Day 20: Professor Oak's Office [Doctor's Office 3]

[damned_doctors]

From just looking at Professor Oak's office, it was hard to say why he was hired. There were boxes littering the ground (there were titles but they might as well have been in a foreign language), papers scattered about on the desk as well as a few on the floor, and a half set up computer. If the computer were put together, Oak's patients would see

Comments

[numberii]

Oh, oh... therapy. Xiggy felt like a kid in a candy store now; he'd get to see just what sort of doctors were in this place, and being a former psychologist himself, he was sure that he'd enjoy every second of it.

Hey, if he worked hard, maybe he could get shuffled around and make a grand-slam out of it? Nothing more amusing than getting doctors to hate him; some of them were more stone-faced than Lexaeus had been.

"Yo~!" The Nobody happily jumped onto the nearest horizontal surface- it just happened to be a chair, thankfully- and lazily grinned at the doctor. Older man, huh? Nice to be away from the kiddies, at least. "So you're the one that's going to try to make me sane again, huh?"

[damned_doctors]

This one had a lot of energy, well he preferred that to the alternative. It'd make things interesting, at any rate.

"I'm not sure about that," Oak stated as he moved to sit in his chair, partially disappointed that he couldn't find what he was looking for, "I probably can't make you any saner than you are right now, I'm just here to help you with your training."

[numberii]

"...training?" That caught Xigbar right in the solar plexus, so to speak. The doctor wasn't here to make him sane? Then what kind of loony bin was this? And when the asylum is nuts, you know there's problems.

No wonder Number X hated institutes like this.

"Okay, I'll bite. What kind of training am I supposed to be doing?"

[damned_doctors]

".. It's worse than I thought."

Delusions, amnesia? Either one worked, but if the trainer forgot why he was here.. Did they have him on any type of medication? That was something to check, it was posible that if they were giving him something it was interfering with his ability to think logically.

He decided it would be best to listen to more as he searched around the drawers for the information he was given on this particular man. "If you're not a trainer, what do you think you're doing here?"

[ontheabyss]

So. Therapy. Lyta had no idea what to expect. The Corps had all of its telepaths regularly checked for stress and the like, so she was no stranger to talking to a mental health specialist. But not the kind that worked in a crazy mental hospital and wanted to make her think she was mad.

She didn't see the point to all of this. Nothing they could say to her would make her believe them. But she may as well get it over with.

A nurse led her to the doctor's officed and announced her as Cassandra Moore. What a ridiculous name. She followed obediently enough, but there was a bored and slightly irritated expression on her face.

[damned_doctors]

Oak had been expecting that expression from at least one of the trainers, and if there was only one then he'd be lucky. These were the types that were like his grandson Gary, headstrong and set out to do things their own way. It'd worked out for Gary, but apparently this girl wasn't the same.

"You can sit down, I'm not going to bite," it was a joke, obvious from Oak's speech and from the smile on his face. As he said it, he gestured to the only clear chair in the room (aside from his own, not that it was all that clear when he was sitting on it).

[ontheabyss]

"So. You're going to tell me I'm crazy, right? I mean, that's how things work here. So let's hear it, doctor." Lyta sat, crossing her legs and leaning back. The doctor wasn't blocked in the same way the rest of the staff was, but she still couldn't get into his head. Great. That was really making this difficult.

[damned_doctors]

"You're only crazy if you think you are, I can't tell you otherwise." This was becoming a recurring theme and if this was how each one was going to be, he'd have to talk to the staff about how they treated his patients trainers. Having them question him and be paranoid wasn't going to help them move on any sooner.

He had a feeling that another theme was going to be the 'doctor' business. "And I'm not a doctor, I'm a Professor. Professor Oak to be exact."

[ifandmaybe]

Inara was slightly annoyed that she'd been forced again to move on to some ridiculous, possibly mock-therapy in order to keep up whatever appearances this place played at during the day. Conflicted and frustrated as she felt, the former Companion calmed herself and forced herself to be reminded that her friends, no - family, were safe for the time being. She would endure, and perhaps this therapy session would be more educational than she might've anticipated.

As she was ushered into the cluttered office and announced, Inara forced herself to smile politely at the older man.

"Good morning, Doctor. I imagine we'll be meeting one another regularly to discuss the matter of my stay here at Landels?" Inara paused, waiting to be offered a seat... somewhere before she took one. "I'm afraid I'm not used to this sort of therapy, so you'll have to take the lead, if you don't mind."

