He couldn't understand how exactly someone so up there couldn't grasp their own work, but that was something to worry about for another time. Right now, the barrage of fire towards them would take precedence over any sort of question about the inner machinations of this simulation. However, he would keep in mind the name of Head Scientist Sato. He'd seen her before, but he'd have never spoken to her in person. Maybe that'd change.

Howard's declaration of their pursuers had been true, as they quickly rode through the alleyway before them would soon be a wall, Laurence's dream of an escape route dashed before his eyes. Shit. The cyclizar began to slow, Laurence's grip on the bars loosening as they approached the dead end. The forces would be on them any second now.

Think...Think...Think..!

Sadly, there wouldn't be much of a true reprieve for the group, once the Cyclizar came to a complete stop, Laurence could only hop off it as the genesects too slowed down. 

"Put your hands where I can see them!" 

An officer blared, his voice too hoarse to truly be registered, yet both Laurence and Howard knew exactly what the next step in an encounter like this would be. This would be the end, not even moments deep into the simulation and already Laurence would have failed at such a thing...The doctor raised his hands, ready to surrender when the area went pitch black. Then an explosion. In the darkness, concerns of the task force could be heard, the hoarse voice crying out for the others who followed him to stay calm. This may have been exactly the thing he needed. 

What's the plan?

His companion began to whisper, but before Howard would get the chance to make a decision Laurence grabbed whatever he could of the man and yanked him, caring little for being gentle. They'd run on foot dammit, there was little but try to escape from it, and fighting the dark had truly felt like a losing battle. 

"Shut up and just keep running, stay close!"

---

Escape.
howard slayte  

He wondered if this was what birth was like waking up in the moment. His mind formed in whatever situation he'd been placed in, where the lights had seemed to be blindingly neon, the roads only illuminated by billboard signs and the various colored streetlamps that lit the way. He hadn't fully realized that he'd been moving, until the sounds of sirens blared into his ears, the loud cries of the genesects grabbing his attention. Behind him were not civilians, but a police force clad in black clothes, the red and blue lighting only highlighting their features for the second as the Pokemon chased after the two.

“Shit, Howard, what the hell is this?!”

Laurence demanded answers, his question half slurred due to the winds, as he and the cyclizar swerved through the streets. He tried to focus on Howard, the archeologist’s figure blurring as he ducked in and out of the glare of street lamps. A white light shot passed him, forcing his cyclizar to jerk for a moment. Eyes on the road. He could feel his heart almost skip a beat, the destruction of the Techno blast commanding him to focus on trying to survive this encounter. They were in a simulation, but everything had felt so real.

“So this is what you think is fieldwork experience? Not a damn smuggling, but a chase?”

He was slowly starting to get used to the speed, yet the feeling of being caught slowly crept on him as well, Laurence tried to speed up a bit more, to increase that shortening gap between him and his fearful captors, quick to follow Howard into the depths of the alleyway.

“So why is this all made? To what, bring better scenarios? What could being put here help?”

The doctor asked, he gripped the handlebars of the cyclizar as he dodged various trashcans that obstructed his path, each one revealing itself in the radiance of patriotic red, white, and blue.

---

howard slayte

His eyes burn from the glare of his computer, each word having repeated itself almost by the hundredth time, slurring into one another. God, he'd been at this for hours...However, seeing that he'd gone this far, there wasn't much he could do but accept that he'd have to continue, Laurence leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes for a moment as the video once again started from the beginning. The words drifted him back to the lab, and from there, the tests only three weeks before. The blinding lights of the office, the odd way he sat across Lulu Flint and mint frost , and the list of paper work that littered the test lab. It hadn’t felt long after all.

...

Laurence placed the tape recorder on the table, though there were cameras that littered the laboratory, he’d been more thorough with this. It wouldn’t hurt to cover his ass anyways. The doctor didn’t give the two Rockets much attention, rather his eyes went to his paper, almost as if he read from a script.

"March XX, XXXX. 11:47 AM. I'm glad you guys accepted, though I hate taking time out of your busy schedules, I've been tasked with some studies of the recent events that occurred. I'm sure you all remember the outbreak of what seemed to be Pokémon acting unnaturally, the main similarity being a strand of chains that had been recorded."


It’d be when he finished that he’d glance from his clipboard, hoping that there'd be a semblance of an understanding to this. He’d been the unlucky soul to have to ask for time from higher-ups, however, that didn’t mean he would pass it up. He continued.

“Well, to keep it short, I am here to conduct some studies. Rumors have been circulating that a strange mochi has been going around. People eat them and then go through a few drastic changes, emotionally and physically, and it’s gotten more and more rampant. So, along with you two, I have a few volunteers. I won’t let you know which group you are in, control or experimental, but ultimately for the next few weeks, I’ll be the ones feeding you these things. If you want, you can decline now, but if not, I’ll start today. Throughout it, I'll be testing your physical and emotional capabilities, I can't tell you what you'll experience, but I can tell you I'll try to make this go by with as little resistance as possible.”


