Unbroken Disguise

“...and I’m telling you it doesn’t make any sense!” N argued. “There are countless other ways that they could present the information, ways that aren’t harmful to the Pokemon, and yet they go with this!”

Mimikyu sighed. “I get that, N, ‘n’ I agree that it should be changed, but yer gettin’ a bit too worked up over it.”

N and his two creepy friends had just returned to the privacy of their Pokemon Center room, with the Professor having departed just a short while ago. They’d exchanged more information like they wanted, but some of the answers that Rowan had given them were seriously rubbing N the wrong way.

“You’re not worked up enough! The Absol example is just one I happen to know, I’m sure if we went through Lucas’ Pokedex we could find plenty more. This is beyond negligent, it’s malevolent! It’s like they’re trying to get Pokemon hurt!”

“Ya should never attribute ta malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity. Dontcha know Occum’s razor? Or no, that was the other one, wasn’ it? Who said the malice thing…” Mimikyu trailed off, leaving N confused.

“Rotom has never heard of this Occum. Is it a Professor? Or maybe a Pokemon… and are you suggesting that the Professors are stupid? Rotom’s understanding is that the title of professor requires a high level of intellect.” The Electric type flitted around Mimikyu as it asked questions.

“He wouldn’t be wrong to suggest so if this is the nonsense they’re spouting…” N sardonically commented.

Two shadowy tendrils slithered out from under Mimikyu’s disguise, held up like one would with placating hands. Their unsettling nature took away from the calming effect he likely intended, but N at least understood his meaning. “I ain’ sayin’ they’re stupid, jus’... well, academic types ‘ave a tendency of havin’ some ‘holier than thou’ attitudes, ya know?” Mimikyu put on a deeper voice and masked his accent as he continued. “Look at me, I’m a professor. Don’t you know I have a degree in some made up nonsense? I look at data all day, and that makes me smart. You’re just common fools who could never understand things like I do, so I’m going to talk to you like your IQ is room temperature.”

Listening to Mimikyu speak without his strange accent was in a weird way deeply unsettling. N shared a look with Rotom, though he failed to decipher whatever emotion was supposed to be conveyed by the two large eyes on his flip phone.

After a brief moment, they turned back to Mimikyu.

“Rotom may not have interacted with Professors much, but Rotom has never heard of one acting the way that you’ve described. If anything it sounds more like what Rotom has heard of the scientists working with criminal organizations.”

Now that Rotom mentioned it, that description did remind him of a few of the scientists in Plasma… not that they were a criminal organization. Just… of questionable legality…

But who just “hears of” how those sorts of people behave? They aren’t the most social bunch, so the only people who should be talking about them are the people and Pokemon they work with…

“Really?” The inflection in Mimikyu’s voice made him seem genuinely surprised by that.

Were the professors really like that where Mimikyu came from? N had many problems with the ones he was familiar with, this poor justification for spreading harmful rumors being only the latest of them, but he’d never gotten the impression of snobbishness from them. They were only foolish in the same way that most of society was, too blinded by their supposed “love” of Pokemon to see all of the harm that humanity was doing to them.

But before they could expand on that any further, the door to their room opened, and Lucas walked in with a smug look on his face.

He had probably just won a battle of some sort, which made N frown, but the boy’s arrival was timely. “Lucas, let us borrow your Pokedex for a moment. We wanted to check some things.”

The boy raised an eyebrow, but ultimately shrugged, digging the device out of his bag and handing it over.

It took N a moment to figure out how to operate it, but he quickly started scrolling through the various entries. Most of them seemed harmless enough, though filled with what he assumed was speculation. A few of them supported his point, however.

“It is said to be the world’s weakest Pokemon. No one knows why it has managed to survive,” he read off. “It’s like they’re singling out Magikarp as trash! No, worse than trash!” He doubted that the entry for Trubbish was so cruel.

Lucas looked a bit confused by his sudden outburst, but seemed content with ignoring the conversation for the most part, having busied himself with organizing his things.

“While that entry is not flattering, Rotom can understand why it is written that way. Even in the absence of humans they are looked down upon.”

