Chapter 8
Delibird's Day
Castelia City, Unova
The Jones apartment was quite rowdy and noisy, as everyone was busy with a task. Damon was cooking, Davey was preparing presents, and Sarah was looking at outfits, trying to pick out which one she was going to wear for tomorrow. Damon had three pots on the stove cooking, all while he was chopping some vegetables. He didn't have time to do everything, so he wanted to ask his son for help. "Davey, do you think you can help in the kitchen?" Damon asks.
Davey was looking at a list, trying to make sure everything was organized, as he didn't want to mix up everyone's presents. "I can't dad, Ashley is coming over here soon, and we're going to get some wrapping paper." Davey says.
"I wish I didn't have such a pathetic excuse for a son." His dad sighs in disappointment, so he turns to Sarah, knowing that she was usually reliable. "Sarah, do you think you could-" Sarah shuts her dad down immediately.
Sarah studies her outfits. She had three lined up, and each one was cute. But she was having a hard time deciding which one to wear. "No can do dad, I have to pick out the perfect outfit, and then I have to take Pikachu and Furforu to the Salon so they can get fresh haircuts." Sarah says.
"So I guess I have to do everything by myself. Times like this is why I wish your mom was still around." He says. Someone knocks on the door and then bursts in, it was Ashley and Piplup. "I'm here!"
Everyone looks at Ashley as smoke starts to come out of Damon's pot. The fire alarm goes off, creating a loud noise. "Oh no, the soup!" Damon rushes over to the pot and takes it off the stove. But it was really hot and burned his hands. "Guess we'll have to eat take out for Delibird's Day, today." Damon explains, and the family moans in complaints.
Tomorrow was one of the most festive days of the year, Delibird's Day, named after the Present Pokemon themselves. Delibird's Day was the one day of the year where friends, family and strangers gathered to forget their conflicts and show how much they loved each other. Just about everyone on the planet celebrates this joyous day, as it brought everyone together. Today was Delibird's Day Eve, but that didn't stop the people from celebrating early.
Castelia City, known for its towering skyscrapers, famous districts, and endless energy, was the go-to place for everything relating to Delibird's Day. The buildings were decorated with festive lights, as a large, towering evergreen tree decorated with lights and ornaments stood tall in the center of the city. Giving the city peace of unity. All the schools were closed today, so students and faculty could celebrate the festive day with their family. Snow fell from the sky, and the city was in a white blanket of snow, covering the trees, ground, buildings and houses.
Ashley and Davey were walking on the busy sidewalk, with Eevee and Piplup walking beside them. Davey was holding a bag full of boxes and holding two sticks of wrapping paper. His best friend, on the other hand, was holding nothing at all, which wasn't unusual, since Ashley was lazy.
"Guess I'm going to have to eat out at restaurants the next couple of days, because my dad burnt up the kitchen." Davey complains. He wasn't too happy about his dad's mess.
Ashley laughs. But she was glad she lucked out on not having to eat Davey's dad cooking. Because it wasn't good. "That's a good thing Davey, because no shade towards your dad, but he's a terrible cook." Ashley admits. She had no problem shading his dad, because she didn't like him. At least you have a family. My family is all messed up.
Davey knew that what Ashley said wasn't wrong, so he didn't fight back too hard. "I know, but I just wanted to have the perfect Delibird's Day Dinner with the whole family." Davey explains to his best friend. Davey was still feeling pretty bummed out about the whole ordeal.
The duo sees Natalie, Ross and Dachsbun approaching them. They all stopped walking, standing in front of the popular coffee shop, Sawsbuck, which Ross was headed to anyway. "Happy Holidays, Ross! Natalie!" Davey greets.
Ross waves at Davey, and Natalie turns her head to the side. She sticks her tongue out at him, and flicks him off, pissing off Davey. "Happy Holidays, Davey, Ashley!" Ross greets. Piplup and Eevee play with Dachsbun, chasing each other around in a circle.
"Ashley!" Natalie runs up to Ashley and hugs her. She turns to the side and looks at Davey. "Davey."
"Natalie." Davey growls.
"What are you two up to?" Ross asks.
"Holiday shopping! I have to buy presents for my dad and sister." Davey explains. Davey was in the holiday spirit. He couldn't wait for tomorrow, as Dlibird's Day was his all time favorite holiday.
"And I'm buying a present for Zack." Ashley says. Unlike Davey, Ashley didn't care for the holiday that much. She only cared about the gifts and food. "He's being cagey about what he wants, but I'm buying him the perfect gift."
"What are you up to Ross?" Davey asks.
Ashley looks up and notices they were standing under, they were at Sawsbucks, she nudges Davey as a way of getting his attention. She starts to put together the pieces of why Ross was here. "Oh looks like he's headed into Sawsbucks again, to see a certain lady." She winks.
Ross starts trembling, and he gets flustered and his face turns red. "No I'm not!" While Ashley wasn't like that, Ross still wasn't ready to admit to anyone that he had a crush on Lisette. I mean, they're not wrong. But still. I don't even know if Lisette likes me. Ross was worried that if Natalie found out about his crush on Lisette, she would get jealous that he was abandoning her.
