"Hmmm...this might come across as rude, but how does your strength compare to others from your world...?" asked Korrina, standing over, or, more accurately, behind Jason as she spotted him lifting 50kg. He had initially been able to lift more, but after working out for nearly six and a half hours, his arms felt increasingly numb.
"Most people never exercised...and many were overweight...so I should be around the middle of the pack...at least from my country..." answered Jason, lifting with his eyes closed so his gaze didn't wander someplace it shouldn't. He wasn't sure if it was because she was trying to flirt with him or because she lacked vigilance, but with how close she was standing to where his head was lying, it would have been possible to see up the legs of her shorts if he deigned to look. Would he see anything? Probably not. But that wasn't an excuse to feign that he couldn't.
"Overweight? Did your world have rules about the weight people were supposed to be at? I would think that with nine billion people, you'd have issues supplying people with enough food to survive..." remarked Korrina, sounding genuinely confused as she helped Jason rack his weights.
"Mmn...well, some countries were a lot more prosperous than others. I was fortunate to be born in arguably the most prosperous. Though as an orphan, I didn't exactly have it easy..." answered Jason, rising to a seated position before using the towel he had been using to cover his crotch, just in case, to wipe his face.
"Oh...did you also lose your parents...?" asked Korrina, her usually cheerful voice notably subdued.
"I'm honestly not sure. I was found abandoned as an infant..." answered Jason, turning to face Korrina with a patient expression as he expressed, "I'm sorry to hear that you lost your parents. Is it something you want to talk about...?"
"It's not a happy subject, but it's not something I'm uncomfortable with discussing..." answered Korrina, regaining a faint smile as she stated, "In the end, they both died doing what they loved—protecting Pokémon and uncovering the secrets of our world. My dad was a Pokémon Ranger, and my mom was a Geomorphologist. They died four years apart. And though our time was cut short, they and my grandfather helped to shape me into the person and Trainer I am today."
"You're really incredible..." muttered Jason, inadvertently expressing his thoughts aoud . Fortunately, Korrina seemed to approve, the corners of her smile curling upward as she teased, "Thanks. Hearing that from a guy who had sixty-three million followers means a lot. Now, help me swap out these plates. Watching others train and work out makes me itch to do the same."
"Sure thing..." responded Jason, rising from the bench and helping Korrina remove the smaller weights he had on to replace them with six additional plates, each weighing twenty kilograms. This brought the total weight to a startling 160kg, leaving Jason at a loss when she revealed, "I usually work with four hundred kilos, but since it's pretty late and I'm not trying to work myself up, we'll go with something on the lighter side."
"Is that normal in this world...?" asked Jason, positioning himself where Korrina had been standing previously, his body tensing and a feeling of unease washing over him as she lay down and gazed up at him with her clear blue eyes, ostensibly unconcerned by the angle as she answered, "I wouldn't say it's normal. But as a Fighting-type Gym Leader, my Pokémon wouldn't respect me if I were weak and didn't train. If you're asking to set yourself a goal, you'll need to be able to carry two one-hundred-kilogram sandbags a minimum distance of six kilometers to pass the exam required to become a Trainer."
Without waiting for Jason to put his hands on the bar, Korrina unracked it and began smoothly pumping it with no observable difficulty. Her fair skin began to perspire a bit after twenty repetitions, but it wasn't until fifty that she started slowing down—all while holding Jason's gawking, increasingly awed gaze.
"You're eyes are going to dry out if you keep staring so intently," quipped Korrina, snapping Jason from his stupor and giggling with narrowed eyes when she saw him startle and open his mouth like he wanted to make an excuse but couldn't find the words.
As Jason looked away from her, clearly embarrassed, Korrina took the liberty of racking her weights on her seventy-second repetition and sat up. Then, gazing back at him curiously, she asserted, "There's no need to be embarrassed, Jason. At the very least, I'm not trying to embarrass you. I just find your reactions cute. They give the impression that you're a very innocent and pure person. Luca agrees—though he says you harbor a lot of self-doubt as well."
"..."
Though he was tempted to point out how late it was and to ask Korrina to return another time, Jason remained silent. He didn't like talking about his personal problems and failings, but Korrina had been kind to him. He was also more than a little curious to see what would happen if he raised their Bond Level beyond [Acquainted], so after a lengthy, increasingly awkward silence, he confessed, "I'm...not good with people..."
"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Korrina, scooting over on the bench and patting the space she had made with her left hand, her smile friendly and her eyes devoid of the judgment so many others directed at Jason as she stated, "I'm a good listener."
"I don't doubt that in the slightest..." sighed Jason, adopting a tired smile as he sat in the space Korrina had prepared, doing his best to ignore how good she smelled as he revealed, "Back in my world, people regarded me as a prodigy. I absorbed knowledge like a sponge, and I blew through my early education much faster than my peers..."
