Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Reverse Summon)
Season 2, Episode 6, Chapter 4
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August 17th, 8:30 AM
Route 13 – Lumiose Badlands, Kalos Region
The morning after the incident with Carlos and his wayward Tinkaton, Saito, Louise, and Henrietta awoke from their slumber at the crack of dawn. At least, Saito and Louise did. Henrietta, unfortunately, didn't get much sleep that night. This was the first time she had ever camped outside, with only a tent to protect herself from the outside elements and a sleeping bag to rest in. The air was too hot, the tent fabric rustling against the wind created too much noise. The rough ground was the worst, and there was only so much her sleeping bag could do. It was an experience she ultimately found that she wasn't quite prepared for, and even their breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast did little to completely wake her up.
"Sorry, Henrietta. I should've realized last night would be tough," Louise apologized to the princess as the young woman, with heavy bags under her eyes, let out a tired yawn.
"No, no. It's fine," Henrietta noted while stretching out her arms over her head. "I'm just…not used to this yet. How long did it take you?"
"A few weeks," Louise admitted through a sheepish grin.
"Joy," Henrietta dryly remarked.
She wasn't exactly looking forward to a few weeks of restless nights. But if Louise could ultimately get used to it, than so could she. Besides, camping out in the wilderness made their nights in the inns and hotels that much sweeter. Idly, she wondered if Agnès and the other soldiers serving under her had to routinely sleep in such conditions while out on campaign. They probably did, and so her respect for them rose.
"What do you think is going to happen to Carlos?" Louise asked as they continued to walk through the badlands. It was hot, but not unbearably so for now.
"Who knows," Saito admitted. "I hope a Pokémon Ranger has a chat with him about his Tinkaton's behavior. Stuff like that tends to be frowned upon."
"Yeah, no kidding," Louise chuckled spitefully. She could envision a future where Carlos got fined or had to do community service to make up for the environmental disruption. Perhaps even having his trainers license revoked, but she doubted it would go that far.
"What's a Pokémon Ranger?" Henrietta asked as she tilted her head. "Are they like game wardens?"
"In a way, yes," Louise answered. "They work to protect the natural environment that Pokémon live in, dealing with everything from poachers to natural disasters. Like Pokémon trainers they form partnerships with wild Pokémon, but unlike trainers their partnerships are only temporary."
"I saw one of them in action once," Saito added. "They use this stylus-disk thing that acts like a temporary Pokéball. Once the job is complete, the Wild Pokémon goes on its merry way."
"Hmm, interesting," Henrietta noted. In the back of her mind, she was pleased that there was another way for humans and Pokémon to work together in a non-violent manner.
But, while interesting, the talk about Pokémon Rangers wasn't exactly relevant to their current course. Henrietta then pulled out her Pokédex and, after a few moments of trial and error, was able to pull up the map of Route 13. She still didn't quite get how the Pokédex fully worked yet, but she was happy that it took far less time this attempt than previous ones.
"Hmm, according to the…what did you call it, GPS?" Henrietta asked, and when Saito nodded she nodded back and continued, "Right. According to the map's GPS, we're about a quarter of the way through the badlands."
"We're making good progress," Louise declared with a smile on her face. "We keep this up, we should be able to get back to Lumiose by the end of the week."
"With plenty of time to see the sights along the way," Saito added.
"Really?" Henrietta asked in confusion as she looked around. "There doesn't seem to be anything out here?"
"I'm mostly referring to the Kalos Power Plant. It's one of the most advanced power plants in the world and I've always been curious to check it out," Saito clarified.
"Ah, I see," Henrietta replied. "Truth be told, I've been curious as well."
"Interested in bringing electricity to Tristian?"
"Yes, and seeing how it's generated and distributed would be a tremendous help," Henrietta confirmed. She doubted that she would be able to understand the finer details, but simply getting the image in her head would do wonders.
"Yes, visiting the power plant would be a pleasant experience," Louise said. "Is there anything else that we could visit? Nothing too out of the way, but it's not like have an urgent deadline."
