When the elevator doors opened, Imposter's eyes were unprepared; the room into which it opened was large, white, and bright. Serena wasted no time. Against its better judgement, Imposter followed her out towards the back wall, through tens of grunts.

The wall itself was more of a floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking a grim room cut out of the ground. Inside was a contraption Imposter did not know how to describe; at the center was what looked like a tree, albeit a dead one. Humans should know that trees cannot grow underground. True, none of them had ever been one, but even Imposter figured there were alternative ways of discovering that.

Standing in front of the window were the subjects of more immediate interest, especially to Serena. "You," she spat. "I've finally caught up to you. I didn't want to believe that you were the leader of Team Flare, but I knew it from the beginning, Lysandre!"

The orange-haired man bowed his head slightly and turned around to face the intruding trainers. The two humans on either side of him - the Masked Villains, Imposter realized - did the same.

Lysandre's eyebrows furrowed, and he bared his teeth. First, to Serena: "And you've been a thorn in Team Flare's side for too long, girl," he growled. "It will be good to finally be rid of you."

She made a couple fists. "Y-You can't beat me. My team is the best in all of Kalos! If I wasn't here dealing with you, I'd be whacking the Champion's team up in the Pokémon League."

Imposter believed it, although it noticed the nerve in her voice. She could have been as afraid as it was.

Lysandre's eyes narrowed. "You think you can do anything when all your allies failed? Korrina, Wulfric, Diantha... your father even showed his face, and ended up like the rest of them. Locked up under Lysandre Labs deep in the heart of Lumiose City."

The teen next to Imposter inhaled sharply. "Well, I'm still here, aren't I? Besides, I'm not out of allies yet. Right, uh... Ditto?"

Imposter snapped to attention. She was talking to it. Asking for confirmation? It could give that. Valiantly, it nodded.

Lysandre, however, was undeterred. "We'll see for how much longer. Already, the ultimate weapon has emerged and is being charged by the legendary Pokémon's energy. There just aren't enough resources to go around in a world with so many people, and this weapon will fix everything. Everyone remaining will have all they can ever wish. What isn't beautiful about that?"

Serena spluttered. "So a few people might be happy, while everyone else is..." She stopped. "And what about Pokémon?"

Lysandre's eyes closed, slowly, to everyone's discomfort, and to everyone's surprise, small amounts of water poured from them.

Of course, Serena took notice. "Tears... why?"

The man could hardly look up. "Pokémon," he started, "shall no longer exist."

Imposter's blood ran ice cold. Its heart sunk into its knees. Its vision narrowed, and its ears began ringing. Serena had turned sharply to it, alarmed concern on her face. Froakie, on its shoulder, was gripping its neck.

Imposter was a Pokémon. Lysandre knew that. Did he not just say he was looking to end the Ditto and everything it knew, standing right in front of it?

A small, petrified cry was all that had escaped it, and Serena seemed just as speechless. So Lysandre went on.

"Pokémon are some of the greatest beings on this planet. Or, most of them are. But I've recently learned of the deceit of which they are capable."

He was glowering at Imposter now.

"They can be manipulated and used for evil. They will be mistreated. Nothing is beautiful about that."

Then, directly to Imposter: "And you; I thought I was rid of you. You were supposed to be taken care of by these admins at my side." He glared at each of them, eliciting fearful reactions. "What happened?"

They spluttered. "W-We didn't-"

"It was never delivered to us."

"I didn't even know it was here!"

"Silence." Lysandre pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's here now. I'll take care of it. You two handle the girl."

The female cracked her knuckles under their bright red gloves. "Alright, two-on-one. I like our chances." Both walked up in front of Serena, withdrawing Poké Balls.

"Shut up, Sina," she whined. "Stop pretending I don't know who you are, and just battle me already."

The male turned to his partner. "Sina? Do you know a Sina?"

She shrugged. "Never heard of anyone named Sina or Dexio, no way. You must be thinking of someone else."

