A nickname! Yup, this girl was very nice. How to respond in kind, though? Tilly was already short and nickname-like, so hrm, that'd be a tough one, but! "Azu!" sounded above her head, a happy greeting in kind and yeah Lonitt had the right idea. "Nice to meet you, too, Tilly!" she replied with a grin, before turning as another lady, or girl, came over and wow, tall!...Also wow, endowed! And Melissa was at the right height to be eye-height with said endowments! She blinked, then had to tilt her head up to look at her face and, well "Hello, miss!" She chirped happily, but didn't reeeeally linger on it, because she was asking the captain something...? Oh! Her eyes bounced between her and the captain, following the back and forth between them and then story time. Salty sea-poochyena tales were a staple of travelling by sea, after all, and she listened with rapt attention.

Enough so that when he decided to cut the tale off, she let out an audible "Awwwww, but I kinda did?" of disappointment! But it was time to move and Melissa didn't quite cheer, but she still bounced a good bit off the ground in her excitement, fist in the air. Lonitt didn't even react, besides his/her own bounce, she/he was well used to Melissa being a bumpy ride, after all! So when she scurried ahead to get off the boat and into the city, then stood about, bouncing on her toes to look this way and that until the group caught up, then sort of fell in with them and walked.

And looked, because this was a city unlike any she'd seen....Not that she'd seen many, really, her track record was her home of Sootopolis, and a tiny smidge of Lilycove, seriously not even an hour of it, to board the SS Calliope, so....Well!....It was new to her. Sootopolis wasn't really a normal city, bound as it was in it's crater, made of multiple elevations and all the stairs and climbing. It was a lot quieter, too! Even the down-towniest bits were quieter than this city. Also no actual beaches, just the water. Less sand, yaknow? Less people just diving. More advertisements....Melissa was, perhaps surprisingly, quiet, but not inactive, she was looking every which way and bouncing from one side of the group to the other, taking it all in. Neat. Ahead was a small building that was probably their objective, she guessed, just from how out-of-place it was, so Melissa...Ignored it, paying attention to everything around them still, until.

What Pokemon was that? Making that--oh, no, that's a vehicle. Which was also weird! Again, home? Sootopolis? Not really a normal city! Vehicles, especially big ol' rumbly motorcycles? Not common! She hadn't seen many, so watching it come rumbling in, then turn and screech to a stop...Well, it was pretty neat. And nearby. Melissa was right over to it and, like a great many things, the words went over her head as she leaned and looked this way and that. "Neat." she murmured, to the soft "Rill" of her companion, totally ignoring both of the vehicle's riders. They were just people, which were normal, you know? She could deal with them later.

Or maybe soon? They were going inside the lab, hm. Hmmm. OH well. She bounced back to the group, waved at the captain with a cheery "Thank you, sir! Have a good day!" because pipes and all, at least it didn't smell as bad as some things dummies smoked, and into the place she went, following Tilly who she decided was the one she liked most (for now, who knew what the future would bring).

And inside?

Inside, people. A lot of them. Bags. Pokemon--trainers! Most of them. Some might not be, but most of them? Trainers? And lookit all this stuff! It was...not a lab, but it was a new place, and that? That was more than good enough! Melissa grinned wide, and waved. "Hello, everyone!" She called, waving and bouncing on her toes, then getting moving, quick feet that moved with surprising quietness and a whole lotta speed, a pitter-pat of sneakered feet. There was a lot to explore, after all! Let's see! That's a cute li'l cat pokemon, that's a mopey guy who Melissa went over to and prodded with a finger and a rather disrespectful "You in there? Hello! oh what's that?" and off she went again. Counter, water,--Eugh! "th'smell!" she protested, because eugh, coffee smell, let's not be there. She wasn't allowed coffee anyway, for reasons she'd never really asked, but it wasn't like she wanted the stuff so eh!

"zuuu...." was a protest from her shoulder, now, a somewhat more steady and stable position. "Yeah I don't like it either...does that guy have rubber gloves on?" yup, zoom over to the guy with rubber gloves and...electrical burns? She blinked, looked him in the eye and nodded a "Nice to meet you!" which came with an "Azu!" And yup, attention wandered again. There were so many people and she should really know them all!

Ohey, someone else with a Pokemon on her shoulder! A grass-type, even! Which was bad, an opponent for her lovely little water-type! She staaaaaaared for a moment, then elected to retreat, for now, glancing around and hm, couch. Down to her knees, check under it? Wrappers, oooo coins, don't know what that is...

Ohey that was a girly guy, if she was right and maybe she was, and that blonde dude had coffee, ick, but she shouldn't judge for terrible taste! Maybe he was nice?

Bounce up, and continue her...explorations. Of people and things. Eventually she'd gravitate to hanging around Tilly, or tall-endowed-lady-who-asked-the-captain-stuff, as the people she knew and thus were 'safe', but that would take a bit before she exhausted things to look at....

---

"Ugh, come on! Laaaame! Seriously, no coffee?"

Hearing the young man say this as he walks off makes a whirl of mixed feelings go through Ryuuichi.

"Should I have taken it after all?" is what they make him wonder. "I guess... cool people like coffee?" he surmises after considering the young man's 'lame' remark. So now, in Ryuuichi's mind, not only did he fail to get the job he thought he was applying for, but he also just failed his first instance of social activity on this new 'job'.

All because he doesn't like coffee anymore.

Unfortunately Ryuuichi's latest spiral into his mind causes him to accidentally tune out the short conversation that happens afterwards.

It is the sudden cascade of footsteps and voices that brings him back to reality. There are too many footsteps and voices for Ryuuichi to get an accurate count of. "She sure hired a lot of people...just how many Pokémon are we delivering?"

He had been the first one here in the morning. His parents had given him an early wake up call, yet he had already been awake... not that they had noticed since he had still been in bed. As such, when he arrived no one else had been here. This, combined with not knowing the layout of the room, led him to stumble onto the couch he is currently sitting on.

Ryuuichi hadn't participated in the receiving of Pokémon from Camphor. He heard Remi mention something about it to her, but he had tuned it out due to having no desire to get on her bad side since, in his mind, he already was according to the the contents of her email that he can recall.

"Or I guess... am I the only delivery guy?" He can't help but wonder this. He may not be the most versed on Pokémon Trainers, but he knows a few things about them, like how many of them often receive Pokémon from Professors. Alola has such a similar thing to with its Island Challenge. His own recollection of how he once wanted to participate in said Island Challenge makes him rub the underside of his right forearm.

"I guess even fro--"

”Not in here! Are you TRYING to get us in trouble with the Professor?”

Another loud voice abruptly forces him back to reality again. The sound of a Pokéball recalling its held Pokémon reaches his ears. He wonders if, just like the others who had arrived in the lab not too long after he did, if this person also received that Pokémon from Camphor. He had seen Pokémon Trainers out and about before whenever he made past trips to---

Ryuuichi, who has been sitting still until quite this moment and about to enter down a forbidden path of recollection, is brought out of it as he suddenly and quite visibly flinches.

"You in there? Hello! oh what's that?"

Something prodded at him out of nowhere. The sudden touch, coupled with that sudden voice spoken right in front of him, creates quite the visceral reaction as a choked "Gh--huh?!" leaves his lips. The sudden, rough motion from him moves him over on the couch a bit and is more than enough to cause the messy, blonde Rattata's Nest atop his head flay about.

This, to anyone who perhaps had been paying attention, makes much more of his face visible. His right eye is light blue, yet rather dull and listless looking. His left is covered by a large white eyepatch. These don't remain visible for long though as the curtain of blonde hair quickly falls back into place.

His breathing is quite heightened from the sudden surprise he has been given.

