"Hmmm… So this is the Kalos Region…" I mumbled to myself as I stepped down the steps leading from the private jet I'd taken to get here while looking around at the surrounding airport and the sky above.

The air was crisp and refreshing, the sky a clear blue, patches of sparse clouds hanging overhead, the occasional Pokémon flying over in groups.

A gentle breeze passed by, ruffling through my open red plaid shirt with a black collar, white undershirt, black vinyl pants, red boots, and black beanie, which I wore atop my light brown hair.

I closed my eyes, enjoying the sensation and taking a deep breath.

"Master Kai," Someone called out.

Hearing my name called, I opened my light, emerald green eyes and turned around to see one of my family's butlers calling out to me from the jet.

"I wish you the best of luck on your journey. Also, Lady Aurora mentioned that I should remind you to keep in regular contact with her."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll remember to call Mum regularly. And thanks, Uncle Sebas. I'll do my best to make the most of this trip." I sighed before smiling up at the man who was like a father to me.

Sebas smiled, placing his right hand over his heart and bowed,

"Have fun, Master Kai."

I turned around and walked towards the airport, stopping only to watch as the private jet made its way back onto the runway, taking off back home.

After going through the tedious process of immigration, something I was very used to, I finally stepped out of the airport once more.

"Alright, come on out, you two," I said as I removed two Pokéballs from the black-leather messenger bag that hung at my side.

Soon after, a flash of light escaped them, hitting the floor before me, materialising into two similar figures.

"Carrr!" Once fully formed, the two figures cried out, performing a similar bow to what Uncle Sebas had done before leaving.

The two Pokémon were a pair of Lucario's. They raised their heads and looked at me with affection shining in their eyes.

"Luca, Luci, did you two have a good rest?" I asked.

"Carrr!" They replied enthusiastically, which made me chuckle lightly.

These two had been with me since the day I was born, both starting off as Riolu recently hatched from eggs. It was something of a tradition in my family, since our founding ancestors, to have at least one Aura wielding companion accompanying each member.

Of course, the reason for such a tradition was a family 'secret', though I've always doubted whether such things needed to be kept secret…

"Well then, let's get going, shall we?" I shook myself out of my thoughts, speaking to my two best friends.

With that, we started walking the various streets of the city we'd arrived in, Lumiose City, with Luca on my left and Luci on my right, both roughly a pace or two behind me.

The two of them always liked to 'assign' themselves the role of my 'bodyguards' even though I've often insisted that they drop such acts. After all, with the history and background of my family, I was plenty capable of protecting myself…

With a sigh, I decided to merely enjoy their company as I took in the sights.

The city's atmosphere gave off an aged feel, denoting its rich history. It was a perfect blend between old and new, melding old-style buildings with modern technology, incorporating Pokémon into every facet of its culture.

It was definitely vastly different from the somewhat simplified version I'd seen of it in the past…

We encountered Pokémon everywhere, walking around with their Trainers and friends as we were walking. Though I already knew of them, some of the Pokémon were of a species I'd not seen outside of the Kalos Region, hitting me with a tinge of nostalgia.

After wandering aimlessly for a couple of hours, enjoying the sights and rich culture, we'd somehow found ourselves in the city centre, staring up at a massive structure.

"Prism Tower… Man, seeing it through a screen really did not do it justice." I mumbled before turning to Luca and Luci, asking,

"Quite the sight, huh. Not quite the Space-Time towers in Alamos Town back home, but impressive nonetheless."

Seeing the two nod in agreement, I smiled and returned my sight to the Tower, only for my expression to cramp slightly as I saw a somewhat familiar trap door on the Pokéball styled symbol on the side of the tower open up.

What followed was a young boy and a Pokémon, both of whom I almost immediately recognised, to come tumbling out, plummeting towards the ground below.

Reacting on instinct, I shouted,

"Luca, Luci, catch them!"

Without a sound of acknowledgement, my two partners burst towards the falling pair at blinding speeds, leaping into the air, with Luca catching the boy and Luci catching his Pokémon.

As they were descending towards the ground at rapidly growing speeds, Luca and Luci were prepared to reinforce themselves with their aura to break their fall. However, before they could do so, a shout came from behind me.

