Greetings ladies and gentleman! I know….in my last story I said I was retiring from writing, but I've had this idea for a Christmas fic floating in my head for a while now and it just had to be written.

Now, in case anyone's wondering why this is being posted nowhere near Christmas time….the answer's at the end of the chapter.

Also, it should be noted that this is indeed another follow up to For The Longest Time and while I don't believe it's necessary to read that story to understand this one (Unless you want to see how all these characters got together), there are certain events/inside jokes that will make more sense if you have checked out the original story first.

That being said…..hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1: Getting Into the Christmas Spirit

To those who lived atop the mountainous region known as Mt. Silver, the sight of newly fallen snow was no rare occurrence. In fact, many would argue that the mountain received more snow than any other area in both Kanto and Johto combined.

However, despite the mountain's snowy atmosphere, things were somewhat….different as of late.

Not only because the winter season had brought with it much cooler and crisper conditions, but also a certain….vibe had manifested….one that only this time of the year could bring about.

…and nowhere was that more prevalent, then the sole house that sat upon its summit.

For you see, it was nearing the end of the year and all that resided in said house were currently hard at work preparing for what many considered to be the most joyous time of the year: Christmas Day.

"Easy Jigglypuff…easy….." the shaky voice of certain red capped young man stammered as he balanced both standing atop a ladder on his tippy-toes and holding the pink Pokemon high above his head.

Dressed in a much bulkier jacket than his usual vest, Red watched as Jigglypuff reached out with its stubby arms and with all its strength, somehow managed to string up the strand of Christmas lights it had been holding onto.

"Jiggly! Jiggly!" it proudly called down causing the red-capped young man to smile in return.

Truth be told, Christmas was always a time that Red looked forward to every year. However, after his mom had passed away and he became a full-time trainer, the constant traveling from region to region made it so that he never really had the chance to enjoy the holiday for what it was.

But now things were different.

No more was his mind clouded by his past and obsession for battles. He had moved on and wanted nothing more than to make this best Christmas he could. Not only because this be would be his first Christmas at the new house, but also because he would be sharing it with a very special someone that he truly wanted to make happy.

"Awesome! That's one string of lights up!" he happily stated before the two slowly panned their heads towards the rest of the house, "…..and only a hundred million more to go…."

"Jigglypuff….."

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Red sighed as he slowly began descending down the ladder.

Originally, his plans for today were supposed to involve him going out into the nearby forest and picking out the perfect Christmas tree. However, just as he was about to leave, his "special someone" decreed that only "The Great Shadow Thief" was worthy of finding the perfect tree and hastily took Pikachu and Venasaur into the woods with her, leaving Red and the other Pokemon behind to decorate the house.

At first, it seemed like a great idea, but all too soon it was becoming apparent just how daunting of a task decorating actually was.

"Man….I'm sweating already." Red panted as looked up at the house, "If only there was an easier way to do this…."

As if his thoughts were being read, a loud booming voice suddenly called out from behind him.

"Blast!"

Quickly turning around, Red saw his Blastoise standing there with a confident grin on its face.

"What's up Blastoise?" he asked as the giant turtle pokemon leaned forward, extending one of its cannons up to Red's face.

"Blast! Blast!" it said, pointing its finger toward the cannon.

It took a minute for Red to decipher what his pokemon was trying to tell him before finally cluing in. "Are you saying to load the lights into your cannons?" he wondered as Blastoise nodded in response.

A bit taken aback by the idea, Red turned to Jigglypuff and the two exchanged puzzled looks before finally turning back and shrugging in response.

"Hey! It's worth a shot!"

With no better option to consider, the three proceeded to load string after string of lights into Blastoise's cannons and within a few minutes they were all set to go.

Though admittedly hesitate to do so, Red took a deep breath as he prepared to give the order. This plan was ridiculously unorthodox and he was still uncertain whether it was going to work or not.

"Okay….Ready….Aim….." then with a point of his finger he yelled at the top of his lungs, "HYRDO CANNON!"

Like bullets firing rapidly from a machine gun, the lights expelled from the cannons one after another at a breakneck speed causing both Red and Jigglypuff to cover their eyes in response.

Fearing the worst from their outlandish plan, the two slowly removed their hands once the noise had stopped, only to reveal every light having hit their mark, stringing perfectly along the top frame of the house.

Overjoyed, Red immediately turned to the giant pokemon with his hand extended. "Perfect shot as always Blastoise!" he praised as the two high-fived one another.

That accomplished, the red-capped boy decided to take a minute to observe what everyone else was up to.

Overhead, Charizard, Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno were flying to and from the house, laying a string of lights down on the roof with every pass they made.

As for Snorlax, Clefable, and Lapras, they were all busy placing ornaments around the yard, making everything look more and more ready for the holiday season.

"Looking great guys! You're all doing an awesome job!" Red called out to them before turning to Jigglypuff and noting, "Now all we have to do is wait for Leaf to return with the Christmas tree and we're all-"

"Pika! Pika!"

