Oscar rested his head between his pointer finger and thumb, an amused smile forming on his face. "I'm the only one who knows you're here." His tone was soft, like a father speaking to their distressed child. He could not blame Chu-e for making the assumption that he did, Oscar would have thought the same thing in his shoes.

"I'm in town for a conference. I was at the grocery store stocking on lollipops and who should I see casually shopping nearby?" Oscar gave Chu-e an inquisitive look, a clearly sarcastic gesture. "I followed you home just to make sure I wasn't seeing things. The mixture of confusion and joy I felt was staggering. It was like the world's worst prank."

Oscar let his hand drop to the table, his expression becoming far more dire. "We all thought--still think--you were in danger. You clearly are if they had to chip you, but Rocket may not see it the same way. The question is, what are you going to do when word does get out?"

Chu-e Choi

Oof, Temp was ignorant to what Project Genesis was. Oscar was honestly surprised, he had expected Gavin to maybe bring it up at some point. Oh well, it was not relevant to their current machinations. Temp's note about the fire pokemon was much more disappointing, but Oscar knew that he could work around it just fine. It shall just take a bit longer.

Oscar teetered back and forth, realizing rather quickly that his lack of context would only be increasingly confusing to Temp. Oscar was so used not having to share his thoughts with anyone at work, he would have to work on that. Oscar held up a finger, "I am jumping the gun a bit. Allow me to provide some background info." He ran briefly out of sight before returning with a heavy looking case.

Oscar would abruptly clear Temp's current table before slamming the case in front of him. With the click of a button the case would be unlocked, and Oscar would slowly open it to reveal the steel casings to some sort of gauntlet. The pieces were all detached, but they were clearly aligned to form a hand and forearm. Oscar giggled as he came around to Temp's side and began his explanation.

"Have you met Aurelie Lefevre? She's a very talented blacksmith on our payroll, and I hired her to make me multiple sets of these bad boys. They're prosthetic casings made from smelted steel type pokemon! Light weight, durable, flexible, these fuckers are gonna change the alternative limb market forever! Presently though, I am more interested in Aurelie's research during the creation process. She took it upon herself to test some of the ores, and found that the 'skin' of each steel type provided different properties."

Oscar reached down and picked up the discarded magnemite. "For instance, the magnemite family can create ores that can conduct electricity! I don't have a steelix around, but ores made with their bodies are resistant to heat! You get the picture, I wanna do more tests so that I can understand the nature of what could be a very versatile resource!"

Oscar put the magnemite on the table and put a hand on Temp's shoulder, "Now I'd understand if this sounds a bit too ghoulish, and I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to back out. You just gotta tell me now before we get elbow-deep into some mad science."

Tempest Quinn

Oscar had been kicking himself ever since he missed the sign ups for last year's race. What an absolute blunder, he would have cleaned up the competition faster than a--really fast pokemon. Whatever, FUCK IT! FUCK! IT! The past is gone, at least he made it into today's race.

He felt especially invested in this challenge, as it was hosted by the elusive Josh Devlin. Well, he was not at all elusive but Oscar could not seem to pin the gym leader of his base-city down long enough to meet him. Like, first he just wanted to shake his hand or something but the longer it took to encounter Mister Devlin the more driven Oscar became to know him. How was Oscar supposed to destroy him so that he could take over Mauville if he could not even meet the guy!?

Oscar figured that supporting and taking part in Josh's race would be a good way to at least exchange prolonged eye contact, and as luck would have it the gym leader would be placed not too far behind Oscar's starting position. Oscar was already mounted on Lancer the beedrill's back, the both of them sporting vintage flying ace costumes. Oscar slowly looked behind him, his large goggles reflecting the sun. As he set his sights on his competition, he would give them all a nod and salute--though he was careful to aim toward Mister Devlin in particular.

Oscar turned back to Lancer leaning over to talk to his steed. "You ready to slaughter these jokers?" Lancer made a serious of buzzing noises that emulated an engine revving up, and Oscar would cackle manically in response. "What a beautiful day for a race!"

-----------------------------------------

Speed (A)
Endurance (C)
Reaction (C)

tl;dr
--Oscar is here!

"Yep!"

There was no hesitation within Oscar's statement, he truly did trust Amor. Oscar would quickly begin elaborating, "Amor has proven himself to be a loyal and useful ally. His initial loyalty to the League was a minor barrier, but once that waned I seized the opportunity to recruit him. I believe that he will be a powerful asset to Rocket--though I fear he may have anger issues. Nothing a little therapy can't solve."

Oscar nodded confidently, "Yes I trust him, and if he shows that trusting him was a mistake then I will correct it personally. The usual cycle of things." Oscar seemed so nonchalant toward the ways of Rocket; as a long time member the organization's violent code seemed like just a quirky tradition.

Oscar returned to Lulu's machine, taking a closer look as he addressed Lulu once more. "I want to know more about your dream research. What have you learned so far?"

