Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Reverse Summon)
Season 1, Episode 3, Chapter 1

As Saito and Louise continued to follow the diminutive form of Tanuki, an uncomfortable silence befell them. Saito frequently stole glances back at Louise, only to see her frowning in frustration. If he had to guess, it appears she still hadn't quite forgiven him for the humiliating loss she suffered at his hands. Likely, it was her first loss. Before the silence had started getting oppressive, Saito spoke up.

"So…you know Professor Sycamore, huh?" Saito asked Louise, attempting to at the very least start up a conversation. When she didn't respond, he decided to continue. "How'd you meet him? Must have left a good impression if he decided to give you a Pokémon and a Pokédex."

"…yes, I know him," Louise finally spoke up. "As I told you before, I fell into his care a few weeks back and became his assistant. Apparently, you weren't paying attention."

"Yeah…sorry. Just trying to…anyway, what was it like working with him?"

"…it was…nice. He was kind, understanding, and a little boneheaded at times. If it weren't for the…never mind. Point is, I enjoyed my time there, especially more than my time since then." Louise admitted. Saito, however, noticed the slip up that Louise almost had, but, recognizing that this was probably a personal matter for her, wisely avoided the topic. "What about you?"

"Well, I wasn't an assistant, but I did get to meet Professor Juniper. That's how I got Ronin and my Pokédex here."

"You have a Pokédex, too? Can I see?"

"Yeah, sure." Saito complied, pulling out his blue Pokédex. Unlike Louise's model, which was more of a collapsible tablet, Saito's Pokédex looked more like one of those "smartphones" Louise had heard so much about. It was much smaller than hers, able to fit into the palm of one's hand. "It has all the features of the Kalosian Pokédex, and it can also do phone calls."

"Huh. I don't think mine can do phone calls, but I think it can do video calls. That's the same thing, right?"

"Uhh, yeah. Yeah, it kinda is..." Saito answered, while also wondering just what cave this girl crawled out of. Again, an uncomfortable silence befell the two, only to be broken by a yip from Brennaraki, who was currently chatting with Ronin. If Saito had to guess, Ronin was giving the fire fox some battle tips. Aile, meanwhile, hopped from tree to tree, going after the multitude of berries that grew in abundance.

"…how'd you get them? Ronin and Tanuki, I mean?" Louise asked, gazing down at the two Pokémon chatting away.

"Well, with Ronin, I got him from Professor Juniper. Tanuki was the first Pokémon I caught on my own. They're kinda long stories, you sure you want to hear them?" Saito asked, only to receive a stare from Louise in response.

"Yes, thank you."

"Well, with Ronin, I had to go through the standard process most trainers undertake when they get a starter from a Regional Professor. I'm assuming that didn't happen to you?" She shook her head, to which Saito nodded in slight understanding.

"Unless you know the professor, it's a very complicated process, involving interviews, questionnaires, and even a test, one that I barely passed…" Saito whispered that last part before moving on. "After that, you meet the professor, and if they say you are good to go, you choose a starter. If not, you don't get one."

"I take it that Ronin was your starter?" Louise guessed.

"Yeah. Ronin and I just…clicked, really. Kinda like you and Brennaraki, I assume," Saito looked out at the small fox, still excitedly talking to his starter.

Louise smiled at this. "Yeah, I guess so. What about Tanuki?"

"Well, Tanuki is a bit of an interesting case. You see, near Flocessy Town, over in Unova, there a ranch that bared the same name. Flocessy Ranch was home to many different species of wild Pokémon, one of which were Riolus. Just like Tanuki, whom I met while I was there."

"So, you battled then proceeded to catch him?"

"No... It's funny, really. He and I met the same way you two met."

"He dumped a basket of rotten berries on you, too?"

"Close. It was a bucket of water, actually."

"…then came the battle, right?"

"Actually…I called him an amateur and said I could do better." Saito sheepishly admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. Louise only glared at him in mild disappointment.

"…go on," She commanded.

"Well, long story short, we… ended up engaging in a prank war that ended with him and I turning an entire Bouffalant herd pink and being chased off the ranch by very angry and very pink bovines, along with very pink ranch hands." Saito declared with a hint of pride, holding back a few laughs.

