Usual Disclaimers:

I do NOT own Pokémon. The characters mentioned in this story are the rightful property of Nintendo, Game Freak and Satoshi Tajiri. This story is merely a piece of fiction set in this media world.

Notes from the writer:

Wow. Look who decided to appear from the depths of nowhere. It's this guy, the ultimate king of procrastination. I have an idea that everybody who has me in their writer watch list have pretty much left me, but since it's the holidays, I had to make this story. Since Christmas is nearly over, I spent the last 36 hours or so pushing this piece out. I actually worked through Christmas Eve all the way to Christmas morning before I just had to get some sleep.

Either way, I hope you all enjoy this story. And yes, I know that Christmas is almost over. But hey, better late then never.

For That Special Someone

With Christmas around the corner, Ash's long time friends and traveling companions are in the holiday spirit as they are in Pallet Town for a giant get together at Oak laboratory just before the big day. Ash is excited to spend time with his giant group of friends and have Christmas fun but he is having a hard time trying to figure out what to give a certain young lady, a very friendly girl with a pair of Dittos whom he hasn't seen in a very long time.

Winter time has finally arrived in Kanto and brought with it the first snowfall of the season. A giant and sudden snowstorm appeared out of the blue and delivered a generous heaping of snow that covered the region like a custom made blanket, changing the colors from fall to what is expected to be a long, cold winter. While the adults had to deal with digging themselves out of their homes just to get to work and resume their daily lives, the children of Kanto and many Pokémon Trainers were relishing in the freshly dropped snow with their Pokémon.

As soon as it was warm enough later in the day, an army of kids armed with tubes and sleds of all types and sizes rushed out from their homes looking forward to attacking the snow covered hills and engage in the time honored tradition of sledding. To make sure the kids were safe during their fun, numbers of Pokémon who were family pets came out as well, wearing custom made outfits to keep them warm from the cold while Fire type Pokémon were just fine as they constantly radiated heat from their bodies. There were some Pokémon types that hates the cold and decided to stay in their Poké Balls or curl up in front of the fire with the parents of their trainers. Many of the Wild Pokémon who make Kanto their home were either hibernating deep in their homes while the Flying Pokémon flew to warmer climates until Spring came around.

There was an added air of excitement for the first big snowfall of the season. The snow finally came with a few days to spare before Christmas arrived, making this coming holiday a white one. As the kids and their Pokémon were happily sliding down the tall hills that surrounded Pallet and the adults were busy clearing the snow away from their home's walkways, some people were busy getting into the spirit of the season by hanging up Christmas lights and decorations on their houses. Professor Oak's Laboratory is the biggest home in the town since it doubles as his home and workplace and right now, it was getting some Christmas cheer upon it.

Some very familiar faces were busy placing Christmas lights and other knick-knacks inside the Oak Laboratory. Ash's recent companions from Lumoise City in Kalos, Clemont and his younger sister Bonnie, were helping out Dawn and her Piplup hang some funny looking decorations of Pokémon with Santa hats on the wall. Clemont's Aipom arm backpack made placing the decorations on the wall very easy and it helped that Dawn's Mamoswine acted as a stepladder with Dawn standing on its giant tusks as she placed more decorations on the wall. Bonnie made sure she helped out by giving the items to her brother and Dawn to place on the wall while Bonnie's temporary Pokémon Dedenne chatted happily with Piplup while sharing some specially made Pokémon treats.

"We're almost done, Clemont. All that is left is this string of lights." Bonnie said as she handed Clemont the last length of small flashing lights. The brother and sister were a bit shocked to get Ash's invitation to celebrate Christmas at his home in Pallet. The normally reserved Clemont wasn't crazy about going to Kanto but after some prodding from Bonnie he relented and the two came to Pallet. Clemont's attitude instantly changed when he first arrived in Kanto, which was completely different culture-wise from Kalos. Bonnie instantly liked seeing all the different and cute Pokémon that make their home in the region. As always, Delia Ketchum made the two siblings feel at home since they were Ash's newest friends to visit.

