Outsiders (Pokémon/ZnT Reverse Summon)

Season 1, Episode 6, Chapter 3

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As they stood in front of the massive gates, Louise and Saito gazed upon the castle in awe, but each experienced a rather different mix of emotions. For Saito, the structure was a masterful example of construction, a work of art, really; the history in the walls humbled him, yet excited him at the same time. For Louise, it was a vastly different matter. Shabboneau Castle wasn't just a magnificent and grand castle. It was, but to her it was a reminder of home, a place of familiarity in an otherwise alien world.

"Hey," Saito began, sounding concerned, "You okay?"

"Huh?" Louise looked at him, confused. It was then that she felt a dampness on her cheeks, and she quickly wiped them away. "I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yes," the rosecrown shook her head and began to walk forward. Saito moved to reach out to her but thought better of it and just followed her instead.

As they opened the castle gates, Louise's mind drifted back to the matter at hand. Castles like these were common back home. Princess Henrietta lived in one, in fact, and it honestly blew this castle out of the water–but that might just be her own personal bias in play there. At the same time, it also emphasized how different things were here in Kalos. This castle wasn't a symbol of strength, like the ones back home. It was more a relic of a bygone era, back when Kalos truly was ruled by nobility. Now the country was a constitutional monarchy, the nobles stripped of their power and left merely as cultural institutions. The thought frightened her–admittedly–but it seemed to work for them.

"Welcome to Shabboneau Castle!" an elderly man said as he approached the duo, "Are you here to visit the museum, or do you have an appointment with Lord Shabboneau?"

"We're just here for the museum," Saito quickly said, cutting Louise off.

The man smiled, "Well, that's wonderful. Right this way, please, and feel free to ask any questions you may have."

The two followed the man down a grand hallway lined with portraits of well-dressed people, though there seemed to be few commonalities between them. None of them looked related, so they couldn't be family portraits. The style of dress varied between them as well. Some were rich, some were poor, so they weren't all nobility.

"Excuse me," Louise began, halting the old man in his tracks. He turned towards her, given Louise his full attention, and she cleared her throat. "Who are these people in the portraits?"

"So, you noticed?" the old man said. He gestured towards the paintings with an outstretched palm. "Well, this is Barnabas de Shabboneau's collection of portraits. Before you ask, there really isn't any rhyme or reason to this collection. Barnabas simply bought whatever caught his eye.

"In fact, here is a perfect example of his collecting habits," he said, stopping in front of a stylized painting of a burly man with ominous brown splotches scattered across the canvass. "This man was Erik the Wrathful, a notorious pirate from a time when the Ferrum region was still considered a hive of scum and villainy. There's actually a bit of a legend behind this painting if you would like to hear it."

"Why not?" Louise said, and Saito nodded.

"Well," the old man clasped his hands together and turned towards the painting, "legend says that on one of his raiding trips, Erik captured a frigate carrying a Kantoan artist, and took him hostage. Fearing for his life, the artist offered his services as an artist in exchange for his freedom, and Erik accepted, under the condition that the artist paint a portrait of him. The artist reluctantly agreed, even though he knew that portraits were not his strong suit. He tried his best, exaggerating and emphasizing certain features to make Erik appear more threatening. However, the raider took one look at the finished painting and slashed the man across the chest, splattering the poor man's blood across his last work," the man then turned around and chuckled at the pair's horrified faces.

"You don't need to look so shocked, we had some tests done a few years back and discovered that the brown spots were merely coffee stains. Incidentally, Erik the Wrathful was said to have died from caffeine poisoning." He lightly chucked at the irony.

"…You can die from caffeine?" Louise raised her eyebrow and looked towards the splotches with mildly morbid curiosity. Saito, on the other hand, just looked irritated.

"If you know that the story is false, why do you still tell it?" Saito asked.

"Tradition," the man answered. "Plus, it's a treat to see the reactions visitors have to the tale. Anyways, there is another painting that you must see before we continue. This way!"

The man led them down the end of the hall, pointing out a few notable paintings along the way, until they came to a large mural. The mural was distinctive in that it depicted a partially destroyed building instead of a person or group of people.

"This is a relatively new addition to our collection, and while it doesn't exactly mesh with the other pieces, it fits for another reason. This mural depicts Parfum Palace as it was at the end of the Great War some fifty years ago. While some of the damage seen was caused by the many airstrikes throughout the war, most of it was caused by a four-month siege around the middle of the war by Almian forces, backed by their Orrean allies. What you see is how the palace looked after it was liberated by Corporal Surge Matis of the Unovan Army and a group of wild Raichus he herded together."

"What was so important about Parfum Palace?" Louise asked. She had known about the Great War. Bloodiest war in Earth's history, the scale of which terrified her. Tensions had been building between the various regions around the world for decades until finally it erupted after a terrorist attack in Unova by Orrean agents posing as radical extremists. Unova retaliated, alliances were drawn, and after seven years of fighting, there were millions of people and Pokémon dead, Orre was practically wiped off the map to the point where they still hadn't recovered, and Unova was unquestionably the strongest region in the world. That war was why everyone spoke Unovan now, or at least knew it.

