#but I was also thinking that since Ingo is in the past there’s a chance he has an descendant in the present

[justcallme-ant]

Imagine, Pokémon anime spinoff series but the protagonist is Emmet and he’s having an ongoing mental crisis as he tries to figure where and what happened to Ingo which causes a ton of chain of events to happen that leads all the way to the confrontation with Arceus.

[nartothelar]

I'd say sometimes it's okay to cry and dwell in the past. As long as one doesn't get lost in it.

Glad Emmet has little Conductor to "conduct" him out of his sadness whenever he gets lost.

You mention how he still lives in their shared apartment... does Emmet still have their full Team? How well did the Pokemon former belonging to Ingo cope? Like I believe it's hard sometimes but I also believe having them at his side as well would also give comfort in a way. They miss their Trainer just as much and a shared burden is a lighter burden.

love this comic, showing old man Emmet a bit more vulnerable is an interesting change since he feels the happiest and most content Emmet out of all your AUs. There is still a big gaping hole in his life and there are still tears in between the smiles. And having moments where this comes up feels natural. He still deserves the zap and a comforting hug. And to eventually be reunited sometime in the future. (ngl Emmet travelling brings up the chance how both have a lot to share with each other once the time comes. I know this au doesn't focus on that at all but the image is still nice...)

apologies for all this nonsense I just love to ramble about things I love!

Wah thank you for such a thoughtful ask! Emmet still has ingo’s pokemon with him yup! Though he lives in an apartment, it’s a pretty spacious one so it’s not that tight of a fit.

After Ingo’s disappearance, his pokemon missed him just as much as Emmet, if not more I think. Many of them grew up with Ingo as their trainer so his absence was devastating to them...

Emmet knows how much they miss his brother, so rather than keep them away in their balls, he regularly let them out and battles with them, both when he was still running the double and single trains and even now as he travels across the regions! They keep each other company and comforts one another when they need it ;w;

But yeah! The old man emmet au was always meant to be a more uplifting au rather than a sad one, dealing with grief and making the most of life even despite hardships. “Moving forward without moving on” is sort of the theme of this au!

[kharmii]

seeing that comic with Sneasler gifting Ingo his brother in her basket really makes me think that she probably straight up would do that. This guy looks like her Warden, smells similar, so this means they must be related even if he's a "Shiny Version" of him.

Pokemon are pretty clever but I still put the most of them into the intelligence of a 5-7 year old child

this would definitely be a cute reunion...

speaking of...

how would you imagine the reunion would play out?

Looking back at other people's AUs for the past couple of years, I kind of like the "Emmet was there the whole time" scenario. -Like there's one where Ingo is rescued because Pearl Clan members could see his black coat in the snow at night. Emmet goes unnoticed but is rescued by a pack of zoroarks who recognize him as one of their own (without him dying and actually turning into one. -Too depressing). Since Ingo travels to the Coronet Highlands to be Sneasler's warden, then works at the Training Grounds, they never get a chance to run into each other.

After the protag defeats Volo and is working on completing the pokedex, they run into Emmet at a zoroark outbreak and note how similar the wild man traveling with them looks like Warden Ingo. Meanwhile, Ingo is happy with his life in the village. He is well liked and has a lot of friends, but he has an unresolved emptiness inside knowing he will forever be an outsider both in Hisui and to the memories of his former life always on the verge of coming clear but never actually.

Protag brings Emmet to the village where they have an awkward reunion. They don't really remember each other, or their past lives so don't have anything to say about it. Both have a lot of new stories to tell about their ordeals in Hisui, like why Ingo is covered in scars and wears a Pearl Clan tunic, or why Emmet has frost bite on his extremities and reflexively makes oddly animalistic sounds.

Another possibility would be that Ingo ended up at the Pearl Clan settlement, and Emmet ended up stranded on an island on that section of Cobalt Coastlands that's blanked out (that should have been an expansion). This version of Emmet also doesn't get found and returned until the protag is near completion of the pokedex. He is amazed at cool Ingo looks after living as a rugged survivalist, whereas he was taking it easy on a temperate tropical island.

[ingo-ingoing-ingone]

Imagine if Ingo shows up again. He's the Looker of the Legends Game. In search of his origins.

Fandom has a habit of making Ingo extremely passive with being eternally bound and in debt to the kindness of the Pearl Clan for saving him and the Duties as Sneaslers Warden. And they have Emmet as the active role ready to do anything and challenge everything to get Ingo back.

