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Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Lost Tracks of Time, Chapter 1

Summary: Ingo woke up in a strange world with almost no memories of who he is or what his past is. What he does know is: his name is Ingo, he has a mission he needs to carry out, and he was definitely a human and not a Sneasel. He meets a strange wanderer named Sneasler who brings him to the Pearl Guild, and the two eventually come across an unusual rescue request.

Author’s note: This is my first time writing for Ingo and Emmet, so forgive me if their dialogue sounds off. This is basically Pokemon Mystery Dungeon with heavy, heavy influence from Pokemon Legends Arceus. I’m not sure if I’ll expand on this AU in the future, but I’m happy with what I made here.

Massive, massive credit to @furiouskettle/@crankyteapot for their design of Ingo as Husuian Sneasel and Emmet as Johtoian Sneasel, as well as inspiring me to write this. This one shot became much, much longer than I anticipated (4,500+ words).

(And just in case: Shippers, do not interact)

Ingo didn’t remember waking up, nor did he remember going to sleep. He simply found himself in an area completed filled with light. There was no ground below him, and he wasn’t entirely sure which way was up. The lights shifted from reds, oranges, and yellows to greens, blues, and violets and back. Despite being in a world made of light, Ingo’s eyes weren’t hurting from trying to look around, which perplexed him.

“Greetings, Human. Welcome to my realm. What is thy name?” A voice spoke from all directions. It reverberated in Ingo’s head.

He was apprehensive about what possible being would be concerned with him, but he still had to be polite. “Good day. I’m Warden Ingo.”

“Ingo, thou shalt soon find thyself in a world strange to thee. My mission for thou is–”

***

Ingo once again woke up without remembering how he went to sleep. The first thing he noticed this time was his own body shivering inside his coat. The ground had returned as well. His eyes had not opened yet, but he already noticed the lack of colorful lights in his surroundings. In fact, it seemed like something provided him shade.

“Oh good, you’re awake.” The voice distinctly came from above him. He decided to open his eyes and found a Sneasler towering over him. She carried a large woven basket on her back. “Can you stand?”

“Can I?” Ingo asked. He sat up to prepare himself and immediately realized something was amiss. It was his coat. The sleeves – once tailored to his arms, then shredded from use – scrunched up on his arms like a child wearing the jackets of their parents. When he tried to push up his sleeves, he found another thing unusual: he was supposed to have hands but instead found two large, curved claws. The differences soon piled up as he stood up. White fur covered his body. His coat dragged on the snow-covered ground as though his body shrunk. His feet were clawed as well. His hat refused to fit snuggly on his head, as it bent his left ear (only the left ear).

“Am I a Sneasel?” Ingo asked. “Why am I a Sneasel?! I’m a human… or I think I am.”

“Uh, I’m pretty sure humans do not look like Sneasels,” Sneasler said. “Look, Sneasel-“

“My name is Ingo.”

“Ingo. Okay. Ingo, we can talk all day about you being a human or a Sneasel, but I’d rather not do it out here.”

Sneasler gestured to the area behind her, and Ingo realized why he was still shivering. The two stood on what Ingo assumed to be a mountain cliff. Fog or clouds obscured the bottom of the mountain, giving an impression of height that could make an acrophobe dizzy.

“How did you find me up here?” Ingo asked.

“When everything is white, someone wearing black clothing is going to stand out. Look, do you want to stay out here, or do you want to get to somewhere a little more hospitable?”

“Where did you have in mind?”

“The Pearl Guild.”

Ingo’s heart jumped, not that he knew why. “Let’s set that as our destination then!” He pointed to the ground and at Sneasler. “All aboard!”

Sneasler raised an eyebrow. “Alright, weirdo, get in the basket.”

***

“You don’t remember anything?” Sneasler asked. She scaled down the mountain with practiced claws and Ingo sitting in her basket. “Then how do you know you’re a human?”

“It’s hard to explain. I can just feel it,” Ingo said from within the basket on Sneasler’s back. His body was curled up inside like a cat pokemon, his coat acting as blanket and jacket simultaneously. He held the cap in his hands. His claws grazed over the blue-and-white badge, catching the various scratches it accumulated from past battles forgotten. “And look at my uniform! What pokemon would wear this?”