The man looked surprised but continued where he left off. "Parfum Palace is the traditional home of the royal family of Kalos, and while the King doesn't live there anymore, his son still does."

"Oh," Louise said, embarrassed by the situation.

"Anyways, that concludes our tour of the permanent collection," the man said, "We are not hosting any exhibits at the moment, but feel free to take a brochure as you leave." With that, they made their way back to the entrance, but Louise stopped once they entered the lobby.

"I'm sorry for my error earlier," she said to the man, "but, if I may ask a favor of you, are there any tailors in this town that you would recommend?"

The man just laughed, "No need to worry about that, but if you want my opinion…"

"Louise," Saito interjected, "I'm going to take my team out to train in the woods. I'll be waiting for you in the plaza by eleven-thirty, so either meet me there or call me if you are going to be delayed."

Louise smiled and nodded before returning to her conversation with the elderly man. There was a nearby shop a few blocks away, and apparently did great work at an affordable price. She supposed Saito would approve of that. She then looked around the large room, eyeing all of the statues and mannequins

"Sir," she caught the guide's attention. "I have another question to ask. As you probably noticed, I'm not from Kalos, and as such I'm unfamiliar with certain parts of her history."

"That is quite alright," he gently smiled. "What do you wish to know?"

"Well, I was wondering about the nobility of Kalos. Why they aren't in charge anymore. The noble families of Kalos were for thousands of years, the power of the royal family absolute, but now they're merely figureheads. What happened?"

"Now that," he slowly nodded, "is a complicated question, with an equally complicated answer."

"I'd be happy to hear it. I'm in no rush."

"Then by all means," he gestured towards a seat, which Louise took. "To understand why the nobility no longer has any power, you have to understand how Kalos came to be. Kalos has a rich, deep history stretching back in some way, shape or form four thousand years. When King Kalos of Lumiose unified the various smaller kingdoms for the first time, Coumarine, Shalour, Ambrette, Cyllage, and many more, they accepted him as King, and all the other royal bloodlines became the lesser noble houses. For the next thousand years, Kalos experienced a time of prosperity and expansion. They were without question the strongest nation in the world."

"What happened?"

"The Kalosian Civil War happened. Three thousand years ago, the King of Kalos ruled the kingdom justly and fair. The land was prosperous. But prosperity creates greed and envy. His younger brother wanted this for himself and started a revolt in an attempt to take the throne. That war devastated the country and was only ended when the King built and fired the Ultimate Weapon, the very same one used by Lysandre a year ago. That ended the war, but soon after the King became obsessed with his creation. His beloved Floette died in the fighting, and he was determined to bring her back to life using the weapon. Thousands of Pokémon's lives were sacrificed to activate it, and in the end, he succeeded. But, the Floette was disgusted and left him. He disappeared soon after, and outside of his younger brother burying the weapon in an attempt for repentance, the unity that held Kalos together disintegrated."

"That's…awful," Louise looked downcast. She knew how bad wars of succession could get. The allure of power was all-encompassing for some. "But that doesn't really answer my question."

"I'm getting there, don't worry. In short, the actions of the King and his younger brother left a bitter taste in the mouths of the Kalosian nobility. It wouldn't be for another two thousand years until Kalos was reunified under the current royal family, but from the very beginning their power was much more limited. No longer was their word law. As part of the unification process, a House of Lords was created, giving the noble families more say in Kalosian affairs. For the next seven hundred years, Kalos functioned this way, but various noble families grew more and more complacent with their position. Grew more and more extravagant at the expense of the commoners. In the end, things reached a boiling point and there was a real possibility of a revolution. One that the king knew the nobility could not win."

"How?" Louise was wide-eyed. She couldn't wrap her head around nobles not being inherently stronger. She soon realized her error. "Pokémon."

"Exactly. The commoners, by default, had a much closer relationship to Pokémon than the nobility. Sure, most weren't as powerful as the Dragon-types and Arcanines and other various Pokémon of the nobility, but all Pokémon can be powerful, especially in the right hands. Not to mention the commoners and their Pokémon outnumbered the nobility ten to one. It was simply a numbers game, and in the end, the King preempted the revolution by installing a House of Commons. Over time, the House of Commons grew more and more powerful as the population grew until it was they who had the real power of Kalos. A fact that was only solidified by the Great War. So now, the noble families still exist, but no longer have the control over the country as they once did."

"I…see," Louise grew silent. The thought disturbed her. Not because of what Kalos did – again, it seemed to work for them, and she wasn't going to judge another world for their customs – but what it meant for back home.

