With the Great Class ranks being cemented after a week of increasingly challenging battles, Jason was relieved to learn that Korrina, Maeve, and Nanahoshi had all made it into the Ultra Class. Korrina cut it close at Rank 97, but since two of the opponents she had lost to managed to secure the 11th and 15th Ranks, they didn't weigh as heavily against her.
"You have my permission to praise me..." Nanahoshi hummed, looking particularly pleased with herself as she approached Jason near a buffet table displaying a roasted Slowpoke. Chairman Rose had invited the top 99 Trainers to a lavish banquet in their honor. Additional guests included particularly affluent sponsors and media groups from all League-affiliated regions, so Jason was naturally there as Lillie's plus-one.
"Congratulations, Nana. Securing the 37th seed in the Ultra Class is proof of your effort. But I believe you will rank even higher by the Conference's conclusion..." Jason expressed politely, followed by a slow, approving nod.
"Ugh...don't speak in such a polite manner. You're going to make me throw up..." Nanahoshi retorted flatly, scrunching her nose as if she had smelled something sour.
"I mean what I said, though. I wasn't there to witness everything you've endured till now, but I know you've worked hard to reach this point. It has been both an honor and a pleasure getting to know you..." Jason insisted, holding Nanahoshi's gaze with a genuinely appreciative smile.
"You talk too much..." Nanahoshi retorted, her expression and tone flat as she turned to leave. Unfortunately, her rather abrupt departure didn't stop Jason from noticing that the tips of her ears had turned red.
'Simply incredible...' Jason mused, his eyes following Nanahoshi's retreat for several seconds. She was modeling a strapless teal cocktail dress with a three-layer frilled skirt and heels. And with her fair brown hair tied up in a neatly braided bun, she was stunning to the point he was both surprised and relieved to have not fumbled his words.
'Let's just hope I can stay this composed the rest of the evening...' Jason sighed, grabbing two plates full of food and returning to the table that he and Lillie shared with another affluent couple, specifically the daughter of the Silph Company's President, Yumi Saffron, and her husband, the son of a Kanto-based media group, Erich Giovanna...
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"Huuaaaaaaaaaaagh..."
Though the banquet had ended fairly early at 8 PM, it wasn't until after 11 that Jason was able to sink into his hot spring, a profoundly relieved sigh emanating from his throat.
"That was a big sigh," remarked a naturally raspy voice, followed by Bea, naked as the day she was born and hair tied back into a ponytail, taking a seat not far from where Jason had entered the hot spring.
"Jason really enjoys baths. And this hot spring happens to be great for helping the body and mind recover after a particularly long day," Korrina explained, slipping into the water between Jason and Bea.
"It's certainly convenient—having your own pocket world and a hot spring you can take around with you. I wonder if this is how Pokémon feel inside their Poké Balls...?" posed a petite woman with a tight, athletic build, short pink hair that flared out at the base, and matching pink eyes that were full of determination. If she tensed, nearly every muscle in her body could be seen, making it clear she trained regularly—often excessively.
"It would definitely make resting during a journey easier..." affirmed a tall, slender woman with notably long legs, pale, green-hued amber eyes, and off-white hair that was usually fixed into hip-length twin tails—dyed green at the ends to resemble leeks. Her low-hanging bangs had a mix of green and orange strands, and though her voice was incredibly pleasing to hear, her sharp gaze gave the impression she was half a beat away from firing off laser heat vision.
"On the topic of journeys—Mikan, Maylene, what do the two of you think about traveling to Alola and taking on the Island Challenge? I believe that Z-Moves have amazing potential, especially in the hands of Fighting-type specialists like us," Korrina contended.
"I'm not the biggest fan of hot, tropical weather. But if it will only take a month or two to complete, I might consider checking it out..." responded the sharp-eyed, leek-haired woman—Mikan Hatsune. Like everyone else present, sans Jason, she was a Fighting-type specialist. However, while Korrina, Bea, and the pink-haired Maylene were famed Gym Leaders, she was the top-ranked Subway Boss of the Unova Region.
"As for me, I don't mind hot and humid weather. But if I'm away for too long, I worry that my father might bankrupt us with his gambling habit..." Maylene sighed, drawing Jason's gaze as she briefly stepped in front of him before sitting down. She didn't have much to see from the waist up, but he was surprised to learn she had a rather substantial carpet—which was confirmed to match her drapes.
"I'm planning to head there after the annual Galar Conference. With any luck, the Alola Gym Challenge will be ready before then..." Bea revealed, mostly for Maylene's and Mikan's benefit. She had already agreed to visit Alola at Korrina's insistence, but it wouldn't be for another twenty months, at the earliest.
"That lines up with when I'm planning to visit. If you're up for it, we can travel and shoot some PR or Pokévision videos together," Korrina offered, prompting Bea to tilt her head back as if she were imagining and seriously considering the proposition.
Shifting her attention to Jason, Bea surprised him by asking, "What about you? I know you'll be attending the Pokémon School on Melemele Island, but with your disposition and Ren's strength, I don't believe it will be long before you graduate."
