If you'd told me after the first Gym battle or so that I'd have to write a chapter with four consecutive battles and not much else in it, I would have hung my head in reluctance. But I think this came out pretty okay, for my standards. The battles themselves were written to be shorter than the other ones so far, but how else was I supposed to fit all four?
They were not ready.
As the colossal grand palace that was the Kalos Pokémon League headquarters drew nearer, and the light fog there lifted, the travelling Pokémon began to get their first look at the splendor and the majesty of the Kalos elites. Even Imposter, the Pokémon responsible for the demise of Team Flare, found itself cowering at the prospect of facing the trainers residing here.
That was all it had to do. It had to face five trainers, with short rests in-between - long enough to heal the team and even strategize a bit. It had battled many more than five trainers in a row during its travels, so this should not be a problem; as much as it wanted to believe that, it knew it was kidding itself. There was no arguing it: this was going to be Imposter's most difficult series of battles yet.
When it turned its head, it had to blink a few times to confirm it was not hallucinating. There really was a Pokémon Center here! Exhausted as its legs were, it would run the final stretch to this haven of rest and ease.
It could have stayed in the Center forever, munching Sitrus Berries and downing Super Potions, but it knew in the back of its mind that it had a promise to keep. If not to itself, or to any of its other human friends, then to its trainer, Grace, who wanted to see her Ditto succeed. It would have to at least try, for her.
So it shakily maneuvered to the dressing room in the back, brought out its new clothes - somewhat dirty from its wearing them throughout the first half of Victory Road, before Froakie suggested preserving them in its bag for a more important time - and Transformed. It caught a look at itself in the mirror; it knew what those were, courtesy of Grace, but had not seen one in a long while. It studied itself, slightly mesmerized by the person it saw. It had done so much in this body, and now it was going to take it through the Pokemon League.
It took a deep breath. In fact, it looked fantastic; a fancy black leather jacket over its white shirt, topping the deep blue denim and gold lining of its jeans, made it look almost like someone ready to become a Champion.
It turned to Froakie, about to ask a question, when he intercepted.
"Oh, you look great. Don't worry about it; these guys have probably seen plenny of trainers with less style than you. Heck, they've already seen Pigtails, how much lower can you get?"
Imposter gave him a disconcerted look, causing him to take it back. "Ah, I was just kidding. She just ain't my style, is all. Too pink and girly. Serena on the other hand, she's-"
"I'm going to stop you right there," Imposter insisted. "Come on. We've got a few battles to have."
Froakie was quiet for a moment, then nodded.
It was windy when they stepped out of the Pokémon Center. Imposter briefly remembered that winds signified change in some cultures, and while this was just one spontaneous thought drowned out by a sea of many more relevant ones, it was enough to carry it to the entrance of the League, and, gulping from nervousness, through the gate.
High ceilings, long corridors, a couple of loitering Veterans, and a sacrosanct air made up the inside of the League. Imposter was unsure whether it was actually cold in the building or if its hair was just standing on end due to what was about to happen. It meandered through the hallway on the left until it reached another large door.
The gate automatically opened when Imposter stepped up to it, allowing it to walk through much easier. One foot after another. Even Froakie on its shoulder was breathing heavily.
This was the biggest chamber of all; and standing nearby was a person the Ditto thought it recognized for a second.
She turned around to face it, and the face clicked. Miss Lady, whom it toted around Lumiose that day. It had specifically tried to remember her, and it paid off.
The look she gave showed Imposter she remembered it, too. "So, you're the illustrious Imposter, are you?" she began. "Welcome at last to the Pokémon League."
Imposter's stomach dropped. Hearing someone say those words out loud had a much greater effect than all the times it had thought them in its mind, in an attempt at preparation. It blinked.
"I am Malva, the Fire-Type specialist, you must know. But I'm only one of four - the Elite Four - five counting our Champion. Not that that matters; you're never getting past the four of us. You'd need something truly impressive: you'd need your real strength, not just something you took from someone else. But you don't care much about that, do you? The 'hero' who destroyed big, bad Team Flare."
With that, she strutted away to another room.
"W-What?" Imposter was whispering. "What's... her deal?"
Froakie shrugged, silent.
