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

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All Henrietta could do was stand there silently, staring at the unknown city before her. Her mind was racing as fast as it possibly could, and she felt weak in the knees. One moment, she was eating breakfast in the Academy's dining hall. The next, she was whisked away by Mew and brought to another world, a world filled with both people and what could only be Pokémon. It was hard to fully wrap her mind around, and she felt more lost than she ever had in her entire life.

Yet one thought managed to take hold in the raging storm. That, if Mew was to be believed, this was where Louise was taken. Part of Henrietta wondered if she should even begin to believe the psychic cat's words, or if she'd brought Henrietta over to her world for amusement and nothing more. Given Mew's actions in the Academy over the past few days, Mew doing something just because she wanted to and no real reason was certainly an option. It likely did motivate Mew, at least to a certain extent. But, at the same time, Henrietta couldn't help but believe Mew.

Louise de la Vallière was here, wherever 'here' was. Henrietta felt it in her gut, and knew if nothing else that she had to find her. After that, she didn't know what the two of them would do, but one thing at a time. Besides, she had the distinct feeling that stopping to take full stock of her current situation would only make her panic, and she really did not want to deal with that right now so she pushed those thoughts as far out of her mind as she possibly could.

Taking a few deep breaths, Henrietta slowly and cautiously walked out of the alleyway and onto a raised section of the road. The section she was on was filled with pedestrians, walking side by side to wherever it was that they were going. Not all of them were going in the same direction, but generally the flow of foot traffic was split along the middle, one half going to the left and the other to the right.

On a slightly lowered section of the road, with another raised area with people walking on it on the other side, Henrietta saw strange horseless carriages moving back and forth in much more defined lanes. The carriages were made of metal and glass, with people inside controlling them. Pedestrians were noticeably avoiding that section of the road that the carriages were using, even when it would've been more convenient to walk around large groups by stepping onto it. It wasn't hard for Henrietta to realize that section of the road was reserved for those carriages, and judging by how heavy they looked and how fast they were moving, she had no desire to step out into it.

Looking back and forth, Henrietta chose a random direction and began walking down it. She immediately stood out in her purple and white silk dress, whereas everyone else was wearing much more casual attire that looked far more focused on comfort rather than appearance. The array of colors they were wearing astounded Henrietta. Back in Tristain, most commoners only wore simple colors like brown, grey, or white. Colors like blue, green, yellow, and especially purple were much more expensive, meaning only the most well to do could afford them. Yet here the amount of people wearing those expensive colors was astounding, many of which had images and words printed onto them. Without feeling the material itself, she couldn't tell what they were made out of, but it looked like cotton for the most part.

Most people were giving her odd looks and sideways glances as they went about their days. Others were giving her more positive and appraising looks, clearly liking what they saw. She felt a little self-conscious, but Henrietta held her head high while keeping herself as composed as possible. Instead of focusing on the looks people were giving her, Henrietta paid more attention to the city around her. On most of the buildings around her, which looked remarkably similar in architectural design to buildings in Tristain if only bigger and clearly better constructed, she noticed that there were signs on them.

The signs, just like the clothes the people here were wearing, were extremely colorful, with some even brightly glowing despite not a flick of flame being anywhere in sight. It reminded her of the magical lights Tristain's nobility could make if they wanted to. They also had words written on them, simple and limited to short phrases at most, but their frequency told Henrietta enough. In Tristain, most store signs were just symbols without any words at all. If one meant to go to the Green Dragon Inn, for example, they'd have to find an inn with a sign depicting a green dragon hanging from it. This was because most people in her country couldn't read. Yet, from how many of the signs had words on them, it was clear to Henrietta that was not the case here. She imagined most, if not all of their citizens, knew how to read, or at least were expected to.

But, when the street Henrietta was walking alongside turned and went into a major throughfare, she stopped right in her tracks as she beheld a massive building right in front of her. It was tall, taller than any other building she had ever seen before, and its surface was completely covered in glass. She wondered how she possibly missed seeing them before, then remembered that up until this point her view was blocked by the buildings right beside her. Now that she was in the open, she could see them in full.