��Okay, that’s a fair point. Wait, uniform? Do humans usually wear that?”

“…I cannot say for certain.” Ingo mused over the badge. A uniform implied multiple people wearing the same outfit, but Ingo felt like this was not quite accurate. Why? At least one person wore something similar, right? “If I may ask, why are you scaling the mountain? I saw multiple paths around. Surely a different track would be more efficient?”

“Nope. They all lead to the Coronet Mountain mystery dungeon.”

“Mystery… dungeon?”

“Oh boy...” Sneasler sighed to herself. “Yeah, definitely a good thing I found you before you did something stupid. Long story short, they’re weird areas where the layout is constantly changing and are pretty much always filled with pokemon way too eager for a battle.”

“What?! How is anyone meant to traverse anywhere efficiently?”

“Well, they’re not everywhere, thankfully, but a lot of pokemon still get lost in them. That’s what the rescue teams and the guilds are for.”

“Are you in one of these guilds? Is that why we’re going to the “Pearl Guild”?”

“Nah, guild work isn’t for me. I’m just a wanderer. And I’m just bringing you to Pearl because it’s the closest one, and I guess they can help you too.”

“Help with what?”

“I dunno. Living. Figuring out if you’re a human or a Sneasel that got hit with one too many Confuse Rays. Give you purpose in life, if you want. Something like that.”

“Purpose…” Ingo rolled up one of his sleeves. On his wrist was the only other belonging that came with him into this world. A white bracelet was adorned with gold-colored rings and a black square (Ingo wanted to call it a “screen” for some reason) with cracks all over. Other than the cracked “screen”, the bracelet was completely free of damages and blemishes.

***

“We’re here.” Sneasler had finished scaling the mountain some time ago, but she stopped for a break for the first time during the trip.

Ingo opened the top of Sneasler’s basket and stood up, nearly causing Sneasler to topple over from the shift in weight. “This is our route terminus?” he asked, gazing up at the building in front of them.

“I’ll pretend to understand that and say yes.”

The two stood in front of a building shaped after a pink dragon-like pokemon. A large doorway was affixed to the stone effigy’s stomach, its claws holding the door. The pokemon-shaped decoration was only the front of a more spacious building. Surrounding the central building were several beige-and-pink tents just large enough to hold a couple pokemon (or a couple humans).

The eyes of the pokemon-shaped building lit up. “The guest is… Lady Sneasler! The guest is Lady Sneasler!” A voice shouted from the head of the beast-building. The eyes faded, then the door opened.

“Break’s over.” Sneasler walked inside, dragging along with her the weird Sneasel who once again retreated into her basket.

Inside the basket, Ingo could see how the inside of the building was the opposite of the outside. Where the surroundings were cold and monotone from the snow, the inside glowed with warmth and greenery. Grass covered the ground, and trees threatened to raise the roof. It seemed impractical to have all the plants inside, but he guessed it ensured they would survive year-round.

Sneasler stopped walking, and Ingo heard knocking. “Yo, it’s me,” Sneasler said. Then Ingo heard a large door open.

“Lady Sneasler, to what do we owe the pleasure of having a Noble in our presence?” A pokemon with a snooty voice asked.

“Greetings, Irida, Chatot,” Sneasler said. “I got a basket case for you.” She then grabs her basket, flips it over her head, and opens it upside-down, making Ingo fall out as a crumbled ball of dizzied Sneasel.

Two pokemon came closer to Ingo, both visibly confused over what they are seeing. One was a Glaceon with shortened teal crests hanging off her head and pink moon-shaped crown. The other was a Chatot with a coat so fluffy that his silhouette could be mistaken for a Honchcrow’s.

“Uh, hello?” The Glaceon had the voice of a young woman. “Lady Sneasler, who is this?”

Ingo jumped to his feet. “Greetings. My name is Ingo. You must be the Pearl Clan leader?” He pointed at Glaceon.