But imagine this:

after meeting the Protag in Hisui and battling them a few times memories start showing up more. We've seen it firsthand of him remembering Emmet and Chandelure and in a way Gear Station. Eventually these memories and mysteries will cause restlessness in him. Restlessness and curiousity. And at some point he can't just sit by here in Hisui. There are clearly no ties to his mysterious past here. So he bids goodbye to the people who saved him, gives up his duties as a Warden and at he Battle Ground and sets out into the world; trying to find the answers to his past, to himself and his home. There are risks but they are worth taking, he knows that.

And a Train that sits motionless on tracks will get rusty. He needs to move forward on his tracks to find his home station. Or at least answers.

I know it basically goes against the whole narrative of passive Ingo but I quite like the idea of Ingo starting to travel. Looking for himself and his past. Becoming active. Wishing to find the home he can't remember. Because his heart knows there is someone waiting for him.

hope it's ok to share these thoughts. Especially since they are so controversial. But I'd love something like this.

I tend to like both takes of Ingo: both waiting for a change and also striking out to find his home

I wouldn't exactly call it being passive, per se. Depictions range from him being depressed (which really does sap your energy) to simply not knowing what to do. Some subconscious instinct could tell him to stay put.

Staying put, if you are lost, is safer and increases your chance of rescue after all.

(Don't discredit the works and opinions of other people, I know you probably didn't mean it but it feels a smidge rude here. I also could just be bad at reading the tone)

But I do like the idea of him getting home on his own too. I think it would be interesting, but I'd rather read it as a fic than have to wait for that many years for games to come out. I wouldn't want them to rush it bc that's inhumane to gamedevs and makes for shitty games, but respectfully lol I do not want to wait that long for a plot

Plus he'd have to figure out the whole time travel element to it, which would be fairly difficult plot-wise

So personally I'd just rather they reunite them already :,)

[chipsncookies]

Out of everyone in PLA the Clan Chiefs Volo and the Protagonist might be first choice.

But Protagonist and Ingo might be the least likely to have a cultural shock to see all the modernity and stuff suddenly show up. I’m mostly curious about about what the Clan Chiefs and Volo might say to modern day Pokémon World.

Also as I was typing: just some random thought about Ingo being among those who are going to Pasio. Even if he’s in another place he has a legit Chance to get home maybe through Hoopa. Likely not gonna happen in Masters itself but it’s legit a cool idea to get that guy where he came from or so help me.

(You and any other content creator is free to take this idea (if you didn’t came up with it first) and do whatever you want with it. No credit or anything needed)

It's fun thinking of the possibilities but remember the most likely sync pair to be released is the one that would generate lots of money 😅 it's still a gacha game after all. But yeah imagining characters from the past trying to understand modern place would be interesting, especially since hisui has very different culture than modern pkmn world (they don't put pkmn inside pokeballs, and battling is very rare)

Your talk about hoopa reminds me of this thing i did a while back

Hoopa, celebi, dialga, this is enough for warden ingo :'))))

[mountmortar]

Out of curiosity since you've mentioned The Legend of Zelda before, are there any of those games that you would reccomend? I've never played them before. I like Pokemon, Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts if that helps

RUBBING MY HANDS TOGETHER EVILLY. OKAY. SO. i don't know anything about final fantasy or kingdom hearts unfortunately but i CAN take a wild guess and say that if you like pokémon there's a higher chance that you're a fan of 2D games because a good majority of fans are in agreement that pokémon was better when it was 2D. in which case. let me put this under a readmore so people who aren't interested in zelda don't get annoyed lmao:

first of all i have to recommend my favorite game in the legend of zelda series ever which is the minish cap. it's definitely the most polished 2D zelda game out there (aside from four swords adventures but that was on a home console not a handheld) and all the spritework is SO good and cute and filled with whimsy and does actually remind me of pokémon. and the soundtrack is an absolute banger AND it isn't a terribly long game at all so it can serve as a great little introduction for people getting into zelda. a couple other fun 2D zelda games (and these will probably appeal more to people who are fans of the original rby/gsc because of the style) are link's awakening (which does have a switch remake) and oracle of ages!!! oracle of seasons was fun to me but most people agree that oracle of ages was much More fun. if you want more of what the majority of the zelda series is about there's a link to the past, which was released in 1991 (so before pokémon) and features link, zelda, and ganon, who are all the Main Three of the games.

aside from that, if the 3D games interest you, a link between worlds (successor to alttp but you don't have to play it to understand what's going on) is REALLY good with a KILLER fucking soundtrack. spirit tracks is wonderful and you ride in a train the whole game for people who are ingo & emmet fans. ocarina of time is probably the most influential zelda game out there aside from a link to the past and in certain games (wind waker [sailing on the ocean!] and majora's mask [THE TIME LOOP GAME OF ALL TIME]) some things will go directly over your head if you don't play ocarina of time first. skyward sword is fucking AWESOME and i cried like a baby at the end of it.

and. this is just me personally but i cannot stress this enough. avoid breath of the wild and tears of the kingdom like the fucking plague. if you do play them you cannot think of them as zelda games. they're alright games for people who like them i guess but they're genuinely the worst fucking ZELDA games in the franchise. i am so serious about this. i'm trying to make my way through breath of the wild right now (previously i'd just watched a playthrough) and it is legitimately so fucking boring and the soundtrack is GODAWFUL. pokémon legends arceus did everything 100000x better than breath of the wild absolutely no argument. and even diehard breath of the wild fans were disappointed with tears of the kingdom which should tell you everything you need to know.

