Gurkinn and Lucario

While waiting for news from Malva, Yuga kept a close watch on the activity at the Lysandre Labs, but the people there rarely left the facility, leaving him with little useful information.

Two days later, Yuga met Bruno again.

Bruno had brought information from Malva, just as he had before. He spoke little and left immediately after handing Yuga what he had.

Malva had given Bruno a slip of paper to pass to Yuga, on which was written a location—one that marked a secret base of Team Flare.

The location was in Geosenge Town. However, Malva did not know the exact whereabouts of the secret base there; she only had a general area, and the rest would be up to Yuga to investigate after his arrival.

Upon receiving the note, Yuga immediately prepared to depart for Geosenge Town. Before leaving, he asked Malva to help monitor and restrict Essentia's movements to prevent her from causing too much trouble.

However, what Yuga didn't know was that as soon as he left, Malva revealed information about Essentia to Looker, which finally led him to find the long-lost Emma he had been desperately searching for.

The message Looker had previously received, stating that Essentia was actually Emma, had also come from Malva. Since deciding to help Yuga stop Lysandre's plan for world destruction, she had also resolved to help Looker find Emma.

Malva was willing to help Looker because he had once helped her. Though Looker himself may not remember, Malva had never forgotten and had long wanted to repay the favor.

Back when Malva was part of a special task force, Looker had served as her instructor for a time. On one occasion, when she was being bullied by other team members, Looker happened to pass by and, unknowingly, helped her out of the situation.

Later, Looker transferred to the police system, while Malva was assigned to a different unit, and the two never crossed paths again. However, Malva quietly kept that favor in her heart.

Previously, Malva had been one of the participants in Team Flare's Expansion Suit project, so she was quite familiar with it.

The project had been shelved due to technical shortcomings, with only its lead researcher, Xerosic, continuing to pursue it. As a former participant, Malva naturally paid extra attention to Xerosic's experiments, and it was through the test subject, Emma, that she discovered Looker was in Lumiose City.

In order to prevent Xerosic from noticing the connection between Looker and Emma and thereby affecting Looker's mission in Lumiose City, Malva discreetly erased all traces of Emma and Looker's past together.

However, by the time Looker and Emma reunited, Yuga had already returned to Coumarine City.

Geosenge Town is located in the far west of Kalos, and to get there, one must pass through Coumarine City and Shalour City, so Yuga made a brief stop in Coumarine City.

Since he needed to use his role as a Gym Leader to maintain his cover, it was impossible for him to stay away from Coumarine City for too long.

When Yuga returned to Coumarine City, Clemont was still there, working on developing a new Sunflora-powered generator. According Ramos, the research on the generator was going well, and it likely wouldn't be long before this new type of generator was released.

Yuga didn't stay long in Coumarine City, leaving for Shalour City the next day.

Shalour City, Coumarine City, and Geosenge Town all lie along the northwestern coast of the Kalos region. Because they are coastal cities, all three have mild climates, making them highly suitable for living.

However, compared to the other two places, Shalour City has a much longer history. Its most famous feature is the Tower of Mastery, which also serves as the location of the Shalour Gym.

It is said that the Tower of Mastery hides secrets related to Mega Evolution, so when Yuga passed through Shalour City, he thought he might as well take the opportunity to see it.

Upon arriving in Shalour City, Yuga found himself in a bit of a dilemma as he looked at the Tower of Mastery, which was located in the middle of the sea: "Am I supposed to ride a Lapras over there?"

Just as Yuga was feeling uncertain, a voice suddenly spoke near his ear.

"Are you heading to visit the Tower of Mastery too?"

Yuga turned around and saw a tall, thin man standing behind him. Surprised, he exclaimed, "Professor Sycamore?"

"So you do know me!" Professor Sycamore chuckled. "Sorry for striking up a conversation out of the blue. But I feel like I've seen you somewhere before?"

"Maybe I just have a common face?" Yuga responded, trying to brush off Sycamore's confusion with a laugh.

Because he needed to keep his identity hidden, Yuga was wearing a hat and sunglasses at the moment. After all, he was quite famous now. Although it felt a bit self-important to admit it, it wasn't strange for people in Kalos to recognize him—especially someone like Professor Sycamore. While they had never formally met, they had certainly heard of each other.

