After having Audino heal him and Lillie clean the back of his head, Jason and company returned to the beach, which had changed rather drastically since his arrival. Construction of the seaside lab had been completed, and to accommodate those who would be working there, eleven prefabricated residences with white facades and red-tile roofs had been erected—along with a small solar farm.
"Do you want to head over to the medical center to get your head looked at...?" asked Wicke, gesturing with her chin at a building fashioned after a Pokémon Center. Next to that was a small PX (post exchange), which sold a variety of daily necessities, meal sets, Poké Balls, and over-the-counter medicines.
"I should be good to go after Audino's treatment, but it never hurts to be certain..." affirmed Jason, nodding. At the same time, his gaze was drawn to two people walking along the beach—a buxom blonde in a green bikini and a shorter, bookish-looking woman with naturally blue hair and a frilly-skirted white swimsuit with colorful polka dots.
"Oh, it's Bianca and Seren. Should we go over and greet them...?" asked Lillie, directing the question and a curious look at Jason.
Shaking his head, Jason answered, "Let's not bother them on their day off."
Since there was a good chance the duo would come over to greet him if they caught him glancing in their direction, Jason punctuated his words by heading in the direction of the medical center. Being the only male on a beach otherwise populated by attractive female researchers and support staff had him feeling a sense of tension 24/7. And since they had no sense of boundaries and were there, specifically, to research him, it was difficult not to feel like a beleaguered lion among a group of hungry lionesses...
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kaklunkvrrrrchnkchnkchnkchnk
'I swear...this thing gets louder each time I'm inside it...' thought Jason, lying still inside an MRI machine as its powerful magnetic and radio field waves pierced his body, providing a detailed image of his insides to Lillie, Ren, Rotom, and the Nurse Joy operating it.
intercom popping
"Good news, Jason. You don't appear to have sustained any permanent damage from your injuries. Though, as usual, your patterns indicate a low but persistent level of stress. With your approval, I would like to arrange a sleep study to ensure you're sleeping properly," chimed Nurse Joy, one of Dr. Mari's distant cousins, first name Skyler.
"That shouldn't be needed, but I'll keep it in mind if my condition worsens over time..." responded Jason, his voice calm as he waited for the table he was lying on to retract from the MRI. He and those closest to him already knew the reason he was stressed, and it wasn't something that would be resolved by strapping him to a bed with a bunch of monitoring equipment.
"Alright, then. And please do," responded Skyler, followed by a static pop as she cut the intercom's line. A few moments later, the lights within the MRI turned off, accompanied by a protracted hiss as the room's hermetic seal was broken.
"Rena~!" chimed Ren, running toward and climbing up Jason the moment the door to the MRI room opened.
"We've only been apart for twenty minutes, but thank you for worrying about me..." expressed Jason, his words warmed by his smile as he gave Ren a firm hug and habitually kissed the top of her head.
"Now that we've confirmed your health, what would you like to do now, Jason...?" asked Lillie, entering the room alongside Rotom and Skyler, a near carbon copy of Dr. Mari but younger and more tanned. There wasn't much to do along the scenic beach but swim, train, socialize, and tan, so she could often be seen relaxing atop a foldable beach bed in a white and pink one-piece during her time off.
"Actually, before you go, I would like to take additional samples of your urine and seminal fluids," chimed Skyler, smiling unpretentiously with her bright blue eyes gazing directly at Jason as she flourished the fingers of her right hand and unabashedly proposed, "I'm willing to lend you a hand. Though I suspect that won't be necessary with Ms. Lillie present."
"That's for Jason to decide," Lillie appended calmly. Immediately after, she met Jason's gaze, adopting a radiant but slightly narrow-eyed smile as she merrily hummed, "Though I would admittedly be happier to be the one chosen to assist him."
"How about you be the one to assist him while I lend myself as a visual stimulus and focus on collecting the sample?" proposed Skyler, believing her words to be an appropriate compromise.
"As I said previously, the decision is Jason's to make. But I don't see any particular issue with your proposal," affirmed Lillie, nodding approvingly before she and Skyler turned their bright, expectant green and blue eyes toward Jason. This was the main source of the latter's stress, as, with few exceptions, every woman assisting with the research project exhibited an undisguised interest in sex. Everything they had heard about it described it as a comfortable and pleasant experience. As such, scarcely a day went by that Jason wasn't propositioned or tempted at least half a dozen times by different, very attractive women. And with several Quests encouraging him to broaden his horizons, he found it increasingly difficult to justify why he shouldn't just give in...
"Now isn't the best time..." responded Jason, smiling wryly as he excused, "I'm kind of spent from last night and this morning..."
"Mmn. Now that he mentions it, he did shoot it out three times last night and twice more this morning..." recalled Lillie, crossing her arms, cupping her chin with her right index finger and thumb, and angling her head back thoughtfully.
"Yes. I anticipated that to be the case. That's one of the reasons I asked him to take part in a sleep study~" revealed Skyler, glancing at Jason with a radiant smile, her hands folded neatly over her lap.
"Right..." muttered Jason, avoiding Skyler's clear-eyed and expectant gaze as he posed, "Then, how about next week? I don't like committing to things on the spur of the moment, but I'm good with sticking to schedules and timelines..."
