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“We hope to see you again!”
Joy called out to the trainers leaving the center with her questionable catchphrase.
Everyone was checking out, heading back to their families for the holidays. She knew that in other regions there were a lot of kids caught mid-travel during the season, but Alola was small enough that if you had a home, you could easily return to it.
Not that everyone had one.
She glanced towards the café, where the scruffy boy in question was sitting, drinking his Tapu Cocoa and feeding poke beans to the wimpod that had taken to following him around. She caught the eye of the barista, who nodded, to reassure her that yes, he was keeping an eye on him.
Guzma had been acting out more than usual lately. She knew it wasn’t uncommon for kids to test boundaries in these situations, and was trying to be patient with him. He had gotten cagey ever since the decorations had gone up, not to mention that awkward encounter with Kukui…
But there was a line to walk with Guzma. She didn’t want to be too hard on him, but some of the things he did were genuinely unacceptable. He had a temper, and was prone to lashing out at people, often violently. She wouldn’t allow any of it, but she would handle it perfectly calmly. It was learned behavior, and she was confident she could shake him of it.
In retrospect she should have known things were going to head in this direction far longer ago. She’d taken an interest in him ever since the first time he had dashed in the center, hiding behind the counter and hissing for her not to tell. His father had stormed in after him, and she had lied to him to get him to leave.
From then on Guzma had regarded her as "safe", and she had realized that Guzma needed a safe place. She had gone out of her way to make herself available to him as much as she was able to, and eventually that had escalated when Kahunas Hala and Nanu themselves had placed him in her care, permanently.
Her mind wandered back to that encounter with Kukui. It had had something to do with Christmas, she thought. Things had been weird between the boys in general, but she knew that she had heard something about Christmas, and then Guzma had blown up.
Come to think of it, what did Guzma expect from the holidays?
Christmas morning arrived, and Guzma was genuinely surprised to see he had received gifts.
Joy had set them up in a room near the front of the center. Private, but would allow her easy access should she need to attend to any pokemon.
He had been confused when she had told him to come to it, and stared at her in shock when he’d seen what was happening.
“What is it?”
“Christmas presents,” Joy said patiently, “for you.”
Guzma had turned back to the gifts.
Had he ever received gifts before?
No, he must have. His mother was in denial about the situation, and she would have given him some at least, right?
Her question was answered when they sat down to stockings, and Guzma nearly tore his apart in excitement. She reminded him that it was the paper he was supposed to rip, bemused, and he had looked at her.
“Where’s the coal?”
Joy hesitated.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean 'where’s the coal'?” Guzma demanded. His temper was flaring, and Joy kept a straight face, which was step one to deescalating it. “No one ever gives me stuff, just coal.”
“You’re not a bad kid, Guzma.”
He had frozen, unsure what to make of that. When he recovered, he went for the gifts, and began tearing into them with abandon.
Joy smiled. Guzma wasn’t one for understanding emotions, but she would get through to him yet.