Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sometimes, changing clothes is a simple and quick matter. Something that one doesn't even give a second thought to. Other times, well, it can be quite heavy . As if an oppressive and unseeable force were pushing down on the one receiving the clothing, attempting to make them crumble under its pressure.

Take changing into a hospital gown for instance, how it is such a thin and light garment, yet it feels like lead in one's hands as they discover to put it on. It isn't necessarily the fabric itself, it is the meaning behind it. 

That is what Dawn found herself faced with when she was handed the standard Rocket uniform. Staring down at the large red R made her feel queasy, the weight of such an outfit already hitting her in the gut like a Machamp. 

Of course, she had already agreed to join, she had to, so that meant she would have to put her money where her mouth was. There was just no way around it. Or, at least that is what she thought at first. 

Giovanni, the calculating man that he was, noticed her hesitancy right off the bat, instantly losing her points in his mind as he doubted her loyalty even further. But oh well, until he had a way to control Arceus directly without the need of an intermediary, he would have to play nice. So he simply smiled at her and walked over to grab the dress from Ariana's hands.

"Bah, this uniform is unnecessary. Do away with it."

"B-But boss! How will people know she is one of us if she isn't wearing our uniform!?"

Giovanni shrugged, stepping around to glance at the standard issue gloves and boots with mild interest.

"Ariana, I have allowed you to be in charge of the uniforms because I told you already that I do not care for such silly things. This girl will be instrumental in our conquest. While I do agree that it would do well for us to stake our claim on her so other organizations do not try anything, I do not believe it has to be through these particular means. This dress is entirely too short and tight, it would only restrict her movement in the field. You, child, do you have anything black to wear?"

The teen nodded, fishing through her bag to grab an outfit that she only used occasionally in Hisui when she felt stealth was her best bet. She showed it off to the man, then showed him the toed purple boots that she often wore with it. After glancing it up and down for a moment, the man nodded.

"That should do just fine. Instead of emblazoning you with our insignia, we will just give you an escort instead. 2 Rocket Grunts will be accompanying you at all times. That way anyone who runs into you will know who you belong to."

I don't belong to anyone. She thought, but considering her situation, she wisely chose to bite back the remark and keep her thoughts to herself. But judging by the smirk on the man's face as he watched her, she assumed that he could tell what she had been thinking anyway. Perhaps he had phrased it that way on purpose to test her.

This man truly was dangerous, no wonder he ran such a large crime syndicate with such loyal members who didn't lose confidence even after being defeated by a child.

"Can I also wear this mask with it? It would help to hide my identity, that way nobody would know it was me and I'd be less likely to be attacked by other ga- uh, organizations. "

The girl then pulled out a mask resembling a Pokémon of some kind. It looked a bit like an albino Zoroark. Perhaps a shiny one? Bah, who cares, Giovanni had more important things to worry about than shiny forms of Pokémon from other regions and masks made to resemble them.

It didn't escape him that if she wore a mask, it would also help to hide her identity from her friends as well. As if she didn't want any of her precious acquaintances to know of her affiliation, or perhaps she wished to hide her identity so that if the police ever got involved, she could remain safe from detection. 

A part of the man considered saying no to the mask simply to see her suffer, to watch her squirm in discomfort as she was faced with her beloved friends looks of disbelief and disgust upon seeing her alignment. But he had to admit, a mask was a good idea if she was meant to pull off stealth missions or, as she herself said, hide her from opposing groups. 

It may even give the girl some confidence to truly focus and pull off her jobs if she didn't have to worry about outsiders recognizing her for her actions. So, he relented, allowing the teenager to don the article and gave her some space to get changed into her work clothes. All the while he watched Ariana's disapproval from the corner of his eye.

Once the teen emerged, he gave her a once over, circling around her as he inspected every angle. She had long black hair, that would not be conducive to her work, she would have to cut it or put it up. Remarking on this to her, he stepped back and told her that other than that small infraction, he deemed her fit to begin her training.

She was quick to tell him that she didn't need any physical training, as she was fit enough after the experiences she had been through. So he waved it off, telling her that if she could pass a test on their obstacle course in record time, then he would allow her to skip the long months of training, but the orientation was non-negotiable. Flicking his wrist, Giovanni signaled for Ariana to escort the girl.

So the girl was immediately guided by the irritated red head to a large open room where many people were gathered to listen to some guy give a whole spiel about their behavior, loyalties and blah blah blah. When it was done and she had been assigned a group leader to evaluate their baselines, she told the man that she had already been cleared to skip training if she could best the current track record.

Surprisingly, the man smiled and cheerfully said that he hoped she could beat it then, as they hadn't had any new records set in a long time and it was always good to see promising recruits. She couldn't help but feel a pang of unease as she gave him a look of reproach. He seemed like a nice guy, so why was he here? Joined up with a criminal organization full of jerks? Was he forced into this too? 

No, if he had been, he wouldn't seem so happy right now. Shaking it off, Dawn crouched at the starting line and glanced ahead studying the course as she waited for the man to tell her she could start and what the time to beat was. Beside her, several other new recruits clustered, all taking their positions as well, some nervous, some confident as they awaited the signal.

Once the man gave his shout to start, the newbies took off running. The girl was pleasantly surprised by just how far a lead she managed to put between herself and the competition. It seemed, at least in a test of pure sprinting, she could blow away the competition. Now, she could only hope all that time spent traversing the Coronet Highlands would give her a leg up in climbing and doing the actual obstacle portions as well. 

As she worked her way through the course, her mind couldn't help but wander, body working on autopilot as she thought of her father and how he would have smoked all these people at climbing. Sure, he was no Sneasler, but living in those mountains had made the man pretty well adept at free climbing. 

Come to think of it, she had yet to ask Arceus where it was that he had sent her family and friends. At the time, she had been preoccupied with her own impending fate and had simply been relieved to see that Arceus had gotten them out of the situation safely. She was content with knowing that nobody but Arceus itself knew where they were, making them that much safer if nobody could find them. 

She still felt that she didn't need to know right now, that her job was to focus on figuring out what she needed to do to fix things, that knowing where they were may distract her from her goal and be dangerous for everyone involved. However, she couldn't deny that she was curious. Still though, she had bigger things to worry about, like figuring out how to climb a rope. 

Wherever they were for now, they were safe and that was all that she cared about. Arceus had heard her pleas to send them far away, somewhere safe and had delivered…Right?

-__-_-_-__-

Wrong.

Sure, Hisui wasn't that dangerous to Ingo, as he had more time here than even Dawn herself had. But Ingo wasn't the only person that had been sent back this time. No, Emmet, May, Johanna, Zoey and Ash. All of them had been whisked away. And none of the others knew anything about where they were or how to survive in the place. 

Thank the Almighty Sinnoh that they had not been separated upon arrival or during transportation. Otherwise, Ingo very well might have been the only person to live through the experience. Luck seemed to be on their side for more than just the journey however, as they had been spat out very close to where Ingo had resided during his stint in Hisui before. Not only that, but Irida had been there to greet them. 

Of course, she was happy to see Ingo again, but also very confused and worried. She couldn't help but ask if the sky was going to start tearing itself apart again, a question which nobody could possibly answer. She was not the only one to welcome the man however, as he was quickly swept up by Sneasler herself, who batted his hat off with her claws in order to give him a few quick licks on the head.

"My Lady, please! It is a joy to see you again as well, and I appreciate that you are simply being affectionate, but my hair has only just grown back! If you keep this up like you did before, I will go bald again." He protested, hands reaching up to attempt to block her scratchy tongue. 

The Pokémon only raised the arm she wasn't using to hold him up to cover her mouth as she let out a snooty laugh. It was then that she glanced over to the other humans, smile dropping as she secured the man more tightly against her chest, said man heaving a resigned sigh as he realized she was not planning on letting him down anytime soon.

"Lady Sneasler, please halt for a moment. I believe introductions are in order so that we may all arrive at the proper station without jumping the rails and causing unnecessary conflict. These are friends and family. The man in white who smells and looks like me, that is my twin, Emmet. He is very precious to me, so please treat my younger brother as you would treat me. The woman is named Johanna, she no doubt looks familiar as well, and she should. She is the mother of Hisui's savior after all, nearly the spitting image of her too."

"No way! This is Akari's mother?? Ingo, are you serious? What is she doing here?! What are you doing here!? Oh Sinnoh, wait a moment, if you are with her mother, then where is she? Why isn't she with you as well? Did something happen to Akari???"

The man sighed again, patting Sneasler on the shoulder who gave a shrewd glance at the other humans before placing the man down between her and Irida. Clearly still unsure of the new humans despite Ingo vouching for them.

"I'm afraid we are here because my daughter felt it prudent to whisk us away to deal with her trouble herself."

"Huh? Your daughter? What are you talking about Warden?"

The man only clutched the brim of his hat and glanced down sadly, shaking his head for a moment as he recalled the last glimpse he saw of her before being torn from her side.

Clearing her throat, Johanna stepped up and did her best to speak to the young stranger in her own stilted way. Sure, the language was the same as what they spoke in Sinnoh, but the girl was speaking oddly, using old words that had long since been phased out of the language that not even the most elderly people used anymore.

"Dawn. He means Dawn."

Irida gave the woman a raised brow, repeating the name questioningly.

" Akari ." Muttered the black clad man, his free hand reaching up to clutch at his chest almost painfully as he crouched to the ground, dropping to his knees as he wallowed in his pain and sorrow.

Emmet came rushing over to crouch beside his brother, patting him on the back consolingly for a moment before glancing up at the girl in pink. 

"Excuse me, but who are you exactly? Ingo has spoken of an Irida briefly before. But are you the one he called his boss during his derailment in Hisui?"

May glanced at him, mumbling the word Hisui in a contemplative tone. Meanwhile, Johanna spun around in shock, looking to the man with wide eyes.

"Did you say Hisui ?!"

Emmet nodded.

"Yes. Dawn told you all about it. I am Emmet, I was there when she told you. Did you forget she and Ingo were sent here?"

"No! No, nothing like that, I just didn't– I mean, how could I, why would I have assumed that was where we are?! Oh Arceus, Dawny."

Suddenly, Ash raced up to the cat like Pokémon, seemingly indifferent to the conversation going on around him as his eyes sparkled while staring at the unknown Pokémon.

"WOAH! What a big Sneasle! I've never SEEN one like you before! Are you a regional variant?! Wow! Can I catch you!? Or is this girl your trainer?! Man! This is SO cool!"

Groaning in exasperation, May ran over to grab Ash and yank him back before Sneasler could do anything to him for touching her all over without permission.

"Ash! Would you cool it for a second!? Try to read the room! Jeez, I swear, you never change do you? We have no idea where we are, we have no idea what that Sneasle is and it's not smart to go touching things that we don't know about, especially without asking!"

Irida glanced at May in interest, stepping forward as she looked her up and down. 

"Oh, we look quite similar, don't we? How startling. It has dawned on me that I have yet to properly introduce myself. Greetings, I am the Pearl Clan Leader Irida. We value Space more than anything in the Pearl Clan, so if you could please keep your friend from invading Lady Sneasler's space again, that would be much appreciated."

It was then that Zoey stepped forward, eyes narrowed as she looked between everyone in the group. 

"So is anyone going to clarify where this Hisui is? Because as far as I know, there is no place called Hisui. At least, not anymore. And the way this girl is speaking, it's old. Really old. It's almost like she came straight out of the past, or like she's an actor in some kind of production set in the old days."

Ingo ran the back of his hand over his eyes and allowed Emmet to help him stand. 

"You are correct. Hisui does not exist in the modern Era, or more accurately it does but under a different name, Sinnoh."

Zoey closed her eyes as she heaved a heavy sigh, arms crossing as she leaned against the rocky wall beside her.

"I see. So Dawn sent us back into the past, huh? Gee, she really didn't want our help. I know she's strong and wants to stand on her own now and all, but this is just too much. What was she thinking ? Does that girl have any clue how dangerous this is? What if we do something that changes the course of History?"

Irida lifted a hand to her chest, looking unsure as she watched the red head growl and kick a rock off the cliff.

"Um, Warden Ingo, ah, apologies, just Ingo , I am afraid I am still lost. I believe I interrupted your introduction earlier in my panic. And I still do not know why you are here. Would you and your friends like to join me in the Warden's barracks for some tea to discuss all of this? It seems like a lot has happened since you left and it will be quite a long tale."

Ingo nodded, pacing over toward the young woman, his brother immediately following 2 steps behind despite not knowing what is going on.

"Yes, that sounds like as good a plan as any right now. Thank you for your hospitality Lady Irida. We will try not to take up the new Warden's space for too long."

As Irida turned to lead the group, she waved his words off with a smile.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that. I still haven't filled your position yet. Lady Sneasler is quite picky. Everytime I try to introduce her to someone in hopes of taking up your mantle, she scares them off immediately. I guess she had a feeling you would be back, she was always looking up at the sky and wouldn't let me remove any of the things you left behind, though I'm sure you are not here to stay. From the sounds of it, you all came here in the middle of something important and you need to get back as soon as possible to fix it."

Sneasler chirped, rushing over to scoop Ingo up, ignoring Emmet as he squared at her to put his brother down and instead electing to heft him up in her other arm as well, sniffing him and inspecting him as she carried the man. Johanna and Zoey followed a safe distance behind the tall Pokémon, while May kept a firm hold on Ash's bag and dragged him along as well.

As the group all settled down around the small table to have tea and discuss the happenings that brought them to where they currently found themselves, a very different meeting was also taking place in a very different time. The head of said meeting being Giovanni himself.

_-_-_-_-_

Giovanni was a lot of things, calculating, evil, manipulative, powerful, but one thing he wasn't was understanding. So when he was told that his team had not only failed to return with the red chain, but also failed to figure out where said chain was, well, let's just say they were not treated kindly .

Legend stated that the red chain was broken up into 3 pieces and that it was guarded by the 3 Lake Spirits, Azelf, Uxie and Mesprit. Yet his team said that when they went and captured the Pokémon, there were no such pieces with them. Without that chain, controlling Arceus would become vastly more improbable of a goal. 

So needless to say, Giovanni was definitely not happy about this setback and a new plan of attack had to be drafted immediately to cover up this little blemish in his masterplan.

That was why he had called in all of his admins to sit around the war room table to brief them of the mishap and put together a new scheme.

"Well, if it is true that someone put it back together and used it in the past, then it must still exist, right? So why can't we just shake down those stupid Pokémon and make them tell us who has it now?" Said the woman.

Giovanni sat with his elbows resting on the polished wood surface, clasped his hands in front of his mouth, staring down at her from the head of the table as she spoke.

"We did. They said it was used, destroyed and reformed a long time ago. They know not who has it now, where it is, or what form it even remains in. Which means we have 2 options, go ahead with trying to track down some artifact from the past that may or may not even exist, or push forward with investigating other possibilities for controlling Arceus. Both have low odds and are a gamble either way, but it might be best to pour all resources into one option to speed the process along, rather than divide them and hope one works out. As my admins, you have been called here to give your vote on the matter."

The moody woman was quick to vote that they locate the red chain, insisting that they didn't have the technology to control Arceus any other way. She went on to state that Arceus would have to be contained or willingly submit to experiments to test the effectiveness of anything they could make to try and control it if they went with focusing all their efforts on developing tech for it from the ground up. 

Proton was quick to agree, saying that would probably take even longer and far too much money and even then they had no way of knowing if they would be able to convince Arceus to submit itself for testing, even if the girl asked it too and they definitely couldn't forcefully contain something that powerful.

Archer however disagreed, stating that technology is more sure fire than something that may not even exist anymore and that it shouldn't be dismissed so quickly. The man slammed a hand on the table to accentuate his point, insisting that even if the red chain existed, if it failed they would have to resort to technology anyway, and if it proved possible to control Arceus with the red chain, they would likely enhance its capabilities with technology anyway.

That left Petrel, who so far seemed unconvinced to join either side. That, or perhaps he simply didn't care one way or the other.

"Well? We are waiting on you, Petrel."

"Yes, she is right. Don't you have anything to say?"

The man shrugged at both Ariana and Archer, leaning back in his swivel chair with his arms behind his head.

"I don't care either way. If we go with the technology side, it doesn't involve me at all. If we go with tracking down the red chain, my espionage abilities may come in handy for talking to prominent figures to get them to trust me and give me Intel. I'll do my job if that's the one we go with, if we go with the other one, it doesn't have anything to do with me so why should I have any say in it? I'll just go with whatever the boss decides."

Ariana and Archer both growled, the man slamming his fist once more as he yelled at the other male, the woman rising up from her chair to plant her hands on the table so she could lean down across it to look him in the eye. It was at this moment that Matori came in carrying a cup of coffee that she promptly deposited in front of the boss.

Giovanni thanked her as he lifted the cup and took a sip, watching her bow and come to stand behind him like his own personal shadow.

"What do you think, Matori? If Petrel has no vote one way or the other, perhaps you could fill in for him."

The stoic female reached up to push her glasses closer to her eyes as she spoke.

"Well sir, if you want my honest opinion, you cannot trust myths and Legends anymore than you can trust the people telling them to you. The only thing that you can count on is the facts, science, technology that is tried and true."

Archer smirked, sitting back and crossing his arms as if he had won, only for the woman to lift her head and glare at him.

" However , there are an astonishing amount of artifacts uncovered from the past that do hold such mystical properties as described by the fables. Artifacts that have played a key role with many mythical Pokémon before. Such as how Team Aqua was able to use the Blue Orb for its capabilities in reverting Kyogre back into its primal form. If this red chain truly exists and is said to be capable of controlling a Pokémon, which it very well may be, then I believe it is our best bet and we should allocate the proper resources to finding and obtaining it for ourselves."

Giovanni smirked, bowing his head with a laugh as he turned to face his administrative team. 

"There you have it, I believe that this a landslide in favor of locating the red chain then, yes? Petrel, I would like you to get on it right away. Grab as many of your best spies as possible and get to Sinnoh right away. Ask around, talk to anyone who may know anything about it, disguise yourself as someone important and press Cynthia herself if you must. I want that chain found and I want it done quickly. Matori, I believe the child has passed her test, hasn't she? That means it's time we send her on a mission of her own, give her 5 grunts to start off with, and send them off for some border patrol. That should wet her feet and get her ready to swim."

"Yes sir, I will get right on it!" Exclaimed Petrel, saluting the man as he rushed out of the room in a flurry.

Matori on the other hand only bowed, telling him to consider it done as she calmly left to do his bidding.

"Ariana, Proton, I want you both on standby. I may have need of you soon, but until then you will continue your regular duties around here. Do not stray far. Archer, I would like you to oversee the investigation into other regions groups. If we are truly planning to take over, then we must crush any and all opposition. That includes other syndicates that are vying for the same position we are. I want to know what their numbers are, what they are currently doing, the location of their bases, everything. Once you have a report for me, give it to Matori. Now, if everyone understands their positions, then get to work."

Each operative gave their acknowledgement, Archer bowing, Proton saluting and Ariana simply nodding as she played with her earrings and inclined her head to the man. Leaving Giovanni alone with his thoughts to plan his organization's next move in peace.

_______

Back in Hisui, Ingo had just about finished explaining everything, no thanks to Sneasler who simply sat with him in her lap, cleaning him all over as if he were one of her young. His coat discarded, shirt sleeves rolled up so that she could reach his scent points on his wrists and neck more easily.

The group all seemed to be focusing on different things, Ash was eyeing Sneasler with a great intensity as he watched her work, Emmet seemed to be pouting at how this Pokémon he barely knew was all over his brother, forcing him further away from his only safety crutch that he could cling to in this panicked time. Johanna and Zoey at least seemed to be trying to listen and follow along. 

"I see. So you officially adopted Akari, did you? I am very happy for you both. The two of you got along so well, just as I had hoped when I first introduced you, but I never imagined that you would get that close. But that begs the question, why did she toss you all aside like this if you were truly so important to each other?"

"I believe it was in a desperate bid to keep us safe. You know Akari, she likes to try to handle everything herself. Just like she did here, at this rate, I fear I may receive more than a scar for trying to force my way into aiding her through her troubles this time."

Irida hummed, swirling the tea in her cup as she stared down at her reflection in it.

"That does sound like something Akari would do. Even when Kamado mistreated her, she still worried for him when he attempted to act in her stead. She wanted to go it alone up there, but Adaman and I were insistent on accompanying her. Thank goodness we did too, otherwise Adaman never would have heard the voice of the Almighty Dialga who warned us about the Almighty Palkia and how to handle it. Our lord never would have been quelled if that hadn't happened. Ingo, I would like to offer my aid in any way that I can. I cannot house everyone, but I should be able to at least take you back in along with two others. While you are here, for as long as it lasts, I would like to offer you your old position back. I'm sure Lady Sneasler agrees, so what do you say, Warden?"

Ingo bowed his head, thanking the young woman profusely for her hospitality and offer, only to receive a polite chuckle and be waved off with a smile.

"Oh not at all, I owe you and Akari a lot for what you have both done for all of us. The Pearly Clan will always be your clan Ingo, whether you wear our mark or not. Adaman also owes a great debt to Akari, so I am certain he will be open to housing the rest of your group. In fact, I'm sure he will say that any friend of Akari's is a friend of his."

Despite the situation, it truly was nice to see Irida again and know she was doing so well, even though he was very stressed and incredibly worried about his daughter, Ingo's lips couldn't help but quirk up a tad at his young leader.

"It sounds as if you and Adaman have gotten quite close, did you two finally bury the bad blood between your people for good?"

She scoffed, rolling her eyes as she took a sip from her tea.

"I wouldn't say we are close by any means. That fool simply acts too predictably, that's all. He is friendly and accepting to everyone, and he always spouts such clichéd gibberish like that, that's all. But yes, we have, and it is all because of Akari that we have this peace now. So if you need anything, anything at all, do not hesitate to ask me for my help. I will do anything in my power to get you back to her side, so make sure that when you do return to her, you protect her Warden. Whether she likes it or not. Just, make sure you remember to take care of yourself as well, alright?"

This time he actually managed to smile, tipping his hat to the young lady as he thanked her, giving his word that he would do his best to follow her words and received a nod in return from the young woman. It was then that she finished her tea and stood to stretch.

"Now then, I suppose we should sort out which among you will be lodging with Adaman and his clan. I would suggest those of you with a low tolerance to the cold go with him, but perhaps more importantly, it should be those of you that are not particularly skilled at living around dangerous Pokémon like Zoroark."

With those words spoken, Johanna immediately offered to go with the Diamond clan, May following swiftly after her as she was not properly dressed for such a cold climate. Zoey then said that she would like to go with the Pearl, since she was born and raised in the snow and could easily handle frigid temperatures.

That left Emmet and Ash to decide amongst themselves who would go where. Meaning Ingo had to fill in his clearly lost brother on what was happening. It really sucked being the only person who didn't speak even a bit of the language that everyone else was using…

"Emmet, where would you like to reside during our temporary stop at this station?"

"Hm? Wherever you are of course."

"I assumed as much, but I do not believe I am allowed to keep those not recognized by the clan with me in the Warden's abode. This hut is made to house the Warden to Lady Sneasler in it. She would have to give her permission to you in order for you to occupy it with me."

Emmet only tilted his head, smile widening dangerously.

"Ingo, all due respect, fuck that."

Ingo gasped in horror, hissing his brother's name in disbelief.

"I am Emmet, I am your twin. I have lived without you once. Not fun. Will not do it again. This big Purloin will not derail me from you. If she has a problem with me being here, I will put her in a ball. There is not much she can do to stop me from inside there."

"Emmet! You cannot put the Lady in a ball . She is a sacred Pokémon! Chosen and blessed by Arceus itself!"

Emmet snorted, looking to the side at the confused faces around them.

"Yes, and Arceus has never proven to display poor judgement before ."

" Emmet !"

It was at this point that Ingo tapped on his Lady twice quickly, and she released him, allowing him to stand to drag his brother over to the door where his hands began to fly in a flurry of motion. Emmet's eyes widened for a moment before he too began to swiftly make odd gestures with his hands.

"Um, what are they doing? I apologize, but I cannot understand the white one. Did he say something to upset the Warden?"

Zoey snorted, a smirk taking over her face.

"Oh yeah, I'll say he did. I mean, I don't know sign, but from the looks of it, I'd say those two are having a pretty heated argument."

Iridia then raised a brow.

"I'm sorry, sign? What is sign? Do you mean to tell me they are having an entire disagreement with nothing but their bodies? How? How can one do that without any words? They are not punching each other like I have seen some men do when they have disputes either."

May sighed, watching the two carefully as they fought.

"Sign is short for sign language. It means they are able to use their hands to form letters or words or use gestures to convey a message without having to speak or write it down. People use it to communicate with those who cannot hear or speak verbally where we come from. Or in situations when they need to be quiet, like right now I guess."

Irida hummed in interest, watching Emmet and Ingo sign vigorously to each other. That seemed like a handy thing to know, she would have to ask her Warden to teach it to her later, or at least leave her some instructions before she left. It would prove invaluable when dealing with the elders in her clan that had trouble hearing.

"Oh, that reminds me. Ms. Johanna? You said her name is Dawn, didn't you? I'm sure Akari had her reasons for using an alias… and everyone here knows her as Akari, so while you are all here, would you mind terribly just referring to her by that name instead?"

The group all nodded their consent, seeming to take the request easily, Johanna even going on to say how similar Akari is to Hikari, so she should have no trouble adjusting to it. Irida thanked them with a smile a second before they heard a huff of frustration come from Ingo.

"Fine Emmet, fine! You win! But you will not  disrespect my Lady in any way. Do you understand me?"

Emmet only smiled and nodded, before signing something else that made Ingo sputter.

"Emmet! Language! I cannot believe you would call your older brother that."

Smiling wider, Emmet signed it again, over and over and over. Causing Ingo to blush heavily and pull on his cap. Nobody paid any attention to Irida as she mimicked the movement curiously.

With a sigh, Ingo pulled Emmet's hands down and dragged him back over by one of them.

"Lady Irida, Emmet has requested that you allow him to stay here with me, in the Warden's abode. I will clear it with Lady Sneasler as well, but I would like your blessings first."

"Hm? Oh! Yes, of course! You and your brother seem quite close, I wouldn't think of splitting you up unless you both wanted it."

"Thank you very much, Lady Irida, we are truly grateful. She says it is fine Emmet, but I still must ask Lady Sneasler first."

"I told you she would not mind."

"No, you said you didn't care if she minded or not. That is very different."

As the men moved on to ask the Pokémon for her approval, Irida stretched once more and headed over to the door to slip her shoes back on, motioning for the others to follow. All but the twins and Sneasler joined her at the door to put their own shoes back on. As she led them outside, she gave a sigh.

"I am going to have to report to the commander about this. He has no bearing on who I allow into my clan, but he is going to want to know that Ingo is back and has brought friends, and I do not want it to seem like I am hiding anything from him and risk our peace treaty going up in smoke. So I will have to make a trip to Jubilife, but after that I can take those of you who have chosen the Pearl Settlement back with me. So if you wouldn't mind accompanying me for my trip, that would definitely make things easier for me. This would also be a good chance to stock up on supplies. I was planning to do a little shopping anyway."

Johanna spoke up then, agreeing for the group as she didn't want anyone to get separated in what was essentially a foreign land, even if Ash looked like he wanted nothing more than to be turned free to explore it. 

She called out to Ingo and Emmet who soon dressed and joined them outside, Sneasler standing there cleaning Emmet this time as they awaited word of what was happening. Irida quickly filled them in, watching with sympathetic eyes as Ingo cringed at the title of Commander .

Irida gave him a sympathetic look, to which the black conductor nodded at, hand gesturing for her to continue. So she did, asking once again who would be staying with which clan and finally sorting out that Ash, Johanna and May would go with the Diamond, while Zoey and Emmet joined Ibgo with the Pearl. 

Irida only nodded at this information, focusing instead of how she was going to tell Kamado the news. So lost in her own thoughts, Irida didn't even notice when Ingo passed her and took over leading the group down the mountain and all the way back to Jubilife village. Nor did she realize how long they had been walking. 

Buy once they arrived at the Village gates, her Warden gently shook her shoulder and announced their arrival, causing her to glance up at the sky to see the position of the sun had changed quite a bit, easily showing that quite a few hours had passed. 

"Oh, I hadn't noticed we were here already. Thank you Warden Ingo, would you be so kind as to join me in briefing the Commander? I know how you feel about him, but I need someone to relay the situation on the other side and I do not know how clearly I can speak of things I've never experienced."

Ingo's grim face made her think he was going to decline at first, but she should have known he would never do that. The man never turned down a request after all, he was always looking to help others and make sure they were as comfortable, happy and safe as possible. If he could make things easier for them, he would, even if it meant doing something he didn't like. 

"Of course Lady Irida, we should depart for that particular station as soon as possible, lest someone else notice our presence and tell him before we do."

"Yes, you're right, the shopping will have to wait until afterwards I suppose. The rest of you may do as you please, but be aware that the people in this village are not very welcoming of strangers. Akari had quite the time getting them to trust her. You may browse the shopkeepers' wares or battle at the training grounds, but please do not leave the walls of Jubilife."

With that, she spun on her heel, heading straight into the largest building in the village, mouth and brows set in a serious expression of her conviction. 

Ingo quickly followed his leader after explaining the situation to his brother who instantly decided he was going to accompany them. Because wherever Ingo went, Emmet went, end of story. Meanwhile, Ash immediately made his way to the battlefield and got himself a challenge from the red haired woman overseeing the area. 

While Zoey, May and Johanna decided to browse the clothing shop. The woman couldn't help but remark on how odd a feeling it was to see Jubilife City as such an old and underdeveloped village. Zoey readily agreed, it was uncomfortable yet fascinating at the same time, but it also gave the strongest sense of 'you don't belong here' that the teen had ever felt. 

Johanna could not help but wonder if that was how her daughter felt when she arrived in the village…

______

Ingo did not have the energy for this. He knew he had to meet with the Commander, and while he wasn't exactly fine with that, he would do it because it needed to be done. He knew how stubborn and rash the other man was, but he had fervently hoped that changed at least a smidge since he had been proven wrong by Akar- er, Dawn . 

But alas, it had apparently not. A perfect stranger, he could understand. But to have such caution and distrust toward Ingo and his brother ? It was simply ridiculous. Kamado knew him, he had never done anything wrong to the man or his team before. So why would he assume foul play now ? Why would he think that Ingo would only return and bring his brother with him if he wanted to do something malicious to him?

Kamado had practically insisted that Emmet wait outside, that Ingo force his brother to leave so that they could talk in private as Kamdao did not want to risk any information being leaked by someone not yet sworn into the alliance. But the older twin refused.

He neither had the patience nor the desire to remove his brother from the room once the meeting was underway, he saw no reason to, Emmet could not understand any of their words anyway. So Kamado had no reason to worry, and having his brother by his side reminded him that this was real, that he had not simply dreamed up returning home and reuniting with his twin.

Eventually the man huffed and complained but did settle down, albeit, only after Captain Cyllene came in to join them. Perhaps he felt that if push came to shove, Irida would be forced to remain impartial and he and Cyllene could take on he and Emmet together. Whatever his reason may be, Ingo was just glad to have the theatrics out of the way so that they could get to the meat of things.

As Irida explained her understanding of the situation, he and Emmet stood silently, side by side behind the young woman, one staring down at the man in the chair, the other staring blankly ahead. It wasn't until she turned things over to Ingo that the peace of sorts was broken. 

He had successfully relayed his side of things to the man, and had even gotten Cyllene to smooth things over for the most part with the Commander about how much they owed Akari and that the least they could do was trust that she would not endanger them, that if she had sent her family to them that it was not done to hurt the people of Jubilife, but to protect her loved ones and that she had clearly trusted them to do that for her.

Kamado begrudgingly agreed. Saying that they did indeed owe her a great debt and that the least they could do was look after these wayward travelers until they were able to return themselves home. Which led to the discussion of housing. Irida taking Ingo back on as a Warden was easily approved, but the matter of bringing others with him was not. 

"I cannot agree with that request, Clan Leader Irida. It is simply illogical to allow you to bring in people that we know are not here to stay. Even if they are friends of someone we know we can trust, that does not inherently mean that we can trust them . We will look after them, protect them from the dangers of the wilds, but we cannot allow them to join a clan. If, in the event that they did something wrong, they were part of a clan, we of the Galaxy Team would not be able to do anything about it due to our peace treaty with you clan folk. I believe it would be better to keep them here, in our village, so that we may better keep an eye on them, both for their safety and ours."

Irida slammed her hands on the wooden desk between the two and shook her head.

"Commander! You can't be serious! You expect me to believe that it would be safer for all involved to allow you to recruit them instead of Adaman and I? Why? How could that possibly be safer? What work could you have that is so important that you need the extra hands for? Akari already fully completed an entire catalog of all the Pokémon in our entire region! There is not a single corner of this land left unexplored or unmarked by her!"

Kamado didn't even blink, resting his chin on his clasped hands.

"They would not necessarily be admitted to the Survey Corps. They could join the construction unit, or the security detail, or even work for the trade faction or Gingko Guild. There is plenty of work to be done around the village. The fact that half of them are children is irrelevant. If Akari was capable of all that was thrown at her, then these children can certainly wield a hammer or carry some wares."

Irida gave a pout, going silent as she attempted to think up a reason to refute the man, only for Ingo to clear his throat and step forward.

"Pardon me Commander , but what does this mean for Emmet? Am I to assume that you would insist on keeping him here as well?"

Kamado leveled him with a raised brow and a flat tone.

"He is of those who we know not enough of yet, so yes."

"Even though he is my twin and I can vouch for him more than any other in the world?"

"Do you have a problem, Warden ?"

Ingo nodded, arms linked behind his back as he stood straight like a rod.

"I do indeed sir, you see, Emmet and I are a unit. We form a two car train and do not unlink for more than a few hours a day. But if I were to return to the Highlands, and he were to stay here, we would certainly be separated for far longer than that. Thus, I am afraid this proposed schedule is unacceptable."

"You are two grown men, you do not need to coddle each other and cling to one another for safety. I know you are a strong and capable trainer Warden, I am sure your brother is not helpless either. Those who cannot adapt, do not survive. You will both find a way through it."

He was right of course, but even still, Ingo was not going to let him have his way with this one. Not after hearing how he had villainized Akari and treated her so unfairly for nothing.

" Kamado. You are being ridiculous."

"That is Commander Kamado to you, Warden! Or simply Commander. But you are not in a place to address me by name alone."

"I apologize, Kamado . But I only address those with respect who deserve it. And right now, you have done nothing deserving of it, Kamado ."

The kimono clad man slammed a fist on his own desk, loud enough to cause Irida to flinch back, and Cyllene to attempt to admonish him. But she was drowned out by the man leaning across his desk just slightly to glare at Ingo, who, to his credit, didn't so much as blink, only continuing to hold his position and stare at the man with unimpressed eyes.

"You dare walk into my office and disrespect me ?"

"I do. I am sure you remember quite well what atrocities you enacted in the past toward Akari due to your lack of trust. I am simply attempting to prevent you from following those same tracks again."

Lifting a finger to point at the man in question, Ingo continued.

"You, Kamado, are a paranoid fool. None of those who have found themselves derailed with me, are going to cause you or anyone in the village any harm. Especially not my brother, provided you do not give him a reason to."

It was then that Emmet jolted to attention, a spark in his eyes, lifting a finger of his own to point at the man and looking to his brother with a tilted head.

"Kamado?"

Ingo raised a brow, responding hesitantly.

"Yes, this is Kamado, the Commander of the Galaxy Team. Why do you as-EMMET!"

Before anyone could stop him, Emmet had tossed out his ace, Eelektross and had thrown himself on top of the man's desk, one hand lifted to his hat to fix it in place, while the other was used to point at the man.

"I am Emmet, I am a Subway Boss, and I hereby challenge you to a battle!"

"EMMET! Get down from there this instant! You are not helping my case! How am I going to convince him that you are trustworthy enough to let us stay together if you act like this ??!"

Emmet only tilted his head to look down at his brother who was now attempting to pull him down by his coattails.

"This man means to separate us?"

"YES! And he will if you continue to give him a reason to doubt you!"

"Well that will not do."

Turning back around to face the outraged man who was sputtering and squaking something at him just like his Archeops, Emmet grinned wider. He leaned fown, grabbed the man by the front of his stupid dress and yanked him up face to face with himself. 

"I know that you cannot understand me, anymore than I could understand you. But I am sure you can understand this."

Pointing to his brother, then to himself, Emmet spoke.

