Outsiders (Pokémon/ZnT Reverse Summon)
Season 1, Episode 6, Chapter 1
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"Thanks once again for letting me stay, Professor," Saito smiled towards Sycamore outside of the Versant Gate. It was early in the morning, though thankfully not at the crack of dawn like Louise had been making them do lately. He figured she must have learned the value of good sleep.
"It's not problem, Saito," Sycamore nodded. "You are always welcome here. Now, do you two know exactly what your plan is?"
"Of course," Louise began, her backpack filled to the brim, only in a more manageable state. "It should take about a week to travel down Versant Road and reach Camphrier Town, assuming there are no delays. Saito and I discussed it—"
"You insisted, and I eventually relented," Saito butted in, only to be silenced by a glare.
"As I was saying, before we head out for Cyllage, we are going to stop by Parfum Palace."
"Curious as to how nobility here compares to back home?" Sycamore smiled, causing Louise to smile back and nodded. Saito, on the other hand, remained silent and deep in denial.
"Come on, Louise. We best get going," Saito insisted while adjusting his backpack. "Once noon hits, we aren't going to make much progress." Louise moved to protest but, realizing he was right, sighed and nodded.
"Take care, you two," Sycamore bid them farewell. Louise turned away and walked a few steps, only to pause, turn around, and quickly give the professor a quick hug before quickly walking back. Sycamore smiled to himself before waving them off. The two teenagers waved back before walking away. As they disappeared, Sycamore put his hands in his coat pockets and walked back into Lumiose. He still had work to do.
"Still messing with that new Pokédex?" Saito asked as he and Louise sat beneath a tree. He was right, once the noon sun rose above them their progress slowed to a standstill. Weighed down by the heat and sweat, they had no choice but to take a water break underneath a large tree. Wiping away a sheen of sweat, Saito took a gulp of water before going back to making their lunch.
"Yes," Louise nodded, her eyes never leaving her new Pokédex. Unlike the last one, this model was much smaller. Rectangular and solid, it was encased in a thick body of pink plastic, with two buttons on the right side and a d-pad on the other. The top corners of the device held additional buttons as well.
"I can see that," Saito chuckled as he finished up the sandwiches. Holding one out to Louise, she set the Pokédex down and began eating, following his lead. "So, I'm curious. What exactly is so different about that Pokédex than the one before?"
"Besides being easier to handle?" Louise asked. Taking Saito's smile as an answer, Louise continued. "Mostly just minor improvements, really. Smaller, more compact. Runs faster, too. But, now I got an actual phone and a training guide."
"Guide? What does that mean?"
"It means that the Pokédex can tell me what my Pokémon's strengths and weaknesses are and what moves they can learn. That way, I can better plan out their training regime. Granted, it's more of a species wide guide, but still."
"Ah, I see," Saito nodded and finished up his sandwich. "I don't think mine has that option."
"Professor Sycamore said it was a new feature and that mine is a prototype he'd been working on."
"So that's why he didn't offer me one?" Saito gazed upwards in realization. Louise looked at him in confusion, but he waved her off. "Nah, I'm not mad. Besides, I'm fine with the one I have now." Saito stood up and dusted himself off. "Now, want to put that training guide to use?"
"Heh, read my mind," Louise smiled and stood up as well. "Train for an hour or two then head on out?"
In the hour that followed, Louise and Saito both gained a new appreciation for the Pokedex's training guide. What before would have taken them three hours to do was now cut down significantly. Turns out being able to more easily spot a Pokémon's natural strengths and weaknesses was a real blessing. Coupled with their natural tendency to spot flaws in their Pokémon's performance, suffice to say that the two were please with their training session.
All the Pokémon were getting some work done. Aile continued to practice her dodging at high speeds while Brennaraki practiced her aim on fast moving targets. The grace she showed was as impeccable as ever but dodging and turning were still difficult for the Fletchling while Brennaraki had trouble aiming ahead, tending to aim where the bird was. Espirit, meanwhile, practiced by psychically lifting rocks and stacking them on top of each other in midair, not to mention using Heal Pulse on any injuries. The Ralts seemed to take a shine to that aspect, something that Louise noticed and decided to focus on.
Saito's Pokémon stayed within their group. Tanuki and Ronin originally spared together while Maindo remained on his lonesome. That changed with Saito tried to get him to train with the others, to which he responded by hurling a rock towards the other two Pokémon. They responded by throwing themselves at the laughing Ralts, turning the spar into a two on one brawl. To his credit, Maindo performed extremely well and seeing he was finally interacting with the others, Saito allowed it.
