His daughter had remained ignorant of it, of why her father had been stilled and almost growled at the man before them. Howard’s politeness came off as genuine to his daughter, but to Laurence, he knew there was nothing truly nice about him, pawing his child off as an excuse to bring him into Rocket, to fight…The man was everything but polite. The brief movement of Sophia placing the apples in the cart brought the words to his throat, his own smile coated in a visible nihilego poison.

Howard moved closer, breaching the threshold of the basket that Laurence kept between them. His cheerfulness plucked a nerve in Laurence, but he played it off, as suave as he could while Sophia watched him with those curious eyes of hers.

“A pleasure to see you as well Howard, I hope you are faring well.”

He’d brushed off the question of the surprise of seeing him shopping in the store. It’d been only one of few others in the area, and fortunately, this one had been the closest to the Whateley’s residence. But he knew that. Rocket knew exactly how many stores were around in the city they’d had commandeered. The admin’s eyes went to the box of frozen food that had littered Laurence’s cart, the red and black coloring bringing a newfound shame in Laurence once he recognized it.

You're stricter on my diet than you are on your own!

The jest had been harmless, enough to at least bring Sophia’s gaze towards Howard once again as she moved toward’s her father direction, her head barely peaking over the cart as she spoke.

“Are you one of my Daddy’s patients? He is always so strict on food but look at these!”

Her hand rummaged in the cart for a second showing the RedBouffalants, a past-time favorite energy drink for the doctor, innocently showing them off to the man as Laurence blanched. A nervous but controlled laugh came from him, his hand coming to Sophia’s ginger hair, ruffling it up a bit from its neat braids. They looked identical, a spitting image of one another.

“Doctors can eat what they’d like in moderation, and unfortunately for Mr. Slayte, I had him on a strict diet due to his personal life, I don’t want him wasting away in my office…But forgive me for my rudeness, this is my daughter. Sophia.”

It felt like giving gold over when he handed the name to Howard, as if he were simply giving an entry to a door that had been carefully kept shut. Sophia smiled at the man, the introduction a pleasantry for her, and in turn, a way to enjoy seeing someone new.

“Nice to meet you Mr. Slayte. What are you shopping here for? We were going to find what to eat for dinner.”

howard slayte

Days off didn’t come by easy, the time he had seemed to dwindle more and more with the upcoming cases of those who had eaten the strange mochi exponentially growing by the week. First, it had been his Wednesdays off that had been turned into frantic calls from the hospital, then his Fridays…And then finally, his Sundays. He’d damn near had to curse the head director of the hospital for him to take this day for himself. For Sophia. Luckily, he hadn’t been fought on the idea.

“Dad, there’s the cereal I want, can I get it?”

The voice brought him from his internal stir, two orange irises looking right at him as he had to reintroduce his surroundings to himself. Ah…Yeah, he was at the grocery store. He watched as the young girl weaved through the aisles, making her way while his cart followed her. The girl put two into the cart, the brand covered up by the myriad of colors that the box showed, childishly scrounging her face as if to weigh her options as her father picked up the box. Laurence eyed the box, looking at the nutrients listed on the small label…

“What the hell are they putting in these things? 120 grams of sugar…Jeez, you’ll be bouncing off the walls.”

He muttered under his breath, earning a glance from the young lady. Her smile brightened, showing a few missing teeth.

“I was promised remember? You said that if you’d worked last week I’d get another thing I wanted!”

Her logic had been flawed, the first box would have been what he’d gotten her technically, but with that smile, he couldn’t resist it. He put it back, sighing and giving a shrug, feeling the outline of his smile form on his face. Fine. She’d won this.

“Okay then, since you’re getting this, I’ll expect you to have no protest when you have to go to the dentist…Knowing the sugar in these things, your big kid teeth may never come in unless we get a professional.”

