Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Reverse Summon)
Season 1, Episode 9, Chapter 2

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Elizabeth had gotten lost almost immediately. During her previous visits to Cyllage, the verdette hadn't really gotten any chances to really explore the place. She had always been dragged around by her parents or by a 'friend.' In addition, Lyco's Lounge – the hotel she was going to be staying at – was unsurprisingly obscure. Nobody she had talked to knew where the place was, if they even recognized the name at all.

Sighing to herself in resignation, Elizabeth turned a corner, only to find herself back on the city's main street. The verdette was silent for a moment. Then, she slammed her fist into a nearby wall. The verdette was frustrated, both at herself for not thinking to ask Versus for directions and at her patron for not considering that she might not know where this obscure hotel was. And now her arm hurt.

Sensing her trainer's distress, Zorua scanned the area for anyone who looked like they might be able to help. Unfortunately, most of the people nearby had begun cautiously moving away after Elizabeth's outburst. Most, but not all.

"Hey, are you okay?" a woman asked in concern. Elizabeth looked up and was somewhat taken aback by the appearance of the woman addressing her. The woman had her hair done up in messily curled twintails and wore something akin to a dress a conductor might wear. However, she had what looked to be a gas mask covering the lower half of her face.

Zorua yapped, jolting Elizabeth out of her stupor. "Uhh, yes," she said lamely, "I'm looking for a place called 'Lyco's Lounge,' but I can't seem to find it."

"Oh!" the woman said, a glint of surprise visible in her eyes, "What a coincidence. My coworkers and I are on our way there right now. Come on, I can show you there."

"Uhh, thank you," Elizabeth said, a little taken aback.

"You're welcome. If you don't mind me asking, why exactly were you looking for Lyco's Lounge? It's not a very well-known venue, and I suspect that you wouldn't have gotten lost if you'd booked the room yourself."

"Oh, no. It's fine," the verdette said, laughing weakly, "You're right that I didn't book the room myself. I'm part of the Kalos PWE League, my sponsor made the arrangements for me."

"Interesting," the raven-haired woman said, "My name is Janet Crane, by the way. I went by Scarecrow during my time in the ring."

"Elizabeth Colette," the verdette said, not sure how else to respond, "Not sure if I'm going to get a stage name."

Zorua let out a yip. Despite there being nothing to indicate such, Elizabeth knew that there were two people approaching her from behind. Almost without warning, the verdette spun around, extending her arm to throw a wild punch, only to have it caught by a silver-haired woman.

"Woah, there!" the other woman said, "No need to lash out like that!"

"On the contrary, Raven," the silver-haired woman said, releasing Elizabeth's arm, "she has much better instincts than you."

"At least I don't try and attack anyone who gets too close to me," Raven retorted, running a hand through her long, black hair in annoyance.

"Unless you're drunk," Janet interjected.

"But then I'm drunk!"

Janet sighed, "Anyway. Elizabeth, these are my coworkers, Erina Hunter and Raven Silverburgh. Erina, Raven, this is Elizabeth Colette. She's apparently the newbie we're supposed to be training."

Elizabeth shrunk back a little. Zorua jumped into her arms and began to nuzzle her chest in an effort to cheer her up.

Erina's green eyes softened at the sight. "I don't suppose she's your partner," she said.

"No, she isn't," the verdette replied as the four of them started walking again, "Zorua is part of my team, yes, but Machamp is my partner for my first match. Apparently, he went viral some time ago."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Raven said, adjusting one of the straps on her top, "You're the gal who got her Machamp beat up by a Fennekin!?"

Elizabeth began to shrink in on herself, but Raven just kept going while laughing.

"That was hilarious! Well, maybe not for you. The video made you seem pretty frustrated at the time. Your scar is pretty badass, by the way," Raven continued, opening a Pokéball, "Don't you think so, Aegislash?"

The verdette went still at those words. Slowly, she turned to face Raven. Her eyes widened as she confirmed that, yes, it was an Aegislash. Almost unconsciously, Elizabeth began to back away from him.

"Uhh, what's wrong?" Raven asked, not comprehending the reason behind the verdette's change in demeanor, "What's scaring you?"

