Chapter 55: The Search for the Lucarionite!
It was currently night, as the group were all fast asleep. Korrina on the other hand, wasn't as she was still thinking about the devastating loss she gained from when she battled against Hikaru and his Lucario.
"I don't understand... Just what could be really wrong with my battling style? Even if Lucario attacks without my command, we still end up winning the battle. That's how we always did during our quest for the 100 battles that we won at! So what's making him nag at me so much!?" Korrina snapped at herself silently.
"No matter how hard you battle or train... With the way you and Lucario are at the moment, you can't call yourself a Gym Leader or a Mega Evolution Successor." Hikaru's words rang her a little as she bit her lips, before she looked at the Key Stone on her Mega Glove.
"Just what am I doing wrong? Would Grandfather say the same way the Champion had said to me before...? There's just no way, right?" Korrina thought, feeling doubts in herself before she looked up at the night sky.
The Gym Leader frowned a little, before she slowly joined the others to fall asleep, with Lucario by her side.
The next morning...
By the time the sun was up high on the sky, the group were finally making their way to where there seemed to be a town nearby!
"So that's Geosenge Town!" Ash exclaimed, noticing on how wide the town seemed to be like.
"We're here, Dedenne!" Bonnie called out, causing the Electric-Fairy Type to yawn before it turned to see where there was a town up ahead. The Hawlucha Boy stretched his arms, before smiling at the town where the Mega Stone could be located at.
"So this place is where the Lucarionite is, huh? I wonder if there are any other Mega Stones that could be found around here..." Yuki stated, hoping that there was a chance, causing Ash to feel excited about it, too.
"Oh yeah! I wonder about that, too! Could there be Mega Stones that we haven't seen yet? Or could there be ones that we've seen before? Like a Mega Stone for Absol or a Mega Stone for a Gardevoir..." Ash started to speak.
"Don't count on it, Ash... There are lots of stone here, but Mega Stones are very rare in this town..." Hikaru reminded, causing the Kanto Trainer to slump down at the disappointing news, before Yuki reminded the Kanto Trainer of why they were in Geosenge Town in the first place.
"Remember, we're here to help Korrina find a Lucarionite so that her Lucario can Mega Evolve like Hikaru's Lucario can, right?" Yuki asked, causing Ash to perk up before slowly nodding in agreement.
"What a cute town..." Serena commented, seeing the sights as everyone turned to see Korrina starting to shake a little with her face darkened. This confused everyone as Ash and Bonnie questioned the Gym Leader's condition.
"Korrina?"
"Pika?" Ash and Pikachu asked, before the Fighting Type user breathed out a word.
"Finally..." Korrina breathed out, with Bonnie asking this time.
"What's wrong?" Bonnie asked, with Clemont adding in the worry.
"Are you all right?" Clemont asked, before the Gym Leader continued with his words.
"Finally, I'm here... YEAH!" Korrina exclaimed brightly before she jumped high into the air, much to Ash, Yuki, and Serena's surprise! The three all yelped in surprise before they all watched the Fighting Type user hold Lucario's paws before jumping up and down.
"Yup! We did it! We're in Geosenge Town, Lucario!" Korrina exclaimed, making her Pokémon smile as he now understood the Gym Leader's reason for her sudden bright attitude as he gave a grin and grunt of agreement.
"We won 100 battles in a row. Now it's time... time for you to Mega Evolve!" Korrina declared, allowing her Aura Pokémon to nod in agreement. At hearing Korrina say that, the Hawlucha Boy raised an eyebrow.
He glanced to see Hikaru and Infernape together, not being too far from the group. The young Aura Guardian didn't seem miffed or annoyed in either way despite of Korrina's attitude along with reminding Lucario of their 100 victories together.
"Did she already forget about the lecture Hikaru gave her? Still... Hikaru doesn't seem so annoyed about it." Yuki thought before he folded his arms. He gave a look down at his Wrestling Pokémon, only to get a shrug from Hawlucha in response.
