...
The next morning, Ash and his friends walked out of the Pokemon Center and headed straight for the Shalour Gym's location.
Azalea Town is different from Violet City; this place is just a small town, and its scale is nowhere near comparable to Violet City.
Therefore, the distance between Shalour Gym and Azalea Gym wasn't far, and it didn't take long before the four of them arrived at the entrance of Shalour Gym.
The gym's exterior was quite ordinary and plain since it was a temporary structure. This was the case throughout Johto. After all, with so many foreign resident Gym Leaders coming, if each Gym Leader's gym was designed with meticulous attention and even mirrored the original gym, just how enormous must the budget be?
This kind of ordinary, plain, and simple gym is the most normal design.
Moreover, although these temporary gyms looked basically the same and had a plain exterior, they all had one feature: they were particularly spacious!
The appearance and other decorative elements were trivial; a spacious venue was what truly mattered, and another point was that the Gym Leader's strength must be solid. With these two points, even if the exterior is plain, there would be a constant stream of challengers coming in.
Currently, there wasn't a queue at the entrance of Shalour Gym, probably because Ash and his friends arrived quite early.
If they had come a bit later, they would have seen a sea of people at Shalour Gym.
The Gym Leader of Shalour Gym uses Lucario, and it's said that the Gym Leader is a cute young girl, making it irresistible for anyone not to be attracted.
As they pushed open the makeshift gym doors, a powerful gust of air rushed towards them.
The interior was far more spacious than it appeared outside, with a hard and flat fighting field on the ground, and the surrounding walls were deliberately designed to be non-slip and shockproof. In the center of the field, a slender yet upright figure was already waiting there.
Before them stood a lively blonde girl.
She wore a red and white combat helmet that fit snugly against her head, with a striking V-shaped red pattern on the forehead. Her dazzling long blonde hair was pulled into a high ponytail that flew freely, with dynamic curves at the ends.
Beneath the helmet, her bright azure eyes sparkled with eagerness, and her cheeks were flushed with a healthy glow from the warm-up.
Her outfit was distinctly of the Kalos region's fighting style with a touch of unique agility.
She wore a sleeveless white outfit with striking red stripes on the chest and shoulders, with the Shalour Gym badge printed in the center. It was paired with black athletic shorts, white knee-high socks, and roller skates on her feet.
This was Korrina, the Gym Leader of Shalour Gym!
Korrina's age and appearance left Brock and the others stunned. They had heard that the Gym Leader was young, but they didn't expect her to be this youthful, almost the same age as Ash, at most a couple of years older.
All things considered, she couldn't be over eighteen, yet she's a talented Trainer with remarkable skills!
"Hmm? Another challenger? Why so early today!"
The noise from the gym doors startled Korrina as she halted her kicking warm-up. The surprise in her eyes quickly turned into excitement as she looked directly at the people at the entrance.
The battles in Johto during this time had been exhilarating for her!
The intensity of the battles couldn't compare to when she was in Kalos. Day after day, she and Lucario were pushed to their limits. Such continuous matches tested not only the Pokemon's physical strength but also the trainer's spirit.
In such circumstances, one could either be overwhelmed by the relentless battles or transcend and become stronger, and Korrina was clearly the latter.
Since arriving in Johto, she swiftly became an independent Trainer. Korrina thought that if she trained here in Johto for a year, she might even catch up with her grandfather!
It was still early in the day, and she was warming up in the gym, ready to face the upcoming challengers. But she hadn't expected the challenger to arrive so soon after her warm-up.
This time, the challenger came much earlier than anyone had before!
When Korrina's eyes fell upon the person leading the group, her bright blue eyes suddenly constricted, and she exclaimed, "Ash! Are you Ash?!"
Ash had been ready to wave in greeting, but her shout startled him, and his hand froze mid-air, and the words of greeting stuck in his throat. He frowned, scrutinizing the girl in front of him, puzzled: How does she seem so familiar?
But he had absolutely no recollection of Korrina, so why was she this excited?
Korrina swiftly skated over on her roller skates, appearing before Ash in the blink of an eye, her azure pupils gleaming with a curious sparkle, her smooth cheeks nearly touching Ash's face.
Nearby, Misty clenched her small, fair hand tightly—what's with this girl, getting so close to Ash at their first meeting!
"I know you! You're the one who discovered Lucario's MEGA evolution! Thanks to you, my grandfather and I figured out how to use the gems passed down through the generations. And your Lucario is amazing. Aside from my grandfather's Lucario, I've never seen a Lucario as powerful as yours!"
"Well... it's not that amazing~" Ash was a bit embarrassed by Korrina's praise upon first meeting, but inside, he couldn't help feeling a little proud.
He never expected even Gym Leaders far away in Kalos would know about his exploits. And it was because of him that they discovered the purpose of their inherited MEGA Evolution Stones. This feeling of being recognized was incredible!
No wonder so many famous people carry an air of pride; being praised like this, who wouldn't feel a bit elated~
"Hey! Korrina!" Misty rushed up, grabbing Ash's arm and pulling him back, her cheeks puffed and her jaw clenching slightly.
"Getting so close upon meeting for the first time is a bit rude, isn't it?"
Korrina realized she had been a bit too forward, and with a gentle slide of her roller skates, she stepped back half a step, scratching her head with a bashful smile. "Ah, sorry, sorry! Got a bit carried away meeting Ash for the first time, after all, Ash is kind of a big benefactor to our family, not to mention a Lucario user."
As she finished speaking, Korrina tossed out a Pokeball, and with a flash of light, a majestic Lucario appeared before everyone.
Lucario's face was calm and composed, looking like an unflappable master. But when its gaze passed Ash, it suddenly froze on him, the tips of its ears twitching!
Its once calm scarlet eyes narrowed sharply, locking onto the subtle waves emanating from Ash's body, even instinctively holding its breath—such terrifying Aura!
This Aura... not to mention humans, even among all the Pokemon it had seen, none had such a terrifying Aura!
It could feel it clearly; the Aura Power wasn't merely an overwhelming force but resembled a boundless ocean. Under its perception, it couldn't see the limits of the Aura within Ash's body. This level of Aura was something it had never encountered before.
In Lucario's mind, there was an overwhelming shock: how could a human wield such pure and vast Aura Power?
Gurkinn's Lucario was already a master among Lucarios, but compared to this human standing here, it was like a minor compared to a giant.
This level of Aura might only be comparable to the legendary Lucario who stood alongside the Aura Guardian and quelled the world's chaos.
"What's wrong, Lucario? Is there something on Ash?" Korrina asked with a bit of concern upon seeing Lucario's body tremble slightly and its pupils narrow.
She knew Lucario's Aura could see things invisible to the human eye; could it be that Ash was plagued by something sinister?
In response to her question, Lucario shook its head. Then, to her astonishment, it bowed respectfully to Ash, executing a perfect ninety-degree bow, arguably the most impeccable bow Lucario had ever made.
Seeing this, Korrina was baffled—what just happened?