Though he had anticipated it after hearing from Professor Burnet that Korrina would be meeting them at her lab, Jason still found himself in a daze, completely at a loss for words as the lean and well-trained Gym Leader jogged over in a white, red-trimmed sports bikini that showed off her toned, slightly sun-kissed body. The bottoms had a frilly white skirt attachment, but the fabric was sheer, totally see-through, leaving Jason confused as to its purpose.
"Hmmmn? Are you surprised to see me in a swimsuit? We are on a beach, after all~" hummed Korrina, noticing Jason's awed gaze, compelling her to smile and perform a merry pirouette upon reaching him. Then, posing with her hands behind her, she cutely asked, "You don't think it looks weird, do you?"
"Based on his stunned reaction, I'd say he thinks it suits you~" remarked Professor Burnet, grinning mischievously as she gently elbowed Jason in the ribs.
"Really...?" asked Korrina, directing the question and her large, crystalline blue eyes at Jason.
"It looks great on you..." affirmed Jason, offering a curt nod and forcing a cramped smile. In response, Korrina's pale blue eyes widened and briefly shone before she closed them, a radiant smile developing across her face as she chimed, "That's great to hear! Thank you~!"
"Alright, you two. You'll have plenty of time to catch up once we're inside and settled in. Come along," said Professor Burnet, holding her Munchlax with one arm as she took the initiative to lead the way.
Though she heard Professor Burnet's words, Korrina was distracted by the presence of the Audino at Jason's side, her expression blanking for a moment before she turned to him and asked, "Does this Audino belong to you?"
"She doesn't belong to me..." refuted Jason, causing the Audino to beam happily as he placed his left hand on her head and explained, "But she's agreed to accompany and help me get stronger. Thanks to her, I can train for hours a day without rest."
Blinking in surprise and tilting her head slightly, Korrina left Jason at a loss for words as she asked, "You're talking about her using her Poké power to heal you, right? Well, I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, but if you don't allow your muscles to recover naturally, you won't actually make any progress. The healing powers of Pokémon reverse the damage that allows your muscles to grow and develop."
"..."
"Auwadinn...?"
Sensing how shaken Jason was, Audino gazed up at him and placed her right hand on his lower back with an expression of concern. Fortunately, he snapped out of his stupor quickly, a cramped smile adorning his face as he asserted, "That's fine. It wasn't my goal to build massive biceps or develop rippling abs. I find training therapeutic, and Audino allows me to train as much as I want..."
"Dino, dinn~!" chimed Audino, wrapping her arms around Will's waist and giving him a tight, squishy hug. The temperate weather caused her body to feel like a furnace, but Jason didn't mind—his expression gaining a hint of affection that Korrina hadn't missed.
"Aww...and I was really hoping your first Pokémon would come from me. I even prepared an egg for you and everything..." lamented Korinna, looking regretfully but unbegrudingly at the Audino as she remarked, "But I guess fate had other plans..."
Hearing Korrina's lamentations, a sense of panic washed over Jason, compelling him to state, "If it's still an option, I'd be happy to accept a Pokémon Egg from you—particularly if it's a Fighting-type. Audino is an amazing Pokémon, but she's not a combatant."
"That's great~!" exclaimed Korrina, grabbing Jason's hand and pulling him along before Professor Burnet, who had already reached her porch, could call out to remind them to hurry. Audino was momentarily left behind due to her fervor, but instead of taking offense, the perceptive Pokémon took note of how happy Jason appeared compared to his confinement. And as long as he was happy, so was she...
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'This is supposed to be cozy...?' Jason asked himself, his gaze sweeping the spacious interior of Professor Burnet's combined lab and home. The distance between the floor and the ceiling was at least five meters, and it combined the living room, kitchen, and dining areas into one large space with a short hallway on the right that presumably led to the bath. Notably, bookshelves lined the walls, stocked with hundreds, possibly thousands, of books, and there was a recessed seating area around a square-shaped pool—within which floated a massive, dark-blue, manta-ray-like Pokémon with a fin-span exceeding four meters.
"You two should go ahead and make yourselves comfortable while I get started on something to eat," suggested Professor Burnet, leading Korrina to respond with a cheerful, "I'll show you where we'll be staying~!" before dragging Jason along by his hand to the closest door lining the left side of the hallway. There were two other doors present, including one that led to the small farm outside, but that wasn't Jason's principal concern.
"Where we'll be staying...?" repeated Jason, emphasizing the word we'll as Korrina pulled him into a large, predominantly wooden room with a circular green carpet on the floor, a well-made wooden desk with what looked like a computer, two dressers, two wardrobes, and, most notably, a very solid-looking bunk bed with king-sized mattresses.
"That's right," affirmed Korrina, her eyes glistening with excitement and a broad smile adorning her face as she revealed, "I've been sleeping on the top bunk these past couple of days, but if that's what you'd prefer, I don't mind if we swap."
Realizing from Korrina's words that they were going to be sharing a room, Jason's brain briefly stalled. It wouldn't be the first time he had shared a room with a girl, but he was much younger then, and the girl was infinitely less personable and attractive...
"And check this out! Ta-daaaan~" chimed Korrina, presenting an orange-domed, cylindrical-shaped, off-white container that emitted a faint hum. When she removed its top, the interior was revealed to be cushioned by a maroon, felt-like material. More notably, there was a pearl-white egg with about a dozen bright blue spots housed within.
