Outsiders (Pokémon/ZnT Reverse Summon)

Season 1, Episode 5, Chapter 2

"So, let me get this straight," Saito spoke as he and Louise continued their trek north, their Pokémon following close behind. "Last night, Espirit over there," at the sound of her name, Espirit looked up and waved, to which Saito waved back, "wandered into your tent and woke you up."

"Yes," Louise nodded, munching on some leftover jerky that Saito had given her when it turned out her attempt at breakfast was fit only for a Torkoal.

"Rather than freak out, the two of you 'communicated', and when you found out the collector was hunting her down, you tried to help her."

"That is correct."

"However, the collector caught up to you guys, forcing a battle that ended with him putting your Pokémon to sleep and you commanding Espirit. When you guys returned to camp, Espirit didn't want to leave and so you got a Ralts."

"Exactly," Louise smiled. "Why do you act so surprised?"

"It's not that I'm surprised, it's just…," Saito sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Never mind." Sensing his stress, Espirit psychically sent soothing images to him, smiling when he turned to look at her.

"I swear, she is the most polite Pokémon I've ever met," Saito smiled back at Espirit, who bashfully looked away at the praise.

"I know! It's adorable!" Louise cooed, causing Brennaraki to grumble.

"Jealous, much?" Tanuki smirked at Brennaraki, who began to sputter.

"No! Why would I be jealous of her!" Brennaraki angrily denied, causing Tanuki to laugh.

"There is nothing wrong with the attention she is receiving," Ronin replied, a sea of calm to Brennaraki's storm. "It is only natural. She is not abandoning you."

"Who says I'm being abandoned and replaced!" Brennaraki growled. "I'm not!"

"Drama queen…" Aile scoffed at her teammate's antics. She didn't act like this last time, so why now?

"Why you little-!"

'Ms. Brennaraki' Espirit's telepathic voice rang out though the Pokémon's minds. 'I'm sorry if I've caused you any distress. I don't mean to.' Brennaraki went silent at Espirit's sincere tone.

"…I just can't stay mad at you," Brennaraki sighed, causing Espirit to smile.

"See, that's the spirit! Give her a chance!" Tanuki patted Brennaraki on the back. Looking back at Espirit, the blue canine smiled and flashed her a smile, which Espirit returned.

"Tanuki, my friend, you seem to be giving Espirit a lot of attention," Ronin smirked towards a confused looking Tanuki. "Should I be aware of something?"

"I don't…Oh, you think…Nah, it's not that at all," Tanuki waved him off. "I just remembered how you acted when I joined the team, and trying to help her out." Ronin began to sputter at Tanuki's declaration.

"I… I did no such thing!"

"Yeah, you kinda did, man. Cold shoulder and everything. It hurt."

"I…I apologize for my-"

"Nah, just messing with ya. About the hurt part. Everything else was true." As Ronin continued to sputter, attempting to apologize, Tanuki patted his shoulder and walked out front to Saito. Shaking his head, Ronin ran back up to him, leaving Brennaraki and Aile.

"…he is so lying," Aile declared, to which Brennaraki nodded.

'Lying about what? It didn't feel like he was lying about anything…' Espirit asked, confused. When she only received strange looks from her teammates, she shrugged and turned forwards, continuing to walk with Louise and Saito. As they passed by a small field, Louise stopped, causing the party to stop in turn.

"Louise, what's wrong?" Saito asked, concerned.

"Nothing, just…" Louise breathed in and smiled. "Just remembering. This is where I caught Aile." At the mention of her name, Aile looked around before her eyes widened in recognition. "I wonder if those Combee are still here?"

"Why? Thinking about catching one?"

"No, just curious. It would be nice to meet them again, though."

"It would, wouldn't it?" Saito nodded in agreement. "Want to wait a bit and see if they show up? We aren't that far."

"No," Louise shook her head. "It would love to, but I honestly doubt that they'd come back here for quite some time. Speaking of which," Louise looked at a sheepish Aile, "something tells me that they would not appreciate Aile showing up." All eyes turned to Aile, waiting for her answer.

