Angelo's Christmas

While it wasn’t a white Christmas, it was still bitterly cold, and Angelo was happy to have heat in his home, and a large fire type to boot. The drive to Wintervale wouldn’t have been worth the trip, and so the man opted to stay home with his Pokemon for the holiday. He quickly shut the door behind him to keep the cold outside where it belonged and shuddered from the cold. Inside it felt nice, and it wasn’t long before he had his whole team hurrying to say hello - some slower then others, but still getting there. Case in point: Archie hoisted herself over bit by bit, before Gummy simply picked her up in his large jaws and brought her over to say hi with everyone else. Granted, there was a reason for his insistence they hurry. Once they were all gathered and expectantly waiting, Angelo put the bags down he’d been carrying and reached into his pocket, pulling out a treat for each of them.

“Gentle.” He said firmly but encouragingly, holding it out palm up for Gummy, who carefully took the treat before crunching it down. His prongs glowed with renewed fire and excitement before he stepped back to let someone else through. Next was Amethyst, who perched on his shoulder, then Obsidian (who also got a ‘gentle’ admonishment), Snips (another ‘gentle!’ because of roughness with which the treat was taken), and finally Penelope and Archie. With that taken care of, Gummy grabbed one of the bags in his mouth, and those that could manage helped drag the groceries into the kitchen.

Meal making was chaotic with so many different appetites, but Angelo prided himself on being able to make at least one dish that each of his varied Pokemon would like most, even if he had to thwap noses or even little paws when they tried stealing a taste here and there. Amethyst had perched above everyone else, chewing on a piece of amber she’d found somewhere - Angelo recognized it and didn’t bother trying to steal it back from the partial ghost-type. She’d just find something else mineral based to chew on and he probably wouldn’t like that even less than the amber.

Dinner took some time with so many ‘assistant’ chefs wanting to help or otherwise getting a taste of what was to come. Gummy, though, after a good thwap to the nose with a wooden spoon, had huffed and curled up on the rug at the other side of the room to watch. One by one, the others joined him, piling onto the fire type for cuddles. Angelo smirked and shook his head as he worked. As long as they stayed out of his way, no one would get hurt.

“Alright…” He turned his attention back to the cookbook in question, glad he’d picked up one that had people and Pokemon safe recipes. Made things easier.

Eventually, he finished the meal and everyone was given their own plates to devour as they saw fit. Amethyst hooted a response of thanks, Gummy gave a happy grumble deep in his throat, Archie made that adorable xylophone noise when she got her plate, Snips happily gurgled, Penelope gave an excited hop, and Obsidian nickered a thank you. Angelo looked around, grabbed the remote off the turn table and clicked on the radio for them all to listen to before he replaced the remote in its given spot. He just needed to get his own plate at this point.

Dishes were a future Angelo problem, though. At least, the cleaning them was a future Angelo problem, anyways. He gathered up the empty plates once he was sure everyone was done (some had much bigger appetites then others, after all) and set them in the sink with an unintentional clatter. He brushed his hands off on his sweater, turning to his crew. “Come on guys, let's go in the other room.”

He scooped up Archie so she didn’t fall behind before he led them all to the living room, where a fireplace crawled to life with help from technology. The warmth was appreciated, and he grabbed a book off the shelf, the Kricketouga still in his arms. The sheer amount of good food was starting to take effect, he could tell. Everyone, while excited and energetic earlier, were now sluggish and slow moving, taking their time to move into the living room with him. Once Gummy had settled down, Angelo settled in against his side, enjoying the warmth and comfort of the Pokemon’s shaggy mane. He half knew what was coming, but it still was amazing just how heavy they all were as they collapsed on him in one way or another. Obsidian had enough sense to just lay next to him rather than on him, which Angelo appreciated. They were still touching, and that’s what mattered. Once everyone was settled, the man opened the book to the bookmarked page and smiled. Right. They were starting this chapter.

“Chapter Four. Haraku stared up at…”