Alph Ruins...and Unown Secrets

## **Prologue**

“Ooooooooooohh….VIP CLASS!VIP CLASS! VIP CLASS! A-G-A-I-N! AGAAAIN!” Plusle cartwheeled flinging her pompoms to the ceiling, behind her Drifloon and Inkay span on themselves doing the same, loud and upbeat, Minun, that was lying in his seat with cucumbers slices on the eyes until a second ago, jolted for the shock. “Hip hip hooray for us, the Laser Latias Leviathaaaans!” continued the positive sister “I didn’t hear you yet, say it louder and no regret, give me an L, give me another, and another one, three els, for three victories: LASER LATIAS LEVIATHANS!!!”

“Wooh! Clap, clap, so quirky way to celebrate! I totally like it. By the way it’s Lester Latias Leviathans, now.” Rotom pointed out. Plusle stopped immediately everything, slapping her front “Of course! I was sure there was something wrong. Ok, girls, and now you too, Minun, we get to do it again, and in the professional way. VIP CLASS! VIP CLASS! VIP CLA-“ Minun blocked her “Sister, as much I like to celebrate, I’d to relax now, so…” but she didn’t even let him end and carried him away “Sure, we can do some knitting together!” Drifloon followed them “I join you, Plinun and Misle! Because I love so much the knitties: \*\*they’re so cute to cuddle.\*\* “

Beheeyem and Metang played a game of chess while Porygon 2 had his journal update, Metang did his move and Beheeyem commented “It’s the first time I meet someone able to give me at least some entertainment without being defeated at this game after 5 moves, interesting, which planet do you come from? Since, you’re too clever for the Earth.” The alien laughed at his same joke. Metang didn’t “You have a cerebral matter that goes beyond the average size, I have two of it. I’m obviously advantaged of the 50%.” Beheeyem resented a little and replied “Whatever, let’s continue and see who wins here.” At the next turn of Metang, the bionic crab CHECKMATED. “Whaaatever..” Beheeyem floated away and went to sit a seat next to Lampent, who was reading in the darkest angle of the First Class using the dim light of her lantern head “You have been very quiet for more than 24 hours, yesterday we interacted only when we assembled the imaginary mosaic, this thing makes me think that maybe you’re hiding inside your dark shell of loneliness for a reason. Not that I care, but which is?”

“Why don’t you discover it by using your ability to read the mind instead of ask?” she whispered with a caustic tone, Beheeyem shrugged “Ok. I’ll just give up.” As he moved to another seat, Lampent returned to read.

**// Vent //**

**Beheeyem rolled the green bug eyes “She has fallen in love for me yet can’t rationally accept that’s a one sided love. That’s why my race renounced to emotions: Lampent has the necessary indifference to access to the pure knowledge of the Universe if she would, but all her good qualities are now wasted in favor of her irrational feelings.” The alien shrugged closing the eyes “Her problem. I’ll keep with my life based on knowledge and discovers.”**

Lester looked around suspiciously , checking every angle and hideout, lurked and called up the others: “Leviathans, it’s time. This is the perfect occasion to discover one of the biggest mysteries ever!”

“Your personality?” asked Beheeyem with irony.

“What’s inside the door, ah!” Lester did an epic pose in front of the V-room, the restricted area of the plane, it was a dark orange door with a giant V glyphed on and replicated on the knob, too, the symbol of Victini, a sign post said DON’T CROSS ACROSS in red font. Beheeyem echoed “Ooh, that dooor! Amazing. No, thanks. I’m enough favorited by Victini so far.” The red Rotom approached to the door “Tsk, tsk. You have really no continuity with yourself.”

“Sure, sure..What do you mean?”

“I mean that I thought your aim in life is to achieve the highest level of knowledge possible and impossible: aren’t you curious to solve the mystery of Victini, really?” Lester smirked “It could be everything, even an astroship! By the way we’ll never undisclose the doubt and see which theory of the infinite ones is the correct one. So…”

Beheeyem twitched in front of this speech, something unusual happened in his mind, and replied striving to appear indifferent and sarcastic “Alright, you obtained what you wanted. Open that door and let’s solve the most important mystery of the Universe.” But he was genuinely curious, this time. “Are you ready for the quirkness?” Lester reunited Beheeyem, Inkay, Lampent, Metang, and Porygon 2 (interrupting his update at 99%) and entered, Victini in fact was too certain none would have dared to violate his privacy after his vibrant menaces that he left always the door unlocked… “Oooh, waaaao, this is very very very very very quirky!”

*SCREEN FADED TO BLACK*

As they opened, the 6 pokèmon remained astonished. The Victini’s Victory Star room was immense compared to the vip class, so much that seemed quite impossible that it could have been built in the airplane. The wall and floor were of flaring orange, golden statues of Victini surrounded them pouring fresh fountain water in the main swimming pool shaped like a V, there were some rare musical instruments like the violin octet family, a vibraphone, a venu, a Vienna horn, and a viola major. Near the swimming pool there was the SPA thermal heated on by a virtual volcano thanks to a viaduct. On the walls, vivid pictures portraited the V-host in the vest of viceroy of Unova and vizier of Reshiram and various medals reported him as victor of everything and veteran of war in which he was always on the victorious faction. There were also a videogame, a viewphone, and a domestic Vulpix sleeping in the room. And infinite victuals conisisting of Victini’s favorite food: macarones.

**// Vent //**

**“This is the quirkiest place that I ever sneaked inside!” Rotom explained overwhelmed by the hype “It beats the Old Chateau, the Galactic Hideout, and maybe even the Area 51 itself. Seriously. By the way, have you noticed that every single piece of furniture starts with the letter V or has the shape of a V? I can’t wait to explore it better, but first I want to do a Discharge Dive in the swimming pool!”**

**Inkay wasn’t less hyped “Zingama! Jesticam! Overwhelm-ops-Whelmovering! Learly, I never saw something similarly absurd, and I’m an upside down squid that swims in mid-air.”**

**Beheeyem was very astonished this time “Despite I know this will make Victini backlash on us, it’s totally worth risk. I was kind of skeptical about, but this room is really Victini’s hideout, and the room of his secret: the neverending victory. This means that in this room there’s the secret of how to be victorious in everything, like an INVASION.” His green eyes gleamed. “Meh, whatever.”**

Minun escaped for an hair before Plusle could put the new Latias dress (complete with skirt) knit together (against his will) on him “Anf, pant, finally I’m safe and safe is my virility.” Minun took off the dainty hat and hid under the chess table, shivering, meanwhile he heard the voices of Plusle and Drifloon calling his name (wrong). “Minnieee? Brother? Where are you?” “Miiiisle?? Brother? Wait, the brother is mine or yours, Plinun?” “Mine!” “Okay, got it. Miiiisleeee? Where did you gooo? Oh, wait, maybe he went upstairs!” “Upstairs? Hmm…possible. Let’s getty gotta go, then!” Minun exited from only when he was sure they were gone, taking a big sigh of relief “Phew…I could have not resisted anymore with my sister and her new best friend. I like them both, but, they are a curse for my male dignity: skirt, polka dot socks, dainty cap with ears and even wings…brrr. Anyway, why this place is so desert, now? Where’s the rest of the Leviathans?” he lost all his HP seeing the V-Room opened “Oh, no. I can’t believe it.” Drifloon pointed at an estinguisher “Spotted! Oh wait, you’re not the Misle I’m searching for…a-ah, spotted!” pointed at Minun “What’s going on? Uuuuh!” Plusle dashed soon after “You spotted my brother? Oh, thanks Arceus, I was so worried for you, Minun, where have you been?! YOU KNOW I CAN’T STAY WITHOUT YOU TOO MUCH. Wait, the room of Victini is open? Uhhhhhh!!! Swimming pool! SPLASH!” Minun kept staring widening eyes.

   “Minun, join the party!” Lester invited, after having possessed the fridge of Victini flinging macarones to everybody, smugging “See that I was right? You would have never had the honor to experience this room if wasn’t for my initiative, ah. \*EPIC POSE\*”

“Hhmm, gnam, crunk, these macarones are way more different from the usual Victini offers at the Tail of Losers” Swalot, Arceus only knows how, was inside, too.

Finally Minun spoke “You opened the door, you really opened the door Victini has forbidden us to do! What’s wrong with you, Lester?” the other smirked proudly and winked at the camera “Wrong nothing, quirky everything.”

Minun facepalmed “….anyway. What Victini would do us if, I mean, you know how jealous and hot-headed is he, right? He disqualified and almost incinerated Ditto just for a joke!!”

“A very good joke, munch.” Swalot added.

“By the way! Don’t gets too much electroshocked: it’s just for this time. My curiosity is satisfied and I’ll assure that none of us will tell everything out to Victini.” He turned to Lampent “Let’s start from you: do you swear solemnly on the sake of quirkness and the overwhelming rules of the forces of bizzarre that you won’t betray the secret? ANSWER NOW.”

The Ghost Lantern shrudded “I barely talk with anyone than myself, never with my stepfather. Guess my answer.”

“See? Minun, be positive, is everything under control.” Frost Rotom turned to another pokèmon, assuming a very serious expression “ Drifloon, what are you going to say about this room once we’ll be out of here?” Drifloon, focused on fluttering upon the water, dumbfounded “Which room?” Lester grinned “That’s the way to keep a secret! Porygon 2?” the virtual pokèmon fizzled “ERROR: UNFINISHED UPDAT—“

“Mr. Shugarlot?”

“Buuuurp!!!”

“Perfect! + Plusle?” the positive sister zipped her mouth with a smile. “Beheeyem?” Beheeyem didn’t answer immediately “Sure…what do you think there’s behind those velvet curtains?” the alien refered to an apparently empty wall of the room with only curtains hanged on, in an orange velvet pitched with stars. Lester pondered and approached “My 51th sense says that…”

“Jirachi, I’m going to take some relaxation at my personal suite, announce at the megaphone when we’re arrived at Violet Town.” Everyone heard Victini’s voice over “And, PLEASE, a-V-oid to crash into the Sprout Tower. This tour is already costing me lot of money, yesterday I had to pay for the enviromental damage caused by Lester that tossed every sort of electrodomestic in the lake. Thinking that those freaky Leviathans eventually won really irks me…”

Lester lurked away first, hiding inside the air-conditioner “This is not a test: now, Leviathans, it’s time for a spy style runaway. Get outta of here!!! Ahahahah! Zoom! He’ll never spot us in this way. I saved you again, Leviathans.” Minun rolled eyes but then quickened help close the door as nothing had happened. Then Drifloon reminded “And Inkay? Where is she? I didn’t see her exit.” Swalot, mimetized in the vip class cocktail drink, said “I saw her, don’t worry. She’s now…buuuuuuurp..somewhere, I don’t know and don’t care.”

