After Nessa joined everyone, it was summarily decided that they would relocate to the cafe while she got changed and touched up her makeup. When she eventually rejoined them in a window-adjacent booth, Korrina took it upon herself to get things started.
"Once again, these three are Nessa Cardoso, Bea Blanchet, and Raihan Mathews," introduced Korrina, beaming radiantly as she gestured to the three world-famous Gym Leaders in turn. Nessa was now wearing an off-shoulder, mauve-purple top, form-fitting grey pants, stylish, aquamarine boots, and a dark grey ivy cap. Contrastingly, Raihan was still wearing his custom-made hoodie, ostensibly unconcerned with the prospect that he would be recognized after leaving the cafe.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Jason affirmed with a nod, seated across from the introduced trio, sharing a booth with Korrina and Ren. The latter wasn't supposed to be sitting at the table, but the cafe's owner permitted it since they had reserved the place until the cafe's usual opening time of 11 AM.
"It's a little odd to reintroduce ourselves twenty minutes into a hangout sesh, but I guess it's nice to meet you—again," Raihan responded with a cheeky smile.
"Did it really take twenty minutes for me to join everyone?" Nessa asked, pulling out her custom, water-blue Rotom phone to check the time and if she had any important messages.
"We were just making small talk about Korrina's time in Alola, so it's not as though you missed anything," Bea stated poisedly, her angular, steel-grey eyes shifting to Jason as she contended, "Though, now that you're here, I have several questions for our new friend."
Seeing how serious Bea's expression was while looking at him, Jason adopted a serious look of his own and affirmed, "I'm all ears," with a curt nod.
Catching Jason off guard, Bea straightforwardly inquired, "What's your workout routine and diet like? I've met plenty of guys with big muscles, but yours have a certain beauty to them."
"She's right. Your build reminds me of the current Champion, Leon, but you're waaaaay taller. As a similarly tall guy who struggles to build muscle himself, I sure wouldn't mind hearing about your routine or experiencing it directly," Raihan appended expectantly.
"Mmn...you do have a nice body..." Nessa affirmed, causing Jason to feel uniquely exposed as he found himself the focal point of the three famous and powerful Trainers' scrutiny.
"Jason has a nice body...?" Ren parroted, her words striking Jason's brain like a hammer as the former tilted her head and joined the trio in staring at him curiously.
Shaking his head, Jason did his best to appear and sound calm as he expressed, "I don't mind sharing, but other than training consistently, I don't think I've done anything particularly special to achieve my current physique."
"I can think of at least one thing..." Korrina muttered in a playful, hushed tone, bumping Jason with her left shoulder. He naturally understood what she was referring to, but with Ren present, he feigned ignorance, meeting her gaze and shaking his head slightly as he asked, "Are you talking about rollerblading?"
"Ah..."
Realizing she had misspoken, Korrina's usually effortless smile became noticeably cramped as she affirmed, "R-Right. It might not be the best method for bulking, but rollerblading helps you build practical muscles. Then there's swimming, running, and all the other training methods you incorporate into your routine."
Nodding, Jason pretended not to notice the suspicion in Raihan's, Bea's, and Nessa's gazes as he smiled at them and affirmed, "That might be the key difference between me and the majority of people. Not only do I train every day, but I consistently change things up to avoid focusing too much on a single muscle group..."
"That's very similar to how martial artists train..." Bea contributed, her tone heavy with skepticism. It was clear to her, Nessa, and Raihan that Korrina and Jason were keeping something from them, but everyone had their secrets. Thus, instead of dwelling on the subject, she glanced at Ren and noted, "Your Lucario is very impressive. If she's truly as old as Korrina says she is, you've done an amazing job training her until now."
"Right...I didn't bat an eye when Korrina told me you had a Lucario that could talk, but I had expected it to communicate via telepathy. If it's true that Ren here is only five months old, that's beyond impressive...it's extraordinary..." Nessa appended, staring at Ren with a mix of fascination and opportunity.
"Ren is extra ordinary~" Ren parroted happily, placing a little too much emphasis on the word extra, causing it to feel detached from the word ordinary.
"Seriously, though," Raihan inserted, his usual smile replaced by an almost solemn look as he stated, "Once you become a proper Trainer, you should come and meet me in Hammerlocke. I'll personally endorse you to take on our Gym Challenge."
Blinking in surprise, Korrina asked, "Does that mean you're sponsoring him a Dragon-type...?"
"If he believes he can handle one~" Raihan responded, regaining a toothy, provocative grin.
Surprising everyone but Ren, who looked at him with luminous eyes and a radiant smile, Jason shook his head and calmly responded, "My priority at the moment is training and supporting Ren. Beyond that..."
Turning his head to meet Korrina's gaze, Jason smiled and appended, "I already have a prospective addition to my roster waiting for me in Kalos..."
Understanding that Jason was referring to Laani, Korrina inhaled a deep breath, her cerulean-blue eyes illuminating and her smile broadening as she suppressed the urge to throw her arms around and tackle him within the booth.
"Man, you two are really something. I'm not lacking companionship, but if one of my groupies looked at me the way you two looked at each other, I might bend the knee..." Raihan teased, his expression and tone noticeably softening.