"…yeah, she's probably right." Aile shrugged, causing the others to lightly chuckle. Except for Espirit, who crossed her arms and pouted.

'Aile, what did you do?' Espirit scolded, causing Aile's to slightly widen.

"I, uh…tried to get some honey from them…" Aile looked around in confusion when Espirit frowned.

'Did you ask for some?'

"…no?" At Aile's answer, Espirit's frown deepened.

'That wasn't very nice, Aile. You should apologize.'

"Uh, Louise? What are your Pokémon doing?" Saito asked, raising his eyebrow in confusion as everyone looked upon Espirit scolding a confused Aile.

"I…I think Espirit is trying to get Aile to do something…" Louise guessed. If that was the case, it obviously wasn't going over very well.

'You know what, you should go apologize. We'll stay here and you-'

"How about no?" Aile flatly refused, causing Espirit to sputter.

'Wha… Why not?' Espirit exclaimed, not comprehending.

"Let me get this straight. You want me to fly into the hive itself, whose members I helped attack in case you forgot, just to say sorry. That would be a very stupid idea even with an entire flock to back me up, and you want me to go in alone? Are you out of your mind!?"

'I mean… I just thought…it would mean more if…'

"Thought what? That I should be sorry for trying to get something to eat. Yeah, that's not going to happen. Not all of us can just bat our eyes and ask nicely to get what we want. Speaking of food…," at this remark, Aile fluttered towards a nearby tree that looked like it had a few Aspears on it, ending the conversation and causing Espirit to stare dejectedly at the ground on her feet. Seeing this, Louise smiled and walked over.

"Let me guess, Aile wouldn't go along with what you wanted her to do?" Louise asked, with Espirit sending a series of images into her mind. "Ah, you wanted her to apologize? I can see why she wouldn't want to do that." Espirit nodded once again, clearly disappointed.

"Can I tell you something?" Louise quietly asked. After a moment, Espirit nodded. "You can't make someone apologize, not really. Take it from me…" Louise grew quiet. "If a person doesn't want to say sorry, even if they do say it when someone makes them, they don't actually mean it. Right now, Aile isn't sorry about what she did to the Combees. Making her apologize for it wouldn't mean anything," Louise stood up and smiled.

"Besides, I honestly doubt that the Combees would be happy to see her," Louise chuckled at Espirit's knowing look. Something told her that Aile expressed similar sentiments. After a few more moments of light laughter, Louise turned around and walked over to Saito.

"Ready to go?" Saito asked, the Pokémon all going to their respective trainers.

"Yes," Louise began to walk, Saito alongside her. "How long do you think it will take?"

"Hmm, probably another hour or two, if I had to guess."

"That's good. Much better than… Hold on." Louise stopped before a flowerbed, seeing something make the flowers move. The others saw it as well and tensed, the Pokémon putting themselves in front, until a small head poked itself out. It was a small, white fairy with a yellow, flowery crown on its head, and red dots on its cheek.

"Huh, what is that?" Saito leaned in, apprehension leaving his body. He began to reach for his Pokédex, but Louise was faster. As she pulled it open, the tiny creature had risen further out of the flower bed, revealing it to be resting on a flower.

"Flabébé, the Single Bloom Pokémon. All Flabébé carry a special flower called a Fairy Flower. When a Flabébé is born, they grab the closest Fairy Flower to them. This flower then stays with the Flabébé for the rest of its life," the Pokédex's voice rang out, causing Saito's and Louise's eyebrows to raise.

'Huh, the Flabébé in the picture has a red flower, but this one has a white flower,' Louise thought to herself as she eyed the creature, thumbing a Luxury Ball on her belt. She contemplated trying to catch it, it seemed friendly enough as it chirped out a curious greeting, but as she read the typing, she put the device away.