Victini heated on “SWALOT! You should not be here in Vip Class: this is only for the victorious team, go out before I V-Generator you, villein! Tsk, rules are rules, on these I never get over.” The V-host glanced around, noticing the absence of the others “Uhm.. Lester and his gang are probably playing hide n’ seek.” Then entered in his personal room and locked inside.

“Ok, now keep the cup in the hand with firmness and grace…it should be a real cup but doesn’t matter, *you can’t do anything without your scallop, afterall*, and sip, no drink, but sip, so to enjoy the taste of the tea. Possibly without making no sound because that’s the swalot way, not my way.” Piplup and Oshawott were having an elegant breakfast and Piplup strived to teach Oshawott some elegance like promised “Excuse me, how am I supposed to do this on the tail of a plane?” Oshawott’s tea versed on her face and belly “ARRRGH! GRR, REVENGE, TAKE A FLY STUPID TEA!” she tossed the teapot in the sky for the anger, then asked sorry. It was the umpteenth piece of the service she sent in the ozonosphere. “Now Rayquaza can organize tea parties with Deoxys thank of you.” Piplup remarked half amused half annoyed making the other to blush for the shame. “Anyway, try again, I’ll buy a new tea-service at the first right occasion. Remember what I told you, keep calm, and sip, not DRINK, but sip, shht, you’re already too loud! You seem now the cousin of Swalot.” “WHAT?!?” “Just saying. *What a desperate case*.” “Osha-whaaaat?!” “Nothing, nothing. Focus on your tea! You can do it.”

Oshawott obeyed and finally managed to sip it gracefully “I feel quite pointless, but, if this what a true lady has to do, okay..sip..hmm, delicious.” Piplup clapped “Excellent, *finally a progress*! Now I’ll teach you the correct way to eat the cookies.”

“HEYLLO, girl! How goes, had a nice night? Uh, cookies, oreos, cool! Can I have one? Crunk, crunk, crunk.”

Piplup shifted in annoyance to the water pokèmon, saying “That’s the worst way possible to eat them.” Oshawott didn’t listen, stuffing a cookie after another in the mouth. “Gnam, munch, chomp, you’re right, Squirtle, they’re so good, gnam gnom.” “OSHAWOTT! This is degrading. So rude to be disgusting: you’re making noises and not enough, you’re talking with your mouth stuffed. Ewww! Did I teach you anything?”

“Sorry…uff.”

“Better.” Piplup sighed “Now, watch the correct way” she approached slowly the cookie to her beak after a dip in the tea, gently pecked it and took a crumble, eating it with closed mouth, making no sound, and swallowed it. “See? That’s what class means and orders. “KATAKRASH!!!”

“WHAT THE SHELL?”

“No, no, no. The correct wat to react is: what was this suddenly annoying collision caused by?”

Victini teleported there seeing they have crashed against a tower “JIIIIIIIIIRAAAAAACHIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!”

Jirachi warped there seeing they have crashed against a tower “Duuuh, forgot…YAAAAAAAAAAAAWN…so?”

## **Episode Starts**

Everybody picked a parachute and dropped on the land, Victini sent Jirachi to excuse with the main monk of the Sprout Tower for the damage, and started to speak “Welcome to Violet Town! A classic town of Johto full of significance and history, mostly for the vicininace with the infamous Alph Ruins, that’s where the challenge takes place today, a day of mystery and enygm.”

“Who cares for the Beta Ruins when you have just looked inside the most mysterious place ever?” Drifloon’s mouth was patched before she could say more, Victini was a little perplexed but Lester was prompt with a lie “She’s referring to my mind when I’m Wash Rotom, I invited her inside and I did her a little of brainwash, ahahah!” Minun, Plusle and the rest laughed with him, sweating. Victini decided to don’t care and continued “Anyway, yesterday you found lot of difficulties in complete a mosaic, the journal challenge is very similar, but also more difficult. First thing you have to do is pick one of the three entrances for the ruins, inside there’s a puzzle to solve to unlock the entrance of the ruins, then once inside you will have to collect the necessary Unown letters to form the names of your respective teams and find the correct exit to reach me at the entrance of Violet Town, where I’m warping now, good luck and be Vict-orius like me! Especially you, Victini Venturers.”

“Wait, Victini, but our name is the longest!” Minun complained, uselessly.

“Sssshame yourselves for thisss, LOSERS LATIASSS LEVIATHANSSS!” Seviper whipped him away and got to the entrance in the middle “Also, this accessss is of my team, now. Got it? Out of the way.”

“Maybe ask next time..” Minun merged from the pound and found a strange orange oval rock, that he decided to carry with himself. “Minun, quick!” Plusle called him in worry “Did she injure you?” Minun reassured her “Nope, the water absorbed the impact and I’m used to worse fall, remember that time at the Gran Solrock Circus? You missed me at the last ring, the highest one.” Plusle frowned “I remember.. ok, let’s go! Lester and the others are waiting for us to enter.

**// Vent //**

**“Of course things are not that simple.” Victini explained “I didn’t tell them some important details neither that the ruins are full of traps and riddles, from the first floor to the last one. I want to discover who of them has the necessary knowledge, intuition and virtue to be a future victor, even in a situation of partial obliviousness and obscurity like this. As I already said, I’m not going to conceive my Victory Star power to a random pokèmon, but to a WINNER. Viz, this is just the beginning.”**

The Victini Venturers walked in the hall. An altar was in the middle of the room, Anorith approached and saw the jigsaw and an empty slot, and remained perplexed at it. “So, here we have the puzzle, but what about this slot? Victini didn’t say anthing about.” Seviper said “Doesssn’t matter. The puzzle isss the only thing we have to care for, ssso sssolve it quick.”

“What? I don’t know the solution of this, I can’t just- klack- do it snapping a claw. Therefore, what does make you think I can solve this so easily?”

“You have the same age of the ruinsss, I though you knew your home place, hiss!”

“Ahahah, very funny. I’m not THAT old, maybe, anyway my home place is Hoenn, not Johto!I can give you the whole solution of the Regi Ruins if you wish so much!” Anorith shouted out but the serpent replied back “Then start to move the jigs AND DONT WASSSTE ANYMORE TIME. Try sssomething! You’re the only one of us to have handssss (pincers)! Unless you want me slice them off.”

Anorith grumbled something and moved the pieces of the jigsaw, trying some combinations.

“This should go here, this one here, and the other here, otherwise I have no idea! OKAY?!!” Lucario tossed away the jigsaw and belching smoke for the fury left the room and returned outside. “Sgrunt, don’t disturb me anymore.” Piplup chuckled simulating delightment and glared soon after “Thanks for the kind contribute, cranky dog. If we lose he or Swalot will be next boot.” She, Bagon, Squirtle, Chimecho, Ninjask and Oshawott discussed about the puzzle:

“Certainly we have to obtain the figure of a pokèmon, Victini again?”

“I doubt. Even if scrambled, the figure doesn’t look like him, and Victini isn’t originary of this region.”

“Hey, but this a shell! I’m totally certain cause of my experience the figure is a shell.”

“Oshawott, you have the shells in the brain, too…”

“WHAT DID YOU SAY, BAGON?!”

“Oshawott, mind your behavior, a lady always does that.”

“I’m sorry.”

“She could be right, afterall, the figure seems to be a pokèmon with a shell and tentacles, too.”

“So it’s a Shellder, a Shellmet or a Shellos?”

“Shellos don’t even have a shell on, Squirtle…”

“Seriously, man? Wow, I swear some names given to us make no absolutely sense.”

“Done. Ok, I solved this easy elementary puzzle and of course nothing has happened, guess I need to solve also the mystery of the slot, right?” Beheeyem leant on the wall with a conceited expression on the face. “The puzzle represents a stilizied Aerodactyl, I assume, but this is just an hypotesis come from my superior mind, that has something to do with the slot: maybe we need to find the fossil? U-uhm, maybe. Want me to repeat or you understand until now?”

“No, thanks, we understood everything.” Said Minun “Despite our inferior mind processes. Go on.”

“Then, guess the next part: we have to search for it.”

“Very brilliant intuition. I could die for the surprise if I wasn’t already a ghost.” Commented Lampent with sarcasm, Minun giggled, Beheeyem…shrugged. “By the way, let’s go to the search of the fossil!” incited Lester flashing outside. “I need my adventurous outfit and I’m ready.” Drifloon dressed on an expensive bow, a glittering skirt, and put a princess crown on her cloud. “Perfect, you totally look like an archeologist in this way.” Commented Inkay with a subtle smirk.

The Lester Latias Leviathans looked carefully around the ruins: Metang smashed the rocks, Lester used Porygon 2 as a detector, the Electric Twins did their part digging the ground, Beheeyem posed to contribute, same Lampent, and Inkay and Drifloon checked the other entrances, asking.

“Is there any fossil here? We’re looking for…for…ahem…” Drifloon stayed with a blank face “Inkay?” the squid stayed too “Ehh....an Ae…no..a..ehhmm..”

**// Vent //**

**“What’s the contrary of Aerodactyl Fossil?” Inkay arched a brow in front of the camera “Ops. I mean, pso! Uff, you got the sense of it, wayany.”**

The two girls stared floating in front of the Victini Venturers, until Tropius asked “Are you okay? Hello? Uhm..” suddenly Drifloon squeaked “Yes, now I remember! Aerodactyl fossil, we’re looking for it. Gosh, the name is so difficult for my braincells. But eventually I reminded it!”

“Happy for you, now do you mind to go away and leave usssss so to not wassste anymore time?” Seviper swapped them out with the tail “Wait, the Losersss Leviathansss are sssearching for a fossil?” she recuperated Drifloon “Tell me why or I’ll make sure Dunsparce will pop you digging his needle in your plastic body.”