Elizabeth didn't respond and just kept backing away, much to Zorua's increasing distress.

"Uhh, Elizabeth?" Raven tried again, "What's—"

"Raven," Erina interjected, stepping between Elizabeth and Raven, "Why don't you and Janet go on ahead. You're obviously making her uncomfortable."

"Eh?" Raven replied, shocked, "And why should I—"

"Raven."

"You too, Janet!?"

"Let's go."

"Fine."

With that, Janet and Raven took off, taking Aegislash with them. Neither Elizabeth nor Erina said anything for a moment.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Erina said lamely.

"Not really, no."

"Ah." The two were silent again, before Erina finally spoke up again, "Uh, I was going to have my partner go tie Raven's hair to a door. Do you think Zorua would like to help?"

Zorua yipped in agreement.

"I guess that's a yes," Elizabeth replied with a small chuckle.

"Okay, then," Erina said, taking out a Pokéball of her own, "Unfezant, come out."

A drab, grey bird coalesced from the ball of energy and let out a squawk.

"Unfezant," Erina said, "Why don't you go take Zorua and mess with Raven?"

The bird cawed in agreement and took off once Zorua had climbed on her back, and Elizabeth watched them go with a sad look on her face.

"Self-esteem issues, huh?" Erina asked, easily reading Elizabeth's mood.

"What?" Elizabeth denied, shaking her head frantically. "No! Not at all."

Erina merely smiled sympathetically. "You don't need to act tough for me, I've had them before."

"Really, Erina?" Elizabeth looked surprised, and Erina nodded.

"Really," the silver-haired woman answered, "Do you know why I wear my hair like this?"

"A bob cut with a ponytail about as long as you are tall?" Elizabeth said, quirking an eyebrow, "It's certainly distinctive, although it's probably hell to maintain."

"You're right, it is. But that's not what I meant.

"So, back when I was younger, before I joined PWE, obviously, I was a member of Team Rocket. Mind you, this was twenty-odd years ago, so before they gained their reputation of being a global yakuza organization and the eternal enemy of Ash Ketchum. Back then, I was in need of money, and they had a position open. So there I was, I had a nice job as a night guard for some warehouse complex. Sure, my boss was a little odd – what kind of gal would want people to unironically refer to her as 'Ouroboros,' after all – but I met Raven there, so it wasn't all bad. Then my peaceful life was shattered by an encounter with a group of meddling kids."

"Keh heh heh Really, Erina?" Elizabeth said, "Do you really expect me to take your story seriously if you include 'meddling kids'?"

"How would you describe them?" Erina said, holding back a laugh of her own, "They were a pair of sisters with matching facial scars, a bitter girl who had sworn revenge against her former best friend, and a Snorlax in human form."

"Keh I guess 'meddling kids' does fit them pretty well."

"Well, long story short, I rightfully called the elder sister flat, and she didn't take it too well. She grabbed my hair, which I wore a good deal longer back then, and proceeded to smash her knee into my face and had her posse beat me up while I was down. The next day, I cut my hair short, and about two months later, Raven and I both quit to join PWE, which is also about the time I started growing the ponytail."

"Well," Elizabeth chuckled, "You certainly had an interesting childhood."

"That I did," Erina replied through a small smile, "Anyway, I think that we're almost to the hotel. I wonder if—"

"DAMMIT!" they heard Raven scream.

"I'll take that as a yes," Elizabeth said.


Grant was gone by the time Saito and Louise finally finished their tour of the Fossil Museum. Both of them agreed that it was a worthwhile venture, with Louise even buying a few fossil-themed souvenirs and books from the museum gift shop, much to Saito's chagrin. Still, she was happy with them, and so after grabbing a quick bite to eat, the two of them made their way towards Route Nine.

True to its name of Spikes Passage, much of the route itself was covered in sharp, jagged rocks that made traversing up the mountain path a hassle for all but the most experienced mountain climbers. As much as Saito and Louise wanted to think that they were decent hikers, they knew that trying to hike up that mountain would have been nearly impossible were it not for the Rhyhorns they were currented using as mounts.

"You know," Saito called out as they continued their trek, "have to say that this is a lot smoother than what I was expecting."

