Outsiders (ZnT/Pokémon Reverse Summon)
Season 2, Episode 4, Chapter 4

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August 8th, 10:15 AM

Route 12 – Fourrage Road, Kalos Region

"Now, what you're going to need to do is focus on gathering the water into a singular point then gently releasing the pressure," Louise advised Henrietta as the two girls stood off to the side, the vacationing Princess aiming her wand at a large rock. "That should get you Water Gun."

"Louise, I know how to create water," Henrietta pointed out with a flat yet amused look on her face. "I'm a Triangle-level Water Mage, remember?"

"I know, I know," Louise admitted while shaking her head. "It's just that Water Gun is the basis of pretty much every single Water-type attack that Pokémon can use. Not all of them, but a lot. So, if you really want to start making your own spells based off of Pokémon moves, getting Water Gun down is important."

Henrietta supposed she could understand the logic behind that, although she still felt that Louise's well-intentioned advice drifted a little close to condescending. Regardless, Henrietta took her friend's words to heart, along with the years of practice and lessons her many private tutors over the years had drilled into her head. Taking a deep breath, Henrietta aimed her wand at the rock and concentrated, focusing her mana onto the water that surrounded her.

"Water Gun," Henrietta calmly said as she cast the spell. As she intended, a thin but intense stream of high-pressure water shot out of the tip of her silver and jewel-capped wand. The torrent slammed into the rock, drenching it from top to bottom but it didn't have enough force to do any real damage. Not even so much as a small chip of rock was blown away, leaving the rock's surface unchanged, albeit heavily soaked in water.

"Hmm, my other Water spells would've broken it," Henrietta muttered, but a celebratory Louise happily clasped her hand on Henrietta's shoulder regardless.

"Nonsense! You did Water Gun perfectly!" Louise declared, a wide smile on her face. "That move isn't really supposed to be all that strong, anyway."

Henrietta smiled at her friend's praise, with Louise returning the expression. At the same time, though, In the back of her mind Louise was slightly jealous that her childhood friend was able to perfectly replicate a Pokémon move with magic after only a few hours of practice. It took her weeks to get Rock Smash down. But she also figured that Henrietta had years of experience with using water-based magic, whereas Louise only really started working with her explosions recently. Not to mention Water Gun was a pretty simple move. She would've been more worried if Henrietta couldn't replicate it.

Clapping her hands together, Louise continued, "I say that we keep practicing with Water Gun for a bit more. Then we can move on to something a bit more powerful, like Water Pulse."

Henrietta nodded, but smirked teasingly before replying, "While that does sound grand, I think I'm going to take things slow for now. I don't want to…overexert myself. Especially since I just started. Know what I mean?"

Louise's face fell, and she flatly stared at Henrietta and grumbled, "Are you seriously still making fun of me because of that?"

Henrietta laughed and nodded, admitting, "Come on, Louise. Admit it, that was funny."

"Not to me!" Louise yelled, an embarrassed blush erupting across her face. "I finally manage to cast a spell that doesn't blow up in my face, and I wind up in a Spinarak nest!"

"Because you started teleporting all over the place like a hyperactive kid!" Derflinger, listening in on the conversation next to Saito and the other Pokémon who were busy training. "That's what makes it hilarious!"

"Shut up!" Louise shouted back while stewing in her rage. She then muttered, "If my mana was recovered right now…"

If Derflinger could've teasingly stuck out his tongue at Louise towards her empty threat, he most certainly would've at that very moment. Regardless of his biological inability to do so, his intention was understood regardless. Louise fumed at the ancient Honedge, her embarrassed anger rising when she noticed that the other Pokémon, including her own, and Saito were also chuckling. Truth be told, she supposed that the incident was somewhat humorous, especially since she was never in any real danger. A few months from now, she probably would be laughing at this memory. But for now, it was still too close for her to do so.

If there was one thing she learned from the experience, though, it was that her magic had even more limitations than she had initially assumed. For the first time in her life, Louise had experienced mana exhaustion, or running out of willpower if you wanted to use the informal term. Previously Louise would've called it such rather the more academic term people like her sister Éléonore preferred. Then Saito pointed out that calling a mage's fuel 'willpower' was awkward to use in conversation whereas mana was both more descriptive and, most importantly to him, just sounded cooler. Louise had to agree, not that she'd ever tell him that.

In any case, she had known that mana exhaustion was a thing. Back at the Academy, most of her fellow students had succumbed to it at one point or another. A consequence of using too much magic in a short amount of time. Magic was fueled by a mage's mana, and if you ran out you couldn't cast magic anymore until enough of your reserves had replenished. Depending on the severity, it could take hours or even days for it to recover naturally. There were potions you could take to speed up the process, but they weren't really an option at the moment. For now, Louise practicing her magic was simply off the table.

Sensing her displeasure, Henrietta frowned before reaching into her backpack which she had set on top of a small nearby rock. Pulling out a brown book filled with crafting recipes, she flipped through the pagers and once again offered, "Louise, I've been looking through this crafting book you and Saito got me. A few of them look like they could, potentially, work as a mana potion."

Henrietta stopped turning the pages when she finally got to the recipe she was looking for. She turned the book around, showing the double-page instructions, complete with illustrations, for how to create a Max Ether out of just a few leppa berries and pep-up plants. Humming while rubbing her fingers across her chin, Louise silently admitted that the natural medicine did have some possibility to solving her conundrum, but after a few moments of thought she shook her head.

"No, I don't think so. At least not right now," Louise said. "You've only made Pokéballs so far, and you're still getting the hang of it. No offense, but…making medicine is entirely different."

Henrietta winced, momentarily glancing at the jumbled remains of her failed attempts that making another Pokéball from earlier that morning. Her friend was absolutely correct. It was one thing to mess up making a Pokéball. All that happened was just a bit of frustration, maybe some pinched fingers, and wasted materials. But medicine was something else entirely. Putting homemade, untested pills or potions into your bodies could easily go very wrong. One slight misstep or wrong ingredient, and what was supposed to heal you could instead make you sick or worse.

"…Yeah, let's wait until I get better at this," Henrietta admitted, with Louise gratefully nodding along.

"Besides," Louise added with a shrug, "we don't have any leppa berries or pep-up plants on hand, nor do they grow around here. We could probably buy some at the PokéMart, but my mana should recover on its own by then."

"True," Henrietta admitted with a quick few nods. She also figured that they weren't exactly in need of Louise's magic at that very moment, so they could afford to wait. It wasn't like they were in a life-or-death situation.