Natalie looks at Ross, and his behavior automatically gives everything away. Natalie knew Ashley was right. Ross had a crush on Lisette. Looks like my big brother has a crush.
Ross was getting embarrassed, and he grabbed Natalie's arm. "We gotta get going, come on Natalie." Ross drags Natalie away. The three Pokemon start playing, and Dachsbun follows Ross and Natalie into the building.
"He likes her so much." Ashley laughs. Ashley turns to Davey and grabs him by the arm. "Come on bro, we have to go and find Zack the perfect gift!"
Ross, Natalie and Duschbun walk into the esteemed coffee shop, Sawsbucks. It wasn't as busy as it usually was due to the holidays. Ross and Natalie walk up to the front counter, where they see Lisette, a brown skinned girl wearing a hijab, and Sawsbucks apron. The girl mesmerizes Ross. Natalie sees Ross was getting nervous, and that just made her even happier.
He was happy to see her again. The teenager was high on cloud nine, his heart beating faster than the average rate. "Hallo, Lisette." He greets, using another language to impress her. A unique thing about Ross was that he liked to speak German. Ross waves to Lisette, and she waves back.
"Oh hey, Ross. It's nice to see you again." The calm, cool and collective girl replies. "Are you here for the usual?"
"Yeah, I am." Ross nods.
As she spoke to Natalie, she turned around and started preparing Ross' usual order. Everyday when Ross comes to Sawsbucks, he gets the same. A black roasted coffee with two sugars and hazelnut cream with sprinkles on time. Lisette thought Ross predictability was adorable. "And if it isn't Miss Natalie, aww your Delibird costume is so cute!" Lisette compliments. Lisette grabs a candy cane from the bucket and hands it to Natalie.
"Thank you, Lisette!" Natalie blushes. In the past, Ross always brought home girl after girl. Even though Natalie was young at the time, she never liked them. But there was something Lisette loved. One of her favorite things to do each day was go with Ross to Sawsbucks, just so she could see Lisette.
Lisette tussles her Natalie's hair. "What is it Miss Natalie wants for Delibird's Day?" She asks.
"I want my- I mean I want a Humilau Piers doll for Delibird's Day!" Natalie says. Natalie wanted to give away what she truly wanted for Christmas, but didn't want to freak out Lisette. But she knew that telling her a 'lie' would give a better result.
"A what?" She asks. She was surprised to see a little girl ask for such things. Though she had her phases of listening to music, she shouldn't have when she was her age. It just came as a surprise, seeing as Ross was somewhat of a more straight-laced person.
"A Humilau, Beach Themed Piers doll! When you press the button on the back, it plays his new song, "I'm Going to Get Stabbed by a Knife at the Beach"!" Natalie explains.
"That's um… concerning." Lisette puts her hand on the back of her head, surprised at what Natalie was talking about. "You let her listen to Piers' music?" She asks. Not that she was for or against it, just confused.
"I don't have a choice. I've tried putting a parental block on the websites she visits, but she always has a way of bypassing them." Ross sighs. Although he loved her, Natalie could sometimes be a handful. Sometimes it was hard for Ross to balance being a brother and a 'father-figure', but somehow he made it work. Thanks to his friends, Pokemon and community.
She tussles Natalie's hair again, and she giggles. "Kids these days are smarter than when I was growing up." Lisette winks.
Ross looks at Natalie, who was licking the candy cane, "You're telling me." Ross chuckles. Despite it all, Ross loved Natalie and would do anything for her.
Ross takes a page out of Lisette's book and starts to tussle Natalie's hair. Unlike when Lisette tussled her hair, Natalie didn't like when Ross did it in public. "Oh my Arceus, Ross. Stop it! You're so embarrassing." Ross stops tussling her hair. He felt bad for embarrassing her.
Lisette laughs. "You two are hilarious." She says. Seeing her laugh made Ross like her even more. She finishes up Ross' order and hands it to him. "Here you go!"
Ross grabs the coffee. Ross takes a sip of his coffee and was enthralled with how good it was. "As usual, this coffee is an amazing Lisette!"
Lisette was about to say thank Ross, but when she looks over she sees Dachsbun wagging its tail. Lisette jumps from over the counter and picks the Puppy Pokemon up. "And who's a good boy, yeah you're a good boy." Dachsbun and Lisette give each other Eskimo kisses. "Aww Dachsbun is so cute, I can tell you've been taking good care of her."
"Thanks, I try." Ross blushes. As she was busy playing with Ross' dog, Ross and Natalie stood there and watched, with Ross finding Lisette adorable. Arceus, this girl is amazing. Natalie looks up to see her brother blush. At this moment, it clicked with Natalie that she wanted these two together and was going to do whatever it takes to make sure that happened.
Davey and Ashley went to the city's shopping mall to check out the stores. The shopping was busy, with lots of people there, trying to buy last minute presents for their loved ones. Ashley looks around as she is trying to see if any of the stores would have anything that Zack would love. "Now what store here could be the one store that will have the perfect gift for my boyfriend?" Ashley grabs her hair. She wanted to pull it all out, that's how frustrated she was. "I just don't know what to get him."
