In a small area, unpopulated besides a small town and a tower in the distance, where snow was falling and coating the trees and ground, two people were walking with bags over their shoulders. They were dressed in warm clothing to make up for the near freezing weather that was taking over the area. One of them, a female with short lilac hair, was wearing a purple jacket with a pink scarf, a purple beanie and black leggings that complimented her black boots. The other, a male with black raven hair, was wearing a dark blue jacket with a red hat, jeans and black sneakers with long socks. A pink cat walking behind them wore a red scarf and pink boots for the snow while the yellow mouse wore black snowshoes as well.

They continued walking in slight silence together. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of snow crunching against shoes and the wind blowing against the tree branches as the snow fell from above them. They were walking into the town in front of them to give out gifts to the kids in the community. As it was so hard to get certain goods from outside of their location, the two with the bags had offered to go around and obtain gifts for them. The parents of the kids offered to pay themselves, but the pair declined the offer as they saw no need to be repayed for kindness.

The raven haired boy spoke. "I hope the snow doesn't stop them from coming by the Pokemon Center. I would hate seeing them wait until the snow melts before opening their gifts."

"I would too. Especially since Christmas is tomorrow." The lilac haired girl agreed.

Silence insued the two once again. But only for a second as the raven haired boy spoke again. "You know, that look suits you Anabel."

Anabel turned her head towards the boy. "What do you mean? The warm look or the Pink and Purple with the Black?"

The boy smiled. "All of it."

She tried to hide her face in her scarf, but the Rose Red blush on her face was as evident as a Scizor in the forest. "Thanks Ash."

Ash almost laughed at Anabel's response to his comment. The Salon Maiden isn't used to these comments coming from him. But it was Christmas time, and Ash just couldn't help but give her a complement. He stole a look at their Pokemon behind them only to notice Espeon and Pikachu trying to hold in their laughter as well.

Once they made it into town, they walked into the Pokemon Center to find many kids waiting for them with their parents. Each kid had their own wrapped box that was labeled with their name. Ash and Anabel passed out the presents to each kid while Pikachu and Espeon entertained everyone until another name was called. After roughly an hour, each kid was given a present and Ash and Anabel were thanked by practically every parent that saw them, but continued to say that they didn't need thanks.

It's the holidays after all.

Ash and Anabel bid everyone farewell and walked out of the center with their Pokemon on their shoulders. They could each say that they were happy with what they did for everyone at Tohjo Town, but Anabel was concerned about one thing.

"Ash, you didn't have to use your spare time to help me with this. I would've thought that you might have been clogged up by challengers." Anabel stated.

"You would be thinking about that." Ash mused almost to himself. "The others have been keeping their challengers on the ropes as of late. I only heard that I had one challenge while I was out helping you get presents, and surprisingly it was another trainer from Pallet, so I safe in that regard. She was ok with waiting, because that gave her time to train and also to visit her family."

"Who is she?" Anabel asked with evident curiosity. Ash never knew of many talented trainers in his town even with how close-knit the community was. To hear from Ash that he didn't even expect this was deffinitely a shocker.

"I think her name was Leaf. She said she started her journey around the same time I did. Though I never met her, supposedly Oak told me that she got sidetracked during her attempt at the gyms in Kanto, which cost her a spot in the conference. Then she started picking up her game and went around traveling Hoenn a year before I did. She took on that league and got top 16, which isn't too bad. Then she took on Kanto again and actually got runner-up. Scott noticed this and gave her a chance at the Frontier. That is all I know." Ash explained.

Anabel widened her eyes. "Wow. Talk about a jump-start."

Ash nodded in agreement. "I'll say. When we finished collecting the gifts and I went to accept her challenge, we ended up in a tie. Her Venusaur and Gallade fared well against Staraptor and Pikachu. I gave her the symbol in the end after seeing what strong bonds she shared with all of her Pokemon. So watch it, because eventually she will go after you."

Anabel smiled. "I look forward to it. She sounds like a very tough opponent to give even Pikachu a hard time."

"She was no joke. I can tell you that." Ash said as Anabel's house came into view.

They walked inside to find that it was colder than when they left. Anabel turned up the heater a bit while Ash let Torkoal out to light up the fireplace. Warmth spread throughout the house in a matter of minutes, which caused them to have to take off their warm clothes. Soon they were sitting on her sofa and watching some christmas movie called How the Sneasel Stole Christmas, but neither of them were too concerned about it.

