Well...a lot has happened since I last updated, huh?
I've been struggling a lot with the news of Ash leaving the anime, but I guess the good news it's inspired a lot of story ideas for me! So I'm hoping to share a lot of new work in the new year. Just because Ash isn't continuing on in the show doesn't mean he can't continue on in our stories!
A little overshadowed by that news, but Journeys also came to an end in Japan. I always get a little nostalgic when a series ends, and who knows when they'll finally get to the finale in the dub, so I decided to make this year's holiday one shot Journeys-centric!
Aiden and Michelle: 7 years old
Elizabeth: 16 months old
A Very Cerise Christmas
"I'm gonna beat you this time, Goh!"
"Heh, not a chance!"
"I think you're enjoying beating a kid a little too much."
Goh looked over his shoulder and smirked at an unimpressed Chloe. "Doesn't matter how old the opponent is. The main objective always remains the same, and that's to win!"
"But bragging about getting the better of a seven-year-old is a little sad, you have to admit," Chloe challenged, her eyes narrowing just a bit more.
"Nah," Goh refuted. "Not when they're as good at this game as Aiden!"
"Yeah!" The young boy agreed, catching Chloe's attention. "I'm really good, even though I haven't beaten Goh yet…but I'm gonna! Just watch!"
Chloe's glare softened considerably with Aiden's urging, and she rested her head in her hand. "Okay, I'm watching!"
Every once in a while, however, Chloe would glance away from the television, taking some time to observe Pikachu, Grookey, and Eevee who were all playing on the other side of the room. It brought a big smile to her face, watching the friends getting to spend time together.
"Aha! Gotcha again!"
Chloe shifted her eyes back towards the TV and sighed, playfully pressing her fist atop Goh's head. "You are so unbelievable!"
"What?! Why me?!"
In the next room over, Michelle was flitting around the kitchen, doing her best to help out her grandmother and Mimey wherever she could. Delia, naturally, had volunteered to cook for the holiday gathering, and was currently in the middle of preparing a wide array of dishes. Misty was also doing her best to help, but knew full well she was nowhere near as good of a cook as her mother-in-law and could only do the bare minimum.
"Michelle, you're a much bigger help in the kitchen than I am!" Misty remarked with a grin.
"You can help more, Mommy!" Michelle offered. "You're good at cooking!"
"I'm nowhere near as good as Grammy," Misty refuted, shaking her head. "I probably should've gone with Professor Cerise, Chrysa, and Ren to go pick up the drinks."
"Oh, dear, don't sell yourself short!" Delia called over from the stovetop. "You're a wonderful cook in your own right, and I really appreciate the help. From both you and Michelle!"
"See?" Michelle giggled. "Told you!"
Smirking, Misty playfully poked her daughter's nose. "You sure did! Alright, I'll do my best! Delia, is there anything you need help with preparing? Preferably something that's not from scratch?"
"Don't worry, I've got just the thing!" Delia assured her. "I left bread dough over by the oven. Do you think you could begin forming the rolls for me?"
"Yes, that I can definitely do!" Misty replied.
"Ooh, I want to help with that!" Michelle cried, hopping up and down.
Misty winked at her daughter. "Good, because I'm going to need it. Let's go!"
As the two began to work on the rolls, Misty peeked out the window just above the oven and smiled. She could see Ash and a group of his Pokémon huddled around one another, having quite the animated conversation with someone in the middle. She couldn't see who, but she didn't need to; she knew full well who it was.
Out in that covered dome, where the snow was gently falling on its glass surface, Ash knelt down and crowed to his Pokémon, "check this out! Hey, Lizzie, come 'ere!"
The small girl, who had been crouched down in the grass, looked over her shoulder and giggled at her father. Standing up to her full height, the baby giggled again as she toddled over to him, falling into his waiting hands with a delighted squeal.
The gathered Pokémon all chattered in amazement, impressed by the young girl's latest achievement.
"She's walking really great, huh?" Ash boasted. "I bet she's gonna start running soon!"
Intrigued by such an idea, Sirfetch'd held his leek sword out towards Elizabeth, who cooed in fascination and grabbed onto it. Sirfetch'd then yanked on it, trying to pull the little girl along. Instead, all it did was pull her down, causing the wild duck Pokémon to grimace and the rest of the Pokémon to gasp.
