God you know what really gets me about one of the Core things in the Iron Lung Movie.
It kind of forces you to ask, "does anyone deserve this?" The... the Dehumanization, and slow drawn out doom at the bottom of a blood ocean. A creeping death via radiation, suffocation or lack of supplies with starvation and dehydration(because how was he ever supposed to get out?)
Does anyone, is there any crime that would validate this? We don't focus on what Simon done to earn the name Butcher. We don't learn what really happened to Filament Station, how it blew up, how culpable Simon was or was not-- we don't know all the details. But we know enough that he's a convict and this is what they get sent to do.
Part of the Core is you look at this-- you look at this and the movie asks you.
"Does anyone deserve this?"
Guilty or Innocent, doesn't matter. It doesn't matter, it shouldn't matter, because the bigger message is how unfair this ALL is. Nobody deserves the unsafe working conditions and told to just do the job and maybe, maybe if they're good they'll be free. If they just do this one thing, look they can be redeemed, let go, look what good behaviour gets you. Nobody deserves to have the risk of their work conditions hidden from them either, or to not be listened to...
Nobody deserves...
“You sent me down here to die, and you don’t even know my name?”
And personally, I think the message stands stronger if he is Guilty. Because again, the movie forces you to sit and go... "Does any human deserve this?" and the answer... is no.
Because of course I was going to end up here in the end. A post that’s just talking about the SubMas Twins more in general. I might or might not include some points about Elesa, Drayden, Iris, Drayton and others... but those things will be light or side tangents because this is supposed to be primarily the boys.
This will be written a bit more like my post regarding Ingo and the Pearl Clan over either of the phobia breakdown posts... as a result... under the readmore and a lot of disorganized babble with occasional dot points between it all.
I am likely to make more posts more like the phobia posts at some point after this for smaller things, but for now... yeah.
Shared Traits
Both the twins are very very Autistic. Their biggest shared special interest is Trains, and Pokémon Battling... It's also probably one of the reasons we're all here in this sub-fandom for them
The way the twins show their autism is hard to really explain cleanly. It’s a bit mirrored with them each sharing and blending traits together. I’ll likely circle back around to their Autism again for their individual sections but for now I’ll just give a bit of a ramble of traits they clearly share... Which isn’t actually as clean cut as you may think.
A big part of it is actually their clothing, their outfits. I think their coats are weighted, slightly differently distributed for them both. But weighted. Comforting and specially made. Those uniforms are what they’re seen in the most for a reason. There’s also something to be said about identity in them, but that will probably come later. It’s also very, very much a sensory comfort item, which both boys appreciate a lot. I mentioned some of the aspects of this on the phobia posts... but yeah.
I think the twins share a lot of stims really, but just as much have separate stims. Both will clap, both have somewhat “canned” phrases, their point and call is as much a stim as it is part of their job. Both of them also do a lot of hand flapping and what I call bouncing, the twins absolutely “popcorn” in their excitement.
Expressions, info-dumping and scripting is also shared traits, but the twins actually vary in how these are shared. It even ties into how I figure the twins feel about rules, regulations and routines. Which is where my own personal thing where it’s less about having a routine, more about having a plan, and above both is predictability. Both the twins work with this in battles as well actually, and it goes into how they work on the trains.
Truly, the Autism is just something so important, so core to both of the twins. And really, hard to explain in some aspects. Because for the most, a lot of it is shared... and what’s specific to one is not going to be exclusive in its entirety but ends up been more of a preference. Also the hard to define issues of it.
Don’t come at me claiming they’re not Autistic... this is the Autism fandom
Kindness, kindness is so core to both of the twins. They both have chosen it over and over and it’s just so important. It’s another manifestation of Autism almost really. When the world and its rules are unfair... we choose optimism and kindness. Once more it’s something in how they operate the Battle Subway, and just-- their scripts and lines, both of them are so KIND. Both will encourage you when you lose, and both are just good. Core to them both is kindness. Choose to be kind.
Trans Twins, Trans Twins. I have 100% fallen down the rabbit hole that is interpreting the twins as transmen. Or if you want even more gender malarkey, they’re somewhere on the enby spectrum. Do they have words to explain it, not really, nor do they really care. But been perceived can be discomforting.
Gender is there somewhere, maybe, but it’s underneath all the train information
He/him is just convenient
Both the twins are also 100% AroAce, which is hilarious when I do have ships for them because I am a dirty multishipper... but for the most part, when I ship it’s someone with a hopeless crush and neither of the twins even so much as notice, their heads are too full of trains for it.
“Don’t drop me a hint, I’ll pick it up, dust it off, and hand it back to you never knowing it was for me”
I actually have a lot more thoughts and complicated feelings about the twins and children specifically. But a lot of that then becomes “How much of my whateverness am I allowed to project?” because Oh boy do I have OPINIONS about the kids and been parental/guardian figures. This will probably get individually expanded on later, just because it is... complicated. For a very basic shortening there’s like, yes the twins have probably mused on the thought of kids, sat there like “It sure is a thought” and then mostly moved on...
Who needs kids, they have their pokémon!
Both twins have taught themselves to be ambidextrous. They still rarely use this skill except when it’s funny tbh. Emmet is slightly more likely to wield his ambidexterity.
I use the last name of Virtuoso for them, the reasoning for this is really simple. It has the word “virtue” in it when spoken. Yeah, kind of silly, but the boys are silly, another reason is Unova and the music connection and virtuoso is a term that... vaguely is related to music, basically means extremely good talent, also applies to other arts though which cool.
And then I just also use it because IV & EV initials joke lol
Also, just there’s something that makes me wheeze when applying Uncle Drayden headcanons, no I cannot explain, I’m pretty sure it’s entirely a personal hiccup
I absolutely do subscribe to the Twins as Drayden’s nephews headcanon... and then I also could go on about how that relates to the idea that they’re descended from the original Unovan Princes/Heroes. But it’s a bit of a mess. Which is why I’m going to ramble about it tbh, it’s something I adore. Like yes, give them that history... also it’s just funny to me to imagine that these dorks are distant long estranged relatives to Ghetsis & N, like what an awkward family reunion that must be. Speaking of actually, I feel so whiplashed that N is adopted because like, Ghetsis and N do share physical, visible similarities and it’s just... whut do you mean he’s adopted?! No, the biological shitty parent is still a choice and it could easily be manipulated situation... like we know how trash that trashman is right?
Anycase, the Twins, and Drayden(Drayton & Iris extended) are definitely in my head descended from the Hero of Ideals... meanwhile the Harmonia side is from the Hero of Truths...
Do they KNOW they’re related, I will hold onto this thought as a surprise tool for later fanfiction that may or may not ever be written.
I also feel like I want to ramble more about Ghetsis and the shitty family reunions that could happen, but it’s one of those things that’s like. I might be over here as my own whole mess, because I am an angst & hurt/comfort enjoyer... and also spinning, rotating certain prompts and concepts in my head and it is like-- we do remember what kind of reputation Ghetsis had for a while right? Right fandom?
I look at Ghetsis and go I can make him worse, always an option
This is the man who has an underlevelled Hydreigon, with full power Frustration.
The twins absolutely share most of their pokémon. This will maybe be expanded on more later, but I think it’s actually as a way to manage risk levels if one of them were to disappear. AKA, accidentally, them sharing pokémon was foreshadowing for Ingo been thrown to Hisui, so all their pokémon barring a few exceptions recognize both twins equally as their trainers... But there’s also a bit more to this in regards to well... assumptions on which twin got into battling more first, I have opinions.
Sharing their pokémon is just so good tbh, though carries a few risks neither of them have likely deeply thought about.
Also this partially ties into some ideas I have for my own interpretation of SubMas parents but that’s... its own whole mess not for here. Or anywhere aside my own notes and fics probably.
Pokéglotism theory, the Pokéglotism Theory. I have so many thoughts and feelings about this.
No but I live for the idea that the Submas twins have Pokéglotism. It’s not that common a theory really, but just looking at PLA, looking at the Paths that Ingo set up, it just makes me feral about the thought. Also there’s just something really funny about imagining riding the train and the conductor can just-- understand your dog. Care for all passengers boarding with such ease. Also it’s funny to think that 3 of Unova’s potential pokéglots would thus be train enthusiasts(N’s trainset!)
SubMas Twins Handshake N: If you ask pokémon if they want to throw hands the answer is generally Yes
I briefly forgot about Iris and her understanding the Heart of Dragons-- But she’s still in the family so--
I also really like imagining the twins with pokéglotism because it gives me this incredibly funny image of them been kind of like the Pokémon World’s version of Disney Princesses with the wildlife... it just... also isn’t something that comes up much. Ingo would get the comparison a lot more especially post-Hisui, but Emmet and his Joltik Hoard as well. Ingo especially leans into it truly, because of the Path of Solitude pokémon.
IS IT MY TURN TO PROJECT CHRONIC PAIN ONTO THE BLORBOS?! Their uniforms actually come with braces and support built in. In built posture support! When Emmet in PokéMas says that their coats make him stand up straighter it’s not just about standing tall and proud-- this brought to you by my own slouching issues and chronic pains.
Ingo struggles more than Emmet, especially post-PLA
Chronic headaches and migraines, they keep the lights dim
Light sensitivity in general actually
The twins 100% started with Multi-Battling and gained their specialties later on. This been directly as a result of their status as twins, it is the twins trainer class battle style. Even to this day it’s the battle style that the twins are most comfortable with even with their individual specialities.
I love to imagine that the twins grew up in or around Anville Town... or else they were raised by Uncle Drayden, standard headcanon is their Mother was Drayden’s sister. I like to imagine they bought their childhood home in Anville, but ALSO have a home in Nimbasa(or else they “live” in Gear Station lol). Anville is where all the sleepy trains come home to sleep, thus it feels comfortable to imagine it’s where the Twins live for me. Small town boys.
Complicated family situations, always complicated family situations
As kids the twins basically stumbled into their Yin-Yang mirror theme and stuck with it. They have commit to this bit and will not be shaken from it. They will mirror and contrast each other. Compliment in a push and pull way. This as well is an expression of Autism.
There’s also some funky stuff with the idea that they are literally mirror twins.
That one post
The “right” twin and “wrong” twin issue
Yin-Yang also means they purposely take pieces from one another. This is where it becomes the question of can they pretend to be each other successfully. The answer is... if people aren’t already familiar with them. But it really falls apart in the long term, as a first impression absolutely... but well, due to their expressions not for long.
The yin-yang is also in Truths and Ideals and how I really, really want to ramble about both pushed to the extremes. But this is one of those things where it’s like, I feel like I would need to sit down and replay Black and White properly to contextualise everything in scope. But it’s a bit why I am strongly on for all each brother is coded to match one dragon or the other... if they ever had need to seek them out it would be to seek out the one that they don’t automatically align with already.
Ingo the “ideals” twin goes to seek Reshiram. Emmet the twin of “truths” seeks Zekrom, this itself has meaning.
BALANCE
Their yin-yang theme even ties in a bit with the twins tolerances. Which is very funny since they have opposite preferences for the seasons and yet share a weakness to sunburns. If you know the associations just from the emphasis on yin-yang then you get an internet cookie lol. Though I probably will hint at it a bit when it comes to each twin’s individual section.
Hey, you know what else they mirror in actually. Foods and flavour preferences. I’m not going to go into it too much here really, aside some super basic, Ingo’s the one who likes cold food and Emmet prefers foods that warm him up-- but it’s another fun thing. Flavour preferences verses natures can also maybe come into this... but that’s a mess all of its own and I’m not here to make an argument about their natures or make a PMD AU at this time.
Emmet with Spicy and Bitter foods
Ingo with Sweet and Dry foods
Both of them are neutral to Sour
I tend to think pokéverse humans are squared with natures-- sure you might have a dominant one, but what that is-- ranges
Neither of the twins thrived in school. Bullies among the other children were only half of the problems... the other half were the teachers. But seriously, for all people have spotted Emmet as the one who struggled more, I actually think it was pretty equally bad for both of the boys in school just in different directions... School is suffering for anyone who doesn’t fit into the expectations that society has. I think that both of the twins got out of school as fast as they could for their pokémon journeys. It was... it was a time.