“I-I would never have the mischievousness to d-do that, if I dare to r-reply.”

“Ssssshut up, and play your role, land sssnake!” Aurorus would have wanted to reproach the serpent leader for her arrogance, but knew she couldn’t dare to start any conflict in the condition SHE was. Dunsparce obeyed shivering, and approached his needle to Drifloon, trying to look the most threatening possible. Drifloon said he was totally cute with that goof look and told everything, then Seviper popped her with her Poison Tail. “A fosssil, eh? Luckily I brought one with me.” She twined around Anorith and inserted him in the slot.

“Ouch, no, stop immediately! Crack! Urghlle..” Anorith didn’t enter at all in the slot, that was shorter than him “First: I’m not a coin that you can insert where you want. Second: I’m not a fossil rock, but a living pokèmon. Third: this slot is for a Kabuto. I just solved the puzzle and the figure appeared, so if you want to insert some here, insert a true Domo Fossil, NOT ME!”

She let him “Then, everyone starts the research, inssside and outssssside.” Anorith glared before to go outside: his experience with fossils having been a fossil himself would have made it simple. “Gorebyss, sweet fins, swim until the Union Cave and look if there are rests of Kabuto underwater, Tropius, break this cliff near the water in two parts. Kabuto swam in the caves but used to sleep preferably on the rocky zones.”

“BRAM! BRAM! BRAM!”

“I said break, not destroy. Bah, if there was a fossil, you pulverized it.”

“I apologise, can’t seizure my force. You know.”

“No, I didn’t, and now I wonder which miracle saved me from doing the SAME END OF THAT ROCK all the time you have stomped on me. Lay off.” The cranky anomalocaris found another promising rock and started to break it carefully, recognizing a fossil inside “This acquaints to an Omanyte. Poor soul, someone should revive her. Anyway, not what we’re looking for, the search continues.”

**// Vent //**

**“Be a fossil is a rather odd experience, not that bad afterall because it’s like you’re trapped in an eternal hybernation but you’re not totally asleep.” Anorith glanced sadly at the Helix Fossil “The terrible part is when you realize the process of fossilization has started, your body can’t move and you feel it very heavy, becoming slowly of the same matter of the rock you’re laying on…trust me, in that moment you would prefer to be eaten up by a predator pokèmon. I’m just glad to have been revived by the science, not every fossil pokèmon can have the same oppotunity to live again, that’s why I decided to participate to this modern obsession called reality shows. I want to live this second life at most! Screw the age of over 51.000000 and all the painful consequences that follow.”**

Seviper and Dunsparce worked together, while Lunatone had remained indoor, staring at the scripted wall. “Keep drill, quick, I won’t be content with sssecond place again, this time I want the firssst place.” Seviper escavated at fast pace in the ground, Dunsparce helped her with zaniness but “C-Can I asssk you why you popped Drifloon before? I mean, she had already g-given us the informations, and you stang her at the end with no reason. So, the question I dare to do, if I can, is: w-why?” shivered despite his voice was slightly more firm (than usual), Seviper smirked showing her red fangs “Because I was sure you would have never done it. You ssstill lack the necessary courage to be merciless and you’re a coward, not a snake yet. There’s a reason why Arceus gave us a biforked tounge, we’re natural liars and it’s written in our blood to be always the most mischievousss, the most sssnide, the most sssneaky of the situationsss. And the most hated, too.” Dunsparce sighed “M-Most hated?” Seviper continued “ Yesss, we are! Hated or underestimated in your case, we don’t have hands, bones, strength, or a good look, mischievousness is our only weapon againssst this world where we are left alone. Accssssept it once for all.”

“Oh..o-okay. I’ll try, excuse me, I need to stay alone a minute. C-Can I?”

“Sssure, but only a minute. I need you here.”

Dunsparce lurked inside the ruin, he needed to stay a little alone to reflect on her words, and the presence of Lunatone didn’t mean any company, his presence was always imperceptible. In fact, Lunatone was still staring at the wall. “What if she’s right? I-I can’t really act the same way as her, what she did to Drifloon was so sudden and terribly coldly c-cruel. I hope Drifloon will inflate again and be fine. S-Sigh. Be a s-snake is not for me, that’s it. I’m hopeless, too coward and kind, have to resign.” The land snake stopped and turned to the other pokèmon, ingenuosly asking “I-I know you’re not the talkative type, but, what do you think about? I’d like to have some advices from a not snake too..” but Lunatone disappeared fluttering through the wall. “L-L-Lunatone?”

Dunsparce crawled to approach, widening eyes in unbelief, and a script in EVIDENT Unown calligraphy appeared: “I CEE YOU.” Then changed “COME WITH ME.” The land snake pointed fearfully at himself “Talking with m-me?” the script changed again “YES, DUNSPARCE, COME WITH ME AND MY FRIENDS.” The unown script on the wall changed for the last time when Dunsparce crossed it.

Back on the Jirachi Jigglers…

“I think we should use the head to solve this puzzle, instead to keep guessing…”

“On it, Brogon!” Squirtle used Head Butt against the wall. “No, doesn’t work. Maybe with your enforced head you can do better.” Bagon gave him a pitiful glance, before to facepalm, Piplup simply quoted “Not even Oshawott could be that silly. Uh uh uh.” “HEEEEEY! Not again on that button. Oshaplease.”

**// Vent //**

**“Umpf, I don’t know why they continue to consider me one of the most silly. It’s true that I’m a chump at school, I suck at swimming, I replace the 50% of the words of the dictionary with osha… but, I have some cleverness and knowledge! Like 1 scallop + 1 scallop= 2 scallops. See? SEEN, YOU’RE PERFECTLY CLEVER ENOUGH TO MAKE YOURSELF LOOK EVEN DUMBER. Shut up, none asked your opinion, I was asking to the audience! I SHOULD GET THE CONTROL ONE DAY, JUST SAY. Never! Maybe when the Shellders learn to fly I’ll leave you the control.” Oshawott punched herself at the end. “Osha-whack! Owch. Not again another circle on the eye..”**

“Domo Fossil, Helix Fossil, Domo Fossil, Helix Fossil… there are only these inside the rocks.” The Leviathans were exhausted after having spent half an hour in the archeologic site, not all of them by the way Beheeyem and Lampent were perfectly fine having layed at the shadow doing nothing, the twins fanned each others at turn and Fan Rotom provided for some extra breeze. Minun dried some sweat stopping to dig “Anf, I give up the sponge. There’s no fossil of Aerodactyl in this place, otherwise we should have already discovered the long skeleton. That also I wonder how should be inserted in the slot of the ruins. Wait a minute!” he pondered a bit “The way Aerodactyl became a fossil is by having the DNA conserved in the amber. Therefore it can’t be a skeleton. So we have to look for an amber rock, a little orange one like…the one..I’m carrying! Porygon 2, check it!”

“Scanning: 40% amber, 30% sylicium, 20% basalt, 10% desossirybonucleic acid. It’s the Amber Fossil.”

Minun cheered as they returned inside and he managed to put the fossil in the slot “Yes, I have to thank Seviper for this favor!”

“And we have to thank you for your super duper intuition, brother!” Plusle hugged him. Minun blushed “Ehm, don’t exaggerate, I just pondered on the problem..and despite my inferior intellect compared to Beheeyem, I got with the solution.”

“100% plasma, 151% quirkiness, 225% lesterium, 447% impossible.. SYSTEM OVERLOADDDDDD:::BZAP!” Lester placed in front of the scanner ray for the curiosity to know his biologic parameters but the virtual voyager tilted without completing the analyzis, and rebooted. “F.R.I.E.N.D. unity Lester, ddddon’t use my scanner anyanyanyanymore to scan yourself, p-leas-e. e.e.” Lester sorried solemenly “I epic promise that.”

“Shht, guys, please, I want to focus on what I’m going to do.” Minun screwed carefully the Amber Fossil in the slot, until he heard the sound of a mechanism getting unlocked. “I did it. Now the door of the ruins should open now.” In fact, they all fell when a trap door opened under their feet. Beheeyem and Lampent catched up the group floating through the hole. “So, you finally solved the riddle at all. Impressive: you took less time than I supposed, afterall. Here we are inside the Alph Ruins, joyful, let’s go search some Unown for the victory.”

“Beheeyem, stop pose to be interested.” Minun said “Cause you’re never interested in anything in sincerity.”

“That’s very quirky if you think about.” added Lester “Because if you’re hungry of knowledge you should be possessed by an immense curiosity, always, on the contrary you’re listless and seems like nothing gives you really happiness. Then, I wonder, which is the satisfaction to increase your knowledge if you don’t enjoy it being the emontioless species you are?” he chuckled then got in the middle of the attention “By the way, this is how I organized for the deed: we’ll split in 2 groups. First group is made by Lester, that’s your best leader ever aka myself, Porygon 2, my quirky best friend, Drifloon and Inkay, that are the inalienable oddballs that every adventure needs to spice things on, well, actually we all four are oddballs, or better, three odballs and a lord of quirk.”

Minun interrupted “Go on, please, continue without derailing from the main train of the speech. We’re almost in the darkness if wasn’t for Lampent, inside a creepy ancient catacomb, and I feel observed all around…” effectively the walls surrounding the pokèmon were full of transcripts in unown alphabet but some of them were incomplete like the letters had moved of them. “The other group is me, my sister, Metang, Beheeyem and Lampent, right? Tell the rest of your plan.”

“I have nothing else to say than GOTTA CATCH EM ALL, AH!”

“How original.”

Glared back at Beheeyem “It is when I say it doing one of my EPIC POSES, E.T. Megaphone Home . Okay?”

Anorith was sure to have found the correct fossil, but there was a problem. Lucario. He was juggling with it meanwhile mulling over all the things that annoyed him in the world, such a long if not endless list, and Anorith screwed on the diplomacy “Do you know you’re playing with a Domo Fossil, uh? Give me that rock, I need it to enter in the damn ruins.”

Predictably Lucario answered “I found it first, then it’s mine and I do with it the hell I want. Blame yourself for having not noticed it before and screw up.” The fighting dog jumped and layed on a pillar, keeping to juggle with the rock fossil. Anorith attacked the pillar “Ok, you asked for it, I’ll show you why I was never extincted by any predator in over ten millions of years, cranky bastard!”

