Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Lost Tracks of Time is a completed Pokémon Mystery Dungeon and Pokémon Legends: Arceus Crossover fanfic by Pokelec
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After the events of Pokémon: Legends Arceus, Ingo woke up in a strange world with almost no memories of who he is or what his past is. What he does know is: his name is Ingo, he has a mission he needs to carry out, and he was definitely a human and not a Sneasel. He meets a strange wanderer named Sneasler who brings him to the Pearl Guild, and the two eventually come across an unusual rescue request.
The fic then proceeds to follow Ingo's and Emmet's adventures in a Pokémon Mystery Dungeon-esque world.
It can be read on AO3.
This fanfic provides examples of:
- Affectionate Gesture to the Head: Occasionally, Sneasler will "punch [the twins'] tickets", meaning she tousles the top of Ingo's and Emmet's heads. This only adds fuel to everyone else's assumption that the three are siblings.
- Alien Blood: Giratina’s blood is black, as well as Ingo’s and Emmet’s by the end.
- And the Adventure Continues: The fic ends with Ingo and Emmet freely able to time travel between Hisui, Unova, and future Sinnoh and upholding all their duties as wardens, subway bosses, and rescuers.
- Angst Coma: Happens to Ingo twice, both times caused by trying to recall his lost memories.
- Battle in the Center of the Mind: Ingo and Emmet literally jump into Giratina’s body to save the pokemon before their Phlebotinum Overdose kills them.
- Avenging the Villain: Team Wish’s goal ends up slipping into this, feeling that Volo redeemed himself after the events of Pokémon Legends: Arceus and deserved to be reincarnated.
- Body Horror:
- Ingo and Emmet witness the other’s transformation into Sneasels. Highlights include their fingers fusing together to form claws and feathers breaking through the tips of their ears.
- When Giratina undergoes a Phlebotinum Overdose, their wings liquify into an otherworldly black liquid. The liquid is shown to melt the pillars and ground. Then it starts splashing onto pokemon…
- Book Ends: The first chapter has Ingo wake up in a world of light and talking to a mysterious voice, aka Arceus. As Sneasels, he and Emmet team up and exercise exception teamwork to defeat their foe in battle. Emmet ends the fight with saying it was a good fight and that they should battle again sometime. In the final chapter. Ingo and Emmet meet with Arceus and challenge them to a battle. Their teamwork allows them to exploit Arceus’ rapid type-changing ability to defeat them. Once again, Emmet remarks that it was a good battle and that they should fight again sometime. Arceus agrees.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: The result of getting red chained.
- Cerebus Syndrome: The fic at first focuses on Ingo and Emmet adjusting to life as pokemon rescuers. Even when the Distorted Floors are introduced, the plot doesn’t become serious until the Nobles disappear.
- Chekhov's Gag: Emmet using Surf, and Sneasler’s hatred for him using the move. Emmet attracted the attention of a Brainwashed and Crazy Sneasler by using Surf, giving his team the chance to free her from the Red Chain’s control.
- Chekhov's Skill: Ingo and Emmet’s monster house detection ability. It provides a major hint that the Big Bad may not be a reincarnated Volo like the Nobles thought. Also, Chandelure’s ability to detect Ingo’s soul from any distance.
- Cool Big Sis: Sneasler, to the point that other pokemon genuinely believe she is Ingo’s and Emmet’s older sister. She protects Ingo and Emmet even when she barely knows them and goes out of her way to help them rediscover who they are.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?:
Ingo, after Team Conductors defeat the real Regigigas: Did we just battle a legendary pokemon and win?
- Dungeon Bypass: The Coronet Mountain mystery dungeon is one of the largest dungeons in the world with 200 floors. note When Team Conductors need to get to the top floor, Chandelure and Eelektross fly and Sneasler climbs to the highest dungeon entrance, skipping only half of the dungeon.
- Earn Your Happy Ending
- Eldritch Location: Besides the mystery dungeons themselves, the Distorted Floors. They are completely dark, have no items or hostile pokemon inside, and are inescapable without the assistance of a Noble. Worse still, any mystery dungeon floor can turn into one at any time.
- Emotion Bomb: The Red Chain has this power. When Ingo is inside Giratina’s mind, the Red Chain amplifies his fear to make him give in to its power. Sneasler and Emmet narrowly save him from becoming Brainwashed and Crazy.
- Entertainingly Wrong:
- Several characters assume that Ingo and Emmet are Sneasler's younger brothers. This is from her going out of her way to help the twins, memorizing their speeches, and eventually engaging with their Busman's Vocabulary and pointing habits. It doesn't help that Ingo and Emmet never dismiss the assumption.
- When it is revealed that Sneasler and the other Nobles retain memories from past Nobles, she tells the twins that she thought that Ingo the Sneasel was a reincarnation of Warden Ingo and somehow got his Past-Life Memories.