Davey tries to call his friends down. He didn't want her to freak out. "How are you gonna give Ross advice about asking out Lisette when you're freaking out right now?" Davey says to his friend. Him and Eevee laugh.
"Because I was being nice to Ross. He was trying to ask someone out. Not give them a gift." She explains to Davey. She stops by a shop selling bike gear. She tries to picture Zack in bike gear, but he just didn't look that good in it. So she declines the idea of shopping there.
Davey looks at Zack and smiles. "Ashley, Zack isn't a picky guy. I'm sure no matter what you'll get him, he'll love and cherish it." He tries to reassure her.
"No Davey, that kind of stuff doesn't work in real life. That only works in the movie." Ashley rejects Davey's idea, because this wasn't a movie, this was real life. And in real life, people aren't as sentimental as they are in movies. "If I'm going to get Zack a gift, then it has to be perfect!"
"Okay…" Davey responds. He thought his friend was overreacting.
Ashley grabs Davey by the arm and drags him. "Now, let's start searching!" She shouts. Davey starts to scream in terror.
Ross called up Davey, Jeremiah and Ashley, and the five went to their favorite ramen place in the city, The Ramen Space. Davey had to drag Ash with him, as his mother Delia was busy doing some Delibird's Day shopping. The three teenagers were sitting at the bar, as Ash, Natalie and the Pokemon were at the restaurant's kid area. Kids were playing with toys and being baby a security guard halfway asleep. Everyone was dressed up in their cold weather clothing, wearing heavy coats, scarves and mittens, as it continued to snow outside. The restaurant wasn't as busy as it normally would be thanks to the restaurant.
Davey enjoyed his noodles, taking slow and steady bites to savor the flavor. While Ashley was eating her food like she normally would. So far, she's had more than five different bowls of ramen. The girl could eat. Jeremiah was eating just as much as Ashley was. While Ross wasn't eating at all. All he had on his mind was his mother, whose death anniversary was tomorrow.
"What's wrong Ross?" Jeremiah asks.
"Nothing, it's just that today is the anniversary when me and Natalie's mom died." Ross confesses. It was a hard thing for him to talk about. "It's been very hard on me."
While Ashley knew Ross had a difficult time with it, Ashley was more covered with Natalie, seeing as Ross rarely talks about Natalie's thoughts on the situation. "Wait, what about Natalie?" She asks.
Ross was unsure how to answer her question, because the situation was complex. "Well, you see… I've never exactly told Natalie that our mom died…" Ross admits, but it shocks everyone, causing Jeremiah and Davey to stop eating. They all turn to him and look at him, their jaws have dropped.
"Ross, come on! That's stupid." Davey says. He was the most offended by Ross' decision, seeing as he was going through a similar situation right now. "Natalie deserves the right to know." Davey was pissed off and he had the right to be. He felt bad for Natalie.
While Ashley continues to eat her noodles as if nothing had happened. Jeremiah was very natural in the situation. He needed more context. "Why wouldn't you tell her that?" Jeremiah asks. "That's important information."
"I know, I know, I know. It's just that Natalie is only five years old. She's too young to know about death." Ross says.
"Ross, no she's not! That is her mom!" Davey says. He was getting heated.
"Yeah, and Natalie is a smart little girl. I'm sure she'll understand if you tell her the truth." Jeremiah says.
Ross was starting to feel bad about not telling Natalie, but he had his reasons not to. Ashley finishes eating her noodles, and after hearing everything, she was on Ross' side. She slides the plate over to the waiter. "I get it. Take all the time you need Ross, it's a delicate situation, so I understand why you wanna wait to tell her." Ashley says. She looks at Ross, trying to comfort him for Davey and Jeremiah's bombardment of questions.
Natalie and Ash were playing with rolling it back and forth. Piplup, Eevee and Dushbun were sleeping peacefully. Natalie looks over at Ross and his friends, and she starts to worry about him. I don't want Ross to end up alone forever. Natalie could tell Ross was feeling sad. Look at his face, he looks miserable. Natalie was hogging the ball.
Ash wanted the ball and was getting tired of Natalie hogging it. Ash sees Natalie was looking over at her brother, and she starts to worry about Natalie, as she seems distracted. "What's wrong Natalie?" The five year old boy asks.
"Ross, I'm worried for him." She confesses.
"Worried for Ross? What are you worried about?" A confused Ash asks.
Natalie sighs. "I'm worried he's going to end up alone!" Natalie finally rolls the ball over to Ash.
Ash gets astonished from what Natalie told him. He didn't think Ross would be the type to be alone, especially after all the rumors he'd heard about him being a player a couple years ago. "End up alone?!" He asks, putting an extra emphasis on the alone part. Ash rolls the ball back to Natalie.
"Yes!" Natalie responds. She rolls the ball back to Ash. "I haven't seen Ross with any sort of girlfriend since our mom left. I don't want him to end up alone." Natalie explains. Though her memory was a little fuzzy, because three years ago she was only two years old.
