Story based on Pokemon Special, the manga. A warm-up story for the bigger/greater one I have planned. This is a collection of one-shots. Some one-shots may be related to others (as in, sequels/prequels, alternates, etc).

Here's #1: Surprise Gift.

Primary: Gold & Crystal.

Surprise Gift:

Gold, along with every other non-Crystal Dex Holder, waited in a giant room of the Berlitz Mansion, waiting for Crystal to arrive. Platinum had invited everyone for a birthday party; Crystal's birthday party. Of course, this was going to be a surprise, so she had invited everyone except Crystal, and two days ago, she told her senior that she needed her help as soon as possible on some research for Professor Rowan. Everyone had already gathered with their gifts and all that was left was the birthday girl to get things started.

"So, what did you get her?" Silver asked Gold as he waited for Crystal to arrive. To his surprise, the boy with the goggles simply shrugged. "I… see. Well, I can tell you that she won't be happy."

"It's Super Serious Gal. She won't be happy with everything I do," Gold replied. "Besides, I… made a deal with someone," he said with a sigh.

Silver raised an eyebrow. "A deal with someone to… not get Crys a present? I just hope that you have a plan to deal with the coming fire."

"We'll see," Gold replied. "Anyways, what did you get-"

"INCOMING!" Pearl hollered.

Surprised, most everyone took cover behind couches and other hiding places. Green remained in his seat, reading the news. The lights were turned off, but he remained in his seat anyways.

Soon, sounds of footsteps could be heard, along with the high-pitched voice of Platinum. Gold, hiding behind two couches, peeked through them. Before long, the door opened and Platinum stepped inside. She made a slight gesture with her hands, telling whoever was watching to wait for 5 seconds. Gold turned to everyone and mouthed the words "five seconds" and received nods.

5…

Crystal soon stepped in and instantly turned the lights on. Before Gold took cover again, he noticed the slight frown on her face, presumably from having to go to Sinnoh on such short notice during her birthday.

4…

Pearl, hasty as always, almost jumped the gun, having counted 5 seconds too fast. Diamond, seeing his friend rise, also tried as well (he thought that he counted too slow). Before they did anything, Ruby and Sapphire tackled them and held them down, all happening behind the couch.

3…

Crystal turned to see why there was a soft 'thump' coming from the couch.

2…

Still sitting, Green hit the side of the couch. Crystal looked at him, wondering why he did that.

1…

"Thought something was moving," he said to Crystal's questioning look.

0.

"And…" he hit the couch twice.

Blue, from behind the couch, signaled everyone to rise. Every Dex Holder, except for Diamond and Pearl (who were mauled) jumped up and shouted surprise. Sapphire, seeing her two juniors still dazed on the floor, grabbed them both by their shirts and yanked them up so that they could see Crystal. They managed a weak surprise. The birthday girl turned to look at Platinum.

"Happy birthday, senior Crystal," said the younger girl with a bright smile.

"How did you know it was my birthday today?" Crystal asked, also smiling brightly. "I don't remember telling you when my birthday was."

"It was senior Go-" Platinum saw Gold in the corner of her eye. He was making cutting gestures with his hand. She understood and cleared her throat. "Excuse me. It was senior Green who informed me of this day."

"Oh. I see," the birthday girl replied, with a hint of disappointment in her voice. "Honestly, I never expected this," she said happily. She turned to look at the other Dex Holders. She could see Diamond and Pearl still in Sapphire's grip and related this to the 'thump' she heard before. "I assume they tried to jump too early," she said with a laugh.

Sapphire glared at the Sinnoh Duo, who nodded apologetically. Crystal laughed some more. Blue led everyone to the large table where everything was set up for a feast.

"So," Green said to Gold, while making sure that Crystal was out of hearing range. "You were the one who planned this."

"Yeah, I guess," the goggled boy replied with a sheepish grin. He looked over at Crystal, who was busy talking with Blue and Yellow. "As long as Super Serious Gal over there doesn't know yet, I'm good."

