Dex was still trying to process what had just happened with Travis and the whole "romantic" side of being a Pokémon trainer when Charmander gave him the side-eye.
"So," Charmander began, his voice thick with suspicion, "where'd you get the money for that Pokégear?"
Dex, still riding the high of his first win and the weird, warm feeling from Nidoran's 'victory kiss,' snapped his head towards Charmander. "Uh... I found it."
"Found it?" Charmander repeated, eyebrow raised. "Are we talking 'dropped on the ground' found, or 'took it from a distracted kid' found?"
Dex gave a guilty half-smile. "The second one."
"Figures," Charmander muttered, shaking his head. "Just... don't get too comfortable with that. You might want to actually earn stuff at some point."
Dex shrugged. "Meh, I'll worry about that later."
Before Charmander could launch into another one of his speeches about morals, something caught Dex's eye.
A girl jogged past, her long brown hair flowing behind her like a silky banner. She wore a simple tank top and athletic shorts, and her Pokémon—an Eevee, of course—bounded happily beside her.
But, Dex wasn't looking at the Eevee.
His eyes locked on the girl's chest as her boobs bounced with each stride. They were—well, they were definitely there. A full display, courtesy of the jogging motion. Dex's gaze stuck like a magnet, unable to look away.
Nidoran♀, walking beside him, noticed his sudden trance-like state. Her eyes narrowed to slits, tail flicking in irritation.
Dex's brain was still catching up, distracted by what could only be described as the most incredible form of nature he'd ever seen in real life when suddenly—
"Excuse me," Nidoran hissed, voice dripping with poison.
Dex snapped out of his daze, only to find Nidoran's sharp, spiky face inches from his own.
"Uh... Nidoran, what's up?"
"I see you," she growled. "I see where your eyes are, and they are NOT on me. What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Dex blinked, still processing. "What? I—uh, I wasn't... I mean... Look, she's just—"
"Just what?" Nidoran cut in, her fur bristling slightly. "Don't think I didn't notice. You are staring at her—again."
"No! I wasn't!" Dex quickly waved his hands in front of him, looking panicked. "I was just—uh—admiring her Pokémon! Yeah! Eevee! It's so cute! Totally not her, uh... body—"
Nidoran narrowed her eyes, her tail whipping with irritation. "Mm-hmm. Sure. Keep telling yourself that."
Charmander, watching from the sidelines, sighed heavily. "You're in deep, Dex. In way too deep."
Dex felt the heat rise to his face. "I swear, I was just—"
Nidoran flicked her tail once more, this time swatting him in the cheek. "I'll remember that, Dex. Keep it up, and I'll start taking notes."
"Wait, no! I—don't—wait!"
But Nidoran had already turned her back on him, strutting off as if she had better things to do than listen to Dex's increasingly hopeless explanations.
Dex let out a sigh. "I'm so dead."
"Yep," Charmander agreed. "She's already got you whipped. At this rate, you'll be wrapped around her tail like a Clefairy with a Moon Stone."
Dex slapped his hands on his face, groaning.
"Just focus, Dex. Focus on becoming a Pokémon master. You can deal with this mess later."
He glanced over at the girl jogging with Eevee, still wondering if maybe, just maybe, he'd learned the art of respectful ogling.
He turned back to Nidoran, who was giving him a pointed look.
"Right. Okay. I get it," he muttered. "I'm an idiot."
"Well, you're not wrong there," Nidoran said, her voice full of smugness as she walked on ahead.
Dex sighed again. At this rate, being a Pokémon master would require more emotional intelligence than he was prepared for.
It was going to be a long journey.