"Okay! Let's go!" Korrina cried out as she dashed ahead with Lucario at her side! The group watched in surprise to see the two taking off ahead of them as they all tried to run after them, with Hikaru running behind.
"Hey! Hold on, Korrina!" Ash exclaimed as he was the first to run after her, with Yuki doing the same. The others quickly followed, as the search for the Lucarionite has already begun.
[Pokémon: XY Volt 2 Opening (English Subbed)]
(Mega Evolution Pokémon launches their attacks into different directions)
Dragon, Ghost, Ground, Flying
Poison, Bug, Water, Electric, Rock, Grass, Dark
Ice, Normal, Fire, Fighting
Steel, Psychic, Fairy
(Many Mega Stones appear together)
Now then, another adventure lies ahead; don't hesitate:
(A Pokéball is thrown up in the air until Ash catches it, as Yuki stands by his side)
(Clemont, Serena, and Bonnie push the two, continuing the group's journey)
Shine like a shooting star even in the darkness
(Team Rocket spies on the group before they nearly get caught, thanks to Wobbuffet)
Now then, I'll work up my determination and go, to surpass my yesterday self
On our way there's sure to be
(The group was walking until Serena noticed a movie poster with Diantha as the star)
(No one notices Diantha walking past them in disguise with Gardevoir at her side)
(Korrina and Lucario relaxes on a tree together)
Something super exciting and dangerous!
(Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor appear with Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander)
I will definitely become proud of myself one day
(The scene splits into two, showing Yuki on one side, while Ash on the other)
(Ash watches the moon in the sky as Pikachu, Fletchinder, Froakie, and Hawlucha run over to him)
(Yuki lies on the grass frowning, until his Pokémon all come to his view with smiles on their faces, causing him to smile as well)
That's what you taught me, and indeed, that's why I'm fighting
(Serena bonds with Fennekin as she gets ready to groom her starter)
(Dedenne nuzzles Bonnie's cheek as they smile together)
(Clemont works on an invention, assisted by Bunnelby while Chespin accidentally hurts himself)
I fill my heart with the power of my grand dreams,
Likewise, someone will surely soon call your name
(Ash faces Diantha, who Mega Evolves Gardevoir to begin the battle)
(Pikachu fights Mega Gardevoir as the battle rages on)
When the wind laughs through the trees of the green forest
The yellow flowers open
(Yuki faces Korrina, who uses Mega Lucario against Hawlucha)
(Mega Lucario strikes while Hawlucha dodges to use Flying Press)
Dragon, Ghost, Ground, Flying
Poison, Bug, Water, Electric, Rock, Grass, Dark
Ice, Normal, Fire, Fighting
Steel, Psychic, Fairy
(Mable and Mawile watches the flower petals fly in the air)
(Gurkinn and his Mega Lucario watches on opposite sides as the Tower of Mastery appears)
(Hikaru and Infernape merges their spirits together for Infernape to become Spirit-Infernape)
(Diantha and Gardevoir both open their eyes to show their Mega Stone and Key Stone match)
The yellow flowers open
(Korrina and Lucario joins the group and Hikaru)
[Opening Ends]
As the group and Korrina all arrived at Geosenge Town, the Kanto Trainer questioned the Gym Leader about the Mega Stone's whereabouts.
"Korrina, I know you're here for Lucarionite, but do you know where to find it?" asked Ash, causing the Fighting Type user to give a quick response to the question.
"Not a clue." Korrina spoke bluntly, causing Serena to question her.
"But if you don't know where it is, how are you going to look for it?" Serena asked, allowing the Gym Leader to explain of what the Mega Evolution Guru told her to do when she were to come across the town they were in right now.
"Grandfather told me that if we came to Geosenge Town, we'd figure it out. And my grandfather's really smart!" Korrina assured, much to Ash's dismay as both he and Pikachu slumped down in disappointment.
"Figure it out!? Ugh..." Ash groaned, with Pikachu groaning in disappointment as well.
