July 10th, First Year

Days. Many, many days Emmet has been wandering the mountain paths. His fingers twitch and curl outside of their leather gloves, abandoned in the humid heat of summer. His eyes- narrowed against the merciless mountain gusts- sweep along the endless mountain range, dull from exhaustion and irritation and red from the constant showers of dust and dirt thrown regularly into his face. His mouth is set in a tired smile, a dull ache settling into his cheeks. He stops, takes a seat on a nearby boulder, and cards his fingers through his dirty, disheveled hair, letting his false smile drop for only a moment. Now he can feel the unyielding ache of his joints settle in, a brief respite from what was to come next.

A loud inquisitive buzz warbles through the air, two sharp mandibles coming to gently tug up a strand of his hair. "Zzz?" the creature hummed, its distorted cry causing faint echoes in the canyons.

Emmet reached up and gave his friendly bug-type partner a pat on the head, albeit very carefully. "I am fine, Vespiquen. Yup. All black here." He let out a chuckle as his partner continued on, messing around with his hair knowing full well that there was nothing the subway master could do about it.

Days he had been traveling around the mountains searching for his brother. Searching for Ingo. So much had been conspiring against him since he first set foot into this horrible place. Everything was working against him: the pokémon, the weather, and the clans to boot. He growled in frustration, taking out what little portions of berries he'd scavenged while wandering around like a wild pokémon.

This wouldn't be nearly as easy as he thought it would be. Emmet had thought that he would arrive, locate Ingo, and have Celebi escort them both promptly back to Unova; a simple in-and-out mission. That kind of thing. Emmet glared at the horizon. No. No, things have just been so… so frustrating! He swallowed an oran berry and pulled out a scrap of paper from his pack, careful not to spill the ink pot that he'd successfully swindled from another traveling merchant. He needed a plan. He needed a to-do list. He needed something to ground him, so he didn't go crazy. Was this how Ingo felt when he got here? I wonder how he's faring on his tracks. I wonder if he knows how to get home. Emmet grimaced, a new bitter thought clouding his mind like poison. I wonder if he wants to come home… Ugh! Everything stinks here!

Emmet had started with just walking toward where Jubilife should've been. Key word: should've. He had lost almost all of his carried items the moment he stepped across the Passage of Time that Celebi had created for him. His beloved passengers? Gone. All of his items? Gone. His map of Sinnoh that he'd purchased along with the encyclopedia about ancient Hisui? Gone. All of it.

And it was just his luck that he had run into that brain-dead pokémon ranger back on that hill months ago. They didn't remember him; Emmet didn't care. Wherever the ranger went, Emmet knew that they would eventually bump into Ingo; they had come back to the present carrying his hat, so Emmet would act the part and listen in for information.

Emmet man grimaced. It's not like I had a choice. He had no pokémon and he had been wildly unprepared for how vicious pokémon in the Hisui region were. He'd thought the pokémon ranger had been joking when they had called him suicidal for showing up with a Celebi that, in their words was "unequipped for battling with". To his chagrin, the ranger had been right on the money. Celebi was not a battling pokémon.

On their way to the Crimson Mirelands some time ago, Emmet had been forced to stand back and watch as the pokémon ranger cut through whatever beast decided to get in their way and boy, were the fights he'd seen brutal. Battles there weren't anything like how they were back in Unova or in the Battle Subway. The fights in Hisui were disturbing. Lawless. Violent. Messy. He'd originally assumed that the idiot ranger didn't know how to battle properly when he had enlisted them as his battle assistant back in the present. After all, they didn't participate in Battle Facilities nor did they systematically own any battle points.

But the truth had been different, watching the same dopey ranger that used to lean against the side of a subway car with a bored expression now weaving between two battling goliaths with nothing but practiced skill, a slice of steel, and that same bored expression plastered on. Nobody in modern times battled in the same way that Hisui wielders did. Nobody in modern times battled for survival or from wrath. Did Ingo… does he also battle like that?