'Wish he would get along with the others, though,' he sighed as he watched over the battle, taking in Maindo's fighting style as he and the other Pokémon fought. He seemed to be almost like a guerilla fighter. Rather than go for big, fancy moves like Tanuki or precise blade and water attacks like Ronin, Maindo seemed to be of the mind to harass his opponents repeatedly. Any time they got close to him, it usually turned out to be an illusion and he would insult them, which in term made them mad and attack him again. He'd then use their enraged and unfocused state to hit them with a few attacks, usually by hurling them into one another, only to teleport away once they got close. To be honest, it was rather brilliant, but every so often he'd get too caught up in the insults and get hit as a result, and although he could hit hard, his ability to take a hit was not so high.
After Ronin managed to finally hit Maindo with an Air Slash, Saito decided to call it. "Alright, that's enough," he announced. The three Pokémon all looked at him then each other before complying, but not without a grumble. "Ronin, Tanuki, you two need to work on managing your emotions. You often let your anger get the better of you, which Maindo here exploited." The two Pokémon glared at the smug Ralts, but a cough from Saito redirected their attention. "Maindo, you need to let up on the insults while in combat. Harassing your opponent to make them angry is fine, brilliant even, but when you focused too much on the insults you allowed Tanuki and Ronin to get some hits in." Maindo glared at Saito while Tanuki and Ronin smirked. With a huff, and before Saito could get another word in, Maindo teleported away, still within eyesight. Sighing, Saito beckoned his Pokémon to follow him to Espirit, who quickly healed them. Maindo, rather than join them, merely glared all by himself while nursing his wounds. When Espirit saw this, he turned his head away, causing her to frown. After a moment, she took a deep breath and walked over to him.
'You're hurt,' she calmly stated, not showing any emotion. Maindo, rather than turn to face her, kept his back to her. Shaking her head, Espirit walked up to him and placed her hand on his back. He flinched at the contact, only to die down as a soothing glow enveloped him. After a few moments, the glow died down and Espirit stepped back. 'You're welcome.' With that, Espirit turned around and walked back to the others, leaving Maindo alone once again.
'…Hmph,' Maindo grunted and stood up. Dusting himself off, teleported onto a tree branch, careful to keep distant from the others, only for the branch snap and break underneath him. He landed with a thud, and as the other Pokémon laughed at him, he grumbled.
Their training session over, and with the air noticeably cooler than it was earlier, the two trainers set off once again. Having opted to walk around with only light amounts of Repel, they were accosted by a few wild Pokémon. Mostly Bunnelbys and Furfrous, although there was a Doduo that was apparently arguing with itself over something and a Gulpin who happily ate all the trash the pair had on them, but overall this leg of the trip was uneventful.
"How much further do you think we can go?" Louise asked, adjusting her backpack. Her shoulders were starting to feel sore and her legs were starting to burn, not to mention the sun would be going down soon.
"Probably another two hours. Otherwise we'd be walking at night, and I don't think either of us want that," Saito pointed out, his body much less tired than Louise's.
"Thank you." They continued in comfortable silence, neither having anything to say, only to suddenly stop as they heard some rustling.
"You hear that?" Saito slowly reached for his belt, Louise doing the same.
"I did." When the rustling was heard again, the two turned towards the source. It turned out to be coming from a large flowerbed surrounding a bush, and as the two slowly crept towards the sound, the rustling intensified. The two trainers hastily pulled out a Pokéball, preparing themselves for battle, only for two creatures to emerge. They were both mouse like, their bodies covered in cream fur, possessing colored spots on their cheeks and large colored ears, topped off with a small tail. They would have looked identical, were it not for one key difference. One was red, the other blue. Recognizing this as a new species and seeing how it was currently smiling and waving at them happily, the two trainers clipped their Pokéballs and Louise pulled out her Pokédex.
"Plusle, the Cheering Pokémon. Native to the Hoenn region, Plusle's emit sparks through its hands to create pom-poms they use to cheer on their friends. They are closely related to the Minun species."
"Minun, the Cheering Pokémon. Caring more about its teammates than itself, a Minun's electrical current can promote blood circulation. They are closely related to the Plusle species."
As the Pokédex sounded off, Louise noticed a key icon on her screen.
"These aren't wild," she declared, stopping Saito from pulling a Pokéball out. As he leaned over to look at her Pokédex, she pointed to a Pokéball icon over the image. "Sycamore explained to me last night that this icon meant that the scanned Pokémon was currently owned. We can't catch them."
