Chapter 30:  Familiar Faces (Part A) by Michael Keens/ Exodus  

We�d been on the road for a couple of days now, fast approaching Delft Town, 
home of one of the new Gym Leaders.  
Scott was now with us and I was soon seeing that he was a pretty cool guy and 
that I misjudged him totally.  
He was untrusting of me until he saw me in battle and saw me for who I am.  
We still didn�t know his intentions or past, and I didn�t dare ask about the 
whole money incident.  
�So Abby.� I said, as Scott was ahead of us on his own, �What do you think of 
him?�  
�He�s not so bad, but I remember him.  He once challenged me to a Pok�mon 
Battle for money.� explained Abby.  
�I know about this money thing too, but I think its a touchy subject.  We 
should just forget about that and get to know him while we have the chance.� I 
added.  
�I suppose so.� said Abby.  
It was reaching night time and the storms were picking up.  
We wouldn�t make it to Delft Town tonight, well maybe we could, but we�d have 
no sleep and we�d be drenched, there was a large house up ahead, perhaps we 
could spend the night there.  

As we entered the house, a mysterious figure was watching us from above in the 
tower, it disappeared into the darkness.  

�Hello? Is anyone there? We could use a place to sleep, we�ll help you out with 
anything in return...� I called out.  
�Hmmmm.� mused Scott.  
�There must be someone around, no one would leave their door unlocked like that 
and not be around.� I thought out loud.  
A figure stepped forward, I gasped, it was... me.  
�Hi, I�m Tetsubo Capture, who are you guys?�  
�I�M Tetsubo Capture!� I shouted.  
�You sure about that?� joked Scott, �That one looks a little more authentic.�  
�Scott!� I complained.  
�I was the star of �Star Crossed Lovers� in the Cerulean Water Theatre.�  
�That was me!�  
�Looks like we have a problem, well don�t worry, I�ll solve it.�  
�Hey?...�  
�With a Pok�mon Battle!�  
I couldn�t even reason with this pseudo, so I threw Twinkill�s Pok�ball.  

�Star!�  
�Go!� shouted the fake.  
The Pok�ball opened and a glowing blob formed into a Staryu.  
�Go Twinkill! Thunderbolt attack!�  
�Thunderbolt attack!� said the pseudo at the same time as me.  
The two Pok�mon sent off a shower of bolts towards each other and cancelled 
each other out.  
�Copycat...� I grumbled.  
�Psychic attack!� we said together, though the pseudo said it slightly after 
me.  
A ripple of energy distorted the surroundings between the two and exploded.  
�He copies everything I do, and his Staryu knows all the same attacks as 
Twinkill.� I thought to myself, �If this keeps up, the best I can hope for is a 
double knockout, unless...�  
I had an idea.  
�Twinkill! Fly!�  
�Fly-  Huh?�  
�Thunderbolt!� I shouted.  
With that distraction since Staryus couldn�t learn Fly attack (they could only 
spin themselves to a great height, but Fly attack was only for Flying-type 
Pok�mon only), the pseudo had fallen for my trick and I was able to strike 
before he could copy me.  
The Staryu was shocked, but instead of fainting, it fell to the floor, glowed 
white and melted into a pink blob.  
I should have realised it was a Ditto, and this one was fast to have 
transformed without my seeing its true form.  

�Ditto, the Transform Pok�mon.  Usually a shapeless blob, it can copy a 
Pok�mon�s genetic code to transform into a duplicate of its enemy.�  

�And you sir, are an impostor.� I said confidently.  
The pseudo giggled and it turned out this wasn�t even a guy.  
�I�m sorry, I do this all the time, I enjoy imitating people, its my hobby and 
my profession.� she said.  
�Come again?� I questioned.  
She walked ahead and we followed her into a large dressing room filled with 
many, many costumes.  
She reappeared dressed like Officer Jenny.  
�I just love taking on different roles...  You�re under arrest for Grand Theft 
Pok�mon!...  Playing a different role was never enough for me.�  
She disappeared and came out as Nurse Joy.  
�Your Pok�mon will be just fine!...  I surpassed my peers in all aspects of 
drama, and when I discovered Ditto�s ability, I knew I wanted to be just like 
it.�  
She came out as herself, wearing an orange T-Shirt with a star design on it, 
along with blue jeans, her hair was a dark shade of green and came out to the 
sides in pig-tails.  
�My name is Duplica, and this is the House of Imite.�  
�Well you already seem to know my name, this is Scott and this is Abby.� I 
introduced.  
�Why shouldn�t I? I visit every theatre and show, I have to keep up with the 
times in order to keep my act from getting old.  You were great as the prince 
and that mermaid girl was excellent...�  
I hung my head low, I was already missing Emily, but she had made it perfectly 
clear how much I had hurt her, I�d have to wait until she forgave me, surely 
she�d outweigh that one lie with everything else I had given her, or maybe she 
wouldn�t...  
Abby noticed and gave me an inquisitive stare, I think she knew exactly what 
was wrong.  
�Uh...  Thanks, but it was my first time.� I quickly answered.  
�Hey...  You said you�d do anything for a place to stay tonight, how�s about 
you help me out in my show?� asked Duplica.  
�I guess we haven�t got a choice, I did say we would.� I agreed tiredly.  

It turned out that the show was to be shown tomorrow night, Abby and I had made 
such good time because of the Snorlax incident that we were able to give up a 
day to help Duplica out.  

Scott tried his hand at juggling, and failed many times, but he wouldn�t give 
up.  
Abby refused to tell jokes and ended up becoming a dummy for the magic section 
of the show.  
I got stuck with the joke telling duties and some of our Pok�mon would join 
Duplica�s Ditto in entertaining the crowd by being themselves.  
Duplica loved to dress up and act like someone else, and even as different 
Pok�mon, she was a true actor and compassionate about imitating others.  

