Victory Road.
It was a lot more structured than Imposter imagined.
It had been a day since Serena was splinted and she resumed her trek through it, which Imposter spent filling its bag with all the berries and potions it could need. Grace would not be silenced the whole time, spouting advice and pride in generally equal amounts. This morning it had made sure to conference with VW about strategies it needed in order to get through and eventually win as much as it could, most of it shooting over its head. But it still felt confident. Sycamore, Trevor, and Tierno had joined the two adults to bid it farewell - similar to the way they did for Shauna and Serena, but this time felt the most awkward. While the human girls each had a Flying-Type that could take them to the gate, Imposter had to become one itself. It was probably the only one that minded, however.
And now here it was. The bored-looking Ace Trainer manning admission called this place the "Badge Check Gates" - and, naturally, he checked the Ditto's badges on its Trainer Card.
He looked up skeptically. "Your name is... Imposter."
Imposter nodded.
"Okay... Well, you have all eight badges and an official Kalos League Bronze Card, so I guess I can't argue with that..."
He blew a large pink bubble with his gum, mildly fascinating Imposter, pulled it back into his mouth, and chomped down, cracking it loudly. "So, Imposter, any medical conditions I should know about? Anything that would cause me to get sued if I let you into a perilous mountain road without adult supervision for a week on your own, if you had it?"
That was a lot of words, but Imposter was almost sure the correct answer was no. So it shook its head again.
The Ace Trainer looked it up and down. "Do you speak at all, Imposter?"
Imposter opened its mouth, took a breath, closed it, and shook its head once more.
"Humph, must be one of those Red fans or something. Okay, well, there is one last thing we have to do before letting you in."
He dug around in his back pocket and pulled out a Poké Ball. "We've gotta make sure you really did earn all those badges, that you really are ready. Victory Road isn't for pushovers. We're about to battle, you okay wit' that?"
Imposter grinned. It was okay with that.
Although it envied all humans at some level, Imposter was less jealous of some than others. Ace Trainer Robert, his name turned out to be, was part of the some. For the person paid to test potential League challengers, his team of Pokémon was one of the less-coordinated that Imposter had seen.
But all that was behind it now; a quick healing session and a moment of reflection later, and it was officially off.
It was dreadfully overcast today, but Imposter did not care; it would have to continue whatever the weather. Its poor sense of direction had not failed to steer it wrong multiple times within the first few hours of the trip, but since it was blissfully unaware of how lost it was, it had no reason to care.
Night had fallen all too quickly the first day. Imposter, too tired to realize how tired it was, would have been just fine continuing its journey in the dark. Ever the voice of reason in the times when it was needed, Froakie was the one to suggest setting up camp like all the other trainers. Its team was equally excited to rest up for the night.
The Ditto did not expect to be given a hard time about wanting to sleep in its Ball like the rest of the team, sheltered from the elements, but once it deformed, put away its clothes, and started dematerializing, Froakie opened up his mouth.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?"
Imposter stopped. "Um, turning in... I thought you wanted to go to sleep?"
"Yeah, I can see that, but what about me? I ain't gotta Ball to go into."
Imposter looked at him flatly. "If you want one, I think I have an empty in my bag somewh-"
"No!" Froakie spouted. "I already said it, I'm not comfortable having a 'trainer' that's also a Pokémon. Even if it is you... What I mean is, I'm sleeping out here, and if I'm sleeping out here in the woods on the dirty ground, so're you."
Imposter opened its mouth to say something, when it felt a bit of water drop onto it.
The two were silenced as the water increased. "Oh," Froakie realized. "It's - raining."
He stayed quiet for a second, Imposter watching him closely. "Well... you see, the thing about Water-Types, heh, we..."
He spit it out. "We really love the rain! Whatever, I'm going to stay out here and let nature's tears lull me to sleep. You can do whatever you want. 'Nighty!"
Imposter grinned. That was Froakie, all right. "Likewise," it said, and turned red.
So the days went on: trainers were battled and paths were forged, levels were grown and items were used. The Pokémon's combined efforts to guide themselves in a progressive direction took some time to realize success, but by the third day on the trail, they were seeing new places. They were going forward.
At this point, Imposter's legs were rightfully aching. It came upon a clearing in what appeared to be a site of ruins, where a nice Ranger offered to heal its friends. It gladly took this respite, handing them over and pulling out a juicy Sitrus Berry for itself.
