“...for the love of...”

“Hey hey hey, what have we here? A cute little trainer falling right into my lap?” A smirk that could only be described in some manner as smugly malicious appeared on Valarie’s lips as she’d look down at Clarissa. “And a cute little bunny, too! Your boss would love this lady, wouldn’t she?”

“...Miss Kiera does like Bunearies, yes…” The suit wearing woman would help Clarissa to her feet. “You alright miss? If so, move on. Neither of us have time to entertain fans-”

The psychic trainer accepted the help up as she listened to the two women talk in front of her, grabbing the nearby handle of her suitcase as she did so before she forgot, before trying to dust herself off a small bit. At least her suitcase was ok, and she was in one piece, though Sir Lopsalot visibly scrambled in a hurry to get back up onto his little Buneary legs before walking over to Clarissa and look up at her with a concerned expression.

"Bun?"

But it wasn't as if she had the chance to respond, as a moment later-

“Heey, don’t listen to that dummy. I make the rules here so I can do whatever I want, including entertaining a cute little fan like yourself.” Valarie interjected, taking a few steps towards Clarissa, earning a frown and a quiet grumble from the suited woman. “So how about it? A once in a lifetime chance to have some alone time with me. I’ll even give you a first class ticket to the contest. VIP seat, back stage access, autographs.”

Eh? EH?! What was this all of a sudden! She'd just been grabbed by a press from the crowd, and...a-ah, wasn't this the Valerie the crowd was trying to get toward?

The suited woman was glaring at Clarissa now. The word ‘Menacing’ certainly came to mind. Many of the people in the crowd were complaining about how it should have been them.

The glare from the seemingly stoic suited woman just to the side. The smug the smugly malicious smirk of this Valerie who had gotten basically in her face and whose eyes seemed to stare into her soul. The dissapointed mumbling of the dissipating crowd behind her as Sir Lopsalot jumped up into the psychic girl's arms and looked at her with worry about how she was feeling. Her head, reeling from the fall and trying to grasp the situation in front of her on a dime. She. Umm. But. It. Maybe. Aaaaah....

"O-O-Ok!"

The word left her lips in a slightly panicked stutter, but one that accepted the smug woman's offer nonetheless. All as Sir Lopsalot was being held in her arms, and her suitcase stood up next to her once more.

Frankly, once this sudden matter was wrapped up one way or another, Clarissa knew she was going to bolt for wherever Sir Lopsalot had been guiding her to. Hopefully that would be someone holding a sign or something, so she could finally make her way to the Professor's Lab. Anything to escape the awkward situation and get herself back under control before her power took the chance to pop out and do something funny. Luckily for her, she had just enough of a thumb on it to at least avoid that worst-case scenario for the moment being.

@Rune_Alchemist

"Oh, you want to pet my Noibat," Alexander, sounding surprised. Alexander turned his head to Cora and spoke in a soft tone. "Cora, you okay with letting Leo pet you?" Cora looked at Leo, and after a moment of thought, she worked up her courage and nodded yes. "Okay, it looks like she is okay with it, he replied, and he raised his hand up for Cora to jump to and held her in front of Leo. "Just do not be careful with her. She is shy, and being around alot of people has kinda scared her."

Now, turning his head towards Frieda. "Hello, Frieda and Pix," Alexander giving a warm smile and a wave with his free hand. "I have no questions at the moment, Frieda. I am just glad I made it here, and it seems at a busy time with Valarie being here. Going through that crowd was not fun, and Cora here is a bit scared, but she should get better once we get out of here." Alexander then looked towards the crowd, is Clarissa in that crowd? He thought as the crowd started to disperse. It's easier to go through it now, and hopefully, she does not take too long to get here.

Byjerlfal City, Commercial District -> Camphor’s lab

---

@XxFellsingxX@Savo@PKMNB0Y@Thayr@Pyromania99

“Good luck, lass. Tell Camphor if she wants to catch up I’ll be at the usual pub.” Tuule chuckled, leaving behind the group with a friendly wave.

It would take a bit longer for the group to make it to the lab. Passing through the visitor center for Eidda, and walking across most of the Commercial district deeper into the city. Billboards, large screens advertising every kind of product. Quite a few were advertising the Master-rank contest. Notably otherwise though, one was broadcasting an Interview with David Mexatus about the Nature Preserve he had built with the help of Camphor’s lab that housed regional variants and even pokemon that they had managed to use cutting edge science to properly bring back to life from fossils.

Thankfully, no one bothered Camilia or the package she was carrying either and soon enough the group was at the lab.

It was a surprisingly inconspicuous building, situated down a street, built seemingly right in the middle of some large skyscrapers. The only sign that it was a lab was the large ‘Camphor Laboratories’ sign hanging right over the sliding glass doors that led inside. A small pond was in front, along with a small geometric sculpture and some benches. The building itself seemed more clinical in construction, square with pristinely clean white walls.

The group could see a woman in front of the large glass double doors with another group of people - Frieda, with the other new hires.

Byjerlfal
City, Commercial District -> Camphor’s lab

---

@Crimson Flame@Theyra@Bartimaeus@VitaVitaAR@Crusader Lord

Valarie’s grin widened, a full, toothy wolfish grin. The Idol took a few steps towards Clarissa, placing a hand on the other girls shoulders.

“Great. Wonderful.” A light giggle. “Well, after the show today, come visit me backstage, here.” Valarie shoved a VIP backstage pass for the contest into Clarissa’s pocket. It was personally signed, and already had a little drawing of Valarie giving her a thumbs up on it. “And if you’re late…well, don’t be late. I don’t take kindly to being stood up.”

It was this point, the suited woman grabbed Valarie by the ear, and started literally dragging her away.

“Ta-taaaa! Ow-hey! I’m a girl be gentle with me! Ow-ow!”

“Gentle is the last thing you deserve…” The woman grumbled as the two of them disappeared into a door that led deeper into the airport.

Finding the rest of the group, thankfully, would not be that hard now that the crowd had dispersed a bit.