“”Pearl Clan”?” The Glaceon said.

“What am I saying? I meant to say Pearl Guild leader. You must be the Pearl Guild leader.”

“That is correct… You may call me Irida. And this is my assistant, Chatot.”

“If I may ask, what is your business here?” Chatot asked. He stepped in front of Irida.

“I found him in the mountains,” Sneasler said. “I can’t stay around, so maybe you can take care of him.”

“Is that so….” Chatot said. “Well, anything for you, Lady Sneasler.”

“Cool. See ya later, weirdo.” With nary a moment of goodbyes, Sneasler exited the room.

“Ah, Lady Sneasler, in a hurry as always,” Chatot remarked.

“”Take care of”, huh? I think I know what she means,” Irida said. “Ingo, how familiar are you with rescue teams?”

***

“You must pick a partner for your team eventually, Ingo!” Chatot screeched so loud that it echoed in the Pearl Guild’s halls.

“I am still looking!” Ingo said.

Chatot sighed. “Look, I’m tired of this conversation, and I’m sure you are, too. If you don’t find a partner by the end of the week, Irida will assign one to you. That is final.” He then retreated back to Irida’s office, closing the door in front of Ingo’s face.

Ingo sighed and looked at the badge pinned on his coat. The bead in the center signified his gold rank as a pokemon rescuer. Despite the symbol of accomplishment and all the help he has done for others, something was still missing. For one, he was no step closer to finding out the reason he was sent to this world. It did not help that Ingo has been completely unable to find a partner that would get along with him. Even though he tried to be as friendly as possible, something about him repelled potential partners. It could be his lack of facial expression, or maybe it was the aura about him, though he tried to explain often how sincere and happy he was about his job as a rescuer. Even worse, it seemed like no other pokemon meshed with his fighting style. While he was surrounded by other pokemon who want to protect others, he felt alone.

Ingo readjusted his coat and set his route to the job bulletin board. If he could not progress on his mystery mission, he could at least throw himself into work. But a familiar face stopped him in his tracks.

“Sup, Weirdo.” Sneasler waved to Ingo.

“Lady Sneasler? What are you doing here?”

She shrugged. “Just passing through. Any of these look good for you?”

Ingo stepped next to Sneasler to check all the requests. They were mostly picked over, leaving requests in areas that have either very strong or very weak pokemon. Ingo frowned harder than usual. Why did the others always leave the “easy” requests? They are still important, after all. That said, one request in particular caught Ingo’s eye.

“I am Emmet. I am a Sneasel. I was investigating the Cobalt Volcano when I was injured. I am at a dead end. Send assistance.”

Ingo took the paper with the rescue request. Sneasler looked over Ingo’s head to read the paper.

“Cobalt Volcano?” Sneasler asked. “Don’t tell me you’re actually thinking of going there.”

“I am. Is something wrong with that?”

“You’re only a gold rank, and this is a five-star mission. I know you don’t work with anyone, so you’d have to be suicidal to go there on your own.”

“If you’re concerned for my safety, why not accompany me on this trip?” Ingo hadn’t travelled with Sneasler since they first met, and he never saw her battle.

“Ha! You know what, why not? I haven’t been over there in a while. You might wanna ditch the coat, though. You dragging it around might catch it on fire.”

Ingo took that as the signal to finish his preparations. The tent that Ingo called his room was rather bare, at least compared to the other guild members. In the center of the room were two haybeds. While both beds were tidy, one was completely untouched. Besides a hearth for warmth, a basket for item storage, and pot of water for hydration, the only notable thing about Ingo’s room was a bulletin board – one smaller than the one used for rescue jobs – dotted with scrap papers of notes and pages torn from books. It wasn’t much, but it was something to help him get some sense of accomplishment in finding out his mission, whatever it was. Ingo begrudgingly left his coat on his bed and repined his badge to his hat.

With one last check in his satchel, Ingo pointed forwards with one hand and at the ground with the other. “Safety checks complete. All aboard for Cobalt Volcano!”

