"In there! Hurry!"

Shauna was sprinting towards an abandoned-looking house. Froakie was huffing along behind; Imposter was tumbling forwards, trying to keep up.

The girl burst into the house. "This place is haunted," she kept saying. "Look!"

Imposter did, and there was Tierno: suspended high above the ground, flailing his arms around in pathetic circles.

Imposter panicked. There was nothing holding the boy there; there was nothing the Ditto could do, but it reached back for a Ball anyway, in case a team member could help.

Tierno's frantic yelps gradually turned into the kind of laughter that usually came out of Froakie. Confused, Imposter worriedly faced Shauna, who was wearing a proud grin.

"Got you."

The Water-Type at its side seemed to be getting it, but Imposter sure was not. "Phantump, you can put him down now," Shauna giggled.

The previously invisible Ghost-Type emerged, and Imposter began to catch its breath. The boy was placed delicately on the ground, and the Pokémon swooped down to get a better look at Imposter.

"You're cute!" Phantump's surprisingly feminine voice splurted out. "No wonder Shauna likes you!"

She then did an aerial flip down to Froakie's eye level. "And aren't you a charmer? I bet you're just the happiest little froggy, huh?"

Shauna grinned. "That's Phantump," she explained. "Got her from Serena in a trade, along with an Everstone! How nice, right? We've been training here a bunch so that she can hopefully evolve soon. I think we're almost there! Anyway, Phantump's a Ghost-Type, so she's really special. Normal- and Fighting-Types can't even touch them!"

Was that true? Well, there was a Normal-Type here that can test that idea. It extended its hand out to the Pokémon, who wiggled in the air in an amused manner as it completely passed through.

"Huh," Shauna guessed, "It must apply to people, too. Anyway, now that we're here, you want to continue on to Laverre City? It's not far."

Imposter had nothing to lose, and figured that continuing would only do it good. It nodded.

"Great. This way!"

The girl ran outside, followed by her Pokémon. Imposter and Tierno shared a look; that one could be a lot sometimes.

The latter stepped outside, mumbling amusedly about how Imposter should have seen its face; the former faced Froakie. The little Water-Type was staring out the door with an air of - wistfulness, Imposter decided.

"What's going on?"

"Oh, just..." Froakie was stuttering. "Never seen a Pokémon who so enthusiastically shared my affinity for pranks, is all."

That Imposter understood. "Come on, then. The next town awaits."

And so the next town did. Once there, Shauna informed Tierno and Imposter that to the north of this city was the factory that produced Poké Balls for the entire Kalos region. Of course, this was what she insisted on checking out first; that was, until a familiar face emerged from a nearby building.

The structure itself was built into a tree, and Imposter was reminded of Ramos's Gym back in Coumarine. The person walking towards them was Serena, proudly hoisting her Trainer Card into the air.

"Hey, guys. Guess who just got her sixth badge?"

Shauna squeaked in excitement. "Really?"

"Mm-hm."

"Hey, congrats," Tierno nervously said.

Imposter got an idea; from where, it cared less than it knew. "We should battle."

Serena's face hardened. "You too?" Her voice was skeptical. "We should battle, then."

Imposter gave a flat look to Froakie, who burst into giggles.

"Just to see which of us has gotten stronger. If we really are at the same point in our journeys."

Shauna made an impressed noise; Tierno stepped back.

But Imposter was ready; it had already flung out a Ditto, just waiting for Serena to start.

"Well you're enthusiastic, geesh!" She dug around; "Here's the one. Get 'em, Aurorus!"

Imposter's eyebrows furrowed. Serena always led with Meowstic. Why not now?

Serena laughed as Ditto Transformed. "Hidden Power," she ordered.

This move again. The Ditto remembered Serena had a Pokémon called Amaura who knew it, and that that move was a problem.

Ditto immediately fainted. Perhaps that was her strategy.

Imposter's blood ran cold as it sent in the second. "You try a Hidden Power, now."

Aurorus bent at the hit, and Imposter thought the attack may have done enough damage; it was wrong, however, and the second Ditto was quickly taken out.

What was this sensation of water appearing from its pores? It had experienced it yesterday, while navigating Route Thirteen. It did not feel hot; what was the cause this time?

"Go... Limber."

Limber popped out, landing in a ready stance. "Just say the word," it breathed.

"Do it! Trans-"

"Hidden Power."

Serena yawned as her Pokémon moved first; Limber's eyes grew to the size of Oran Berries when the attack came hurtling towards it.

A breath escaped the Ditto, and Imposter was almost sure it was done for. That was, until it noticed its friend going for the Transformation anyway.

