In Goldenrod City, the sun had all but vanished in the evening sky. A calm, orange light played off of the brick buildings, and the cities inhabitants enjoyed the warm air as they walked home from work.

Just outside the large city was a small house, with a large fenced in area where several Pokemon played together. To a Johto native, some of these creatures would have appeared quite strange; they had come all the way from Sinnoh, along with Professor Rowan's young assistant, to be part of a breeding experiment.

The assistant – a young boy by the name of Lucas – stood nearby, checking out the area's climate on his Poketch. Ethan, his escort while he was visited the region, leaned on the fence post, and let out a loud, impatient groan every few seconds. Lucas was doing his best to ignore him.

Lucas sighed, "The temperature and humidity levels here seem to be optimal."

"Fascinating," Ethan said, wearing the same bored expression he'd had on since the other boy arrived. "Why are you here, again?"

"I've told you a dozen times," Lucas said. "I'm here to observe Pokemon breeding patterns."

"Yeah, duh," said Ethan. "But isn't there a Pokemon Daycare in Sinnoh?"

"Yes, there is," Lucas said. "But the one here in Goldenrod has more ideal conditions for these particular Pokemon."

"How do you mean?" Ethan asked, leaning against the fence post.

Lucas groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. From the moment he had arrived in Johto, Ethan had been a constant annoyance. It seemed that all he ever did was smile and ask stupid questions.

He's just an idiot, Lucas reminded himself. You've got to be patient with him… How can I explain this so he'll understand?

"It's like this," said Lucas. "You know how Ireland is known for its potatoes?"

Ethan nodded, "Yeah…"

"Potatoes weren't originally from Europe," Lucas continued. "They originated in the Americas. Ireland hadn't even seen a potato until European explorers brought them back from The New World."

Ethan wrinkled his nose, "What does that have to do-"

"I'm getting to that," Lucas interrupted. Jeez, this guy was such a child. "The point is, Ireland wasn't the potato's original environment, yet it could thrive there."

"So?"

Lucas had to fight off the urge to smack his forehead, "So, these Pokemon are like potatoes. They're from Sinnoh, but research has been showing that Glameow prefer warmer climates. My theory is that they will produce more eggs here in Johto, where the average temperature is higher."

Ethan snickered, "But we don't even know if Pokemon lay eggs."

His eyes narrowed, "Come again?"

"Yeah, it's true," Ethan said whimsically. "No one's ever seen a Pokemon lay an egg before."

"That's ridiculous," Lucas said, crossing his arms. "I'd have to be an idiot to believe something like that."

"But it's true," Ethan protested, flailing his arms around. "It really is! Have you ever seen a Pokemon lay an egg? 'cause I haven't."

"Well, no…" Lucas confessed. He shook his head, "This is stupid. Your grandparents run a Pokemon Daycare. I'm sure they've seen Pokemon lay eggs before."

Ethan smirked, "Wanna bet?"

"Excuse me?"

"Let's bet on it," said Ethan. "If I'm right, you have to give me a kiss."

"W-w-what?" Lucas sputtered. "What's with that all of a-"

Ethan turned around, and for a few wonderful seconds Lucas thought that he was going to leave, and he would finally be free. But he only called out to the elderly man sitting on the porch in his rocking chair.

"Hey, Grandpa!" he hollered. "Have you ever seen a Pokemon lay an egg before?"

"Have I what?" he called back.

"Seen a Pokemon lay an egg!" Ethan repeated, louder this time.

The old man scratched his chin, "Well… No, I reckon I haven't."

"What?"Lucas exclaimed, his jaw dropping. Next to him, Ethan was snickering. That stupid brat; me must have planned that somehow!

"I've never actually seen it happen," the elder repeated. "I always find Pokemon eggs, but I've never seen a Pokemon lay an egg."

Lucas groaned; great, now he was going to have to-

"Hey, Lucas," Ethan said, giving him a gentle jab in the side. "Hey Lucas, you know what that means~ It means you have to give me a-"

"I know!" Lucas snapped. "You don't have to be so obnoxious about it."

He grinned, "Well? What'cha waitin' for?"

Lucas gulped, feeling his blush creep down from his ears to cover the rest of his face. Ethan seemed to be delighted by this, and his grin grew even wider, until Lucas wondered if his face would split in half.

"C'mon, it's easy," he said, pointing to his lips. "Just a quick one, right here."

"Why does it have to be on the lips?" Lucas demanded. "You didn't say anything about lips! Come to think of it, I didn't agree to this in the first place!"

"Awww, c'mon," Ethan pouted. "Just do it already!"

"Fine," said Lucas. Still blushing furiously, he cleared his throat… and jumped back a little when Ethan leaned forward, his eyes closed and his lips puckered.

Calm down, he told himself. It's just one kiss… Sure, you've never done this before, let alone with a guy… But how hard could it be, right?

Mustering up all of his confidence, Lucas closed the remaining distance between them, touching his lips gently against Ethan's. Surprisingly, the other's lips felt soft, warm… almost nice, but Lucas couldn't bring himself to admit that he liked the feeling. He allowed himself to linger a little bit longer than he had planned before pulling away…

Well, he tried to pull away. As soon as he started to move, however, a cold hand was pressed against the back of his neck, keeping him in place. Lucas tried to struggle against it, but it was no use; he was stuck, and he could feel Ethan smirking against his lips. He gasped when he felt the other boy's tongue pressing against his lips, and Ethan took this as permission to enter. Lucas tried to squirm away, but the strong arm now wrapped around his waist was making this difficult.

Damn, this guy's strong… was the most coherent thought Lucas could come up with while his mouth was being thoroughly explored by the other boy. Ethan let out a small moan every once and a while, but Lucas refuse to emit any sort of noise that might make Ethan thing he was enjoying this… Until he began playing with his tongue; after that, all bets were off.

"Oh boys~" Lyra called from the front porch, her voice as clear as a bell. At last, Ethan released his poor captive to see what it was the girl wanted. Lucas was so dazed that he could hardly register what she was saying. "It's time for dinner!"

"We'll be right there!" Ethan said. When Lucas looked up at him, he was smirking. He looked so arrogant as he wiped the last traces of saliva from his mouth… Lucas wanted to smack him. "Haha, that wasn't bad at all."

Lucas frowned, "What do you mean it wasn't bad?"

Ethan sighed, "Yeah, I'd give it a seven out of ten."

Lucas was furious, "Seven? Seven?"

He nodded, "Don't be mad, seven is a totally respectable number. You'll get better if we practice more."

"Practice?" Lucas hollered. "Why on earth would I want to practice that, especially with someone like you?"

" 'cause you liked it," Ethan said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"No, I did not!" Lucas answered reflexively, though after the words were out of his mouth he realized that he did enjoy it… Sort of. But why did it have to be with that cocky, country bumpkin? It was embarrassing!

"Riiiiiiiight," Ethan said, not believing Lucas for a second. After a few moments, he laughed, pulling the other boy's hat down over his eyes.

"H-hey!"

"Race ya back to the house!" Ethan called, sprinting off. He already had a huge lead by the time Lucas had pulled his hat out of the way and gathered his wits.

I really hate that guy, Lucas thought, chasing after him.