Work Text:
It was a cold December afternoon when Green Oak sulked around Celadon City’s annual Christmas market, with hot chocolate in one hand and a very dreadful letter in another. One would say the cozy feeling of the markets, smell of various delicacies and the snowflakes peacefully descending from the sky was sure to lift up anyone’s spirits for the holidays. However, Green’s mood was anything but festive: the invitation in his hand had successfully destroyed any peace on his mind. One certain idiot Dexholder - Gold - managed to come up with a plan to get everyone together for Christmas, and it was definitely working. Most of them seemed excited about it, but Green only felt a big surge of annoyance and a slight panic. He had hoped to just swing by Daisy and his grandfather’s for Christmas, but Gold definitely threw a spanner in the works. Especially since the gathering was tonight and Green was still empty handed.
So, there he was, scouring the market to find a gift for his assigned Dexholder, Silver. To say Green was awful at gifts was an understatement: he usually resorted to giving someone money, a bottle of wine, or a gift box with soap and shampoo. Very lame, but easy to come up with and useful. Though for this one, he let his pride get in the way: while lame gifts were easy to find, he didn’t want to be known amongst his peers as someone who doesn’t give nice and meaningful gifts. But, to be frank, he’d also rather die than ask anyone close to him for help. Red was just as bad as him coming up with gifts, he didn’t want to bother Yellow as she’d been stressed enough about her own secret santa, and Blue? He wasn’t very sure if Blue could keep her mouth shut long enough not to accidentally blab to her brother-figure that someone closer than he thought would be his secret santa.
Green racked his brain thinking of Silver’s interests. He spotted a stall that sold various DVD boxsets, including Proteam Omega, but Green figured Silver would probably already own them all. Trade-items were next on Green’s list, hoping that’d be a satisfying and useful gift to the Exchanger. That too resulted in disappointment, because he could only find the items native to Kanto and Johto, and thus not special enough.
His hot chocolate had grown lukewarm, the marshmallows in it had melted together and the invitation in his other hand was even more wrinkled than before he left on his journey. Green quickly finished most of his drink, his mood getting even more sour by the minute. It didn’t help that kids playing by the square had accidentally hit him with a snowball as well, leaving a cold spot on his back. He was about to give up, until he spotted a girl with some very familiar styled pigtails over at the apricorn stall, run by no-one other than Kurt himself. Green’s pace picked up, until he reached her.
“You know, Secret Santa is about getting gifts for someone else, not for yourself.” Green nudged Crystal, who seemed so absorbed into Kurt’s pokeball-forging skills that she hadn’t seen or heard him approach. She let out a little shriek, but immediately relaxed when she found out it was him.
“Oh, Green! I didn’t see you there.” Crystal laughed, before looking back to the man working on her request. “I already wrapped up shopping for mine. This is just some stuff from my own wishlist. Your grandfather’s pay this month was… rather generous, so I decided to treat myself out here. How’s your quest going?”
“Oh, well…” Green scratched the back of his neck. He felt a little awkward knowing he was behind, but it was not like he could help it. He really tried, even if he procrastinated getting the gift a little. Damn him and his perfectionism. “Let’s just say, it would be great if an Abomasnow would steal Christmas right now.”
“I’m not going to lie, it’s kind of funny seeing you not being on the top of your game with this kind of thing.” Crystal chuckled, nudging his side. “Almost as if you’re… human.”
Green choked on his last sip of hot chocolate, resulting in Crystal patting his back while he coughed. He gave her a fake indignant look. “What do you mean by that? I’m not some perfect creature, you know. Even I have flaws, though they’re few in number.”
“Well, I’d say humility is something you lack a little.” Crystal said, while she received her commission from Kurt. She turned back to Green, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “I’m only kidding, of course. Care to walk back together? I actually have some business at the laboratory, and I also want to bring these home as soon as possible.”
Green agreed to that, figuring he wasn’t going to find anything at the market that was suitable enough. It made him feel even gloomier than before, desperation slowly taking over his mind. What on earth was he going to give to him? He didn’t know Silver through and through either - he even tried to get the poor guy arrested on one of their first meetings. After that, their relationship mostly stood on mutual respect and helping each other out if they could, but besides that they didn’t hang out much. Not after most of their joined region’s issues were resolved, anyway.
Crystal was chatty as usual on their way back, carrying the conversation all on her own while Green was deep in thoughts. Crystal… she was trustworthy and a good friend due to the time they spent together at his grandfather’s lab. She often handled confidential information, so maybe she could give him a lead or two.
“Say, Crystal. I know this is kind of out of the blue and maybe a little weird, but I need you to keep to yourself what I’m about to ask.” Green kicked a pebble away from the path they were following, feeling a little awkward that he ended up depending on someone else in the end anyway. “Is there something Silver really needs? Or something he’s very interested in?”
