"That tunnel that opened in the wall was an Ultra Wormhole. And those people who came through were dressed like members of Team Rainbow Rocket..." Jason attested.
"Yup. That's the conclusion the Champion Council came to as well, using the intel you provided," Iris affirmed. "That's also why we're here now—to accelerate the Foundation's research. We can't allow these Team Rainbow Rocket goons to hop in and out of our world as they please."
"The League will need to be prepared for some tough battles. If this Team Rainbow Rocket is anything like its counterpart in the games, then each of its core members will have a Legendary Pokémon in their possession. And their leader, Giovanni, has Mewtwo..." Jason cautioned, his brows creased and his expression grim.
"That's not that big an issue—so long as we have the means to take the fight to our opponents," Iris asserted, leaning her head back and smiling up at Jason as she questioned, "Did you think the League lacks access to Legendaries? I've encountered at least a dozen, and I'm on friendly terms with Unova's Guardians."
"Do you mean Reshiram and Zekrom...?" Jason asked.
"Tangentially. Guardians are a Class of Trainers who have captured or befriended a Legendary Pokémon, earning themselves a special status. The League essentially provides whatever they require to care for their Legendaries. In exchange, they help to maintain balance in their regions and resolve problems even Champions can't handle—at least, not on our own," Iris explained.
"It sounds like the League has its work cut out for it..." Jason remarked, causing Iris to blink and tilt her head.
"It's not just us, Jason. You and those Constellations you're in contact with are at the heart of this incident," Iris asserted, questioning, "How else would Team Rainbow Rocket have known where your attacker was being kept? You know how thorough our searches are. So, unless it was kept somewhere we didn't have access to, he couldn't have concealed a locator beacon from us."
"Is there something specific the League is asking of me?" Jason asked, ready to help. The League had treated him more than fairly, and, were it not for the quick action of Phoebe, his attacker almost assuredly would have escaped. He owed them his cooperation.
"You require AP to purchase information from the Constellations, right?" Iris asked, causing Jason's stomach to sink as if he had just swallowed a heavy stone. Fortunately, things didn't immediately head in the direction he feared.
"We want you to provide us with a thorough list of your Quests and the objectives you need to satisfy to earn AP. The League will then help you to fulfill them—with the expectation that you will use the AP we help you to acquire to purchase information and otherworldly items," Iris explained, noting, "That's what you've been doing till now, right? Well, now you have the League to facilitate you."
"That would certainly make things easier..." Jason acknowledged, a slight frown marring his face. He understood the League's perspective, but if he accepted their help, his life would become a ceaseless grind to acquire as much AP as he could—not that it hadn't already.
Between his daily foundation training and the completion of his morning routine, nearly a quarter of Jason's day was spent progressing Quests. As such, he didn't hesitate long before affirming, "I'll compile everything and have it submitted by the end of today."
"Nice. Sounds good," Iris responded, rising from the chair and smiling up at Jason with her hands on her hips, teasing, "It's too bad, though. I can lend you a hand with completing other Quests, but if you desire my body or lips, you'll need to best me in a Pokémon Battle. I won't date a boy who is weaker than me."
"Right...I'll keep that in mind..." Jason responded, doing his best not to let his smile cramp. Iris was a striking woman, and he found her easy to talk to. But while she and Lillie were very nearly the same height, there was a rather drastic difference in their builds. Iris was markedly more petite, but where Lillie and others would require a cavity or groove to lie comfortably on their stomachs, the diminutive Champion could almost lie flat.
"Why do I get the impression that you just thought something incredibly rude...?" Iris questioned, her red-brown eyes narrowing in suspicion as the urge to give Jason a good smack swelled within her.
"Ren will protect Jason..." Ren warned flatly, causing Iris's brows to perk as she looked over to find the increasingly articulate Lucario staring at her with furrowed brows.
"Oh? How dependable~" Iris hummed, smiling confidently, undaunted by Ren's warning. She would struggle to defeat Ren in single combat, but if a fight broke out, she was confident that she could escape through the wall and hold out until one of her partners arrived.
Returning her gaze to Jason, requiring her to crane her head back nearly as far as it went, Iris remarked, "I'm going to be out for the rest of the day to meet with the Island Kahuna. I'm also planning to drop by the Kommo-o habitat on Poni Island. If I manage to befriend and catch a Jangmo-o or Hakamo-o, let's have a battle."
"Alright. Sounds good..." Jason affirmed, stepping aside to make way for Iris's departure. Instead, she took a moment to size him up, focusing on his abs with an appreciative gleam in her eyes as she stated, "If you win, I'll sit on top of you and give your front a massage. If you lose, you'll have to let me step on you."
"I'm not really into humiliation plays..." Jason answered, shaking his head before appending, "And I don't require a reward if we win. Ren and I being able to test ourselves against a Champion is already a boon that most can only dream of."
