Though he wasn't expecting Korrina to tackle him, Jason, who had gotten used to enduring a bit of bodily harm in the name of romance, managed a cramped smile and affirmed, "I'm happy to see you as well..." while on his back.
"Mmhmhmm. I'm happy to hear it~" hummed Korrina, rising to a seated position and habitually tucking her legs to Jason's sides before turning her attention to Ren, who had been forced to leap from his shoulders at the last moment.
"Sorry for dislodging you from your perch, Ren. I'm just very happy to see your Trainer," expressed Korrina, smiling apologetically and scratching her cheek with her right index finger.
Catching Korrina off guard, though she had heard that Ren was learning how to speak, Ren raised her paws and animatedly responded, "Korena! Ren happy...!"
"Ren's happy? I'm happy to hear it~!" chimed Korrina, puffing her chest and beaming with pride. Teaching a Pokémon how to speak was no easy task, and it took significant patience from both sides to make even a little progress. As such, she couldn't help feeling proud of Jason and Ren both.
"Yes!" responded Ren, holding up and balling her hands excitedly as she added, "K-Korena strong! Ren! Ren want strong!"
"Ren is going to be very strong. She needs to keep training and trust in her Trainer," responded Korrina, her expression and tone calm but with a hint of firmness. She didn't think Ren was asking to become her Pokémon, but it was best to put her foot down to avoid confusion.
Confused anyway, Ren looked to Jason with an anxious expression, her right paw waving at Korrina as she exclaimed, "Jason! Ren! Korena! Want strong! Ren!"
As he had started to understand Ren even before she began speaking in broken English, Jason had a pretty good understanding of what she was trying to express, a smile playing across his lips as he nodded, turned his head to meet Korrina's gaze, and translated, "I believe she's trying to say that she wants to see your Pokémon."
"Yes! Yes! Ren want! K-Korena...stra—strong!" affirmed Ren, clenching her paws tightly and staring at Korrina with slightly upturned, borderline Baby Doll Eyes.
"Yes, yes, I understand now~" pealed Korrina, producing four Poké Balls with distinctive patterns. Jason couldn't help noticing that she didn't pull out Stufful's Love Ball, but that was probably for the best.
Without removing herself from Jason's stomach, Korrina spread her hands and flung all four of her Poké Balls out at the same time, shouting, "Come on out and say hello, everyone!"
psshapsshapsshapssha
Released from their Poké Balls, Korrina's Mienfoo and weary-looking Scrafty appeared alongside two Pokémon Jason had yet to see in person. The first was a white-and-black-furred Pokémon with a hard yellow cap protecting its head, distinctive, monkey-like features, and a long, lemur-like tail. Jason recognized it as the Fighting-type Teamwork Pokémon, Passimian. As for the second, his pupils contracted slightly as he found himself playing the part of a low-angle camera to an unmistakably female Lopunny.
Seeing its Trainer seated atop someone it had never met, the Lopunny, standing just above Jason's head, tilted its head to the side, stared down at him to meet his gaze, and offered a curious, "Lo...?" before twitching its inordinately long, folded over, and very fluffy ears.
With Ren starry-eyed, wagging her tail excitedly, and barely contained off to the side, Korrina gestured to her Pokémon and introduced, "This is the team I formed here in Alola, Ren. You've already met Mienfoo and Scrafty, the evolved from of Scraggy. The other two are called Passimian and Lopunny. Be careful not to touch Lopunny's ears, okay? They're very sensitive, and her kicks are very strong."
"H-Hallo! Me Ren...!" responded Ren, hopping forward excitedly, causing Lopunny to take a step back and hold up her fluff-encircled, almost pom-pom-like hands defensively. Lopunny were cautious by nature and tended to avoid things that produced loud noises, so while she didn't retreat fully, it was clear the anthropomorphic rabbit-like Pokémon wasn't particularly interested in letting Ren get closer.
"R-Ren...?"
Seeing the Lopunny recoil from her, confusion marred Ren's expression. In such situations, she always looked to Jason, and that moment was no exception.
"Try being very quiet and approaching her slowly. As Korrina just told you, her ears are very sensitive," offered Jason, keeping his own voice barely a whisper to ensure Ren understood him.
With everyone, including Maeve, Nanahoshi, and Korrina's remaining Pokémon completely silent, Ren nodded before once again advancing toward the Lopunny, this time in short hops as she expressed, "Ren...Ren frenly..." in a low, barely audible tone. The Lopunny didn't lower her guard, but instead of recoiling further or shooting out a tree-splintering kick, she oriented her body toward Ren and bent forward.
"Lo-Lo-Lobunny..." Ren sounded out, causing the Lopunny's long, cream-colored, and slightly rigid brows to perk as she didn't expect Ren to speak her name. Immediately after, her pink, black-sclera eyes, and the sides of her philtrum-slitted lips curling into a slight smile as she lowered her paws and twitched her nose curiously. From her aura, Ren could tell she was no longer scared or hostile, so as their surroundings continued to watch with bated breath, the two Pokémon tentatively sniffed each other and briefly bumped noses.
"Lopun~" chimed Lopunny, beaming happily before rather abruptly picking Ren up in her arms and hugging her. She was around 144cm to Ren's 72cm, so it almost looked like a mother Pokémon picking up and cuddling its adoptive child. And since there was more than fluff around her chest, Ren promptly found herself smothered...
"Ren is a truly incredible Pokémon..." muttered Korrina, her blue eyes glistening with fascination. Nothing could alter her belief that her Luca was the greatest Lucario in the world, but seeing that Jason's empathy had taken root in Ren led her to believe it wouldn't be long before they both had some serious competition...
...
..
.
