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{ Full Title: [PD] Sparked Interest (Eilam/Lucinda/Fluffernutter/Calanthia/Conrad/Arashi/Karma) }


The weather still seemed a bit brisk for the amount of sunshine that graced the landscape, but the temperature had been steadily rising throughout the week. It was obvious that the wintertime chill was moving aside for more springlike weather, and the afternoon rush was sure to be both the warmest part of the day as well as the brightest. Connie even considered moving station so that the sun wouldn't be so apt to catch him in the eyes, but there was likely enough shade now anyway.

The streets were rather active, the beginning of the week displaying the bustling that came along with individuals' errand-running that they weren't able to get accomplished throughout the weekend. With so many people strolling the streets, it may have appeared that there were plenty of opportunities for business. Unfortunately, Connie had learned long ago that the more crowded the streets, the more they overlooked his small entertainment stand. Honestly, he was tempted to just pack up and head home, but stubbornness born from routine could work wonders in that manner.

An ear flicked to some raised voices above the city chatter; they sounded pretty irritated, but they weren't yelling anything that Connie could really make out. His eyes scanned the area, but came up empty... until he caught sight of a familiar flash of blonde nearby. Gaze locked on the oblivious boy, the tauros waited until the child was within earshot before he spoke up, "Got yourself into trouble again, I see."

Arashi jumped and spun around, on the defensive before the voice fully registered to his mind. It was temporary, quickly loosening up despite the frown remaining. The eevee-child opened his mouth to say something, but seemed to rethink what words were to be offered for a second or two before anything was uttered, "Say... think you could help me out again?" He hated to be so far in debt to this guy he barely knew, but he was currently without the support of his gang. Besides, he didn't need too much help, and this was sure to throw off his pursuers before they ever had a chance.


It seemed that ever since he was made aware of the presence of transformed pokémon caused by stars issued out through Jirachi, Grayson was inundated. Reports of various poké-human sightings, both real and fake, were commonplace and becoming more frequent within the city limits. The scientist couldn't pass up a lead so close to home, though, and this could prove to be invaluable if he played his cards right.

Today was a planned meeting with his daughter, however, and he couldn't just cancel... but there was nothing stopping her from helping him out. Who knew, maybe it would help her feel better to be able to do something constructive while she was still on the mend? He just needed to keep an eye on her condition while they were out, make sure she didn't overdo it.

"Karma, are you ready yet?" he called from the front door to the laboratory, "Dea and her pokémon will be here in five minutes!" Well, if she was punctual, at least, but he wanted the ditto-child to at least be ready to leave as soon as they got there. They weren't going to be sticking around the laboratory today, and he didn't want his lead to go missing before they got there, either.

Karma situated zher rainbow bracelets on zher wrist, jangling them cheerfully as the blue-haired child made sure the shoulder strap to zher bag was in a comfortable position. Peeking up from under messy bangs, Karma's eyebrows rose in curiosity, "Who's Dea? Is she nice?" It didn't seem zhe had her name written down anywhere, so they must have met before zhe had the materials to help coax memory out.

Arashi was not the only skeptical one during their little exchange, for Connie was aware of the kind of trouble that often followed the young eevee. Despite a curiosity that sought an explanation for what was going on, the teen knew well enough that he couldn't deny the request. Arashi was quite fidgety at the moment, giving enough of a clue that he needed to get out of sight fast. Sighing, Connie waved the child over, sliding one side of his stand forward a bit in order to let the younger one through, "Quick, before anyone sees."

The street-smart kid wasted no time in hopping behind the counter and ducking from view. Connie slid the stand back, almost bopping the child in the nose with it as he tried to act like nothing had occurred. After the passing of a few seconds, the boy peered over the surface of the table, scanning the traffic, "I don't see anyone coming... Blast, I might have to stay here for a few. You don't mind, do you? I won't touch anything or make a sound..."

"You don't need to ask, it's no trouble," Connie insisted quickly, leaning against the brick wall to the side of the stand. It was a slow day anyway, at least now he had something to do with his time. "What did you do, anyway? It doesn't look like you took any more produce..." he asked, deciding to venture further with his curiosity.

