Outsiders (Pokémon/ZnT Reverse Summon)

Season 1, Episode 7, Chapter 2

[~][~]

"Oooh," Louise groaned as she laid on her knees, on hand keeping her propped off the ground while the other clutched her stomach. Her insides lurched in a dull pain, and every breath made her feel nauseous. Bile threatened to erupt out of her mouth, and it was only through sheer will that she kept it down.

"There, there," Saito comforted Louise as he patted her back, kneeling next to her the entire time while Espirit used Heal Pulse on her trainer's stomach. "Just breathe. Deep breaths, in and out."

"Scr- HURK," Louise gagged and covered her mouth, a warm sensation rising up her through before she forced it back down. Once it was gone, she groaned again. "Why? Founder, why?"

"That's why you can't eat that many sweets so quickly. It'll mess up your—" Saito stopped as Louise could no longer hold it in and threw up loudly. Espirit jumped away with a squeak and the boy had a plain look on his face, pointedly looking away. "…stomach." Louise retching slowly stopped and was replaced by ragged breaths. A few tears were on the corners of her eyes, but Saito chalked that up to embarrassment more than anything.

"I'm back, what did I—" Derflinger announced, only to stop as he saw Louise's state. "Ew, that's nasty. Too many sweets?"

"Too many sweets."

"I know that feeling. First night I had a body, I gorged myself on food and drink, having never had it before. It was great. The next day, not so much. Word of advice, there is a time to stop eating and drinking, and that time is two in the morning. Nothing good ever comes after two in the morning." Derflinger had a haunted look in his eye as he shuddered from the memory.

"Good to…urg…know…" Louise grumbled out as she shakily rose to her feet, Saito helping her along the way. "Is…Aile back with those berries?"

"What do you think?"


"Aile, hurry up! Louise has been puking for the past ten minutes!" Brennaraki shouted at the gluttonous Fletchling, who was fluttering about the tree branches.

"There's so many to choose from!" Aile shouted back, nibbling on a berry. "I have to find out which ones will help her."

"By eating one of every type of berry here!?"

"It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make." Aile closed her eyes and threw her wing over her heart, as if saluting herself for some noble deed. Brennaraki growled in response.

"Oh, I'll make you a sacrifice if you don't HURRY THE HELL UP!"


"In all honesty, she is working much more quickly than she normally would, and I am surprised at how much restraint she is showing. She's only trying the healing berries."

"That doesn't seem like a massive improvement," Saito pointed out, to which Louise shrugged while still perched on his shoulder.

"Baby steps, Saito. Baby steps," Louise said, feeling the need to defend her Pokémon. Besides, her stomach was starting to feel better, putting her in a better mood. Espirit, perched atop Louise's shoulder, merely shrugged before continuing to use Heal Pulse on Louise, causing the rosecrown to smile. The group continued to make their way towards the Berry Fields, and pretty soon the yellow fences came into view. Outside them they saw a plantation worker standing next to Aile and Brennaraki, the Fennekin scolding the unabashed Fletching quite animatedly. In front of them was a large basket filled with berries, and Louise's smile grew.

"Ma'am," the worker tipped his hat towards them, "here are the berries your Honedge requested. Must admit, I was surprised to hear a Pokémon speak to me, but I got over it pretty quickly."

"Thank you, sir," Louise bowed. "Your generosity is most appreciated."

"Don't mention it." The worker smiled. "Just try to lay off the sweets a bit. All that corn syrups and extracts…it just ain't natural, 'ya know? None of that is good for 'ya."

"Don't worry, I'll watch myself more carefully." Louise smiled and waved. "We have to get going now. Thanks again!"

With one final wave, the two trainers returned their Pokémon, picked up the basket of berries, then walked back towards the main road. Louise nibbled on her berries, each bite bringing a soothing sensation to her throat and stomach.

"Hmm, Oran, Sitrus, Pecha, Aile really went all out. She did good," Saito hummed to himself as he appraised the selection. Louise, meanwhile, continued to much on the berries, albeit much more slowly than previously. A taunting smirk then appeared on Saito's face as he looked at his partner, who was pointedly avoiding eye contact.

"So, what have we learned?" he asked.

"Don't eat too many sweets too fast," Louise replied quickly as she took another bite of an Oran berry. A moment of silence descended on them before Derflinger spoke up.

"You're not going to give up on the sweets, are you?" he plainly asked.

"Of course not. Now, though, I'll be sure to eat more responsibly." Saito merely laughed at that, and the two continued to walk down the road. It wasn't long before they came across another intersection, with one road leading north and the other continuing westward. Next to the road they noticed a wooden sign. On it were two arrows, one pointing north, the other west.

"Okay, it says here…" Louise leaned forward to get a closer look. She heard faint footsteps pass them by but paid them no heed. She then smiled and stood up straight. "Alright, the daycare's north of here. Shall we?"

"Let's get going," Saito said and smiled. The two then took the north road, leaving the paved Riviere Lane for a worn dirt path. After a few moments, a confused look crossed Saito's face, and he looked at Louise.

"Louise?"

"Yes, Saito?"

"I just thought of something. If you're from another world, then how come you can speak and read our language?"

"In all honesty, I don't know." Louise shrugged and shook her head. "Maybe its my magic, maybe Arceus messed with my head and downloaded the language like a TM, or its just a massive coincidence that Albionese is exactly the same as Unovan."

"I learned to stop asking those types of questions a long time ago," Derflinger butted in. "Less of a headache."

"Fair enough." The trio continued walking down the road before rounding a bend, exiting the sight of the main road. As they did, a figure burst back into view, coming from the west, looking around franticly with her wide maroon eyes.