"Whatever happened to your mom? You never told, you told me." Ash asks. At first, he wasn't sure if he should ask that question, due to it being such a sensitive topic to his friend. But he figured he'd ask it anyway, feeling like he had nothing to lose.
Natalie lets out a deep sigh. She holds tightly to the ball. It was a heartbreaking story that she tries to forget about. However, since Ash was her best friend. She figured she'd tell him. Since Ash wasn't the type to judge. "You see, a couple of years ago, my mom got sick. Her sickness got so bad that she got sent to a camp for sick people up in the sky!" She explains. Natalie rolls the ball over back to Ash.
Ash felt sorry for his friend. He rolls the ball back to Natalie. Despite feeling sad for his friend, the idea of a camp for sick people felt awesome to him. "Oh wow! A camp for sick people up in the sky?! That sounds so cool! I wanna go!" He proclaims. Ash was the type of person who liked getting and getting sick. He was an adventurer at heart, always willing to try something new, never fearing the unknown.
Natalie was the same, but not as adventurous as Ash. Natalie then rolls the back over to Ash. "Me too! But I tried getting sick once before, and I got in bad trouble. Ross told me that if I did that again, Delibird would leave coal in my stocking. So I wouldn't do it if I was you." He asks. Ross was very strict, but not the kind of strict that would never let her have fun.
Ash was disappointed. He liked taking risks, but he still wanted presents for Delibird's Day. He pouts. "Bummer, that would've been a cool way for me to get out of going to camp." He says, as he rolls the ball back over to Natalie. "So what are you going to do to Natalie about Ross?" The black haired boy asks.
"I'm going to try and set him up with Lisette!" Natalie reveals.
It took some time, as Ash had to remember who she was. "Oh that cute lady who works at Sawsbucks?" He asks. He wasn't sure if he remembered correctly, but wanted to make sure just in case. Practically, shooting his shot.
"Yep!" Natalie says. "She'd be perfect for Ross! She's caring, sweet, kind, responsible and bad ass." The way Natalie spoke about Lisette was as if she knew her, her entire life. "I feel like in an alternative world, she could've been my mother." The blonde haired girl winks.
"So then how are you going to set them up?" Ash asks.
Natalie puts on a devious smile. She clearly had an idea of how she would achieve this plan. But she wasn't ready to tell Ash yet. "Oh, just you wait. I got an idea." Natalie puts her hand on Ash's right shoulder, but Ash still had some questions about how they were going to achieve this.
Ashley was over hearing about the sad stuff. She was more interested in Ross' love life. She slurps the soup from her noodles and slams the bowl on the table. She looks at Ross in his eyes. "Enough about the sad stuff. Ross, I wanna know. Have you ever got a chance to ask Lisette out?" Ashley interrogates.
"No. I don't like her." Ross lies. He clams up again as his face turns red. Ross was a terrible liar, and Ashley could sniff it out.
"Yes you do." Ashley smirks. She wasn't buying it. Since she liked teasing people, she wanted to egg him on further. "You go to Sawsbucks every day, just to see her."
"No I don't Ashley! I just go there because I love their coffee." He lies again.
"'Sure', it's the coffee you love. But I'm sure you want some cream too." Ashley jokes.
Jeremiah laughs at the joke, while Ross becomes super embarrassed. Davey thought it was out of line and taps Ashley on the shoulder. "Ashley, come on! That's inappropriate!" Davey says.
"That's what she said!" Jeremiah says. Davey turns to Jeremian and glares at him. Oh no, I hope he doesn't hate me. He tries to stop laughing, but he just found it too funny. Jeremiah continues to laugh, and Ross hides in his shirt, feeling ashamed by Ashley's joke.
Natalie checks and sees the security guard was still sleeping. She wanted to hear what her brother was talking about, so she grabs Ash by the hand and they leave the kids' areas and hide behind a booth, so they can overhear the adults' conversation. They could hear everything.
Ashley rolls her eyes at Davey's prudeness. "Are you going to ask her out?" She asks.
Ross knew he couldn't keep it up any longer. So he decides to tell his friends the truth. "I don't know. I want to but…" He says. He couldn't keep Lisette out of his mind. He truly liked her.
Ashley grabs Ross by the shirt and starts shaking him. "Come on, do it!" Ashley lets go of him and puts her pointer finger in his face. "You're not getting any younger." She reminds him. He knew she was right.
Natalie turns to Ash and talks quietly, so her brother and his friends wouldn't hear them eavesdropping. "See, Ash. We need to help my brother now. I have to make sure he has a girlfriend by tomorrow."
"But how will we do that?" Davey asks.
"Don't you worry Ash Ketchum, I have the perfect idea." Natalie promises her friend. She couldn't wait for tomorrow, because that was when she was going to put her plan into fruition.
Davey and Ashley had been searching all day, but they couldn't find anything that would be the perfect match for Zack. Davey was starting to feel tired, as nighttime was approaching and he wanted to get a good night's rest, as tomorrow was the big lighting ceremony where everyone in the city watched the pine tree light up. "Come on Ashley, it's getting late." He explains. "I need to get back home so I can get a good night's rest. Remember tomorrow is the big lighting ceremony."
