Inside the Pokemon Center.
Night had fallen, yet the hall remained bustling with people. Trainers were either dining and resting or attending to their Pokemon, each busy with their own tasks. The arrival of Ash and his group did not stir much commotion.
Though Ash was quite famous, not everyone would constantly pay attention to the surrounding happenings, which is why only Miss Joy at the reception desk noticed them.
Calm and composed as always, Miss Joy found Ash's presence in Azalea Town somewhat unexpected. Nonetheless, she didn't overly display her emotions, and just diligently took the Pokeballs handed by Ash and his companions, heading into the inner room for Pokemon restoration treatment.
Taking advantage of this interval, Ash and his friends promptly began inquiring about the newly appointed Gym Leader at Azalea Town, as well as asking about the local former Gym Leader and Mr. Kurt's recent status.
"The new Gym Leader you mentioned? They are a Fighting Type Gym Leader from the Kalos region, and their strength is quite formidable. But for you, Ash, it should definitely be no issue."
"They?" Ash was a bit puzzled, not quite understanding the plural reference. The information he received from Professor Oak clearly stated that the newly arriving Kalos Foreign Resident Gym Leader was a female, and though her skills weren't weak, amongst the Foreign Resident Gym Leaders, she indeed wasn't ranked in the forefront.
"That's right, this time there are two Foreign Resident Gym Leaders. One formally accepts the Gym challenges, her name is Korrina, a young lady. The other is her grandfather, Gurkinn, who was in fact the previous Gym Leader of Shalour Gym."
Listening to Miss Joy's explanation, Ash finally sorted out the connection between this foreign resident grandparent-grandchild pair and Shalour Gym.
The former Gym Leader of Shalour Gym was Gurkinn, who is Korrina's biological grandfather, highly skilled, even on par with Elite Level Trainers from the Kalos Region.
Korrina was a new generation Gym Leader cultivated by her grandfather - after all, Gurkinn couldn't guard Shalour Gym for a lifetime, and had to pass the baton to the younger generation.
Agreeing to come to the Johto Region to serve as a Foreign Resident Gym Leader was initially intended to polish Korrina.
Once in Azalea Town, almost all the Gym challenges were handled solely by Korrina.
And Korrina didn't fail her grandfather's expectations at all, forging a reputation of her own and also for Shalour Gym in Azalea Town.
Nowadays, everyone knows there's an extremely young Fighting Type female Trainer here. Though she's young, her skills are exceptionally solid, and until now, none of the trainers who've come to challenge the Gym have managed to earn a badge from her.
The Shalour Gym from Kalos has also risen to fame in the Johto Region along with this momentum.
"Is she that incredible, this Korrina?" Ash couldn't help but express skepticism. Just after speaking, Misty and others' eyes simultaneously turned to Serena, who was listening attentively.
Serena unexpectedly realized all eyes were on her, initially stunned, her cheeks soon blushing, hurriedly waving her hands in a fluster to explain: "I-I don't know either! I just became a Trainer this year, regarding news about Kalos region Gyms, I essentially know nothing about them..."
She was becoming a Trainer purely because she admired Ash, prior to that, she had virtually no clue about anything related to Gym battles - completely clueless.
Let alone the new Gym Leader of Shalour Gym, she didn't even have a concept of who the former Gym Leader was. Asking her was indeed asking the wrong person.
Misty and the others instantly realized their error. Although Serena is from Kalos, she's ultimately just a newly entered Newbie Trainer, and Kalos is vast; unless she happened to live in Shalour City, ordinary people wouldn't specifically learn about Shalour Gym.
They merely subconsciously thought that Serena, also from Kalos, would know relevant news. Upon closer thought, they realized their assumption was indeed unjustified.
"By the way, does Korrina use Lucario as her main Pokemon?" Ash suddenly recalled related information mentioned in the handbook given by Professor Oak, quickly turning to Miss Joy for confirmation.
"Yes, this Pokemon has also stirred quite some commotion. Thanks to you, Ash, Lucario has left a significant impression whether in Johto or Kanto regions. Therefore, Korrina having a Lucario also made a wave in Azalea Town; many come to challenge Korrina specifically for her Lucario." Miss Joy nodded in response.
Prior to Ash using Lucario, the number of people in Johto and Kanto regions who knew of Lucario were few.
After all, this species of Pokemon predominantly resides in Sinnoh region, and even within Sinnoh, they are extremely rare Pokemon. Forget owning one, even those who've seen a Lucario are very sparse.
Lucario even once in Sinnoh region was rumored to be a legendary Pokemon, although it was later debunked, but this suffices to demonstrate just how scarce Lucario truly is.
Were it not for Ash, not many would know about Lucario in this world.
"Lucario... looks like it will be a very interesting Gym battle." Ash murmured, his face showing an eager smile.
"Seems like you've already decided which Pokemon to use for tomorrow's Gym challenge, Ash."
"Of course!"
"Miss Joy, there are two more things I need to trouble you with. Do you know where Mr. Kurt resides? And do you have the information about Azalea Gym?"
```