[ ON A DARK STORMY NIGHT IN A LAND WHERE POKEMON ROAM...
A scruffy, beaten-up looking girl with impossibly long blonde hair rushes barefoot through the rain and the hail to a Pokemon Research Centre in the middle of the gloom. It's super dramatic and awesome.
In her arms? A kecleon the pale colour of ash, obviously ill. She doesn't look too good herself, but there's Determination in her gaze as she marches up to the nearest researcher in a white lab coat and grabs at their arm. ]
--please, hear me out. I need help. My best friend is sick.
[ oh god. this sends panic down tadashi's everywhere. he's the only one on shift this time of night, and he's not even that good at healing pokemon yet. there's a reason why he's studying under the best professor in the region uwu*!!
professor callaghan.
he looks at the lost girl, visibly worried. ]
Right. Stay here— [ he doesn't even think about the consequences of letting a random person into the centre. it's fine. it's fine. he has to help.
it doesn't take long before he comes out of the other room, his chansey now with him. ]
Chansey and the others will take care of your friend. [ he holds out his arms as if asking for the kecleon. he'd rather not forcibly take him away from her, after all. ] We've got to hurry.
[ She bites her lip and looks down at the trembling pokemon in her arms - Pascal, she calls him, though only in her head. He opens an eye just slightly and winks. Everything going according to plan...
She knows what she has to do. Get in, get the information Gothel needs on Professor Callaghan's project, get out.
And yet...
This is her first time "Out." Out of her Mother's own lab and the tower of her home. Everything is so bright and brilliant and big. The young man in front of her is nothing like the woman she's been looking at for eighteen years and Rapunzel can't help but stare. Even his Chansey (so fluffy! so pink!) is something new. ]
I... Are - Are you sure? I think I should go with you. This is our first time, um... [ kaslnalfnaf ] At a hospital. Like this.
[ he looks around, then at the door that rapunzel had just used to enter. it's stormy out, no one else is bound to come in at this time, right? right? okay... it should be fine. and he can just hack into the cameras later to get rid of the evidence that somebody unauthorised entered the laboratory.
he nods hesitantly, but it's a nod nonetheless. ]
Uh, right. Come on, then.
[ he leads her into the lab, where there's a bunch of chanseys working on their own thing. but they stop and stare at the both of them once they see the injured kecleon.
tadashi's chansey takes kecleon and puts him on a counter and begins to check its wounds. tadashi, on the other hand, offers rapunzel a seat and a towel. ]
You should dry your clothes before you get sick. [ a beat. ] Do you want some coffee or tea?
Ah-- [ She's distracted by having Pascal taken away for a moment, wondering with panic whether they'll realise he's not actually sick and send her away.
No, no, he can handle this. And, besides, there are people counting-- ] What?
[ she looks up ]
...oh. Oh, no, ah-- My clothes.... I should dry soon. I tend to run very hot. Body wise. TEMPERATURE WISE I MEAN! A-Ah. Temperature... wise...
[ the chanseys do their own thing. tadashi would want to check on the """sick""" pokemon, but he should be tending to rapunzel, first. there's another counter in the large room that looks like a lounge, and in that part is where one can find a coffee maker and a sink, as well as a small fridge, and other food-related things. tadashi gets some hot water, puts it in a cup that has a tea bag in it.
Heh. [ She sips the tea and shivers at the familiar berry taste, not quite sweet but almost like... peppermint? Cooling and somewhat bitter.
Drinking it relaxes her; she leans back somewhat and lets out a sigh - "ahh..."
It's only when she looks at Tadashi that she remembers where she's at and what her mission is. Yikes! Where is her pokemon... She needs to distract this lab guy! ]
So. [ Lowering the cup and looking around the clean, high-tech room. ] Does... this kind of thing happen often? You having to rescue lost girls in the middle of the night shift, I mean.
[ he fidgets a bit before taking a seat across the stranger. he may not know who this girl is, but somehow, it seems easy to act familiar around her. she seems friendly enough. ]
No, believe it or not, you'd be the first. [ he says, pocketing his hands awkwardly and stretching his lab coat out. he looks calm, but he's practically nervous. nervous because he has no idea how to mend the situation, and because girl??? how does i girl??? ]
You're not from this town, are you?
[ he would know, otherwise. this girl just... seems so foreign. ]
Ah. [ she nearly drops the mug ] What - What makes you say that?
[ Her first conversation, her first conversation, her first conversation...!!