'Nah, I don't need another Fairy-type.' Louise stood up, the head of the white flowered Flabébé to rise up with her. She could see it fully now, and to be honest it was adorable, but she already had an adorable Fairy-type. Standing, Louise began to walk away, Leaving Saito behind.

"You don't want to try and catch it?" Saito called out as he stood up.

"Don't need two Fairy-types. Feel free if you're interested," Saito heard Louise shout back. For a moment he turned to the Flabébé, his hand hovering near his Pokéball before stopping himself.

'Nah, I'm good. Not even sure how I would even train a Pokémon that small,' Saito shrugged and walked away to Louise. As the two trainers continued to walk away, the Flabébé continued to watch them for a moment before she got pulled away by the wind.

"Ah, it's so good to be back in Lumiose," Louise exclaimed, basking in the sight of the city. After another hour of uneventful travel, the two trainers finally found themselves in Lumiose City. The familiar Prism Tower was a welcome sight to see, and after spending three weeks in the city, its lights and sounds were just as relieving.

"I must say, it is definitely a relief from nothing but trees for the past few weeks," Saito nodded. "So, straight to the Gym, or do you want to see the professor first?"

"I already talked to the professor, actually. He said that he was busy finalizing the research into why the Beedrill Mega-Evolved, and as such would not be available for a few hours," Louise adopted a serious look on face, one Saito soon developed as well.

"That is definitely weird. Mind if I stick around for that explanation?" Louise nodded at this. If she had to be honest, Sycamore had already assumed he'd be there. "Well, moving on, I guess we could go to the Gym, but it's not open for a few hours. Want to do anything, or meet up later?"

"I don't—" Louise was interrupted by the sound of her stomach growling, causing her to blush. Given how, in Saito's words, Louise's breakfast was so burnt a Torkoal would have second thoughts, the two didn't eat breakfast that morning. Saito smirked and began to chuckle before his stomach growled as well.

"…Well, looks like we're both hungry," Saito stated, averting his eyes from Louise's glare. "…You've been here longer than I have. Any suggestions?"

Louise cupped her chin in thought before nodding. "There's a bakery not far from here. Professor Sycamore took me there once, and they make a nice breakfast," Louise waved her hand and began to walk away. After a moment, she stopped and beckoned him to follow. Nodding, Saito followed Louise, neither of them noticing a pair of eyes following them.

"You were right," Saito mumbled through a full mouth, much to Louise's open disgust, "these omelets are great."

"Please don't talk with your mouth full," Louise ordered. With an embarrassed blush, Saito swallowed and rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry."

"It's fine," Louise politely took a bite out of her omelet, chewed, and swallowed. "And yes, these omelets are delicious." Wiping her mouth, Louise put her utensils on her plate, signaling that she was finished. Seeing this, Saito quickly finished his breakfast as well. Signaling their waitress, the two paid and left the building.

"So, where to now?" Saito asked, his hands in his pockets.

"I guess we can—" a ringing noise erupted from Louise's pocket, interrupting her. Pulling out her Pokédex, she opened it up to see a new message notification from the Professor, which she quickly opened and began to read.

"What's it say?" Saito asked, leaning in to try and get a better look. Before he could, Louise collapsed her Pokédex and pocketed it.

"He has his preliminary findings ready, and he wants us to come down to the lab," Louise smiled. With a nod, the began to head towards the lab. The two made idle conversation along the way, mostly about their strategies for beating Clemont and what they expected to face off against. As they passed by a Pokémon Center, however, the two stopped and looked at its doors.

"You know, I just realized that we should probably take our Pokémon in to get checked before we do any fighting," Saito stated.

"You're probably right," Louise agreed. With that, the two walked in and were immediately greeted by a nurse at the counter.

"Welcome to the Pokémon Center," the pink clad nurse smiled at them. Saito smiled back and continued forward, while Louise stopped in her tracks and simply looked confused.

"…Nurse Joy?" Louise scrunched her face in confusion. "How did you get here so fast from Santalune?"