Louise simply stared. "You…turned an entire herd…pink?"

"Yep. Have to say, I'm quite proud of that one," Saito admitted, puffing out his chest just a little. Louise continued to stare in silence before she pinched her nose in frustration, disappointment, and exasperation all at once and sighed.

"Anyway," Saito began, attempting to get the conversation back on track, "afterward, Tanuki decided to stick around, - and we've been together ever since. What about you? How'd you get Brennaraki and Aile?"

"Seems fair to tell you," Louise answered after recomposing herself. "Well, Aile's the simple one. I caught her when she was attempting to hunt some Combees for their honey. She…still hasn't quite forgiven me for that, and if I want her to do anything I have to bribe her with the aforementioned honey."

"Wait, you have actual Combee honey?" Saito inquired. "I've never had some. May I?"

"I don't see why not," Louise declared, pulling out a honey jar and spoon, and attracting the attention of Aile, who quickly flew down to her. "Aile, no! I said no! No more today!" Louise shouted at the bird attempting to steal a morsel of honey. Dejected and angry, Aile resumed her berry harvest. "Honestly, that bird…here."

Saito quickly took the offered spoon and took it into his mouth. "Mmph. This is good." Saito looked back at Louise and motioned for her to continue.

"Thank you. As for Brennaraki, that is a bit more…complicated. You remember that I was Professor Sycamore's assistant, right?"

"Mmph-hmph" Saito answered, spoon still in his mouth.

Louise grimaced at Saito's improper manners but decided to move on rather than bring more attention to it. "Anyway, while I was there, I eventually met Brennaraki, who at the time didn't really trust people. I'm sure you noticed that she is a Shiny, correct?"

"I was going to ask about that-."

"Well, you see, this posed quite a bit of a problem. As you can imagine, Shiny Pokémon are quite rare, and with Brennaraki being a Shiny Starter, and a female for that matter…"

"Sycamore had every breeder in the region scrambling over each other to get her," Saito finished her statement, correctly guessing the rest of what Louise was going to say.

"Indeed. People from all over Kalos came to Sycamore attempting to buy her, offering enormous sums of money to do so. Fortunes, really."

"But Brennaraki didn't want that, I take it?"

"No, she did not. She wanted to battle, and thankfully Professor Sycamore recognized that and refused their offers every time. The ones that got further in were quickly rejected by Brennaraki, who after a while came to believe that anyone that wanted her, wanted her simply because of her different coloring, to be a trophy and paraded, just to show off how wealthy they were…" Louise ranted. Saito sensed that this was an uncomfortable topic for her, and wisely decided to move on.

"So, why did Brennaraki choose you?"

"After I first met her, we bonded over the course of a week. I…sympathized with her situation, and I think she recognized that. But, we didn't truly become partners until a week after I first met her."

"What happened?"

"A…particularly determined collector, after she was refused by Professor Sycamore, decided that she wouldn't take no for an answer, and stole Sycamore's spare key. That night, while I was doing some work for him, she broke in and attempted to make off with Brennaraki's Pokéball. I caught her during the attempt and stopped it, even giving Brennaraki commands. Her stupid rat did bite me, however."

"Ooh, where'd they get you?"

"Just in the leg. It wasn't too bad but it did leave a scar. Afterward, Sycamore banned her from the lab, fixed up my wound, and then allowed me to keep Brennaraki. We've been together ever since."

"That's…impressive. I guess right after this was right before you're errand?"

"That is correct. Just need to deliver this Mega Stone to Viola, and then…" Louise trailed off.

"Participate in the Pokémon League, right?" Saito guessed.

"…what's the 'Pokémon League', exactly? It's some kind of governing organization, right?"

"… You're kidding me, right? Seriously, you don't know what the Pokémon League is?" Saito asked in absolute wonder. When she shook her head, he closed his eyes and sighed. "What rock did you…never mind. Okay, you remember when I said that Viola was a Gym Leader, right?"