The street that the buildings were on was much larger than the one Henrietta was exiting, and she turned her head to look down both ways. When she turned her head to the right, she was immediately taken in by the sight of a large, pointed tower with a broad base and narrow top. Like the other buildings that reached the sky itself, the tower was covered in glass but framed with silvery-grey metal. Steel, from the looks of it. Once again, Henrietta couldn't help but compare and contrast her homeland with the city she found herself in. Steel was incredibly useful but hard to manufacture back in Tristain, especially in large quantities. That meant it was prohibitively expensive, limiting it to personal items such as swords and armor if one could afford it. Yet clearly these people had managed to get the process down to the point where they could construct entire buildings out of the material.

A harsh realization slammed into Henrietta at that point, one that was indisputable even though she had only been in this new world for less than ten minutes. If this country, Kalos if Mew was to be believed, was able to afford the construction of steel buildings, colorful dyes for all of its people, and educate everyone to the point where reading was the norm, that meant Kalos was far wealthier and thereby more powerful than Tristain could ever hope to be. Her thoughts went beyond her country's borders, and she realized that none of Halkegenia's kingdoms could boast similar accomplishments. Not Gallia, not Germania, not even Romalia. Kalos had to be more powerful than all of them, for how else could they afford to spread what was only limited to the richest and most powerful members of her own society to its common people?

The revelation threw Henrietta's mind for a loop, and she felt the need to sit down. Thankfully, there was a covered bench nearby, and she quickly walked towards it. As she got near, she noticed that the side facing her was glowing, and was showing her a poster of some kind. Her curiosity got to the better of her, and Henrietta leaned in to study the image more closely.

It depicted a group of people and Pokémon all arranged into different poses, their clothing reminding Henrietta of home as they stood before a vast landscape of hills, forests, and mountains. At the center of the poster was a young man wearing a bright green tunic, wielding a magnificent, blue-hilted sword and blue shield depicting a red bird of prey underneath a red diamond and three golden triangles forming a larger one. Swirling around his head was a tiny, bright blue ball wings, which Henrietta assumed was a fairy of some kind. Behind him was a blonde princess wearing a pink and white dress, and beside her was a mysterious figure wearing a purple, black, and white tunic and the lower half of his face covered by a white wrapping. Standing over all of them was the dark face of a malicious figure.

Written at the top of the image was the phrase The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, with a date written at the very bottom. Henrietta was immediately intrigued, and figured it had to have been a play of some kind. At the exact same time, she was curious about how she was able to understand what was being written in the first place. The words weren't in the script she knew back in Halkegenia, and had never seen them before in her life until this point. Yet she was able to read them with little difficulty. Not as easily as she would for her native language, but it was understood all the same. Henrietta couldn't help but get worried yet again, and wonder if Mew had telepathically messed with her mind somehow.

Once again, the desire to sit down reared its ugly head, and she prepared to move away from the image. Then she jumped slightly back in fright as the image suddenly changed. It now depicted a young woman holding up a crystal-clear glass vial containing a colorful liquid. Perfume, if Henrietta had to guess, but she was far more focused on the fact that the image changed before her very eyes rather than what it was trying to tell her. She quickly walked away, then sat down on the metal bench to give herself a moment to think. There was a family sitting alongside her, a mother and father with their young daughter. While the parents were giving Henrietta curious looks, the young girl was looking up at Henrietta in astonishment, her eyes going wide. At first, Henrietta tried to ignore her, but when the child wouldn't stop staring she gently turned to face her and offered a warm smile.

"Hello," Henrietta said, then paused and wondered if the girl would even understand her. She was in another world, so there was no reason to assume they'd speak the same language. Before she could think further about this conundrum, however, the young girl quietly spoke up.

"…Hi," the young girl said, Henrietta was shocked. She wasn't speaking in Gallian, yet Henrietta was able to understand her regardless. After a moment, she then realized that she hadn't spoken in Gallian, either. Somehow she had spoken in a completely different language, one that reminded her in hindsight of Albionese yet different at the same time.

Deciding to worry about her current language issues later, Henrietta kept up her smile then asked, "What's your name?"

"…Samantha," the girl answered, and Henrietta nodded.

"Hello there, Samantha. My name is Henrietta," Henrietta introduced herself. Samantha looked at her nervously, then glanced at the doll being held tightly to her chest. Henrietta couldn't help but look at it as well, and immediately recognized it as a princess doll, complete with an elegant gown and tiara on her head. She then realized why Samantha had looked so strongly at her earlier, and her suspicions were confirmed when Samantha cutely resolved herself.

