---

”Nope, all skill baby!” Jack said proudly, Toshi’s subtle joke completely lost on him. But in complete and total fairness, it was getting pretty chaotic in there with all the people and conversations all at once. So maybe one might forgive Jack for missing a detail or two. Speaking of missing things, Jack almost completely didn’t notice when Victor replied to his answer about Giants Watch. But he managed to catch it before it was too late.

”Yeah, if you say so…” He said, not entirely convinced a trip into the caves would be all that fun. Then again, having grown up around them, it was little wonder that Jack would find the caves boring as opposed to a tourist visiting the area for the first time. Ah, the ancient dichotomy of tourists versus locals! In any case, Sparkplug’s Poke Ball finally appeared to calm down a bit so Jack relaxed his grip on it.

”Sorry to scold at ya, buddy.” He murmured to himself, ”But them’s the rules. The professor said no shenanigans in the lab, and I’m pretty sure she meant it.”

And right about then was when Jack spotted the brown-and-cream-colored fur of a Mankey’s paw trying to tap Sparkplug’s Poke Ball, ”Whoa, careful little guy.” Jack said, hosting the ball up a little more out of the Pokemon’s reach, ”Sparkplug’s in one of his moods right now and I’d hate to see someone get caught by one of his shocks.”

A girl approached moments later to scoop the Mankey up into her arms. This had to be the little guy’s trainer, Jack assumed. She called the Mankey Hiddy and reprimanded him a tiny bit, then apologized before seemingly requesting a battle later, ”Stress relief, huh? Yeah, I can see that. Though I gotta warn you, Sparkplug’s idea of stress relief is beating the tar out of an opponent, haha! But hey, if you don’t mind a little battling then I’m always game for it.”

After a moment he finally realized he forgot to introduce himself and stuck his hand out awkwardly. ”Jackson Bridge.” He said, ”Jack for the short. And the feisty little electric devil in this Poke Ball is Sparkplug. He’s, uh, temperamental sometimes. But I’ve heard that’s common among Electric and Fire types. Something about the way their electrical or heat energy surges through their body, or so I’ve read.”

Hazel's brilliant plan of "if I can't see them they can't see me" was going well... for all of about two minutes. She tensed up when she felt the hand at her back, thoughts running through her brain so fast that she felt her head was just full of static. Was she in the way? Was someone trying to get her attention? Was she successfully hiding in plain sight and someone else just happened to brush against her?

Slowly she turned to look over her shoulder, but when she saw the brown hair, soft features, and gentle smile of the woman behind her Hazel very nearly started tearing up. A-a-a-a mature lady!! It was a complex feeling; relief at having someone that seemed friendly and reliable reach out to her, but also embarrassment that she'd apparently come across as a helpless teen that needed an adult to save them... well, that second part was pretty much the truth though.

"Um, y-yes, I am," Hazel replied. So Professor Camphor had hired people like Miss Miharu and still had accepted Hazel's own application? She hadn't embellished herself too much on it, right...? Her various resumes were never meant to see the light of day, so sometimes she got carried away with them, but she didn't recall doing that this time.

When Miharu bowed it took Hazel a couple of seconds to recognize what she was doing, and then hastily follow suit with a much deeper one. Hopefully she was doing it right, she didn't know a lot about those island customs. "Thank you! I-I mean, nice t-to meet you too!"

She also bowed to Hiddy, after shrinking away slightly at the Mankey's loud greeting. And of course the thought of giving her own name had pretty much slipped entirely from her mind. Thankfully the professor's assistant still knew who she was. As Pix came over to tap Hazel, startling her out of her bowing, she watched it run back to Frieda and gave both the woman and her Impidimp a small, shaky smile.

"Ah, n-no, he didn't, I'm... good..." Hazel trailed off as she spoke, voice drowned by the crowd until they started to follow after the celebrity. At that point Hazel shuffled in closer to the rest of the group, her hands clasped tightly together in front of her. She listened to Frieda give them a quick run down before she turned to lead all of them out of the airport and into the city streets.

Walking through a big city? Also very stressful. Hazel was immensely grateful that she had a group to travel with, backs to keep sight of, as otherwise she was sure she would have gotten lost. The skyscrapers and huge throngs of people moving on the side walks and cross walks was so unlike her hometown. She'd seen busy places like this in movies, but experiencing the real thing was very overwhelming. There was a brief moment when Hazel felt the urge to reach out and take hold of Frieda or Miharu's sleeve in order to make sure she didn't get separated, but she successfully resisted. She was way too old for that. As long as she kept everyone in sight, she would be fine.

While the group walked, craning their necks to take in the sights, a few looked back at Hazel who unsurprisingly was taking up the rear. The boy with the split personality gave her a little wave, but Hazel quickly averted her eyes by throwing her gaze to several places that weren't his face. She did return the wave, a very brief and nervous gesture, just in case one of his personalities was a psycho murderer who would target anyone that slighted him even over the most mundane things. His Budew was given a slightly more enthusiastic wave, being a small and cute Pokémon.

To Hazel's shock, at one point the blonde pretty boy slowed to her pace and began talking to her. This made Hazel fidget, wringing her hands together as she wondered just what she'd been doing to draw his attention. She suddenly stopped her fidgeting, and all brain function, when he said that she looked like a Zigzagoon and that Zigzagoons were cute. So he was calling her cute? Somehow her feet kept walking, but her eyes were wide and her face blank save for a dusting of pink on her cheeks. Whatever else the boy was saying sounded like gibberish as her brain clouded over...

...

...

Wait, no, of course he wasn't saying she was cute. That would be silly. They'd just met, and Hazel was definitely not cute. He must have just wanted to ensure her that the comparison wasn't negative. She nodded to herself, and then the sounds of the city filtered back into clarity.

"...recommend finding one that can use the move Extreme Speed. Not sure how hard it would be to find one..." the boy was saying. She'd missed a chunk of his rambling, but tried to pay attention after that. Once she figured out that he wasn't so much trying to talk to her as at her, she was a little less nervous. She then nodded along to his words, keeping a mental note of his suggestions. Although she wasn't sure if she'd go as far as seeking out a breeder, since she didn't have much money. How uncommon were Zigzagoon and Linoone around here, she wondered? And then promptly unwondered. She probably wasn't actually going to do this whole Pokémon thing in the first place!

When the group was in the lab proper, and then squeezed in further by a whole other group entering on top of the one that was already there, Hazel stuck herself to the wall to give everyone else some space and to just listen and absorb everyone else's conversation. She was generally content to do this, keep out of sight and listen to everyone else having fun. She noted Frieda's comments about the routes out of town and Bjyerlfal itself, though she paled slightly when the lab assistant said it was full of Ghost-types. Didn't that mean the city was actually pretty dangerous? Had a ton of people died here or something?! Or was there something hidden somewhere that attracted the spooky Pokémon, like some sort of spectral vortex style gate to the Reverse World?!

With resolve not to find out, Hazel made mental note to leave Bjyerlfal by dusk.

She continued listening in, her tension gradually loosening as the multitude of conversations went on around her. She did not have super hearing, as she was pretty sure the thing about other sense getting sharper if one dulls was just an old wive's tale, but she was decently good at sorting out various voices from each other. And since this was a public space, she didn't have to feel about about eavesdropping. Once Hazel had a handle on most of the motley assembly of prospective trainers' antics, she allowed herself a small, amused smile at some of them. There were a few quieter, standoffish people among the group, but they seemed to be the minority. Most of them seemed like a lot of fun, including the Pokémon that had come with a few of them.

Then Frieda called for everyone's attention and left to fetch the Professor, which had Hazel stiffening up again.

@PlatinumSkink @Yankee

Stella’s expression softened when Victor’s attention shifted from her to Fantasia. Compliments directed at Stella were pleasant. Compliments directed at Fantasia were simply correct.

“She is a Galarian Ponyta,” Stella said proudly. “Her name is Fantasia.”

Fantasia’s ears perked at the sound of her name. She turned toward Victor and the Budew perched on his shoulder, studying them both.

At Victor’s request, Stella glanced down at her partner rather than answering for her. “If she allows it.”

Fantasia stepped forward and gently sniffed in Victor’s direction. Her attention briefly settled on Bud, earning the little Grass-type a soft neigh, before she lowered her head within Victor’s reach.

Stella folded her hands neatly over her handbag. “Please, do be careful. Her mane was brushed before I left this morning.”

She looked past him toward the edge of the room. The anxious girl from the airport had once again positioned herself against a wall, trying in vain to make herself disappear. She had seen the girl’s strange reaction earlier, but had not yet decided what to make of it.

Now, with everyone waiting for Professor Camphor and the girl looking as though the room itself might swallow her, Stella made a decision.

While Victor was with Fantasia, Stella approached the girl. “You needn’t remain attached to the wall all afternoon, darling.” A small pause followed as Stella considered how that might have sounded. “Attempting to disappear will only make people notice you more.”

That was probably not much better.

Stella cleared her throat and adjusted the strap of her handbag, briefly glancing back toward Fantasia before returning her attention to the girl.

“You’re Hazel, correct? Frieda mentioned your name.” She gave Hazel a look more carefully. The girl seemed ready to either apologize, run away, or somehow do both at once.

“I’m Stella,” she added, though introductions felt redundant after the airport. “Stella Gold.” Her voice was softer than one she would use with some of the others. “Fantasia is currently occupied, but I’m sure she would be pleased to meet you once Victor is finished.” Stella gestured toward the nearby seats. “There is room over there, if you would prefer not to stand.”

Then, after another pause, she added, “You needn’t worry. I’m not trying to embarrass you.” Her eyes flicked toward the crowded room. “There are already far too many people here doing an excellent job of embarrassing themselves.”

Note. All interactions in this post are intended to take place at different times, perhaps independently of scenes currently in progress. Victor just wants to talk to everyone, regardless of possibility! :D

---

@Psyker Landshark
Victor smiled at Hiddy’s introduction.

‘Hello, Hiddy! This is Bud. He’s a Bud!’ Victor said, somehow still with the posh voice as he gestured at the Budew on his shoulder.

‘Buuud~’

‘I understand completely! Then let us find more interesting stuff in this world, alright?’ Victor declared, more interesting than Kantona City. Alright, making a mental note there’s no need to go to Kantona City, then. If he remembers it. Then again, why not, really? There could be stuff Miharu just didn’t consider interesting because she’s from there! At the very least, keep it in mind!

Victor was kinda pleased with this convo. He held his own against tall gentle lady Miharu. It wasn’t as scary as he thought. Nice.

