The Ingo time/space theory
Warning: I do not have a lot of knowledge on Pokémon and it’s lore as a whole so please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. I don’t have all the puzzle pieces so I’m fitting in what I can fit in. If there’s something you think adds to this, then please feel free to add in the reblogs/comments.
Ok, this has been something I have wanted to do for so long ever since Ingo got transported to Hisui. As we all know, Ingo runs the Battle Subway with his brother Emmet before being transported back in time to Hisui and losing most of his memories, joining the Pearl Clan and becoming Sneasler’s warden in the process while his Pokémon and Emmet are left behind. He then starts managing the Training Grounds in Jubilife village, something like a battle dojo. And while there are lots of people sad over this, many angst on both brothers’ sides and wishing to help Emmet take down god to bring his brother back, I’m not focusing on that. I want to focus on the possibilities of how Ingo got to Hisui and what this would mean for the next games because I feel like this is leading to something big, perhaps something that’s been built up over time (maybe since DP, there has been a lot of talk about multiverses and all that) but I’m not 100% sure. Ingo being in Hisui was what broke the straw for me, the developers wouldn’t separate the subway brothers without a reason (aside from the pun with Ingo’s japanese name but that could be why it was Ingo and not Emmet who got sent to Hisui). There’s plenty of other Unovan characters they could have brought but they chose Ingo of all people, and this choice is made even odder when you consider how popular the Subway brothers are in Japan, they wouldn’t do this without reason. So, without anymore delay, all aboard to theory time.
From what I’ve seen, a lot of people think that Arceus was the one who sent Ingo to Hisui before sending the PLA protagonist (aka us). Whether that it by accident or purpose, it all leads back to Arceus. I’m guessing the reason why many were willing to point the blame on the god is because he never sent the protagonist and Ingo back after the pot-game. If time and space are still fragile after being mended, it would made sense but I don’t think Arceus would send Ingo to Hisui. Remember, it was Volo who summoned Giratina to tear open that space/time rift and kickstart everything that happened in PLA so is he to blame? I don’t really think so.
For one, Ingo has no reason to be in Hisui unlike the player who was sent there to create the first Pokédex. While you could argue that he was the one who pushed human and Pokémon relationships closer and introduced Pokémon battles, I don’t know if that’s really a solid argument. We don’t know how long Ingo had been in Hisui but he’s not the only battler. People like Zisu and Mai know how to Pokémon battle and Mai’s a part of the Diamond clan that predates Ingo’s arrival. Both the Diamond clan and Pearl clan knew how to coexist with Pokémon so although Ingo did push the concept further by telling of his time where Pokémon trainers are common, in the end Pokémon and humans coexisting with each other in harmony was inevitable, even without Ingo’s help. And even then, the protagonist could fill Ingo’s role in introducing pokemon battles but I’m not sure.
Secondly, Ingo himself states that even he doesn’t think that the rift is to blame for his arrival. In fact, I don’t know if he actually fell from the sky like the protagonist did.
Although Ingo lost most of his memories, he didn’t lose all of them so this is all we got to go by for his testimony. So if the rift Volo made didn’t send him in and Arceus had no reason to put Ingo in, how did he get in Hisui?
Perhaps pokemon like Hoopla and Celebi are the cause, this isn’t the first time Ingo had been transported to somewhere else (ex: Pokemon Masters, he quite literally said that he and Emmet were riding the subway when they were suddenly transported to Pasio). Another theory is that Ingo was a Faller like Annabel and Looker and he fell down an ultra wormhole and ended up in Hisui as a result.
The ultra wormhole theory
Not much is known about the ultra wormholes but we know that they can take people to various worlds and different places and that there have been humans who passed through these wormholes. These people are called Fallers and there’s two distinct characteristics about them.
1) Fallers would emit a strange energy that attracts Ultra Beasts to them since they mistook it as a wormhole
2) As seen with the Faller Anabel, Fallers would lose most of their memories and would only be able to tell their name.
It could be that Ingo fell into an Ultra Wormhole by accident, ending up in Hisui with most of his memories gone. And what’s more, remember that in SwSh’s Crown Tundra DLC, Peonia said that Solgaleo and Lunala arrived at the Max Lair through an Ultra Wormhole which in turn allowed multiple legendaries to come through and make their way to the Max Lair including Unova’s dragon legendaries. And the Gear Station also has a train that leads to Dragonspiral Tower where Reshiram and Zekrom rest. It’s likely that Ingo was around that area when he dropped into the ultra wormhole, ending up in Hisui as a result. However, I can’t say for certain since I have no solid evidence but it seems to be the one with the most puzzle pieces that fit.
What could happen later down the line
Now with that out of the way, let’s shift tracks towards Emmet because he would be the one most affected by Ingo’s disappearance. While I don’t know what’s going to happen next, I can speculate that Emmet is going to have a big role later down the line and perhaps we the players are going to help him find and reunite with his brother, either in a PLA dlc where he appears or something or in a BW remake. However, throw in the possibility of the ultra wormhole getting involved and things start to get a little complicated. Why do I think so? Two words: Rainbow Rocket.
What if there wasn’t just one Emmet who lost Ingo? What if there’s an alternate world where Ingo never returned? What if there’s an alternate world where Emmet is travelling through time and space in search for his brother, helping those he encountered along the way? What if there’s an alternate world where a sad and grief stricken Emmet met up with Team Rainbow Rocket leader Giovanni?
Before I say anything else, I want to make it clear that I’m not claiming that this is the next plot, it’s all speculation. I just think in this situation if the two meet, Giovanni takes advantage of Alt! Emmet’s grief and promises him that he can get his brother back if he helps him. Alt! Emmet, wanting his brother back more than anything would agree and although he’s on the bad guys’ side, he’s not really a bad guy. He’s someone who’s willing to work as hard as he can to get his brother back but in doing so, he’s forcing his morals to be dragged through the mud. He’s in a conflict with himself because he doesn’t want to do these things since they’re wrong but it feels like it’s the only way for him to be reunited with Ingo. It also sort of ties in with the theme of Truth vs Ideals in BW. His ideal is that he’s going to find his brother but the truth bashes him over and over, telling him that what he’s doing is wrong: The idealism of finally finding Ingo and bringing him home vs the Reality of the actions Alt! Emmet must take to do so through Giovanni. (I hope it makes sense)
It also allows us to see what Giovanni has been doing since US and UM, we didn’t really stop him completely after all. Perhaps if this is a something the developers are aiming at, the player can stop Giovanni and Team Rainbow Rocket once and for all or we see Giovanni escape again after stopping his plans. As for Emmet, we help him see that he doesn’t have to follow Giovanni and help to switch him to the right track. There can also be a confrontation between the Emmets where they confront to each other about what they could have been, their emotions, trauma, Ingo, etc. It would be a very interesting character deep dive too for Emmet, expanding on his character like what happened with Ingo.
With that, it’s the end. I apologise if there are any holes to the Ingo theory and if there’s something I missed, please let me know and if I made a mistake, please clarify it to me. Again, the part with Emmet is all speculation but feel free to add your own thoughts to all this. Have a nice day.
Edit: So my friend told me that Ultra wormholes don’t send people through time and space, just space. Does that mean that Ingo didn’t come from the future but instead a whole new world entirely? And if he did come from an ultra wormhole it would explain why he’s with the Pearl Clan. The Pearl Clan see Palkia, the Pokémon of space as Almighty Sinnoh before the whole thing with the rift happened.
