#I headcannon that after Ingo gets back he and Emmet are in close contact for nearly three days

[magical-awesome-kid]

I have the BEST most DUMBEST AU for Pokémon Legends Arceus.

The Arc Phone Has Internet AU.

Dawn/Akari finds the widget for the Internet DEEP in the folders. Arceus tried to uninstall it, but he couldn’t get it off because Perfect Design or whatever, so he just hid it. Akari pulls up the Internet and it’s in-time with how long she’s been gone in the future (let’s say she’s gone six months at this point? So she’s got the news page for six months after she disappeared).

And who’s on the news page? Her.

Now, for the sake of this story, Dawn’s memories are a little scrambled. Not to Ingo’s extent, but things were still missing. She couldn’t remember her first name - Dawn - but she remembered her middle name - Hikari. She goes down the Internet rabbit hole and not only finds every news article about Champion (Champion! How could she forget? Her Pokémon worked so hard for that!) but also finds her Wikipedia page, which is full to the brim not only of pictures and notes but also incorrect info (this, weirdly enough, jogs her memories as she goes to correct it).

Then she realizes Oh. Oh shit. I can contact mom and Barry and Lucas and the League!

And she does. The phone and texting apps won’t go through, but all her social media still work. Not wanting to cause total chaos, she DMs everyone she feels needs to know.

It’s chaos. She’s balancing 40 conversations with various entities and then SOMEONE posts a link and says “I made a secure discord for all of this plus we can video call” (it was probably Volkner).

As the chaos is ensuing, Akari sends one picture of herself in Jubilife Village, and she happens to catch Ingo in the background.

And then someone sends it back with a big circle on Ingo and is like “IS THAT INGO?!?”

And Dawn is like “OMG I forgot Ingo said he was from the future! Do you all know who he is?”

Dawn’s thread is flooded with news articles and wikipedias on Nimbasa’s subway system and the bosses there.

She pulls over Ingo and, after explaining what a phone is, he’s scrolling like a mad man.

It’s not like an instant snap back. Everything sounds so right and familiar. It’s not until Dawn gets a video call from the Unova League does it start to take hold.

Emmet, who has spent the last three years hoping, praying that his brother was out there, who was trying to cope but still held hope, who refused to do a funeral, even a symbolic one, because his brother couldn’t be officially ruled as dearly departed yet, is bawling into the line with Elesa and all their Pokémon (it’s clear in the background that they’re in one of the conference rooms of the Nimbasa Gym to get everyone into the shot).

Ingo ends up recovering a lot faster now. Talking over things with Emmet or Elesa or Drayden or just about anyone in his past life makes it solid, gives him a ring to hang on to, and he gets back on track. He’s still forgetful sometimes, but he doesn’t feel like he’s lost everything precious anymore. Because Ingo doesn’t have an Arc Phone (they’re still unsure how it happens to him, but some of the international police, who have experience with missing memories, suggest Ultra Wormholes), they just have Ingo and Hikari be a relative hunting pair. Ingo enjoys talking about his memories with anyone just to make them more whole, but Dawn is the only one who understands. Dawn is relieved to have an adult just… understand and be there to help her (she’s been through a ton for her age and she’s def cried to Ingo about how her “pokemon adventure” has turned out). They’re also trying to avoid a space-time paradox what with their future knowledge.

Hisui falls in line with Sinnoh time, but Unova is many time zones away. A nearly 12 hour time difference. Ingo doesn’t care. He’s always been an early riser, so he calls in the wee hours of the morning, when it’s dinner time in Nimbasa, and he shares breakfast while they eat dinner and talks for at least an hour. He promises to be prompt the next day, and it no longer feels so far away, his home.

Dawn always checks in with her mom and everyone in the later evening. Her mom is one call, Barry and Lucas another, League messages and specific requests from Cynthia and Various Professors to document the past and see about bringing some DNA samples back to the future (fossil resurrection is a very common thing after all). She’s almost begging Cylene and Komodo to give her other work so she can say she’s busy not screwing up the timeline.

When a plan is in place to get them back to the future - Professor Oak mentions his own adventure with Celebi and believes she’ll be easiest to find and convince to help - Ingo and Dawn take their time thanking everyone and getting to say good bye. It seems rather bittersweet going home…

But Rei follows them.

Rei, who has always had a sharp eye for these things, points out what he’s learned about the Strange Device that Akari has and that he’s heard her arguing with no one a few times in her lodgings (she blushes at the implication of how loud she was). Deciding Fuck It Being Here Has Already Fucked The Timeline, she plops the phone in Rei’s hands just as Celebi arrives at their pick up point. She explains that the phone must always be kept on him and, if it starts ringing, click the green button. She disappears with Celebi, leaving Rei confused.

Rei uses the phone over the next day, just trying to figure more out. He catches onto the photography feature immediately, realizing why Laventon loves pictures so much. It’s such a great way to document things.

And then, almost exactly 24 hours after Hikari and Ingo left with a strange Pokémon, the phone rings.

Rei hesitantly answers.

Dawn is there with Ingo. They’re in a strange room with strange people and Pokémon, but it’s like looking into a little window to another world.

(It is, in a way).

Dawn explains what’s going on and, after swearing Rei not to totally spill the beans (they approve a list of people that could know - The Professor, the Clan Leaders, maybe Cylene in time) they catch up on all that’s happened. The man who refuses to get his feet off Ingo’s lap is Emmet, his (annoying) twin brother, that’s Dawn’s excitable best friend Barry and her newfound cousin Lucas, her mom, Ingo’s best friend Elesa, and SO MANY Pokémon in the background. When Rei asks, Lucas has to shut Dawn up from revealing too much about the future.

Rei swears to try to keep out of Hisui history via the Internet, but he does look up more ‘modern’ stories and discoveries. In turn, Rei goes across the region and beyond to explore his own world. Dawn and Ingo learn how the modern world works once more.

So yeah. The Arc Phone Has Internet AU.