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Chapter Text

Emmet stands in front of the portal between time and space. It took a long time, far too long. The air is warm with the heat and sweat from the battle won. Emmet skin prickles and grows goosebumps with an unseen chill. His core burns brighter than it has since Ingo disappeared.

Behind Emmet, Giratina lies wrapped in the red chain. Ingo and Emmet's pokemon alike watch over the Distortion god. Beaten and bruised, some have fainted, but they were victorious. With their victory, Emmet has forced Giratina to make a portal to Ingo. A portal to ancient Sinnoh, or Hisui as they called it back then.

Years of tireless research and work has led to this.

Dismissing his pokemon back into their pokeballs, Emmet steps outside of the portal. It closes behind him. Emmet is left alone in Turnback cave…

But Emmet won't be alone for long.

- - -

Palina, Iscan, Gaeric, and Glalie walk through the Cobalt Coastlands. After the rift, the red sky, and Volo incident, things have finally settled down. Palina and Iscan decided that it was time to let the others know about their relationship. Afterall, both Adaman and Irida were trying to encourage the Clans to get along.

Gaeric was a very good friend of Palina's. It made sense for them to tell him first. To test the waters with him, so to say. Gaeric was a little confused and surprised, but overall he was supportive.

It was so nice that their walk and talk was going well. Palina didn't think anything could ruin it!

Something falls down and face plants on the ground beside them. They were walking around the mountain close to Islespy Shore. Whatever it was, it was wearing a large backpack and a white coat that was eerily similar to a certain Warden Palina knew.

Before that thing had a chance to move, Gaeric uses Glalie to freeze it. Thankfully Glalie had joined them, but what was a Zoroark doing all the way in the Coastlands…

And why was it disgusted as Warden Ingo's worst fear?

"Why- why would you freeze a person?" Iscan asks Gaeric, panicked. Palina remembers that her love is not too familiar with Zoroark or Warden Ingo. He didn't know that whenever Ingo was near a Zoroark, they would turn into the white version of Ingo they see.

"It's only a Zoroark, dear," Palina tries to assure Iscan, "But what is it doing so far from the Icelands?"

"That's not a Zoroark," Gaeric says, sounding surprised.

"What," is all Palina can say.

"Warden Iscan is right," Gaeric says, approaching the frozen man, "I thought it was a Zoroark too, but a Zoroark would drop its illusion as soon as it was hit."

"But you froze it," Palina says, "Maybe it just didn't have time to change back?"

"I've fought Zoroark before. It doesn't matter if you freeze them or not," Gaeric picks up a white hat near the frozen man. It must have fallen off when he fell, "This isn't a Zoroark."

"What would Warden Ingo be doing all the way over here?" Iscan asks, "That is Warden Ingo, right?"

Palina looks over the frozen man. It certainly looks like Warden Ingo. Grey hair, strange triangular sideburns, same face and body. There were differences though, the white coat and hat, shorter hair and no goatee, but most importantly, "No scar on the top of his head."

"What was that, Palina?" Gaeric asks.

"This can't be Warden Ingo," Palina says, "All the difference could be explained away by a haircut or a change of clothes, but it doesn't have the scar on the top of its head. Warden Ingo got it when he first fell, remember? Usually you can't see the scar because Warden Ingo's always wearing his hat. This one's hat fell off, and look."

"No scar," Gaeric says.

"This-this must mean Warden Ingo has a twin," Iscan says in awe, "And here they are. That's amazing… I-Ingo would be so happy to finally meet someone from his past!"

Palina and Gaeric look at each other, worried. The reason Gaeric ordered Glalie to freeze this man in the first place was because they thought it was a Zoroark imitating Ingo's worst fear. Ingo doesn't remember anything from his past, no mentions of any family or twin. They don't know a lot about Ingo, but they do know that he fears very little. Vicious pokemon that no one else would dare to go near where nothing to Ingo, even Zoroark were no match for him…

Unless the Zoroark turned into the white version of Ingo. The first time Gaeric and Palina saw it happen, Ingo fainted at the sight. They weren't able to ask Ingo about it, as Ingo didn't speak Kantonian then and the situation was already complicated enough.

Any future attempts to talk about it were met with a stubborn refusal to talk. Ingo, despite his closed off appearance and usual isolation, was almost always open and friendly to talk too.

That is, unless you try to talk to him about this.

Maybe Ingo remembered this man behind the illusion, maybe he did not, but it didn't matter. Palina and Gaeric knew that his man had to be a threat.

They take the man to Palina's tent. Palina's tent was along the Spring Path tucked away in a cave. The cave offered natural protection from the elements and had a series of tunnels in the back. The tunnels were chalk full of different rocks and stalagmites that are perfect for any young rock-types development, like the Growlithes that loved to roam the area.

Now they have a frozen man in Palina's tent, and no one's quite sure what to do with him. Iscan has left to get them some dinner. Gaeric is writing a letter to Clan Leader Irida to tell her about the situation. Palina is left to decide what to do with the man.

Thankfully Palina knows from, unfortunate, experience that being frozen by Glalie will not hurt you anymore than some discomfort and being cold. Still, it's not a good idea to keep the man frozen for too much longer. Palina doesn't want to jump to too many conclusions, but she doesn't know if she should find some way to tie him down before releasing him.

He could be not so friendly, or even violent. Palina doesn't want to make a bad first impression, after freezing him, but they know very little about this man and he's likely dangerous.

Looks can be deceiving, Ingo taught Palina that. Ingo looks just short of terrifying himself, but he turned out to be quite kind. This man looks a lot friendlier, but that could mean anything. Maybe Palina was overthinking this. This has to be Ingo's twin, so they can't be too different…

Can they?

"I've finished with the letter to Irida," Gaeric says, snapping Palina out of her thoughts, "It's a good thing we're in the Coastlands. Shouldn't be too hard to find a Ginkgo Merchant willing to deliver this."

"If things go south after I thaw Warden Ingo's twin," Palina says, not looking at Gaeric and still staring at the frozen man, "Would Glalie be able to refreeze him?"

"Usually I'd say yes, but if this is Warden Ingo's twin then he's probably really good with pokemon," Gaeric says, "Who knows what's in that bag. We can't check while he's still frozen."

"Ingo didn't have any pokemon when he fell," Palina says.

"Ingo fell through the rift, and now the rift is closed," Gaeric says, "I know I had a bad feeling about Ingo, and he turned out alright, but this man… I don't know. Something tells me he chose to come here, and he came prepared."

"Well, we can't leave him like this," Palina says.

"We could," Gaeric says in a teasing tone.

"No," Palina can't help but chuckle, "No, we can't. It's already bad enough that we froze him in the first place. He's fine now, but he won't survive until Irida comes without something to drink. We don't know anything about him other than a Zoroark's illusion… and that's not grounds for death."

"But he'll be fine a little longer. Your boyfriend," Gaeric says in a teasing tone again, "should be back with dinner soon. We'll thaw him out then. That way we won't have any unnecessary surprises."

"Okay… but," Palina takes the letter out of Gaeric's hand, "We should send this as soon as possible and I want to get some fresh air before we thaw him. I'll send this off and come straight back. If my boyfriend gets back before me. Be nice."

"I will, I will," Gaeric laughs.

Palina leaves her tent and the cave her tent's inside. Outside, Iscan is coming back with some fish and berries. Palina tells Iscan that she is going to deliver the letter to Irida, and that Gaeric and Glalie are guarding the frozen man. It's hard to tell if Iscan is worried about the frozen man or worried about being alone with Gaeric, but Palina assures him that he'll be alright.

Iscan goes back to Palina's tent, and Palina continues to Ginkgo landing. Thankfully she finds a merchant before she gets to the landing and gives them the letter. She makes her way back to her tent and finds Gaeric and Iscan on opposite sides doing their own things and not talking.

This was probably for the best, Palina can't help but think to herself.

The fish is almost done cooking, thanks to Iscan. Gaeric is staring at the frozen man lost in thought. Palina helps Iscan with the food and the three of them eat in silence.

Once they finish, they all look at the frozen man. There are some fish and berries left. The man may be hungry, it could be a good conversation starter. Hopefully he isn't violent and they can put the freezing and Zoroark illusion behind them… but Ingo's worst fear wouldn't just be anyone, and Palina can't help but feel worried.

"I will go get a Growlithe to thaw the man," Palina says, standing up and breaking the silence.

"Hopefully he, um, he likes fish," Iscan says looking at the leftover food. He must have had the same idea as Palina.

"I'll prepare Glalie, just in case," Gaeric says.

Palina goes to get her Lord's friend who is still a Growlithe. Iscan clears off the dishes, but leaves the leftover food. Gaeric goes to Glalie and talks to his pokemon.

When Palina returns with Growlithe, they all stand in front of the frozen man.

"Growlithe," Palina says, "Ember."

Chapter Text

Emmet slowly regains consciousness. He is wet, cold, and uncomfortable. An ice-type must have frozen him. Annoying, but it doesn't usually have any lasting effects. When Emmet is completely unfrozen, he falls to the floor and looks up.

Three people, as well as a Growlithe and a Glalie, are looking down at him. One of them is wearing a Pearl Clan tunic, one is wearing a Diamond Clan tunic, and the other has a blue Pearl Clan symbol painted onto their chest. They must be responsible for freezing and then thawing Emmet.

They all stare at each other, waiting for someone else to make a move.

The three of them attacked Emmet first. So, Emmet decides that it's only fair to return the favor. Grabbing the first pokeball in his pocket, Emmet quickly summons a pokemon.

Chandelure's wisps flare up, prepared for a fight. Emmet stands up and gets ready to make a run for it. Glalie crunches down on Chandelure. A dark-type move… not great, but Chandelure should be able to take it. Pokemon from the past are weak, they don't have any training-

And Chandelure immediately faints because Emmet forgot to heal their pokemon after he fought Giratina…

Great.

Emmet makes a run for it and the one without a shirt effortlessly picks Emmet up. Emmet squirms and fights like an angry Axew. It doesn't take long for the shirtless one to restrain Emmet with a bear hug, making his flailing useless.

"Why are you so much lighter than Warden Ingo?" The shirtless one says, "You're wearing a backpack, that can't be healthy."

Moving this head without moving his body, Emmet stares directly at the shirtless one, "I am Emmet. You know my brother. Where is Ingo?"

"You can speak Kantoian," the one wearing a Pearl Clan tunic says.

"I am not stupid," Emmet says. Of course Emmet learned how to speak Kantonian when he learned Ingo was in Ancient Sinnoh. Admittedly, Emmet was a little surprised how well they could understand each other. Emmet had to learn modern Kantonian and they were speaking ancient Kantonian, "I want to see Ingo."

"Well Emmet, I am Warden Palina of the Pearl Clan," Palina says, "This is Warden Iscan."

The Diamond Clan one, Iscan, sinks into himself a bit. That one must be a coward.

"And the one holding you is Warden Gaeric," Palina continues, "We sincerely apologize for how we met. We bear you no ill will. We just thought… mistook you for a pokemon. You caught us by surprise."

"Are you stupid?" Emmet asks in his usual monotone voice.

"I-uh- I'm sorry?" Palina asks, clearly confused.

"You are sorry for being verrry stupid," Emmet says.

"What, no- wait," Palina takes a deep breath, "Why are you asking if I'm stupid?"

"Do I look like a pokemon?" Emmet asks.

"No, of course not," Palina says, "We mistook you for a Zoroark. They can create illusions, though I'm sure you already knew that. We acted on impulse, and we were wrong. I sincerely hope you can accept our apology."

Emmet didn't hear what Palina said after 'Zoroark'. When Ingo and Emmet were in Elementary school, the other kids would call them 'Zorua' or 'Zoroark'. Afterall, Ingo and Emmet were different and children are mean. The nickname stuck around longer for Emmet than Ingo, as Emmet often didn't feel comfortable talking to others when he was that age.

In the end, it was a stupid nickname made by stupider children. Unfortunately, Emmet was tired. Not just tired, but exhausted. It was no secret to anyone who was close to Emmet that after Ingo disappeared, Emmet was running on fumes.

Emmet has been running on fumes for years now.

- - -

"Gaeric, why don't you put Emmet down?" Palina says. Emmet, who was in fact Ingo's brother, is staring daggers at Palina. He hasn't said anything since Palina apologized. Instead, Emmet just looks angrier and angrier.

Palina's not sure what to think. Then again, Palina didn't know what to think when she first met Ingo either.

"Oh right," Gaeric puts Emmet down. Emmet stands perfectly straight and still, not breaking his hateful glare at Palina. Gaeric, who can't see Emmet's expression, joyfully slaps Emmet on the back, "Why don't we get you something to eat. Put some meat on those bones."

Surprisingly, Emmet doesn't flinch or move at all from Gaeric's slap. Instead, Emmet just keeps standing, hands clenching into fits.

"That's right," Palina says. She completely forgot about the meal they left out for Emmet, "It's fish and berries. I'm sure you are hungry. Why don't you eat and tell us how you got here?"

"I want to see Ingo," Emmet says.

"I know you do, but-"

"I want to see Ingo."

"Excuse m-"

"I want to see Ingo."

Emmet wasn't raising his voice with each subsequent phrase. Instead Emmet repeated it in the exact same monotone tone, the exact same way. He sounds like a Chatot repeating the only phrase they know.

It annoyed Palina.

"Emmet, would it be oka-"

"I want to see Ingo."

"Iscan, Gaeric, cou-"

"I want to see Ingo."

"Talk. Outside. Now." Palina says, spinning around and leaving the tent. Iscan and Gaeric follow Palina outside. Once outside the tent, Palina lets out a heavy sigh.

"I'm sorry, that was rude," Palina says, "I feel like Warden Ingo was more reasonable even if we couldn't understand each other."

"We did freeze him," Gaeric says, "He just needs a bit of time to warm up to us!"

"Gaeric, that's sweet, but let's be realistic," Palina says, "I wouldn't trust us either if I was in his position. How do we show him that we mean no harm, without bringing him to Warden Ingo?"

"I was the one who ordered Glalie to freeze him," Gaeric says, "I could try talking to him."

"...I mean this in the nicest way possible," Palina says, "But you aren't exactly the best at handling delicate situations. Remember when Irida first got her Eevee. The Eevee sneezed and you made a joke about Eevee being sick. Irida was terrified of Eevee dying for far too long."

"Okay, so you're still in charge of talking," Gaeric says, "Until Irida gets here."

"Until Irida gets here," Palina repeats, she then turns to Iscan, who has been quiet this entire time. Palina hopes that this whole situation isn't too nerve wracking for him, "What do you think, Iscan?"

"Oh, um, I-I," Iscan says, "Think that we shouldn't have left Warden Ingo's brother inside your tent alone?"

"You're right," Palina says, "That was rude. We should go back and talk to him."

"I was less worried about being rude and more, uh, worried about him," Iscan mutters quietly. Palina and Gaeric don't notice.

The three of them get back into the tent. Palina tries to think of another apology. She is desperate to figure out more about Emmet before she even considers bringing him to Ingo. Despite Palina's attempts at being friendly, she has not forgotten that he is who shows up when Ingo and a Zoroark meet. The easiest way for someone to talk without lying, is to be friendly with them after all.

When they get inside, Emmet is standing where he was before. Glalie and Growlithe, on the other hand, are knocked out on the floor.

A metal bug looking pokemon sits on top of Glalie's body. It snaps its pincers aggressively when it sees Palina, Gaeric, and Iscan enter. A tall solid pokemon looms over Growlithe's body. Covered in dark yellow and black scales with two red tusks. Palina, Gaeric, and Iscan are too shocked at the sight to see that the tall one seems worried and confused.

"What in Palkia's name are you doing?" Gaeric yells angrily. Gaeric may be a fan of the pokemon battles Ingo now 'conducts', but this was dishonest and unjust in Gaeric's eyes.

"Haxorus, use Earthquake," Emmet orders, pointing at them, striking a pose similar and yet the exact opposite of Ingo's.

Haxorus, the tall one with the red tusks, turns to face Emmet and lets out a sad noise. It seems conflicted. Emmet shoots the pokemon a glare and simply says, "Now."

The ground starts to rumble.

Palina reaches out to grab her unconscious Growlithe. Iscan and Gaeric share a glance, and Iscan grabs Palina's arm, dragging her out of the tent and the surrounding cave. Gaeric grabs both Glalie and Growlithe, then makes a run for it as the rock surrounding them cracks.

Thankfully, Gaeric is used to Glalie's weight, and Growlithe weighs next to nothing in comparison.

Gaeric and the two unconscious pokemon make it out of the collapsing cave. The rocks fall and cover the entrance to Palina's home. The falling rocks hit Gaeric's heel as he's fleeing, crushing and trapping Gaeric's foot. Gaeric falls over, but does his best to protect the pokemon while he's falling. Unfortunately, this means Gaeric has to twist his body and an audible pop is heard over the rocks stilling themselves.

Iscan and Palina rush to Gaeric's side, taking the pokemon and digging out Gaeric's foot. There is swelling around Gaeric's heel, but Gaeric brushes it off. Clumsily standing up, everyone else can see the Gaeric is favoring his non injured side.

They have other things to worry about. The whole cave system must have collapsed as they're is a noticeable dent in the once perfect cliff faces that separate the north and south side of the Coastlands. One could walk between the two sides now if the fallen rocks are stable enough.

There is a faint noise as the metal bug pokemon emerges from the wreckage. There is a much louder noise as Haxorus emerges after the metal bug. Its short arm and body are holding onto Emmet, trying to protect him from the earthquake Haxorus caused. Emmet steps away from Haxorus and a bright red light brings both of the pokemon back into their pokeballs.

Emmet doesn't seem to be injured. His coat has been ripped and his hat must be buried with Palina's tent. He still has his backpack and all his pokeballs. All of them stare at each other before Emmet runs away. He goes down the path he created, and to the south side of the Coastlands.

They find Emmet in the morning. Turns out, unlike his brother, Emmet isn't good at traversing the wilds. They find him passed out in a ditch just outside of the Coastlands. He isn't injured or poisoned, he must just be exhausted.

Deciding that it's safer for everyone, they take Emmet's pokeballs, put them in his backpack, take his backpack away, and tie Emmet up. Emmet injured Gaeric, likely killed several pokemon living in those caves, and destroyed Palina's home. Ingo was always extremely careful and attentive to others safety. Emmet seems to be the opposite.

Emmet is tied up in Iscan's tent. There wasn't really anywhere else to put him. Iscan… isn't happy about that, but what else are they going to do?

Palina tries to assure Iscan that it's temporary. Just until Irida gets here.

Chapter Text

It should take about two days for the letter to get to the Icelands, about one day for Irida to prepare for the trip, and about two days for Irida to make it to the Coastlands. The trip is both safer and faster because of all the work Ingo put into the paths throughout the Highlands.

A day or two more added on to the five day prediction should be expected. Afterall, things happen during travel that no one can account for.

It's the sixth day since they sent the letter, and Emmet is getting on everyone's nerves.

The only thing he ever says is 'I want to see Ingo'. He's made continued escape attempts. Thankfully, none have been close to successful. After everything he did in his first attempt, they aren't taking any chances.

Gaeric has been guarding Emmet with Glalie. There isn't much else for Gaeric to do. Palina and Iscan aren't Warden Calaba, but they know Gaeric shouldn't be walking on or using his injured foot. Gaeric knows this too, even if he hates staying still. Unlike Emmet, Gaeric has enough sense to do what he's told. Even if, between staying still and listening to Emmet, Gaeric's usually chipper attitude has worn down.

Palina hasn't been fairing that well either. Everyday she goes to the wreckage of her home and tries to scavenge whatever she can. It could be worse. Afterall a Warden who lives out in the wild doesn't keep much more than the bare essentials.

That doesn't mean Palina didn't have any keepsakes. A tuft of her late Noble's fur, her current Noble's baby teeth, and the first bouquet of flowers Iscan gave her. He pressed and dried the flowers himself so that they wouldn't rot… Palina hasn't found anything but scraps. She knows it's pointless at this point, but some part of her hopes she'll find something.