After several hours of walking under the burning sun, stopping once for lunch and a quick training session, the group finally arrived at the outskirts of the Kalos River Daycare. A large dome, one that looked like the top half of a Pokéball, sat in the middle of a large field. The field itself appeared to represent a wide range of environments. Louise saw grassy plains, rocky hills, a small swamp, even a river and lake running though it that separated many sections from one another. Off in the distance, she saw a few other buildings. One appeared to be a greenhouse, while the other was merely a grey steel box. If she had to guess, it was likely for any Ice-type Pokémon. All throughout the daycare, she could see herds of Pokémon sleeping, grazing, running, and playing across all the different areas. In the lake, swamp, and river, Water-type Pokémon splashed and swam, and they all looked happy and content.

"Well, this place is certainly impressive," Derflinger noted, awe in his voice. Saito and Louise only nodded. "And I thought Camphrier had cleaned up nicely."

"Back in Unova, I managed to visit a local daycare. That place was mostly a ranch. But this," he paused and breathed in. "I definitely wouldn't mind leaving my Pokémon here."

"Same." Louise nodded and pursed her lips. The place was certainly impressive but what most shook Louise was the sheer size of it all. The entire facility dwarfed her family estate, and she had thought that was big. This was at least four times the size, and it was all for the caring of Pokémon. It was mind-boggling.

She shook her head, letting her natural curiosity override her shock. "Come on, let's head on inside. If we're lucky, we can get a tour before nightfall."

"Hopefully," Saito agreed. Together, the two made their way towards the front gate. It was unlocked, with a red sign that read "Open" hanging off of it. Accepting the invitation, Saito opened the gate and let Louise walk through before walking in after her. As they neared the glass doors, they stopped and looked at each other. With a silent nod, Louise reached towards the door, intending to knock and announce their arrival.

"I've finally found you!" a familiar voice cried, halting Louise in her tracks. After quickly recovering, the pair turned to see who was hailing them, and their eyes widened.

"Elizabeth!? What are you doing here?!" Louise shrieked, both out of surprise and indignation. Elizabeth stood in the gateway, easily recognizable by her tanned skin and long green hair. Notably, she wasn't wearing the navy dress she wore the previous times they had seen her, instead wearing a long violet dress that reminded Louise of the things Zerbst would wear. Seeing that she had their attention, the verdette smiled and began sauntering towards the pair.

"You wouldn't believe how much trouble you were to find, Little Rose!" she exclaimed, "You weren't on any of the roads, you weren't in town, and just when I thought you had moved on, I find you here, at a daycare of all places. What drew you in, the months-old ads proclaiming their 'expanded facilities'?"

"If you must know," Louise replied, "we just saw it marked on the map and decided to investigate."

"Well, that's cute," Elizabeth said, "but let's get down—"

"I'm sorry," Saito interrupted, causing Elizabeth to direct her attention to the boy with a disgusted glare.

"Oh, you," Elizabeth said with a flat tone. "What do you want?"

"I'm sorry for injuring you back at the cafe," Saito explained, an apologetic look in his eyes. "I lashed out, and you got hurt. It shouldn't have happened, and I'm sorry. I do have some issues with my temper, but I'm glad it at least didn't scar."

"Really now?" the verdette said, pulling out a cloth and wiping down the left side of her face, revealing an ugly, jagged scar, "Be glad I decided not to press charges, the next person you slash might not be as forgiving."

"Why are you here, Elizabeth?" Louise said, annoyance and anger bubbling back up. "I'm pretty sure it wasn't just to threaten my companion."

"You're companion? Keeheehee! I'm sure you can find better than him!" Elizabeth replied, while an offended look crossed both Louise and Saito's faces. "But, I'm here for a simple reason: I want another rematch."

"Again?" Louise asked, incredulously. "Haven't I humiliated you enough?"

"I'm not hearing a 'no.'"

"Fine!" Louise threw her hands up in the air. "We both know how this is going to turn out."

Saito sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I'd rather not have to sit through another one of these, so I'll just leave you girls to it."

"Fine by me," Elizabeth said, somewhat glad that Saito was leaving. "Your move, Little Rose."

"I'm sure you already know my choice," Louise said, "Go! Brennaraki!"

"Keh heh heh I'm going to enjoy wiping that smug look off your face," Elizabeth replied, "Zorua!"

"Well, at least it isn't a fish out of water this time," Louise muttered as the black and red fox appeared in the courtyard. Immediately, she pulled out her Pokédex and pointed the camera towards the Zorua.

"Zorua, the Tricky Fox Pokémon. Zorua and its evolution Zororark have the unique ability to bend light around them and create illusions, making them appear to be something else. They use this ability to both hide from predators as well as prey."

"Hmm," Louise hummed to herself as she quickly thought of a strategy. It was a Dark-type, which limited Brennaraki somewhat, and the mention of illusions likely meant that tricks would be employed. She would have to be careful.

"Are you just going to gawk all day, or are we going to battle?" Elizabeth asked, tapping her foot on the ground impatiently. Louise growled.

"Fire Spin!"


"Geez, this is turning into a mess," Saito groaned and ran his fingers through his hair as he sat down. He was on a hill outside of the facility, overlooking the daycare. He had a nice view of the entire place. A faint whistling was heard, and Saito turned his head to see Derflinger floating up to him.

"Well, I take it that pinky and greeny have some sort of history between them," he observed as he stopped next to the boy. "She was so focused on you two that she didn't even notice me. Mind filling me in?"

"It's…complicated." Saito sighed. "You know how Louise arrived in Kalos almost two months ago?"

"She mentioned that. I take she was involved, somewhat?"

"Louise met her just before she left for Santalune. She had spent the month with Professor Augustine Sycamore as his intern and assistant. While she was there, she not only learned everything she could about Pokémon, she also bonded with Brennaraki."

