Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Reverse Summon)
Season 2, Episode 1, Chapter 3

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They had played with Ōdachi for hours. Despite being a newborn, the infant Skarmory was a rambunctious little bundle of energy. Seeing Ōdachi play with her and Saito's Pokémon was one of the funniest and most adorable sights Louise had ever seen. What made it even better was just how considerate everyone was around her. All of their Pokémon were powerful and experienced, with plenty of wins under their belt, and they brought all of their skill and power to display. Yet they used their powers with a touch of grace and precision, meant purely to entertain rather than do battle.

Ōdachi surfed atop a wave of water with Ronin, enjoyed an impressive display of aerial acrobatics from Aile, and laughed at Tanuki making a fool of himself as he juggled small objects. She especially enjoyed Esprit psychically bouncing her up and down, a mere taste of the flight she would soon be capable of. Ōdachi had the time of her very short life, laughing and twittering happily practically the entire time.

Eventually, though, her reserves of energy ran out, and the young Pokémon fell fast asleep in Saito's arms. Seeing her softly snoring was perhaps the only thing cuter than seeing her at play in Louise's opinion. Saito had considered returning her to her Pokéball at this point, but after just a few moments of holding her he decided he didn't want to. Not yet, at least. Instead, he remained content to just carry her in his arms, softly running his fingers through the metallic feathers on her head.

That was where Louise left her traveling partner and best friend, waiting with the rest of their Pokémon in their room. While Louise wanted nothing more than to stay and watch Ōdachi sleep, she unfortunately had more important things to do. For one, they still planned on visiting the Tower of Mastery, and even with the unexpected development of Ōdachi's birth she felt that they had enough time to visit that afternoon. Once Saito was ready, they would leave, which gave Louise enough time to do something that she felt was somewhat overdue. Especially since Ōdachi's arrival put it in perspective.

"So, Gène," Louise started as she walked down one of the main boulevards of Shalour City, Gène walking right beside her, "I noticed that we haven't really had the chance to be by ourselves since you joined us."

Gène looked up at Louise then nonchalantly shrugged, and Louise nodded in understanding before replying, "Yes, I know. Things certainly got…hectic since you joined. Auspice's mega evolution, our interdimensional counterparts. Can't say we really had the time, unfortunately."

Again, Gène shrugged. While Louise wasn't exactly well-versed in reading Gène's body language yet, she was able to pick up that the Eevee wasn't offended by their lack of one-on-one time. If anything, he seemed to accept it and move on. Which happened quite a bit now that Louise thought about it. Getting captured, doppelgängers, unexpected danger, Gène never once showed any signs that he dwelt on those thoughts for more than a few moments. He just considered it, accept it, then moved on. Part of Louise felt that was admirable. Founder knows how much easier things would've been had she been able to do that when she first got to Kalos.

"Still, I figure now is a great time to fix that," Louise declared, proudly straightening herself as she continued to walk towards their destination. Gène looked up at her again then nodded in agreement, and Louise couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.

"Thought so," Louise admitted, then rounded a corner as their destination came into view. "Ah, here we are."

She and Gène briefly stopped in front a small store built into a larger building. The front wall was entirely made of glass, allowing them to see inside. Rows of glass-covered display cases could be seen, with various stones held in them on velvet cushions. A dark blue awning protected them from the sun, and a sign reading "Julianna's Stones" underneath a logo of a fire stone, thunder stone, and water stone leaning against each other.

For once, Gène seemed surprised and looked up at Louise with an inquisitive expression, and Louise gently looked back down towards him and said, "Well, earlier when we were out getting supplies I spotted this place and what they offered. A few of our Pokémon evolve with evolution stones…including you."

Gène's eyes widened, and Louise hastily added, "I'm not saying we choose now! Only when you're ready. It's just that, well, it might be good to look at our options and see what you like. Then, when you want, if you want, you can evolve."