Some part of her is also happy that she hasn't found Emmet's hat. It was also lost in the earthquake. If Ingo's hat means as much to Ingo as Emmet's hat means to Emmet, then at least he lost something too.

It's a rude thing to think, Palina knows it, but she feels like she has the right to think that way.

Emmet has been nothing but a downright pain.

Because of Palina's new found… dislike of Emmet, Iscan is the one who brings meals to Emmet. Thankfully, Emmet has actually been eating what they offer him now. He never finishes any of it though. Iscan worries about Emmet in more ways than one. Despite Emmet's actions, Iscan feels sorry for him.

Iscan doesn't feel sorry enough to try and talk to Emmet. Nope, Emmet is still terrifying in Iscan's eyes. Iscan will stick to cooking for everyone including Emmet.

Hopefully the Pearl Clan leader gets here soon.

- - -

Emmet was not happy. He had finally escaped these unhelpful relics of the past, only to find himself tied up in a different tent without his bag or pokemon. Their apology from before already felt hollow enough. Now Emmet knows they don't care and are just obstacles.

The shirtless one is sitting in the tent with Emmet. His leg is elevated, and he's stopped trying to talk to Emmet days ago. Emmet is fine with that. Fine that the shirtless one has stopped talking, not that he is injured. It was not Emmet's intent to hurt anyone. It was even less of his intention to hurt someone from the Clan that adopted Ingo, but Emmet can hardly change that now can he.

When Emmet ordered Haxorus to use Earthquake, he intended the tent to come down. He intended there to be property damage. That way the three of them would be too busy worrying about that, and Emmet could make his escape.

Emmet did not intend to cause a cave in and almost bury everyone involved. How was Emmet supposed to know they were in a cave? He woke up in a tent with no other information! All Emmet knew was that he wanted to distract his captors and make a run for it. It wasn't his fault the distraction turned into a disaster.

The Glalie and Growlithe were not happy with Emmet when he summoned Haxorus and Durant after healing all his pokemon. If they wanted a fight, Emmet would give them a fight.

And it turned out Emmet was right. Pokemon from the past were weak.

Now Glalie looks like he is two seconds away from murdering Emmet, and Emmet doesn't know where his pokemon or any of his things are. Emmet had a spare hat and coat for both Ingo and himself, as well as other things, in his bag. Emmet missed his hat.

Not as much as he missed Ingo, but that was going nowhere.

It has been a whole week, judging by the light peeking into the tent, when something new finally happens.

There is some sort of commotion outside the tent. It was one of the few times the shirtless Warden was outside. Glalie was still guarding Emmet. There are many different voices talking outside the tent. Some Emmet recognize, some are new. Unfortunately, too many people are talking at the same time and the tent is muffling their voices. Emmet can't translate what they are saying. There is one word Emmet can pick out.

Irida.

His captors have been waiting for the current Pearl Clan leader to come to them. Emmet recognizes her name from all of the history books Emmet read. Names like Irida, Adaman, Kamado, Akari, and the influential Professor Laventon show up a lot in this era's recorded history. People like Ingo and the other Wardens were usually just a footnote.

It couldn't be helped. The only surviving records from this time are those from Jubilife, not the Clans. Laventon's records are in the best condition, and are where most historians and Emmet got their information.

Laventon was a huge fan of photography, judging by how many photos they found that he'd taken. Ingo is in a couple of them. That's how Emmet knew without a doubt that Ingo was in the past. Ingo always looked so tired in those photos. Unkempt hair, slouched back, and torn clothing.

Emmet can't wait to see Ingo again.

"Hello," Emmet looks up to see Irida has entered the tent. A Glaceon, Espeon, and Flareon all trail around her, "I am Clan Leader Irida of the Pearl Clan. I have come to talk with you."

"Obviously," Emmet says, looking her up and down. He knew that she didn't stick with this era's fashion style, but he didn't know that she was, "Short."

"Excuse me," Irida says, going to sit down in front of Emmet. All her pokemon go to sit around them too.

"You are verrry short," Emmet says, "I was expecting you to be taller."

"You were expecting me?" Irida sounds genuinely curious.

"Yes, you are Ingo's Clan Leader," Emmet says, "The last leader of the Pearl Clan."

"I'm sorry," Irida does not sound happy, "I believe I misheard you."

"I said, 'Yes, you are Ingo's Clan Leader, the last leader of the Pearl Clan," Emmet repeats.

"Is that a threat?" Irida asks.

"It is a statement," Emmet says.

"I will have you know that the Pearl Clan is more than myself," Irida says, "We will continue on after my death as we have done for several generations. Under the Almighty Palkia, we are a strong gr-"

"You worship space, you live where Snowpoint City will be built, and you found out that there is more than one God, as you said 'Palkia' and not 'Sinnoh'," Emmet says, "Do not tell me about your beliefs. I know them. Tell me about where my brother is. I want to know that."

Irida takes a deep breath, "And why should I tell you that?"

"He is my brother."

"He is my Warden."

"He will want to see me," Emmet says, "Just ask him. Tell him Emmet is here."

"I cannot do that," Irida says.

"Why not?"

"You have done nothing but hurt us, destroy the space Palkia has given us, and threaten me," Irida says, "You have given us no reason to trust you. I will not risk my Warden until we can trust you."

"I already said, ask Ingo," Emmet says, "He trusts me."

"I can't do th-"

"Why not?" Emmet repeats, his voice steady but Emmet can feel the heat on his face from how angry he is.

"You didn't let me finish," Irida says, "I can't do that because Ingo has amnesia. He doesn't know who you are, therefore he can't vouch for your character."

"Verrry funny," Emmet says, "My brother knows who I am. Why don't you want me to see him?"

"..."

"What?"

"You don't know about Warden Ingo's amnesia," Irida says, "You know so many things Ingo didn't. I assumed you knew about this too."

"You are lying," Emmet says. It was possible. There was little information on Ingo. Other than his photos and him being a Warden of the Pearl Clan during this time, there was nothing else Emmet could find about Ingo. Emmet didn't even know who Ingo's Noble was. Irida had to be lying though. There was no way Ingo forgot about Emmet. They are a two-car train. Inseparable…

Until they were separated.

"Emmet, are you listening?" Irida asks. Emmet was not listening. In fact, he didn't want to listen again. Not until they came back with the truth and they tell Emmet where Ingo is.

"I want to see Ingo," Emmet says.

"Are you going to repeat that?" Irida asks.

"I want to see Ingo," Emmet repeated.

"Lina warned me about this," Irida stands up, her Glaceon and Flareon stand up too, "I am glad we were able to talk. When you are ready, I hope we can do it again."

Irida walks out of the tent, with Glaceon and Flareon in tow. Other than the pokemon in the tent, Emmet is alone again.

"I want to see Ingo."

- - -

Irida leaves the tent. Palina, Iscan, Gaeric, Calaba, and Lian all look back at Irida. Lian was with Irida when she got the letter, and he wanted to meet Ingo's brother. They also brought Calaba, as Ingo was found in a rough state, and Irida was worried Ingo's brother would be the same.

It wasn't Ingo's brother that would need Calaba's expertise.

"How did it go?" Palina asks.

"Emmet knows about me and the Pearl Clan," Irida says, "He then threatened me, seemed genuinely surprised when I told him about Ingo's amnesia, and then repeated 'I want to see Ingo'."

Everyone is silent.

Irida can faintly hear Emmet repeating 'I want to see Ingo' to himself. Looking down, Irida notices that Espeon must have stayed in the tent with Emmet.

Professor Laventon seemed to think Espeons could predict or maybe even read people's thoughts. Irida wasn't sure about that, but maybe Espeon was enjoying whatever mess is going on inside Emmet's head right now.

Something has to be wrong for Emmet to act like that. It worries Irida. Not just for her Clan and Ingo's safety, but also for Emmet's. Irida isn't sure what to think.

"Ingo's brother isn't nice?" Lian asks. Lian was excited to meet Emmet. Honestly, Irida was too. Gaeric's letter didn't mention anything about Emmet's behaviour. Only that he looked like the man in white. The one Zoroark's turn into when Ingo is near.

"He doesn't sound like the type you want to meet," Calaba says, going back to mending Gaeric's foot.

"You all didn't think Ingo was nice," Lian says, "But that was because he couldn't understand us. Maybe I could try talking to him?"

"No," Palina says, "This is different. We didn't trust Ingo because we couldn't understand him or his intentions. Emmet speaks Kantonian and has made his intentions quite clear."

"But!" Lian says.

"We will talk about it," Irida says, "You were a great help with Ingo, but there is no point right now. Emmet is not willing to talk to anyone and we are all tired."

Irida walks over to Iscan, who was a little ways away from the group and his tent cooking something.

Iscan looks up at Irida. He stumbles through an introduction. Irida and the others hadn't talked to Iscan when they got here. They got swept up in Gaeric and Palina's tales and Emmet.

"Warden Iscan, I apologise for the current circumstances," Irida says after Iscan finishes his messy greeting, "But I was wondering if you would be willing to share your space with us. Until we sort out this situation, of course. We have supplies for all of us, we just ask for your space."

"Oh- uh, of course" Iscan says, he keeps glancing at his tent behind Irida, "Take all the time you need. I'm preparing food for a-all of us."

Irida looks over at what Iscan was cooking.

"It's fish!" Iscan says, full of nervous energy, "I hope you like fish. That's, um, that's all we eat here. Fish!"

"Thank you," Irida says, "I'm sure it will be wonderful. We all appreciate your hospitality. You are very kind for a member of the Diamond Clan."

Iscan lets out a half-hearted, awkward 'ha…'.

While Iscan finishes the food, the Pearl Clan Wardens and Irida set up some temporary tents and sleeping arrangements around Iscan's tent. Gaeric tries to help, but Calaba stops him.

They eat, Iscan brings Emmet some food, and they go to bed. Leaving Gaeric, Irida, and Lian's pokemon to guard the area in shifts. They'll also guard Emmet.

Irida wakes up sometime in the night. Glaceon and Flareon are sleeping around Irida. Their shift must be over. Espeon is still nowhere to be seen. He must be in Iscan's tent with Emmet. Irida decides to get up and check on Espeon.

Lian's Mamoswine is standing guard outside of Iscan's tent. Irida gives Mamoswine a quick scratch before going inside the tent.

It was dark inside the tent. Irida could only make out silhouettes and anything in the small red glow from the orb in Espeon's forehead. Espeon is lying next to what Irida assumes is a sleeping Emmet. When Espeon hears Irida's footsteps, he perks up and stands.

Espeon stretches before giving Emmet's face a quick lick and walking over to Irida. Irida picks up Espeon. She takes a final look over Emmet's sleeping form, and decides to go back to bed.

In the faint red glow when Espeon licked Emmet's face, Irida could see tear marks staining Emmet's cheeks.

Chapter Text

"It looked like a metal Parasect with no mushroom shell and two giant pinchers," Gaeric tells Lian in the grand voice he uses for all his stories, "It's whole being was full of hatred as it stood over Glalie's fainted body. The second pokemon, the one who caused the cave in, was taller than Goodra. It looked as terrifying as a Garchomp. Their scales are the colour of Lord Kleavor, with blood red axe tusks to match!"

It was a new day. Iscan and Palina had left, but Irida and Calaba were milling about as Gaeric entertained Lian with a story. Lian has been quietly enjoying the story up until now. Then Lian asks, "Why don't we ask Professor Laventon about Emmet's pokemon?"

"Huh?" Gaeric asks, not used to being interrupted during his grand retellings. Irida and Calaba start to listen in more intently.

"Those pokemon sound really weird, but they have to be from somewhere," Lian says, "Professor Laventon's been all over the world. Maybe he knows about them?"

"Do you really think it would be wise to include the Professor in this?" Irida asks. It is a genuine question.

"I mean," Lian turns so that his back isn't facing where Irida and Calaba are, "It doesn't sound like Emmet's good at travelling. He probably needs his pokemon. Warden Ingo is really good with pokemon, so it makes sense that Emmet is too. If we know more about Emmet's pokemon, maybe even befriend them, then maybe Emmet will be more willing to talk to us."

"If the way Warden Ingo trains his pokemon is any indication of the way Emmet trains his pokemon," Calaba says, "I doubt there is anything we can do to befriend them while Emmet hates us. Even if his pokemon would usually be friendly."

"We may not be able to befriend Emmet's pokemon," Gaeric says, "But if we understand them we could have a better chance of defending ourselves if things go south. Glalie defeated one of Emmet's pokemon. Emmet summoned it right after he thawed. Glalie defeated it with one crunch. I could tell by the look on Emmet's face that he knew he made a mistake. Must have been one of those type advantages Warden Ingo talks about. If we knew about those for Emmet's pokemon, they wouldn't stand a chance!"

"There's more to battling than that," Lian says, "But it would be helpful to know more about them."

"What was the pokemon Glalie defeated like?" Irida asks.

"It was… A big purple floating lantern," Gaeric says

"A purple fire type?" Irida and Lian ask in unison. The two look at each other and have a quick chuckle at the accidentally unison.

"One of the few things Warden Ingo remembered is a pokemon that was purple and used flames," Irida says.

"Ingo thinks he used to follow it around," Lian says, "Just like you'd follow a lantern's light in a cave. If Emmet brought Ingo's old pokemon with him, then we have to bring them to Ingo!"

"Now hold on," Calaba says, "If Ingo knows about his old pokemon, he will wonder where we got them and find out about his brother."

"We should first figure out more about the pokemon Emmet brought with him," Irida says, "We will need someone who knows about these pokemon like Professor Laventon, or someone who is strong to defeat Emmet's pokemon."

"Like Akari," Lian says.

"They are both in Jubilife," Calaba says, "All the way across the island. That is a great distance from them to travel. Ingo is also in Jubilife, and we wouldn't want him to grow suspicious."

"Professor Laventon and Akari could be on an expedition," Lian says, "They are always on those. Maybe they are closer than we think."

"Warden Lian," Irida says, "Do you think you could find some Ginkgo Guild merchants. They shouldn't be far. Maybe they would know if Akari and Laventon are on an expedition. If they are close, we can consider asking them for help."

“Okay!” Lian jumps up from his spot and leaves the camp. He is always excited to help out the Clan in any way he can.

Once Lian is out of earshot, Irida stands up and tells the others that she is going to try and talk to Emmet again. Irida had been waiting for an opportunity. Lian was capable, far more capable than when he first became a Warden, or when they first met Ingo. The problem is that Lian and Ingo are close. Irida doesn’t want Lian talking to Emmet until they get to the bottom of this. Despite everything, he is still a child.

Irida goes into Iscan’s tent. Emmet is sitting down and already staring daggers at the tent’s entrance before Irida walks in.

They start with Emmet’s pokemon. Unfortunately, while Emmet seems concerned and caring over his pokemon, Irida can tell that Emmet is purposely not giving her any more information then she needs. By the time Irida gives up and changes the topic, she doesn’t even know if some of the pokemon are Ingo’s.

Next Irida tries to get more information about Ingo and Emmet’s relationship. Anything at all that could point to why Emmet appears whenever a Zoroark is around Ingo.

After becoming friends with Ingo, Irida realised that certain topics would stop him from wanting to talk. The two main topics were the Zoroark’s illusion and his amnesia. Considering those were the two things that made Emmet repeat the phrase ‘I want to see Ingo’, Irida hopes that she’ll be more successful.

She wasn’t.

At this point, it feels like Emmet is purposely trying to give Irida as little as possible. Emmet is smiling, and since he is clearly able to make other expressions, Irida can’t help but feel like he is enjoying this. Eventually, Irida just asks,

“Are you being uncooperative on purpose? Is this funny to you?”

“I do not find this funny,” Emmet says, “Maybe I would cooperate if you didn’t treat me like a prisoner.”

“I’m sorry,” Irida says, “Do you honestly think we shouldn’t be treating you like a prisoner?”

“Yep,” Emmet says, “I am Ingo’s brother.”

“You being Warden Ingo’s brother is the only reason I am talking to you,” Irida says, “I admit that it was my Warden’s who attacked you first, but after their apology, you attacked them, attacked their pokemon, and caused a cave-in. A cave-in that almost killed two of my Wardens and a Diamond Clan Warden, injured Gaeric, destroyed Lina’s home, likely killed several pokemon, and ruined part of the space the Almighty Palkia so kindly shared with us!”

Emmet stares at Irida, unblinking.

“And you threatened me, don’t think I’ve forgotten about that,” Irida adds.

“I want to see Ingo,” Emmet says. Irida stands up, her emotions getting the better of her.

“You have shown that you have no regard for your own or anyones else’s safety,” Irida says with a pointed finger, “Until you can prove to me that you are not a threat, I will not allow you to ever see Warden Ingo.”

With that, Irida storms out of the tent.

- - -

Judging by the lack of light peeking through the tent, it was nighttime. Emmet sits up, that Clan Leader’s Espeon curled up in his lap. He is concentrating on the noises outside the tent. It sounds like they are packing up. They plan to move Emmet and his pokemon to ‘the Highlands’. They’ve been talking about Emmet’s pokemon a lot more lately.

Emmet isn’t certain where ‘the Highlands’ are, but an educated guess would be Mount Coronet. Mount Coronet is the closest place to the middle of Sinnoh. Emmet’s not sure if that is closer or further from Ingo.

Irida was right about some things. Emmet had been ignoring safety precautions for the sake of efficiency and reaching his goal. Ingo would be disappointed. It was important for Emmet to think through his moves and plan carefully. Emmet couldn’t afford to lose now that he was so close to his goal.

So, Emmet was doing what that Clan Leader was attempting, and gathering information.

There was something verrry interesting Emmet noticed. There was someone who sounded like a young boy, or a teenager Emmet was bad with children, with the group. That boy said ‘Ingo’ instead of ‘Warden Ingo’ like everyone else did. This could suggest that this boy was close to Ingo. That didn’t surprise Emmet. Ingo was always too nice, even to snot-nosed children.

The boy wanted to meet ‘Ingo’s brother’, but the others told him ‘not now’.

Emmet was not a patient man nor did he understand children. Emmet did know that if you told a child ‘not now’ enough times, that child will want to do whatever that thing is more and more. Emmet also knew that sometimes waiting was the best move.

Chapter Text

The Ginkgo Guild told Lian that Professor Laventon, Akari, and some other Survey Corp members had just started a survey at the base of Mount Coronet.

Irida, Lian, Gaeric, and Calaba are off to the Highlands with Emmet. Palina decided to stay in the Coastlands. She felt the need to keep working on the spot Emmet had destroyed. Even if she’d never get her belongings back, Palina wanted to make sure that area was safe for pokemon and people alike.

Emmet was surprisingly cooperative. He only made one, frankly pathetic, break away attempt as they were moving him to the wagon. Other than that, Emmet had been quiet and compliant. It made Irida a little nervous, but for now she was thankful.

They didn’t send a letter to tell Professor Laventon that they were coming. None of them had a flying type pokemon to deliver the letter, and the Ginkgo Guild would have delivered it just as fast as they would have. They could have waited for a response, but Iscan was already being kind and hospitable. Irida didn’t want to stay in his space any longer than she has too.

Surprisingly, both Laventon and Akari were at the Highland Camp near Wayward Cave when the Pearl Clan arrived. Unsurprisingly, They were both surprised to see all of them. The two groups meet up and Irida explains the situation to Laventon and Akari.

Like Lian, Akari was very excited to hear about the existence of Ingo’s twin brother, and just like Lian, she was disappointed to hear about his personality and actions.

At least she is excited that the Pearl Clan wants their help identifying Emmet's pokemon.

Gaeric tells Laventon about the pokemon Emmet called 'Haxorus'. Laventon does know about Haxorus as they have them in Galar. Haxorus is a dragon only type, and Gaeric's description of them being a cross between a Garchomp and a Kleavor is accurate.

Laventon and Akari leave to get Rei, who was on the exhibition too. That way they have extra support if Emmet's pokemon become too much. During this time, the Pearl Clan unload and set up their things. Including putting Emmet in a new tent. It is both for his protection and so that Gaeric has an easier time keeping an eye on Emmet.

