#which means emmet should catch one

[solroskajan]

All sneasels use their claws to fight and be annoying. Except that one, it only bites.

[leggerefiore]

What's the funniest thing, intentional or not, the kids have done?

Inka tried to intimidate Emmet by stomping up to him and getting into his face when she was eight. Emmet just looked down at her flustered face and teary eyes as she demanded he let him take a train alone to Castelia because she was "mature" enough to handle it. He had to fight back laughter, but his smile did stay on his face. She then called him an evil eel which made his laughter ring out. He did take her to Castelia afterwards as an apology for laughing at her. She made him buy them Casteliacones and visit the park.

Emma broke Emmet when she watched his Galvantula catch a Wurmple in its web and sighed that it would never be beautiful unlike her. He was impressed by her self confidence and distressed by her watching his Galvantula eat. The laughter came with concern.

Erin should not be laughed at, because he will tear up. Yet, he is so unintentionally funny. To his parents horror, he often cries about how when Ingo "wrestles" you, that both of you do not let him sleep with you even if he had a bad dream. Emmet cackles at that and tells Ingo that he is being verrrrry cruel. He also is prone to running into walls – He is quite similar to his Skitty in that regard. (Assuming he's friends with Nero, he repeats things Grismley says around him with absolutely no idea what they mean. His innocence paired with his words is horribly comedic. Ingo is too angry at Grimsley to laugh, though.)

Lenie is comedic in the sense she says everything with the same horrible deadpan as her dad. She will tell jokes with a serious expression, like someone informing another person of a terrible accident. "... Knock knock," a serious voice came out from the little girl as she mimicked the motions of knocking on the door. Her face was frozen in a stern expression. You replied with a who's there, naturally. She got closer to you. "Boo." "Boo who?" She wiped your eye. "Oh, don't cry." You burst in to laughter at her unchanging expression more than the joke.

Grimsley claims the funniest thing Nero has ever done is say he will beat him one day in battle. He only pet the boy on his head and said that he was waiting for the day. (He was pissed when he later was actually beaten by Nero. This was then funny to you.) He also accidentally replied "Please go die, dad." once to Grimsley when he was asking about his schoolwork. It is always comedic when those two but heads, since they are similar despite everything.

Morrigan, on the other hand, makes everyone laugh when she joins her dad's poker game with a trained poker face and declares she is going to win. Grimsley was the only one at the table who did not laugh. She did win. Then, Grimsley laughed.

Astrea's comedy is constantly nearly getting Volo captured. Little girl is constantly almost blowing his cover. How she keeps doing it is amazing. This is only comedic to Arceus.

[belltrigger]

Submastober Day 05!

Inspiration: There's an older OC-tober prompt-list here that I am using.

Title: Failure Is Just the First Step Towards Success Prompt: Failure Word count: 891 Synopsis: Emmet is not having much success in getting what he wants.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

“What a fine day today is!” Ingo said aloud as he settled down in some lush green grass, under the shade of an old but sturdy tree. The shadow of the tree top reached just past his feet if he stretched his legs out, but he sat cross-legged, leaning back with his hands supporting his weight. The canopy above swayed in the gentle breeze, the dark green and peeking sunlight a vivid contrast against the vibrant blue sky.

Flopped with all the grace of a magikarp on the ground next to him was Emmet, arms and legs spread in an x-shape. Ingo did not chastise him about his rough landing, did not warn him of the grass stains sure to come with such a careless flop. His twin's decision to wear white was his own, and with the day they'd had, he suspected Emmet would add it to his already numerous complaints. Emmet had huffed as soon as he hit the ground, pulling his white and gray plaid cap down over his face. “It is not,” came his muffled pout.

“How can you say that!” he countered as he glanced down at Emmet, hand going to the brim of his matching black and gray plaid cap. “The sun is shining so brightly, the breeze is invigorating, and we are have nearly arrived at our next station.” In truth, he knew exactly what was causing his brother frustration, but Emmet was usually so cheerful that it was always strange when he was not. “I know you are looking forward to their famous ice cream sundaes, and we have saved up for us each to get our own.”

Emmet lifted one leg and then thunked it back on the ground, in imitation of stomping his foot in protest. “I am Emmet. I do not care about ice cream. I care about catching a tynamo.”

Looking out into the distance towards the cave they'd spent much of the early hours of the day within, Ingo made a contemplative sound. “Chargestone Cave is certainly challenging.” Ignoring the look that Emmet surely had on his face underneath his cap at the unnecessary use of alliteration, he continued on. “The tynamo that are willing to allow you near them are not fit for your standards. Perhaps we should go deeper into the cave in order to find a suitable partner for you.” His brother had extremely exacting tastes, and Ingo wondered if they would be able to find a wild pokemon that measured up to what Emmet was looking for in a partner.

That being said, they didn't exactly have the means to breed the ideal pokemon yet - it would be an intensive process surely, and Emmet would likely not stop until he found exactly what he was looking for. So, for now, they would have to chance their luck in the wild, which was proving to be much lower odds than Emmet was apparently hoping for.

Still, Ingo would never think to ask his brother to lower his standards. They were going to be the strongest trainers they could be, continuing down the tracks towards even greater skills all while staying together. In order to accomplish such things, they needed the very best pokemon by their sides. Of course, pokemon were intelligent and wonderful creatures, so they could not simply be recruited for the short term in a constantly revolving cycle of new partners. He knew that Emmet felt the same, that any pokemon they gained as a partner was intended to be a long-term companion.

Emmet was quiet for a while, possibly deciding on what he wanted to do. Ingo let him think, content to stare out over the land in front of them, and simply enjoy the view and weather. He thought about how happy he was that he and Emmet thought so similarly about the important things. He thought about what he could do to support Emmet's journey. He thought about what ice cream he would get when they did get to their next destination.

Finally, after a bit of thought, Emmet sat up, correcting the position of his cap upon his head. “I am Emmet. I have decided.”

Ingo turned to his twin with an inquisitive smile. “What have you decided, Emmet?” Surely, his twin had weighed their options and determined that the best tracks to follow led them further into Chargestone Cave. Pushing his weight forward, Ingo brushed his hands off to remove any lingering blades of grass. They still had plenty of daylight left, so unless Emmet became particularly stubborn about not failing in his mission, they would exit the cave with enough light to make it to the next town easily.

When Ingo's eyes widened in a bit of surprise, Emmet's smile brightened and he held out his hand to Ingo. It seems that he'd come to a completely different conclusion than Ingo had expected. Not that it was an unpleasant one, Ingo thought as he reached out to take Emmet's outstretched hand. Standing up and brushing their clothes off together, they held hands the entire way to the ice cream shop.

Later that day, Emmet discovered a tynamo that had a particular fondness for ice cream.

[thelemonsnek]

There are a lot of fun questions that come about from a tma-verse. How faithful are we talking. Are they full blown Avatars? Do they have to feed their patron? If so how would they go about it? I do believe a subway system would be pretty rich in targets as they have commuters that come day in and day out.

[vibrating at a speed that shatters glass] I am SO glad you asked

It is very faithful to tma canon, because instead of being eebied to Hisui, Ingo instead ends up in tma London! So the first part of the au is quite literally in tma. There's a whole running gag that Jon used to be into pokemon, and he gives Ingo and Emmet a copy of Pokemon White to play and they mark it with the Spiral and Buried respectively, and eventually it just gets marked by so many different avatars that that's what starts the apocalypse instead of the statement Elias gives Jon. Ingo and Emmet do get back to the pokemon universe before that happens though so it's fineeeeee

(They also bring the entities to the pokemon universe in coming home)

Are they full blown avatars?

Yes they are!! Ingo became an avatar when he became the Distortion, and Emmet became an avatar to escape Ingo's subway :)

For context on that, when Ingo and Emmet first reunited, it. Didn't go well! Because Michael had latched onto Ingo as a perfect victim (he was literally questioning the entire foundation of his reality, how could Michael resist?) and used Ingo's vague memories to torment him with the idea of the man in white

So Ingo doesn't think Emmet is real, and they end up fighting, and in that fight it comes up that Ingo has been eating people bc. He's the Distortion, that's what the Distortion does. And Emmet is like WHAT THE FUCK. THATS NOT OKAY. And anyways things continue and Ingo is convinced of Emmet's realness and is like oohhhh. He was important to the person Ingo. He could make me be that person again (bc the Distortion is a what, not a who, but just like Helen, he wants that anyways)

So he says to Emmet, "I have missed you so much. We can catch up, on the subway" and there, impossibly on the wall, is a sliding door leading to a subway car

Ingo is Emmet's brother. He will always trust him. He walks through the door, and finds himself in an impossible, endless subway

By now their argument has caught up with Ingo, and he's like. Ah. Emmet, the thing that anchored me to myself for the first time, said I shouldn't eat people. So I won't. And he goes on a hunger strike

Problem is, because of him doing that, Emmet can't get out. There is no out

But, a pressure at the back of his head whispers, there is a way down. And he Becomes, and begins to understand why Ingo took those people. He understands, because he has his own subway now

Do they have to feed their patron?

Also yes :) and yes, the subway is a verrrry convenient way to feed, especially since their domains are both subways as well! Very verrrry easy to be in a rush to get to your destination and take the wrong door :)

It's a bit of a perfectly awful situation really! They're both each other's anchors, which is great because they're good anchors to their sense of selves. The problem is, they kind of have this massive echo chamber going on, where as long as the other agrees and says that the act was justified, anything goes. And of course, with feeding, it keeps the other person healthy and alive. Why wouldn't they want their brother, their anchor, to stay safe? So their morals degrade rather rapidly!!

As far are their domains go, they're both differently flavored subways that have some degree of overlap (meaning it's possible to start in one, and end up in the other). Ingo's an endless maze that should not be possible. Trains that just never stop, stairwells that go on forever only to lead to nowhere, windows that show cities that don't exist

Emmet's is much more centered around the claustrophobia of the subways. Passageways that are a little too small, ceilings that are surely too cracked to hold, the weight of the world bearing down above you, held off only by the flimsy, crumbling cement. The trains are tight, dirty. There's never enough light to properly see anything

This video reminds me a lot of Ingo's subway :)

And this post is both of them tbh, in my tags I explain how it's Emmet, Ingo I think is self explanatory

[dittolicous]

bad news: WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME I MESSED UP AND GAVE INGO GURDURR/CONKELDURR WHEN HE SHOULD HAVE BOLDORE AND VICE VERSA W/ EMMET

good news: but I unintentionally fixed this by having gurdurr evolve into conkeldurr, as this requires trading. meaning well, of course they have the other pokemon, the twins traded!

bad news again: except I made a point about the twins wanting to try a team duo requiring that trade-to-evolve which led to them catching karrablast and shelmet, not gurdurr and boldore

actually, good news: except I purposely *didnt* evolve boldore cuz I figured not all Pokemon want to evolve... so maybe the trade/duo wouldn't count towards the idea, which comes after the trade anyhow!

aka ditto solves a problem she didn't realize she has and doesn't notice until months after the fact

im a genuis ☆⌒(≧▽​° )

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

Does Ingo magic Ever get UNblocked? Mayeb its an emergency and He overwhems the block trying to use it so hard bc Someone is in danger(maybe dying and he can heal them) or maybe its undone (Which I say Irida should have done the moment they gained his trust which makes me think that maybe its not very simple easy or possible)

The broken bond is gut-wrenching I cant stand it, maybe instead being in Hisui means hes too far to SUMMON Chandelure but Its still there,just faint and faded. A soul bond is a soul bond its not 'till death do them part' its 'Where you go I will follow' , a thing that goes beyond death which does lend it toward being more an ace only type of deal. The ONLY reason that Emmet knows Ingo is alive is that Chandelure is still there. Its empathetic tho so maybe pain or distress can filter through the bond as strained as it is which Does Not Reasure Emmet.