With Korrina finally dismounting him and Ren shadowing Mienfoo's form training nearby, Jason sat with her, Maeve, and Nanahoshi atop a white-and-blue picnic blanket to eat snacks, drink sports drinks, and catch up. Jason could have done without Lopunny watching him almost unblinkingly while seated atop Korrina's lap and being cuddled, but he had gotten a lot better at disguising his discomfort behind a genuine smile.
"I was surprised to learn that we could enter here and leave whenever we want now," remarked Korrina, referring to the fact that they were currently within Jason's Sanctum.
Beating Jason to the punch, Maeve explained, "It happened after Jason and Lillie formed a Pactio. We can't enter unless he's in here, but as long as we're in his Party, we can come and go as we please."
"Oh? It was because of the Pactio? Now I want to acquire my own even more~" chimed Korrina, her eyes flashing as she met Jason's gaze with an almost predatory smile.
"I'm sure it won't be long before that becomes a reality," affirmed Jason, his hazel-brown eyes reflecting a sheen of their own as he held Korrina's gaze. Lillie had firmly cemented her position, but after more than a month of following her journey on TV and only fleetingly catching up via Rotom's Holo Caster functionality, he seriously missed and felt like he had much to say to the ponytailed blonde.
"Lowa..."
Drawn by the Lopunny's voice, Jason briefly met the Pokémon's gaze only to find her reddish-pink eyes glowing even pinker. The very next moment, a notification appeared in his vision.
[You have been affected by the 2-Star Entity, Laani's, Baby Doll Eyes. The effects of your Physique and Cognition have temporarily been reduced by 10%.]
Noticing Jason's body abruptly becoming veiled in a luminous pink haze, Maeve and Nanahoshi blinked in surprise before glancing at Korrina and especially Lopunny in confusion. Korrina also noticed the almost unseen phenomenon, her brows rising considerably as she asked the question on everyone's minds, "You're able to be affected by Fairy-type moves? That's something that will need to be addressed before you start your journey as a Trainer."
"This is a first for me as well..." responded Jason, gazing down and raising his hands slightly to stare at his overturned palms. His brain felt strangely heavy and his body warm, similar to when he had tried wine at the Aether Paradise. It wasn't an unpleasant sensation, but he couldn't help frowning slightly as he met the Lopunny's gaze with a forced smile and asked, "Did I do something wrong...?"
"Lowapun. Lowa punny lo..." responded the Lopunny, leaving Jason with many more questions and answers. It was only after she turned her head slightly and audibly harumphed defiantly that he realized he had evidently done something to offend her.
"Ah...I know what's going on..." muttered Korrina, hugging her Lopunny and resting her chin against the top of its head as she met Jason's gaze and mouthed, 'She's jealous.'
"Ah...I see..." responded Jason, feeling the greatest sense of loss he had experienced in some time. He was aware that, much like a Riolu, Lopunny was a Pokémon that evolved via the strength of the friendship/bond it had with its Trainer. Since this was their first time meeting, Korrina had to have caught a wild Buneary and practically smothered it with affection to get it to grow and evolve so quickly. As such, it was almost to be expected that the Lopunny, Laani, would feel envious, possibly even threatened by him and Korrina having a moment...
'Pokémon imprinting is no joke...' acknowledged Jason. He was, of course, well aware of this. But being on the receiving end of a Pokémon's jealousy or spurning felt really odd.
Doing away with Jason's discomfort and causing his heart to skip a beat, Korrina snuggled Laani and whispered, "Laani...Jason is my boyfriend and my second-most-important person. He's a really caring person, so please do your best to get along with him..."
"Lo...?"
Not expecting Korrina to endorse Jason, Laani turned and tilted her head back slightly to stare up at her. When she found Korrina staring directly at her with her characteristically clear, almost shimmering blue eyes, the two had a moment of their own.
"Lowaa...." sighed Laani, closing her eyes and briefly deflating in Korrina's lap before snapping her head up to meet Jason's gaze. The distrust in her reddish-pink eyes was palpable, but after several seconds of increasingly tense silence, Laani suddenly leaned forward and stood up from Korrina's lap. Jason's first thought upon witnessing this was that she was in serious need of some clothes, but as Laani approached and stopped right in front of him, his seated posture allowing her to stare down at him, he remained silent and still.
With Laani continuing to stare at him, Jason, feeling it was up to him to break the silence, forced a smile and expressed, "It's nice to meet you, Laani...and thank you for taking care of—"
Before Jason could finish speaking, Laani turned around, extended her fluffy tail and butt toward him, and unexpectedly perched herself in his lap. Her softness, fragrance, and the heat practically radiating from her body left Jason slack-jawed and at a complete loss for words, but when he saw Korrina beaming at him and miming with her hands in front of her belly, he promptly mirrored her, gently rubbing Laani's belly.
"Lowaann~" hummed Laani, closing her eyes and relaxing in tacit approval of Jason's cautious but experienced caress. The time he had spent caring for Ren had increased his Grooming Skill from F to E-Rank, and while that might not seem like a tremendous increase, it was technically the pinnacle of what humans were naturally capable of. In essence, he was essentially a master at petting, brushing, and generally caring for others.
[You have become an [Important Person?] to the 2-Star Entity, Laani. Your current Bond Level is 19. Future gains will be increased by 20% when the 1-Star Entity, Korrina Masters, is present. Otherwise, your Bond Level will grow at the standard rate.]
Though he wasn't surprised by the notification, Jason couldn't help but feel as though Korrina had brought home a landmine. He, without even a single doubt in his mind, was not a furry. However, with the Lopunny in his lap, emitting a pleasant aroma and looking like a short but shapely woman in a fur costume, the only thing preventing his body from reacting was the resistance he had built up to stimulation over the past three months. That, and the fact that he absolutely refused to cross that particular line...
...
..
.