Greetings, dear readers, and welcome back to All I Want For Christmas is a Pokémon. Also, Merry Christmas Eve. I hope you all have been doing well this day before the most holly and jolly day of the year (*insert one of my prior apologies for chapter lateness here with changes for holidays*). My gift to you all is this new chapter for your reading pleasure. =)

So, for a quick recap from last chapter: AJ finally let the cat out of the bag (or rather the Pokémon out of the Pokéball, in this case) and let Stephanie know that she found the stowaway. After a bit of a talk, Stephanie agrees to let AJ keep Pikachu...but only on the condition that she and Pikachu win a battle against an opponent of her choosing. This'll certainly be interesting. One talk later, AJ and Pikachu seem to be on the same page as far as teaming up goes. How awesome!

Now, let's get on with the story! I hope you all enjoy this, my dolls. =)

She couldn't believe it. AJ still couldn't believe that she finally had her first Pokémon. ...Well, almost. She just had to make it through the next few days and be ready for her first ever Pokébattle next Monday against an opponent of Stephanie's choosing.

"I just wonder who Steph'll choose as your opponent," Alex wondered out loud as she, AJ, and Pikachu made their way to the Chickbusters's locker room. "Maybe it'll be Naomi or Maryse. Or it could be either Beth or Natalya..."

"What? You trying to say me and Pikachu wouldn't be able to stand against the guys?" AJ raised an eyebrow, a joking tone coloring her voice.

"No no, not at all. I was just thinking in terms of people that you've had matches against in the past. ...Although, it would be pretty cool to see you take on Mikey and his Minun," Alex said, mentioning the Miz.

"It actually would, now that you mention it," AJ agreed before an opponent idea popped into her head. "What if she chose Jeff to be my opponent? Do you think you could pick one of us to root for?"

"Aww, come on, AJ, that's not fair!" the younger brunette jokingly moaned with a pout as she stomped her foot. "Don't make me choose between you and one of my brothers. I don't think my poor young heart could take it."

Laughing at her former mentor's reaction, AJ said "Relax, Alex. I'm just kidding. I know it'd be hard for you to choose a side between me and Jeff, so I'm just hoping to avoid that possibility."

"Same here," Alex agreed. "Well, like we've been talking about it, we'll see come next Monday just who your first ever opponent will be. Meaning training awaits you and Pikachu! ...But first thing's first. We gotta introduce the newest member of our family to everyone else. ...At least everyone that won't run away, that is."

"Right, right," AJ nodded. Looking down at the Electric mouse, AJ asked "Well, Pikachu. You ready to meet some more new people? Again, like I've been saying, I'll be right there with you. It's all going to be okay. They're friends of mine, and maybe they'll be your friends in the future."

'More new people'. This was something that had Pikachu a bit worried. He knew his meetings with the human named Doctor Andrew and the human named Stephanie went well, but he wasn't sure about more. But with the human named AJ and the human named Alex with him, he felt a bit assured with meeting these others. And who knows? Maybe he could look forward to making more friends with these strange people and their Pokémon that he had been following for so long now. Looking up at the human named AJ, Pikachu nodded his head as he said "Pika."

"That's the spirit," AJ smiled. "Now come on. We've got some introductions to make. Hopefully, they all go well."

...

"I wonder where AJ is. You'd think with her, Alex, and Stephanie being a search party of their own, she and Alex would've made their way back by now," Layla wondered as she sat in wait with Kaitlyn, Naomi, and Zack.

"I'm sure they have their reasons," Naomi said. "Maybe Steph had a talk with them about how their searching had been going. Or ...maybe it was something match-related."

"Who knows, bro?" Zack said. "Knowing Steph, it could be anything."

As she sat and listened on as her friends talked through their own theories about what was keeping AJ and Alex from meeting back up with them, it was something that had Kaitlyn feeling a bit worried for her younger friends and teammates. 'I hope AJ didn't get in too much trouble after Steph found out about Sparky-uhh, Pikachu. The way he was acting when I was with them showed that he can be cool around people, so maybe Steph went easy on AJ about having Pikachu. I just wish she would've texted me to let me know how things are going,' the two-toned woman thought as she bit her thumbnail.