"Are…are you a princess?" Samantha asked, and despite the situation she was in, Henrietta couldn't help but laugh at the sheer innocence.

"Yes, I am," Henrietta replied, but didn't elaborate further. Somehow she got the feeling that telling a young girl and her parents that she was a princess from another world wouldn't be so easily accepted. The parents didn't believe her regardless, merely giving them amused smiles as they clearly believed Henrietta was merely humoring their daughter. Samantha, however, did, and her eyes widened in shock as her jaw hung lower.

"Wow…" Samantha cooed, and Henrietta couldn't help but chuckle once more. A few moments later, a yellow horseless carriage pulled over right in front of them, and the family stood up to get inside. Young Samantha quickly waved at Henrietta then cried out, "Goodbye, Princess Henrietta!"

Henrietta smiled and chuckled once again, waving goodbye at the sweet girl. When the carriage doors closed, it drove off, leaving Henrietta by herself. She was fine with that, content to simply sit back and look at everything. The city, the people living in it, and the Pokémon living alongside them. Henrietta was grateful she spent so much time pouring over Siesta's Pokédex, and while she didn't recognize every single Pokémon she saw, she did recognize quite a few. Flocks of Fletchlings flew overhead, perched atop tall trees that dotted the roads alongside lampposts. Elegantly dressed men and women walked alongside Furfrous, their fur cut, shaped, and dyed into a variety of different patterns. Rattatas could be seen digging through trash cans, and many, many more. It astounded Henrietta and captured her imagination, making her forget for even just one moment about her present situation.

Then her view was cut off as a large, extended carriage arrived, its tires squealing as it came to a stop. There were two levels to the carriage, one on the roof while the rest were inside its structure. Depicted on its side was a magnificent cream-colored sea serpent, its blue and red tail at the end of the carriage while its head was at the front.

"Ma'am, are you getting on?" the driver asked as he opened the door, taking Henrietta aback She looked at the expectant man then at the bench, and realized that where she was sitting was likely a stop meant for it.

She raised her hand and shook her head, then replied, "No, sir. I don't have any money."

"Ah, you must be a tourist," the man said in amusement, beckoning her into the carriage anyway. "Don't worry, all public transit in Lumiose City is free. You don't need to spend a thing."

Surprised at the admission, and happy that she finally knew the name of the city she found herself in, Henrietta decided to take the kind driver up on his offer. She stepped onto the carriage, then looked around to find a seat. Unfortunately, she couldn't see one on this level, so she went up the stairs onto the roof seats. There, she found one that put her on the outside row, and she quickly took it and sat down. When she did, the carriage began to drive off, allowing Henrietta to look out at the city as it did.

If her view from the ground was astounding, the view from atop the extended carriage was mind-blowing. They drove past countless streets, filled with far more people than she had ever seen in one place before in her entire life. A myriad array of smells and aromas filled the air, some sweet while others made her nostrils burn. Yet it quickly became clear just how big Lumiose City actually was. It made Tristainia, the capital of her kingdom, look like a small village in comparison. Lumiose was far cleaner, too. She couldn't see any signs of squalor or hardship, unlike her pilgrimage to Romalia where the city, despite all of its splendor and elegance, was filled with homeless vagrants and beggars around every corner. Henrietta was certain that there were similar people in Lumiose that she couldn't see at the moment, but the fact that she hadn't seen any so far unlike all the other cities she had been to was a good sign in her opinion. Further prove towards just how wealthy and powerful Kalos had to be.

Above all else, Henrietta paid attention to the Pokémon she saw. They passed by a park, and Henrietta could see children running around, being chased by Growlithes, Electrikes, and dozens of other Pokémon that Henrietta couldn't recognize. When the carriage came to a stop, once again Henrietta let her curiosity drive her, and she quickly got off while others got on. She entered the park, letting its sounds and sights overwhelm her. A bright smile grew along her face, especially as more and more of the wonderous creatures made themselves known.

As she got deeper into the park, she noticed a large gathering of people off to the side. Henrietta walked over to investigate, and found that the people were standing and seated around a dirt arena of some kind, itself sunken into the ground while a protective concrete wall surrounded it. Most people were sitting along stacked metal seats, while others stood around the edges and cheered. Slowly, Henrietta managed to push her way through to the front, and she gasped in shock as she noticed two Pokémon fighting each other. One was a Geodude, bouncing along the dirt while occasionally adding to its momentum with thrusts of its arms, and the other was a Marill, spraying a torrent of water out of its mouth towards the Geodude.