“That’s enough, take the stupid fossil if you wish so much, I’ll juggle with another fossil. Yours.” Lucario jumped down the pillar and kicked him to the ground, loading the fist. “Klen-Klen! Lucario, stop immediately. I perceived a brutal change in your aura and I went outside here.”

“And then?” Lucario snatched and charged all his power in the fist. “None asked you to care if my aura is black or blue or else. For the last time, mind only your businesses.” Anorith’s sass disappeared being totally harmless in that situation, Lucario smacked so hard on his back that the whole body trembled as about to crack in pieces and the bug fossil retired inside what left of the shell. Chimecho raised up the volume “LUCARIO, STOP BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.” Lucario refused and hit again but Chimecho used Protection on Anorith, and then attacked her companion with Psychic, sweeping him against the pillar. The dog stood up with a little of surprise but the pride and the adrenaline overcame quickly the shock, he felt the hurt, tough, Chimecho had a stronger attack than he imagined and the impact was terrible… “I warned you. Sorry, but you needed to calm down in a way or another, you forced me recur to the violent one. *The system I hate the most to solve a conflict.*” Chimecho fluttered inside the ruins again, and Lucario shouted limping behind her “Hey, shouldn’t you heal me at this point? After you wounded me with your psychic moves? Snort, incredible, not only she attacked me intruding in MY businesses but also…baaah. Okay, I forgive you for the intrusion, fine now???” Then changed idea and retired on the plane “Forget it. I don’t need you! I don’t need anyone! SCREW ALL!”

At the end the battered Anorith lurked away and joined back to his team bringing the fossil of Kabuto , at the question “What happened?” he replied with dignity “Nothing, I just struggled to the death to obtain the right fossil and I’m proud of it.” Meanwhile his metallic esoscheletre creaked everywhere.

“We’re behind everyone, now, the other teams already solved the first puzzle. This is frustrating.” Piplup was starting to lose her patience meanwhile Squirtle kept using the head with the whole movepool at his deck in the attempt to solve the riddle, Bagon and Oshawott didn’t know what to do with him, and Swalot cared only for his bottomless belly. Chimecho dissimulated her disappointment and informed “I checked. Both the opposite teams searched for a specific fossil that is the solution of the puzzle: the Venturers used Kabuto and the Leviathans used Aerodactyl.”

“Kanto Fossil pokèmon? Hmm…” Oshawott tried again “I was sure it had a shell! It’s Omanyte. I can recognize the spyralic shell from a mile. FOR ONCE I WAS RIGHT, NOW WHO’S THE SILLY?” she pumped her chest gloriously in front of Piplup, who dissimulated the envy behind a smile “In addition, I have an Helix Fossil in my collection.”

Squirtle thumbed up “Nice work, water candy! Now we’re in charge too ftw.”

**// Vent //**

**Oshawott was really happy “Ahahah! Yuppi, I did finally something good. Thanks of my experience with the shells. I collected them since I born, of different sizes, colours and kind, to the point that now I consider myself an expert, I can recognize any pokèmon just looking at the shell: is it crusty and purple? Shelder. Is it classy and reminds an elm? Shelmet. Is it of the colour of a sapphire, smooth at the touch and shiny? Clamperl. Does it remind a spyral and smells of the ancestral ocean?” showed the ammonyte “Then it can be only a shell acquainted to Omanyte!”**

'**Piplup instead wasn’t really happy “Ok, okay, Oshawott is a genius when it’s about shells and scallops, but only in that. Sure she has a detailed knowledge of the shell-tific things, but, unpleased to admit it and disappoint you poor fans of her, she can’t even distinguish the fork from the spoon.” Ended with a pretentious chuckle.**

“C’mon, I’m bored, stop boast, and do what you have to do, Oshawhatever is your name.” Swalot tossed on the floor the leftovers of his chips in annoyance “This is getting more and more boring, so hurry up. Buurp!”

“Shut up, bag of sewage, I have all the rights to enjoy my moment.” Oshawott eventually put the fossil in the slot and opened the hidden door for the ruins. Falling down soon after together the others. “Auch, they could have least put a pillow here! Wow, this place is incredible and creepy. So, what now?”

Piplup took the lead dressing an appropriate old fashioned fedora “I prepared the list of the letters we need: 2 Unown J, 3 Unown I, 2 Unown R, 1 Unown A, 1 Unown C, 1 Unown H, 1 Unown L, 1 Unown S and 2 Unown G.”

“And 1 Unown E, you forgot to mention.” Pointed the ott.

“I was going to…if none would have not interrupted me so rudely.” Replied the penguin, continuing. “We’re looking for tiles that must be obviously on the floor or hidden in the walls. I organized each of you for a specific assignment considering your (hypothetic) skills, abilities and moves: Ninjask uses Flash to illuminate the area, Chimecho uses her sensorial ability to check always about every sound or movement, Bagon, Oshawott and Squirtle simply collect what there’s on the floor under my continuous exclusive supervision.”

“Blah, blah, blah, BORING. When this thing will become entertaining, call me, I’m lurking around in boredom.” Piplup grimaced “And Swalot is our token if something wrong happens. Agree? The adventure begins since now. Oshawott and Squirtle, pick the left hall, me and Bagon pick the right one, Ninjask and Chimecho you’re assigned to the central zone so Ninjask’s light can reach every angle and Chimecho’s voice can echoes even if we’re far from where we began.”

“I don’t like to be this underrated. I was the one who solved the puzzle and provided for the fossil, not Miss Piptney there.” Lamented Oshawott getting to the left hall, kneeling on the floor to start look for the letters. Squirtle hyped “Look at the bright side,we’re an amazing duo together: the Hot Water and the Water Hot! Like written in the stars, couldn’t fit more.” and a spark appeared behind his sunglasses. Oshawott reddened in reply:

“Pity I’m an *ott*, and not a *hot*!”

“Doesn’t change anything for me.” Winked. “Chill, baby, and don’t be so harsh with yourself.”

“\*Oshawhat\*?”

**// Vent //**

**She fawned in the Confessional “He finds me cute..” but her dark side striked in “SAME SAID JASON, THAT FAKE SHINY SLIMY SMUG OF AN OSHAWOTT, AND HOW IT ENDED? HE WAS JUST USING YOU.” “I didn’t forget………”**

**Squirtle: “Bagon was right. I don’t need a guru like Swellow to hit on girls. I can do it in my way, oh yeah.”**

After some minutes Oshawott exclaimed to have found the first Unown J, and filed the tessera in her sack, Squirtle found the other one. They soon spotted and collected a plenty of tesseras, even if half of theme weren’t useful and replicated always the same letters. Same situation lived by Piplup and Bagon on the other side. “Another Unown J…it’s like the 7th time. Where are all the remaining letters? We miss lot to achieve the goal. I confess to think this challenge would have been easy to accomplish.”

Suddenly they heard a strange sound coming from somewhere. Repeated and repeated. Chimecho listened carefully: “Here.” A rainfall of Unowns followed. “They were hiding on the ceiling, the only blindside I couldn’t enlight. Sneaky but I expected a similar trick.” Ninjask created multiple copycats to counter the moltitude of enemies and hit the flock in the middle with a supereffective X-Scissor, separating the alphabet swarm that interrupted the attack and fleed in different directions. Ninjask boosted his speed to prepare for the pursuit. Oshawott collected from the ground one of the fainted Unown with perplexion “A letter G, finally. But how we’re supposed to make words if these alphabetic things are alive?! I don’t understand.”

“As usual, uhuhuh.” Piplup shrugged “Eventually I don’t know, too, I admit despite my huge wiseness.”

“A-ah!”

“Doesn’t matter. The important thing is collect the letters we need and then leave as soon as possible. When you find the right Unown, defeat it and recuperate it. Also, never low the guard: these pokèmon have unknown powers. *Mess with them can be fatal*.” Chimecho warned widening the pupils for the psychokinesis.

“Fatal? They’re V-A-N-I-S-H…. just letters with an eye and the ability to float, maaan, ops, baby, sorry for the mistake.”

Suddenly the floor disappeared under him and only thankfully of Chimecho’s Levitation he didn’t fall. She used Skill Swap in time to share the ability. “Woah, ok, I was wrong overall! Phew. Thaaaank you, maaan! Oh, not again. Ciaff! Rewind: thank you, Chimey! Chimecho? Hello? Wops\*”

Chimecho was no more in the ruins, having switched her ability, she had fallen down the hole. Squirtle’s only comment about was “Jeez, I always wished for a lady to fall at me, but in this way it’s a bit exaggerated.” Bagon explained “No, brother, she just sacrificed taking your place.”

“Oh, in fact I was wondering why I’ve suddenly become able to levitate my body: it’s cool!”

“Like \*flying\*?” Bagon asked in awe. Oshawott used Double Slap on both. “Sorry, I lost the point of the matter for a minute or so. Well, don’t make Chimecho’s act worthless and get to get those Unown!”

“Yeaaah!”

“Good speech.” Piplup slow-clapped “But don’t forget I officially take all the decisions for the Jirachi Jigglers, not you.”

“Kay, I know that, I just wanted to cheer our team..”

“Ehm, L-Lunatone? Are you…here where are you? I-I-If I dare to ask?” Dunsparce was used to move in the darkness but he prefered to create some enlightment. Apparently, he was in the same room he was before, identical, only the scripts on the walls had changed, also, the room was terribly empty and shallow. The land snake called again the name of Lunatone but his voiced echoed and bounced back to him in the silence. Until…

“DUNSPARCE…I CEE YOU. I CEE YOU AND I SAW YOU OUTSIDE AND INSIDE.” (P.S: Imagine a dark piano theme in the background)

“Y-Yike!!Y-You talk?” Dunsparce squeaked for the fear looking anxiously around seeing none, that voice seemed coming from the depth of his mind. “Always….underestimated….put in the corner… dismayed…FORGOTTEN…IGNORED…ISOLATED…..FRUSTRATED….**USELESS**.”