***

It was at this point that Ingo learned that Sneasler’s title as a Noble was not just for show. One swipe from her claws were enough to down most of the pokemon that came across their path. If she wasn’t poisoning everyone with Dire Claw, she decimated them with Shadow Claw and Drain Punch. He admired her skills and even found himself wishing to battle her. That would have to wait for another time, Ingo told himself. He could not let himself derail from the mission.

It was one dungeon floor after another, encountering rock-type and fire-type pokemon every time. Ingo thanked himself for listening to Sneasler’s suggestion and left behind his coat, even if it hurt to leave it at his station. As they traversed to lower floors, the ground burnt Ingo’s feet. It was not his first time investigating a singeing hot dungeon, but the difficult battles wore him down as the caverns grew warmer. Them being no less than 10 feet away from lava at any given time did not help matters.

Ingo and Sneasler then found a singular cavern lacking exposed lava. Stalagmites lined the floor, and the ceiling was high enough to be obscured by shadows.

“Are we already at the end?” Ingo asked. “This is the 21stfloor. Would a five-star difficulty dungeon be that brief?”

“Yes, this is it, but I would like to remind you that almost all the pokemon we faced were twice as strong as you.” Sneasler wiped her face and flicked away the sweat. “I still don’t get why you chose this mission.”

Ingo grimaced and fidgeted with his cap. “I’m not sure myself. It was spur of the moment, like… something within me told me to choose it.”

“Well, let’s see if Emmet is still around.” Sneasler began walking, expecting Ingo to continue following, but he instead rushed ahead.

Not even Ingo knew why he ran at full steam. His heart was racing along with his feet. What possessed him? He considered if he had a heat stroke, given that the cave felt cooler than the previous 20 floors.

He saw something red and feather-shaped behind a stalagmite. That had to be their client. “Greetings! We are a rescue team and here to help.”

Ingo walked around the pillar and found the Sneasel. His black fur blended in well to the dark-colored, but the yellow gems and red feather on his right ear helped him stand out. He was holding his stomach and curled up like someone kicked him. Upon closer inspection, patches of fur were missing, and his skin was charred.

“Hi. I am Emmet. I have several burns,” the Sneasel said that with a wide smile on his face.

“I can see that,” Sneasler said, coming up from behind Ingo while grabbing something from her basket. “Wait, you’re an ice type Sneasel! How are you not dead yet??”

“I have no idea. I lost some battles. The pokemon were very strong, but I was left here,” Emmet looked up at Ingo’s black cap, and his eyes widened for a moment.

“Is something wrong?” Ingo asked.

“Nothing is wrong. I just think I have seen that hat before.”

“…Is that so?”

“Here, eat this.” Sneasler interrupted the two. “Oran berry and rawst berry. One for your burn, one for strength.” She hands the berries to Emmet, who eats them with vigor.

Something brightly colored caught Ingo’s eye. He walked a few feet away from the other two to pick up what looked like a white backpack hidden between stalagmites. As he grabbed it, the fabric unfolded, dropping a white cap onto the ground and revealing the item as a long white-and-brown coat.

“Be careful with that!” Emmet said, his smile remaining though his voice sounded almost angry. “I had to take off my uniform, but that is mine. Don’t drop it.”

Ingo stared at the coat in disbelief. Other than it being white and in better condition, it was identical to his. It was even the same size. He draped the coat on Emmet’s body and grabbed the white cap. Ingo then took off his own cap and held them next to each other.

Emmet watched as the other Sneasel stared at the hats and then turned the fronts to face him. Emmet’s eyes widened again and almost sparkled. His smile widened even further. Suddenly the other Sneasel’s long face looked very familiar.

“Ingo?”

Ingo, who had been staring at the hats, looked up again at the Sneasel. His heart knew something he didn’t, but hearing that voice say his name made his head catch up. His appearance – their appearances – had changed, but he knew that smile. He knew those eyes. Before, ‘Emmet’ was just a word to refer to their client with. Now it had a different meaning.

Ingo smiled. “Emmet!”

Emmet leaped and tackled Ingo, his coat and their hats thrown to the side. Emmet wrapped his arms around Ingo. Ingo was too shocked to do the same.