---

@Double
Victor’s going to acknowledge Jackson’s reply but then doesn’t have anything interesting to reply to it with!

---

[@Rival_Remi]
‘It is good to meet you, too, Remi!’ Victor told the girl_{(Stiles' pov)} that had served him a cup of coffee. His face brightened, actually from excitement at drinking coffee for the first time. ‘Ah, my old friend, coffee! How I have missed you!’ and so, he took a decisive swipe-

and stopped short. Eyes widened. Barely held back a cough. For whatever reason, with how much others had talked about liking it, he had expected it to be sweet.

He recoiled, eyes in a panic, briefly scrounging up, grimacing, rubbing his mouth with the back of his free hand and then trying to return to his previous position of gently holding the coffee-cup straight with both hands and smiling as he looked to Remi with crying eyes.

‘AH, YES! COFFEE! IS! GRET!’ Victor loudly announced as he was restraining a deeply fundamental inability to appreciate bitterness. In fact, the taste was absolutely vile, for him who had never drank coffee. However, Victor Gallagher would be a coffee-drinker! SO HE HAD DECIDED!

‘I WILL! NOW! GO TALK PEOPLE! HAVE GOOD DAY :D’ Deciding that remaining in conversation with Remi was the absolutely best way to be revealed for the fraud he is, he all of a sudden started moving to the next person to avoid Remi for the time being. And then that just somehow resulted in him walking to every person he hadn’t talked to yet and talked to them.

---

@Savo
Victor randomly decided on a guy to approach. (it is Yuu) ‘Hello! I am Victor Gallagher, and you-’ Victor paused, turning his head to look up at the guy he had just approached. He was still holding his arch-nemesis the coffee at this time. Anyway, he was also intimidated by this big guy looking all dark and _{looked to Stiles like he} had this look of distaste for everything living. Kinda reminded Stiles of- ‘You have cool hair!’ Victor eventually settled on.

‘Dew!’ Bud agreed or something.

‘So, uh, what got you excited about what we’re going to be doing here?’ Victor asked the guy who didn’t look particularly excited.

‘Also, you look like you could use this, so _{please take this off my hands!}’ Victor handed over the coffee cup.

---

@Rune_Alchemist
Next, Victor approached, by sheer coincidence _{(and absolutely not top to bottom in the order the characters are in the characters tab)} was a pair of women. One of them was another tall intimidating lady! … But the other girl was substantially shorter. Anyway! Stiles immediately said what was on his mind as he saw them!

‘Wow, you both have cool hair, too!’ … ‘I mean.’ He fixed his posture and put on the fake posh voice.

‘I am Victor Gallagher! I am pleased to meet you and would like to know if you’re cool! No, wait, I mean, where are you from and does anything cool happen there?’ he asked, absolutely not losing it.

‘Bu-deeew~!’ Bud greeted them.

---

@Renose@Crusader Lord
Victor happened to be close enough to hear Ryuuichi say that he’s blind.

It got Stiles’ attention. He turned, holding a hand up to his chin as he pretended to be fancy Victor Gallagher as he looked with Stiles’ interest at the boy. Blind, huh. That’s like living your entire life without any light, right? Then of course he was seated. But, in that case…

‘You took this job, despite being unable to see?’ he asked… and then his face spread into a wide, happy smile. ‘Niiice. Surviving, despite the circumstances thrust upon you. Making the most of it. I respect it, my dude!’ He then caught himself and adjusted his voice.

‘Um. I am Victor Gallagher. Where are you from, and have you see- er, heard of anything cool happening around there lately?’

Then he might look aside and see Lina standing there, too. ‘Whoa! Oh, hey. Uh. You’re cool,’ he said, giving her an awkward little wave. Yepp, it was another kinda tall cool girl. Now, he likely would have said more to her, but he just asked Ryuuichi something, so he’d wait for the reply.

‘Bud!’ Bud said.

---

Randomly a collab with @Floofenstein
It had not escaped Victor that there was an eccentric personality bouncing around the place. In fact, this made him very curious about the personality, more so than in the things she was investigating. So, for a couple seconds to a minute, there was Melissa walking around searching and inspecting everything, and then Victor curiously following her more inspecting her methods of searching everything rather than what she was actually finding. Mostly because he’d never seen anyone search quite like she was.

Between the investigating the counter (away from the coffee machine) and trotting off to…something else, Melissa noticed she was being followed. Watched. She wasn’t quite as oblivious as one might think, though she definitely was not paying super much attention. A spin around to catch the–oh, it’s…this guy. Who she definitely noticed before, yes, because he had a Budew riding him. Much like Lonitt on her head! So she smiled, big and wide and chirped a ”Hello! You! Have a friend, too!” And yup, her eyes were more on the little grass-type…A rival to her water-type?! Maybe. She’d need to be wary!...Orite, politeness. ”I’m Melissa, nice to meet you!” she chirped, and ”Azu!” from above. She was pretty sure Lonitt was also staring at the Budew, but it was hard to check, yaknow?

Victor flinched a little bit as Melissa spun around and caught him, like he’d forgotten that was possible. Bud, though, smiled happily as he came face to face to Lonitt.

‘Oh, uh, hi. Yes, uh, yes, I do. This is Bud,’ he gestured at Bud. ‘And he’s the coolest!’ he added with a smile.

‘Buuuuud~!’ Bud called to Melissa and Lonitt.

‘And I,’ he adjusted his voice to Victor’s fake posh one. ‘I am Victor Gallagher! It is nice to meet you!’ he also said, looking proud. But, that’s… not important, compared to what he wanted to ask.

‘So, uh,’ he returned to his normal voice and looked at her curiously. ‘What are you looking for? Do you usually look around like this?’ Victor had previously seen people search like this. He’d searched like that himself. … When starving on the street, that is, _{or when intruding in someone’s home uninvited}. But never had he seen someone relatively well-off search like that in someone else’s home, when people were present. So he got curious.

Bud! What a name for a Budew, yup yup mmhmmm. Looking for? Wellll, that was easy to answer! But first! ”Nice to meet you, Victor! And bud!” She chirped, and, yup, ”zuuuu!” Lonitt’s greeting! Yup yup. And then a tilt of her head, and Hm. ”I’m kinda just seeing everything there is to see, really!” She chirped, smiling brightly. There was nothing to it, she just wanted to see if there was anything neato, or shiny, or both. Also, uh, waiting for the…everything to happen. But she didn’t say that, acting impatient was bad. Even if she was already bouncing and wanting to get moving again, staring at the boy for a biiiiiiiiiiiiit longer, to see what else he had to say, but there were things waiting for her, so…

‘Just that, huh?’ Victor asked, then smiled. ‘I like it. Even the smallest of places deserves exploration!’ So it was simply who she was. This amused him. ‘Alright. Melissa, was it? I’m gonna remember you.’ So he declared.

Well, he wasn’t quiiiiite right. Exploring was fun though, and that’s what this job would be about, right? So…Maybe he was right? Huh, something to think about. “Well! Yeah. I’ll remember you, too?” she replied, looking around. Her memory was usually pretty good, even if she didn’t make the best use of it, especially given….ooo, that! She grinned, waved at him and chirped a short ”See ya, then!” and was off, bouncing away to the next thing she saw!

Victor gave a small wave as she took off. Yepp, that was an interesting person. Now, who’s he going to talk to next?

---

@Xaltwind _{(and possibly @Ryik if he’s intruding on their convo)}
In his quest to talk to everyone, which Victor decided on was a course of action after having talked to around half, he eventually arrived to this short young lady. Which was a nice change of pace, so many of these ladies had been very tall. So, he put on his fake posh accent, and went straight to it!

‘Hello! I am Victor Gallagher, and you, uh, are-’

And it was about this moment when his eyes kinda just drifted down.

‘_{... aren't… wearing a lot...}’

…

So, he was definitely looking at her.

But, like, not in a ^{_{word not allowed in Pokémon}} way.

You know that look a child might have when they’re seeing something amazing? Like fireworks?

Or a normal adult seeing a huge model train-set that is taking up the entire room with beautiful terrain and interesting details?

Yeah, that.



‘... Dew?’ the Budew on his shoulder looked in slight confusion at his trainer.

---

[@Rival_Laurel]
Victor came to a dead stop in front of Laurel and broke out in a cold sweat. For the exceedingly simple reason that she seemed very well off, and he knew the real Victor was also really well off, ergo, they probably knew each other! … Sounded Stiles’ perfect logic in his head.

But, like, he couldn’t give a different name to her, not right here in front of everyone! He had so proudly announced himself as Victor Gallagher to everyone else! So, he had to just, uh. Escape. Except, now he’d been standing there staring at her for multiple seconds! It would be weird to not say anything! So, uh…

‘Y-yo. Uh.’ Okay, wait, maybe the approach “I am casual to specifically you” doesn’t work. Posh voice, coming up. ‘I’m, uh, Vic. Just Vic. Pleased to meet you!’ … and then he tried to escape as quickly as he could.

‘Bu-dew~’ Bud waved at her as Victor tried to leave.

---

[@Rival_Nevine]
Victor came to a stop next to Nevine on the couch. There were, let’s see. Slakoth, Sprigatito and Vulpix on top of her. He stood there, thinking for a second.

Then he picked up Bud, and placed him on top of the pile of Pokémon.

‘Buuud~...’ Bud cozied in and relaxed.

It seemed like Nevine’s back was just simply very comfortable to Pokémon.

Victor smirked and gave his bud a thumb’s up.

---

[@Rival_Svein]
Finally, he arrived to Svein, obviously without knowing their name. Victor stopped and was a little surprised to find that this individual existed.

‘Uh. Hello, I am Victor Gallagher. Where are you from? Has anything interesting happened there lately?’ he went with his usual question. ‘Those are some really cool pins you have there, dude,’ he followed, absolutely perfectly maintaining the voice he was using.

---

@Azure Bubbles _{(@Yankee, maybe, a little later)}

‘Galarian Ponyta…’ Victor replied. Even the name sounded fancy. He nodded at her statement that if she allowed it, and he held his hand up, announcing his intention, and then let her decide if she wanted to come close enough.

‘Budew~’ Bud happily called back in response to the neigh, and then Victor got to pet the pony.

‘Ooh…’ Victor made a little sound of amazement as his hand got to feel her mane and test petting her skin. ‘You’re one amazing Pokémon, Fantasia! What did you do to get such pretty colors!?’ he asked, happily petting her. The answer was likely “be born”, but still.