He didn't get so much in kind, though. The boy turned so that his back was against the stand and seated himself on the concrete floor with a huff; he wasn't going to respond to that. "Let me know if you see them," he grumbled before thinking a moment longer, "And... thanks again."


Grayson ruffled Karma's messy hair at the question, "Of course, she's very nice. You have your notebook with you?" The ditto nodded, yanking on the bag's strap to indicate that it was in the pocket and ready for use. "You might have to take a lot of notes on her. You'll be seeing a lot of her and her pokémon, if situation allows," he stated. Tapping an index finger on his chin, he decided he should mention something before they arrived, just so that it was out in the air before company arrived and it got too busy, "She's my daughter, after all."

Karma's mismatched eyes widened, "You have a daughter!?" The rest of his offspring didn't visit the laboratory very often, so there was no wonder that Karma didn't remember that Grayson had a child, let alone more than one. Quickly, the pink-marked child pulled out the notepad and the first colored pencil that zhe had access to -- it was magenta, "How do you spell her name?"

Grayson chuckled, "D-E-A, just like it sounds." Sure, it wasn't her full first name, but it was what she most commonly went by. It was about that time that he spotted the amalgamation of a group approaching, and he nudged Karma for attention, "Alright, there here. You be on your best behavior, okay?"

"Mmn!" the ditto responded as zhe finished the last of what zhe was scribbling down and stashed the materials away again. Grayson wanted to meet them halfway, and Karma was quick on his heels about it -- if nervously trying to hide zhimself from view a bit; good thing the man was so tall.

While it was a bit of a surprise, his wife's arrival with the troupe only caused a brighter grin to break across Grayson's face, "Honey! I wasn't expecting you to be coming along today!" He snickered; it really did seem like quite the Kodak moment, "It's great to see everyone! My my, don't we all look fantastic today?" It even seemed like Dea was feeling better than their last visit, being able to use the crutches without too much strain, and Eilam had certainly grown!

Karma wasn't so perky, hands wrapped tightly around zher shoulder bag's strap. From what it sounded like from zher trainer, Karma hadn't really seen too many people since the transformation, and it was a bit of an anxiety point when paired with the lack of memory. However, there was a feeling of familiar cheer in the atmosphere when zhe quickly glanced over the group, and zhe was at least able to pick out Serenity; she stopped by more frequently! That was enough to cause a small smile.

"What did they look like, anyway?" Connie asked, breaking the stifling silence between the two pokémon.

Arashi glanced up with a slight scrunch of the nose, "The ones chasing me?" He was met with a mild nod from the teenaged tauros, an incognito reply that could have easily been mistaken for a reaction to boredom from any passerby. The child flicked his vulpine tail in annoyance, "Hell if I know. Heard someone call me out on trying to take something, so I got out of there as quick as I could." He sighed, closing his eyes in an agitated shrug, "I figure if I didn't get a good look at them, then they might not have gotten a good look at me. I'd rather be safe than sorry, though." It was about then that the eevee got curious, peeking back above the top of Connie's table to see if he could pinpoint any of them.

Connie maintained his unfazed approach, and it seemed he was quite good at outwardly feigning ignorance at the poké-child's presence behind his station. "Well then how am I to let you know that they've passed by if you don't even know that much?" he mumbled the question as his jaw rested in the palms of his hands, elbows propped on the table, "What if they're trying to stay undercover about it, too? I doubt everyone runs down the street, screaming at the top of their lungs to someone they can't see any longer to give their stuff back." He was, of course, referring to the first time the both of them had met, where Arashi had stolen a handful of apples and a baguette to feed his friends and himself with. In fact, Connie was fairly certain whoever was chasing Arashi had already given up the chase, considering nothing was actually pilfered this time...

The child slumped back to the ground and waved it off, "Then I'll just stay here until even the most persistent would have given up. It's not like you've got any business anyway, so no harm done, right?"

