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Pokémon League
Professor of Botany
Any trainer that can't afford medicine can come to me. |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Jayspurr
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Post by Luke Indigo on Nov 4, 2017 17:30:39 GMT -8
It had been a week since the Nihilego incident, and so much had changed even as so much of it had stayed the same. His lab scientists were in, working on their specific projects pertaining to berries in the like. His shop keeper who ran the herb shop on the bottom floor was there on time and doing whatever he did. But… but.
I have to find a way to get me home— to get you home. The thought had repeated and rebounded in him almost every waking our and was enough to get him up several times a night. He’d reported the incident to the League, explained what had happened, and found himself on the defending end of a rather fierce argument. They were mad at him for several reasons. First off, his mission was to assess what was causing the disturbance. Presumably, he should have called for back up, from Gym Leaders or otherwise, and he just completely didn’t. Second off, he’d fused with an interdimensional jellyfish despite not knowing the entire stipulations or possible physiological reactions. He’d literally put himself in harm’s way. Never mind that they’d praised him for his work on self-tests of the gender cookie, this was clearly Different and should have been handled differently. The third, and possibly the worst offending of the reasons, was that he had adamantly refused to separate from the Nihilego. Not until he could send it home.
All of this had made a tense situation, a stare down between Luke and the League. Though he was free to continue using his grant monies on berry research, they had made it abundantly clear that he would not be funded for anything further until he released the Nihilego to them. Luke… Luke understood this. He understood their concerns, their worries, their anxieties, and yet he had made a promise he was not about to break. Even if it meant he had to do the work on his own presumably without even the help of some lab assistants, he would in order to assure the Nihilego’s safety. He just… he had to do that much. He had to do that much.
Now, though, now he had been spinning ideas on where to get funding, and it was becoming almost maddening. Some part of him had already resigned to the idea that no League would step on the tones of their Verian counterpart, to intercede on his behalf. Not for this, at least. He could ask industries, but that was more difficult, more uncertain, more worrying. He didn’t… even actually know how to begin with that if he was being honest with himself. Who did he ask, what was he supposed to ask? How was he supposed to get funding for something like this? Some part of him argued that if he went back to Alola now, surely someone there would help. But Alola already had an Ultra Beast problem… Hhhhhhh… All these thoughts spinning in his head were becoming confounding and confusing. He didn’t know which he believed more, truly. So much of this was theory and….
Poor fucking Orion happened to walk in when Luke was having one of these overriding meltdowns, and though he was aware that half of this was probably just dramatized nerves, he sat him down and actually started to talk about it. After some conversation, Orion suggested he call… his breeder boss? Apparently, she was stretching out into technology and might have an interest in funding him? It was hard to believe, harder to consider. It sounded sketchy especially coming from Orion of all people and yet….
Luke stared at the phone in his hand. He’d dialed the number Orion had given him but had yet to hit the call button. Did he want to do this? Should he go ahead and do this? The Nihilego in his inner mind whispered yes, please, anything to help, but Luke new better. Luke knew restraint. He had to think this through, he had to be sure and—
When did his thumb hit the talk button? When did it start ringing? A sharp noise escaped form Luke, but rather than hang up, he held the phone to his ear. “Uhm….. h-hello? Is this Marceline Labele?”
Marceline Labele
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AZOTH
PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Yumi
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Post by Marceline Labele on Nov 4, 2017 17:49:31 GMT -8
Why did there have to be so much paper-work with setting up a research facility? Well the answer was fairly obvious what with what most teams did throughout the other regions with their more illegal research facilities, which gave her even less reason to complain with her own intent, but nonetheless she was managing to get through it little by little with the less than legal-legal team she had hired. Most of the time she just had to make sure she was understanding the terms they were using for future referance and sign a few papers, but it was certainly monotonous compared to her usual dealings with her minions and workers throughout the day. She'd rather be talking breeding rights with a pompous trainer rather than deal with this all day.