- Equipment Upgrade: One short arc revolves around Ingo and Emmet gathering supplies to modify their Signature Headgear to increase their stats.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Oh boy. Team Wish’s love for their trainer Volo is so strong that they spend centuries trying to reincarnate him, and when they realize that Volo reincarnating is impossible, they make it their mission to either control or surpass Arceus in power to get Volo back.
- Fate Worse than Death: Giratina personally punishes Team Wish by dragging them into a private corner of the Distortion World. Because the Distortion World exists outside of time, the team is able to stay in the world forever.
- Faux Affably Evil: Togekiss. She calls everyone by their proper titles and maintains cordiality with Team Conductors during their meeting. However, as the wielder of the Red Chains, she is the one who orders Brainwashed and Crazy Sneasler to kill Ingo and Emmet and Giratina to torture Emmet as leverage for the Toxic Plate.
- Foil:
- Chandelure and Eelektross. Both are The Ace for one of the twins, are introduced in the story as bosses at the end of a mystery dungeon the twins visit, and can fly. Chandelure immediately recognizes Ingo and Emmet for who they truly are and thus do not battle or even harm them upon reuniting. Meanwhile, Eelektross distrusted Ingo and Emmet and battled them, even making Emmet faint. He only accepts the twins as being the same people who raised him after spending time with them. Chandelure does not look any different after being alive for centuries, while Eelektross’ coloring faded and his body grew to enormous lengths.
- Also, Chandelure and Eelektross versus Team Wish. All these pokemon have lived through several centuries by the time of the story and harbor Undying Loyalty to their trainers. Chandelure and Eelektross, however, got to reunite with their trainers in the future and become pokemon rescuers. Team Wish’s goal is to resurrect and reunite with their late trainer Volo at the cost of other pokemon's lives. Togekiss directly mentions jealousy over Chandelure and Eelektross for their contrasting scenarios.
- The Future: The mystery dungeon world isn’t an alternate timeline or AU. Ingo and Emmet travel to several centuries in the future, ending up in a time where humans are extinct and pokemon form rescue teams to help other pokemon.
- God Is Flawed: Arceus seems to be like this when they aren't a Jerkass God.
- The Gods Must Be Lazy:
- Subverted with Dialga and Palkia. They are absent for most of the story to stabilize two time loops and prevent the fabric of space from ripping apart from the Distortion World bleeding into theirs. And then it’s Double Subverted when Palkia admits that they were too afraid of getting chained to help Giratina.
- Played straight with Arceus. Giratina explains that Arceus wants to avoid contacting Volo or any of his pokemon.
- Gotta Catch Them All: The Big Bad is trying to collect the 18 Plates of Arceus for their nefarious purposes.
- Hostage for MacGuffin: By the time Team Conductors meet Team Wish, Giratina kidnapped Emmet and held him hostage. Togekiss tells them that if Sneasler gives them the Toxic Plate, they won’t torture Emmet in various ways. It took Giratina impossibly stretching Emmet's body to get Sneasler to agree.
- Human Outside, Alien Inside: When Ingo and Emmet inadvertantly sacrifice their bodies to save Giratina, the legendary pokemon repays them by giving them new bodies. As Giratina notes, while they look like Sneasels on the outside, their bodies are different enough that doctors would notice. Their blood is an Ominous Obsidian Ooze, and they gain the ability to shapeshift between their Sneasel and human bodies. In human forms, they can use their pokemon attacks and can be caught in pokeballs. Lastly, Giratina claims they have increased stamina and are immortal unless killed. All this allows the twins to regularly time travel between Hisui, Unova, and future Sinnoh to fulfill their duties.
- "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Basically how the battle versus Brainwashed and Crazy Sneasler goes. Ingo and Emmet appeal to Sneasler’s protective instincts and obvious love for the twins, such as reciting their pre-battle anthem and Emmet using Surf to distract her. Granted, Sneasler still could not break the chain’s influence on her own; Ingo had to free her directly.
- Insistent Terminology: What exactly are Ingo and Emmet when Giratina reconstructs their bodies? Even Arceus doesn't know. We just know they are Not Human or Sneasel, and their forms are just Sneasel-shaped and human-shaped.
- Jerkass God: Arceus has shades of this when they discuss why they took only Ingo to the past.
Arceus: I formed a portal beneath thine both to see who would cross the time-space tunnel to aid me. I didn’t care who, as both had the skills I needed. I simply took the one who entered the portal first. Because there were two of the same human, I believed that no one would care if I took one.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Eelektross seems to follow this rule, if the following line is any indication. At least he takes the rest of the team with him when he flees in-story.
Eelektross: "Sorry... I didn’t get this old by fighting battles I can’t win..."
