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LITTLE CRISES HELP YOU RELISH THE CALM

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Whatever response Henry intends to give to Zev's next inquiry is interrupted by a squabble near the edge of the clearing. A graceful Swanna alights on the ground, its long neck enabling it to extend its beak down into the plastic receptacle containing the remains of the Magnemite, sending them clattering around.
[break][break]
With a significant glance to the other man, Henry withdraws a pokeball - not from his belt, but from a small satchel nearby. He tosses it toward the Swanna, releasing a Grimer bubbling violently with viscid violet tar. The Swanna, distracted by attempting to extract its prize from the receptacle, makes no move to retreat as the Grimer lurches toward the bird, while Eckart swiftly lopes backward, almost into the surrounding trees, with unusual motivation for him.
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Curiously, it seems that the Grimer cannot form the sound of its own name as so many pokémon do, instead letting out a wet-sounding, gurgling groan before clipping the Swanna's exposed wing with one stubby limb. Almost immediately, the poison-type hisses wildly, its body surging outward before popping like a soap bubble. The violet coloration surges brighter to a toxic green, and what remains of its eyeballs float grimly atop the pool of gunk that remains before even they dissolve, the entire assemblage evaporating to nothingness in mere moments.
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The Swanna is certainly faring no better. Veins of the same bright-green hue spread along its plumage from where the Grimer touched, and its inquisitive would-be thievery turns to abject panic as it flaps to get away. The meandering green stripes across its body erode both feather and flesh where they touch, however, and in a series of truly grisly moments, the avian suffers precisely the same fate as the Grimer, leaving no trace whatsoever that it was even present in the first place.
[break][break]
Folding his hands behind his back, Henry turns to Zev with a placid expression. "Questions?"

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Tagged: Zev Harcourt
Notes: SKIPPING BOTH

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LITTLE CRISES HELP YOU RELISH THE CALM

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The Lilycove Museum is, on a typical day, gently abuzz with the quiet susurration of visitors of every age and calling quietly observing the sculptures and artwork displayed within. Today is no different, though some small amount of academic excitement has been generated with the advent of a lecture hall adjacent to one of the galleries having swung its doors open. A small sign has been displayed next to the entryway, reading:
[break][break]

[break][break]
Driscoll himself has long since taken his place at the front of the hall, seated at a small desk next to the lectern and carefully organizing a sheaf of notes with well-practiced motions. A large projection screen has been drawn down for the purpose of the lecture, and although the room is relatively spacious, it is only sparsely populated: a few interested, mature couples congregate in the back, while bespectacled and eager students dot the front rows, rummaging through their bags for notebooks and pencils.
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"Hmm," Henry muses lowly, lifting one hand to check his watch clinically. "Two more minutes and we'll begin," he announces quietly to the room, glancing up to survey those present. "As a reminder, per museum policy, photographs and video recording are strictly prohibited, but please feel free to take notes, should you wish."

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Tagged: Aurelie Lefevre
Notes: POKEMON PEDAGOGY

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LITTLE CRISES HELP YOU RELISH THE CALM

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Suppressing an internal sigh, Henry regards the Gengar's efficient dispatching of the errant Grapploct with a dispassionately neutral expression. At Zev's next question, however, he lifts his eyebrows in disbelief, unable to stop himself from loosing an offended scoff.
[break][break]
"A -grenade-?" he echoes incredulously. "Certainly if your aim is ham-fisted destruction or alerting your mark - even for the briefest of moments - that something has arrived in their vicinity which is -never not used as a means of wholesale harm- - you may consider a grenade."
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Peeling off his gloves, he runs a hand through his hair irritably, glancing upward - a Vivillon flutters past overhead, though it does not look to engage with the pair currently embroiled in their study below, and so he sees no reason to divert it from its course.
[break][break]
"Do you understand the physiology of these inorganic species, these pokémon that shouldn't exist, but do?" He gestures to the storage container where the remains of the Magnemite have been deposited. "A metal shell, magnets, a screw, electrical conductivity. This thing ought by rights be nothing more than a robot, but in lieu of optical sensors, it has an -eye-. Instead of electrical wiring, it has -a nervous system-." The scientist gesticulates wildly, uttering a disbelieving laugh.
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"A -grenade-! My method links the actuator directly to the subject's nervous system, the device powered by the same electrical impulses that enable the specimen to move and act independently as it stands. Eckart," Henry snaps, turning his head to glance at the Toxtricity. "How many?"
[break][break]
The violet pokémon flashes a few numbers with his webbed fingers, and Henry nods in satisfaction, returning his attention to Zev. "This is trial number one hundred and seven, and thus far the success rate is one hundred percent. -One hundred-," he stresses, baring his teeth at the other man. "Blending a caustic agent into the actuator will ensure that any remaining detritus will be lost in the explosion wholly, and within six months' time, you'll be able to assign a target via photograph and allow the Magnemite to do all the work for you, sans incentive."
[break][break]
He takes a deep breath, smoothing his hair and composing himself, straightening his shoulders and smiling coolly. "Still, you can see the progress that has been made. A grenade, honestly."