"Ingo is my twin. My family . Family is meant to be together. You will not derail us."

"WARDEN INGO! PLEASE, DO SOMETHING ABOUT HIM!"

"I am trying Lady Irida! EMMET! DISEMBARK THIS ROUTE AT ONCE! PLEASE! YOU ARE OBSTRUCTING US FROM OUR DESIRED DESTINATION!"

Kamado glared at the man, directly in the eye. The two seeming to have a silent conversation between them.

"If you do attempt to do so, you will be met with more than a Pokémon Battle to obstruct your path." 

Kamado stared long and hard at the man for a moment, before sighing and reaching a hand up to brush Emmet's hold off of him. Eyes sliding closed at his feet hit the floor and he began to straighten out his outfit.

"Warden Ingo, please remove your brother from my desk before I deem it fit to do so myself by tossing him across the room."

Tossing out his Chandelure, Ingo instructed her to use Psychic to bring his brother down to him, who he immediately admonished and gripped onto the back of the collar tightly.

"Ahem, now then, I gather he was upset at the idea of splitting you up, yes? The rest of his words I'm afraid we're lost to me. Perhaps you would like to translate for us?"

Ingo took a deep breath, glaring down at his smiling brother who looked all too proud with himself. 

"He issued you a challenge to a Pokémon Battle. He is aware of how you treated his Niece Akari, and he is quite cross with you for it. I am honestly surprised he did not strike you."

"Well, perhaps he has more brains than I thought, had he raised hands against me, he would have been flattened in an instant. That man is nothing but a twig. I am impressed he could even lift me as high as he did with such little muscle."

"Adrenaline is a devilishly powerful hormone."

"Adrenaline?"

"The rush you get when preparing for battle that strengthens you."

"Ah, yes. That is true. Well then, how about this, if your brother bests me in battle, I will agree to rethink your situation, however should I win, then nobody can argue with my word any further. Do we have ourselves a gentleman's agreement?"

Ingo stood silent for a moment, considering his offer before reaching out a hand to shake on it.

"Yes, I believe that would be fine. However, I would like to add something to that."

"Oh?"

"I believe Akari is in far deeper waters than she can tread alone, she is going to need help. The man she is dealing with is far more capable and cunning than I am led to believe she is aware of. That man is a danger to the entire world. And I do not think I can stand by and do nothing to aid her. So, I would like to add that you all listen to me and aid me in aiding her."

The opposing man raised a brow, but shook on it all the same.

"I hold no ill will towards that child. She has more than proven herself an ally. If she is in danger, then she will have the full backing of the Galaxy Team to support her, provided that it is something we can help with. I know not how we would be able to do anything here that would help her now in your world, but if it is possible, we will provide her our support. You need not forge a deal or win a contest for that."

"Excellent, then I see no reason to further delay any of these proceedings with chitchat. Emmet, it looks like you will get your battle after all, Kamado has agreed to it and is even willing to gamble our living arrangements on your victory or defeat."

"I am Emmet! That is wonderful news! I will not lose! He will be met with the full force of my engines! No holding back!"

Ingo nodded, responding with an "Indeed." As he conducted the group to the training grounds to find Zisu looking terribly lost and upset, while Ash seemed to be quite pumped up. Ingo needed only to raise a brow before the woman came running up to him, demanding answers on why all the children from his world were so strong.

He lifted his hands placatingly and took a step back from the large woman, doing his best to explain that most people began journeying and training Pokémon at the age of 10, and that Ash was able to get much experience under his belt in the nearly 7 years he had been at it. Ash chimed in as well, explaining that he was a 2 time Champion, which held little to no meaning to the woman.

All the same, Ingo requested they clear the tracks in the interest of safety so that Kamado and Emmet could have their own battle, which the two agreed to. Zisu moved to supervise the battle on her field from a safe distance, while Ash eagerly sat back on the raised wooden platform behind Emmet to watch up close.

Before anyone could say anything, Emmet tossed out his Klinklang and Durant together, assuming his challenge stance as he awaited Kamado to do the same, only to see the man giving him a perplexed look on the opposite side of the field.

"Warden, what is he doing? Why has he tossed out 2 Pokémon at once?"

Ingo sighed, something he felt he had been doing a lot lately, and clutched the brim of his hat.

"He is attempting to battle you via doubles. Emmet here specializes in fighting with 2 Pokémon out together at a time as a team. Working their moves around each other to support and cover one another. He usually fields any challenges that take this particular skill set, while I handle any single battles."

Emmet only smiled blindly, as he had no idea what the delay was, nor what his brother was saying to this man.

"Ingo? I am Emmet and I am ready. Why is he not?"

"Emmet, I am afraid there is an obstruction on the tracks. Kamado, no, the people of Hisui as a whole, they are not familiar with the concept of Double Battles."

"Huh? Not familiar with it? That is silly. You sound silly Ingo. How could they not be familiar with it?"

"I mean, it has not yet been invented. The most I have seen is someone sending out 3 Pokémon to fight someone else who is only sending out 1 Pokémon, believing that numbers alone would secure their victory, even if they were not capable of managing 3 at a time."

Emmet was left sputtering, his brain grinding like a gear turning in a machine, only this gear was rusted and made a horrid screeching sound in his head as it turned.

"I…I do not understand. That is ridiculous. How??? Why?? Does…Does this mean we will have to do it as a singles battle?"

"Yes Emmet, I'm afraid so, that is if you care at all about making this a fair fight."

Emmet's smile twitched as he glanced at his waiting Pokémon.

"Not a fair fight. He is unfamiliar with Doubles. But I do not normally dabble in Singles either. No matter what, one of us is at a disadvantage… And I am inclined to deny it to him, he is a mean man."

With another sigh, Ingo raised a hand in the air, drawing everyone's attention to himself. 

"I would like to propose a change of Conductors! With the current schedule set, it should not matter if it is Emmet or I driving this engine down the tracks, the only thing that matters is the destination and that everyone has a serious, safe and fair battle! As you are unfamiliar with Doubles, it would be unfair to force you to battle in such a way, thus, Singles it is. As I have already explained, Emmet does not field Singles, I do . Therefore, we will be shifting tracks! Kamado, prepare for a battle against me !"

As he spoke, his arms shifted to assume their pointing position, Emmet's eyes widening followed by a large grin and him clapping enthusiastically upon seeing it, instantly telling him that even if his brother could not understand his words, he still understood his gestures just fine.

While Emmet quickly recalled his Pokémon and left the field to give Ingo room, Kamado on the other hand remained silent, perhaps unsure of this change as he felt Ingo was a far stronger opponent and his odds of winning against him were far less. He would be right if that were what he was thinking, heck Ingo half expected the man to refute this change and insist he battle against Emmet in Singles. 

But surprisingly Kamado threw out his Snorlax and crossed his arms.

"Fine, a battle with the Warden it is then. Hurry up and send out your Pokémon, Warden. I have much work to return to."

Before returning from Hisui, Ingo would have defaulted to choosing his Machamp. But now, having the help of all his friends from Unova as well at his fingertips, Ingo's choice was sure to surprise the man, perhaps even startle him. If Kamado had been a more agreeable man, Ingo may have felt sorry for him.

"Emmet, might I bother you for Gurdurr's Pokèball please?"

"Oh! You intend to borrow Gurdurr instead of using Machamp. Of course. He has not seen much battle lately, he could use the exercise."

As Emmet fished the ball out of one of his coat pockets and stepped forward to slide it into his brother's hand, Ingo spoke up again.

"Thank you. You know, we really ought to go ahead and make the trade already. I believe both Boldore and Gurdurr are more than ready to take their final forms."

Emmet only smiled wider at the comment. 

"Oh yes, they are verrry much ready to evolve. I will be sure to take good care of Gigalith when that happens, just as I do with Escavalier."

"Of course, and I will be sure to take extra care with Conkeldurr, just as I do with Accelgor."

After the exchange, the man in the darker coat spun around and tossed the Pokémon out into the field, finger pointing forward as he instructed it.

"All aboard Gurdurr! We are leaving this station and aiming for victory with all that we have! There will be no stops in between! So take care to perform all relevant checks now! Are you sufficiently prepared? Very good! Then the Station Master Kamado may have the first move."

With that confident declaration, Ingo watched calmly as Kamado glared at him and called loudly to his partner to use Zen Headbutt, simultaneously the Subway Master himself instructed his ally to dodge and use Low Kick, which Kamado also screamed at his Pokémon to dodge.

Hm, it seemed he hadn't given Kamado enough credit. The man may be a fool when it came to people, but at least he appeared to know his way around a Pokémon battle. This may end up taking longer than he or Emmet had been able to anticipate. Which normally would be quite the treat, but right now, they did not have the luxury of such a leisurely battle.

He and his team would have to kick things up a notch or two it seemed.

Taking a deep breath, Ingo whistled, drawing the eyes of his ally to himself. With a single nod given, he received one in turn and watched as Gurdurr swung his beam right into the Snorlax's side, surprising both the opposing Pokémon and its trainer. 

Ingo whistled again, twice, two shot bursts of disruptive sound, motioning with his finger up then to the right. His brother's well trained ally watching from the corner of his eye for instructions as the red girder scraped along the dirt and under his opponents feet before swinging upward, causing the enemy to stumble back, while Gurdurr followed up with another strong swipe from the side.

Kamado growled loudly, muttering something about cheap cheating tactics as he roared for Snorlax to try another Zen Headbutt, which was promptly dodged by Gurdurr after one sharp whistle from the conductor. 

As they continued to run circles around the kimono-wearing man and his slothful beast, said man only lost more and more of his patience, until things came to a head when they managed to knock out his Pokémon altogether. This brought forth a guttural scream from him, glaring full force at the creature casually spinning its girder as well as the pointing trainer behind it.

He detested how calm and in control Ingo seemed, it was as if the man was mocking him, saying with his body what he wouldn't dare to say with his mouth. 

Kamado, in his blind fury, tossed out his Braviary, loudly instructing it to use Esper Wing. Ingo could only sigh and shake his head, whistling for Gurdurr to dodge, then swirled his wrist around, finger making a circling motion before settling in a point. 

Emmet couldn't help but grin wider as he watched his brother's strategies unfold before him. It was almost like he was a verrryy different kind of conductor. Watching him point and gesture with his hands, urging Gurdurr on, telling him to fall back, or even instructing him to skirt around to strike from behind. 

Even attacks were understood between them with nothing more than looks and nods or shakes of the head. Despite Gurdurr being his Pokémon and not Ingo's, he seemed to be just as in sync with him as he would be with Emmet himself, perhaps even more so. It reminded him all over again how impressive his older brother really was and why he respected him so much. 

The way Ingo could just understand and work with just about anyone on anything, be it people or Pokémon, the way people so readily relied on him and trusted him once they got past his gruff expressions, and the way his brother was able to complete any task to perfection without so much as a hair out of place or a single bead of sweat on his brow. 

Ingo always seemed so perfect at everything except smiling. But even that had become something he seemed to excel at more and more since returning to his side after his little layover in Hisui. Yes, if they had still been children, Emmet would have been insanely jealous. But as adults, all he could do was admire him and hope to someday be just as amazing as him.

By the time Emmet snapped out of his admiring haze, he was greeted by a loud screech of pain and saw the opposing Braviary collapse in a heap in the dirt. He saw Ingo giving Gurdurr a thumbs up before returning to a neutral pose of pointing ahead with one hand and down with the other, eyes locked on Kamado as he awaited his next opponent.

Once the man screamed again, tossing his next Pokéball with far more power than necessary, not even announcing his choice, only barking out a rough order of what move to use. Emmet could only click his tongue at the disgraceful move before hearing his brother speak again to thank Gurdurr for his service before calling him back into his ball.

"Emmet."

"Hm?"

Out of nowhere, the ball was tossed lightly back to Emmet,  the man's hands cupping together to catch it out of instinct more than presence of mind. 

"Thank you for allowing Gurdurr to link up with me, but I am afraid he will not be capable of taking down this next opponent. He seemed to be running out of steam as well, please perform any possible maintenance at this juncture. I do not believe I will be needing him to return to the field for the remainder of this battle."

Emmet saluted his brother, nodding to his words and beginning to rifle through his pockets for any items to treat his Pokémon with. 

As he did so, he continued to watch in awe and fascination as Ingo summoned his next Pokémon to his side, Chandelure. Gray eyes shifted over to the other side of the field in an attempt to see what Pokémon she would be fighting against, locking them onto a large blue beetle.

Ah, so it was Chandelure vs a Heracross then, was it? That was good, not only was she his brother's ace, but she also had a clear type advantage on her side. It seemed Ingo was intent on plowing through this battle as swiftly as possible. 

Perhaps he was even angrier with this man than let on, since he didn't seem to be too keen on giving him much of a chance past ensuring that it was a battle format the opposing trainer was familiar with. It would make sense for Ingo to be furious with someone and still try to keep that professional air about him so as to not lash out at the target of his ire.

Even Emmet himself had never seen Ingo truly lose it. As frustrated as Ingo had gotten at him earlier over the whole Sneasler debacle, he had only signed vigorously. Ingo never had screaming matches with Emmet, Ingo never swore at Emmet, Ingo never said anything mean or hurtful to Emmet. And if he didn't even feel comfortable with arguing with family in such a way, then he surely would never do so with a higher up.

Of course, Chandelure was good to go, sturdy and trustworthy like the rails of any good subway, easily wiping the floor with the blue beetle. As soon as the next Pokémon was thrown out, a Clefable, Emmet thought Ingo would switch Chandelure out for sure for Garboader. But just when it seemed like he was considering it, Chandelure turned fully around to stare him down. 

A moment passed where the two simply looked at each other, before Ingo chuckled and pulled the brim of his hat down to cover his eyes.

"I see, very well then Chandelure, I shall not make any track changes here. Give it your best out there."

As she clicked and squealed in joy, Kamado declared his first attack, apparently not even having enough honor to wait until his opponents were done with their discussion and celebration before attacking. But it did him little good, as Ingo and Chandelure both reflexively responded by dodging and catching hold of the pink creature with Psychic. 

Apparently that was not the best move however, as Kamado seemed to have finally started thinking for this battle instead of just blowing his top and acting on anger. Emmet could only assume this man was typically all brawn and no brains, so if he didn't hate him so much, he would clap for him for such a breakthrough. 

But no, Emmet didn't plan on clapping for anyone other than his brother after this fight was over, this was still the same bastard who mistreated his Niece and attempted to split he and Ingo up. This man would be lucky if he only received a smile after the dust cleared and not a slug across the jaw.

Casting his eyes toward his brother, he could see his usual frown was just a tad larger. Meaning Ingo was displeased that a plan had not worked out. Emmet was willing to bet that Ingo had meant to restrain the fairy with Psychic and follow up with a brutal barrage of attacks to knock it out before it could recover. But it seemed a stalemate was the best he could do right now, since Chandelure was also being restrained by Psychic right now. 

Hm, a tricky situation. What would Ingo do here? Well, if he had to guess, he would assume Ingo would call Chandelure back and toss in a different Pokémon, but Chandelure had already voiced her displeasure at that idea, so Ingo didn't have that option right now. Meaning the only thing he could do was either wait this out and hope Kamado tired of such a waste of time, or tell Chandelure to toss the pink beast aside and hope it broke her concentration enough to free herself.

And while Ingo was normally patient and calculating enough for the first option, Emmet knew right now was not the time to be wasting daylight on such a tactic. Soooo, option 2b it was. Watching Chandelure screech as she threw the Pokémon with all her might certainly did get a few "Ohhs!!" of awe from the peanut gallery, which Emmet could tell got both he and Ingo standing just a bit taller out of sheer pride.

It was the kind of pride that applied to multiple things at once. Emmet was not just proud of himself for looking after and continuing Chandelure's training in his brother's stead during his derailment in Hisui. Nor was he proud of just himself and Chandelure. Or even just him, Chandelure and Ingo. No, he was proud of all them and the one place they all got this strong for. Their precious Subway.

It was only thanks to the many talented trainers who frequented the battle lines that they were able to get where they are today, and they might never have faced those trainers if not for their positions at Gear Station and the Battle lines they created. Truly, they were doing God's work. Or, at least that was what Emmet had always thought, until he learned what a price Arceus was.

More on that later , but for now, he wanted to try to stay alert. Ingo should be wrapping up this battle soon, and the second he did, oh boy .

The dulled sound of a fist meeting an open hand was easily covered up by the shouts of Kamado and the Battle between his and Ingo's Pokémon as Chandelure began mopping the floor with the fairy. Since he was not able to battle the man, and Ingo had to take his place, Emmet felt he had no other choice but to default to other methods of stress relief and vengeance. 

More personally violent ways. And nobody would derail him from these tracks, not even Ingo. He had a lot to get back at this mustachioed menace for after all.

For Ingo, for Dawn, for himself. 

Oh yes, this man was going to lose sorely to Ingo, then he was going to get a beating from Emmet. That would teach the man not to mess with Emmet's family.

Not too long after, Ingo and Chandelure reached the destination called victory, and were faced with Kamado's final Pokémon, Golem, and she was definitely not something that Chandelure was equipped to handle. Meaning, Ingo should really switch her out for someone with a strategic advantage. And hopefully, after fighting and taking down 2 whole opponents herself , she would let him.

"Chandelure. May I? Please? You have done well, very well. You need not push yourself any further."

The chandelier spun around staring deep into her trainer's eyes, for a moment the rest of the world seemed to stand still. But she broke that all encompassing stare with a shake of her form left and right.

" Chandelure . Come now. What has gotten into you? You have already bested two of his team, it is more than acceptable to allow someone else to take over. Tangrowth would be the optimal choice here."

Once again, she sputtered and shook about, jingling frantically and denying the substitution. Ingo sighed, this time not giving in, his eyes hardened as he tried again to convince her.

"Chandelure. This is not a good type match up, and you are already tired from the previous two fights. If you keep going, you will likely faint and I will have to switch you out anyway. There is no point in continuing when you do not have to. If you faint in battle, there is no Pokémon Center here to revive you. Please , allow me to shift gears and substitute Tangrowth for you."

She began to protest again, before Ingo took a deep breath and barked out at her.

" Chandelure! I understand you are only trying to show your devotion for me, that you simply wish to display what your engines are capable of. You are my ace, you always will be. You are not in danger of losing my favor. But you are in danger of derailing our entire group and it's schedule. Please, consider leaning on the rest of the team. You can lead without having to take on everything for yourself."

This time, she hissed. Blank eyes narrowing angrily as she chirped in a rage at the man. This got Ingo to raise a metaphorical brow. 

"Is this about Gliscor? Yes, he was my anchor for my team here in Hisui, but he is still younger than you, still lower leveled compared to you. You have much more experience in regulated battles. Gliscor is more used to survival and wild fights. He has much to learn still and looks to you for that. Do not feel as though you have anything to prove, my dear. Everyone looks to you for guidance, you are the engine that powers this entire train."

Chandelure went quiet then, either her trainer's words or tone of sincerity seeming to strike home for her.

"WARDEN! WHAT IS THE HOLD UP!? ARE YOU SWITCHING IT OUT OR NOT? HURRY IT UP!"

At this, Chandelure swiveled, eyes glowing as she attempted to catch the man with her Psychic powers to toss him to the ground, only for Ingo to give a sharp whistle that left her eyes fading back to their empty white baseline.

"Apologies, yes, I am switching tracks. Chandelure and I were simply discussing strategy. She , not it, is a much valued part of this train. So I take her opinion in high regards."

"You would ask the Pokémon for advice on battle strategies? It is a Pokémon Warden, not a human. You are the owner, it is up to you to come up with the strategies. You give the orders and they listen. That is how this works. If yours isn't obeying you, perhaps you haven't taught it well enough."

Ingo couldn't help but growl under his breath at that comment, hand reaching up to clutch the brim of his hat so tightly, that his hands would be white whether he had his gloves on or not.

"The fact that you view things that way is proof of why you will lose this battle. Chandelure, return . Tangrowth, ALL ABOARD!"

Emmet couldn't understand what they were saying, but he could see Ingo shaking, he could hear the tone in his voice, of barely concealed fury and pain. He could hear Chandelure hissing at the man before she returned to her ball as well. So he knew that whatever the man said, it couldn't have been anything good.

He didn't want to interrupt, but he also didn't want Ingo battling in that state. So he strode over to his brother's side and grasped his free hand, tapping out little messages in Morse.

Things like, It's okay. And Calm down. And I am Emmet, and I am here, brother.

By the time Ingo gave a shuddering sigh and tapped back his thanks. Emmet shouted out for Tangrowth to dodge the incoming attack of Golem. 

"What is wrong Ingo? What did that bad man say?"

"Apologies Emmet, I am fine now. Thank you for grounding me though."

Emmet's smile only tightened, head tilted as he pushed on.

"Of course! Two car train! What did he say to upset you so much? You looked like you wanted to sock him."

With a sigh, Ingo let go of his hat and whistled, spinning his hand before jabbing it forward as he called out in Unovan the word sleep . The twins watched as a Strong Sleep Powder was cast on the rock turtle.

"He said that I should not consult with my Pokémon before making any plans. That I had not trained Chandelure well enough if she did not blindly follow my orders without voicing her opinions. He called me her owner , not her trainer ."

Emmet sucked in a sharp breath. His hand squeezing his brother's tightly before letting go all together. 

"I am Emmet, and I am furious. I am sorry Ingo, that is a terrible, untrue thing to say. We do not own anyone. We are all a team, we are a two car train, but when our Pokémon link up with us, we become a full blown passenger train. You will win and you will show him the error of his ways. We are Subway Bosses! We do not lose to bad trainers."

"Yes, you are correct Emmet. Tangrowth! Energy Ball if you please! We Subway Bosses pride ourselves in winning battles even under the most unique rule sets. A battle like this is barely even training."

Emmet nodded, moving off to the side to stand close to the middle of the field's dividing border. He wanted more than anything to charge at Kamdo and attack him right then and there. How dare he speak of Chandelure that way? Even worse, the man had said that Ingo hadn't trained her well enough. He was not only insulting Chandelure, but calling Ingo a bad trainer as well as Emmet himself indirectly. 

"MOVE GOLEM! I DON'T CARE HOW SLEEPY YOU ARE! STOP SITTING THERE AND LETTING YOURSELF GET HIT!"

Even without understanding the man's words, he could see he was not speaking very kindly to his own partner. If it weren't for the fact that it would reflect poorly on the Subway if he attacked the man, Emmet would be rushing over to knock him to the ground.

Wait. But then again, their Subway didn't exist yet. They were in the past, it was verrry likely that no Subways existed yet. Which meant there was nothing he was representing that he had to maintain peace for. 

"What is wrong Kamado? Is your partner not listening to you well enough? Perhaps if you consulted him instead of simply making blind calls and commanding absolute obedience, he would fight harder for you. Trust is an important component in any relationship, especially battles."

"SHUT UP WARDEN! I WILL NOT HAVE A STUPID FOREIGNER TELL ME HOW TO TRAIN MY POKÉMON! YOU ARE AN OUTSIDER! DON'T FORGET YOUR PLACE! ALIEN!!"

A horrified gasp left both Irida and Zisu at that outburst, both of the women allowing their hands to fly up to cover their mouths in shock. Ash let out a small "woah." that sounded more like it was made out of surprise and lack of knowing what to say rather than any excitement. Ingo only frowned harder, hand reaching up to pull his hat down to cover his eyes.

"Huh? What? What did he say? Ingo? Ingo, what did he say?"

"I see." Said the black conductor, ignoring his brother's question in favor of launching one of his own. "And why, pray tell,l am I a foreigner? I will not argue that I am somewhat of an outsider, seeing as my residence was always isolated on top of a mountain, but I lived here for years before returning to my home. Why do you still consider me a foreigner?"

"BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT ONE OF US! "

" How so?"

"MUST I SPELL IT OUT FOR YOU?! YOU ARE A BRANCH OFF FROM GALAR! A DIRTY, RUDE, UNOVAN! THE CHILD MAY BE FROM SOMEPLACE UNKNOWN, BUT SHE IS CLEARLY NATIVE TO THESE LANDS! YOU ARE NOT ! YOU ARE FOREIGN IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD! YOU CANNOT BE TRUSTED ! YOU. DO. NOT. BELONG . HERE."

Irida hissed the man's name in frustration, clearly appalled at his words and seeking to reprimand him, only to be cut off by Ingo holding out an arm to silence her. He didn't want to risk the entire clan's safety from their treaty over himself after all.

"I see…So that is why you are being harder on Emmet and I. I understand now. There truly is no way to reason with you. My only hope of keeping my brother by my side is to best you in battle and hope you are not a sore loser."

Meanwhile, Ash hopped off the wooden platform and made his way to the obviously lost and tense Emmet's side.

"Um, so he basically just called your brother a term used for foreigners that can sometimes be an insult? Depending on the situation, it could mean just foreigner, but it could also mean, alien, or outsider . He also called him stupid and said that because you guys are from Unova, you don't belong here and you can't be trusted."

"Oh. I am Emmet, and I see now. He is racist . That explains a lot."

"Well, it doesn't necessarily mean he is racist, he could just be afraid of things he doesn't know. But yeah, it sure sounds like it."

The boy only crossed his arms, glaring at the man as his Pikachu growled and sparked in agitation alongside his trainer.

Well then, knowing Ingo, he would tell Emmet to be on his best behavior, to prove the man wrong to show him that Unovans aren't bad people. In hopes that it may warm him up to them. 

But from everything Ingo had told him, the Professor here was from the Galar region, and he didn't seem to be persecuted this way. So perhaps it was less about their heritage, and more that he just didn't like Ingo specifically for some reason. Maybe he was simply afraid of Ingo usurping him? Taking his spot because he is a superior man and trainer?

Either way, Emmet didn't care. He didn't have to listen to something Ingo hadn't yet said to him. Ingo would surely be upset with him, but it didn't matter. This man seemed like the type who only responded to power, to being beaten into submission, so Emmet didn't mind playing his game. 

Shrugging off his coat and removing his hat, he handed them to the boy beside him, asking him to watch those for him and receiving a confused "Sure." in response as he watched Emmet roll up his sleeves. 

Before anyone could stop him, Emmet raced forward and jumped at the unsuspecting man, knocking him to the ground in a tussle of limbs and angry confusion. The second the two made eye contact, Emmet struck, fist meeting cheek.

A horrified shriek of his name could be heard from the distance, Ingo's voice plainly projecting horror and worry. But he ignored it. It wasn't Ingo telling him to stop yet, so he figured he could get a few more good hits in before he was inevitably hauled off the man. So he swung again, mentally thanking his gloves for offering some protection from his actions as he punched the man, fist after fist swinging down to meet skin.

"So it is like that is it. Very well, I ACCEPT!"

He didn't see the punch to his own cheek coming until it was too late, his head jerking to the side from the force of the blow as the fist made contact. That did not deter him however, as Emmet only turned back to face him, his grin growing to show teeth as he punched the man in the nose.

"ARRG! CURSE YOU!"

Kamado roared as he attempted to flip their positions, using his hips to try to buck the other man off of him so he could get the upper hand. But Emmet only squeezed his thighs into the man's sides, holding on as he punched the man again.

It was then that Ingo and the large woman with the fiery hair began trying to break them up. Ingo reached down to pull Emmet back only to get slugged in his brother's place by Kamado, forcing him to rear back and clutch his nose. That tore a growl from Emmet as he fought harder to remain in his spot, he vaguely considered biting the man, but thought better of it. Who knows how dirty this man from the past was.

It wasn't until the man's Pokémon snapped out of its sleep-filled daze and began thundering towards them that the fight was broken up. Clawed hands reaching between them and throwing Emmet to the ground. As Kamado climbed to his feet and attempted to surge forward to chase Emmet, Tangrowth stepped in, using vines to pull the man back until Zisu could get her arms around him. 

Emmet growled again, sitting up and ready to launch himself again, until Ingo threw himself at his brother's back and wound his arms around him in a tight hug.

"Emmet, ENOUGH! PLEASE! "

"Sir! Come on! Break it up! It's my job as head of security to stop any and all fights, even ones involving you . If you don't stop now, I will be forced to intervene in more ways than just holding you back!"

Kamado only growled, tapping the woman in a sign to let go before smoothing out his Kimono. Of course, the one time he didn't don his battle armor, he got personally attacked. 

"WARDEN! YOU WILL CONTROL YOUR DEVIL OF A BROTHER THIS INSTANT OR I WILL ORDER HIS EXECUTION."

"You will do no such thing, even if I should fail to wrangle Emmet. If you even tried you would have more to answer to than a Pokémon Battle with me. Emmet, my dear baby brother, please calm down. Why on Earth did you do that? Please, help me understand."

Not taking his eyes off his enemy, Emmet reached up and clung to Ingo's arm with one hand. He could hear the pleading tone Ingo was using, it was the same one he always used when he was upset with Emmet, but trying his best not to show it because he wanted to try to understand his little brother's perspective to better understand his reasons for causing a situation.

Ingo was always so adult like that, so compassionate and understanding. It never failed to take the edge off of Emmet's more robotically driven outbursts.

"Adh told me what he said. He insulted you. Called you an alien and an outsider despite your time here and all you did for these people. He hates you Ingo. He spoke like a racist but he clearly holds ill thoughts and feelings toward you personally. He is abusing his power against us, so I was attempting to prove who was truly stronger to force him into submission. It seems to be all he understands and respects."

After a tense moment of silence, Ingo sagged against him, burying his face in Emmet's short hair.

"I see, you were upset that he insulted me and you were acting to protect me. Thank you Emmet, it is very kind of you to worry for me and wish to protect me like that."

"Of course Ingo, the two of us are a two car train. We take care of each other."

" However, I was doing fine handling it on my own. He had one Pokémon left for me to defeat, you did not need to take matters into your own hands. It may have just ruined everything, he could throw you in prison for this."

Emmet leaned his head back, forcing Ingo to remove his face from his hair, making eye contact with a light grin Emmet cut him off.

"You wouldn't let him."

"Yes, you are right, I would sooner run away with you than let him take you from me. But that is not the point Emmet. No matter how much words hurt us, we are not to strike back with our fists. I have told you this before. It is best to prove them wrong, to rise above it all and not lash out in hurt or anger."

"Yes, I am Emmet, I know. But I figured I could get a couple good shots in for you before you said not to, since you would never do it for yourself."

Ingo sighed heavily, sinking into his brother's back some more as Emmet reached up to knock the cap from his head and run his fingers through his older brother's hair.

"Aheam, Warden Ingo, are you and the Commander planning to finish your battle? I have to do some maintenance on the field as soon as you two are done, so if you're not gonna finish, then I'd like to get to it sooner rather than later, ya know?"

Snapping his head up to make eye contact with the woman, Ingo cleared his throat.

"Ah, yes, apologies Zisu. I am still quite fine with finishing our match if Kamado is. I will even allow him to heal his Golem to make up for the interference if he would like to do so."

The Commander glared at the men on the ground, locked around each other as they were, before huffing out a gruff "Very well." in response as he moved to apply some potions to his Golem.

"Emmet, I truly do appreciate you trying to look out for me in your own way, but please do not punch or leap at him again. The sentiment alone is enough to soothe any aches his words may cause, I do not want you getting hurt on my behalf, ever. Nor do I want you hurting others on my behalf. Okay?"

Emmet sighed, signaling to Ingo that he had his agreement, or as close to it as he would get anyway. As the two pulled each other up to their feet and turned to face each other, Emmet noticed the faint line of blood trailing out of his nose.

"Ingo. You are bleeding." 

Reaching a hand up to cup his older brother's cheek to keep him from moving, his other hand rose to prod at the injured nose.

"Yes, Kamado may be a weak man in many ways, but he certainly isn't weak in that area, nor does he pull his punches it seems. Fear not, I do not believe it is broken, it probably looks worse than it feels."

"You should still get it looked at brother. You said Dawn broke her arm here and had to see a nurse, Plusle was it?"

"Pesselle."

"Mm. Yes, that."

Ingo chuckled fondly at his brother's blatant lack of care toward anyone other than Ingo himself, reaching up to rub Emmet's head affectionately before stooping down to retrieve his own hat.

"Yes, well, I will do so only after I have secured victory for this match. Until then, it will just have to wait. She will most likely just recommend I ice it anyway."

Emmet hummed, eyes sliding shut as he bounced over to stay one step behind his brother, deftly retrieving his own hat and coat from Ash with a small murmur of "Thanks." as he followed his twin.

"Now then, where were we Kamado?"

As the battle started up again, Emmet remained right by his brother's side, hands clasped behind his back with a content smile. Even the stinging in his cheek that would surely brusie did not detract from the high he was riding.

The second that the battle ended with Golem collapsing and Tangrowth rushing over to wrap Ingo in a big hug, Emmet began clapping and congratulating his brother earnestly. Smiling giddily like a child the whole time, even when Kamado came over and begrudgingly extended a hand to Ingo.

"You won. I am a man of my word. I will honor our agreement. So either keep that feral twin of yours in line, or get him out of my village ."

Ingo thanked the man, agreeing to do his best to reign Emmet in, before relaying the news to said twin. Emmet cheered half heartedly, he didn't really care one way or the other. If Kamado broke his word, then he would answer to Emmet. This man didn't matter, he was long dead in their time. And Emmet didn't care to play nice with a rotten dead man that he didn't like.

He made that point evident with a harsh knee to the other man's gut, causing said man to sputter, clutch his gut and double over, nearly dropping to his knees before he reared back and socked Emmet in the gut, earning a his like a steam train but not forcing him to double over or even cling to himself. Emmet refused to give him the satisfaction. 

This brought savage grin to Kamado's face to match Emmet's own, both men's eyes gleaming devilishly. 

"EMMET! What did we just get through discussing not 10 minutes ago?!"

Spinning around delighted, Emmet held up both hands beside his head, palms open as he grinned at his brother.

"But Ingo. I did not use my hands. I am Emmet, and you only made me promise not to punch or tackle him to the ground again. You said nothing about kicking or using my knees."

Ingo only sighed, fingers rubbing the side of his head as if to stave off a migraine.

" Yes, but I also told you not to attack him for me. I won, and he agreed to uphold the deal, you did not need to strike him."

"Oh yes, I am aware. But that one was for me , not you . As you said, you can take care of yourself, you obviously do not need me to fight your battles for you. However, I do not care much for this man and wanted him to know that. You can tell him I said this and that was the reason for the knee. Or say it was for my beloved Niece. Either way, I believe I deserved one shot for all he put this family through. Honestly, I would not be surprised if Ms. Johanna wanted to take a crack at him herself."

In response to such a large, bright and honest smile Ingo couldn't help but relent, even if the smile was a tad strained. So the man fisted his hand in the white collared coat and pulled him back behind himself and cleared his throat.

"Emmet wishes for me to translate. He says that strike was for what you did to his precious Niece and that you had best prepare yourself for what her mother might do to you in the near future."

Kamado gave a soft and low growl, not dissimilar to a hum of acknowledgement, savage smirk still on his face as he and Emmet continued their glaring contest. Until his eyes blinked and widened in recognition.

"Wait one moment, Warden did you say his Niece?"

"I did."

"I have not met this man's Niece. I was not even aware you had a child. Or do you simply happen to have another sibling somewhere that has children? Regardless, I have not done anything wrong to any children, so I believe he is mistak-"

"Akari. His Niece is Akari."

That gave Kamado pause. Blinking and rubbing his stomach with a hand unconsciously.

"I see. I am surprised to hear this then, Warden. If you truly did claim the girl as your own, then why are you not the one striking me? Are you simply too scared? Or perhaps too weak?"

Ingo sighed, crossing his arms behind his back as he considered the man's words.

"It is not as if the urge to do so has not come to me before. I simply cannot bring myself to do anything that would cause Lady Irida and the rest of the clan any trouble. As I am a Warden of the Pearl Clan, any move I make will reflect on the clan itself. If I should end up attacking you, it will be considered tantamount to the Pearl Clan attacking you, and thus would embroil both the Galaxy folk and Pearl Clan in a war. Lady Irida was kind enough to take me in when I was lost and had nothing, I would never think to do anything that would put her in a difficult position. But aside from that, I am not a particularly violent person either. I believe it best to treat others with kindness, and if I acted out, especially after you already expressed your distaste for my heritage, then it would only worsen your already poor views of my people. I would not wish to prove you right, I would rather you see the error of your ways and give the next lady or fellow of my kind some basic respect and allow them to prove what kind of person they are rather than you judging them off their heritage alone."