"Ah, Lizzie!" Ash cried, quickly sitting the girl back up. "Are you okay?"
Elizabeth shook out her head before glancing back at her father and grinning, indicating she was just fine. "Dada!"
"Guess that's a yes," Ash chuckled. Turning his attention onto his remorseful Pokémon, Ash assured him, "it's alright, Sirfetch'd. You were just trying to get things going! I don't actually think she's ready to start running yet, though."
Dragonite gently scolded Sirfetch'd before flying over to Elizabeth and lifting the little girl back to her feet. Elizabeth gazed up at the dragon, laughing wildly as she was pulled back upright.
"Thanks, Dragonite," Ash commended with a smile. "That's super nice of you! Can you say, 'thank you' too, Lizzie?"
"-ank," Elizabeth babbled, reaching up and spreading her arms. Knowing exactly what that meant, Dragonite gathered the baby in her arms and snuggled her, which only increased Elizabeth's fit of giggles. Gengar, meanwhile, hovered above them, making the exact same faces that had always entertained Elizabeth. Even Sirfetch'd was joining in, waving his leek at Elizabeth and encouraging the girl to reach for it.
"You're all such good friends!" Ash marveled, beaming at the group. "It's awesome!"
"Ash!"
Blinking, he looked over towards the lab, where Misty was leaning out the open kitchen window.
"Dinner's almost ready!" She called out. "Why don't you and Lizzie start heading back to the lab?"
"Got it!" Ash yelled back. Getting to his feet, he held his arms out towards Dragonite and asked, "mind if I have her back? I'll be able to bring out dinner for you guys in just a little bit!"
"Bwah!"
Dragonite carefully handed Elizabeth back to her father, who happily murmured and immediately wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Thanks!" Ash chuckled. "Your food will be here soon! Why don't you go round up all the other Pokémon?"
The trio agreed and ran off in different directions, which Elizabeth watched with sparkling eyes. Ash of course noticed this and smirked at his daughter's amazement.
"Look at how fast they go!" Ash marveled. "You'll be that fast too, once you start running!"
"Ya," Elizabeth mumbled, bouncing up and down in her father's arms. She kept watching the Pokémon until she couldn't see them anymore, assuming they were about to play a game of hide-and-seek.
"I know, they're more interesting than I am," Ash sighed amusedly. "But Mama wants us! We can play with the Pokémon more later, okay?"
As soon as Ash began to walk in the opposite direction of the Pokémon, Elizabeth began to whimper. She couldn't understand why her father was walking away when the Pokémon were trying to play with her! The closer they got to the house, the louder Elizabeth got, and by the time Ash reached the kitchen, his daughter was in full blown tears.
"I'm sorry!" Ash cried to the baby, the inhabitants of the kitchen turning to give him bewildered looks. "But we had to go!"
"Ash, what in the world happened?" Delia asked.
"We walked away from my Pokémon and Elizabeth wasn't too happy about it," Ash groaned. "Even though they had all already left…I guess she thought we were going to wait on them."
"Aw, poor thing," Misty cooed, taking the wailing baby from her husband. "It's okay, sweetie! You want to play with the Pokémon, huh?"
"Mama…" Elizabeth sobbed, nodding her head.
"We can do that!" Misty assured her, carrying the girl into the next room where Goh and Aiden were still engrossed in their video game battle. Elizabeth's whimpers did nothing to distract them, but it did catch Chloe's attention, who frowned as soon as she saw the teary child in her mother's arms.
"Oh, poor Lizzie," Chloe breathed. "She didn't get hurt, did she?"
"No, she's just upset she had to stop playing with Ash's Pokémon," Misty explained. "But I told her we could fix it!"
As if on cue, the three small Pokémon who had been playing in the corner of the room scurried over to Misty, looking up worriedly at the crying baby themselves. Smiling, Misty put the girl down by the creatures, who were quick to try and comfort her. Pikachu snuggled up against Elizabeth, chattering reassuringly, while Grookey and Eevee did the same against her sides. Instantly, the little girl stopped crying and went right back to giggling, much to Misty's relief.