"Pretty strongly, too." Derflinger's eye lidded in content and chuckled. "It's kinda funny how similar those two are. Well, that's probably why they get along so well, now that I think about it."

"I've thought that, too. Those two are inseparable, at this point. Anyway, back to what I was saying, during that first month, Louise and Brennaraki bonded. Started developing that trust between them. Then, Elizabeth showed up one day."

"What happened?"

"As Louise explained it, Elizabeth was, and is, a collector, a person who collects rare Pokémon. As Brennaraki was a female Shiny Fennekin, this made her extremely rare and thus highly valuable. Elizabeth wanted to buy her, and both Brennaraki and Sycamore refused."

"I take it that's why Louise doesn't like collectors all that much?" Derflinger mused. He had only known them for roughly twelve hours, but he had picked up on Louise's resentment towards the group. He himself had no problem with the practice, just so long as the Pokémon in question were cared for, but he also would respect her opinion.

Saito nodded at his question. "Pretty much, that and also the practice hit too close for home. Anyway, Elizabeth didn't take no for an answer, and that night she broke in to try and steal Brennaraki."

"Well, color me surprised. Didn't take the lady for a cat burglar, although she obviously sucks at it." Derflinger glanced down to the bottom of hill, where Louise's and Elizabeth's battle still raged. "Did she at least wear a catsuit for it?"

"Louise said she did, actually. Anyway, to Elizabeth, she was merely 'buying' Brennaraki with five times her purchase price on the open market, but yeah, she tried to steal her. Long story short, Louise stopped her, got bit in the leg by her Eevee, Elizabeth got kicked out and barred from ever reentering Sycamore's lab, and Louise got Brennaraki as her starter." Derflinger went silent, thinking the chain of events over before looking back down on the battle below them. It was still ongoing, with Brennaraki and Zorua exchanging blows, neither gaining an advantage over the other.

"Something tells me that's not the end of it." He observed, and Saito nodded once more.

"When Louise and I, now traveling together, got back to Lumiose to try and challenge the Lumiose Gym, Elizabeth saw us entering the city together. She decided to get some petty revenge on her and, having assumed that we were an item for some reason," Saito didn't notice the odd look on Derflinger's eye, and continued, "decided to get to her through me."

"What she'd do? Ask you out on a date?" Derflinger laughed. When Saito didn't respond, the laughter slowly died down, and the Honedge looked upon the boy incredulously. "Ah, come on! Didn't anyone tell you not to shit in the bed you sleep in?"

"In my defense," Saito protested, an embarrassed blush on his cheeks, "Louise did not tell me her name or what she looked like. I merely thought she was a pretty girl who wanted to eat with me, for some reason. Like a moron, I accepted."

"When did Louise come in?"

"An hour into it. She was flustered and angry then stormed out. A few minutes later, she came back in, all calm and composed before proceeding to expertly expose her as the thief and revealing that she was using me." Saito looked downcast and regretful, something Derflinger picked up on.

"Ha, seems like a fairly restrained reaction from her," Derflinger laughed out before growing more somber. "So, what happened next?"

"I… I saw red. Tunnel vision and everything. I felt humiliated, used, angry, and I wanted to lash out. So, I threw the contents of my water glass at her then stormed out."

"That doesn't seem so bad." Saito merely sighed, this one deeper.

"What I didn't know, before I threw my water at her, was that in my anger, I accidently chipped the glass I was holding. A small crack appeared and, when I threw my water at her, a piece of glass flew out, too, which hit her in the face. That's why she has that big scar next to her eye. I caused that…" Saito grew silent, as did Derflinger. He thought over his words, then finally spoke up.

"It was an accident, right?" Saito looked confused at his question and nodded.

"Yes, of course. I would never have willingly done that."

"Then why are you still stewing about it? What's done is done. So you gave her a scar, she probably already made up a far more interesting tale on how she obtained it. But, sitting there and ruminating over your past mistakes is not the best way forward. You feel bad, right? Use that feeling to better yourself. Make sure that you never do that again, unless you really need to, that is."

"You make it sound so easy."

"It's not, trust me. I've seen many men and women, good men and women, fall to grudges and past regrets. They weren't able to move on, and in the end, it destroyed them." Thoughts of past partners raced through Derflinger's mind, but he shook them away. "I don't want to see that happen to either of you."

Saito was silent as he stared at the Honedge. Finally, he nodded. "Okay, I'll… I'll try."

"Don't try, do." Derflinger shook his body. "As for Elizabeth, I don't have an answer for that. Maybe she'll eventually forgive you. That's up to her, not you. You made a mistake, and you're not going to ever repeat it. You're doing your part, let her do hers."

Saito was shocked, not having expected that piece of advice from the six thousand-year-old Honedge. Finally, he nodded in agreement then looked back out towards the daycare. The sight was serene and peaceful. He wasn't lying when he said he wouldn't mind leaving his Pokémon here. Granted, he didn't have to. Should he get any excess Pokémon, which he didn't plan on doing, they would all go to Professor Sycamore. Benefits of being friends with his protégé, so he didn't have need of their services. He could see all the different Pokémon out on the field, a few watching the battle below them. He saw herds of Tauros and Bouffalant grazing on the plains, Psyduck and Ducklett swimming in the river, and a single Absol starring him down.

"Huh, an Absol. That's neat," Derflinger said, staring the creature down. It continued to stare at them before shifting its gaze downward. They followed its gaze and saw it was now staring at Louise, who remained oblivious to her new observer. Slowly, Saito pulled out his Pokédex and scanned the creature, and with rising alarm, noticed it was a wild Pokémon.

"Derf, quick question," Saito asked, his voice's pitch getting higher. "That whole thing about Absols predicting disasters… It's not true, is it?"