Ingo took a moment to let his words sink in, seeing Kamado glare at the ground cough, before continuing.

"But, Emmet holds no such affiliations to the Pearl Clan currently, nor does he have the same ideals as I do. So he believes it is safe for him to act as he pleases without endangering anyone other than himself. Misguided as he may be since we are a two car train and his actions do indeed still affect me ."

The white clad twin seemed to be feeling cheeky, as he had the gall to not only not even feign sheepishness, but outright grinned in an even more chipper fashion when the other two men looked at him.

"Yes, well, I suppose I can at the very least, respect his show of determination and endurance. I may be more of a grappler than a heavy hitter, but I still pack plenty more muscle for hitting someone than your brother does. Yet he didn't even seem to register my jabs, let alone buckle to them. So I shall let him off the hook for his assault on my person and allow you two to leave the village without any imprisonment or penalties."

Ingo instantly perked up at that, his gloom and apprehensions vanishing for the most part and allowing him to stand straighter.

"Thank you Kamado. If it means anything, I suppose I can at least respect that you are a man of your word. I shall relay the information to Emmet, in the meantime, do you think you can send word to Lord Adaman to summon him to the village? I believe it best if all important persons are present for the strategy meeting to follow."

The gruff man nodded stiffly, hand reaching up to stroke the ends of his mustache.

"Ah, yes, of course. I suppose a meeting with the clans is the only natural next course of action. Very well then, I will send a message to the Diamond Clan Settlement immediately and have their leader come here at once. However, I have no idea how long it will take him to get here. Even if I say it is urgent and he summons Warden Mai's Lord for a ride, he still has to come all the way from the Mirelands. We might all be waiting a while."

Ingo nodded, his brain pondering that truth while his hand responded to his thinking reflexively. One arm wrapped behind his back, the other lifted to let a hand rub at a nonexistent goatee, until his brother nudged him and he noticed what he was doing. Clearing his throat in embarrassment, he wrapped both arms tightly behind his back.

"That is true. But if you send Captain Cyllene's Abra with the message, then he can ride back with Abra in no time at all! The Abra line is notoriously good with instantaneous teleportation."

Kamado hummed, turning his back and already beginning to walk away as he called out to respond.

"Suggestion noted, Warden. I will send Cyllene to get you once he is here. Until then, I recommend you round up all of your fellow travelers, I'm sure he will want to meet them all, and I do not much care for the idea of them roaming free in my village unwatched."

"Very well."

With the conversation seemingly over, Irida rushed over to place a hand on Ingo's shoulder and give him a nod of reassurance which he returned with his own sure nod, before she began running after Kamado. 

What that nod was in reassurance of , Ingo had no idea. Perhaps to console him for Kamado's behavior and words, or perhaps to assure him that she would have words with the man or simply watch him and keep him from doing anything too crazy. 

Whatever it may have meant, Ingo was grateful for it all the same. Now all he had to do was tell Emmet what was going on, and round up the others. Simple as that. The real work would come later when he had to explain everything to everyone all over again, before he could even begin explaining what he thought they needed to do. Sensing the tension in his brother, Emmet spoke up.

"Ingo? Are you still mad about me punching and kicking him? Because he was lucky it was only my fists and knee. What I truly wanted to do was run him down with the train from my Doubles Line."

"Emmet, my dearest younger brother, I know you only refrained from that action because you physically could not partake in it. But please do not attempt to find a substitute for your train to hit him with. He has been kind enough to allow you off Scott free for your previous actions, do not tempt the fates."

"Ah, a shame. I was almost hoping he would raise issue with my actions against him. Then I would have a valid reason for scouring these lands for a substitute for a train to run him down with."

For the hundredth time today, Ingo sighed, face buried in his hands as Emmet chuckled.

"Nevermind that, we do not have time to talk about hypothetical vehicular homicides, Kamdao is bring the Diamond Clan leader here to discuss our situation and form a plan for getting us back home. So it is our job to round up the others and bring them to Kamado's office. Come Ash, Emmet! We must find the others, I will check the fields and Prelude Beach, you two should stick together and search the shopping district. After we have rounded everyone up, our destination is set for the Galaxy Team Leader's office, ALL ABOOOOARD!!!!"

_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Ingo.

Ingo and Dawn. There was just so much of them coating the room that, no matter where she looked, it was impossible to ignore it. Even down to the smallest details, like the loose strands of navy and silver hairs that had yet to be swept out. Or the plain futon side by side with one that had plenty of colors and patterns adorning its comforter topping. 

She already knew it had been her daughter's lodgings when she was outside its walls, before she ever even opened the door, but seeing it just made it even more real . Her daughter, her sweet baby girl had lived here , by herself for a while before finding the man who took her on as his own and took care of her. She had to sleep in a drafty old room on the nothing but a futon on the cold, hardwood flooring. 

She'd had to cook for herself over an open fire instead of having an electric stove or an oven. Heck, her door was nothing more than a flimsy screen, nothing that would withstand a single kick from any person, let alone the Pokémon proof grade doors they had in their time. Her child had been forced to rough it in such subpar conditions and had not only survived, but come out stronger and kinder for it. 

Oh, her poor baby. She had never anticipated something like this happening to her, not even when she sent her out into the world on her own when she was 10 years old. She couldn't help running her hands over the futon that her daughter had used, lifting the thick blanket to search for any remnants of her daughter's typical perfume, only to find nothing as the girl clearly hadn't had access to any sprays here.

Johanna couldn't help but tear up at the lack of the scent she had come to associate with her child, even if it had only been momentary, it would have been a nice comfort. 

So wrapped up in her thoughts, she didn't even notice the door sliding open.

"Ah, there you are! Pardon the intrusion Ms. Johanna, but we are all being summoned to the Commander's office for a briefing that requires all of us to be present. Lord Adaman and Lady Irida will be joining us there, so it would also be a pertinent opportunity to ask Lord Adaman to shelter- Ms Johanna? Is everything alright?"

As the woman turned to glance at him, the conductor could see tears threatening to throw themselves over the cliff of her eyelids, considering ending their tiny lives in a single splash of a second. The female suddenly shook her head, pulling the comforter closer for a fraction of a minute, then thrusting it out to him in invitation.

An invitation that had Ingo puzzled, but saw him removing his shoes quickly to pad further into the room to join her and accept the offered object. Once in his own hands, his eyes narrowed in a calm fondness.

"Ah, yes, this was Akari's- Dawn's comforter that she used with her futon. I see you have been exploring our, er, her dwellings. I suppose the sorry state of it would be enough to drive any respectable mother to tears."

Suddenly, the woman threw herself to her feet and screamed.

"That's not it! Not all of it, anyway. It's just, oh, despite how terrible this place is, it still looks lived in. Like she could walk through that door any moment safe and sound. If I really try, I can even picture it. But the whole illusion is broken by this one single comforter . It doesn't smell like her, the only scent there is something undesirable, like dust or something. It doesn't hold her scent anymore, it isn't warm, and it puts the nail in the coffin that she hasn't been here for a long time and won't be here again anytime soon. Why? Because we are stuck in the past, while she is years in the future, all alone and being used by some evil man."

As much as Ingo wanted to comfort the woman, he truly wasn't used to physically doing so for anyone other than Emmet, Dawn and rarely Elesa. So, instead he set himself on another track that he hoped would lead to the same destination. He narrowed his eyes, set his frown and lifted the dusty comforter high, shaking out the particles before bringing it to his nose and taking a deep whiff of it.

And suddenly, he was brought back. To a time where things were simpler, to a time where things were not as high stakes and filled with worry over his adopted daughter being so far out of his reach. To a time where instead the two sat side by side for dinner, chatting well into the night, playing games and eventually going to sleep side by side. If there weren't bigger matters at hand, he may have allowed himself to sink further into this reminiscent serenity. He may have even wept himself.

But instead, he gave the woman a serious look and spoke in a carefully controlled tone, doing his best not to be too loud or expressive.

"Ms. Johanna, I am not sure what you are talking about. This comforter does indeed still smell like your daughter. It is faint, but it is there, I'm sure it is only hard for you to see because you are not used to having to look for it, and you do not know where to look. But fret not, because you have not one, but 2 skilled conductors able and willing to guide you down these foreign rails, if you only let us. Just like our hopes that we may return to her and see her safe again soon. It may not seem like an easy train to catch, but I assure you, with hard work, determination and some strategic thinking, we can and will make it back to her side. Dawn is a strong girl. I have no doubts in my mind or heart that she will be able to hold out until we return to her. Have faith, and trust in the girl you raised. She will be okay, we will make sure of it."

Johanna only cried harder at his words, wiping away tears and sniffling as she attempted to find her voice again.

"..How can you be so sure ?"

With a rueful smile, the man responded immediately.

"Because no matter what Arceus throws at her, she always makes it out on top. Even if none of us ever wanted it, she has a pretty impressive track record, more than proving herself on multiple occasions, even when her life is on the line, she presses through like an engine with its brakes severed. As much as I truly do worry for her and wish to coddle and protect her from everything, a part of me must admit that she likely doesn't need it. I don't think anything can stop her, especially when she is acting in the best interests of others."

"Dawny always was the type to speak her mind and stand up for others. She always fights her hardest for the things she believes in and cares about." She said, a pained laugh leaving her as she wiped away the last of her tears.

"Okay, let's go meet up with the others. The sooner we get this meeting over with, the sooner I-, we will be reunited with Dawn, right?"

Ingo carefully laid the comforter back out, smoothing it over before standing and clutching his hat.

"Correct. Emmet and Ash should have already found the others by now, this was not my first stop admittedly. It most likely should have been, but for some reason or another, I thought I might find you at the beach instead. Come, let us move with speed, not haste, to Commander Kamado's office. I'm sure the others are all waiting for us."

"Sure. But just so we're clear, I am planning to have words with this Kamado as soon as our business is through."

Ingo chuckled, leading the way over to the drop off and slipping easily into his shoes before pulling the door open and gesturing for her to go through it first.

"I see. Would it do anything to change your mind if I told you that his acceptance toward all of us is hesitant at best, and Emmet has already put further strains on it by physically tackling the man, punching him repeatedly in the face, and giving him a swift and harsh knee to the gut?"

Johanna only chuckled back, smiling with all the intimidation of a mama Ursaring.

"I would like to say no, but I suppose I can settle for just having plain words with the man if your brother already put him through the wringer. It's good to know she has such a devoted uncle and father looking out for her. Even to the point of beating her mother to the punch, literally!"

"Yes, well, I'm sure the all encompassing fury is even more intense to have actually birthed and raised the girl, then to hear about what happened to her. If you are able to refrain from doing Kamado physical harm, then you are far stronger emotionally than Emmet. If it would cheer you up, you may tell him I said that."

The woman chuckled into a closed hand, following the man into the tallest building in the village.

"Oh, don't say that. You and your brother are just wired a bit different than most. There's nothing wrong with owning your emotions."

"Yes, but when those emotions only cause trouble for others, including you yourself, it would be best to either hold them in or express them in a healthier way. Not act out physically in a fit or rage like a child."

"Oh? That's surprising, I thought you and your brother adored each other. I didn't think I would ever hear one of you say anything illl of the other."

As they began climbing the stairs, Ingo hummed.

"Oh, we do. Certainly, Emmet is the most important thing in my life. I have always put him first, for as long as I can remember. Likewise, Emmet has always done his best for me as well, in his own ways. But that does not mean he never acts like a brat, and that also does not exempt me from calling him out for such behavior. I have mostly just given up on getting upset about such things and instead focus on preventing said actions from being repeated wherever possible."

Johanna burst into full on laughter before Ingo even finished speaking. Despite his lack of expression in his face, his voice was definitely expressive. His tone betraying easily just how tired and irritated he got with his younger twin sometimes while recalling the memories. Yet, beneath it all, there was an underlying and undeniably deep fondness.

"Well, lightning never strikes twice, right? I'm sure even your brother wouldn't risk jeopardizing all of our safety just to get some payback. At least, not again , you two are both smart about your own things and you seem to trust each other a and respect each other a lot. If you told him how dangerous it was to do something, then he would respect your word, wouldn't he?"

Ingo gave a light chuckle, smiling softy as he begans climbing the final set of stairs.

"Truthfully? It depends on if he could find a loophole or not to exploit. But for the most part, yes."

"Then you just need to have faith in your brother, believe in him as he believes in you."

"Yes, you are right. I'm sure Emmet understands the gravity of the predicament we find ourselves in, and he wouldn't do anything that would put me or our passengers in any further danger. He has never taken on any foes that he was not confident he could beat before, so surely Emmet wouldn't do so no-EMMET! WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED TO YOU?!"

The second silver eyes locked on the battered yet smiling face of his twin, Ingo practically flew up the remaining steps. Hands flying to lift his brother's face and tilt his head in different angles to better see the bruises and bloody bits.

"Hello Ingo! Look! Look! Now my coat is just as torn up as yours was when you returned! Now yours has a match again!"

The younger began twirling his coat around, lifting it like a woman would lift hir skirt to perform a curtsy. Only for Ingo to slap his hands down and begin frantically tugging the cost off of him. 

"LOOK AT YOU! YOU ARE COCERED IN BRUISES AND BLOOD! Good lord Emmet, what in the name of Arceus did you do ?! I sent you and Ash to find the young Misses Zoey and May, how could you have possibly sustained this much damage in the short time I was not at your side?! Oh goodness, Ash and the others, are they alright??"

Spinning around, Ingo found Ash raising his hands placatingly, small cuts adorning his fingers and arms, but otherwise unharmed.

"We're, fine. Your brother was the one on the front lines, Pikachu and I only jumped in to help him when things got serious. And May and Zoey only sent their Blaziken and Glameow in to stop us all from fighting."

Ingo nodded twice, far too quickly to have been him simply accepting the passed along knowledge and was more than likely just nodding as a means of burning off energy from his adrenaline spike at seeing his brother so banged up.

"And how did this happen exactly?"

"Oh! Well you see brother! It is a rather funny story actually."

"No, not you. I would like to hear it from Ash. What did Emmet do this time?"

The man in white seemed to deflate a bit, making a tsk sound as his smile tensed. Ash himself seemed a bit uncomfortable as well, glancing between the two men as well as Dawn's mother, hand scratching the back of his head as he finally spoke up.

"Uhh, well, you see, we were looking for May and Zoey like you said and we ended up at this place called the Wallflower or something, and the girls were having a hard time getting the guy there to give them food, and we tried talking to him to get him to give them food, and us too, because Pikachu and I are starving . But the guy said he doesnt serve anyone who doesnt work for the Galaxy Team or something and we tried to get him to ease up on that rule, but he said none of our money was worth anything to him anyway and then he threatened us and told us to leave or else he would get rid of us, and one thing led to another from there. He told us that he was Kamado's right hand and that it was his job to do the dirty work to protect Kamado and the village and he said his name was Beni or something and then your brother looked furious and dove at him and they ended up fighting and Beni had a kinfe or something and I ended up sending Pikachu in to batle his Gallade that he tossed out to attack your brother. I tried to pull them apart but it didnt work. The girls tried to help too, but then your brother threw out an Eelektross and it didnt seem like anything was gonna stop them until one of them dropped, but then this guy in blue showed up and that Beni guy backed down and your brother got the upper hand and the blue guy helped me pull him off of Beni eventually. Then he brought us here."

"The Wallflower?? Beni? No. Emmet. You didn't. You physically attacked Beni as well?! Even after I told you no more punching, or kicking, or kneeing, or tackling?! The man is a ninja Emmet! Akari told us that. And you still decided to throw yourself at him?!"

"He is an old man Ingo. Ninja or not, I felt I could handle him. And look! I did! See? I am still standing, nothing broken and no limbs severed. My cab is in perfect working order, minimal maintenance required. Besides, you said no more doing those things to Kamado . You said nothing of Beni."

Ingo sighed, rubbing his hands down his face for a moment, before thundering down the rails toward his brother, hands landing on his brother's shoulders and squeezing harshly until he saw Emmet wince.

"Ingo? Y-you are squeezing a tad tight there brother, are you alright?"

"Am I alright? Look at you ! Why do you insist on this crusade of vengeance? We have been through this! Your pain is mine, just as much as mine is yours, if not more. I do not like seeing you hurt. But even more than that, I do not like you endangering this entire train and is passengers. Attacking anyone in the village is sure to earn the ire of all others in said village. That puts not only you but everyone else who came here with you , in danger."

"B-brother. Your grip."

Shakily reaching up a hand, Emmet tapped out a message on his brother's knuckles.

You're hurting me. Loosen up.

Immediately, Ingo released him, flinching back as if he'd been burned, only for Emmet to chase him and wrap him in a hug.

"I am Emmet, and I am sorry, I reallllly am. But I keep my word. Kamado and Beni. Those were the men who hurt my niece. And I said if given the chance, I would get justice for her, whether anyone asked me to or not. We protect all passengers who board our vessels. If anything happened here, I would make sure to protect everyone no matter what!"

"Emmet, I appreciate that you are only doing your best to look out for this three car train, and show your dedication to it. But I am afraid your reckless need for payback has put our current passengers in unnecessary additional danger. Such actions are not fit for a conductor. Therefore, I will be taking full and sole charge for the remainder of this journey. You are hereby demoted to motorman. You may drive this train, but only under my instruction and supervision."

" Ingo ."

A sharp nudge got Emmet to release him so he could raise a hand to tell the younger twin to stay silent. The black clad Conductor's other hand reaching up to squeeze the brim of his cap and pull it down to cover his eyes.

"Absolutely not, Emmet. Apologies, but the passengers safety comes first, and you failed to perform all relevant safety checks before disembarking from the station. Hisui is not a forgiving place. Akari and I have both told you this fact many a time. Yet you failed to take it into consideration before acting both with Kamado and now Beni as well. We will talk about this later. For now, Miss Zoey, would you kindly babysit my little brother and take him downstairs to see Nurse Pesselle? I trust you will not give him any leeway or allow him to get into any trouble."

The teen flinched, eyes widening in surprise.

"Uh, sure thing."

Ingo only nodded. 

"Great, as soon as he has been cleaned up, please come right back here. We will be in a meeting, so please enter quietly when you return."

" Ingo, surely you don't mean to put a teenager in charge of me. I am Emmet! I am perfectly capable of getting myself downstairs to see the nurse, but I do not need to see a nurse."

"Are you, Emmet? Because I do not feel as sure about that as you seem to be. We are in the past. Any cut, no matter how deep, is easily infected. And yes, I am assigning you a sitter while I am unable to watch you myself, because you have not proven trustworthy of being on your own. How do I know you will not go running back to harass Beni again? Or do something else to recklessly endanger your cab?"

This time, Emmet stomped his foot, not in a pouty child fashion, but more a means of releasing energy in a healthy way without hurting anyone, as well as calling attention to himself. Silver eyes narrowing as his smile slipped into a neutral line. Not quite a frown, but easily a far cry from the grin it usually held itself to. 

"Brother, that is not fair. You are being unfair. I do not like it. Please stop ."

"I do not think I am. Prove to me that you are worthy of entrusting passengers safety to you, and I will reinstate your position. Until then, I have a meeting to attend, so please go to your post, quietly ."

Emmet's face scrunched up, the man huffing and wringing his hands, teeth knashing together as he took in and let out breaths repeatedly.

" Big brother - I am fine . If you think I am bad, you should see what I did to Beni. He was in a far worse state than I am."

"You are NOT helping your case Emmet! Go!"

At the raised tone directed at him, Emmet flinched back, hands flying up momentarily to squeeze his ears as he cowered. Whinging pitifully before standing tall and screaming back as loud as he could, which still paled in comparison to his brother's sharp and clear voice.

"FINE! I am Emmet! I do not need your permission for anything! I can safely conduct myself through these lands! I am sure Akari will appreciate my deeds when I tell her upon returning to our home station. Until then, if you want to be mad at me, then I will be mad at you too! So do not speak to me or touch me or look at me again until I have given you permission!"

Storming off in a huff, Emmet's stomping feet sounded all the way down the stairs, Zoey quickly rushing off after him, Johanna watching in shock and concern the whole time, until things went quiet. Once silence filled the room, she moved over to face Kamado. 

"You are Kamado then? The one in charge here? The one who not only banished my daughter, but sent that Beni man after her life."

Kamado glanced at the woman curiously, an eyebrow raised as if to daring her to try something.

"I am."

"I don't know how you can sleep at night. Knowing what you did, what could have happened not only to my baby girl, but to every single soul in this entire village if your ninja had succeeded in taking her life. Even now, your decisions effect more than just you, the ones you force to carry out your plans, and those your plans are being enacted on. Did you just see what your decision did? It just got your ninja hurt, as well as these two fine young men. I hope this whole thing has taught you to be a more level headed leader, if not for the sake of you and your group, then at least for every man, woman, and child that calls your village home and trusts you to look out for them. I will warn you right here and now, I have not and never will forgive you for what you've done. But I will not slap you or ask any of my Pokémon to attack you while i am here, you can thank Mr. Ingo and his brother for that. I understand you were only doing what you thought was right in the moment, but if you ever do anything to hurt my baby again, no Pokémon that exists now or in the future will be able to stop me from getting to you, nor will they be able to fix what I do to you. I shudder to think what your own mother would think seeing you now and knowing the things you've done."

With that said, she gave him one final glare, before rushing after Zoey to help her with Emmet. If that man was really strong enough to bruise up Kamado like that, then that teen alone wouldn't be able to force him into anything.

Clearing his throat, Kamado addressed the room.

"Well then, with that familial squabble out of the way, shall we start our meeting now?"

May and Ash glanced at each other in concern, obviously unsure if they should begin without the others or not. Irida and Adaman doing the same.

"Yes. Let's. We have much to discuss." Said Ingo. Eyes hard and jaw set as he stared head on at Kamado.

The gruff man nodded in return.

"Very well. Please explain once more, your situation, what led you here and what you believe we need to do to aid you all in your quest to return to your own homes."

So while the elder twin launched into a lengthy discussion with Kamado and the clan leaders, being backed up by May and Ash where they could, Emmet found himself pouting as he sat on a stool letting Pesselle fuss over him. His arms crossed and eyes narrowed in anger. Hissing and growling when the woman stabbed over a particularly tender spot.

"If you're so mad about it, why did you come down here? I doubt we could have made you come here on our own." Said the fiery teen.

"Because Ingo told me to come here. I may be mad at him for being such an ungrateful jerk, but he is still my big brother that I trust and respect with my entire being. So if he tells me to do something, I do it."

Johanna hummed, padding over to rub the man's back in comfort, only for him to flinch away harshly and apologize airily as he did so. 

Ah, right, he and his brother both preferred to only be touched by each other or someone very close to them. Well then,if human touch wouldn't do it, perhaps a Pokémon would.

Fishing out her Glameow's rarely used ball, the woman quietly released the feline and pointed to the man's lap. The cat grinned lazily, giving a soft trill in response, before hopping up onto the man's legs, circling around and laying down to purr itself into a nap.

The brief surprise that flashed momentarily in the empty Grey eyes disappeared almost immediately, as he began to hug and pet the creature absent-mindedly, causing Johanna to smile warmly, she would definitely have to give that lazy little furball of hers some treats when they got home.

"I see, you and your brother really trust each other that much, huh? You must really love one another for that level of trust."

Emmet blinked in shock, as if he could not believe that his love and trust towards his brother were brought into question at all. 

"Of course. I am Emmet, Ingo's younger twin brother. He has looked out for me since I was born! Ingo always does what's best for me, even when another option is available that would be best for himself. We may share the same job and title, but I verrrry much look up to him and respect him. So if he gives an order, I take that order verrry seriously. Even if I am not happy about it."

Johanna hummed, taking note of how sad and tired the man looked. It seemed as if reminding him of his older brother's love and emotion to him had taken most of the anger and adrenaline right out of his sails and left him only feeling sluggish and filled with sorrow.

The mother couldn't help but feel like looking out for this younger man, call it her motherly instincts. So she motioned for Zoey, who had previously been leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, to come over to Emmet's side to speak to him while she met with Pesselle on the side to speak with her.

"How is he, nurse? Does it look like he needs to stay or can he go?"

"There is no need for titles, just Pesselle is fine, thank you. As for the man you brought in. I would say he is fine to leave, I worry for the deeper kunai wounds reopening if he pushes himself too hard though, and he seems to be the kind of person who will refuse to take it easy and will only throw himself back into the thick of things. So if you think you can convince him to lay in one of the empty beds and rest for a bit, then please feel free to try."

Johanna thanked the woman, nodding at her that she would do just that, and headed over to the swaying man. Leaning down to eye level, she spoke gently.

"The kind nurse said she believes it is best that you rest in one of those beds for a spell. Do you think you can make it over to one of them on your own? Or should I help you?"

"No."

"No you don't think you can? Or no you don't want me to help you?"

" No, I will not be resting my cab here. I am Emmet, I am fine . I am only here because Ingo wanted my wounds treated. They have been treated. Our next destination is back to the meeting."

Zoey scoffed, rolling her eyes at the man and drawing his own to hers.

"This is ridiculous. Just get in the bed. I doubt your brother would want you back there if you're better off here. You just got done telling us how much you respect his authority or whatever. Are you really going to make us go get him just so he can tell you to get in the bed himself ?"

Emmet scowled, waving an arm at his side in frustration as he worked out a response.

"I do not want to talk to him right now. We are still mad at each other."

"Yeah, well, I bet he'll be even madder if you don't get in that bed and make me go up there to interrupt his meeting and drag him down here."

Hissing angrily, the man jolted unsteady to his feet, swaying and glaring at a smirking Zoey the whole time.

"Look at that, barely on your feet, and you still deny needing to rest."

"I do not want to sleep in some foreign place. This place is old, and dirty, and unknown to me. I am already making concessions about having to stay here at all, but I will not sleep in an unguarded room surrounded by sick strangers."

"Then I'll stay and guard you. I'm sure once the meeting is over, May or Ash or your brother will come looking for us when they notice we haven't returned. Until then, you can get your body the rest it needs. Ms. Johanna will probably stay too, if you ask her nicely, you grouchy old man."

"I am not old. My hair has always been this color, and no offense, but coordinators aren't the strongest of trainers for guard duty. But even if they were, you have misunderstood my point. This room is big, and open, there are only thin wall dividers between me and everyone else. I am Emmet and I am not fond of the idea of putting myself in a vulnerable state when in a dangerous place surrounded by strangers and germs and diseases."

"Well then, you shouldn't have gotten yourself injured in the first place. Just get in the bed and act your age!"

"No!"

As the teen moved in to crowd him, Emmet swung, not aiming at her, but aiming to keep her at an arm's distance, shakily stepping back in a rush as he panted, eyes wildly panicked as they scanned the room for other threats and finding a shocked nurse and concerned mother.

"Mr. Emmet, please ,  just calm down and take a seat at the very least. If you would like, I'm sure Glameow would be more than happy to keep you company in the bed."

"NO! I will not sleep here ! I will not sleep somewhere foreign and dirty and scary ! Not without-! without…"

The man began heaving, glancing sharply to the side when he heard a clattering noise. His eyes met with a nervous nurse who had just released an intimidating looking Croagunk. Taking a step back, he pushed the two females behind himself. 

Even if he was worried about them grabbing him and forcing him into the bed, he was still in charge of their safety. Just as he began to reach for the nearest Pokéball on his hip, that being Galvantula's, he heard the woman shout something and felt each of his arms being restrained. Betrayed and horrified, he glanced at the two females and asked what they thought they were doing, that now was not the time when there was a threat right in front of them.

It was then he felt a sharp jab in his stomach, the last of his energy being sapped away with the shot, leaving him to collapse his entire weight on the 3 females who crowded and rushed him into a bed. All he could do was whine feebly in protest. 

"No. I don't want this. Stop. Stop it now. Please . I don't want it…*hah hah* I want.."

"To go home? Yeah, we know, we all do. Once you wake up, we're gonna need your help to do just that, so get some sleep so you can heal already."

"Zoey, please. What is it that you want? Glameow?"

Hearing its name, the cat gave a sharp cry and hopped up onto the bed, circling around before curling into the man's side, feeling his racing heart begin to slow as his eyes, filled with tears, began to droop shut. 

"I want…Ingo."

Johanna couldn't help but coo sympathetically at the man, reaching to remove his hat for him and place it on the bedside table. Once she was sure he was asleep, and the nurse ensured her that the Drain Punch hadn't done any additional damage and had only sapped the last of his energy, she instructed Zoey to remain with him while she went to fetch his brother.

By the time she arrived upstairs, she managed to catch the end of Ingo explaining something.

"I believe the man who has her is simply using her to control Arceus until he himself can figure out a way to do that. And the Red Chain that was fashioned into the Origin Ball seems like the key to doing just that, if you ask me. Therefore, I humbly request that I be given possession of the ball for the time being! If I have it, then there is no possibility of him getting it."

Irida tilted her head as she raised a brow at him.

"But, I don't get it Warden, why would you having it be any different than any of us having it."

"I cannot say."

"You mean you don't know? Or it is something… classified ." Asked Adaman.

"The 2nd one sir."

Adaman and Irida glanced at each other seriously before nodding.

"Okay then. Luckily for you, neither of us are using the ball. After Akari handed them off to us, we released them. You know how we feel about Pokéballs in general. But keeping our revered deities trapped in those things is just blasphemous. " Cried Irida, indignation dripping from her body language and verbal one.

Adaman chuckled, hand sliding into his pocket as he smiled widely.

"Yeah, they just aren't our style. We'll then, that's settled, the empty ball is yours Warden! Just don't go using it to try to catch Lord Dialga again." Came the cheery jest from Adaman.

"Or Lord Palkia." Came the serious reply from Irida.

Both were clan leaders, yet they were so different in the way they held themselves and spoke to others. Bowing with a grateful tiny smile, Ingo thanked the two, receiving hums and dismissive waves as if it were nothing.

"The only problem is, I don't have it on me right now. So you're going to have to pick it up when you all drop by to pick up your clan tunics."

"That is fine. I believe that settles that matter. Now we need only concern ourselves with gaining the favor of the gods to get us home."

"Yes." Agreed the pink leader. "That will be the difficult part. I believe they only took so quickly to Akari because she was brought here by Arceus by its own choosing, and she was able to conquer and catch them and quell the frenzies. I do not know if they will even accept to meet with you."

Ingo nodded, arms clasped behind his back as he stood at attention.

"That shouldn't be a problem, Lady Irida. Simply conduct me to them and I will handle the rest!"

"Oh yeah? What makes you so sure of that?" Asked the blue one.

"While I was aiding Akari when she was injured, I had plenty of time to ingratiate myself with all of her Pokémon, as did she with mine. I am sure once they see me, they will agree to at least hear me out. And once that has happened, I am even more sure that I will be able to convince them to give me their aid so that I may return to her side to save her."

The others all hemmed and hummed at his words, before nodding in agreement.

"Very well then Warden, Adaman and I will each take you to the best place to call to our lords and we will do what we can to help you convince them that you are worthy of their blessings."

Kamado agreed, but voiced his concerns all the same. "It sounds like a good plan, yet a long one. You will have to ask Captain Cyllene for the help of her Abra again if we want to get this done as quickly as possible. You expressed that time was of the essence for the girl, did you not?"

Raising his hand, Ingo shook his head. 

"There is no need for that. My Alakazam should be able to do the trick well enough once I teach it Teleport. Emmet and I are always well stocked on all the necessary items. If I do not have what I need, I am sure he does."

The man only nodded back.

"Well then! I guess that means our meeting is done! Let me know when you've done what you need to in order to prepare Warden, after that, I'll hitch a ride with you back to the Diamond settlement to get you guys settled in."

"And after that, the remaining members of your group can come and settle in with us Pearl folk for as long as you all remain here."

Suddenly, May spoke up, with a cough into her fist turning the leaders to her.

"So um, which one of you has the Ball exactly? Da-er, Akari told me that she chose one of you to help her, and ended up using the ball on the other one's legen-uh, Lord ."

"Ahem. Mr. Ingo, if this meeting is over, then may I request your aid in the infirmary? Your brother is quite the handful."

Spinning in surprise, everyone stared openly at the woman, Ingo himself blinking a few times before sighing and fixing his hat as he bowed to the others and rushed to her side.

As they left the group, they could hear Adaman and Irida explaining in further detail to May and Ash what exactly had happened with Akari's journey.

"So what did Emmet do this time? He'd better not have attacked Pesselle. She is a good woman, quite strong emotionally, but not a battler."

"She had to sedate him, he was freaking out and causing a scene. He was in danger of reopening his wounds and he refused to rest in the beds."

"Of course. Emmet hates hospitals. I should have thought that she might wish for him to remain there if he went to her. No wonder he did not want to pay her a visit. Very well, we will simply take Emmet back to my abode in the Highlands and allow him to rest there. Alakazam, if you please."

Tossing out the Pokémon in question, Ingo began fishing through his fanny pack like bags on his belt and found a ™ for Teleport, handing it off to the Psychic creature, Ingo continued on, trusting it to follow once it was done. 

"...He was crying for you, you know."

The man jumped, startling the stern look right off his face.

"...He what?"

"He kept complaining over and over about staying here. He said he was already making compromises, but there was one thing he wouldn't give on, one thing he had to have. And he kept whimpering about wanting something, until finally I got it out of him before he passed out. He said he wanted you ."

The man paused his walking entirely, hands raking down over his face as a shuddering sigh escaped him, guilt and concern dripping off of every syllable. 

"Oh, Emmet. My apologies for asking you and the young Miss Zoey to deal with that in my stead, Ms. Johanna. I suppose I was a touch too harsh with him earlier. But I truly saw no other way to get through to him that he was needlessly endangering everyone. We are both very big on safety, you know, so it was just so entirely shocking to me that he was being so reckless, that it shook me to my very core."

The woman only smiled, patting him on the back and feeling him flinch but not shy away from the touch. 

"It's okay, I don't mind. Both of you have done so much for my family, it's about time I return the favor and do something to help yours. All families fight sometimes, but they work through it. And you know, he wasn't even that upset about it. He seemed angry at first, and I'm sure he will still be a bit hurt and mad and keep up that front for a bit. But more than anything, I think he just felt scared and lonely. He was more sad than anything, I think he just wanted you at his side, but he was afraid you didn't want him at yours. That you didn't trust him anymore to be at your side and help you. Your brother is stronger than he looks. All three of us couldn't wrestle him into submission. It took a Drain Punch from a Croagunk to finally take him down. If he didn't respect you and trust you so much that he followed your orders to come here even if he didn't want to, then we never would have gotten him in that bed. Putting him on probation is fine, but go a little easier on him next time, okay? And make sure he knows how you feel about him when he wakes up."

Ingo nodded, scowl set as he swallowed thickly as he resumed walking but with a much more focused and concerned pace rather than the earlier tired and resigned gait. The man didn't seem to know what to say in response to the woman's words, so the two simply lapsed into a peaceful silence as they slid into the room and made it to the younger man's bedside. 

Ingo nodded at Zoey, murmuring his thanks and relieving the girl from her post, immediately taking up his brother's hand in both of his own as he stared unblinkingly at the man now covered in patches and gauze. Johanna placed a hand on Ingo's shoulder, pointing to the nurse and tilting her head in question before pointing to herself. The man blinked in confusion a few times, before understanding lit them up like a light bulb and he nodded back at her, giving a light bow of appreciation. 

The woman only smiled and gave him 2 quick pats before heading over to explain the situation to the woman. Meanwhile, Zoey glanced between the two curiously. Once Pesselle gave the okay to Johanna, she began collecting Emmet's things for him. His hat, coat and Pokéballs that had all been laid on the table beside him. 

This signaled to Ingo that it was time to go, whistling a quick high pitch to call his Alakazam back to his side, Ingo waiting patiently for the Pokémon to come hovering to his side, only for it to choose to teleport to his side instead. 

"Ah, I see you have gotten the hang of it then. Good, great work Alakazam. Do you think you have enough of a grasp on the controls to conduct this train with a group of passengers aboard it?"

The Pokémon gave an enthusiastic cry, receiving a nod in return.

"Bravo! Then we will go collect the others and set out for our next stop."

Ingo quickly pulled the sheets off of his brother, carefully stooping lower and lifting his younger twin as gingerly as he could against his chest, Emmet's head lolling to hit his brother's shoulder as his limbs dangled limply. Not even a few steps later, when Ingo was busy thanking Pesselle for all she had done for his twin, did Emmet lift an arm to clutch his brother's shirt and cling to him in his sleep, murmuring his brother's name upon hearing his own spoken in Ingo's voice.

