The next morning, Ash answered a knock at his door and was surprised to see Misty on his doorstep.
"Misty?" he gulped. "What are you doing here?"
"I was going to do some Christmas shopping for my sisters at the Saffron City Department Store and was wondering if you'd like to come with me."
Oh, I don't want to go there again, Ash thought. It had been embarrassing enough the last time he was there. But to embarrass myself in front of Misty…hey, wait a minute, Ash realized. If I go with Misty, then maybe I can find out what she wants for Christmas!
"Sure, Misty. Let's go! Come on, Pikachu." Ash motioned to his Pokémon.
"By the way, Ash, what happened to your face?" Misty asked, noticing the multitude of scratches and the bandage on Ash's forehead.
"Oh, uh, Pikachu and I had a Pokémon battle with a wild Bellossom and I kind of got in the way of its Razor Leaf attack."
"Pika?" a confused Pikachu asked, tugging on Ash's pants leg. That wasn't how he remembered it.
Ash hastily picked up Pikachu and stuffed him under his arm. "Uh, we'd better get going, Pikachu, before all the sales are over. Come on, Misty."
---
"Ho-ho-ho! Santa needs to take a little break right now and feed his reindeer! I'll be back in five minutes!" The man portraying Santa Claus at the Saffron City Department Store waved to the children waiting in line eagerly and hurried to grab a bite to eat.
"Oh, Santa," a female voice purred in his direction.
Santa looked around and saw a sexy-looking red-haired elf peeking around a Christmas tree.
"Yes, Santa," the elf continued as she crooked her finger. "Come over here and let me tell you what I want for Christmas."
Santa eagerly hopped behind the tree and was immediately jumped by Team Rocket.
"Let me go!" the portly ex-Santa protested as Elf Jessie and Meowth the Red-Nosed Reindeer tied him up with strands of garland. James climbed into the Santa costume as Meowth slapped a "Do Not Open Until Christmas" sticker over the former Santa's mouth.
As Ash and Misty entered the Saffron City Department Store, they were greeted by a skinny purple-haired Santa, a crimson-haired elf, and a creature that looked like a cross between a cat and a red-nosed reindeer.
"Ho-ho-ho!" the skinny Santa laughed in Ash and Misty's direction. "Come sit on Santa's lap and tell me what you want for Christmas!"
"Oh, Ash, let's go tell Santa what we want for Christmas," Misty said enthusiastically.
"Are you kidding, Misty? That's for…" Ash then realized that this was the perfect opportunity to find out what Misty really wanted for Christmas. "On second thought, why don't you go tell Santa what you want?"
"Ho-ho! Come sit on my lap, little…" James "oofed" as Misty sat down on his lap. "Uh, not-so-little girl." He struggled to get comfortable. "Uh, now why don't you tell me what you want for Christmas?"
"Well," Misty began, "first, I'd like for my sisters to quit teasing me and giving me a hard time."
"Believe me, I understand all about women giving me a hard time," Santa said sympathetically.
"Ow! Jess…I mean, Elf Jessie!" Santa yelped as the red-haired elf struck him with a giant candy cane.
"And I'd like a ball for my little Togepi to play with," Misty said as she cradled her Pokémon in her arms. "And then I'd…"
"Sorry, time's up," declared Elf Jessie as she shoved Misty off of James's lap. "Besides, you don't have any decent Pokémon worth stealing anyway."
"You're next," announced Reindeer Meowth, pointing at Ash. "You and your Pikachu."
"But I don't want…" Ash protested.
"Now, now, don't make Santa mad," James chided. "You don't want me to leave coal in your stocking, do you?"
Jessie and Meowth grabbed Ash and pushed him onto James's lap.
"Oh wait, one at a time," said Jessie. "I'll hold your Pikachu until you're done." She grabbed the Pokémon off of Ash's shoulders and stuffed it into the bag of presents that Meowth was holding. As the pair tried to make their getaway, they were confronted by Misty, who was none too thrilled about being dumped off of Santa's lap.
"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded angrily.
"Uh…delivering presents to all the good little boys and girls?" replied Meowth.
"That's what you think!" Misty pulled out a Poké ball. "Go, Poliwhirl!" Her Pokémon appeared from the Poké ball with a bright flash. "Poliwhirl," Misty commanded, "blast these two with your Hydro Pump!"
A torrent of water spouted from Poliwhirl's mouth, knocking Jessie and Meowth into the nearby Christmas tree. As Meowth dropped the bag, Pikachu hopped out.
"Team Rocket!" Ash exclaimed as he yanked the white beard off of the imposter Santa. "Not you guys again!"
"Uh-oh, looks like it's time for Santa to be heading back to the North Pole," said James, gathering up Pikachu and stuffing him in his suit.
"Pikachu, hit him with Thunderbolt," Ash ordered.
As James was enveloped by the electric blast, he grabbed onto the string of lights dangling from the tree and ended up effectively illuminating it.
"Oooh, pretty," Misty said as she admired the light display. Several other shoppers also gathered around to watch the twinkling lights.
"Mommy, why does Rudolph look like a Meowth?" one curious child asked.
"There they are, Officer Jenny!" The real department store Santa had managed to free himself.
"Looks like Team Rocket's not too bright today," Jessie, James, and Meowth said in unison as Officer Jenny slapped handcuffs on them.