Chapter 12: What Am I?
Location: Longan Laboratories, 45th Basement Floor, Pokémon Battling Ring
Time: Saturday, April 8th at 14:37…
"Ice Beam the ground, Gyarados!" Hiro commanded in another battle. Gyarados used Ice Beam on the rocky ground in the arena to make a makeshift labyrinth before ducking inside. The battle had been going well for Hiro so far. Giovanni was his opponent this time around, and he was down one Pokémon. His Onix bit the dust when he tried to use Dig, and Hiro cleverly told Gyarados to flood the hole where it burrowed with Hydro Pump. The result was Onix digging out and fainting due to the water that flooded the hole. Now his Rhyhorn was out on the field, having to move around in the maze.
The assignment was clear to Hiro and his friends: Practice battling with each other. Delia was tasked with battling Jason, and Hiro was tasked with battling Giovanni. The sake of battling with each other was more than just friendly competition. It was a way to test each other's strengths and weaknesses – a way to assess what needs improvement. Delia had already lost to Jason, and now it was down to Giovanni and Hiro, the latter of whom hadn't lost a single Pokémon yet.
Giovanni assessed his situation. Hiro had his Rhyhorn stuck between an ice wall and some hard places, and Gyarados was on the prowl. As soon as his Gyarados found Rhyhorn, it was going to be washed up. Figuratively and literally. What's more, Rhyhorn was only capable of going in a straight line. It cannot turn while moving. There was only one thing Rhyhorn could do: Traverse the maze. "Okay, Hiro," Giovanni called out, "You wanna play games? Fine. Rhyhorn, keep left, and you'll eventually make your way out!" Rhyhorn nodded, and started moving in the maze. Just after the command was given, both Giovanni and Rhyhorn heard a low growl from Gyarados. However, Hiro heard Gyarados saying, "I'm gonna hit you with the force of a tsunami, lad! You're gonna hit the wall so hard, you'll have a twitch!" Hiro laughed, only adding more to Giovanni's annoyance.
Meanwhile, Rhyhorn was keeping left of the maze walls, turning when there was a dead end, and then advancing whenever it could. If it was going to get out, it needed to get out now without being seen by Gyarados. However, luck was not on its side, as twelve turns later, the two Pokémon crossed paths, with Gyarados catching Rhyhorn through his peripherals. "There you are!" Gyarados roared, facing a now-startled Rhyhorn. "Use Stone Edge, Rhyhorn!" Giovanni called out. Rhyhorn roared and stomped on the ground, causing giant, sharp stones to come out of the ground toward Gyarados. "Dodge and use Hydro Pump!" Hiro commanded. Gyarados leapt up out of the way of the last stone impact and landed on the ground on the other side before shooting water at the Rock/Ground Type with the force of a Blastoise. What happened next was Rhyhorn getting blasted through the ice walls and out of the maze, resulting in its defeat. "Rhyhorn is unable to battle," the referee called, "Gyarados is the winner!"
"Way to go, Gyarados!" Hiro cheered for his Pokémon, "Just like we practiced!" "You performed that really well, Hiro," Pikachu complimented Hiro. "Thanks," Hiro smiled before addressing Giovanni, "Last Pokémon, Giovanni. What's it gonna be?" Giovanni called back Rhyhorn before looking at his last PokéBall. All he had was a Nidorino, and that wasn't going to hold up against a Water-Type, let alone a Gyarados. Regardless, he had to try. The best he could hope for was if it were poisoned. "Come out, Nidorino!" Giovanni called as he threw his PokéBall. Nidorino came out with his signature call and faced Hiro's Gyarados. "Begin!" the referee called.
"Gyarados, use Hurricane!" Hiro commanded. Immediately, Gyarados snaked its way around at high speeds to create a hurricane, which prompted the emergency energy shields to activate so no one would get caught up in it or get hit by the icy debris that was previously the ice maze. Sadly, that left the Nidorino to ride the spiraling air currents. But that gave Giovanni an idea. "Use Poison Jab as soon as you get close to the Gyarados, Nidorino!" he shouted. Nidorino nodded and readied the poison barb on its head. With precise and careful air coordination, the Nidorino managed to jab Gyarados' side. That caused him to cease its actions and make the hurricane cease, but Nidorino landed on its side against the wall before getting back up. Gyarados looked at its side before feeling nauseous. On top of that, he was starting to see double. "Oh, Nelly," Gyarados said as he started swaying around, trying desperately to stay focused, "Laddie, I think that jab did more to me than what I'd hoped it'd do." "Do you need me to tag you out?" Hiro asked. "Aye," Gyarados said, "Before I hurl all over the ground."