“Eheh, well, I’m glad to see you’re excited Ripley.” A brief pause as Freida overlooked the group, a small frown forming. “”Uhm…no questions? Really? I can answer things, promise…uhm…” Frieda fidgeted a bit, having apparently expected them to be a little more talkative with her. “Oh! Clarissa Rye, there you are. I’m Frieda, one of Camphor’s assistants. Now that everyone is here, let's get going. I really don’t like being in such a crowded place…”

“Impdim.”

“Pix that is not nice...” Turning on her heels, Frieda led the group out of the airport. “Its not a terribly far walk. Just a few blocks down in the Commercial District.” The group would be free to talk among themselves, or ask some questions as they walked. All of them would be perhaps, struck by the sight of the bustling city. Billboards, large screens advertising every kind of product. Quite a few were advertising the Master-rank contest. Notably otherwise though, one was broadcasting an Interview with David Mexatus about the Nature Preserve he had built with the help of Camphor’s lab.

Soon enough though, the group would come upon the lab proper.

It was a surprisingly inconspicuous building, situated down a street, built seemingly right in the middle of some large skyscrapers. The only sign that it was a lab, was the large ‘Camphor Laboratories’ sign hanging right over the sliding glass doors that led inside. A small pond was in front, along with a small geometric sculpture and some benches. The building itself seemed more clinical in construction, square with pristinely clean white walls.

“Here we are.” Frieda said, turning to the group. “The labs exterior is a little...boring but Camphor thought it’d stop people from bothering her if it looked like this. The interior is a lot more cozy…well, aside from the labs. Lets see…the others should be arriving soon…ah, here we are! Camilia!”

Frieda waved towards Camilia as she approached and they’d catch the last bit of conversation Frieda was making.

“You made it…and I see the professor's delivery. Oh uhm, sorry everyone these are people we hired from out of the region. They arrived shortly before you did at the docks.” Frieda would quickly explain to her group before taking out her keycard and sliding it into the doors lock. “Ahem, now if you’ll all wait in the reception area I'll let the professor know you’re here. Camilia can answer questions or help with anything in the mean time.”

Once everyone was inside, the doors would slide shut and lock behind the group. The reception area was much better decorated and gave off a casual business feeling than the sleek clinical outer walls of the building. A large desk ran across the long rectangular, carpeted room. The walls seemed to be made of wooden paneling. A few tables were off to the right where a few snacks had been laid out and a little further down was a TV broadcast and…three other people sitting around a table.

One was a somewhat effeminate looking guy, who was drinking what smelled like extremely strong coffee. A Cottonee was sitting on the table next to him, using its little green leaves to stir a cup rather vigorously causing it to spill everywhere.

Another was a dark skinned woman that was sitting opposite of him. had a Slakoth laying on top of her head. The both of them were asleep.

The last, was another woman with vibrant green colored hair. A Sprigatito was mewling and rolling around on the ground next to her feet where she was busy seemingly trying some of the coffee that had been made.

---

Mentions: N/A Location: Byjerlfal City, Camphor’s Lab

---

Isla was surprised by the state of the lab, at least on the outside of it. She’d built up in her mind some sort of large office building, same as every other one around, with maybe a few floors set up for the lab, the offices, things like that, but instead it was a pretty unassuming building aside from the large sign outside. Sliding her headphones off and onto her neck, she could suddenly hear the city around her, how loud as it was, and shuddered just a tad. The other employee’s chatter washed over Isla, almost ignored as she took notice of the sculpture and pond. They were nice, in an almost…vague way.

“Ahem, now if you’ll all wait in the reception area I'll let the professor know you’re here. Camilia can answer questions or help with anything in the meantime.”

Entering into the building with the door audibly locking behind them, the strangest feeling washed over Isla. She’d never gone into a building before where the door locked like that and she wasn’t entirely certain if she could get it open. Before the girl even looked around the room, she glanced quickly back at it, noticing the little circular button next to it. Press to Open. OK, well…crisis averted. She took a deep breath before looking back around.

The room was fairly modest, almost like the hotel near the trainer tower back home. There were three others already sat by the table, some drinking coffee, another snoozing away. They must’ve been there for some time, maybe, Isla thought. That or one was just…used to taking naps? They had Pokemon too, same as Jill did. She felt even more out of place. Unconsciously, she let out a long breath again, almost deflating at the thought.

Well, there were still more than enough seats and she wasn’t going to be one to wait. Walking out from the group and over to one table, Isla extracted herself from her duffel bag, setting it down beside her as she sat as well. She briefly considered striking up a conversation with one of the three trainers, but…paused, thinking on it. No, that’d be intrusive, somehow.

Camila Willows

---

Mentions: @Thayr

---

"The professor?" Camila questioned, thinking about the best answer to put forward for Isla's question. "Well, she's a character alright. I think that's the best way to put it." She mentioned with a weak smile on her face as they drew close to the lab and the woman saw a familiar face. "Ah, Frieda. You made it here first and yep. I got the package all safe. Guess I'll give it to Professor Camphor when we go see her." The intern mentioned with a smile as Frieda ushered everyone inside.

She was glad to make it back safely with the package intact. She was worried some ruffian or gang member might actually try to accoust her for it, but it seemed that it was an unfound worry. "Yes, everyone. We have a few snacks if you're feeling a small bit peckish and feel free to ask me any questions." She seemed ready to answer questions at the least. For her own part, she went over and grabbed a cookie, happily eating it. "It's good." She mentioned with a smile. She looked at all the new recruits wondering where the might all be going for this new job of theirs. She also started to ponder if she would have the chance to witness any new of the upcoming contests. Regardless, she was ready to help anyone that needed it at this point, though she mostly expected they would mingle amongst themselves for the most part, noting it already happened in fact with one of the people that wasn't part of her group.

With there being little else to do and none of the others seeming particularly intent on pursuing any other conversation en route, Richard simply chose to follow after Camila with the others. The city's sights didn't pull his attention any which way, which was probably for the best; his funds were a bit tight and would continue to be as such until he got his first paycheck... Or until he could get into a good enough position to start battling with reasonable confidence. Whichever came first, really.