But...what to talk about? What to distract him with!? Painting? No, he doesn't seem like the painting sort. She's watching him intensely now, noticing everything she can. He's too clean for a painter. What's the only other thing she knows too much about-- ]
S-SO! I... noticed you like Pokemon!! [ N....O .... ]
Well, yeah-- [ what else would he be doing here? he looks back at the chanseys, to see how they're holding up, and one of them waves at tadashi as a sign that everything is fine. that's good, at least. ]
[ She throws Tadashi a glance, anxious because she's wasting time here when she could be searching the facility for the Head Researcher's reports--
Wait.
If getting close to Professor Callaghan is her goal and this weird lab tech (that is his profession, right?!) works for the professor himself... Maybe the lab tech is actually the person she should be investigating after all! Tadashi could be her key to unlocking whatever coveted research is contained within the centre's walls - research that could save her mother.
Rapunzel grits her teeth.
She has to do this. She has to. She is the only trainer in written history whose Pokemon can bring back the dead and Professor Callaghan is the only scientist at the forefront of healthcare for both humans and Pokemon whose lab may have created a Pokemon capable of doing the same thing. If she finds this Pokemon, her mother could be young and healthy forever. Rapunzel would never have to use her "power" again and she could live her life as an ordinary trainer... ]
[ Now she's smiling. Now she's confident!!! ...Kind of. ]
I've - always been interested in helping people, I guess. Pokemon too! Don't... you think there's a lot we could accomplish if both species came together for the common good?
[ tadashi perks up immediately at the mention of common good. it just pings all his interests, as boring as it may sound. and the smile he gives rapunzel has so much heart in it. ]
I think so, too. That's why treating your Pokemon with care is so important. [ he looks back at the chanseys, then back at rapunzel. ] Oh, my name's Tadashi, by the way. I'm- I'm not a trainer or anything, so please don't try to fight me.
[ he laughs as his cheeks turn red. he's feeling a bit embarrassed, now. ]
I gotta say, you got really lucky that you found this place. We're the best research centre in the region when it comes to sick Pokemon.
Do... people try to fight you a lot here or something?
[ ... ]
--Tadashi the not-trainer. What are you if you aren't a trainer? [ At least she's not pretending to be interested - that much is real, as shown by her looking around the vast, clean room suddenly.
Hearing about a place from your mother isn't at all the same as being there! ]
Well, [ he chuckles, then takes a sip of his own tea. he breathes on the mouth of the cup before continuing. ] you know how some trainers are. They try to battle whomever they meet.
[ whoever's two feet away from them, anyway. ]
I'm a researcher, studying directly under Professor Callaghan. [ he doesn't even have to talk about the professor. he's sure she's heard of her. after all, who hasn't? he's well-known worldwide. ]
Aha, y-yeah you know. Sometimes I feel like if I just make eye contact people will want to fight me, ahaha...
[ This is a lie SHE'S ONLY EVER BEEN IN BATTLES WITH HER MOTHER! ]
--Wait, directly under him... [ Incredible. This is a goldmine. Her eyes widen with a combination of amazement, intimidation, and surprise. ] Wow, that's... you must be very good at what you do if Professor Callaghan himself is interested in you.
[ Or is it his Pokemon?? Do non-trainers even have them? She looks down at the soaked belt on her dress where the rest of her own are stored. ]
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no subject
A scruffy, beaten-up looking girl with impossibly long blonde hair rushes barefoot through the rain and the hail to a Pokemon Research Centre in the middle of the gloom. It's super dramatic and awesome.
In her arms? A kecleon the pale colour of ash, obviously ill. She doesn't look too good herself, but there's Determination in her gaze as she marches up to the nearest researcher in a white lab coat and grabs at their arm. ]
--please, hear me out. I need help. My best friend is sick.
Please.
no subject
professor callaghan.
he looks at the lost girl, visibly worried. ]
Right. Stay here— [ he doesn't even think about the consequences of letting a random person into the centre. it's fine. it's fine. he has to help.
it doesn't take long before he comes out of the other room, his chansey now with him. ]
Chansey and the others will take care of your friend. [ he holds out his arms as if asking for the kecleon. he'd rather not forcibly take him away from her, after all. ] We've got to hurry.
no subject
She knows what she has to do. Get in, get the information Gothel needs on Professor Callaghan's project, get out.
And yet...
This is her first time "Out." Out of her Mother's own lab and the tower of her home. Everything is so bright and brilliant and big. The young man in front of her is nothing like the woman she's been looking at for eighteen years and Rapunzel can't help but stare. Even his Chansey (so fluffy! so pink!) is something new. ]
I... Are - Are you sure? I think I should go with you. This is our first time, um... [ kaslnalfnaf ] At a hospital. Like this.
no subject
he nods hesitantly, but it's a nod nonetheless. ]
Uh, right. Come on, then.
