Chapter Text
Ingo knew that something was wrong the moment he opened his eyes. His blurry vision cleared near instantly with a few blinks, and the mess of colors next to him clued him to the wrongness quite abruptly.
Mostly because the first thing that he saw was not a familiar teenager sprawled out on the ground next to him - what he was expecting to be there - but a seemingly unfamiliar child sprawled out on the ground next to him.
A small child, on top of that. Most certainly not in the double digits. He doubted the girl was any older than 6 or 7… Maybe. He was never good at guessing children’s ages, so he might be wrong; but they were certainly way too small to be the teenager he had just been standing side-by-side with before the god of all Pokemon.
As awareness started hitting him in stages,he also realized that he felt … different. Not in a bad way, just… weird , and not just in his head
He sat up fully, and placed a hand on his chest, feeling the Pearl Clan insignia stitched into the clothes, and the edge of his braid. He looked down at his hand, and it didn’t seem different - still littered with small scars and that one big one that went from his thumb to his wrist (an incident with Lady Sneasler’s eldest kit).
If he was still dressed as he was before, and still had all of his scars, why did he feel so odd?
The child next to him started to stir, letting out a groan as they sat up and rubbing at her face with a small hand clenched in a fist, the kid grumbling as they started to become aware of their surroundings.
He turned his head to look back out at the forest around them, his memories coming back to him in bits and pieces. He was starting to remember where they were, and what he had been doing. Who he had been with.They were headed home. And he had been with -
Akari, he was supposed to be with Akari . And Akari was a teenager - quite proudly 15 years old.
If that was the case, then who was this child?
The mystery girl sat up herself fully, rubbing at her face still, as if trying to get rid of her tiredness with physical action. She saw him out of the corner of her eye, turning to look at him, eyes wide open - surprise and confusion quite evident.
Those eyes - the silvery gray color of them - gave her away, and Ingo suddenly had the sinking feeling he knew exactly who this child was, and what might have occurred, as ridiculous and far-fetched as it seemed.
“... Ingo?” The little girl spoke up, suddenly freezing in place at the sound of her own voice - eyes showing her shock. She seemed to have just noticed what was going on as well, a hand going over her neck
Oh.
Oh no.
What did Arceus do ?
The small girl stood up on her little legs - wearing what seemed to be a miniature version of her galaxy team uniform, and her handkerchief was perhaps a bit too big on her head. She looked down at herself, then her hands, which went to her head, squishing her own cheeks., before letting go and letting the arms fall to her sides.
She looked at him, then down at her little hands, then back at him with such intense bewilderment, it would be funny if he was not feeling the same emotion, and possibly sharing the same expression in his eyes.
“... Y’are Ingo, right?” Her little voice was familiar, despite the higher tone.
“... Only if you are Akari” He responded, and got a confirming nod from the child. He was at least happy that the child was who he thought it was. “... We seem to have been transferred to the wrong track… and the wrong cars, as well.” He pointed out
“No kiddin” She huffed, little fists at her sides. “I’m small! An- an’ you look… kinda different?” she pat her own face, as if trying to point out his own face “Ya don’t got wrinkles. Younger?”
That would make sense. “Well… judging by your size, we are about.. 10 years off?” He reasoned, starting to stand, feeling a very distinct lack of back pain as he straightened himself out. He stretched his arms up, and flexed his hands. No pain in his shoulders, either
He still felt strong, so he didn’t lose his muscle at least.
Which was… Good. He had a feeling he was going to need it. He took a moment to look at his hands again. They were still scarred from Hisui, but they did not ache from weathered use and whittling in his spare time. He was himself, but not himself. Such an odd sensation. Why would his body be younger, but he was still worn and scarred by the passage of time?
“Hm… seems like I am back in my mid twenties. If we truly are 10 years off” He reasoned, and saw Akari grab the kerchief that was falling out of her hair before she looked back up at him.
Akari seemed to be doing the math in her head, and then gasped in shock. “Wait- you were only in y’r thirties??”
“I was 35, yes” he clarified. “I am reasonably certain, anyway.”
She didn’t seem to believe him, but looked past and around him, seeing something off in the distance “Where are we?” She questioned “We gotta get to Arceus! Or Dialga! I don’t wanna be this small again! It sucks ! I hate being tiny!!”
Ingo turned around - following her eyes - to see a cityscape in the near distance, recognizing a particular skyscraper. “It… I know that building…” He pointed “That is Nimbasa. We are outside of Nimbasa City - we are in Unova…. My home.”
“At least we’re in the right region” Akari grumbled, arms as crossed as they could be to match her expression. “Right place, wrong time, what rotten luck!”
He huffed, agreeing with the frustration of their bizarre situation “Perhaps we will be able to orient and think about our next step better after some food and rest in the city” he recommended “We are both safe for now, but even in the future, we will need shelter.
