Heading through the gate in northern Lumiose City, a young trainer could be seen clutching a large and filthy bag with a broken strap. Trusty Froakie by its side, the trainer was just glad to have made it to civilization in one piece.
"Uh... Ditto!"
Shauna's voice rung somewhat familiar in Imposter's mind. The little girl ran up towards it. "There you are! Look - they've been able to get the lights back on in the city. Serena was just telling me how she took down a whole evil base of operations just to get everything to work again. Just in time for Centrico Plaza's - wait, what happened to your bag?"
It was physically impossible for Imposter to tell her that the garment had been gnawed on by a flock of Skiddo, so it just showed her the damage.
"Tsk," she tsked. "We've gotta get you a new one. Don't worry. There's a boutique down Vernal Avenue where everything is just fab."
Without even asking, she grabbed Imposter's hand (it made a note that while Serena preferred the wrist, this one seemed to have different tastes) and took it on her way.
Much to Imposter's chagrin, she ended up hailing a taxi. The vehicle reminded it of Coumarine's monorail: a cramped, moving room that made it feel sick.
The drive there only took a few minutes, but Imposter's legs - too long for the back seat - were ready to start walking again the instant it sat down. And, no matter how relieved it was at her safety, Shauna's attempts at small talk were not helping.
Eventually the car pulled to a stop. Shauna paid the driver, and the two stepped into the cool evening.
"Right in here. I know this place can be a bit pricey, but I'll help you count to see if you have enough. It's just a bag, I mean, it's not like you're going to be walking out with a whole new style. Right?"
Imposter was characteristically not listening. She led it inside and they paraded past some salespeople making a commotion ("That boy! If ever there was a stylish person in Kalos today, it would be him!"), up the stairs to the men's department.
Shauna looked Imposter up and down, seeming pleased. For such a high-end store, there did not seem to be much variety, but the girl seemed to have Imposter covered.
"Black," she decided, holding a vinyl messenger bag up to it. "Definitely black."
The cashier seemed more than happy to give Imposter a discount, which Shauna had said it needed. Even with this, the girl still had to chip in if Imposter was to have any prize money left for healing items.
It stared at her as the two walked out of the store. "What?"
It could not speak, so it just kept staring.
Red pigments appeared on her cheeks. "Um, I couldn't just let you run yourself dry on something like a working bag. Besides, I'm the one who brought you to this expensive place - I should try to compensate a little. My parents are pretty rich, anyway, so it's no big deal at all. My treat; don't make anything of it. Now, let's take care of getting that new bag set up, eh?"
Imposter would admit, it was looking snazzy.
It did not know what, but something about being human again, carrying around its new accessory, a girl on its arm and a Froakie on its shoulder, made it feel rather special.
Dusk had fallen, but the dropping temperature did not keep the Lumiose natives from lighting up the city. Crowds had gathered in the streets, fanfares sounded, and in high Kalosian fashion, galettes were being sold every fifteen feet.
Shauna was munching on one now. "Look, they lit up the Prism Tower!" Her words came out muffled in-between bites. "Is it usually that bright?"
Imposter looked and regretted it. Its eyes were not prepared for that.
"Wanna slice?" Shauna was holding up a bit of her snack. Imposter wondered whether human food would make it sick, forgot what it was thinking about, and graciously accepted.
The two strolled along for a while, just to see what Lumiose was about. Imposter was only vaguely aware of how lost it was, and small bags were growing under Shauna's eyes.
At some point, Froakie grabbed Imposter's attention, pointing down the street. They had to squint to see clearly, even with the streetlights illuminating the way.
"Isn't that our friend over there?" Froakie was wondering. "The VW fella?"
Imposter was too far away to know for sure, but it thought it recognized the collar, at least.
It was about to say something when Shauna interrupted by reaching for its hand again, dragging it off to another activity. The Ditto waved it off as coincidence.
