//------------------------------//
// The Ultimate Holiday Combo 
// Story: My Little Pokémon 
// by Amarvax 
//------------------------------//

The North Pole. Kanto.

There lies an entire island made primarily of ice structures. And on that island exists at home and a workshop in the shape of a Christmas Tree, belonging to one certain individual.

A being made entirely out of mystical energy that predates billions of years in the past when the Mew's were going extinct. In countless universes, this one entity always exists no matter what with some exceptions here and there. He goes by one name. 

Santa Claus. Or Father Christmas if you wish to be formal.

Over at his workshop, he was already preparing for this upcoming Christmas. There were only 3 hours left until it was time to go. Once that clock hits 9:00, it's off to deliver presents to everyone in the entire world in 4 hours before 0:00. It would seem like an impossible task, but his sleigh is capable of moving 0.5% the speed of light.

"Let's see." He went over the list of people and Pokemon who would be getting presents. "This year's something special. Not sure why though."

This year's list was fairly interesting. Ever since the two worlds crossed, Santa now placed all of his attention on the second world that connects to his. He wasn't able to interact with Equestria and beyond once he learned about Hearth's Warming, but now this year he can. And he's already selected some pretty neat presents that he knows they'll love.

However, that would mean that his sleigh would have to go faster than it normally does. Despite how amazing it may be, it has a limit. It can only go up to 650 miles per second. And no more than that.

"Hm...That'll be tricky..." He stroked his majestic white beard. "But, nothing I can't accomplish. Now, let's see who's been the best this year." 

By looking over the absurdly long list he owned that had the name of every individual that exists currently, even those that have passed away, he noticed one name that has been constantly on the top at all times.

"Ah. Why am I not surprised? Ash Ketchum." Santa looked over at Ash's name as it had a golden outline. This has happened before.  Twenty-four times in fact. 

Ash is constantly there for one reason.  Every day, every week, and every month, he is constantly helping others with his gift of courage and happiness for all whom he encounters.  Whether it's a human, Pokemon and lately, ponies.  Let alone how many times he saved the worlds. It's no wonder why he's always on the list.

"Now then.  What about the other side?” Santa goes through the list of ponies, griffins, dragons, and so on.  There were many options regarding the other world. It wasn't as huge as the Pokemon World since the number of humans and Pokemon that live there is just comically large, but it was still a hefty amount.

A few names that stuck out from Equestria were obviously the Mane 6 themselves. From Twilight Sparkle to Fluttershy. These 6 caught Santa's eye since he knows they're another one of Ash's close friends.

Most of the ponies from Equestria were on here if not all of them. Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Shining Armor, Babs Seed, Snips, Snails, Trixie and so on. 

For Griffonstone, the Griffons had just recently ended up on the list.  Before, Santa didn't know if he would add them, but after what Pinkie and Rainbow Dash did to change them, they won a spot. 

The dragons as well.  As a result of Ember becoming the new Dragon Lord, drastic changes were made. Truly, Twilight and her friends also change the world around them as much as Ash does.

Obviously, there were a lot of bad eggs here and there.  Especially the changeling's Father Christmas knew about.  However, there was a changeling which was an exception.

Santa had gone over every single individual in the span of a few minutes. His reading speed was something to awe at as he could process information faster than a supercomputer. So it doesn't matter how large a population is, he can know the name of everyone out there in a short amount of time.

"Now, for the tricky part... How do I get my sleigh to break its speed limit?" He thought for some time. He knew he could deliver every single present on time no problem. But getting his sleigh to improve on its usual speed would prove to be a bit of a challenge.

Every present for every human, Pokemon and pony out there had already been made thanks to his helpers who were all Jynx. A countless amount of them, not just a select few.

"I know!" Santa had a stroke of brilliance. "I'll just have to evolve my Ponyta! Of course! Rapidash travels much faster anyway. Alright! Jynx!"

He called for all of his little helpers. The Jynx's turned to their boss, responding to his call.

"Jynx?" They collectively said.

"Pack those presents up. I'll be leaving soon. Let's make some faces smile alright?"

"JYNX!"

Eventually, 9:00 had struck. It was time to go to work. Santa had already evolved his Ponyta into a Rapidash so he was ready to break past his usual speed limit. With a Pokemon like Rapidash, he'll be able to cover both worlds before they wake up. 

As for the presents, it's abnormal how he's able to fit so many of them in one sack. The sack wasn't even that large. A guitar could fit in there and cover the whole thing. But somehow, in some way, he could fit over a billion inside. Possibly even a trillion. How could he do it?

Well, there was actually a reason behind it. Santa's magic is just that special.

"Alright, Rapidash!" He got on his sleigh. "We've got a lot to do this year. We're focusing on two worlds this time. And we might even do the same thing next year. You ready?"

"Rapidash!" The Fire Horse Pokemon was more than ready. Due to him evolving, he was psyched.

"Then let's go!" Santa raised his arms in the air.