"Sa! Bulbasaur!" Bulby could be heard happily saying as she, Buneary, and Quilly ran past her Trainer and the others with her from Marill. Taking notice of how her Trainer was sitting as she ran past her again, she could tell something wasn't right from how she sat. She had all but stopped in place, which was something that in turn all but stopped the game of tag the group had taken to playing. Ignoring some of the slightly angry talk from the other Pokémon-something that got stopped when Buneary and Quilly continued their game and ran away from Marill-Bulby made her way over to her Trainer. A vine extending from the bulb on her back, the Grass-type Pokémon tapped the two-toned woman on her shoulder. Her Trainer now looking down at her, Bulby asked "Bulba?"

The sudden tap seemed to be enough to snap her out of her mental storm as Kaitlyn looked down to see the source of the tapping came from her faithful companion. A light laugh escaping her, Kaitlyn reached down and petted the bulb. "Sorry, Bulby. Didn't mean to make you worry about me. I guess I just have something on my mind."

"Something like what? Kaitlyn, is everything okay over there, love?" Layla asked, attention from the others now on the two-toned woman.

The attention of the group now on her, Kaitlyn almost said something before she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Holding up a hand as a way of saying "Give me a second", she saw that she just got a new text from Alex that simply said "Get ready. New family member incoming."

Seeing the now confused look on the two-toned woman's face, Naomi asked "Uhh, Kaitlyn? Everything okay, boo?"

"Uhh, yeah yeah," Kaitlyn said as she put her phone back to sleep. "I was just reading a text Alex sent me."

"That's nice. What did the text say?"

"Well, all it really said was to get ready because we have a new member of our crazy family to meet," Kaitlyn explained as best she could, still feeling a bit surprised by all of this.

"Whoa, bro, really? That's awesome!" Zack smiled.

"Yeah, it really is," Naomi said. "I'm guessing either Alex or AJ finally caught a Pokémon of their own?"

"I ...guess so. Alex didn't really go into detail about, so I guess we'll see when they get here," the two-toned woman said as she sent a reply text to the younger brunette.

This all sounded pretty strange to Bulby. 'New family member?' What could that mean? Once again extending a vine, the Grass-type Pokémon tapped her Trainer on the shoulder. Her attention on her once again, Bulby asked "Bulba?"

A soft laugh escaping her, Kaitlyn said "I'm guessing you heard that, huh?"

"Sa," Bulby responded with a nod.

"Well, what if I were to tell you that you, Marill, Buneary, and Quilly were going to have a new playmate, a new friend? Someone that'll join you guys in the games you play?" Kaitlyn explained as she knelt down in front of her Pokémon.

'A new playmate?' 'A new friend?' She already had lots of fun with the Pokémon of the humans that were friends with her Trainer, so hearing that there could possibly be a new addition to their group sounded like great news to the Pokémon. Smiling up to her Trainer, Bulby said "Sa! Bulbasaur!"

A light laugh escaping her, Kaitlyn said "That's the spirit. Don't worry. I'm sure you and the others will be great friends to the new arrival. All we have to do is wait for them to come join us."

Well, at least AJ and Alex have possible opponents on the mind (shows they're focused on the future battle), some that sound like good choices (aside from one that would have poor Alex split on who to cheer for). But, before they can focus on training, first thing's first. And that first thing is introducing Pikachu to the others in their group, something Pikachu seems excited about. Speaking of the others in their group, everyone seems a bit worried about just where the two younger Chickbusters are. Meanwhile, there's a cute game of tag going on among Bulby and the others (aww, how nice), one the Grass-type Pokémon leaves upon seeing her Trainer in thought about something. One text and some talking later, Kaitlyn gives everyone the heads-up about a new addition to their road family, something Bulby sounds pretty excited about. Now, just how will the introductions go? And (not as important), who won the game of tag among the other Pokémon?! These questions and more shall be answered...next time! Until then, don't forget to RR please. =) Also, Merry Christmas out there, lovelies.

(Stay safe, healthy, and warm out there, lovelies. *sends love and positive vibes out to you all*)