Hello Pokemon World! I have some info for you before you begin reading, but if your not one for author's notes, then just skip right on ahead. This is a standalone story, but it takes place within the established continuity of my other stories. This one can be read as a separate piece, without needing to have read my other ones. To help alleviate any confusion that may possibly pop up in something that is said, or done by the characters, I will be giving you guys the character pairings before hand, and their families. Names and ages, that sort of thing :)

As I go down the list, I will put the parent's first, followed by their kids.

Name/Age

The Ketchum's

Ash - 43

Misty - 44

Del (Delia) - 18

Kaiden - 16

Logan - 8

The Oak's

Gary - 43

Serena - 37

Sam - 8

The Harrison's

Brock - 48

Darcy (Twin) - 18

Brent (Twin) - 18

The Turner's

Cameron (OC) - 46

May - 41

Simon - 17

Ally - 16

The Silver's

Lance - 53

Dawn - 39

Lily - 8

Other character's that make an appearance

Iris - 36

Cilan - 37

Max - 30

Bonnie - 30

Clemont - 37

Yes, I know, some people may find a few of the pairings a bit odd, but it was the way they worked out in my other stories! Trust me, they worked in a weird way lol. Anyway, a bit more info. If you think you might hop on over to my other stuff after you've read this, and want to avoid minor spoilers, skip on ahead now.

Still here?

Ok, then.

Pikachu isn't in this story, due to reasons I won't reveal. Neither are Professor Oak, or Ash's mother. Ash is Champion, and also quite a bit more mature (though he still maintains his old habits occasionally). A lot of his maturity comes from an Earth threatening war that took place, which nearly wiped out all life. Dawn and Lance are divorced. Crimson is a crime organization, similar to Team Rocket (It only gets a mention, or two).

For those of you following my Next Generation short stories, and are wondering why this was published as its own entry, that is because of the overall length of it. It ended up being over 20,000 words so I figured it deserved it's own published title! Also, so others who aren't following the overall story could read and enjoy a Pokemon Christmas Special :)

Enjoy!

That time of year had fallen upon New Pallet. The temperature was far too low, requiring multiple layers of clothing for travel, snow blanketed the ground like a massive sheet, stretching as far as the eye could see, colorful decorations and ornaments of all kinds hung from every house, every fence, every lamp post, placed and positioned in yards and along sidewalks. Yes, it was that time of year for the residents of the quiet little town. It was Christmas! Everyone's favorite holiday, and being this wonderful time of year meant Ash Ketchum was outside. Suffering the cold to hang up the decorations Misty was adamant, be in place. He groaned, seeing his breath billow away in the crisp wind, "It's so friggin cold!"

Slowly he moved one more step up the ladder he was standing on, taking care not to let his foot slip as he ascended. In his free hand he clutched a long string of lights, each bulb fashioned to resemble different types of Pokémon. From Squirtle to Totodile, and Raichu to Geodude, each bulb was unique in shape and color. Currently his job was half done, and he was applying the last of the lights to the house. Next up was the yard, which his children should have started by now. Of course, acting as he would've at their age, they were taking their sweet time at the store. More than likely stalling to avoid the laborious task Misty had assigned them. He wanted to be angry at their tardiness, but he couldn't help but envy them instead. Lucky kids...

He sniffed, exhaling once again and seeing his foggy breath blow away. As he clipped the last bulb in place, finishing his task, something cracked beneath him. Every muscle in his body stiffened as he froze, waiting for the inevitable. When nothing happened, he slowly tilted his head down to see the cause of the noise. A thin layer of ice between the ladder and the gutter had simply formed a crack in its surface, nothing to worry about...ICE?! Why did he put the ladder against I-

CRACK!

The layer of ice shattered, and the ladder tilted harshly to the right. Out of reaction, he leaned to the left, which turned out to be a mistake as the sudden weight shift caused the metal ladder to slip off the remainder of the ice.

"SHIT!" Was all he could get out before he dropped to the ground. Vanishing into the snow with a dull poof that threw white particles into the air. The ladder clanged against the side of his home and fell, throwing up its own layer of snow. His cheeks burned from the piercing cold of snowflakes on his skin, but he didn't move to wipe them away. Didn't move to even sit up. Not that he hurt, the natural pillow of winter had softened his landing. Ash just needed a moment to process his own error. He contemplated lying there, and not moving until Misty returned home and scolded him for not finishing the decorations, but a girlish giggle brought him back to reality.

"Are you okay?" The same female voice asked with amusement, and he heard the crunching of snow beneath feet as they approached. His vision was filled with blue as a pretty woman with dark blue eyes, and matching color hair, leaned over him. She wore a soft, yet smug smile, was clad in a black and white beanie atop her head, and sporting a bright pink hoodie with a black carhartt jacket over that. "I think you are. I've only seen you fall like that at least a thousand times."

"Very funny Dawn," he mumbled, finally sitting up. "I could've been hurt."