They had something separate on their minds that they were just itching to say to each other. Finally, the urge to say what they want to say was too great, and they had to let it out. And so... well... they did.

"I GOT YOU SOMETHING-"
"I HAVE A GIFT TO GIVE-"

Both of them stopped mid sentence as they decided to let the other talk first. When neither of them talked, Ash decided to be the gentleman. "You can go first if you want."

"Alright. I was going to say that I got you a gift for Christmas." Anabel stated.

Ash gave a big grin. "I got you something too."

Anabel frowned at Ash. "I thought we said we weren't getting each other anything for Christmas."

Ash began scratching behind his partners ears, which earned squeals of enjoyment from the Mouse Pokemon. "Well you did. And did you really think I wouldn't?"

Anabel was about to respond, but thought about her words. She sighed. "Honestly, no. But that doesn't mean I wasn't hopeful."

"Anabel, I get not liking Christmas as a kid, but that doesn't give me an excuse to not buy you a gift." Ash exclaimed.

"Ash, you helping me and being here for Christmas Eve was all I could ask for. You really didn't need to get me anything." Anabel said.

Ash chuckled. "Well, it's too late for that. I'll get my gift, and you can get yours."

They left and walked into separate rooms, where they each had their own gift hiding in. But something felt off when they walked into the rooms. The heater was supposed to be on, so why did it feel... cold? And where were the gifts at?

"AHHHHHH!"
"WHAT THE-"

They ran out of their rooms with horrified expressions on their faces. Both the Pokemon looked at the humans with really confused expressions. They had a bad feeling, but they didn't want to believe it.

"MY GIFT IS GONE! AND THE WINDOW IS CRACKED OPEN." Ash yelled.

"SO WAS MINE!" Anabel cried out.

Ash's expression was filled with distraught. "What do we do?"

Anabel tried to think fast. "It's only been an hour. They couldn't be too far away."

Ash shook his head. "No. The snow was falling pretty heavy when we came back. We can't risk that. And even if we did, I didn't see any tracks left over besides some small bootprints next to the window that the snow hasn't been covering. We can't trace them."

"So what then? File to the police?" Anabel asked.

Ash shrugged and just took a seat. "I guess. But the snow is pretty thick. We can't expect them until later."

Both of the Frontier Brains began thinking frantically about how to gain their gifts back. Neither of them knew what to do, nor were they aware of where the thief was. All they could was try to relax, but sadly, it wasn't helping too much.

........

Meanwhile, in a cave roughly a mile from town, two tall males in trench coats were going crazy over their next few items that they had 'borrowed' from certain people. They were tossing the wrapping for the presents aside and examining the gifts. They had a Sableye right next to them, who was laughing deviously.

"Geez Carson. I didn't think we would get away with that. Stealin' from not one, but two Frontier Brains? That couldn't 've gone better." The first guy said.

The one called Carson snickered. "Well what did ya expect Ron? Like takin' candy from a baby."

They set the boxes on the ground and began examining the items. One of the items was a Silver bracelet with a Sapphire gem right in the center. The other was a Rose Gold pendant with a Amethyst gem in the center of it.

Both of them began laughing like crazy. "Holy crap Ron. We hit da motha load."

"This had gotta be worth so much. Especially at a Pawn Shop." Ron inquired.

"It probably is. Too bad it doesn't belong to you two."

They turned to see a guy at the entrance of the cave. He was wearing red and white sneakers, black and yellow jeans, a black and white shirt, and a red jacket with fingerless gloves on his hands. He had two furious-looking small Pokémon right next to him that sent daggers with their eyes. But that didn't scare them. What truly scared them was something that would scare every criminal speechless.

He had a Ranger emblem on his jacket.

The man shook his head. "Ron and Carson. The infamous twin brothers. Known for Pokemon poaching, thievery, black market trading, selling items off at Pawn Shops, and even dealt with a case of homicide against a 24 year old Ace Trainer. You picked not only the wrong day, but the wrong house, and wrong time for that matter, to steal. I know the Frontier Brains you stole from very well, and I was about to visit them. But imagine my surprise when I see two men in trench coats running away with a Sableye right behind them."

Ron had enough. "Alright you! Who are you and what do you need?"

The man simply frowned. "Who I am is of no concern to you. And my needs and wants are worlds apart. I don't really need anything, but I do want both of you behind bars."