"This took quicker than I thought. Your backpack surely helped out a lot, Clemont." Dawn said cheerfully as she tacked the end of the line of lights to the wall. The praise from Dawn caught Clemont off guard a bit since his inventions are known to blow up or fail all the time. Dawn Berlitz is one of Ash's closest friends and the first person he met when he first arrived in Sinnoh. She too became a Pokémon Coordinator to follow in her mother's footsteps. While her and Ash got along really good, they couldn't see themselves dating each other despite one supporting the other in battles and contests. Ash and Dawn remain good friends and she leaped at the chance to join Ash and his Mother for Christmas.

"Thank you. My inventions only work when they want to work. Most of the time they blow up in my face or attract hordes of irate Bug Pokémon." Clemont said sheeplishly. Bonnie saw what was going on and instantly decided that Dawn would make a perfect bride for her brother. She was going to wait until Christmas Eve to try and bring the two together, whether Clemont likes it or not.

"Inventing machines is a great talent and you shouldn't get yourself down if they fail." Dawn said. The Sinnoh Coordinator leaped off Mamoswine's tusks and petted the giant Twin Tusk Pokémon. "Thanks a lot, Mamoswine. I promise I'll make you two giant baskets full of poffins later for helping me out." Dawn said. Mamoswine always liked Dawn's poffins and has tackled Dawn into the air when she appeared with a fresh batch of poffins.

"Mamo! Mamo!" Mamoswine said happily as Dawn took out its Poké Ball and recalled the wooly Pokémon. At the same time, Professor Oak entered the big room and saw the work Clemont, Bonnie and Dawn had done with the decorations. He was going to throw a giant party later tonight and all of Pallet Town is invited.

"Well, well. You three did an amazing job. This Christmas party is going to be a very good one." The older Pokémon Professor said, complementing on the job the three young people have done with the help of their Pokémon.

"I'm glad that I took up Ash's invitation and came here. Kanto is completely different than Kalos." Clemont said,

"You didn't have a choice with me dragging you here, Clemont. It's always a good idea to see the world when you got the chance." Bonnie said proudly. She did make a good point and Clemont wasn't going to argue with her.

"I think May and the others are just about done with the Ketchum house. I know Mrs. Ketchum is busy cooking up a storm like she usually does." Dawn said,

"I still can't believe a woman like her can cook up a meal that can feed over forty people with such ease." Clemont said. His first meeting with the mother of Ash Ketchum was a memorable one. Upon arriving at Ash's house from the long plane ride, Delia immediately began cooking a big meal for the group.

"Ash's Mom makes such great food. We should visit here more often, Clemont." Bonnie added,

"That said, Delia should be done with cooking the food for the party tonight. Why not head over there and relax until the party starts." Professor Oak suggested,

"That sounds like a good idea. Right, Piplup?" Dawn asked as she looked at her long time starter Pokémon,

"Pip, Piplup." The tiny Penguin Pokémon said happily.

The Ketchum house was located in the center of the town and the Oak Laboratory was their closest neighbor. It too was being decorated with Christmas lights by a young man with lime green hair and a cool looking Blaziken were just about to place another string of lights into place. A pretty brunette wearing a red bandanna supervised the two and told them where to put up the lights.

"Yes, that's perfect. Right there." May called out to the two. Seconds later, the light string was put into place and the young man and the Blaziken moved to another part of the Ketchum house to put up a final string of lights.

"Hey, Blaziken. You sure you don't want to go back into your Poké Ball?" The green haired boy asked. The Blaze Pokémon shook its head no and seemed to want to finish the job. It was starting to get colder since the sun was beginning to go down below the hills. It didn't take long for the rest of the lights to be set on the house and it didn't need any readjusting. With the Ketchum house ready to light up the area, the young man dropped to the ground as the young woman with the red bandanna recalled her Pokémon into its Poké Ball.

"How does it look, babe?" The green haired boy asked as he dusted off some snow that got on his pants from his drop to the ground.

"It's going to look marvelous once night comes around." The brunette answered. Just as she was about to give the green haired male a kiss on his cheek for doing a good job, Dawn, Clemont, Bonnie and their Pokémon arrived at the front of the Ketchum house.