It followed her with its eyes. When that failed to satisfy its curiosity, it followed her with its feet.
Stepping into the Blazing Chamber and onto the circular pad in its center, Imposter realized in terror that this was another elevator. Its stomach was weak enough without the thought of the impending battles it would face.
Yet the contents of its stomach stayed there for long enough that when it emerged into the room where Malva was waiting, they had settled down. Now it just had to step forward.
Pillars of fire erupted to either side of it, a ring of flames encircling the room. Imposter would have been impressed if not for the growing pit in its gut.
It cautiously moved ahead. Only one way out of here.
Malva laughed. "So you've chosen me first, have you? Or perhaps you only followed me because you're so clueless about what is happening that at the first sign of someone else to lead you, you give up whatever individuality your brain can muster to let them carry you to success? Well, that isn't going to happen here, bucko. If you want to be my opponent today, so be it. I was awaiting my revenge anyway."
You are challenged by Elite Four Malva!
Imposter's Ditto and Malva's Pyroar exchanged Hyper Voices and Noble Roars until each side lost a battler, Imposter first.
Torkoal was next. Hyper Voice. Stone Edge. Critical hit. Next Ditto in. Imposter smirked. Torkoal just gave it some useful moves.
"Ditto, Earthquake!"
Torkoal did not stand a chance.
In next for Malva was the one Pokémon of hers Imposter had already seen: the obnoxious Flying-Type herself, Talonflame.
Ditto took the following Brave Bird attack with stupendous ease. Its heart racing with the fortune of Malva using a Torkoal, Imposter ordered a Stone Edge.
Talonflame screeched in pain, tumbling to the woman's feet. Next was Chandelure, already her last. Ditto was still in excellent health, and suddenly it seemed as though Malva was sweating.
"F-Fine, I only have one more. But you know, I'm not going to let you win. Shadow Ball!"
The attack took both Ditto by surprise, knocking out Ditto even in its defensive form. Imposter shook its head.
"A Ghost-Type, huh," it observed. "I happen to know that they can't really do much to Normal-Types..."
It reached back. "And I have a special Normal-Type right here."
It expected her to go for the stupid move, attacking Limber with another Ghost-Type attack. Instead she ordered a Confuse Ray.
When Limber accidentally hurt itself while trying to Transform, Imposter was the one smacking itself in the face.
"Alright, uh, try it again." It nearly whined.
But it was too late - Chandelure was already launching the Flamethrower that would take out its best friend.
Imposter sighed. This was embarrassing. Only one left.
"D-Ditto, Shadow Ball!"
"Chandelure, you know what to do."
The two charged their attacks and released the shadowy blobs simultaneously. Both attacked, but only the faster one would win the battle.
A furious Malva just sat there in frustration as Imposter walked away victoriously.
The Ironworks Chamber was right across the room from Malva's, so naturally, that was where Imposter wandered next.
Where she had columns of fire, the keeper of this room had giant swords. Each the size of two-story buildings, at least. Not wasting its time admiring them, Imposter had to step forwards.
The man walking up to it had a voice slightly reminiscent of Wulfric's; clad in a full suit of armor, he personally greeted his challenger.
"Well met, Pokémon," he declared. "Verily I am known throughout the land as Wikstrom of the Elite Four, the famed blade of hardened steel! And you are the one they call Imposter. A creature so iron-willed that you rejected such a force as fate, journeyed through a world meant not for your kind, and made it to my quarters. Let us both give our word that the contest between us gentlemen shall be fair and honorable. Ready?"
Imposter nodded, and his face flattened. He pounded his steel-plated chest.
"En garde!"
You are challenged by Elite Four Wikstrom!
Ditto and Klefki were sent out first, both Tormented on the first turn. They each juggled the rest of their moves until Ditto, then Klefki, fell.
Probopass was next. This Ditto's Flash cannon did much less damage than Imposter expected, but then, so did the opponent's Earth Power. One more, however, and Ditto was down.
Next Ditto in. Earth Power. Probopass down. Aegislash in. Imposter was confident Ditto would go first and knock him out with Earth Power, but apparently not. Its plan was foiled when Aegislash outsped and took out Ditto with Sacred Sword.
Imposter bit its tongue. Fine. But it would not take a chance with Limber this time - not when there was a Fighting-Type move in play.
