"Where are we going Ace?" May asked me after several minutes of walking through the woods that had begun growing thicker with every step.
"It's a surprise, just a bit further!" I told her and Dawn, to which the latter asked,
"Don't we need to worry about wild Pokemon Ace?" I shook my head while replying,
"Professor Oak's Pokemon regularly patrol the entire valley and surrounding mountains, nothing other than Rattata and Pidgey can be found around here."
"Gee!" A wild Pidgey cried out at that time, drawing our attention to it.
"The Pidgey here are so cute... Or maybe I'm just too used to Starly." Dawn said, while May nodded in agreement as she added, "For me it's the Taillow."
I smiled wryly at them as the Pidgey flew off, before saying, "Just try to avoid the Spearow. Typically when there's one there's a hundred more, and they are some mean SOBs."
Both girls looked at me incredulously as Dawn asked,
"Really?" I nodded while explaining,
"They're fairly infamous amongst trainers for being hard to tame and train, and doubly so when they evolve into Fearow. That hasn't prevented people from trying though of course, especially amongst the flying type specialists."
"What other interesting Pokemon are there in Kanto?" May asked me curiously, making me think for a second as I sifted through the Pokemon that couldn't be found in Hoenn and Sinnoh.
"Let's see, there's the Nidoran lines, with entirely different colors and forms between the male and female line. There's the Ryhorn line, the Dragonite line, the Cubone line, Tangela, Lickitung, Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, Kangaskhan, Syther, Jynx, Magmar, Pinsr..."
The rest of our journey was filled with the three of us discussing the different Pokemon of our respective regions, comparing different types to one another, as well as debating on which ones were better in our respective opinions. I like to think our debates were much more civilized than they otherwise might've been, with all of us having a fairly open mind from working for our respective professors.
At the very least, they went much better than the discussions regarding which starter was better that I had in my previous life.
And as one would expect, our discussions sped up the journey quite a bit as we were all distracted, and we soon arrived at our destination.
"This is what I wanted to show you." I said while making a grand sweeping gesture, leaving the two girls dumbstruck as they took in the scenery.
We were standing atop a fifteen foot tall cliff that dropped into a pool of crystal clear water, which was being fed by a small stream that created a few falls on the other side.
"Wow..." May uttered as she admired the falls, while Dawn was peering down into the crystal clear waters.
"Ash and I discovered this place a couple years ago, now it's our favorite place to cool off when it's really hot out." I say while stripping off my shirt, surprising the two girls before I suddenly leapt off of the cliff.
"Woohoo!" I cry out while twisting backwards, doing a full rotation before my feet slammed into the pleasantly cooled water.
*splash!*
I plunged several feet into the water, my toes just barely scrapping the smooth stones on the bottom, before surging upwards as my head broke the surface.
"Ahhhh!" I then looked up at the girls that were staring down at me from the top of the short cliff, and cried out, "come on in! The waters fine!"
May smiled awkwardly at my invitation, before saying,
"But I didn't bring a swimsuit..." My expression stiffened as I didn't think of that, and a quick look at Dawn told me that she didn't bring one either.
With a wry smile I started swimming back to the cliff, already thinking of some other place to show the two of them. But when I climbed up and reached the top, all I saw was a pile of clothes as something leapt over my head, and splashed into the water behind me.
Turning swiftly, I saw May floating in the water devoid of everything but her underwear, a noticeable blush on her cheeks.
"May...!" Dawn uttered in disbelief that her friend had done that, to which she stated,
"What? It's not much different than a swimsuit..." I fought back a laugh at her justification, before looking at Dawn pointedly.
"What? I'm not going to do that!" Dawn exclaimed as she crossed her arms over her body, as if to protect herself.
"Don't worry, I won't ask you to strip." I said as I pulled myself up, making her sigh in relief, before I scooped her up in my arms.
"You're still going I the water though."
"Wait! Kyaaaaaaa!" Dawn shrieked as I leapt into the water with her in my arms, wrapping her arms around my neck as we flew through the air.
