"If you're on your League challenge, too, you'll have to battle me, you know."
Imposter's eyelids fell. Who decided not to tell it that there was a Gym in Lumiose City? It was Serena, wasn't it? It must have been Serena...
"Um, anyway, no doubt you've seen the Gym - it's built right into the Prism Tower!" Clemont raved. "It took a bit of convincing, but the city ultimately figured it would do more good than harm. The League didn't even have to bri-"
Imposter furrowed its brow after a few seconds of Clemont's holding the syllable out: "-iiighten it up anymore to make it look pretty - oh, heeey Miss Diantha, didn't see you there!"
The Ditto turned around to see she was indeed approaching. "Hello, Clemont," she greeted. "How are you today?"
"How am I? Doing fine, but - how are you today?"
Her eyes were small in their sockets, suffocated by the eyelids framing them. "I understand your concern, Clemont, and I thank you for it; but I ask that you don't bother," she chided. "Remember that I've always been prepared for anything. You've got your own Gym to take care of, don't you?"
"I do!" Clemont responded. "Also, this here's a trainer who still hasn't taken me on, so we might as well get to it."
Right now? Imposter's eyes grew.
"That's wonderful." Diantha sounded relieved as she said it. "Clemont uses Pokémon that don't have a lot of weaknesses," she explained. "You ought to look into what those are or be prepared to overstrength them."
Clemont grinned, scratching the back of his neck. "Well, I'm not that strong. Just try your best, and we'll have to see just how good that is."
Diantha nodded. "That sounds like a good attitude for a Gym battle. Anyway, good luck to the both of you; I'd better be on my way."
Clemont waved as she turned away. "Good to see you! Good luck to you, too!"
"I won't need it," she laughed over her shoulder. "But thanks."
The Gym Leader faced Imposter. "Well, guess I'll see you in the Gym, huh?"
Imposter nodded, and Clemont walked off with another wave. Now just to find this Prism Tower of which Clemont was speaking.
"I know what you're thinking," Froakie piped up. "You have no idea whatsoever where the Gym even is, do you?"
It sadly shook its head. "Well, here's a tip - watch where the Leader is going!"
Indeed, after following along behind Clemont, the two came upon the largest building in the city, complete with the familiar Kalos Pokémon League Gym logo. This may have been it, so Imposter decided to go inside.
Somehow, the tower was smaller than it looked on the outside. No matter; there ought to have been something to do in here. The cylindrical column in the center was a good place to start.
Somehow, said column appeared to sense its presence, and opened up when it approached. Upon stepping in, Imposter realized just what this was: a human elevator.
One with only four buttons; three of them seemed to be locked in place, however, so the last would have to do.
It remembered this unnatural sensation of rising without control, similar to the movement of a vehicle, but vertically. Froakie made a note that he remembered too.
What would it be this time? Walking on a tightrope made of vines? Skateboarding through a maze of boulders? The doors opened, and unlike any of the other Gyms thus far, Imposter had no idea what was expected of it.
One small human came running up, as if to help it find out.
"Challenger," she shouted. "Welcome to my big brother's Gym! You wanna know how we do things here?"
The girl giggled. "I'll show you! I'm Bonnie, by the way!"
Imposter followed her finger to the back wall, where a few more cylinders were being guarded by one trainer each. "You have to pick one based on the answer to a trivia question. I think your Froakie's cute, by the way."
Froakie mumbled something. Imposter was unsure whether it was modesty or refusal, but whatever it was, he was saying it quickly.
"Look, the question's up there," she said, pointing to a large screen near the top of the wall. Three silhouettes of what Imposter figured were Pokémon were shown, beneath some writing; each had a small label beneath them too.
"Yep! That's all ya gotta do! Which trainer has the answer to the question?"
Imposter squinted up at the screen, with nary an idea as to what was being asked.
"What's wrong? Can't read or sumpthin'?"
Imposter looked down and shook its head sadly, as if to ask for help; Bonnie did not seem to understand.
"Cool, mee neether! I have no clue what the question even is!"
Imposter sighed and looked up. Froakie tugged at its jeans.
"Having trouble there, 'Pasta?"
"Yeah."
"Gimme a boost. Let's see if I can't make anything out, huh?"
That was right: Froakie could read! The Ditto bent down and scooped up its friend, who reached for his chin in thought.
"Alright, it says... 'Which of these Pokémon smells the most like masking tape'?"
