Training Days: Christmastime Surprises
Written By: Sapphire Mists
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Hello fellow fanfiction readers! Sapphire Mists is here and is ready to entertain you with my writing. But first, I want to make a few things clear.
1). I do not own pokemon. However, I do own Rosie and other characters who don't normally appear in the original storyline. I also own her pokemon names and personalities.
2). If you would like to use the characters and/or their pokemon, you must have my permission.
3). If you haven't read the other parts to this wonderful storyline, please do so!
4). As always, REVIEW THE FANFICS! PLEASE!
Here are a few things that you should also know.
Italics: Someone's thoughts
Bold: The other pokemon's thoughts
...: Translated pokemon speech
*!*: A battle sequence, if there are more than one, more battles are taking place
***: A break in the page
:...:: Inside the Crystal Ball
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Prologue
Hey, everyone.
It's me again.
Last time when I was with you a lot of different things happened.
First of all, I had begun training seriously for the Championships. It was hard training for all of us, especially for me. You would think it was hard too if you have to take a skull bash from a powerful Espeon.
All of the pokemon have improved drastically, especially Dew. At first he was a cute, cuddly baby. Not saying that he still isn't cute but he seems to have grown a little and he has a tough look to himself. I like it.
Sunrise's psychic powers are beyond belief. He's so much more at ease when he uses them now that it comes naturally. The most memorable attack that he did on me was the future sight attack that blasted me across the lake. In a weird way, that was kind of fun!
Crimson and Sparky have been sparring to their heart's content. They are so much more agile and the strength of their attacks is improving day by day. The weights that I use on them as well as the other pokemon are really doing there job.
Lizzie and Excalibur are becoming equals now. They are equally matched when they spar with each other and the length of the matches are supremely long. Sometimes I spar with them individually and I have the bruises to prove it.
Artemis is starting to become a rocket in the air. I can't even decipher how fast she flies when she's in a dive. I think that it must be at least fifty miles per hour when she's going her fastest, even when she has weight's on. Of course she was slow when I first put them on her but now it's as if the weights are a part of her.
I've been using Vanilla's special attacks a lot lately. The razor leaves are very sharp and her strength is astonishing. Her reflect attack are much better than they used to be and she's getting fast for her size.
Ellie and I have sparring matches every other day. Her karate skills are improving and she even beats me most of the time. But every time we spar we both get stronger and it's really hard to beat each other nowadays.
All in all, this is the progress of my pokemon since we started training.
Besides the training, Rika, CJ, and I have taken on a part time job at the Pokemon Daycare Center. We work afternoons and we learn about our pokemon more each day. I love that job and the pay is good too but it goes deeper than that. I could care less for the money. But so far I have about one thousand dollars saved up in my bank account.
My whole family is getting closer. CJ and Rika are practically family now. CJ and I are together a lot more but not in that way. Rika and I are best friends. Mom and I have an even stronger relationship as does Dad and I.
Life itself is great and now, with only a week left of training, it's getting even better!
The Actual Chapter
"Br..." I utter as the pokemon and I sit on a warm blanket in the blistering cold.
It was in the day before Christmas and it was freezing! Well almost because it never really goes below twenty degrees in the Flower Archipelago. But since we're in the Outer Islands, the weather is much colder.
All the pokemon shuddered as I did. The only pokemon that seemed halfway decent was Crimson, my Vulpix. I guess it's because of that internal fire that's inside his body. I wish that I had one of those right about now.
The pokemon that was doing the worse had to be Excalibur because his metallic skin absorbed the coolness and kept it locked inside.
We had been outside doing our endurance training for about an hour now. We had been doing this training ever since the first snowflake and that had been back towards the first of December.
We were off for the season, for this is the time of year when everyone wants to be with his or her pokemon and family.
"The soup's done!" Mother yells as she waves for us to come back in.
We get up from our sitting space and run into the house as fast as we can.
The warmth hits us and I feel as if I could melt.
Ah! It's so refreshing.
We all walk to the dining room area, the place where we ate all of our meals, mostly our dinners.
Today we had chicken noodle soup and crusty French bread for dinner. It smelled great and I can't wait to dive in.
"It's Christmas Eve everyone!" Dad says.
"Yeah, I have to do some last minute shopping." Rika admits.
"Ditto!" CJ and I reply at the same time. We look at each other and smile.
It's surprising how we had been going together for a while and yet he still makes me have butterflies in my stomach. I really care for CJ, I hope that we never break up!
"How predictable?" Mom exclaims with a laugh as he takes a bite from her bread.