And then came the irritating games of cat-and-mouse with his brother. He had been surprised to hear how well-known his brother was in this time and age whenever he wasn't missing him by a few seconds. Warden Ingo. A man that had come from nowhere, revered by his fellow wardens and by the clans for his calm demeanor, his excellence in training pokémon, and for his knowledge far surpassing anything that the clans knew about the creatures; even the expedition team in modern-day Jubilife City who were, as Emmet put it, grasping at straws in the middle of the sticks.

Was Emmet proud? Absolutely. Ingo had caught a brand-new team and was of record the strongest pokémon wielder in the entire region having no reported defeats. Emmet trembled, an easy smile finding itself back onto his face. Yes, I will find my brother, rescue him from this awful place, and then battle him! He couldn't help it. He loved a little competition. But would Ingo still have his old pokémon with him? And why couldn't Emmet have brought his own then?

While staying with the ranger and the Diamond Clan, Emmet had been working on his own team. Thus far, he had his beloved Vespiquen who he had met as a Combee, a Rhydon who had been helping him up and down the mountain sides, and an Electabuzz that seemingly followed Emmet for the extra rations he had brought with him. All three had been a great help on the mountains; especially given the fact that Emmet still had yet to figure out where Ingo lived around there.

And there was one thing that bothered him: the way people looked at him. Emmet was no stranger to having people stare at himself and his brother. It came with the job of being Battle Facility Heads. They were practically celebrities back in Unova where they were well-known and well-revered by the people of Nimbasa City. But in Hisui, they were oddities. Natural silver hair and eyes. Pale like ghosts. Abnormally tall. All traits that ran in the family. Emmet never really cared when people thought he was Ingo, waving them off after they realized that Emmet was a different person altogether. The other brother. Ingo had always been the more popular out of the two of them. But in Hisui, Emmet always felt a twinge of apprehension when the person- after they had noticed the difference- they would step far, far away from him, their faces twisted with fear, mistrust, and confusion.

"Alright!" Emmet got back to his feet, still tired but feeling a little bit better about his current tracks. "Let's get back to work. Next stop: the top of this mountain I'm sitting on. All- "

"I beg your pardon?"

Emmet paused. Scuffling noises sounded a little further up the cliff. Metal clinked. Boots thudded into the dirt. Pebbles rolled down the slope, slipping off of the cliff as the shadows wavered and then parted.

A tall man appeared from the shadows, his skin dripping with sweat as he carefully navigated the handholds hidden precariously in the rocky mountain side. He huffed, silver eyes pinning Emmet to where he stood as the figure dropped down smoothly in the dirt. The man stood and shook the dust from his jacket. He took one hesitant step forward. "My apologies!" a familiar voice rang out. "I thought you might need further assistance. You are currently stationed in a section of the highlands unsuited for human travel on foot."

"…Ingo?"

The man across from Emmet paused before kindly tipping his torn-apart hat. "Ah, yes, that is my name!" Ingo strode further until the two were only a few inches apart. "I am Warden Ingo of the Pearl Clan; Warden to Lady Sneasler." He performed a quick and succinct bow before straightening. "A pleasure to meet you! And who might you be?"

"I… I am Emmet. I…" Emmet felt as though he could hardly breathe. His chest tightened and his hands clenched. He involuntarily pinched the flesh of his neck, stilling when the sharp sting of pain emerged from beneath his fingers. This is real? This is real. This is real! "I… you…" He stuttered, unable to tear his gaze off of the man- off of his brother- who he had been searching for for so long. "Ingo? It's… you're here."

"I am." Ingo's brow furrowed. "Emmet, was it? Is your cab in need of maintenance? You don't look quite so well-"

"Ingo!" Emmet threw himself onto his brother, wrapping his arms around his twin as tightly as he could. His hands still recognized the rough starchy fabric of Ingo's coat. His body still remembered that Ingo would always hug him from the right side- never the left. Emmet then grunted in surprise as Ingo hefted him up into a bone-crushing hug.