"Hey, May. Are you, Drew and Blaziken almost done out here?" Dawn asked as she carried Piplup in her arms as usual. May Maple, the Pokémon Coordinator from Hoenn, was one of the first people Ash befriended when he first arrived in Hoenn years ago. She and her younger brother Max were Ash's traveling companions during his Hoenn journey along with Brock, who decided to continue partnering up with Ash and to make sure Ash doesn't do anything rash. Over the past few years, Ash and May have had a close friendship and the trainer from Pallet secretly developed feelings towards May. At the same time, May's long time rival Coordinator Drew and her began to do some training together after Ash went to do his Unova journey. During this time, the rivals found out that they had a lot of things in common and one day, Drew asked May out on a date. She surprised him by accepting and the two became an official couple some time later.

When Ash found out about May and Drew getting together, it hurt him very much because he had feelings towards the girl from Petalburg City, but was afraid that she would reject him. When May learned that Ash liked her, she felt saddened by what she heard. She still viewed Ash as a best friend and it was painful for her to know he was hurting. Out of respect for May and Drew's relationship, Ash made sure he didn't contact May at all for feat that Drew would believe that he was trying to take May away from him. Ash saw how happy they looked together and he didn't want to break them up because of him. It took one night trapped in a cave after another Team Rocket ambush for Ash and May to finally air out all the issues between them with Drew acted as the mediator. The green haired coordinator was happy to see May and Ash sort out their problems and see their friendship restored. Drew knows that Ash would never dare to do anything that would interfere with his relationship with May. This little incident made the friendship between Ash and May even stronger and the brunette hoped that Ash will find a girl who loves him as much as he cared about her.

"We just finished up. We were about to go inside and warm up after the hard work out here." May answered. The group of Ash's friends agreed and they all went inside the Ketchum residence.

Delia Ketchum is always known as a cheerful woman who loves having Ash's friends visit from time to time but it was Ash's idea to invite just about all of the people Ash met during his journey for Christmas in Pallet. And he met a lot of people during his journey which made putting decorations around the Oak Laboratory and the house very easy and fast. Inside the Ketchum household, it was already decorated with various Christmas items to make the interior look like something from a Christmas collage.

Another of Ash's friends, Cilan of Stration City in Unova, was busy cooking various and delicious goodies in the kitchen alongside Delia. The Pokémon Connoisseur served as the caretaker, chef healer during Ash's Unova journey. Cilan's culinary expertise was a good match for Delia and the two of them produced excellent looking food that was tastier than anything ever bought in a store. Clian was more than happy to visit Pallet Town and match cooking wits against Delia. There was another person whom Ash traveled with but would never dream of seeing right now.

Iris was from the Village of Dragons and had her heart set on being a Dragon Master. She joined Ash on his Unova journey since she believed that he was nothing but a little kid with no experience. In fact, the only reason Ash did so badly in the beginning was that Unova was a completely different region compared to Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh. While Ash and Iris got along well most of the time, her constant berating of Ash's skills and her own ego began to drove a wedge in their friendship. While their separating was good, Iris seemed to completely do a one-eighty on her opinion of Ash. She got trained in the way of Dragons by a famed Dragon type user and she felt like she was an expert on everything Ash couldn't achieve. When Iris met up with Ash during the Kalos League Tournament, she completely picked apart his recent matches, which hurt Ash's feelings and made him lose his next match, knocking him out of the tournament. While she was happy that Ash proved to her that he is as weak as she thinks, a random trainer from a faraway region called Lonolo, stood up to Iris and challenged her to an impromptu Pokémon battle, which she lost big time due to her opponent's Pokémon being really powerful. Since then, Iris became the new Unova Champion and her duties plus her negative opinion of Ash made sure she didn't even think of him during the holidays. And that was just fine with Ash.

Delia peaked out from the Kitchen and noticed the group of young teens and Bonnie enter the Ketchum home after making sure to take off their snow covered shoes and placing them next to the door.

"Hi, everybody. Did all of you finish decorating the house and Professor Oak's Lab?" Delia asked cheerfully,

"Sure did, Mrs. Ketchum. Everything's taken care of for tonight." May answered,

"Professor Oak's lab is ready for the big party tonight." Dawn added,

"That's nice. Well, all of you must be cold and tired from all that hard work. I got plenty of hot chocolate and cookies made for all of you." Delia called out from the kitchen as the group of Ash's friends took their seats in the living room. Seconds later, she and Mimey, the Mr. Mime who Delia took in for reasons she has never revealed, entered the living room carrying a tray full of freshly made cookies and mugs of hot chocolate. The two placed the trays onto the large coffee table in the center of the room.

