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When Emmet first woke up in the region of Hisui, he saw his twin next to him. Just casually standing there sleeping… which really isn’t that surprising.
It’s actually something that Ingo does often, much to Emmet’s exasperation. On many occasions his twin has worked late into the night and it results in him simply shutting down where he stands, giving quite a surprise to the depot agents the next day. While Ingo gets embarrassed by it and that’s verrry fun to watch, Emmet would rather his brother actually sleep at home.
Speaking of which, this isn’t home station is it?
…
Where are they?
The obvious observation is that it’s dark. Are they in the tunnels? But the space seems to be completely enclosed…
Regardless, remaining in this dark area is not a very good idea for either of the twins. While still able to operate in the darkness for several hours, staying any longer in a place without any light would result in their bodies going to sleep. If they didn’t want to accidentally sleep for a few centuries, the twins needed to vacate this space as soon as possible.
But when Emmet tries to move, he realises he can’t. He looks down in confusion to see that more than half of his body is encased in weirdly glowing ice.
?!
“I am Emmet. What the f-”
And such is the beginning of Emmet’s adventures in a strange new land with his sleeping twin.
Fortunately, it doesn’t take Emmet long to get out of his ice prison, leaving a jagged Emmet-shaped hole in the wall of ice and small shards littering the ground. After doing a status check on Ingo and confirming that his cab is alright, Emmet begins to look for a possible way to break out of the cave(?) they’re trapped in.
While both Emmet and Ingo are able to see in the darkness, it also results in a depletion of their body’s energy – it also has the side effect of making their eyes glow – and so Emmet closes his eyes to feel around the cave instead. He moves along stone walls, tapping his hand on the surface to feel and hear the vibrations that pass through his crystal structure. The wall seems rather thick and so Emmet continues his search for a thinner area or a fault in the stone surrounding them. He eventually does come across a section of weaker stone and after tapping his hands on the wall a few times and even pressing his ear against it to be extra sure, he decides that the section is his best bet in reaching outside.
Ideally, Emmet would search for a better method to escape the closed space which doesn’t risk its collapse, but he’s on a time limit. It’s either he breaks his way out or he and his twin both sleep in the cave for a verrrry long time.
Before Emmet straight up punches a hole in the wall, he lugs his brother over so that in case structural failure of the cave does occur, Emmet would at least be able to have Ingo nearby. It would be verrrry bad to lose his brother in the debris.
Emmet stands before a wall of stone and readies his left hand.
Three, two, one! All aboar~d!
Stone easily gives way to Emmet’s fist as he smashes through the cave wall. Rocks are flung into an open expanse of white snow and light pours into the dark cave.
Outside at last!
Peering out into the infinite white landscape, Emmet doesn’t recognise anything about the sight before him and he’s truly at a loss as to where he and his brother could possibly be. One thing for sure is that wherever they are, it’s verrrry far from Nimbasa City. It also doesn’t help that Emmet has completely no idea as to how they got here or what even happened between his last memory – which consisted of him and Ingo monitoring the subway lines in the control room – and waking up in this foreign land.
Regardless, Emmet should probably bring Ingo out into the light so he can ‘charge’ himself and actually wake up.
Walking out into the daylight while carrying his sleeping brother, Emmet sees how his hands are translucent and glittering and he realises that his powdered finish has come off, revealing the white diamond underneath.
He gently lays his twin down on the snow to properly inspect himself. Apparently, not only has the powder come off of his hands but basically his entire body has no trace of the white substance. An even stranger observation is that the powder has somehow disappeared from every surface despite the fact that Emmet’s still wearing his subway boss uniform.
Verrrry weird…
Before he can ruminate on that any further, Emmet suddenly has the urge to move, as if he needs to avoid something, some imminent danger. Deciding not to question it, he follows the instincts of his body and quickly jumps off to the side, narrowly escaping the swooping dive of a flying Pokemon.
Oh! So apparently there are Pokemon here! That’s quite the relief to Emmet, who was worried that he and his twin may have ended up in another world entirely.