"Hey, you two almost done?" Saito called out, prompting Louise and Henrietta to turn towards their friend. "The Pokémon are starting to get tired, and it's nearly lunch time."

Louise and Henrietta glanced at each other, then Henrietta nodded. Louise nodded back, then turned her attention back to Saito and answered, "Yeah, we're finishing up right now."

"Perfect! Just meet me up here when you're ready to head back into the city."

Both mages nodded in acceptance, then picked up their backpacks and discarded pieces of trash or supplies. Just because they were practicing their magic didn't mean they could leave a mess of things in their wake. Once they slipped the packs over their shoulders, they walked up the slight embankment back towards Saito and their Pokémon. Saito was already returning his Pokémon to their Pokéballs, which the mages did as well. Strapping the collapsed balls onto their belts, with the exception of Henrietta whose primitive, handmade Pokéballs couldn't, the party began walking back to Coumarine City.

It wasn't too far, only a thirty minute walk at most. Soon they entered the city limits, the dirt trail making way for concrete and brick walkways. Their attention immediately centered upon the nearby Pokémon Center and they decided to head inside. Both to heal their Pokémon of any minor injuries and exhaustion they might've incurred during training, as well as simply figure out what they were going to do next. Once they got inside, they immediately hit with a wave of cool air courtesy of the air conditioning, and the always helpful Nurse Joy happily welcomed them in.

"Hello again! Back from training, I see," Nurse Joy proclaimed while pulling out three trays for the trainers to put their Pokéballs in. "Here, I'll take them back for you. It'll only be a few minutes."

The three trainers nodded, then handed Nurse Joy their Pokéballs. She smiled at them, then placed the trays onto a multi-level cart and wheeled it back to the check-in station behind the wall. There was a glass viewing window, allowing the trainers to watch as Nurse Joy released each Pokémon from their respective Pokéballs to give them an individual checkup. They couldn't hear what was going on inside the examination room, but they didn't need to.

Still, with Nurse Joy's back turned to them, Henrietta couldn't help but glance at the Joy Family photo that she proudly kept on her reception desk. Before the princess could stop herself, she whispered to her friends, "I still don't understand why they all look the same."

"I told you, they're clones," Saito whispered back, with Louise calmly shaking her head.

"You're wrong. Cloning is expensive, and even with all the Joy's combing their resources together wouldn't be enough to pay for it," Louise pointed out. "No, there's a much more logical and realistic explanation for it."

"Joys just naturally have a very strong family resemblance to each other?" Henrietta suggested, but Louise shook her head.

"No, they reproduce by mitosis. That's why there's never any male Joys. There's only females," Louise declared, referring to the act of cellular division. Both Saito and Henrietta glanced at their friend silently for a few moments, then began to hum as they considered the valid option.

They didn't very far in their thoughts as Nurse Joy returned with their Pokémon, causing the teenagers to quiet themselves immediately. Nurse Joy simply smiled at them obviously, having no idea of what their hastily ended conversation was about. She then happily handed the Pokéballs back to the three trainers, then declared, "All of your Pokémon are in great health and good as new."

"Thank you, Nurse Joy," Henrietta replied with a warm smile to the kind woman, who returned the gesture with a polite boy.

"It is my pleasure," Nurse Joy declared, clasping her hands together while giving the three teenagers a warm smile.

The three trainers nodded at her, then prepared to turn around and walk back to their rooms. But, before they could, Nurse Joy suddenly asked, "Hey, before you go, I have to ask: will you three be going to the Seaside Amusement Park today by any chance?"

"Seaside Amusement Park?" Saito asked, turning around as his curiosity took hold of him.

"Yes, it just opened not too long ago. This week they're celebrating their six-month anniversary, so they're running a promotion," Nurse Joy explained as she handed them a colorful pamphlet displaying amusement park. "Several other trainers passing by this week mentioned they were heading over, and I was wondering if you were as well."

"No, I didn't even know Coumarine had an amusement park on the beach," Saito admitted, opening up the pamphlet to see what the park had to offer. He had to admit that the pamphlet made it seem quite fun, a nice mixture of traditional rides, carnival games, and of course water-based entertainment. There were even a few live Pokémon shows.

"You know, this actually looks kind of fun," Saito admitted, letting Louise and Henrietta get a closer look.

"Hmm," Louise hummed, intrigued by the possibilities offered but not entirely certain if she wanted to go. She and Saito were set to challenge Ramos in a few days, and she still needed to get some more training in. Especially with Henrietta watching for the first time. She was about to say as such, but paused when she noticed Henrietta staring at the pamphlet with stars practically in her eyes.

At once she knew that there was no way Henrietta would pass this up. Releasing a slight sigh, Louise admitted, "Well…we're not doing anything else today. Going to an amusement park could be pretty fun."

Henrietta enthusiastically nodded, and Saito glanced at his friend in slight surprise. He didn't think she'd be up for this kind of entertainment. But, after noticing Henrietta's enthusiasm, he understood why she so easily agreed to the proposition.

"Yes, I say we go check it out!" Henrietta insisted, and Saito nodded.

"Well, you heard her," Saito said with a smile, then Derflinger shook his body from side to side.

"Count me out on this one. Salt water does not agree with me. Would rather not get rusty again," Derflinger declared, with the three trainers nodding in understanding.

"Of course, Derf. You can stay here if you want," Saito replied, and Derflinger thankfully nodded.

Henrietta nodded as well, then enthusiastically began to drag her friends back to the rooms so that they could drop off their backpacks while saying, "Come on, we don't have time to lose!"

Saito supposed that Henrietta was being a bit too hasty, but he also figured that after a lifetime of being forced to live on a schedule others had laid out for her, it only made sense she'd want to dive head-first into something more relaxing as quickly as possible. Still, as they entered the two-bedroom hostel they were renting for the next few days and dropped off their backpacks, Saito immediately recognized a problem that they needed to solve before they do anything else.

He also knew better than to be the one to bring it up, and so upon dropping his backpack onto the floor he immediately reached inside, grabbed his swimsuit, then declared, "Well, I'm going to go change into my swimsuit since we're going to the beach. We'll head out when you two change as well."

"Of cour—" Louise began, onto to stop as soon as she realized the same thing Saito did as well. She turned to look at Henrietta as Saito closed the bathroom door behind him, and Henrietta looked at her curiously.

"What?" Henrietta asked, and Louise gulped.

"…Henrietta," Louise started to say after a moment. "When you were at Lumiose, you didn't, by any chance, happen to buy a swimsuit did you?"

"No, why would I…oh," Henrietta realized, with Louise nodding in acceptance.

