The Tower of Mastery is the most iconic building in Shalour City.
In a way, it's quite similar to the Prism Tower in Lumiose City. While the Prism Tower also serves as Lumiose City's Gym, the Tower of Mastery fulfills the same function for the Shalour City Gym.
The difference lies in that the Prism Tower is a modern, technologically advanced structure, whereas the Tower of Mastery is an ancient building with a long history. Since ancient times, the Tower of Mastery has been the private property of a prominent family in Shalour City.
When the Pokémon League was established in the Kalos region, Shalour City needed an official gym, and the patriarch of that family was appointed as its first Gym Leader.
Thus, the Tower of Mastery also became the Shalour City Gym. Although any challenger can currently access the lower levels, the upper floors remain closed to the public, guarding secrets that this family does not wish to reveal.
It is said that perhaps one day these secrets may be unveiled, especially after the discovery of Mega Evolution. But for now, this lineage considers the ability to mega evolve a skill exclusive to their family.
In fact, they don't fully understand the concept of Mega Evolution themselves; they only know that Lucario possesses a special evolutionary form.
Every generation of the family has had Lucario as their emblematic Pokémon, which shows their great strength and tradition.
Clearly, Cain couldn't just enter as a challenger if he wanted to uncover the tower's real secrets. While that option would grant him access, it wouldn't reveal any confidential information.
The only solution was to secretly infiltrate—something Cain had already planned from the beginning.
Without lingering in Shalour City, he quickly departed for Geosenge Town. Along the way, Ralts discreetly left psychic coordinate markers as reference points.
After a full day of non-stop travel, Cain arrived in the town and checked into the local Pokémon Center. After renting a room, he locked himself inside to make preparations.
At that moment, Cain returned to his usual appearance. After wearing a mask for so long, he had almost forgotten what his own face looked like.
His attractive face had long been forgotten by many. As he changed clothes, he noticed something interesting: he had grown considerably over the past few months. At sixteen years old, he was in the midst of a growth spurt, and his height had already reached 1.76 meters. No wonder his old clothes were tight.
After changing into a black infiltration suit, Cain, with the help of several uses of Ralts' Teleport, returned to the forest near Shalour City.
The Tower of Mastery wasn't directly connected to the city; it stood as a separate island in the bay. Only during low tide, at sunset, could it be reached on foot.
Cain chose to fly there directly on Honchkrow. Luckily, Honchkrow was big enough to carry him on short trips. Both dressed completely in black, they moved through the night sky undetected.
With a soft sound, Cain jumped from Honchkrow's back to the island floor. He barely made a noise—inaudible to anyone nearby.
The area around the tower belonged to the owning family. Just as Cain had turned his island into a ranch, this family had turned theirs into a fortified castle.
After observing the area and confirming there were no patrols, Cain advanced toward the tower. A thin layer of psychic energy covered his feet, preventing him from leaving footprints or making noise.
Experienced in nighttime infiltrations, he brought along Weavile and Honchkrow—ideal Pokémon for stealth missions. Gengar scouted ahead to clear the path.
Unless they encountered an overwhelmingly powerful opponent, it was nearly impossible for them to be detected.
They quickly reached the base of the tower. Cain signaled Honchkrow to ascend with him. Holding onto one of its talons and using his own psychic power to remain suspended, Cain rose without hindering the Pokémon's flight.
Weavile climbed the walls using cracks between the bricks, while Gengar had already peeked over the upper ledge, confirming it was clear.
Cain avoided the public floors and headed straight for the upper levels.
From the air, he could see a massive hall with a majestic statue of Mega Lucario—the first of its kind belonging to this family. This Pokémon was likely the first recorded case of Mega Evolution in the Pokémon world.
Future research by Professor Sycamore on Mega Evolution would owe a great deal to this family.
Cain carefully entered through a window at the top of the tower. The atmosphere exuded a sense of age and decay—a testament to its long history.
Together with his three Pokémon, Cain searched for information on Mega Evolution.
The most likely place to find it was in the Gym Leader Gurkinn's study.
This eccentric man primarily used Fighting-type Pokémon. Cain knew at least two of them: a Lucario—an heirloom of the family—and a Blaziken, just like Cain's.
"Gengar, open the door," Cain ordered telepathically after confirming the room was empty.
Gengar slipped through the crack and opened the door from the inside.
The room was a library filled with books and a large central desk. Cain activated the system's scanning function to search for titles containing information about Mega Evolution.
As he flipped through a book on the family's history, Gengar urgently signaled him.
(End of chapter)