"You call this smooth?" Louise asked, distinctly shaking with each of her Rhyhorn's steps.

"Compared to what it could be, yeah."

"Hmmph," Louise grunted then went back to her silent contemplation. The ride was much smoother than she had anticipated, but nothing compared to the smooth gallop of a horse. Granted, she was riding over rough terrain, but even sitting on a saddle couldn't liberate Louise completely from the sensation of sitting on hard rock for several hours.

She was also beginning to notice how the air was becoming slightly thinner the more they travelled upwards. Nothing too difficult for her to handle, but the change was noticeable. Frequent trips in her youth to Albion for royal events taught her how to recognize the change in altitude, but that was more than what she was experiencing now. It was honestly more of a curiosity than an actual problem. Still, in anticipation of the temperature getting slightly colder, Louise did wrap a pink scarf around her neck to keep herself warm, just as Saito had a blue one of his own.

"Hey, up ahead!" Derflinger called out. Louise and Saito looked forward and saw several markers poking out of the ground. As they got closer, they could see that they were caution signs, warning of fossil excavations up ahead. Louise smiled to herself and sighed, relieved that their trek up the mountain would be over soon.

Half an hour after passing the signs, the ground finally began to level out. It was still bumpy, but compared to the jagged path before, it might as well have been paved road. Not long after, the duo finally arrived at a series of tents. Paleontologists could be seen bustling around the campsite, carrying excavating equipment into a nearby cave entrance. A man wearing a tan hat and blue button-up shirt with his sleeves rolled up was directing orders to fellow paleontologists, and both trainers assumed the man to be Dr. Grant.

"Dr. Grant?" Louise called out as she disembarked from her Rhyhorn, with Saito following close behind. The man perked up at his name being said, and turned to face the approaching trainers. He dismissed a young man next to him then walked forward to meet Saito and Louise halfway.

"Who might you two be?" he asked. "Traveling trainers?"

"Yes, sir," Louise politely answered. "My name is Louise, and this is my friend, Saito."

"Hello," Saito greeted, and Grant nodded.

"We were hoping we could explore Glittering Cave, if it's not too much trouble. I know that you are all busy excavating some fossils."

"Hmm," Grant frowned and rubbed his chin in thought before nodding. "Well, as long as you don't stray into our cordoned sections you should be fine. The areas are marked by yellow tape. Everything else is open to the public."

"Thank you, Doctor!" Louise smiled, as did Saito. The two prepared to run off, only for Grant to cough and redirect their attention.

"As a precaution, I'm going to advise you both to try and avoid any Pokémon battles while you're down there. It might mess up our equipment. You're free to defend yourselves, but please, nothing unnecessary."

"Of course," Saito said with a nod. Grant smiled then patted the young man on the shoulder, allowing them to proceed. The two trainers strapped their flashlights to their heads and sprayed a layer of repel on themselves as another paleontologist loaned them some excavation equipment before they entered the shadowy cave.

"Doctor Grant?" the young man from before questioned his mentor.

"Yes, Billy?" Grant replied, turning towards him.

"If I may, why'd you let them go in? Not opposed, mind you, just curious."

Grant chuckled before responding, "It's not like we could have stopped them if we wanted to. Gennaro may be a greasy lawyer, but not even he can get a public place like Glittering Cave completely shut down for fossil excavations. Besides, you saw the looks on their faces. Two young kids travelling all the way up here, just to search for fossils? That kind of behavior should be encouraged. Who knows? They might find something we would have missed."

"True," Billy nodded before his expression turned more excited. "By the way, we've made some progress on the fossil over in Site B. We think it's the shell of a Tirtouga!"

"Tirtouga? But that could only mean—"

"That millions of years ago, this area was covered in water! Maybe even an inland sea!" Billy enthusiastically finished. "We've also found some fossilized jaw bones of Tyrantrums, so the two species might have coexisted at some point."

"That's amazing!" Grant stated. Billy smiled, then led the senior paleontologist towards the excavation site in question. The two overlooked the site as their fellow paleontologists carefully removed the rock, and Grant couldn't help but smile.