Laurence pushed the cart forward, letting his daughter guide him throughout the store, sometime they’d stop and put each other on trial for the next item they’d put into the car. Her? Frozen PikaHut Pizzas. Him? RedBouffalants. For the moment they shopped, it felt light and easy, and both Father and Daughter seemed to be invested in the shopping until he’d turned on the produce aisle…Sophia had reached for the apples, determined to grab some for both she and her father to enjoy when she’d politely asked a stranger to excuse themselves. The figure moved, and in the strangest moments, Laurence’s heart plunged into his stomach, his smile dropped a bit, but he remained silent. Howard.

“Sophia…”

The Doctor said, defensively, sternly. The girl stilled herself, looking at her father as her orange eyes curiously eyed him. Something must have happened.

howard slayte

After his turn of humiliation at the hands of the Munkidori, life continues, work is done, and humiliation is dosed out like medication. Laurence is forced to endure it all, lest he be corrected by the various examples that the monkey had made of ignorant and rowdy prisoners. He tries his best to stand in line, to keep himself unseen and unheard, especially in the battered and bruised condition he is in.

The dreams had seemed to become more and more vivid, leaving him in a more fevered state than the chain that bound him to his cell at times. There were moments where he felt hot, scorching even as he woke up, his throat parched and demanding water…A complete opposite in regards to the depressing fog that he was used to. He welcomed it, this new change in things.

It would seem that this change would be much more dramatic though, for it would be the last day that feeling seemed to blossom into something more volatile, something that his body seemed to hunger for when he heard the first start of commotion. Freedom. His body lightened up a bit, though not enough to have him forget the limp he had earned from the cruel games before, demanding to yearn for that freedom a bit more as he moved on.

To the bottom.

He could hear a voice inside him call, pulling his legs towards the center platform as droves of prisoners pushed on. Laurence tried to let the crowd carry him a bit, letting his weight lessen even if a little. The wardens, however, took issue with it, a few were caught within the attack’s of the monkey, but as it tries to strike one of the few prisoners that Laruence could see, the pokemon finds that its attack fails, rather, the chain of Laurences’ locks onto the strangers, keeping them bound to one another rendering him immune to the attack for that moment…

“Keep going, I’ll make sure to stick next to ya! Long as you keep pushin’ I should be able to hold them back from getting you!”

Laurence barters, getting an agreement from the stranger as he trudges on towards the center. It would seem that whatever was at the bottom would await everyone soon enough…

---

Ability of Laurence Whateley: Guardian Angel -- Whenever Laurence touches a person, for as long as they are remained in contact, the effects of Munkidori's psychic attacks are lessened. 
UNErxZxy

The man looked like Deerling in headlights the way he looked around the place those eyes of his wary and faintly accusatory...Granted, many would have acted that way had they woken up and found themselves strapped to their cot, no one liked being unable to move, that much he understood.

“There isn’t any need to apologize to me, I’m just saying you are quite the tough patient. I’m sure you helped the nurses know what work would be cut out for them here anyways.”

The doctor shook his head, almost as if waving off the apology and absolving him on the nurse’s behalves. His laugh turned coughing fit seemed to get him a cup of water, in a smooth motion a cup was brought to him to at least alleviate him of it. When Navy was done with his fill, the doctor gently placed the cup on his tray, beside two pills and a needle.

Fuck…Temp really did…a number on me.

“I don’t think just a fight had done you in like this. Unless Tempest planned on leaving you in a damn well ‘near death’s door’ experience, we can add a few more reasons as to why you’re like this. Like first being, the last time you’ve gotten any sort of medical help?”

His words weren’t admonishments, rather they were observations, easily played as concerns too. Laurence took a seat, bringing it up as he moved it towards Navy’s cot, trying to close the distance between them. The next question should have been expected, though judging from Laurence’s facial expression, it was easily shown that the doctor hadn’t heard of him being a prisoner.

“Huh? You’re no prisoner I know of. If you’re worried about the straps, then we did it because you were convulsing pretty heavily. You were a danger mostly to yourself, couldn’t even keep water down without it seeming like you were going to choke on it. As for why you aren’t on the submarine…Let’s say I’m best away from the headquarters. I enjoy my office, I can work freely here.”