He was a bit confused when Stella walked off while he was still petting Fantasia, but alright. Victor could continue petting her until he was satisfied. Intermittently, he looked over curiously what Stella was doing while he had her Pokémon here, and saw that she was talking to the one who looked like she might fall apart. Oh. Well, he mentally wished them both luck with the conversation, and in case any of them caught him looking, he’d give them a little wave _{(would be the second little wave to Hazel)} before refocusing on petting Fantasia and admiring her colors.

‘Buuud~’ Bud called happily, also having looked over in that direction.

---

---

— [b]Participant(s): @Ryik, @PlatinumSkink, @Azure Bubbles, @Yankee
— Location: Byjerlfal City, Camphor's Lab Interior

---

Uhm... Was this lad a bit thick in the head? Because it seemed he had completely missed Tilly's not-so-subtle comment and somehow misinterpreted it as an actual answer related to Pokemon... And... What was he on about? Contests and skateboarding... What? Perhaps he was just trying to have a laugh, or simply wasn't into casual innuendos? Judging by the fact that he was staring so intently at her face, that might've been it.

... Yeah... That seemed to be it... Following her comment about him trying to win over the ladies, this Toshinobi or Toshinomi or whatever his name was, went on to babble about also having the desire to make buds with the other bro-hams in the building. He... He didn't seem to get what she was putting down, was he...?

But then the boy went and tried to pour on the honey again. With a line so cliché it could've come straight out of one of those cheesy old romance films from half a century ago. The guy's attempt at being smooth, coupled with his apparent self-confidence in his own ability to make girls swoon - and that wink... That wink...! - made the corners of Tilly's mouth twitch.

"O'eavens... Aren' you a charmer~" She said, with a very quiet, stifled snort of quick laughter. She then took a small step forward, stared right into Toshi's eyes with her own, half-closed, cat-like peepers. "'At's dangerous, y'know'? A girl could ge'used to 'at sorta trea'ment~" She said this last part in a lowered, hush and particularly more sultry voice, before giving Toshi's right ear a quick, sudden blown jet of air. Then she returned to taking a step back and smiling at him, wryly and mischievously like the little purrloin she was.

"Nice'n all t'mee'cha, Tooshi. Maybe we'll run in'o each other on tha' walk later, ye?" She said, giving him a little dainty wave, before moving on... To inspect something else in the lounge-y lab. And yes, she had purposefully called him 'Tooshi', not Toshi'.

Moments later...

Tilly was stopped in her tracks, this time by a new voice that came - almost - running up on her position.

It was another boy. This one with a bit of a ... Urm... What would be a polite way to describe him? Not that Tilly was particularly polite... Eccentric...? Yeah, Let's go with that... Why the cape though...? Anyway, an eccentric-looking young fellow who had a little pokemon riding on his shoulder. kinda simliar to Melissa in a lot of ways, same vibe and energy largely.

The dude started off in a bombastic fashion, declaring loudly who he was with a... Was... Was that one of those 'Papa will hear of this!'-voices...? For real? Wait... No... Wait, he was trailing off... And letting his eyes wander.... All over the goods... And now his voice turned mouse-y and quiet, while his face got that look...

You know, that look? The kind when an elementary school boy sees his young, highly attractive teacher for the first time and gets all confused and bewildered and doesn't really know what he's feeling because it's strange and new and a bit scary but also kinda exciting? Yeah, that... Or something very similar to that at least, judging by his eyes and expression.

This made him look very cute... Kinda like a lovestruck pupper, or small child. Even though, in fact, the boy was taller than Tilly... As was apparenlty the norm in this place... Bloomin' giants everywhere..:! Not that it bothered her! Not at all! Not one bit! Nope! Not Tilly! There was absolutely nothing wrong with her height! But... Getting back to this new arrival... His choice of words were... Well.. In contrast to Toshi, this guy was about as smooth and subtle as a Mamoswine. A fact that made the girl smirk.

"'Ello Victor, name's Tilly." She replied, turning around slowly to face him head on. She tilted her head slightly to the side, eyes still half-closed from earlier and a playful smile on her face. "See somethin' tha' ye like? Or jus' lookin' for sumthin'~?" She asked in a relaxed, unabashed and unbothered, yet still cheeky, tone of voice.

Thus, she could return all her attention back to poor old Victor here. Because his comment about her 'not'wearing a lot', made her giggle.

"'Is warm ou'side, mate. 'Is amoun'o skin's normal for tha' temp we're 'avin'." That was... Probably not a lie... After all, this particular part of Eidda wasn't exactly chilly or cold. But... Tilly might've been - realistically - a bit on the lighter side of dress, for sure. After all, The girl wore a skirt that could very easily turn into a belt if she so much as sat down, and her top was... Well.. It did it's best. No jacket either. Just those red-tinted glasses still atop her head.

Even More Later...

Once her conversation with the caped crusader came to a conclusion, Tilly once was again left to her own devices. As she stood about, planning her next move, her keen eyes spotted something. or rather, someone. It was a messy-haired brunette with glasses, standing next to the wall at the far end of the lounge-y lab... Apparently trying to get absorbed into said wall as if it were a sponge... Uhm... Was... Was she alright...? As she contemplated approaching and thecking if the lass was all good, Tilly's concenrs were readily resolved on their own. The glamorous girl - witht he nice legs and painted face - stepped up to the challenge and strode over, striking up a chat with the poor, trembling, skittish-looking dear.

Good. That was a relief. She seemed ... Put together...? Yeah. The other blonde in the snazzy dress could handle it. For now, if nothing else.

Toshi

"O'eavens... Aren' you a charmer~" She said, with a very quiet, stifled snort of quick laughter. She then took a small step forward, stared right into Toshi's eyes with her own, half-closed, cat-like peepers. "'At's dangerous, y'know'? A girl could ge'used to 'at sorta trea'ment~" She said this last part in a lowered, hush and particularly more sultry voice, before giving Toshi's right ear a quick, sudden blown jet of air. Then she returned to taking a step back and smiling at him, wryly and mischievously like the little purrloin she was.

Everything was going according to script. Some playful flirting - he's pretty sure she even made an innuendo, but it was the kind of double entendre that lent her plausible deniability that Toshi wasn't going to arrogantly insist on, and pretending he didn't get it was the polite thing to do. Or, at least, he thought it was. Apparently he was acting too oblivious, spurring Tilly to make it abundantly clear that she wasn't just flirting with Toshi. She was flirting flirting. His face heated up at the sudden prolonged proximity, but he kept his smile intact until she blew into his ear. It was so viscerally unexpected and intimately tactile that it ended up hitting him like a bucket of cold water and caused his smile to collapse like a house of cards. His train of thought looped back around on itself and crashed like his mind was playing a game of Ekans, and he let out an undignified splutter even as she was stepping back.

"Nice'n all t'mee'cha, Tooshi. Maybe we'll run in'o each other on tha' walk later, ye?" She said, giving him a little dainty wave

As Tilly walked away and his mind caught up to what just happened, Something clicked into place in Toshi's mind and Tilly's previous mannerisms recontextualized themselves as definitely intentional rather than just a natural limitation of her chosen wardrobe. She was probably into him from the start.

He mentally screamed. How was I supposed to know she was flirting flirting with me? Arceus, I feel like such an idiot. It's not like normal flirting means anything! I do it all the time! It's never that... whatever that was! And I just-

At this point his mental monologue devolves into an anguished groan for a bit as he physically covers whatever expression he's making with both of his hands before mentally continuing.

A plausibly deniable double entendre just means you're winning at flirting! It doesn't mean you literally want to fuck someone! Probably!

The mental groans continue as the thought that Tilly was genuinely interested in trying out a relationship with his dumb ass occurs to him, as well as the thought that she probably isn't anymore. Ugh. He wasn't even looking for a relationship per se, but he'd be an idiot to not want to see where it went with a girl as charismatic, confident, and overall chill as Tilly. The fact that she happened to be hot as hell was, like, also pretty cool.

Arceus, she didn't even remember his name. Or, if she was initially into him, maybe she did, and intentionally said it wrong to hint that she never wanted him to talk to her ever again. Yeah, Arceus, that's probably it.

He lets out a quiet exhale that he imagines being much louder in his head and fixes his face into perfect neutrality, dragging his hands down his face as if washing it clean. He then grabs another of the lollipops he had taken from the lounge, unwraps it, and pops it into his mouth so as to keep himself from sticking his foot in there. He smirks, because people are watching, and he's definitely just too cool of a dude to let this bother him, then walks off to lean against the wall as he had been before those who arrived by boat entered the lab.

---

Side Post: Tuule
Interactions with: Risette - @Rune_Alchemist
Location: Camphors Lab

---

While initially Tuule was taking puff of his pipe, he nodded to Risette's statement before taking another. It wasn't until she issued a future challenge that he paused his smoking. "Gahaha, I'd like t'see you try lass! Dhel an' I welcome the challenge," Tuule heartily bellowed, smiling at the lass as she and her little friend went on to join the rest of the trainers inside.

Taking another puffed, the captain remained silent as he began strutting towards the lab and taking his place right by the door. As he did, he listen to the sounds of the lab come alive with different voices and sounds alike. There was a small, almost proud smile on his face, much like how a grandfather would give to his grandchildren.

"So this is the new generation... I wonder if they'll be alright charting their own paths." As he pondered on this, he kept his ear close to the door; the different voices weren't as cacophonous as the waves at sea, but he was keeping his ear open to one specific person.

One whose blood was probably closer to the contents of coffee as opposed to iron.

"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"

Lina's eyes silently went towards the incicated (extendable?) cane thh blind boy had motioned to. Blind. The boy was....and she had....well this was certainly an awkward moment for her. But all the same she silently sighed and put the water bottle up in any case. He had refused it, and she wasnt going to force this on him if he didn't want it. At least in this case. Otherwise it was just going to be a moment to wait until the sulky boy got back with a cup of tap water. Not that her bottle had anythign fancy in it, it was just a travel bottle after all. Yet with how the words came out, it was as if the guy feared his own blindness or something. Or loathed it. Loathed himself? Perhaps.

"All good, and the other guy should be bringing back water in a sec for you," she said, tone not changing despite the revalations, her eyes scanning over the boy gently to try to get more of a read of his mood moving forwards in their interaction all the same though, "Though in the meantime, I'm-"

‘You took this job, despite being unable to see?’ he asked… and then his face spread into a wide, happy smile. ‘Niiice. Surviving, despite the circumstances thrust upon you. Making the most of it. I respect it, my dude!’ He then caught himself and adjusted his voice.