"Hold on. This boy isn't a Trainer...?" Mikan questioned, her brows rising in an almost imperceptible expression of surprise. Korrina had invited them over to meet her boyfriend, so she had presumed that Jason was at least as skilled as a Gym Leader.
"I'm just as surprised. With how much Korrina was gushing over you and your Lucario, I assumed you had at least completed a Gym Challenge or two..." Maylene tacked on, her eyes nearly as wide as they could get while eyeing Jason as if he were some alien creature.
"For reasons outside of his control, Jaston has started later than the rest of us. But he's super smart, and both he and Ren work really hard. I have no doubt he'll catch up and maybe even surpass us in the future," Korrina asserted, bumping Jason with her shoulder as she teased, "Not that Luca and I have any intention of being surpassed."
"Hmn...well, he certainly looks like he trains hard..." Mikan conceded, her sharp eyes scanning Jason's chest and abs before she extended her left hand to test the latter's firmness. She was seated immediately to his left, so as she turned her body to do so, her modest but well-shaped breasts nestled against his bicep.
'Inner peace...' Jason repeated to himself, doing his best to regard Mikan's actions as those of a Doctor or Nurse palpating a patient. Fortunately, her hand didn't linger for too long before she nodded, asserting, "You've got a great body..." while looking directly at him.
"I could say the same about everyone here..." Jason responded calmly. Bea and Maylene were lacking in the bust department, particularly in the latter's case. But their bodies had a sense of balance found only in those who had dedicated their lives to mastering their physical form.
"No. Mikan is right. Most guys who pack on a lot of muscle end up really broad around the waist. You must have a really lean and restrictive diet," Maylene remarked, scooting toward and leaving Jason at a brief loss as she unabashedly straddled his right shin and placed all of her weight onto it. He knew her actions were completely innocuous from her point of view, but his body didn't care what he believed.
"..."
Derailing the segue into diet and exercise, the gazes of every girl present were drawn downward as a certain part of Jason stuck its head out of the water to see what was going on.
"Did I miss something? Why is your penis suddenly swelling...?" Maylene questioned, genuinely bewildered as she had never seen such a reaction in her twenty-three years of life.
"It's a little early, but that's another reason I wanted to introduce you all to Jason..." Korrina started, her smile briefly cramping before she went on to explain Jason's unique physiology to her three rivals. They had already been informed that he was from a different world, so they didn't find it too odd that his physiology was different from that of other men. They found it difficult to comprehend how something so large was meant to fit inside another person, but Korrina was more than willing to provide them with a demonstration...
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'I think I might be traumatized...' Jason thought, hunched over a sink and staring at himself shirtless in a mirror. He didn't feel violated, exactly, but even though a few hours had passed since the mostly unplanned ménage à cinq, he felt sensitive. Maylene's insides, in particular, had been so tight that he needed to be pinned down to prevent his hips from rising with her when she took him for a ride...
'That makes fifteen separate women you've slept with...' Jason reminded himself, raising his gaze to stare at his reflection. He expected to find dull, borderline villainous eyes staring back at him. Instead, while he looked a little haggard due to getting less than two hours of sleep, his amber eyes were clear, almost vibrant.
kacha
Interrupting Jason's reflections, Lillie entered the bathroom, her brows rising slightly when she noticed how he was positioned.
"Is everything okay...?" Lillie asked, making her way over to and hugging Jason's waist from behind.
"If they weren't before, they are now..." Jason responded, turning to face Lillie before wrapping her tenderly in her arms and simply holding her for several seconds. The difference in their heights placed her ear level with his heart, so as he cradled her head to his chest, she could hear and feel its beating.
"Have you made any plans for today...?" Lillie asked, her tone measured, soothing.
"I've finished my Foundation Training for the day, but Ren will feel anxious if we don't get in at least an hour or two in the gym..." Jason answered, his voice similarly soft as he proposed, "After that, how about studying as we used to back in Alola? I miss us sitting, reading, and cuddling together for hours on end..."
"Then that is precisely how we'll spend our afternoon~" Lillie affirmed, her words tinged with mirth that, to Jason, sounded like a soft, pleasant, and indescribably soothing chime...
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With everyone busy with conferences or preparing for matches, Jason was able to spend nearly the entire day with Ren, Lillie, Runa, Dinah, and, to a lesser extent, Dex. This included exercising together, going for a long walk in the nearby park, and, as they had promised, reading together on a comfy, resilient beanbag. That latter was important, as, after waking from her midday nap and seeing him and Lillie sitting together, Ren insisted on practicing her reading in the same manner.
Fortunately for Ren, while Jason felt that the beanbag might burst at any moment, it persisted. The position was also markedly less compromising than having her sit and fidget atop his lap while spectating WCS matches, so while Lillie snuggled with Runa atop a separate beanbag, Jason mostly listened attentively as Ren sounded out most words without issue. He had to explain what several of them meant, but at the rate she was improving, he suspected it wouldn't be more than a few months before she was able to read, speak, and possibly even write fluently...
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