It was quiet. It was so, so quiet. Emmet had wondered whether he had fallen asleep. Months of waiting. Months of guarding an empty room in an empty apartment. Months of defending Ingo's disappearance to the press. Months of hungry days and sleepless nights tossing and turning. Months of lying to Elesa about how he was doing. Months of being alone at Gear Station. Months of walking alone on their usual route to downtown Nimbasa. Months of having to wave off the sympathetic passengers on the Battle Subway. Months of not even being able to run the Battle Subway. Months of losing his passion- losing his dream that he had once shared. Months of reading false news and eager journalists putting in their two cents about what happened to Ingo: that Ingo had purposefully deserted his brother. That he had traveled abroad for a career change. That he had committed suicide.

"Emmet!" Ingo cried, tightening his grip. His voice shook, dissolving at the edges as he enveloped Emmet within his warm embrace. "I was wondering when we might meet each other again! It is good to see you! Bravo, Emmet! Bravo!"

"I- dragons above- finally!" Tears spilled over Emmet's cheeks as he buried his face in the crook of his brother's neck. He barely even cared that his ears were ringing from his brother's raucous voice. "I've missed you so much! But you're here! You're here!"

"I'm here," Ingo muttered gently, helping Emmet to stand as they slowly separated from one another. Ingo held Emmet at arms-length, a wide smile Emmet had never seen before stretching across his face. His silver eyes- golden in the glow of the afternoon sun- gleamed with pride and joy. "I've been looking all over for you! It's been quite the venture, hasn't it? I'm sorry to have left you alone at the station. I couldn't have predicted the tracks I would be put on."

Emmet only chuckled wetly. "How did you even get here?"

"It is a long story," Ingo rasped. "One that is best discussed over a meal and perhaps a warm fire." He carefully removed his hands from Emmet's shoulders, readjusting his familiar coat around his torso. "And I think it's about time we both get back to our home station."

"No. Really? You think?" Emmet fully pulled himself away and fixed his clothes, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Okay! No more time for crying!" he declared. "I came here to take you back home and now that you're here, I can finally do that." He gestured toward Celebi's pokéball. "We can make a portal back to Unova at a moment's notice. Are you ready to depart?"

Ingo blinked. Once and then twice. "My apologies, but I'm not quite ready to depart from this station just yet. There are some things that I must retrieve from my cabin- my pokémon for example. I cannot leave without them. And I must also notify my superiors of my upcoming absence."

Emmet bit back the fierce sting of disappointment that threatened to spill out of his throat- still raw after their reunion- but he forced himself to keep up a smile, folding his arms behind his back. Right. Ingo has new pokémon. Of course- he's been here for such a long time, he's bound to have tracks to clear up before we can couple again back in our home station. "Of course. No worries, Ingo. Just… take your time."

Ingo grinned and it was almost like Emmet was sighting another sun in the sky. Ingo rarely ever smiled. "Thank you for your understanding. I know you must be impatient to return home, but not to worry- fulfilling all of my requirements should take no less than a day. And you'll be coming with me, rest assured." He turned his back and beckoned Emmet onward, setting his hand on his brother's shoulder.

Emmet felt as though he were going to burst from the sudden onslaught of relief. Ingo was right beside him, safe and sound and not dead. It wasn't a dream. His brother remembered him and his brother remembered Unova. Ingo just had a few tracks to clear up and then they would be right on the way of returning home. It was everything Emmet had ever wanted up until that moment.

A horrible snapping, squelching noise filled his ears like a train's whistle would a stone tunnel. Emmet felt his body freeze and involuntarily go slack, warmth bubbling along his face and chest, pooling around his throat. A terrible weight settled upon his chest, threatening to crush his ribcage as the flesh along his hands and back began to burn. A new sound- snuffling, snarling, whining- throbbed in his ears. A chill unlike one he had ever faced settled over him entirely, stealing the breath from his lungs.

