After Ash finally agreed to get into Giovanni's car, the social worker left the scene. Ash's stuff was put into the trunk of the car and they left Delia's house from Pallet Town. Pikachu shared his skepticism with his trainer. Giovanni was driving, focusing on the street. But soon it was too silent for him. Looking into the mirror, he saw Ash was thinking about something. Maybe the cunt comment?

"I have a question.", Ash then said, breaking the silence.

"Then ask.", replied Giovanni.

"Why are you driving? Most people at Riko's school have private drivers, yet most of them aren't as rich as you." Why does Giovanni have the feeling Ash indirectly said he wasn't as lazy as he expected?

"To answer your question, that has multiple reasons. First of all, I am somewhat of a car enthusiast, which includes the desire to drive myself.", explained Giovanni. "Secondly, I think it would be better to pick you up alone."

"I see, you don't want people to know that you have me, your affair child.", said Ash, "In that case, where am I staying? Unless you're going to surrender me to an orphanage."

Giovanni parked on the side of a street rather aggressively. Then he said loudly, nearly yelling, "What is that supposed to mean?! You are going to live with Ariana, Silver and me."

"Alex only allowed me in his house after neighbors called CPS.", said Ash. "Until then, I stayed in the garden shack. They couldn't afford a separate apartment or something, because of Riko's schooling. Not that they wanted to pay so much for me. But you swim in money, so that shouldn't be a problem for you."

Giovanni sighed and rested his head on the driver's wheel. "You will live with us. We aren't the Kawashima's.", he said frustrated. "Do I need to remind you that you will loose your Pikachu if you land in an orphanage?"

"Are you threatening me? How much did you bribe them to take me? Can't be much, considering you never paid child support, so why pay now."

Giovanni hit the wheel, the car honking, in anger. "Who told you that?! I paid! More than required! Probably more than Alexander earns in his dead end career."

"Mom did.", Ash said, "What now? Do you want a prize for doing the bare minimum from a legal standpoint?" He continued verbally pressing Giovanni's buttons.

Giovanni sighed, this will be a long drive to Goldenrod City. They continued to drive in silence. An hour later, while passing the border between Kanto and Johto – considering the regions act as one, this is barely a border – he noted Ash had fallen asleep. Letting the unnecessary customs officer doing their equally useless job, he took a closer look at Satoshi.

His clothes were well worn, the seams loosening and even some holes were visible. He already saw his terrible clothes when his half sister dropped his bag. Adding in what he said about the child support he paid, he starts to wonder what Delia did with it. He needs to call a lawyer and his bank. He got a feeling the money arrived at the wrong child.

Besides the clothes, he saw that Satoshi was very thin, like a twig. And rather pale. He was told Ash had a few health problems the last few weeks, including fainting. No wonder Delia let loose on the custody. She doesn't want to actually take care of Ash. In the brief call he had with Principal Elm, the man said Delia rarely came to the school for anything. Not picking Satoshi up after fainting being one thing. Apparently Elm threatened to call the services a few times. He better should have and not have waited until the P.E teacher says something. Knowing the lieutenant – they are colleagues after all when the League season starts - he probably imitated Elm a bit.

Giovanni activated the telephone function of his high tech car, he called Ariana, his wife.

"Gio?", she asked, accepting the call. "You rarely call while driving."

"Satoshi – who wants to be called Ash - is asleep. I'll carry him to his room, let him sleep.", he said, "He didn't let me pick him up, even after Delia and her husband banned him from their house, he won't get into the car. He only accepted because the social worker said he would loose his Pikachu in the system. In other news, we need to Pika-proof any cables."

"Really? Did he say he'll rather go into an orphanage?", asked his wife worried.

"Until he learned that he'll loose his starter, yes.", confirmed Giovanni. "He assumes we'll treat him like them because he is a product of an affair."

"Let's hope he doesn't meet your half brother.", muttered Ariana. "He's fifty and still thinks that."

"Nanu definitively would poison Satoshi against us based on his unsolicited hate for our father.", agreed Giovanni, thinking about his paternal half brother. "Good thing Nanu is so far away in Alola. And declined to come to Christmas this year."