“Magikarp ain’ like the Basculin yer familiar with, N. Imagine a Pokemon like me, er, how I was, out in the wild. All they can do is splash aroun’ until they’re close ta evolvin’, ‘n’ even then they only learn Tackle. Though now that I’m thinkin’ ‘bout it how do they get ta that point…”

N bit back a groan as Mimikyu lost himself in thought. This was a fellow Pokemon! How could they not care? Was it a matter of relatability? He moved past the entry on Magikarp, trying to find something that was both an example of the cruelty of humans and something they’d have a stronger reaction to. Hadn’t this whole thing started because of the Drifloon entry? That one would be good…

He wasn’t sure if he should be surprised by how much he found.

“It says that Drifloon steals children, Misdrevous gets nourishment from fear, and Duskull loves making children cry. This is clearly some sort of bias against Ghost types!”

“I could see the Drifloon thing happenin’ on accident ‘n’ getting blown outta proportion,” Mimikyu replied. “I know that Joy told us it was nonsense, but they made a big deal outta the little one… Paige, was it? They made a big ol’ stink outta her tryin’ to get a ride from Drifloon ‘cuz she was too small. Imagine some kid gets blown away by the wind ‘n’ is never seen again.”

“But they’re making it sound as if it’s an intentional thing! Like they’re stealing away children to eat them or some other nonsense!”

“Rotom could understand wanting that entry edited, but the other two are true! There is no need to change those.”

N blinked. “What do you mean they’re true?”

“Surely you’ve heard it before. It’s not true of all Ghost types, but many enjoy spreading fear and scaring people. Rotom has not met many Duskull, but Rotom thinks they are part of this group.”

Now that he thought about it, that Nurse Joy back in Nimbasa had said something to that effect, hadn't she? He struggled to remember the details of the conversation, but she had been saying something about the quirks of different types…

“And Pokemon aren’t like you humans! Energy can come from all sorts of places, depending on the Pokemon. Rotom doesn’t need to eat food, for example, so long as Rotom regularly consumes electricity! Many Grass types simply need to be out in the sun, like any plant! And Rotom has it on good authority that Misdrevous can feed on feelings. Rotom is not sure whether fear specifically is better for them, but it would definitely be something they consume!”

“Ya don’ need ta eat?” Mimikyu asked. “Wait, do I need ta eat? I’ve been ‘avin’ berries regularly…”

Rotom inspected Mimikyu from every angle possible without lifting the disguise. “Rotom does not know! You are the first Mimikyu Rotom has met. It is possible that you could get energy from another source… but berries are fine. All Pokemon can eat berries, and it is probably a good idea regardless since they can provide nutrients that might be hard to come by in other ways. Just because Rotom can subsist off of nothing but electricity doesn’t mean Rotom wants to!”

This was the first that N was hearing of it. He’d only ever heard of Pokemon asking for berries for food… but perhaps that was because he was human? Maybe they’d come to associate humans with a source of berries, and so only asked him for berries. The other food sources would be things that are easily accessible to them in their usual habitats…

“But, wait, if Pokemon can get by on berries then why would Misdrevous need to… consume fear?” He wasn’t sure what word to use. Was it really eating? How do you eat an emotion?

“Rotom does not know. Maybe it tastes good?”

N frowned.

This was more complex than he had assumed… but it still didn’t justify these stupid Pokedex entries.

Though N had gotten what he wanted out of Hearthome City, having extracted what information he could out of Fantina and Rowan, he couldn’t leave just yet. Dawn’s Contest was going to happen later that night, and he had decided to watch her.

He wasn’t sure why Lucas was still hanging around, though. With Fantina’s Gym closed, there was no reason for someone on the circuit to be hanging around when they could be making their way to the next Gym.

But if the boy was going to hang around, N figured they might as well make use of him. His team would be very helpful when it came to getting Mimikyu used to actually using a move.

Or at least, he had thought so. Actually putting that into practice out in the increasingly familiar field to the west of the city was another thing.

“Hit me.” The newly evolved Torterra’s rumbling voice commanded. It must have happened in the battle that had Lucas looking so smug when he returned, but the boy was strangely tight lipped about it. Did that work when Lucas never talked? Maybe something more like his pen was tightly capped or…. Well, he could work on that one.

The giant had been designated as Mimikyu’s partner for his training, with Lucas and his three Normal types off in the distance doing their own training. Rotom had joined them, apparently to help Lucas understand which moves Togepi was calling with Metronome.

“Ya jus’ want me ta hit ya?” Mimikyu asked, wariness clear in his voice.

“Yes.” The Ground type replied.

