It wouldn't be long before the lab doors swished open, revealing a strange, bipedal, human-sized dinosaur whose unblinking, googly eyes stared into the void. No wait, that was just a young woman wearing a costume. "Is this the right place? I'm Andrea and I--"

Before that sentence could be finished, a loud creature barged into the lab, although the term 'mistake' would be more appropriate: Sporting the head of a fish and the tail of a sauropod, stitched together in a way that was wrong on so many levels, this abominable creature looked like it experienced constant pain just being alive, its unintelligible throes telling the full story of its miserable existence.

"Ooeedablublublublublublub!"

"T-this is Fishie, my Dracovish! Down, boy!" Andrea tried to restrain her Pokémon and prevent an accident, as it wobbled its oversized head erratically, getting dangerously close to knocking some vials of chemicals off the shelves. While undertaking that Herculean task, the dragon-costumed girl saw fit to engage in small talk of all things. "So, are you the one I spoke to on the phone?"

Fayne Abernathy

☉

The lab had a receptionist in the foyer, a petite woman who stared in shock and wonder when a human-sized creature entered through the front doors and asked if she was in the right place. It took the poor secretary a long moment to realize that the thing standing before her wasn't a monster at all but a trainer in a dinosaur costume. However, she was given little time to collect her thoughts as an even larger beast crashed through the entrance.

[break][break]"Ah!" the receptionist gasped as she stared in awe at the bizarre duo.

[break][break]Before she could get out another word, a white-coated woman rounded the corner — just in time to hear Andrea introduce her Dracovish as "Fishie." Cute. When asked who spoke to her on the phone, the red-headed researcher stepped forward. "That would be me. Fayne Abernathy," she said, "And I think I heard you say you were Andrea Vaneau..?" So far so good, but the pleasantries were making her impatient. She really just wanted to pull Fishie into the back to begin the experiments.

[break][break]In an attempt to move things along, she shifted her weight and motioned for the duo to follow her as they spoke. The laboratory was a large sterile room through a set of glass doors. Though the biologists who worked in this building did handle volatile chemicals and samples, they never studied contagions or other dangerous bacterium; as such, the lab didn't have a decontamination chamber or hazmat suit requirement. "Right through here," Fayne instructed as they got closer.

[break][break]

+ Andrea Vaneau in Life, Uh, Finds A Way

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Andrea's Dracovish having a seizure nearly ruined that receptionist's day, but thankfully the eccentric trainer was able to calm it down before it could wreck the place. Just in time for the one actually running the show to introduce herself. "Nice to see you up close, Ms. Abernathy!" The dragon-costumed girl waved, before following the tanned scientist with her revived fossil in tow.

As they walked, Fishie's oversized noggin wobbled to and fro, their tiny neck barely able to support its weight. Andrea's vision suddenly went black, as her Dracovish accidentally locked its large jaws around her head. The girl let out muffled sounds as she tried to dislodge them. By the time Dr. Abernathy turned around, she would see what appeared to be a human with the head of a prehistoric fish!

Fayne Abernathy

☉

Fayne's eyes widened in horror at the sight of a Dracovish's head resting atop of a human body, a human body that was dressed like a dinosaur. It was a startling sight to behold, but it only took her a matter of seconds to figure out what exactly she was looking at: Fishie had Andrea's head in its mouth. "Fascinating" the red-headed researcher mused while taking a step closer to get a better look.

[break][break]If it had wanted to seriously injure its trainer, it would have been able to. A whip of the head or even some applied pressure to its jaws would have been enough to silence the young lady forever. But it didn't. It simply stood there, drooling and staring at the walls with its goofy, dumbfounded gaze. Was this its way of showing affection — a futile attempt at a hug or kiss?

[break][break]Fayne made a mental note of the moment before stepping even closer to finally help her guest escape from the Pokemon's maw. "Easy there, big boy," she murmured as she approached, hands up and palms turned outward, hoping with all her might that the Dracovish wouldn't become startled and bite down on accident. "Let her go nice and easy. Nice and easy."

[break][break]

+ Andrea Vaneau in Life, Uh, Finds A Way

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

The engulfed trainer let out a muffled reply that wasn't the least bit comprehensible. Thankfully, she didn't panic or make Fayne's job harder. There was an unspoken trust between her and her Pokémon, reassuring her that Fishie wouldn't bite her head off.

The Dracovish was very cooperative with the good doctor's attempts to free the young woman from their jaws. They too felt uncomfortable in that position. At last, Andrea was freed, gasping for air. Her face was coated in prehistoric saliva, but otherwise she looked unscathed. "Thanks, Ms. Abernathy! Now let's do some science!"

Fishie cried happily, jumping in place and waving their tiny fins. They seemed very excited at the prospect of science. Little did the Dracovish know that they would be the ones getting scienced today.

Fayne Abernathy

☉

The Dracovish released its trainer, clumsy and awkward in its movements but intent on freeing the young woman without harm all the same. For such a giant, lumbering beast, it had some fine motor skills which the researcher had not expected from the subject. Had the skills come from age and experience, just as a human child would learn how to zip a zipper or button a jacket as they grew? Would a newborn Dracovish be as vicious as a freshly hatched scorpion Skorupi due to it being unaware of its own strength?

