As night deepened, the main hall of the Pokémon Center was still bustling. Trainers were either eating and resting or tending to their Pokémon, each busy with their own tasks. Ash and his group arrived without stirring up any commotion. Although Ash was famous, not everyone kept a close watch on their surroundings, so only Nurse Joy caught sight of them.
Nurse Joy, always composed, was slightly surprised to see Ash in Azalea Town, but she didn't show much emotion. She simply followed her routine, accepting the Poké Balls Ash and the others offered, then turned to head inside to treat the Pokémon.
Taking advantage of this brief moment, Ash and the others quickly asked Nurse Joy about the newly arrived external Gym Leader of Azalea Town, along with the recent situation of Azalea's original Gym Leader and Mr. Kurt.
"You're asking about the new Gym Leader? They're from the Kalos region, and their strength is quite formidable. That said, for you, Ash, it certainly wouldn't be a problem."
"They?" Ash was slightly puzzled by the plural, since the information he'd gotten from Professor Oak clearly stated that the external Gym Leader from Kalos this time was a woman, and while her strength wasn't weak, she wasn't ranked among the top external Gym Leaders.
"That's right. There are two external Gym Leaders this time. One is the official Gym Leader who accepted the challenge, a young woman. The other is her grandfather, who is the actual former Gym Leader of the Shalour Gym."
After listening to Nurse Joy's explanation, Ash finally understood the origins of this external Gym Leader arrangement. The former Gym Leader of the Shalour Gym was the young woman's grandfather, and his strength was extremely formidable, even comparable to Kalos's top-tier Trainers.
But the granddaughter was a new Gym Leader personally trained by him. After all, her grandfather couldn't oversee the Shalour Gym for his entire life. The Shalour Gym would eventually need to be entrusted to the next generation.
This time, agreeing to take on the role of external Gym Leader in Johto had originally been intended to train the granddaughter. After arriving in Azalea Town, almost all challenges to the Gym came in, but the entire responsibility had been given to the granddaughter to handle. And she hadn't disappointed her grandfather's expectations at all.
She'd made her own mark and established the reputation of the Shalour Gym in Azalea Town. '
Now everyone in the circle knew that this extremely young female Fighting-type Trainer, though young, had exceptionally solid strength. To date, no Trainer who had challenged the Gym had been able to take a Badge from her. The Shalour Gym from Kalos had ridden that momentum to become famous in Johto.
"Is it really that impressive? Serena, what do you know about this?" Ash couldn't help but ask.
As soon as he spoke, the eyes of everyone in the group, including Misty's, turned toward Serena, who had been listening quietly.
Serena suddenly realized every gaze in the group was focused on her. She froze for a second, her face instantly going red, and hastily waved her hands to explain. "I, I don't know either. I just became a Trainer this year, and I really don't know anything about Kalos's Gym news."
She had originally embarked on the path of a Trainer because of her dream, and before that she'd been completely clueless about Gym battles. She barely knew anything at all. Never mind the newly appointed Gym Leader of the Shalour Gym, she didn't even have a solid picture of who the previous one had been. Asking her was definitely asking the wrong person.
Misty and the others also snapped out of it. Although Serena was from Kalos, she was ultimately just a rookie Trainer who had barely started. Kalos was a vast region, and unless one happened to live near Shalour City itself, ordinary people wouldn't go out of their way to keep up with the Shalour Gym's situation.
They had simply unconsciously assumed that Serena, being from Kalos, would know the relevant information. On closer reflection, they realized the assumption had been off base.
"Right. So, this granddaughter's main ace, is that the Lucario?" Ash suddenly remembered a note Professor Oak had made in his file, and turned to confirm with Nurse Joy.
"Yes. That Pokémon has caused quite a stir. Because of you, Ash, both Johto and Kanto now know Lucario well. So the fact that the granddaughter has a Lucario has caused a sensation in Azalea Town, and many people have been challenging her specifically to see her Lucario."
Nurse Joy nodded. Before Ash had used a Lucario, very few people in Johto or Kanto had even known about the species. After all, Lucario was primarily native to the Sinnoh region, and even within Sinnoh it was extremely rare. Not only were the numbers few, but the number of people who had personally seen a Lucario was smaller still.
Lucario had even been rumored to be a Legendary Pokémon in Sinnoh for a time, and although the rumor had eventually been disproven, it was enough to demonstrate how rare Lucario actually was. If it hadn't been for Ash, where in the world would this many people know about Lucario?
"Lucario. Sounds like another interesting Gym battle is about to happen." Ash muttered to himself, a bright, eager smile spreading across his face.
"It seems, Ash, you've already decided which Pokémon you'll use to challenge the Gym tomorrow."
"Of course. Nurse Joy, there are two more things I need your help with. Do you know where Mr. Kurt lives? And do you have any information about Bugsy's Gym?"
The next morning, Ash and his companions left the Pokémon Center and headed toward the Shalour Gym's headquarters. Azalea Town was different from Violet City. It was a small town, its size not remotely comparable. Because of that, the distance between the Shalour Gym and Bugsy's Gym wasn't far, and before long the four of them arrived at the entrance of the Shalour Gym.
The Gym's exterior, being a temporary construction, was rather plain and unremarkable, a common feature throughout the town due to the number of temporary Gym residents.
Every temporary Gym came with its owner. Each of these temporary Gyms was designed with extreme care, to the point of being nearly indistinguishable from the original in their home region. To pull that off would require an enormous budget. A similar, understated, plain exterior was the most common design.
Even though these temporary Gyms basically shared the same shape and calm exterior, one key characteristic was that they were exceptionally spacious inside, even if the exterior wasn't ornate.