"Alright! Let's Go! Clemontic gear, On!"

Slightly surprised at the rather nostalgic catch-phrase, I turned around, only to see a large backpack fly over my head, landing below the falling group. The top of the bag burst open, followed by an expanding Air-Bag that covered a significant amount of ground.

Seeing the supposedly soft landing area, both Luca and Luci adjusted their angle of descent to land on their backs.

With a loud 'Poof', the group landed as the Air-Bag began to deflate slowly. I made my way over to them as the bag deflated fully.

"Man, that would've been quite the nasty fall. Thanks so much for catching us!" The boy said before exclaiming in thanks.

With a curt nod from both Luca and Luci, they let go of their catches and stood up. I offered a helping hand, which the boy happily accepted, and hoisted him to his feet.

Seeing him up close, I couldn't help but notice that he was taller than I'd expected, roughly 15 cm (6 inches) shorter than I was, standing at around 165 cm (5'5).

"That looked kinda fun, aside from the dangerous fall at the end." I quipped. The boy was about to reply but was cut off-

"Hey!!! You okay?!" -by a shout that came from behind us.

Turning around, we saw two people running towards us, a young boy, roughly the same age and height as the one Luca had caught, and an even younger girl. Seeing them approaching, I did my best to prevent a smile from forming on my face.

The duo had bright blonde hair, with the boy wearing glasses, a bright blue jumpsuit with the occasional yellow stripe, and blue shoes with white toe-caps. The girl wore a brown sleeveless top with a black ribbon around her collar, a white frilly skirt, black spats that reached just above her knees and bright pink shoes, with a yellow bag slung across her body and hanging at her side.

Arriving at our side, the boy Luca had saved spoke up,

"Yeah, we're fine! Thanks for the Air-Bag!"

"Gasp! Take a look at this, Clemont! A Pikachu! And what a Cutie!" The little girl shouted as she picked up the mouse-like Pokémon and hugged it tightly to her chest.

Having noticed the uncomfortable expression on Pikachu's face as it was smothered, I had an inkling of what was about to occur.

"Oh no…" I muttered. But it was too late; the course had been set, heralded by the sparks of yellow electricity that began to emanate from the yellow rodent.

With a flash of blinding yellow light, a slight stinging sensation, much like millions of ants crawling all over me, took hold of my senses. However, it was very brief as I noticed the presence of an aura shield quickly appear to surround me, most likely the work of Luca and Luci.

As the light faded, I opened my eyes, bearing witness to the sight of a little girl with comically poofed up hair.

Her arms went slack as she released Pikachu, who ran over and climbed up onto the boy's shoulder, followed by her falling and plopping down on her back.

"Bonnie, no!"

"Are you okay?!?"

"Pika, Pi…"

Recovering faster than I'd expected her to, the little girl shot up to her feet, laughing all the while.

"Hahaha, Of course!"

"Pika, Pika…" Pikachu muttered as it performed a head-bobbing motion as if apologising.

"I'm really sorry about my sister." The blonde boy said, lowering his head in the other boy's direction.

"Hey, don't worry about it." The boy replied, looking apologetic himself for Pikachu's actions.

"Bonnie, you apologise too!"

"I just wanted to give Pikachu a hug 'cus it's so cute!" She exclaimed defiantly.

"Sigh… But did Pikachu like it?" He countered, sounding very older-brotherly.

With her defiant expression crumbling into an apologetic one, she replied,

"Alright, I'm really sorry, Pikachu," looking quite adorable.

"Everything's alright now; Pikachu was just startled, is all." the boy stated, bending his knees to lower himself down to the little girl's height.

"Pika, Pika…" With Pikachu replying with a nod of its head and its posture reminiscent of an awkward stance, scratching the back of its head, the boy continued,

"I'm sure if you'd asked first, Pikachu would've been more than happy to receive a little affection. Isn't that right, buddy?"

"Pika!" Pikachu replied with a happy smile.

"Haha, yay!" the little girl replied.

The boy finally turned around to look at me, his expression showing a hint of guilt for leaving me just standing here, observing.