"Are you also here to visit the Tower of Mastery?" Yuga quickly changed the subject.

"Yes!" Professor Sycamore nodded. "I want to ask Mr. Gurkinn a few questions."

At the time, the Shalour Gym Leader was not Korrina, as Yuga knew, but her grandfather, Gurkinn.

Although Gurkinn was a low-profile person, those who knew him were aware that he was a highly formidable trainer. However, he never cared about fame, preferring to stay at the Tower of Mastery, which is why to the outside world, he appeared to be just an aging Gym Leader on the verge of retirement.

By the way, the Shalour Gym is one of the oldest gyms in the Kalos League, and Mr. Gurkinn has the authority to appoint his own successor.

"Doesn't the Shalour Gym provide a boat here? How do challengers usually get across?" After hearing Professor Sycamore's response, Yuga couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Professor Sycamore, surprised, said, "You don't know? When the tide goes out in the evening, the path to the Shalour Gym reveals itself. Most challengers cross over at that time."

"Really? I had no idea!" Yuga truly didn't know. He had decided to come here on a whim, so naturally, he hadn't researched anything about the Shalour Gym beforehand.

"However, trainers with Flying or Water-type Pokémon don't wait for the tide to go out. They either fly across or swim," Professor Sycamore explained when he saw Yuga looking puzzled.

"Well, I'll just swim across then. Waiting until evening would take too long." As Yuga spoke, he released his Lapras.

After Lapras entered the water, it excitedly slapped its blue fins. Meanwhile, Professor Sycamore stared at Yuga's Lapras, lost in thought.

Yuga was about to set off when he noticed Professor Sycamore still gazing at Lapras. Feeling a bit awkward, he asked, "Um... Professor, would you like to join me?"

Professor Sycamore was taken aback for a moment but then realized Yuga had misunderstood. Instead of explaining, he went along with it and said, "Sure, thanks for the ride."

As they were halfway across the water, Professor Sycamore suddenly said, "You're Gym Leader Shimizu from Hoenn, aren't you?"

Yuga: ...

Seeing Yuga's surprised look, Professor Sycamore pointed to the Lapras beneath them and said, "Your Lapras is quite unique. I only know of one like it."

As Yuga's fame grew, so too did knowledge of the Pokémon he owned, especially since his Lapras had a slightly different appearance from typical Lapras.

"I see," Yuga finally understood. He had underestimated his own notoriety (self-praise), not realizing that his Pokémon had become a symbol of his identity.

I'll have to be more careful in the future!

"Do you have a Mega Stone as well? Did you know that Shalour City is where Mega Evolution was first discovered?"

Once Professor Sycamore learned Yuga's identity, it was as if he couldn't stop talking. He enthusiastically began to tell Yuga all about Mega Evolution.

Since Yuga had publicly used a Mega Evolved Gengar, Professor Sycamore also knew he possessed a Mega Stone.

Mega Evolution has always been one of Professor Sycamore's key research topics, and his visit to the Shalour Gym this time was also for this reason.

A long time ago, Gurkinn's ancestor and his Lucario came to Shalour City. It was here that they discovered two special stones, leading to the world's first documented case of Mega Evolution.

As Professor Sycamore shared various legends about Mega Evolution, Yuga listened with great interest.

Just as Lapras was about to reach the shore, Professor Sycamore suddenly said, "If possible, could you, Gym Leader Shimizu, have a Mega Evolution battle with Mr. Gurkinn?"

"Uh..." Yuga felt a bit awkward.

Hearing Yuga's hesitation, Professor Sycamore quickly added, "I won't let you help for nothing. How about I give you a Fennekin as a reward?" A battle between two Mega-Evolved Pokémon was a rare event, and it was an opportunity Professor Sycamore couldn't afford to miss for his research.

Fennekin? Yuga's eyes lit up at the mention. That's tempting!

"Although I'd love to give you a Chespin too, I don't have one on hand right now." Seeing that Yuga wasn't responding, Professor Sycamore awkwardly explained, assuming that Yuga, being a Grass-type Gym Leader, would prefer Chespin over a Fire-type Pokémon like Fennekin.

"Haha... Fennekin is just fine," Yuga chuckled. He honestly didn't care whether it was Fennekin or Chespin. "But I can't reveal my identity, so I'll need you to help cover for me when the time comes."

