Chapter 1076: Zoroark's Love at First Sight

The next day, as expected, Professor Sycamore asked on Yuga's behalf about exchanging for a Riolu or Lucario. At first, Gurkinn was unwilling to agree because he didn't want to give Riolu or Lucario to someone whose identity was unclear.

In the end, it was Professor Sycamore who guaranteed that Yuga would take good care of the Riolu or Lucario, which made Gurkinn willing to exchange one with Yuga.

In the afternoon, Yuga and Professor Sycamore returned to the Tower of Mastery, and under Gurkinn's guidance, they entered the Shalour Gym's ecological park.

The ecological park of Shalour Gym is not large, but it houses a considerable number of Fighting-type Pokémon. Some of them belong to Gurkinn personally, some are used in Gym battles, and others have been accumulated by his family over the years.

The most numerous Fighting-type Pokémon there aren't Riolu and Lucario but Machop, Machoke, and Machamp. There are also many common Fighting-types like Mankey, Primeape, and Poliwrath.

After walking along a path in the ecological park, Yuga finally saw the Riolu and Lucario he had been longing to see. There weren't many of them—less than fifty—and they were gathered in small groups, honing their fighting skills. The atmosphere was lively.

Once they reached the area, Gurkinn pointed at the Riolu and Lucario and said, "You can choose one yourself. As for the quality of the one you pick, it all depends on your luck."

In Gurkinn's view, luck and fate are important when choosing a Pokémon. Whether Yuga has good luck or a connection with a high-quality Pokémon is not something he is concerned about.

Unfortunately for him, he didn't know that Yuga had a special ability.

Hearing Gurkinn's words, Yuga activated his "Insight" ability and scanned the Riolu and Lucario. Among them, there were some with red, orange, and yellow auras, some with green and blue, but none with an aura above blue.

There weren't many with blue auras—only five in total, four Lucario and one Riolu.

Since he was choosing, Yuga naturally wanted the best quality, so he ignored anything green and below. His target was the five with blue auras.

Unlike when Mr. Moore gave him a Vulpix as a gift, this time, Yuga and Gurkinn were conducting a fair exchange.

When someone gifts him a Pokémon, Yuga doesn't want to offend them by choosing the best one, so he only selected a green-aura Vulpix before. But in an equal exchange, he had no such concerns.

They had already agreed in advance that if Yuga selected a blue-aptitude Riolu, he would exchange it for a blue-aptitude Meditite or two green-aptitude Meditites. If he chose a blue-aptitude Lucario, he would exchange it for a blue-aptitude Medicham or two green-aptitude Medichams.

Gurkinn wouldn't lose out in this deal.

Yuga's Insight ability scanned the four Lucario and one Riolu.

The lone blue-aura Riolu looked very young, still following its parents around, acting playfully.

Among the four Lucario, two seemed to be a pair, even while sparring, their affectionate atmosphere influenced those around them.

Another female Lucario seemed to be courted by a Mienshao. Although she appeared a bit cold, she wasn't rejecting Mienshao, so it looked like Mienshao had a chance.

Only one Lucario stood apart from the lively atmosphere, silently practicing Brick Break on a thick wooden post.

**Lucario**

- Type: Fighting/Steel

- Ability: Steadfast

- Gender: Male

- Aura: Blue

- Level: 39

- Moves: Detect, Quick Attack, Force Palm, Aura Sphere, Metal Claw, Power-Up Punch, Swords Dance, Bone Rush, Brick Break, Low Sweep, Shadow Claw, Drain Punch, Bullet Punch, Meteor Mash.

This Lucario had impressive stats in all aspects and had unexpectedly inherited Bullet Punch and Meteor Mash, two Steel-type moves.

Although Lucario is a Steel-type Pokémon, it doesn't have many physical Steel-type moves it can learn. The inherited Bullet Punch and Meteor Mash compensate for this shortcoming.