"Was I poked by a... human? A Pokemon? Did... someone want to talk to me?" Ryuuichi can't help but ponder this and wonder why anyone would want to talk to him. This has been his first time in four years that someone has ever suddenly interacted with him in such a manner without him even noticing them first. Needless to say though; he is at least able to tell that whoever, or whatever, it was that poked him had already run off judging by the retreating footsteps.

There are not just alot of people, but alot of Pokémon here as well. Far too many voices and footsteps. For a multi-year shut in like Ryuuichi, its all quite a bit overwhelming as he hunches a little more in his seat, unable to realize or be aware of whether or not he is currently being conspicuous as he tries to slowly calm down his accelerated breathing caused by that sudden prod.

A failed conversation about coffee, a very surprising poke from a finger, and a room full of people were enough to make Ryuuichi want to already quit this job.

Yet, before he can begin to contemplate how he can do that...

"Azu!"

Another Pokémon cry. That one sounded not too far from him. He wonders if its the one who poked him? Maybe it perhaps belongs to the Trainer who poked him?

"Maybe... one voice at a time?" He tries to focus on that voice. To see if he can distract himself that way and maybe figure out just how many Pokémon are in the room as he doesn't really want to focus on the people at the moment.

"Perhaps one of these Pokémon is the one I am delivering? Unless they belong to one of the Trainers here?" is his reasoning for doing this.

The sudden burst of "feeling" of the two "lights" right by his couch makes Ryuuichi flinch.

"A person? Pokémon? Do... they want to sit? Are they the ones who poked me?" He can't move. The person? Pokémon? Whatever is in the vicinity of the couch he is on moves away before he can even react properly to the sudden approach.

His 'focus' lingers on those lights as they move away from the immediate area around his couch to the broader area of the lobby. "Wait, why am I--" before he can finish wondering about his current actions, a burst of 'feeling' assaults him, causing those two lights he feels to wink out instantly.

Nausea assaults him as the left side of his head throbs heavily, causing one of his fists to tightly clench at his side while his other hand massages the left side of his face, this hand quite tensed as it does so. Despite this feeling though, he doesn't make a sound. Instead he just turns his head towards where he thinks he felt the closest light among the multitude that just assaulted him throughout the room. This just so happens to be the couch closest to the one he is currently sitting upon. The one where Nevine and her Slakoth are lying.

"Is there a sink... in here? And... cups as well?" he asks in his quiet, raspy voice in that direction while looking a little paler than before. While talking with people is quite difficult, especially since he is still not sure if anyone is actually in that direction, to Ryuuichi its a far better prospect than recklessly wandering around and bumping right into someone by mistake.

Hopefully if he can accomplish one thing today... it's getting a glass of water. The rest can be figured out after that.

---

@Ryik @PlatinumSkink @Rune_Alchemist

Stella had expected Professor Camphor’s laboratory to look more impressive. Not gaudy, of course. Stella had no patience for people who confused expense with taste. Still, there was a difference between understated professionalism and a building that looked as though it had been designed to avoid eye contact.

She looked from the surrounding skyscrapers to the plain exterior of Camphor Laboratories. “Well,” she said after a moment, “it is certainly committed to being unmemorable.”

Fantasia gave a soft whinny beside her.

“Yes, yes. I heard Frieda. It was intentional.” Stella adjusted the strap of her handbag. “That does not mean I have to approve of it.”

Once inside, however, Stella was forced to admit that the waiting area was better than the outside suggested. Sofas, vending machines, snacks, tea, and coffee. At least someone involved had remembered that human beings required comforts in order to function properly. The number of people gathered was less ideal. There were far too many faces, voices, bags, Pokémon, and overlapping conversations for Stella to sort through neatly.

Her gaze moved across the room, assessing without staring. A few people stood out immediately. The anxious girl from the airport had made herself small enough to nearly vanish. Several others had already begun talking. Pokémon milled about, including at least one Impidimp that Stella had no intention of trusting near her jewelry.

Then the loud boy from earlier addressed her. “Not sure I caught your name. You seem like the type of girl who’s famous somehow.”

Stella turned her head toward him, pale blue eyes settling on him with interest. For a moment, she said nothing. Then the corner of her mouth lifted slightly. “Not famous,” she corrected. “Not yet. Working on it. Believe me, darling. One day, I will be the type of woman everybody should know.”

Fantasia flicked an ear, as if she had heard this declaration before.

“Stella Gold,” she added, giving Toshi a proper look now. He was certainly confident. Loudly so. He carried himself like someone determined to be noticed, which Stella could understand even if she found his method rather unpolished. “And you are Toshi, yes? Frieda said your name earlier.”

Another voice drew her attention. Victor Gallagher, apparently, though he looked at her as if she might scold him for his posture. His Budew seemed far more composed than he did, which Stella found charming in spite of herself. “It’s nice to meet you as well,” she told him, after his awkward greeting. Then, after a pause, she added, “You needn’t look so nervous. I don’t bite.”

Fantasia turned her head toward Stella.

Stella looked down at her. “I don’t.”

Fantasia’s expression remained unconvinced.

“Not without reason,” Stella amended.

The offer of coffee saved her from having to address that further. Stella turned toward the cheerful young man who had introduced himself as Remi, studying him with mild interest. Anyone who announced coffee-making talents that confidently was either very good or about to become very disappointing.

“Coffee? No, thank you,” she said. “Tea, if there is any worth drinking. I am willing to be pleasantly surprised.”

She settled near one of the sofas, smoothing her skirt before sitting. Fantasia remained beside her, bright-eyed and curious, her pastel mane still somehow immaculate despite the airport, the crowd, and the indignity of sitting in a Poké Ball for the entire flight.

Stella glanced around the busy room once more. Professor Camphor had gathered quite the collection. Some looked nervous. Some looked loud. Some looked like trouble. Several looked as though they had dressed without consulting a mirror, which was unfortunate. Still, she was here, and she could fix that.

Toshi

‘Oh, yeah! Bud’s got a bunch of cool tricks! Like for instance, after a long and intense training…’ He grinned happily. ‘He can ride a skateboard! How cool is that!?’

"That's awesome." He said, without a single insincere bone in his body. Hopefully he'd be able to see the skateboarding Budew in action at some point.

‘Anyway, what’s the league circuit?’

"Eh, nothing a man and Budew of your talents need worry about, probably." Not everyone wanted to be a trainer. Or, well, a battling trainer, anyway. He respected that. Kinda had to, with his upbringing, though he wouldn't write the guy off as a trainer entirely yet. I mean, who knew? People had a way of surprising you. It's certainly happened on live television more than a few times.

---

”That’s Jack.” He corrected Toshi with an indignant huff, ”And literally anyone can be a Trainer. Me, I plan to be a Trainer who wins. And I got my Pokemon already so- OW!”

”I was going to release you in a minute, Sparkplug!” Jack said, ”I was TRYING to give us a cool introduction before you had to go and ruin it.”

Toshi snorted. It was somehow surprising to see that Jack was rocking an electric type instead of a fighting type, though it didn't seem like he was wrong about his first impression of him. "Same, at least when it comes to the trainer stuff." He smirked. "Good luck. With your next introduction, I mean. I'm sure a guy like you doesn't need the luck as a pokémon trainer." He said, making a joke he mostly expected to fly over Jack's head. It's not that he thought Jack would fail as a trainer or anything, but he seemed like the type of guy that would stubbornly and gracelessly plow through any and all bad luck anyway. It was a backhanded compliment if anything, though presenting it as a completely genuine one despite the implication that Jack would still need luck with the next time he made an introduction was pretty funny to him, personally.

---

“Not famous,” she corrected. “Not yet. Working on it. Believe me, darling. One day, I will be the type of woman everybody should know.”

“Stella Gold,” she added, giving Toshi a proper look now. “And you are Toshi, yes? Frieda said your name earlier.”

