With sharp pains it was easy to say that Hitasu had taken a lot of damage from the Sharpedo, he wasn't dead, but close to it as he started to weakly open his eyes seeing some kind of room decorated with an ocean theme.
"Oi, are you finally awake? You were barely alive driftin' in the ocean, I thought you were a goner"
"Where...am I?"
"Weren't you listenin' I just told you we were i n the middle of the ocean, this here's me ship"
"Oh...I see"
"Now don't strain yourself, lad, those marks are definitely from Sharpedo not just that, a slash from a drapion and a few rope burns, what on earth happened to ya?"
"There's this team that called themselves Team Dim Sun, they were doing something to Pokémon, I'm not sure what but some kind of mind control that forced the Pokémon to attack."
"I get it"
"You believe me?"
"Of course I do, your clothes show that yer a Pokémon Ranger, plus your styler next to your body told me you were an official Ranger in Training"
"My styler? I guess they must have thrown it out with me..."
"Hitasu Aquamari, I'll be honest, not much is known about you, the thing doesn't even know your birthday"
"Well, I don't know it either." He said as he started trying to sit up seeing several bandages wrapped around his torso, parts of his arms, and around his forehead. Not just that his arm wouldn't move as there was a handmade cast around it.
"H-hey now! Don't push yourself too far, as I said before when I found you, you were on the brink of death, you're slightly better but still, your arm is broken as well"
"R-right, sorry"
"By the way, I'm Peeko Briney"
"Briney? Isn't that the name of a famous sailor?"
"Oh It is, you see he's my father, and around twenty years ago he actually encountered someone like you"
"Someone like me?"
"Yes, Leaf I think he was called, Pops found him floating in the sea like how I found you, That kid eventually became the one who saved the world"
"You're serious?"
"Well, that's just what he said, something about the blue orb in his hand that allowed him to tame Kyogre."
"So you have no idea whether it's true or not"
"I don't"
"Figures...How long was I out?"
"About a week and a half"
"And what happened to your accent"
"I tried to find a way to sound like a sailor, truth is we're lost and I don't know what I'm doing"
"Y-you don't!? I can try and send a message to the class and see if they can come to pick us up"
"You can do that?"
"Well, I would...If it was a union styler, this is just the student one so I can't send messages, and the charge is out so I can't use it either"
"Well, what can you do?"
"I can change its background?"
"Something useful..."
"R-right, I probably should do that"He weakly got out of bed and fell onto the floor struggling to stand.
" What are you doing!? You're in no condition to do this!"Peeko helped him up sitting him down on the bed
"Our only way home is to befriend a Pokémon who can take us to land"
"But your styler?"
"It's fine, Rangers are taught to convey friendship, even without a styler"
"You need to rest, we can get a Pokémon when you're better"
"You don't get it, every second I don't tell the union, the more things that Dim Sun can do!"
Peeko laughed a bit "You're a brave one, It looks like I won't be able to stop you, but let me come with you in case anything happens"
"Thank you"
"Do you have a Pokémon with you?"
"I don't, sorry, I only had Piplup and he's with a Pokémon Ranger"
"Well, I've only got Pelliper with me, and it won't do much underwater" Hitasu would dive into the ocean after Peeko and seeing a multitude of wild water-type Pokémon, however with his numerous injuries, a Sharpedo would then swim to him starting to bite upon his body.
"Hitasu!"He cried, air bubbles erupting from a device in his mouth, but the boy was Laughing?
" Hi there, I guess my blood must have gained your attention, I'm Hitasu"
"Why are you laughing!?"
"It's newly evolved, which means that its teeth haven't completely grown so it doesn't hurt, plus he doesn't have any malicious actions, just seems to want attention"
"Doesn't it still hurt?"
"No, It seems to have a special ability" He explained pulling out his styler"Speed boost, which means its skin won't hurt you" Peeko swam over and lightly stroked its head"Wow, I've never seen a Sharpedo with smooth skin"
"As a sailor, you need to remember that all Pokemon are different, even if the same species"
"How so?"
"They have personalities, and their own uniqueness beyond that, they're living creatures, not brainless beasts"
"I guess Pokemon Rangers do more than protect the peace"
"Yeah, We may not be superheroes, but we do what we can"
"I might even become a ranger one day...They do train adults, right?"