Hearing the familiar voice, Red turned to see his yellow partner running towards him at full speed.

"Pikachu! You're back!" he happily stated as it leapt into his arms, "Where's Leaf and-"

"Pika!" Pikachu quickly extended its arm in the direction of the nearby forest and upon following its stubby little finger; Red quickly saw what it was pointing at.

From the forest she emerged wearing her bright blue jacket and red scarf. But, by far, the more noticeable thing was what was being dragged behind her.

"Hey Red! We got it!" Leaf happily called out as Venasaur slowly lumbered behind her, its vines wrapped around what had to be the biggest tree he'd ever seen.

Slowly but surely, they drudged the massive tree all the way up to the house with Red and the other pokemon collectively gasping as it was plopped right in front of them.

The thing had to have been at least 10 feet tall and Leaf was completely ecstatic as she watched Red stand there with his mouth agape.

"It's huge…." he finally uttered.

"Yeah it's beautiful ain't it?" Leaf happily replied while slapping him on the back, "Where do we put it?"

Red took a minute to glance over at the other pokemon, each giving him the same confused look he had, before finally turning back to Leaf and dully replying.

"…..back in the forest where you found it."

Clearly not being the response she'd expected, Leaf immediately recoiled in shock. "Wha-Why can't we decorate it?!" she hastily argued, "I told you I'd find the perfect tree and here it is!"

"Leaf….I want you to do me a favor." Red calmly replied while slowly putting his arm around her, "I want you to look at OUR house and tell me how you're ever going to fit that tree in there?"

Red watched as Leaf slowly looked towards the tree, then panned up to the house and went silent. Clearly, thought of bringing the tree into the house had not crossed her mind when cutting it down and now faced with an explanation for her actions, simply stammered the first words that came to her mind.

"…..on…..an…..angle?"

Red chuckled. Never in a million years would Leaf ever admit that he was right but her nervously shifting eyes were definitely saying otherwise. A 10 foot tree was definitely not going to fit into the house, but he also wasn't about to deny Leaf's choice. She clearly loved this tree and Red didn't want all of her hard work go to waste….so…..

"Tell you what, let's compromise!" he offered as he suddenly called out to his yellow partner, "Pikachu! Iron tail that tree in half!"

Pikachu happily obliged and quickly leapt into the air, crashing down on the tree with its silver glowing tail and slicing it into two pieces.

"See? Now it fits AND we have more firewood to boot!"

Very proud of his quick thinking, Red happily patted her shoulder, but all too soon his excitement faded as Leaf silently turned and gave him the deadliest glare he had ever seen.

It didn't take long for Red to quickly realized his folly: he had just sliced Leaf's perfect tree in half and didn't even ask for her permission. Immediately, sweat began running down his brow. He'd experienced the wrath of the Great Shadow Thief before and winced as he mentally prepared for the inevitable verbal lashing he was about to receive….but it never came.

Maybe it was because she'd finally realized that he was right all along or maybe it was just in the spirit of the holiday, but Leaf's scow had suddenly turned into a huge grin.

"Well look at you being resourceful!" the brunette haired girl teasingly remarked, pinching his cheek before calling out to the other pokemon, "Come on everyone! Let's haul this tree in!"

Red stood there, frozen like a statue. "D-did…..did I just get away with murder?" he bafflingly thought as he watched Leaf walk over to assist the others with carrying the tree inside.

Was she actually mad with him? Leaf was always a hard read when it came to her emotions.

However, whatever fear Red had was soon dashed as in true Leaf fashion, she suddenly turned and winked letting him know that everything was okay.

"Man…..Christmas is awesome!"

Working together, the gang carefully managed to fit the tree through the door and using Venasaur's vines as an anchor, managed to securely fasten the tree against the floor, propping it upright.

That accomplished, Pikachu and Jigglypuff wasted no time in making a b-line to another room and strolling out with a huge box of ornaments in tow.

They then placed the box on the ground and everyone quickly rushed towards it, ecstatically putting every ornament on the tree that they could…..everyone except Red that was.

Instead, the dark-haired young man stood in the corner of the living room, curiously stroking his chin in thought.

See, one of the keepsakes Red took after his mother passed away, was her box of ornaments. The idea being, that if he were to ever have a Christmas of his own, Red would have something to both decorate the tree and also remind him of his youth.

The bizarre part of all this was that, for the life of him, he did not recall taking as many ornaments as were brought out.

"Maybe I just forgot there was so many…." he finally concluded to himself. After all, it had been such a long since he'd last fully celebrated the holiday.

"Hey Red!" Leaf's voice suddenly rang out, "Stop sulking and come join us!"

"Coming!" he happily replied, rushing over to join in the festivities.

An unprecedented amount of time passed as ornaments were put up, put back, redirected before finally, it was time for the most important decoration of all: the star.

"Woah….woah….hold me steady Snorlax!" Red shakenly called out to the giant pokemon as he leaned forward on the ladder he was standing on.

"Snor…." Snorlax replied, grasping onto the ladder with its stubby hands.

