Chapter Text
It has been quite the interesting year for the region of Unova.
The fringe Pokémon activist group Team Plasma started to ramp up their efforts from what could be considered peaceful protesting and campaigning, to outright attacks on innocent civilians and battle facilities like gyms. Cases of Pokémon kidnapping were on the rise and rumored to be because of Team Plasma. Their ideals were starting to blur the more the attacks went on, some members went onto the news to state their goal of freeing Pokémon from the cruelty of battling and Pokeballs. When asked why they are carrying this out by attacking Pokémon trainers and taking Pokémon instead of setting them free. The member being interviewed blanked and then hand waved it aside, stating that the extremeness of their methods was ultimately for the greater good.
Some of the members of Team Plasma obviously disagreed with kidnapping Pokémon though. An anonymous member usually called into the Subway and other gyms to tip them off to any kind of attack.
Her voice on the payphones she would use sounded young, young enough to be first starting out on a Pokémon journey. It tore at Ingo to have to hear such concerning information from a child, he tried to ask her how she became involved with Team Plasma and that she wouldn’t get in trouble if she talked to the authorities about it. She paused, told him she was sorry and then hung up.
Ingo didn’t sleep well that night…
Emmet had managed to reign in any Plasma protests before they turned confrontational. The members often held protests outside Gear Station but since they technically weren’t in the station, he couldn’t do much more than post a few members of his security staff at the door. Less people rode his battle trains and when they did, they weren’t having as much fun as he would like them to. When he asked them why they were upset, his challengers told him about how Plasma members would berate them for abusing their Pokémon. Some of the younger challengers asked him if Team Plasma was right.
He immediately told them that it wasn’t if their Pokémon want to battle and travel with them. If he saw any actual signs of that, he would report it. He’s banned and reported trainers for it before.
Emmet found himself having far less fun on his battle trains now…
As the days went on and Team Plasma started to splinter into two different factions, calls to warn Gear Station started coming in less and less. Ingo had hoped the girl kind enough to alert them to the threats simply disavowed the Team and left it behind her. As thankful as he and Emmet were, she shouldn’t have to be the one to call in week after week.
One day, Team Plasma decided to become a little braver.
The day so far had been far too uneventful for either boss, they mostly waited for challengers on their trains, but since less people rode their battle trains due to Team Plasma. They were often left to their own thoughts and devices in an empty car. Ingo had taken the extra time to run admin work remotely while Emmet reviewed past battle footage from the year prior. It was their last ride of the Super Multiline for the day, both twins ruminated on the idea of maybe closing down the super lines. They barely had any challengers on their normal lines, and the super ones saw a few trainers that never make it to their battle cars.
“Maybe we can just battle each other while waiting for challengers? It would be way less borrring than just waiting here.” Emmet asked.
“If we go all out here then we will not have any healing items for our Pokémon left for when a set of challengers arrive.” Ingo glanced away from his laptop. “That is if any challengers ever arrive again.” He quietly added.
“Don’t think like that. I’m sure we’ll have more challengers to fight whenever the Team Plasma stuff dies down…” Emmet tried to reassure him, but he didn’t sound convincing.
Ingo watched the tunnel walls pass by them and closed his laptop to set it aside. “I think I’m going to buy a soda from the vending machine when the stop comes up, do you want anything?” he asked.
“Lemonade, please.” Emmet said, not looking up from his battle footage.
“Noted.” Ingo acknowledged.
The train had reached its final stop for the night before returning to Gear Station, Ingo stood up and waited by the doors as the train slowed to a halt. The doors to their battle car swished open and Ingo was met with a rough shove to the floor by a Plasma member. A group of five of them forced themselves into the battle car. Emmet stood up but was rushed by three people trying to reach for his Pokeballs.
“Get away from me!” Ingo shouted from the floor, he managed to wedge his leg between himself and his attacker.
“Let go!” Emmet said and tried to wrench his arms away from the grunts holding onto him.