"Right... And if your grandfather is really smart, then that must mean you're really clueless about everything." Hikaru spoke bluntly, much to Korrina's irritation as she glared at the young Sinnoh Champion.
"Look, mister! You may have beaten me in our battle yesterday, but that doesn't give you the right to just make fun of me just because I don't know much about where the Lucarionite is!" Korrina snapped angrily.
"That's rich, coming from an amateur Gym Leader like you. I swear... the other Kalos Gym Leader must be smarter than you if they can battle properly with their Pokémon." Hikaru shot back calmly, annoying Korrina even further.
"What did you say!?" Korrina snapped, causing Yuki to get in between the two to prevent unwanted attention.
"Come on, you guys... Could you please stop? We won't be able to find the Lucarionite quick if you both continue to argue like this!" Yuki reminded, as Hawlucha pushed Korrina's Lucario away to prevent him from getting in unnecessary conflicts.
The Aura Pokémon protested for a while before he stopped himself, understanding of what the Hawlucha Boy and the Wrestling Pokémon were trying to do before he backed down, with Korrina following her Pokémon partner before she scoffed.
"Ugh..." was all the Gym Leader could mutter out before she turned her head away, leaving the group to be concerned while Hikaru just had his eyes narrowed at the Gym Leader turning her back on him.
"Look at all these beautiful stones!" Serena exclaimed, trying to brighten up the mood as she took notice of the stones that were on display in a shop.
"I guess lots of stores here sell Evolution stones." Clemont stated, with Bonnie wanting to take a closer peek at the evolutionary stones.
"I want one, I want one!" Bonnie exclaimed, with the Hawlucha Boy teasing the younger sister about her desire.
"What do you want it for? Just so you know, Dedenne can't evolve from any of the Evolution stones, and neither can you!" Yuki reminded, getting a pout from both Bonnie and Dedenne.
"Geez! Can't I get something pretty!? Who knows!? It could be useful for later use!" Bonnie pouted, earning a raised eyebrow from the Hawlucha Boy before he shrugged. As he did so, a customer came out of the shop with an Evolution stone in his hand!
"I just got me a Sun Stone! Come out, Helioptile!" The Trainer called out as he sent out the familiar Electric-Normal Type out for the evolution. As soon as the Pokémon came out, the Trainer held out the Sun Stone for Helioptile to use.
"Evolve!" The Trainer called out, allowing Helioptile to touch the Sun Stone and glow! Everyone watched to see the little Pokémon grow into... a Heliolisk!
"Alright!" The Trainer exclaimed, causing Serena and Bonnie to be awed by the evolution.
"Helioptile evolved!" Serena exclaimed, with Bonnie adding in the excitement.
"Awesome! Hey, Clemont... How did your Helioptile evolve anyway?" Bonnie asked, causing the Lumiose Gym Leader to explain.
"I evolved my Helioptile into a Heliolisk with a Sun Stone as well!" Clemont responded, causing Bonnie to realize something before she turned to the Kanto Trainer.
"Oh yeah, Ash... I was wondering, isn't Pikachu gonna evolve?" Bonnie asked, causing Ash to raise an eyebrow before Hikaru responded with a small smile on his face.
"That's a definite no for Ash on that one, Bonnie. I don't think Ash would ever evolve Pikachu, especially since Pikachu is strong enough to beat a Raichu. Remember? Back when we traveled together at Sinnoh?" Hikaru asked, causing Ash to grin.
"Oh yeah... That battle with Sho and Raichu? Yeah... That was one battle I'll never forget." Ash agreed, causing the others to look at each other in confusion before Yuki raised a question to the two former companions.
"Hold on... Did you have a Thunder Stone once, Ash?" Yuki asked, causing the Kanto Trainer to nod and explain.
"I did... Except that when I offered it to Pikachu before, he didn't want it! Pikachu doesn't actually wanna evolve, right?" Ash asked, earning an affirmative cry from his Electric Type partner.
"Wow... Okay..." Bonnie said, surprised with how quick the answer had come from Ash's mouth.