"Do you think you'll ever be able to fix your relationship with Nanu?"

"At this point? No. I would prefer to avoid the same outcome with Sato, though.", said Giovanni. "See you in a bit."

"Drive carefully. It should start to snow soon.", mentioned Ariana.

She ended the call and left her husband alone in silence. He drove more carefully, even if it meant his son may wake up by the time they arrive at his house. But the more careful driving won't wake him up as easily. His Pikachu was sitting besides Ash and was just starring threateningly at Giovanni. He knew his son's old school had low funding, but that he has a starter whose species is considered vermin, he didn't knew their funding was that shit. Good thing Ash's switching schools now and will receive a proper starter for this,

After a few hours of silent driving, they arrived at Giovanni's villa. Driving up the driveway, he already saw Ariana and Silver at the entrance waiting. Like expected, Ash was still asleep. Giovanni tried to pick Ash up, but Pikachu was trying to bite him every time Giovanni came close to Ash.

"Calm down, Pikachu. I just want to carry him to his bed.", said Giovanni, while trying to shoo Pikachu away. "I won't let him sleep in the backseats. Let me take him." Pikachu stopped his aggression's and jumped out of the car. He still kept an eye on Ash and Giovanni.

Giovanni carried Ash bridal style up the stairs to the entrance. Ariana and Silver were opening the doors for him and Ash. Giovanni carried Ash up the stairs before he walked into a room Ariana prepared before they arrived. Ariana helped with the blankets when Giovanni put him down to sleep. Walking out, he sat down with Ariana and Silver in the living room.

Ariana, his wife, was a red head who liked to wear a lot of white, full well knowing that white gets dirty by just looking at it. But that doesn't stop her from wearing a white wool jumper. Matching her red eyes, she wears a ruby necklace, a gift from her younger sister, Lorelei Kanna, the Elite Four of Kanto.

Then there was Silver Sakaki, their son. He is pretty much like a male version of his mother, but he wears dark colors. Albeit right now it is because he is still in his school uniform. Something that bothered his father.

"Silver, why are you still in the uniform?", he asked annoyed. "You know full well to change after coming home."

"I know! But I was so excited when mom told me you'll bringing Satoshi!", explained Silver. "How long is he staying with us?"

"Didn't I tell you? He stays with us full time.", said Ariana. "Did I really forgot to mention that?"

"You were to excited to sign Satoshi up when you picked me up from school.", said Silver. "Do we wait for him to wake up to eat dinner?"

"I doubt he wakes up any time soon.", said Giovanni. "Seriously, get changed, Silver." With that, Silver left to his room. "Ariana, Ash asked me if he would live separately from us. And-"

"He won't."

"That's what I told him, Ari. Anyway, he said I didn't pay any child support.", said Giovanni. "But I literally paid ten times of the requirement. I have a theory."

"That being?", asked his wife while raising an eye brow.

"The short while I was talking to them while waiting for Ash, I've noted Delia is not working, but her husband isn't earning a lot either. Yet his brat attends a lower tier private school, and their house... I think Delia uses the money I pay for Satoshi for her family."

"I assume you'll trying to sue her?", asked Ariana. "He'll probably take this as a reason to dislike us. Albeit that won't be a problem for long."

"What do you mean, Ariana? He's stubborn to hold on his hate.", said Giovanni in response to what his wife said. What makes her think this won't be a problem for long? The kid is stubborn!

"Simple. Now that he lives with us, he will get to know us, the real us, not the lies Delia and his mind tricked him to believe.", explained Ariana. "He'll get to know us, will see us as a family and will let go of Delia's Taurus shit. Mm, I wonder how long he'll take to call me mom?"

"You want that?", asked Giovanni surprised. Ariana nod. "Okay, but don't force him to. Pushing this will only make him more stubborn to it."

"But he needs to know that he can!", she said loudly, crossing her arms.

"Of course, Ari.", he answered, "I never said to keep silent that he can, just don't be pushy."