The feast began soon after. It was essentially all-you-can-eat buffet, as servants of the Berlitz Mansion kept pouring in with high quality dishes. The food was placed on a large table and the Dex Holders could eat what they wanted.

Gold ate about 5 plates worth by the time Crystal finished one. Ruby and Sapphire seemed to be in another bet, as they kept pouring food into their mouths and occasionally glaring at one another. Once everyone finished eating, Platinum took note of how much each Dex Holder ate for future feasts.

Red had eaten 4 plates worth, Green 3, Blue 1, Yellow a half, Gold 6, Silver 3, Crystal 1, Ruby 5, Sapphire 6 ("Ha, I told you I'd win!"), Emerald 1 and a half, Diamond 7, Pearl 2, and herself a half of a plate's worth.

A few minutes later, it became time for the birthday gifts. First up was Diamond, and he presented Crystal a big cake. As always, Crystal noted. Diamond's birthday gift to everyone was always a birthday cake. Not that she minded, because it tasted better than the stuff bakeries sell.

'Good. He got my age right,' Crystal thought, counting 17 candles on the cake.

It was decided that the birthday song and the blowing of the candles will occur after all the gifts were given. Much to Gold's surprise, the Pokémon carrying the present boxes were all his. He naturally glared at Silver, but he shrugged and glanced at Blue.

Emerald picked up his gift box and gave it to Crystal. The box contained the Pokéballs of Hoenn (Repeat Ball, Net Ball, Nest Ball, Dive Ball, Timer Ball, etc), 30 of each type. Crystal looked into the box of minimized Pokéballs and spotted a few Safari Balls as well.

"Did you… … smuggle these?" she asked, picking up a Safari Ball.

"Uh… yeah," Emerald replied with a grin.

Crystal shook her head. "Thanks Emerald," she said nonetheless.

Next up was Pearl, who presented her the Pokéballs of Sinnoh (Quick Ball, Dusk Ball, Heal Ball, etc), 20 of each type, and a couple of passes that enable the owners to see the Tower Tycoon battle a challenger.

Next, Platinum gave her a new laptop, much to her surprise. It was the most expensive birthday gift she had ever gotten.

Ruby gave her a new coat (which he didn't make) for usage in Sinnoh, and during the winter in Johto.

Sapphire gave her a box full of rare berries from all over Hoenn (Durin, Liechi, etc). Crystal didn't know how she would use such berries, but gave her thanks anyways.

Blue gave her a new winter hat, a pair of boots, and two pairs of gloves. Crystal looked confused as to why people were giving her winter clothes, when summer was approaching.

Green's birthday 'gift' answered the question. His gift was a Viridian Gym Badge, and a secret spoiler. He signaled her to follow for a second, and leading her away from the group (mostly from Blue), gave her the second part of his gift.

"Pesky girl and Platinum over there have planned an event for your birthday. We'll all be going to Snowpoint City, which is always covered with snow and has frequent blizzards," he whispered, in case anyone tried to eavesdrop. He could still see everyone else, but just in case. Sapphire could still hear him, though.

Crystal understood now. She went to Snowpoint City once before for research purposes, and it was really cold.

"Now, if anyone asks, I just told you that you'll have a couple of reports to work on next week. Remember, I did not tell you that we're going to Snowpoint City. So be surprised."

Next, Yellow gave her a fishing rod and a sketchbook. There really wasn't anything that she could give, so that was as best as she could get.

Crystal frowned when she noticed that three people have yet to give her a gift, and there were two boxes left. There was no way that Silver would've forgotten to get her something, which meant either Red or Gold forgot. She sincerely hoped that it was Red who forgot…

But much to her surprise and horror, it was Red who gave her the next gift. Upon taking Blue's recommendation, he bought her a novel, whose details he had absolutely no clue about. Despite becoming more and more disappointed, Crystal managed to thank her senior for the novel she had always wanted to read.