"Santalune?" the Nurse Joy lookalike squinted her eyes before snapping her fingers. "Oh, I understand. That wasn't me. My cousin runs the Pokémon Center in Santalune."

"Your…cousin? But you look exactly alike." Louise just looked even more confused, while Saito looked on with sympathy.

"All of us do, across all the regions. See," Nurse Joy pulled out a photograph from below the desk. It appeared to be a family photo, with hundreds of filling up the frame. The fact that every single one of them looked exactly the same only served to unnerve Louise greatly.

"I don't… What?" Louise's mind blanked as she stared at the picture, trying and failing to grasp any sort of understanding as to how every single female in an extended family could look practically the same. If she focused, she could see a few minute differences here and there, but for the most part they looked identical.

"Yeah, we get that a lot," the Nurse nodded. "Doesn't help that most of us run Pokémon Centers. Family tradition at this point, really." Joy's answer only served to further confuse Louise. Before she could question further, she felt a hand grasp her shoulder. Turning her head, she saw Saito look at her with sympathy. She could tell by his eyes that he once did the exact same thing.

"Louise, let it go," Saito advised, an unspoken conversation going on.

'How!?' Louise silently asked the boy.

'I stopped asking myself that years ago.' Saito silently replied. With a reluctant sigh, Louise dropped it and pulled out her Luxury Balls.

"Well, now that we got that out of the way, how can we serve you two today?"

"I have seen many things since I got here, each more fantastical than the last, and that," Louise pointed to the Pokémon Center, more specifically the person inside of it, "is the most confusing thing I have seen yet."

"I know, Louise. I know," Saito nodded.

"Seriously, is there like a farm or something? There is no natural way that they all look like that."

"People have been trying to answer that question for years, Louise. The Joy, Jenny, George, and Porter families are very tight lipped about that. Personally, my theory is that they have a cloning lab somewhere, but frankly there are more important things to worry about." Louise moved to retort but stopped and sighed, figuring he was right. Soon enough, the two walked up to the lab, and with a nod to each other, they knocked on the door. From the other side, they heard movement, the ruffling of papers and moving of chairs until the door opened, revealing a slightly unkempt Sycamore with bags under his Louise.

"Louise!" he yawned as he opened the door wider. "Come in, come in."

"Thank you, Professor…," Louise thanked the tired man as she and Saito entered the building. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, this?" Sycamore pointed to his eyes. "Just lack of sleep. Ever since your encounter with that Mega Beedrill, I've been focusing so much on that I haven't been much of it. Trying to find out why and how it happened."

"That…makes sense," Saito nodded. "You are the expert on Mega Evolution."

"Ah, you must be Saito," Sycamore offered out his hand in greeting, which Saito quickly took hold of. "Louise told me a lot about you. And how the two of you met. She can be quite a handful, can't she?"

"Hey!"

"Hah!" Saito laughed. "Yeah, she kinda is."

"HEY!"

"She grows on you though," Sycamore chuckled, which Saito nodded to as well while Louise continued to grumble about the indignation of it all. When Sycamore stopped chuckling, his face adopted a more serious expression.

"But, you two aren't here for that. Come with me, we're going to the lab." Sycamore turned and walked away, Saito and Louise quickly following. As they entered the research area, they saw a large, complicated looking machine at the far end, a familiar gem lying inside.

"That's the Beedrillite!" Louise exclaimed as she recognized the sphere. Sycamore nodded.

"It is. Viola sent it up that night for me to look at. I've been analyzing it ever since, trying to find out exactly what happened."

"Have you?" Saito questioned.

"Nothing conclusive, but I have a pretty solid theory. To fully confirm it, I needed Louise to be here, actually."

"Me?" Louise pointed to herself.

"You think her magic as something to do with it?" Sycamore looked at Saito as he asked his question.

"Hmm, so you know?"

"About the magic thing? Pretty hard to deny that after she said a word and caused an explosion. The whole other world thing I'm still on the fence about." Saito nodded in confirmation.

