I Want To Lay the Very Best!

229 – A Little Bit Better

"So I can give you a long, boring breakdown of why the score is what it is. But you won't learn much from it," Professor Joan said as she paced about the shower, water splashing off her skin. She took great enjoyment out of closely examining all of Brandy's team, Brandy included, from tip to toe. She was handsy, prodding, and touching without an ounce of shame, and yet it was never too much. The attention was even a little gratifying. She genuinely seemed excited to be looking at them all.

As bad as their introduction had been, Joan was fun to be stuck in a shower with. The mood had been pretty heavy, some emotional mistakes had been made, and it was clear Morgan wasn't completely over it all. Professor Joan had done her part to lighten the mood by teasing Morgan. Shamelessly brushing her shapely hips against Morgan's wings as she walked amongst the group.

"If you want, I can highlight areas for improvement and compliment what you may not have realized you did well." Joan said, "It'll stick in the head better. I recommend it, but it's your pick."

"Actually," Brandy said, "I was wondering something before you started. Why aren't you with Wren? It seems like you'd want to support the losers more."

"Excellent question!" Professor Joan said as she planted her butt firmly in the crook of Morgan's wing. Morgan squeezed her wing around Joan's body, feathers brushing over her tattoos as she copped a feel of the Professor's ass. Morgan's worries might not be fully resolved, but the Dark wasn't about to let all that get in the way of her enjoying the feeling of a good butt.

"My Partner, Glossia, is with her right now. She's well suited for cheering up a team of Ghost Types, and I think you'll agree Wren doesn't need tactical advice. She needs some confidence. Glossia will show her she can handle much more than she thinks."

Well, that sounded both exciting and exhausting. Hopefully, Wren could still use her legs the next time Brandy saw her.

"You made it sound like Glossia is your only partner," Calcine said, "That's strange for a Professor."

"Only ever needed the one," Professor Joan grinned. "I was a Bond Trainer when I was younger. Glossia and I have been together ever since she was little. Can you guess what Pokémon they are?"

"From your black hair with white tips, tongue, and tattoos." Brand said, "I feel she has to be an Obstagoon."

Professor Joan flicked her hair back and gave her best grin. Her teeth looked a little sharper than was natural, not the kind of shark-toothed chompers Brandy loved, but a bit more dangerous than most. "Aren't you smart? You're right, of course. Glossia was just a troublemaking Zigzagoon when we first met, but we hit it off, so naturally, it was like fate. I inherited her Quick Feet, and that awoke something in me. The feeling of being so close to a Pokémon, you not only start looking like them but gain a little bit of their power?"

Professor Joan kissed her fingertips, "Mwah. A beautiful thing. Inheritance is my passion as a Professor. I've only ever had one Partner, but we've earned me over forty inherited abilities and a long list of lovers that are so much fun to drop in on now and then."

Forty Abilities! That seemed incredibly excessive. Most Trainers didn't even get into double digits. Brandy only had two herself: Sparky's Compound Eyes and Calcine's Steam Engine. She was reasonably sure it wouldn't be long before Morgan added her own, whatever it was. She should ask her what it was on their date; it might be a subtle one.

Professor Joan showed off by drawing in a breath, and all the shower water bent in the air to flow towards her. It splatted against Morgan's wing and ran through the feathers to sink into her tanned skin. She breathed hard and squeezed Morgan, pressing the breath out of the Murkrow's lungs. Professor Joan had a glow to her skin that made her pop out against the bathroom tiles. It was an impressive showing of what she could do. It was not as powerful as a Pokémon Move, but the abilities weren't. They were perks, sometimes really nice perks, but still just perks.

"Water Absorb. Cool right? What I loved in your match is that you both have abilities I want to inherit but never got the chance." Joan sighed wistfully, "Wren's Disguise is incredible, and she uses it cleverly. I'm very envious of her. Your Steam Engine isn't quite as exciting, Brandy, but it is handy. You'll be able to outlast most Trainers on your level, and with enough heat or water, you can really punch above your weight."

"Well, you can't have Calcine," Sparky said, "I got a date with her."

"Are you sure?" Joan said. "We could turn that date into a threesome? Let this Professor show you both a trick or two. I already have Compound Eyes, but I'm all for testing my eyesight."

"No, thank you," Calcine said as she stroked her giant fingers through Sparky's shoulder fur as the water hammered down on them. Her skin was smoking from her internal heat, wisps of evaporating water curling off her, and it looked so damn sexy. "The offer is tempting, but I've been offered Sparky all for myself, and I didn't realize until now how much I wanted that."

Sparky squirmed in Calcine's lap excitedly but was held down by Calcine's firm grip. She was almost twice the size of Sparky, yet they were so incredibly at ease with each other that it seemed natural. Brandy was happy for them both. They deserved a night together. Long time coming.

"You know humans used to turn into prunes?" Sparky said as she melted back into Calcine's fingers, the water cascading down her fur.

"Sparky, what are you talking about?" Brandy said, "I don't get the joke."

"No, I'm serious! Old humans were so weird. You put them in water, and they turned into prunes. Super wrinkly. Common knowledge! They need all the Inheritance they can get, or they're just wrinkly fruit."