While he didn’t get a clear view of what Pokemon was just trying to swoop him, the diamond doesn’t have long to speculate since he hears a loud screeching sound as the Pokemon makes yet another dive towards him.
This time he is better able to see the wild flying-type (presumably) and as he dodges once more, Emmet is quickly able to identify it as a Braviary… except it doesn’t look quite right.
Braviary typically have red feathers, but this one has white feathers across the span of its wings and multicoloured flames crowning its head. Such an appearance could only be owed to some sort of regional variant, but Emmet is pretty certain that Braviary don’t have any…
Could it be… a new variant?!?!?!
Emmet really ought to be concerned about how this aggressive Pokemon is trying to attack him rather than being overly excited about the possible combinations and strategies posed by a new variant, but it’s not like the Braviary could cause him significant harm anyway. The Pokemon would also have difficulty snatching him up due to his considerable weight.
So distracted by his own musings, Emmet almost doesn’t notice the Braviary change targets, aiming for his black-clad twin on its next swooping dive. Of course, when Emmet does finally realise, he dashes towards his brother with incredible speed and jumps to intercept the Pokemon as he yells, “Nope!”
[ Emmet used tackle! ]
The diamond and Pokemon both go down and tumble around in a heap in the snow. Emmet manages to grab a hold of the Braviary, using his body to pin down a wing and preventing the Pokemon from moving it. The Braviary squawks and struggles in his strong grip.
[ It’s somewhat effective! ]
With the Pokemon now in closer proximity, Emmet is able to get a better look at the crown of flames on its head which seem to have a pulsing glow. The pale blue pattern resembling eyes makes him wonder if the variant also has a secondary typing. Psychic perhaps?
“I am Emmet. You are a verrrry intriguing Braviary!” He can’t help but say.
The flames on the Braviary’s head pulse once and it suddenly stops struggling. It cranes its neck to look at Emmet and cocks its head as if confused by what it sees. It scrutinises Emmet for a moment while the diamond simply stares back with a bright smile on his crystalline features.
Since the Pokemon seems to have calmed down and has shown itself to be responsive to his words, Emmet proposes a deal.
“I will let you go, but you must leave. Do not attack my brother again.”
The Braviary looks over to the sleeping twin and then turns its head back to Emmet and caws in acquiescence.
“Good.”
As soon as Emmet’s grip lessens just a little, the Braviary flaps its wings open to its full span, pushing the diamond off in the process and causing him to land on his rear with a yelp. The Pokemon makes a scoff-like sound and then takes off to the skies with several mighty beats of its wings. Emmet just watches the Braviary fly away and once it’s out of sight, he stands up and pats the snow off of his coat.
While that was indeed quite the exhilarating and fun encounter, Emmet wonders if this whole scuffle happened because of his glitteriness or Ingo’s black coat standing out in the snow or a combination of those two things. He looks over to his peacefully sleeping twin and decides that finding some shelter may be the best course of action for now.
In the days following Emmet’s awakening, he quickly acquires the powder needed to conceal his crystalline appearance which allows him to begin exploring the land – although he never strays too far from where his brother is stationed. As the diamond sprints across vast landscapes and climbs the occasional steep cliff, he only finds himself getting more and more confused.
He sees grasses, fields, shores, swamps and many other environments which aren’t all that helpful in allowing him to narrow down where he could possibly be. Most notable is obviously the verrrry large mountain, but Emmet is given no sense of familiarity nor recognition from it. Despite having a body made of diamond, Emmet doesn’t carry much interest in land formations but he now thinks he should’ve looked into geographical studies a little more.
Another oddity is that while the land is flourishing with familiar and fascinating varieties of wild Pokemon, Emmet has yet to meet a single person in his travels. While he has seen the occasional man-made structure indicating the presence of at least some civilisation, they are all uninhabited and are in the stages of crumbling and weathering away. Perhaps he simply isn’t looking in the right places, but it’s safe to assume that the land he’s in is just not especially populated. That’s quite unfortunate, since it really would make things much easier if he could get answers from the region’s natives.