Ingo hummed, leaning down to whisper comfortingly to the other man, watching his face to make sure he stayed asleep, before he padded out of the room.

"Ms. Johanna, if you would be so kind as to fetch the others from Kamado's office. I would go myself, but I am encumbered at the moment and do not wish to risk jostling my cargo too much, lest he wake up."

"Of course, Zoey, you stay with them, I'll be right back."

As the woman trudged up the long flight of stairs, the teen simply continued to stare openly at the two men. A question in her eyes just waiting to be prompted so she could release it. So, Ingo acquiesced.

"Yes Ms. Zoey? Is there something you need? You appear as though you would like to say something. If you have a question, just ask it."

"Don't you think it's a little strange how close you two are? I mean, I get it, you're twins. But you guys are pretty old to still be this close, aren't you? Most twins go their separate ways when they become adults and they drift apart. But here you are, holding and coddling your brother like you're still kids and he's having a nightmare. People might get the wrong idea, you know? If you keep whispering in his ear, and holding hands and all that."

Ingo hummed, shifting the man in his arms a bit to get a better hold, thumb reaching up to brush his cheek soothingly when the younger male gave a tiny grunt of protest.

"I have already drifted farther from Emmet than I would ever have cared to for one lifetime. We were separated with no chance of reconnecting for years , Ms. Zoey. Emmet does not fare well with separation for long periods of time. We are separate people, but in many ways two sides of the same coin. We can operate independently, but we both function best as a two car train. We both love raising and battling with Pokémon and strong trainers, as well as our shared love for trains. It only makes sense to us to continue to live together and work together. That way we can always have each other's back and split everything. How the world chooses to judge our relationship based upon all that when viewing us is up to them. But I can assure you, Emmet and I are twins, we love each other dearly, but hold no interest in sex or romance, especially with one another. He is my baby brother. I would never do anything so vile to him. It is my very job as his older brother to look out for him, take care of him, guide him and protect him. I would sooner dispatch myself then allow myself to even think to lay a finger on him in any such depraved ways."

As he spoke, Ingo clutched his twin to his chest just a tad tighter, fingers digging into the man's arms and rousing another groan from him, this time managing to get a bleary glare from the man who immediately upon seeing the face that matched his own, widened his eyes in what looked like joy before they narrowed angrily and the wild thrashing began.

"Ah! Emmet! Please! Still your engines! I do not wish to drop you and see you anymore hurt than you already are!"

"Well it is too late for that! Stupid, mean, clueless, ungrateful older brother! Put me down! I am Emmet, I am an adult and I can take care of myself! I do not need you to carry me."

"Emmet, I understand that you are angry with me, but you are injured . You are supposed to be on bed rest. Thrashing around like this is not conducive to your healing."

"I don't care! I am Emmet and I told you not to touch me until I have given you permission!"

"But you clung to me when you heard my voice when I picked you up. You calmed down instantly when I ran a finger over your cheek."

"Unconsciousness is not consent, brother! Now let me down!"

Sighing, Ingo stooped down to lower Emmet to his feet gently, the second the white shoes clicked against the floor, the man was shakily rushing a few feet away, distancing himself from both humans before him as his eyes shifted distrustful between the two. A large and sinister smile showing off his teeth taking over his facial features, almost like a corned wild Pokémon daring someone to try to approach.

"Uh, hey, sorry we had to knock you out to get you in the bed, but the nurse was really worried about you. She really still wants you to rest for a bit, but good news is she agreed to let you go stay with your brother on Mount Coronet."

"I do not want to stay with my brother. He is mean and thinks I am an incapable child."

Silver eyes shifted an emotionless gaze over to the teen, voice coming out in a deadpan drawl as he responded to her, prompting Ingo to attempt to soothe his twin's ire.

" Emm -"

"No. You distrust me. Our years apart have left you even less likely to rely on me. Before, we functioned as a perfect two car train, working in tandem. You always took on the more dangerous jobs yourself, but you let me help where you felt it was safe. Now, you do even do that. You do not believe I am capable of fulfilling the role of conductor. I will prove you wrong. I will conduct myself and the others safely through these lands and back to their proper stations. Then you will acknowledge that I am not a child, that I am verrry capable of doing my job, and that I am worthy of standing by-...my title."

"Emmet, I am sorry I hurt your feelings, truly, but you were risking the lives of passengers for petty vengeance."

"Not petty, for you and my Niece, and a bit for myself."

"Emmet, I will not go into this with you again. I know you are aware that you were out of line, that is why you accepted the temporary demotion even though you did not like it."

"You are verry wrong about that big brother. I do not think I was in the wrong. An eye for an eye. And I did not accept your order for that reason."

"You did not? Truly? Then why did you accept it?"

"Ah ah ah, we are not getting into it, remember? Now then, what is our current destination set to?"

Ingo only scowled as his brother turned his own words back on him, watching as Zoey stepped forward to tell Emmet what the plan was as she understood it. That they were just waiting for Johanna to return with Ash and May. Emmet nodded, hands flying to his hips as his smile evened out to a more neutral grin.

"I see, then that means we will be leaving soon, so we should probably stock up on supplies before we disembark from the current station."

"Yes, that was the plan. But none of us have any currency from this Era on us. So Lady Irida and Lord Adaman have kindly offered to gift us whatever we may need."

Emmet swiftly spun a glare on his brother that looked seconds away from turning into a hiss if warning.

"Not talking to you. I believe I also told you not to speak to me or look at me without my permission."

Ingo sighed exasperatedly, shaking his head as he attempted to toe the line between appeasing his brother and keeping a tight leash.

"Come now Emmet, you cannot truly mean that. Of course I am going to look at you, it is my job to watch out for you and working with anyone requires communication to work. If I cannot speak to you, then how will I convey any necessary messages to you?"

"I am Emmet, you are Ingo, that is an Ingo problem, not an Emmet one. Therefore, I will say to you what I have heard my dear Niece jokingly say with some of the other teens on our battle lines, ahem. Don't care, didn't ask. Now, stop talking to me."

Spinning around, Emmet stared long and hard at the staircase, listening for the footsteps coming down them.

"Emmet, please stop being so difficult. I am only trying to do my best to ensure everyone safety."

"Ms. Zoey, did you hear anything? Perhaps it was just the wind, but I could have sworn I heard an annoyingly loud sound just now."

"Uhhhh…."

"Well now you are just being exceptionally childish. Do not rope Ms. Zoey into this Emmet."

"Good, then you see the difference now. If this behavior is childish, then my usual behavior is not childish."

"I said exceptionally, Emmet . If you would just talk to me and hear me out, then we could resolve this and go back to working as a two car train again."

"Not a real two car train, you do not treat me as an equal anymore. So I will prove to you that I am."

"Emmet-"

Just then, the group came stomping down the final set of stairs and Ingo forced himself to remember that now was not the time for this discussion. Dawn needed him far more than he and Emmet needed to work things out. They were brothers, twins, their bond was stronger than this. It would not be severed by a single squabble. So Ingo bit his lip, shook his head and placed a hand on Emmet's shoulder in an attempt to tap out a message to him, only for it to promptly get shaken off.

"We will continue this later. Until then, know that I do love you Emmet, more than you could ever know and I always will."

With his piece spoken, Ingo spun around to face the group, conducting them all out the doors of the Galaxy headquarters and moving along on the plan. A shame too, because if he had waited just a second longer, he would have caught Emmet's wide eyes gazing up at him in shock and hope. 

"So you in the Diamond clan worship Dialga then? Interesting. And the Pearl worship Palkia. That makes sense." Said May.

"That's pretty cool! Y'know, I've met both Palkia and Dialga before! I mean, not yet, but in the future I have!"

May turned a furious look to Ash, as if warning him to stop talking while he had the chance. Meanwhile, Adaman only gave an unsure grin, attempting to understand this odd boy.

"Uh, you mean you dream of meeting them and hope to make it come true sometime in the future?" 

"No no, it's not a dream for the future, I really have met them, on more than one occasion even! Just not these versions of them. Or maybe it is the same version of them? Man, this time stuff is confusing ."

"ASH!"

Rushing over to the dark haired teen, May slugged him over the back of the head, earning a whine of "Ow! May! Whadya do that for?" The girl was quick to pull Ash down the last few steps and away from the Clan leaders in order to lecture him in a hushed yet intense tone. Leaving Adaman chuckling and Irida looking concerned.

"Well, my guess is they're related, what do you say Irida?"

"They bicker like a couple, and she keeps him on a tight leash and admonishes him when he steps out of line. If he were not so immature for her, I would assume they were courting each other. But because of his childish nature, I would be forced to side with you for once and say family. More specifically, they act like a mother and son. May seems quite used to dealing with this, I wonder if she has a younger brother back home waiting for her."

Adaman rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms above his head, before crossing them across his chest with a large grin.

"Well, if she does, then we shouldn't keep her away from him any longer than we have to, huh? We're ready when you are Warden Ingo, if you think your Alakazam can take all of us, then let's hop to it, times awasting!"

Clearing his throat, Ingo straightened his cap and took his familiar stance, one hand pointing down while the other pointed forward. 

"Very well, are you all prepared to board this vessel? Do you have all your belongings? Please make sure to stick together in order to assure we do not lose any passengers. If that is all settled…Emmet, do you have anything to add."

The man glanced back at his brother, drawing all eyes from himself to his younger twin, only for Emmet to make a "Hmp!" sound and turn away from him, leaving Ingo to sigh, shaking his head as he took up his brother's lines for him.

"Ahem, everyone, please remember to follow all the rules, we only practice safe driving here, everyone remember to smile! We are following a schedule. Remember to perform your safety checks! Everything appears to be in order. ALL ABOOOOARD! Alakazam, Teleport us all to the Diamond Settlement if you wouldn't mind, please."

The Pokémon gave a cry of agreement, all the humans clustering around so as not to get left behind. Emmet sent a slight glare his brother's way for messing with the delivery of his lines, he even said one out order for crying out loud! You are supposed to announce the following of the schedule before instructing the passengers to smile! Stupid Ingo. He knows that Ingo knows his lines by heart, just as Emmet does with Ingo's. 

Perhaps it was a jab at him for not saying his piece as he should have. But Emmet had been demoted to motorman, so it was technically now Ingo, and only Ingo, who was in charge of such announcements. Serves him right, if he wants to take all the responsibility, then he has to stop looking to Emmet and trying to uselessly rope him back in. Emmet did not need his pity. Just because Ingo felt guilty now, didn't mean he viewed him as an equal. 

Emmet would accept nothing less than a victory born from a serious battle. Once he had thoroughly proved to Ingo just how trustworthy and capable he was, then he would alleviate half the load from his brother's back. Until then, Ingo would just have to deal with the consequences of his decisions. 

As the world blurred around them, Emmet wondered why things had played out the way they did, and if there had been a way to avoid this quarrel entirely, or if it had simply been an unavoidable altercation that was a long time coming. As angry and hurt and petty as he felt, a small part of his heart cried at the way he was treating his big brother. 

Telling him to run to him, apologize for being bratty, tell him he was right, to cling to him and tap out apology after apology and never let him go. They had been separated for years before, and he didn't want it to ever happen again. Heck, he still had yet to allow Ingo to push their beds apart back at their house. All because he was worried that if he were out of arm's reach, he would lose him again, possibly for good. 

The last thing he wanted was for Ingo to be taken from him again and have Ingo's last memory of him be of Emmet being mean to him and calling him names….He hoped that he could prove himself soon, so that Ingo would truly value him and lean on him. He hoped they could make up and form an even stronger bond. 

He hoped that he and Ingo would come out of this stronger than ever, both together and alone, so that they could truly protect Dawn from anything. But more than anything, he hoped Dawn was alright…

Chapter Text

Dawn was indeed and unsurprisingly more than alright. She was flourishing. Just as she had in Hisui, she had learned the ropes quickly and more than proved herself to her higher ups. It came as no shock to either her or her new boss, when she was told that she was being sent on her first mission, a small and easy task of border patrol. 

Some kids and their Pokémon had been getting too close to one of the Rocket bases and it was her and 2 other grunts' jobs to scare them away. Needless to say, she was a bit insulted that they handed her such a simple task, but she also understood that Giovanni was cunning and he clearly didn't trust her with anything bigger yet. 

She was however grateful that she hadn't had to do anything truly evil yet, although she did feel like a highschooler bullying a toddler when she had to beat these fresh faced trainers so badly to scare them away. 

She spent a few days stationed there, scaring away anyone who came too close, which seemed like an obvious sign that there was something past them that would only make trainers MORE curious and likely to snoop around looking, but hey? Who was she to judge? She wasn't the leader of a global crime syndicate after all. What did she know?

But after about 3 days or so, she was called back and sent out to shake down some suppliers who hadn't produced their specific goods. That job, she hated . Of course, she felt awful scaring anyone and shaking them down for things, but there was one tiny mom and pop kind of place in particular that left her feeling like a monster.

The couple sold basic necessities, cereals, milks, juices, snack foods, waters, lemonades, sodas, and some items for reviving and healing Pokémon, as well as some fresh baked breads made by the elderly couple themselves that owned the place. While her 3 cohorts went about trashing the place, she was left to be the one to threaten and extort the couple. 

Every nerve in her body felt like it was being lit on fire when she saw them begging her to spare them, apologizing over and over as the man clutched his shaking wife to his chest and curled around in an attempt to shield her with his own body. The man had nervously pleaded with her, telling her that many of the goods they normally supplied to Team Rocket came from a larger chain supplying those goods to them first, but that the larger chain hadn't given them anything lately. 

When the grunts weren't looking, she slipped the couple some money and apologized profusely, saying that she would look into it before screaming that they better remember this and make good on their deal soon or else they would burn the shop to the ground next time. 

Her fellow grunts cheered and high-fived each other, talking about how fun that had been when they left, even going so far as to congratulate her on how terrified the couple had been of her. It only made her feel sicker.

When the group all camped out, Dawn waited patiently for everyone except for the one watching her to fall asleep, she laid there cuddling her Espeon for a while, before whispering for her friend to use Yawn. She waited patiently for the man to succumb to sleep as well then instructed Espeon to wait there in her sleeping bag and use Yawn again should any of them look like they were going to wake up.

She then took off on her own, made her way to the larger general store that shipped products to the mom and pop shop and set to straightening things out. It had turned out that there had been a huge cave in on the road that the delivery truck drivers usually used, it was the shortest path to and from both shops, but with it blocked, they struggles to find another way around, and eventually gave up and just decided to send for help to get the path cleared first.

But apparently the city was too busy to spend the time and manpower to clear the path, so Dawn and Arceus did it themselves in the dead of night. As much as she didn't want Team Rocket to get their supplies (it would serve them right to go without snacks and such) she didn't want to punish those who didn't deserve it. 

The Pokémon for example, Pokémon were not evil creatures, they just listened to their trainers and their trainers were the evil ones. Why should she leave a Pokémon unable to be healed and suffering just because of the actions its trainer took? As well as that poor couple, she didn't want them to have to get shaken down like that again. So she spent a good few hours clearing away all the fallen trees and boulders and snow, until the road was safe to drive on again.

She then made a stop at the larger distributor and told them that the road was clear and to please send some trucks as soon as the sun rose, as she had been to their shop on the way to this one and they had nothing left that they could sell. The manager had assured her that he would call immediately and get a fleet of trucks sent out right away, telling her that they should arrive by noon. She thanked the man and took her leave, ignoring his request for her name.

Only then did she creep back to the others and relieve her Espeon of guard duty. It took about an hour for the first person to wake up, the woman, who quickly asked why she was up alone and then roused the two men and yelled at them about how Dawn was not supposed to be left alone. Dawn had responded by shrugging, saying that they had all fallen asleep and seemed tired, so she let them sleep.

"I'm not going to run away when you are all asleep in the middle of a forest where you can be attacked at a second's notice. I'm not evil . But now that you guys are up, can I take like, a 5 hour nap? I was up all night and I'm totally exhausted."

She had said, earning glares from all 3 of her fellow grunts. They were quick to hound her and ask her a bunch of questions, like what she had done all night or why should they trust her, or why are you a part of Team Rocket if you don't consider yourself to be evil. 

Oh, if only they knew.

In the end, she did get to sleep for her requested 5 hours, and even got 1 bonus hour because one of the men and the woman were late in getting back with their food. When they did wake her, and after they all ate, she suggested they stop by the mom and pop store again to pick up their shipment. Much to the confusion of her tentative allies.

But in the end, they had indeed stopped by and were all surprised to see that they would not be returning to their base empty handed, as the couple shoved boxes upon boxes into their arms, forcing them to get their Pokémon to help carry the goods to their own unmarked truck. While the others were busy, the old woman gingerly motioned for Dawn to come over to her side and gave her some freshly baked cinnamon raisin bread and some first aid equipment for herself.

"You seem like such a kind young girl, I don't know how you got wrapped up with Team Rocket, but I'm sure it is similar to my husband and I, and that I don't need to tell you that you are hanging out with the wrong crowd. Thank you for all your help. Take care of yourself dear."

Dawn had a hard time swallowing that bread, even after she promised herself she would liberate the couple in the near future. She only told the woman that she wished she could have helped more, as she was called outside by her gang mates. 

She then had to explain to them how she knew the shipment would be in, how she had snuck away to clear the road to allow the goods to be transported to the shop so that she they could get their shipment, which immediately irked the men and woman, causing them to report her to their higher ups who then sent her in to see Giovanni.

Giovanni only smirked and chuckled at her sassy stance as she moodily explained everything to the man in charge.

"I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't run away, I'm not stupid. I may not like being evil, but you are protecting my family and friends from every other gang out there. I can't be in every region at once to do that myself. I'm not just going to defect and leave them to suffer the consequences for me ."

Giovanni seemed pleased to hear that.

"But you went above and beyond, you found out the problem and solved it, all I sent you to do was shake them up a little to get them to get things moving."

"Yeah, well, it's not like clearing a road is a big deal. Besides, if we had waited, we would be waiting for who knows how long. Meanwhile there are Pokémon and people who need those supplies here."

"Even if they are 'evil'?"

"Pokémon aren't evil. And even if the people are, they are still living and breathing human beings."

Giovanni had laughed at that, clasping a tight grip on the back of her shoulder and spinning her around as he looked at those who had brought her before him. He decreed that she was not only forgiven, but too good for the current work she had, and she was being moved up the ranks to tackle bigger missions. Much to Arianna's ire, which probably explains how she got to where she is now.

Stuck with a familiar trio who were gifted some new and awfully useful tech by the boss himself as a reward for their success in a small mission in Paldea to scope out the land and gather intel on its Pokémon and people that they had just returned from. Apparently the three weren ' t utterly incompetent buffoons, and they could actually do a good job at things, provided that Ash wasn't there to stop them.

Jessie, James and Meowth. 

All things considered, it could have been worse. At least she knew these 3 had limits, that they had some kind of morals, however skewed or inconsistent they may be. And it turns out, when working with them, the boys could be friendly and pleasant enough for company, especially James. Jessie however, the de facto team leader, was a nightmare. 

She wasn't all that bright, she was loud, controlling and insistent on always having her way. In short, she behaved like a child. And for a teenager to feel more mature and intelligent than the adult that accompanied her, well, it was rather aggravating and sad all at the same time. The woman seemed the most likely reason for their plans going awry, all talk and very little brain. 

Frustration at not being able to trust and lean on her without worrying she would screw up aside, she could at the very least appreciate having another female around that understood her more easily. While James may be patient and understanding, he was not a woman and thus didn't understand everything that went on chemically and emotionally with Dawn on the same levels that Jessie did. 

So that was nice at least, even if Jessie wasn't the best at being nurturing or comforting, she seemed in her own ways to try to be supportive. Honestly, they seemed like one big, happy yet dysfunctional family that she was intruding upon. 

It made her yearn all the more for her own family, for her mother's soothing embrace, for her father's comforting presence, and her uncle's lighthearted and playful demeanor to cheer her up. All the more reason to work quickly, she supposed. The sooner she accomplished what needed to be done, the sooner she could ask Arceus to bring them back so she could beg their forgiveness and return things to normal again.

Which reminded her, she still didn't know what this mission was even about . Giovanni had made sure to give the briefing to the trio and leave her utterly unaware of anything other than that she was their problem for now. Clearing her throat, she drew the attention of James who gave her his full attention.

"So uh, what exactly is the mission anyway? All I was told was that it may take a while and that I was working with you three for it."

The man looked surprised, giving a startled "Oh." in response before glancing at Meowth who only shrugged. 

"Well, it is to attempt to catch Miraidon and Koraidon of course!" 

"Miraidon? And Koraidon?" She said tentatively. 

Of course those must be Pokémon from the Paldea region that the three had just finished scouting out, but what the heck were they? Were they like Dialga? Did they have time powers too? She could easily make out that Mirai means future, while Korai meant it was old like the past. So perhaps they were Legends that guarded specific points in time while Dialga ruled over all time itself? 

If so, what could Giovanni be planning that he needed them for? 

"Yes! They are both legendary Pokémon from the Paldea region, with the special ability to change their form however they need! And it is said that they are so unique looking, that they don't even seem to fit in with other Pokémon similar to them like Cyclizar, almost as if they come from a different time altogether! It is quite fascinating really, if the things they can do are anything to go by, they could float across the water, or drive across the land, or even glide across the sky! The boss wants us to research them and find out if that's all true or not, that way he can-oof!"

"That's enough, James! Zip it! Or else you'll get us all in trouble with the boss! All she needs to know is what our target is, not why . Just because the twerpette is working with us, doesn't mean you can tell her everything, otherwise the boss would have told her himself when he told us!"

"Yeah! We're riding high from a successful Pokeymon soyvey trip right now! Don't drag us schmucks back down to being failures by blowing the whole plan to da twerp Jimmy!"

"Ah, you're right. Sorry Jess, Meowth."

The man cast the girl a guilty look, rubbing the back of his head that the woman had just struck as he threw himself back into reading the folktales and myths about where the Legends could be found. She could hear him mumbling something about a child who had apparently been given one of the Legends, but she chose to tune him out for both his sanity and hers.

Instead, she elected to simply huff as she pulled her hair back out of her face, tied it off behind her in a loose hold and trudged on. She would not drive herself crazy wondering what they were going to do before they were even there , she would just have to wait and see, then, and only then, would she worry about stopping them if things got too bad for her conscience to take.

Arceus help her and everyone she had ever known, because if they tried to enact some plan that would destroy the world, she would have to step in and betray the team, and she knew the second she did, Giovanni would know . And she would be left unable to do anything about it. After all, nothing would ever be more important than the very world they all inhabited. 

Nothing could exist without the world, meaning of course that her family would be forsaken either way. It was only a matter of time, and time is always a resource that seems abundant and taken for granted, until the last minute where it would usually be squandered. Time being such an important, yet every elusive truth was not solely concerning for her or even for the typical reasons.

And it certainly wasn't easy to manage either. However, as someone who was already catapulted through time and space back and forth once, she felt she was probably more equipped than most people would be at handling such concepts and situations involving them. She had a feeling that Giovanni knew that, she didn't know how he would, but that man was the conniving kind, so it certainly wouldn't surprise her if he did.

Looks like she was saddled with this job for more reasons than just keeping her busy and babysat so that she was out of his hair. She couldn't help but wonder exactly how many steps ahead of her that man already was. She also couldn't help the image of a blond man with a car salesman smile that flashed through her mind, the more she thought about it all.

Those two were both deathly good at thinking ahead and knowing how to control situations and other people in order to get what they want. The thought alone was enough to make her shiver in apprehension. Thank Arceus Volo was likely long gone by now, one intelligent maniac is enough to deal with at any one time, and she would gladly offer her own life up to keep the two from ever meeting.

…

Shaking her head and slapping her cheeks, the young teen chose instead to focus her thoughts and energy on the mission ahead of her, rather than her worries of what if scenarios that would likely never happen anyway. If these two Pokémon were truly Legends or Mythical Pokémon, then there was a small chance they didn't even exist, and the people of Paldea were simply exaggerating the tales of them.

But in her experience, that was hardly ever the case, more likely was they existed, and some kid who was far too young to be entrusted with managing such power was currently walking around with them in a ball that was either strapped to their hip or in their bag. 

Hopefully, if Arceus deigned to grant her any luck on this side quest, she and Team Rocket would never even run into any people and would instead just rifle through some old documents that would also hopefully not have anything of consequence because hopefully the professor who compiled them would prove smart enough to know to hide all their documents containing all of their most important and dangerous information.

But knowing Arceus, she would have to be having her most exceedingly lucky day to even get one of those. 

…

……

………

As it turns out, she got none , definitely not a lucky day for her, or anyone other than Team Rocket for that matter. Even though I began by looking as though things were finally going her way, because when they showed up to the lighthouse that was supposedly half lighthouse and half a research lab, the door was locked tight and there was not a single soul in sight. 

Of course, Team Rocket would never be deterred by something as insignificant as a locked door, and Meowth was quick to prove as much by popping out a claw and beginning to pick the lock. Which, fine, stealing some old dusty papers, she could handle that. But, of course, just because there was no staff around, didn't mean that people wouldn't show up to visit the area if given 10 minutes of frantic lockpicking and nagging shrill screaming to do so.

And because, of course, Arceus hated her ( Untrue issue, thou art favored ) of course the people that showed up happened to be the son of the professor himself and his younger friend who looked entirely too calm about all of this business playing out before them. Even when their friend began screaming and threatening Team Rocket, their face remained unreadable.

"Who the heck do you clowns think you are?! Trying to break into my parents lab! If you think me and my little buddy are just gonna stand aside and let you do it, you've got another thing coming!"

The long haired man began pulling a ball from his bag, calling for some partner of his that was apparently called Mob Boss Stiff? Or something?? She wasn't really listening too hard, instead stepping back and attempting to remain as quiet and uninvolved as possible. If Meowth was picking the lock, then that meant Jessie and James could handle this, as long as this guy and his friend weren't actually competent trainers, then things should go fine, right?

Well, all the praying in the world for that to be the case remains, as always, entirely useless, because the Almighty Sinnoh, the all powerful, all knowing Arceus, was just too much of a chaotic and bored entity that she suspecting its favorite thing to do was just ignore her please so it could see how things played out, she wouldn't even be surprised at this point if it told her that it purposely did the opposite of what she asked to make things more interesting.

So as soon as Jessie and James were left with no more Pokémon to battle, she begrudgingly sighed and reached for a ball of her own, stepping forward away from the posts she leaned on as the youngest trainer present locked eyes with her and placed a hand on their friend's arm to still him and push him back.

"Leave this one to me Arv, Mabosstiff looks pretty tired, and you shouldn't push him too much so soon. I'll handle this one."

Oh great, and of course she had to face the kid who was too calm, too young and probably actually a real threat that she would have to take seriously. 

The first Pokémon thrown before her was some kind of grass catwoman? It looked like some kind of thief, or a magician perhaps? Whatever it was, she could only guess that it was part dark type due to its coloring. The only silver lining to the entire event was that she had the entirety of her Pokémon teams with her, giving her plenty of options to choose from in order to strategies properly. 

A bug type would be ideal, but short of pulling out Arceus itself and giving it the Insect Plate, she would have to make do. Her next instinct was to throw out her Decidueye, which she would normally hesitate to do, as showing off extinct Pokémon to just anyone was not the smartest idea. 

However, since she was in a separate region entirely that likely didn't know most of their normal versions, let alone the Hisuian variants, and the fact that she was wearing a mask to hide her identity, she felt safe enough to toss out her choice and lean on her allies from that difficult time period. She also figured it would be less likely to raise questions than pulling out a literal Mythical Pokémon like Virizion. 

Which, wow, yeah, thank goodness she did, because her feeling about this young trainer being final boss levels of strong was completely spot on. This kid was no joke, and she had a feeling that if any kid in this entire region had one of those Legends they were looking for, it would be this one right in front of her. 

Arceus, she hoped she was at least wrong about that one. If this kid whipped out one of them, then she would be expected to steal it. And that was something that she didn't know if she could pull off. Not only morally, but physically. Truthfully, she just needed to put on a good show until Jessie, James and Meowth got into the lab, then she could try and talk this whole thing out and try to reason with these… nice Paldean folk.

As she was battling, she saw the man yelling at Team Rocket try to slip around her, throwing out some…oddly colored Tentacruel looking thing. Man, what was with these Pokémon? This region was weird . Without another thought, she tossed out her Mamoswine and hoped that whatever type that thing was, her old reliable pal could handle it long enough to buy Team Rocket (and herself) the time they needed.

-_-_-_-_-

The battle was long and tedious, having to face off against 1 decent trainer on one side and 1 unreasonably powerful kid on the other. But eventually, after burning through a good majority of her own teams, she was able to push them both to their last Pokémon each, and Team Rocket themselves finally let out joyous exclamations as they unlocked the door and raced inside, shutting and locking it behind them. 

With a deep, heaving sigh, Dawn sank to her knees, getting twin looks of confusion from her opponents. The taller of the two being the first to speak up.

"Hey! If this is some kind of trap to get us to let our guards down, we're not falling for it! Right little buddy?"

With a groan, Dawn crossed her arms and rested her head on them, as she whistled her Typhlosion over to lay her arms on its back as it curled around her.

"It's not a trap, I'm not doing any of this because I want to, you know? They got inside, so I have no reason to keep up the battle. That's it."

The two looked to each other, seeming to have a silent conversation with their minds, most certainly about whether or not to trust her, before the long haired man cleared his throat and cautiously approached her.

"Well, if you don't want to be working with these guys, then I'm guessing you're only doing it because they're forcing your hand somehow, maybe holding something over you, or perhaps, someone ?"

She gave the man an irritated glance before sighing again and closing her eyes.

"You got it. Their boss has a huge organization with lots of money, manpower and resources, and he knows where all my friends and family live down to their exact addresses, even though I have friends all over the world! Unova, Sinnoh, Hoenn, Kanto. You name it. I have something he wants, but I'm refusing to give it to such an evil and dangerous man, so he is threatening them to get me to work for him."

Suddenly, she felt a hand heavily place itself on her head before a body dropped onto the ground gracelessly to her right. Glancing up, she saw the long haired one giving her a pensive and remorseful look, to her side, she could see the child holding onto some kind of duck Pokémon and applying a revive to it, a ghostly armor Pokémon standing beside them as they worked.

"I'm sorry, that sounds really rough. I know what it's like to lose family, and to worry and do your best to try to save the ones you love." 

As he spoke, his dog came over to sit beside him, butting its head affectionately against his side, causing him to huff with a fond smile as he ceased petting her head in favor of petting the Pokémon instead. 

"I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I'd like to help you, but this all sounds pretty big and serious. Paldea is a pretty peaceful place, the biggest gang we've had to deal with were some misfit students throwing a fit and forming a group to bully other students before they could bully them. But they've all disbanded and gone back to school quietly, thanks to my buddy over there."

The cold beside her flashed a quick grin, then proceeded to fish out another Pokémon from their team to heal them up.

"An actual criminal syndicate sounds way out of our league. But, then again, it's not like it's not our business now that you guys have come here. We should probably report this to that student council girl so she can tell La Primera. Then we will have the full backing of the Paldea Pokémon League, and 3 champion class trainers helping out."

Dawn, realizing where this was going, panicked. Swiftly pushing her partner off her lap and rushing to her feet to wave her hands frantically in a negative fashion.

"Oh, no, no, no! I don't want to get anyone else involved! Please! Seriously, thank you, I appreciate the offer, but once we leave here, you should just forget you ever saw us and go on with your life. You said you know what it's like to lose someone, so you shouldn't be risking yourself for some stranger, because if you do and something happens to you, what will all your friends and family do when they lose you? You said you wouldn't wish that on anyone else, right? If so, then don't put the people you love in a position where they might end up like that."

The man, who she really should ask the name of if she planned on conversing with him any longer, simply laughed and flashed her a toothy grin.

"Then I just won't let them lose me! Didn't you hear me? My buddy over there is a Champion, and we've got these other 2 friends who will help us too. One is a hacking whiz and the other is also a Champion. The four of us have taken on some world ending crises together before, so this should be no different. Besides, this time we will have the entire region and its strongest trainers ready to help! We can do this, right little buddy?"

The kid beside her, seemingly finished healing up their entire team and now shifting around Pokémon between their PC boxes and party via their smartphone (seriously? That's a thing in this region??? Their tech must be super impressive to do that. Back in her day of wandering her home region, she had to stop by a Pokémon Center just to do that.) stopped to smile once more before pushing themselves to their feet again and stretching.

"See? We've got this! Just leave it to ol' Arven and his little buddy! We'll get things all straightened out! Besides, who's to say these creeps won't come back after you leave? Or send some other guys from their gang to cause trouble? If there is something here that they want bad enough that caused them to come here in the first place, then they'll definitely be back. Whether they find it or not."

That…was actually sound logic. Okay, she couldn't fault the guy there. At this point, it wouldn't be about helping her, as much as it would be defending his home and all his friends and family, and she could be his ally on the inside. 

Still, she'd rather deal with things herself, but Arceus only knew how long that would take, and he had a right to get his region ready so they could defend themselves before things became an even bigger issue for them in the future. Heck, maybe if they prepare now, they can keep Team Rocket out of their region for good, and they might be able to distract Giovanni long enough by wasting his time and resources, then she could finally start working on a way to stop him for good.

"Alright, as long as you're sure. But I don't want you doing anything beyond what you have to, either of you. Protect your home, and your loved ones, that's it. Don't follow after us or try to get in too deep. If you can manage to wrangle up all those people you mentioned and fight off everyone from Team Rocket who comes your way, then that should be enough to help me and keep you all safe."

With a cheer, the man pumped his fist in the air and high five his younger friend, the child giggling at his enthusiastic hoots and hollers for a moment before pulling out their Rotom phone again to call some energetic sounding girl that reminded her painfully of Ash.

Shaking it off with a sigh, Dawn released her own battered team and began healing them, watching out of the corner of her eye as the 2 Paldeans spoke on the phone, relaying what had happened and formulating a plan. By the time they had finished, she could hear the girl had agreed to contact La Primera, whoever that was, and that she would get the ball rolling with someone named Penny as well. 

"Hey, Maybe we should exchange contact information, that way you can warn us when they will be coming back if you know, and we can tell you what we find."

"No way, for one that is asking for trouble. It's a sloppy act that would be quickly found out if he has any kind of monitoring stuff on my phone, or if he takes my phone, or anything. But also, I wouldn't have time to talk anyway. They make sure I'm always with someone, being watched at all times. If anyone saw me texting or heard me calling one of you, they would not only shut it down, but do something to punish me by hurting those I love."

"So what you're saying is, you need a way to be blame free, huh? Well, I'm sure Penny can help with that! She is a whiz at hacking after all, she could just hack your phone without you knowing, and then it wouldn't be your fault, and she knows well enough how to keep things from being traced back to her. So we should be all good! Hey buddy, call up glasses would ya?"

A single nod was all the warning either of them got before a tired sounding girl's voice filtered down the line, telling them that she had just gotten off the phone with Nemona and asking what they wanted now.

The two, mostly Arven, explained what was going on and what they thought she could do to help, getting a huff and groan here and there from the unwilling sounding girl. But eventually, she sighed and agreed to help, saying it would be easy enough to remotely hack her phone and any other equipment. She then explained some weird tech mumbo jumbo that Dawn honestly felt sounded ridiculous and couldn't possibly be real, but then again, she was no tech guru, so what did she know?

Something about going through a device she already hacked and searching for another in proximity to it in order to work her magic. She even said that she had ways of infiltrating locked zones in a phone or computer without anyone being able to tell she was there, but that required physical contact with some kind of device, or, at least, that was the quickest and easiest way to do it.

Long story short, it seemed she had a team backing her now, one that were acting more in interest of protecting their own than helping her, which helped to alleviate some of the guilt, but also were willing to work with her to do it and listen to her warnings and take them seriously. They seemed to heed her words as someone who knew more about Team Rocket then they did, and found work around instead that would actually be plausible, rather than risking themselves by ignoring her and going ahead with their original idea anyway.

She had to wonder what these people went through in order to become such a well rounded group that was so adaptable yet sturdy and self assured as well. Whatever it was, it had to have been tough, and very likely emotionally taxing. And now they were about to be embroiled in a gang war. Dawn truly did bring trouble everywhere she went, didn't she? Perhaps she really did belong with Team Rocket, whether she liked it or not.

Regardless, she had a feeling Team Rocket was winding down their search and would be returning any minute now, as she could hear far less screaming and clattering of objects being tossed about coming from inside the lab. So she warned the two once again not to do anything stupid like try to follow them back to their base, then said that if they could agree to that, she would tell them everything she could. They accepted, so she did.