On the floor, Leaf watched as Red reached forward and managed to fit the star on the top of the tree. "Okay a little to the right Red!" she called out, holding her hands over her face like a frame, "Now a little to the left!"

Red did as he was told before noticing that the ladder was becoming increasingly unstable.

He quickly looked down to see that Snorlax was starting to yawn and scratch its belly, signaling it was about to fall asleep.

"Leaf would you hurry up and make up your mind as to where you want this star?!" he yelled out, but she wasn't paying attention.

"Hang on….hang on…." she muttered under her breath before suddenly thrusting her finger into the air, "Perfect! Right there!"

Immediately, Red let go of the star. "Yes!" he cheered, but his celebrations were cut short as in that moment, Snorlax succumbed to its sleepiness and loosened its grip on the ladder to rub it's eyes.

Feeling that something was off, Red quickly called down to his pokemon. "Snorlax! SNOR-" his calls were in vain and after wobbling uncontrollably, Red lost his balance. "Woah…..woah…..WOAH!"

Down came the ladder, crashing onto the floor (thankfully away from the tree).

"RED!" Leaf and the other pokemon screamed as the red-capped young man felt himself free falling towards the ground, closing his eyes as he awaited the inevitable pain that would follow.

…but it never happened.

Quickly opening his eyes, Red saw that his whole body was wrapped in vines, suspending him just inches off the ground.

"SAUR!" Venasaur roared out as it braced him against its vines and slowly lowered him to the ground.

Panting as he rose to his feet, Red instantly made his way over to the grass pokemon. "Thanks Venasaur…." he sighed in relief, giving the grass pokemon a well-deserved scratch on the head for its quick thinking.

"Saur…."

"Red! Are you okay?" Leaf yelled in concern as she and the other pokemon came running over.

"Yeah….yeah I think I'm okay…" Red panted, still a bit taken back after what just happened. "But please don't ever ask me to move a star ever again!"

Everyone chuckled at Red's misfortune. After all their hard work, the house was finally decorated and the tree was finally up; it was now time to see the fruits if their labor. "Zapdos, Pikachu." Red called out to the two electrical pokemon present, "You guys want to do the honors?"

The two happily nodded in agreement and quick as they could, rushed over to the main generation.

Climbing up onto Zapdos's back, Pikachu summoned a huge thunderbolt which charged the legendary bird with a huge amount of electricity.

Then, adding its own power to the mix, Zapdos simply leaned forward and upon touching its bill to the generator, transferred all their power to it, resulting in something truly spectacular.

Shocks traveled down every wire that was attached, illuminating every light around the house one by one.

Inside, everyone watched as a small spark traveled along the main wire towards the Christmas tree and upon reaching its destination, caused a sea of colors to radiate forth. Soon, that corner of the house was awash with the pleasant glow of blues, reds, greens, oranges and whites and as the final bits of the spark reached the top, it caused a small sparkle to shine atop the star.

"Nice touch." Red cheekily noted.

Everyone was completely awestruck by the sight in front of them and for good reason. For Red's pokemon, it had been a very long time since they had even seen a Christmas tree, let alone, put up one and for Leaf's pokemon, this was the first one they'd ever experienced.

However, no one was more awestruck then Leaf herself. For years she could only dream of what having a Christmas tree would be like and now it was right here…..in front of her.

Her eyes sparkled, not able to take them off it for a second; afraid that maybe she really was dreaming and didn't want it to end.

"Oh wow…." Red saw her mouth in awe and couldn't help but smile with content.

"So….what do you think Leaf?" he asked as he gently placed his arm around her.

Leaf slowly turned towards him, her eyes watering from just how exciting this all was. "Red…its….its…." she opened her mouth, trying again and again to find the words to say until finally proclaiming, "It's a Christmas Card!" she exclaimed before lunging towards Red and hugging him tight.

It was done. After all the hard work that preceded it, seeing the Christmas tree glowing so majestically was almost….magical and upon seeing just how happy Leaf was, Red sighed with content as she held onto him for what seemed like an eternity.

Everyone was having a great time and after admiring the Christmas tree for some time, it was decided that they would all take a little break before continuing on.

As such, all the pokemon went to lie down as Red and Leaf sat down on a nearby couch, basking in the glow of the Christmas tree as it shone forth.

"Oh Red! That was so much fun!" Leaf exclaimed as she patted Red's hand in excitement, "But we still have so much to do!"

"Oh? Like what?"

"Like what?!" she bafflingly replied before intensely beginning to count on her hand, "There's presents to wrap, dinner to prepare and most important of all-"

*DING*

"My cookies are ready!"

Like a stampeding Dodrio, Leaf flew out of the room as fast as she could, leaving Red sitting there with an amused look on his face. He had seen Leaf excited before but never to the extent that she was right now and it didn't take very much reflection to deduce why that was.

For years, the girl had lived a lifestyle Red would never wish upon anyone; wandering the streets no doubt seeing how happy this time of the year made people, yet never being able to experience it for herself.