"This is so…pretty," Louise stated as they passed by the shimmering gemstones embedded into the cave walls. She recognized several of them instantly, spotting rubies, sapphires, amethysts, and emeralds, among other gemstones. The light from their headlamps reflected off of them, creating an serene glow around them that was enhanced by a sheen of green Luminous Moss.

"Yeah, it is," Saito agreed as he watched a group of Woobats flutter around overhead stalagmites covered in Ferroseeds. In the cavern below them, they could see a wide array of Pokémon shuffling about. They saw Machops breaking apart boulders in their training, Cubones prying moss off the cave walls with their bone clubs, Lunatones and Solrocks hovering near crystals. They could even see a family of Kangaskhan walking through the cavern, the heads of their children poking out of their pouches as the mothers and fathers kept a close eye on a herd of nearby Rhyhorns. Some were even keeping watch over the Cubones.

"Does the Pokédex say anything about how this cave was formed?" Louise asked, not wanting to pull out her own device to answer the question. Saito quickly pulled out his Pokédex and opened it, bringing up the map function and selecting their current location.

"Says here," he began, "that Glittering Cave was originally formed by groups of Onixes eating their way through the mountain. Eventually, these Onixes found their way to the surface."

"Yeah, I remember when that happened," Derflinger mused. "Ambrette Town was still just a fishing village when they came out. Caused quite the scare at first, until they found all the gold and gems inside. As you both can see, the Southern Kalosian Mountains are rich in the stuff, and the caves provided Ambrette with easy access. Turned them into a major kingdom in almost no time at all, at least before King Kalos took them over to finance his armies."

"Yep, I see that," Saito nodded before continuing. "Eventually, the mines ran dry, and so it was abandoned. Wild Pokémon moved in, leading to the creation of a vibrant ecosystem down here. Eventually, the Kalosian Royal Family decreed the entire area to be a nature preserve, one that was opened up to Pokémon Trainers as part of the training circuit."

"Huh, neat," Louise stated before moving on. With Saito and Derflinger following her, they continued walking down a series of passageways, the walls, floors, and ceilings of which easily showed the past presence of Pokémon grinding against the rocky surface, before finally reaching a dead end. Several gemstones jetted out of the walls and ceilings, and Saito sighed.

"Great, another dead end," he declared and prepared to turn around, only for Louise hold up her hand and stop him.

"Wait," she gently stated while pulling out her wand, "I want to try something."

Saito eyed the wand warily, "You sure you want to make an explosion down here? Explosions and caves don't mix all that well."

Louise could understand Saito's hesitation. Unlike her tormentors at the Academy, his statements were born not out of malice but genuine concern for their wellbeing, and so she didn't take offense.

"Just a tiny one to remove the rock," she clarified. At his skeptical look, she blushed slightly and pouted. "I've been practicing!"

"I know, but…" Upon seeing her expression, Saito sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Fine. But, if its all the same to you, let's not be near the blast zone."

"Of course. I'm not stupid," Louise scoffed before the two backed a ways into their corridor, releasing Espirit and Maindo as a precautionary measure. When the two Psychic-types indicated that they were a safe enough distance away, Louise closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Remember, girly. Think small," Derflinger gently advised. "You put too much willpower into this, you're going to bring the whole mountain down on our heads."

"I know." Louise focused intensely, feeling a steady trickle of her Void magic flow into her focus. Working to keep the flow contained, she opened her eyes and aimed at the rock wall before them. "Rock Smash."

At Louise's chant, a small, cherry bomb-like explosion suddenly rang out against the rock wall, cracking it slightly. A pregnant pause ensued as everyone watched it with baited breath, their eyes twitching between it and the ceiling above them, only for the rock wall to collapse into a pile of rubble. When no other cracks emerged, everyone smiled.

"Yes! It worked!" Louise cheered, only to see hear the faint snickers coming from around her, and she straightened herself. "I mean, of course it did. Everything went as planned."

"Right, right," Saito smiled as he pulled out the excavation equipment. "By the way, I couldn't help but notice the chant you made. 'Rock Smash,' was it? Isn't that a Pokémon move?"

"Yes, actually," Louise answered while pulling out her own set. "Before you ask, no, I did not copy the move itself. I just decided that, when creating the spells for small, purposeful explosions, it would be easier to name them after Pokémon moves."