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Tagged: Zev Harcourt
Notes: SKIPPING BOTH

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LITTLE CRISES HELP YOU RELISH THE CALM

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Henry lifts the goggles from his eyes, bringing them to rest on his forehead, and waves his hand dismissively at the other man's question. "This is a short range transmitter," he drawls, lifting a hand to display the device to Zev as though peering at it any more thoroughly is going to display each of its mechanical properties. "A larger piece of equipment will allow for a stronger signal, thus reducing the delay between activation and reception, so the timing is of no consequence when paired with something to transport a transmitter of sufficient size - a van or the like, perhaps."
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He strolls over to the cube and waves the lingering cloud of black smoke away irritably, reaching inside and rummaging about impatiently. "To the point of someone with instinct, I shouldn't think anyone sufficiently paranoid against such an outcome would allow themselves to come into such close proximity with an already potentially volatile pokémon in the first place."
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With some triumph, he withdraws his prize, the satisfaction on his features quickly dropping into a scowl: he holds one end of a U-shaped magnet attached to half of a spherical, charred metal orb that's been blown apart. "Disappointing," he pronounces, tossing the detritus to Eckart, who deposits it into a nearby plastic container. "The intent will be to leave no residual evidence in its wake. In practice, I should estimate perhaps two yards to be a guaranteed fatal incident, once I've completed adjustments on the actuator itself."
[break][break]
He pauses, a rustling noise from outside the clearing drawing his attention sharply. Gesturing to Bram, he takes a few steps back into the darkness. The Ferrothorn launches itself forward on mace-ended vines with an IRON HEAD, slamming its heavy body into a dark shape that falls to the ground with a screech - a Ninjask.
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Musing, Henry at length withdraws an empty pokéball and tosses it at the fallen insect, capturing it in a spray of crimson light. Turning his head, he addresses Zev: "Perhaps not valuable for particularly high-strung marks, but in situations such as those, I imagine you have contingencies. Still, for what is perhaps the bulk of your work, similar concepts should prove sufficiently innocuous to accomplish the deed, and with refinement nothing will be left to determine the cause of the...accident."

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Tagged: Zev Harcourt
Notes: CATCHING NINJASK

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LITTLE CRISES HELP YOU RELISH THE CALM

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Henry nods in assent, a wry curve at the corner of his mouth betraying his good humor at the situation. Certainly if anyone can understand preferring to investigate something oneself rather than delegating it to minions, he can.
[break][break]
"Ah, no," Henry confesses in response to Tianyu's next inquiry - never an answer he likes to give when it comes to knowledge of any particular sort. "Only in passing, I fear - my experience tends to involve compounds that are significantly less pronounceable," he chuckles wryly. The hypothesis has his brow furrowing in consternation, however.
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"Truly? They appear to be as closely related to a gemstone as I've ever been able to determine. Yet you suppose they maintain some type of phytological properties as well? How absolutely confounding," he quips cheerily, though his eyes are hooded, calculating - curiouser and curiouser, as it were.
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He practically shakes himself free from his focus on the mystery of the crystalline blooms, breaking into another rueful grin at Tianyu's query. "I must confess I'm something of a freelancer at the moment - the project may change from week to week, but I should say I have a compelling motivation to remain in the region for a few years, I should think." He slides his glasses up the bridge of his nose, casting the other man a glance filled with dark humor. "One never knows what the future may bring, and all that nonsense."

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Tagged: Húxiān Tianyu
Notes: CRYSTALS IN BLOOM

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LITTLE CRISES HELP YOU RELISH THE CALM

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Eckart's arrival sends Henry slightly off-balance, though he recovers quickly, shaking his head clear of its fog as best as he can and taking in his surroundings with some slight trepidation. Unknown variables always served to unsettle him, and it seems this particular endeavor will feature more of them rather than less.
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As he weighs the merits of which direction to proceed in, he finally settles on a soft, unbroken stretch of snow stretching to the west. A slow, tromping pace characterizes his initial progress in this direction, but he is stopped by a webbed hand tugging at the edge of his heavy coat. Eckart, unusually serious for once, regards Henry with hooded eyes before gesturing with his head toward the east.
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"What?" he inquires, baffled. "No, that's got to be the way we arrived from, look at the pattern of snowfall. There wouldn't for a moment be something as obvious as old footprints guiding us to the checkpoint. Use your brain, would you?"
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He scoffs, pulling free of Eckart's grip and continuing westward, though after a few more steps he slows, frowning bitterly from one particular thought as much as the biting cold beginning to creep in at the edge of his perception. He -had- been directly struck with a Confuse Ray, and if nothing else the phenomenon was noted for its infallible ability to impair judgement. Was he truly turned around?
[break][break]
Then again, Eckart hadn't been subject to the same attack...
[break][break]
Huffing a sigh, Henry turns about with some effort, kicking up loose snow with his boots as he stomps toward the Toxtricity, whose neutral expression slowly slips into a smug grin as his trainer walks past. Satisfied, he falls into step behind Henry, ambling along eastward to - it would seem - nowhere in particular.
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"Not a -word-, you self-satisfied little shit."
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Eckart merely grins wider, thumping Henry on the shoulder affectionately.
[break][break][break][break]

