Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any of its characters. I only own Lilly Revere, her mother (who will remained unnamed), and my precious laptop.

This chapter does not follow the previous chapter! I would have just made this a one-shot, but I believe I owed my fellow writers and fans an overdue update. I'm SOOOO sorry for the wait!

Ages

Lilly: 10

Professor Oak: 45

Ash and Gary: 5

Christmas Eve/ Christmas Morning

11:49pm

'It's been five years…..five short years in the world of Pokémon and five long years away from my family….'

Lilly sighed as she stood under the eve of the Lab, watching the snow gently fall to the ground. Her waist length black hair blew softly with the wind as her deep purple eyes were downcast with sadness. Pulling her black, fur-lined jacket closer towards her, Lilly glanced out towards the lake before she began to make her way towards a wooden bench that was covered in a light dusting of snow. Soon, she had reached the bench and, before sitting down, dusted it free of any icy particles. She sighed once more before staring longingly out over the lake's frozen horizon. The sun had set a few hours ago but the moon shined brightly, illuminating the chilly Lab clearing. A soft crunch, like stepping on gift wrapping paper, sounded from beside her, causing her to turn and glance towards the noise. Beside her sat Arcanine, proud and tall, as he also looked out toward to frozen scene. Realizing that she was no longer enjoying the view, he looked over at her and met her saddened purple eyes with his kind amber eyes that softened considerably at seeing her sad. He laid his large, furry head on top of her lap and looked up at Lilly. Lilly smiled softly down at Arcanine before resting a hand on his head and began dragging her fingers through his soft fur. He gave a deep, throaty purr in response, leaning farther into her hand, eager for more attention.

"You know, Arcanine," began Lilly, pausing momentarily before continuing, "I miss my family terribly, but I know that if I ever had to pick between here and there, I would choose here, hands down."

Arcanine glanced up at Lilly with a confused look on his face.

Lilly thought for a moment, "We use to have these silly traditions at my house. I would decorate the tree while my mom tried to wrap the presents. Key word tried. It usually ended up with one of the dogs covered in sticky bows."

Lilly leaned back farther into the bench, watching the night sky, "We'd bake cookies, cakes, brownies, and then give them to the neighbors as gifts. Sometimes, while decorating the house with lights, we'd breakout in Christmas carols…"

Lilly glanced down at Arcanine for a moment before looking back up at the sky and closing her eyes.

"We actually sang a certain one a lot while hanging some bells in the branches of the trees in our yard…..Do you want to hear it?"

Arcanine shifted before nodding once. Had Lilly been paying attention to her surroundings, she would have heard the sound of footsteps approaching her from behind, a larger set with two smaller pairs following it.

Lilly took in a large breath before starting the song.

"Hark! how the bells,

sweet silver bells,

All seem to say,

throw cares away.

Christmas is here,

bringing good cheer,

To young and old,

meek and the bold.

Ding, dong, ding, dong,

that is their song,

With joyful ring,

all caroling,

One seems to hear,

words of good cheer,

From everywhere,

filling the air.

O, how they pound,

raising the sound,

O'er hill and dale,

telling their tale.

Gaily they ring,

while people sing,

Songs of good cheer,

christmas is here!

Merry, merry, merry, merry christmas!

Merry, merry, merry, merry christmas!

On, on they send,

on without end,

Their joyful tone,

to every home.

Hark! how the bells,

sweet silver bells,

All seem to say,

throw cares away.

Christmas is here,

bringing good cheer,

To young and old,

meek and the bold.

Ding, dong, ding, dong,

that is their song,

With joyful ring,

all caroling.

One seems to hear,

words of good cheer,

From everywhere,

filling the air.

O, how they pound,

raising the sound.

Oer hill and dale,

telling their tale,

Gaily they ring,

while people sing,

Songs of good cheer

christmas is here!

Merry, merry, merry, merry christmas!

Merry, merry, merry, merry christmas!

On, on they send

on without end

Their joyful tone

to every home.

On, on they send

on without end

Their joyful tone

to every home."

Lilly ended the song on a soft note, allowing the night to swallow the song. She breathed in a deep breath of fresh air and was about to head back to the lab when she was engulfed in two pairs of tiny, sweater covered arms. She cut her eyes down and found a five year old Ash and Gary hugging her close. Ash looked up first.

"That was sooo cool Sis! How come you never singed for us like that before?" he ended his statement in a slight pout, allowing his lower lip to stick out slightly as he crossed his arms over his chest.

When Gary finally released Lilly from his death grip of a hug, she reached out and drew them back into another hug, ruffling their hair in the process. Both Ash and Gary squirmed in her grip before demanding their release from her iron grip. Lilly laughs at them before allowing them out of her arms. From behind her, a deeper chuckle sounds. Glancing behind her, she notices Professor Oak smiling down at her with a small gift in his hand. Noticing her line of sight, Oak passes the gift to her.

"Merry Christmas, Lilly, this is from all three of us."

Looking at all three of them, she slowly began to unwrap the small box before opening the box lid. She gasped. Inside were two things; a bracelet and an anklet. Both were made of silver chain but the bracelet had three charms on it that read Ash, Gary, and Samuel, while the anklet had various Pokémon charms on it. Lilly could feel tears coming to her eyes as she drew all three of them into a hug.

"I love it! Thank you all so much!"

Soon after the hug ended, Gary gave Lilly a small peace sign before saying.

"Anything for my future girlfriend!"

Lilly rolled her eyes. He had been calling her his future girlfriend for the past few months and she had hoped it was just a phase.

Lilly stood up, pulling both boys up with her, "Come on, you two. Let's get back to the lab and, before you have to go to bed, I can tell you a story."

Both of the boys looked at each other before running back to the lab with wide grins on their faces. Lilly and Professor Oak laughed as they followed them at a much slower pace.

"I believe," started the Professor as they entered the lab, "That I may wish to hear this story."

Lilly nodded as they all sat together in the living room. Ash and Gary had placed themselves on the couch, all tucked underneath large quilts while the Professor took his place in an armchair and Lilly settled herself on the floor a few feet before the boys.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

Both boys nodded.

Lilly smiled, "Twas the night before Christmas,

And all through the house,

Not a creature was stirring,

Not even a mouse….

A.N. Sometimes the best things are the littlest things. Merry Christmas Everyone.