It squinted from the sun ahead of it and took its Poké Balls back. A deep breath, and it was on its way again.
"Wait, what about me? I don't get to be healed? I'se been walking with you the whole time, not just hangin' out in those balls all day-"
Imposter tossed the annoyed Froakie an Oran Berry, which effectively shut him up. Team all ready to go, it entered the clearing.
"Imposter! Wait up a second!"
It knew that voice all too well.
It spun around. A person! That it knew! It was beginning to wonder if it would ever see one of those again. And not only was she someone it knew; she was Serena, one of its dearest friends.
"Hey, you made it this far. Nice, nice," she noted. "I've, uh, so I've had a lot of time to think about what happened in Geosenge..."
Her voice trailed sadly. "...And how upset I was at you for leaving me behind. Not being able to come back here made me so angry at you, which totally distracted me from who we were both supposed to be mad at. I mean, Lysandre tried to eliminate all Pokémon, and I know-"
She stuttered. "Knowing what I do now, I can see why you'd especially be opposed to that.
"But anyway, look; I've already challenged the Champion, and let me tell you, we got destroyed. A couple times. And here you are trying to get to the League so you could do the same; that says something really special about you, you know that? So my short string of losses has forced me to realize I've underestimated you a little."
She looked it straight in the eye. "So I've decided to give up my refusal to battle you. I know it's been a while, and a lot has changed, but we're still trainers."
She had been refusing to battle it? It did not even notice, but now that it thought it over, she was adamant about battling as much as she could while her arm was healing - yet she never asked it for one. Should it have felt bad about not realizing this? It decided the question was too hard to answer and no longer wanted to try.
Serena continued with a determined smile, raising her splinted fist. "And, there's something that I want to know. What is it like for someone like you... trying to be someone like me? All this time I thought I was dragging you along in the dust. But you've been battling with your friends like any human would, and that's pretty impressive, I gotta admit. So, Imposter, I'm challenging you to a battle. I want to see who you really are, in this match; Pokémon to Pokémon trainer!"
A battle? It was on.
Instinctively Imposter grabbed the Ball of the first Ditto in its party. Serena nodded, the sun reflecting off of her Key Stone, and sent out her Meowstic.
"Ditto," it insisted, mirroring her determined grin. It sent out Ditto and the battle officially started.
It went well from the very beginning - Imposter remembered to command Fake Out first, and Ditto followed through beautifully. Two identical Shadow Balls followed, but naturally, Ditto fainted first.
Imposter bit its tongue, then sent out the next one. Fake Out, Shadow Ball. Meowstic fainted, Ditto grew a level.
Imposter smiled.
"Okay, fine!" Serena shouted. "Go for it, Aurorus!"
The fossil Pokémon screamed a battle cry as it came out, but Imposter was not intimidated.
Ditto was faster, and got off a Psychic before Aurorus summoned Hail. Wulfric's strategy; Imposter resented that. It caught a look of regret in Serena's eyes. "Oh, you - I didn't realize it would hurt you, too - that wasn't fair. I'm sorry."
The Ditto tried to shrug it off, but it was still not immune to the damage. Aurorus just seemed caught in the middle. "Don't look at me," he defended, "I'm just doing what she says."
Imposter blinked. "Ditto, use Psychic."
Ditto did. Aurorus laughed. "If that's how it'll be," Serena observed, "...Then I guess I won't hold back either!
"Aurorus, Blizzard!"
Imposter put its hands up defensively, although it knew Ditto was the one being attacked. Ditto's stamina was in the red, and falling fast due to the hail.
It returned with a third and final Psychic. Auroras went down.
"...Don't know why I'm so surprised," Serena admitted, shrugging smugly. "But it's time we stop playing around. It's you, Absol!"
Ditto looked exhausted, about to fall over if it was just so much as nudged.
But it would have to be even more alert now, for Serena was thrusting her right hand into the air, the stone at its center glowing radiantly.
The opposing Absol's Absolite is reacting to Serena's Mega Splint!
"Absol - Mega-Evolve!"
Imposter watched as the Pokémon did so, Ditto trembling underneath it. "You still got this, Ditto," Imposter whispered, keeping its eyes trained on the opponent.
"Thanks, but he is a Dark-Type. I don't think I can-"
"I was talking to myself." The two had barely a moment to breathe.
"Absol, Night Slash!"
"Quickly, Ditto, use Disarming Voice!"