"Yup, they are willing to teach anyone, well after a background check anyways"
"But, you shouldn't have a background check, you don't even remember your birthday"
"Nobody knows my birthday, after every year Professor Oak just declares me a year older, and children who are at least twelve just need the recommendation to enroll"
"How does nobody know your birthday?"
I don't have parents, I just live with Professor Oak so I never knew my birthday"
"Professor Oak? I think I've shipped cargo for him from Hoenn, also sorry about your parents, but do you think Sharpedo can get us to land?"
"No, It's kind and fast, but it lacks the body strength to help us travel"
"Oh, we should head back to the boat, you're already pushing yourself by being out here, you should rest for a while and I'll send out another flare and try to get someone's attention"Peeko looked back at Hitasu seeing him start to sink with him asleep"Oh jeez, you're brave, hopefully, your courage will be able to help someone when you wake up"He said carrying him back to the boat.
"Have you found him yet?"Samuel asked
"No...I'm really sorry, I wasn't strong enough to protect him"Scarlet looked like she was on the verge of tears looked down at her shoes.
"It isn't your fault, you're still recovering from that incident, all we can do is pray that he's okay"
"Not just that, he has a strong spirit, he still hasn't revealed anything about Articuno, chances are he's still alive"
"Samuel, we haven't found Hitasu yet, we've sent out as many rangers as we can, we had to classify him as a high priority to send that many" Mrs. April explained
"Good, we can't let him reveal Articuno's whereabouts" They four would continue to talk with a few students listening in
"Man, I hope he's okay...They say he's strong, but no one can withstand that pain" Erica sighed from a secret base hidden between the trees and the great ranger statue of the plaza. She and Keith were with another team, Team Green which consisted of two girls and a boy, Aurora, Megan, and Blake.
"Did they say, Articuno?"Megan asked
"I never would have thought he would know Articuno, think that's what he meant by being raised weird?"
"Maybe, he's weird, but I hope he makes it back"
"Huh? Wow, I don't think you've ever been worried about someone's safety" Erica said seeing a blush of embarrassment on his face.
"W-well, if they get ahold of Articuno, nature would be disrupted"
"Sure, and not because he's your friend," Erica said sarcastically
"Well, there's five of us, let's go rescue him!" Megan looked determined.
"Are you insane!?" Keith and Blake were both dumbfounded, how could they possibly save him, sure there were five of them, but they were children against an entire criminal organization.
"Of course not, he's part of our class, he would do the same to help us"Erica went as Keith then started to breathe in quickly as he loudly sneezed.
" Keith? What are you doing behind there, get out"All five stepped out with frost starting to appear on the lawn, a blue figure appearing overhead and landing before Professor Oak?
"Articuno? Why have you come?" It let out a cry with a melody shortly after"I understand, he's still alive"
"Y-you can understand it?"
"Not entirely, She's technically Hitasu's mother, and that melody was Hitasu's lullaby. Articuno can sense that he's alive"
"Thank Arceus" Erica gave a slight sigh.
"As for you all, return to your dorms and get some rest, you'll need it for tomorrow's class"
"But-"
"No buts, It's important that you all stay safe"
"But you've always said to protect our team members like they were family"
"Listen, I know you all are worried, I am Too so it wouldn't be my place to tell you not to, But I know very well, he's strong"Three nodded leaving while Keith and Erica stayed worried
"Still...Not one person has seen the flare, not to mention Hitasu is looking sick"
He was sick, the fire inside of him was burning brighter, not just that but Hitasu's ice was starting to melt with droplets falling to his pillow. His face was reddening with sweat glistening as it fell.
"I need to get him to a hospital...Peliper, I need you!" He sent out his Pokémon who had already heard and understood what to do as Peeko wrote down a note on a sheet of paper
"Nurse Joy, I found a Pokémon Ranger at the brisk of death in the ocean, he appears to be extremely sick with a fever and requires medicine, Peeko Briney"
"I need you to find the nearest Pokémon Center possible, I don't know how much longer he can hold on," Peeko said feeling Hitasu's Forehead feeling like a fire blast upon contact."Please hurry"
Articuno began wildly flailing its body feeling Hitasu's pain, the ice in its hat was no mere Nevermelt Ice, It was Articuno's feather encased inside allowing Articuno to watch over without being there, this, of course, meant that it felt the burn.