Otherwise they might have dropped out of regular schooling and into home schooling...
It’s left damage on them even as adults
Ingo was too loud, Emmet too quiet, you just can’t win in these cases.
As kids they both absolutely dreamed of working in Gear Station from young. The Battle Subway came later, and truly... it’s only a recent thing. Kind of implied in BW that it’s only recently established, same in the Manga... so they’re not even popular or well known yet until BW2. They absolutely came up with the Battle part of the Battle Subway...
Or going by track record... Ingo came up with the idea.
Legitimately though Ingo hits the ground running with battle facility ideas. Emmet right alongside as the cheer squad for it.
GOD THE LEAKS AND ELESA’S AGE IN THEM HAS THROWN SO MUCH INTO CHAOS IN MY HEAD. Like my original assumption was the twins(and Elesa) were around 24-25 in BW 26-27 in BW2 and then 33-34 post-Hisui... but now it’s like, I know it’s stupid but the idea they could be younger is SENDING me. Like especially combined with the implication that the Battle Subway itself is new, it’s the Hot New Thing! Made by these brothers alone.
Also, just side note, I am fully accepting of other aspects of the leaks, like Skyla’s 18, cool, you know I have a niece who’s aiming to get her pilot’s license by her birthday, she’s about to turn 18 and legit only has one test left and then she’ll be a pilot so that actually checks out but-- Elesa’s age, the Nimbasa Trio, the Fanon we all basically run with. Either she is not that young, which she certainly doesn’t feel presented like a 15 year old(Did Brock feel like a 15 year old though, back in the day?!), but she is in the leaks, but they’re leaks and not truly confirmed in the text of the games so...
STILL. I like imaging Elesa as the oldest of the Nimbasa Trio. So we either have... 15 year olds conducting trains(an absolutely chaos idea), or they’re older than that. So I have sat, and thought, and sat because it’s absolute hilarity to me that they could be young like that. I feel like this is a rule of funny situation, like man-- who left the kids in charge of the trains? (Same people who left them in charge of the Region jdsbkhfbhgbdjh).
Okay, but in seriousness, I think my current take is Elesa and the twins are 19-20 for BW and then 21-22 in BW2, new adults.
But imagining them as potentially 15 year olds is just... SO FUNNY, like Unova really went “Sure, they can run the trains”
THE LAUGH RULE
...the leak for PLA says WHAT?! Did they look ever at how they’re presented?! Like I’m sorry their dialogue is giving 20’s something...
No but seriously, even their voices to me sound relatively young, twenties somethings-- But also I just want to believe!
The twins should absolutely be short but with tall energy. It’s their proportions that throw people, let them subject folks to the full “I thought you would be taller” effect. They have gotten lost in their own station crowds because actually they’re only 5’5/165cm tall.
Both the twins absolutely swear actually, Emmet more often than Ingo, but they can and will swear. Ingo’s just the polite twin. Also he absolutely does the “language” thing because both twins find it funny. It’s a bit they do. That said, Ingo is actually the twin who knows harder swears, more devastating when he does it. It’s just he holds them for when the situation really has gone FUBAR.
I kind of imagine it been a bit like me. We don’t swear, it’s not our natural state. But we can and do when the situation really, really calls for it. You hold onto them so they’re more effective in the moment. Real for emphasis moments. Even for Emmet, he might be the twin more likely to swear, but it’s not actually that often that he does it... he’s so upset that it doesn’t shock people more when he swears.
“I am Emmet. Why is swearing only shocking when it’s Ingo?”
The twins are absolutely Unova’s darlings. I mean, there’s the popularity poll sure, but also, the fact they’re mirrors. Themed after the dragons, and then the Subway is just a cherry on top. They basically showed up and took the region by storm. Also yes, they can and will enforce that “No Legendaries on the Subway” rule.
I actually think that the reason they don’t seem to show up when everything with Plasma is going down is crowd control. The twins run the Subway, not just the battling side, but the transportation side as well. They had to focus on that, and probably repel attacks from there, or keep panicking citizens calm when everything went to disaster. And probably were quite successful to. Again, I just imagine the family reunion to be... incredibly awkward, if known at all. But yeah, the twins had other public service stuff going on. They’re absolutely adults who do things, and those things are keeping the Subways safe and running so people can get to places.
Otherwise roll that post that’s like, yeah we never heard even a whisper of Ghetsis taking on the Subway, the bosses terrify him lol.
Shiny Twins is a take I have seen a few times, and there is something really neat about the idea, but at the same time it’s like, human diversity is wild enough already. This is thus kind of a coin flip headcanon for me, sometimes I will confirm the twins as shiny, other times well... there’s just no real way for me to know. This is something I just really do want to chew on conceptually because the idea of shiny humans sure is AN IDEA.
Alt take is going to Hisui done some FUNKY things, but that’s its own mess. Imagine the sheer offense from Emmet if Ingo comes back shiny, Ingo that’s not fair.
OTHER ALT TAKE-- Ingo coming back not shiny and Emmet’s just “THEY STOLE YOUR SHINY GENE TO?!”
But seriously, I actually do adore the idea that the twins could be shiny. Explore why they spend so much of their time indoors or otherwise outside of the light. Their big covering clothing, they don’t want to flashbomb someone because their skin makes things prismatic. But I’m also not overly attached to it. It just... is a take. Sets my brain on fire, but I don’t... don’t know what to do with it honestly.
Shiny twins is not why they both have glowing eyes, that’s something that I will explain later individually.
Both twins are absolutely feral gremlins when necessary. Oh people think Emmet is the more feral twin, and typically they’re right-- but both of the twins can and will throw down when necessary and after Hisui Ingo proudly will carry the feral twin title for a good while. Both of these two are some of the few people who were sheer determined enough to firmly align themselves to their typings...
Dragon, dragon
Just imagine these twins throwing down with their pokémon, they were partially raised by Drayden after all!
Talking about their typing alignments actually, by firmly aligning themselves I mean the twins are both aware of their typings and working with them. This means that for people familiar with the twins they both actually have visible subtle differences beyond just their preferred clothing due to their diverged typings. Both of them also have a very, very subtle aura read ability and can kind of ping off people. Aura is also used to level the playing field so to speak when it comes to challenges on the Subway. Battles have to be fair after all, power levels are capped.
Both the twins are actually a lot fitter than people assume they are at a glance. These boys can and will both throw hands when needed. They were likely raised for at least a portion of their life by Drayden. Maybe they don’t make a habit of wrestling with dragons in their spare time but if they have to they absolutely can and will lay you out. Another reason Ghetsis and Team Plasma didn’t try too much with the Trains during their attempted takeover. These boys are scrappy.
Despite the fact there is a clear known birth order there actually are times when the twins will kind of trade the role between them. It’s rare but they will sometimes switch it up. Usually this happens because of other things going on. Living is exhausting and responsibilities are ever growing. More commonly this is just like, “Common Sense” the Joltik jokes or who is holding the “Braincell”(trick question, it’s usually Elesa)
Also the question of who is the more protective twin is a trick one. The only correct answer is BOTH of them.
Ingo
You folks have no idea how close I was to giving up and giving the twins individual general headcanon posts... I still might be... Depends on if you’re seeing this as its own post or not. Kind of a shrug moment. I hope it’s all still the one post, but at this point I don’t know how it will be.
Anyway, that said, let’s talk about some Ingo specific things. Starting with a bit of an oddball take but... I actually think that Ingo took longer to warm up to Pokémon Battling in the early days compared to Emmet. Ingo was the slower starting twin. Most of his pokémon thus more wound up caught as support for what Emmet wanted to do, or had interest in doing for the future. This is mostly because aside Ingo’s individual Klinklang... Emmet uses all the rest of Ingo’s pokémon. YES, I am cycling back to how they share Pokémon here.
He’s also the “softer” twin, more empathetic and that means things
Also how much more, Ingo is just kind of in it for watching others improve. Like yes he clearly enjoys it, but his greatest joy seems to be seeing others achieving their goals. Even in PLA, for all he immediately is out here making the Paths, he’s thrilled to be helping others achieve more than anything else. Also, he unfortunately doesn’t have trains to be focusing on... Ingo’s driven but it doesn’t feel like it’s for himself as much as, he loves battling for how it engages with other people and is a bonding activity. Something to improve and to drive others to improve. This is complicated feelings.
The fact that I think Ingo got into battling slower than Emmet also partially explains why he leans more to Singles. It’s more “beginner friendly” as a format. It’s an easier hurdle for people to jump and he’s incredibly happy to be a challenge for people just getting into battling themselves to come face. I also think it’s just in general easier for him to focus on, doesn’t have as much for him to process and is just nice.
Ingo is very much the ideas twin. He will come up with ideas, get excited for them, and then run off to act on them often before anyone’s fully realized his process. While not impulse, he will just get excited and go full speed ahead and need to be reminded that things take time to properly implement and plan.
A lot of the above stuff actually ties into how I view Ingo’s specific relationship with his autism, but a lot of that is complicated to even try and explain.
More on Ingo’s autism, I think it’s actually important to note that Ingo’s a rambler. A rambler in the overshare to undershare school of talking about things. He definitely talks to himself to order his thoughts, and just to fill the silence. This talking to himself can include a certain level of echolalia, and I think he also does a side to side swaying motion that he picked up from Chandelure.
I specifically think that a majority of Ingo’s go to stim techniques are actually sound/vocal based. Or in Hisui you might catch him just kind of... blowing on the flute sometimes for no discernible reason. He’ll also mirror the sounds his pokémon make and get into call and response loops with them(and/or Emmet if he joins in). Ingo absolutely can and will purr as well, he joins Sneasler and the sneaslets with it. He will hum, probably has a bit of a tapping problem as well... He is also actually the twin who I think builds up more nervous energy but that’s a-- tricky thing to think about. It makes me perceive both of the twins as pacing, but for different reasons and in different circumstances. Ingo tends to pace when he’s getting anxious about something, when he’s nervous and has no other way to release the energy.
While he’s not as obvious with his stimming as Emmet typically is, I think Ingo’s a lot more tactile than people give him credit for. Unfortunately, it’s tactile in a few destructive stims. He will scratch, he’s got a chewing/grinding issue and these things get worse after Hisui. He also often self-soothes with a bit of pinching/picking at himself. Or later on, after living with Lady Sneasler and her sneaslets for a while, he picks up a bit of what I call the thinky scratch.
Ingo has chew toys, these chew toys do not always get used.
Ingo has fought very hard to train himself to not chew on pens, after Hisui he has to struggle with it all over again.
Side note, on Ingo’s Autism, I think that Ingo in general tends to get overstimulated a lot more often than Emmet ever does. The sensory processing issues are real. And again a trait that mirrors, Ingo is particular about sounds and the sense of people around him. He gets very overwhelmed in a crowd and as fulfilling their jobs at Gear Station are he needs a certain amount of decompression time afterwards just to wind down from been in the crowds all day.
This is amplified post Hisui and it takes him a good while to adjust back to the expected Stimulation of the modern day
As folks already know I think that Ingo has thalassophobia, this actually isn’t the only fear he has. I subtly mentioned it on the post about specific associated headcanons but I do think Ingo has some traces of agoraphobia as well, in both versions of it as well. Open “empty” spaces as well as rushing overwhelming crowds. But a lot of the agoraphobia stuff can tie into how Ingo specifically is the twin I think more prone to overstimulation. It’s just... too much for him to handle at time and so better to avoid it.
He 100% avoided the Jubilife Party because it was just... too much.
Agoraphobia definitely became so much worse after Hisui, and if he didn’t have it before it’s a possible new fear after. Been in the open meant been at risk, and crowds were an issue before but after experiencing the low population and general isolation of Hisui they’ve become so, so much worse.
Little point of fun projection. Ingo has my touch issues, with family and people he’s comfortable with he’s a bit of a snuggle bug, BUT this is only if he’s the one initiating the touch or it’s been offered and he’s accepted it first. Otherwise touch is a bit of a sensory no thank you moment. Unexpected and unwarranted touch is uncomfortable at best and can be kind of painful at worst. This is a complicated mess to explain.