The look of the Gym, the size of the arena, and the overall craftsmanship were what mattered. Another crucial factor was the Gym Leader's strength. With those two things established, even if the Gyms all looked similar from the outside, there'd still be a steady stream of challengers.
At the moment, there was no queue outside the Shalour Gym, but that was only because Ash and the others had arrived early. If they'd come later, the Shalour Gym would have been packed with people. The Gym Leader used a Lucario, and rumor had it she was a cute girl too. Between the strength and the appeal, it'd be stranger if she didn't draw crowds.
Ash pushed open the temporary front gate of the Shalour Gym, and a powerful current of energy rolled out to meet them. The interior was much more spacious than the outside suggested. The floor was a solid, flat arena, with the walls designed to prevent collisions or breakouts. In the center of the arena, a slender but tall figure was already waiting.
Standing before them was a vibrant blonde girl. She wore a red and white combat helmet. The teardrop-shaped helmet was designed to fit snugly against her head, with an eye-catching red V inscribed at the forehead.
This was the owner of the Shalour Gym, Korrina. The young girl.
The girl's age and appearance left Brock and the others stunned. They'd heard the Gym Leader was young, but hadn't expected her to be quite this young. She looked about the same age as Ash, and even by the most generous estimate, she was only two or three years older. Even stretching the math, she couldn't be past eighteen. And yet she was already a genius Trainer of exceptional talent.
"Huh? Another challenger? Why so early today?"
The sound of the Gym door being pushed open startled Korrina. She quickly wrapped up her warm-up, her surprise turning into excitement as she stared intently at the people at the entrance. The battles she'd been through recently had been unbelievably intense.
The battle density here was incomparable to what she'd been used to in Kalos. Every single day pushed her and Lucario to their limits. So many battles a day tested not only the Pokémon's stamina but also the Trainer's spirit. Under these conditions, one either broke under continuous combat or transcended through it and grew stronger.
Korrina was clearly the latter. After arriving in Johto, she'd grown into a capable Trainer at a rapid pace. She felt that if she kept training in Johto for a year, she might even catch up to her grandfather.
It was still early, and she'd been warming up in the Gym, preparing to welcome her first challenger of the day. She hadn't expected them to arrive right after she finished warming up. Today's challenger was much earlier than usual.
When Korrina's gaze fell on the figure leading the group, her beautiful blue eyes suddenly narrowed, and she couldn't help exclaiming in shock.
"Ash! Are you Ash?"
Ash, who had just raised his hand to greet her, was startled by the shout. His hand stopped mid-air, and the greeting he'd been about to say caught in his throat. He frowned, studying the girl in front of him. Why did she look familiar? But he had absolutely no memory of this girl. Why was she so worked up?
Before Ash could think it through, Korrina pushed off on her roller skates, and in an instant she was standing right in front of him. A strange light flickered in her deep blue eyes, and her fair face nearly pressed against Ash's.
Misty, watching from the side, suddenly gripped her own small, pale hand tight. What was with this girl? On the very first meeting she was clinging to Ash like that?
"I know you! You're the one who brought Mega Lucario back into the world! Thanks to you, my grandfather and I finally understood how to use the stones that had been passed down from that era. And your Lucario is really strong. Except for my grandfather's Lucario, of course."
"That's the first time I've ever seen such a powerful Lucario!"
"Well, it's not really that strong." Ash mumbled, ears flushing slightly at the compliment from a girl he'd just met. He also felt a little pleased. He hadn't expected even a Kalos Gym Leader from far away to know about his exploits, or that she knew because he'd unlocked the effects of her family's inherited Mega Stone.
That was a genuinely satisfying feeling. No wonder famous people always looked so pleased with themselves. With that kind of validation floating around, who wouldn't feel good?
"Hey! Miss Gym Leader!" Misty rushed forward, grabbed Ash's arm, and pulled him back a step, her cheeks puffed out like little buns. "It's really rude to get that close on a first meeting!"
Only then did Korrina realize how much she'd crossed. Her roller skates slid slightly as she rolled back half a step, and she scratched her head with an awkward laugh. "Ah, sorry, sorry. I got a little too excited seeing Ash for the first time. Ash has been a big benefactor to our family, and he's also a Lucario user."
As she finished speaking, Korrina tossed out a Poké Ball. In a flash of light, a tall, imposing Lucario appeared. His face was as calm as still water, with the air of a grandmaster. Not a hint of tremor in his stance.
But when his gaze swept over Ash, it froze on the spot, and the two feelers on the sides of his head twitched violently.
The originally calm, unwavering crimson pupils suddenly narrowed, locking onto the subtle fluctuations coming off Ash. Even his breathing unconsciously grew lighter.
What a terrifying Aura. This Aura, forget humans, in every Pokémon I've ever seen, none has ever possessed a wave this terrifying. I can clearly feel it. This isn't simply a surge of intense energy. It's like a bottomless ocean. Under my probing, I can't see the limit of the energy inside him at all. I've never encountered a level like this before.
Lucario, in a state of complete shock, wondered how a human could possibly possess pure Aura Power of this magnitude. Even though his own grandmaster Gurkinn's Lucario was considered top-of-the-line among Lucario, compared to this human, it was small fry next to the great sea. A level of Aura like this only existed in the ancient legends of the Lucario clan, of the one who had wielded such power.
Brave warriors fight side by side, calming the chaos of the world. Only a Lucario stands equal to them.
"How is it, Lucario? Is there something on Ash?" Korrina asked, noticing Lucario's body trembling slightly and his eyes narrowing with worry. She knew Lucario could sense things invisible to the naked eye. Was there something bad clinging to Ash?
Facing her question, Lucario shook his head. Then, to her astonishment, he bowed deeply to Ash. It was a perfect ninety-degree bow, arguably the most formal Lucario had ever made.
Korrina looked bewildered. What just happened?