"I will not tell you my name, I don't want to be called by my name right now. But I'm sure once I explain things, if you've seen the news, you'll know who I am. You see, a while ago, I got sent somewhere without my consent, and met a certain pompous legend who ordered I help create the first ever Pokédex in that area, and eventually, I finished it and that Legend wanted to test me, and once I fought it and proved myself, it let me catch it, or at least a part of it. Then it agreed to send both me and this guy that I met there who was also taken against his will, back home. And it came with me, because it's curious and thinks I'm neat. And then later when I was exploring a different region for fun, I got kidnapped and an evil gang found out about the Legend I have with me and babbled to their boss and now it seems like the whole WORLD knows and every evil group is targeting me because they want that Legend for its all mighty power and knowledge and Team Rocket just so happened to be the one to corner me. So now I'm working with them, while trying to find a way to bring them down for good, so that I can be free to take down Team Plasma and Team Galactic and Team Aqua and Team Magma and everyone else for good, so that I can finally be safe enough for others to be around. Then, I can finally bring my family home and out of hiding."

"Woah, yeah, that's a lot. Especially for any one girl to deal with. I'm glad we're helping you out now. Did you get all that Penny?"

"I did. And you were right, I think I know who you are now. But in the interest of keeping things safe, I'm going to say we use code names. You can call me Cassi. What would you like to be called?"

"...Rei."

"Rei it is then. These two don't need to know what Legend it is that you have, and you don't need to tell me either but I want you to know that I am going to find out eventually whether you tell me or not, since I've managed to hack into your phone now and I will be listening in and recording everything I hear from now on. Also, I've just initiated a trade with Arven, tell him to catch any random Pokémon and accept the trade, you are going to need the item that Eevee is holding."

"Wait, what? Why me?! Ugh, whatever, I'll go catch a Lechonk or something, be right back!"

"Once you have that item, I am going to have to ask you to wear some gloves before touching it, that will keep anyone who finds it from knowing you touched it."

Dawn couldn't help but scowl at the phone screen, hands slipping into her bag as she pulled on a pair of white gloves all too similar to the ones her father and Uncle both wore. 

"But even if I don't leave prints, they're going to know it was me. Who else but me gets orders directly from Giovanni that would want to sabotage the entire syndicate?"

"Don't worry about that, while we have been talking, I have gone ahead and gone through your contacts, and weeded out the ones I think will be useful. I am contacting a couple of them now, just do exactly as I say and I promise none of this will point back at you."

Leave her and her entire family and friend group's fate in the hands of someone she had never even seen the face of? Yeah right, but then again, Dawn was a lot of things, but a brilliant hacker technician she was not. She didn't truly understand how these things worked, but this other girl seemed to, so what was a little trust between allies? It's not like this girl wanted to fail, if she did then her entire home would be at risk too. Truly, there was no better motivation than saving one's own skin.

"Fine. But I don't want any of my friends getting hurt. This isn't their problem, it's mine. I already got them involved way too far, this is my mess to clean up."

"I mean, I would argue that you aren't protecting them from anything by not letting them fight to protect themselves, that you're only putting them more at risk by keeping secrets from them, but we don't have time for that. When you get the item, you will have to program them to respond to your voice and a code word of your choosing. As soon as you do, all you will have to do is slam one down onto a surface and say that word, and it will camouflage itself better than a Kecleon and get to work on helping me tap into their data. They will also record audio so I can be up to date on their workings even when you are not in the room for me to listen in through your phone, but don't worry, I won't use anything that would obviously indicate they have been wiretapped, that way they won't get suspicious. I'm also sure a group this big and successful will keep all their important data hidden and separated on different hardware in different locations, so I've attached multiples of this device, I would recommend you hide them in plain sight on your head, and also use a different code word to activate each of them, that way nobody can catch on. People don't usually check a person's hair for things they might be hiding, and these little guys can clip into an underlayer of your hair so that they won't fall off or be seen. If you need me at any point, just say my code name and I will call you, best of luck, Rei."

Blood, iron and copper of blood could be tasted from how hard teeth dug into the inside of Dawn's lip to keep herself from speaking and burning any bridges that were currently being built. Right now, they had sympathy for her, but if she snapped at this girl asking her what she knew about what was best for everyone in Dawn's life, the girl might just decide not to help her.

So, she wisely held her tongue and allowed the call to be dropped. And just in time too, for Team Rocket came bursting through the door in a huff, screaming at her as they began racing toward their not so subtle balloon that they seemed so fond of. 

"Hurry up twerpette! Or we'll leave you behind!"

"Jess, we can't leave her behind, da boss'll have our heads if we do dat."

"Yes, besides, it was only thanks to her holding those two off that we were even able to get into the lab to get this information in the first place."

"Ohhh!! I know that! Fine! We won't leave her behind, but she still better pick up the pace!"

Sighing to herself, Dawn squared her shoulders, glanced apologetically through the slits of her mask and spun on her heel, recalling all her Pokémon as Arven began screaming and shaking a fist as he chased after her. She could only hope it was all an act that he was putting on to keep Team Rocket from getting suspicious. 

Throwing herself over the side of the cliff, Dawn threw out a hand, reaching for the basket of the balloon, only to have a hand shootout to catch her own and begin to pull her up into the basket.

"Jessie! Meowth old chum! A hand if you please!"

"Sure thing Jimmy!"

"Oh, alright, come here Twerpette!"

With all 3 of them working together, they had her up and into the basket in no time flat, leaving Dawn with little time to think on their actions and how to respond. The kind smile James tossed her along with his caring pat on the back, only left her feeling even lower and more confused.

"Uh, thanks."

"Don't mention it! Seriously, don't, we're a team now, and the boss would kill us if we let anything happen to you. That's the only reason we did it. Remember that." Came the moody snip from the woman.

James only sighed and shook his head as Jessie crossed her arms and pointedly looked away from the teen. 

"Don't mind her, we are more than just a team, we're all best friends here. I know some of the things we do just seem needlessly cruel, but we aren't heartless, even if Jess likes to act like she is most of the time."

"I heard that, James!"

"Anyway, what I'm saying is, you're one of us now, whether you want to be or not. And we don't leave one of our own behind. Even if the boss didn't care about you, we still would. And before we came here, he told us he was done swapping you around, and that you were going to be a permanent fix on our team for as long as you remain part of Team Rocket! So I think we should all try to get along with each other!"

"You think? Boy, that's a scary thought. I'm da brains of dis Team, so just leave the thinking to ol' Meowth!" 

"Yeah, you trying to think is almost as funny as you trying to lift. You're as smart as you are weak, James. The only thing you are good at is being a bleeding heart. We're Team Rocket, we don't take in strays."

"Oof, you two can be so cruel sometimes. But Jess, we are all strays in a way. And Team Rocket took us in, gave us a team and made us a family. Why shouldn't we do the same for her? Look at her, she's clearly lost and confused, and she is part of our group regardless of how we feel about it, so why not try to make the best of it and help out a younger recruit who could use the guidance?"

With a huff and a dramatic toss of her hair, Jessie spun back around and jabbed a finger in the man's face.

"Listen, I'm only going to say this once, she doesn't want to be here . That is the difference. You heard the boss, she didn't even want to join Team Rocket, yet she did for some reason and she passed all the training and tests without even trying . She doesn't need anything from us other than being babysat. If you want to make friends and play nice with her, that's your decision, but I'm not about to let some kid trick me into caring for her and let her use me when she doesn't even want to be one of us."

"Jessie…"

She was right, Dawn didn't want to be here with them, she didn't want to be part of them. She just wanted to be home with her family, she wanted to be scolded for trying to take on too much on her own, while knowing that her family was safe and it didn't matter how upset they were with her because nobody was going to take them away from her. 

She wanted to be able to laugh with her friends and battle with and alongside them, she wanted to be carefree and kind as she always was before. She wanted to be able to talk to someone about all the things that were troubling her, she never liked keeping secrets, and now was no different.

The girl released a withering, shuddering breath, pulling her knees up to her chest and crossing her arms over them.

"She's right. I didn ' t want to join and I don't want to be here. I'm still a kid, I shouldn't even be allowed to join a gang like this. I should be at home, with my mom, and my dad, and my uncle. I shouldn't have to be doing any of this! But I don't have a choice, your precious boss is forcing my hand, so James, you and Jessie are both right. We could try our best to make this work since none of us have a choice here, or we could ignore each other and just keep it professional since I never asked to be here and certainly didn't come here looking to make friends! I can handle being alone, Arceus knows I've been doing it long enough now to be used to it, but still…. I just want my family back ."

Three looks varying in levels of concern were thrown around the basket of that hot air balloon, a silent conversation with body language alone being used to convey messages to each other before a weight settled next to her and an arm was wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her head over to rest on a white clad shoulder.

"We all know what that's like, to just want a single simple thing so badly and not be able to get it. We also all get what it's like to have family issues here. If you don't want to say anything more, then you don't have to. Buy, if you want to talk, we won't say a word, right Jessie, Mewoth?"

Jessie stuck out her bottom lip in a pout, arms crossing again above her chest, but gave a single nod in response, her furrowed brows unfurling just a sliver. Meowth nodded as well, coming over to throw himself across her lap as he spoke.

"Yeah, you twerps have always been a pain in my rear, but only cuz youse guys have always been so goody goody about everythin'. I would thought you would all be livin' da poifect lives cuz of dat. But if you have some kind of drama goin' on, then maybe it's not cuz we're evil that we suffer, maybe life just ain't fair to nobody. So spill da tea gurl."

The girl hesitated, unsure if she should tell them or not. Would telling them anything really matter in the long run? Giovanni already knew about Arceus, so what would telling these three fools do? At the very least, she could tell them about that much, and just omit who her family was to protect them.

"We won't judge you, if that's what you're worried about."

"...Huh?"

The woman huffed again, turning to go sit down with her legs crossed as she moodily rested her cheek on her fist, elbow planting itself on her knee.

"James, Meowth and I, we won't judge you for whatever you have to say. We all had hard pasts. We all did different things to get by. We are the last people who would be able to judge you for your life choices."

"I..I wasn't worried about that, but… thanks , I guess."

"Well then hurry up and spit it out already, if you didn't want to join then why are you here? And what's wrong with your family?"

"Your boss is what's wrong, he wanted me to either join up or hand over Arceus, and in order to make me do it because he knew I wouldn't have otherwise, he began threatening my family and friends. He found all their names, where they all live, everything, and laid it out in front of me. He threatened to hurt them or worse, unless I joined up. So I did. That's why I'm here."

The heavy silence that followed lasted far longer than she would ever have expected of these 3 goons, causing her to cautiously glance up at them to meet mixed expressions on each of their faces. Expressions full of confusion, repulsion, anger and sympathy. 

She knew these guys were no Giovanni themselves, but she also knew they weren't exactly saints either. Perhaps, she should have expected at least James to feel bad for her, but to see Jessie look so upset by the news too, well, it was enough to nearly send her to tears. And surprisingly, or maybe unsurprisingly, Jessie was the first to respond.

"That's pretty messed up, sorry Twerpet- uh, I mean, kid. That's really messed up. We may be a gang who steals Pokémon, but we aren't supposed to hurt people and take kids away from their families."

"Yes! It is completely and utterly wrong in every possible way! I feel sick even knowing that I am part of a group that is doing such a thing! But, Team Rocket is the only place I've ever known where I was accepted for being myself as well. It is quite the vexing conundrum."

"So, wait, you feel bad for me?"

"Of course! None of us are petty enough to want innocent kids to suffer that way just cuz we did, other than Jessie maybe. But even she ain't gonna want that for you kid."

"HEY! Zip it Meowth! I don't want to get lectured by a talking furball!"

"Watch it Jess, dis foiball has claws. And you don't wanna make me use my claws."

As the two began arguing and wrestling with each other, James took the time to squeeze her shoulder and pull her back against his side again for another half hug.

"While those two are playing around, would you like to tell me what else is bothering you? It may help to talk about it, it always does for me! At least, when I can get one of them to listen to me."

He offered a rueful smile, one pained and weighed down by so much trauma over the years that had yet to be fully dealt with, as well as sympathy to her own pains, that Dawn couldn't help but turn to him to give him a full on hug.

"I only got Arceus because it kidnapped me and forced me to do something for it, then it put me through a bunch of grueling tests where it seemed like I could die at anytime, but whenever I messed up and came close to death's door, it would always save me and put me back on track. It made me fight it in the end, it wasn't even a Pokémon battle, it wanted to face me . I had to jump and dodge all of its attacks and throw stuff at it until I weakened it enough to get it to stop for a minute so I could throw in one of my Pokémon. I only got Arceus with me because I got through that, I proved myself to it in so many ways that it found me interesting and wanted to follow me to keep watching me. But I don't know if Arceus actually cares about me, if it has any feelings for me, or if I really am just a walking TV drama for it."

Issue…

"Shut UP Arceus! I'm not talking to you ! Just because I'm talking about you, doesn't mean you can just talk inside my head whenever you want! So unless you actually want to set things straight for once, don't talk to me until I talk to you first. I can't handle all of this right now."

The girl dropped her face into her hands, squeezing her eyes shut tight as she attempted to hold herself together, waiting until she felt the heavy presence of God itself leaving her mind. It took a while, seemingly looming there, watching, waiting, wanting to say something and debating ignoring her request, it took a broken mutter of the word please from her for it to finally accept and give her some space. The second it did, her body sagged against the lavender haired man beside her.

"Was…Was Arceus…Can it hear everything going on? Or just the things that you say?"

This could be important, perhaps she should lie and say it can only heat her, that way they don't report it to Giovanni, maybe that will give her a leg up somehow, if the boss doesn't know what Arceus knows. But then again, Arceus the all knowing and all mighty, wouldn't be all knowing if it could only hear her.

"Everything. It has no sense of personal space or respect for anyone's privacy. It hears and sees all. It can even read my mind. Goodluck sleeping tonight knowing it can see and hear everything. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out it was able to read your minds too."

This seemed to cause James to pale, as he glanced to his two allies for help, causing Jessie to cease stretching Meowth's face, and Meowth to stop skipping his claws at her, in order for them both to turn questioning looks to James. Obviously asking him what he wanted them to do or say in response to such a loaded truth bomb.

"Uh, well, as Pokémon myself, I can't really say anything one way or another. We Pokémon use our abilities all da time to soivive. If we didn't, it'd be like telling a human not to walk on two legs or talk. It would be a handicap. So ya can't really blame it for doing what it can just cuz you don't like it."

"But on the other hand, a woman deserves her privacy and she shouldn't have to prove herself to anyone or anything! What an arrogant Pokémon, thinking it can just listen in and watch whenever it wants! That's beyond creepy! The nerve! I'm half tempted to give it a piece of my mind! And speaking of minds, it better stay out of mine! I don't want it up there messing with anything!"

"But Jess, der ain't nothing up der for it to mess with."

The woman growled again as Meowth laughed and hopped out of arm's reach to hide behind James as the woman fumed over his insult, spewing unkind words about him in return as he simply chuckled at her vain attempts to reach around James to get him.

"Well, regardless of what anyone else thinks, or if it's intentional or not, it is wrong to invade someone's privacy. I'm sure someone as powerful and knowledgeable as God just needs you to talk to it and it will understand. And if it has stuck with you this long, and it has chosen to fight for you to protect you and what you care about, then it must care for you as well. I don't think it's possible for anyone to go through tough times with someone and not care about them at least a little bit. Anyway, you look like you could do with some rest. It will be quite a long balloon ride to get to our destination, so you should try and get some sleep. Maybe in the morning, when you wake up rested, you will be able to talk with Arceus and sort things out."

She could only grumble at the thought of speaking to the deity, rubbing her temples as she nodded at the mam, slinking down to curl into a ball for a nap. Her eyes only slid shut for what felt like a few seconds, and without her knowing it, she was out. Only opening her eyes and coming into consciousness again when she felt a hand shaking her urgently and she blearily glanced up at an apologetically grinning James. 

She blinked in confusion a few times, sweeping her eyes around her to notice they were outside the Team Rocket HQ, a TR branded aircraft behind them currently unloading the balloon that she had fallen asleep in. How long had she been asleep for exactly? And how had she gotten from the balloon to the plane in the first place? All she needed to do was raise her eyebrow and Meowth was quick to volunteer an answer.

"Jimmy boy here didn't wanna wake ya when we got ta da plane. So he carried ya."

The man continued to smile apologetically, hand scratching the back of his head.

"I would have let you stay asleep if we were just heading back to the barracks, but then Matori met us at the door and told us to prepare to meet with the boss."

Spectacular, and now she had to deal with another smug jerk who felt like they were smarter and better than her in every way. 

"It's fine, thanks for the thought. Anyway, I don't think your boss is exactly the most patient man in the world, so let's just get this over with before he does something to punish us. Probably by harassing everyone you've ever met."

As the girl stomped forward, arms lashing out to yank the door open, the three accompanying her each gave a hissing wince, following after her at 2 foot distance in an attempt to give her space and not step on her toes.

Because of this, she was the first one to throw the doors open and storm into Giovanni's office, much to the ire of the purple haired woman standing beside him. The woman scoffed at the display and clutched her papers and clipboard tighter to her chest. 

"Ah, Dawn, how good to see you so full of energy. I am sure you are putting all that energy into furthering the ambitions of this team, am I correct? Because, if not …well, I think we are both aware of what your… motivations are, and how willing I am to… refresh those motivations. Just let me know if you need me to show you what you are working so hard for, because we can have something brought in and set up within an hour if the need should arise."

With a huff and a quick spin of her head to face away from the man, Dawn closed her eyes in retaliation. She refused to let this man see any fear in her eyes again.

"Uhh, s-sir! She has been a most helpful addition to our team! I-Isn't that right Meowth?" Stuttered the lavender haired male, quickly stepping up beside the teen to place his hands on her shoulders in a show of support.

"Yeah! It's cuz of hers that we got into da lab at all!"

"They're right, she held off 2 trainers at the same time for us while we slipped in and grabbed all those important notes that Matori's holding over there, the little brown noser. Because of course, Matori insisted she be the one to hand them to you herself, even though we were the ones on the ground who got them." Snarcked Jessie.

The sound of flesh meeting wood sounded through the room as a fist struck the desk to call for quiet.

"I did not address any of you. I was speaking to her . She is a teenager, fully capable of speaking for herself , am I correct, Dawn ."

"You know, just because I can , doesn't mean I should have to."

With a smirk, the man raised a brow, hands folding as he rested his chin on them.

"But you admit that you are indeed capable of doing so?"

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, the girl glared at the man and bit out a hissing answer through gnashed teeth.

"... Yes. "

The man only chuckled and pushed himself out of his chair, turning to show them his back as he crossed his arms behind his back and stared out the window. Humming as he snapped a finger for Matori to give him a summary of the work they accomplished.

"Sir, it seems they managed to acquire some research from the professor on some kind of Pokémon from a different point in time. They appear to suggest that this Pokémon was pulled from that different time and brought here to our own time somehow. It does not explain how this was done however. Nor does it say anything more on what this Pokémon even looks like nor the things it can do."

The two women's gazes locked on one another, their glares so intense, one could almost picture a zap of lightning shooting between them. James offered calming words to his teammate in an attempt to keep her from mouthing off in front of their boss, while Meowth climbed onto her shoulder to place his paws over her lips to muffle anything she might say.

Suddenly a sharp bark of laughter broke the tension, drawing all eyes to Giovanni as he turned to smile an eerily car salesman like smile at them.

"I'm impressed, you may not have come back with what we were looking for, but you didn't entirely fail either. Congratulations operatives, you have proven yourselves somewhat useful after all."

"But, sir-!"

A hand was raised, cutting Matori off immediately, as Giovanni began knocking a fist on his desk, forcing the woman to spread the papers out on his desk for him to read over.

"Yes, these are curious documents indeed. A possible lead for us to follow later. Or perhaps, for us to sell to someone else on the black market. Talk of time travel and Pokémon from another time are things that should interest many, these would fetch a high price to be sure. Very well, I have another mission for you 4, seeing as you didn't entirely fail me, nor did you succeed in what I asked of you. I will give you another chance. There is a scientist named Colress, who studies how best to draw out the power of Pokémon and get them to obey you. We do not have a current location for him, but he does hail from Unova. So we will be sending you there first, if you cannot find him and bring him to me, then perhaps you can at least find clues of his location from there, or perhaps some of his research."

The three peons, eager to please as always, literally leapt forward with sparkling eyes as they saluted the man, the woman speaking up for them.

"Yes sir! We would love to! We won't fail you with this one, cross my heart!"

"And hope to die, sir!"

"Or else ya can stick a needle in my eye!"

The sound of a Pokéball opening filled the room before he was saluted by a blue Pokémon that gave a drawn out cry of its own name.

And yet, the man only held his same confident smile, seemingly ignoring all of them, his eyes casting over to Dawn.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure you won't. And, Dawn…"

This time, James spoke up, wringing his hands together as he grinned at the taller man.

"Oh, we will take good care of her, don't you worry your handsome little head at all about that! We'll be like one big happy family!"

The man only grinned back dangerously.

"Good. I'm counting on it. She is too important to lose."

As he spoke, he flashed a smile at the teen that, had it come from anyone else, she would have thought it was sincere. Instead, she only felt like there was tar dripping down her back. 

"Then you will leave immediately, all of you, for Unova."

"Sir yes sir!" Came the chorused cry.

That was when she remembered the devices in her hair. The ones she needed to plant, the ones she needed to sync to her command. As she reached up to salute the man, she faltered purposely, making a show of it as she muttered under her breath, then clutched her head with a hand, a finger pressing and holding a button on one of the devices as she spoke.

"Family?"

The second she felt it vibrate, she released the button and dug her nails into her scalp instead.

"Hm?" Was the leisurely reply from the head honcho.

"A family? You want them to treat me like we're a family ? You are already treating my real family! If that's how you treat family here, then why say that?! And another thing! We just got back from a long trip, and you're sending us out again already ? You're going to kill us! That's not what family does!"

As she removed her hand from her hair, she pulled along a device, fitting it in her hand as she stomped over to his desk.

"You know nothing about family! You're a sick man and I would rather die than be related to you! I'm sure your own mother is ashamed of who you became! She probably regrets even giving birth to you! I may work for you, but that doesn't mean I have to like you, so stop pretending we're friends! And don't you DARE say that we're family! "

As she finished, the girl slammed both her hands on the desk, glaring fiery slate orbs at his own dark mirth filled ones. The man only chuckled at her as she fumed, Matori sputtering as she began to jump to his defense, the others cowering and shuddering in horror at her outburst.

"How dare you! You sniveling little-!"

A hand flew into the air, once again calling for silence and getting it as he only smiled at the teen, leaning down onto the desk on an elbow and resting his chin on a single fist to be eye height with her.

"Your precious family is not part of our family, therefore, they are held at a distance. Should they choose to attack our… household , we will respond as if we were defending ourselves from outsiders, as any normal clan would. Like it or not, you joined this family when you signed up and donned our name. As I am the founder of this little group, I take on the role of father , making you , little missy , my child . So, be a good little girl for daddy, and keep performing as expected, and you will find that daddy can be quite generous to his… star children."

As he spoke, his hand reached out to cup the hair she had just abused and pulled from her hair band. He ran his fingers through the locks, slowly, almost taunting in nature, before he smirked and brought it toward his face as if to kiss it.

"And if you don ' t , well…"

Suddenly, with a harsh yank, the girl was tugged down until she laid with her chest pressed flat against the hard wood desk, hands fanned out in shock in an attempt to catch herself. A larger hand spraying itself next to her head as a face came into view, smirking harshly as he whispered in her ear.

"We both know I am not the type of father to make empty threats and shy away from disciplining any naughty children who need it."

The girl shivered, her instincts screaming at her to use those self defense moves she was taught, to fight back , to get away from him. But that would only get her in more hot water, she had already accomplished what she needed to, so she should just accept this demonstration of power and move on, it was best for everyone involved if she did not give Giovanni any more reasons to doubt her and give her trouble.

So, swallowing down her fear and adrenaline, the teen only glared at the floor, doing her best to ignore the chill running up her spine as he asked if he was clear, forcing herself to nod and standing to salute when he let her go, so that she could leave his presence as soon as humanly possible. 

"Good, then with that agents, you have a long journey ahead of you, so you had best be on your way. We wish you the best of luck, for all of your sakes."

The second she was out the door, the girl shivered, ignoring Meowth and Jessie as they both screamed at her, pretending she did not feel the heaviness of James concerned and sympathetic gaze on her, nor the warm weight of his hand on her shoulder. She pretended instead that the loud voices were the excited ones of her father and Uncle, and the hand was not there for sympathy and comfort, but instead the friendly guiding hand of her fellow coordinator and champion, May. As she attempted to pull Dawn from her own head.

Yes, happier, better times. She could almost imagine Ash laughing somewhere off to the side, probably training with Pikachu like he always was, calling her to come and battle him.

Ah, if only she could dally in that fantasy forever. She supposed there was no harm in indulging in it for just a tad longer, since she had such a long journey ahead of her anyway. Team Rocket could ream her for her outburst later if they wanted to, but for now, she was going to hang her head and pretend she was dead to the world for a bit. 

She ignored the calls at her as she forcefully boarded the aircraft and took her seat, releasing her Typhlosion and Piplup both from their balls so she could hold one and allow the other to curl protectively around her, puffing up its fire if anyone so much as looked at her wrong, leaving them with no option but to let. her. be . and focus on loading up supplies and making the journey themselves.

The only silver lining to that entire encounter was that the man had seemed completely fooled, like he truly believed her outburst was born from heated feelings on a tense subject, and not from having a malicious purpose against him. Which, in part, they were. But she couldn't deny that it had felt good to tell him off for it too.

Looking to busy her mind and her hands, the girl demanded a few things from the supply unit and was not at all surprised when they fearfully handed them over to her, watching in concern as she began carving and crafting balls out of them. She could feel the judging gaze of Jessie on her as she worked, but only held up her 3rd finger to her and got a huff in response as the woman spun around to mind her own business. 

Vaguely, she wondered exactly how many balls she could craft within the span of the flight to Unova, tossing the first completed one aside before they had even taken off from the ground. Missing both her home and her family, and even her time in Hisui itself. Looking back on both times fondly when things were all just a bit simpler. 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Meanwhile, in another time and place, things were neither simple nor fondly looked upon. Not for anybody, well, aside from Ash anyway. Specifically, for Dawn's family, things were at their worst. As the twins, who were supposed to be presenting a united front and leading the charge, were still busy quarreling amongst themselves. 

The younger of the two acting like he was years younger than the other, rather than only being minutes apart like they were in truth. 

The man seemed to flip on a dime how he felt about his twin, doing his absolute best to ignore him one minute, and making puppy eyes at the back of his head the next, as if he were only pretending to be mad, to avoid the fear and the hurt caused by him thinking that his brother was still mad enough at him to demote him. That he hated him now and felt he couldn't trust or rely on him. 

Which was completely untrue! The elder of the two was only doing his job! He felt nothing but pain at having to lower his younger twin's rank like that! He did not like upsetting him, he did not like not having him at his back and knowing they were both on par and working together. Ever since he had returned to his side, he had enjoyed greatly no longer being alone and performing tasks as a single car train. But their duties must come before personal matters! If Emmet only apologized and took this more seriously for the others involved, Ingo would gladly return his status to him!

And yet, the real kicker? Everyone around them seemed to be aware of it, including Ash for crying out loud! The only ones unaware? Ingo and Emmet themselves. Which was a funny thing, considering they were the two that should understand each other the best in the entire universe! But bonds like that were a funny thing, in and of themselves. 

The closer one was to another, the better they knew them, but also, the more they cared about their opinions. Causing them to panic more often when the other's actions deviated from the norm, making them worry that the other suddenly felt differently about them to match that new differing behavior. 

In short, Ingo and Emmet were as close as two people could be platonically, they knew each other well, probably too well.

But, because they loved each other so dearly, they feared losing each other more than anything else. They cared about how the other saw each other more than anything, they lived on that easy codependency, and the fact that one of them had seemingly tossed it and the other aside, caused that scorned one to fear the worst and panic. Blinding him to the others true thoughts and feelings, because if he was truly angry with him and okay with demoting him, what else could have changed?

Zoey could help but make a comment about how dramatic the two were, and again how weirdly close their relationship seemed to be with that of a couple, just minus the kissing and sexual stuff. That earned her an elbow jab from May, as the other girl hushed her, they both glared at one another as they stood waiting for Ingo to lead them once more.

See, they had gotten all their clan tunics and were all set to prepare for their next goal, but none of them really knew what that goal was, except of course for the conductor himself. Who was currently busy talking with one of the clan leader's, bowing as he accepted something into his hands and stashed it quickly into his pocket. 

They were all pretty curious about it, and normally, they would expect Emmet to lean into him and ask what it was, but seeing as the man was busy drawing angry faces with a stick, it was pretty obvious that they weren't going to be getting any answers through him. 

Thankfully, there was another among them who had little to no sense of boundaries, with a curiosity like a cat that would probably get him killed one day. A certain teen who happened to have already made his way over and was beginning to question the man, a Pikachu chirping curiously from its perch on the boy's shoulder.

"What was that red Pokéball!? It looked so different from a normal one! Is it special or something???"

The man flinched momentarily, eyes wandering over to his younger brother's back as he released a sigh and turned to face the teen instead, hands reaching up to adjust his hat.

"Indeed, I would dare to say it may be the most important Pokéball ever crafted, there could be little more special than that."

"Woah! The most important one ever ?! Why's that? Is it like, the only ball of its kind or something?! Like, a one of a kind ball made by a master?! I dealt with a ball like that once, I had to leave it with a guy named Kurt, but I never found out what was so special about that ball, or what was inside it."

Ingo hummed in response, meandering back over to the others as he spoke.

"Well, I certainly don't wish to keep you in suspense like that all over again. Therefore, prepare for an explanation from me, as well as a bit of a tale of Akari and I's time here! You see, I was not with her at the time that it happened, I only heard the story of it from Lady Irida and Akari herself. This ball used to contain one of the legendary Pokémon of Sinnoh, Palkia and Dialga, which each clan believed to be the Almighty Sinnoh itself, Arceus. Each clan worshiped what they thought to be god, and lived by its laws to either appreciate spacious lands, or respect the passage of time and not waste it. But they were wrong , neither one was the God they thought it was, and they found that out when they were met face to face with both Legends. One angry and warning of the other, the latter being frenzied and needing to be quelled by Akari herself. Once she did so, she knew she would have to catch it in order to fulfill the true God's orders of catching all Pokémon within the region, so she enlisted the help of the local Professor and his assistant, as well as one of my fellow Pearl Clan Wardens, and they made a ball out of both a special ore and pieces of something she called a Red Chain. The ore being one they called, the Ore of Origin. Akari then quelled the frenzied Pokémon and secured it in this ball. But she could not leave such important Pokémon trapped in balls when she left, so she entrusted them to the care of their respective clans, clans who find the mere notion of holding their God's in Pokéballs to be sacrilegious. As of now, this ball remains empty, but that is neither here nor there. The true reason that I wished to bring this ball into my possession as soon as I could, is because I suspect it holds great importance for Arceus and Akari in the future."

Instead of Ash asking a follow up question, Johanna stepped forward, hearing her daughter's pseudonym and immediately becoming both intrigued and concerned.

"What do you mean it's important for Da- Akari ? What does that ball have to do with anything?? She is trapped and being held captive by Team Rocket! Why would a ball matter to her?! She needs us to go and save her! Not some old ball!"

"Ah, it appears our tracks have crossed with no Switchman to operate the rail switches safely to keep us from colliding. Allow me to clear up any confusion and guide both our engines along the tracks swiftly and safely. You see, this Red Chain that Akari spoke to me about, she said it came from three mystical Pokémon called The Lake Guardians, and that this Red Chain was somehow intrinsically linked to Arceus and some of its most trusted creations, Palkia and Dialga. It allows the person using it to take control of them. And while I do not know for what purpose Dawn was kidnapped, I do know that any evil organization looking to expand their territory would never pass up a chance to acquire such a rare and powerful Pokémon as God itself. But, as the Almighty Sinnoh already belongs to and has chosen Akari, they would need some kind of means to force the Pokémon away from her and to their side instead. A means such as The Red Chain ."

Quieted by the information she had just received, Johanna clasped her hands silently as if in prayer, a fearful look in her eyes that prompted May to step up and place a hand on her shoulder in comfort. 

"Okay, I get it, that ball is special and can't fall into the hands of any bad guys like Team Rocket. But what does you having it, do to keep it from them?" 

Came the snarky question from the redhead in the back with her arms crossed and brow raised.

"I mean, I know you're a strong trainer and all, but even you can't fight off an entire crime syndicate by yourself. Heck, even if all of us jumped in to help, I doubt we could keep it away from them when we get back to our time. Wouldn't it be safer to just leave it with someone here or hide the thing?"

"Indeed, I do not think myself invincible, I may be a well oiled machine, but even I cannot hold them all off on my own. But, I had the thought that as we are currently in the past, the safest place to keep the ball where they could not get it, would be the one place that does not exist in the future, or, at least the place that is not currently in the future. "

Almost immediately, May gasped on understanding, looking to Ingo in awe.

"I see, so you're hiding the ball on your person to keep Team Rocket from getting it in the future, because you are from the future, but not there right now, so it physically can't exist in the future if it's with you! That's so clever! Even if we buried it somewhere, it would still be in the ground, which would exist in some form or another in the future, and may even be eroded by time to expose the ball! There's nowhere better to keep it than on someone who won't be here through the passage of time!"

"Yes! Indeed! Bravo Champion May! That was exactly my train of thought!"

The girl gave an embarrassed chuckle, a tiny smile on her face as she shrugged.

"My best friend is the son of my region's Professor, he kind of talks about sciencey stuff all the time. I guess I picked up a thing or two over the years. But even if we keep the ball, Zoey is right, it will only protect it while we are in the past. Once we get home, all they will have to do is take it from us, and it's over. This is only a short term fix, what are you planning to do with it in the long run?"

"Well, I had hoped to enlist the aid of those so-called Lake Guardians, to figure something out. I am but one man Champion May, I do not have all the answers. But Akari said each of those spirits reigned over some aspect of life, Knowledge, Emotion and Will Power. Perhaps, the Spirit of Knowledge will see fit to bless us with an answer to our conundrum."

"And if not?"

"Well, then if not, perhaps we can simply destroy it. Though, truthfully, I do not know if that is even possible. Nor if that is advised. Akari needed it to save the world, even if it could just as easily bring the world to its end, it is still an important relic that can be used to protect the world and its inhabitants from derailing."

"Well, if there's anything I've learned from Steven and Roxanne, it's that no matter how hard a rock is, it can always be crushed under the right amount of pressure. But yeah, you're right, we'll save destroying it for a last ditch effort. In the meantime, why don't you let us in on your plans for getting us home? If we can't solve one problem right now, we might as well solve the other, just take things one step at a time, or one rail at a time?"

"Yes! Bravo once again, Champion May! You are proving yourself to be quite the clever and reliable trainer!"

"Heh, kind of have to be if I'm a Champion, right?"

Off in the distance, they heard a branch snap, glancing over revealed the culprit to have been two white clad hands that had bent the poor thing until it split in two.

"Err, yes, I suppose so. Very well, I will let you all know my ideas, however, do know that it involves splitting up into two groups to best maximize our time spent and what those efforts will yield. One team would be working to aid Akari from here, and the other team working to get us home. I was originally planning to head one team and let Emmet guide the other down its tracks, but as Emmet is no in a position to lead anyone… Perhaps you would like to lead the other team, Champion May!"

It was at that point that Emmet gave a screeching hiss and began swinging his arms wildly in an attempt to burn off energy and anger. In his anger fueled daze, his eyes caught the motion of an abnormally large and red eyed Pokémon. An Alpha as Ingo and Akari had called them. Deciding that it would be taking out two Pidove with one stone, by relieving his anger and protecting the group, he charged forward to challenge it.

Leaving Ingo to gaze after him questioningly as May winced.

"Ohh, uh, I mean, I really don't want to get in the middle of… whatever this is. But I also really want to get home as soon as possible and help Akari . So uh, sure. Can't be any harder than leading an entire region." 

This drew the man's eyes back to hers, sparkling with joy as he clapped his hands three times in a row.