"Hmm," Henrietta hummed as she looked through the map, her finger tracing several points of interest. "There's several natural landmarks. Canyons, an old fossil excavation site."
"We've already done that," Saito pointed out, glancing at Shogun's collapsed Pokéball on his belt. "But if you want to check it out we can."
"No, no, I'm fine," Henrietta answered, then went back to looking at the map. "Oh, here's something! There's something called a "sky arena" not too far from here."
"Sky arena? What's that?" Louise asked, and Saito smiled in excitement.
"Oh, I've heard of these!" Saito began as he pumped his fist. "They put them up in place with high winds like canyons and what not. Trainers put on wingsuits and fly around with their Flying-type Pokémon to do a whole bunch of things. Battles, obstacle courses, races. There's a lot. I've never been to one, but I've heard from people online that they're a blast."
"That sounds fun!" Henrietta replied with a smile on her face, with Louise nodding in agreement.
"How far away is it?" Louise asked.
"Not too far. It's located in a canyon about five kilometers from us. Wouldn't be too far out of the way, either," Henrietta revealed.
"Then it's settled. We'll check out the sky arena. If we're lucky, they may even have beds for us to rent for the night," Saito declared, a proposition that Henrietta all-too-eagerly nodded in agreement to.
After a few more hours of hiking through the Lumiose Badlands, the three trainers and Derflinger finally arrived at the Lumiose Badlands Sky Arena. The facility wasn't like a gym they had seen before. Instead, from what they could see at the mouth of the canyon it was built upon, it was more of a large cage suspended via wires between both halves of the canyon. The cage was divided into several smaller sections, some having a pair or two of trainers battling each other while the largest was reserved for a race track consisting of floating rings that trainers and their Pokémon flew through. On each side were stadium seats, allowing spectators to watch the events unobstructed. The arena's entrance was heralded by a long, windy trail that trekked up the sides of the canyon, which they could see already had a couple dozen people walking up and down it. Several already had some Flying-type Pokémon out and ready to go.
This prompted Saito and Louise to release Ōdachi and Aile, respectively. If Henrietta had a Flying-type of her own, she would've joined them, but unfortunately she didn't have one at this time. Idly, she wondered if the Sky Arena offered Pokémon rentals, but decided that she was content with watching the proceedings from the stands. She had only flown on dragonback a handful of times throughout her life, and didn't exactly feel comfortable yet in doing so by herself. The work they hiked up the canyon trail, allowing her to see just how high they were getting, the more she felt it was the right decision.
"This is going to be so much fun!" Saito insisted as he pumped his fist in excitement.
"Heh, yeah…," Louise muttered nervously as she glanced down to the canyon floor. After a moment, though, she gulped and steeled herself, refusing to back down. This was just yet another challenge she would have to overcome. Besides, there was no way a facility like this wouldn't be operating if it wasn't safe. Even now, she could see several workers flying atop large Flying-type Pokémon, namely Pidgeots, Braviaries and Corviknights, ready to swoop in and catch anyone unlucky enough to lose control and fall out of the sky. There was even a Xatu sitting on a podium atop the cage itself undoubtedly using its psychic powers to further increase the arena's stability.
"Welcome to the Lumiose Badlands Sky Arena!" the receptionist greeted the trio as they walked up to the ticket booth. "How many of you will be entering today?"
"Just my friend and I," Saito answered as he gestured to himself and Louise.
"I'll just be spectating," Henrietta spoke up and waved gently to the receptionist alongside Derflinger, who smiled and typed into her computer.
"Alright, I have two arena passes and one guest pass. Since you're in a party, I'll put you all together in the same seating arrangement. Your Honedge will also need to be with you at all times," the receptionist said. "Do you have any idea what events you would like to participate in?"
Saito glanced up and smiled at Ōdachi, who was perched on top of his shoulder, then replied, "Well, my Skarmory is still young and is getting used to her glasses, so I'd like to keep it simple if at all possible."
"Hmm," the receptionist hummed as she glanced over the offerings. "We do have an opening for a beginner obstacle ring course. It'll just be you and your Pokémon trying to collect as many rings as possible."