"Yes. League sanctioned trainer, runs a Gym, you challenge them, get a badge, that's it?"

"… Not exactly. Yes, you get a badge from beating a Gym Leader. But, that isn't the whole story. Basically, a Gym Badge serves as a marker for your progress as a trainer. If you get eight of them, you are allowed access to the annual Pokémon League Tournament. Trainers from all over the region come together to compete and whoever wins gets crowned Champion."

"Huh," Louise hummed to herself, contemplating Saito's words before looking up at him with a strange look in her eyes. "So, you win the league, and become Champion of the Region?"

"Actually, there is a difference between the Pokémon League Champion and the Regional Champion" Saito correct. "After a trainer wins the Pokémon League, they get the opportunity to officially challenge the Elite Four. If a person beats them, they get to challenge the Regional Champion, the strongest trainer in the entire region. If the Regional Champion is defeated, the Pokémon League Champion becomes the Regional Champion."

"Hmm…" Louise pondered. "Who are the Elite Four and Champion of Kalos?"

"Well, the current Champion of Kalos is Diantha Carnet, an actress actually. From what I can tell, a very good and successful one. In terms of the Kalos Elite Four, that's-…complicated."

"What do you mean? What happened?"

"You really don't know, do you?" Saito sighed and started shaking his head. "How long have you been in Kalos, by any chance?"

"Around a month, why?"

"I guess he didn't tell you" Saito whispered to himself. "...do you know who Team Flare is?" Saito asked in a tone that told Louise plainly that this was a serious topic. When she shook her head, he continued.

"Team Flare was…a terrorist group, led by Lysandre Fleur. They believed that the Earth had become 'ugly' and needed to be cleansed. To accomplish this goal, they used the power of Mega Evolution and the Legendary Pokémon Zygarde to create a weapon that could wipe out the population of entire regions if left unchecked." Saito paused at this and clenched his fist in anger before calming himself and moving on.

"About a year ago, during the Pokémon League Tournament's ending ceremony, Team Flare attacked Lumiose with a mind-controlled Zygarde and the weapon. By the time they were finally stopped, property damage was in the millions, hundreds were injured and a couple of people died, it was a complete disaster. Afterwards, there was an investigation that took months. The ensuing scandal took even longer.

"What happened?" Louise gasped, horrified at what Saito was telling her.

"It turned out that one of Team Flare's highest-ranking officers was Malva Pachira, a highly influential reporter and, most importantly, a member of Kalos' Elite Four, although she defected during the actual assault, participated in the planning of the attack and the cover-up of Team Flare's previous actions."

"Founder…"

Briefly pausing at the odd phase Louise had used, Saito continued. "Yep. It was a colossal scandal that nearly destroyed the League's credibility in Kalos."

"What happened to Malva?"

"She offered to resign from her post, but ultimately the courts found that, although she did help Team Flare's plans, she did ultimately help to stop Lysandre's madness and prevented a lot of deaths. As such, she simply got probation."

"What about the rest of the Elite Four?"

"The rest were completely acquitted and had nothing to do with Team Flare's actions. But, ultimately the damage was done. It got so bad, there almost wasn't even a League Tournament this year"

"That's just…wow…" Louise trailed off, unable to fully form the words.

"Yeah..." Saito looked out into the forest. "… Worked to my benefit, at least. They were so desperate for trainers to participate that they accepted my Unovan Gym Badge, meaning I already have one of out the eight. Normally, that doesn't happen. Although, it probably helped that I only had the one…"

"So… When does this Pokémon League actually occur?" Louise asked, hoping to shift the discussion away from this uncomfortable topic.

"At the end of the current League Season, so in about eleven months."

"I take it that you plan on participating?"

"Yep." Saito quickly answered, pulling out his badge case and opening it, revealing a gold pin with purple squares and rectangles in its center. "This is my Basic Badge. Got it by beating the Gym Leader of Aspertia City with Ronin and Tanuki."

"Wait, I just realized something. If you already have a Gym Badge from Unova…why are you doing the rest in Kalos? You just said that doesn't usually happen." As the words left Louise's mouth, a silence descended upon the group as Saito suddenly stopped, along with his Pokémon. "Look, if you don't want to talk about it—" Louise offered, attempting to avoid the obviously uncomfortable topic, only to be waved off by Saito.