"Dash!" Off they went. To do what they usually do, but multiplied this time. Ponyville, Sinnoh, Griffonstone, Galar, every location in both worlds will be visited by the embodiment of Christmas itself. 

However, the ponies had no idea who this Santa Claus individual was. Nor did they know he even existed. No human has even brought him up. Until now.



Pallet Town. 21:02.

In just 2 minutes, Santa had arrived at Pallet Town with ease. And he only just left his workshop at the North Pole too. Coming across Ash's home, there wasn't a chimney that he could go through since Pallet Town doesn't have many chimney's. So, it was right through the front door.

But instead of just casually opening it by turning the doorknob, Santa had used magic to open it instead. His magic can be very convenient most of the time.

Inside of Ash's home, the entire interior had been Christmas themed already with the obviously huge Christmas tree right in the corner. The entire house wasn't too small. A good number of presents can fit perfectly inside.

Santa strolled his way over to the tree without making any sound whatsoever. By enchanting his feet, he made himself completely silent, so that no one could hear him arrive.

That would be the case, if two individuals, in particular, wasn't awake at the moment.  Ash and Pikachu, both receiving a glass of water, had noticed the cheerful old man standing by their Christmas tree with gifts.

"Oh. Santa?" Ash rubbed his eye. "You're here early."

"Pika?"

"Ash, my boy." Santa greeted. "Don't mind me. Just leaving these behind." He placed his presents beside Ash's tree. Each of them was for him, Pikachu, Delia and his Pokemon. All of his Pokemon. From Professor Oak's lab to the ones he currently has on hand. And of course, he'll head out there and find some of Ash's released Pokemon as well.

Before finishing up, he realized that he was missing a few. "Oh...something's not right here."

"Deli!" Santa's Delibird held the remaining presents in his hands, giving it to his trainer.

"Ah. There we go. Thanks, Delibird." Santa had finished up on Ash's house by delivering the final gift. "Well, that's done with."

"Alright." Ash yawned. "Thanks for the presents..."

"No problem, Ash my boy." Santa dusted his gloves. "Now then...should I head over to that second world right now or should I finish up in this world?" He looked outside the window, spotting the gateway to Ponyville.

"You're giving presents to the other world too?" Ash asked.

"Pikachu?"

"Right. After all, since two worlds have crossed over, I thought it would be nice to give out some presents to the inhabitants of that world. I bet they have their own version of Santa there."

"Actually they don't," Ash answered.

"They don't?!" Santa gasped as his beard was shaking.

"Nah. I asked Twilight if she had some sort of mystical gift-giver that comes around during Hearth's Warming Eve. But she said no. They just get presents from all their friends and family. I don't even think they know of you. 

"Hm. That's a shocker. Well...it'll be their first time getting some presents from me. Perhaps I should remain a mystery to them. That would actually be interesting."

"Really? Wouldn't it be better if they knew you were real?"

"Oh, indeed it would. But remember, Ash. You're one of the very few people who know that I truly exist. My presence is continuously a timeless enigma."

"Enigma?"

"Mhm. You see, people and Pokemon across the world, even species in other universes continue to debate about my existence. Am I just truly a being in reality or just a concept? It's that ongoing dialect that continues to fuel me. As long as people believe in me, I shall always be here."

"Oh...I get it now."

"Pikachu."

"Exactly. So once I enter that world, my body will let out apparition waves that'll give the ponies the vision and knowledge of me and my name. And after that, they'll debate as well whether I'm real or not."

"Is that what you always do to let people know about you?"

"Pika?"

"Oh, no. I have no control over it. It just happens."

"Alright. Well, I'm going back to bed. See you next year." Ash walked off to his room.

"Pika-Pika."

"Have a jolly Christmas Ash." Santa waved goodbye to Ash, preparing to leave to the next house. He decided to finish up on Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh first, then he'll head over to the other world.

He cleared all 4 regions in 7 minutes with his speedy Rapidash. Santa's Rapidash was actually the fastest of all Rapidash's but not that many know that part about it. They just believe it's just an average Rapidash. 

Although, they're completely unaware of the fact that he was no longer a Ponyta at all.

Once he finished up with all 4 regions, it was finally time for him to set foot into the second world. Arriving back at Pallet Town, he looked over at the gateway to Ponyville, prepared to enter for the very first time. 

After all, he's never been to this world before. But he does know about every single being that lives there due to his mystical abilities. Santa's magic truly is like no other.

He passed through the gateway, feeling the sensation of planewalking for the very first time. It was an odd feeling for sure. And once his foot touched the ground, pulse waves had spread across the entire world in 3 billionths of a second, affecting every living creature here.

Now all of Equestria and beyond has been ingrained the knowledge of this mysterious human.

Over at Twilight's castle, she had actually woken up from the sudden shock.

"Mrrgh...?" Twilight grumbled, rubbing her eye as she stood up from her bed. The pulse waves could still be felt through her body, giving her an odd sensation. The young alicorn looked outside the window to see what could've possibly caused that.

And there he was. Santa Claus with his newly evolved Rapidash. The jolly old man held his sack, heading to the first house in Ponyville. That being Amethyst Star's home.