The Eevee looked unsure, glancing between Louise and the store. Eventually, Gène took a big gulp and nodded. Louise smiled, then kneeled to let her Pokémon hop onto her shoulder. Standing back upright, Louise opened the door where she was immediately greeted by a woman from behind a counter.

"Welcome, welcome!" the woman called out, giving Louise a wide, toothy smile. "Please, take a look around and tell me if you see anything you like."

"Thank you," Louise replied, giving the woman whom she assumed as Julianna a smile in return before she and Gène began to browse the selection of evolution stones.

Nearly every type of stone imaginable could be seen, all polished and glistening under the display lights. Only mega stones weren't displayed, which Louise wasn't surprised by. Evolution stones were much easier to find, whereas mega stones most certainly weren't. It was mere luck that they found the Absolite in the first place.

"Oh, are you looking for stones for your Eevee?" Julianna asked once she took notice of the brown fox Pokémon perched on Louise's shoulder.

"We are, yes," Louise admitted, turning to look at Juliana as she came over. "I'm not looking to decide anything right now, but I felt it would be nice to look at our options."

"Of course, of course. Plenty of trainers do the exact same thing," Julianna declared, giving Louise a soft wave. "Wait here, I have a display dedicated to this exact purpose."

Julianna went back behind the counter, beckoning Louise to walk over. By the time she arrived, the storeowner had pulled out a silver tray holding five different evolution stones, each on top of a small velvet cushion.

"As I'm sure you're aware, Eevees are perhaps the most evolutionary diverse Pokémon on the planet," Julianna began. "They can evolve into eight different Pokémon, five of which through evolution stones."

Julianna then twisted her wrist back and forth before admitting, "Technically, two of those don't actually need evolution stones to evolve so long as your Eevee trains near a certain type of rock, and I've heard rumors that trainers in the Orre region have found shards that can evolve their Eevees into either an Umbreon or Espeon no matter what time of day it is. Either way, evolution stones are one of the preferred methods of evolving an Eevee. No matter which one you and your Pokémon choose, any of the Eeveelutions can be a valuable addition to a trainer's team."

Louise nodded and hummed at the declaration in agreement. She had already known just how valuable Eevees were. It was one of the reasons why she was interested in capturing Gène in the first place. The problem was that she didn't exactly know which one was best. Taking in a deep breath, the noblewoman began to list the various evolutions Gène could potentially turn into.

"Any of them could work," Louise muttered to herself. "If we used a water stone, Gène would become a Vaporeon and fill a slot in my team none of my other Pokémon could fill. The only Water-type we have is Ronin, and he's part of Saito's team. But neither of us has an Electric-type, so using a thunder stone to get Jolteon is also appealing. Lots of things we could do with electricity, both on and off the battlefield. I already have two Fire-types with Brennaraki and Aile once she fully evolves, so Flareon might be a bit redundant."

Louise paused and began to tap her chin, then pulled out her Pokédex and opened Flareon's page. As she read the information stored onto it, she added, "But, Flareons are physically stronger and more agile than any of Brennaraki's evolutions. Fire-types are very versatile, so I could use each of them effectively in unique ways."

As much as she hated to admit it, her classmate Kirche, who was a triangle-class fire mage, had more than once proven just how versatile fire could be. Mostly for combat, but the point still stood. There was more than one way to burn something.

She hummed and tapped her chin. Thinking aloud, she said, "Now that I think about it, the same goes for Umbreon and Espeon. Auspice is built to be a brawler, but if Gène were to evolve into an Umbreon we might be able to use more evasive strategies to exploit openings and weaknesses. Esprit isn't built to take a lot of hits, but she can teleport and hit her opponent with a lot of force. An Espeon-Gène would be able to take those hits that Esprit couldn't."

Briefly, Louise glanced over at Gène, who was staring intensely at the offered evolution stones. One look at his face told her that he was as deep in thought about the pros and cons of each evolution as she was, and might've even been coming to the same conclusions she was. Content to let Gène ruminate on his own, Louise turned back to the last two stones offered, a leaf stone and an ice stone.