With another tone of frankness, Laurence looked back at his clipboard, his eyes scanning through the paperwork he had nearly kept on it as he waited for another question to be asked by the patient. However, had he and Navy had the same thought, he’d be the first one to answer them.

“If it makes you feel better, I can loosen them. However, I can’t tell you what running will do with you. You have a few stitches that will need to be looked at again, running and trying anything dumb could tear them. So all I ask of ya is to go and stay still and answer a few questions of mine too.”

Navy

He'd only have Regice to bet on hope, the only Pokémon he felt could have even stood a chance against the raging golem. Anything else would have been useless...And while there was little to show that the Pokémon he'd unleashed would listen to him, it did seem to recognize its current wielder. A series of unintelligible beeps sounded once more, each rapidly going as they conversed before something ungodly had been heard.

The sound was similar to glass shattering, perfectly uniform and yet devasting simultaneously. The sights followed such too, the translucent shards of Regice caving into one another as if he were nothing but grains of sand pieced together. The destruction left a bloody mark on it, courtesy of the newfound pieces of bloody material that the Regirock had grafted onto itself. Laurence damn near wanted to hurl, the only pieces remaining stained with a tint of red. Almost immediately, Regice was lost.

ün ün ün ün ün ün AAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOORRRRXT 01001000

That cryptic sound came again as if it were confirming the death of its fallen opponent, and quickly it turned its front to them.

ün ün ün ün ün ün

For a large being, it moved surprisingly fast, the rock platting sending Howard flying towards the corpses almost immediately, Laurence watching as the man nearly was crushed under the force of it. Another crack sounded out, this one just as grotesquely musical as Regice’s final appearance.

"HOWARD!"

Laurence turned around back to face the behemoth of stone as it rose its fist, ready to send him too back to his maker. His legs urged him to move, but the signal to his muscles died along with his chances of surviving it. He looked at the creation in fear, as it came down with its heavy hand–

Simulation complete.

He let out a hard gasp. His body, taut and plucked, as if a violin. He wanted to vomit–No, he did vomit. The goggles felt suffocating, a feeling that he could only associate with how his patients must have felt during surgery, before some poor scientist went to pull them off of him, commenting on how he should drink some water.

“Ye–yeah…Water please…”

He managed to speak, his voice hoarse and broken. But, as he waited for such, he could only see his vision fade a bit. In a brief moment of lucidity, his head turned to Howard, the only outline of his figure still as ever while he dreamt through the simulation, and soon enough, the man passed out too.

howard slayte

The world stayed white for a moment, letting the doctor stew in his newfound wish while Howard looked at him, defeat and bewilderment marking what little feature the admin had. And oddly, while guilt racked through his body, a sense of relief had been hidden inside him.

He had wished that Rocket had lost. That Rocket had never set foot in Sootopolis. 

"Don't ask why Howard."

Laurence responded, almost reflexive, with an instinct to cover himself from his choice. it was logical, something that anyone in his position would have chosen and died for if they'd been in such...And yet, now that it was here, he could see the betrayal Howard marked it as. He couldn't look at the man beside him, rather for that moment, Laurence stared at the blank ground underneath him, simply letting his mind drift back to when he had the tag in his hand. If the wish had called out to him if it'd be true...Then...THEN...

Rebooting... Next stage.

It was the announcement from the system that killed his thoughts then. The mechanical words are sharper than any needle, and more potent than any poison. In a second he could feel his vision blur, his body demanding to break into pieces, but he kept silent. Of course, it was a simulation. The wish wasn't real. The doctor closed his eyes, grappling with the thought of it. It was a simulation. It was a simulation.