"This sounds like a job for Rotom Phone~!" exclaimed Rotom, dropping down in front of Jason's face and asking, "Shall I schedule you to take part in the sleep study one week from today? Or is there a specific day you had in mind?"
With Jason glancing past Rotom to meet her gaze, Skyler's smile widened as she affirmed, "My main job here is to take care of your health and that of your Pokémon. Even if you returned this very evening, it wouldn't take me long to set everything up. So, rather than scheduling or committing to anything, you're welcome to drop by whenever you're ready. No stress, no deadlines."
"Alright, then. That's precisely what I'll do..." confirmed Jason, his smile relaxing into a more natural expression. Soon after, he and Lillie departed to return to Ellaine's place for their usual afternoon study session, but not before he and Skyler shared a fairly lengthy parting kiss with his hands on her thin but tight waist...
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ding-dong
"Hmmm? I think this is the first time I've ever heard someone ring the Professor's doorbell..." Lillie remarked, her brows perking curiously as she raised her gaze from a history book she was reading regarding the Paldea Region. It was the first place Jason wanted to travel after they graduated from the Pokémon School and completed their Island Challenges, so they were learning about it in advance.
"I'll answer it," said Jason, grabbing Lillie by her waist and helping her off of him so he could rise from their shared beanbag. She was wearing cute, Pikachu-themed pajamas and thin shorts that accentuated her perky butt and long legs. But as they routinely spent three to four hours a day study-cuddling, as Ellaine had anointed it, he had gotten better at managing the reactions of his body.
"I would prefer it if we went together," countered Lillie, emulating Korrina by throwing her arms around Jason's shoulders from behind, holding onto him tightly while purposely pressing her increasingly pillowy breasts to his back.
"Then that's what we'll do..." affirmed Jason, spreading his arms slightly so that Lillie could hop up, allowing him to tuck his hands under her legs and give her a piggyback ride. In the process of leaving their room, she snuck in several kisses to his left cheek but quickly restrained herself as they cleared the hallway connecting to the living room.
"Rena~!" chimed Ren, rising from where she had been curled up, napping atop her circle-shaped bed. She never failed to rouse when Jason entered the living room, but instead of immediately rushing over to him, she took a moment to stretch and straighten out her tail like a cat.
"Auwadinn~" greeted Audino, seated in her usual spot on the sofa with a pair of nearly completed Wooloo pajama bottoms. Knitting appeared to be her preferred way to spend her free time, and as he didn't have the heart to refuse them, Jason had a growing number of sweaters, long johns, and beanies hand-knitted by the ever-helpful Pokémon.
"Would you mind lending me a hand in the kitchen, Audino...?" asked Lille, descending from Jason's back and stepping away from him as Ren rushed over and jumped into his awaiting arms.
"Auwa! Auwadinn~!" chimed Audino, carefully following the sweater and her knitting tools before making her way around the sofa to follow Lillie to the kitchen. At the same time, Jason, now with Ren hugging his head and perched on his shoulders, made his way to the front entrance to ascertain who had rung the doorbell.
kacha
Opening the door, Jason discovered a familiar middle-aged man with slicked-back, silvery-grey hair, an immaculately groomed mustache, and the rather conspicuous attire of a butler.
"You're Sebas, Lusamine's Butler..." recalled Jason, recovering from his momentary surprise and shifting his gaze to the object in Sebas's hands. It was clearly a Pokémon Egg Incubator, and since it was prohibited for a non-Trainer to partner with more than one Pokémon, it wasn't difficult to deduce the egg within was intended for Lillie.
"It's a pleasure to see you again, Master Springfield. And I see that your training has not gone unrewarded..." noted Sebas, giving Jason a cursory but discerning once-over. Months of dedicated training and a nutritious diet had helped him to both fill out and gain a more refined physique. His weight had increased from 72 to 85kg, but it was almost all muscle. More notably, even his height had increased, rising from 178cm to 183cm, and leaving him with a lean, 81cm waist, chest muscles that stood out through his clothing, and noticeably broader shoulders.
"Thanks for the compliment," expressed Jason, adopting a smile tinged with a hint of pride as he stepped aside and added, "Please, come inside. It's not my place to invite other people into Professor Burnet's home, but I doubt she'd mind in this particular instance."
"Thank you kindly. And yes, I believe you're correct," responded Sebas, closing his eyes and adopting a distinctly grandfatherly smile before he stepped past Jason and into Ellaine's home.
"Oh, Sebas! How wonderful it is to see you again~!" chimed Lillie, her expression appearing to brighten up the interior of the kitchen as she beamed radiantly and waved her right hand.
"Ah, Lady Lillie. It pleases this wearied Butler's heart to see you in such high spirits. And I must say, you look absolutely dazzling in that attire~" hummed Sebas, approaching the kitchen instead of making his way to the living room. It was at that point that Lillie noticed what he was carrying, her brows perking and her eyes widening as she asked, "I-Is that what I think it is...?" in an expectant but nervous tone.
"Indeed," responded Sebas, placing the incubator on the counter before removing its lid to reveal an egg with a distinctive pattern. The lower half was white, while the top resembled pastel-green leaves wrapped around it, capped with a red crest. The pattern of many Pokémon eggs was still a mystery, but it only took Jason and Lillie one glance to ascertain that the egg before them belonged to the exceedingly rare Ralts family...
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