Next up was Silver. He gave her a video camera that could record videos and take pictures simultaneously. Blue had forced him to write a note that was to be given with the video camera.

"For all your happy and special occasions," Crystal read from the note.

'Whatever the hell that's supposed to mean,' Silver thought to himself. He had been threatened to write the note, and he remembered the threat very clearly.

"Don't try to hide it, Silver. I know about her. Don't act as if you don't know what I'm talking about; that girl from New Bark Town? That's right. Thanks to an informant, I know where she lives, I know her name, and a lot more. I know that you wouldn't like seeing her when everyone is around, so if you do what I'm about to tell you, I won't invite her to Crystal's birthday party next week."

As a result, Silver had no choice but to obey. One of these days, he'll have the upper hand in the endless blackmailing… But it wasn't that day yet.

Crystal also seemed a bit confused at the note, and put it away for future thought. She turned to Gold's direction with obvious disappointment in her expression. Gold was looking down, and for once, he wasn't holding on to that damned billiard cue.

"Is… that everyone?" Crystal asked, unable to prevent her voice from trembling.

Gold suddenly looked up with a grin. "Of course not! You forgot me!" He slowly walked towards her, and passed Emerald while doing so. "Get ready," he whispered to him.

Nodding, the younger boy took the camera that Crystal had just received and prepared to record everything. Blue took out a camera from her purse and tossed it to Silver. He caught it, and after pondering what it would be for, soon understood everything.

'I bet he was blackmailed too…'

Gold stood beside Crystal, facing the rest of the Dex Holders. After taking a few deep breaths, he began to address the Dex Holders as a method of partially stalling time.

"My fellow Dex Holders! Namely Silver, seniors Red, Green, Blue (glare), Yellow, and the rest of you!" he started rather full of confidence. "I didn't give Super Serious Gal here a gift yet, but rest assured, I do have a gift! Here, hold this for a sec," he said to Crystal, giving her his hat. He ran a hand through his hair. "And the gift is ri-"

Without warning, he quickly spun around to face Crystal, put his hands on the back of her neck and head, and pulled her close for a kiss. The girl's face simply turned pink and her eyes opened wide in shock before involuntarily closing. Her grip loosened and she dropped Gold's hat.

Silver and Emerald were taking pictures of this event from all sorts of angles while every other Dex Holder looked in awe and surprise.

Crystal felt that she was dreaming… she had been waiting for this moment for so long… All those miserable hours she spent thinking that he would never like her, thinking that he definitely preferred what's-her-name that lives in New Bark Town instead of her… all those hours… seemed to just disappear from her memory.

After what felt like the happiest 10 seconds of her life, the kiss ended as Gold pulled back from her. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the other Dex Holders. Most everyone (except Green, Silver, etc) were clapping and cheering, and Gold was waving to them, smiling and laughing. A thought struck Crystal.

'Did… did he do that for show?' Crystal felt her cheeks heat up as she felt extreme embarrassment and humiliation. 'He kissed me just for show and I fell for it… Now what's he going to think of me?'

The overwhelming sense of disappointment was too much for her to handle, and as a couple of female Dex Holders (Blue and Platinum) noticed and asked her what was wrong, she fainted and collapsed on the floor.

When she woke up, she found herself lying on a couch in a small room, with an ice pack on her forehead. And much to her surprise, she could see Gold (and only Gold) sitting on the floor beside her.

"Sheesh, Super Serious Gal, why'd you faint? Gave us quite a fright there, you know."

"Um… sorry?"

"Anyways, you okay now?"

"Yeah, I… I'm fine," Crystal said as she slowly sat up. Gold remained sitting and looked at her. "What?"

"You don't look okay at all," Gold said. "Come on. What's the matter?"

"It's just…" Crystal hesitated. "Why'd you do that?"

"Huh? Oh, the kiss? I was just told that it's what you do to people special to you."

"I'm sure I'm not the only one who you kissed, right? You're always flirting with girls and all."

