There’s More Evidence That Ingo’s Going Home Than Not

look this boy band, fuckin superb you funky little cells!!!! 

You know, one of the fun things about looking into the subway twins in the aftermath of PLA (and as someone who tends to skip the battle subway in B&W) has been realizing just what fun characters they are. The two share one brain cell whenever they’re in a room together. Literally, speaking the same lines and doing the same actions in sync. Even when apart, they tend to gravitate to the same ideas and wants (granted, in their own ways), the same kinds of Pokemon, and fixate on the same objects. Which- yeah. They’re identical twins. That tracks.

It’s when they’re apart that the differences start to accumulate.

On one hand, you’ve got Ingo: the one with a perpetual frown on his face, wears darker clothing, and whose primary partner Pokemon is presented as the floating goth ghost chandelier: Chandelure. (Fun fact they’ve both got one- in fact the majority of their Pokemon overlap, but most media (and fanwork) depicts Chandelure as being one of Ingo’s).

At a glance, you’d expect him to be serious and formal at best- until you walk into his train at the end of the single battles and he starts cheerfully introducing himself and excitedly starts the battle, or when you beat him and he applauds your victory and cheers you on. Or in Pokemon Masters, where he’s actively distraught by the fact people have trouble reading his facial expressions and so will loudly explain how excited he is and how much he loves battling whenever he enters a room.

Even in PLA, where he’s rediscovering who he is along with everyone else, he still clearly enjoys the same hobbies- not only fights himself, but seeing other people have great battles. He’ll just straight up have a heart to heart about his personal feelings and predicament with a stranger he just met an hour ago, can’t resist a smile from a good battle, and despite the fact he’s clearly lost the light behind his eyes, is still such a friendly, helpful soul who genuinely wants to see the best in everyone. (it would be so funny to see the reactions of the PLA crew seeing normal-Ingo and what an aggressively friendly ball of sunshine he actually is. It’s just something missing from most ‘Ingo is reunited with his brother and memories’ fics).

Then on the other hand, you’ve got Emmet. The Subway Boss who drifts through life with a smile on his face, wears lighter clothing, and whose primary Pokemon is a big poofy colorful dumb looking bird whose better at running then flying. And whose most famous line (I like winning more then anything’) is one of the longest sentences he says to the player in the original game.

In contrast to his brother, Emmet speaks in clipped, factual statements. While loving his Pokemon and battling, he views his team through a very strategic lens, wanting the best, perfect combination of moves and strategies. Even when you beat him, he announces how much fun he had fighting you in the same matter-of-fact way he has of speaking (he lost. You are verrrrry strong) and ends on a very simple note that you should ‘ride the trains more often!’. In Pokemon Masters, he’s much more detail orientated then his brother, questioning the Player for all sorts of details about the location and what they look for in a good battle. He’s still very clearly excited to fight the Player, and to bring the Battle Subway to a new location, but has a very ‘there is nothing in life more important then winning’ attitude that’s just barely friendly enough to stop him from having a threatening aura. It’s also worth noting that, despite the two of them both sharing the same title, Emmet talks about how much he looks up to his brother and respects him as both a trainer and in individual.

When you fight both of them in B&W, Ingo will have a whole conversation with the player about the nature of team battles and trusting in your partner as much as you trust yourself. Emmet has a serious of short quips that are no more then three words each. We get the feeling that, where his brother has trouble expressing himself with his facial expressions and falls back onto his words so that people’ll understand him, Emmet has trouble expressing himself with his words and has learned to use his facial expression to project how excited he is outwardly- large smile, over the top gestures despite his simple sentences, a sparkle in his eye so that people are actually willing to approach him and don’t get scared off by this ultra-stern rules abiding boss at the end of a train.

When you beat them together, Emmet comments on you having a good combination and being strong, and it being a fun battle. Ingo applauds the player but also reminds them that beating the two of them was only one milestone in their life, and actively encourages them to go on to do even greater things further down the line. Emmet seems like a very here-and-now kinda guy, focusing on the life that’s in front of him, while Ingo is focused on the line ahead and what he can do now to prevent regret in the past. (Which is ironic, isn’t it?).

Also if you search up clips of the two from the B&W anime, one of the only straight clips you can find is a 30 second clip of them investigating someone (*coughteamrocketcough*) messing with the subway. In it, Ingo wants to get to solve the mystery to protect the city and the people who use the subway. Emmet focuses on holding the guilty party responsible. They also naturto run on the subway tracks, which is very important.

A Brief Submas Primer

Did you just find out about the Pokemon franchise’s most popular battle facility since the Battle Frontier because of a plot point in Legends: Arceus? Were you curious because your friends were talking about some weird train man and you have no idea what they’re on about? Worry no longer, because this mole person has you covered.

What the hell is Submas?

The term ‘Submas’ is a portmanteau of their Japanese trainer class title, Subway Masters (in English releases, they got the trainer class title Subway Boss). Note that I’m saying “they” - there are, in fact, two of them, and they’re twins.

