Colton could see in Shalin's face that she wasn't at all interested in what his research was about. It was something not many would be interested in, given it was all numbers, paperwork, and hours spent cooped up in a lab. From what he knew about Shalin with even this short interaction, she was the very definition of a free spirit. If Colton had gone into his full explanation, she may very well have fallen asleep. But, her energy was infectious and he felt himself wanting to go on a proper adventure of his own, though his nature as a homebody quickly beat back those ambitions. Eventually, he'd venture further and further out, but he would need to take it in his own time.

"Perhaps I'll try and acquire my own Pokémon that I can use a mount one day, though maybe one that's a little more traditional," he said with a chuckle as he walked over and picked up the Pokéball containing the Bronzong before hooking it onto his belt. He had to admit, after two successful captures, his confidence was beginning to fly. Maybe he was a natural at this whole battling thing and he only thought he wouldn't be able to do this simply because he hadn't tried. So, when he saw a Sandaconda come slithering on by, the researcher was wearing a cocky smile on his face. "Alright, Arti, you know what to do," he said, the Rotom grinning as the door to its washing machine body opened up and a powerful HYDRO PUMP shot towards the wild Pokémon, an easy, one shot takedown.

Only for the Sandaconda to suddenly shrink and completely avoid the gush of water now uselessly flying over its head.

Colton blanched, left unable to respond as the wild leapt forward and WRAPPED itself around his partner, forcing the door of the washing machine closed again. Arti struggled, its mouth turned into a frown as it tried to free itself from Sandaconda's grip. "Crap, crap, crap..." Colton mumbled to himself, looking down at the Pokéballs at his waist. The Mawile and Bronzong were too weakened to be useful and Burnout was already hurt. That left only...

"Ferrous! T-tackle!" The Beldum appeared from its Pokeball, confused for a moment before responding to its trainer's commands and throwing itself headlong into the Sandaconda, only for the wild Pokemon's tail to swing out and knock Ferrous away, sending it tumbling end over end. However, it was just enough for Arti to free its body, the door swinging open once more and another HYDRO PUMP overtakes the Sandaconda, making it fully release its grip and slump to the ground, Colton tossing another Pokeball to capture it before running over to his Beldum.

"You okay, buddy?" he said as Ferrous lifted itself off of the ground, shaking its body free of dirt as its eye turned upward happily. Colton sighed in relief, patting his Pokémon on the head as Arti floated over, Sandaconda's Pokéball wrapped up in its plug. "Guess I've still got some work to do, huh?"

Colton could tell by Gunner's tone of voice that the explanation he gave meant little to him, which the researcher couldn't blame him for. He just needed the tools to work, not to understand the science behind them. But it was hard for him to control himself when describing them. It was what he was good at, which he couldn't say about a lot of things, so he felt that getting just a bit excited showing off his successes wasn't too annoying.

Colton nodded, his excited grin turning just a bit smug as the agent praised his work. "Not particularly, but it won't be fast. Now that I've cracked how to recreate the vibration, all I really need are the parts to make more. The only unfortunate part is I'm not sure how to automate the process, just yet," he said with a shrug, scratching his chin thoughtfully as he did."Though, I'm not sure how many I'll need to make, anyway, plus I can pass the blueprint around if the need calls for it."

He took the device back, gently placing it in a small case before moving onto the next invention, a small container made to look like a common lotion brand. "This one was a bit trickier and its use is a bit more niche, since I'm not sure what kind of biometrics Team Rocket would employ, but, I still think it was pretty cool to develop," Colton described, twisting open the canister to reveal the pink goo inside. He gently placed one finger into the container, just enough to cover his his finger print. "By studying Ditto cells, I discovered a means to reverse engineer their ability to transform into anything they come across and synthesize it into a cream. By applying it to your finger or hand, the cream will mold itself to match any fingerprints or handprints already on a biometric scanner, letting you slip on through!" Colton described, though his face fell moments later, sighing as he capped the lid and held it out for Gunner to take.

"I was attempting to make it so you could apply it to your face and have your features change, but coaxing something so complex out of the cream was extremely difficult and, with what small samples I was able to create that worked properly, anything I applied it to would always have the same two dots for eyes with a big smile Ditto are known to have. Sorry if that disappoints, but it's the best I was able to come up with. And no Dittos were harmed to make this, just to give you the peace of mind on that," Colton said, crossing his arms with a sigh.

Gunner Graves

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Very gratefully accepting...Wait a minute.

