I Sting (Pokemon Poison Type Specialist)

Virah looked at the gift wrapping and ribbons next to her feet with pursed lips. Would her friends even like her gifts? How would they react to them?

Whitney already said that she'd find it cool to have a gadget made by Virah but…

Virah lifted one of the bracelets and looked at the haphazard mess of steel and wiring, some bits were sticking out, a few areas of the bracelet were obviously hollow, and overall, the entire thing looked ugly.

It didn't look like it should be something that she can make, she's done better, she knows that, she wears her mask every day after all and that's basically the creation she's most proud of yet.

Virah socketed a piece of water stone on a hollowed part, that was the main purpose it, but wouldn't Whitney find it weird when there's nothing inside?..

'Now it feels way too heavy…' Virah frowned, should she even give these to Whitney and Grene? She didn't feel like doing it now…

Even after she bought gift wrappers to put them in, it simply felt like she could do better than this.

Virah put the device down and sighed, she could make bracelets more efficiently than this, do better than some stupid hunk of metal, maybe put designs on it or something? Make them look not bland? She didn't know but she knows she could improve them!

Virah looked at the bracelets with hesitation, should she dismantle them..?

She shook her head, 'no, no, that's not just- it's not worth it, I can just base my next ones off of them, there's no need to break them apart just because,'

She worked hard on these and she didn't want to ruin them for no reason at all, sure they looked ugly and not up to her standards even after the hours of work she put into them but that's fine, it's fine, she didn't mind, she could just use these bracelets as baselines for next time.

Having given up on her plans to destroy them, Virah sighed and leaned back, she fell down her mattress and glared at the ceiling.

Okay, so maybe, she needed a bit of a refresher, get things off her mind for a bit? Then work on newer versions of the bracelets in secret while she and her friends are journeying to the next city.

Which was what?.. Eucrateak? That should be the next place they were heading towards right?

Virah didn't know, she couldn't remember what Whitney said last night.

'Or was it Violet City?..' Virah suddenly thought, her memories came back then and she remembered that yes, Whitney mentioned something about wanting to explore the Ruins of Alph and seeing what's up with the excitement about the place.

And speaking of the Ruins of Alph…

Virah sat down on a noodle shop Whitney said was interesting. Virah thought that her friend had a point, mostly because to her, the untouched design of the place gave it an antique feel.

The unpolished wood was well taken care of as well, and so were the windows made from Shellder shells.

She tapped on the table with a gloved hand as she waited for her order to come.

Speaking of the Ruins of Alph…

It was a place that, to Virah, should have some kind of meaning, Unowns weren't just known to frequent there after all, but the Pokemon itself, all variations of it really, were marked on the walls in a clearly religious manner.

Unowns were thought to be the origin of language, and Virah didn't know if that was true or not or even if that particular myth actually had some credibility behind it but to her personally, the strange looking Psychic Type wasn't all that special.

'Or they wouldn't have been,' she thought, the memory of her dreams where so many of them were present coming to resurface.

Whatever the Unowns were or what their origins are didn't matter when they were intrinsically connected to her dreams.

Or maybe those did matter…

Would knowing the origins of the Unowns, a seemingly inconsequential Pokemon, help with her weird situation?

The answer leans in both yes and no, and the only true way for Virah to know which is which is to go to the ruins and see what was going on with them.

'Guess I'm an archaeologist now too,' Virah thought glumly.

The noodles that came to her table only provided a little respite to her mind, she was still sulking at the fact that she had to, quite literally, work so many jobs at such a young age.

'Does this mean I'll be even more stumped when I grow up?' Virah shuddered in fear at the thought of being given more work the moment she finished her first year journey.

Virah continued to silently sulk as she ate her noodles, the broth doing little to distract her from needing to study about archaeology or at least studying about the signs and symbolism of the Unown.

She would also need to buy books to ensure that the information she gets is actually valid, doesn't she?..

Virah's expression as she are following that sour thought was like she was fighting through finishing her meal.

Virah got out of the shop with a slightly bitter mood, the more she thought about it, the more she concluded that the world wanted to torture her with responsibilities. Seriously- Team Rocket? A journey? And Legendaries?

Most trainers can't even deal with one of those! Let alone all three at once!

Virah's mood considerably soared when she saw Whitney picking out a bowl of chocolate chips in a shop, the pinkette was engrossed in her Pokewatch, Virah assume she was watching Detective Hoppip again.

She sat down in front of her friend, grabbing her attention.

"I want to talk about the ruins of alph," Virah started, "and maybe try to convince you that we should explore union cave for as much as we could, see if there are signs of Unown there too,"

Whitney turned off her Pokewatch and looked at Virah like a Spearrow about to dive down on its prey, "why?"

Why?..

Virah wasn't sure, she pursed her lips, "I don't know," she answered, "I just think that I'll find answers when I investigate the Unowns,"

"Answers for… your research?" Whitney asked.

"No, nothing like that," but speaking of that, she forgot to do research in Azalea hasn't she? But then again, Eggtech hasn't messaged her about it so it should be fine, "I don't know, it's just I dream of Unown sometimes,"

"Maybe it's… because you uhm, stick your head in your notebooks most of the time?" Whitney's expression turned guilty and she looked away for a bit, "you see words daily so it's only normal you start dreaming about them,"

"…" Virah was speechless, honestly, Whitney had the right to think what she was saying was absurd, by all means it was. The poison specialist sighed, "it's more complicated than that,"

"Is it?" Whitney tilted her head, "how?"

"I don't know," Virah frowned, how does she even explain the Legendaries in her dream?

"Okay,"

Virah's focus went back to Whitney, "okay?"

The pinkette nodded, "yes, we'll explore union cave for a while, see what's going on there,"

"Thanks," Virah replied.

"It's nothing," Whitney shook her head.