Outsiders (Pokémon/Familiar of Zero Reverse Summon)
Season 1, Episode 7, Chapter 4
"Brennaraki, use Psywave on that Zubat! Espirit, use Disarming Voice on that Houndour! Aile, use Aerial Ace on the Skorupi!" Louise ordered once more as she ducked under another fist. She was really starting to appreciate those self-defense lessons her mother made her go through as she kneed the man in the groin then socked him across the jaw. One kick to his head later, and she was already having to dodge away from more attacks.
"Burn the witch!" one of the grunts yelled, and Louise, rather than feeling fearful, merely felt incensed.
"Witch!? I'm not a witch! I'm a mage!"
"What's the difference?!"
"One's a blasted heathen selling their soul to the devil for power. The other is kicking your ass." Louise promptly blasted the man with a small explosion, knocking him back into a nearby tree straight into unconsciousness.
It had been roughly an hour since they all split apart, and she had been under siege for nearly the entire time. At first, the criminals merely assailed her from afar, preferring to send out their Pokémon to try and whittle her down. After putting down the same team of Pokémon for the third time, she recognized the tactic for what it was and decided to close the distance.
Once she got within spitting distance, the Grunts started ordering their Pokémon to attack her. At first, it was simply to disorient her Pokémon, not quite realizing that her and Saito's training regimen was designed to allow for their Pokémon to have autonomy. But, after she started blowing them up with her spells, they started attacking her out of sheer self-defense and fear.
They were right to be scared.
"You know," she began to taunt as she jumped behind a tree as a barrage of Poison Stings struck the other side, "you guys might want to find another career path. Terrorism isn't a good long-term option. Bad for the health!"
"Oh, like you'd understand our beliefs!" a female grunt shouted as she applied another potion to her Pokémon. "What we're doing will change the world and rid it of the—!"
"Blah, blah, world is ugly, blah blah, humans and Pokémon to blame, blah blah, kill everyone. Did I get it right?" Louise asked with a mirthful smile on her face.
"Why you little…!"
"I'm going to take that as a yes! Well, seeing how you are all a bunch of homicidal maniacs, I don't feel guilty about doing this," Louise declared as she leaned out from behind her tree and aimed at a tree next to the gathered Flare grunts. "Fireball!"
The base of the sycamore tree exploded into splinters, forcing the criminals to cover their eyes. A few were knocked to the ground, unable to keep their footing. As smoke cleared, they looked up and saw the tree began to teeter precariously before falling towards them. They quickly scrambled to their feet, only for a psychic field to hold them down and allow the tree to pin them with its branches. Louise heard their cries of pain as the tree pinned them, and with a victorious smirk she walked over to inspect the now captured criminals and their Pokémon. In the distance, she could hear the others retreat, but she paid them no heed.
"Good job, guys," Louise said as she relieved the Flare grunts of their potions.
"When I get out of here…" one of the male grunts hissed in anger, his voice soft from having the wind knocked out of him, and Louise merely rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, how about no. Espirit, mind practicing your Hypnosis on them, please?" Espirit nodded then focused intensely on the pinned criminals. Her eyes turned white as a bright glow emitted from them. Transfixed, the Flare grunts couldn't help but stare into the light as they slowly became drowsier and drowsier. Finally, they fell into a deep sleep, marked by gentle breathing.
"That was great, Espirit!" Louise congratulated her Pokémon, who tiredly smiled at the praise. "We just need to make sure it goes by faster next time." She paused and looked around to see that no one else was with them, and Louise allowed herself to smile. Things were finally looking up.
"Wonder how the others are doing?" she asked to herself before turning to the Ralts at her feet. "Mind checking in with the others?"
Espirit nodded then concentrated, a purple aura enveloping her eyes. Images then flashed across Louise's mind, notifying her of how the others were doing. Like her section, they too had little difficulty. In fact, the number of Grunts they had to fend off was rather low. Normally, that would have been good news to the noble, but the more she thought about it, the more it didn't make any sense.
"Espirit, what can you tell me about their attack patterns?" Louise suddenly asked, to which more images flashed into Louise's mind. They all told her the same story. The attacks were heavy at first before slowing down into a trickle. Almost as if they were retreating. Or reconvening somewhere else.
