Chapter 3: A Harematic Background

Ash and Pikachu found themselves in Touya's mansion which housed many girls. However, one girl seemed to have attracted Ash, as did the other way around. Sueshie Ernea Ortlinde, cousin of Yumina Ernea Belfast, seemed to have fallen for the trainer from another world. Everyone sat for dinner as they enjoyed more about Ash's world. "So, Touya found you two struggling to sell a set of crystal antlers?" he asked.

"Yes," Linze confirmed. "We were on a trade, but they wouldn't accept the antler because there was a scuff on it."

"Then, here comes Touya," Elze continued. "He took care of the scammers and escorted us away. We hadn't been away from him for any more than an hour since." Ash nodded as he turned to Pikachu.

"I could say the same thing about me and Pikachu," Ash admitted. Pikachu squeaked in agreement as Ash turned to Yumina. "What about you? Touya wouldn't have a fiance just by first glance. Don't get me wrong, you're pretty right now." Yumina giggled to Ash's honesty.

"Actually, Touya assisted my father after he was poisoned," she admitted. "He used Recover to cure my father before investigating who tried to kill him. It's when he found out that Count Balsa, an aristocrat among the Kingdom of Belfast, was the assailant and he was sentenced to death for his crime." Ash and Pikachu gulped to the outcome.

"I'd argue that a long stay in prison would've been more appropriate…"

"Well, he also plotted to attack the Duke and Duchess in the process." That made Ash turn to Sue and realize the outcome.

"Never mind…" Turning back to Yumina, Ash focused on her eyes. "Hey, about your eyes… I hope it's not personal to bring it up…"

"No, I don't mind talking about my eyes and why they're different colors. It doesn't affect my eyesight. In fact, I have something called Mystic Eyes of Intuition." The name made Ash blink.

"Mystic Eyes?"

"Yes. When I first met you, my Mystic Eyes saw your true personality. What I saw, I felt that you're just as pure as Touya. What he did won my heart to want to marry him!"

"Wow, I can only imagine you using it on Misty and Brock." The names made Yae scoff.

"When you mentioned Brock, I felt that his demeanor is one of chaotic desire," she pointed out. "At least who came by are more honest."

"When you say that, are you also referring to Pikachu?" questioned Leen. Yae blinked before turning to Pikachu drinking some juice. Ash and Sue shared glances to each other.

"We were a bit aggressive in some of our embrace," Lucia admitted. "I still want to hold onto Pikachu, but gentler."

"So would I," Linze agreed.

("I can help out,") Pikachu wished. Hearing the Mouse Pokémon, Linze and Lucia seemed at ease.

"Yae, you and Touya aren't actually from the same home, right?" guessed Ash. "You both like to be referred to your last names." Yae seemed to start thinking back to the initial meeting.

"He never really said where he's originally from," she started. "Though, I'm from Eashen and raised as a samurai. Touya helped my family and the kingdom from the Takeda clan and the zombies." Ash received a chill from the word.

"Zombies?" he repeated. "Yikes!"

"While Eashen had a zombie outbreak," Lucia compared. "My kingdom was dealing with a coup d'état. General Bazoar led the charge against my family, including the disappearance of my brother, Romero." Ash blinked to the term Lucia used.

"I have never heard that before," he irked. "Is it like taking over the kingdom by force?"

"Pretty much," Lucia nodded. Suddenly, an orange-haired girl emerged with buns held by ribbons and looking like Francesca, except she wore black leggings instead of white. She held Ash's cap in her hands.

"This helmet could use some metal around the bill," she studied. Ash and Pikachu gawked to the girl holding his cap.

"Whoa, this is special!" he snapped as he took the cap back.

"The paperweight helmet isn't one that can protect you from much," Hildegard sided.

"First, it's not a helmet," Ash corrected. "It's my Trainer's cap that I won. Second, who is she?" The orange-haired wasn't bothered by Ash's retaking.

"I'm one of Dr. Babylon's gynoids, High Rosetta," she named herself. "But, you can just call me Rosetta." Touya nodded to the claim.

"We've been to their Structures of Babylon," he mentioned. "Cesca has the Sky Garden, Rosetta has the Workshop." Ash awed the information.