"No, no, it's fine… I…" Saito trailed off, attempting to form the right words. "… I actually started late compared to everyone else."

"Late? What do you mean?" Louise raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"I've…only been a trainer for about two months…"

"I don't…see how that is an issue. So, you're a beginner like me, what's the problem with that?"

"… Most start out when they are ten. I didn't start until I was seventeen, which was two months ago." Saito admitted, with embarrassment clearly heard and avoiding eye contact.

"… People send ten-year-old children out unsupervised with Pokémon?" Louise could barely believe Saito's words, the concept so alien to her. "What kind of irresponsible…"

"That's what my parents thought as well. They refused to let me undertake a Pokémon journey until I was older and more capable. Not to say I don't understand, but when you see everyone else your age talking about their adventures while you had to stay home over the summer and read books about Pokémon rather than train them yourself…"

"You felt left out," Louise finished Saito's sentence. "Like you didn't belong."

"Yeah…" Saito trailed off, a silence once again descending on the group. "As for why I'm doing the rest of my journey in Kalos and not Unova…my parents had to move to Vaniville Town due to their job right after I started my journey, and I had to come with them." Saito admitted, frustration creeping into his voice.

"I guess that makes sense," Louise didn't fully understand why Saito would be frustrated by that, but before she could go further Saito cut in.

"Well, I think we've wasted enough time. Let's get going, shall we?" Saito suggesting, perhaps a bit hastily.

"I think you're right. Tanuki, is Viola still there?" Louise agreed, gently asking the diminutive canine to see for them once again. Tanuki quickly closed his eyes and concentrated, before nodding his head.

"Weird how she's just staying in one place after all this time. Must be doing her photography," Saito suggested. "Well, either way, let's get going. The sooner we find Viola, the sooner we get out of here." At that, the duo continued, moving deeper into the dark forest.

As they continued along, the two trainers and their Pokémon felt another silence descend upon them. Although not to the extent of being awkward, it was uncomfortable. Saito, not wanting the silence to get to that point, prepared to speak, only to be beaten to the punch by Louise herself.

"Can I ask you something?" Louise softly asked, her face flushed with embarrassment.

"Yeah, sure. Shoot," Saito, slightly worried, replied.

"…how bad was I?" Saito blinked his eyes at Louise a few times.

"How bad? What do you mean?"

"The battle? How bad was I?" Louise clarified, irritation starting to build once more.

"Oh, that's… Honestly, not that bad for a rookie. Better than when I first started, at least."

"Don't patronize me!" Louise stomped her foot in annoyance, making Saito raise up his hands in a placating manner.

"I'm not, honestly! You've should have seen me when I first started. I was terrible!"

"Of course…" Louise replied, not believing the boy, who awkwardly smiled and rubbed the back of his head.

"But, that isn't to say I wasn't helped by your mistakes. For starters, you only used one move. What moves do Brennaraki and Aile know, by any chance?"

"Well…Brennaraki knows Ember and Magic Coat, and Aile knows Tailwind and Peck."

"Right, there's your problem. You are limiting yourself to only one attack. That may work against Wild Pokémon, who for the most part are untrained. It may even work against inexperienced Trainers. But against observant Trainers and Pokémon, that limitation would quickly get picked up on and exploited for all its worth. You became predictable, almost."

"Really?"

"But, when you changed things up, and didn't stick to a pattern, you got some good hits in."

"Okay, that's…good at least. Any…advice?"

"Hmm, I would say…increase your move pool. Trainers normally teach their Pokémon about eight moves. Any more than that, and it usually becomes difficult to keep in practice," Saito advised, his finger outstretched to emphasize his point to an attentive Louise. "I recommend filling those up with a nice balance of different moves, both offensive and defensive."

"I…see. Thanks for the advice," Louise thanked Saito, smiling.

"No problem."

