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Well...yes. I just never liked the idea of having left anyone behind, either! But there were no truly good options.

[No matter which was true, it meant that someone was alone where they shouldn't have been. Ingo often tried to convince himself that he'd rather it were him, but alone at night on the mountain, it grows difficult to be quite that selfless.

Though...when Ingo pauses for a second this time, what he's really thinking about is Gladion. Who has made his home with them, and not with his mother. Does Lusamine know that? What might she do if she ever finds out? She already knew Gladion was around, but she didn't breathe a word of it when Ingo met her. He can't imagine knowing a family member was in Ryslig and not dropping everything to find them. But that only makes him more resolute in his decision not to say a word to her about any of it. He and Emmet are looking out for Gladion now.]

I remember a woman laughing at us, after we won that battle and you tackled me. Not in an unkind way! Looking back, she must have been amused by our youthful antics!

[In the moment, Ingo's pretty sure he was embarrassed, if only briefly amid the joy of victory. But he's got a different perspective looking back now. He thinks he would probably get bored if his job were only teaching, but he has enjoyed seeing the people of Hisui build their battling skills!]

She was proud of us too, I bet! We learned a lot and we got our Basic Badge. Our first step as professionals!

There must be a great many professional battlers, if there are so many gyms!

[Of course he'd known professional battlers were a thing! That was their job! Or half of it, at least! But the potential scale of it is hitting him now. Anything beyond a handful seems like a lot to him!]

It must have been an important moment to me!

It was important to me. [Emmet grabs Ms. Noodles and sets it down between the two of them.] There are. But it is tough to do, yup. You really need to have a bond with your Pokemon.

Then I am glad to have remembered it! Though I would like to know more about how the battle went.

[Objectively, it probably wasn't that interesting by his current standards, but it must have been exciting indeed to his child self! He's intrigued by the entire notion of double battles anyway; it's something he's done once or twice in Hisui, but rarely.

Ingo picks up Ms. Noodles to study her idly. It isn't the first time he's seen her, but they haven't really spoken about it.]

What manner of Pokemon is this?

It is a Joltik. I breed them. Wanted to get cross-poison on a Galvantula.

They do best in groups because they are one of the smallest Pokemon.

Ah, breeding! That's quite rarely done in Hisui!

[Really, he can't say it's done at all, though Ingo at least has always had the possibility floating around in the back of his mind.]

Breeding Pokemon is fun. You can make sure they get good natures and everything when you are the one making sure they are the best they can be. Strong, full of energy, healthy, nice and fluffy. Also Egg Moves and good IVs.

[Because look at Joltiks, you know they are fuzzy feeling.]

I have thought about it. I believe I knew how to go about it, even if I did not remember the practice itself - but I was already keeping very busy! And I suspect the Galaxy Team would not appreciate it.

[Probably very few people would, if Ingo just started wildly increasing the population of any given Pokemon!]

They can deal, yup. And what kind were you thinking about breeding?

I do not believe I ever came that far in my planning. [...] Perhaps Sneasel. I know all of the strongest Sneasel in the area, and in theory that could be within my Warden's duties. Especially now that the Johtonian Sneasel population is increasing.

[Obviously Lady Sneasler would not be involved, but protecting her bloodline generally is also, theoretically, his responsibility! Also, creating a large wild population of incredibly powerful Hisuian Sneasel just appeals.]

Are they coming from the time distortions or just traveling up north? [a beat.]

I would like to see a Hisuian Sneasel.

Perhaps both. But the individuals I know certainly came from distortions.

[Akari caught one there! Though he could see them traveling north as well - they're ice-types, and Hisui's climate is hospitable to those.]

Their fur is similar to this. [He holds up one of his recently-furry hands.] Though they have purple markings on their shoulders and neck that I do not. And a Sneasel would not have yet grown such claws.

I am now imagining a purple Sneasel. Can they also evolve into Weavile?

No, only Sneasler. A Razor Claw is still needed, but they will not evolve at night!

[Being naturally interested in Sneasel, he's already learned plenty about the Johtonian ones! They're still rather rare in Hisui, but being friends with Akari has its benefits.]

They won't? [Emmet leans forward.] I wonder if there is a way to breed them to make a Johotian Sneasler now. [Emmet thinks Sneasler would look cool in black and red, or pink and yellow after all!]

They are clearly closely related.

[So it seems as though it should be possible? Ingo doesn't quite know how you would go about it, but a dark/ice Sneasler is an interesting notion. Possibly slightly heretical, but no one said it had to become the sitting Noble!]

We should figure it out. [Emmet is now going to think on this, although he has never encountered a Hisuian Sneasel before, it should be possible right? Maybe a few generations of cross-breeding would work...?]

It might bait some psychic-type attacks. Like having a Zoroark disguise itself as something weak to fighting moves.

[A Sneasler that was unaffected by psychic attacks would certainly confuse an opponent! At least at first, but that moment is often all you would need to gain an advantage!]

But Zoroarks are weak to fighting already. Why would it need to disguise? [Emmet said, thinking of non-Hisuian Zoroarks.]

You have non-ghost Zoroark?

[Now that is a weird one!]

Yupyup. They are Dark Types. Very protective, but can hold grudges.

How odd! Our Zoroark are Normal and Ghost types. That is fundamental to their nature! It is said that they are born from the grudges of Pokemon who perished in the cold after they were driven out by humans long ago. I have known some to be won over by kindness, at least when they are met as Zorua, but...wild Zoroark are cruel.

[It's rather unlike Ingo to make such a broad statement about an entire species of Pokemon like that, especially one that's so negative. He doesn't seem like he wants to discuss it.]

[Emmet frowns a little, it is odd for Ingo to say something like that.]

[He wants to ask what happened and it shows. But he won't vocalize it. He knows Ingo will tell him when he is ready, but until then...]

[He thinks the whole story about the thing with the Zoroark will probably just upset Emmet. It doesn't really bother him that much. Maybe a bit more now in retrospect, but - well, it's done with.]

You know. I spoke with someone on the network who was able to have a creature from their home summoned here by Mana.

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