This was alarming. Ghost-Types almost always had moves that were supereffective on themselves, so Imposter had to tread carefully.
The battlers danced around in Stance Changes until Imposter saw the opening - there!
Ditto used Shadow Claw!
It's super Effective!
The opposing Aegislash fainted!
Both Ditto breathed a sigh of relief. That was a particularly stressful moment. Next in line was the foe's final Pokemon: Scizor.
Having learned to play it safe in times of uncertainty, Imposter ordered a King's Shield - Ditto did not take damage from the following Night Slash, but the fact that Scizor knew it worried both Ditto greatly.
But they could not keep protecting forever: when the Night Slash did hit, the Attack drop from King's Shield made it a lot less troublesome than Imposter thought.
So it rotated between healing items and King's Shields until Ditto ran out of Power Points for the move, at which point Scizor was doing so little damage that they were free to attack him without relenting.
It looked like it was going well... until Scizor landed a critical hit.
All of the Attack drops were negated in that second. Ditto was done for.
Now that the Fighting-Type move was eliminated, however, Imposter felt much safer about sending Limber in. It Transformed first, to both Ditto's relief. Scizor's attacks did almost nothing to it.
Imposter and its friend were breathing in sync. "Okay, X-Scissor, Limber!"
Scizor was significantly weakened, and his Night Slash was nothing the Ditto had to worry about.
The battlers traded powerless moves until finally, at long last, Scizor gave it up.
Wikstrom called him back. He applauded, the metal encasing his hands causing the loud noise to echo around the chamber.
"What a marvelous battle!" he praised. "I consider myself honored to have met your challenge. Even I, sturdy as the mettle in my heart, am undone by your might. Good sir, you have been searching for equality in your journey with the people in this world; and not only have you found it with the whole of humanity, you have found it with us, the best in Kalos. With the help of thine allies, despite their shortcomings, you have triumphed. I aspire to be like you in that regard. Go; show the other two what you have shown me, and venture forth to the Champion's room!"
And so, beaming more happily than it had in a long time, Imposter did.
There were two rooms left; one next door, and one across from that one. It took the former into the Dragonmark Chamber.
Billowing smoke drifted into the ceiling from the decorations at Imposter's sides. Slightly more confident now by Wikstrom's speech, Imposter stepped up.
The human greeting it this time appeared to be older than the last two, and much more cordial.
"Oh, welcome, do come in," she insisted. "My word, you must have gotten quite strong in order to come here. What wonderful news, indeed! I was waiting to finally meet you in this place."
Imposter smiled gently, pleasantly surprised at her kindness and lack of intensity. It was a good change of pace for today.
But its face fell when she revealed the real reason she was so welcoming.
"Facing opponents like you and your team will make my Pokémon grow like weeds!"
You are challenged by Elite Four Drasna!
Imposter had never seen a Dragalge prior to the one she sent out - it would have remembered that day for sure. It reviewed the available moves. Dragon Pulse; it knew that was a good one. What better way to start the battle?
Fortunately, Ditto went first; unfortunately, it was not enough to take Dragalge down. They traded the move back and forth until, for the first time today, the opponent fainted first.
Drasna sent in Altaria. Dragon Pulse. Ditto fainted. Imposter sent another. Fainted to a Dragon Pulse. Another. It used Sing. Altaria fell asleep, and right when Imposter thought it had a chance to gain an advantage, Drasna did something unexpected.
She pulled out a Poké Ball and called Altaria back. Her Noivern took the coming attack decently, then knocked Ditto out of the air.
Imposter was officially losing. All it could do was send in another and hope it went first.
It did not. But that did not cost Imposter the fight.
Instead of shooting another Dragon Pulse, Noivern went for a Super Fang. Ditto was put in a tough position, but was able to knock out the opponent without fainting.
Altaria came back out next; she had woken up due to the ability Natural Cure, and was thus still a threat.
Until Ditto Dragon Pulsed her to the ground. The battle seemed to be turning around now. One left; a Druddigon.
Heart racing even more now, Imposter saw it had no choice. Dragon Pulse had been prevalent in this battle so far, and if this one did not defeat the foe, it was almost surely done for.
It could not watch. It ordered the move between trembling hands.