"Please," she waved her hand, but added with a wink. "Don't be dramatic."

Dawn extended her gloved hand to help him up, which he took. He brushed snow off his clothes as he righted himself, and turned to face the bluenette, "A little early aren't you?"

"I needed something to do," she shrugged. "And you look like you could use some help."

"Eh? I fall like that every year, er- I mean-"

"Why does that not surprise me," she flashed that smug smile of hers, narrowing her eyes as she did so.

"Shut up," Ash told her with a laugh. "Well, I'm pretty much done until the kids get back with the yard stuff. So come on in. I need to warm up for a second anyway."

To help sell his point, he rubbed his gloved hand together rapidly, getting an eye roll from Dawn. As they proceeded around the house, and up onto the porch, Ash asked, "Where's Lily?"

"She's with her father," was the reply. Though he noticed a drop in her tone. "She'll be here later though. She's very excited to see Logan and Sam."

"Good," he nodded as he pulled open the front door and waited for Dawn to enter first. "Logan has been driving me crazy asking if she was coming."

"A stubborn pest just like his father," Dawn poked fun at him, sliding off her carhartt and hanging it on the coat rack by the door.

"More like an annoying menace like his mother," Ash countered, shutting the door and unzipping his own heavy brown jacket.

"Don't let Misty hear you say that," she said as she looked around the room. A large pine tree, decorated with dozens upon dozens of Christmas ornaments, sat opposite the brown leather couch, just across from the coffee table in the center of the room. Two armchairs were on opposite ends of the table, facing each other. The fireplace on the far wall flickered with the warmth of a fire as it burned brightly, casting long shadows along the green, almost blue, carpet, and seeming to make the tan walls dance with stars.

"Yea, I wouldn't survive the holidays," he chuckled. "She'd be serving roast Ash instead of roast ham." He placed his own coat beside Dawn's and went further into the house, heading for the kitchen. "Coffee should still be warm if you want some."

"Yes please," she said eagerly, stepping in line behind him.

"Dude, that's fugly," a raven haired girl of about eighteen, with deep brown eyes, raised her brow. She wore a bright yellow hoodie, an old orange rucksack hanging from her back, and had her long hair up in a ponytail. "Mom would kill you if you put that up yard."

"I bet she wouldn't even notice," her two years younger brother tried to convince himself. He was in a blue jacket, with a black v-neck underneath. The same dark colored hair adorned the top of his head, jutting out in a chaotic mess all directions. His eyes were much different than his sisters however, being a gentle aquamarine that sparkled brightly. "I'm getting it."

Kaiden and Del Ketchum stood in the superstore downtown, searching for the last minute decorations they had been tasked with finding. Currently they had a shopping cart full of many Christmas decor, but Kaiden had spotted an overdecorated Pikachu figurine that was half his height. The Santa clothed Pokémon was in a sleigh, with a single Stantler pulling the cart. The entire display was layered with multiple lights that Del had a sinking feeling were all different colors.

"There's no way I can talk you out of it?" She asked defeatedly, knowing the answer beforehand.

"Nope!" He grinned crookedly wide, snatching the heavy box from the shelf and struggling to dump it in their cart. Del sighed, and walked on, leading Kaiden further into the store to look for more decorations.

"You think dad will be mad we're taking so long?" He asked as they turned down an isle that had a couple awing over a Delibird blow up lantern.

"Nah, he'll be fine," Del answered him, stopping and plucking a few wreaths from the shelf. "We'll get some eggnog in him and he'll forget all about it."

"You think they'll let me try some this year?"

"Doubt it. Dad spikes that stuff way to strong."

Kaiden's eyes suddenly widened, "That's why I've never been allowed to drink it?! They put alcohol in there!"

Del faced him slowly, blinking once for effect. "Wow. Don't tell me you've just now figured that out?"

"Have they let you try it?"

"No..."

"I sense a but coming."

"But, I am this year. I'm sneaking some."

Kaiden shook his head, "You know Mom will catch you."

"I'm 18," Del stressed loudly. "I should be able to drink something with alcohol in it."

"Even though you gotta be 21?"

"Minor details," she scoffed.

"Ally said her mom gave her a sip once," Kaiden recalled, placing a finger to his chin. "Now that I think about it."

"See," the girl said as if she had proven her point. "Tonight I'm trying some, so be a good boy and not tell." Kaiden suddenly cracked into a wide, devilish smile that unsettled his sister. She knew what was coming, and had an answer before he could ask, "Fine, I'll get you some too."

"Booyah!" He pumped his fist. "Let's hurry this up then so we can get back home."

"That won't make the party get here any sooner," she called after him as he pushed the cart lightning quick down the isle.

"Sure it will!" He shouted back, and vanished around the bend. CRASH! A woman's yelp of surprise followed the loud clang of metal and various items hitting the floor. Del winced as she imagined her brother flipping forward into their cart, and could hear him babbling incoherent apologies to the woman. With a sigh, she walked after him.