Although Bullet Punch isn't very powerful, it allows for a priority attack. Meteor Mash, on the other hand, is powerful and can increase the user's attack, making it a very practical move.

Yuga decided, "I'll choose this one!"

With that in mind, Yuga pointed to the Lucario and said, "Mr. Gurkinn, I'll take that one."

Seeing the Lucario Yuga pointed at, Gurkinn was very surprised. He hadn't expected Yuga to choose a blue-aptitude Pokémon right away.

He was very familiar with his Riolu and Lucario, so he could easily identify the blue-aptitude Lucario. Besides, there were only five blue-apatitude Riolu and Lucario in total.

"Why did you choose that one? It's quite aloof and not easy to get along with," Gurkinn asked Yuga curiously.

Yuga replied with a smile, "I noticed that the other Riolu and Lucario have their social circles here. If I were to choose one of them, it would definitely affect them. But this Lucario is different. It's solitary, so if it leaves with me, it won't disrupt the other Pokémon."

"You're right," Gurkinn nodded in agreement, persuaded by Yuga's reasoning.

As he handed the Poké Ball containing the Lucario to Yuga, Gurkinn advised, "This Lucario is a bit special. When it was born, its Aura wasn't very prominent, so it was rejected by its parents. That's why it has such a cold personality.

But it's very hardworking. You can see it's more skilled than the others, all thanks to its efforts. I hope you take good care of it."

Yuga solemnly accepted the Poké Ball and said, "Don't worry, I will."

At the same time, Yuga handed over the Medicham he had brought to Gurkinn.

After chatting for a while, Yuga and Professor Sycamore prepared to leave, but just as they reached the entrance of the Tower of Mastery, a girl on roller skates dashed towards them.

"Grandpa, I'm back!"

A Lucario was running behind the girl.

"Can't you see we have guests? You have no manners at all," Gurkinn scolded her sternly as she approached.

The girl also noticed Yuga and Professor Sycamore's presence. After nodding and greeting them, she playfully stuck out her tongue at her grandfather.

After Yuga and Professor Sycamore left, the girl asked Gurkinn, "Who was that guy wearing the hat and sunglasses just now?" She recognized Professor Sycamore but not that stranger.

Gurkinn shook his head and replied, "I don't know. But Korrina, remember, there are many strong people in this world, and you must always keep a humble heart."

The girl, who was indeed Korrina, nodded as if she understood, but not fully.

"Oh, by the way, here's a gift for you." As he spoke, Gurkinn handed her the Poké Ball containing Blue-aptitude Medicham that Yuga had given him.

Taking the Poké Ball from her grandfather, Korrina asked excitedly, "Is this my new Pokémon?"

Korrina smiled and nodded, "Open it and see."

Seeing the new Medicham, Korrina was indeed very happy, giving her grandfather a big hug. Although he said she was being unruly, he couldn't hide the smile on his face.

After returning to Professor Sycamore's place, Yuga sent Fennekin and Lucario back to Yoyo's Daycare together, as he had to rush to Geosenge Town the next day and it would be inconvenient to bring them along.

After receiving Yuga's instructions, Audino sent Fennekin and Lucario to the volcano sub-park and the main park, respectively.

Fennekin, being young and lively, quickly made friends with others in the volcano sub-garden, such as Vulpix, Charmander, Litleo, and Houndour, showing no signs of discomfort.

Strong adaptability and acceptance are common traits among the starter Pokémon bred by the league.

Just as Gurkinn had said, Lucario was indeed a very hardworking Pokémon. When it saw Gallade training in the main garden, it immediately went over to discuss training techniques with him.

When Liepard and the Zoroark family returned from patrol, Lucario was sparring with Gallade.

Gallade, also a blue-aptitude Pokémon, was stronger in both level and skill proficiency due to training under Nana, so Lucario was being heavily suppressed.

However, Lucario was tenacious. No matter how many times Gallade knocked it down, it would get back up and challenge Gallade again.