Back home, there was a defined order of things. Nobles at the top as rulers, commoners at the bottom and serving the nobility. Magic made that hierarchy natural and accepted. Yet at the same time, many thought that was the only qualification of the relationship. She heard of many who simply thought that doing whatever they wanted, so long as it was contained within the letter of the law, was morally acceptable, no matter how heinous. They had forgotten that the relationship was a two-way street. Nobles had to protect those below them. Nobility wasn't a right, it was a responsibility. Her mother stressed that every day to Louise and her sisters.

That relationship had completely broken down in Albion, and now there was a Republican Reconquista going on. From what she could tell, the Tudors didn't have much time left. Could something like what happened to Kalos happen back home? While she vehemently believed that Princess Henrietta would be able to stave it off, she couldn't deny that abuses of power had occurred. It disgusted her, truly, and in her time at the academy, she couldn't help but overhear hushed whispers of grievances against the student body, all nobles, against the common staff.

She shook her head. Now was not the time to ruminate on such matters. Bidding farewell to the kind old man, Louise turned and walked out of the museum. She would focus on this once she got back to Tristain. Kalos may be from a different world with different rules, but that didn't mean that its history could be ignored.

"Ok, Maindo, try it again!"

A trio of rocks glowed blue, slowly rising into the air as they orbited around the Ralts. Ever since Maindo had figured out Psychokinesis, Saito had been working with him to master it. At this point, the training was simply picking up large objects and performing complex tasks with them, but he was improving. Ronin and Tanuki continued to practice on some ways away, Ronin by honing his water attacks and Tanuki performing glowing katas.

"You can drop them now, Maindo," Saito said, noticing the strained expression on his teammate's face. The Ralts readily complied, breathing as heavily as if he had just run a mile. Saito smiled, pulling a bottle of water and a handful of berries out of his pouch and giving them to Maindo.

"Good job, buddy. Now, relax a bit while I check on Ronin and Tanuki…." Saito trailed off when he stood up and discovered that Maindo had disappeared on him. Sighing, he bent down to place the berries and water on the ground before a shadow stretched out of the ground, snatched the items out of his hand, and darted off into the trees.

'Well, at least he took the berries,' He shook his head. Any progress was good progress, no matter how small. He prepared to walk away, only to feel something small hit the back of his head. He stopped and groaned. Without even looking, Saito already knew that Maindo had thrown one of the berries' seeds at him.

Shaking his head, the trainer walked over to the other side of the clearing where Ronin was honing his water attacks on some trees and Tanuki was practicing some glowing katas, "Alright, how are you guys doing over here?" Tanuki smiled and started his exercise again but paused as he started staring at a section of the woods.

"What is it?" Saito asked before he started feeling something. It was like a noise just on the edge of his hearing, something half-seen out of the corner of his eye. Maindo felt it too, and suddenly went very still as they both scanned the clearing. Something was wrong, very wrong.

"Form up and stay close, something's going on!" Ronin and Tanuki immediately complied and rushed over, Tanuki having already sensed the disturbance. All four of them huddled around each other, scanning every area of the tree line. Saito thought he saw a large white eye starting at him, but as soon as he turned his head, it disappeared back into the foliage.

"What was—" he was cut off as three monkey like creatures fell out of the forest. All of them looked similar, but one was green, another red, and the third blue. Saito recognized them immediately, not even needing to pull out his Pokédex. They were a Simisage, Simisear, and Simipour, Pokémon native to Unova. The first one was clutching its head in pain and howling angrily, while the other two looked like they were ready to murder whatever was responsible.

"What the hell?" Saito muttered before groaning in exasperation. Normally the Elemental Monkeys were so happy and carefree, yet these looked to be in a great deal of pain and extremely pissed off. He already had an idea as to who was responsible, and he groaned.

"Dammit, Maindo. What did you do this time?" he said to himself as he massaged his forehead. Sighing again, he spoke up louder, directly at the trio. "Look, I'm sorry abou—" he started, only for the Simisear and Simisage to spit out a torrent of fire and a stream of glowing seeds at them.

"Move!" Saito yelled as he and his Pokémon immediately went into action. Ronin shot out a Water Pulse at the charging Simisear, who staggered at the impact but kept going. The Simisage turned to retaliate at the otter, only to be intercepted by Tanuki's Quick Attack.

The two entered into a brawl, the Simisage biting, scratching, and hissing with reckless abandon while Tanuki threw out glowing punches and kicks. Tanuki's fist glowed as he threw a Meteor Mash at the grass monkey, only for it to leap back and yowl. Undeterred, Tanuki charged forward, his fist still glowing, only for him to suddenly trip as grass sprang out from the ground and wrapped around his ankle. The Simisage was on him instantly, and all Tanuki could do was cover his head while it kicked and scratched at him mercilessly. After a few moments, the Grass Knot loosened, and Tanuki sprung to his feet. His body briefly glowed as he Countered one last swipe of claws, then rained blow after blow onto the Simisage, an angry snarl on his face.

