Erin

  —

  I shifted a bit on the roof, grateful there was no snow to deal with… Mildly disappointed, too, but I had never really… enjoyed Christmas before. The gifts, sure, and I enjoyed spending time with family in theory. In reality, most of the time family came to visit it was an imposition. Of course, most hadn't been real family, but that didn't mean their words couldn't hurt…

  Later on it had been just me and my aunt, and it was an entirely different experience. Me unwrapping a gift, maybe two if they included socks- not that I was upset! Socks were great, despite what child-me thought, and getting anything was… too much, because when could I ever afford to buy her a gift? Never, that was the answer. Even during that brief window of sobriety before I died I hadn't been able to find a job, much less hold one down. My own fault, because I had a history…

  Just me and my aunt, some easy food, and my apologies for once again having nothing to give…

  I shook my head a little, trying to clear my thoughts. That was the past, that was a past life, so there was no use in beating myself up over it anymore… At least this time I was able to afford gifts? Out of money I actually acquired from battles, too, not gifted to me by Looker for simply doing the right thing…

  Not that this was Christmas, of course. It was called something different in each region, but they were all basically the same thing: A holiday where you give gifts to family and friends before the end of the year. Most cultures back on Earth'd had something similar, of course, so it wasn't surprising to me.

  'Festival of Lights' was kind of bland as far as names went, though…

  "Erin! You better not be on the roof again!" Crap…

  I rolled forward to give mom a wide, innocent smile. A wide, innocent, hopeful smile.

  "I was stargazing! This is the best place to do it at the Ranch!" Her scowl just grew, of course…

  Damnit, I was fine! Probably! It would suck to die again, though, and this time from something directly tied to my own stupidity…

  —

  —

  The next morning there were none of the usual things from my childhood, even up to… fifteen? I wasn't woken up far too early, and I'd had no trouble going to sleep the night before, either. I didn't rush to the tree when I woke up, because there was no tree. There was a candle holder, though. Four candles, to be burned throughout the day. It was kind of plain, but I didn't hate it. Christmas had been nice in many ways, but it was so… performative, I guess? There were other lights up on the house and some electric candles in the windows, but the Festival of Lights wasn't some monster of a holiday that had a crazy buildup and decorations like Christmas in my old world, my old country. It was a week, and that was it.

  So I didn't come rushing downstairs, and I didn't find mom sitting there on the couch, a pile of presents to open along with a surprise, unwrapped gift.

  Not that there weren't presents, because there were, but there was no surprise… bike, I guess? We had those… A portable TV would be nice, I guess?

  Instead I found mom sitting there with Lance, an amused look on her face. She wasn't looking at the other two following me… I raised a hand, and I could feel how ridiculous my hair looked right now. Great…

  Another minute in the bathroom and I was back downstairs, joining everyone at a table already full of breakfast.

  It had taken some getting used to, but by this point I was… comfortable with who I was, with where I was in my new life. Kinda permanently insane due to a literal maneating Alpha Tyrantrum's aura tinting my mind with her instincts? Absolutely, and cities sucked, and it had so many other downsides… I was alive, though, and I had finally adjusted to it. It might not be the 'nicest' thing, but… I couldn't change it.

  I liked this life a lot better than my previous one, literal mind-shattering torture aside, and I was happy to adjust, to be comfortable this time around… Being a kid again was something I had fully accepted, and even embraced in some respects, but I could never forget being thirty, and sometimes it was really, really apparent.

  Such as when Lance managed to snag mine and Leaf's heads before we could escape the table. Having my hair ruffled was not a fun thing at any age, and Lance was big enough I couldn't easily hurt him lightly. A punch in the shoulder? Even with my training, I didn't hit that hard, honestly…

  Still, as we exited the back yard into the Ranch proper I was in a good mood. With mom, I had multiple people in my previous life to compare her to. Leaf and Alex were a bit harder, but I'd had some people my own age that I was close to growing up, and younger relatives later on. Lance, though? I had a comparison, technically, but… my old 'stepdad' had always been such a mess, even to a child, that I'd never really seen him as a father. I loved him, sure, but… I don't think I ever respected him.

  Despite all the crap I loved to give Lance, I did respect him. I might even tell him that at some point, who knows, miracles happen, look at me and my continued breathing… I liked him, too. He was still a bit arrogant and full of himself, sure, but he kinda had plenty to be full of, and he was… kind. Caring. A good guy in almost every respect, and I would… honestly be proud to call him my father at some point.

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  I think I'd save telling him that for when I've really pissed him off and need a distraction, though, it's too embarrassing to admit otherwise.

  My grandparents had finally arrived, and before we opened presents, we had some other presents to hand out as a family, especially to those without hands.

  Mom had actually reached out to a store in Viridian about the whole thing. Gifts for Pokemon were common, of course. While a Growlithe may be able to enjoy the finer things in life, they were still canines, and still enjoyed a good chew toy even as adults. I have to imagine the company was very surprised when mom reached out with a list of species to buy gifts for, as well, because even with the adoptions, there were still over two hundred rescues here.

  We all helped hand out presents, even the Indeedee barely working today. Instead it was just us humans, and we had lines. The canines all got chews of various types while the Rattata and Raticate, along with the Ekans, Arbok, and the few remaining Meowth all got various hats and scarves. It wasn't very practical, but the sight of an Ekans in a little hat on a string was adorable.

