You are challenged by Leader Korrina!

Imposter reached back, Ball in hand. Hers was spinning towards it, opening in midair - a tiny but aggressive-looking Hawlucha popped out, just as the Ditto was expecting.

It would have to be smart about this. What was its highest-level? Oh, yeah:

"Go, Limber!"

The Pokémon leapt out. "Imposter!" It called back, "You know, I was thinking - maybe I've been going too hard on myself. This is a battle, right? Now's my chance to really prove I can-"

"Power-Up Punch!"

Hawlucha screamed and released the attack. Limber barely held on long enough to Transform.

"Flying Press," shouted both trainers. The Pokémon moved at the same time, colliding above the trainers' heads. Hawlucha did an aerial flip, showing off just long enough for Limber to throw an uppercut with its wing.

Hawlucha then, recoiling from the hit, thrust a front kick that clipped Limber's face, knocking it backwards to the ground.

The battling Ditto shivered. "Well, never mind all that," it weakly muttered, falling over.

Imposter withdrew its Poké Ball. "It's progress," it argued, calling its friend back. "Get out there, Ditto!"

The next one Transformed immediately. Hawlucha was pounding one fist into its other claw. "Now do a Flying Press," Imposter called.

Ditto moved swiftly, knocking out the Hawlucha. Korrina's eyes grew wide.

"No way..." She shook her head. "Fine. Now it's Machoke's turn."

She sent him out, and the Fighting-Type cracked his knuckles. Imposter had seen this Pokémon before in previous battles, but was not afraid.

It had a supereffective, Type-bolstered, Attack-boosted move on its side, after all. It would be a fool not to break out a couple more Flying Presses and win the battle.

"Alright, now, Ditto. Use Hone Claws."

Imposter, of course, was a fool.

Korrina scoffed as she watched Ditto picking at its digits. "Rock Tomb it, Machoke, and let's be done with this."

Machoke growled, and Ditto continued to stand grooming itself as massive rocks fell all around it, never once actually landing on their target.

Froakie hopped out of the way of one of the boulders. "Where are these things even coming from?"

He was ignored, however. Ditto perked up when Imposter called its name. "Now use... Flying Press."

Korrina and Machoke exchanged worried looks. Ditto ran up, kicked off the ground, and performed an expert nosedive, colliding with Machoke before the opponent could think about getting out of the way.

Korrina bit on her lip; Imposter, on its tongue. "You know, you're starting to push my buttons," she paused to say.

Imposter slouched. "Ditto."

Korrina shook her head and sent out Mienfoo. "F-Fake Out."

Ditto took some damage, but recovered nicely. "Power-Up Punch."

Imposter itself was wowed by its own friend's performance. "Hey, you're doing really good," it observed as Korrina called her defeated team member back.

"I feel flipping unstoppable," Ditto responded, doing a flip.

Korrina sighed, fingering another Ball. "You know, I didn't think it would come down to this," she explained. "...Nor did I want it to. Well, come on out, Lucario."

Lucario, what was...

It landed in a fighting stance, eyes sharp and fearsome. Ah - that was Lucario.

Imposter's next order was on its lips when Korrina and her glowing hand interrupted. "Lucario, do the Mega-Evolving!"

Now it was Imposter and Ditto sharing a look. The former nodded upwards; the latter grinned and took off.

By the time Lucario was done, Imposter had made sure Ditto was nowhere in his sight. Gritting his teeth, Mega Lucario looked around. When he finally turned skywards, he came face to face with Ditto's nasty Flying Press.

The opponent coughed, and Imposter looked to Ditto wondering whether the battle was done. Korrina's face was beginning to confirm it.

You defeated Gym Leader Korrina!

Imposter breathed slowly. Korrina looked down. "Lucario. Return."

Defeated - and by a large margin - Korrina balled her fists. Anger emanated from the Gym Leader. Then, she met Imposter in the eyes.

She took a breath and grinned. "What an epic battle! Thank you!"

Imposter, taken by surprise, wordlessly sent Ditto back to its Poké Ball, without even looking down to do so.

Korrina coughed. "It wasn't even close, actually. I mean, I would have won if that Rock Tomb hit, but I took a risk and it worked out against me. Worse things have happened. You can keep that Rumble Badge; you've finally earned it."

Imposter dug around for its Trainer Card, then ran a finger over the gleaming piece of metal. It offered a smile.

"I mean it. Now, I've gotta go. Grandpa wanted me as soon as the battle was over."

She skated away, leaving Imposter to take in its own accomplishment. Froakie looked around.

"Hey, where'd all those rocks go..?"

A brief encounter with a Lapras (a rude one, at that) allowed Imposter to register something in its Pokédex with reliable swimming ability that was big enough to continue carrying its bag.

So when the Ditto found itself at a river with no bridge to cross on, it hid behind the nearest tree, cracked its knuckles, and got to work.

Waddling around on flippers until it found the water was not a graceful endeavor, but it made do with minimal snarking from Froakie. "Oh, you try learning how to walk five times a day with the body of a completely different species every time."