"What the...?" Twilight uttered. She continued to watch the mysterious human as she noticed how he used magic to teleport inside of Amethyst's home. Santa has multiple ways of entering. Whether it's teleportation or just manipulating the doors itself etc. Twilight squinted her eyes, spotting presents inside of the sack. There was a tiny little gap that made it visible to her.

In just 5 seconds, he had finished giving Amethyst her presents, leaving her home. It was off to the next one and after that, all of Equestria.

Twilight wasn't sure what she was looking at the moment. This mysterious human had just used magic. Similar magic that even unicorns can perform. This was her first time seeing something like that. 

The closest she's seen to a human using magic was Ash and his Aura. But Aura isn't magic, it's just a natural life force. But this was indeed magic. From the way it sparkled and how it had a mist-like appearance.

Once Santa finished up with a good chunk of everypony's homes, he went straight for Twilight's castle. This is where the young alicorn was put on high alert.

What does she do? Is this human a threat possibly? He just entered someones home without even knocking and came out 5 seconds later. 

But he had a sack full of presents, a Delibird and a Rapidash as well so perhaps he might be a friendly individual. Twilight couldn't exactly decide. After all, this was her first time seeing Santa. And now he was coming straight for her castle. 

The Princess of Friendship moved away from the window, lighting her horn up with magic. She could tell her Pokemon to wake up and prepare themselves. And even warn Starlight, Spike, Cocoa, Rosestar and Nyx as well.

But before she knew it, she heard a zap sound inside of the castle. Santa had arrived inside.

The jolly old man looked over the interior of Twilight's castle, seeing how it's been decorated for Hearth's Warming. The ponies and their holiday wasn't too distinct from Christmas. They shared a lot in common really. The only major difference is that they don't have a mystical gift-giver that comes around every year to give presents.

"Okay. Twilight Sparkle. Spike. Starlight Glimmer, Nyx, Cocoa and Rosestar." Santa spoke. His voice had reached Twilight's ears, causing the young alicorn to freeze for a moment. How did he know the names of her and her friends?

"One for Ninetales, Cinccino, Espeon and all the Pokemon at PokePark." He even knew about Twilight's current Pokemon team and the PokePark itself. What's more bizarre to Twilight was that Ninetales and Cinccino had evolved in the afternoon, not too long ago. This was all so perplexing to her. Has he been stalking her?

"I'll just leave these over here." The spirit of Christmas left behind a gigantic amount of presents for Twilight and her friends. And that was the end of that. He was gone from the castle, heading off to finish the rest of Ponyville.

Twilight ran out of her room, seeing how he had brought some presents for her and just up and left. Every single present was for everypony who lived here along with the Pokemon in PokePark. Piles of presents could be seen filling up the corner of the castle.

The young alicorn was left speechless, not sure what to think of all of this. She was tired, it's 9:10 pm and midnight had yet to arrive. She wanted to know what that was all about, but she didn't have the energy to do so. 

However, she did find a tiny strand of Santa's beard on the floor. The one clue of him left behind. She picked it up with her magic as she noticed it had a mystical aura around it.  That aura was weak but noticeable.  Why this aura showed up now was a total mystery to her. Just like Santa himself.

She kept the strand of hair inside of a plastic bag for tomorrow. That way, she'll be able to follow up on all of this in the morning. For now, it was best to get some sleep.



The morning had arrived. Santa finished his job incredibly quickly before midnight arrived. In fact, he finished at 11:00. A new record.

Once both worlds had woken up, they were beyond excited. Just yesterday, they had gone through their usual pageants before Hearth's Warming, with Canterlot always having the largest one. And now, they could look forward to the gifts their friends and family brought them.

But little did they know, some of them didn't come from the ones they love. But the Embodiment of Christmas.

And speaking of Christmas, over at the Pokemon World, resounding joy was being repeated constantly. The humans and Pokemon always look forward to Christmas day when they wake up. Depending on where they are in the world. They've gone through this before so it's the same old stuff but still fun.

For both sides, this was also the day where they would get to hang out with their friends and family, go ice skating, decorate some unpleasant-looking Christmas sweaters to see who can make the most obnoxious yet wholesome one, kiss under the mistletoe or even see a play.

But the biggest one was the lighting ceremony. At the Pokemon World, every Christmas, a huge tree that surpasses even skyscrapers is lit up with dozens of lights exclusively at night time. 

Whenever the lights appear on the tree it symbolizes the light of Arceus. Since the humans have bonded with the ponies, they figured that they should be allowed to see the beauty of the lighting ceremony. It's truly something special when one sees it.

At Ash's home, he had already woken up, jumping out of his bed with his best buddy. "Alright! Christmas day is here!"

"Pikachu!"

"Santa left a lot of this time. Wonder why?" Ash looked over at the abundance of presents. There were more than last time.

"Isn't it obvious? Every time you catch a new Pokemon, the number of presents go up." Delia explained.

"Oh, right." Ash laughed nervously.

"Pikapi..."