Dawn laughed out loud, so hard she snorted on accident and slapped a palm to her mouth to prevent her from doing so again. It didn't work. Her cheeks flushed red as she tried to maintain her composure, but another fit of giggles overtook her and she could feel the hot tears forming at the corner of her eyes.

"It's not that funny!" Ash protested, rubbing his rear where a large singe mark had burnt a hole through his jeans. Dawn sucked in a quick breath and held it in as she looked back to Ash from across the kitchen table. Seeing the small wisp of smoke rise off the rear of his pants, her breath exploded out of her in another loud snorting laugh, and she nearly collapsed out of her chair.

Ash deadpanned and opened his mouth to tell her to shut it, but a female voice came from the entrance to the kitchen, "What's so funny?"

A brown haired woman, with bright blue eyes and a kind face stopped in the door frame. She was wearing a green blouse, with a matching color bandanna. Behind her was a teenage girl with the same color hair and facial features, except her eyes were a bright green. She was also wearing red instead of green.

"A-A-A-Ash...," was all Dawn could get out before she was snorting with laughter once more, kicking her feet from the tightness forming in her gut.

"Hey May, Ally," Ash greeted flatly. "Dawn here thinks it's funny that I leaned against the stove while the door was open and nearly caught my ass on fire, literally."

May's face faltered with her own amusement, but unlike Dawn, she kept her composure. "Why was the stove open while on?"

"Misty called and tasked me with starting the friggin cookies," he explained, shooting Dawn a dirty look as she made a comment under her breath about his cooking skills and she burst into laughter once again. "She-" he pointed to he bluenette accusingly. "Distracted me and I leaned back to conversate, and this happened."

He turned to show the large burn spot on his jeans, and May couldn't keep it together anymore. She joined Dawn in laughter. Even Ally had to place her palm against her mouth to keep from collapsing into a fit of giggles.

"Oh haha, laugh at my expense," Ash sulked. "You three can do the cookies. I'm going to change my damn pants."

And he pushed his way out of the kitchen past May and Ally. Stomping up the stairs for dramatic effect. Only when his footsteps died down did Dawn finally get control of herself, "Oh Lord." She wiped the tears from her eyes using the underside of her wrists. "I needed a good laugh like that."

"Leave it to Ash to give it too," May commented, mimicking the bluenette's hand motions. "Guess I better see where he was at with the cookies."

"About to put them in," Dawn replied with a grin as May and Ally fully entered the kitchen. "That's when I apparently distracted him."

She gestured to the countertop by the stove, where a baking sheet with random blotches of dough covered the top. Ally took a seat at the table by Dawn while May sighed at the state of the cookie sheet. As the older brunette set to work fixing the cookie dough to be more aligned, Dawn snatched her coffee from the table and turned to Ally, "So how goes the Mediocre Contest Circuit?"

"So far so good," the teenager beamed, answering while Dawn took a long sip from her mug. "I've got four ribbons total, and I recently caught a Dratini. I'm hoping it can help me win my last ribbon."

"A Dratini?" Dawn asked in awe, lowering the hot liquid back to the table. "Those are rare. How'd you pull that off?"

Ally's face slightly flushed a light shade of pink before she answered, and she scratched her cheek as she said, "Well it was kinda because of Kaiden. I fished Dratini out of a pond and it wrapped around his head."

"Are all the Ketchum boys walking disasters?" Dawn quipped, turning to May for confirmation.

"Growing up with Ash, and hearing stories about Kaiden, I can only assume Logan is the same way. So yes," May giggled, putting the now perfect sheet of cookies into the oven. She closed the door and turned the timer to an appropriate time before joining the other two girls at the table.

"I wouldn't say disaster," Ally mumbled quietly, turning a little more pink and looking to the table. This made the older women exchange a knowing look.

"What word would you use?" Dawn prodded, giving Ally a nudge with her elbow. "Cute? Heroic? Man of your dreams?"

The reaction was instantaneous, and expected. The younger brunette's face exploded in an incredibly bright red, and her eyes bugged out. "No! Nothing like that! We're just friends! Kaiden and I are just friends."

"I don't think I said Kaiden?" The bluenette mused wonderingly. "Did I May?"

"No I don't believe so," she joined in, putting a finger to her chin. "Now that I think of it. Ally has been excited for this party. I wonder why that could be?"

"She sees Kaiden all the time since they're traveling together," Dawn added, putting on a show of strenuous thinking. "Could it be something to do with Christmas time?"

"What's different during Christmas that's not part of the rest of the year?"

"Mmmmmm, Mistletoe's?"

"That's it!" May snapped her fingers in realization. By this point, Ally was steaming at the ears from embarrassment and her entire body was turning redder and redder with each passing second.

"It's not anything like that!" She nearly shouted, trying to sound angry, but coming off as defensive.

"What's the matter Ally?" Dawn continued to tease the young girl. "Afraid someone will see you cornering Kaiden under the mistletoe?"