"Ouch. Blunt," the teen replied, though the monotone of his voice pointed to his bored acceptance of this statement.


Serenity's confident initiative was always something Grayson loved about the woman, in her delicate use of her prompts. He couldn't keep the grin off his face after he returned the greeted kiss, squeezing her hand as she wrapped her around his own and brushing a strand of hair away from her eyes. Karma scrunched zher nose behind the two and took a step back, sticking zher tongue out in a childish reaction to 'lovey-dovey' moments. Grayson was completely oblivious to the ditto's distaste, snickering at his wife's explanation, "Well haven't you become quite the sneak? Can't having out little girl getting herself hurt on the way over, though. It's great to see you here!" Serenity's negativity to the lack of time they had been able to spend together lately was certainly similarly felt by the scientist as well, but he knew he couldn't just blow off his job. Her eagerness to stop by more often despite the setbacks were not met without proper excitement over the prospect.

However, before he could say anything to agree, Karma piped up instead, "Ooh, really? So I get to see you more often, too?" The young ditto was beaming, despite the reception zhe gave moments prior. Constant contact was sure to upkeep memory, after all, and Karma liked Serenity! And if Dea was Grayson's daughter, did that mean that she would be stopping by more often as well? Dea seemed to recognize the ditto, even if she hadn't seen the pokémon since the transformation. She was speaking about some sort of star that caused it... was that what happened? Zhe honestly couldn't remember...

Grayson's grin never left, continuing on through Dea's vocal catch-up summary with a nod of his head. "You're making remarkable progress, Dea!" he congratulated, enthused, "It seems time does not wait for anyone, but it has not been unkind!" At the mention of Karma, he tried to wave the ditto to step forward and stop hiding behind people, but the child was quick to shake zher head and take a few steps in the opposing direction. With a slight sigh, he tried to apologize with a sheepish smile, "Seems Karma is feeling a bit shy today. Ah well... Eilam! I hope you're still looking out for my daughter as well as you have been!" Fluffernutter's reaction to the conversation-at-hand only proved to stir up memories of a simpler time as well, and he chuckled at the thought, "Imaginative child, isn't he? Don't scold him too much, that kind of curiosity isn't a bad trait to have!" While the poké-boy's name caught the man off-guard, he was no less eager to meet him, "Such a flatterer! Well, it's a pleasure to meet you as well, Fluffernutter. You have some very good manners!"

Karma wiggled zher fingers slightly in a meekly silent hello before scribbling down some more notes in zher notebook. The child was having difficulty keeping up with getting everyone straight, and knew that, sooner or later, zhe was going to have to ask for clarification on some of it. As such, zhe didn't manage to catch Calanthia's name, but stopped to stare a bit at the mobile cactus. She had such entrancing eyes, they were so pretty! Flinching as Lucy began speaking to the quiet ditto, Karma gasped in awe, "How did you know I love books?" Ooh, zhe already liked this girl with the good fashion sense! The colorful child hopped closer to the hybrid girl, curiously peering at the offered books with a threatening smile, "What kinds are they?"

Perhaps a little sidetracked, but it was then that Grayson remembered that they weren't initially here for a family reunion, and remembered it with a start. "Oh yes, we should probably get a move on. We can talk some more on the way over, but we're acting more like a roadblock," he insisted with a quick glance back to the entrance of the laboratory; they were quite thoroughly obscuring the doors. Waving everyone to move on, the scientist decided it might be best to elaborate on the situation as well, "Even if none of you agree with the method, you can at least humor me. I've been trying to look into this 'Jirachi Star' phenomenon and thought it best to try to see if we couldn't expand our knowledge by trying to reach more pokémon that have been affected. The wider the scope, perhaps the more data we could gather." Yes, he realized he was sounding much too factual for this to be something of a 'fun' endeavor, but it could easily turn into a favorable expedition, "Dea, you're good with negotiation and I know you've been itching to help out the world again. There are apparently some right in town, so you won't have to go far to possibly do some good deeds. We've also got the whole troop here, maybe there could be some light shed on this whole fiasco with so many different views on what goes on."

