#research (threads)

"I know, I know. Calm down." Quentin said, holding his Magnemite under his arm. Theremin was beeping and wiggling excitedly as the two, followed closely by Fermata, walked down the lit-up streets of Nimbasa.

Quentin had owned Theremin for a few years now. The scientist was always fascinated by steel types, and would never pass up the opportunity to have one of his own. Most importantly, they were the main focus, and inspiration, for his research.

The idea of an organic being, like a Pokemon, being made of inorganic materials, like steel, was one of the many questions he set out to answer. Countless hours were spent examining Theremin throughout the years, and he knew nothing more than when they first met.

As for why they were in Nimbasa? Theremin was good. Theremin deserved a treat. The lights, amusements, stadiums, and even the subway station were brimming with electricity, and all those power lines would give any Magnemite a few volts to snack on while doing no harm to the surrounding infrastructure.

Quentin couldn't hold the excited ball anymore and decided it was time to let Theremin have some fun.

"Alright, alright. Meet you back here if we get separated." Quentin chuckled before holding Theremin in his hand. He pulled his arm back, before playfully tossing the Pokemon forward.

What Quentin didn't see was another trainer rounding the corner. Right in Theremin's direction. He shouted, hoping the trainer would get out of the way in time.

Quentin and Fermata stared intently at the pokemon in front of them. Neither wanted to take their eyes off of it for a minute, fearing something terrible might happen if they did. Only a few feet away from the duo was the pokemon in question. Metronome, leading the way down the road.

The Espurr loved to explore but rarely got a chance too with how busy Quentin was most of the time. That morning he had insisted, in his little kitten way, to stay out of his Pokeball and have some fun. The stubborn mews and meows were enough to convince Quentin, and now the little psychic type was in charge of choosing the group's route. Was the middle of a city the best place to let him explore? Probably not, but Quentin couldn't resist that cute little face! Luckily the streets weren't too crowded.

"He's fine. Everything's fine!" Quentin said, chuckling nervously and looking at Fermata. While Metronome was enjoying himself, Quentin and his Lucario weren't. The two were like overprotective parents, constantly worrying about any trouble the Espurr might get into. "Nothing bad is going to happen Fermata. We're right here, and Metronome will be fine.

Quentin patted his pokemon on the back, looked ahead, and gasped loudly. Metronome was a lot faster than he looked. Thankfully he was still in sight, but was too far away for the trainer or Lucario to feel comfortable. Especially not with him walking towards a few people. 

It seemed Metronome was following in his trainer's footsteps by not looking where he was going. He bumped into the back of someone's legs, before falling back on his behind. Metronome quickly got up, before angrily meowing at the leg he collided with. He even slapped it once but it came off more like a soft tap due to his size.

"Metronoooooome!" Quentin exclaimed, rushing towards his pokemon and picking him up quickly. He held the Espurr, who was squirming around and trying to get free, against his chest tightly. "You can't go around hitting people like that. It's not nice."

He then directed his attention to the other human.

@feypalette

The regional variants of Alola always fascinated Quentin, and even now he couldn’t get over how unique they were. The way they looked, how they acted, how they came to be, all of it just made Quentin want to get as much research about them done as possible. Now that he was on one of the islands, the scientist was determined to observe one in the wild.

He looked around the Poni Wilds, slowly spinning in a circle. he muttered to himself as Fermata watched silently. He was taking note of the foliage and different aspects of the environment, and the trainers in the area. He was also paying close attention to the palm trees. While he tried to stay impartial during his work, Alolan Exeggutor was always one of his favorite pokemon. Something about the silly way it looked always amused the scientist. He would be happy seeing the Alolan variant of any pokemon, his day would be made if he got to see an Exeggutor.

Quentin stopped spinning suddenly, heading off towards one of the larger trees as Fermata stuck close to his side. He began making notes of the area again; everything seemed normal, some patches of tall grass, a few trainers wandering around, an artist of some kind nearby, and the large palm tree right in his way.

The scientist walked closer to examine the base of the tree, looking for any signs of legs or a tail like an Exeggutor might have. Quentin let out a heavy, disappointed sigh when he realized it was just a normal tree. He thought for a moment, looking for the nearest person he could ask for directions. Quentin slowly approached one of them, trying his best to get her attention.

Despite often visiting Unova growing up, during all of his visits there was one thing he never got to see: the gear pokemon Klink. Something about the pokemon and its bizarre mixture of machine and pokemon fascinated Quentin. Now that he was able to do his own research Quentin had set out to observe the pokemon in Chargestone Cave, its natural habitat. The young scientist had set out some food for the pokemon in a small chamber of the cave, hoping it would attract the steel-types. Before long, the pokemon began to come out of hiding to take some of the treat left for them.

Quentin scribbled down some notes while observing the pokemon, even making a few quick sketches to detail their movements and interactions with their environment. Quentin could hardly keep his excitement at being able to watch the Klink. Fermata, Quentin's Lucario, anxiously kept watch, looking out for other pokemon that might try to take advantage of the situation.

While the pair had been distracted by the pokemon, neither had noticed one of the floating stones of the cave start to move. It slowly made its way towards the entrance of the chamber the two were in, before coming to rest against the wall with a loud thud. The noise startled the Klink, who scurried off back to their hiding spots. Quentin pouted and mumbled to himself like a small child.

"I wasn't done yet..." He sighed, before standing up and packing his bag. He looked at Fermata and gave a small smile. "Come on. Let's get out of here," He said, turning around on his heels and heading towards the main chamber of the cave. Quentin stopped in his tracks, only a few inches away from the large stone.

"...oh..." he muttered, examining the large rock. Quentin didn't try to push the rock out of the way, he simply assumed it was too heavy for him. The scientist looked at his partner and nodded. "You try. You're stronger than I am." Fermata looked at his trainer then back at the stone, not listening to the command. Quentin muttered to himself again, "You're no help at all. Why do I keep you around?"

He leaned against the nearby wall, shutting his to think as he tried to come up with a way out. Besides Fermata, none of his other pokemon were strong enough to move the rock out of the way. After a few moments of thinking Quentin’s eyes snapped open. He had a plan. He took a few steps forward towards the rock, took a deep breath and...

@spiritshackled

Quentin had heard legends and stories about ghosts and unexplained phenomena at Mt. Pyre many times in his life. He never believed them. Quentin was and a natural skeptic, so he refused to believe anything without proper evidence. On the other hand, the unexplained lead to some interesting research for a scientist like Quentin. A place full of legends, mysterious pokemon, and an infinite amount of unanswered questions.  More than enough for Quentin’s quest for knowledge.

Now that he was there, the place seemed much creepier than the young scientist had anticipated. All of the graves were perfectly lined up which created narrow paths between them for the visitors to walk through. The only people he saw were grieving trainers or those looking for battles, and the sound of mourners echoed throughout the rooms. All of it made Quentin uneasy and was starting to freak him out. Most of it could have been avoided if Quentin hadn’t decided to explore the graveyard in the middle of the night.

“I dunno about this, buddy.” Quentin looked over at Fermata as they walked up the stairs to another level. “This seems a little...disrespectful...” He was trying to find some excuse he could give his partner, and himself, about why they should leave. The pair made it to the next floor. It looked mostly the same as the others, except for a noticeable lack of people. The emptiness helped to calm Quentin down...until he came finally noticed the mysterious figure standing near the center of the room. All of the fear came rushing back to Quentin as soon as he saw the figure.