Gaeric isn't too happy about saying put to watch Emmet. He doesn't complain though, knowing that Calaba is right and if Gaeric wants his foot to heal properly, he needs to rest it.

Calaba had decided to go and collect plant in the Highlands instead of helping identify Emmet's pokemon. It wasn't often that Calaba was in the Highlands, and she figured that her and Bibarel wouldn't be much help against Emmet's pokemon.

That left Irida, Lian, Laventon, Akari, and Rei with their respective pokemon to help identify Emmet's pokemon.

They made a plan. Since they were close to Wayward Cave, they could use the tunnels there to limit Emmet's pokemon's potential escape routes. On one end of the tunnel, Akari, Laventon, and Irida would be stationed. Irida's pokemon would be out and Akari's would be for backup. On the other end, Lian and Rei are stationed. Lian's pokemon are out and Rei's are for backup.

Akari has all ten of the pokeballs they took from Emmet. She is in charge of them as she has the best aim to return them back to their pokeballs. Emmet's pokemon will only stay out for as long as Laventon's needs to identify them.

Whether the identification is Laventon knowing what the pokemon is or not is irrelevant. Any pokemon Laventon doesn't know will be further examined later.

The first pokemon Akari summons has a dark brown coat with red spots. Its hands and head are lined with sharp metal points. The pokemon doesn’t stand still for very long. It brings the metal claws on its hands to the one of its head to make a teardrop shape. Using the point of the teardrop shape, the pokemon digs into the stone of the cave like a streamlined water type swimming. This all happens in a manner of seconds, causing confusion and worry.

The pokemon is too far along their newly made tunnel for Akari to throw their ball back at them to return the pokemon. Akari subconsciously pushes the button on the closed pokeball in her hand.

A red light appears from the button and a line leading to the pokemon. The light disappears and a sound comes from the pokeball to show that the pokemon has been returned.

The group stares at the pokeball as Akari lifts it up to look at it. The pokeball does look different from the ones they have here in Hisui. It makes sense that they work differently. The group moves down the cave to avoid any problems the tunnel the pokemon created could cause. As they do, Laventon explains that that pokemon was an Excadrill and they are known for making an absurd amount of tunnels.

Once they finish resetting up, Akari summons the next couple of pokemon.

Some immediately go to attack either Lian or Irida’s pokemon. Pokemon like Haxorus, Galvantula, Durant, and a pokemon Laventon couldn't identify. It had a body similar to a Staravia or a Honchkrow with their wings, but instead of flying, the multi-colored creature screeched as it ran towards them.

Some stand still, maybe they are confused as to where they are, or maybe they are awaiting orders. These pokemon Laventon identified as Garbordor, Klinklang, and Crustle.

A different pokemon cowers when they release it from their pokeball. It’s another one Laventon can’t identify. Dark blue scales with yellow and red accents greet them. It has a long body like a Gyarados or a Barboach, but it isn’t as big or small as those pokemon. When Akari summons it, it looks around frantically before curling up on itself and trembling. Akari takes pity on the pokemon and attempts to approach it. The second Akari gets closer, the pokemon gives a warning zap of electricity close to Akari.

Akari returns the pokemon and they decide that it must be a water and electric type.

That leaves one last pokeball. Akari summons it and a burst of purple flames comes out. The fiery Gastly wastes no time speeding above Akari, Laventon, and Irida to the exit of the cave. Akari pushes the button on the pokeball and returns the pokemon.

“That was the last pokemon, right?” Rei says, while he and Lian run to join the others.

“Yep,” Akari says to Rei, “That last one had purple flames, that has to be the pokemon Ingo remembers.”

“We were thinking the same thing,” Lian says.

“Oh no, that can’t be Ingo’s pokemon,” Laventon says, “That is a Chandelure. They are a dangerous pokemon that can lure anyone who gazes upon it, or worse, follows it to their death. Ingo said he always followed the purple pokemon around. If Ingo followed a Chandelure around, his soul wouldn’t be safe!”

“A purple pokemon…” Rei says.

“That wields flames with mastery…” Akari says.

“That you shouldn’t follow around or it will steal your soul…” Lian says.

“Can’t be Warden Ingo’s pokemon,” Irida says, “because it is dangerous.”

The four of them stare at Laventon.

“I-” Laventon sighs, “You’re right. The dangerous pokemon that you are explicitly not supposed to follow around, is the exact type of pokemon Warden Ingo would befriend and follow around.”

"If that's Ingo's pokemon, we have to tell him!" Akari says.

"That's exactly what I said," Lian says.

"No," Irida stops Lian, "I know we should tell Warden Ingo, but until we figure out what to do with Emmet, we can't."

Akari and Lian pout.

"Clan Leader Irida is right," Laventon says, "Warden Ingo would get too suspicious. But, that doesn’t mean we should keep Warden Ingo waiting."

"We still don't know anything about the running flying type or the one that almost zapped Akari," Rei says, "If we figure out more about them, that could help. We should do that now, since we're already here. Afterwards, we can go back to camp and Professor Laventon can try talking to Emmet. Emmet probably also speaks Galarian."

The group agrees with Rei's plan.

"How long does learning about new pokemon take?" Lian asks sheepishly.

"Oh, it could take quite some time," Laventon says, "But we don't need to go into too much detail. Why do you ask, my boy?"

"I'm getting hungry," Lian says.

"It is getting late," Irida says, "Warden Lian, could you get us all some food. Also, remind Warden Gaeric to feed Emmet."

"On it," Lian says before leaving.

- - -

The world is quiet when Lian gets back to camp. It's not quite nighttime, but it is still getting dark. Winter will be here soon. It won't be long until snow reaches this far down the mountain. Lian goes through their supplies and grabs some jerky and dried berries. Just before Lian leaves, he remembers that he needs to remind Gaeric to feed Emmet.

Going into the tent, Lian has to squeeze past Glalie who is guarding the only exit and entrance. Gaeric seems to have fallen asleep, but Glalie is wide awake and staring at Emmet. Emmet stares at Glalie until he notices Lian and turns his full attention to the boy.

"I am Emmet," Emmet says to Lian with a smile. Lian can't tell if Emmet is genuinely happy to see Lian, or if Emmet just smiles all the time like Ingo frowns.

"I am Warden Lian of the Pearl Clan," Lian says nervously. Lian glances at Gaeric's sleeping body, still in his chair, before looking back at Emmet. Lian gives Emmet some of the jerky and dried berries he was holding, "Here you go."

"Thank you verrry much," Emmet says. Lian is about to turn away before Emmet says, "You look like a strong trainer."

"I, um, yeah I guess so," Lian says, a little embarrassed, "I battle with my pokemon sometimes. Ingo actually taught me everything I know."

"Rrreally," Emmet says, seemingly genuinely interested, "Ingo is a verrry good teacher. I am not surprised. We used to battle many weak and strong trainers on the Battle Subway we ran."

"What's a Battle Subway?" Lian says, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Do you know what a train is?" Emmet asks.

"I think so," Lian says, "Professor Laventon showed me a picture once. Ingo really likes those."

"Yes," Emmet says, "Ingo and I love trains. A subway is an underground train. A Battle Subway is a subway that trainers battle on. What I would do to battle a strong trainer again."

"I'm pretty strong," Lian says, "What are battles like on a Battle Subway? Do you have special rules? Ingo loves rules."

"Ingo does love rules," Emmet's smile widened, "I love double battles. Have you ever had a double battle before?"

Lian shakes his head.

"A double battle is where each trainer has two pokemon out on the field at the same time," Emmet says, "For a double battle on the Battle Subway, you can have a total of four pokemon. You cannot use any items like revives or potions. Then the battle wound go on forever. It is a battle to see who is the best."

"I only have three pokemon though," Lian says.

"That is okay. Sometimes people go on the Battle Subway in pairs," Emmet says, "Then each person has two pokemon, and one pokemon per pair is on the field at once."

"So, if I get a person to battle with me…" Lian thinks, "Then I can battle you the same way Ingo used to battle."

"Yep," Emmet says, "Verrry good."

"I would love to but…" Lian trails off. It would be a lot of fun and Emmet is a lot nicer than Irida made him sound. But battling would mean giving Emmet back his pokemon. Lian doesn't think he should do that. Irida was very clear that Emmet had to stay here unless she said otherwise. This tent was way too small for four pokemon to battle in.

"Ingo loves rules and hates broken deals," Emmet says, stopping Lian's train of thought, "I am the same. Let's make a deal. I will battle you and the partner you chose. If I win, you tell me where Ingo is. If you win, you can ask me whatever you want."

"Hmm," Lian thinks. If Lian could get Emmet to answer all of Irida's questions, then Irida would be proud of Lian. Irida might even see that Emmet is nice and reunite him and Ingo. Lian was the first one to figure out Ingo couldn’t speak Kantonian. He had a chance to help Emmet out, just like Lian helped Ingo. He had to take it, "If I win, you have to answer all of Clan Leader Irida's questions."

Emmet makes a face for a split second. Lian isn't sure what it means, but Emmet goes back to his smile, "I agree to this deal."

“I agree to this deal too,” Lian says, going towards the exit. He stops right before he squeezes past Glalie, “I’ll come and get you sometime at night while everyones sleeping, so don’t say anything until then.”

Emmet’s smile widened even more, “I will not. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye,” Lian squeezes past Glalie, grabs more food to replace the bit he gave to Emmet, and goes back to everyone else at Wayward Cave. Everyone is sitting around talking about the two mysterious pokemon.

“Did Warden Gaeric feed Emmet?” Irida asks as Lian passes the food out.

“Warden Gaeric and Emmet fell asleep,” Lian says, “So I just left Emmet some food for when he wakes up.”

Irida nearly chokes on the dried berry in her mouth, “No one is watching Emmet?”

“Glalie is,” Lian sits down and starts to enjoy his own food, “I don’t think we have to worry, Glalie hates Emmet.”

“That is true but,” Irida sighs, “I’m going to go watch Emmet… and talk with Warden Gaeric when he wakes up. I want to know everything you discovered in the morning, okay?”

The four of them say a combination of “Of course,” “You got it,” “Yes, ma’am,” and “Okay, Clan Leader,” before Irida leaves the cave with her pokemon. The rest of them go back to eating. Lian eats happily while thinking to himself. He got to be Ingo’s hero for helping Ingo out. Now Lian gets to be Emmet’s hero for helping Emmet.

Chapter Text

“Where did Warden Lian say he was off to?” Calaba asks as she prepares some of the plants she got last night. It was the morning after the Pearl Clan got to the Highlands. Irida was in Emmet’s tent attempting to talk to him. That left Calaba and Gaeric waiting outside. Laventon and Rei were still asleep from the late night research. Akari and Lian, despite also being there for the late night research, had left early in the morning. Akari was out to catch more pokemon and Lian said,

“He was going to get something from Warden Ingo’s tent,” Gaeric tells Calaba, “Said he thinks it could help us with Emmet.”

“Now that boy is invading Warden Ingo’s space,” Calaba says, “Young’uns have no respect for others or their personal space. Warden Lian going into Warden Ingo’s tent without being invited is bad news.”

“Warden Lian won’t make it in there,” Gaeric says, “Lady Sneasler will stop him, and that boy is smart enough to not fight a Noble. He just needed to do something, feel useful. Irida won’t let him talk to Emmet. It’s better Warden Lian goes on a wild goose chase than talk to that maniac.”

“If Warden Lian is willing to invade another person’s space like that, he would be willing to go behind our backs,” Calaba says, “It wouldn’t surprise me if Warden Lian’s already talked to Emmet, and we don’t know.”

“Don’t say that Warden Calaba,” Gaeric says, “Warden Lian is a good kid, he’s strong. He wouldn’t go behind our backs like that.”

- - -

Lian felt a little bad about going behind everyone’s backs like this, but it was also a little exciting. It was the perfect lie to get Lian away from the camp so he could find his battle partner. Everyone knows Lady Sneasler would never let anyone in her cave but Warden Ingo. Warden Ingo’s tent is inside Lady Sneasler’s cave. Lian can stay out as long as he needs pretending that he’s trying to get past Lady Sneasler. When Lian goes back to camp, he just needs to pretend that he’s disappointed he couldn’t get past her.

If they asked Lian what he was trying to grab, Lian would say that anything of Ingo’s would work. As long as Emmet knew Ingo was around, maybe he’d open up. It was a silly idea, and so nothing would come of it.

The perfect plan.

Still, Lian’s plan did involve something close to Ingo’s tent, which is why he is hiking up the mountain. Lady's Sneasler's cave is about halfway up the mountain. Just far enough away that most travellers or merchants wouldn't stumble upon it, but close enough that Ingo could get to the main paths if anyone needs help.

Walking under the sideways growing Pecha Berry tree Lian and others use as a landmark, Lian makes it. Lady Sneasler is lying down at the entrance of her cave. She looks at Lian and snorts. A warning, but Lady Sneasler doesn't get up.

Lian is lucky. Since Lian has spent some nights in Warden Ingo's tent, Lady Sneasler is used to Lian. She doesn't like Lian, but she is used to him.

It's a good thing what Lian needs isn't in the cave, but outside of it. Lian isn't the only Warden that spends time with Ingo. The other Warden is a big fan of impromptu visits. Since Ingo spends time in the Highlands and Jubilife, he isn't always home. Lian knows when Ingo is home because he lives in the Fieldlands, but the other Warden doesn't.

That is why Ingo has a flagpole outside of his cave. It is simple and sturdy. After making many torches for the Highland paths and helping out with the odd repair job, Ingo is a decent craftsman.

There isn't a flag on the flagpole right now. Opening the box nearby, Lian sees many small different coloured flags. He isn't sure which one means what. So, Lian grabs the red flag because it is the brightest and would stand out. Lian hoists the red flag onto the flagpole and sits down. It could take awhile until the other Warden notices the flag and comes over. Lian is fully prepared to wait.

Surprisingly, Lian doesn't have to wait long. Lian can hear Lord Braviary before he spots the Noble. Lord Braviary lands down the path from Lady Sneasler's cave. Lady Sneasler and Lord Braviary lock eyes, staring at each other as Sabi hops off and runs towards Lian.

"Warden Lian!" Sabi calls, she seems… frantic? "Who's hurt? Is Warden Ingo back? Is he hurt?"

"What? No one's hurt. Ingo isn't here, he's in Jubilife," Lian says.

"What!" Sabi's worried face changes to an angry pout, "Then why did you put up the red flag? That means someone is hurt and they need Lord Braviary's help to get to a healer. I was worried."

"I wanted to talk to you. It's important," Lian can tell from Sabi's face that she still isn't happy with him.

Despite both of them being half adopted by Warden Ingo, they don't spend a lot of time together. Both because of Clan differences and because Lian's pretty sure they don't share any of the same interests. Expect pokemon battling, that is. Warden Ingo helped both of them, and Sabi is one of the best battlers in Hisui. She'll be just as excited to meet Ingo's brother as Lian was. Plus, she won't tattle to the Pearl Clan since she's a Diamond Clan member.

"Ingo has a twin brother," Lian says, causing Sabi to fasp, "And he's in Hisui."

"That is important! I forgive you for the flag," Sabi says. She starts to bounce excitedly, "Where is he? Does he have any pokemon? Does Ingo know? Can I meet him?"

"Slow down," Lian says, "It's a bit complicated." Lian goes on to explain everything he knows about Emmet. What Palina, Iscan, and Gaeric said about Emmet before the rest of them arrived. Irida's trouble talking to him. They are hesitant to realise him because of his actions and how he looks like Ingo's Zoroark's illusion. Finally Lian tells Sabi about his conversation with Emmet and the deal they made.

"So you need my help to have a double battle with Ingo's brother!" Sabi says, bouncing on the balls of her feet and radiating excitement.

"Exactly!" Lian says. Sabi's energy and excitement is contagious. He wasn't worried that he wouldn't be able to convince Sabi, but it was nice that she was as excited about this as he was.

"I need to get my pokemon," Sabi says, "We need to practise! What pokemon does he have? We need to plan if we can only use two pokemon each!"

With each question or statement Sabi gets closer and closer to Lian, until she is in his face. Maybe Sabi was a bit too excited… But that wasn't going to deter Lian. All they needed now was a plan.

"None of Emmet's pokemon are ones you can find in Hisui," Lian says after stepping away from Sabi, "But most are ones you can also find in Galar, so Professor Laventon knows a lot about them. I'll go back to camp and write down everything we know about Emmet's pokemon. You can go get your pokemon and tomorrow morning we'll meet here. We can train and practise all day and challenge Emmet tomorrow night."

"You better be here on time, Pearl Clan," Sabi says, running over to Lord Braviary. She climbs onto the Noble's back and sticks her tongue at Lian. Since Lian is pretty sure Sabi is agreeing to his plan, Lian has no problem shooting back.

"And you better remember where we're meeting, Diamond Clan," Lian shouts. With that, Sabi takes off. Lian braces himself as the strong wind from Lord Braviary's wings hit him.

With new found excitement, Lian runs down the mountain and back to camp.

- - -

"You must be Professor Laventon," Ingo's twin says. A large smile stretches across his face. It is not a friendly smile. Ingo's frown sometimes made it hard to tell what he was feeling, Emmet did not have the same problem. Laventon could tell that this was a tired man pent up on anger.

Emmet looks like he is just barely keeping it together.

"Oh, y-yes," Laventon says. He clears his throat and tries to regain some of his composure. Clan Leader Irida and the others wanted Laventon to try talking to Emmet in Galarian. That is what Laventon's here to do.

"I don't believe we've met," Laventon says in Galarian this time, "It seems you already know of me, but I am Professor Laventon. You are?"

Emmet stares at Laventon with the same expression as before, unmoving. Laventon decides to give him some time to answer and sits down in front of Emmet. Emmet's face and eyes follow Laventon, but other than that, he doesn't move.

"Do you speak Galarian?" Laventon asks in Kantonian. Laventon can't help but grip his pant leg as Emmet's face twitches.

"I speak Galarian," Emmet says in Galarian. He uses the same accent Ingo does, "I am not stupid."

"Of course you aren't," Laventon says, "I am so sorry if I implied that. I was um, just hoping we could talk. Together. As two people, who speak… Galarian."

Laventon had no idea where he was going with this.

"Do you want to know how you die?" Emmet asks.

"I- uh," Laventon shallows a lump in his throat and grips his pant leg harder, "Pardon me, but what?"

"Do you want to know how you die?" Emmet asks. His voice is even and monotone. Laventon swears that Emmet's smile widens as he says each word. There is a strange presence in the room, and Laventon feels the need to back away from Emmet. Even though Emmet isn't any closer to Laventon than he was before.

"Excuse me," Laventon says in a squeaky high pitched voice that he would usually be embarrassed by. Standing up, Laventon walks straight for the exit of the tent and leaves.

"How was it?" Irida asks as soon as Laventon leaves the tent. She was sitting around a fire with Calaba and Gaeric. The three of them were preparing dinner. Akari and Rei were out on a survey. Lian had returned to camp, but he was upset that he couldn't convince Lady Sneasler to let him into Warden Ingo's tent.

Instead of helping cook, Lian was going over and studying Laventon's notes of Emmet's pokemon. The boy was very studious. If he wasn't a Pearl Clan Warden, Laventon would have asked if he wanted to join the Survey Corps.

"Laventon?" Irida asks, worried as Laventon had been standing, not answering her question.

“Oh, I-I'm so sorry about that,” Laventon walks over to the group, “I’m just afraid that I don’t think Emmet and I will make much progress. You see, he asked me if I wanted to know how I would die.”

Irida lets out an annoyed groan. She stands straight up and walks into the tent, shoulders high and feet stomping.

Chapter Text

The night time air was cool and pleasant. Emmet thought it was a nice break from the heat that had built up in the tent. The heat didn’t bother Emmet, it wasn’t nearly as hot as it got inside a crowded subway terminal, but Emmet still appreciated it. There was no reason a tent should be that well insulated.