Ronin, meanwhile, continued to duel the Simisear. The much larger monkey was, like his green counterpart, mostly fighting at a primal level. Seeing how that wasn't working, the fire monkey created a large fireball in its hand before throwing it at Ronin, who shot it out of the air with an Air Slash like it was a clay pigeon. As the slice of compressed air made contact with the fireball, it exploded, sending a wave of fire across their battleground. Ronin was buffeted by it, and his fur looked partially scorched, but otherwise he seemed fine. He did look irritated, though, and immediately launched a Water Pulse at the monkey's chest.

That left only the Simipour to continue charging, and to Saito's horror, he noticed it was going for him. He prepared to jump out of the way, only for a psychic aura to envelop the creature and hurled it away. Maindo launched a Shadow Ball at the Simipour, sending it back further. When Maindo launched another, the Simipour dodged it and leapt at the Ralts, who barely managed to push it away.

Again, the blue monkey fought mostly with primal instinct. Saito was beginning to notice a pattern. Whatever was causing their aggression was also somehow affecting their ability to use their moves, or at the very least making them so angry that they couldn't think of using them. Judging the wave of burning fire the Simisear launched towards Ronin, it seemed to be the latter. Maindo reappeared right in the Simipour's face, a large Shadow Ball already forming in his hands. It exploded, making the monkey recoil. It then glowed in a pink aura as Maindo grabbed its head and slammed it into the ground before hurling it away.

"What is going on?" Saito wondered aloud. The battle was coming to an end, and to his relief, his team was winning. It didn't hurt that the Elemental Monkeys still didn't use their diverse move set. Was whatever causing the agitation to the wild Pokémon preventing them from doing so? A sort of mental block? Before he could ponder any further, the three wild Pokémon were launched into a thick tree, one after another. Each successive impact further cracked the tree, until it then toppled over entirely. Saito's Pokémon closed in on the three monkeys as they picked themselves off the ground. Rather than continue to fight, they began to trudge back into the forest, briefly stopping to shoot a dirty look at the trainer. Soon, they were gone, leaving Saito and his Pokémon alone and confused.

"… I don't know what that was about," Saito nervously said, "but we should probably head back into town."

His teammates couldn't agree more.

Louise was happy for herself as the exited the tailor, her clothes pressed and pristine and flicking the cared in her fingers. Saito had given her back the card with the warning of not going overboard, and to her pride was able to fulfil that demand. The tailor was indeed quite affordable, and the work She was happily preening herself and looking her outfit over when Saito found her a hour earlier than expected.

"Saito? Is something wrong?" Louise asked as she ran over to him. He was panting, but not injured.

"Kinda," he responded with a grimace, "There's something wrong with the Pokémon on Route 6. They're agitated about something."

"What? What do you mean?" Louise was confused.

"We were attacked by a Simisage, Simisear, and Simipour."

"What? Why? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, don't worry, but… For the life of me, I don't know why they did."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that there was no reason why they attacked. Elemental Monkeys aren't territorial, and in fact are quite friendly creatures. They didn't seem like they were challenging us to a battle, and, while I'm not discounting that Maindo did something to piss them off, they seemed to be lashing out more than anything."

"Lashing out?"

"The Simipour was in pain. A lot of it, apparently, but I didn't see any injuries on it, nor with the others. It was as if it was all mental. They saw me and thought, for whatever reason, I was behind it. The strangest thing, and the main reason why I don't think Maindo is responsible, was that the Simipour didn't even use any moves. Very…primal and raw."

"That's…disturbing," Louise mused. She looked towards the Palais Gate. "Do you think we should wait on going up to Parfum Palace?"

Saito shook his head. "No, no. You wanted to go up there, and between the two of us, we should be fine."

"Thank you," Louise smiled. "Now then, two things. One, we'll walk up to Parfum with our Pokémon all out, just in case."

"Agreed. What's the second thing."

"We're going to need to get you a better set of clothes. I will not have you meet the royal family wearing a hoodie."

Saito groaned. He was already regretting his decision.

They ended up buying Saito a nice navy-blue blazer along with a white undershirt and khaki pants. He looked nice, if Louise said so herself, and at that the two set off for Parfum Palace. They stayed on the road, avoiding any traces of nature that they could, and managed to keep themselves free of any dirt or grime. Coupled with a psychic field created by Espirit, the two of them were quite sheltered from the elements. The two walked up to the Parfum Gates without incident, Louise a little peeved at Saito's apparent overreaction. Nothing had happened, but she did admit that the feeling of being watched was back. Still, she composed herself.

Louise stood at the door to Parfum Palace and hesitated, despite herself. It had seemed like such a good idea at the time, meeting some of the local nobility and possibly forming some bonds. However, something made her pause.

"Uhh, Louise?" Saito asked, "Are you having second thoughts about this?"

