"Hey boss, I brought Hitasu as you asked"
"Good work, Lavana, with this our ambitions are only one step less" There was a slight chuckle"Bring him to my office, I want to talk"
"Yes sir!" She hung up the phone before turning to Hitasu "Good news, you can finally get out of the chair! But I'm still gonna have to keep you restrained"
Hitasu, of course, looked quite annoyed as he tried struggling again.
"Alright, I get it, you're uncomfortable, tell you what, if you behave I'll only have your wrists tied"He nodded as she began to untie him and he took his opening, swinging off his hat to try and get away using the heat like a shield.
" You're persistent, But remember your heat doesn't scare me, at least not yet"She used a bit of rope to keep him on a leash until he got into the office and being slammed on the ground.
"Ah, Hitasu, a pleasure to finally meet you"
"Who are you?"
"Sorry, but I'm afraid that information is not for you, But I know everything there is to know about you, Hitasu Aquamari Oak. I have to admit, you put me on a real wild Swanna chase, any information on you was scarce, But then I found this" A picture was tossed into the air and drifted down into Hitasu's palm"Remember it? Your old family."
"M-mum, dad?"
"That's right, they had some connection with the legendary birds, your mother with Articuno and your Father with Zapdos. When the one with Moltres found out, they revolted, leaving you with the Curse of Moltres"
"H-how do you know that!?"
"Isn't it obvious, I'm the one with Moltres, I thought you died, but it turns out you're one tough Snom"
"Y-you're lying! People can't just have spiritual connections with Pokémon!"
"Well, why not? You did, That kid Leaf did years ago with Kyogre. Hm...How about I just show you what I'm capable of!"With the throw of a Pokéball, an intense heat filled the room with Hitasu collapsing within seconds as Moltres escaped from its ball, waving its wings of fire and bashing into Hitasu, sending him against the wall, crashing into two different rooms before continuing to crash through every wall until he just used flamethrower on him, leaving him weakened and barely able to move
" Moltres, Return!" Even when it left, Hitasu was weakened."Believe me now, Hitasu? Now I only have one favor to ask you, where is Articuno"
"I-I-I don't know, Articuno is always on the move!"
"There's no point in hiding it, or do I need to bring your parents into this?"
"W-wait! I swear I d-don't know!" He clicked a remote to show Hitasu's parents chained up and scathed on a television set.
"Aw, do you miss your family already? I can assure you they aren't here, But there are tons of fire type Pokémon here, My test for you is to see, Will you save the Pokémon as the ship sinks in exchange for your life, or will you run away and let them die"
"I...I..." He began to stutter, save the Pokémon and lose his life as well as putting his parents in danger, or save himself and his parents as well as putting Articuno in danger.
"You have three minutes before the ship sinks, do what you think is more important" He shook his head, running out of the room to find the place nearly deserted, only fire type Pokémon such as Macargo and Camerupt in the halls. He rushed through, capturing all of them with his styler to get them towards the deck while he continued looking through other layers of the ship.
There had been a total of one-hundred and fifty Pokémon and he had to find some kind of way to get them safe, even though the water was starting to flood with him staggering to move
"...C-camerupt use ember on the ship to break apart the metal! Torkal take the metal and mend them together with flamethrower! We have to make a ship that can carry everyone! Blaziken find some fabrics we can use as a sail"
The only way he could save all of them was to have them work together, even if it meant his life in exchange, He wouldn't be able to handle those levels of heat, so he would have to just swim, all while keeping the photograph in his hand."I'm sorry guys, but I'll have to keep you waiting a bit longer"
"C'mon, we have to hurry!"
A shrill cry and cool atmosphere entered the area with Articuno lifting up Hitasu using its talons on his arms.
"A-Articuno! We have to help these Pokémon! Can you try and use your wings to blow the sails back to land?"It nodded, giving a strong gust of wind, sending the Pokémon towards land.
" Thanks, Articuno, I couldn't have done it without you! He climbed up onto her back before pulling the picture out from under his hat "Mum, do you recognize these people?" She nodded with a smile, Hitasu had been with Articuno for long enough that he could understand her, other pokémon, not so much. "So they are my parents, They're alive! Why did I end up with you? Not to be rude of course!"
"Your Parents had bonds with Zapdos and I, your uncle had a bond with Moltres. I would have told you sooner, but I didn't feel like you were ready. However, I see now that you have grown, Mentally and Physically. When you were younger, your uncle had attacked you and your family, he wanted to make sure that he would obtain all three birds, even if it meant killing, You survived but were given the curse and given to me knowing only I could protect you."
"They were only trying to protect me...And I couldn't even do the same for them..."
"Hitasu, It was never your fault, When they got captured, they sent Zapdos and I to protect you, I just happened to get here first"
"So Zapdos should be coming too?"
"Yes, but unlike other Zapdos, this one happens to be...Very overprotective"
"I didn't know there were more than one of you guys"
"There tends to be one of this trio in every region"
A flash went by them but quickly slowed down and went back beside them, speaking to the both of them while Hitasu looked confused.