"Keep using Water Gun, Marill!" a boy behind her called out, and the Marill complied with the order and even increased the volume of water being sprayed out.

"Geodude, use Rock Tomb in front of yourself to make a wall!" a girl behind the Geodude ordered as well. The Geodude grunted affirmatively, then raised its arms over his head-body and lifted four large stones out of the ground. It promptly dropped the stones right in front of itself, forming a protective barrier that prevented the water from hitting it.

"What are they doing?!" Henrietta cried, not understanding why those people who looked to be a few years younger than her were having their Pokémon fight each other. She also couldn't understand why people were watching it. While animal fights weren't illegal in Tristain, she always found the practice to be distasteful at best.

"They're having a Pokémon Battle, obviously!" someone beside her answered, but Henrietta didn't bother to look at them in favor continuing to watch the battle, particularly after the Geodude split the rock wall in front of him apart to shower the Marill with its broken fragments.

"Why? Why would they do that? Their Pokémon could get hurt!" Henrietta pointed out, having half a mind to go down there and put a stop to this madness. But, before she could, someone else answered.

"Nah, it's fine," they dismissed. "Pokémon love it. See, look."

Despite her misgivings, Henrietta did look at the Pokémon battling each other. At first she didn't see anything, and she was prepared once more to put a stop to the spectacle. But, after the Marill landed a particularly strong hit on the Geodude, she saw both it and its trainer smile and cheer victoriously. While the Geodude's trainer shouted in alarm, the Geodude merely picked itself up and shook its head before glaring at its opponent.

"Geodude, can you keep going?" its trainer asked, and Geodude grunted affirmatively while pointing its hand towards Marill and flexing its fingers towards itself in a challenge gesture. Marill quickly caught the meaning, and smiled eagerly as it lowered itself in preparation for another attack.

"Alright, buddy! We're still in this! Geodude, use Rollout!" Geodude's trainer ordered. At once, the Geodude leapt into the air and began to roll. When it landed, it sped off towards the Marill, managing it strike it as the Pokémon tried to leap away.

The spectators cheered as the two Pokémon continued their bout, but Henrietta was still confused. It took her a few moments to understand, but as the two Pokémon went back and forth, trading attacks and dodging whenever they could, realization popped into her head. This wasn't like people forcing two animals to fight each other. It was more like a tournament, a combat sport where both sides were fighting to prove their strength, and both humans and Pokémon were clearly into it. Given how many people were watching, Henrietta got the distinct feeling that Pokémon Battling was a highly popular sport in this new world.

With that in mind, Henrietta resigned herself to not rushing in to try and stop it, instead simply letting it play out. As it did, she found herself actually growing more and more entertained, particularly as the trainers, as she heard the two owners being called, utilized strategy and tactics to try and get an edge over their opponent. By the end, even she was cheering alongside everyone else, especially when the Geodude managed to land a critical blow against the Marill which gave it the victory.

The battle now concluded, people began to pull out and leave, with Henrietta staying behind to watch as both trainers administered first aid to their Pokémon. Both they and the Pokémon themselves thanked the other for a good battle, a display of sportsmanship that Henrietta appreciated. Then, much to her surprise, the trainers pulled out red and white spheres that sucked the Pokémon into them through bright red beams. She was so surprised, Henrietta found herself unable to move even as both trainers departed on separate ends of the arena. Only when another pair of trainers arrived to use it did Henrietta finally leave, another crowd of spectators forming to watch the battle to come.

Looking over her shoulder one last time, Henrietta kept moving. Watching that Pokémon Battle had certainly been exciting, but she had no desire to actually participate in one herself. It was far too violent for her tastes. While Henrietta was certainly willing to use force if she had to, she wasn't one to search one conflict unless she knew it was absolutely necessary or just.

She continued to walk through the park, staying a dirt trail that snaked its way through it. Beside her, Henrietta saw dozens of people interacting with Pokémon, several of which were trainers directing their teams through exercises. It reminded her somewhat of soldiers going through drills, which given how Pokémon Battling was a combat sport by what she could see, that comparison made sense. She didn't stop to gawk at the sights, however, particularly with how many there were. Instead, she kept moving.