"What?" the rosecrown indignantly said as she turned around, "I'm just… just composing myself for my introduction."

"It's ok if you don't feel ready," he said, "we are most likely going to be coming back through here."

"It is of no concern. I'm perfectly ready for this," Louise declared, confidently knocking on the door. "Besides, weren't you the one worrying about agitated Pokémon attacking us on the way here? And nothing happened. I'm honestly starting to think you only said that to scare me."

Saito flinched slightly at her accusation. Before he could speak, the door opened, revealing a curly-haired maid with a rather bored expression on her face.

"So, you finally decided to stop loitering," she said, "State your business here, and be snappy about it."

Louise was taken aback by the maid's curt demeanor but pushed on anyways. "My name is Louise Françoise le Blanc de La Vallière, and we wish to have an audience with the lord of this castle." She respectfully bowed and used the formal tone and language she would use with nobles back home.

The maid yawned, "The grand duke is visiting his wife's family in Alola and will not return for some time. Good day!"

The maid began to close the door, but Louise hurriedly stuck her foot in its path.

"I'm terribly sorry for getting his title wrong," the rosecrown said, "but is there anyone here that I may talk to in his stead?"

The maid frowned, but dutifully answered, "His daughter, Princess Allie, remained behind, but she lacks any real power over the estate and is unlikely to have any time to entertain visitors. Good day!" She tried to shut the door once again, to similar results.

"Could you at least check?" the young noble pleaded.

The maid sighed and reluctantly opened the door. "Fine. Wait inside, I'll go see if she's willing to meet with you."

The pair entered the palace and the maid went to find the princess, grumbling the entire time about indignant children. Saito chose to remain standing, while Louise, who was more accustomed to noble society, sat down on one of the chairs.

It was nearly twenty minutes before the maid returned, accompanied by another maid, although her outfit was rather peculiar. At a glance, her outfit was clearly designed differently from her companion's, and several parts appeared to be made of metal. It seemed to be constricting the woman and did not look at all comfortable. Her gloves in particular were completely made out of metal, looking almost like gauntlets rather than gloves. Louise supposed it was a stylistic choice on her part, so she paid it no heed.

"Well, sis," the maid from before said, "here are the two I told you about."

The second maid grinned happily and brought her hands together with a metallic clap. "Welcome to Parfum Palace, honored guests~! My name is Annabelle, but most call me Snow. But enough talking, follow me~!" With that, Snow rapidly about-faced, causing her cyan hair to whip around rapidly, and marched off, leaving the two stunned trainers behind.

"So, she's your sister?" Saito cautiously asked the first maid.

"Yes, Snow is my elder sister," the maid confirmed, "Now, if you don't mind, it's her first day as Head Maid, and you've caused her enough problems already, showing up unannounced. So get going!"

"Uhh, yes, ma'am!" Saito said, quickly following the head maid, Louise following a few seconds later. It didn't take long for them to catch up, although it appeared that the maid hadn't noticed their absence, as she was idly prattling on about something or another. The prattling stopped once she did, and she let out a glowing smile.

"I hope that you are hungry~!" she said, addressing them, "Princess Allie has graciously invited you to join her for lunch!"

Saito began to object but was silenced by an elbow to the ribs.

"What will we be having?" Louise asked.

"And we're here~!" Snow said, completely ignoring the question as she threw open a pair of doors and walked into the dining hall, "I'll go inform Princess Allie that the meal is ready, so feel free to get situated in the meantime."

"You never answered my question," Louise said as the cerulette quickly left the room, "Never mind. Saito, would you kindly sit down? It seems like I have enough time to give you a crash course on etiquette."

Saito groaned.

Louise had only just managed to teach Saito enough so that he wouldn't embarrass himself when the sound of clanking metal heralded Snow's return.

"Honored guests! I present to you, Princess Allie of Parfum Palace!" she declared, stepping aside to allow an elegantly dressed young girl to enter the room.

"Uhahahaha I'm so happy to meet another noble around my age!" the princess said.

"W-well, I'm happy to meet you too. How did-?" Louise said.

"Please, I recognized the name of foreign nobility anywhere! I have so many questions for you, but we can talk after lunch," Allie turned to Snow, "Annabelle?"

"Right away, ma'am!" the maid replied, rapping her knuckles against her wrist three times to call the servers.

The meal wasn't exactly what Louise had expected, being simply a platter of grilled fish, but it certainly met her standards for a noble's meal. The meal was uneventful, apart from Snow excusing herself after a loud crash was heard from the kitchen–returning ten minutes later with a rather menacing looking light blue Pokémon with a spiked back in tow. She smiled sheepishly while the spiked Pokémon rubbed its head in embarrassment.

"Annabelle," Allie said once she had finished eating, "aren't you forgetting something?"

"Oh! I'm sorry! Must have slipped my mind." Snow said, pulling out a blue and red Pokéball. "Sandslash, return." A red beam shot out and struck the Sandslash, sucking it in. Saito and Louise turned back towards Allie, only to be surprised that she looked unimpressed.