Lulu Flint

Oscar was really hoping not to come back to this wasteland any time soon, but alas when one searches for answers you must check every crevice. Bundled up like a arctic explorer, Oscar looked downright fluffy as he trudged through the snow. The wind was surprisingly vicious, acting as a sort of buffer as he slowly moved forward. His annoyance eventually grew potent enough that he would feel the need to vent to his traveling companion.

"This fuckin' sucks!" He yelled out, stopping briefly to kick up some snow. "Could you imagine if Kyurem emerged completely? The entire region might be like this! Fuck what a nightmare." Indeed the Silent Icelands stood as a stark reminder that creatures with power beyond human comprehension were waiting just out of sight. Just by sticking its head through a portal, the ice dragon Kyurem managed to create one of the most brutal environments Oscar had ever encountered.

Oscar looked to his companion as he hopped up and down to keep his blood flowing. "How much further do you think?"

jayden cross

The distinct sound of mechanical movement could be heard across Oscar's lab. It was light with a noticeable pattern, like an rc car moving back and forth to the tune of a song. Oscar would probably rather be doing something like that right about now, because his current task was about as exciting as watching paint dry.

For the past two hours Oscar had been calibrating the chunk of wires and metal that looked vaguely like a human arm. Wired rings attached to his fingers and wrist allowed him to control the 'arm' from afar, and he has been tweaking the arm's functionality by slowly making a fist over and over again. It was not exciting work, and sometimes the arm would get stuck so Oscar would have to painstakingly reset it so that the calibration could continue. It was painfully dull work.

He was nearly finished though. The arm was connected to a nearby laptop that displayed every movement Oscar had performed so far. This would act as a sort of nerve center down the line, allowing Oscar to hopefully make the arm move without needing the wired rings. He was greatly looking forward to that, as he was very tired of having to pry the robotic hand open when it seized up--which just happened again and he was ABOUT TO LOSE HIS MIND!

Fuck it, Oscar pulled out his phone and Lulu Flint if she knew anyone that would be willing to help him in the labs today. Apparently, one would be sent over shortly.

olliver samovar

Taking with olliver samovar

A shiver ran down Oscar's spine as a gust of wind cut through his coat. He knew Shoal Cave to be rather cold, so he thought he had dressed up accordingly. Yet standing at the cave's mouth proved how unprepared he was, the biting chills from within slicing through his thin body as easily as a sharpened blade. Oscar cursed under his breath as he shoved his hands into his coat pockets, turning his back to the cave.

"Why's it gotta be so fuckin' cold?" He asked his nearby mission companion. Oscar needed to collect data by watching Rocket's grunts work in the field, and today he would be shadowing @jason. Oscar recalled seeing Jason at the first Uriel Project meeting, but they did not interact at all. Mister Beumont's mannerisms were unknown to Oscar; there was a nostalgic sense of awkwardness that came with unfamiliarity. Oscar welcomed the feeling, it had been a long time since he went on a mission with a grunt he did not know.

He just wished it was not so cold! Was it always this chilly? Perhaps, though it might not be a natural chill. Maybe the subject of their mission was the cause of this additional drop in temperature. A ghost pokemon had been getting the drop on Rocket agents near Mossdeep, their pokemon being stolen while the agents were dazed. The spirit had been tracked to Shoal Cave, and it was now up to Oscar and Jason to hunt it down. Well it wa mostly up to Jason, technically Oscar was just supposed to observe and intervene if things get dicey.

Oscar had given Jason a head band to wear, which would record his vitals during the mission. He looked over to check if he had put it on yet. "Is the headband comfortable? I wouldn't know I never put it on."

Oscar stood waiting at the entrance of Rusturf Tunnel, casually fiddling with his phone. At least he appeared to be fiddling; it was the dead of night so while everyone who might want to be on the Route was gone Oscar would still remain vigilant for any unwelcome visitors. Plus it took very little thought and energy to play that fucking god damn stupid Rondez-view of luv game--which Oscar begrudgingly could not get enough of.

It at the very least helped pass the time while he waited. Tonight he would be joined by Zev Harcourt, whom Oscar had invited out for a late picnic. 'Picnic' of course was code for the relentless hunting of an assassination target, usually a turncoat or rat that needed to be expunged from life. Usually Oscar would partake as well, with it being his job and all. However he was no longer a beast, and he no longer needed to hunt down the scum on Rocket's hit list.

However, part of his duty as a Head Scientist would be creating simulations for SPECTRA training. To create his simulations, Oscar will need to collect data by observing capable Rocket agents in the field--and that would be his priority today. Oscar had debriefed all of this to Zev when he first reached out to him, now all he had to do was wait for him to show up.

Oscar's nerves were the highest they had been since the Menteno mission. Sitting before him was declan walsh , patiently waiting for Oscar to begin his presentation. Oscar and Mister Walsh have had multiple conversations, and yet only now did the Rocket Boss strike true fear within Oscar's heart. His gaze was so sharp, so willful; it was like looking down the barrel of a sentient gun.