"Splendid! I am most glad that particular matter is settled. Now, allow me to explain my proposed schedules for our two lines."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Of course, of COURSE this Colress guy would be impossible to find, and his research lab would be equally nonexistent. Which would mean Dawn had to search ALL of Unova. 

A place she really didn't want to be right now. Sure, she had on as good a disguise as she could get, but that didn't mean she felt confident enough in it to just go waltzing all over Unova where she had spent the past few months getting to know everyone and making a name for herself. She especially , really, SUPER did not want to be in Nimbasa City of all places. The place where she had lived for the duration of that time.

But no, of course Team Rocket wouldn't trust her when she said that if the man had been there, or had some kind of secret lab there, she would know. Because, in all fairness, why should they? She had oh so eloquently said earlier how she didn't like or trust them, so why should they like or trust her? They weren't friends , and they certainly weren't a family , even if James (bless his heart) really did try his best to make them one.

By attempting to pull them all together and get them to talk things out and trying to sympathize with both Dawn's plight and feelings, as well as Jessie and Meowth's hurt hearts from them attempting to reach out and getting burned by her for it. And to be honest, they were still bad guys, so she really shouldn't care. 

But after all the crap she had been through, they were still the nicest ones to her and they put up with a lot of her Krabby-ness. So she couldn't help but feel at least a twinge of remorse for treating them like they were on par with Giovanni himself. They deserved scorn and punishment for joining this team willingly and constantly trying to steal people's Pokémon, but not that much. They weren't Giovanni levels of cruel and evil. 

So, with a deep breath to steady her resolve and her voice, Dawn did something that was very hard for her.

She apologized to the bad guys.

She apologized for her attitude, she apologized for her words, and she apologized for the things she was sure she would do and say in the future still. And while she felt like throwing up, James couldn't look happier, with those big sparkling eyes, like a child getting their first Pokémon. He even squealed and threw himself at her and Jessie, pulling both into a hug and nuzzling Meowth on his shoulder.

Cheering happily and grandly about them really being a family now, because families fight and put up with each other's issues all the time, but always come back together and stick together. Dawn couldn't help but huff out a laugh, a smile forming against her will. Affectionately (Arceus help her) joking about him being like an annoying and overbearingly empathetic older brother, and Jessie being a grouchy older sister who liked to pick on her. Which only seemed to make him happier.

Meowth then asked what that made him, to which she responded with the stupidly smart yet still somehow stupid pet. 

Just as Meowth was complaining about her role for him, her and Jessie both laughing as the woman claimed that it fit well and he couldn't complain if she couldn't complain about the 'grouchy older sister' title, Dawn heard a voice so chillingly familiar that she felt she had been struck by an Ice Beam.

"Dawn? Is that you? That is you, isn't it?"

Oh Arceus, she had let her guard down. She had let her guard down and now she had been found by Iris .

"I think you're right, Champion Iris, that has to be her. But what would my sweet little adopted niece be doing wearing that , when I bought her outfits that were Absol-utely so much cuter than that?"

Oh great, and Elesa too. Just perfect. Okay, maybe if she ignored them and didn't say a word, she could slip away from here. But then, if she tried to leave, they would probably just force her to battle. And a battle was absolutely out of the question! They would recognize her Pokémon in an instant no matter what she threw out at them.

"Um, Elesa, I think the issue is more who she is with, not what she is wearing, buuuut, to each their own I guess. I guess to a model, that would be a pretty big deal too."

"Oh, I was only joking to try and lighten the mood. Don't worry Champion Iris, I recognize those three troublemakers from all those years ago. Even if I never saw them for myself, I heard quite enough about those three from Ingo and Emmet about what they looked like and what havoc they wrought on our poor Subway system."

"Exactly! And they always try to steal other people's Pokémon!"

"Those are definitely the wrong kind of people for sweet little Dawn to be hanging around. Chances are, if they're here, they're up to no good, if they steal Pokémon, who says they haven't stolen a person? I think we should teach them a lesson, kidnapping people and Pokémon is definitely a punishable offense."

"Oh, that's totally a good point! Dawn! Have you been kidnapped?! Do you need us to help you?! Let us help you!"

Help her, save her, as always it was all about her , everyone thinking she is some helpless little…little.. doll or something! Fists clenched along with her teeth, shaking in rage that must have been misconstrued as something else. Perhaps fear, perhaps excitement at a possible saving, either way, the two females seemed to read it in some way that only boosted their morale and convinced them they were right.

Just as she was about to snap, Jessie leapt in front of her and threw out an arm.

"She's not kidnapped , we steal Pokémon, not people!"

Almost as soon as the woman finished speaking, James scrambled to stand beside her and toss his arm out as well.

"Yeah! And for your information, she is a new Team Rocket recruit! And her name is not Dawn , it's, uh, Dane?"

The glance that all the women threw at him said "...Really?" As if he could not have picked a dumber retort. Iris, the least impressed of them all, narrowed her eyes as she spoke.

"Okay, well isn't Dane, a bit young to join you guys?"

Doubling down, the man crossed his arms.

"We at Team Rocket don't discriminate! We accept all folks of all strokes! Besides! We don't have to explain ourselves to you !"

"Yeah! If you've got a problem with how we run things, then take 'em to the boss! Unless you're looking for a battle here and now! Team Rocket never backs down! Not even from some pesky Twerps like you and your friends!"

As she shouted at the two, seemingly grandstanding in hopes of scaring them off, the reverse happened. The two both began blazing with hardened resolve as they instantly tossed out Zebstrika and Haxorus, causing both Jessie and James to pale, while Jessie attempted to save face.

"A-Alright then! If it's a battle you want! Wobbuffet! You're up!"

"O-Old chum, do you mind helping us out?"

"Why do I gotta do it? Use one o' your other Pokeymon."

James crouched down, stage whispering to the Pokémon in an attempt to both spare Dawn from hearing him and keep the two opponents from hearing as well.

"Please Meowth, you know we handed over a good deal of our friends to the boss, and these two look strong, we need all the help we can get since… she can't battle with us right now." 

"Oy vey, alright fine, I'll give 'em a taste of my Fury Swipes!"

Shooting to his feet with a cheerful smile, James shot a fist into the air.

"That's the spirit, old chum! Now, let's drive these whiny women off!"

"Yeah!"

Dawn could tell they were doing this for her, that they were only trying to show their care for her by protecting her from her friends who were in turn only fighting to protect her from them . And it was sweet, touching even. But it was still not what she wanted. She didn't want anyone to get hurt for her, not even Team Rocket, well, at least, not these three members of it anyway.

They shouldn't be battling at all, they should be running . Getting away from the scene of the crime and searching Unova elsewhere for this stupid scientist and his lab so that they could leave Unova in full. 

Especially since this was Jessie, James and Meowth battling a Gym Leader and Champion. There was no way they could win and she knew that. They should have just run and avoided battle altogether, not even acknowledging the two speaking to them. 

"Ohh! James! Meowth! Try harder darn it!"

"But, Jess, we are giving it our all!"

"Yeah! These Twerps are just too strong for us! My claws are all busted up now from trying to cut something so hard!"

"Well, try punching them then! I don't care! We are Team Rocket, we don't run from little girls and gaudily dressed women! Especiallynot after they've insulted us and our recruiting process!"

On the other side of the battle, she could hear Iris faltering in conviction and seeking a boost from her partner.

"If that really is Dawn though, why isn't she answering us?"

"Maybe she's scared."

"What?! What could she be afraid of? These guys are pushovers! And even if they weren't, I've never seen Dawn get scared and go silent before."

"Then maybe they've gagged her somehow, oh, my poor little niece, I hope they haven't done any unspeakable things to her."

"*gasp* Oh my gosh you're right! That could be why she's acting so weird if it is her! You guys are monsters! Haxorus, let's finish this!"

"You too Zebstrika, let's give them a shock they'll never forget!"

With one last push, the battle was over, a clear landslide victory for the two females and a devastating loss for Team Rocket, as always.

She could see James giving her a grimace, eyes looking so apologetic that one would think he had personally sold her out. Even Jessie turned a moody pout to her but avoided her eyes out of guilt. 

They should run, now , hop in their balloon and book it. But then, Elesa and Iris would never give up…would they? If they felt there was even a chance that it was her, they would chase them to the ends of the Earth, just like Ingo and Emmet and her mother. They would get themselves hurt or worse trying to save her when she didn't even need saving . Or, at the very least, when she didn't want saving.

If she ran now , it would only cause more trouble in the future, no, she couldn't run, Iris would not hesitate to have one of her Pokémon pop their balloon and corner her again anyway. 

With a deep heaving sigh that bore her whole heart, Dawn turned to face them and tossed out Virizion, Latios and Creselia, much to the shock of all those around her. Especially Jessie and James.

"Are you sure about this? We could just run, you know? You don't have to battle them ."

"We won't stop you if you want to fight them, but he's right, you don't have to do this kid."

"It's fine. They wouldn't give up if we ran anyway." She whispered.

Walking up to her Pokémon, she patted each of them, muttering an apology and whispering to them in an attempt to convey her dilemma.

"I don't want to do this either. But we have no choice. We have to stop them here , or else they will only make things worse later. Please, just, do whatever you think is right to stop them."

As soon as she got 3 nods of understanding, and a trill of sympathy from Creselia, she stood and stepped back, one arm behind her back as the other rose to snap and signal the start of the battle. With 3 on 2 it was underhanded and wrong in every way, but it reminded her of lighter times in Hisui and it got the job done faster and easier. 

She managed to take down Zebstrika almost immediately, then burned through the rest of Elesa's Pokémon just as fast. Leaving it all up to Iris, who ruffled her hair furiously before screaming.

"You know what?! Fine! If it's a 3 on 3 you want, let's do it! This isn't an official Champion battle anyway, so rules don't matter!"

The teen then began tossing out Pokémon to the left and right of her partner, causing Dawn to grimace beneath her mask. This was not good, if she kept pushing like this, Latios, Virizion and Creselia were going to go down. They weren't used to battling like this, and then she would have to use one of her other Pokémon, any of which would be immediately recognized by Elesa and Iris.

What should I do? Should I ask Arceus to teleport them away too? No, I can't do that. I don't even know where the others were sent before, just that they were safe from Giovanni. But, if I don't, then what will I do??? As she bit her lip in thought, she could hear Creselia cry out as she collapsed, drawing the girl to recall her to her ball out of instinct. 

"Wait is that…it is! Elesa, look at that ball! Look how old and handmade it looks! This has to be Dawn! Unless she just made balls for all of Team Rocket to use! But why would she? That wouldn't make any sense, do you think they kidnapped her just to make them balls??? Did she ever tell you if the old balls she made were any better or special in some way compared to what we have now?"

Well heck, if something as simple as a hand made ball was enough to get her cover blown, then why did she even bother disguising herself? Of course only her and Ingo knew how to make balls like this. Why hadn't she thought of that before??? Arceus, she was such an idiot!

"I don't know. Ingo didn't say they were any stronger or anything. And I doubt that Team Rocket cares about the aesthetics of it."

While the two were distracted, Dawn felt a tug on her sleeve and glanced down to see a freshly awakened Meowth.

"Come on, while they're distracted, you should just knock 'em out and book it! Our balloon ain't far, we could make it!"

Could they? Could they really ? Or would Iris just toss out her other Pokémon and give chase? Now that they've gotten a good look at Creselia's ball, they seemed even more sure it was her. Why would they ever let them go now? They wouldn ' t , they would never let them get away. The only option was to fight them off now! And if they were already sure it was her anyway, then she didn't need to hold back anymore.

There was no reason to, the only shot she had was to beat them so badly that they couldn't come after her, to convince them that she really had joined Team Rocket by her own choosing and seemingly renounced her ties to them. To break their hearts so they wouldn't feel compelled to chase her and offer her their aid.

Once again, she wanted to cry, but knew that would solve nothing. There would be time for tears later, James would console her and rub her back and hold her, Jessie would talk big and try to comfort her in her own way, by telling her that Iris and Elesa weren't worth it. And Meowth would lay in her lap and try to sooth her with a few purrs. Later. For now, she had to remove one mask to make room for another.

Tossing out her Typhlosion, Espeon and Mamoswine, the girl reached up and pulled the mask to the side to hang off the side of her head, revealing her face for all to see. Iris immediately smiled, clapping her hands cheerfully as she looked at Elesa.

"I knew it! It is her! Don't worry Dawn, you're safe now! You can stop battling and just come with us! We'll take care of everything! You just have to tell us what's going on."

"Stop it. I don't want you to do anything other than roll over already."

"W…What?"

"I said I don't NEED any help! I'm fine on my own! And I'm right where I need to be! Arceus why can't you people ever realize that?! I'm not a baby, I'm not an invalid! And I am old enough and strong enough to make my own decisions and do my own work!"

As Iris flinched back as if burned, Elesa placed a hand on her shoulder, eyes cool as she stepped forward.

"Is this about Ingo and Emmet not letting you do more work around the house? Because I thought that had changed already."

Scoffing at the woman with a cruel smirk on her face, Dawn continued.

"You think this is still about me playing house with them ? Look around Aunt Elesa , they aren't even here anymore. Have you been by the house lately? Been to Gear Station lately? They're not there, are they? Do you wanna know why?"

Lifting both hands to point down at her face as she gave a wink and a smile, the girl posed almost innocently.

"That's right, I did that. I'm capable of a lot more than anyone gives me credit for. And right now, I'm on a mission, so I'm going to have to ask you to stay out of my way."

The woman looked pained for a moment, obviously wanting to ask where the two station masters were, but chose instead to swallow those words in place of some others.

"What mission? Whatever it is, we could so it together, if you just tell us what's going on , we can he-"

"AH-AH-AH, no, don't wanna. I already said, I don't WANT anyone's help. Especially not yours . You may be a Gym Leader, but you went down pretty easily just a few minutes ago. You wouldn't be any help to anyone like that, you'd only weigh me down. So if you could just get out of my life instead and focus on your own, that'd be great."

"B-But Dawn, we're your friends , we're worried about you! It's only natural for us to want to help! Right Haxorus?"

The Pokémon gave a pained cry, as if conflicted on the issue.

"What? Come on buddy! Don't be like that, this is Dawn we're talking about."

"Actually, he's got the right idea, Champ . Maybe you should just go back to your little village and play with your dragons, it would certainly be safer than you trying to follow me. Now, this is your last chance. Back off. Or I will have to make you."

"Dawn, sweetie, please just talk to us. We don't know why you're acting this way, but we all still love you. Whatever you did with Ingo and Emmet, I'm sure they'll forgive you too . So just calm down and tell us what's wrong. We know you're strong and capable alone, but you don't have to be anymore, you're not in Hisui anymore! Nothing can hurt you now, you have Arceus for crying out loud. You have so many allies waiting and willing to join you, if you would just let them ."

"Haha, for the last time Aunt Elesa, I DON'T WANT ANY OF YOUR HELP! NONE OF YOU! I'M DONE, OKAY?! DONE! Nobody needs to help me, because I don't need it or want it, I am doing what I need to do BY MYSELF, and the only thing I need from you idiots is for you to GET that and LEAVE. ME. ALONE. Typhlosion, Mamoswine, Espeon, finish this. We're done talking, they had their chance. And you three, get the balloon ready, we're looking somewhere else, there's clearly nothing here for anyone. "

Her Pokémon and Team Rocket both obediently carried out her instructions, rushing forward to knock out their stunned opponents and rushing off to ready their ride simultaneously. With crossed arms, Dawn glared at her friends as their last line of attack was beaten and recalled, leaving them to look on stunned as they watched her recall her partners and turn her back on them.

"Dawn…Dawn wait! We know you're hurt, we know you didn't mean that, just…Please, if you just stay we can work this all out. Think of your family, please ."

"Yeah! And…And Ash is the strongest trainer I know! I bet if you call him, he could come down and lend a hand too. You just have to stay here and wait for him."

"...You just don't understand, do you? Neither of you get it. Ash, May, Ingo, Emmet, Zoey, my mom, none of them are going to be involved in this because I already had Arceus send them away, to a place where they can't bother me. And if you keep pushing like this, I'll have to send you there too. So if you like the life you're living now, then just forget about me and go back to your own lives. There's no need to worry about me. I can handle myself. I got all I needed from my friends, they had no idea what they helped me do. I got May to help me catch some more Legends, I got Conway to give me information, and now I don't need anything else from anyone else. So just go away already. You're nothing but a burden to me now."

With her piece said, the teen broke into a run, ignoring the hiccups and obvious tears from her fellow Champion as she made her way to the balloon to hop into the basket with the rest of her team. The second she was seated and they were in the air, James asked if she was alright. 

Which was a stupid question, how could she ever be alright? After saying such horrible things to her friend and her self proclaimed aunt. She left them crying for the love of Arceus. Even if she managed to take out Giovanni and destroy all the other gangs. How could she ever come back to them? She would feel too guilty to ever even think about facing them again. 

As Dawn hiccups to herself, attempting to push back against the floodgates she knew were threatening to overflow, she felt her phone vibrate, she gave it a cursory glance and saw that it was marked as a text from 'Cassi' with an audio file attached. But she ignored it. She couldn't check it now even if she wanted to anyway, not with Jessie and James and Meowth right there comforting her.

And certainly not when she wasn't in any headspace to do anything anyway. For now, she would ignore it and let herself work through her issue. When they inevitably landed again and fanned out a bit to search, then she would listen to it.

Brrrrng, Click!

Hey, Rei, so I was going through the audio I was getting from my device and I heard something I think you should hear. Don't trust anyone from Team Rocket. That should be obvious but… just listen to this.

"Sir, may I be permitted to ask a question?"

"You may Matori, go ahead."

"Why did you send those three fools to Paldea and Unova when you could have sent a stealth squad? Pladea has never even heard of, let alone dealt with the likes of Team Rocket before until now. Would it not have been better to keep it that way? You know those 3 always make a scene and blunder every task they are given." 

"Ha, that is of little consequence. I did not expect them to succeed. I had…other reasons for choosing to send them."

"And, may I ask what those reasons are, sir?" 

"Hm. Tell me Matori, what qualities would you attribute to their constant failure?"

"Well, they are fools that have no real skills when it comes to fitting into any division in our group. They're a joke, any Pokémon they manage to catch for themselves are weak undertrained things, and they all seem to share a single brain cell. In short, they are weak and unintelligent."

"Ha! Yes, but what is it that makes them so weak?"

"Their lack of talent."

"Perhaps so, but more than anything, it is their soft nature. They are bleeding hearts, they have sympathy, they form bonds. Those 3 are known for their bonds, you see, top agents like Cassidy and Butch, they know how to have a professional relationship. They are partners, and nothing more, and they succeed. But those three? They cherish each other. They act like they are a little family. And we both know how important family is to that girl. While she may not like them due to her past negative experiences with them, she will hopefully find that she has common traits with them with which they can bond over. They are also familiar faces for her. My true goal in this, is to get those four away from the true work happening here so they cannot interfere, but also so that she may grow comfortable with them, and they with her, so that she will trust them, even the most infinitesimal amount, and hopefully let slip something that will aid us in making some headway with Arceus. After all, no matter how guarded and cautious this girl is, she is still nothing more than a child. And children in times of stress will always look for others to lean on and share their woes with. Right now, that girl is neck deep in enemy territory, there is no greater stress inducer than being nigh powerless and caught between a rock and a hard place."

"But sir, could you not just interrogate her for such information? The fact that she is a child is of no consequence to us, we could simply torture the information out of her to get her to tip her hand."

"No, that would likely do nothing but anger Arceus when we have no surefire means of controlling it yet. It favors the child, so harming her is out of the question…for now at least."

"There are always other methods of torturing someone. We could target those close to her."

"Those closest to her are already beyond my reach, she has made sure of that. And the ones left over are under our protection for a reason, we made a deal, and it is not one that I can afford to break on a whim. This is God itself we are playing with, we need an airtight method before we can take any drastic measures. Right now, those three idiots are our best bet at getting the information we need. I know your opinions on them are less than favorable, Matori, but right now you will just have to have faith in them."

"I see. I understand now. Thank you sir, for humoring my curiosities."

"Of course, you are the subordinate I trust the most, Matori, and having someone who understands means having someone to act in my stead when I am off dealing with other matters. I will soon be mobilizing a small team to take with me to Paldea myself, provided that the rumors of time-travel turn out to be true. I have a feeling that we may be needing such a tool in the near future."

"Thank you sir, I shall do my best for you, as I always do."

"I would expect nothing less."

So, yeah, I hope you haven't told them anything. I know you know what you're doing, but just…be careful and keep your guard up, and text me back after you get this so I can remotely scrub this from your phone so nobody else can see it. We are all in over our heads here, but you more so than anyone since you're alone. I have already notified our head Champion over here, so don't worry about us. You focus on you and just try to hold out, alright? Stay safe. Cassi out.

CHAPTER 2 END

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 3 START 

Standing around befuddled and emotionally drained with a thousand question racing through the brain, helps no one. Especially teenagers who are known to have short tempers and are quick to act. Thankfully, this time it worked out in the favor of Iris and her cause. As she quickly shifted from being concerned and sad, to angry and impatient, her hands scratching furiously through her hair as she screamed.

"Arrrrhhhhh!!!! THATS IT! THATS THE FINAL STRAW! I'm calling Cynthia! "

The teen then whipped out her device, immediately flipping through her contacts as she furiously muttered to herself while searching. This seemed to pull Elesa from her own sulking, causing her to flinch and pull herself closer to the shorter female.

"Wait, Cynthia as in the highly revered Sinnoh Champion Cynthia?"

"Yup. I'm betting that if anyone knows what's going on, it's her . Dawn mentioned once that Cynthia helps her with her work and is always on top of her. So she has to know something we don't. Aha! Found it!"

"What are you calling her for? Wait! Don't call her yet until I know why!"

Ignoring her companion, the teen dialed up the woman and held a hand up behind her to silence the woman standing with her.

One would expect a former Champion to answer the phone with a professional voice, a tone of poised regality and practiced patience, a sort of suave disposition that many champion class trainers were taught to have. Especially from one as well known for being cool and collected as Cynthia, but instead what answered Iris was a huff and a slightly impatient tone.

"Champion Iris. Do you need something?"

Normally, Iris herself would have flinched, perhaps frozen and reconsidered whether she did indeed need something from the woman or not, but not today. Not this time. This was about more than herself here!

"You're darn right I do! I need to know what's going on with Dawn!"

This seemed to turn the tables on Cynthia, causing the woman to halt with her cold demeanor and less than friendly tone, and begin a more open, almost hopeful one.

"Dawn? You mean the current Sinnoh Champion? Why? Do you know something?? Have you seen her??"

"That's what I'd like to know! And yeah, we did. We saw her with Team Rocket."

"Team Rocket?...Hold on, did you say we? "

Iris nodded, forgetting for a moment that the woman could not see her over the phone as she had not initiated that type of call. This brought a huff from her as she enabled her camera and a moment after, a tired looking Cynthia did the same.

Her hair was all tousled, there were bags under her eyes, and worst of all, she wasn't even in her own home, yet it looked like she hadn't left that room in days. There was a young man with her who appeared even more frazzled and unkempt, but he didn't even bother to lift his eyes from his computer screen for a second to acknowledge her.

"Yeah, I have one of my Gym Leaders here with me, Elesa. She's become something like an Aunt to Dawn lately."

"Hello Champion Cynthia, it is a pleasure to speak with you, although I do wish it were under better circumstances."

"Indeed. Nevertheless, the pleasure is all mine, it's not everyday one gets to speak to a model, though this is hardly idle chit-chat, is it? Please, tell me when you last saw her, and what you mean when you say she was with Team Rocket. Did she look held against her will??"

Iris took a moment to ponder the events that had transpired not too long ago, glancing at Elesa who gave a soft grimace and glanced at the ground with crossed arms. Nobody was happy in this situation, least of all Dawn, that much was obvious. But Team Rocket also didn't appear to be strong-arming her either. 

Dawn was no pushover of a trainer, she was a Champion just as much as Iris herself. She could take them easily! So did that mean she was there willingly? But why? She clearly didn't want to be with them. So why was she? Did that mean she wasn't with them against her will? 

Thinking in circles like this was not only not getting her anywhere, but it was also hurting her head. So the teen only clawed at her hair in frustration before screeching back over the line.

"Ugh! I don't know, I don't know! Look! I already told you everything I know! If I knew what was going on, I wouldn't have called and asked you , would I?"

She could hear Cynthia take a deep, suffering breath in and out through her nose, probably in an attempt to keep herself civil.

"I understand that, but you at least saw her recently. How did she appear to you? Were her clothes dirty? Did she look like she had been roughed up? Do you know which way she was headed? Or perhaps what Team Rocket's goal was when you caught them? Any of these questions answers could help to narrow down the possibilities and let us more accurately determine what is going on with Dawn."

"Uh, well, she was wearing a mask? That's about all I noticed, I wasn't exactly paying attention to anything like that you know! It was Dawn, that's all I was focused on, because Dawn is all that mattered!"

Suddenly, Elesa cleared her throat and stepped forward, reaching out a hand toward the champion and raising a brow.

"May I?"

Iris glanced at her, then back at the device before quickly tossing it over to her. 

"Sure, whatever."

Elesa smiled gratefully before stoically facing the device and addressing the blond.

"Champion Cynthia, she didn't appear injured, though, it was hard to tell since she was covered head to toe. She seemed to be trying to hide her identity with that mask, but I think she gave up and took it off when she realized we could tell it was her, I think that was when she pivoted and went with a different plan. She started acting differently, like she was trying to convince us all, maybe even herself, that she was where she wanted to be. Because she went from acting hesitant and trying to hide, to speaking loudly and getting in our faces. I don't know what Team Rocket had on her, but they must have something . I'll admit, I haven't known her for that long, but I have known Emmet and Ingo forever, and if they trust her, then I know she can't be someone who would willingly go along with any villains. So they must have some kind of leverage they're holding over her, otherwise she would just take them down. I've battled that girl for a gym badge, and trust me, I can tell when someone is holding back. Her and her team, they're more dangerous than a bolt of lightning out of the sky."

After a moment, Cynthia sighed, the voice she responded with betrayed the fond smile that had to have been adorning her face.

"Yes, that she is. I haven't gotten the chance to battle her since her first disappearance, but she wasn't definitely a force to be reckoned with back when she tore the title of Champion from me all those years ago. I wonder though, what could be so important that Dawn would allow them to take her with them, rather than fight them for it? The only thing I can think is that maybe it is something bigger than just her and what she wants. What if it is something that involves more than just herself? Say, an entire region perhaps?"

"What are you saying?"

"Well, she is the acting Champion of the Sinnoh region. If Team Rocket has her, and she has not fought her way to freedom yet, perhaps it is because she is acting in the interest of her people rather than her own safety."

"You think they may have blackmailed her, threatened a mass of people to get her to sign herself over to them. That is possible, I guess, but the question then becomes, why? Why would they do that? What could they possibly want with a single teenage girl that they would threaten the lives of so many others just to try to get her?"

"That I do not know. But I have someone that I am working with here, he says that when he last saw Dawn, she had asked him for all the information he could dig up on Team Plasma. I will admit, it is possible that Team Rocket already had her in their clutches then and wanted her to get information on a rival gang. But it is also possible that she herself was seeking this information for other reasons. Those reasons however are also unknown to us, if that is the case anyway."

After mulling over the shared knowledge, Iris demanded that whoever Cynthia was working with, be put on so she and Elesa could speak with them. The older Champion was quick to give a hum that reaked of disapproval, yet acquiesced all the same. The second that they were passed over to new hands, a tired and aggravated male tone snipped at them.

"Yeha, what? I'm more than a little busy here in case you didn't notice. What do you want?"

"For you to have a better attitude for one! Where do you get off speaking to a Champion like that?! Im just trying to save my friend here!"

"Champion Iris, please, we're all worried about Dawn, but if we start fighting each other, we will get nowhere. We understand that you're busy, but we really need to talk about Dawn, please tell us anything you can."

With a frustrated huff, the male began clicking at keys and flatly spoke.

"There isn't anything that I can say that you weren't already told. Dawn had me digging up information on Team Plasma. Everything I could find, locations of bases and straggler members, the leader, anything. She seemed tense, said that her family needed it to try to make the Unova region safe for her to return to because she'd had a run in with them once already. She told me to send anything I found to her, and of course, I just wanted her to be safe, so I agreed. But then she disappeared! And now I find out that she is in the clutches of Team Rocket of all people! My poor Dawn seems to find trouble wherever she goes! And I have no idea why or how to help her! Perhaps you should be the ones telling me what you know! Why would anyone want to target Dawn, tell me absolutely every detail you know ." 

The purple haired youth was quick to fire off about how they had already shared everything they knew, once again complaining about the others attitude as well, meanwhile Elesa went silent. A moment later he heaved a deep sigh and reluctantly gave in.

"I see, so you're really know nothing. Then I'm afraid you're useless to me. You are only wasting my time, so if you really care about her, then leave me alone so I can work."

"Wait a second! I think I might have an idea of what's going on!"

The instant the Gym Leader spoke, there was a clatter on the other end as Cynthia and the nameless male both began shouting over each other.

"Wait really? Elesa! Why didn't you say anything earlier!"

"Apologies Champion Iris, but I only thought of it now. Ingo never gave me all the details about what he and Dawn went through, it was more of an overview, but some things are starting to fill themselves out for me based on what we are learning. So, Dawn is with Team Rocket right now, for reasons we do not know but can speculate about based on other information. When Dawn went missing before, Team Plasma had taken her. The twins were furious, and Ingo was so worried. We were all called to help, but it turned out we weren't needed. Dawn had not only freed herself, but brought the criminals to justice by riding into town on the back of some weird white Pokémon that appeared to be 10 feet tall and according to the officers on the scene, exuded the aura of something powerful and reverent, almost like a God, and that Pokémon then deposited all of the gang members into the hands of the police. Ingo said that Dawn dealt with all manner of Legends and Mythical Pokémon during their disappearance. So who can say whether or not one of those was or was not the God of all Pokémon itself?"

The first to respond was Iris, screaming out a confused and shocked "What?! But! But that's!...." a calmer, yet somehow more devastated voice then faintly came over the line. 

" No …that's! She didn't….She couldn't!"

" Arceus. You believe she captured Arceus itself." Spoke Cynthia, her chilling tone causing Elesa to stand up straighter, as if she were being scrutinized by the woman.

"Well, it is a theory, but it would explain why Team Plasma went to the trouble of kidnapping her, and it would give us a reason for her being with Team Rocket seemingly by choice. Who would be better equipped to take on a gang of miscreants, than another gang of miscreants?"

"That is true, and knowing Dawn, she would rather risk herself and those gang members' safety, than that of her friends, family, and coworkers."

"But! But! We're all a lot stronger than some grunts in Team Rocket! Why wouldn't she trust us to help her?!" Said the teen Champion. 

"I am sure that isn't the issue here. She obviously does trust us, but trust doesn't matter when fearing the worst for someone you care about. Besides, she likely didn't want to involve us in her problems and risk ruining our own lives. If she really did catch Arceus, then she would likely see it as her being the one to make the choice to accept that problem, meanwhile we never consented to any such burdens." Came the sagely reply from Cynthia.

"And aside from that, even if the grunts are weaker, they still outnumber us. Strength alone is not always a powerful enough deterrent. And criminal organizations like that have lots of money and members." Said Elesa.

Suddenly, the male spoke up.

"And that's not even mentioning the crazy tech that they have at their disposal."

"What do you mean, Conway?" Queried the blond with him.

Ah, Conway, so that was his name, thought both Unovans.

"Organizations as big as Team Rocket always have their own crazy scientists working for them. Just like how Team Galactic did. So I'm sure they have some pretty advanced stuff to play around with. And that's bad ."

"Continue."

"Well, if my dear Dawn truly did capture Arceus itself, and Plasma wanted her for her Arceus, then it is safe to say they would have wanted to create something to control Arceus. Thankfully, from what little I could dig up, it seemed Team Plasma's scientist was one of the first ones to leave the group when they disbanded. So we shouldn't have to worry about them. However, if Team Rocket knows about her having such a strong Pokémon, then they are still prominent and strong enough to actually get what they need to make something like that, as long as they have someone who can create something like that, and I cannot see them not having someone with the brains for that, then we are in quite the pickle, and so is Dawn. But, that of course all goes back to the matter of whether Team Rocket knows of her Pokémon and if Dawn truly has such a Pokémon or not."

As they all drifted into silent thoughts, pondering if Dawn could truly have caught such a creature, Cynthia stepped up to delegate tasks, speaking in a voice that held no hesitancy and left no room for debate.

"Champion Iris, I am hereby requesting your presence in Sinnoh. I would like you to give Conway full access to all the records and documents pertaining to Team Plasma then and now. I want your police force and all of your region's Gym Leaders to begin searching out any remaining specks of that group. And I want them to take down and capture anyone even remotely affiliated with Team Plasma. While awaiting your arrival, I will put my own Gym Leaders on the same task but for Team Galactic. Even if they are much smaller now, I know there is still a small yet dedicated group out there. And I would rather wrangle them up now before they know about any of this, than wait and let them become a problem for Dawn. She should be able to be safe in her own home region."

"Of course! Elesa, you heard her! I'm heading to Sinnoh, you gather everyone up. Tell them I sent you and that all Gyms are hereby closed until further notice, I want them all to have their ringers on and eyes peeled. I'll call if Cynthia and I find or learn anything new."

"Right, fly safe Champion Iris. You can count on me! I will call you if any of us find anything out as well. Best of luck to us all."

Before Elesa had even finished speaking, Iris had released her Dragonite and climbed atop its back, its wings flapping in anticipation as she relayed what was going on and gave her orders. The Pokémon snorted and took off in a torrent of wind and heated cries. 

"I'm on my way, Cynthia. I'm gonna hang up now so I can call the police here before I leave the area and reception gets spotty."

"Okay, sounds good. Fly fast Champion Iris. Safe travels."

With that, her voice cut out as the call ended, leaving Iris free to dial up the cops, and Cynthia free to receive another call. A call from yet another Champion who sounded far less composed than normal, a tinge of worry tainting his usual cool tone. 

"Ah, Champion Cynthia, please pardon the interruption, I know your current Champion is away, so you are probably quite busy, but…I..I must ask, have you seen mine anywhere?"

"Champion Steven, I'm sorry, yours ?"

From the sound of it, the man was spinning his rings, seemingly a nervous tick for the rock lover.

"Yes, well, you see. May messaged me that she was taking some vacation days and asked me to go in to cover her. She said she had run into a fellow Champion friend and she was hoping to catch up with her. I-I joked about how I was a fellow Champion and that she hadn't taken any days off to catch up with me, and she good naturedly teased back about how old I was and that this friend was not only her age, but that she was a fellow contest lover like herself. So I let her go and bid her a fun vacation with her friend. But I have been unable to reach her for quite some time now, and based on the description it matched yours , so I was hoping that perhaps you could put me through to your current Champion, so that she could put me through to mine, or at least let me know where she is and why she isn't answering. It is not like her, May never misses calls, and she always answers messages in a timely manner. I am worried, as are her parents. Her father, one of the Gym Leaders, has threatened to resign so he can go look for her himself."

"I see. Apologies Steven, but I have neither seen nor heard from your Champion at all. Nor have I heard from mine . But I can tell you this, our replacements are definitely not together."

The sheer panic in his voice was heavy enough for her to feel it in her own chest.

"W-Wha- I beg your- come again?! I truly thought…But if it's not yours , then who?..."

In order to stop the man from spiraling, Cynthia sighed and cut in gently. 

"Perhaps they were for a time, but they certainly are not now . I have no idea where your Champion is, but I genuinely pray you find her. If I were you, I would start by searching out any gangs in your area, hopefully she has not been taken in by them."

"I see. Thank you Cynthia, May is quite the strong and capable girl, so I doubt she was kidnapped, but it certainly can't hurt to check. I am sorry for bothering you with this, and I am sorry to ask this of you, but if you hear or see anything in regards to May, could you please give me a call back? Anytime of day is fine, I doubt I will be sleeping much anyway until this is all resolved."

"Of course, if I learn anything, we'll be in touch. And likewise, if you see or hear of mine being in your area…"

"Yes, I will certainly return the favor. Thank you, Cynthia, and have a nice day."

"You too. Bye."

Click!

With a sigh, the woman placed down her device and leaned her head back, desperately wanting to just close her eyes and rest for a few minutes. But knowing what she did now, she knew that was not even a remote possibility. There were 2 different Champions from 2 separate regions missing at the same time, and one was in the clutches of Team Rocket. And as the former acting Champion of Sinnoh, it was her responsibility to take up the reins and lead in situations like these.