[damned_doctors]

The seat was offered during her pause, but Oak didn't say anything during it. He expected she was going to speak again from her mannerisms and was proved right a few seconds later. Humans were harder to read that pokemon, so it'd been a fifty-fifty chance.

He waved off her concerns, introducing himself at the same time, "My name is Professor Oak some people called me the Pokemon Prof and I'm afraid I'm just as lost as you are; I normally don't operate like this." Oak paused with a frown, "It's too strict."

"I believe that the important thing is to have room to grow on your own."

[ifandmaybe]

Inara blinked twice. She hadn't expected that sort of response. Wasn't this supposed to be a mental health exercise? Some form of counseling or therapy?

Confused but otherwise willing to play along to see where this was going Inara simply smiled and nodded.

"I agree. It's difficult to find your center in a place like this." Another charming smile. "With everyone telling you where to put your roots, it's hard to branch out."

Thankfully the Training House had schooled Inara on how to bullshit expertly.

[damned_doctors]

He didn't think it was all that bad, despite what he said. Some amount of strictness was good; an example would be a diet, breaking it once in a while was all right but overall one needed to maintain a certain amount of restraint and composure.

It meant he partially agreed. Yes, it was hard to find the center, but no about the roots. He could see where the comparison came from and was glad to see that she was understanding.

This girl would be a strict trainer, probably gym leader material. Grass type from the sound of things, but her demeanour reminded him of what a water type's leader should be. At this point it could be either one, but he couldn't tell her which pokemon to choose.

"You didn't tell me your name." Oak smiled, laughing to himself about something or another.

[damned_doctors]

Yup, that was recurring all right.

Professor Oak sighed, feeling suddenly tired. He'd probably have to look through her files too, see what she was on to make her so paranoid. There were several substances that could unnerve the mind and from what he'd seen of the others, there was a high chance this young girl was on them too.

It was a shame, putting so many people on medications they didn't need. Probably things doctors hadn't prescribed either, just random pills they'd thrown together to make everyone feel more relaxed. .. No, probably not, but it was beginning to feel like it. He knew Landels was more professional than that.

"My name is Professor Oak and I'm not here to judge that. My job is to give you the advice you need to get your life rolling again, so you don't have to be stuck here." He smiled and gestured to the empty seat.

[damned_doctors]

"Oh?" Leaning forward, the professor folded his hands together on the desk. "And if you don't mind we asking, what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

From the last few cases he doubted the answer was as obvious as it appeared to be. If it was, he was happy that she managed to find her way without any help from him. It was the way trainers ought to be, instead of solely relying on someone branded with the title of 'professor' directing them.

He'd had that thought during another session, hadn't he? Ah, yes, he had.

[not_a_savior]

Nowe disliked being practically dragged out of the cafeteria by his nurse, another good conversation interrupted by the voice on the intercom. He sighed as the woman deposited him in front of Doctor's Office 3, told him to go in, that "he could use the therapy", and promptly left him behind. He sighed heavily, and pushed the door open.

It was a mess. It was hard to believe this was the office of a doctor. He looked around at the various boxes, unable to see most of their contents.

"Er... doctor?" Nowe asked as he stepped inside, carefully weaving through the maze of boxes.

[damned_doctors]

"Professor," he called, digging around his desk, "Excuse the mess, I haven't gotten the chance to unpack yet. There just isn't enough time."

"There should be a free seat somewhere - now where did I put that?" Between his patients coming in so close together, Oak hadn't been given the chance to fully seek out what he'd wanted before. He could have sworn he had several of them around, but now he couldn't find a single one! Now, how could a box disappear? He could have sworn he'd counted right when they brought everything in.

A few seconds after his murmurs, Oak popped up, scratching his head. He looked at the newest trainer, and pointed to the seat. "Sit down, there's nothing to be afraid of."

[not_a_savior]

"Erm, right. Professor. Sorry." Nowe apologized as he located a chair with some difficulty and sat down in it.

"What are you looking for?" He asked, peering into one of the nearby boxes. This guy didn't look too bad, and seemed to be friendly enough. "Can I help?" He offered, hesitantly. He preferred to avoid whatever "therapy" was going to be inflicted on him, but the professor also looked hopelessly disorganized. Nowe reached down and picked up some of the papers on the floor and set them on the desk.

[damned_doctors]

"Hm?" Help? Well that was a switch, so far everyone came in stating in no uncertain terms that they weren't insane.

But when he glanced around the room, it was clear why this one opted for another path. "I can always look for it later, right now the important thing is for me to help you."

Oak took his seat, becoming comfortable before talking again. "First off, why do you think you're here?"