Once the group arrived, though, Richard silently took note of the other group of people who also seemed to be arriving at the same time. Given their general appearance, it seemed like that it would be reasonable to assume that they were here for much the same reason they were; the following explanation that he managed to overhear made that less of a guess and more of a statement. Either way, the number of people was rather notable—and the group of people who seemed to be waiting in reception for much of the same reason only served to add to their number. Twelve in all, himself included—in other words, it was inevitable that at least some of them would be journeying together in the near future.

Though some part of him wanted to move and plainly introduce himself, one person from the other group took the chance to make himself the center of attention (and rather flashily, too). Though the reception area was by no means cramped, seeing someone choose to sit on the table rather than at didn't quite sit right with him—not that he was particularly inclined to call them out for it, though. With his luggage still firmly in his grasp, Richard simply moved towards the other group and flagged down their attention—however briefly—with a wave instead.

"I suppose we're apt to be coworkers—er, co-assistants?—from here on out. Name's Richard Evans; it's a pleasure to meet you," he said, unable to really dodge a more formal introduction given the current atmosphere. The overbearingly casual nature of the one person who had chosen to accost the other three people who were waiting was a bit too much for his tastes, and making a first impression like this seemed less likely to backfire than...

Well, whatever that sort of entrance was.

@Crimson Flame@Theyra@VitaVitaAR@Crusader Lord

---

Location: Bjyerfal City -> Camphor's Lab Mentions: @Pyromania99@Rune_Alchemist

---

On to the way to the lab, Jill was constantly bouncing up and down on her feet, taking in the new sights with various 'oohs' and 'aahs' and not really paying attention to anything that was being said by her companions. Not that there was much conversation going on anyway, but even the things that were said didn't really register with her. She didn't even notice the package that Camila was handed - she was too busy trying to take everything else in.

She did seem to calm down a little once they reached the lab. In fact, as she took a look around the lab and the many other new trainers gathered there, one might think she seemed suddenly very intimidated. However, this didn't last long, as Aster, who had been pretty nonchalant on the walk over, suddenly perked up when she noticed the other Pokemon in the area. She threw the core of the apple she had eaten onto the floor, scampered down Jill onto the floor and made a beeline for the Sprigatito who was rolling around on the ground.

This seemed to snap Jill out of her momentary frozen state as she rushed to pick up the fallen apple core. "Aster!" she shouted at the Aipom. "You can't just litter like that!" When the Pokemon made no sign that she had heard her, Jill gave a loud sigh and started looking around for the nearest bin.

Aster scampered over to the Sprigatito, and kind of proceeded to stand over it, watching it curiously. Clearly, she'd never seen a Pokemon like this before, and reached out one of her stubby hands to poke at the grass cat's tail.

The psychic girl had been in some amount of what a normal human being might call 'shock' during the trip to the lab. Silent, quiet, and keeping up a stoic front despite holding Sir Lopsalot close to her chest at the same time with one arm as the other drug along her wheeled suitcase. The Buneary seemed to curiously regard her at first for it, though silently settled in for the ride in the end as the duo walked along with the others and followed Ms. Freida (and her apperently rude Impidimp) to their destination. At the same time, the pass sitting in her pocket was safe and sound....almost burning a hole through it if the girl's own anxieties alone were to describe the sensation.

It was enough to hold her cool and try to calm down, something she'd been trained for at least, but at the same time the entire affair back at the airport had been a bit jarring in its own way. She'd already thought to encounter crowds of some kind in a big and busy city like Byjerfal, but then to get stuck in a press of thirsty fans and pressured to meet a contest star and gym leader later?! That much had come so far out of left field it went around the world and hit her in the back of the head! Enough so that even Sir Lopsalot had been made to worry a fair bit....which wasn't fair of her to do, at least with regard to Clarissa's own thoughts on the matter.

At the same time, however, the walk was in some capacity 'soothing' as it were. As much as she didn't like the crowds, she had her 'bubble' of people to go along with to focus on. The big city wasn't something she was most accustomed to either still, but likewise it seemed to have a certain familiarity to it in turn. A certain sense of having to be aware of one's surroundings, lots of alleyways and paths and roads all over the shop, and the potential danger to get run over or run into. In a way that felt strange yet somehow almost welcoming, it was like a small slice of her family's former region of residence in a sort of 'opposite end of the spectrum' sort of way. Did that make sense?

It was a surprisingly inconspicuous building, situated down a street, built seemingly right in the middle of some large skyscrapers. The only sign that it was a lab, was the large ‘Camphor Laboratories’ sign hanging right over the sliding glass doors that led inside. A small pond was in front, along with a small geometric sculpture and some benches. The building itself seemed more clinical in construction, square with pristinely clean white walls.

“Here we are.” Frieda said, turning to the group. “The labs exterior is a little...boring but Camphor thought it’d stop people from bothering her if it looked like this. The interior is a lot more cozy…well, aside from the labs. Lets see…the others should be arriving soon…ah, here we are! Camilia!”

...So people would leave her alone? Strange for a professor, and yet in some capacity she felt a sense of respect for it. Not that she respected someone wanting to turn her into a likely sensor-laden experimental subject for money, she'd already turned that prospect down, but she at least could understand someone wanting to look into something peculiar. She herself wanted to see more of the Eidda Region itself for personal reasons, including wanting to perhaps adjust more to her new home region if she could, though her parents had encouraged her to go as well once she'd told them about the offer as well. 'Go and see things, and people, and grow as a trainer!' Such is what they'd told her anyway.

Once everyone was inside, the doors would slide shut and lock behind the group. The reception area was much better decorated and gave off a casual business feeling than the sleek clinical outer walls of the building. A large desk ran across the long rectangular, carpeted room. The walls seemed to be made of wooden paneling. A few tables were off to the right where a few snacks had been laid out and a little further down was a TV broadcast and…three other people sitting around a table.