[break][break]Fayne wanted to ask Andrea how long she had the Dracovish and how old she suspected it was, but she was promptly distracted by the cosplayer's odd behavior. No, not "odd," exactly. "Telling," perhaps. The woman was seemingly unfazed by her near-death experience, lending credence to Fayne's hypothesis that the chomp was commonplace in their household, likely acting as a substitute for standard physical affection. Instead of a hug or kiss, it would hold the poor girl's head in its mouth.

[break][break]Bizarre. And yet, truly fascinating.

[break][break]"Yes, yes. Science," the red-head echoed, her energy only matching a tiny percentage of Andrea's own excitement. She turned away from the duo and got to work propping open the double glass doors leading into the lab. The hope was that by opening both, she'd lower the risk of Dracovish crashing through them and forcing the company to purchase new doors. A part of her suspected the outcome would be the same regardless.

[break][break]"This way. Right through here," Fayne said while motioning for Andrea and Fishie to step through. The lab itself was massive, making up the majority of the first floor. It contained multiple countertops which housed tall shelves full of various chemicals, syringes, and gloves. Microscopes, computers, and empty test tubes laid scattered across the desks, ready for use at any given time. Even the walls were clustered with machinery, glass cases, and fragile equipment.

[break][break]At the far right end of the room was a thick glass wall, reinforced with steel and titanium. It made up roughly a fourth of the entire lab, and it was where Fayne hoped to secure the Dracovish while she conducted her experiments. The problem was getting it across the entire room without it destroying everything in the process. After a long moment of consideration, she turned back to Andrea. "You should put Fishie in their pokeball," she instructed, though she had a sneaking suspicion that Andrea either did not have or did not bring a pokeball for the Dracovish.

[break][break]

+ Andrea Vaneau in Life, Uh, Finds A Way

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Gee, that lab sure was filled with lots of breakable things. The good doctor cleverly suggested that Andrea put Fishie into the safety of its little ball. She'd have to do it quickly too, since the Dracovish's oversized head was already tilting left and right, getting dangerously close to hitting some of the fragile equipment.

As it turned out, such a task was easier said than done. With its clumsy, unpredictable movements, the piscine monstrosity dodged the succulent light of the Pokéball multiple times. "C'mon, Fishie, get in the ball! You have to get in! In! In!" The trainer of dragons repeated, growing increasingly despondent. Her prehistoric partner just couldn't stay still.

After like the twentieth attempt, Fishie finally got into the ball. Andrea brought the ball into the specially made glass chamber, where her Dracovish was freed again. The carelessly recreated fossil immediately resumed its shenanigans, but this time its chaotic, accident-prone energy was confined within a small space.

"Will Fishie be alright? What if they're claustrophobic?" The girl worriedly asked, fretting over what would happen if the testing phase took too long to complete. Her Pokémon wasn't exactly the paragon of patience.

Fayne Abernathy

☉

Fayne breathed a sigh of relief when Andrea agreed to recall Fishie and promptly retrieved a ball from her bag. Unfortunately, the blue beast seemed to think they were playing a game — either that or Andrea was a poor shot. Even as Fishie wobbled to and fro, they were massive and it shouldn't have difficult to capture them inside a pokeball if they behaved and stood still, but the Dracovish weaved out of the way each time their trainer tried to call them back. Andrea even plead with them to behave, but still they swerved, getting dangerously close to knocking over a stack of beakers in the process.

[break][break]After the better part of ten minutes, Andrea succeeded in recapturing her Pokemon. Or perhaps it would have been more accurate to say that Fishie allowed themselves to be recaptured. Fayne exhaled sharply and straightened her pristine lab coat as a way to remind herself to maintain professional despite the panic she'd felt in the face of the prehistoric mutant's clumsiness and destructive potential.

[break][break]"Okay. Very good," she grumbled before turning away from the young cosplayer and leading the way to the far end of the lab. "You can put the pokeball here," the red-headed researcher instructed while pointing at a control panel with a semi-circle divot on its surface. The moment Andrea did, Fayne pressed a few buttons on the counter and the contents of the pokeball were released into the room on the opposite side of the glass wall.

[break][break]As Fishie appeared within the chamber, Andrea began to voice some concerns. She wondered if her partner would be alright and even speculated that the Dracovish may have been claustrophobic. "They'll be fine," Fayne reassured while eying a couple monitors set up atop the control panel. Space shouldn't have been a problem; the blue beast fit well in the 20x20 ft room and had plenty space to roam.

[break][break]Stimulation, on the other hand, could have proved to be a problem. Given the fact that the chamber was made up of nothing more than three white walls, a white ceiling, a white floor, and a single glass wall separating the subject from the researchers, it wouldn't have been far-fetched for Fishie to get a little stir-crazy. Fayne didn't consider this fact, however. She was here for knowledge, not to play games.

[break][break]"Have you had Fishie a long time?" the researcher asked as she continued typing away on the keyboard, hardly looking up from her work to meet Andrea's gaze or to check on her patient's temperament.