A bit conceited of her to openly declare her future success, though he had to admit he probably wasn't one to talk. There was some nuance to the way he presented himself that wasn't quite the same as the way she did it, by his estimation, but it's not like he knew her well enough to judge the differences accurately, so he probably just shouldn't.

In any case, she was pretty polite overall, so he figured he'd match her energy, so to speak. "Yep, short for Toshinori. Greatest trainer you'll ever meet, eventually. Just the most handsome, for now." He gave her a wink before moving on to chat up some of the other people in their group.

---

@Floofenstein
A lot more people began filing into the lab. Enough that he was starting to wonder why Professor Camphor needed them all. One in particular was hyperactively running around everywhere with an Azurill balanced atop her head, seemingly introducing herself to everyone and everything. Might as well join in. "'Sup sunshine. ...Or would you prefer being called 'cotton candy'?" It would match the color of her hair better, after all. "I'm Toshi. Cute Azurill, by the way. Just like you." He gave her his signature charming smile.

Someone addressing her, while she was close even, got Melissa to actually stop, near skidding to a halt to turn and look. Aw lookit this guy! All...Calling her cute and stuff. Geeesh, awesome, really! People called her that before, yeah, but usually didn't do it so brazenly? And left her alone. Being a rich kid made some distance and all. Well!

"Hey Beautiful, nice to meet you." And he was! Messy spiky haired, face like that clothes like that, yup. Lotta effort into that beauty, eh? "My name is Melissa! This's Lonitt! He, or she, is just the coolest, yeah?" She reached up to pat the li'l Pokemon on her or his head, once more on her head, and the small fairy bounced and bowed with a cheery "Azurill!" It's tail flicked, the little woven ring bouncing along the angular bit.

"Do you have a Pokemon of your own yet?" She asked, bouncing on her toes on the spot, plainly reading to go zoom again, and it wouldn't be long until she did, but she did try to wait for his response! She had no idea about a nickname for him though, hm.

Toshi

"Hey Beautiful, nice to meet you."

"B-beautiful!?" Toshi choked. No one had ever used that particular compliment on him before. Not since he was a child being fawned over by his mother, which didn't count in his professional opinion. What makes it a professional opinion? Being hot is a full-time job, of course. He had never been called hot either, but that was normal. You don't reach for the top shelf, so-trite-they-aren't-trite-anymore compliments so cheekily like that. You gotta give it time. Let it simmer. Add some butter to the pan so the food doesn't stick. Butter being casual compliments in this analogy, and sticking being, like, a universally bad thing, not a metaphor for commitment. Nobody wants their food to stick to the pan, that's common sense. Is it getting hot in here? His face feels a bit warmer than usual. Probably nothing. He manages to maintain his signature charming smile, probably, projecting oodles of nonchalance, almost certainly, because he is a COOL DUDE and this shit definitely doesn't phase him in the slightest.

"My name is Melissa! This's Lonitt! He, or she, is just the coolest, yeah?" She reached up to pat the li'l Pokemon on her or his head, once more on her head, and the small fairy bounced and bowed with a cheery "Azurill!" It's tail flicked, the little woven ring bouncing along the angular bit.

"Melissa and Lonitt, eh? Very cool." The little tidbit about Azurill's ambiguous gender was something he's pretty sure he's heard about before somewhere, but he'd have to look it up to properly remember the details on Azurill biology.

"Do you have a Pokemon of your own yet?"

"Nah, can't say that I do. My folks were... old-fashioned, let's say. I'm supposed to get one from Professor Camphor today, actually, and it's no doubt going to be the baddest motherfucker to ever do it."

Despite wearing a serene smile, his gaze intensified a bit as he made eye contact with Melissa. "I wanna go far as a trainer. The kind of far beyond far that you'd want and need every advantage for, y'know?" -Not that he was planning to blindly follow what worked for others. He'd need to find what worked for him and if that wasn't enough on its own he'd just need to find a way to make it work. "You seem like a genius, as far as the twenty seconds since I've met you have gone." She was certainly eloquent. "Got any ideas on how to become the best? I'm sure a drop from a font of infinite wisdom such as yourself would be priceless."

A cliffhanger. Yet it felt like it fit with the old Gym Leader's perosnality, at least, as much as it did his beard. Not quite the straightforward answer she had sought, frankly, but certainly not a totally uninformative or boring matter either. For one thing, he'd mentioned Rivenwall during the whole story. That was a place here in Eidda, if she recalled correctly, and yet it had come with the story of a young sailor almost succumbing to his own hubris. Hmm. Seas off the coast of Rivenwall, yes? She'd make a mental note of that for later as a possible location to find a Dhelmise...at least if seeking out in that direction eventually and potentially alike didn't end in her own 'demise' as it were. Haha.

Though for her part she was paying proper attention to the story itself overall, unlike perhaps one of the others as she took note out of the corner of her eyes. The first was the seemingly spaced-out Galarian, with a skirt shorter than her attention span. Heh. She'd have to remember that one, though she'd never say it aloud in any case. Meanwhile the one bouncing with more energy than the Azurill on her head seemed to be the opposite for the time being, paying rapt attention to the story before complaining about the lack of finishing the story. Not that she didn't seem to start bouncing with more energy than the Pokemon sitting atop her head as they began to move along in any case. As for the sullen boy? Well...she'd kept an eye on the side in any case before they set off, just as surely as the Kantonian seemingly had stared more than obviously at the guy in a somewhat rude but peculiar manner as well for that matter in her eyes.

...What? She needed a good read on her future coworkers, and it seemed that at least they had some spread of personalities. Less boring that way, though she wondered about the others who'd be coming by plane. These were at least the 'outsiders' coming in, which she felt she was in part despite living in the region for a shorter stint thus far compared to real locals, but the others would mostly be in-house arrivals, no? And she'd let the stare at her chest from the bouncing one slide for the moment being as well without giving her a light bonk on the head with her hand. For one thing, the Azurill was the more innocent party.

For the most part she kept silent as the city passed them by, transitioning from beach to boardwalk to evnetually the hustle and bustle of its outer parts. Certainly fit the bill for someplace akin to Castelia or some sort, perhaps some of the other big cities, but it seemed to have its own style aside from the foreign treats on the beach that were being offered. Place did enough trade and was a point of entrance, yes? She'd done some looking up and heard some from her father before getting on the boat, at least, and coming here this morning. Jorm had been a quick ride to the docks to boot, though she'd put him in his Pokeball before the ship had arrived. Yet as things slowed down within the inner city area, people and bustle and vehicles and Pokemon alike, she felt almost a little glad to have taken the slower route. If she hadn't been escorted there, sitting atop her usual spot on Jorm's head to make her way there and see above the crowds would've been her first instinct. Almost wished she had still ridden atop his head, really, now that she thought about it. Better view of things there, and more room to look at more potential places to visit and all of that nonsense.

As they arrived it would seem they were not the last, that being the honors for a motorcyclist and passenger who arrived just after they did apparently. It was enough to draw Lina's eyes over to the duo as one got off and took off a helmet, as it seemed to be a rather perosnalized bike for what little she knew of motorcycles and had seen before. Fancy, likely not cheap either if it had extra bells and whistles added to it. A status symbol, then, potentially. Plus the tone of voice-....ah, so it did fit with her guess about the bike after all. Disregarding tone full of disdain, brazenly approaching a gym leader as if she owned the place as befit her stride over, and the redhead on the bike laughing but not speaking. Peculiar. Lina mulled over the two for a moment or two as her lolipop rolled around in the right side of her mouth, the stick of it still sticking out of her mouth.

But she didn't frankly care to bat an eye at the two latest arrivals, words of the white-haired one and lack of words from the redhead or not, otherwise. In fact she mostly didn't react to them as she listened on and watched what they did.

