#technically a companion piece to the last Emmet one

[nell0-0]

I'm back on my bullshit, hi

(Without the cracking below)

[blognam333z]

Submas fate brothers AU

A very dumb idea, probably going to say sorry for my future-self. If it’s cringe. However, from the events of Pokémon legends Arceus, there’s many questions on why the god of Pokémon threw two people (Rei or Akari and Ingo) into the Hisui region. Wouldn’t that just make two mortals stuck in a paradox, their fate sealed to exist in the past, not their present lives?

Dialga is not having it, he and his brother Palkia were corrupted and later captured in the events of the Sinnoh region. Though it’s not much on paper, does this have to apply to every multiverse and timeline?

They’ve made a visit to their father about it, and in an unexpected turn in the conversation, they felt sympathy for the two mortals “trapped” in this fate. How this affects the lives they left behind and forgotten. Arceus was reluctant to comply without a word. Dialga left, leaving Palkia with Arceus. Palkia never sees what Dialga sees in the time stream, not that he doesn’t believe anything in what he said. Moreover, he can’t relate to the frustration of being bound by fate. Unexpectedly, Arceus responded, “For a change, we’ll intervene; you must not allow your brother to know. This will make a new tree, an alternative universe. We only have one chance to pull this through. I will give my blessing to the first mortal to be more fit to adapt to the harsh environment of the Hisui region, and you’ll guide the lone hero by disguising as a mortal traveler. Once your duty is done, you shall return him home.”

While for Dialga, he made an unexpected visit to the distortion realm. Of course, from the neglect, banishment of his sibling to a redemption to protect the universe rather than its destruction, this is overall remarkable. However, the reason Dialga visited is for something entirely different: Giratina never traveled outside his prison for millennia, and he offered to “help” with that. Dialga assumes his father / creator didn’t agree to change fate for the better since he chose to left early, nor does he trust Arceus for his authority over everything. Being given the job as the god of time is different from the viewpoints of what Arceus observed. He explained that with his ability, he can open a portal for the “next cycle” when the first chosen one is dropped. Dialga is aware he can’t bring Giratina as a whole; otherwise, it will gather too much attention, so he has a better plan. How about Giratina giving a mortal his blessing, a piece of himself while he stay mostly on duty in the distortion realm? This would in turn avoid breaking Giratina’s banishment as he’s technically not present. With that said, Ingo was originally the first mortal transported through time, and what better match to be his younger twin brother, Emmet, to be brought in? He’ll be given the goal of purifying these Pokémon, after all the corruption originated from Giratina’s energy from his past self, and to convince the village enough to not only co-exist with Pokémon but respect the world as it is and equally important as it’s never worth destroying it or play god.

For Ingo, he’ll follow along with the missions in the original game to capture and tame Pokémon, but with mystical powers protecting him and a mysterious companion. Unaware Emmet is here too, but spawn in a different location, for he will fix the Noble Pokémon and Alphas before his unsuspecting brother does. Helping him as he should and to prevent another passenger from being on this track, being sent off to their last stop. He could bring his brother a ride back home after a few weeks, not years! Better to not be veeeerrrry late on schedule. All abroad!

How chaos ensues for the twins possessing the blessings of gods unknowingly…

Bonus: Emmet finds himself enjoying these berries more than he anticipated from the lack of resources he has, or perhaps a piece of Giratina is partially influencing this euphoria, eating for the first time, though he, as a god, admitted he doesn’t need to. But the pleasure is satisfying and beneficial for both. Giratina started to see more of the light of the wonders of creation, instead of just fixing his past mistakes.

-Emmet and Ingo are the same age as in the events of Pokémon Black and White 2.

-This Emmet isn’t angst fanon; he’s more cannon, but he is saddened to hear the fate of his brother, though he is more surprised to be summoned by Sinnoh legendaries about the situation. He is more productive in executing the plan and is glad to help due to his logical thinking; he’s straight forward on the task. Though he can be a bit unnerving being a Pokémon battling enthusiast with Giratina powers.

-Emmet’s eyes can change to Giratina’s eyes, if he wants to, or if he is using Giratina’s powers to purify a Pokémon or protect himself. He doesn’t like the wings, as they would be cramped under his coat. Instead, he looks more like a hybrid of origin form Giratina. This form is for flight, by the way; he can return to looking human. Giratina is in his head, guiding him.