"Now! Let's hurry and find that Lucarionite super quick!" Korrina declared, earning an approving grunt from the Aura Pokémon.
"I suggest we all split up and search every store in town!" Clemont suggested, allowing the others to agree with the idea.
Soon, the group all searched around, asking every store of whether they knew something about the Lucarionite or not. But as time went by, none of them seemed to be having any luck with the search!
The shop that Korrina and Lucario visited together had no Mega Stone, and the owner knew next to nothing about the Mega Stone.
"Sorry, but I'm afraid not." The store owner apologized, much to the Shalour Gym Leader's disappointment.
"Are you serious...?" Korrina asked in disbelief before she slumped down, causing Lucario to try and comfort her, despite of feeling disappointed himself.
Clemont and Bonnie tried a stone carver, only to get the same response from the carver, as he had no idea what was a Mega Stone in the first place!
"Nah... Never heard of it." The stone carver grunted as he continued to carve the stones.
"Really...?" Clemont blurted out in disbelief before he and Bonnie took their leave from the store.
Ash and Yuki visited a store where an old man was in his chair. As the boys asked the man of whether he knew the location or what the Mega Stone was, the man looked awfully confused of what they were talking about.
"No... I'm very sorry..." The old man groaned apologetically, causing Ash to pout while Yuki face palmed in disappointment.
Hikaru and Serena visited another store where they also had no luck about the Mega Stone. The clerk however, offered to Serena some stones that looked pretty to the Vaniville girl.
"Perhaps one of these might interest you instead..." The clerk offered, much to Serena's awe as she inspected the stones until Hikaru urged her to follow, causing the two to leave the store and reunite with the others.
With the search and investigation dealt with, everyone met up with one another to where the town's Stonehenge were.
"Hey, Clemont... Did you have any luck?" Ash asked, much to the Lumiose Gym Leader's chagrin as he sheepishly explained his part of the search.
"I'm afraid not. Every single shop owner I spoke to said that they never even heard of Lucarionite..." Clemont explained, much to Korrina's disbelief as she began to insist that it was around somewhere.
"Hold on! My grandfather told me that we'd find the Lucarionite here in this town!" Korrina protested, causing Hikaru to pipe up.
"If the Lucarionite is here, then of course many people wouldn't know much about it." Hikaru stated, causing Ash to turn to his old friend in confusion.
"What do you mean?" Ash asked, allowing his Sinnoh friend to explain.
"Think about it. If the Mega Evolution Guru said that we'd find the Mega Stone here in town, would he make the search easy? Mega Stones can be quite rare, so of course there wouldn't be anyone that knows about it... that is, of course... unless they're an expert of rare stones." Hikaru explained.
That left the Shalour Gym Leader thinking before she groaned, slumping down as Yuki scratched the back of his head.
"So that means it can't be around in any stores where people can easily get them... It would have to be in someplace where things are really difficult to find, right? Like that small mountain near the town, maybe?" Yuki asked.
He gestured to the small rocky mountain that was close to the Stonehenge, earning a nod from the Sinnoh Champion.
"That could be one place..." Hikaru agreed, causing Serena to raise a question about its whereabouts.
"So then, how do we continue our search?" Serena asked, before Korrina raised her head with widened eyes, as if she had remembered something about what her grandfather had said to her before she and Lucario began their quest.
"Now I remember what Grandfather told me...!?" Korrina exclaimed as she thought back to back when she and Lucario were at the Tower of Mastery in Shalour City.
Flashback
"Now listen, Korrina... When the time comes, you will understand what you need. And then you'll both be ready for Lucario's Mega Evolution. It's not going to be easy. That's part of your training, too." The guru explained with a calm smile.
Flashback End
"That's right... We can't lose heart now! What's right for me... Finding it by ourselves will make Mega Evolution possible!" Korrina exclaimed, earning a grunt of agreement and nod from her Aura Pokémon.
"That's the spirit!" Bonnie exclaimed, with Ash making a grin and a fist.