It was for that reason why Red was willing to go above and beyond for her. He wanted to make this the very best Christmas Leaf had ever experienced and so far….everything seemed to be going well.

"Sure looks like she's having a good time huh Jigglypuff?" Red noted as glanced over to Leaf's pink partner who was lying beside him and gently scratched its head.

The balloon pokemon smiled as it looked up at the red-capped boy. Seeing the look of genuine happiness on its trainer's face after all the years of spending Christmas cold and alone on the streets of Kanto, warmed its heart in ways that words could not describe.

"Jiggly!" it happily replied before making a little gesture towards Red.

"Yeah I'm having a good time too," he noted, sighing as he slumped back into the couch, overlooking everyone sleeping peacefully.

His eyes slowly panned from one end of the room to the other, until suddenly fixating on something: a tiny picture that was perched atop the fireplace.

"Hmm?"

Leaving Jigglypuff to close its eyes for a bit, Red slowly made his way over to the picture in question. It was a framed photo of a much younger him at the laboratory in Pallet town flanked by his mom and three other people.

People that, the more he stared at the photo, the more he began to think about and seeing that everything had died down, Red decided to reach into his pocket to pull out his holocaster.

No matter the circumstances, this was the time of year he missed them the most and right now, more than anything, he wanted to see them.

"Wow! It looks beautiful Red!" the hologram of a girl in an orange shirt praised as she laid eyes on his immaculately decorated house, "Your decorating skills have definitely come a long way since the last Christmas we spent in Pallet."

"Oh, c-come on Daisy." Red bashfully replied, "It'll never match up to the decorating job you used to do at the lab."

The two shared a quick laugh before Red curiously began to peer around.

"Where's your brother at?"

Daisy glanced over her shoulder. "Oh, he's-"

"If you think I'm going to wish you a Merry Christmas Red, you've got another thing coming!"

A deadpanned look fell on Red's face as he heard the familiar voice. "Uh-huh….just get over here and see my Christmas tree Blue!"

"Hang on! I'm just entertaining our guest!"

Red raised an eyebrow. "Guest?"

Just then, another apparition suddenly appeared on the holocaster. An apparition that, even though he wasn't wearing his signature lab coat, Red instantly knew who it was.

"Professor Oak?"

"Hi Red!"

"What you doing there?"

With a huge smile on his face, Professor Oak threw his arm around Daisy. "Oh I was invited to come!" he excitedly exclaimed before glancing towards where Blue was presumably standing, "Apparently my grandson missed me so much that he flew over an hour from Kalos to come get me."

"Did he now?" Red mused, trying so hard not to laugh at Blue's misfortune, "Well that was very sweet of hi-"

"Okay! Okay! That's enough gramps!" Blue's voice quickly rang out and before long the spiky-haired individual finally made his appearance, scowling as his faint apparition appeared before Red, "What are you laughing at?!"

"Nothing…"Red sighed as stared longingly at the three of them.

"What is it Red?" Professor Oak asked, noticing the somewhat sad expression forming on Red's face and watched as he grabbed the framed picture off the nearby fireplace.

"Just….seeing you all together reminds me of all the Christmas's we spent at the lab after mom passed away." Red noted as he held the picture up to them, "Remember?"

Silence fell as the three Oaks simultaneously stared at the picture. It was true, after Red's mom passed away the boy essentially became an unofficial member of the family and the four experienced many fond memories before Red decided to go his separate ways.

"Those were definitely some good times weren't they…." Professor Oak noted before glancing down at the ground. Even though he didn't want to admit it, he really missed those days.

"A-Alright! Enough of this sappiness!" Blue finally blurted out, breaking the silence as he wiped some stray tears from his eyes, "Red will you hurry up and show us this stupid tree already!"

"R-right!"

Picking up the holocaster off the ground, Red turned it so that everyone could see. "There it is!" he happily revealed.

"Wow Red! It looks amazing! Good job!" Professor Oak praised as the tree came into view.

Bashful, Red scratched the back of his head. "W-well it was a team effort." he stammered before turning to his spiky-haired friend, "Oh, by the way Blue….you were right."

"About what?"

About putting the star on at the end." Red reluctantly admitted, "I….almost killed myself trying to put it on."

Blue shook his head, remembering all the times the two had argued about this subject in the past. "I told you Red, if you put the stupid star on first then it's much less of a hassle!" he exclaimed as Red rolled his eyes in response.

"Y-yeah but." he stammered, desperately trying to prove his point, "It just wouldn't be Christmas if we put the star on first!"

"You and your traditions!"

Everyone laughed and spent the next few minutes doing a bit more reminiscing before deciding to say their goodbyes. One by one, everyone's apparitions disappeared, however, just as Red was about to bend down to turn the holocaster off…

"Hold on!" Blue's voice suddenly rang out as his image once again appeared before Red, "Let me take another look at that tree!"

Shocked by Blue's surprise appearance, Red scrambled to do as he was ordered.

"W-what's up?"

The spiky haired individual narrowed his eyes as he scanned the Christmas tree over. "That ornament you have over there!" he pointed out, "It looks exactly like one of the ones we have!"