He waited a bit, knowing damn well that any refusal would have made it harder on his end, but waited nonetheless. He couldn’t argue against it anyway, patients had a right to refuse treatment, then again, they weren't patients at all. Yet.

Lulu Flint
mint frost  

"Have you heard about our newest product? A pipe hand-carved by an artist said to have been a famous woodcarver in Galar. High-quality tobacco too. Seems more your style anyways."

The salesman tried his hardest to haggle Laurence as he dug in his pocket for his wallet, the doctor's eyes too concentrated on the pack of cigarettes that he'd already been purchasing to worry about some new item. When he fished it out, he'd pull out the 10 pokedollars it'd cost, silently reciting the same line about how the economy never seemed to get better, years ago his pack of smokes was only 5. 

"You think I'm a pipe man, Horton? My kid already started getting on me about these...The last thing I'd want is for her to think I've upgraded them to something else." 

A smile came to the Rocket's lips when the owner of the store laughed, his hearty howl enough to get anyone else to laugh with him. Another frequent customer behind him came to speak up, his usual damper face brightening up from it.

"Sophia's a smart one, she's calling you a hypocrite, Laurence, ya' know? How are ya' a doctor and you smoke? It's the biggest joke ever!"

Another guffaw came from the duo, Laurence even giving in to the feeling, and scratching the back of his head in a more admitted childish guilt. Quick to have a rebuttal with the group, he'd pocket his pack of cigarettes, and speak, easily not shifting the blame but not taking it fully either.

"Yeah, I know I know, but let's be honest, with the way the world is these days, I damn well need one. So sorry Horton, but you'll have to see who else is ready to get a pipe. You all have a great day though."

And with it, Laurence would take his leave, exiting the store with a chuckle plain on his lips as he started to open the newly bought packs, and the moment he did, he could imagine Sophia's voice in the back of his mind, her observant tone something she got from her mother, scolding him about how in school she learned the dangers of smoking...

Sigh...Maybe he should quit. 

---

* Referenced a pipe. 
pH_h6EDi

"I'd say in any other circumstances it's nice to meet you Alba--"

There'd be little time to respond with his name before their attention would be diverted towards the sound of a bulky platform descending, eyes landing right on a primate and its avian companion, both unfamiliar faces, but what tied them together was the way the same chains they wore had been only like accessories to them. Laurence swallowed his bated breath; this did not spell anything good for them. Those were the exact same chains he’d tried learning about…The question would be, whether they were the ones who pulled the strings.

Laurence could only watch as the crate slowly approached them and hit the ground with a careless rumble that made the doctor jump. Munkidori hopped off the platform with its mischievous grin, its eyes glancing over Laurence and Alba as its henchmen came forward, giving their introduction of what could only be the group of Pokémon they'd seen earlier.

Everything the henchman said had almost left Laurence at a loss for words, he had no idea what the three-day war could have been, nor the destruction that it could have wreaked on the Pokemon, however, seeing that he had been captured, clearly they had been indiscriminately taking in any sort of person. It mattered not if hands were directly in the demise of them or not, every hoennite had their hands stained in whatever blood was shed.

Alba's quiet rebuttal admittedly has Laurence raise a hand to almost try to silence him, the sight of a live execution enough to make any man want to hide from whatever sick spotlight Munkidori had shone on the unfortunate victim.

“That is not what they think…And seeing how we’re in this situation, I can’t say we have much to argue about right now either.”

Laurence whispered under his breath, hoping Alba would catch wind of what had been said and quiet down a bit, for fear of getting the same treatment. He’d quietly wait as the Megalopolans fished out the items from the boxes, the same sickly purple mochi that had been found at the scene of various previous issues he’d seen. The Venusaur, the Ariados…He’d take another breath, remembering the effects on the patients, the rumors: Moodswings, Paling of the Face, Heterochromia. It was all the reason more to not to eat them…But he had little choice.

The bite hadn’t been as horrid as he’d thought, the taste almost pleasant had it not been that he could feel his pulse heighten, the tightness of his neck increasing as he could feel it connect to the bars of the prison cell bars. Another discovery, another issue. When it came time for their tasks, Laurence quietly got to his, without complaint, rather as he worked, his hands brutally suffering from no gloves, he simply eyes about, trying to find any familiar faces in the ward who would be brave enough to repeatedly go towards the center of the ward. However, it is only then that he hears Alba’s request for his name. He seemed to have forgotten.

“Laurence. The name is Laurence.”