Emmet could do nothing but gaze around confusedly, clawing at his throat as blood began to pour from his mouth and drip from his scalp. It stained his clothes and fingers and soaked into the dirt like a grisly puddle. He tried to call out to Ingo but his body would not obey him. Ingo hadn't even noticed his plight, his brother's patchy jacket disappearing into the shadows of the cliffs.

Ingo, come back! Don't leave me here! Help me! Emmet couldn't yell. He couldn't scream. He couldn't claw or kick his way into standing, flinching when another wave of hot, white pain exploded at his right side, silencing any thought about his brother or of Unova into a mess of agony. He could only lay and watch, unable to piece apart what he was seeing. The cliffs of the highlands faded into the scenery of route sixteen back in Unova. Voices of people he knew like Iris and Drayden sprouted up from the back of his head but they were unintelligible. Completely lost in the mess of growling voices that crowded his mind.

Emmet flinched as another biting pain sprung up on his skin and face. The mountains around him crumpled and disappeared, replaced instead by a dark and damp cave that echoed with the sounds of a violent pokémon battle. The space around him shuddered and shook like a train rumbling down loose, unfinished tracks. Emmet could taste the harsh copper tang of his own blood dripping down his chin, feeling the frazzled nerves in his arms and legs begin to settle. Slowly- as if emerging from a pool of molasses, he struggled to open his eyes again.

A wavering shadow of a beast loomed over him, one singular golden eye staring at him with a mixture of shock, surprise, and confusion. Its other eye had been sliced shut. The tall white-and-red pokémon hastily ripped its teeth out of Emmet's arm and snarled, blood oozing from its maw as it pushed Emmet back into the dirt to hiss at something approaching from afar.

"…Ingo?"

Noise. All Emmet could hear was a cacophony of noise. A wave of smoky purple flames exploded through the cavern, causing bits of stone and ice to fall to the floor. The creature above Emmet recoiled and howled in agony, its ghostly white pelt ablaze as it careened into the cavern wall and out of his field of view.

All Emmet could hear was something wailing in frustration. The cave shook as yet more fire moved past him, not burning him but cradling his broken and battered body. Other creatures similar to the ones that had pinned him down swept past him in blurs, leaving behind the smell of rot and decay.

Then came another shadow, just as tall and imposing as the white creature but this time draped in black. A firm touch- two fingers pressing against his wrist. Unintelligible words, loud and angry and venomous. Silver eyes and silver hair and silver clothes. Another touch- much stronger than the first- pressed up against the gaping hole in Emmet's throat.

Emmet reached up with his bloody hands, wavering when they met solid, warm flesh. "...Ingo?" he croaked.

And as if to answer him, a pair of strong arms dug him up from his position on the floor. Something soft and warm pressed against his cheek, the scent of crushed berries and of fallen rain wreathed soothingly around him. A wet nose caressed a painful spot on his scalp between the pain gradually began to ebb away and with it, Emmet's consciousness followed.

July 12th, First Year

When Emmet next woke, he was situated in a small cot, his head fuzzy and his body clammy with sweat. He scrambled for purchase, groaning as a wave of nausea forced him to take his head in his hands. With a pained grimace, Emmet collapsed back onto the cot, blinking his eyes open as he tried to take in his surroundings.

He was in a hut of sorts. A lantern and a wooden wash bin were settled on a crate right beside him, his Celebi dozing as the rest of his pokémon were bandaged and resting peacefully near a lit hearth. His stolen clothes were hung up nearby alongside various other clothes. Expensive, silky looking garments, some delicately embroidered and others stained with mud, were either folded near a wooden chest underneath a counter or hung up like a fur-lined cloak. Trinkets hung from the rafters: bits of tied herbs, numerous other crates and chests, tools like pickaxes and shovels, weapons like hatchets and spears.