Ashley was getting frustrated, so she slightly took her anger out on her best friends. "No, I'm not done! I have to find the perfect gift for Zack!" Ashley protests. "We can't give up, Davey! I won't give up until I find my boyfriend the perfect gift!"
"Ashley, come on! We've checked out almost every shop in Castelia City. If you couldn't find any gift here, then I don't think you'll ever find one." Davey tries to bring his friend back to reality, but it didn't seem like she was having it.
"You're right, Davey." Ashley admits defeat. "I'm a terrible girlfriend!" She took it the wrong way, that wasn't what Davey was trying to say. But since she was already feeling heartbroken, she was ready to take anything and turn that into a negative.
Davey looks her in the eyes, hoping he could bring her back to reality. "Ashley, you're not a terrible girlfriend. Zack loves you." He says. Davey didn't want to see his friend give up all hope.
Ashley gives up completely. "No he's not, he's going to break up with me! And I'm ready to accept that."
The next day arrives. Today was finally Delibird's Day! It was the crack of morning, and as soon as her alarm went off, Natalie jumped out of bed. "Today's the day, Delibird's Day!" Natalie was ecstatic. Most kids today would be in a rush to see what presents they got underneath the Delibird's Tree, but Natalie wasn't most kids. She had a plan and was ready to see it play out.
Natalie rushes to Ross' room. She didn't care that she was still in her pajamas and didn't brush her teeth. Natalie jumps onto Ross' bed and starts shaking him. Ross wasn't budging, he was knocked out and snoring as loud as a sleeping Snorlax. "Wake up Ross, wake up! Today's Delibird's Day!" She says. Ross starts slapping Ross repeatedly, but he wasn't waking up.
"Five more minutes." He turns to the other side of the bed, but that pisses Natalie off. The girl was in a hurry, because she was on a mission.
The happily excited Dachsbun jumps onto the bed and licks Natalie. It tickled her and she laughed. Dachsbun wiggles its tail as she and Natalie look at the sleeping beauty. Natalie thinks for a second as she comes up with a solution to wake up Ross. "Dachsbun, you know what to do." She orders.
Dachsbun licks Ross. The slob from the dog Pokemon's lick runs down his face and wakes him up uncomfortably. "Dachsbun, why would you do that?!" He shouts. Dachsbun barks.
"Come on Ross, today is Delibird's Day!" Natalie shakes Ross.
Ross rises up. "Natalie, why are we in such a hurry?" He asks. He was still feeling drowsy, half-way falling asleep.
"Because!"
"Because what?
Ross grabs Natalie by the arm and opens up the closet. She starts digging through clothes, trying to find something appropriate to impress Lisette. She finds a tuxedo that she thinks Ross would look handsome in, and throws it to him. "Get dressed Ross, here you go."
Ross caught the suit, but looks at it strangely. "Why am I wearing this suit?" He asks.
"Just put it on." She shouts.
"But don't you wanna open up your presents?" He asks.
"I can do that later! Just get dressed and let's go." Natalie leaves the room, as she leaves Ross to get dressed. Natalie had a wide grin on her face, as she hopes everything will go her way today. My true Christmas presents will arrive soon.
After Natalie and Ross both get ready for the day, they walk to the nearby Sawsbucks where Lisette works. As they walk inside, Natalie smiles as she sees Lisette. The place was almost dead, with only a few customers inside. Since today was a major holiday, it made sense why not, as many people came to the coffee shop today. Delibird's Day themed music was playing, and the room felt cozy.
"Why are we at Sawsbucks, Natalie?" Ross asks. He was utterly confused about what was going on. He felt super uncomfortable in his suit, because it wasn't something he wore often. The last time he wore the suit he was wearing now was at his mother's funeral. So it brought back many bittersweet memories.
"Just come on!" Natalie says. She drags him to the front desk.
Lisette sees Ross and Natalie and smiles at them. Today Lisette's Totodile was with her, and he was wearing a fedora, while dancing up and down on the counter. "Oh hey, Ross, Natalie. You guys are here a tad bit earlier than usual." Lisette says. She was surprised to see them so early.
Ross was happy to see Lisette, but wasn't sure why he was here. "Yeah, I don't know why I'm here…" Ross inspects. Ross looks at Natalie, who dragged him here. "But Happy Delibird's Day, Lisette." Ross says he sounded slightly annoyed thanks to his little sister.
"Happy Delibird's Day to you too." She replies back. Lisette starts preparing Ross' order. Ross came in there so often and ordered the same thing, so she didn't need to ask him what he wanted. "So what are your plans for the day?"
"Well, me and Natalie don't have much going on, besides opening up some presents." He explains. Ross wasn't the holiday type. The death of his mom really spoiled the holiday for him. He liked spending the day with Natalie, watching movies and eating cookies.