"Yes, everyone. We have a few snacks if you're feeling a small bit peckish and feel free to ask me any questions." She seemed ready to answer questions at the least. For her own part, she went over and grabbed a cookie, happily eating it. "It's good."

Ah, now that was better! Inside a nice and smaller building, which had a seemingly nice enough reception area as well. Reminded her more of the lab back in Orre when she'd gone to see her father sometimes back in Orre. Albeit her gaze would be drawn over the three people who seemed to already be in the reception area already, as well as their rather strange Pokemon! One of them seemed to be some kind of grass type cat, another looked like a fluffy ball of fluff, and the last seemed to be rather...lazy? Tired? Both? It was a curious little thing, and out of the three it seemed to draw Clarissa's attention most as she looked at it briefly before-



Oh. She hadn't eaten since before the flight, and it had been quite a flight. Enough to make her a bit hungry at least, n-not that she was too hungry right now.

"Bun."

The Buneary held in her one arm spoke up as it tried to glance at her face. He'd heard it, as quiet as the little stomach grumbling was she supposed. Hopefully no one else had heard, but he likely was wondering somewhat if they'd be getting food soon then. Not that they could subsist purely on a diet of free snacks and drinks, though her mother had commented a few times that her father had proven that one 'techincally' could do so for a time. Somehow. While overburdened with work and staying up late nights.

With his luggage still firmly in his grasp, Richard simply moved towards the other group and flagged down their attention—however briefly—with a wave instead.

"I suppose we're apt to be coworkers—er, co-assistants?—from here on out. Name's Richard Evans; it's a pleasure to meet you."

Oh! Someone from the other group was waving to them and wanted to talk? It was certainly a more polite manner she appreciated personally, and as one of her group from the airport seemed to be forwar enough to approach the other three as well as she was able to take notice of. Well, if nothing else it meant getting to do something else as she cooled down from the whole airport fiasco. Then again it felt like second nature to try to stay observant of her surroundings, she supposed, even now.

At the same time, the Buneary held in her arm would wiggle out of her grasp before landing softly on the floor on his fluffy behind. Even so, Sir Lopsalot would stand back up promptly, stretching his little bunny legs, before leaping up and onto Clarissa's shoulder without his trainer so much as batting an eye. It was something that, at least, the duo had become accustomed to doing for the most part when walking around or traveling. Albeit on particularly long walks or such she'd sometimes have to get him to switch shoulders once in a while if he wanted to ride along for more than a little bit...

"A pleasure to meet you as well, Richard. I'm Clarissa Ryte."

@PKMNB0Y

Guinea pigs? Really? Alexander had a tired expression on his face. After taking in the sights of the city, he could see on the way here. He expected someone not to have a take like that about their new job. Plus, one of them spoke up about it while two of them were busy introducing themselves. While he did agree with the man, he could only silently sigh. This is already looking great, he thought sarcastically. He took a minute to look at Cora, who was still on his shoulders. Watching the scene from her perch and seemed relaxed but sort of hiding behind him.

He had half a mind to stay silent but went against it. He should say something at least before exploring the lab or talking with his future co-workers.

Speaking up, "Well, I kinda have to agree, we are not guinea pigs. That is not what the job is about, and before that gets talked about more. I am going to say my name is Alexander Nells, and this is Cora". Alexander pointed to Cora, who poked her head out, and the rest could clearly see her. "It is nice to meet you all." He said with an awkward smile. First impressions are everything, after all, and maybe he made a good one.

Byjerlfal City, Camphor’s lab, Habitat

---

@XxFellsingxX@Savo@PKMNB0Y@Thayr@Pyromania99 @Crimson Flame@Theyra@Bartimaeus@VitaVitaAR@Crusader Lord

“Ugh, really, Guinea pigs? Well if that’s what you think perhaps you are one.” The woman with the Sprigatito replied to Ripley, clicking her tongue in a mild statement of derision as Sprigtatito would suddenly find itself being accosted by Aster. The feline pokemon mewled lightly before quickly turning around and batting Aster in the face with one of its paws. “H-hey! Get your filthy mit off Verdue!”

Before Aster could retaliate the woman picked up the pokemon, apparently named Verdue, and put it in her lap.

“Wow, there’s a lot of unfriendly folks here, huh.” The second apparent trainer offered the group a somewhat perplexed smile. “Don’t mind her, she’s your typical Rossaden bougie snob.”

“Bougie snob that graduated top of her class at Rossaden Academy thank you very much, Mr. Forde.”

“Remi. Please.” The young man patted the Cottonee as he’d give everyone a friendly wave. “As you heard, I’m Remi. The mean one over there is Laurel, and the sleeping one is Nevine. Don’t worry about her uh, she’s-”

“-awake…” The dark skinned woman yawned, stretching having been woken from her nap by the commotion. “Nevine. You guys…are loud.” The Slakoth napping on top of her head seemed much in agreement, offering a yawn and a slow, languid wave towards everyone.

“Ahaha, and there ya have it. Anyways, we’re three trainers hired by Camphor ourselves. Due to let's say some…administrative pressure we got here and started early, but she insisted we at least meet everyone else before we leave.”

Before anyone else had much of a chance to greet or speak though, the set of doors behind the receptionist desk would slide open, and a very disheveled looking woman that couldn’t be taller than five feet walked out. 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.

“Alright, good everyone is here. I was starting to wonder if I was wasting my time.”

“Uhm, everyone, Professor Camphor. Professor Camphor, everyone.”

“Yeah yeah, I’ve already seen the applications. I’m a busy woman and don’t have time to play around…” A small pause. “...that said, it is good to finally meet you all in person. Come on, we don’t have all day. And don’t wander off or you’ll have to deal with Nix.”

Pix, chuckled atop Frieda’s head.

“Pix no 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!”

“Follow me. Our first stop is the habitat. I’ve got all of your partners there. You other three wait there. I’ve something for everyone once we’re done.” Ignoring Frieda’s protests, Camphor simply started walking, leading the group back beyond the reception area and into the lab proper it seemed.