"I have to use the bathroom!" The teenager suddenly declared and was up and racing out of the room before the two older women could say another word. When her footsteps hit the stairs, a loud man's voice yelled in surprise, followed by a girly squeak and a dull thump.

"She just ran into Ash," May sighed with a slow shake of her head. And sure enough, Ash himself soon walked into the kitchen, scratching the back of his head curiously.

"Ally looked kinda sick," he said. "Is she ok?"

Both Dawn and May exchanged another knowing look, and in sync stated, "A little love sick."

Ash blinked twice and then suddenly looked horrified, "Wait, you don't mean-"

"No not with you, you narcissistic dingbat," Dawn quickly cut him off, face palming herself with a loud smack. "Your son."

"Logan?"

There was a double wooden thump from both women's foreheads falling to the table.

"Flight 639 will be landing in approximately ten minutes. Be advised, the boarding gate has changed to Viridian 45B. Thank you and have a wonderful Holiday!" The intercom clicked and the pleasant woman's voice vanished.

"Flight 639? Isn't that the flight they're on?" A beautiful honey blonde haired woman asked her friend, who was sitting directly beside her on one of the uncomfortable benches.

Her friend, a fiery orange haired woman, knit her brow together as she quickly ran the number through her head. "Yes, it is. Guess we need to change gates so they don't think we forgot them."

"Bonnie would never let me hear the end of it," Serena stated with dread as if they had forgotten their friends.

"Well we've got ten minutes to get over there, so I think we'll be ok," Misty chuckled, rising from her seat and stretching her back by raising her arms high above her head. "Come on, let's get some coffee on the way."

The two women set off through the crowded airport, navigating their way through people in a rush to catch their last minute flights for the holidays. People returning home to see family and friends, people who still had to work and were on a business venture, or people like them. Only there to pick someone up and hopefully get out of the airport in one piece.

Serena straightened the deep purple scarf that adorned her neck, letting the ends trail down her red and black shirt. In her arms she carried her winter coat, a bright pink, massively fluffy Fever jacket, and her red handheld purse. Misty strutted through the crowd, maneuvering fluidly through with her hands stuffed into the pockets of her yellow hoodie. They came upon the coffee stand in the food court, quickly getting in line before it could grow any longer. Misty stood up on her tiptoes to see how long they would have to wait, and seeing how fast the barista's were working, decided they would have plenty of time to get their drinks and make it to the gate to retrieve Clemont and Bonnie.

"What time will Iris and Cilan be arriving?" Serena asked, adjusting her coat and purse so she could hold them easier while they stood.

"Much later," the red head replied, dropping back down to her normal height. "They're going to call a cab because it will be so late. They didn't want us to wait around the airport for so long."

"Oh, how late is much later?"

"Like right about the time the party starts."

"Well we'd only be here for…" Serena quickly did math in her head. "Seven hours…Oh my, I didn't realize their flight would be so long."

"Unova is really far," Misty nodded. "And they've already been in the air for three."

The two continued to chat about flying, the times they had to be on long plane rides, and their own personal horror stories about their fellow passengers, until the line was suddenly much shorter and they were standing at the register.

"What can I get you ladies?" A tan skinned woman asked happily, flashing a wide smile.

"Columbian, Dark Roast," Misty told her.

"Same," Serena nodded. The barista set to work immediately and had their drinks ready to go in a flash. After a quick debate between the two friends about who insisted on paying, Serena ended up handing over the correct amount of change and they stepped aside so others could order. Misty dumped nearly triple the amount of sugar into her cup than Serena, causing the blonde to blanch.

"How can you stand that much sugar?!" She asked incredulously.

"How can you stand only two packs?" Misty retaliated, raising her cup to her lips and taking a sip as if she were being defiant.

"I like to taste my coffee, not coffee flavored sugar," was Serena's counter, and she too took a sip, sighing as the warm liquid traveled down her throat and left a warming sensation that tingled out to her fingertips.

They continued to debate as they left the coffee stand and once again were making their way through the sea of people. As they approached Viridian Gate 45B and found a bench for them to sit on, they found equal ground in making fun of the way both Ash and Gary drank their coffee. Both would add sugar, creamer, and milk, completely dissipating any sign or taste of the drink.

"How are thing's with Gary," Misty asked suddenly, choosing her tone carefully.

Serena hesitated a moment, but gently smiled and replied, "Good. Things have been getting better. It was rough there for a while, but we've got things back on track."

"That's wonderful to hear," Misty smiled back. "It can't be easy being married to Gary. At least you guys tough through the rough patches. Some people could learn a lesson from you guys."

She played it off in her tone, but Serena faintly picked up on Misty's disdain in her own obvious reference to Lance and Dawn. That whole situation might have happened years ago, but it was a nasty burn that still resided in most of their minds, especially Misty's. Even if she was good at not letting it show. But Serena saw through her attempts to hide it, and she didn't blame her friend for being angry with the situation still. She'd heard the stories. Ash, Misty, Dawn, and Lance wen't through Hell and back in Sinnoh during the Dominion war. For something like that to happen in a group that had grown so close, was devastating.