"Hmm. Yeah, that makes sense," Saito nodded before smiling. "So, you made your own spell? That pretty cool!"

"Thank you! Granted, it was more of a modification of how I kept doing 'Fireball', but even modifying a spell is considered difficult. I'm one of only two students at the Academy who even know how."

"Who's the other?"

"A Gallian named Tabitha. Top of our class, but outside of her hanging around Kirche some reason, don't really know anything else about her."

"Hmm," Saito hummed as he reached the wall. He looked towards Maindo and Espirit and nodded. The two Psychic-types nodded back, then gently lifted the rubble and deposit it into a large pile behind them, leaving only the fragile rock wall in front of them. Saito smiled at them, then turned to face the wall and nodded to himself.

"Say, how about we make this into a game?" he suddenly suggested, piquing Louise's curiosity. "Whoever finds the most stuff wins, and the loser has to buy dinner tonight."

Louise looked at him then smirked, "Alright, you're on. I'll have you know that I have very fine tastes."

Rather than respond, Saito merely laughed, to which Louise joined him in laughter. After a few more moments, the two refocused, placed some lights onto the walls and floors around them, and began hammering away at the wall, hoping to expose whatever secrets it might hold.


The duo spent the next few hours carefully excavating the walls around them, the piles of rubble slowly accumulating more and more mass as they cleared away any rock. Anything they managed to find they placed into separate piles next to them. Neither had managed to find any fossils of Pokémon, but they had excavated several gemstones of various shapes and sizes.

Louise's pile was also slightly larger than Saito's, something she was more than willing to point out.

"So, for our dinner tonight," she listed off with unashamed grin on her face, "I want something fancy and high class, befitting a noble such as myself."

"Uh-huh," Saito dully responded as he continued to excavate, which only served to make Louise's smile widen.

"Oh, and it needs to be formal! We can use the dress and suit the Battle Chateau was kind enough to let us keep."

"Sure."

"I'm thinking seafood. I saw a nice looking restaurant in town. Perhaps that could work?"

"Whatever you say."

"Are you even paying attention?"

"You want a nice, formal, seafood dinner tonight while wearing our formal clothes, yes."

"Oh. Well, good. Thank you."

Saito grunted in response while continuing to excavate, allowing Louise the chance to continue her own. As she scraped away at a rock, she exposed more of what she had been working on for the past ten minutes: a small fossil of some kind of plant. She hadn't the faintest idea of what species it belong to, but she was still proud of herself for finding it in the first place. Louise then wiped away a sheen of sweat on her forehead with her damp scarf, heat of the cave getting to her slightly. As she did, her eyes drifted towards the single largest finding either of them had found so far, a crystal sphere with a waved spiral pattern in the center. She knew what it was, recognizing it as a Mega Stone. Exactly what kind, she did not know, but almost as soon as she found it had she insisted Saito take over its excavation. She still vividly remembered the last time she had contact with a Mega Stone. Her body apparently acted as a Key Stone, meaning that there was a chance of an accidental Mega Evolution neither of them wanted. Still, even though Saito had been the one to get it out, they both considered it to be part of her findings.

Louise then sighed, shaking her thoughts out of her head, then refocused on excavating her leaf fossil.

"So, Saito. After I'm done with this, do you want to head back up? It should be getting dark soon."

"Yeah, sure. Just as soon as I'm finished with this thing. I don't know what it is, but I think it's big."

"You've been working on that for the past hour. You're not done with it, yet?" Louise asked, taking out a hammer and chisel to gently finish her excavation.

"Yep. This rock is big, but also fragile. I think something may be hidden on the other side."

Louise hummed as she finished carefully removing the fossil, then proceeded to place it into a plastic zip-lock bag. She then made her way over to Saito in order to see his progress. She could see the dull orange of the rock he was working on. It was indeed much larger than anything else they had found thus far, easily the size of his head. She could see how it would warrant his interest, and so she grabbed her own tools and kneeled down next to him.

"Want some help?" she offered, and Saito nodded.

"Sure, just…be careful. I have a good feeling about this one."

"I can see why."