Sure enough though eventually she managed to find her way home, a few quick texts to her primary contacts to make sure everything was on track. Momo was getting ready to become active again and Marcie was looking into a woman named Mag to find her research subjects for the Azoth foundation. She thought they'd be a good, hard working organization for a month or so, then she'd start looking into researcher's who couldn't find anyone insane enough to fund them otherwise. Whatever the League didn't want, she'd have, and she'd be happy to sell it off to the highest bidder...!~
"Misora? I brought home dinner. Come get it."
Walking into resting the small shopping bag of take out food on the kitchen counter, Marcie had just worked her way out of her jacket as he phone rang. Surely no one had problems this late into the day? She was sure she had no late night deals today...oh. Wait. It was her 'real' phone. Who was calling her this late...?
Flipping open the phone she heard the voice down the other end of the line, pressing her cheek against her shoulder, the phone trapped inbetween so she could keep her hands free as she got out plates and cutlery. "Yes this is her...may I ask who's speaking?" She was sure they sounded familiar, but the phone's faint distortion gave her enough room to be unsure.
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Pokémon League
Professor of Botany
Any trainer that can't afford medicine can come to me. |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Jayspurr
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Post by Luke Indigo on Nov 4, 2017 18:12:39 GMT -8
W-well, there was no going back down now was there? The woman on the line confiemd her name, and Luke had no reason to doubt Orion’d given him the correct number. Taking in a slow breath, he steeled his nerves some. “This is Professor Luke Indigo, we met months back through Orion?” Wow, how many months had it been since he’d come to Veria? Since he’d settled into this life? Time truly did fly didn’t it? Quickly, Luke realized he had no time to daydream.
“Oh ah, it’s… it’s not about Orion or anything, exactly, but… he said you were uhm branching out of the breeding industry and into scientific endeavors?” Were those the words Orion had used? Something like that. He wanted to ask right then if she’d fund the research but decided to wait, see what she said, and then rethink this plan. The Nihilego was very quiet in the back of his mind now, and some part of him was grateful for this and also missed it. I’m right here… Oh-oh right ok.
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AZOTH
PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Yumi
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Post by Marceline Labele on Nov 4, 2017 18:20:00 GMT -8
Handing Misora her plate, she spotted the girl's look of curiosity as her own face brightened. She knew she recognized the name but to hear it was Luke was an odd surprise. Before Misora could bother to ask who it was Marcie gave her a light shooing motion, covering the reciever on her phone very briefly. "Go eat or it'll go cold." Waiting for her to leave the kitchen, Marcie idly opened up her own take-out meal to dish out as she listened to Luke.
"Don't worry I remember you well enough, though I have to say you're sounding a little different. Finally eat that second Chroma cookie perchance?~" Her tone was vaguely teasing, but genuine. She was at home and, in a sense, alone with Luke on this call so she had very little reason to hide her true self, especially since no mention of her business had come up as of yet. As Luke went on to explain why he'd called, Marcie couldn't help but just give a faint chuckle, rolling her eyes as if it could be seen down the line, but her tone conveyed it all the same.
"Sorry dear, if you're calling on the league's behalf, I already told them I'd prefer to remain independant."
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Pokémon League
Professor of Botany
Any trainer that can't afford medicine can come to me. |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Jayspurr
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Post by Luke Indigo on Nov 4, 2017 18:28:43 GMT -8
In hindsight, Luke had no idea why Marceline wouldn’t remember him at least to some degree. He was a regional professor as well as Orion’s friend but… well, nerves. Finally eat the second Chorma cookie… Oh heh, hah a long time ago now hadn’t he? “Oh- right, yes, I am … back to normal,” he stammered reaching his free hand back to set on his neck. The Nihilego rumbled a little, and he could feel its jelly fingers lightly rolling over his own, trying to be soothing.
The chuckle from the other end of the line had his lips pressing together a bit uncomfortably. However, as she spoke, something clicked and “Oh- no I— I’m not, actually,” he answered a little slower now. “I’ve recently gotten interested in a new project, but the League won’t fund me— partially because it’s outside of my professorship focus but…” Another slow breath.