"I'm sorry," Misty solemnly added. "I shouldn't bring that up."

"Bring what up?" Serena was quick to reply, giving her friend the chance to swerve away from the uncomfortable topic. Catching the gist of what the honey blonde was doing, Misty smiled gratefully and took a long sip from her warm drink.

"Anyway, Gary and I have always had ups and down, and I imagine we always will," the honey blonde said. "It's who we are."

"Ash and I are right about the same, now that I really think about it," Misty thought out loud.

"It must be the men," Serena pointed out nonchalantly, taking a drink as Misty chuckled.

"Must be-"

"SERENA! MISTY!" The sudden shout made the two of them jump with wide eyes, and a petite lemon blonde haired girl practically crashed into them as she came to an abrupt halt only two inches from their bench.

"Bonnie!" Serena exclaimed happily, rising to her feet to receive the bone cracking hug from the younger woman. "How was your flight?" She managed to get out with a grunt.

"It was awesome!" She cried excitedly, hardly taking a breath. "We flew over Sinnoh, and got to see the massive mountain! Even though I've seen it before, it's still so cool! And then Kanto has so many landmarks and Mt. Silver is just as awesome to see from so high up!"

"Where's your brother?" Misty asked through the amused grin plastered on her expression. Bonnie could sure talk fast.

"Oh!" The young blonde suddenly noticed Clement wasn't around, and she stood up on her tiptoes as high as she could. Peering back from whatever direction she had came. "He was right behind me?"

"I'm here!" A tired voice called out, and the lemon haired boy appeared through the crowd. Clutching his side and breathing hard. "Bonnie took off the second we stepped off the plane."

"Sounds right," Serena giggled. "How was your flight Clemont?"

He grimaced and gave Bonnie a pointed look that made her blush and look away as if she didn't notice. "Bonnie asked every single girl, EVERY single girl, if they wanted to date me."

The young blonde couldn't resist replying, "You're getting old Clemont! You've gotta find somebody soon or you're going to die alone!"

"I'm only thirty seven!" He defended loudly. "That's no where near old!"

"It is when you should've had someone way before my age!"

"I-"

"Okay," Misty stood up abruptly, cutting off their dispute. "I suggest we head out. We can snag some food before we drive back to Pallet."

"Oh I'm starving!" Bonnie shouted, not noticing the change of topic. "Let's go!"

She took off in the lead, strutting through the airport and awing at all the people. As the other three fell in line behind her, Misty lagged back by Clemont and whispered so only he could hear, "Don't worry. You'll be able to get her back tonight."

He frowned and looked curious, "How so?"

"Max will be there."

"Sam, Logan, hand me those notes and that thermometer," Gary said, pointing behind him without taking his eyes off the baby Nidoran before him. Two young boys, no older than eight, immediately scrambled for the items he had requested. One had dirty blonde hair that spiked out all directions, and dark powerful eyes The other had flaming orange hair with a natural unkemptness about it, and green eyes.

They snatched the two items from the wooden table on the far wall, and raced back to the researchers side. Gary took the thermometer from Logan and gently spoke to the tiny Pokémon, "This won't hurt you, I promise. We just need to check your body temperature."

It groaned from its place on the table, shivering from a pain that shot through its tiny body. It was lying on a large round pillow, with a lukewarm heat lamp pointed its direction. Softly he stroked the Nidoran between the ears, placing the thermometer against its tiny jaws. Reluctantly, Nidoran opened its mouth, and Gary slid the thermometer under its tongue.

Both Logan and Sam watched with bated breath, clinging to Gary's arm and twisting the fabric of his white lab coat. Not that he noticed, his face was contorted into one of concentration as he watched the thermometers digital numbers slowly climbing. As it passed by 95 degrees, his dark eyes flicked to the notepad Sam had sat beside the Nidoran.

"Its body temperature should baseline at roughly 82 degrees," he said aloud, his tone urgent. "Sam, go get the ice pack from the freezer, hurry."

"Ok dad!" The young brown haired boy nodded vigorously, and swept out of the lab in a rush. Logan's green eyes followed Sam out, and then swiveled back to the Nidoran when he was gone.

"Will it be alright Professor Oak?" He asked timidly.

"It will be just fine," Gary nodded, turning to the young boy. "All we need to do is bring its temperature down, and let it rest."

Logan looked visibly relieved, and he nodded. Gary removed the thermometer as he noticed the number was holding at 97 degrees. He, however, continued to rub the Nidoran just behind he ears, attempting to soothe the aching Pokémon.

"Logan, in the drawer over there," he pointed to a desk to his right, sitting beside a large piece of machinery with a monitor. "There's some medicine in there that will help. Get it please?"

"Yes sir," the boy acknowledged and walked away. In less than a minute, he was back, holding a compact green bottle. "Is this it?"