It's a shame too, she had been thinking about taking a trip up to her villa in Unova for a relaxing vacation herself. But it was looking more and more like that would have to wait. For now, she had a teen to find and another to throttle. Arceus help them all, if they could all get through this, she'd personally invite and put up each and every one of her Gym Leaders, and Steven as well. When this was said and done, she had a feeling they would all be in desperate need of a Vacation.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

After narrowly escaping Elesa and Iris, the begrudging Team turned misfit family managed to make their way toward another crop of civilization to explore and search for the rogue scientist. Once again coming up short on leads, the teen managed to convince James to show her a picture of the man and tell her his name, which led to her pulling out her phone to search said man up, finding posts from a couple years ago saying that he had fled to Alola. 

Frustrating as it was running around like she'd had her head chopped off, she still could not afford to lose her temper on them, not when she was stuck with them and lashing out would only make them angrier with her, not when it wasn't even their fault. So rather than exploding at them, she suggested that they simply call in backup to release them in their search here in Unova, that way she and her team would be free to begin making their way toward the tropical region to start searching there.

Was it a perfect plan? She couldn't say, but it would at least get her out of Unova. This place was a hotspot for people who knew her, people here who cared for her and would definitely be more than willing to put themselves out for her. Which meant it was dangerous territory , and she needed to get out of it.

And fortunately for her, it wasn't a hard sell, seeing as she was put through to a chuckling Giovanni who listened to her explain her little run in and how it was impeding the team's progress and she feared more such impediments if they told anyone she was here. 

And while the man seemed more entertained by her plight than bothered by it, he did still agree with her. So with that, the team was on their way to Alola, the only condition being that they stop by a base and grab something for him before they return to Kanto.

The Alola region proved to be more to the girl's skill range, as she was able to swiftly cozy up to some of the locals, who eagerly told her all about their resident science fanatics, and that if she was looking for a scientist friend, he was likely with them. 

Though something told her that if this scientist ran away from one region where he was a prominent part of a large-scale threat to said region, he likely would go into hiding, not go join a huge group like the Aether Foundation. 

But since she didn't exactly want to succeed at helping a criminal organization accomplish their goals, the girl chose to keep that piece of information to herself.

The whole thing turned out to be a complete wash, as nobody could accurately point them toward the man they were searching for. So after wasting Arceus knew how long going around and asking, the gang eventually gave up and decided to stop by the small Rocket base in the region to pick up whatever it was that Giovanni wanted. 

The bastard had only said to tell the grunts there that they were picking up 'a special project component' for the boss. So while Jessie and Meowth waited for their fellow grunts to find the part, James went to refuel their balloon for them and left her to restock their necessities. Giving the teen the perfect opportunity to slip away from the vending machine and look for the main computer system so she could get what she needed. 

Silently, she shot a text to her accomplice, telling her to save her current location and project that as her location until she gave the all clear. She waited until she got a thumbs up back before creeping through the halls, eyeing the walls and ceilings with a sure and swift gaze, stealthily padding through the corridors, peeking through slits in doors and windows without blinds. 

The very second she found the unassuming room in the heart of the building, the girl crouched down and silently released her Espeon, instructing the psychic type with nothing more than a nod of her head. Once she received one back the girl pushed the door open and quietly tiptoed her way inside, made her way to the desk and got to work planting one of the gifted devices, whipping one out of her hair and murmuring the chosen word as she slapped it down. 

She waited only a moment, casting a wary glance at the grunt asleep in the chair while she waited for a text telling her it was working, before she recalled her Pokémon and booked it out of the room and back down the hallways she had come through to make her way back to the vending machine to purchase some drinks and snacks for the group. She just managed to send an all clear text and pocket her device when James came around the corner and thanked her with a grateful grin as he helped her carry back her haul. 

The two then made a rendezvous with Jessie and Meowth who were complaining about having to lug such a heavy thing themselves, whatever it was, and were quickly calmed down by James giving them a hand and distributing each a drink and snack once they had it loaded up in their balloon. They all ate in said balloon, flying for a few hours until Jessie began complaining about needing a pitstop to 'powder her nose'. 

As she did so, James decided to stretch his legs and look for some wood to make camp with for the night, despite the fact that the sun was only beginning to set. So Dawn remained with Meowth, who seemed content to tinker with the balloon and ignore her all together. It was only when she too got tired of sitting and said she wanted to go look for wood that he even bothered to acknowledge her existence, with a distracted call of affirmation that he had heard her and a direction in which 'Jimmy' had gone off in. 

He made sure to remind her that they were tracking her, and that if she wandered off too far, she'd be in trouble. But the warning seemed less meant to threaten her, and more meant as an honest reminder out of concern, as if he did not want her to get in trouble and was simply trying to look out for her. The bile and half digested snacks felt like lead in her stomach at that moment. It was all she could do to mutter a soft "More than you could ever know." in response before taking off into the trees. 

Not 10 minutes into her hike with a bundle of kindling under her arm as she bent down to pick up some more, she heard a twig snap. Lurching upright and jumping to face the sound, Dawn pulled a Pokéball immediately and began scanning the area for the noise she had heard. What was it? A Pokémon? A person ? There shouldn't be any people out here, other than her and her team. And yet, there it was, there he was in all his arrogant glory. 

Gary freaking Oak .

The ever present grin on his face turned to a smirk, at that very same second, Dawn felt her heart stop.

"Well, I guess I'm not the only one on vacation. It's Dawn, right? Ash's friend?"

Swallowing down her sudden bout of nausea, Dawn nodded.

"I'm glad I caught ya then, have you seen old Ashy boy lately? His mom is all worried about 'im. Apparently he phoned her ahead and said he was gonna be heading  back to Kanto for a bit to help a friend, so he promised to see her before he left again. But she hasn't seen or heard from him since. So she called me asking if I knew anything, and when I told her I didn't, she practically begged me to find her son for 'er." 

Upon getting no response from the girl, Gary narrowed his eyes, smirk dropping for a second as he eyed her, only for him to shrug and throw up his hands, smirk returning as he shook his head, eyes sliding closed as he affected a haughty nature.

"Of course, knowin' Ash, he could be anywhere in the entire world by now. But I figured that maybe one of his friends in Alola might have a lead on 'im, especially since he's the champion here and all, and he's got family living here in the form of Professor Kukui and his family. Although, I never expected to run into you here. So tell me, what brings you to this neck of the woods? No pun intended." 

This was just great. Fantastic even! She may not know much about all of Ash's other friends, but she knew enough to know THE Gary Oak was a huge pain in the keister. He was not only smart enough to not only see through anything she could come up with, but also strong enough to force her into talking if she wasn't careful. He wasn't a champion class trainer for nothing. 

Best to keep things vague and believable.

"...sightseeing."

The boy smirked, contrasting the casual manner that he threw his arms behind his back and strolled closer to her with. 

"I see. Sightseeing, huh? Yeah, Alola is a pretty neat place to kick back, relax and take in the sights."

A soft, barely there sigh escaped her lips as her heart began to beat slower, hand loosening a fraction on its would be weapon.

"Yeah, I can see why Ash liked it so much here. But, ya know, I'm not sure what the heck you could be sightseeing all the way out here in the middle of a forest. The flora of the region? You don't strike me as the gardening type, or even the 'just enjoys being in nature' type, so maybe you wanna try again, what are you doing all the way out here, missing Champion Dawn. Otherwise, I may just have to call Champion Cynthia and hold you down until either she gets here or I decide to drag you back to her."

….Well, that relief was short lived, but still appreciated. Honestly that one was on her, she had just reminded herself how clever and well informed he was, why in the name of Sinnoh did she let herself think for even a second that she had gotten away with that?

Okay, alright, no need to worry, she could still salvage this, she just had too….to..what? Exactly? Come up with a better lie? Cry a little bit and hope he felt some boyish need to rush to try to comfort her and her delicate feelings so she could convince him to just drop the whole thing? No, not this one. Tactics like those would only dig her grave even deeper, and she was in no hurry to climb inside a Coffagregious and accept that fate.

Should she flee? Whistle to the team that they needed to ship out now? No, Gary would just chase her down and have his Pokémon attack the balloon to knock them back down and then she'd be confronted all over again, but with an audience. 

Challenge him to a battle and hope he and his own team hadn't gotten stronger? Sure, that could work, if he is only carrying the allotted 6 Pokémon, then she should win by sheer numbers alone. But then, what's stopping him from getting his phone out and recording her or taking pictures and alerting Cynthia anyway?

So what then? Should she just…give up? Tell him what he wants to know? 

…yeah, YEAH, THAT MIGHT WORK! Besides, it was really her only choice here.

Sure he was a friend of Ash's, and he hadn't been bad to her, but he wasn't someone she felt the need to protect. He wasn't family, or even a close personal friend of hers. He was just a friend of a friend! And sure, she would still protect him too if he needed it and she was able. But he wasn't someone she was responsible for. 

….Okay, well, if she told him it would be her fault if something happened to him. So in that sense, she would be responsible for him. But still! It's not like he would accept any lies she came up with, a d she had no way to escape him, or even throw him off and distract him.

And Gary Oak was somewhat famous himself, so he already had to be used to dealing with stalkers and the like. So he should know how to be careful and how to cover his tracks and hide out for a bit if he needed to flee from someone. And as a Champion class trainer, he should be strong enough to hold his own, and since he was so famous, there were bound to be plenty of people watching him anyway that would notice if he went missing. So they shouldn't be able to nab him anyway!

Whipping her head up with a relieved and hopeful glint in her eyes, the girl dropped her kindling and squeezed her Pokéball with both hands. Taking a deep breath to stabilize her her jittery nerves, she stepped forward. 

"If I tell you, things could get really dangerous for you. Sometimes it's better to just leave some questions unanswered. But if you really want to know, then know that me telling you may put you on the run. All sorts of terrible people might come after you to try to get to me. You may never be safe again."

The boy's eyes widened briefly, before closing as he threw his head back and barked out a laugh. When he finished his cocktail display, the tree named child smirked and placed a hand on his hip, his other one reaching out toward her, offering itself to her easily.

"Don't forget, I'm the grandson of a professor and I was a researcher for a time. It's not in my blood to leave questions unanswered. Besides, not to brag, but I'm pretty used to taking care of myself, and my Pokémon. I'm sort of famous, you know? All kinds of people know my address, my name, heck even my birthday, and I don't even know what most of them look like. But nobody has ever done anything crazy with that information, so I don't think it'll be a problem. Unless, by all kinds, you mean the kind in gangs ."

The girl glanced around, almost nervously yet purposefully, like a habit that had been formed out of necessity, before her eyes met his again. She bit her lip, and gave the tiniest nod. His smirk dropped immediately, replaced with a stern glare as his own eyes circled around them.

"I see…"

He allowed his eyes to slide closed for a moment, pondering over the options he saw open to them. There was no way he wasn't going to hear her out. Danger present toward him or not, she was clearly alone in this and was on the run. One teenage girl against…something, something big, possibly the world itself. And yet, she seemed to have chosen this for herself.

Seeing as she had so many people posting about her online, asking if anyone had seen her or not, she clearly had people who cared for her and wanted to help her. So there was a reason she did not take their aid. Most likely out of fear? Or perhaps some misplaced sense of obligation? Moral quandaries were quite the powerful propellants. 

Reasoning aside, if she was treading as if she could step on a landmine any second, then he should be careful too. Ah, but if they're being watched, then perhaps it would be best to play it cool. And judging by how frazzled this girl's nerves were, she could probably do with a little disarming cool guy behavior anyway. Smiling, the boy stretched and threw an arm around her shoulders, clearing his voice before speaking with projection. 

"Maaaaan, I don't know about you, but as nice as this place is, Alola is a sweltering nightmare. It's so muggy out, I feel like a Vanilluxe left in the sun. Hey, why don't you come with me? I'm staying nearby, we can catch up there with some AC. What do you say?"

Blinking owlishly, the girl glanced back the way she came.

"Oh, I, uh…"

"Oh, I get it, you're nervous to be alone with the Gary Oak, invited back to my place and everything. I understand, it is a pretty big honor, but don't worry, I won't do anything to you, I'm not the kinda guy to try something on a first date. And we haven't even gone on one date, this'll just be for us to catch up, nothing else. I swear it on all my gym badges. Now come on, I'm seriously not interested in seeing what this mugginess does to my hair with prolonged exposure." 

He punctuated his point with a wink, arm tightening as he pulled her closer, voice coming out in a whisper.

"Don't say anything until we get there. My Umbreon is out searching the area already anyway, trying to pick up Ash's scent. He was the one that told me there was someone familiar this way. If he picks up anyone else's scent, he'll let me know. I don't want to chance anything by speaking where we can be overheard."

"But…I'm not alone. I'm expected back soon ."

Narrowing his eyes, the teen shifted them to track a slight rustling in the trees to their left, his head firmly facing forward to appear nonchalant. 

"...we'll talk when we get inside. For now, zip it."

It really was a short walk away, because soon they found themselves at the door of a small hotel room. Gary unlocked the door, chattering away in a friendly manner about something pointless to fill the space, while the girl only bit her lip in concern. Somewhere in the back of her head, she swore she could hear an arrogant, detached voice telling her matter of fact like that she was getting in too far over her own head.

As if she didn't already know that . If Arceus wanted to impart some wisdom, it would have to try harder than that.

"Mi casa es su casa, or whatever they say in Alola, sorry, I just came from Paldea, haven't had a chance to brush up on my Alolan yet. Anyway, go ahead and take a seat anywhere."

Man, this room really was tiny . She could see the shower curtain and the bed the second he opened the front door . The whole room was carpeted too for crying out loud. Glancing to her right got her a square stool, which she quickly dragged over to the small white circular table. As she took a seat, she watched Gary whistle, calling his partner back to him, and getting three sharp cries back.

"Hm, he's still keen to search some more, apparently he smells 3 other familiar scents and wants to check 'em out. So we'll just leave him to that for now, who knows, maybe one of them is Ash." 

As he spoke, he shut and locked the door, eyes sweeping the room swiftly as he made a beeline to the shower to yank open the curtain and reach for the faucet.

Uh, the heck? He wasn't planning to take a shower while they talked…was he?! She thought he was just kidding when he complained about the heat and his stupid hair! He even said he wouldn't do anything weird while she was there! Exactly what kind of people did Ash associate with before he met her??? And his best friend no less?

Sensing the girl's discomfort, the young man chuckled, pacing over to whisper in her ear.

"Don't worry, it's just a cover. I'm fairly certain this room is bug free, I checked it as soon as I checked in, but just in case someone is listening in, this'll make it harder for them to hear us. And it will match up with my story."

In a louder voice, he asked if she'd mind if he took a shower real quick before they caught up, winking at her as she swallowed nervously and told him to go ahead. This time, his smirk seemed almost comforting, as he responded loudly.

"Thanks! You have no idea how much this heat messes with me. You can go ahead and turn on the TV if you want while you wait."

"I completely understand. It's stifling out there. In fact, do you mind if I turn the AC on a bit higher? I'm pretty hot myself."

This time Dawn was the one smirking, as Gary gave a surprised head tilt, before taking on a warm, proud smile.

"Nah, go for it. I can't do cold showers, so I'll still be hot when I get out anyway. The remote should be by the bed. Oh, and can you shut the curtains while you're over there? I don't want anyone walking by to see me in just a towel. Can you imagine the field day reporters would have if they managed to catch a shirtless picture of the Gary Oak? HA! Bet they'd go nuts! It'd be all over the web."

Dawn nodded, making her way over to shut the curtains on the window and turn both the TV and AC on high. Once done, she turned to see Gary firmly planted in the red chair across from her stool, waiting for her to return to her seat. The second she did, his friendly disposition faded, replaced instead by firmly clasped hands dropping on the table as he started her down.

"Tell me everything. All of it. Right here, right now, and don't leave out a single detail. I don't care if the entirety of Team Rocket comes after me after this, my guts telling me this is something you shouldn't be handling alone, and that whatever it is, Ash is somehow involved. And if that's true, our missions coincide anyway. So spill it."

"Are you sure ? Are you absolutely positive you want to know everything? What if it's not just Team Rocket? What if every single evil person and gang in the entire world comes after you?"

Gary only raised a brow, giving a haughty laugh as he raised his hands to support his chin, elbows coming to rest on the table while he gave a cocktail toothed grin.

"Oh yeah? Then I'd say you definitely better start talking. If we've got everyone in the world coming after us, then we don't have the time to dawdle."

The girls eyes shot wide, hands fisting in her lap, brows pinching into irritated confusion.

"Aren't you worried? This is something seriously, and I mean seriously dangerous that you're asking to be involved in here."

At this, Gary tucked his arms behind his head and leaned back.

"Oh yeah? Hadn't noticed. I figured if a single teenage girl thought she could handle it herself, then it couldn't be that bad. I mean, you're not Ash , you're smart enough to know your limits… Right? Look, I get it. I know what I'm getting into, but you have to trust that I know my limits and am smart enough and capable enough as a trainer to handle this. Because I am . Now start talking already. If you have somewhere you have to go back to, then that means you've got people who will come looking for you if you're gone too long. So get to spilling already."

Setting her mouth in a firm line, Dawn heaved a weary sigh, sitting up straight as she pulled out her phone and slid it across the table to the boy who caught it quickly and raised a brow. 

"Alright, but remember this, you asked for it."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^

Alphas didn't seem like such a big deal, Ingo and Dawn must have just been so beaten down by the subpar living conditions in this place and poor nutrition and underdeveloped Healthcare, that they were not at their best to handle such creatures. Sure, Alphas were big , but that didn't mean they weren't something Emmet could easily handle on his own, especially when he was in a bad mood and looking for a fight. 

Brushing apart the bushes and crouching down, Emmet found the Alpha in question to be a large and quite angry Garchomp. Thankfully, the snowy backdrop helped to somewhat camouflage the man, allowing him to sneak just a little bit closer to Chuck his Pokéball at the back of its head, hoping to surprise it and catch it off guard so that he could get the first attack in. 

The ideal choice would be an ice type, but as Emmet had no ice types, he opted instead for an old and reliable friend, Eelektross. Sure, Garchomp being part ground would be a concern to any other Electric type, and yes Eelektross didn't really have anything that would be Super Effective against it, but he was someone Emmet knew he could trust no matter what.

Unlike his traitorous 'brother'. 

He and Eelektross would handle this easily, that would show Ingo how useful and capable he, Emmet, was. Then Ingo would stop worrying so much about how much he, Emmet, could handle and would apologize for being so stupid and mean, and would give him back his position so that he could lead the other team, not some actual child like May .

"Eelektross, Acid Spray it, then go for a Coil."

A stunned growl escaped one beast as the other gave a battle cry and charged in to throw its own sparking body into the fray and spit a load of burning and nauseating liquid at its opponent. As clawed feet dug into the ground and tore up debris as the owner of said feet flinched harshly back, Emmet gave a proud smirk full of belief that he fully had control of the situation. A cocky grin that only widened as his trusted Ace began to curl around and raise its strength and durability for the incoming hit.

Within the blink of an eye, an arm swung out and knocked the eel away, the land based shark roaring with fury as it attempted to lop the eel's head off with its razor equipped arms. Thankfully, it missed, leaving an opening for Eelektross to go in for another attack, this time a Crunch. Earning another roar of pain and anger as its blazing red eyes swiveled to follow the Eel once more. 

The ground began to shake, tearing itself apart, forcing Emmet to stumble back and clutch his hat to keep it on his head as he analyzed the way the ground broke and shifted. Earth Power. What a foolish Alpha. Did it not recognize it was fighting an Eelektross? Did it not know Ground type moves would not affect its opponent? Oh well, not his problem. 

His grin turned savage and toothy, confidence dripping off him like an over-applied cologne, as he watched the Garchomp roar in fury and try an Earthquake which also immediately failed to land a hit. 

Whether it be the frustration of not succeeding on Eelektross, or if the Garchomp had simply caught a whiff of the cockiness radiating off the man, was uncertain. Nevertheless, the beast cried out with such force that Emmet felt as if he were being pushed back by it, raising his arms to block his face from it as his feet skidded back. 

This proved to be a near fatal mistake, for the instant he removed his arms he was met with a bladed arm swiping at him, leading him to raise his arms once more and lean back, just barely avoiding getting his arms torn open, losing the bottoms of his cuffs and the sleeves all the way up to his elbows. Immediately his partner gave its own battle cry and threw its sparking self into the monster once more, attempting to get it as far away from the man as possible.

Emmet gave a cursory glance to check the damage to his cab before reconvening the battle and shouting out for Eelektross to try and wrap itself around the beast and Crunch its throat to bring it down faster. The two scrapped with their claws for a while before Eelektross finally succeeded, coming away panting as its opponent was left laying on the ground unmoving, and Eelektross itself was left feeling the damage from their scrap.

Recalling what Ingo had said earlier about there not being any Pokémon Centers to resuscitate any fainted Pokémon, Emmet took this moment to step up to check his partner over.

"I am Emmet, I am alright, how about you partner? Can your engines keep firing?"

The eel huffed and puffed out its chest, attempting to assure its trainer that it was fine, but Emmet didn't miss the way it seemed to tense after the movement, causing Emmet to kneel beside it with his brows creased in concern.

"Could you use a small tune up? You look like you could use a potion. Allow me to perform the necessary maintenance."

As he began fishing through his pockets for a potion, Emmet heard the snow shift, his eyes instantly moving over his shoulder to check on their foe, finding it was right behind him and about to swing another Dragon Claw at him. This forced Emmet to dive and roll to the side, grunting as his shoulder hit the ground weird with his full weight before rolling to kneel and point at the beast, ready to instruct his Ace to give it a good crunch.

"This thing does not know when to give up, it must be the 'alpha' in it that Ingo was talking about. Eelektross, try another Acid Spray, then Crunch it."

But while it seemed like he was still spry enough to dodge the incoming attack, his partner was not, taking the full hit and going flying.

"Eelektross? Eelektross!"

Standing up, he could see his partner barely pushing itself up to look at him.

"Do not focus on me! Keep your eyes on your opponent!" 

His partner gave a wobbling sound in response that shot a chill up his spine and forced him to grasp for the balls on his hip, quickly pulling 2 from his belt.

"There is no shame in a substitution! All passengers switch tracks at some station, as long as this is not your terminal it is fine. Eelektross, return. Galvantula, you will be conducting this train now!"

Perhaps, after thinking about it for a second, Galvantula had not been the optimal choice. But really, seeing Eelektross hurt like that and knowing he could not be healed up if he fainted, well, it had him more than a little worried. He really couldn't be blamed for not thinking about who to send into the fight, when his only real thought was to get Eelektross out of it.

Maybe that was what he would tell himself later too in order to feel less guilty about essentially sacrificing his precious Galvantula for some time to think. His brain was practically on autopilot calling out commands for it to use Cross Poison to hopefully have a chance at poisoning it, before eventually giving up and trying to just bring it down swiftly with X-Scissor. 

She managed to get a good couple hits in, but every 1 she got, she received 2, and soon she too was left too weary to go on as well. One would think then that Emmet would stop and think, possibly even retreat, but instead he only growled while leveling a harsh glare at the towering terror, recalling his spider and tossing out the next one on his belt clip, this time happening to be his Escavalier. 

Great, looked like he grouped his bugs together without thinking again, the next one was likely Durant then if Escavalier went down. Without so much as a greeting or any encouragement, Emmet growled again.

"Use Swords dance, do not let up until you have built up 3 of them. We will be taking this down in one shot! Dodge and endure until then, where you will then use Megahorn. We will be coming at it with full force! Aiming for victory with no brakes!"

Two lances crossed one another before getting thrown out to the sides with a vicious battle cry being unleashed, swords of light dancing around the creature. On the opposite side of the would-be ring, Garchomp gave a snarl as it charged forward, throwing itself into Escavalier with a Double Edge. Getting a determined growl from the bug as it braced itself to tank the attack, before throwing the Garchomp off of itself to jump away and gain distance.

As soon as it landed, Escavalier quickly set up another Swords Dance, just finishing in time to dodge an incoming Dragon Claw. Escavalier dragged its Lance shaped arms through the snow, throwing it up into the Garchomps face and jumping away to set up a final Swords Dance, eventually capping out its stats and taking aim with a single javelin.

"Verrry nice, Escavalier. Now, let's bring this battle to its desired terminal with Megahorn!"

Crying out in agreement, Escavalier released its spear, sending it hurtling toward the foe who was growling and stampeding right towards it, it's glowing red eyes focused solely on drawing blood and causing damage, ignoring the obvious strike aimed right at its own body until it was already making impact with it.

Garchomp gave a warbling cry as it staggered back and dropped to the white pillow ground below, fainting from the damage and leaving Emmet and Escavalier to let out twin sighs of relief, the jousting Pokémon panting a bit from the exertion. The man strode forward and dropped to a knee, whipping out a Hyper Potion and spraying it over the wounds of his ally. 

The man so focused on his task, ignored the sudden chill in the already frigid air. It felt as if a cold breath had just hit his neck, but he only shivered and shook it off. The second time he felt it, it was stronger, Frost Breath hitting him and causing him to glance over his shoulder to meet with glowing red eyes and what looked like a ghostly snow covered woman. 

An Alpha Froslass was right behind him .

As soon as he flinched back and called out to his Pokémon, she shrieked and stuck out her arms, hitting them both with a Blizzard that managed to leave his ally frozen. Emmet let out a light curse, reaching back to grab his friend's Pokémon to recall him. A good number of those on his team were either already worn out from the previous battle, and his next go to Archeops would not fare well with the current type match-up. So it looked like Durant was going to be up next after all.

Still though, the fact that it had taken 3 of his team to take down one of these so called Alphas, it was quite a testament to Ingo and Dawn's testimonies. These Pokémon truly were just built differently, everything about them was just stronger . It made him almost feel like he should catch that Garchomp while it was unconscious and none the wiser. But he knew that was unfair to do and against all the regulations set forth for trainers. 

Either way, if this situation weren't so perilous, he would find this to be quite the thrilling battle. With neither of them holding anything back, just a serious and hard fought battle. Just like he liked! But he wasn't stupid, he knew they were not in the safety of their modern times that they were all used to. Well, not all, Ingo knew these times and just how unsafe they were. Safety checks always came first before any good battle. 

If safety could not be assured, then the battle was not worth it. Maybe Ingo was right, maybe he was being a childish and ungrateful brat. He had just torn off from the group without a word to anyone on where he was going or what he was doing, so that he could take his frustrations with his brother out on the first thing he saw.

But it was also good because it meant he had taken out a threat before it could strike the group! He was getting into a cathartic fight and performing his safety checks at the same time! He was Emmet! A champion class trainer, there was no way he could lose when he had so many tough fights under his belt and so many strong Pokémon on his belt. He could handle himself and protect everyone at the same time! This was his job!

Except, it wasn 't anymore. Ingo had said so. And Ingo had never steered him wrong before. He had even been right about how wildly concerning these Alphas were. So regardless of Emmet's capabilities, these things seemed capable of bringing down even the strongest trainers if they weren't careful. But Emmet was careful, wasn't he? 

Then again, risking his own cab and the group to get petty revenge wasn't careful, was it? But he had assessed the men before attacking them, he knew he could handle them! So it was fine, right? 

Suddenly the Froslass let out a cry and blew a Frosty Breath at him again, drawing his attention back to the situation at hand. 

Just as he was preparing to throw out his Pokémon, a blast of a Shadow Ball came rocketing past him and hitting the Froslass square on. Causing her to sputter and fire back with an Ice Shard that tore at the hood of his coat and it flew past him.

"EMMET!!!"

Oh, joyest of joys, that sounded a lot like his brother. The man who not only didn't trust him to lead a team, but apparently now also did not trust him to be alone for more than 5 minutes .

Sighing and sagging in resignation, the man slipped the orbs back to his belt and stood tall, bracing for impact as Chandelure rushed past him and a pair of gloved hands clasped a shoulder each, turning him this way and that as the owner of said hands inspected him for injuries. 

"....Ingo, I am Emmet, and I am fine ."

The man had the decency to flinch back, removing his hands at least an inch from his person.

"But…your sleeves! They are all shredded!"

As a hand shot to touch them, another met them and batted them away.

"Do not touch me without my permission. I am Emmet, I am fine. I was not hurt, Eelektross, Galvantula and Escavalier made sure of that. That Alpha Garchomp stood no chance of derailing us!"

Ingo's eyes shot wide, a shrieking repeat of the words "Alpha Garchomp?!" filling the air, before Ingo narrowed them and trained them on the Froslass that his Ace was flitting around and battling. Fixing a hand on the brim of his hat, Ingo let out a growl and spoke in a low, firm tone.

"I shall return to this station momentarily, in the meantime, you are to stay here . Under no circumstances, are you to hop the rails. Am I clear, Emmet ?"

The smile that answered him was as biting as the snow hitting their backs.

"Crystal, Boss Ingo ."

The man's brows and lips twitched, as if he wanted to scowl even harder and say something in response to that, but instead chose to nod and stalk over to his partner's side. Leaving Emmet to glare petulantly at his back. About 10 feet away, he could see the rest of the group watching on in concern, only one of them daring to approach his shaking form. The girl, the Champion, the one his brother wanted to replace him with.

Emmet felt bile burning his throat.

She said something about keeping warm and his now missing sleeves, as she released her Blaziken to sit with him and keep him warm. He couldn't find it in himself to care anymore, and allowed himself to slip his arms around the birdlike creature, sinking down to lean his weight against it as his cheek smushed into its shoulder so he could dazedly watch as his older brother and Chandelure danced circles around the Alpha. 

He didn't even register when he let his eyes slip shut with a single calmed hum.

What he woke up to was quite the rude awakening, somebody screaming his name in his face and slapping him hard across the cheek. Forcing him to sluggishly blink his eyes open to glare at the assault waging bastard of a twin of his.

…Okay, that was going too far, even as mad as he was, Emmet could never justify calling his brother a bastard and accusing him of assault over a single slap. The jerk was lucky Emmet was so devoted to him.

"What do you want now, brother ?"

Ingo released a sigh of relief as soon as his eyes met the grump glaring ones of his tired twin. Allowing himself to sag at the sight.

"Thank Sinnoh , Emmet, you're alive. I was so very worried you had departed this station for a moment there, you were not waking up when we called to you, so I had to resort to drastic measures to rouse you, and even then light slaps were not working either, so I had to-"

"Yes, I am Emmet, I get it. You slapped me to wake me up. You're glad I am not dead, but what do you want , Ingo ? To yell at me for taking off on my own? To tell me how immature and childish and stupid I am for picking a fight with an Alpha Garchomp? Perhaps you'd like to demote me again for fun, am I, Emmet, getting close?"

Ingo reared back, looking as if he'd been stricken, eyes blinking rapidly as he struggled to keep up with what was being said to him.

"What? You-Emmet-NO! I just wanted to- I needed to make sure you were okay ! Why would I-wait. Put on the brakes for a moment, did…did you say you deliberately went to pick a fight with an Alpha Garchomp?! And then you chose to take on an Alpha Froslass as well!? Was one not enough for you?! What were you attempting to accomplish here Emmet?! You could have gotten yourself killed! And after Dawn and I both warned you multiple times about how dangerous Alphas were in general. They are ESPECIALLY lethal here in the Icelands! For Arceus sake little brother, please tell me! Talk to me! Make me understand !!!"

The man looked seconds away from a breakdown, every part of his mind and body at war with one another. He looked desperate to touch him, whether to comfort Emmet or himself, or to throttle Emmet, the younger twin was unsure. Part of him told himself that was silly, that Ingo was a pacifist and he loved him dearly and would never lay a finger on him in that manner. 

But he truly did look like he wanted to take his anger out on something, as if the Froslass that he stole from him wasn't enough. 

"I do not think even Arceus itself could do that, boss ." 

The elder man blew a heavily irritated breath out his nose, pushing himself to stand up and turn away, fixing his hat tightly on his head as he sighed.

"No, I suppose not, Emmet. Regardless, whatever it was you had desired to accomplish, I can assure you of one thing. You have only solidified my decision that you are not fit to lead, and thus, young Champion May will hear none of your backseat or questioning of her decisions while she leads your- her team. Since you do not seem to feel inclined to ride the rails with me, you will be going with her and if I hear a single word of poor behavior on your part, know you will be forcing me to demote you further."

Emmet only scoffed, standing as well and brushing the snow from his already white pants. 

"Oh? Well we would not want that now, would we? Of course, you will not hear of me causing any trouble for her, she has not done anything to warrant it. Her worst crime is robbing me of my position. The next thing you know, we will get home and you will give her my job at Gear Station with you."

"Emmet, do not be daft. She is a minor ."

"Ah, yes, that would be illegal. You will have to wait for her to come of age to replace me. How lucky for me."

"Emmet! Stop! That is enough. Please, just talk to me. I do not like being at odds with you, brother. It only hurts us both. I am your older brother, it is my job to take care of you, I simply want you safe and smiling as always. Why can you not see that? Are you purposely choosing to pretend you are blind to this? Just tell me why you are acting out like this. You cannot truly believe I would wish to be rid of you for another, we have been through this before with Dawn, have we not?"

Emmet's smile turned vicious, hands linking behind his back as he tilted his head at his brother.

"Does it? I, Emmet, am not hurting at all. Do not confuse me for you , Ingo. I am not blind. I can see just fine. You do appear to be in pain though, perhaps it is because you are hurt you cannot get rid of me yet. Since you are so sick of my childishness . Face it Ingo, you can fool everyone else with your pretty words and your martyr act. But they do not work on me. I did not need nor want your help with that Froslass. I, Emmet, could have handled it. If not with Escavalier, then perhaps with Gurdurr or someone else. YOU were the one who came charging in of your own accord. I am not the one causing you more work, you are assigning it to yourself. It is like you like it. Yet you then turn around to complain of how busy you are and how you do not need extra on your plate to handle. It is a pitiful martyr act brother. You are not a victim to be pitied if you intentionally put yourself into these situations. Perhaps if instead you chose to actually trust me, we could split the work 50/50, or even 45/55 like we used to. But that train of opportunity has long left the station." 

With a glare and a sickly sweet grin, Emmet turned and paced back over to the rest of the group, whistling carelessly as he left his brother shaking and trying not to tear up in his wake. Good, after what he had put him, Emmet, through, he deserved a bit of a turnabout in that respect.

Except that was a lie too. Emmet did not like hurting his brother, it was akin to self harm to do so, because it always left him feeling as though someone had dug a knife into his heart, he always felt so wrought with guilt that it made him want to cry. So he always chose to pout and wait for Ingo to apologize to him, before throwing himself at his brother, crying and begging him to forgive him as well. 

He couldn't help but feel even angrier than he had before he challenged the Garchomp to the battle. Ingo did not even trust him to go off on his own for a few measly minutes . He did believe in him and his team enough to think he could handle a fight with a single Alpha! Emmet had 2 steel types for crying out loud! He did not need Ingo and Chandelure to come flying in out of nowhere to steal his fight from him!

He couldn't help but curse himself for even questioning it earlier. Sure, Alphas were tough, but they were not that tough. They did not require Ingo to act like that , as if he were saving Emmet, a full grown man who was just as good a battle as Ingo himself, if not better since he was the one who did Doubles, which required significantly more attention to detail and strategy skills.

Doubles were his wheelhouse, they were practically in his blood! He dreamt of fighting strong opponents every night! Why would this be any different! Heck it, heck it and darn it all, that was just it. He was doubling down! He would not give in, no matter how much his heart cried out at the sight of his brother's stricken face.

There was a war between them on the outside, but it seemed only one of them was willing to fight it, and that one now had renewed vigor. The other, who had long given up the battle, seemed to have all the wind taken out of his sails. It was inward that the war raged on in both men. Their hearts, their minds, their entire beings pulled into a tizzy of doubt, pain, anger and worry. Both wanting to give in, but also feeling as though they were the one in the right and refusing to budge.

It always fell on Ingo to clear up any misunderstandings like this, even when they were little, their parents refused to be the ones to stop any quarrels, claiming they understood each other best anyway and that they needed to learn to communicate properly and work out their own problems because they would not be there to do so for them forever. 

So Ingo learned early on that if he really loved his brother, then he would have to step up and prove it by making Emmet understand that and feel safe enough to clear the air. Normally he would just apologize, tell him how much he loved him and how nothing was worth risking losing him over. But this was different! Their lives were all important! Why couldn't Emmet just break the pattern once and be the one to apologize for his actions? 