"A workshop, huh?" he repeated as he refaced Rosetta. "What do you build there?" Rosetta giggled to the wonder.

"With the right material, there's all sorts of tools and weapons that can be manufactured," she replied.

"It doesn't sound like there's any shortage of work," Ash smiled.

"Well, it depends…" shrugged Touya. "Once we get you familiar with Brunhild, we can take you up to the Workshop and the Sky Garden." Ash and Pikachu seemed interested to the planning.

"Of course," Ash accepted. "Maybe Bayleef and Cyndaquil will enjoy them as well." The girls became curious to the new names.

"Bayleef?" repeated Lucia.

"Wait, those don't sound like human names," Elze believed. "Are they like Pikachu?"

"Yeah, they're Pokémon as well," Ash confirmed. "They and Pikachu are three of the six Pokémon I can carry. I have more back at in Pallet Town back home with Professor Oak. He's also the one who gave me Pikachu as my starter Pokémon when I became of age to be a trainer." That perked interests with the girls.

"That could mean that we all can be trainers like you?" wondered Yumina.

"Yeah, even Sue can," Ash assured. "The age is ten years old." Renne moaned at the news. Ash turned to the young maid. "Renne?" Touya realized the situation.

"Right, Renne's only nine years old," he remembered. Ash now understood Renne's problem.

"The age is to be a trainer," Ash informed. "It doesn't mean you can't have a Pokémon." Renne's awe came back.

"So, owning a Pokémon can come at any time?" she believed. Ash nodded. Renne giggled to the reasoning. A little while later, the girls were bathing in a giant pool-like bathtub.

"I think Ash will fit in with the rest of us," Linze believed. "He said that tomorrow, he'll show all of us the Pokémon he has."

"Yes, even though he said that he can only carry six at a time," Hildegard recalled. "There must be some sort of guideline that's set against him."

"Eh, I'm not worried," Elze shrugged. "Besides, I'm still wondering about Pikachu and his behavior towards us. We did get a little overzealous when we first saw him." That's when Yumina entered only wearing a towel around her body while carrying Pikachu.

"This could be the perfect opportunity to apologize," she teased. Looking, the girls saw Yumina with Pikachu and Kohaku.

"Yumina, don't you think it's a bit wrong for Pikachu to bathe with us?" questioned Linze.

"Don't worry, Linze," Yumina smiled. "I asked Ash if Pikachu can join us. Since Pikachu likes bathing, I don't see anything wrong with him washing with us." They entered the tub and Yumina removed her towel, but she soaked her body in the hot water from the neck down.

"I'm not so sure about allowing Pikachu to join us," Hildegard gulped.

"What's the harm?" pondered Lucia. "I don't mind having a chance to scrub the back of a pet. I know that sounds like a stretch for you, Pikachu…" The Mouse Pokémon seemed nervous about Lucia's wish.

("Scrub my back?") he repeated. Yumina carried Pikachu to Lucia as his nerves started to heighten again. Seeing Pikachu's reaction, some of the girls giggled.

"Such innocence…" teased Lucia. "Not used to being around naked girls before, huh?" Pikachu shook his head before sticking up one finger. "You bathed with one girl before? Was it Misty that Ash mentioned?" Pikachu nodded to the guess.

"That makes sense," Linze understood. "It tells us that Pikachu's not used to a few girls bathing, let alone our number and not counting the gynoids." Elze giggled as she turned to Sue.

"What about you, Sue?" she asked. Sue had her eyes closed as she smiled and had her head back. Pikachu and the other girls looked to Sue; puzzled looks abound. "Sue?" No response from the little blond.

"Cousin?" called out Yumina. A slight pause…

"Ash…" she hummed. Hearts started to balloon out from behind Sue.

"Daydreaming?" guessed Linze. Sue's blush appeared on her face, a huge smile formed as everyone watched. Yae held Sue up as to not sink beneath the bathwater.

"Sue's in her happy place," she teased.

"That's for sure," Elze giggled. "Anyway, of all of us here, is there someone you don't mind cuddling with?" Pikachu quickly pointed to Yumina. She seemed surprised to hear of Pikachu's wish.