Karma thought it was a waste of time, honestly, but zhe really wasn't going to complain -- it wasn't every day the little ditto was allowed to go outside!

Karma was quick to follow on Grayson and Serenity's heels, perhaps a bit too much of a metaphorical leech in such unfamiliar and crowded surroundings. If the two trainers hadn't already been holding onto one another's arm, Karma may have reattached zhimself to Grayson's lab coat. Gripping the shoulder bag's strap as a pacifier instead, mismatched eyes briefly flicked over to Dea's predicament, finding it quite bizarre... and the wheelchair actually kind of cool, in its convenience. The ditto's hands loosened once zhe spotted Lucinda walking alongside zher, feeling a little less out of place as a meek smile appeared once more. Seemed Karma was not so outgoing when not in the confines of the place zhe felt most familiar with.

Grayson peered back to make sure everyone was in tow, waving to get Eilam to loosen up a bit, "Don't baby her too much, she needs to build up her strength!" He knew well enough that Dea probably couldn't make it all the way into town atop her crutches, and gave a chuckle to indicate it; regardless, he wanted the both of them to keep that in mind. He gave Serenity's hand another squeeze in retaliation to her little 'threat' of visitation, "It would be a joy to see the both of you so much more often. Maybe you can even help out a bit with my work, if it's not too much trouble." He sounded almost sly about it, as though he were wanting to reduce his work load by giving some of it up, but Grayson was not one to actually ask of such a thing seriously.

The scientist's steps slowed so that Dea could catch up better, acting almost innocent... if it wasn't for the fact that the man rarely left the laboratory on such a weak whim. "I... might have," he mused, "I've heard that there are quite a few in town, actually, but apparently there are some that frequent certain places. I've had some of the other scientists confirm this for me." Though that wasn't to say this one instance wouldn't be the exception, he shrugged the thought off. He chuckled at Dea's warning of some pokémon being on the more flighty side of the spectrum, "Well then I'm glad we've got you coming along for that as well. I can safely say that I'm not the best at being altogether amiable with the locals..." He was good with family, sure, but to everyone else, he seemed to come off as a little to heavy with the thick factual mindset.

Karma blinked at the conversation regarding Eilam's transformation, quickly pulling out zher notebook to scribble the information down. That big guy over there, that seemed so confident with himself, was just as scared? True, it was a bit different, but some of this information may come in handy... if not now, then later; if not later, it would be a good source of information to bring up again at a later time for clarification, even. The ditto would probably settle for asking the maractus about it, though, since Eilam seemed to be getting a bit flustered about it even now. Fluffernutter's questions were very helpful toward furthering the knowledge, too!

Pulling the notebook back up towards zher torso, Karma eagerly took a closer look at the books that Lucy brought with her, trying to identify which of them were of what genre that the hybrid mentioned by title alone. "A friend of yours is a friend of mine?" zhe asked curiously, offering pink-flecked hands out to take the books out of Lucy's hold so she didn't have to lug so much weight around. There was almost a lilt of a giggle on Karma's voice, "The doctor's got a lot of the nonfiction, so I read those most of the time. The mystery and fantasy books, they'd let me use my imagination more, right?" It was so exciting, the ditto was going to have to try harder to keep zhimself from pulling any of them open until this excursion was over! "Thank you so much!" Karma chirped.

It had been a number of minutes before the group were entering the busy city streets, and Grayson immediately was beginning to feel more anxiety than normal. He was an introverted man, so being surrounded by this many unfamiliar faces was sure to be draining. While Karma shared this trait, the ditto was also much too preoccupied with being interested in learning about all the stimuli around zher that zhe failed to allow fatigue play a factor.

The group was a bit hard to miss among the more... normal stragglers of the city. Connie's ears perked a bit when he noticed the group off in the distance, finding the view to be more than a little strange. "So... you were being chased by people running a grocery stand, right? Not anything like... scientists and pokémon trainers?" the teen asked, arms lowered to the table now and standing more upright.