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. The Habitats, Simulation Room, and a Server room were to the right, the direction they were heading in. They'd pass an elevator that led underground somewhere, though it didn't say what facilities were below ground level.

“If anyone has any questions on the way there now’s the time. I won’t be answering them later.” Camphor gruffly replied, and regardless of any would be answered or not they’d 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 observation deck.

And looking on within was a large, open green-house like area, though calling it a simple greenhouse was a disservice. It was more like a massive, indoor garden complete with trees. A large pond with a sandy beach, mock rivers, and even a small rocky area.

“Welcome to the Habitat.” 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. 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.”

Frieda would hand everyone a pokeball.

“Don’t worry, they’re all fairly friendly, but I figured you’d all like to catch them properly yourselves. Frieda will help if you need it. Those of you who already have a pokemon,” She turned to Camilia. “Color me curious…but I want to see them. If you all don’t mind showing me?”

"Clarissa, then? Duly no—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Richard once again found himself being interrupted—this time, by the rather dour young man who had traveled with them from the docks. Though he shared his sentiments to an extent, Richard himself had no intention of getting into any sort of argument. They were here to do a job, after all, and actively antagonizing the people around him seemed like a great way to make enemies.

Not that it seemed to stop others from chiming in, though.

"...Well, I think I'll do the smart thing here and abstain from this trainwreck," he muttered to himself as the others continued to introduce themselves. Compared to his more formal greeting, everyone else seemed to be more casual—a difference in values, perhaps?

It was then, though, that the professor that had called them all here had finally made herself known. Compared to someone like, say, Professor Juniper, though, Camphor seemed to be a bit more...

Disheveled? Sleep-deprived?

...Maybe "a lot" more would have been more apt.

Apparently eschewing any sort of more formal introductions, the professor soon led them further into the lab; Richard, not wishing to linger any longer than he needed to, simply followed suit.

To say that the massive underground nature preserve surprised him would have been a bit of an understatement. He had expected something more minimalist, if anything—a lot more clinical machines and maybe caretaking facilities outside the city instead of under it.

If the trip over hadn't already emphasized how much money Camphor had to throw around, this would certainly have.

But before he could ogle for much longer, Richard found himself being ushered into an elevator and down to the ground floor, at which point the professor promptly handed him (and everyone else who apparently didn't have a partner of their own) a Pokeball before directing them to go find their new partner themselves.

"...Huh. Well, this isn't what I was expecting, but as far as surprises go, this one is rather pleasant," he responded before thanking the professor and dropping his bags off near the elevator. "If you'll excuse me, then."

Breaking away from the rest of the group, Richard took a deep breath before walking towards a more verdant section of the area. It was a Snivy that he had signed off for, after all, and it'd make reasonable sense to look for one where Grass-types would traditionally linger.

Hopefully it wouldn't take too long to find her.

@Rune_Alchemist@Crusader Lord@Savo

---

Mentions: N/A Location: Byjerlfal City, Camphor’s Lab

---

"Heya! You guys in the same boat as our lot, huh? We get to be guinea pigs! For money!"

"I suppose we're apt to be coworkers—er, co-assistants?—from here on out. Name's Richard Evans; it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Aster! You can't just litter like that!"

"A pleasure to meet you as well, Richard. I'm Clarissa Ryte."

"Guinea pigs, seriously. Did you even bother reading about the job you were applying for or did you blindly sign up without even bothering to do any research?"

Isla suddenly felt extremely small and, in comparison to everything around her, very, very out of water. Some of them were making their own introductions, loud and friendly as can be, one was having trouble with her Aipom, and the guy from before who had a moment seemed to also be having another, though this time it was disgust from a high horse. She’d seen that sort of behavior before, from trainers at the tower who’d felt like they couldn’t lose, wouldn’t lose, to a “lesser trainer”. Well, that went pretty well until one of the older people stepped down from wherever they stayed and while Isla had never had the desire to watch one of those battles she had watched the aftermath. Those ones either stuck around to try and regain something, being a little quieter about it, or slunk off-island on the next Seagallop. It seemed this one hadn’t yet had the experience. She blew a breath out of her nose at the thought.

One of the others, who’d also had his own Pokemon, spoke up at the last comment. What was it…a bat, something from one of the other regions that she couldn’t really place. His long, purple-hue hair made him stick out, though, even when compared with the last speaker who had the same if not slightly shorter. She craned in just a tad, to listen to him.

"Well, I kinda have to agree, we are not guinea pigs. That is not what the job is about, and before that gets talked about more. I am going to say my name is Alexander Nells, and this is Cora. It is nice to meet you all."

The other three introduced themselves, one after another and displaying some of their own qualities. The younger guy seemed alright, friendly enough, the one with the grass-type cat seemed haughty, and the sleeping one was in fact no longer asleep. Hired by Camphor herself…what sort of ‘administrative pressures’ were there for them to worry about and get to the lab early? Isla couldn’t really think of any. Before she could introduce herself to the rest, Prof Camphor seemed to materialize.

I didn’t know they made Professors that short.

Isla snorted in her chair with barely contained laughter before actually listening to what the woman had to say. She rose to her seat, though, almost unthinkingly as Camphor said to come on, that she didn’t have all day, and that her tone definitely suggested such. Following them, somewhat in the back of the group with her duffel once again slung on her back, she strained to listen to the shorter woman. Going to the habitat…all of the partners there…and something to do. She couldn’t help but notice the directions in the hallway. Floor G...who listed floors by letter? Stranger and stranger still. They turned right, Habitats, Simulation Room, Server Room that way. A Simulation Room sounded like it would be the thing done after, almost. A test, maybe? It’d been easy enough to get into the program so far, as far as Isla could tell. Maybe she wanted to see how well they meshed with their partner? Maybe?

They finally came to the Habitat. Where had they found all the space for this, in such an unassuming building? Isla could barely see the city through the high-up glass, though her attention was drawn down and down to the trees and grass below. It seemed like they’d put the whole Viridian Forest down in miniature, at least as she’d read and seen videos about it, right down in a city.

