands towards the Medicham and his family as they began to walk away from the home.
"Bye"
"W-wait! So Esper will cook again while Jax is gone?" Flannery said out loud.
"What? Jax! Come back! We all need you!" Victoria added with a shriek of her own.
"Why you!" Esper became quickly pissed and began chasing the two as they quickly sped off.
'I'll come back before New Year ends.' Jax smiled at the Eevee family as they all went back inside the house.