"Louise, how's Saito?" Louise suddenly got worried. When she got the same images as last time, she then noticed something odd. The images pertaining to Saito seemed to almost be repeating on a loop, unlike the others. Her worry rising, Louise then did something she hadn't previously considered.
"Espirit… Check on Elizabeth, please." Elizabeth should have been completely safe in the Hatchery, away from the fighting as it were. Espirit skipping her made sense.
When the images came into her mind, she realized just how wrong she was, and immediately broke off into a sprint while Espirit warned the others and Aile flew as fast as she could to her friends.
Everything hurt.
This wasn't the first time Elizabeth had been in such a condition, in fact it wasn't even in the first ten, if she counted those memories. However, she could only think of one, maybe two prior occasions when the cause of the injuries was still in the room and capable of inflicting more harm on her. The verdette preferred not to think about those times.
Fighting through the pain, Elizabeth opened her eyes, hoping that she might see someone coming to help. Ironically, Derflinger was the first thing she saw, though, trapped as he was by the rubble, he was unlikely to be of any help. Even then, she couldn't really bring herself to care as she took in her surroundings. Much of the Hatchery lied buried in rubble, with canisters knocked off of their shelves and tools scattered all around. She was glad they had already moved the eggs into the central room, but that only lessened the anxiety somewhat. The verdette couldn't see any of her team, and while she knew that Machamp was behind her, neither Eevee nor Zorua were anywhere in sight, and that worried her.
"Ayyyyyyy…."
Everything snapped into crisp focus at that sound, and Elizabeth quickly rolled herself onto her back. Her chest felt like something was weighing it down, but whatever it was lost among the mental noise of all her instincts screaming at her. Eyes the color of varnished wood met her emerald gaze as her assailant took note of her sudden movement, Elizabeth suddenly became quite terrified.
He smiled, tilting his head slightly. "I would stay down if I were you. I'd rather not have to harm such a delicate flower as yourself any more than I already have."
Elizabeth was momentarily taken aback by the fact that she could, in fact, understand the Lucario, but even that was drowned by the cacophony of voices screaming at her to move, move, move! She followed those instincts and prepared to push herself off the ground, but Lucario immediately noticed the movement. A cruel smile blossomed across his face, and Elizabeth went very still.
"Shame," Lucario drawled, pretending to be regretful while cracking his knuckles. "Guess I'm going to have to break your face."
Before he could do anything to her, Machamp roared and charged the blue Pokémon as he began to coil his aura around his fists. Lucario began to turn towards him, but by then it was too late. The superpower Pokémon tackled the aura user through the hole in the wall, then threw him across the field.
"And stay out!" Machamp cried after him while Elizabeth backed herself into a corner.
Lucario simply laughed as he rose to his feet, "You've certainly got some spunk challenging me to a duel."
"What?" Machamp said.
"You heard me," Lucario said, surrounding himself in his aura. "Now, GET OVER HERE!"
Lucario charged forward, closing the distance in less than a second and leaping into the air. Machamp barely managed to catch Lucario's feet before they were driven into his face. Snapping his legs apart, and bringing Machamp's arms with them, Lucario crossed his arms and struck at Machamp's face. The force of the hit was enough to make the grey Pokémon stagger and clutch his face in pain, and his opponent capitalized on that, gracefully backflipping out of the hold and flinging Machamp into the air in the same movement, his foot glowing blue.
"Don't think I'm done with you!" Lucario cried as he broke into mad laughter. "I'm not going to stop 'till you're six feet under!"
"Lucario, wait—" a voice yelled, but it was too late. With a yell of adrenaline, Lucario shot himself after the receding Fighting-type. "You were supposed to stick with us," the man finished lamely. Sensing an opportunity, Elizabeth began to rise, but a sinister presence stopped her cold.
'Ehh…' a bored voice echoed in her head, 'At least he had the decency to take his fight away from our objective.'
"Still," the grunt continued as he entered the room, eight others following in his wake, "I felt safer having him by my side."
'Just do your job, Grunt,' Gallade drawled as he followed the man in, 'Besides~, I think I have just the thing to keep our little "surprises" under control.'
"If you say so," he replied, heading off to the hatchery as the others trailed behind him.
