Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Reverse Summon)
Season 1, Episode 14, Chapter 1
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With their second Gym battle behind them, Saito and Louise felt leaving Cyllage City as soon as possible was the best course of action. They had spent enough time as it was in Cyllage, and even more since Louise's last Gym Battle back in Santalune. Despite only being a month, it felt like years had gone by. With everything that had happened to them, Louise supposed that feeling was only natural. Hopefully, the next stretch of their journey would be much smoother.
Still, before they could leave there were a few important items to take care of. They dropped off their Pokémon at the nearest Pokémon Center, then the two of them walked back to their hotel and checked out. Given how everything was complimentary, they didn't have to pay a thing, but the two trainers still left a substantial tip just to say thanks for the quality service. By the time they got back to the center, their Pokémon were ready for them.
"Your Pokémon are now healed," Nurse Joy declared as she handed back Saito's and Louise's Pokéballs on a small tray.
"Thank you, Nurse Joy," Louise said as she took her balls, collapsed them, then attached them to her belt. Saito did the same, and Nurse Joy smiled and gave a short bow.
"We hope to see you again!" she called out. Saito and Louise smiled, then gave a short nod and walked out of the Pokémon center. The automatic glass doors slid shut behind them, and the two trainers walked down the sidewalk to the PokéMart.
"I can't help but feel a little weird that she said, ' we hope to see you again,'" Louise quietly admitted. "Like, does she want my Pokémon to get hurt?"
"I admit, I sometimes think that, too," Saito replied, equally hushed, "but I think it's just something they say. I wouldn't think too much of it."
Louise nodded, but couldn't help but grimace slightly, "Great, now I'm thinking of a conspiracy where all the Nurse Joys want Pokémon to get hurt so they get more money."
"Maybe that's how they fund their cloning operations," Saito joked through a small smile, and Louise chuckled.
Soon they entered the PokéMart, and started browsing the aisles. Assuming nothing untoward happened to them on their way north, it would take about a week to reach Shalour City by foot. First, they would pass through Geosenge Town, then move on to Reflection Cave and finally reach Shalour. As such, they stocked up on food, drink, medicine and repel, and finally some extra spelunking gear just in case they needed it. Once they reached Geosenge Town they would get more, but not to the point where they would be overburdened. Louise learned that lesson the hard way.
Finally, after they paid for their supplies and left the store, they walked to the north side of down and paused by a bridge running over a stream that led to the ocean. The two trainers turned around to take one last look at Cyllage City, then softly smiled and continued moving forward.
It wasn't long before the scenery around them changed from a dense, urban environment to a mountainous forest. On their right were a few snow-capped mountains, to their left a small cliff that met the sea. Large trees surrounded them, casting a gentle shade that shielded them from the blistering noon summer sun. Despite the shade, however, both Louise and Saito still had a layer of sweat cover their skin.
"I can't wait until this heat dies down," Louise admitted, to which Saito gave a quick nod in agreement.
"Gotta wait a few more months for that. It's early June. July's going to be even hotter," Saito pointed out, and Louise sighed.
"Great…" Louise said, then pulled out her Pokédex and pulled up a map. She mentally tallied their average rate of travel between cities, considering various stops and detours they would undoubtedly have to make, and estimated they would be back at Lumiose by the end of the month. The number of cities in close proximity that held Pokémon Gyms increased tremendously once they got to Shalour, so she was pretty confident that they would have all eight badges by the end of fall. Which left all of the winter months to train for the Pokémon League. Still, she only less than a year to prove herself, and she intended to use her time effectively.
"How much further do you want to go?" Louise asked, collapsing her device and putting it back into her backpack. Saito hummed to himself, then shrugged.
"We can go a few more hours, then find a place to camp," he suggested. Louise thought it over for a moment then nodded in approval.
"Sounds good to me," she replied.
The two continued on in silence, not wanting to disturb the peace around them. They could hear the sounds of Pokémon fill the air. Above, flocks of Starlys and Staravias flew from tree to tree. Pairs of Nidorans rummaged through bushes, frequently rubbing their heads against each other affectionately. Except for one, where they saw two male Nidorans dueling each other as the lone female looked on exasperatingly.
'Huh, guess that's universal,' Louise thought as she and Saito paused to watch the admittedly humorous scene. Eventually, however, the two males stopped to glare harshly at the trainers, who sheepishly smiled and waved before continuing on. Once they left the Pokémon's sight, the continued right where they left off, causing both the two trainers and the female Nidoran to sigh.