“Welcome to the Habitat. 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. Now, that aside…there’s something I’d like you all to do here. Those of you that don’t have your partner already…well, they’re in here. Go find them.”

A Pokeball in hand, her fingers closing around the plastic exterior…go find them. Go catch them. Was it just that mechanical? Was it just that simple to catch what the Professor called a partner…Isla hesitated, barely listening to Camphor’s other words. They washed over her, a few touching here and there. Figured you’d all like to catch them properly. Is that what it was? Just a formality, a little dance done and forgotten afterwards? She exhaled out. Stepping out into the habitat, Isla could feel the humidity change just a little as others ran-off here, there for their own partner. Where would hers be…she remembered filling out a little questionnaire on what was ‘wanted’ and really, in all honesty Isla could only somewhat recall the one she’d chosen because it was the most open-to-the-future, vague thing open. Where would he be…she sucked on her lip at the thought, fingers running over the smooth surface of the Pokeball. Well…no, no. She pocketed it in her pants, slinging her duffel bag off. Where was that bag of…ah, there it was. Isla pulled the bag of jerky from her bag, closing it quickly and slinging it over her shoulder yet again.

So where is he…a little walk to the more forested areas, some of the other trainers still in the corner of her eye, and suddenly Isla felt truly in nature. Well, that wasn’t entirely true, she could still see the glass far above, in between all the trees and foliage, but it was as close to being in the middle of a forest as the islander had ever been. Where would he be…ah, she could see a little white shape, just a little ways away under the foliage of a bush, shaped almost…oval. Isla stopped in her tracks, slowly lowering herself into a crouch as she unzipped the bag of jerky. Holding it in her hands at the sound, which didn’t seem to rouse the Eevee in the distance, she let out a small sigh of relief. Well…one hand grasped on the inside for a second, finding a smaller chunk. Was her aim really good enough? She tossed it to find out, some movement under the bush following as the jerky landed just a foot from the shape. Another little shift as a yawn revealed a gaping maw of a mouth amid the shadows, the lil guy slowly trotting out for the jerky.

Lean down, smell a little, pause…a little ear twitch that seemed smaller than usual. Maybe peppered wasn’t the best? Isla stayed stock-still to find out. Nom. Another sigh of relief at the sight of the little Eevee munching on the jerky. It paused, too, looking up at Isla in her crouched pose. Oop. Maybe that wasn’t the best move. Their eyes met for what seemed like a minute, though of course was far shorter, before she finally made the decision to move just a little. Slowly, carefully, she picked out another piece of jerky from the bag, throwing it again between them. It stared at the jerky again, blowing out from its nose before trotting up.

The little guy barely even stopped to pick up the second piece, continuing to approach as it chewed with the excess poking out. Pausing a foot in front of her, he let his head down again to better finish off the jerky with a paw. Looking back up again, the Eevee yawned a big, wide one. A step…another…he was right there, leaning his head in to smell at the bag. Well…there goes nothing, then. She poured out some into her hand, shaking the bag, careful to not spill any more onto the ground…held it out. Well, he was perfectly fine with that, taking another step forward to better attack the jerky held out. Setting the bag down by her crouched leg…awkward, awkward considering the pose she’d found herself in…Isla reached out her free hand. Maybe? Possibly? Should she?

Oh, heck. She gently started to pat at the space between the ears, then the base of the short little ears, watching as the Eevee paused, let out a puff again from its nose, and continued to eat. Well…better than expected. Altogether better than expected. She just sort of stayed there, shifting her legs to be more comfortable, feeding the small Pokemon and petting at its head as a smile slowly grew on her face.

---

Location: Camphor's Lab Mentions: @Rune_Alchemist

---

Aster's eyes lit up slightly when the Sprigtatito batted her face, only for that light to immediately dim as soon as her new acquaintance was snatched away from her. The Aipom puffed out her cheeks, formed her tail-hand into a fist and looked like she was about to spring at Laurel... when Jill, having apparently disposed of the apple core in the meantime, suddenly appeared beside her and scooped her up so she was now dangling upside down.

"Hey, hey, none of that!" Jill said. "You promised you'd be on your best behaviour today."

The Aipom wriggled about in the girl's grasp for a moment, chattering angrily at her while pointing and gesturing towards Laurel. However, despite her struggling, she didn't seem able to break out of her trainer's hold. Either she was holding back so as not to accidentally harm Jill... or the small girl was a lot stronger than she looked.

Eventually, Aster folded her arms over her chest in defeat and Jill carefully placed the Aipom on her shoulder. The girl then turned to Laurel and gave a low bow. "Sorry 'bout that," she said. "It's been a long ride on the boat. She's a little tired." However, before she could make any further comments, it seemed like the professor was moving the rest of the group into another area. Jill looked between the three trainers who were staying behind and the rest of the group, gave the former three a little wave before following after the others. As they were leaving, however, Aster blow a raspberry in Laurel's direction.

As they entered into the habitat, Jill was once again eying everything around her with an expression of awe and curiosity, as she had on the way of the lab. This time, however, Aster also looked alert, sensing the presence of other Pokemon.

When Camphor asked the trainers who already had their Pokemon to show them to her, Jill gestured to the Aipom on her shoulder. "Oh right!" she said. "This is Aster, she-" But before she could finish her sentence, Aster had already leapt off the girl's shoulder and ran off towards the nearest tree, scaling the trunk and making her way towards the top, likely searching for other Pokemon. "And there... she goes. Huh." Jill placed her hand on the back of her head and gave an apologetic grin to the professor. "Err, hold on a second, I'll go get her." And without waiting for a response, she turned and ran after the Aipom, proceeding to scale the tree effortlessly after her.

Camila Willows

---

Mentions: @Thayr

---

The professor's entrance was about as one could expect if they knew her at all. Short and to the point... Her speech that is. Nothing else. Camila found the professor to be somewhat cute really. Not that she'd openly admit that of course. She, for the most part, just stayed quiet and followed along with everyone as Camphor led them to the habitat. She was happy enough to just watch every do what they did. After all, she wouldn't have much a chance to see so many trainers in one place for a while. Perhaps some of them might even make it to the League tournament. She didn't have too many thoughts about the new trainers so far. Some of them seemed to know exactly what they wanted and others... Well, not so much.