‘Um. I am Victor Gallagher. Where are you from, and have you see- er, heard of anything cool happening around there lately?’

Then he might look aside and see Lina standing there, too. ‘Whoa! Oh, hey. Uh. You’re cool,’

Aaaaaand then another boy barreled into their conversation with all the grace of a druk Grookey. The shift in voice indicated he obviously was trying to put on an act of some kind, the way he tried to recompose himself there, after a more candid sort of blatant remark about the taller boy's condition followed with at least a tiny ounce of trying to be positive there. Was that last bit that was all that saved him from getting chopped in the head with all the force of a peturbed Lina.

‘Bud!’ Bud said.

She paused, before giving a small wave to the Budew (not the trainer) and a rather prompt light chop with her right hand in turn onto the forehead of the self-proclaimed 'Victor Gallagher' before he could leave. Albeit it was a light chop to the head, not meant to truly harm him or something. Did the boy have zero tact though? She was going to at least give him a small call out on that much, at least in her mind, before anything else.

"Randomly commenting on someone's disability is rude, even if you try to inject something positive. Please think before you speak next time, and be more observant of your surroundings!"

Her head had turned to direct the comments at Victor, along with the chop, she would let out a small sigh. Yet were he and Melissa both made from the same energetic cloth to some extent? Wait, no, he seemed to not have blood made from pure caffeine like the other did by now in her eyes. In fact, if she saw someone offer Melissa coffee, she'd need to chop them on the head as well. Would be like setting off a bomb in the building, or might make the poor girl literally explode for all she knew. Or they could unlock a nigh-infinite source of energy by getting her to run on a hamster wheel seeing something shiny, for all of the two seconds it might work before containment was breached.

It was then she saw the sulking boy return, finally, with a cup of water he seemed to move to hand to the blind boy. Though as he turned his head to speak to the rampant new arrival, it seemed the booy had thrust something on the sulky one? Like what? Actually, never mind for the moment being. Somehow it felt appropriate to the boy's energy and self-presentation, which seemed to go back and forth depending on the moment. Like one second he's all candid, and the next he's trying to look important-...well that made a bit of sense now actually. Hmm.

Lina's head turned back towards Ryuuichi in turn, then, before she continued speaking, her tone shifting again for Ryuuichi despite her more deadpan delivery of words to Victor:

"No pressure or rush, by the way, if you want to take your time. My name's Lina, and its good to meet you."

The boy's face is quite pale and clammy. His hair completely covers his eyes, yet the eyepatch is visible due to the hand currently rubbing the left side of his head. Glimpses of a dull, listless light blue eye can be seen in the occasional gap in his hair made by the jostling of his hair through the rubbing of the left side of his head. His hair looks very poorly done. Split ends, tangles, and all sorts of other things plague his messy blonde locks.

If anyone were to a look a bit more past his head and face its easy to see that his black jacket, despite how tall he seems, looks like its a couple sizes too big on his very lithe frame. The large collar of the jacket seems to look a bit large around his thin neck.

Even his hands only halfway come out of the sleeves. His clothes also look rather old and worn out at a closer glance. Its clear that either he doesn't believe in clothes shopping or comes from a place that can't really afford nicer clothes.

His breathing is still a bit on the lower, spaced out side as if he was fighting the urge to throw up right in the lobby.

...Yes, she'd best keep it simple and cordial, perhaps, maybe try to keep the boy's mind off of whatever he was feeling a bit if she could. Well, if allowed to. For the moment. Depending on whatever came next from Victor and everyone else around them for that matter. Blindness didn't keep one from being a trainer, anywho, and in that much she agreed with the seeming sentiments of Victor in her mind. Was good to see him getting out like this and doing something, though from the sounds of it something like this wasn't the easiest for him either.

@Savo@Renose@PlatinumSkink

---

‘You took this job, despite being unable to see?’

Another set of approaching footsteps followed by another voice, once again, makes Ryuuichi slightly flinch in his seat once again. Just how many people were coming up to him? Normally, this would make him wonder if he is the one actually being talked too, but Ryuuichi can't deny those particular words. Yet the addition of this new, louder voice makes his fist clench a bit more as he felt his present migraine worsen.

‘Niiice. Surviving, despite the circumstances thrust upon you. Making the most of it. I respect it, my dude!’

Ryuuichi doesn't even get much time to contemplate or try to consider everything this high energy individual says before yet another person shows up.

‘Um. I am Victor Gallagher. Where are you from, and have you see- er, heard of anything cool happening around there lately?’

This fourth person sounds very close to the third person, yet Ryuuichi hadn't even heard them approach at all. The sudden fourth, strange voice makes him visibly jump up a bit as his head turns in that direction. It sounds almost like two people are talking over one another.

Already he had forgotten what that third person said earlier. Something about surviving? Ruminating over those words, Ryuuichi's hand can't help but clench a bit more around the extendable cane. The only thing he can do, yet in this situation he is wondering if he can even do that.

That word goes off in his head again. Survive. Despite the people looking at and talking to him, that word makes him retreat into his head as his hand moves from that cane up to the center of his chest, clenching at something there. The hand isn't over his heart, so it's unclear why or what he is grasping at other than his jacket. A motion that is easily noticeable to the three standing around him, yet Ryuuichi doesn't consider that.

"Why... how... did I even... do that... survive."

He clenches more tightly at that spot on his jacket. His head lowers more as his hand more tightly clenches the left side of his head. The migraine piles on more pain like the rocks of that day. By this point he misses whatever it is that the gentler of the four voices around him said to the one who commented on him being blind.

"Why... do--"

He finds in his hands suddenly an object. Glass. Cool to the touch due to the cool liquid in it. It's this sensation that pulls him out of his head, yet he returns to reality only to be confused. How or when had he put his hands out? Who put this cup in his hands?

To those outside of Ryuuichi's head, upon Yuu offering the cup of water to Ryuuichi he had just put out his hands in a very stiff manner towards Yuu, allowing the purple haired boy to easily put the cup into those outstretched hands. He had put out his hands right as the words about the water were being said to him.

"--My name's Lina, and its good to meet you."

The sudden introduction returns him to reality as he flinches slightly, almost making the water spill from the cup in the process. Thankfully, nothing spills out. With his hands on the cup, and no longer rubbing his head, he only feels worse. Carefully, as if handling an egg, his slightly shaking hands place the cup between his legs to temporarily hold it. He reaches into his jacket pocket and, from within, removes what seems to be a small pill bottle. One hand holds it while the other traces over its lid.

Carefully opening it, he reaches inside and feels at the tablets within before pulling out four as they sit in his open palm. The thumb of that hand traces carefully over each one resting in its palm to confirm how many are there. Words from his doctor spoke during his last appointment play in his mind.

"You need to take it properly, or else I--"

A surge of pain cuts the words off as his hand holding the tablets trembles a bit while his hand holding the pill bottle clenches tightly around it. Ryuuichi doesn't want to take them, yet he has to. He is more afraid of failing this job than he is of feeling whatever those non-existent lights are.

So after putting the pills into his mouth and then closing the bottle; returning it to his jacket pocket allows him to gently retrieve the cup of water and chug down its contents.

A few coughs escape from him as a result of drinking down the water way too fast. "S... S-Sorry for... making you do that... for me" sputters Ryuuichi softly in his still slightly raspy voice in reference to being brought the water. He continues to hold the cup now, not sure where to put it or what to do with it. Despite both the water and the medicine, his voice still doesn't really sound all that good.

He tries to now remember what everyone said before to reply. So another long silence passes.

"I-I'm... Ryuuichi. I'm f-from... here and I can't really er... see... anything" he begins, stumbling over his words as he tries to remember what was said by all of these people. He remembers, that Victor person asking him about where he is from and if he had seen anything cool, yet he had perhaps forgotten the part where Victor corrected himself. "It's... nice to umm... meet you... four" he adds to finish off this, in his opinion, disaster of a self introduction. Ryuuichi doesn't really remember if that third person had mentioned their name and is too afraid of asking recklessly for a name that he should have been paying attention to.

The same with the second person who mentioned the water. So he decides to just mention all four of these people who have congregated around him.

Thanks to the water and medicine, he already is looking a little better. His breathing has become a bit steadier now and he is no longer rubbing his head. He is still holding the empty cup though in both hands quite carefully, making sure it stays steadily held.

He still is quite pale though, but that is more or less due to his natural complexion than anything.

---

@Xaltwind

Victor flinched as the head of the body he was looking at talked to him, his expression just full of surprise as he stumbled a little back and looked at Tilly’s face as she introduced herself and asked if he saw something he liked or if he was looking for something.

‘I, uh,’ he spattered out, very short on words. ‘I did?’ he asked, confused. ‘I mean, uh,’

‘I seek many things,’ he tried desperately to get back into Gallagher mode. ‘I just, uh, don’t know them yet!’ … is what his head that couldn’t, for the moment, keep a single thought in mind came up with.

Tilly, in her odd accent, told him that dressing like that just made sense in this temperature. Not with those words.

‘I- _{I guess that makes sense...}’ he replied to her, his gaze just happening to drift down again… and then he flinched and looked up at her face again in a hurry.

‘We-well! I, uh, wish us both well on our adventures ahead, then!’ he said, getting scared enough to want to leave this conversation because he felt like he was somehow making a fool out of himself in front of this pretty lady. He was then going to attempt to tactically retreat.

‘Budeeeew~’ Bud on his shoulder said happily to her.

---

@Savo

You know what? Victor respects “exploring the region” as something to be excited about! … But not enough not to run after having pushed the coffee cup on him.

The reason, of course, was that if Remi saw Victor dismiss the coffee at a sink or the like, Victor would be revealed to not like coffee, which was unacceptable. But, if he instead gives it to someone else that needs it more? Then he is kindhearted instead! :D

---

@Crusader Lord@Renose@Savo

‘Whoa-’ Victor flinched from being chopped at and bringing his hands over his head as if to defend himself, more out of surprise than anything else. He looked wide-eyed at Lina. ‘I-I’m sorry? I didn’t know?’ he asked, confused, because he thought he was being nice.

‘Bu-deeew~’ Bud sounded out in a happy tone, absolutely not the first time he’d seen his trainer admonished.

He also flinched when Yuu came back right here, too, and gave him a stern warning. Victor was successfully intimidated, and he apologetically placed his hands together in front of his face.

‘I understand! I’m sorry!’ he said, kinda quietly but still with the intensity of an exclamation mark.