Arashi frowned, studying his acquaintance as though he might be able to find something that wouldn't indicate the tauros was crazy. "I think that would be a no duh, Einstein," he snorted, "Why?"

"No reason, just saw something strange," Connie murmured. They looked like they were on a mission, but it was still an oddity to see, especially in broad daylight.

Grayson laughed at Serenity's scolding of his behavior, finding the inklings between how the pokémon treated Dea now and how the two of them treated her when she was younger rather similar... and rather amusing to note. "Oh come on, I'm just trying to encourage her to get stronger!" he tried to sound put off, but between the snickering, he wasn't really going to be able to convince anyone of that. It didn't help that his wife was insisting to play the impishly criticizing card, "Aww, what makes you think I would do something like that..?" While he was going along with it, he would most likely insist later that they shouldn't do any of the paperwork -- not that he didn't trust them to, but he didn't like to put extra work on his family if he could help it.

Oh, and now Dea was at it as well! At least it was obvious, by the teasing nature of the conversation, that they were all out to have a good time and were already succeeding on that front. It confused Karma a bit, unused to so much sarcasm, and the quizzical frown was enough to get this point across. Regardless, Grayson waved off Dea's complaints as though to calm her down, "Hey, how about we go get something to eat after all of this. Maybe have dinner together?" His eyes seemed to brighten at Eilam's pass at a joke. "Oooh, grilled cheese! Excellent idea!" he laughed.

Karma perked as Fluffernutter began musing on what the other turned-pokémon were like, suddenly feeling another flash of nervousness. The ones currently in the vicinity around the ditto, they were all family, and as such, were almost guaranteed to be somewhat civil to other members of the same. What if these others were obnoxious or something? The nervousness quickly tilted toward considered curiosity, however; if that was the case, Karma wondered what would be making them tick that way. It could actually be quite fascinating! It was easy to see that Karma was the scientist's pokémon, despite the more childish flair. Or at least it would have been easier to see, until the brightly-adorned poké-child stomped a foot after Calanthia finished verbally thinking it over, "Well if they're evil, then we gotta do something about it! Maybe we could teach them that being evil is wrong!"

After the little outburst, Karma briefly scuffed a foot on the floor, wondering why that was the first thing zhe had said aloud to the entire group of pokémon in the family. Zhe readjusted a sneaker and hurried to catch up, beaming at Lucy's retelling of where she got the books, "Ooh, you gotta tell me who it is!" It seemed the ditto was a little eager to uncover the suspended mystery, having no idea where the logic pointed to. Gripping onto the sides of the books, zhe turned them over to scan the bindings at a shorter distance, mentally tallying which ones looked like which genre of book. The blue-haired child giggled at the hybrid's acceptance of Grayson's description, but was much more in awe at the subject matter of the nonfiction in zher hands, "Oh wow, all medieval and historical stuff? Don't people theorize that the places with all the castles are where a lot of magic in the world come from?" Maybe some of the scientific language had rubbed off on the ditto in zher time in the laboratory, but the imagination was never stifled to such an extent, "This is going to be so exciting to read! You're good at this!" Karma unlatched the top flap of zher shoulder bag and carefully rearranged to fit the books within it. Closing it again, the ditto latched onto Lucinda in a hug, "Thank you, thank you!"

Once they reached within eyesight of the stand, Grayson paused and lifted a finger to the air, swiveling it to point in the general direction, "Right where she said it would be. Seems there was a teenaged pokémon that has been setting up a little stand in the area for a while now. Easy enough to find, luckily..." Though starting conversation, that was a little harder...

Fortunately, Connie was not ruffled by the action. Sure he was confused, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to be polite -- that was just rude. "May I help you?" he asked, fairly certain they hadn't stopped by to play a game of blackjack. Upon hearing the teen's voice pipe up, Arashi's ears flattened against his shoulders as he slumped further down behind the stand, determined to remain out of sight. The pensive frown on his face indicated that he was ready to bolt at any time, if given incentive to.