C’mon Luke you could do this. “I’m interested in Ultra Space and Ultra Wormholes that seem to appear in some frequency above Alola… and I believe here as well. And… Orion said you might be able to back me with some funding to… test if there are any present in Veria.” There. That made sense, right? From his jumbled thoughts, he hoped as much.
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AZOTH
PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Yumi
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Post by Marceline Labele on Nov 4, 2017 18:42:35 GMT -8
Fairly sure Luke had just been asked to represent the League, what with the very loose connection they had through Orion, (she'd have used and abused that connection too if it meant getting something she wanted), she was caught off guard when Luke quickly corrected her, easing off preparing her food as she leaned her rear softly into the kitchen counter, idly reminding herself to change before she ate as her pencil skirt lightly dug into her hip from the long day.
So he wanted in on her little foundation...hm...well she had been looking for researchers to promote the...'public image' of the foundation, though Luke hadn't immediately crossed her mind. With her potential work partner in that Sophie woman falling through she hadn't thought to try and snatch any other professor's from the league, but one coming to her was a promising sign, especially one with such a succesful and marketable product as the Chromas cookie. Of course the cookie would likely have to remain under league control, but it had likely earned Luke at least some renown, and would look like an immensely profitable and sensible business move to the public...yes. Yes she could work with this.
As if the surprises were in demand tonight, Marcie stopped balancing her phone against her shoulder and took it in hand as she heard about Luke's new interest. "Ultra wormholes...?" She repeated, not realizing she had done so out loud at first. She knew very little of them, but what she did know was the key part Luke had omitted from the list. Ultra beasts. It wasn't like a massive wormhole in Alola's sky hadn't made big news afterall, and the creatures that spawned from it...well they were certainly interesting. Perhaps not marketable to the public but they weren't exactly Marcie's only clientele.
No, getting ahead of yourself. Even if Luke couldn't produce anything publicly marketable it'd still make clear business sense from the outside to hire him on sheer reputation, and if she put in the right spin, maybe she could argue the facilities interest in ultra space was more of a...'expanding the limits of science' or some such woffle. Yes. She could easily spin that given a day or two to think over it.
"Oh!" Realizing she'd been in her own thoughts for a moment too long, she gave a lightly nervous chuckle down the phone line. "Sorry I went off into my own world there for a second dear. Ultra space you say? I can't say I have any experience with it personally but that sounds like a fair jump to make from berry research. Not to pry but what brought you to make such a leap? I mean it must interest you a lot to pursue even without the league's funding, surely."
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Pokémon League
Professor of Botany
Any trainer that can't afford medicine can come to me. |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Jayspurr
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Post by Luke Indigo on Nov 4, 2017 18:58:22 GMT -8
Luke chewed his lower lip and made a small noise in assurance. Yes she had heard correctly, Ultra Wormholes. The silence that followed was… uncomfortable, and he shifted a little in his seat. The Nihilego urged him to speak up again, but somewhere in that short span of time, he’d lost the ability to speak. As Marceline spoke up again, however, he breathed a little easier. She was… she was taking it well. That was good?
But— but then of course came the harder thing to pitch. He’d already admitted to the league what was fused with him, but that didn’t mean it needed to be common knowledge either. He just… had to make it sound convincing. “My— my parents are in Alola, actually,” he started. “I recently visited the region and talked with one of the local scientists and… I believe the levels of Ultra Aura that radiate out from the wormholes have a distinct effect on the environment around them. I even have reason to believe the Switcheroot, the base of the Chroma Cookie, might have first originated due to exposure to Ultra Aura so I would like to be able to trace it.” Wow. Luke had never lied like that, and he felt awful for it, but there he was.
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AZOTH
PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Yumi
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Post by Marceline Labele on Nov 4, 2017 19:05:06 GMT -8
Well that...all sounded fairly believable. To have any hope of tracing that to a lie she'd have to get a second egg head to analyze what he'd just said, which she full well would, afterall she wasn't about to just believe things without knowing what on earth she'd been told in the first place. For now of course she didn't have much reason to complain however, letting out a playful chuckle down the phone followed by a faint sigh. "Well that erm...as far as I can tell that sounds like a fair enough reason, and if it has you looking into the switcheroot more on my pay-roll I can hardly see myself complaining."
