Since Runa couldn't be around crowds and Lillie couldn't be away from her for long periods of time, Jason set out for his and Korrina's meet-up on his own. Well, not entirely...
"Big flower...super big..." Ren remarked in awe, her eyes wide and hands against the side window of the car she and Jason were riding in the back of. The flower in question was the Wyndon Stadium, which, in the light of the mid-morning sun, glistened like a colossal magenta gemstone.
"Ren. Don't move around too much while the car is in transit," Jason said patiently, exhaling faintly from his nose.
"Transit...?" Ren parroted, moving away from the window and somewhat awkwardly crossing her arms atop Jason's lap as she met his gaze with large, innocent eyes and asked, "What's transit...?"
"It means to transport a person, Pokémon, or material to a destination..." Jason answered, patting the seat next to him. The white leather groaned as Ren obediently climbed onto it and sat askew with her left foot tucked under her fluff-coated right thigh, but the material and seams thankfully held.
"Jason...?" Ren said with inflection, her head tilting curiously to the side as she watched him rummage through his backpack.
"It will be a little while before we reach the cafe, so I thought we could do some guided reading," Jason explained, producing a thick compendium of Pokémon native to Alola.
Seeing what Jason had grabbed, Ren's eyes lit up before she readily got into her reading position, snuggling as close to him as her spikes allowed. She preferred the storybooks they used to read together, but as the book before her had pictures of other Pokémon and would purportedly help her become stronger, she did her best to read and sound out each word while Jason explained those she wasn't familiar with...
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After a short, twenty-minute ride that felt even shorter with Ren's reading practice, she and Jason disembarked the car half a block from where they were set to meet with Korrina. With Rotom conducting them, it wasn't long before they reached the exterior of an antiquated-looking cafe with a dark grey exterior, a Victorian-esque facade, and three portrait-style windows with reflective tinting that prevented people from glimpsing inside without putting their face to the glass.
"This is the place! Cafe La Cour Obscure, one of Wyndon's oldest and most storied Battle Cafes~!" chimed Rotom, performing a triumphant spin and grinning its characteristically impish grin.
"The Obscure Court..." Jason appended, glancing up at the cafe's sign, which depicted a simplified Indeedee that reminded him of the Starbucks logo but muted, pastel purple.
"Obscure Court..." Ren parroted, prompting Rotom to tilt its body, present a question mark on its screen, and remark, "I wasn't aware that you spoke Kalosian, Jason."
"I'm learning," Jason responded flatly, turning on his heel at the sound of hurried footsteps. A dangling placard on the cafe's arched entrance said that it was closed in cursive lettering, so he was a little confused until he turned to find Korrina rushing over in her red flatcap, sunglasses, and the oversized white-and-red jacket that served as her disguise.
"You're here! And super early, at that~!" Korrina chimed happily, running over and grabbing Jason by his right hand before adding, "Come on! The others are in the back...!"
"Why the rush...?" Jason asked, glancing back at Ren to ensure she was following close behind while Rotom, having fulfilled its purpose, returned to its charging case.
"You'll find out soon~!" Korrina responded, punctuating her words with a mischievous wink before guiding Jason and Ren to the back entrance of the cafe's small but fortified battleground. The walls of many buildings in the Pokémon world were an average of thirty centimeters thick, but those of the cafe were closer to forty-five, and for good reason.
As Jason followed Korrina into the building, they first passed through a curtained-off area with little light before reaching an octagonal viewing area overlooking what appeared to be a large pool. In reality, it was the flooded battlefield of an ongoing Pokémon battle.
fwoomfwoomPISHA
Though the first thing he noticed was something green flying around and spewing thin streams of familiar, fiery-orange light, Jason's attention was drawn further below by a high-pitched but controlled shout.
"Hang in there, Lapras...!" bellowed a slender, dark-skinned woman with long, distinctive two-tone hair that was ink-blue with watery-blue, almost luminous highlights. Her eyes were a strikingly similar shade of blue, and her outfit, at first glance, resembled a two-piece sport swimsuit or what a women's beach volleyball player might be forced to wear in the Olympics. In reality, the white, two-tone-blue, and orange-trimmed apparel, golden-hooped earrings, and peculiar, life-preserver-themed sandals the woman was wearing were all her official battle attire.
Though Jason couldn't help stealing a glance at the very recognizable woman, standing atop a column-shaped platform, his attention was very quickly drawn to the battle occurring between her and a tall, exceedingly lanky man wearing a padded, red-orange bandana, an oversized, mostly navy-blue, fang-lined, dragon-belly hoodie, and blue, orange-accented shorts. The former had fielded a Lapras, which currently had wing-esque ears, a large, ice-covered horn, and several ice spikes along its back. The latter was standing cross-armed and grinning wolfishly from ear to ear as his Flygon, resembling a large, pale-green dragonfly-turned-dragon, flew around with extreme speed and agility to assail its water-bound opponent with ranged attacks.
"I see that you've returned. That must make your friend here Jason..." noted an ashen-haired woman, standing cross-armed near where Jason, Korrina, and Ren had entered from. Like the two below, Jason immediately recognized the steely-eyed, exceptionally fit-looking woman as Bea, one of the Galar Region's Eight Gym Leaders and Korrina's top rival. Instead of wearing her usual black bodysuit and scant, predominantly white, orange-accented top and shorts she was known for, however, she was modeling matte black thermal pants, a stylish, white, fur-lined overcoat, and beige, fur-lined boots.