"Ah, man," Saito sighed. Getting over his disappointment quickly, Saito began looking around in search of their trainers. Not seeing them, he knelt to the two mice. "You two lost?"
The two Pokémon squeaked and shook their heads. "Where are they?" Louise knelt as well, concerned for their well-being. The Plusle and Minun giggled and pointed behind them. "They're over there?" They nodded her question and began to walk away. For a moment, Louise stayed there, contemplating her next action.
"… We're going with them, aren't we?"
"Obviously," Louise stood up and started after them. With an exasperates sigh, Saito followed. One of these days he'd get used to this.
The two trainers followed the Plusle and Minun into a nearby grove, one much less dense than Santalune. Not a single Pokémon attacked them, nor did they hear any. Idly, the two wondered as to why this was the case, only for them to start hearing the answer.
"What is that?" Louise wondered aloud as the noise got louder. Exiting the grove, she was greeted by a strange sight. Rather than more grass, flowers, or trees, like she had been expecting, they were instead greeted by concrete open-air enclosure, surrounded by a wire fence. Inside the enclosure were several ramps and metal bars. The strangest sight, however, were the people racing along those ramps and bars on bicycles and other…things she wasn't quite sure of.
"Oh wow, a skate park!" Saito gushed, inadvertently answering Louise's next question. "Didn't know Versant Road had one!"
"Only been open for a few months" a feminine voice replied. Turning their attention over, Louise and Saito saw two teenagers around their age, one male and the other female. Twins by the look of it, with both having identical blond hair and blue eyes. The girl was taller than the boy, and the two were both wearing yellow and black sports attire along with similarly colored helmets and pads.
"Oh, who might you—" Saito was cut off as the Plusle and Minun rushed passed him and leapt onto the athletes' legs, clutching them tightly. "I'm going to take a wild guess and say that they're yours."
"They are," the boy nodded and kneeled. "Minun, you need to stop wandering off like that."
"The same goes for you, Plusle," the girl chastised lightly before smiling. "Thank you both for finding them. They like to wander off, sometimes."
"No problem at all," Louise nodded. "They seem like very kind Pokémon."
"They do like people," the girl chuckled. "Well, I'm Toni, this is my brother Hawk," the boy lightly waved and smiled. "We're regulars around here."
"I'm Saito, this is Louise," the two smiled.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance," Louise nodded, polite as ever.
"Same to you. Never seen you two around here before. First timers?"
"Just passing through on our way to Camphrier Town," Louise shook her head and Saito nodded.
"I see," Hawk cupped his chin and nodded. "You two gonna stick around for a bit? This is a public skate park, and we're always happy to see new faces." Saito broke out into an excited smile, only to be shot down by Louise' slow shaking of her head.
"Unfortunately, we can't. We have to get to Camphrier Town." Before Louise could continue, Saito frantically waved, drawing her irritated attention.
"Not right away," he protested. At this, Louise pulled him away from the twins, hoping to get some semblance for privacy.
"What are you doing?" she demanded to know.
"Louise, come on," he sighed and shook his head. "There's no real rush, and we're allowed to have some fun every now and then."
"I don't…" Louise started, but upon seeing his begging expression, looked down and sighed. "Okay, fine. We'll stay. But we're heading out first thing in the morning, got it?"
"That works for me," he happily nodded. As he began walking over to the skate park, he stopped once he noticed that Louise was standing in place, fidgeting to herself. After a moment of confusion, he smirked as he realized the cause of her predicament. "It's okay to be nervous."
"I'm not nervous!" Louise suddenly shouted, blushing from embarrassment while Saito merely smirked. This only served to make her angrier, much to Saito's amusement. With a huff, she turned her head and walked past him towards the rental area, leaving him and the slightly confused twins behind.
"…Is she always…?" Toni began, only to be waved off by Saito.
"Yeah, but she starts to grow on you over time."
Admittedly, it had been a few years since Saito had rollerbladed in any shape or form. Even then, he mostly stuck to the basics, preferring to just cruise around with a few minor tricks here and there. Still, knowing his limits, he had strapped on a pair of blue roller skates, pads and helmet, figuring it would easier than jumping onto a skateboard. After a few wipeouts, mostly in the first half hour, he was finally able to get a handle on things and was now confidently cruising like he did when he was younger. Wanting to let his Pokémon in on the fun, he had let them out earlier as well. Tanuki was again proving his skill, using Aura manipulation to reduce friction on his heels and skate around like a figure skater participating in the X-Games. Ronin, meanwhile, used his scalchop as a makeshift skateboard, mostly doing grinds and kickflips. Maindo, however, was sitting on the sidelines watching everyone else, occasionally calling out 'encouragement' to passersby while drinking a can of lemonade he somehow managed to find, causing Saito to sigh.