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: In addition to the amnesia Ingo already suffered through in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, he and Emmet both do not remember their pasts or why they turned into Sneasels. One of the drivers for the plot is their journey to remember who they are. It turns out the Nobles have this, too, thanks to Beheeyem.
- Madness Mantra: “No one would care?”
- Magical Accessory: Ingo starts the story with a broken wristwatch with unknown function. When it is repaired, the watch tells Ingo his mission and provides a three-dimensional map of mystery dungeons Team Conductors visits. And it can open the exit from a Distorted Floor without a Noble Pokemon.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": At the climax of the story, all other pokemon present have this reaction when Togekiss is struck by a blob of Giratina’s blood, which then eats part of her face. In the same chapter, a similar reaction happens when Ingo and Emmet jump into Giratina’s body.
- Mind-Control Device: The Red Chain.
- Multiple-Choice Chosen: During the events of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Arceus used Future Vision to identify people who could save Hisui from Volo. The first people who appear in the vision are Ingo and Emmet, which prompts Arceus to take only one of the twins. When Time Travel shenanigans occur, Arceus takes the next person who appears in their vision: Akari.
- Mythology Gag:
- Uxie uses illusions of legendary pokemon to protect their lake. Team Conductors fought the real Regigigas, but Sneasler confirms that Uxie usually uses an illusion.
- The cause of Ingo’s and Emmet’s memory loss and transformation into pokemon is them getting attacked by a legendary pokemon during time travel. Ingo gets bonus points for protecting Akari from Giratina during time travel, mimicking the Player Character from Explorers protecting Grovyle.
- The two Whole Episode Flashback chapters are called “Emmet’s Path of Solitude” and “Ingo’s Path of Solitude”, referencing the Path of Solitude challenges that Ingo sets up in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
- Irida of the Pearl Guild and Adaman of the Diamond Guild used to be on the same rescue team. What was the name of the team? Team Platinum.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Team Wish orders Giratina to go into the time stream to attack all time travelers. Not only does the first attack they did ensure that Ingo and Emmet are brought into the future, but the second attack ensures the defeat of their trainer back in Pokémon Legends: Arceus!
- Ominous Obsidian Ooze: When Giratina absorbs 17 Plates, their wings liquefy into an "impossible black". The substances melts matter - including other pokemon - on contact. It is implied to be Giratina's blood. Oh, and Ingo and Emmet bleed a similar black substance after Giratina reconstructs their bodies. Thankfully, it doesn't seem to have the same acidic properties as Giratina's blood.
- Phlebotinum Overdose: Team Wish orders Giratina to absorb the power of Arceus’ Plates. When they only absorb 17 out of 18 Plates, Giratina’s body begins breaking down, resulting in them bleeding corrosive Alien Blood. Giratina later confirms that absorbing all 18 Plates would kill them.
- Physical Scars, Psychological Scars: Sneasels have gems on their chest and forehead, and during the story, Ingo and Emmet both have their gems crack under different circumstances. For Ingo, the gem on his forehead cracked after days of being stressed when a Chained Sneasler calls him a warden and then knocks him unconscious. In this case, the scar is both physical and psychological. For Emmet, the gem on his chest cracked after he regains his memories, meaning the gem cracked solely from mental trauma.
- Place Beyond Time: Because the Distortion World is a different dimension, it exits outside of time and Giratina can see into the main world via portals. These portals showcase different time periods, which leads to how Ingo and Emmet jump between three time periods at the end.
- Portal Crossroad World: The Distortion World acts as this.
- The Power of Family: One of the reoccurring themes of the story. It allows Ingo and Emmet to free Sneasler of her Red Chain, and, with some encouragement from Sneasler, allowed Ingo and Emmet to support the other and resist the Red Chain while freeing Giratina.
- Precision F-Strike: There are three instances of the F-bomb in the fic.note
- The first time is from Sneasler, where she asks Ingo and Emmet “Who the fuck cares about Arceus”.
- The second time is also from Sneasler, where she calls Team Wish “sadistic fucks” for torturing Emmet as leverage to get the Toxic Plate.
- The third time is from Giratina when they ask a simple “what the fuck” when they see Ingo and Emmet in their Sneasel-shape when they weren’t supposed to and the human Elesa clearly knowing their secret.
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: The Noble pokemon are shown to be naturally stronger than other pokemon. This is credited to them inheriting the blessing of Arceus from their ancestors. Team Conductors are only able to fight them because they have Sneasler on their side, which means they have significant troubles when she also becomes Brainwashed and Crazy.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Anyone under the control of the Red Chain gains glowing red eyes.
- Regained Memories Sequence: Both Emmet and Ingo have these after they regain their memories. For Emmet, the sequence took up an entire chapter. For Ingo, it took up half a chapter.
- Reincarnation: This trope is in effect in The Future, which is the explanation as to why so many characters from Pokémon Legends: Arceus are present as pokemon. …Except that the number of characters all being together at once is unnatural. The reincarnation process is being exploited by the Big Bad to resurrect Volo.
