so, i love alain, a sorta major character in the pokemon xy anime. i always thought he and sycamore were related because they have similar hair color, he worked for him and treated him with such respect - this turned into a headcanon that sycamore adopted him. this is where this fic comes from. unfortunately, only the idea exists and a few snippets, but i think of it often and try to make it work when i can.
gurkinn stepped in, clearing his throat. “before that, i have something to give to alain. did you forget the reason why we’re here, korrina?”
“oh, right! grandpa finished putting together your mega stone and key stone!”
emotion flashed in his dark eyes, the faintest glimmer of fear in the depths. he reached into his pocket to call on his partner, and charizard landed beside him, lowering his head to growl with curiosity. alain rubbed his chin, voice soft as he murmured, “there’s something for you.”
sycamore stepped back for the guru to approach, holding the larger box out. they watched alain hold up the metal neck piece, charizardite x secured in the middle indentation, and wrapped it secured it around his partner’s neck. he stepped back, eyes glowing with an indecipherable emotion.
“it looks good on him!” mairin chirps.
charizard flexed his muscles with a triumphant grin. gurkinn held out the smaller jewelry box toward him, but all alain did was close his fist around it, tucked it in his pocket. no one else seemed to have noticed, occupied with praising charizard for his strength. sycamore caught his eye, simply remained quiet.
at korrina’s insistence, they headed out for dinner to celebrate, an exuberant meal that drew attention from the other patrons because of the collection of titles seated around the table – professor, guru, gym leader, and last year’s kalos league victor. and mairin. (“i’m not just any trainer!” mairin protested. “i helped with the kalos incident, you know!”)
it was dark by the time they exited the restaurant. streetlights illuminated the empty streets, sidewalks occupied by the odd trainer hurrying toward the pokémon center, families returning home after a late excursion. the asphalt remained cracked in certain areas, signs disallowing parking due to construction, and barriers left up for another day of repairs. sycamore hoped he wouldn’t become accustomed to such a sight; it wouldn’t be long before his beloved city would be whole again.
mairin and alain walked ahead of him, her insistent voice echoing through the streets. “what did you use for your key stone? is it another mega ring? i wanna see!"
"no." his tone was firm, hands in his pockets, unfazed by her persistence.
“aw, why not? you used to show it so proudly, but now you don’t want to?”
“it isn’t meant to be for battle, anymore. i’ll mostly use it for research.”
“aww.” her voice was crestfallen. “that means we won’t get to see mega charizard again?”
“once in a while. charizard can’t resist a good battle.”
and neither could you, sycamore thought. he had always known that alain would show interest in battling, even if he were surrounded by research and academia for most of his life. still, to think that he had chosen against the path of a trainer in favor of being a researcher was not one that he expected, at least not yet.
alain drifted back to his side, mairin and chespie marching ahead. sycamore tried to catch his eye, but his assistant remained steadfast, facing forward. “do you…know what i chose to put my key stone in?”
“master gurkinn showed me, yes. it’s odd that there was already a hole for it.”
“yes, well…my parents researched mega evolution. i’m not surprised.” his words were quiet, always shadowed with a concoction of emotions that was never the same twice. there were times when he spoke of his parents with reverence, fondness, yet other times with bitterness and grief. it was easier to not talk about them, he had declared once. sycamore respected his choice, and seldom mentioned them thereafter.
parents, huh… another topic that he seldom spoke about was his guardianship. there were legalities outside of his domain because of his status as legal guardian, although they were moot now that alain was an adult. family had never been a popular topic among them, let alone the past before their paths had been intercepted.
“did korrina mention anything about a mega stone deposit?” sycamore asked.
“briefly. she said it was in unova.”
“it was my colleague who found it, actually. he invited me to take a look, but i’m too busy to take a trip, so i was wondering if you’d…”
“if that’s what you’d like me to do, i’ll gladly do it.”
sycamore raised an eyebrow. “you’re entitled to refusing unsafe work as my assistant, you know.”
“nothing is unsafe for me.” that was true, as much as sycamore loathed to admit. this was the young man who fought against rayquaza, groudon, and kyogre within the same space. alain faced him, his expression as clear as the sky above. “i’ll do it. when do you want me to leave?”
“ah…i’ll need to send a message to my colleague. hopefully in a few days?”
“what’s going on?” mairin joined them, eyes bright. “alain, are you going somewhere?”
as he opened his mouth, sycamore interrupted. “i asked alain to travel to unova to meet one of my colleagues. would you like to come along, mairin?”
“unova? wow, that’s so far away! i’d love to!”
“wouldn’t it be dangerous?” alain asked, glancing in his direction.
“i don’t think so. the offer is to examine the deposit and the mega stones. it’d be great if you could bring one back for research. any that isn’t in our collection would be great.”
mairin tilted her head. “deposit? mega stones? are we looking for them?”
“no, they were discovered in a mountain. i can give you more details tomorrow.” sycamore yawned, raising his hand to hide behind it. “for now, let’s just get some rest.”
“okay!” along with chespie, she raced down the street, the lab growing closer in the distance.
“unova, huh?” alain glanced at the sky, a faraway look in his eyes. “it’s far. i wonder…”
he didn’t finish his sentence, left his words to be carried by the wind. sycamore felt its chill run down his spine, and he also lifted his head toward the stars. what would come out of this excursion? was this ordained by fate, or mere coincidence?
whatever would happen, it was clear that there would be more than met the eye.