He tries to say it without much of a concern in his tone, though it fails. Rather, as he speaks, he finds Alba hunched over the crystals and whispering his pleas to them, bringing back the fuzzy and vague memory of howard slayte , and his claim of wishes of humanity…

Alba Evovae

---

x0etXOXm
* Laurence says hello to Alba
* Laurence witnesses a murder 
* Laurence eats Mochi
* Laurence decides that he will do his work, for fear that he will be next.

Will be taking the Venusaur, and will give it moves and the like in Laurence's PC.

PURCHASING/REDEEMING

welcome to the poké mart!

1X Poison Premium Gachapon Ticket Redemption (Earned via Excursions Event)
Laurence's Gacha (0 PD)

-1 Premium Gachapon Ticket

do come again!

0 PD

Gachapon, gachapon, what will the doctor get today!?

Perfect...His advice would be perfect, standing there and all. If he had fought these things that had lurked in the dark and found that even he was unsure how his Pokémon would do, all Laurence could do would be standing there like a sitting duck. But he followed orders nonetheless. 

"You've heard him Shinx. Stay beside us."

His voice was quiet and guarded, not looking to see if the Pokémon had come, but silently hoped it would. Luckily, it did, the small beast sitting toward the doctor's legs, matching its movement with the group. Grigori's reaffirmation of their job did little to soothe Laurence, only giving him much more to worry about when it came to these depths. When he was in the Giant Chasm, they had done something similar and found themselves in the face of what was now his Raging Bolt, but Grigori wasn't howard slayte, Laurence had no idea what he could have had to prevent such a thing. 

"Got it, got it. I'll make sure we get an antidote, you just make sure whatever happens, we can leave this place if the going gets rough."

The doctor continued trekking forward, the familiar sound of a heartbeat getting faster, louder, more erratic. Not long after, they'd hit the first stop, Shinx's tail flickered brightly for the moment, revealing what the two could only make as a wall, the sides of it slick with a translucent slime, its content still viscous, almost freshened. However, the discovery would be forgotten for the moment when Grigori had seen the remains. The doctor bit his lip, even in the medical field, it was rare one could simply just see the remains of a person. 

You reckon this was a person, Pokémon, or neither?

His voice came out as indifferent as he could, though it was obvious that part of him had been unnerved at such a sight. But ignoring it could be a death sentence, had it been a person or pikeman. It showed that something that had been there...Be that it was only a bit of what was left of it on the floor. 

"I'd take my chances and say, a person. That right there is a femur, the other, a bit of the tibia. But where could the rest of 'em be?"

He tried to find maybe another part of the person's remains but had no luck. Whatever had left part of him, had made off with the rest. Scavenger, maybe? 

"If you're going to hold onto it, then put it in a bag and put it in the containers we have. I'll look into it back at the lab, see what maybe cause of death could be, and if there are any other traces on it. And speaking of the lab...What do you think this is?"

Laurence turned to face the slime that had coated the wall before them, reaching into his pockets to pull out the gloves, a swab, and a vial. He'd be quick to get whatever sample it was, regardless of whether it was direct or not. 

"I don't know what it is, but it's gotta be useful somehow. Be it from a Pokemon we know about, or something down here."

Grigori Sokolov

---

It hadn't been pretty when Laurence woke up. In his startled state, the doctor instinctually jolted awake, his body raising before he felt his throat constrict entirely, his windpipe almost crushed under the strain of the toxic chain. Pain shot through his nerves, forcing him to viciously cough in his mask, those labored and panicked breaths only seeming to increase as the sting of it kept his senses sharp and alert. He tried to look around, but his vision seemed almost glossed over, the smear of his mask smudging his surroundings. He couldn't tell if he was simply going blind from the asphyxiation or from something else.

“Hey, do you remember anything from before you woke up here?”

The question had Laurence's attention immediately, his head snapping to the side a bit with a bit more precaution than his previous attempt. Someone was with him, however, it wasn't Howard or Gregori's voice, it was someone else. In a brief moment, before his foggy vision could settle onto Alba, he could feel his body tense. Once he did settle his sights on him, he noticed the mask, the protector obscuring what features the man had, but giving enough information to Laurence to figure out he must have had one on himself. He tried to answer, confusion and mild panic laced in his words.

"N--No, I...don't remember anything at all really. Where the hell am I even? Who are you?"

He could have easily asked an onslaught of questions, however, he tried to catch his lost breath, taking in what little strained breaths he could. From what his vision could allow, he had no idea where he could have been, for not only had Alba’s face remained unseen, but he couldn’t even guess from the foreign clothes he had worn. He hadn’t seen any sort of style of clothing like that at all. He could feel the disorientation start again, his head growing light and his vision blurred, forcing him to place a hand against the cool ground to stabilize himself. He wasn’t feeling himself, besides the other glaring things he could tell from it, he could tell his body had ached and it wasn’t just from some rough handling. He had remembered the feeling, that same fatigue and inflammation he felt when he had first gotten sick from before.