"Huh?"

"So does that one over there!"

Red could feel his heart beat faster and faster as Blue pointed out ornament after ornament. He knew something was off before and this just confirmed his suspicions.

"What do you have to say for yourself Red?!"

His eyes darting a mile a minute, Red panicked. He needed a plan to get out of this and he needed it fast.

"U-Uhh…."

Without thinking, he quickly grabbed the holocaster and began shaking it violently.

"Sorry Blue! I'm losing the connection! You're breaking up!" he shouted while Blue's image became distorted from all the shaking, "I'll call you later!"

Wasting no time, he hastily pressed the off button and panted for a few seconds before shouting at the top of his lungs.

"OH LEAF!"

Red figured she must have heard their conversation as she slowly but surely poked her head out from the kitchen with the biggest "Did I do that?" look on her face.

"Y-yes, sweetie? What is it?" she meekly asked as she walked into the living room bearing a tray full of cookies.

"You wouldn't….happen to know where some of these ornaments came from…..do you?"

Putting down her tray of cookies, Leaf pursed her lip. "Wellllllllllllll….remember last time we went to Blue's place…." she coyly asked while sarcastically rolled her eyes upwards, "Did….did you ever wonder why your bag was….suddenly a lot heavier after we left?"

Red's eyes widened. "You don't mean?!"

Leaf nodded.

"So that jingling sound I was heard was actually-"

Leaf nodded again.

His eyes wider than ever, Red stumbled back into a nearby chair as guilt suddenly overcame him, "So….I was an assistant to theft…." he muttered while burying his face into his hands.

Amused by his over the top reaction, Leaf walked over and gave him a little pat on the shoulder before raising her hand in the air and extravagantly noting. "Actually Red, I think the term you're searching for is Unknowing Accomplice to the Great Shadow Thief." she teasingly corrected.

"LEAF!"

"Oh come on Red! You said we didn't have that many ornaments!" she moaned as she walked over to the ornaments in question and extended her arms, "They….they look beautiful don't they?"

"W-well….y-yes! But-"

"You'll forgive me little old me for borrowing these ornaments without asking? Won't you…"

Red watched as Leaf sadly glanced down at the ground and began slowly rubbing her shoulder with her hand.

She was doing it. Every time something like this happened, Leaf would put on this innocent act for him, knowing how guilty it made him feel.

"Oh….don't….you…..do….this…..to…..me….."

"I know I've been a very bad girl…." the brunette haired girl pouted as she slowly walked over to Red and sat on his lap, "Can you ever….forgive me?"

"I…I…."

Red couldn't take it anymore. Between those big puppy dog eyes she was giving him right now and how cute she sounded, he wound up caving to her immediately.

"DAWW! OKAY! I FORGIVE YOU!"

"YAY!" she cheered before smothering him in a huge hug.

"J-just….can you please try not to do that anymore."

Placing her finger at the corner of her mouth, Leaf spent all of 2 seconds considering what Red asked before giving a quick wink and proclaiming.

"No promises!"

With a deadpan look plastered on his face from her response, Red blushed as Leaf teasingly gave him a quick kiss him on the cheek and sprung off his lap to grab her tray of cookies.

Earlier in the day, Leaf had expressed interest in baking Christmas cookies and remembering just how amazing the gingerbread cookies his mom used to make were, Red decided to give the brunette haired girl the recipe and see just how well she could replicate them.

On the flip side, knowing just how excited the prospect of Christmas cookies was to Red, Leaf had spent a good portion of the day baking and perfecting the recipe as best she could. Now the fruits of her labor were here for all to see and everyone quickly gathered around to sample for themselves.

"So….what do you think?"

Red's face beamed. For someone who had never made cookies before, she sure did an amazing job. "They look delicious!" he praised as he leaned over and slightly began extending his hand, "Mmm…and they smell so goo-"

*SLAP*

Without warning, a sudden sharp pain shot through Red's hand causing him to immediately recoil. "H-hey!" he shouted as Leaf began wagging her finger at him.

"Atttata! The Pokemon get first dibs mister!"

All the Pokemon proceeded to give Red a sassy look as he watched Leaf reach into the tray and begin handing out cookie after cookie to each of them.

"What kind of favoritism is this….." the red-capped boy pouted in his mind before suddenly feeling something crawl up his shoulder.

"Pika!" Pikachu happily called out as it began chomping down on its treat just mere inches from Red's face.

"Uh-huh….rub it in why don't you Pikachu…." he grumbled before realizing that something had landed on his other shoulder.

"Jiggly!" Jigglypuff chimed in as well after taking a huge bite of its cookie causing Red to narrow his eyes.

"…..same goes for you."

For Leaf, the next few minutes were spent passing out her cookies, hand-feeding the select pokemon who unfortunately didn't have any hands to grab them with.

It took some time, but eventually everyone got their treat and the general consensus seemed to be unanimous: the cookies were a huge hit.

"Okay, has everyone had their cookie?" Leaf asked as all the Pokemon all roared in response.