Eventually, Henrietta found herself before an open circle where people were gathering. Food stalls lined the inner and outer edges of the dirt circle, and the air was filled with the various aromas of cooked and cooking food. But Henrietta focused more on the Pokémon she could see, working side by side with their owners in their craft. She saw a Charmander use the flame on its tail to heat a skillet, an Abra telekinetically placing ingredients into a pot of stew while simultaneously stirring it. A four-armed Machamp was carrying trays on each of its hands, taking them to different tables and serving patrons. Floating overhead was a Magnezone, a tray carried underneath its body that people deposited trash into. It was a fascinating display, and Henrietta once more found herself astounded and subconsciously walking towards it.

Then her stomach began to growl, and an embarrassed blush erupted across her face. Looking up at the sun, she noticed it was now hanging overhead, telling her that several hours had passed. Given how she only ate half of her breakfast that morning, it was clear that she was getting hungry again. Seeing as how she was right next to a bunch of food vendors, Henrietta was about to walk over and order something, then noticed one such customer pay the cook by swiping a card of some kind through a slot. It was then that it dawned on Henrietta, and the thing that she had been trying to desperately ignore came rushing back.

She didn't have any money. Princess Henrietta de Tristain, at this point in time, had absolutely nothing to her name. No coins on her person, no access to private funds held by the royal family, nothing. The only thing she had on her person was her dress, her tiara, her wand, and the Water Ruby. None of which would help her in getting food or shelter. With her water magic, getting water wouldn't be a concern, but that was only a slight comfort. Henrietta began to panic as the cold, harsh truth of her situation slammed into her, and she didn't know what to do.

Breathing heavily, Henrietta turned around and prepared to run. Her mind was swirling, and everything was in a blurry. Yet she didn't get very far before she suddenly slammed into something hard. She fell onto the ground, startled and confused. Closing her eyes, she shook her head to clear her thoughts, then looked at what she ran into and prepared to apologize. The words, however, died on her lips as she slowly looked up at the absolute mountain of a man looking down on her. He was old, disheveled, with his clothed ragged and torn while his long white hair trailed down his shoulders and chest. Henrietta was frightened, especially as the homeless man continued to look while giving her a studious gaze.

Then, after a moment that seemed to stretch into eternity, the silence was broken by Henrietta's stomach once again growling. She was too nervous to feel embarrassed, but the man clearly heard her. He glanced down at her stomach, then without saying a word walked away. Too stunned to move, Henrietta stayed there for a few moments, only breaking from her stupor when the Machamp, concerned at how she wasn't moving, walked over to lend a hand. A thankful Henrietta took the Pokémon up on the offer, and began dusting herself off after assuring the Pokémon that she was alright.

Once she was certain that she was presentable, Henrietta prepared to leave, only to stop when the homeless man walked up to her again. To her surprise, he was holding two trays of food, one only having a little while the other was filled to the brim with a wide assortment of food and drink. Henrietta and the man stared at each other for a moment, then he offered her the tray with more food. She was unsure of whether to accept it or not, and was about to politely refuse when her stomach growled once more.

"You're hungry, and you clearly don't have any money," the man suddenly said, his voice low and gravely. He held the tray up again and insisted, "You need to eat."

Henrietta and the man looked at each other, not a word spoken between them. Then, after a few moments, Henrietta slowly took the offered tray and said, "Thank you."

The mysterious man didn't say anything, merely giving her a nod before walking away. Rather than sit on one of the tables offered in the eating area, Henrietta watched as the man sat underneath a large tree. He began to eat on his lonesome, and Henrietta stood there as a sad frown crossed her lips. Coming to a decision, Henrietta walked over then sat right next to the man. As she began to eat the food gifted to her, the man silently glanced at her before going back to his humble meal.


With her back leaned against the tree, its thick canopy of leaves and branches shielding her from the sunlight, Henrietta looked at the tray of food in her hands. Both the tray and the food on it was markedly different than what she was normally served. Rather than being made of glistening silver or polished ceramics, the red tray was made of a firm and rough material that she couldn't recognize. It was remarkably light, though. Normally a tray this size would be several pounds in weight, yet this felt like only a few ounces at most.