Ōdachi squawked in excitement, and Saito smiled and nodded before saying "That sounds perfect. Sign us up for that."
"Splendid! What about you, ma'am?" the receptionist asked as she turned to Louise and Aile, the Fletchinder also perched on Louise's shoulder.
"My Fletchinder and I would like to participate in a sky battle," Louise replied.
"How many gym badges do you have? We try to keep all participants in a roughly even playing field."
"Just won my fourth."
"You're in luck, we do have an opening in your skill bracket," the receptionist declared before typing into her computer once again. When she finished, three paper tickets were printed out, then she handed them to the three trainers through a gap on the bottom side of the glass box she was sitting in. "Your seats are D54 to D56. The entrance is down that hallway and to your left. We hope you enjoy!"
Saito thanked the young woman, then he, Louise, and Henrietta followed their instructions. They could already hear the receptionist talking to the people behind them, but soon her voice was drowned out by the cheers and applause from the people inside the stands, their voices no longer muffled by the concrete walls separating them from the outside.
The trio's eyes widened in amazement as they saw the events already taking place. As they expected, each trainer was wearing a colorful wingsuit that stretched across all colors of the rainbow. In the largest circle was a race, trainers and their Pokémon flying past at breakneck speed to where they were practically blurs. They were going so fast, none of them could recognize what Pokémon they were using. The battles and obstacle courses, though, were a different story. They were going at a much more casual speed, allowing the trio to properly see what was going on as they made their way up the stadium stairs to their seats. In one circular cage they saw a man commanding his Talonflame to do battle against a woman and her Noctowl. In another they saw two young children using Pidgeys and Spearows collecting rings that were tumbling out of an overhanging bowl, trying to reach them before they reached the bottom. All throughout the arena, there were dozens of events going on, making it difficult to focus on just one.
"How long until you two go out there?" Henrietta asked as they sat down.
Saito glanced at the ticket in his hand and the clock on his Pokédex, then answered, "I'm up in about an hour."
"Ninety-minutes for me," Louise added as she settled back into her seat. "Plenty of time to enjoy ourselves."
The others nodded in agreement, then followed her example and relaxed in their cushioned seats. Even if they found it hard to focus on just one race or battle, they didn't particularly care as they went from one to another, content to take it all in.
When Saito's turn finally came up, he and Ōdachi got out of their seat and made their way to a locker room located underneath the stands. In many ways, it reminded him of a hangar bay, only instead of planes or boats it was a bunch of trainers wearing different colored wingsuits and accompanied by their Flying-type Pokémon. He managed to find a light-blue one in his size, and once he was fully dressed he made his way to the staging area where the next group of trainers were waiting alongside the attendants.
"Hello, everyone!" the woman at the front of the group, wearing a bright red and white jumpsuit, announced as she stood in front of a wind tunnel. "We're so happy you all came to join us! Now then, before we get started, let's go over the rules and safety precautions for the sky arena. Rest assured that we do everything we can to make sure that your experience is as safe and fun as possible."
The woman then spread her arms and legs apart, allowing the flaps of the wingsuit to be extended. She continued, "Each of you are wearing a wingsuit. These will carry you along the wind, keeping you in the air. Thanks to the help of our team, the wind blowing through the sky arena is strong yet gentle enough to where, by keeping your body at the proper angle and your limbs spread apart, you can float in midair. By angling yourself forwards and backwards, or left to right, you can steer yourself as you fly."
She then brought her arms and legs together and said, "Likewise, by closing your arms and legs to your body, you can increase your speed dramatically. We recommend, though, that you only do this if you are experienced. Otherwise, it is better to be safe than sorry."
One of the attendants opened the door to the wind tunnel, and the supervisor stepped to the side and threw her arm towards the opening before declaring, "Each of you will get a chance to practice inside the wind tunnel before entering the arena. Who wants to be first?"
Upon her request, a few trainers immediately stepped up while a few others who had done this before opted out, instead deciding to move straight towards the open-air wall to enter the cage. Saito wasn't stupid enough to go into this without at least some practice, so he got in line for the wind tunnel. Luckily the people before him in line didn't take too long to get through their practice session. Whether it was due to natural talent, luck, or the entire process being simpler than he imagined it was hard to say, but at least it boded well for his and Ōdachi's efforts.
