Welcome to Gaia! ::

The desert winds were calm this day, and the sun shone brilliantly against the ancient golden sands. There was hardly a cloud in the sky, and the heat rising from the ground created an obscuring haze that stretched for as far as the eye could see. If one was in the right place, at the right time, and at the right distance away, one would be able to see a small cloud of dust and sand near the horizon, increasing in size and moving constantly. The creator - or, rather, creators - of that dust cloud was none other than a short, pale, woman and her black and white Arcanine dashing through the barren wasteland.

It had been a long time since Isadora had been able to take Iditarod out for a good run, and so she made sure to make time this day to do exactly that. The large Arcanine dashed at dizzying speeds, so much so that Isadora had to constantly keep her head down and dig her hands deep into her Pokemon's fur. It was an intense workout for them both. They had been constantly running for several minutes, and it was not long before Isadora could see Iditarod's speed slowly decrease as weariness swept over her. Silently, Isadora traced four letters with her finger into her Arcanine's fur. 'B A S E.' Recently trained to recognize the feeling of the letters on her fur, Iditarod barked, took a wide turn, and began running back towards the direction of the Rocket Base.

After arriving back at the HQ, Isadora quickly retreated to her room to change into her normal attire. Once she was finished with that, she and Iditarod walked down the halls toward her small office. Isadora petted her Arcanine's fur comfortingly. "Very nice effort, Iditarod. We both need to work more on our endurance while running, but we're off to a good start! Once we get back to the office, you'll be getting a biscuit." Iditarod barked and wagged her tail excitedly. As they neared the doctor's office, Isadora wondered if she had any scheduled appointments today. If she did, she prayed that she hadn't kept anyone waiting.

Isadora turned one last corner, Iditarod close behind her, and was very surprised to find someone, a young woman, standing there in front of her door. Isadora paused for a moment and blinked. Who was this person, and why was she just standing in front of her office? Pursing her lips slightly, the doctor walked apprehensively towards the Agent. "Um... Can I help you?"

Suddenly, in a brief, fleeting moment of clarity, Isadora remembered something she had only just recently heard. Wasn't she supposed to see someone today...? Was this woman the one she had the appointment with? Isadora's eyebrows rose. "Wait, wait; did you have an appointment with me? Oh, gracious, I am so very sorry! Please excuse me! I hope I didn't keep you waiting for very long..."

She quickly moved past the young woman, unlocked the door, and entered her office, Iditarod on her tail. After Isadora retrieved a Pokemon biscuit from one of her desk drawers and gave it to Iditarod, the Arcanine took it greedily and retreated to the corner of the office to lie down. Isadora sat herself on one of the two small couches, her Meganium at her feet. She gestured towards the couch opposite her. "Have a seat, please."

"Whew, that's a relief, then! For a moment there, I thought I had been keeping you waiting for a long time. I always lose track of time, it seems...

"Now then..." Isadora pushed her reading glasses up the bridge of her nose and crossed her legs under her long skirt. "I want to make sure that you are as comfortable as possible while we're here, so, if there's anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask me. Which reminds me..." The doctor stood and walked over to a small counter on the side of the room, on which was a small electric tea kettle. "I was going to make myself some tea. Would you like some, miss... Um... I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name."

While Isadora was busy fetching things, Basil emitted a large yawn and looked around. Ah... Another human here to talk to his Isadora. Were they particularly friendly? The Meganium casts his eyes over to the Umbreon next to the new human. He didn't look especially nice... But who knew? Surprises were everywhere. He must just be shy or quiet, and what kind of Pokemon would Basil be if he didn't say hello? He perked his head and looked towards the Umbreon, a broad smile on his face. ["Hello! What's your name? My name's Basil!"]

Isadora smiled softly to herself as she brewed the tea. "Faleen, is it? It's a lovely name. I'll be sure to remember it." First observation of the day: this Faleen was very polite. That was certainly a good thing. Despite her need and want to help others who are troubled, Isadora wasn't terribly fond of working with 'angry' patients. Thank the heavens that this one wasn't a problem case. Isadora's second observation, though, was a bit less than pleasing: Faleen was obviously not comfortable here, and the doctor had an inkling that the cause of this wasn't the office. Then again, it was Isadora's job to find out the true culprit.