"Alright, Limber!" It wanted to celebrate louder, but the surrounding humans would think that was weird. "You can do it. Gogogo."

"...And now?" Limber croaked.

"Um, try out Hidden Power."

Imposter had to take a step back, as the energy wave leaving Limber was large and bright enough to cause eye damage. When the dust cleared, it was Aurorus who had hit the ground first.

Limber heaved. Chest rocking back and forth, it stared down at the fallen Aurorus and then across at his trainer.

Serena looked slightly disappointed, but not deterred. She shrugged, then tossed another Ball.

The Pokémon that came out of it landed with a thud on the ground. He roared upon seeing Imposter, but the threat was interrupted by the soft sound of bells.

"Graa- oh, these bells and stars... and they're gone. Okay! So, I'm battling this thing!" Chesnaught cupped one hand onto the other as he spoke, completely disregarding Limber and digging into Imposter's eyes.

It took a moment to realize that this was the starter that seemed to have something against it, then realize that, without even receiving an order from Serena, he had began charging towards Limber.

"Buh - Limber - use Ice Beam!"

Its friend prepared the move, but Chesnaught was too fast. He never took his eyes off Imposter when slamming his fist into Limber in a Brick Break, knocking it out instantly.

Imposter stuttered. "W-What do you have against me?" The question came out a whisper; whether from fear or from shock, Imposter could not tell.

Chesnaught's eyes briefly left Imposter's, only to watch the defeated form of Limber dissolving into its Ultra Ball. "What do you have against the order of things? Pokémon don't train other Pokémon. What are humans even for if not to act as trainers?"

Imposter was speechless. Humans were - what was the word? - fantastic, that's what they were. The Ditto was almost offended.

"Just send something out already. Let's get this over with."

Shaking, Imposter withdrew another Ball. Froakie hopped up.

"Yo, why're you letting this fool treatcha like that? He just thinks he's special 'cause he's shiny. He might be right about you, but there's no reason to mouth off like that."

Chesnaught growled. "You might wanna be quiet, Froakie," he taunted. "Lest I tell Sycamore about the Rotom incident."

Froakie did a one-eighty so that he was facing the opponent. "How are you going to do that when you can't even tell these people it's an imp-" Froakie stopped and put a hand to his forehead. "Ah, I get it now."

Chesnaught deadpanned, and Serena piped up. "Hey, is something the matter? Why aren't you sending out a Pokémon?"

Then she gasped. "Are-Are you forfeiting?"

Imposter shook its head, and to prove it, sent out its next battler.

Chesnaught eyed his replica. "I will give you credit," he revealed. "You all are good at that copying thing-"

"Ditto, now!"

Ditto Body Slammed into its rambling opponent, knocking him over. The agitated Grass-Type was now defending from the ground, pleading with the humans more than the Pokémon.

"You have to see that it's not one of you! It's - get off of me!"

He hurled a Seed Bomb to the other Ditto, who was putting its weight on him and received the attack at point-blank range.

Ditto flew backwards, and the battlers' roles reversed. Chesnaught stepped on the other's chest and reared back for another Brick Break.

Ditto coughed as the Pokémon's hand came down. It blinked, and upon reopening, one might have seen swirls in its eyes.

Imposter knew it was done battling, and quickly switched it out. Chesnaught spun around as it rummaged through its bag. "Look! Look at its feet! They're purple!"

Serena looked her starter in the eyes. "Chesnaught, what's wrong? You know I can't understand you..."

"I do. This clown doesn't." He changed his strategy by pointing directly to Imposter's feet.

The poor Pokémon would never have noticed if not for him pointing it out, but panic arose in Imposter when it looked down to realize this was true. It happened sometimes, in intense situations: confrontations and tough battles would do it, and this was both.

Serena squinted to where Chesnaught was pointing, but Froakie was standing in the way. He spread his arms out wide, covering up the carnage.

Imposter worked hard to regain form, while a frustrated Chesnaught came and effortlessly swiped Froakie away. "Unbelievable," he complained. Imposter's feet were pristinely rounded off in the form of boots. He glared. "You are good at that, huh? Is this all you do, just copy people?"

Technically, that was almost true. It did other things while copying people, but only a minority of its life was spent in the typical shape of a Ditto.

Imposter shrugged, and Chesnaught reluctantly walked away. "Fine. You got another one?"

It did, and it sent it out. The new one Transformed, giving a little squeal that it was able to become a shiny.

Contrary to Imposter's commands, it took a little too long admiring its special coloration, leaving itself vulnerable to Chesnaught's Brick Break.

It's a critical hit!

It looked up in surprise. "Ditto," Imposter called. "You do the same thing."