He'd open them once again whenever he heard the screams of people. He'd heard many cries, but blood-curdling screams had been things he'd not been accustomed to, nor the sound of rock being launched at anything moving. What he'd seen, had been terrible, the bloody carcasses of others spawned along the walls, painting the glyphs in dark hues of red. The doctor took a step forward to try to find some sort of cover for himself, but he was greeted next, by a Pokémon already finding the new intruders on the scene with ease. It'd donned the same patterns as its brethren, but its material had been all the more different. Where Regice had had sleek ice, this being had been born of chiseled fine rock. 

Regice? 

Laurence could hear Howard say, the voice beside him but when he turned, Regirock had already started to launch its assault, its giant fist aiming to beat the man to death with its natural club. It would be only seconds before it would connect, that club so close to Howard that had the screen of thick mist not covered for the man to dodge, he too may have been a fresh display on the walls. A cold descended upon them, and then a confirmation, coherent in a few beeps. Laurence dropped the ball, its contents empty before he too was consumed in the fog, the only thing in front of him, a new entity. Regice. 

---

HNpun1KU
howard slayte

It had been hellish from the repetitiveness of dreams to the hellish beatings from the chained creature below them to the torture of simply being ridiculed by others. It became a cycle, waking up in almost the same degree of cold sweats, and enduring the rest, the only prayer from the doctor being that he’d be the only one he knew having to go about it.

It had started simple, Laurence having to scarf down the mochi with as much regret as possible, hoping it would at least subdue that growing and demanding feeling of sludge going through his body. It’d been a week now, and it had seemed like clockwork the toxic chain would do as much damage to his system as it could before the first meal would be given. Sometimes if he hadn’t eaten what he could without having it come back up, it’d linger, like a hangover that refused to be cured, having him silently wish for death to come and sweep him up like the mochi they’d pick up from the basement floors.

Today, however, would be different. That repetitiveness would be broken right after he’d eaten his “fill” of mochi. A tightness would surround his throat, playfully teetering on the edge of crushing his windpipe and leaving him gasping for air, before he’d find himself going towards the center of the ward, his destination. Right towards that damned Baboon of a Warden. Munkidori hadn’t been gentle with its incoming person, dropping him quite haphazardly onto the ground with a thud as Laurence gripped his chest for a moment, almost hoping that the lighter pressure would trick himself into pulling in some sort of air. But the monkey had little care of how long it’d take him, the game would begin…It raised a hand in the air.

“How many fingers am I holding up?”

A megalopolan would ask, the translator looking at the writhing doctor and the Warden with such a stoic expression. Laurence continued to clutch his chest, trying to bring life into his already stressed lungs. A second passed…Then two. Then three. And once Laurence could get an actual breath in, he gave the paw a look, spotting only 3, but when it came to his lips…

“Four.”

“The answer is three.”

The megalopolan responded almost immediately, the monkey snickered in glee before its eyes glowed a proud purple, the aura tensing around Laurence as well before he was sent flying toward the group of prisoners watching. Hurdling into a few, who were unlucky to catch the hurtling man.

“Come back up and take another guess. We shall do it until you answer correctly.”

The interpreter said once again, waiting for Laurence to stand up. The doctor took a moment but found that there was little reward in provoking it, rather he walked back to the center. This time, the monkey raised 2 fingers. Laurence sighed, fixing his lips to say the answer, but once again it came out wrong.

"Five."

And in almost the same manner, he found himself being flung again, this time, towards another direction. 

"Come up once again", the megalopolan said again, his blank tone only bringing a wary wave of fatigue through the doctor. This would be a long hour. 

---

W62q4ZHi

TLDR:
* Laurence goes through the motions 
* Laurence is then chosen for the Laughing Hour 
* Laurence gets fucked over multiple times in the number game

His question had been for nothing, only leaving Howard to bark another command. Laurence would have barked back, however, that'd get nothing done, so in defeat, he simply shut up, his attention on the Pokémon trying to follow behind Shirly. That was all it could do, follow. All he could do. 

Howard was quick to go into the fray, leaving Laurence there to almost be forced to catch up to the tumbling match that he and the simulation of Fernando got into, each clawing at each other no similar to the Pokémon they had. This hadn't even been real, and yet Howard had found himself damn well determined to risk it all for a simulation. 