Imposter was confused. "And what is that?"
"Buddy, that's not what it actually says. I've never formally learned how to do this, you know, so I can't make any promises."
"Try your best?"
"I will, just let me... I know there are numbers involved... That looks like it's the species name of a Pokémon there... Oh, and one instance of interrogative punctuation. If that helps."
It did not help.
"Whoa, are you talking to your Pokémon?" Bonnie interrupted, and Imposter snapped to her direction. "That's pretty neat! I wanna too!"
Imposter hoisted Froakie to the ground. All it could do to dispel this notion was shake its head, so it did that vigorously.
"He can talk to Pokémon!" The girl disregarded Imposter's insisting that it was not so, and it pushed forward. Whatever the answer, it would have to end up battling somebody, so it might as well just pick one and hope its instincts could be trusted.
"So you think the answer is Dedenne?" asked the schoolboy in front of the elevator in the middle. Imposter just nodded.
"Hope ya got it right!" Bonnie shouted from behind it; it simply ignored her.
"Well, you'll have to battle me to find out," responded its adversary. Imposter fumbled for a Poké Ball.
The Stunfisk that emerged gave Imposter all the answer it needed. "Hey, a trainer? Hah! This fool must have gotten the answer wrong. Everyone knows what a Pikachu looks like!"
If this was untrue, it did not apply to Imposter; it had occasionally seen Trevor walking around with his out, and was able to recognize its silhouette as the one on the right.
It just needed to defeat this trainer, and remember which was the answer.
Ditto was sent out, and it begun to Transform before pausing to have a word with its trainer: "Wait, I have to turn into this thing?"
All of the following questions ended in generally the same way - like the other Gyms, there were plenty of battles Imposter had to win, and plenty of times it failed to do so. Also like the other Gyms, however, it eventually ended up meeting the Leader, now with Bonnie trailing behind it the whole time.
When they finally reached Clemont's chamber, it was she that got his attention first. "Big brother! Look, I found a trainer for you! And he can talk to Pok-"
Imposter was unaware of what humans did to other humans to get them to stop talking, so it improvised. By slipping two fingers into her mouth.
Clemont's face distorted into a look of confusion, then one of frustration. "Hey, Bonnie! What did I say about bothering the challengers?"
The girl spit out Imposter's hand. "I just thought 'cause maybe they'd want to know that I'm your sis and all..."
Clemont sighed and shook his head. "Well now he knows. Go home, Bonita. Now, you - challenger! I can only imagine how much it must mean to you right now to continue winning for yourself. But I must warn you! Go up against me and you'll be facing a team trained in the high sciences, and they won't go down so easy. After all, the fut-"
"He's gonna say it!" Bonnie chimed in. "You'll see; this is like his catchphrase. Says it like every day. Like right now!"
"You... just be quiet, okay?"
"Okay! I'll just let you do your Gym Leader thing then!"
"Yes. Listen, I've gotta apologize for her, Imposter. Let's uh... Let's just get on with the battle then?"
Imposter blinked. Fine as far as it was concerned.
You are challenged by Leader Clemont!
The trainers sent out their Pokémon, and unsurprisingly, Bonnie was the first to comment.
"Aha, see, big brother? This one uses such cool Pokémon! Watch what it does!"
Likely just to humor her, Clemont looked. Ditto Transformed into his Emolga.
"That would have been really exciting to see if I wasn't already expecting a surprise," Clemont said. "Anyway, so now there are two. Is this your strategy, Imposter?"
It gave a determined smile to accompany its nod, then motioned for its friend to use Aerial Ace.
"No, Quick Attack it first!"
Clemont's Emolga floated around Ditto, found an opening, then struck. Ditto did not seem phased, but returned with an Aerial Ace that did considerably less damage.
Imposter bit its tongue. So Quick Attack was the better move. It would use that.
Emolga shook it off, and Clemont ordered another move new to his adversary. "Volt Switch."
Before Imposter or Ditto could comprehend the situation, the latter had taken an attack and Emolga was gone completely. In his place hovered Clemont's second: a trio of metal spheres and magnets known as a Magneton.
"Uh - Aerial Ace," Imposter decided, trying to keep up with the Gym Leader's tricks. Magneton was eerily still as it took the attack, not saying or doing anything until Clemont gave his next command:
"Electric Terrain!"