"Come on, there's bound to be a few stores nearby where we can find you one that's…acceptable," Louise grumbled, not particularly looking forward to having to browse through what the people of Kalos called swimsuits. She doubted Henrietta would as well, although part of Louise worried that, with how gung-ho the Princess had been about this vacation she was given, she'd be all for it.


11:30 AM

Coumarine City, Kalos Region

As it turned out, it took longer for Louise and Henrietta to find a swimsuit than any of them anticipated. By the time an hour rolled around, an irritated Louise had ended up calling him to let him know to meet them at the beach. Saito wasn't told why, but he also too afraid to ask so he didn't pry. Instead, he was more than happy to do as she asked rather than go directly help with swimsuit shopping. He doubted that his input would be any of any use anyway, and more likely than not it would just get really awkward. A baser part of his teenage mind had tried to convince him to offer to help, but he stamped that part down as fast as humanly possible.

"Hmm, this seems like a good enough spot," Saito muttered to himself as he found a patch of clear beach to set down three beach towels and a small cooler containing their lunch. Around him were dozens of families, some with their Pokémon and others by themselves. Children were building sandcastles, one family with the help of a friendly Palossand much to his surprise. He had never seen one outside of the Alola region before, and he couldn't help but glance in its direction every so often out of simple curiosity.

Laying down onto his light-blue beach towel and propping himself up with his arms behind his back, Saito stared out into the ocean as a group of swimmers passed them by. He was tempted to grab his sandwich out of the cooler, but he decided against it for the simple fact that if Louise found out he had eaten before them he'd never hear the end of it. Besides, he wasn't that hungry at the moment. He could wait a bit longer for them to arrive.

Still, he was a little thirsty, and so he pulled out a water bottle and began to drink. As he did, he watched as a flock of Wingulls and Pelippers flew overhead, and scuttering down the beach or digging holes into the sand were a few Dwebbles. Everything was happy and peaceful, and Saito couldn't help but smile before turning his attention to what laid further down the beach, the very reason why they were there in the first place.

Constructed on the water itself atop a large, thick wooden boardwalk, the Seaside Amusement Park certainly seemed impressive. It was relatively small, with only a few attractions including a single tall rollercoaster with a few loops in its steel construction. There were also plenty of water-themed attractions, and several Water-type Pokémon motifs like Dewgongs, Magikarps, Vaporeons and more could be seen decorating the various structures and stands that made up the small amusement park. Saito had to admit, he was excited to see what the park had to offer, plus curious as to what their big promotion actually was. All the pamphlet said was that it was set to start in about two and a half hours. Plenty of time to relax on the beach for a bit and enjoy the park. Assuming, of course, the girls don't take too long in choosing a swimsuit.

"Seriously, how complicated is it to choose a swimsuit?" Saito grumbled to himself, taking another sip of his water.

Of course, he knew the reason why. Both Louise and Henrietta came from a society where a woman's swimsuit was akin to a long, thin dress and the idea of willingly showing off bare skin, especially in public, was frowned upon. Even the tamest modern swimsuits likely showed off a lot more of their bodies than they would be comfortable with, especially Louise. She, more than anything, probably wanted to ensure that whatever Henrietta wore would protect her 'modesty' as much as possible. Saito honestly thought it was silly, but at the same time respected their situation. At least Louise had grown comfortable enough to wear a one piece to the beach. He doubted she'd have done so willingly when she first arrived in Kalos.

Saito's thoughts were broken when his Pokédex began to ring. Bringing it up, he saw that Louise was calling him. Pressing the green phone icon, he bring the device up to his ear then asked, "Hey, Louise. You girls find anything?"

"Yes, something acceptable at least," Louise groaned, frustration seeping into her voice. "We're at the beach now, where are you?"

"By the amusement park. I'm standing up right now," Saito answered as he got up to his feet and began to wave his fully outstretched arm from side to side. "Do you see me?"

"No, I—Wait, Henrietta just saw you," Louise confirmed. "We're heading over now. Also, Saito?"

"Yeah?"

"No staring," Louise ordered. With that, she ended the call, leaving a perplexed Saito to stare at his phone.

"…What did she mean by that?" Saito asked himself after a few moments of silence. He then shrugged and put his Pokédex away into the small bag he had brought with him before looking around to try and find his two friends. With all the people walking around and having fun, it was surprisingly hard to see them.

His search was thankfully broken not too long after when he heard Henrietta's voice call out, "Saito! Over here!"

Smiling in relief and briefly closing his eyes, Saito turned towards the voice while saying, "Finally. What took you two so long? I was starting to…"

The words died in Saito's throat, replaced by a surprised gurgle when he finally opened his eyes to see Henrietta walking towards him with a wide smile on her face, wearing her new swimsuit. It was a formfitting, purple one piece that left her shoulders and legs exposed, with a thick, white band over the chest and supported by two purple strings that went over her shoulders. The swimwear seemed to hug her body tightly, highlighting all the right areas to accentuate the princess' natural beauty, and despite his best efforts Saito found himself unable to stop himself from taking it all in.

If it wasn't obvious before, it was clear as day now. Henrietta was absolutely gorgeous, one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen in his life. With how many young men, and a few women, their ages staring at her as well, a lot of people clearly felt the same way.

"Sorry it took us so long," Henrietta said while rubbing the back of her head and awkwardly smiling, seemingly oblivious to the reception she was getting from the other beachgoers and Saito himself, who was only able to briefly look into her eyes before naturally drifting up and down. "Louise absolutely refused to let me get any other swimsuit for some reason. Kept telling me 'no, you can't wear a bikini! I won't allow it' and other nonsense."

"…You were going to get a bikini?" Saito quietly asked in surprise, and an exasperated Henrietta nodded while releasing a sigh and shrugging her shoulders.

"Yes. After all, I'm not in Tristain, and a few of them I thought were cute. She eventually relented and let me pick out this one," Henrietta admitted, then shrugged before smiling at Saito and giving him a cheerful pose, slightly leaning forward and to the side while placing one arm behind her head and the other on her hip which she extended in the opposite direction. "What do you think?"

"It, uh…it looks good," Saito stammered, forcing himself to avert his gaze to look into Henrietta's eyes. "Really good. You, uh…made a good choice."

Before he could say anything else, however, he felt a dark presence beside him that made the teenage boy go completely still. Slowly, he turned his head to behold disturbingly tranquil Louise glaring at him. Her face was flat, her eyes blank and lifeless, and Saito could almost see a dark miasma billowing off of her body like smoke.

