"Morning, everyone."
"Morning, Uncle."
"Good morning, Shopkeeper Lucas."
"Lajii~"
"Gothe."
Lucas sat at the counter as Gothitelle brought out breakfast for him, Gengar, and Ninetales, placing it before them.
Lucas took a sip of hot soy milk, bit into a bun, glanced at the calendar on the wall, and said, "Is it already the 24th today?"
Lilligant looked back at the calendar and nodded.
"Lajii~"
Yes, it is~
"Then don't we need to set up some Christmas decorations today?"
—
As soon as Lucas finished speaking, Shauna clapped her hands in delight. "Great, great! This is the first time Mom and Dad are spending Christmas with me. Oh, and there's also Uncle, Chimecho, Gengar, and the others."
Shauna giggled happily.
Lucas gently pinched her little cheek with a tender gaze. "Then does little Shauna want to help decorate together?"
Shauna's cheeks were stuffed as she nodded and spoke indistinctly, "Thure, can I bwing a horthe later?"
"Swallow your food before talking, don't choke."
Shauna craned her neck, swallowed the food in her mouth, and looked at Lucas, saying clearly, "Then can I invite Tomoyo over too?"
"Of course."
Lucas readily agreed.
Since it happened to be Saturday, Shauna quickly finished her breakfast. Taking Chimecho with her, she mounted Rapidash and set off for Twinleaf Town without a moment's delay, carrying the Moomoo Milk and goat milk ready for delivery.
After finishing breakfast, Lucas took Gengar, Lilligant, and the others to begin inspecting the Breeding House.
Christmas was, after all, a day worth celebrating here, and it was his first Christmas in this world, so Lucas planned to decorate the Breeding House properly.
After Gothitelle greeted Lucas, she took Roserade, the male Meowstic, and the others to the Cottage.
Lucas cleared a prominent open space behind the lounge area and gestured, "How about we set up a Christmas tree right here?"
The Fujino Couple walked over, and Lucas shared his ideas with them, Gengar, and the others.
He planned to get a larger Christmas tree, decorate it with some pretty small lights, and place all the prepared gifts near the tree to make exchanging them easier later.
"A Christmas tree that big won't be easy to buy."
Mr. Fujino looked at Lucas's gestures, thought for a moment, and then spoke up.
"Shopkeeper, should we go to the town's supermarket and see if they have a suitable Christmas tree?"
Hearing Mr. Fujino's suggestion, Lucas didn't agree immediately but instead pondered for a bit.
If Twinleaf Town didn't have such a large tree, he could make one himself.
As for the materials—
Lucas and Gengar locked eyes. Gengar was truly the Pokémon who understood Lucas best; without Lucas saying a word, it understood his meaning.
The human and Pokémon smiled at each other.
"No, let's just make a Christmas tree ourselves."
The Fujino Couple looked at each other, seeing the confusion in each other's eyes. Finally, Mrs. Fujino asked, "Then where will we get the raw materials?"
Lucas snapped his fingers at the question. "Leave those to me and Gengar. I might need to trouble you to look after the Breeding House for a bit."
Lucas looked at The Fujino Couple and said, "I'll take Gengar and the others to handle the materials for the Christmas tree. Then we might still need some small lights—"
"No problem, I can go to the Twinleaf Town supermarket to buy the decorations, as long as the Christmas tree issue can be solved."
Mrs. Fujino said.
Lucas nodded. "In that case, I'll leave it to you. Also, some balloons and such—buy plenty of those while you're at it."
Mrs. Fujino nodded. "Okay."
After finishing his instructions, Lucas took Gengar, Lilligant, Ninetales, and Machoke toward the forest.
Meanwhile, after speaking with Mr. Fujino, Mrs. Fujino mounted a Gogoat and headed toward Twinleaf Town.
Passing through the forest area, Lucas remembered he hadn't seen Vespiquen in a long time and called out loudly for her.
Before long, a yellow figure flew lazily out of the honeycomb.
"Bee?"
What do you want with me?
Looking at the sleepy-eyed Vespiquen, Lucas asked, "We're heading into the forest, do you want to come along?"
"Bee—"
Not going, it's freezing for a bee.
Lucas's eyes darted around. "Vespiquen, why do I feel like your waist has gotten a bit thicker lately? See, I told you that you need to exercise more. Now look, you're already developing in the direction of Strong!"
Lucas wore an expression of disappointment, as if he were a lost cause.
Vespiquen: ?!!! ∑(ǒǒ|)
She immediately spun around a few times on the spot, constantly inspecting her own body.
Originally there was no change, but she felt as if she were a bit thicker than usual—no, half as thick again—
Vespiquen's life instantly entered its darkest hour.
"Bee!"
I'll go with you!
Vespiquen looked at Lucas, her tone full of determination.
Seeing this, Lucas nodded with satisfaction.
"You're so mean."
Latias's voice echoed in his mind.
Lucas was unhappy to hear that. "More exercise is good for you. You'll understand when you get to my age."
Latias: "But I'm older than you?"
Lucas: —
That wretched little airplane sister!
Entering the forest, Lucas walked for a long time before coming to a pine tree.
Lucas inspected the pine tree; its shape was quite suitable for making a Christmas tree.
But cutting down a tree—
Lucas thought about it and still couldn't bear to do it, so he continued searching with Gengar and the others.
Finally, his hard work paid off. Lucas found a pine tree fallen in the snow. He looked it over and found its shape was just as perfect as the one he had picked out earlier.
Lucas looked at this pine tree that had fallen due to a Pokémon fight; it looked like it had been broken recently.
What a pity.
Lucas said to himself.
Then he pressed his hands together and bowed to the fallen pine tree.
"Thank you for the forest's gift. When spring comes, I'll bring a large group of children here to plant trees."
Seeing Lucas's actions, Gengar and the others also pressed their hands together and bowed.
"Machoke."
Lucas called out. Machoke stepped forward but was intercepted by Vespiquen.
"Bee!"
I'll do it.
Lucas laughed at the sight.
"Bee!"
Got a problem?
Lucas shook his head quickly and then directed Vespiquen to process the fallen pine tree.
Vespiquen used X-Scissor to trim the pine tree according to Lucas's instructions. Afterward, she handed it to Machoke to carry, and the group headed back to the Breeding House.
Behind them, a Seviper was hiding behind a large pine tree watching them. After they left, the Seviper looked at its own tail, then at the pine tree Lucas had initially picked out that was now lying on the ground.
Then it slithered away, satisfied.
Having fulfilled Lucas's wish, it was truly a satisfying day.
Lucas: I found a pine tree I liked, and it had even fallen on its own. Happy days.
***************************
Thoughts on where the plot is heading? Let me know in the comments! If you're enjoying the ride, please leave a quick review and toss a few Power Stones my way. Every bit of support means the world! 🙌