If Imposter thought Volt Switch was a confusing move, Electric Terrain was pandemonium. It found itself shielding its eyes from the sudden electrified state of the room - currents running across the floor and up the walls, sparks flying and stray bolts connecting the floor to the ceiling in electrical stalagmites.
Imposter was not ready for this.
Clemont was standing tall, fixing his glasses so that they did not show his eyes but reflected light into Imposter's. Bonnie seemed to find this change of scenery exciting, as she was jumping up and down with a smile half the size of her face.
"Yeah, now the battle's really starting to heat up!" Bonnie exclaimed. Her brother sent her a sharp look.
Imposter was still baffled. "Qu-Quick Attack?"
Again, the Steel-Type Magneton acted as though it had not been hurt at all. Then, "Thunderbolt, now!"
Ditto fell pitifully to the ground. Its trainer was floored. Well, Magneton was damaged now, and Imposter's next would copy all its defenses, so maybe there was a way to turn this around.
"You can do it, Ditto," it called. "Thunderbolt!"
Magneton squawked as it was hit this time, but it sounded more like a robotic cough. Imposter drew a sharp breath at the first visible sign of its adversary taking damage.
"That's it, Ditto, do it again."
Magneton and Ditto continued on like this, until the latter fainted. Imposter cringed as it sent out its third.
One Thunderbolt from Ditto and Magneton was finished, to Imposter's pleasant surprise. Bonnie 'Oooh'-ed, and Clemont pushed up his glasses. Imposter gulped.
"There you have it," the Gym Leader retorted. "Classic Magneton. You won't ever know if it's hurt, or how much it's got left in it. Would still keep floating there if it up and lost one of its Magnemite segments one day, and wouldn't even tell you."
He returned his fainted battler. "Anyway, ready to face my ace-in-the-hole?"
"Ready or not, here he comes!" Bonnie yelped with a small hop.
"Bonita!" Clemont's face was red. "Why're you always - I'm trying to - argh! Could you just be quiet?"
"Yep! Well, I think I can. Haven't really tried." With this, she flashed a bright little smile, her tongue poking out.
"Just - g-go, Heliolisk!"
Clemont chucked a Great Ball out onto the field, it popping open and releasing a yellow, reptilian Pokémon.
"Ugh, use Thunderbolt."
Heliolisk looked like he was about to yawn, but instead of breath, sparks accumulated in front of his maw. Ditto looked surprised: that was not how most Pokémon would use Electric-Type moves. It overprepared; its tensed up to brace itself for the move, but seemed unphased afterward.
Clemont brought a hand to the side of his head. Imposter knew what was about to happen. It continued to command Thunderbolts, while the Gym Leader did the same, occasionally spraying Super Potions.
The Electric Terrain was long gone by now. Bonnie's eyelids had fallen halfway down her eyes, and she yawned. "Clemont..." she whined. "Why is nothing happening? This is getting boring."
Clemont exhaled. "It doesn't have to be-"
He was interrupted by his Pokémon, whose pained cry indicated that he was no longer able to battle.
That was it, right? Emolga, Magneton, and Heliolisk... that was three, matching the number of Balls on Clemont's belt. It had won. Right?
Clemont growled. "Fine, let's wrap this up."
He tossed the weakened Emolga back into the fray, causing Imposter's face to contort into shock. That was right: Emolga had not actually fainted, but mysteriously disappeared earlier in the battle.
"Ae-Aerial Ace," the trainer sighed. Ditto blinked, seeming as surprised as Imposter was why the attack did so little.
"Um, Thunderbolt again, I guess," it decided, and Ditto pulled through.
Emolga spread his arms wide, absorbing the hit. He floated like a piece of paper to the ground, lifting a thumb as to say his opponent did a good job.
The Electric-Type's Ball slurped him up in the form of red-twinged energy. "There, you won," Clemont admitted.
You... defeated... Leader Clemont.
Imposter hesitated to return Ditto. "Y-You gave up," it realized. "Why?"
"No, we can't both win, Imposter. Your Pokémon beat mine. Take the - what was it again? Oh - the Voltage Badge, or whatever."
He took the metal object from his pocket, held it in the air, and let go. Suddenly, it shot forwards, attracted to one of Ditto's magnets.
"I caught it," the Pokémon announced jovially. Imposter looked down and took the badge off, looking it over.
Imposter got the Voltage Badge.
"Ditto, didn't it look like he gave up?"
Ditto spun its magnets in celebration. "I thought that seemed a little easy."
"Hm."