"…Um," Saito began, trying to find a way out of this mess while Louise continued to stare into his soul.

"…Saito?" Louise finally asked as she clenched her fists tightly, clearly trying her best to not explode. Not wanting to press her buttons any further, a nervous Saito focused entirely on her, barely noticing Henrietta smiling at the pair in amusement.

"Yeah?"

"What did I expressly tell you not to do?"

"…You told me not to stare."

"And what were you doing?"

"…I was staring."

Louise's nostrils briefly flared, then she dangerously leaned in while tilting her head and asking, "May I ask why you were staring at Princess Henrietta?"

A baser part of Saito's mind wanted him to answer, 'Because she's hot' and 'Why do you care?', but he immediately shot that down. Answering Louise like that would only make her explode, perhaps literally, and that was the last thing he wanted. He struggled to find an answer, briefly glancing towards Henrietta in the hopes that she would come to his rescue, but she seemed content to just sit back and watch. Louise, meanwhile, grew more and more irate with each passing moment, stepping closer to Saito as her anger grew more pronounced.

"Well? I'm waiting," Louise demanded, and a beat of sweat began to trickle down Saito's brow.

"Uh…" Saito muttered, which only served to make Louise grind her teeth together.

Her anger and irritation grew more and more pronounced towards her friend's actions. Louise wasn't blind. She knew and agreed that Henrietta was beautiful in every sense of the word. Her flawless skin, lustrous eyes and hair, perfect bodily proportions that Louise was somewhat jealous of, not to mention her genuinely kind and generous personality that amplified everything else. Unlike Princess Allie, Princess Henrietta de Tristain was everything a Princess was supposed. That didn't give Saito the right to ogle her, though, especially all the effort she went through to ensure that wouldn't happen.

There was also a small, jealous part of her mind that kept asking why Saito wasn't looking at her the way he did with Henrietta several times now, but Louise forced herself not to dwell on that. Instead, she began to breath in and out deeply, prepared to give Saito a proper lecture.

Before she could say anything, however, they were cut off when they heard a nearby yelp, prompting the three teenagers to shoot their attention towards the disturbance. To their surprise, they found a young man their age who had tripped and fallen over a hole in the sand dug by a now irritated Dwebble, who was furiously clicking its claws together while trying to drag the boy out by his swim trunks. After a few moments, the boy pushed his head out of the sand and sputtered, trying to spit the sand out of his mouth. He quickly paused when he noticed Saito, Henrietta, and Louise staring at him, and once he made eye contact with Henrietta a furious blush erupted across his face.

Faster than they expected, the embarrassed and humiliated boy pushed himself off the ground and ran off, yelling a hasty apology as he retreated. The three teenagers stared at their beachgoer as he ran off, their altercation momentarily forgotten. That was when Saito and Louise noticed Henrietta beginning to chuckle, and as they turned to face her she devolved into outright laughter.

"Heh-hah hah!" Henrietta laughed to herself, covering her mouth with her hand. Saito and Louise stared at her for a moment, then Saito's eyes widened as the pieces fell into place.

"…You did this on purpose," he declared, and a cheeky Henrietta merely smiled.

"What? No, why would you think that?" she teasingly asked in a faux tone, and Saito narrowed his eyes.

"Was this because of the workout?" he asked, and Henrietta merely smiled while shaking her head.

"Saito, I am an elegant and refined Princess. Do you honestly think I would stoop so low as to wear a swimsuit like this, knowing that you and others would look, just so my dear childhood friend would get mad at you purely because of some childish desire for retribution? All because of a workout? Don't be ridiculous."

Louise narrowed her eyes suspiciously, then replied, "Yes, you would exactly do that."

"Louise, you too? I'm almost offended," Henrietta teasingly said while dramatically recoiling and bringing her hands to her chest.

Louise stared at her friend, tempted to bring up the time Henrietta accidentally broke her favorite doll when they were eight and how Henrietta never got around to replacing it while continuously coming up with excuses not to, but she decided against it. She felt her ire towards Saito ebb away as she released a sigh, and a cheeky Henrietta laughed while sitting down on the towel.

"Alright, I've had my fun," she finally admitted. "I do like this swimsuit, though. So much more comfortable than the ones we have back home."

"That they are," Louise agreed, briefly looking down at her bright-red one piece swimsuit that covered the top of her shoulders and left her arms and legs exposed. She glanced at a relieved Saito who sat down as well, then the three teenagers stared out over the ocean.

Henrietta smiled as the cool, salty breeze washed over them, then she said, "It really is breathtaking, isn't it?"

Louise couldn't help but smile and admit, "Yeah, it is."

The three laid there for several minutes, just content to let the peaceful atmosphere permeate into their souls. Finally, however, Saito stood up and began walking towards the water while saying, "Well, we have some time to kill before heading over to the park. I say we make the most of it."

"Oh? How so?" Henrietta asked, not seeing the conspiratorial grin on Saito's face as he reached the water's edge. He then suddenly pulled out Ronin's Pokéball and released his starter into the ocean. With a single, firm nod, Ronin understood exactly what his orders were, nodded back, then slammed his scalchop hard into the water to create a small wave that cascaded towards the two girls.

"AAAGH!" they screamed in surprise before getting absolutely drenched by the salt water. As they spat the water out of their mouths and pushed their wet hair from their eyes, they saw Saito laughing hysterically at the results of his prank, and the two girls narrowed their eyes at him.

Glancing towards each other, they fell into a silent conversation that needed no words. After a moment, they stood up, with Louise pulling out her Pokéballs alongside her wand with Henrietta doing the same.

"Of course you realize this means war," Henrietta declared, aiming her wand at the ocean and was already beginning to magically manipulate the water near and around Saito's feet. Rather than feel intimated, Saito merely released the rest of his Pokémon, all of whom understood the situation immediately and braced themselves.

"Bring it on," Saito shot back, and both parties smiled before engaging in all out water warfare with each other.


In the end, the three trainers and their Pokémon waged their water war for close to half an hour. Henrietta had almost immediately emerged as the favorite, utilizing her expert control of water magic to her absolute advantage to spray and splash Saito and Louise with salt water. Unable to cast water magic, Louise instead used strategic applications of her explosions to serve as makeshift water bombs, sending droplets everywhere while her Pokémon, mostly Esprit, used their powers to manipulate the water themselves. Not having the gift of magic, Saito was forced to physically exert himself on the water with his arms and legs. It wasn't too much of a disadvantage, as Saito was much stronger than either Louise or Henrietta, so he could splash with the best of them. Plus, Ronin provided a distinct advantage that rivaled or even bested Henrietta's best efforts. Only when a victor emerge did they finally retire back to their spot on the beach to relax and eat their simple lunch of water and sandwiches, letting their Pokémon get a much deserved meal as well.