Young Zoroark, walking into the main garden with her father, mother, and older sister, immediately noticed Lucario's determined expression despite its disheveled appearance.

Although Lucario looked a bit worse for wear at that moment, in Zoroark's eyes, it was very handsome.

Maybe this was love at first sight! Zoroark couldn't help but think.

The first to notice Zoroark's change in mood was her older sister Liepard, who also saw Lucario.

However, to Liepard, Lucario was no different from other Pokémon, especially considering how disheveled it looked at that moment.

Liepard and Zoroark had very different tastes; Liepard preferred quadrupedal Pokémon, finding ones like Absol more to her liking.

She also admired strong Pokémon, and since Lucario was so weak and getting beaten up, it wasn't her type.

Liepard's tough upbringing and mature personality made her greatly respect strength. (If Lucario knew certain protagonist tropes, it might have said to Liepard: "Don't underestimate the young!")

Drawn to Lucario, Zoroark unconsciously walked over, and her father and mother also noticed something was off with their younger daughter as they spotted Lucario.

Seeing their daughter captivated by some random boy, her father Liepard was about to blow up, but just as he was about to call out to Zoroark, Mother Zoroark stopped him.

"Don't cause trouble!" Zoroark said as she dragged away a disgruntled Liepard. Truly, she was a wise and understanding mother.

As their parents left, Liepard took a proud glance at her younger sister nearby and walked away, thinking, "Hmph! I will find a partner who is both handsome and strong in the future."

Zoroark quietly sat nearby, waiting for Lucario and Gallade to finish their sparring.

Having learned Healing Pulse from Nana, Gallade gave Lucario a quick treatment after their sparring session. However, since Gallade wasn't very skilled with Healing Pulse, he suggested that Lucario visit Chansey or Miltank for further examination.

Lucario humbly accepted Gallade's advice, but since it was new here, it didn't know where to find Miltank or Chansey.

Before Gallade could give directions, Zoroark volunteered to guide Lucario.

And so, Zoroark supported Lucario as they went to the grassland sub-garden, leaving Gallade deep in thought.

"Thank you," Lucario said to Zoroark on the way to the grassland sub-garden.

"No need to thank me," Zoroark shyly replied.

Zoroark's shy expression was a clear sign to anyone aware of the situation, but Lucario was too dense to notice.

"Do you want to spar with me too?" Lucario asked Zoroark, thinking she was eager to help him recover so they could spar.

Hearing Lucario's words, Zoroark was momentarily stunned: "Who wants to spar with you? I'm just interested in your... physique!"

Thus began the long road of romance for Zoroark and Lucario.

Yuga stayed another night at Professor Sycamore's house and left the next morning, heading to Geosenge Town.

Geosenge Town is very close to Shalour City, and Yuga reached his destination by noon after riding Absol at full speed.

Geosenge Town gets its name from the jagged rocks outside the town.

These rocks are said to be remnants of ancient ruins, possessing mysterious powers, but no one knows exactly what makes them special.

Upon entering Geosenge Town, Yuga immediately noticed the unusual rocks.

There are many stones left behind by ruins in the Pokémon world, such as those in Fallarbor Town in Hoenn. However, Geosenge Town has a particularly large number of them, with a particularly large boulder in the center that draws attention.

"Hmm..." Eternal Floette suddenly emerged from Yuga's backpack and said, "I feel like there's something over there..."

"What is it?" Yuga instinctively asked.

"Maybe AZ is there!" Eternal Floette replied uncertainly.

Yuga was puzzled: Could the bond between Eternal Floette and AZ be so strong that they have a telepathic connection?

However, the relationship between Eternal Floette and AZ is far more profound than just a telepathic bond.

Back then, the ultimate weapon revived Eternal Floette, and it was the one who wielded its power, granting Eternal Floette its eternal life. But what about AZ? How did AZ gain immortality?

(End of Chapter)