When its fingers parted, it slowly grinned.
A critical hit!
It's super effective!
The opposing Druddigon fainted!
Imposter hung its head. It always tended to have close battles, but this one involved all Dragon-Types. They never failed to send other Pokémon on edge, no matter who they were.
But it was over now. Drasna was congratulating it.
"Oh my, what a quick battle. You're too much! I love all that you're putting into this thing of yours, being a trainer despite being a Pokémon. It is so charming indeed. Now, toodle-oo! You have one more of us left before the Champion, yes?"
That was right! It ran back to the elevator in a jittery mess, falling flat on its face. But it did not care. It was almost there.
Just one more.
Directly across the hall was the Flood Chamber, the site of Imposter's last hurdle before meeting the strongest trainer in the region. It breathed deeply; despite the humidity, this room smelled nice.
Twin waterfalls, hanging from chains on the ceiling, appeared next to the Ditto. The last member of the Elite Four was standing not far away.
Imposter stepped forward one last time.
The man was not facing it when it came, instead turned towards the wall, deep in thought. He shook his head, then twisted to meet his challenger.
"Hey, you! Young man - er, Ditto. Tell me something; I need a Pokémon's opinion on this. Do you consider battles to be a form of art?"
Art? That sounded neat. And battles were neat, so of course Imposter's answer was yes. It nodded with a smile.
The man paused, then continued. "I see.
"I will tell you, in addition to being an Elite Four member, I - Siebold - am a chef on the side. And like cooking, Pokémon battles have no end product that does not disappear with its completion. Whether we win or lose, we can never cherish a battle as much as we did whilst we were engaged in it. That is what makes it art; to live for experiences that are only temporary is a beautiful sacrifice. I imagine it is the same for you, no? When you become a human, or a different Pokémon, you can't stay that way forever. For that, I praise you. You understand what it means to live moment to moment. Think of that the next time you shapeshift.
"Anyway, thank you for that insight. Without further ado, let us clash in battle!"
You are challenged by Elite Four Siebold!
From the start, things looked bleak for Imposter - quickly losing a Ditto to Siebold's Clawitzer, and only defeating him successfully with the next one's health in the red. The opponent sent in Gyarados next: a terrifying Pokémon Imposter had not seen since Lysandre's red Mega-Evolved one. While flashing back to that moment, it failed to notice the Pokémon taking out its second Ditto.
It breathed. Fine. It sent a third. It could do this.
Gyarados performed a Dragon Dance. Imposter was shaken to the core just watching it. "Ditto... Ice Fang."
Ditto did, and Imposter's eyebrows shot up when it realized what had happened.
The opposing Gyarados was frozen solid!
Frozen solid... Gyarados could not attack now. It was safe.
Imposter fell to its knees, crying in ecstasy. This was just the break it needed to win.
"Ditto! Dragon Dance, and keep going until he thaws out! Just keep going!"
Five.
That was the number of times Ditto was able to consecutively use Dragon Dance.
Imposter forced itself to stand again, knees wobbly, to command its next attack. Poor Gyarados was still stuck in the air, completely plated in ice. Imposter certainly did not pity him.
"Okay," it breathed, its voice wavering. It would admit that even it was afraid of its own friend now. "Dit-Ditto, us-s-s-s-se - Waterf-fall!"
The cataclysmic beast that its friend had turned into did as commanded. Gyarados fell to the ground with an ear-shattering thud, helpless.
It's a critical hit!
Siebold, naturally, was turning red in a mix of shock, disbelief, and anger. "What a total nightmare! I am an Elite Four member! Nobody is supposed to be this lucky!"
Oh, but Imposter was, it mentally returned as it watched Siebold send his Barbaracle out to certain doom.
"Uhh, Barbaracle, so... I'm really sorry for this," Imposter apologised, genuine guilt in its face.
Barbaracle looked up in wonder. "...For what?"
"Well..."
Ditto used Earthquake!
It's super effective!
The opposing Barbaracle fainted!
Imposter exhaled. It was almost over, almost time to call Ditto back, and then everyone would be safe.
Starmie was the next victim. Miraculously, it hung on by just a smidgen of health after the Waterfall; however, its Psychic was nowhere near powerful enough to quell the mighty Ditto.
