Unbroken Disguise

Mimikyu scared Dawn.

And that didn’t make any sense! Did it?

Dressing up like Pikachu was a super cute thing to do! It was like wearing a costume for a contest, just… all the time? Except… the costume was kind of poorly put together, wasn’t it? Wearing something like that might even mean the contestant would lose points, depending on the judge… or at least she thought so. She only had what her mother had told her in the past to go off of, since her debut on the stage was yet to come.

That’s not to say Mimikyu wasn’t cute though! It wasn’t a professional looking costume, but it had its charm. Like a little kid had made it. Or a Pokemon in this case? She wasn’t sure if Mimikyu had made the costume himself, but she didn’t exactly feel confident enough to ask either. Maybe her mom would know…

But even if Mimikyu was cute, it wasn’t cute enough to not be scary. She just didn’t know why it was scary. That move it had used against Pikachu was sort of creepy, but not enough to make her this afraid of it. No, it was more… looking at it made her break out in goosebumps. The closer it was to her, the worse the feeling was, so she had been trying to avoid the little thing. Staying off to the side, preparing for the upcoming contest while Pikachu tried to teach it how to battle.

She tried telling Ash that N’s accent was hard for her to understand as an excuse for distancing herself, but he and Brock were talking to him just fine, so obviously that wasn’t going to last without her being called out. And just avoiding Mimikyu the whole time it was here would be super rude!

Beyond the rudeness of avoiding the newcomers, she was worried someone might have noticed how scared it made her. She was not a little kid anymore, she couldn’t be letting everyone know that a tiny little thing like Mimikyu sent shivers down her spine! They might think that she’s not mature enough to travel with or something like that, and then she’d be all alone… which was fine! Totally fine! She could travel on her own and become a top coordinator no problem!

Although… Ash and Brock had been pretty helpful so far… and she would really miss Brock’s cooking…

No, she was just letting herself get all worked up! Everything was going to be fine. N was just a trainer passing by, and soon enough he and Mimikyu would be on their way. There was no need to worry!

And then Ash opened his big mouth and invited them to travel along with the group. N accepted the offer.

Maybe there was one reason to worry.

A young man walked into the trainer school with a notebook in his hand.

With how young some of the students were, it didn’t take long to figure out where the teacher was. Standing in front of a blackboard, watching the students as they studied, it would be easy to approach her. However, someone else caught his eye.

He walked up to his blond neighbor, but was noticed before he could get a word out.

“Hey, Lucas! Did you come to study, too? I went ahead and memorized everything that was up on the blackboard. After all, it’s the Trainer’s job to avoid having their precious Pokemon hurt in battle, right? So, Lucas, what brings you? ”

What a coincidence to run into him here. Actually, wasn’t he meant to deliver a parcel to him? He better take care of that before he forgets about it. He took his backpack off, pulling out the item he’d been asked to pass on.

“Huh? You’ve got something for me?”

Lucas wasn’t even given time to answer before Barry was speeding through the conversation, as usual.

“So, what is this…?” Barry asked as he opened the package. “Score! It’s a Town Map!” But as he removed the map from the packaging, it almost looked like… “Huh?! Why are there two in here? I like it a lot, but I don’t need two. Here, Lucas, you take one!” The second map was shoved into his hands before he could respond, but Lucas wasn’t exactly opposed to getting a free map. He needed to save as much money as he could for supplies. He stowed it away in the pocket of his bag that he reserved for important items while Barry examined his own.

“Hmm… Well, according to the Town Map, I guess Oreburgh City is where I should be going next. There’s a Gym, so it’d be perfect for raising the Pokemon I just caught. Well, I’m on the road to becoming the greatest Trainer of all time! See you around!”

And just like that, Barry was running out the door, not having heard a single word out of Lucas’ mouth.

“That boy really is just like a Whirlwind, isn’t he?” The teacher giggled, having only been a few feet away from the whole exchange.

Lucas didn’t respond vocally. Having grown up with Barry, he had long grown used to other people talking enough to carry a conversation all on their own. After enough years of it, he had decided to just stop talking entirely. What was the point of it? It’s not like he needed to talk. With all the time he would be spending on the road, the need to communicate would actually be decreasing compared to his time growing up in Twinleaf.

