Maybe it was due to the simple name of the store, or the way that the single-story building reminded me of an old-timey general store you'd find in a western-styled movie, I half expected to walk into the place and see wooden barrels of berries strewn about. However, the interior of the building was actually very clean and modern-looking.

The floor was a simple, unadorned white-colored square tiling, and there wasn't actually that much space dedicated to a customer service area. A series of short shelves carrying an assortment of various brands of Pokémon kibble stood just inside the door, arranged perpendicular to the entrance so that entering customers could see down each aisle. Directly opposing the entrance on the far side, a shiny countertop that looked like stainless steel had a grocer's display of berries built into it to show off a sampling toward the customers with a single computer placed at the far end, near what appeared to be a door for employees.

A colder gush of air flowed out the door in the back toward us as we strolled in, the wind making for the open front entrance in a bid to escape before it swung shut, and an electronic bell 'dinged' to signal our entry. Mable approached the counter, and I followed along in quick hops, bouncing myself up onto the counter to have a better vantage point. A youthful masculine voice called out from the rear room, as if coming from some distance away. "Coming!" The sound of hasty footsteps rushed toward us, before a breathless, pale-looking young man all but stumbled out into our view, catching the edge of the counter with both hands.

"Busy day, Junior?" Mable asked with an amused smile, seemingly not bothered by his hasty appearance. This must be a usual thing. The fellow flashed a tired grin, nodding his head vehemently as a ragged mop of red hair drifted down over his face. "Like you wouldn't believe, miss Mable. Some big rancher placed a huge order all at once this morning, so we've got our mixers running full-tilt to make a very specific kibble blend for it. We've still got all our usual in stock, though, so it shouldn't be any trouble to get you your usual order. Or are you here for something special?"

Mable shook her head, reaching into her pocket to pull out a card and hand it over. "The usual is fine. Actually, double the Oran berries, but keep the rest as usual. This little glutton here has a taste for them, and I promised him a treat for good behavior. I have some errands to run in town today, so you can just load the kibble into the back of my truck, but can you keep the berries under refrigeration until I get back?"

Taking the card, there was a quick swipe through a reader attached to the computer, and the young man nodded along, "Yeah, not a problem. Just give me a shout when you're back from your errands, I'll get it all sorted out and packaged up for you ahead of time." As he was handing the card back, his hand dipped down and dug into the counter to grasp for something. I saw he was holding what looked like a thumb-sized treat of some kind. He peered over the counter and started to make a throwing gesture, but caught himself and looked surprised. He even went so far as to lean slightly over the counter and look left and right, stare pausing as it landed on me. "Didn't bring your Bibarel along, miss Mable? You always bring him along."

I felt a hand settle atop my head, and peered back at Mable, who was wearing a small smile. "Not today. Just me and Ditto, who's going to be officially joining my team just as soon as we make a quick walk over to the Pokémart."

"You're making an addition to your team? Well that's great, congratulations!" His tone sounded like little more than a knee-jerk response to be polite, but then he paused as if coming to a realization. "Wait, you mean that you didn't trade for or purchase the Ditto? Where did you find a Ditto in the wild!?" The intensity and excitement in his voice was bubbling up, but Mable doused his excitement almost immediately.

"Sorry, Junior, I don't have any hidden Ditto hunting grounds. Believe it or not, the little troublemaker just followed Bibi home a while back, and he just sort of adapted himself to the pasture, I suppose."

Seeing as he was still holding the Pokémon treat in his hand, the fellow casually set it down and pushed it my way as an offering. Eh. Fine, I'll try it. I reached for it and dropped it into my mouth. It was bland and crunchy, like a mix between a potato chip and an unsweetened graham cracker. Not my favorite, but it was certainly edible.

The fellow replied, looking much more morose now. "Shoot. Well, I should have expected that. Still, congratulations on your luck, Mable. I'd tell you to try the slots with that sort of luck, but maybe you've used it all up already!" He forced a small laugh, turning to head into the backrooms.

Mable coughed politely to get his attention before he could leave, "Since you're busy, you can just send the crate out with Tibbs and I'll have him put it in the back of the truck." The request seemed a bit odd to me, but Mable glanced aside at me and gave a more pronounced smile.

Junior, as Mable kept calling him, seemed to catch on and glanced at me as well. "I don't see any harm in that, miss Mable." His tone was low and barely above a whisper, as if he was also doing something secretive. "Consider it a small favor for a regular customer."

I looked back and forth between the two, and the confusion was plain on my face. Tibbs could be someone's name, sure, but I was starting to get the feeling that it was a Pokémon. They kept looking at me like that, after all. Was it going to be something really impressive I would be able to copy?

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Mable didn't give me any further hints, just making a beckoning motion toward me as she turned to leave the store. "Come on, back to the truck, Ditto. You'll understand in a minute." I bounded along, and we both stopped alongside the truck and waited. I was fidgeting and looking around, trying to get a glimpse of whoever or whatever was approaching as quickly as possible, while Mable seemed to be amused by my restlessness. "Oh just be patient!"