His uncle Drayden had a cabin just like it in the northern mountains near Opelucid, filled with things from his youth and from his days as a dragon tamer. Emmet felt a tad comforted by this place, wherever he was. But where was Ingo? Why was he all bandaged up? Did Ingo bring him here?

Emmet found his way into a sitting position. He only then noticed that his stolen guild uniform had been removed. Somebody had undressed him and had apparently bathed him. He'd been bandaged in all kinds of precarious places, and it was especially thick around his throat and chest. Emmet had been delicately wrapped with cotton sheets, nothing having been left untouched by whoever had brought him there. He tried to get to his feet and- twang! The cot rocked once, a taut sensation burning in Emmet's arm. He blinked, confused, as he noticed a bulky section of rope dangling from his wrist.

"What…. What is this?" Twang! The cot rumbled again as Emmet yanked at his arm, a horrible sense of dread and horror filling his gut as he noticed the web of rope and well-tied knots covering his body. He was completely entangled. Not a single joint of his had gone neglected, the thickest of the ropes tied thrice around his throat from what he could tell. And along these ropes, small plate-like shells jangled with every small movement he made. He tried to fight back the lurching sensation in his stomach- twang!

Heavy footsteps landed in the dirt outside the tent. There was a deep grunt and then more heavy shuffling. The door to the tent opened, a tall and massive silhouette pausing in the doorway before glaring in his direction.

"Oh… I see you have finally risen for the day."

In walked Ingo. Emmet involuntarily twitched back, the skin along his arms tingling. The man didn't look like the Ingo Emmet had been expecting.

This Ingo was slouched over but Emmet could see new lines of taut muscle along his shoulders, chest, and torso. Coarse silver hair bristled from underneath the man's cap, a crop of stubble around their jaw ending in a goatee. The man closed the door behind him, taking off his hat and stowing it on a hook before fixing Emmet with a stare that made the hairs along his arms and neck stick straight up.

Emmet didn't see his brother in the man's eyes. Not Ingo, no. He saw the eyes of one of those alpha pokémon found commonly within Hisui. Sharp and cruel mercury discs bore upon him unblinking as the man approached closer. With his lips twisted in ire, Ingo didn't even seem to recognize who Emmet was.

Instead, Ingo moved to sit before the hearth across the flames from Emmet. "And I suppose you must be the Zoroark that has been searching for me all this time, are you not?" Ingo tapped one finger against his arm, frowning. "Quite a long way from the icelands, aren't you?"

"I-I'm not a Zoroark," Emmet clarified, his voice wavering. He was quickly reminded of his old bullies' favorite taunt, surprised to find this Ingo look-alike using it. It was beyond the tone his brother used to take with unruly passengers or when they caught Team Plasma skulking around in the abandoned subway tunnels. No, the new tone was far worse. Set. Uncaring. Livid in the undertones. "I am Emmet."

Ingo only exhaled roughly. "That's a phrase I've heard more times than I can count." He then took a drink out of what looked to be a leather bag. "Chandelure. Please identify this passenger once more."

"Wait," Emmet started forward. "You have Chandelure? You are coupled to her?"

"That is correct." Ingo reached for a wooden pokéball at his belt, flicking open the latch. A familiar crystalline pokémon appeared and almost immediately made a beeline for Emmet's lap, wrapping their black tendrils gently around his chest.

"Chandelure!" Well, that solves one thing. Emmet turned to face the strange Ingo look-alike again. "You… you don't look like my brother," he began weakly. "You don't look like the Ingo I remember."

"And you don't-" Ingo stopped himself mid retort, his eyes flashing with anger before he calmed himself. "You look like the attempt of a baneful fox wearing my brother's face." He then brought his hands together, fury making every syllable of his speech shake as he uttered, "This trick is starting to become quite old and predictable."