“Are ya sure? Shouldn’ I be goin’ against one of the three normal types in yer team so I don’ hurt ‘em?”

N sighed. “Mimikyu, you can’t be around Togepi or Eevee because we’re worried about the Fairy typing spreading unintentionally, remember?”

“There’s still Bibarel, ain’ there?”

Torterra grunted. “She’s stupid. Now, hit me.”

That was certainly interesting reasoning, and N wasn’t sure what Mimikyu was so worried about. He might hate the abuse that went on in trainer battles, but Pokemon using their moves on each other was normal. As a Pokemon going through the Gym circuit, Torterra would be used to taking a hit. And besides…

N looked between the two Pokemon. Torterra’s huge, lumbering form. Mimikyu’s tiny, diminutive form which was probably even smaller beneath his disguise. Mimikyu could probably hide in Torterra’s new tree and be completely out of sight.

N was well aware that when it came to Pokemon, size wasn’t necessarily a good indicator of power, but he didn’t think Mimikyu could do much damage to Lucas’ starter even if he hit him as hard as possible.

“If ya say so…”

Mimikyu’s shadowy hand slithered out from beneath his disguise, and once it was in front of his false face, it began to radiate an off-purple glow. He hesitated for a moment, but stepped forward and quickly swiped at Torterra’s front left leg. Three small gashes appeared, one for each claw, and they began slowly leaking blood, but Torterra didn’t even wince in pain. He merely turned his head to look at Mimikyu.

“Weak. Try again.”

Mimikyu looked at him like he was crazy. “I dunno if you got less pain receptors or whatever, but ya should feel somethin’, shouldn’ ya?”

Torterra grunted. “I do. Still weak. Try again.”

“But ya-”

Torterra rolled his eyes, obviously tuning out whatever Mimikyu’s complaints were. Then, with a heavy stomp and a twist of his large body, he shook his tree hard enough for a few large seeds to fly out and into the tall grass. Something let out a whine, and Torterra hummed as the damage to his leg healed itself right before their eyes.

“Did you just drain a random wild Pokemon to heal yourself?” N asked, disappointed by the callous attitude the Pokemon had.

Torterra nodded. “Leech Seed.” Then, looking at Mimikyu once more, “Again.”

As Mimikyu continued his questionable training, N ventured into the tall grass, looking for the poor Pokemon that had fallen victim to Torterra’s Leech Seed.

It didn’t take long, with the whines and rustling drawing his attention. Parting the grass with his hands, he found that a Bidoof was tangled up in the vines that had sprouted from the seeds, thrashing around in a poor attempt to free itself from them.

“If you hold still, I can help you with that,” he offered.

The Bidoof continued to struggle, not paying attention to a word he said. He found himself wondering if that was due to panic or the low intelligence he was coming to associate with the evolutionary line, but either way he needed to do something. Careful to avoid the buck teeth, N grabbed at a random vine and started pulling.

The Bidoof struggled harder, squealing like a predator had caught it… and in a way, N could see why it might think that. It made the process of freeing it much more difficult, but eventually he was able to remove the Leech Seed without getting harmed in the process. Instead of thanking him, the little thing hissed and ran off deeper into the tall grass.

Pokemon were normally much more receptive to his assistance… but he supposed he didn’t do it for the thanks. So long as he knew that he had done the right thing, it was okay.

When he turned to make his way back, a huge rock embedded itself in the ground just a few feet away. N’s heart leapt into his throat.

“Sorry!” a boyish voice called out. That was… Eevee? When N looked over to Lucas’ group, he found the boy sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, with Eevee seemingly giving Togepi a lecture he doubted the baby understood.

Right. Perhaps a bit more situational awareness was in order.

Making his way around the large… Stone Edge maybe? He wandered back over to his friend and Torterra.

“The move is strong,” Torterra was telling him. The giant turned to the side to give Mimikyu a better view of the way his greenery was wilting under the influence of the Ghost type move. “You are weak.”

“I know I’m weak. That’s the poin’ of this! I’m tryin’ here, but jus’ cuz that TM is finally lettin’ me use a proper move doesn’ mean I suddenly have all the power or trainin’ ta back it up.”

Torterra looked confused. “TM?”

“Technical machines,” N explained. “They’re disks that teach a Pokemon how to use moves they don’t yet know.”