Absol cringed slightly at the Fairy-Type attack, then finished off its opponent using Night Slash.
Imposter returned Ditto to its Ball. "You did a lot. Thank you.
"Now, go, other Ditto!"
Two Mega Absol took the field. Serena's moved first, using Slash. Imposter's imitated it, but was luckier: the hit was critical, and the Absol fainted.
Serena's mouth was agape. "Er... That's unfortunate, you got my Mega. Heh. Yeah... You're going to pay for that! Show 'em, Charizard!"
Ditto Slashed again, then Charizard Power-Up Punched. The already-weakened Ditto barely hung on, while Charizard was still awake and kicking. The hail did not help the situation, either.
Another critical hit with Slash. Now Charizard was feeling it. "Do it again," Serena commanded.
Imposter looked on in shame as Ditto fainted. Now it only had two left, discounting itself. It sent out the last one with its ability and hoped it would go first.
It did not, which terrified Imposter. Both had two Power-Up Punches worth of attack boots under their belt, and it expected the opponent to hit hard. A third of Ditto's health was shaved off by the Blaze-boosted Fire Fang.
Ditto returned with an Aerial Ace, knocking the Charizard down.
Serena counted her Pokémon - Imposter saw two left. "Well, Charizard's a Fire-Type. What other option do I have," she began, "...Then to send out Vaporeon? Go!"
Ditto bared its teeth, not afraid to show it was unafraid. Under Imposter's command, it Aerial Aced again.
Vaporeon's health was halved, but it remained calm. "Vaporeon, Surf."
It hit. Ditto fainted.
Imposter knew it was in trouble.
"That was good, Ditto. Return."
The hail stopped. One Poké Ball left. "Finish the job, Limber."
The last Ditto in its party appeared on the field, then blanched when it saw who it was up against.
"Wait, what? Imposter! We're battling her!? You know how powerful her team is. I can't take her in my dreams."
It bent down to eye level with its friend. "Hey, quit it. Sure you can. She only has two left, anyway. Somehow..."
Limber turned white. "I have to take two of her beasts?"
"Yeah, only two," Imposter answered genially. "You're almost ten levels above her Pokémon, anyway, and that much smarter." It invested time to pause, thinking of how to continue. "And I'm behind you. This battle can go differently."
Limber looked into the eyes that Imposter worked so hard to replicate. It payed off: "Okay. I'll try."
Imposter stood up. "Limber, use Transform."
Serena hummed as Limber prepared the move. "Surf again. Quickly!"
But Vaporeon was not quick enough - Imposter's words of encouragement reached Limber, and the battling Ditto had already Transformed by the time the Water-Type attack hit.
Limber's Water Absorb: It doesn't affect Limber...
Imposter cheered. Limber sighed in relief.
"Aha, you're good!" Serena cooed. "I am underestimating you! Now we've gotta really start it. Vaporeon, Quick Attack."
Limber took the move like it was nothing. "Aurora Beam."
The Vaporeon was just as defensive. This would be a long battle.
The Pokémon exchanged blows, each whittling the other down. Limber's last Quick Attack landed a critical hit, and Vaporeon looked close to fainting.
"Imposter... I don't know if this is going to happen," Limber confessed. "I'm running out of time, I can't hold this form for much longer."
"Oh, yes, you can," Imposter corrected, giving it a Hyper Potion. Serena's Vaporeon attacked again, without much success.
"Now, Limber, Ice Beam!"
Finally, the opponent fainted.
Serena called Vaporeon back. "Heh, you've gotten a lot better," she admitted. "I'm honestly really impressed. But Pokémon or no, I still have one partner you've never defeated.
"Gooo, Chesnaught!"
Once again, Imposter was captivated by the sparkling aura of her starter. The Grass-Type roared.
"You!"
Imposter could tell he was talking directly to it. Limber faced its trainer.
"Heh. So we're fighting the Ditto again? Serena, you're taking these League failures way too hard, if we're crawling back to this weakling," Chesnaught smugly insisted. "At least you finally showed yourself, Ditto."
Imposter had to recall Geosenge, thankful Chesnaught was away in his Ball at that time. "I didn't have a choice," it argued.
Chesnaught stood wide and tall, showing itself off. "I was still right about you. They didn't believe me, but I was right. You really are a joke."
Imposter's eyebrows lowered. "Hey, no one's laughing here 'xcept me!" Froakie called from the sidelines. "'Pasta, show this fool who's the better buffoon, will ya?"
