Aside from Riolu's Egg, Ash received two other items that now lay quietly before him. One was a brilliant, shimmering gemstone; the other was a pair of—gloves.
The design of the gloves was unique. They looked almost identical to the Mega Glove Ash currently wore, but with a crucial difference: five small sapphires were embedded on the back, positioned just below the knuckles.
In the center of the right glove, there was a specialized slot clearly designed to house a Key Stone.
"Ash, what are these items?" Steven Stone asked curiously, his eyes fixed on the gemstone. As a stone collector, he had a natural affinity for such things, and this one looked remarkably like a Mega Stone.
"This is Lucarionite," Ash replied.
The Heaven's List was incredibly thorough. It had provided Ash with the complete set. Since Ash already possessed a Key Stone, all he needed was the Lucarionite to allow his future Lucario to Mega Evolve.
Steven was green with envy, wondering when he might get a specialized reward for his Metagross.
"And the gloves?"
"These are gloves that enhance Aura! They're similar to the ones Sir Aaron wore. With these, I'll be able to control my Aura much better!" Ash excitedly swapped his old Mega Glove for the new Aura Guardian Gloves.
"Not only that, these gloves have a built-in slot for the Key Stone, so it doesn't conflict with my Mega Evolution setup at all!"
Ash's three rewards—the early Riolu Egg, the Lucarionite, and the priceless Aura Guardian Gloves—were all legendary treasures.
But what about Cynthia?
The group turned to her and saw her smiling, holding an orange-and-yellow-patterned gem. Its structure was identical to Ash's Lucarionite, save for the internal DNA pattern. It was obvious: Cynthia's reward was Garchompite!
"Does Miss Cynthia only get the Mega Stone? What about the Key Stone?" Ash asked. He had one already, but Cynthia didn't.
"Of course I have one~" Cynthia pulled out a lipstick. To the naked eye, it looked like an expensive cosmetic, but when she turned the base around, a small, rainbow-colored Key Stone was embedded in the bottom.
The Key Stone was much smaller than the one Ash used—about the size of a small pearl. Cynthia giggled at their surprised expressions. "Heaven's List customized it for me. I actually quite like this shade of lipstick; it suits me."
"What happens when the lipstick runs out? Do you throw the Key Stone away? If so, throw it my way!" Diantha joked.
Cynthia gave a narrowed-eye smile. "Sure. I'll just pop the stone out and move it to a new one. You can have the empty tube."
The other Champions and Elite Four members, save for Leon, were incredibly jealous. Leon at least had Gigantamax, but many of the others hadn't even received a Dynamax Band yet.
Facing a "System" user with no system of your own was a massive disadvantage. Now Ash had a "Dual System" (Z-Moves and Mega Evolution), and if he got a Dynamax Band, he'd have the "Big Three."
At the Indigo Plateau:
The light faded from Jessie, James, and Meowth. They stared at their rewards in a daze. Jessie held two manuals:
An Actor's Self-Training and The Beginner's Guide to Pokémon Contests. James had a jar overflowing with rare, limited-edition bottle caps. Meowth held a glittering, oversized gold coin.
"Acting tips and a Contest manual?!" "Look at all these limited-edition caps! Oh, Heaven's List, I love you!" "A gold coin! A real gold coin for a cat! This smells like riches, dig it!" "Wobbuffet!!"
The rewards weren't world-shaking treasures, but they were exactly what the trio desired most. Their resentment toward the "black future" footage vanished instantly.
Just as they were celebrating, their Transceiver rang.
It was Boss Giovanni. He likely wanted to know what rewards they got, but he was going to be disappointed—none of these were useful for a villainous organization.
Professor Oak's Backyard:
After sorting the rewards, the Champions began training Ash's Pokémon. Bruno approached Ash to ask about learning Aura, but Cynthia stepped in with a playful yet firm smile.
"Bruno~ You're a grown man, you should know there's no such thing as a free lunch. To learn the secrets of Aura, you must pay the price."
Bruno felt a chill. When did Cynthia become Ash's protective older sister? "What do I need to do?"
"Simple. Years ago, Ash caught a Primeape. A trainer named Anthony took it away under the guise of 'training' it for the P1 Grand Prix, and Ash hasn't heard a word since. Go find it, bring it back, and train it until it reaches the peak of the Gym Leader level. Only then will Ash teach you."
Cynthia had asked Ash about his "released" Pokémon after seeing the footage. She was outraged that a trainer who lost to Ash's Primeape had the gall to say he'd "train" it better.
Bruno didn't complain. The secret to Aura was priceless. Finding a Primeape and training it was a bargain. "Where is he?!"
"Somewhere between Celadon and Saffron City, probably. Good luck."
"Wait, Mr. Bruno!" Ash said, gripping his new gloves. "I can try to use my Aura to find Primeape once I get better at it!"
"No need! I'll handle this myself. It's the least I can do!" Bruno shouted, already sprinting off into the distance, bound to work up another sweat.
Cynthia turned to Ash. "Don't let people take advantage of your kindness, Ash. You don't realize how precious your 'Spring of Life' and Aura are." She had started viewing Ash like a younger brother, and she wasn't about to let him get the short end of any stick.
"Alright, leave the logistics to Cynthia," Red said, his eyes sharp. "Ash, it's time to train."
Training and Progress:
By the next morning, a lot had happened. Bruno had successfully tracked down Anthony and "reclaimed" Primeape in the name of the Elite Four. Primeape was overjoyed to be heading back to its original trainer.
Meanwhile, the Pokémon Professors were working on the Rotom Phone project, though it would take years to mass-produce.
Most importantly, after a night of brutal sparring with Red, Ash had finally stabilized Mega Charizard.
It wasn't perfect, but the transformation was successful. Red noted that with a "Hat-wearing Pikachu" and "Mega Charizard," Ash now had the power of two Elite Four-level Pokémon.
Considering Ash was still technically a "rookie" before the Indigo League, this jump in power—fueled by the Heaven's List and the world's strongest trainers—was unprecedented.
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