"I don't believe he can understand you"
"What!? Why didn't you teach him how to understand Pokémon?"
"Because I knew if he did, people would try to take him, It's my job to protect him, not yours"
"Wow, you haven't seen me in years, and now you're complaining about how you should be parenting"
"I wouldn't have to if you let me do my job! Hitasu is a human, he should be treated like one!"
"Fine, we'll return him to the others, but I'm going to keep an eye on him"
"Very well, Hitasu, I'll return you to the others, but Zapdos will keep an eye on you until you're able to save your parents"
"I understand"
"I have to admit, Hitasu isn't your usual kid, he's got a strong heart, that's for sure"
"Y-you, You will leave Hitasu out of this!"
"I wish I could, but he's the only thing standing between me and my goals"
"P-please, Just leave him alone, he's had pain, even without you"
"No promises, I don't do promises"
On the flight back to camp, he kept looking at the photo, even as a baby, he had that hat on, back then he used it as a sleeping bag from how big it was.
"Still thinking about your parents?"
"Yeah, I guess I still feel bad about them being captured..."
"I know it must be hard, but it isn't your fault, the reason I moved so much was to keep you off the radar of others until I met Professor Oak..."
"So, these are the seafoam caves, It appears to have completely frozen over, giving a habitat to all kinds of ice Poké-..."There was some kind of creature that came up behind him with torn clothes and frost on his face. It was human!
"What's a child like you doing here, and you don't appear to be cold... Listen I'm not here to hurt you or anyone here, but where are your parents"He growled as Articuno stood in a defensive position over the child."Oh, I understand, he's your child, isn't he" Samuel placed down his Pokéballs, empty and full to show he wasn't to cause any harm
"My name is Samuel Oak, I assure you that I won't be telling anyone about your home, I only came for research, but I'll drop it completely for you"Articuno still seemed skeptical of the man and fired an Ice Beam. It was then that Hitasu went to protect him from the ice beam it was about to use, and quickly thawed out.
" Incredible, you seem to be able to withstand and cancel out ice-type moves"He looked amazed as the boy began sniffing the man to determine he was safe.
"Do you have a name?"
"Hi-ta-su"
"Hitasu? It's nice to meet you, it appears that you could use a few grammar lessons though"
Articuno heard a noise, it had been humans coming in search of rare Pokémon to sell as she gave the boy to Samuel before flying up and using ice beams to scare off the poachers.
"Mum!" Hitasu cried out to try and protect it before she returned inside, doing as she hoped and placing a feather in ice under his hat.
"Go my child, I cannot keep you safe for long, It is time for you to live with your kind, my feather will alert me if you're in danger" She gave one last hug before flying away while Hitasu waved.
"Thanks, Mum, I guess the whole time you were protecting me"
"I'm not your mother, I was only a fill-in until your uncle was stopped, I just felt like Professor Oak would be your best chance to live a normal life"
"Being normal's overrated, I'm glad it was you"
In the distance was the camping ground with Acuity, Valor, and Crystal thinking with Piplup holding its pokéball in fear and sadness.
"Hey, what is that?"
"I think it's an Articuno!"Crystal said out loud as it landed, allowing Hitasu to get onto the ground.
" Hey, sorry I'm late," He said slightly smiling As Articuno adjusted his hat using its beak
"Hitasu!? How the! What!? Articuno!?"
"Yeah, I'm aware it's Articuno, My mother's fill-in..." He looked down at his picture"But That doesn't matter" He now had a new goal, to save his parents, After everything he was weak and fell over before being caught by Articuno.
"Hitasu!"The two called out, rushing to his side, Articuno began making gestures, hoping one of them would understand, Luckily Valor was just the one to do it.
" Hitasu needs to be kept safe, there is a man who is keeping his parents hostage, and now searches for Hitasu. Once he is effaced, that man will have the power to obtain Zapdos and I. I pray for you to protect and keep him safe"
"You can understand Pokémon!?"
"Well, no I'm just really good at charades"
"Oh...Anyways, that's not what we should be worried about, If this man is as dangerous as you say, we need to let him lie low"
"Right, Articuno can you try and lead them away?"Valor asked as Articuno nodded, beginning to rise towards the sky, flying away leaving Hitasu to be cared for in Crystal's arms.
" Is...Is he going to be okay?"
"I'm not sure. He's badly bruised, burned, and scarred."
"How long will he be unconscious?"
"From the look of things, he's lucky to be alive, He'll be out all week, maybe longer"
"Oh..."
"I'll alert the union to keep him safe until he recovers"
"No." Acuity said softly
"No? What are you saying!? He needs help!"
"The way they knew everything about him. It's clear that we have to be quiet with the information"
"We can trust the union!"
"The way things are looking, we can't afford to tell anyone in case information is spread"
"This means he needs to rest in a desolate location, Where no-one will know where he is"
"I think I know just the place" Crystal admitted.