"You go above and beyond the call of duty, Mrs. Ketchum. That's for sure." Drew said as the group began to dig into the mountain of cookies on the tray and each person grabbed a mug of hot chocolate, the perfect drink to warm you up after being out in the cold.

"Well, that's just how I am." Delia answered as the sounds of cookies being munched by the group filled the room, which put a smile on Delia's face knowing that Ash's friends enjoyed her cooking. As the group enjoyed the refreshments, there was one person who was mysteriously absent. The one person who invited everyone to Pallet Town for Christmas.

"Mrs. Ketchum, where's Ash? I thought he was helping out with the decorations at Professor Oak's Lab." May asked as she looked up at Delia,

"Ash seems to be busy taking care of some stuff that he says is very personal to him. My guess is that he's doing some last-minute shopping." Delia answered,

"I never saw Ash as the person to do something for personal reasons. I always viewed him as a very open person." Drew added as he took another cookie and bit into it like it made fun of him for no reason,

"That reminds me, May. Have you heard from Max recently?" Delia asked as she looked at Ash's former Hoenn traveling partner,

"Yeah, Max is still upset about losing to that trainer from half a world away last week. He has been trying to find that trainer and challenge him to a rematch. Max believes that person cheated because he only used one Pokémon to beat Max's team." May answered. Her younger brother Max finally earned his Pokémon Trainer license two years and went on his own Pokémon journey with a Treeko as his starter. He also kept his promise to a certain Ralts he befriended when he was traveling with Ash. Max initially had a rough time training early on but he traded for some good Unova and Kalos Pokémon from visiting trainers to Hoenn and his luck turned around. He won some big events and his pride in himself as a trainer skyrocketed.

Max's new arrogant ways seem to bite him in the ass when last week, he faced off against a very skilled Pokémon Trainer from a region called Lonolo. The young man's Pokémon were all extremely high-leveled and knew the most powerful moves known. Max believed that his Pokémon team would crush this person's team.

"It's too bad Max isn't here to celebrate Christmas with us. The more, the merrier I always say." Delia said. There were a few noticeable friends of Ash who weren't able to come by Pallet. Misty was very busy with her gym leader duties at the Cerulean City gym and had to focus on her job, but she was able to send some Christmas greetings to the Ketchums early just in case. Brock from Pewter City was out of the region for the holidays as he was doing a new apprenticeship under a Pokémon Doctor in Johto but he too sent some Christmas cards to Ash and Delia before he left. Serena was another friend from Kalos who traveled with Ash during his recent journey. She opted to spend some time with her mother in Vaniville Town for the Holidays so she was noticeably absent from the festivities. Alexa, the Pokémon Journalist whom Ash met that prompted him to going to Kalos, was interested about seeing how Pokémon Trainers and their Pokémon enjoy the holidays but her current work schedule would make it difficult for her to come to Pallet.

"That is true, but you know my brother. He wants to seek out the strongest trainers all over the place and try to beat them." May said,

"Yeah and when he gets beaten, he doesn't forget them. It's almost creepy like that he would go to great lengths just to avenge a loss." Drew added after he snatched the last cookie from the tray just as Bonnie was about to take it.

"Hey, that was mine." Bonnie pouted,

"Well, too bad." Drew said and to make his point, he downed the entire cookie in one bite,

"Drew, will you be nice?" May said as she playfully slapped Drew's arm as punishment for stealing a cookie from a little girl but Delia came into the living room with another tray of freshly made cookies and she took the empty one back to the kitchen. Bonnie quickly took one and stuck her tongue out at Drew as sweet revenge for taking the last cookie before. These were the times that friends and family enjoyed very much, but it would have been better if Ash were there with them.

Celadon City is well known for being a great please to do shopping and with a few days before Christmas the city's stores are packed with people picking out gifts for their friends and loved ones. The shopping district undergoes a major transformation when the sun goes down and night falls. Since it's the holidays, the buildings and stores have set up intricate light decorations and displays that are so pretty and enchanting that it seemed that hours of work went into putting them up for the enjoyment and awe of the shoppers. Coming to the shopping district at this time is also a good place to come on a date if you're a Pokémon Trainer who just happens to have a pretty girl as their girlfriend with them during their Pokémon Journey.