A few hours later, and with the sun the beginning to set, Louise was starting to worry that they would have to turn back before they found Viola. Apparently, Viola's present location was deep in Santalune Forest. A periodic check from Tanuki confirmed that Viola was staying in one place, but to Louise that was merely a consolation.

"How close are we to Viola?" Louise grumbled, frustrated at their apparent lack of progress.

"I don't know. Tanuki, think you can manage another look?" Saito asked the canine. Stopping in his tracks, Tanuki took a deep breath and closed his eyes, concentrating on the task at hand, exhaustion slowing him down considerably. "Take your time, buddy. Don't over exert yourself."

"How long is this going to take?" Louise was growing more impatient and was now glaring at Saito.

"Well, given the fact that we've done this exact same thing twenty times now, Tanuki is tired. It's going to take a bit," Saito barked back. "What I don't get is why you insist on looking for her still. It's getting late, and it'll be dark soon. Besides, even if we decided to keep going, it's not like she's going anywhere. She hasn't moved from that spot in hours." Before Louise could retort, Tanuki opened his eyes, breathing deeply, and pointed to his right. Shortly ahead was a small clearing, with a large tree in its center.

"Finally!" Louise exclaimed, figuring that this is where Viola was staying. She followed the outstretched arm, not noticing Tanuki rapidly begin to pale. "Now I can-" Any words that Louise had were quickly replaced by an "OOF!" as she was suddenly tacked by Saito to the ground behind a bush, with Ronin, Tanuki, and Brennaraki quickly following suit.

"WHAT ARE YOU-!?" Louise began to shout before Saito quickly covered her mouth with his hand.

"Quiet! They'll hear you!" Saito ordered her in a whisper, clearly terrified. Confused, Louise looked around, only to see the source of his fear hanging from the tree in the clearing's center. A hive, similar in size to the one she met the Vespiqueen in. As she looked closer, she quickly realized that this was not a Combee hive at all. Instead of swarms of Combee flying about, dozens of Kakunas and Weedles hung around the hive, either lying still or scourging for food. Flying above them, keeping watch, was a large, black and yellow hornet, with two long spikes on its top legs. "Beedrill…"

"Beedrill…" Louise recognized the name. Back at Sycamore's lab, she researched a few species, including Beedrill, and what she saw terrified her. A hornet a meter tall, with a hostile and territorial disposition that would attack any intruder, they were a far cry from their friendly cousins. With fear quickly rising within her, Louise whisper-shouted to Saito, "Why didn't Tanuki see them?!"

"He's not a master of Aura Sight yet, he was so focused on scanning for humans he couldn't see the Beedrill until it was too late. That and he overexerted himself thanks to you…" Saito glared at Louise, who silently gulped.

"…what do we do?"

"…okay, okay…let me think," Saito wracked his brain for a plan on how to escape this mess. "Let's just…quietly crawl our way back until we can make a run for it."

"Oh, that's a brilliant plan! Just crawl away!" Louise whispered sarcastically.

"You got a better one?"

"No…" Louise answered, growing silent until a thought suddenly entered her head. "Viola!"

"She's a Gym Leader, she can handle herself."

"But we can't just-!"

"Do you see Viola here!?" Saito hissed at Louise, cutting her off. "I am not debating this with you! We. Are. Leaving!"

Shocked at Saito's sudden change in personality, Louise could only grumble and nod in agreement. She could see his argument, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

"Come on, let's…" Saito began crawling backwards away from the hive before a sudden loud snap sounded off from behind the prone trainers, followed by an even louder crash. Slowly, the two trainers turned their heads to look at the source, only to find a small tree branch, filled with half eaten Sitrus Berries, had snapped off the tree behind them and fallen onto the forest floor. Looking up, they Aile, with half a berry lying at her feet, looking horrified at her mistake from atop the former home of the snapped branch. Apparently, Aile had accidentally knocked loose a tree branch that had already been weakened by the Weedles. Turning back to look at the hive, Saito and Louise's eyes narrowed as they noticed every single Beedrill, numbering around thirty strong, glaring at the two with hate filled eyes.

"When this is over," Saito plainly stated, a noticeable sheen of sweat covering his face, "I'm going to kill Aile."