“Here’s your bag,” The Pearl Clan boy said in a hushed voice. He gave Emmet his bag, and Emmet was happy to see that Ingo and his pokemon were in there unharmed, “Follow me, and be quiet.”

Emmet does as he's instructed. He didn't want to be caught by the other people around this makeshift camp.

The Pearl Clan boy leads Emmet away. A Diamond Clan girl is with him. She smiles up at Emmet and bounces quietly. It's almost like she is an excited fan of the battle subway.

They travel in the lightly wooded area until they make it close to a nearby river. There are rock ledges on two sides of the area. Thankfully there was still a good amount of room between them for a battle. They are far enough away from those who are sleeping that Emmet isn't worried about walking them up. They are still close enough that Emmet is cautious.

As they walk in silence, Emmet takes note of his competitors' pokemon. The Pearl Clan boy has a Mamoswine, a Whiscash, and a strange looking Goodra. Likely one of those Hisuian versions Emmet had read about. He wasn't sure of the specifics of this variation.

That would just make the battle more fun.

The Diamond Clan girl's pokemon are huge. A Rhyperior, an Electivire, and a Magmortar follow her.

Emmet couldn't help but wonder why they both brought three pokemon with them. The double battle only calls for two pokemon each. Either these children couldn't count, or they were trying to confuse Emmet. Make it so that Emmet couldn't guess what pokemon they were going to use.

Unfortunately that was not going to be the case. Emmet would usually like the extra challenge, but the Goodra, Whiscash, Rhyperior, and Electivire clearly looked like they had been training today. The same couldn't be said for the Mamoswine and Magmortar. It was far too obvious that the two of them had been practising.

It was good that they were practising. It meant that they were taking this seriously. They didn't know what they were getting into.

Emmet notices a piece of paper slip out of the Pearl Clan boy's pocket. Stopping, Emmet looks at the sheet. The writing is a little hard to read, but it looks like a list of all of Ingo and Emmet's pokemon.

Interesting… It seems they know about many of Ingo and Emmet's pokemon.

"Emmet!" The Pearl Clan boy yells at Emmet in a hushed manner. Emmet subconsciously puts the paper in his pocket. They must have arrived at their destination.

There is no battlefield, but the gap between the lightly scattered trees was large enough for a pokemon battle. They were also far enough away from the camp that they shouldn't wake up any of the sleeping people.

"I am Emmet," Emmet says, not matching the boy's tone.

"I am Warden Sabi," The Diamond Clan girl says, also not matching the more Pearl Clan members tone, "We are ready for our double battle now!"

"Verrry good," Emmet says, "We will start."

Emmet turns and walks over to his side of the 'battlefield'. Sabi does so too. It takes Lian a little longer, as he looks at both of them a little confused, before he goes to Sabi's side.

Lian and Sabi's pokemon stand behind them as the two order Whiscash and Rhyperior to the battle. Emmet summons all of his pokemon and has them stand behind him. The pokemon do so with varying levels of anger and confusion. Emmet then calls Klinklang and Excadrill to battle.

"Follow the rules," Emmet says, striking a familiar pose, "Safe driving! Follow the schedule. Everybody smile! Check safety. Everything's ready! Aim for victory! All aboard!"

And with that the battle begins.

Excadrill starts off strong, quickly using a poison jab on Whiscash. Emmet has decided that Whiscash was the biggest threat as none of Ingo and his pokemon have effective moves against it.

Ordering his pokemon in Galarian, Klinklang shifts its gears and speeds behind Rhyperior, hitting it with two gears.

Despite Emmet's speed at the beginning, Lian and Sabi don't stay still for long. Lian orders a zen headbutt on Excadrill, causing him to flinch.

Rhyperior uses her superior size to smash Klinklang into the rocks below. Sabi shouts something about a style that Emmet isn't familiar with and Rhyperior slams into Klinklang before Emmet has a chance to order his pokemon. Klinklang has certainly taken a beating, but after throwing two more gears at Rhyperior, she faints.

Sabi tries to drag her Rhyperior off the battlefield before ordering her next pokemon.

Emmet, who is unfamiliar with their customs of what to do when a pokemon faints without a pokeball to return too, just keeps battling.

Whiscash finishes off the flinched Excadrill with an aqua tail before Klinklang makes it over to help. The Whiscash droops despite its victory, coughing up some purple bubbles. Klinklang puts it out of its misery as yellow and green sparks come out of it. The giga impact causes Whiscash to faint.

Lian, seeing that Emmet isn't going to wait for them to remove their fainted pokemon, orders Goodra onto the field right away. Emmet calls Archeops onto the field as Sabi finally gets Electrive on after getting her fainted Rhyperior off.

Lian wastes no time as Goodra pumps a beam of water towards Klinklang, knocking the already weakened pokemon out.

Electivire speeds towards Archeops with an iron tail, but Archeops is too fast and dodges out of the way. Continuing to try and hit, Archeops dodges and runs past each of Electivire’s moves.

Before Goodra can gang up on Archeops, Emmet orders Haxorus to let out an earthquake. The ground rumbles and Archeops flies into the air to avoid the attack, but Goodra and Electivire are not so lucky. The earthquake hits both of them hard, and Goodra curls into his shell.

Electivire lets out a thunder wave, hitting that now paralyzed prehistoric pokemon out of the sky. Electivire takes this opportunity to punch down on the fallen pokemon.

Haxorus dragon dances over to Electivire and claws him off of Archeops. Electivire turns his attention to Haxrous and hits him with a frozen punch.

Haxorus tanks the punch and rams Electrive away from Archeops.

Archeops, after seeing his friend save him, powers through their paralysis and flies over to their friend. As Haxorus has Electrivire pinned, Archeops finishes him off with an aerial ace.

Goodra makes his way out of his shell and aims a dragon pulse at Haxorus' turned back. Archeops notices and lets out a loud screech as he runs towards Goodra. The combination of Haxorus becoming aware of Goodra's attack and Archeops running into Goodra causes the dragon pulse to miss.

Goodra tries to prepare another one, but Haxorus speeds towards Goodra with glowing claws and finishes the final pokemon off.

The air is still electric from a well fought battle. Emmet will admit to himself that he was not expecting some skill from these two children. Clearly neither did his pokemon, but Emmet could look past that as the two still had much to learn.

"That was so much fun!" Sabi yells, running over to Emmet, "Thank you for the battle."

"I am Emmet," Emmet says, leaning down to look at Sabi, "I have won."

"You're supposed to thank us for the fun battle," Sabi says, frowning from not getting the response she was expecting, "That's what Warden Ingo says."

"If a battle is not serious, it is not fun," Emmet says. She was good, but her pokemon were clearly over levelled for her and the Pearl Clan boy carried their team. She has much to learn.

"But, I-I was being serious," The girl pouts and stares at the floor. Emmet can't stand Lilipup eyes and sandile tears. Not because they work on Emmet, quite the opposite. They annoyed him. This is why Ingo deals with the children.

"Look," Lian says firmly, clearly not happy with this conversation or the battle, "You won. A deal is a deal. Ingo is in Jubilife."

"Jubilife is the city southwest of here?" Emmet asks flatly.

"Yes," Lian says, "Now come on. I need to bring you to the tent before anyone else wakes up."

Lian already starts to walk towards the camp, back turned to Emmet and Sabi. It was clear that he just expected Emmet to follow him. It was cute, naive, but cute. Emmet had no intention of returning to that overheated tent.

"No," Emmet says, just as flatly as before.

"What?" Lian says, surprised. He spins around to face Emmet. Emmet was more surprised the boy didn't see this coming, "But, our deal!"

"It did not say anything about me returning to the tent after our battle."

"But that's not nice!" Sabi shouts, clearly upset.

"It is Ingo's job to be nice," Emmet says as he walks towards his pokemon, "It is my job to win."

With a whistle, all of Ingo and Emmet's standing pokemon attack Sabi and Lian's two remaining pokemon. Sabi and Lian watch in horror as their last pokemon are instantly knocked out outside of a battle.

"The only thing I like more than winning…" Emmet says as the two confused and worried kids look at him, "... Is Ingo."

Emmet returns all of his pokemon to their pokeballs, except Chandelure. The two kids stand there still processing what just happened. Emmet grabs onto the long twirly metal bars on Chandelure, and Chandelure starts to take off.

Lian snaps out of his trance just to reach out and try to grab Emmet's pant leg. Emmet was already out of reach.

Flying by hanging off of Chandelure was neither safe nor a long term way to get to Jubilife. Emmet just needed enough distance so that he could regroup him and his pokemon without the Pearl Clan at his throat.

- - -

Irida groans as something tugs at her sheets. There was no way it was morning.

"Clan Leader?" Irida hears Lian talk in a soft and meek voice. He sounded upset. Irida opens her eyes and sees her young Warden with an arm full of revives.

"Yes?" Irida asks, her voice still tired.

"Emmet escaped and it's my fault."

Chapter Text

Something was going on. Something big and something potentially dangerous, but Ingo couldn't figure out what. At first, he was surprised to see Akari, Laventon, and the other Survey Corps members return to Jubilife so soon. He was more surprised when some of the Pearl Clan members came with them.

Including an injured Warden Gaeric.

Ingo visits the Medical Corps to ask Gaeric about his injuries as soon as he could. Gaeric's foot was hurt. Gaeric told him that he was caught in a cave-in and not to worry about it.

That was it. No grand retellings or verbose story. While Gaeric's tales were not usually fabricated like Warden Melli's, Gaeric still enjoyed his grandiose explanations of whatever he experienced. It couldn't help but feel strange that Gaeric's story was so short and simple.

The strange happenings did not stop there. Everyone seemed to be busy. Irida, Laventon, Akari, and Lian were always either off doing something or talking to the Commander or Captain Cyllene. They were always behind closed doors or talking in hushed whispers. Ingo was not one to intentionally eavesdrop, but he had a good set of ears. Yet, Ingo knew nothing about what was going on. Everyone seemed panicked or worried, but about what?

There was one time Ingo managed to make eye contact with Lian. He tried to approach the boy. Ask him what was going on and what he could do to help. Lian froze up when Ingo approached him. There was a guilty look on his face, but Lian said nothing before scampering off.

It was… it was just like- Ingo didn’t want to be dramatic but…

This was starting to feel…

Personal.

Usually Ingo wouldn’t let something like this get to him, or at least he thought he wouldn't. If they needed Ingo’s help on whatever was going on, they would ask. That was just how these things worked. Since they weren’t asking, that just means they don’t need Ingo’s help. It was plain and simple.

All Ingo needed was a distraction. Something Ingo could think about instead of constantly wondering what is going on. That should also be simple.

Ingo was here to conduct battles, and Ingo loved battles. It was the perfect distraction.

Except for the fact that no one was coming to the Training Grounds. Even Zisu had disappeared on whatever mysterious problem everyone else was on.

Now It was starting to become a rarity to see the Security Corps members around the Dojo. The few Ingo did see all looked away from Ingo and avoided him. Ingo knew that he wasn’t the most approachable, but he was used to a few nods or ‘hello’s in his direction. People hadn’t actively avoided him since he first fell.

It was… starting to get to Ingo.

Again, Ingo did not want to be dramatic. Afterall, Ingo could think of a simple explanation to this behaviour. Everyone was simply so wrapped up in whatever his problem was, that they forgot Ingo was right there to help them.

Most Security Corps members didn’t have the authority to include Ingo in whatever was happening. Their reactions were just surprise or confusion as to why Ingo was at the Training Grounds and not helping. Lian had trouble speaking up in the past too. His reaction was just him feeling guilty that he was too shy to tell the others that Ingo was right there to help.

Thankfully, Ingo was an adult who could deal with his own problems. All Ingo had to do was walk over to the others and ask what he could do to help. They would be embarrassed that they forgot about Ingo, but ultimately thankful for his help.

That is why Ingo is knocking on the rarely shut door to Cyllene’s office. The muffled noises from the other side stop. After a moment, Laventon opens the door.

In the room, Cyllene and Irida are sitting around Cyllene’s desk with an empty chair Laventon must have been using. There is a map of Hisui on Cyllene's desk with small tokens on top. Ingo does not pay the map any mind as he looks at Cyllene and says,

“I apologise for interrupting your meeting, but I noticed something seems to be worrying everyone. I was wondering if there was anything I could do to help?”

“No, there is not,” Cyllene says, face as stern as usual. Without missing a beat, she continues, “Anything for you to help with, that is. You may return to your post at the Training Grounds. You are not needed here.”

“I do not mean to be rude, but,” Ingo says, “Everyone seems to be very worried. It is honestly starting to worry me. If there is anything I can do to help, anything at all, I want to help.”

Cyllene sighs and pinches the brim of her nose. She seems tired.

“Thank you for the offer, but we do not need your help,” Cyllene says, looking down at the map on her desk and away from Ingo, “Return to your post, Warden.”

“In that case, I would like to return to the Highlands early,” Ingo says. If he couldn’t be useful here, he might as well be useful somewhere else, “The Dojo is practically vacant. There is no one for me to conduct battles for, and even if there were I would be the only person they could battle. I would be better off somewhere else.”

“No,” Irida says a little too abruptly and a little too loudly, “I mean, I believe it would be best if you stayed here in Jubilife.”

Ingo finally glances down at the map. While Ingo isn’t sure what the tokens mean, they are spread all over the land of Hisui. There are more around the Coronet Highlands and the path to Jublife. Quite a few more.

“Is something happening in the Highlands?” Ingo says, concerned, “If there is, I would like to check on Lady Sneasler. She is my noble and my friend.”

“There is nothing for you to worry about,” Irida says.

“But I am worried,” Ingo says, he takes a step into the room, “Please Irida, I-”

“Go back to the Training Grounds Warden,” Irida says, her voice sounding a lot more stern. Ingo only now notices how tired she looks, “Now.”

“Yes, Clan Leader,” Ingo says, stepping out of Cyllene’s office.

Laventon closes the door behind Ingo. He shoots Ingo a sympathetic look, small smile with brows knitted with worry. It was only after Laventon closes the door, that Ingo realises Laventon hadn’t said anything that whole conversation.

Ingo jumps down from the roof of Laventon’s house. He had been waiting there since he left Cyllene's office. Sometimes Laventon sleeps in his office instead of returning home. Ingo was starting to worry that was the case, until he sees Laventon walking down the street.

Laventon was going to open the door, but stops and jumps at the sound of Ingo landing beside him.

"Oh! Ingo, my goodness," Laventon says, hand on his chest and out of breath from the fright, "I didn't expect to- you to be here. My apologies, you, ah, you scared me."

"I apologise, I did not mean to scared you," Ingo says, shadow covering most of his face and his looming posture giving off the intimidating aura Ingo unintentionally gives off, "I was hoping we could talk."

"Of course, of course," Laventon says, "What can I help you with?"

"I was hoping you could tell me what is going on," Ingo says, "Something seems to be worrying everyone. No matter how I try to figure out what is going on, everyone is either avoiding me or telling me not to worry. It is not working. I am worried."

"Oh, yes… uh well you see…" Laventon chuckles nervously, clearly trying to avoid answering Ingo's question, "I can't really, I-I shouldn't. I can't tell you… that."

"I understand," Ingo says.

"You… do?" Laventon asks, confused.

"I understand that there must be a reason no one is telling me anything," Ingo subconsciously steps towards Laventon. Laventon steps back and grazes the side of his house, "I would like to know that reason."

The feeling Laventon was feeling now was nearly identical to how he felt inside the tent with Emmet. Laventon knew that two were related. Obviously, they looked identical. Emmet's personality just seemed so different from Ingo's. Now Laventon was seeing just a bit more of Emmet in Ingo then he'd like.

"A reason! Yes, of course we have a reason," Laventon says, "And that reason is, the reason is… the, um, the rift?"

"The rift?" Ingo asks, genuinely confused, "I thought the rift was closed."

"It is," Laventon says, "But uh, this just has something to do with the rift. We didn't want you to get involved because... we were worried it would… trigger one of your headaches."

"Is that all?"

"Yes," Laventon says, more confident in his excuse, "We thought that it wouldn't be nice for you, and it wouldn't be helpful for us. I know a lot of people have told you not to worry, and that isn't helping, but you honestly don't need to worry. Lady Sneasler and the Highlands are fine. We are just being extra cautious after everything that's happened."

"I see," Ingo says, "I wish you would have told me sooner. That was very considerate of you. While I appreciate it, if you ever need anything from me, please do not hesitate to ask."

"We won't," Laventon reassures, "And thank you for everything you've done already. Now if you don't mind, I would like to get to bed."

"Of course," Ingo says, stepping away from Laventon's house, "Good night, Laventon."

- - -

Emmet hides under the foliage of the Fieldlands. The night sky faintly lighting the area. It was tricky to get here. The Diamond Clan girl Emmet bested in battle wasted no time looking for him. She was flying all over Hisui. Emmet is certain she hasn't spotted him, but there have been a few close calls.

After the embarrassing results of Emmet's first escape attempt, Emmet is being more cautious. The wild and untamed terrain of Hisui was not something Emmet was used too.

Thankfully, now Emmet has his full range to pokemon and the extra supplies in his backpack.

Emmet was getting closer to Jubilife. He could see the walls surrounding the ancient town in the distance. There were a few guards around the walls. If Emmet's vision was correct, there is a part of the town that is surrounded by a natural wall and not the built one. Maybe it would be better to sneak in through there.

Who knows where Ingo is inside the town. Emmet has come much too far to get sloppy now.

Dismissing his pokemon, Emmet stays close to the natural rock wall and quietly walks around the few guards protecting Jubilife. Slowly making his way to the northwest side of Jubilife.

The crisp air fills Emmet's lungs, but they aren't nearly as full as the night sky above Emmet's head. Even when Ingo and Emmet were young and Uncle Drayden would take them out to the most remote areas in Unova, they would never see a night sky like this. Emmet rarely ever saw the stars, too much light pollution.

Tonight was a perfect cloudless night to look at the sky untouched by the problems the future holds. Yet, Emmet does not care. He has his own problem to keep care off.

Something like the night sky could not be appreciated without Emmet's other half.

- - -

Ingo sits on top of the Training Dojo one cloudless night. He could watch the hundreds of millions of white dots slowly move across mists and glows of intricate purple and blue patterns. It was impossible for Ingo to not appreciate the night sky on nights where you could see it so clearly.

Wherever Imgo was from before, he knows they didn't have night skies like this.

"Hey, Warden Ingo! Are you up there?" Ingo hears Zisu call him from below. It has been far to long since Ingo last saw Zisu, "Don't make me come up there!"

Ingo chuckles at Zisu's comment.

"I didn't know you would be back tonight," Ingo says, going to the edge of the roof so he can see his friend, "How was your trip?"

"It was a trip," Zisu yells up to Ingo, "But nothing really happened. Hard to say if that's good or bad. Come on down, it's warmer inside."

Jumping down from the roof, Ingo walks over to Zisu, "It is warmer out here then in the Highlands, but I suppose I can go with you."

"Come on Ingo," Zisu laughs, "So, how have you been? Professor Laventon told me about your guy's conversation."

"Yes, well," Ingo says, starting to walk with Zisu to the front of the building, "I appreciate that you are all looking out for me, but I still wish I could help. I really shouldn't complain, but I wish there was something I could do. Even if that thing is small. Either way it is…"

It's at this moment Ingo realises that Zisu is looking behind Ingo, and not at him. Instinctively, Ingo looks behind him. Zisu reaches out to stop Ingo, but Ingo sees it.

A man nearly identical to Ingo stands there. Wearing the white coat and hat from Ingo's reflection. The clothes are less perfect and presentable as the illusion usually make them. He is also slightly crouched as if he were sneaking. The man looks at Ingo as if he was the greatest thing in the world.

Seeing red, Ingo immediately punches the creature. Knocking him out. Turning to Zisu furious, Ingo says,

"I thought you taught your Zoroark to stop doing that!"

"... That's not my Zoroark," Zisu says, looking horrified at the unconscious man behind Ingo.

"...what?"

"That's not my Zoroark, Ingo."

"What!"

