At the time, it had made sense; most Pokemon in Hisui were more combative than their modern counterparts by several orders, so of course that also extended to the leaders of the pack. It would hardly come as a surprise to learn that the alphas were the only ones remembered for being so destructive due to their other outlying traits.

 

But apparently not. Even if a standard issue Hisuian Onix was far more forceful than its modern day cousins, it had nothing on an alpha Steelix.

 

Emmet had just learned that fact the hard way.

 

In his defense, he hadn’t had any intention of engaging with it-- he’d just miscalculated how far its territory stretched, and the Steelix had taken that personally. He’d tried backing off, but that clearly wasn’t enough of an apology.

 

There was a shout from the next cliff up and yes, thank you Ingo, he was well aware of the issue. It would be fine-- he wasn’t some random person wandering the Highlands without any battle experience. This was just a rather… complicated match up, that was all.

 

Unfortunately, none of his Pokemon were terribly well suited to the typing; Eelektross could weather the Steelix’s attacks, but none of his own moves would have any effect on it. Chandelure and Excadrill had an offensive edge, but shared a key vulnerability to ground type moves. Sending either of them out would be a risk, but all well-earned victories had an element of uncertainty.

 

He was backing off, about to pluck Excadrill’s pokeball from his belt, when something rammed into him from the side. Emmet was reasonably certain it wasn’t the Steelix, considering it a) was not composed of rock, b) seemed to possess limbs and c) had impacted him while he had eyes on said alpha Steelix. It took another few seconds to figure out what it was, however, by which point he’d been thrown over a shoulder while his twin bid a hasty retreat down the nearby embankment, their combined fall only slightly uncontrolled.

 

A pair of Hippopotas scuttled away as Ingo slid to a halt the next level down, punctuated by an exasperated, “Honestly, Emmet.”

 

“I had the encounter well in hand.” He automatically defended himself.

 

The silence stretched for a moment while Ingo regained his breath. Emmet couldn’t exactly blame him; it had been a short commute, but managing the fall down two cliff faces-- one with a passenger-- without losing speed couldn’t have been easy. At first, he thought it had just been adrenaline that made it possible, but when his brother began walking away from their landing spot without a follow up, he began to doubt that.

 

“You’re not going to set me down?”

 

He could feel the scoff before Ingo even made a sound, “A wonderful idea! I should allow you to disembark and harass the alpha Bronzong posthaste.”

 

“It was not on purpose!”

 

There was a hum, “Even worse.”

 

Emmet went limp, mostly as an act of protest, but also to see how it might help his situation. Without so much as altering his stride, Ingo adjusted his grip and settled his twin more firmly.

 

“How are you doing that.” Emmet eventually asked, once it became clear his ploy was doomed to failure.

 

“It’s quite intuitive. You see, I watch you do something senseless, and the words come naturally.” Ingo said, deadpan, “Impressive, when you think about it; I’d never felt the need to scold anyone prior to your arrival here.”

 

It was a pity he hadn’t lost that particular talent in all of this mess. In a way, it was flattering that the urge to lecture specifically Emmet had survived alongside his brother’s battling prowess and speech patterns; mostly, though, it was as annoying as it ever had been.

 

He braced his hands against his twin’s back, trying find enough leverage to force himself free, “That is not what I meant. How are you still carrying me so easily?”

 

Finally, Ingo paused in his path toward the campsite, “You’re… not that heavy.”

 

“I am certainly not light!”

 

He hummed again, and made to pick up the pace, “I’ve carried worse cargo.”

 

“That is verrrry impolite. We are having a discussion. Stop and set me down.”

 

“There’s very little to discuss when the facts are so easy to observe.” Ingo argued, but did as he’d been asked.

 

Emmet gave an indignant huff and righted himself, eyeing his brother in speculation. “I will prove it. You cannot weigh any more than me.”

 

“That isn’t precisely...” There was a pause, and Ingo turned his palms up, caving, “If you must. Just exercise caution, if you would.”

 

It took a moment for Emmet to work out a feasible angle of approach, lacking any reason to barrel into his twin in a panic; it wasn’t nearly as easy as Ingo had made it look, but with some effort, he managed to lift his brother the way he’d been carried prior.

 

“Careful,” He heard over his shoulder, “You’ll hurt your back.”

 

“Speaking from experience?” He eked out, unable to let the comment slide.

 

He was answered by an indistinct noise, and begrudgingly set him down. His back did, in fact, complain at him.

 

“This will not stand.” He announced, folding his arms over his chest.

 

Before he could go on, it was followed by, “I would appreciate it if you’d make up your mind,” as, eyes smiling, Ingo made to grab him again. He squawked and jumped back.

 

“Nope! No. Ingo.” Tragically, Emmet was unable to escape-- but, instead of picking him up, his twin settled for casting an arm around his shoulders.

 

“Fine. Enjoy it while you can. I intend to fix this disparity at the earliest convenience.”