That sounded complete nonsense, but Brandy wasn't entirely sure it was a lie, so she settled for a non-committal nod. She'd look it up later.

"I feel Morgan would love to get to know my ass more," Joan said, "Not a wrinkle in sight, it's perfectly smooth. You have a feel babe, and I'll be good and get us back on track. You picked which explanation you want, Brandy?"

"I'd like the fun explanation," Brandy said, trying to steer things back on track. Tell me the major things you think I did right and what I did wrong."

"Right!" Joan put an arm around Morgan's shoulder and pressed the Murkrow to her side. Morgan's lousy mood melted away under the squish of a fit woman and a nice ass in her hand. Joan succeeded with Morgan using actions where she failed with words, and Brandy took notes for later. "So you closing on her early was very smart, the zipline was especially clever. You played things well, closing in on her and turning it into a melee battle. Even when Wren got tricky, you had the physical edge on her. Keep playing to your strengths like that, and you'll do well."

Brandy felt a bubble of pride, more for her having no complaints about Sparky than her own actions. Their start had fallen apart, but she was glad to get it confirmed it wasn't for lack of effort.

"I will say you were a little too open to Wren's needs," Joan said, holding up a hand as Brandy opened her mouth to object. "Don't get me wrong! The crowd absolutely ate up your dynamic. Mercury nearly blew out her microphone when you copied her dick, and the crowd was just feral. You've earned yourself a reputation as a big-hearted trainer today. Dinah listened to you more than Wren in that match; that's impressive. Even Dragon Aces can’t usually pull that off and being commanding is their whole thing; you really dig into a woman's wants and needs and try your best to satisfy them. People will remember that."

"It works," Morgan said, letting Joan out of her wing and crossing the shower to scoop up Brandy instead. That's why it's hard to be mad at her. She genuinely cares about what you want."

Brandy kissed Morgan's cheek to show she recognized the Murkrows' feelings. Morgan was mad at her, but it was taking effort. Brandy could work on that.

"Well, as a Professor," Joan said, "I encourage you to experiment with doing things in a new way; I'm just warning against being too soft. There's fun to be had in friction. It's nice to have a woman who wants to please you. But you want to elevate that technique, learn when not giving them what they want makes things better."

"I'll educate her," Morgan said, sinking her claws into Brandy's side. The pinpricks of her fingernails sent pleasurable thrills along Brandy's skin. "I think that's a lesson I can really make stick."

Scary thought. But exciting.

"Perfect." Joan grinned. "Your fighting was a little sloppy, but that's something that'll come with practice. Emotionally, the fight was a blast to watch. The sex was good, and the orgasms were great. Your Lucky Chant bet was a fun way to keep things fresh, and your Maid outfits give you a fun team style. I think the group split up a bit too much near the end. You could have gotten a bit more involved with each other, but you gave everyone something to do, and nobody left unhappy. The final scores aren't judged until the whole round ends, but I'd expect you to be in the top five."

That was good, but the way the tournament worked, early success meant you fought the other people on the top in the next round. Her next match would be against someone tough if she placed that high. Maybe not the competition's leader, but another of the top five. She needed all the advice she could get.

"Ultimately, I want your takeaway to be that your method might be new and exciting, but it's still going to be hard to learn." Joan tapped her heart. "It might seem simple in the moment, but faced with a Mercury-sized dick strapped to your waist, most women are going to want you to fold them into a ball and fuck them stupid. Outside of that, it's not going to be so simple. Not everyone is honest with themselves. You'll have to learn how to read people better than they know themselves."

"I'm not great at that," Brandy slicked back her hair. "I can do it with Pokémon really well, but humans, I struggle."

"You're a beginner, Brandy, a promising one." Joan smiled, "Believe me, everybody has a lot to learn when they're starting out. I spent a year trying to woo Glossia. I had to be honest about what I wanted before she accepted me. It was hard, but it was worth it. You did good with Wren, I think you've set that woman up really nicely for her future. For that alone, you'll get a well-deserved good score. But that might mean your next fight is against a Trainer whose only clear desire is she and her team just want to fuck you stupid, and what then? Are you just going to take a loss?”

"No," Brandy said, "If they're that simple, I'd ... find something."

Brandy knew that was a lame answer. Professor Joan had a great point. What could she do when she faced someone like that? Just lying back and taking it didn't feel right. There had to be more about it than that.

"Think about it," Joan said, patting Brandy's cheek. “Get a bit of training. Talk with Mercury once she's free; she knows the head stuff a lot better. Now then, I'd like to review a few other little bits before we all turn into prunes."

Brandy was still pretty sure that wasn't a thing. Going over the fight play-by-play with a true expert was engrossing enough that Brandy regretted not asking for the long answer. She genuinely loved Pokémon fights, and it made her long for a partner who put the fighting above the fucking.

A Fighting or Poison Type would be a fantastic fit for that as the fourth member when they got one. Something to think about. Not just because Brandy liked thinking about Pokémon.

Though it didn't hurt.

When Joan finally had to leave, Brandy checked herself over from top to bottom.

Not a single wrinkle. Sparky was so full of it!