*splash!*
"Haaaaaa! I can't believe you did that!" Dawn exclaimed as she and I broke the surface, before she splashed me in the face to vent her frustration.
I just laughed it off though before saying, "Well I wasn't going to leave you as the only one out while May and I have fun."
As I said that, May swam towards us and said in a teasing voice, "you might as well go all the way now Dawn~."
A blush crept into Dawn's cheeks when she heard that, before she slowly made her way to the edge of the short side of the cliff, and back up where my shirt and May's clothes were.
Her blush intensifying, Dawn stripped out of her wet clothes until she was only in her bra and panties like May, and laid them over a branch in the sun so they could dry. She had barely finished doing that when Dawn quickly ran over to the edge of the cliff, leapt back into the water so she wasn't still exposed.
After that the girls and I started to really have fun as they slowly got used to running around in their underwear, jumping off of the cliffs and otherwise playing around in the water. With a couple hours passing as we played and swam, we soon found ourselves resting on a rock together as we dried off, Dawn on my right with May on my left.
"Today was a lot of fun." May said as she snuggled up to my side, making me smile wryly. But the one who surprised me was Dawn, as she too snuggled up to my other side, before pinching me as she pouted,
"It was, but you better take responsibility!" I looked at her questioningly, and asked,
"Responsibility for you having fun today? I'll accept it anytime." Dawn pouted at me as she stated,
"Not that! For making me strip in front of you!" As she said that Dawn sat up, allowing me to see her body, as she exclaimed, "No other boy has seen me in my underwear before, so you have to take responsibility!"
I was slightly stunned at Dawn's sudden aggressiveness, especially when she hugged my arm close to her chest, but what shocked me even more was when my other arm was also enveloped in softness.
"Hey! Ace also saw me in my underwear, so he needs to take responsibility for ME!" Dawn narrowed her eyes at her friend as they both vied for me to 'take responsibility', but neither expected what happened next.
Freeing my arms from their respective traps, I then wrapped them around each girl's waist and pulled them both close. And as both of them turned completely red from the sudden shift, I said to them,
"How about I take responsibility for both of you?"
""Eh?""
All they could utter in response to my shocking idea was a small exclamation, which wasn't too surprising when you thought about it. As for why I suggested this, it was because of how I lived my previous life.
I hadn't been reborn under any delusions of starting a harem and collecting every women who caught my fancy, but I did acknowledge that with the habits I'd developed in my previous life, it would be borderline impossible for me to have a 'normal' relationship. Due to my infertility I had never had a stable relationship, instead flitting from woman to woman as I fancied. I mean, I died balls deep in another man's wife for Acreus' sake.
However with two girls both pressing me to 'take responsibility', there was no way I was going to pass up this chance for the me of the future.
"Y-you can't choose both of us!" May exclaimed incredulously, while Dawn could only sputter incoherently. I however cocked my head to the side curiously, and asked her,
"Why not? You and Dawn both want me to 'take responsibility', so doesn't it make sense that I do so for both of you?" Both girls shook their heads as Dawn finally exclaimed,
"No it doesn't! Y-you can't date two people!" This time I looked at her and asked curiously,
"Says who? If we're all ok with it, then there isn't a problem." Both girls were struck silent at my comment, seemingly torn between considering it and trying to refute it. Yet as they thought about it, neither tried to 'escape' my embrace.
Taking that as a good sign, I made to get up, making them rise too, and said, "Well, let's think about it later. For now let's get dressed and head back."
Though confused on why I suddenly changed the subject, neither girl argued as we made out way to our clothes, which Dawn's were dry by this point, and redressed.
As for why I wasn't in a hurry, it was because we were all still young. My body may have already started going through puberty, but I had no intention eating the forbidden fruit just yet.
Plus we all still had time to mature and consider other options since, as I said, I wasn't exactly out to create a harem in my life. If I did somehow get a harem, then I definitely wouldn't reject it though.