Another Waterfall, and it too met its demise.
Siebold called his Pokémon back, and just as quickly, Imposter let Ditto return. "That..." its opponent began, "...That feeling, I will be remembering for some time..."
Imposter looked down to where the man was grovelling on his knees. "You have done something indescribable in that battle, and proved that there is something permanent about battles that play out so serendipitously. I doubt I will ever forget what happened today, and I know my Pokémon never will."
Imposter could not decide whether or not he was crying. "The way you battle... Our Champion is in trouble, I fear."
Imposter stepped out of the Flood chamber in a daze. How was it supposed to react to such an inexplicable break? It shook its head; what mattered was that it won. It knew Siebold's Pokemon were going to be okay.
Froakie was beaming, too, of course. "Man, you're on fire today! What were ya even worried about? Those guys were a cakewalk, weren't they?"
He was laughing, so Imposter felt bad about denying his excitement. "Actually, every battle was super close except that one. Were you... paying attention?"
"Well, 'course I was," he responded. "But look at all that what just happened. You beat all of them in one go! Never even lost once! And these are the best of the best. These guys were giving Serena a hard time, and you just plowed right through."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Imposter acquiesced. "It's just that... she said it was the Champion, Diantha, that beat her so many times. You hear how much everyone is talking about her? Like she's some kind of legend."
Froakie rolled over, he was laughing so hard. "Are ya kiddin'? Of course they're gonna talk up the Champion. Why wouldn't they? They wanna scare you. No, no, you wanna talk about legends-" he pointed right at Imposter. "-You were one! Can Diantha go around sayin' she was Xerneas at some point? I don' think so. And look where we are. In the heart of the Pokémon League! You beat the Elite Four! Using Ditto! And news flash, you are a Ditto! Could anyone else have done that? I honestly didn't think you would make it past the third town or so, when we started. But here we are."
Imposter looked down, blushing slightly. "I-"
"Listen, I can understand why you're nervous. Totally totally. But there's only one way out of here, and that's by going in there and battling the Champion. So no matter how you feel about it, you've gotta do it, so I'd like you to feel good about it."
"Huh." Imposter wiped its face. "I needed that, buddy. But y'know, you're giving me a lot of credit. I'd be totally lost without you keeping me on track. You saved my hide a few times."
"Eh." Froakie smirked. "You saved mine more. But who's counting?"
"Oh, come here!"
It bent down and scooped up the small Water-Type, squeezing him hard. The two really had had some great moments together, all leading up to the battle that was about to take place.
He was squeezing back, of course. While most would complain that super-tight hugs cut off their oxygen or crushed their ribs, it was just like Froakie to instead compete for who could squeeze harder.
They released simultaneously, Froakie swinging around its neck to perch comfortably on its shoulder. "Alright," he started, "You ready to go whoop some butt?"
Imposter rolled its eyes. "I'd phrase it differently, but oh, sure. I could go for that."
The largest door in the building slid into the ground, and from the next room, a blinding light poured in.
"The Champion's in there," Froakie said. The two exchanged looks. Imposter whispered.
"Let's go."
Imposter Fact of the Day: This chapter marks the point at which Imposter here became more competent than me. I actually lost a few of these battles while playing, where I could have won if Ditto outsped or a critical hit was involved. The only other time I ever lost to a Kalos Elite Four member was when I accidentally let Siebold's Gyarados set up Dragon Dance, while experimenting with Aegislash shenanigans. In... Spanish.
And speaking of Gyarados, the whole freeze hax thing really is what happened. I knew I was pushing it after two or three D-Dances, then figured I might as well ride this out as long as I could, and he just never thawed. That Waterfall was really a critical hit, too, to top it all off. Making Siebold a (halfway) OOC dramatic crybaby about the loss came directly from my own disbelief of the situation. This is why I made Imposter lucky, people!
And speaking of Aegislash, can anyone explain this to me? In the Wikstrom battle, when Ditto turned into him it didn't actually do Stance Change things. It stayed in Attack form the whole time, even though I thought Ditto copied Pokémon's abilities too?
In any case, we're getting closer to the end now. The next chapter includes one of my favorite reveals of the story, one I've been looking forward to since the very first chapter!