Gallade turned to Elizabeth, smiling darkly. 'I wouldn't recommend doing that, especially if you care at all about him.' With that, he turned slightly, allowing the moonlight to illuminate his captive. Elizabeth felt her breathing hitch as she saw who the Pokémon was carrying, but Derflinger responded far worse.
"Saito!" he screamed, horrified at his friend's condition. Saito was badly bruised, and a gash on his forehead caused blood to drip down his face. His breathing was labored, but even then, he was trying to break free.
"What did you do to him?!" Elizabeth shouted, surprising herself.
'Me? Nothing, yet…' he replied ominously.
Saito coughed, giving his captor a heated glare. "Bastard… I saw what you did to Maindo…"
'Maindo?' Gallade queried. 'Oh, you mean that Ralts? Well, he reminded me a lot of myself when I was younger. All brash and arrogant, putting on a façade. Decided that he needed to be taken down a few pegs.'
"By torturing him?!" Saito all but screamed at him.
'I wouldn't call it torture, but the face he made when he realized that he couldn't teleport or call for help was pure gold,' the Blade Pokémon said, a sadistic grin forming on his face. 'But, to tell you the truth, just the memory of his screams as I made him relive his mother's death over and over still makes me weak in the knees.'
"You monster…" Saito snarled. Gallade just laughed.
'I'd worry more about yourself if I were you,' he murmured as he began to lick the blood off Saito's face, making the boy squirm. 'After all, you're the one with a blade at your neck.'
Elizabeth shuddered as she looked on, tears forming in her emerald eyes as she felt herself being torn in three different directions. She should run. She should curl up and hide. She should charge him. She should scream for help. She should stay quiet. She should save her. She should, she should, she should…
'You shouldn't squirm, boy. If you do, my arms might slip,' Gallade said moving his arm slightly. 'Just like that.'
Saito cried out as the blade pressed into his neck, and just like that, all the screaming voices in her head fell silent before all shouting in chorus. She felt her body move almost on its own as she acted out the moves and patterns that had been seared into her mind all those years ago.
Grasp the hilt firmly, but not too hard.
Blue silk tightened around her left hand.
"Elizabeth?"
Rise smoothly, every wasted move is an opportunity for death.
The room flew by as she closed the distance.
"Put me down!"
Something let out a squeak of surprise, and Elizabeth felt power flow into her as she swung the sword up.
'What!?'
Bones cracked, and she felt the force of impact travel down the blade. The green swordsman stumbled back from the unexpected blow, losing his grasp on his hostage in the process. His arm hung limply at his side, clearly broken while he glared at her, an odd mixture of anger and pleasure swirling in his red eyes. Elizabeth merely glared back, not noticing how she was still holding onto Derflinger's hilt.
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR GODDAMN MIND! YOU'RE LUCKILY I'M NOT TRYING TO POSSESS YOU!"
'That was very stupid,' Gallade said, 'But I don't think you're going to have a chance to regret it.'
The verdette charged at him with a yell.
Louise had never run as fast or hard as she was currently going her entire life. She'd be impressed with herself, but right now she couldn't care less. Now she heard the sounds of battle and cursed herself for not hearing them earlier.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" she cursed as she continued to run around the outside of the building, not even acknowledging the others behind her. Espirit had contacted them immediately, letting them know what Flare's plan was and that Saito was captured. Charlotte was still working on the phones, apparently almost there, but Wayne and Kurt left to try and help. Hopefully, they'd get to them in time.
She rounded the final corner, allowing the sight of Saito's position to come into view, and she gasped. The entire wall was shattered, marked with holes, craters and scorch marks, and Flare Grunts worked on healing their battered Pokémon. She could see Ronin being held down by a pair of Houndours, attempting to rise to his feet but each time getting knocked back down. Maindo was standing still, a horrified expression on his face as he stared into nothing. Espirit whimpered as their states while Brennaraki growled.
What shocked her most of all, however, was inside the building. She could see Elizabeth swinging a shouting Derflinger at an injured Gallade, screaming her heart out with each swing while Saito was slowly getting to his feet, wobbly and heavily bruised and beaten.
She saw red, and with a yell she pulled out her wand and began casting just as the other Grunts noticed her presence.
