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The day Dawn won the Champion title, she was invited to join Cynthia in opening a time capsule.
Dawn wasn’t some history nerd, nor did she have any vested interest in what was actually inside. But what could she say? She was curious, at the very least--who wouldn’t be?
It was an amusing coincidence that the capsule happened to be opened on the day she took the Champion title.
Except it wasn’t, because inside was a note; a note addressed to her .
To Champion Dawn
I’m sure you’ve got a lot of questions. Most notably of which: how did we know what date to put on the box so we knew you’d receive it? Certainly, you haven’t met us yet. But know that you will.
There’s a lot I’d like to say to you. That I miss you, that I wish I’d gotten to know you better. But it’s not going to mean much to you, yet, so I’m not going to say any of it.
In any case, inside the box are things you’ll one day know what to do with. For now, leave it closed. When the time comes for you to open this box, I promise that you’ll know. But leave it be until then.
You’ll know when.
~ Irida
Dawn hadn’t touched the box since then. It sat undisturbed in the back of her closet.
And when she met Irida in Hisui? Suddenly it all made sense.
-- -- --
Rosa raced towards Mount Coronet, eyes trained on the two legendary pokemon that were clearly battling at its base. Thundurus and Tornadus were supposed to be Unovan legendaries, not Sinnohian ones, and yet they were halfway across the world causing problems. Which meant Rosa--Champion of Unova, who had battled the pair in the past--had to deal with them.
Because of course she did.
Except it looked like someone was already fighting it.
There was a girl--she looked vaguely familiar to Rosa--sitting on the back of her Torterra as she watched the fight. She seemed fidgety, but not too nervous. Which she really should have been nervous, this close to such a terrifying battle.
“Hey!” the girl cried out, “You probably shouldn’t be here. That,” she nodded towards the battle, “could become dangerous.”
Rosa narrowed her eyes. “Then you shouldn’t be here either!”
The girl shrugged. “I’m just waiting for Dad to finish fighting.”
Rosa’s eyes scanned the battle. There was a white blur darting around the battlefield--this girl’s father’s pokemon? She couldn’t spot the trainer himself, but she couldn’t see much at all with the storm.
She felt her phone buzz in her bag, and she reached to grab it. She winced when she saw the call was from N; N was a texter--N only called when it was important . She put the phone up to her ear. “What’s the problem now?”
“Landorus,” N responded, “I can’t talk to it. I mean, it won’t talk back.”
“...worrisome, but what’s the immediate problem?”
“Earthquakes. Lots of them.” N cursed at something. “Alder tried fighting it, but he couldn’t do much. Are you done with the other two yet?”
Rosa spared a glance towards the girl on the Torterra. “Someone else was already fighting them when I got here.”
“Great--let them deal with it. If you think they can. Is it Cynthia?”
“Not Cynthia--hold on.” Rosa lowered the phone, looking over towards the other girl. “Hey! Do you think you and your Dad can handle those two?”
The girl nodded back at her. “I’ve fought those two before, so if Dad can’t manage it, I certainly can.”
Rosa nodded back in confirmation. It wasn’t too weird for her to have fought legendaries before. Rosa had fought plenty, and she knew there were others that had as well. She lifted the phone back up to her ear. “I think they can handle it. You want me to come back?”
“I called Skyla just before you--she’s still at the airport.” So a yes, then.
“Alright, I’m on my way.” Rosa ended the call, then turned and raced back the way she came.
-- -- --
Barry nervously paced the edge of Lake Verity. Tornadus and Thundurus weren’t something he would be dealing with--if the Unova champion failed, Cynthia would deal with them, probably--but they were still a problem .
The storm had seemed to fade a few hours ago, but that didn’t mean it was over .
A thundering sound drew his attention, eyes trained on a nearby hill. A large, Rapidash-esk pokemon crested the hill, followed quickly by a second--much larger one--behind it. Both had riders, the first of which waved to him excitedly.
Barry reached for Heracross’s pokeball, just in case, as the pokemon and riders approached.
His caution was thrown aside the moment he recognized one of them as Dawn.
-- -- --
“So your new Dad is the one that fought the genies?” Barry glanced over at the man in question, scowl ever present on his face. Barry wasn’t sure how Dawn could feel comfortable around such a scary guy, but…
But if he took care of Dawn when no one else would, Barry would put up with him.
“Yep!” Dawn slammed her hands on the table suddenly, leaping up from her chair. “Wait! I totally forgot--hold on,” she darted from the kitchen, racing up to her bedroom. After Barry had met with Dawn at the lake, they’d come back to Dawn’s house so she could see her mother. Johanna had, of course, been overjoyed--though caught entirely off guard by the weird guy that came along with Dawn.
Dawn darted back into the kitchen a moment later, holding a wooden box in her hands that Barry hadn’t seen in years. “Is that the time capsule?”
“Yep!” Dawn cracked open the lid on the box, pulling out the smaller box inside. She hesitated to undo the latch on the smaller box, but after a moment flicked it open and lifted the lid. Her eyes widened.
“What?” Barry leaned across the table. “What’s inside?”
Dawn slowly reached inside, pulling out a red crystal that fit perfectly in the palm of her hand. She then turned and held it out towards Ingo. “This is probably meant for you.”
Ingo took the crystal, slowly, turning it over in his hand. “I--”
“What is it?”
Dawn hesitated. “It’s a Burst Heart. Um, Lord Sneasler’s Burst Heart.”
“No,” Ingo corrected. He removed the Zoroark Burst Heart from his Warden band, placing the new Burst heart inside. “Not Lord Sneasler’s.”
