A teenager of 16 stood in the kitchen of the large laboratory. Clearly he was bored by what the older, dark haired man had to say. The boy had a thick head of pale auburn hair which teetered on the verge of him being called a brunette. He was muscular, but bore marks of a dangerous past in the form of small scars. The most noticeable being a scar on his lip which ran up his face to be parallel to the tip of his nose. He looked thoroughly out of place in the grandeur of the house he was in, dressed in a loose top and tattered jeans. The other man had a pale complexion, long black wavy hair which drooped over one of his eyes. He was showing signs of age, the odd wrinkle showing on his face and grey hair mixed in with his head of jet black. The typical attire for a man of his caliber was worn by him, which was a white lab coat and jeans.
"When are you going to stop traipsing around back alleys and embrace the life I've given you?" The older man sighed, "I thought you would want this?"
The younger boy snapped his head round. "What, you think i'm ungrateful?" His voice was full of hurt, "I was on the streets, I never want to go back to that. But this? You're trying to make me go from one extreme to another. I can't go from sleeping rough every night to attending all these fancy dinners. It's just not possible!" By the end of the sentence the auburn boy was shouting.
The older man looked at the teenager, studying him carefully. "It's been four years Kaiden, surely you must have adjusted to some degree?"
Kaiden, the auburn haired boy looked up at the man. "But I haven't have I?" He mumbled. The older man reached down and rested his hand on his shoulder, but the teenager shrugged it off, however, and stalked to the other side of the room, leaning on a counter and sighing. "Maybe... Maybe I'm too far gone..."
The older man turned to him."What do you mean by that?" he snapped.
"I'll always be grateful for you taking me in Professor and I'm even more grateful you adopted me. I always will be. But I don't fit in in this upper class society that you seem to thrive in."
The professor knelt down to eye level with his son. "I'll have a think about what I can do to help you, but believe me no one is ever too far gone." He gave him a warm smile and the auburn haired youth gave him a weak smile, beginning to walk out the room.
"Thanks." He mumbled as he left the kitchen and ascended the staircase to his room.
Later that evening the professor sat at his computer on a video call with young man. The man had tanned skin, raven hair and a Pikachu resting on his shoulder. "How can I help you Professor Sycamore?"
Sycamore sighed. "It's Kaiden again, he's become more and more distant recently. He spends more time out wandering the streets than at home. But the worst of it is that he thinks he's beyond repair."
The tanned man sighed in tandem with him. "I can see your problem, he needs something to make him realise he's more than just his past."
"What did you have in mind Ash?"
Ash, the raven haired 18 year old shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "Well, you're not going to like it, but my journey shaped me into who I am today. I became more than just the little kid who overslept on his first day- I got so much stronger as a person."
The older man laced his fingers together. "I don't know Ash, is he ready?"
The tanned boy went in for his final point. "What about your five students? You sent them off six years ago on a journey and I ran into them a lot during my time in Kalos. Even you can't deny that they became stronger through their journey."
"But Calem, Shauna and the others, they weren't-"
"Your kid?" Ash cut in.
The older man sighed and nodded. "It's natural, Professor Augustine. You're worried for him, but he'll survive, he's a fighter." The determined grin on Ash's face was hard to say no to.
"Alright, I'll give him a test run. There are some kids in Vaniville Town who want to start their journey. I might as well get Kaiden to pick a starter Pokémon and take the other two to the kids in Vaniville. Depending on how he does with this I'll see if he's ready for a real journey."
"It's the right choice Professor. I have complete faith in Kaiden." The professor thanked his friend and ended the call. He entered his lab to prepare supplies for his son's upcoming journey.
Completely unaware of the plans being made for him downstairs, Kaiden sat in his room reading a book on how contest tactics could be implemented in normal battling. It was written by some girl in Sinnoh. He found the book interesting, it helped him with his studies. As the son of a Pokémon Professor, he was expected to be knowledgeable on all aspects of Pokémon. This had triggered some memories home tutoring from the professor himself three days a week.
The particular book that was being read would normally grip the auburn haired boy, but his mind was elsewhere. It began drifting back to his time on the streets. He was reduced to scavenging for food, sometimes so desperate that he stole on occasions. Home to him was always where the Pokémon were. Understanding them came easier than trying to figure out the complex subjects that are humans. It came from living most of his life in the company of the Pokémon in Luminose City. The Skiddo, Rattata, and many others became a surrogate family for him after his parents death. He wanted to visit them more but they lived in areas of the city that the professor deemed to be 'rough' so he had to be careful. Recently, Kaiden found himself drawn more and more to the areas of the city where he grew up, which were more at home than in the upper class society that he currently inhabited.
Finally giving up on the book the teenager sighed and stretched out on his bed. He thought that his mind was too active at the moment to fall asleep, but he soon found that todays events had tired him and he quickly fell into an uneasy slumber.
Kaiden woke to find a blanket had been thrown over him during his sleep, smiling slightly at the show of affection from his adopted father. Laying in the warm bed for another half hour, the auburn haired boy decided it was time to face the professor again after their discussion.
He stepped out of his room wrapping a robe over himself, only in a pair of pajama bottoms. Kaiden walked downstairs and into the kitchen he flicked on the kettle and began preparing coffee. In the back of his mind, he knew he would have to talk to his father eventually but he didn't want to be the one to instigate the conversation regarding his position in life.
Augustine Sycamore stood in his laboratory looking at the pile of supplies on his desk. He was ready to let Kaiden start his journey, figuring that if it didn't happen soon, the thoughts of never letting the teenager go would plague his mind. The only thing he needed now hadn't even arrived yet. Ash had called again later that night, saying that business in Santalune City suddenly came up, but would gladly accompany Kaiden. The offer had greatly relieved the professor of most of his worries. Ash wasn't the most responsible of people, but he was one of the most reliable of young men he knew.
