"Have you found anything else about this team?" Mrs. April asked the principal, looking concerned for her students
"Not yet, no, but to be fair, we only got a symbol, not an actual name"
"Yeah...You've got a fair point"
"Well, besides that, our main objective is to teach the students, and keep them safe until they're able to go out into the real world"
"Yeah"
"Class! Today we'll be splitting up again,"
"What for?" Hitasu asked looking confused, he often tried to pay attention and write down anything important from class but there were times he wouldn't notice.
"Well, the faculty and Pokémon Ranger Union have decided that you all should be able to work under a Professional Ranger to learn more about their work"
"Sounds like fun, Who do you think we'll be paired with?" Erica asked Keith and Hitasu.
"I dunno, It's usually random of who we get put with"
"Well, I've only actually met Claus, although it's strange how his partner is a Shaymin"
"No-one quite knows why, Some say that he can understand Pokémon so that may be the answer."
"Wow, I never would have guessed, I might have to ask Professor Oak about it later"
"Alrighty then, the Pokémon Rangers should be here any second now" On cue, a handful of young adults and teenagers entered the room ranging from sixteen years of age to twenty-two. The Teacher then called out the teams with their Ranger.
"Team Green, Claus Akimaro. Team Yellow, Crawford Jones. Team Red, Ruby Flemister. And Team Blue, Scarlet Akimaro." She took a pause"Do I need to repeat anything?"
In unison, the class denied with each of the rangers going to the team they were assigned to, It might have seemed randomized, but truthfully, the rangers went to the teams that best assisted their abilities.
"Hey Scarlet! Haven't seen ya since we came here a couple of years ago"
"Oh, Hi Claus, Hi Shaymin. You seem well"
"Do you two know each other?" Erica asked.
"Oh yeah, Claus is my brother, we used to travel back in Kanto a few years back, It's kind of nostalgic, but if only everyone could meet up again"
"Yeah, I know what you mean" Claus then said and a whisper came after"Don't overdo it, you know what happens when you overexert yourself"
Everyone had gone outside with their Ranger guardian beside them, for a short amount of time, about ten minutes, the teams were to get to know their Ranger and vice-versa.
"So, tell me what your names are"
"Hitasu Aquamari"
"Erica Summer"
"Keith Silver"
"Well, you've heard my name, but for clarification, I'm Scarlet Akimaro, but my friends call me Rose" She pulled a Pokéball from her bag and tossed it up"This is my Partner Pokémon, Lucario"
"It's nice to meet you!" The three said in unison.
"Likewise, now I'm sure you're wondering what kind of work I do, aren't you?"
"Just a bit" Erica then said
"I see, well the work for a few rangers is split between patrol, specific rescue missions, and overall, protecting the peace. Today we'll be working towards Patrol, Y'know protecting Pokémon and whatnot"
"I get it"
It was faint, but one could see Scarlet's eyes begin to change with Lucario's Aura being revealed to the visible eye.
"Do you see anything, Lucario?" It growled negatively showing it hadn't "Me either, This area's clear"
"You can tell?".
" Oh me? I'm kind of similar to a Lucario, nothing like Aura, I just have good eyesight and hearing"
"Wow, that's cool!" Erica looked towards Hitasu "Y'know he's kind of the same if there's something wrong in the ocean, he can tell"
"Hitasu Aquamari..." She saw something within him, some kind of pain
"Something wrong?"Hitasu asked coming closer as she backed away holding her head with a headache.
"O-oh it's nothing, Just zoned out for a second"
"If you say so, Let's get this Patrol underway!" Erica looked excited, all three of them looked excited actually.
"Let's see here, We should head on over to the Ice Camp to see if there are any problems.
" J-jeez, I-it's cold!"Erica and Keith both said, even if they had been wearing several layers of protective gear. Hitasu seemed fine without them but Scarlet looked fine like she was used to it.
"O-oh, here let me help!" Hitasu took his hat off, giving it to Scarlet to hold as he held his hand over Keith's and Erica's clothes which strangely warmed them up"Is that better?"
"Yeah...How'd you do that?"
"Oh? That, well you see, I have a rare condition which makes me heat up to 120F so I need to wear my hat with the Nevermelt Ice to keep it level."
"That's what the pain was...He's hiding it, but I saw something else, some kind of eternal pain" Scarlet thought to herself.
"Sounds tough, You okay?"
"I'm fine, sure it can be problematic at times but it's never caused any real trouble," Hitasu said placing the hat back on his head. Piplup normally would have been under his hat, but the climate made it quite comfortable for them both.