WELL, i mean i can't very well say he has this crazy powerful magic and then not ever let him use it, can i lol. the question is just... how.

though re: irida, i think it's also not so much a lack of trust as just like. i mean like i said before, it feels like playing catch with high explosives. like, ingo doesn't even remember where he learned light magic, what if he tries to use it one time and screws up and something goes horribly wrong?? what's the guarantee he can control it perfectly every time? that his instinctive memory of how to use it is guaranteed to be right? it just feels safer for everyone to not even try. plus it's not like he's ever complained about it so he must not mind, right? ...right?

i do love the idea that he can undo it himself tho and just... hasn't yet out of courtesy. i mean, thinking about it, someone must have been around to soulbond them with their aces the first time, and if light is another primal force on the level of space/time/sky, maybe they can just make that tap themselves. and i don't remember if i've really discussed this before but reshiram/zekrom are deeply humanistic gods, so it's entirely possible that unlike others, an accomplished light mage doesn't even need a divine object to act as a conduit. light magic is already so responsive to human desire. so ingo's left it as it is because irida's clearly concerned about it, but then he has very good reason to use magic and he just. rewrites his own personal truth to not include it, like it's nbd. and irida's like (suddenly even more terrified of him) YOU COULD DO THAT THIS WHOLE TIME??

though funny as that mental image is if he's just forcibly overpowering it like you described, i also feel like that would be very taxing. especially if he's also interfering with or working around his soulbond with sneasler (or whatever her name is in this world). like he succeeds in whatever healing magic he needed to do, and then passes out immediately afterwards. and now whoever was dying isn't anymore but he might be, they can't immediately tell, and everyone's got a lot of questions that apparently only irida can answer

...another option, if the original soulbond with chandelure isn't broken (maybe just like, repressed or very faint) is that in his moment of panic, it's actually chandelure it self (or emmet, through chandelure?) that reaches out through the soul link and undoes the block. and it's like, the first approximation of proper contact they've had with him since he disappeared, and their only new information from it is that someone not only fucked with chandelure's soul link but completely locked his magic, what the fuck are they doing to him?? whoever's doing it is pissed the hell off but the link isn't very stable so they really only have time to unlock it and for ingo to get a vibe that someone somewhere is Very Angry, and then it's gone and the link is dead again and he's got bigger problems.

[ Anonymous: I think I need to clarify when I said "Where u Go I will follow" bc its. Late and I wasn't quite thinking all my thoughts onto the page. Bonded dont die the moment thir other does. Its just like a broken heart that bleeds for them. Chandelure however Is a ggost and probably immediately follow just by nature of being ghostly. most creatures DO die of a broken heart bc Bonded are very close Partners. Not all. Some pick up the pieces and forge on but their is a grief to them for the rest of days. ]

i do think that if the bond is there, it should be so faint as to be almost imperceptible bc otherwise it gives too much away/leaves too much of an open lead re: ingo and his past, and especially considering the mechanics of adding more than one soulbond might interfere with his being a warden. unless it's so dim and repressed that irida didn't even notice it at the time. though thinking of it, that could be a potential answer to "why is ingo joining this party:" he's trying to pursue this vague lead as to his past, and figures traveling with them is as good a way to do it as any.

[nimbasa-librarian]

On Your Behalf

“You’ve got a lotta fuckin’ nerve!!” 

Emmet startled at his friend’s shouting, eyes catching the startled gaze of two passengers on the subway

“What?” 

“Ye he’rd me!” Anya glowered “Talkin’ out loud sayin’ such cruel thin’s when ye know he’s right here!!” 

Emmet seemed to only just realize that's what she was mad about. 

“Ah, Anya-” 

“Hey- its not-” 

“Not wha?? A big deal?? Sayin’ someone’s happy someone they love disappeared?? You don’ know ‘im!!” 

The rumors swirling around Emmet six months after Ingo’s disappearance were really starting to get nasty. 

Rumors he had something to do with the disappearance, that he had been jealous of his brother, that he’d secretly hated him. 

That he was happy his brother was gone. 

Sure, it hurt, but it wasn’t something that Emmet wasn’t at least a bit used to as a public figure in Nimbasa. Elesa had been keeping an eye on anything being published, but couldn’t do much about rumors. 

But judging by just how real Anya’s current scowl was, it seemed she was going to try to take that into her own hands. 

“Neither’a you got any fuckin’ manners!! If y’r gonna be a buncha spineless cowards spreadin’ bullshit, do it at home!!” 

Lucky for everyone involved, the two bozos stage whispering about how “happy” Emmet looked (he was not. He was tired) bolted the moment the subway car got to its next station. 

Was that their station? Did it matter?

Daniel and Drew were promptly trying to get Anya’s full attention to calm her down, and Emmet would admit he was at a bit of a loss as to if he could help. 

“... Anya?” 

She glanced over at him, before looking down at her hands, then back at him. 

“Ah… you are upset. Let us get off at the next station. We can walk” 

She just nodded, and Drew wrapped his arms around Anya’s. Daniel ended up doing the same to Emmet’s arm, opposite his arm band, and giving off an odd purring sound. He had heard it before, it was a sound of… gratitude? That was the best word for it. 

When they got off, Emmet directed Anya to the employee doors, and - with practiced ease, found his way to the quiet room across the way from the offices in that particular station. 

He shut the door behind him, and looked back at Anya, who hadn’t said a word, and she signed a simple word - a question

[Good?]

Emmet almost wanted to laugh “I am Emmet. I should be asking you that. You got very upset” 

Her brow knit in confusion 

[Of course.]

“Of course?” 

Anya took a moment to think - clearly trying to sort out the Unovan from Galarian sign in her head, before returning to the conversation with - 

[They hurt you. Mean words. Need to shut up]

Emmet huffed “Anya, I do not need defending from baseless rumors.” he argued “I am used to it” 

She didn’t respond to that, clearly frustrated but not about ready to speak just yet. Emmet looked towards the sensory tools. 

“Do you want a fidget?” 

She shook her head, sitting down on the larger couch and leaning her head back, Drew looking frustrated, but more so with her than him, it seemed. 

Daniel shared a look with him, and - still wrapped around Emmet’s arm, encouragingly pulling him towards the couch. 

Emmet decided to take the pokemon’s lead, and sat down a respectful distance away from Anya. When he sat down, Daniel let go of them, and seemed to spot something, and his face lit up with an idea. 

Daniel returned to his side with a pen and some loose papers that were left on the table just across the room. 

“Ah, perfect!” 

Emmet took a deep breath - if Anya wanted to use this, it might help, certainly 

“Thank you, Daniel” 

Emmet looked back over to Anya, who was doing some sort of breathing exercise. A part of him wanted to know which one, and watched for a few moments. 

Ah. Box breathing. Smart. 

He waited for a little longer, seeing her fall back into a normal breathing pattern, and opening her eyes. 

“Anya?” 

She looked over at him. 

“Would you like a pen and paper?” 

Her eyes lit up at the offer, and she nodded. He handed her the paper and pen, and she leaned over to the side table, immediately starting to scribble. Emmet just hoped that he could read her handwriting. 

It took her quite a while - he almost felt nervous. 

But he eventually was handed the paper, and looked over the message she scribbled down in her script. 

‘Of course I was upset. Those people knew that you had to keep up your decorum in public, and expected to get away with spreading flat-out lies about you and hurting your feelings! I have no such reputation, and rather than let them get away with treating you in such a way, I took the matter into my own hands. If they had not left, my time in wrestling would have come in handy. You are my friend. Friend’s defend each other.’

Emmet stared down at the words his friend had scribbled, and was filled with a sense of intense gratitude - and just a hint of confusion. 

Emmet swallowed his emotion for a moment, looking over at his friend and asking- 

“You used to wrestle?” 

[hehe-hoho-ohno]

Uhhh for the ask game, 4, 13, 26, 40, 45, 48, snd 63??

If this is too many questions, please choose the ones you feel most like answering!

I also wanted to say your work is awesome and thanks for sharing it!! Your characterizations of the twins are awesome and very cool!!!

I'm gonna post this now before I go to sleep and lose my sleep-deprived confidence lol

Aaaaaa! Thank you! I'm glad you like it!

That is a lot of questions, but I will do my best!

4. What is the plot bunny you've been carrying the longest? Optional bonus question: do you ever wonder why you haven't written it yet and experience deep existential dread?

Eh, the plot bunny I've had the longest is some non-fandom stuff, to which I will spare you the details.

My longest held *submas* plot bunny would be a Nimbassa Trio focused story. It would have been a young Elesa POV fic where she is on her pokemon journey, where she occasionally runs into and slowly befriends Ingo and Emmet. The catch is, due to only ever seeing them separately, she thinks they are one very eccentric and forgetful person rather than two identical twins. Hijinks ensue.

I haven't written it because I started writing Two Car Train instead, and it wasn't an idea I was super attached to.

13. Talk about a writing experience that pleasantly surprised you

Not to give the same answer that everyone gives to this question, but the positive response my works have received. A lot of people have been extremely kind and supportive, and I am very grateful.

26. Do you like to write one-shots or series, and why?

I prefer one-shots because I'm more likely to finish those and there is less pressure overall.

45. Name three of your favorite fanfic writers.

This is such a difficult question. There are so many good ones! In fact, I'm so bad at picking favorites I'm about to pick way more than 3. Ngl, this is such a mean question. There are so many writers that I like.