Chapter Text

It is impossible to separate the twins after Ingo knocks Emmet out. Zisu doesn't know how to react or what to think. Ingo punched Emmet the split second he saw him. Clearly that must mean their suspicions were right. That Ingo hates or fears Emmet.

Right?

After Ingo realises that Emmet is real, Zisu can't get him away from Emmet. Ingo won't let Zisu get close to either of them.

Ingo is curling into himself, while trying to stay standing. Zisu can see his chest rise and fall in heavy laboured breath despite his coat and thick Pearl Clan tunic.

She tries to talk to Ingo, but he only responds incoherently. It is not that Ingo is speaking Galarian, but he is genuinely incoherent. Zisu has spent enough time around Ingo and Laventon to know what Galarian is supposed to sound like. This is not it.

Ingo must be having a complete mental breakdown.

Thankfully, Ingo is as loud as he usually is. It doesn't take long for others to come and help Zisu sort this out. There are gasps and murmurs as people see Emmet's body. It still lies unconscious on the ground.

They take Emmet away to the Medical Corps. Zisu holds on to Ingo's body to stop him from following them.

Zisu tells herself that she is helping Ingo. He clearly isn't aware of himself or his surroundings. She tells herself that she isn't restraining Ingo. She's just stopping him from doing something he'll regret later.

It still doesn't feel right.

It takes a while for Ingo to tire himself out, but eventually he movements grow slower and he stops saying nonsense. Laventon helps Zisu bring him to his bed in the Dojo.

Laventon confirms that whatever Ingo was saying, it wasn't in a language either of them knew.

Slowly Ingo starts to move. It's morning again. Zisu stayed with Ingo all night while Laventon goes back and forth to keep Zisu informed on Emmet. They decided it would be safer for Zisu to stay. No one is sure how Ingo will act once he's aware of himself.

Both Laventon and Zisu are sitting by Ingo's bedside when Ingo groans and brings a hand to his forehead. A headache. Neither of them are surprised.

"Ingo…" Laventon quietly says, unsure how awake Ingo is.

Ingo groans again, but goes to sit up without too much trouble. He rubs his eyes and looks at Zisu and Laventon. Despite just waking up, Ingo looks more tired than he has in a while.

"Where am I?" Ingo asks, voice a little hoarse.

"The Training Dojo," Zisu says, "How are you feeling?"

"Mhm," Ingo puts his hands down and away from his face, "Where is he?"

"Who?" Laventon asks, despite the fact that both he and Zisu know exactly who Ingo is talking about.

"Not-me," Ingo says, "Not-a-Zoroark-Illusion, a living reflection, the one I see everywhere I go," Ingo voice creaks, "The man in white?"

"He's with the Medical Corps," Zisu says, "He's fine, just… unconscious."

"I know, I punched him," Ingo says with perfect clarity, "I thought he was your Zoroark, or any Zoroark for that matter. I wasn't thinking. He isn't a Zoroark, he's a living, breathing person, and he's here."

The room is silent. Zisu and Laventon try not to make it obvious when they glance at each other. Ingo doesn't notice, he just stares at the floor.

"Is this what everyone was so worried about?" Ingo asks. It was the one question Zisu and Laventon had been dreading this whole time, "Is this why I couldn't help?"

"We…" Laventon trials off.

"Yes," Zisu says, "He's caused a lot of problems Ingo, and he's who you see in a Zoroark's illusion. He's your worst fear. After everything I've heard about him, that doesn't surprise me."

"He's not my worst fear," Ingo says with confidence. Whenever Ingo talks about his memories, he always uses this wishy-washy tone, like he isn't certain of himself. Even when he talks about pokemon types, he seems uncertain. Now Ingo is talking about a memory with complete confidence, "My worst fear is that I'll lose the last tangible memory I have."

The room is silent again. It's not the same silence. This time it starts to creep up Zisu and Laventon's skin until Ingo talks again.

"Do you know how important he must be to me," Ingo says, "That after losing everything I can still remember him. He's always there, ever present."

"Ingo…"

"I miss him."

The silence falls upon the room again. It's a weight that itches their skin. Yet, no one knows what to say.

This silence stretches for far longer than the others. It's not broken by someone talking. Instead, it's broken by Ingo standing up. Ingo takes a step towards the door. Zisu stands up too.

"Ingo…" She says again, but this time it's a warning.

"I would like you to take me to-" Ingo pauses for a bit as he searches for his brother's name, "him."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Zisu says.

"Either you take me to him," Ingo turns to face Zisu, "Or I go myself. We both know how that will turn out."

"I know you're upset-" Laventon says, standing up.

"You're right," Ingo snaps his head to look at Laventon. Taking a step, Ingo is once again too close in Laventon's personal space. This time Laventon is trapped between Ingo's looming stance and the chair he just got out of, "I am upset."

"I-I, um…" Laventon tries to find something to say.

The two of them hear a door open. They look over and see Zisu holding the door. She does not look happy, but she gestures towards the opening.

"Come on," Zisu says.

"Thank you, Zisu," Ingo removes himself from Laventon's personal space and leaves the room with Zisu. After a short moment Laventon joins them. The three go to Galaxy Hall together.

- - -

Ingo can hear annoyed shouting and arguments coming from the Medical Corps' room when he enters Galaxy Hall. The Security Corp guard inside looks surprised to see all of them, but tells them that Ingo's brother just woke up.

The three of them walk to the open door of the Medical Corps' room. Despite the short walk, Ingo feels like he is moving extremely slowly. It is like Ingo is walking through honey, or like he was hit with a stun spore. Each step is torture and his guts twists painfully.

The man behind the illusion was here. Just on the other side of this hallway the one person Ingo could remember with something close to clarity was waiting for him. The one Ingo didn't know he was looking for.

This isn't the same feeling as when one realises that an Alpha pokemon is stalking them, but it's the closest thing Ingo has to compare.

The door to the Medical Corps' room is in front of Ingo. Taking a deep breath, Ingo steps in. He is barely through the door when something hits him. It hits his whole body and wraps around Ingo tightly.

Instinctively Ingo holds his breath and freezes. Whether is around Ingo is warm and… and-

It's a hug.

Ingo's brother is hugging him. He's in front of Ingo, he's around Ingo, and Ingo can feel him. He can feel his reflection. There is no light bouncing off of him strangely, or ripples in the water distorting him. He's not slightly transparent. He's here and he's real.

He's real and he's crying.

The sniffles and crying are all Ingo can hear. It feels so wrong for Ingo's brother to cry. Ingo wants nothing more than to stop his tears. Yet, Ingo can't help but also feel happy about it. The sniffles and tears are yet another confirmation that this is real.

It's like finding something you didn't realise you lost, but you loved a million years ago.

Ingo always knew something was wrong with him. Something is still wrong with Ingo, but now Emmet is here and-

"Emmet…" Ingo says so quietly that only the one hugging Ingo hears it.

Emmet lets out something between a hiccup and a chuckle. He wraps himself tighter to Ingo. It's only now that Ingo notices he hasn't hugged Emmet back.

Ingo is quick to fix that.

This moment is timeless, priceless. There is nothing but Ingo and Emmet right now. Ingo wouldn't have it any other way. Except, Ingo has a good set of ears and the twins are not the only ones here.

It's faint, like a tick or a small persistent itch you are trying to ignore, but Ingo hears Irida whisper to Zisu and Laventon.

She is asking them why they brought Ingo here. Reminding them that Emmet is dangerous and they don't know what he will do. Zisu says that if they didn't bring Ingo, then he'd sneak off when they weren't around. Laventon says there is no point in hiding it now.

It becomes increasingly hard to ignore that Ingo and Emmet are not alone.

"I understand that there is a lot we need to talk about," Ingo says as he reaches for his pocket. Emmet makes a face when Ingo moves his arm, but other then that he doesn't move, "But that will have to wait."

With a click, Ingo opens Alakazam's pokeball and they teleport away.

Chapter Text

The ground underneath Emmet changes in a second. The hard wooden floor disappears and Emmet's foot slips on a slanted dirt ground. Emmet grips onto Ingo as he almost falls.

Opening his eyes after being so entranced by finally hugging his brother, Emmet sees that he is on a mountain. A mountain that is suspiciously circular with nothing in the middle. The steep drop down would kill any normal person. Emmet didn't consider him and his brother normal, but in this situation Emmet would rather not fall.

"Ingo," Emmet draws out the name while awkwardly half leaning half holding on to him, "Where are we?"

"We are on the mountain around Lake Verity in the Fieldlands," Ingo says in Kantonian. He grabs on to Emmet and hoists him into the air. Effortlessly Ingo puts Emmet down onto flat ground further away from the edge, "I apologise for the rocky arrival. Alakazam is not used to taking any passengers outside of the Highlands."

Emmet looks over to Ingo's side and sees the Alakazam. Ingo has a psychic type now. Interesting, but not ridiculous.

"I should apologise for teleporting you without your permission," Ingo says, still in Kantonian, "I understand that teleportation can be quite jarring when you aren't prepared. There's a lot that needs to be talked about, but I wanted a chance to talk to you privately first."

"Yep. I am Emmet and I agree," Emmet says in Galarian, "You don't need to talk in Kantonian."

"Ah, yes. I suppose I don't," Ingo says in Kantonian. He clears his throat and then starts to speak in Galarian, "I am sorry if my Galarian is a little rusty. I rarely get to use it. Galarian must be our native language, right? Or at least the one we used the most?"

"Yep," Emmet says, happy to talk to Ingo, but slightly confused, "You should know that."

"Ah, yes. Of course," Ingo looks… something? He's clearly tired, but Emmet used to be able to read Ingo's emotions so easily, "I would like to start by saying that I am so happy to see you. I have wished to see you since we separated. Even if this is… complicated. This has been one of the happiest moments of my life."

"Yes," Emmet says, "Why wouldn't it be?"

"I have amnesia," Ingo says, completely unreadable to Emmet.

"What."

"I don't know who you are."

"What."

"Of course, I know your name," Ingo continues, "And we must be twins. We also must have been close since, despite being adults, we dress similarly. Our closeness should be obvious. Afterall, despite my amnesia I still see you everywhere."

Ingo stands there, staring at his twin. He has slouched posture and messy hair. Between the overgrown sideburns and the shadow from the brim of Ingo's hat, most of Ingo's face is obscured. All except Ingo's frown. Usually his frown shows hints of what Ingo is feeling, but Emmet can't tell. Ingo looks neutral, like this is any other day.

The ripped parts of Ingo's coat sways in the wind. Emmet can't tell if this is some bad prank or not.

But it has to be.

Right?

"Verrry funny Ingo," Emmet says, taking his chances, "Someone already made that joke. I know you remember me."

"I- no," Ingo says, "I have amnesia."

"Nope," Emmet says, "Verrry silly Ingo. This is not funny anymore."

"This was never funny, Emmet," Ingo says, stepping towards Emmet. His frown deepens. This isn't good, "I am being serious. I understand that I'm not very good at expressing myself, but I have amnesia Emmet. I didn't want to hide it from you, that wouldn't be fair."

"Mhm," Emmet can feel his face contort. Ingo was not joking.

"Emmet…" Ingo says softly. Emmet feels like he was a child again. Ingo was trying to comfort him. Trying to swallow around the large lump in his throat, Emmet refuses to cry again. He's already done that once. This was supposed to be a happy moment. Ingo moves to put his hand on Emmet's shoulder, but stops himself, "Believe me, if I could remember you and everything from my past, I would. I'm sorry Emmet."

Emmet can feel that his muscles are as stiff as a board. Trying not to cry, Emmet grabs Ingo's hand and puts it on his shoulder himself. Ingo plants his hand there even after Emmet removes his own hand.

"I know this isn't what you were hoping for, but," Ingo gives Emmet's shoulder a little squeeze, "Nothing would make me happy than getting to know you all over again."

Taking a deep breath in, Emmet manages to say, "Really?"

"Yes, of course," Ingo says, "You are the biggest mystery of my life. It would be an honour to get to know you again."

Emmet steps away from Ingo's hand. Taking another deep breath in and out, Emmet tells himself that everything will be okay. He's come too far to give up now. Memories or not, this is still Ingo. Plus, maybe Emmet will be able to trigger some memories and they could go back to how things used to be.

But first, Emmet needs to learn how much Ingo has changed.

"I am Emmet and you are Ingo," Emmet says, trying to get his footing with words, "Listen up. Be prepared. This is a verrry important question. Do you enjoy pokemon and battling?"

"Those are my two favourite things," The corners of Ingo's mouth turn up. Emmet's smile comes a little easier.

"There is someone you must meet," Emmet grabs a pokeball from his pocket. With a flick of his wrist, a brilliant blue light appears. Chandelure erupts from purple flames, expecting a fight.

Alakazam raises her spoons in a defensive position after seeing Chandelure. Ingo puts a hand in front of Alakazam to stop her. Chandelure stares at Ingo for a moment. The moment does not last long before Chandelure rams into Ingo's chest, glowing brightly. Ingo puts his arms around Chandelure and she trills happily.

"I... I knew this pokemon with the purple flames," Ingo says, "Did she used to be mine?"

"Yes," Emmet says, "Our pokemon would love to see you again. The ground here is too small. I do not want any of them to fall."

"You're right, this isn't the best spot for a pokemon reunion," Ingo says, letting Chandelure go, "No matter. We can continue this at the bottom of the mountain."

With that Ingo turns on his heel and steps off the edge of the mountain. Emmet runs to the edge, hoping to catch Ingo, but Ingo is fine. He is sliding down the steep slope in a controlled manner. It was clear that Ingo has done this a thousand times before.

Emmet and Chandelure look at each other with matching faces of confusion. They hear the sound of Alakazam teleporting behind them.

Alakazam appears beside Ingo, who has made it to the bottom and is looking up at them. Chandelure trills and Emmet grabs onto the twirly arms of the pokemon. The two of them float down to the bottom of the mountain.

“Fascinating,” Ingo says when Emmet and Chandelure touch down, “Is that a common use of this pokemon?”

Emmet stares blankly at Ingo. Then Emmet and Chandelure exchange a look before Emmet says, “No. This is Chandelure.”

“What an excellent name,” Ingo says.

“Yes,” Emmet clears his throat and grabs the rest of his pokeballs, “And these are the rest of our pokemon.”

Throwing all the pokeballs up into the air, all of Ingo and Emmet’s Unovian pokemon are summoned. It takes less then a second before most of the pokemon trample Ingo with their love and excitement. Emmet quickly loses track of Ingo in the pokemon crowd, but Emmet can hear Ingo’s laughter. Ingo is okay.

Eelektross, Galvantula, and Chandelure are at Emmet’s side while the other pokemon celebrate. Emmet runs his hand over Eelektross’s scales and Galvantula’s fur. It’s a comfort before the anxiety of not being able to see Ingo takes hold.

All the pokemon freeze and are called to attention by Emmet. Ingo is able to make his way out of the pile. Emmet can finally see him again and- and he’s

“Smiling,” Emmet says.

“Oh, am I?” Ingo asks, unaware of how shocking this is to Emmet. It’s not a big smile, but it is more than Emmet has ever seen on Ingo’s face, “I apologise, I can’t tell when I’m smiling. I’ve been told it’s a rare occurrence. I’m sure you already knew that.”

“Yes...” Emmet says, not realising that he’s agreeing to something he didn’t know. He is still processing Ingo’s smile. After a moment of Emmet’s processing, Emmet quickly moves on to reintroducing their pokemon to Ingo. Ingo, whether he realises it or not, instinctually gives each and everyone of them the praise and attention they have been craving.

While Ingo reacquaints himself with his and Emmet’s pokemon, Emmet goes through his backpack. It was funny, Emmet only brought this to make fun of with Ingo. Afterall, it was something Elesa made him do during the early days of Ingo’s disappearance. It was silly, but Emmet was desperate for any distraction back then. Emmet used to think that Ingo would magically return. Emmet knows better now.

“What is that?” Ingo asks after Emmet pulls a smaller dark bag out of his backpack.

“It is a waterproof bag,” Emmet says, attempting to be funny. Obviously Ingo is wondering about what’s in the bag.

“I have never seen Bibarel fur look like that,” Ingo says, sitting down beside Emmet and looking at the bag.

“What?” Emmet asks, “It is not Bibarel fur. It is plastic.”

“I have never heard of a pokemon called plastic before,” Ingo says, “What are they like?”

“Plastic is not a pokemon,” Emmet says, “It is a material.”

“Oh,” Ingo says, a little disappointed, “Does it grow or do you find plastic in a mine?”

“...” Emmet pauses, “We’ve been finding more of it in the ocean.”

“You find it in the ocean and it’s waterproof,” Ingo says, “That’s amazing. Truly excellent.”

“The bag is not what I wanted to show you,” Emmet says. As much as Ingo’s reaction to the bag seemed genuine and hilarious, what was inside was more important. Emmet opens up the bag and takes out a book, “It’s a photo album.”

“Is it similar to the ones Professor Laventon makes?” Ingo asks, “I’m sorry, I just realised you wouldn't know the Professor.”

“We met,” Emmet says, opening the book and putting it between there two laps.

Ingo is quickly entranced by the book. There are photos of Nimbasa and Anville town, ‘Are those buildings or mountains?’. Photos from all different stages of Ingo and Emmet’s life, ‘Did we always wear black and white?’. Ones with their pokemon and their pre-evolved forms, ‘Is that what Excadrill looked like before he evolved?’. Even photos with Elesa and Uncle Drayden, ‘Who are these people?’.

As they go on, it becomes increasingly obvious that Ingo doesn’t remember anything from before. Ingo managed to remember Emmet’s name and what he looked like, he had a vague memory of Chandelure’s purple flames, but that’s it.

Another thing Ingo noticed was the amount of trains and the recurrence of the Gear Station building. Emmet does a careful, but thorough job of explaining their old jobs as Subway Bosses. Ingo thinks it’s as amazing, excellent, and bravo as he did when they first figured out the logistics of their dream job.

When Emmet’s done, Ingo explains his current job and how it’s similar to their old job. Ingo helps passengers and their safety in the Coronet Highlands with his Noble Lady Sneasler. He also battles and sometimes helps train people with pokemon in Jubilife.

The way Ingo talks about his duties makes it sound like Ingo loves them. That Ingo enjoys his life here. He probably does, but all Emmet can hear is how dangerous and lonely Ingo’s new life is.

All the comparisons to their old life are surface level. Rock climbing and mountains were way outside of their area of expertise. The caves here sounded like they were raw and dangerous, Ingo’s ‘safety’ measures did nothing when compared to the mines in Driftveil or the subway tunnels they worked in.

Half way through, Ingo’s stomach rumbles. Ingo tries to suggest that they go back to Jubilife, but Emmet is quick to offer Ingo one of the bars of food Emmet packed for the journey.

Emmet knew it wouldn't last, eventually Ingo is going to suggest they go back to Jubilife again. Emmet doesn’t want that. He does not want to think about anyone else, especially those people. It would be better if it could just stay as the two of them.

Everyone else hated Emmet, both here in Hisui and back home. Emmet was glad Ingo didn't ask too many questions about Elesa and Drayden.

When the sky grows dark, Ingo suggests they go to Jubilife again. As if sensing Emmet’s dislike of the idea, just like he could before, Ingo suggests that he goes back to Jubilife alone. It would be to let everyone else know he was alright, and then he’d come back here to Emmet. At the mere thought of being alone, Emmet instinctually grabs onto Ingo’s arm, tight.

Everything Emmet did after Ingo's disappearance was a disparate bid for him, one after the other. Why would that be any different now that Ingo was right in front of him.

Chapter Text

“They are reasonable people, Emmet,” Ingo says walking towards Jubilife, Emmet in tow, “I am certain that whatever happened, there was a good reason for it and we can all come to an understanding.”

“They trapped me in a tent,” Emmet says back, “They froze me. They tried to keep us apart. They are irredeemable.”

“This isn’t about redemption,” Ingo says, exasperated. It wasn’t that long of a walk back to Jubilife, and yet they’ve had this conversation several times, “It’s about coming to an understanding. These people are my friends, my clan. They can be a little strange, but so am I. Can you at least try to talk with them?”