Natalie was getting impatient. She was ready to begin the first phase of her plan. She sneaks into Ross' pocket and grabs his Rotom Phone. She then bends down and starts untying Ross' shoe. Phase one of the plan is complete. Natalie does a little dance to give off the illusion that she had to use the region. She tugs on Ross's shirt. "Um, Ross."
"Yeah, Natalie?" He asks as he looks at his little sister.
"I have to go to the restroom."
"Oh I'll take you there."
"No! I mean, I'm a big girl now. I can go by myself."
"But Natalie."
Lisette grabs Natalie by the arm, stopping him from going after her. "Let her go, Ross. The restroom isn't that far away. It's just over there." Lisette says. Lisette wanted to catch up with Ross, and with Natalie starting to get into order, she felt Natalie needed a bit of independence.
"Okay." Ross says. Ross watches as Natalie walks over to the bathroom. Boy, it's hard to see kids grow up. He was sad to see her go, but knew she needed to learn how to do things on her own. She was getting older.
"Haha, that little girl will grow up to be a Champion someday." Lisette predicts.
Ross shutters in horror. "I hope not."
Lisette hands Ross his coffee. She takes her hand and brushes it up against Ross' face, causing him to blush and shake. Some coffee starts to spill. Luckily, none of the coffee gets on Ross. Ross swallows his spit. Lisette giggles.
Natalie peaks her head from the corner and watches as Lisette and Ross are talking. Natalie was already picturing them getting married, and she couldn't wait to set up their first. date. One of the customers, Herdier, comes up to Natalie, wanting to play with her. Natalie sees Herdier and pets it. "Aww, aren't you a cute boy?" She says. The Puppy Pokemon distracts her.
Aww, Herdier is so cute. She shakes her head as she focuses her attention back to her mission. She looks at Ross' phone and unlocks. Luckily, Ross was predictable, so it was easy to guess his password. Once I send this text, they will go out on their first date and then live happily ever after. Natalie starts writing a text message to Lisette.
Herdier felt jealous that Natalie stopped paying attention to her. Herdier rubs its head against Natalie, which was making it hard to type. "Leave me alone, Herdier, go away." Natalie takes out one of her toy balls and throws it across the room. The Normal-type Pokemon chases after it.
Lisette is done with teasing Ross, and she walks back over to behind the counter. Ross felt relieved as he was no longer blushing and feeling nervous. Ross notices his shoe was untied, and bends down to tie it. He sets his coffee on the ground. "Oh, looks like my shoe is untied, hold on." Ross starts tying his shoe.
With Herdier now gone, Ross starts working on the text message. She felt like she was on time, as she had to hurry up and finish before Ross got back up. Natalie tries her best to make a simple yet sweet text message, so he comes up with the most basic text. She starts typing 'Lisette, do you wanna go out on a date with me?' Natalie presses the send button, and the text message is sent to Lisette.
"There we go." Ross says. He finishes tying up his shoe, and he gets up. Ross does a few stretches to make himself look cooler in front of Lisette.
Lisette's phone buzzes. She looks at it and sees Ross text. "Huh?" She was surprised by the text message and smile. She again rubs her hand up against Ross' face. "So… you like me huh?" She gets up in Ross' personal space. He likes it, but it makes him nervous and starts sweating.
"What no I don't…" He denies, but it was really hard.
She dislikes the fact that Ross was lying, so she backs away. She turns the side and clauses her eyes. "Good, because I don't like you anyway, you're ugly."
"Oh…" Ross was shocked. So she doesn't like me? Then what was all that flirting for? Normally Ross had thick skin, but since his mom died, he hasn't been able to feel love from anyone besides Natalie. He feels defeated, and almost wants to start crying.
"Ross, I'm kidding!" Lisette backtracks. She finally decides to tell him the truth about what just happened. "Didn't you just send me a text, asking me out?" She asks. She shows him the text message.
Ross looked at the text message, and he was confused. He didn't remember ever sending her that text message. "What, I never sent you that?"
"Are you sure, because the text is right here!" Lisette was just as confused. She puts the phone closer to his face so he could get a better look, but he still didn't remember ever sending her that text message.
Natalie returns. "I'm back!" She sneakingly puts the phone back into Ross' pocket. Naalie thought she was being slick. "Did I miss anything?" She asks, so she wouldn't give herself away.
Lisette giggles. "Yes, your brother asked me out on a date."
"No, I didn't!" A flustered Ross shouts. Ross tries his best to think about if he did send her that text message, but it wasn't making any sense. He starts thinking back to the last several minutes and connects the dots. He realizes who might've been behind the text message scandal. "Natalie, tell me the truth. Did you send Lisette that text message?" He asks.
"No!" Natalie lies.
"Natalie, don't lie to me. If you like me, then Delibird won't bring you any presents. Ross wanted his sister to tell him the truth. Natalie was a petty good liar, and was good at getting herself out of situations she put herself in. But this time Ross wasn't buying it. He wanted the truth. "Now tell me. Did you send Lisette that text message?"
Natalie gives up. She knew that if she tried to lie any longer, Ross would keep hounding her about it. Plus, she didn't want to receive coal from Delibird. "Yes, but it's because I wanted you to have someone. I don't want you to be alone forever." She confesses to anything.