"Articuno, C-calm down! What's wrong" Erica asked looking scared
"Oh no, It's gotten worse..." Samuel himself was fearful, he understood what was happening.
"What's wrong with it?"
"Curse of Moltres"
"Moltres!?"The five said at once as Claus and Scarlet tried everything in their power to quell its spirit.
" Hitasu was...Well, cursed in a way, in his heart holds an everlasting burn that intensifies yearly, when this happens he will fall into a severe fever and requires Articuno's ice to keep it level, there's a feather under his hat which allows for Articuno to watch over him from around the world"
Scarlet, Alpha capture!"Claus called out holding his styler as Scarlet did the same running circles around Articuno with their Stylers conveying every shred of friendship that they had until Articuno slowed down breathing heavily
"Easy now, It's okay. Hitasu will be fine"
It nodded then rising to fly to Hitasu
"We're coming too!" Erica grabbed Keith's wrist and jumped onto Articuno's back before it got too far.
"Keith! Scarlet! You two get back here this instant"
"Sorry Mrs. April, But you always said to protect our teammates like a family, and that's just what we'll do!"
"Heh, You should be proud of them" Claus laughed a bit
"Yes, they may be breaking the rules, but It's only because they chose what mattered most" Scarlet said then falling to her knees.
"H-hey, you used up too much energy, Haven't I told you how dangerous that is!?"
"Says the one who refused to heal after a year of being held captive"
"Ash told you about it...didn't he"
"It was Verity"
"That doesn't matter, it happened years ago!"He was flustered, doing a poor job at hiding his embarrassment, however, it wasn't as effective as he had hoped with the others laughing.
" I've always wondered how you guys were so close, yet so different"
By now Peliper returned with the medicine as Peeko had been treating Hitasu with the boat shaking from Articuno landing on it and releasing a shrill cry with Hitasu's Lullaby after.
"W-what!? Articuno!?" He asked then seeing Keith and Erica hop off. "Oh! You guys are Pokémon Rangers!"
"What did you do with Hitasu!?" Erica held out a Pokéball in a threatening position
"Woah, calm down now, Hitasu's inside after I found him in the middle of the ocean"
"We need to get him to Staraptor Before the curse takes effect!"
"Curse?"
"We don't have time to explain!"
"R-right" He rushed inside lifting him using pot mittens so he didn't burn himself.
Articuno did as it did before freezing Hitasu solid in which his body melted it within minutes with him now awake and wet.
"Guys? What's going on?" He asked before seeing Articuno slightly nuzzling his face to wipe some water off of his face "M-mum!" Hitasu cried jumping onto it with a large hug"I've missed you so much!"
"Mum? Is anyone else seeing the Articuno, or is it just me?"
"I think you've gotten heatstroke, that's the Staraptor that his mom rode in on"
"O-oh, Do you think you could lead me to land?"
"Just keep heading south and you'll make it to the ranger school, from there you'll be able to get better directions back home"
"Thanks, and Hitasu, You've got a lot of courage, don't let it overpower your thought" Hitasu nodded as Peliper returned with the medicine plopping it into Peeko's hand"Good job Peliper. Here's some medicine if it'll help him"
"Thank you," Erica said seeing Hitasu already collapsed and unconscious, resting against Articuno, "We'll make sure he rests"
"Keith, Erica! What were you thinking going off on your own!?"Mrs. April shouted which woke up Hitasu.
" Huh...Oh we're back at school"
"Hitasu? You guys saved him!?"Mrs. April couldn't believe it, even if they had Articuno, she would never in a thousand years expect for them to save their classmate.
" Mrs. April...I need to tell you something"He jumped off of Articuno and fell onto the grass forcing himself to pick himself up with his unbroken arm.
"Don't overdo it! Your arm is broken"
"I-It'll heal, but the team that attacked is called Team Dim Sun, they're using machines to control wild Pokémon"
"Even when hostage, you gathered information. I'm proud of you"
"Y-you are?"
"Of course, you tried your best to learn what you could to protect Pokémon"
"I'll spread the information, for now, you can head to the nurse to heal"
"Thank you...I will"