The two continued their excavation silently and gently, each working together to remove more and more of the surrounding rock. The whirling of drill bits and dull thuds of hammers striking chisels filled their cavern, while Espirit and Maindo worked to not only keep the rock safely intact but also remove any excess rubble from around them. They only stopped once they felt the rock come loose, at which point they placed their tools to the side and gently began removing it from the wall.

"Gently, gently," Saito urged as the four of them lifted it out of the wall and place it on the ground, leaving a hole in the wall where it once rested. Louise closed her eyes and sighed, relieved that it was finally over.

"Good, now its out of there," she muttered, her eyes still closed. "Now we can—"

"Holy shit…" Saito gasped, causing Louise to open her eyes and stare down at the hole in the wall. Her eyes widened at what she saw embedded into its center. Espirit and Maindo teleported onto their trainers' respective shoulders to get a better look, and both of them stared in amazement.

Embedded in the center of the rock, shown for the first time in millions of years, was a single jawbone of a carnivorous Pokémon.


"Alright! Break time, everyone!" the camp cook yelled out from the excavation site. The scientists sighed in relief as the covered the fossils with tarps and began climbing out of their holes, the smell of hot food guiding them towards the dinner area. Alan Grant wiped his dirtied hands on a wet cloth before turning towards a young man arriving on a Gogoat.

"You understand what to do, right? Take this to Ellie Sattler at the Ambrette Fossil museum," he said while handing the boy a parcel in manila paper. The boy gingerly took them and smiled.

"Of course, Doctor. We've been through this before," he pointed out.

"I know, Calem, but it always helps to make sure."

Calem smiled and placed the parcel into his satchel. "Don't worry. She'll get those research findings. I'll be off soon, just have to make a few more deliveries around here before I head out."

Doctor Grant bid the courier farewell and watched as the boy began walking off towards the outskirts of camp, handing off packages to their designated recipients. He moved to go towards the mess hall, only for a Honedge to fly out of Glittering Cave and make a beeline straight towards him.

"Doctor Grant!" it suddenly spoken, surprising the paleontologist slightly but only for a moment. Recognizing it as the one that came in with the two trainers, he suddenly grew alarmed.

"Yes, what is it? Is something wrong?"

"No, we found something you might want to take a look at." At the Honedge's declaration, Grant's worry was replaced by curiosity, and several scientists within earshot perked their heads up towards the two of them. A few even got out of their seats and began walking over.

"Alright then. Let's take a look."


The Honedge, who called himself Derflinger, led the assembled team of paleontologists down into the cavern towards Saito and Louise. They found the two of them waiting in front of their site, and led both to a hole in the wall. One look at the fossil inside, and soon the entire cavern was awash in activity as more and more paleontologists began pouring in with excavation tools.

"We didn't even know this part of the cave had fossils in here," Grant mused while looking over the leaf fossil Louise had found. Behind him, a team of paleontologists were busy carefully extracting the jaw fossil from its resting place. "You kids did good."

"Thank you. It was Saito who found it," Louise pointed out, and the boy smiled while rubbing the back of his head.

"That so? Well then, Saito, that means the jaw fossil belongs to you."

"Do you know what it is?" he asked excitedly, but before Grant could answer, a series of shouts from behind them redirected his attention.

"Doctor, we got it!" one of the paleontologists exclaimed, causing himself, Saito, and Louise to walk over.

"Careful! Careful!" Grant urged as the team removed the fossil from the wall. They did so, then moved the fossil to a hastily set up white table. Grant hovered over it, humming to himself while using his finger to direct his attention.

"Carnivorous, clearly. Look at the teeth and jawline. This thing was built for crushing and tearing," he stated. "Jaw's bulky, so bite strength must have been large to compensate. Maybe…"

"What do you think it is?" Saito asked, and Grant smiled.

"Kid, what you got here is the fossilized jawbone of a Tyrunt," he answered, and Saito gasped.

"A Tyrunt? Really?"

"Yep," Grant answered. "Back when they were still alive, southern Kalos was their main range. But one this pristine is rare. It's a great find."

"You might want to take it up to the fossil museum," another scientist suggested. "Might have enough DNA for a revival."

Saito stared wide-eyed at the two of them for a moment then smiled like a young kid. Gingerly, he took the fossil and placed it into a box, then sealed it shut.