"Ah! Sorry! Thank you again so much for sending your Lucario's to catch us!"

"Haha, don't mind it. I'd rather not have to witness a tragedy on my first day here." I waved my hand dismissively, chuckling as I did.

"Anyways, what a weird gym; what's up with that?"

"You got kicked out, huh?" I asked, looking up towards the tower, same as him.

"Yeah, and after coming all this way! Some gym leader…" he replied, sounding quite miffed. Though I don't blame him.

"Yeah, he's something, alright." The blonde-haired boy said.

Hearing the familiar reply, I began to recognise this string of dialogue… I smiled inwardly as the little girl further confirmed my suspicions.

"Ooo, ooo, the Gym Leader of the Lumiose Gym is this really super-duper strong person! So they asked you how many badges you have, right?" the little girl exclaimed before asking.

"That's right! But when I told them I didn't have any, I got zapped badly!" the boy replied.

"Huh?" The siblings said at the same time.

"You don't have any badges?" the little girl asked.

"You see, I just arrived in the Kalos Region. This is the first gym I've been to."

"You don't say, we just arrived this morning as well," I said. Hearing what we had said, the blonde boy looked as though he wanted to ask something.

"Pardon me for asking, but…" The blonde boy started,

"Where are you both from?"

"I'm from Pallet Town, in Kanto, and my name is Ash, and this is my buddy, Pikachu! We're on a journey together so I can become a Pokémon Master!"

"Pika, Pikachu!"

"I'm from Jubilife City, in Sinnoh, and my name's Mochizuki Kai, Kai being my given name. These are my best friends, Luca, on my left, and Luci, on my right. We're just here to broaden our horizons and enjoy whatever life throws our way. Isn't that right, you two."

"Carrr!!" They both replied enthusiastically.

"Oh! The Sinnoh Region! We've been there before, haven't we, buddy?" Ash mentioned.

"Pika, Pi!" Only for Pikachu to reply in confirmation.

"Is that right?" I replied, doing my best to sound natural.

"I see; well, I believe we should introduce ourselves properly. My name's Clemont."

"And I'm Bonnie!"

"Nice to meet you three!" Ash exclaimed.

"Likewise," I replied.

"You both look like such good friends with your Pokémon!" Bonnie exclaimed!

"Haha, yeah! Pikachu and I have known each other for a long time; in fact, Pikachu was the first Pokémon I ever got."

"Luca and Luci have been with me ever since I was a baby. According to my Mum, they were actually born on the same day as me, and they've been by my side ever since."

"Woah!" Bonnie exclaimed.

"Amazing! Your parents let you have Pokémon from such a young age?!" Clemont asked.

"Haha, well, it's kind of a tradition in my family. Every one of us grows up with a partner by our side, well, in my case, two."

"That's awesome! Pikachu and I only met when I was ten years old! Professor Oak, back in Kanto, was the person who introduced us."

Hearing what Ash said, I had an itch in the back of my mind, urging me to ask a question that'd been on the minds of countless others.

"Say, Ash, how old are you now?"

"Hmm? I'm Fourteen! Why do you ask?"

Hearing his reply, my mind began to race at the discrepancy in my prior knowledge. However, seeing Ash's confused face, I snapped out of my inner thoughts.

Was it weird of me to ask such a question out of the blue? Well… maybe…? Crap, me and my stupid curiosity!

To not seem strange, I quickly replied with the best excuse I could come up with.

"Ah, you mentioned meeting Pikachu at the age of ten, so I was just curious as to how long you'd been journeying together."

"Oh, I see! So yeah, Pikachu and I have been going from region to region for the past four years."

"I see; sounds like a lot of fun," I replied.

"Oh yeah, it's been great! We're continuing our journey and looking for more Gym Battles!"

"How old are you, Kai?" Ash asked.

"Oh, I'm 16 years old."

"Cool! And you, Clemont, Bonnie?"

"I'm the same age as you, Ash, and Bonnie turned eight years old this year."

"Oh, awesome," Ash replied.

"So, are you and Bonnie on a journey too?" Ash asked after turning to Clemont.