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Tagged: Georgette Bluebottle
Notes: ENDURANCE BADGE

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LITTLE CRISES HELP YOU RELISH THE CALM

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"I am further away from home than I might prefer, yes," Henry confesses, Emile bobbing ahead of him and casting flickering violet illumination across the tunnel walls as they narrow in along this portion of the passage. "Still, when there is work to be done, one must seek it out, don't you think?"
[break][break]
He winces in commiseration as Gigi alludes to her own housing troubles upon arriving to Hoenn. "No, I don't believe I'm in the market for another residence. Rustboro is rather far removed from my current project, but if I were to relocate, I imagine I'd be in the same predicament within a few weeks. Best to deal with the known inconvenience than the unknown, I should think."
[break][break]
He spies the distinct outline of a Klinklang glinting in the distance along the tunnel, and for one surreal moment wonders whether Reynard has broken loose of his confinement. A quick tactile survey of the pokeballs at his belt with his fingertips confirms that none are, in fact, missing, and his shoulders relax.
[break][break]
He pauses in his progress as Alouette engages the Bisharp, the corners of his mouth pulling into a slight frown. Were ghost-type pokémon able to truly feel fatigue? Certainly they didn't have the normal physiological systems that typically dictated such. Perhaps...no. Exploring that particular phenomenon could wait until he was in significantly less sensitive company.
[break][break]
Aloud, he queries: "Do you need to rest? This has been a fairly lengthy jaunt, thus far."

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Tagged: Georgette Bluebottle
Notes: SKIPPING BOTH

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LITTLE CRISES HELP YOU RELISH THE CALM

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"Careful - it must not fall, do you understand? Do it correctly the first time, Bram, or I shall be...irritated." Henry muses without looking up from his work. Secluded in a remote section of overgrowth near Route 110, the man has commandeered a small clearing for this particular excursion. On the other side of the enclosure, his Ferrothorn clanks in understanding, green tendrils weaving through the air to put the finishing touches on what appears to be a steel cube fitted with walls six inches thick. One side of the cube is missing entirely, the opening facing away from the clearing deeper into the underbrush, and it is here that Eckart the Toxtricity drops a bag of bait into the center of the cube, surveying his work before giving the Ferrothorn a pat and ambling over to the scientist himself.
[break][break]
Said scientist is currently embroiled in cradling a small Magnemite in his hands, black oil staining the heavy leather apron he wears. His glasses have been eschewed in favor of a pair of goggles, lenses illuminating bright green to allow him to view the inner workings of the pokémon in question. Adjusting the screw at the top of the Magnemite's head, he places the unresponsive pokémon on the ground and gestures to Eckart. "If you would, Eckart?"
[break][break]
The Toxtricity takes custody of the Magnemite with a lopsided grin, lifting the other pokémon and carrying it across the clearing, depositing it on the ground carefully in front of the steel cube's opening. Lifting one webbed hand, Eckart sends a small jolt of electricity into the Magnemite, jerking it into wakefulness. As the Magnemite floats drunkenly into the air, Eckart and Bram hastily back off toward Henry, who watches the scene unfold almost disinterestedly, peering at a small device he withdraws from his apron pocket.
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The Magnemite looks about with its single eye before fixating on the bait inside the cube. Trilling happily, it floats out of sight into the cube, at last adopting a jaunty, happy bob to its motions.
[break][break]
As soon as the Magnemite is out of sight, Henry turns a knob on the device he holds, causing a high-pitched whine to echo across the clearing. The Magnemite's chirps of happiness turn to those of distress, growing more shrill and erratic, before-
[break][break]
BOOM.
[break][break]
An explosion rocks the cube, sending it juddering in its housing as a gout of orange and red flame is propelled out of the only egress, blasting several feet into the surrounding undergrowth. Black smoke billows upward in the aftermath, and all Henry can do is allow himself a fierce, satisfied grin. "According to plan thus far, it seems."