-Ingo is a similar case, though much more inexperienced in how to activate it. It mostly reacts by instinct to discomfort or danger. Whenever he touches a plate, much like Arceus equipping that item, it changes Arceus' typing. The visual change affects Ingo too, including his eye color and aura. He’ll look mostly human in his journey, as Arceus' blessing is just for Ingo to protect himself with. + prevent him from having amnesia from the fall.

-Why Palkia? Well, it would be better than a phone with the text message from God, “Capture all Pokémon." He would ironically work with the Pearl clan, though he was visibly confused by the misinterpretations these humans had of him and his brother as god god, or one is false and one is true. As much as he wants to say more accurately, the fact is that they are sons of the god of Pokémon, so he’ll have to play along. Somewhat filling in as the one stranger with “amnesia” due to his behavior of not knowing the basics of mortal life. Still, he’ll follow through with his creator’s plan.

-Emmet would have his Pokémon with him, while Ingo doesn’t and has to go to develop his team.

[agonyaster]

got the idea that ingo and dawn went home on a train in my head and once i saw @alfheimr’s ghibli train studies i knew it was a sign

companion piece about emmet and elesa here!

…

Dawn doesn’t like the Spear Pillar anymore, she decides. 

It’s cold, for one, which is a strange thing to hold against it. She never really minded the cold before; loved to spend hours frolicking around in the snow with her sister until their father dragged them inside and swaddled them in blankets to make sure the tips of their noses weren’t going to fall off. Grandfather would keep them from sneaking back out with stories, ones he probably made up on the spot, now that she thought about it.

As strange as it sounded, that cold was… warmer, in a way. Just the memory of catching the falling flakes on her tongue or making an army of snow-Bidoof outside their little house in Sandgem has a warm, fuzzy feeling gathering in her stomach, one that spreads out to the rest of her body in waves. Her grandfather would probably say it was the love in the air, warming her straight to her bones. Back then, Dawn would’ve rolled her eyes and told him to stop being such a sap. Nowadays she would give anything to hear his voice, rough and low but kind all the same. 

There is no love atop Mount Coronet. 

Perhaps there was, once, back when the Celestica people lived on this land. A temple constructed from gratitude, statues of heroes carved from worship; the sweet reverence oozed from every surface of the Temple of Sinnoh. 

There is even some awaiting it in the future, Dawn realizes, thinking of Cynthia and all the other people of Celestic Town. Even herself and Professor Rowan, with the way he looked at her— so damn proud— and put a comforting hand on her shoulder after their search. It was love, in its own way. 

But now, standing atop the peak of Mount Coronet, Dawn couldn’t find it within herself to give ‘Almighty Sinnoh’ anything. 

The air is completely still up here, but Dawn hates it more than wind. The cold seeps into her bones and locks up the joints in her fingers; whenever she moves it slices right through her Survey Corps uniform and grates her straight to her core. As she draws a breath, Dawn winces as the frigid air stabs her chest, prickly in a way that makes her want to turn her lungs inside out.

Standing on top of the world isn’t as fun as you think it is; especially when you’re standing alone. Not even her pokémon are by her side anymore. She wonders how the hero would have reacted, seeing the temple to their god in shambles like this, the statues of their partners turned to rubble. Distantly, she thinks about how she is a hero of Sinnoh now too, alongside them and Lucas.

Will she be in history books? Is she already? She wasn’t before, but none of that has happened yet, technically, so maybe? Dawn didn’t know. This time travel stuff hurt her head. 

She takes another breath. It stings less than the last one. 

Footsteps strike softly on the stone behind her and then there is someone standing by her side. 

“I apologize for the delay,” Ingo says, voice hovering in the air just a smidgen longer than it would have at sea level. “Departure is proving much more challenging than anticipated.”

Dawn gives a one-shouldered shrug. “It’s alright. We’ve waited this long, what’s a few more minutes?”

“You young people treat minutes like they’re the most valuable things in the world.” 

Dawn agrees, somewhat, but has to resist the urge to laugh at his words. He sounds like Calaba, which is a little scary because even though no one knows how old Ingo is, he’s definitely not anywhere near Calaba’s age. Maybe once they get back, they’ll learn his real age. That would be nice to know. 

“Are you not going to say goodbye as well?” Ingo asks. 

“I wouldn’t want to hold us up any longer,” she fibs.

“We’ve waited this long, what’s a few more minutes?” 

Dawn grimaces and lets her shoulders sag. “I don’t… want them to remember me like this.”

Ingo hums. “They wouldn’t mind, I think.”

“I do.”

“Oh. I see.”

Ingo doesn’t press any further. Dawn is grateful. Facing Rei and the professor was hard enough the first time around; she didn’t know if she could do it again.