"It's completely accurate," Derflinger replied, deep in contemplation. "It can either be natural or manmade, but if a wild Absol shows up, odds are something interesting is about to happen."

A pregnant paused ensued between the two of them. They stared at each other then back towards the Absol, who they quickly noted was now gone. A moment passed, and then the two shot up and sprinted down the hill.


The two foxes growled as they circled each other, neither of them having gained a decisive advantage, but Elizabeth knew that it wouldn't stay that way for long. She could already tell that Zorua was getting tired out, the fox's previous life leaving her stamina somewhat less than desirable. Brennaraki, by contrast, had likely trained for this for her entire life, so Zorua would have to finish this quickly if she were to have any chance at victory. The verdette smiled, a plan forming in her mind.

"Zorua!" she said, motioning for the fox to charge at her opponent.

"Brennaraki, dodge!" Louise shouted, prompting the silver fox to jump out of the way of Zorua's rather clumsy attack.

Elizabeth smiled, Louise had just fallen into her trap. "Pursuit!"

Zorua pivoted around and leapt at Brennaraki, a corona of purple energy forming around her. The firefox was unable to dodge and took the charge side-on, her leap turning into a graceless tumble as the energy detonated, imparting more momentum to its target.

"What?" Louise said, utterly surprised by the event.

"Keeheehee, you're too predictable," the verdette laughed. "Zorua, finish her off with Fury Swipes!"

The tricky fox gave an approximation of a nod before taking off towards the downed Pokémon, her claws at the ready. Only, she never got there. The confused fox glanced around and discovered that she was being suspended a few inches off the ground.

"Hey! You two need to stop fighting!" Saito yelled as he ran towards the two young women.

"Well that's a definite foul if I've ever seen one," Elizabeth muttered before addressing Saito. "Is this important or could you just not bear to see your crush lose?" Louise's face reddened at that remark, but Saito seemed nonplussed.

"A-anyway," he awkwardly began, "I saw an Absol nearby, I don't think it's safe here."

"Urgh, another fool," Elizabeth murmured, recalling Zorua and placing her head in her hands.

"Absol?" Louise asked, confused as to why her partner seemed alarmed at that news. "I don't think I've heard of that one."

"You have a Pokédex, right?" the verdette said suddenly, "Double-oh nine, Coastal."

"Oh," the rosecrown said, pulling up the relevant file.

"Absol. The Disaster Pokémon." the device chirped, "Nearly every time an Absol appears before people, it is followed by a disaster such as an earthquake or a tidal wave. As a result, it came to be known as the Disaster Pokémon."

"Huh, that's…concerning." Louise pursed her lips and frowned before looking at Saito. With a hardened expression, she pocketed her Pokédex once again and looked back towards Elizabeth. "Can you give us a moment?"

"You do realize that's Tauros shit, right?" Elizabeth stated, but Louise only responded with a glare. With a defeated sigh, Elizabeth shook her head and walked away, pulling out her smartphone as she did. "Fine, fine. I'll be over there. Don't think this is over."

"I don't think I could if I wanted to," Louise uttered under her breath before looking back at Saito. "You look distressed. What's going on?"

"I don't know," Saito hastily responded. "Derflinger and I saw and Absol a few minutes ago, and that is never a good sign."

"You're honestly saying that the appearance of an Absol says that disaster awaits?" Louise raised her eyebrow in disbelief. "Saito, I've seen many strange things since I've been here, but this—"

"It was staring right at us." Saito's declaration silenced Louise. Seeing how her eyes were now widening, Saito pressed on. "Derf and I saw it over on the rocks. It was staring right at us. I could feel its eyes boring into me."

Louise was silent as she grabbed her chin and looked up at the rocks in question. Nothing was there. "Are you sure that the disaster connection is accurate?"

"Back during the Kalosian Unification Wars," Derflinger spoke up, "I once saw an Absol overlooking a vast and fertile floodplain. It was the middle of a drought, so no one worried about the risk of catastrophic flooding, but seeing that Absol spooked King Kalos I into pulling out. A week later, the largest and most powerful storm in over a century hit and caused a landslide. Coupled with the flooding, the entire Aquacorde army was wiped out, along with several low-lying villages. Similar sightings occurred just before massive earthquakes, landslides, and even the bloodiest battles of the war. So yes, the connection is accurate."

Louise was silent as she pondered this information. While she didn't trust the Honedge entirely, Louise couldn't help but notice the sense of urgency in his voice. One he hadn't had since she met him. She turned back to Saito, placing her hand on her hip.

"Okay, let's say I believe you. What do we do?"

"Get the hell out of here," Saito immediately replied. "I may not know what disaster is coming, but I do not want to be part of it." Louise stayed silent, staring at Saito before looking at Derflinger. He, too, was staring at her, just without the level of panic Saito had. Finally, she spoke up.

"Derflinger, you said that the disaster can also be manmade, right?" Derflinger nodded, and Louise continued. "In that case, we're staying."

"Ha! I was hoping you would say that! It's been ages since I had any real action!" Derflinger shouted with enthusiasm only for Saito to start sputtering in surprise.

"Let me explain," Louise cut him off. "One, I'm still not entirely convinced that this connection is accurate. If it isn't correct, I don't want to avoid our plans based purely off of superstitious nonsense. If the connection is accurate, then I want to be here to help out with whatever this upcoming disaster may or may not be."

"But—"

"Saito," Louise cut him off again, this time with a glare. "We are not leaving just because we got spooked by a Pokémon. Got it? Besides, how would you feel if something bad did happen, one that you could have helped prevent, but didn't because of cowardice?" Saito stayed silent before groaning.