Grayson nodded, more to himself than anyone in the little traveling group of theirs, acknowledging his wife's careful words and the truth they rang. She was so much more eloquent at voicing them than the scientist could ever hope to be, and she was much less blunt about it. He kissed the top of her head, "That's true, but... it's hard to be patient when it has to do with Dea's well-being." He was being stubborn about where he stood on the matter, but that didn't mean he would press the issue -- he knew that Serenity was right. He snickered at her teasing, finding her chosen words to have stalemated him.

"Me, cooking?" the scientist asked, thinking on the implications. He supposed grilled cheese sandwiches were easy enough, should he know when to flip them without risk of over- or under-cooking, but he hadn't really done such a thing in so long. Maybe... "Alright, then... who wants Chinese tonight?" ... maybe he had other viable options. Regardless, he couldn't agree with Eilam more, "Maybe some day, we could get the entire family together again and do just that. We may have all grown apart and gone our separate ways, but we're also still a family. Hmm... maybe during the holidays would be possible, if nobody is working extra shifts." That could prove likely, now that he thought about it! But how long would everyone be able to stick around?

Karma pondered on Fluffernutter's questions, finding it plausible that there could be those that others would consider more 'evil' than those around them. Calanthia also offered a good point... and in that case, the sprightly ditto-child thought zhe had come up with a perfectly logical weapon that any one of them would be capable of using, "Maybe if we ran into any evil pokémon, we could try to talk to them about it. Fight 'em with words! Ah... 'negotiate,' isn't that what it's called? Or is that something else?" Mismatched eyes lulled to the side in thought on the matter, wondering if the young ditto had it in zhimself to so forcibly counter another verbally. Zhe hadn't remembered that zhe had done similar, many-a-time, to some of the more boastful pokémon trainers that blew through the laboratory, with varying rates of success.

Eyes growing wide, Karma swatted at zher shirt, as though trying to find a pocket without looking down. "M-Me? I said that?" the child hesitated, feeling badly that zhe had forgotten. However, Lucy had been only hinting, as though she were trying to keep from having to say that out loud... so she already knew Karma's affliction fairly well, didn't she? The ditto felt guilty about it, but at least zhe was in the company of someone who didn't take it personal; that wasn't something always easy to find. The smile reappeared, feeling the nervousness over such a predicament act rather fleeting in the face of a good friend, "So the books about the castles don't really talk about the magical folklore at all? Well that's okay, it's good to know about the facts, too! Oooh, it would be so exciting to go see a castle up close like that!" Zhe nearly hopped in place, still as excitable as ever, "Maybe we should try going to visit one sometime! I wonder where one is..." Karma refrained from sifting through the books that were now kept safely within the large pouch at zher side to check for an answer, "You're so nice! Is there anything I can get you or do for you in return?" One good turn always deserved another, at least at some point, and Karma was sure that Lucy had been nice to the young ditto before today as well.

Grayson moved aside and nodded to indicate that he understood and was willing to follow Dea's instruction. Connie watched with passive interest at this exchange, wondering what it was that was going on. Arashi was a bit more tense as he hid behind the makeshift storefront, pulling his legs closer to his body to hide himself to a greater degree. The eevee-child did not trust what was going on, and it made him nervous -- and frustrated -- that the teenager to his side was being so relaxed about it. They obviously weren't here for what the stand was set up for, so they probably wanted to interrogate him over something, be it what Arashi had done or because of what they were. Or maybe it was something that Connie had done, the child really didn't know. Large numbers traveling together through the town were never a good sign for a child that had grown up on the streets...

Connie's tails flicked idly, but his patience was formidable. He offered a smile to the approaching Dea, "Good day, miss. Is there anything I can help you with?" Oh how much Grayson wanted to interject, subjecting the young tauros to a barrage of questions... but he kept his mouth shut. For now.

Grayson sighed, a slight grumble on his voice as he took note of the point that his wife was trying to make, "Yeah... I have to keep in mind that they're all adults, too. As much as it is still difficult to accept." He snickered at that; no matter how old any of them got, they would all always be his little daughters. It was difficult to cut such long-set habits like that.