"What am I going to do with you," he silently mused before deciding to try and find Louise. "Wonder how she's doing?"
"Stupid things!" she shouted, answering his question. Silently chuckling, Saito turned to look at Louise, currently grasping hold of nearby wall to stay upright, only barely succeeding. Like him, she was decked out in pink roller skates, pads and helmet, but unlike him, she hadn't yet fully grasped exactly how to stay upright.
"Need some help over there?" Saito asked, rolling over to her.
"No!" she angrily shouted, frustration filling her. "I got this…" Defiantly, she let go of the wall and pushed herself forward, her arms out wide and body wobbling. After a few seconds of not falling over, she smugly smiled and put her hands on her hips.
"See?" she puffed out her chest, causing Saito to chuckle. With newfound confidence, she took a step forward, only for her foot to slip out from under her. "AHH!" she screamed and fell over, landing flat on her back. Groaning for but a moment, she turned red and began flailing in anger, causing Saito to laugh.
"This is your fault!" she accused, slowly pushing herself off the ground.
"How is this my fault?" Saito asked, more amused then anything.
"It just is!" Louise almost lost her balance, but Saito caught her before she could. "…thank you."
"No problem," Saito smiled. "My offer still stands."
"I told you, I don't need any help," Louise pushed away from him and slowly made her way to the edge. "You keep going. I'm done."
Saito frowned as she wobbled away. This was supposed to be fun for both of them. Deciding that something must be done, Saito skated over to Louise and took hold of her shoulders.
"What are you doing!?" she shouted in surprise.
"Helping you," he answered. "Relax. This is easy once you get used to it. Please, let me help."
"…fine," she huffed.
"Thank you. Now the trick is to slide your feet and shift your body as you move…"
"I'm doing it! Saito, I'm doing it!" Louise shouted with glee as she slowly glided across the ground. Saito, sitting down on a bench, smiled at her, happy she was finally having fun.
"See, I told you. It's easy." He gulped down some water and continued to watch her. In the end, it didn't take that long to teach her the basics, just another half hour. She still fell down every now and then, much more than he did at least, but at least she was finally having fun.
"Hey, she finally got it," Toni stated as she and her brother sat down next to Saito. "Always good to see people skating for the first time."
"Yeah," Saito smiled looking at the now descending sun. His smile turned into a frown as he realized they had lost track of time. "Drat, sun's going down. Louise, we got to go!"
"Oh, come on! I just got a hang of this!"
"You want to set up camp by moonlight?" Louise went silent at Saito's question before grumbling and skating over to him. Taking off her roller blades, pads, and helmet, she put back on her boots and walked away to return the equipment.
"Aw, you two leaving already?" Hawk asked, sounding slightly disappoint.
"Yeah, it's getting late and the sooner we set up camp, the better." Saito nodded and stood up as Louise walked back. "Well, it was nice meeting you two, but we got to get going." The two trainers nodded and began making their way out of the skate park, only for the two skater twins to stand up with them.
"Hey, before you guys go," Toni began, "you two are trainers, right?"
"Yes, actually," Louise answered and nodded. "We're actually on our way to Cyllage to challenge the Gym there."
"Oh, cool!" Hawk exclaimed, bringing his fists up to his chest. "Well, sis and I were talking about it, and have you two ever had a Tag Battle?"
"Tag Battle?" Louise wondered what that meant.
"It's when two trainers battle on the same team with one Pokémon each," Saito answered, understanding where this was going.
Toni smiled. "You guys up for one?"
Saito and Louise looked at each other, trying to read the other's thoughts. The Sun was going down, but they had at least another hour before dusk hit. Plus, this was a new experience for them both, one they were eager to try. The two silently nodded in mutual understanding and turned their heads back to the twins.
"We'd be happy to," Louise declared.
As it turned out, the skate park housed a battling arena as well, like the one surrounding Professor Sycamore's lab, albeit one with more of a sports theme to it.
"This will be a two on two match, elimination by knockout," Hawk yelled out from across the arena. An audience had already formed on the spectator stands, eager to see a battle and excitedly murmuring to themselves. "Have you two decided on your Pokémon?"
"We have," Louise took out a Luxury Ball, as did Saito. "Release at the same time?"
"Of course," Toni smiled as she and Hawk pulled Pokéballs of their own. The two groups stared silently at each other, sizing them up and attempting to ascertain their intentions. Then, as if some invisible signal was sent, they all sprang into action.
