So, last chapter, Imposter and co. just made it to Camphrier Town. And if you've played X/Y, you probably know what is coming next. That being said, as this is the Parfum Palace chapter, I want to take a moment and put out a warning - this is the shippiest chapter in the whole story. And yes, in a weird way. You'll know what I mean when you get there, but keep in mind that the ship stuff was written with the intent for it to be awkward and funny, not at all romantic or serious. Considering the circumstances, that would be weird. Anyway, this story is K-plus and not K for a few different reasons, but this chapter is a notable one.

"...Oh, dear."

Deep into Camphrier Town, Imposter's group saw the commotion leading off to Route Seven. A huge Pokémon was sleeping on the bridge, and anyone who knew anything about Snorlax understood there was only one way to wake it.

"What do we do?"

"How will we get across?"

The townspeople were buzzing with concern. The bridge creaked when the giant Pokémon inhaled. Serena's face hardened. "Okay, interesting question," she began. "Do any of you know how to play a Poké Flute?"

Members of the group all looked to each other.

"Say, I do," a stranger declared, approaching them. "If it's not a problem, may I ask why?"

She nodded. "Snorlax always wake up to its music. Do you have one? If we could wake it up, I could catch it and have it out of everyone's way."

The man looked regretful. "It's a kind offer you pose, young miss, but I gave my only flute away. To the owner of Parfum Palace down Route Six."

"Then let's go," Serena decided.

"W-Wait-" the man protested, but she was already on her way, the rest of the group shortly following.

Serena, of course, was caught up by trainers asking to battle on the way there. Trevor gawked at the sights on palace grounds, snapping pictures of the surrounding Pokémon, and Tierno was effectively Serena's backup. Imposter, however, was more impatient; it kept moving, ignoring battle requests and sauntering to the palace gates largely without being noticed.

That is, largely.

"Hey, uh... Ditto, wait up," Shauna insisted. "Where are you going?"

Imposter stopped and pointed ahead at the building in front of them. "My word," she whispered. "It's so huge and pretty. You think the flute's in there?"

Where else would it be? Imposter nodded. It continued forwards, with Shauna in tow.

A guard at the gate stopped them. "Welcome to Parfum Palace," he recited, a heavy Kalosian accent making his words hardly recognizable. "Admission one thousand prize money."

Shauna gasped. "We need to pay to get in? Unbelievable!" But she payed the man anyway. "Come on, let's find this thing."

Imposter followed, but the guard cut it off again. "That goes for you, too, young man."

What goes? Prize money. Right. It reached into its pocket and withdrew some change, which the guard took.

"Let's see... the cost is one thousand, not one hundred. I'm afraid I can't let you in unless I'm paid."

Shauna gawked. "Do you not have money?" She shook her head. "You've gotta be kidding me."

She paid the rest for it, and grabbed the Pokémon by the hand. "We're going."

The palace itself was as gorgeous as Shauna said, with golden statues of Milotic meeting them at the door. One man stood in the front room, clearly panicking.

"Where is he... where... gotta find him... My Furfrou! Where could you be!?"

Shauna poked the man on the shoulder, cautiously. "Um, sorry, but do you know where we can find the owner of this place?"

The man wiped away a tear. "That would be me," he admitted pathetically. "Now, I see you're a couple of trainers. Figure you have a way with Pokémon, huh? Would you do me a huge favor?"

Shauna blinked. "Sorry. That came outta nowhere. But I would be happy to help you out with anything in return," he offered.

"Th-That would be great," Shauna decided with a smile. "What do you-"

"My Furfrou is gone! The palace garden, it is too big for one man to search alone. He could be anywhere. Help a guy out?"

Imposter nodded. It would be no problem, it figured, being a Pokémon itself.

After splitting up with Shauna, it poked around the castle for a while. Eventually Froakie pointed out the entrance to the garden, and the two stepped outside.

The sun was bright today, but fading fast as the spring evening approached. It was still hot, though, and the air had that feeling of freshness that Imposter hardly got cramped in Grace's house all that time. Its ears perked up at the sound of a familiar voice: Shauna's.