Ingo is both the more tactile twin and the one who avoids touch, a paradox of his own needs
He will sit and be touch starved because it’s hard to define the need
Actually, Ingo’s touch issues can be reflective of a cat in some aspects. Cat boundary setting. It is part of the reason I think he fits in with Lady Sneasler and her Sneaslets so well. He has similar “I need attention, but when it’s on my terms” behaviour and needs. This is also a point of reason for why he fits into the Pearl Clan in general, the space respect is inbuilt. Ingo’s also just more generally the more private of the twins. Keeps to himself and for all he rambles and talks he doesn’t really do interpersonal very well and can and will say a whole lot of nothing to obscure himself.
Also side note, another bit of a headcanon, but Ingo and boundary issues. Like it’s not a big thing, but I feel like Ingo struggles low-key with boundaries. Not in respecting them, but more like, putting them up. It’s part of why he avoids situations instead. This may tread to projection levels, but with him echoing the sense of fawn-freeze as first fear response, it just reminds me of the issues I face where I just... “Boundaries are terrifying to try and put up because you expect people to just walk all over them anyway”, it’s not that bad, but he definitely has shades of this. People pleaser traits as well, his wish to serve others and it just kind of chews away at my brain sometimes.
Ingo was likely that kid told to sit down and be quiet as a kid, and scolded for expressing himself...
“Why can’t you be quieter like your brother?”
People pleasing is a FLAW ACTUALLY
ANYCASE... After Hisui I love the idea that Ingo has gotten into rock climbing, he also maintains a new instinct. If startled he will go UP, automatically to many people’s shock and sometimes horror. He does not understand that going straight up is not the most viable of strategies. He also has obtained a cat/weasel startle jump and can turn in mid-air to see who’s there, it’s a bit uncanny at times. People don’t expect the full cat-weasel experience from someone who by all accounts is still a regular human. People are also startled to see how well he climbs in those shoes.
I think that in general Ingo’s the slightly more physically active twin. While he’s not a real fitness buff or anything, getting up and getting active is very helpful for him. It helps to clear his head and ties into how tactile he is. It’s also in some ways the process of learning things, Ingo leans a lot more to learning by doing. For better or worse. All this makes it kind of funny how Ingo’s thought process leans more to rambling aloud to himself to think, or going incredibly, incredibly still to process something, unless it’s swaying hours...
Circling back to the trans point. For some specifics with Ingo-- I have to admit something first. Whenever I see takes where only one of the twins is AFAB, I am more willing to buy into it for Ingo, if only because he’s the Yin Twin. And Yin is the feminine of the Yin-Yang pairing. As for his actual gender presentation, I’m a bit floppy with it, I don’t think he has a fully defined identity with words for it beyond not a girl.
I know how Reshiram and Zekrom are built, DO NOT...
Yin is traditionally the feminine of the pair, the night, moon, cold, soft... black
THAT SAID, for all that I think Ingo’s the one more GNC generally, he’s a lot more particular about terms and pronouns. All because I think between the twins Ingo had a harder time as a kid to get people to understand he was not a girl. He was soft, is still softer, the “delicate” twin. It’s one of those things that’s messy. He’s forgiving about it for the most part when it’s a genuine mistake, but been put into one box or the other is a MAJOR issue for Ingo. This is one of those things he will dig his heels in on. No, you don’t get to put him into either box, get out of here.
That said, his issues with putting up boundaries does prove to be a hurdle and he struggles to firmly correct people on this more than he’d like to admit.
Correcting people is hard and he doesn’t like to be a bother.
On Ingo’s traits of Yin, there’s a fun thought that’s me specific. Based entirely on the general headcanons I’ve seen still, but Ingo is generally considered the more friendly and forgiving twin. The one more likely to offer you a shoulder to cry on and a listening ear. He’s also the twin with the adoption problem. Legitimately, but also looking at his teams in PLA, both his regular team(doubled) and then the many, many Path Pokémon, the only reason they have a “reasonable” amount of Pokémon in Unova is because Emmet’s the voice of reason.
Ingo will adopt anything that looks at him pitifully enough
This trait tends to reverse on him as well, so he tends to give off his own air of adoptability, Grandmas and Pokémon love him
I actually think that a part of Ingo does keep coming back to the idea of kids. Not necessarily the idea of having his own, but more-- the idea of been a caretaker appeals to him. He sometimes will look around seeing people with their own kids and have a longing, but then if it’s suggested he might want his own he recoils. It’s a complicated mess of things.
Ingo’s absolutely a cold reader. This loops a little bit back into his general emotional awareness, but Ingo is more the perception side. He can read the trainer and the pokémon pretty well, but the more information, more players on the field the more... muddle it can get for him. Which is something he has to improve when in Hisui. Coming back with enhanced skills in triple battles is a decent bit of character growth for him honestly.
Side note, I am thiiiis close to doing my MBTI breakdown stuff as character boxes. But for now, I think I’ll just skip it, it’s just a kind of for fun type of thing anyway. THAT SAID, MBTI IS ULTIMATELY MEANINGLESS. It’s a box, it’s a stereotype and I analyse it so much differently than anyone else I’ve ever seen because I think of it in a different format. Remember MBTI is just a tool for character analysis and creation. Also honestly I have an issue with projecting myself onto a lot of characters where it’s like-- alas, my analysis has concluded that this character is again, that one MBTI that I myself am... Not that it’s not fun though. That said... I will give my rundown, because hoo boy actually, there’s something interesting with the twins.
Introvert, despite everything Ingo’s the more introvert coded of the twins. He holds his body language more to himself, he’s closed in and reserved. He seems like he needs a bit more space, which obviously Pearl Clan coded.
Intuition, look-- LOOK-- I could explain, but this is just, open mindedness a willingness to analyse and be curious. Making connections and bigger picture focused. Which is Ingo, for all he is also straightforward. Also there is something to say about everything with the Paths of Solitude...
Feeling, pretty obvious actually. Ingo’s got a big heart and he cares for people, pokémon and places. Kindness is core and he’ll make decisions based on it. I don’t think there’s all that much else needing to be said.
Prospecting, again, Ingo’s not the strategist of the twins. While he can make strategies and plans, he’s the more spontaneous of the two I think. And honestly, good for them. Ingo is open to changing and honestly I love him for it. Also of course, something about drifting in life and having changeable ideas for the future is just... very fitting.
Ingo is the right handed twin. Natively, he’s also the twin who is the “mirror”. Which is very funny to think about since Emmet’s the younger twin. Ingo tends to use his practiced ambidexterity less often than Emmet because the world is by and large made for right handed people. He is a bit more likely to use stim toys in his “wrong” hand though. There is a reason that Ingo is known to be the twin who does more of the paperwork.
Another bit of the Pearl Clan coding points. But Ingo’s also the twin who will memorise the maps and tunnels, a good head for directions despite his actual spatial awareness been a bit... hit or miss. Ingo’s the twin you can rely on to know where things are, but not so much the time anything takes.
NOW THEN, Some of my favourite things to talk about. The Aura stuff, now surely at this point you’ve all seen my Humans with Typings post... If not, well that’s fine to. But it’s a very casual piece of World Building just floating in the back of my mind forever now. Among... other things with Aura. Some of this unfortunately falls into line with other things. Like crossover with some other fandom things that I will not dive into here. But for now, I want to ramble about the type leanings Ingo has... And along with them a bit of an expansion that’s me finally figuring out how Secondary Typings and Tera Types work for humans.
First off, Ingo is absolutely a primary Ghost Typed person. Author/Writer appeal for sure, but also I just--- I am feral for the concept of Ingo and ghost typing, I am feral in general for humans with typings, but my reasoning for Ingo is just-- It’s not just the association with Chandelure but also generally... Ingo’s the “spooky scary” twin. He’s the dark one, the night to Emmet’s day... and yet-- yet. Life-Death, it is two sides of the coin for Ghost symbolism. Life and death, how haunted are you? And yet how full of life? And Ingo is certainly someone full of life, even in Hisui, he’s not just stagnant. He might be haunting himself, with what he’s lost, but he’s steadily looking and moving forwards. Still motivated and driven, seeking his own answers... Not just sinking into depression for all the fandom stereotypes. Ingo is here to say life is great and worth living actually. Let this man continue to be who he is, which is not just sitting and waiting for a solution but still going out and doing things. I mean-- just look at the Path of Solitude and amount of pokémon he’s met, the amount of things he’s keeping himself busy with. He’s not just idling.
Overall, Ingo is just good for ghost. It also meshes well with how his ace is Chandelure, and theoretically part of his fall into Hisui was through the Distortion Realm if not an Ultra Wormhole or Arceus itself... I personally think it was Arceus, but neither here nor there for that opinion. SO-- What else does this mean for Ingo. Well, there’s actually a smaller one, I think there was a period of his life when he was younger where Ingo was interested in been a ghost specialist but that just... never eventuated. He also has a goal, an idea to do a spooky ghost train event at some point, but this hasn’t happened yet either.
I’ll also just side track here, but I’ve seen a few takes where Ingo was sickly as a child and yes, good. Which also is suiting my diagnosis of ghost aligned. But he (mostly) grew out of that, into other traits. Ingo’s glowing eyes are primarily from his ghostliness, but also a little bit from general reflectivity provided from his secondary and deeper tera affinities. Outside of the glowing eyes, I like to imagine he tends to be lighter than people expect, has a kind of ”wispiness” to him, and his hair and clothing can be a bit floaty. He also has the coldness and a slower heartrate/metabolism, things that helped in Hisui but also make him just ever so off-putting on first impression.
A number of these subtle traits intensified from Hisui
Cold resistance twin, cold temperature twin
He is the nocturnal twin in my head for a reason
Slower heartrate also extends to a fun game of “how long can you hold your breath?”
Ingo verses Immunizations, no I will not elaborate(this also ties into his Secondary lol)
Another fun bonus, I like to imagine Hisui(and especially exposure to that rift) less altered him, more exacerbated traits that were already there but things Ingo didn’t have need to pay attention to before his misadventure. So ghosts and ghost needs huh-- Specific to this as well I think he can kind of sense and feel other people’s souls. Or their aura/ki/chi/life force in general, hard to tell. It also comes with a bit of else to it, but that’s complicated. It’s something I will also definitely ramble about once I get spoons for specific type posts... But can think of my base setting Ingo kind of having litwick adjacent traits... Chandelure absolutely usually helps manage these things, but in Hisui-- he’s out there on his own with no clue about it... he’s doing his best. And not doing amazing as a result.
He’s also got a kind of aura to him that ghosts and ghost pokémon alike kind of turn their heads to go “Check out this guy, he’s like us!” about. He can “phantom step” as well, operating a bit like a short range teleport. His rock climbing is a little bit cheated as well, because his ghost aura makes him lighter and it’s almost more like he’s just floating up the cliff at times.
He’s doing his best to rock climb normally and not draw attention to it.
Vaguely mentioned on the phobia headcanons post, but Ingo’s ghost typing also means he can affect the emotions of those around him. Project his emotions across a crowd... mostly subtle, but after Hisui with that touch of litwick traits-- it becomes a bit more obvious, at least from his perspective. It makes him even more self-conscious about been in a crowd. He doesn’t like the idea that he can pull on others emotions or anything deeper. This also ties into some Ghost type related needs, but that’s a whole other mess I really would like to keep for when I’m doing more in depth analyses on each type and humans later on. (Not necessarily using Ingo, I’ll more likely highlight various Specialist OCs for it, but Ingo will feature.)
NOW-- Now, here’s something fun. Because I’ve been sitting and thinking too much about this... Ingo’s secondary is so interesting for me to think about. Because I think he didn’t have a Secondary officially aligned until after Hisui. Now this will be a hold on moment, because again, the way I analysed types and all-- but-- BUT-- This is because I figured it out... Primary and Tera are typings that people get more or less from themselves. Secondary Typings are something of the Nurture side of the argument. And for Ingo at least, he didn’t strongly lean to anything to influence him that heavily... there might have been inklings of something or other, poison resistance hinting at either poison or steel leaning. Which is fun.
After Hisui he comes home very firmly entrenched with a Poison secondary typing due to his work with Lady Sneasler and her sneaslets.