That being said, almost every single person involved ended up wiping out a few times, and Saito was no exception. It took nearly a minute of effort for him to get the form down to simply remain aloft, and another to not be turned into a tumbling ball that would slam into the wire cage around him. Ōdachi watched from outside the tunnel, cheering her beloved trainer on like a little kid watching their dad play baseball. She gave him the motivation to press on, and eventually he was able to get the hang of things. He was still quite clearly a novice and it took most of his concentration to not fall out of the sky, but for a fun adventure of the day it was more than acceptable.
With the skill down to an acceptable level, he and Ōdachi made their way to the front of the hangar bay. There he could see roughly a dozen attendants helping people get in and out of the sky arena via an open hatch in the wire cage. On the other side of the canyon, he could see a similar set up but he didn't focus on that for too long. Instead, he and Ōdachi stood side by side on the edge of the hangar bay, looking down towards the canyon floor.
"Whoa…that is a lot higher than it looked," Saito couldn't help but mutter as he took a deep gulp. Beside him, Ōdachi was shivering nervously, awkwardly taking a step back out of fear. Seeing this, Saito gently smiled towards his young Pokémon and said, "Hey, don't worry. I'll be right beside you. This will be fun, okay?"
Ōdachi looked up at Saito silently, and after a moment she nodded. Saito nodded back, then faced the open gate and spread his arms and legs wide. He began to count backward from three as Ōdachi spread her wings wide as well. When he finished, he took a deep breath then leaped off the edge and into the hanging cage, Ōdachi right behind him. At first he nearly lost control and tumbled out of the sky, but he was able to orient himself quickly. To his amazement, he began to glide towards the center of the cage, causing a wide smile to break out across his face.
"This is so cool!" Saito exclaimed as he gently turned to circle around. Glancing behind him, he saw Ōdachi flapping her wings and struggling to keep up. For a moment, he was worried that she might lose control and fall, but thanks to the training they had been doing he was confident that she would be fine. True enough, within a few moments she was flying steadily, albeit with an occasional dip and shake.
Angling himself upward, Saito came to a hovering stop at the far end of the cage. Ōdachi came to a stop beside him, and they turned to look up. There, at the top of the cage, they saw a series of poles and pulleys, each having a large ring hanging off of them. He briefly wondered what they were for, then he got his answer as the rings began to descend. When they came to a stop, he could see dozens of rings at various positions and heights, each one big enough for Saito and Ōdachi to pass through without issue, along with a clock that began counting down.
Realizing what they had to do, Saito grinned confidently, then leaned forward and cried out, "Let's go, Ōdachi! Come on!"
With that, he flew to the nearest ring, with his Pokémon right behind him. They soared through the center of the ring, which began to shine brightly. Figuring that must've meant the score was tallied, Saito angled himself towards the next ring. But he misjudged his approaching, causing him to just barely miss the ring whereas Ōdachi was able to stay on course. Unlike the first, the ring remained a dull red.
"Darn it!" Saito grunted as he sharply banked and turned around, nearly losing control in the process. Luckily he was able to remain steady, allowing him to pass through the ring and add it to his score.
Turning back around, he rejoined Ōdachi who had patiently waited for him in front of the ring he had initially missed, and together they flew towards the third ring. They passed through as many as they could. Some Saito overshot completely, others were missed by Ōdachi. The poor Pokémon once even flew right into the rim of a ring which sent her into a tumble. She nearly fell to the bottom of the cage before a gust of wind managed to pick her up, which Saito assumed was courtesy of one of the many attendants flying around. That or the Xatu overlooking everything.
When the clock finally hit zero, Saito saw that, out of 40 rings, they managed to get just over 20. Not too bad for their first attempt, in his opinion, but a result they could definitely improve upon. Looking over at Ōdachi, he saw that she was a bit tired but more than eager to try again. He didn't even have to ask as she turned to look at him and give her trainer a wide, confident smile.