Torterra’s hum shook the ground beneath him. “Disks… So if you had more…”

“Havin’ more TMs would gimme more options for moves, but they ain’ gonna make me any stronger. I’d need some of those fancy vitamins or somethin’ for that…”

“Besides,” N continued, not entirely sure what Mimikyu meant regarding the vitamins comment, “We only got the one for Shadow Claw through Fantina’s good graces. They’re outside of my budget.”

Torterra didn’t move for a moment, long enough for N to grow concerned, before wordlessly stomping off, back towards his trainer.

“Did we say something wrong?” He asked Mimikyu.

“How am I s’posed ta know?”

They watched as Torterra spoke to Rotom, and Rotom spoke to Lucas. Then, Torterra and Lucas walked over to them, leaving the Electric type to supervise Lucas’ other Pokemon.

Lucas gave Torterra a pensive look as he started digging into his bag.

“We have disks,” The Grass type explained.

“What, you mean you have TMs? I suppose you could afford a few with the winnings from battles, but-”

N’s words died in his throat as Lucas turned his bag over, the opened pouch letting loose what must be almost twenty different TMs.

This far into the region, with how strong his team seemed to be, N could understand Lucas having purchased one, maybe two TMs. But this many? Even if he spent no money at all on supplies there was no way he’d have enough.

“Don’t buy. We find them,” Torterra added.

“You find them?” N checked that he wasn’t misunderstanding.

“Jus’ layin’ aroun’...” Mimikyu mused.

Lucas nodded, a proud smile on his face.

That was… well, frankly, it was unbelievable. But the proof was right there in front of him. But even if he looked past what he was sure were extremely dubious origins, that still left one important question.

“Why are you showing these to us?”

Lucas shared another look with his partner, before grabbing one of them at random, holding it out towards N.

“Take one,” Torterra told him.

“You want us to just take one? These things are worth a lot of money, if you won’t want them then you could-”

His protests were cut off when Lucas shoved the one he was holding into his chest.

“Well I ain’ one ta look a gift… uh… Ponyta in the mouth,” Mimikyu said as he reached out for the TM, inspecting it.

“Stealth Rock? I can’t use this one, sorry. What else do ya ‘ave?”

N cringed. “Mimikyu, that’s rude.”

“If I can’t use it, then I can’t use it! What do ya wan’ from me?” The little ghost started digging through the disks, separating them into two piles.

When he was done, one was much smaller than the other, and that was the one he was still looking through. “Substitute, Sleep Talk, Thief, Attract, Return, and Taunt…”

N knelt down next to him, looking over the disks. “These are the ones that you can learn?”

“Ta my knowledge, yeah. I might be wrong, but… I’m fairly confident.”

Not very reassuring, but Mimikyu would know better than any of them.

“Substitute seems a bit silly when I already ‘ave my disguise. Sleep Talk doesn’ make much sense unless ya got Rest ta go with it…”

N quietly ignored the way Lucas’ fists clenched when Mimikyu moved Sleep Talk to the side.

“Thief… ‘ave we even seen any Pokemon carryin’ items around?”

N had heard of trainers giving their Pokemon scarves or pendants or various other items that were said to increase their combat capabilities, but he’d never seen it himself. He shook his head no.

“That doesn’ make much sense ta use then, beyond some Dark type coverage maybe? But Shadow Claw would hit those same Pokemon ‘cept in a small number of edge cases…”

That left three. However…. “Mimikyu… are you seriously considering a move like Attract?”

His disguise stiffened. “It could be a viable strategy! I’m out ‘ere lookin’ ta survive, not win the League, ‘n’ even if it would only ‘ave an effect on female….”

He slowly trailed off, mumbling something about not caring about Gardevoir anyway.

“That leaves Return ‘n’ Taunt then…”

“Taunt is the one that prevents the target from using status moves, isn’t it?”

“Forces ‘em to attack ya, yeah.”

“Would have been useful…” Torterra grumbled, but N wasn’t sure what the Ground type was talking about.

“And Return is the one that’s stronger the more happy a Pokemon is?” Not a move he’d ever seen on a wild Pokemon, but it sounded like it could be useful.

“Return ‘n’ Frustration are based on the relationship with the trainer,” Mimikyu corrected.

Oh.

So if Mimikyu used Return… it would show how he really felt…

Mimikyu sighed. “Guess I’ll go with this one.”

He grabbed a disk.