#I am a walking mosaic of the dangers of being a professor haha

[ask-professor-laurel]

Have you ever had something happen to you on the job that left a mark? A close call? What’s a busy day like for you? What’s a normal Tuesday?

Oh, many, many times. Being a professor and getting up close and personal with wild Pokemon is dangerous work, not to mention the other little excursions I’ve been on. I’ve got a pretty decent collection of scars at this point, and I’ve had my fair share of close calls.

A normal day looks like me in the lab writing up my reports, walking around and talking through things with other staff, and checking on the Pokemon we have onsite. Sometimes I’m out in the field, like I was today, gathering data. This usually looks like me out there for hours on end, taking notes, sketching, taking breaks to relax with my team and with the wild Pokemon, before heading back to the facility. I have a room there and I stay overnight more often than not. When I’m not working I’m calling my friends, I’m talking to people here, just little things so it’s not all work, work, work. I love my job, but burnout is real and I am not immune to it.

A busy day usually involves fieldwork, but it can also involve finding ourselves in the care of Pokemon unexpectedly. Today was busy because we had to make sure the Shinx stayed calm and didn’t feel threatened so we wouldn’t get hurt if she panicked. Moving days for Pokemon who are staying temporarily are also busy, especially if it’s a delicate situation with a more aggressive Pokemon. We see a lot of those, since we’re an in-between between bad situations and more equipped facilities. I tend to lead on a lot of those because I have a Dragonite who’s much stronger than any person here and she won’t hesitate to assert herself when needed. My favourite kind of busy day is a day where I get to travel and go deal with professor stuff outside of the lab- I love it here, believe me, but travel always comes at a time when I need to get out and get some fresh air. Even if it’s a conference and don’t tell my colleagues this but those can be really boring, and I’m more excited about going and walking around somewhere new for a couple days. 

Like I said, I’ve had a few close calls and they were all on the job. I mentioned a couple and I’ll get to those, but to give you an idea of what being a professor can entail, here’s a couple of stories.

My first close call was doing fieldwork and getting attacked by a wild Arbok. It was territorial, I didn't notice I was close to a nest, and it was my fault entirely. It lunged and clamped down on my shoulder, gave me what holds up as the worst dosage of poison I’ve ever had before Cloudhopper could pry it off and scare it away. Cloudhopper got me to a Pokemon Center but I was running a fever for a few days, which I don’t remember, I just remember waking up. This is, incidentally, the origin of my nervousness around Poison types. I still do counselling for this and it’s what lets me be around smaller Pokemon like Zubat, but I still get apprehensive around Ekans and Arbok. It’s not their fault, but it was a scary experience, and I’m working on it! I still have the scar, big one on my right shoulder where it bit.

Eternatus was the big televised one. I was out of the lab a lot around that time- Sonia needed help at first, and then I got caught up in helping Leon out with trying to figure good ol’ Rose out, and then Rose woke Eternatus up! I had to do something, so I joined Leon in trying to fight it, which went terribly for all of us. I got out of it with some cracked ribs, but Leon was in rough shape and it took him a while to recover, which had me pretty shaken up. I barely slept for a week, honestly. Lucky for us the gym leaders showed when they did, because Leon’s brother and my Pokemon were trying to hold Eternatus off and I don’t think they would’ve lasted long without backup. Didn’t get any scars from that one, like I said I wasn’t seriously hurt, but it was terrifying. I actually took time off work after that one, and anybody who knows me knows how much of a rarity that is.

The closest call I’ve ever had, and this one I barely remember so forgive me, was the Team Rocket bust. I remember running out of there with the Shaymin in my arms, I remember a Rocket admit and a Nidoking, and I remember being in a lot of pain. Then I woke up in a hospital. Leon had to fill me in on what happened, which was that Rocket admin sent her Nidoking after me, it used Rock Slide, and damn near buried me alive. Leon showed up right as they were about to finish the job and got me out of there, but I was in a bad way for a few weeks and it was almost two months before I was back to my regular work. One hell of a concussion and they had to put my left ankle back together with surgery, hence why I need a brace and some days I need a cane. I don’t remember most of this, but I have the scar from a rock hitting me in the head, and my leg aches when it gets colder and when it rains. 

Those were the worst ones. I have quite a few scars, they just don’t tend to show when I’m dressed for work. I’ve got a few bite marks, a few claw marks, the most recent scar is the result of getting hit with a Hyper Beam by a very angry Corviknight in the Slumbering Weald down in Postwick. It’s dangerous work, but it’s what I signed up for. Most things don’t scar, I get bit and scratched all the time, but the more serious ones have left their mark and every mark has a story behind it. 

Seriously, if anybody ever tells you that being a professor is just sitting in a lab all day, they’re so very wrong. Being a professor is staying calm and telling an intern to get a Shroomish to the put the Primeape vice-gripping your wrist to sleep before it snaps you like a chocolate bar. A lot of my time is spent working on data and reports, yes, but I’m also in the field quite a lot and I volunteer for other more dangerous missions because of my experience as a trainer. 

Just cause the faces of the profession tend to be older guys who sit in their labs and give out Pokemon and push out papers doesn’t mean that’s all of us, after all!