Subway Boss Emmet
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Emmet |
| Occupation: | Subway Boss (Pokémon Black and White versions, Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 versions), |
| Relationships: | Subway Boss Ingo (Twin, other subway boss) |
| Fandom: | Pokémon, Pokemon Submas Fandom |
| Other: | n/a |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Subway Boss Emmet is a minor Pokémon character that appeared in the games Pokémon Black and White and their sequels, Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 as a Subway Boss. He is one of the two characters focused on by the Pokemon Submas Fandom, with the other being his twin brother Ingo. Although these two have been liked by Black and White fans since 2010, they both gained a resurgence of popularity after the release of Pokémon Legends: Arceus in 2022.
Emmet is canonically the younger twin since he refers to Ingo as nii-san in the Pokémon Anime, meaning older brother in Japanese.
History
Subway Boss Emmet debuted in the 2010 games Black and White. In those games and their direct sequels, he acts as a Subway Boss alongside Ingo. He can be battled on any of Gear Station's Double or Multi trains. His only appearance in canonical Pokemon media since was in Pokémon Masters as an unlockable character in 2021.
In an official Black and White human character popularity poll hosted in Japan sometime in the 2010s, Emmet won third place overall and third place when only counting female voters.[1][2]
Fanon
Relationships with Others
A relationship between Ingo, Emmet, and Elesa is common in fanworks. There is no in-game confirmation of any relationship existing between them, but their shared home of Nimbasa City and Elesa's otherwise lack of fan attention draws in fanworkers to a potential dynamic they could have. Fancomics, fanart and fanfic are the most common ways fans write the trio, dubbed the Nimbasa Trio.
Drayden is sometimes seen as Emmet's, (and by extension, Ingo's,) uncle. This also has no canonical basis, but is popular with fans.
The Joltik Hoard
Due to the Galvantula Emmet uses in the Battle Subway having the egg move Cross Poison, a trope began of Emmet owning large amounts of Joltiks, since breeding for the move would take a long time and many failed attempts.
Stealing Ingo's Pudding
This article or section needs expansion. |
Controversies
Potential Ableism in Fanworks for Emmet
Some in the wider Pokemon Submas Fandom headcanon Emmet as Autistic as well as his brother. Their fascination of trains, love for battling, stilted dialogue, and repeated emotional quirks, (such as Emmet always having a smile on his face,) can be seen as Autistic traits. This has been elaborated on in meta, such as 1863-project's Ingo and Emmet Are Both Autistic and I Will Die On This Hill, Thank You Very Much. In early 2010s Submas Fandom, despite this headcanon not being too popular, Emmet in particular was often woobified and portrayed as like a man-child due to him being the more cheery one of the Subway Boss duo.[3] On the other end of the spectrum, other fans thought his erratic personality could display itself as violence and creep-like tendencies. Some of the most telling signs of this trope are fanart where Emmet carries comically sized weapons with a wide smile on his face.
After Pokémon Legends: Arceus released, the topic was brought up again after it first died-down many years before. When Zoroark AU, elaborated more on the Pokemon Submas Fandom page, became big, it only fueled the debate. Zoroark AU by its premise has Emmet be a Zoroark in disguise, and this possibly can lead to Emmet's Autistic traits being portrayed as animalistic and/or inhuman unintentionally in fanworks and overall Emmet discussion when it wasn't before. The tropes present in some of Emmet's early interpretations also rose in popularity, just described differently. Two examples are Emmet acting "unhinged" and him "fighting god" to bring Ingo back from Hisui.
Many younger fans who headcanonned Emmet as Autistic themselves often played into these old tropes of his. While formal discussion of this was largely on Tumblr with adult fans of the duo, younger fans primarily on sites like Twitter, Discord, Tumblr and Instagram may have harassed fanworkers they deemed purposefully playing into these stereotypes, many of whom where also young themselves. Many of these covered larger topics of discussion within Autism's larger portrayal in fandom spaces and overall Ableism in Fandom.
Once Submas waned in sheer popularity with the release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet later in 2022, the topic seems to have cooled.
Example/Notable Fanworks
Cosplay
- "I had a blast at Tracon!..." by submastrain on Tumblr, 2023.
- "Okay. Now’s as good as time as any to show off my Emmet cosplay..." by blueisquitetired on Tumblr, 2023.
- "A little late but this was for day 2 of anime riverside!" by cupoftea-oliver on Tumblr, 2023.
- "A darkened reflection" by ingo-ingoing-ingone on Tumblr, 2023.
Fan Craft
TBA
Fan Art
- "Hi, do you remeber me?" by choochooboss on Tumblr, 2023.
- "average nimbasa city citizen has 3..." by leavingautumn13 on Tumblr, 2023.
- "Not me realizing tynamo evolves..." by critterbitter on Tumblr, 2023.
- "fibre optic cables yum..." by corruptimles on Tumblr, 2023
Fan Fiction
- somehow, someday, we'd have to say goodbye by Seito on AO3, 2022.
Videos
- MISSING - [submas animation] by Recordzz 1 on YouTube, 2022.
- Emmet Can't Run a Subway (Let's Game it Out Animatic) on YouTube, 2020.
- W ing W ing | Submas Animatic | COMPLETE on YouTube, 2023.
Resources
Kudari | Emmet tag on Archive of Our Own
Subway Boss Emmet tag on Tumblr