Serena sent a flat, pleading look to Imposter, who froze with the attention. She then sighed and sent out her Meowstic and Auroras.

Meanwhile, Imposter had Lysandre to deal with. "Did I not take care of you the first time?" he asked through gritted teeth. Apparently not; so Imposter shook its head.

Seeming too angry even to speak, Lysandre started the battle.

The Pokémon he sent out was a Mienshao, the evolution of the Mienfoo he used earlier; Imposter took a note.

"Y-You evolved."

The Mienshao's face lifted just a bit as Imposter's Ditto Transformed, seeming to be intrigued by the opposing trainer.

Imposter was eager to take advantage of this. "M-Meinshao... why are you fighting for him? We're both Pokémon here, and that man is bent on destroying us. Think about what you're doing, please!"

However, Mienshao did not seem convinced. He sat back in his cat stance, hands raised softly, eyes narrowed. He only moved as a result of his trainer's orders. "Acrobatics."

Imposter was terrified. To its right, it saw Serena's Mega Absol Night Slashing her opponent's Alakazam. To its front, it saw its friend fainting before its eyes.

The next two went down in a similar manner. Its tongue was swollen from its having bitten it for so long. "Mienshao, listen to me... He's trying to kill you..."

But Mienshao would not listen. He only stopped moving when Lysandre, apparently tearing again, commanded him to.

"...That's enough," he decided. "I can't keep hurting your Pokémon like this. They don't deserve to be punished for your stubbornness. I forfeit. Mienshao, return."

To Imposter's shock, he pulled out a Ball and called his Pokémon back. At the same time, a Surf from Serena's Vaporeon polished off both of her opponent's teams. "See? Even the two of them together can't beat me," she claimed proudly in Lysandre's direction. "And I'm ready for you whenever."

Red Mask turned to Blue Mask; even behind their costumes, one could see the alarm on their faces. "Golly, we should run," she noted. "Chick did a number on us!"

"That's true!" agreed her partner. "Let's go heal!"

So off they ran, leaving Serena to mumble behind them: "Cowards."

Lysandre wiped his eyes. "The truth is, regardless of the outcome of this battle, my plan is still going to be executed. Try to stop me if you will, but you will meet more opposition than you can handle. I am going to oversee the use of the ultimate weapon. I don't expect to see you two alive again, so... au revoir."

With that, Lysandre followed the Masked Villains down the corridor. Serena bolted up to the window.

"In there, Imposter," she cried. "That has to be the legendary Pokémon."

She looked to her left; "A door. It's the only one here, besides the elevator, so it must take us to that chamber somehow. Here. I have some extra restores, and no one knows what's coming ahead. Let me heal your Ditto, then you're coming to help me, okay?"

Help a human? Of course it wanted to do that. It gratefully handed over its team.

Once she was finished, they headed for the door. Imposter reached up and gave Froakie a couple of reassuring strokes, to try calming him down. If they were going to accomplish anything, they would have to be strong together.

Hordes of grunts and admins awaited the trainers as they went along, whom they multi battled with the ease Imposter expected to come with Serena's involvement. About halfway through, they were stopped by a familiar voice.

"Uh... Ditto! Serena!"

They spun around to see Shauna running up, her face fearful.

"I want to help you! I ran all the way from Lumiose to here..."

Serena stopped. "Why aren't you with Trevor and Tierno, rescuing the others? Did something happen to them?"

She shook her head. "They're still undetected, I think," she explained. "Clemont saw us trying to get into Lysandre Labs, and decided to help out himself. Once they got the others, I know we were supposed to go to Route Ten, but I got the feeling you would be in trouble out here on your own, Serena. I didn't know if someone like Imposter here would be helping you, and I was worried, so just in case..."

Serena sighed. "Well, thanks for wanting to help," she started. "You have a big heart, girl. But now that you're here, we have to stay together. We'll be safer that way."

Shauna smiled brightly. "Thank you! You two won't regret it."

"Now, we're running," Serena stated. "There will be battles. Try to keep up."

Shauna's face was stern now. "M-hm."