“Mmh” The child grumbled a bit, still clearly not satisfied with their current plight “I guess so…”
“We will be able to see if we were displaced in time, or if something occurred when we traveled” he reasoned “For all we know, this is the correct time, but we are the ones changed”
Akari tilted her head at that “I guess that makes sense - that would suck though!”
Ingo managed not to let out any sort of laugh at her petulant pout. “Are you oriented enough? Any maintenance required?” he asked, adjusting his coat - which was still in tough shape“My clothing is still quite comfortable, and it seems that Arceus was… courteous with your clothing”
“I’s mini” She pointed out, pulling at her tiny uniform.
“It is, yes” Ingo nodded
The child let out a frustrated groan yet again, lolling her head back. “ Agggghhhhhhhh - Le’s go already. The sooner i’m bigger the better!!”
As Ingo straightened out his hat, he realized that he seemed to know where they were, the longer he looked around. That was good - very good. It meant that his memory was returning to him, and in this situation, that could only be a good thing.
“There is a train station just a short walk from here.” he recalled, pointing through the wood with his left hand “We must return to the proper track for safety…” his voice trailed off for a moment, hands falling to his belt - his Pokemon, he still had them. Thank the dragons. “Miss Akari, do you still have your Pokemon?”
She suddenly reached for her little belt bag, and felt her pokeballs, quietly counting them out loud “- Six! Y-yes! Yes! All of ‘em!” She nodded in relief, even now, she noticed how heavy the bag was on her little frame.
“Good.” Ingo nodded, looking ahead yet again at the forest, then back to her “We shall get on our way then, yes? I know what direction to go”
Akari nodded, coming closer to him and craning her head to look up at his face, which seemed to be more difficult for her, as he was now even taller than before since he was no longer slouching “Ugh, too tall”
“I am still an adult, and I reached my full height around this time” he recalled “You are now… younger. Smaller”
Akari pouted up at him with her arms crossed.
Oh, that was cute. He couldn’t take that face seriously
“Are you prepared for our walk? All maintenance checks done? It will not be a long walk, but I want to be sure that we are fully functional for the upcoming tracks” Ingo asked.
She thought for a moment, and then looked at the kerchief in her hand that she’d pulled out of her hair. “i’s too big f’r my head” she lamented “but I don’ think i got any room anywhere t’put it”
“Hm..” Ingo knelt down onto one knee, still taller than here, but making her not have to crane her neck so hard. “Let me see”
She offered the white kerchief, and he took it in his hands, unfolding and refolding it, clearly having an idea right as she handed it over to him.
“Might I?” he offered the wrapped fabric, and she nodded, allowing him to wrap the kerchief around her head like a headband, tying it simply but firmly, and brushing out her hair for a moment before standing back up.
“There. All set and ready?”
She nodded, giving him a pleased, toothy grin. “All systems oberational!”
Oh, dragons above as if she wasn’t adorable enough as a teenager. Now she was painfully cute. He felt the need to grasp at the area over his heart, but collected himself as quickly as possible.
He cleared his throat, pointing towards the city “All Aboard! Next Stop! Nimbasa City!!”
Akari was having to speed walk just to keep up with his rather slow gait though the sparse woods
The curse of being tall, Ingo had to surmise, and he was trying to keep his steps smaller, too.
“Ugh, ya got too long’a’legs!” Akari complained with a whine
“Longalegs?” he looked at her with a tilted head at her mispronunciation “I am just tall”
“Too tall!” She stomped her little foot
“I would argue that you are too short,” he responded.
“I’m jus’ little!” She argued
“And I am just tall” he retorted
Akari just groaned, and she heard an amused snort from the adult.
“Can you keep up with me, do you need any help?” He asked.
“I can walk!”
“That is not what I asked”
Instead of answering him, she decided to rush ahead of him a few paces, and put her hands on her hips as she stood before him “I’m fine!”
He wasn’t sure if his expression came off as unimpressed. But he hoped not. He was trying to keep her occupied during their walk, after all, not to offend her. “Whatever you say, Miss Akari”
She pouted at him yet again - saying nothing - and they continued on their walk with Akari practically taking up a light jog to keep up with him.
Ingo let himself take in their situation now that he felt more in control of it, allowing the analytical part of his mind to take over for a second as he took inventory.
They had asked Arceus for the favor of being returned to their home. Akari specifically requested to be taken to Unova for Ingo’s sake, as he’d only just recalled his home region, and it seemed wise to assist with the return of his memories. However, it was fairly obvious now that there was some confusion on the return date and time.
Quite a lot, to be humorously frank.
He felt very similar to his older self - a decade was a long time, but the age of your body is often a more personal feeling - more internal than external. Once you’re in your mid twenties, feeling old is just that… feeling
And internally, he did certainly feel different.
