"Well, such precious training secrets, we can't just accept them outright without feeling guilty." Korrina nodded repeatedly in agreement.
"This... alright, thank you then, Gym Leader Korrina, Old Man Gurkinn. Regarding the training methods, I'll write them down for you shortly." Ash hesitated for a moment, then finally tightened his grip on the bag and nodded towards the two.
From this MEGA Evolution Stone, he felt a familiar force, the power belonging to Lucario!
But the color of the pattern in the middle of this MEGA Evolution Stone is completely different from Lucario's Evolution Stone, which means this stone can unlock another evolution form for Lucario.
Lucario actually has two MEGA Evolution forms, something that the experts in the group hadn't mentioned to him.
"Um... I want to ask, which Pokemon does this MEGA Evolution Stone belong to?" Ash could perceive the power within the Evolution Stone, but Misty and the others didn't know.
Holding Togepi, Misty curiously inquired of Korrina and Gurkinn, while Korrina looked bewilderedly at her grandfather, not knowing which Pokemon the stone belonged to nor when their family acquired this MEGA Evolution Stone.
Gurkinn paused and said, "Regarding this, I don't know either. This Evolution Stone, along with Lucario's stones, has been passed down for generations in our family. We have three in total, two for Lucario and this one."
"We have suspected whether this Evolution Stone might be for Lucario, as research indicates that a Pokemon can have multiple MEGA Evolution forms. But after testing, we found Lucario doesn't react to it."
"Moreover, no released MEGA Evolution Stone compendium shows a stone with a similar appearance to this one, so which Pokemon this stone belongs to remains unknown."
There are still many undiscovered MEGA evolved Pokemon in the world, so encountering unknown evolution stones is quite normal. Nonetheless, it doesn't affect the value of this MEGA Evolution Stone.
Ash was silent for a while before speaking, "Actually, this MEGA Evolution Stone is a Lucario's Evolution Stone."
"Lucario?! Impossible, my Lucario had no reaction to it at all!" Hearing this, the usually unperturbed Gurkinn's expression showed disbelief.
He had experimented with this MEGA Evolution Stone on his Lucario, and the result showed no effect whatsoever.
With the other two ancestral MEGA Evolution Stones, they became effective immediately either on his Lucario or Korrina's.
For a Pokemon to MEGA evolve, besides the Evolution Stone and Key Stone, it also requires the bond between the Pokemon and the human.
Whether it was Gurkinn or Korrina, their bond with their Pokemon is undeniable; one is an old companion, the other has grown up together as partners, their bond is indestructible.
So it's inconceivable that they couldn't MEGA evolve due to a lack of bond.
That MEGA Evolution Stone couldn't possibly be a Lucario's Evolution Stone.
"I'm telling the truth. Using Aura Perception, one can discover that this Evolution Stone resonates with Lucario's innate genes, yet... the power of this stone seems locked, causing Lucario to show no reaction." Ash's statement couldn't be verified, as besides his own Lucario, there was no other user of Aura.
But previously, neither Gurkinn nor Korrina's Lucarios showed any reaction to this Evolution Stone, even though they also harness the power of Aura.
If they never noticed, it simply means Ash's Aura is somewhat more unique.
Neither Gurkinn nor Korrina doubted the truth of Ash's words, as deceiving them in such matters served no purpose, and Ash wasn't the type to lie.
So... is this Evolution Stone really a Lucario's stone?
"Whether it's Lucario's stone doesn't matter now, since it's given to you, just accept it. If you manage to enable Lucario to evolve into a new form, just let this old man take a look." Gurkinn didn't dwell on it much.
Having given the stone away, how to use it and which Pokemon it belongs to is Ash's concern.
If it really turns out to be another MEGA evolution form of Lucario, it also brings him joy.
Because it's a new form discovered by their family!
As for whether to use it on their Pokemon, it doesn't matter; they already possess Lucario's MEGA Evolution Stones. Even if there's another form, promoting their rank isn't achievable.
Unless the form is higher-tier than the standard Lucario form, akin to evolving after MEGA Evolution, otherwise it's not exceptionally useful.
That's why Gurkinn is so composed.
"In that case, I'll accept this Evolution Stone; thanks, Old Man Gurkinn, Gym Leader Korrina."
"Just call me Korrina, constantly being called Gym Leader sounds a bit odd." Korrina patted Ash on the shoulder with a bright smile on her face.
Although she's been a Gym Leader for a while now, she's never been regularly addressed as such, especially by peers.
Besides, she doesn't want to maintain distance from Ash, she's considered him a friend. Always calling her Gym Leader would alter the relationship.
"Alright, then we'll head off now, Korrina. I'll immediately write down the ways to train and control Aura Power." Ash nodded, shifting his use of titles.
Gurkinn fetched pens and paper from the Gym interior and handed them to Ash, who confidently took the pen... a second passed, then two, then three, and everyone noticed Ash's pen attracting hesitation.
"Um... haha, it seems I don't know how to write it out." Ash raised his head, laughing awkwardly.
Pikachu immediately fell to the ground, unable to look at his trainer, Misty facepalmed, shaking her head helplessly, and Brock and Serena also showed embarrassed expressions.
"See, Ash, confident in writing Aura Power training methods, but you actually teach Pokemon through hands-on experience, how could you know the theoretical stuff!" Misty retorted, amusingly exasperated.
While Ash excels with Aura Power, teaching humans is a different matter entirely.
Ash can only physically guide others, theory is completely beyond him; he's remarkable to even utter generalized concepts, much less detailed descriptions.
"Ahem, what kind of talk is that? Who said I can't teach people! Just watch!" Ash responded defiantly, feeling somewhat embarrassed, and then approached Korrina.
He extended two fingers and placed them on Korrina's fair forehead.
Korrina watched the close proximity of Ash; it was the first time a male outside of her family touched her forehead, yet there was no repulsion, just curiosity about Ash's actions.
"Hold on, Korrina. I'll use Aura transmission to share my memory of using Aura with you; it's much quicker than theoretical learning!" Ash said as Aura Power surged from within him into Korrina.
This method of teaching was quite similar to that once in the chat group. However, the chat group not only infused the training methods but also directly transferred Ash the Aura Guardian's Aura into the body, allowing for miraculous advancement.
Currently, he's merely transferring knowledge to Korrina; although not as extreme as the power and knowledge transfer in the chat group, it's still an extraordinary skill for ordinary people!
Korrina could distinctly feel it; suddenly, a segment of memory appeared in her mind, information related to Aura...