"By the way, Ash. I've managed to sort something out for your pony friends."

"You have? What is it?"

"You said yesterday that Sweetie Belle pony wanted you to stay over at their world, but you also wanted to spend time here instead. So, I figured that we do an hour on hour swap."

"Hour on hour swap?" Ash scratched his hair.

"Right! I had a small little chat with that friend of yours named Rarity, and we've decided to swap worlds every 2 hours. Your friends will come over and spend Christmas with us whilst we head over to their world and spend Hearth's Warming with them. And we repeat the swap until the day ends."

"Ahh... I get it! That way we'll get the best of both worlds!"

"Pika!"

"My old friends will be coming over soon. Run along now and enjoy your Christmas!"

"Alright! Let's see what we've got here!" He opened up his first batch of presents out of joy. The first gift he got was a red shirt that could go well with the outfit Rarity made for him. 

The second was a special Poke Ball that could not only glow in the dark but also heat food like some sort of weird microwave. And as a bonus, Ash was given a brand new hat. Although he's happy with Rarity's hat, he might decide to switch it up here and there.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu wanted only one thing for Christmas. He used Iron Tail to open up his gift as it was revealed to be the object he loves more than anything.

A bottle of ketchup.

That's all he wanted. And it made him happy anyways.

"Pika!" Pikachu held the bottle of ketchup like it was a doll, rolling around with it. 

"You guys gotta see this too." Ash sent out his Pokemon as they had presents of their own.

For Gengar, he was given an illusion ring that allows him to not only cast various unique illusions but also duplicate himself multiple times. Gengar can't actually cause illusions surprisingly. The best he can do is hide in people's shadows and send chills around 10 degrees Fahrenheit. So this ring was essentially an extra boost.

Dragonite, who was outside was given a colossal Ash plush to hug. Since Dragonite loves Ash more than anything, it was only right that the Dragon Pokemon had a gigantic plush of its favourite person. Although, the plush was a bit too big since Dragonite was outside with it. But then again, an enormous gift is deserving of an enormous Pokemon.

Farfetch'd was gifted a punching bag to further develop his training. He wasn't really a Pokemon who asked for too much. He just wanted to get stronger.

And speaking of Pokemon who wanted to get stronger, Riolu had his own present. It came in the form of a Lucario outfit, plus a Mega Lucario outfit as well. 

As they all continued to open up the presents, Delia figured that it was time for Mimey to send over the rest of Ash's Pokemon their presents.

"Mimey. Could you go with Ash and give the Pokemon their presents?"

"Mime!" Mr Mime nodded. 

"Ash," Delia called for him.

"No need to worry!" Ash stood up. "I'm already on it! Gengar. Everyone. Think you could stay here for a while?"

"Gar!" Gengar nodded along with the rest of Ash's Pokemon. 



Over at Ponyille, the ponies had already begun opening the presents, excited to see what their loved ones brought them. Little did they know that some gifts here are from a single individual.

All of Twilight's friends had gathered over at her castle to open presents together. The young alicorn was still stuck on what she saw last night and how it surprised her.

"Sweet Celestia! Who got me this?!" Rainbow Dash unwrapped her present. It was a huge TV screen that came from the human world. Something she wasn't expecting at all.

"Is that what humans call a television?" Fluttershy flew up to Rainbow Dash. "It's a bit overwhelming."

"Did you get me this Rarity?"

"No." She shook her head. " I didn't even consider anything like  that."

"Well, whoever got it for me, thanks!" Rainbow Dash grinned. "But, uh... how do you turn this thing on?"

"What do we have here?" Applejack opened up one present belonging to her next. This gift in the particular was actually a blessing. For so long, Applejack has been trying to replace Big Mac's saggy old plough. But she never really got the chance to do so, nor has she able to purchase one.

But not anymore. This was perfect for her big brother. "Oh! Finally!" Applejack jumped up for joy. "Big Mac won't have anything to worry about it anymore!"

"Ooh! But wait." Apple Bloom pulled back. "Shouldn't this have been delivered to Big Mac instead?"

"Hm. Yeah, it should." The earth pony narrowed her eyes. "Ah, at least we got it. Big Mac's gonna love this!"

The others continued to open up their remaining presents. Fluttershy had received a certain grass flute that plays a song specifically for Pokemon to calm them down. Pinkie Pie was self-explanatory. Party themed gifts everywhere.

Twilight, however, wasn't feeling the urge to open up any gifts. Instead, it was all about the human she saw use magic. Rarity went up to her friend who used to be a unicorn like her once, waving her hoof up and down in her face.

"Twilight, darling?"

"Hm?" The young alicorn had snapped out of it.

"Are you alright? You seem a bit lost in another world." Spike asked.

"I'm fine. Really." Twilight nodded. It's just that... I'm still trying to figure out who that human was?"

"What human?" Rainbow Dash unwrapped another one of her gifts, turning to Twilight.

"Last night, I saw a human use magic." Twilight got straight to the point. That certainly grabbed everypony's attention as they stopped unwrapping their presents.