"Gyarados, return!" Hiro said, returning him to his PokéBall. "Ready, Pikachu?" Hiro asked. "Ready!" Pikachu said before leaping off of his shoulder and onto the field, facing Giovanni's Nidorino. "Begin!" the referee called again. "Poison Jab, Nidorino!" Giovanni ordered, prompting his Pokémon to charge at Pikachu with his horn at the ready. Hiro anticipated this, however. "Pikachu," Hiro called out, "Dodge with Agility!" Pikachu ran at high speeds and dodged out of the way of the spike before running in circles around the Nidoran. "You aren't going to get me with that trick," Giovanni frowned, "Nidorino, use Toxic Spikes!" Nidorino shot an orb filled with poison into the air, only to disperse and shoot poison spikes around the field. "Pikachu, stop!" Hiro told him. Immediately, Pikachu stopped running and took notice of the field. The spikes sunk into the ground and toxic mist rose from where they landed. Hiro knew what this meant. Any Pokemon that wasn't a Poison-Type that stepped onto the field would instantly get poisoned. Now was the time to get serious. Either Pikachu ended the battle now, or Hiro's next Pokémon would suffer.
Hiro looked at the surroundings and got an idea. "Pikachu," Hiro called out, "See that rock over there?" Pikachu looked at where Hiro was pointing at and saw a large rock with a slab of ice connected to it. Pikachu wondered what Hiro had in mind, but decided to trust him. "Yeah," Pikachu nodded, "What about it?" "Go to that rock when I tell you!" Hiro told him. Pikachu nodded and faced Nidorino again. "Nidorino," Giovanni called, "Use Horn Attack!" Nidorino readied its horn and charged at Pikachu. "Dodge it!" Hiro told his Pokémon. Pikachu jumped over Nidorino to dodge it. "Pretty nimble," Giovanni said, "But you can't dodge forever." "The same can be said about you attacking, Giovanni," Hiro replied. With that, Giovanni ordered his Pokémon to attack Pikachu again, only to have the same result happen, with Pikachu jumping over to dodge. This kept going until Hiro finally told him to jump towards the rock from earlier.
Pikachu dashed his way to the rock, then faced the Nidorino. Giovanni had the Pikachu cornered, it seemed. "Poison Jab!" Giovanni ordered. Nidorino charged once again at Pikachu, his horn at the ready, leaking venom. "Run up the rock, Pikachu!" Hiro told him. Pikachu turned around and scampered up the rock he was against and climbed to the top. Nidorino tried to stop, but hit the wall too hard, ending up puncturing the rock. Nidorino tried to back out, but couldn't. It was stuck! Nidorino tried putting more force into backing out, but it couldn't. Giovanni realized what had happened, then looked at Hiro. "You…!" he pointed at him with a glare, "That was a dirty trick!" Hiro only laughed before refocusing. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" he commanded. Pikachu charged the electricity in his body before letting out a bolt of electricity at Nidorino, which hit him dead on for a good five seconds. Nidorino managed to get free from the rock from the shock, but ended up falling on its side immediately after. "Nidorino is unable to battle!" the referee called out, "Pikachu is the winner! The battle goes to Hiro Ige!"
Hiro and Pikachu cheered for another victory. This was their 20th victory in their whole Pokémon Battling career. Throughout the whole week they've been waiting for their DNA results, Hiro and his friends had continued their studying and attending classes. When they were finished with their classes, they would battle other Trainers in the bunkers. Everyone would try their hardest, especially Hiro. Before battling, Hiro would study up with his Pokémon on different moves and how best to counter them. Not only that, but he tried teaching them moves that were best to combat any Pokémon Type.
As Giovanni called back his Nidorino, Hiro walked up with his Pikachu and offered a handshake. "Thanks for the battle, Giovanni," Hiro smiled, "It really helped my Pokémon out." Giovanni took his hand and shook it. "Happy to have helped," Giovanni said, "Though, try to lay off the dirty tricks, okay?" "Sorry," Hiro smiled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head, "The openings were kinda there." "Okay, I suppose there were some openings to be seen," Giovanni said, "Like when you used Hydro Pump after my Onix used Dig. I never would've thought you would flood the tunnel like that. You're a lot smarter than you let on." "Thanks," Hiro accepted the compliment.
