Helloo~

So before we begin I'd like to say a few things. One, this is a completely new fandom for me, so... this was a step out of the comfort zone, but I've been excited about this one. For those of you who knew me from somewhere else, hi, welcome back, hope you know a lot about Pokémon. Everyone else, that goes for you, too: as this is based on a playthrough I did of Pokémon X, knowledge on the plot of that game (or Y, that's good too) is highly recommended.

Although I did have to take some... creative liberties for some of it to work. Or because I think it would be interesting to surprise you with alternate versions of certain characters. The biggest example I can give right now is that Grace, the player character's mother, is no longer a Rhyhorn racer but a Ditto trainer. You'll see as things progress what I changed, but most of them are pretty minor. If it bothers you, slap an AU on this story, because essentially that's what it is.

That being said, this story is based solely on the games. Levels, natures, IVs, stats and abilities exist, even if they aren't exactly flaunted. Animé/manga versions of characters are not what we're looking at here either, so it wouldn't hurt to keep this in mind.

Also, I know I'm going to get yelled at for capitalizing the names of Pokémon species and certain other things, so just - don't waste your time telling me not to, because I'm doing it. (And since Ditto as a species are genderless, I will be using the pronoun 'it' to refer to them. That's the most simple way to do it, at least that I can think of.)

The cover image was created by me. I might make a better one in the future, but that's what we're going with for now.

And, I tend to write longish A/Ns, so... get used to that sorry?

I don't own Pokémon. Let's go!

Every region's Champion has their defining feature. Cynthia of Sinnoh is one of the most powerful, Alder of Unova one of the most accomplished, and Sun of Alola one of the youngest. Those who hold the title vary in age, gender, motivation, strategy, and appearance. But they each have one thing in common: none were named Champion by default. They were each the most hardworking trainers in their region and each earned their place through the deepest collaboration with their partners.

"Hm," Grace skimmed the article, head resting on one hand. Kalos, she had quickly discovered, was a proud and pompous region. There was no doubt this was just another article about the wealthy Champion Diantha and her latest antics. Grace would gain nothing from this description of Champions, just setup for the shocking new information that Kalos' was the best. Nothing interesting or particularly newsworthy; she set the paper down.

"Mom," she heard a familiar voice whine. "Have you seen my Pokédex? I can't find it anywhere and I know it was in my bag..."

She looked up and found it laying right on the table next to her. Oh well; that was how parenting was sometimes.

"Wha-" She raised her voice. "Calem, you goof. It's right here."

Calem approached from behind, eyeing the machine. "Ten prize money says that isn't it."

Catching on, she cautiously poked at the item and sighed. "You're right. Cut it out, Ditto."

Slowly, it began to bubble and lose color, fading to a light purple. Soon enough it took the form of a gelatinous blob, complete with a crude face painted on.

Calem raised a finger, but Grace was faster. "I'm not paying you."

The teen 'hmph'-ed. "I have all of these for you, too."

At that point he dropped five more Pokédexes on top of her head. As they hit the couch they all Transformed back as well, contenting themselves with crawling around their trainer's furniture. Unlike her son, Grace was not annoyed. She was smiling; only one of them was human, but she was raising an army of goofs.

"Well, good luck finding it. Maybe if you cleaned your room sometime..."

She let that fragment sit there, and Calem stalked away. "Never mind if I cleaned my room. If you trained anything but Ditto we wouldn't have this proble-" Suddenly he looked up sharply and was instantly taken aback.

In front of him, holding his Pokédex smugly, was an exact carbon copy of himself. Same hair, same face, same clothes, same bag. He narrowed his eyes, his hand held out.

"Give it, if you would."

The other Calem did so and grinned mechanically. The teen would have been amused, but the image of himself was too surreal for him to care.

"And could you tell this one to stop turning into me all the time? It's really, really weird!"

This Grace chuckled at. "Imposter does what it wants," she explained, returning her attention to a different news article. Calem left and closed the front door behind him.

The Ditto in question put a hand flat on her head and she looked up. They both understood its gratitude.

"Don't worry about him," she insisted. "He's a good trainer and he will become what he wants. He'll realize one day that you should be able to, as well. What do you want to become?"

Imposter stepped back and blinked. It moved its arms as if to gesture to itself.