Both of them began to freak out. "Sableye. Use Shadow Ball."

"X-Scissor."

Sableye was knocked out swiftly before the Shadow Ball even began to form. Both thieves exchanged glances of worry, as they decided there was only one option. Run.

They made a dash for the entrance, but the ranger was quick to prevent their escape. "Blizzard."

A cold wind hit the pair, which froze them on the spot. They couldn't move out of the ice, so they just made muffled cries as the man walked up to the gifts and examined them before bringing out his symbol drawer.

He formed an omega symbol which brought forth a red and white Pokémon with a bag over it's shoulder. "Alright Delibird. I have a job for you."

..........

Ash and Anabel were having a simple conversation about family, as they were still unsure of what to do about their gifts. "Anabel, I am serious. If you don't have anywhere you need to go or want to go, then why not go to Pallet and spend New Years and Christmas with me? Mom and even Professor Oak would love to have you over."

Anabel shook her head. "I don't know..."

Their heads turned as they heard a knock on the door, which they found shocking with all the snow around. They opened it up to find a Delibird holding a gift in it's hands. Anabel took the gift and glanced at the card.

She read it aloud with Ash right next to her. "'I think you lost these. Hope you have a Merry Christmas.' - An old friend."

They looked up to find that the Delibird at the door disappeared. They exchanged glances and closed the door. They opened the gift to find that their gifts were in there. Both of them let out sighs of relief and began to exchange gifts with each other, forgetting about where they came from.

Once each of them saw the gift, they jumped into a hug between each other.

"Thanks Ash. I love it."

"I should be thanking you. The bracelet is amazing."

The pair let go of each other and sat back down on the couch and continued to have their previous conversation.

"I want you to consider it Anabel. Christmas is all about family and friends. If you weren't spending your Christmas break alone every year, then I wouldn't be so pushy with my offer. But you even said that your family doesn't really care about you, so all you do is visit the townspeople and go to the Frontier Christmas Party at Viridian City the week prior to Christmas. I don't want you to feel alone anymore."

Anabel just looked away from him. "I have been alone for a long time, so this wouldn't be new to me. The only ones that I have keeping me company on Christmas are my Pokémon, which I am ok with. You don't need to worry-"

She stopped as she felt something wrap around her. She looked up to find it was Ash that had pulled her into a hug. It was there that she saw what she was doing. She was letting her emotions from her past experiences get to her. Because of her bad experience with Christmas, she was letting her feelings of being alone get to her. It may not sound like it should matter, but for Anabel, who is in a sense, an emotional satellite, she couldn't help but let her past draw her down, which stopped her from noticing the one thing that kept her happy all the time.

Ash.

The raven haired trainer spoke. "Are you better now?"

"Yeah. Thank you for that. I almost didn't see what I was doing there." Anabel answered as she relaxed in his embrace.

"It's fine."

Almost as if on cue, the power cut out from around them, which left only the light from the fire to let them see. It was right then that the pair started to take in the person they had with them. They stared each other in the eyes for a moment and began to lean in due to instinct kicking in. The pair continued getting closer and closer... until...

They kissed.

Yes it was a kiss on the lips. A small one, but special, nonetheless. They broke apart from the kiss and looked at each other in the small light they had. Both of them looked flustered and were smiling from ear to ear at each other.

Ash broke the silence. "So is that a yes?"

Anabel giggled as their Pokémon jumped in their laps. The couple scooted closer together. "I will gladly spend Christmas with you."

........

On the outside of the house, there was a very familiar Pokémon Ranger, who was standing next to the circuit breakers with two eeveeloutions while chuckling to themselves. Strange... very strange...

The man stopped chuckling and looked up at the sky with an annoyed expression. "What are you going on about? Every good Christmas story needs a bit of emotion."

Well I'm sorry. We call it 'narrating' for a reason!

The man rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'll just end this for you."

Hey! Don't you-

The man chuckled. "Too late. I hope you all enjoyed the Christmas Special. A lot of work went into this. But all good things must come to an end. Glaceon, use Blizzard."

The Blizzard covered up everything as the world went dark...

And that, my readers, is how you attempt to break the 4th wall. At least I think that is how you do it. Let me know if this went over well. Sorry about it being a few days late. Lot of family came into town. Now Comment Question: Did you have a good holiday? And with that done, I bid you all a good night (or day or whatever time you read this).

-Bl0t0rch