Pokemon X & Y Reimagined

Chapter 19: Ash and Lucario! The Secret of Mega Evolution!

Ash, Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, and their pokemon sighed before starting their late breakfast. The group sat outside Geosenge Town's pokemon center and stared in frustration at the otherwise lovely settlement around them. The town had an almost rustic feel to its wooden buildings and tile homes that matched the greenery around it and nearby mountains that almost surrounded them. But above all this, it was the countless shops selling evolution stones of every kind, every kind except the one they needed.

Ever since arriving two days earlier, they scoured the markets for any signs of Lucarionite but to no avail. Lucario barely touched his food and stared at the sea of evolution stones moving about from trainers and their pokemon around them. Ash sensed his pokemon's lament and patted his shoulder, but Lucario's somber eyes soon fixed themselves on Charizard's Charizardite.

"We'll find a piece of Lucarionite, I promise." Ash tried to assure him.

"I don't get it, we had to have searched every shop in town and no one has one. I thought Korrina said we could find it here." Clemont asked.

"That's true, but then again she never said we would find it at a shop." Serena suggested.

Ash soon realized she had a point. He assumed the Lucarionite had to be in the shops since Geosenge town was famous for its evolution stones. But if no one in town had it, then perhaps they needed to go to the source. Pikachu clearly thought the same as he pointed to the mountainside. Soon the entire party stared at the mountains. More than one shop owner told them that the stones came from the mountains.

"Are we gonna explore the mountains?" Bonnie asked.

Her eyes lit up a little when she took in the mountain's beauty. Ash soon smiled too and nodded. Serena also savored the idea of a mountain hike, having enjoyed similar excursions with her family. Her face turned a little pink as she imagined herself hiking with Ash.

After finishing their breakfast, the group made their way toward the mountains when they saw someone near the entrance to a path. The aging man had a scrubby gray beard, round spectacles, and boonie cap. He fussed about with a tripod camera while scratching his thick facial hair.

"Bonjour, monsieur." Serena said. They noticed his hiking attire and a few evolution stones from the open pockets of his backpack.

"Ahh, bonjour." The man waived back and cleaned his spectacles. "Are you kids heading into the mountains?"

"Hai. Are you familiar with them, monsieur?" Ash asked.

"Oui, I'm McGinty, I'm a retired evolution stone gatherer. Well-semi retired." He chuckled as the group looked at his backpack.

"Can you help us?" Bonnie asked.

"Are you looking for a specific stone?"

"Hai, Lucarionite, it kind of looks like this."

Ash brought Charizard over to show his Charizardite. Lucario paced about and kept glancing back at McGinty as he examined the stone. With each passing moment, he gritted his teeth harder despite Ash and Pikachu's attempts to calm him. Until, at last McGinty took a step back and spoke.

"I have seen stones like this in my journeys. If you take this trail and follow it, you'll find a cave in the mountainside."

"Really!? Merci, monsieur!"

Serena beamed with the others. Ash also thanked him while Lucario howled and tried to race off toward it. However, Ash grabbed him and tried to ease his aura pokemon when McGinty stepped in front of them. He gave a broad smile and held his hand up.