"Sure is! Too early to give up!" Ash agreed, with Pikachu crying out his agreement.
"The problem is, we still don't know what to do. How are we going to continue our search for the Lucarionite?" Yuki asked. That left the group to think for a while until someone called to them out of the blue!
"Excuse me, young lady! The name's McGinty! I'm a photographer! How about I take a picture of you all! A souvenir photo! It's what I do! And I know you'll be very happy with it!" The man named McGinty assured softly.
At the mention of the souvenir photo, that got Bonnie all pumped up as she tugged onto her brother's sleeve.
"Souvenir photo? Oh boy!" Bonnie exclaimed, with Dedenne crying out its excitement for one. Serena smiled, realizing the point of a souvenir photo sounding great.
"That's a great idea, since we're all here together! Then we'll have a nice picture as a memento!" Serena stated, with Clemont being unsure about this.
"You sure...?" Clemont asked, causing Yuki to urge the Gym Leader to join in.
"Let's take the group photo! I'm sure that we'll be able to keep the memories of us being here once we take it as a group." Yuki suggested, with Hawlucha giving a small nod of approval.
"Hawlucha cha..." Hawlucha grunted with an approving expression.
"Alright! We're in Geosenge Town, and I want to show Grandfather that we made it all the way!" Korrina exclaimed. With the others agreeing, Hikaru gave one glance towards his Flame Pokémon, who didn't seem to mind the idea.
"We've taken one group photo together when we were traveling with Ash, Dawn, and Brock at Sinnoh... It couldn't hurt to make more memories." Infernape agreed, allowing his human brother to shrug before he agreed with taking it.
"Alright then. I guess we're in." Hikaru spoke as McGinty directed the group as to where they should stand together.
"Okay... Line up over there!" McGinty called out, causing Bonnie giving a cheerful "Okay". With the group all lined up with their Pokémon friends, the photographer adjusted the positions of the group by asking them to come closer to each other.
"Now squeeze in just a wee bit more!" McGinty called out, causing the group to all come closer together. As they were doing so, the Hawlucha Boy took notice of Serena secretly getting close to the Kanto Trainer, causing him to chuckle a little.
Bonnie on the other hand, took notice of the forced grin that Clemont was making as she pointed it out for him.
"Hey, come on, Clemont! Don't you know how to smile?" Bonnie asked, causing her brother to make a struggling response.
"I am smiling..." Clemont struggled to say before the photographer got ready to take the picture.
"Okay! Now give me some big smiles, everyone!" McGinty called out, before he took a picture of the group.
"I got it! Now I'll print this up right away! Please make it quick, okay?" McGinty stated before he asked his assistant to print the pictures out. Taking the memory card, the assistant made his way to the photo shop to print out the taken pictures.
As McGinty adjusted his camera settings, the Lumiose Gym Leader asked the photographer of his knowledge about the Evolution stones' whereabouts.
"Do you, by any chance, know anything about locating Evolution stones?" Clemont asked, causing the photographer to explain of where they could be.
"Evolution stones are on there, in a cave that's hidden inside that mountain!" McGinty explained before he pointed to where the hidden cave might be, much to Clemont's awe.
"Wow... A mountain cave?" Clemont asked, earning a small nod from the photographer.
"And sir! Do you know anything about Lucarionite? I need to find it right away!" Korrina exclaimed eagerly, causing the photographer to widen his eyes for a moment before he began to think it over.
"Lucarionite, eh? I don't think I've ever heard of that before." McGinty admitted, much to the Fighting Type user's dismay.
"Oh... Oh well, thank you." Korrina groaned, before she thanked the old man for the honest answer. But before she could sink into her dismay, the photographer explained of what he did know about, hinting a chance to where the Mega Stone might be.
"Although, I do remember hearing about a cave where it's possible to locate a special kind of Evolution stone!" McGinty added, bringing Korrina up to her bright state, as did the others as they widened their eyes about the new information.
"You mean it!?" Korrina exclaimed, with Ash making the request for it.