Then there was the food and drink. By looking at all the menus hanging on the stalls and eavesdropping on nearby conversations, Henrietta was able to determine what she was given something called a corn dog with fries and a paper cup of cola. There was a thick paper cap on its top, with a hollow paper rod sticking out. At first, she didn't know what to do with the rod, but after watching all the other people in the park sucking the contents of their drinks through them, she started doing the same.

Henrietta quickly found that she greatly enjoyed the fried food that she was given. The lack of proper utensils was surprising, but she just copied what everyone else was doing and went along with the best she could. Even then, she was noticeably more poised and controlled than what the others, taking only small and carefully measured bites rather than tearing into the meal as though it would be her last. With each bite, she savored the taste. It wasn't often that she was able to eat fried food, with it considered to be a rare delicacy back reserved for the nobility in Tristain. But once again she was reminded of just how far ahead Kalos was, seeing as how they were able to get frying food so cheap that they could sell it in park stalls. Such a thing would be unheard of.

She took another bite out of the corn dog. At the same time, she glanced over at him. While he had gotten her a main dish, a side, and a drink, all he got was a small amount of meat, cheese, and vegetables between two slices of bread. Looking at the menu again, it was called a sandwich, and Henrietta found the concept to be so simple yet so ingenious at the same time. She was far more concerned however with the noticeable disparity between what they were eating. Normally she wouldn't have thought anything of it, but in her present circumstances and how she got the food to begin with, it didn't feel right to her.

"Sir?" Henrietta softly spoke up, drawing the man's attention to her. When he locked eyes with her, Henrietta held out the red and white carton holding her fries and asked, "Would you like my…fries? There's too many for me to eat."

The man simply looked at her silently for a few moments, then looked away and gruffly replied, "No."

Taken aback slightly, Henrietta tried again and said, "Are you sure? I have more than enough, and—"

"I don't need it," he cut her off, not even looking at her as he continued to slowly eat.

Surprised, Henrietta reluctantly retracted her arm and placed the carton back onto her tray. She then went back to eating her meal, not a word passing between them. Yet, every so often, she would find herself glancing in his direction. Curiosity began to swirl in her head. Who was this old man? Why did he go out of his way to get her food and himself so little despite clearly being homeless? Why was he so tall? These questions and more were silently raised, yet she refused to ask them. Henrietta got the distinct feeling that the man liked to be by himself.

"It's not polite to stare," the man suddenly spoke up, catching Henrietta off guard.

Blushing in embarrassment over her subconscious action, Henrietta hastily looked away and replied, "Oh, sorry."

"Hmm," the man grunted, but didn't look her way as he took another small bite of his food. As much as Henrietta's curiosity begged her to look at him again, she refused to give in to her subconscious desires in favor of continuing to eat her own meal.

She also focused on the world around her, from the people playing and training with Pokémon, to the vast and steady streams of metallic horseless carriages driving past on nearby roads. There were also wild Pokémon moving around the park, either outright ignoring the people around them or studying them. Birds flew overhead, and on nearby trees but thankfully not the one she was resting under were some of the largest insects she had ever seen. The sight of them freaked her out, and she hoped they wouldn't get any closer.

Time seemed to stretch and fly by, and before Henrietta knew it, she found that she had finished her food entirely. All that was left were small crumbs and leftover ice in her paper cup. Only then did she recognize the greasy sensation on her fingers. It must have come from the food, she realized. She moved to wipe it away, but as she reached for the napkins she had been given, a particularly strong gust of wind picked up and carried them away.

"No!" she faintly cried out, but the napkins were already gone by the time she reached out.

She sullenly lowered her arms and head before sighing and looking around to find a solution to her dilemma. The idea of picking up her wand using a bit of water magic to wipe the grease away came to mind, but that might tarnish the silver which she didn't want to do. The same went to her silk dress, especially since it was the only bit of clothing she had on hand. Henrietta was at a momentary loss as to what to do, but before she could find a solution, she heard the man beside her grunt. Looking over, she found that he was holding a few napkins to her, a passive expression on his face.

"Oh… Thank you," Henrietta sincerely thanked the man before gently taking the offered pieces of tissue. She gently began to wipe away the greasy film staining her fingers, and before long found that they were clean enough to actually pick up her wand. She held the silver rod up to her left hand, then gently whispered, "Create water."