Dawn tilted her head. “Then who--” she froze, her eyes widening. “No way.”
Ingo ran his thumb across the edge of the burst heart. “This heart is that of Lady Sneasler.”
-- -- --
Rosa couldn’t fight Landorus.
It ignored her whenever she attempted to get its attention, and if she called one of her pokemon to fight it, it would charge at her. The glowing light surrounding it was probably the cause, but how to get rid of it? Rosa had no clue.
She ducked behind a rock as Landorus cried out in anger. She watched carefully over the top of the rock, debating her next move. Should she call for N? Maybe Iris? Emmet? Alder? If they couldn’t defeat it individually, maybe they could fight it as a group. That would make Emmet the best choice--he was already used to double and multi battles. But--
Landorus cried out again, and Rosa attention was brought to the white shape latched onto Landorus’s back. The figure was thrown off in a blur, slamming into the rock Rosa was hiding behind. She’d been half-expecting a pokemon, but instead she was greeted with a very human--and very familiar--face.
“Ingo!?” Rosa yelled.
Ingo squinted at her. “Rosa?”
Landorus cried out again, and Rosa’s eyes snapped towards it.
“Ah, just a moment,” Ingo said as he got to his feet. He set one hand on the rock, not quite leaning on it for support. He glanced away from Landorus and back at Rosa, humming softly. Then he nodded. “Just a moment. Stay behind the yellow line!” And then he darted off--towards the rampaging legendary.
Rosa wasn’t sure what to make of it, watching Ingo fight without his pokemon, but he clearly knew what he was doing--which really just raised more questions. Rosa scrambled to grab her phone, eyes trained on the fight as she clumsily made a call to Iris.
“Did you beat Landorus?” was the first thing Iris asked upon picking up.
Rosa could feel her hands shaking, almost dropping the phone. “No, no I couldn’t. I was going to ask Emmet for help, but, uh.” She paused, eyes widening as she watched Ingo land a hit on Landorus. “Well, do you want the good news or the bad news first?”
“...the good news.”
“Good news is, I found Subway Boss Ingo!” Rosa let out a strained laugh. “Bad news is, he’s currently fist fighting a god.”
“What do you mean he’s--”
“He’s fighting Landorus,” Rosa said, “Like, straight up brawling with it.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
“I’m not!” Rosa exclaimed, “Just-- just come here . We’re at the Abundant Shrine.”
“I’m sending Drayden, he’s closer--I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Rosa heard the beep that signaled the end of the call, haphazardly tossing her phone into her bag after. She grabbed Samurott’s ball, wrapping her hand around it tightly. Ingo didn’t seem like he needed much help, but if he did…
Landorus cried out again, this time stumbling backwards. Ingo leapt at it again, his hand held out towards it-- did he have claws? Rosa hadn’t noticed before, but Ingo’s usual uniform had been traded for some strange white fur coat. His hair was much longer, red at the tips, and really now that she looked at him? The only reason she really recognized him was because she’d seen his face up close.
Her jaw dropped as she saw Landorus drop to the ground. The light surrounding it faded, and Ingo watched for a moment before finally seeming to relax. Then a light began to envelop him before fading and leaving him back in his Subway Boss uniform. He turned to face Rosa and waved.
“Explain!” Rosa yelled, leaping over the rock and storming up to him.
Ingo winced. “It is… a long story,” he said, “But in short, in the time I’ve been gone, I’ve been living with a group of people who taught me to fuse with and utilize the abilities of certain pokemon. I only returned from there yesterday--if I could have come back sooner, I would have.”
Rosa narrowed her eyes. “That explains absolutely nothing, thank you,” she said, “I want the full story--if not now, then once Drayden gets here. Or Iris. Whoever’s first.”
“That much I can do.”
And so they waited.
-- -- --
“Iriiisss,” Emmet drawled, annoyance seeping into his voice, “Why can’t you just tell us what’s going on?”
Elesa patted his shoulder as they walked up the path to Drayden’s house. “It’s supposed to be a surprise.” She glanced over at Iris. “I think.”
“Well, yeah,” Iris said, “But also… I guess, I haven’t fact checked yet. I don’t wanna lie by accident, you know?”
Emmet and Elesa shared a glance. “Okay,” Elesa said slowly.
Drayden’s house was filled with noise. Pokemon scrambled about the living room, Flygon leaping up from the sofa when it saw them and almost knocking over a vase in the process. Iris spotted Rosa in the back of the room, whose face lit up upon seeing them.
Iris met Rosa’s gaze. “Is it really..?”
Rosa nodded. “Here, let me--get them.” She darted off, and Elesa’s eyes snapped to Iris.
“Who?”
“You’ll see.”
Drayden entered the living room first, quickly followed by Rosa and--
“Ingo!?” Emmet exclaimed, freezing. Elesa grabbed Emmet’s shoulder, squeezing tightly.
Ingo waved. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
Emmet darted forward and pulled Ingo into a hug. Elesa and Iris weren’t far behind, and it was almost a miracle Ingo hadn’t been tackled to the ground.
After some time, the group managed to maneuver onto the sofa, Emmet still clinging to Ingo and no one else quite far off.
“Alright, I want answers,” Iris said finally, “Rosa said you decided to fist fight a god-- how and why ?”
“And did you win?” Elesa added quickly.
Ingo chuckled. “The story starts much further back than that.”
“Yeah,” Rosa interjected, “ask him about the time travel first.”
“The what--? ”