Emmet recoiled at the man's acidic tone. "I… did not mean to anger you, Ingo. But I am telling the truth. I am the… the real Emmet." He glanced at Chandelure. "You can sense my spirit, Chandelure. You know that I am the real Emmet." From within his lap, Chandelure gave a low and soft chime as if confirming his words. When Ingo didn't speak, Emmet continued. "How did I get here? What happened? All I remember is following you into the mountains."

That got Ingo's attention. "Zoroarks," is what he muttered.

"Zoroarks?" Emmet repeated confusedly. "Elaborate."

"You were attacked by a Zoroark and then dragged to the nest to be devoured. What you must've seen was only an illusion; their greatest skill. Chandelure led me straight to you. You would have bled to death if we would have reached you any later."

Emmet blinked, discomfort growing in his gut at the nonchalant tone of Ingo's words. "I don't understand, but that's… that's okay. You are here." Emmet let one clammy hand rest upon Chandelure's glassy head. "Chandelure is here which means that I am not dreaming." He turned bodily to face Ingo, smiling despite the hostile mood of the cramped hut. "You are Ingo. I am Emmet. I have found you and now I will escort you home."

"How?" Ingo retorted. "I am not one to believe you. Especially given the fact that you should not be here." In a quieter tone, Ingo muttered, "Especially not when I cannot discern you from a Zoroark's illusion." He crossed his arms. "And where is this home station of ours? I don't quite possess the full capacity of what my cab is supposed to have. My memories were scattered to the wind a long time ago."

Emmet didn't so much as flinch. "Unova. Home is Unova. You may not remember but I do." He didn't dare to dwell on the fact that Ingo didn't remember him. That Ingo didn't remember Unova. That Ingo didn't even trust him all that much or that his brother had likened him to the creature that had attacked him. Emmet only smiled. "I came here- traveled back in time- to find you and bring you home. I do not care if you do not remember me- I have a plan for that as well." Emmet didn't dare mention that that spontaneous plan formed in the fraction of a second involved fist-fighting Arceus.

"And what if I don't wish to go?" Ingo retorted. "You are a stranger to me wearing the face of somebody only believed to exist within my dreams. Why should I trust you? Why would I go anywhere with you?"

"You don't have a choice," Emmet replied, crossing his own arms in turn. "We are a two-car-train. I did not come this far just to return empty-handed. Either you will return to the future or I will stay here with you in the past. I will not allow you to become decoupled from me. Not again," he grimaced. "Never again."

Ingo hummed, still not taking his eyes off of his brother. "You seem quite adamant about remaining at my side. Fine. You may stay so long as Chandelure determines your presence is benign." And then, Ingo paused. "The only reason I have allowed you into my home is due to the vouching of others who you have met and who I personally know."

"Mean."

Ingo only shook his head. "I have no intentions of returning to Unova until my mission here in Hisui is complete. Perhaps when my memories begin to return, I might hasten that escapade."

"I am Emmet and I don't care when we go home." He pointedly met Ingo's gaze, fighting to keep his fingers from trembling. "So long as we return together."

July 21st, First Year

Emmet was careful to keep his distance from Ingo as they made their way out of the wooden hut, a warm rain lashing against the cliff sides. The lake folded and poured forward, a loud roar filling his ears. Bird pokémon dived amongst the jagged rocks, pulling up fish in a harrowing dance.

Ingo still didn't trust him entirely and was quick to turn on him if Emmet put one toe out of line; what the line was, Emmet couldn't tell. Just the slightest things tended to set Ingo off and if Ingo was scary when he was mad in the future, then he was downright terrifying when agitated.

It had taken almost two weeks for Emmet to recover from his ordeal with the Zoroark. Once a week, Ingo would leave Emmet under the supervision of one of his pokémon. More often than not, it was Ingo's Machamp with its four arms easily capable of snapping Emmet's limbs like toothpicks should he try to sneak out. Ingo would be gone for three days at the least, coming back reeking of sweat and dirt and like a wild pokémon. They didn't talk apart from Ingo bringing him things like food and water or of his brother assigning his partners to bathroom escort duty.