"Plusle! Minun!" the skater twins shouted out, releasing the Cheering Pokémon onto the arena.
"Espirit! Maindo" Louise and Saito shouted as well, releasing the two Ralts. Espirit was excited, eager to prove herself, while Maindo looked as disinterested as ever.
For Louise, it wasn't hard to chose Espirit. She had her for quite some time now, and after considerable training, both felt that the time was right for a trial run. Maindo, on the other hand, was harder for Saito to justify. He hadn't made any progress at all in getting him to listen, and Louise had threatened to replace Espirit with another Pokémon if he was chosen, but in the end they both decided that this might be an opportunity to get Maindo to finally listen.
"Please listen, for once," Saito quietly begged, but when Maindo rolled his eyes he sighed. Shaking his head, he readied himself for battle. "Alright then. Maindo, use Shadow Sneak!"
"Espirit, Misty Terrain!" Both trainers shouted their commands. Espirit concentrated until a pink glow surrounded her. The glow spread out and enveloped the arena in a pink, soothing mist. At the same time, Maindo's shadow began to move by itself, only to slightly jump up five feet away, no closer to his opponents.
'Dammit, Maindo! Take this seriously!' Saito grit his teeth at the disobedient display while Louise and Espirit frowned. The twins, seeing an opening, jumped at the chance.
"Minun, use Thunder Wave on Maindo!"
"Plusle, Electro Ball on Espirit!"
Sparks began to emit from Plusle and Minun's electrical sacs, but while Minun's immediately discharged and arced towards Maindo, still standing still, Plusle's electrical energy swirled around his tail. Spinning around, the electricity coalesced into a sphere, one that hurtled towards Espirit.
Reacting immediately, Espirit jumped out of the way, only feeling a few tingles from isolated shocks. Maindo, however, remained unmoved. Rather than actively participate, he was instead checking his nails, or at least acting like he was.
"Maindo, move!" Saito shouted, which his Ralts ignored. As the electricity neared Maindo, however, it suddenly dissipated, leaving Maindo untouched.
"Wha?" Hawk looked confused while Maindo looked smug.
"Misty Terrain stops status conditions from happening," Louise pointed out. "Espirit, use Confusion!"
Taking the chance, Espirit concentrated on the still confused Minun, who suddenly recoiled and clutched his head from the psychic attack. Gritting his teeth, Minun shot out several glowing stars form her mouth towards Espirit. Attempting to dodge the attacks, Espirit bobbed and weaved past them, only for the dodged attacks to circle around and strike her anyway. With a pained grunt, she pushed herself off the ground and unleashed a Disarming Voice. The cuteness of her cry momentarily stunned the two as they flinched in pain.
"Maindo, help her out with Shadow Ball!" Saito ordered. With an audible sigh, Maindo created a small black orb, pulsating with sparks. It only got to the size of a golf ball before he flicked it out towards the dumbfounded mice who merely stepped aside and watched as the orb harmlessly passed by them and hit the ground. A small amount of dust poofed up, but otherwise nothing happened.
"Grrgh," Saito growled while Maindo laughed. Toni and Hawk looked at each other and smirked.
"Looks like he's not going to be a problem. Guys, focus on Espirit!" Louise's, Saito's, and Espirit's eyes all widened at the proclamation while Plusle and Minun smirked menacingly.
"Plusle, Charge Beam!"
"Minun, Helping Hand!"
Taking Plusle's hand, Minun began to spark as electrical energy flowed into Plusle. At the same time, Plusle sparked as well, the added electricity from Minun boosting hers. Sparks shot out wildly, scorching small amounts of the arena where they contacted, until finally Plusle concentrated the sparks into a single small orb. The orb then exploded into a thin line of electrical energy as it shot out towards Espirit, who was beginning to panic and was frozen in fear.
"Double Team!" Louise suddenly shouted out, breaking Espirit from her panic. She quickly split apart, forming several copies of herself. The Charge Beam speared one of the copies, dissipating it into a cloud of smoke. It impacted the arena wall, causing a nearby light to short out and explode from the electrical discharge.
"Is that going to be…?" Louise numbly pointed a shaking finger at the dead light, concerned for both her opponents and the powerful attack potentially hitting Espirit.
"Nah, happens all the time here," Toni waved her arms, not worried in the slightest. "Anyway… Plusle, keep going!"
At Toni's command, more Charge Beams shot out, each as powerful as the first. Creating more doppelgangers, Espirit spammed Double Team to avoid the blasts.
'You got to fight back sometime, you know,' Maindo helpfully pointed out as he idly watched the battle, not doing a thing.
