Alphonse nudged his trainer's shoulder as the glossy lab door opened. Nicolette looked up from her book and was slightly startled to see more people present than she had thought. But the bookworm was used to this phenomenon. After the man- an assistant to the professor, maybe- finished talking, Nicolette put the book back into her grey bag and followed him into the lab, Alphonse following close behind.

The entry hall of the lab was familiar to Nicolette. She had been here twice to collect old research for the library's archives. Still, every time she came, a new fascinating trinket brought itself to her attention. Like...

"Woah!" the short-haired woman exclaimed, stopping in her tracks. Apparently Alphonse was paying attention to something else, and he walked into Nicolette's leg. The Furfrou winced for just a second, mostly from embarrassment. Then he straightened up and resumed his typical regal posture as if to say [i]Nobody saw that.[/i] Alphonse stole another glance at the Aipom to make sure she didn't see that.

Nicolette, however, was too distracted by a rock to notice her Pokemon's plight.

"Is that a model of the Relic Stone?!" she asked the man leading them, her voice raising to a higher pitch than she realized. Her sky blue eyes sparked with excitement. "I'd pay anything to see such a marvelous piece of Pokemon history in person! Are the inscriptions on the real Relic Stone the same as..." Nicolette's voice trailed off as her cheeks turned pink.

"Err, sorry," she mumbled sheepishly. "Maybe I geeked out a little. Let's get back to whatever we're [i]really[/i] here for. But if you or the professor have time later, I'd love to ask you more about it."