"A human using magic?" Rarity uttered. "Twilight. Is the cold getting to you?"

"No, Rarity. I saw it with my own two eyes. He could perform magic like us. And this wasn't Aura or some Psychic trainer's abilities."

"Ah, this isn't the first time we've seen a human use magic." Pinkie swayed her hoof. "Remember the Shrine Maidens?"

"Yes. But they were using weapons that had Fairy magic on them. This human did it on his own without help."

"You're really stuck on this, huh? Please don't tell me you're gonna be like this all Hearth's Warming." Rainbow was getting worried.

"Nope." Twilight shook her head. "I'm still going to enjoy Hearth's Warming with you all. It's just that one thing that's taken my interest. In fact, I'm so intrigued that I'm keeping this." She brought out the plastic bag that had a bit of Santa's hair inside.

"...A piece of hair?" Starlight raised an eyebrow.

"Belonging to the mysterious human. Look closely. It has an aura to it." The young alicorn showed off the piece of hair to all of her friends. Now they had all gotten a good look at this mystical aura that surrounded Santa's hair. 

They could all see how it had a red and green glow around it that was constantly flashing. But it wasn't just the sight of the beard that was mesmerizing. With all of their faces close up to the strand of hair, something had gone through their ears.

Listening carefully, they could hear bells ringing along with an unexpected laugh that went Ho-Ho-Ho. Now they as well understood Twilight's interest in this.

"Alright. You've convinced us. That's pretty freaky." Pinkie's eyes widened.

"What did this magical human look like exactly?" Rarity questioned.

"What did he look like?" Twilight dug deep in her mind, trying to remember the exact appearance of this human. "Well, he was pretty rotund. He had a white beard with a red coat and trousers, a white fur collar, gloves and cuffs, black boots and a hat. That's pretty much-"

"Hold on!" Pinkie suddenly stopped Twilight. "Are you talking about the guy in my dream?! Are you a psychic Twilight?!" Pinkie gasped.

"Actually, he was in my dream as well." Rarity pointed her hoof at herself.

"Mine too."Fluttershy nodded. "And I think I heard that same laugh. Ho-Ho-Ho, right?"

"Wait...you all saw him in your dreams?" Twilight looked at her friends.

"Mhm." Apple Bloom stood up." I think we got his name too. It was uh..."

"Santa or something like that?" Scootaloo spoke.

"Santa Claus! That's what it was!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

"Santa, huh? I guess I'm not the only one who knows about this guy." Twilight giggled. "But I wonder how he managed to deliver most of these presents in such a short amount of time."

"Deliver? You mean it was him who gave me this?" Rainbow looked over at her TV. "Sweet!"

"It wasn't just you all. I think he's done it for everypony here in Ponyville. I can safely say that right now, everypony's about to get a gift they weren't expecting at all."

"Speaking of which, don't you wanna open yours already?" Spike whispered to her.

"Hm?" It took that one whisper to make Twilight realize that she was lagging behind. "Oh, right!"

As the young alicorn went off to open her own presents, another alicorn came along. One who was currently living in Twilight's Castle. 

Nyx. Along with the company of Cocoa and Rosestar.

"You've all started opening already, I see," Nyx spoke.

"Nyx. I believe this belongs to you." Twilight brought over Nyx's present.

"Oh. Thank you, mom." 

"What?"

"NOTHING!" Nyx quickly shouted, startling everypony. She had a nervous grin, trying not to reveal her relationship with Twilight from her world.

"A-Alright." Twilight stammered.

"Did I tell you girls about the Hour on Hour swap we'll be doing?" Rarity brought it up. She quickly explained it to her friends of how it'll end up benefiting both worlds. A pretty fair trade, honestly.

Meanwhile, at Canterlot.

Celestia, Luna and Pyrestar looked over at their presents that laid beside the throne room. Compared to everypony else, the three of them had the biggest presents of them all.

"Sister. I didn't know you went above and beyond this year. Usually, you only gift me two presents." Luna commented.

"I did gift you two presents. I'm not sure where the rest of these come from?" Celestia replied. She went up to her own presents, seeing how she had over 12 of them. More than she usually gets. Normally, it's only on her birthday that this many presents can be seen.

"I haven't had Hearth's Warming in so long..." Pyrestar mumbled. "I forgot how great of a feeling this all was..." She felt at peace with all of this. For centuries her world has been a constant struggle. But this world was capable of removing all of those worries in a flash.

"Kir?" Passion picked up her present. She was hoping that she would get what she wished for. By using her psychic mind to open the present, it was revealed to be a mini-replica of Celestia's crown. Made specifically for foals. But it was just the right size to fit the Emotion Pokemon.

"Darkrai. Won't you open your presents?" Luna looked over to her partner, who was lurking in the corner. Unsurprisingly, Darkrai had earned some presents due to his good deeds despite what he's cursed to do forever. Cause nightmares.

"I'll do it later." The Pitch Black Pokemon crossed his arms.

"Suit yourself."