ANYWAY. tl;dr: play minish cap, link's awakening, or oracle of ages if you want some fun 2D games (very easily accessible on an emulator or homebrewed 3DS, or nintendo switch for link's awakening remake). play a link to the past (easily accessible on an emulator) or ocarina of time (has a 3DS remake; opens up the door to gain a better understanding of wind waker and majora's mask*) if you want the Classic Zelda Storyline to understand what's kind of going on everywhere else. play a link between worlds (3DS) or skyward sword (wii or nintendo switch) if you want a good 3D game where things are less likely to fly over your head.

*majora's mask and wind waker can very easily still be played without playing ocarina of time! there are just some things in the game that'll woosh straight over your head if you haven't played them. also okay that's a lie about wind waker being easily accessible because it's only available on the nintendo gamecube or wiiu BUT majora's mask does have a 3DS remake just like ocarina of time so if you've homebrewed a 3DS you're good to go on that end. OKAY i'm done

[ask-teamgalaxyrecruit]

((It would be fun to see the story play out with them in it. Honestly after getting this asks I did get some ideas, but long term I prefer them in ‘present day’.

Won’t stop me from gushing some ideas under the read more though! Prepare for just ideas tossed in with some coherence.))

Ghetsis would definitely be kinda like a ‘gauge’ on how better of a person Sakaki was becoming. He’ll be that constant ‘bad guy’ while Sakaki actually starts to see other options in life and decides to maybe be someone different. Would really show off his growth and make him all the more disturb as he looks at Ghetsis and go ‘…Oh Arceus I was like that…’. 

Ghetsis would also capitalize on any moment of hesitation from Sakaki. Also use his new ability to speak to pokemon against him and also manipulate his distorted memories. Luckily Ingo is there and tries to keep Ghetsis as far away from him as possible, but sometimes he has to go back to the Pearl Clan or check on Lady Sneasler. During which of course Ghetsis will always ‘run into him’ while he’s on a catching run. 

Funnily enough? I think Kamado would be nicer with Ghetsis around. At least he would notice that Sakaki is very uncomfortable around Ghetsis. He’d probably even order Sakaki to his office randomly just until Ghetsis left the area. It’d be uncomfortable as hell for Sakaki but if he had to choose between Ghetsis and Kamado, he’d choose Kamado. 

Cyrus would just be a constant change since they were in the same area as his ancestor. If Ghetsis’ ancestor was in Hisui, he’d also be subjected to the constant change. Regular Team Galactic Boss Cyrus would also think of harnessing the legendaries power again, thinking it be easier in the past. While Research Assistant Cyrus would…just be fascinated with being in the past in general. Perhaps Team Galactic Boss Cyrus would also have a bit of a reformation arc too and gets that soul that got crushed all those years ago back…or Volo joins in and makes him worse. Wild day that be.

Funnily enough this would make Cyllene and Adaman’s ship be a bit more important in the story. Because Sakaki and Ingo would both be going ‘Well…we can at least prevent the world going spiritless while we’re here’. Like on the off chance this Cyrus would be successful. They literally spray Volo away from Cyllene with a water bottle, like he’s glameow trying to scratch the furniture. 

Realized I said the ship is not important when in all technicality it is for the epilogue *cough* 

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

If palkia is now bound in Ingo, do you think Volo gets smug about his triumph against the gods and tries to do it again with Dialga? Not saying he succeeds but He really is a audacious mf. I mean taking it personally that Arceus didnt pick up the phone and then trying to destroy the world in a hissy fit is cannon, so I wouldn't put it past him

HMMM.

this sort of begs the question of if this is... a reproducible thing that he did. which leads to asking how he bound palkia in the first place. which i haven't actually. decided yet. it was intentionally vague bc i didn't want to think about it. but asking about dialga makes me feel like i have to go back and answer question A. am i overthinking this? could i just give another unjustified answer and be done? yes to both! but this is the way my brain handles plotting. i can make exactly one (1) bullshit call and then every other question HAS to have an answer. i'm also very tired right now and about to go to bed which doesn't help. so if this answer sounds a little unhinged that's why.