Three sharp knocks could be heard on the door. Kaiden padded down the hall and answered the door to a Pikachu jumping on his head. "What the?" He was too busy with the Pokémon to notice the tanned 18 year old at his door.
"Don't I get a greeting?" It was then that Kaiden noticed the other male.
"Ash? What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to see your dad, I'm guessing he's in the lab?"
The smile on Kaiden's face froze and began to slack. "Uh, yeah he is." He tried to hide the hurt from his voice because no one ever came to visit him.
"Hey, don't be like that Kay, we'll have plenty of time to catch up later." The smile began to form on the younger male's face again,
"Great, well yeah he's in the lab." Ash ruffled his hair as he walked past and turned towards the lab.
Kaiden and Ash had known each other for years. Although Kaiden knew very little about the other boy's past, he knew it was that his journey shaped him in ways that were almost unimaginable. That was one of the reasons Kaiden wanted to start his own journey, he wanted to learn more about himself.
The auburn haired youth exited his room in a fresh set of clothes. He was clad in a pair of denim jeans and white shirt, a view of some tropical beach printed on its front. He began to walk towards the study to find a book but quickly turned at the sound of his fathers voice,
"Kaiden, can you come down here?" The auburn haired youth almost ran downstairs. He was rarely allowed in the laboratory, but when he was it fascinated him. Hesitantly pushing open the white door, Kaiden entered the lab. The walls were white, but there were a number of oddly coloured stains from experiments gone wrong. The teenager quickly padded along the black tiled floor to find the professor. He wouldn't be allowed in here if it wasn't important.
The youth found the professor and Ash stood in a cubicle like area, cut off from the rest of the lab by a single wall. It was not a separate room but it was private. Kaiden recognised this space as his father's work station. The desk in the centre was normally covered in documents, but today it wasn't. Upon the table sat a shoulder bag, a cylindrical case, a small red rectangular object he recognised as a Pokédex and a case with five Poké Balls in it.
Kaiden immediately got his hopes up. "Is this what I think it is, sir?" Kaiden had never felt comfortable calling the professor dad or father, it would feel like he was replacing his own father who he looked up to a great deal, even now when he was gone.
"In a way, Kaiden. I need you to deliver this case to a pair of new trainers in Vaniville Town."
Kaiden's grin quickly disappeared. "That's it? I thought you were finally gonna let me start my journey." His voice held a lot of accusation.
"Don't be like that Kaiden, you didn't let me finish." Kaiden looked at his father with an unimpressed face. "I was going on to say that this means you get to have your first Pokémon." The grin returned to the teenagers face. "Are you serious?"
The professor chuckled and opened the cylinder behind him, three Poké Balls sat on the cushioned interior, throwing all three into the air at once three Pokémon materialised in front of the trio.
"Take your pick." The professor prompted, Kaiden looked at the three Pokémon in front of him.
First there was the Pokémon he recognised as Chespin, the grass starter. It had a green body with a brown chest. A green hood pulled up over its head. Next there was Fennekin, the fire starter. It resembled a small yellow fox with tufts of red poking from its ears. Finally he recognised Froakie, the water type. It resembled a blue frog with over enlarged eyes. A mane of bubbles surrounding its neck.
Kaiden weighed up all he knew about the three, all he had learned from his studies. Finally deciding that due to their versatility a water type would be the best choice early in his journey, he extended his arm to the Froakie who lit up with enthusiasm, bounding up his arm and onto his shoulder.
Ash smiled. "Froakie huh? That was the first Pokémon I ever got in Kalos."
Kaiden rubbed Froakie's, neck earning him a slight hum of pleasure. "Really? Cool, I bet you have loads of Pokémon though." Kaiden smiled at his friend.
"Not loads, but I have a fair few, so will you provided this trip goes well." Kaiden looked confused. The professor shot Ash a slight glare.
"Ah yes, about that. Now Kaiden, provided you cope with the trip to Vaniville I will allow you to start your journey."
"R-Really?" Kaiden couldn't believe how good this day was turning out to be.
"Yes my son, Ash will accompany you to Santalune, from there you will pass through Santalune forest, then through Aquacorde Town. Then it is just a short walk to Vaniville. You are to meet two others your age, their names are Hayley and Miles. All the information you need is already pre-loaded into your Pokégear."
Ash cut in. "So you ready to go?"
Shocked by the sudden change to his life Kaiden was unsure. "What now? I need to go get ready."
"The professor packed you a bag with all your essentials as well as a few Poké Balls. Don't forget your Pokédex either."
Kaiden already knew that the Kalos Pokédex had been completed by some of his students a few years previously, now it was just helpful for trainers to have. "Well I guess there's no reason to hang around any longer then." He turned to his father, "see you soon, and thank you, this means the world to me."
Kaiden, accompanied by Froakie and Ash left the lab and began walking away. Kaiden knew that the only thing he would miss would be the professor. Not the nicer beds, or clothes or food, definitely not the upper class parties. Just him, the man who had been kind enough to offer an orphan a home, a new beginning. And now a new chapter was beginning in the boy's life. A new chapter in which he would be left to look after himself again.
A/N
Before I go any further I would like to thank my beta reader, Kirbyte44, for helping me improve this chapter.
Ok so this is my first adventure story so I would really appreciate feedback from you guys.
Thanks, so please review or follow or anythinhg really to show that people are enjoying it :)