Froakie shrugged. "It would probably look hilarious," he admitted.

Imposter turned so its shell was facing him, and he leapt on.

"You good?"

"M-hm."

Imposter turned forwards and started paddling along. "Yeah, it's weird. I can't even feel anything on the top of this shell - it's like I'm wearing clothes again."

Froakie was surprisingly quiet at this. "Froakie, you're going to take advantage of that information and prank me, aren't you?"

He exhaled. "I was about to, but I guess I'm gonna have to hold off until you're not expecting it."

"Can't wait."

Swimming, Imposter was discovering, was very pleasing as a Water-Type. It was inclined to tell Froakie that this was so, but then decided he probably already knew.

Only a couple of swimming trainers gave them any weird looks, then they turned and dove and swam away. The shore was not far, and the Pokémon made it in good time.

Imposter faced its back to the land. "Off."

Once it heard the thump of Froakie's landing, it maneuvered its neck around so that it could grab its bag in its mouth. Once that was securely on shore, it shuffled up itself.

"I don't know how these full-time Lapras deal with this," it admitted. "Swims like a dream, but the sand feels awful on flippers."

Froakie looked like it could not care less. "What's your solution?"

It shrunk down and purpled up. "I'm sure I'll find something. Let's get a move on."

Froakie watched as Imposter grabbed its bag and moved on. "Uh..." He walked along to keep up. "Do you, like - have legs under there?" Imposter gave a confused look. "I mean - how are you moving?"

"Oh. Um-" Imposter was tripping over its own words. "Well, it's hard to explain. Like, put your hand on the ground, and just move it. Across the ground. Pretty much that, I guess, but with all of-" it gestured to itself - "this."

Froakie inspected his companion, then burst out laughing. "Ya know, you're a riot, 'Pasta," he said through tiny tears. "You're right, let's go. You're going ta become the best trainer ever, aren'tcha?"

"Well, not right now," the Ditto admitted. Froakie was already hopping along up the beach, though, and it had no choice but to keep up.

Froakie was surveying the land. "Drat, lost it again. Dude! 'Pasta! You hear me?"

Imposter shook its head, suppressing a smile as it contained its self-disappointment for enjoying this. The two had come across the small Baa de Mer Ranch, and the sea of resident Skiddo was too adorable for Imposter to resist.

It clopped up to the little Water-Type. It cleared its throat in an attempt to lower its voice before it spoke: "Kid, are you lost?"

Froakie turned to face it. "I'm not. A buddy is though. You seen it around? Short, purple, thinks it's a human?"

"Oh, yeah? That seems like a mighty confusing problem to have."

"You've got no clue. It's always showing off its Transforming to everybody, like we can't use moves ourselves. Even carries around one of them bags people wear, and keeps five more guys just like it inside."

"Hm. Can't say I've seen such a fellow, but I'll sure keep my eyes open."

"Yeah, you should, 'cause when this released little froggy gets his hands on it, it'll be wishing it never ran off and Transformed into a Skiddo just to mess with 'im."

"What gave it away?"

"I had you at 'Kid, are you lost'. If there's one thing you ain't good at changing, it's the vocal chords."

"Makes sense. There are about twenty of us at home, and none of us can change voices. I could be an Aggron; I'd sound just like a Cleffa."

Froakie smirked at this. "Say, where's your stuff? You want it to get stolen?"

"Who would steal from a Skiddo's feed trough?"

"You hid your friends in a feed trough!?"

Imposter stepped back, although it was harder as a quadruped. "What's wrong with that?"

Froakie deadpanned and scanned the area. Imposter motioned with its head the direction, and watched as Froakie bounced over.

"Well, you got lucky," he said as Imposter approached. "Doesn't seem to have been damaged too much, nor broken into..."

Imposter lifted it out with its mouth. The shoulder strap, having been gnawed in half by an uncaring Skiddo, fell to the sides in two pitiful strands.

"Well, that needs repairing," Froakie observed. Imposter shook its head.

"We'll figure something out. For now-"

It paused as it studied the purple sky. "I haven't even noticed how late it was getting. What do you think of staying here for the night?"

Froakie shrugged, looking indifferent. "Sleeping on the cold ground with no roof above my head and surrounded by Grass-Types sounds just peachy."

Unable to sense the sarcasm, Imposter made the final decision. "Good. At least we know we're safe in farmers' territory. I dunno about you, but I'm going to turn in."

It folded its legs inward and placed its tired head on the ground, eyes closed and ready to snooze. "What?" Froakie objected. "Just like that? I thought you always slept as Ditto?"

"Not always. When it's comfortable."

Froakie huffed.

Early that morning, before the sun had met the day and it was surrounded by chirping Kricketot, Imposter had woken up - halfway, and just for a second - to feel Froakie leaning up against it, curled into a ball. Imposter returned to sleep wearing a silly grin.

It was a small hike to Coumarine City, but Imposter was plenty refreshed enough to handle it. After shaking Froakie awake, using a Grass Knot to hold its bag's strap together, and turning human again, it said its goodbyes to the ranch and the Skiddo and marched along, picking at a store of Oran Berries it had received from the farmhands.