"I don't have a Grass-type, so a Leafeon could be useful. Especially as a counter to Water-types," Louise quietly noted. "Using an ice stone to get a Glaceon is also appealing. We could freeze opponents solid, make bridges of ice, not to mention be an effective counter to Dragon-types."

At the mention of Dragon-types, Louise was reminded of the last evolutionary option for Gène, one that discovered right here in Kalos. She then muttered, "But a Sylveon would be an even better counter to Dragon-types. Sure, Esprit is also a Fairy-type, but having a dedicated Fairy-type on my team would allow her to dedicate herself more to her primary typing. Not a lot of offensive options, but Sylveon's ability to weaken opponents would be invaluable."

All of the options available to her and Gène were appealing in their own way, each with their own advantages just waiting to be exploited. Of course, that was only a surface level analysis. She hadn't even really thought about the disadvantages to each, but since they weren't really making a final decision at the moment she didn't feel pressured to think too much about them. Even then, it wasn't really her choice to decide. That belonged to Gène himself, and it didn't matter what she wanted. No matter what Gène chose to become, Louise would accept and work with it.

Nodding to herself and smiling slightly, Louise turned her head towards Gène and asked, "So, see anything you-?"

Louise immediately stopped when she noticed the look on Gène's face. No longer was it pondering and inquisitive. Instead, much to her surprised, Gène looked overwhelmed and almost panicked. His eyes were wide, his pupils narrowed to the size of pinpricks, his breathing quick and shallow, and his entire body clenched as tight as it could be.

"Gène? Gène, are you okay?" Louise gently asked, lightly tapping his shoulder to shake him out of whatever trance he was in. Gène jumped slightly at the unexpected touch, then he rapidly began to shift his attention between his trainer and the offered evolution stones.

"My dear, is your Pokémon alright?" Julianna asked, a worried tone in her voice.

"I don't…" Louise paused, then looked back at the evolution stones. She couldn't help but notice that, once again, Gène was transfixed on them. After a moment, Louise realized what the problem was, and cursed herself for not recognizing it earlier.

"I know what's going on," Louise quietly admitted, then turned towards the storeowner. "Thank you, ma'am, but I don't think I'll be making any purchases today."

"Of course. Please let me know if you change your mind," Julianna replied, putting the evolution stones back under the counter. As Louise feared, Gène only began to slightly calm himself once the stones were out of sight, and she frowned at herself.

"Thank you," Louise politely said, giving Julianna a quick nod before exiting the store. Gène's eyes wandered across the display cases, transfixed on all the evolution stones available for sale. Noticing this, Louise quickened her pace, exiting the store and walking down the street towards a nearby metal bench.

Releasing a sigh, Louise sat down, prompting Gène to hop off as well. Rather than look at her, Gène looked down at his feet despondently, his tail looped protectively around his body. Sighing again, Louise looked down at Gène and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't think about how overwhelming that choice must be for you."

Gène didn't meet her gaze, which told Louise that her hunch was correct. For as seemingly accepting of whatever circumstances thrown their way, it was obvious that Gène still had limits. For him, it was obviously deciding what Pokémon he wanted to evolve into. With so many different options, it undoubtedly seemed overwhelming to him, especially since he wouldn't be able to go back one he made a choice. It wasn't like the others, who had only a single evolutionary path.

"Gène, look at me," Louise quietly requested. After a moment, Gène slowly looked up, a sad expression on his face. Smiling softly, Louise gently rubbed behind his ears, then declared, "Look, it's as I said before. You don't have to make a choice until you want to. I don't care how long that takes. It could be today, it could be tomorrow, or you could choose to not evolve and stay as an Eevee. Whatever you want to be, I'll support you. And, if you need help figuring out what it is you want to become, I'll help you there, too."

Gène looked up at Louise, surprised at first. Then he smiled and affectionately rubbed his head against Louise's body, who smiled and picked him up before starting to pet her beloved Pokémon.


