"Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrena...!" shouted Ren, spreading her arms and releasing a burst of tempestuous wind the moment Starmie's attack ended. Then, moving like a black and cobalt-blue blur, she blitzed the purple star and landed a heavy kick against the center of its gemstone, causing Jason to blink in surprise as she hadn't learned any kicking moves.
'Did I miss something...?' Jason asked himself, pulling up Ren's status and glancing at it to his left. As he suspected, there were no moves related to kicking present, so she was most likely borrowing a page out of Mienfoo's or Laani's playbook.
Caught off guard by Ren's sudden burst of speed, L'étoile was sent skidding back, the pointed appendages that served as its feet carving trails across the ground. Unfortunately, there was nothing to indicate it had sustained even a minor amount of damage, as its body flashed with a pale, bluish-white light, causing its purple exterior to glisten and become noticeably glossier.
Undeterred by the lack of damage from her attack, Ren rushed forward like a blur, rising from all fours to stand on her hind legs as she slammed her silvery-white fists into L'étoile's body over and over. This time, L'étoile stood its ground, barely sliding back more than half a centimeter between punches.
'That sheen must have been the Normal-type move, Harden...' determined Jason, his brows creasing as he shouted, "Ren, use Bite! But watch out for its counter...!"
"Ren...!" responded Ren, lunging forward with her canines elongating and becoming veiled in luminous, purple-black, flame-like energy. Before that, L'étoile appeared to have no intention, or, far more concerningly, no need to dodge or take action. With Dark-type energy being able to cut through as if they didn't exist, it autonomously reacted with Double Team, its body appearing to split into twelve flickering copies of itself that formed a circle around Ren.
"Jason...?"
Seeing her opponent suddenly multiply, an uncharacteristic look of terror flashed across Ren's face as she looked to Jason like a child in the middle of a street looking at its parent one final time. Seeing this, Jason felt as if someone had stabbed him in the heart. But before he could pull out Ren's Poké Ball and return her, the ground beneath him shuddered and began to rise like an elevator as Siebold gave L'étoile its first command.
"L'étoile, let's finish this with Surf...!" shouted Siebold, flourishing his left hand and striking a pointing pose as the identical Starmie discharged an absurd amount of glowing blue water from around their feet, flooding the battlefield almost immediately. Ren was unceremoniously swept away by the initial wave, and due to the inordinate density of her body, she had no hope of resurfacing.
"Have you lost your fucking mind...!?" shouted Jason, his body moving on instinct to dive into the glowing water. It was much, much colder than he anticipated, and the current was powerful. But with the single thought of saving Ren, who was attempting to jump and swim to the surface near the arena's edge, he ignored everything and swam toward her.
Long before Jason got anywhere near Ren, Starmie came spinning past him, producing a high-pitched, water-cutting whine similar to a propeller as it swooped over to and under the struggling Riolu. Then, using its body like a float, it lifted her to the surface.
'This guy is a tremendous asshole...' thought Jason, feeling relieved but also pissed off at Siebold for resorting to flooding the battlefield against a Pokémon he had to know was unable to swim. In hindsight, he could have guessed that Siebold, a preeminent Water-type specialist, would flood the field to give his Pokémon an advantage. However, given the very apparent difference in his L'étoile's and Ren's overall capabilities, it was more than a little excessive.
With such thoughts in mind, Jason surfaced near the arena's edge and braced himself against it with his hand. The Water-type energy that gave the water its form had yet to settle, so there was still a powerful current and a pervasive chill that seemed to ignore his flesh and muscle, settling directly into his bones.
Fortunately, the moment Jason had leaped into the water, Korrina had also taken action, racing around the arena perimeter from the elevated viewing area. As such, the moment Jason surfaced, she was there with her hand extended, shouting, "Jason! Give me your hand...!" with a bright, reassuring smile.
Accepting Korrina's hand without delay, Jason was unsurprised when she one-handedly plucked him from the water as if she were picking up a pool floatie. At the same time, Siebold, riding atop the back of a larger-than-average Lapras, sailed over to them, remarking, "That was rather reckless of you. But it has made clear to me just how much you value your partner. For that, you have—"
Before Siebold could finish speaking, Jason surprised him, Korrina, the former's Lapras, and the approaching L'étoile and Ren by activating his Omnishoes, leaping through the air, and attempting to dropkick the man in the center of his chest.
Evading Jason with the ease of water flowing around a spherical boulder in a stream, Siebold gave him a casual-looking but ultimately heavy chop to the center of his body. Elite Four members were tasked with handling dangerous Pokémon and humans alike, so with very few exceptions, they were exceptionally well-trained in hand-to-hand combat.
Feeling a sharp pain permeate his body as Siebold's hand seemed to slice through him, Jason briefly experienced the world in slow motion before he impacted against Lapras's durable shell. In the very next moment, he was in the water again, his consciousness waning as a paradoxical mix of heat and cold washed over him.
[Many Constellations exhale in exasperation at the Aspirant's attempt to challenge someone far beyond his level.]
[The Wanderer of Myriad Realms glowers at the lurkers who offer nothing but their presence to the situation.]
[The Dragon Who Slumbers Beside a Hearth...]
[The Blue Star That Refutes...]
[The Great Sage...]