A small stream of water came forth from the wand, splashing against her fingers and washing away any remaining grease. She quickly did the same to her right hand, and soon her hands were so clean that you wouldn't have noticed they were ever dirty in the first place. Smiling to herself in satisfaction, Henrietta moved to put the wand away, only to notice the old man staring flatly at her.

"Oh," Henrietta said, startled and taken aback. Regaining her composure, she held up the wand and offered, "Would…you like me to clean your hands, too?"

The man didn't respond at first, then shook his head and replied, "No, I'm fine."

He looked away from her, then Henrietta noticed that he was almost done with his meal. Both out of courtesy and genuinely not known what to do next, Henrietta remained seated against the tree. She consciously tried to avoid staring at him, but every so often she couldn't help but glance in his direction. When he was finished, he got up without saying a word and walked over to a Magnezone floating by. He tossed his trash into the can hovering underneath its body, then placed the tray itself in a nearby bin. Henrietta rushed over and copied his action, then stood there motionlessly as she tried to determine what to do next. She quickly caught sight of the man walking away through the park. Instinctually, she followed after him.

"You don't have to stay with me," the man told her, noticing her approach. He didn't stop moving, but at the pace he was going it was easy for Henrietta to catch up and match her pace with his.

"I know, but…sorry," she apologized, then closed her eyes, sighed, and hung her head before admitting, "I just…don't know where I am and I don't know where to go next."

Glancing at Henrietta from the corner of his eyes, the man grunted and looked forward once again. A heavy silence fell between them as they walked together through the park, then he suddenly asked, "You're not from around here, are you?"

Shooting her head towards the man, Henrietta nodded. She briefly wondered how much she should tell the man, then admitted, "No, I'm not. I only…arrived here this morning."

"I'm fairly certain that a princess doesn't just 'arrive' at Lumiose City without any money or knowledge of where she's going," the man refuted, sending Henrietta aback.

"How…how did you know I was a princess?" Henrietta dumbly asked, only for the man to stare at her and the dress she was wearing as well as the way she was composing herself even now.

"…Call it a hunch," he sarcastically said, then looked away. As they continued to walk, he asked, "How did you actually get here?"

Once again, Henrietta wondered how much to tell him. While he had given her food when she needed it out of the kindness of his heart, and hadn't done anything untoward her so far, she couldn't deny the precarious situation that she was in. She was a princess trapped alone in a foreign country on an alien world without any resources or protection. That put her in a lot of risk, and she hadn't known the man long enough to determine whether being honest with him would be for the best. Yet, as she looked into his eyes, she could sense no malevolence towards her. Only genuine concern, tempered by a deep sadness that almost sucked her in.

Taking a deep breath, Henrietta sighed and admitted, "I… I didn't come to Lumiose willingly. I was taken here against my will by a creature named Mew."

"Ah, Mew," the man grumbled and nodded in understanding.

"You know her?"

"Of her species, yes. They tend to do whatever they want without much consideration towards others," he replied, then grunted in annoyance. "Most of them have good hearts, however. Tell me, did Mew give you any reason as to why she brought you to Lumiose?"

Henrietta nodded, then answered, "Yes. She said that a friend of mine was here."

"I take it this friend of yours arrived under similar circumstances?"

Henrietta paused for a moment, then said, "You could say that."

The man could easily tell that Henrietta wasn't telling him everything, but he left her explanation at that and accepted it. They kept moving through Lumiose, exiting the park and walking alongside the sidewalks. Where exactly they were going, Henrietta didn't know, but the homeless man seemed to so she just kept going along with him.

"This friend of yours," the man suddenly spoke up, "were the two of you close?"

"She's practically my sister," Henrietta immediately answered, and the man nodded.

"I see. That's good," he declared, and his eyes suddenly looked downcast. His voice became quiet as he whispered, "It's good to have friends that close. They make life that much sweeter just by being in it. And when they leave, the world seems lesser for it."

There was a story behind that, Henrietta knew, but she didn't pry further. It was clearly a touchy and emotionally charged subject for the man, one that she knew she hadn't earned the privilege of knowing. Instead, she slowly nodded in agreement.

She then gently spoke up and said, "I wasn't as good of a friend as I should have been. She needed me, but I had my own problems. By the time I learned how bad things were for her, she was already gone."

The man walking beside her nodded, then pointed out, "That may be, but you're here now. Might as well make the most of it, before you have any regrets."