With their business concluded, Louise returned to the Pokémon Center where Saito and Derflinger were waiting for them. The other Pokémon, including Ōdachi, were returned to their Pokéballs, allowing them to go the Tower of Mastery in relative peace.

"Hey," Saito called out, walking away from the Pokémon Center to meet Louise halfway. "How did it go?"

Louise winced, and Saito grimaced. "That bad, huh?"

"Gène…didn't take it as well as I thought he would," Louise admitted, then let out a sigh. "It's my fault, really. I thought he could handle it since he seemed so accepting of everything, and it wasn't as though we were actually deciding anything, but when faced with the prospect of a life-altering decision…"

"He panicked?" Derflinger finished for her, and Louise nodded. Derflinger nodded back, then said, "Well, it's better we found out now rather than later. My advice is to let him go at his own pace. Don't try to force him into anything. That'll backfire horribly."

"I wasn't planning on it," Louise immediately replied, then frowned slightly and crossed her arms. "Frankly, I'm insulted you even thought you had to bring that up in the first place."

"Wasn't trying to be insulting," Derflinger pointed out, raising his sash in a placating manner. "Figured you already thought of that. Just felt it needed to be reiterated."

Louise wasn't quite convinced, but at the same time she wasn't in the mood to press the issue further. With a huff and a roll of her eyes, Louise turned around and began to walk towards the Tower of Mastery without saying a word.

"I think you made her mad, Derf," Saito said through an amused chuckle as he followed after Louise, Derflinger hovering right beside him.

"Partner, in case you haven't noticed, Pinky here gets mad at a lot of things," Derflinger declared, and Saito shrugged.

"You should've seen her when we first met," Saito admitted. "She's outright calm compared to then."

"I'll bet," Derflinger replied, then chuckled slightly.

"Are you two talking about me?" Louise suddenly asked, looking behind her shoulder and giving both of them a dangerous glare.

"Nope," both replied in unison. Louise narrowed her gaze at them, starring at them suspiciously, then turned her head back to look where she was going. Saito and Derflinger let out a relieved sigh. Even if Louise had calmed down tremendously since they first met, the last thing Saito or Derflinger wanted was to be on the receiving end of her wrath. It took a lot now to reach her breaking point, and when it was reached things tended to get explosive.

Walking down the main street of Shalour City, they passed by pedestrians and bike riders going about their day. Perched on streetlamps were flocks of Fletchlings, and Wingulls circled overhead. The coastal down wasn't as vibrant as Cyllage City or even Ambrette Town, but Louise figured that was mostly due to the fact that the beach here was mostly covered in rocks. The sea around them also looked shallow, too shallow to make a proper port. She wasn't too concerned about that, however. She didn't come to Shalour City for its beaches.

Soon, the two trainers found themselves at the sandy land bridge connecting the city to the ancient Tower of Mastery. It was an odd looking building, a central, staggered tower with one half ending with a blue dome while the other half extended above the other and had large struts coming up the walls and even higher above the roof. Surrounding the tower was a small town, and as they entered they noticed the town's building were mostly small gift shops and stores with residential areas built into them.

"Ah, this place takes me back," Derflinger remarked, sighing wistfully. "Last time I was here, this place was just a couple of wooden buildings. Now look at it. Magnificent."

"It's certainly…unique," Saito replied, scratching his head at the odd design choices. If Derflinger noticed, he didn't say anything as the ancient Honedge continued his reminiscing.

"You wanna know why they chose to settle here?" Derflinger asked, then continued to speak without waiting for an answer. "The land bridge we just crossed gets completely submerged when the tide comes in, and the currents were too intense for people to swim or take a boat. Then, when the tide went out, the land bridge returned, allowing everyone to just walk in and out without any issues. People thought that meant the land was holy, especially since this was the first place anyone performed a Mega Evolution, so they built a shrine here to honor Zygarde."

"Zygarde?" Louise asked, perking up an eyebrow. "Wasn't that the Legendary Pokémon Team Flare attempted to exploit at the Pokémon League last year?"