After that, they heard an explosion and felt the arena shake a bit, then ran to the railings to see what the commotion was about. When they got there, another battle was taking place below them, which consisted of a Grass-Type user and, surprisingly, Christian Delphox. The five-year-old's Braixen had made quick work of the Grass-Type user's Rillaboom, which fainted in a singed heap. "Rillaboom is unable to battle," the referee shouted, "Braixen is the winner! The winner of this match is Little Christian!" His family cheered for him as he left the field.
"Do you think we'll ever get up to their level?" Hiro asked. "I'd worry less about getting up to their level, and worry more about fulfilling that prophecy that Professor Joshua keeps spouting about," Giovanni told Hiro, "I mean, sure. One day, we might. But none of that's gonna matter if Halzief's gonna keep terrorizing us. You know what I mean? Worry about dealing with Halzief first." "Right," Hiro said, "I can't become a Pokémon Master if Halzief keeps wreaking havoc." "No, you can't," Giovanni affirmed, "Now, come on. Professor Joshua's gonna be expecting us in a couple of hours." "Alright," Hiro said, "but let's head to the Pokémon Center first. Gyarados is gonna throw a fit if he has to stay poisoned any longer." Giovanni nodded and followed Hiro to the Pokémon Center.
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Location: Longan Laboratories, 40th Basement Floor, 1st Pokémon Center
Time: 15:20…
Hiro was helping out by spraying the all-purpose antidote on Gyarados' side and humming a tune to him. Pikachu helped out as well and massaged a bit of his scales and dorsal fins. Nurse Joy helped out as well when she could, treating his Cyndaquil and Grotle while enjoying Hiro's tune. Professor Joshua had suggested to Hiro to volunteer and help out in the Pokémon Center during his free time while translating for other Pokémon on the side. It was a volunteer side job, but it helped to clear his mind after a good battle.
"There you go, Gyarados," Hiro said as he finished applying the antidote, "The Antidote should kick in soon, if not later." "Thanks, laddie," Gyarados said, "Tell the lass I apologize for throwing up on her floor." "Gyarados says he's sorry for making a mess on the floor earlier," Hiro told Nurse Joy. "Oh, it's okay," she told him, "He's not the first to have made a mess. I get a lot of Pokémon that have problems, even after battle. It comes with the job. How are your studies going with the Professor?" "My studies have been going fine," he told her, "I'm not sure what he'll have us do next after he taught us about the Ice and Steel-Types, but they'll be informative all the same." "I'm sure it will be," Nurse Joy nodded, "Professor Joshua is a fine teacher. The best ever." Hiro nodded in affirmation as he continued to treat his Pokémon.
Once both of them had finished, he called his Cyndaquil, Gyarados, and Grotle back to their PokéBalls, and allowed Pikachu on his shoulder again. After that, Nurse Joy bid him goodbye and allowed him to go on his way. Hiro met up with Delia and Jason after leaving the Pokémon Center with Giovanni. "Hi, Hiro," Delia greeted, "Are you ready? We need to get to Grandpa's lessons." "Yeah," Jason said, "Wouldn't want to agitate the old Professor by being late, would we?" "No," Hiro said, "No, we wouldn't. I wonder what he's going to teach us today?" Hiro wondered. "Maybe Fighting-Types this time," Pikachu guessed. "We'll just have to find out," Hiro nodded as they made their way to the Hologram Room.
"There you are," they heard someone behind them say. They turned around and saw Samuel Oak standing behind them. "Hi, Dad," Jason greeted him. "Hello, children," Samuel greeted in kind, "I hope you're all doing well. Professor Joshua told me to tell you to head over to his office on the fiftieth floor this time. He has something he wishes to convey with you, and that it's urgent you hear it from him." "His office?" Hiro asked as he looked at his friends. His friends shrugged, and they altered their course accordingly. As they walked, each of them wondered silently what sort of news awaited them in Joshua's office.
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Location: Longan Laboratories, 50th Basement Floor, Joshua's Office
Time: 15:25…
The kids were about to walk into the office when they saw Christian outside the door, talking with his Braixen. "Hi, Christian," Hiro greeted him, "What are you doing out here?" "Hi, Hiro," Christian said, "My mom and the old man are talking about important stuff. Mom told me to wait out here, but she told me to knock if and when I saw you." With that, Christian knocked on the outside of the door. "Mom! Professor!" Christian called, "Those four kids are here!"