"That's right," she agreed. "You want to become a human. Well, then I want you to become the humanest human humankind has ever seen."

Imposter's eyes closed with its smile. "Ditto," it cheered.

This is the story of the first and only time a Champion has ever been a Pokémon.

It was nearing dusk.

Imposter was sitting by the door, eyeing the card Grace had recently given it. Its very own Trainer Card, fitted with a full-body picture of Calem for reference. It did not foresee itself using it, but apparently Grace had spared no expense and gotten an official Pokémon League Bronze Card, nearly identical to Calem's, but with the name Imposter on the top and lacking any other recorded data.

A knock on the door jolted it out of its thoughts and for a moment it lost shape. It regained composure, however, when its trainer called from the other room: "Get that, Imposter?"

It put on its best face and swung open the door; two human girls were standing outside.

The shorter one spoke first. "Ah, hi! We were told there was a boy living here. This is great. Is your mom inside?"

Imposter did not speak, as it was missing adequate vocal chords. Fortunately a hand on its shoulder assured it she was there. "Hi, I'm Grace." She reached a hand out and the taller one shook it. "Did you need my son for something?"

"Oh, yeah," that one said. "I'm Serena, and I'm new to Kalos; this is Sh-"

"We're going to start an adventure with Pokémon!" 'Sh' interrupted. "We want to know if he'll come with!"

"What Shauna's trying to say," corrected Serena, "...Is that we are on an assignment for Professor Sycamore, and he said he knew someone around our age living right next door to where I just moved in. He wanted to offer you a chance to start off with us."

Grace was smiling, but Imposter was confused. Calem had started his adventure long ago. This Sycamore human was misinformed. But Grace was smiling.

"Well, I'm sure my son here would love to join you," she said with a wink to the Ditto. "Wouldn't you, Imposter?"

The Pokémon's head was spinning. They were buying its illusion? Grace just called it her son? What would Calem say if it took their offer and adventured under his identity?

"Your name is Imposter?" Shauna repeated with a snorty laugh, snapping it out of its thoughts. "That's such a cool name! I wish my parents were as creative as you, ma'am."

Grace chuckled. The Pokémon did not think it was that creative; it was nicknamed after its special ability. It was the same as naming a Rhyhorn Reckless, or a Palpitoad Water Absorb.

"Anyway, why don't you take him out to get started?" Grace suggested. "Imposter's a bit shy and doesn't talk that much, but you'll get along fine."

"It's decided then!" Shauna declared, grabbing its wrist. "This is going to be great! Oh boy, I can't wait till I meet my very own partner!"

Before Imposter knew what was happening, the two humans had dragged it all the way to the next town over and situated it in a wooden chair at a wooden table outside some building. A couple of other trainers joined them, but Imposter was too confused to pay attention.

It was a good confusion though. Here it was, sitting amongst humans in human chairs by itself, no trainer involved, while humans talked to it about Pokémon.

To a creature who knew little more than how to Transform and do the odd favor for its trainer, this was a change of pace it could get used to.

A smaller human exclaimed something, waving his arms about stressfully. Shauna giggled, and Serena turned to it. "I think we should let him choose for himself. What do you think, Imposter?"

"Ditto!" It cried, embarrassed. Great, what were they talking about? What did it just agree to?

A heavyset male human helped it along. "Okay, so do it! You decide what we call you."

Imposter looked around nervously. It now understood why human eyes were so difficult to replicate; they were deep and powerful, and when they stared at you they stared through you.

"Ditto," it repeated, just to say something. Anything to get those eyes away.

"Okay, uh... Ditto," Serena acquiesced slowly. "That's what we'll call you if you're so - sure."

"Anyway, enough chitchat!" Shauna demanded, breaking the tension. "Let's get our Pokémon already!"

"Okay," replied the large boy, who withdrew a cylindrical container. "I vote Serena picks first because she's new to Kalos."

Everyone else nodded, so Imposter figured it might as well too. "Alright, what do we have in here?"

"I'll show you." With that, the boy in charge of carrying them opened the three Poké Balls.

Imposter peered over the table to see the creatures that arrived. It had only seen the yellow one before, courtesy of Calem.

This was the one Serena picked up first. "Yellow again, huh?" She looked genuinely disappointed.

And that was when they all heard the quiet chime of tiny, special bells. The brown one was slightly glittering.

