1. Ash's Story (Part 7: Kalos)

Chapter 39: Lucarionite Trial

The walk back to the Tower of Mastery felt different now that the Rumble Badge was safely in my case.

Shalour Gym had tested me in ways I had not expected. Korrina had kept Lucario out of the battle, but that did not make her weaker. Her Mienfoo had pushed Hawlucha to the edge, her Machoke had nearly crushed Fletchinder's timing, and her Hawlucha had forced Espurr to fight through paralysis before finishing the match. Winning the Rumble Badge felt good, but Korrina's challenge at the end had left another fire burning inside me.

A battle between equals had become the promise.

That was what she had called it. Not a Gym battle, not a badge challenge, and not the lesson Gurkinn had planned by holding Lucario back. She wanted Lucario against Lucario, both Trainers able to use Mega Evolution.

Serena walked beside me as we approached the tower path. "You have been quiet since we left the Gym."

"I am thinking about what Korrina said," I admitted. "If she wants a battle between equals, then Gurkinn must have known I needed something before we could fight that way."

Serena looked toward my belt, where Lucario's Poké Ball rested. "Lucarionite."

I nodded. "That has to be it."

Pikachu sat on my shoulder, watching the Tower of Mastery rise above the water. His meaning reached me through the steady pressure of his cheek against mine. "A battle between equals begins before the first attack."

When we entered the tower again, Gurkinn was already waiting with Korrina and Lucario. The old man's expression was serious enough that the whole chamber felt quieter around him. Korrina stood beside him with her arms folded, but she looked excited rather than tense.

Gurkinn faced me. "Ash, the time has come. With Korrina having her own Lucarionite, it is time for you to obtain your own Lucarionite."

I felt the words settle in my chest. "Really? So that is what Korrina meant by a battle between equals."

"Naturally," Korrina said with a grin. "And that points toward Mega Island."

Clemont adjusted his glasses. "Mega Island?"

Gurkinn nodded. "It is an island where many Mega Stones have been found across generations. Reaching a stone there is not as simple as walking to it. The island tests more than strength."

Bonnie hugged Clemont's Dedenne closer. "That sounds scary."

"It sounds like Gurkinn," Korrina said, looking at her grandfather.

Gurkinn smiled as if that was a compliment. "Mega Evolution should never be obtained through laziness. If Ash and Lucario are to receive Lucarionite, they must show that the bond can reach it."

My Lucario emerged from his Poké Ball without me asking. He stood beside me and looked at Gurkinn, then at Korrina's Lucario. The two Lucario did not challenge each other yet, but I could feel the tension between them. It was not hostility. It was recognition.

My Lucario's meaning reached me through the stillness of his stance. "If the stone waits for our bond, then we will meet it together."

I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Then let's go."

We traveled to Mega Island by boat.

The sea around Shalour City shone under the afternoon sun, and the Tower of Mastery grew smaller behind us as the island came into view. Mega Island did not look gentle. Its cliffs rose in sharp layers, with forests on one side, icy slopes higher up, and darker stone ridges that seemed to glow faintly in places. If Mega Stones really slept there, I could believe the island had no interest in giving them away easily.