Being unsuccessful in his investigations, Emmet decides to turn the rest of his attention to his twin who has yet to awake. Taking his brother out into the sunlight at regular periods is really the best that Emmet can do in this wild region and he would often have to ward off any Pokemon that get a little too close.
Speaking of Pokemon, that Braviary that gave such a warm welcome to Emmet on his first day has become a regular visitor. True to their agreement, the Braviary never attacks Ingo but it would often mess with Emmet instead, trying to swoop him off his feet or steal his conductor’s hat. The diamond isn’t sure why he’s suddenly become the Braviary’s source of entertainment, but he isn’t opposed to its company.
While it is highly likely that Emmet and his brother would remain in this foreign region for the foreseeable future, Emmet hasn’t yet considered gathering Pokemon partners of his own. He was quite distraught over the realisation that none of his old partners were here with him, but he quickly reassured himself that Elesa would take verrrry good care of them.
There are quite a few reasons as to why Emmet hadn’t started building a team, the major one being that he has no pokeballs and there is no way to acquire them. There’s also a part of him that wants to wait for Ingo to wake up first so that they can build their team together. Back in the past, that’s what they always did. The twins shared everything, including their Pokemon.
Aside from that, there are many other things that Emmet wants to do in this vast land as well, but it is all under the condition that his brother is conscious and by his side. Emmet can only speculate that whatever happened which transported him and Ingo here had some unknown effects on their bodies and their inclusions, so it’s natural that his twin would maybe need some more time to awaken from his deep slumber.
Although he has never been as patient as Ingo, Emmet can wait.
When Ingo does finally awake after a couple years, Emmet is absolutely overjoyed to the point that his voice seems to fail him and he instead just flaps his hands as he vibrates in excitement.
Except Emmet’s joy is short-lived because something is… off.
He does not expect his twin brother to look at him with absolute confusion in his silver eyes.
And he does not expect his twin brother to have no memories of their past.
Technically, this is no issue since the twins can simply swap body parts and therefore exchange their memories. It is that easy!
…But seeing his brother like this still stings a little nonetheless.
Instead of conducting the exchange procedure immediately, Emmet decides to just watch his twin for a while to evaluate his condition and any apparent changes aside from the memory loss.
And the most prominent observation is that Ingo is now… verrrry absentminded!
While Ingo was the more talkative of the twins and would always be the one to initiate conversation, he now has this uncharacteristic meekness and mostly just stares at things. It seems as though his assertiveness has completely disappeared and he tends to follow Emmet’s lead more often than not. He’s virtually stuck himself to Emmet like some sort of spectre and when left alone, he’s completely at a loss. Like a child lost in a supermarket.
Emmet wonders if his brother’s dramatic personality change really is solely due to his lost memories or if there’s something more to this.
Aside from following his brother around, Ingo also has an inclination to just quietly watch Emmet with a neutral frown on his face. Despite his aforementioned absentmindedness, this one action is the only thing Ingo does with such intensity that Emmet can easily detect when his twin is gazing at him.
Even though Emmet has already stated multiple times that the two of them are twins, it’s only when Ingo clearly sees his reflection that he finally seems to register this.
And after that, Ingo seems to pick up some verrry strange habits.
He mirrors Emmet’s movements, he copies Emmet’s words, and he tries to mimic Emmet’s expressions. While it is slightly amusing to see Ingo try his best to hold a smile, Emmet is more disturbed than endeared by his brother’s earnest attempts to… be Emmet.
It doesn’t feel right.
But it’s verrry difficult to communicate this to Ingo since he just innocently blinks at Emmet and tilts his head in genuine confusion.
Why in Reshiram’s truth is his brother so weirdly airheaded???
The longer this goes on, the more Emmet is confused and worried.
The only possible rationalisation that Emmet can come up with to explain these strange habits is that Ingo’s situation may be similar to that of a fresh hatchling. Since the twin diamonds are identical, Ingo seems to have concluded that he’s supposed to be exactly like Emmet, both in behaviour and mannerisms.
A crude explanation, but it oddly makes sense.
In that case, perhaps having some memories would help.
When Emmet brings up the idea of exchanging parts with Ingo, the response he receives surprises him.