Their fighting for the wishing tag, however, had been fruitless, because due to both of their carelessness, the tag soon enough ended in Laurence's hands. Laurence stared at it, his body almost not recognizing that the item had been fatefully placed in his grasp, and all for him to make a wish on it. 

Wish. Write down your wish. Fulfill your heart's desire.

Something had called to him, but the voice so clear and familiar that Laurence did a quick double take to see had his daughter had been there. 

Wish.

It said again. He hadn't known exactly what he could wish for, there were plenty of things that he could have wanted. Sophia to be safe, for this simulation to soon end, for more paid time off, but it had seemed that the tag had ignored those. No, it knew exactly what the doctor wanted, even if the thought of it hadn't come up consciously. And it'd be granted in that brief moment. A white light enveloped the area, consuming all in that exact moment in what could only be welcoming warmth. Laurence closed his eyes, trying to shield himself from the harsh rays that had surrounded them.

However, once he opened them, he found that he wasn't there anymore, the battlefield of Verdanturf far gone and replaced with the newest update of the simulation. But, even the change of scenery hadn't stopped what felt like a pit had opened in him. Guilt. Part of him knew exactly what he had wished for. 

howard slayte

There had been plenty that frequented the hospitals that Rocket occupied, but never had there been many that had held much power in the league. Especially when he had to sedate the man immediately because of how horribly he reacted to standard treatment. He'd snapped on two nurses, two young ladies that Laurence oversaw. That was why he had been chained to the cot that he lay in, like a ghoul that had been bound to its coffin. And even then, when he had woken and one of the women went to go fetch the doctor, they'd been audibly uncomfortable with how startled he'd been. 

It'd be a moment for Navy to take in his surroundings, to get his eyes adjusted to the fluorescent lighting that had previously blinded him. He'd feel the way his arms had seemed to be a few degrees colder, the IV bag that had been carefully put in to nourish him, but also the feeling of numbness that seemed to swaddle him, courtesy of treating the strange new chain that had managed to worm its way into many others' system. For someone who thought he had been a prisoner, he'd been treated right. Fortunately, so. 

"You're awake now, huh? You know you put up quite the fight when the ladies brought you in... Truly, you owe them an apology."

The sheriff hadn't even heard the door open, but rather in the muddy brain of his currently, he'd know that this was none of the women from before. Another Nurse perhaps? The Doctor that they'd promise to grab? The heart monitor would chirp to the emotion that Navy would feel, either exposing his dread or solace. The disembodied voice would come closer, and in the blinding lights he'd be able to put a face to the voice. Whoever this man was, it had shown in the scrubs, a dark letter "R" that'd been sewn into it. A member of Rocket. The man spoke, his voice calm yet not reassuring.

"One of the Elite Four, Navy. Apologies if you feel a bit groggy, but can you speak? I'm Laurence Whateley, a doctor here in Sootopolis. I'm sure you have a lot of questions."

Navy

As they ran, it seemed that the ground under them slowly broke away, the dark, littered, alleyway turning into dense sand, the dank air turning heated and hostile as smoke gathered from above. The previous simulation ended...Now they relived something new. The doctor's feet had begun to come to a walk, his eyes taking in the scenery of the aftermath of his new experience. Verdantuf.

"We...We made it..."

Laurence caught his breath, the sound of police forces and genesets finally faded into the background and eventually out of their current scene. His heart could rest easy, though not for too long. His ears quickly picked up another cry, the sound of a new pokemon all together, then the sound of what could only be blows being thrown.

“God we can’t get a break can we…”

The words had been muttered under his breath, but Howard could hear them, a sort of chastise for having him even in such a thing. He was a doctor, a person who dabbled in medicine…Yet this machine refused to give him anything that could keep him close to something he was good at. Repeatedly throwing him in more and more situations that had him out of his element. His eyes went to the two who seemed to orchestrate these sounds, the owner of the two Pokemon locking horns as they stood from harm. Laurence hadn’t been in Rocket long enough to sadly recognize the two, but he could recognize kyle lopez . He’d seen the man on television plenty of times, the champion of the region. So he wasn’t just the fated champion of the place…

Get Silph. Get his Wish Tag.