If Ingo gave in and apologized, would Emmet calm down and behave then? Or would he simply feel vindicated in his actions and double down? He wanted so much to just pull Emmet into his arms and hush him, to apologize over and over, as many times as it took until the younger man gave in and listened and just told him how he could fix this between them.

And the very second that they were home and everyone was safe, Dawn included, Ingo would do just that. But for now, he had to bite back the tears and wait. If Emmet hated him right now, that was fine. He could handle that, as long as Emmet was alive to hate him, not buried under a pile of snow or inside the belly of an Alpha looking for its next meal.

Clearing his throat, Ingo wiped his eyes and patted Chandelure's glassy casing, thanking her for her help and asking her to keep an eye on Emmet for him. She chimed eagerly before floating swiftly to his brother's side to butt her casing against his back. Ingo gave a relieved nod when he saw his brother instinctively react by petting her as well. Even as mad as he was at Ingo, he would not begrudge Chandelure, and for that Ingo was grateful.

Once again, Emmet decided that if Ingo was going to see him as nothing but the kid brother who needed protecting and not an equal who could have handled the Alpha, he would give him what he wanted, he would play the brat. So when Ingo returned to the group and began explaining the plan, Emmet refused to answer when spoken to, causing everyone to become uncomfortable, except for Ash and Zoey. 

Ash due to him being too dense. And Zoey because instead she felt annoyed. Which must not have gotten through to the white clad one, as he roped her into the bickering once more, asking her if she could translate his brother's words because he didn't speak jerk . 

Zoey had neither the patience or the schooling to even begin to unpack their issues, and yet she was still able to break them both out of their arguing with a single sentence to get them back on track as she dragged her hands down her face and groaned.

 "Ughhhh! Enough of this! It's like you guys are my parents and you're getting a divorce, and you want me to choose which of you I stay with, cut it out already! Jeez, is this what Dawn has to deal with at home?"

This shut both twins up quickly, Emmet pouting again, while Ingo could only give a withering sigh, the exasperated tinge to his tone coming to resemble an accent at this point due to how consistently present it was in his voice. Nevertheless he cleared his throat and went on to speak in a flat and resigned tone as he separated the 6 of them into 2 teams.

Announcing that May would lead Emmet and Ash, while he would take Johanna and Zoey with him. He tactfully chose to keep himself from firing a jab at Emmet about how he ideally would have liked to have May and Johanna for the tasks he needed to perform, but couldn't due to someone throwing a tantrum.

Instead they all split off into their designated groups, with May and her gang heading off toward the Ancient Retreat to speak with a woman that Dawn had once said was highly knowledgeable and vastly helpful in the latter part of her quest. 

While Ingo and his team made tracks toward their first stop, the home of the Lake Spirit of Knowledge, Uxie, in the cave of Lake Acuity. Thankfully, they were already in the Alabaster Icelands, so their trip would be much shorter than that of the other group's. 

But that didn't make it any less of a pain or a danger. Seeing as they had to contend with not only the Pokémon, but the unforgivingly frigid weather as well. At least the other team got sunshine and weaker Pokémon to deal with, so perhaps the benefits and risks weighed each other out. Whether they did or not was of no consequence however, Ingo would do anything to get everyone home safe and back on schedule to help Dawn.

Although, he was not quite prepared for what he was to face upon stepping foot inside of the dark, damp quarters of the Acuity cave. For the second that they did, he was met with an ominous legend floating only inches from his face.

"Warden Ingo. Subway Boss Ingo. One and the same. I know you. I remember you. Some memories return, others evade you. How curious. You are here to talk, that is good. We have much to discuss. Where, or perhaps when would you like to start?"

The man flinched back, hand flying to the brim of his hat out of pure instinct.

"Ah! Pardon us Lake Spirit, but we are in need of your guidance on multiple matters, including what the fate of the red chain should…be..did..did you, ah, apologies but…you know me?"

"Correct. From when you first fell into Hisui, and after, and perhaps before as well. I can see your memories and can tell some are still partially blocked off for you. But I can see them easily. Would you like me to unlock them for you?"

"I…"

Would he? Of course. But, that wasn't what was important right now. How long would that even take? And what would happen to him afterwards? Would he be right as rain to continue on? Or would he be incapacitated for a spell? Dawn needed him, whether she wanted to admit it or not. That girl was just as stubborn as her uncle that way. He couldn't afford to not be fit to take off at a second's notice.

"I see. How admirable of you. Very well, they will likely return at their own pace anyway, you need only wait and let your body respond to familiar triggers. You are here for something else then. The ball and answers on Arceus? This is all for the chosen one, so I will oblige any and all questions you have. She is a kind, resilient and bright girl. Quite strong. But not an island. How can I help? Where should we start?"

Johanna immediately stepped forward, presenting herself with no hesitancy to the legend, in a way only a mother who cared not for herself and only for her spawn could. 

"The ball, or the chain I guess, please start there. Does Dawny, I mean, Akari still need it? Or I guess does the world ? What should we do with it? Can it even be destroyed??"

"There is no need to use the chosen one's alias. We will all know who she is regardless of which name you use to refer to her. As for the red chain, it may be possible to break it back down to its original pieces for the future to use. You could give us each our piece back to hold onto. But there is no guarantee that the hands of evil will not seek them out to reunite them for their own twisted purposes. Would you like to proceed?"

With a deep breath and clenched fists, Ingo looked to his two companions who nodded back at him, prompting him to nod back before facing the legend once more.

" Yes, please ."

The Pokémon itself nodded back, equally resolute.

"Very well then, let us begin."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_–^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^

Meanwhile, the trek to this Ancient Retreat was filled with much tension and yet excitement as well. With the teenage girl leading them having to constantly pull Ash back in line with them, as his habit of running off after the first interesting Pokémon he saw hadn't seemed to diminish any.

"Woah! Look at that giant Rapidash! That thing's an Alpha, right? So awesome! Right Pikachu?"

"Chaaa!"

"I wonder how strong it is. I bet it would make a great battle partner, don't you?"

"Piiiiika." Came the cautious reply.

A surprisingly strong hand clasped itself around the scruff of his collar and yanked him back.

"I don't think so. Geez, do you not remember what Subway Boss Ingo said? Those things are seriously dangerous. Especially since there are no Pokémon Centers here. I get you're just excited and curious, but can you stop chasing after everything you see and focus on helping me here? We are kind of stuck in the past while Dawn is in the future, in trouble and in need of our help."

A somber look crossed his face, morphing to guilt, then settling on a serious expression within seconds, as he and Pikachu nodded in sync.

"Right, sorry, you're right May. Dawn needs us. Let's find this Cogita woman and then figure out a way home for all of us. Once Dawn is safe, then maybe I can convince her to bring me back here for some fun and exploring!" 

May heaved a sigh, relief flooding her as well as a bit of fondness. Leave it to Ash Ketchum to want to come back here for fun. But even still, either way it was better than a certain adult who kept muttering to himself and scowling at everything despite the fact that he was still grinning, kicking every rock he could find as he murmured things like, "How do you like that Ingo? If I, Emmet, am a child to you, then I hope you have fun buffing out the scuffs on these shoes." Or "I know you hate it when I drag my feet. You find it verrrry annoying since we are supposed to always be on time. But you can't stop me from doing so now."

All in all, pouting viciously like a 13 year old who had been grounded for something obviously wrong, but that 13 year old had somehow not realized why it was wrong. May gave another deep sigh as she put on her best amicable yet shy smile and walked up to Emmet who was bringing up the back of their little team.

"Um, excuse me Subway Bo- err, Mr . Emmet, um, I know your brother put me in charge, but just because I'm a Champion, doesn't mean I'm really used to being in charge. I'm still just a kid, you know? So uh, if you want to, maybe you can help steer us in the right direction? I mean, I know we are heading to this Ancient Retreat to meet this Cogita woman, but we don't really have a solid plan after that, and Ash is bound to need more direction, so maybe you can watch him? You know, uh, keep him on the right track, so to speak?"

Emmet's eyes snapped to her in an instant, Narrowing as his grin turned deadly and he bent down into her personal space, causing her to flinch back and raise her hands in front of herself.

"You are attempting to smooth things over by pretending to offer the reins over to me, Emmet, when in reality you are only putting me in 2nd spot at best. What a verrrry underhanded tactic Champion May, attempting to manipulate someone like that. Do your own babysitting. Ingo demoted me. Said I was not fit to lead. So I will not be doing any leading. That is a you problem. So you figure it out."

He punctuated his point with a pat on her head before brushing past her, arms latching behind his head as he whistled and meandered past even Ash. What a feral and shrewd man, well, so much for a peace offering of sorts. 

When they finally made it to Cogita's, all three of them immediately honed in on the similarities between this woman and Champion Cynthia, both in looks and demeanor. Some (May and Emmet) were better at keeping this to themselves. While others, *cough cough* Ash , couldn't keep themselves from pointing a finger at her and blurring out the first thing that came to mind. Which was "Woah! You look just like Cynthia!"

This earned him a smack in the back of the head from the girl as she cleared her throat and addressed the oddly familiar and yet so very foreign woman they had made their way to. The woman kindly responded by electing to pretend she hadn't even heard Ash speak, and instead focused solely on answered May. The two spoke for a bit before Emmet interjected, causing the woman to drop her small polite smile to stare openly at him.

"You, you are familiar. I have seen you before, in the village, but did you not go home with the chosen hero?"

Of course, Emmet only responded with vitriol raised eyebrow, not understanding the woman's words, but not liking her body language and flippant tone. May, groaning and rolling her eyes so hard it had to hurt, raised her hands placating toward the woman and spun around to translate her words to the man. 

His eyes sharpened at this legend of a woman, narrowed and clearly thinking her stupid. For a lady who was supposed to be knowledgeable however, she sure didn't seem to know a whole lot about Ingo or Dawn, since she neither knew their current situations nor their names.

"I am Emmet. I am a Subway Boss. I am not Ingo, I am not a dirty old Warden. And your 'chosen one' is actually the reason we are here to see you. In multiple ways."

May sighed, turning back to the woman who had her own brow raised in question.

"I'm sorry, he can't understand you. The man you're thinking of is actually his older brother. They both come from a different region, one where they speak a branch version of Galarian. He says that uh, that they don't look anything alike and that you must have been confused."

"Oh? Is that so? I beg your pardon then stranger. I have lived so long and met so many people, perhaps the faces are simply blending together. Very well, you appear to be in need of something. So what can I do for you?"

Once again, May cleared her throat and steeped up, arms wide as she tried to paint a picture with her gestures.

"You see, uh, well, your chosen one , got your Almighty Sinnoh to throw us through space and time. We are not from here. But here we are. And now, we need to figure out how to get back, because said chosen one, is currently in way over her head and needs our help. She is in very real danger. Please, by some measure you must know of some way, ANY way that we can all traverse time and space and get back to her so we can protect her."

The woman tilted her head, eyes flicking from the girl and back to Emmet languidly, like a disinterested Delcatty. 

"I see. And have you plead your case to any of those the chosen one worked with to save this world?"

May answered immediately, nodding.

"Yes ma'am, we have spoken to Lord Adaman and Lady Irida and Commander Kamado so far. And they-"

The woman bit her nail, rolled her eyes and held up her other hand.

"No child, I meant the Legends. Those who were thought to be the Almighty Sinnoh itself. One has the power to flash through time, the other space. The two of them should be quite capable of propelling you all back through to where and when you need to be. Though, I suppose the problem there is how you can find them… Hmm. They presented themselves one by one before the chosen one. But if you do not have one favored by the gods, it will be significantly harder to approach them."

May bit her lip, looking to Ash for help, who was busy talking to and inspecting some…pink thing? Before casting her eyes to Emmet who only stared back neutrally.

"Err, yeah. So what would you recommend we do."

"Give up. And do your best to acclimate to life here."

"What?!"

The woman shrugged, playing with her spoon to stir her tea.

"All you can do is wait, hope, and pray that the gods find out that you are here where and when you should not be and correct it themselves. But if they decide not to interfere because the chosen one sent you here of her own will, then there is nothing to be done about that."

"But…But you're supposed to be knowledgeable about this stuff! Isn't there any way we can get them to appear before us to plead our case?!"

As May's fists balled up tightly, the woman cast a glance behind her at the boy climbing on the back of her friend's cloud. Watching him place his hands on her shoulders as she chuckled.

"As I said, unless you have someone with you who has also been blessed and favored by the gods, then you are out of luck. They will only appear before those they deem worthy."

"Blessed and favored…so it can't just be someone who was touched by them before. It has to be someone they've picked for themselves?"

The elderly lady gave a tight nod, finger dancing around the rim of her teacup before lifting it to sip from, eyes sliding closed as she enjoyed the warmth from it.

"Is there something we can do to incline the gods toward favoring us?" She asked tersely, eyes glaring down at the ground."If we have Pokémon with us who have chosen us and they are Legends themselves, does that do anything to help our case?"

The woman hummed, lowering her cup while bringing her other arm up to prop her chin as she rested her elbow on the table.

"Hmm, that is an interesting thought. I am unsure if gods care about lesser Legends and their opinions. Perhaps if they respect each other, it might gain you some favor. But I doubt it would be anything significant. You are from a different region, are you not? Your language is the same, but your accent, and some of the words you use, they are different."

The girl quickly raised a brow, Narrowing her eyes in confusion.

"Yes, but what does that have to do with any-"

"I do not see why Hisui's gods would care for the opinion of a legend from another region. Unless, of course, that person has been touched and blessed by many Legends and gods alike from multiple regions."

Someone liked by many Legends and gods huh? That sounded familiar, in fact, that sounded like someone they all knew. Someone right here with them. Someone who was currently clinging to the back of that pink thing, laughing in a carefree manner as they zipped around the sky with that pink Pokémon as she giggled cheerfully.

" ASH! "

The Pokémon immediately stilled, glancing warily and in clear irritation at the girl, while the boy clinging to her back only blinked owlishly for a moment before flinching straight up.

"Oh! Right! We're here for business, now's not the time for fun rides. Sorry, we'll have to play later. Thanks for the ride though, you're pretty fast, I had a ton of fun!"

The Pokémon cooed happily, floating over to her friend's side and letting the boy hop off.

"I am surprised Enamorus has taken to you so quickly, she is usually far more selective. Tell me boy, have you met with any other Legends or gods, have any of them deigned to aid you or sought your aid in the past?"

Ash blinked rapidly, a smile spreading across his face as he locked his arms behind his head.

"Oh yeah! A ton! Me and my buddy Pikachu even saw a legend on the first day we set out on our Journey together! And we've helped out a lot of Legends before, and in return some of them have helped us! Ones from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinn-ohhh, ouch, Ok, ok, I get it May, geez. Uh, we've been all over the place really!"

The lady smiled in understanding, pushing herself up from her seat and moving over to stand mere inches from the boy.

"I see. Then I believe you have had your transport home secured all along."

"Huh? What do ya mean?" Asked the boy, head tilted in sync with the yellow head on his shoulder.

"Ash, you're the key to everything. We have to fight fire with fire. Dawn sent us here with the help of Arceus because it chose her . But don't you see? You've been chosen too, by a ton of Legendary Pokémon! If you ask them for help, then maybe we can all go home! Ms. Cogita, how do we do it? How do we summon them so we can speak to them?"

The lady of the retreat gave a soft laugh, not a mocking one, but one that said she truly thought it was a silly question with an obvious answer nonetheless. Her eyes fixed with the determined ones of the two teens and uttered a single word in response.

"Pray."

"Huh? That's it? It can't be that simple! Pray where? At a specific place or a certain number of times? What should we say when we pray? Should all of us pray, or just Ash? Please tell us what to do Ms. Cogita!"

The woman smiled, eyes softening as she glanced upon the children.

"No miss is necessary, just Cogita is fine. And you need not worry so much. If you call upon them at the most sacred land, then they will surely hear you. How many times you pray is up to them. If they deign not to answer the first time, then persistence cannot harm you. As for who, it should be the boy chosen by the gods. If he truly has a connection with them, then they will only answer his call."

Most sacred ground? Where would that be? A shrine? A temple? Or perhaps they each had their own areas they inhabited that they should try calling to them at?

"Most sacred? Oh! You mean Spear Pillar!"

May quickly glanced at Ash with a harsh look, watching him flinch and wither slightly.

"Oh uh sorry, I mean, are you talking about Spear Pillar, Cogita?"

This earned him a chuckle as the woman gazed at him fondly.

"I think I can see why the gods favor you, at least a little. I do not know what Spear Pillar is. I am assuming it is a place where you are from. Have you been to Hisui before?"

"Uhh, yeah, sorta. At least, the future version of it."

Cogita nodded, smoothing out her dress as she sauntered toward her house.

"Then you must know of the old temple atop the mountain, do you not? We call it the Temple Of Sinnoh, although it is more of a ruin than a temple now."

"Yeah! That's it! That's what we call Spear Pillar!"

She nodded again, pulling open her door and motioning them to follow her inside. As soon as they did, they found her sketching out a light map of the area for them, covering each of the key areas of Sinnoh vaguely, before honing in on Mount Coronet and the temple atop it to draw it in fuller detail.

"Forgive me, I am no expert of the arts, but this should serve to get you where you need to go. I wish you all luck in your endeavors, if you need anything else, you know where I can be found. I will do whatever I can to aid you in your quest to help the Chosen One. She was such a kind and resilient girl, I wish her nothing but the best, truly."

May smiled nodding as she pocketed the map, Boeing and pushing Ash down into a bow beside her.

"Thank you Cogita! This was uh, most helpful. We'll be going now, we hope you enjoy the rest of your tea and afternoon."

"Yeah! And thank Enamorus for me! It was really cool getting to meet and ride around with her!"

Cogita folded her hands before her, nodding back, and bidding the children safe travels, saying that if they needed a place to stay while they were here, that she would make room for them. May kindly explained that they had all already been put up with the Diamond and Pearl clans, but that they would be sure to return to her if anything happened that they needed her help again.

As soon as the girl ran out with the map in hand, the woman stopped the boy.

"Hold on a moment, Ash, was it? Can you speak Galarian?"

"Uh, yeah, sure, why?"

A kind smile crossed her face as she glanced at the retreating man. 

"I dislike seeing people suffer needlessly. I have lost those I lived with for quite some time and loved dearly before, it always hurts. I sense that same pain in this man. I would like to offer him a bit of advice if I can. Would you be willing to translate for us?"

Suddenly a bright smile snapped to his face as he nodded cheerfully, responding with just as bright a "Sure!" before running over to pull the man back over by the tails of his coat, happily explaining all the way over. Said man didn't look too happy to have some random woman meddling in his business, but she only gave a patient smile as he crossed his arms and waited.

"I can tell you are hurting. You lost someone you loved for a very long time and it was hard. But you do not seem like you are hurting and angry over that now. You seem to be angry over something similar, but not entirely there. A fight with a loved one perhaps? That girl mentioned a brother, was it him? You lost him, reunited, and now are fighting? Over what? Something trivial? Something important ? Is it important enough to squander the precious time you have been afforded together again? I think not. If you really love him, find a way to tell him what is bothering you. Love does not always require grand gestures and shows, sometimes words are what are needed. Make up with him, for both your sakes. I have lost many over the years, and I would give anything to see some of them again just to apologize for things we fought over in life and spend just a little more time with them. Life is too short for humans to waste any amount of it feuding."

Ash stood with furrowed brows for a moment, determining how to translate that and pass it on. Once he did, Emmet scoffed. 

"Lost many, how vague. Who have you lost? A twin? Your other half? Someone who completes you and is supposed to function entirely with your help at his back at all times? Ingo is the one pushing me away. I am Emmet. I know when I am not trusted or wanted. He demoted me for standing up for him and his daughter. If anyone is to apologize, it is Ingo."

Ash frowned, looking upset, as if he wanted to say something, but chose not to. Electing instead to translate and leave it at that. If it had been May, she would have omitted the part where Emmet questioned her losses out of respect and tact. But Ash was not May, and he would not purposefully exclude parts of a conversation that he was not even truly a part of. Thankfully, her smile only widened and took on a somber tinge.

"Far too many to name, I'm afraid. Including my beloved, so while it may not be the exact same thing, I believe it is quite similar. If this brother of yours is as close to you as you describe, then do you not think he is suffering as well? And before you say something akin to 'Good, let him suffer as he has made me suffer.' do not. Take a deep breath and think, is that really what you want? If you love him as deeply as you claim to, do you truly want him in pain? Do you not think he suffers from knowing he has hurt you and seeing you so wounded? If he is distant, there is a reason. Perhaps due to some trauma he has not disclosed to you in an attempt to protect you. Or he could simply be taking on more in order to keep you safe because he fears losing you again. This is not indicative of a lack of trust in you , but instead a lack of trust in the life you two have built. Fear can be an irrational yet powerful thing. He likely fears losing you to some unseen force, and wants to keep you safe. I am sure you worry about losing him again too, do you not? Seeing things not return to exactly as they were, you may feel as though he was never truly returned to you. But he was, he loves you, and you love him. Whatever you have fought about, whatever he has done, or you have done. No matter what words were said. If you apologize and tell him what you are feeling, what is worrying you, he will respond in kind, I truly believe that. You may think 'what does she know? She is but a stranger. These are simply the ramblings of a lonely old woman.' but I assure you, I have lived for much too long to not know these sorts of woes. Do not wait. Or else you may miss your chance as his body drifts down the river to time or something else. You need not prove yourself worthy of love, trust may be earned, but love cannot be controlled. Talk to him, in whatever way you can. I certainly know I wish I could…"

Ash bit his lip, finally feeling the gravity of such a talk, he slowly turned to face the man who was eyeing him expectantly. Smile terse and incredibly obviously forced. With a sigh, Ash began to relay her words to him, as he did so, May peeked her head back in questioningly, asking what the hold up was, only for Cogita to place a finger over her lips and shoot her a pleading smile that sent May questioning everything in her head, but back outside to wait. 

Once Ash had finished and Emmet stood stunned with his mouth ajar, the woman called out to the boy again, causing him to turn to face her once more.

"Tell him as well that demotion he spoke of, was also likely out of desperation to protect. Not because he did not love and trust him with every fiber of his being. Sometimes those things work, but other times they can have…unpredictable side effects. That kind of forced protection can lead to a person only trying harder to be involved and them getting hurt or losing themselves along the way. We are our own people. We will all make our own choices in this life, and some of them may be the wrong ones, but we need to be kept close, not pushed away so that we may see our errors and fix them. Tell him to remind his brother of that, or perhaps you could tell his brother that yourself. I have a bit of personal experience with trying to discourage and bar someone from getting involved with something… large and dangerous . But it only drove them further down that path and pushed them over the edge. Do not let that happen to them young Chosen One. Please, for my own sanity. Watch over them."

Ash gave a resolute nod as he spun back around to find Emmet biting his lip and shaking.

"How do you know that? How do you KNOW that??! Who ARE you?!"

Ash could see the desperation in his eyes, he looked equal parts frightened and angry all at once. Cogita only gave a pitying smile, who that pity was directed toward was unclear, Emmet? Ash? Herself?

"I am simply an old woman who happens to be a servant to those with more knowledge and power than myself, bound to time and duty by forces beyond my own control."

Ash didn't really know how to translate that, but it didn't seem to matter, Emmet was still just as shaken, perhaps even more so as the woman strode forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. Causing Emmet to scream for her not to touch him, tears sliding out of his eyes as his heart felt all at once, too empty and too full. As if it would crack if anymore was squeezed in or if the hole was not filled soon.

He…he needed his support. He needed Ingo.

He really couldn't do this alone. He had to have his brother at his back, he had to know he was there, that he trusted him and loved him and wanted him. Maybe…maybe talking to him first wasn't such a bad idea. If that didn't work, then he could always prove himself to him later. Maybe Ingo simply wasn't open to seeing such things right now because he was so worried about Dawn.

Maybe he could prove himself in ways back home that Ingo was more receptive too. But he was always bad with words…how was he supposed to tell him? The woman said to tell him in his own way. But what was that? 

He recalled a conversation he had once with someone else who was important to him, after they had finished a battle, he could tell the whole time that she was fighting out of anger, as a way to blow off steam. He had tried many times to make her smile before finally just sinking down next to her against the wall and waiting for her to open up to him herself.

She had claimed that brothers were stupid and dense and that they just did not listen and sometimes even when they did, they didn't really hear you. Because they either didn't get it or didn't care, and it hurt even more to think they didn't care . She had gotten a laugh and a smile from him as he agreed, responding that boys in general were stupid, and that she had better come to grips with that because they did not get better with age, only more stubborn and better at hiding it. 

That had gotten a laugh out of her, before she sadly asked what she should do. He was not good with things like that, things that required words and feelings, that was Ingo's department, and thankfully she knew that. Because she quickly amended her question to "What do you do when Ingo doesn't listen? Or, I guess, when he doesn't get it or seems to not want to hear you. Because my brother likes to just ignore it and me until I calm down, sometimes after that he pretends it never even happened and carries on like normal. I hate that." 

And to that, he said it depended on the situation. If it was dire, he forced him to listen, he would battle him and force him to hear him out. But if it was something he could run off to pout about until Ingo sighed and came to get him and apologize and understand , then he did that. 

She chuckled, saying that sounded like him with his little brother privilege. The two had continued on with him asking what her brother had done that time, and she leaned against his arm and explained that they had a mutual friend, more his than hers but she cared about him too, and they both knew that. But he kept excluding her from things that involved that friend, he said it was because she didn't understand him as well as he did, that she was not as close and that it was he the friend would respond best to and he didn't need her to get in the way and risk everything, including her own safety. 

She had pouted about how it seemed like he didn't trust her, that she was older so she should be looking out for him not the other way around. That he just didn't trust her not to scare their friend off or get herself in trouble and didn't want her around. Emmet had no words for that other than "Sorry, that sucks. He is wrong. You are verrry strong. He should believe in you more. You are his only big sister. I am Emmet, I am sure he will vote around. Give him time. Tell him what you told me. And if he does not listen again, tell him I will be paying him a visit for a battle that he will lose."

She had giggled and thanked him, pushing herself up and bouncing to her feet,  saying she already felt a bit lighter and that she felt it was thanks to him. She punched his arm playfully as grinned, saying she would see him again soon for another battle and that she had better be going before she missed the last train back, and he missed his next scheduled battle. He hummed and waved excitedly, putting the conversation to the side to deliver his script when the next trainer walked in.

Perhaps he should try putting all of this out of his mind for now, pretend it didn't happen and just focus on getting home to his niece. She needed him and the others after all. Things with Ingo could be mended later when their entire train was safe. But then again, what if he lost Ingo before they managed to make it home to help Dawn? 

Biting his lip until he tasted iron, Emmet stood up straight as a rod, fixing his cap and nodding at the two in the room with him.

"Tell her I will consider her words, and thank her for me, Emmet, she has given me some verrrrry much needed perspective and reminded me of the tracks my car should be traveling at this moment."

"Uhh, sure!"

Without wasting any more time, Emmet strode out of the woman's abode and toward May, glancing down at her with his usual cheerful smile, and confident demeanor. 

"I am Emmet. Allow me to see the map."

"Uh..sure, here you go…"

Taking the map gently, he memorized the layout and began plotting their path, far better and faster than May herself could in the whole time she had been trying. After a minute or so, he handed it back to the girl with a grin and a pat on her head as he chirped out a thanks!

Whatever had happened in there must have been just what he needed, she decided. He seemed so much more like he had acted like, when they all arrived in Hisui. A confident, capable, strong, and sure leader. 

"I am Emmet. I realize Ingo put you in charge, so I will defer to you. But do you mind if I conduct this train up the mountain? It is bound to be a perilous journey for sure. Yup! A tough one! If a path looks dangerous, we can clear it or take another, whichever you choose! I have already memorized the shortest path! So I can lead until we need to make a call like that!"

"Uh, sure, sounds good. Where is..Ash by the way?"

As if he was summoned, the boy came bursting out the door and toward them both.

"Sorry! That Cogita lady had something to ask me and talk to me about and she gave me some really cool stuff that-"

"Yeah, yeah, okay we get it. Are you ready to go or not? Mr. Emmet is offering to lead us up the shortest path to the temple. But we're still burning daylight here, and it's bound to take a while no matter what. So we should get going now."

The boy straightened up and smiled.

"Oh! That's great! Yeah, I'm totally ready, let's go."

The man hummed twice happily, calling for them all to come aboard as he began leading them toward the large imposing form of the Coronet Highlands that his brother had talked so much about. Ready and willing to take on any challenges along the way to keep his 2 passengers safe and get them all home to his niece as swiftly as humanly possible. 

^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The knowledge that Uxie had dropped on them turned out to be…well, a lot . But it was still helpful nonetheless, even if it caused quite the panic and worry in all of them, especially Ingo himself. It had taken him a few minutes to process it all before he could push himself to move onward. However, once he was feeling more stable, they had a path set out for them that he could easily follow the tracks of.

And that was something he was especially grateful for. A nice, linear schedule to follow. Just like being back at the Subway, at home where everyone was safe…well, safer. Those wretched grunts had proven that nowhere was truly and completely safe. Though he couldn't entirely safe Hisui wasn't safe in some ways, since he himself survived for years there.

Regardless, he and his team were able to get help to break the Origin Ball down back to its original components and pass those back to the Lake Guardian Spirits for safeguarding. As much as he wanted to simply bury the ball somewhere and forget about it or destroy it. 

He remembered Dawn saying that she had seen the pieces combined in the future, meaning that to avoid any blips in the timeliness that altered the future, he needed to break them back down and give them back to the spirits. It weighed heavily on his heart, knowing he was dooming his daughter to a future where she would have to face such terrors head on at the ripe young age of 10 years old. 

But she had also told him that she wasn't alone then, and that she had come out of it unscathed, which had helped to shape her as a better and stronger person which in turn allowed her to not only survive but flourish in Hisui. So he supposed that while some things were just beyond one's control, they at least happened for a reason in regards to the bigger picture of things.

After that, he and his team made their way around the lands, setting up failsafes as Ingo called them, all in order to prevent any important information from falling into the wrong hands, and keep Giovanni from getting anything he needed to try to control Arceus. He was not ignorant, he had heard of Team Rocket and their technology department as well as their spy network. 

He knew how dangerous they were, and how resourceful they could be. They would not fail to stir up all kinds of trouble in the future to get what they wanted. That is why he asked the Lake Spirits to let him keep a piece of the chain. Just in case the Lake Spirits were compromised in the future. They all agreed to let Uxie erase their memories if they were captured before they could share the locations of the pieces they hid.

After leaving them, and keeping a piece in his inner breast pocket, he began setting up all kinds of conflicting stories on Dialga, Palkia, Arceus, and the location of the Origin Ball. He wanted everyone to believe something different, to confuse anyone who was poking around. It would be hard to find the truths and the lies in the stories if everyone told them something different. 

He only hoped they didn't record the conversations somehow in the future when asking around. Only Irida, Adaman, and a couple of their most trusted wardens were privately told the full truth, and were instructed to have one clan write it all down in a way nobody would be able to understand without a key, while the other clan was left to create that key to crack the code. 

Those things once made, were to be passed down through the generations to whoever in the clan was the most trustworthy, not specifically the leader, but whoever was the most innocuous and trustworthy. It would pass through so many hands in the years that it would be near impossible to track down. But the clans were also told to keep a record of who last had it in the opposite clans, just their names, nothing too telling. 

So the Pearl would keep a record of the Diamond clans keepers, while the Diamond kept account of the Pearl's holders. That list would stay with the clan leaders and get passed down to the next head of each clan. And, once the system was established, they would rope the Champion of the region into helping to protect them. 

The Champion was not allowed to know what they were protecting, unless that Champion was a blond woman named Cynthia who would end up having a Garchomp, Togekiss, Lucario, Spiritomb, Roserade, and something called a Milotic. That name and description would be kept secret and passed down in the clans, not used on any of their children so as to avoid confusion for the future protectors and keepers.

Ingo was very meticulous about making sure he and Johanna were telling different stories to different people in different parts of the region, meanwhile Zoey was busy setting up traps for Team Rocket to fall into, ranging from places set up to look old and important, that contained false 'old and important relics' that would supposedly lead them to some mystical artifact that was said to be blessed with the power of Arceus itself or other such nonsense. 

Irida, Adaman and even Kamado agreed to have people 'guard' those areas as well for generations to come, all in hopes of distracting Team Rocket. If only they had someone good with technology that could hide viruses and such strong enough to take down an entire network in some of these artifacts. But he supposed that would be too much. 

Either way, things were going well for their team. He could only hope things were going just as well for Emm-...May's Team. Yes that, May and her group. Not Emmet. Emmet wasn't the leader. Even more than that, he hoped Dawn was doing okay, and that things in the future were going well enough.

>_<>_<>_<>_<>_<>_<

Speaking of things in the future, Team Save Dawn Whether She Likes It Or Not Because We Are Adults And Know Better Except For Iris had managed to devise a plan of their own. Or, really a few plans to be exact. Seeing as Dawn was in the clutches of Team Rocket, they were the biggest threat at the moment. But that didn't mean that other organizations were not a risk factor as well.

So with Iris' authorization, Elesa put the entirety of the Unovan Gym Challenge system on hold. All Gyms were closed until further notice, citing a state of emergency as the reason due to Team Plasma returning and asking that residents stay in their towns and report anything that looks like trouble to their local Gym Leaders. 

Some young trainers who were unhappy with having their Gym Badge hunting interrupted, went on to search high and low until they had found Ghetsis and his remaining officials hideout. These feet on the ground combined with Iris giving Conway full access to all Unovan databases that contained anything on Team Plasma for him to pour through, allowed them to narrow it down and finally pincer them in.

As soon as the Gym Leaders caught wind of them being found, they called in the Elite 4 and all went with the police to wrangle them up. Elesa had particularly adult words to share with the old man, pertaining to how he and his forces were pathetic for going after a single 16 year old girl and kidnapping her, but he only laughed and told her he had not even known about her when his men took her. And that he wished he had because he would have personally killed the girl and stolen Arceus from her. 

He laughed psychotically as they dragged him, his Triad and his officials away in handcuffs, throwing his head back to tell her that it did not matter if they stopped Team Plasma, because that girl was as good as dead, as by now the news of her having Arceus had gone global. She would have a target on her back for the rest of her life, and that if they really wanted to help her, they would put her out of her misery early and put her down now. 

Elesa began trembling with rage, thankfully she was comforted quickly by Burgh, with Skyla stepping up to tell him to shut up, that it didn't matter how many people went after her or for how long, that she was a Unovan as much as she was a Sinnohian. And that Unovans protect their own. Elesa, having found her spirit again, stepped up.

"That's right! None of that matters because she will always have us and her family, and we Absol-utely won't fail her. Tell all the evil gangs in the world to bring it on, they won't Stantler a ghost of a chance against all of us!"

The man only threw his head back, again, laughing all the while as he was dragged out. The second he was out of sight, two pairs of knees hit the ground, one simply unable to support the human anymore, while the other followed only to offer support and reassurances. 

Skyla's voice could be heard growing closer, Burgh's own right next to her was sounding more like a high pitched ringing than anything else as Elesa took in slow shaking breaths. It wasn't that she was bluffing per say, she really meant it, every word! It's just that…well, even if Ingo and Emmet were technically just as strong as any Champion, and she was a Gym Leader, that didn't mean the 3 of them could hold off an entire evil organization themselves until backup could arrive. 

Even with Dawn herself, they would only be 4 people. And it would take time for all the Gym Leaders and Elite to move to their location. And if she stayed with her mother, Arceus help the girl, she would essentially be fighting all alone. She knew the girl had friends in Sinnoh, some who lived pretty close to her even, but still…Elesa had no idea how strong any of those friends were, and while Ingo was kind and said the girl's mother put up a good fight, Emmet had been more honest and said she barely put up any fight at all and ran garbage contest moves not at all suited to real battle.

Which meant that in order to make sure they were able to uphold the words she had just spoken, they needed help . And that help had to be strong, smart, plentiful in numbers, and able to stay close at all times. Someone with influence yet also capable of stealth. Someone who could meet Team Rocket tit for tat, and really fight fire with fire.

And luckily, despite her momentary panic, she had just the plan to get them those allies. Ignoring the words of her fellow Gym Leaders, Elesa pulled out her phone and dialed Iris, waiting only until the girl picked up to speak, a smirk curling on her lips as she spoke with full confidence.

"What'd we have so far on the whereabouts of Team Galactic?"

CHAPTER 3 END  

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