"Like I said," continued the Gym Leader. "It's yours. Sorry the battle couldn't have been more interesting."
Imposter wanted to speak out to him, and regretted being unable to do so. So it too gave up. Exhaling, it called Ditto back to its Ball and turned back towards the elevator.
"This is why I'm losing so much, Bonita," it faintly heard Clemont say. "I'm not enjoying battles anymore, not with all your commentary. After long enough I just want them to be over."
Imposter stepped into the elevator, Froakie in tow. It watched the scene for the seconds before the doors shut.
"You don't... think it's cute, big brother?"
"Pokémon battles aren't cute. Sorry, but you..."
The doors connected, and the Pokémon began their descent. Imposter studied its newest badge.
"Snazzy," Froakie complimented. Imposter bit its lips.
"Listen, are you really that hung up on those two? Siblings are always like that. Me and my brothers and sister, you should have seen it. It might be for the ultimate good of the planet that we'll never see each other again."
Imposter tucked the badge into its Trainer Card. Froakie's words never ceased to be comforting.
Imposter stepped out of the Prism Tower and looked up. A tall human was standing right in front of it, and it wanted to know who.
The man gazed down at Imposter with a soft smile. "Hey," Froakie whispered. "It's corn chip haircut!"
The man stood up straight. "Imposter. Right?"
It nodded, no longer caring how humans tended to know its name.
"I've heard a lot about you," the dark-suited man continued. "You're a rather ambitious one. You probably just walked off with your fifth badge, right?"
What was this man's name? It started with an - 'R', right?
"Lysandre." Apparently he sensed Imposter's question. "I was just visiting this part of Lumiose for yesterday's celebration. Tell me; do you have a Holo Caster?"
A what? Imposter shook its head.
Lysandre opened up his vest, and from it, he removed a small, electronic device. "I am the president of the company that produces these," he went on to say. "I want you to have it. You can keep in touch with other people that way."
That seemed redundant. Imposter could just as easily keep in touch with people by standing in front of them. Like right now.
Maybe that was the point. It held the contraption up between them, waiting to see what it would do.
Lysandre seemed amused. "My boy," began he, "you have much to learn."
Imposter took this to mean it should put the machine away, which it did. "Good. Now, I've taken a personal interest in you. I wish you would... help me answer some questions I have."
He shook his head. "Not right now. Just continue doing what you're doing."
As if he knew no farewell was needed when dealing with Imposter, he continued forward into the tower after this sentence. Froakie made a show of following him with his eyes; Imposter just kept going the way it was, hardly giving the man a second thought.
Only a few steps later, its new toy began rumbling in its bag. Curious, Imposter pulled it out and tapped a button.
A familiar human's face appeared in the air above, much to Imposter's surprise. Fascinated, it reached out to touch the three-dimensional image, speechless when its hand passed through it. It was a hologram.
The person's voice was familiar, too. "Hello, Imposter," she greeted; now Imposter recognized the face as Miss Lady, whom it toted around Lumiose earlier. "I can see that you have successfully been gifted this Holo Caster. Remember always to keep it on and charged; you'll want to make sure never to miss calls from fabulous people like me - Malva of the Kalos Pokémon League! Thank you for choosing Lysandre Labs!"
The image cut off. Stunned, Imposter moved to replace the machine.
"Hey, y'okay there?" Froakie wondered.
Imposter closed its mouth. "Yeah. It's just - I think I've met that woman before. Something tells me... I'd better take notes next time I see her."
Froakie paused. "Any reason why?"
"Yeah." Imposter looked down. "Seems like she's rather... important. Like becoming her could do me some good."
"Hm." Froakie 'hm'-ed. "In the meantime, could you become someone giving me a berry? Watching a Gym fight really takes it out of you."
Imposter rolled its eyes and provided. Out of the corner of its eye, it spotted a different female of interest.
"Uh... Ditto!" Shauna was crying out, "Tierny's in trouble! You've gotta follow me to Route Fourteen!"
~End of Part Five~
Imposter Fact of the Day: To be honest... I've never really liked Bonnie. Or the Kalos anime in general. Sorry for sticking personal distaste into their characters - they're pretty decent in the games, anyway - I just wanted to put that opinion out there, since it doesn't seem to be quite popular.
Not one of my personal favorite chapters, but it gets the job done, so. The next Gym battle will be a lot more - interesting, at least in my opinion. Have a nice Memorial Day weekend. :)