"Alright, then. Let's go, Ōdachi!" Saito cheered, and as soon as the clock began counting down again, the pair flew off towards the closest ring.
By the time the pair were done, they had managed to increase their top score to 35 out of 40 rings. Not too bad, in Saito's opinion. Ōdachi ended up having a blast, any trace of her earlier fear and nervousness gone by the time they returned to their seats. She was, however, dead tired and so fell asleep on Saito's lap. Part of him felt he should probably return her to her Pokéball, but the rest thought that the sleeping Skarmory was just too adorable and so decided to leave her be. Particularly since she was getting bigger every day. Right now she was about half her expected size when fully grown, and he knew he wouldn't be able to enjoy this much longer.
It was shortly after their return when Louise was called to the hangar. Like Saito, she too had to put on a wingsuit, hers red and white, before taking a short practice session in a wind tunnel. To say that it was rough would've been an understatement. She kept bouncing into and off the tunnel walls, and that was after spending several minutes figuring out how to keep her arms and legs steady enough to pick up enough wind to stay aloft in the first place. But eventually she was able to get the handle of things. It helped that, unlike Saito, she would mostly be staying in place rather than actually flying around through an obstacle course.
At least, hopefully that would be the case. A few of the battles she did see happened to be a racing battle of sorts, and what each person got seemed to be randomized. It kept things interesting, at least.
But that was for later. For now, Louise was content to stand by her designated waiting area in the hangar bay, waiting for the cage to open allowing her and Aile to jump out and begin the battle. Her assigned cage was larger than Saito and Ōdachi's, likely to accommodate the high energy battle about to take place. Her presumed opponent, a young man wearing a green and white wingsuit, was on the other side of the canyon. She didn't know his name, only that he had a Pidgeotto next to him. If she still had access to her pockets Louise would've pulled out her Pokédex to scan the Pokémon, but sadly that wasn't an option and so she'd have to go off of memory alone.
"Alright, so…," Louise began, pinching her chin in thought. "Pidgeotto is a Normal/Flying-type Pokémon native to…Kanto, I think? Either that or Johto."
Aile shrugged her wings, not entirely certain of the answer either. Louise then shook her head and admitted, "Doesn't matter. What does matter is that Pidgeottos are fairly balanced with no real strengths and weaknesses we can exploit. If we stay too far away, it'll pelt us from range, but if we get too close it'll hit us right back. I think our best bet is to keep our options open. Agreed?"
The Fletchinder nodded towards her trainer, and Louise nodded back before turning towards the cage as a light above her turned green. At the same time, a hatch on the cage swung open, allowing the pair to leap forward off the edge. The heavy yet gentle wind picked Louise up and carried her across the open gap, and she flew like a bird towards the center of the cage.
"Howdy!" her opponent loudly greeted in a thick accent as they met up in the center of the cage, angling upward slightly so that they would hover in place. "Name's Grant. You are?"
"Louise," Louise replied, and Grant nodded.
"Well then, happy to make your acquaintance, Louise," Grant said. "Me and Pidgeotto've been looking forward to this all day. Never seen you around here before. First time?"
"It is, yes," Louise admitted, and Grant nodded.
"I've been here a few times. Let me tell 'ya, there's a world of difference between battling on solid ground and in the open air."
Louise glance down towards the canyon floor and involuntarily gulped before looking back at her opponent and saying, "I can imagine, but just because this is my first time doesn't mean I want you to go easy on me!"
"Hah-hah! Wouldn't dream of it!" Grant replied cheerfully. He then flashed a confident grin and glanced towards his Pidgeotto which was flapping its wings next to him to hover in place. "You ready, boy?"
The Pidgeotto squawked in agreement and narrowed his eyes towards Aile, who narrowed them right back and refused to look away. Both trainers glanced upward as the red light at the top of the cage turned orange. A moment later, it turned green, signaling the battle had begun.
Louise acted first and shouted, "Aile, use Agility then Acrobatics!"
"Blow her away with Gust!" Grant similarly yelled.