Shaking his head, hanging it, and slumping his shoulders, memories he would prefer to forget invariably resurfaced in Jason's mind as he stated, "At first, being showered with praise from practically every adult I knew made me happy—made me feel complete. But in what felt like the blink of an eye, I quickly found myself surrounded by people much older than me. And in place of praise, I began being burdened with expectations and told how I should study certain things over others, and how the things I found interesting were a waste of my time and talents. Then there was the envy and resentment of my peers, people often twice my age or more. To them, I wasn't a prodigy nor a colleague...I was a monster whose presence and shadow kept their own brilliance from being recognized..."
"They sound like a bunch of self-centered jerks and bullies..." muttered Korrina, causing Jason to tense as she placed her left hand on his back and gently stroked the space between and below his shoulders. She was also viewed as a prodigy, having secured first place in the Kalos League Conference at age eleven, becoming a Reserve Gym Leader at twelve, and an official Gym Leader at fourteen. She knew what it was like to be burdened by the hopes and expectations of others, so while she wasn't aware of the specifics of Jason's personal struggles, Korrina believed she could empathize with him.
Catching Jason completely off guard, Korrina asked him, "Do you want to put your head on my lap? When I was younger, my mom and dad would often run their fingers through my hair to comfort me, and Luca seems to enjoy it when I do the same for him."
Following several seconds of silent deliberation, Jason ultimately shook his head and responded, "I sincerely appreciate the offer...but where I'm from, people only do things like that with close family or their boyfriends and girlfriends. I would like us to be friends, but someone with your looks and personality...you could do a lot better than me..."
"Hmmm...you saying that kind of makes me want to prove you wrong by making you my boyfriend..." revealed Korrina, leaving Jason at a loss for words as she gently bumped him with her shoulder and said, "You might not understand this now, but the similarities between people as Pokémon are infinite. Even the smallest and weakest Bug-type can be trained to fell a Dragon-type if it's given enough care and attention. If you lack strength and confidence, you can obtain them. And if you can't do it alone, don't be afraid to lean on others for support and motivation..."
Leaving Jason at an even greater loss, Korrina scooted away from him and said, "Now, put your head down..." in a faint, supportive tone while hooking her left hand around his neck. Jason felt like his joints had been replaced with rusty machine parts, but with Korrina guiding him, he soon found his head on her soft and startlingly fragrant thighs. He had thought that lap pillows were something that only occurred in anime, but there he was, experiencing one for real.
'Though, with the changes in my appearance and body, I may as well be an anime character...' noted Jason, doing his best to distract himself and not have a physiological reaction. With how casual she was about things, he suspected Korrina wouldn't mind if he began pitching a tent. He, on the other hand, minded greatly. Thus, while he enjoyed the feeling of her thin and deceptively powerful fingers combing through his hair, Jason busied himself recounting digits of pi, reaching 383 digits before a disconcerting tension began to permeate his briefs. Fortunately, his shorts were baggy and his briefs form-fitting, keeping his figurative beast concealed, even if it was wide awake...
...
..
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"This has been very therapeutic, but I should probably get going," stated Korrina, checking the wall clock to see that it was past 10 PM. She had much to take care of before she personally called it a night, so after Jason raised his head from her lap, she stood up, stretched her arms to their full length above her head, and animatedly wiggled her hips from side to side for a brief moment before placing her hands on her hips and leaning back a considerable amount to stare at him, suggesting, "We probably won't be able to tomorrow, but if you're willing, I can oversee your training once we get medically cleared. Not everyone is suited to the lifestyle of a Fighter-type Pokémon Trainer, but if you really spent the whole afternoon training, you shouldn't be lacking in perseverance."
"I'd like that..." affirmed Jason, remaining seated as he was afraid Korrina would realize his current condition if he stood. He wasn't the type to brag about such things, but if he stood, it would be exceedingly evident that he wasn't as pure or innocent as Korrina believed.
"Alright, then, I'll see you tomorrow or whenever the League allows us to meet again~" said Korrina, giving a parting peace sign before turning and making her way toward the entrance. As she did, Jason, for the briefest of moments, couldn't resist stealing a glance at her bubbly, shorts-clad butt. He looked away almost immediately, but with a short-term memory some would describe as eidetic, the image was briefly burned into his mind like a photo on a reel. It was far from flawless, but if he were handed a pencil and a sheet of paper, he could reproduce the focal point of the engraved image as if he had the reference right in front of him...
Stopping with her left hand on the entrance's door, Korrina peered back over her shoulder and saw that Jason was still seated, facing away from her. Seeing this caused her eyes to narrow and a somewhat mischievous smile to develop across her face. But since she didn't want to give him a bad impression of her, she resisted her almost instinctual urge to double-back and tease him. Luckily, he had agreed to let her oversee his training. Unless the League intervened, that meant she would have plenty of time and opportunities to tease him to her satisfaction later...
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