...
..
.
Waking after an unknown period of unconsciousness, Jason expected to feel pain. Instead, he found himself feeling comfortable as he opened his eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling adorned with a ceiling fan adorned with three flower-like lighting fixtures. He couldn't help noticing he was shirtless, but whoever had removed both it and his trousers had thankfully left him with his steel-grey boxer-briefs.
'Wait... weren't they before...?' Jason recalled, his brows furrowing slightly as he sat up and took stock of his surroundings. Due to the presence of a ceiling fan, he wasn't surprised to find he wasn't in a hospital room. What we found instead was the stylishly furnished interior of a hotel room, with soft yellow walls, maroon carpet, highly polished dark wood furnishings, and a massive wall-mounted TV. To his left was a pair of white doors that ostensibly opened onto a balcony, and, emanating from his right, around a corner, was the faint, muffled sound of a shower running on the other side of a wall mounted with a wide painting of several canine Pokémon playing poker...
In the midst of looking around, Jason was relieved to find Ren curled up on a thick Pokémon bed with Mienfoo. This confirmed two things for him. First and foremost, Ren was okay. Secondly, the person taking a shower was almost certainly Korrina. That would ordinarily excite him, but as they had reserved separate rooms to avoid a scandal, he couldn't help feeling that she was playing with fire by showering in his room or allowing him to rest in hers...
Taking advantage of the fact that Ren had yet to notice he was awake, Jason inspected the left side of his body with his right hand. A strange, rubbery-feeling, off-white substance was plastered across his ribs, so it was clear he had received some medical treatment. And when he looked at the clock on the nightstand to his left, it was 9:43 PM, indicating he had been unconscious for four, nearly five hours.
Since his broadcast was still active from when he turned it on before his and Siebold's battle, Jason pulled up the chat interface to see what the Constellations had been saying. He was a little surprised to see that his peak viewer count had surpassed a thousand, reaching all the way up to 1,638, but he assumed it was because Korrina had undressed near him or something similar...
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Blue Star: It's good to see you're awake.
Great Sage: You got your ass handed to you.
Myriad Wanderer: Ignore him. You did your best.
Creeping Shadow: Nice cock.
[Creeping Shadow has been timed out for 600 seconds]
Sleeping Dragon: Don't let this deter you. So long as you keep pushing forward, you will become stronger.
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Though he could have done without the comment from Creeping Shadow, whose full moniker was The Creeping Shadow that Hides Behind a Moon, Jason felt better seeing the messages from his regular viewers.
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Fish Trader(Streamer): Can I trouble someone to explain what happened while I was out?
Mountain Rabbit: After you were knocked out, Korrina pulled you from the water. That evil chef's Lapras used its Life Dew ability to treat your broken ribs.
Blue Star: You're currently in a fourth-floor room of an apartment building located behind Siebold's restaurant. The person who took off your clothes and applied plaster to your body was Korrina.
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Reading the many responses to his query, not just those provided by The Rabbit Who Meanders Between Mountains and the Blue Star that Refutes its Flatitude, Jason got a rough understanding of what had occurred after he lost consciousness. Siebold's chop to his side had broken many of his ribs, so while he was able to be healed by Lapras's Life Dew, the rubbery plaster was used to help set his ribs to ensure they healed properly. More frustratingly, Siebold had entrusted Korrina with a message to pass along to him once he finally awoke, specifically that the man welcomed the day when they could face one another in a serious match...
'What a snob...' thought Jason, unable to prevent a frown from marring his face as the image of Siebold smiling smugly appeared in his mind. He had met similar people in his past life, but unlike those fools, who were mostly just pretentious without any real ability, Siebold was competent, fast, and strong. As he was, Jason couldn't think of even a single method to secure an advantage against the man without resorting to underhanded or illegal means...
'Before anything else, I need to call Lillie...' Jason recalled, thanking the Constellations who had loitered around in his chat before concluding his broadcast and searching for Rotom. He didn't see it on the nearby table charger, so he was a little confused until the faint hiss emanating from the bathroom ceased. A minute or two later, Korrina emerged wearing nothing but a pair of short, white, red-trimmed shorts as she continued drying her hair with a towel.
Seeing his Rotom sporting its characteristically impish grin as it followed after Korrina, Jason's expression briefly flattened. At that same moment, Ren and Mienfoo roused, the former stirring languidly while the latter rose to its feet as if it had never been asleep.
Noticing Jason sitting upright on the bed, Korrina's brows perked, her previously neutral expression brightening into a broad, radiant smile as she remarked, "You're awake. That's a relief. I was starting to worry that we needed to go to a hospital."
"Jason~!" exclaimed Ren, realizing only after Korrina had spoken that Jason was awake. Fortunately, while she sprang nearly five meters to cross the room, she landed atop the bed rather than pouncing directly onto him. From there, she darted over to him and began enthusiastically licking his face while he did his best to, at the very least, avoid having her lick his lips or the interior of his mouth.
Once Ren finally settled down, Jason learned what had happened from Korrina's perspective. She also revealed that the reason she had Rotom with her was that Lusamine had called just as she was preparing to get in the shower. As such, the two spent nearly an hour chatting until the water coming from the showerhead turned cold...
...
..
.