They visited a café for some Soda Pops ("No ice?" Shauna had complained, "Really with this city?"), popped in to the Trainer PR Video Store at the girl's request, and generally toured around Lumiose for the night. A photographer had at some point stopped them for a picture in front of the Prism Tower, and Shauna could not refuse.
Imposter understood that it was supposed to stand still and smile, which was simple enough; the problem came when Shauna started scolding the cameraman.
"Wha-Are you going to get out of my face?" She looked flustered. "You might just want to stand over there and - not move while you're taking a picture."
The man did not seem to care, spinning around the two like a poorly-coordinated roller skater. "No no, madame. Zis is how we do it here. A Lumiose camera never sits still!"
Other than that charade, the rest of the night went by without a hitch. Froakie had continued shooting warning looks at Imposter for reasons the Ditto still did not quite understand, but the situation with his father seemed too personal to question. Eventually the group stumbled upon their other friends, as the crowds thinned and streets cleared out.
"Hey, it's Shauna and uh... Ditto."
"So it is. Howdy, neighbor."
"All right! The gang's all here then!"
Serena laughed as the two walked up. "Shauna, isn't it a little past your bedtime?"
The girl stammered. "Hey, I'm fifteen whole years old! I don't need to be told when to go to bed!"
"Oh yeah? Why do you look so tired, then?"
"I'm not tired..." she whined, "I'm just worn from walking around all day."
"So you're tired," teased Tierno. Shauna glared, but there was an air of friendliness behind it.
"Anyway, it seems like the festival is over," Serena observed. "You ready to head back?"
Trevor pandiculated. "I sure am. C'mon - we all agreed to stay at my place tonight. Let's get a cab and go on home."
"That's right," Tierno reminded the group. "This kid lives right here in the big city! Who'da thunk it?"
If Imposter was cramped with one friend in the car, it was nauseous with four. To its right, past where Shauna was using its shoulder as a pillow, Trevor was doing the same with the window. Imposter hiccuped as the room bumped over a pothole, and somehow the taste of the galette from earlier reappeared in its mouth.
Trevor's parents were gracious hosts, and sleeping quarters for the five teenagers were sorted out quickly between his room, his traveling sister's, a guest room, and two couches. Apparently - and Imposter just barely remembered this - humans changed their appearance for sleeping, so it had to think quickly about how to shift itself a set of nightwear.
Ultimately it ended up copying Tierno's, as his looked the comfiest, but the difference in shape between the two made the clothing look misshapen on Imposter.
No one seemed to mind, however - they were all wearing something baggy. Imposter tossed its new bag on the ground next to its designated couch, ready to turn in.
"So," Froakie chatted. "How're you going to do this, exactly? Sure you want to sleep all night as a human?"
There was not enough privacy in the living room for it to deform, and it responded accordingly. "I will. If it's comfortable."
It hoisted itself sideways into the couch, which it noticed was much softer than the one at Grace's. All the lights in the house were turned off as it draped a blanket over itself, sinking down into the cushions.
"Well. Is it comfortable?" Froakie wondered.
Imposter was already too asleep to answer.
After a short breakfast, Imposter and its friends had dispersed throughout the city and were separated by noontime. It was Serena's decision: a sleepover now and then was nice, but something like that should never distract from a trainer's journey. She was only in town for the celebration, she had claimed, and by the next day was ready to continue the pursuit of her sixth Gym badge.
Likewise, Trevor had Pokédexing responsibilities to take care of, and Tierno and Shauna wanted to explore something in the next town over. So, Imposter was left alone again, to continue exploring the city.
Nothing too exciting came up, until it spotted a Gogoat with a human on top of him. Imposter was interested in that line of Pokémon, so this was an exciting development for it.
The Ditto followed its quarry until it came across the place: twenty or more of the critters were dressed up in fancy saddles and helping people with their transportation. Wordlessly, it parked its bag behind a tree and made its way over.
Froakie seemed happy to occupy himself with guarding the party. He said that there was nothing better to do in this town; his fascination with trees led Imposter to believe it.