"Hey there, Chief, have there been any problems Lately?"
"Well, we've received a report that a girl's Speal has gone missing somewhere around the Crystal cave,"
"That's horrible!"
"Oh, I see you've picked up the trainees, you all have the mission to rescue the Speal and return it home."
"Roger!" The four said together with a salute and started to head towards the cave with Scarlet suddenly falling to her knees as well Piplup, Buizel, and Emolga seeming pained
"What's going on!? Are you guys okay!?" Hitasu was quick to help Scarlet looking scared while doing so
"I don't know why, but there's some kind of frequency messing with our ears, return your Pokémon!"They did as told returning the Pokémon to their Pokéballs.
" Why is it affecting you?"
"My ears are too sensitive, I'll do my best to keep you safe, but if the frequency gets too powerful I'll have to retreat"
"We understand," The three said at once
There seemed to be some kind of rocket-shaped machine giving off the sound making Scarlet feel weakened just by coming closer.
"What is this thing?" Hitasu knocked on it causing the sound to grow stronger with Scarlet shouting in pain
"Scarlet!? Are you okay!?"
"G-get out of the way!" Doing as told the three moved away from her as her eyes grew from a ruby red into an electric blue charging some kind of energy in between her palms as she fired it destroying the device. Doing so caused her to collapse as well with a loud crash being heard throughout the cave.
"What did you do?"
"S-sorry you had to see that, but can we keep it our secret?" They nodded, slightly scared "Listen, when I said I was similar to Lucario, it was in more ways than just my sight and hearing"
"You mean, you can control aura?" Keith asked
"Pretty much, yes, I used to have better control of my power, but something happened a couple of years ago forcing me to lose a lot of my power as well as my memories." She paused "I'm still recovering from that incident so using too much aura will leave me vulnerable. You must keep this secret"The three quietly nodded as they continued inside the cave with Emolga on Erica's head using its cheeks to create light.
"I-it's freezing in here, C-c-can you warm us up?"
"Oh, sure thing" He gave his hat over to Piplup and placed his hands over their winter clothes which almost instantly had them feeling refreshed."Are you cold too?"He asked Scarlet
"No thanks, I'm fine, besides, aren't you hurt by the heat?"
"Me? Oh no, I'm fine, As long as the ice keeps my body's heat level I'm fine"
"Right" She could tell that it was slowly chipping away at him, there was some kind of internal flare breaking him to the boiling point, the ice just heavily delayed it.
There was the end of the cave, cries could be heard from behind an opening, that Keith smashed open with Buizel's Sonic Boom attack which shattered it leaving a large gap. Behind it was two human figures and a crying Speal.
"Stop right there! Speal's crying and I won't tolerate this kind of behavior towards Pokémon." Scarlet said holding her styler and a Pokéball ready to attack.
"I'm afraid we aren't going to do that, You Pokémon Rangers don't scare us!" One of them lunged for Hitasu pulling him back as a hostage.
"Holy Arceus, this kid is warm, We'll be taking these with us"One had said holding Hitasu's arms behind his back where he couldn't reach his Pokémon nor could he use his styler.
" Oh wow, you're right, he's like a heater!"
There was nothing the others could do, if they moved then Hitasu could be in grave danger, they seemed like either they were idiots or they couldn't be serious. They were definitely vacuous considering how that was the second time they forgot why they came.
"Bye, you Rangers! We'll be taking our packages and be on our way!" They said with a wave as something crashed through the ceiling allowing them to be brought up into an airship.
Welcome back, who's the kid?"One asked once in the airship.
"I don't know, but he's like a heater as well as a good Hostage. For now, just truss him up a smidgen on the tight side."
"Right! After all, you're one of the Dim Sun admins"
"Dim...sun? Is that what they're called? I have to get out of here and tell the Principal, " He thought to himself staying quiet.
"Huh? Don't talk much?" One asked. Hitasu shook his head, if they believed that he didn't talk then it would probably prevent them from trying to interrogate him.
"And done, those ropes look secure, what do you think?"
"I agree, Ranger junior won't be getting out anytime soon, take his Styler and Pokéball as well"
"Please...Hurry guys" He thought to himself trying to wiggle out of the ropes.
"Don't tell me you're trying to escape? There's no way you possibly could"
That's when it happened, He accidentally flung off his hat, revealing frost on his hair melt within seconds.
"Hey, I heard that you were like a heater, I wonder what they meant" He barely poked Hitasu on the forehead with him crying in pain after coming into contact.