But not all the shoppers and couples in the district were busy taking photos of the light decorations or enjoying time together. A young man with a Pikachu were sitting inside one of the city's many cafés, getting out of the cold for the time being.

It was very out of character for 17-year-old Ash Ketchum to be without his friends, let alone be in Celadon City's shopping district. It seemed like he and Pikachu were doing some last minute Christmas shopping in the city but Ash didn't have any shopping bags around him. The two long time partners finished up having a snack inside a popular café. Pikachu was finishing up eating some delicious Pokémon food while Ash only had a small cup of hot cocoa. This was very out of the ordinary for Ash who is known for having a bottomless pit for a stomach. Another thing that was very alien to Ash is that he is right now in deep thought about something. His silence made Pikachu look up from his food.

"Pika Pi?" Pikachu asked,

"I'm wondering if what I'm doing is such a good idea, Pikachu." As wondered as he looked down at his empty cup. Ash was actually finished getting gifts for his friends a few days ago but he was dead set on finding one more present for a friend whom he hasn't seen in a very long time. A friend that made a long lasting impression on him. "I mean, I haven't seen this person in a few years. I doubt they'll remember me."

"Pikachu, Pika Pika." Pikachu said, pretty much trying to tell Ash not to give up. Something will pop up that would be nice for the person Ash is thinking about. Ash knew that Pikachu was probably right and since the two haven't been to the Celadon City Department Store, there was still a chance he would find a nice gift for this person he wanted to see again.

"Well, we might as well try our luck at the remaining stores and the giant department store." Ash said. That was Pikachu's cue to jump onto Ash's open jacket as the teen placed some money on the table to pay for what he and Pikachu had for their snack. Ash zipped up his jacket with Pikachu snuggled inside with his head sticking out and the two left the café, only to be met by a sudden blast of cold air. The wind started to pick up after the sun went down, making it chillier than before. That didn't affect the shoppers who were busy buying gifts of the number of couples acting all lovey dovey with each other.

Ash and Pikachu made their way through the packed and busy streets to Celadon Department Store when for no reason, he looked towards a large Pokémon fountain statue that is a very popular place for young people to gather as a meeting place. A pretty girl was standing near the fountain as if she was waiting for somebody to arrive. A few seconds later, a male trainer with a Swoobat on his shoulder appeared from the mass of people and rushed over to where the girl was. The girl's face lit up with happiness as she rushed over to the boy as his Swoobat left its trainer's shoulder. The boy and girl began to hug each other like they haven't been together in so long. Their love was clearly evident for all to see.

This made Ash feel a little bit jealous seeing a normal guy having a pretty girl by his side. After returning home from Kalos and turning 16, Ash has started to notice something that he was completely obvious to in the past: Girls. Every time he sees a pretty girl wearing a tight shirt and a miniskirt walk by or a group of cute girls during Pokémon events, he has to control himself to not take a gander. He was secretly afraid that he was going to turn into Brock, his long time friend who throws himself at the feet of every girl he has met. Ash shuddered at the memories of his friend being so needy for a date and the day that finally came back to bite Brock where it hurts.

Ten months ago, Ash was invited to an invitation only Pokemon competition in Goldenrod City and he invited his closest group of friends, Misty and Brock, to come and visit him. It was a few years since he last saw his first ever traveling companions and the little reunion was a nice one. Misty officially took over the Cerulean City Gym and transformed it into one of the best Gyms in Kanto and still had that famed fiery temper and large mallet of hers while Brock started an apprenticeship with a famed Pokémon Doctor who resided in Fuchsia City. During the competition, it was clear that Brock was still overly obsessed with pretty girls and there were some close calls for the former breeder as some of the ladies who faced off against Ash really didn't like having a squinty-eyed pervert talk about how he loved them. While Misty and Brock's Croagunk made sure nothing got too out of hand, one girl was going to take matters in her own hands.