“How are we to reach our destination?”

“I- uh, I’ll get it ready now.”

Dawn reaches into the satchel tied around her waist, fingers finding grip around the flute and pulling it free. 

The Azure Flute feels strange in her grasp. It’s cool to the touch, yet pulsates with an energy that makes her skin tingle. She’s only played it once before, having kept it tucked away in her satchel ever since its transformation. As childish as it sounds, something about it freaks her out.

Slowly, Dawn brings the flute to her lips and lets out an experimental puff of air. It travels through the flute, the sharp sound ringing in her ears. Dawn draws another breath and blows again as her fingers start to move on their own, tugged this way and that like a marionette on a string. Echoing sounds are strung together in a haunting melody that charges the air around her with energy. It thrums against her skin, insistent, and anticipation builds in her gut as the music calls into the void above. 

Before she knows it, Dawn is out of breath and she’s lowering the Azure Flute from her lips, tucking it into her satchel on instinct. When she opens her eyes, they burn at the sight in front of her; the stairs from before, their brightness a shining beacon leading up into the heavens and beyond. 

Wordlessly, she extends a hand to Ingo, who takes it. His grip is firm, rough skin keeping her prickling anxiety at bay.

Together, they ascend. 

Dawn doesn’t remember how many stairs they climb. It might’ve only been one, for all she knows. Her head spins as the silence presses in around her, this world above devoid of everything but her and Ingo, sitting and waiting to be judged. 

“Almighty Sinnoh,” she calls out, voice trembling the slightest bit. The title feels foreign on her tongue. Improper, almost, like it was something she stole. 

“Arceus.” 

The name is swallowed up by the void all around them, but Dawn doesn’t dare speak it again. It heard her.

She blinks, and when her eyes open again it is waiting for her. 

Sweat drips off of her brow and her stomach seizes. Her grip on Ingo’s hand tightens as her eyes itch uncomfortably, like this isn’t something she’s supposed to be seeing. It probably isn’t, in all honesty.

“Take us home.”

Waves of nausea roll over her as Dawn stares into the eyes of Arceus, which seem to pierce her very soul. This was wrong, so wrong— making demands of the creator of the universe wasn’t something someone like Dawn did. 

Arceus stares down at her before letting its eyes slide shut. It almost looks peaceful. 

Thou hast done well.

Arceus speaks directly into her mind and Dawn’s head throbs in protest. Mortal minds weren’t meant to comprehend the speech of a god, no matter if it wanted to assist or not.

Rest, my child.

The next thing she knows, Dawn is falling through empty space; wind whistling in her ears and heart thumping in her chest as she falls faster, faster.

“Do your best not to become uncoupled from me, Lady Dawn!” Ingo shouts. He’s got their elbows locked together, and through the darkness she can see his eyes glowing faintly, like dying headlights. Despite herself, Dawn giggles at the thought. 

How long they spend falling, she doesn’t know. Everything melts together, then fades away, until all Dawn knows is the blackness around her. The first sensation Dawn feels is a coolness against her cheek, the next a strange clicking sound coming from somewhere below her. She pushes herself up off of the floor, blinks the blurriness out of her eyes as she looks around.

The floor is wood, polished and waxed so thoroughly Dawn’s reflection stares back at her from it. Two long rows of seats line the room, breaking only near the ends and in front of a pair of double doors; looping handholds dangle from the ceiling, bouncing to and fro as the room moves through space; long windows break through the rich brown of the walls, revealing the dark void beyond. There are signs posted on the walls and stuck to the poles running from floor to ceiling, written out in the script of the Unown. 

“A train,” she says, a little breathless. “We’re on a train.”

Beneath her, the car jostles a little, like it was confirming her suspicions.

“Yes. A train.” Ingo sounds sure in his words, like he’s not just parroting back an unknown in an attempt to understand it. 

He’s a few feet away, stood at one of the pairs of twin doors and staring absentmindedly at his reflection in the windows set within them. His left hand rubs at his wrist where the band marking him as Lady Sneasler’s warden used to be.

“You know what a train is?” Dawn asks, rising to her feet and joining him by the doors. He barely seems to notice.

Ingo nods, still staring into the abyss. Through his reflection, Dawn can see the twinge of regret in his eyes. “I can’t believe I ever managed to forget them in the first place.”

“Well, it’s progress, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is.” Ingo chuckles to himself and draws his gaze away from the window. “But it is incredibly dangerous for us to be standing like this! Please, Lady Dawn, take a seat.”