He then watched Lina’s talking to the blind person, introducing herself… and it worked? Just the same greeting that Victor had pretty much been doing, except somehow different? Curious now, Victor held quiet, simply observing as the blind boy took some pills; Victor was curious what those were, too, but he held his tongue; and then finally said he was happy to meet them four.

Oh! Despite being blind, he was observant enough to notice Bud and say hello to him, too! Very nice of him! … So Victor thought and nodded.

‘Same, Ryuuichi!’ he simply said in a hopeful tone… and then quickly glanced in concern at Lina to get a sense if that also was rude somehow, before looking back.

‘Buuud~’ said the Budew on his shoulder.

---

Side Post: Svein and Nevine
Interactions with: Laurel - @Rune_Alchemist, "Victor" - @PlatinumSkink
Location: Camphors Lab

---

"Oh come on you two princesses, no need to start a cat-fight," Svein piped up as he finished his own coffee, extending both his arms out with an amused smirk as he pointed the coffee mug towards Nevine, "Don't want to wake up sleeping beauty, do ya?" Despite the noise in the room, Nevine didn't really stir from her slumber, not even realizing another Pokémon was being put on her.

This elicited a small chuckle from Svein who leaned over to place his coffee mug onto the table before snatching up the remote and aiming it behind him and clicked it to change the channel to something else. "I might be more of a coffee guy, but I'd love to try some of your tea the next time we meet," as Svein said this, he winked at the green-haired girl before looking up to the "new" arrival.

"Woah, woah, slow down there Vic! One question at a time," Svein feigned wincing, closing one eye as he leaned back into his chair. "Regardless, good t'meetcha; the name is Svein, Eidda's future Champion!" The young man made a show of it as his arms exploded upwards as if he was appealing to an entire stadium of people. "As for me, I'm from this cool region called... 'Eidda.'" Svein chuckled at his own joke before quickly waving it off.

"Regardless, maybe I'll tell ya another time; 'sides there's more interesting stuff going on right now, eh?"

As he did this he jabbed a thumb behind him at the TV "Liiiiike stuff 'bout the Mexatus Institute, some Contests finals going on, and some other banal crap going on in the region." Following that, he snapped his fingers to point forward and circle around Laurel and Remi, "Or you could stick around and watch these two bicker and banter over coffee versus tea."

Camphor's Lab -> Camphor Pokemon Habitat

---

Remi blinked, then just laughed as Victor ran off. He didn't have a whole lot of time to really respond much, but one thing was certain. He was determined to turn victor into a lover of coffee. So Remi would just watch with some amusement as he'd bounce around the room...eventually heading over towards Risette - who merely blinked and laughed lightly as Melissa bounced off.

"Ahahaha, righto, you're just a bundle of energy then huh." Risette merely offered a small, bemused smile as Melissa bounced off. Scarlett turned her head towards Risette with an inquiring look. "When the professor gets here, you stay here. Dont want any accidents, got it?" The white haired woman would say, walking over to the redhead. "...and behave yourself. I dont wanna come back and find all the coffee or snacks eaten or something."

Scarlett snorted, but gave a thumbs up just as Victor would waltz over.

Risette stared at him for a few seconds, and Scarlett gave him a wolfish, full toothed grin.

"Victor, huh? I'm Risette. That's Scarlett. Don't mind her, she can't speak." Risette, fixed her gaze on the boy, smirking lightly. "We're both from Giervor and uh, yeah, I guess you could say some interesting stuff happens there. Lotsa rain, maybe a vigilante or two...oh, and the archeological society if you like dusty rocks."

As an avid lover of dusty rocks, she probably came off a bit harsher than she intended.

Whenever they would make their way over to Nevine and Laurel, though, as the two were situated next to each other, Nevine merely gave Victor a disinterested glance. She didn't seem to mind the cuddle pile on her back. If anything, she'd stretch and let out a yawn at the same time her slakoth would.

"Slaaaa..."
"Vuuul."
"Sprrrrri!"

The three seemed to welcome the Budew. Remi's Vulpix sniffed the budew curiously, while Verdue would playfully bat at the other pokemon.

"You know, staring is rude, Victor." Laurel responded with a displeased sounding, though casual somewhat familiar tone. She'd take the final sip of her tea and place the cup on the table in front of her. "Hm...you know, you're not quite what I expected. Someone a bit more...hm, with a bit more presence."

But the time for socializing was cut short.

A pair of double doors behind the reception area would slide apart, and out would walk Frieda with a distinctly...disheveled looking shorter woman. No taller than five feet, her Lab coat was hanging half off one of her shoulders, and her short red hair had been tied up in a loose, messy fashion. To say nothing of the fact she was wearing basically nothing under the labcoat, it seemed like, and she was wearing comfortable looking slip on shoes and sweatpants.

She definitely wasn't trying as far as appearance wise goes, but the slight scowl and the bags under her eyes meant commenting on it would probably get someone a scathing remark themselves.

"Uhm, alright, if I can have everyones attention! Professor Camphor, everyone. Everyone, Professor Camphor."

"Hmm..." The redhead would scan the room, the grumpy expression unreadable otherwise. "Well, looks like everyone is here. Good. I'm glad I wasnt wasting my time." She'd pull a small clipboard from somewhere in her labcoat and flip through the papers on it. "I'll keep this brief. I'm busy and I dont have time to play around, so we'll get this whole thing underway immediately...that said, Its good to finally meet you all in person."

Camphor stuffed the clipboard back to wherever she had pulled it from in her labcoat.

"So first things first, follow me into the lab. I'm taking you to your partners. Couple of rules. One - Don't wander off. The lab has some pokemon being rehabilitated to be released into the wild or other reasons. They can be a little...irritable sometimes. Two. Dont. Touch. Anything." She'd make a point to glare lightly at Melissa before turning back to the group as a whole. "Three. Save questions for the end. Four...if you need help finding your partner...don't ask me. Use your head. Oh, and if you do wander off...well, if Nix finds you, he will not be as kind as I am."

Pix, chuckled atop Frieda’s head.

“Pix seeing them getting beaten up would not be funny!”

“Imp.” The impdimp apparently refuted.

“...it would be kind of funny.”

“Professor, this is why he’s a troublemaker!”

Nevine, Svein, Laurel, and Remi, you four wait here. Everyone else, follow me to the habitat." She'd ignore Frieda's protests as she'd motion for everyone to follow her through the double doors and deeper into the lab proper.

They’d immediately be met with a hallway that split off into two directions. Emblazoned on the wall in giant red letter was a big ‘Floor G. Next to that, a small sign read ‘Bio labs’, ‘Chemical Labs’, and ‘Generator/Storage’ was to the left. Habitat A, Simulation Room, and a Server room were to the right, the direction they were heading in. An elevator at the end of the hallway that required some sort of keycard to access was inaccessible for now.

The group of trainers would be led down a series of hallways, past various labs. This place was much bigger than it looked on the outside, it seemed - but eventually they would see why. They’d soon come to what seemed to be some sort of enclosed observation deck that was labeled Habitat A. Walls made of glass overlooked the area below - what could be equated to a small island inside of the building. A small forested area, large pond with a sandy beach with a small river that would eventually flow through a small rocky area before it would flow into an encircling what seemed to be salt water pool.

“Welcome to the Habitat A.” Camphor said, pulling everyone into an elevator. “We use it to see how different pokemon adapt to different environments in real time and we have, well, an easy enough time making variations to it if we need to. Helps gather hands-on data the simulator doesn’t quite let us and also help to rehab injured or pokemon that might have trouble adjusting to the wild. Now, that aside…there’s something I’d like you all to do here.” She’d say, as the open elevator reached the bottom of the habitat. “Those of you that don’t have your partner already…well, they’re in here. Go find them. Thats right - your first pokemon being caught will be here. You either chose or I assigned you one when you wrote your application so use your head, figure out where they're at and bring them back.” As the elevator would reach the proper habitat area, the doors would open into an open area with a few computers and what seemed to be monitoring equipment, a metal bridge would connect it to the 'island' across the little pool of salt water surrounding it.

Frieda would hand everyone a pokeball.

“Don’t worry, they’re all fairly friendly, and...well, take as long as you need. I cleared out my schedule for you guys, so take full advantage of it. For those of you who came with your partner already, mind if I see them? Plenty of room to let them stretch their legs. Ah, one more thing. And Hazel, if you would - Frieda will take you to an Impidimp.”

---

---

What should he do now? Would these people around him leave if he doesn't say anything? He doesn't really know what to do or say in this situation as his last four years of asocial living have reduced his social skills to zero. As such, Ryuuichi does nothing but sit there in silence after what he considers to be a really badly done self introduction.

"Uhm, alright, if I can have everyones attention! Professor Camphor, everyone. Everyone, Professor Camphor."

Ryuuichi, upon hearing that name, can't help but sit up straight despite not wanting too. A bit of an audible crack can be heard as he does something he doesn't often do and... straightens his back. In his mind, the Professor never approved of him being here. As such, he is trying his best to sit straight and look professional... despite the curtain of hair covering his eyes and the current worn out state of his clothes.

From there, Ryuuichi does his best to listen to Camphor, still holding the now empty cup in his hands as he does so.

"I'm taking you to your partners."

Beneath that curtain of hair and his eyepatch, Ryuuichi's "eyes" widen. "Part...ners?" He listens more... or tries to anyway. Yet he can't help but think of that word.

Does she mean people partners? Pokemon partners? "Ah... probably partners for... these other people. I guess I'll get... my delivery assignment later..." internally surmises Ryuuichi, the thought weighing down on him from above and making him slouch forward somewhat once again as his head lowers.

Ryuuichi just sits there now in silence as Camphor and Frieda both continue to speak, one hand on that same spot on his chest as before, clutching at his jacket slightly. "I wish I hadn't sold my tablet... for some delivery job" is just one of the many thoughts running through his head. The other thoughts are about how he will have to let his parents down when he tells them his new job isn't grand or great at all. Something that suits him perfectly.

"Nevine, Svein, Laurel, and Remi, you four wait here. Everyone else, follow me to the habitat."

Before Ryuuichi can sink further though, the listing off of names pulls him back out and abruptly makes him sit up straight again with a jolt. Missing what had been said prior to that only makes a confused "Eh? Me... too?" go through his head. Camphors words are hard to misinterpret here. "I guess... ill get my assignment where everyone else... is getting their partners?" wonders Ryuuichi as he clenches his cane a little tighter. Camphor's email, the one where she showed only disdain and no approval of him at all, is starting to make more sense in Ryuuichi's head.