"The very same," Derflinger answered. "Zygarde is the Legendary Pokémon of Order, meant to maintain balance between Xerneas, the Legendary Pokémon of Life, and Yveltal, the Legendary Pokémon of Death. Due to how orderly the disappearance and reappearance of the land bridge appeared to be, they thought the island was blessed by it."

"Wow," Louise muttered, looking back onto the island with a new intensity. She then admitted, "We have a similar island in Gallia, actually. It's called Mont-Saint-Michel, which was settled for pretty much the exact same reasons as the Tower of Mastery. Just replace Legendary Pokémon with the Gods and the Founder. The Church has maintained an abbey there for centuries, in fact. My family went on a pilgrimage to it, once. It was very spiritual."

"Goes to show that, no matter where you go, people tend to have similar ideas," Derflinger said.

Louise and Saito nodded in agreement, then the trio continued their walk. They went past the open front gates, then up a short flight of stairs that entered into a curved street that went up the hill towards the tower. Without breaking their stride, the two trainers and the ancient Pokémon made their way up the hill, passing by shopkeepers trying to peddle their wares. Both to them as well as tourists who appeared to be the majority of those present.

Finally, they made their way to the entrance of the tower, which was two massive wooden doors set in an iron frame. The closed doors looked to be heavy, and despite Saito trying to push them open neither budged. Louise then noticed a large iron knocker, which she banged against the door twice. As the dull, resounding thuds sounded off, Louise stepped back and patiently waited with her friends. Soon, they heard the door unlock, and a young blonde girl who appeared to be around Saito's age, wearing white and red athletic clothes with her hair tied up in a ponytail, answered them.

"Hello?" the girl asked, peeking her head out. When she noticed the two trainers, her expression changed and she smiled excitedly. "Oh, you two must be the trainers Professor Sycamore called about!"

"Yes," Louise confirmed, giving the girl a polite nod. She pointed to herself and said, "I'm Louise Vallière. This is my friend, Saito Hiraga, and the Honedge behind us is Derflinger. He kind of just followed us and never left."

"You know you love me, Pinky," Derflinger joked, and Louise rolled her eyes. For a moment, Saito was worried that Korrina would freak out over the talking Pokémon, but instead she nodded in acceptance.

"Oh, you can talk. That's neat. I met a Meowth once who could do that. Shame he worked for Team Rocket, though," Korrina revealed, surprising Saito. Part of him felt that a talking Meowth sounded familiar, but for the life of him he couldn't quite narrow it down where he heard that before.

"Come in, come in," the girl beckoned, opening the door wider to grant them entry. Shaking himself of his thoughts, Saito, Louise, and Derflinger entered the tower, the door closed behind them.

"Well, welcome to the Tower of Mastery. I'm Korrina," the girl introduced herself. "My Grandpa is Mega Evolution Guru in charge of this place, and he's training me to be his successor."

"Glad to meet you, Korrina," Saito said, extending his hand. As Korrina gently grabbed and shook it, he realized that he recognized that name and remarked, "Wait a minute. You're Korrina, as in the Gym Leader of Shalour City?"

Louise's eyes widened in surprise, mentally slapping herself for not recognizing her earlier. Korrina, meanwhile, merely smiled and flashed a thumbs up.

"The one and the same!" Korrina happily admitted. "I take it you two wanted to challenge me?"

"We do, actually," Louise answered, getting over her surprise.

"Well then, I accept! Not today, though. Kinda busy at the moment," Korrina sheepishly admitted, smiling awkwardly while rubbing the back of her head.

"That's not a problem. We were planning on challenging you tomorrow anyway," Saito revealed, raising his hand placatingly.

"Sounds perfect!" Korrina replied, giving the two trainers yet another smile.