"Mmm. Nice ride, though a Caterpie's nibbling something on the back of your friend's head, btw, so you might want to get that checked out," she'd comment in a rather casual and almost deadpan manner to Risete, before taking her lolipop out with her right hand just long enough to use it to gesture at the the redhead's currently stick and leaf styled head before putting it back in her mouth on the left side now. Lina then turned her head to Tuule, the old captain still with his pipe, and would outright just talk over the white haired girl in the process, "Thanks for escorting us here, by the way, though perhaps one day we'll get the rest of the story."

With that and a nod to the captain, the black-and-red haired girl would simply walk off back into the lab with lolipop once again returned to the left side of her mouth now. Had to rotate sides or else it got a little numb when eating the things, in her experience, and it wasn't worth more than a passing comment of her thoughts and nothing beyond that. Well, aside from listening to see if the redhead and white haired girls reacted to her comment about the Caterpie or not while she walked in. Would be good to know if they were observant enough about things to pay that comment in particular any heed if nothing else.

---

...Oh. The inside seemed to be bustling with even more people than she'd expected really. Not to mention the flurry of things going on around her as she walked in, backpack still on her back, and tried to get a lay of the land at first. Professor's assistant was there, certainly, talking to Tilly who seemed to be all giggly after tossing in a flirt of her own. That checked out. Likewise there was the smell of coffee and the likewise energy-filled Melissa and her Azuril, who seemed to be not keeping too far an orbit from her or such, who were being talked to by some blond boy with the look of a flirt in his smile. There was also a small smattering of others it was harder to pick out, from a stiff-looking guy with a cape and a Budew to someone with a Slakoth oon the couch, to a rather wealthy looking girl with a Galarian Ponyta, to-....ah. A tall boy that looked as if he needed some medical attention or a bag to breathe into, however, which is where her attention went immediately as Lina reached back with her left hand for her filled water bottle to ensure it was there as she walked calmly over to where he was near the girl on the couch.

Well, everyone else seemed to be doing well enough right now anywho. Would be time to talk to a few of them later, perhaps, depending on how things went. But this guy was clutching his fists and rubbing the left side of his head. Seemed to be missing an eye as well. Hmm. A pang of something ran through her right leg and thigh like a phantom brought on by...familiarity. Memories. Yes, she did want to check up on him, though as she walked over-

"And... cups as well?

Hmm. He didn't sound the best either. Though she'd not try to approach him too suddenly, Lina would simply speak with a gentle tone after trying to get his attention without touching him. Mostly she tried this by waving a hand in what would seem to be his likely area of actual visual perception, given his seeming lack of an eye, and trying to speak not too loudly aside from being just loud enough purposefully to get past the background noise of the room in the first place.

"Hey there, sorry to butt in but...do you need some help? Water? E-T-C?"

The words left her lips with a gentler and softer tone despite her oddly acute pronunciation of 'etc', the former being something that perhaps didn't match quite so much with her expression overall. Or at least that's what it felt like to her in her mind, though it wasn't something she was thinking about in the forefront of her mind at the moment either in all frankness. All she knew was the guy didn't seem to look good, and she wanted to at least try to offer assistance in this case where the others for the most part seemed to be more distracted than anything else.

@Renose@Xaltwind@Rune_Alchemist@Savo

---

Thanks to Ryuuichi rubbing the left side of his face, the large stark white eyepatch is quite visible. Before his messy hair completely covered it, but now its quite plain to see given his hand upon his own face moving said poorly maintained curtain of blonde locks.

The pain and nausea created by suddenly "feeling" all of those "lights" are enough of a shock to his senses that he doesn't even register the newest set of footsteps approaching the couch he is sitting upon. Furthermore, his complete lack of any visual perception means he doesn't even notice the hand being waved in the vicinity of his face.

What finally does get his attention is that gentle, soft voice suddenly speaking to him.

"Hey there, sorry to butt in but...do you need some help? Water? E-T-C?"

The voice, despite its gentler tone and approach, still causes Ryuuichi to flinch slightly. The only voices he's heard spoken to him in such close, three-dimensional proximity over the past few years or so have been those of his parents and doctor.

It isn't until about 10 long, silent seconds pass that Ryuuichi finally realizes that perhaps, for some reason, this person is talking to him. Not wanting to lose his job due to being unresponsive, he decides to respond. His current state of nauseum brought about by this intense migraine though makes his already quiet voice a bit lower and a slight bit raspier.

"Ah... umm... water... y-yea, water. I'd... get some myself but I... don't..." he starts with nearly tripping over every other word, but soon he pauses. Ryuuichi's head lowers a bit as despite how tall he actually is his hunched position on this couch makes him seem a bit shorter than he actually is. Not once does he actually attempt to make any form of 'eye contact', especially given how his bangs cover his 'eyes'.

He tries to find the next words, not really sure how to phrase it. This creates a pause that, while in reality is just a few seconds, to some could feel like an eternity. "Know where the umm... the sink is" is the finale to his previous murmur, this second half quieter than the first.

His breathing does slow somewhat as he manages to calm himself slightly, but the pain in his head from that intense barrage of "feelings" earlier still remains, causing his hand to continue to rub the left side of his face.

---

Darn right they were cool! Melissa puffed up a little at the compliment, it was nice to see someone being correct. Even if he had to be corrected. They weren't cute! cute was like, a cuddly li'l Beldum or something, not them. Absolutely cool. Toshi seemed kinda flustered, though? She nodded as he spoke, the baddest motherwowza, swearing! Tsk, not the image you're going for, lad. But oh! ohhhhh. Melissa's head tilted (Lonitt tilted with), as he spoke. One heck of a competitive fella, huh? Was that a him-thing or a guy-thing? Melissa didn't quite get it, but then he asked for advice from her drop of wisdom.

She had wisdom? Maybe just a drop of it, inherited anyway. She giggled at the blatantly wrong praise (Seriously, her, a genius?...her grades were good, but not that good! though maybe that's the lack of studying...) and smiled, clasping her hands behind her back and leaning forward and back, still unable to stand still even if her life depended on it, really. "Welllll, I dunno if I have any wisdom, but Mom always said, about Dad mainly, that if you try, like, to be great, that's how you don't be great at all. Better to just like what you do and you'll get there." She said it with a bright smile, not caring about airing what some may have been wary of. Yeah her parents didn't like eachother, so what?

Still, her attention was wandering already, and as much as this guy was nice...oooo something else to look at! Her eyes wandered, and soon her bouncing was turning into movement, off to investigate people, Pokemon, that's a fridge, what's on top of it?! She did pause long enough to turn and grin and wave and "Thanks for the compliments! Hope your new partner is as beautiful as you!" Shameless and playful and yup, over to the fridge, bounce-bounce, fuggit, up and climb to peek on top, before something else caught her attention.

So many things!

@Double
Stiles wasn’t about to fault someone who was having a moment with their Pokémon, he smiled and held his hands up like “I’ll wait!”.

‘Giant’s Watch, huh?’ Stiles said, and looked like he considered something. ‘Caves. Who knows what might be down there? Okay, thanks!’ he then simply said and seemed to be satisfied there.

---

@Azure Bubbles

‘It is, uh, good to hear you don’t!’ Victor replied, while wondering why on earth Stella would talk about biting someone. That said, his eyes went over to the pony-Pokémon…

‘… Your Pokémon is beautiful and amazing. What kind is she? Can I pet her?’ he then asked her, looking with kinda shining eyes to Stella.

‘Buuud~’ Budew sounded out from his shoulder happily.

---

@Ryik
‘I know, right!?’ Clearly, this boy recognized how awesome Bud was! Good! … But then he didn’t share anything about what the league circuit was.

‘Man, now I’m curious,’ he said, looking around for who else he could ask.