"There we go!" Misty cheered. "See? It's a different group of friends, but still friends all the same!"
"Yeah, look how sweet!" Chloe crooned, clasping her hands by her cheek. "Lizzie loves the Pokémon, and they love her right back!"
"I did it! I DID IT!"
Everyone turned their heads and found Aiden with his arms in the air, the video game controller still gripped in his left hand. Goh, on the other hand, looked as pale as a ghost type.
"What'd you do, little guy?" Misty asked amusedly.
"I finally beat Goh, just like I said I would!" Aiden cheered, lowering his arms and grinning at his mother.
"Wow, great job, Aiden!" Chloe complimented the boy. "You really are great at this game!"
"Thanks!" Aiden chuckled. His eyes trailed, however, and suddenly realized that his younger sister was playing with the Pokémon on the floor. "Hey, that looks like fun!"
Tossing the controller aside, Aiden jumped off the couch and joined Elizabeth, reaching over to scratch between Pikachu's ears. The mouse chattered happily before pouncing on Aiden, who threw himself down dramatically in order to make Elizabeth laugh even harder.
"Goh, it was so sweet of you to finally let Aiden win!" Chloe exclaimed, throwing her arms around the man's shoulders.
"Huh?!" Goh gasped, whipping his head around to shoot Chloe an incredulous look. "I didn't! He actually beat me!"
Chloe inclined her head. "For real?" Releasing Goh, she quipped, "Never mind! I take back the hug then."
Goh grumbled, while Misty assured him, "don't feel too bad, Goh. Aiden is surprisingly good at that game. He beats Ash all the time!" Stopping to think about it, Misty wondered aloud, "maybe he just plays it too much…does that make us bad parents?"
"Nah, you guys aren't neglectful like that," Chloe refuted.
Goh hummed in thought. "My parents were. That's how I got so good at video games!"
"You're not helping!" Chloe groaned.
"I never said Ash and Misty were like my parents!" Goh cried.
"Okay, you two are starting to sound way too much like me and Ash," Misty chuckled, breaking up the couple's little spat.
"Yeah, you do sound like Mom and Dad!" Aiden agreed, still lying on his back with Pikachu perched on his chest.
"Mama…Dada…" Elizabeth babbled, rubbing her cheek against Eevee's.
"Thank you, kids," Misty sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Hey Mist, Mom wants to know – oh! That was your idea!"
Misty looked over her shoulder and smirked. "Yep! Just put Elizabeth with another group of Pokémon. Worked pretty well!"
"I'd say so," Ash agreed, kneeling beside the baby and toying with her hair. "You're happy again, pumpkin?"
"Ya!" Elizabeth giggled, tugging at Grookey's stick to initiate a game of tug-o-war with the chimp Pokémon.
"Dad, guess what?" Aiden cried.
"What, buddy?"
Rolling onto his stomach, which sent Pikachu scrambling to the top of his head, Aiden continued, "I beat Goh in Battle Stadium!"
"Whoa, you did?!" Ash gasped.
"Yeah!" Aiden chuckled. "I've been trying to beat him forever! And I finally did it!"
"It's true," Ash agreed, smirking at Goh. "He practices by beating me all the time."
"Told you!" Misty chimed in with a giggle.
"I knew Aiden was good at the game, I just didn't realize he'd gotten that good…" Goh sighed. "I wasn't really expecting my winning streak to end today! On Christmas Eve Eve of all days!"
"Eevee-vee?" Eevee chirped, thinking her name had just been called.
"Christmas Eve Eve?" Chloe repeated, raising an eyebrow. "That's not a real thing."
"Sure, it is!" Ash replied with a big grin. "It's the day before Christmas Eve! Isn't that why we're all at the lab? To celebrate?"
"I mean, I just assumed we were here to celebrate Christmas, but sure," Chloe snickered, shrugging her shoulders.
"Daddy, where'd you go? Grammy still wants to know if Mom…hey! You're all playing with the Pokémon without me?!"
"You were in the kitchen!" Aiden replied.
"Kimch!" Elizabeth tried to repeat, laughing afterwards.
"Yeah, because I thought you and Goh were still playing your game!" Michelle whined, scurrying over to her siblings and getting on the floor with them. Pikachu flew from the top of Aiden's head into Michelle's arms, cuddling against the girl just like he had with her younger sister.
