Ingo (Pokemon)
| |
| Emmet and Ingo as seen in the Black and White versions. | |
| Ingo | |
| Species | Human |
| Eye color | Gray |
| Relatives | Emmet (twin brother) |
| Voiced by | Jordan Reynolds (2021) |
| Debut | Pokémon: Black/White Versions |
Ingo is a Pokémon trainer who was originally featured with his brother Emmet as one of the Subway Bosses running the Battle Subway in the fifth generation Pokémon games, Pokémon Black and White as well as their sequels. A time-displaced Ingo would later reappear as a supporting character in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
Background[edit]
Black/White[edit]
Ingo and Emmet were a pair of identical twin brothers who ran Unova's Battle Subway together as its Subway Bosses, which was based in Nimbasa City's Gear Station. Ingo wore black and was the more serious and analytical of the two. He was still excited by the chance to battle talented trainers, and he had utmost faith in his and Emmet's abilities to work together in battles like a "two-car train". The two of them also shared a habit of including train-related metaphors in their words.
In Black/White and Black 2/White 2, the two of them could be battled by the player. Ingo was the opponent for Single battles, as he could be battled at the end of the normal Single Train (as its 21st battle) or in the 49th consecutive battle of the Super Single Train. For the Multi Trains, he and Emmet fought together as the 21st battle of the Multi Train or the 49th battle of a Super Multi Train. In Black 2/White 2, the pair initially appeared outside the Gear Station and challenged Hilbert and Hilda to a Multi Battle, which they lost.
Legends: Arceus[edit]
In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Giratina had created a space-time rift in Hisui, the past version of the Sinnoh region, which caused people, Pokémon and objects to be pulled from the future to that time period. Ingo was the only human known to be pulled back in time other than Rei/Hikari. He arrived without any of his Pokémon and with no memories other than his name. He slowly regained some pieces of memories over time, like remembering one of his Pokémon (seemingly Chandelure), a phrase about his love of winning, and also recalling Emmet without remembering his name or their relation (just that he was a man who looked like him). He also still used train-related terms. Ingo was taken in by the Pearl Clan, and because he displayed a natural affinity for taming Pokémon. He became one of the clan's Wardens and looked after Sneaseler in the Coronet Highlands.
Within the game's narrative, Ingo appeared when he was called upon to help guide Rei/Hikari through the Coronet Highlands in order to calm a rampaging Electrode. He made sure to guide the trainer safely, avoiding Alpha Pokémon and being cautious when navigating Wayward Cave without torches. He also shared his experiences and what little he remembered with Rei/Hikari. While describing Sneasler to the trainer, he nearly remembered something related to the concept of hidden moves and battled Rei/Hikari in hopes of jogging his memory. After being defeated, he introduced Rei/Hikari to Sneasler, which could take the trainer the rest of the way, and he returned to Jubilife Village. He reappeared at the Moonview Arena after Electrode was quelled, and he reported that he now remembered the concept of Pokémon Trainers and the way that people and Pokémon related to each other in his original time. This left him with a new aspiration to make the people of this time less fearful of Pokémon and to spread the joy of Pokémon battling instead.
Afterwards, Ingo could be regularly found at the Training Grounds of Jubilife Village, where he could arrange battles between various trainers, including battles with himself. He also hosted special challenges such as the Path of Tenacity and the Path of Isolation. It was left unclear if Ingo would ever be able to return to his original time.
Pokémon Roster[edit]
Generation 5[edit]
Ingo has multiple Pokémon that he uses depending on the battle. In the fifth generation games, he can be fought himself in Single Trains (where he'll use three Pokémon) or with Emmet while on the Multi Trains (where each will use two Pokémon). Ingo and Emmet notably draw from the same Pokémon roster in most battles, with Emmet only having one extra Pokémon for this Double Battles and only using different Pokémon when the two teamed up for Multi Battles.
