Pokémon Legends: Arceus fans want closure for Ingo

Written by. Nick Mosier based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2022-02-18 13:30 JST)

Ingo, a character that appears in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, has fans talking about what they want for his future. Spoilers for story elements involving Ingo to follow.

In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Ingo is a warden of the Pearl Clan. But he doesn’t originate from the Hisui region and was actually found without his memory by the Pearl Clan. He acts as a guide for the player while on a quest to quell the Hisuian Electrode in the Coronet Highlands and challenges the player to a battle in an attempt to get his memory back. He has a tendency to use train lingo when he talks.

The character is mysterious and Pokémon Legends: Arceus never makes his origins clear, but many players that have played previous Pokémon titles will know exactly where he came from.

Ingo is a boss of the Battle Subway in Pokémon Black and White, which becomes available after clearing the game. If players accumulate enough wins on the Single Train, they take on Ingo as the last boss. There’s also the Multi Train where Ingo teams up with his brother Emmet as the final boss of that mode. He’s a strong trainer that left a big impact on players, so even though he didn’t play a big role in the story, Ingo was a popular character. He was also used on a wide variety of merchandise and even appears in Pokémon Masters EX.

The world of Pokémon Black and White that Ingo comes from is long after the story of Pokémon Legends: Arceus. In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, despite losing his memory, Ingo does have faint recollections of his fire-type partner Pokémon and a man that looks very similar to him, so we can infer that this Ingo was taken from the world of Pokémon Black and White and sent back to the past for some reason. But that does leave Ingo without his partner Pokémon Chandelure or his brother Emmet.

Many fans were happy to see a popular character from the series return in a new game. But others have expressed that they feel sorry for Ingo considering he was taken away from his brother and Chandelure and left totally alone in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. As the story continues, not only does he not reunite with his companions, he doesn’t even get his memory back. This has caused fans to call for Ingo to be sent back to his original timeline or somehow be reunited with Emmet through DLC.

Some fans have also come up with a very interesting theory. In Pokémon Black and White and Pokémon Masters EX, Ingo uses his left hand to grab the brim of his hat, but in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, he’s shown using his right hand, which is the hand Emmet used in previous titles. This has led fans to believe that Ingo in Pokémon Legends: Arceus is actually Emmet just thinking he’s Ingo. Whether there is any truth to that is currently unknown.

Surprising players by bringing back popular characters is usually something that delights fans as it normally doesn’t subject them to a sad fate like the one Ingo faces. Maybe we’ll see this story develop further somewhere down the line.