Once they got a further away from the encounter, Saito couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head. Louise raised an eyebrow and looked at him questioningly, which he noticed and smiled at.
"Oh, nothing. Just thinking about how tiresome it would be to have multiple people fighting over you," he said. Louise thought it over for a moment, then shuddered.
"Founder, that sounds awful," she stated, then narrowed her eyes towards her best friend. "Of course, I'd imagine some would like it."
"Hey, don't look at me. I want nothing to do with that," he insisted, raising his hands upward. "Just one nice girl is all I want or need, thank you very much. Having to juggle multiple girls around just sounds tiring and dangerous…and a little insulting, too, now that I think about it. And scummy, like I can't commit so I just start stringing them along. Arceus, I feel like an asshole just thinking about it."
Louise nodded approvingly. "Yes, it would be. Glad to know you're not like that."
"Yeah," Saito nodded, then looked at Louise. "Tell me, you know any guys who would like that sort of thing?"
"I feel like I do, actually," Louise admitted. "There's a classmate of mine named Guiche de Gramont. He's the son of a big Tristainian general, and a complete playboy despite the fact he's already engaged. I feel like he'd love to have multiple girls fawning over him."
"Was he one of your bullies?" Saito asked, and Louise nodded. "Guy sounds like an ass."
"He was," she replied, then steeled her gaze. "But when I get back to Tristain, I'll show him and everyone else that I'm more than just a Zero."
"Amen to that," Saito declared with a nod, and together the two of them continued their walk in the woods.
After a few hours of hiking, Louise and Saito began to feel sore, so they decided to take a break and rest underneath the shade of a large tree. They took the opportunity to release their Pokémon, allowing them to stretch their legs and relax. It was an opportunity the Pokémon readily took advantage of, although most of them were crowded around Ronin as they marveled on his evolved form.
"I can't believe you evolved. Nice, 'mon," Tanuki said, walking around the newly evolved Dewott as Ronin couldn't help but check himself over.
"Indeed, I have," Ronin replied, angling his neck to look at his back. "I have to admit, it feels…nice."
"I bet. Of course, now you're taller than me…" Tanuki playfully grumbled, causing Ronin to roll his eyes.
'Oh, this is so exciting!' Esprit exclaimed, her joy practically radiant. 'What did it feel like?'
'You already evolved,' Maindo grumpily pointed out, trying (and failing) to mask his jealousy.
'I still want to know. Besides, each evolution's different,' Esprit pointed out. Maindo huffed and crossed his arms while turning away, yet he still kept an eye on his companions. Ronin hummed to himself for a bit, then shrugged.
"It was…hard to describe, really. All I felt was just a surge of power coming from inside me," Ronin admitted. "Everything shifted…then went dark as I was knocked out."
"At least you took down Aerodactyl with you," Aile pointed out, standing on a branch and eating some berries she had found. She'd located a berry bush within a minute of being released, and now everyone was sharing her bounty. After she took the Pyroar's share, of course.
Instead of feeling complimented, however, Ronin frowned. "That shouldn't have happened in the first place. Saito and I were lucky Grant's rules were four-on-two. Had it been a two-on-two match, as with Viola, or even a three-on-three, we would have tied. I had the type advantage against Aerodactyl, but in retrospect I am not experienced enough with combating aerial opponents. That can't happen again."
"Well, luckily for you, we have a Flying-type with us as we speak," Derflinger remarked, pointing his sash at Aile just as she prepared to bite into her last oran berry. She paused to look at them as they stared at her, then she sighed and closed her eyes.
"Fine. I guess it'll help me figure out how to dodge better, anyway," she grumbled. The Pokémon all smiled, except for Maindo who sneakily grabbed the oran berry telepathically. She squawked indignantly when she realized the theft, but he took a deep bite into it before she could do anything.
'What? You weren't eating it,' he cheekily remarked as he chewed. Aile narrowed her eyes at him, her feathers ruffling up slightly as small wisps of steam rose from her body, but before she could do anything, Esprit calmly walked over and smacked Maindo upside the head.
'Gagh!' he grunted, dropping the berry and rubbing his head where she hit. He glared up at her, still rubbing the sore spot as she put her arms on her hips and stared back down at him.
'That wasn't very nice,' she proclaimed, her eyes boring into his own as she silently dared him to do anything. A tense moment fell between them, and after a moment Maindo huffed and looked away. He refused to apologize, but Esprit was happy about her victory all the same. She walked back to her previous spot, sitting back down on a root and nibbling away at her own berry.