After a whole week of recovering, of sitting still in his brother's cabin in the woods while being treated by the world's largest Blissey Emmet had ever seen, the man was finally well enough to walk around without his chest tightening with pain. He always had supervision. Always. Ingo's pokémon made sure to accompany him, Emmet's Electabuzz looking for walking sticks so that he could walk unburdened.

Ingo had called them his "first scars". Emmet hated them. A set of jagged, crescent shaped tears marked the space where his shoulder melded with his bicep encircling his arm like disturbing bangles. Two large puncture scars had formed where the Zoroark had sunk its teeth into his collarbone, the mark ripping across the back of his neck. He had shuddered when Ingo had begrudgingly showed him a matching set on the back of his neck too.

"You need to be diligent," Ingo had lectured him, leaving no room for arguments. "Zoroarks are known to draw their victims into an illusion in order to incapacitate them. They are much stronger than they appear to be."

"I know all that," Emmet huffed. "There're Zoroarks back home too. They do the same thing, but they don't kill people; just take their things, the great big jerks."

Ingo's sharp gaze zeroed in on him immediately, a cold decisive fury within forcing Emmet to look away. "Then you need to be more careful. Zoroarks can take any form at any time. Chandelure and I will not be there to assist you in case you run into another one-"

"I thought it was you!" Emmet snapped. "What else do you want me to say?"

Ingo opened his mouth, his eyes flashing with anger before just as quickly, they settled with a cold frustration.

"Where are we going anyway?" Emmet questioned him, tucking up his hood as he waited for Ingo to gather some things from the hut.

"We are going to find a friend of mine who lives near the highlands. I fear that things are not all well with her so I will be checking in on her well-being."

Emmet froze, a skeptical expression forming on his face as he snuck up behind his brother. "Ingo. Ingo, I need you to answer this question. Did you form another two-car train with somebody else? With a woman? With the woman you're talking about? This is critical information- please tell me."

Ingo immediately began turning red under Emmet's scrutiny, swatting away his twin with his battered hat. "No! Dragons, no! We are- not like that! Simply friends! Acquaintances!" And when he eventually calmed down from the outburst of teasing, he retorted, "You have met her before, I'm sure. You were quite set on stalking her back to the Diamond Clan when you first arrived here."

Emmet blinked, trying to rack his brain for who might fit the bill before his stomach sank. Immediately, his expression soured. "Oh, them? You mean that pokémon ranger? I forget their name. Orange jacket? Missing a few brain cells?"

"Emmet! That is rude!" Ingo chastised him.

"It is true, Ingo. You have not met them in the future."

"That is no way to talk about Jaku. And she is simply a Diamond Clan ranger at this point of time," Ingo corrected him shrewdly.

"You're friends with them?" Emmet asked incredulously.

"We are good… acquaintances," Ingo muttered, looking a tad uneasy at the question. "Jaku was the one that found Chandelure and returned her to me. I am paying them a visit to ask a few important questions; questions I fear they may have the answers to."

"We are returning to the mirelands then," Emmet grumbled. He hated backtracking, especially if it was on a pointless mission.

"Not quite. Leader Adaman has moved them to the mountains bordering the mirelands to better help escort supplies and food to those suffering from Lady Lilligant's frenzy. Nobody has heard from them in a while. I- I have heard some concerning things regarding their whereabouts, so I plan on checking in to make sure all is well."

"…I only understood about twenty percent of what you just said."

Ingo only grunted and pulled another pokéball off of his clip. "No more questions, then. We will have to travel on foot as Freight cannot handle conducting two passengers for very long." A very large Gliscor appeared from one of the pokéballs at Ingo's waist, the shelled-pokémon clicking its sets of pincers together as it excitedly began to inspect Emmet's crinkled uniform.