Later in the competition, Ash was about to face off against a Pokémon trainer from a region called Lonolo who just happens to be a very attractive girl with looks that made every guy drop whatever they were doing just to take a look. This set off and pretty much destroy Brock's pretty girl sensor. With Misty distracted by seeing some Kalos Water Pokémon and Croagunk being checked out by Nurse Joy, Brock went to this pretty female trainer and began his usual drivel of her being meant for him. The girl however didn't like it one bit and when Brock tried to hold her hands with his, the girl from Lonolo punched Brock dead in the face. What followed was one minute of Brock finally feeling a woman's scorn as the girl went absolutely nuts and assaulted Brock mixed martial arts style. Brock was knocked out after the second punch to the head and he did not feel the rest of his beating, even the blow to his groin by her knee. She was done by the time officials and the police arrived to arrest her. However, the trainers who saw what went down came to her defense and pinned the blame on Brock, who was rushed to the Goldenrod City Hospital and somehow avoided being sent to jail for sexual harassment.

The competition ended with that girl from Lonolo taking a dominating victory in the finals and Brock spending a few days in the Goldenrod City Hospital after the vicious beatdown he got. Ash came up to the victorious girl and apologized for Brock's actions. While she seemed ready to beat up anyone who associated with Brock, the girl saw Ash's sincerity in his eyes and accepted his apology after Ash bought her lunch to boot. Vanessa, who was the girl from Lonolo and the one who beat Brock to a pulp, shared X-transceiver numbers with Ash and the two have called each other on a regular basis, exchanging stories about their Pokémon journeys.

"Pika Pi, Pikachu?" Pikachu looked up at Ash and asked him if he was okay. Ash's train of thought shifted from the couple to remembering how Brock was put in the hospital for hitting on the wrong girl.

"I was just thinking about what happened to Brock after he went too far with that girl from that Lonolo region." Ash answered as he realized that the couple left the fountain and disappeared into the crowd. That was his cue to resume walking to the Celadon Department Store and hoped that he would be able to find what he was looking for. After walking through the crowded shopping district for a few minutes, Ash and Pikachu arrived at the main attraction of the city besides the Celadon Gym, the Celadon Department Store. In the years since Ash's initial visit, the store has doubled in size and space, adding two additional floors and doubling the sizes of the floors via expansion into a lot that was once an abandoned warehouse. This created more jobs and revenue for the store and the city. The revamped store meant that there would probably be twice as many shoppers looking for that last minute perfect gift for their friends and loved ones.

Ash and Pikachu entered the department store and it didn't take Ash long to realize that the place was nearly full of shoppers looking for that perfect last minute bargain. Ash began to worry if he could actually find a gift for this certain person and hoped that if he did find something, this person would like it. The only saying "It's the thought that counts" does ring true for some but for Ash, it was the one thing he was very worried about. Pikachu instantly sensed Ash's hesitation and was about to deliver a small thundershock to his best human friend when a female salesperson with long, flowing teal green hair, dressed in a cream colored button down blouse, charcoal gray business skirt and matching charcoal gray high heel shoes, who just started her shift noticed Ash's worried look and went up to him to see if she could help.

"Excuse me, young man. I noticed you were deep in thought about something. Are you thinking about buying a gift for your girlfriend?" The female salesperson asked. This broke Ash out of his state of confusion and he was secretly glad this lady came up to him.

"Actually, yes I am. You see, I'm looking for a gift to give to a person whom I haven't seen in many years. And I have no idea what this person likes." Ash answered,

"Aw, is this person a girl you used to know but lost contact?" The female salesperson asked, hitting the nail on the head again. Ash was wondering if the Legendary Arceus was trolling him but the young man decided to roll with it.

"Are you psychic or something?" Ash asked as Pikachu had a bewildered look on his face,

"No, I'm not a Psychic Pokémon. I've been working during the holidays for so many years that I know what guys are thinking when they need to buy a gift for their girlfriends or wives. I just happen to work on the 3rd floor in the recently opened jewelry department." The female salesperson answered. She laughed a bit when Ash thought she was a Psychic Pokémon, but that's what happens when a person is experienced on these types of things.

"If you can help me out with this, I'll gladly follow you and see what you got." Ash said and Pikachu nodded in agreement,

"Great. I'll gladly help you out. Please follow me and I'll show you to the jewelry department." The female salesperson said and she led Ash and Pikachu to one of the many elevators that populate the store. The one they took wasn't packed with people and since the people already inside were heading up to the higher levels where the Pokémon goods section was relocated.