“The hell is a wish tag–”

The instruction had come out with more questions than answers, but he could at least guess who this FERNANDO SILPH person was, judging from the lack of Rocket symbol that had donned in their person. Howard had been the first to and be so bold, the ancient pokemon taking flight to try to retrieve what its trainer had demanded of it. Laurence too followed in process, raising his hand at the man as Mandibuzz took to the skies with a predatory cry, following just behind the Aerodactyl to provide back up. A shield to make sure the relic pokemon could succeed in its job.

“You going to give a brief explanation for this place too?”

Laurence waited, his eyes not even meeting the archeologist, simply watching as the three far from them engaged in a heated battle, determined to bring one side to their knees.

---

howard slayte

Seconds felt like hours, as the monkey tallied their votes, his breaths, while already labored, almost felt empty, as if his lungs had simply been filled with sand. They had ultimately voted to trust, though the tension of betrayal from the dummy wards was almost palpable, a restless veil had wrapped around them all, with only their warden only to rip it off...Now, it was time to pray the other ward had given them the same graces.

The doctor let a small whisper under his breath, a prayer. 

It was the megalopolans were the ones who had broken the news to them, the announcement that both had ultimately bent to trust one another, yet the third ward had chosen to forsake his own. 

"What? This is not what was told! When did you say that the third party voting with us?!"

The question had been coated in venom, as Laurence looked to face the monkey in rage, his features obscured in the mask he'd been unjustly bestowed. He tried to move forward, however the idea of such had immediately kept him in his place. They'd damn near kill a man who incited issues and damn near fought their warden, he'd not be such an example. 

His anger would be glossed over, the megalopolans ignoring such a thing as they began to corral them onto the platform and descended lower into the prison. It had seemed that their punishment would begin. It would take a moment for them to descend, to see that the ward under them had already been emptied, with no sign of his daughter there, when the final floor had been reached. The floor they had gotten to had been pitch black, and almost impossible to navigate, but for those who had managed to be bold enough to try to wander, to find their surroundings, they'd feel something at their feet. It'd been Laurence would touch something cold though, the familiar texture of skin before he'd let out a shout, throwing the arm into the distance where it'd make a dull thud on the floor, and found itself hidden again, waiting to be found.

"FUCK!" 

He clammed up immediately, feeling bile rise in his throat as he tried to steel himself. It was an arm. The doctor heard himself protest, an arm. 

The damned would have little time to wander, the warden's puppets quick to give them their task and credit their judges, before they too seemed to be consumed by darkness. They had been tasked to clean this place up...And by filth, they had meant the bodies that had been littered around them. If that hadn't been what made him almost yell, then it'd be the cry that had sounded out far from. They had been heard almost once the Megalopolan had left from the dim light source they had, its figure being replaced by something more monstrous, the figure almost asphyxiated by the chains around them, and when Laurence blinked, it found that it too had gone back into the cover of the gloom. However, it had been with them, for more screams had sounded out again. 

It was instinctual to move, to try to find cover among either the mochi that had been around them or the deceased, however, the chain prevented such, daring to choke those who had received the short end of the voting stick. And with such, the doctor, in a quick sense of judgment lay on the floor, feeling the coolness of it wash over his already feverish body. He had not been mistaken for what he had seen, that hooded monstrosity that revealed itself for the briefest of moments. it had been set on them, and for such, when he lay on the ground, he stilled himself, hoping that it wouldn't find him. Hoped that maybe it'd treat him how it'd treat the few corpses that it would have stumbled upon, like nothing. 

---

TLDR: Laurence fucking flops on the ground and pretends to be a corpse, hoping that Ogrepon doesn't find him and beat the shit out of him.