Chuckling at Dea's anticipated response, he gestured to her as though to apologize that he couldn't help but bring it up. "Alright, we'll pick somewhere else to go while we're out and about. Maybe something will strike someone's fancy," he suggested. Considering the idea of pizza, he tapped his chin in thought, "We could try pizza... as long as we can come to some sort of consensus on the toppings." Stubbornness ran in the family, after all, and decisions on pizza toppings rarely lined up as well as one might expect, considering how large the family was; today would probably be no exception. At least they had plenty of options for a place to eat out for dinner, and enough time to spend coming to a conclusion that everyone would be content with.

Karma offered a perky nod to Fluffernutter's question whether talking with a hostile pokémon could work, but hesitated when more forcible tactics were brought into the picture. If that was the case, would a pokémon be so willing to hear another out? The ditto seemed a bit nervous at the thought for a moment, contemplating the thought, before zher confident air was once again in play. "I don't think someone would take on all of us like that, that would be stupid! But even if they did, we're pokémon, too! We can defend ourselves, right? We still have all our skills!" Karma stated with a broad grin. Never mind that the child had never actually experienced battle of any sort... It would be second-nature, right? Just to be sure, Karma thought zhe'd put it out there, "Any of you pokémon have experience at being a mediator?" Sure, the humans did, but anyone that could see things from a pokémon's perspective -- as a pokémon -- would probably be a little more comforting.

A stifled giggle hopped out of Karma's throat at Callie's explanation, "Serenity can get violent?" She never had seemed the type! But she was a strong enough woman, Karma could see it as a possibility if she ever ended up losing her temper. "I vote, wherever we go for dinner, they have pie!" Karma chirped, raising zher hand a bit despite not really expecting to be taken into account on the decision-making process for dinner. Really, Karma was rather easy-going when it came to foods; it almost seemed like zhe was constantly trying new things, so it became normal that zhe not have much of a preference.

Karma fidgeted with the strap of zher shoulder bag with a bit of anxiety over the annoyances that came with a faulty memory. With a start, the ditto-child reached a hand into the bag's confines and pulled out the notebook zhe was using to take notes, holding it up to show Lucy. "Here, look look! I've been trying to help my memory with this!" zhe hastily stated, "I take notes on everybody with it, so I can remember them later! Or at least look them up later." The colorful child beamed, hoping it would help in subsequent meetings with those zhe met. Connecting two and two together with the castles, Karma blinked thoughtfully, still just as entranced, "That's just as interesting, though! I don't get to read much about architecture! And the people who lived there... that would be like royal families, wouldn't it?" Real life kings and queens, not just the frilly fairy tales? How exciting! "We should go visit one together sometime!" the ditto giggled, knowing well enough that zhe wasn't really allowed to leave the town. It couldn't help to dream, though! Momentarily pouting a bit, Karma made sure that Lucy was very clear about something, "Well alright, but you'd better let me know if there's anything you need me to do, or to help with. And I mean anything, got it?" Zhe'd feel so bad if zhe wasn't able to do anything in return!

The tauros teenager offered the wheelchair-confined woman a soft grin, telling her that he didn't mind such an 'intrusion' at all. However, he was certainly not expecting the careful questioning, especially on what appeared to be such a scientific standpoint. He even felt a mite intimidated, unsure if he would be able to provide them with any further insight than what they had already managed to unearth, but he was game to try to help. "Don't worry about it, I haven't really had any business today, so it's no trouble at all. It's kind of nice to actually be able to do something, honestly," he snickered. Noting how many poké-children were actually in their little rag-tag group, Connie whistled, impressed with the numbers, "Huh, it's much more common an occurrence than I thought! Sure, I wouldn't mind answering a few questions." Reaching under the stand, Connie pulled out a plastic sheet and set it upright on the top of the surface. It read 'Out To Lunch,' which wasn't... entirely accurate, but it was close enough for now.