I follow suit and soak my bread in the chicken broth, and then I take a hunk out of it.
The pokemon do so too.
The soup really does warm the body as well as the soul. Just like they say on the commercial!
After dinner is done my pals and I put on our winter coats and other garments like scarves.
I grab a baby snowsuit for Ellie and got her dressed in it.
"I can borrow the car, right Dad?" I ask.
"Of course but be careful!" He replies.
I blow him a kiss and grab the golden key set from our key rack that's next to the door.
We walk out the door and across our lawn to the family car. It's a navy blue Taurus that's only about two years old.
I'm so glad that I can drive it.
"Shotgun!" Rika exclaims as she dives into the front seat of the car.
"Awe man!" CJ says and climbs into the back with Ellie.
I brush the car off with the window wiper and climb into the driver's seat. I adjust the mirror and turn the car on to start the heat. It was freezing in there!
After a few minutes it warms up and I switch the gear to drive.
We pull off and drive down the well-lit Coral Road. There are lights everywhere and there are even lights on or house. CJ and dad had strung the up a few weeks ago.
Rika turns the radio onto Kiss 88.5 and we listen to TLC's Sleigh Ride song. It really puts us in the Christmas spirit and we all sing along merrily.
Main Street has to be the most beautiful street of all! There are beautiful white lights all in the trees and building. They're everywhere! There are also cute figurines of pokemon, especially Stantler.
Out of the corner of my eye I look at Ellie. Her eyes are actually twinkling, she looks so happy now. She's been acting so joyful for the past few days; actually it was after we saw Rudolph the red-nosed Stantler. She fell in love with it!
The Cocoa Mall is just about a mile down Main Street so it doesn't take that long to get there.
I can see tiny little kids having snow wars on the sidewalk. How I long to do that again. A few of the little kids even pelt the car with a few snowballs. I don't mind though because I used to do that all the time.
Tomorrow, we're all invited to a Christmas Party at Joseph's house. Joseph used to accompany my Dad and Mom on there pokemon adventures. He himself was a bug pokemon trainer.
Oh I forget to mention! My Dad used to be a pokemon collector! Yeah, he used to have all sorts of pokemon but he set them free to live in the wild again. That's when he started working at the Pokemon Training Co. He knew how it felt to get new pokemon in exchange for another so that's why he went into that profession to make kids happy.
I make a left turn into the spacious parking lot that happens to be covered with a thin film of snow. For some reason it always snowed less near the harbor.
I quickly find a parking space near the front of the mall and park. Then I turn the car off and get out the ca to recollect Ellie so she can get on my shoulder. It just feels empty when she isn't there or maybe it's just me. I think that it's just me!
CJ and Rika climb out and we all start walking to the huge Cocoa Mall, which happens to be the largest of the of all in The Flower Archipelago! I love coming here when I'm home from school. You can find anything and everything there.
CJ opens the glass doors with a sleigh on them for all of us to go through. I give him a smile and then we walk through together.
He's such a gentleman!
The mall smells like cookies. Sugar cookies in particular. They're most likely coming from Yum-Yum; the biggest chain of candy stores throughout the world! Everyone loves their sugar cookies around this time of year and I mean everyone! Every house that I go to around Christmastime has these cookies on a decorative platter.
"Okay." I begin as we stop in the middle of this huge mall.
"Let's branch off and meet here in about an hour, OK?" I ask everyone.
"Fine." They reply.
Rika goes up the elevator and CJ turns and goes back towards the entrance.
"Come on Ellie." I say with a giggle and we set off on our little mini-expedition to find the perfect gifts.
A place called the Scentsation catches my eye.
"Let's go in there Ellie!" I say and point to the store.
OK. She replies and we walk into the fragrant candle store.
Mom loves candles, especially those huge candles that smell like vanilla. There's shore to be a ton of them!
There are like a hundred shelves filled with candles of every shape, size, scent; you name it and they have it.
I immediately walk over to the Vanilla Section and grab a huge candle that's about two feet high and three tiny, morning glory votive candles. They smell really good and they are all on sale.
"You think Mom will like these?" I ask my faithful pokemon.
Yeah, they smell like Vanilla the Bayleef! She exclaims.
I take a deep whiff of these candles and discover that it really does feel like my beloved grass pokemon.
"Yeah, it does." I agree and walk up to the counter until I see a candle holder with a platform for a huge candle and three smaller candle holders spiraling around it. I pick it up and carry it to the counter.
"That'll be fifteen dollars and thirty cents." The cashier says. He has a huge Santa Claus hat on with tiny little bells at the brim.
