#...they're cross foxes

“I wouldn’t put it that way!” Cilan denied. “Though, yes, I am quite an enthusiast. It’s not the only thing that I have an interest in, mind you – it’s simply that it’s the thing that is most fundamental.”

Ash frowned.

“Fundamental how?” he said.

“Food is necessary for everything else to happen!” Cilan explained.

“Pika kachuu, Pikapi pichu,” Pikachu opined.

“I guess I do enjoy it, yeah,” Ash said. “I’m just wondering… so what other things are you into, then?”

“Ash!” Iris warned. “You know Cilan might talk about whatever it is for half an hour, right?”

Ash shrugged.

“Yeah?” Ash replied. “I don’t mind! We’re friends, right? And maybe I’ll decide that, no, I won’t be interested again, but the first time isn’t that much of a problem… anyway, what is it, then?”

“That’s very clear-minded of you, Ash!” Cilan smiled. “A piquant attitude!”

“Let me guess,” Iris sighed. “It’s like a drink accompanying the food?”

Cilan looked thoughtful.

“I hadn’t thought of that one,” he said. “Very insightful!”

Iris shook her head, trying not to smile, and Cilan went on. “We’re actually on the way to Nimbasa City, which means that I can tell you about one of the things that I find fascinating – which is the Battle Subway!”

Ash immediately perked up, as did Pikachu.

“If it’s a battle subway, does that mean that there are Pokémon battles?” he asked.

“Yes!” Cilan agreed. “I’ve got an interest in trains generally, actually – you see, they’re a remarkably efficient way of getting around!”

Ash frowned.

“What about Pokémon?” he asked.

“I was going to ask that,” Iris admitted. “Aren’t Dragon-types like a Dragonite way faster than a train?”

“Well, not all Pokémon can fly!” Cilan replied. “And, yes, if you have a fast flying Pokémon then it’s an excellent way to get around quickly – but trains can do that job regardless of who you are. They can bring you and your Pokémon along, quickly and safely, and you don’t get rained on – which is a problem for a flying Pokémon, after all! In a train you’re inside, away from the weather, and it can take hundreds of people at once.”

“I guess I never really thought about it that way,” Ash conceded. “Normally I think about a journey being the journey, not the destination… I don’t mind taking longer because going through the towns on the way and meeting Pokémon on the way is a big part of the fun bit.”

“And there’s nothing wrong with that!” Cilan agreed. “But if you need to get somewhere in a hurry, unless you have certain kinds of Ride Pokémon, then the only way is the rail way!”

Ash nodded along.

“But what about the Battle Subway?” he asked.

“The subway is how people get around Nimbasa, but the Battle part is because of a Nimbasa speciality!” Cilan declared. “Run by Subway Bosses Ingo and Emmet, the Battle Trains are a way you can battle on the move – specially reinforced, they let you battle your way to a destination! And the Subway Bosses themselves are expert trainers, so challenging them is always a highlight!”

“I hadn’t actually heard about them,” Iris said, reluctantly. “The Battle Trains, that is… how does it work?”

“If you’re on the Battle Train, then you’ve decided you’re interested in the battle bit,” Cilan explained. “So you can either just pair up with anyone, which makes it like a Battle Club, or you can try and build up a winning streak – it’s a great way for people in Nimbasa to battle with lots of different trainers without having to leave the city!”

Ash looked like he was thinking that through.

“I guess if I had to live in a city, I’d want it to be one with Battle Trains,” he said. “But I’d rather travel around than be stuck in one place, if that makes sense?”

“I think it makes a lot of sense, Ash!” Cilan reassured him, warmly. “Though I’ve always been just as interested in the mechanics of it all! All the old rolling stock!”

“The what?” Iris asked.

“Rolling stock!” Cilan repeated, which didn’t seem to help. “The trains! They roll, you see. And some people – and I’m one of them – try to see all of the trains on the line!”

Iris looked mortified.

“You mean you’re a trainspotter?” she asked.

“It’s not much different from being a Pokémon spotter!” Cilan replied. “And don’t you want to see all Pokémon, Ash?”

“Yeah, actually,” Ash admitted. “I still don’t know if Porygon evolves, though…”

“There you go!” Cilan replied. “It’s like collecting a whole cabinet of spices!”

“Just couldn’t help yourself, could you?” Iris asked.

“Ax-ew, ax!” Axew volunteered, leaning out of her hair.

“Pika kachuu pika,” Pikachu advised.

“Maybe,” Ash said. “And I guess I do like the sound of the Battle Trains.”

“Good!” Cilan smiled. “Though I do want to speak to the Subway Bosses at some point… Ash, can I count on your cooperation for that? You see, I’ve got this idea about one of my other hobbies… unsolved mysteries!”

“Oh no,” Iris muttered.

“Unsolved mysteries?” Ash repeated. “What kind of unsolved mystery?”