So the three took off, enemies crumbling underneath their might.

Serena's might, Imposter corrected; she was the hero. It ought not to get in the way.

The trainers came to a locked door, unguarded by the Team Flare workers they had left scattered in their wake. Serena had called out her Chesnaught, who promptly bashed in the locking mechanism, long before Shauna had a chance to inspect it herself.

The trainers stepped into the room, greeted by six more admins - the Masks included - ready to battle. Serena scoffed, looking more prepared than Imposter was certain she was, and eyed her starter.

Shauna, however, seemed unable to handle the pressure. "M-More of these guys?" she cried. "Yeesh, let's get out of here!"

With that, the girl turned tail. Standing in shock, Serena faced Imposter as a couple of the white-suited enemies gave chase.

"Gah, Shauna, run! Great, now I have to go get her. Hold down the fort here, uh... Ditto. If anything happens with the legendary, tell me!"

And she followed her friend out of the chamber, taking two more admins with her, so that only the Masked Villains remained. She shouted backwards, in reference to them, "Don't worry! They were easy!"

"Hah!" Red Mask began, once Serena had completely left. "Easy for her, maybe. But you aren't even a human. You ain't got nothing on us."

Blue Mask bent slightly at the hips to look Imposter directly in the eyes. "This should be quick. Your friend over there? Was just a warm-up. Now that we're totally on our game, you won't last a second."

Imposter did not need to say anything. It just had to battle, and it was ready.

An Espeon and a Glaceon took the field, followed by two Ditto, who each copied the one in front of them. It was not a style of battle Imposter was used to, but it would have to get used to it soon.

The Masks held hands, striking poses symmetrical to each other with the unoccupied ones, clearly trying to deter Imposter with their teamwork. It had seen them do this before, and it had worked before. It started sweating.

"How to do this," it mumbled, rapidly, "how to do this..."

Shadow Ball? That move stood out to Imposter, as both of its Ditto reported having it. Was that not a move Olympia used? It was! And it was powerful against Psychic-Types, right?

"Ditto," it started, "Shadow Ball on the Espeon."

The two Transformed battlers faced each other, then their trainer. "Wait, which one? Which Dit-"

Their conversation was cut off by the pink one being attacked by its own subject. With a Shadow Ball.

Imposter spluttered. "Both of you! Quickly, before either of you get hit again."

The Ditto charged their moves simultaneously. Espeon's ears folded back in fear.

Both moves connected, leaving the fainted Psychic-Type lying yards away. His trainer gritted his teeth.

"Tss, that was a blow. Get in your Ball, Espeon."

Meanwhile, the Ditto Transformed into him replicated his expression of pain. Whether because of the hit it took before or of its tendency as a Ditto to sympathize with its subject, it mattered not. Its battling partner turned to condemn it for this, but in its distraction, was hit with Glaceon's Shadow Ball.

Imposter raced to keep up with the battle. The battler on its left, the one turned into Espeon, was just barely still standing. On its right, the one turned into Glaceon was panting.

Blue Mask sent out possibly the largest Flying-Type Imposter had ever seen. He wore a flowing blue Scarf, nearly matching the one worn by his trainer. He darted in, used Rock Slide - knocking out the one Transformed into Glaceon immediately - and took a moment to preen his wings. The attack seemed to have missed the Ditto to its left.

Imposter was aghast. It saw this happen before. Certain battles just did not go its way, and it would be swept without the chance to do much of anything; usually this would only happen against Serena or a Gym Leader, but this was a Team Flare battle. Here, there were actually stakes.

"Ditto! P-Psychic!"

A critical hit!
The opposing Glaceon fainted!

Red Mask scoffed and bit her lip. "...Fine," she spat. She glanced to her partner and his Braviary, then to her opponent and its Ditto. "It's you, Mandibuzz," she decided.

Imposter sent in another Ditto, who promptly turned into Braviary, who promptly knocked out the Ditto Transformed into Espeon with another Rock Slide.

