Novak glanced at the Eevee that was eyeing the growing, not yet ripe Passho Berry.

"Oh no, you don't."

A flash of a Pokeball revealed Foxglove the Haunter.

"Foxglove," said Novak to the ghost under his breath. "Get that Eevee, but without damaging the plant, got it?"

The poor Eevee was suddenly surprised by the appearance of a laughing ghost right in its face, trying to lash out with a Body Slam, but Foxglove let the attack pass harmlessly through his body, unleashing a cloudy Smog that made the Eevee cough, its eyes watering. A Hypnosis put the mammalian Pokemon to sleep as the gas dissipated.

Novak shrugged as he threw the Pokeball. Eevees were popular Pokemon-- surely he could pawn this one off for some good money, or something.

Novak needed a break from his research, and there was nothing better for it than the hunting party that he'd apparently been late to. Whoops. He showed up on the scene with Pokeballs in hand, greeting the people he recognized from personal encounters (@alek) with a nod of acknowledgement and his superiors with a nod of apology. He hadn't known about this until very recently, but it was safe to apologize anyways.

A few people were apparently actually going into the vents, but Novak decided he'd follow in the footsteps of those who weren't going to do that. He had no idea what the abilities of the things they were chasing were, and he wasn't going to possibly risk his life doing this. He didn't have Porygon, Rotom, or fancy tech on hand like the others, but...

A flash of his Pokeballs revealed the solemn visage of Holly, his Yamask, and Yarrow, his Gardevoir.

"Holly can go through the vents and search," he explained to those in charge, indicating the floating ghost, "and I can keep contact with her from here with the help of my Gardevoir. We'll be happy to take whichever squad you deem fit."

He had no preference, really-- he was just. Unbearably curious about the creature that stalked the sub.

CHARACTER Novak Manchester [break]INGREDIENTS: 3 pokeballs [break]TABLE ROLLED : CAPTURE table [break]ROLL: J0Fpn42_

As Novak approached Cillian Quinn, the black thing he was looking at began to flash with dim blue lights. Or, more likely, they were there previously as well, and only by approaching Novak could see them more clearly. He squinted as he walked, trying to make out--

And then the lights winked at him, and realization struck Novak like a sledgehammer, followed by excitement and curiosity. He'd heard a few whisperings of the underboss with an Ultra Beast, but he hadn't given them much credence prior to now. But Stakataka's eyes-- because they were eyes, multitudes of them, blinking and shifting with the individual bricks-- clued him in to the truth.

"An Ultra Beast," he said, raw hunger and curiosity undisguised in his voice. "I was just... curious." He glanced at the Rotom hovering nearby, and wished with all his might that he could lean over and read the notes it was taking.

The underboss seemed to be studying Stakataka's capabilities, from what Novak had seen so far, and he wanted in. But he was nervous, too. This was the first time he was really speaking to an underboss, and he was apprehensive. About what, he wasn't sure, but hopefully Gavin wouldn't mind satisfying his curiosity.

"Sir, if you don't mind... Do the units all think independently, or with a collective consciousness?" He reached for a few Pokeballs in his pocket, just in case Gavin didn't know yet.

VOLTOLOS'S ENTRIES

Threat Assessment with Tofu, 5 entries
New Year, New Me with EBC, 5 entries
Toxic, That's Me with Siege, 5 entries
Burn Down the House with BD, 5 entries

Total: 20 entries

Thanks to yams for setting this up, and to King for being kind enough to offer his art as a prize! <3

pogadier

1 letter from here
1 letter from here
1 letter from here
3 letters from here, though mods have yet to close it at the time of me writing this
1 letter from here (Voltolos plays Moana)

ga5XXyUZ





Rewards: 1 silvally memory (Ground), 1 mega stone shard, 1 safari ticket, 1 garden or 100 pd, 2 type 3 evos, 1 design-a-pokemon

"It was really no problem," asserted Novak. "Really, you should be thanking Foxglove and Iris. Though there's not much point thanking Iris. They hardly seem to react to... well, anything."

And then he said his thanks and left. Novak nodded politely, watching the man leave.

Yes, he was also excited for their future collaborations.

As Alek left, Novak turned around and began the walk to the labs.

"I do have a few poison types of my own," added Novak, in case he needed to make sure that he was worth Alek's time. Though, here he was doing a favor for him, so... "Including a Muk, and of course the Haunter you see here."

Speaking of which, the two of them had finally brought the sludge through the airlock and into the sub, depositing it right in front of Alek's Grimer. The little guy began to eat it up.

"Well," said Novak, pulling out a business card. It was pretty bare-bones, with only his name and his number, but it'd do the job until he found something better. "Now you know where to find me. I look forward to seeing where this goes."