The tea had finished brewing and Isadora poured the steaming drink into two cups, then placed the cups, two spoons, and a small bowl of sugar cubes on a fanciful yet modest platter. She then returned to her seat on the couch opposite Faleen, placing the platter on the coffee table between them. "There we go. It's hot, so be careful. Oh, and it's Razz flavored, so it's a bit tart." While saying this, Isadora took her own cup and tasted it gingerly. Just a hint of sweetness in it; just the way she liked it best. She sighed after taking a sip, the replaced it on the platter and leaned her back against the couch. "Now then... How are you feeling, Faleen?"

Basil's eyes lit up like fireworks when Umbreon returned his greeting. So he was friendly! What a pleasant surprise! Perhaps he'd be a bit more willing to talk if Basil talked more! It was worth a shot! ["Wow! Hi! It's so nice to meet you. Your name is... just Umbreon? You don't have a nickname like I do? That's strange, but that's not a bad thing! I actually think it's kind of cool. Then again, I know some Pokemon that have super strange nicknames! Like the Arcanine over there -" he gestured his head over to the black and white Pokemon nibbling on her biscuit in the corner " - her name's Iditarod! Weird, right? And the Deerling that's on our team, his name is Layleeta! That's a girl's name! And he's a boy! Isn't that strange?"] ...Arceus help that Umbreon for being a captive audience to Basil's ramblings.

Isadora nodded happily as Faleen thanked her for the tea. Yes, this one was polite, all right, but she seemed almost... stiff. Or rigid, to put it another way. Most likely, she had never been in a therapeutic situation such as this one; that, or she had and was just very out of sorts in such an environment. It was difficult to tell.

"Mm... Stressed, you say?" Isadora crossed her legs and propped her elbow on the arm of the couch, resting her chin in the palm of her hand. "...Stressed over what, exactly? Is it something with your work, or with your coworkers? Or is it something with someone a bit more personal?" And so the questions came forth, prompting Isadora's patient to elaborate, so that she may delve and dig deeper into the heart of the problem.

The only times Basil paused throughout his long-winded speech was to let Umbreon interject on something, and once he was Basil went right on back to endlessly talking and talking and talking... ["That's still kind of strange that you don't have a nickname, but that's okay! I'm not saying that it's a bad thing, really! I've just always been used to other Pokemon around me have names of their own. It makes them unique and special, not that Pokemon without nicknames are any less special. I'm just so used to them, just like when I lived in my old home with my first owners, Jonathan and Markus! They took really good care of me, and I had a lot of fun with them! They were the ones that let my Isadora take care of me! She's so nice and pretty and smart and funny and cool and, and, and..."]

Isadora studied her patient silently as she took a sip of the tea. "Ah," she said quietly while Faleen explained something about a malfunctioning experiment. That was a strange thing for her to be sent to a psychiatrist for... Perhaps the event had shook her so much mentally that it was interfering with her work? What did Faleen work on exactly, anyway?

"Mm... Well, from what I can see, you don't seem to have any severe injuries, so at least you weren't sent to the wrong doctor." She adjusted her glasses once again and looked at Faleen from over the frames. "Have you been feeling particularly fatigued or distressed by this incident? Is it affecting your work in any way?" Isadora knew that they were barely scratching the tip of the iceberg at this point, but they seemed to be getting a good start.

"The details?" The doctor's periwinkle eyes widened for a moment, and she blinked. "...No, I'm afraid I've haven't been given much information. Rather inconsiderate of the higher ups, don't you think, heh?" Isadora emitted a small nervous chuckle and reached for her tea. She took a few small sips of it, closing her eyes and savoring the tart flavor of it for a moment. A few moments passed, and she removed the lip of the cup from her lips. "...Of course, that's what you're here to do, isn't it?"

As Umbreon kept on staring, Basil kept on yakking and yakking about everything and nothing. ["My former humans... and they were so cool... loved each other a lot... adopted her... so nice and sweet and..."] He was hardly even aware that he was talking to any other sentient being at this point. His mouth was moving at a million miles an hour. Iditarod, however, was silent in her corner. The entire time she was there, she had been watching the strange Dark Pokemon through narrowed blue eyes. Silently, she stood, walked behind the couch where Faleen sat, and passed by the Umbreon. ["Don't mind him,"] she mentioned to him quietly. ["He's like this with every patient that brings their Pokemon with them. I've heard Meganium are supposed to be calming, but all I can think of while hearing his ramblings is clawing his eyes out."]