'Good idea. How about you show you me how?' Espirit barked back as she continued to dodge. Minun at this point had let go of Plusle's hand and was now actively participating as well. Using Quick Attack, he sped towards Espirit and struck her on the side, throwing her to the ground. Seeing another Electro Ball forming, this time from Minun, she attempted to roll out of the way of the oncoming sphere, for her to be hurled away from the ensuring explosion. Flying through the air, she landed in a heap at Maindo's feet, an amused expression on his face.
'Nah, you got this. You have 'em on the ropes!'
'… This is why no one likes you.' Espirit dryly retorted.
'I'll have you know that plenty of Pokémon like me,' Maindo replied with a wicked smile. When they heard another crackle of electricity, Espirit paled and turned her head around. Seeing how Plusle was now holding Minun's hand, and with an extremely large Electro Ball forming on her tail, Espirit did the only thing she could think of. Splitting herself into multiple copies once again, the real her moved as far away from the attack as possible as it hurtled towards her former position at high speeds. Maindo barely had a moment to react before the ball struck him, sending him flying back into the arena wall hard enough to form a small crater. A dust cloud formed around him, obscuring him from view, as Saito and Louise looked on in worry.
"Maindo!" Saito screamed as he prepared to rush over to his Pokémon, only for the dust cloud to be violently pushed aside by a large Shadow Ball. It zoomed across the arena, striking a surprised Minun straight in the face and send her hurtling back. The combatants all looked towards Maindo, slowly marching forward, a dark aura enveloping him.
'Okay,' he calmly stated, masking the fury he was feeling rather poorly. 'Now I'm pissed.' Before anyone could respond, Maindo teleported and reappeared at Plusle's face. He barely squeaked out in surprise before Maindo struck him with a point-blank Shadow Ball. Attempting to defend her partner, Minun attacked with Swift, only for Maindo to psychically lift Plusle and use him as a shield, blocking most of the attacks. One still got through, and with a pained grunt, he threw Plusle onto Minun.
Getting to his feet, Plusle sent out a Charge Beam, only for Maindo to teleport a few feet away. His shadow quickly moved across the ground on its own before stopping at Plusle's feet. A ghostly mass jumped out of it, delivering an uppercut and throwing Plusle upwards. At the top of his arc, Maindo grabbed him and slammed him into the ground. Minun attempted to get up as well, only to be struck by a Confusion launched by Espirit, who had finally decided to jump back into the fray.
'Oh, look who finally decided to fight back,' Maindo taunted, teleporting out of the way of another Charge Beam. Raising his hands, pale blue balls of ghostly fire formed before he threw them at Plusle, striking him in the chest and leaving a painful burn. He attempted to get up, but the burn, coupled with the earlier damage, prevented him from doing so, and he collapsed in a heap.
'Hi, Weedle. Meet Caterpie!' Espirit barked back as she used a Heal Pulse on her teammate. Attempting to blindside her, Minun sped forward with Quick Attack, only to be halted as Maindo psychically held him in place. He began to bombard the Cheering Pokémon's mind with Confusion, causing her to thrash in pain before Espirit finished her off with Disarming Voice.
'Does it look like I care what you think?' Maindo unceremoniously dropped Minun to the ground and walked away. Espirit frowned before using Heal Pulse on Minun. She thanked her before Espirit moved on to Plusle, performing the same action with him.
"Drat," Toni shook her head and sighed, disappointed in the outcome. "Congratulations, you two. Saito, man. That Ralts of yours is strong."
"He is, wish he listened more, though." Saito sighed. "Still, good job, Maindo." Maindo merely huffed in annoyance before plopping down, directing a vaguely rude gesture with his hands at him at the same time. Saito lightly frowned at his Pokémon's behavior, but otherwise did nothing. Louise, on the other hand, was having much greater luck with her Pokémon.
"You did so good!" Louise congratulated a bashful Espirit while giving her a deep hug. An idea briefly popped into Saito's head, but one surprisingly deep growl from Maindo squashed it.
"What am I going to do with you?" Saito sighed and rubbed the back of his head.
"It was nice meeting you two," Hawk stated as he and Saito shook hands. They were outside of the skate park now, with all the attendants filing out and heading off in assorted directions.
"Likewise," Saito nodded. "Will you two be doing the Gym challenge?"
"Nah, not our thing," Toni waved them off. "Good luck to you two, though. We're rooting for ya."
"Thank you," Louise smiled before turning away with a wave, Saito doing the same. As the two walked further and further away from the skate park, Toni and Hawk smiled to themselves and turned the other way, plopping down their skateboards, and began skating home.