"Get in line," Louise agreed as the two quickly jumped to their feet. "Plan?"

"Run like hell," Saito ordered, making an about face before he was halted in his tracks by the sudden appearance of another Beedrill. This one noticeably larger, and angrier than the others. If he had to guess, this was the Queen, and she was not happy that the two of them had trespassed into her territory.

Ronin, Tanuki, Brennaraki, and Aile cried out and they formed a defensive circle around their trainers, recognizing the danger they were all in.

"Change of plan, we're fighting our way out!" Saito yelled, tensed in anticipation as they were now surrounded by the angry swarm, their collective buzzing almost drowning out his voice to the point where Louise only just heard hi. "Louise, I need you and Brennaraki to help Ronin cut a path through so we can make a break for it! Tanuki and Aile will get any get any that come too close, got it!"

"Got it!" Louise shouted back, preparing to make the appropriate orders alongside Saito, slightly wondering why the swarm hadn't attacked yet. Pushing that thought aside and simply chalking it up to the grace of God, Louise opened her mouth to shout her command.

"Em-!/Wat-!" Louise and Saito began to shout before a third voice suddenly interrupted them.

"WAIT, WAIT!" The voice, appearing to be feminine, shouted across the clearing, loud enough to be clearly heard through the buzzing. Running through the swarm itself, the source of the voice made herself known. She was clearly a woman equipped for field work, wearing a white tank top and cyan cargo shorts. Dangling around her chest like a necklace was a large black camera, and around her waist were six collapsed Pokéballs. Standing in front of the two young trainers with her back turned, Louise couldn't get a good look at her face, but she could tell who the woman is.

"Viola? Viola Pansy?" Louise asked, temporarily forgetting the situation she was in.

"Yes, Ms. Vallière, it's me! We'll talk later! Keep your eyes down, they see it as a challenge!" Viola shouted back before turning her attention back to the Queen Beedrill. "It's okay, they're with me! They mean you no harm!" Viola attempted to sooth the angry Queen. Judging by the Queen's posture and glare, the attempt wasn't quite working out.

Shifting tactics, Viola started again. "In fact, we were just leaving. Right, guys?"

"That's right! We were just about to leave," Saito quickly played along, nervously glancing around the swarm that continued to surround them.

"Yes, we are!" Louise, catching onto what Viola and Saito were doing, nervously replied. At this, Viola walked in between the two trainers and wrapped her arms around them, nervously smiling at the Queen Beedrill. After a moment's hesitation, an eternity for Louise, the Queen cocked her head sharply, ordering a path away from the hive for the group to walk through.

"Thank you for your patience. We won't bother you again today," Viola thanked the Queen before quickly moving the two trainers through the open space, their Pokémon following behind them, along with the Queen herself and two Beedrills to escort them out. Once they were far enough away for the Queen to be satisfied, the Beedrill left the trainers to their own devices, a few Weedles left behind to continue foraging for food, causing them all to sigh in relief, before Viola quickly delivered a light chop to the top of Louise and Saito's heads, making them wince in pain.

"What were you two thinking!?" Viola shouted at Louise and Saito, who were clutching their heads in pain. "Do you have any idea how much danger you two were in!? You could have been killed! Honestly, wandering into a Beedrill hive!"

"We weren't wandering!" Louise attempted to defend herself. "We were trying to find you! To deliver-!"

"Hey, don't lump me into this! I was just following you!" Saito interjected, trying to avoid any blame.

"Why you-!"

"You two are both at fault in this!" Viola shouted, halting the argument before it could properly begin, before she sighed and began to calm herself down. "Louise, I know why you are here. Augustine called me a few days ago to tell me you would be arriving into town with a Beedrillite. I'm certain Nurse Joy told you that I would be in the forest, doing my photography work, for a few hours, so why did you two decide to come after me?"

"I-" Louise began trying to explain her admittedly foolish decision before she was interrupted by Saito again.

"Wait, you knew she was at a Beedrill hive!" Saito turned to Louise before a glare from Viola shut him up.

