"Alright, I have a helicopter headed this way. It should arrive within ten to fifteen minutes," stated Korrina, leaving Jason at a slight loss as he asked, "You can just call up a helicopter whenever you want?"
"Only in certain circumstances," answered Korrina, waving her right hand dismissively in front of her face before once again posing with her hands on her hips and asking, "While we wait, mind if I ask you a few questions? It won't be easy to talk while on the helicopter."
"I'll answer what I can..." affirmed Jason, nodding.
"You mentioned you're not from this world," remarked Korrina, her bright blue eyes as she asked, "So where are you from? Does it have Pokémon? And what are the people like?"
"It's a planet most of its inhabitants call Earth, but we recently learned its true name was Terra," answered Jason. "As for Pokémon, there aren't any that I know of. Instead, we have what we used to refer to as animals, but it seems like they're going to be called Star Beasts in the future. Our world is undergoing an evolution right now, and in the process of being sent to a place called a Tutorial world, I ended up here by chance. As for what the people of my world are like...there are many nations and cultures, with our global population being between eight and nine billion..."
"Eight to nine billion...?" repeated Korrina, stressing the word billion with her mouth slack and an incredulous look on her face. After all, according to the last census data she had read, her own world had a population of forty-six million, with scientists suggesting that if they didn't slow down, their increasing population could have catastrophic consequences for the environment and Pokémon habitats.
Nodding, Jason affirmed, "Some speculate it to be even higher due to inaccurate data, but I was never involved enough to know the specifics. My jobs were consulting for a production company with sixty-three million subscribers, hosting matched-donation charity events, and overseeing six landscaping businesses. But now I need to get stronger so I can return to my world and ensure those I care about are safe..."
Hearing Jason casually reveal that he had more subscribers than there were humans in her world, Korrina found herself reevaluating him. As a veteran Gym Leader, PR Video Star, and Pokémon Showcase Champion with 434,007 registrants in her fan club, she held the 29th spot on the Pokémon League Popularity Charts. That placed her under considerable pressure, so she could scarcely imagine what it was like to have tens of millions of people scrutinizing your every action...
"If you were such a big shot in your previous world, why do you look like this...?" asked Korrina, gesturing at Jason's ragged clothes. He had a fair complexion, bright amber eyes, and an all-around handsome face, but his thin body, messy hair, and ratty clothing made him look like he had gotten lost in a cave and only recently found his way out.
Looking down at himself, Jason touched his chest and the tunic covering it with his left hand as he explained, "When I was first transferred from my world, I was completely naked. As worn as these clothes are, I was lucky to discover them and the boots I'm currently wearing in an old wardrobe."
"Hmm...it sounds like this transfer has been a big hassle for you..." noted Korrina, causing Jason to tense as she abruptly clapped his left shoulder a few times, smiling as she assured, "But it's fine now. Once we return to Shalour City, I'll take you to where I live, and we'll get you cleaned up and looking presentable in no time. Helping you return to your world might be a tad more challenging, but I'll contact the Champion and League to see if they can lend a hand. You should expect a lot of people to ask you a lot of questions in the coming days."
"Understandable..." responded Jason, shifting his gaze to the horizon as the familiar sound of a helicopter reached his ears. He couldn't see it, but it shouldn't be more than a few minutes out.
"If you don't mind my asking, how are you planning to become stronger?" asked Korrina, crossing her arms and swaying her hips in a way that made it even more difficult for Jason to meet her gaze as he responded, "Before the people of my world were transferred against our will, strange windows appeared before, apprising us of the situation. Are you able to see this...?"
Seeing a dark blue window appear as Jason gestured with his left hand, Korrina's brows perked. That was enough to demonstrate that she could, in fact, see it. Fortunately, she was apparently unable to see or read what was displayed as she extended her left hand, tracing her fingers through its rippling, water-like surface and commenting, "It's very pretty..." before meeting Jason's gaze and asking, "But what does it do...?"
"To explain things simply, it permits me to see my physical, mental, and spiritual stats as well as increase them using a currency accumulated by completing Quests and accumulating achievements..." answered Jason, appending, "For example. That Pinsir that attacked me—had I been able to defeat it myself, I would have been rewarded accordingly. Instead, I only received a minor reward for surviving..."
"Oh...then did I maybe do something I shouldn't have...?" asked Korrina, her smile gaining a hint of awkwardness as she scratched her cheek with her left index finger.
Shaking his head, Jason calmly asserted, "If you and your Lucario hadn't appeared, it's very likely that I would have become that Pinsir's next meal. And now you're even offering to help me..."
Closing his eyes and bowing his head ever so slightly, Jason expressed, "I will repay you for this kindness..."
"Wow...you're a real serious one, aren't you...?" asked Korrina, recrossing her arms and exhaling faintly from her nose before joining Jason in staring at the helicopter headed their way. It was large, grey, and had a distinctly egg-shaped main compartment, a tapered tail with an enclosed rotor, and a six-bladed primary rotor nearly fifteen meters across—producing strong winds that caused the surrounding forest to shift and bristle loudly as if a storm were blowing through.
