The red-haired girl rushed at us like a missile, if missiles had pigtails and wore Marill print dresses. "Donny boy, there you are! So are you coming to our battle club? Or are you torchickening out?" She wiggled her eyebrows. "Elimination bracket with prizes."

"I'm thinking about it," Landon mumbled. His Wobbuffet and Geodude wrapped the redhead up in a big group hug, which she returned fiercely. "Anyway, Claudia, this is my friend Noelle."

"Hi," I said, nodding at her. "What's this about a club?"

"It's a private battle club," snapped a disdainful voice. Stupid Sean stuck his nose up in the air, arms crossed. "Invitation only. What do you care, anyway? You're not even a trainer."

"She is," said Landon, blinking. "I just battled her."

Sean rounded on me. "So you lied? I knew it. Too scared to fight me."

"I didn't lie." I bristled at the accusation, pointing at Panic on my shoulder. Her ears twitched suspiciously at the newcomers. "I just got this Zubat today. After I met you. Chimecho isn't mine, he's my Gran's," I added as his eyes lingered on Sugar, who let out a trill.

"What about your lab starter?" said a new, bored voice in a thick Kalosian accent. It came from the other blonde boy, still standing next to the Tropius, running a brush along its leaves lazily. He had a burn scar the size of a fist on the side of his face.

"Um, I didn't get one. Zubat is my starter." Panic chittered in agreement, and the Kalosian boy made an unimpressed humming noise, turning away to inspect his Tropius' fruit.

"But you have a pokédex," Landon pointed out. My hand shot to the bright red Dex sticking out of my jacket's pocket. "They don't give those out unless you're in the professor's program."

I shuffled my feet awkwardly. "...I got it second-hand."

"Probably a knock-off," Sean said, snorting.

"So what? We can't all be in Rowan's fancy shmancy program like you, mister wonder kid," Noelle stuck her tongue out at him. "Anyway, Donny boy, remember: Friday, five o'clock, be there or be square! Bring the new girl too." She clapped Landon on the shoulder, winking at me. I grinned back at her.

Sean scoffed. "Noelle, have some standards. Why even invite a random badgeless newbie with a shoddy Zubat–"

At the words shoddy Zubat, Panic went stiff on my shoulder and then shot off like an arrow. She lunged at his face like she wanted to bite off his nose, shrieking in rage. All hell broke loose.

Sean ducked and reached for his pokéball belt, a red beam shooting out from between his fingers. Landon gasped in horror. Noelle burst out laughing. I cried out and tried to grab my Zubat out of the air, but she thrashed against my hold, her fangs grazing my wrist. A burst of pain raced up my arm, but I just held her tighter, screaming at her to please calm down.

"RETURN THAT THING," Sean yelled, backpedaling wildly. His Monferno materialized at his feet, red embers blooming in its mouth. "RETURN THAT THING BEFORE I BLAST IT WITH FIRE."

"I'M TRYING," I yelled back. Sugar and Genevieve, Landon's Geodude, floated over to help me restrain her. As the Chimecho's Confusion struck and Genevieve whacked her on the side of the head, Panic went slack, twitching in short bursts. I clutched her to my chest with one hand, fumbling around for her pokéball with the other.

It occurred to me, then, that I had a bunch of identical Great Balls in my pockets, most of them empty, and that I had not put any identifying markers on Panic's. Rookie mistake. It took me a few different tries to find hers, and Sean kept yelling the whole time that he was going to kill us with fire and then report me to league for having an out of control pokémon. All the while Noelle cackled like this was the funniest thing ever and Landon wrung his hands in dismay.

"Cousin," the Kalosian boy spoke up in a short, aggravated tone. His Tropius shook out its leaves and gave off a cloying sweet scent that drew everyone's attention. "This is really not that funny. Break it up already."

Noelle stopped giggling and sighed. "Fiiiiine, Michel." Then with a flick of her wrist she unleashed the biggest, most intimidating Ursaring I'd ever seen, twice my height and with claws as long as my forearm. The massive bear took a lumbering step forward, its eyes flicking back and forth from the red-faced Sean towards me accusingly. Finally I managed to return my hellraiser of a Zubat. "Teach them to Play Nice, Junie."

The Ursaring sparkled beautifully like it was bathed in stars, and suddenly it became a lot less terrifying, almost gentle. Its fur looked so soft that a warm fuzzy feeling bloomed in my chest just from staring at it. Sean's Monferno swallowed its mouthful of embers and climbed on the Ursaring's back instead, cuddling it. Why couldn't we all get along and cuddle?

"I'm going... to report you... to the League... psycho," Sean mumbled softly, the fire gone out of him.

Noelle grinned, loping an arm around his shoulder. "Now, now, that can wait. Let's walk over to the Pokécenter and eat a nice dinner first, hmmm?"

"The Pokécenter over there is closed," I muttered. "Try the other one."

"Oh?" said Noelle, pouting. "I was hoping to stay at this one and snoop around for info. A robbery, you know, so exciting."

"I beg to differ. Don't go looking for trouble playing vigilante again, Noelle," Michel the Kalosian said sternly, mounting back on his Tropius. "Come on."

"You're no fun," cried Noelle, but she dragged Sean aboard the Tropius. Over her shoulder, she called out as they flew up towards the clouds. "Bye, Donny boy! Bye, new girl! Come by on Friday! DON'T FORGET!"

Author's Note: Happy holidays, everyone!