Heroes After All: WAAPT Version

[Umbramatic]

This fic is rated a hard Teen for death, blood, mild gore, vomiting, and adults doing adult things like drinking, swearing, and having heavily implied offscreen... ahem.

This... This is a fic I've been meaning to write for far too long. In developing it there was a lot of blood and sweat and tears before I finally decided to stop making excuses and, as the meme goes, just do it.

Because from deep within the bottom of my heart this is a story very personally important to me.

This is based heavily on the lore introduced in the eighth Pokemon movie, but said movie is very much not required viewing for this fic, as I'm basically rebuilding everything from the ground up. So enjoy!

What I'm looking for feedback on: Characters, worldbuilding, plot, what i'm doing right, what to improve upon in future chapters, that kind of thing

What i'm not looking for feedback on: Prose, description, etc. other than typos I can fix easily. Feedback on that end has gotten repetitive and frustrating and don't worry I'm working on it.

That said you're free to ignore this if it means you wouldn't review. Feedback is feedback. :V

(Banner by Sworn Metalhead)



Heroes After All

Foreword

This is one of the greatest love stories our world has ever known.

Not a ROMANTIC love story though. One between friends. A human and a Pokemon, destined to meet and do great things. The famous parts have been told many times before with a few... additions but I figured I'd start from the very beginning.

Who am I and why am I qualified to tell this story you say? Name's Polly Pteryx and let's say I was involved...

Chapter 1: Introductions

Somewhere in Johto, around 2005 After Skybreak (around 1000 years before the present)

A blue-haired, blue-eyed boy dressed in simple clothes was reaching for a ball stuck in a tree. No dice. He sighed and started climbing up. He was almost there. He could almost feel it in his fingers.

Then he slipped.

He fell, and something glowed with power in his throat. He let out a yell, and the yell turned into a sonic boom that echoed all around.

Then he landed, with a thud, leaving the boy panting in exhaustion on his back.

He lay there a while, waiting for one of the village's adults to find him, when he heard a strange noise.

He weakly turned his head and saw a yellow Pokemon with small wings and a drill-like tail staring intently at him.

"H-Hello?" the boy said softly.

The Dunsparce hissed and used its tail to bury itself underground in reply.

The boy sighed and slowly started to get to his feet when he noticed a young woman approaching his location.

The woman was blonde with green eyes and was wearing strange clothing unfamiliar to the boy, a uniform with what seemed to be a two-part coat and a wide-brimmed hat with a spiky end and decorated with a symbol resembling three claw marks arranged in a triangular fashion. Upon further notice she also carried a staff of some sort in her left hand, both hands being gloved.

The boy backed away from her quickly.

"Y-you aren't from the village, miss..."

The woman blinked, then sighed and put a hand to her forehead.

"Kid, look, I'm not here to hurt you. You had a nasty enough fall there."

The boy stood and stared at her before tilting his head.

"How do you know about the fall?"

He yelped as the Dunsparce from earlier slithered up from behind him and up to rest at the woman's feet.

"My Dunsparce told me. Don't worry, she's friendly... If a bit odd."

The Dunsparce nodded in affirmation to both statements.

"She... did?" said the boy.

He looked up at the woman in wonder. "You can talk to Pokemon?"

~Yep. Like this.~

The boy jumped, looked at the woman in bewilderment, then looked around wildly. That was her voice, but her mouth hadn't moved at all, where-

~Kid, it's me. I'm talking to you with my head, it's called telepathy.~

The boy looked up at her again, eyes widening. "You.. You..."

The woman gave a small smile. "Kid, you aren't the only one out there with 'magic powers'."

The boy grinned, and bounced up and down excitedly. "You have powers like I do! And you're big and strong and that means I'm not a freak! Like, I can do the talaplethy thing too!"

He closed his eyes and scrunched his face in. ~Se... wh... mea...~

He stopped, opened his eyes, panted profusely, then looked up at the woman with a nervous chuckle and grin. "I-I'm still working on it, miss..."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "...I can tell."

The Dunsparce gave a "sparce" and a snicker-like hiss before the woman nudged her with her boot.

"But wait, you've got better powers than I do," said the boy, "and you've got that really nice outfit..."

His eyes lit up. "You're a wizard!"

The woman blinked. "I'm a what?"