I pull out my new bankcard and slide it across the machine. A receipt prints out and I briefly add my pretty signature and walk out the store with Ellie on my shoulder.
"Let's go find a tie for Dad!" I say.
OK. Ellie agrees with a spaced off look in her eyes.
What's gotten in to her?
I get a tie for Dad every year, it never fails. It's like a tradition and I've been doing it since I was ten years old.
At Macy's, I find a nice-looking silk tie with white pinstripes on it. It came to about ten dollars and then we left that store to go to the Film Co., which is a place where film accessories are sold. I buy Rika a five hundred-sheet pack of film paper and then I go to Sears to buy the CJ's gift.
I ponder over which watch I should buy for him. It's either the watch with the silver lining and leather band or the watch with the gold lining.
I think that he would look the best in silver so I pay for the watch and scurry out of the department store and back to the middle of the mall.
OH NO! I forgot!
"Hey Ellie! Stay right here for just a sec ok?" I ask her.
Sure! She says leaps into one of the trees for protection.
I briskly walk to Precious Pokemon so that I can buy gifts for my buddies. You can't forget about them.
I end up buying ribbons of assorted colors for the girls along with those army-like chains with their names on them. They are sure to like them for they like anything that I give them, plus they'll be nice looking for the Christmas party.
I dash back to the mall to find CJ, Rika, and Ellie waiting for me.
"Finally!" Rika complains with a smile.
I just laugh and Ellie leaps onto my shoulder.
We walk out of the mall and back to the Taurus for the ride home.
"Silent Night." Is on now and we all sway to the music. This is perhaps one of my favorite Christmas songs of all time.
Then a song from Christina Aguilera's "My Kind of Christmas" plays on the radio. She has to have like the best voice or close to it. I love her songs, especially "What a Girl Wants".
When we arrive at home I take off of Ellie's snowsuit and hurry up the stairs to wrap my gifts.
For Dad, I wrap the gift in shiny silver wrapping paper. I wrap Mom's with red paper with candy canes on it. I wrap Rika and CJ's in glittery blue paper, and finally I wrap the pokemon's presents in black paper that has pastel lines arranged in a plaid design.
After I finished the wrapping and I was satisfied with them, I grab them all and transport them downstairs to place them under our huge Christmas tree.
To my surprise, none of my people are in the den so I decide to waltz into the living room where all of them are gathered around the fireplace.
"Am I missing something?" I ask as I sit next to CJ.
"Not at all." Dad replies.
"Here, have some eggnog." Mom offers as she hands me a cup of warm, creamy eggnog.
I take a sip and the warmth spreads through my entire body. I suddenly grow calm as we sit there looking at the soft flickering flames of the fireplace.
I sit between CJ's legs and he wraps his arms around me.
We sit together from then on and the next thing I know, it's Christmas morning.
***
"Wow! This is great!" Mom exclaims as she assembles the candleholder that I gave her.
"Thanks Rosie!" She exclaims as she gives me a tight hug.
That was the last present that Mom had opened. From Dad, she got a diamond ring that's in the marquise-cut, Rika and CJ bought her some more candles, and she received various other gifts from relatives along the way.
"I guess it's my turn." Dad says as he opens all his gifts.
"Thanks Honey!" He says as he looks at his tie and the sweater that Mom gave him.
CJ had given him some cologne and Rika bought him a new paperweight for his desk at his office.
Rika opens her gifts next; she received a sweater by Mom and by her mother, a new camera from her father, a ten-pack roll of film by CJ, and the film paper by me.
CJ receives a thick book about pokemon breeding by his parents, a necklace with wooden beads by Rika, and the watch from me.
He attempts to give me a kiss but Dad clears his throat and he silently back away.
"It's your turn now Rosie. Here's a gift from Aunt Peony!" Mom says as she hands me a rectangular box.
I rip it open and pull out a box with a sporty outfit in it. There is a heather blue short-sleeved top, a plain gray long-sleeved top, and some beige khaki chinos with a slight flare that has heather blue embroidery on it.
"Cool..." I say as I read the note that's included. It says:
Dear Rosie,
I really hope that you enjoy this snazzy outfit that I gave you.
Happy Holidays, Peony
Next, Mom hands me her gift, which included a pair of blue and gray sneakers that match my outfit perfectly.
"Thanks Mom!" I say and give her a peck on the cheek.
Now I open Rika's gift, which happens to be a new wristwatch that has a picture of all three of us in the glass.
"Oh Rika!" I say and give her a hug.
"I was expecting that. This way you'll always have a part of me with you." She says.