The girls were silent as they dressed, still thinking on what I said, and even when I started leading them back to town. For several minutes no one said anything, when I suddenly felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
"Hold up!" I said while holding up an arm to stop the two of them, alerting them as May asked,
"What's wrong?" I didn't answer her immediately as I looked around warily, now noticing that I couldn't hear any Pidgey or Rattata making noise either. Instead the forest was dead silent, until,
*crack!*
The three of us whirled around, and saw a Houndour stalking towards us. It's lips curled upwards to bare its teeth, the Houndour started to growl menacingly, even as two more stepped out from behind nearby trees.
"I-i thought you said there was only Pidgey and Rattata around here!" Dawn exclaimed fearfully as the Houndour stalked closer to us.
"There SHOULD be, but I'm more worried about something else..." I replied tensely, while slowly moving to put myself between the girls and the Pokemon.
"What?" May asked as she and Dawn slowly stepped back.
"Why are there three Houndour here when they aren't native to Kanto?"
Neither girl answered my question as they hopefully realized just how serious this situation was, as I noticed the muscles in the legs of the Houndour begin to tense.
"Get ready..." I quietly uttered to them while tensing my own legs.
"RUN!"
As I shouted out the three Houndour launched themselves at us, only to met with a face full of dirt that I kicked up before turning to run after the girls.
"HOUND!" The Houndour roared behind us from the dirt in their eyes, but none of us looked back as we instead ran as fast as we could towards town.
Soon however I head the sound of pursuit behind us as the Houndour gave chase, angrier now than they were before.
A glance backwards showed me they were quickly gaining on us on their four legs, while I was purposely slowing myself to keep the girls ahead of me.
Deciding to try and buy them more time to get away, I pivoted on one foot as I turned to face the three Pokemon while crying out, "Come on!"
I took my old fighting stance as I prepared to take on three Pokemon at once, but something happened that I hadn't expected, as the lead Houndour didn't even spare me a glance as it passed me.
My eyes widening in shock as the other two Houndour ignored me, realization dawned on me of what they were after, though I had no idea why.
Turning back, I began to chase the Houndour this time to keep them from catching up with the girls, using my aura now to gain on them even as I reached down to pick up a couple of rocks.
"Ignore this!" I snarled as I cocked my hand back, and threw the rock as hard as I could at the lead Houndour.
"Dour!" The Houndour cried out in shock and pain as the rock nailed it right in the back of the head, bringing it crashing down as it was momentarily stunned.
That finally earned me the attention of the other two as they changed targets, turning to face me while snarling menacingly.
"Hound!" The one on the right cried out as it lunged at me with its mouth open, intending to use its Bite attack.
Rather than recoil from the attack though, I swung my fist as it lunged at me, connecting it with the side of the Houndour's face, sending it flying with my aura fueling me.
Unfortunately that left me open as the other Houndour latched onto my forearm, burying its fangs into my flesh as it clamped down.
*crunch!*
The sound of my bones breaking could be heard as it bit down even harder, while my blood ran down its chin.
"Fucker!" I cried out in pain, before swinging my free fist around to punch it in the throat.
"Dour!" The Pokemon cried out in shock as it released my arm, only to receive a foot in its side as I delivered an aura infused kick.
With all three temporarily downed or stunned, I began running to catch up with the girls while cradling my broken arm, and trying to think of a way to deal with the three Houndour.
"Ace!" Dawn cried out when I began to catch up to them, and she caught sight of my broken and bloody arm.
"Tis merely a flesh wound, but that's not important." I told them while also urging them to keep going, as I could hear the Houndour restarting their pursuit.
As we ran I tried to think of ways to further stall the Houndour, and keep them away from the girls and the town.
"Piiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" Putting two of my fingers from my good hand in my mouth, a shrill sound echoed out as I blew out.
Immediately dozens of the Pidgey and Rattata that had been in hiding from the Houndour started moving as they answered my call.
"Gee!" The Pidgey cried out as took flight, flocking towards us as I directed May and Dawn to a small clearing.
"Use Gust!" I declared as the Houndour followed us into the clearing, prompting the numerous Pidgey to rapidly begin beating their wings in unison.
Instantly a windstorm was kicked up in the clearing as the Gusts created by the dozens of Pidgey whirled around, forming a twister around the Houndour that stopped them in their tracks as dirt, branches, and other debris from the forest floor began to buffet them.