She does and Ingo sinks down onto the spot next to her. Beneath their feet, the train rattles, rhythmic thumping jostling her ever so slightly. Dawn squints at the sign plastered above a set of doors, but only sees meaningless words in a language she doesn’t recognize. One lost to time, or maybe one that had never been found. 

“So. Any guesses for how long we’re gonna be here?”

“I’m afraid not. We must sit and wait, it appears.”

“Yeah. Guess it’s kinda hard to put an ETA on moving through space-time.” She thinks of the cracks in reality that would spring up in an instant, and the pokémon brought with them. She hopes they made it back okay, once the distortions faded.

The silence presses in around them. Dawn thought she had grown used to silence, but she was wrong; tt was never really silent on her surveys, the rustling of grass or distant chirping of a Starly filling the void. There was no grass and certainly no Starly here. 

“I, uh, is it weird for me to be grateful, in a way? For being sent to Hisui? Like, I get my entire life uprooted and I’m sent back to a time that doesn’t even have indoor plumbing with people who distrust my every move—“ Dawn says, wringing her hands in her lap. “But I don’t… If I could go back, and had a choice to do it again or not, I think I still would.” A sharp, awkward clear of the throat, and Dawn laughs. “That’s like, a little weird, right?”

“I don’t think you should let other people tell you how to feel.” Ingo hums. “Are you truly grateful for your time there?”

“Yeah. I am. If I hadn’t been sent I wouldn’t have been able to gather all this research, o-or learn so much about the way of life in the clans and meet so many people.” She pauses. “I wouldn’t have ever known you. I wouldn’t have been able to help you.”

“You have a kind heart, Lady Dawn.”

“Thank you.”

“Do not thank me for speaking the truth.” Ingo looks up at the ceiling, eyes squinting at the writing on the emergency hatch. “You remember your time before. You’re sure we didn’t know one another?”

“Pretty sure. I don’t even think we’re from the same region.”

“What makes you say that?”

“A few things, I guess.” Dawn shrugs. “You’ve kinda got an accent, and you mention pokémon that don’t sound like anything I’ve ever heard of. You’re a really strong trainer, too, even in a world where training and battling is unheard of and pokémon aren’t used to taking commands from people. In one where it’s normal, I’m sure you would’ve been even better. I think I would’ve heard about you if you were from Sinnoh.”

“I see. Did you seek out challengers?”

“Not really. My friends were more into that sort of thing.” Her heart sinks a little as she thinks of the two boys who rummaged through Rowan’s briefcase. “I’m not, uh, not really the best at pokémon battles.” Barry tried to get her into them, back then, but she never really got it. Turtwig never really wanted to battle anyway. Felt wrong to force him to.

Ingo’s brows raise. “I beg to differ.”

“Akari’s good at battling, then.”

His brows drop and furrow, the lines around his mouth deepening. “She still is you, Lady Dawn. That much you cannot deny.”

“Akari was a necessity.” Dawn exhales through her nose harshly. “I don’t want to have to be her anymore.”

“And I’m sure you won’t have to, but pretending that things never changed won’t help anyone. When I return to my life, my family,” Ingo’s voice catches on the word, “wherever and whoever they might be— adjustments will have to be made. The same is true for you.”

Dawn thinks of days spent in Snowpoint with her father, years ago, when her only aid to research was running around delivering it to other assistants. He promised to take her out on her first proper study, but the time for that had long passed. She couldn’t even remember how many studies she went on in Hisui. 

Her stomach clenches. “What if I don’t want things to change?”

“I’m afraid we cannot always get what we want.”

“Why not?”

“The forces which control this world… They did not build the world to accommodate humans and they do not change it to do so.”

Dawn wonders how Ingo even came to Hisui in the first place. He wasn’t brought to save it by Arceus, like she was, but he was there all the same; just another casualty of the conflicting nature of living.

“I… do you-” She bites down on her tongue, distrustful of the words that it might say. “I’m sorry, Ingo. I’m so sorry.”

“Why?”

Dawn startles. “Why? I lied that’s why. I lied to you, I-I said that my name was Akari and that I had amnesia like you did and it was wrong.” Her voice drops. “I tricked you into thinking there was someone else like you.”

“You are like me, Lady Dawn.”

“Not in the way you thought I was.”

“Within Hisui, you were the only one who understood, even the slightest bit.” He shakes his head slowly. “You were a frightened child, Lady Dawn. I do not blame you for your actions.”

“I still did it though.”