"I did," Emmet says, "Went bad. Don't want to."

“I understand why you would be nervous,” Ingo says, “But I teleported away with little explanation and I’ve been gone all day. I need to explain myself to everyone else. I don’t want to cause any more problems than I already have. By the sounds of it, my clan and friends owe you an explanation just as much as you owe them one. I do not want you all to hate each other.”

Ingo hopes that is the end of it when Emmet doesn’t respond. He sees the gate into Jubilife in the distance. The guards at the gate must see them too as one of them runs into town.

“...I do not owe them an explanation,” Emmet finally says.

Stopping in his tracks, Ingo turns to face Emmet, “My Clan Leader seems to think you are dangerous. Is there something you're not telling me?”

Emmet turns his head so that he isn’t looking at Ingo.

"Emmet," Ingo warns. His voice is pitched with annoyance. For a moment, Ingo can see a smile on Emmet's face. Emmet tries to cover his smile up with a frown, but Ingo saw it, “What was that?"

"Sorry," Emmet says, a small smile returning to his face, "You said my name the exact same way you used to when I did something stupid."

"Did you do something stupid?" Ingo asks. Emmet doesn't get a chance to respond before Ingo hears a familiar voice call out.

"Warden Ingo!" Clan Leader Irida says, leaving the gates of Jubilife. She walks towards Ingo and Emmet. Lian, Laventon, Akari, and Zisu follow Irida out of town. Irida stops in front of the twins. She is clearly not happy, but she isn't furious.

"Clan Leader Irida," Ingo switches to Kantonian, "I apologise for leaving like that. There is much to discuss and leaving was not helpful."

"I accept your apology, Warden," Irida says, glancing at Emmet before looking back at Ingo, "We were starting to worry that the two of you left for the Highlands, or… something else might have happened."

"Yes, I understand that you think my brother is dangerous," Ingo says, almost casually, "It seems Emmet has the same assumption about you and our Clan. I would like to assure him that this is some sort of misunderstanding, and I would like to assure you of the same thing."

"Yes, well," Irida sighs. She sidesteps to face Emmet directly, "I assume you have told Ingo about... I admit that the way my Clan treated you when we first discovered you was improper and, generally, terrible. As Warden Palina and Warden Gaeric are not here right now, I would like to personally apologise on their behalf and on the behalf of the Pearl Clan."

Ingo and the others turn their attention to Emmet. The smile on Emmet's face was long gone. It was replaced by a scowl.

"No," Emmet says in Galarian.

"Pardon?" Irida asks earnestly. Despite Emmet's simple answer, Irida and the other Hisuians didn't know any Galarian. Ingo and Laventon never bothered to teach them.

"Emmet," Ingo warns again. There is a small glint as Emmet tries not to smile at Ingo's tone again. Ingo notices and says, in Galarian, "What are you doing? She is apologising for how you met."

"But not for everything," Emmet says, "I do not want her empty apologies."

"They are not empty," Ingo groans, then Ingo switches back to Kantonian and says, "Could you speak in Kantonian so that everyone can understand you?"

"Fine," Emmet says to Ingo. Emmet stares down at Irida and repeats, "No."

"Excuse me?" Irida puts her hand on her chest and stands a little taller, "I understand that our actions in this situation were not perfect. They were far from it. But after everything you pulled, you do not have the right to talk to me like that!"

"You took my pokemon," Emmet says, " You tied me up in a tent. You did not tell me about my brother. I do not like you."

"You took his pokemon?" Ingo asks Irida.

"Only after he caused a cave-in that nearly killed Lina, Gaeric, and Warden Iscan," Irida says, "You destroyed part of the Coastlands, destroyed the space the Almighty has so graciously shared with us, and injured Gaeric!"

"That was your fault?" Ingo asks Emmet.

"I did not know we were in a cave," Emmet says, "I would not have ordered that move if I knew."

"Oh please," Irida says, "Are you blind? How did you not know you were in a cave?"

"I woke up in a tent," Emmet says, "How was I supposed to know?"

"You were in a tent designed for the warmer weather in the Coastlands," Irida says, "You could look at the ground, or the tent flap, or the temperature, or any of the other millions of indicators that you were in a cave."

"I was in the cave-in too," Emmet says, "I would not have made a cave in that could have killed me."

"You and your pokemon got out practically untouched!" Irida says.

"I am used to Ingo ordering Earthquake at…" Emmet pauses, "bad times."

"I did?" Ingo asks.

"That does sound like you," Akari says, cheerfully.

"Akari, not now," Irida snaps her head to Akari before looking back at Emmet, "I am willing to apologise and put everything that happened behind us. All I want from you is to admit your wrongdoings and apologise."

"..." Emmet stares at Irida. He turns to Ingo and says in Galarian, "I want to leave."

"Em- Really?" Ingo says in Galarian, "Is it that hard to apologise?"

"I will not apologise for doing everything I could to find you," Emmet says, "I do not want to talk anymore. You would have done the same thing if you knew I was out there."

You would have done the same thing if you remembered me, is all Ingo can think of after Emmet said that. Whatever Emmet meant it that way, or even thought of that, was irrelevant. Ingo has barely met Emmet, and yet he fears losing him. Now that Ingo knew a part of him was missing, Ingo didn't think he could go back.

"Let me talk to them," Ingo says. Emmet nods.

Ingo walks towards the others, they wordlessly make a huddle with Ingo in it. Emmet watches silently as Ingo talks to them in Kantonian.

"I would like to apologise on Emmet's behalf," Ingo starts, "I understand that it is not the same, but Emmet is having a hard time adjusting and understanding this world. It is quite different from the one Emmet and I used to live in. Unlike me, Emmet remembers that world. I would like to take Emmet to the Highlands and help him get used to Hisui. Hopefully soon we will all be able to talk without any problems."

"While I trust your judgement, are you sure this is the wisest course?" Irida says, she then says quieter, "Emmet seems… unstable."

"So did Ingo when we first met him," Zisu says.

Ingo lightly chuckles at the memory of first meeting Zisu, "I promise you, Emmet will not be a problem for me. Even in the very small chance that he is one, Lady Sneasler would not fall for him."

There is a bit of silence before Lian talks. Ingo would be embarrassed to admit that he forgot the boy was here.

"Emmet told me that the one thing he likes more than winning is you," Lian looks at the ground and shifts his feet awkwardly, "Be careful, okay? Emmet is trickier than I thought he'd be."

A protective surge went through Ingo. He hadn't considered that Lian and Emmet could have met already. Now Ingo wished he knew what happened between those two, but now wasn't the time for that. Ingo got permission to take Emmet to the Highlands, not that that would have stopped Ingo, but it was nice. More importantly, Ingo needed to assure Lian that things would be okay.

"Lian," Ingo bends down slightly to be closer to Lian's level, "Things are… strange and confusing right now. Things were also strange and confusing when I first came. Give Emmet and I some time and space. I know time is the Diamond Clan's territory, but I will have to try my best."

Lian can't help but smile at the Diamond Clan joke, "Okay."

"Safe travels," Laventon says in Galarian.

"Thank you, Professor," Ingo says in Galarian as he looks up at Laventon. Turning away from the group, Ingo walks out with overexaggerated steps, points in the direction of the Highlands, and yells "All Aboard!"

The smile Emmet gives at that is genuine.

- - -

Irida turns back to the group once Ingo and Emmet are far out of sight. The sky was dark, even though winter was soon to hit the southern part of the island, and the sky got dark deceptively early, it was still late. Irida briefly debated suggesting they say the night in Jubilife, but that would not have turned out well.

"This wasn't the worst possibility for Warden Ingo disappearing with Emmet," Irida finally says after the long silence of watching the twins leave.

"It still doesn't feel good," Laventon says, agreeing with the unease in Irida's voice.

"What were Ingo and Emmet talking about when we couldn't understand them?" Zisu asks. Irida and the others nod at that statement as they want to know too.

"Oh, well," Laventon says, "Just that Emmet didn't feel like he should apologise for doing everything he could to see Ingo again."

"I think Emmet is obsessed," Lian says, annoyed.

"I hate to agree with you," Zisu says, "But it's hard not to see where he's coming from. Imagine if the person closest to you just disappeared. Wouldn't you want to think you'd do anything to get them back?"

"Loving someone or something and being obsessed with it, to the point where you'd risk everything, are two extremely different things," Akari says. Her usual joy and playful energy is gone. Akari is always a bundle of energy, ready to make quips even in more serious conversations like the one they just had with Emmet.

At least, she was until Volo's betrayal. Whenever she talks about Volo or something that reminds her of him, it's like all her energy has been sucked out of her.

It was understandable that she would be worried about obsession.

"I want to visit Ingo and Emmet in the Highlands," Lian says, "Now that I know Emmet isn't like Ingo, I won't be tricked again."

"That is a good idea," Irida says, going beside Lian, but looking out at everyone, "But we should give them the time and space Warden Ingo asked for. Even if it is just for a little while."

Chapter Text

Emmet follows Ingo into the night. He is happy that Ingo wants to leave Jubilife. Go somewhere where it could just be the two of them. The mountainous area where Ingo lived now was interesting, even if Emmet was a little worried about getting around.

Ingo didn't seem worried, so Emmet won't worry either. As long as the two of them are together, nothing can go wrong.

They walk down a dirt path that quickly disappears into the natural ground. Drifloon bob up and down around them, but none get close. Ingo walks them through some trees and Emmet can see sleeping Shinx around the roots. It’s cute and peaceful. The pleasant but chilly air helps to calm Emmet down after that heated conversation.

The trees slowly become more spare. They get closer to the river, but despite seeing a bridge that they could use to cross, Ingo completely ignores it as they continue to walk. There is a small but strangely crescent shaped pool of water. A group of Bidoof are huddled close to the inward side of the crescent shape. They run away as soon as they spot Ingo and Emmet. Some literally run over top of a nearby group of Buizel sleeping on the river bank. The Buizel don’t budge. They must be used to this.

“Oh,” Ingo says almost sad, it’s the first thing he’s said since they left the group of Hisuians, “I was hoping that we wouldn’t disturb them.”

“Small pokemon are skittish,” Emmet says.

“I know most are, but not Bidoofs,” Ingo says, he starts to walk into the inward side of the crescent pool, “There has been several times were a group of Bidoof would arrive at Jubilife and make it their home station, gnawing on any wood they could find. Given that most of Jubilife is wooden buildings, you could see how that was a problem.”

Emmet nods along to Ingo’s story as Ingo sits down on the bit of land around the pool. Copying Ingo, Emmet is surprised that the ground is dry.

“It used to be a problem,” Ingo continues, “You see, once the people in Jubilife started having pokemon in their Village, and especially after people outside of the Security Corp started having them, the head of the Construction Corps Sanqua decided to use the Bidoof to their benefit.”

“That was smart,” Emmet says, less interested in Ingo’s story but more happy that they were talking.

“Now, I hope you don't mind, but I would like to set up camp here,” Ingo says, “It is late and the journey back to my place in the Highlands is long.”

“Could Alakazam not teleport us?” Emmet asks.

“I’m afraid that teleporting this morning already took enough out of Alakazam,” Ingo says, “Alakazam is used to teleporting short distances. She is quite tired.”

“Okay,” Emmet goes to reach for his pokeballs. If they were staying the night here, Emmet guessed that they’d want some protection. To Emmet’s surprise, Ingo lifted his arm to stop Emmet from taking out any of his pokemon.

“Wait,” Ingo says, “As we are in the Fieldlands, the pokemon here tend to be smaller and weaker. Don’t take out all of your pokemon, or you might scare them-”

“Really Ingo?” Emmet knows Ingo has always cared, but this is a bit much.

“You didn’t let me finish,” Ingo says, “There is also an Alpha Rapidash in the area. We are far enough away that they won’t disturb us, but we do not want to attract too much attention to ourselves. If the Alpha does notice us and views us as a threat, they will attack.”

“We could take it,” Emmet says, he has read about Alpha pokemon. People in this era were scared of them, but in the end they were just bigger pokemon.

“We could,” Ingo says, surprising Emmet, “But the people in Jubilife use the Alpha Rapidash as a warning to stop curious kids from leaving the village walls alone. It is dangerous out in the wilds, especially for a young child. It is best to leave the Alpha Rapidash alone.”

“If the children stay away from the tall grass,” Emmet says, “They will be fine.”

Ingo stares at Emmet for a second before tilting his head and saying, “No?”

“Yes,” Emmet says, “Wild pokemon stay in the tall grass. No tall grass, no wild pokemon.”

“No,” Ingo says, “Why would wild pokemon stay in just the tall grass? If anything, you want to be in the tall grass so that you can hide from them. If Bidoofs are willing to just wander into Jubilife, why would they stay in the grass?”

“I-” Emmet pauses, “That is a good point. We should still have protection.”

“Of course,” Ingo says, “I was going to suggest that we both take out one pokemon. My pokemon have been trained to be as friendly as possible to put the people in Jubilife at ease, but yours may not have been. I was hoping we could use this as a way to socialise our teams.”

“I do have one pokemon,” Emmet says, “They bite.”

“That is okay,” Ingo says, “If we used to spend all our time battling, I would hope that some of your pokemon bite.”

Emmet reaches for his pokeballs again. Taking Durant’s pokeball, Emmet summons the feisty pokemon with a flick of his wrist. Durant immediately runs over to Ingo and starts biting his leg. Ingo picks up Durant, seemingly not caring about how many fingers he’ll have by the end of this.

“I know the perfect pokemon for you,” Ingo takes one of his pokeballs with his other hand. Out comes a Tangrowth. Tangrowth stands there seemingly unaware of his surroundings. He reminds Emmet of Garbordar. In a single movement, Ingo sticks the hand with Durant into Tangela’s vines and takes the hand out without Durant.

“Wait,” Emmet tenses up, a bit panicked.

No one knows what is inside a Tangrowth or a Tangela. Is Durant okay?

Durant sticks her head out of Tangela’s vines. She clicks her pinchers angrily, but other than that, she seems perfectly content to stay there.

“Is that safe?” Emmet asks.

“I certainly hope so,” Ingo says, “Alakazam used to spend a lot of time there when she was an Abra. It helped calm her when she was scared. I was hoping it would have a similar effect on your pokemon.”

The two of them talk about Durant and Tangrowth for a little longer before they prepare for bed. Emmet would be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous. Something about keeping his eyes off of Ingo for hours while he slept felt like a bad omen. Eventually though, with the softer snores than Emmet remembered coming from Ingo, Emmet drifted off to sleep.

“Emmet…” Emmet hears a soft voice say from his subconscious.

“Emmet,” The voice calls again. Emmet groans, he knows what this is. Emmet’s imagination was trying to trick Emmet into thinking Ingo was waking him up. This was one of the many reasons Emmet hated sleeping after Ingo disappeared.

“Emmet, if you don’t wake up I will have Machamp carry you,” The voice says, more annoyed.

Wait, Machamp?

Emmet sits up fast enough that he almost hits Ingo. The sleepy fog quickly disappears from Emmet’s brain as Emmet sees that he is here with Ingo. With one last check, Emmet pulls Ingo into a hug. It is just to make sure Ingo is really here. Ingo hugs Emmet back. It’s as perfect as it was last time they hugged. Part of Emmet still couldn’t believe this was real.

Eventually Ingo pats Emmet’s back to signal that he was ready for the hug to be over. Emmet pulls back to be met with Ingo’s dishevelled appearance. This was how Ingo normally looked now, but it was still a little concerning to Emmet.

“You were quite tired. It’s midday, you must be hungry.” Ingo says, reaching behind him. He hands Emmet some mushrooms and a single Sitrus Berry, “I apologise for the lack of options. Winter will be here soon, so food is scarce. Luckily I have plenty of food stored and prepared in the Highlands. I will be able to treat you to a proper meal once we get there.”

“Thank you, Ingo,” Emmet says as he takes the food. Maybe it is because Emmet wasn’t taking the best care of himself, but Emmet didn’t feel hungry.

Still, Emmet doesn’t want to disappoint Ingo.

When Ingo turns around to try and get Durant out of Tangrowth’s vines, Emmet discreetly hides the mushrooms in the nearby pool of water. Thankfully it takes awhile for Ingo to get Durant out. So when Ingo turns to face Emmet again, Emmet forces himself to take a bite out of the Sitrus Berry and pretends that he already ate the mushrooms.

Ingo puts Tangrowth back into his pokeball. Emmet does the same thing with Durant. Before Ingo can start talking to Emmet again, Emmet says, “I have something for you too.”

“Oh?” Ingo sounds surprised.

Emmet opens up his backpack and rummages through it. Since all of the old photos Emmet found of Ingo had him wearing his ripped up Subway Boss uniform, Emmet made sure to bring extras for Ingo. He also brought a spare white coat and hat for himself. Unfortunately, Emmet had already lost his other white hat, but the important part was to get Ingo out of his ragged clothes.

“Here,” Emmet takes out a clean black coat and hat from his backpack and presents them to Ingo.

“Oh,” Ingo says, almost disappointed? Emmet’s not sure when Ingo was feeling. That was concerning enough, but this was not the reaction he was expecting, “I think this would look better.”

Ingo takes the clean black hat and puts it on top of Emmet’s head. While Emmet was reacting to the sudden hat on his head, Ingo starts to leave.

“All aboard!” Ingo calls, “We have a long way to go. If we stay on schedule, we should make it to the Fabled Spring by nightfall!”

Despite it being Ingo’s hat on Emmet’s head and not his own, Emmet decides that he likes this gift from Ingo. At least his head isn’t cold anymore. Emmet quickly stuffs the black coat back into his backpack and starts to follow Ingo.

The plains are easier to see now that it is day time. Eevee and Wurmple are playing around them. Both Ingo and the pokemon take care to avoid each other. As they walk, Emmet can see a herd of Ponyta in the distance. Even though it is far, Emmet sees the tall red-eyed beast of a Rapidash with the herd.

Maybe Alpha pokemon were a little scarier than Emmet had read about, but Emmet could still take it with ease.

Ingo may have ignored the last bridge that they passed, but when they come across two natural bridges close together, Ingo goes towards them full speed ahead. The bridges are archways of dirt and hopefully stone. The river flowing underneath them. They must have been made by the water eroding the underside over the years.

As fascinating as this theoretically was, Emmet will admit that he was a little nervous crossing them. Unova was known for their many well made, man made bridges. These bridges seemed stable, but you could never know if you can trust something that wasn’t built.

The middle part of the bridge looking thin didn’t help Emmet’s nerves either. In the end, they crossed both bridges with no trouble. Ingo wasn’t concerned, so Emmet shouldn’t have been either.

- - -

Ingo walks across the second Worn Bridge. Emmet had stopped walking behind Ingo, and was now walking beside him. Soon they would enter the Gruelling Grove. The name was a little misleading. The strongest pokemon here are comparable to the average pokemon in the Highlands. Still, it was Gruelling for those without experience.

It was becoming more and more obvious to Ingo that Emmet's experience with pokemon did not translate with experience in the wild. From the little things, like how he walks or how loud his footsteps are, to the bigger things, like how he was paying more attention to Ingo than to their surroundings. Emmet seems to have enough sense to look out at the pokemon, but they were not the only dangers out here. If the terrain here was enough to cause Emmet problems, will he be able to survive the Highlands?

The Highlands were their destination whether Emmet knew what he was in for or not. Ingo survived it with as little experience as Emmet and no memories… even if he did have Lady Sneasler’s help. Hopefully Lady Sneasler would take kindly to Emmet. If not, Emmet still has Ingo.

They walk towards a less steep area of the mountain surrounding the Fieldlands. This was the southern part of the Grove. That means that other than a Mothim watching them from the trees, no pokemon should disturb them. Ingo walks ahead up to where the land goes from walkable to climbable.

“Is climbing something you have experience with?” Ingo asks, turning to Emmet.

“Nope,” Emmet says. Either his voice never changes from that tone, or Emmet doesn’t realise that not being able to climb is a problem.