“Okay, let’s do it.”
–is all Ingo says and Emmet can’t help but feel that the answer is not quite right. When Emmet inquires why his brother so quickly agreed, he simply answers,
“You want to do it, so let’s do it.”
Ahh, so that’s why.
“I want you to want to do it, not because I said so,” Emmet tells him.
“Oh.”
Although his face doesn’t emote much, Emmet can tell that Ingo is surprised.
“…I will consider it then.”
Only two days later does Ingo come to his own decision and immediately informs his brother of it. He deliberately gets Emmet to sit down with him as he says,
“I wish to conduct this exchange with you, Emmet. I want to know about the life we shared.”
Ingo has a determined look in his eyes, one that Emmet recognises and it makes him smile.
“Verrrry good! Let’s get started without delay!”
By the shoreline, two diamonds clean themselves of the fine powder that conceals their true shine. Emmet had offered the choice of which body part is to be swapped to his brother and he had decided on the left arm, so that’s the segment they’re currently cleaning.
For Ingo, it’s the first time he sees the mesmerising way that light interacts with his twin’s body and he is in awe of Emmet’s brilliance.
Emmet on the other hand finds that his ‘white diamond-ness’ is overrated and is more interested in the complex patterns of black and the sparkling shimmer that comprises his twin’s form. It’s verrry much a shame that Ingo himself can never seem to appreciate it.
Even now, Ingo looks at himself with hints of distaste and disappointment. It probably doesn’t help that he’s having a very difficult time trying to wash the white powder off. So, Emmet decides to take over the job of cleaning his brother to save him the frustration and also because two hands are better than one.
As the white diamond works on cleaning his twin’s arm, Ingo watches him intently with that strong gaze again.
“You’re so beautiful,” Ingo blurts out and then loudly slaps a hand over his mouth in embarrassment.
Emmet chuckles and simply replies, “You are beautiful too.”
Despite how Ingo’s mouth is still covered with a hand, Emmet can tell that his twin’s frown just got deeper in disagreement of the statement.
Well that certainly wouldn’t do! Ingo ought to know how wonderful he is!
Carefully lining up the words in his mind, Emmet begins to sing praises to his brother.
“You are a black diamond. You are rare and mysterious. You are complex and completely unique. There is more to you than just what you see. You are loud and strong. You are steady and unwavering. You are kind and caring.”
He lightly knocks his forehead against his brother’s and he says, “You are Ingo and you are beautiful.”
It’s not often that Ingo is stunned speechless to the point of making a gaping expression, but that’s what he’s doing right now after hearing Emmet’s sincere praises.
Emmet thinks his words are still not quite enough, but he will proudly take this victory.
Over the next few days, the twins both adjust to their swapped arms rather quickly and Ingo is gradually able to recall more of their shared past. He starts behaving more like himself and stops trying to copy Emmet all the time, except he does still occasionally mirror the white diamond’s movements and gestures. Not that that’s a bad thing since the twins normally do this, back then and apparently even now.
Emmet is immensely relieved that his brother is acting more naturally now. Less like he is pretending to be someone else, conforming to another personality.
That doesn’t mean Ingo is exactly like how he was before.
Ingo is different now. Ingo has changed. Emmet sees this.
He is quieter now. He still stares a lot. He is in his head often, always thinking. He likes holding Emmet’s hand when they venture into the wilds.
Ingo is different and Emmet doesn’t mind. Regardless of his changes, his new preferences, his new behaviours, his new expressions, his new similarities and differences…
Ingo is Ingo and Emmet loves Ingo!
And he can tell Ingo loves him too, in both an old and new way.
Emmet finds it fascinating to observe how his brother has transformed.
As stone beings that are close to immortal, time moves differently. When the status of one’s body always remains the same, never experiencing any damages, derailments or maintenance, it is natural to become stagnant. Unchanging. Inactive. Inert.
Change is verrrry interesting! It’s one of the reasons why Emmet likes switching parts with his brother. They are the same, yet different. They can combine in infinitely many ways and each combination is new and unique.