"You ever ridden a helicopter before...!?" asked Korrina, raising her voice to talk over the sound of the descending, notably well-armored transport. Before Jason could answer, the doors on both sides of the helicopter slid open, followed by two members of the flight crew tossing down long rope ladders.
'You have got to be kidding me...' Jason complained internally, an uneasy feeling replacing the excitement he had felt at the prospect of boarding a helicopter for the first time. He had climbed ladders before, but there was a big difference between ascending and descending grounded metal and climbing a rope ladder dangling from a helicopter...
Noticing the trepidation in Jason's gaze, Korrina waved up at the crew with both hands and shouted, "Toss down a harness...!". The crew was unable to hear her over the sound of the main rotor and the whipping of the wind around them, but they eventually figured out what she wanted after seeing her make no attempts to climb the ladder.
'I really lucked out...' thought Jason, his impression of Korrina steadily improving. Her Lucario was unnerving, staring at him with crossed arms and suspicious red eyes, but Korrina seemed like a kind and caring person—willing to listen to reason and give even suspicious people like him the benefit of the doubt.
'She really needs to learn about boundaries, though...' he appended, his face warming as Korrina helped him put on the harness, her hands getting dangerously close to some sensitive areas as she adjusted and pulled the straps tight while well within his personal space. He had never really had time for dating or trying to find a girlfriend, and the few who approached him first were almost always looking to benefit from his successes or take advantage of him. Korrina, on the other hand, seemed to find him curious and, at least as far as he could tell, sincerely sought to help him.
"Alright, you're good to go! Let's head up...!" shouted Korrina, causing the heat in Jason's face to intensify as she held his gaze and gave his harness one final tug with both hands. Then, as her Lucario covered the twenty or so meters to the helicopter in a single, effortless bound, she abruptly sat down, drawing Jason's curiosity and wandering gaze as she removed the wheels from each of her rollerblades to reveal tredded soles with strange, speaker-like ports on the toe and heel.
After placing her wheels in a holster at her hip, Korrina sprang to her feet, gave Jason a playful wink, and said, "I'll see you up top...!" before leaving him with his mouth ajar as she performed a deep squat and leaped nearly fifteen meters and deftly grabbed the rope and metal ladder with her left hand. From there, she had no difficulty pulling herself the rest of the way up, making the task look effortless before looking back to smile and wave down at him.
Exhaling from his nose, Jason steeled himself and grabbed the dangling ladder. His ascent was considerably slower, but thanks to the harness and the wench assisting his climb, he managed to reach the helicopter's main carriage without issue. As he did, Korrina hooked her right hand under his left arm and helped him inside, hefting his 71kg as if he weighed nothing.
"Thanks..." muttered Jason, feeling slightly embarrassed as he avoided meeting Korrina's grinning gaze and scanned the cabin's spacious interior. There were only eight leather seats present, lining the walls along the rear of the compartment. The rest of the cabin was empty, with various straps and grounding points lining the floor and roof, giving the impression it was used to transport goods rather than people.
Placing a sound-dampening headset with a microphone on Jason's head, Korrina forced him to look at her as she advised, "Let's sit down and strap in. You don't want to be standing up or untethered if we get attacked by a Flying Type mid-flight."
"Seriously...?" Jason asked aloud, his expression and faintly exasperated tone causing Korrina to giggle and poke her tongue out at him before she began undoing the straps of his harness. Jason was tempted to stop her and say that he could do it himself, but the words didn't reach his lips. He didn't want to inadvertently offend her, so while avoiding the gazes of the flight crew, he allowed Korrina to remove his harness and guide him by his right arm over to the nearest seat. There, she got him to tense more than usual by leaning forward, her modest but shapely breasts briefly filling his vision and nearly pressing against his face as she reached up to grab the two straps that buckled him into the seat—clipping them into the circular receiver between his thighs.
"You can handle the rest yourself," said Korrina, giving Jason another wink before occupying the seat next to him, demonstrating that there were four buckles in total that he needed to strap himself in with. Once they were in place, the rope ladders reeled in, and the cabin's doors securely shut, the helicopter turned and began its return trip to Shalour City, a little less than fifty kilometers away. Jason expected Korrina to continue questioning him throughout the flight, but she instead told him they would continue where they left off once they reached her home. In essence, she didn't want his being from another world to become public knowledge, so, after nodding in understanding, Jason closed his eyes, leaned his head back against the surprisingly comfy headrest, and reflected on the general absurdity of his predicament. He would be lying if he said he wasn't excited to get out and explore every centimeter of the Pokémon world, but with everyone he had ever known and cared about in a separate world, possibly experiencing an arduous trial, he couldn't help feeling anxious, his hands balling into fists as he resolved to find his way back as quickly as he could...
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..
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