Virah eyed her reflection in the mirror and smiled. Out of everything that has changed in her life this past week, her fashion sense had been the only thing that remained constant through it all.

She ran her hand across her scalp and fixed her caustic green hair, straightening it and fixing any curls she found.

Her hand then found itself pulling on the collar of her shirt, and for a moment, she considered about whether or not to open the zipper of her hoodie and eventually concluded that yes- she will open it.

She cupped her the pockets of her ripped jeans to feel for her trainer card before moving on to straighten it. Afterwards, she tugged on the mouth of her boots, pulling them upwards.

Virah went on to do a few more finishing touches by lightly repeating what she just did until she was satisfied with the overall state of her look.

She touched her cheek and winced once she felt just how hollow it was. She wasn't sure if her current state of dress did anything to hide her thin body but she's confident that the baggier shirt, larger hoodie, and thinner jeans will at least get people to not notice.

'I hope so at least,' Virah let out a sigh before finally walking out of her room.

Immediately, she became self conscious of her self once she saw the woman standing in front of her room.

The nurse joy smiled, "hello," she waved, "I was about to knock but I guess I didn't need to," her words were accompanied by a giggle that died down once she realized Virah didn't reply, "anyhow, here,"

Virah took the offered card with hesitation, "what is this?"

"It's a temporary card to let you enter the deeper parts of the center," nurse joy explained, she raised her hand in the air and waved it informationally, "sir Borough wanted you to meet him at 6 o clock in the evening,"

"I-" Virah quickly schooled herself and nodded, "thank you,"

"You're welcome," nurse joy replied with a smile.

"I'll take my leave now," Virah bowed and made her way out.

"You look good in your clothes by the way, did you pick them yourself?"

Virah turned back to the nurse and smiled, "yep!"

She looked away and quickly made her way to the place where she and her friends agreed to meet, her steps light and her gait confident.

Virah went on to walk to a nearby cafe after making her way out of the breeding center, and, as usual, she was the first to arrive and her friends were nowhere to be seen.

She grabbed her Pokemon's pokeballs and tossed them on the cafe's playpen before making her way to one of the lines in front of the cashier. While waiting in line, her eyes scanned the menu uptop.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Most of the coffees for sale were the usual brews of lattes and the like. The bread that could be paired with them though were quite varied, with a few being cakes.

Seeing that she didn't have functioning taste buds at the moment, Virah decided to settle on a standard bun.

'Yep, it's settled,' Virah internally concluded with a nod. Her choice was simple and a classic. And not to mention, it also paired well with coffee.

Her wait didn't take that long and she was standing directly in front of the counter in just a few minutes.

The barista, or maybe cashier, greeted Virah with the same smile he gave to everyone else before her, "hi! Welcome to Momoo Cafe, where we pour the freshest batch of Momoo milk for our coffee,"

Virah hummed, noting that the entire thing sounded rehearsed and if it was, she briefly asked herself if they say it to every customer or if it's just a random thing.

Either way, it didn't really matter since she was here to buy coffee, not ask herself unnecessary questions.

"I want black coffee and buns please," Virah politely requested and the barista put up his practiced smile before walking away.

Moments later, he came back carrying a tray with a cup of coffee and a plate of buns on top, "here you go, thanks for choosing us!"

Virah took the tray and returned the guy's smile before walking to one of the nearby booths.

With practiced ease, Virah poured cream and dumped sugar cubes into her coffee before stirring it with the plastic stick that came with the tray. She then sipped careful swigs from her drink and took casual bites from her bread while watching her Pokemon play and socialize in the playpen.

Nitro and Jet were talking to a curious Hoppip and a silent Dunsparce about their training regime since, unsurprisingly, the two cute Pokemon owned by the curvy blonde to Virah's right weren't battlers.

The conversation was mostly about what Jet and Nitro did for training while the two pets would occasionally spout their own experiences living casually as pets in response.

Virah knew that not everyone understood Pokemon as well as she could, and that for most, conversing with their Pokemon only came after a while of bonding with them, when the trainer finally gets used to the gestures of their Pokemon.

People who directly knew what a Pokemon is saying without needing to understand their gestures were rare, and briefly, Virah wondered if what she had was because of Arceus or a result of her naturally powerful Aura.

'Not that it matters,' Virah thought with a smile as the Pokemon up front started talking about her capabilities as a move tutor.

The Hoppip and Dunsparce looked at her for a split second before turning back to Jet and Nitro, who continued explaining what she does and how it helps them as battlers.

When Whitney and Grene finally arrived, Virah was halfway through finishing her plate of bread while her coffee had been diminished.

They talked, Whitney ordered food, and then they talked some more before finally heading out of the cafe and going on their planned shopping trip.

"Sooooo, what kind of things are you buying?" Whitney stopped drinking her iced coffee and focused on Virah, "food is probably one of them right?"

"Food, yeah," Virah nodded, "that and also a extra clothes, hoodies, and pairs of jeans," the poison specialist answered, "my boots are fine right now-" they were also recently bought, "- but everything else needs extras,"

"And what about cooking appliances? Are you gonna buy non-electrical ones?" Grene mentioned.

"I think we're fine on that front right?" Virah replied, "and I feel that keeping them is a good idea since like you guys said, they'll be useful in a rainy day,"

"Right, that makes sense," the martial artist nodded, "and that's all? You're going to buy food, clothes, and…"

"Maybe some of the hiking gear I haven't bought before this," Virah answered, "and… nothing else after that," the greenhead hummed, "I think I'll be set for my journey after I buy everything,"

"What about a Pokewatch?" Whitney waved her forearm back and forth, "wouldn't you want to buy one of these?"

"I would- will, buy one of those," Virah corrected herself, "but not right now since I don't think I need one yet, maybe after my second gym?"

Whitney nodded, "yeah, that's a good idea,"

And just like that, their conversation ended as abruptly as it had started and all three of them walked in silence with nothing noteworthy happening for a while. Once they reached Goldenrod Mall, they went in and proceeded with their business.

It wasn't until they reached the general store for hiking gear that one of them finally spoke up again.

"I think I wanna search this place for gloves, and maybe a map for Mt. Silver," Grene said as the sliding doors closed behind them, "is it fine if we split up?"

Whitney and Virah exchanged glances before turning back to Grene and nodding in confirmation.

"Yeah, that's fine I think," Whitney replied.

"I don't really mind," Virah followed, adding, "uhm, good luck,"

"Thank you," Grene bowed before moving away.

Once the martial artist left, Whitney spoke up, "so is it just me or is Grene completely serious in helping out her Tyrogue getting revenge?"

"I don't think it's a problem," Virah replied vaguely.

Honestly though, if Grene wanted to help her Tyrogue in avenging his dojo then who's Virah to judge her? Right as long as Grene doesn't try and commit accidental suicide on her way there, then Virah thought of supporting her.

"And besides," the poison specialist looked away from the climbing axe she was inspecting to lock gazes with Whitney, "we'll be there with her when the time comes,"