"Oof!" Elizabeth grunted as Gallade gut-punched her, sending her sprawling onto the ground. She gagged and heaved, clutching her stomach in pain while Gallade stomped over to her.
"Elizabeth, you need to run! Now!" Derflinger shouted at her, still too weak to move on his own power. Elizabeth merely groaned.
'Have to admit, you've lasted longer than I thought you would,' Gallade said as he kicked the verdette into a desk. 'Frankly, that lucky first hit is the only reason why you aren't dead right now. That and, well, beating you to a pulp is just too much fun. Plus, I like the pain. Makes me feel alive.'
Gallade grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up face to face. She swung a still exhausted Derflinger at his head, only for the Psychic-type to catch it bare-handed. He then twisted her wrist, breaking it then socked her across the jaw, hard enough to hurt but not enough to end the fight. The blow knocked her head back, and her vision became dizzy and blurred.
'Well, it's been fun,' Gallade said as his arm glowed, 'but it's time I ended this.'
Elizabeth's eyes widened and she attempted to struggle, but his grip was too strong. With a wicked smile, Gallade threw a punch at her, only for a black ball of fur to slam into his head.
"Get away from her!" Zorua yelled as she clawed at him. Gallade snarled as he attempted to throw the fox off, only for Eevee to slam into the back of his heel, knocking him onto his back.
'Damned rats!' Gallade roared as he lifted Eevee with Psychic and threw her into Zorua. The two young Pokémon yelped as they impacted each other, each rolling across the floor before stopping on their feet.
'So, you got some spunk, do you!' Gallade screamed in anger. 'Fine, then I'll just put you down, too!' He shot forward, his arm-sword glowing white as he attempted to use Slash on the two Pokémon. Eevee leapt to the side while Zorua shrouded herself in illusions, revealing her body to be that of a piece of rubble. At the same time, Eevee retaliated with Covet and Zorua used Pursuit. The attacks struck, forcing the Pokémon to raise his arms to defend himself. He followed with a mighty roar, his face warped in a mad smile, his sword now glowing purple as he used Psycho Cut on the Eevee, the attack too fast for her to dodge.
"Aagh!" she screamed as she soared through the air. Zorua quickly shrouded herself again, just as Gallade slammed his fist into the ground where she once stood.
"Eevee!" Elizabeth screamed as her starter hit the ground, while she herself attempted to get off the ground.
"No, stay down!" Derflinger protested, wrapping his sash around her arm for the first time and halting her movements. At once, painful memories coursed through her, ones that Derflinger picked up on. He immediately released his grip.
"Don't…do that!" she growled at the Honedge as she rose to her feet. Zorua and Eevee were still fighting the injured Gallade, his broken arm the only reason they hadn't been defeated already. Slowly and shakily, she rose to her feet and began to walk forward.
"Elizabeth, stop!" Derflinger protested again, his eye boring into her. "You are only going to get yourself hurt."
"So I should just let him hurt my Pokémon!?" she shot back. The fight was still ongoing, but slowly and surely, Gallade was beginning to wear them down, despite his injury. Zorua's illusions were no longer working, forcing her to clumsily dodge the larger Pokémon's strikes, often to no avail. Eevee was having similar luck, but as Gallade moved to strike her yet again, she kicked loose rubble into his eyes, blinding him and allowing her to get away.
"I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is that you are only human, and he is a Gallade. He will kill you!"
"Then what would you have me do? Just sit back and watch him kill my Pokémon and steal all the eggs?!"
"Let me take control," Derflinger said, causing Elizabeth's breath to hitch. "I know they hurt you, but I promise you that I am not like them. Right now, I'm too hurt to move on my own and if you try to do something, you'll only get yourself killed. I know how to fight, both as a Pokémon and as a sword, so please. Trust me."
"I…" she was interrupted by the pained scream of Eevee being crushed by a Psychic hold, while Zorua gasped for breath as Gallade held her neck in a vice. Without thinking, she charged at him, and as Gallade turned towards her with a wicked smirk, Derflinger acted.
"Sorry, kid," he said as he wrapped his sash around her for a second time. So focused on the Pokémon in front of her that she didn't even notice her movements becoming more graceful, so when Gallade threw Zorua at her, she simply dodged the projectile and swung Derflinger at him, his blade glowing with Sacred Sword. The blast knocked the air out of Gallade's lungs, sending him flying into a nearby wall and releasing his hold on Eevee.