"Take this! Take this!" Dad exclaims as he forces a tiny box at me.
"Hmm.I wonder what this could be?" I ask sarcastically. It's probably another tent or something.
I open the case that reveals two capsules there is one blue and one white.
"Open the blue one, the white tablet is too big to be opened in the house." Dad says.
I toss the capsule to the ground and with a big poof; it turns into a shiny gray laptop computer.
A wide smile appears on my face.
"Dad this is wonderful!" I say as I leap into his already open arms. He knows me too well.
"Yeah, it is. It's completely wireless and you can publish pictures. Plus you can call people at anytime! The other capsule is a portable house that all of you can stay in." He boasts.
Our jaws drop to the ground.
"Here Rosie." CJ says as he hands me a small box with a white bow on it.
"Thanks CJ." I say.
Everyone seems to crowd around us as I open the gift.
I open the box to see a beautiful crystal necklace that is mostly made of beads but there is a flat diamond shaped crystal dangling off of it.
"It's beautiful!" I gasp and jump into his arms.
"It's a mood necklace. There are instructions in the box." He says.
The necklace turns a fiery crimson color. This means that I am filled with love.
I hug him even more.
I also received another outfit from my Aunt Lily that resembles my other one except that it is lilac and a dark purple and there is no embroidery or short-sleeved-shirt just a long-sleeved one.
Just before we leave the pokemon open their gifts and shower me with affection.
Rosie, we all found this and want you to have this. Ellie says and hands me a beautiful crystal with all the colors of the rainbow in it.
"Thanks." I say.
I look at Mom who's stuck in the doorframe.
A look of pain spreads across her face.
"It's time!" She bellows.
***
"I can't believe that you didn't see this little baby girl!" Dad says as he holds my baby sister that has mauve hair and teal eyes.
Yes, my Mom ended up having triplets instead of just twins. The doctors didn't pick up my sister until the last few months of her pregnancy. Oh my god, how could they not see a little baby girl?
Mom was in her hospital bed with my brothers cradled in her arms. They are exactly identical with their teal eyes and to my surprise, blue hair.
Yes, they have blue hair, I guess that it skips a generation or something like that. Dad's brother has blue hair as does Grandpa but Grandma used to have red hair like his.
Mom had given birth a few hours ago.
The labor itself was very long and tiring. It lasted about five hours because the girl didn't want to seem to make it into this wonderful world just yet.
Today is the day after Christmas and we had all spent the night with my Mom.
Mom and the triplets will be home in two days.
"What are you going to name them Rose?" Rika and CJ ask.
"I don't know, what do you think Honey?" Mom says as she wipes her damp hair with her hand.
"Bartholomew would be great." He says.
"Dad!" I yell.
"Just kidding, I have no clue. You have a good sense of style Rosie, why don't you name them?" He asks.
Wow! I'm going to name the triplets!
I take one of the boys and search for something to distinguish them by.
"Hey this boy has a mole on his neck!" I point out.
I look deep into the familiar eyes. He stares back with curiosity. Who's this? He wonders.
"How about Evan?" I ask.
"That's a great name!" They all say.
"Evan Fierra, that works for me!" Dad says.
Evan coos happily.
Then I take up the other baby boy to name him.
He touches my nose with his tiny little fingers.
"Aw..." Rika jokes.
He's such a cutie pie!
"Your name is going to be Julio!" I say after giving it much thought.
"Julio? I don't like that name!" Mom says quickly with a frown.
"OK, you don't have to yell! Is Julian all right with you Mother Dearest?" I ask jokingly.
"Yeah." Mom says while suppressing a giggle.
"That's a cool name." CJ says.
I scoop the baby girl from Dad's arms.
"This princess is going to be Rosalynne." I say.
Rosalynne gurgles in content.
"That's lovely, we have to keep up our family name, eh Rosie?" Mom says.
Everyone laughs happily.
***
"This is it you all, this is our last training session before we enter the Championships tomorrow!" I remind them.
Each pokemon nods their head in agreement.
"We have to make this count, and that is why we are doing this obstacle course!" I say as I show them the obstacle before them.
There are tires, monkey bars, ropes, the lake, barbed wire, you name it and most likely it is there. In a way it reminds me of the army or perhaps boot camp.
"I'll go first to lead the way." I say.
"Tell me when!" I say to Rika.
She's the time tracker for this exercise.
"Go!" She yells.
I run my fastest until I get to the tires.
Then I waddle my way throw them and climb the monkey bars.