Immediately, the door hissed open, and the Professor was seen sitting at his desk. Alakazam was standing right behind him, and Mew and Jirachi were hovering over him. Loretta was sitting in one of the hovering chairs that was in front of the desk. Both humans and Pokémon turned their attention to the four kids that entered the office. "Please step inside," Professor Joshua said, "We need to talk." As soon as the kids walked into the room, they took their seats and paid attention to the Professor. "Students," Joshua said, "Last week, we were attacked. Knuckdown Town was struck by one of Halzief's monsters. The shields failed. As far as we know, there were no survivors." The kids gasped at the news. "How is that possible?!" Giovanni asked, "Aren't the shields supposed to be impenetrable?" "By all standards, yes," Joshua answered, "However, it would appear that Halzief summoned one monster that can penetrate the shields with enough force." "What did he summon?" Hiro asked. "His name is Reil-Roh," Joshua answered, "He was one of Halzief's greatest weapons of mass genocide. Here's what he looks like." Joshua brought out a holographic screen and played the footage of the monster breaking through the barrier. He paused when he had the footage he wanted, then presented it to Hiro and his friends.
"It looks like a giant bug with a dragon skull on its face!" Jason said. "It's enormous!" Pikachu exclaimed. "What are those things on its back?" Giovanni asked, pointing at the black tentacles lashing out at the people from its back. "Those are the same tentacles that Halzief has on his back," Joshua explained, "They're used for extracting the life force, or souls, of people and Pokémon. Compared to the regular Soul Harvesters, which are able to store twenty souls at a time, Reil-Roh is estimated to store up to thirty million souls. Back in the war, we tried everything in our power to neutralize this threat, but all of our attempts were in vain. All we could do was chase it away with each attempt." "And no one survived this thing last week??" Delia asked. "No," Joshua answered, "Everyone in Knuckdown Town's base is presumed dead."
The kids were terrified and bewildered by this news. How was it possible for a single monster to get past Professor Joshua's defenses? The shields were supposed to circle above ground as well as below, so nothing could get through - not even Ghost Pokémon. And he told them they were supposed to last several years, if not more. The kids figured that Halzief was finally getting desperate. "Wait," Hiro asked, "What does this have to do with us, Professor?" "The point I'm trying to make is people and Pokémon are going to start dying quicker," Professor Joshua said, "And as the Chosen Hero, it's going to be your job to amplify your training regimen. All of us are going to have to train harder than normal. So far, I've been telling you the basics on a scientific level, and I was doing it under the pretense that we were going to have more time than this. If and when Reil-Roh comes knocking at our door, we'll need to be prepared to fight. Not just with Pokémon Battling, but also by Parlonian standards. I will be supplying you with weapons of your choice, and you'll be taught how to fight with them."
"Weapons??" the kids exclaimed. "Yes," Professor Joshua confirmed, "The Parlonians were always a fighting region. Oftentimes, we'd use them for sport in remembrance of the war that saved humanity and Pokémon-kind from Halzief. First, the Pokémon fight, then the humans. And when using your weapons, you have the option of using either your Alpha Power or your Omega Power. It is a custom exclusive to the Parlona Region. However, if you want to master your full potential, you'll have to first see if you are Parlonian-born, which is why Loretta is here with us today."
"Right," she said as she cleared her throat to get the kids' attention, "The tests are not fully complete yet, but we were able to make some discoveries as to your ancestry. Delia, of course, is no question that she's Parlonian since she is a direct descendant of Professor Joshua. Jason Oak is the same story, as he shares a direct lineage along with his father to another renowned Parlonian in history, which is Flora Oak." "So we're able to have the operation?" Jason asked. "Well," Loretta decided to try and explain, "Like I said, the tests aren't fully complete. There's some things we don't know yet. But if you were born in Parlona, then yes." "Oh, so you have to be born in the region," Giovanni clarified, "Sometimes," Loretta clarified, "not always. The power gets weaker with each generation that's born outside the region, so it's recommended that they are born here so they can eventually bring out their full potential in the future." "Then there's a chance that I could get it and turn out just fine," Giovanni asked. "There's a possibility," Loretta nodded, "Since you were related to the Boss family lineage, which is another Parlonian line, there's a chance."
"How about my line?" Hiro asked. Loretta looked to Hiro with an arched eyebrow, then looked at the holographic records in her tablet. "You were an enigma, Hiro," she said. "A mystery?" Hiro asked. "Yes," Loretta nodded, "I looked and looked at your lineage, but I found an inconsistency with your DNA."