Imposter returned the battler that was knocked out, then turned to the other one, with a glint in its eyes. "You do that too, Ditto," it commanded.

The Rock-Type attack was super effective on both opposing birds, who both writhed in discomfort. Seeing this, Imposter bit its tongue. It knew that sometimes Pokémon got hurt while battling, but of all times to start feeling bad about it, why against a couple of people who truly deserved the loss?

It would not have time to focus on this, though. The Mandibuzz on the other side used Nasty Plot; certain moves it knew would now do double the damage, and Imposter had to be on its toes.

It sent another Ditto, who copied Mandibuzz and her boosts. Barely, Imposter invested a grin. There were perks to being able to Transform in battle, and coming in with beneficial stat changes already in place was one of them.

Blue Mask's face was red with frustration when his Braviary's third Rock Slide missed both opposing Ditto; relief showered over all three of them. Imposter took a breath. It could still win. "Braviary Ditto, Rock Slide again. Mandibuzz Ditto, Air Slash your subject."

Both attacks were carried out flawlessly; their trainer was impressed, remembering then that all of its friends had practice with this. They were all excellent battlers, trained up by the Ditto-exclusive trainer Grace. If there was anything a Ditto could do, one of hers would be able to do it.

Even winning this battle, Imposter assured itself. It had to.

The opposing Braviary fainted!
The opposing Mandibuzz fainted!
Team Flare Blue Mask sent out Alakazam!
Team Flare Red Mask sent out Abomasnow!

Abomasnow's Snow Warning ability activated, and every Pokémon except her braced themselves for the ice balls about to start raining down. She took advantage of this by using Ice Shard on the Ditto Transformed into Mandibuzz.

The hit was super effective, and while Ditto kept flying, Imposter disliked the amount of damage it took. Blue Mask's Alakazam then burst out a Psychic on the other one, battering it forcefully out of the air.

"Ditto," Imposter cried as it tumbled down in front of it. "Are-Are you okay?"

"I'm-" It regained footing. "I can keep trying."

"Good. Please; you're doing so well."

"Move?"

"Same as before. And Mandibuzz Ditto, Dark Pulse on the Alakazam."

Rock Slide hit only the Abomasnow, but Imposter did not mind that. Alakazam was easily taken care of by the Dark Pulse, leaving a frustrated Blue Mask to call him back.

"Gosh dang, why?" he complained. "I'm out. Avenge me, Red!"

Red Mask giggled. "Sure thing. Abomasnow, on the Braviary."

Abomasnow hesitated. "You mean... the big move?"

"What are you waiting for? Now's your chance," her trainer insisted.

Abomasnow shrugged. "Big move it is."

The air around her gleamed white and surrounding Pokémon wondered if the very air itself was freezing. Braviary Ditto looked terrified out of its skull.

Then Abomasnow released the blast, powerful enough that it drove an unprepared Imposter onto its behind.

Abomasnow used Sheer Cold!
It's a One-Hit KO!
Ditto fainted!

Panting, Imposter surveyed the carnage once the white air cleared out. Not only had Ditto been knocked unconscious, it had been forced out of its Transformation.

Tears welled up in its eyes as Imposter stared at its friend's tiny, purple, fainted form. Unable to bear the sight, it turned away as it called the battler back.

"Ditto," it wavered, addressing the other one. "Air Slash."

Imposter paid no attention to the delivery of the move. It knew Ditto could handle landing it on its own. Abomasnow's grunts of pain confirmed this.

Imposter was more focused on what it still had to do in order to win. It knew it did not want to send Limber out in such a terrible situation, but it was the last one in the bag. Imposter had no choice. It clutched its friend's Ultra Ball. Here went nothing.

Another Ice Shard from Abomasnow knocked out the Ditto Transformed into Mandibuzz as poor Limber looked around.

"Transform!" Imposter yelled. "I'll explain everything later; this is a battle, Transform!"

Thankfully, it seemed Limber was on top of this: after all, it had been an Abomasnow before, a mere three days ago in the Frost Cavern. Limber finished off the Transformation in record time for a Ditto with its ability, looking ready to do whatever was needed.