"Hee! Hee!" she giggled, finally turning to Red, "Okay Mr. EX Champion! I think you've waited long enough!"

The red-capped boy stood there with his hat tipped over his eyes as she walked towards him with cookie in hand. "Okay! Open up!" she announced as she held the treat up to Red's mouth.

However, instead of welcoming it, Red simply shook his head. "As much as I'd like it to be my turn Leaf…..there's someone you're forgetting." he cryptically stated.

Pausing to ponder what Red was talking about, Leaf scratched her head. "Someone I'm forgetting….." she confusingly replied, "Who could I have forg-THAT'S RIGHT!"

Like a lightbulb went off in her head, Leaf finally realized who Red was talking about. Though, to be honest, it was no surprise why she'd forgotten about this particular pokemon considering that, since the day it began living with them, it rarely showed its face.

Never the less, it was their pokemon and deserved to be part of this just as much as the others.

"Where is he?" Leaf asked as Red shot a glance down the hallway and sighing deeply, replied with.

"…..same place he's been for the past few days now."

The Pokemon in question resided in the furthest room of the house. Being relatively new to the team, it was still trying to find its place amongst the others and with the title of Ultimate Lifeform, Red and Leaf knew they had a challenge on their hands when they agreed to take him in.

Inside the darkly lit room he sat, floating inches off the floor, his pure white body motionless as he honed the psychic aura around him.

Although this setting was quite different from the cave it was used to, it was good enough to allow him to sharpen his skills.

The silence was golden; everything was in perfect harmony until…

"Mewtwo! It's me!" a cheery voice suddenly rang out accompanied by the sound of the door opening.

Frustrated that its peace had been disturbed, the psychic Pokemon sighed, knowing full well who that voice belonged to. "…..what is it young lady?" it telepathically spoke in Leaf's mind.

"Why are you sulking in this dark room?" she asked while setting her tray down on a nearby table.

Without even turning its head, it spoke again. "I'm not sulking….I'm mediating…." it calmly attempted to explain, "It keeps my mind sharp."

Becoming increasingly frustrated herself, Leaf crossed her arms. "Hmph! I think your 3000 IQ can afford to take some time off." she sarcastically replied as she took her tray and attempted to present it right in front of Mewtwo's face, "You really should come join the fun! See I baked cookies!"

Mewtwo didn't even bother to open its eyes. "….your human food does not interest me." it dully replied, "….nor do I care for your human holiday…..now please leave me inMMMMPH!"

With their conversation going nowhere, Leaf took matters into her own hands and cheekily shoved a cookie into Mewtwo's mouth. "Oh stop your griping and have a cookie!" she exclaimed, watching with delight as her actions caused the psychic Pokemon to lose its focus and come crashing to the ground.

Realizing that her life was probably in imminent danger from the deathly glare it gave her, Leaf quickly sprinted to the door, but not before turning to the psychic Pokemon and with her finger wagging proclaimed. "Mewtwo, you may be the Ultimate Lifeform, but there's something you need to realize."

"What's that?!"

"…..The Great Shadow Thief always gets what she wants!"

With that, she quickly made her exit. However, Leaf would only walk a few steps before stopping to sigh with disappointment.

Truth be told, this wasn't the first time she'd attempted to get Mewtwo to come out of its shell, but just like all the other times, it refused to budge.

"I'm not giving up on you yet!" she declared as she made her way down the hallway.

"Ughh….confound that girl….." Mewtwo grumbled as it rose to its feet, accidentally crunching down on the cookie in its mouth in the process.

Without warning, the psychic Pokemon's eyes widened as the sweet taste tickled its taste buds, quickly narrowing them as it stared at the other half of the tasty treat. "…and curse this blasted human food for being as good as it is!"

Back in the living room, with a few minutes free from Leaf's presence, Red had taken the time to pull out a huge catalogue and was rapidly scanning through every page as fast as he could.

"Pika! Pi!" Pikachu called out as it pointed towards a picture of a fancy looking necklace.

"No….no….that's too tacky…" Red mumbled as he flipped page after page before finally snapping the catalogue shut in frustration.

"I just don't know Pikachu…." he disappointingly sighed while staring skyward, "How is it that it's Christmas Eve and I still haven't figured out what kind of present to get L-"

"Red!"

"AHH!" he screamed upon suddenly hearing her voice, scrambling to hide the catalogue behind his back.

"Oh h-hey Leaf!" he stammered as she came walking up to him, teasingly leaning forward with a curious look on her face.

"Whatcha reading?"

"Uhh….n-nothing!" he quickly replied, burying the catalogue as far between the couch cushions as he could before quickly standing up. "P-pikachu and I were actually about to head out to get the Farfetched for dinner tomorrow."

Leaf curiously tapped her finger against the side of her face. It was clear that Red was trying to change the subject and even though she had a pretty good idea what he was doing, she wasn't about to pry. "Oh that's right!" she happily replied, remembering that she had requested him to do so earlier, "Make sure you get a big one!"