"That's it," Gary nodded. "Take on of those pills and give it to Nidoran would you?"

"Me?"

Gary nodded with a smile, and Logan blinked twice before he unscrewed the cap and dumped a tiny green pill into his palm, which gave off a faint fruity smell. Uneasily he extended his hand to the Pokémon, holding it just before the Nidoran's snout. It sniffed a couple times, and fluttered open its eyes, seeing the pill in Logan's palm. It cast him a wary glance, but slowly reached out and took the pill in its jaws. Its rough skin tickled Logan's but he remained motionless as he watched Nidoran begin to chew.

"Is it better now?" He asked, pulling his hand back to his side.

"Not quite," Gary told him with a smile. "It will take some time for the medicine to work."

"How long?"

"Oh an hour or so."

Just then, Sam came back into the lab with the ice pack, "I got it!"

He ran over to them, and handed Gary the blue bag. "Thank's Sam." He rested the cool bag atop Nidoran's head, replacing his gentle rubbing with a cool sensation that immediately had its effects. The Pokémon sighed and closed its eyes, letting its ragged breathing fall into an easy pattern.

"And now we can only let it rest," he said to the boys, standing up and straightening his lab coat.

"Will it be ok?" Sam asked urgently, giving his father a pleading look.

It was Logan who answered, "It will be in about an hour, right Professor?"

Gary couldn't help but smile at the pair of them, "I believe so yes, now let's go so Nidoran can rest without listening to you two babbling on all day."

"Hey we don't babble," Logan argued as Gary placed a hand on his back and began leading him to the door.

"We have intellectual debates about our opinions on Pokémon, and which ones are more awesome!" Sam said smartly, crossing his arms as he too was led to the door.

"Charmander all the way," Logan declared proudly.

"What? No way, Squirtle is the best," Sam argued back.

"Fire is better than water."

"Water puts out fire genius."

"Well I can turn you into steam!"

"Only if you're hot enough! And a little Charmander won't be hot enough."

"Well-"

"Like I said," Gary interrupted as he shut the lab door behind them. "Babbling."

Both boys immediately went quiet, turning a bright red. Gary laughed and continued as he began walking down the hall, "Come on. We need to get our things together for the party at Logan's tonight."

"Its going to be so much fun!" Logan proclaimed to Sam loudly as they followed. "I can't wait to see Lilly!"

"Me either," he grinned wide. "I'm going to eat more cookies than her this year. Just wait and see!"

"Dude she kicks your butt every year!"

"Well this year will be different!"

"I bet she still wins."

"How about I make you shut up."

"How so? Are you going to make a Squirtle turn me into steam?"

"That would be the other way around Logan! Fire turns water into steam!"

"Just because-"

"Babbling!" Gary called back with a wisecracking grin, and both boys instantly went silent once again. "Now you hear that? That's the sweet sound of silence I never get to hear."

The two boys flushed, exchanging an embarrassed glance. As they walked on through the massive Oak Manor, Logan's thoughts drifted back to the Nidoran, and he cast a look back down the hall.

"Dad," Kaiden called as he opened the front door to his home, letting in a blast of cold air that was squashed from the warmth of inside. "We're home with the stuff."

He stepped aside so Del could waltz in, each of them stopping on the doormat to kick off the snow on their shoes.

"In the Kitchen," they heard their father call through the house, and Kaiden shut the door as the siblings walked further into the living room.

"You wouldn't believe the amount of people at the store-" Kaiden began saying as he entered the kitchen removing his coat. He stopping in place when he saw a flash of blue hair and was suddenly caught in a suffocating hug. "Gwah! It's nice to see you to Aunt Dawn."

He awkwardly returned to hug from his caught off guard position, and the bluenette let him go. Taking a step back to see him fully. "Oh my you've gotten so handsome! Where did you get your looks? Certainly not your father."

"Hey!" Ash scoffed a little hurt, placing a palm against his heart. "That hurts."

Dawn waved for him to be quiet and continued, "Del! You've gotten so pretty! And your hair is so long!"

She swooped away from Kaiden to seize his sister in a crushing hug, giving him full view of the room. His father sat at the head of the kitchen table, one hand around a coffee cup and the other scratching his head. May was beside the stove, shutting the door as she placed a tray of freshly done cookies on the countertop. Ally looked a little red in face, had she been running? But she sat a seat away from Ash, watching Dawn with a careful eye.

The bluenette let go of Del, who was smiling just as wide, and asked, "How's the traveling been going? See anything crazily awesome?"

"I've seen so many things!" The Ketchum daughter said with great emphasis. "And I'm not done. I plan to see everything the world has to offer."

"Now who does that sound like?" May asked from the other side of the room.

"Like her Aunt Dawn of course!" The bluenette winked to Del, interrupting Ash before he could say his piece. The black haired girl giggled at the annoyed expression on her fathers face.

Kaiden sidled into the chair beside Ally, putting his coat on its back. "Where's Simon? And your dad?"