Ingo (Nobori) is the older of the two of them, specializing in Singles. He speaks overly politely/formally (more obvious in Japanese), has no indoor voice, will yell “BRAVO!” the second anything remotely good or exciting happens, has an overbearing sense of responsibility (it’s an older sibling thing, trust me), and became an accidental sex symbol on Pixiv (don’t ask, he probably doesn’t know either). He’s best known for being the “serious” one and notably has not been allowed to smile in-game to this day, although he was allowed in the anime and manga to be more expressive. He makes up for this by being very, very loud.

love of my life Emmet (Kudari) is the younger of the two of them, specializing in Doubles. His dialogue is a lot more blunt and informal (again, more obvious in Japanese; the English translation made him seem almost stiff), and he’s actually the more excitable of the two of them and is nearly always depicted in-game in a good mood and smiling. This is a bit deceptive, as when he’s battling he’s actually very serious and intense about it, and he also does take his job seriously and will go through safety checks before battling in certain scenarios. He has a verbal tic of reminding people that he’s Emmet, probably because when you have an identical twin sibling you get tired of being mistaken for each other your entire lives, and another verbal tic of saying “very” as “verrrry.” He’s not irresponsible in the slightest but is still the goofball younger sibling to his older brother.

What, exactly, is the Battle Subway, and why is it so popular?

The Battle Subway is Gen 5′s most notable battle facility. To get to it, you go to Nimbasa City and enter Gear Station, which architecturally appears to be a combination of Grand Central Terminal and the late Pennsylvania Station (F in the chat). Once here, you can choose to do Singles, Doubles, Multi (2 vs. 2), or Wi-Fi battles (playing online with multiple people). You’ll face 7 opponents in a row; losing gets you booted from the train at a stop you didn’t intend to get off at, which in New York City is a regular commuter annoyance. Winning 20 in a row allows you to fight Ingo, Emmet, or both of them if you’re doing Multi Battles; you can then fight them again with their team aces if you rack up a separate winning streak of 49 battles. Like all battle facilities, this is a challenge and requires skill and luck in equal measure, but it’s a lot of fun if you enjoy pushing yourself in that way.

As for why it’s one of the most popular battle facilities to date, being referenced in multiple games since its inception in Gen 5? Japanese railfan culture is on an entirely different level than other places; the nation adores its trains, and for good reason. Throw in a set of weird-looking twins and you’ve got a recipe for success that you probably weren’t expecting. Here’s a poll done at the time of Pokemon Black and White showing the most popular characters; note that Ingo and Emmet are second and third respectively…only behind N.

(When I found this poll, I found some people who didn’t believe it was real. Obviously, they were people who didn’t know about Japan’s railfans.)

Why do they point like that?

Japanese railway employees use a system called pointing and calling to reduce workplace errors, improve muscle memory, and overall avoid accidents. Pointing and calling originated at the beginning of the 20th century - because steam locomotives are Very Loud - and has continued to this day because it improves safety. By pointing at each indicator/task and saying it out loud as it’s performed, it actually increases focus and decreases mistakes, which is immensely important when you’re working with trains.

The New York City subway has its own version of point and call - there are zebra signs (black and white striped signs) at each station, and when arriving at a station the conductor has to open their window and point at these signs to ensure the engineer has correctly lined the train up with the platform, because if the train isn’t lined up correctly…well, passengers could step out and there might not be a platform to step out onto. Not a good thing. Anyway, yes, you can have fun with the fact that they’re required to point at every single station.

What Pokemon should I expect to see here?

Ingo and Emmet appear to share a lot of their team members, as you’ll see both of them using certain ones depending on what mode you’re playing. Most notably, Ingo’s ace is Chandelure, and Emmet’s is Eelektross:

(The dynamic duo as they appeared in the anime.)

You’ll frequently see them associated with other team members, too, though. In Pokemon Masters EX, in order to allow them to work together as effectively as possible with the game’s mechanics, Ingo has his Excadrill and Emmet has his Archeops. Emmet is also frequently depicted with a surplus of Joltiks, because his Galvantula knows Cross Poison, a move it could have only learned from breeding in Gen 5.

This is a full listing of their team members if you’re interested, or if you’re like me and enjoy trying to run their team in other battle facilities. (Yes, it works.)

Okay, OP, you’re from the greater NYC area. How the hell does your subway system actually work?

For whatever reason, a lot of people find our subway system intimidating at first glance. We have over 470 stations and counting sprawled across several boroughs, so it can be a lot for a visitor from a place with no public transit whatsoever or a less complicated system.

The truth is that the NYC subway system is actually three historical systems that were merged a long time ago - the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (the numbered lines [1-7] and the shuttle [S] between Grand Central and 42nd Street-Times Square), the Independent Subway System (lines A-G), and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company/Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (lines J/Z, L, M, N, Q, R, and W). In the 1940s the city decided to take control and merge them all into the modern Metropolitan Transit Authority that we know and love (?) today. If you’re interested in the history of the subway, you can learn more at the New York Transit Museum’s website!