It had little trouble sneaking in behind all the Grass-Types and morphing into one - it had always been discreet that way. It chatted them up for an amount of time that it cared not to keep track of, until a human came up and reached for its scruff.
"This one will do nicely," she said, locking eyes with it.
Oh boy! Imposter was going to get to do Gogoat things! It slightly shook in excitement.
It was unable to get a good look at the human before she boarded, but her pink braids and stark red pants made her stand out among the Kalos trainers it had met so far. She was lighter than Imposter was expecting a human to be, and when she grabbed hold of its horns, it hardly felt it.
A nudge by her foot, and they were off. Imposter trotted along, just happy to be doing this.
At some point, the lady on its back began talking - not to it, it did not think; with every sentence it appeared she had been given a response out of the air.
"Hello...—Yes, it's me. How's it coming?—In Lumiose City.—Are you kidding? I'd never be allowed to miss. All Four of us had to be there.—Listen, you're the mastermind here. I don't know what you want little old me to do.—Take it up with Celosia and Bryony if you're really having trouble, okay? You know I'm not in charge of all the technical stuff.—What about it? Isn't that whole thing just something the boss wanted to look into for the heck of it? Whatever, I'll keep an eye out, I guess.—Goodbye. I'll see what I can do."
Imposter heard the sound of an electrical device powering down. "Hey there, Pokémon," the lady said, this time probably to Imposter. "Did you miss my stop? You did." She sighed. "Let's go..."
Imposter felt its horns being moved, awkwardly turning its head. Was this the direction they were going now? Apparently. "Not the brightest one in the flock, are you?" Miss Lady mumbled.
There was no reason not to keep going the way she turned it, so it just continued in that direction until its passenger nudged it again.
"Here it is," she decided, sliding off. "Take your prize money. I'm way too busy for this."
She walked a few feet ahead, stopped, withdrew a Poké Ball, brought out the most obnoxious-looking Flying-Type Imposter had ever seen, hopped aboard, and flew off.
And Imposter had some more cash, now.
Froakie licked his webbed fingers, spying down from his perch. "You're back."
"So I am," Imposter agreed. It reached down and slipped on its bag, completely human again.
"Was it all you've ever hoped it would be and more?"
"It was pretty good, I guess. Do you have any idea how much money this is?"
Froakie's eyes grew wide. "You made a buck? Look at you! Maybe you can pay back Pigtails now."
Imposter rolled its eyes, saying it ironically this time: "Oh, I don't know what you're talking about."
"Hey, you're smiling - you know exactly what I'm talking about! Your face is giving you all away!"
"Hm. Well, we should try to think about moving onward, huh?"
Froakie looked relieved. "Ah, and finally get out of this city? I'm so down."
"Okay, let's-"
Imposter stopped short. "Uh, I have no idea where I'm supposed to go."
Froakie massaged the space between his eyes and hopped down. "Well that there's a problem, ain't it?"
"Guess so."
There was a pause. "Do you want to-"
"I'm not calling a taxi."
"-Oh."
Imposter looked down at its feet and just started walking. "Where you goin'?"
"I dunno."
Froakie shrugged, then hopped along. "Fine by me."
Imposter really was not watching where it was going, however: after a few minutes, it walked right into another human.
"Oh, hi, C-Ca-" he stopped. "Wait, you're... Oh, you must be that guy. His brother. Imposter, right? I'm Clemont."
He held out a hand, and Imposter (remembering the gesture from Shauna) gave it a pound. Clemont furrowed his brow.
"I'm - the Gym Leader here in Lumiose City," he slowly continued. "If you're on your League challenge, too, you'll have to battle me, you know."
Imposter's eyelids fell. So it would be staying in Lumiose for a while longer, then.
Imposter Fact of the Day: If Imposter had to choose a favorite Pokémon - besides Ditto, of course - it would probably pick Skiddo/Gogoat. It's because humans seem to like them a lot.