Gurkinn: The Mega Evolution Guru and Keeper of Its Legacy

He introduces himself by a nickname and keeps his real name to himself. Gurkinn, whom everyone calls the Mega Evolution Guru, lives in the Tower of Mastery in Shalour City and holds knowledge his family has passed down for generations: the secret of Mega Evolution. His home is where young Kalos Trainers learn how this transformation works, and he's the one who offers up the ring that makes it possible.

Contents

• Family Knowledge, Not a Diploma
• The Tower of Mastery, the Monument and the Intriguing Stone
• One Mega Ring for Five Trainers
• The Mega Evolution Guru: A Nickname Hiding a Real Name
• In the Anime: Three Pokémon, Two Mega Forms
• Gurkinn at a Glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

Family Knowledge, Not a Diploma

The game calls him the Mega Evolution specialist, and his nickname says nothing more. Yet there's nothing academic about this knowledge: it passes down his bloodline from generation to generation, outside any institution.

One detail gives the character real weight: he descends from the very first Trainer ever to Mega Evolve their Pokémon. His family doesn't comment on the phenomenon from the outside; it's where the whole thing began.

The next generation is in the hands of his granddaughter Korrina, Shalour City's Gym Leader. She holds a second title, that of Mega Evolution Successor: she's the one who judges whether a Trainer is fit to use Mega Evolution, while her grandfather takes care of explaining it.

The Tower of Mastery, the Monument and the Intriguing Stone

Gurkinn lives in the Tower of Mastery in Shalour City, a building he has stamped with his obsession: he had a monument erected there in honor of Lucario, the first Pokémon in history to Mega Evolve.

The story brings the player there by way of Professor Sycamore, who sends Gurkinn the five Trainers he entrusted with a Pokédex — the player, their rival, Shauna, Tierno and Trevor — so they can learn where Mega Evolution comes from. The old man refuses to start until the whole group is there.

Before any lesson, he asks for his Intriguing Stone, which the newcomers had only just recovered. He admits it himself: the pebble is nothing special — it matters to him without being worth anything.

🔥 The Pokémon on the monument has its own section: see the products Lucario.

One Mega Ring for Five Trainers

His lesson covers a point Trainers tend to get wrong: Mega Evolution isn't permanent; it's a temporary transformation, and it requires two items — a Mega Stone for the Pokémon, and a stone set in a Mega Ring for its Trainer.

He then wants to give each of them the means to trigger it, but he has only one Mega Ring left and leaves it to the group to decide who will get it. Tierno, Trevor and Shauna step aside on their own; the player and their rival settle the matter with a battle.

The player wins, but that isn't enough: Korrina demands proof before handing over the item and battles the player twice, first at the Shalour Gym as Gym Leader, then at the Tower of Mastery as Successor. The ring is handed over at the top of the tower, after the Gym win and before the second battle. The rival, meanwhile, will come back to train with the old man and earn a ring of their own.

The Mega Evolution Guru: A Nickname Hiding a Real Name

The character announces right away that "Mega Evolution Guru" is only a pseudonym, and in the same breath introduces himself as an old friend of Sycamore's. The moniker advertises his specialty and screens his real identity.

His real name, neither he nor Korrina ever says it out loud. To get it, you have to climb two floors up the Tower of Mastery and ask a resident: she gives it away while pointing out how much the grandfather's name resembles the granddaughter's.

This echo between the two names (Cornélius and Cornélia in the French games) isn't unique to French. In other languages, one name points to the cucumber and the other to the gherkin — a localization joke spun across two generations.

In the Anime: Three Pokémon, Two Mega Forms

The anime gives him a handful of appearances: two episodes of the XY series, then three more in the Journeys saga. His last appearance shows him as a mere spectator, watching the World Coronation Series final, seated with Korrina and Bea.

His team there is small but suited to his field. Blaziken sticks to fire, with Blaze Kick and Flamethrower, and never Mega Evolves on screen. The other two, however, do Mega Evolve.

His Lucario turns into Mega Lucario and combines Bone Rush with Aura Sphere; his Alakazam becomes Mega Alakazam and chains Psybeam, Psychic and Tri Attack. So the specialist gives the demonstration himself, most notably with the species that stands at the foot of his tower.

Gurkinn at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who is Gurkinn in Pokémon?
  He's the Mega Evolution expert of the Kalos region, known by the nickname Mega Evolution Guru. He lives in the Tower of Mastery in Shalour City and is the grandfather of Korrina, the city's Gym Leader.
• Why is he called the Mega Evolution Guru?
  Because the nickname sums up his specialty. He tells the player himself that it's a pseudonym: his real name is never given, either by him or by his granddaughter.
• How do you get the Mega Ring from Gurkinn?
  He only has one left and lets the group decide who will receive it. After Tierno, Trevor and Shauna step aside, the player beats their rival, then still has to defeat Korrina at her Gym before she hands over the item at the top of the tower.
• Which Pokémon does Gurkinn use?
  The anime gives him Blaziken, Lucario and Alakazam. The last two have a Mega form, which lets him demonstrate in practice the phenomenon he teaches.
• How are Gurkinn's and Korrina's names connected?
  The resemblance is deliberate (Cornélius and Cornélia in French), and it's even the clue that lets a minor character reveal the grandfather's real name. In other languages, the two names refer to the cucumber and the gherkin respectively.

In short

Gurkinn holds a rare place in Generation VI: he's not a Gym Leader, a professor or a rival, and yet one of the game's central mechanics has to go through him. He explains, he offers up his last ring, then he steps back behind his granddaughter when the test comes. A keeper rather than an opponent, whose real name you won't even learn unless you head upstairs to ask.