"Stay out of this, Froakie," Chesnaught and Imposter agreed, the former snapping the demand.
Serena raised an eyebrow. "Is something the matter? Chesnaught, is big, bad Imposter saying mean things to you?" She winked at her opponent, who understood she knew it would never.
Chesnaught growled. "Well, if there's no problem, we better get on with it then," she decided. "You know what to do!"
The larger Pokémon did not hesitate. Imposter did not envy its friend, who took the supereffective Seed Bomb.
"Imposter - I can't-" Limber's legs shook. "Help me."
"Yeah, Ditto, help it," Chesnaught remarked. "I'll take you on myself anytime, anyplace! It'll be just like the Poké Ball factory."
"Imposter? You're not seriously thinking-?" Limber stuttered. "Are you?"
It hesitated, its voice shaky. "I-If you really needed me to, of course I'd want to step in - but Serena wouldn't knock me out if she knew it was me. That's not fair."
"Who cares about fairness when a Pokémon is a trainer? I'm doing the battling, I decide if I want to listen to her," Chesnaught corrected, pounding a fist into its other hand and Grass-Type spitting on the ground.
"Glacier Badge?" Imposter gulped.
"Void. I'm the one who earned her that badge!"
"That... isn't really how that works..."
"Of course that's-"
Limber pulled itself to its feet. "Imposter, I'm going to do it."
"...And who are you to decide what a Pokémon under a trainer's care should do-?"
"Here I go..."
Limber used Ice Beam!
A critical hit!
It's super effective!
Chesnaught made a pained noise, holding the side where he was hit. It was clear he was finished.
"Whuh - I-I don't know what to say..."
No one could break that silence. Chesnaught's pain, Serena's loss, and Limber's victory silenced everyone until Chesnaught found some more of his voice.
"This shouldn't be happening... all of our training... and you..!"
His eyes glowed in anger. "You don't know what you've just done. We're not supposed to lose. And not to the likes of you! Serena can't take another loss after the cruddy luck we've been having in the League. We were supposed to stay undefeated with you, at least. This was supposed to save her morale. And you - you-!"
He stopped speaking, and to everyone's surprise, got to his feet.
"I can't stand you!"
Despite the battle wounds, his fist began to glow and he started charging right for Imposter. The shocked expression on Serena's face was evident for miles as she fumbled for his Ball.
The Ditto was frozen in place for a second, before Froakie's cry snapped it out of it.
"'Pasta!"
It met Chesnaught's eyes, narrowed and pained. Something in Imposter broke when it saw that look. With his warning, all of Froakie's words about standing up for itself rushed back to it.
Chesnaught's teeth were bared as he pulled back his fist.
Imposter was so clearly in danger that even it was aware of the impending attack. Serena's panicked demands to stop were drowned out in the heat of the moment.
There was no running from the large Fighting-Type, but that was not one of the Ditto's worries. Recalling all the hateful words Chesnaught said to it, Imposter drew back its own fist and drove it into his furry face.
Chesnaught fainted!
Froakie and Limber gasped, for different reasons. Imposter's eyes were narrowed for the attack, but it widened them now. It released its fist in shock.
Chesnaught had been sent flying back, now limp on the ground. Before anything else could happen, he glowed red; Serena was finally calling him back.
"Wh-What..." she stuttered, "...was that?"
Imposter had exactly the same question.
Its legs wobbled, and it could not stop staring at the ground. The reality of its action slowly sank in. It had hit a Pokémon - not using a move, not while battling him itself - it had not thought about what it was doing, just acted. And now it was regretting it.
Serena asked again, more stern this time. "Imposter, what just happened?"
Oh, no - she was surely mad at it again now. It looked at her in fear. It had to escape! Was there a Flying-Type nearby?
"Hey, no no, it's okay, calm down. Imposter?"
It met her eyes.
"Ssshhh. Just breathe, and show me what's the matter."
It took a deep, calming breath as she ordered, then another. It looked down, then to the side, muttering apologies.
"Did-Did my Chesnaught say something to you? He's usually so sweet... but it always kind of looked like you two didn't get along. Any reason why?"
Her voice was gentle, and Imposter was finally convinced she was not mad. It sighed, and gestured to itself, picking up a slightly purple boot to emphasize its point.
"Y-You're a Ditto," she interpreted. "And he doesn't like that?"
