Lucky for James, Eva’s dark circles around her eyes make it a ‘normal’ in these parts. The assistant finds her at her desk, reading through a stack of reports.

The sound of her name causes her to lazily flip the corner of the portfolio forward to peer past it towards her door. Emerald eyes glance up and down to gauge the new assistant’s situation. Eventually, her attention focuses on the Zorua in his arms.

She sets down the papers, brows furrowed, “Another one, huh?” her lips twitch into a half smile.

---

JAMES BAKER

"yep. it looks identical to the zorua from the other day."[break][break]

the other zorua being from one of the volunteers from slateport.[break][break]

"i was washing my hands when it happened so i didn't get a good look at the transformation process but kat didn't cry so i suppose it wasn't painful."[break][break]

he approaches her desk, cradling the zorua with one arm while the other scratches the back of his head.[break][break]

"kinda just...happened, i suppose."

[attr="class","ooc"]Eva Morales[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-manectric"]

Eva sets down the paper, giving her undivided attention to James. Her brows pinch curiously as he tells his story. Normally the distortions were quite violent, “Was this one not as violent as usual?” perhaps the intensity of the distortions is something she should look into as well. Eva tucked another mental note away.

Standing, she makes her way around the desk to inspect the Zorua. It looked like the one she came across in a distortion as well. There was also rumor of this having an evolution that resembled Zoroark.

“Well, fascinating, does it demonstrate the same ghost-like properties as the others?” the answer is probably yes, but she asks to be sure. This new ghost-normal pokemon was an interesting combination – very similar to the grass-electric form of the Electrode Matias allowed her to sample.

Eva walks past James, leading him back to the lab area rather than her office, “Do you think it will let me take some samples?”

---

JAMES BAKER

his head shakes.[break][break]

"i believe the fact that it happened inside the mall made it less violent. maybe it needs space to grow in intensity?"[break][break]

at her question about zorua's ghost-like properties, james nods, then reaches out to poke zorua in the cheek only for his finger to phase through.[break][break]

he follows after her to the lab area.[break][break]

"could i do it for you? it's just that she doesn't really like strangers. no offense, dr."

[attr="class","ooc"]Eva Morales[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-manectric"]

Hmmm,” Eva considers James’s theory for a moment in silence. It’s possible, then again they only had an n of one. Can’t rule it out though!

“Yeah, maybe it does. They all seem pretty consistent in size so far,” considering they physically changed space and time, she also doubted the confines of a brick wall would stop it from expanding.

Eva glances back at James as they reach an exam table, “Yeah! For sure! I was gonna have you do it anyway to practice,” the more samples they could collect the better! If James could reliably collect samples on his own, that was extra data they could add to the pile.

Reaching down below the table, Eva disappears for a moment. The sound of drawers being opened and closed along with the clatter of things being moved around predominates for a moment. Eventually, she stands, returning with a small tray and a variety of equipment. There’s small plates for hair samples, tubes for blood, and a needle and syringe to collect it.

“You’re up, James,” she smiles, pushing the equipment across the table to him.

---

JAMES BAKER

this is what james signed up for: to be able to work with the brilliant minds of Eva Morales and illeana reyes so he can learn straight from them.[break][break]

that, and also because he wants to contribute to the advancement of science in any way he can.[break][break]

eager and ready, he reaches for a pair of tweezers and easily plucks off a few hair samples before safely depositing them.[break][break]

"thanks again for giving me the chance to work here, doc."[break][break]

with hair samples done, he reaches for the needle and syringe, preparing to take blood samples.[break][break]

"is this what you've always wanted to do?"

[attr="class","ooc"]Eva Morales[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-manectric"]

The Hisuian Zorua is actually quite the good patient, to Eva’s surprise. It sits calmly while James readies his equipment to collect samples. Eva simple hovers, waiting ifshe is needed.

Once James is done plucking the hairs, she helps move the samples out of harm’s way . . . just in case. The hair is safely tucked over on the table behind her before she turns her attention back to James.

“Yeah, no problem!” she smiles, always happy to help those explore the field of science. The more the merrier!

“Uhh yeah, kinda, just wanted to be able to help people and pokemon,” she never dreamed being in the military would be a part of her ‘calling’ but that’s just the way it ended up. Once Rocket tried to dominate Kanto, she couldn’t stand by and just watch it happen, “I love what I do,” she gently hold the Zorua for James to collect his sample, “What are your goals, James?”