---

Other than that, he felt he had to behave in the lab. Because Victor Gallagher would behave. It didn’t matter how much he wanted to bother everything and everyone, he had to make do to be a convincing Victor Gallagher! So Victor Gallagher stood, motionless! … Okay, maybe a bit shaking!

‘Budeew~’ Bud waved his bud in a “hi” motion at Melissa the moment she looked at him. Because “hiiii”.

What an...assortment of characters Professor Camphor had decided to hire. Small wonder the woman had decided to call Miharu 'boring' during that video response of hers. Even though it was understandable, it was still rude. And entirely uncalled for. No matter Miharu's own gratitude for giving her the job in the first place, she'd still get Camphor back for that at some point. Perhaps not in as cathartic a manner as she'd like, but one couldn't be that demeaning without some sort of consequence in return.

As if he could tell the direction Miharu's thoughts were going, Hiddy slapped her on the shoulder he wasn't hanging off of, hooting briefly to bring her back to reality. With a start, Miharu blinked, briefly reaching up to pat the Mankey on the head in thanks. Ah. She'd been spoken to.

"Victor, yes? Miharu Agawa. And this is Hiddy. Pleased to meet you!" She smiled as her Pokemon ooked a greeting, tail waving back and forth. "Well, I'm from Kantona City. And...mn. To tell the truth, hardly anything happens on the island aside from accomodating tourists and the like. It's why I'm here, really."
@PlatinumSkink

The release of the Elekid caught her eye for a moment. But more than that, it caught Hiddy's. The Mankey immediately had his interest piqued by the sudden appearance of the Electric-type, scrambling down from Miharu's shoulder. He craned his head up towards...Jack, was it? And immediately started trying to reach up to tap the Pokeball. Miharu sighed.

"Hiddy, honestly!" She squatted down to snatch the monkey up in her arms, wrapping him tightly enough so that he didn't think to break free. Hiddy made a screech of protest, glancing up to give his Trainer the stink eye. "Oh, none of that! If you want to battle him so badly, we can ask later. Not before we've even had orientation. Really, now!" Miharu looked back towards Jack, giving a brief bow in apology. "I'm sorry about that. I don't think he quite enjoyed the flight over. Though it'd probably be good for both of our Pokemon to relieve some stress once we're finished here."
@Double

Was she fishing for a battle already? Of course. Even though she'd caught Hiddy and had a few introductory battles against what wild Pokemon roamed the island, there had hardly been time to find an appropriate Trainer battle before they'd had to leave. With a sigh, she glanced down to the Mankey in her arms.

"Do you promise to behave? We'll have a drink, to calm you down." The Mankey took a moment, but eventually nodded his assent, clambering back up to his perch atop Miharu's shoulder once she released him. In any case...

"Ah, someone said something about tea, yes?" She looked between the blonde girl and what seemed to be a lab tech that had just mentioned it. "Tea would be wonderful. We'll take two. Though coffee is fine if you don't have any. For either, as-is or black will do~"
@Azure Bubbles

She may not be working at the teahouse anymore, but it never hurt to at least evaluate the quality of brew elsewhere. Still, considering it was a workplace, there was a better chance than not it would just be tea bags or low-grade loose leaf. And that was fine. There was a time and a place for good tea, and sometimes, any would do.

Camphor's Lab
@Xaltwind@Crusader Lord@Renose@Floofenstein@Psyker Landshark

"?!?!" Scarlett immediately started running her hands through her hair, the tangled mess of scarlet color proving a little...well, tangled. It took a few seconds, but eventually she would wrap her hands around the caterpie in question, pull it from her hair. The bug pokemon stared at her with indifference.

"...grrrr...." Scarlet narrowed her eyes, a displeased sound coming from her throat as she'd glare at it, mouth forming into a scowl.

"Piiiii...." The caterpie started wiggling wildly as Scarlet held it by its tail, the pokemon thrashing around, eventually wiggling out of Scarlets grip, smacking her in the face with its tail causing her to drop it, and end up with a slight red mark on her cheek.

"Bwahahaha." Risette simply laughed at her friends predicament. "I think it likes you. Maybe you should take it home with ya?" Scarlet responded merely by batting Risette lightly on her shoulder before snorting and strutting inside. "Next time I see ya Tuule, I'll be taking that badge from you." She'd offer the gym leader a confident grin, and after making sure her sunglasses were adjusted properly, headed inside the lab as well.

...just in time to see a blond offer to smooch the lab assistant.

"Uhm...snog...?" Frieda blinked, a faint bit of color coming onto her cheeks. "Uhm...I-I'm flattered Tilly, but I dont think thats very appropriate. And uhm, if you could refrain from calling Camphor gran that would...really, really, make all of our lives easier." Before Frieda or Tilly could really respond properly, Pix, who had apparently heard what was being said, bolted back over, sign in hand.

"IMPIDIMP." and proceeded to smack Tilly a few times with the sign, standing between her and Frieda.

"...Pix did you just call the professor gran?"

"Impy." A nod.

"Okay, okay...uhm...just dont call her that to her face unless you want to be put you in timeout for a week..." Frieda held a hand to the bridge of her nose, exhaling a mildly frustrated breath. The impidimp seemed entirely unbothered by this threat.

"Lively place." Risette whistled, looking over everyone present. No one really still stuck out to her as interesting, but with a group like this it would at least be amusing to maybe travel with someone. Still...a lot of people for her. Crowds were only good for two things. Being the center of attention in, or blending into the background so nobody bothered you. In this situation, she'd honestly have preferred the latter.

Ugh, should have come early and just got in and got out before everyone got here.

"Alright...want some coffee or anything, Scarlett?" The other woman shook her head, though she eyed one of the vending machines curiously. "Suit yourself. Lets see..." Some hoity toity Rossaden type - ew - she'd have to remember to do something to whatever makeup she was using later. The girl that mentioned the caterpie, a boy who looked scared out of his mind, some zigzagoon, and...and extremely bouncy gal with an Azurill? Yeah, most people here were extremely unmentionable right now. "You got coffee in your blood or something? Or is all that bouncing just meant to be annoying?"

Scarlett yawned, found an empty chair and draped herself over it, legs hanging off the side, and back against the arm rest in a slightly irreverent manner.

"Nyeheheh." Remi smugly grinned at the compliment to the coffee. "Your welcome. Unlike these heathens, you have good taste huh? Good coffee takes a good trained hand. One of these days I'ma open my own coffee shop or something, hm?" Before he could elaborate further though, there it was! A call for another cup of coffee! He'd ignore all the naysayers about tea and move to grab two more cups of coffee, pouring a fresh batch from the pot and bringing it over to Victor.

"Here ya go. Victor was it? Remi Forde, nice to meet'cha." Vulpix had enough of playing with Verdue it seemed and the two pokemon were now using Nevine as a bed. She didn't seem to mind and looked to be asleep herself. "And...uh...one for you-"

"I do believe she said she'd prefer Tea, Mr. Forde." Laurely commented from the side.

"Well I don't have tea Little miss Bougie baby!" Remi responded with an irritated huff. "Or what...you gonna share yours?"

"Ahem-" Laurel coughed lightly, cheeks flushing a little red. "W-well I mean, this is high quality stuff and I only have a limited amount until I get back to Rossaden..." She glanced to the side, fumbling over her words lightly. "And w-well, they'd have to brew it themselves..."

"...okay, ahem, if I may have everyone's attention for a moment!" Frieda would shout above the crowd. "Since everyone's here, I'll go see if the professor is ready so we can get everyone on their way. I'll be back in a few minutes, hopefully."