It’s directly from Hisui and his environment that he gets his secondary. Otherwise he’d still likely be just entrenched in his primary alignment and otherwise too generalized to lean to anything specific. I’ll probably expand more on the Nurture play to secondaries with Emmet, but for Ingo this is really just a touch of fun. As for appearance traits, he got little fangs and claws from his poison typing and a bit of a sheen to his sweat, saliva and hair. Otherwise the effect is more internal with a very subtle bit of poison in his blood and saliva, not enough to do real damage but he can at least make people a bit queasy from it.
Also poison typing suits Ingo so incredibly well honestly. The harm-healing analysis is just, super interesting when it comes to thinking about Ingo as a character. Ingo is viewed as so supportive, someone who encourages others to be their best selves and honestly... it just makes me pause to think about... because yeah... lots to analyse actually here. Though I’ll save it for later, because otherwise I will get lost in it.
FINALLY, The tera type.
Now here’s actually some fun, because again. The twins made me think about how I was handling typings... and tera is... interesting. I like to imagine it’s kind of the blending point of Nature-Nurture, the point where people would argue the most because it’s like-- how does Tera even work in humans... something that I’ll probably leave for its own analysis at a later date. Because oh yeah, can you change your tera with tera shards? Maybe, BUT OTHERWISE... I think that a person’s tera type is a bit of a combination of full self. You can’t truly say it’s one or the other for origin.
And the Submas twins share their tera typing. Dragon. I was actually incredibly tempted to analyse myself into giving one of them Fairy but... it just doesn’t feel right when this is literally thrown at them to be a “haha association with Unova’s dragons” moment. No, I will not explain. But yes, there are hints of the dragon in Ingo. His eyes reflectivity seems to at least partially be from this deeper nature, and even his fangs and claws could be small hints to it. He may or may not even have some subtle scales... But honestly, due to how tera typing works, it’s not really an on the surface thing. If anything it just kind of serves to add to his Intimidate hours.
I have a few other aura things, but some of it crosses over with my own personal magic system stuff and gets away from pokémon to the point I start frowning so like-- the most you need to really here is Ingo’s empathy also comes up a lot in how his typings and aura is affected by it. Harm-Healing hours, and then I have some magic system stuff that I’ll keep for its own post because I want to share world building but this is not the time or place.
Absolutely, Ingo can bond with Pokémon the Conquest way, no I will not take arguments.
Emmet
Alright! Emmet time, it is Emmet time. And again, I’m not entirely sure that these will be on the same post or their own new post. But also I will do my best to give Emmet the same level of attention as Ingo, because our smile boy deserves it.
All that established, let’s talk about Emmet. Let’s talk about this younger brother and everything that makes me also honestly feral about him. Starting of course with the basics... I do think Emmet as a kid was the one who was full speed ahead for pokémon training and battling as a kid. For all the selective mutism headcanons... That certainly didn’t stop him from expressing his interest in pokémon as a kid. He was driven. He is Emmet and he will win!
In a bit of a mirror to Ingo’s slower start as a trainer, Emmet also likely began his journey with the idea that by the end he would be Champion and also able to work at Gear Station as his day job when not taking challengers. He had a GOAL and Ingo was going to support him to reach it. This is again, cycling to how Emmet uses all of Ingo’s pokémon aside Klinklang because he has his own. Legitimately, for most of their journey I like to imagine the twins were kind of interchangeable as regards to the “trainer” slot for those pokémon.
At least until Ingo actually started to get into it more due to the support and encouragement from Emmet and Elesa both on said journey.
The interchangeability now serves use for the battle challenges in Gear Station.
There’s... actually another reason for Emmet to use Ingo’s pokémon aside the slower start from Ingo... I think that Emmet had an inkling about Ingo’s eventual disappearance to Hisui. Thus, the sharing of the pokémon is a precaution in place should he vanish and never return. This also ties generally into how I think Emmet’s the twin who actually plans things. Maybe it’s not a set, set thing, but Emmet is the strategist, the twin who has the numbers and will run them. This ties back to the truths thing as well, but that’s a bit of a complicated thing to explain...
Emmet and his competitive spirit also circles back to this honestly. Emmet is the one who battles for the sake of battling. Emmet is the twin who’s more a challenge and thrill seeker, he wants to fight for the ENERGY of it, and to exercise his brain. Which also why he got into doubles, there’s more of a strategy to doubles over singles. It’s not that he doesn’t like helping people improve, but-- He does have a little bit less patience, and more-- his struggles with words serve a hurdle.
In anycase, this circles to the point where I think Emmet’s the twin between them who’s better at planning. The strategist, the thinker. The one who slows down more and thinks things through. To a level of planning anyway... He’s the one that keeps them on schedule and on track... if it were left to Ingo well--
A lot of Emmet’s planning is in manifest to his unique relationship with his Autism. Opposite spectrum to Ingo’s. Emmet is so much more of motion, movement and action. Where Ingo’s stims are subtle aside his rambling, Emmet’s are... loud for a lack of description. Even in his standard walk with his swinging arms, Emmet is tactile with his stimming. He will tap his feet and hands, using a lot of snappy motions to get the energy out. He’ll less sway and more hop from pace to pace in place to further help as well. Emmet is the twin who is more often seen or caught doing the stereotypical hand flapping as well...
Circling to the pacing thing for a moment... Emmet paces more in general. Just to move, just to avoid been static. It’s how he thinks and how he handles himself. Similarly to Ingo he’ll sometimes make sounds during his pacing, usually a humming, or quietly “right, left, right, left”. His pacing can often easily be set to a drum.
Emmet with a Pokémon marching band line!
Emmet’s coat has a number of stim toys in his pockets. And some things that aren’t so much stim toys as they are-- something to keep his hands busy with. He’s been banned from having certain types of pens because he will spend hours clicking them to other people’s annoyance. Otherwise he has a number of puzzle cubes and toys with lots of moving pieces to fidget... he also has some... texture toys. And the joltik, so, so many joltik. Emmet is 100% the twin who when clothing comes out of the dryer he just... sits there and rubs himself in them to... Or a warm towel fresh out of the dryer, wrapped around and snuggled into immediately.
Emmet is actually the pickier twin about textures and flavours. But also about scents. Strong perfumes are particularly irritating for him to deal with, he’s also the twin with food texture/flavour issues. He is definitely the one out of the two who is more likely to reject food if something about it is sensory bad. He’s also very honest and blunt about this-- for better or worse. As a result of this... for all Emmet is seen as the bitey twin(which he is, he will bite you if provoked) he is not really a chewer. He doesn’t use chew toys and is just... particular... it’s a bit of a challenge for him to actually ensure he’s brushing his teeth because sensitivity.
Emmet in contrast to Ingo is the twin more prone to understimulation. A lot of the motions and active stims he does are to make it so there’s more for him to pick up on. This as well is sensory processing issues. Just kind of the opposite direction to what you would expect, it’s hard to properly define how it affects things truly. Emmet has crowd time demands. He needs compression time verses Ingo’s decompression time. No I don’t think I can really elaborate on this point easily.
Understimulation is a weird and wild thing... and I don’t think I can even put to words the full of it.
Emmet uses his weighted blanket more than Ingo uses his...
Stimming is both for getting rid of excess and for rebalancing when you’re not getting enough...
Circling back for a moment to Emmet’s pickiness with foods. Counter to what most people would expect, I think he’s more against bland foods than things with strong flavour. Part of his issues with the understimulation specifically is that it messes up his ability to process flavours properly... strong flavour but not a strong scent is... tricky to balance to say the least. The-- the vinegar thing. For a bit of madness Emmet’s had what I affectionately call vinegar sandwiches before(which is two slices of bread absolutely soaked in vinegar) and liked them. He likes to see the HORROR on people’s faces, and the sensory stuff is okay to.
Just don’t let it become too mushy.
Also none of this excludes Emmet from having his own sound/vocal stims. They’re just a lot less used than Ingo’s. Emmet in particular will pick up the humming and call response loops... Or again, his tapping. Tap his feet or hands to the beat. How he cares for and grooms his pokémon can actually also tie into his tactile stimming needs. Combing his fingers through Galvantula’s fur, or helping Archeops to preen. He’ll also sometimes tap a beat met with clicking from Durant.
Just like for Ingo, I don’t think that Emmet’s fears start and stop with acrophobia. Emmet is just... trickier. Due to his issues with textures, tastes and scents he comes across as something of a germophobe. He’s very particular about keeping things clean and in order. This in particular makes it very funny to me about how Emmet is the twin who doesn’t care as much about touch and personal space...
He will immediately use hand sanitizer after shaking your hand lol.
Related, I think as a kid Emmet absolutely had a level of nyctophobia. He mostly grew out of this fear, at least until Ingo vanished as an adult. He had to work on it all over again, at least the Subway is generally well lit... and there’s also Ingo’s Chandelure to help.
HAHA, Touch Isuses again actually. Just a different flavour to Ingo’s-- Emmet in general is the one who is more likely to touch unprompted. He’s got a lot of casual touch actions... even if again, he might go for sanitizer after, the gloves help-- He doesn’t have issues with hugs or holds, and isn’t suffering from the same touch starvation that Ingo does. Personal space is a bit questionable... All the same. I don’t think Emmet particularly likes touch. He’s not exactly snuggly despite been casually touchy.
On first impression you would think Emmet is the dog to Ingo’s cat of physical affection but actually... ACTUALLY-- I think that Emmet shows affection more like how a bird does. Which for certain people is hilarious to watch.
In any case for all that people witness Emmet casually draping himself over close family and/or friends-- he will casually yank people around and step right into your personal space-- the opposite end of the boundaries issues to Ingo but-- but-- for all these actions he’s more likely to be happiest just in the same general vicinity of someone... or he’ll preen them. Ingo is logically, the one who gets subjected to this behaviour the most. Emmet will straighten Ingo’s coat for him on automatic...
He is also bird coded with affection because of his speaking habits. You know that Emmet likes you once he stops scripting so much around you.
Or speaking in general actually, Selective Mutism and all.
Emmet’s fussing over those he cares about doesn’t stop with personal grooming btw. He’ll also just, shove food at people he cares about, yes this includes the Deport Agents. Pull a berry out and give it to you-- Hovering over or around you as well, the proximity-- and he’ll be more likely to tease, play around with you. Gremlin mode will be engaged even as he fusses over you. He absolutely goes broody in the bird way as well, it’s actually pretty funny to witness.
Also this is my argument and evidence that Emmet’s actually despite all appearances the responsible twin. Maybe not perfectly, but he’s the one who keeps them functioning truly.
BUT TRULY-- The talking thing is a BIG DEAL. It’s the best way for someone to really tell that Emmet’s actually comfortable with them. As a kid and even well into adulthood talking is something that Emmet has just struggled with. It’s not even that he’s “quiet” necessarily, it’s just he really can’t talk sometimes, other times he gets stuck on script without any ability to diverge from them. It was a source of much bullying as a child-- and some issues with adults as well, because oh boy-- you really can’t win in either direction.
“Use your Words Emmet!”
The Zorua Rumours
Emmet just also tended to respond more with fight-flight in that order as fear... or in reaction to seeing people pick on Ingo as a kid. Which has stuck around into adult. Emmet has an incredibly strong sense of justice and he will not stand for bullying. Kindness is still so key with him even in this, he might make a bully cry, but it won’t feel good. He also has shades of the sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind thing, and that’s... complicated in other ways.
Emmet truly does have mirrored boundary issues to Ingo. Struggling a lot with picking up discomfort in personal space. He’s good with Ingo, but that’s more because they’re that close in the first place... it also doesn’t help that Emmet is nosy. He’s again rather bird coded in how he’s the gossip twin. He wants to hear all the tea and rumours around the station. If you want something kept secret... Emmet probably isn’t the twin you should talk about it with.
Now... does Emmet swim? YES. This is mirroring once again, because in contrast to Ingo picking up rock climbing in Hisui, I think Emmet picked up swimming when they were kids. It’s the contrast again, and the factor this means Emmet’s the one who managed how they navigated routes with water travel. When they weren’t just taking the trains to each gym anyway. One of them needed to be able to swim, and Ingo was a lot more fearful of water in general when they were younger...