Ingo uses the following Pokémon when battled on the normal version of a given train line (which would be the 21st consecutive battle of that line):
For a battle on a Super version of a given line (which would be the 49th consecutive battle), he would use the following Pokémon:
- Excadrill
- Haxorus
- Chandelure: This Pokémon is left out of Multi Battles.
He also uses Gurdurr during the Multi Battle in Black 2/White 2.
Legends: Arceus[edit]
In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Ingo has been separated from his original Pokémon and formed a new roster in the Hisui region. In addition to watching over Sneaseler as a Warden, he uses the following Pokémon in battle:
- Machoke/Machamp: Originally used as a Machoke during the first battle, it evolved into a Machamp for later battles.
- Tangela/Tangrowth: Originally uses as a Tangela during the fist battle, it evolved into a Tangrowth for later battles.
- Gliscor
- Alakazam: Added for later battles.
- Probopass: Added for later battles.
- Magnezone: Added for later battles.
He also had a roster of alpha Pokémon that could be battled as a separate challenge:
In Other Pokémon Games[edit]
In Pokémon Masters EX, Ingo and Excadrill appeared as a playable sync pair that could be recruited at random through the game's Sync Pair Scout feature after being added to the game in June 2021. A special costume variant paired with Accelgor was also made available during limited time periods, starting in April 2022. It was mentioned that Ingo's Accelgor and Emmet's Escavalier were the result of the two brothers trading Pokémon with each other. The brothers were first featured in the Story Event "All Aboard the Victory Train", in which they arrived at Pasio and sought to set up an equivalent of the Battle Subway with an unused rail track up in the island's mountain. They fought the rail's path blocked, so they sought permission to excavate from Lear, battling through trainers like Thorton and Darach at the Battle Villa to meet him. Lear gave them permission, but they had to talk to Clay first, as he also had permission to excavate there. It turned out that Clay was doing the job for Steven Stone and Roark, who agreed to let the Subway Bosses work on uncovering the railroad as long as they passed along any rare stones or fossils that they found. So they excavated the area and set up a Pasio version of the Battle Subway, in which trainers battled each other along the tracks until facing the Subway Bosses deep within the tunnel. Ingo and Emmet, in their special costumes, were featured in the "Curious Tea Party" Costume Event, where they presented one of the puzzles for Sonia's tea party while musing on the similarities and differences between their current butler-like roles and their usual roles as Subway Bosses.
Other Appearances[edit]
Other Media[edit]
- In the Pokémon anime, the twins first appeared in two episodes during the Unova series where they tried to investigate something that was disturbing the train tracks and were shown to be past acquaintances of Cilan due to their shared love of trains. The culprits of the train troubles were Team Rocket, but they ultimately evaded Emmet and Ingo. They subsequently were featured in a two-part episode where they teamed up with Ash's group to stop Team Rocket after they had sabotaged the subway and stolen Pokémon from the Pokémon Center. Several episodes later, they helped Ash and Cilan to find a girl's missing Axew and decided to reward their good deed with a double battle in which Emmet and Ingo were able to defeat Ash and Cilan.
- In the Pokémon Adventures manga, they appeared during the Black/White arc. They ran the newly-opened Battle Subway and acted as mentors as White when she wanted to start battling. They were shown as having a love of battles but being quite eccentric to the point of occasionally frightening White.
Trivia[edit]
- Ingo's Japanese name is Nobari, taken from the Japanese word for an 'up-train', signifying the direction a train is traveling in. His English name is derived from 'ingoing', as in an 'ingoing train'. This matches Emmet's name, which is taken from 'down-train' in Japanese and seems to be taken from 'emit' in English.
- His character trajectory is notably similar to that of Anabel, as he started off as the leader of a battle facility not related to the plot, only to be displaced by a type of wormhole and lose his memories before assuming a new, more plot-relevant role in a later game set in a different region.
- Ingo and Emmet's contrasting color schemes, as well as their differing expressions, reflect the yin-yang themes of the fifth generation games.