"Well, allow me to confirm the other world," Sycamore pressed a button, causing a screen to light up and display a image of energy readings. "I wouldn't expect either of you to understand what this is, so I'm not going to ask. These are the energy reading of a normal human being. Myself, specifically, taken from about a year ago, well before I met Louise. This was necessary to serve as a control.

This," Sycamore pressed another button, causing another image to appear alongside the old. Saito and Louise gasped as they noticed it was much more chaotic. Alarmingly so. "This, is a reading of Louise, taken the day after we met."

"What… What is it saying?" Louise leaned forward, while Saito remained motionless.

"It's as I said. It's a confirmation of your being from another world," Sycamore stared forward at the images. "Saito, are you familiar with the concept of a multiverse?"

"I…yes?" Saito quickly glanced at Louise, who continued to stare at Sycamore, rapt in attention.

"Good, then I can get straight to the point. Between each universe, there is a boundary between them. We call this boundary 'Ultra Space', which was recently discovered by researchers in the Alola Region. I've been in contact with Professor Burnet, an expert in the area, and she explained to me that there is evidence that people and Pokémon have traveled through Ultra Space before. People who did so emitted similar energy signatures as Ultra Wormholes, gateways between Ultra Space and our world. Louise, the fact that you emit the exact same is proof that you travelled through Ultra Space."

"Okay, she fell through an Ultra Wormhole. How does that prove she's from another world? I've heard of other people who have ended up going through them and coming back out, but I haven't heard anything about people from other worlds coming through," Saito mumbled to himself, with Sycamore patting his shoulder.

"Wait, so your saying that me going through Ultra Space caused it to Mega Evolve?" Louise raised her eyebrow, to which Sycamore shook his head.

"Not exactly. This is actually where I needed you to help. If you can cast an explosion over there," he pointed to a contained area with thick glass. It almost looked like a firing range. Louise nodded and entered the range, closing the door behind her. Putting on some safety goggles and ear protectors, she pulled out her wand and shouted a word, aiming at the far end. Her voice was blocked by the thick walls of the range, but they could hear the muffled explosion even from here. At Sycamore's urging, currently focused on a monitor, Louise casted a few more muffled explosions until the professor beckoned her to stop.

"Well?" she asked as she exited the sealed room.

"These are only preliminary, and I will need more time to fully analyze it," Sycamore continued to read the data, "but from I can see, it looks like my theory is right." Turning in his chair, Sycamore rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward.

"It wasn't just the Ultra Energy your body was emitting. It was your Void Magic as well."

"My magic did this?" Louise flinched back.

"Partially," Sycamore clarified. "Whatever Void Magic is, it disrupts normal energy signatures and bonds. Thermodynamics, electromagnetism, whatever it is, Void Magic modifies or, pardon the pun, voids it," Sycamore's voice began to rise in excitement, along with his body.

"Every time you make an explosion, Louise, you aren't simply creating an explosion out of nothing. Your splitting an atom, disrupting the electromagnetic forces that bind the particles together. If I'm correct, and based off of what you told me, your world's magic operates by manipulating the atoms themselves. I think your magic can stop that manipulation by disrupting the fundamental forces that bind them together!"

"Okay…" Louise's eyes widened. 'Going to look into that later…', she thought, but she recognized the beginning of a ramble. "How does that explain why the Beedrill Mega-Evolved?"

"Oh, right. Simply put, Louise, the combination of your body emitting Ultra Energy, the disruptive effects of Void Magic, and spending a week in close proximity with you caused the Mega Stone to mistake you for a Key Stone, and then it activated!"

"And once she left, it stopped," Saito concluded.

"Precisely!" Sycamore threw his arms into the air in excitement while Louise slumped down into a chair. Rubbing her forehead, Louise sighed.

"Okay, so me and my magic caused it to happen. How do we make sure that it doesn't happen in the future?"

"Still working on that, but I believe that so long as there is another Key Stone in the area, and the Mega Stone hasn't been in prolonged direct contact with you, you should be fine."