The submas/PLA ones: (in no particular order, and despite being stupidly long I'm still somehow leaving out a lot of really good writers that I really like)

- WaywardStation (if you want Uncle Ingo content, this is where you go. Immaculate Ingo characterisation all around)

- Random_ag (their fics that aren't YOUR GOING BACK HOME FUCKER actually don't do that well statistically. If you have time, you should check some of their other stuff out and drop a comment :))

- Blaiddsumu (they're better known for their art here on Tumblr.hellsite but they do write as well and it's very good. I particularly liked the Undertale crossover)

- DoobleBugs (like above, better known for their art but they have some banger fics too)

- Koidefender: (Nobody reads their Emmet centric stuff. You should read their Emmet centric stuff)

- EVTrainingUniversity (Has recently passed 50 pokemon fics, and I am impressed)

- Bluegamergirl11 (great for hurt/comfort. Will stomp on your heart and then put a bandage on it.)

- StellarCoachman (updates so quickly and I'm very impressed.)

- ImpossibleJedi4 (all around cool dude)

- 4phoenixfeathers (I am particularly fond of their fusion AU)

- Yautjan (In Tandem is so good)

(I'm cutting myself off here or we'll be here all day)

Non-submas writers: (they are all Sanders Sides writers, which was accidental on my part)

- SoDoRoses (lots of queer content. Has gender. Has ace rep)

- AdrianaintheSnow (sometimes I will read the summaries and be all 'I dunno about this one, chief' but then I'll actually read it and it's a banger everytime)

- arealsword (thoughtful, existential, and clever writing. One of my all time favorites. Strange AUs but the bizarrness is a key part of the charm)

48. Do you reread your own stories?

Sometimes. If I'm trying to return to a muilt-chapter, I'll read the previous chapters to jog my memory. Unfortunately, there is a 50/50 chance that I'll find my old work so painfully cringe that I physically can't read it.

63. What's the best insult you've read in a fic?

I know I must have read some absolutely scathing ones, but I'm afraid nothing is coming to mind right now. Sorry!

[ghostypetrainer]

POV: you are competitive trainer living in Unova. You used to frequent the Battle Subway before all hell broke lose in the region, leading to one of its leaders going missing and the other devoting his energy to battling against the members of Team Pearl and its enigmatic leader, who social media quickly dubbed ��The Black Fox’. Later on it’s revealed that the missing Subway Boss and the Black Fox were the same person, and that the newly crowned Champion of Unova was actually plotting to rewrite reality to better suit themselves. It’s a whole thing.

The Battle Subway resumes activities, and Subway Boss Emmet returns to his post. Subway Boss Ingo does not. You hear that he lost his position in the fallout of his actions and are only mildly surprised that him actually being a ghost type variant of Zoroark has nothing to do with the decision. You hear rumors that he still shows up sometimes on the Battle Subway anyways, but you’re never lucky enough to catch him on one of those days. He has four very strong new Pokemon on his roster, including a nearly extinct evolution of a Sneasel variant.

You then hear another rumor- there’s another battle facility being set up in Lostlorn Forest, though it isn’t official by any means. It’s quickly dubbed as the Path of Solitude, as you can only bring one Pokemon with you. The rumors say it’s being led by ex-Boss Ingo, and all the trainers you battle are just like him- Zoroark wearing human flesh. You’re curious, so you decide to go.

You arrive past midnight. The Path of Solitude only begins after dark. The first trainer you battle against is just a kid, whose hat reminds you of Gym Leader Clay. He has a tough part steel type Goodra, but you brought your trusty Darmanitan, so you clear him easily. The next is a polite young woman from Kalos, who fights fire with fire- and also rock, which is a little scary. You get past her though, and arrive at the next trainer- a tough looking man who uses ice types. You think this will be easy, but his Avalugg is also part rock type, apparently. Waiting for you after this is a young woman you recognize as the girl from the news- the spark that set everything off. She has an Espeon and she’s tough, but it’s the battle after her you nearly lose to- the teen girl has a strong Krookodile that nearly Earthquakes you into submission, but you just manage to scrape past.

(you vaguely recognize her as the girl who was always following around Boss Ingo on the Subway. somehow you’re not surprised to learn she was a Zoroark too.)

(all of their eyes glow in the dark, the only source of light beyond your flashlight.)

You finally get to Boss Ingo- and now you understand why the person who told you about the Path of Solitude had that mischievous glint in their eyes. You would have liked some warning that he was doing this in full Black Fox persona, but you should have seen it coming, really. Boss Ingo has always been kind of intimidating, but he’s twice as imposing now. You remember the other rumors that the Zoroark living in him was maybe triple the size of a normal one. You wonder, briefly, if this was really a good idea.

He crushes you, of course. His Gliscor is just that strong. He’s just as polite about it as he ever was on the Battle Subway- and he also recognizes you and thanks you for coming out all this way. He removes his mask to speak with you, lets his eyes flicker from Zoroark gold to human silver- they still glow, however. He gives you tips on how to improve. You leave still vaguely terrified, but honestly you had a good experience.

You also don’t warn the next person you tell about the final boss.

[pokenimagines]

A/N: For the plot’s sake, Ingo hasn’t visited Jubilife yet. He’s been a warden but he’s kept to himself so when Emmet shows up, nobody would make the connection unless they were in the Pearl Clan. Also Irida or the other pearl clan members notice the resemblance however none of them are gonna speak up on it. In my head it’s more of a “Well we don’t know this random dude and he’s really loud and kinda intimidating.” and a little mix from Irida of “He’s a weird guy and is Ingo’s opposite and I feel like it would be rude to ask and maybe offend someone who can help us.”

Part 1 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Extras: Part 6 | Part 7

Discord (16+) - Request Information

Arceus' Mistake Pt. 2

Your arrival in Hisui was more of a crash landing…right in the middle of a field next to some ocean. You and Emmet both stared up into the sun, dazed and confused. That’s when you met poor Professor Laventon, a man who wouldn’t even catch a pokemon despite being a professor. You two helped him catch the very familiar pokemon with ease, not even having to battle then, before he took you to the village.

Ancient Hisui was certainly a different atmosphere and both you and Emmet were basically vibrating with excitement. Knowing after you solved whatever problems there were, you would basically get Ingo back and a fun adventure to tell others.

Then you two met Cyllene and what was known as “Team Galaxy” which threw you two for a loop. You had been given the task of capturing three pokemon to prove your worth and they just tossed two baby pokemon at you and Emmet and shoved you through the gates. A young member, Rei, offered to show you guys the ropes, but you had politely declined just so you and Emmet could have some alone time.

The moment you two were in the vast Hisui wilds you turned to one another, “Okay so I’m the only one thrown off by the whole Team Galaxy thing and Cyllene looking a little too much like Cyrus?” You asked Emmet, who nodded.

“Are they the bad guys? Did we just join a criminal organization? Are we criminals now?” Emmet asked and you shrugged, turning over your shoulder and seeing a Bidoof. You didn’t even turn when you tossed the pokeball behind your back to catch it.

“They could be…I dunno we follow our own rules. Don’t trust anyone. Who knows where Arceus sent us. We solve the problems, goof off a little bit, maybe burn a few buildings, then get Ingo back. Then we pretend it was all a fever dream.” The pokeball in the back clicked shut, letting you know you caught the Bidoof.

Emmet casually tossed a pokeball out into the air, a small Starley flying by getting hit and going into the ball. “So do you think we’ll be meeting a lot of…ancestors?” Emmet hummed, thinking of the right word.

“Probably…I mean did you get a glimpse of the Commander in the hallway when he was talking to someone. He totally has the same eyebrows and mustache as Professor Rowan. No way they aren’t connected.” You huffed as you two began walking. A small Shinx came out from a bush right by the bridge and made a mad dash towards you.

You simply lifted your leg and the little pokemon hit a tree directly behind you. You dropped the pokeball on him as Emmet began speaking, “Think we might find our own ancestors here?” he asked, his grin spreading despite his voice staying as monotonous as always.

“Who knows, people traveled a lot during this time. Maybe we’ll find a future train obsessed weird out here.” You chuckled as you picked up the Shinx. “Think we should head back. They didn’t say we both needed to catch all three each. Just we needed to catch three.”

“Sounds a bit deceptive…I like it. Let’s go! All aboard!” Emmet yelled, pointing off towards the village.

Crafting

“This is stupid.” You murmured, looking at the apricorn and hunk of rock that someone claims was known as a tumblestone. “We gotta make shit now? How come we can’t buy it?” You grumbled, trying to figure out how to make a pokeball.

“It would appear it’s because we’re broke.” Emmet nodded, also trying to figure out what to do. Somehow he was doing better than you, which annoyed you to no end.

“Everyone makes their own supplies here in Jubilife. It’s just part of life.” One of the other survey corps members, Akari, tried explaining. Her twin brother, Rei, leaned on the bench and smirked.

“It’s simple, really.” He was almost egging you on.

“Listen dude, I dunno about you but I already own like three pokemon and one of them is an electric type. I can and will shock you if you don’t shut it.” You warned, playing with one of the balls on your hips that contained your baby shinx. Rei put his hands up, backing away.

“S-sorry, no need to be violent.” Rei said while giving his sister the side eye.

“Uh…well I’d be careful if I were you two. You’re not exactly trusted as of yet so even if it’s a joking threat…” Akari tried warning but Emmet was quick to chime in.

“Oh, they don’t joke about bodily harm. Once they almost pushed me off a cliff.” Emmet said and you chuckled.

“It’s because you were making those god awful train noises while we were on our way to the top of Mount Lanakila over in Alola. You were doing it for three hours…straight. Even your brother almost pushed you off. Be lucky your Archeops still loved you after all that and saved your ass.” You said, looking at one of your crudely made pokeballs.

“What’s an Archeops?” Akari tried getting to a new subject.

“A beautiful flying pokemon!” Emmet said in his conductor’s voice, “About this big.” Emmet made a show of elongating his arms to show the side, “And less than half of my weight. Beautiful colors and the ability to fly. It’s a rock type though, don’t be fooled.” 

“A flying…rock type? Sounds made up, but I guess with pokemon you never know.” Rei said with a shrug, not sure if he believed Emmet or not.

“You sound made up.” Emmet deadpanned, causing Rei to open his mouth. Before he could say anything, Emmet was looking at you and your creations, “That looks like shit.” He noted on your pokeball.

“You look like shit.” You tossed an apricorn directly into his face. Emmet paused for a moment before grabbing one of his own apricorns and tossing it at you. You managed to move out of the way, letting the apricorn hit Rei. In a matter of five minutes, the walkways of Jubilife were clear as you, Rei, and Emmet were in an all out apricorn war while Akari stood as standby to help any passerbyers not become victims.

Shouting and profanities that people of Hisui probably never even heard of flew out of your lips every time you got it and it wasn’t until the guards literally dragged you three into Kamado’s office did you three stop bickering. Ten minutes of being chewed out later and you guys decided the next apricorn battle would be in the wilds.