Serena slowly put Fennekin down. The smallest boy's mouth was the size of Kanto.

"Serrreeenaaa!" He was drawling, pronouncing words meticulously. "That's - a - shiny - Chespinnn!"

Everyone looked at him with a mix of shock and confusion. "Dude," he whispered. "If you don't want it I'll take it. In a heartbeat."

"But-" she looked around. "You already have Pikachu, Trevor. This is Professor Sycamore's Pokémon."

Chespin looked at her and said something too quiet for Imposter to comprehend. Serena's triumphant grin grew larger. "But now, I think this one'll do fine for me. Was going for Fennekin, but hullo, Chespin. I think we can do well together."

Trevor hung his head. "I suppose that's how that works out, huh?"

"Hey, guys!" Shauna piped up. "Look at poor lil' Fennekin, she was so excited to travel with you!" She scooped up the Fire-Type in her arms. "That's okay, buddy. I'll be your trainer when big, bad Serena ditches you for some shiny."

She stuck her tongue out at Serena teasingly; curious, Imposter moved its own around. Was that what humans used that for..?

"That leaves, uh... Ditto with Froakie," the last boy observed. "You cool with that?"

Shauna put Fennekin back in her Poké Ball. Imposter eyed the small Water-Type, who regarded him with less care than a Ludicolo. Imposter nodded dumbly.

Was this even allowed? A Pokémon training another Pokémon? Either way, it did not matter; Imposter was mingling with the humans easier than it ever thought it could - and it was doing great.

"Okay, well, I have something else for you guys too," Trevor introduced, withdrawing a few Pokédexes. "This will help you understand Pokémon better and connect with them on a much deeper level."

Imposter had the advantage over all of them there, and it knew it. Apparently this showed on its face.

"Hey," it heard Serena's Chespin snap. "You there! I've been paying attention to you..."

Imposter straightened. "What's the matter, Chespin?" Serena wondered, genuine concern in her voice.

Humans can not understand a Pokémon's words; that Imposter knew. It guessed that the Chespin knew too. "Why're you all red? Never seen a human turn that color."

"You should talk," Imposter replied calmly. "What color are normal Chespin?"

All the Pokémon's eyes grew wide, and Imposter was reminded of its problem with duplicating them - not only with humans but other Pokémon as well. It was then that it realized what it had done.

The Froakie used Bubble on Shauna, mimicking a spit take; Trevor politely asked if Imposter was feeling alright; Chespin's face lit up. "You! You're no human at all, are you! That's why you keep saying Ditto, it all makes sense now!"

Froakie joined in. "Wait, you're telling me he's a-"

"Yeah."

"-Trying to-?"

"Looks like it."

"-And I'm-?"

"Unfortunately for you," Chespin sighed, "...Yes."

Froakie burst out laughing. "Unfortunately? That's hilarious! Ahahah! My trainer is a Ditto!"

The humans looked back and forth between the Pokémon; Imposter tried to make a convincing smile, but it was getting even harder to hold form and the gesture just came out looking stressed.

"Um, let's get back on topic with the Pokédexes, shall we?" Trevor suggested.

Imposter spoke loud and clear this time: "Ditto!"

The three each took their own device from Trevor. A Pokédex... Now Imposter had the Trainer Card, the 'Dex, the Ball of its first new friend, and the appearance of a formidable human trainer.

Calem would be proud, it decided.

Shortly thereafter, the children dispersed. Trevor and the other male shifted away awkwardly while Serena tried to get Chespin back to its Poké Ball.

"But you don't understand! It isn't human like you! It's in disguise as someone else and are you even listeni..."

"I guess Chepin's just excited to be going on an adventure," Serena assumed, looking at the capsule she had called him back into. "Well, I'll be seeing you guys. So much to do, so little time, you know?"

With that, Imposter watched her pull out a small notebook and jot something down before leaving. "Hey." Froakie garnered its attention. "Listen, if you really are a Pokémon like me..."

Imposter said nothing, but quirked an eyebrow.

"I want you to know something. Ready?" He waved the Ditto closer. Imposter leaned in.

Froakie took a deep breath as if about to whisper something, then aimed a Bubble at Imposter's face.

"Hahah! You're naïve too!" Froakie announced. "Boy, I like you! This is going to be fun times. But really though..." He wiped a tear away from laughing so hard. "You'd better be careful if you want to pull this off. And don't hurt yourself. That's all I'm going to say; this ought to be good."

