Chapter 23: A Transformative Experience

"Aw yeah, this is sweet! I've never been on the set of a movie before."

"Just try not to embarrass yourself."

Ash, Goh, Chloe, and Lillie were walking through Vermillion City, on their way to the warehouse district. A new movie was in production, and Ash had managed to get them backstage passes.

"How did you manage to score these? This is a Kublock film production, he's notorious for not letting anybody outside of his staff on set."

"I helped one of his colleagues with one of their films a few years ago, and he put in a good word for me."

Soon, they came to the gate. The guard stopped them, eyeing them suspiciously.

"Passes, please."
"Here you go."

The guard looked them over thoroughly before shrugging, and handed them back.

"Down that hall and to the left. Try and stay out of the way."

"Will do!"

When the quartet reached their destination, they found the crew busy filming a scene. A Gardevoir and three Shiftry were The director Kublock took his place in his seat.

"Alright, this is the big action scene. Remember, you're cornered, you don't know where your partner is, you're scared, got it?"

The Gardevoir nodded.

"Alright then, places people!"

Gardevoir got into a defensive stance, while the Shiftry moved in closer, as if they were about to attack her.

"And…Action!"

The minute the scene began, a window above them shattered, and in came Gardevoir's partner, a…Magikarp?

"Cut, cut, cut!"

Magikarp glowed, shifting back into a Ditto, who looked frightened as the director stormed over to him.

"How many times do I have to tell you? You're supposed to be a Gardevoir! Not a Magikarp, not a Sunkern, not a Mankey, a Gardevoir! How am I supposed to make a movie about Gardevoir twins if I only have one?!"

Ditto ran away, tears in his eyes. Kublock groaned, and pinched his forehead.

"Great, just great. Alright everybody, that's a wrap for the day! Clearly the crybaby ain't coming back anytime soon."

As the cast and crew dispersed, Ash and Co. decided to try and talk to the director.

"Excuse me, Mr. Kublock? Don't you think you were a little hard on him?"

"Look kid, Show business is a Growlithe-eat-Growlithe world. I have to be tough on him, otherwise he won't learn."

"But it was just one little mistake!"

"That's just it kid, it's not one mistake! Every time we try to shoot this scene, he freezes up and changes into the wrong Pokemon! The studio expects this movie to be done in a month, but if he can't get it right I'll be out a fortune!"

Kublock slumped down in his chair in defeat.

"Why not just get another ditto?"

"Because this Ditto is special. See, with most Ditto's, even when they're disguised there's almost always some visual cue to give it away. But this Ditto is so adept at transforming that even a keen eye couldn't tell them apart! I know if I can just get him to overcome whatever roadblock he's having, he'll be a star!"

"Can we give it a try? Maybe we can figure out what's wrong."

"Knock yourselves out. I'm getting a sandwich."

Concerned, the quartet set out to find the young star. They found him not far from the set, leaning against a tree crying.

"Hey there buddy, you alright?"

Ditto shook his head, tears still fresh.

"Upset about what happened, huh?"

Ditto nodded.

"Yeah, he was pretty harsh, wasn't he?"

Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder and gently patted Ditto on the shoulder, making him smile.

"So Transforming is your problem, huh? Why don't we give you a hand? I'm sure we can help you get over this roadblock."

"Ditto!"

And so the quartet spent the rest of the day trying to help him get back in his groove. First, they checked the laboratory's library for information on Ditto. Then, they tried shadowing a Pokemon, then having Ditto mimic that Pokemon's movements. Lastly, they held up a couple of pictures of various Pokemon to have Ditto transform into them. But by the end of the day, Ditto still couldn't get the hang of it. Eventually, they all had to give up.

"I'm sorry Ash, but I just don't know what else to do!"

"Yeah, I'm all out."

"Let's just go home. I'm sure Professor Cerise can give us some ideas tomorrow."

Ash sighed. As much as he hated to give up on a Pokemon in need, his friends had a point.

"Yeah, okay. Sorry Ditto, maybe tomorrow will be different."

"Pikachu."

"Ditto."

Regrettably, the quartet walked away, leaving a sad Ditto in their wake. Downtrodden, Ditto slinked over towards a picture of the Gardevoir he had been working with. Concentrating hard, he managed to transform into a perfect copy of her. Chloe, who had turned around to take one last look at him, caught the whole thing.

"Guys, hold up! He managed to do it!"

"Wait, for real?"

Turning back, her friends found that Chloe was indeed correct.

"Woah, so cool!"

"Wait, why was it able to transform now, but not earlier?"

"I think I know why. What was different about this time than the other times we've tried?"

Her friends thought for a minute, but the answer didn't come quickly.

"We didn't see it happen?"

"Exactly! Think about, every time today that he tried to use Transform, a whole bunch of people were sitting around, expecting him to get it right! We put too much pressure on him!"

"So, you think he has stage fright?"

"Exactly! If no one's watching him, then he can do it just right!"

"Um, Chloe? There's not really any way for nobody to be watching him on a movie set. Its kind of the job of the people behind the scenes to do just that."

"Oh, right."

Everyone thought for a minute before Chloe had another idea.

"I've got it! Goh, remember back in 3rd grade when we had that play?"

"Oh yeah, I remember! It was the snow pageant right before winter break. You looked cute in your snowflake costume."

Chloe blushed before continuing.

"I was so nervous that I almost missed my cue to go on. But then I remembered something my mom had told me before. Whenever you feel nervous when in a crowd, imagine everyone in their underwear. If you imagine them being in an embarrassing situation, it relieves the pressure."

"Do you think it'll work?"

"Only one way to find out. What do you say, Ditto?"

Ditt closed his eyes, doing exactly as Chloe had suggested. Then, his whole body glowed, and he was a perfect copy of a Gardevoir.

"Yes! Ditto, you did it!"

"Way to go!"

"Chloe, you're a genius!"

Chloe smiled, happy to have been able to help.


"And…Action!"

The next day, they brought Ditto back to the set to finish filming. Although Kublock doubted they had made progress, he decided to give them a shot. To his surprise, Ditto performed perfectly, and they even managed to finish filming ahead of schedule.

"Cut! That's a wrap. Great work, everybody."

He then turned to Ash and his friends.

"I don't know what you kids did, but you really saved my hide! Now all that's left is Post-production, and we can send it to the studio. Thanks!"

"Not a problem, happy to help."

That evening, the quartet were heading back to the lab when Kublock's assistant stopped them to hand them four tickets.

"Tickets to the world premiere. Mr. Kublock's way of saying thanks."
"Sweet! Can't wait."

With that, the four headed home, happy to have made a new friend.