A ball on Emmet’s belt and on Ingo’s belt shook and popped open to release Eelektross and Chandelure. They cried out and flared their claws and flames. The Plasma members were driven to the other side of the battle car as the doors swished shut again and the train took off to Gear Station. Chandelure and Eelektross angrily kept their attackers from getting any closer. Ingo stood up from the floor to shakily brush his hands against his coat. Emmet already had his X-Trans out and was calling the police.
“I am Emmet, Ingo and I have just been attacked on our Super Multitrain by Team Plasma members.” Emmet began to say, the Plasma members started shouting from across the car trying to drown him out.
“Using Pokémon to intimidate us won’t work ‘Bosses’! You’d be nothing without them!” One of them cried out. Another one tried to get closer but Chandelure spun her arms to drive him back, her flames were orange and burning hot. “We will free those Pokémon from your cruelty! Making them fight like you have for so long is just evil!”
Emmet shielded his X-Trans and kept talking. “We will be arriving to the station in 15 minutes, we will be stopping in the Super Multiline terminal. Our Pokémon have them cornered against the wall. I don’t know if they have any Pokémon on them or not. I am not injured.” He reported, he glanced over to see Ingo staring at the grunts ahead of him in shock. Emmet waved a hand in his vision and he turned to acknowledge him.
“The police are asking if you’re injured, are you?” Emmet asked him, Ingo shook his head.
“I may have a bruise or two from falling, but that’s all.” He said and flinched back when more vitriol was thrown at them.
“You hurt your Pokémon each time you throw them into battle!” Another Plasma member sneered at him, Ingo quieted himself and looked to the floor in heavy thought. Chandelure’s flames climbed higher and Eelektross slammed his palms on the floor to pulse a Thunderwave at the Plasma members to shut them up.
When the Pokémon turned around to check on their trainers, Emmet gave Eelektross a disapproving look. Eelektross lidded his eyes and huffed, crossing his arms back at his trainer. Chandelure stared at Ingo with concern in her eyes, she zipped over to hover by his side while Eelektross turned back around to glare at the Plasma members.
Emmet walked forward until he was standing beside his partner.
“Is there any more of you in Gear Station right now?” he asked, the Plasma members didn’t look at him or answer.
“I am Emmet, I am being nicer to you than you were to me and Ingo. If I have to waste my security staff’s time searching the station for more of you, I will not be happy.” He said, Eelekross threw off a few sparks from his hands.
One of the members finally moved to glare up at him. “It’s just us.” he said curtly.
Emmet nodded and walked away from them, he typed a message out on his X-Trans to send to all employees at Gear Station to be on the lookout for anyone in a Plasma uniform. He received a couple of quick messages back in confirmation and turned off the screen to stand beside his brother.
The train was nearing its final stop, Ingo finally spoke up again. “I will be heading to our office when we reach the station.” He said in a quiet voice. Usually that was code for “I’m going to have a breakdown if I have to talk to anyone else right now.”, Emmet nodded in understanding.
“Okay, you can go take a break. I will talk to the police when we get back.” Emmet told him, Chandelure leaned herself against the side of her trainer’s head.
The train stopped at Gear Station, the doors opened to three police officers that walked into the car to detain the Plasma members. One of them stopped to talk to Emmet while Ingo hid his eyes and stepped out of the car. Chandelure and Eelektross kept close to him as he made his way to their office. He let himself and the Pokémon in, closing the door and locking it behind him. He dropped himself onto their office couch and stared at the floor. Chandelure laid herself on his back and shoulders and sadly chimed out to him.
The door unlocked and opened ten minutes later. Ingo didn’t look up when his brother sat next to him. Eelektross sighed and laid his head on Emmet’s lap, Emmet ran a hand along his head fin. Chandelure’s fires crackled with barely contained anger. Ingo glanced up when his brother hadn’t said a word for five minutes. Emmet’s angry expression really said all it needed to.
“Are you okay?” Emmet asked, the flat tone of his voice heavily mismatched the emotions on his face.
“Not really…Their words were genuinely disturbing and hostile. I’m trying to understand why someone would say that to anyone.” Ingo quietly said.
“You don’t believe the things they said, do you?” Emmet asked, Ingo remained silent and turned his eyes back to the floor.