[break][break]

+ Andrea Vaneau in Life, Uh, Finds A Way

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

"I haven't had them for that long. I actually won Fishie in a lottery." Andrea casually responded to the researcher's question, while the latter ran her calculations. One had to wonder what kind of lottery would give out a priceless Pokémon from ancient history as a prize. Maybe this particular specimen was supposed to be defective?

It didn't take long for Fishie to realize that they were trapped within a limited space with no visible escape route. Quickly growing bored, the Dracovish pressed their big, goofy face against the glass, clenching and unclenching their large jaws as if attempting to chew their way out, only to slobber all over the see-through surface.

"Don't worry, Fishie. You'll be out soon enough." The young PokéManiac reassured them, otherwise waiting for the good doctor to finish their testing.

Fayne Abernathy

☉

Andrea explained that she hadn't owned Fishie very long and that she actually received the forsaken beast through a lottery. Fayne paused only a moment to look up and study her guest's face for any indication of sarcasm or humor. Surely the girl was joking. But that didn't appear to be the case. She was telling the truth — at least as far as the researcher could tell.

[break][break]With a skeptical cock of the eyebrow, Fayne looked back at the monitors, though her mind continued to wonder what sort of business would give away such unpredictable Pokemon. The local museum, perhaps? The folks over there were frequently giving away ancient species as a way to bolster interest in their fossil and history department. It was a reckless practice, but Fayne bit her tongue. It wasn't her place to speak negatively about one of her lab's largest sponsors.

[break][break]A loud thud from the nearby glass caught the red-head off guard and caused her to snap her head in the direction of the sound. The Dracovish had pressed it face against the pane and was desperately trying to gnaw its way through. It was strange behavior but not exactly hostile. Maybe it was bored?

[break][break]"Try biting this," Fayne murmured as she typed a few commands into the keyboard. Moments later, a panel in the wall of the containment chamber opened up and revealed a mechanical arm. It unfolded away from itself and ultimately settled in a horizontal position, with a cushioned segment of the rod being held out for the Dracovish to bite down on.

[break][break]Save for the muted whir of motors hidden in the walls, the entire process was quiet, an intentional design aspect to prevent startling more anxious test subjects. But would Fishie even notice what was happening only a few feet away? And if it did, would it even care to interact with the bite rod? Fayne began to wonder if she ought to activate the odor sensors to make the bar smell like fresh meat or ripe berries, but she remained patient and continued to observe in silence.

[break][break]

+ Andrea Vaneau in Life, Uh, Finds A Way

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

A mechanical arm was extended towards the bored Dracovish, holding a bored Dracovish-distracting apparatus. Fishie tilted their big head curiously, before opening their massive maw and grabbing the entire robotic arm - bite rod included - tearing it off the wall and wildly shaking it like a dog playing with a chew toy, except the toy was a priceless piece of technology.

"So, uuuh... What kind of tests are you running on them?" Andrea asked, trying to steer the conversation away from the destruction her own Pokémon was causing inside the containment chamber.

Fayne Abernathy

☉

No sooner had Fayne summoned the bite test rod did the Dracovish chomp down and tear it free from the wall, taking not just the padded section with it but the entire robotic arm. The young researcher was reasonably aghast at the sight. With eyes wide and mouth open in shock, she watched in horror as the prehistoric beast whipped its new toy around the room, seemingly unaware of the damage it had caused in the process.

[break][break]A flashing red light on the monitor caught Fayne's attention and she quickly came to her sense. Without a word, she turned back to the computer screens and typed away. The panels of the chamber wall which previously separated to reveal the first test shifted quietly back into place, hiding the exposed wires and bent machinery that were a direct result of Fishie's antics.

[break][break]Despite the damages, the sensors had managed to record the beast's jaw strength up until the very moment its connection was forcefully severed. It was in the tens of thousands, meaning that Fishie was not only capable of breaking rocks and bones with nothing more than a bite, but it also had the potential of chewing straight through steel. And yet, it had proven itself capable of controlling that strength early on, when it "kissed" Andrea. This was a fascinating discovery!

[break][break]When Andrea tried to ask what sort of tests the lab would be conducting, Fayne swatted the air dismissively, not caring how rude or antisocial she was being. She was too engrossed with her findings to worry about being a good host. Once again, she typed something into the keyboard and watched as a rectangular panel opened up inside the chamber, revealing three large buttons. One was blue, one was green, and one was red. After a long moment, the green button lit up and a flute noise played, hopefully drawing Fishie's attention to the new test.

[break][break]

+ Andrea Vaneau in Life, Uh, Finds A Way

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

The next test apparently involved pressing buttons on a console. Was Fayne trying to teach Fishie how to be an epic gamer? The Dracovish spat out the mechanical arm, since they were done playing with it. Their attention drawn to the glowing button that played a pleasant jingle, the prehistoric mistake wobbled towards it. "Will this work? Fishie doesn't even have hands." Andrea pointed out.

However, hands were not necessary. The Dracovish leaned down, seemingly trying to headbutt the button, only to lock its giant jaws around it, biting it. Naturally, that wasn't the correct way to operate it, so they just wound up drooling all over the button without pushing it.

Fayne Abernathy

☉