"I can't believe you betrayed me, Louise," Henrietta dramatically said to Louise through a faint smile, which Louise returned while staring at her with lidded eyes.

"Someone had to take you down," Louise simply declared, and the two childhood friends stared at each other for a few moments before they began to laugh.

"You two turning on each other turned out great for me," Saito, the self-proclaimed ultimate victor of the water war, stated as he bit into his sandwich.

"You got lucky, Saito. Next time you won't be," Louise replied while giving him a cheeky sideways glance. She could have disputed his claim by saying that no one truly wins a water war, nor were they keeping score, but she had enough fun that she didn't really care.

"We'll see, Louise. We'll see," Saito confidently shot back, and the two friends stared into each other's eyes before they, too, began to laugh which prompted Henrietta to join in.

The three trainers sat there on the beach, their laughter joining together before slowly falling off. They spent the next several minutes simply sitting there in comfortable silence, towels draped around their shoulders as the warm sun beamed down over them. While their swimsuits were still somewhat damp, their actual bodies were quite dry. Every so often, their gazes would turn to the seaside amusement park, hearing the sounds of joyful screams carried by the wind.

"We should probably head over soon, if we want to actually enjoy the park before whatever promotional event they're hosting starts," Saito suggested.

"Do we even know what the event is?" Louise asked, and Saito shrugged while shaking his head.

"Nope," Saito answered and gave a small, curt shrug. "Apparently they've been hosting a different surprise event every day for the past week. The only thing we know is that it has something to do with water. Yesterday was a swimming race, for instance, and the day before that was Pokémon Water Skiing."

"Pokémon Water Skiing?" Henrietta asked, not familiar with the activity.

"They put people on water skis and strapped them to Sharpedos before letting them go."

Henrietta's eyes sparked, and she gasped, "That sounds amazing!"

"And dangerous," Louise quietly added, but she was completely ignored as Saito enthusiastically nodded with the Princess' assertion.

"Yeah, totally! I don't know what they're doing today, but I bet it's going to be just as fun."

Henrietta nodded at that, then returned her attention towards the water park. After a moment of thought, she nodded to herself then stood up, letting the towel fall from her shoulders as she said, "Well then, I suppose now's a good a time as any. Let's head over."

Saito and Louise nodded in agreement, then they stood up as well. As they returned their Pokémon to their Pokéballs, Saito packed the cooler and beach towels away in the storage capsules he had brought with him. After that, the three trainers walked down the beach together, making a beeline towards the amusement park. The sounds of the park and the people having fun inside grew louder and more comprehensible as they approached the front entrance, making the smiles on their faces grow wider and wider.

Upon reaching the front gate to the Seaside Amusement Park, they were immediately bombarded by all the entertainment options available. A wide variety of food stands lined the walkways, offers ranging from cotton candy and funnel cakes to burgers and corn dogs, all of which were somewhat overpriced as per the norm. Beside the food stands were multiple carnival games, which was what mostly captured the teenagers' attention. There was a water gun shooting range, basketball hoops, and a lot of Water-type Pokémon Shows. Most of them were just out of view, but they could clearly make out a show taking place in an underwater tank filled with a manmade coral reef, where swimmers and their Pokémon, chiefly a Vaporeon, were doing a dance of some kind. It was mesmerizing to everyone around, and the sight and smell of everything only caused their excitement to grow.

There was more than just stands, though. There were plenty of rides to choose from. In the center of the main square was a carousel, filled with various seats made in the image of Water-type Pokémon. Next to it was a teacups ride, only the cups were painted like Magikarp, Goldeen, and Basculin. Further down, on the west side of the park, was a massive Ferris wheel that gave an excellent view of the ocean and beach. On the east was a drop tower called the Waterfall, and with how it rose up and shot back down as fast as safely possible, it wasn't hard to understand how it got that name.

But the main attraction laid at the back of the park, hanging over everything like an inescapable shadow. There they saw a massive steel roller coaster called The Gyarados, painted white and blue just like its namesake. Multiple loops were formed in the structure, and as a railcar modeled after a Gyarados sped past they could hear the excited screams of the passengers.

"What…is that?" Henrietta asked, her eyes sparking as awe and wonder filled her voice.

"That is a roller coaster," Saito answered as he placed his hands on his hips. "The main attraction of any amusement park. That…that looks it'll be fun."

"…It's so big," Louise muttered, her eyes slowly trailing towards the top of the roller coaster as another cable car was dragged up towards it before falling over the edge, causing the passengers to scream once again.

Seeing this, Saito smirked conspiratorially. He then asked, "Why, Louise? Are you scared?"

"What? No, I'm not scared," Louise countered, an embarrassed blush shooting across her face as she fervently shook her head.

"I think you are," Saito teased, lightly poking at Louise's cheek.

"No, I am not! I'm not scared of a simple ride!" Louise insisted, and Saito merely laughed before looking straight at her.

"Then I suppose you don't mind riding on The Gyarados first, do you?" he asked, causing Louise to flinch. "You know, since you're not scared."

"I… I mean, there's plenty of other rides we could go on first," Louise hastily suggested, pointing to the nearest ride which just so happened to the teacups. "What about that? That looks like fun!"

"I want to ride on The Gyarados," Henrietta immediately countered, causing Louise to blanche.

"Well, looks like you've been outvoted. We're going on The Gyarados," Saito happily declared, and with that he led an excited Henrietta and quietly nervous Louise towards the ride. The young nobleman refused to let her trepidation show, however, and she steeled herself as they approached the long line.

"Hmm, this does look like it might take a while," Henrietta noted while bringing her fingers up to her chin, and Louise immediately seized the opportunity to try and get out of this.

"My thoughts exactly. By the time we get to ride this…thing, we won't have time to do anything else before the event starts," Louise claimed. "We should just cut our losses now, honestly."

"Louise, stop trying to get out of this," Saito cheekily replied through a toothy grin as the line slowly moved forward.

"I'm not trying to get out this! I'm simply trying to make the most of our time here," Louise haughtily insisted, but neither Saito nor Henrietta bought her excuse.

"Louise, your concern is appreciated," Henrietta teasingly said, "but we're already halfway there, so I think we'll be fine."