Imposter was vaguely aware of Shauna watching their interaction and gushing over how well they got along. "Oh, and do you know how to use a Poké Ball?" Froakie asked.

Sure it did, but it did not get the chance to demonstrate because the Water-Type had already grabbed his own. "It's just like this, see... press this button and... wah-lah!" The Ball collapsed on the ground, limp, its two halves separated and making no efforts to retract into each other. "I'm a released little froggy!"

Imposter was confused and baffled simultaneously. "Hey, nothing personal, buddy," Froakie began trying to explain. "It's just that I'm not the kind of guy who'd like to travel in the Ball of something that can go into a Ball itself. But I'll be sticking around, don't you worry your purple little face."

This established, Imposter turned back to Shauna. The girl was running fingers along her own Fennekin's Poké Ball, and an idea struck.

"Hey, uh... Ditto! We're the only two left. You know what this means?"

Froakie jumped up and down. "Oh, I know what this means!"

"It means you're going to be my first-ever opponent in a Pokémon battle!"

Froakie looked around. "Wait. What?"

She sent out Fennekin; Imposter took a step back.

"I genuinely thought she meant she wanted to manufacture computer mouses with you!"

"Froakie."

"Yeah?"

"Help a Pokémon out?"

It took a second. "Oh, sure! I've always wanted to do this!"

He jumped into the battle, a bit too ambitiously. As soon as he got out there he launched his third Bubble. "Wait, Froakie - I tell you what to use, don't I?" complained Imposter.

Froakie guffawed, leaving himself susceptible to Fennekin's Scratch. "Hey, you distracted me! I'm a released froggy and I make my own decisions!"

Translation: Froakie used Growl!

Fennekin shot an Ember this time. "Did-did you just Fire-Type spit on me?" Froakie complained, wiping it off.

Froakie used Growl!

"Because my trainer told me to, dummy," the Fennekin returned.

"Oh yeah, well-" Froakie could not think of a comeback, and decided instead to Water-Type spit on her.

Froakie used Bubble!
It's super effective!
The opposing Fennekin fainted!

Imposter took a deep breath. "And that's how you do that," Froakie announced, hands proudly on his hips. "Not bad for a guy's first battle! Piece a' cake."

But Shauna was understandably frustrated. "Hey, I wasn't done watching my cute Lil' Fennekin yet!"

Imposter eyed Froakie. It joked, "See what you did?"

"Hah, you weren't either?" Shauna interpreted; all she could understand of its dialogue was its forever concurring species name, Ditto. "In that case, we should do it again sometime! Anyway, it's getting late; we should both go back home. See you around."

Shauna waved, turned tail, and left.

But she was right: Imposter should be getting home soon.

When Imposter opened the door to Grace's house, it was met with the familiar sounds of tens of Ditto clambering amongst each other like Kricketot on a hot Sinnoh midnight. Calem was not home tonight, unsurprisingly.

"Imposter," Grace greeted. "How'd it go?"

For it was unable to speak human, it just put on a big grin. Grace replicated the gesture.

"Glad to hear it," she said. "What hap-"

Only then did she notice Froakie at its feet. "What... is that?"

Imposter thought to do nothing but bend down, pick up the Pokémon ("Hey now!"), and hold it out in her face. Surprised, Grace stepped back, but not because she was aghast. She was impressed.

"Oh, he's adorable!" She gushed, "Look at that sweet little face."

Froakie was wrestling around in its hands. "Sweet? I'm a lean mean battling machine! I ain't sweet!"

"Wow, I'm so proud of you," she went on. "Now there are some Sitrus Berries on the table. I think Limber is already over there."

Limber!

It forgot all about its best friend for a while. It had to tell it all about what happened. It dropped Froakie and its bag and made a mad - but clumsy - dash to the dining room, falling and knocking over a lamp in the process.

(Upon hitting the ground, the lamp turned purple and morphed back to its normal Ditto self.)

Imposter and Limber were not really that close, but they had certain things in common. Neither was fond of talking, but both were good at listening, and both had times where they needed someone to listen.

Limber was the only one interested in Imposter's desire to mesh with the human world, and Imposter was the only one who cared about Limber's battling problem.