Resting against the tree were their trainers, who were quietly conversing among themselves. None of the Pokémon were particularly paying attention, instead preferring to relax. Ronin had decided to try out his new form, trying to get a feel for it by swinging his arms and a pair of scalchops. It was rough, at first, as they expected. Going from a small, compact body to a taller and leaner one would take getting used to, but Ronin was getting the hang of it in a fairly short amount of time. Soon he was looking like his old else, one that had an added flair of confidence that stemmed from his evolution.
Like all things, however, their relaxation came to an end. Saito and Louise rose and stretched, and called their Pokémon back over to resume their journey. Even Maindo, although he had to be prodded by Esprit into compliance. Once they were all returned to their Pokéballs, the two trainers set off once again, this time not intending to stop until they found a good spot to camp.
The sun was beginning to set after a few more hours of hiking, and the pair of trainers paused their journey in favor of finding the nearest campsite. Given what happened to Cyllage, they supposed it would be rather sparsely populated, if anyone was there at all. Still, they were more focused on the time they were making.
"We're right on schedule," Louise noted as she looked at her Pokédex's map. "Assuming we get out early enough, we should get to Geosenge Town early in the morning."
"Perfect," Saito replied, resting his hands behind his back as they continued to walk. "By the way, Geosenge Town is known for their ancient stone monuments. People say they give off a weird energy. We should pass by quite a few on the way in. You wanna check those out?"
"I see no reason not to," Louise admitted with a shrug. "It could be fun. Besides, we're on a journey. If there's one thing I've learned since I've started this, it's that going from point A to point B without seeing what's in between gets rather dull."
"Frankly, I would love for it to be dull," Saito joked, and Louise chuckled in amusement.
"Indeed, it would be a nice change of pace."
The two continued walking, following a sign next to a small dirt trail that intersected the main route. At its end was the campsite they were going towards, and true enough it had hardly anyone there. There was maybe five people at the most, with one poor individual struggling to set up her tent.
"Gagh! Stupid thing!" she shouted angrily as Louise and Saito closer. They stopped once the voice registered, and they shot their attention towards the girl as they studied her from the back. To their shock, it was Elizabeth. It was easy to identify her, from her short verdette hair to the nice clothes she normally walked around in. They stared at her while she remained oblivious to their arrival, and Saito gently leaned closer to Louise.
"There's another campsite not too far ahead," he offered.
Louise considered it for a several moments. It was very tempting, but as Elizabeth's half-baked attempt at assembling her tent once again fell apart, she was reminded of her own horrendous first week traveling alone. Try as she might, she couldn't help but note the parallels, and sighed as she walked over to Elizabeth.
"You need a hand?" she asked. Elizabeth perked her head up and turned around, visibly surprised at Saito's and Louise's arrival.
"Louise? Saito? What are you-?" she paused, then nodded in realization. "Right, you two must be going to Shalour City."
"That's right. We're going to challenge the Gym there," Saito tersely admitted as he walked up to her, trying his best to remain calm. He still didn't like her, and saw no reason to pretend otherwise. For her part, Elizabeth appeared to do the same.
"I should have figured that." Elizabeth sighed and shook her head. "In case you're wondering, I'm going to Geosenge Town for an exhibition match. Unfortunately, I got a new tent and the stupid thing doesn't want to set up."
She kicked the tent in question out of frustration, and Louise and Saito shared a glance with each other. He silently told her to let it go, but Louise refused to do so and stepped forward.
"Here, I know what to do," Louise declared. Elizabeth move to protest, but Louise cut her off, "Unless you want to sleep outside? I did so for a week when I started out, and let me tell you, it isn't fun."
Elizabeth stared at Louise for a moment, then reluctantly nodded and stepped back. Saito watched as the two girls slowly assembled the tent before he backed away and set up their own. By the time he finished setting up his and Louise's, the two girls finished Elizabeth's.
"For the Founder's sake, did you have to get such a complicated tent?" Louise asked exasperatingly, rubbing her hand through her rosy hair.
"I didn't mean to!" Elizabeth shot back, her face flush with embarrassment. "The one I used to have got destroyed during the attack, and that one was the only model I could find. Cost a bloody fortune, too…"
"You're not one to talk about that, Louise," Saito called out as he pulled out their portable grill and began to cook their dinner. "Need I remind you about your spending habits and why I'm in charge of the money?"