"Me?" she gulped.

("You're one of the first to hold me,") Pikachu claimed.

"There you go," Elze offered. "We can ask Ash and I'm sure he'll let Yumina be with Pikachu." Yumina smiled, hopeful to have Pikachu with her tonight. Pikachu gawked to seeing Kohaku bathing with them. Kohaku saw the stunned reaction.

"What, never saw a Divine Beast as dirty?" she guessed.

("That's not it…") mulled Pikachu.

"I think it's more of the fact that you're a cat that's enjoying bathing," Yumina realized.

"Ah, but it's not a big deal," Kohaku giggled. "Tigers actually enjoy the water unlike the smaller cats. Wait until you see the others." Pikachu gulped at the thought of more Divine Beasts. After their bath, Elze carried the lovelorn little girl out as Linze dried Pikachu. They left before Ash and Touya entered as they relaxed in the bath by themselves.

"This feels needed," Ash awed.

"Yeah, and it's one of Kohaku's favorite things to do while at the mansion," Touya laughed. "Tomorrow, you'll show off your Pokémon… at least, the ones you have on hand." Ash wanted to ask about the girls some more.

"Say, what do you know about Sue? I wanted to ask about it, but I… uh…"

"I know what you mean… I met Sue after Yae teamed up with me, Elze and Linze as her carriage was attacked by lizardmen summoned by a magician. You know that I use Gate and Recover, right?"

"Yeah, I'm still shocked that you can use those."

"Well, here… it's called Null Magic. Once we get you acquainted with where everything is, you'll see what magic we and maybe you have. I used more Null Magic like Slip. It caused the magician to… well, slip and lose control. After that, we met Sue. One of her guards was pierced by an arrow and had broken off. I used one more Null Magic, Apport. It removed the arrow before I used Recover to heal him. It was learned that Sue was the daughter of the Duke of Belfast, which explains more of how Sue and Yumina are related: Yumina's the daughter of the Belfast King while his brother is the Duke."

"Oh, I see how it goes."

"I also learned that Sue was looking for a lost magic that could cure her mother's blindness. She survived an illness, but her sight was lost. It was fortunate that we were around. I used Recover once more and her mother could see again."

"Wow, what are you, some sort of lord and savior?"

"I wouldn't go that far. After that, I was given 40 platinum coins. Let's just say that it was a ton of money, not just by the fact that I needed both hands to hold that amount." Ash's eyes nearly left his head.

"The way you say that, maybe one of those coins would be enough to buy a new bike for Misty!"

"Yeah, especially if one platinum coin is worth ¥1,000,000… or if in one country, about $10,000."

"Talk about a pretty penny." The boys laughed.

"Since then, she's joined on occasions or stayed with the Duke and Duchess." The outcome made Ash nod.

"I'm actually happy… in more ways than one. I mean, it's been a rather long time since I… had a crush over a girl, and it happened only once." That made Touya interested.

"Really? When was that?"

"Back when I was first starting out as a Pokémon Trainer with Pikachu. We journeyed around my home region of Kanto."

"Oh… Who was the girl?"

"A brunette named Giselle. She's the top student at a school called the Pokémon Technical Institute, or Pokémon Tech. Brock and I fawned over her from a picture that was shown to us. However, meeting her really woke us up. Despite her looks, she was a stuck-up snob… not to mention that she insulted and underestimated both me and Pikachu."

"Yikes…"

"Right? We showed her though. After that, I've learned my lesson that day and haven't fallen for another girl at first sight since… well, until now with Sue."

"I can figure. From what you've told me, you must be very glad that Sue's nothing like this Giselle girl, huh?"

"Oh, no kidding!"

"Now, about your world… Are Pokémon everywhere?"

"Yep, and there are those of us trainers who we partner up with to train for competitions. Of course, others have as pets or have help with work."

"Oh, like companions?" A nod came from Ash. "I see…" Quickly, Touya had a thought. 'Ash's world is sounding more or less like my old one, just with these different regions and all these Pokémon everywhere… Makes me want to see it for myself.' After some more discussion, Ash and Touya exited. When Yumina asked Ash about watching over Pikachu for the night, Ash saw Pikachu wishing to join. They departed for her room while Renne escorted Ash to a new room.