She blinked and sighed with a hand to her head again as what the boy said more fully clicked. "Kid, no no no, not really, I'm an Aura Guardian. A group of people with powers like us. This outfit - the hat, the coat, the boots the staff the cape - that's our uniform.

She gestured to her "coat".

"...Well on my end, I had to convince them to make the cape an extension of my coat since it suited my fighting style better..."

"You fight evildoers?!" said the boy, jumping up and down in excitement.

"Wha-"

The woman shook her head. "When we need to yes, whenever they threaten the peace of civilians or those on the Auri-"

She threw her hands up in the air and groaned.

"Kid, I'd already been on patrol duty long enough both time and distance-wise before I found you. I can answer all your little questions later. Right now I've got a question for you - where the hell are your parents?"

The boy blinked, then shuffled a bit. "Me and my mom live further in the village. I used to have a dad but..."

He shook his head. "You can still see my mom, though! Follow me!"

He started running off. The woman headed after, her Dunsparce slithering and fluttering after.

------

A different woman with blue hair and blue eyes like the boy's was tending to her house when she heard a knocking at her door.

She opened it to see said boy and the blonde woman standing before her.

"Ma'am?" said the latter, clenching her right fist and crossing it over her chest. "Poly Pteryx of the Genesis Mountain Aura Guardians. I'm here about your son's... condition."

The boy's mother gave a small gasp but moved to let Polly and her own son in, giving a small yelp as the Dunsparce slithered in after then rushing over to her son and hugging him.

"Dear, are you OK?! Did something happen?!"

"Yeah Mom, the bullies put my ball in a tree and I fell trying to get it, but then this lady and her Dunsparce came to help!"

"Oh, ma'am, I can't thank you enough!"

Polly nodded. "You're welcome. But your son's power is still something to be discussed."

"...Go on?"

"Well, let him have a say first. Kid, what happened when you fell?"

The boy thought for a second. "Well... I got scared and something in my chest started moving and I screamed so loud it exploded!"

The boy's mother blinked. Polly nodded.

"That sounds about what my Dunsparce told me probably happened. She can pick up a lot by scent and vibrations."

Her Dunsparce gave a hiss and "Dun!" of gratitude.

Polly turned to the boy's mother. "Your boy has one hell of an Auric Scream."

His mother blinked. "Auric what?"

Polly sighed. "Your son has power over the force known as Aura that flows through every living thing. All Pokemon can tap into it to some extent, but only a rare few humans, like your son..."

She rolled up her sleeve to let a pink, scythelike blade of energy extend from a slit in the middle of her glove around her ulna.

"...And me."

The boy, enraptured, moved a bit closer to the blade. Polly quickly noticed and dissipated it.

"Careful, kid, that thing's sharp. I'm on the quadrant with powers closest to a Psychic-type Pokemon, that thing's basically my equivalent of a Psycho Cut."

The boy shifted again. "Sorry, ma'am..."

He immediately perked up. "Wait, what does that mean I have? Dragon type powers? Steel type powers?"

Polly frowned slightly. "Sorry kid, they sadly aren't quite that varied in us humans. Tell you what, if you want to find out, why don't you try making something with your powers like I did?"

The boy beamed, and cupped his hands, only to notice all three of his mother, Polly, and Polly's Dunsparce moving back noticeably.

"...Why are you all doing that?"

"I-It's so we have a good view, sweetie!" said his mother.

~Nice save,~ said Polly to her telepathically.

D-Don't get in my head like that!

~You're welcome.~

The boy concentrated, grit his teeth as a ball of blue-green energy formed between his hands and grew larger and larger until-

It exploded. The house rattled, the mother flinched and yelped as a pot fell off a table and shattered right next to her. The boy was blown back, knocked to the floor and lay there breathing heavily a while before muttering:

"...I'm OK..."

"Well," said Polly. "There we have it."

She turned to the boy's mother again.

"Your son has the most potential with the brand of Aura closest to that of Fighting types I've ever seen in someone his age; that would've been a damn good approximation of a Focus Blast if he'd managed to fully charge it."

She looked back to the boy and furrowed her brow.

"...The bad news is he also has the least refined powers of anyone on that part of the power spectrum I've ever seen."

The boy's mother blinked. "And that means...?"

"We can train him."

"...What?"

"The Aura Guardians seek to hone the potential of everyone with the power of the Wave to live their lives to the fullest. That includes your son."

"I..."

The boy's mother paused. "I... I'm not sure what to do... After we lost Issac..."