With the students of Hollow, they had decorated the classroom for Hearth's Warming. Hollow had brought along Jewel as per a request from the little foals. To make it here whilst also having Christmas in their world, the two opened up their presents faster than normal.

"Who sent me another Z ring?" Hollow held his gift. It was the Dragon Z-Ring. Something he already owned due to him taking part in the Island trials years ago.

"Oooh! What's that Mr Hollow?" Sapphire went up to the ring.

"A Z-Ring. Ah, I shouldn't really spoil you kids about it. I was planning on showing off mine in a later lesson.

"Aw, we wanna know what it is."Sunrise sighed as he was here with his older brother Daylight.

"Gonna have to wait until next year." He grinned, placing the Z-Ring in his pocket.




Enough time had passed. The normal amount of time it takes for someone to finish opening their presents is around 10 minutes at least. Mostly due to how fast the young ones move.

Ash's Pokemon had all gotten gifts that would make them satisfied for years to come. Bayleef received something similar to what Dragonite got, but on a smaller scale. An Ash plush, but it was the same size as her. 

Hawlucha was given some brand new wrestling suits. Straight from Alola, Unova, Hoenn and Galar. 

Heracross's gift ended up being a bulb he could suck on for months. Not only was that a great present for the Single Horn Pokemon, but Bulbasaur as well. 

It wasn't just them obviously. Goh, Professor Oak, Cerise, Chloe and more had received their own gifts. 

Goh had obtained a replacement Pokedex for him to use. Ever since Manaphy destroyed his original one back at the Crystal Empire, all his progress had been wiped out. 

He had to get a new Pokedex and re-scan all the Pokemon he's caught. But with this replacement dex, not only did it come as a backup, but it also had Goh's original research data with every single Pokemon he's scanned so far. Lucky break.

The time for the Hour on Hour Swap had arrived. First, it shall be Pallet Town. Where the shades of journey's awaits.

Twilight and her friends passed through the gateway as Ash and Goh were right outside of the Ketchum Household, admiring Dragonite's gift.

"A huge Ash plush, huh..." Goh squinted his eyes.

"Yeah. Guess Dragonite really wanted some like this." Ash chuckled.

"Pika..."

"Dra!"

"Hi, Ash! Pikachu! Goh! Raboot! Sobble! Dragonite! Super big Ash plush." Pinkie greeted. She paused for a second to spot the gigantic gift made out of the fabric known as pile. She could see how huggable it was. Pinkie felt compelled to hug it, but it was Dragonite's gift. Although, it was difficult to resist.

"You made it!" Delia opened the door. "Hope you're all ready for the Hour to Hour swap. Let's enjoy both holidays while they last!"

"This is gonna be so fun! I wonder what Christmas is even like?" Sweetie Belle grinned.

"You'll see." Ash ate a chocolate sweet. "Mmm."

Delia's old friends had come over as expected for Christmas. The Ketchum Household might get a bit occupied and crowded with all these visitors.

"Ooh! Is that little Ash?" A cheery friend of Delia ran over. "Look at how much you've grown!"

"Eeugh!" Ash pulled back.

Delia's cheery friend had grabbed Ash's face, squeezing his cheeks and nose. "You look just like that elusive father of yours when he was young! I could just eat you up, you're so cute! Although you still look a bit younger than you should."

"Urrgh..." Ash groaned. "Thanks..."

"Pikachu."

"And are these your pony friends? They're just as adorable!" She went over to Rainbow Dash, grabbing the pegasus's ears. "Why, I would've mistaken you for a Pokemon if I wasn't aware of your world."

"Ghhh..." Rainbow Dash grimaced.

"Sorry about my friend here. She's very chummy." Delia laughed.

"Come on in. There's a lot to do!" Delia had invited every last one of them indoors. The only ones who stayed outside were the Pokemon. But that was because they had their own plans this Christmas and Hearth's Warming.

Indoors, whilst everyone chats away, Twilight could feel something pass her by. This odd feeling was similar to that of the mysterious man who came to Ponyville last night. AKA Santa. She wasn't sure why this happening. Why she could feel his presence all of a sudden. 

The young alicorn looked outside of the window to see the man himself standing there with his Rapidash. Her eyes widened as this was the last thing she was expecting.

However, it was quickly revealed to be a semblance of him. Just an apparition and illusion. Although, it really looked like he was actually there.

Twilight didn't think too much about it. She was just here to enjoy some quality time with friends. 

"How about we watch an old classic!" Delia's sassy friend stood up from the table. "The Yuletide Herdier!" She showed off a Christmas movie about a Herdier.

"Again...?" Her shy friend groaned.  "I'm not sure I want another run of it."

"That's fine. Besides, the ponies could watch it."

"Us? Watch a movie?" Twilight looked up.

"Oh. Do you not have movies over at your world?" Delia asked.

"Well, I just got a TV for a present today. So Nah. Never seen one. But we've been to Pokestar Studios and made movies of our own." "Rainbow replied.

"Then you're in luck. This movie's gonna keep you busy for a loooong time." The sassy friend turned on Delia's TV as she placed the tape inside of her old VHS player.