“Ingo, they are wrong, we aren’t abusing our Pokémon.” Emmet asserted, Eelektross reached a palm over to pat Ingo’s leg.
Ingo’s face twisted slightly in guilt, Emmet looked to Chandelure for help.
“Chandelure tell him.” he said, Chandelure floated from Ingo’s back to nuzzle his face.
“Don’t worry Go-Go, I’ll burn their spirits up if they ever yell at you again!” She swayed and her purple fires danced in the dark office. Ingo’s eyes widened and he turned to give her a scolding look.
Emmet sighed and put a hand to his forehead. “No not that, Chandelure. Tell Ingo that all of you want to battle alongside us. Don’t you?” he asked, Eelektross huffed a few breaths in a laugh and patted Ingo’s leg again.
“Go-Go, we love battling with you and Em-Em! Don’t listen to those mean people!” Chandelure chimed, her fires shifted to a pinker hue, Ingo reached a hand up to pet her glass but he still looked conflicted.
“But that’s not true for all of you, my Klinklang is afraid whenever I send it into battle. Haven’t I done it wrong by making it battle when it’s so anxious to do so?” he asked, his shoulders tiredly dropped.
Emmet figured that was the crux of Ingo’s problem. Ingo’s Klinklang, like a majority of Emmet’s bred Joltiks, didn’t prefer battling most of the time. Ingo’s Klinklang often ran away from the field to hide behind its trainer whenever an attack was headed for it. This has resulted in a few hospital visits since the attacks would end up accidentally hitting Ingo instead. Ingo then decided to bench his Klinklang except on very special occasions, namely when it was in a double battle with its sibling Klinklang.
“No, your Klinklang only likes battling in doubles sets with my Klinklang. It still joins the battle when it wants to and leaves when it doesn’t. How are you abusing it if it has the choice to battle or not?” Emmet challenged, Ingo kept petting Chandelure.
“But I-” He tried to say but Emmet cut him off.
“Our Pokémon are verrrry strong Ingo, strong enough to refuse to battle if they want to. Klinklang is not scared of you. Klinklang loves you. Chandelure would’ve told you if it was actually upset with you.” Emmet looked really upset that he had to even say that, Chandelure nodded at her trainer.
“I suppose that you’re correct…” he relented, Chandelure smiled and drifted down to sit in his lap.
“I am Emmet, I am corrrect.” he stated, he kept glaring at nothing while petting Eelektross.
“Emmet, are you feeling alright?” Ingo asked.
“I’m verrry mad. I’ve let Team Plasma get away with these stunts for too long. If they are getting brave enough to board our battle car, then they’re brave enough to start attacking and stealing Pokémon from our passengers too. I’ve assigned more security staff to each running train, anyone dressed in a Plasma uniform is going to receive an automatic temporary ban from the battle trains.” he ground out, his foot began absently tapping on the hard floor.
“That very well could spur on their slander campaign against us if we target their members specifically. I’m not certain the public will agree with this course of action either.” Ingo told him after a minute of thinking about it.
“And I will gladly explain why Team Plasma is banned to anyone that wants to ask. It’s a crime to steal Pokémon from their trainers. They don’t get to call other people cruel when they are acting this way.” Emmet said, Eelektross lifted himself up to wrap his arms around his trainer’s shoulders.
Ingo nodded and leaned back to rest against the back of the couch, Chandelure’s flames grew a little warmer.
“The police want to talk to you too, I told them to come here after an hour.” Emmet said to the room and looked at the clock on the wall. “They’ll be here in 20 minutes.”
Ingo nodded and stood up, “I think I will try go get drinks before I have to talk to them.” Chandelure followed him out the door.
“Drive safely Ingo.” Emmet called after him, “I will!” Ingo shouted in return, Emmet smiled and relaxed on the couch.
Ingo came back with a soda, a lemonade and a pair of officers trailing behind him. He answered the questions the police had for him while Emmet went down to the security control room to send the footage from their battle recorder camera to the main investigator.
The rest of their shift was uneventful, but Emmet had a strange feeling that this wouldn’t be the end of Team Plasma for now.