Greetings, dear readers. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! *throws up some confetti in celebration* I hope you all have been having a great start to your 2022. To help ring in the new year some more, I come bringing a new chapter of 'All I Want For Christmas is a Pokémon' for your reading pleasure. I hope you all enjoy this, my dolls. =)

Jeff had just gotten the last of his Pokémon back in their balls with the exception of Splat when he heard voices headed in his direction. Looking around past some equipment, the rainbow-haired wrestler happened to see that it was just Alex walking and having a chat with AJ. Only he noticed something different with the pair.

'Whoa now. Looks like one of those two finally caught a Pokémon of their own. Good for them,' he thought with a chuckle.

Looking up at his Trainer, Splat was feeling a bit confused and also curious about what the rainbow-haired human was doing. Giving one of his pants legs a tug-which was something that got the human's attention-the artistic Pokémon asked "Smea?"

Feeling the tug, Jeff looked down before kneeling down to the Pokémon's eye level. "Feeling curious about something, Splat?"

"Smea Smea Smeargle," the Pokémon nodded.

A light chuckle escaping him, Jeff said "Well, it looks like Alex and AJ have a new buddy. You wanna go with me to meet them?"

'New buddy'. This sounded like a good thing. He'd get to meet a new addition to their group and a possible new art partner like some of the other Pokémon that traveled with him and his Trainer. Liking the sound of this, Splat happily said "Smea!"

"That's the spirit. Now come on," Jeff said with a smile as he and Splat made their way to the trio. "Good evening, girls. I see you have a new buddy with you two."

...

"And if I was you, I'd maybe try to include some power moves that you teach Pikachu," Alex suggested. "Maybe something like Quick Attack or Iron Tail. Something that could maybe fit in with the moves he already knows."

"Good idea there," AJ said. "But, first thing's first. I have to figure out which moves he already knows."

"Yeah, good point," Alex agreed. "Well, given what we know of what he's done in the past, we can say that he probably knows Thunderbolt. And ...maybe Scratch or Fury Swipes? Kinda hard to tell."

AJ almost said something when a voice behind her and Alex caught her by surprise.

"Good evening, girls. I see you have a new buddy with you two."

Turning to see who it was, AJ saw that it was just Jeff and Splat.

"Heya, Jeff. Hey, Splat," Alex said as she greeted her brother and his Pokémon. "What brings you two to these parts?"

"Just got done with a bit of training and were gonna head to the locker room for a bit. How about you two? What brings y'all to these parts, outside of catching your first Pokémon? To that, I say Congrats, AJ," Jeff said with a bit of applause.

"Smear Smeargle," the artistic Pokémon said, mirroring his Trainer's actions.

"Well, actually, Jeff, there's a bit of a funny story here. One AJ has to tell you," Alex said as she lightly elbowed the older brunette.

Turning his attention to the Latina, Jeff asked "So, April. What's this funny story Lexi's talking about?"

"Well, it ...It all started a bit earlier tonight," AJ began. Making sure to tell the rainbow-haired man everything that happened-from when she first found Pikachu to his trip to see Doctor Andrew to Stephanie coming and finding out just who Pikachu really was to the ultimatum she now had-AJ saw similar looks of surprise on Jeff and Splat's faces after she finished her story. 'Well now they know. At least they haven't freaked out about Pikachu.'

Amazing. Jeff couldn't believe it. The stowaway, the Pokémon that was behind so much damage in the past was this Pikachu. A Pikachu AJ managed to befriend. Shaking away his shock over this, Jeff said "Well, it's nice to meet you, Pikachu. My name's Jeff and this fella down here is my partner Splat."

"Smea Smear Smeargle," Splat said as his own greeting.

"Ch-Chu," Pikachu nervously said with a nod. These must be some of the 'More new people' the human named AJ was talking about. So far, they seemed nice enough. They didn't seem to want to battle him, so that was a good sign.

"Where were you three heading after your meeting with Stephanie?"

"We were actually going to meet up with Kait and some of the others to introduce the newest member of our family to everyone," Alex said. "You can come with if you want."

"Sure why not? I got nothing better to do," Jeff said with a shrug.

"Great. Now, let us continue on our way to the others!" Alex said.

With a laugh, AJ, Jeff, and Splat fell into step with the younger brunette. As the group walked and talked, she looked down at Pikachu and saw that he seemed to be fairly calm. 'OK, Pikachu's pretty calm. He took to meeting Jeff and Splat pretty well. Now for the big test,' the Latina thought just as they reached their destination. Looking to the assembled group, AJ cleared her throat before saying "H-Hey, guys. Lovely evening we're having, huh?"