"This is something entirely different!" Louise insisted, her face equally flushed.
"Sure, sure," Saito replied through a smug grin, placing a few frozen patties on the grill and pressing them into the heat with a spatula. "Burgers should be good in a few minutes. You want cheese on yours?"
"Yes, please," Louise affirmed, then stood up and dusted off her knees.
Without saying another word to Elizabeth, she walked over and rejoined Saito, sitting on a small foldout chair Saito had brought out for her. Elizabeth watched them with no small amount of jealousy, smelling the delectable burgers even from her. Compared to her own premade sandwiches, they made hers look rather unappetizing. Huffing to herself, she sat down inside her tent and pulled out a ham sandwich, then began to eat. True to his word, Saito finished grilling the burgers in just a few minutes, and Louise was practically drooling from anticipation. When Saito placed a slice of cheese onto it and inserted it into is bun, Louise snatched it up and happily chowed down.
The two separate groups ate apart from each other, Elizabeth sending the two travelling companions the occasional glance as they happily conversed among themselves. Only the campfire illuminated them, the orange light flickering across their faces. She had to admit, they looked happy. Almost like a couple. She didn't have anything like that. Not even her own Pokémon, with the exception of Spettro, Zorua, and her freshly caught Larvitar for whatever reason. The Rock Skin Pokémon had finally worn her down after he tracked her outside of Cyllage in the nearby mountains, so she relented and caught him. Elizabeth hadn't had a chance to train with him yet, and she fully intended on doing so once she got to Geosenge Town, but right now she had other concerns in mind.
"Screw it," she muttered to herself, then stood up and walked over to Saito and Louise. They stopped their conversation once they noticed her arrival, and the three stared at each other in silence as Elizabeth stood above them with her arms crossed against her chest.
"Those explosions you made, Louise," Elizabeth started, staring the rosecrown down. "What were those? And don't try to tell me one of your Pokémon made them; I know what I saw."
Louise stared at Elizabeth for a moment and swallowed, then wiped away at her mouth. "That was my magic," she readily admitted as though it was obvious.
Elizabeth angled her head down at Louise in disbelief. "Magic? You mean to tell me that you used…magic?"
"Yes," Louise replied matter-of-factly, seeing no reason to insist otherwise. Then she reached into her bag and began to pull out her wand. "I can give you a demonstration if you—"
"No! No, that's fine! I believe you!" Elizabeth hastily insisted, thrusting her hands forward to stop Louise from doing so. Judging by the smug look on the girl's face, that reaction was what she wanted.
Elizabeth sighed and pinched her nose. "You know what? You knowing magic isn't the weirdest thing, funnily enough. Sure, why not? Next, you're going to tell me you come from another world?"
"That is absolutely correct," Saito answered, his face grinning like a troll.
"Fantastic," Elizabeth dryly replied, then threw her hands up into the air. "Are you on a mission from God, too?"
"I don't recognize Arceus as a god," Louise replied, and Elizabeth groaned while arching herself backward slightly.
"Okay, either you're insane, or you've been through some insane things that I want no part of. I've had my fill for tonight, thank you. Goodnight."
With that, Elizabeth sharply turned around and walked away, Saito and Louise grinning like madmen and waving her goodbye.
[~][~]
Hello, everyone! Here's the latest chapter of Outsiders! Special thanks to Darwin Candidate, Grendel4823, and Yuri Combat for all their help.
Elizabeth has rejoined the story, at least for the time being as they near Geosenge Town. What happens next, you guys will have to wait and see. Now, onto the Q&A:
EvaShinobiKaiserKnight: Don't worry, I'm going to finish Outsiders. At least up until the Pokemon League. After that, we'll see.
PokZero: A good rule of thumb is to take their English translation name and add their French translation name as their last name. So long as it sounds right.
Vein Bloodborne: Yeah, that Aerodactyl was a cute scene in my opinion, too. Funnily enough, originally we were going to have that newly revived Aerodactyl be Saito's opponent, but we figured out that it didn't really work so we made it an older Aerodactyl that Grant happened to have. The younger one looking on was a callback to the original plan.
keybladelight: I do have plans for the mega stones and mega evolution. You'll notice that Saito and Louise both have two Pokemon in their teams that can mega evolve when they reach their final stages. That was deliberate.
That's it for today. I hope you all enjoy and let us know what you think! See you all next time!