Like the transformation that is the growth of a child into adulthood or the evolution of a Pokemon into its next powerful form, it’s exciting for Emmet to see that his brother has undergone change.
Emmet wonders if he will change as well, or if he has already changed without realising.
As the world around the diamonds spins quickly, Ingo and Emmet live in a vast land amongst Pokemon.
Ingo has a tendency to bring back all sorts of wild Pokemon into the diamonds’ shelter, reasons ranging from injury to simple curiosity. While none of the Pokemon become the twins’ partners, a friendship still grows and the wild Pokemon occasionally visit the two diamonds.
Emmet on the other hand somehow finds himself responsible for looking after generations of Braviary. Being an experienced Pokemon breeder, it’s only natural that Emmet enthusiastically applies himself to overseeing the wellbeing of the Braviary variants.
As the world around the diamonds continues to spin, Ingo and Emmet live in a vast land amongst Pokemon…
…And now people too!
The diamonds see old and new settlements of people, they see populations grow and dwindle, they see structures built and dismantled. They see harmony and cooperation, they see destruction and disagreements.
They witness a war.
…
A war of conflicting beliefs, contrasting worship, opposing traditions.
A war that doesn’t need to happen.
…
It’s not the first time the diamonds have seen a war.
…
The diamonds want to help, they try to help those who are suffering, but they also have a set of rules to follow. Rules they had established long ago so that they wouldn’t lose themselves or each other.
So most of the time, the diamonds just watch.
Sleeping is an option, but neither Ingo nor Emmet wish to turn their eyes away from the conflict.
…
It’s hard to watch.
Nobody wins. Everybody loses.
There is no such thing as Victory in a war.
Emmet is simply enjoying the sunlight while watching a few Rufflet playing in the icy terrain when he hears his brother’s approaching footsteps. Without even looking, Emmet already knows that Ingo has arrived with an additional passenger as per usual.
“What Pokemon did you pick up this time?” Emmet asks as he turns around and he freezes at what he sees.
In Ingo’s arms is a bundle of cloth. Swaddled within said cloth is a small child who is grabbing tightly onto the lapel of the diamond’s black coat.
Emmet blinks a few times.
“I am Emmet. That is a baby.”
“I’d say he’s old enough to be a child rather than a baby,” Ingo responds.
“I am Emmet. You are Ingo. You picked up a baby.”
Ingo chuckles at his brother’s shock. “Indeed I did. During my travels I came across an old settlement which seemed rather damaged and I found this little one alone amongst the rubble. I could only assume that unfortunate circumstances had led to this child being orphaned and I couldn’t simply leave him to fend for himself.”
“So you picked up a stray baby,” Emmet states as he tries to get a closer look at the child. The little human notices the diamond’s approach and he shies away from Emmet’s silver eyes, retreating as much as he can into the bundle.
“So what are we to do with this baby?” the white diamond asks.
Ingo gives him a surprised look. “I assumed it was obvious that we’d take responsibility for his care. We cannot simply abandon this child.”
“I am Emmet. I do not know how to look after a baby.”
Ingo glances down at the Rufflet pecking around Emmet’s feet and then shoots his brother a look. “You know how to care for Pokemon and you do a bravo-worthy job of it. I don’t see how you can’t apply your skills to a human child.”
Emmet shakes his head. “That is different. Human babies are verrry complicated!”
“I suppose they are… Then we’ll just have to work through it, one step at a time!” Ingo announces rather loudly, garnering the attention of the Rufflet momentarily before they continue playing as usual.
Emmet smiles at his twin’s enthusiasm and he tries once more to get a better look at the child who only turns away and buries himself into Ingo’s coat. “Does the baby have a name?”
“Oh! I haven’t asked!”
“You picked up a stray baby without even knowing their name,” Emmet comments flatly.
Ingo just ignores the remark and addresses the child in his arms, “My deepest apologies, little one. If you do not mind me asking, what is your name?”
The child looks up at Ingo allowing Emmet to see a head of blonde hair and the boy quietly mumbles,
“...Bolo.”