Instead, he handed the teacher the notebook he had found, pointing to the foreign language written on it.

“Oh? Well, this is certainly interesting. Were you hoping to get this translated?”

Lucas nodded in affirmation, and the teacher started flipping through the pages, her brow furrowing as she attempted to make sense of the unfamiliar script.

“Hmm… unfortunately I can’t really help you there. Galarian isn’t one of the subjects I teach here. If you’re set on finding out what it means, your best bet is probably the Pokemon Center!”

Lucas must have let his confusion show, because the teacher giggled again before explaining.

“Nurse Joys and the Pokemon Centers they run can be found everywhere. My understanding is that they’re typically assigned one location, and they might have to cover for other family members in the region if something happens, but in rare circumstances they might have to transfer to a whole new region really suddenly. That, along with the fact that trainers and Pokemon could be visiting from anywhere in the world, means that most of them know at least a handful of other languages. I can’t guarantee that the local Nurse Joy knows Galarian, but it’s worth a shot!”

He had never really considered that before, but it did make sense. He took his notebook back, nodding to the teacher in appreciation, before walking back out the door.

Rounding the doorway, he upped his pace, putting his running shoes to work. Hopefully he could make it out of here before the teacher noticed that he had snagged an X Attack out of the corner while she was trying to read the notebook.

The exorbitant costs of being a trainer and Lucas’ kleptomania really were a bad combination for staying in people’s good graces.

When lunch was taken care of, and Mimikyu’s disguise was repaired, it was back to work for the little ghost.

But things weren’t working out.

He’d tried, and tried, and tried to get something working. But Shadow Sneak was all he could manage. The practice with his new move had been nice, and he felt a lot more comfortable using it now, but a single priority move wasn’t going to win many battles. Priority moves traded power for speed, so even if he wasn’t losing strength to conversion, it wasn’t exactly a heavy hitting move. Add the fact that Normal type Pokemon would be completely immune to it and his prospects as a battle Pokemon weren’t looking too hot.

However, his growing frustration had been tempered by just how tired he was. With each successful Shadow Sneak, it felt like his disguise was getting harder to carry. Heavier maybe? He knew that couldn’t actually be the case, but it sure seemed that way. Eventually it had gotten so bad that he’d had to call for a break, too exhausted to go on.

“Is it meant ta be this intensive? I haven’ even actually battled an’ I feel ready ta keel over.” Mimikyu asked his trainer. Or, no, N was his trainer now, wasn’t he? Pikachu would have to settle for… mentor? That worked well enough.

“That’s not normal, but I guess nothing about you is.” Pikachu scratched at the side of his head as he looked over Mimikyu’s form. “You’ve used Shadow Sneak enough that your Source might be pretty depleted, but it shouldn’t be this bad.” Pikachu didn’t have a great frame of reference for what might be considered normal for a Mimikyu, but this just didn’t seem right. “Maybe you should take a trip to the Pokemon Center, have them check you out.”

“Ugh. Yer probably right… Thanks for yer help, Pikachu. It wasn’ much, but progress is progress.”

“Exactly! Don’t worry about it too much, I’m sure you’ll be making large strides in no time. If you figured out how to use Shadow Sneak, then we know you’re capable of using moves at least. It’s just a matter of figuring them out, and Ash and I are basically experts in that field!” Pikachu slapped a paw down on Mimikyu’s… shoulder? Head? He wasn’t quite sure, but either way the amount of give beneath the cloth surprised him. He quickly drew his paw back, suppressing the urge to let his hair raise. It had been a while since he’d dealt with a Ghost type, but even then this reaction seemed extreme…

But Mimikyu, none the wiser to Pikachu’s thoughts, shuffled over to N and crawled up on his shoulder.

“...but I don’t really have a lot of experience with Ghost types.” Ash said while rubbing the back of his head. “Never caught one, and you don’t see them very often out in the wild. I’ve fought a few really strong trainers that specialized in them, but that wasn’t really enough for me to learn too much about them.”