---

---

---

— Participant(s): @Savo, @Floofenstein, @Crusader Lord, @Ryik, @Renose, @Azure Bubbles, @Double, @Psyker Landshark, @Yankee, @Rune_Alchemist
— Location: Byjerlfal City, Camphor's Lab Interior

---

To anyone who might have eben paying attention, it was clear taht Tilly was having a royally good time. The girl's eyes and face looked like that of a mischievous Glameow, toying with it's prey, and it was obvious the little galarian was very much enjoying watch Frieda squirm and get flustered at her rather abrupt proposal. When the lab aide sputtered and fumbled over her words, trying to muster up some kind of polite, non-hurtful way of letting Tilly down gently, the blonde's smirk only grew wider.

And then her mouth suddenly turned into a surprised 'o'-shape, as something whacked her. Several times.

Apparently, the White Knight had arrived to save his princess, clad in ... Not-so-shiny... Skin.. And wielding a mighty ... Sign... Tilly blinked a few times. Frieda proceeded to scold the the little chap. The defender of virtues was not deterred by these threats, and also... Wait... Had he also called the professor a 'gran' just now? The corners of Tilly's mouth twitched.

The little galarian then let out a sudden, but bubbly and melodic, burst of laughter. It wasn't your typcail, high-pitched, squealy, piercing laugh, but rather a mirthful, jovial and infectious laugh. With the girl even holding her hands over her stomach as she swapped between giggles and laughter. Her upper bits also bounced from the repeating action of amusement.

"Oi, 'e jus' smack me with 'is sign like on them ol' telly-shows?" She said, inbetween bouts of lauugh, apparently finding the prospect of being whacked by a tiny creature with a sign to be utterly hilarious. It took a few seconds for the blonde to calm bakc down, but she eventually got there, taking a final deep breath before straightening up her posture again. Looking at the little impish... Imp... She gave him a wink and a thumbs up.

"'At was brilliant, cheers mate." ... While Frieda may have been against it, Tilly seemed to approve.

Following that exchange, Tilly - for the first time since she arrived at the lab's lounge - finally took a good, proper look around her, and made note of all the others present at the locale.

There was Meli, who had been approached by some blonde young dude with a bit of swagger to himself. They engaged in some light, harmless flirtations and banter, which made Tilly smile in a bemused way. But, as was apparently typical, melissa couldn't stay in one place for too long, and soon zoomed off to go look at - and climb on top of - other parts of the location. It was... Cute... In a sense.

Besides that,, there was a duo of lads - one witha budew - who were talking and making conversation. Not that Tilly could tell what they were actually saying, given all the noise in the lobby and the fact that she wasn't really standing close enough to overhear them anyway. But one of the boys then broke off and headed for a girl. A tall lass, with a fancy pony. Girl looked to be well-off too, sporting some mighty fine duds and a professionally painted face. Nice legs on her, too. Skirt was a bit too long for Tilly's liking though, such a waste to keep those hidden away.

There was also yet another tall girl, this one wearing a backpack... And a mankey...? Well, everyone's sense of fashion is different. Next was a boy on a couch, who... Was being talked to by another tall las... Wait, that was the cool beauty from the ship. Apart from the blonde guy having bangs that curtained his face, and apparently missing an eye, and the girl looking... Nice...? There wasn't much else to remark on. After all, Tilly again couldn't really hear what they were saying to one another.

She could hear there was the... Dull-looking bro... And the loud boy who was basically running up to and asking everbody and their mum if they wanted a cup of coffee though... Guy certainly was dedicated to making sure everyone on the planet became addicted to that stuff. He, in turn, was engaged in a conversation with another fancy-pants lass sitting on a different couch, sipping tea as if she was the young, noble heiress to some hoity-toity old money family... Seriously, was she trying to project that stereotype on purpose...?

There was also the girl who was sleeping/lying on one of the couches... With pokemon lying on top of her, as if she was a couch... Wait... Was this couch-ception? The couch sleeping on the couch while being used as a couch? Mind-boggling~

She couldn't see where sour-puss McLavender was... Maybe he hadn't gotten inside yet and was still talking to the captain outside? There was that fidgety, somewhat trembling girl with the messy brown hair... But she looked like she might pop like a balloon if anyone so much as blinked at her...

And then, they arrived... The pair from earlier. The dynamic duo who had dramatically dashed into the day atop their dangerous yet deluxe ride... The! ... Um... Biker-girls! Yeah! Tilly remembered them! The albino - with a streak of ketchup in her hair - arrived first and looked around, with an expression taht sorta said: Ugh... Filthy peasants... as she apparnetly scanned the room. The other one, whose hair was all ketchup, plopped down on one of the sofas and looked like she was either going to belch, or start slamming back cold ones... Either way, it was amusing if nothing else. The white-haired one asked iof the red-head wanted something, and the red head stared intently at one of the vending machines, but still said nothing...

... Then Frieda called out and announced that she was finally gonna go and fetch the woman they'd all come here to actually meet. Great! Progress was being made.

So it seemed everyone accounted for! ... Probably... Not like Tilly knew if anyone was actually missing or hadn't arrived yet.

So, now it was just a waiting game, eh? Nothing to do but hold out until the good ol' prunefessor showed up. Given that, Tilly walked on over to one of vending machines and began to hum a little tune, while lazily taking note of the selection. She wasn't gonna buy anyhting, of course, but it was fun to see what kind of local and domestic snacks, candies and beverages were available here in Eidda as compared to back home~

Toshi

"Welllll, I dunno if I have any wisdom, but Mom always said, about Dad mainly, that if you try, like, to be great, that's how you don't be great at all. Better to just like what you do and you'll get there." She said it with a bright smile.

That... was a lot to think about, actually. He was mainly being flattering when he called her wise, trying to get to know her a little bit better since he figures he's going to end up running into these people more in the future, and making a joke at his own expense about how superficial his compliments would be given he knew her for all of twenty seconds - to keep things light-hearted. By now, it's been probably just short of a minute since he'd first met her, but he doesn't think he actually knows anyone who has proven themselves wiser than Melissa. Like, at all. Low bar? Perhaps, but it's been a long time since he ever had to stop and think about what someone said to him. Twice, at that. Nothing speaks of wisdom like recognition of his awesomeness, after all.

He hasn't actually ever been a pokémon trainer. He likes researching training methods - Arceus knows that the first thing he's gonna do with his first pokémon is seek some time alone to try a few things out, but whether he'll like it or not? Ehhh, hard to believe he wouldn't, frankly, but he knows from experience what it means, at least in superficial terms, for someone to be trying too hard, and that probably applied to pokémon training and battling too... somehow.

The concept touched upon one of the things he hated most about himself, but hey, that's why he's shooting so high, right? Become the best and then maybe he'll believe himself when he says it. Probably.

Melissa's attention seemed to be drifting, which probably meant he hadn't responded fast enough and was boring her. Awesome. His smile twitched, but before he could thank her for bestowing his humble countenance with a jewel from the vaults of some made-up wisdom treasury, she ended the conversation.

"Thanks for the compliments! Hope your new partner is as beautiful as you!"

He simply smiled and waved, as any cool dude would, while mentally groaning in anguish.

"Want some actual wisdom? Focus on your actual job instead of flirting. Then maybe you might have a chance at being mediocre."

Ironically, the purple-haired boy being a little prick was exactly what Toshi needed in this moment. This was a language he spoke fluently, and it was also the first time he had ever met anyone in his own age group with a stick shoved this far up their ass. His smile transitioned to a smug smirk even as the other boy turned to walk away.
"We're in a waiting room, dumbass. Maybe you should focus on not seething in rage because you don't know how to talk to girls."

The boy ignored him, heading towards a shy-looking boy sitting on a couch and a girl who appeared to be comforting him. He chuckled a bit, wondering if the guy was trying to surreptitiously prove him wrong. Ah, well, it didn't really matter. He was feeling better already.