"Mom... I... I want to."

The boy's mother turned to see him getting to his feet.

"If they're gonna accept my powers... Make me stronger... I want them to help me.

His mother stared, then nodded and smiled.

Polly smiled as well. "Good; we'll get you up to the monastery in a few months."

Her brow furrowed again.

"Though... Geez, sorry it slipped my mind until now, but what's your name, kid?"

The boy smiled softly.

"It's Aaron!"

------------

The forest was dim at sunset; the Pidgey and Starly were retreating to their roosts as the Hoothoot and Murkrow were emerging from theirs. Amid it all, however, in a small clearing, one avian Pokemon stayed groundbound and vigilant - A Blaziken with an X-shaped scar on his forehead watching over a small, blue-and-black egg nestled in a shallow burrow.

The Blaziken raised his haunches as he sensed something approaching, but relaxed upon his sharp eyes seeing it was a familiar female Lucario and gave a beaky smile.

"...Hey honey. It's not your turn yet."

"I know, Ginji," said the female Lucario, "I just wanted to check in."

"Well, I think it's doing all right... I don't have Flame Body or Magma Armor or anything, but I'm keeping it warm."

He stood up and looked at her, rubbing the back of his head.

"Though, could you use those Aura powers of yours to check? Mine are only good for ol' punches and kicks and such..."

She nodded, her eyes closing and the feelers on the back of her head raising as she focused on the egg. She suddenly opened her eyes and gasped.

"It's close! Very close! It could hatch any-"

"Hey!" said a third voice, "Sis, you're supposed to be on hunting du-"

The source of the voice, a second, male Lucario, entered the clearing and sneered at Ginji.

"Why are you with him right now?"

She scowled back. "He's my mate. Our egg is about to hatch."

The male Lucario rolled his eyes. "Right. Tell that hybrid thing when it hatches it's no more a real part of our pack than his wingless chicken-eagle of a fa-"

He was cut off mid sentence by said chicken-eagle standing right in front of him, looming over him and giving his own scowl.

"Okay, listen, buddy," said Ginji. "You nepotist canines can literally dogshit on me anytime you want normally, but me and my mate are having an important moment here. So fuck off, unless you want all that Taurosshit about me being a threat to the pack to not be such Taurosshit for you specifically."

The second Lucario backed away, stooped with raised haunches, and gave a defiant snarl before dashing off.

"G-Ginji..." said the female. "He's going to tell the others about this..."

"Eh, they always come up with something, this makes zilch difference," he said. "Let's just focus on-"

Suddenly, they heard a loud cracking. The two rushed over just in time for the egg to fall apart and reveal a small, undeveloped and yipping Riolu pup, its eyes closed.

"They made it!" said the female Lucario. "We did it!"

"Heh, we did! Now let's check on the little fella more closely..."

He scooped up the yipping pup in his foretalons and held him up to inspect his hindquarters.

"It looks like a male. We might find out otherwise later, but for now he's our little boy."

The female Lucario smiled and looked up to Ginji. "Will he have a human name like yours?"

"I'm debating it. Might be a good idea, might not be."

The Riolu pup snuggled up to Ginji's chest as he gave another beaky smile.

"For now, I don't care what the rest of this pack says. This little guy's going places."

***

And there it is! Future updates are incoming about weekly or so until this board is caught up with everywhere else, after which it'll update as I get to it.

[Umbramatic]

Here's Chapter 2, where we start to learn learn how psychic and aura bullshit actually works.

Chapter 2: Initiation

The cart rattled and shook, and Aaron braced himself. He took a deep breath, and looked around at the other children, about as nervous and confused as he was. He was about to ask where exactly they were going, but got the feeling from more than just his Aura senses that most of the others didn't know either. What he could tell was that many came from far from his home, and far from theirs as well.

And then the Rapidash pulling the cart finally stopped. The kids quickly but nervously filed out. Aaron was last, and gazed up at where they had arrived.

Before them was a huge stone monastery, built into the mountain. Its spires and columns loomed over Aaron and made him feel small - not that that was a foreign feeling. He cowered slightly as they were led inside, through winding hallways, and finally into a courtyard, where the woman who had recruited him stood. Once all the children had gathered there she paced stoically before them.

"Before you kids all crawl off to your barracks and attempt to get comfy," said Polly, "I've been put in charge of giving you a rundown of what you're here for, so sit your asses tight until I'm done!"