[ he leads her into the lab, where there's a bunch of chanseys working on their own thing. but they stop and stare at the both of them once they see the injured kecleon.
tadashi's chansey takes kecleon and puts him on a counter and begins to check its wounds. tadashi, on the other hand, offers rapunzel a seat and a towel. ]
You should dry your clothes before you get sick. [ a beat. ] Do you want some coffee or tea?
1/2
No, no, he can handle this. And, besides, there are people counting-- ] What?
[ she looks up ]
...oh. Oh, no, ah-- My clothes.... I should dry soon. I tend to run very hot. Body wise. TEMPERATURE WISE I MEAN! A-Ah. Temperature... wise...
no subject
.... Tea would be wonderful, thank you.
no subject
the room suddenly starts to smell like berries.
he heads back to rapunzel and hands the cup. ]
This should warm you up. It's rawst berry tea.
I hope it helps.
no subject
Drinking it relaxes her; she leans back somewhat and lets out a sigh - "ahh..."
It's only when she looks at Tadashi that she remembers where she's at and what her mission is. Yikes! Where is her pokemon... She needs to distract this lab guy! ]
So. [ Lowering the cup and looking around the clean, high-tech room. ] Does... this kind of thing happen often? You having to rescue lost girls in the middle of the night shift, I mean.
no subject
No, believe it or not, you'd be the first. [ he says, pocketing his hands awkwardly and stretching his lab coat out. he looks calm, but he's practically nervous. nervous because he has no idea how to mend the situation, and because girl??? how does i girl??? ]
You're not from this town, are you?
[ he would know, otherwise. this girl just... seems so foreign. ]
no subject
[ Her first conversation, her first conversation, her first conversation...!!
But...what to talk about? What to distract him with!? Painting? No, he doesn't seem like the painting sort. She's watching him intensely now, noticing everything she can. He's too clean for a painter. What's the only other thing she knows too much about-- ]
S-SO! I... noticed you like Pokemon!! [ N....O .... ]
no subject
Well, yeah-- [ what else would he be doing here? he looks back at the chanseys, to see how they're holding up, and one of them waves at tadashi as a sign that everything is fine. that's good, at least. ]
Aaaand I'm guessing you're the same?
1/2 what am i doing
[ She throws Tadashi a glance, anxious because she's wasting time here when she could be searching the facility for the Head Researcher's reports--
Wait.
If getting close to Professor Callaghan is her goal and this weird lab tech (that is his profession, right?!) works for the professor himself... Maybe the lab tech is actually the person she should be investigating after all! Tadashi could be her key to unlocking whatever coveted research is contained within the centre's walls - research that could save her mother.
Rapunzel grits her teeth.
She has to do this. She has to. She is the only trainer in written history whose Pokemon can bring back the dead and Professor Callaghan is the only scientist at the forefront of healthcare for both humans and Pokemon whose lab may have created a Pokemon capable of doing the same thing. If she finds this Pokemon, her mother could be young and healthy forever. Rapunzel would never have to use her "power" again and she could live her life as an ordinary trainer... ]
no subject
[ Now she's smiling. Now she's confident!!! ...Kind of. ]
I've - always been interested in helping people, I guess. Pokemon too! Don't... you think there's a lot we could accomplish if both species came together for the common good?
[ SHE'S GOING TO HELL! ]
no subject
I think so, too. That's why treating your Pokemon with care is so important. [ he looks back at the chanseys, then back at rapunzel. ] Oh, my name's Tadashi, by the way. I'm- I'm not a trainer or anything, so please don't try to fight me.
[ he laughs as his cheeks turn red. he's feeling a bit embarrassed, now. ]
I gotta say, you got really lucky that you found this place. We're the best research centre in the region when it comes to sick Pokemon.
no subject
[ Yup. Hell for sure. ]
Do... people try to fight you a lot here or something?
[ ... ]
--Tadashi the not-trainer. What are you if you aren't a trainer? [ At least she's not pretending to be interested - that much is real, as shown by her looking around the vast, clean room suddenly.
Hearing about a place from your mother isn't at all the same as being there! ]
no subject
[ whoever's two feet away from them, anyway. ]
I'm a researcher, studying directly under Professor Callaghan. [ he doesn't even have to talk about the professor. he's sure she's heard of her. after all, who hasn't? he's well-known worldwide. ]
no subject
[ This is a lie SHE'S ONLY EVER BEEN IN BATTLES WITH HER MOTHER! ]
--Wait, directly under him... [ Incredible. This is a goldmine. Her eyes widen with a combination of amazement, intimidation, and surprise. ] Wow, that's... you must be very good at what you do if Professor Callaghan himself is interested in you.
[ Or is it his Pokemon?? Do non-trainers even have them? She looks down at the soaked belt on her dress where the rest of her own are stored. ]
...what are you working on?