Froakie (after swiping some for himself and smearing half of one all over his lips) spotted the town first. Imposter looked up and, in its excitement, gave another shot at running towards its destination, with brief slipups but acceptable progress overall.

It spent most of the day wandering around the nooks and crannies of the small portion of town available to it before the presence of an acquaintance drew its attention.

"Mister Imposter," a dressy young woman called out. The Ditto turned.

Diantha walked up. "Good to see I've gotten it right this time. How is your adventure coming along? You're taking the League challenge, right?"

Imposter could answer one of those questions with a nod, and did so. A smile grew across her lips. "Well, that's nice to hear. Who knows - you may even make it farther than your brother. I'm sure he'd be very - proud."

Yes, he probably would be. To display this opinion, Imposter nodded again and agreed - "Ditto" - between giggles. Diantha made a face.

She looked away, then redirected the conversation. "How many badges do you have?"

Was it three or four? Imposter was unable to remember, so it reached for its Trainer Card and showed her that. "Ah, very nice. You beat Korrina? She's a feisty one. The only member of this League that could have gotten in due to her family lineage, and she refused to take the position without being tested for merit like everyone else. An honorable young woman - she'll go far.

"And, you haven't beaten Ramos yet. I imagine that's your reason for being in Coumarine? To challenge the Gym?"

Now Imposter was confused, and its face showed this. It had explored all of this city up and down, and even with Imposter's horrible memory and navigational skills, it knew that it had never come across such a building.

"Oh, it's in the other half of the city, accessible by monorail. Follow me; I can get you a ride on it for free if you'd like."

So the Ditto walked along until the two came across a building Imposter had largely overlooked before. Diantha led it inside, waved to the attendant, and showed it to a seat next to her in a room much unlike any it had ever been in.

Rows of seats were filled with people, some looking backwards at Diantha and covering their mouths to contain their excitement. Nobody was doing anything, though - there was no battling, and while Froakie's admittance showed that Pokémon were allowed, no one really had any out. Imposter scanned the whole room. Everyone was like this. It was as if they were waiting for something.

Then a large voice spoke out from overhead, alarming the poor Ditto. It could not discern the source no matter how hard it tried, and the words were muffled by electrical feedback. No humans were at all surprised, however.

Suddenly the ground heaved and Imposter grabbed onto the nearest thing it could find - this, due to Froakie's timely dodging of its panicked flailing, was Diantha.

"Would you please-" She restarted. "If you would not so terribly mind, please release me."

Realizing its mistake, Imposter pulled away. Froakie was hysterical. "So, I take it you've never ridden a monorail?"

Imposter, lips clamped, worriedly shook its head.

"Oh. Well, you'll see, it's a short ride. Just hang tight."

Hang tight Imposter did. The sensation was strange - like that of taking a ride in a Poké Ball, but being fully assembled and conscious at the same time. Surrounded by others. So maybe not close to being in a Ball, but the feeling of being moved stayed the same in both cases.

Unable to make its own conversation, Imposter had to rely fully on Diantha to keep the trip from being entirely silent. Fortunately, she provided.

"So Augustine told me you wanted to have an adventure," she summed. "But that doesn't tell me everything. How far do you want to go with this? You must know this already, but the highest title a League challenger like yourself can achieve is that of Kalos League Champion. And naturally, I am the current holder of that title - you'd have to defeat me in order to become Champion yourself. With three badges, I can promise that you're not ready yet, but that's okay."

Imposter was zoning out a bit. It heard someone speaking and decided to nod; that was usually the polite thing to do.

"Well, whatever your decision, I wish you luck. Not too much, of course," she added with a chuckle. "I know that lady friend of yours, Serena, she knows exactly what she wants. With trainers like her walking around, I'd better watch out or else your Champion battle won't be against me!"

To this, she gave a wistful hum. "The adventuring children of Kalos these days have gotten a lot stronger since I first set out, about three years ago. Why, I had just barely won my own battle with the Kalos Champion before me. In fact, Miss Serena almost reminds me of him. They have the same attitudes about strength, that is certain."

The moving room slowly came to a stop. "Well, I'd better leave you to your adventure, then," she concluded as everybody stood up. "Exit the station, take a left, and the Gym will be on a hill just past the Pokémon Center. You couldn't miss it."

Imposter was sure it could, but stood anyway and made its way to the exit. It was still dazed about the concept of human vehicles. It extended a hand to its acquaintance in thanks, and the two parted.

So there was another whole half of Coumarine Imposter had yet to explore. Froakie at its side, it promptly set off.

Imposter Fact of the Day: So Froakie's only a character because he had to be on the team in my playthrough, for use of HM's. Also the reason Imposter carries five Ditto, not six. (In-universe, it is the sixth member.) Ironically, though, the one in my game came out female; and my preferred Kalos starter is Fennekin.

For anyone getting sick of Imposter losing all the time, that battle was for you. ^^ Carpe Diem, folks!