"It's a lot bigger than I was expecting..." remarked Jason, accepting the egg and its container. He had never witnessed one in person, but he felt the egg before him was at least fifty percent, maybe even twice the size of an Ostrich's famously large egg...
"Just don't ask me what's inside. I want it to be a secret," teased Korrina, winking playfully.
Though he was sure the egg belonged to a Riolu, Jason decided not to spoil Korrina's fun. Instead, he adopted a smile and said, "Thank you for this, Korrina. I imagine I'll need help, but I'll be sure to care for it and the Pokémon that pops out as best I can."
"No worries, there. I'll teach you everything you need to know and then some~" hummed Korrina. Then, as if to ensure Jason's brain didn't have time to process everything he was experiencing, she abruptly peeled off her top, exposing her modest but well-shaped breasts as she added, "But for now, I'm going to hop in the bath to wash the sea salt off my body. Do you want to come with me? You can bring the egg with us and let it warm in the tub—just be careful not to submerge it fully. It might look solid, but there are thousands of tiny, microscopic pores lining the shell that draw in oxygen to help the Pokémon within breathe."
"Right..." muttered Jason, lowering his gaze from Korrina's smiling face with a blank stare. He had expected something like the current situation after the incident with Professor Burnet, but he hadn't anticipated that it would happen so soon.
"Hmmm? Is there something on my chest?" asked Korrina, looking down at her body and even cupping her breasts, casually hefting them as if she were attempting to see underneath.
Shaking his head, Jason met Korrina's gaze and explained, "In my world, men and women don't expose themselves in front of one another unless they're close family or lovers. I understand that isn't how things are here, but it's going to take some getting used to..."
"Oh? I had no idea..." responded Korrina, looking genuinely surprised by the revelation. The thought of covering herself briefly crossed her mind, but since Jason made mention that he was trying to get used to how they did things in their world, her smile broadened as she asked, "Do you want to try touching them?"
"Not right now..." responded Jason, averting his eyes and glancing at the bunk beds as he excused, "I slept on the plane ride over, but I don't feel well-rested at all. You should wash up and then grab me when it's time to eat..."
"Hmmn...well, if you insist..." responded Korrina, briefly following Jason with her gaze before stripping out of her bikini bottoms and placing all three pieces of fabric in a hamper. Around the same time, Jason, having lain down on the bottom bunk, began watching her as she fished through her set of drawers for a fresh pair of white, red-trimmed panties, a sporty crop top, and a pair of thin, loose-fitting shorts that wouldn't cause her to overheat in the warm and humid climate.
"Are you sure you don't want to join me...?" asked Korrina, stopping mid-exit to stare back at Jason with a curious, somewhat expectant look. She couldn't explain it, but his not wanting to bathe with her made her want to bathe with him even more.
"It's not that I don't want to..." countered Jason, closing his eyes and exhaling a weary sigh. Korinna had previously revealed to him that she was nineteen. That meant, by his world's standards, she was closer to thirty-six. With that in mind, it seemed senseless to stress over whether he was taking advantage of her ignorance—particularly when she could fling him through a wall or punch a hole through his chest if he crossed a line she didn't like...
Opening his eyes and noticing that Korrina was still waiting, watching him with a smile, Jason ultimately got up and silently followed after her as she covered her mouth with her right hand, giggled, and hurried down the hall ahead of him. Her behavior made Jason wonder if she and every other girl in the world of Pokémon were part nymph, but that was his least pressing concern, as, imagining what was to come, his body was already beginning to react....
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After what felt like an eternity and the blink of an eye at the same time, Jason found himself seated at Professor Burnet's dining table, the white-haired woman teasing, "You look like you took a Gardevoir's Draining Kiss straight to the lips. Are you gonna be okay?"
"It's my fault..." stated Korrina, her cheeks tinted a faint shade of red as she pressed the tips of her fingers together, avoiding looking at Jason as she revealed, "Jason explained his world's culture to me, but my curiosity got the better of me and things...got out of hand..."
"Oh? Did he let you touch it...?" asked Professor Burnet, setting plates of fruit and something that looked like thinly sliced ham in front of Jason, his face and ears burning at the question she directed at Korrina. The truth of the matter was that his explanation came after Korrina's curiosity got the better of her. Before that, she had cheerily volunteered to wash his back. Then, noticing what he had been trying to keep hidden, she peered over his shoulder, her weight and softness pressed directly against him as she asked if he had injured himself. Before he could answer, her left hand had found its way around his body, followed by her softly remarking how hard the aforementioned part of his body was...
Making things even worse, at least for Jason, Professor Burnet responded to Korrina's account by remarking, "Well, I won't stop the two of you from experimenting. Just keep in mind your ages. You need to be twenty-six to apply for a marriage license, so if you end up having children before then, it might draw unwanted attention."
"I don't think things will develop that far..." muttered Korrina, glancing at Jason as if she wasn't sure of what she was saying. Like Professor Burnet, she also believed that children were a product of love between a married man and woman. The method that Jason had described was so alien, she couldn't be certain she wasn't already pregnant—shifting the onus to him to explain things properly...
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