As usual, whether it is during office hours or not, Professor Blaustein can be found in the artificery.
He's in his private workshop, tinkering with some mess of metallic panels, cables, sensors, LED indicators, rotating gears -- machinery -- machinery that takes up almost half of the room, grease smeared on his cheek and all over his arms, with a... what is that in his hand anyway? A wrench? Pliers? A giant screwdriver? You can't tell, really.
A flash of red light, similar to when a Pokéball engages and disengages, arcs around the room, but doesn't seem to really do anything, and he continues working without paying it any heed. Well, you're not gonna try to figure out what he's working on.
"Professor," you call out, knocking on the door.
He ignores you, and for a while you think it might be because he's focused on something he can't be distracted from.
And then it becomes apparent that maybe he didn't hear you, so you try again, a little louder. "Professor?"
Still, nothing. He can't be ignoring you on purpose, right? You hesitate for a while at the doorway, but it's office hours anyway, and Professor Blaustein is the friendliest Professor on the faculty.
You walk in, and when he doesn't even blink at your intrusion, start to approach him with more confidence. And then you hear the humming, and see the wireless buds in his ears. You sigh.
"Professor!"
"Hmm?" Finally. He places his tool on the bench next to him, taking out his earbuds and leaving more smears across his face. "Oh, a cadet. Sorry. Didn't see you, there."
"Yeah, I, I just wanted to consult with you before the interviews."
"Cool. You don't mind if I keep working while we do this, do you?"
"No, uh, go ahead?"
"Great!" And he promptly turns back to his machinery, picking up his tool. "Ask away."
"Right. Just gonna go straight into it, then?"
"Mhm."
"Okay... So, I'm going to be executing a non-combat capture of an Oddish. I'll be tracking it at night, watching it bed down during the dawn, and then sneaking up on it and drugging it with a mixture of sleep powder and fast-absorbing fertiliser. Can you give me your general feedback on this plan?"
"Sounds good. Probably want to err on the side of excess on dosage if you can afford to, since it's nigh impossible to overdose a Poison-type. That'll give you more room for error on waiting for it to fall asleep, and it'll actually be beneficial for its growth, too."
"And if the sleep powder we bring doesn't work on the Oddish, I am planning to take its leaves off to induce hibernation. What are my chances of this working? And is there a better method you recommend?"
"There's a decent risk of that, actually, if it's been exposed to enough sleep powder over its growth. What do you mean 'take its leaves off'?"
"Um, I mean inducing autotomy, upon which it will enter a hibernative state?"
"Oh, that. Right, that's a good plan. If the sleep powder doesn't work, that should happen automatically, actually. Just agitate its leaves without pulling it out. If you feel the leaves move even slightly, just give it a few minutes and start digging. If not, you can use a Pokéball straight on the leaves and you're set."
Wow. Maybe you should've come to him sooner. He's actually being really helpful, despite not even glancing at you the entire time you're talking. "Great. I'm also concerned about area control, both during capture and when we're camping at night. What's the best light-weight traps I can use to discourage wild Pokémon from interrupting? Maybe caltrops or nets?"
"That's not going to work on any of the more dangerous ones, you know?" He drawls. "Your best bet is probably to just have someone keep watch at all times. That's why Pokémon Trainers work in teams, after all."
"But still. Aren't there any substances we can use to convince unwanted Pokemon to, um, leave us alone? I am going to request Repel, but I'm assuming supplies are limited. Maybe poisoned ammunition?"
"Every Pokémon is a little bit different. It kinda depends specifically on what you're trying to achieve, since something that's repulsive to one species might be attractive to another. Same thing with using your firearms -- both noise and blood is bound to attract some predators. Repel's the only thing that really works on all Pokémon. Unfortunately, it's prohibitively hard to manufacture, which makes it expensive."
"That's very helpful. Thanks, Professor."
"Sure. You done?"
"Just a few more. I'm also assisting Cadet Silver with his Nidoran capture, and I was wondering about the best tranquilliser round and sniping approach to use for a Nidoran."
"Same rules as any target. Aim somewhere you're sure it'll pierce the skin, make sure you use enough sedative, and don't be too ambitious on range. Typically, you can expect a tranquilliser gun to be effective at 50 to 100 metres, even though it can shoot much further than that."
Psshh. You're the best sniper on campus, you can do better than that. "Got it. Do you have any advice on driving Pokémon into traps, or goading them to approach you over trapped terrain?"
"Just the stuff you already know from lectures, but like I just said, depends specifically on the species you're targeting."
"Just bait or Repel, then?"
"Pretty much."
"What bait do you think would be most useful for an Oddish or Nidoran trap? I'll be bringing liquid fertiliser for sure."
"The fertiliser should work for Oddish. Juvenile Nidoran tend to adopt a herbivorous diet, so any poisonous fruit or plant should work. The more poisonous, the better. A common trick is to forage for nearby poisonous fruits and then spraying them with a mixture of volatile poisons."
"Then, regarding the trap I'm using for a capture target, how damaging of a trap can I use in general without endangering the capture?"
"Hmm. That depends. Nothing that maims or cripples, but specific species have different rates of resistance and recovery to certain traps. Generally, pit traps and snares are good underrated basics, but they're not always effective."
"Right. Last question. I'll be sniping a Kangaskhan, aiming for a double-lung shot. Any tips for any rifle attachments or ammunition I should be thinking about?"
"A suppressor is probably gonna be more useful than a compensator for your test, no matter how many Repels you can get your hand on. Other than that, just pick a larger caliber bullet, and try to make sure it penetrates all the way through."
"Alright! That's all of my questions."
"Mhm."
"Thanks, Professor!"
"Mhm."
"I'll be leaving now, okay..?"
"Mhm."
And then you go.
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It is the 18th day of the Latewinter, in the 48th year of the New Pokémon Calendar.
Your interviews are in 4 Days.
What do you do next?
[x] Study Gary's Notes (1 Day)
→ [x] Scyther (preliminary)
→ [x] Kangaskhan (preliminary)
→ [x] Nidoran (preliminary)
→ [x] Safari Zone West (Safari Area 3) (in-depth)
→ [x] Safari Zone North (Safari Area 2) (in-depth)
→ [x] Safari Zone East (Safari Area 1) (in-depth)
[x] Do preliminary research on a Pokémon. (2 Days)
→ [x] What Pokémon?
[x] Talk to someone. (1 Day)
→ [x] Topic?
[x] Do some training. (1 Day)
→ [x] STR : Focus on training your body.
→ [x] AGI : Focus on training your reflexes.
[x] Write-in.