"Sheesh. You really have a way with words, don't you? But as a man, you should be bolder..." Iris teased, giving Jason's chest a light bump with her right fist before stepping past him, prompting Emmy to hurriedly leap onto her shoulder as she departed with quick, confident steps.
'Things are going to get even more hectic from now on...' Jason thought, following Iris's departure with a reflective gaze. The fact that the League was willing to support him opened innumerable doors, but it closed many others. He could, theoretically, be granted access to various Legendaries, but he wouldn't be able to move freely. And the more he cooperated with the League as their intermediary to the Constellations, the more he would become entrenched in politics.
'Not that I could have avoided that as Lillie's fiancé...' Jason noted, a faint sigh escaping his nose before he sat down at the PC and began compiling his Quests into a dossier. He left out those he felt would be contentious or cost him his morals, but he included his Planting Seeds to Amass Flowers and his Propagator of Forbidden Knowledge Quests, as they were already known. Then, to avoid a scenario where the League queued up eighty-five women to have one-night stands with him, he clarified that he would only engage with those he was able to form a meaningful connection with and those his existing girlfriends, particularly Lillie, approved of...
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Though the sun had set over the horizon, Iris was nowhere to be seen, having gotten caught up dealing with a matter on Poni Island. Jason was able to submit his dossier without issue, but what followed left him feeling at a loss.
"No need to wear such a glum expression. If you're against the idea, then that's the end of it. No one will force you," Ellaine reassured, changing into her nightwear while Jason, bare-chested, perused a tablet on her bed.
"I understand the League's position. I just feel they should reserve some of their precaution for the Constellations..." Jason sighed, swiping through the profiles of some of the League's foremost female Trainers. They were requesting that he bond with and use his AP to boost the stats of at least eight people, who would then function as Captains of the teams they sent through the Ultra Wormholes. It was irrefutable that the stronger they and their Pokémon were, the better. But Jason couldn't help feeling that it was a mistake to depend on his System to achieve growth...
"I understand your reservations. But we have to consider that others in your situation might not share them," Ellaine reasoned, sitting on the edge of the bed and scooting toward Jason in a dark grey tank top and glossy, pearlescent beige panties.
Lying next to Jason with her head on his shoulder, her right hand on his chest, and her leg drawn up so that her inner right thigh rested on his hip, Ellaine closed her eyes and reassured, "But at the end of the day, what's most important is to follow your heart. We're not going to bend and break just because we're unable to empower ourselves using your System. And even if we do, it simply means that the other side was more committed to our defeat than we were in our defense..."
'Or that they had Aspirants on their side who lacked caution and were more willing to put aside their morals...' Jason appended in his mind, his expression dull as he stopped on the profile of a familiar figure, Sabrina Lee-Ahn. The last name was new to him, but he recognized the woman in the photo as the former Gym Leader of Saffron City and, more pertinently, the most powerful human Psychic in the Pokémon canon.
'She would be a powerful ally...' Jason thought. According to her profile, Sabrina's psychic power was potent enough to flatten a truck to less than twelve centimeters thick. The League mandated that she wear bracelets to focus and restrain her power, but in emergencies, they could be turned off to permit her to fly, teleport, and suppress all but the most powerful of Pokémon with ease.
Though there was no guarantee she would accept, Jason ultimately confirmed Sabrina as a Captain candidate. She was simply too powerful not to try to recruit. And since those who would be venturing through the Ultra Wormholes would be risking their lives, it was best that they be as powerful and capable as possible.
With similar thoughts in mind, specifically that there was no guarantee that any of the people he chose would accept the appointment, Jason confirmed a total of eighteen candidates. This included two Champions, three Elite Four members, and thirteen Trainers who had qualified for the Ultra Class that year. Iris's, Maeve's, and Nanahoshi's profiles had been included, but as the latter two were aiming to become Gym Leaders, and he could always talk to them in person, he left them out.
"Are you finished...?" Ellaine questioned softly, having remained silent and mostly still for the duration of the selection process.
"Mmn...sorry for the delay..." Jason responded, tossing the tablet aside before turning toward Ellaine and bringing their foreheads together. He was weary from spending the afternoon with Maeve and Nanahoshi and depleting Ren's energy, so unless she initiated, he was perfectly content to cuddle or simply lie with the ashen-haired beauty.
Seeing through Jason's intentions, Ellaine huskily hummed, "Let's wake up early to greet the sun. Then I'll take care of your morning routine..." before giving him a quick peck on the lips and hugging his head to her chest. Her warmth and fragrance spread through Jason like an innervating flame, but with the air conditioner set to its highest setting, it didn't take long for him to settle down and succumb to the comfort of being cradled in her bosom and arms...
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