"What if I want to use Mega Evolution, though? I have a Ralts now, and both of their fully evolved forms can Mega Evolve." Sycamore cupped his chin at Louise's question, deep in thought.

"I don't have an answer for that yet, unfortunately. For now, if you find any Mega Stones, I want you to send them to me. Do not keep them on you until I can find a better solution. Sorry."

"It's fine," Louise stood up and smiled. "Thank you, Professor."

"No problem, Louise. I take it you two are heading to the Gym now?"

"Correct, sir," Saito responded.

"Well, I wish the both of you the best of luck. I know Clemont, and he will prove to be quite a challenge."

"Not going to make that mistake again," Louise mumbled under her breath before beginning to leave, "I'll see you after the battle, Professor. With any luck, I'll win and head on to the next Gym tomorrow."

"Well, you two are welcome to stay with me over the night," Sycamore offered, to which Saito politely shook his head.

"I… Thank you, sir. I'd be honored," Saito quickly accepted. He'd been planning on staying in a hotel or the Pokémon Center, but there was no way he'd pass up on a chance to stay with the Regional Professor.

"Understandable," Sycamore nodded. At that, the two trainers nodded their heads respectfully and made their way out of the lab, Sycamore's Garchomp providing a welcome escort.

"So," Saito began as they left Sycamore's lab, "do we head to the Gym together, or go our separate ways?"

"Well, what's your plan?"

"I was just going to take a cab. I've never been in this city before, so I'm not even going to attempt trying to walk there," at Saito's admission, Louise developed a sly grin.

"Well, I do have experience in walking around in Lumiose. I bet I can get us there."

"Uh-huh. Right… If it's all the same to you, I'm just going to take a cab. You can walk there if you want." Louise pouted at Saito's refusal before standing upright.

"You know what, I will. I will prove to you that I can get there on my own," Louise haughtily raised her head. "In fact, I bet I'll get there first." Saito let out an amused chuckle.

"Sure, I'll let you do that. First one to the gym wins, deal?" Saito stretched out his hand, which Louise grasped and shook. With a nod, she turned and walked away, leaving Saito behind.

Hello, everyone! Here is the latest chapter of Outsiders! Louise and Saito have gotten back to Lumiose and have gotten an answer in regards to a question everyone has had for the past 2 episodes: How did the Beedrill Mega-Evolve? The answer? Combination of Void Magic, Ultra Energy, and just plain being around it unshielded for a week. Now, onto the Q&A:

Pacer287: Espirit represents a few different things about Louise. In particular, Espirit does indeed represent Louise's lack of Self Confidence in herself. As you can probably see, Espirit is a powerful Pokémon, but she is not all that confident in her battle abilities. Just like how Louise, despite her bluster, is not confident in her magical abilities in ZnT canon. At the same time, Espirit is also the caring side of Louise, especially towards the people she cares about. As you can see, Espirit is very much the mother of the group, a role she will grow into more as time goes on.

Thanos Cradik: Glad to see you over here! We are almost caught up with the Spacebattles thread, just a few more chapters. At that point, these daily updates will cease and turn into a weekly update schedule. And yes, a Wild Pokémon, much less a Beginner Trainer without the time to consult the Move List, would not know the names of the moves. She just had to guess.

PokemonFan93: Louise was succumbing to a large amount of bias there, both in terms of what would have happened to her and her experiences with Elizabeth. In short, she was projecting. There are perfectly good collectors out there, Louise just hasn't met them yet. As for why Espirit trusted her so quickly, Espirit wanted positive human companionship, and with her empathic abilities was able to see that Louise's intentions towards her were pure. Coupled with trying to protect her from the collector meant that Louise earned her trust and she decided to go with her. Espirit is French for "Mind", and since Ralts is a Psychic type, we felt it fit. And yes, Gardevoir is a beast. One of my favorite mons.

That concludes this chapter. Stay tuned tomorrow for the next chapter of Outsiders!