Volo

“Who in the Cynthia…I swear on all things good in life if that man has a Garchomp I will literally go into the wild and fist fight an alpha just to end it all.” You said once you saw a blonde man in the distance. Both you and Emmet were on high alert as he looked too eerily similar to the previous Sinnoh Champion who literally kicked your ass in more ways than one in the past.

The man perked up at seeing the two, flashing a smile that was a bit too cold for your liking. “Ancestor maybe?” Emmet said, bending down with his hands in his pocket. His face was right at your ear, something that was becoming more common as you two often found yourself whispering to one another.

You fidgeted with the scarf of your new uniform (something you privately hated but at least it kept you from getting cut up on rocks). Emmet had all but refused to take off his conductor's hat, coat, and boots, but underneath he wore a somewhat similar outfit, minus the scarf and the atrocious leg warmers you were sporting.

“You two must be the new members of the survey corpse…the ones who fell from the sky.” He said, approaching you two. “My name is Volo, I’m with the Gingko guild, thought I should introduce myself to new potential customers.

“Um…nice to meet you…not Cynthia…” You murmured the last part, still being suspicious. This man was taller than most but had a pretty face that you was oddly feminine and struck you as looking just like Cynthia.

“What was that?” Volo said, confused by the last thing you said.

“Said nice to meet you.” You blurted out, not bothering with niceties. You already had a bad feeling about him. It totally wasn’t the face reminding you of the time you tried stealing one of Cynthia’s hair pieces and ended up getting chased through an entire town by an overprotective Garchomp. Totally wasn’t that.

“My, my, look at the time. We need to go. Nice meeting you, I am Emmet.” Emmet said, holding out a stick straight hand to shake. Volo was confused as he shook his hand. Without another word, Emmet lifted you and tossed you over his shoulder and ran out the village before you could say something stupid. Or worse…attempt to maul Volo in a desperate attempt to feel more secure.

Kleavor

“Are you fucking kidding me, Emmet. Really?” You yelled. He had come and helped make those little sachets for the raging pokemon but when it came time to face the thing, he refused to go in with you.

“I am Emmet and I was not at the briefing where I agreed to have my head cut off.” Emmet explained to you in a serious voice.

“Bitch you’re my ride or die. Time to die! Come on, get your ass in here with me.” You said, tugging on his sleeve.

Irida and Lian watched your interaction with interested eyes. Irida was more interested in Emmet, someone she hadn’t met earlier in the day. She knew that there were two new survey members that were supposedly capable, but one of them had overslept for the briefing and only you had shown up.

The striking resemblance Emmet had, in face and clothes, to one of her clan’s wardens was impeccable. There was no way it was a coincidence and she couldn’t wait but to ask some questions, but was worried he too might have amnesia like Ingo.

“Have fun. I promise to pour a drink for your funeral.” Emmet said, slapping you on the back and causing you to stumble into the arena. You were about to bark something back, when you felt a presence behind you.

You took in a deep breath, trying not to panic as you turned around to see a giant pokemon, one you never saw in the past, standing directly behind you. The golden glow of it was the first sing something was wrong. The next sign was one of its hands raising up to slash you.

“That’s where he gets his name…FUCK!” You shouted as you did a roll dodge. You mentally noted you were getting too old for this shit as you kept dodging the noble pokemon.

You were screaming, tossing sachets at him like no tomorrow while jumping, rolling, and again…dodging. The colorful words that sprang from your mouth were new even to Emmet as he watched intently. He was worried, yes, but he had a feeling he’d probably be more in the way if anything.

After an hour of screaming and crying. You tossed a final sachet at the Kleavor and it’s like everything changed. The pokemon’s color came back and it calmed down instantly. You were sprawled on the ground, screaming at the trees as you tried calming down.

Emmet decided, since the pokemon seemed calm, to finally go over to you. He crouched down, poking your cheek as he got your attention. You immediately went and snapped at his finger, biting it and making Emmet shriek and flinch back, clutching his poor finger.

“Next time, you’re calming the noble.” You said, pointing at him. Emmer just smiled and began laughing, sitting on the ground and scooping you up. He pet your head as he calmed your racing heart despite your grumbles and promised he’d steal some ingredients from Beni and make your favorite meal once they got back.

Crimson Mirelands

“I actually hate this.” You grumbled as your foot got stuck in more of the goopy mud that was abundant in the mirelands. Emmet’s new Dustox came and rested on top of your head as if trying to help calm you down. The wings fluttering across your cheeks and you groaned as you went to give the lovable pokemon some attention.

“But think of all the new pokemon.” Emmet tried persuading you and you rolled your eyes. You hadn’t even caught all the pokemon in the Obsidian Fieldlands yet. You weren’t sure if Arceus was serious about discovering all pokemon, but you weren’t taking chances. You were catching every pokemon you could find in hopes that it’ll help you get home sooner.

“But think of my boots!” You shouted, flinging some dirt and Emmet moved back fast so it wouldn’t fall on his not so pristine white coat.

“I bet goomy lives around here. Weren’t you saying you wanted one of those?” Emmet asked, nudging your shoulder as he tried to cheer you up.

“Goomy…is kinda cute…yes I want one okay? As soon as someone described what it looked like evolved I had to!” You groaned and Emmet just pet your head.

“I know. Though we’ll probably have to go through those bogs to find them.” Emmet said as you two approached a wide open area with, as could be described, bogs. You grimaced as you began walking through some areas where the water came to the top of your toes.

You looked at Emmet and his almost platform shoes with jealousy as you tried finding wherever this Ursaluna was so you could quell her. Emmet was humming some little jingle right as you began falling. Emmet was quick to grab you by the scruff of your scarf, holding you about a foot above face planting into the dirt.

“Looks like you’re in a pickle.” Emmet hummed, “It would be a shame if…I lost my grip.” He said and you fell about a centimeter as a result.

“Emmet…I swear to Arceus if you do this you won’t be getting out in one piece.” You murmured and Emmet chuckled.

“I doubt that.” He said before you felt your face becoming cold with mud as he let you completely fall.

Cobalt Coastlands

“Who said you get to ride with me?” You said, looking at Emmet, “I’m the one who had to fist fight the Dusclops after my pokemon fainted. Not you. This Basculegion is here to take me.” 

“Y-you had to do what?” The Diamond’s clan meek warden said, his eyes bulging out. Poor Iscan looked about ready to faint at any given moment and swallowed a lump in his throat. Emmet frowned, scoffing and putting his hands on his hips.

“Iscan said it could take two, no?” Emmet said and turned to the shy man. Iscan looked everywhere but at you and Emmet.

“He said he could…not that he would. You can wait on the land.” You said, still a bit pissed. Your scarf was flailing lifelessly on your neck as half of it was taken out by a well timed Shadow Ball that could’ve killed you.

Emmet was quiet for a moment before sighing. Paulina took a step closer, placing a hand on your shoulder and you turned to her, “It would be beneficial to have your friend with you. I’m sure he’ll help out in the next fight.” Paulina tried convincing you.

Sure it was true that last week he got punched in the gut by a wild Ursaring and sure he had bruises going all the way across his abdomen still. You also guessed that he might’ve helped you if it didn’t hurt to run or walk…or sit…or breath. But he could’ve at least sent out another pokemon to help…even if half of them were fainted or an absolutely horrid match-up to Dusclops.

You finally decided to give in. You guys had been constantly getting into trouble and you didn’t actually wanna leave him behind. Maybe watch him run across the coast as he tried to catch up to you…that would’ve been fun.

“Okay fine…but I’m the one steering.” You said, finally looking at Emmet. Emmet’s smile made you crumble as the man walked over and took you into a bear hug, spinning you around and laughing.

“I knew you couldn’t stay mad at me for long.” He said and you groaned.

“I’m dead serious about the next enraged noble…you’re fighting it. Not me.” You pointed at him.

“That’s what you said last time.” He reminded you, and you couldn’t help but stick out your tongue.

“Ya and last time about half an hour before the fight you tried showing me how you could totally sneak up on an alpha and found an Ursaring’s fist/paw in your stomach. You were on the ground wheezing while I was dancing with Lilligant.” You reminded him. Iscan’s face went even paler as he looked between you two.

Paulina chuckled, covering her mouth, “My, Irida was positively correct about you two. Such interesting survey members.”

“Interesting would be an understatement…” Iscan mumbled, looking towards the ground.

After Arcanine

Emmet’s arms were wrapped firmly around your waist as Basculegion cut through the water. The man was actually laughing behind you while you cursed him under your breath.

“I literally can’t believe our luck…” You grumped, absolutely pissed at the world.

“Awe, it wasn’t too bad.” Emmet said from behind you and you elbowed his bruised stomach, making him gasp in pain. If you had to be in pain, so did he.

“Easy for you to say. You got to sit back and watch me almost die to a noble…again. This is the third time in a row.” You said, grimacing as some of the salt water hit your burn marks. Paulina had some remedy for burns that she applied, but salt water was still going to burn like no tomorrow.

“I’m still injured.” Emmet pointed out and you glared before getting a wonderful idea.

“Shut up and take this pokeball.” You said, throwing a wingball at him, “I need a mantyke and mantine for the dex.” You instructed him. It would be easier for him to do it anyway since he wasn’t controlling the Basculegion.

“Fine, so commanding…it’s one of the things I love about you.” Emmet chuckled, looking out of the water. His words brought a small flush to your cheeks that you pushed down. You had business to do.

As you found some mantyke jumping from the water, you slowed down Basculegion so Emmet would have better aim. He managed to catch them both easily, one hand lazily wrapped around your waste while the other collected the wingballs that floated on the surface

The moment he was leaning in for a ball, you struck. You made Basculegion make a sharp and fast turn, causing Emmet to lose his grasp and fall right into the water. He sputtered for a moment, treading the water. You couldn’t help but laugh at his dumbstruck face while you grabbed his hat that floated next to you and put it on.

“Such a shame…but karma is a bitch.” You said and Emmet realized this was payback for letting you fall into the mud.

“Haha, so funny. Now let me back on, my coat and boots are heavy.” Emmet said, swimming up to grab the Basculegion. As soon as he was close, you move just a little away from him. He pouted, looking over at your cocky smirk.

“Sounds horrid. You know these clothes are pretty lightweight. I could swim all day.” You said, not feeling bad at all for Emmet.

“Then come join me.” Emmet said, splashing you with more water. You groaned at his childish antics before holding out a hand to help him up. Emmet took yours and before he began climbing back up, he gave you a harsh yank and dragged you into the ocean as well.

Your burns stung from the water but it was barely noticeable with the rage fueling you. “Emmet…” You said, looking like a wet dog. Emmet had already stolen his hat back and was getting ready to climb back on the Basculegion.