"Thank you, Doctor," he got out, and Grant smiled.

"Don't mention it. Now, if you excuse me, we have to prepare this site for excavations. Who knows what we might find down here."

"Of course, sir." Louise bowed then led herself and Saito out of the cave, leaving the paleontologists behind. Saito continued to look at the box he was holding, careful to make sure it wasn't damaged in any way, and Louise couldn't help but smile to herself.

"So, what are you going to do with it?" she asked, and Saito looked at her.

"You kidding? I'm going to get it revived. Who wouldn't want a dinosaur Pokémon?"

"True, but whatever happened to waiting for the egg to hatch?"

"That was before I found out I could possibly get a Tyrunt."

"Fair enough," Louise conceded as they exited the cave. The sun was beginning to set, casting the mountain range in a dull orange of dusk. "I'll call for a Rhyhorn. You stay here."

"Sure thing," Saito replied as he sat down onto a nearby chair. Louise kept going, eventually reaching the nearby riding station. There were no Rhyhorns currently available, causing her to frown.

"Having trouble?" Louise suddenly heard someone ask her, causing her to turn around to look at a young boy slightly older than she was. He was wearing a blue jacket with white trim, a red hat atop his head and brown hiking boots that covered the bottoms of his blue jeans.

"Yes, actually," Louise answered with a sigh. "My friend and I just found a fossil in Glittering Cave, and we hoping to get it to the museum before it closed tonight."

"And the Rhyhorn Station just left," the boy realized and looked down the rocky path. He hummed to himself, taping his chin before turning back to face Louise. "I'm Calem, by the way."

"Louise," she introduced herself, and the two shook hands. "What brought you here? Are you a trainer, too?"

"Nah, just a courier. Did my League circuit years ago," Calem answered. "I take it you and your friend are doing the League challenge?"

"Yes, we are. Had to make a detour to Ambrette after the cave in."

"Ah, nasty business over there. Luckily, my sister and I managed to get through it just before it collapsed."

"That's good," Louise said before sitting down, intending to wait until the Rhyhorn returned. Calem watched her before turning his attention to the balls on his belt, and an idea sprang into his mind.

"You know," he started, directing her attention, "I actually have a few Pokémon on hand would be able to traverse the path. If you and your friend want, I could escort you two down. Would be a lot faster than waiting for a Rhyhorn."

Louise stared at him for a moment, thinking over his offer. After a few moments, she smiled and stood up.

"That would be grand, actually. Thank you, Calem."

"No problem at all. Now, let's go get your friend and get on out of here."

[~][~]

Hello, everyone! Here is the latest chapter of Outsiders! Some interesting stuff happened here, and we continue to hope you guys all enjoy!

Now for the Q&A:

Drewd00d: Don't worry about it, man. I get it, holiday season is tough. I myself found it tough to write for this or my RWBY/DC Crossover Hunters of Justice, so I can understand. Anyway, yes. We decided that now was a good time to speed things up a bit. There really was no reason to show Saito and Louise hiking down to Ambrette, and to do show would ultimately be more filler. We could do bonding, training, and other sections of a similar nature in town, as we showed. We're going to be doing more of that in the future. Trim down the fat, as it were. Now, that isn't to say that we're going to be abandoning traveling sections, far from it. It's just that each one will be serving a purpose, rather than simply taking up space.

As for Flare being isolated into cells, we felt it was both interesting and realistic. If a big criminal organization, like Flare, fell apart, you'd have survivors band together into more isolated cells. Some obviously more organized than others. It also affords us to make each Flare encounter more unique, as each cell has different tactics, as you said.

For the Jurassic Park references, those were just for fun. The setting was a museum where they take DNA from fossil to resurrect long extinct creatures. The parallels were there, and I had to take them.

Extinction thing was my goof, and I apologize for that. Just chalk it up to Louise having a brain fart.

guest, maclinharmon, KingofthePen25, Dragon Naruto, NexusPrime42, Krulla Chief: I'm glad you guys liked the Jurassic Park refences! As I said before, they were just for good fun. I had an opening there with the setting, and I felt like I had to do it. Almost obligated to, really.

Anyway, that's it for this chapter. See you guys next time!