"Now get over here, you little bugger... don't you run away, now, y'hear? Hey - get back! Ugh! Uh... Ditto, help a girl out."

The poor human was chasing the Normal-Type around like a Meowth in pursuit of a Pichu. The Ditto stepped through the hedges. "I'm gonna corner 'im. You just - stand right there. Don't move."

She was halfway across that quadrant of the field, and whatever her plan was, Imposter could see it was not working.

It got an idea. "Hey, Furfrou," it shouted, reaching into its bag. It withdrew another Sitrus Berry, and the Pokémon came running - Shauna behind him.

"Woah, how'd you do that?" Imposter looked down to her as she spoke. "That guy was right - you really do have a way with Pokémon, don'tcha?"

"You can say that," Froakie muttered, but Imposter ignored him.

Shauna bent down to pet the Furfrou, who was going to town. Imposter could see Froakie reaching forward to steal a bit of the berry, but he only received a growl from the Pokémon.

Imposter found this amusing, a thin smile appearing on its lips. Shauna stood up, grinning as well. "Alright, we should tell that owner guy we-"

"You found my Furfrou!"

"...We found his Furfrou."

Taking it wildly by surprise, the owner nearly picked Imposter up in a Bewear hug from behind. "Oh, thank you so much!" The man gushed, releasing Imposter and grabbing Shauna's hand. He shook it heartily, crushing the girl's fingers. "We really must celebrate." He glanced at his watch. "What time is - oh, it's sunset, that's late enough for fireworks, wouldn't you agree? To the balcony on the second floor! Furfrou, you're coming with me!"

Shauna looked overwhelmed. "Oh boy, if I was a Pokémon, I'd be glad if that wasn't my trainer."

Imposter exhaled, still catching its breath. "Ditto."

Shauna led it towards the staircase (Imposter was bad with directions) to where the owner said the balcony would be. The sky was turning a soft, dark blue as the sun said its last good-night's of the day.

Shauna's hands lightly touched the rim of the balcony. "By Jove, Imposter," she whispered. "This is gonna be amazing."

The Ditto was wondering what was keeping Serena and the others so long, but Shauna did not seem to care at the moment. "Um... You know...

"I've never watched fireworks alone with a boy before."

Imposter slowly turned downward to face her, and noticed her face taking on a reddish hue.

Humans could do that to their skin!?

"I mean, I'm all about making memories here, but I get the feeling these fireworks..."

She trailed off, breathing slightly heavy. "...I'll never ever forget them.

"'Cause I watched them with you, Imposter."

The Ditto looked ahead and gulped. Attention was not something it was comfortable with yet, and Imposter was getting covered in it.

She was laying her head on it, it realized, shortly before it heard the palace's owner announce the show was about to begin.

Everything was quiet, except for a strange noise coming from the girl to its left. It was the noise a pillow would make if it was repeatedly struck, muffled thumps that it felt through its body, because it was touching the source.

Then the first one was lit. And the second and third. Colors splashed into the air and rained down over the garden, creating a spectacle no Pokémon move could replicate. Imposter felt pressure squeezing its left hand as Shauna took hold of it. A whizz followed by a boom signaled another explosion, and Imposter became vaguely aware of a wet hand holding onto its right ankle: Froakie.

The three stood, awestruck, watching as the display ended almost as quickly as it begun. Imposter could feel the finale's blows shake its hair back; by the time the last one went off, night had completely fallen, and the weight from Shauna's head on its arm (it was too tall for her to reach its shoulder) created a warm place in that area. Then the weight lifted, and the girl reached with her unoccupied hand for her companion's face, turning it towards her.

Imposter was confused, as it believed she wanted to tell it something; but she was saying nothing, only making a weird face. Eyes closed, nose scrunched up, mouth - open, it figured, but it could not be sure. For the heck of it, it decided to try to replicate this with its own lips, but only ended up biting its tongue.

Shauna then grew a few inches taller - closer inspection showed that she was on her toes - and guided Imposter's head lower to hers.

The Ditto had no inkling of what it was expecting, but it did not think she would be getting so close. Then she started eating it.