“I found you! I finally found you!” Emmet said. His smile was softer now.

”You’ve been looking for me?” Ingo asked. Tears fell onto the floor and sizzled into steam.

Sneasler, who took a step back from the other two a moment ago, watched on with a baffled expression. “You two know each other?”

“Lady Sneasler, Emmet is my twin brother,” Ingo said.

“Well, isn’t this sweet?” a new voice pops in. The twins and Sneasler watch 6 Magmars and a Magmortar jump from the shadows to surround them.

“Yep, knew something was off here,” Sneasler said mostly to herself.

“We meet again,” Emmet said while standing back up. He and Ingo picked up and wiped down their respective caps. “You are here for a rematch.”

“You sound pretty confident for someone who nearly died last time,” one of the Magmars said.

“What, you couldn’t kill one ice-type Sneasel?” Sneasler asked while smirking.

“No, we just pitied him,” Magmortar said. “But I see he still has that stupid smile on his face. I’ll burn it clean off this time.” Magmortar raised an arm skywards and released a blast of fire. Stalactites fell, and cracks in the cavern opened up and released steam that threatened to burn all the non-fire types in the room.

“Emmet, stay between me and Ingo!” Sneasler already took her fighting stance. She looked at all the Magmars and decided it would be better for her to take them out. Of course, this plan assumed Ingo would take a defensive position until the Magmars were dealt with.

Instead, Ingo Bulked Up and stared up at the Magmortar. Emmet already used Hone Claws, and he was back-to-back with his brother. They pointed to Magmortar and tipped their hats at the same time, sufficiently annoying the larger pokemon.

“I’ll punch that damn smile off your face!” Magmortar reeled back his arm, as his hand engulfed in flames. His Flame Punch was aimed at Emmet, but Ingo stepped in front and took the hit straight in his stomach.

“Ingo!” Emmet watched his brother get sent flying from the punch, though he quickly got back up once his footing regained stability.

“Don’t try to be a hero, little Sneasel,” Magmortar said. He started preparing another Fire Punch when Ingo’s claws got drenched in poison and ran towards Magmortar. Both Fire Punch and Poison Jab landed on their respective targets, but Magmortar felt an uneasy queasiness afterwards. He got poisoned. How dare some lowlifes poison him.

Ingo wiped off cinders from his cheek. He looked around to see where Emmet was but could not find him. He worried that his brother was cornered until he felt rumbling under the ground.

Emmet leaped up from below the ground and barreled himself at Magmortar, knocking him down. As soon as Magmortar stood back up and realized what happened, Emmet was already gone again. He tried to look around and see where the Sneasel would pop up but was distracted by a rumbling above him, followed by several stalactites crashing down from the ceiling. Though most of the rocks missed, some managed to hit him. He saw Ingo using Rock Smash again to bring down more stalactites. Before Magmortar could Flamethrow him, Emmet leaped from the ground directly below him, making him fall.

Enraged, he sharply inhaled, and the fire inside his body burned hotter. Magmortar raised both arms for double Flamethrowers and swept the area, burning Ingo and grazing over Sneasler, who was fighting two Magmars at once.

Ingo’s breath grew heavy. He knew he was reaching his limit, and his opponent knew it, too. With a sick grin, Magmortar glowed and blasted psychic energy at Ingo. Ingo wouldn’t be able to dodge, so he braced for impact. The impact of a super-effective Psychic never came, as Emmet had popped out from the ground to neutralize the hit. Ingo indulged in a sigh of relief.

“We can finish this with one coordinated blow,” Ingo said to Emmet. “Are you ready?”

“Ready!” said Emmet.

“Full speed ahead, no brakes!” Ingo and Emmet shouted at the same time. Emmet prepared and shot out a Dark Pulse at Magmortar. Ingo ran ahead, claws drenched in toxins for one last Poison Jab. The Sneasels’ assessment that Magmortar was almost finished was correct, as he could not do much except wait for the attacks to hit. Between the poison and darkness incarnate, the fiery boss pokemon could take no more and fainted on contact.