Crystal cocked her eyebrow, seemingly already having put two and two together. “Hm… well, you cannot magically return his father to his doorstep and restore whatever trauma they have left. He does want to get stronger to change his father’s ways. I’m sure something that would aid him in that quest is something he’d appreciate. You’re the Trainer, so you’re well-versed in that sort of stuff. I’m sure you’ll be able to figure something out before… well, tonight.”
“Ha, I suppose you’re right about that.”
---
Back at his apartment in Viridian City, Green felt like banging his head against his desk. What Crystal said about him being well-versed into things that made one stronger was true, but his mind was giving him nothing to go on. Everything seemed either too dull or too complicated to give. He was starting to overthink it, but he couldn’t exactly stop his mind from going into overdrive either. He kicked at the wall in desperation, while burying his head into his hands. Or at least, he thought he kicked at the wall. The sound of items clattering on the floor filled his room and at that moment, Green thought he might spontaneously combust of rage.
He shoved his chair back and sat down on the floor, rubbing his temple in realisation that he kicked his box with a bunch of Kalosian souvenirs. He reached for the box and started putting all sorts of rubbish back in it, until something glimmering caught his eye. His hands went on autopilot, almost as if he was possessed by the ghost of shiny christmas gifts. It was a Mega Ring, with a Gyaradosite just a few inches away.
He does want to get stronger to change his father’s ways.
Crystal’s words echoed through his mind. It was a full set, even the Key Stone was embedded into the Mega Ring. Not a scratch on the surface. And the Gyaradosite… it was almost as if this moment was fated. Green’s mind made him halt a bit, realizing that this was way more than just a gift. The Gyaradosite used to belong to Lysandre and was taken from him after he was defeated and apprehended. Diantha then entrusted Green with it, together with a brand new Mega Ring and Key Stone. “Give them to someone worthy, someone who will do good things with it.” is what she told him before handing the set over.
Good things… the more Green thought about it, the more certain he became. Talking of fighting prowess, Silver definitely deserved it. He proved himself time after time, and with his new ideals, Green was sure that his junior would use it for good. Whether it was fate or just luck that the set seemed to fit for Silver, considering his red Gyarados, Green was finally all set up for the party.
With renewed energy, he took his jacket once again and slid the items into his pocket. His final stop would be getting the items wrapped up nicely at a local shop before heading to meet up with Red, Blue and Yellow. Even the wet spot on his back from the snowball incident at the market earlier didn’t bother him anymore. He felt almost euphoric, whistling while he walked around the block to get to Viridian City’s shopping street. The sun was starting to set and the snow was starting to descend more heavily. Maybe that was the reason Green didn’t notice a black, bird-like creature circling above his head before it was already too late. A Murkrow swiftly attacked his pocket and flew away towards the border of Viridian forest. The glimmering Gyaradosite was now in its beak.
“Oh, no. Nononono, this is not happening.” Green grumbled, fumbling around his belt to grab Charizard’s Pokeball. He sent the dragon-like Pokemon out and climbed onto its back in only a matter of seconds. People were already starting to gather around the scene, starting to whisper to each other about what could possibly be going on.
“Did the Gym Leader just get robbed? Really?”
“It appears so. How can the second strongest trainer of Kanto get robbed by a simple Murkrow? Maybe he’s getting old?”
Green felt a little vein pop in his forehead, but paid no attention. A composed Gym Leader did not lose his temper because of simple gossip, even if hurtful and incorrect. He wasn’t the second strongest trainer, he was definitely on equal level.
“Charizard, let’s deal with this quickly.” Green commanded, pointing towards the black bird. There was no time to lose at all, he had to finish this in one sweep. “Use Fire Spin to trap it, then Flare Blitz to finish it off!”
His Charizard did as told, creating the rings of fire towards the Murkrow, then bursting through them to land the Flare Blitz efficiently. Green definitely went a little overboard on it, feeling the heat of flames all around him, but luckily the Mega Ring and Gyaradosite were heat-resistant. There wouldn’t be a scratch. The Murkrow fainted, dropping down from the branch it was previously perched on. Green and Charizard landed swiftly and the Trainer hopped off his partner’s back. He fumbled the Gyaradosite from the bird’s beak and triumphantly grinned. As he suspected, not a scratch. As for his clothes…
“Man, he sure went overkill on that one. Look at his jacket and pants!”
He was completely covered in soot. He protected the gift, but at the cost of his outfit. He quickly checked his watch while he returned his Charizard to its Pokeball.
“Dammit.” Green mumbled. There wasn’t any time left to get a new outfit on before meeting up with his friends for the party. There was no other choice than to leave his fate of fashion in the hands of Red. He quickly dialed his friend’s number, while his eyes went back to the crowd that had gathered to watch him deal with… that fiasco.
“Green! I was wondering what time you were coming over, you know it’s almost time, right? Blue and Yello-”
“I just need to get one more thing done and then I’ll be on my way.” Green already started making his way again, pushing through the people and praying that from now on, things would actually go right. “I need… a favor. I had a little accident just now and my clothes are pretty much ruined. Can you bring clean pants and a sweater to our meetup?”