'Why you little-!' he growled as launched himself forward. Guided by Derflinger, Elizabeth grabbed his sheath and used it to deflect a Psycho Cut while Derflinger used Retaliate. The attack, boosted by the force of Gallade's slash, cut into his chest and sent him staggering back. He growled as he glared at the two while Eevee and Zorua ran to Elizabeth's side and growled right back. His eyes narrowed upon seeing Derflinger, and a thought came to mind.
'Alright then,' he declared as he ran towards the three. Immediately, Eevee and Zorua attacked him with Covet and Pursuit, but he ignored them as he zeroed in on Elizabeth. Derflinger launched another Sacred Sword, only for Gallade to tank the blow with his good arm and use Slash with the other. Derflinger moved to block, only for the Normal-type attack to phase through his Ghost-type body and straight into Elizabeth's gut.
"Guagh!" she grunted as the Slash knocked the air out of her lungs. Her vision began to blur once more, but already Derflinger was moving to retaliate, trying to keep her moving back as Gallade continued his assault. No longer was he using actual moves on the Pokémon nor finding sick pleasure from the pain. Instead, he was directing his entire attention on Elizabeth, taking advantage of Normal-type and Fighting-types move's tendency to phase through Ghost-types to strike her directly. He was relentless, and although Derflinger was able to force Elizabeth to dodge most of the attacks, the ones that did imparted enough force to cause severe bodily harm. Her ribs became cracked, her eye swollen, and cuts appeared all across her body, staining her shredded clothes. It was only thanks to Derflinger's efforts that she hadn't keeled over already.
At the same, the constant barrage of retaliatory attacks from Derflinger, Eevee, and Zorua were beginning to wear him down. A trickle of blood ran down from a gash on his forehead, both of his arms were now broken, his leg dragged behind him due to a swollen ankle, and his movements became much more sluggish. The fight would be over soon, it was only a question as to who would fall first.
'Just lay down and die!' Gallade yelled as he launched himself forward once more, so enraged that he had tunnel vision. Then, his injuries finally caught up to him, as no one was able to support him. His arm refused to rise, he tripped on his swollen ankle, and it became hard to breathe from the cracked ribs. At the same time, Zorua hit him with Feint Attack while Eevee used Tackle on one of his broken arms, making him cry out in pain and giving Derflinger an opening to uppercut his jaw with one final Sacred Sword, boosted by a quick use of Swords Dance, and sent the Gallade flying upward. As he fell, Eevee and Zorua launched a barrage of Covets, Pursuits, Tackles, and Fury Swipes, with Gallade unable to defend himself. The attacks continued even as he hit the ground hard, and soon he stopped moving. Only then did the two foxes relent and back away from the fallen Pokémon. He didn't get back up.
Elizabeth allowed herself to catch her breath, looking down at her ragged, bloodstained dress. Everything began to fade, and she felt herself begin to fall. Then she stopped, almost like a puppet on a string. There was something in her left hand, and she let it go.
She fell.
Outside the Hatchery, things were as chaotic as they had ever been. Louise's arrival had caught all of their attentions and prevented them from stealing any more of the Eggs they had already loaded onto trucks and sped away, despite Dragonite and Arcanine chasing after them. At the same time, it also released Ronin and Maindo from their imprisonment, and now they were fighting tooth and nail to both get to their injured trainer as well as simple retaliation. Maindo, tired and exhausted after his horrid ordeal, was a swirling ball of psychic rage, hearing his opponents' cries for mercy but sparing none. For once, Espirit agreed with him.
"Skorupi, Sludge Bomb!"
"Houndour, Dark Pulse!"
"Zubat, Air Cutter!"
A hail of gunk, dark energy, and blades of wind rained down on Esprit, and she was sent flying, hitting the ground with a thud.
"Espirit!" Brennaraki and Aile cried in distress. Unfortunately, this moment of distraction allowed the army of Pokémon they were fighting to get some more hits in, knocking them back. They of course retaliated with fire and beaks, but forced back they were.