She then beckoned them to follow her up the spiral staircase that formed the heart of the tower. They were walking at a brisk pace, passing by numerous windows that offered glimpses of the sea surrounding the tidal island. The tide hadn't come in yet, so they figured they had at least a few hours before they had to leave. Soon they reached the top of the staircase, where Korrina opened the door for them. Inside, sitting cross-legged in the center of a circular room, was an elderly man wearing a grey and red-trimmed long-sleeved shirt and pants. With the exception of a small bulb of blond hair on the top of his head, and long extensions that seemed to come straight out of his eyebrows, the man was completely bald. At first, his back was turned to them, then he stood up and faced them with a serious expression on his face.

"Welcome," the old man greeted, bowing respectfully. "I am Guru Gurkinn. Professor Sycamore informed me of your arrival. I trust your journey was peaceful?"

Saito awkwardly chuckled and rubbed the back of his head, admitting, "It got kinda crazy, actually. Which seems to be the norm, sadly enough."

Gurkinn chuckled and smiled warmly, then replied, "Yes, the life of a Pokémon Trainer is certainly an exciting one. Makes the peaceful moments all the more important, at the very least."

"They do, yes," Louise confirmed with a firm nod, and Gurkinn nodded back.

The old man then beckoned Saito and Louise to join him at the center of the room, sitting back down while continuing to face them. As the two trainers moved to comply, Korrina began to walk out of the room, but a quick glance from her grandfather compelled Korrina to stop and instead join them. They sat in a circle, staring at each other in silence.

Before the silence could grow unbearable, Gurkinn began to speak, "Louise, Professor Sycamore informed me of your…peculiarities regarding Mega Evolution. Before we begin to discuss, do you mind sharing?"

Louise looked at Saito nervously, then looked back at the Mega Evolution Guru and replied, "I'm not quite sure how much the Professor told you."

"He told me of the incidents you participated in, as well as reasons behind them," Gurkinn answered. His face softened, and he added, "Augustine also informed me of how you arrived to Kalos. You have my sympathies, Louise. To be ripped from your home is never a pleasant experience, but I do hope at least you found some fulfillment out of this experience."

Louise shot her head back slightly at the revelation, as did Saito and Derflinger. Both Gurkinn and Korrina offered sympathetic looks in her direction, telling Louise that they knew everything. At first, she was confused as to how they knew, then figured that Professor Sycamore and Guru Gurkinn were long-time friends. Sycamore likely trusted him enough to inform Gurkinn of the situation, who then promptly spread the knowledge to his chosen successor. If Professor Sycamore trusted them enough, then so could she.

Taking a moment to breath, Louise began to say, "I'm not quite sure what I can tell you that you don't already know. The first time it was by complete accident. None of us knew that my magic and faller radiation from my trek through Ultra Space intermixed to make my body act like a keystone. That Mega Beedrill came out of nowhere."

"I can't imagine how scary that would've been. Beedrill swarms are bad enough, but one led by a rampaging Mega Evolved queen?" Korrina shivered and grimaced. "Must've been terrifying."

"It was," Saito confirmed with a crisp nod. He then looked and smiled towards Louise before adding, "But, she and I did become friends out of it, so it wasn't all bad."

Louise couldn't help but smile and blush slightly, which Derflinger and both Mega Evolution experts picked up on. Korrina couldn't help but smile knowingly, while Gurkinn merely rolled his eyes at the two teenagers.

Recomposing herself, Louise continued, "But that was months ago. Earlier this week, Saito and I found an Absolite outside Geosenge Town on Route 11. I knew that attempting another Mega Evolution was risky, but like an idiot I thought that after everything we'd been through Auspice and I could handle it. Instead, she went berserk and I had to fight my own Pokémon."

The cheery demeanor that Korrina and her grandfather shared disappeared, replaced by cold contemplation. Humming to himself, Gurkinn rubbed his chin then remarked, "Did you use a keystone during your attempt?"

"I didn't have one," Louise admitted. "I just cast a few spells which did the trick. After just a few, the Mega Stone activated, allowing Auspice to Mega Evolve."