Aaron gulped.

"She said a bad word..." whispered one of the children.

"So," said Polly. "Can any of you kids tell me what Aura is?"

A child raised their hand. "It's a kind of life force, right?"

"Correct," said Polly. "All living beings have it in some form, and in particular in combination with other forces it's what gives Pokemon their powers! Their individual Auras express themselves in tandem with the Pokemon's biology to give them their typings and attacks."

She held up her palm and conjured a pink orb. "But sometimes, certain humans, like me and all of you, can tap into those same forces. The only known ways they crop up correspond loosely to the powers of certain Fighting, Ghost, Psychic, and Dark types. Now can anyone tell me what the terms for these powers in humans are?"

Another child raised their hand. "Aura, Psychokinesis, and the two kinds of Obscura, right?"

"Correct," said Polly. "Aura is just called Aura because among most people it's thought to be the only "real" kind of Auric power. Any actual Aura Guardian or even hedge Auric knows that's bullshit."

She sighed. "Of course, we're here to educate you. But that's not all we're doing."

She brandished her staff. "We're Aura Guardians, who use our powers to defend the weak and innocent! Granted, we can't really go it alone..."

She tapped the staff on the ground. A sphere of light emerged from the crystal at its tip, growing and stretching to congeal as a Metagross. The children gasped, murmuring among each other as the Metagross looked them over.

"This is Metagross, one of my Pokemon partners. Your powers alone won't be able to get out of every scrape. For the rest, you have your Pokemon. And they're especially helpful because if it comes to a human against a Pokemon, the Pokemon always wins."

One of the kids piped up. "I can take your Metagross!"

"Really?" said Polly, smirking. "Come up here."

The child did so, fists swinging eagerly.

"Now hit him," said Polly. "With your powers, preferably."

The child, without hesitation, yelled and rushed Metagross, their hands glowing. Without removing his eyes from Aaron, Metagross immediately sidestepped, knocked the child over with one of his legs, then pinned them to the ground telekinetically. The child just kind of stared upward, slowly registering their defeat, before Metagross let them go and they ran hurriedly and sheepishly back into the crowd.

"And that is why you kids need training! This is why you need partners!" said Polly. "Sure you could make it on your own if you got lucky, but as you are?" You'd be dead the moment you cross any human or Pokemon enough, powers or no. And I nor anyone else here could bear to have that happen."

The children had fallen into stunned silence. Aarons stared in horror. The Metagross kept watching.

"Anyway, that is your first lesson," said Polly.. "I'll take you to Vince and he'll show you to your dormorotories."

She walked off. The children silently shuffled after. Aaron remained where he was a long while before realizing he should probably get going and started to head after.

It was then he noticed the Metagross was still staring at him.

"Uh... Hi?"

He almost jumped out of his boots upon hearing the voice of a reply in his head.

~Hey. Are you OK, kid?~

"Uh, y-yeah, I'm OK... Wait, you can talk? But you're a Pokemon!"

~All Pokemon can talk. Just only some of them in a way most humans can understand.~

"Woah, that's so cool!" said Aaron, eyes sparkling. He paused, then looked in the direction Polly went. "Why was Polly so mean? She was nice before..."

~Polly's like that. I've known her since she was a child.~

"Really? You gotta tell me more!"

~Not right now, kid,~ said Metagross, starting to trudge off. ~I have things to do.~

"Wait! But there's so much I wanna know!"

~Due time, rookie, due time.~

And Metagross walked away. Aaron paused, sighed, then scurried off after the others.

---------------

In the forest, the trees swayed, the branches shook. On a clearing the Riolu stood with his father.

"Alright, then!" said Ginji. "Today I'm going to teach you some important things, things the rest of the pack would rather I not."

The Riolu shuffled nervously. "What, Dad?"

Ginji made a dramatic flourish with his claws.

"About humans!"

Riolu blinked. "What are those?"

Ginji shrugged. "On the immediately visible end, not much. Weird two-legged apes that aren't even Pokemon and only rarely even know any attacks of like... Four types. Some more cynical Pokemon say Arceus messed up some perfectly good monkey mons."

Riolu tilted his head. "Then why do I have to learn about them, Dad?"

"Because despite all that, they're special! They create things and ideas it takes ages for most Pokemon to figure out! They're masters of tactical thinking! And most importantly of all we Pokemon made a special promise to them! One of friendship!"

