Would you blame Erebus, if it told you that it wasn't the fondest of labs? Of being studied?

It took a lot of coaxing from Makoto for it to agree to entering the lab - to being put under Kepler's figurative microscope. But even once it's inside, the alien stares at whatever living being comes closest to it, an unnerving yet expressionless glare. It was on guard.

And Makoto couldn't help a similar sort of unease, in the fact that the Deoxys had made them fully aware of the unease it felt. They weren't sure what had happened, but it seemed as though at least one of the few times it had been studied in the past had... mixed results, to put it kindly.

As Kepler spoke though, both pairs of eyes would settle upon him - and it took a second for Makoto to respond, their expression flickering with a hint of distaste at the comparison made. Couldn't he have chosen something different, considering they kept a couple of Persians back home? Not that they'd voice those internal thoughts, of course.

Instead though, they'd simply respond "Amor was an intelligent scientist, and I was..." They paused to consider what term to use, as 'Protege' still felt like a strange term for them. They were nowhere near as scientifically inclined as Tempest or Howard might be. "... I was one of the few people who worked closely with him, as part of Nebula."

"Even if him leaving was a surprise to us just as much as anyone else, I... Understand why Erebus went to him, then to me."

Erebus' soul was not set in stone, just like their own, Howard had said. The two of them still had many choices in the paths ahead of them, according to the others. They still wondered how true it was - but they weren't going to brush aside those words quite yet, either.

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Where Erebus goes next is a good question, honestly. Are they the last person Erebus will go to? Or is there someone else who will inevitably have the alien passed on to them?

... They almost hope that Erebus won't have to find a new trainer. Not out of any selfishness of keeping it to themself, so much as they have no way of knowing whether someone else in Rocket will have its wellbeing in mind.

But why Erebus, presumably as a name? Makoto blinks for a second - glancing to the Deoxys for a second and thinking back to a prior 'conversation' they held with the alien. "You'd probably have to ask Amor that." They mentioned, adding "He was the one who started calling it Erebus, and... It just sort of stuck since."

Certainly, they could've gone back to calling it just Deoxys - but that didn't feel right. And that aside... "... I... figured I might as well roll with it. From what I understand, it isn't like there's only one, anyhow."

If they started having two Deoxi running around Rocket, at least people would know which one they're talking about when they say Erebus; and it'd have half the mouthful of something like Meteno-Deoxys...

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Use. Like it was a tool. Makoto couldn't help but find a vague bitterness flutter at the back of their mind - even if they, themself, were guilty of having only looked to pokemon for their utility before.

As far as replicating Deoxys' quirks went, they weren't the scientist - and so they couldn't really comment on that. But to use Erebus directly for these purposes... "... I don't think there's a way to use Erebus for space travel, at least right now..." While they're aware of the symbiotic relationship that it once had with Killian, it seemed as though it wasn't exactly interested in doing the same for others.

Probably because Erebus did it as a survival tactic, that it no longer needed to rely upon.

But, that being said... Briefly, their gaze met Erebus', a silent and wordless conversation passing between the two. "... But studying it is an option, as far as it's willing." There were clearly certain things that Erebus wouldn't wholly appreciate; but there was only so much that Makoto could do to ensure the cooperation of a powerful psychic-type such as itself.

It had its boundaries, and Makoto wasn't going to question them. They supposed that their only hope, was that Kepler - or one of the other scientists - would be able to figure something out from studying it.

kepler brueshaber