"Fine, fine," he moaned. "One night. One night, and if nothing happens, then you get the right to say, 'I told you so,' and then we leave. Deal?"

"Deal." The two shook hands and walked back over to Elizabeth, who as angrily putting away her phone.

"Lousy reception," she angrily muttered as she turned back towards the two trainers. "Well, what have you two decided? Going to cut and run due to superstition?"

"For your information," Louise got out with a huff, "we are going to keep our original plan, one that you rudely interrupted, and we will be staying the night. If nothing bad happens, then nothing happens. If it does, then we plan on helping out. You can leave if you want."

"Ohhoho, you're not getting rid of me that easily," the verdette said as she walked past the two, towards the main building. "Besides, I know a few of the guys who work here, and they'd probably be happy to give you a tour of the place if you asked, since I doubt that you've had time to look inside yet."

"Again, a plan you had rudely interrupted," Louise barked back with a glare

"Hey, lady?" a vaguely familiar voice said, "Why are you acting so nice? From what the spitfire's said, you're supposedly the worst."

"Keh, the 'spitfire' tends to be biased against those she doesn't like," Elizabeth haughtily laughed with her eyes closed, turning around. Then she saw who she was speaking with, and she froze. She had been so focused on Louise and Saito that she hadn't noticed the Honedge floating alongside them, and her heartbeat sped up dramatically as her eyes widened in fear. Dark, powerful memories she had long thought repressed sprang forward, and for a moment she though she heard another voice call out to her in anger.

"Oi! Who are you calling tamed?"

"Ehh, lady?" Derflinger asked, now concerned. "Is something wrong? I don't have something stuck on my face, do I?"

"G-get away from me, demon!" Elizabeth shouted before sprinting to the door and disappearing inside, leaving behind a shocked Saito, Louise, and Derflinger.

"What the hell was that about?" Saito wondered, idle concern bubbling in him.

Derflinger sent a concerned glance towards the door before turning back to his partners. He had a thought as to why there verdette reacted the way he did, but nothing concrete. "I honestly don't know."

"Should I go check on her?" Saito asked earnestly, and Derflinger shook his body.

"Give her some space, she'll come find us when she's ready," the Honedge replied.

"Then we just wait?" Louise asked, looking towards the facility. "I don't want to just go inside while she's freaked out. What are we supposed to do now?" The trio went silent as they pondered their next course of action.

"Well," Derflinger began after a few moments of silence, "have I told you how I met King Kalos I?"


Elizabeth leaned against a wall, allowing her heart to calm down, grateful that there was nobody in the room to see her in this state. She wasn't entirely sure why the Honedge had scared her so badly, she had held a deep-seated fear of the Honedge line for nearly half her life, but somehow this was different. She had recognized the blade, despite being certain that she had never seen it before in her life, and that terrified her more than anything else. After a few more moments, the verdette exhaled and straightened up, walking over to the main desk, and stopped when she remembered that there wasn't anyone there.

"That's odd," Elizabeth said, reaching for the bell on the desk and ringing it, "usually they have somebody here."

Nothing happened for a few seconds, then a violet-haired young man tore out of the back room, nearly crashing into the desk. He was slightly overweight, but not too much, and his green eyes were slightly panicked at being caught unawares.

"Sorry! Sorry! I'm here, now! What can I help you with?" the man hurriedly said.

Elizabeth felt herself smile a little at the man's antics, "I'm surprised that you still work here, Jason."

"Oh! M-miss Elizabeth! Y-yep, I'm still working this job," the young man stuttered out. "What brings you here?"

"I was just passing through the area when I ran into a few," she paused, looking for the right word, "friends who hadn't seen this place before."

"'Friends,' right," Jason replied, smirking wryly. Elizabeth rolled her eyes, and the plum-haired man chuckled. "I know, I know. I'll drop it. Do you want me to find someone to give them a tour?"

"Yes, please," she said, "How did you know what I was going to ask?"

"Lucky guess?" he replied, leaning on the desk. "Though, if I may ask, just who are these friends who're troubling you?"

"Oh, they're just some guys I met in Lumiose, not really the type of people I'd seek out," Elizabeth said. "Normally I'd just move on, but one of them saw an Absol, and now they're half convinced that something bad is going to happen." Both of them laughed, and Jason's eyes lit up as he thought of something.

"Let me guess, one of them was wearing a black dress and looked like she hadn't slept in weeks?"

"Keeheehee! No, no," the verdette was quick to interject. "She wasn't that bad. At worst, she's got a family member who's into that stuff, but the only really 'hexey' thing I saw on her was a pentagram brooch."

"That's a shame," Jason said wistfully. "I may not like the whole idea behind the movement, but there's just something about that unhinged look that I can't help but find cute."

"Will you ever change?" Elizabeth smiled and shook her head.

"Probably not, I was born this way," Jason flippantly replied with a smirk. "Is she at least cute?"

Elizabeth quirked an eyebrow. "Are you into violent girls half your height?"

Jason sputtered. "What about her friends? Are they at all cute?"

"The Little Rose is more of an acquired taste, I guess," Elizabeth said, snorting, "As for her friend, have you ever read any of those Kantonian novels where this cardboard cutout of a person gets run over and Arceus takes pity on them, sending them to some other world where they succeed at everything they try?"

"Ye–" Jason cut himself off, "Err, I mean, I read a few, back when I didn't know better."

"Well, he basically looks like one of those guys, right down to the cringy tracksuit that'll make him stick out like a sore thumb in whatever world he gets thrown into."

Jason's face immediately fell. "Well, need anything else?"