"Did she lose control immediately?" Korrina asked, leaning forward slightly, and Louise shook her head.

"No, at first everything was fine. After a few moves, though, she lost control and started attacking us."

Korrina nodded, then admitted, "That happened to me, too. The first time my Lucario mega evolved, he lost all control. It…wasn't a pretty sight."

Louise winced sympathetically, then asked, "How long did you have Lucario for?"

"For years, ever since he was a Riolu and I was just a kid. It completely caught me off-guard when he snapped like that. Made me reevaluate myself like nothing else," Korrina murmured, hugging herself slightly.

Gurkinn, building off of what his granddaughter said, added, "Korrina's experience only goes to show that length of time is not what makes a mega evolution successful."

"Then what does?" Saito asked, leaning in. "It's a strong bond between trainer and Pokémon, right?"

"That is, indeed, a key component," Gurkinn admitted. "But not the only one. Mega Evolution, Saito, is a complex intermingling of trainer and Pokémon. To successfully perform one, both the Pokémon and the trainer has to be strong enough to handle the raw power it grants. If even one wavers, the control breaks. We've all seen what happens after that."

Louise was astonished, then she quietly asked, "So…you're saying I couldn't handle it?"

"Neither you nor your Absol," Gurkinn confirmed. "Tell me, how did you react when your Pokémon mega evolved? Were you ecstatic, drunk on its power and eager to test your limits?"

She said nothing at first, then hung her head, nodded, and answered, "…Yes."

Gurkinn hummed and nodded, then continued, "Do not feel ashamed. Your experience is very common. Most trainers react the same way when performing a Mega Evolution for the first time, to disastrous results. Just be thankful that none of you were injured. Not everyone can say the same thing."

Louise frowned and nodded, then said, "I know, but…I don't know what to do. Each time I've experienced Mega Evolution, it's gone horribly for me. It's gotten to the point where I don't trust myself with it anymore."

Gurkinn frowned, then forcibly replied, "Your self-doubt, while understandable, does nothing to resolve the situation. If anything, it makes it even worse."

"What do you mean?" Saito asked while Louise shot her head back up in surprise.

"It is as I said. To successfully perform a Mega Evolution, both the trainer and the Pokémon must give it their all. They need to trust that the bonds formed between them are strong enough to withstand any force, to look past the surface and remain in control of their emotions," Gurkinn explained, then pointed his finger at Louise. "Consciously or not, you doubt yourself. Not just with Mega Evolution but with more. Those negative emotions bleed into the Mega Evolution process, weakening it enough to where your Absol cannot handle the strain on her own. Until that is resolved, until you learn to trust yourself, any attempts at Mega Evolution is doomed to failure no matter how strong of a bond you've formed with your Pokémon."

Louise was shocked into silence, not quite sure of what to say. A bubble of indignation rose up from her gut, and part of her wanted to angrily shout a rebuttal. But she stopped herself, took a deep breath, and allowed calm to take over. She then gently asked, "Okay, how do I fix it?"

"That, unfortunately, is not an easy answer I can provide all on my own," Gurkinn admitted, sadly frowning towards Louise. "All I can give is offer my advice. Continue to work with your Pokémon, focus on your bonds. At the same time, look inward, truly evaluate yourself. Not just your strengths, but your weaknesses as well. I'm not saying you need to resolve them, but you need to recognize them. Until you truly know yourself and your Pokémon, you will not be able to control Mega Evolution."

"It's also possible that your body acting like a keystone may destabilize it in some way," Korrina suggested. "Using one to channel it instead of your magic may help."

Gurkinn nodded in agreement, then said, "I can provide one to you. Normally, you'd have to perform a trial to earn it, but given what you've already been through and will have to do, I can make an exception. It won't be available until after you defeat my granddaughter. Consider that to be your trial."

Louise slightly bowed her head in thanks, then Saito coughed and raised his hand. Before he could even speak, Gurkinn chuckled and replied, "Yes, I will provide you one, too. But you will have to find any mega stones on your own.