Ash, Pikachu and the female salesperson got off the elevator at the 3rd floor and it was a short walk over to where the lady worked, the jewelry department. The area wasn't filled up as other popular departments but there were a few people getting service from the other salespeople, hoping to make a big sale or two. The female salesperson quickly checked in with her boss and motioned to Ash to come to one of the many display cases where a number of rings, necklaces and bracelets of various styles and sizes were waiting to be bought.

"There's a girl you like to see again and you want something special. And since you haven't seen this girl in so long, you're stumped about what you want." The female salesperson said, pretty much telling Ash's dilemma in a couple of sentences.

"Yeah. That's right." Ash agreed. He began to look at the section that held bracelets fitted with gemstones shaped into different Pokémon based on the color of the stones.

"Pokémon gemstone bracelets are a popular gift, but they seem to be not as popular this season. I guess other items women like have taken their place." The female salesperson said as Ash eyed a bracelet that had a white gemstone shaped like a Togekiss. If he was with Dawn, this would have been perfect. Ash then saw a bracelet with a blue gemstone that was shaped like a Piplup, which would have made a better gift for Dawn.

"That's shocking. I mean, don't all women love jewelry that is on the expensive side?" Ash said as he finished looking at the end of the first row of bracelets. Pikachu was also looking at the bracelets and wondered why humans would pay money for a Pokémon made out of a colored gemstone when it was probably better to give a girl the actual Pokémon? Humans were confusing sometimes.

"Things change. I'm not complaining though because there will always be people wanting to buy these things for their wives and girlfriends. Or mostly trying to keep themselves from sleeping on the couch at night." The female salesperson said as she made a joke of her last sentence. Ash knew what that meant and he came across a trio of very expensive bracelets that had more fancier gemstones made into the Legendary Trio from Johto, Raikou, Entei and Suicune. The high price, which the labels next to them said 25,000 PokéDollars, shocked Ash and he wondered who would be stupid enough to buy them. But the next bracelet he saw caught his eye in a big way.

There on display next to the Johto Legendary Trio was a bracelet that had a light purple gemstone that was shaped into a Ditto. The person Ash hoped to see soon just happened to own two Dittos. This was the gift Ash was hoping to find. And unlike the higher prices for more well known Pokémon, the Ditto bracelet only cost around 2,000 PokéDollars.

"I think I found what I was looking for. May I buy this bracelet, please?" Ash asked as he pointed to the Ditto bracelet. It was an odd choice and the females salesperson knew that particular bracelet was there ever since they added the jewelery department a few years ago.

"The Ditto bracelet, huh? You're the first person who wanted to buy this. Are you sure you wouldn't want a more popular Pokémon bracelet, like your Pikachu?" The female salesperson asked,

"No, ma'am. I would like to buy the Ditto bracelet." Ash answered. He wasn't going to be swayed and the woman could see he was determined to buy it. Pikachu looked at Ash, puzzled that he would buy a bracelet with a Pokémon that is rare and not used by many trainers. Pikachu's ears suddenly perked up when he realized who the person Ash wanted to see again.

"Well, if you believe you found the right gift for this lady, then who am I to argue with a customer." The female salesperson said as she opened the display from the back and carefully took the Ditto bracelet from its long time spot. The lady carefully wrapped the bracelet in paper and placed it in a special box to protect it. The salesperson took Ash's money and ringed up the sale. Once that was complete, she gave Ash the small box.

"I hope your lady friend likes it." The female salesperson said,

"Thank you very much. I hope she likes it too." Ash answered and with a sudden skip in his step, Ash made his way to the elevators and caught one to the main floor. Seeing Ash suddenly happy put a smile on her face. She had a feeling that Ash would have a happy reunion with this girl and secretly wished him luck.

In Closing:

There. This story was originally going to be a one shot, but since there was so much stuff in it already and the word total was going to surpass 10,000 words, I decided to break this up into a two-shot story. The second part will be put up in a day or so. I just need to get some sleep, man.

Anyway, please do read and review and enjoy the rest of 2013.

Mario The World Champion
December 25, 2013