Emmet hummed in response. “I’m kicking your ass when we get back to dry land.”

“I’m sure you will.”

Reunion 

“It’s too early for this shit.” You said, trying to kick Emmet away from you. It was now a well known thing for people in Hisui that one only person was allowed to wake you up, and that was Emmet. The last person who tried had a very angry Luxray chasing them out of your room. You simply didn’t like super early mornings and Emmet was the only one who could tolerate you.

“We have a meeting to go to. Come on, or else I'll carry you.” Emmet said and you snorted. You rolled onto your back and held out your arms. You were still in your bed kimono when Emmet carried you through the front doors of Galaxy hall. You had absolutely no shame as he walked into Kamado’s office and placed you on a chair, still half asleep.

Kamado, as per usual, looked annoyed at your antics. Adaman, who was already in the office, had to cover his mouth to stop himself laughing at your predicament. You were asleep for most of the meeting, until a very tall annoyance came through the doors.

You cracked your eyes open, looking at the tall, blue haired man who was being more dramatic than you and Emmet combined. The man was about to make note of your appearance and unprofessional demeanor, when his eyes took sight of Emmet.

“You…you’re not Warden Ingo. Why do you look like him…and wear the same strange clothes?” You had never woken up so fast. You jumped from the seat as Emmet’s eyes widened. You walked over to Melli, grabbing him by his shirt and dragging him down to be face ot face with you.

“Did you say Ingo?” You questioned. Melli’s hands covered yours, engulfing them really, and tried moving you off him but you weren’t budging.

“Did I stutter?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. Adaman and Kamado was already coming over to break up the fight before it began.

“Where is Ingo? Tell me right now.” Your voice cracked at the end, your emotions getting the better of you. There was absolutely no way Ingo was here…right? Arceus would’ve given them a heads up. Hell, if this random guy knew him and he was a warden, the one of the clan leaders had to know him as well. They had to have seen the resemblance. Why hadn’t they said anything? 

“As if I know.” Melli sneered right as Kamado took your hands off him and dragged you away. Emmet was already on high alert though as Adaman checked to make sure Melli was okay. The entire room felt awkward as Adaman finally spoke up.

“So you two do know Ingo…” Adaman said and Emmet glared at him.

“You knew he was out there this entire time? Did you not think to mention someone who looked just like me?” Emmet asked and Adaman put his hands out, trying to calm the room down. Kamado was about to reprimand him when Adaman spoke up again.

“We weren’t sure, since Ingo doesn’t recall his past. We didn’t know if you were the same or if it was the weirdest coincidence.” Adaman admitted, “We’re sorry we didn’t bring it up. Irida asked us not to as she wasn't sure.”

“Just tell us where Ingo is…please?” Your voice cracked again as you held back both tears of frustration but also relief. Was Ingo truly here? You’d get to see him far sooner than you imagined.

“He’s in town…I think Irida was going to have him guide you…” Adaman didn’t even finish what he was saying. You and Emmet were already running out of the room, down the stairs and almost barreling into several people.

“Ingo!” You screamed as soon as you got out of the building.

“Ingo!” Emmet screamed next, looking back and forth. You two startled some people on the streets with how loud you were being. 

You quickly pointed at Emmet, “Twintelepathy! Go!” You screamed and Emmet looked at you with wide eyes.

“If I could use that right now, we would’ve found him by now!” Emmet said, shaking your shoulders dramatically. Adaman and Melli had finally caught up to you two, but it was too late. Off in the distance you spotted him.

You grabbed Emmet’s sleeve, dragging him behind you until he too saw the man of the hour. You sprinted off to the training grounds and Irida was the first to spot you. She originally began to wave until she saw the determined looks in your eyes.

Ingo turned around just in time for his entire face to be smothered with your torso. You literally jumped onto him, engulfing him in a hug as you two fell. You were a screaming and sobbing mess, repeating his name over and over again. 

Emmet soon joined you on the floor, catching sight of Ingo’s face. He looked weathered and worn, even having facial hair and prominent marks under his eyes from restless nights and stress.

Ingo sat up, you still straddling him and your face buried in his own chest now. He just stared at Emmet, opening his mouth then closing it. Ingo was there, looking tired with bags under his eyes and an unruly conductor’s coat. The biggest difference being the little facial hair he had, and how his normal hair grew out and was tied against his neck. Emmet was the first to finally speak up.

“Is that really you, brother?” Emmet said, tears welling in his eyes.

“I…” Ingo began and even his voice sounded so soothingly familiar. His scent and his posture, one hand going to the small of your back to hold you that you were sure was unconscious on his part. It felt like home and you couldn’t have asked for anything better. “I don’t know you.”

Both you and Emmet froze as your face popped up, looking at Ingo with watery eyes, “But you seem so familiar.”

You couldn’t help but chuckle, wiping your eyes as you got a good look at him, “It’s fine if you don’t remember, Ingo. It’s fine.” You said, convincing yourself, “I’m…I’m your best friend and this is…”

“I’m Emmet, your twin brother. It’s good to see you again.” Emmet said, his smile only a bit wobbly.

“So you guys really do know Ingo.” Irida said, “I’m…I’m so sorry for not telling you sooner!” She said, bowing her head. You too looked at the young clan leader who clearly looked distressed, like she was just found guilty of treason.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” There was no malice in Emmet’s voice, just curiosity.

“I was worried perhaps…it would upset Ingo…” Irida admitted. Ingo was finally starting to stand up, but you refused to leave him. Arms wrapped securely around his torso and again, he found his hand almost moving on its own as it ran through the top of your scalp, over some hair as though he were flattening fly aways.

“When Ingo came to the clan, he had no memories. I was worried you wouldn’t know him either and it would cause more confusion.” Irida finally admitted.

“It’s fine…thanks for thinking about him.” You murmured into his jacket. It was torn to shreds, sure, but it was still his. After all this time you had him back.

“So you don’t remember…anything?” Emmet asked, placing a hand on Ingo’s shoulder. The man relaxed into the familiar touch even if he couldn’t recall who his twin was.

“I can’t recall anything before Lady Sneasler saved my life.” Ingo admitted and you frowned before a mischievous smirk found its way onto your face. Emmet seemed to have the same thought as he looked at you. Twintelepathy might not’ve been working between them, but apparently it was strong in you two.

“The stories we can tell you…if you had time today for maybe some breakfast?” You asked Ingo. Ingo looked over at Irida and smiled, nodding her head.

“If you want, we can leave you three…” She said and Ingo frowned.

“You’re welcome to join us.” He said before turning to Adaman and Melli who had been watching from afar, “As well as you two.”

“Sit and listen to some stories over breakfast? I hardly have the time for that.” Melli said and you snorted. You were sure he’d love to hear some of these things.

“We always have time for friends. Besides we can have a proper meeting about your Lord Electrode while we’re at it.” Adaman said, nodding at you.

“Fine…but keep that rabid thing away from me.” He said, glaring at you. You gnashed your teeth together in a ‘chomp’ for good measure and giggled as he jumped back.“Breakfast and stories it is.” Irida said with a clap.

[leggerefiore]

Now we all know that the subway bros rule over Nimbasa's Gear Station, but what are they like when their s/o drags them to other locations in Nimbasa? The Pokemon musical, roller coaster, Ferris wheel, etc!

▲Ingo▼

● Dare you drag the Subway Boss from his train or apartment out into the open? Quite often, yes. He gets busy and forgets that he can do things outside of existing at home or work, so you come in. Plan dates ahead of time, and he'll definitely try to get off on time. Sometimes, it's just impossible, despite his best efforts.

● His hat and coat are dropped, and he looks almost unrecognizable (if it weren't for this weird hair sideburns). His outfit varies on the outing, which means you get to see Ingo in different clothing, a surprisingly rare endeavour. It's adorable how casual he looks; it's almost as if he's another person entirely. Gone is Subway Boss Ingo; here is Ingo wearing a ribbed turtle-neck in 32°c weather. He doesn't even break a sweat. Is he human? Perhaps the twin truly was a robot created to run the subway efficiently. (Don't let him catch you saying that, he'll pout and cross his arms. You, of all people, should know how plainly human he is.)

● Embarrassingly, he is a massive fan of the Musical Theatre. There's something so adorable about watching pokemon acting, singing, and dancing on the stage. He tried it a few times, but, unfortunately, his party are not stars. Chadelure nearly set multiple props on fire, Haxorus refused to work with other pokemon, and Klinklang wasn't expressive enough. While, Garbodor was passionate about a debut on stage, a manager cruelly denied them their stardom. Crustle made the cut, at least, but Ingo felt bad about denying his other team members the option. You can have your pokemon act together with Crustle, and he starts ugly crying and yells bravo much too loud. He's so proud of your pokemon's acting. Your best dates will always be at the musical theatre because he never fails to be excited.

● He's also an enjoyed of the Ferris wheel. (With you. Emmet thought it'd be funny to see if he could get the gondola to swing. He could. Elesa takes pictures of the city the entire time she rides it.) It's intimate how close you both are to one another in there, always just the two of you alone. He wants this in his life more often. His hand never leaves yours as the gentle rotation lulls you both into a sense of ease. You lean into him and his heart swells. You'll kiss as the wheel stops for a moment.

● Does not enjoy the roller coaster, on the record as saying 'bastard failure of a train' about the amusement ride. He enjoys the mechanical aspect of them, he does NOT enjoy the actual ride. Do you want to ride a vehicle that travels by rail? He is taking you back to the station and pointing at the train. He throws up from the motion of the roller coaster and didn't visit Elesa when her gym was located there. Ingo will refuse to go on it (unless you give him baby doll eyes. He'll relent and scream loud enough for Arceus to be concerned as it zooms around.)

● He's not the biggest fan of the Big Stadium and Small Court, as he doesn't generally enjoy sports. Ingo will watch them if you're a fan, but he's not getting in it. There's something interesting about the team aspect of it all, yet everything else is boring to him. The massive crowds of people yelling and cheering also make him feel less like he's out with you. He'd much rather a more intimate outing.

● Take him to the Battle Institute, and he just gives you this expression of pure disappointment and discontent. So, this is what you're cheating on his Battle Subway with? He understands, he does. Absolutely dominates the building and leaves without many words. What do you think he does all day on something called a Single Battle Line? At least drag him out to Black City for the tower if you want to do something like that with him. Unreasonably offended by your actions.

▽Emmet△

○ If you don't take him out; he's taking you out. Emmet loves to explore Nimbasa and enjoy the sights with friends, but there's something special about going out with you. You're his love, so it's highly important you have quality time together. Your dates are likely one of you going “I want to do this” and the other agreeing instantly.  He loves going out with you, so he'll never turn it down.