"Do you have an open examination room?" the verdette replied. "I'm thinking of entering Machamp into PWE, and I forgot to take his measurements." After her last battle with Louise, it later turned out that one of the spectators had videoed Machamp's battle against the Shiny Fennekin. It amassed ten million views in a three days. It even got on the news the very next day. It honestly humiliated her, up until she started getting calls left and right from various sponsors asking her to enter Machamp into professional Pokémon wrestling. Despite the fact that Machamp had purposefully lost, he was still a good Pokémon and she felt it would be the best for him. Besides, many of the deals promised a sponsorship cut of his earnings, which would easily fund her expenses as she travelled.

"Sure," he replied. "There should be an open one right down the hall and to your left."

"Thank you," she said and walked off, her heels clicking loudly against the tile floor, even after she disappeared from view.

Jason watched her as she left and frowned. "I probably should have asked her about that scar." At that moment, the door opened, and he heard a bombastic voice recounting some story.

"Then she said: 'That's the last time you lie to me!' and began to strangle him with her hair despite being nearly three meters away!"

"Huh, a talking Honedge… That's neat."


Saito, Louise, and Derflinger entered shortly afterwards, with Jason escorting them. The male receptionist had quickly begun awkwardly flirting with Louise, causing her to blush and sputter from the attention. After all, no one had ever really done that to her. At the same time, Saito had subconsciously given the boy the stink eye as he did, which Jason had readily noticed. Rather than cease, he merely shifted his flirting to Saito, which caused him to start sputtering. Derflinger, meanwhile, remained silent and amused as he watched their antics.

"Hello, everyone~!" a woman's voice shouted out as she entered the foyer. She had long, brunette hair tied in a ponytail, and was wearing a green Kalos River Daycare uniform under light brown overalls. A green hat sat atop her head. "My name is Joyce, and I'm the senior caretaker here at the Kalos River Daycare center! What brings you two here today?"

"Hello, Joyce. My name is Louise Valliere, and this is my friend Saito." Saito waved as he was called out, a faint smile on his face. "We saw that there was a daycare nearby and we were both curious. We were hoping that you could give us a tour of the facilities?"

"Of course! I'm always happy to show out our facilities," Joyce happily nodded. "You know, we actually recently expanded our facilities, and now we are the largest daycare in the Kalos Region. Are you two, by any chance, looking to potentially keep some Pokémon here?"

"No, we are currently linked to Professor Sycamore's lab in Lumiose." Louise shook her head. "But, I'm still interested in your facilities, if it is alright with you."

"It's no problem at all! Any friend of Augustine is a friend of mine," Joyce replied with a smile. She then extended her arm towards the door she entered in from. "If you two will follow me, please?"

"Don't forget me," Derflinger spoke up. If the daycare worker was surprised, she didn't show it. Louise had to admire her professionalism.

"Of course! Please, right this way. Feel free to release the rest of your Pokémon from their Pokéballs. This is a daycare, after all. Being a Pokémon friendly venue is what we're all about."

The trio chuckled at her joke before walking through the door. They were greeted by a long hallway, with several doors lining the sides. Joyce took her position at the front of the group as Saito and Louise released the rest of their Pokémon.

"At the Kalos River Daycare, we take pride in ensuring the health and safety of all of the Pokémon in our care. As such we employ state of the art medical technology that allow us to monitor and heal for any injuries a Pokémon may obtain. Not to mention illnesses."

"Ooh," Louise marveled at the complicated equipment through the windows. Each room was an individual medical station, complete with monitors, bio-readers, and a healing machine. "You know, I've always wondered how those healing machines work."

"Actually, I can answer that," Joyce responded with a smile. "The HPM, Heal Pulse Machine, was a Silph Company invention made in Kanto a little over twenty years ago. It was the result of decades of research into artificially recreating the healing effects of certain Pokémon moves, such as Heal Pulse, which gave the machine its name. At first, the machines were bulky, only usable in hospitals and Pokémon Centers, where they used a combination of healing rays and berry extracts to mend injuries for people and Pokémon. Now, they've been able to miniaturize the device, allowing for smaller facilities and clinics to have one. We have ten."

"Wow." Louise turned back to the machines. Back home, water mages were often the ones who healed injuries, but to be able to do so through machines still fascinated her. Her Pokémon were bunched up with her, using her as a perch to try and get a better view inside. Espirit in particular was sitting atop Louise's head, gazing upon the room in wonder. Saito's Pokémon, with the exception of Maindo, were also currently watching another set of machines in inside another room, each just as fascinated. Joyce smiled at the sight, then coughed to get their attention.

"If you will come this way, I can show you what is, in my opinion, the best room in the entire facility," Joyce said as she led them further down the hall. At the far end was a sliding glass door with steel edging. The glass was foggy, obscuring their vision, yet from how Joyce was reacting, it appeared to be something good. As they approached, Louise and Saito noticed a keypad next to the door. Joyce covered it with her body then entered several numbers in quick succession. The pad shone green, and a clicking noise was heard from the door.

"Louise, Saito, welcome to the Hatchery," Joyce announced as the door opened. As it did, billows of steam entered the hallway, but the sight in front of them took their breathes away. Inside were hundreds of Pokémon Eggs. They lined the walls and were placed on special tables, each enclosed in a glass tube with a light shining above it. The eggs themselves were a wide assortment of patterns and colors, and Louise could only guess what lay within them. The same went for Saito, and they both felt a massive weight on them, that this room was one of the most important rooms they would ever been.

"How many eggs are in here?" Derflinger asked, his eye wide as he took in the sight. The other Pokémon, even Maindo, stared at the eggs in wonder and silence.

"Currently, we have in our hands three-hundred and six eggs, each contained in their own unique protective casing. Inside, the eggs incubate until they are ready to give to their trainers."

"And if the trainers don't accept the eggs, then you keep them," Louise pointed out, and Joyce nodded.