The group seemed to be dispersing to get their Pokemon. That much was fine of course. Since the professor had the rest of the group showing her their current Pokemon, perhaps she should go out and talk to the ones that were getting their partners. The habitat was how it was the last time she was here. Relaxing if one enjoyed such a thing. The first person she ran into was Isla trying to coax an Eevee closer. Well, it seemed that she was pretty successful in it. That was a good thing. "My, my. Isla was it? Trying to make good friends with the Eevee before you use the Pokeball?" She had to ask, pondering how exactly it go to the point that Isla was in whatever awkward position she was currently in.

---

Mentions: @Pyromania99 Location: Byjerlfal City, Camphor’s Lab

---

"My, my. Isla was it? Trying to make good friends with the Eevee before you use the Pokeball?"

The little Eevee in question went stock-still at the sound of Camila’s voice, eyes looking up at her with only the tiniest of head motions as Isla paused, withdrawing the hand with food for a moment. Eyes darted from the newcomer to the feeding girl and back again, calculating and calculating if there was some sort of problem, if the newcomer wasn’t kind, so on and so forth. Isla pursed her lips, scratching between his ears again as she adjusted her posture, whispering in sing-song little tones, “It’s okay, it’s okay.”

As he began to relax again, finally, she moved out her hand to keep feeding the Eevee. Looking a bit over her shoulder as her hands were preoccupied, Isla paused, thinking on what exactly she wanted to say. Was it right to say what she thought so bluntly? What would Camila even think of her for rejecting a Pokeball so quickly when it seemed to be so expected? Would she think Isla had some sort of high horse, that she thought herself better than all the other trainers for not using such a common, simply accepted tool of the trade? Well…maybe. Maybe not. Isla sighed at it all, blowing the air out from her nose as the Eevee finally got to the last little pieces of jerky in the palm of her hand.

“I’m not too sure I’ll use one. Feels wrong to do that to…a partner, like what the professor was saying.” A thought suddenly occurred to Isla on the whole problem. Oh, yeah. “You um…don’t want that Pokeball back, do you?”

Byjerlfal City, Camphor’s lab

---

@XxFellsingxX@Savo@Thayr@Pyromania99 @Crimson Flame@Theyra@Bartimaeus@VitaVitaAR@Crusader Lord

“Aha, seems like a handful…” Camphor responded with a mild bit of a tired sounding sigh before turning her attention to the others present. “I’m glad to see your partners are well taken care of, so while the others are getting to know theirs let me say a few things.” The small woman would take a moment to swipe a mug of coffee that Frieda had somehow managed to pull out of somewhere.

“I’ll be frank…once you guys leave here, I don’t care if you actually pursue the whole assistant or habitat discovery stuff.” She’d say, taking a long sip on her coffee. “Ideally you would. You’d get paid and you’d help me out but ultimately since I’ll be tracking all of your pokedex progress and handling your PC boxes between all of you I’ll likely get enough data so no pressure. Just do what you want.”

As Aster clamored up the tree, she could get a pretty good vantage point over most of the habitat. She could see a snivy, for example, fleeing from Richard.

Habitat Forest
@PKMNB0Y

---

Heading away from the rest of the group and into the habitat proper, Richard would find himself passing through a small grassy area and towards the Habitats south western end towards a the habitats forest. It seemed at least any other pokemon had been cleared out or ushered somewhere else. Had this place not been in a lab, the eerie quietness of the lack of any pokemon or cries would likely be a bit unsettling.

However, it’d also make finding his partner a bit easier.

Following the small cries of a pokemon he’d eventually find his way deeper into the forest, a bit of a secluded area away from everywhere else. Strangely though, as he got closer it fell silent, and all he could hear was something quietly, hurriedly moving away towards a nearby tree...that had a Snivy's tail just barely poking out from the other side of it. A half eaten berry had been discarded not far away.

It seemed as though the snivy was avoiding him...so what did Richard do?

"Clarissa, then? Duly no—"

"Guinea pigs, seriously?"

"Did you even bother reading about the job you were applying for or did you blindly sign up without even bothering to do any research?"

Then,, of course, naturally came an interruption. Not something she found less grating for the occasion, but enough to elicit a soft and quiet sigh from the girl after Richard seemed to back off from talking to her more. She wasn't trying to be rude, but it certainly was rude to interrupt people or call people guinea pigs for that matter either way, no matter how annoyed the one boy seemed and how excited the other boy was respectively about it all. However, it did at least get people to give more information about themselves and include the three trainers who were already there before the rest of them. So if nothing else, things were getting a bit...informative?

"Bun..."

Even Sir Lopsalot would think such sentiments were a bit of a stretch to look at the positives there. But right now she needed to find some positives before figuring out the whole contest VIP pass situation. Not to mention the rest of it! She'd be traveling around to places, and there was a lot involved in that once she got past the first distraction she'd unwittingly been pushed into by the airport crowd. Not that they'd made her agree in the heat of the moment...ugh.

Before anyone else had much of a chance to greet or speak though, the set of doors behind the receptionist desk would slide open, and a very disheveled looking woman that couldn’t be taller than five feet walked out. 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.

“Alright, good everyone is here. I was starting to wonder if I was wasting my time.”

Yup. This was the Professor, Camphor herself, or at least the psychic girl assumed such between the verbal exasperation and exhausted look and messy attire alone. The woman's appearance reminded her of how her father had been sometimes back at the Orre Lab, which had at least seemingly mostly changed (even if not fully) for her father after he had started working in Eidda at least. Or perhaps it was just the beginning of his woes in his new workplace? Er, nothing she wanted to think too hard about right at least. Her mother would help him while she was out doing her work for the Professor at least.

Camphor seemed to be one apt for being amused, however, if poor Freida's Impidimp was of any indication in how the two interacted. Camphor and the Impidimp that is, not Freida. She got the impression Freida had to deal with a lot from that Impidimp, and Camphor, alike. But that was also a matter she didn't want to think too hard about right now either.