"Youch! Jeez, you're boiling hot!"
Hitasu wiggled around more than trying to push himself towards his hat. That much movement would and could set him unconscious.
"Oh! I get it, here" He put the hat on top of his head seeing steam erupt from Hitasu's body.
"What's going on?" Someone came by to see them. They had blue hair, the same color as his jacket, which in itself looked like something out of a Highschool sitcom."Is there a problem?"
"Nope, He's just really warm, I think without his hat he overheats, causes when I put his hat back on his head Steam appeared" The first one admitted"Oh right, That's what happened, Boss Ice"
That's when Hitasu reacted, this Ice person reached for his hat, In response, Hitasu bit his hand to make him stop.
"Ow! Jeez that felt like a fire fang, Gag him with something!"
"Yes, Boss!" A cloth was tied around his mouth preventing him from biting again
"Now that hat must be important, yes?" Ice said reaching for the hat and looking inside with stars in his eyes.
"D-do you know what this means!?" He asked
"Uh...That the ice in his hat keeps his body level?"
"Not just that, this ice was made specifically by Articuno, Where is it, tell me!" Hitasu shook his head with a scared look, He couldn't tell them, he would never put his safety before Articuno's
"What do you mean no!?"
He shook his head again quickly kicking their legs which caused them to fall as Hitasu jumped and ran to get his styler and Pokéball. Idiots didn't even realize his Pokémon wasn't inside the Pokéball.
"Stop that Ranger!" Ice called out with Hitasu relentlessly searching for his styler, taken hostage or not, his teacher would be furious if he lost it
Many tried with little to no success until it happened, one of them brought out a laptop sort of device, with a single press of a button several Spinerak and Ariados using thread like attacks until he wasn't able to move at all.
"We got 'em!"One said over the radio with another then sniffing the area.
" Do I smell smoke?"Hitasu's body heat was slowly burning through the webbing, without his hat it might have been faster. but he wasn't able to tear it apart yet.
"Smoke!? Gah, it's his heat, add more webbing!"Ice said once again through the radio until there was just a large cocoon.
" Great work, That ranger was nothing but trouble"
"Oh Beedrills, I can't get ahold of his Styler Signal. This is bad" Scarlet looked stumped"And my aura won't work, I don't have enough power to sense him from far distances"
"It isn't your fault, if you had done something he would have been severely injured and they might've taken you as well" Erica explained
"Besides, Hitasu isn't one to give up, plus they forgot Speal so we can return it home, and then we can tell the union and plan on what to do"
"Yeah..."She nodded still appearing worried " Hitasu...Just hang on"
Hitasu was now stuck to a chair with a bring lamp overhead, attempting to struggle he winced.
"I wouldn't try that if I were you, not even a scyther could tear those ropes, besides they're rough surface is like Sharpedo's skin, every shake will only scrape at your skin."
He didn't listen as the ropes continued the slash and scrape his skin, even though it hurt heavily, he knew that there was no way he would stop.
"Hey! Cut it out, kid! Now tell me where's Articuno!"
"How would I know"
"Then how did you get Articuno's ice in your hat?"
"I dunno"He knew that all he needed to do was deny everything, back when Keith and Erica began interrogating him about Professor Oak, he wasn't prepared with what to say, now he knew what to say and do.
" Well, what do you know!?"
"That your team is full of idiots"
"About Articuno! Not my team!"
"It's the titan of Ice as well as being an Ice And Flying-type pokémon"
"You're really getting on my nerves kid"
"You kidnapped someone without thinking, kind of on you"
"Why you little!" A slash went across his face leaving three large scars and small amounts of blood. "That was my Drapion, you have five minutes to tell me or it'll use poison on its claws"
"I don't know anything, poison me all you want, there's no point." Another slash, without poison but it still left a mark.
"Just let him go, it's obvious that he doesn't know anything," Another said as the main one shouted looked annoyed
"Fine." He went behind Hitasu, Untying him then grabbing onto his shirt and opening a hatch off the airship. It was then that he was thrown off into the middle of the ocean and quickly attacked by Sharpedo.
"That takes care of the brat, Problem solved"
"What the peck is wrong with you!? You just killed him! We may be criminals, but we aren't murderers"
"No. We aren't murderers, The Sharpedo did it so we can say he escaped and was attacked by wild Pokémon"
"Y-yes boss" they looked back, feeling guilty for not being able to save the child.
"Well now, What's a young one like you doing here"
To be Continued...