It was 11 o’clock on Christmas Eve, and the 3rd floor halls of Rocket HQ were deserted. Room 319, located on the main hallway, was cold, silent, and empty. Well, not quite empty...

Meowth had snuck away from the Boss’s annual Christmas Party a bit early this year. He had already received his Christmas bonus earlier in the evening. Besides, Meowth couldn’t stand watching that lousy Persian strutting around, looking down its refined nose at him. The little cat hated Persians, especially the Boss’s pet. Meowth knew that one day he would be the Boss’s favorite again, provided that his team managed to capture Pikachu. But until then, he preferred to avoid the nasty Persian’s snotty, condescending looks whenever possible.

Shaking his head, Meowth cleared all thoughts of Pikachu, Persians, and the Boss from his mind. There were much more important things to be done tonight. Things that only a clever cat could accomplish. Things to make this Christmas the best one ever. Glancing up and down the hallway to be sure he was alone, Meowth carefully placed a claw into the door’s lock. After a few seconds, he was rewarded with a soft click as the door unlocked. Even though this was his own room, Meowth didn’t want to give away his secret mission by asking Jessie and James for the keys. And leaving any door unlocked in the Rocket HQ was asking for trouble. Meowth preferred to do things his own, sneaky way.

Softly closing the door behind him, Meowth lit two tall Christmas candles on the dining room table, bathing the small room in a warm glow. Taking a small package from underneath a loose floorboard, the cat nimbly leapt up to a shelf on the wall, smiling at his own secret plan. Brushing aside some holiday knickknacks, he settled down to wait for his friends to arrive. He guessed they’d be back in about half an hour. Meowth closed his eyes and began to doze.

Fifteen minutes later, Meowth jumped as he heard a key rattling in the door’s lock. It seemed that his friends hadn’t stayed for the whole party, but instead ducked out early just as he had done. Meowth laughed to himself. That’s all right, he thought. They’ll just get their surprise a little earlier.

Jessie and James entered the room laughing. It was clear that they had enjoyed the party.

"I can’t remember the last time I saw so many cookies!" James was saying. He patted his stomach fondly.

"And I can’t remember the last time I saw so many cookies disappear into your mouth!" Jessie added playfully. "It’ll take you weeks to work off all you ate at the party."

"I don’t care," James said happily. "This is the one time each year that we all eat for free!"

Jessie sighed, her eyes glowing. "Free food. What a lovely concept." She stopped, looking around the room. "Which reminds me, where’s Meowth? He never misses a free meal."

James looked thoughtful. "I guess he left the party early. Maybe he had other plans."

"You bet I did!" called Meowth from the high shelf.

"Meowth? What are you doing up there?" demanded Jessie.

"And why didn’t you stay at the party?" asked James. "You missed the donuts!"

"I had prior engagements to take care of. Something that concerns you two."

"Us?" Jessie and James asked simultaneously.

Meowth smiled mysteriously. "I wanted to make sure your Christmas present was just purr-fect this year."

"But Christmas isn’t until tomorrow morning," insisted Jessie. "We always exchange gifts then."

"That’s right," added James. "We shouldn’t break tradition."

"I think we may start a new tradition this year," Meowth snickered. "Once you see what I’ve cooked up."

Jessie groaned. "I hope you don’t mean that literally. The last time you cooked anything, you caught the stove on fire and wound up burning a hole right through the floor... and into the ceiling of the Boss’s office!"

"I remember he made us pay for all the damages, after we cleaned out his entire office," continued James.

"And that hassle when the fire department showed up..."

"When those Squirtles totally soaked his office..."

"No, no, no!" Meowth insisted. "I didn’t cook this time!"

"Then what DID you do?"

"Don’t keep us waiting all night, Meowth."

"WOULD YOU TWO QUIT YAPPIN’ AND LISTEN TO ME???" Meowth finally yelled. Jessie and James froze, mid-sentence. "NOW! I’m gonna give you two your Christmas gift RIGHT NOW and it’s NOT anything I cooked so just SHUT UP and let me get it, OK?" They nodded. "Good!"

They stared at Meowth as he turned to pick up the package. "But you’ve gotta close your eyes first," he continued, "or it won’t be a surprise."

Meowth retrieved the item from its box and dangled it over their heads, snickering uncontrollably. This was absolutely perfect!

"All right, you can look now," he called, barely able to restrain his excitement.

Jessie and James looked up.

"Is... is that..." Jessie’s voice was little more than a whisper as her cheeks blushed a bright pink.

"That’s... that’s..." James stammered. They both stared at the bundle of berries in shock.

"For cryin’ out loud!" Meowth said. "Ain’t you two ever seen mistletoe before?" He paused, giving them a broad wink. "And you know what mistletoe means!"

"It is a tradition, after all," said James, looking at Jessie hopefully.

"I guess..." Jessie added with a nervous smile. "I guess we don’t have a choice, do we?"

Jessie and James shyly smiled at each other, as James took Jessie in his arms. Slowly, a bit shakily, they moved closer and closer together. Jessie put her arms around James’s neck as they leaned in toward each other and their eyes gently closed. An instant later, their lips pressed together. For a magical moment, Jessie and James were finally able to convey their feelings for each other that words could never describe. In their own private world, magical fireworks exploded, angels filled the air with song, and stars whirled around them in a dizzying kaleidoscope of color. Time held its breath as Meowth’s mistletoe worked its magic.

Several full minutes later, Jessie and James opened their eyes and returned to the everyday world, still shaking from the experience of their wonderful kiss. They stared at each other in wonder for a few moments until Meowth interrupted their trance-like state.

"So, did you like your Christmas present?" he asked with a roguish smile.

Jessie and James ran to Meowth and lifted him from the high shelf, hugging him with joy.

"This was the best Christmas gift ever!"

"I can’t believe you planned all this yourself!"

"Meowth, you’re the greatest friend ever!"

"Whatever would we do without you?"

Meowth just closed his eyes and purred. It was nice to be appreciated.