"That is correct, Ms. Valliere. Our facility is a licensed breeding center, and part of is the right to sell Pokémon Eggs. While we do have stock of our own, most of our eggs come from trainers leaving their Pokémon here."

"What sort of people buy them?" Louise asked.

"All sorts of people. Ranchers, farmers, researchers, and trainers, mostly. A few times we'll get a family who just wants a friend. All purchasers, though, no matter how big or small, have to undergo a background check to make sure that the Pokémon they want won't go to a bad home. Any history of abuse or criminal records get scrutinized and often outright refused."

"I appreciate that," Saito replied. "I dread to think of a Pokémon put into an abusive home."

"Same," Joyce's smile faltered. "It's terrible to think that sort of thing still happens in this world. It's cruel."

Louise was suddenly reminded of another difference between her home and Earth. Back home, animals were viewed as mindless beasts. All humans, even commoners, were obviously above them, superior in every way. Sure, an animal might be stronger or could fly, but humans were smarter. Humans had magic, they had technology, language and social structure. Humans had feelings and a soul, while animals did not. Humans brought order to the chaos that was the natural world, and as such many used it as all the justification they need to do whatever they wanted. In contrast, the people of Earth seemed to have moved past that mindset and into one where they weren't so much as masters of nature but more like caretakers. A belief that living alongside nature was better than to consume it, one they readily acted on. As a result, their relationship with nature was more harmonious than hers. If she had to guess, it likely came from the fact that on Earth, Pokémon were much more widespread than the magical creatures back home and were just as intelligent as they were. Humans here had to live with the fact that they were equals with Pokémon for their entire existence. Not to mention, it didn't make much sense to pollute the environment when that ran the risk of making a Dragon-type go on a rampage.

At first, the thought that she wasn't superior to another creature frightened her. But, after traveling for so long, it didn't anymore. Her Pokémon were family, and if anyone tried to imply otherwise, they would be quickly proven otherwise.

"Joyce?" Louise asked, shaking herself out of her thoughts. "I have a quick question about the Pokémon Eggs."

"Of course, Ms. Valliere. Or, may I call you Louise?"

"Louise is fine." She smiled. "How exactly does the hatching work? The breeding and everything?"

"Excellent question!" Joyce said with a smile. "Now, contrary to what many tell ten-year-old kids on their journeys, we do know exactly where eggs come from. Once a mating pair of Pokémon fertilize an Egg, the female then lays it, where we then take the egg for incubation. Although each species of Pokémon are different from one another, Professor Elm of the Johto Region discovered the existence of Egg Groups, where certain species of Pokémon can interbreed with each other despite being different species all together. The resulting egg always has characteristics of both the mother and father species, no matter which species the egg results in."

"Is that why a Skitty and a Wailord can breed?" Saito asked with a confused expression. Louise, not knowing what those Pokémon were, quickly pulled out her Pokédex and looked up the pair. After a moment, Derflinger peeked over her shoulder to look at the two Pokémon in question.

"How in the hell does that work out?" he asked while Louise stared blankly at the picture of a tiny kitten and a massive whale.

"I…honestly have no idea. We've never had that happen here, at least since I started." Joyce shrugged, at a loss for words. "Anyway, Pokémon can hatch in one of two ways. The faster method is to give them to a trainer or mother. Something about close proximity to another beings speeds up the hatching process. Otherwise, we simply—"

A loud crack sounded in the hatchery, cutting Joyce off as she and the others whipped around to find the source. On a nearby table, they saw a yellow egg with a black bottom shaking, a small crack appearing at the top.

"Oh, my…" Joyce breathed out before rushing over. The others followed while Espirit immediately teleported to the egg. With her empathic abilities, she allowed herself to sense the emotions around her. She could feel the creatures inside all the eggs and in the nearby nurseries. They were happy, joyful, and full of curiosity as they took in the world around them. Many could barely feel the world outside of their eggs and were only just now beginning to grasp how large the world actually was. The egg in front of her, however, had just now fully realized how big the world was, and it wanted to see for itself, yet at the same time was afraid.

'Come on, you can do it,' she soothed the Pokémon side. 'It's not scary out here. It's bright and warm, you'll love it. Just come on out and see.'

The Pokémon seemed to heed her words and the fear slowly abated. Soon, more cracks appeared on the egg, and a soft glow appeared from inside. It was a warm light, bright as the sun yet not blinding. Everyone stood in awe as the cracks expanded, the light shining brighter and brighter until finally, with one final crack, the egg shell fully cracked away and turned into light. No one turned their gaze away as the light shone brighter and brighter until it finally died away, revealing a small yellow and black mouse with a short black tail. It was an adorable as it rubbed its eyes, letting them adjust to the outside world, its pink cheek marks sparking slightly. Silently, her eyes filled with wonder, Louise pulled out her Pokédex and scanned the Pokémon.

"Pichu, the Tiny Mouse Pokémon. The electric sacs of a Pichu are underdeveloped compared to other Electric-type Pokémon, and often hurt themselves when using electric their electricity. At the same time, they also do not produce nearly as much voltage. This makes them highly appropriate as pets to young children, and their evolved forms of Pikachu and Raichu make them highly valuable to trainers as well."

"Its…" Louise paused to let the Pichu yawn, a tiny squeak coming out as it did, "…adorable!" She felt no shame that she practically squealed out that last part.

'Welcome to the world.' Espirit smiled at the Pichu, who finally opened its eyes and looked her, then smiled.


Several hours into the pile of paperwork she was given, the sun long gone and the moon shining overhead, Elizabeth was only just now finishing it up. The biggest problem was simply going through all of the different offers and finding out which one had the best deal. Eventually, they decided on the PWE contract, seeing how its terms were the most favorable for them.