Isadora calmly and silently observed as her patient gathered her thoughts and supposedly searched for what exactly to say. Perhaps she was trying to divulge as little information as possible while still answering the doctor's questions? ...It wouldn't be the first time. It was always difficult to openly talk with ones worries and fears with a complete stranger. However, Isadora's goal was to make it so that she and her patient were not strangers, but instead close friends; friends who could talk freely with each other without fear of judgement. To get to that point took time, unfortunately.

She listened quietly as Faleen spoke, explaining how her behavior was an 'inconvenience to the productivity of the department.' Now... That was certainly interesting. She truly thought that way? "...Do you feel like your behavior and reaction towards the malfunction was out of line? Like you should act more professional about it?" On this, Isadora was genuinely curious. It would definitely mean that Faleen was dedicated to her project and work, which was commendable. She should realize, though, that mistakes can, and will, happen.

Isadora's train of thought was suddenly blown off track when Faleen commented on the fact that she was with the doctor on her first mission. The woman's eyes blinked in realization. "...Oh yeah. That's true." How could she have forgotten?! It's not like that mission was decades ago! ...In fact, it felt like it was just yesterday. Oh, and who could forget when she got pulled into the mud by mister grumpy himself? No forgiveness for that, no sir. He hadn't even apologized! She had already gotten... sort-of revenge on him for that. Kind of. Not really. But still.

Even besides all of that, though, Isadora knew that Faleen had not told her what she wanted to hear. The doctor pursed her lips slightly. Perhaps asking directly was the best approach for Miss Faleen... "Now, I don't believe I have asked you this directly, but what exactly was this experiment that you were working on?" Apart from having to know for work's sake, Isadora was interested in it herself. She didn't hear much news from the labs or... anyplace, really. Anyplace that didn't involve her directly, at least.

Basil, it seemed, had finally tired himself out from all of his ramblings, and he quieted down as he crawled over to Isadora's desk and curled up into a ball beneath it. It was a tight fit, but he could always get out. ...Usually. As he nodded off, Iditarod heaved a sigh of relief and blinked at the Umbreon next to her. ["Finally, he's unconscious,"] she commented to the Dark Pokemon idly. She yawned, stretching her jaws wide and showing off her white fangs. When she closed her mouth, she glanced over to the human the Umbreon was accompanying, then looked back to the other Pokemon. ["Unless you'd rather stay alongside your human, I was thinking for going for a short walk, if you would care to join me."] The odds were unlikely, but she felt that it would be polite to ask.

Isadora slowly nodded her head silently as Faleen explained her reasoning of the situation and a faint smile played on the edges of her lips. "That's rather admirable of you to think such a way. You seem to be very determined and focused on your own goals, as well as the goals of the organization." She took another small sip of her tea, her smile turning downward slightly as she realized that the drink had cooled somewhat. "However," she continued, "that doesn't necessarily mean that you have to be focused on just one thing and one thing only. I can understand that some parts of this occupation might require more of a... hard-set attitude, but you certainly shouldn't cut yourself off from your emotions. You're going to have to do some difficult things, guaranteed, but learning how to deal with your emotions and pushing past any problems now will help you greatly in the long run, I believe."

After that long ramble, Isadora was extremely content to sit back and listen to Faleen talk about the malfunctioned experiment that she had been working on. She retrieved her tea once again and sipped at it gingerly, half paying attention to Faleen's words. However, the very last thing she had said immediately caught Isadora's attention, and her eyes shot wide for a moment as her looked up at her patient and removed the teacup from her mouth. She was silent for a few seconds, then she piped up after finally finding her voice.

"Really?"

Her still-wide eyes blinked several times, and she tilted her head to the side slightly in thought. "That's... kinda cool." By no means was she expecting a human being to be the subject of the experiment, much less a Champion. It was kind of a surreal concept to imagine: someone so revered and pictured by most as an indomitable force used as a subject in the name of science. Then again, she knew she shouldn't be too terribly shocked by the idea; Team Rocket's science department was indeed infamous, and Lance did attack them. It was all very odd. "Okay, then. Well..." Placing her teacup back down, Isadora brought her focus back to her patient. "Do you think perhaps that the reason you reacted the way that you did was because the experiment was on a person, rather than an object? Or was it for some other reason?"