Yancy's Christmas Carol

~Chapter One~
Christmas Shopping

"Thank you! Come again!" said the voice of the store's cashier as she handed the customer his receipt. As the man gathered his shopping bags into his arms and went on his way, the next customer in line—a pink-haired adolescent whose face was hidden beneath her winter scarf—stepped up to the registry and was politely greeted; "Hello there. Find everything you were looking for alright?"

"Yes I did, thank you!" replied the teenage lass as she placed her items on the checkout desk to be registered. Although her smile could not be seen through the scarf covering her face, her voice carried all the holiday cheer to make itself known. The woman running the checkout responded with a smile as she got to work scanning and bagging the items she was handed.

"Is there anything here you'd like gift-wrapped?" she asked as she continued to ring up the purchase.

"Yes, please," the pink-haired girl responded, pointing out the heated shoulder-massaging device among the items she was buying. "This one. It's a Christmas gift for my dad."

"Oh, what a thoughtful daughter you are!" complemented the cashier as she set the item aside for wrapping and handed the girl a tag and a pen. "Here, you can fill out the tag as I get this wrapped." The scarfed lass did just that, writing the following in the To and From lines printed on the tag;

To: Dad
From: Yancy

As she looked it over, however, she couldn't help but find it somewhat insufficient. Sure, all she was doing is signing two simple lines on what was only a generic tag...but that's just it; it was only generic. Thinking about all the unconditional love and care her father gives her—even through times when she isn't always as obedient of a daughter as she could and should be—she felt that the man who raised her does not deserve such a generic message; he deserves a personal one. —Especially on this particular Christmas when she might not get the chance to present it to him in-person... With that in mind, she crossed off the generic word 'From' that came pre-printed on the tag and wrote in with her own hand the word 'Love' in its place. Satisfied, she then handed the tag back to the cashier who was now ready to attach it to the newly-wrapped gift.

The woman scanned Yancy's debit card and printed up her receipt. "Thank you! Come again!" she said as she handed the teen her things.

"Thanks! You too!" the pink-haired lass replied merrily as she took her shopping bags and proceeded out the door. —It was not until after exiting the store that it occurred to her what she had just said. 'Oh, wait...' she thought to herself while cringing, and would have facepalmed, too, if her hands weren't full. 'Ah, well... It's not like I haven't said dumber things than THAT in my life...'

Having found a suitable gift for her father, Yancy could now cross another name off of her Christmas-shopping list as she stepped back out into the mall. The gifts for her siblings had already been picked out quite awhile ago, as children tend to be so much easier to buy for than grownups, but she was still undecided yet on what to get for one special person. She did have a few more stops left to make today, though, so she decided to do a little bit of 'window-shopping' along the way with the hopes that an idea might come to her as she browses the other stores' selections.

The surrounding mall was decorated festively for the upcoming holidays, with colored lights displayed on every storefront, Christmas trees erect in each plaza, carols being played on the mall stereo, children lining up to sit upon the laps of paid actors dressed as Santa Claus, inflatable snowmen and reindeer placed outside every other shop, and even the occasional Nativity scene sidelined into the corner amidst all the commercialism. Indeed, the Christmas decor was on full display today everywhere you turn.

...Just as it had been everyday since pretty much the very next day after Halloween, but now that it was actually the middle of December, one could truly take in the festive sights without feeling the need to facepalm at all the industries' over-eagerness to commercialize early.

'HOLIDAY SALE' signs were displayed in the windows of every store Yancy passed (despite the obvious fact that the said stores' prices had actually gone UP over the month instead of down, with expensive items claiming to have previously cost $300 now being sold for only $250...even though they would have actually only costed $200 at any other time of year), accompanied by whatever sort of merchandise was being sold there, but nothing among the displayed items seemed to catch the interest of the pink-haired teen still searching for the ideal gift for her special someone.

Not that this special someone of hers was hard to please; he would likely be happy with anything she were to give him—or even with no gift at all, for that matter—but because he is such a special person to her, she wanted to be able to present him with only a special gift. It should be something spectacular enough to show how much she values and appreciates him, but at the same time, something not too extravagant that she might come across as being obsessive or trying too hard to impress. Finding a gift that strikes the right balance between extraordinary and humble was proving to be no easy task for the young teen.