As she lied on the ground, Esprit looked around her. Tanuki, Ronin, and Maindo were all with Saito, tending to his wounds and preventing anyone from nearing him. Eevee and Zorua were both sticking near their own Trainer, who was unconscious, and rightfully so after her clash with that Gallade. Derf was also hovering near her, panting slightly and dented in place. Machamp was still brawling with Lucario, both of them equally matched. The daycare workers were sticking close to the eggs and babies and fighting as best they could, but they were starting to get overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. Louise was hiding and launching explosions with reckless abandon, being sure to hit as many Flare Pokémon and Grunts as possible. Herself, Brennaraki, and Aile were the only things between the army of Zubat, Skorupi, and Houndour, and the eggs and hatchlings that were in the care of the daycare.
Despite their best efforts, Espirit knew things were bad. Strong as they were, they couldn't hold out forever. Not against these kinds of numbers. She didn't know what to do.
But...as a Ralts, she had the ability to feel emotions.
She could feel the desperate fury of her friends, her Trainer, and their rivals. She could feel the infuriating smugness of the Flare Remnants and their army, assured that they had won.
With the amount of emotions around her, it was a little hard to tell where the emotions of the people and Pokémon around her stopped and where her own begun. But some emotions, the ones that rang stronger than all the others in the area, were the Pokémon she was protecting. Both the baby Pokémon, and the ones yet to hatch. After all, Pokémon could still experience the world around them, even in their eggs. Nobody really knew why.
But they could. And so she could feel them.
And that's why...she wouldn't give up. She couldn't give up.
The unhatched Pokémon in their eggs, the baby Pokémon, barely a few days old. The fear they felt, it was almost physically painful. But more important to her was their hope.
They were hoping with every fiber of their being that somehow, someway, the older Pokémon could save them.
She had to answer their hopes. She couldn't let them down.
'I…' she started, forcing herself back to her feet.
"Hm? You want something, squirt?" A nearby Skorupi laughed, launching another Sludge Bomb at her. A wave of psychic energy emerged from the Ralts' body, blowing away both the Sludge Bom and the Mon that fired it.
'I won't give up! I can't give up!' She cried. 'Everyone here...they're all counting on me! That's why...that's why...I'm not going to lose!' Her last words seemed to echo, as she felt a burst of power running through her body. Everyone else in the area covered their eyes, as a bright blue light enveloped the Feeling Pokémon.
"What's going on?" Louise asked, peeking through her fingers as her third Pokémon appeared to grow taller.
"Esprit is-" Saito started, amazed at the sight before him as the others all simply stared in awe and shock.
"-Evolving!" Derf finished.
"This is...evolution?" Louise had heard about this phenomenon, certainly. Sycamore had described it as one of the biggest mysteries of Pokémon. But seeing it for herself was something else entirely.
"No! Stop that Ralts!" One of the Flare Grunts called. A few Skorupi reared their stingers for a Sludge Bomb but were interrupted by a burst of fire from Brennaraki. A few Houndour gathered flames in their mouths but were interrupted by a spray of water from Ronin. A Zubat descended for a Wing Attack but was knocked away by an attack from one of the daycare worker's Pokémon.
This repeated several times, any Pokémon that moved to interrupt the process swiftly being beaten back, until the light cleared away from Esprit, revealing her new form.
She was now a bit taller, her horns had relocated to the side of her head, and her 'helmet' had changed shape, now resembling a young girl's hair. Her arms and torso were covered in white fur, which spread out from the waist to look more like a skirt. Her legs were much longer and much thinner, now bright green in color. And with the changed shape of her helmet/hair, her red eyes were now visible for the world to see.
"Esprit...evolved," Louise gasped. She reached for her Pokédex but stopped herself. There would be time for that later. Right now, she had to focus on the battle at hand. The newly-evolved Kirlia let out a battle cry, a blue light gathering in her eyes and spraying out towards several of the gathered Skorupi and Zubat, sending them all flying back.
"That was Psychic!" Saito cheered.
"Psychic won't work on a Dark-type," one of the Houndour growled, preparing a Dark Pulse.
'No,' Esprit conceded. 'But Dazzling Gleam will.' The Fire-type had just enough time to process that thought before he and all his comrades were blown back by a flash of white light.