Within the next few hours, they had arrived at a cliff where a deep furrow ended with a sharp drop over one thousand meters to the canyon floor. Sand and gravel crunched underfoot. A nearby cairn stood at the winding arch to a tunnel entrance, a torn yellow scarf fluttering in the mountain breeze.

"They live out here?" Emmet murmured quietly."

"A bit further," Ingo replied, moving to take the lead. "Stay silent. Attracting the attention of wild pokémon here could prove to be fatal."

"Understood."

Ingo quietly recalled his pokémon, urging Emmet to do the same as they crawled through a shallow recess in the rock toward where a sandy path opened up. Torn yellow flags marked the way through, shafts of sunlight reaching into the tunnel before it opened up onto a wide mountain clearing. Emmet had been expecting to hear some kind of noise coming from the other side of the tunnel. Maybe one of the ranger's pokémon or their voice. Not deafening silence. And as he pressed through behind Ingo, Emmet found the distinct lack of noise unnerving, not even the mountain breeze making its way there.

On the other side of the clearing was a large sloping cave, one massive boulder tucked in front of it with thistly bushes and weeds obscuring the sides. Heaps of stones and branches obscured the singular dark entrance, a large twisting tree laid in front of the hole. Emmet peered closer. Huge claw marks littered the downed tree as if something had tried to force its way inside.

Ingo unsheathed the saber at his side and advanced carefully. "Miss Jaku?" he called tentatively. "It is Ingo! Are you here? Please make a noise if you are!" Silence. Cold dreadful silence followed. Ingo clicked his tongue and crept closer to the cave opening, beckoning Emmet to follow. "I don't believe she's still here. Chandelure? Some assistance if you'd be so kind."

With a quiet chime, Chandelure appeared from her pokéball, Ingo's Machamp following suit. The fighting-type easily hefted the scarred tree and the stones to the side, allowing the two brothers to file into the dark and musty cave, Chandelure's flames illuminating the interior in a ghostly violet glow.

From beside him, Ingo let out a displeased noise, immediately moving to a stack of crates that had been overturned in a far corner. He reached his fingers into the cinders of the hearth. "Hmm. They were here recently."

Emmet could only stare at the mess. Elesa had once expressed her concern about his obsession in finding his brother, taking down the collage-esque wall that he had once assembled out of missing posters and torn-out pages from research books. Standing in the middle of the ranger's cave with only Chandelure's violet flames to cast light, Emmet realized with a note of apprehension how Elesa must've truly seen it. How she truly must've seen him.

Things littered the cave in a fashion similar to hoarding. Papers, feathers, used gauze, empty ink bottles, cloth, and more things Emmet couldn't even begin to describe. The papers in particular sat on every surface, practically papering the cave from wall-to-wall, filled with unintelligible scrawls, maps, and sketches depicting a series of symbols and calculations. Schematics for something big. Something that couldn't be contained by the walls and floors of the cave.

Emmet picked his way further in, his eyes landing on one particular paper; one paper that had the crispest lines. The sharpest one of the bunch sitting at the top left corner by the back of the room. As he stirred closer, a corner of the paper lifted upward, revealing smooth, nearly identical slashes in the unsymmetrical rock wall. He paused. "Ingo. Over here."

Tallies. So many tallies. Hidden beneath the papers as if covered by accident. Many scratched deep into the rock. The tallies covered the cave wall just like the papers, some of them so closely engraved that Emmet couldn't even count them if he tried. There were pigments splashed across the wall in some tallies. Others were completely painted over, a make-shift putty applied over the top. The tallies were everywhere: on the ceiling, on the floors, on the walls: even on the makeshift furniture. Emmet glanced back at the entrance, realizing that the tree that had been guarding the entrance had not been scratched by a pokémon but rather, by the ranger themself.