but anyway though. i think for sure volo would LIKE to also take care of dialga. that would be very nice. buuut chaining down a god isn't exactly easy. this was probably some sort of Ritual Spell conducted in turnback cave and the culmination of months of preparation with assistance from giratina itself, etc etc. just to turn palkia alone into a dude. and now that he's done that he's also very aware that dialga is now on Red Alert. which means repeating the trick is going to be Even Harder.

there's also the fact that i don't think volo is even fully sure what will happen if he yanks both of the duo simultaneously out of their places holding up reality and jams them both into human forms. there is a nonzero chance that reality just folds completely now that nothing is holding it up. which is nonideal.

IF ANYTHING, and this is entirely sourced from my rewrite of volo's motivation/plan to Make It Make Sense, but i think if anything the one he'd most like to lock away next is arceus itself. since That is actually the biggest barrier to their plans at the moment, and giratina can probably solo dialga, probably. but arceus is probably at some point going to notice that the god it told to watch space disappeared and come investigate why palkia isn't doing its job anymore. and then notice the, uh, gestures at everything volo's doing. and want to have Words with him. so it would really be ideal if volo could get it out of the way before that happens

...which is a potential origin for the protagonist come to think of it. hmm. put a pin in that.

anyway more related to the actual question of how we get dialga/emmet into this picture, i think maybe dialga voluntarily descends to human form. like it's too enormous and clumsy to even find its twin, much less get ingo's attention. so it puts its own mind into human form to get boots on the ground and that's how we get a emmet. whether or not emmet remembers being dialga and doing this i'm undecided. i feel like yes, for the sake of not repeating ourselves, he gets to keep at least Some idea of what's going on. but... part of exactly why this is such an effective prison for a god is that having a divine consciousness vs a human consciousness is a MAJOR shift, just like, structurally. so that might cause some problems, if he has to process divine memories through a human mind which wasn't built for that at all

of course, meanwhile, this is all deeply, deeply confusing for volo. why are there two of them. who authorized that. giratina help

[a-tale-of-legends]

Some Legendverse PLA thoughts ( a lot of it is based on discord talks)

The Clans have more agency than they do in the games. They don't require the Galaxy's Teams help all the time, nor do they have the Galaxy Team make all the calling shots. The three operations are all equals here, or (if anything), The Diamond and Pearl clan have more power due to Hisui being their home and as their home, they know more shit about it than the Galaxy Team ever has. Yes they will use this knowledge against them if needed.

No more of the whole " your tradition makes you wrong" approach. Melli has a right to be more faithful in his tradition than what the Galaxy Team has to say.

Also! If we really want to make the frenzied nobles more of a threat to both people and pokemon, make it clear. Maybe the energy that they were hit with is too much, even for them. Some lose themselves to the frenzy, like how Lord Kleavor did, hurting people and pokemon. In the case of Lord Avalugg, he still did nothing to harm people, but the energy that was stirring inside ended up hurting him. He was getting sick. He was dying. The only reason the player/Sakura had to fight him was because he was at a point where he couldn't hold back that energy anymore( Also! This would have been a good place to introduce Lady Zoroark and Michi. Lady Zoroark may know that Lord Avalugg is not well, making Michi involve herself into the plot more).

I want someone else to coin the name Sinnoh for Hisui. Yeah, I know Kamado doing it is him 1) actually believing the culture of the diamond and pearl clan and 2) an act of redemption? I guess? But as someone who likes Kamado's character ( not what he represents), he shouldn't be the one who remained Hisui. I think Adaman and Irida should have.

CHARACTERS ACTUALLY TALKING TO EACH OTHER. Like the lack of character interaction is baffling.

Okay some character stuff:

Adaman is the leader of the Diamond Clan by name. If you were to ask the Clan who they would listen to, however, it's Mai.

I think Adaman's willingness to stray a little bit from his clan's traditions to find more solutions may weaken their opinion of him. Or keep their view of him the same as the Clans " Brother" rather than " Leader". Again, Mai is often favored when it comes to leadership and making decisions. Does this hurt him? Oh yes definitely. But he tries to hold a " whatever happens, happens" front, possibly to ease tension.

Adaman is an excellent leader btw. His ideas and ways of thinking are really good. It's just that almost no one in his Clan can see past " Big/Little Brother Adaman".

Irida's situation is the opposite. She values and sticks to her clans traditions, which is not a bad thing, but it then becomes her clan expecting her to continue these traditions, regardless of her emotional input. This is what caused the rift between her and Palina- an act of betrayal between sisters.