After a couple minutes, I saw a figure shift around the side of the building, carrying a crate that had to be more than a meter in every dimension, and they hugged it against their chest like it was weightless. The crate was only about half the size of the hulking figure carrying it. It blocked me from seeing most of the figure, besides the thick, grey-furred pillars of legs and the huge, black-furred hands cradling the underside of the crate. As they got closer, I was able to see the side-profile of their face. White fur, with dark rings around the eyes, and a pair of rounded black-furred ears. A vicious-looking grin of sharp teeth clamping down around a sprig of leafy greenery. It was a Pangoro.

I felt my jaw slacken slightly, and my eyes lit up as I was all but bouncing in place with excitement. This was definitely one of the biggest forms I'd been given the opportunity to copy! Sure, Scyther was great, but having blades for arms made it difficult to use for anything but battle. My borderline adoring stare must have been noticed, as the Pangoro settled the crate into the back of the truck, then struck a strongman pose with both arms flexing into an 'L' that bulked out their muscles, one arm pointed upward while the other aimed downward behind them. A deep, bass-laden voice rumbled with a cocky demeanor, "That's right... I'm the best...!" 'Goro... Pangoro...!'

When I was given access to a new form like this, of course I wasn't going to be able to resist the urge to try it out! I took a hop away from the truck and the energy of transformation flowed over my body. I rapidly grew upward, limbs forming and thickening until I was a mirror image of the Pangoro across from me. My transformation coaxed a wide grin from my opponent, who roared upward at the sky as if proclaiming a challenge toward me. Caught up in the heat of the moment, I followed suit and mimicked the roaring, extending one arm in front of me and striking my best imitation of a fighting pose.

I had one arm outstretched in dramatic fashion, the other held closer to to my chest, both heavy hands curled into fists, legs spread out as I tried my best to imitate a boxer's stance from memory. After all, I'd never really had any experience with fighting in a human-like form before. My amateurish nature must have shone through too much, as rather than react with anything approaching seriousness, the Pangoro outright laughed at me, which was a bit of a blow to my pride. He stepped closer, and almost gently kicked at the heel of my right leg, which immediately toppled my balance. My stance must have been horrific for a simple nudge like that to send me to the ground.

"Come back when you actually learn how to hold a stance, and I might show you a thing or two." The vicious looking smile aimed down at me was a bit intimidating, and I swallowed nervously, wondering just how much I wouldn't enjoy being 'taught' by the aggressive bear. While I might have mimicked the body, I certainly hadn't mimicked the substance. I hadn't even had a second to try and adjust to the instincts of this new form yet, so it was natural that I made a fool of myself, I suppose. I regretted getting lost in the mood of the moment.

The posturing was interrupted after a few seconds, though, as Junior's voice rang out from somewhere behind the building. "Tibbs, let's go, we've got more stuff to load! Get your tubby rear over here!"

The Pangoro immediately lost his confident pose, shoulders slumping and their belly sagging outward after they were no longer making an effort to suck it in and look cool. "Come on, I just wanted to have my moment...!" He grumbled, grumpily stomping off in displeasure, expression twisting into an annoyed snarl.

Slowly lifting myself up from the ground, I called out after them, "I still thought you looked really cool!" Okay, being honest, not that cool, but I felt like I was in a great mood after seeing another powerful Pokémon to copy... and the poor guy looked like he could use the confidence boost. That was saying something, coming from the one who was just put on the ground in a single half-hearted move.

It seemed to have some effect, as the Pangoro glanced over his shoulder and flashed me a big thumbs-up and strolled off with his head stuck up and chest stuck out all over again, looking proud as he had a moment ago. It's amazing what one off-hand compliment can do for someone.

"I'm sure that having run into Tibbs will come in handy at some point, don't you agree, Ditto?" Mable's voice snapped me out of staring after the leaving figure, and I nodded aggressively. Oh yeah, that was absolutely worth waiting a couple minutes for. If I could keep getting new Pokémon forms just waiting around, I'd develop patience like a rock!

"Now, we'll head off to the Pokémon Mart next, but Junior's reaction was a good touchstone for how others might react. Technically, you aren't my Pokémon just yet, so why don't you transform into something a little less extraordinary for now? Just until we get your Pokéball. Alright? After all, as a Pangoro or even as your natural form, you're going to stand out."

A little caution never hurt anyone, and while I doubted that someone Mable seemed to have a solid acquaintance with was going to blab, technically anyone could throw a Pokéball at me on the walk into town. It'd be Mable's word against that of whoever snagged me if the police got involved, so let's play it safe. I let energy course through my form, and I shifted into a Pidgey. Not only was it one of the most unremarkable Pokémon I could think of, it was also the most mobile of the 'boring' choices I had in the event I needed to run away or dodge a Pokéball anyway. A Caterpie might be as common, but their speed left a lot to be desired.

"That should work, just don't go flying off too far from me. Alright, let's be off." I flew in circles in the air around Mable as she began to leisurely stroll along the sidewalk, keeping pace with her as we moved toward the denser buildings a short distance away. These buildings clearly were arranged to not have space for cars to travel near them, and seemed to be arranged specifically for foot traffic.

I felt a restless energy building up in me as I actively fought the urge to rush ahead and look for new forms of Pokémon that might be out and about. Instead, I channeled that restlessness into flying faster circles overhead. Sure, I may have just gotten a very impressive new form, but I admit to being greedy. Now that the start of this trip was already paying off, I wanted more! I won't be satisfied until I collect them all!