- Shapeshifter Default Form: When Ingo and Emmet’s bodies are reconstructed by Giratina, they reform in their Sneasel bodies (or rather, their Sneasel-shaped bodies) but can transform back into their human(-shaped) bodies. However, when they reunite with Elesa, Ingo and Emmet are so relieved that they transform back into their Sneasel forms, implying that is their default form.
- Sibling Team: Team Conductors starts out at this when it was comprised only of Ingo and Emmet. Even when Chandelure and Eelektross join the team, Ingo and Emmet are noted as being the ‘co-leaders’ of Team Conductors. Could also qualify as a Brother–Sister Team if you include Sneasler.
- Single-Minded Twins: Arceus thinks this trope is in effect with Ingo and Emmet, allowing them to take one twin from the time period and leaving the other behind. They think no one will miss the missing twin because they were the same human. Arceus is wrong.
- Spanner in the Works: Ingo and Emmet, in different ways. Ingo taking the near-fatal blow for Akari during time travel allowed for Akari to complete her mission from Arceus in Hisui. Meanwhile, Emmet not only removes the Red Chain from Ingo before it takes effect, but he steals the Toxic Plate from the Brainwashed and Crazy Sneasler, preventing the Big Bad from acquiring all 18 Plates.
- Stable Time Loop: When Togekiss orders Giratina to attack all time travelers, two time loops form – one for each attack. The first occurs when Giratina attacks Warden Ingo and Emmet, causing them to get sent to the future. The second occurs when Giratina tries to attack Akari but Subway Boss Ingo shields her, causing him to get sent back in time. This is all explained in an author’s note at the end of Chapter 27 and is given as the reason for Dialga’s absence from most of the fic’s events.
- Superior Twin Teamwork: Ingo and Emmet are noted to have incredible teamwork in battles as soon as they reunite. Even Irida and Sneasler are impressed with their talent. Though Ingo and Emmet are strong battlers individually, some of their best moments involve them working together.
- Take Our Word for It: The reader does not see what it’s like for Ingo and Emmet to transform after they become Not Human or Sneasel. The most we get is a Reaction Shot from the witnesses and the mention of goo.
- Three Plus Two: Team Conductors has Ingo, Emmet, and Sneasler, then Chandelure and later Eelektross join them.
- Title Drop: The Lost Tracks of Time are a name given to the train tracks Giratina made to connect the three portals Ingo and Emmet use for their Casual Time Travel.
- Torso with a View: The effect of touching Giratina’s blood. How the pokemon who got holes in vital areas (the skull, the torso) not only stay alive but also continue battling is best not to think about.
- To the Pain: When Sneasler hesitates to give the Toxic Plate to Team Wish in exchange for Emmet, Togekiss and Spiritomb go into detail about what they can do to harm Emmet, including a complete memory wipe, possessing his body, and dropping him from a great height.
- Transformation Horror: When Emmet and Ingo regain their memories, they also remember their transformation into Sneasels. They do not see the full transformation and in fact only witness the transformation of the other person.
- Undying Loyalty: Several centuries after their trainers are gone, Chandelure and Eelektross both remain loyal to Ingo and Emmet. For Chandelure, this means flying to a different region the moment they sense Ingo’s soul. For Eelektross, this means preserving Emmet’s legacy and taking offense to anyone pretending to be his trainer. On the villainous side, the members of Team Wish are so loyal to their former trainer, Volo, that they will do anything to resurrect him.
- Unspecified Apocalypse: The Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series is noted for world inhabited by only pokemon, so when it turns out the fic takes place in The Future, this trope is in effect since the time is absent of humans. The most that we know is that several legendary pokemon get angry at humanity for using pokemon as tools.
- Voice Change Surprise: In the penultimate chapter, Ingo and Emmet accidentally transform back into Sneasels while visiting their pokemon and Elesa. We see their confusion to hearing Ingo and Emmet engage in Pokémon Speak.
- Wham Line: From the Big Bad:
Togekiss: “You knew our trainer, Volo. We were all Volo’s pokemon. Our goal is to resurrect our late trainer.”
- Whole Episode Flashback: Chapter 18 features Emmet recalling what happened after Ingo disappeared and how he ended up in the future.
- World-Healing Wave: After Giratina is freed from the Red Chain, they roared, making the Distortion World separate from the Coronet Mountain mystery dungeon and reversed the effects of the Distorted Floors. This also healed the bodies of all the pokemon that contacted Giratina’s Alien Blood.
- Wowing Cthulhu: When Ingo and Emmet free Giratina, Giratina is not only impressed with them breaking the Red Chains, but also "forfeiting their bodies" without second thought because of their duty to save the legendary pokemon. This is enough to make Giratina eternally in their debt.