"Always nice to see friends traveling together," Toni cooed and Hawk smiled.
[~][~]
Hello, everyone! Here is the latest chapter of Outsiders! Sorry for not updating yesterday. Things got hectic, my dog had to be taken to the vet, and things slipped my mind. Anyway, not much of major importance happened here, but I never believe in a wasted chapter. So, we got some needed characterization for everyone, including our favorite asshole, Maindo. Plus, we got our first Tag Battle, which is something that we wanted to try out.
Now, onto the Q&A:
Fate: Yes, Elizabeth was meant to be a foil to Louise, hence why she is her rival. I will admit, I do not like the overuse of OCs in stories, as most of the time they tend to be blatant Mary or Gary Stus that also serve as Self-Inserts. But there are cases where an OC would fill a story's role better than a canon character, and Elizabeth is a perfect example of this. All Pokémon journey stories need a good rival, and a good rival always, in some way, is a dark reflection of the hero. Case in point, the best rival we ever got in the Pokémon Anime, Paul. He was so good as a rival because he was the exact opposite of Ash in terms of training and outlook, and couldn't have his methods be dismissed because they actually worked for him. Elizabeth is indeed a dark reflection of Louise in terms of showing how she could have turned out. Louise very well could have turned into a spoiled brat who used her family's name to get whatever she wanted, but she didn't. You are also right that Elizabeth, especially at the beginning, represents the bad kind of nobility, while Louise represents the good kind.
PokemonFan93: Yep, Louise here is a classical tsundere. Part of that is those sort of comments. And yes, that Zorua was indeed a foreshadow for Elizabeth's Pokémon. She does indeed have room to improve, and Pokémon, as with many people in this franchise, will serve as a catalyst. And yes, Espirit is the perfect voice of reason for them. Again, she is the Team Mom. She kind of has to be.
Ki Dalang Samezu: Glad to hear it! I'm glad I was able to keep your interest! And yes, I loved writing Machamp. He's one of my favorites as well. And how Saito deals with Maindo will be a key part of both of their arcs.
Anyway, that is the latest chapter. Tomorrow we will be officially caught up, and then we move onto a weekly update schedule. Now, before I go, I want to send you off with a special treat by Catboy41. A "what if" omake. This is Non-Canon, by the way, but he enjoyed it and so did we and the post on Spacebattles.
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Omake: Prepare for Trouble and Make it Double!
"AHHHHHHH!" Several voices suddenly screamed, as a pile of two humans and four Pokémon collapsed in a heap in front of where Saito, Louise, and their Pokémon were eating lunch.
"Where did they come from!?" Saito gasped.
"Never mind that," Louise said, Esprit standing by her side and preparing a Heal Pulse. "Um, excuse me! Do you need help?"
"Huh?" As one, the people and Pokémon looked up. Louise and Saito pulled out their PokéDexes, curious.
"Meowth, the Scratch Cat Pokémon," Louise's PokéDex announced, showing an image of the cat-like Pokémon at the bottom of the pile. "It can stand on two legs like a human, and enjoys collecting coins. It is known for it's signature move, Pay Day, which summons money to attack it's foes."
'...It attacks it's foes with...money? Wait, if it can create money, how is the economy not broken?' Louise wondered.
"Wobbufett, the Patient Pokémon. Wobbuffet stands and endures any attack that comes it's way, but it will fiercely defend it's tail. It is incapable of performing any offensive attacks, but is capable of using both Mirror Coat and Counter to great effect," Saito's PokéDex explained, showing an image of the blue, blob-like Pokémon that was also in the pile.
The people and Pokémon then jumped out of the pile and stood straight up, allowing Louise and Saito to get a better look at the other two Pokémon - a strange doll-like Pokémon that looked like a fake Pikachu, and a purple Pokémon with blue tentacles growing from it's head.
"No Data," both of their PokéDexes announced, causing the trainers to glance at each other inshock.
"We don't need any help, this happens all the time!" A man with blue hair, clad in white clothing with a bright red 'R' on his shirt, explained. The R-symbol looked strangely familiar to Saito, but he couldn't quite place it.
"Say, where are we?" The Meowth - surprisingly - spoke up.
"A talking Pokémon!?" Louise and Saito gasped. Saito because he had never heard of such athing, and Louise because the last talking Pokémon she met was...Arceus.
'Is this Pokémon a...Legendary Pokémon!?' She thought in shock. Esprit, who had picked up on her thoughts, fell over laughing for some reason.