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Tagged: Zev Harcourt
Notes: DW Fighting/Flying

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LITTLE CRISES HELP YOU RELISH THE CALM

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Peeling first one latex glove, then the other, from his hands, Henry tosses them derisively into the underbrush. Straightening his jacket and adjusting his glasses, he frowns slightly as he looks down at his hands, pale blue vitreous fluid staining his right along one thumb.
[break][break]
Frowning, he elects to slide the offending hand into one pocket, slipping out of the narrow crevasse and abandoning all traces of his work behind him - only to spy a sudden congregation of Absol further down the slope. His eyes widen as he takes in the sheer profusion of pokemon, and he reflexively looks about as though a catastrophic rock slide is liable to occur at any given moment.
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The pokémon in question is a notorious harbinger of disaster, and while Henry, despite all his clinical professionalism, cannot quite shake the frisson of fear that such a collection of the pokemon elicits, he likewise cannot overlook the opportunity presented him, lobbing a pokeball with his unmarred hand toward the assembly, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
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Notes: ABSOL SWARM

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LITTLE CRISES HELP YOU RELISH THE CALM

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Upon hearing his own fields of research being presented to him in recognition, Henry's eyes widen slightly, pausing fully mid-thought. It certainly isn't the norm for him to be rattled, but he has to admit that he hadn't expected the other man to so thoroughly connect him to his occupation merely by hearing his name.
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As the squabble between the two pokémon intensifies, Henry makes a sharp gesture of censure, causing Ambrose to twirl obediently - if sullenly - through the air, migrating to just behind his other shoulder, further from Daji. Disguising - or, at least, hopefully disguising - his surprise by adjusting his glasses, he offers a wry smile at Tianyu's question.
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"Oh, yes," he muses, straightening his shoulders, "It really is remarkable where the work can take you, when opportunity presents itself." He blinks, then laughs, gesturing to the other man with a shrug. "Though as you're here as well, I suppose I'm not suggesting anything you don't already realize."
[break][break]
He gives a half-turn, gesturing to the thatch of crystalline blooms he'd originally been examining, nodding at the selfsame basket Tianyu carries. "An interested party requested an analysis of this particular phenomenon. While I must admit it is not typically my forte, per se, there are enough similarities that lead me to conclude they simply shouldn't -be-."
[break][break]
He pauses, regarding the other man curiously. "And you?" he inquires blithely. "Gathering samples for analysis I can certainly understand, though I would imagine you've others to do that sort of thing for you," he quips wryly.

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Tagged: Húxiān Tianyu
Notes: CRYSTALS IN BLOOM

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LITTLE CRISES HELP YOU RELISH THE CALM

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Frowning meditatively as he regards Gigi's easy dispatching of the wayward Wooper, Henry considers his answer to her inquiry. It strikes him as an uncomfortable truth that it's been years since anyone showed interest in anything about the man personally, rather than simply in his professional accolades and skills. Granted, he concedes, it has equally been a number of years since he allowed himself to socialize with one person quite this much - and he doesn't know how to respond.
[break][break]
"I am originally from Castelia City, in Unova," he muses. Certainly this is no fabrication, and that information can be found on any number of his academic profiles. To his current locale, though - truth or lie? His consideration momentarily falters as Emile lights up the tunnel further down with a Flame Burst, sending a Perrserker staggering against the cave wall.
[break][break]
In a moment of good humor, he elects to give the truth - certainly no harm in networking, he reasons. "My home is in Rustboro City," he nods, tossing a pokeball at the downed Perrserker and stowing it away. "My occupation tends to keep me away from home rather a bit, however, so it's equally likely that I've been stowed in a hotel somewhere, I'm afraid."

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Tagged: Georgette Bluebottle
Notes: CATCHING PERRSERKER

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LITTLE CRISES HELP YOU RELISH THE CALM

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"Well enough," Henry demurs, accepting the bag and lifting it experimentally as though to gauge its weight. "A few interesting occurrences here and there, but work is work nonetheless.'
[break][break]
He follows Georgette from the gym, glancing about curiously as though surveying where, precisely, the trial is to begin. Despite his curiosity, he is utterly unprepared for the surprise attack by Gigi's Froslass, an aborted attempt to throw his arms up in front of him as though to shield himself from the blow all the reaction time he has before the Confuse Ray hits him, sending him staggering back.
[break][break]
Blinking erratically, he struggles to see through vision that is colored with wild spots, a sudden wave of dizziness nearly sending him tumbling over and saved only by his meager reflexes. "Eckart? Eck-" he stops mid-sentence, fighting down a retch. Is his laboratory being raided? Had he not been careful enough in his dealings? Did someone finally make the connection between any number of the crimes he'd committed in the past weeks to the otherwise unassuming scientist?
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Insensate, he steels himself, adopting a firm stance to simply stay on his feet, and blinks steadily again, attempting to gain his bearings.
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Tagged: Georgette Bluebottle
Notes: ENDURANCE BADGE