Henrietta looked at the man next to her, then her face hardened as a sense of determination filled her. She nodded, then said, "Yes, you're right. I wasn't there for her before, but not anymore. I'm going to find Louise, and together we're going to find our way home."

The homeless man nodded approvingly, then turned to walk down another street. Henrietta followed him, and her eyes were immediately drawn to a three-storied stone building nestled between two larger buildings that reached up high into the sky. The walls were lined with windows, with what looked to be a partially glass roof. An iron-bar fence surrounded the building, with an opening marked by two red-and-white spheres held up on podiums opposite each other. One of the podiums had a plaque that read "Sycamore Pokémon Lab." The man who led her through the city walked between the space between the spheres and right up to the double-doors at the front of the building.

"We're here," the man said, and knocked on the door. Each impact made the wood shudder, much to Henrietta's surprise. He was much stronger than he appeared, she realized.

"Um, what is 'here?'" Henrietta asked, and the man knocked one more time before turning to look at her.

"A Pokémon Professor lives here. He'll be able to help you," he announced, then began to walk off. Before Henrietta could even begin to follow him, he stopped, turned around to look at her one last time, and said, "No. This is where we part paths, Princess. I hope you find your friend, but your journey from here on out does not involve me."

"But…" Henrietta started, sadness bubbling up in her as the man turned around to leave. He took a few steps beyond the iron fence, then Henrietta realized that she never even asked for his name. She quickly called out, "Wait, what's your name?!"

He paused, and with his back facing Henrietta, answered, "AZ."

With that, the man calling himself AZ walked away. Henrietta could only watch as he disappeared into the crowd, a feat that was most impressive for a man of his stature. For a moment, Henrietta wondered if she should go after him, but she wasn't able to decide on a course of action before one of the doors behind her opened. She hastily turned around, where she was greeted by a tall, middle-aged man with bushy brown hair and a neatly trimmed beard. He was wearing a white lab coat over a blue collared shirt, and he was looking at her in confusion.

"…Hello," Professor Sycamore greeted, his eyebrows raised as he looked the young princess over from head to toe. "May I help you, young lady?"

Henrietta could only stare silently at the professor for a moment, then hastily regained her composure. Folding her hands in front of her waist, one of which was holding her wand, she replied, "Hello. My name is Henrietta. I was told you could help me?"

Professor Sycamore looked at her for a moment, then shrugged, stepped back, and opened the door wider before saying, "Okay. Come on in, please. Just find a seat anywhere."

Henrietta smiled, then walked into the building. As Professor Sycamore moved to close the door, he stopped as he noticed an absolute giant of a man looking at him. From his clothing, Sycamore got the sense that he was homeless. He towered over the crowd walking around him, and more than a few couldn't help but tilt their heads upward to openly gawk. He ignored them in favor of focusing on Professor Sycamore's lab and the Professor himself. The two briefly made eye contact, but then the homeless man turned to the side and left before Sycamore could even call out to him. Sycamore found it to be odd, but then shrugged and closed the door behind him.

[~][~]

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

We finally get to see Henrietta's first few hours in Lumiose City, and quite literally the difference between her and Louise's experience is night and day. We also finally got to meet a very important character for Henrietta's upcoming arc in AZ. Rest assured, this isn't the last we're going to be seeing of him.

I'm glad you guys all liked the first of our Outsiders OVA series. We put a lot of thought and work into its inception/creation, and to see so many of you all respond so positively tells us that we did something right here. I do plan to do OVAs for other regions, each OVA focusing on a different Louise, Saito, and everyone else in their party. There might even be stuff like Mystery Dungeon, also right now the focus for OVAs would be on other regions. That's kind of the point with them. As people have recognized and pointed out, there were stories that could be told in any region of Pokemon, not just Kalos, and we wanted to explore that.

Regarding Surge's replacement, we did know about her and actually included her as the referee, but we felt that Lt. Surge would add more to the actual OVA so we went with him. He's more iconic and well-known anyway. Also, just to clarify, it's one week in Halkegenia for one year in Kalos. Would cause a momentary shit-storm of epic proportions, yes, but one that they can easily recover from. Especially given Tristain's current technological level. It's very likely that by the time the government realizes what's happened and can move to respond, Henrietta's back.

We hope you guys enjoy, and let us know what you think. If any of you have a TV Tropes account, any assistance in updating the TV Tropes page would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!