Irida is known to put the Clan before herself ( again, not a bad thing), but I feel like she also learns to let go a little. Be a little selfish. Embrace ideas that don't exactly fit with her culture and traditions.

As for Adaman, his arc is a bit more rough. He does, eventually, get tired of being belittled by his Clan ( I don't think it's intentional, they all love him, but he's still a leader and he wants to be treated as such), so he, in a way, tries to act more like how Irida did during the beginning of the game. It doesn't go over well, since his Clan members act more like family than anything. To put a distance between that weakens morale. Adaman does get his chance to vent, and the two sides reach a better understanding!

I don't want Ingo to have that much of a big role in pla, but more than what he was given in the base game.

He mostly spends his time with either Michi, helping with their search and rescue ( some more hopeful than others) and in Jubilife Village. Oh and the general pearl clan. AND with Melli I want them to be friends.

Because of this, I want him to learn different perspectives. Talk to different people, get to know them, learn what they think about the different events that goes on in Hisui. I think he would very much enjoy learning about the Pearl Clan's traditions, even if some don't exactly trust him.

He does act like an uncle to others. It's in his blood/j.

Even if Ingo isn't talking he's listening. I think he's really good at that.

He has to hold back Michi from going for Kamado's neck ( he's pissed too, but he rather not have bloodshed)

.....I think Cyllene should have become in charge of the Galaxy Team after the main plot. I don't want an " everything goes back to normal" stuff with Kamado, even if he apologizes and understands what he did was wrong. It's just not right, to me, tohim go back to a position of power. One which he clearly abused when he was feeling paranoid. So yeah, I think Cyllene is probably the new head of the Galaxy team. She's still in charge of the Survey Corps of course. That's her true passion.

Idk what would happen to Kamado. Maybe he quits the Team and learns to cook and make tea with Beni and Zero idk.

There's so much more I could say but this is getting long/ I'm getting lazy hgvhvgvgvcg.

[sostanotes]

Boom-y Hollow (3/?)

Day 35

After making a brief detour to help some distressed Bronzong that were blocking the settlement of another base camp, I met up with Ingo again at the foot of a truly massive cliff.

His musings on Hidden Moves means that, despite his own doubts, I do believe that he and I are both from the same place, or at least very similar ones. Whether that is simply the future or an alternate world (that is also in the future), I don’t know.

He challenged me to battle, mostly in the hopes that the thrill might trigger some long-forgotten memories. While he didn’t say that he recalled anything, his little pose and speech at the end of the battle certainly felt long practiced and rehearsed. Still, Sneasler appeared and was happy to assist and gave me ANOTHER of those strange plates.

Not sure how thrilled I am to be riding in that little basket on her back, but I guess I just have to get used to it. But that needs to wait for tomorrow. It’s been a long day.

Day 36

Since I went to bed early, I made an early start today, catching a few nighttime Pokémon before the sun rose and started making my way to where Electrode resided. Despite now having Sneasler’s assistance, I decided instead to make my way West before heading North, taking a steep but walkable path. It took most of the day, but I arrived where Melli was waiting in the late afternoon.

Moonview Arena? I suppose the view from the hollow is nice, but that seems an odd name, compared to the other Noble arena’s I’ve visited. Still, Melli made some grand speech about complex desires and actually wanting me to reach him. I think he just wanted a chance to avenge his humiliating loss from before.

I was right! He ganged up on me with 3 Pokémon. Luckily only the Skuntank was much of a threat. And considering I caught the Qwilfish I beat him with less than a week ago, I don’t think TIME was the problem. He then proceeded to proudly declare that he sucks at his job, since he forgot the favorite food of the Pokémon he’s supposed to protect.

I’m sure he’s lying to annoy me, but it’s so much more fun to make fun of him using his own words.

Luckily Adaman arrived right then with the crunchy salt needed for the balms. Melli tried to make some argument about how, as the leader of the Diamond Clan, Adaman was making them look weak by working with the Galaxy Team, but Adaman shut him down really quick. He clearly has practice getting Melli to look past his own ego; a feat since I’m pretty sure it’s big enough to have its own gravity.

After that we finally got into making balms. Melli couldn’t stop himself from continuing the trash-talk, but at this point I’m getting bored by it. Time to challenge Electrode.

[maniacwatchestheworld]

So I just discovered something absolutely adorable about the Pokemon Ingo and Emmet use.

When it comes to what Emmet and Ingo's starter Pokemon could have possibly been, there isn't really much of a consensus. Probably the most popular idea is that Ingo started with a Litwick and Emmet started with Tynamo. However I want to make an alternative suggestion. They each started out with a Klink of their own!

So hear me out a little. I don't know how well known this is, but Ingo shares his Pokemon with Emmet.