Emmet does not have any big startle responses like Ingo does. Unless one counts his screeching. But startling Emmet is a whole different type of hazard. Again, he’s the fight first twin. He will snap around and not hesitate if you’re picking a fight with him. Emmet is also different, where Ingo is very tactile about things, Emmet is much more of a primarily auditory learner. He will echo information and reads things aloud to help remember it. Which again is funny when he does marching to think and process information in the long term. Pacing with his thoughts.
Just like with Ingo, I have a few more thoughts specifically about Emmet and his relationship with been trans. Again, I’ll repeat my point about the fact, that whenever it’s just one twin I’m more willing to accept Ingo as the trans twin over Emmet... and I’ll be real, it might also be because Emmet feels that much more willing to be a scrapper to. Not just the yin-yang representation, but the fact it feels more on brand between the two of them because Emmet feels like the twin more likely to be getting into confrontations as a kid.
“I am Emmet! I am not a girl” - and that was basically the start and end of it.
All this considered. Emmet’s the twin who’s more likely to shrug when people misgender him. It happens, it’s funny sometimes, but he can usually move on. He is Emmet, it’s such a small thing to happen. He is Emmet and his gender is Emmet. No he will not elaborate, people calling him a man is technically a misgendering even. He will still correct people a lot more sharply than Ingo ever does... And also cut in to correct people on Ingo’s gender when they’re getting... particularly pushy.
Now we get to a bit of the Yang specific stuff. Which is... tricky honestly. I don’t have anything very specific to say about it. Emmet is the hard twin. Harsher than Ingo in many aspects but just as kind. He’s more firm, and this is Yang-- at the same time, activity, motion and action. It’s kind of funny how I headcanon Ingo as the more active twin physically, but that’s because Emmet is the twin who moves. He is in motion, and you cannot stop him. Physically active and taxing tasks may not be things he enjoys but this-- yeah.
Physical activity, oh which twin is more... which one is less.
Depends on the day truly.
Yang also reads into Emmet been the one to pull the brakes when it comes to the number of Pokémon that they have in and around the house. No Ingo, we can’t adopt the entirety of the wildlife. Emmet also puts hard lines and boundaries on people. He’s the one who knows when and where to draw the line that Ingo finds... harder to.
All this said... I actually think Emmet’s the twin who finds it easier to let things go. Let them rest. He will linger on emotions and come to decisions about them that much quicker. Past is gone, move on.
Finally for Yang... the fact that I view Emmet as the one of the twins who is more tolerant of the heat. He runs hot even... Is this based on some of his type aspects... well I’ll probably talk about that later. But it is funny because it does lend itself to the yin-yang dichotomy. Emmet runs hot, Ingo runs cold, they mirror and match.
Emmet in a battle is facts, tactics... strategy. Battling is partially a numbers game and Emmet thrives in the pace. Action and movement taking in the whole field and controlling it. He’s not good at cold reading, or strategizing on the fly where Ingo excels. But to be fair, he doesn’t need to be. Rather he’s good at planning, and crowd/field control. Doubles requires a certain level of it... he can cold read of course, but he doesn’t rely on it. Also he’s going to be the one getting caught up in the numbers over emotions, the logic of a situation more than the vibes.
Once and again, I do circle back around on some level to the MBTI. And Emmet is both easier and harder than Ingo for me to tidily analyse for it. Still I treat the MBTI as more a baseline character core guideline than anything that informs you of absolutely everything that a character is... so it’s kind of meaningless but again it makes me just stare at the twins because of INTEREST points. Like hello, again, the ways they reflect and mirror each other and it feels telling when you do a MBTI about how/what you find core to a character and I just... Well
Extrovert, just like how despite everything I view Ingo as an introvert I think that Emmet is the extrovert of the two of them. And sure most of this is because he is gossiper coded, but another factor is just... I kind of see him as the twin more likely to have outside connections, and be able to keep up with them. Quiet does not mean introvert, neither does scripting a lot.
Intuition, strategy-- Oh goodness. The strategy and connections that Emmet builds. This one is... complicated. I don’t think I even know how to explain how Intuition and information even works, it is patterns, connections, what informs your ability to make a plan... if not following one through... Emmet can do the MATH. Also something in this about creativity, but I don’t know how to explain that angle here.
Thinking, Emmet is the twin who is blunt, focused, and who cuts through the fluff when it comes to making decisions. Logic over feelings. Doesn’t mean he’s any less kind and I would love to say some things about that in a broader sense, but this is especially reflective in how direct Emmet is, efficiency.
Judging, I’ll be honest... I went back and forth like a pendulum on this final point with Emmet, but ultimately... I think it is in how I view Emmet as the planner, the one with his head on his shoulders, who sets a goal and actually sits down to think about how he’ll get there which got me. Also... the joltik breeding, and competitive strats... Idk, this one was the hardest thing for me to decide.
I’m not even actually completely convinced of my MBTI assignment with Emmet, part of me is like, the kindness that both twins have and that is so key... but Thinkers are not excluded from been kind, they just show it differently. Also the concept of cruel to be kind which I have some other thoughts about, and how truths flows into that... which will be held for a later ramble about the twins and how people analyse their relation to Unova’s dragons. How I analyse their relationship with the dragons especially.
He’s a lefty! Emmet is a lefty! The “wrong handed” twin. And boy does he have so much spite for how the world is not built for lefties. Pens verses paperwork, Emmet has absolutely screeched at it because the pen just, will not work for him. Cleaning as well... He definitely has to rely on their shared practiced ambidexterity more than not and it’s... kind of exhausting for him. Especially when the work days can already be long. Do not give Emmet the paperwork unless it’s allowed to be pencilled.
Emmet is the TIMEKEEPER of the twins. Keeping them on schedule if not on track. I think of it as if the twins were going on a road trip, Ingo would be the one with the map, while Emmet’s the one in charge of their more precise schedule... but also Emmet’s the one who has the better internal clock and can read shadows for timekeeping. He is much better at keeping track of how long things will take. There are other things that I could talk about, like patience or lack of, and Emmet is much more a stickler about scheduling...
But all that can wait for a post later on where I want to ramble about Emmet and WHY dropping him into Hisui and the Diamond Clan is so good... That deserves its own whole ramble when I have the spoons.
So instead, we’re now back once again to my analysis on Humans and Aura Typings. Emmet’s turn for a ramble from me about it. Don’t know how in depth it will get but again, it’s become something of a very casual piece of world building that my brain wishes to just chew on. And the twins are definitely a good way to explore that, for better or worse. Hopefully at the least people find the thoughts interesting or a jumping off point to ask me about it. Please ask me about it, I will happily talk about all my headcanons and hear arguments for other avenues if people got fight.
That said... BUG, Emmet is primarily Bug typed. And this is probably going to be something of a hard sell just because he’s... low-key about the traits that I think identify him as a Buggy boy. Also, I feel like this will be a hard sell because of how many folks associate Emmet as electric primary... or even fire and passion. But no, I associate him with Bug and it’s particularly about the creativity and drive side of bugs. There’s also something inherently competitive about the universe of bugs but that’s... not really here nor there. And none of this explains why I associate Emmet as primarily Bug Typed. Again, you could boil it down to simply Author/Writer Appeal but-- but I actually do have reasoning for this. Just hard to put it all into words.
Soooo, let’s actually take a step back. Creepy Crawlies. Primarily, it’s about Emmet been the creepy-crawly twin to match Ingo’s spooky-scary. But a lot more of it is just... I LIKE BUGS! I like the bug type and Emmet is so heavily associated with joltik and galvantula, and I just-- I have so many thoughts. Also I recently rediscovered some... particular things... and it’s just... There’s a reason I put Bug type in the Passionate group of personality leanings. Drive. If there is one thing that Emmet has to spare it’s his drive. Come hell or high water, he is one who will strive to his goals.
There is a lot more about Bug and Emmet, but some of it is like... this just funny but Emmet is absolutely the twin who will make himself EVERYONE’S PROBLEM. He has the younger sibling chicanery and shenaniganry card. Just because Ingo has the Cain Instinct doesn’t mean Emmet doesn’t have his own brand. There’s also something to be said about Bugs and been intrusive, short and fast paced lives, but it’s a lot of nuance I do not have the brain worms to fully explain here. Just understand that this is something that really, really works for Emmet.
Nosiness is per the course.
Also... eye glowing. For Emmet it is ABSOLUTELY bug type related. Maybe it’s a bit of an odd choice, but I am a bit odd about my headcanons anyway. Emmet also has a bit of-- very subtle compound eyes going on. Not true compound but if you really looked at his eyes they seem... hexed. He is the DUSTIER twin to, because he has an ever so faint powder scale affect to his skin as well, startle him enough and he’ll kind of let off a puff a bit like a moth fluttering in the air. His hair is also extra soft and fluffy for this, fluffy and powdery. Emmet also has little fangs, very subtle.
There is also something about how insects are super social animals as well, and colonies, and hard -working but I don’t quite think that’s only for here... and behaviour tied to typing is so much stretchier than I can easily talk about.
Moving on...
Soooo--
Emmet’s secondary is a weird spot for me. And honestly, it’s complicated.
So back in March 2025 when I really took off on my Humans and Typings idea I was of the firm belief that Emmet was Bug/Electric typed. Primary/Secondary. And back then, it checked out. Nature/Nurture things as well, but then some things happened and made me revisit my analysis. You have to understand to, a lot of my early headcanons were based on this identification to... and to some degree I still stand by the idea that Emmet is Electric, it’s just-- I have so, so many complicated feelings about how typings actually work and manifest and just-- a lot. An issue especially was how, I started to feel like assigning the typings the way I had made Emmet too associated with one of Unova’s legendary dragons over the other and I just... didn’t like it.
So as a result, despite everything pointing towards Electric, I took a step back and thought harder about it. And then it becomes something in a different key.
So, Nurture. A lot of my ideas about a person’s secondary typing is very much about what they nurture. In some ways there’s a bit more, it’s a bit about what someone values, over anything else. But even that could be a bit of a simplification of it all really. Typings don’t even truly mesh completely as a set sometimes after all. This also isn’t getting into the issue of how I assign tera typings to humans and the canon factor that teras are changeable with the right equipment/tools... BUT NURTURE.
If your Primary Typing is about your Nature, something more innate, then your secondary is highlighting your values. What you wish to grow and become-- Nurture. It’s what you nurture...
So... if I stepped back and away from Electric for Emmet, you might be wondering how that works out... well, it becomes Ground. Specifically here, it’s about both preserving the idea of Emmet’s paralysis immunity, but also, a reflection of how I consider Emmet the twin who values stability that little bit more... Okay, hold up, I have more to it than that-- because there’s also some... other things going on here.
Ground is the element of the “Earth Wedge” that’s most associated with the present to. Which, while not directly influenced, is somewhat a nod to Emmet’s own journey verses Ingo. Focused on the immediate, the present, which not precise... is where he’s gotten stuck. Admittedly, the themeatics of the typing here is less relevant. But it does still matter. It is also kind of with a bit of paradox what makes me think that Emmet might have handled things better than people expected, focus on the here and now and how to handle what’s happening directly. Emmet is the direct and present twin. He’s the one who handles things actually.
In any case, stubborn, and stability. This is the root for my shift of gears here. I did also mention that of the Earth Wedge I debated if Ingo was a steel type... but ultimately said no-- but when the debate shifted to Emmet... as I started to actually consider how I thought of him, I realized actually it became more interesting. Not perfect, but more interesting Emmet made me spend a whole extra few weeks(months) on this, and honestly, I’m glad I didn’t just go with my first instincts. Oh those are still here but-- I have a lot more going on than just that.
Somehow this also loops back to the idea that Emmet is kind of dusty... Bug and Ground typing both pulling their weight for that. Emmet’s acrophobia also somewhat factored into this decisions... and some joke about feet under the ground... But this stuff is more a fun reason... There is also analysis related to Emmet as the twin who plans, who plots... A well-grounded confidence. There’s also the general broad strokes reasoning of Emmet been the twin more resistant to change, but I’ve actually been playing through PokéMas and I’m... not convinced that either twin is better than the other about changes...