"That's right~!" Korrina affirmed, beaming happily as she gave Jason's back a gentle smack and clarified, "This is Jason Springfield, mine and a few others' boyfriend. And this adorable little cutie behind him is Ren—"
Before Korrina could finish introducing her, Ren practically teleported to the viewing area's railing and gripped it, her wine-red eyes wide and her tail wagging excitedly behind her as she exclaimed, "Whoa! Super strong! Super fast...!" while focusing on the Flygon.
"Awesome..." Bea muttered, her steel-grey eyes glistening faintly as she observed Ren with a mix of appreciation and slight envy. She had wanted a Lucario for the longest time, but they were uncommon in Galar, and she already had twelve Pokémon she was actively caring for.
"I guess we should save the introductions until after the battle~" Korrina hummed, pulling Jason closer to the protective railing before positioning herself in front of him. For the briefest of moments, Jason's brain stalled. By the time his senses returned, he was already hugging Korrina's waist, his hands overlapping above her diaphragm as Bea, ostensibly indifferent to their positioning, returned her attentive gaze to the notably one-sided battle without comment...
"Lapras! Dive and use Rest...!" exclaimed the dark-skinned woman, whom Jason recognized as Nessa, another of Galar's Gym Leaders, as well as its top female model.
"Big mistake...!" shouted her opponent, a man Jason couldn't mistake for anyone else but Raihan, Nessa's male counterpart as Galar's de facto top Gym Leader and influencer. Like many top-tier Trainers, he specialized in rearing Dragon-type Pokémon—with a wide range of coverage. Thus, the moment Nessa commanded her Lapras to dive, Raihan struck a dynamic, dance-like move that could have fit nicely into the repertoire of a King of Pop, shouting, "Flyguy, use Thunder...!"
"Ewooooooo~!"
"Oh no...!"
As Raihan's Flygon responded excitedly, a mix of dread and panic swept across Nessa's face as she couldn't issue supplemental commands to her Lapras while the latter was submerged. As a result, Raihan's Flygon, aptly named Flyguy for marketability purposes, had all the time in the world to gather Electric-type energy for a devastatingly powerful, super-effective Thunder.
Matching his timing with his Flygon, Raihan made a cutting gesture with his right hand before a flash of golden light forced everyone watching the battle to avert or cover their eyes. Except for Z-Moves and the specialized moves of Dyna- and Gigantamax Pokémon, Thunder was by and large the most powerful Electric-type move. Water produced by Water-type moves was also functionally super-conductive, so despite being several meters underwater, Nessa's Lapras wasn't insulated from the strikingly powerful bolt of golden plasma.
'The power of Electric-types is terrifying...' Jason noted solemnly, and not for the first time. Even after the initial attack concluded, he could feel the static in the air, mixed with steamy water vapor. And when he opened his eyes, he could see faint flashes of gold amid the veritable cloud that had permeated the battlefield and viewing area.
"So cool..." Ren muttered, prompting Jason to look over and find that she was gripping the railing tight enough to indent it, her red eyes ostensibly having never left the battlefield.
"Flyguy! Do our adorable spectator a favor and clear away this fog, would you!?" shouted Raihan, his humor-tinged voice emanating from within the cloud, far to Jason's right.
"Ewooo~!"
'Did he notice that Ren was watching...?' Jason wondered, his brows creasing ever so slightly at the possibility that Raihan was referring to Korrina. At the same time, Flyguy beat its powerful, kite-shaped wings to produce a localized tempest, gathering the moisture into droplets of rain that scattered outward in all directions.
Confirming Jason's speculation and assuaging his fears, Raihan directed a charismatic smile and a quick salute at Ren before turning his attention to the opposite side of the battlefield and asking, "Hey, Nessa. Now that our audience has grown, what say we spice things up a notch?" with a toothy, confidence-filled grin.
"I emphatically refuse..." Nessa responded flatly, a faint snort escaping her nose as she returned her Lapras to its blue-and-white, wave-pattered custom Poké Ball. Lapras was intended to be her counter to Dragon-types with its ability to Mega Evolve and use Ice Beam, but Raihan's Flygon was simply too fast. Had she been able to land a single hit, she might very well have been able to knock it out in a single hit thanks to its dual Ground and Dragon Typing—both of which were weak to Ice.
"Awwww, you're no fun~" Raihan quipped playfully. Instead of continuing to goad Nessa, however, he promptly returned his Flygon to its Poké Ball, planted a kiss on its front, and muttered, "Great job, Flyguy..." in a sincere, whispered tone.
With their battle concluded, Nessa was the first to leave via a ladder at the back of her raised platform. Near the top was a lever that would drain the water within the battlefield without having to wait for it to disperse, so she took it upon herself to pull it before picking up a stylish tote bag filled with her stuff and making her way over to where Jason, Korrina, Bea, and Ren were waiting with a cat-like sway to her steps.
Reaching the group first, Raihan raised his right hand, garbed in a blue and black glove that left the flesh of his palm and thumb exposed as he said, "Yo. You must be Jason and Ren. Korrina has been going on and on about the two of you since yesterday afternoon. The name's Raihan, by the way. It's nice to meet you both."
"Jason Springfield..." Jason responded, extending his right hand and a smile that was equal parts cordial and business-like as he stated, "Your reputation precedes you."
"Oh? Has Korrina been spilling the tea about us...?" Raihan asked with an amused hum, accepting Jason's handshake with a surprisingly controlled grip. In fact, it could almost be described as delicate—like someone who was handling a thin glass ball or a piece of fine porcelain.
Feeling a sense of incongruence as he met Raihan's aquamarine eyes and charismatic smile, Jason abruptly developed goosebumps. He was aware that there had been some online discourse among the Pokémon fandom regarding the man's sexuality, but as the corners of Raihan's smile curled almost imperceptibly, Jason was convinced that the nearly two-meter-tall man was, at the very least, a switch-hitter...
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