A light clearing of Misora's throat from the living room (okay it was fairly heavy to be heard from here but-) Caught her attention, reminding her she had her own food going cold. "Look dear I was just about to sit down with Misora and eat when you called. Any chance you might be in Caravella in the near future? Give yourself some time to draft up some initial funding requests and we can go over them at my place. No need to be overly formal about this afterall. Sound like a plan?"
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Pokémon League
Professor of Botany
Any trainer that can't afford medicine can come to me. |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Jayspurr
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Post by Luke Indigo on Nov 4, 2017 19:21:13 GMT -8
Fair enough reason… A breath escaped from Luke that he didn’t even realize he was holding. Good… This was… this was better than he could have hoped for, honestly. He just… had to stay calm, right? Somewhere in the back of his mind, Luke realized he’d have to meet with Marceline face to face at some point too but for now… for now this was almost promising.
--Oh. Oh right. Oh it was… it was late wasn’t it? Luke found his gaze flickering up to a long since stalled clock that gave no answers what so ever. “Oh- s-sorry for calling on your personal time,” he finally spoke. “I will… I can be in Caravella sometime this week. My schedule is mostly open, so I can probably be over there whenever and…” No, really he needed to think this through and actually draft something reasonable. “Actually…. Sinclair is coming around on Monday. Would that be good?” That was just enough time to get his thoughts straight, his ideas written out, his research into what he needed to do put down. Right.
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AZOTH
PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Yumi
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Post by Marceline Labele on Nov 4, 2017 19:34:34 GMT -8
Luke's flustered responses were almost cute, but he still seemed to have a fair head on his shoulders at least. Monday was fine for her, bu then she should have managed a fair bit of the paperwork for the new foundation, maybe even start looking over construction plans from the architects she'd hired to design the building. Either way she could work her monday free, so- "Monday sounds great hun. As I said I'm about to sit down with Misora, but you can easily grab my address from Orion."
Almost sweet in tone, she followed with a quick note as she picked up her plate and headed for the livingroom. "And don't worry about my personal time, fairly sure I lost that when I decided to run a business. You should see the work expanding into the technology business comes with, I could almost swear the League makes it near impossible to start an independant Research facility these days." For good reason~ Setting down her plate, she finished with. "Honestly dear you're fine, just make sure you have something to show me Monday and this will have been worth both our time. Don't go thinking Orion earns you a free ticket with me hm?~ Preferential treatment perhaps, but I'd like to see a little effort dear.~" Despite the faintly superior feel of the words she chose, her tone was still playful, like a boss trying to keep things upbeat while reminding the team they had a deadline. "Au Revoir for now sweetie.~"
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Pokémon League
Professor of Botany
Any trainer that can't afford medicine can come to me. |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Jayspurr
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Post by Luke Indigo on Nov 5, 2017 6:40:26 GMT -8
“Y-yes, alright thank you,” Luke stammered out, nodding his head despite the knowledge that she couldn’t see him anyways. You should see the work expanding into the technology business comes with— He could imagine, honestly, but that might have been bias from the scrutiny he’d received. Just make sure you have something to show on Monday. Right, right. He could do that. It might involve more than one call to Dad, but he could do that. A small, weird smile did pull itself onto Luke’s features as Marcie mentioned Orion, however. I won’t let him down either he thought to himself. “Thank you, g-good bye,” he managed at the end.
A few days passed in the blink of an eye. Luke was only vaguely aware that he hadn’t worked this manically since his initial interest in the Chroma Cookie, but then this was an entire matter all together. A literature review had him pulling all the most interesting and necessary papers on Wormholes, and several calls to his parents had them fishing up documentation from Alola concerning what wormhole research had been done there as well.