“... you know what, I’m not going to ask. I got you, though! See you in a bit. ”
And thus, some weird looks from the people on the streets and the shop-owner almost kicking him out for the burnt smell, Green could finally get Silver’s gift packed up in peace.
About half an hour later, Green stood at Red’s doorstep, waiting for him to open the door. The Mega Ring and Gyaradosite were packed up nicely in a crimson-colored velvet box that would usually be used for regular jewellery. A silver bow was tied around the box to finish it off. Green let out a content sigh. He made it to Red’s place, his gift rocked and was still complete, no more worries on his mind to be seen. If only he knew about the sweater-shaped horror that was waiting inside for him.
After what felt like forever, Red finally opened the door, eyeing him up and down and almost couldn’t stop laughing. “Geez, what did you do? Participated in a human barbecue or something? This is even worse than I thought it’d be when you called me.”
“Very funny.” Green commented, stepping inside. “Can I have your spare clothes, please?”
“Yeah, about that…” Red picked up the stack of clothes on the table. “We decided we wanted to get a little festive, so we’re all wearing Christmas sweaters. I have one for you as well.”
Red handed the stack over to Green, who’s jaw dropped in a not so positive way. “You got me… an Eevee and Pikachu themed Christmas sweater. To wear for tonight. In front of all of our juniors? And expect to be taken seriously after that?”
“Yes.” Red beamed. Green sighed, knowing there wasn’t much choice but to surrender. He’d be under even bigger pressure if the girls arrived. He silently headed for Red’s bedroom and changed. His own clothes, upon further inspection, were not just roasted. There were little tears and holes everywhere, in conclusion: ripe for the trash. He inspected himself in the mirror one more time, now wearing the outfit Red picked out for him. The sweater wasn’t too bad, it was actually kind of cute, but that was something Red would never hear out of Green’s mouth.
“Green, you ready? Yellow and Blue are here. We gotta get moving if we don’t wanna be late!”
Making sure he didn’t forget Silver’s gift, he stepped out of the room and greeted his friends. Before they left, Blue made sure to make fun of Green for wearing ‘such an adorable sweater for a big bad stoic Gym Leader’ while Yellow tried to hold down a few chuckles in the meantime. Sure, it wasn’t Christmas without them being a little chaotic before they pretend to be responsible adults in front of their juniors.
---
At the party, it seemed like they weren’t the only group who went dressed up for the occasion. Green spotted multiple Stantler headpieces and many, many more Christmas themed outfits. In the center of it all was Gold, dressed up as a Delibird. He was standing on top of a chair, telling everybody to stand in a circle around him.
“Listen up, everybody! It’s time to get started with the greatest Dexholder Secret Santa ever, if I do say so myself.” Gold grinned, clapping his hands together. “Because I crave chaos and everything that has something to do with unruly things, I’m going to ask my lovely assistant Crystal to spin my chair around once I sit down. Whoever my finger lands on, will have to hand their gift to their designated recipient. 3… 2… 1… Let’s go!”
Gold sat down and Crystal gave the chair a pretty hard spin - probably on purpose. Gold spinned and spinned, until his pointing finger finally halted on no other than Green himself.
“Mister Green Oak, your fate has been sealed. It’s time for you to offer your gift and reveal who will receive it.” Gold spoke, looking a little dizzy but satisfied. Green nodded, scouring the circle until he spotted the familiar redhead. He stepped forward, taking in a deep breath before speaking up.
“My gift is for Silver. In all honesty, it was quite the struggle to even get here with an unscathed gift, but I hope you’ll be happy with it. It’s not something to take lightly, but I think you’ve shown more than enough throughout the years that you deserve this. Merry Christmas, Silver.”
Silver looked to be at a loss of words, but managed to get a ‘thank you’ out while he took the velvet box from his senior. He swiftly undid the ribbon and opened the box. His eyes went wide when he spotted the contents, probably not believing it. He picked the Gyaradosite up first, holding it against the light to see it shimmer. A smile spread out on his face, placing the item back in the box before closing it and moving towards his senior. They awkwardly hugged, but it was sincere.
“So much for someone you tried to get arrested upon meeting them, huh.” Silver chuckled. “I cannot thank you enough for this.”
“Yeah, sorry about that.” Green laughed, patting Silver’s back before letting go. “But I meant what I said, you’ve shown your worth and growth. You deserve this, so promise me you’ll put it to good use. Though, I already know that you will.”
Silver nodded. “I will.”
“Aw, man! A Mega Ring and a Mega Stone? How will the others ever compete with that, huh? Such a show-off, Oak.” Gold huffed, but then started chuckling. He motioned Crystal to spin him again, and the night was far but over. After everyone exchanged gifts, Diamond started handing out snacks and a group of juniors started singing Christmas carols together. There was a lot of eating, talking and litres upon litres of hot chocolate.
Maybe Dexholder Secret Santas weren’t so bad after all.