Chapter Text
It’s a late Sunday morning and the weather is bright and sunny, truly befitting of the day’s name. The clear skies and gentle breeze are ideal for a stroll through the vibrant gardens that surround a grand mansion. It’s relatively quiet, with only the singing calls from the socialising Tranquil and Pidove around the residence adding to the sense of calm.
But the peace is disrupted by a sudden bang sounding from inside of the mansion, causing the resting Pokemon to fly off in a flurry of feathers and squawks.
The source of the sound is from a door slamming open, revealing a young boy who stomps out of a room into the hallway with a deep scowl on his face. The boy ignores the reprimanding call of his name as he runs down the hallway, away from the adults in that unpleasant room.
Another boy with a concerned expression trails after him.
“Ingo?” the worried boy calls softly from behind.
Ingo slows his sprint into a fast-paced walk, allowing his twin brother to catch up and the two automatically hold hands as they walk in sync.
Ingo should probably say something to lessen his twin’s concern, but he’s still fuming from the argument just moments ago and he doubts anything he’ll say right now would be reassuring.
The twins quickly navigate through the long halls of the mansion, disregarding the staff who formally greet them as they make their way to their room.
‘Their’ room is actually supposed to be just ‘Ingo’s’, but the twins preferred staying in one room together even though the residence had more than enough space to accommodate all the mansion’s employees and whole teams of Pokemon too.
After finally entering their shared room, Ingo slams the door shut in an expression of anger and practically throws himself onto the bed to vent out his frustrations with muffled screams. The younger twin stands by the door Mareepishly, fiddling with the cuffs of his sleeves as he witnesses the rare event of his older brother throwing a fit.
Eventually, Ingo quietens down and rolls onto his back, letting out the steam of his overheated engine with a sigh. His eyes are wet from tears of frustration and he still has a prominent frown on his face, but he’s mostly calmed down.
The younger twin quickly grabs a tissue and sits on the side of the bed as he lightly dabs Ingo’s wet eyes. He also offers a glass of cool water in anticipation of a sore throat from all the yelling. Apparently, Ingo was so absorbed in his fit that he didn’t even realise his brother had left the room and returned. The caring actions of his brother warms Ingo’s heart and it puts out the remnants of his simmering anger.
“Better now?” the younger twin asks after Ingo takes a couple sips of water.
“Yes. Thank you, Emmet.”
The corners of Emmet’s mouth lift up into a small smile. He retrieves the glass of water, places it onto the bedside table and proceeds to tackle his brother so that they both lay on the bed – or rather, Ingo lays on the bed while Emmet lays on top of him.
A comforting silence is shared between them and Emmet fiddles with the buttons on Ingo’s shirt. The younger twin’s pensive expression shows that he wants to say something, and Ingo waits for him to collect his words.
“You do not have to be angry, Ingo. I am Emmet. I just need to try harder,” he eventually says with a small voice.
Ingo frowns. “Emmet… there’s no need to ‘try harder’. We study the same amount and I know you already understand the content of every text from cover to cover. The problem does not lie with you. It lies with them because they just don’t understand. It’s not fair.” Ingo shakes his head with the words.
Emmet mirrors his frown as he argues back, “There’s a deal. We cannot start our Pokemon journey early unless we complete our studies. To an acceptable standard. Your grades are good, so you can go. Mine are bad, so I cannot go. It is fair.”
“No, it’s not!” Ingo’s voice raises in a resurgence of his prior anger. “Father made the deal knowing that we’d do it together and we agreed to the deal knowing that we’d succeed together. He can’t just separate us like this just because of some numbers! It’s. Not. Fair. ”
Emmet’s eyes are watery and he sniffles quietly, affected by Ingo’s mood as well as his own frustrations. Ingo’s anger immediately dissipates and is replaced with concern at the sight of his upset brother. The older twin cradles his brother’s face between his hands, gently wiping a stray tear that runs down Emmet’s cheek with a thumb.
“We’re a two-car train. I’m not just going to go off on my own and leave you behind,” Ingo reassures. “We’re going to do our Pokemon journey together and nothing will change that!” He makes the declaration with a stern frown and determination in his silver eyes.
Emmet gives him a wobbly smile. “I am Emmet. I know. I just have to do better.”
“I know we’ve been instructed to study independently, but you don’t have to do it alone. I can help!” Ingo offers.
Emmet quickly shakes his head at the suggestion, his cheeks still squished between Ingo’s hands.
Ingo’s brow furrows as he frowns deeper. “If this is out of competitiveness, or a sense of rivalry, I-”
“No.” The younger twin shakes his head again. “I am Emmet. You are Ingo. We are twins. We are the same, but we think differently.”
This is not the first time Ingo’s offer to assist has been rejected, but Ingo has never heard that explanation from his brother before. He’s not quite sure what Emmet means by it and the fact bothers him greatly.
Emmet rolls off of Ingo, gets up to move over to their coupled desks and starts rummaging through his desk drawer.
“Emmet? What are you doing?” Ingo asks as he sits up.
“Getting my things. I am going to the library to study more!”
Ingo practically teleports over to his brother and slaps the books and stationery out of Emmet’s hands.
“Nope! No more studying! It’s Sunday! Let’s go enjoy the lovely weather outside!” Ingo grabs both of Emmet’s wrists and swings their arms around to stop him from gathering the scattered items.
“But-”
“We’ve already had a bad morning, and going off to study in such a mood will not be productive. Let’s just enjoy the rest of today and we can revisit this issue tomorrow!”
“But-”
“Do you not wish to spend time with your dearest twin brother?” Ingo tries to pout and gives his best impression of baby-doll eyes.
Emmet fails to hold back his stuttering laugh at his brother’s ridiculous expression. “Okaaay! Fine. You win. Let’s go get our Pokemon.”
The two boys race out of their room and down the hallway, the sounds of laughter echoing through the manor.
A man stands by the window to his private office, observing the boys playing in the garden. The boy wearing a white cap is engaged in a game of chase with a Tynamo and the boy wearing a black cap runs after them with a Litwick on his shoulder. The man lets out a heavy sigh as he watches the scene.
A woman dressed smartly in a formal beige-coloured suit stands a respectful distance behind the intimidating man, both her posture and expression are tense.
“I express my deepest apologies for allowing this to happen, Lord Drayden. Moving forward, I will be sure to correct my errors and provide extra attention to young Master Emmet.”
“Hm.”
The lord of the manor turns away from the window to look at the woman and sternly nods in acknowledgement.