Ally opened her mouth to answer him, but Ash leaned forward and said, "Don't get comfortable yet Kaid. Don't you still need to put up the yard decorations?"

"Can't I do that in a minute?" His son asked wearily. "The store drained my energy."

"I don't mind," Ash shrugged, turning his head to look at the clock above the stove and May's head. "But your mother should be home in about fifteen minutes or so, so it'd be-"

"We got it covered!" Kaiden exclaimed, jumping to his feet and snatching his coat.

"I'll help," Ally offered, imitating his actions.

"I knew I could count on you," he beamed and hurried around the table, grabbing his sister by the shoulder and hauling her away from Dawn. "Come on, mom will be here soon."

The three teenagers vanished from the room, leaving Dawn with her mouth open, mdway through her conversation with the Ketchum daughter.

"Well then," she huffed, spinning in place and returning to her seat by Ash.

May joined them, sitting opposite Dawn, and blinked a few times at the doorway where their kids had vanished. "Kaiden is just like Ash."

Both Dawn and the man in question turned to face her with curious stares, so May continued, "Ally blushed the minute he walked in, and gave a dozen other signs in that short time frame, and Kaiden didn't even notice a single one."

"What do you mean?" Ash frowned with a blink. "I didn't notice anything strange."

"And that would be her point," Dawn chastised playfully.

"I don't get it?"

Both May and Dawn sweatdropped, sharing a deadpan look.

"What I mean Ash," May started gently, going slow to be sure he caught on. "Is that Kaiden doesn't seem to notice when someone is interested in him."

Ash knit his brow together as his mind put the pieces together, "Ally likes Kaiden?"

"And the winner is, Ash!" Dawn clapped in a round of applause, earning a glare from him.

"How does that make him like me?" He defended himself.

"Because all of your female traveling companions liked you at one point you dolt," Dawn exclaimed. "Goodness, what's in your coffee? Vodka?"

Ash blushed deeply at the sudden slap of knowledge that he already knew, but decided to pointedly ignore, "Oh, that. What can I say, we Ketchum's are a savvy type."

"And there goes the ego," May sighed with a smile.

"So Ally really likes Kaiden then?" Ash asked, ignoring May's comment and Dawn's agreement. "I'd bet money he likes her too."

"How can you tell?" May asked suspiciously.

Ash grinned smugly, "Because I wasn't as clueless as you two like to believe I was. Well, at least not with Misty. I liked her way back when, I just chose to ignore myself."

Both women seemed honestly surprised by that bit of news, and Dawn said, "Oh my God, that makes so many things make so much more sense!"

"What does?" A different voice asked from the doorway, and the three of them turned to find Misty walking into the kitchen. Followed by Serena, Bonnie, and Clemont.

"Oh, nothing important Misty," Ash was quick to say before Dawn could answer for him. The bluenette shot him a challenging smile, but didn't say anything about it.

Instead, Dawn said, "Bonnie! Clemont! It's been so long!"

"I know!" Bonnie practically shouted, shoving past her brother and stealing the seat by Dawn at the table. "How have you been?"

The two of them were quickly lost in rapid fire conversation, leaving the rest of the group to speak amongst themselves.

"Hey Clemont," Ash greeted warmly as the lemon blonde walked over to the table. "How was the flight?"

"Long, and tiring," he said as he took the seat across from Ash. "Bonnie was a handful."

"Don't be a wimp," Bonnie butted in quickly, and was gone just as fast, back into her conversation with Dawn.

Misty sat in the seat beside May, with Serena taking the seat beside her, and asked, "Ash, would you get me a cup?"

She pointed to the coffee in his hands, and he groaned like it would be the hardest thing he'd done all day, "I suppose so."

"And start the ham?" Misty added as he stood up, which made him scoff. "You're the best!"

"Good thing we got started when we did," Kaiden said victoriously. "Mom would've killed us."

"I think you would be the only one in danger," Ally pointed out with a laugh.

"What about Del?"

"I'm obviously the favorite," the black haired girl chimed in as she pulled a box out of the red sedan. "Mom wouldn't kill her favorite."

She dropped the heavy box into Kaiden's waiting arms, and he staggered in place. Crunching the snow beneath his feet.

"I bet she'd kill you if she knew what you were planning to do tonight," he argued back slyly, making her narrow her eyes at him dangerously. He stared right back, challenging her to say anything else.

Ally looked between the two siblings, "Planning on what?"

"Nothing," they said together, breaking their staring contest and looking to the brunette. Except Del continued, "Come on Ally, you can help me put up the figurines."

She gripped the young woman by the arm and hauled her to the other side of the yard. Kaiden watched them go, seeing Ally send him a wink as she was drug through the snow. His face turned hot, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out why. There was snow outside, so it was supposed to be cold, not hot.

