There were a number of lessons to be learned from the past few weeks, but the most important, in Emmet’s opinion, was this:

Spoken Hisuian meant nothing but trouble.

It had been innocuous at first– more reflex than a conscious decision– but that had since changed. Whether it was a question someone was too embarrassed to ask openly or something deliberately kept between Ingo and Akari, it always signaled incoming [trouble/disaster]. The [damage] could be mitigated somewhat by judging his brother’s expression– and extrapolating the tone or subject of debate from there– but Emmet was well aware of how high that set the bar, and so, due to being the only one who could, made himself quick to intervene.

He had, perhaps, become complacent in how vibrant that particular flag was, because he thought nothing of it when Akari, somewhere off to the side, asked, “So… think you could take it?”

All it had warranted was a [sideways] glance and a roll of the eyes, because yes, they had a wealth of team members who could deal with the Beartic in short order. Was she just curious? Her knowledge of Unovan species was… spotty at best and completely wrong at worst, so it would make sense if she wasn’t familiar with its typing.

The brief hesitation was thoughtful more than [confused], and as soon as his twin decided, “Yes, I believe so,” Emmet tuned them out, confident that a rundown on its strengths and weaknesses would follow.

This confidence proved to be unfounded, as, within the next minute, Elesa frantically hissed his name, staring wide-eyed at something over his shoulder.

“Shouldn’t we be doing something about that?”

Brow furrowed, Emmet turned to follow her line of sight, spending only a few seconds lingering on the long, dark jacket in Akari’s hands and the confused-looking trainer who seemed to have agreed to a battle, only to be met without any immediate opponent. He was off and running before he realized it, cursing under his breath. Theoretically, it was a [leisure] match, without any of the dangers inherent to the ancient wilderness, but he still tossed Klinklang’s pokeball out as a safety measure, and, perhaps, to distract from what had nearly happened.

With his free hand, he seized the back of his brother’s collar and dragged him out of the regulation battling range. Part of him noted that no, this was not any more fun with their roles reversed, and the rest of him thanked his lucky stars that Ingo didn’t seem to be fighting against the hold. Swords knew there was very little to be done if he’d decided to dig his heels in.

“There’s no reason to be alarmed,” Said his Bouffalant-headed [?] of a twin, unruffled by the [harsh] handling, “It’s clearly tame; I wasn’t in any danger.”

Grin just shy of manic, Emmet released him at their end of the imagined arena and [hissed] a quiet, “Shut! Up!” before turning to offer Klinklang its [orders].

The battle itself was nothing worth remembering after the fact. At one point, Akari meandered over, offering Ingo his coat and a few incomprehensible words– and Emmet, on instinct, shot the both of them a sharp look. The hesitation was enough for Beartic to eke in a Brine it otherwise wouldn’t have, but the damage it had inflicted prior wasn’t enough to turn the round’s tide, and the next Gear Grind sent it down for the count.

[…]

Akari blinked and, baffled, gestured vaguely in Ingo’s direction, “Are we talking about the same person? ‘Cause I watched him choke out an Alpha Steelix, once. Learned a lot that day… mostly how to get a Steelix in a headlock.”

[…]

“Do not force my hand.” Pointedly, he took Ingo by both wrists, holding firmly, but not enough to cause discomfort, “I will not hesitate to add you to the list of banned combatants.”

[response]

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Akari leaning into Elesa’s space to ask, “He’s talking about the list of Pokemon that aren’t allowed on the subway, right?”

Elesa inclined her head.

“It’s kind of hypocritical then, isn’t it? Emmet’s the one who wanted to punch Arceus.”

“That was under Exeggu-ating circumstances.”

…how had the world come to this? Ingo was supposed to be the voice of reason, and now here he was, trying to pick a fight with a Pokemon that towered over him. While infinitely grateful to have his twin back, Emmet, truthfully, wasn’t suited to wrangling an amnesiac and two instigators.

[Exasperated], he gave a heavy sigh and plonked his head down to rest on Ingo’s shoulder. One of the hands he was still holding by the wrist reached awkwardly to give his a pat.

“Jackie has a Golurk.” He finally said, without bothering to raise his head, “It is the largest Pokemon native to the region. If I arrange [a match], will Akari stop challenging you to fight random Pokemon?”

There was a beat of silence followed by a sheepish, “I don’t believe so, no.”

“Would it stop you from accepting her challenges?”

There was a longer, more suspicious silence.

Defeated, Emmet groaned into the dark fabric, “I concede. Clearly I cannot [stop] this. Banning a practice simply means it will go on unchecked. The best way to ensure safety is to allow a practice with restrictions in place. We will negotiate later.”