With a mighty heave I use my upper body strength to carry myself along the twenty-foot monkey bars. The metal of the bars sting my hands but I hold firm. I just can't give up!
I climb the platform and grab the rope that is suspended from a large oak. With a deep breath I run with the rope and let go once I'm over the water.
With a huge flash that makes my skin burn I paddle to sure. The water is so cold! It's practically frozen! My body is burning and I'm afraid that I can get hypothermia if I keep on.
Somehow, someway, I make my way to sure and fall to the ground so I can crawl under the barbed wires.
After that, I get up and climb up a rope that leads up to the Finish Platform.
This has got to be the hardest part of all. Words can't explain what it feels like to climb a frozen rope with your body half-frozen and with snow falling. It's horrible, but it will make us tougher, it really will.
Crossing the finish line felt like the greatest thing that I have ever accomplished.
"That was three minutes and thirty seconds Rosie."
Ellie comes in at three minutes and twenty seconds and all the other pokemon except Crimson and Dew come in at around that time with Artemis coming in at two minute and fifty-nine seconds.
Crimson came in at five minutes and so did Dew. For Crimson was weak against water and the rope took a lot out of him.
Dew has no arms so he had to use his tail and that took a really long time.
"Let's get down to two minutes and thirty seconds." I tell my wheezing pokemon.
Okay. They agree.
I know that they're tired but we have to keep up. This is vital and things will be much easier once we start the battling at the League.
After about three more goes we all got around the desired times and Crimson became use to water and it doesn't effect him as much now. Dew is happier using his tail more than ever too.
***
Much better. Sparky says as we sit next to the warm fireplace.
"Yeah, but it's done now, maybe we'll never have to do something that grueling again." I explain.
I hope so! Vanilla says.
The vegetable soup that we're eating is just wonderful. It is really doing its job.
"All done!" I say after I finish polishing Excalibur's armor.
I had just finished grooming my last pokemon and they all looked fabulous.
All the female pokemon had their ribbons and collars on. The males had their collars on too.
Each pokemon glistened.
Hey Mommy, I look and feel good! Dew infers.
"That's the point!" I say with a smile.
It is? Cool! He exclaims.
We all erupt in laughter; he sure is the life of the group.
I remember when he was jus a baby, he was so dependent on me as his sole provider. But now, he is just as independent as the others are and he is quite the individual.
Mom and Dad walk in with the triplets in their arms.
"Change Rosalynne for me Rosie." Mom says as she hands me my tiny baby sister with her cute pajamas on.
I gently lay her on the carpet and change her diaper as the pokemon watch in amazement.
Hey little Rosalynne. They say to her.
Rosalynne somewhat claps her hands together and laughs.
Hmm. Can she understand them?
"How is little Evan?" I ask as I tickle his tiny feet.
He just gurgles and then I do the same to Julian.
"If you help me get them ready we can make it to the Fireworks!" Mom says.
I return my pokemon and put them in my purse for the time being.
The Fireworks celebrates the beginning of the Championships and now we're going to join in the celebration.
"Come on Ellie!" I say as we clothe the babies and put on our own jackets.
The Championships itself takes place on a smaller island that is attached to the island. It's called Little Cocoa.
After everyone is ready we hop into the van that we have. Dad had bought it a few years ago to use when we had a lot of people over and as you can see. There are eight people in our household now.
Dad drives the van to the eastern side of the island and crosses the bridge to Little Cocoa.
The island is packed with cars. There must be at least five thousand and that's the least for many people park on two other islands that are connected to Little Cocoa. These are called the Tiny Cocoas.
There is like a huge plastic dome that covers these islands and the crew sets the temperature. It's very advanced and it is always warm here.
We hurry to Milky Stadium, the largest stadium of the five. This is where the trainer goes when he or she triumphs over the other fields.
We get our seats towards the top of the stadium.
CJ holds my hand and Ellie holds Dew in my lap.
I look at CJ and we smile.
The stadium has all sorts of flowers all around! There are balloons of grass pokemon and flowers hanging suspended in the air. Everything is just flowery. I truly understand the theme of Flower Power now.
The fireworks begin automatically. They explode into all sorts of design, even flowers. They are of all colors and shapes and sizes. The flares are just beautiful.
I can see Rika flashing away on her new camera.
The babies are giggling in delight and Mom and Dad are in complete awe.
I like at CJ and he looks at me and we share a passionate kiss before the 'rents catch us.
Then I look at my two darling pokemon who are smiling up at me.
I scoop them into my arms.
"This is it you two, we made it!" I say.
From here on out, there will be no regrets!
This is the end of Training Days.