  In fact, most of the gifts were small things like that, little hats, scarves, and stuffed animals. The Skarmory and their children, now almost fully grown, had received a specialized grooming kit. Buffing the shine out of a coat of blades wasn't something you did lightly, after all… Some species, like the Grimer and Muk, had been given treats instead of something permanent. Treats that were more sugar bombs than anything else, but they certainly got good reactions.

  My favorite gifts were to our more direct helpers, though.

  The Oddish and Bellsprout lines were all instrumental in helping with Growth and… 'redistributing nutrients', and had received some very expensive fertilizer for their preferred resting spots. The Weepinbell and Victreebell had gotten roast Tauros tenderloin, considering they didn't settle in soil anymore. The Drowzee and Hypno were given some more cooking utensils they had been looking at, along with a gift card to the mall in Viridian. That would be a bit of a sight, a bunch of Drowzee and Hypno browsing through the electronics section…

  The Indeedee, however, got one gift.

  Us humans and our gratitude aside, there were very few rescues who disliked the Indeedee. There were a few, of course, but there were always those kinds of people no matter where you went, and they didn't say anything, so we left it alone. Of course, the vast majority of the rescues loved the Indeedee. Actual work aside, you could often find the Indeedee simply wandering around among the Pokemon, checking in with them, making sure they were okay, and everyone wanted to do something for them.

  Most of the rescues didn't have money, of course… Most. The Skarmory didn't bring back nearly as much as Maddy, but a few Pidgeotto delivered to mom had 'earned' them some money from the sales… It wasn't nearly enough for the gift they got the Indeedee, but we weren't about to tell them that, of course.

  Indeedee were herd Pokemon, even if their herds weren't the huge ones that Tauros formed, and the ones at the Ranch all still slept together at night, even Alfred. A week of deliberation had finally resulted in the idea. It had taken a month to put it together, but the Indeedee's gift had been created by the rescues. A huge cotton quilt for the huge mattress they used in their clinic. It was… rough. Those species without hands, so most of them, had helped in small ways, passing filling, but those with hands and vines had done the most work on it.

  It was patchy-looking, one corner's stitching was already coming undone, and it honestly… looked like a huge rag. A huge rag that the Indeedee took with wide eyes. Wide, trembling eyes that watched the hundreds of pairs of eyes watching them.

  Then we got to witness the sight of the Indeedee fleeing to their clinic, quilt raised above their heads as they retreated. I knew how they felt, though… Even if it was deserved, gratitude could hurt…

  We retreated inside after that. I had vague memories of excitedly scrambling for piles of presents in my past life, but there was none of that this time. We each just grabbed a gift and opened it, no fanfare to speak of.

  My second present in this life, after my bandoleer, was… socks. I hadn't been lying, though: Socks were great! Especially with how much we traveled. Even though we ended up in the Ride Basket a lot, we still walked, and one of my pairs was looking see-through…

  I looked up, only to find the adults watching the three of us. The three of us, and our three pairs of socks… The next present, however, was something I hadn't really thought about getting.

  I would never be the kind of person to wear a purse, it just wasn't in me to wear something so… limited. I was the same with packs, too. Leaf wore a backpack here in reality, not the bag her official artwork'd had, for some very good reasons, mostly balance. Having that much weight constantly hanging off of one side of you, bouncing off your hip, was stupid! She obviously agreed, too… Purses were worse. They had the same issues, but were even smaller. No thanks, pockets all day. I only bought pants with pockets, all my skirts had some as well, and my jacket? The inside was basically just pockets!

  So receiving a small dragon scale wallet from Lance threw me for a bit of a loop, honestly. I had very little to use it for, too. Dexter was my digital currency, I still hadn't used physical currency yet even if I'd seen it, so really… I could put my trainers card in it? It was very nice, though, and the scales looked like a Kingdra's… It would be nice to pull this out instead of a plain card rattling around in my jacket, though?

  My grandparents got me a brush, which… It would be useful, at the least? My hair could be tamed easily enough, it just grew wild again fast… They seemed awkward when I opened it, but I gave them some genuine thanks. Sure, I could have bought one… I probably wouldn't have, though, knowing me.

  Alex and Leaf had conspired to buy me a professional microphone! It looked like what you'd see podcasters or singers speak into, fancy and expensive! Of course, they just wanted to hear more songs, but… it was still a nice gift, and I did enjoy singing, just not in front of people…

  Mom's gift, however, kind of broke me.

  It was a necklace. Nothing fancy, just sterling silver with a tiny amethyst, but something about it just broke something in me, and I ended up fleeing. Not that I could flee to many places here on the Ranch and be alone, but the top of the garden hill was empty when I stumbled up there.

  I didn't even know why it had hit me so hard. The last gift I got from my grandma had been a necklace, so maybe that? But no, that wasn't it…

  I still hadn't figured it out by the time I made it back inside, but maybe one of these days I would.

  For now, though, I'll go back to having a nice, easy holiday surrounded by family. A nice, easy, relaxing holiday with my new family in this new world. A nice, easy, relaxing holiday without those damn songs- No, stop it, me! I can already hear Mariah fucking Carey's voice! None of that!

  The first holiday I'd had in a very long time where I could confidently say that I'd had a good time.

  Happy 'Festival of Lights', indeed…