"I wasn't referring to your partner, Annabelle." Her tone was flat, devoid of the earlier friendliness towards Louise. "Why are you still dressed like that?" Snow looked confused, while Saito and Louise just looked on silently.

"You said that the Head Maid must be distinct, and none of Sarah's old dresses fit me," she pointed out.

"You two are the same height, why wouldn't they fit you?"

Snow awkwardly tapped her corset instead of answering. "A-anyways, I need to go prepare the garden. Please excuse me."

"That's a wonderful idea, Annabelle!" Allie exclaimed, "Why don't you take our guests there?"

"Of course, right this way!" Snow quickly led the two trainers out of the room, an uncomfortable feeling growing in the pit of their stomachs.

"You might not believe me, but this is the second time today that we've been in a hall of portraits," Louise said, taking in the many regal paintings that lined the hall; however, something about them was bugging her.

"Are you referring to the Shabboneau Art Gallery?" Snow queried, "I've been there once or twice before, but my responsibilities here have prevented me from visiting recently. Did you see the mural?"

"We did," Saito answered, "It's pretty interesting to see how this place was rebuilt."

"I guess that I'll have to visit once the Grand Duke and his wife return," Snow said, smiling, "Anyway~, if you want to know about the paintings, I'll do my best to explain, though I'm not as good as the guys over there."

"Well," Louise said, taking the cerulette up on her offer, "who are all these people?"

"Eh?" the maid turned around, her continence twisted into a look of utter confusion, "These paintings depict the royal family of Kalos throughout the ages! I'm certain that at least William de Kalos has a portrait at Shabboneau Castle, so why wouldn't you recognize him!? In fact…"

At that point, Snow simply began ranting on and on, only stopping when she saw the horrified expressions on Louise and Saito's faces.

"Oh~, I'm sorry, I seem to have lost my train of thought," she said, the innocent, cherubic smile on her face completely at odds with her demeanor mere seconds earlier, "Right this way~!"

"That… was strange," Saito said, following the maid.

Louise, on the other hand, was much more embarrassed by her perceived slight against the royal family, and consequently began to pay more attention to the portraits in the hall. It may have been due to her embarrassment that she finally noticed what was bothering her: a rather peculiar sword could be found somewhere in nearly every painting. While at first glance it seemed to be a normal broadsword, the blue tassel extending from the pommel and the blue eye set into the cross guard seemed to suggest otherwise. Additionally, the sword appeared to age from painting to painting, as signs of damage on the blade remained roughly the same or worsened, until it suddenly stopped appearing altogether. Curious, the rosecrown doubled back until she reached the painting with the clearest view of the sword. The portrait depicted a man clad in a dress uniform and bedecked in a reduced version of the king's regalia; however, Louise was more interested in what he held. The long-dead king had the sword unsheathed, pointing it off into the distance while the tassel wrapped itself around his arm. The young noble pulled out her Pokédex and took a picture of the blade, searching through the device's memory until she found a match. Surprisingly, the algorithm pulled up an entry from the Pokédex, running it as soon as the search concluded.

"Honedge, the Sword Pokémon," it chirped, "This Pokémon is born when a departed spirit inhabits a sword. It attaches itself to people and drinks their life force."

"A Pokémon?" Louise muttered to herself, "Could it be the same one in each of these?" However, the rosecrown was pulled out of her thoughts by her companion shouting at her.

"Hey, Louise! Are you coming?" he said.

"Yes, I am!" she shouted back, running down the hall as fast as she could.

Louise caught up to the others quickly and were led out to the spacious garden. It was extravagant, taking the two trainer's breath away.

"This is… This is beautiful," Louise gazed out over the green landscape. She could see workers trimming the bushes and watering the plants, along with a herd of beautiful and exotic Pokémon. She recognized a few of them. Furfrou, Arcanines, Ninetails, a Milotic in the center fountain, and many more she couldn't recognize. All of them looked regal and beautiful, befitting a royal family.

"Ahh~, I always enjoy coming out here and just basking in the Sun," Snow sighed and leaned her head on her hand.

"I can see why," Saito replied, equally awed by the sight. The three then went to a large tree towards the center next to the fountain, a few chairs seated under its canopy. Louise and Saito sat down on them, while Snow remained standing

"Princess Allie will be out her momentarily." She bowed. "Please, enjoy the gardens until then~!" She turned to leave, but Saito raised a hand, stopping her. "Yes?"

"Is it okay for us to have our Pokémon out?" he asked, pulling out a Pokéball. "I think they'd really like it out here."

"Of course!" Snow smiled and threw her arms wide. "I see no reason why not! Please, proceed." Saito and Louise smiled and immediately released their Pokémon onto the grass. They all stretched and took in the sights of the garden, and except for the Maindo who started grinning mischievously, all looked awed. Snow smiled at their expressions. "Is there anything else?"