Saito chuckled slightly and rubbed the back of his head, then Louise spoke up, "Thank you, Guru Gurkinn. You've…given me a lot to think about."

"My pleasure," Gurkinn replied, giving her a fatherly smile that Louise couldn't help but return.

They continued to talk for hours, asking the elderly man and his granddaughter any questions they had about Mega Evolution. It was an illuminating experience, one that Louise found that she very much enjoyed. It was almost with disappointment that Gurkinn had to call their meeting off. With their business concluded, the two trainers and the Honedge stood back up alongside Korrina, who began to escort them out of the tower.

"Meet me at the gym tomorrow morning," Korrina told them as they reached the front door of the tower. "Oh, and bring athletic clothes."

"Why?" Louise asked, a sinking feeling forming her in gut. A feeling that only intensified when Korrina merely gave a conniving smile in response.

"You'll see~," Korrina sang out, then gently closed the door behind her. Both Saito and Louise stared up at the threshold silently for a few moments, trying to figure out what Korrina was implying.

After a few moments, Saito awkwardly laughed then said, "We're in danger."

"Yes, yes you are," Derflinger joked, his eye lidded in amusement.

They then looked out over the town, where they saw that the sun was beginning to set. With it, the tide was beginning to rise as well, and so everyone was making their way out of the abbey. Saito and Louise walked alongside the departing the crowed, passed the front gates and across the sandy land bridge. Not long after, the tide fully swept it, and they watched as the water rose higher and higher until the tidal island was completely surrounded by the ocean.

Both trainers and the ancient Pokémon marveled at the sight for a few moments before turning back around and heading back to the Pokémon Center. They did so in comfortable silence, allowing each to stew in their thoughts. Once they arrived at their room, Saito announced that he was going to get cleaned up, leaving Louise alone. That didn't last very long, however, as she quickly decided on a course of action and sat down on her bed while pulling out Auspice's Pokéball. She then opened it, releasing the Absol onto the foot of her bed.

"Hey, Auspice," Louise softly began, drawing Auspice's attention towards her. Taking a deep breath, Louise smiled at her Pokémon, then said, "I had a lot to think about today, and I wanted to talk about it with you."

Auspice was confused at first, then her eyes widened in realization. At first, she shrunk in, her discomfort showing. Then, as Louise's eyes dropped in sadness, Auspice recomposed herself. She sat upright and stared into Louise's eyes, who let out a short laugh before looking right back and smiling.

[~][~]

Hello, everyone! Here's the latest chapter of Outsiders! Special thanks to Darwin Candidate and Yuri Vampire for their help in bringing this chapter to life.

So we now get to understand Louise's latest addition to her team a bit more, as well as her and Auspice starting down the path of truly mastering Mega Evolution. It's going to be a long and hard road, but in the end they'll be stronger for it.

To Crossovernaru, I'm really glad that you came over to check out my other stories! Outsiders is my first fanfiction, and the longest running, so it has a special place in my heart. Not to mention last I checked it's the top Pokemon/Familiar of Zero crossover on the website, so I'm immensely proud of all the work we've put into this. The characters we've been developing for the past almost three years mean a lot to us. There is one thing to consider regarding Louise's team, though. She isn't a min-max trainer like you would be in the games. She's going to go with what she's got. In a written story, as in the anime, type advantage isn't absolute. Strategy means a lot more, and Louise has been honing that since she started on her journey.

We do plan on Louise going home eventually, but that's not going to be for some time. If season one was the first half of Kalos, season two is the second half including the Pokemon League. Season 3 would be more of an extended epilogue set in Halkegenia, no where near as long as the other seasons but enough to really show how everything's impacted her and how she'll affect her home.

Regarding Maindo's development, rest assured that he's in the middle of his character arc. This isn't the end for him.

That's it for this update. I hope you all enjoy and let us know what you think. Also, if any of you have a TV Tropes account we would really appreciate any help you guys can provide in updating and maintaining it. See you all next time!