Could one truly feel younger? He certainly did. Even if he had the same hair and scars (if he had the ones on his hands, he assumed that the one on his face and torso were also still there). He also didn’t seem to have any more back pain - he’d consider that an unequivocal win.
But he wasn’t really the one having a hell of a time, so to speak.
The five year old having to run to keep ahead of him was his primary concern at the moment.
He assumed that she was five years old. That age seemed to make the most sense. He was a decade younger, and so was she, and she had recently turned 15 before they’d left Hisui.
His thoughts once again lingered on himself for a moment. He felt weird enough only being 25 after being 35. The difference between his age and hers was … disorienting. He could only imagine how she felt. He was somewhat relieved that he was keeping her occupied with a dialog.
She was
also
keeping herself busy by running to keep up with his rather relaxed stride. Did he really have such big steps?
They reached the station with no issue after about an hour of walking. And with no people waiting there - something he was a bit thankful for. He sat himself on the bench, and checked the time on a nearby analog clock. This train was very reliable, and always had been since he was a child, so he recalled. Every hour on the hour, if his spotty memory served correctly. They had 10 minutes left.
“Come sit, Miss Akari. The train will be here soon” He pat the bench with one hand
She tilted her head at him just a tad “You know that?”
He nodded “I do. I remember the schedule”
She seemed surprised at this, and climbed up onto the bench using her hands and legs. He should have assisted her, but her quick movements caught him off guard.
“What else! What else do you ‘member?? Rememberin’s great!” She sat on her knees, bouncing excitedly next to him
“Well, I remember that, at this time, my brother and I were working on the Battle subway as depot agents-”
“YOU GOT A BROTHER?!” She interrupted with wide eyes
“I believe I have always had one. The man in white. He is my twin”
“A TWIN??” She bounced on her knees with a squeal
“Akari, please, refrain from shouting.” Ingo admonished lightly
“But you’re always shouting!” She argued
“That is just my natural voice”
“No way”
“Yes way!” He acted offended, though there was a certain playfulness in his eyes.
Their banter made the ten minutes fly by, and they boarded the train (Which was free, as is all public transit in Unova) with no issue, finding a two-seat aisle, Ingo giving Akari the window seat - which she took with a certain excitement
Her wide eyes stared out the window with sheer wonder as the scenery passed her by in the windows “Whoa.. Unova’s pretty!”
“I do think that the woods of Unova have a particular beauty to them. You would quite like Anville Town” Ingo commented
“Anville Town?”
“That is where I am from”
“You remember where you’re from?! Tha’s so great” Akari gave him such a wonderful expression.
“I have been remembering quite a lot since our arrival, despite our uh, rather dramatic misplacement.” he admitted with a slight shrug.
Akari - seemingly without even thinking - pulled herself over and into his lap “Tell me more! Tell me more about your twin! I wanna know!” she practically begged, vibrating with excitement
Ingo pushed down his mild alarm at her actions, and took a quick breath. It was quite a ride until they got to Nimbasa City - the skyscrapers truly made it look closer than it actually was.
Some storytelling wouldn’t hurt to pass the time.
And so he just started with Anville town, and with Emmet - oh, he was so relieved that he could talk about Emmet.
His chest ached as he spoke, but talking about his twin brother made him excited to eventually see him again. They would be returned to their correct time and ages soon enough - and talking about Emmet only made the memories return more and more fresh in his mind.
Eventually, Akari started to look as if she was getting too tired to pay attention - she had been running to keep up with him, and then had bounced around as if he’d given her a bag of macarons while they were at the train station, even when sitting.
Ingo paused in his story-telling.“... I can finish this story later, Akari. Perhaps some downtime is in order to maintain your car”
She giggled tiredly “Train stuff”
“I do use many train metaphors, yes. I am quite happy to know what I am referencing now” Ingo responded.
She just giggled more, and leaned her head against the insignia on his chest with a relaxed sigh “hmm”
It seems like for the next twenty minutes, he was to be a child’s napping spot. She fell asleep almost immediately after shutting her eyes and left Ingo trapped in his seat.
Well, he wasn’t about to wake her up
He turned his head, looking out the window as the forest turned to suburbs, and suburbs turned to city over the course of their train ride. They were nearly there. The Pokemon center and pokemart were on the same street, and were just 2 minutes from the train station. He remembered that quite vividly.
He realized that he was remembering things as they became relevant to his current situation, which was… convenient.
He’d take what he could get for now. They had to get to a Pokemon center, eat something, take a shower, perhaps try to get some contemporary clothes for the sake of blending in easier.
They needed to firmly come up with a solid plan of action - to return to their actual place of origin.
Akari shifted slightly, letting out a tiny little snore.
One of his arms went around to keep her from getting jostled or falling as the train gently shook on the rails.
Things were peaceful and safe. They might be in an odd predicament - the wrong bodies in the wrong time, but they were safe, and nothing was actively a threat.
He’d appreciate it while it lasted.