"Please tell us where it is!" Ash exclaimed, with Bonnie adding in the icing.
"Where, where, where!?" Bonnie asked, allowing the photographer to explain.
"If you go even farther into the mountain than the cave I already told you about... You'll find a small entrance to another cave! That's where it is!" McGinty explained, allowing the group to now know where the Mega Stone might be.
"So there's a chance it might be farther up ahead?" Hikaru whispered inaudibly, with the group being prepared for whatever could be there.
"That might be just what we're looking for!" Clemont exclaimed, with Ash making the decision.
"Maybe! Let's check it out, Korrina!" Ash called out, causing Korrina to be excited for having the chance to take the Mega Stone for her and Lucario to have, so that they could achieve the power that they wanted to get for so long.
But before the group could even take a step to where the mountain was, McGinty began to warn them about what could be in the hidden cave.
"You know, it's said that terrible things can happen to people who are not worthy enough to enter." McGinty warned. That immediately spooked Serena out as she held onto Bonnie's hands for a little support.
"T-Terrible things?" Serena repeated in disbelief.
"Or an adventure?" Bonnie guessed, allowing Yuki to make a response.
"I say adventure... That terrible thing must be just rumors to scare people away." Yuki sighed, only for McGinty to continue on with the explanation.
"You may think it's rumors, young one, but... I can't tell you for sure. But there are some evidence that terrible things really do happen there! And that's why the people of this town NEVER ever venture into that cave!" McGinty explained darkly.
That spooked the Vaniville girl even more, while bewildering the others. Both Hikaru and Yuki sighed, as they didn't believe this sort of thing. For the young Aura Guardian, he had heard past stories back when he was traveling with Ash and the others at the Sinnoh region.
"This feels like the time when we went to the Old Chateau in Canalave City, where we heard stories about a terrible ghost there. That terrible ghost only ended up being a wild Rotom causing mischief in the chateau." Hikaru thought as he sweat dropped at the past memory.
"W-Well, I-I think you must be wrong! Ah ha ha... It can't be a cave that's as scary as all that!" Serena stammered, causing the Hawlucha Boy to look at her in disbelief.
"Then what are you acting all twitchy for? You don't actually believe in that stuff, do you?" Yuki asked, only to get a pout from the Vaniville girl. But despite the story, the Shalour Gym Leader was unfazed, but rather even more determined to her hands on the Mega Stone.
"You're wrong. I know this is it! Just you wait, Lucarionite! I'm gonna find you in a flash!" Korrina assured confidently before she turned to her Aura Pokémon.
"Come on! Let's go!" Korrina exclaimed, earning a nod from the Aura Pokémon. But just as they were about to run towards the mountains, McGinty reminded the two of what they have forgotten.
"But wait! You forgot that your photos are not quite ready yet!" McGinty reminded, stopping the two from their tracks before they sweat dropped from forgetting of what they did just now.
"Oh... Guess you're right." Korrina said sheepishly before she and Lucario reunited with the others as they awaited for their pictures to be given to them.
As they were waiting, the Kanto Trainer turned to the young Aura Guardian, before he raised a question to him.
"Oh yeah... By the way, Hikaru... How did you get your hands on the Lucarionite in the first place?" Ash asked, causing Hikaru to blink before he gave a small smile.
"Well... Let's just say that I had to go through a difficult trial when I was at the Tower of Mastery." Hikaru explained, causing Yuki to repeat of what Hikaru said.
"A difficult trial? Tower of Mastery?" Yuki questioned, allowing Korrina to explain.
"The Tower of Mastery is a place where I got my Key Stone from Grandfather. It's also the place where the Shalour City Gym is at." Korrina explained, much to the others' surprise before she narrowed her eyes at the young Aura Guardian.
"Just what is this difficult trial that you were able to accomplish that my Grandfather had given you both a Key Stone and the Mega Stone, huh?" Korrina asked, still sounding a bit irritated as to what Hikaru said to her about her battling skills.