"Rattata, start kicking everything you can into the twister!" I ordered to the numerous purple rat-like Pokemon, who did as I command as they began kicking up and throwing everything they could.
With the Houndour occupied within the twister, I turned to Dawn and May and told them,
"Ok, you two need to hurry back to town, and get to professor Oak's lab, now!"
"Ace-" May began while looking at my broken arm, before I cut her off as I stated,
"No! They're after you and Dawn, and that twister won't hold them for long, so the two of you need to get out of here while I keep them back! Tell professor Oak, and he'll send his Pokemon to deal with them!"
It was obvious that neither May or Dawn wanted to go and leave me alone, but I could also see in their eyes that they knew they couldn't help me either. That was when Dawn did something I never expected, and threw her arms around my neck as her lips slammed into mine.
The kiss was stiff and awkward, lasting only a few seconds, but seemed like an eternity before she broke it off and said with a red face,
"That's my first kiss, you better take responsibility later!" As Dawn backed away from me my mind struggled to comprehend what just happened, before May seized my head, and slammed her lips against mine as well.
Unlike Dawn though, her tongue forced its way into my mouth as it sought out my own, before she separated from and stated firmly, "for both of us!"
The two girls then turned and hurried back to town as quickly as they could, leaving me stunned as the Houndour fought against the twister that was containing them. I slowly brought my good hand up to my lips, touching them lightly while recalling the feeling of May and Dawn's on them.
It was FAR from my first kiss, but the brief contact triggered something in me that I never felt before.
"Alright! Let's do this!" I shouted to the Pidgey and Rattata, unaware of the soft amber glow my eyes had taken as I became increasingly pumped.
"Gee! Gee! Gee! Gee!!" The Pidgey cried out as they continuously used Gust, fueling the twister to keep it going as long as possible, while the Rattata kicked up everything they could into it to buffet the Houndour further.
"Keep it up, as long as possible!" I told them, urging them on despite knowing that the Houndour would escape eventually. When suddenly,
*KABOOM!*
The twister suddenly exploded into flames, sending burning debris in every direction to set numerous trees and bushes aflame.
I shielded my eyes from the intense flames as the Pidgey and Rattata that had been helping me scattered, running away from the fire and whatever had caused it. And as the light from the initial explosion died down, I opened my eyes to see numerous figures strolling towards me through the flames.
"Oh fuck me..." I swore when I saw what had caused the explosion.
"Dooooom..." Growled the Houndoom, the evolved and more powerful form of Houndour, along with three more Houndour on top of the three from before.
What caught my eye though, was the collar on the Houndoom with a big black box, like the shock collars used to discipline and train dogs, with a big red R on it.
***
"And then he says, I don't know who snores worse, you or the Snorlax!"
"Pft haha!" Professor Birch laughed at the joke, while the rest of them chuckled and even professor Rowen cracked a smile.
As the four older men were visiting with Giovanni's daughter, Giana, standing nearby, the door opened to allow a young man with spiky reddish-brown hair in.
"I'm done with that work gramps." The young man, Gary, said as he approached the group.
"Oh? Thank you Gary. Giovanni, have you met my grandson Gary?" Professor Oak as he pointed the two to each other.
"I haven't had the pleasure. Nice to meet you young man." Giovanni said as he reached out to shake Gary's hand, who returned the gesture while saying,
"Sure." Smirking at Gary's attitude, Giovanni sat down as he and the professors resumed their discussion.
Ignoring the old guys and Giana, Gary went to inspect the crates of eggs that had been brought in the day before, and had yet to be placed into incubators to be hatched.
*thump thump...*
A noise from one of the crates drew his attention, making Gary take a closer look as he wondered if one of the eggs hatched.
*tap tap*
Knocking on crate gently, Gary went place his ear against its side to be sure when,
*crash!*
Gary along with a section of the crate were blasted backwards all of a sudden, drawing everyone's attention as they rushed to see what the commotion was, only to see a single paw sticking out of the crate.
Thanks for reading!