○ Also drops the hat and coat to become a cool and casual Emmet. He tends to throw in whatever since most of your outings are spontaneous, yet somehow he never manages to look bad. His style is comfortable and presentable, so he always looks like he belongs. Fans still recognise him sometimes, but it's funny watching him vehemently deny his identity as Subway Boss Emmet. Clearly, there is a third, turning the train twins into train triplets. (His choice in bags would be a belt bag, which wears facing forward around his torso. Casually whips out treats for his pokemon midconvesation.)

○ He's pretty indifferent to the Musical Theatre and thinks it's boring overall. Emmet likes exciting things that make his blood rush through his veins. Pokemon dancing and acting is not that. Emmet knows Ingo loves these and thinks they're super cute, but Emmet can't even find cuteness in this. Watch him yawn throughout the entire show, he doesn't bother to hide his disinterest. (He snuck some Joltiks in to entertain himself. It's cuter when they attempt to imitate the pokemon actors on stage.)

○ Also loves the romantic factor of the Ferris wheel. Unlike with Ingo, he won't attempt to shake the gondola because he won't want to ruin the precious moment with you. (He will, however, if you'd like to. Group effort. He loves to see it. You both get told off by the ride attendant.) His arm is wrapped around your shoulder as he pulls into his side and watches the city from the windows. Your loving warmth makes his smile grow as he turns to kiss you deeply. He never wants to leave your side.

○ Loves the roller coaster, unlike his coward of a brother. If you go to the amusement park, you're definitely riding it once. He loves the motion, the thrill, and the way you cling to him. Emmet will hold you back, of course. The younger twin never screams or even seems panicked on the ride. He can explain how it functions to you and compares it to how trains work happily. His smile is giddy, and his hands move constantly as he goes into detail. The Subway Boss is terribly cute in those moments.

○ Goes to the Big Stadium and Small Court with you. He also has no interest in sports, like Ingo. Here's the catch: he will root for the opposite team you support. Friendly competition, he claims. In actuality, he gets really into it and starts attempting to predict movements, like he does in a pokemon battle. Your boyfriend turns into a monster over this, and you'll regret taking him. Emmet likes winning more than anything else, after all.

○ “Darling. This is the Battle Institute,” Emmet states, pointing at the building. “Yeah, we're going to challenge it!” You tell him with an excited smile. He suddenly grabs your hand and drags you to the Gear Station. Inside, he takes you to the Super Double Line. In detail, he explains the rules of the Battle Subway. Emmet then gets on the train and says that he'll see you in forty-eight battles. You are left dumbfounded. (You get on the train.)

[bluntforcefem]

YOU DON’T LOOK RIGHT (IN BROAD DAYLIGHT)—a tiny ficlet about @krikidilly’s false impression au, which i adore to bits. what if a fucked up guy imitated your missing brother (but in reality had kind of taken over his body.) what then!

it’s strange, being in the passenger’s seat of your own body. ingo feels like there might be a more apt metaphor, somewhere, in the noise of passing whistles, but the situation colors everything in with a strange sort of detachment. it makes it easier. it makes it harder. most of the time, it doesn’t feel like anything at all.

if ingo is in the passenger’s seat, he’s certainly asleep for most of the ride. he’s safe enough to be, or maybe he doesn’t have a choice, lulled into it by the act of being in the passenger’s seat to begin with. maybe it was never about safety. sleeping in a car ride involves the occasional rest stop—even drivers have to rest, even if that rest is strange—and so occasionally he awakens to catch glimpses through the window.

nothing he recognizes. it’s easy to rest. the driver makes it easy, drives easy, only occasionally jerking to a stop. ingo rarely wakes up.

it’s easy, to sleep. to rest. it’s easy. it’ll help him. one day he’ll wake up, and he’ll recognize the world outside the window. nothing is wrong.

(everything is just a little wrong. every car ride has to stop, eventually.) —— the thing is—which niseru starkly refuses to call a problem, because it isn’t, emmet isn’t a problem—the thing is that there is a part of emmet that will always know his brother isn’t really here.

unfortunate, really. it doesn’t know what to do about that. it’s really not sure it can do anything about that, except keep driving. he’s very good at pretending. the mimicry comes more natural the more he does it, an ouroboros loop, and yet nothing has made emmet forget. niseru can tell. it is good at mimicry—it is trying to get better at ignorance.

ignorance means that it can forget all about the real ingo, so it won’t feel guilty. and then emmet will forget too, because the mimicry will become real and the funhouse mirror will smooth out neatly into a real boy. ignorance means that it won’t have to pay attention to the sidelong glances emmet gives it when he thinks it’s distracted, aching with loneliness that shouldn’t be there. neither of them should be lonely. neither of them are lonely!

ingo is right here.

(and if niseru still feels the ache of loneliness pressing at the edges, too, the strange feeling that mimicry is not enough, well. it’ll just have to make it enough. it does not want to be lonely.

it will not be lonely, ever again.)

[imfluentinfangirlandgay]

Surprise Adoption - Ch 6

Ingo held the crying Dawn in his arms, considering his options. He decided right then and there. She would stay with him and Emmet for the time being.

Word Count: ~3000

Drayden hadn’t been kidding. It was the longest day Ingo had in a long time. Probably even above the day he had announced his return to the press. Drayden made his way back inside the apartment behind the two girls, who were now essentially best friends. They were chatting excitedly over future plans. Drayden walked in, setting the obnoxious amount of bags on the table. The twins staggered in after him, plopping their loads on the floor by the couch and collapsing into a matching heap. Ingo could hear Drayden chuckling at them from the kitchen. Iris and Dawn, whose hair was newly dyed a light platinum now (which complimented the twins’ hair color), scampered off to her room, taking some items with them. 

Drayden returned to the living room, finding his twin nephews still collapsed on the couch with their eyes glazed and breathing shallow. He bent a little at the waist, scrutinizing them with a mirthful glare. “I take it you found the trip rather successful, too?”

They laid there in silence for a minute. “You weren’t kidding. I thought it would be like shopping with Elesa. That was worse. So verrry much worse,” Emmet said. Ingo nodded dumbly. Drayden let out a booming laugh and shook his head, straightening back up. 

“Well, start getting used to this. All my trips with Iris are like this. And this one only lasted six hours.” 

They both just stared at their uncle for another moment. Then they sat up, groaning. “It is an adjustment… but Dawn seems happy,” Ingo noted. Emmet nodded along. “We can continue if it makes her happy.” 

“Good to hear it,” Drayden said, his voice radiating genuine happiness. “I’m sure she’d appreciate the time with you two, as well. She talked nonstop about the both of you the entire time. She idolizes you.” 

Ingo felt the soft fuzzy feeling in his stomach again, like some Joltik had wormed their way into him. He nearly giggled like a schoolgirl. “You think so?” he asked, at a loss for what else to say. 

“I’m sure of it. I can help you set up a bit of her room tonight, if you like. It will take some time for all of it to be done and I know that she will wish to do much of it herself, but we can get some of the heavier things moved today.” The twins nodded, eager once again now that they had a new destination in mind. Emmet stopped Drayden in the kitchen to go through some of their purchases as Ingo went down the hall to inform the two of their new plans. He came to the knob and stopped, hearing their voices through the crack in the door. 

“...don’t really know. I mean, he’s your friend, right? Have you talked to him?”

“Yeah. He… didn’t like the idea of me leaving for Unova by myself. He tried to stop me and he wouldn’t listen. I know he didn't mean it to be mean, he was just worried and he always has a hard time stopping to think before acting, but it hurt. Seeing my best friend so against me coming. And I know that if he catches wind of where I am, he might try to drag me back before I can explain myself. And then Cynthia was so excited to see me and she kept talking about all the things she wants to show me but it was too much and… I don’t know what to do.”

“I heard Dad talking to Cynthia on the phone recently. He said that the Champion was somewhere safe, but needed time to process. He shut her down when she tried talking him into telling her where you were.”

It was quiet for a moment. 

“I should thank him. I… was so worried he would tell someone because the adults decided it was for the best that I didn’t hide like this. That’s why I tried to find Uncle Ingo in the first place. I know he can keep a secret. He kept a lot of secrets for me in Hisui, like my own name and the fact that I remembered my life before I fell there.” It was silent again and Ingo heard rustling fabric. “And I know he cared. About me, that is. As a person. Most people only care that I’m the Champion. They don’t care who it is that holds the title, just the title itself. If they can get on my good side, they think they get stuff from me. I’m just a figurehead. I don’t actually do anything except boost morale. But people treat me like I make the laws. And Ingo never cared about my title, even after I told him. He just cared because I was me. Like my mom did. And Barry. I remembered him telling me before I sent him through the portal where he lived and asked me to come visit him and I fully intended to, even before… this happened. But then it did and I couldn’t think of anywhere else and I couldn’t sleep in my old home because I kept thinking Mom was going to call for me but she never did and Barry and his mom just reminded me of her and the entire Sinnoh region was just so full of her and I couldn’t… I couldn’t…” She swallowed thickly. “I had to leave. I couldn’t see people like this. So I got on Staraptor and just flew to Unova. I landed in a town… what was it… Icirrus City? I think? I remembered him talking about trains and I just hopped on the first one I could and rode it until I remembered the name of the town he’d said. I ended up in Nimbasa and I just sat on a bench. I saw him hop off a train and he was standing there, watching the people and I just… I started crying and I ran to him. I couldn’t help it anymore. I’d been holding it in and I just remembered that day in Hisui I was at my worst and Uncle Ingo let me into his house and just hugged me and let me cry and told me it would be okay…” 

Ingo remembered this as well. He heard footsteps approaching him from behind, and he held up a hand. He did not turn to see who it was. They stopped. 

“And he took me back and I met Emmet. And now I’m here. I’ve been here for a few days already and I feel so… I don’t know. I feel guilty for coming in like this so I’ve been trying to be as helpful as possible but its hard and I don’t really know how to act around Uncle Emmet yet because hes new and Ingo is different to how he was in Hisui, he’s more confident now and I’m not and I’m lost and I’m scared and-”

She was cut off by a sob. It became muffled. “Slow down a sec, okay? I can tell you right now that they both really like having you around. This is honestly the most peppy I’ve seen either of them since the last Subway Convention over five years ago. You said you make them sleep and eat and go home and do normal things. Before you came, they both would literally work twenty-four hours a day if people let them. They love their job, and thats really really good, but they also forget to stop. They both forget to eat regularly and they will have coffee as a meal. Dad gets really worried about them. He knows they’re adults and can’t just dote on them like he did when they were little and lived with him, but he still worries over them. I’m sure Elesa does too, though I don’t see her as much. They’re usually pretty good about keeping each other out of trouble, but sometimes they both get sucked in and need help and don’t think to ask for it. Emmet… it got bad when Ingo was gone. And now that Ingo is back, Emmet is getting better, but I don’t think either of them will ever be like it was before. And you sent him back! You said Arceus was not planning on returning him originally, right? So if you hadn’t been there, we would not have Ingo back at all. Just remember that.”