"Let's just say it was related to some tough Pokémon I had to beat. I had to prove myself that I had a strong bond with my Lucario, which allowed us to win the battle and complete the trial, allowing us to get the two items that we needed for Mega Evolution." Hikaru explained.
"And the Gardevoirite?" Serena asked, allowing Hikaru to answer once more.
"I came across it when I was traveling around in Kalos to know more about Mega Evolution. Let's just say... I was pretty lucky when I found the Mega Stone. I even had to battle someone for it. I believe his name was... Alain?" Hikaru explained.
"Alain...?" Yuki asked in confusion. He heard the name before, but he couldn't remember where.
"Yeah. He was searching for Mega Stones, too. He had a Charizard that was able to Mega Evolve." Hikaru explained, causing Ash to grin at hearing this.
"So Charizard can Mega Evolve, too!? That sounds awesome!" Ash exclaimed, as he wondered what his Charizard would be like if it were to Mega Evolve someday whenever there was a chance.
Korrina bit her lips. From the way Hikaru spoke, it sounded like he truly did overcome hard trials which allowed him to take possession of the Key Stone and the Mega Stone. But recalling the bitter words Hikaru said to her about Lucario and herself, she shoved those thoughts away.
By that time, McGinty and his assistant were all done with getting the pictures ready for everyone to have!
"Here are your pictures! All done!" McGinty exclaimed as he handed the Trainers their photos, allowing them to see what they were like in the picture.
"Wow... Ha... It looks awesome! Thanks a lot!" Ash thanked gratefully, as he grinned to see how the others and himself looked in the picture.
"Thanks... What great souvenirs!" Clemont thanked as well, with Bonnie grinning cheerfully.
"I can keep it forever!" Bonnie added, with the Shalour Gym Leader understanding how she felt.
"Yep! I can't wait to show it to my Grandfather! Don't you think he'll just love it?" Korrina asked her partner Pokémon, causing the Aura Pokémon to give a grunt of agreement before the Gym Leader stored the picture in her pocket.
Serena on the other hand, was staring at the picture. A small blush began to form on her face as she stared at herself being closer to Ash than anyone else. She didn't realize that Hikaru took a glance towards her before he chuckled to himself.
It was until Ash called to her that snapped her out of her stare.
"Serena? We're going!" Ash called out, causing the Vaniville girl to blink before she quickly put her photo in her skirt pocket.
"Huh!? R-Right..." Serena said before the group began to make their way to the mountains. As they were leaving, McGinty narrowed his eyes, realizing where this was gonna go if the group were to succeed with their quest.
"It worked out just as planned... Didn't it, Gurkinn?" McGinty whispered to himself as he watched the Trainers and their Pokémon friends make their way up to the mountains near the town.
Soon, the group arrived at the mountains, where they seemed to be a mining site below.
"So this is where they mine Evolution stones..." Korrina pointed out, causing Yuki to smile at knowing what this meant.
"This could mean we're close to where the hidden cave is. I think we just need to go a little further before we get there." Yuki said, with Hawlucha folding his arms. The Wrestling Pokémon gave a grunt of agreement.
"A little further, huh? Come on! Let's go!" Korrina called out as she began to take the lead with Lucario by her side. The others started to follow, until Hikaru blinked at feeling something nearby as he stopped for a moment.
"Hold on, guys..." Hikaru called out, causing everyone to stop in their tracks and see where the young Aura Guardian was standing at.
"Something wrong, Hikaru?" Ash asked, much to Korrina's annoyance as she called out to the Sinnoh Champion.
"If this is just your way of slowing us down, then I don't want to-" Korrina started to snap until she watched Hikaru charge up an Aura Sphere with his eye pupils glowing! The orb blasted the two rocks, catching everyone else by surprise.
"I knew it... Looks like someone was trying to fool us by making us go all the way around." Hikaru scoffed, as the others ran over to see another path!
"Whoa..." Ash breathed out in amazement. Yuki turned to the young Aura Guardian, before he noticed his pupils glowing.