He can't even complain since, to him, she was completely right about everything.

He stands up as he hears others begin to move that way. Unless someone takes the cup from him, he just continues to hold onto it since he doesn't know what to do with it. He sets it to his side on the couch for a moment as he puts on his backpack. The weight forces his back to straighten a bit as he grabs his cane.

Extending it, thankfully, can be done with just a push of a button on the hilt. There is also a strap for him to put his wrist through to make it harder to lose upon dropping it. It is... a bit big around his thin wrists.

So with cup and cane in hand and his bag on his back, he just turns in the direction he hears all the footsteps. He doesn't start walking right away. A fear of accidentally hitting others with his cane, the fear of going into this new place, the dread of having to face his parents with the bad news of what this job actually is...

All of these various things keep him from walking forward right away.

Yet he can't just do nothing.

So he takes a step forward. One becomes two, two becomes four. Soon, he is slowly walking a bit behind everyone else. Each of his slow steps are accented with the occasional little *tak* of the tip of his plastic cane gently tapping against the floor in front of his feet, the cane currently around 3 - 4 feet long. His head is lowered the entire time as he walks.

If one doesn't know yet, it'd be quite clear now that this tall, very skinny boy is quite blind.

His slow steps only stop momentarily at that split. Thankfully the multitude of footsteps is more than enough to help guide him to where it is he needs to go. Aside from the little *taks* of his cane upon the ground, he doesn't make any other noise at all during this death march towards parental disappointment.

Thankfully, Ryuuichi is able to recognize the telltale sound of an elevator door opening.

During the ride down he tries to listen to Camphor's explanation about [Habitat A], but ultimately none of it goes through as he is more focused on making sure his cane doesn't poke anyone. Instead it is the *DING* of the elevator opening that gets him to raise his head slightly from his corner of the elevator.

It is that bringing his mind from his cane back to reality that lets him catch what Camphor says next.

"Your first Pokémon will be caught here. You either chose or I assigned you one when you wrote your application so use your head, figure out where they're at and bring them back.”

"Huh?"

*BDUMP*

Had he been wrong? Not once did the Professor mention anything to him about delivery. Instead a light is moving around. His head hurts a bit. The light seems to be moving near the other lights. They... interact? For a moment.

His head hurts a bit more. The lights wink out as that moving light becomes a moving pair of footstep sounds instead. Now all he can notice is that same pair of footsteps eventually come up to and stop in front of him.

Is he getting his delivery assignment here finally? Or is it... something else?

The possibility makes his heart beat a bit more.

"U-Umm..." he stammers as that pair of footsteps gets to him. He isn't sure what to ask. Does he ask about what Camphor had said? Does he ask about the delivery assignment? Indecision surmounts him as he stands there silent for a few long seconds, preventing Freida from handing him the ball.

"W...What do I um... d...do with this?" is what leaves his mouth in a quiet, nervous murmur as he lightly holds forward the cup.

Camphor had said not to ask questions, yet Ryuuichi had already failed that in quite a miserable fashion. He hadn’t heard those rules though, so unfortunately for him he has no idea that he failed in that manner.

If he had heard… Ryuuichi definitely would not have asked this question at all.

---

---

---

— [b]Participant(s): @Savo, @Rune_Alchemist, @Renose, @Floofenstein, @Crusader Lord, @Azure bubbles, @Psyker Landshark, @Ryik, @PlatinumSkink, @Yankee
— Location: Byjerlfal City, Camphor's Lab Interior

---

Tilly was about to do a thing..... But was pre-empivelythwarted by the return of Frieda, and the... Professor? ... Wow...She uh... She was even shorter than Tilly, huh? Well now... That was unespected. And very, very, very amusing for some reason to the galarian, who had the biggest grin spread across her face as the pair of significantly older women antered into the lounge area and announced their arrival.

After that, it was fairly much just a blur. The old battleaxe rambled off some do's and don'ts while in her precious laboratory, the group was told to follow and they all fell in line and marched on like good little duckletts, being lead down hallways and corridors that really, really, really didn't seem to be in line, or even remotely plausible, given the outside appearance of the building... But... Maybe they were underground...? Or there was some sort of... Annex or other building taht they just didn't seem from their angle upon arriving here? Not that it bothered Tilly, she was far too busy keeping herself from wandering off and exploring forbidden reas to even notice such petty details.

Eventually though, they arrived at 'Habitat A'... Which would imply that there were at least a 'Habitat B' somewhere... Because why name it that otherwise? More exposition and details were given, as well as some insight into the hows and whys and all that jazz. Nothing really too immediately important or noteworthy... At least not to the little blonde. Then they stepped on an open-ish elevator... A fact athat markedly made Tilly a bit... Uneasy...

It wasn't an overly long ride down or anything, but it was still enough to, momentarily, wipe the smile off of Tilly's face. She didn't look frightened or anything, nor did she tremble or quiver like the glasses-wearing girl, but she did noticeably stop smiling until they reached the bottom of the elevator ride and stepped onto solid ... Flooring... Again.

And it was here that things took a drastically unexpected turn. Instead of, y'know, being handed their starters in a pokeball and then given a pokedex, like how it's done in every single other region in the world, Camphor for somereason, had decided to be different.

Instead of just handing her prospective new aides their partners, they were told to wander into this 'Habitat A', find them on their own, catch them, and bring them back... Oh, and you had to figure out where your partner would be located on your own. Because, clearly everyone here was an expert on pokemon habitats and climate/environment preferences! It wasn't like Camphor had made her job advertisement to new and inexperienced trainers and people or anyhting! Ah, but maybe... Just maybe, this was all part of some final, secret, undisclosed test?

After all, the woman had paid for their travel expenses, living expenses, and was going to pay them a 'salary' of sorts, for helpign her with this research. If some people decided taht they'd rather go off and do silly things, like challenge gyms and try to become the regional champion, or win a bunch of contests or what not... Why would the professor pay them for that? This wasn't a 'come to Eidda and cahse your dreams, goals and personal ambitions!'-vacation, Camphor had hired them for a very specific task... Though now that she thought about it - especially with regards to Toshi from earlier - some of the guys here maybe didn't even seem to realize that this was the case...

Tilly shrugged, mentally.

Freida came by and dropped the empty starter pokeball into Tilly's hands. Yup. Sure wasn't a joke or a gaff. They really wanted those who didn't have their own pokemon at this point to go wander off into this 'Habitat A' zone and fetch their own partner.

As Tilly looked at the traditionally iconic red and white ball though, she heard a voice from nearby. A voice that asked soemthing.. In a nervous, quiet and somewhat distressed tone... A question that wasn't meant to be asked, for the professor had told them not to make any of those. Looking up and over, Tilly spotted the soruce.

A boy. A tall one. With long blonde hair, holding a .... Cup...? ... Why... What? Why was he holding a cup? Why'd he broguht that down here with hi- Ohhhhhhhhhh....! Oh. Oh no... The cane... He was blind... Oh dear. Camphor had shown up while he was drinking something and then told everyne to follow, and the poor dear hand't had time to put it away or het help placing it somewhere? Jeez... Poor guy...

Well, at least Frieda was there and they could probably sort that out easily enough.

That said, there wasn't time to stand around and do nothing! A task had been issued. A quest had been given. A mighty undertaking was... Under... Way...! Yes! 'Twas time to venture forth, into the wild unknown (basement) and seize the day! Or, well, pokemon. And so, our brave blonde galarian turned on her heel, looked at the bridge that seperated them from the place where all the ... uhmm... Were they wild? Technically they weren't, right? They lived in an artifical space after all? Tamed? Whatever...

The spot that held all the pokemon, and her future partner! The time was now! The hour of reckoning had come at last!

... And, as usual, Tilly didn't make much of any effort or haste to get this done and over with. Instead, she casually sauntered on over the bridge, lazily tossing the pokeball up and down in the palm of her left hand, while lazily scanning the area ahead of her.

"Well now, 'is might take awhile. Ahh..." She did a backwards, arching stretch, let out a breath, smiled again, and put her right hand on her own hip. "Well, ready or not, 'ere comes Tilly~" She said, a glint in her red eyes. Then was off... into the Danger Zone™. And she didn't pause or wait for any of her peers either.

Toshi

While he hated being the kind of loser asshole who broods in a corner, he had to admit that it had its moments, and he could at least pretend he wasn't actually brooding pretty damn convincingly, by his estimation.

It was a relief, then, when Prof. Camphor finally arrived and announced that it was time for him to finally, finally, become a pokémon trainer. Right. Deep breath. Not too deep though, don't wanna be conspicuous about it. He bit into what remained of his second lollipop and discarded the stick before following Prof. Camphor down the hall, then down another. They passed by a number of labs, the purpose of which Toshi couldn't immediately discern, before coming to a stop on an observation deck overlooking a place Prof. Camphor introduced as 'Habitat A'.

They took an elevator down while Prof. Camphor explained that he would be catching his starter here, along with everyone else who didn't already bring one. When they reached ground level of the habitat, a bridge extended to the island and they walked past some monitoring equipment before Prof. Camphor handed out pokéballs to all the new trainers.

This was it. The pokéball was light, but heavier than he expected it to be.

Toshi didn't waste any time. He gave Prof. Camphor a silent nod he wasn't even sure she cared to notice before jogging out over the bridge and onto the island, pokéball in hand.

So, he was excited. He couldn't deny that. Stressed too, in the way one might get when reaching a conspicuous save point in a video game. Eustress, they call it, he thinks? He didn't even notice when he had stopped smiling. There were infinite ways he could screw up and prove his parents right, but none of them mattered because, frankly, his parents didn't matter. Not right now. What mattered was that his first pokémon, whoever it was, was out there, waiting for him.

He didn't actually know what pokémon Prof. Camphor prepared for him. He gave her a short wish list of potential candidates that he could think of the time because he wasn't sure what she'd have on offer, and she never said anything about which she chose for him. Still, with how short and specific his list was, he didn't think he'd have trouble recognizing his starter when he saw it.

The sandy artificial beach had no immediately visible pokémon, and no particularly suspicious rocks for pokémon to hide under either, so he kept moving inland. None of the pokémon on the list he gave to Camphor were aquatic.

The island's forest seemed small from the observation deck, but it was still large enough that you could easily lose sight of anything but the trees around you. He didn't bother with the island's small lake or river, though he might have to check the craggy area later. He'd start by combing the forest though, because most of the pokémon on his list probably preferred forests or plains.