---

JAMES BAKER

james is more than familiar with eva's reputation and history. or at least what's accessible online. it's one of the few reasons why he decided to work here instead of at a private lab.[break][break]

"uh, short-term or long-term?"[break][break]

the fact that he has to ask should be indicative of the type of person he is. a planner, one who knows where he wants to be in a few years.[break][break]

"to love what i do and to contribute however i can, pretty much. until then, i'm just sorta doing my best to make money so my parents can relax."[break][break]

his zorua snarls at the sight of the needle, but after a few gentle strokes, it purrs, letting james continue with taking its blood sample.[break][break]

"i'd love to work here full-time once i'm done with my dissertation."

[attr="class","ooc"]Eva Morales[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-manectric"]

Eva thinks about it for a moment as she gently places her hands around the Zorua to keep it calm. Without prompting he explains both types of goals, which Eva can relate to. However, those are quite vague goals.

“What abot professionally? Any particular field of science you are interested in?” Biology, chemistry, oceanography, genetics, the list goes on and on. Being an assistant in their program, part of Eva’s job is to help him reach those goals.

The Zorua’s snarl snaps her attention back to the pokemon. The gentle grip grows a little more firm, protecting Jame from getting bit should the pokemon decide to lash out.

“There’s plenty of opportunity here,” Eva smiles, especially with the way things were going. These phenomena only bred more questions which led to more projects. The list grows and there’ only so much two Head Professors can do on their own, "What is the focus of your dissertation?" she's sure she read it on his resume but she's read a lot of papers since then.

---

JAMES BAKER

"biology and genetics, mostly!"[break][break]

his response ties into his next.[break][break]

"it's on regional variants. it looks into variations that currently exist — why they happen, the changes that stemmed from them, and so on — and it also theorizes what variations would happen if some things were different."[break][break]

his explanation leaves him enthused, almost passionate as he continues.[break][break]

"like, if a group of exeggutor were to live and breed in a cold region like sinnoh or galar, what changes could we expect?"[break][break]

it's only by the end that he even realizes a smile had formed.[break][break]

"it was a tie between that and mega evolutions so i flipped a coin."

[attr="class","ooc"]Eva Morales[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-manectric"]

“Ah!” Eva smiles, “You came to the right place then!” Biology and Genetics, with her and illeana reyes, they had most of that covered! “Sounds like you’re sprinkling some evolution and natural selection in there,” regional variants is always something that had fascinated her, but other project always took up time. As a veterinarian, she did understand the biological differences between the forms

“Speculating on other variants sounds very interesting, involves some serious creativity and deep understanding of the genetics and biology,” Eva pets the Zorua to comfort it, slipping a berry out from her pocket to let the pokemon take for being a good girl.

“If you ever want to spit ball ideas, don’t hesitate to ask,” It sounded like fun coming up with other variants.

---

JAMES BAKER

"i'll take you up on that offer! as soon as i finish up some sketches."[break][break]

they are by no means great sketches but they'll be used as references when he commissions an actual professional.[break][break]

with the blood samples done, he places them off to the side before bending down to boop his nose against zorua's, thanking her for a job well done.[break][break]

"okay!" he smiles, turning back to the professor. "what now?"

[attr="class","ooc"]Eva Morales[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-manectric"]

“I always say, more minds are better than one!” It’s true, she says that quite a lot. Eva values collaboration and strives to instill that in her peers and students, James included.

Now that the sample has been taken, Eva releases the Zorua, letting it move abouve freely on the table while it munches its berry, “Great work, James!”

She moves to snatches the sample tubes off the table. She rocks the blood tubes back and forth gently in her hand while she moves across the lab, “Now, we send them for analysis!” She opens a drawer with some small bags and labels, “We’ll keep some for our own testing. illeana reyes is doing some genetic studies on the pokemon. I’m focusing more on physiology,” Collaboration, it’s a beautiful thing. It saved her from having to do everything.

“My preliminary studies show this Zorua has ghost-type properties. It harnesses certain energies its ‘normal’ counterpart cannot. It loses its dark-typing in the process. An evolutionary advantage from where it comes from, maybe?” she smiles at James, “A forme variation, right up your alley, no?”

---

JAMES BAKER