Emmet’s brows furrow and he tilts his head. “Boro?”
The young boy shakes his head but he doesn’t seem to have the voice to repeat his name.
“I believe he means to say ‘Volo’,” Ingo supplies and the child nods in confirmation.
Apparently feeling a little less shy, the boy finally looks over to Emmet and the white diamond warmly greets him with a gentle smile.
“I am Emmet. It is verrrry nice to meet you, Volo.”
And so the twin diamonds picked up a human child.
Volo is a quiet child. He is reserved and attentive and follows the twin diamonds around.
It reminds Emmet of Ingo’s first moments after he woke up here.
Volo is a curious child. His eyes sparkle when he’s interested in something and he can be very active when excited.
It reminds Ingo of when he first awoke and saw Emmet’s joy.
To reduce the risk of Volo becoming ill, the diamonds had relocated their home station to a place of warmer climate as per Emmet’s suggestion. While it meant that Emmet was further away from the Pokemon he was looking after, he would simply travel the longer distance to check on them. Some Braviary would also visit their new station occasionally.
Volo is a shy child. He is generally nervous around the Braviary, often hiding behind Ingo when the Pokemon visit Emmet. Despite how the boy seems afraid of the Braviary, Emmet sees the twinkle of curiosity and fascination in his eyes when he looks up at the large Pokemon.
Volo is a sad child. He is burdened with heavy loss that he is much too young to carry. While not as often anymore, sorrowful cries were a common sound to Ingo’s ears and glistening tears were a common sight to Emmet’s eyes. Volo would cry alone when he thought no one was around to notice.
But the diamonds would always notice.
Ingo would do his best to comfort the boy and Emmet would do his best to cheer him up. It didn’t always work, but things seemed to be improving.
But to Emmet, it doesn’t seem like enough. He doesn’t like how sad the boy is all the time.
Maybe Volo will smile more if he has a friend…
Volo’s caretakers are strange… not that he’s really aware of that.
Volo’s caretakers are distinct.
The one in black wears a frown. His name is Ingo. He is kind and loud. His shout can be verrry loud! He always seems to know when Volo is sad and always knows how to comfort him.
Volo wants to be kind like Ingo one day.
The one in white wears a smile. His name is Emmet. He is smart and fast. He can run verrry fast! He always answers all of Volo’s many questions and he knows lots of cool things.
Volo wants to be smart like Emmet one day.
Volo’s caretakers are identical.
They have the same face and the same clothes. They are tall and strong and powerful and caring.
They are also verrrry pretty and sparkly. Ingo says that’s because they are diamonds.
Volo also wants to be sparkly one day.
Volo’s caretakers gave him a present.
It’s an egg!
Emmet says that it will grow and hatch into a Pokemon. He says that Volo needs to raise it carefully and give it lots of love.
Volo is excited to have an egg to look after. He will do his best to care for it! Like how Emmet cares for the Braviary or how Ingo cares for hurt Pokemon.
Volo wonders what the egg will grow up to be…
Volo remembers his mother and father.
He remembers their warmth and loving touch and thinking about them makes him sad. He knows that they are long gone but he still misses them. Verrry much.
But now, Volo has two more parents!
He will be okay.
Together with Ingo and Emmet, they are a three-car train.
History has witnessed many things, the large majority of which remain a mystery.
One such mystery is the existence of strange people-like beings with Pokemon-like abilities.
They have hardened bodies that are sturdy and strong. Underneath their pale skin is flesh that shimmers and shines in the light. They will never fall to the ailments of mortals for their lifespan is infinite.
History can only speculate that these mysterious beings are perhaps some sort of mythical Pokemon.
After all, history has seen four of these enigmas.
Two completely different regions that are so very far apart, yet they both experience the same phenomena – the existence of two of these strange beings.
During times of hardship and suffering for humanity, the mythical beings provided assistance and protection. During times of peace and prosperity, the mythical beings would simply watch and live amongst the people without anyone ever knowing of their true interiors.
Perhaps there were those who knew of these beings and what they truly were… but it is all lost to time.
In the end, it is only what history has witnessed and not what it remembers.