As Aile briefly flashed white as Agility took effect, and her movements became faster and more graceful, she was suddenly buffeted by a heavy wind courtesy of the Pidgeotto. It sent her tumbling back, but the Fletchinder was able to reorient herself quickly. Louise wasn't as lucky, though, and the flaps of her wingsuit picked up the extra wind and sent her flying back.
"Gagh!" Louise yelped in surprise, but luckily the wind died down quickly, preventing her from actually hitting anything and allowing her to come to a stop.
"You okay? Sorry 'bout that!" Grant apologized, sounding sincere, but Louise waved it off.
"I'm fine!" she declared. Part of her was angry, but the rest knew it was an accident. Not to mention it was an inherent part of the sky battling experience, she figured. If it wasn't from the Pidgeotto or any other Flying-type Pokémon, it would be the wind itself suddenly kicking up and knocking her back. At least this was relatively minor, and now she knew what to expect.
Refocusing herself, Louise looked down towards the battle below where she saw Aile flying away from the Pidgeotto, who was attempting to catch up to the Fletchinder to no avail. She nodded to herself, realizing that speed was most likely their greatest advantage at this point, then began to gently circle around while keeping her attention squarely on the battle below.
"Circle around and use Flame Charge!" Louise ordered. Aile immediately complied, executing a complex loop that brought her above her pursuer. At the zenith of her arc, fire consumed her entire body, then she slammed down hard onto the Pidgeotto's back. The blow made Aile's opponent cry while knocking her back, but aside from a few scorched feathers she appeared to be in good shape.
Grant chuckled while flying around to get a good angle. When he came to a stop at the cage wall, he grabbed onto it then yelled, "Stop her with Twister!"
Louise's eyes widened as she recognized the Dragon-type move, and she reached towards the cage wall next to her while yelling at Aile to get out of there. She barely managed to grab onto the wires before a large column of swirling air consumed the center of the cage. Aile fought against the heavy wind, trying to break free of the vortex, only to be slammed by a Gust attack. Letting out a cry, Aile was swallowed by the twister, its heavy winds buffeting her against the debris it picked up from the canyon around them.
Holding onto the cage for dear life, Louise struggled to find a way to escape this mess. After a moment, she narrowed her eyes and yelled, "Use Quick Attack to get out of there!"
At first, when nothing happened, Louise was afraid Aile couldn't hear her behind the twister. But a moment later, an orange blur shot out of the twister, revealing itself to be a battered but still flying Aile. She was breathing heavily, but as she glared at the Pidgeotto Louise knew she was far from done. Pumping her fist in victory, Louise jumped off the cage as the twister died down, allowing her to begin flying through the air without fear of getting blown off course.
"Patch yourself up with Roost, then use Razor Wind!" Louise ordered.
Nodding towards her trainer, Aile flew over and perched herself on the cage wall for a moment. A brief sheen crossed over her body, and before Louise's very eyes she saw some of the ruffled feathers straighten themselves out. When Aile was done, she left off the cage wall just as the Pidgeotto attacked again with another Gust, causing the heavy wind to impact harmlessly on the wires and create an echoing reverberation. A moment later, Aile flapped her wings as hard as she could, sending slices of air careening through the cage that slammed into her opponent's chest.
"Pidgeotto!" Grant cried out, but Louise wasn't going to wait for him to strike again so quickly.
"Close in with Quick Attack, then use Acrobatics!" Louise ordered.
Aile's body disappeared into a blur, then she reappeared as she struck Pidgeotto. A moment later, she began to fly around her opponent's body, striking him with her wings, peak, and talons. The Pidgeotto was unable to react at first, but then managed to knock her away with a Wing Attack.
"Charge back in with Steel Wing!" Louise yelled, and without hesitation Aile's wings were covered in a metallic sheen. She flew towards her opponent as fast as she could, and at the same time the Pidgeotto matched her Steel Wing with one of her own.
Like the clashing of blades, the Steel Wings collided. The pair of Flying-type Pokémon descended into an aerial duel, striking their wings against each other and filling the cage with a metallic cacophony. Louise flew around opposite Grant, her eyes focused on the battle to try and find an opening. At first she didn't see anything other than the Pokémon being relatively matched, but then an idea began to take shape.