"Actually, I had a question regarding the paintings," Louise asked.

"Oh? What of?"

"I noticed on several paintings a sword, a… Honedge, I believe. It looked like the same one, but those paintings were done over centuries. How can that be?"

"Ah, I see," Snow nodded. "That was a Honedge, and you were correct that it was the same one. That Honedge had been a friend of the royal family for generations, centuries really, until one day it left."

"How can that be?" Saito leaned forward. "How can a Pokémon live that long?"

"Honedges, like all Ghost-types, are functionally immortal," Snow revealed. "Unless they are destroyed, they cannot die of old age, hunger, or disease. Sure, they're still affected by it, but they won't die from it. So really, a Honedge living that long is nothing special."

"But it was with the royal family?" Louise pointed out. "That makes it special by default."

"Very true. From what I read, that Honedge was a very special Pokémon. Very skilled and wise. Never once evolved, though. No one knew why." Louise and Saito went silent.

"… Why did the Honedge disappear, then, if he was so important."

"No one knows. He just…up and left one day, and never came back. Where he went no one knows, either. The King forbid any searching, saying that his friend deserved his rest. That was…three hundred years ago, now."

Saito and Louise pondered this until Snow clapped her hands together. "Well, that's enough of that. I'll leave—" The palace doors opened, revealing the maid from before. She looked irritated, glaring at her sister, with Princess Allie standing next to her. She looked annoyed as well. The garden grew quiet, the workers stopped working and the Pokémon stopped as well.

"Eh-hem," the maid glared at Snow, who suddenly grew wide-eyed.

"Oh, I am so sorry!" She hastily made her way over to the doors. "Presenting Princess Allie of Kalos!" As if a button was pressed, all the workers lined up on opposite sides of each forming a walkway for Allie to regally step out onto. She smiled as she did so, apparently enjoying the attention she was getting. Saito and Louise, on the other hand, grew more and more uncomfortable. To Saito, the entire thing was just odd, not used to seeing people act like this. To Louise, she was uncomfortable for a whole other matter. They weren't doing this out of respect, far from it. She could catch quick glimpses of an angry or irritated expression on a worker's face, some fearful, before being replaced with an artificially happy one. She was making them do this in a blatant display of power. It made her sick.

"Sorry I'm late. I was waiting for someone," Allie looked at Snow. "I thought I told you to change into one of your sister's clothes, Annabelle?"

"Well, I… Princess," Snow began to nervously explain, "Rose's clothes are all too small for me. I can barely fit into this as it is." She tapped the metal corset in emphasis. "If I go any further, I'll hurt myself."

"I see," Allie got a contemplating look on her face. Louise began to think that she was turning around. "That's understandable. You are excused for today."

"Thank you, Princess! I—"

"Tomorrow we start working on your weight problem." At Allie's declaration, everything went silent. Shocked expressions appeared on everyone's faces, including Snow's sister, although she quickly recomposed herself.

"…Weight…Problem?" Snow meekly asked.

"Yes," Allie nodded, whether indifferent to the effect of her words or obvious they could not tell. "You're obviously in need of it if we're going to fit you into your sister's clothes. You're much too meaty for them."

"I…" Snow clearly didn't know what to say or do, shocked beyond them. She did, however, clench her teeth and tighten her fist. She looked ready to explode, but Allie either didn't notice or didn't seem to care.

"Don't worry, Annabelle. Just a few weeks, and we'll—".

Saito had enough.

"Now wait just an Arceus-damned minute." He angrily got up to his feet. "Snow looks perfectly fine. She does not need to lose anything to fit your insane body standards."

"Saito!" Louise hissed at him. She was just as offended as he was, but she knew now was not the time.

"Excuse me!?" Allie screeched indignantly. Everyone else looked shocked at his outburst, but Saito ignored them.

"You heard me, you harpy! I don't care who you are, you have no right to needlessly put someone down like that just because they don't fit your "grand design"! So, get your head out of your ass and apologize to her!"

The garden grew silent, everyone shocked at his outburst. Louise stared wide-eyed in horror. Not at what he said, that she wholeheartedly agreed with, but the fact that he said it to a noble. Not just a noble, but the Princess of Kalos. He was breaking so many rules! Louise moved to apologize for him, only for Allie to blush and start laughing.

"Hehheheh!" she chuckled, causing Saito and Louise to look at her strangely. "So assertive and forceful! Could it be that you…like me?" She sounded hopeful at that, but everyone else merely stared blankly at her.

"Wha…? NO!" Saito yelled out in denial. "How would you even…?!"

"I think it is time for me and Saito to leave," Louise got up, clasping her hand over Saito's mouth. "I am terribly sorry for my friend's lack of proper decorum. He's not used to interacting with the nobility."

"I think that is appropriate," Snow's sister darkly glared at the boy, who remained unrepentant.