Serena was proving herself far superior to Shauna in reading its movements, which made everything easier. It nodded in affirmation.
"Hm... well, you have to admit it isn't exactly commonplace for a Pokémon to do what you're doing. I can kinda see how someone would be uncomfortable with that, sure, but going so far as attacking you for it - that's not like my Chesnaught at all. Then again, he never took losing well... And it doesn't help that we've been taken down by the Elite Four so many times; but that doesn't make what he tried to do right. I'll definitely have a long talk with him later. We can't have something like this holding us back at this point."
Imposter nodded slowly. "So I forgive you. I mean, you're a Pokémon, so you've probably been in a lot of battles yourself, huh? It was probably just an instinctual thing, what you did, to defend yourself. I'm just sorry I couldn't stop him before something really serious happened. No hard feelings about any of this. Okay? Okay."
Then her eyes and mouth closed, and she chuckled. "So on another note, I just lost to a Ditto, then," she admitted. "You really are something else."
She extended a sportsmanlike hand, and Imposter took it. "Ditto," it agreed, feeling the toughness of her grip and the leather dressing it.
"Thank you for the battle! I lost, but I think learned a lot about you. I'm still sort of in shock-" she held her head. "It is funny to think that you were a Pokémon this whole time, and before Geosenge, no one knew..."
"Chesnaught knew," Froakie interrupted, but he was ignored. Serena continued.
"But you and I do have a lot in common. I'm glad I got to meet someone as - interesting as you."
She discreetly made a fist. "Okay! Now we've each won at least one battle against each other. Now we can truly be rivals! Next time I see you, it'll be in the Champion's room. If you want to take the title, I'm gonna make sure you're battling me for it - and make it just like you did for the Mega Ring, eh?"
She looked around. "Anyway, I should be leaving to heal now. Good luck with your League challenge... but not too much!"
It smiled and she ran back.
"Hey, Imposter."
Limber's voice grabbed its trainer's attention. The still-Transformed Ditto smiled, satisfied. "I did it. We won."
Imposter bent down and wrapped its arms around it, water leaking from its eyes. "Yes, you did."
They stayed there for a second, interrupted by Froakie. "Hey, yes, look, this is all very touching, but can we talk about something?"
Limber sighed in relief. "Oh, sure. I really need to let go of this Transformation anyway."
It did so and evened out its breathing. Froakie went on.
"Imposter! Dude, I'm so proud of you!" He leapt up and threw his arms around its neck in a tiny hug. "You just socked Chesnaught in the face, like a total baddie! Showed 'im what's what! He ain't gonna mess with us anymore, now, that's for certain!"
Imposter froze at the sudden praise. "Uh - I mean, I didn't-"
"Shush." Froakie jammed a finger against its lips. "I say you did the right thing. And hey, you won the battle. What more could you ask for?"
"Well, you have a point there."
"Yeah, I do." He hugged Imposter again, then hopped down. "That was awesome! And now that we've beaten Serena, we can take on anyone. What's the Champ's name again?"
"I think it was Diantha?"
"Well, Diantha, look out, 'cause you're about to get replaced by the best Ditto in the world, up top."
He was looking for a high-five, but Imposter did not agree and could not provide. Limber cleared its throat.
"Well, best Ditto from Kalos, I guess. Anyway, we're comin' for ya."
Imposter stood up. "I... wouldn't be so confident. She is the Champion, after all, the strongest trainer in the region. Stronger than Serena, as we just learned."
Froakie waved it off. "Pssh, now's no time for rational thinking. We're on a roll! Let's keep going, see who else we can punch in the face. I mean beat in a battle. Either's good."
"Uh, Froakie, we uh, we took a really big hit in that battle," Limber noted. "We won, but not by much. I'm the only member still conscious, and admittedly, not by all that much."
"That's true," said Imposter. "We need to go heal too. Then we can take on what's left of Victory Road, okay?"
Froakie smirked. "If we must."
"I knew you'd understand." Imposter returned the smirk.
And so the Pokémon did. And three short days later, the Kalos Pokémon League appeared ahead of them.
They were ready.
Imposter Fact of the Day: The battle scene of this chapter was the first battle that I actually wrote as I played it; with some tweaks for Serena's team, of course. This was months ago, actually, so if the style feels different from the current one, that's why. (Although I altered the end of the battle from something with more emphasis on Limber's dynamic in favor of character development for Imposter. I think it's better this way.)