“That’s true, but there isn’t much we can do about it now.” Ingo twists his head to look at her, silver eyes cloudy with emotion. “Nothing but move on.”

“Yeah, that’s… Yeah.”

Silence falls over them as Dawn stares out the window, watching as the inky black slowly bleeds into something resembling the twinkling night sky. 

“I want to help you,” she says, voice steady.

Ingo shakes his head. “You’ve already done so much for me, I couldn’t possibly ask you for any more.”

“You’re not asking, Ingo, I-I want to help. I really do. You still haven’t gotten all of your memory back or met the man in white—“

“Lady Dawn, I wouldn’t wish to be a burden to you any longer. You deserve to go back to your life without worrying over me.” Ingo’s eyes burn into her, filled with so much regret that it makes Dawn sick to her stomach. 

“I’ll worry more if I don’t know what you’re up to,” she protests, the hands in her lap curling into fists. “Besides, weren’t you the one who said adjustments will have to be made? Why can’t you be one of them?”

Ingo snorts. “You’re very stubborn, aren’t you?” 

“You just learned that?”

He snorts again, but says nothing. Dawn fiddles with the end of her scarf, picking at the fraying threads. She knows she shouldn’t, she doesn’t have anyone to fix it for her anymore, but she does anyway.

“Of course you can help, Lady Dawn. I would be honored if we were to work together once more.”

She beams. 

It’s almost as if the train can feel her excitement, because it starts to speed up. The thudding of wheels passing over tracks grows faster and louder beneath her feet until the entire car is shaking around them. They’re moving faster, faster until the world outside the windows is nothing but a blur. Her hand finds Ingo’s, their fingers interlacing as she draws breath, deep and slow. He does the same.

Soon enough, the train screeches to a halt, the sound of metal against metal grating Dawn’s ears.

The world is quiet and still. Beside her, Ingo huffs out a breath.

“I believe that this is our stop, Lady Dawn.” 

He stands, gently tugging Dawn to her feet, and guides her across the car until they’re stood in front of the pair of double doors. 

“Are you ready for departure?”

Dawn’s own wild eyes stare back at her from the reflection in the window. Her hair is frizzed and her scarf is fraying, the foreign clothes of the Galaxy Team highlighted by the modernity of the train around her. She may look like a piece of history, but she was returning to her time. The right one. Maybe even bringing a little bit of history along with her, with tales of Beaufort the Dustox and clan rivalries and festivals filled with laughter and music and potato mochi. Even by bringing back the man who fell through spacetime.

“Yeah. I’m ready.”

Ingo doesn’t quite smile, the corner of his mouth twitching up only the slightest bit, but it warms Dawn from the inside out anyway.

“Please stand clear of the doors,” he says, reaching forward and flicking the latch free. Dawn’s eyes fixate on the movement, on the doors slowly sliding away to reveal the other side. “And watch your step while departing.”

Together, they step forward and out into the world. Dawn can feel the cool hardness of the concrete beneath her feet, even through her sandals. It’s a feeling she’d never thought she’d miss, but it grounds her now.

Her eyes take in a quick scan of the surroundings. They’re at a proper train station, based on the board of arrival and departure times and the map of all the lines plastered on the back wall. It’s surprisingly empty, too, the only people she sees are the loose half-ring of trainers surrounding them. 

Most of them are in green uniforms, pokéballs in hand— real ones, with that shiny finish and sleek design and perfectly round buttons— standing at attention. Or they would’ve been, if they didn’t look so shocked. One of them looked ready to burst into tears, another more angry than anything else. Dawn forces herself not to shrink underneath their gazes.

There’s a tall woman standing near the center, with two coils of dark hair and a large yellow coat. She looks ready to cry too, a dangerous mixture of confusion and relief swirling around on her face. Her eyes are fixed onto Ingo, but she keeps blinking like she expects him to disappear when she opens them up again. 

But most importantly, there is a man. He stands in-line with the woman, eyes just as wide as hers, clutching a pokéball within his grasp. His posture is stiff as a board, his clothing pressed to perfection, all straight lines and sharp edges. 

He is the man in white. The one who shares Ingo’s face. 

The grip on her hand tightens and Ingo tenses, drawn taut like a fishing line. There’s something in his expression that she can’t quite read, even as Dawn searches over and over.

Then, all she can do is watch as the line snaps. Ingo’s grip in her hand goes slack and he rushes forward, pure joy blossoming on his face as he and the man in white slam into each other, collapsing into a tangle of limbs and tears and delight. 

Quietly, Dawn sends a prayer of thanks up to Arceus.