When you look at them side by side, same species, same natures, same moves, same stat distributions. Hell, even their held items are the same! These two Excadrill, Haxorus, and Chandelure are identical which leads me to believe that these are actually the exact same Pokemon. So isn't that nice! They share! And I think that in-universe this makes sense. Since each of their teams on the Singles and Doubles circuits seemingly need to all be unique Pokemon (for that battling format), that means that Ingo would have 6 Pokemon to care for while Emmet would need to take care of a minimum of 8 Pokemon. So it just lightens Emmet's load if Ingo lets his brother use his Pokemon. And it also opens things up so that he can use different Pokemon for the Multi battle circuits! With this in mind it was probably better that Ingo got yote into the past and not Emmet since Emmet knows how to use and therefore probably how to take care of Ingo's Pokemon where the reverse may not be true...

However there is one outlier! One Pokemon that both Ingo and Emmet use but that doesn't seem to be the exact same Pokemon!

Their Klinklangs are different!

Ingo's Klinklang has a Physical Attacking build while Emmet's is more defensive and focused on Special Attack! Unlike every other Pokemon they share, these two aren't identical!

But the icing on the cake is what Klinklang's Special Abilities are. Discluding the Hidden Abilities, Klinklang's Special Abilities are Plus and Minus. For the uninitiated, these two Special Abilities are related but basically do the same thing.

(Minus is literally the same, except replace any instance of 'plus' with 'minus' and vice versa.) Klinklang as a Pokemon is at its best when it's working alongside another Klinklang (or any other Pokemon with Plus or Minus but shhhh!) because together, they boost one another's special attack! Klinklang as a Pokemon has cooperation baked into its very blood! And it's just very sweet that Ingo has gone along with this strategy to give Emmet the chance to shine and blast their opponents with one hell of a Flash Cannon! It would almost make up for how Ingo has a 50% chance of absolutely destroying Emmet's Elektross with Mold Breaker Haxorus in any given Super Multi battle! If we actually got to see this strategy actually play out within the games, that is... Because while all of this is so perfectly set up and would be beautiful to actually see play out, they can never be fought against in a way where the two are each using their own Klinklangs... Which is practically a crime!

However I do like to think that they use this strategy when casually battling outside of the Battle Subway. And I think that it would be perfect if they've actually been using this strategy since they were kids. They're just a lot stronger together than they are apart, so they make certain to stick together! And these Pokemon would be fantastic at demonstrating that!

[greentrickster]

I think, in this AU at least, one of the most frustrating things for Ingo upon his return home isn’t actually missing Hisui, but adapting back to city life - and not necessarily the way you think.

Like, he misses Hisui - of course he does, and he wishes he’d had a chance to say good-bye to everyone properly. But the thing is, this isn’t like the state he’s been in over the past few years, and I’m guessing it’s much easier but also, in a way, less painful to miss a place you can actually, properly remember. And, speaking as someone who’s had to go and live somewhere rather unexpected that I came to love, and then had to return very suddenly and with the knowledge that it was very likely I’d never be able to return, it’s a more manageable pain than, say, moving somewhere a few days travel away. The distance makes it easier to hold and easier to let go of at the same time. (At least, that’s my experience.) Don’t get me wrong, it’s gonna hurt like heck for awhile, and the homesickness never truly goes away, but it’s something that you can live with, and learn to carry lightly over time.

In contrast, you know what’s shockingly hard? Coming home to a place you knew and have lived in for years, with all sorts of friends and family and places you want to revisit and things you couldn’t get other places that you want to try again... and all your stamina for all this stuff is gone. Like, I can see Ingo taking a step onto a crowded city corner and part of him going, “Yup, home” (happy resting serious face) and wanting to spend the afternoon wandering around to reacquaint himself with places, only to find that he’s too tired to keep going after a couple hours, because he’s not used to being around so many people anymore, and his body’s used to mountain terrain rather than city terrain, so he’s using his muscles a bit differently than he has in awhile. It’s not that he dislikes it, or finds it distasteful or anything now, but it’s tiring in a way he didn’t expect it to be, when his returning memories are mostly of being comfortable here and loving city life.

It’s a stamina you regain over time, but it’s a process, and it’s frustrating when all you want to do is go and take in everything you’ve missed right now. He probably takes more walks in the park than he used to while he’s adapting back, deep enough in that the traffic and bustle are audible, but not too much so, to help him get used to it again. There are definitely times he wonders whether he’ll be able to be a subway boss again, not because of skill or memories, but because his body’s taking longer than he’d like to adapt to being on trains for extended periods again, and sometimes it feels like he’s never going to get back something that he didn’t even consciously know he had before. I mean, heck, the university I went to was pedestrian-based, and even after a few months of that it always felt weird to me to be in a car again when I went home. The body readjusts to that sort of thing relatively quickly, fortunately, but it’s not an adjustment Ingo realized he’d have to make, and it’s one that can feel very slow to experience.