“Unfortunately, I’m in the same boat. Lavender town always gave me the creeps and Agatha of the Kanto Elite Four is…” Brock didn’t finish the thought, but his expression said enough. If N ever travelled to Kanto, he would remember to avoid her. “We did travel with a Haunter for a little while, but I don’t think it’s fair to give you advice on an entire type based on a single example.”

“I understand. Now that I’m thinking about it, Unova actually has more variety in Ghost types than most League Regions, doesn’t it? Perhaps I should have studied them more in the past, but I suppose we’ll have to learn about them together while we’re here.” N had managed to get the pair of them to slow down a bit while they spoke so he could understand them better, but he was still missing words here and there. Perhaps he and Mimikyu should do some studying with a Unovan to Sinnohian textbook…

But think of the ghost, and he shall appear. He broke out into a cold sweat as Mimikyu crawled up onto his shoulder.

“Sup.” The little fairy said into his ear, “I think it might be a good idea to visit the Pokemon Center. I could use a check up, we need ta figure out lodgin’, and at some point I need ta find a new communication method, since I uh… lost the last one…”

N sighed at the reminder. “Right. Have you guys gotten a room for the night?” he asked the boys in front of him.

“Not yet, no. We were planning to head that way once Dawn had finished her training for the day.” Brock answered. The group’s eyes found the bluenette and her Piplup at a safe distance, Bubblebeam flying through the air.

“Mimikyu and I will secure a room for the four of us then. No need to interrupt her preparation for the contest.” While he very much would like to interrupt it, perhaps even get the contest cancelled in its entirety, this would serve as a good time to talk to Mimikyu alone. “With how many trainers are in just this park, I worry about the availability the Pokemon Center will have. If you’re alright with it, that is?”

“Really? Thanks N!” Ash said with a smile. “In that case, Pikachu and I should do some training of our own. Come on, buddy!”

“Yeah, thanks.” Brock answered, although his tone seemed… off.

“Let’s go then, Mimikyu. Hopefully without a wild chase through the city this time.”

With Mimikyu now registered to a Pokeball, N wasn’t quite as worried about a potential horde of children, but he still had his eyes peeled as he walked through the streets of Jubilife.

“So your plan is to just tag along with that group until they stumble into the Sinnoh Legends?” N asked, quiet enough that only Mimikyu would hear over the sounds of the city.

“Yep.”

“...are they really the right group? They’re an… interesting bunch.” N said diplomatically.

“Interestin’ how?” Mimikyu questioned. “Ya don’ gotta pretend ta like ‘em.”

“I don’t see how that’s conducive to us being able to get along as travel companions.”

“Well, then don’ tell ‘em the truth or whatever. I don’ really care. Way I see it, only one of ya who isn’ gonna change a bit while travellin’ together is Brock. Used ta be a Rock type Gym Leader. Man’s solid and reliable, like the stone he likes ta train. Though I don’ know how you’ll take ta his little quirks…”

That was an awfully insightful take on someone that they had only just met today.

“Just how familiar with him are you? You said that Ash was your target, didn’t you? I can understand having done research on him, but the ex Gym Leader?”

“Familiar ‘nough. Brock has travelled with Ash for basically his whole journey. Only makes sense ta look into his travellin’ companions, I would think. And Dawn is easy ‘nough to read, even without that. She’s a fresh trainer, and those types tend ta think alike. The good ones shine through after bein’ polished out in the real world.”

“The good ones?” N inquired, skepticism thick in his words. He supposed that the explanation for the little fairy’s insight on their new companions was reasonable enough, but something about it was nagging at him.

“I know ya might not think so, but there are good trainers, N. Like Ash.”

“I suppose I’ll have to take your word for it.”

“I’ll get ya ta see past that black and white thinkin’ of yers one day, mark my words.”

It was then that the Pokemon Center came into view. The thing was huge, the biggest Pokemon Center that N had seen for sure. The building may not be as big as the one housing the Pokemon Center in Castelia City, but where that building was other businesses housed on top of a fairly standard sized Pokemon Center, this one looked to serve a single purpose.

“Why would they need a Pokemon Center this big? Do these contests really draw that big of a crowd?” N asked, looking at the gleaming tower.

“How should I know?”

“It was mostly rhetorical.”

“You keep tellin’ yerself that, whatever helps ya sleep at night.” Mimikyu teased as they entered through the front doors.