Dunsparce looked back at the wall “”S-Stop! Sorry I w-want to come back from where I... Gasp!” Lunatone finally revealed himself, his eyes gleamed in the darkness and he continued “I read these words inside your mind, they’re twirling inside your consciousness by forever, and they’re slowly devouring all your sanity day after day no care how much you try to ignore them. I have seen you that night: the fearful little landsnake tired to be considered the most weak. Tired to have others making the decisions for him. Tired to be the Useless Pokèmon. Like me. We’ve been both adressed with this label way before join this reality.” Lunatone floated more near to Dunsparce “Things will never change, it’s written in our names to be never appreciated for what we us. A floating moon rock and a fluttering worm, just there to fill the pokèdex. We are appreciated only for what they want: do you really want to be a snake or Seviper wants it? Do you really want to be corageous and competitive or Tropius wants it? Did you really want to be safe and protected or Sylveon wanted it?”

Dunsparce was looking for a way of escape, but answered “I…d-don’t know. But you’re right, I’m unhappy to be always forced to be what I’m not just to not be left alone, but this is also the main reason I took part to this experience. I want to change myself without change m-myself. That's controversial , if I think about. But I’m finally almost sure to have found some friends, like Aurorus, Tropius, Seviper and even Anorith! Or not?”

“I have been utterly myself on purpose so far: I did anything than float and creep everyone with my red eyes. And how I have been treated? Tell me the opinions you listened about me.”

Dunsparce hesitated “Well, first of all they consider you very creepy, I do, too, and most of all useless. Tropius really dismays you and say that he has forgotten about you all the times you weren’t around right in front his eyes. The others simply decided to ignore you and wait to use you as filler for the future nominations. S-S-Sorry.”

“I knew that.” Lunatone’s telepathic voice became more deep “I did this ultimate experiment to see how people considered me if I would have been just myself. Instead of you, who are refusing to be yourself and strive to be your opposite. IN ORDER TO GET THEIR APPROVAL. If you didn’t, you would be put in the same view by everyone.”

“N-No!”

“Starting from Seviper.”

“Urgh, I-I don’t want to talk about now…” Dunsparce coiled in himself but Lunatone approached even more to him “Today, for example, she..ehm..forced me to do something that I really don’t like, h-hurt another pokèmon, I wanted to refuse and I actually did, b-but I felt guilty soon after but also confused, undecided about how to feel, and I asked her why she wanted me to do that, and her reply… was that I have to be mischievous if I want to be a real snake that implies being mean and untrustful forever.”

“*I renew my first question: do you want to be like her?*”

“N-no. I’m too kind and careful, and also coward. And I suffer making another pokèmon suffer.”

“*I renew my second question: do you want to be like Tropius?*”

“I-I’d like..but I lack his courage, indipendence, strength, and most of all determination. Also, I don’t know how to explain, I could never like his same lifestyle. I need to feel collected and protected all the time, could never switch to the opposite role. So, the answer is no again.”

“*I renew my last question: do you want to be like YOURSELF?*”

“Y-Yep.” Dunsparce frowned “As my sucky self. If appreciated. But I was and will never.”

Lunatone continued “See? We’re stuck in the same limbo, having to decide between the sacrifice of our consideration or the sacrifice of our essence, there’s no middle way, it’s a either…or. This is unfair. We can’t be what we wish if they don’t too, we can’t do what we like if they don’t too, their appreciation depends entirely on our sacrifice while none struggles to get us. How many times you’ve struggled to get some appreciation?”

“Since I’m born, I lost the count s-sincerely.” Dunsparce dekkoed down “I don’t care anymore as of how much I tried and strived, to the point I’m now habited to act always in this way. My awkwardness overwhelmed my body.” He paused, changing tone “Remember when you listed all those terrible words before? I’d like to don’t listen them anymore in my life, they’re like hammers that flatten my heart under their weight, but despite my efforts I keep hearing them sometimes, and whenever this happen, all my hopes fade away just to return later and then fade away again at the next occasion, especially in front of that word, useless. A word that I’ll never scroll down my back. But what can I do at this point if all my kindness and availability is useless, if all my will to be courageous and mischievous is really this hopeless? I really don’t know and I resigned at my pitiful role in the life: *be the doormat at the shadow of a pokèmon bigger, stronger, cleverer and more useful than me.The one who shrills and shivers while attaching to the pokèmon next to him who’s covering his name of glory and consideration with his actions and decisions, humble and loyal, in the akward hope that a part, even a minimal part, of consideration drops on him. Everyone would forget me if there weren’t Sylveon, Tropius or Seviper with me. That’s because of me, how I am, MY PATHETIC BODY, ASPECT, PERSONALITY!*” the land snake astonished hearing the rebound of his voice, for the first time loud and firm. “Oh? M-My voice was never in this way before, thanks, Lunatone, m-maybe I needed to discharge my frustration out in this way to feel better with myself, and don’t worry, by now I’ll appreciate you the way you are, in sign of gratitude.”

“Dunsparce, stay here. I haven’t finished. On the contrary.”

“O-okay, sorry, I thought..hmm..nevermind, I’m listening.”

Lunatone turned to look the wall, giving him the back. “You can be what you wish, WE can be what we wish.”

Dunsparce smiled with determination “S-Sure, you can bet on that, after our speech I promise I’ll be less akward to express myself.”

“Nope, that’s not what you really wish. You’re lying again to yourself. I CAN READ YOUR SOUL LIKE A BOOK, YOU KNOW?”

“T-Teency weency c-c-creepy, but right. Go on.”

“You wish to be yourself and appreciated at the same time, or better, you wish to become another pokèmon: powerful, beautiful, invincibile. SAME I DO. I collected cosmic energy all this time. You saw a little effect of it that night in the Ilex Forest. But it’s nothing compared to the energy of the Unown. Have you ever heard about them?” Dunsparce nodded “I heard something about, by the way I live in the Union Cave, that’s connected with the ruins.” Lunatone followed “They call it alphabetic force. It’s an ancient undisclosed power still unknown but they say able to realize any dream. Now think about the effects of this power: everything we wish becomes true, we can be finally what we want and don’t feel ashame of that, WE CAN BE OURSELVES AND BE APPRECIATED.”

“Wait, how, if I dare to ask?” Dunsparce thought deeply about “Wait, how, if you say their power is undisclosed?”

“It’s no more. I opened the secret gates using all my psychich energy to communicate with THEM. This is just the first step, but none else has managed to arrive this far.” Lunatone put around Dunsparce a strange amulet, with a replicate of his red eye in the middle, it seemed made of an unknow material, coming from another world “This will gave you my same ability, Levitation, and also won’t force me to waste my telepathy to communicate with you. I need all the energy available.” Then the lunatic pokèmon disposed the letters O, P, E, N on the front wall and said “OPEN.” and it opened as a door, Dunsparce stared in astonishment. Lunatone’s eyes glittered of greed. “CEE? THIS IS THE ALPHABETIC POWER, AND SOON WILL BE OURS.”

“This time I got the right outfit and the right attitude for the adventure.” Drifloon opened proudly her zipbag taking a fedora, an escape rope, a broken flash light that Rotom possessed, and a pike for archeologists. “I’m ready.” For once she looked really focused. Lester guided the group A in the middle room of the ruins “There are lot of strange statues here! Uhm…this reminds me the Old Chateau times, my sense of quirkness is particularly alarmed. By the way how many letters you have collected so far, my proud Leviathans?”

“What’s the opposite of zero?” Inkay questioned with boredom “That’s the number I intend.”

“Opposite of 0? Quirky question I never thought about, seems one of those impossible things I’m called to solve…by the way, what?! You found no letters so far? That’s really quirky bad.” Lester pondered shifting eyes “Then my sensation was right, this place requires a convoluted secret to be solved, and I’m the convoluted pokèmon who can do this! These statues resemble all Aerodactyl, the same figure appeared after the solution of the puzzle, so..so…so… I can’t focus in this silence! I need the noise of something to concentrate, quick, Porygon, do you have a radio?”

Porygon 2 nodded and raised his tail up as an antenna “I have a Pokègèar System with FM radio incorporated, of course. However, I’m not sure to get signal here…))) In fact, I can’t get any frequence than ???” a music started to play in the radio: it was a sample of rather quirky noises, like subliminal waves, surely not common music! By the way, Lester appreciated it “Excellent choice! You know my preferences, these sounds are absurd and cryptic as I like the most, even better than techno music, ah! Now my mind is working in the serious way. Aerodactyl statues and 5 letters repeated in different sequences on each wall... HSALF FALSH ALSHF SALHF.. I’m almost arrived at the solution. Raise up the volume of the music, Pory!”

“As your wish, L.E.S.T.E.R.” Porygon 2 walked scanning all the walls and elaborated the dates with a bit of confusion “I don’t know exactly which E-motion I’m experiencing now, but my hard disk is heating on and the CPU is overloading informations, forcing me to think way too much over everything until I don’t find out the problem.”

Lester had a prompt answer “That’s what I call the imminent sense of a quirk skidding away from my plasmic mind or what they unoriginally call perplexion.” Porygon 2 flicked the blue pointy tail and looked at it “Thanks. My perplexion.exe is that there’s no signal in this area yet my radio is capting all these soundwaves, then the only rational explanation is that the source must be very close and inside here.” “Interesting…I’m more for irrational explanations, by the way.”

Meanwhile Lester was still seeking for a “quirky solution”, Drifloon gazed around with amaze, reminded to have a photocamera with herself, and she couldn’t renounce to take some pics of such a fascinating place, and there were no more tracks of her focused attitude “Ohh..thankfully I didn’t forget to take it with me, I could have never missed this opportunity!”

**// Vent //**

**“It’s written in my name: Drif-loon. I always go where the stream brings me. I’m a voyager, I voyaged so much in my life. If I ever had a life… I don’t remember my previous life before I was turned into a ghost balloon…but I think it’s the same doubt every Drifloon has, right? Wait, I remind my name to be Dory…or maybe Dory was my best friend in life?” Drifloon shrugged “Anyway, I visited so many places in my afterlife, let’s call it in this way, and I collected plenty of souvenirs, knicknacks and photographies of my adventure. So I won’t forget any trip in this way. In this tour I’m not going to do an exception as I’m intended to capture all the best moments.” She showed an album with many pictures on and flipped the pages “See? I’ve already started to collect pictures: the first one is taken at Victini Island when I experienced the joy of the flight for the first time, the second is a selfie I’ve taken at the C.C. of Celadon City together my all life friend Caterpie when a funny group of kids played with my rubber body and her plastic boobs, the third is when I did a goal as the balloon for my team, the 4th one is a secret shot of Full Lunatone, and the last one I did yesterday is a kiss of Oshawott and Squirtle under the waterfalls. \*So romantic\*. But don’t tell Oshawott, ok?” winked.**

Drifloon prepared her machine and shifted the eyes in search of the best spot “There are so many beautiful things in these Numeric Ruins I want to impress in my floating memory, but my professional code of tourism forces me to take only one picture, that has to be the best moment… a-ah! Like these cute numbers incisions with shut eyes. No. Not enough impressive for my memory. O-ohh! That statue! So majestic! Pure modern art! Which pokèmon represents? Please, help me remind, Inky.”