He briefly considered who to bother next when one of his top candidates - The blond girl who was flirting up Frieda, got Frieda to blush before announcing that she would go grab Professor Camphor. He had avoided going up to them because cockblocking (or... what do you call it in this case? Minge infringement?) was the last first impression he'd ever want to make. However, it looked like he wouldn't have much more time before the call of adventure took priority. Like the purple-haired boy said, he had a job to do, after all. He considered all the people he never got a chance to chat up yet - There's the cute girl with white hair who was followed around by a cute girl with bright red hair. Seemed like a lot of fun to be around, but she also seemed the type to walk all over people, which, personally, was not his fetish. There's the quiet boy on the couch who was crumpling inward while being talked to by a cute brunette, with the purple-haired guy third-wheeling them. It was genuinely tempting to walk up to the shy boy, grab him by the shoulders and start shaking him while yelling 'YOU ARE ENOUGH! YOU MATTER! DON'T GIVE UP! YOU CAN DO IT! YOU'RE ALMOST THERE! YOU WILL SUCCEED!' and so on, but if he reacted badly, Camphor might kick him out, so he'd better not. He could chat up the cute brunette girl alone, but she seemed busy, and he knew better than to insert himself where he'd be unwelcome and unhelpful. Who did that leave? The white haired guy drinking coffee in steretypical punk attire, the cute green-haired girl with a Sprigatito who he gathers is a tea person, and the cute brown-haired girl being slept on by a Slakoth. Hrmmm.

"Yo! Tilly, right? How you doin'?"

It was the obvious choice.

"You taking on the league circuit? You seem like the type of girl who'd kill it no matter what you did."
@Xaltwind

Lina's head ever so slightly tilted back as she glanced back at the second person to join her talking to the raspy-sounding boy with the eyepatch. Though of all people, she hadn't expected, well, the grumpy sullen guy who seemed more apt to talk to his Rotom Phone or toss out a gripe about something thus far. It was blunt, but it was her honest thoughts all the same. Not that he hadn't started off just gesturing to the bathroom, or a potential location therein, but had stopped himself....peculiar. She'd have to note that for later, along with that admission of being 'bad at conversations'. Though with the crowd of people in here, it left a thought on the edge of her mind.

'Hmm...I hope this guy isn't going to get too overwhelmed with it all, given his current state. Better to keep the potential in mind though.'

Hmm. But for now they didn't need to drag things out and dawdle when the Professor's Assistant had just announced that she'd see if the Professor was ready to meet them. Though that was a cute Impidimp. Also noted. The Professor, or her assistant, had some sense of taste. Mischevious taste, given how the Galarian girl had been bopped in the head by one anyways, but it was taste by her metrics in some manner or another at least.

"Thank you, though I've also got a bottle with fresh water in it. Can see if he's ok with sipping from it until you're back, perhaps, unless he wants tap water."

A thing said by Lina in a rather matter-of-fact yet casual tone, but all the same not one with any sort of malice or begrudging to it. Even the rude people outside had only gone so far as attitude, rather than doing anything actually malicious than laughing and assuming things about people. Nepo babies tended to do that when they felt they had a pedestal under their feet, though at least they'd noticed the Caterpie after she'd mentioned it. So at least they weren't blind and the leader of the two had a somewhat leveler head on her shoulders despite how she'd seemed thus far. Good. That would be noted likewise about the two for them for now as well. However, she was digressing a fair bit for the moment there.

Reaching back without looking again with her lefft hand, Lina grabbed her travel water bottle, unclipped it from her backpack with deft fingers, and simply held it up for the lavender-haired boy and the eyepatch-wearing one to see. She then turned to the latter after opening the built-in straw on the thing with her left hand and gently offering it to the eyepatch boy. Not shoving it in his face, but trying to let him see what she had at the very least. She had, however, memorized where to put things on her backpack in preparation for things at least. Good to know for the road. Needed to keep track of and know what you had with you when traveling.

"Hey. Got some fresh, cool water here in this bottle. You can sip on it for now until someone gets back with a cup of water if you want to, but no rush. We can even try to get away from the crowd, if you need some breathing room."

Her tone again shifted back into a softer, trying to be more soothing and not overly loud sort as she spoke again to the taller boy. Even so, her eyes briefly ran over his face, trying to get a better bead on what sort of state he was in and keep an eye out for sudden changes. If she needed, she'd adapt from there. Not a fun time to be hurting, though, when waiting to meet one's new boss. THough was he one of the applicants to the job, as she'd just assumed here initially? Or was he someone who was already here and worked as staff? Hmm. No offense to him, but he didn't seem as put together as the Professor's Assistant, or 'Freida', was. Ah. Questions like that could be answered later at least, yes.

Meanwhile, the Pokeball on Lina's Pokeball carrying/attachment points on the right side of her belt slightly wiggled slightly for a moment before going calmly still once more, perhaps as a result of a mild touch of worry perhaps on the mind of the Pokemon within? Only time would tell.

@Savo@Renose

---

"There's a restroom over... there I believe if you want to get some wa-,"

Before the girl talking to him can reply, a new voice suddenly appears. Just like the girl's voice before when she first talked to him, this new voice also makes Ryuuichi flinch once again. Even though it had happened moments ago, the act of someone suddenly coming up to him and talking out of the blue will never stop being a bit of a shock to him.

If those "lights" are to be believed and not a sign of him going crazy, then there are... a lot of people / Pokemon in the room.

Thankfully, the pain from his current migraine and nausea is preventing them from returning by making it nearly impossible for him to focus properly. As painful as it is, Ryuuichi can't help but want them to stick around forever.

"Since everyone's here, I'll go see if the professor is ready so we can get everyone on their way. I'll be back in a few minutes, hopefully."

He recognizes that voice. It is the same one from that rather harsh, but completely correct email. The one that actually approved of his application. It also reminds him with an additional sting to the left side of his head that he has a job to try and, hopefully, not fail at.

"Uhm, look. How about you stay here and chat with the kid while I go get some water for him. I'm not much of a conversationalist after all."

Some kind of... buzz? Is that a Pokemon or someone's phone?

"... you're not either Vivi."

Another buzz.

"Anyways, does that sound good?"

Any curiosity about how many people or Pokemon are currently crowding around him is immediately outweighed by the throbbing pain to the left side of his head, which makes him clench it a bit tighter. Sadly the back and forth conversation happening right around him is also just making it worse and making it harder and harder to want to keep staying here.

A double edged sword in how it keeps the "lights" at bay while further piling more into his skull.

"Thank you, though I've also got a bottle with fresh water in it. Can see if he's ok with sipping from it until you're back, perhaps, unless he wants tap water."

At least it isn't a new voice. This meant that, as far as Ryuuichi can tell even in his current state, two people and one Pokemon / phone are around him. He doesn't need the "lights" to notice that. He doesn't want them back.

Yet Ryuuichi can't figure out what to say at all or how to get into this back and forth conversation that is happening right in his ears. It may have been a slow conversation to others, yet to Ryuuichi its moving at a mile a minute.

"Hey. Got some fresh, cool water here in this bottle. You can sip on it for now until someone gets back with a cup of water if you want to, but no rush. We can even try to get away from the crowd, if you need some breathing room."

Water. "Um..." he stammers, stopping. A long, five second pause is how long it takes for Ryuuichi to formulate the next batch of poorly and awkwardly spoken words. "T...That sounds expensive... t-tap water is... fine." He can't figure out how else to turn down the offer. In the five long seconds he took, those are the only words that his brain is able to formulate in response.

As nice as that cold water sounds, he can't continue to be a liability, as Camphor had put it, and leech off of others like a burden.

Be it his parents or strangers he just met.

"And well... I... I can stay right here. I d-don't want to... hit someone..." he begins, his clenched fist absentmindedly grasping at something that is next to him on the couch cushion he is currently sitting on, "with my cane" is how he finishes that statement.