He eventually came to a small forest clearing, though calling it a clearing might have been generous. It was mostly just an area with a single particularly large tree shading its surroundings, probably making it difficult for trees to grow in the surrounding area. His eyes wandered over the canopy above, wondering if his starter was up there, maybe even watching him, when he heard a short cry that sounded vaguely like a vuvuzela attacking the corrugated hose of a vacuum cleaner.

He followed the noise downward to see a curious bug pokémon peeking out from a burrow at the base of the large tree.

Ah, it was Nincada. Truthfully, the little guy had been at the top of his list. After all, why ask for one team member when you can ask for two? Its evolutions both fit what he was looking for to a 'T', and he was confident he could become a trainer to look out for if he could make good use of their talents. That just left the issue of actually doing so.

He approached Nincada's burrow calmly, face still neutral. The little insect backed away into its burrow as he drew near, but didn't completely vanish into the shadows below. As Toshi reached the burrow's entrance, he kneeled down, hunched over, and offered the little insect his hand. He didn't expect them to take it, but it helped giving pokémon the option to inspect him on their own terms. "Hey there. I'm Toshi. It's short for Toshinori."

The little insect crept a bit closer, the feelers on its face tickling Toshi's offered hand.

He continued, and before he even realized it, he was pouring his heart out. "I want to become a pokémon trainer. I want to go on a journey across Eidda, and I want to aim for the very top; to become the absolute best when it comes to pokémon battles. I also want the pokémon by my side to be happy. I want them to have choices I didn't when I was younger. I want them to be just as committed to reaching the top and becoming the greatest as I am. So, tell me, Nincada, what do you want?"

Nincada looked up from his hand to meet his eyes with his own large peepers. Nincada slowly emerged from its burrow, and Toshi withdrew his hand to make room for it to exit. Once outside, Nincada continued staring at Toshi as it lifted its foreclaw and gently set it on Toshi's knee. Toshi wasn't sure how to interpret this, but it was promising, so he gave Nincada a warm and genuine smile. Nincada took that as permission to invade Toshi's personal space and quickly skittered up Toshi's lap, around his midsection, onto and up his back, then began inspecting the strange sun-colored filaments atop his head.

Toshi shuttered at the unexpected crawling all over him before shaking the feeling off and noticing that Nincada was now playing with his hair. Oh, that was pretty cu- wait, is the little guy chewing on his hair? He grimaced as he set down the pokéball and gently reached up to lift Nincada off his head, who had graciously decided his hair wasn't very appetizing and spit it out. He moved Nincada to his front, letting him stand on his thighs, foreclaws against his chest, using one arm to make sure he'd be able to catch the little bug if he lost his balance. Nincada's whiskers tickled his face and he laughed as he retrieved the pokéball with his other hand.

"Would you like to join me, Nincada?"

He looked at Toshi's face, then the offered pokéball and back before making a small noise and giving a single nod, which was about as much confirmation as Toshi thought he'd be able to get. Toshi smiled, reached around the little bug's midsection to give him a hug, then pulled back and pressed the pokéball to Nincada's head.

In a blur of light, Nincada dematerialized, and the pokéball's button began flashing red as the ball shook ever so slightly in his hand. After a few shakes, the ball made a quiet noise before going still.

He had done it.

He was now a pokémon trainer. A wide grin split his face as he stared at the pokéball containing his new friend. He had to take a moment to calm himself so nobody would think he was high or crazed. He then stood up, dusted off his jeans, fixed his hair, and put on the smile of a man that was ludicrously cool. The smile of a man with a Ninjask and a Shedinja in the making. Ah hell, why hide it? He sent Nincada out, who shared one look with Toshi standing at full height before climbing up his legs and latching its foreclaws over his shoulders like a backpack, peeking over them and around him in curiosity. It didn't send Toshi's skin crawling anymore now that he knew what to expect, and overall it felt like he was giving one of his younger siblings a piggy-back ride. Adorable.

He swaggered out from the forest the way he came, giving Camphor and the others a relaxed smile. As he reached the group, he turned to show off his first pokémon, who chittered quietly at the sight of new people.

"I've caught my starter." He said, as he began idly spinning Nincada's pokéball on one finger, an act that immediately drew Nincada's stare in rapt fascination. It also gave him an excuse to keep his eyes averted while he said something embarrassing that nonetheless needed to be said. "Thank you, Professor Camphor. It means a lot to me, that you gave me a chance like this."

He raised his eyes to meet hers even as the pokéball continued spinning atop his finger. Camphor seemed like a serious person. She'd probably appreciate practical assurances more than emotional catharsis. "I'll just have to make sure I'm more than worth the investment, yeah?" He bounced the pokéball up, then caught it, holding it close and giving the professor a wink.

---

---

— [b]Participant(s): @Savo, @Rune_Alchemist, @Renose, @Floofenstein, @Crusader Lord, @Azure bubbles, @Psyker Landshark, @Ryik, @PlatinumSkink, @Yankee
— Location: Byjerlfal City, Camphor's Lab Interior

---

While she had been among the first to cross the bridge, Tilly wans't the first to dash off. That honor belonged to Mr. Tooshi... Or was it Tushie? Touchy? Tom? Whatever. The blonde boy, with his grin and self-perceived swagger, barreled past Tilly like a Durant had bit him in the bottom. Guess he was just really, really, really keen on finding his partner and getting started. Who could blame the chap, though? This was a big step, for some of them at least.

The ones who didn't come with partners already on their belts.

Tilly's pace was, nontheless, unhurried and unbothered. They'd been told that there wasn't any rush, and that the responsible parties, or party, had cleared their schedule for the day, just to allow them all to do this. So, what was the harm in taking your time and looking around? Seeing all of what this massive, artificially crafted bio-sphere had to offer? Who knew if they'd ever get a chance to come back down and have a look at ita gain? Or if it'd even look the same the enxt time if they did? This was, quite possibly, a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and Tilly wasn't going to rush through it. It was part of her first step to becoming a Trainer, and she'd like to be able to remember as much of it as possible.

As she stepped further away from the intial bridge-crossing, now on the beach, her blonde head turned and looked back at the others still on the other side. Then she focused back on what was ahead, and around, leisurely strolling along the water's edge. There were pokémon, of various shapes and sizes, no doubt about that. Some were cute. Some were cool. Some were... Weird. But none of them, at least along this stretch of the habitat, remotely looked like the one that Camphor had enclosed in the response to Tilly's application. She'd selected 'no preference' for her starter, and Camphor had responded by giving her a picture of something that looked like a small, fluffy, bear-like plushie.

But whoever, or whatever that plushie was, it wasn't here. Not on the beach, at least. So, time to move on from this place. Even if the galarian did spend a little time, standing near the water and looking out over it.

"Might no' be a bad spot for a li'l swim." She chuckled to herself, before moving on.

And so, the pig-tailed blonde walked about the Habitat A for a bit, looking and observing the surroundings, as well as the locals who made it their home. If it wasn't for the fact that she knew, you could've almost been forgiven for thinking this was an actual, honest-to-goodness outdoor island or something. Very impressive stuff, which made it all the more fun to meander about and explore.

An unspecified amount of time later...

The girl had reached the wooded area. Or rather, the edge and outskirts of it. Yup, it sure was forest-y, had trees and shrubs and everything! Pausing a bit to take it all in, and to see what she could see from here, Tilly let out a sllght 'hm~?' as there was a rustle in some of the nearby bushes. Turning towards it, she soon spotted a small, fuzzy face, peeking out through the leaves and branches, staring right at the red eyed, blonde-haired girl, with a mix of curiosity and apprehension. That face... Looked strangely familiar... Ah! That was it! This was them! It was they! The one in the picture...! Or... Was it...? For all Tilly knew, there could be multiple of these little fluff-balls in the habitat. Camphor had told them to use their brains to figure out who, where and why their partners were.

So, obviously, running towards the first thing that even remotely looked or resembled your starter was probably not the brightest idea. And while Tilly may not be the brightest bulb in the bunch, she wasn't dim either. Turning to face the fuzzy-looking bush-dweller, the galarian sat down the satchel on her shoulder onto the ground. Then she squatted down where she stood, her skirt now no longer providing adequate coverage for certain rear portions of her anatomy - but Tilly seemed uncccnerned. After all, there wasn't anyone here to take a gander anyway, right?

... And chances were, even if there was, the girl wouldn't care either way...

Instead, the blonde focused on the furry friend who for now was inside the foliage, sizing the strange human up from a safe distance. Tilly, for her part, made neither coo'ing noises, gestures or any sort of other coaxing actions. Instead, she just sat there, squatted down, looking at the pokemon with a smile on her face. Yet, the ball of fur seemed... Reluctant... To show itself or come out. It stayed within the confines of its safety-bush, merely observing the intruding human female.

... This... Could probably take a while...

Melissa's attention on tall-lady-with-pokemon-she-didn't-know-climbing-on-her got stolen when, finally, the Professor arrived! She looked....Well, for starters, she wasn't nearly as wrinkly as you'd expect from someone called a prune-fessor, she was Melissa's height which clearly meant good things, and for seconders she seemed nicer than expected? A nice-to-meet-you and everything! And...A direct look at her with the order to not touch anything. Melissa's beaming, excited, smile was her response, and a playful, eager, salute! And no questions until the end. And no touching anything!...did the floor count? Or did that not count because she had shoes on? Did that mean if she got gloves she could touch things? That'd make sense, lab safety and all and oh!

Following! Trotting along and, yup, trotting, taking more steps than anyone else in the group and covering more ground, too, going up to the front of the group, looking around, and back down to the back of it, looking more, up--wait, what's that sound? Tap tap tapping, something's? Following her ears, to the back--oh! Blind boy. She blinked and wondered, vaguely, if she should leave him? She watched him for a moment, surprisingly still, then decided he had it in hand. And a cup in hand, which seemed empty but maybe it was important, also, so that's fine! Turn and scurry back to the front of the group, looking around and--windows? to outside? no not enough sky for outside, but, island. Habitat A. Would she get to go explore? She was bouncing at the window, staaaaaaring and leaning as close to it as she could without touching to get a look. Ooooo, she saw Pokemon...

Ah! Elevator! Whoosh right over to it, somehow not the last one on despite her dawdling, and explanations! Habitat A, people-who-didn't-bring-their-own-blah-blah wow did Tilly look really uncomfy? Melissa, still under orders to not poke anything, and to avoid questions, did not inquire, but it was a near thing, scooching over to the blonde, opening her mouth, then snapping it shut and returning to peering out the window...