It was quiet now. Ingo crept away from the door, pushing Emmet away as well and retreating to the kitchen. Drayden was still in there and looked up to say something, but was stopped by their matching expressions. Emmet tapped on Ingo’s shoulder and signed. What do we do?

Ingo blinked. Truthfully, he had no idea. Tell her directly. She needs support. 

We have been.

Do it more. I don’t know what else to do. I’ve… never done anything like this before. 

How did you handle it in Hisui?

I usually just hugged her and let her talk it out to me. She did not come to me. I don’t want to pry, but she is struggling and I want to help. Ingo let his hands fall. A hand patted both of them on a shoulder, making them jerk up. 

“What’s the matter, boys?” Drayden asked quietly. They both stared at their uncle in silence for a moment. 

“Dawn was speaking to Iris. She does not think we want her here. Not completely. She spoke of her friends from Sinnoh. She is crying. We don’t know what to do.” Emmet spoke more softly than Ingo, and was thus able to take over for him. Ingo nodded solemnly, his eyes not quite meeting anyone else’s. 

“I see. If it were me, I would wait until she came to you about it. She is just worried about overstaying her welcome, is she not?” Both nodded. “Then remind her that she is allowed to stay as long as she needs. As often as she needs. I can tell you both care for her a great deal. I think one good way to show it will be to start with her own space, so she feels less like she’s just couchsurfing and more like this is her home. Let’s give them a couple more minutes and then go knock and ask if they want to start setting up, alright? I know Iris is eager to start and Dawn seemed excited, even if she didn’t show it.” 

The three of them broke off after that. Ingo made himself some tea and Emmet sat at the table and checked his Xtrans. Drayden used the restroom and knocked on Dawn’s door. “Are you girls ready to start setting up? We may have taken enough of a break now to get started.” 

Ingo could hear Iris’s voice float out of the room. “Oh, yeah! Just a sec, girl talk, we’ll be out in a bit!” Drayden then reappeared, sitting down with them and gazing out the window. Ingo hoped this worked. 

The girls appeared, Dawn looking no worse for wear and Iris about to burst at the seams. “Let's get this show on the road!” Iris called, leading Dawn over to the bags of things. 

“We were thinking we could move the heavier items into the room, and leave much of the rest of it to you. It’s your room now, after all. You are welcome to decorate as you wish,” Ingo said as he sipped his cup. He inwardly cringed. The taste was never quite the same it had been in Hisui, the Lilligant tea. 

With all five of them working together, they managed to get the purchases moved into the room and most things situated before Drayden announced his and Iris’s departure. Iris tackled both of the twins in a hug, telling them to see her again, and then latched on to Dawn, muttering something to her as she let go, waving and walking out with Drayden. 

Ingo and Emmet informed Dawn that if she would like help, they were just a call away, and otherwise, they would leave her to finish however she wanted. She told them she would be alright. They both nodded kindly, leaving her to her own devices and mindlessly cleaning around the living room. 

Truth be told, neither of them knew what to do with this much free time. Their job was their hobby and their hobby was their job. Now that they had legitimately nothing to do, but neither was ready to sit still and watch TV yet, they moved on autopilot, neither truly thinking their actions through as they did them. Ingo picked up a photograph and dusted under it. Emmet passed a vacuum under the couch. Ingo washed what few dishes there were in the sink. Emmet wiped down the table and the baseboards. Ingo dusted off the walls and ceiling. Emmet deep-cleaned the bathroom. 

And so on. 

They managed to make dinner eventually. Or rather, Ingo made dinner while he had Emmet do things like cut vegetables and measure out ingredients. Ever since Hisui, Ingo had gotten better at cooking. He remembered one recipe that Dawn had taken to, back in Hisui. He hoped it would cheer her up. 

As dinner finished, he sent Emmet to gather Dawn and set the table, still wearing his old apron. It was a gag gift from Elesa that said ‘kiss the cook’. He wore it just to annoy her, really. He set out three steaming bowls of the stew that he knew she liked, along with empty glasses and some spoons. He had to shoo away some Joltik. He fussed with the placemats on the table and took off his apron and did some dishes… what was taking Emmet so long?

Ingo went down the hall, stopping just outside the open door. It was bright inside Dawn’s room. He hovered his hand to knock as he heard Dawn speaking. 

“...you sure? I mean… I just appeared one day and I know that we’d never met before. I was close with Uncle Ingo and I know you guys are super close because you’re twins and all, but we still had never met and I’m just in your house now with my ghost mom and all my problems.”

“I do not mind. I am Emmet. I am your uncle now.” Ingo could practically hear the smile in his brother’s flat tone. 

“Only because I made you be-”

“Dawn.” It was silent for a moment. “I am Emmet. I am part of a two-car train. My other car was taken. I stayed one car for four years. It was lonely. I was lonely. I had Elesa and Uncle Drayden and Iris and our Pokemon. But I did not have my other car. They told me he was gone for good. He was dead. He left. Many things. I knew he did not. Ingo is not like that. And I was right. But I still stayed here, alone, for four years. Now he is back, and things have gotten better. I am not alone anymore. And he brought back a caboose. I still have nightmares that he is gone and all this is a dream. But then I wake up and you both are there. It is comforting.”

It was quiet again. Ingo heard the soft movement of fabric, but he did not enter. After a few moments of silence, he knocked gently, making himself known. “Dinner is ready, you two. Come refuel before it gets cold.” 

“Coming, Ingo,” he heard Emmet announce. Ingo moved away from the door and back into the kitchen, finding that Joltik had invaded one of the bowls. Ingo sighed and ladled out a new bowl, placing the Joltik bowl on the other side of the table and replacing it with the fresh bowl. As he was finishing scolding the Joltik, two pairs of feet entered the kitchen. Dawn trotted in first, sitting at the table. Emmet followed close behind her, catching Ingo’s eye. Emmet blinked. Ingo nodded, almost imperceptibly. Emmet’s smile quirked up a little bit more. Ingo lifted his hand and closed it into a fist, jerking it in a nodding motion. Emmet curtly shook his head. 

“Are you guys actually having an entire conversation over there?” Emmet grinned as he slipped past Ingo, a hand snaking out and messing up his silver hair, making his older brother grunt in indignation. Ingo narrowed his eyes as he dried his hands and sat next to Dawn, squinting at Emmet with a sour expression. He purposefully did not fix his hair. Emmet snorted. “Telepathy, I swear,” Dawn sighed. 

The meal went well. Dawn seemed excited about the food in particular, her eyes lighting up as soon as she spooned the first bit into her mouth. “Uncle Ingo, is this that one stew that I liked in Hisui? The one you couldn’t make much because you had trouble finding the ingredients?” Ingo nodded at her. She had noticed! “I missed this so much, thanks for making it again!” Ingo reached over and patted her shoulder. Internally, he was beaming. She had noticed! His plan had worked!

“Well, of course, Dawn. It was time to make something different for once, anyway.” Emmet made a noise of approval, too, making Ingo feel that fuzzy feeling again. It was nice to cook for others again. He spooned some of the concoction into his mouth, noting the creamy flavor so he could emulate it again next time. The Joltik seemed to enjoy it as well, greedily lapping up their own bowl and throwing off little sparks. 

“We have another day off tomorrow, as it is Sunday,” Ingo said after he cleared his mouth. “Is there anything we would like to do in particular?”

“I kind of missed being outside,” Dawn admitted. “I don’t know what there is to do around here, though. All I know about is the train station.” 

“Ingo,” Emmet said, getting his attention. He grinned and held up both hands, curling the first two fingers into claws and pawing at the air with them. Ingo’s eyes brightened as he recognized the sign. 

“What does that mean?” Dawn asked. 

Ingo merely said, “I believe you will enjoy our thoughts for tomorrow,” as he shoveled more of the flavorful broth into his mouth, his lips quirking up ever-so-slightly. 

[Start] - [Previous] - [Next]

[pokedocbedlam]

Senseless for the prompt thing

This took me a couple tries, but I hope you like the result!

---

Winter rakes its claws across the Coronet Highlands in the form of a rare blizzard. Warden Melli is unbothered, of course. He had the brilliant foresight to make preparations just in case. His hut is secure against the howling wind and fortified to resist snow, his hearth is warm and full of soup, and all of his Pokemon are nestled around him. Lord Electrode is safe too, as Melli had made him a similar hut for resisting the elements and stocked it with the lord's favorite foods. Truly, Melli has thought of everything ahead of time, and now nothing will interrupt his well-deserved rest.

"EMMET!"

Melli startles at the voice outside, booming loud enough to be heard over the storm. He knows that voice, even if the word is unfamiliar. Who, or what, is an Emmet? What is Warden Ingo doing so close by, instead of waiting out the storm with Lady Sneasler in her cave? How dare he interrupt Melli's perfectly serene evening?!

"EMMET, PLEASE WAIT! NOT SO FAST! I CAN'T KEEP UP!"

Ingo's voice is hoarse, and more panicked than Melli has ever heard it. Plus, either there is someone else out there with him, or he's chasing a wayward Zoroark that's wandered down the mountain with the storm. Almighty Sinnoh preserve him, this is unbelievable! The gall of this idiot to require Melli's intervention at a time like this!

"I should leave him to freeze out there," Melli grumbles as he wraps himself in winter gear. "A lesser man wouldn't bother. Oh, but I am so much better than most men. He better be grateful for this...!"

The wind stings his eyes and freezes the resulting tears as Melli steps into the storm, his Skuntank following him close for support. It's so hard to see, where is that fool...?

"EMMET, PLEASE...I'M SORRY..."

Right, follow the sounds of the sobbing warden, got it. For once, the man's lack of volume control is a blessing. Melli trudges through the snow and curses every minute of it, but he does not falter. No one will ever witness Melli failing at anything he puts his mind to.

Time loses meaning in the midst of winter's wrath, but Melli eventually catches the sight of a black coat and silver hair. Ingo's progress is slow, he's even more hunched over than normal...is he limping?

"Emmet...Emmet, I need to...I need to pull the brakes. Emergency stop. Please...wait..."

Before Ingo can collapse face-first into the snow, Melli catches him. Ingo's body is warm to the touch despite the frigid air. As if this couldn't get worse...

"Ingo, what do you think you're doing out here?" Melli yells, both to be heard over the wind and out of worry. "You're in no state to be in a storm like this!"

Ingo's glassy eyes refuse to focus on Melli, pupils swimming around without ever focusing. "I...I heard him. He's out here. I saw...his white coat."