"Hey there, bro," Zack greeted with a wave before taking notice of what AJ was holding. "Whoa, AJ! You caught a Pikachu? Congrats, bro!"

"Yeah, I agree with Zack. Congrats on catching your first Pokémon, AJ," Naomi smiled as she lightly applauded this.

"Same here from me, love. Congrats, AJ," Layla smiled as she gave a round of applause of her own.

"Yeah, congrats, AJ," Kaitlyn smiled with a thumbs up.

"Thanks, you guys. Although, ...there's actually a pretty funny story behind just how I caught Pikachu," AJ said before adding "And I'm using 'caught' here very loosely."

"Huh? Wait. What exactly do you mean when you say that? April. Is there something you're not telling us?" Layla asked, a slight motherly tone starting to color her voice.

"Well…. OK, so when me, Alex, and Stephanie were having our own search for the stowaway, we didn't find anything. So, that's when I suggested that we try splitting up to search around," AJ began. And just like with what she told Jeff, she recounted the whole chain of events that led to her having Pikachu now, from her feeding him some snacks and giving him some stern talking when needed to his trip to see Doctor Andrew and his following check-up to Stephanie coming and finding out about Pikachu's real identity to her ultimatum. By the time she finished her story, she could tell from the looks on most everyone's faces that they were surprised by all of this news. 'Well. Now, they all know. I just hope they don't try to run away,' AJ thought as she rubbed the Electric mouse's back.

At first, no one knew what to say. After all, for so long, they were thinking the stowaway Pokémon was something along the lines of an Arcanine or a Houndoom or a Vigoroth or some other Pokémon in that size range. So, after learning that the stowaway was a Pikachu, a Pokémon that didn't look all that threatening in the least, ...it all just felt like something that would take some time to process.

Soon the sounds of Quilly, Bulby, and Marill's excited talking could be heard as they could be seen running from Buneary, who was currently 'It' in their game of Tag. The quartet had just made it back to where their Trainers were all still seated when they noticed the new additions to the group with the human named AJ holding a Pikachu. The group then remembered the talk that the human named Layla had in regards to them having a 'new chum to play with' coming to join them, so they figured that 'new chum' must be this Pikachu.

Having taken notice of these new Pokémon, Pikachu almost started to tremble until he remembered what the human named AJ told him about meeting 'more new people'. Putting it together that these must be who she was talking about, the Electric mouse swallowed a bit before looking up at the human named AJ and asking "Chu? Chu Pik Pika?"

"Hmm? What's that, Pikachu?" AJ asked, her attention now on the Pokémon she was holding.

"Ka. Ka Pik Pika," Pikachu pointed down to the group on the ground.

It took her a bit to piece it all together, but AJ managed to get what he was asking. A light laugh escaping her, AJ knelt down before placing Pikachu on the ground. "Now, Pikachu, be sure to play nice and be careful. Bulby, Buneary, Quilly, and Marill are all very nice, and they'll do their best to help you feel welcome. Also, don't be too rough. I know this is something that may seem scary to you, but it's like I said, Bulby and the others are all very nice. Just relax and have fun. And don't worry. I'll be right here watching."

"Chu?" Pikachu asked.

"Yes Pikachu. I promise," AJ responded with a nod. "Now, remember what I said and go have fun."

"Chu Pi," Pikachu nodded before turning and making his way over to the curious group of other Pokémon. 'Remember what the human named AJ said. They're friends. It's fine. It's okay,' the Electric mouse thought as a personal mantra.

Standing up and watching as Pikachu made his way to the Bulby and the others with Splat following after him, AJ stood and kept an eye on the group. 'Now, here comes the real test. Seeing how Pikachu does around other Pokémon. Fingers crossed that this goes well.'

Well, it would appear as though AJ introducing Pikachu to some of the others has gone pretty well so far if not leaving some of them speechless. But now the real test lies ahead for Pikachu, said test being...*insert dramatic music sting here*...a Pokémon playdate with Bulby, Buneary, Quilly, Marill, and Splat. But with AJ giving him a pep talk (like a parent would do for their child on their first day of school...aww, how sweet), Pikachu seems ready to play with the others. So, how will the big Poképlaydate go? We shall see...next time. Until then, don't forget to RR please. =)

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