"Grr...so what if one of their Pokémon evolved!" The Flare Grunt that was in charge of the siege growled out. "We still have the advantage of numbers!"
That they did. The defending Pokémon fought back with renewed spirit, easily knocking out multiple Zubat, Houndour, and Skorupi, but it seemed for every one they beat, two more took their place. And while the new ones were fighting, the Flare Remnants would pull out Max Revives and Full Restores and heal the beaten ones, just as they had been before. The process repeated, and even with the boosted morale brought by Esprit's timely evolution, the defenders were slowly, but surely, being defeated.
Aile, in particular was quickly being overwhelmed by a group of five Zubat. She slammed into one with Peck, only for an Air Cutter to make direct contact with her wing, sending her hurtling to the ground. The Zubat all closed in on her, mouths open as they prepared Leech Life attacks.
"Shit!" Aile cursed, frantically trying to escape, but her wing was unresponsive.
Suddenly, a stream of blue fire flew through the area, sending all of the Zubat flying - and not of their own volition.
A loud chirp was heard, as the flames dispersed and revealed a large, bird Pokémon with red and grey feathers. Aile recognized her as a Talonflame, the final evolution of her own species.
"You did pretty good, chibi," the Scorching Pokémon complimented, "But we'll handle it from here."
"'We?'" Aile repeated.
There was a flash of light, and a large, tortoise like Pokémon with orange scales and black shell landed in the battle with a thud, exhaling red-hot wind onto the Skorupi, knocking them all out instantly. Then, a black, canine Pokémon that looked like a much larger and much scarier Houndour leapt into the fray, causing many of the Dark Pokémon to shrink back instinctively. The newcomer let out a threatening Snarl, sending them all flying backwards, unconscious. Machamp's battle with the Lucario ended abruptly as said Lucario suddenly found himself covered in a ferocious Inferno, courtesy of the chandelier-like Pokémon that was now laughing mischievously behind him.
Up above, the Talonflame had just finished knocking out the last of the Zubat with her Brave Bird. The four newcomers then gathered together, the Scorching Pokémon landing on the outstretched arm of a trainer. Said trainer had pink hair, red sunglasses similar to the ones the Flare Remnants were wearing, a black top, and red pants. An aura of authority swirled around her, and all the Grunts took an instinctive step back.
"That's...!" Saito gasped, recognizing her immediately.
"It's you!" The lead grunt accused. "You traitor!"
"I suggest you all give up now," the trainer of the Fire-Types that had interrupted the battle advised coldly, ignoring the grunt. "There is no chance of escape."
As if on cue, several bright lights burst on all around them, revealing several police officers surrounding the location. The lead grunt growled, but threw his hands into the air, knowing he stood no chance against several dozen Police Officers backed by a member of the Elite Four. The other grunts with him followed suit.
It was then that Espirit finally allowed herself to let out the breath she had been holding. They had won.
[~][~]
Hello, everyone! Here is the latest episode of Outsiders! Lots happened here, including our first Evolution! Our dear Espirit is now a Kirlia!
We also want to announce two new betas, Pangaea and Revamper D.M.G.. They were a tremendous help with this chapter, so I thank both of you.
Now, onto the Q&A:
Hunter407: Thank you for joining us, Hunter! Don't worry, its no problem at all with your English. While I haven't read any of Pokémon Special, we are incorporating other fighting styles where appropriate. But, others in our group have read the manga, so you'll see its influence here and there.
Drewd00d: Hello and welcome to Fanfiction! I was a lurker for years before I finally made an account, so your in like company. Thank you for your in depth review. I always enjoy reading these, as it means that I've been doing a good job. Making Saito and Louise likable main characters was always a priority for us, especially in how they play off of each other. As much as I like FoZ canon, that show did not portray their relationship all that well. We all know why. So to hear that we've succeeded so far is a great sign. As for the battles, we wanted to showcase the humans more where appropriate. After all, if criminals are attacking, you aren't going to just sit back and let your Pokémon do all the work, are you? No, you'll fight back yourself, and the criminals will target you in turn. These aren't Jesse, James, and Meowth. I'm glad to hear that Maxwell's character is coming across well. He is certainly an effectively leader, a brutal one who doesn't tolerate rookie mistakes like leaving evidence but is willing to listen to subordinates and reward them thusly. As such, his men are very loyal to him, as are his Pokémon. As for how they healed, they anticipated making more money on this venture than they would have spent, so they bought their supplies. Stealing them would have only led the police to them, with laundered money of course.