POSTDORMITUM SIGN-UPS

ULTRA DEEP SEA SKIRMISH

CHARACTER: Colton Boothroyd[break]
FACTION: LEAGUE[break]
PARTICIPATING IN BATTLES?: Y[break]
DO YOU WANT A BATTLE LARGER THAN A 1v1?: Y[break]
PREFERRED PARTNERS?: No preference[break]
PREFERRED OPPONENTS?: No preference[break]
POKEMON TEAM (6 MAX): Below[break]
NOTES/COMMENTS: basically throwing for team rocket tbh[break]

Colton watched the chaos unfold, the Persian leaping into battle against the Donphan without much regard for her master's wishes. Despite that, Shalin was quick to adapt, tossing out an Alolan Ninetales to pick up the mishap without hesitating. Her battle ability was insane, way better than Colton could ever dream of being. Even Arti and Burnout were watching in fascination. "I can imagine. I'm certain you see a lot of Pokémon on your travels, huh?" he said, tucking his hands into his pockets. He suddenly felt very small compared to her, as this simple trip out to Rusturf Tunnel was just about the most adventurous thing he'd ever done.

Colton sighed inwardly, adjusting his glasses before Shalin's next question made him perk up slightly. If there was one thing he enjoyed talking about, it was his work. "Mechanical, technically, but my research is the mechanics of Pokémon and their potential interactions with technology, like Rotom." He gestured to his partner, Arti smiling proudly in response. Colton could feel himself readying up for a in depth explanation, one that could very well go over Shalin's head, that he stopped paying attention to the area around him. It took a sudden, deep reverberating gong to draw his attention back to the reason why they were there in the first place, just in time to see a psychic attack hitting Burnout, sending the engine like Pokémon tumbling back. The source let out the gonging noise again, a Bronzong already hovering its way closer.

"A-ah..." Colton was frozen in place, caught off guard by the wild Pokemon's sudden appearance, needing a quick zap from Arti to bring him back to his senses. "R-right, right! Um..." He fumbled at his belt, pulling out Burnout's Pokéball and recalling him back as ideas ran through his head.

"Okay, just think, just think, just think...Bronzong is a Psychic type, right...? But I don't have anythi-" his eyes suddenly went wide behind his glasses before he looked at Arti. "Thunder Wave!"

The Rotom responded swiftly, releasing a pulse of electricity that made the Bronzong freeze in place. Sparks crackled across its body as Arti, seeing the plan in motion, released a HEX that made the Bronzong crash to the ground with a heavy boom. Surprisingly quickly, Colton pulled a fresh Pokéball from his belt, tossing it directly at the fallen Pokémon with a grunt.

Shalin Nariya

Colton could only look at the floor in embarrassment, rubbing the back of his neck nervously as she forgave his blunder. But that didn't mean that he forgave himself for such a mistake. "N-no, it's my fault. I was too busy looking at my book to pay attention to where I was going..." he said again, glancing up at her tentatively. He was surprised to see she looked more concerned than annoyed, only to be even more surprised to hear her continue the conversation as if he hadn't just walked right into her. While he would have gladly walked right out the door with his apology and shut himself way in his lab as atonement, the fact that she was actively to him kept Colton rooted to the spot.

"Ah, yes, I was...well, just one book in particular," Colton said, slowly straightening as he lifted up the chemistry book in his hand with a nervous smile. "J-Just a chemistry book I needed for some research. I don't really read much else." He couldn't help but chuckle nervously, though he cocked his head curiously. Home region? She must not be native to Hoenn, if that was the case. He, weirdly enough, did get a sense of wanderlust when he heard about the other regions. There was something about traveling that usually did appeal to him, but Colton had never actually gone out of his way to do so.

"I see. Where are you from? That may explain why they're hard to find," he asked, his eyes suddenly going wide. "Ah! Forgive my manners. My name's Colton Boothroyd. I-it's nice to meet you, Miss...?"

Elise Calcifet

Colton looked between the Raticate and Shalin as she introduced herself and her Pokémon, laughing at the description she gave herself. "I can definitely see that. I don't think I've ever seen anyone riding a Raticate before," he responded, jumping slightly as the Persian suddenly nuzzled against him. Tentatively, he reached down and rubbed its head as Arti curiously peeked over his shoulder. Colton looked back at his Pokémon as Shalin addressed it, inadvertently picturing himself trying to ride around atop the floating washing machine.

"This is Arti, short for 'Artificial Intelligence.' Its my primary research assistant and my best friend, if I had to put it to words, and I can't really remember a day without it," Colton said as he gestured towards his Rotom. "My name's Colton Boothroyd. It's a pleasure to meet you." He went to extend his hand to shake hers when Arti's power cord tapped him on the shoulder. He looked towards his Pokémon before his gaze shifted towards a pair of Pokémon that had wandered out of the tunnel to inspect the noise. A Mawile and a Donphan, if he remembered right. He felt his gaze shifting towards the Mawile, fascinated by its massive jaw on the back of its head.