She then watched as Red slowly glanced towards the ground. "H-hey…." he hesitantly spoke, "Are you sure you don't want any help with the cooking?"

Leaf giggled, sighing deeply as she put her arm around him. "Well….no offense Red, but I don't feel like cold cereal and toast is very sufficient for Christmas dinner." she teased causing Red to roll his eyes.

"Yeah….yeah….yeah…." he grumbled, "Just how did you become such a good cook anyway?"

"Sweetie when you live on the streets as long as I have…you find ways to make things taste good!"

Leaving Red to ponder just what exactly she meant by that, he and Leaf bid one another goodbye and made his way to the front of the house to grab his jacket. A very good butcher resided at the local mall at the foot of Mt. Silver and Red couldn't be more ecstatic as this allowed him some much needed time to look for Leaf's present.

With his jacket firmly zipped up and Pikachu perched atop his shoulder, Red grabbed the doorknob, ready to leave the house when suddenly….

"Wait! WAIT!" he heard Leaf frantically call out, panting heavily as she ran up to him.

"What's up Leaf?"

"Before….you….go…." she raised the last cookie high in the air and winked at him, "I think you've waited long enough!"

Red's face immediately lit up. "Finally!" he happily exclaimed, being so preoccupied with the idea of getting Leaf's present that he'd completely forgot.

She then handed him the cookie, of which Red could have sworn was more decorated than the others and held it up to his face.

Leaf had spent the entire day perfecting these, but would they really compare to the ones his mother used to make? Well…..he was about to find out as he excitedly took his first bite.

In that moment, a huge rush of nostalgia came over Red as the warm, chewy sensation of ginger and sweetness touched his pallet. It was like he was a little kid, getting to experience that sweet taste that would only happen once every year and Leaf watched with content as he quickly took bite after bite.

"….so?"

"Mmmm! Leaf! That was so good!" Red happily praised before shyly glancing away, "…..but not exactly as mom used to make."

"But I followed-"

Leaf stopped as he quickly held out his hand. "Leaf you have to understand, no matter how hard you try to replicate something, you'll always end up putting your own spin on it." he wisely explained, "….and even though they weren't exactly like moms, I thought that little spin you put on was amazing!"

Leaf blushed immensely. Even when he was critiquing her, that man always had a way with words. "Oh Red…." she sighed before lunging forward and kissing him on the lips, getting to experience the taste of the cookie herself, "Thanks, I'm glad you liked it…."

She bashfully glanced away from him, but Red could tell something wasn't right, her eyes…..something was off.

"What's wrong?"

"I was just thinking about Mewtwo…." Leaf sighed as she turned her head toward the hallway.

"….I take it your cookies didn't go over well….."

Leaf slowly nodded in response. "…..I think I was a little more forceful than I should have been…." she reluctantly admitted, remembering just how upset Mewtwo looked when she broke its concentration, "It's just…we're it's co-trainers and yet, it doesn't feel like we've grown any closer since the day it began living with us."

"Leaf…."

"I really thought that celebrating the holiday with us would help Mewtwo open up, but no matter what I say, it just won't budge and…..I was wondering that….maybe…you….could-"

"May I go talk to it?" Red concluded before Leaf could even ask.

Nervously shifting her eyes, the brunette haired girl gave him a small shrug. "Y-yeah…." she meekly replied, "As much as I hate to admit it, you're much better at this pep-talk thing than I am."

Red sighed, he could definitely tell that Leaf's intentions were genuine and truth be told, he also wished for the psychic Pokemon to open up more. After all, it was because of Red's actions that Mewtwo was even living with them in the first place.

...however…..

"Listen Leaf, I think you wanting to help Mewtwo is a noble cause….but I can also understand why it wants to be alone." he calmly stated while tipping his hat over his eyes, "I know because there was once a time in my life where after a traumatic experience I needed to be alone to sort out my problems…."

He watched as Leaf took a minute to consider his words before turning to him and with a confident look on her face, quickly countered with. "Yes Red, but in the end, what was it that truly helped you get over your traumatic experience?"

She then flashed him that cocky grin he'd come to know so well and chuckled. Whenever it appeared, it meant that Leaf was in full control of the situation and right now it was no different.

Did being alone help Red get over the loss of his mother?

…..for a time he truly believed that it did. However, in the end, being alone was not the true reason why he was able to move on.

The real reason…..was something that he never anticipated happening…..something that Leaf desperately wanted to hear come out of his mouth and now that the thought was in his head, he couldn't help but admit to it.

"…..it was being with you."

His words caused Leaf to grin from ear to ear before lunging forward and hugging him tightly. This was it, this was the real reason why he was able to move on with his life, to put the past behind him, but how could he replicate this with Mewtwo?

Tightening his grip around Leaf's waist, Red closed his eyes in thought. Just like what she'd done with him, Red would have to find some way to bring Mewtwo out of its comfort zone, but how could he do that?

Then….like a light bulb went off in his head, it all came to him. "Hey….I think I might have an idea!" Red proudly proclaimed as he released Leaf from his grip.