"They were glowing from when he battled with Ash. Those same eyes came out when he and Infernape went past their limit with their bond together." Yuki thought as Bonnie was amazed before she asked Hikaru.
"Oh wow...! How did you know there was a path here, Hikaru?" Bonnie asked, causing Hikaru's eyes to turn back to its original color before he smiled at the young girl, before he answered her question.
"Well... There was a strange feeling coming to me. That feeling felt like a Mega Stone. I was able to tell, since I felt that same feeling on the time when I had to take a trial at the Tower of Mastery." Hikaru explained calmly.
Korrina let her eyes twitch in both dismay and disbelief. How was the Sinnoh Trainer be able to detect the Mega Stone when neither she or Lucario couldn't? It's as if, the young Sinnoh Champion had everything that they didn't...
First, he had the Lucarionite, which was the same Mega Stone that she and Lucario were trying to find... And then, she witnessed Hikaru using an Aura Sphere once when he attacked Team Rocket to prevent them from escaping with their Pokémon.
And now... he had the ability to detect something up ahead, such as a Mega Stone...
"He has everything that we don't..." Korrina breathed out, causing her Aura Pokémon to turn to her before he frowned in understanding. The Aura Pokémon too, was in awe for the Aura Sphere that Hikaru was able to use.
But he was also frustrated that he wasn't able to sense the Lucarionite like he was supposed to, since he was an Aura Pokémon that could sense life or energy from a few distance away. For him to not detect it right away...
"There's nothing to be frustrated about, especially with what I did." Hikaru called out, interrupting the two from their frustrating thoughts as they both looked at the young Aura Guardian in surprise.
"Just because I was able to detect something first doesn't mean that you couldn't. Maybe whoever blocked this path must've tried to make sure that the two of you couldn't detect it..." Hikaru said calmly.
He took the first few steps ahead, with the others following. The Shalour Gym Leader's face softened as she bit her lips. Taking the words into her mind, she began to follow the group, with Lucario following by her side.
As the group continued their way towards the new path, the Aura Pokémon blinked, feeling the presence of a Mega Stone nearby as he felt something stirring inside him. Moments ago, he couldn't detect it, but now that he brushed his frustration aside, he could definitely feel it now!
To be continued...
Yuki's Team:
Hawlucha: (M): (Flying Press, Aerial Ace, Karate Chop, Focus Blast)
Heracross: (M): (Swords Dance, Protect, Brick Break, Megahorn)
Bulbasaur: (F): (Razor Leaf, Tackle, Vine Whip, Leech Seed)
Tyrunt: (M): (Bite, Rock Polish, AncientPower, Bide)
Litleo: (F): (Ember, Headbutt, Take Down, Tackle)
Buizel: (M): (Water Gun, Scald, Double Team, Iron Tail)
With Prof. Sycamore:
Amaura: (F): (Icy Wind, Rock Throw, Take Down, Mist)
Next chapters:
Chapter 56: The Test to Achieve Mega Power!
Chapter 57: Mega Problem to Mega Conflict!
Chapter 58: The Truth to the Berserk Aura
Chapter 59: The Separation to Realize
Chapter 60: Mega Machine VS Mega Pokémon!
Next chapter preview:
Ash: Check it out! This must be the place where Team Rocket was blown out of by something...
Serena: You don't think... it could be a ghost!? Or something scary enough to send Team Rocket flying!?
Korrina: It doesn't matter how tough or scary it is! We've come this far to find the Lucarionite, so we can't quit now!
Yuki: Could that be the Lucarionite over there? That big stone up there, waiting to be picked up?
Hikaru: Hold on a minute... This feels too easy. I believe that the one that threw Team Rocket out is still around here.
Korrina: A battle? Huh... I see! So, if we want to have the Lucarionite, we have to win this battle against you! Bring it!
Events that occurred:
- The group, Hikaru, and Korrina arrives at Geosenge Town
- Hikaru reveals as to how he received the Key Stone, Lucarionite, and Gardevoirite