Now grasped in the clenched fist that isn't rubbing the left side of his head is what seems to be a forearm length, collapsible cane or baton of some kind. The entire length of it is white, with the exception of the rather bright red tip of it. The bottle being held up to his face also elicits no reaction from Ryuuichi. He doesn't turn or move his head at all to face it in any capacity.

"I'm umm... b--" his quiet voice chokes on the one word out of many that reminds him of his horrible actions the most."blind... after all" is what still manages to let out anyway despite this. He doesn’t want to, yet he has to explain why he has this weird cane and how he could possibly accidentally hit someone with it.

Although part of him does want to go that bathroom and just stay there, the fear of accidentally smacking someone in the shin or stabbing their toes keeps him firmly rooted to the couch. Such actions perhaps would only cause Camphor to be even madder at him and make her fire him on the spot. This is one of the main reasons why he has not moved from this couch for the entire time since he has gotten here, having gotten here even before Remi, Nevine, Laurel, and Svein.

---

---

---

— Participant(s): @Savo, @Crusader Lord, @Renose, @Ryik
— Location: Byjerlfal City, Camphor's Lab Interior

---

As she was happily humming a tune to herself, while taking a gander at the selection in the Eiddan vending machine, two things of note happened nearby.

First, she finally spotted Captain Sour-puss McLavender, who had finally made his way inside the lounge-y lab lounge. He was now engaging the blonde boy on the couch, the one with the eye-patch, along with the tall girl from the boat. The latter holding out a bottle of... Water...? Infront of the blonde boy's face.... Maybe he was thirsty...? Well, whatever the case may bem those two (probably?) had it handled and under wraps!

The far more immediate something was that, now with Melissa having bounced her way off somewhere else, Johnny Bravo had decided that he wasn't done chatting up the pretty ladies in the area and was now trying his hand with the galarian girl.

He pulled on up next to her and delivered a casual, cool greeting... Or... So he thought probably... Guy did not seem to realize that most girls didn't really enjoy when a complete stranger rolled on up and addressed them with their first name, especially when you hadn't been introduced... Fellow must've overheard Frieda say Tilly's name during their earlier exchange, because Tilly was fairly sure she'd not givne this lout her introduction... Unless he was like... Psychic! Or, hacked into Camphor's personal files and looked everyones names and faces up beforehand... Potential creeper alert...

But, regardless of his self-perceived suave moves, Tilly justlooked on with a smile as the blonde boy kept running his mouth. Moving on from his greeting, he asked her about some... Circuit...? And then added a little bit of honeyed sugar at the end to try and win her over. The pig-tailed blonde raised an eyebrow as a coquettish smirk spread across her face after hearing this.

"Dunno nothin'bout 'is circuit o' yers, but cheers on the praise." She turned away from the vending machine to face the boy properly. Her eyes then went half-closed, a cheshire smile came to her face. "But aye, name's Tilly, 'n I'm tha' type o' girl 'oo can do all sorts o' things~" A bit of emphasis was placed on those words, and the slightly leaning forward posture was thrown in for good measure.

"You fancy chattin' up all o' the pretty fillies around?" Tilly asked, now rising and falling on her tippy-toes, similar to Melissa. Though, when the galarian girl did it, it caused certain... Beleaguered bits of her body that were bound by a very limited cloth bulwark, to bounce slightly every time she did. Tilly's voice was also less energetic and her pace of speech slower than the bluette's, with a distinclty velvety tone to her words.

And though her eyes may have been half-closed, they had a very apparent, cat-like glint to them, as she looked the casanova infront of her straight in the yes... Or... Face...? It was hard to tell, given her shorter stature.

Toshi

"But aye, name's Tilly, 'n I'm tha' type o' girl 'oo can do all sorts o' things~" A bit of emphasis was placed on those words, and the slightly leaning forward posture was thrown in for good measure.

Toshi's brows raised, though his smile didn't falter. Multitalented, huh? He didn't think he could commit to being the best at everything, but he's pretty sure being pretty damn good at everything was achievable, and she didn't seem the type to oversell her capabilities, so he took her words at face value. "Dabble in contests as well as battling, huh? Maybe even got something like a skateboarding Budew on the side, don't you? That's awesome. Name's Toshinori, by the way, though everyone calls me Toshi."

"You fancy chattin' up all o' the pretty fillies around?" Tilly asked, now rising and falling on her tippy-toes, similar to Melissa. Though, when the galarian girl did it, it caused certain... Beleaguered bits of her body that were bound by a very limited cloth bulwark, to bounce slightly every time she did. Tilly's voice was also less energetic and her pace of speech slower than the bluette's, with a distinclty velvety tone to her words.

Toshi, of course, kept his eyes locked on Tilly's face. He was raised with more self-control than to ogle someone mid-conversation like some pre-pubescent teenager. If it meant anything more, it flew over his head. "Yes." He said, without a hint of shame; the smile on his face making it hard to tell whether he was being serious or not. "Great way to pass the time and meet new people. I'm happy to chat up some dudes; maybe become bros, too, but time is limited, unlike your charm." He gave her a cheeky wink, causing a hallucinatory and/or imaginary sparkle to appear next to his eyes.

Oh, motorcycle lady! Melissa was, in her rounds, close enough to hear her comment--and replied with a happy, peppy "Nooo, I'm not allowed coffee!" Bouncing on the spot to smile at the lady despite the less-than-politeness she radiated "I dunno why, but anything Mom actually agrees with Dad about is something I should probably obey!" she explained and, well, off she went again, stepping away and about to go faster when the assistant-lady called for attention?! And that! Well she was here at their call, so, only polite!...and she was interested, so she slowed, and stayed still-ish (Bouncing on her toes but not swaying), and--wait, does that tall proper-looking lady have a...a...Pokemon? Of some sort she didn't know, but it had a tail and was beige-ish. Maybe a fighting type? Not that she'd know--right! Professor! Arriving! Attention! Focus! Stop looking at tall Pokemon-on-her lady, focus on assistant-lady, and...!

And...

And the lady didn't come out yet. Melissa blinked, and blinked, and the professor (Was she really prune-like?) did not materialize. Her attention wandered, as it did, back to the thing that had previously caught her attention, as it was common to. That lady, with a Pokemon on her! Which was not uncommon, really, but she had not seen that type of Pokemon before! Also the lady was....Well, she had the cool-lady-from-the-boat's issue. Which wasn't an issue for her more an issue for Melissa. Soft! and right at eye-level to boot, goodness.

Which is more of a problem now that she's right close to her! Well whatever, look up, and up, and up and "Hello! What's that Pokemon? Oh!" She grinned, and clapped, hands together after "Nice to meet you!" she chirped, which got a follow-along "Azuuu!" From on top of her head.

Then a blink.

Oh, right, another person here! Eyes drifted to...the other very tall girl, blonde with eye-shadow and a very pretty Pokemon, hereself. "And nice to meet you, also! That's a...." A tilt of her head, thoughtful, Lonitt not seeming to even protest as she/he remained seated atop her head, despite the almost comical 45 degree angle--nor the sudden return to upright "Ponyta! Of some sort. Right?" She asked, and smiled wide. Oh, and of course "Ri-rill!" From above her. All good, all friendly!

Was she planning on talking to everyone? No, but it seemed inevitable! Even though she was already bouncing on her toes again (though her thick-and-comfy outfit limited other sorts of bounce.) and nodding and "Oh, I'm Melissa! Though I think I announced that already...." she added, and hummed, thoughtful, tapping her chin with her left index finger. Hrm. Eh.

Wait, is that the purple guy? From the boat? Looking like he's being nice to the having-a-hard-time guy on the couch?...Did she hear blind? Oh, wow. Oh and cool-lady and--right! Snap eyes back to the two she was addressing. Politeness, right right right.