"Well, now you all get to play together!" Misty giggled. She stopped, however, when a thought hit her. "Wait a second. Ash, Michelle, didn't you both come in here for a reason?"
The father and daughter exchanged long, contemplative looks before they both gasped and began sputtering nonsense.
"Something tells me they both forgot…" Chloe laughed nervously.
"Mom!" Ash finally managed to yelp.
"I was supposed to find you because Grammy sent you to ask Mommy something!" Michelle shrieked.
"Don't worry about it, you two. I figured something like this might happen!"
Ash and Michelle both looked towards the doorway, where Delia was standing with a smirk on her face. "All I wanted to know was if Misty wanted wine with her dinner."
"Oh, yes, please!" Misty replied. "Thank you, Delia."
Goh furrowed his brow. "Ash, you couldn't remember that?"
Ash grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck. "You know I get distracted pretty easily…"
"I don't!" Michelle cried before softening up, "except sometimes when there's Pokémon involved…"
"Pi-ka!" Pikachu agreed, rubbing his cheek against Michelle's and getting another giggle out of the girl.
"I also came to tell you all that dinner is ready!" Delia trilled. "Professor Cerise and the others just came back with the drinks too, so we're all set! Everyone can head into the kitchen and start eating."
"And Ash and I will have to bring dinner out to the Pokémon," Goh added, getting to his feet. "Ready?"
"Yeah!" Ash confirmed, jumping up after his friend. "We'll just have to sneak out before Elizabeth realizes where we're going…"
"I don't think you have to worry about that," Misty assured her husband, nodding down towards their young daughter. She was still completely absorbed with Grookey and Eevee, clapping her hands as Grookey slammed his stick against the floor and Eevee danced alongside him.
"Lizzie!" Chloe called to the baby, who looked over at her. "Would you like to help me give Eevee and Grookey their dinner?"
"Ya!" Elizabeth cheered, excitedly kicking her legs.
Smiling, Chloe got up from the couch and gathered the tiny girl into her arms, giving her a hug. "You are just the sweetest!"
"Great!" Ash cheered. "Come on, Goh!"
As the two left the living room, Aiden jumped to his feet and shouted, "I wanna come too!"
"Uh, no!"
Misty reached out and stopped her son by his shoulder, causing him to look up in near anguish. "Mom!"
"It's dinner time for you, too," Misty reminded him. "And you can't help take care of the Pokémon if you don't take care of yourself, first!"
"I'm fine!" Aiden assured her. The sound of his stomach growling pierced the air soon after, however, causing the boy to blush.
"Your stomach says otherwise," Misty teased. "Come on. You'll spend some time with us eating dinner, and once you're done, you can go play with the Pokémon. I'm sure your sisters would like to join you, too!"
"Yeah!" Michelle agreed, standing up with Pikachu in her arms. "We could all play a game out in the dome! And we'll all have eaten then, so Pikachu and the others can join in too."
"Ka!" Pikachu squeaked.
"Okay," Ash sighed, trudging towards the kitchen. Misty and Chloe watched him go, both of them smirking.
"I don't think I've ever seen Aiden look so disappointed about having to go eat," Chloe quipped.
"Once he gets excited about something it can be hard to change his focus, even if it involves food," Misty giggled. "Don't worry; he'll perk up as soon as he sees all the food his grandmother made!"
"And that Mommy and I helped with, too!" Michelle added.
"An- -izzie," Elizabeth added, grinning at Chloe.
"And you?" Chloe giggled.
"You did not, you silly little thing!" Misty laughed, tickling her daughter's chest. "You were off playing with Dada and your Pokémon friends!"
"Let's go, guys!" Michelle urged, skipping past her mother and Chloe. "Or else Grammy will drag us all in into the kitchen herself!"
"That's fair," Chloe conceded, adding with a smirk directed at Misty, "can't let everyone down on Christmas Eve Eve!"
This is likely my last story for 2022. I'm hoping to participate in Pokeshipping Weekend next month (January 7 and 8) so stay tuned for that!
In the meantime, have a happy and healthy holiday season and get ready for what I assume is going to be a wild 2023 for us Pokémon fans!