After a few slightly panicked seconds Imposter realized this was not true. She had placed her mouth on its own, but peculiarly refrained from chewing - or moving at all, it realized.

Drat; she was probably waiting for it to do something. But what? Open its mouth? It tried that, but she only moved accordingly. Something with its hands? That could be anything.

Then it noticed her closed eyes. Maybe that was it. It shut its own eyes, but nothing happened. Maybe something else.

Apparently Froakie saw all this, and did not approve. He climbed up Imposter like a tree, grabbed a tuft of hair from the back of the neck, and yanked.

"OOOooowww!" Imposter screamed, stumbling backwards. It shook its head, both trying to regain breath and to remove the Water-Type attached to it. It felt its arms reverting back, but caught them just in time to keep up the Transformation. Shauna's eyes bolted open, and her hands flew to her mouth - open now in surprise.

"Uh... Ditto, wha-what happened? Are you okay?" Quickly, she kneeled down beside it. It caught its breath, accepted the situation, and shakily stood up.

It nodded, its face stern.

"Huh, well, if you say so..." Shauna acquiesced, voice shaking. "Um, I-I'm sorry. I really don't know what came over - heeeh, I guess y-you must not like me back then." The last part was squeezed rapidly out from her mouth.

Must not - no, no; of course Imposter enjoyed its human companions. It rapidly shook its head in an effort to tell her she was wrong.

"Y-You don't," she mumbled half-audibly. Imposter disregarded this comment, on account of its volume.

There was a glint in her eye. "Well - in that case, I'm going to go g-get the flute. Maybe... see what's keeping the others. S-Sorry."

Something fell from her face as she turned and jogged away. Curious, Imposter bent down and touched it to find that it was water.

Then it remembered and spun around. "What the heck, Froakie!?"

The Water-Type spluttered. "Puh - what the heck me? What the heck you! A human, are you serious? Wanting to be one is one thing, but that what you just pulled - that's where we gotta draw the line. Preferably way before that."

"I don't know what you're talking about." A pause. "'We' have to draw the line? Since when were you in charge of my adventure? You know what-"

It looked around to make sure there were no humans and un-Transformed. However, it was no less animated as a Ditto than as a human - while its face was a lot simpler now, its expressions were just as animated.

"You tell me, what is it that I just 'pulled' that's so wrong?"

Froakie sat there, mouth open. "Dude. She wanted. To kiss you. And you went for it!"

"What does that even mean?"

"What do you mean, what does it mean? You're a stinking Ditto, the universal parent, and you don't know what a smooch is?"

Imposter's face lifted, just barely.

Froakie's mouth closed. He sighed. "So you don't even know. Fine. Now see here, if you're going to try to assimilate into the society of another species, it would pay to do some research."

"That doesn't help me."

"It isn't important, okay? What's important is this. Do you or do you not have feelings for this human?"

Nothing Froakie was saying was making any sense. Yes, it did: it felt her head on its arm, her hand in its hand. It felt the quiet bleatings emanating from her body. Because they were physically touching, making contact. That's how the human nervous system - the one it had been using - worked.

Froakie's face snapped it back to reality. It wanted to explain this all to him, but the pressure of the conversation had shut it up entirely. Why was it the one in trouble now, when Froakie was the one that attacked it?

"I-I still don't understand. I suppose, feelings of her would be more accurate..."

Froakie pinched the bridge of his nose. "I guess you don't get it, huh?" He inhaled. "Whatever. It doesn't matter to me. Just don't do that again. If you do, and she finds out you're a Pokémon, she's going to be ruined inside." He added in a mumble, "...If she ain't already."

Imposter almost said something, but was cut off. "I know you don't understand, just don't do it. And I'll be keeping an eye on you."

Imposter was not angry, but it was madly confused. "Fine, as long as you don't do that again." It reached for the place where the back of its neck would be, if it had one; the spot was still throbbing. "I was this close to blowing my cover. Politely, Froakie, why do you care so much?"

Froakie was quiet. "I said it's not important."

...Fine. Imposter and Froakie were not that close now, and the matter seemed personal. Imposter respected that.