"And you. Don't think you are not at fault in this. You could have taken her back to Santalune, but instead you allowed this to happen. You are just as much at fault in this as she is."

"Yes, ma'am…" Saito quietly relented, looking down in shame as he twiddled his fingers, hands clasped together, with his Pokémon mimicking his actions. Ronin was kowtowing.

"Arceus…" Viola sighed, pinching the roof of her nose. "Listen, guys. You can't just rush into things without knowing what to expect. Had you asked Nurse Joy exactly where I would be, she would have told you that I was with a local Beedrill hive taking photographs. But you didn't, and got yourself into severe danger because of it. You…I haven't gotten your name yet. You are?"

"Saito Hiraga, ma'am."

"Thank you. Saito, you overestimated your and your Pokémon's abilities and walked both of you right into the hive. Had I not been there…" Viola let the possibility hand over everyone's head like an axe, causing the two young trainers to pale in realization.

"But…I admire your dedication to seek me out. It says volumes about your characters that you stuck with it. Not all of it good, mind you, but still volumes."

"I…I'm sorry, Ms. Violette…" Louise meekly apologized.

"Please," Viola laughed away the tension in the air, "Ms. Violette makes me feel old. Call me Viola, everyone else does. Now, since we're already here, I believe you have something for me?"

"Oh, uhh, yes!" Louise exclaimed, quickly reaching into her bag. "Where is the stupid-ah, here!" Louise exclaimed as she took hold of the Beedrillite. Taking a step forward, Louise suddenly tripped on an upturned rock she hadn't noticed before. As she was falling, the Beedrillite slipped out of her hands and flew forward, striking a Weedle in the head. It called out in slight pain as it fell to the ground. Before Louise could apologize, the Queen Beedrill suddenly reappeared, almost as if she had never really left, incensed at the harm her spawn had incurred.

"That was an accident!" Viola exclaimed, placing herself in front of the trainers as she looked back down at the ground. The Queen merely stared at the group before looking down at the shiny stone and sensing a connection with it, picked up the orb.

"What's she doing?" Saito asked, confused and worried over the Beedrill's actions.

"All Pokémon capable of Mega-Evolution have an instinctive connection with their appropriate Mega-Stones," Viola explained in a whisper and pulled out her camera, which Saito and Louise just now noticed had a gem embedded on the shutter button. "Don't worry. Mega-evolution needs a strong bond between a Pokémon and trainer to work, so right now that Beedrillite—" Viola was suddenly cut off when a bright light emitted from the Mega-Stone in question, along with the Queen Beedrill.

"What the-?!" Saito yelled, shielding his eyes from the bright light. "What's happening!?"

"It's Mega Evolving!? How?!" Viola shouted in response, equal parts confused and terrified, as she finally took hold of one of her Pokéballs as a precaution.

As the light died down, they looked upon the Queen Beedrill, only to find she had dramatically changed. If the Beedrill had looked intimidating before, now she looked terrifying. She had rapidly grown even larger than before, her legs now ended in a pair of needle-like stingers while the thorax was also much bulkier, and now sported a much larger stinger on its end. At the same time, her forearms had grown into massive lances. Finally, her eyes, now slicked back, glowed a faint, deep red as it gazed upon them with murder in its eyes.

"Oh…shit…" Saito said plainly. "How did…?" He couldn't even finish his sentence as more Beedrill entered the area, attracted by the bright light. Upon seeing the state of their queen, and with their tempers already on a hair trigger, they joined her in glaring at the small group, with an angry buzz filling the air. The terrifying element for Louise, however, was just how silent the Mega-Beedrill was in it's glare.

"Run," Viola ordered as she stared back at the Mega-Beedrill. Before any of them could react, the Mega-Beedrill violently reared back and charged.

Hey, everyone! Here is the latest chapter of Outsiders! Things just went from 0 to 100 real quick there, didn't it?

No questions for me to answer right now, but if you have any and they don't require spoilers just leave a review! We want to hear everyone's feedback, positive or negative. It can only make this story better.

Next Chapter: How will Saito and Louise get out of this? What caused the Beedrill to Mega Evolve? Find out next time on Outsiders!