“Would this be too much for you?” Ingo points to the steep incline. It wasn’t sheer, or a cliff by any means. Ingo was hoping Emmet could at least do this much before Ingo had to find a creative solution. Emmet looks at the mountain and seems to be in thought. As Emmet stares, Ingo feels an unfortunately familiar presence.

Instinctively, Ingo summons Gliscor before turning to see the Alpha pokemon trying to sneak up on them. An Alpha Heracross. You don’t usually see them this far from the centre of the Grove.

While they were walking, they passed the Alpha Rapidash. Judging by the widening of Emmet’s eyes and how surprised Ingo remembers being when he first saw an Alpha pokemon, it was not something they were used to beyond the rift.

Heracrosses are decently tall pokemon normally, but as an Alpha they are enormous. This one stood nearly twice as tall as Ingo. Its red glowing eyes showed as it roared.

Ingo was the only one close enough for the roar to affect him. Of course, because of Ingo and Gliscor’s experience with Alpha pokemon, they were able to dodge out of the way. Unfortunately now Ingo’s back was turned to Emmet. Ingo couldn’t help but worry about Emmet.

“Archeops,” Ingo hears from behind him, “Aerial Ace”

A strange feathered pokemon Ingo has never seen in Hisui rushes past him and attacks the Heracross. The Heracross horn starts to glow green as it prepares for a Megahorn attack. The feathered pokemon, Archeops, easily dodges and hits the Heracross with another Aerial Ace. Not wanting his brother to have all the fun, Ingo orders Gliscor into the battle with an Aerial Ace of their own.

Between Ingo and Emmet, the Alpha Heracross stands no chance. Ingo can see now that Emmet could have defeated it on his own, but why take the chances when you are in the wild.

“I apologise for the delay,” Ingo says, finally turning to face Emmet after the battle was won, “I did not expect that Heracross to be at this station. It is likely feeling more territorial after the Alpha Vespiquen passed through here. That Alpha has already been dealt with.”

“No delay,” Emmet says, “Any pokemon battle with you is worth it.”

“It was quite enjoyable,” Ingo says, “I hope you’ll treat me to a battle once we return to my station.”

“Yes,” Emmet says, stepping right in front of Ingo and holding a sudden intensity. There is little space between the two of them. If Ingo followed the Pearl Clan’s teachings closer, he would be annoyed that Emmet was invading his space. For some reason, it doesn’t bother Ingo. It does cause Ingo to wonder if this is how Laventon feels when Ingo stands right in front of him.

“In that case, we must depart,” Ingo says, “All aboard!”

The climb from the Fieldlands to the Highlands and the climb to the topmost part south west of the Fabled Spring was a pain, to put it simply. Emmet tried to climb, he really did. The problem was Emmet has no experience, nor does he have the proper tools, nor does Ingo have any extra for Emmet to borrow. Between a combination of impatience and not wanting Emmet to slip and hurt himself, Ingo summons Machamp to help Emmet.

With Emmet on Machamp’s back and two of Machamp's hands supporting Emmet, his pokemon is able to climb alongside Ingo the rest of the way up. It is not the most comfortable ride for Emmet, Ingo can tell, but it will do.

By the time they get to the top to rest, night has fallen. A light snowfall has started. The first one of this winter. It is gentle now, but Ingo knew it would pick up. The Highlands needed a couple days of switching between no snow and heavy snow before winter finally settled. Ingo had no intention of getting stuck in the snow, especially not with Emmet.

Ingo summons Alakazam and asks her if she has rested enough to get them back to their cave. Being much more comfortable now that they are back in the Highlands, Alakazam lets Ingo know that she can.

When they get back though, Alakazam wants some honey and a long proper rest.

Ingo agrees.

He asks Emmet if he is okay with teleporting the rest of the way. Emmet agrees, so Ingo puts Machamp back in his pokeball. After that, Alakazam teleports them all to Lady Sneasler’s and Ingo’s shared cave.

- - -

Emmet opens his eyes after the teleportation to find himself and Ingo in a dark cave. Ingo walks away from Emmet, but before Emmet can panic, Ingo lights a torch and illuminates the cave.

The cave isn’t huge, but it does have some space. It has a tent designed the same way as the one Emmet was trapped in at the side of the cave. In front of the there are the remnants of a small fire pit with a couple of makeshift stools around it. Some of the stools are clearly designed for Ingo’s pokemon, but two of them look like they are for people.

There are two tunnels leading out of the alcove Ingo has made his home in. One must lead outside, but Emmet isn’t sure where the other one could lead. Ingo tells Emmet that he is going to grab some food for them and their pokemon inside his tent. Emmet nods and walks around the cave.

It is still shadowy with only one torch lighting up the area. Emmet walks over to one of the tunnels and looks down it. As Emmet looks in, he hears a low growl from behind him.

Quickly turning around, Emmet is face to face with a large overgrown grey and purple Sneasel. This must be Lady Sneasler. Emmet freezes up as she leans closer. She starts to aggressively sniff Emmet. Knowing that it wasn’t smart to move, Emmet stays frozen and hopes Ingo’s Noble accepts him.

Lady Sneasler stops, looks back at Emmet’s face, and knocks the black hat off of his head. She then grabs Emmet, careful not to touch him with the poisonous part of her claws, and moves him to the unlit fire pit outside of Ingo’s tent.

She sits down, puts Emmet in front of her, and starts to lick the top of his head. Emmet knows that he is being groomed. He is happy that Lady Sneasler accepts him, but Emmet doesn’t dare move.

He is now well aware of the clearly poisonous claws beside him.

Ingo leaves his tent with a large pot in his hands, full of various things. He starts to set up the pot over top of the fire pit. Alakazam, who had been waiting patiently the whole time, levitates a jar of honey out of the pile, opens it, and uses her spoons to eat the honey. Emmet stares at her with both confusion and fascination. The only time Emmet’s seen an Alakazam use their spoons is to fight.

“I see you have met Lady Sneasler,” Ingo says. Emmet snaps his attention back to Ingo. Ingo has lit the fire under the pot and has started to boil something, “I shouldn’t be surprised to see her grooming you. You probably smell the same way I did when I first fell.”

“I am Emmet,” Emmet says, “I am happy your pokemon likes me. I do not want to be groomed.”

“I am sorry but Lady Sneasler won’t stop until she’s sure you aren’t hurt. I promise this isn’t something she does a lot, but the first time she found me, I was nearly dead.” Ingo laughs as if the idea of almost dying was funny, “Wouldn’t be the last time she found me like that. I’ve certainly gotten better, but I doubt it won't happen again. What I’m trying to say is, you're in good claws.”

Emmet decides that now is not the best time to talk or think about Ingo almost dying. Instead, Emmet changes the topic to Lady Sneasler’s battle capabilities as Ingo continues to cook.

Ingo used to do the cooking back before he disappeared. It was never anything fancy, but it was food and Emmet was glad he didn’t have to cook. That’s just how they divided up the house work. It was nice to watch Ingo cook again. It was familiar, despite them being in a cave, and Ingo cooking over a fire, and everything else.

Eventually Ingo hands Emmet a small cup of soup and asks him to try it. Emmet brings it to his lips and drinks. It may not taste like home, but it certainly feels like it.

Chapter Text

Ingo wakes up on his cot in his tent. Across the tent, Ingo can see Emmet sleeping in the spare cot. For the longest time Ingo questioned whether or not he actually needed a spare cot. Getting someone to his tent was hard enough with Lady Sneasler. Having someone actually spend the night was nigh impossible.

He supposes this just shows how special Emmet must be.

Getting up, Ingo leaves his tent and goes into the main area of the cave. His pokemon are all sleeping or standing guard near the exit of the cave. Ingo was a little worried about sleeping arrangements, but Emmet assured Ingo that his pokemon would be fine in their pokeballs for another night. As long as they got to battle and properly socialise them today, everything should work out.

Going deeper into the cave, Ingo finds the alcove that Lady Sneasler likes to use for her den. She used to use it to store all the bones from her kills. Now she has cleaned it out, and has a large nest in the middle for her kits.

This year was not a good year for kits. None of them made it past the egg stage. The first year Ingo was here, Lady Sneasler had five perfectly healthy kits. Now Ingo realises that it was some sort of miracle. Still, losing all her kits wasn’t common either. Despite winter starting, Lady Sneasler is still sleeping in the nest she made for her kits.

Ingo wonders if that has something to do with how fast Lady Sneasler warmed up to Emmet.

Lady Sneasler’s nose twitches, and her head goes put with a mrrrp. Groggily, Lady Sneasler stands up and walks towards Ingo. The two of them go back to the main cave. Ingo gives Probopass and Magnezone a well deserved pat for guarding the cave. They walk to the exit of the cave. There is still some snow left from last night. Not a lot, but enough that the ground is covered.

The white colour of the snow makes Ingo feel happy. Lady Sneasler doesn’t agree as she huffs and goes back into her cave. Ingo stares for a bit longer before following.

When Ingo gets back into the cave, Lady Sneasler hands him the black hat Emmet was wearing and disappears further into the cave. Ingo takes the hat and starts to prepare breakfast for himself, his pokemon, and Emmet.

As Ingo is finishing up, Emmet comes out of the tent looking panicked. Ingo is about to ask him what is wrong, but when Emmet spots Ingo, he immediately calms down. Emmet walks over to where Ingo is sitting and wordlessly gives him a hug. Ingo hugs back. He also wonders whether or not Emmet is going to do this every time he wakes up. Ingo doesn’t mind the idea.

Eventually, Emmet ends the hug and sits down on a stool close to Ingo. Ingo goes back to finish making breakfast. When Ingo is done, he passes it along to Emmet and all of his pokemon.

“I now understand why I like the colour of snow,” Ingo says plainly before taking a bite of his breakfast.

Emmet turns to face Ingo. He stares at him with what Ingo can only assume is confusion. Instead of explaining or answering Emmet’s confusion, Ingo reaches for the black hat Lady Sneasler had given him this morning. Ingo dusts it off and puts it on Emmet's head with a, “There.”

Looking up at the brim of his hat, Emmet smiles. They all continue to eat in comfortable silence.

"Now," Ingo says after they all finish, "I believe I promised you a battle."

"Yes," Emmet jumps up from where he was sitting excitedly. He immediately rushes into his tent to grab his pokeballs while Ingo cleans up.

The two of them leave the cave excitedly, pokeballs in hands. Emmet walks clumsily through the snow. Apparently he's not used to walking in a lot of snow, even if there is only a little on the ground, in Ingo's opinion. Eventually they make it to a flat and large enough area for a proper pokemon battle. They walk to the opposite side of the area.

After they both strike a familiar pose, they summon their first pokemon and the battle starts.

The battle was well fought. It was a close one, Ingo had a lot of fun, but in the end Emmet won. Emmet was an excellent battler. They both go to heal their pokemon. Emmet shows Ingo his sprays from beyond the rift, and Ingo shows Emmet the potions he's now used to in Hisui.

After they finish up, they happily chat about the battle as they return to Ingo and Lady Snealser's cave. The battle may have warmed them up, but it was still cold outside.

Once they get back, Ingo sets up the flag outside. That way, if anyone needs Ingo, they know that he's back in the Highlands. Then they go inside the cave and release their pokemon for a second round of socialising.

Gliscor and Chandler were not originally the biggest fans of each other, but now they circle around the cave happily.

Excadrill excitedly shows some of the cool rocks around the cave to Machamp. Machamp, with equal excitement, shows Excadrill some of the dried plants Ingo has.

Tangrowth and Garbordar stand side by side, blankly staring at each other. Durant crawls into Tangrowth's vines.

Alakazam, Haxorus, Galvantula, and Archeops seem to be having some sort of conversation with each other.

Magnezone and Klinklang are also exchanging their own metallic sounds.

Probopass and Crustle nap beside each other.

Overall, Ingo and Emmet consider this an extremely effective socialising. As Ingo and Emmet continue to talk to themselves, Ingo would almost consider this perfect.

"WARDEN INGO!" The twins hear the sound of a young girl echo through the cave. She sounds panicked.

Ingo immediately stands up and goes to the entrance of the cave. The only girl that young that would come up this high is Warden Sabi. Ingo couldn't help but worry that something bad happened to her.

Exiting the cave, Ingo sees a worried but uninjured Sabi.

"Warden Ingo!" Sabi says when she sees Ingo," I need your help. I need to be stronger, to-to be better at pokemon battles. I want to be serious!"

"Warden Sabi," Ingo says walking over to her, "While I will always help you, and I am also one for self-improvement, I have to ask where this came from. You are wonderful at battles."

"No, I'm not serious," Sabi urges, "I want to, I have to- I…" Sabi looks behind Ingo, "I…"

Sabi's panicked expression drops as she moves closer to Ingo. She grabs onto his coat and hides like a small child with an adult they trust. Which is exactly what Sabi is.

Ingo turns around to see what could have possibly caused Sabi to act this way. Emmet stands at the cave entrance looking at them.

"Oh, Warden Sabi, there is nothing to be scared of," Ingo says, turning back to the girl, "That's my twin brother Emmet. I promise he is not a Zoroark."

"People need to stop thinking that," Emmet says bluntly in Galarian.

"Not right now," Ingo says to Emmet in Galarian. Ingo switches back to Kantonian and says, "There's nothing to be scared of."

Sabi shakes her head no into Ingo's coat, still holding on tight.

Ingo is about to ask Sabi what is wrong when he remembers how Lian acted in Jubilife. Lian was so nervous, and Ingo never got a chance to ask him if he had met Emmet before.

"Warden Sabi," Ingo says, carefully, "Have you met Emmet before?"

Sabi nods her head yes, still not taking her face out of Ingo's coat. Ingo looks back at Emmet annoyed.

"Emmet," Ingo warns.

"What?" Emmet asks in Galarian.

"Why is she scared of you?" Ingo asks Emmet in Galarian.

"We had a battle," Emmet says, "She lost. That is how kids are."

"What did you say to her?" Ingo asks.

"I don't remember," Emmet says, clearly not caring, "Children are sore losers. She lost. End of story."

"I have battled everyone who is worth battling in Hisui," Ingo says, "And that includes this girl. Believe me, I have met a lot of sore losers, but she is not one of them. What did you say to her?"

"I don't remember," Emmet says, "It doesn't matter."

"Maybe to you it doesn't," Ingo says. Ingo switches back to Kantonian. He gives Sabi a small "Come on," and picks her up. Ingo starts to walk away when Emmet asks,

"Where are you going?"

"To comfort a child," Ingo says, continuing to leave.

"No," Emmet says, following, "You cannot leave me."

"I'm not leaving you," Ingo says, "Just stay in the cave and let me handle this. I'll be back soon."

Ingo tries to find a place where he can talk to Sabi without Emmet. Unfortunately, Emmet keeps following them, and Ingo is getting increasingly annoyed with Emmet. It takes a while, but Ingo finally has a chance to comfort Sabi.

After Ingo finishes assuring Sabi that she is good with her pokemon and her battles no matter what Emmet says, Ingo goes back to the cave.

On the way back, Ingo spots some strange tracks. They are two sets of human shoe prints. It looks like the bottom of Ingo and Emmet's shoes, but Ingo doesn't remember them going that way today. The snow is still fresh, so the prints are clear and they couldn't have been old ones Ingo forgot about.

Carefully, Ingo follows the tracks. One of the sets of shoe prints slowly turns into paw prints.

Zoroark paw prints

Chapter Text

Emmet follows Ingo side by side. Ingo hasn't said anything since he finished dealing with the Diamond Clan girl. That must mean Ingo is mad at Emmet. Emmet wants to say something, to smooth this over, but he doesn't know what to say.

He doesn't want to make this worse.

It was true, Emmet honestly doesn't remember what he said to the girl and the Pearl Clan boy after their battle. He was more concerned with leaving without any hassle than what he was saying to the kids.

Clearly it must have been bad if Ingo is this mad at Emmet. Emmet can't imagine what he must have said to them to have walked this far without a single word.

They are getting further away from the mountain. Emmet knew that they weren't going back to Ingo's cave. Not only did Emmet have a great sense of direction, but the prints in the snow made it obvious if they were not going somewhere they've already been.

It gets colder and darker as they walk. The sky is covered in clouds, casting a large shadow on the ground. The snow also gets deeper.

There is a slight chill that starts to creep into Emmet's bones. It reminds Emmet of the warnings they used to get as kids. If you feel your bones chill, if the scenery looks a little too fake or wavy, if the world is quiet, you've entered a Zoroark's territory.

Emmet's bones do feel a chill.

The world looks white and snowy, frankly everything looks a little fake.

Without Ingo talking, the world is quiet.

They've entered a Zoroark's territory.

That's okay. They must have just barely entered it since Emmet is only just noticing. Zoroark are territorial, but they won't waste their energy. All Emmet and Ingo need to do is turn around and leave. Surely they can find a different path to wherever Ingo is leading Emmet.

"Ingo?" Emmet asks, Ingo doesn't react, "I am Emmet. You are mad at me. We are in a Zoroark's territory. We should leave. I don't have my pokemon on me."

Emmet wasn't worried, even without his pokemon, Ingo could take down a measly Zoroark. Still, walking through their territory wasn't pleasant and it was a good excuse to start talking.

Ingo turns to face Emmet, his eyes are lined with red. Not in the Ingo-was-just-crying way, but literally lined in red.

His brother slowly opens his mouth. Large drops of saliva and huge sharp teeth fill his mouth. The second Emmet sees inside this creature's mouth, he sprints back the way they came.

That wasn't Ingo, it was a Zoroark.

But, why would a Zoroark go through all the trouble of leading Emmet into its territory? Whatever the answer, Emmet wasn't going to dwell on it. As soon as Emmet leaves its territory, he'll be safe.

The Zoroark pounces on Emmet, slamming him down, and pinning him to the ground. A long hot drop of saliva burns the back of Emmet's neck against the cold winter air. Emmet manages to turn his head just enough to see the creature that captured him.

Why does the Zoroark still look like Ingo?

- - -

Ingo follows the Zoroark’s footprints into the Alabaster Icelands. He made a quick detour to his cave to get his pokemon. If a Zoroark had tricked Emmet, then time was of the essence, but Ingo would be foolish to go into a battle with no pokemon. To Ingo’s horror, Emmet’s pokemon were still in the cave too. Emmet didn’t have any pokemon to defend himself.

Now Ingo has all sixteen of their pokemon. It may be a bit much, but one could never be too careful.

The Bonechill Wastes have been slowly moving south, closer to Whiteout Valley, over the years. That was likely where the Zoroark had taken Emmet as that is where most of them mark their territory.

Walking towards the Wastes, Ingo waits for the telltale sign that he’s entered their territory. Ingo knows that he is close, but before he can enter the territory, he hears a voice from behind him.

“Ingo!” Ingo turns around to see Warden Lian running towards him. He must have come from the camp in Whiteout Valley. Ingo is a little embarrassed that he didn’t notice the camp was in use. He’ll have to pay more attention to his surroundings. Lian makes it beside Ingo before saying, “What are you doing? That’s a Zoroark’s territory.”

“I am aware,” Ingo says, pointing to Emmet and the Zoroark’s tracks, “Emmet was tricked. I need to get him before he gets hurt.”

“Oh,” Lian says, looking at the tracks. It takes a moment, but Lian looks back at Ingo, “I’ll wake everyone else up. We can help you find Emmet.”

“Are you sure?” Ingo asks, “I thought you and everyone else didn’t like Emmet.”

“Yeah, we don’t… but,” Lian says, “He’s your brother and if he’s important to you, we have to help out. We wouldn’t be very good Clanmates if we didn’t.”

“Thank you,” Ingo says, “Now if you don’t mind, I must depart.”

“Good luck,” Lian says, stepping away from Ingo and towards the camp where he came from.

“Thank you,” Ingo says, finally walking into the Zoroark’s territory.

The chill creeps into Ingo's bones as it has done every time he goes here. Just because Ingo doesn’t like Zoroarks or their Illusions, doesn’t mean he hasn’t come in here to fight them. When he was first brought into the Pearl Clan, it quickly became obvious that Ingo was the best at pokemon battles. That meant that if there was a strong pokemon they needed help with, Ingo was brought to help. This included Zoroark.