"Oh come on. When did I ever flirt?"

Crystal crossed her arms. "From what I heard from Silver and a few others, there were Jasmine, Blue before Silver punched you, that DJ lady, and even Bugsy! And more recently, there's that girl in New Bark Town and a few months ago, Platinum."

"What? I just asked her whether I could buy her dinner. And take a few other Dex Holders too," Gold argued.

"Really? Come with me and I'll make you happier than you could possibly imagine? Remember saying that to her?"

Gold laughed. "That was funny, huh? But no harm was done."

"You made her cry, Gold. You scared her. She forgave you and forgot about it now, but you flirted with her. And what about that girl from New Bark? You knew her for years now. It's almost certain that you flirted with her multiple times."

"Who? You mean Soul?" Gold asked, bewildered. "She's just a friend! Don't tell me you're jealous! Why, Super Serious Gal, I never thought that you'd be jealous! Can't you and Soul just get along? And besides, you should know that I'm helping her trying to get Silver."

"So what? You're saying that I'm the first one you've ever kissed?"

"Is it really that hard to believe?" Gold asked with a smile. He looked at her for a few seconds before he sighed. "Fine. Well, if you don't like the gift, I guess I'll have to get you another one. Too bad you can't return it for refund or anything."

Crystal smiled as she got off the couch and crouched beside him. "Oh, I can return the gift," she said, before kissing him. "But I'll consider your gift as being given," she said once the kiss ended.

"And you kissed me why?" Gold asked with a grin.

"Isn't it obvious?" Crystal said. "Because I love you."

"Good. Because I love you too. Well then, looks like we know who you'll be taking to the Battle Tower with those tickets Pearl gave you."

"What makes you say that?"

"Who else are you going to take? I'm assuming the challenger would be Emerald, and we'll be going there to watch him. No?"

Crystal smiled. "Yes, you're right. I pick you."

A few minutes later…

All the Dex Holders sat around a table as the Berlitz Mansion's servants delivered slices of cake that Diamond made. Gold sat beside Crystal, holding her hand. Silver, sitting beside Gold as well, noticed the holding of hands. He began to think about the girl that he liked, and sighed in relief to know that she won't be coming here, in front of everyone… or so he hoped. He hoped that he wouldn't be backstabbed.

"Thanks everyone, for this surprise party," Crystal said. "This was the greatest birthday I've ever had."

"You know, I just feel that I should've brought Soul to this," Gold started with a laugh. "She loves these kinds of th-"

Crystal stomped on Gold's left foot. At the same time, Silver stomped on his right foot too.

"So you're the informant!" he hissed.

"We'll see you on her birthday, Silver…" Gold muttered, massaging his sore feet. "It's coming up, and I'm sure you won't want to miss it."

Silver flinched. 'Must I be blackmailed by everyone? Damn.'

"Who's Soul?" Sapphire asked.

Silver's eyes twitched from his junior's cluelessness, and clenched his hands when Blue took advantage.

"Yes, do tell us, who is this Soul?"

"I'll let you all meet her in person," said Gold. "Everyone, come visit me in New Bark T-"

Crystal kicked him in the knee. At the same time, Silver did too.

"… Since the two sitting beside me are constantly kicking me, I won't say any more," Gold said, massaging his knees now.

During the remainder of the party, Crystal moved closer to Gold, leaning on his arm. He blushed and put an arm around her in response. A few Dex Holders laughed. Gold suddenly looked at the end of the table where Emerald was sitting. He was recording the whole thing on the video camera… He used his arm extender to move the camera up close and took a picture as well.

"Emerald!" Gold and Crystal yelled at the same time.

"Just so you know," Emerald said, laughing. "I recorded the whole 'gift returning' thing too. You two never suspected the open windows…"

Gold and Crystal jumped to their feet, but seeing how everyone else were laughing, had no choice but to laugh it off. They looked at each other, glanced at the camera, and smiling, kissed again.

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Next up: Green & Blue. I will take recommendations.