"Consider it done," Professor Sycamore replied, clearly delighted. Although he didn't fully understand why Yuga needed to keep his identity secret, he was smart enough not to ask.

As soon as they disembarked, they saw an elderly man with white hair and eyebrows standing at the entrance of the Tower of Mastery—none other than Gurkinn, the Shalour Gym Leader.

Since Professor Sycamore had informed him beforehand, Gurkinn had been waiting at the door.

"I'm sorry for the trouble," Professor Sycamore apologized to Gurkinn with a hint of guilt.

Gurkinn shook his head and said, "It's no trouble at all. It's an honor for Shalour Gym to have you here."

"Oh, right! This is my friend; I brought him along to take a look as well." Professor Sycamore briefly introduced Yuga.

"Alright, both of you, follow me inside," Gurkinn said after glancing at Yuga and giving him a nod. Since Professor Sycamore hadn't mentioned Yuga's name, Gurkinn didn't ask further. Everyone was being discreet.

The Tower of Mastery was an imposing, multi-layered structure resembling a palace. Upon entering the grand hall, the first thing that caught Yuga's eye was a massive statue of a Mega Lucario.

As Gurkinn guided them through the tower, he shared the history of the Shalour Gym. Professor Sycamore, of course, was most interested in the stories about Mega Evolution.

Unfortunately, as legends go, there wasn't much useful information to glean from them.

By evening, the tour of the Tower of Mastery had come to an end. Professor Sycamore then asked Gurkinn, "Mr. Gurkinn, could you have your Mega Lucario battle with my friend?"

"It's possible, but..." Gurkinn trailed off, eyeing Yuga, who was wearing a hat and sunglasses, as if wanting to say more but holding back.

Professor Sycamore immediately understood and reassured Gurkinn, "Don't worry, my friend is very strong, so please go all out!"

Gurkinn was surprised to hear this and glanced again at Yuga, thinking that Yuga seemed quite young but apparently had significant strength.

"Come with me," Gurkinn said as he led Yuga and Professor Sycamore to the gym's battle arena.

"Let's begin."

Both stood at opposite ends of the battlefield, and Gurkinn sent out his Lucario. Embedded in Lucario's glove was a bright Mega Evolution stone.

...

[ Lucario ]

Type: Fighting, Steel

Ability: Inner Focus

Gender: Male

Potential: Indigo

Level: 75

Moves: Detect, Quick Attack, Counter, Feint, Aura Sphere, Metal Claw, Power-Up Punch, Swords Dance, Close Combat, Bone Rush, Dragon Pulse, Shadow Ball, Brick Break, Low Sweep, Shadow Claw, Flash Cannon, Agility, Focus Punch, Drain Punch, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch.

...

No wonder Professor Sycamore had warned me to be careful! Yuga thought to himself after checking Lucario's stats. Gurkinn was indeed formidable, as expected from someone who stayed out of the limelight yet possessed such incredible strength.

Lucario...so cool! Yuga couldn't help but admire Lucario's elegance. He wondered if he could trade one of his Meditite or Medicham for a Riolu or Lucario from Gurkinn. Two Pokémon for one, or even three for one, would be worth it.

Yuga was genuinely eager to have Gurkinn's Lucario.

Since Shalour Gym specialized in Fighting-types, Gurkinn might also appreciate Meditite and Medicham, right?

Using a Ralts or Gallade to trade for Lucario would make more sense, but Yuga only had a few Gallade in his Ecopark and couldn't bear to part with them.

Psychic and Fighting-type Meditite and Medicham were also rare. While they weren't quite on par with Riolu or Lucario, offering two or three of them in exchange seemed fair.

I'll ask Professor Sycamore to help me with that later, Yuga thought.

After Gurkinn sent out Lucario, Yuga summoned his own Venusaur.

Seeing Yuga use Venusaur instead of Gengar, Professor Sycamore was quite surprised. He hadn't expected Yuga to have a Venusaur Mega Evolution Stone as well, which was an unexpected delight.

Thinking this, Sycamore started snapping pictures of Venusaur with his camera.

"Lucario, Mega Evolve!"

"Venusaur, Mega Evolve!"

As both were ready, Yuga and Gurkinn's voices echoed across the battlefield at the same time.