That's it for this chapter! See you all next time! Before we go, here is an omake by NecroMechanoid. Special thanks for allowing me to post it here:
Any City in Kalos
Park
Louise, Saito and Derf sat on a bench with an order of six manju buns in the middle with their respective drinks at the respective side. It's an interesting confection which Louise found more and more appealing with every bite.
Next to her, Saito comments about a battle they witness a couple of minutes ago. More specifically about a certain Pokemon the trainer had.
"I can't believe that guy had an actual kabutops." Saito said between bites of his snack. "Should've ask how he got it. I'd be the envy of lots of trainers if I had a Fossil Pokémon."
"But how?" Louise said with awe. "How can they bring back extinct species!? From fossils no less!? That collector who wanted Espirit also had an extinct Pokemon: Archen. This act can be considered necromancy back home but that's a crude comparison from what they've done here."
Derf interjected, "I have to say: I'm more than curious myself. Never in my six thousand years did I ever think of seeing something like that. How long has that been possible?"
Saito looked at the two stare at him for answers. Rummaging through his memories, he replied the best he could. "Well, Devon Corp has been working on the tech about fifteen years ago and announced their success like 7-8 years ago when they unveiled an Omanyte on TV. I still remember seeing that broadcast.
As for the how they did it? From what I can grasp, the genetic material of Pokemon can survive a lot better intact in fossils than any other creatures. Including humans. They extract the samples and they got the 'blueprints' to make a clone and bring it to the modern world."
"You make it sound easy." Derf said with some sarcasm.
"That's the dumb down, cliffnotes version for people of average intelligence like us." Saito quickly defended himself. "I'm not a scientist or expert in the field. More detailed descriptions will no doubt involve a lot of big and complicated words. A number of which I haven't heard since school biology class. I do remember one of my teachers asking the class which fossil Pokemon do we want. Majority of the class, myself included, said the same thing: Aerodactyl."
"Bu-But to bring creatures back from extinction." Louise stampers. "Isn't that like playing God? Did people not see the implications of such a thing!?"
Saito gave a short chuckle, "You sounds like those intense luddite groups. They're the ones who spoke against the tech. Citing that it was crimes against the nature and all that stuff. Debates and tempers flying everywhere."
Louise listen intently. From what she has seen now and what Saito said, those groups failed to get their message across. But she asked all the same. "So what ended up happening?"
"The debates lasted for a few months before becoming old news and people moved on to the next thing happening." Saito finished his manju before taking a sip of his drink.
The answer was not what Louise expected. "Just like that!" She screamed drawing the attention of others in the vicinity. After a minute passed and everyone returned to their business, Louise pressed on in a controlled manner. "Just like that? How can people just move on from something of such magnitude!?"
"Well, new things happen every day Louise." Saito said. "Big or small, people will always be drawn away from yester-news to more recent occurrences happening around the world. Just look up there for an example." He directed Louise's attention to a building with a giant tv monitor.
A news broadcast on display talking about a robbery at a museum where a number of Kalos artifacts were stolen.
"That's a live broadcast from Cerulean City. In the Kanto region." Saito paused to take another drink. "Let's me ask you something: in your home country, how long does it take for news to travel from the east end to the west end?"
Louise pondered the question for a few short seconds. "Well, usually, it would take a few weeks to reach that far. On foot that is. A day or two by messenger bird or flying mount." She became silent for a bit, looking at the remains of her manju before taking the final bite and swallow. "Guess it's pretty slow compared to here." Back home, news like this would lay festering in the minds of everyone for months or even years. Here, with their 24 hour news informing them of everything happening around the world, even something like bringing the dead back would fall out of people's mind after a while.
Saito took the last manju, tore it down the middle, and gave one to Louise. "There is one more factor in this."
"What is it?"
"Simply put: if a discovery or achievement doesn't affect people's lives in any bad way, then there really is no issue to be had at all." Saito shrugged his shoulders. "Really, that's what matters most."
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