"Flame Charge!" Louise shouted, hoping that, at this range, the Pidgeotto wouldn't be able to react in time to escape.
Her hopes were realized as Aile's body became engulfed in fire, and she gave herself a quick boost through a flap of her wings to slam right into her opponent. The Pidgeotto let out a cry of pain, only to then be knocked down through an overhead Steel Wing.
"Finish him off with another Quick Attack!" Louise declared, hoping that this would be the final battle.
Grant tried to get his Pokémon to escape the freefall, but Aile was simply too fast for the Pidgeotto to respond. She sliced through the air and across her opponent's back, causing several cut feathers to fall off. Pidgeotto dropped like a brick and fell limply to the bottom of the cage, and didn't attempt to pick himself up.
Realizing it was over, Grant released a sigh, then pulled out a Pokéball and aimed it towards his fallen Pokémon while saying, "You did good, Pidgeotto. Have yourself a nice rest, 'ya earned it."
A thin red beam shot across the open-air cage, and once Pidgeotto was returned to his Pokéball, Grant looked over at Louise, smiled, and said, "Thanks for the battle, Louise. It was an honor."
"As it was with you," Louise courteously replied. The two trainers gave each other a respectful nod, then turned and flew back towards their respective hangars, opening up the cage for the next battlers.
"That was a lot of fun, I'm really glad we did this," Henrietta said as they left the sky arena hours later, the sun beginning to set below the horizon. Once Louise had returned, they debated simply heading out and getting some more traveling done, but instead they decided that it would be more fun to stick around for a bit longer. As far as Saito was concerned, they had made plenty of progress already.
"Same," he replied. "Good thing they have a hotel we can stay at tonight."
"That is nice," Louise agreed, then glanced over at Ōdachi who was standing on Saito's shoulder and looking back at the sky arena. She smiled and asked, "Did you have fun, Ōdachi?"
The young Skarmory chirped and flapped her wings excitedly, causing the three trainers and Derflinger to laugh. They then focused themselves on hiking down the canyon trail towards a small hotel that had been set up towards the bottom. It wasn't very big, looking more like a series of small cabins rather than one of the large buildings they were used to, but it would suffice. At least Henrietta would be spared one more night from camping outside in a tent. In the back of her mind, she knew tomorrow would offer no such comfort, but she decided to ignore it.
Soon they would arriving at Lumiose, still too far away to be visible from their current position. But on the horizon, Henrietta could just barely see the Kalos Power Plant, and she couldn't help but feel excited at what laid in store for them there.
[~][~]
Hello, everyone! Here is the latest chapter of Outsiders! Special thanks to Darwin Candidate and Yuri Vampire for their help in bringing this chapter to life.
Another adventure-of-the-day for our heroes, this time exhibiting a forgotten aspect of Pokemon XY: sky battling. I figured such an excursion would be a fun little side quest for the party, as well as a way to showcase more of Odachi's development and create an interesting battle for Louise. Not to mention give another random battle encounter. You guys had been wanting more of those so I figured I would provide.
To answer a few recurring questions:
I'm glad that my story inspired you to write one of your own! That makes me feel happy and proud. All I ask is that you try not to stick too close to my story's plot. I know that, due to similar concepts, certain things are going to echo and that is unavoidable, but due to try to be somewhat original. Also, please do not lift segments from my story into yours, as in paragraphs, sentences, etc.
Glad you guys liked the Tinkaton encounter. We wanted to have another character-of-the-day situation, and given how people were wanting Louise and company to encounter a Tinkaton, I figured this was the perfect time to do so.
Yeah, Carlos is not a good Pokemon trainer. Glad you guys picked up on that.
Regarding holiday-oriented chapters, now that we're using an actual dedicated dating system, the odds of that happening aren't that unlikely. You will have to wait and see, though.
That's it for this time. Let us know what you guys think! If any of you have a TV Tropes account, any assistance in updating the TV Tropes page would be greatly appreciated. We hope you enjoy! See you next time!