Yet despite Oscar's fear, his expression would remain neutral. Hiding his anxiety was a valuable skill that Oscar had to learn early in his career; fear was weakness, and Oscar would rather die than look weak in front of Walsh. He took a deep breath before bowing his head in greeting. "Thank you again for coming Mister Walsh, I realize your time is valuable so I am grateful that you would come all this way to see my presentation." They had already exchanged greetings, but you know how it goes with these kinds of things--gotta emphasize the importance of your audience's presence before talking their ears off.

"In that spirit, I will begin right away. The present to you the next step in accessible Infinity Energy: the pokepod." Oscar motioned to the machine behind him, illuminated by the industrial lighting of his workshop. It looked like a giant blender, if it were designed by a heavy metal album artist. At the base of the machine was a chamber, and within the chamber sat a sleeping teddiursa. This unfortunate creature would be the main participant in this presentation.

Oscar walked up to the machine and began explaining how it worked. "I have constructed extractors within the machinery, built with filters to allow different levels of Infinity Energy drainage. Upon being drained, the Infinity Energy is directed through a series of circuits. Machinery that is plugged into the pokepod will begin drawing from these circuits, using the Infinity Energy to power them." Oscar pointed toward the jar shaped glass structure that capped off the machine. "This is a giant light bulb that will help visualize the use of Infinity Energy."

Oscar ran over to the control panel, which sat a few feet in front of Walsh. It had been streamlined since Oscar's last round of experiments, with far less buttons and the dial being replaced with a handle-like lever. Oscar grabbed the lever and looked to Walsh. "I will now demonstrate the capability of my machine, starting with its default power setting." He pushed the lever half-way up its path, and the machine would whir to life.

The teddiursa would briefly awaken due to the noise, but the extraction of its life force from within the chamber would quickly knock it out again. The giant light bulb slowly began to glow, casting an eerie red-tinted bloom across the work shop. "If you look closely, you will see that the teddiursa is asleep. On this power setting, the pokepod is able to power a rudimentary device without killing the pokemon within. This provides a small amount of perpetual energy, which can be supplemented by the use of multiple pokepods. My next goal is to make the pokepod more pod-like--er, compact and portable so that they can be easily set-up and utilized within the field. Now observe what occurs when the power setting is changed to maximum."

Oscar pushed the lever up the rest of the way, causing the machine to get gradually louder. The teddiursa sprang awake with a brief scream of agony before rapidly aging into dust. The light bulb began to glow a brilliant and unnatural radiance, lasting several seconds before instantaneously going out. From there Oscar would shut off his machine. "At the maximum power level, the machine extracts the most Infinity Energy it can from the subject. This results in the death of the subject, but provides the most possible energy. Unfortunately, this immense influx of power is short lived and will be used up within a matter of seconds.

Oscar moved from the control panel back to his starting position in front of Walsh. "When I finish the smaller model, I believe that using multiple pokepods at once will have immeasurable utility during our campaign to overtake Hoenn. During my experiments I have witnessed the possibilities of using extracted Infinity Energy not just for powering machinery, but also for healing. I theorize that we can even find a way to weaponize Infinity Energy, with enough development of course. I hope this presentation has sparked your imagination, and that you will find my invention useful for Rocket's war efforts."

Oscar ended his presentation here. He felt like he did alright, at least the machine worked perfectly. Yet he now had to wait for Walsh's judgement, which only heightened his inner anxiety.

Before the meeting started properly, Oscar received a very thoughtful gift from mint frost. Oscar was sure to give him a bright grin as he passed by, not mentioning that he hated matcha tea. Oh well, he will sip it. He did not want Mint to feel bad.

Soon enough the presentation began, and Oscar would pay close attention to everything Lulu reported. This was a surprisingly difficult task, as he was very used to half-paying attention to these sorts of meetings. Yet he had a larger stake in these developments now, he had to make a greater effort to keep track of important information. However this became nearly impossible due to Lulu's visual effects, Oscar kept getting distracted by all of the flashy imagery. Oscar zeroed in on the 'Dahlia Apocalypse' animation, and by the time he realized that he had zoned out Lulu had already concluded her segment!

Oscar sighed, hardening his face as he really tried to pay attention to Naomi Sato's segment. During her speech, Tempest Quinn decided to take a seat next to him and show some friendly affection. Normally Oscar would be freaked out, but Oscar was too busy focusing to be embarrassed. He would at least tap Temp's hand as it rested on his shoulder, both acknowledging and greeting him.

As Naomi concluded, Oscar waited for a chance to ask a question of his own. "What methods are being deployed to wrangle the Unknown? I imagine it is a lot harder than ushering them all into a pen or catching them with Butterfree nets. Perhaps there is something we can use to attract them--though I struggle to think of what."