Sneasler looked at the fruits of her battle, watching all six Magmars rest unconscious on the ground. She turned around to finally help fight Magmortar but found he was already defeated. She didn’t even hear any conversation or brainstorming of tactics from the two Sneasels during the battle, yet they moved as in-sync as any professional rescue team. The furrowed her brow in disbelief and confusion.

“We won. You were verrrry strong. We should battle again sometime,” Emmet said to the knocked out pokemon around him, readjusting his cap and putting on his white coat.

“Not today. This train has to depart,” Ingo said while grabbing Emmet by the coat collar and dragging him to Sneasler. “Thank you for today, Lady Sneasler. Had you not assisted me, Emmet and I may not have reunited.”

“You can thank me when we’re back at the guild. Speaking of which…” Sneasler took off her basket and placed it in front of her. "Get in the damn basket, weirdos. I can carry both of you; you two look exhausted.”

“It was a fun battle!” said Emmet.

“You were fighting for your life. How are you so casual about this?”

“Serious battles are the most fun ones.”

“Yes, but it’s time to go back to the station.” Ingo opened the top of the basket and climbed in. “All aboard!”

“…Dear Arceus, give me Strength,” Sneasler said under her breath.

***

It was nighttime, and Ingo and Emmet were inside Ingo’s Pearl Guild tent. Sneasler left them to take care of noble pokemon duties, and Emmet was allowed to stay the night, even though he had yet to join the guild officially. Ingo dawned his coat, matching Emmet once more. Emmet’s burn wounds healed, but his fur had rough patches from his injuries. Both of them stood in front of Ingo’s makeshift investigation board.

“You lost your memory?” Emmet asked.

“I believe so,” Ingo said. “I remember being a human, but beyond that, I don’t have much to go off. I say things I don’t fully know the meaning of, which is somewhat upsetting.”

“So we’re in the same car. I remember being a human. I remember that I needed to look for my brother. I have almost nothing else otherwise.”

The two stepped aside and looked into Ingo’s pot of water. The water surface stilled enough for the two to use it as a mirror.

“I think we used to share the same face,” Ingo said. “But not anymore. Bravo for recognizing me, Emmet!”

“I didn’t at first. The hats helped a lot. …I am so happy to see you, Ingo.” Emmet rubbed his eyes and found liquid on his claws. “I don’t remember how long it took, but I must have been searching for a long time.”

“I’m… I’m truly happy to see you, too.” Ingo gave Emmet a smile. “But I don’t think we can relax. We still don’t know why I was sent here – and why you’re here, too, for that matter. This is my only clue.” Ingo took off the white-and-gold bracelet and handed it to Emmet. “Do you have any ideas about this?”

Emmet rotated the bracelet around over and over. He even held it closer to his eyes, searching for symbols or writing that could indicate anything helpful. “…I got nothing. But I will help you, no matter what. I want to know who took you from me and hold them accountable.” He handed Ingo back the bracelet.

“That’s if someone sent me here on purpose. I just hope no one else has gone through what I did. But we can continue investigating in the morning! If not, we can rescue lost pokemon or capture outlaws.”

“That sounds like fun.”

“Oh, that reminds me. I need to talk to Irida and Chatot.”

***

The following morning, the members of the Pearl Guild gathered in neat lines at the assembly hall. Irida and Chatot stood at the very front, the latter holding a sheet of paper.

“Good day, everyone!” Irida said. “First, we have a new member we need to introduce. Would our new guild member and his teammate please come up to introduce themselves?”

From the small crowd, Ingo and Emmet went around and seemed to march to the front. Irida noticed they seemed to walk in sync.

“I am Emmet. I am Ingo’s brother. Follow the rules. Aim for victory!” Emmet made sure his smile was wide for his audience and saluted them.

“It’s good to meet you, Emmet,” Irida said, visibly taken aback. “Would you like to tell us what your team name is?”

“With pleasure!” Ingo said.

“We are…” Ingo and Emmet stood back-to-back. They both pointed to the rest of the Pearl Guild and pointed to the ground with their other hands. “Team Conductors!”

And thus, the twins were reunited.

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