"It's honestly a little vexing..." Nessa expressed, exhaling faintly from her nose before staring intently at Korrina and asking, "Aren't you concerned that your fans and sponsors might turn on you once they learn you're in a relationship? And what about your dream? Weren't you aiming to enter the Masters Eight to prove the potential of Fighting-types and your Lucario, in particular? I don't see how you can manage all of that while maintaining a relationship..."
With Nessa directing her final few words his way, Jason got the not-so-subtle impression that she was hinting at him to back off and not get in Korrina's way. Fortunately, he didn't need to explain or excuse himself as Korrina promptly countered, "Ordinarily, I would agree with you. But Jason isn't like other guys..."
Shaking her head, Korrina added, "We've only known each other a short while, but our time together has opened my eyes to how paradoxically big and small our world is. He can sometimes be too serious, to the point that it paralyzes him and causes him stress. But he's a terrific listener, and I've never met anyone who gives more of themselves to those they care about—be they people or Pokémon. It's embarrassing to admit, but it makes me want to work harder to be deserving of his affection and support..."
With Korrina staring directly at him as she spoke, Jason found himself unable to look away, his face burning and his heart beating like a drum in his chest. He wanted to contend that it was he who was unworthy of her affection and support, but the words never reached his throat, much less his lips. Instead, as Korrina held his gaze with reddening cheeks, he felt a growing urge to tilt his head sideways and lean in for a kiss...
pcha
Shattering the moment like an ice pick through a pane of glass, Raihan snapped a photo of Jason and Korrina's impromptu staring contest with his custom red-orange Rotom phone.
"Man, talk about an intense vibe. I'm getting goosebumps just looking at the photo..." Raihan teased, his thumbs practically producing afterimages as he tapped his Rotom's screen.
vrrrrvrrrrvrrrr
With their Rotom phones simultaneously vibrating, Korrina, Nessa, and Bea were unsurprised when they pulled them out and discovered they had each received a copy of the photo Raihan had taken. The flush in Korrina's cheeks briefly deepened, but as she was well acquainted with Raihan's antics, she stared at him half-liddedly and, in a threatening tone, remarked, "I had better not see this on your Club page..."
"Ooh, scary~" Raihan hummed, winking playfully before appending, "But you can relax the muscles in that pretty little face of yours. This one's for my personal collection."
"It's quite the photo..." Nessa muttered, her pale, watery-blue eyes fixed on the image with a hint of wistful introspection tinting her features. She could spot a dozen flaws in the photo at a glance, but it would take more than shoddy framing and subpar lighting to detract from the raw emotion captured within the image. The longer she looked at it, the more her own heart began to race...
Startling Nessa from the slight daze she had fallen into, Bea, staring at Korrina, stated, "Nessa, please move aside. If Korrina's relationship with Jason has motivated her to become even stronger, then I can't afford to be sitting here."
Shifting her gaze to Jason, Bea's gaze sharpened as she added, "It was nice meeting you. Once this conference has come to an end, I would like to get to know more about you and your philosophy regarding training and Pokémon. Until then..."
With Nessa having made room for her to exit the booth, Bea concluded her words by crisply punching her right fist into the palm of her left hand and bowing. Then, with a notably resolute look on her face, she turned to depart with quick, determined steps.
"W-Wait! Bea! There's something I wanted to discuss with you...!" Korrina exclaimed, causing Ren to startle and hurriedly make way as she raced to catch up to the departing martial artist.
"Looks like that's it for today's meet and greet~" Raihan hummed, taking advantage of the opening to smoothly slide out of the booth and rise to his towering height of 203cm. Ren stepped back instinctively, but when he extended his left hand to caress her head, her eyes narrowed, and her tail began wagging happily.
Glancing at Jason, Raihan adopted a cheeky grin and expressed, "You may have rejected me today, but the only Trainers more obsessive than Dragon-type specialists are those who rear Ghost-types. I'll be following your and Ren's progress closely, so do your best to catch up or at least be entertaining for me."
Retracting his hand from Ren's head, Raihan switched his Rotom phone from his right to his left hand before grabbing her shoulder with his right and abruptly hunching down to take a selfie with her. The interaction was very confusing to Ren, but as Raihan's Aura was as steady and warm as a small sun, she didn't push him away or attempt to escape from him.
"Atta girl~" Raihan hummed, roughly tousling the fur between Ren's fluffy ears before giving Jason a parting wink and departing with a relaxed but swift gait, courtesy of his very long legs.
'That man is like a humanoid storm...' Jason sighed internally, shifting to the edge of the booth and gesturing for Ren to approach him so he could smooth out her fur and caress the sides of her face. Nessa observed this with a hint of intrigue, but, as she felt awkward being left alone with a boy she hardly knew, she ultimately combed back the bangs framing the right side of her face before departing to bid farewell to Korrina and Bea.
'And that one is like an icy lake...' Jason mused, raising his gaze to follow Nessa's departure, focusing on her back. The impulse to look lower was strong, particularly since she was wearing form-fitting grey pants, but he managed it without too much difficulty. Instead, he returned his focus to Ren, habitually scratching the underside of her jaw and the thick fur at the back of her head as she narrowed her eyes and emitted a loud, deliberate purr...
...
..
.