Of course, Ingo never intentionally entered a Zoroark’s territory alone. Zoroark would always turn into Emmet before Ingo knew who or what Emmet was. It always caused Ingo to have a massive headache. It would throw Ingo’s concentration off majorly.

That’s why Ingo always had back up in those cases. Ingo supposes he still has backup, if Lian was right and his Clanmates were willing to help.

If Emmet was willing to accept their help.

Ingo hoped Emmet wasn’t going to do anything stupid.

- - -

Emmet slowly blinks. His vision is full of black spots, but it is slowly coming back to him. His limbs feel heavy. Emmet doesn’t think he can move. While that thought is terrifying enough, as Emmet’s vision slowly comes back to him, he can make out a white pokemon.

A large white pokemon.

Multiple large white pokemon.

Multiple Zoroark.

Emmet thought Zoroark were solitary creatures.

Doing his best to move slowly, Emmet turns his head to get a better view of his surroundings. He is in a large alcove in a cave. It is dark. As Emmet’s eyes adjust, He can see more and more of the cave. The alcove is taller than it wide, with makeshift paths and rocks jetting out of the sides to create a less-than-stable looking spiral staircase to the top of the alcove. The exit to this cave was probably at the top. The higher up, the lighter it was. The only reason Emmet got any light at the bottom of the cave was because the light from the top reflects off of the large icy stalagmites to the bottom.

Getting to the top of the alcove is Emmet’s only chance at survival. Unfortunately, the alcove was lined with Zoroark. With nowhere to hide and no pokemon to fight, it feels… impossible.

If Emmet had Haxorus, he’d be able to cause a cave-in like he did in the Coastlands. Rid Hisui of these monsters that weren’t in Sinnoh in Emmet’s era. With how far the surface was, it would be harder for Haxorus to get both of them out alive. Maybe if Emmet also had Excadrill?

Who was Emmet kidding? All of Ingo’s friends hate him. Ingo is mad at him. He’s more than six feet under with a bunch of blood thirsty pokemon. Emmet has gone so far, done so much. He’s pushed everyone away for this one goal, and this is what he gets? Barely anytime with Ingo, and Emmet is about to meet his end. Ingo doesn’t remember Emmet. Emmet knows that memories don’t just come back with a hard smack. Ingo isn’t going to remember Emmet.

Any fondness Ingo has for Emmet is out of curiosity, or obligation because Emmet looks like him. Ingo first met Emmet a couple of days ago. The Ingo Emmet knew died years ago.

Slowly, Emmet feels pins and needles in his limbs as they regain feeling. It hardly matters though.

Emmet is so tired.

A sharp screech fills the air. It comes from the top of the alcove and echoes down its walls. The sound is human, but unnaturally loud. Emmet flinches at the noise, but Emmet can’t help but smile too. There was only one creature that could make a noise that loud.

The Zoroark looks towards the exit of their cave. There is a moment of silence where they all stand frozen. The moment ends and they all growl, clamour, and sprint out of the cave. They hope to end whoever made that noise, and Emmet trusts that the one who made that noise wants nothing more than to end them all as well.

Once the noises of the vicious pokemon sound far enough away, Emmet tries to get up. He manages to stand on his shaky legs. Taking a step forward proves to be too much. Emmet trips over himself and falls flat on the ground.

Looking up, Emmet sees a faint purple light reflect off of the ice and the tip of a black hat on one of the rocks jetting out above him.

“Ingo!” Emmet calls out, trying to stand up again, “Chandelure!”

The purple light and the top of the hat moves down the makeshift path in the cave. Emmet worries that Ingo is going too fast, but Ingo has gained a lot of new skills since he fell in Hisui. When Emmet can finally see Ingo’s face, Emmet almost starts crying.

“Ingo,” Emmet calls out, “I am verrry sorry. I was verrry dumb.”

Ingo hops down to the bottom of the alcove with Emmet. His hat and coat on. Black pants and shoes that somehow survived Ingo’s journey. A white button up shirt, and…

Why was Ingo wearing a white buttoned up shirt? Now that Emmet looks, Ingo hasn’t grown out a goatee yet. His hat and coat are still tattered, but nowhere close to the damage Emmet had gotten used too. This looks like a newly fallen Ingo, before he donned the Pearl Clan tunic.

And something about Ingo’s face. Emmet couldn’t put his hand on it, but Ingo has never looked… inviting before. Ingo’s face always caused him to look at least a little scary.

This wasn’t Ingo, it was another Zoroark’s illusion.

Sensing that Emmet wasn’t falling for it anymore, the Zoroark pounces on him. Emmet tries to run, but he is no match for the pokemon. It grabs his leg, causing Emmet to fall down. Emmet uses his other leg to kick the Ingo impersonator in the face. The Zoroark recoils for a second, but quickly snaps back. Despite the fact that it is still impersonating Ingo, its jaw twists and contorts to look like a badly edited Zoroark jaw sticking out of Ingo’s face.

Before Emmet can pull away, the Zoroark clamps down on Emmet's leg. Emmet can hear the crunch before he can feel the pain. Emmet can feel the pain before his lungs can suck in enough air to scream.

A second scream rings through the alcove. This time it isn’t Ingo’s fault.

The Zoroark drops Emmet's leg and raises its hand. The tell tale purple glow of a Shadow Claw visible despite its illusion form having no claws. Panicked, Emmet tries to scramble away. His bitten leg doesn’t move on its own, and Emmet’s other leg is still trapped under the Zoroark.

Going for the kill, the Shadow Claw swipes down, only to be stopped by a clear shield. Archeops lets out a shrill shriek. He flew down the second he heard Emmet’s scream and managed to protect Emmet with Protect. The ancient bird hisses at the Zoroark. The Zoroark returns the favour with a roar of its own.

Gearing up for another Shadow Claw, Archeops prepares to Protect Emmet again. A new call fills the air as sharpened rock stabs the Zoroark’s form from below. Finally being hit by a proper move, the Zoroark drops its illusion.

It's huge and has glowing red eyes, an Alpha pokemon.

Ingo’s Gliscor flies down and flanks the Zoroark. The Zoroark stands back up after the attack, hurt but not hurt enough.

Emmet uses his arms to drag himself away from the fighting pokemon, as Archeops goes on the offensive. The three pokemon fight each other for a while. The Zoroark looks back at Emmet and tries to get to him.

With his back against the rock wall, Emmet has nowhere to hide. Gliscor and Archeops try to use their Ground type moves to slow down the Zoroark, but it is persistent.

Looking around Emmet sees part of the rock wall shake and crack. Excadrill pops out of the wall and wastes no time attacking the Zoroark. With a new pokemon on the field, the Zoroark is distracted for long enough that Emmet can drag himself into the tunnel Excadrill made to get in here.

It is a tight squeeze, but Emmet hopes that means the Zoroark can't reach him.

The view of the fight is limited from the tunnel. It only gets worse when black spots come into Emmet's view. Right, blood loss, the adrenaline must have caused Emmet to forget.

Taking off his blue tie, Emmet attempts to wrap it around his leg to stop the blood loss. Despite taking mandatory first aid courses many, many times, making a tourniquet in such a cramped space is a lot harder. It certainly doesn't help that Emmet is the one bleeding out.

There is a thud and Emmet looks towards the sound. The Zoroark has fallen over, fainted. Archeops and Excadrill rush over to Emmet's side as he does his best to finish his tourniquet.

Emmet can hear the sound of Gliscor calling in the distance. Then Emmet hears the telltale sound of Alakazam teleporting. Archeops and Excadrill step away as the pokemon comes over to Emmet. Emmet weakly stares at Alakazam.

Alakazam teleports them away.

He is vaguely aware of his surroundings after the teleportation. Alakazam leaves almost as soon as she came. In the distance, Emmet can barely make out his brother's black coat, as well as pokemon and some other people fighting.

Ingo went looking for him.

Lying down on the snow, Emmet takes a deep breath. He lets it out slowly. Closing his eyes, Emmet hopes he doesn't stain the white red.

Chapter Text

Emmet slowly opens his eyes. It's warmer and drier than he thought it would be. Blinking, Emmet's eyes adjust to the orange light reflecting onto the white wall of the tent he's in. He is not sure if this is Ingo’s tent or the tent of his captors, but Emmet doesn’t really care. Anything is better than bleeding out to death before he can apologise to Ingo.

“Are you awake?” Emmet hears the sound of a gruff old lady. He attempts to sit up on whatever he’s lying on. A sudden wave of lightheadedness stops Emmet.

“Don’t hurt yourself again,” The old lady from before sounds annoyed, but she helps Emmet up into a seated position. Now Emmet has a better view of the tent he’s in. There’s a small fire in the middle causing the orange light. Medical supplies are covering almost every surface. On the other side of the tent, a man in a black coat and hat is fast asleep on a cot.

“Ingo’s asleep,” Emmet says, more of an observation than anything.

“Good thing too,” The old lady says, going to grab something from the ample supplies everywhere, “It’s almost dawn. Took us far too long to get him to fall asleep. He was worried about you.”

Emmet gives a nod to what the old lady said. He watches the rise and fall of Ingo’s chest as he sleeps, “Who are you?” Emmet eventually asks.

“Warden Calaba,” Calaba says, “The one you can thank for that.”

Looking to where Calaba gestured, Emmet can see his bandaged up leg. The one that the Zoroark bit.

“You’re lucky,” Calaba says.

“Lucky?” Emmet almost wants to laugh.

“You’re alive, aren’t you?” Calaba says, Emmet can’t tell if she’s trying to assure him or if she’s annoyed at him. Maybe it’s both. She grabs a bottle, pours in a bowl of stew left beside Emmet’s cot, and hands it to Emmet, “Eat slowly.”

“Why are you helping me?” Emmet asks. He takes a bite of the stew. It’s cold and whatever was in that bottle tastes disgusting. Emmet must be hungry as he takes another bite.

“Ha,” Calaba laughs at him, “You think I’ve never dealt with a stubborn child before? One who's travelled through time and space is new, but you're important to Ingo. If he cares about you, then we as his clan have to care about you too.”

“You do not like me,” Emmet says, “None of you do.”

“And who’s fault is that?” Calaba says, “You’re a lot less scary now that we know Ingo can control your pokemon.”

“They are both of our pokemon,” Emmet says.

Since Calaba doesn’t respond, and goes back to organising her supplies, Emmet sits in silence and eats his stew. He finishes, Calaba takes the bowl and puts it away. When she comes back, she asks Emmet, “Is there any pain?”

“No,” Emmet says, surprised that there isn’t. He feels a little groggy and tired, but no pain.

“Good, tell me if that changes,” Calaba says, “But first, tell me what happened.”

“Zoroark disguised itself as Ingo,” Emmet starts, “Follow Zoroark to its territory. Realised what was happening. Got knocked out. Woke up in a cave with too many Zoroark-”

“You were alive when you woke up in the Zoroark’s cave?” Calaba asks. Emmet looks at himself and then gives Calaba a pointed look. Calaba sighs, “The reason that I ask is because, every winter before the Zoroark start their mass hibernation, they steal someone away. We assumed that this was a last-meal-before-the-hibernation situation. We’ve never been able to get a person back after the Zoroark took them. I didn’t know if they preferred their prey dead or alive.”

“I could not get out of the cave myself,” Emmet says, “I would have been dead.”

“The Zoroark were overconfident,” Calaba says, “Sounds like someone else I’ve met.”

“... I do not like you,” Emmet says.

“Ha,” Calaba laughs again, “You don’t like a lot of people do you?”

“A lot of people don’t like me,” Emmet says.

“You might want to change that,” Calaba says, “Warden Ingo did a lot of work to get people to trust him. I’d hate to see it go to waste because he cares about you.”

Emmet looks over at Ingo’s sleeping form. Ingo still cares about him.

“Did the Zoroark bite you while you were unconscious, or does that come later?” Calaba asks after a bit.

“I kicked the Zoroark,” Emmet says, still looking at Ingo.

“I- you,” Calaba looks furious, “WHY?”

“I am Emmet. I wanted to get away,” Emmet says, “I kicked the Zoroark to get away.”

“You brought yourself closer to a Zoroark to get away from it?” Calaba is doing her best not to yell at Emmet. Not because she doesn’t want to yell at Emmet, but because she doesn’t want to wake anybody up.

“I was trapped,” Emmet says.

“I cannot believe the two of you,” Calaba says, “The amount of times I’ve had to tell Warden Ingo that punching a wild pokemon, especially a Zoroark, is not a good idea, is absurd!”

“Ingo punches wild pokemon?” Emmet’s voice may stay monotone, but his bright smile gives away how happy he is that he still has something in common with Ingo. Calaba stares, unamused, at Emmet before she looks back at Ingo.

“It’s close enough to dawn, I’m waking him up,” Calaba says. She walks over to Ingo’s cot and loudly tells him to get up.

“Hmm, is Emmet awake?” Ingo half-mumbles as he gets up, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

“Yes,” Calaba says, “Now please tell your brother that kicking wild pokemon is not a good idea.”

“Did you kick a Zoroark?” Ingo asks Emmet.

“I am Emmet,” Emmet says, “Yes I did.”

“Bravo Emmet!” Ingo says, “Excellent!”

“No, not bravo!” Calaba says, “Not excellent! I can't believe I’m in charge of two maniacs who don’t understand the concept of dying. He could have died Ingo, do you not understand that?”

“I do understand,” Ingo says, “But he didn’t die.”

At the same time Ingo says ‘But he didn’t die’, Emmet says, “But I didn’t die.”

The two of them look at each other and let out a laugh at their accidental unison. Calaba pinches the brim of her nose and sighs. Ingo leans over and looks back at Calaba.

“I apologise for all the trouble my brother and I have put you through,” Ingo says, “I do understand the gravity of the situation and of Emmet’s injuries. He is lucky to be alive, and without you he wouldn’t be. I will make sure Emmet is better equipped if something like this ever happens again. Thank you for everything you have done.”

“You better be thanking me!” Calaba says, “Now I need some tea and a nap before the medication I gave Emmet for his pain wears off. You two catch up, and don’t leave the tent.”

With that, Calaba walks towards the exit. She turns to them just before she leaves and says, “And Emmet better not use his injured leg if he knows what’s good for him. He better not touch it either. I don’t want to come back and find that your leg is infected after all the hard work I did.”

“We understand, Warden Calaba,” Ingo says. Calaba leaves the tent with a huff.

With Calaba out of the tent, Emmet looks back at Ingo. It’s just the two of them. Emmet isn’t sure what to say. Ingo stands up and walks towards Emmet. Emmet stays sitting, half because he doesn’t think he can stand on his bitten leg, and half because Ingo is walking towards him.

“Since you can’t do this, I believe I’ll have too,” Ingo says, before he wraps his arms around Emmet in a hug. Emmet happily hugs back.

- - -

The sun beams down on Ingo as he leaves Lady Sneasler’s cave. The snow is long gone from last winter. The pleasant heat of summer replacing it. It never gets too hot in the Highlands, but Ingo still prefers the colder temperatures. Afterall, he refuses to take off his warm black coat no matter how hot it is.

Oh well, the lunch Ingo has prepared for everyone is sure to cool them down. Ingo double checks that he has everything in his basket before trekking down the mountain.

It doesn’t take long for Ingo to hear the telltale sounds of battle. Moving towards the clearing, Ingo sees Emmet double battling Lian and Sabi. Emmet grips his cane as the three of them shout half baked and meaningless insults at each other. It’s all in good fun.

Ingo waits until Emmet is about to order the finishing blow before he shouts to let everyone know he’s here. Emmet and his pokemon turn to face Ingo, surprised. Sabi, who had already noticed Ingo, uses this chance to steal the victory and call her own finishing blow. Emmet hears the attack, and turns back in time to watch his pokemon faint.

“I win!” Sabi shouts, “Thank you for the pokemon battle!”

“That was not fair,” Emmet says back, “Interference, I would have won if Ingo hadn’t surprised me.”

“I’m sorry, old man,” Lian says, “But it looks like we finally beat you.”

“I am not an old man,” Emmet turns to look at Ingo, “Tell them I am not old.”

“We are old Emmet,” Ingo says as he sets up the picnic, “And that’s okay. There is nothing wrong with ageing, Emmet.”

“You don’t know how old we are,” Emmet says.

“I know enough to know that we are old,” Ingo says as he finishes setting the food out.

“The cane doesn’t help,” Lian teases with a big smile on his face.

“This cane is because of my leg, not my age,” Emmet argues back, “I was captured by a Zoroark. Did you forget? You are too young to have dementia.”

“It’s time to stop, you two,” Ingo says.

“I do remember that,” Lian says back to Emmet, “And I remember that I had to help save you from those Zoroark, or did you forget, old man?”

Sabi plugs her ears as Ingo screams. Both Emmet and Lian look back at Ingo. Ingo grabs two plates and hands it to the two of them, “I would like it if we didn’t talk about failing memories. Would you like to join Warden Sabi and I, or would you rather keep arguing?”

Both Emmet and Lian decide to join Warden Sabi and Ingo. The four of them dig into the food Ingo prepared for them. He even made enough for their pokemon to join in.

After they finish the food, they sit there and talk or watch their pokemon play. It’s a nice day. Ingo can’t imagine what he used to do before he had company. Speaking of company, Ingo hears someone calling from a distance. Ingo stands and spots a Ginkgo Guild merchant with a Staravia a ways down the mountain.

Ingo waves to the merchant and they wave back. The Staravia flies over and gives Ingo four letters. Ingo takes the letters, gives the pokemon some money, and the Staravia flies back to its trainer.

Sitting back down, Ingo looks at the letters and sees that they are addressed to the four of them. Ingo hands Lian his letter, then Sabi, and finally hands Emmet his.

Everyone stares in confusion as Ingo hands Emmet a letter. Even Emmet is confused. The only people who said letters are Clan Leaders and Wardens for the Clans, or Commanders and Captains for Jubilife. Whenever someone wanted to know or ask about Emmet, they would always ask Ingo.

After a moment of looking at the letter, Emmet opens his. Everyone else follows suit and opens their letters too.

“Warden Palina and Warden Iscan are getting married?” Lian sounds confused, “And it looks like I’m invited to their wedding.”

“I’m invited too!” Sabi says, “I knew they were in love. My clairvoyance told me.”

“I am also invited,” Ingo says, still looking at his letter, “But the happy couple has asked for me to not bring Emmet to the wedding.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Lian says, “He did bury Warden Palina’s tent.”

“But then,” Sabi says, “What does Emmet’s letter say?”

“I am Emmet. It is from Ingo’s Clan Leader,” Emmet says, “She is apologising that she thought I threatened her. She now understands what I meant when I said she was ‘the last leader of the Pearl Clan’.”

“You called her ‘the last leader of the Pearl Clan’?” Ingo asks, concerned.

“Yes,” Emmet says, then goes back to his letter, “Clan Leader Irida and Clan Leader Adaman have seen how close the Clan’s have become. They have decided to unify the Clans into the Sinnoh Clan. The unification will happen after Warden Palina and Warden Iscan’s wedding. As per the couple’s request, the unification announcement will happen at their wedding. I am not invited to the wedding, but I am invited to join the Sinnoh Clan.”

“Emmet, that’s wonderful news!” Ingo says.

“Welcome to the Clans!” Sabi throws her hands up in the air excitedly.

“Yeah, welcome to the family, old man,” Lian says, also smiling.

“Now, now,” Ingo says, “Emmet hasn’t accepted the offer yet. It is his choice whether or not he wants to join the Clans.”

If you had asked Emmet if he wanted to join the Clans last winter, it would have been a verrry straightforward ‘no’. If you asked Emmet last week it probably would have been a ‘no’ too. Looking around at the picnic, Ingo’s friends are happy to see Emmet despite everything. Their pokemon playing are the distance, Ingo is sitting comfortably beside Emmet. He can’t help but think how far he’s come. How far he still has to go.

“I would like to join this family,” Emmet says.

Ingo pulls Emmet into a hug, “I was hoping you’d say that.”