That was the straw that broke the Numel's back. Ross was beyond piss, frustrated Natalie would conduct this scheme, which could potentially ruin any chance he had with Lisette. "Natalie!" He says in utter shock. "I can't believe you will do something like that! This is irresponsible."
"I'm sorry." Natalie felt bad for what she did, but in her eyes, she was only trying to help.
This was the tipping point for Ross. This was the angriest that Natalie had ever seen her older brother. "No, Natalie, you screwed up! I can't believe you would do something like this! And to think, I was getting ready to tell you that mom wasn't actually sick and that she died three years ago!" Ross confessed everything, but immediately regretted what he said. His confession left both Lisette and Natalie shook to their core.
"What?" Natalie refuses to believe what she just heard. "Mom died?!" The little girl's eyes start to water up, and she starts crying. It was heartbreaking to hear. She felt like her world was crashing down, and everything she even knew was a lie.
"Not cool, bro." Lisette was disappointed in Ross and walked away.
"I'm sorry Natalie, I wasn't supposed to tell you like that." Ross apologies. He looked at the sadden girl and could tell that she was heartbroken. Tears fell from Natalie's eyes like waterfalls, and her nose was running. She tried to wipe them away, but it was too much.
"You, you, lied to me!" Natalie lets everything she was feeling out. She was holding nothing back. "You told me mom was sick!"
"Natalie, look. I'm sorry!" Ross tries to apologize again, but she wasn't having any of it.
"You're a liar!" Natalie runs off.
"Natalie!" Ross shouts out. He tries to follow her. It was heartbreaking for both of them, but Ross' little mistake had torn their close knit relationship apart.
Ashley needed some help. She didn't have much money, and since she was practically homeless, she decided to ask the one person she never wanted to talk to. Her father. Ashley rings on her father's door, waiting for someone to answer the door. It was cold outside, and Ashley was shaking like a leaf on the tree. Ashley's dad answers the door. He was a tall, handsome, overweight man who dressed up very fancy. He was surprised to see him there. "Ashley, I wasn't expecting you to be here."
"I'm not here for small talk dad." She bluntly says. She didn't know how to say what she wanted to say, because she didn't want to come off as if she was trying to use her dad, since she barely talks to him. "Dad, I was wondering…" She starts.
But the dad wasn't having it, catching on to her little act. "Ashley, what are you doing here?" She asks. "Do you need money?"
It hurt Ashley to see that her dad automatically jumped to that conclusion. "You know what, this was a mistake." Ashley turns around. She starts crying, as she couldn't believe her dad wouldn't at least give her a chance. Even though he was somewhat right about her intentions, it still hurt to hear.
"Ashley!" The dad calls out as he realizes his mistake. He watches as his daughter walks away, and then automatically shuts the door, because he didn't like conflict.
Ross knocks on Natalie's door. Natalie was laid up in her room, crying into her pillow. After what happened at Sawsbucks, Natalie and Ross rushed home. As they walked home, Natalie basically gave Ross the cold shoulder. It was almost time for the tree lighting ceremony, and he didn't want to miss it. "Come on Natalie, come out." Ross says. "We have to hurry, the tree lighting ceremony is about to start."
"Leave me alone."
Ross walks into her room and lays down on the bed. He cuddles with his little sister as he kisses her on the forehead. "Natalie, I'm not going to sit here and let you stay here by yourself. Talk to me."
"No, you're a liar."
"Look Natalie, I had to lie. I was trying to protect you." He confesses.
Natalie stops crying and wipes away her ears. She then gets up and looks at her brother. "Well, if you were trying to protect me, then you should've told me the truth!"
"You're right. I should've told you the truth." He admits. "But the reason I didn't is because I didn't want to hurt your feelings. I didn't know if you were responsible enough to handle that kind of information, and I was wrong. You are responsible enough to know that kind of information. Natalie, you are more grown up than most people I know. I should've trusted you and I didn't." Ross felt sorry for what he did. If he could turn back time, he would. He just didn't want his sister to hate him for the rest of his life, especially since he had to take care of her and was basically his daughter.
Natalie starts to understand why Ross did what he did. It was a needed conversation that they both needed. "It's okay Ross, I completely understand why you hide it from me." She forgives him. He made a mistake, and she understood why he made that mistake, especially since he gave her a heartfelt confession. She didn't want to talk about it anymore and wanted to forget it. "I love you Ross." She says.
"I love you too Natalie." Ross says, and the two hug. "Now don't we have a tree lighting ceremony to get to?" Ross gets up and the two start to prepare for the tree lighting ceremony.
Nighttime arrives, and it is the beginning of the Castelia City Delibird's Day Tree Lighting Ceremony. Almost everyone in the city was here, the area surrounding the tree was people. People and Pokemon from all ages gathered to celebrate this joyous occasion. Mayor Hoover stood in front of the tree with his Mime Jr. by his side, plugged as he was waiting for the clock to strike 10. Since it was cold, everyone was tightly bundled up. It was one of the coldest days of the year. It was so cold that there were no Pokemon flying up in the sky.