Ditto finally got over itself and attempted it. Chesnaught shook himself; experienced trainers could tell he was on his way out, but still had some energy left.

"And again, Ditto."

"Chesnaught, Brick Break!"

Both Serena's and Imposter's battlers reared up, but it was the former's who was faster. Chesnaught pounded his opponent down, resulting in the fainting of one Ditto and the embarrassment of another.

Imposter inhaled fully, withdrawing Ditto's Ball. "To be honest, I don't blame you for being distracted," it whispered to its fallen friend. "Being shiny would probably be pretty neat."

Ditto was sucked up into the contraption, which Imposter placed into its bag. Its hands reached into its long pockets.

Serena looked puzzled, and next to her, so did Shauna and Tierno. "Wh-What was that?" Serena asked. "Chesnaught's never that upset about anything. Why don't you like our - friend, here, boy?"

"Because it's-"

"There's nothing wrong with being different," she reminded him. "Imposter might not be like other humans, but he's still a person. I think..."

The last part was added ironically, but Chesnaught must have seen it as a breakthrough. "No, it's not."

Shauna spoke through the corner of her mouth. "Serena, your starter's a baby."

Chesnaught stopped whining for a moment, and Froakie called out in agitation.

Imposter raised its arms at the elbows, and seeing this, Froakie stopped. "He's being a whacked-up jerk," he defended. "You're not gonna stand up to him, but somebody's gotta do it."

The Ditto said nothing, just turned its attention to Serena.

"I mean, I guess - this is - probably the best way to solve whatever the problem is," she decided, holding up Chesnaught's Poké Ball.

"Chesnaught, return."

The Pokémon protested, but reluctantly gave in. He turned around sharply as the red beam of energy hit him, stealing another look at Imposter. This time, his dematerializing appearance cut through it.

"There," Serena said. "Anyway, good-good battle. But... I mean, if you're going to train nothing but Ditto, you're going to be able to win by intellect only. Well, that or you'd have to be fantastically lucky."

Imposter was the latter, and while it might not have known this, it got Serena's advice.

"Listen... be honest, did you really beat the Gym Leader?"

It had never meant to say that it did, but detested being put on the spot. It shakily denied it.

Serena sighed. "I got the feeling. She's... quite the person. I know I've never had a battle like the one I had with Valerie!"

"Oh, yeah," Shauna squeaked, "Doesn't she use Fairy-Types?"

"Yeah. Fairy-Types and some - interesting techniques, I'll say."

She scratched the back of her neck, as if she was about to say something. "You know, my middle name is Valorie," she continued. "...But spelled with an 'O'."

"Oh, that's neat," Tierno put in.

"...Hey, I just realized!" Shauna turned to Imposter with a flashy grin. "You can spell 'Imposter' with an 'O' or an 'E' too! Which one is yours, uh... Ditto?"

"'E'?" Froakie repeated. "Wouldn't that be... Impester?"

Then, with a smirk, he called out. "Yeah, that's totally it! Imposter with an 'E'!"

Reluctantly, as it had no other clue, it held up two fingers.

"The second one," interpreted Tierno. "An 'E'?"

It nodded, although unsure.

A weird silence befell the five, which Serena decided to break. "Alright, well, I'm gonna be on my way. Olympia awaits!"

She turned and left, waving back to her friends. "Good luck, you guys."

"You too!" Shauna cooed.

"So." Tierno bit his lip. "Shaunee, did you say you wanted to see the Poké Ball factory?"

"Oh, yeah! That's true. You wanna come, uh... Ditto?"

It was about to give an answer when Froakie cut it off. "You're not doing that," he decided. "Look over there."

Across the way, a tall man was sitting comfortably at an outside café and sipping tea, looking over a menu. Imposter finally recognized him; hanging out with Shauna and Tierno would have to wait.

It gestured this, with Froakie helping out; so the humans said so long and went on their way.

The man was still there. Looking closely, Imposter was almost sure it saw him notice it, out of the corner of his eyes. So it approached.

"You never stepped foot in Laverre City Gym," he observed. "So you are a liar, just like every person in this world. Won't you sit down?"

The man motioned to the metal wire seat in front of him, and Imposter maneuvered itself onto it.

Lysandre placed his teacup on the nearby saucer at steepled his hands. "The truth is that you are a very remarkable trainer," he claimed. "How would you like to work for me?"

Imposter Fact of the Day: Limber was one of the most last-minute additions to the story, actually. Imposter was always going to be named Imposter, but the Limber Ditto in my playthrough (that stayed on the team) was never nicknamed. Figured, though, if I had one named after one ability, I may as well have one named after the other.