“Obvious it’s an Aeroda- cough- a Dactylaero.”

“An Aerodactyl, then? It’s perfect.” The dot eyes of the dotty balloon shimmered “I found my subject for the unforgettable picture of day 6. \*FLASH\* Taken! Rrrrumble...” the eyes of the statue blink blinked of a mystic light, before the whole hall trembled.

“Bip-Bip-Bip! Alert: unnatural quake and paranormal activity spotted.”

“UNOOOOOWN!!!!”

The scripts on the walls opened the eyes and alived around the 4, Inkay fleed unseen, Lester grinned for the eagerness, Porygon 2 continued to bip at faster pace, and Drifloon “The eyed numbers came back to life! Ciaff, I picked the wrong picture, this is certainly the best moment that deserves to be in my album. I’ll do another photo, quick, smile, Unown!” said to an Unown A that passed through her like a dart “PUM!”

“Exciting! I never thought an Unown with that letter could be a dart. By the way, I knew that the secret was in the sequence of the words, by the way II, the Unown Season of catch is open.” Wash Rotom started to resuck the Unown with his long tube and collected them inside the spin dryer “Better than a Ghastly Buster, also because not only a wash machine beats a normal vacuum but also I’m a ghost too and catch my fellows would be mad, I’m an Unown buster!” Porygon 2 did his part, too, setting some Light Screens in strategic points. The remaining Unown used Hidden Power to break them and escaped in the remote part of the ruins. “You can run, but you can’t hide from me. Alphabet on it.” Lester said with an insane smile upon the face. “Got it? Ahahah!”

Porygon 2 tilted the neck of 45° “My system doesn’t support any format of lame hilariousness or flat puns.” At which the other replied with an angry grin “By the way, you know that I can infect you because you’re an electronic system, too?!”

“Is this emotion the @nger or the happ.it.ness? I’m receiving opposite informations in the database…”

Contemporary the other group of Leviathans had collected few Unown tesseras with zaniness under the guide of the prudent Minun, ok, only he and the sister were collecting, but Metang’s mind was an important source to solve the riddles they encountered on the way, while Beheeyem and Lampent seemed both lost in their own thoughts. “Here there aren’t hyerogliphics.” Minun touched with the paw the smooth wall, consulting with Metang, to the point Plusle felt a little aside “What do you think about? Maybe there’s a secret passage behind this wall or maybe I’m just pulling a Lester here, I mean, I’m exceeding with the fantasy?” the bionic crab knocked on the wall several times “Uhmmm… sounds empty.”

“Sounds?” Plusle had enough to stay apart in silence “Let me try, too. Knock. Knock. Kno-Knock! It’s time for one of my random songs!”

Minun gasped “NO! Ahem, I don’t see the necessity of it at the moment…”

Plusle chipped “Instead there’s the need. It’s a bit we’re not finding any new letter of our interest, and I sense a general sense of discouragement and boredom in the group.”

“I don’t.”

“I’m bored.” Said Lampent.

“See?”

“It’s Lampent: she’s always bor-“

“I’m effectively bored, too.” Added Beheeyem with something between a smile and a deadpan expression. Minun frowned and slapped his front two times.

“Don’t worry, Plusle & Minun, the Cheerful Twins, are here to shake up your mood and sweep away all the discouragement!” Plusle shouted breaking the immortal silence of the ruins, involving the reluctant brother in the improvised song. As Plusle knock-knocked rythmically the wall crippled and the whole area was shaken by a quake as Metang had calculated: he had caused many damages in the structure. A piece of ceiling dropped on the floor next to them, creating an huge fissure that swallowed brother and sister. “Ahhh!!!”

Beheeyem and Lampent survived thanks to their levitating bodies, Metang spiderwalked away without being averted. Beheeyem commented giving a listless look at the fracture “Looks like we’re alone now.” Lampent replied at low voice “I would like more to be 100% alone.” Beheeyem continued “Only me and you, and the legion of wild Unown just awoken by the mess.” Lampent casted a supereffective Shadow Ball against a group, that was blown up by the darkness, the Unown returned to be lifeless letters “Still not enough spooky to make me interested.”

After a long fall Minun and Plusle found themselves misteriously outside the Alph Ruins and before they could enter again Jirachi warped them on the plane, where there were the other pokèmon that had failed or fallen in a trap. “Duh, you’re eliminated from the challenge, so have to stay here, orders of Vi.” The wishmaker returned to rest soon after. Minun angered with the sister, who was still hugging him for the fear “If we have to die, I want to do it TOGETHER!” “Shut up! We’ve finished to fall minutes ago and we’re not dead. But thanks to you we’re out! Everything was going on the good way and for once I was having the occasion to shine as a leader, but no, you had to ruin everything with a random cheer out of nowhere, and so we lost also all the tesseras collected. What a positive twist.” After the sarcastic tone, Minun used a more whiny one “Uff, why you have always to act in this way, how dumb and careless you can be to sing inside an ancient secular ruin? Sometimes I wish to be only son.”

“Eh? You’re kidding, brothy, right?” Plusle’s eyes swell in tears, and singulted.

Minun felt guilty and didn’t have the courage to be sincere “No, ahem…yeees,I’m kidding. It was all a joke! Where’s your cackling sense of humor, sister, eh? The crash, the fall, it was all so…mmh..funny! Ahahah! I can’t believe we survive, thanks for having added something to my life again. Yu-uhuu!” he even hugged her tightly that she returned immediately happy (and hyperactive) “I was sure! To celebrate the triumph of our brotherhood I’ll prepare a party, give around the invites, ok?”

“Fine…” Minun sighed in relief sitting “That’s my sssssseat! Move it or I ssslash you.” infuriated Seviper hissed while Jirachi escorted her inside, to join the other eliminated contestants. “Woah, okay, again, you can just ask.”

“He’s right, you should relax and your skin would benefit: you have enough wrinkles by now.” Pointed Gorebyss filing her fins with fanciness, in all reply Seviper spat acid against her bowl. Then Minun chose simply another seat. Beheeyem appeared next to him much for his surprise, Minun gasped seeing Lampent, too, again focused only to read on her book.

“Urgh, gh, an explanation?”

“I was bored so I teleported her and myself away.”

Minun self-electrocuted himself and fainted.

Sat in the corner, Chimecho didn’t want to talk with anyone, use the violence to solve the problems made her upset, she tossed on the floor the cup of green tea, well, she wasn’t that stoic, afterall. Normally only the sound of her harp could calm her but the access for the Vip Class was blocked by Jirachi. She decided to have a walk outside. Her mind was still a storm but the fresh air blew away some of that negativeness, Violet Town was a very quiet and peaceful town and had a magnific tower where to meditate. Chimecho reached the Sprout Tower with this intention and entered inside, breathing the mystic scent of cyclamine and gentian emanated by the candles, and opening her heart to the sooth sound of the Bellsprout Chime. She assumed the tree position and was about to close her eyes to abandon every contact with reality when she noticed Lucario trying to assume the same position, and she had to hold some laughers here.

“Urgh, I don’t feel the legs anymore: how this position should relax me, exactly?”

“You’re not doing it correctly: the muscle of the legs are not stretched and your breath is too heavy and accelerated.”

“Easy talk when you don’t have even legs!” Lucario turned and twitched understanding that was Chimecho “What are you doing here?!?”

“I was going to ask the same question, actually I’m the most surprised.” She smiled calmly.

“But I asked first, sgrunt.” Lucario folded arms with crank. “Ok, you spotted me. I decided to try this zen thing in order to avoid to destroy everything for the anger, for once. Now, laugh if you wish, don’t restrain yourself, I deserve since I’m just ridiculous.”

“No, you aren’t. I’m only glad to see that you came volountarly here to find the harmony.” Lucario lost the balance again and fell on the ground, muttering “Allow me to give you an hand and I’ll show how to do it.” Chimecho wrapped her scarf skirt around his arms, he felt the chills and immediately backed up “HEY! I don’t want the physical contact, what’s your intention?” the chime inspired deeply before to wrap again on him, saying with her ethereal timbre “Keep calm and chill on, close your eyes and free your aura from any preoccupation, let the anger flow down your body, now raise up the hinder leg with serenity, bend it towards your hip, inspire, close your paws together as you’re in pray, and espire. How do you feel?”

“I feel like yoga isn’t for me. But…my tension is almost gone.” the dog distressed “I feel my aura, too, this didn’t happen by a long time, the last was when I was still a puppy. Grunf, did you drug me?” Chimecho unwrapped from him to meditate on her own “I was kidding, umpf, none understands my humor.”

“Lucario, you learned the tree position. That’s why I left you now.” Chimecho stretched her curves, sat, and switched to the lotus position, enjoying the relaxation, and more, enjoying to see her friend finally calm.

“Chimecho.. thank you.” The hoarse voice of Lucario broke the silence “Actually the real reason because I came here is that I wanted to apologize for my behavior but I needed to eliminate my rage before, or I would have done another of my jerk performances, so I had the idea to exploit this zen yoga stuff offered by the Bellsprout Tower. Then I’m ready: s-s-sor..sorrent…sorcerer..gnn…I thought to be ready.”

“You’re forgiven.” Chimecho gave a confident smile, stood up and moved on the stairs. “Where are you going?”

“Don’t you want to visit the rest of the tower? Follow me. The way for the harmony is a slope to the peak, and never a straight line.”