Together they worked to decorate the yard, removing the decorations they had bought earlier from their mothers sedan. Taking care not to bump into Serena's little blue car parked beside it. The snow crunched beneath their feet, leaving obvious trails of where each of them had been. Around the back of the house, a spot clearly marked where Kaiden had to take a bathroom break.

They talked, laughed, and swapped stories of their current adventures. Ally told Del of the Dratini she had just recently captured, and Kaiden tried to avoid the part about it wrapping around his head, with no such luck. Del proceeded to make fun of him for that embarrassing tidbit of information.

"I said it's not funny!" Kaiden protested, his irritation reaching a peak. Without thinking, he scooped up a wad of snow into his gloved hand and let it fly at his sister. Squarely hitting her directly in the face. The gravity of his mistake sunk in almost immediately, and he could feel the weight drop into his gut. Ally waited with wide eyes and bated breath as Del slowly reached up and wiped away the snow peppering her nose and cheeks.

"You did not just do that..." was her response. A low growl from the back of her throat that made Kaiden almost squeak out loud.

"I'm, I'm sorry sis-" Poof! He stumbled back as a snowball exploded against his forehead, blocking his view with thousands of snow particles that fluttered to the ground. He blinked away the water in his eyes from the snow, and found his sister glaring at him.

Poof! Another snowball struck Del from her side, bursting against her black beanie that shielded her ears from the cold. Bewildered about where the snowball had come from, her head snapped to her right, only finding Ally a few feet away. Holding another one and grinning challengingly.

"Oh your on," Del proclaimed, and then, the war started. Ally used her gymnastics training from her contests and twirled away from the snowball rocket Del launched straight for her. Realizing her mistake too late, she had taken her eyes of Kaiden, and received a shot directly to her torso.

"Hey!" She squeaked, tossing her second one his way. Which he dodged with a laugh, and ran for the edge of the house. A snowball exploded into oblivion on the wooden frame, an inch from his head as he rounded the corner.

"You can't hide forever!" Ally shouted after him. The three of them played, completely forgetting about the yard decorations that needed to be set up. Alliances were made and broken just as quickly as they sprung. Kaiden formed a truce with his sister and the two of them teamed up against Ally, only for Kaiden to pelt his sister in the back with multiple shots before she could turn around. Nearly an hour passed, and Kaiden was back against the front door, hands in the air in surrender while both Ally and Del approached him up the walkway, large snowballs in hand.

"I give! I give!" He pleaded as the fiery glint in both women's eyes reached a peak.

"No mercy!" Del shouted, and the two girls launched their snowballs. Kaiden squeaked and ducked just in time to avoid the shots, and believed he was in he clear, until...

"What the Hell?!" His mothers voice penetrated his ears, and he immediately straightened up, wide eyed with fear. Both Ally and Del were frozen in place, horror etched across their faces. Slowly, Kaiden turned around and was greeted with his mother standing in the now open doorway. Snow splattered across her chest and cheek, a few particles dripping from her now wet bangs. His mind raced with every excuse, every reasoning he could give her to explain their actions, but he kept coming up short. Misty's eyes sparkled furiously, and it was making his nerves itch to run and never look back.

"Mom, I-" he started to say, but was cut off by a muffled 'oomph' as faster than he could blink, Misty had scooped up a large chunk of snow and pelted her son in the face. He stumbled back, and for a moment was utterly confused. Then he cracked into a wide toothy grin, and said, "Behind you."

Misty blinked and cocked her head back to see, only her reaction was too late. Ash, who somehow had acquired a handful of snow, came up behind her and wrapped his arm around her torso. Swiftly the hand holding the wad of snow shoved its way up the backside of her hoodie, pressing the frozen water against her bare skin. She squealed in shock and struggled to get free, squirming and wiggling like a wild Mankey. As Kaiden laughed, he suddenly felt fresh snow press against his own backside, and he lurched forward with a loud yell. Ally's laughter cued him in on who had done it, and he turned to face her. She was red faced, and slowly taking a few steps back as Kaiden advanced, scooping snow as he went.

Soon the yard was once again full of flying snowballs, by both teenagers and adults. The people still in the house had come out to join, and it was a full fledged war. With no allegiances to anyone. Bonnie knocked Seren'a beanie off her head from a well aimed shot, Dawn assisted Misty in getting Ash back, and then proceeded to turn on the red head and pelt her with a barrage of snow. Clemont fell under fire from the three teenagers and collapsed onto the ground, vanishing beneath a blanket of white with only his lemon hair to be seen. Ash, busy laughing at Clemont as he popped up from the snow, received a snowball to the face, courtesy of Serena.

On the war raged, and didn't seem to have an end in sight, until a loud cocky voice said, "Well it seems the real party already started."

Everyone froze in place, arms reared back and ready to throw, turning to face the newcomer, or newcomers. Gary stood at the wooden gate, a foil covered plate in one hand and a large parcel in the other. Logan and Sam were at his side, each holding another plate and parcel respectively. They blinked curiously at the scene, and then together, angrily shouted, "You're having a snowball fight without us?!"