All that said, he will get it all back again, maybe not quite to exactly the same scale he had before, but also being okay with that on a certain level. He’s not as 100% comfortable in the city as he used to be, but that’s because part of him came to know Mount Coronet and the highlands while he was in Hisui, and it’s a part of himself he likes having. There’s a spot in your heart for every place you love.

Not to mention, the first time he’s back on a train, probably sitting down since they don’t know how good his reflexes for being on them are anymore and they don’t want him to fall, once they get moving he relaxes so hard he passes out. Just conks right out on Excadrill, stays asleep the whole trip, then complains that Emmet didn’t wake him up after. To which Emmet protests that (after he had a small, completely understandable panic session) he did try to wake Ingo, and every time he did Ingo just grumbled and snuggled harder into Excadrill, you may check his phone history if you like, because Elesa absolutely got to hear about all of this. Ingo, -////-

Also, maybe a few months after he gets home, on one of his first walks by himself since he got back (I think he’s sticking close to people at first, especially Emmet, and vice versa, because everyone’s feeling a little ‘ha ha trauma’), and this is the first time he’s late back. Emmet is genuinely taking this like a champ, doing a breathing exercise, positive affirmation that it’s only been ten extra minutes, petting a joltik, telling himself that if it gets later than fifteen minutes he can send Ingo a text-

And then Ingo bursts through the apartment door with the announcement of, “EMMET, FRESH BAGELS!!!” (extremely excited serious face)

Because he ran across a bagel place he’d forgotten about but instantly remembered he loves and stopped to impulse-buy two dozen assorted bagels. And didn’t consider that this might be Too Many Bagels until Emmet’s stress is being released via helpless laughter.

(They take most of the extras along when they go to grab Melli from Elesa’s gym that evening and share them around with some of the trainers who work there.)

[ghostypetrainer]

I was just thinking about how often the twins would be asked when and how Ingo was possessed in the non-modern Possession AUs after they return to the future. I'd bet the usual answer is just "that's personal information" and refuse to take further questions. Then I thought: but what if the public speculation started going wild, and some of the rumors were uncomfortably close to the truth (Volo probably has something to do with that, assuming the Nimbasa Zoroark community hasn't already found him and made him the 'guest of honor' at Zoroark BBQ).

So, the twins (and Elesa) hold a press conference along with a few experts they trust (like Shauntal), and proceed to spin the biggest load of BS imaginable to the reporters in attendance. They (or really, Shauntal and the other experts) say that when a ghost pokemon tries to pass on to the afterlife, they often reincarnate back in the world of the living, but sometimes this goes wrong and they still have the soul of the Pokemon they used to be. There is growing evidence that many human psychics and mediums are the result of this flawed reincarnation, but then there are people like Ingo whose soul can completely separate from his human body at will.

All of this is to say, everything's fine. Ingo's not actually possessed. His soul is just like that thanks to a cosmic oopsie. Also, it's completely normal (but rare) for humans to start developing ghost Pokemon traits when they are young. That just means they were a pokemon in a past life, but they're still the same kid they always were. Promise. There totally hasn't been a low-key Invasion of the Body Snatchers thing going on for a long time.

Emmet and Elesa are not happy about having to cover up and enable the Zorua possession thing, but they know that Ingo will have no chance of living a normal life if the public learned that a sizable community of Hisuian Zoroark existed in the current day along with the real reason that they've been able to evade detection, so they come up with a lie that hides it (and hopefully will prevent at least some parents from treating their possessed kids like the twin's parents treated Ingo).

Love this scenario!!! They have mixed feelings about basically covering up the whole body snatching thing that the Hisuian Zorua have going on, since they're in that awkward position where... yeah. They don't mind Ingo did it (or well, technically his Zoroark mother did it), and they're also okay with all of Ingo's various Zoroark friends! They don't want them to get exposed the same way Ingo did, especially when some of them have been through even worse things him growing up.

But they'll do it. For Ingo. Because they love Ingo no matter what, and they want to do whatever they can to protect him. Ingo is floored, because he definitely didn't ask them to do this!! But it's just more proof of how much they care about him, and he loves them for it.

[blaiddraws]

Not sure if this question is spoilery for Gunsmoke or rather Trigun so feel free to skip this ask or wait until you get to that point but I’m kinda curious about who represents Rem in your AU. Even if she’s long dead during the main events she is a key figure for Vash and Knives past in the original. (Also with Tesla involved in this AU it’s good to know how Ingo still chose to give humanity a chance since what happened to poor Tesla was horrible.)