Ash woke up when he fell from his bed, hitting the floor. He tried to catch his breath and returned to the bed. Pikachu cuddled up to his trainer and Ash returned to sleep, too tired to consider where he woke up.

Hours later, Ash awoke more peacefully. Pikachu just had enough cuddles and was hungry, so he awoke his trainer with a light spark.

"Geez, I'm up, Pikachu!", said Ash, annoyed with his one and only Pokemon. Recovering from the jolt, he realized he was in an unfamiliar room. It was, first and for all, pretty big. So was his bed. Why did he fall out if it was so massive? The room featured three doors, two of them the opposite of his bed. The third door was the right from his bed. On the left were multiple windows, a desk and few shelves. All of them were empty, no decor or color. A room clearly not much lived in.

"Where am I? Didn't I fall asleep in the car?", he muttered. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he said to Pikachu, "This is so bland, is this a hotel room? Looks like that answers my question where I stay." Ash sat down on the bed and just looked around, he had no idea what to do now, how his life would go from here. He started to cry. Pikachu was annoyed by this and jumped from the bed. The electric vermin jumped onto the desk and looked out of the window.

Suddenly a red haired woman wearing a white jumper came in. She rushed to Ash's side and sat down besides him.

"Ash, is something wrong?", she asked him, while trying to hug him from the side.

Ash on the other hand didn't want her to touch him, so he stood up and walked to Pikachu. He said loudly, "Do not touch me!"

Giovanni then walked into the room, having heard the commotion. "Ariana, did you wait for Ash to wake up?", he asked, having a hunch that his wife has no patience. "Please leave Ash alone for now."

Ariana sighed, not wanting to argue with Giovanni, in front of Ash. "Fine.", she said, "I'm in the kitchen, if someone needs me." She then left.

Giovanni rolled his eyes at her. He also wore a jumper, albeit dark gray. His hair wasn't gelled, an odd style for him. Giovanni walked to Ash, his Pikachu still sending sparks into Giovanni's direction. "Rat...", he muttered. "Ash, how do you feel? You looked quite sickly yesterday. Not to mention that you fainted, according to Lieutenant Surge."

Ignoring the insult at his starter, he said to his father, "I am not sick! I'm just tired!" He won't admit he is feeling sick. Not in such an unfamiliar, potentially harmful environment. He just doesn't trust the Sakaki's, so he won't try to see what happens if he admits to be sick. If his mom doesn't bother to send him to a doctor, why would they?

"If you say so, it shouldn't be a problem for you to take a shower, get changed-" Giovanni pointed to one of the two doors, apparently one is a walk in closet. "-and after that go down stairs to eat something. You must be hungry."

Ash walked into the closet and said, "I can't! I can't find my stuff!"

"Oh, that. Do not worry, we just replaced your rags with new clothes...", explained Giovanni. "They literally had holes in them. I won't let you walk around in them, so new clothes it is. We weren't sure about your size, so you may need to test out a few items." He gave Ash a few items and then said, "You'll meet Silver and your Grandmother this evening, they are excited to meet you."

Giovanni then left. Ash then sneezed, dropping his clothes in the process. "Mm, I doubt they take me to a doctor, I better push though that cold.", he said, before going into the other door, a bath room. He took a quick shower, then got clothed. Black jeans, blue pullover and wool socks. He was more warm than in his old clothes. His black hair was still a bit damp, though.

Pikachu was already on the door, he wants to get food.

"Mighty Arceus, you're so food motivated, Pikachu."

Ash opened the door and they walked down the corridor. Many doors on the side, the walls decorated with art works. The whole corridor was more expensive than his mother's whole house. Well, it is actually Alex' house, but who cares about Alex?

Going down the staircase, he was greeted by Ariana.

"Hello Ash, my name is Ariana, do you remember me?", she said introducing herself, adding a question.

"Nope. Should I? We never met." If anything, her behavior gave him the creeps.

Ariana was disappointed by that. They did meet! She was his mom for the first three years of his life! She sighed and then said, "Well, I show you where the dining room is."