"Master Touya has suggested this room for you," she offered.

"Thanks," Ash accepted.

"And Master Touya said that you'll meet others within the mansion tomorrow like Leim and Charlotte."

"I see… Well, take it easy, Renne." She saw Ash enter and bowed before he closed the door. Ash lied on the bed after taking off almost everything, only appearing in his boxers. He fell asleep as did about everyone. The next day, Ash was introduced to an elderly gray-haired man with a gray mustache wearing a charcoal butler suit over a gray vest over a white shirt. There was a tall teal-haired young woman wearing a white jacket over a purple blouse with a portion over her stomach open. Ash faced the gray-haired as the teal-haired used measuring tape on Ash's outstretched arms. "So, you're the one Touya removed the arrow from?"

"I am, and it's not quite one of my proudest moments," he muttered. "However, to serve the Ortlinde family, I have sworn to lay my life down should the need arise."

"You don't have to sound dramatic, Leim," the teal-haired giggled. "Besides, once these measurements are done, I can tell Master Touya what I found out."

"Did you have his neck measured, Charlotte?" teased Leen. The teal-haired jumped at hearing Leen.

"It's… soon…" she stuttered.

"Miss Leen, must you traumatize Miss Charlotte like this?" scorned Leim.

"Why not?" teased Leen. "She gets turned on by it." Charlotte sighed before finishing the measurements. After the measuring, the girls awaited him for a reason.

"So, how about we see those Pokémon?" requested Hildegard. Pikachu watched from Sue's head.

"Okay!" accepted Ash as he got four red/white balls and one more with cyan on it. He tossed them into the air. "Come on out!" The balls opened. Out appeared a small crocodile, a small mouse-like creature, an owl, a baby elephant and a large green sauropod. The yellow owl had black triangle feathers on the breast, red wings and a large eyebrows over the eyes. The mouse-like creature had a long nose and red spots on its back with a cream color front. The blue crocodile had red scales over its back. The yellow-green sauropod had a leaf protruding from the head and tiny bulbs around the neck. The blue elephant had orange plates around the nose and ears. The girls awed the look of the creatures, including the crocodile having happy feet.

"They're so adorable!" cooed Lucia.

"They are!" awed Linze. The sauropod came to and nuzzled Ash.

"Bayleef, we can play in a little bit," he promised.

"So, who are they?" asked Elze. "They all look as adorable as Pikachu." Bayleef became a little worried about Elze and barked. "Whoa, I'm just asking!"

"Bayleef has been like this since she was a Chikorita," Ash briefed. "Allow me to introduce everyone." The owl flew down onto Ash's arm. "This is Noctowl. The one dancing is Totodile." The girls giggled at Totodile's happy feet dancing.

"What about this one?" asked Yumina as she held the mouse-like creature.

"That's Cyndaquil," Ash named as he turned to Lucia with the elephant being petted. "And that with Lucia is Phanpy." Everyone got to awe the Pokémon.

"This is so cute to have!" cooed Lucia.

"Guys, these fine people are here to treat us until we find our way back home," Ash introduced. Aside from Bayleef, the Pokémon were happy to know of the women around.

"There's even a garden for you if you want to see, Bayleef," Touya offered. Bayleef seemed interested as Francesca came to see the group.

"Did you want me to take this for any floral stimulation?" she asked.

"No but give Bayleef a chance to smell what we grow," Touya sighed before turning to Bayleef. "She's a robot, so she won't fall in love." That made Bayleef feel weird. Touya turned to Ash. "Meantime, how about I take you out to see the city?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Ash accepted. Yumina and Sue came to Ash.

"Do you mind if we come as well?" asked Yumina.

"I wanna stay by Ash!" requested Sue. Bayleef seemed taken aback by Sue's offer.

"Bayleef, just remain calm," Ash urged. "I'll be back." Sue and Pikachu cheered. They left before the girls and the Pokémon waived, knowing they'll be back later tonight.

TO BE CONTINUED...