"Huh?" Louise mumbled, then quickly noticed that her friend as absolutely correct. Despite the long line stretching in front and behind them, it was moving deceptively fast. She had to hand it to the park's organizers, they were certainly being efficient. At the rate things were going, they'd be at the front of the line in just a few minutes.

Realizing that there was no way out of this that didn't result in making herself look like a coward, she released a heavy sigh before steeling herself. Louise refused to let herself be defeated by this steel monstrosity. She'd been through worse before, so she could handle this. Even as got closer and closer to the platform, making her heart race and thunder inside her chest, she forced herself to ignore it in favor of continuing forward.

Soon they reached the platform, where they watched the park's employees load passengers into the Gyarados-themed rail car. The car was filled with nearly a dozen rows of flat seats with two seatbelts and handlebars that came down. Louise tried to estimate the number of rides that were ahead of them and where they most likely would sit, if only to distract herself, but unfortunately she found herself unable to. She released a low grumble, then resigned herself to just having to wait.

At the same time, though, she couldn't help but notice that Henrietta's earlier bravado had disappeared. Instead she was now looking much more nervous, noticeably flinching whenever the railcar ascended the massive hill and sent the passengers falling down the other side. It wasn't hard to realize that Henrietta was just as nervous as Louise was, but the youngest Vallière decided against calling attention to it. Now wasn't the time to try and smugly hold this over her head.

She could do that later in private.

Finally they reached the front of the line, and to Louise's dismay she found that they were to be placed at the very front of the railcar. She gulped nervously, as did Henrietta once the railcar returned and deposited its passengers.

"Alright, everyone! Hop on and strap yourselves in!" one of the employees working on the roller coaster announced over a microphone. Louise took a deep breath, then walked forward to the front of the rail car. Beside her was Henrietta, with Saito right behind.

"I'll be right behind you two," Saito said as he sat down in the second row, smiling widely. "This is going to be fun!"

"…I'll hold you to it," Louise muttered, then slid her way to the left side of the seat and sat down and locked the seatbelt around her waist. Noticing a little net bag embedded into the front of the car, Louise placed her small bag into it so that it wouldn't accidentally get lost, with Henrietta doing the same thing once she realized that Louise was doing.

Soon the entire Gyarados-car was filled with excited and nervous passengers, and two park employees began walking down the sides of the ride to push down the handlebars. They also checked to make sure that everyone was safely strapped in, and once they finished they flashed the main operator a thumbs up each. The teenage woman nodded, then happily pressed a button on her control panel.

The car lurched forward with a sudden jolt, and Louise's eyes briefly widened as the car was slowly dragged forward on a chain. Behind her, she could hear other passengers talking to themselves, some in open excitement while others were a bit more nervous.

"Heh, this isn't so bad," Louise told herself as they approached the big hill, and Henrietta nodded while smiling awkwardly.

"Yeah, not bad at all," Henrietta agreed, although both of them could tell that she wasn't being entirely truthful.

Soon they reached the bottom of the steel hill, and then the chain began to drag them upward with loud clanks. With each passing moment, they rose higher and higher over the amusement park, and Louise felt her grip tighten as beads of sweat began to form on her brow.

"We are…really high," Henrietta all-too-calmly noted, and Louise nodded while swallowing some spit down her suddenly dry throat.

"Yes, we are…" Louise muttered, then shook her head and boldly declared, "Not that it matters!"

"No, exactly! Everything's fine!" Henrietta agreed, then the girls shared an unconvincing laugh.

Any sense of their false bravado, however, disappeared once they reached the top of the hill and began to stare down into the abyss. Their pupils shrunk to the size of pinpricks, and they couldn't stop themselves from simultaneously begging, "Get me off this thing! Get me off this thing! GET ME OFF-!"

Their words were cut and turned into shrill screams as the railcar fell over the top. Carried by gravity, they shot down the steel hill at incredible speeds, reaching the bottom of the hill in less than a second before transitioning into a loop.

"AAAGH! SAITO, I HATE YOU! YOU STUPID DOG! WHY DID YOU CONVINCE ME TO DO THIS?!" Louise screamed at the top of her lungs, gripping the handlebar as tightly as she could while blaming her friend for their predicament.

"AH-HAHAHA!" Saito boisterously laughed, his arms loosely raised over his head. Whether he was laughing at the ride or at Louise, it was hard for the young noblewoman to know, but she suspected it was both.

With her eyes forced wide open from the intense force being exerted on her body, along with her own strength of will, Louise watched and screamed as they were carried up and down several hills, through corkscrews and loops at incredibly high speeds. All she could hear was the roar of the car on the tracks and the screams of the other passengers, along with her own thundering heartbeat. A brief glance to her side told her that Henrietta was in the exact same position, only she was keeping her eyes tightly closed.

It felt as though the ride was lasting for eternity, yet in actuality only lasted a few minutes at most. Soon they rolled to a stop back at the platform, and as the handlebars automatically rose Louise simply stared forward. Her hair was a frizzled mess, her irises small and narrow while her breathing was heavy. The normally composed Henrietta was the exact same way, and only Saito had the audacity to be smiling as he got out of the roller coaster first.

"That was great! What did you guys think of your first roller coaster?" Saito asked through a cheeky grin. Slowly, the two girls turned to look at him, and neither said a word at first as they, too, shakily got out of the car.

As her breathing began to level out, Louise narrowed her gaze at Saito then began to answer, "That…was…"

"Amazing!" Henrietta suddenly cried out, causing Louise to shoot her attention over in surprise. "Let's do it again!"

Saito merely laughed hysterically at Henrietta's genuine reaction, while Louise herself could only watch silently. After a moment, she smiled and released a sigh, then truthfully admitted, "It was…fun."


They visited every ride they could after getting off The Gyarados. The teacups were a nice, relaxing ride, one that they were able to share all at once. The bumper cars offered a neat way to blow off some steam by slamming their cars into each other. In an interesting turn of events, Saito had to be coaxed into riding the Waterfall tower drop ride, showing that even with his experience in amusement parks he had limits. But to Louise and Henrietta, it were the Pokémon Shows that captured their amazement the most. To Louise, it offered a new, fresh way for Pokémon to flex their powers in ways she honestly hadn't really considered yet now, in hindsight, were obvious. To Henrietta, it showed her how people and Pokémon could work together in ways that were beautiful rather than violent, catching her interest almost immediately.

But soon the day's mystery event was set to begin. They, along with dozens of people, were gathered around a stage located near The Gyarados. On the stage was a podium with a microphone, the empty ocean laying behind them. A cool breeze washed over everyone, and Louise couldn't help but smile in contentment.