"Everything is white right now, you fool! We're in the middle of a blizzard!" And so are Zoroarks, which also has the Diamond Clan warden on edge. Melli tries to pull Ingo to his feet, but the older man winces. Melli looks down at the snow. Red. "Ingo, you're injured, sick, and the biggest idiot I've ever met. I'm bringing you inside! Skuntank, help me carry him!"

The trek back feels just as long. Ingo is practically dead weight, and he keeps calling out for a man who isn't there. His senses and voice both depart him as the journey goes on. Eventually, Melli has to hold the man's hands down to stop him from reaching for this stranger. If Melli ever meets this Emmet, the white-coated bastard is in for a beatdown for making Ingo panic over him so much. (Not that Melli's worried, no. Not even a little. After all, The Great Melli can do anything, so long as Almighty Sinnoh wishes it.)

The inside of Melli's hut has never seemed so inviting, but he doesn't get the chance to enjoy it. He and Skuntank immediately set Ingo down and attend to the man's wounds. It appears the warden was attacked, with scrapes along his leg and a likely broken foot; the snow must have made him too numb to notice. This on top of a fever...

Melli isn't a healer. Far from it. But he is a warden, hardy enough to survive these lands and look after a Noble on his own, so he's picked up a few survival tricks over the years. He knows how to dress a wound, how to warm up from the snow and how to cool down a fever. Not that he's ever had to do all three at once, but what else is he to do? He can't leave someone else to die on his watch, especially not the only other human he shares the highlands with. So he wraps Ingo in blankets while delivering cool water in incremental sips, he cobbles together rudimentary splints and stitches a bleeding wound shut even if it stains his clothes. He works through the night and his hands quiver with effort and fear.

"Thank you," Ingo mutters at one point, clearly still delirious but at least conscious enough to see he's being helped. "You are...?"

Melli isn't sure what possesses him to answer the way he does. Maybe it's to keep his impromptu patient from trying to race back into the blizzard on a ghost's trail. Maybe because this is the first solid lead Melli has heard, and damn him if he isn't the tiniest bit curious to learn more. Maybe it is simply Sinnoh's will.

"...I am Emmet."

Regardless of reason, Ingo relaxes at the phrase, a rare smile blooming across his face even as pain pricks his eyes with tears. "Emmet...Emmet, I found you." He reaches and rests a hand on Melli's face. "I was afraid...I'd lose you again. Emmet, I lost you. Became uncoupled. I am so, so sorry."

"I know you are." Melli also isn't used to being soft or gentle, but just this once with no one around, he can allow it. "Ingo, I need you to stay with me. You're hurt and sick. Promise me you won't slip away."

"Promise. I'd never leave...on purpose." Unfocused eyes glowing with fever drift, never quite settling on Melli's face but looking at someone who isn't there. "You know that, right? That I...I didn't mean to leave you?" His eyes grow wet with tears. Truly, the man's truly lost all hold on his senses.. "Emmet, it's been so lonely without you. I've been...I've been so scared, Emmet. I want to return to our station...to go home."

Nobody but Almighty Sinnoh will ever know the way Melli's heart seizes at seeing his fellow warden so vulnerable. "I know you do. But you have to heal first, and I'm going to make sure you pull through this. So..." Sinnoh above, make sure Ingo doesn't remember what Melli's about to say. "Stay, ah, coupled with me. Remain on the rails."

A ragged cough rattles through Ingo's chest, but he's smiling again anyway. "Follow the safety rules. Don't forget...to smile. And aim for victory."

How foolish, for this fever-addled fool to keep clinging to these words. Yet Melli says with him "All aboard," as he gets back to work, so maybe he's a fool too.

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

Okay okay, for the ask game, what about 1 and 14 for Emmet and Laventon? Assuming this is an au like oop (or actually oop) where Emmet ends up in Hisui somehow

(character dynamics ask game) ooooh ok!! these two are fun bc they don't get chances to interact... much really at all, in most of my things. like even in oop they juuust missed each other rip. so this is a fun underexplored duo

1. what were A’s first impressions of B? were they mostly correct or have they changed?

i feel like emmet would not be quite as immediately fond of lav as ingo is. not that he dislikes him, just, it takes emmet a little bit longer than that to really decide he likes a person, most of the time. he wants to know that whatever initial impression a person is giving him isn't just empty words! tho i think one thing that would make him more immediately friendly is like, if this is oop-adjacent, hearing ingo talk abt him beforehand/knowing ingo likes him. bc then he does actually know that lav is sincere in his dedication to pokemon and the 'dex and etc. which makes him like him more out of the gate. in general tho i think emmet's like, bad at making very nuanced opinions of ppl, so his first impression is probably not going to go much farther than "seems cool"

on laventon's side otoh. hmm. i think lav is sort of an easily intimidated person and- as we have previously covered- emmet has this sort of absolute confidence and surety and commitment to his own principles that can be pretty intimidating. so lav's initial impression of him is probably along the lines of "this is a person who could and would wreck my shit without needing to lift a finger if he wanted to, and i should be careful abt that." and then he gets to know him better and realizes that most of said principles are along the lines of protecting people and making sure things run smoothly, which takes the edge off a good amount. yes he probably still COULD destroy him, but he probably won't.

14. for two characters that met very recently, how would their dynamic be different (if at all) if they had known each other for much longer? for characters that are childhood/longtime acquaintances, how would it be different if they met for the first time today?

OOF yall keep throwing such fun fic pitches at me. my immediate instinct was to connect this to the other one w/ cyllene, and say that emmet met lav at the same time she did, but that runs into the same problem as cyllene+kamado where i still wouldn't consider that exactly knowing each other a long time. yknow. i realize this is not exactly the point of the question but now i'm just thinking about scenarios... au where they went to school together... anyway tho. hmm. well i think lav would. as above, not be nearly as intimidated by emmet w/ furthered context, but would also probably be much more familiar with his penchant for Committing To A Thing that is inadvisable according to basically everyone else. lav finds out about alphas and is like (thinking) oh god fuck he's going to go hunt down the strongest one he can find just to catch it isn't he.

this also goes into the question of what these two were like when they were younger. esp. laventon, who i don't think i've thought/talked much abt his early life much at all. i mean he's clearly well educated and probably from a well-off family, and i said "went to school together" earlier bc i sort of picture him as having gone to some kind of boarding school situation, but it's also possible that he was taught privately at home. either way i think he didn't have a ton of practical survival experience before hisui. maybe he was even more deeply absorbed in books when he was younger, hardly even considering the practical side of research. so in that case i think emmet would probably be sort of a balance to him. not that emmet HATES reading or anything but he's also very much like. if he has a question abt a pokemon and can't immediately find the answer in a book he's just gonna go check for himself. so they would probably make a pretty good research duo each trying to pull the other in their direction.

it's also very fun for me to imagine them being collaborators, though. it's not exactly canon supported but i still like to think lav invented pokeballs so they could have worked together on that... emmet being the only one who can properly field test their invention bc he can actually hit a target throwing things lmao

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Subway Bosses + Detective!Reader - Introduction Part 1

How You Met

You never took the chance to try the Battle Subway before becoming a detective. And now that you were a detective, odds were that chance wasn't going to be available any time soon. Still, the people of the Nimbasa precinct have painted a pretty clear picture of the Subway Bosses. A pair of twins, fearsome in battle, unwavering in their devotion to the Gear Station, and very friendly if a little peculiar. Which made meeting them for work-related business all the more underwhelming.

Nimbasa had been hit with a spree of robberies recently, and the captain assigned you the case. So far nobody had gotten hurt during the burglaries, but the mayor was breathing down the department’s neck to catch the thief before things took a turn for the worse. Police everywhere were on high alert, and you were more than ready to accept the role of leading the investigation. Sure, you weren’t uncovering some grand conspiracy or anything, but you couldn’t exactly say no to the captain. Especially with a case that had this many eyes on it. The distance traveled coupled with the frequency of the robberies suggested the perpetrator was using the subway as a means of transportation; perhaps the depot agents could give some insight.

It didn’t take long for you to find an agent once you got to the Gear Station. You told him about the investigation, hoping he could either answer your questions or at least direct you to someone who could. What you didn’t expect was for him to lead you through a maze of hallways along with several doors that you’re fairly certain were for employees only. Finally, you reached a rather large room lined wall to wall with all sorts of machines and monitors. Depot agents were standing at each console, along with two people you quickly recognized as Subway Bosses Ingo and Emmet.

Despite the curt introduction - you were on the clock with a time-sensitive case, after all - the Subway Bosses quickly agreed to help you with the investigation however they could. Over the following days, you spent your shifts at the Gear Station, either reviewing the evidence gathered so far, or exploring any possible leads.  For their part, Subway Bosses Ingo and Emmet were nothing but professionals, providing you with the necessary resources and teaching you about the complex system that is the underground rails. Whether it was Ingo helping you comb over whatever information you could get your hands on, or searching the physical tunnels with Emmet; you were always with at least one of them at all times. It’s safe to assume you would’ve been figuratively and literally lost without their help.

Then you found it; an old timesheet, buried under weeks’ worth of paperwork, which had the missing link that tied the trains, times, and locations all together. One phone call later, you were reporting the discovery to the captain, only pausing for breath whenever the captain interrupted to ask a question or finished your train of thought. All that was left to do now was head back to the station and turn in your report.

With one final word from the captain, you hung up and turned back around. Only to see the Subway Bosses staring at you. You had gotten so caught up in your little epiphany that you nearly forgot the two other people in the room.

“Gentlemen,” you smiled, trying to regain your composure, “I’ll be needing a copy of these documents for my final report. You’ve both been of great help to the case, and it’s been a pleasure working with you.” “The pleasure’s been all ours,” Ingo responded, “It’s an honor to know that someone so dedicated to upholding justice is working in Nimbasa! Do not hesitate to seek us out, should you require our assistance again!”

At Emmet’s behest, you let him walk you out of the station - though you wonder if he just wanted to leave Ingo to clean up all of the paperwork you had unearthed in your investigation.

“I will miss working with you,” he said as the two of you reached the exit, “Being a detective is exciting. It’s not as thrilling as a Pokemon battle, but still fun. Will you try the Battle Subway soon?” “I don’t know if I’ll ever have time to try the Double Line. But how about this,” you smile and turn to face Emmet, “If something bad ever happens - to you or Ingo, or even the subway - I’ll be the first one on the case. And I’ll do everything I can as a detective to see justice is served. Deal?”

You hold out your hand. Maybe it’s just your sleep-deprived eyes playing tricks, but Emmet’s smile seemed to get just a little brighter.

“Deal!” he took your hand, “I will hold you to your word, Detective!”

For whatever reason, I'm very fascinated by the dynamic between the Subway Masters and a Detective!Reader. Feel free to suggest ideas or ask questions; let's explore this idea together!