But this was not the only dilemma on her mind today related to the holiday-rush, as a certain advertisement poster that seemed to show up everywhere she went kept reminding her;

NANCY'S CHRISTMAS CAROL

UNOVA'S MOST FAMOUS POP SINGER
PERFORMING LIVE THIS CHRISTMAS EVE!

On the front of the said poster was a teenage girl (allegedly named 'Nancy') with long, pink hair that spiraled out to the side and turned light-blue towards the tip. She was garbed in a red-and-white dress reminiscent of the attire of Santa Claus to fit with the holiday theme, with hearts and snowflakes surrounding her and mistletoe decorating the poster's frame, as she stood in a cutesy pose while winking towards the camera with her arms wrapped around an oversized gift-box and a bright—but totally phony—smile upon her face. No one else who were to look at the poster could tell that the girl's smile was phony, but Yancy knew with absolute certainty that it was so. She knew better than anyone that everything about this 'Nancy' girl was phony; her long and colorful hair, her apparent confidence in front of a camera, her never-ending cheeriness, her love for the spotlight...even her name.

In truth; this famous 'Nancy' was nothing more than an idealized persona for a certain awkward teen to hide behind when performing on stage. And that certain awkward teen...was none other than Yancy herself.

'I really wish I had more time to work on my performance before the concert...' the girl thought to herself with a sigh as she looked begrudgingly at the poster of her alter-ego on the wall. 'I just hope I can pull it off...' Although she generally does enjoy her job, but if there was any concert throughout her career that she truly resented having to do, this was it; the decision to hold a live concert on Christmas Eve came on such short notice without any prior discussion, Yancy just received a sudden call from her manager telling her that the date had been set and she had barely two weeks to prepare for it.

To make matters worse; her family had already made plans to celebrate the holidays with her relatives from a distant region and had already booked their airline tickets ahead of time for the 23rd of December so that they could arrive at their destination a day in advance, but with the sudden news that she will now be working on Christmas Eve when it's too late for them to reschedule their flight, they had all been left with a huge dilemma which they were still struggling desperately to sort out in time for the holidays. By the current looks of things, she may not be able to spend Christmas with her family at all this year if no solution could be figured out soon enough...

Pushing such stressful thoughts from her mind, Yancy reminded herself to just stay focused on her Christmas shopping for the moment and worry about the upcoming concert and the dilemmas it presents later. She still had a few gifts in mind left to pickup yet, after all, as well as the special one that she had yet to even decide upon. Tightening the scarf covering her face to ensure it doesn't slip in public and reveal her recognizable face to any paparazzi that might be lurking nearby (which was, in fact, the exact reason why she was wearing a scarf in an indoor mall in the first place), the girl continued on her way through the grand building, peering through the windows of various shops as she passed them in search of gift ideas, until she stopped in her tracks upon overhearing the nearby banter exchanged between two familiar voices...

"Dude, she's all you ever talk about these days! Don't even try to deny it."

"So what if she does happen to come up in conversation a lot? That doesn't make me 'obsessed' with her!"

"Yeah? Well, I'd say the way you've been absolutely obsessing over what to get her suggests otherwise..."

"Hey, I just think she deserves the best, okay?!"

Yancy's heart skipped a beat as she caught sight of the two boys bickering in the square. Although their backs were presently turned to her as they were busy looking over the display in a store window and unaware yet of her presence, she immediately recognized them both by the sound of their voices, the familiar jackets they wore, and their trademark haircuts that could be easily pointed out in a crowd from a mile away; one being blue and spiky like a Quilfish, the other a bushy brown afro that would likely make her grandfather's deceased uncle who used to be a barber roll in his grave (although Yancy personally found it cute on him).

There was no mistaking it; the first boy was undoubtedly Hugh, whom she did not know particularly well but was introduced to awhile back and could easily recognize anywhere. The second boy, however, was none other than that special someone whom she was currently seeking a worthy gift for;

Nate.