Before the brunette haired even knew what was happening, Red suddenly leaned over and whispered his idea in her ear, prompting her to confusingly look over at him.

"You really think it's going to go for that?"

Red shrugged. "It might if I ask."

Leaf rolled her eyes back and forth. Red's plan was good, but it needed a little extra….spice to insure that Mewtwo would actually go through with it.

"Just to make sure this really works we should…."

Leaning towards Red's ear, Leaf whispered her plan right back at him, now causing him to look confused at her.

"….what do you think?" she wondered as Red raised his eyebrows at her.

"….I think you're pure evil."

"Hee! Hee!" she giggled before throwing her arm around him and teasingly whispering, "Well! There's a special cookie in it for you if you can pull it off Reddy!"

Blushing as she kissed his cheek, Red chuckled as well. There was no guarantee this was going to work, but, one thing was for sure, he was going to give it his best. "Alright! Alright! Let's see what I can do!" he exclaimed as he and Pikachu began making their way down the hallway.

Back in the darkly lit room at the far end of the house, Mewtwo had finally resumed its meditation pose after its unceremonious interruption.

"What's wrong with these humans?" it bafflingly thought to itself, "Can't they see that I just want to be alo-"

Sensing a presence coming towards it, Mewtwo stopped as it heard the door slowly creak open.

"Hey Mewtw-"

"Young man! If you've come to offer me more of those cookies, there WILL be hell to pay!"

Pausing as those words were viciously yelled into his mind, Red sighed as he walked into the room. "…don't worry, that's not why I came Mewtwo." he calmly explained, wondering just what Leaf had done to the poor thing to make it so mad.

"…..then why do you disturb me?"

Taking a deep breath, Red prepared to present his idea. "Well, Pikachu and I were just about to go down to the mall at the base of Mt Silver." he noted while happily looking over at his yellow partner, "….and we were wondering if you'd like to come with us?"

There was no response and before long, an uncomfortable silence filled the room as Red patiently awaited Mewtwo's response.

"…..accompany you to a place full of humans?" it finally spoke up without even looking at him.

"That's right. I think it would be good for you."

Another bout of silence followed. Was Mewtwo actually considering his offer? Red awaited its response with anticipation.

"Is….my plan actually going to work?" he thought as Mewtwo slowly turned its head towards him and with one eye open responded with

"The answer's no."

"Pika…." Pikachu disappointingly groaned as Red let out a deep sigh.

"Okay….just thought I'd ask…." he stated as turned to leave the room, "….sorry to disturb you."

Returning to its original position, Mewtwo once again closed its eyes, listening to the fading sound of Red's footsteps as he walked out the door.

However, much to the psychic Pokemon's surprise, the sound of Red's footsteps suddenly ground to a complete halt and in their place came the sound of another set of footsteps approaching from the hall.

"Hey Red!" Mewtwo heard a familiar feminine voice call out.

"Hey Leaf!"

"Whattcha up to?"

"I was just asking Mewtwo if he wanted to come with us to mall, but he refused."

The psychic Pokemon froze as it sensed her gaze turn towards it.

"Mewtwo's staying here? That's great!" her cheery voice rang out causing the Mewtwo's eyes to suddenly shoot open as she suddenly exclaimed. "I found these really cute ribbons the other day and once I'm finished cooking we're going to try them on!"

With a chillingly innocent giggle, she happily skipped away, leaving Red standing there with a huge smile on his face.

Turning his head, Mewtwo was still facing away from him. However, its normally calm demeanor was shattered and Red confidently crossed his arms as he watched its right hand twitch uncontrollably.

"…meet me at the cab in 5 minutes?" he cheekily called out.

Clearly flustered, Mewtwo turned and prepared to exit the room. However, just as it was about to pass Red, it paused and glanced towards him.

"….if you value your life, you'll be there in 4 or less!"

With that threatening statement echoing throughout his head, Red froze, his hairs standing on end as Mewtwo floated past him.

This was definitely not going to be an easy task, but Red was definitely up for the challenge. No matter the hardships that he was no doubt about to endure, he was determined to see this plan of his through to the end and…who knows?

Maybe this could end up being the best Christmas ever.

….and that's the first chapter. Man does it feel good returning to form with this story! Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you; Mewtwo will indeed be playing a bigger role in this story. I'll be honest, it's the 3rd character I didn't know I wanted but, by god I'm happy I put it in and you'll see why!

Now, as for how I plan to release chapters, the idea is that there's going to be 5 chapters and that I'll post a chapter every 2 weeks which will lead us right to Christmas Day. However, since this ended up getting finished a week earlier than I expected, two of the chapters (probably either the next one or the final one) will have a 3 week gap between them to keep on schedule.

It should also be noted that this will probably be the longest chapter of the 5. Obviously that remains to be seen, but just from how I have everything organized, it doesn't look like any of the others will be surpassing this one in length.

Hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter, as always, feel free to leave a review and let me know your thoughts, I always look forward to them and….I'll see you in the next chapter!

Ciao!