Sighing, Arashi dropped his head into his pulled up knees, enough to leave a pale red mark on his forehead. How long was this going to take!? Well... at least anyone pursuing him probably wouldn't think to look where a friendly little gathering was taking place... Maybe this was a fortunate turn of events after all, even if he really hated idle conversation. At least he probably didn't need to stick around for the whole thing, he just needed to wait until he spotted a good opportunity to slip away.

In an attempt to restrain himself from overtaking the conversation, likely leading to few answers being given, Grayson instead thought about the idea of dinner that night. If they went out for pizza, he kind of wanted to have bell peppers... but he knew that Karma wouldn't be too fond of that idea, and likely some of the other poké-kids as well. He could see these conflicts cropping up all over the place, so how many pizzas would they even need to get to make everyone happy? At least they could always get some half-and-half pizzas, but then again, they would probably have a lot of leftovers, and what if he didn't like what was left over? Of course, he was over-thinking everything, as he was so prone to doing, and didn't leave the subject to rest until Serenity's voice cut through his indecision, giving him focus back on the here and now. He snickered as his wife seemed just as eager to get some input in herself, but replied back in a hushed tone as well, "I'm sure she will, but she's the best person for the job, so best to let her lead the questioning."

Karma giggled, nearly forgetting why they were all out here to begin with in zher excitement with being around so many friendly individuals. The scientists and pokémon enthusiasts that stopped by the laboratory were not always the most inspiring of individuals, and Karma distinctly felt a bit of a sour patch for a large number of the groups despite forgetting the specifics. "I'm glad, too. I don't want to forget you again!" the ditto stated firmly, reeling the notebook to rest against zher chest and holding it there possessively. Lucinda was so nice, it was almost as though she never said no to the clingy ditto unless it was to correct a misunderstanding; why couldn't others be so understanding? With a swift nod, Karma found the hybrid girl's assessment of priority to be for the best, "Right! Maybe I can help with that, too!" Though zhe didn't really believe there was much zhe could do... there was always a chance, right? The brightly-hued poké-child beamed with the reassuring pat on the shoulder, knowing that Lucinda was being sincere and not just trying to make the other child feel better.

Connie had to admit, it wasn't very often he had such amiable people stopping by, and it was a bit of a breath of fresh air. Working downtown like he did, many of those that passed by were much more closed off to strangers. Life could be rough, and usually the most friendly exchange he received was a nervous smile. Then again, he wasn't very normal for around these parts, either, both species-wise and temperament-wise. "Could always use the friendship; most don't seem too quick to offer it," he smiled. Arashi twitched from his seat, feeling as though that statement were a partial jab at him. Continuing on, he tapped the side of his head thoughtfully, "But either way, I will try to dig up something you might not already know. Don't want you coming all the way over here for nothing!" Especially considering the taller of the poké-humans seemed to be even older than he was!

At Dea's introduction, Connie was about to offer the same, but his attention quickly shifted to how the others with the woman offered up their own introductions in suit. He leaned back slightly and grinned, noting that it wasn't just Deanna that seemed so friendly, but everyone else that was traveling with her.

Grayson nodded after Serenity piped up. "Doctor Willows. Er... Grayson works fine. I'm Dea's father," he hastily corrected, too used to speaking with those in a job-oriented environment; did this encounter count as one as well?

Karma watched the others say their names and relations, but there was a pause and a sideways look from Grayson before the young ditto realized that zhe should do the same. "Oh!" zhe jolted, standing bolt upright, "I'm Karma! Um... the doctor is my trainer."

"Well I'm happy to make all of your acquaintance. Pardon me if I don't get all of your names down straight right away, but I will make the effort," the teenaged tauros laughed, "The name's Conrad, but I'd much prefer Connie." He offered a hand to Dea to shake, considering she seemed to be leading the expedition and shaking everyone's hands appeared to be a bit time-consuming an endeavor for a short meeting. He deliberated whether or not he should mention Arashi, even if it was just a tiny indication, but thought better of that. At least for now. The eevee-child seemed a little agitated at the moment and Connie didn't want to exacerbate the issue.