"An inconsistency?"
"Yes. Normally, the personal DNA of both the mother and the father are split in half and combined with each other to form the personal DNA of the child yet to be born. And, this is usually combined with the more dominant halves of both of the parents. Whatever does not show up from either of the parents is called a recessive trait, but I digress."
"Oh, so that's how it works."
"Mm-hmm. I looked at the DNA records of your parents on file, and that's where I found the inconsistency."
"What was inconsistent about it?"
"The inconsistency was that your DNA halves matched none of theirs."
That got Hiro's attention quickly. Hiro knew his parents for as long as he could remember before losing them and becoming an orphan. But, if what Loretta Delphox was saying was correct about DNA being split and combined as she was professing them to be, then that could mean one thing. Hiro didn't want to think about it, but he had to ask anyway. He had to. "What does this mean then?" he asked her. "I can only assume one thing happened to make this possible," she said, "That being, you could've been adopted from birth."
The kids, the Professor, and Pikachu looked at Hiro as he took in the news. Hiro had no words to describe how he was feeling. He was being told that he didn't come from the parents he knew, and that he possibly came from someone else. "So…" he said, "I'm not an Ige?" "I'm afraid so," Loretta said, "And therein lies the problem as of right now. We don't know who your birth parents are, but if you were adopted like I believe you were, then there's a chance that your birth parents are still alive somewhere. If that's the case, we can ask around and see if anyone knows them. We have your Ige 'parents'' ID photos on file, so if there's a match, we can show them and they can identify themselves as your birth parents. Is that something you'd be interested in doing?"
Hiro couldn't respond, though. How could he? All his life, he believed that he was born into their family. Now, here he was, sitting in his idol's office, and this woman had told him that he was adopted. How was he supposed to respond? He couldn't bear to, and he did the only thing he could think of, which was run out of the office, with the others calling for him to come back. The only one that dared to run after him was Pikachu. The others did nothing except watch him go.
"Is he going to be okay?" Loretta asked. "You basically told him that his life was a lie," Jason told her, "You tell us." "Jason!" Joshua scolded. "What?" he asked, "Tell me I'm wrong." "There are better ways to word that," Alakazam said, "Especially towards a Parlonian official." "Loretta," Joshua said, getting her attention, "There's an easier way you can find out his lineage." "Oh?" Loretta said, "Do tell." "Instead of asking every single Parlonian, you could look into every adoption record. The records hold the names of people who sign away their rights as parents. Check those, then cross examine Hiro's DNA with them. Then, you'll find your answer." "Good thinking, Professor," Loretta nodded, "I'll get to it right away." With that, she left the office.
"Of course, all this probably goes without saying," Professor Joshua said to the students that were left, "I am wanting to see to it that your operations are done as soon as possible. I already gave the order to reroute the power of this facility to our shields. If and when Reil-Roh decides to show up, we'll be ready for a counteroffensive to drive him off. We all have our eyes on Reil-Roh right now." "Question, Professor?" Giovanni asked.
"Yes?"
"Are we really going to have to swap our organs with those of our Pokémon?"
"That is the only way it can work. Fortunately, we at Longan Laboratories have bettered ourselves in ways science had yet to do in the past. We're able to clone individual body parts now. An arm, a leg, a bone, an organ, a piece of cartilage. You name it, we can clone it. All we need is a DNA sample, and we can clone whatever we want."
"So does that mean our Pokémon can keep their organs, Grandpa?"
"We'd still have to swap them out, but that's what the organ cloning process is for. So they can have a legitimate replacement afterwards."
The others smiled at that thought of things being so simple, but that also meant that they had to choose which organs to swap out wisely. "You can discuss among yourselves which organs you can choose to swap out," Professor Joshua said to them, "But right now, our Chosen Hero needs to be found." "He did seem to take the news like a ton of bricks, Professor," Alakazam said, "Is he going to be alright?" "In time, he will be," Joshua assured, "Now, go. Find him." With that, the kids left Joshua's office to go look for him.
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Location: Longan Laboratories, 52nd Basement Floor, Dormitory Wing
Time: 16:01…
While the others were looking for Hiro around the facility, Delia made a note to try Hiro's room first. Sadly, she found no sign of him, but decided to try something out. "Come on out, Eevee!" Delia called and brought her Pokémon out. Delia brought the sheets that Hiro slept under over to her Eevee and had her sniff it. "Can you help me find Hiro, Eevee?" Delia asked. Eevee gave a nod, then sniffed the piece of cloth deep before sniffing around and going outside of the room.
