>>16904447As the two get ready to head back to the Pokemon Center, Alice suddenly remembers something pivotal.
"O-Oh mum-mum! I almost forgot! My present, my present!~"
"Your present? You mean Torchic?"
Alice tugs on Serena's purse, shaking her head briskly, "No no, no no!~ Remembah I told you, um, about Dellydelly givin' me a present? I had to wait until Christmas, and now it's Christmas! Can I open it, please please please?"
Serena shrugs, "I don't see why not. Here, let me see if I still have it.."
While Serena searches her purse for the gift, Torchic hops up on Alice's head and makes herself comfortable. As far as she's concerned, it's her new personal nest.
"Chic, chic, Torchic!"
"Ahh, here it is. Here you go, Alice. Now don't just tear it up in the first five seconds because we could recycle the pa-"
Alice enthusiastically shreds the wrapping paper into a million tiny pieces.
"...per..."
Two slips of paper are propelled into the air by Alice's rambunctious unwrapping, and daintily glide downward until they fall into Serena's hands.
Alice on the other hand, takes the other gift in the box. It's a small silver bell, "Ooooh, mum-mum, mum-mum look, a bell--a bell!~"
"Hm? Oh, that's not just any bell, that's a Soothe Bell, Alice. You attach it to Pokemon so that they can become more friendlier towards their owners."
>Soothe Bell get!"Ohhhh, I'ma give it 'tah Torchic!" she announces with a cheer, which Torchic mimics with an equal amount of glee. A Soothe Bell... In Alice's possession, such an item and a simple pat or two would be all it takes for a Pokemon to grow devoted as fuck to protecting her.
Serena turns her attention to the slips of paper in her hand, which turn out to be tickets.
"'You have been formally invited to the annual Coumarine Snow Ball'... Oh my...""Alice, just out of curiosity, do you want to go to a ball?"
"What'sa ball?~"
"That sounds like a yes to me."