"Ah… W-well, you see-" Clemont started, only for Bonnie to come in and say,

"Umm, that's something we're gonna do sometime in the future."

"Aww, man, a family adventure sounds great! After all, I don't have any siblings. How about you, Kai?"

"I've got two older brothers and three elder sisters. But they're all busy with the 'family business' back home. Being the youngest has its perks, though, lot more freedom!" I replied with a smile, chuckling at the end, before continuing,

"But seeing how I grew up with these two, it's like travelling with a brother and sister, so I guess that counts?"

With Luca and Luci nodding in agreement, I smiled.

"So cool! That's a lot of siblings! What does your family do, Kai?" Ash asked.

I was about to open my mouth to answer; however, I quickly caught myself. With my smile subtly cramping at the question, I stuttered slightly, almost letting slip the family 'secret', before going with the usual story,

"A-ah… umm well, this and that. My siblings mostly run things at the Pokétch Company in Jubilife City. My Dad used to be the company President before he passed away, so now my Mum runs it as its President, with my siblings helping out…"

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear about your dad," Ash replied.

"Oh, don't worry about it; he passed away before I was born, so I'd never met him."

"I see…" Ash replied. However, a piece of information I had just said finally clicked with the group.

"Wait, The Pokétch Company?!" Ash and Clemont suddenly exclaimed.

"Mhm. Pokémon Watches For The World!... and all that jazz." I replied while awkwardly smiling and scratching the back of my head.

"Wait, so your older brother is Landis?!" Ash asked.

"Hmm? You know my brother?" I asked.

"Yeah, I do! There was this big incident back then about counterfeit watches, and Landis told us how to get to the Pokétch Company in Jubilife City after he realised that the watches me and my friends had back then were fakes." Ash replied

"Oh! Yeah, I remember something like that happening. At the time, the whole family was in crisis, trying to get to the bottom of it. But some Pokémon Coordinator managed to find the culprits and solved the problem for us."

"Yeah! That was one of my friends! Her name's Dawn!"

"Huh, small world. If you ever get in contact with her again, send her my thanks, will ya?" I replied with a smile.

"Sure!" Ash replied.

"To think your family owns the Pokétch Company!" Clemont said.

"You know it? I was sure it was a pretty small company with little influence, which is why it only needed my Mum and siblings to run it… " I asked.

"Do I?!" Clemont replied rhetorically before continuing,

"Your company welcomes third party producers for its different applications! I designed a few of them myself and sent them in! Look, I'm even wearing one of the Pokétch! The Pokétch was also used as inspiration in the production of Holo Casters!"

"Well, what do you know? I bet my Mum and siblings would be ecstatic to know the Pokétch was in use in Kalos as well."

"Anyways, I see you constantly eyeing Pikachu, Luca, and Luci, Bonnie. I take it you really like Pokémon?" I asked, trying to divert the conversation away from my home life.

"I do! I really, really, do!" Bonnie replied.

"Bonnie's a bit too young to have Pokémon yet. So she's always really impressed when she meets someone who does." Clemont explained.

"Oh, I know just what that's like! I could hardly wait to grow up and become a Pokémon Trainer!" Ash replied, nodding his head in a strangely sage-like way as if his prior experience as a younger child was something so enlightening.

"You totally understand how I feel!" Bonnie exclaimed, her comment further egging on Ash's sagely display.

"So what Pokémon do you have, Clemont?" I asked, snapping Ash out of his act with the topic of Pokémon.

"Ah, well… Here's a Pokémon I recently caught," Clemont replied, pulling out a Pokéball from his waist belt.

"Oh, please! Can I see it? Then let's have a battle!" Ash propositioned.

"A battle? For real?" Clemont asked.

"Yeah! If I can't have a Gym Battle, I'd like to have my first battle in the Kalos Region with you! Whaddya say, Clemont?"

Hearing what Ash said, I struggled to keep myself from bursting out loud with laughter.

After all, I knew Clemont's little secret about him being the Lumiose City Gym Leader. But I managed to keep it in, letting things play out.

"Let's do it! It'll be a great test of strength!" Bonnie said.

"Okay! You're on!" Clemont replied.

…

..

.