"Only 125 kilos?" Elizabeth said incredulously, "Have I been treating you wrong, or are you just small for your age?" The individual in question simply crossed his arms and glared at the verdette.

"Okay, Machamp," she said. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

Machamp looked down, shaking his head. 'I wasn't too much of a fan of how she was acting before, but this definitely feels like she's trying to have her cake and eat it, too.'

"I dunno, mister," Zorua yipped, "Lizzie seems alright to me! Besides, didn't you want to work with this PWE thing?"

Eevee huffed in disapproval. "She better not hear you calling her that, kit."

"Hey!" the fox barked. "You have no right to call me that! I'm almost as old as you are!"

"You're still my junior, kit," Eevee sneered back.

"This really isn't worth fighting over," Machamp interjected, trying to diffuse the situation, only for them to both round on him.

"You stay out of this!"

"I can handle myself!"

The two then returned to their feud, entirely disregarding Machamp's efforts to de-escalate their argument, who merely threw up his arms in exasperation and defeat. Elizabeth looked on and sighed, "They can barely stand each other, how could they possibly stand me?"

The verdette blinked back the tears that were threatening to form and pushed the feeling down into the roiling mass of emotions that had been growing in her stomach for the past two weeks. Then, she picked up a pen in her right hand and began to fill out the last few forms in Machamp's application.

"Knock, knock," Jason said, standing in the threshold of the room. Elizabeth looked up at him, and he smiled. "Mind if I come in?"

"Sure, why not?" the verdette sighed. Jason walked in, ignoring the two Pokémon fighting in the background.

"Are you sure that you're alright, Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth barely kept herself from rolling her eyes, forcing the irritation down to join its brethren. "Yes, I am, Jason. You don't need to worry."

"Really?" He sounded skeptical. "Then where did you get that scar?"

The verdette glared at him, but answered anyway, assuming that complying would get rid of him faster, "Tracksuit kid slashed me with a broken glass."

"Wait, what!?" the plum-haired boy exclaimed, "You can't just say things like that without context!"

"Fine," she huffed, "I got between him and his crush, and that angered him."

"You know, he glared at me when I tried to flirt with the girl, but I didn't expect him to be so possessive of her. Seems kind of extreme," he mused. He suspected that Elizabeth was holding some information back, but otherwise dismissed it. He then waggled his eyebrows. "Did you at least manage to kiss your 'Little Rose'?"

"Just what are you implying?" Elizabeth shot back, blushing slightly.

Jason chuckled a little, "Well—" He didn't manage to finish as the room was suddenly plunged into darkness.

"What the Hell!?" Elizabeth shouted and the fighting between Eevee and Zorua suddenly stopped. From the darkness, they could see Machamp suddenly tense up.

"What the…?" Jason muttered before pulling something out of his pocket and putting it to his lips. He then blew into it, and while he nor Elizabeth heard a thing, their Pokémon did as they clutched their ears.

"Aaaaagh!" both Eevee and Zorua cried out in unison.

'A little warning would have been nice,' Machamp muttered, having fought through the uncomfortable sound.

"…sorry." Jason awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. Soon, a faint glow could be seen from under the door, and Jason opened it–bumping into a few objects along the way–revealing a Growlithe.

"Thanks for getting here so quickly, bud," he said. "Would you mind giving us some light?"

The hound barked in agreement and increased the intensity of the glow her fur emitted, brightening up the room substantially. Elizabeth and the others could now see clearly and the Growlithe sat down, waiting for Jason's next request.

"Thank you, bud," he said, glad to be able to see again. "Now, we need to get back to the lobby."

"Any idea what happened?" Elizabeth couldn't help but think back to the Absol Saito said he saw earlier before shaking her head. She wouldn't allow herself to believe in such superstitious nonsense.

"I honestly have no idea. Probably just a blown circuit or something."

On the outskirts of the Daycare, on a large hill overlooking the entire facility, a lone man stood. Through a pair of night vision binoculars, he could see the Pokémon below whisk around in confusion as the lights suddenly gave out. The workers who were still there shouted in alarm before running back to the main facility, a few guests running after them. A small frown appeared on his face. The guests weren't part of the plan, but there appeared to be only two. He could adjust accordingly.

"All teams," he said into his radio. "This is Maxwell. The operation is a go. Proceed with the extraction."

"Yes, sir!" a chorus of voices shouted from the other radios. Maxwell allowed himself to smirk. A pair of red trucks rolled past him towards the daycare. As they did, he allowed himself the luxury of looking that the logo emblazoned on the back doors. To his pleasure, he saw a single red flare with black cracks appearing along it. They may only be but a remnant of something once far larger, but he knew that eventually, time would allow those cracks to heal and Flare to become a blazing inferno.

[~][~]

Hello, everyone! Happy Labor Day and here is the latest chapter of Outsiders! Louise and company are now at the Kalos River Daycare and well, things went wrong almost immediately. Especially now that we can confirm Team Flare is still kicking. We have been looking forward to this arc for quite some time now, and I hope you all enjoy it. Now, onto the Q&A:

Sakura Lisel: Technically, yes. Derflinger can be caught by any Pokeball. But, that depends on Derflinger and the others allowing it, which ain't going to happen.

reven4221: Well, now we got the Evil Team. It really is a Pokémon story! As you can see, it is still Team Flare, but these guys are the Team Flare Remnant. More will be revealed about them and their structure in the coming chapters.

Pacer287: Oh, don't worry. I knew you weren't offended. And thank you for your words. We try to put in natural world-building wherever we can.

MBenz4268: Don't worry about it, man. After all, half of this story is built off of headcanons and removing game limitations. You did not come across as annoying.

That's it for the Q&A! We hope you guys enjoy, and stay tuned!