Eevee took a right before continuing on, still sniffing, while Delia followed. Then it went straight for the elevator and scratched at the door. Delia opened the doors to the elevator and had Eevee step in too. "Okay, Eevee," she said to her Pokémon, "Up or down?" Eevee sniffed again and then jumped. Delia took it as a sign to go up. She decided to push each one upward.
One by one, the elevator would stop at a floor, and Eevee would shake its head no. It was a bit of a long way to go until they finally reached the twenty-fifth basement floor, to which the Eevee dashed out. Delia followed and ran after Eevee. It took a left, a right, another right, sniffed the ground some more, then headed down the hall that was straight for the Library. Delia wondered what Hiro was doing at the library of all places, until it hit her. He wasn't in a corner crying, if at all. Maybe he was going there to get answers.
Once they entered, they quietly started looking for Hiro, so as to not disturb anyone and upset the stereotypical librarian that shushes you every five seconds for making the slightest sound. Eevee rounded the corner and went straight for seven seconds before going down an aisle. Then it rounded the corner to a table and the scent was even stronger. Eevee looked up and found the source of the scent, as did Delia. It was Hiro's Pikachu, and there he was with Hiro.
There he was, hunched over, shoulder-deep in books. From Parlona's history books to a list of Parlona's family lineages. Delia went up to Hiro and put a hand over his shoulder. Hiro, noticing the contact, looked over to see Delia, concerned about him. "Are you okay, Hiro?" Delia asked him with a small frown, "You dashed out in such a rush, and you had some of us worried." "I just got told that my parents weren't my real parents, Delia," Hiro said, "Can you imagine what that's like? You losing your family, then being told that your parents were never your real parents to begin with?" "I…" she began, but then thought about it. Hiro was right. She probably wouldn't be able to handle the news well if she were put in Hiro's shoes. She pulled up a chair next to him and thought very carefully about what to say next.
"You're right, Hiro," she said, "I can't imagine what that would be like. But here's what I do know. Even if they weren't my real parents, my real concern is if they loved me or not. There are kids out there who have families that don't usually treat them correctly on a regular day-by-day routine. How do you think they feel, Hiro? Maybe you were given to people who were capable of treating you right, because one or both of your real parents weren't up for it - for whatever reason. So you should probably ask yourself this question, Hiro: Would you rather have been loved or not loved at all?"
Those words struck home to Hiro. Admittedly, he never thought of that beforehand, and only assumed the worst when he found out he had been practically lied to. Emphasis on "practically." But, what Delia said to him was true. In fact, it wouldn't have come as a surprise that Jason had no mother to balance out his behavior as well, and his prideful behavior was a prime example, as well as a result. Hiro could very well see how the need for love was consequential for anyone who was anybody.
With those words, his eyes finally started watering up. Delia did the only thing she could do in a situation like this: She hugged him. Pikachu patted Hiro's back for additional comfort, and they stayed like that for about five minutes. When he was done, he picked the book back up and started looking through it again. "What book do you have there, Hiro?" Delia asked him. "It's a book full of all the prestigious families in Parlona," Hiro told her, "I found it interesting when I was searching for answers. Did you know that there are over fifty thousand family names that lived on after Professor Joshua's war?"
"Really?"
"Yeah, all the others either died off or merged with others. Your family name is among the most prestigious."
"What's prestigious mean?"
"It means well-known and respected. Your family had its own division in the war, all thanks to Professor Joshua."
"Wow. What are the other names?"
"Well, there were four other names that are well known throughout the Parlona Region. Them being the Haynes', the Angevins, the Staintons, and the Ketchums. According to this, their ancestors spearheaded their own divisions in the war and worked closely with Professor Joshua."
"Where was my Grandpa in this?"
"Professor Joshua was the leading commander of the whole resistance."
"Wow! He must've been really, really strong when he was younger!"
"Yeah…" Hiro looked down a bit after reading off some of the names. "Are you still wondering who you are really, Hiro?" Delia asked him. "Yeah," he nodded, "I had a wonderful family, Parlonian or no. But I still wonder where I really come from." "Well, wherever you came from," Delia began, "I'm sure you'll be great regardless of who you are! You are the Chosen Hero to Grandpa's prophecy after all!" Hiro chuckled at Delia's words and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right." "And don't you forget it, Hiro!" Pikachu piped up.
"Shh!"