Also asking since I’ve been humming Rem's Song "Sound Life" a lot since I discovered this AU.

rem represents rem. she doesn't change in this au lol

she's such a. particular. ?? character. again like you said she's SUCH a key character. i cannot think of a single pokemon character that is anywhere close enough for me to be satisfied with the choice. so i didn't. rem is still rem

[jade-nargacuga]

To go with the last idea, the last thing Emmet saw of his brother was the video Ingo was recording for him as he explored the Icelands of Hisui. He was watching it live and saw the Zoroark attack as it happened. He frantically texted Ingo after the recording stopped and even tried to call, but the call function for the Arc Phone was disabled and Ingo was long gone by then anyway. He then tried and failed to contact Arceus, but to no avail. 

He was absolutely inconsolable for MONTHS afterward, believing he had just witnessed his brother being murdered. What brought him out of it was when he finally revealed what happened to Elesa, who insisted he tell her why he was so sure Ingo was dead. He told her about their meeting with Arceus and showed her the phone and video. She is horrified at first but then catches the sound of Ingo’s fleeing footsteps at the end of the video, proving that Ingo managed to get away. And while the strange Zoroark was covered in red splotches, none of them seemed to be fresh blood, meaning that Ingo probably got away relatively uninjured as well. There is still a very good chance Ingo is alright, and simply hasn’t been able recover his Arc Phone due to it being lost in the territory of a dangerous pokemon.

They contact Drayden, the professors, EVERYONE they can think of to review the footage and find a way to find Ingo again, but even after 5 long years little headway is made since Time Travel is something only the most powerful legendary pokemon can achieve, and the legendary pokemon are as elusive as ever. Not that time travel alone would help them, since unbeknownst to them Ingo is also in a whole parallel world to them, not in the past of their own world.

I also have such a nasty evil plan involving a Zoroark later in the story. I mentioned before that I had the idea of an enraged Drayden attacking the MC because he thinks they are a Zoroark, and when it gets ‘proven’ he damn near kills her. Seeing that last video of Ingo has given his family serious PTSD as far as Zoroark are concerned, and Drayden will not tolerate a Zoroark impersonating his nephew and literally toying with their emotions.

[bellafragolina]

ok more sad shit. ingo & the hero manage to go home but since they were sent to hisui at different times they’re sent back to that same time so ingo is desperately looking for you like 3 years too early does this make sense i’m having trouble working it

It makes perfect sense! Also, how sad, searching for someone who won't be there for years :(

🍓🍓🍓

Ingo desperately pours over the internet, Emmet nervously fluttering at his side. He's silent, letting Ingo focus as he reads for your name. Surely, you exist? You have to. You told him! He searches for any instance of the name you gave him, but he wonders if it was even your real name, or did you only think it was? He tears his hair out wondering what could've become of you.

As days past, he throws himself deeper into his search. He desperately digs through memories for hints of where you were from. Did you ever mention a regional Pokémon? A local dish? An area distinct to one region? He combs through everything you've ever said to him, but can't seem to pinpoint you to one area. He worries he's not remembering something important, but no matter how hard or long he thinks, he can't recall anything specific enough.

He considers going to look for you, combing through each region until he finds you again. He wants to, desperately, but Emmet reminds him of his place here, with him and Elesa and their friends, the Gear Station too. Ingo can't drop everything and go off galavanting around the world. Besides, he's the famous one here. If anything, you're probably already on your way to him as they speak!

However, as days turn into weeks, and weeks into months, Ingo starts to lose hope. He mourns you, what you had, because obviously you aren't coming back. You would've found him by now if so. He resigns himself to the sorrow of love lost, and becomes far more subdued in his grief. Ingo doesn't stop running the subway or battling on the lines, but there's a noticeable dimming of the bright optimism he used to have. Hisui did a lot on him, and now he has to build up from the ground once more.

It's three years later when things come crashing down at his feet.

You stand before him on the Single Line, eyes wide and sad, staring at him. He stares back, unsure of how to proceed. You speak before he gets the chance to.

"I'm so sorry." You apologize, heartbroken for him. "I just got back a few days ago. I saw that. . . it's been three years for you, and I'm so sorry."

Ingo abandons his reservations, letting out a loud sob as he races to you, enveloping you in the tightest hug he can muster. He'd forgotten so much, how you felt against him, the scent of your hair, the taste of your skin beneath his lips.

You kiss him, and for the first time in years, Ingo feels like he's finally home.

🍓🍓🍓

Poor Ingo. He's really going through the wringer today, and there's still more to come! I hope you liked it, love! Have a wonderful day!!

~Renee