As it recalled what it knew about Elias, Lucario's gaze gradually filled with excitement.
Had its Trainer finally convinced him?
The thought alone was enough to thrill it.
As a proper Lucario, it naturally pursued both mastery of battle and Aura.
And even though Elias only existed in Ghost Form, the Aura within him was stronger than many Lucario it had met.
It had wanted to challenge him for ages—to see just how far its Aura training had progressed.
Unfortunately, Korrina hadn't managed to arrange that yet.
But now… its wish was finally about to come true.
Lucario strode onto the battlefield, eyes burning eagerly as it watched Elias across the arena.
However…
In the next moment, Elias suddenly turned around and walked toward the Trainer's position.
Lucario's heart sank.
He wasn't battling personally?
He was acting as the Trainer?
Lucario's expression instantly changed.
Fragments of information about Elias's Pokémon quickly surfaced in its mind.
"Delphox, I'm counting on you."
Pop!
As Elias spoke, he tossed a Poké Ball from his waist.
As the light faded, a slender, fox-like Pokémon appeared on the field, gripping a wand.
Unlike her demeanor with Elias, Delphox's face was now expressionless.
With a casual flick of her wand toward the ground, a ring of orange-yellow flames erupted at her feet.
Lucario: …
The worst-case scenario had occurred. Its opponent was the fire fox.
Lucario's morale cracked slightly. It couldn't understand how its Trainer could agree to this matchup.
No—wait…
Maybe Korrina herself had requested it!
Facing Delphox, whose strength vastly surpassed its own, Lucario fully understood just how unreliable its Trainer could be.
"Bro, I might not lose, you know!"
Korrina forced a confident smile.
Even if her Lucario couldn't Mega Evolve yet, she trained diligently every day.
Among Trainers her age, her ability was unquestionably top-notch.
Combining all of that, she genuinely believed she had at least a tiny chance of winning!
Please stop talking.
Hearing its Trainer's words, Lucario felt slightly dizzy.
...
Thud—!
The blue canine fell onto the battlefield, the bone staff formed from Aura dispersing immediately.
Delphox stood calmly in front of Lucario, wand aimed straight at it.
Small flames still crackled from the tip, as if Lucario could be engulfed at any second.
Behind them, Korrina stared blankly, fully realizing her loss.
The battle had gone even worse than she'd imagined.
She'd thought that even if Lucario couldn't fight evenly, it could hold out for at least a few rounds.
But reality was cruel. Lucario had been suppressed from start to finish by relentless attacks, hardly able to catch its breath.
For a Fighting-type Pokémon, failing to close the distance left no room for argument.
And to think she'd actually fantasized about winning.
"Lucario, good job."
Once Delphox returned to Elias's side, Korrina raised a hand to recall Lucario.
Delphox had held back at the end, so a Pokémon Center visit wasn't needed.
But judging by Lucario's condition, it had clearly suffered a hard blow.
"You've raised Lucario well."
Elias walked over with Delphox, offering genuine praise.
He wasn't comforting Korrina—he sincerely meant it.
For someone her age, training Lucario to this level was already impressive.
She'd lost so decisively only because Delphox's strength was overwhelming.
A Champion-tier Pokémon—honestly, even Diantha's Gardevoir might end up kneeling.
"Bro…"
Hearing the praise, Korrina felt a flicker of happiness—and also a hint of frustration.
Just looking at him… Elias wasn't even much older than her, right?
Yet the difference in their Pokémon's strength was staggering.
But this only strengthened her resolve to drag Elias back to the Gym.
Grandpa wasn't just strict with her—he was strict with every junior.
There had even been Trainers who came to challenge the Gym and ended up getting scolded.
For a while, Shalour Gym had become a nightmare for rookie Trainers.
But faced with someone like Elias—a fully-rounded Trainer with no weaknesses—Korrina doubted even Grandpa could complain!
Just imagining that scenario brightened her mood.
She even lifted her chin slightly, as if she was the one with Elias's strength.
"Bro, when I find Lucario's evolution stone, I'm challenging you again!"
As if reminded of something, Korrina's eyes lit up again.
Seeing she wasn't upset about losing, Elias felt relieved.
"Evolution stone?"
Hearing the key phrase, Elias had a vague guess.
"Yep—Lucario's Mega Stone!"
The moment she mentioned it, Korrina buzzed with excitement.
Her slender arms hugged the Lucario plush so tightly it got slightly dented.
At the same time, she proudly showed off her right hand.
A red fingerless glove covered her hand.
Embedded on its back was a clear, round crystal.
A Key Stone.
Only then did Elias recall that Korrina's family possessed a Lucario Mega Stone passed down through generations.
Since Lysandre was researching Mega Evolution, Elias was familiar with the subject.
Although this new power wasn't widely spread in the Kalos Region yet, some Trainers had already begun using it privately.
Korrina's family was among them.
When Elias didn't respond, Korrina took it upon herself to explain.
"Right now, I only have the Key Stone Grandpa gave me. I still don't have the matching Mega Stone."
"I want one of my own. Grandpa's stone… it eventually has to be passed down. I don't like that."
As she spoke, Korrina frowned.
In some ways, she was rather possessive—if she liked something, she wanted it to stay hers forever.
Unfortunately…
Mega Evolution was still relatively new, having only emerged recently.
Mega Stones weren't widely mined yet, and finding a specific matching stone was even harder.
After all these years, Korrina still hadn't found a single lead.
Thinking about this, her mood dampened again.
Why was it always so hard to get the things she liked?
---
T/N: heh elias had a mega lucario before HOW LONG IS THIS FUCKING ARC???
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
hehe every 100 followers on either instagram or twitter is a bonus chapter...?
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