"But I am not hungry.", argued Ash.

"Oh, please! You hadn't eaten since yesterday's lunch!" Actually, he hadn't had a lunch. Or breakfast. After all, he walked home for over an hour. But Ariana (probably) didn't knew that. "You need to eat something."

Ash stood at the stair case, no intention to move. He wasn't allowed to eat with Alex' family, so why should he be allowed to eat with the Sakaki's? He wonders how breakfast will be? He could only eat before them. If he ran out of time, he had to wait until lunch time at school. And dinner, again, small time window and only if there are scraps to begin with. Alex won't accept Delia's affair child at the table. So would Riko. Delia herself only caring about her family, not her mistake. Or she tried to please them. Either results in the same for Ash.

After a while, Ariana gave up. "Giovanni said not to push you.", she muttered before leaving him alone. Ash walked back to his room, which Pikachu was very annoyed with.

"If Alex and Riko dare to give us rotten scraps or mix in pesticides, you can risk it here, but don't complain to me.", said Ash to his Pokemon. Looking around the room, he wondered, "Do you think we'll be moved somewhere else?"

He walked to the windows and looked out. Their backyard was massive, yet he saw no shed or similar he could stay in, like he did at the Kawashima's.

His thoughts moved to his school change. What now? Which school will he attend? As Giovanni can afford it, will he go to Riko's school? That would be the last place he wants to attend. When is he going to school? He better ask Giovanni.

Walking out the room, he saw Ariana passing though the corridor.

"Oh, Ash, are you hungry?", she asked, "Did you change your mind already?"

"No, I am just looking for Giovanni.", he explained. "I have a question or two."

"If that's so. You can ask me, too, you know.", she replied. "Now what is it?"

"I ask Giovanni. I doubt you know the answers anyway.", said Ash. "They aren't your business."

"Why not?", she asked insulted.

"You aren't my parent nor legal guardian, so I see no reason to ask you about stuff.", answered Ash, "I only ask you where Giovanni is."

"Not? Why do you think that?", she asked insulted. She expected some hardships, but not that he straight up rejects to even ask her questions!

"Eh, mom said not to bother the steppy, I'm not their responsibility.", explained Ash, "So I only bother Giovanni. After all, he is my biological father."

Ariana sighed. He'll give her gray hair in no time. "Giovanni is in his study, the other side of the floor, door's open if he is not busy or in a telephone talk with someone."

Ash then walked down the stairs. Ariana retired to their bed room. Ash is draining her and she has no idea what to do. Giovanni said not to be pushy, but she got the feeling leaving Ash so alone won't do shit!

Ash walked down the corridor when he saw the open door. Walking into the room, Ash saw the walls lined with filled book shelves and a massive desk in the middle. A Persian was snoozing in a corner on a sofa.

"Oh, Ash. Can I do something for you?", asked Giovanni.

"Mr. Elm said you took me from school, transferred me to another. Which school, why, when do I start and why couldn't I continue to attend my old school?", asked Ash.

"Your old school is utter trash. Just look at their inactivity about Delia and your constant fainting. Not to mention, the distance. And no, you won't live separately from us." "I only fainted three times..." "You'll transfer to Silver's school, Goldenrod Prep. You will start when we got your materials, you choose your electives and when I think you're ready to go. Again, you fainted yesterday, you need to rest. Did you eat something? Ariana told me you didn't."

"Silver's school? Won't Silver be against that I attend his school?", asked Ash confused. "If he is anything like Riko, he would appreciate if we attend separate schools."

"Well, luckily Silver is nothing like Riko. In general, please stop comparing us to the Kawashima's. Also, it was Silver's idea that you attend his school. He can show you the ropes of Goldenrod Prep. We get your new materials – that isn't the books – next Friday. Which is tomorrow, in fact."

Ash then left the room and returned to his room. Pikachu didn't follow him, instead he ran downstairs. Ash now was bored, so he just laid on the bed, thinking what will happen now.

Started: 20th July 2023

Edited: 26th August 2023\12th September 2023

Finished: 8th August 2023

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