"Incredible...the mechanical strength and toughness of those teeth..." Colton said, pulling Burnout's Pokeball from his belt and releasing the Revavroom. He gulped nervously, as he'd only battled on only the rarest of occasions. "Okay, um...Mawile is a Steel and Fairy type, right...? So...Burnout, Spin Out!"

The wheels on the Revavroom began to spin as purple spurts of flame fired out of his cylinders before he suddenly burst forward and forcefully bashed into the Mawile. His tires spun along the ground as the Mawile reeled back, Burnout's mouth turned upwards in a smile as his tongue wagged happily. "A-awesome!" Colton said, fumbling to pull an empty Pokéball from his pocket and throwing it at the stunned Pokémon.

Shalin Nariya

Colton unconsciously took a step back as the other man casually sat down and propped his feet up. He watched the Pokéball in his hand go up and down for a moment, nervously taking another step back, before looking back at the masked man's face. Colton was stuck for a moment, unable to speak until he remembered the feeling of his own Pokéball in his hand. Arti's Pokéball. His grip tightened for a moment as resolve filled his chest. "W-what's with the get-up, then? Salvaging down here isn't illegal, except for certain areas..." he said, his body slowly starting to relax. "Y-you can't blame me for thinking...well, you know..."

It was a bit weird how...casual this guy was being about being pretty much accused of nefarious actions. So, while Colton's body relaxed, he was very much still on alert as he began to look around the area they were in. "So, what is it you're after down here? Everything I've pulled out of this section, GMH won't ever let me keep," Colton said. For a moment, his nervousness fell away, replaced by frustration. "So annoying...the things I could make with the stuff here..."

Colton kept himself from talking about the lockboxes in the area. Not many people knew they existed or had a reliable way in and he was still unsure just who he was talking with. He couldn't think of any normal person going so far out of their way to crack open old vaults for technology they probably had no use for beyond selling for scrap, but perhaps this guy was one such particular treasure hunter with the talent to break them open.

Isaac Merlo

”Yes, of-oh…yes, of course!” Colton’s replied, pulling the device from his neck and massaging where the contacts had been for a moment. He handed over the gadget as his free hand quickly tapped and swiped across his phone, while his eyes were already looking to a large digital display on the wall. It depicted a Chatot, with particular focus on an area around its neck. ”The application should be uploaded to your device now, labeled as ‘ACVC.’ To make it appear conspicuous, it’s meant to look like a heating and cooling company with a logo depicting a Coalossal and the Alolan variant of Ninetales.”

Once Gunner had taken the band, the engineer briskly walked across the room towards the display. ”Now, as you put it on, you’ll notice a subtle vibration through your neck that changes as you adjust the ‘frequency.’ While it may be uncomfortable, that means it’s working,” Colton said before pointing towards the indicated area on the Chatot’s body. ”Now, as I’m sure your well aware, the Pokémon, Chatot, as the marvelous ability to imitate human speech as well as the cries of other Pokémon. Now, this is in part due to their very human like tongue, but I was able to isolate a very particular way that Chatot is able to vibrate its vocal cords to change its pitch and tone at a moment’s notice. That’s what the device, the ‘Articfical Chatot Vocal Cords’ or ‘ACVC,’ is doing to you.”

Colton wore a broad grin on his face as he watched Gunner mess around with the ACVC, practically bouncing in place with anticipation. He could hardly contain his excitement to show the field agent what else he had managed to come up with.

Gunner Graves

It wasn't out of the norm for Colton to stay in his lab after hours. It was quiet, with no one else wandering around the building or stepping into his lab to bother him while he worked. Maybe that made him a shut-in, since he rarely made an effort to go out and an socialize with his peers, but he was fulfilled by his work and what he was able to accomplish in the late hours of the night.

Tonight was not one of those nights, however.

Colton jumped as the door to his lab clattered to the ground, the device he'd been tinkering with dropping to the floor and his glasses going askew as he quickly turned around. He looked between the man who had so rudely broken into his lab, the Kabutops that had done the dead, and his destroyed door on the ground. His mind was absolutely blank and he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"The door was unlocked!"

It took a moment after that for Colton to come to his senses. He fumbled at his waist, pulling Burnout's Pokéball from his belt and nearly dropping it before releasing the Revavroom. "D-Don't think you can just waltz in here! I-I'm warning you!" he said, unable to keep his voice from shaking as his Pokémon took a stance in front of him, Burnout's single eye narrowed as his engine-like body revved.

Tempest Quinn