As they headed back further into the lab regardless, the psychic would silently take note of where they were going until they came across the Habitat.

. 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 observation deck.

And looking on within was a large, open green-house like area, though calling it a simple greenhouse was a disservice. It was more like a massive, indoor garden complete with trees. A large pond with a sandy beach, mock rivers, and even a small rocky area.

“Welcome to the Habitat.” 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.

The girl would almost started walking over to the railing to watch from the observation edck, if not for the Professor pulling them all into the nearby elevator to go down to the actual Habitat itself. She didn't resist the change in location, and would watch on as the Professor spoke to the others about gooing to catch the starters she'd prepared for them. It was a curious thing, but was it normal in Eidda to do this? She'd heard rumors of other places just giving a new trainer a Pokemon already in a Pokeball, which sounded a little absurd to her mind, but as the others walked off to get their starting partners it seemed the professor would turn to her and the others who already had Pokemon to ask something else.

Hmm? Show off their partners to her? Well, it wouldn't be bad to introduce Sir Lopsalot and-

"Oh right!" she said. "This is Aster, she-" But before she could finish her sentence, Aster had already leapt off the girl's shoulder and ran off towards the nearest tree, scaling the trunk and making her way towards the top, likely searching for other Pokemon. "And there... she goes. Huh." Jill placed her hand on the back of her head and gave an apologetic grin to the professor. "Err, hold on a second, I'll go get her."

Did she just-, ah, never mind. Perhaps all Aipom were mischevious little gremlins, apparently, or at least this girl's seemed to be such if nothing else. Enough to run off into the Habitat and be more trouble in the meantime. The girl certainly seemed used to the Aipom's antics at least, though, even if the Professor seemed less than enthused about it. Perhaps it would get along with the Impidimp?

....Actually, perhaps that scenario was better left unimagined. For the good of the region and the lab alike for that matter.

"I’m glad to see your partners are well taken care of, so while the others are getting to know theirs let me say a few things.” The small woman would take a moment to swipe a mug of coffee that Frieda had somehow managed to pull out of somewhere.

“I’ll be frank…once you guys leave here, I don’t care if you actually pursue the whole assistant or habitat discovery stuff.” She’d say, taking a long sip on her coffee. “Ideally you would. You’d get paid and you’d help me out but ultimately since I’ll be tracking all of your pokedex progress and handling your PC boxes between all of you I’ll likely get enough data so no pressure. Just do what you want.”

That was certianly a very flexible manner to approach things, Clarissa supposed, even if it seemed somewhat lazy at the same time. But trying to get a bunch of random people to just cover things super formally and methodically who wanted to be trainers? That, that made the idea feel more plausible and kind than it would first feel like on paper to her mind. She had goals of her own in all of this, as likely did others, but getting to pursue those first on top of doing work along the way wasn't the worst possible thing. Itt was worth it to remember this was still a job, after all, even if it came with a lot of seeming flexivbility along the way.

It actually made her look a bit more forward to the journey to come, if nothing else, which likewise helped ease her nerves a little more to boot.

Even so...the Professor's words did bring something to mind.

"Pardon me, but if I may, Professor, on that note I am curious if you have any reccomendations for initial locations to go to or explore at the start. Or if there is a place or two of note that might be of extra interest to go to, perhaps, that would be relevant to your work."

As she spoke, the Buneary on her shoulder would begin to fidget a bit as he craned his little neck to look over at the Habitat. Such a big place down here, it was astonishing even to the little Pokemon himself! Yet adamantly trying to do this from his perch on Clarissa's right shoulder was certinaly not the best spot, nor was it convenient for her shoulder at the same time, and after moving a bit too close to the edge of his balance-

"Bun!"

Buneary overboard! The curious little Sir Lopsalot let out a small yelp as he began to fall over, nearly hitting the floor before suddenly...stopping. A faint purple outline of energy seemed to stick to the little guy and shimmer at times, but soon the Buneary would begin moving back up as Clarissa now looked at him with a slightly stern glare of her eyebrows. For a moment, she even put a hand on her hip as she telekinetically moved the Buneary in front of her face for a moment. After a few seconds of silence, she telekinetically put him back on her right shoulder once more.

"Bun. Bun bun! Bun!"

Sir Lopsalot would protest somewhat, crossing his little bunny arms in mild frustration and a small pout, but would ultimately let out a small sigh and just sit down on his trainer's shoulder for the time being. In the meantime, Clarissa's eyes looked back at the Professor. A slightly apologetic and embarassed look in her eyes was there as she would begin to speak, though after finishing would return to her usual stoicism.

"My apologies, Professor, Sir Lopsalot is excited to see things out here. It's all very much new for the both of us here in Eidda still."

@Rune_Alchemist@Savo@Crimson Flame@Bartimaeus@VitaVitaAR

The oddly sterile nature of the lab seemed to bleed into the habitat today—or, at the very least, it seemed that way to Richard. It was fairly obvious that the experience was meant to be a manufactured one, presented in a safe environment so that he (and the others who were here today to pick up their partners) wouldn't find themselves getting injured or accidentally messing with whatever experiments they ran down here.

That was fine, though; if anything, it'd at least give him breathing room and less of a chance of getting blindsided by something he wasn't seeking.

The sounds of a Pokemon nearby did catch his ear, though, and that alone was enough to pull him in that general direction. Slowly, quietly, the young man proceeded forward, only to find that whatever was making that noise had quickly moved to flee from him.

"Not quiet enough, huh...?" he mused to himself, remembering the note on the summary of the Snivy's profile that said it was a bit jumpy. But regardless of that fact, this was who he had picked, and that did mean that he had to start building that relationship between them somehow.

"It's okay, I won't hurt you," Richard said, his tone soft as he picked up the discarded berry and held it out towards where he could see the Snivy was hiding behind. "No need to be afraid, all right?"

Hopefully that was the right approach to take here...

@Rune_Alchemist