"Again, I am terribly sorry. He acts like a stupid dog sometimes. He doesn't know any better, honest!"

"I'm sure I can—" Allie began, only for Louise to cut her off.

"No, no. I'll take care of that, no need to over exert yourself." Louise glared at Saito. He glared back, but after a while, closed his eyes and nodded. She took her hand off his mouth and lightly bowed to the princess, while he merely crossed his arms and glared. Allie moved to protest but stopped herself and sighed.

"Very well, you may leave. It's a shame we weren't able to speak more, Louise," Allie sounded legitimately regretful, not having picked up on Louise's genuine desire to leave. "Perhaps some other time?"

"Of course, Princess," Louise lied. She had no intention of ever coming back here. They began to return their Pokémon, but when Louise got to Brennaraki, Allie stepped forward.

"Oh, that is a marvelous Fennekin!" Allie swooned.

"…Thank you…" Louise looked at Allie suspiciously. She prepared to return her, but Allie shook her head.

"There's no need for that. She can stay out of her Pokéball."

"Oh… Thank you." Louise put the Luxury Ball away.

"Of course. Annabelle here will escort the two of you out and your Fennekin will stay here."

"…What." Louise's voice went flat.

"Yes, obviously, in return for wasting my time. You are not a noble, no Vallière family exists anywhere in the world, which means you aren't a noble at all!" She sounded angry now, conveniently forgetting that Louise never actually lead her on that path. "You've completely wasted my time ever since you got here, so now I'm getting what I am owed." Louise said nothing. Silently, she returned Brennaraki to her Luxury Ball, and Allie smiled.

"Good, now I'll just take that Luxury Ball and—"

"Absolutely not." Louise clipped the ball to her belt. Allie looked enraged, but before she could protest Louise went on. "Let me tell you something, Allie. Brennaraki is not yours. She is my starter, my friend, and under no circumstances will I allow anyone to take her to a place where she doesn't want to be! And your "payment"? You can take it and, as my friend Saito would eloquently put it, shove it up your ass!" Everyone went silent at this, Saito the one with a look of shock on his face.

"Excuse me! Do you know who I am!?"

"You are a person who thinks she is a Princess but is nothing of the sort!" Louise accused, stomping up to her. "A Princess doesn't just order people around! A Princess is a person to be respected and admired! A Princess is to be an example of what it means to be a noble, the heart and soul of any kingdom, who all citizens, nobles and commoners alike, can look up to! You are nothing of the sort! You are a bossy, manipulative, selfish woman who makes everyone conform to your unrealistic expectations and takes whatever she wants with no rhyme or reason! Tell me, do you even know what Noblesse Oblige is?" Allie looked back at Louise, enraged.

"No. Enlighten me."

"Noblesse Oblige is the responsibility of all nobles look after and care for their subjects. To keep them safe and secure and to move the country forward on a prosperous path in return for their loyalty!" Louise shouted, and her rage grew when Allie looked like Louise was speaking in a foreign language.

"That sounds made up."

"No! No, it's not! It's what nobility is! Nobility is not a right, it's a responsibility! You treat it like it's a game!" The two girls looked like they were ready to explode, and Saito was growing worried. Making sure to keep an eye on the two girls, he slowly turned towards Maindo.

"Can you teleport us out of here?" He whispered to the Ralts, only to find that he had disappeared on him.

'So much for the easy solution,' he grimaced as he turned his attention back to Louise and Allie. Louise and Allie. It was getting more and more heated, and now they were both shouting at each other. To his relief, it looked like Louise was winning, judging by how angry Allie was getting, but in and of itself was a cause of concern.

Discreetly, he released Tanuki. "Find out where Maindo went and bring him back to the main road. We are going to wait for you there." With a quick nod, the hound stealthily bounded off into the gardens and after taking a moment to steel himself, he quickly took hold of Louise's arm and, ignoring her protests, began to drag her out of the palace. The workers all parted for them, some of whom looked relieved that someone finally said what they were all thinking, and it wasn't long until they exited the front gates. He could feel Allie's glare at the back of his head, but he ignored it.

He never noticed the flurry of shapes fluttering through the trees towards him and Louise.

[~][~]

Hello, everyone! Here is the latest episode of Outsiders! So, as any who've watched the anime know, Allie is kind of a jerk. By kind of, I mean a massive one. This little endeavor from Louise was doomed from the start, but its important for her character development as well as furthering the mystery of Palais. What is happening? Stay tuned.

Now, onto the Q&A:

Detinc: Thank you! Glad to hear it!

Avro 683 Lancaster: You will have to wait and see what Louise's next Pokémon is. We have a plan for all of hers and Saito's Pokémon.

Pacer287: Sorry about your daily fix. But, at least you still get it weekly! As for your question, stay tuned.

That does it for this week's chapter. Stay tuned for next Saturday for the next chapter of Outsiders!