�Come on Scott, give up and do something else.� I advised.  
�I never quit, you made a promise and I will keep it.� groaned Scott.  
I walked away and Scott dropped his balls, one rolled underneath my foot and I 
slipped and fell.  
Scott offered a hand and I noticed that the contents of my bag had spilled all 
over the place.  
�Let me help.� Scott groaned and picked up the pieces.  
�How many books do you carry?� groaned Scott as he lifted the four large books 
I used to keep my studies in check.  
�I�m a Pok�mon Tech student, you never really drop the old habits.� I said, 
almost forgetting my nugget.  
Scott�s eyes widened a little, �Tetsubo, where did you get that?�  
�This?� I said, noticing how dirty it had gotten, and so wiping it down a 
little with a cloth, �Some place called Nugget Bridge.  I got it off a Rocket 
so I�m not sure what to do with it.�  
�You could sell it, but make sure not to get ripped off.� advised Scott.  
�But if I do sell it, how will I carry around so much money and not get 
robbed?� 
I asked concerned.  
�This from the kid that wants to win the Pok�mon League cash prize?� said Scott 
with a smirk.  
�I�m not in it for the money, just for a little glory, fame and recognition for 
my studies, and you?� I explained.  
�Its a necessity.� he answered.  
Scott picked up the balls and continued to try his hand at juggling, Abby was 
sitting on her own so I went to talk to her.  
�You okay?� I asked.  
�Uh huh.� she answered.  
�You wanna switch jobs?�  
�No way, I don�t do jokes.� she said firmly.  
�You sure? It does a person good to loosen up and laugh a little.� I smiled.  
�I don�t know why I�m like this, I�m sorry.� she apologised.  
�Don�t apologise, come on, tell a joke, I won�t laugh, I mean, I Will laugh 
but...  You understand.� 
�Well...  I heard this from an old man so...�  
�Just say it.� I urged gently.  
�Um, er...  How do you get one hundred Pikachus on a bus?...� she asked.  
I nodded as if to ask for the answer.  
�Poke �em on.� she replied.  
A smile came to my face and some laughter came out, but it was the fact that 
Abby was showing emotions I�d never seen from her before that brought on the 
main part of my smile.  
�See, I told you that you could do it.�  
She hid her face away, obviously blushing.  
�But still, I barely managed to do that with you, I�d be too nervous in front 
of a crowd so you�ll understand if-�  
�Sure thing, still, you must be brave to let Duplica do dangerous magic tricks 
on you.� I smiled.  
�I�ve had worse.� she said with a confident smirk.  

I was understanding my friends so much better today.  

I went to Duplica who had her Ditto and all our Pok�mon to practice with, well, 
Scott only released his Onix, Raichu, Poliwag and Snorlax, I was sure he had 
more Pok�mon, but I guess he chose not to show us.  

The Ditto reformed back into itself after imitating all the Pok�mon.  
�That�s great Ditto.� cheered Duplica.  
�You mean it can imitate all these Pok�mon in one go?� I asked amazed.  
�Uh huh, my Ditto also wants to be the best entertainer ever, about a year ago, 
he couldn�t transform perfectly.� she explained.  
I sat down, this sounded like a big story.  
�We tried everything, but whenever he transformed, he always kept his original 
face, you should have seen how silly he looked when he transformed into a 
Machoke with that smile and beady eyes.  Then one day, I was visited by some 
trainers similar to you three, and then my Ditto was taken by these two people 
and a talking Meowth.�  
�I�ve met them.� I mentioned, rolling my eyes a little.  
�Well, somehow they managed to teach my Ditto how to transform properly, and 
then they decided to try and transform it into a rare Pok�mon, but Ash and his 
friends helped me retrieve my Ditto from those strange people.�  
�I wouldn�t bet on people like that treating your Ditto very nice, they must 
have scared it into transforming right or something.� I suggested.  
�Oh, well...  I guess I never really thought about that, Ditto might have 
suffered and I never thought about it one bit, while I was enjoying all the 
benefits of a fully developed Ditto, he might have felt he�d be hurt if he 
didn�t transform properly...�  
�Ditto...� groaned the Ditto, already leaving the room.  
�I�m sorry Duplica, this is all my fault, I shouldn�t have said those things.� 
I apologised.  
�Don�t say that, what you said was probably true, I never thought about how 
Ditto felt after that experience.  I should apologise to it and perhaps act 
gentler towards it.�  
�Let�s go find it.� I said.  
�Diiiiitttto!!!� came a scream from outside.  

Duplica and I charged out, and Cassie was sprinting towards a hot air balloon 
with Ditto, where the other Elites sat.  

�We strike during day or night!�  
�We attack, with all our might!�  
�Don�t mess with us, or we shall fight!�  
�We�re pretty good at our rhyme.�  
�The masterminds, of crime.�  
�We always succeed, every time.�  
�Cletus!�  
�Cassie!�  
�Claus!�  
�If y�all got valuables, yuh�d better block it!�  
�We put Pok�mon in our pocket!�  
�We�re the best, so don�t knock it!�  
�We are... Elite Rocket!�  

�Stop!� I shouted but they paid me no heed.  

�This little Pok�mon is going to save our jobs!� shouted Cassie.  
�Looks like our luck�s-a-changin�!� said Cletus.  
�With this, we�ll finally have the rare Pok�mon we need!� finished Claus, and 
the balloon floated away.  

�No...� muttered Duplica, �Ditto!!!...�  

End of Chapter 30A  

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Chapter 30B
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