If Elisabeth hadn't first seen the Tree of Life in Sootopolis, the sight of its smaller cousin here would have taken her breath away.

Instead, a strange sense of déjà vu accompanied her as she followed priam conrad through the illusion, as if getting a glimpse of the world as they knew it before the Dawn of the Darkest Day. "Very surprised," she admitted.

The encroaching Zorua and Zoroark sniffed at Elisabeth and seemed satisfied, or bored, with whatever they found in her. Probably the faint smell of lilies.

"Has there really been no interest in this? Even after everything in Sootopolis?" she wondered aloud, peering up through the branches of the tree.

One of her greatest regrets was not giving enough time to studying the Tree of Life, but it hadn't kept her from being curious. From finding out about this.

"When I found your report in our files, I was stunned that this was the first I'd heard of it."

She turned to Priam, her arms crossed as she lifted an eyebrow. "Is this place meant to be such a well-kept secret? Or are people just disinterested."

Social ✿ Exploring Mini-Tree of Life ✿ priam conrad

"Ah," she said, nodding at the insight. "That would explain it, then."

He had a point. Why focus on an inferior specimen, when you had the Tree of Life in all its magnificence and splendour?

Elisabeth frowned, mulling over the matter.

"I wonder how long that will last. The League not noticing, that is."

They had a lot occupying their mind, at least. Meteors, for one. Team Rocket itself having attacked one of their politicians, for another. Likely infighting, like any proper governmental structure was bound to have.

A smaller, less impressive Tree of Life was somewhere in the far back of their priority list.

"...This might be a tangent, but, indulge me." She looked over to Priam again, a question in her eyes. "Your report mentioned Blue Mulch. I've read some on the topic, but to speak honestly, the phenomena is not something I am all that familiar with."

Her arms uncrossed, instead clasping behind her as she tilted her head.

"What is the relationship of it to the Tree, exactly?"

Social ✿ Exploring Mini-Tree of Life ✿ priam conrad

"I have to say, you're extremely knowledgeable about all this," Elisabeth said, something appreciative in the way she smiled. She'd skimmed his primal energy research with Eva Morales, but the finer points eluded her. As much as Elisabeth had a keen interest in science, her personal experience was firmly rooted in botany.

"Primal energy... that was discovered by the late Bailey Cooper, yes? Who then succumbed to primal energy intoxication. You'd know the details better than me, at least. Your scientific reach is impressive."

She paused here, thinking, before asking suddenly, "Given that, do you think their plans for METENO will work?"

Elisabeth felt like she'd come into so many things flat-footed ever since her ascent to admin; the woman hadn't been in Hoenn, really, even an entire year yet. Already there had been so many fantastical events that she'd had to adjust to, everything from a world-ending meteor to the attack of Necrozma on Sootopolis.

The history she'd stepped into felt vast, but learning about it in this way felt easier than poring alone over archives. It breathed life into stories.

She still had so many questions, one firing after another in her mind, but she tried to prioritize as she turned to priam conrad, noticing the furrow in his brow as she did so.

"Oh? Has Blue Mulch ever been attempted on reviving things besides dead Pokémon?"

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It relieved her, that priam conrad had such faith in the League's ability to curb METENO. Privately, Elisabeth hoped that Rocket had some contingency plan in place to assure it would be stopped -- a hope that would in the near future be publicly dashed by declan walsh, and dismissed as unnecessary -- but to know that the best minds of the League held confidence in its success reassured her.

Her words to dahlia goode hadn't been idle, when she'd said she wanted her plans to succeed.

"Morality is a luxury when the apocalypse is nigh," Elisabeth said in mild distaste for Eva Morales's stance, but moved on quickly from that subject.

Who was she to begrudge a scientist her opinion, given that this woman's research had done more to save the region than Elisabeth herself ever would?

And Elisabeth was interested in what Priam had to say, as it happened. She would add that article to the countless list of things she had planned to read in her submarine office, several passages highlighted regarding the Blue Mulch specifically.

"Is the Pokémon different now that it's been revived?" she asked. A pause fell, before she ventured, "And the humans, did they act differently, too?"

What must it be like, to come back to life again? Would it just resume as normal?

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Elisabeth too found herself thinking of Lugia -- how Cillian Quinn had mentioned the Absorber had restored the creature's mind from its previous state.

"...Hm. Illumina Pokémon have an unusual amount of infinity energy, don't they?" she thought aloud suddenly. "I wonder. Are we to believe they are diametrically opposed to Shadow Pokémon? That perhaps the aggressive tendencies of them are due to some lower imbalance in infinity energy, while the Illumina have an overabundance?"

It was wild conjecture, really. She knew too little of Shadow Pokemon to venture such a guess. But it would explain why the infusion of infinity energy restored their behavior to something else.

"I apologize for flinging out theories," Elisabeth said, somewhat embarrassed as a hand reached absently for the nape of her neck. "I think I've been trying to sort out infinity energy in general these days. Most of my time on the submarine lately is spend tending to the crystabloom labs, propagating new specimens."

She turned once more to the tree that had drawn them both here in the first place. Thinking. Wondering.

"Do you think this tree here could grow into a proper Tree of Life?" Would they want it to? Would she be able to help, if so?

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"Oh. That's true," Elisabeth mused, tapping her chin absently with a finger. "Sometimes plants just... don't grow to expectation." She'd experienced it enough times in her own gardens to know that fact well enough.

Negativity didn't dissuade Elisabeth, however. Cynic that she was, she generally expected disappointments in life. Which made priam conrad's shift towards positives somewhat surprising, and admittedly, welcome.

"You know, that is a good point, actually. What is it about Sootopolis that made the Tree of Life grow as it did?" Her own voice became animated as a few thoughts clicked together, like puzzle pieces snapping into place. "For example... based on our work with soil samples, we theorize the crystablooms are tied to the distortions in some manner. Some manifestation of infinity energy."

She glanced about herself, studying the environs for a moment as if trying to ascertain something missing.

"Honestly, I don't know much about the Cave of Origin at all, save that it's where our submarine lingers more often than not."

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She shook her head, golden curls bouncing with the movement, as she acknowledged her own ignorance on the subject. Hoenn's myths and legends were not something she had studied at great length in her life; legendaries in general were not a topic that had captured her interest, at least not in the way they had for others in the region.

Well, with a few exceptions. Though she had Lulu Flint to blame for those dark, self-interested thoughts.

"I like stories," Elisabeth insisted when he apologized, reassuring and sincere. "Sometimes I think there's more truth in them than we realize. Even if only in the things they reveal about those who tell them."

She wrapped her arms about herself, an unexpected breeze sending a shiver through her as she peered up at the canopy again. Like the Tree of Life that it resembled, so much of the world seemed beyond her understanding. Their understanding.

Whether it be flora, fauna, or legendary Pokémon capable of bringing about the horrors of the Darkest Day.

"Thank you for bringing me here, and for humoring me. I don't know that I'm very good company, but," she paused for a moment, turning to priam conrad to finish, "if you ever need assistance here, I'd be glad to offer mine. In whatever capacity you need."

Social ✿ Exploring Mini-Tree of Life ✿ priam conrad