No but seriously... for all we the fandom turned to Emmet like: HE IS NOT COPING. But-- I feel like actually playing through PokéMas and reading their dialogue and things and it is like. Oh no-- once again, the Subway Twins are here to say “Your first instinct and impression is WRONG!”
Emmet is not the twin who has issues working on his own despite the instinct to cast dice based on:
Team Pokédex Entries
Double Battle Themeatics
The dual custody team set up. (Which even that, Emmet’s the one with exclusive members first before PLA happened)
Mostly it was the Sygna Suit twins event that made me pull up though. “Oh, Oh we are WRONG about which twin struggles on their own”. Emmet in that event, he’s the one who suggested they try been individuals and teaming up with others after all, it’s been SPINNING in my head for quite a while... and loops right back into that well-grounded confidence idea. And a well-built foundation with all the facts and strategy. Makes it very funny to me that he’s got Eelektross for the event, but you know-- it is his Ace.
Maybe this is why we’ve been robbed of an actual explanation of how things went beyond a throwaway bit of replaceable dialogue.
As for the Tera Typing...
I mentioned with Ingo’s analysis that I believe this is something the twins share. Both of them are Dragon. Although it reflects differently on them both. I honestly actually think I have more ideas on it for Emmet than I do Ingo in the longer run, but it’s... again one of those this is my nod to Unova’s dragons moment. There is a lot more I could say about Emmet and the draconic nature though compared to Ingo. Not by much, but I do feel like there is just that touch more resonance to Emmet. Is it Ambition, is it Pride? Is it some secret third thing... I couldn’t say.
Just like for Ingo, I do think this deeper dragon nature to Emmet’s typings comes out a bit... while primarily the eyes are from his bug typing, Dragon does play a role. And even the Ground a little bit-- darkvision enabled. Not quite as sensitive as Ingo’s though. Emmet is also the twin who 100% gets more millage from the passive intimidate that he shares with Ingo. He can and will loom, just standing there-- menacingly.
Just like with Ingo I have a handful of other extras connected to Emmet and aura but again it crosses into a lot of my own personal magic system stuff, and starts getting away from Pokémon very quickly. At the same time, considering I recently read Dragon Ball... there is something very funny about thinking about it in the context of Ingo is support while Emmet is offense. Can he fire off an aura sphere... inconclusive data at this time.
Emmet also gets Conquest Pokémon Bond privileges, no I will not take arguments.
Wrap Up:
Just a few extra notes, there’s actually something personally vexing about the twins and how much of a unit they always are together, something that makes it tricky when it’s like-- I want to analyse them on their own. But they’re so twined together it becomes really tricky to actually give each of them their own fair share of the spotlight. Especially sadly, poor Emmet for me. But even Ingo himself... I just...
I’ll go more into depth on it once I finish properly cooling down... but it’s another part of my knee-jerk dislike of the resolution we got in PLZA and it been uneven.
There is just something that needs to be resolved regarding them as individuals and not just locked to been Ingo & Emmet, Emmet & Ingo, The SubMas Twins and never thought of own their own. Not that their bond isn’t important but man, sometimes it feels like the fandom loses sight of who Ingo is, who Emmet is... who are they when not in the same place.
Like, I never brought it up here, but individual hobbies, interests that they don’t both share... those things... I have some ideas, but not for this post since it was by design me rambling about them as a unit and in relation to one another mirroring.
...and a bit more of me rambling about how I view Pokéverse humans and types and this post has taken me ages to get out because I am sloooow on getting these down r i p. Been in drafts on my laptop since March 2025 itself.
This is posted after my One Happy Ending rant because I needed something to indicate I’m not just getting stuck in a negativity loop.
Next post in the plans is actually another Ingo Thalassophobia post and how the Lodge does not debunk it to me lol.
Hilariously, I’m actually here to say I’m doubling down on my headcanon that Ingo has Thalassophobia despite the fact that Ingo’s lodge topics are what they are. Stay with me, I have reasons and I am kind of excited to just ramble some more with them.
SO--
Call of the Void. And also these specific Dot Point from my original post for Ingo.
Just like Emmet there is a level of Call of the Void in Ingo’s fear, he feels at times like the sea beckons and calls, as if it wishes to steal him away and greedily hide him from the world.
If he falls in could he ever come back?!
Part of him wonders at why he has this certain sense of longing for the ocean, a big part of him is just why does he feel like he would let the sea take him?
Of course I do have more explanation than just this.
So let’s actually go through Ingo’s likes as it relates to Thalassophobia for me. Not touching the Cities though, Like Cerulean and Castelia obviously have other things going on than just been seaside. Also the distance thing... There’s also an argument I’d like to make that Interesting and Exciting are neutral descriptors actually. This is really just a specification on the topics that most make me think about the headcanon of thalassophobia and Ingo specifically.
It is funny because it does... somewhat shift some of how I interpret his fear but not as much as you’d expect.
Kyogre - Interesting Topic
I am also honestly entranced by this in how it kind of sets the expectation that this means Emmet is team Groudon.
I would like to point out actually, this reminds me of my incessant fascination with spiders despite the fact I still freeze whenever faced with one in person.
It’s so funny to me that out of all the legendries that they could put in Ingo’s conversation list it’s Kyogre. One from a region that he’ll get really awkward about, because he does have that it sounds nice to visit but-- Response to.
Kyogre itself is also really interesting to me in terms of Ingo liking talking about, because it’s kind of the pokémon that represents the Sea. You know, aside Manaphy and Lugia. But also Kyogre’s the one that was involved in the mess that Team Aqua nearly cased and probably the face of a number of Ocean Conservation groups bet.
Interesting is a neutral descriptor of a topic.
There’s something in this as well about legends in general, and Kyogre especially here with the factor of trying to drown the world... ala Team Aqua. Legends and their power, and how this is probably something that Ingo ruminates on more than you would think.
Could also be a factor of mental preparation. The events of RSE/ORAS stuck in the back of Ingo’s mind more than he’d like to admit and it’s something that he can theory-craft.
As an aside, a moment, Can fight the Ocean through Kyogre! It’s both because Ingo likes challenges and a moment that he can loop around to having something of a fight response to his fear.
Kyogre is likely one of the stars in a few of Ingo’s nightmares that feel like longing.
Water Types - Interesting Topic
Again, first point is Interesting is a neutral descriptor of a topic. Whether it means a good or bad interesting is interpretable.
Water Types is actually such a broad category, sure you have many, many ocean dwelling water types but you could just as easily claim that the discussion focuses on inland water types or even just like-- discussing them in terms of the Starter Trio and strategy.
I actually think that Ingo is somewhere in the middle for why he finds them interesting. Torn between fear and interest because those things can absolutely co-exist.
You know people can like been unsettled right?
This actually feels more like something where Ingo will go on tangents regarding the strategic advantages of Water Types than anything else. Or interestingly, can come up in conversation about Water Rescue and what pokémon tend to get trained for it.
Water Types themselves aren’t actually necessarily part of Ingo’s fear, but they can be something that could set it off depending on the situation.
Thalassophobia is environmental more than anything else.
The Ocean - Exciting!
You can be excited by things that scare you.
For all Ingo fears the ocean he does actually think that it’s tranquil and have something of a wish that it weren’t something that scared him. The ocean is something that has a power to call.
Again the headcanon that part of Ingo has a longing, a sense that the ocean is calling for him and that intrusive thought of maybe he’d let it take him.
You know what actually, talking about your fears is actually a good way to handle them in some cases. And I do headcanon Ingo as one who overshares to undershare. Ingo absolutely does enjoy talking about the Ocean.
There is something about the aspect where you can deeply enjoy the concept of something and yet when you come face to face, you can just shy away here to. Ingo likes the idea of the ocean, understands why it’s important and yet--
Ingo knows it’s a bit of a paradox, but he likes and yet dreads the Ocean in equality.
His ideal is to someday find a way to work past his fear, but also knowing that it’s a realistic and valid one to have.
One of Ingo’s core traits is how he wishes to constantly improve to, reach a new higher state. The idea he finds the Ocean as exciting as it makes him nervous kind of fits. He wants to improve, get past this fear.
Generally this makes me think Ingo’s not as bad with pictures as I initially thought. He is still discomforted by them, and can’t handle it well in games but it’s still the atmosphere that affects him the most.
When Ingo talks about the Ocean the talks can sometimes deviate into like, horror stories about the ocean, with a tone that’s somehow opposed to the topic been at hand.
People can like been unsettled.
Ingo knows so many Ocean Ghost stories.
Side note, the fact that the choice of topic is The Ocean and not The Beach, makes me think Ingo also might prefer talking about the Ocean as like, a biome/wildlife topic than anything else.
Something, something, importance of respecting nature here.
Ingo watching documentaries on the Ocean and been both anxious and enraptured by them.
Feels like this loops back for a moment, but Ingo is so in awe about people who’re not scared of the ocean. Wants to hear their perspective.
Anyway, I don’t think I have much more to say. This is just, no actually, this doesn’t debunk things. I mean-- gee, it’s almost like people can like been scared right? Challenged, and coming to face your fears is a challenge worth attempting safely.
Because this is PLZA “spoilers” though it hasn’t come out yet, will be below the cut but for the TL:DR: I am very mixed on how to feel about this
On one hand. I am not shocked, it feels very much like this was ultimately the forgone conclusion that yeah, obviously, of course Ingo’s going to get to go home. “Like they would actually do it” moment-- We do have to remember Pokémon is a kids franchise primarily. It's a delight, he's going home! Good for him, and the fandom can and absolutely should rejoice! But...
On the other...
On the other...
I think I’m one of the few who has this really odd way of viewing SubMas and the ableism intersection. Because like, yeah, happy ending, he goes home right? Right? But then part of me is like, why is this the default only happy ending the fandom is willing to accept? Is that not in itself a kind of ableist take?
If this is really all we’re going to get? I just... ultimately feel mixed because it doesn’t really feel like closure honestly. And almost feels... wasted to me.
This is something personal though, but there is honestly something that feels just-- yucky that the only happy ending people seemed able to comprehend as happy was the twins back together and Ingo’s memories restored like it was nothing complicated. And-- and--
And there’s nothing inherently BAD about it, it’s good. It’s fitting for them, and yet--
Some part of me is just unsatisfied. Like yeah, cool, this is the ending we all expected and wanted, it’s the one that follows through. And yet-- why do I not feel satisfied with the knowledge he goes home perfectly fine...
It loops back to closure I think. This just feels like it’s as jarring as him been there in the first place. As mysteriously as he arrived he returned home. It ultimately leaves PLA on an odd note, sure we’ll see a whole exhibit on it, but-- I don’t know, it just sits... poorly with me. An odd note to go out on. PLA as a whole deserved better and not just the SubMas twins.
Now we’re stuck with a museum in PLZA(potentially) and whatever they decide to throw in Masters.
Like I don’t know...
Maybe it’s just because part of me was starting to be an “Ingo never goes home and that’s alright actually” truther.
Or even going home and it not all been fixed instantly... I just... Somehow this expected ending feels worse than if they just left it as nothing, or left it like we get remakes/sequels to BW1 & 2 and they only have a line about Ingo in a history book. Leave it in the air if it’s even our Ingo... Pokémon does canonically have multiple timelines and all to.
And again, the personal note of... actually I don’t think returning home is necessarily the only happy ending here. Because that itself is... it feels bad to think that the only way these characters could be happy is returning to the status quo because that’s... not how life works. It feels like a waste of their potential to grow and change and discover more and--
And--
And even if he did go home the reunion feels like there should be more, because of again people changing. The status quo should be changing.
And I get it, I’m the minority.
But I just wonder if this loops so far it becomes ableism again. Just dressed up to appear nice. Because hey, no need to question the comfort zone right? We all got the reunion we wanted, the only acceptable happy ending... right?
It’s literally just one sentence and nothing more, a sentence that implies Ingo gets full memories as well I suppose, and whatever mystery task he had like the Player was fulfilled, this is fine right? It’s what we all wanted...