He even got on the phone with a prominent researcher in Alola and spent more time than expected to receive learning about what research had been done there (never mind that researchers in general tended to be a little neurotic, and describing what they had been doing for the past X number of years was practically force of habit by then). It turned out his lie was not so farfetch’d as anyone might have guessed. Alola’s plant life, Pokemon variations, and the like all could have been influenced by the Ultra Aura that persisted in the region in excess. Of course, no one had actually proved this to the scientists’ knowledge anyways, but it was an acceptable theory at least. A theory Luke was willing to run with now that it had some backing.
By Monday morning, Luke was as ready as he’d ever be. Walking through Caravella with a backpack full of research notes, computers, and something of a prototype of a prototype pulled from scraps, Luke did his best to be confident. Up the street, a turn right there and… Luke found himself stepping into the waiting room of the breeder facility. Chewing the inside of his mouth, he went to the front desk, explained why he was there, and then took a seat to wait. Nihilego swayed his hair a bit, but Luke barely registered it.
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AZOTH
PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Yumi
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Post by Marceline Labele on Nov 5, 2017 9:16:58 GMT -8
Her own business going fairly well since the phone call, Marcie had managed not only to reach the stage where she could comfortably look at blueprints fort he new facility, but even managed to decide on one fairly quickly. She had a few choices on location, but the design of a slick, modern looking building caught her eye almost immediately and she knew she'd be talking to the designer for future interior choices as the project went on. For now though they needed to establish the bare minimum details to begin construction, and she'd be sure to have a think of the location when she got home later. Apparently there was a nice little lake property that was going relatively cheep under the current market...
Of course not all of her business could be on the up and up that day. Dealing with some of her shadier clients, Marcie was making sure to keep them upbeat with some light banter between the talk of their actual deals, which itself was little more than some illegal pokemon trade, smuggling pokemon out of the safari zone and into the hands of criminals, or just selling them on to trainers who had more cash than actual skill. Apparently their operations had hit a bit of trouble, and Marcie was quietly reassuring them it likely wouldn't persist.
"Honestly, your little operation will be fine. We slide a few members of the safari staff a little 'motivation' and they turn the other cheek. I don't know what you're all worried about." "Well Marce, unlike your usual partners, people working so close with pokemon like that gonna have integrity. Ain't so easy to be convincin' them to take sum bribe." Marcie's lips curled up into a smile as she leaned back into her chair, narrowing her eyes. "Oh, trust me, they shouldn't be too difficult to convince...you just need to find the right leverage.~"
With the buzzer on her table going off, Marcie was half sure the rather air-headed girl she'd hired to be her secretary (she tended not to ask questions) had accidentally leaned on the button again, but as she spoke and mentioned Luke, Marcie was a tad surprised. She'd planned to meet today, sure, but in saying "my place" she'd meant her home more than her office. Ugh. Orion must have thought she meant here. A warning would have been nice.
"Sorry gentleman but we'll have to cut this short. Gardevoir?" The white pokemon standing by her desk bowed her head and opened her hands for the men to hold, teleporting them all out before returning alone moments after, hands behind her back as she stood strong and tall beside Marcie's desk, the greenette flashing her pokemon a smile before pressing the button that unlocked her office doors, letting them swing open on their own as her secretary likely gestured for Luke to go in with a rather bored expression.
"Luke!~ I take it you found the place fine? It's not exactly an easy building to miss..." She paused briefly and held up a finger. "It is Luke right, I do recognize you, its just...well I want to make sure given how different you were when we last met."
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Pokémon League
Professor of Botany
Any trainer that can't afford medicine can come to me. |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Jayspurr
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Post by Luke Indigo on Nov 5, 2017 10:50:59 GMT -8
As the doors swung open and the secretary gestured towards them, Luke stood up again giving a small nod and soft thanks before moving further in. His fingers twitched over so slightly, and he found himself curling a loose strand of hair behind his ears as he stepped inward. The warm welcome eased him some, and a small, almost silly smile did pull onto his features as Marceline spoke. “Yes, this is how I am normally,” he answered. Normally, yeah… normally aside from maybe his hair and just… you know… the fact he was embedded with an Ultra Beast and all. Nihilego was quiet but had learned to take this as a running joke now. Knowing Luke’s mind, his feelings, his everything in the week or so that they had shared together helped.
