Our young trio finds themselves late to setting up winter holiday decorations this year. Despite this, the three were determined to have a tree decorated in the living area of their little college dorm before the new year.

Having spent most of the day cleaning their dorm rooms from top to bottom, all that remained was to decorate their tree. Working late into the night, it came time to hang lights and ornaments. But, with only one ladder to share between the three of them and curfew fast approaching, Buizel shut all the blinds and proposed he and Riolu try something 'different' to expedite adding decorations.

With the help of some helium, the two elastic members of the trio swelled like balloons and quickly found themselves pinned to the ceiling. And after a few minutes of shaking off some light-headedness, and a few more for a bit of trial-and-error-acrobatics, both Buizel and Riolu found they were able to jump down from the ceiling, pick up ornaments from a cardboard container on the ground, and place them on the upper parts of their tree - all the while Shinx could handle decorating the lower portions.

Moving like clockwork, their tree quickly took shape. Buizel, being more experienced with his elastic ability seemed to have no problem maneuvering through the air despite his buoyant form. His movements seemed natural, albeit somewhat restricted, as he skillfully kicked off the ceiling, picked up decorations, and moved to place them around the tree. Riolu on the other hand wasn't as experienced and visibly less coordinated. He more frequently shuffled his feet for balance while trying to stand inverted and oftentimes found himself bouncing along the ceiling having misjudged his 'landing' after jumping down. This however didn't stop him from trying and with time he slowly started to get the hang of things.

As the moon rose higher into the night sky and rising pressure being felt by all three to wrap things up soon, the boys couldn't help but exchange some laughter at the hilarity of what they were doing. Shinx in particular couldn't help himself sometimes, particularly whenever he heard an audible *bwoonngg* because it probably meant either Riolu or Buizel had just rebouded off the ceiling after misjudging their kick. If he looked up fast enough, he could sometimes catch either (or both) of them bouncing helplessly until they could regain their 'footing'.

With only a few decorations left, Buizel and Shinx started wrapping a red and gold ribbon around the tree.

"Okay Shinx, how's it looking?" Buizel asked from the ceiling, one paw holding onto the ribbon and the other propping himself against the ceiling.

"Hold on, let me see." Shinx took several steps back for a better look at the tree. "Oh yeah! It's looking great! But, maybe wrap it a bit tighter near the top." Raising a paw, he gestured to Buizel to reposition the ribbon.

"Like this?"

"Yup! That'll do. Pin it there if you can." Shinx replied with a radiant smile, pleased with how well the tree was turning out. "Now all we need is the sta-"

"... Need the what?" Buizel asked, turning his attention to Shinx whose smile was replaced with one of surprise and growing concern.

Following Shinx's gaze, Buizel's eyes widened as he realized Riolu was steadily inflating larger in a losing battle over control of the air inside him - nearly doubling in size in the last minute.

.....

Despite all their best efforts and all was seemingly going well,
Now, all Buizel and Shinx could do was watch their friend swell,
With only a few decorations left ahead of January the first,
It was only a matter of time until one of them looked like they were going to burs-

---

Trying some perspective drawing this time around. And don't worry, Riolu was fine. It just became a bit cramped in the living room for a while... xD

Happy Holidays to all and Best Wishes for a Happy 2025 :)


Shinx, Riolu, and Buizel © The Pokémon Company