She first met him over a year ago when she had lost her Xtransceiver somewhere in Nimbasa City's amusement park. She tried calling its number using an older model and was relieved to find that it had been picked up by a kind stranger who agreed to hold on to it for her until she was able to come collect it. Surprised to learn that he was a boy her age and finding him pleasant to talk to, she asked afterwards if they could remain in contact and continue to call each other from time to time, which he happily agreed to. As the two continued to get to know each other better and grow closer, he proved to be a very helpful, supportive, and overall genuine friend, and Yancy soon found herself falling in love with the boy.

She has yet to make her exact affection for him known, however, since her protective father has already made it clear that he doesn't want her actively pursuing boys yet at her young age...though he is not closed-minded and has agreed that he would have no objections if a respectful young man were to express romantic interest in her (in an entirely appropriate way, of course) and she should choose to reciprocate. But only on the grounds that the boy is someone well-behaved and trustworthy; a description that Yancy believes Nate embodies better than anyone.

Intrigued (and rather anxious) by the conversation she was currently overhearing from the boys, the pink-haired lass cautiously stepped closer to them, taking care not to reveal herself just yet as she listened closely to their banter from behind a nearby Christmas tree. Her heart was beating with mixed feelings of hope and dread as she anticipated whom this girl might be that they were talking about just now; the girl whom Nate was (according to Hugh) allegedly 'obsessed' with.

'Please be me. Please be me. Please be me,' were the words she found herself frantically repeating in her mind as she tuned in with bated breath, knowing that her heart was either about to be fully overjoyed in this moment...or shattered completely.

"...The best what, exactly?" Hugh retorted to Nate with a smirk. "The best gift...or the best boyfriend?"

"Oh, shut up!" said Nate, throwing an annoyed punch to his friend's shoulder. "I already told you I'm not trying to be her boyfriend!"

"But we both know you want to be~" snickered Hugh as he threw a teasing punch of his own right back.

"Hey, aren't I usually the jokester with you being the ever-so-serious one telling me to quit clowning around?!" Nate retorted as he gave Hugh a playful shove.

"Yes, it seems our roles have been reversed for the moment, haven't they?" said Hugh as he trapped Nate in a headlock. "...And since you never seem to listen when I tell you to sober up, I guess I don't have to listen when you tell me to, either!"

"Well, just so you know..." huffed Nate in imitation of Hugh's voice as he struggled to free himself; "You're about to feel my rage!"

"Hey! That's my line!" scoffed Hugh, tightening his grip.

"Like you said..." Nate wheezed from within Hugh's clutches; "...Our roles...*wheeze*...have been...*wheeze*...reversed..! Ack! I need to breathe..!"

As amusing as this playful banter between the two boys was to eavesdrop upon, Yancy was going crazy trying to figure out who this girl was that they were just talking about. 'Come on, already!' she screamed internally, trembling madly in anticipation from her hiding place behind the Christmas tree. 'Can't one of you just mention the name of this girl before I go insane?! I can't take this suspense much longer!'

As she stood there looking on, however, a passerby took notice of her presence. Seeing the girl in her current condition—standing wide-eyed, pale-faced, sweating like a waterfall, not uttering a sound, shaking violently in place and seemingly holding onto the nearby Christmas tree for support—the man naturally feared there was something medically wrong with her. "Miss! Are you alright?!" asked the concerned gentlemen. "You look like you're having a seizure! Do you need me to to call a_"

"SHHhhhhhh..!" the pink-haired teen hurriedly interrupted with a long shush before he could finish his sentence, lest he unwittingly cause any commotion that would give away her position.

...Unfortunately that panicked shush of hers had ended up being a LOT more audible than she intended...and succeeded to catch the attention of the very two boys who would have otherwise been too occupied in their little scuffle to notice the scenario behind them.

Oops...

Thanks for reading! Gosh, I can't believe I haven't posted anything on this site in almost two years now! I really ought to update those Legend of Zelda and Splatoon stories of mine that have been on hiatus forever, but they can wait until after I've finished this here Christmas special. It's only going to be a few chapters long.

Come to think of it; I just realized this is the first Pokemon fanfic I've ever published here! ...And before anyone comments about it; yes, I am well-aware of the big controversy that goes on around here about whether or not Pokemon names should be capitalized, and I really have no interest in debating it. I personally just stick to capitalizing their names in every context because that's the way it's officially done within the actual franchise, so that's how you're going to see it done in my writings.