And then, bottom and...ooooo! Well, some people going off, first, but also....wait, the cup? Blink, stare, blink blink, shake her head! Unimportant! Probably! Blonde guy she talked to was going off, he seemed nice! Purple guy seemed to be taking care of blind guy? Or looking after him? Was he secretly nice?! Wait, has name was you. Or U. Or Yuu, maybe, like he said, but what if he was embarrassed by something sillier? Aaaaaaaand there went Tilly, and...

...Come show?! Melissa immediately brightened and bounced her way over to the professor, keeping just a little more than her arm's length away from her, smiling wide "Thank you for the tour, Professor!" She chirped immediately, and bowed, and Lonitt cried a "Zuuu!" Which was either a hello or a protest at his/her perch being suddenly tilted. Returning to upright, still smiling wide, Melissa barreled on "Does this mean questions are allowed? Do we get to go explore the habitat too? Oh, wait! This!" She reached up, and put both hands around her partner on her head, and held him/her out right to the professor, like, right close, entirely by accident of course, just planning. The little fairy-type seemed content in Melissa's hands, small enough to fit there easily, his/her long tail bouncing beneath her/him from the movements, the little woven ring hanging off one of the sharp angles on it.

"Azu?" The little pokemon offered.

"Is Lonitt!" Melissa continued brightly. "He, or she? Is super duper cool and the best! I like her, or him? A lot! A trainer was trying to make him go and be wild back home in Sootopolis but I asked if I could have her and the trainer told me sure and that I could go anywhere with a Pokemon and then I found your thingy so here I am! I think she's like freshly hatched? Or was then! been a few weeks now!" She explained allll the relevant details, of course! Oh, right. "I think she's a water type? He likes swimming as much as I do, at least!" All cheery, happy, excited, and eager, bright-eyed, speaking quickly but trying not to speak too fast despite herself, and then she stood still. Very still. And kept Lonitt held out for inspection. The small Pokemon seemed much more placid than she did, or at least recognized it was being held and didn't feel like trying to escape.

Hazel noticed Stella walking up to her not because she had been paying direct attention to the blonde girl, but because Stella was impossible to miss. Sure, many of the people gathered stood out (the blue haired girl that was running around to each corner and back for one), but it seemed more that they did so without meaning to just because they were eccentric. And then there was Stella, who clearly moved and dressed in a way that said she wanted to draw attention. Of course Hazel didn't know that Stella was actually walking over to talk to her until the blonde actually spoke, which made Hazel actually jump in surprise even though she'd been looking right at the other girl.

"Oh, I, um," she stuttered, gripping her hands together one over the other as she thought on Stella's comment. "is... I-_{I mean... is that really true...?"}

Apparently Hazel was worse at disappearing than she'd thought, especially if Stella was right. The alternative would have been trying to be noticed though, which sounded much worse. She shrunk into herself a little more, which seemed to make things awkward as Stella moved on to introducing herself. And though shy Hazel was, she wasn't rude - or at least she tried not to be.

"Yes, my name's Hazel, um, n-nice to meet you," she replied. Her eyes flicked over to the Ponyta and Victor, surprised at the invitation. She waved again to the Budew (and technically Victor once more) before she looked back at Stella, giving her a weak, apologetic-looking smile. "I-I'm fine here, r-really! Your Pok- um, Fantasia, s-she's really pretty, but..."

The blonde seemed to pick up on one of the many things that was making Hazel anxious though, and ensured her that this wasn't some elaborate mean girl prank.

"Ah..." That second part was a joke, right? Hazel wasn't so socially inept that she couldn't grasp that. But it being appropriate to laugh at was a whole other thing. It was at the expense of the other people in the room, so if she laughed would that make her appear rude to everyone else? But then if she didn't would she upset Stella? Oh god Arceus why in the world did conversation have to be so complicated?!

Another boy, one that hadn't been part of the airport group, passed by the odd pair. "That I can agree on," he said, which unbeknownst to him was a very important comment to make in regards to breaking Hazel free from her social decision making paralysis. Her green eyes trailed the boy for a few more moments until they snapped back to Stella, and after a somewhat awkward lag she replied, "ah...hahahaha... y-you're not wrong..."

Because in her eavesdropping listening in, Hazel had overheard quite a lot of social faux pas that even she wouldn't have made. Plus there were several different personality types meeting each other for the first time while squished together in one room, so there was bound to be some friction, awkward or otherwise. For example: a confident trend setting blonde woman talking to a brunette train wreck of nerves who let their conversation lapse into not-quite-comfortable silence.

Hazel turned her head, jerky and robotic, away from Stella's intense ice-blue eyes. One should not look directly at such a bright light for long, after all.

It wasn't that Hazel disliked Stella, but she still felt some sense of relief when Frieda returned with Professor Camphor in tow. The relief lasted longer than expected when the professor didn't seem as scary in person as she had on video.

It faded away as the group was then led through the labs, but it was replaced by a sense of curiosity that was slightly stronger than Hazel's base level of anxiety, enough that she was even too distracted to hear about the mysterious "Nix" beating people up. As the group traveled, Hazel (once more sticking to the back) adjusted her glasses and peered with wide eyes at all of the things they passed, from simple closed doors with plaques beside them stating the room's purpose, to the indoor-island they could see through the glass walkways once they reached that area. And she listened with rapt attention was Camphor explained the habitat and its purpose. It was really interesting... maybe, Hazel thought, I could work as a lab assistant like Miss Frieda sometime? That could make up for her declining the professor's job, she could make coffee and run errands and do some research like she was washing dishes at the back of a restaurant instead of paying the bill.

She was still daydreaming about being an unpaid intern when Frieda pressed something cold and smooth in her hands. Hazel blinked a few times as she came back to reality, looking down to find an unmistakable red and white sphere sitting in her palm.

"Eek!" she flinched and accidentally dropped the ball, fumbling around to catch it before it hit the ground. When she did get hold of it again her face was flush with embarrassment. Everyone else (sans those already with a partner) were excited to catch their first Pokémon, and yet here she was...

Hazel straightened up, snapping her head towards Camphor and Frieda when she heard her name.

"Huh?" An impidimp? Like the one Frieda had? She didn't recall requesting an impidimp... something like a Ralts, Swablu, maybe even a Bagon, but an impidimp...? Actually she was pretty sure she'd left the entire Pokémon section of the application blank. "U-um, why are w-"

She paused and slapped one hand over her mouth. Right, the Professor had said to keep all question for the end! A moment later and Hazel took her hand back and nodded vigorously to Frieda. "O-okay!"

Habitat A
@Savo@Renose

---

Well, it looked like a lab. That was about the only thought Risette really had about the labs interior. Nothing surprising or particularly interesting. Even the Habitat they were led too was about what she expected really, though it was certainly impressive. She kept mostly to herself, peering at the other trainers occasionally from over the rim of her sunglasses quietly assessing them. Nobody particularly interesting still, really, though as the professor finished her speech the kid that looked scared out of his mind decided now was a good time to speak up.

About the cup he bought with him.

Risette raised an eyebrow, a light scoff coming from her as he stumbled over his words. Scared and shy, eh? She wasn't intending to do or say anything. The kid obviously had something wrong with him, but she wasn't really feeling like being in some kind of babysitting mood. He'd have to sink or swim, and she was completely fine to let him be...but some purple haired bully decided that he wanted to interject.

Lucky him Scarlett wasn't here.

"And what about you, you morose looking Skuntank? Couldn't leave that toxic attitude of yours at the table? Or has nobody ever told you that you're personality is worse than a muks' smell?" Risette walked over to the pair, but before she could say anything else, a certain professor loudly cleared her throat, glaring at the trio lightly.

"Any fighting, and you all will be kicked out and fired."

"...you heard her, get lost purple. I ain't afraid of getting fired if you wanna have a go at it. Not that you look like you'd be much of a fight." Whatever rebuff he'd have for her, Risette didn't care nor was listening. She'd merely cast a glance to Ryuuichi, peering at him from over the rim of her sunglasses as Yuu would head off, before she'd give him a gentle pat on the head, turn, and leave. "...stand up for yourself more, kid."

"Ryuuichi, right?" Camphor would approach quietly. "I'll take the glass. Do you need help navigating?" The professor would ask, studying the boy quietly. "I'd recommend searching somewhere quiet and away from people for your particular pokemon - the forest, specifically."

And thus, Risette would leave, too heading out into the habitat. She knew what she was looking for, and she knew just where abouts to find it. So she'd trek along the shores of the artificial island, taking note of a few sea dwelling pokemon splashing about in the pool as she'd reach the beach. Her pokemon would either be somewhere with a lot of sand - a beach potentially - or more likely a desert or rocky area, and as expected, after a few minutes of walking about the shore, there was no sign of a little crocodile pokemon so Risette headed inland, following the river, crossing with a little hop and soon finding herself at a small passage between two rocks leading into the more rocky, arid area of the habitat.

And standing between the passage, was exactly what she was looking for.

"Dile."

"Ah."

The sandile was standing firm in the middle of the passage, glaring at anyone that had walked by and snapping its jaws a bit aggressively.

"Hmm..." Risette didn't say anything. She didn't have to say anything. Partners, of course, could understand each other without needing words. "...heh, alright little guy, I get it. There's a toll, huh?" Risette would reach into her jacket, pulling out a spare set of sunglasses. The Sandile would lock eyes with the eyewear, tail flicking back and forth eagerly. "Hey, hey, good taste, but I can't just give these to anyone. Only the coolest can wear these."

"Dile!" The sandile noded, as if saying he was indeed, the coolest.

"I dunno. You look awfully shrimpy." Risette would kneel in front of the pokemon, smiling in a slightly teasing manner. "Look, you're so tiny. I could pick you up and yeet you halfway across the habitat."

"Diiiiile!" The pokemon dug its claws into the hard earth, stamping a little claw, refuting such a statement.

"Hm...hm...alright. Alright. I can see it, your eagerness and blazing spirit ahaha!" Risette grinned, and proceeded to place the sunglasses on the sandiles snout. "Welcome to the team, little guy! And you're named Dusty from here on out, yeah?" She'd reach for the pokeball the professor had given her, pressing it to the sandiles snout.

"...whew." Risette smiled, holding the pokeball in her palm. "Ahaha...here we go then. First step done...just you wait dad, I'll be kicking your ass and proving you wrong soon - bweh?"

"Diiiile!"

"...why are you up there?" Suddenly Dusty was now sitting on her head, tail draped over the back of her head, little claws holding into her hair.

"San."

"...ahahah, fine, fine, you're right we look super cool like this."

---