“It’s one that you might know about, Ash!” Cilan replied. “Because you’ve been to Sinnoh!”

He rummaged in his bag, and took out two photos – one of two similar men dressed in cross-matching outfits, the other a photo of a pencil sketch of just one of the men.

“This one, with two men on it, is Ingo and Emmet!” Cilan explained. “They’re twins! And this one, with just one, is a mysterious Warden of the Pearl Clan, from Hisui – also named Ingo! You can see how similar they look, and this is an officially unsolved mystery!”

Iris leaned over Ash’s shoulder.

“That’s… actually weird,” she said. “Okay, I’m interested now. What’s the answer?”

“It’s unsolved!” Cilan reminded her. “But I’ve got some ideas about it. One of them is that there’s rumours that there’s a Legendary Pokémon in Sinnoh that can travel in time!”

“Rumours?” Iris repeated. “It’s obvious that that’s Dialga.”

“Do you mean Dialga or Celebi?” Ash checked. “I’ve seen both in Sinnoh.”

“...huh,” Iris said. “You’ve met Dialga?”

“Yeah, and his siblings,” Ash agreed, blithely. “And Arceus, too… though Dialga was the only one of them to actually do time travel… how far in the past was this?”

“A few hundred years,” Cilan said. “Ash, you’re full of surprises! It’s like you’re a pastry with a hot pepper filling!”

“Chuu,” Pikachu giggled.

“...yeah, I might need to work out if that’s an insult,” Ash admitted. “So you think there’s time travel?”

“That’s one possibility!” Cilan agreed. “Though they might not know, if it hasn’t happened yet. Another possibility is that this Ingo from the past is the ancestor of the Subway Bosses. Or it could be a coincidence! But I intend to ask, because sometimes mysteries don’t require much detective work…”

On the far side of some trainspotting, two battles on a Battle Train, and a Team Rocket plot involving several inflatable decoy trains and the Rocket Meowth working in deep cover, Cilan finally got a chance to approach the two Subway Bosses.

“...so, I was wondering!” he said. “Are you aware of Warden Ingo of the Pearl Clan, from Hisui?”

“I think you will find that we’ve already published an official response!” Emmet said.

“Brother!” Ingo said, a moment later. “This is not a matter for an official response!”

The two brothers exchanged glances.

“It’s not?” Emmet asked. “What could be the reason for that? Official responses are official!”

“Yes, but Ash Ketchum is Ash Ketchum!” Ingo replied. “He has a special dispensation!”

“Why Ash?” Iris asked. “Is this to do with Dialga or something?”

“Or something!” Ingo said. “Brother – I have been assured that Ash Ketchum in particular can be trusted. I think his friends can too.”

“Pika chuu…” Pikachu said, frowning and tilting his head. “Chu?”

“Very well!” Emmet decided. “If you have special assurance, that is fine!”

Ingo and Emmet nodded firmly, then Ingo crouched down.

“It is true,” he said. “That I was sent back in time to help out, much like you were – by Arceus, not by Dialga. However, in my case I refused a return ticket.”

“You… went back in time and then didn’t come forwards in time?” Cilan said.

“I did not say that!” Ingo replied. “I came forwards in time by trackside path.”

“But that would have to be hundreds of years,” Iris protested. “You still look like twins! How is that possible?”

Ash frowned.

“Do you have a thing that means you don’t age?” he asked. “Professor Oak’s not sure if I’ve got that, he says it might be that I’m just going through puberty late or it could be a side effect of when I died.”

“Chuu, pikapi Pika ka!” Pikachu said, firmly.

“Okay, the first time,” Ash amended. “Pikachu, you know the second time barely counts!”

He frowned. “Wait, or are you counting the chandelier as the first time? I guess that would make the one I was talking about the second time-”

“We’re getting distracted!” Iris said, sounding faintly horrified and also intrigued. “How did your thing happen, Ingo?”

“It’s simple!” Emmet said, and there was a poof of smoke.

Two poofs, in fact.

When the smoke faded, there was a black-furred Zoroark wearing Emmet’s clothes, and a white-and-grey Zoroark wearing Ingo’s clothes.

“From my point of view, Ingo didn’t actually vanish!” Emmet said. “He just turned up with a big pile of souvenirs from all over the world, two new Pokémon – one of them for me – and a very long story to tell!”

“And from my point of view, I was glad it was me and not my brother,” Ingo clarified.

“You’re Zoroarks?” Cilan asked, sounding impressed. “Oh! So that’s why the outfits look like that!”

“It is a long-term bit of trickery and deception!” Ingo said, proudly. “I have the darker outfit! That is not what you would expect from our themes!”

“Speaking of which,” Emmet added. “If you’re a Zoroark too, Iris, you’re not doing a great job of trickery.”

“...this is just my hair,” Iris protested. “I’m not a Zoroark.”

“Isn’t that what a Zoroark would say?” Ash asked, thoughtfully.

Iris glared at him.