"You!" Limber cried between mouthfuls of berry. "I know that look. That's the look Calem had when he got his first Gym badge. What did you do that's so exciting?"

Imposter put Froakie on the table - "Hey, grub!" - climbed onto it itself, and Transformed back to Ditto.

Froakie was already helping himself, but the Ditto did not care. "I met people," Imposter explained. "They gave me a Pokédex like Calem's and - this Froakie to help me."

Now Limber acknowledged the rambunctious starter, who was trying to gobble three berries at once. "Help you do what?" It seemed unsure what such a Pokémon could help with.

"We had a battle against another trainer-"

"A battle."

Oh, yes. Now Imposter was remembering Limber's problem. "Yes. I didn't partake, but-"

"I think you should have. You would have done well. You can Transform so quickly."

"But-" Imposter was hesitant to reveal anything about it being a Pokémon in disguise, for fear that its journey would end when it hardly even began. But it knew what Limber was implying. The older Ditto had always talked big about wanting to be good at battling, but the potential of a Ditto was determined by only a few things - and one was Transforming speed. As the nickname implied, that was something Limber lacked. "Okay. Maybe I will battle someone myself some time. But for now I can't let them know I'm a Pokémon."

Limber looked at it quizzically. "It's trying to be a trainer," Froakie explained, licking his fingers. "Don't know how it's going to do that without any Pokémon to battle for 'em. I'd do it myself but I'm a released little froggy."

So Limber turned back to Imposter. "You need Pokémon to battle for you?"

It looked back at Froakie. "Apparently."

Limber shook itself in excitement. "You know I'd gladly join you. Grace never uses me for battling. For obvious reasons, I guess."

Imposter paused. "That's not true. You're a higher level than all of us. You can hold your own, I'm sure of it." Then, after a while: "You should battle with me when I go out again. Give you a chance to prove you really don't need that first turn."

"You think so? You think you can be a bona fide trainer with one Limber Ditto?"

"Nope," Froakie decided; they ignored him.

"I don't know. I can try. You'd be there."

A moment of uncertainty passed. Imposter took a berry of its own, and suddenly the basket holding them shapeshifted into another Ditto.

Froakie freaked out, flustered at the fact that he was taking berries from a Pokémon.

"Guys," the new one started. "I'd love to help you out. You need another?"

And so it went, until Imposter had amassed a group of five of its closest friends - four like it, then Limber.

Froakie sat back, looking genuinely amused that they were actually making plans to help it.

There was one more thing they had to do.

Grace left the kitchen, turning off the lights. "Okay, guys. It's time for bed. Back in your Poké Balls now."

Usually she kept very great care in knowing where everyone's was, but today there were six that she was definitely missing.

Imposter's. Limber's. Then four of her other hidden ability battlers. She looked up and saw the former standing in the living room.

It was Transformed into Calem again - surely it used the picture on its new Trainer Card to help the replication - and was wearing the bag she got it. Tied into its belt were the six missing balls.

"Oh, you," she said with a sigh of relief. "You really want to be a trainer, don't you?"

"Ditto," it responded happily.

"Well, you're going to need your own Pokémon then, won't you?"

It nodded, hesitantly, then fingered the balls on its belt. One of them was its own, but it was sure she would know what it meant.

It was right; "I see." She came closer. "Imposter, you're a smart Pokémon and I trust you. Are you sure you want to do this? Did they... agree to go with you?"

It nodded again. It could see she knew it was serious.

"Well, I guess I'll be supporting you a hundred percent then," she agreed. "After all, you just do what you want."

She gave its shoulder a squeeze, then turned tail to go to bed. On her way out she tripped over a small Froakie, who was already snoring loudly on the ground.

Imposter chuckled. Just what was it getting itself into?

Imposter Fact of the Day: Imposter has six maxed-out IVs; good thing Grace isn't a competitive breeder. I know so-called 'perfect' characters are considered uninteresting, but... it hasn't stopped me before.

That was just a little trivia if anyone's interested in the process behind this story. Every chapter will probably have one.

Hey thanks for reading! We've got a long story in store so if you like it, be sure to stick around. From this point on, new chapters will come out on Wednesdays and Saturdays and will usually be around this long. Some might be closer to two thousand words, some to five thousand - it fluctuates a little, but if it's a really long chapter I will probably warn you. See you on Wednesday with chapter two!