"Here, I got us cotton candy," Saito announced, returning from a nearby food stand with three large bundles of what looked like pink cotton.

"Ooh, gimme!" Louise begged, and she immediately began to chow down onto the confectionary treat.

Henrietta, meanwhile, looked at the so-called cotton candy curiously. Its appearance certainly gave weight to the name, but she couldn't help but ask, "What is this?"

"Cotton candy. It's literally just pure sugar," Saito explained as he began to bite into his wand.

"How do they do that?" Henrietta asked as she held it up to her nose and took a brief sniff.

"They melt it down then spin it through these really, really tiny holes very fast in a circle," Saito clarified. "The sugar cools super quickly into fine strands, which are collected into a single clump for people to enjoy."

"Really? How do you know that?"

"Watched an anime called Dr. Rock where they made one."

"Ah, I see," Henrietta said. She didn't know what this 'anime' was, but she also figured it didn't really matter. Deciding to take the plunge, she eagerly bit into the cotton candy, and she was immediately hit with an intense sweetness that made her smile widely. "Wow, it's so good, and so sweet!"

"I told you, it's literally pure sugar and nothing else," Saito replied with a smile of his own.

Together, the three trainers continued to eat their cotton candy, with Louise finishing hers first while Saito and Henrietta were still eating theirs. Louise got somewhat irritated when she did, wanting more but unable to do so. For a brief moment, she considered asking one of her friends to share, but she decided against it when she saw that the cotton candy stand was so close by.

"I'm going to get some more," Louise announced and began walking towards the stand, with Saito and Henrietta giving her quick nods while they focused on finishing their treat.

As Louise walked away, she didn't notice a boy wearing jeans, a blue zip-up turtleneck with white stripes, and a red hat along with his younger sister, wearing a yellow sundress and her hair tied up into pigtails weaving their way through the crowd. Their attention was focused entirely on the stand, so they didn't notice her either. Only when they were right on top of Saito and Henrietta, and about to weave around them, did the boy pause and take a closer look.

"Holy crap, Saito? Is that you?" the boy asked, prompting Saito to turn around and face him.

He recognized the boy immediately, and he smiled while saying, "Calem! How's it going, man? I haven't seen you since Ambrette. Arceus, what was that, a month ago? So much has happened since then."

"Yeah, no kidding," Calem admitted while smiling and shaking his head.

"What brings you here?"

"My family lives here, actually. Just got back from making a delivery, saw this place finally opened, and decided to take my sister," Calem answered. He then looked around and asked, "Hey, where's Louise?"

"She's over there, getting some more cotton candy. In case you haven't noticed, she has a bit of a sweet tooth," Saito joked while pointing his thumb in Louise's direction.

"Ah. Yeah, that tracks," Calem admitted, and only then did Henrietta speak up.

"Saito, who's your friend?" Henrietta asked, and Saito hastily nodded before pointing at Calem.

"This is my friend, Calem. Louise and I met him while we were in Ambrette Town," Saito introduced, then he looked at Calem while gesturing towards Henrietta with his arm. "Calem, this is Henrietta. She's Louise's best friend from home."

"A pleasure to meet you," Calem replied, respectfully taking off his cap and placing it against his chest as he gave a slight bow which Henrietta returned while she smiled.

"The pleasure is mine. Tell me, how did you meet?"

"I'm a courier whose job is to ferry packages to remote, hard to reach places," Calem explained. "Saito and Louise were trying to return to Ambrette Town from Glittering Cave, and I just so happened to have a delivery near there so I ferried them back."

"Ah, I see. That was very kind of you."

"Eh, it was no big deal," Calem dismissed. "That probably would've been the only time we saw each other, but that night I had a last-minute delivery to the middle of nowhere for a pizza, of all things. When I finally got back into town, I saw that Team Flare was trying to rob the Ambrette Fossil Museum with Saito and Louise apparently inside, so I stepped in to help out."

"Oh my. I heard about that. It sounded dangerous."

Calem prepared to say otherwise, only for his younger sister to sarcastically pipe up, "It was, but my brother's big head will try to tell you otherwise."

Finally realizing her presence, Henrietta leaned down and smiled towards the young girl while asking, "Oh, I'm sorry. You must be Calem's sister. May I ask your name?"

"My name is Joceline, and you're speaking to the future champion of the Kalos Region!" the young Joceline boldly declared while thrusting her tiny finger towards Henrietta, who couldn't help but chuckle in amusement.

"Not for another two years, at least," Calem countered through a laugh of his own. While the eight-year-old Joceline cutely pouted, Calem affectionately rubbed the top of her head before saying, "Anyway, I heard you and Louise got caught up in that whole attack on Cyllage."

Saito winced and nodded, then replied, "Yeah, practically as soon as we arrived. That was… It got pretty bad. Louise ended up getting stung by a Toxapex."

"Arceus… Is she okay?" Calem asked in a sudden worry while glancing in Louise's direction, with his sister's eyes widening as well.

"Yeah, yeah. She's fine. They got her to a hospital almost immediately. Had a bit of color blindness for a while, but it returned a few weeks ago," Saito confirmed, purposefully leaving out what happened inside the hospital. The fact that she was violated in such a way still made his blood boil, but Calem and especially his younger sister didn't need to know that.

"Oh, that's a relief," Calem said through a sigh. He then shook his head and asked, "Anyway, what brings you three up here? Besides the gym challenge, of course. Have you challenged Ramos yet?"

"Nah, not yet. Our match is scheduled to be in two days, though," Saito answered.

"That's good to hear!" Calem said, then smirked while holding up a finger. "If you want my advice, trust me when I say that Ramos may be old, but he is one tough opponent. Beat me the first time I battled him, so do not underestimate him."

"Don't worry, we already knew that," Saito confirmed, remembering the exact same conversation he had with Louise earlier that day.

Joceline then turned her head up to look at Calem before pouting and saying, "You should challenge him, too."

Calem sighed, then told his younger sister, "Joceline, we've been over this. I'm retired from the battling circuit."

"Then unretire yourself! It's not like you can't do it," Joceline complained. "If I'm going to be champion one day, I'd rather take it from you than someone else!"

Calem smirked then asked, "Is that really the only reason?"

"Yes," Joceline immediately answered, causing Calem, Saito, and Henrietta to laugh. A suddenly embarrassed Joceline then blushed and quietly admitted, "Also…I think you deserve. You worked really hard and were really good as a trainer, and I don't…want you to retire just because of us."

Calem smiled affectionally, then rubbed his sister's black hair yet again and said, "Thank you, but I'm fine. Really."