Red Mask tapped her lip. "Blizzard," she whispered.

Limber's eyes grew as the opponent, although on her last legs, followed through with the move. Now Limber was almost just as beaten, and it had only just entered battle.

Imposter pled with it. "Please, my friend," it wailed, "please! Use Focus Blast! You hit and we win."

It whispered the next part. "You miss and Kalos loses."

Limber was breathing heavily. "Okay," it decided. "I'll try."

Imposter could see it focus on a small spark of energy between its paws. The beam charged. Abomasnow gulped. Limber released.

The move missed.

Imposter's stomach sunk; its heart jumped.

Abomasnow and her trainer seemed to look Limber up and down. "Yeah, another Ice Shard should KO," the human decided.

The Ditto exchanged glances. Imposter would never forget the look on Limber's face in that instant, and it never wanted to see that look again.

Abomasnow used Ice Shard!

After the hit, Limber cautiously looked up between its raised arms. Imposter beamed.

"Lim, you're still up!" it cheered. It felt Froakie let out a breath on its shoulder. "We can still - just use - I don't even know - Blizzard."

Limber used Blizzard!
The opposing Abomasnow fainted!

Red Mask stamped her foot and turned around. "It didn't - this is totally - stinkin' Abomasnow - can't even - gaaah! I hate this! Two losses right in a row-?"

She only shut up when her partner placed a blue-gloved hand on her shoulder. "Calm down. At least we bought some time."

She glared at Imposter through her mask. "Alright. Abomasnow, return," she commanded. She did as her trainer asked.

Meanwhile Imposter was staring straight ahead. Had it just - won? It had! It won its first-ever double battle, against a couple of trainers that needed to be taken down.

It looked across at Limber. No, Imposter was wrong: it had not won the battle. Its best friend had. It wanted to run up and clutch Limber tight in celebration, only choosing against it when it remembered how cold it would be as an Abomasnow. Instead Imposter attempted verbal praise.

"Limber, you-"

But Limber was panting. "No..." it heaved. "I missed. That was way too close for me to feel good about it. Impo, I'm going to faint."

Imposter steeled its eyes, holding up the Ultra Ball. "Then, return. I-It's all going to be okay."

Limber whispered "Thanks" and dematerialized. The Masked Villains now held all of Imposter's attention.

"Fine! You beat us fair and square, you obstreperous loser," the female snapped. "But when Lysandre hears about this, oh-ho-ho, you're in for it!"

Imposter gulped. It had not thought of that, but now that she said it, it knew it was true.

"Anyways," the male went on, "We really must be taking our leave now. Wouldn't want to be here when, I dunno, the legendary Pokémon is finished giving us all its energy! That sure would be unpleasant!"

Red Mask laughed. "Sure would! Thing must be steaming furious right now."

That was right; there was a legendary Pokémon here somewhere, apparently. It just barely occurred to the Ditto that that may have been just a ruse to scare it, but just in case they were telling the truth, it would have to remain alert. It turned and watched the two Team Flare Admins book it out of there.

The door shut loudly behind them; it sounded like they were trying to lock the Ditto inside, but Chesnaught had destroyed the lock earlier. Their yells faded and Imposter assumed they had given up.

It faced forward again. In the center of the room was a huge machine, out of which a shriveled figure of a tree appeared. This intrigued the curious Ditto. It hardly remembered to restore the health of its team before stepping forward.

It must not have noticed the tiny switch on the ground before it stepped on it. A loud clicking sound, followed by other mechanical noises, disturbed the otherwise totally silent room.

Imposter and Froakie snapped to meet each other's eyes. They both blanched, and the latter spoke for both of them. "W-What was all-"

He was interrupted by a total blackout, except for a few sparks escaping the machine in front of them.

Imposter Fact of the Day: It's June! (Has been for a while, as coincidence would have it.) And as coincidence would keep it, Imposter takes place during the month of June. It's a good month.