“Ah- thank you for seeing me,” he stated after a moment shifting the backpack on his shoulder some to set it down. “I have a lot of what I’ve already researched here.” As the bag touched the ground, the sheer weight of it would thud for a second causing him to pause momentarily. Such weight normally would have been beyond his scrawny arms, yet Nihilego had blessed him with some extra strength at least. “It’s a lot of work but I hope it to be worthwhile.”
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AZOTH
PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Yumi
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Post by Marceline Labele on Nov 5, 2017 11:01:18 GMT -8
Assured she was dealing with the right person, Marcie leaned lightly on one of her hands as she leaned across the desk, taking in Luke's "new" form and making sure she knew who she could potentially be working with in the future. As it stood, though he wouldn't know it yet, Luke was practically going to be the presentable face of her foundation along with herself, and while he wasn't exactly some beefcake scientist, he fit the bill for someone that was easily a friendly face.
...or maybe he was a beefcake. How heavy was that bag? She was tempted to round the table and try to lift it but from the look of it she was already fairly sure she didn't even need to try, shooting the professor a brief look of curiosity before attempting to clear some space on her desk for him. "You can er...feel free to take a seat. Sorry about the extra chairs, I had a meeting in here a short while ago and havn't had a chance to clean up." Making an effort to tidy up for their chat, Marcie wheeled the extra chairs to rest against the wall. Her office was fairly sizeable with a lot of free space, and a small windowed cabinet on the wall being the only obvious thing to catch the eye, though it was mostly just pictures of Marcie and presumed workers opening new ranches. She hadn't exactly won any awards afterall.
"Seems you certainly became prepared at least, can I be somewhat hopeful that I'll at least get the laymens versions of some of these? Sorry to say but I'm not exactly one of the brain boxes you might be used to working with." Sliding back into her own seat she tucked herself under the desk, elbows resting on the desk, chin resting on the back of her joined hands. "I'm certainly interested to see what you have of course, I'm just hoping I can understand.~"
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Pokémon League
Professor of Botany
Any trainer that can't afford medicine can come to me. |
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Jayspurr
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Post by Luke Indigo on Nov 5, 2017 13:32:42 GMT -8
Warmth did come very briefly to Luke’s features as Marceline looked form the bag to him. However, it was short lived as he found himself pulling one of the chairs back up to the desk. Briefly, his eye did flutter around the room taking in the few personal affects before recentering on Marceline again as she sat down. “I- yes… I will try and explain it pretty simply,” Luke assured, fishing through his bag to pull out a notebook. Flipping to a clean sheet of paper, he set it down on the table and pulled the pen from its spiral. “Feel free to stop me at any time point but the basic gist of it is…”
Popping the ball point on the pen, Luke began to draw out a funnel type picture. “Ultra-wormholes are thought to be tears in the boundaries between dimensions. The spaces between them are called Ultra Space and seem to be filled with a substance known as Ultra Aura— sort of similar to what we know of Aura here but not exactly.” He scribbled out a couple of words as he said them mostly for double reinforcement. “Along… with that are the creatures similar to Pokemon known as Ultra Beasts.”
There was a pause before he went on. “When wormholes are opened, they can dump a lot of residual Ultra Aura into an area, and the life in that area tends to change in some form or fashion. My interest— right now is to study what frequency we experience Ultra Aura in Veria and to maybe investigate if this has anything to do with its flora and fauna.” Another pause, but this time, he shifted to pull out what seemed to appear at first glance as a metal box. “In order to search for Ultra Aura, I want to make a detector here in Veria. It’s… unfortunately not possible to bring one in from Alola because of some stipulations after their own wormhole incidents but…” Luke took in a slower breath now. “I’d like to try and build a copy.”
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