A saddened Ashley walks up to Davey. Davey was surprised to see her in this state, as it was rare for him to see Ashley be sad. "Hey Ashley… Is everything good?"
"No." She replies. She thought it was time to finally come clean to Davey about everything that went on. "The truth is, I went to see my dad today."
Davey was confused. "I thought you always lived with your dad? I'm kind of confused."
"No, I haven't. Truth is Davey, I've been living on the streets the past three years."
"Ashley!" Davey was shocked to hear that, but also angry that she didn't come to him for help. "Why didn't you tell me about this? Me and my family could've helped you find some place to stay! You know you're practically right?"
"I know, I know, I know." She confesses. She uses her jacket to wipe away her tears. "It's just that I didn't want to be seen as a charity case, and since my parents got a divorce and my mom abandoned me for some guy, I've just been trying to do everything on my own."
Davey hugs Ashley. Ashley starts to cry. "It's fine Ashley! You're like my sister. You never have to feel like that, you could tell me anything. We should never have to keep secrets." Davey wanted to make sure she was alright, but also needed a bit more context. "Does Zack know any of this?"
"No, no one does, and I don't think I'm ready to tell him." She says. Ashley has been holding a lot in, but she felt like she needed some time to sort things out. "But I think I'll have to make a decision regarding my relationship with Zack." Ashley leaves Davey to find Zack.
"Here you go Natalie." Ross hands Natalie a present wrapped up. "Happy Delibird's Day!"
Natalie was happy to see it, and she unwrapped it. She becomes happy when she sees it was a Humilau Piers dollset that came with its own beach house. "I can't believe it! You got me a Humilau Piers dollset! You're the best big brother ever!" Natalie hugs Ross and runs over to Ash so she can show off. "Look Ash, Ross got me a Humilau Piers dollset!"
"What, you're so lucky!"
"I see you two patched things up." Lisette says as she walks over to Ross.
Ross was happy to see her, though he didn't know where things stood between them. "Yeah, we had a good conversation and I told her everything."
"I'm proud of you, you're actually not that bad of a brother."
"Why thank you." He blushes.
But Lisette was nervous. You could tell that she had something important weighing on her chest. "Look Ross, I need to tell you something."
"What is it?"
Lisette sighs. "Ross, you are a great guy, but you should know that I'm already seeing someone."
"What?" Ross was surprised. With all the flirting they were doing earlier, Ross thought he had at least had a chance. He felt totally blindsided. "What do you mean you're seeing someone?"
"I just didn't know how to tell you." She says. "I hope we can at least be friends, right."
Ross didn't know how to react. "Ja, wir können Freunde sein." Ross lies. He didn't only want to be friends with her, he wanted to be something more.
Lisette didn't know what he said, but she could decipher it using context clues. "I'm going to assume that means yes?" She says. Things got uncomfortable between them, and she wanted to end it. "I should get going, I'll see you tomorrow." Lisette leaves, leaving a heartbroken teenage boy there alone.
Ashley finally finds Zack, who was surrounded by a group of friends at Academy. "Oh hey, sexy." Zack grabs Ashley, and he goes in to kiss her. He was holding something in his hand. "It's nice to see you, I've been waiting all day to see you so I can give you this." Zack hands Ashley a present.
"Is this for me?" She asks. She felt bad that she didn't get Zack anything. But Ashley had more important things on her mind. Ashley unwraps the present and sees it was a shiny charm. Normally, Ashley would be happy to see such a useful item for her goal, but with everything that happened to her today, she just felt numb. "It's a shiny charm."
"I got it just for you. I know you've been working hard on your goal, and I got you a shiny charm, because I know it can help you with it."
Ashley starts crying. She felt an overwhelming charge of emotions coming at her just at once. Zack starts to worry about her. "Are you okay?"
It was hard for Ashley to do this, but it was something that needed to be done. "Zack, we need to break up." She says. Zack goes completely silent, but before he could say anything, everyone around him gets louder as it finally hits 9:59.
"Welcome Castelia City." Mayor Hoover says. "It's time for me to present our 100th annual Delibird's Day tree lighting ceremony, so let us all count down from 5 and shout Happy Delibird's Day." The Mayor says.
"5."
"4."
"3."
"2."
"1."
"Happy Delibird's Day!" The city folks cheer. Zack and Ashley turn to look at each other. Zack was completely shocked as Ashley cried. Fireworks start to go off as the town cheers, happy to celebrate this joyous holiday. This definitely is a Delibird's Day to remember.
Author's Note:
Merry Christmas, or should I say, Happy Delibird's Day! Man, this was a dramatic chapter! It was supposed to be a fun, happy filler chapter, but I just couldn't help but add some drama. We learned a lot about Ashley in this chapter, Ross too. It was heartwarming.
This was the first ever holiday special in the Pokemon Academy franchise, so it should be worth celebrating. Also, I hope you have all enjoyed the holidays, and I'll see you next time.
Because the next chapter is focused on Harold!