To take a ride, you need a MetroCard, although these are in the process of being phased out for a new system called OMNY, which will allow you to tap your phone and use that as payment. Currently, the fare is $2.75. Every New Yorker ever will complain when there is a fare increase, even if that increase is minimal. Jumping the turnstiles to ride for free is illegal, but many people do it anyway. And yes, if you’re good, you can speedrun the entire subway system. I haven’t done this yet, but I fully intend to.

Do people actually fight on the subway in real life?

Yes, I’ve witnessed it, and it was far from the weirdest thing I’ve seen on the subway. You get used to seeing strange things when you ride regularly.

Are there really that many rats down there?

Yes, and they’ll be your friends if you feed them. Most of the time they avoid humans, though, but you can watch them skitter about on the tracks when trains aren’t nearby. One I observed at 14th Street-Union Station once was particularly smart and knew exactly where the train would stop, then stood just past that point and avoided being hit.

What about abandoned stations?

We have plenty, and if you know where they are you can look out the window for them as you pass through! If you’re visiting NYC, I particularly recommend taking the 6 train all the way to the end and staying on when it loops back around to go back uptown. You’ll pass through City Hall, the original terminus of the 6 line and an absolute masterpiece of architecture that has sadly been closed to the public since the 1940s due to trains being elongated since that time.

City Hall is objectively my favorite subway station in the entire city. It even has chandeliers. I’ve often wondered if this is why they gave Ingo Chandelure in the first place.

OP, you’re a foamer, aren’t you?

Maybe. (Don’t get me started on the GG1, Mallard, or the destruction of Penn Station in the 1960s.)

Is there anything else I should know?

Actually, yes, a few things:

For whatever reason, shipping Ingo and Emmet together is called Blankshipping. I do not do this because I have a real-life younger brother and obviously am wildly turned off by incest as a result. It was hard to avoid it during the games’ original run, but it seems to have thankfully died down now, though it’s still out there in places. Tread with care.

People in the know might notice that both of them can be interpreted as autistic-coded characters. (As an autistic person myself, I feel very seen by the fact that they exist and are so much like me.) Take care when depicting them to make sure you’re not doing anything ableist by mistake (Emmet in particular got hit hard by this early on). If you’re not sure, ask a neurodiverse person!

Don’t touch the third rail, you’ll be electrocuted and die instantly.

The man whose voice you hear saying “Stand clear of the closing doors, please!” is named Charlie Pellett, and his voice sounds like that because he was born in the UK and tried to disguise his accent growing up to avoid being made fun of. He now has the most recognizable voice in New York City.

DON’T WEAR YOUR BACKPACK WHEN YOU’RE STANDING ON THE SUBWAY. Seriously, it takes up too much space, bumps other riders, and is generally a nuisance. Yes, this applies to the Hikers you meet in the Battle Subway, too.

Hopefully this guide helps you out on your journey into the world of the Battle Subway and the Submas fandom! I’m happy to assist with any more in-depth questions about our subway system/trains in general, as well as other inquiries. Just don’t send me your Arceus theories anymore, I’m trying not to think too hard about it because it makes me cry. And with that…

出発進行!

Have an adorable child Underfell Frisk. (I’ve noticed I based my Underfell Frisk’s personality off my OC Nene, they have the same feel)

Don’t think I’ve had an art block this big since years ago. Insanity thy name is Nuvex~

I’m still drawing but whenever I work on my comics I just melt into a puddle of self pity and procrastination, lovely stuff I tell ya.

So, sorry for the long wait on new comics! Hopefully this will be over soon.

Still enjoy all this random content!

find someone who looks at you like wbc looks at rbc

i have found myself wanting platonic submas reader insert fics . So Bad like i just wanna hang out with The Boys for a day

i want emmet to do his swingy arm walk and then reader copies him and then ingos like "sure why not" and he does it too!! and/or they all keep shouting "ALL ABOOAARRD!!" together for no reason

id kill for a fic thats essentially just oneshots of reader and the twins hanging out where its not really a Story its just a series of events that take place in 1 consistent universe

like!! theres potential for dumb sibling antics here!! exploring what theyd do on casual days outside of work! what theyd do for fun aside from battling and trains! i Wanna be their Friend

I hate having art blocks man. (I mean does anyone enjoy it? stupid) But I hate them because it seems like every time I go through an art block my style changes. It’s an annoyance!

Anyways enjoy a cute Frisky~

Other Cells in the body: We do not have a dark or embarrassing past. We cannot be blackmailed.

Dendritic cell:

I am now suspicious too. I wonder if their suit colors also reflect train colors.

In the main games, their regular uniforms are just black and white to fit the theme of the games they're from. But I'm convinced with Masters EX.

Again, the E5. Compare Emmet’s EX:

And now, the E6:

Compare Ingo’s EX:

I've had my suspicions about this since sometime in August last year. I'm actually fairly sure I'm right, but there's no way to confirm it, so.

I’m not sure about their new Masters EX alts, but I’m going to look into that and see what I can sort out!