There is a first time for everything. Watching a movie for the first time is one of those. The ponies all glued their eyes to the television, wondering what could be in store for them once it starts.

Outside with the Pokemon, the shenanigans they got up to went a little something like this. 

Pikachu, who was still holding onto his ketchup bottle, not wanting to let go for a second, had noticed something coming this way up the hill. By squinting his eyes, it looked like a giant snowball was rolling down at top speed all of a sudden.

"Pika?!"

By looking closely at the enormous snowball, Pikachu identified that Pinkie Pie's Spinda was inside the ball of snow. How she got herself into that mess in a short amount of time was unknown to Pikachu.

But what was known was that the impact could be devastating if Spinda keeps rolling.

"Spin-Spin-Spinda!" The Spot Panda Pokemon wailed each time she rolled down the hill.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu called for the others, warning them about the approaching snowball that looked large enough to cover an entire house.

Pikachu attempted to stop the snowball by using Thunderbolt. 100,000 volts of electricity would be enough, but Spinda had kicked up an unusually large amount of snow to the point where it reached a thickness of 451 inches. So Thunderbolt did nothing. 

"Pika?!" The Electric Mouse Pokemon gasped as he quickly turned around to try to evade Spinda. Unfortunately, the snowball was too wide, so he was caught up in it as well.

Raboot and the others made their own attempts to stop the snowball. The Rabbit Pokemon tried an Ember but even that didn't work. 

Eve thought that lifting it with her mind would work. But it didn't. It was way too heavy and thick.

Leavanny had a brilliant idea of using her String Shot to catch it. But snow cannot be affected by bug strings, sadly. So that failed as well.

Everything they tried was ultimately unsuccessful.

However, Dragonite was the one Pokemon in the entire group that had the power to stop the snowball. Unfortunately, the Dragon Pokemon was too busy with its Ash plush to even notice. Oh, well.

Eventually, they had all been absorbed by the snowball. Now Spinda had her friends along for the ride. Wherever the snowballs heads now is a mystery. It'll go where the wind takes it.

"Nite?" Dragonite looked around to see that Pikachu and the others were nowhere to be found. The Dragon Pokemon assumed they had gone off somewhere as an adventure. Back to hugging the Ash plush.

The Pokemon were all screaming as their faces continuously hit the snowy ground which each rollover and over again. It wasn't showing any signs of stopping as it left a trail along the way.

"E-Esp!" Eve gasped for air, poking her head out of the snow. "Espeon!" She decided to use Dazzling Gleam as a method of escaping. That could work.

And it did actually work. By channelling her Fairy magic, Eve had blown the huge snowball into bits. Although, she's still unable to control that much power. So as a result, it had blown all of her friends' sky high into the air.

Eve had also fainted since Dazzling Gleam tends to do that to her. She has a long way to go before she can control something that powerful.

But on the bright side, multiple rainbows could be seen in the skies as they swirled around in different directions.

"Look at that mom!" A little girl pointed up at the rainbows. It was a beautiful spectacle to behold.

Braviary being the resilient Pokemon that he was, quickly recovered in the air, aiming to save his friends. He used Aerial Ace to swoop in, catching Pikachu, Eve and Minccy on his back.

Altaria did the same. By using her cotton wings, she safely rescued Spinda, Flaaffy, Castform and Raboot.

As for the others, it was up to Leavanny. By spreading multiple threads from String Shot, she was able to grab The CMC's Pokemon, Fluttershy's Audino and Chikorita, Goh's Sobble and everyone else by herself.

She was Rarity's strongest Leavanny for a reason. Her string is the thickest out of all 12 of her brothers and sisters.

Gengar could save himself since he was a ghost after all. No problem whatsoever. All of them returned to ground level, catching their breath. That could've gotten ugly quick.

"Pika...Pikachu." Pikachu let out a sigh of relief. They all did. Minus Spinda since it's impossible for her to get tired. In fact, she was feeling like doing it again since it was so much fun.

"Spin! Spinda!" Spinda asked her friends if it would be okay if they did it again. This time she promises not to go overboard.

They all looked at each other, wondering if it was a good idea at all since the last one sent them flying.

"Nine. Ninetales." Ninetales had decided that as long as they keep a good eye on the troublesome Spot Panda Pokemon, it'll be okay. He seemed to be a fairly good voice of reason here

They all collectively agreed. It was a little bit fun when they were moving around. The rush of moving at top speeds was something to enjoy.

So, they did it again. By returning to Pallet Town, each of the Pokemon climbed up the hill Spinda had come down from originally. 

"Pony!" Ponyta dug his face in the snow, not sure how to properly start rolling down.

"Dino. Audino." Audino had gladly shown the Pokemon who didn't know how to start snowball rolls. By using their wings, paws, claws, hooves and whatever limbs they all own, huge piles of snow had been gathered.

The party made their own snowballs as they collectively entered inside of them. Now they just relax and go along for the ride.