It was as they walked up to the counter that N noticed something strange. Talking to Nurse Joy, a young man was holding…

“Mimikyu… isn’t that your notebook?” He pointed at the object.

“My notebook? No way, it can’t…” but Mimikyu didn’t finish his thought.

“It can’t what?” N turned to face his friend, but the little ghost seemed confused.

“It definitely is, I can see the Unovan written in it from here.” N continued, but Mimikyu seemed transfixed, not saying a word.

“Fine. Be that way.” he rolled his eyes.

“Excuse me,” N tapped the young man on the shoulder, “I believe that notebook belongs to my friend here, would you mind returning it?”

What the hell?

Mimikyu couldn’t take his eyes off of the trainer in front of them.

“Oh! That’s perfect!” Nurse Joy responded instead of the trainer. “I love when things can work out so well!”

The young man turned towards them, notebook still in hand.

That’s… but that doesn’t make any sense! Ash is here, I just had his Pikachu teaching me how to use moves!

But the reality of the situation was staring at him. His face framed by a red cap with a Pokeball logo on the side, along with a white scarf wrapped around his neck.

That outfit… that’s the Platinum outfit, isn’t it? What was… I don’t remember the name…

Mimikyu manifested his shadowy hands as quickly as he could, exhaustion be damned. One snagged the notebook from the trainer and flipped to a fresh page, while the other reached for his pen.

Ugh, how do you write the kanji for this?! I really should have practiced with a pen and paper instead of just typing everything. I think I remember nani, but for namae the hiragana will have to do…

Hastily scribbled out, Mimikyu hoped that it was legible as he turned the page back to the trainer. “なまえは何ですか？"

The fact that the trainer took the pen from him, writing out his response, was a pretty clear indicator, even before Mimikyu read it.

“ルカス”

Lucas.

Shit.

Assumably mute kid named Lucas, who looks like this, and sees no problem with a one word answer. I mean, I guess it’s technically a valid response, but still.

Shit.

Is this gonna clash with Ash and his journey? The weirdness of the League and Fairy stuff was a pretty big deviation already, but now I have to deal with the Platinum protagonist on top of it?

Maybe if I just thank him and send the kid on his way I can forget about this and act like it never happened.

Mimikyu took the pen back, writing out his thanks. “かえしてくれてありがとう。”

Did I use the right grammar there? Ugh, I really need to get a textbook or something and practice. Not knowing the kanji is going to make me look stupid.

But Lucas, apparently satisfied, just nodded before walking away and leaving the Pokemon Center entirely.

It’s just one thing after another. I need a nap…

“Is there anything else I can help you with? Your Pokemon looks pretty worn out.” N was broken out of his confusion as Nurse Joy spoke up.

Figure out whatever that was later, focus on being a functional human being right now.

“I’m looking to get a room for four, please.” It felt odd to have her skip the usual script, but he couldn’t blame her since they had just watched that unusual interaction together.

“Of course!” She pulled out a form and a pen, setting them in front of N. “I’ll just need you to sign here, here, and here. Here is your room key,” she pulled it off a hook beneath the counter and handed it to him. N quickly filled out the form, returning it to her. “Thank you very much! Is there anything else I can help you with?”

N looked at Mimikyu. “Well? Are you going to get checked out?”

Mimikyu took a moment to think, before jumping off of his shoulder and onto the counter, taking his notebook with him.

“Alright! I’ll have your Pokemon healed up good as new!”

Nurse Joy took Mimikyu away, but N knew his friend was in good hands. He found an empty seat in the waiting area, mulling over the strangeness he had just witnessed.

Someone had found Mimikyu’s notebook and been kind enough to take it to the local Pokemon Center, presumably for their lost and found system. However, Mimikyu had seemed more concerned with who had done it, rather than what had been done. Were they someone important? His spoken League was far better than his written, but he was fairly certain he’d seen a name in there. “ルカス” would be Lukasu if he read it directly… but it was probably meant to be Lucas. That would follow the strange trend in recent years of League children being given non-league names.

What was it with his luck the last few days?

He didn’t know how, but in some way, this Lucas kid was going to turn into a future headache.

He was certain of it.