Joceline didn't seem convinced, but before she could say anything else the group suddenly heard a crash coming from Louise's direction, followed by yelling.

"Watch where you're… YOU!" Louise shouted towards a green-haired girl, who immediately picked herself up off the ground and pointed right back at her.

"You! What are you doing here?!" Elizabeth Colette shouted, prompting Saito to groan.

"Oh, no. This is not going to end well," Saito mumbled, causing Calem to lean over closer to him.

"Who's that?" Calem whispered, and Saito pointed to Elizabeth and she and Louise continued to argue over who was at fault for walking into whom.

"That is Elizabeth Colette, Louise's rival for lack of a better word," Saito explained. "She's been a pain in our butts ever since Louise started her journey."

"Ah, yeah. I could tell there's…history there," Calem replied, and Saito nodded.

"You don't know the half of it," Saito said, then decided that eavesdropping wasn't his business so he turned around to face the podium.

Calem reluctantly did so as well, but Joceline couldn't help but stare in childlike curiosity while Henrietta remained focused on her childhood friend. She had known about the history between Louise and Elizabeth. From what she had been told, it seemed as though Elizabeth wasn't that good of a person, but that might have been Louise and Saito's negative experiences with her coloring their views. There was probably more to her than first appearances would suggest. Henrietta always tried to not judge people based off of what others had said about them, but even still she was finding it hard not to.

Only when they heard a tapping from the stage's microphone did Louise and Elizabeth's argument cut off. They and everyone else turned to face the podium, where they saw a woman standing behind it with her face pointed at the microphone.

"Welcome, everyone!" the woman proclaimed. "It warms my heart seeing so many of you enjoying our park during our opening week. The Coumarine Seaside Amusement Park has been a years-long endeavor, and we couldn't be here today without all of you. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you so much for believing in us."

A few people in the audience clapped and cheered, but the woman cut them off and continued, "But enough with the sappy speeches. You're all here for the main event. Well, I am happy to announce that we have a special treat in store for you today. The Seaside Amusement Park has proudly partnered with the International Safari Zone Commission to bring you our very own Fishing Competition!"

Saito immediately recognized exactly where they were going, and despite knowing it wasn't as exciting as a swimming race or Water-Pokémon Skiing, this was going to be just as enjoyable. Calem was just as excited, while Henrietta was confused and Joceline just looked bored.

"The rules are simple and are modeled after the famous Bug-Catching Competition of the Johto Region," the announcer continued while pointing out towards the ocean and a section of the beach that had plenty of small islands and rocky outcroppings. "Here in the Azure Bay, you and your friends are to go out and capture any Water-type Pokémon you can with just a fishing pole and a single Pokémon. Each of you will be given twenty Sport Balls and may capture any Pokémon you can over the course of an hour, but you may only keep and submit one. Our expert team of judges will then analyze your submitted Pokémon for all of its qualities, including rarity, physical condition, and more."

A trio of workers emerged, carrying small cushions holding prizes. Saito and everyone else's attention was immediately drawn to what was clearly the first-place prize, which was a glass display case holding every evolution stone.

"Whoever achieves first place will be given this collection of evolution stones," the announcer declared while thrusting her arm dramatically in its direction. "But in my mind, all of us our winners today. The contest will begin in half an hour, so please enjoy as much of the park as you can. If you choose to participate, please make your way to the staging area at the west side of the park."

With that, the announcement was over. The gathered spectators began to excitedly converse among themselves, with the Johtoans making themselves abundantly obvious given their familiarity with the contest itself. Saito couldn't help but smile, and he turned towards Louise as she approached.

"Hey, Louise. You catch any of that?" Saito asked, and Louise nodded.

"Yes, I'm looking forward to it," Louise answered, a sentiment that both Saito and Henrietta agreed with. "Now, if you excuse me, Elizabeth challenged me to a battle and I intend to win."

"Oh, okay," Saito said, then paused. "Wait, wait?"

But Louise was already gone, marching down the boardwalk where an annoyed Elizabeth was waiting with her arms crossed over her chest. That sinking feeling returned in Saito once again, and he released a sigh before following her.

"Okay, I really shouldn't, but I kind of want to watch this," Calem told himself, then he and Joceline followed after Saito.

Henrietta was left behind, taken aback by her friend's sudden turn. Part of her wanted to try and stop this battle before it commenced, but she knew that wasn't going to happen. Another part was curious. She had seen Pokémon Battles before, but while she had seen Saito and Louise's Pokémon train she hadn't seen them actually fight. This, more than anything, was a perfect opportunity to see just what it was like.

Nodding to herself, Henrietta followed her friends, hoping that this would be over soon and they could return to the Fishing Competition. She briefly paused to look out over the waves, wondering what she might end up catching, then turned around and kept going.

[~][~]

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

We got yet another beach episode, merged with a theme park. Saito, Louise, and Henrietta are growing closer and more comfortable in their newly formed party, with Henrietta in particular taking the time to really let loose. She was a treat to write for this chapter. Now we've got another rival battle between Louise and Elizabeth coming up, and after quite some time we finally get to see Calem once again. I think you guys are going to enjoy the Fishing Competition.

To answer some of your guys' questions:

Guest (1): While I would love for a reaction fic to be made over Outsiders, I will not be writing one myself. By all means, though, if any of you want to take a crack at it by all means. Simply ask for permission first.

chidoriprime: Sasha, canonically, was Brimir's wife. In fact, the royal families are all directly descended from her. It's one of the reasons why their magic is notably stronger than everyone else's. The have elf blood in them. And yes, she was an elf. Back before the First Crusade, humans and elves got along quite well. Then, in this story, the Great Calamity happened with led to a lot of bad blood, eventually culminating in the First Crusade. Human-elf relations have been terrible ever since. You guys will find out more about the Great Calamity in the future. It's a plot threat we've intentially left dangling.

fangs of death: Yeah, Louise's teleporting incident was a lot of fun for us to write. Originally it was going to end in an action scene, but we decided to keep it light and used it to instead show off more of Fleur's character.

Kamui Raiu: The Nurse Joy jokes are always fun to write.

Okami Princess: Arceus has definitely taken notice of Louise's growing maturity, but he's still testing Louise. Not to mention this is more Celebi's doing. Arceus simply allowed it because he didn't want to deal with the mental headache involved with a Time God doing something that future him apparently allowed.

That's it for this chapter. Let us know what you guys think. If any of you have a TV Tropes account, any assistance you can provide in updating the TV Tropes page would be greatly appreciated. I hope you all enjoy!