Back to relying on Masters for more PLA crumbs with everyone else, and the other unanswered questions because I doubt there will be much more than a handful of bits of dialogue for any of that either.
...
And honestly... does this actually indicate that the Player got to go home as well post-PLA? Are we supposed to expect that as well?
...and again, why is this the only acceptable “happy ending” for these characters? Am I wrong for feeling like the expectation that the only way to be happy is to return to the status quo and home they had before is a yucky expectation?
Am I wrong for somehow feeling like this is just a messy way to finish this off?
You know, I might as well admit it, I’m currently in PLA and SubMas Station. More to the latter than the former, but they kind of go hand in hand truly. So, while I’m here, I might as well make some posts talking about things I’ve noticed in my own funky view and the complexities of interpretation... So here we go some headcanons...
Specifically, I’m going to start with some observations/headcanons for PLA Era, with Ingo and the Pearl Clan, because I have... many strong opinions about them really.
There’s not any particular order to these, nor do I particularly care how clear/concise they are to people not me, it’s more just my thoughts to be gotten down.
Mostly going to be general rambling, organized as dot points but that’s just how I do, prepare for wall of text I am not going to apologise for. Especially since I don’t have game screenshots on hand, nor do I feel like hunting them down for what’s basically stream of consciousness and self-indulgent thoughts. Also I already know a lot of this has a bias, its fandom... it’s supposed to be what we find fun/pleasing.
General Pearl Clan:
Alright, I’m going struggle here, but I feel it’s very important for me to just get a key thing out of the way first. I am very, very attached to the Found Family vibes that the Pearl Clan could have. I’m very attached to how there’s the storytelling in the subtle and unspoken with Ingo and the Pearl Clan. He’s their stranger from nowhere.
And it hurts my soul so much when people make fics where they keep outsidering him. Or worse, where Ingo outsiders himself. Now I know how his dialogue is in game... it’s not exactly showing him settled in Hisui by any means, but it really feels a lot more complicated than just open and shut he’s unhappy.
Purpose, wondering what his purpose here in Hisui is... and then the paraphrase of “Seek out All Pokémon”-- I have some conspiracy glasses on this, beyond just the he was Arceus Plan A theory... But this isn’t the place for that.
But yeah, I have a lot of complicated feelings about Ingo and the acceptance or lack of that he has in the Pearl Clan. But how can I even begin to explain them, I don’t truly know.
I just, I have a lot of emotions but not the words to put it into something digestible. But I really do not like seeing fics where the Pearl Clan is outright hostile... for all they are to us and the Galaxy Team in the game, they have valid reasons for wariness... but also, I have views and ideas on that... a general oddball headcanon that hey... what if Ingo arrived with injuries from other humans?
Or logically... maybe the clan is wary because poachers do be a thing still even in Pokémon Universe.
Seriously though, the fact Ingo is a Warden at all says a lot. Whether you want it to or not, Ingo wearing the Pearl Clan tunic and uniform as well... even if he’s clinging to his past, he’s changed. He’s adapted, I would also like to point at the Path of Solitude and Alpha battles with the FUN NOTE... Those pokémon aren’t in Pokéballs.
While his main team obviously is, and we do see him using pokéballs, it’s not like he’s entirely putting everything in a pokéball
Also this leads to the fun speculation I’ve seen of both SubMas twins having pokéglotism and I would like to say love that. So much.
N handshake SubMas Twins: If you just ask the wildlife if it wants to throw hands, the answer is usually “YES”
No but seriously, his Path of Solitude battles just start with the pokémon out and no pokéball animation... I don’t think those mon are caught either... THEY DON’T EVEN FAINT INTO POKÉBALLS!
I actually have a lot to say about Ingo in the Pearl Clan tunic and clothing, but it’s very hard to put these thoughts into proper words. But it really does say more than people want to acknowledge that he’s wearing it at all. He is adopted, he has adapted. Even with it blending with his uniform... Ingo has found more family and that’s just so important to me. Family can be many things and the Pearl Clan been community and family is just... the best take. They took him in, made him their own.
Okay, but seriously, Ingo’s adapted more than people seem to think. But that’s a mess to try and explain, mess to give any evidence or anything to. But generally, it hurts my SOUL to see takes where the Pearl Clan is only tolerating Ingo because he’s the funny guy that Lady Sneasler picked up. Let him be their funny guy who talks about things nobody not even he fully understands.
The community of it is very important to me.
Even if not perfect, leads me into a bit of a weird point where I feel a lot of Ingo’s not settled feeling that there is in Hisui is just... closure issues. Like the lack of fully knowing what he’s missing, just a longing for it... but it’s like if he did have his memory, it might be both easier and harder... because then he does know, but can he go back? He’s made a new home, new role... Jumping right into it. Anycase, it really feels like the issue is more closure to me. He’s made a home, and does belong but isn’t settled because he can’t reconcile it without the full context.
Also on this, fics where he just drops everything to go Home no hesitation leave a bad taste because it feels WRONG.
More fics where it’s a struggle emotionally, it’s a hard decision, the hardest... in a void anyway
Adore fics where the Pearl Clan hears he has the opportunity to go home and are just SO EXCITED for him.
Love is letting go, and this can go both ways and I just have... a lot of personal feelings about how the twins been separated doesn’t have to necessarily be a tragedy but I need to save it for when I have the spoons.
Actually complicated feelings on him going home at all... but not for here...
Side note, the Pearl Clan and personal space and Ingo. I personally think he would have come already ready to be respectful of it. I project my personal space and tactile issues onto him here, but honestly... with his body language and general attitude... he gives me massive vibes of very tactile but only when he’s the one initiating the contact otherwise we have issues. Also the Pearl Clan having such a thing about touch and contact is just nice I think...
At the same time, love takes where they sleep communally and Ingo’s very bewildered in the middle because help him. Sleep piles as a love language and keeping warm in the weather.
Also for the Pearl Clan, those takes where Ingo is just kind of incidentally the babysitter because he’s good with kids are just... so good. He listens to them, encourages them, and can play on their level when needed... it’s just something I love. Ingo taking care of the kids and also the pokémon of the clan.
Also with the potential pokéglotism take, just imagining the Clan been bewildered and yet fascinated with this is so FUN to me. Like he’s weird sure, but nothing wrong with that.
Side note, I feel like the masking we see in PLA is mostly as a result of Ingo stuck in Jubilife... with Kamado... who I have a MESS of opinions on depending on the day... but most of it is tea regarding the brush over of colonization and Ugh, not for here... Otherwise it’s like, Ingo’s already outside of PLA shown to be kind of insecure on his own... the more subdued twin compared to Emmet and also introvert things.
I don’t know if Ingo visits the settlement a lot, but I do think that’s probably more about the cold and snow than any lack of acceptance... and also just like, there’s a general disconnect with how things regarding the Wardens and their Clans are presented in the game... like do they even interact with their Clans after they become Warden? Ingo feels like he’s just as much involved with the rest of the Clan as Lian or Palina are... Which is to say just maybe sending a letter every so often or popping in randomly to remind people that he is still alive.
I’ll round out this section by saying my headcanon for how long Ingo’s been in Hisui and that’s seven years generally... and the reasoning is simple. I find the thought of Ingo getting the opportunity to find his way home just before he would be declared dead incredibly funny. Like man’s about to show up and pull off the funniest thing in the world.
He lived folks!
Oh actually, here is probably the place to put... I do think that Ingo’s possibly the guy in that Zorua/Zoroark Reveal Trailer... but it’s kind of hard to put into words the full thoughts on this. Is that where the memory loss came from, no. The attitude of whoever is filming in that trailer and their confusion about the “strange device” would imply it’s already afflicting him.
ALSO THE REACTION TO BEEN OUTSIDE, IT’S BEAUTIFUL... Breathtaking, Ingo do you go outside much before been thrown to the past?
I also have other conspiracy glasses for this and other things, but this is NOT the post for those things...
Speaking of Zorua/Zoroark there’s a particular ache in me when I see the Pearl Clan written as assuming Ingo is one... but that’s... an issue for its own post.
I actually think that there was at least a year or even two before Ingo officially became Lady Sneasler’s Warden. Mostly because there are some politics that would come into things. His general unknown status, the fact the clan doesn’t want to be involved in stealing him from his original space. Like, look, I have OPINIONS about this as well.
But what do you do with strays? You take them in and care for them. Ingo got hit with cat redistribution and the Pearl Clan’s dealing. Autism and cat behaviours...
Also just genuinely, he could not become Warden without been a member of the Pearl Clan. Which goes beyond honorary even if it’s a messy view. He’s one of their family and the Noble Pokémon are family to the Clans as well. They’re all family your honor. And it’s not perfect but why should it be?
Ingo is their guy. Truly the stranger of all time.
Lady Sneasler:
She gets her own section. :3
Obviously, first up, I 100% adore every single take where Lady Sneasler found him first. It’s my most favourite thing. I absolutely love it every single time. Lady Sneasler found a guy in the snow, he’s her guy now. About 75% of the time this is the headcanon that is firmly in the forefront when I’m trying to work on my WIPs... the other 25% of the time, I think it’s incredibly funny to inflict Gaeric with an Ingo event.
Do I need to elaborate? No
The whole fandom seems to agree that Lady Sneasler basically took one look at Ingo and adopted him, and honestly, it’s the BEST headcanon ever.
“LADY SNEASLER DID YOU STEAL A WHOLE GUY?”
Give the Pearl Clan a month or two to realise he even exists for bonus points. It’s the funniest take ever IMO.
Ingo is basically like a kit to her. This is very, very similar to how I view the situation in Rain World with Five Pebbles and The Artificer... in which both parties think that they’re the one who’s in charge... but also not. I think Lady Sneasler can back her claim up somewhat, she’s definitely the one making sure that he actually learns some survival skills, beyond just the Pearl Clan taking pity on him and showing him how to survive.
Lady Sneasler 100% taught Ingo to rock climb like how she trains her Sneaslets... there’s just something in the way his dialogue vibes when he says “You would never expect to be able to climb such sheer cliffs as these, yes? But with Sneasler as an ally, it becomes the work of a moment.” Something about this just... gives me vibes like, she has spotted for him 100%. Also the idea that Ingo learns rock climbing and does it in those shoes SENDS me to a very happy place. Like yes, it’s a pleasing thought.
With the power of aura in pokémon... and adaptation... anything
He is the babysitter of the Sneaslets 100% and that fandom trend of giving Ingo a poison immunity is absolutely a lovely thing. When it surprises people is also very much a fun thing. I like to think he even was predisposed to it... because well, he does have a garbodor on his team pre-Hisui.
Just as a bonus, I think Ingo’s slipped up at least once or twice and called Lady Sneasler “Mama” because she nagged him or something... and her behaviour... also just side note, I feel as though she’s either “Lady” in terms of nickname, or much quieter and only ever internally he’s reffed her as “Chariot”.
Also she is a Noble, fandom taking Kamado’s word as law on the Rides not been Nobles frustrates me to no end. Both groups are described as descended from the blessed pokémon of the original hero.
I would also love to talk about my opinion on letting Ingo be feral hours here, but that probably deserves it’s whole own rant post alongside Emmet. Just know I definitely vibe with Ingo going a bit feral in the mountains with Lady Sneasler overlooking and have OPINIONS about it.
Clan Leader Irida:
Was not actually the Clan Leader yet when he first arrived. I have a few ideas regarding this, but mostly it’s the thought that it’s interesting. The passage of time and change, the fact the Pearl and Diamond Clans are small. The recent ending of whatever war, and Irida is young and new in her role, something the game repeats a few times.
Which for me makes me think she became the Leader just a few short years before the game events. So Irida met Ingo before she was Leader and it was the previous Leader who chose to take him in.
Also just, again, there’s so much of the disconnect that the game has between each area. Irida’s kind of rude moment of introduction with Ingo as well. Their own guy from nowhere, it’s either her implied younger age nineteen-twenty... or just that really did leave an impression on everyone, which valid you know. Just showing up like that doesn’t seem like something that would fade from memory too fast. The kind of event that gets talked about for years...
Also Irida, love her so much, she wants Ingo to be able to find himself again so much, concerned and wondering if we the player could help him.
At the same time, so rude of her to just bring that up like that...