"Yes, yes, talking Meowth, big shock," the other human, a tall woman with long, red hair, wearing a feminine version of the man's outfit, scoffed. "Now answer the question."
"Um...you're on Route 5. Versant Road."
"In the Kalos Region!?" The talking members of the group gasped.
"How did we end up all the way here from Alola?" The blue-haired man wondered.
"That doesn't matter right now," the Meowth declared, pointing towards Brennaraki. "Look there! I spy, with my little eye...a Shiny Pokémon!"
"Ooh, the boss would give us big bucks if we brought him that," the woman said with a sinister grin.
"Riolu, Oshawott, and Ralts aren't very common Pokémon either," said the man, with a similar grin.
"What do you mean by that?" Louise demanded coldly. She and Saito both took a defensive step in front of their teams.
"'What do we mean?' You're about to find out!" The woman declared.
"Noble answers are what we're all about!" The man added.
"The beauty so radiant, the flowers and moon hide in shame! A single flower of evil in this fleeting world!" the woman struck a pose. "Jessie!"
"The nobly heroic man of our times! The master of darkness fighting back against a tragic world!" The man struck a pose. "It's James."
"A glittering dark star that always shines bright!" The Meowth said, posing along as well. "Dig it, while Meowth takes flight!"
"Team Rocket, let's fight!" The humans declared.
"That's right!" Meowth chimed in.
"Wo~bbuffet!" The Patient Pokémon finished. The humans and their Pokémon all looked proud at their performance, while Saito, Louise, and their Pokémon stared dumbfoundedly still.
"Uh...what?" Louise wondered, too stunned to do anything. Saito was in a similar situation, only for his eyes to widen in realization.
"Now I remember where I've seen that 'R' before!" Saito added. "These guys are Team Rocket, an organization from the Kanto Region who steal other people's Pokémon and sell them for profit!"
"That's right!" The Scratch Cat Pokémon said once again, spreading his arms and revealing sharp claws from within his paws. "And if you know what's good for you, you'll hand over all of your Pokémon!"
The blue-tentacled Pokémon let out a hiss, while the Pikachu doll-Pokémon let out an eerie, screeching noise. Said screeching noise caused all the other Pokémon on both sides, even Maindo, to step back nervously.
"What? What did it say?" Saito asked.
"You don't want to know," Meowth warned. Esprit nodded in agreement, relaying a similar message to Louise with her psychic powers.
"Now Mareanie, Spike Cannon!" James declared, as the blue Pokémon that must have been a Mareanie jumped in the air and unleashed a hail of spikes on on the gathered Pokémon.
Aile and Tanuki both leapt away, but the rain of spikes landed with surprising speed, hitting the ground and exploding before any of the others could move.
"Mimikyu, Wood Hammer!" Jessie called, as the doll-like Pokémon jumped up and smacked Aile out of the air with it's Wooden Tail, creating a dust cloud when she hit the ground. Tanuki charged towards Meowth with a Force Palm, but Wobbuffet got in the way, glowing with a multicolored, but mostly orange, light. The energy from Tanuki's Force Palm was redirected back towards him with twice the force, and he was sent flying backwards. Meowth, seeing his chance, ran forwards and unleashed a Fury Swipes on the dazed Fighting-type, who cringed and fell to the ground in a heap. As the dust from the various explosions cleared, all of Louise and Saito's other Pokémon were knocked out as well.
"All of them...just like that?" Saito gasped.
"With one attack...each..." Louise added.
"Well, what do you know! When the twerp's not here, stealing Pokémon is easy!" Jessie laughed.
"We'll take those Pokémon of yours now, if you'd please," James requested with faux politeness, as he and his cohorts walked menacingly towards the downed Mons.
"No...No!" Louise shouted, pulling out her wand. "NO!" Before she could do anything else, a high-pitched screech echoed through the air. One Team Rocket seemed to recognize.
"Don't tell me..."
"Kanto is one thing...but Kalos!?"
"Not now!"
Suddenly, the clouds in the sky parted, as a giant, plush-like bear Pokémon with a pink head descended from the sky in a ray of sunlight, flapping it's arms in some approximation of wings.
"What the hell?" Saito gasped. Louise and the rest of their Pokémon echoed the sentiment, not comprehending what was going on. The Rockets, however, did as they turned and ran, only for the large bear Pokémon to seemingly warp in front of them, crush them in a bearhug, and then jump up into the sky.
"We're off with a new blast!" The Rocket's voices could be heard, as they and the bear became nothing more than a twinkle in the sky.
Saito could only stare, dumbfounded, while Louise quickly gathered up her fallen Pokémon, making sure they were alright.