His eyes laboriously honed in on the purple accessory that had linked to the stranger’s neck. That explained it, or, some part of it.

“Shit…These things.”

He muttered to himself.

Alba Evovae


TLDR
* Laurence is in a cell.
* Laurence recognizes that someone is in said cell with him, but doesn't know who.
* Laurence knows sees that there is a chain attached to them, but does not know why.
* Laurence is panicked.

He had a tall order, investigating Eternatus, something he said was much larger and much more destructive than anything Laurence had ever heard of, and the admin had the nerve to bring Sophia's name so casually in such a thing. He hated it, that twitch his heart did whenever anything came to her. Howard knew exactly what he was doing. The doctor sat there silent, his breath slowing as he fumbled for words...

"That isn't a damn request, and you know it. And I have no damn idea where I'd even start that Howard."

There was that anger, the annoyance that began to rise. It wasn't a request at all, putting his kid in such a thing when she would have no idea of what the world entailed, and yet he had to do the work of researching it. He had to be the one asked for this. Laurence pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling the heat of anger turn into a headache. What job was this? Did he think that he could just go and become some sort of superhero? Just get up and conjure up results as if there simply written on the wall? But Howard had been smart, because even when he knew the answers were hidden, Laurence couldn't ignore the idea that it'd keep her safe. At the end of the day, he was a father too. A doctor by himself may not have much to live for, but a father? He had everything to live for. 

A moment passed...The only sound permeating the tense atmosphere was the heart monitor that interrupted the silence. Laurence had to think...No, he had already thought, he had to simply accept it. It would take a moment before he could only let out a tired and defeated sigh, his hand falling to his lap as those his eyes looked at Howard, true defeat in them. 

"I won't be able to do this alone."

The admittance of it was the only thing he could think of, this wasn't just something that could be done by one person. But, it had been a verbal acceptance of his fate. 

"I'd need more than one, more than two, or three people to work with this...And I'd need help from you since you know a lot more about this than I do. I'll do it, but I want help, Howard. Thats it. And keep my daughter out of any damn thing past this." 

howard slayte

He spoke about handling legendary Pokémon as if they were but pieces of a chessboard, as if they were simply machines that could turn off and on with only a command. Laurence could only disagree; however, he wasn't the one with the Regice in his back pocket, and even then, it seemed to a certain extent, that Howard himself was wrong too. But Laruence simply continued to read his paperwork, trying to take his mind off it. 

"The Iron Moth would be appreciated for the toxin but try not to take this as me asking you personally. The sooner you have one, the less you have to worry about others dying from it. And warming up to you and making sure you don't die are two separate things, they may sound the same, but you still are a part of Rocket. Sorry, if I'm being unreasonably cold, but I also can't just let an Admin die on my hands."

He said that as plain as day, a reminder that while Laurence had healed him, he had yet to see him as but a simple Rocket Admin, who had hired and could fire him. He had power, and power didn't exactly mean that there was full loyalty. However, while he spoke the truth, the Doctor had felt relief that someone hadn't died that day. He was still a doctor after all. 

I'm going to give you a job that I think will pertain to your skills. 

His request had come at such an odd moment, immediately after he had suggested that he do little, but it should have been something he expected. He had said it, so it was fair game, Laurence sat back in his chair and put the paper down, his eyes rising from their current topic to look at the bandaged architect. 

"And what would that be?"

howard slayte

Built. 

Regice was built, Howard said. Something about it had unsettled Laurence, the idea of knowing that such a thing could be made. Could be sculpted. He put away the flashlight, getting up to move a bit, he needed space. Learning such a thing had felt wrong, he hadn't heard of things happening like that, and surely, he didn't poke his head into places that did. He was a doctor, and that was the only thing he knew about.

The story had seemed unrealistic, a story of forefathers going about things in Hoenn to defeat such a mysterious dragon that had dwarfed his hometown, but Howard was yet to be labeled a liar, so Laurence shut up. He couldn't even imagine what part such an elaborate lie would start from. 

"And since you must've gotten it, meaning Rocket trusts you to handle it."

Another obvious observation, but it at least showed he could believe in some parts of the story, even if it were something so minute. He wouldn't give into responding to Howard's comment of hypocrisy though, he'd felt too ashamed in such. 

"Well, that is a crazy story...The world is much bigger than I thought it was, forefathers building golems and all. Besides that, I have to tell you, you took a beating out there. You broke three ribs, and frankly, you're going to be out of commission for a bit. Don't be dumb and battle, I bandaged you up, but you'll need to be careful for now. I suggest resting up for the moment, but if you have to do work, make it easy. And if it's super easy, I'll do it." 

He had spoken about such a thing as if it were him reading off a newspaper, slow and methodical, not quick to give any emotion. However, as Laurence went and sat down, the man was quick to pick up back the Iron Moth paperwork he had, rereading what he had written before. 

howard slayte