Ash and the others mulled over the story for quite a while before finally taking it all in. There was so much information that their minds could barely keep up.
But Ash soon snapped out of it and looked at Lu Chen.
"Lu Chen, that was a great story, but... what about the gift you told me about?"
Clearly, Ash was still more concerned about the gift Lu Chen kept mentioning.
Brock, however, gave Lu Chen a thoughtful look.
He felt that Lu Chen probably hadn't told them this story just for the sake of telling a story.
There had to be another reason.
He recalled what Lu Chen had just said.
Aura. Passed down through the bloodline.
Brock and Misty exchanged a glance.
A bold guess suddenly occurred to them.
"Lu Chen," Brock said, his voice a little strained.
"Could Ash be the one from the story..."
Lu Chen didn't answer. He merely smiled faintly and nodded.
Misty and Brock's eyes widened at the same time.
Misty grabbed Ash by the shoulders and looked him up and down, her voice full of disbelief.
"No way. Something's got to be wrong. How could a dummy like Ash be an Aura Guardian?"
"Who are you calling a dummy?" Ash protested.
Lu Chen smiled as he watched Ash and Misty argue, then snapped his fingers.
Snap.
Gengar emerged from the shadows, opened his mouth wide, and rummaged around for quite a while before carefully placing something on the table.
A goddess statue.
In the sunlight, the goddess statue gave off a soft white glow.
"I don't know whether Ash is descended from that Aura Guardian or from another Aura Guardian who received a blessing."
Lu Chen stood up and looked Ash in the eyes. "But anyone this goddess statue reacts to is definitely an Aura Guardian."
Ash looked at the glowing goddess statue before him and swallowed nervously.
"Step forward and pick it up."
Ash took a deep breath, stepped forward, and reached out with both hands to lift the goddess statue.
Then he closed his eyes.
Rings of blue ripples spread out from beneath his feet, like a pebble dropped into still water.
Ring after ring of ripples formed a visible energy field around Ash.
Brock and Misty were stunned.
They could clearly feel an invisible power emanating from Ash.
Only Lu Chen remained calm as he sipped his tea.
"Just as I thought."
Ash opened his eyes, his face full of surprise.
"Lu Chen! Just now, I felt like I could see everything around me even with my eyes closed! That's incredible!"
Lu Chen set down his teacup and explained with a smile.
"That's barely scratching the surface. Aura can do far more than you imagine. Take your time getting used to it and learning how to use this power."
"Oh, and give that back."
Lu Chen reached out and took the goddess statue back from Ash.
With how bumbling Ash was, it would be trouble if he broke the goddess statue.
Ash carefully returned the goddess statue to Lu Chen.
Ash wasn't stupid, either. From telling the story to bringing out the goddess statue, Lu Chen had shown a level of knowledge about Aura that was far beyond the average person's.
"Lu Chen! Um... could you teach me how to use Aura?"
Lu Chen waved him off with a look of distaste.
"What's there to teach? Just study it more yourself. All right, you hardly ever come back to Pallet Town. If you're going home to see your family, you'd better get going."
Just as he finished speaking, a gentle voice with a hint of anger came from the farm entrance.
"Ash-"
Ash went rigid.
Delia stood at the courtyard entrance with her hands on her hips and a smile on her face, but the look in her eyes sent a chill down Ash's back.
"Mom... I..."
"You came back to Pallet Town, and instead of coming home to see your mother first, you ran straight to Mr. Lu Chen?"
Delia walked over with a smile and grabbed Ash by the ear.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow!"
"Mr. Lu Chen, I'm sorry for the interruption."
Delia gave Lu Chen an apologetic nod, then dragged Ash away by the ear.
Ash picked Pikachu up off the ground, and Pikachu followed behind, crying, "Pika, pika."
Misty and Brock hurried after them, too.
Gary looked at Lu Chen, then at Ash being dragged away. The corner of his mouth twitched, and he turned and left as well.
Quiet returned to the courtyard.
"Why are Aura Guardians the same, generation after generation?"
Lu Chen sat back down in his chair and complained helplessly as he looked at the goddess statue in his hand.
Sunlight fell on the goddess statue, giving that familiar face a soft, warm sheen.
"Ah..."
Lu Chen let out a soft sigh.
"Cameran Palace... I wonder if it's already gone..."
His fingers slowly traced the edges of the goddess statue.
"And her..."
Lu Chen gazed at the goddess statue's familiar face and thought again of that clumsy princess who always messed everything up.
He wondered whether she had later become a proper queen.
He wondered whether she had later felt regret.
"The river of time rolls on..."
"Even Cameran Palace has probably vanished into the river of history by now."
Gengar poked half his head out of the shadows and glanced at Lu Chen. He didn't grin or fool around, merely keeping him company in silence.
In the distance, Lapras began softly singing Lapras's Song in the river.
The lilting song drifted into the distance.