I think Irida and Ingo have such an interesting set of options for relationship. Mutual respect and understanding, or trying to understand each other.
There’s the question of pokéballs as well, but again, I would argue Ingo actually isn’t as clinging to them as it appears. He’s more respectful of the point than you think and the odds he free roams his team for the majority of the time is HIGH. And also Irida at least in Masters does grow beyond her knee-jerk dislike of pokéballs.... especially since you know pokémon can get themselves out of them.
Transport and smoothness, Emmet is having a time when Ingo returns home and why is his brother barely using pokéballs now, Ingo please.
I like to interpret that Ingo already had his companions but not in Pokéballs until Irida became more comfortable... it’s just nice.
Anycase, head of the Ingo support club I do think. They influence each other more than you would think. I have more thoughts but it’s like, this is the kind of territory that’s almost entirely speculative. But also it’s very much like siblings in my head, they probably bother each other and have gremlin moments for as much as they respect each other.
The Other Pearl Wardens(+ Some Melli and Arezu):
SPEAKING OF SIBLING/FAMILY LIKE RELATIONSHIPS...
I have so many thoughts on the general Warden relationships and it’s such a shame that it’s all so disconnected in the game itself. Nothing really touching anything else outside the specific area that it’s introduced and then moved on from. We really have to come up with it ourselves. Which is kind of standard for Pokémon unfortunately, but still, we get some hints I guess. Daybreak does exist... but beyond that.
Ingo and Lian, Autism Buddies. Or just special interest and hyperfixation buddies. I love every fic where they just are like “Same” about rambling. Big Brother Ingo hours here, I know folks love Uncle/Dadding him but-- BUT-- No. Sibling energy is the best energy here, or maybe cousin energy if that’s too close.
Lian has definitely stolen Ingo’s hat at least once, got his own stolen right back.
Cowboy, cowboy
Got that Autism Swagger
Lian reminds Ingo of someone, but it’s just out of reach. Yes this is talking about Clay, and considering they work underground, I do think there’s association. Also the Masters event, Ingo so ready to jump in and help, no hesitation. Maybe not close, but coworkers at least, and Clay likely helped with some of the Subway Tunnels maintenance and upkeep due to crossover... Also incidentally odds of the closeness of some of those tunnels to the tunnels of the Gym.
Also just Lian makes Ingo feel comfortable and it’s echoed right back. They’re autism buddies and both can sit and just vibe together. It’s good.
Calaba is Grandma. Or the one nurse who just knows
She has treated so many injuries. Especially in the early days before Ingo improved his special awareness level, he still struggles with it truly...
Ingo stop ending up in her medical tent challenge level impossible.
She went through her whole outsider issues arc with him. He’s her grandson even if she would never willingly admit it. No, you will not hear it verbally from her. She expresses it through begrudging care and fussing and making sure he is fed... and providing his favourites. She cares so much more than she can ever admit, her pride won’t let her vocalise it.
Good thing Ingo knows
Words are good but there are many ways to show care
Ingo helps her quietly just as much
Calaba knows all his favourites whether she wants to or not
She’s also more than aware of some of his texture issues and has a special set up just for him
Palina is probably the Warden that has the least interaction with Ingo, because well, she lives at the Coastlands... and I think Ingo has Thalassophobia. That just obviously doesn’t mix. As it is they’re the most... strangers to each other of the Wardens. He thinks she sounds nice though-- Also understands her grief, but it gives him nightmares second-hand to hear about what happened to the prior Lord Arcanine.
He absolutely does not know about Palina and Iscan. No, not at all, who’s asking him?
Ingo is one of the few defenders of Palina’s choice to wait for Lord Growlithe to be ready, the loss feels... familiar.
Ingo hearing about Palina Pearl Diving, absolutely awed and terrified of her power.
Palina and Ingo both share a bit of outsider vibes. Gossip is something neither is unfamiliar with. In fact truly, gossip is more the speed they share with each other. It’s kind of awkward in full Warden Meetings because they don’t really talk or meet much outside of them. Each thinks that the other seems polite though.
In my head they’re both kind of scared of the other, it’s funny to me
Melli coming next because they share the Highlands. Also I just-- honestly love Melli, such a disaster of a human being. I think the relationship is something of a mess. Not fully defined, they range from gets along great to god I can’t stand this person between literal hours it feels. Both have spent a lot of time around each other-- closest point of contact.
The torches thing is enrichment, as well as Melli been petty to the PC specifically
Melli categorically struggles to ask for help, insecurity and pride crossloading... Ingo gets it.
Melli and Sneasler both very begrudgingly team up to make sure Ingo doesn’t just die tbh, Melli will bully this man into some self care so help him.
Melli 100% has a one-sided crush
Ingo has also 100% jumpscared Melli at night/in Wayward Cave multiple times. Him and his glowing eyes
Melli is probably deserving of his own post truthly. I will come back to him and Ingo later on. It really is its own post probably...
Gaeric is actually another character who is so interesting in my head. When it’s not Sneasler finding Ingo I like to assume Gaeric is the first one to find him. Gaeric with his big heart and absolute presence. Gaeric honestly deserves to experience an Ingo Event or two, or three. Sometimes of course it’s the other way around, Ingo’s experiencing a Gaeric event.
Gaeric speaks to me in an interesting way actually. Like, he’s related to Wulfric and maybe Brycen implied right? (Also, am I the only one who thinks he looks more like... Brycen, hello?!)-- ANYCASE, For some reason as well my brain goes “Sometimes Ingo mistakes him for Drayden” it’s the vibes.
Ingo has called Gaeric Uncle at least once, he will never live it down.
The dynamic is somewhere between siblings and uncle-nephew depending on the day
TORMENT EACH OTHER
Gaeric will drag Ingo into his exercise routine, whether Ingo wants to be dragged along or not-- Ingo will find ways to torment him right back
Both thinks the other is the weird one, but it’s a good kind of weird
Wrestling wild pokémon challenge
Both will bite honestly
Gaeric can CARRY Ingo... More shocking is when that favour is returnable
Gaeric just has such good energy and I think I need to linger on him more as well, but later maybe. He’s also definitely the first one to find Ingo in Lady Sneasler’s nest tbh. First member of the Pearl Clan to meet Ingo and it sure would be an impression. Who is this guy just chilling with Lady Sneasler hello?!
And then Ingo wrestles a dragon because Uncle Drayden
Finally we have Arezu. Who joins Ingo in Jubilife as one of the two wardens who stays there. Which is also the first time those two really meet, she wants so badly to do up his hair fancy or something-- meanwhile Ingo’s like “I like my hair the way it is thankyou” They’re bit awkward at times.
I also 100% believe their safety was held over the Clan Leaders heads during the Red Sky Incident-- conspiracy glasses
Ingo and Arezu basically just have a very polite working relationship in Jubilife. They basically know of each other and then kind of... vibe. Different circles, it’s nice to be able to at least say hi they suppose.
Bonus the PC/Akari/Rei:
Sibling hours actually.
No but seriously, Ingo has taken one look at the PC and gone “I can torment you with the Path of Solitude” and I will come back to this much later but I really have to admit, the vibes here is sibling torment. Those battles are just such a vibe... same with how he prepares the other paths and challenges.
The fucking, L
Conclusion:
The Pearl Clan loves their weirdo and Ingo loves them back even if there are some issues, but this is mostly me just really, really having AN Opinion.
I also likely will make more in depth dot point posts later on prolly... this is more just spitballing and getting the major points down for myself lol.
Absolutely feral. Why does fandom KEEP DOING THIS... So many fandoms in the past 3 years have done the same thing. People just do not know what infantilization is. I want to take the word away from you... it really just is to the point where I am SCREAMING.
Heaven forbid that people write neurodivergent or disabled characters as neurodivergent or disabled.
Or really, and
Neurodivergent and disabled.
Heaven Forbid that we actually write disabled people as needing help, or having “childish” interests and hobbies.
Like man, infantilization is not that.
Needing help, needing something explained isn’t infantilizing(not on its own anyway). Having a childish interest also isn’t infantilizing on its own... what is infantilizing is the perception of such. Like man, heaven forbid people have hobbies that aren’t in the “correct” age group. It’s like when people look at folks getting into Bluey as adults and react like it’s weird and unbecoming of an adult...
Heaven forbid that people have diverse interests I guess.
Or like, specifically for autistic characters, I’ve seen a sweep of people reacting to folks writing/drawing meltdowns as if a meltdown is inherently infantilizing... same with shutdowns. Or folks reacting to depressed characters acting depressed as if it’s automatically infantilizing for those folks to struggle. Anxious characters been anxious is also apparently infantilizing.
It’s that one particular crosshair of ableism that I hate
Like heaven forbid that people struggle with their disabilities I guess. If you struggle at all you’re a child who can’t do shit... Go sit on a cactus, go touch the stove and think about what you’re saying when you say such things.
A wheelchair user needing their wheelchair isn’t treating them like a child.
Autistic people stimming isn’t treating them as a child.
ADHD folks having reminders on their phones isn’t treating them like a child.
A deaf person using sign language isn’t treating them like a child. ALSO READ Selectively Mute folks having a bad day and using sign isn’t treating them like a child.
Autistic Shutdowns and Meltdowns isn’t throwing a tantrum and been a child.
Having a “childish” interest doesn’t mean you’re incapable of been an adult
Been in a wheelchair doesn’t mean you have an intellectual disability automatically(why is this coming back up so much to?! Like excuse me?!)
Characters having injuries and having to recover isn’t treating them like a child
Sickfic isn’t infantilizing
A character asking for help shouldn’t automatically been seen as infantilizing either, sometimes people just don’t know how to do something. It’s when they refuse to learn or even try on their own you should squint at it.
Script failures and struggling to continue a conversation isn’t been a child
Apology loops are trauma responses not someone been a child
Having days where life is just... too much isn’t been a child either. That’s just life.
Struggling to eat/handle certain foods isn’t been a child
NEEDING HELP BECAUSE SOMETHING IS HARD ISN’T INHERENTLY BEEN TREATED LIKE A CHILD
But man, so many times I see characters having bad days treated as if that’s infantilizing. Just, just stop.
I hate this trend so much. Like I can list off a million little things that people seem to take as inherently infantilizing when it’s just... reality sometimes. And maybe some folks would point at me and say well that’s just infantilizing myself but like-- it’s complicated.
The whole issue is COMPLICATED.
But I am so very, very tired of seeing characters written as struggling with their disability and that inherently been read by the audience as the writer infantilizing them.
Rain World... Pokémon, Encanto, a few specific Coco fics... Steven Universe, Warrior Cats, Sonic the Hedgehog... All these fandoms have this problem and I am so tired of it.
I am honestly so boggled by the way that Doof verses Ingo is currently going...
We have 4 hours SubMas... but man--
I didn't realise PnF fandom was that big, for real. I thought as a fandom it was niche or something because I NEVER see it. But also Doof is leading and it's making me lose it because really? REALLY, You're putting the guy who's entire thing is Mad Science Failure Dad in front of the boy?
Feels off.
Funny though if Doof does win.
But man, feels like it really isn't the correct answer because Doof is all sharp angles and knobbly-- he's made as a character you can point and laugh at, or or-- IDK, Just easy for kids to draw-- but like, hello?! Nothing in his design is made appealing in that way, or even vibes, like at best he's got the dorky air to match Ingo, but like, I know we call the SubMas muppets and goofy, but Goofy *is Doofenshmirtz, to the whole design.
Meanwhile Ingo(and Emmet, but he got wiped round one), they're both goofy and yet with a bit of cool. Dorky and yet IDK. Like they match the tumblr niche better I would have thought. Twinks they are, the sometimes dapper, the tol energy... muppets maybe but that's their appeal...
I am just trying to do the math and failing here because hello what?
I think the FUNNIEST resolution not resolution that we could get for Ingo and Emmet is if/when they release the next visit to Unova it's all kind of as normal...
Except, in one version Ingo's missing which obviously PLA-- BUT IN THE OTHER VERSION EMMET IS THE MISSING TWIN.
Watch the whole fandom lose it.
I just think it would be the FUNNIEST thing they could do.