Back at Ponyville, Team Rocket had just recovered from being blasted off since yesterday. They were freezing due to all of this snow falling. The trio returned to Zecora's Hut to catch some warmth, hopefully.

Their mentor Zecora had been expecting them since their break had finally come to an end.

"I see that your break has reached its end. Come inside. You'll need all the warmth you can get." Zecora said.

"Thanks..." James sneezed.

She helped her apprentices get warm as they were huddled up in a corner.

"I must ask why you continue to steal from those two?" Zecora was referring to Ash and Pikachu. "Do they possess something that you are just constantly drawn to?"

"Ugh..." Jessie rubbed her nose. "It's all for the boss."

"Mhm." James nodded. "That Pikachu's one of a kind. The boss wants a rare and powerful Pokemon after all."

"And he's definitely one of them. It packs quite a punch. Mostly to us." Meowth sighed.

"Wobbuffet."

"One of a kind you say? I understand he's powerful but every day?" Zecora chuckled. "You have been doing this for 24 years, quite some time. Are you sure that this one Pikachu is really worth all this nonstop crime?"

"Team Rocket sticks to their guts no matter what!" The trio said with confidence.

Zecora smiled at that. She knew there was no convincing them to change their minds about catching Pikachu. They are what they are. Perhaps one day, they'll change drastically. But for now, Zecora can rest easy knowing that she has some fairly impressive apprentices who are also skilled in rhyming such as her.

As a show of gratitude, Zecora herself had even prepared presents for the troublesome trio. They deserve some at times.



Back at Pallet Town, the group had a swap over once 2 hours had passed. Ash and Goh hung out with the ponies in their world along with Delia's friends. The movie they had just watched had just come to an end since it was 2 hours as well.

Fluttershy was a personal fan of it as she wouldn't stop talking about her favourite parts in the movie. Which was all of them. Applejack felt like protecting Winona at all costs after watching it. She's already dedicated her life to protecting her family, but after that Herdier movie, her urge was greater than before.

Ash got a taste of some Hearth's Warming foods. He almost choked on a lot of them since they were so new to him.

Dragonite saw how badly Pinkie wanted to hug the Ash plush. So out of generosity, Dragonite allowed the pink pony to hug it all she likes.

Ash tested out his special Poke Ball to see what it could really do. There were instructions on the back telling him to heat something with it. He placed it near Nyx who was freezing and it worked like a charm. She had felt a nice warmth run through her body.

Twilight received a special Pokemon book that was actually a huge help. It contained further and higher knowledge of the Pokemon World, including the Legends and Myths. She needed this for their Jirachi search. Perhaps, this book can help them find Jirachi quicker.

Rainbow returned to Cloudsdale to see how this TV thing worked. Normally, it would physically impossible for it to work in the sky since it would need a source for the plug to go in.

Except, Santa found a way around it. He is magical after all. So essentially, she could use it whilst in the sky. All she had to do was place the screen on her wall. A perfect view to read and watch.

They continuously did 2-hour swaps from each of their worlds, hanging around, watching even more movies, eating whatever food they could stuff in their mouths, testing out their presents, some pretty neat ice skating near Saddle Lake etcetera.

Eventually, enough time had passed to the point where the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony could begin. There was one huge tree in the Pokemon World for every region to see.

But for Equestria, they wouldn't be exempt from this. Ben had decided to bring along a second tree for all of Equestria to see. It was going to be something they wouldn't forget for sure.

The tree had been placed at Canterlot since that's where things get busy. And thankfully, the tree was so large that no matter where you are in Equestria, you'll be able to see it. From Ponyville to Yak-Yakistan.

With the night sky gracing both worlds, every species out there gathered around to see the lights. 

There was a moment of anticipation. Mostly for the ponies. This would be their first-ever lighting ceremony experience.

They didn't have to wait any longer as the time had come. With a countdown going from 3, 2, 1, the lights had revealed themselves. 

With a sudden flash, a gentle and flattering array of lights had gleam with all the colours that exist in the world. The way they showed up was similar to that of the sun coming over the horizon as the Christmas star on top shined brighter than anything else here.

The golden star sparkled across both worlds. It shimmered the lands and glimmered the skies. No matter what part of the world they were in, these lights were impossible to miss with all their luminescence. 

Gazing at them gave everyone a sense of cessation and harmony. It reminded them all that despite the hardships they had gone through, despite how little the ponies may still know about Pokemon it all turned out good. The humans were constantly helping them understand Pokemon and they were building new friendships along the way. With the year reaching its end, they could rest easy.

Santa was high above the skies, looking over both worlds by travelling through the gateways. He was truly happy that so many species of all kinds could come together for this one day for 24 hours. 

"Well, Rapidash. Delibird. We've got a lot more presents to deliver next year. And the year after that. I think these two worlds will surely stay together."

"Rapidash!"

"Delibird!"

"Ho-ho-ho! Off we go!"

And with that, he took his leave, returning to the North Pole to relax until Christmas and Hearth's Warming come by once more as the journey continues.


Chapter 239 End.