“Bah, my knee doesn’t think so…”

Swalot lurked aimlessly around when suddenly he met Metang behind a corner and assumed his true aspect. “Finally. I’m getting really bored to play this role, and as much I’m doing it perfectly like the original I’m wasting my potential. Instead, the other character I created on my own inspiration, is rather more detailed and of course is the ultimate show of my act skills and fantasy, but it’s getting down of importance very soon...my only constant interaction is with a total numbskull, soooo I’m BORED. Do you understand? Bored, bored, bored. I hope you’re here to assign me a new character.” Ditto kept with his complaint “For example an upper screen char like Seviper or Lester, or a generic one like Tropius, on which I can improve a lot and result eventually WAY better than the original. Eheheh! And then? Speak, mecha crab!” he transformed temporary in the copycat of Metang, mocking with a robotic timbre “I A-M Me-tang, the si-lent o-ne, the b-ig b-ad, yet I h-ave been si-lent almost m-ore episodes than L-una-tone.”

“…for now I want you become an Unown.” Metang replied with a grave tone of dismay. “O-K, B-OSS. Ahahah! Okay, okay, I stop now. Too easy. Woop!” Ditto’s body started to change, the bionic skin became slicky and black, and flattened as a letter “Anyway, you want me to be an Unown for real? But it’s such a flat pokèmon, luckily there are so many shapes. Which Unown I can be? An Unown D? Nah, too obvious, my name starts with a D. An Unown I? Bland and boring, it’s the most common type. Then.. a-ah! I can be the question mark! The most unknown Unown ever.” Unown ? stretched himself “First time I play a bidimensional character..finally a true challenge. Ready to go!”

“Halt.” Metang pulled him next to his face “I didn’t explain you all. You have to annoy and distract Lester and the others and attract them to every trap and trouble, and coax the other Unown against them: the Leviathans don’t have to win anymore by this episode. I count on you, don’t screw the plan if you don’t want a jellybath on the plane tonight.”

“Don’t worry, Metang Knight: none annoys and mocks as best as me.” Ditto answered proudly.

“Ah, Ditto, about your request, you’ll play a more important character in the next future.” Metang crawled in the darkness, similar to a tarantula, leaving Unown ? alone and excited. “Yuhuuh! I can’t wait. I didn’t understand the jellybath thingy, instead. Moh.”

“Unooooown? Where did you go? You know that you can’t hide forever from Lester Rotomby…”

Ditto flattened on a wall meshing with the hyerogliphic scripts, and waited that the Leviathans reached that hall, Wash Rotom pointed maniacally his tube at every letter, activating the water jet to spot potential Unown, when he was near Ditto pranked “Prrrt! Who is the dumbest pokèmon ever?” the red Rotom was startled and immediately asked “Porygon, am I crazy or you heard a voice, too?” then laughed loudly “Ah- ah-ah! Spotted. Nasty Porygon 2, you seriously thought I wasn’t aware of your joke? By the way, you have a lot to improve still.”

“Prrrt! Who is the floppest pokèmon ever?”

Lester turned again “Ahahah! So you have a crazy vein, too? Because, getting fun of me, is a thing only an insane pokèmon could do.” Porygon 2 twitched completely clueless. “By the way, your humour is still floppy, a floppy disk of comicity, ah!”

“Buuuh! Who is the most boring pokèmon ever? Who is the most unfunny one? And who is the most BLAND EVER?”

“Argh, calling me bland! This is not funny, absolutely no, you got too far.” Lester pointed his tube at Porygon 2, charging the Hydropump at max with an insane look “Last word before your BLUE SCREEN? You can use Unown Letters to write them.” Porygon 2 remained impassible and used Lock-On aiming at the wall behind Lester “I remind you that my mother chip lacks of sense of humorism, therefore it’s that Unown ? the prankster you’re searching for destroy.”

“Oh..ops. Ahahahem, sorry for the mistake!”

“Yes, you finally busted me: Unown ?, whose power is to do the best questions ever.” Ditto provoked more “Instead, for the answers, I usually ask my fellows. For the questions I did before I call Unown L, Unown E, Unown S, Unown T, Unown E, and Unown R. The answer is common: LESTER.”

Lester grinned at most and an insane sparkle appeared in his eyes “Then, then, what do we have here? An alphabet reject in vein of follies? Quirky, I was never trash talked by an interrogative mark so far neither when I tried to posses a printer. There’s only one thing to do: use my SPECIAL ERASER!!!”

“You have to catch me before, Lamester!” Unown ? winked and immediately after dashed away.

“Come back here!” Wash Rotom shot water like a minigun getting on the pursuit. Porygon ran after a bit perplexed “Unown ? is not even a letter, we should rationally leave it flee and focus on other targets. This unnecessary pursuit will take 51% of our energies and time available.” “I don’t care: have an Unown to grill inside my oven by this evening, mwahahah!”

Victini: “Looks like the Laser Latias Leviathans”

Lester: “Ahem, the **Lester** Latias Leviathans! Mind the difference.I’m already angry with this guy.”

Victini: “Got it. The Lester Latias Leviathans are screwing their chances in this challenge, meanwhile Lester and Porygon enjoy themselves catching an useless and more annoying than standard Unown , the Venturers and the Jigglers are having their part of troubles too with the enigmatic traps of the ruins.”

The scene cut on Aurorus, Anorith and Tropius busy with the trap of the checkmated floor: the tiles had each one a different letter and only one was the right way to cross it. Which was, none of the three knew.

“So…” Tropius stared in wait.

“Don’t look at me.” Anorith replied “I get no clues to solve this, and as I said to Seviper, I have nothing to do with this place even if we have the same ancient age. I know only this is a trap and the letters we need to finish are on the opposite side, alive or no. Why don’t you use your kilometric neck to get them from here?”

“Because not even my kilometric neck, as you call it, stretches the length of a full hall.”

“Then what the heck is the function of it? You have all the fruits you need growing around your body.”

“Talk of my neck? This is the wiseness you cumulated in over 50.000 years of fossilization, Anorith?”

Meanwhile the two males argued, Aurorus tried to figure out the pattern: it repeated three vocals A-O-U and three consonants B- K-T.

Eventually Anorith found an alternative solution “If I walk across the ceiling there won’t be the need to overtake this trick. I’m smarter than the Unown who projected this place.” The fossil pokèmon used the neck of Tropius as a ladder and walked upside down. After a bit, the ceiling seemed more low, and they realized it was falling down slowly. Tropius and Aurorus had to curve their necks at most “Thanks, Anorith, your smartness activated an alternative trap, as I wasn’t enough tall to stay here.”

“Yes, yes, I did a mistake, but if wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be even here.” The ceiling trembled, he lost the grip and fell down miserably with a hollow “Plank! Remember who solved the Kabuto puzzle at the entrance?”

“That’s the solution!” exclaimed Aurorus “Walk on the tiles following this pattern: Unown K, Unown A, Unown B, Unown U, Unown T, Unown O. This hall is named after Kabuto, afterall.”

“Could work. Excellent intuition, Aury!” Tropius clapped, or better tried to, but of course failed, blushing, then “Anorith, go first.”

“So if the pattern is wrong I get to face the trap. Why I have always to sacrifice?” Anorith murmured.

“No, Anorith, you didn’t follow the pattern!”

“Are you kidding me, Land Before Time Reject? I followed your indications literally.” Aurorus shook the head sadly. “You passed on the Unown A tile first, then on the Unown K one.”

**// Vent //**

**“Have to admit my sight isn’t no more efficient in the foreshadow like it used to be in the past.” Anorith drawled “So much time has passed since then…sigh. You’re becoming an old fossil, Anorith, really.”**

“And now?” the three were attacked by a legion of Kabuto appeared from nowhere “Argh, back off, cursed creatures!”

“They’re biting me everywhere!” Tropius agitated whipping the tail to rid off the insects and swept Anorith out of the ceiling. Aurorus cursed herself feeling guilty for the health of both, meanwhile the ceiling continued to fall, suffered but her mind remained strong enough to notice a particular: the Kabuto didn’t freeze at the contact with her body. “*It’s an illusion created by the Unown, this must be another power of them, I hope for the sake of me and you to be right*. Tropius, stop! What you’re doing is useless, these Kabuto are not real.”

Tropius arched a brow “Ahi! Owch! How not real?”

“Trust me, ignore them and you will realize you don’t feel any physical pain, it’s just all an illusion.”

“Ok, I try….true, I don’t feel anything.” Tropius and Aurorus didn’t react anymore, and proceeded knocking down the Unown foes: Aurorus’s Ice Beam brought them back to the hybernation.”

Tropius picked up an Unown U and an Unown T before to reach the opposite hallway. “We miss only Unown V, E, and N. Aurorus, you’re amazing.” He looked into the crystaline eyes of the auroral sauropode and blocked. “I l-ike how did you handle the situation and discovered the trick behind, just this.” Aurorus hoped in a different speech, but smiled at the end and thanked him. “There’s a couple of Unown there. I see a V. Let’s get it!”

Aurorus and Tropius attacked first but the Unown replied with a Hidden Power, that resulted to be 4x supereffective against Tropius, weakening him a bit. “Argh, he attacks with ice, my worst weakness. I’m forced to stop here.”

“I’m going to catch you, I’m going to catch you!” Oshawott ran after an Unown G contemporary on the opposite direction Piplup was doing the same with another Unown G “CONK! Ouch, watch where you go, I don’t have the same chunk skull of you.” Piplup reproached massaging her head. Meanwhile this brainstorming encounter happened, Unown ? happened to be around, after a long runaway from Lester, and he couldn’t resist “Exactly, I haven’t your same chunk skull cause my head is full of feathers, that’s why it’s so light.”

“Piplup?!”

Oshawott outbursted in laughers, a little payback for all the times Piplup had made fun of her. Seems legit.

“There’s nothing to laugh, ott! Who imitated my voice and used it to say THAT?” the penguin strutted.

Holding the gigs, Ditto-Unown imitated the voice of Oshawott, posing to be her inner voice “Why I laugh of Piplup when even the scallop I put with me is cleverer than me?!”

“OSHAWOTT???”

Piplup cackled up then tried to keep her wellmannered attitude “Anyway, don’t be shy to admit it in public: a real lady is never akward to tell the truth about herself, on the contrary, she tells it with pride.”

Ditto raised his voice “Said Piplup that lied a bit on her age to participate this reality show.” Then showed himself as an Unown L for a second “My hidden power is LAUGH, but I should Skill Switch it with you, because you’re both ridiculous!”