"Okay." The two were quiet for a minute. The silence was only broken by the call of a large bird Pokémon soaring overhead.

"Oh, score, a Fearow," Imposter observed. "Let's see if I can't..."

It trained its eyes on the Flying-Type in question, although as a Ditto its vision was slightly blurred. Regardless, it felt the change happening smoothly.

Froakie watched in fascination as Imposter's armlike protrusions grew long and jagged. Its face contorted into a point; its eyes gained depth and its mouth curved into a beak. It gained a neck - a long one. Pointed talons slithered out from beneath its purple body, and feathers sprouted from it everywhere. All the while its hue changed from purple to maroon to brown to tan.

Normally, Imposter was shy about Transforming in front of others, but now it was ready to show off its expertise. Also, the subject was quickly flying away, and there was no time to lose if it was going to successfully turn. If it lacked its eponymous ability - if it was, say, its friend Limber - it never would have made it in time.

But now the process was over, and it reached down to grab its bag in its beak, taking care that nothing fell out. It lowered a wing. "Get on," it commanded through the strap of its bag.

"Are-Are you sure?"

"Unless you want to walk."

So Froakie awkwardly maneuvered his way onto Imposter's back. "I'll holler if I see 'em," he offered, grabbing the bag with one hand and clutching onto its feathers with the other.

Satisfied with the distribution of weight on its back, between Froakie and the bag, the strap reaching out and around its neck just in case, Imposter gave a couple of practice flaps and took off. It had not been a Flying-Type in so long.

Imposter landed between two houses at the edge of the city, out of sight to any humans. It offered Froakie a wing to the ground, which he slid down; it removed the bag's strap from around its neck and gladly shifted back into a Ditto.

"There." Froakie patted the Ditto where its back would be, as it was panting. "You - do you need a breather?"

Imposter exhaled. "I'll be fine." It fumbled into its bag for its Trainer Card, and turned back into a human.

Picking up and properly wearing the bag, it stepped out into the open. The humans were gathered at the edge of town, Trevor and Tierno chatting up the Poké Flute player, and Shauna burying her head into a condoling Serena.

The shorter of the girls looked up at it, and Imposter was taken aback by another feat accomplished by the human eye: hers were red.

"Imposter," she greeted, forgoing her nickname for it and stepping away from Serena. "You caught up."

It nodded slowly, afraid of what Froakie would do if it made a mistake. "Um, we-we found the flute."

"We - wanted to wait for you," Serena explained. A shiver ran down Imposter. It was officially nighttime, and understandably cold. "Go ahead, Mr. Shabboneau."

Mr. Shabboneau went ahead. The music was somber, cutting through the nighttime air. Shauna wiped something off her face, causing Imposter to tense at the memory of Froakie's threat.

Sure enough, Serena was right; while the music of the Poké Flute would just as easily have put Imposter to sleep, it was enough to wake the Snorlax.

"Alright, I got it from here-" Serena was digging for her Poké Balls, but Imposter and the Snorlax were already battling. The creature and one of Imposter's traveling Ditto friends were exchanging Body Slams, paralyzing each other, whittling each other down.

"Hey, I was going to catch that!" Serena protested, the moment Ditto landed the finishing blow. Imposter called it back, and the humans could only watch as Snorlax fled towards the mountains.

Imposter saw their faces: Serena's was frustrated, Trevor's disappointed, Shabboneau's confused, Tierno's... He did not seem to be paying attention.

And Shauna's... Shauna's was shocked. She was holding Froakie in her arms, and it looked like she was in the middle of stroking him. His face was hard and unhappy.

None of them looked pleased, and Imposter, fearing both disapproval from its peers and Froakie's warnings, took off through Route Seven, not knowing what it was that it did wrong.

Imposter Fact of the Day: For real, I play the actual flute. Seeing the Poké Flute played vertically always bothered me. Fellow flutists, back me up here.

...It wasn't so bad, was it? XD

Shauna Shauna Shauna. Sorry, her whole thing with crushing on the male player was such an opportunity to stir up awkwardness, and I couldn't resist!