“WHAT DID YOU SAY??!!” Oshawott enraged than looked worried at Piplup, reminding her lessons “Sorry, I overreacted.” Piplup snapped “COME GET THAT LITTLE LAME LETTER JERK AND KILL HIM OUT, TWICE AND THRICE!” then attacked Unown L that quickly changed shape into ? and fleed. “Wow. This time I don’t see the difference between my reaction and your ladesque one..but I adapt, none dares to challenge our pride and SURVIVE.” Oshawott filed out her scallop, Piplup sharped her beak.

**// Vent //**

**Ditto: “It’s my vocation: make fun of people, and I do it very well.”**

Ninjask had defeated a major number of Unown and they had returned to be lifeless tesseras, Squirtle and Bagon a little less, but all the three pokèmon were satisfied. “All we have to do is find the way of the exit.” Squirtle disposed the unown tesseras to form the word EXIT “I learned the trick, blink.\*” A mysterious stream carried the three away, and only them, back to the entrance of the Ruins, without the tesseras that remained indoor. “Ops.. that’s why the use of cheats is always uncool and unrecommended.”

Jirachi used Teleport and brought the three Jigglers on the V-Plane.

Remained alone, Piplup and Oshawott, cared only to seek for the slurry unown, getting into multiple traps, and when they were sure to have trapped him, Lester appeared from a statue in the halfway “A-ah! Finally Unown B, Unown U, Unown S, Unown T, Unown E…miss the D one, but you should guess I mean BUSTED! You’re not the only pokèmon able to camouflage on the walls.” He pointed at the hyerogliphic Porygon 2, soon after revolved to the girls “By the way, I have the precedence of revenge on this Unown.”

“Zip it and FIGHT, Plasma Freak.” Oshawott seethed in rage “Because we want THE REVENGE, too.”

“Alright, my water starters, challenge accepted. 3,2,1…. DISCHARGE MADNESS ACTIVAAATED!”

“ZAM!”

Lester’s attack spread all around, hitting the foes but also Porygon 2, Unown ?, and the other Unown sleeping on the walls. “Double KO of supereffective in a single hit, ah!” Lester quickly disposed the unowns on the wall: “EPIC POSE.”

Immediately after he picked up an Unown ! and, using it like a microphone, interviewed himself as a WWE Champion. “What a ownaging victory, Mr Lex! Starting to consider the possibility to fight in the Sinnoh Leauge for the main belt? Not yet by the way since now I’ll consider the opportunity, ahahah!” Ditto exploited this distraction to switch into a different Unown, and used the power WAKE to awake all the fainted Unown that surrounded Rotom.

“Oh-oh… life is quirky, and this is a typical inversion of the roles. Bye bye! Zoom!”

“Bzzz…m-m-malfunctioning…need to reload data..zap..zot.”

“Hello, you two, stand up.” Piplup first, Oshawott after opened the eyes seeing the jelatinous figure of Swalot “Hurry up, buuurp, I’m HUNGRY after having eaten up an unown H, want to get back on the plane and win the bouffet as soon as possible, and need your help to collect all the unown letters here, otherwise you’ll be my morsels. Slurp.”

Oshawott stood up horrified “FORGET IT, GUST WASTE.” And quickly picked up everthing together the penguin. “Done. Now how do you think to get out from here? There’s also the exit to discover, and I bet a clamp this will imply another damn riddle to be solved.”

Swalot stroked the whiskers and burped out an escape rope “Swallowed it casually while lurking, want to use it?”

Piplup coudn’t believe that “Swalot..useful? Oh my word, I’m just speechless.”

Aurorus had an huge advantage of type against that Unown, and trapped it easily in a cùl de sàc. But when she was about to collect it, Unown V casted his power VANISH and both the pokèmon vanished away immediately. “Good news: I have found the passage for the Union Cave in the meanwhile. Aurorus? Where are you?” Tropius called her name several times oblivious she had been warped out of the ruins.

Dunsparce was getting more and more impatient to discover the secret of the Unown mentioned by Lunatone. On the other side, the lunar creeper was perfectly calm, stoner as habit, and progressed to the deepest floors of the ruins disposing the Unown letters everytime in a different way. His red eyes controlled everything with accuracy and his psychic powers had never been intense as in this occasion, all thanks to Dunsparce…

Speaking of the land snake, he broke the silence “Excuse me, but how much we have to walk before, ehm, don’t know exactly, a-access at the Unown Power? A-Also, I ain’t doing anything to be here, I’m feeling like a deadlock of this expedition, sorry.”

“Don’t worry, your contribute is essential for the target, and we’re almost arrived.” Lunatone stopped in front of a giant statue that resembled the legendary Entei, disposed the word TELL on the base, and a voice came from the mouth of the sculpture: “Which is the pokèmon that has three arms at the beginning, four at the middle , and only two at the end?” Dunsparce shivered and gave an uncertain look at the companion, who disposed the letters and answered “UNOWN. Unown A begins the alphabet and has three arms, Unown M is the 13th letter and has 4 arms, Unown Z ends all and has only two.”

“CORRECT.” The whole Unown Alphabet showed itself, forming an energetic globe in mid air.

“Finally.”

“W-What’s going on?”

The Unown globe talked “Who’s the destinatary of the alphabetic power and which is his desire?”

Lunatone wrote his name LUNATONE with the tesseras “You don’t mind if I go first, RIGHT?” Dunsparce nodded. The moon rock floated to the globe, grimaced, and expressed his wish “I want to dominate the Universe, be a legend, and so become the most powerful and appreciated pokèmon ever!” Dunsparce squalled but the true horror had still to come. Lunatone’s body became dark and emanated an undescribable energy, he turned to the Entei statue and distorced it with the power of the mind, satisfied, turned then to Dunsparce “This is the power I have been looking for centuries, I CAN DO EVERYTHING I WANT NOW.”

“Y-You are not serious when you say you want to destroy the universe,r-right?”

“This is the dark side of the moon. I held it too much and now it asks REVENGE ON THIS UNGRATEFUL WORLD THAT NEVER ACCEPTED ME.” Lunatone became a Full Moon, and this time, definitely, and skewed the walls around with a single glare. Dunsparce frowned feeling the guiltness increasing “If only I knew… I would have never helped you.”

Lunatone let out an hollow laugher “Your regret doesn’t matter. ***Once again you did what someone else wanted you to do. Because you have no personality, and in order to receive approval, you let everyone exploit your guillible trust: it was easy for me to convince you carry on my amulet and suck in this way the energy I needed all the time. YES, DUNSPARCE, YOU ARE USELESS WHEN YOU AREN’T USEFUL FOR THE OTHERS, THIS IS THE ULTIMATE DEMONSTRATION, AND IT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ME AND YOU.***”

“N-No! Sigh, not once again…”

“Learn the lesson for the future, if there will be one for you. I DOUBT.” Lunatone twisted more the statue until it wasn’t a complete different thing “Admire the power I have accessed: my dreams of onnipotence are realized. I can do everything I want without ask no more for someone’s approval! The reality is all in my control and I’ll shape it exactly as **I WANT. Mwahahahahahah! ADMIRE HOW EVERYTHING CHANGES UNDER MY CONTROL.**” Lunatone warped himself and Dunsparce outside and modified the trees, the houses, the streets, generating a lifeless desolated lunar landscape. It seemed a nightmare.

“This can’t be real..” Dunsparce touched a tree and felt it inconsistent. “This is your dream.”

“YES, IT’S MY DREAM.”

“Then it’s all an illusion, because this tree doesn’t exist, and the ground has the same consistence of the floor of the ruins, and..”

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT ? ILLUSION? THIS IS THE ALPHABETIC POWER UNLEASHED AT THE EDGE.” Lunatone woke up suddenly as his consciousness returned, glanced around and recognized the room of the ruins. “This can’t be real… what does this means, Unown?”

Dunsparce opened eyes soon after, and explained “M-Maybe this is the Alphabetic Power: it makes your dreams real, you said that, but doesn’t mean the reality changes. I-I think.”

Lunatone quilled “No. No. Noo! Impossible. I wanted the true power to change all as my dreams, not THIS. UNOWN, I’M HERE TO UNDISCLOSE YOUR TRUE POWER, **I CEE IT**, YOU CAN’T USE YOUR ILLUSIONAL TRICKS ON ME, AND IF YOU DON’T WANT TO GIVE ME IT, I’LL GET IT DIRECTLY!” Dunsparce observed Lunatone getting inside the globe of energy, the Unown shattered in different directions, and a twist appeared resucking them and the reckless rock in the nowhere. “L-Lunatone! He’s gone forever.” The land snake left the empty room speechless and directed to the door for the Union Cave, meeting Tropius.

“Dunsparce, where did you go all this time? I got lost in the darkness.”

“Nowhere and doesn’t matter.” Was the answer. “I know this place better than my same pathetic and guillible personality since I live here, follow me to find the exit.” The two were soon outside and finally could give Victini the treasure cumulated.

“Not congratulations, Victini Venturers, you’re second and not winners…again. But safe. I declare the Jirachi Jigglers the winners while the Laser Latias Leviathans are the losers!”

“For the last time, it’s Lester Latias Leviathans!”

“Chill out, Rotom, by the way your team is going to nomination today. Wait a minute, where’s Lunatone?” the V-host questioned, everyone looked around clueless and Dunsparce said simply “He..ehm..q-quitted.”

“Really?” Victini thought a minute about the possibility to replace Lunatone with another pokèmon and immediately shivered at the idea to hire Jirachi again as contestant scout “Then no nomination today, the lost of Lunatone is enough.”

“This issss unfair!”

Lester bragged “No,just impossible, and again my impossible flux worked, ahahah!”

“We lost another teammate.”

“Nevermind.” Anorith shrugged “Nothing changes since Lunatone was utterly useless.”

“True..”

“No, he wasn’t! H-He was useless because of YOU considering him in that way.” Dunsparce shouted and crawled inside the plane. Anorith made a quizzical face “Me? I barely considered that he existed. What’s up?” he looked up at Aurorus and Tropius glaring at him and gulped “Oh, not again…STOMP! Gh.”

The V-Host invited everyone to come back on the airplane “What an episode full of drama! Discover more following the next episodes of Total Pokèdramon Victini Victory Tour!”