"A... Promise?"

Ginji grabbed a stick and started drawing in the dirt. "Long ago, humans first came to this world, and they and Pokemon were divided. Then one day, in the Sinnoh region, there was a great meeting! One where humans and Pokemon came to terms, and decided to help and not hurt one another."

By now he had drawn a circle in the dirt.

"This agreement was known as The Vow; a promise to work toward humans and Pokemon being stronger together than apart."

He drew a line through the circle, then a smaller circle in the center.

"Wow..." said Riolu.

He then noticed the top half of the bigger circle was somehow red.

"...Dad? How did you get color with a stick?"

Ginji winked. "I learned it from my old Trainer."

"Trainer?"

"That's part of the Vow, son. Human Trainers use their quick wits to coach teams of Pokemon in sporting battles and other activities! It's really fun!"

"Wow!" said Riolu.

He frowned. "Why don't you have a Trainer anymore?"

Ginji looked at him for a minute, then sighed.

"The Vow's not perfect, son. My old Trainer, he... He died trying to protect me from another Pokemon."

"Oh..." said Riolu.

He paused, then cautiously went up and hugged his dad's leg. "I'm sorry, Dad..."

Ginji smiled. "Heh, thanks, son. Now come on, we've got to go do hunting and battle practice with your mom."

"Okay dad!"

And they headed off.

***

[Umbramatic]

And here's Chapter 3! Where our protagonists discover they've got a long hill to climb:


Chapter 3: Freaks


As Aaron entered the barracks, he looked around to find the other kids bunched together, being directed by an Aura guardian with scruffy blonde hair and dark skin.


"Alright kids, single file line while I sort you into your dorms, and no funny business! I've got enough bullshit to deal with."


Aaron quickly complied, disappearing within the crowd.


The mass grew smaller and smaller as more and more kids were sorted. Finally it was Aaron's turn. The Aura Guardian - who Aaron assumed was Vince - looked him over oddly before thumbing to a nearby room.


"M8."


Aaron's eyes drifted over to a room labeled M8. Silently wondering why he didn't get one of the higher-up rooms, he quickly headed towards it.


Inside he found a pale. black-haired boy staring off into space and grumbling, a Scyther observing him.


"Hello?" said Aaron.


The boy looked over. "What do YOU want?" he said. The Scyther took notice and chittered, pacing the flat a scythe on his knee. The boy noticed and sighed. "Sorry..."


"It's... All right?" said Aaron. "Are we gonna live together now?"


"Yeah duh. We aren't the only ones though."


"Not the only ones...?"


"Boo!"


Aaron yelped and whipped around. Behind him was a girl with maroon hair and decently dark skin, in particularly ragged clothing. Her teeth seemed unusually sharp, and she was giving him a manic look.


"Ha! Got you good!"


She also had the strangest accent Aaron had ever heard. What could ever-


"In case you're wondering," said the boy. "Callie was raised by Necrozma cultists."


"For Necrozma!" Callie said in response. A small, gray and black salamander-like Pokemon skittered up her body to her shoulder and gave a hissy chuckle.


"Anyway," said the other boy, "I'm Louis. "The Scyther's Rook, the Salandit is Munchkin."


"I'm Aaron!" said Aaron. Nice to meet you all!"


"Just be glad you haven't met the other two residents of this dorm yet," said Louis.


"Other two?"


At that point there was a roar, and a girl with wild hair and broken glasses leaped at Aaron. Aaron yelped and leaped out of the way, and was faced with the girl and a Pawniard that was waving its blades wildly in no particular direction.


"You're in my territory," said the girl.


"Atta! Stabby! He's just the new kid!" said Louis.


Atta looked Aaron over and snarled. "You live."


Stabby moved his blades in an "I'm watching you" motion.


Aaron gulped.


"Anyway!" said Callie to Aaron. "Do you have a Pokemon?"


"Me?" said Aaron. "I don't... Always wanted one but could never make friends with one..."


"Mabye they just don't like your personality," said Louis.


"You're one to talk," said Atta.


"H-Hey!" said Louis. "I have Rook, don't I?"


The Scyther gave a buzzy sigh.


"Okay!" said Callie, pointing. "Your bunk is over there."


Aaron looked over to a ragged old bed, and lay down in it to get some rest, which translated to staring upward as his roommates bickered.


So much for making friends.


--------------


It was mealtime in what Aaron assumed to be a mess hall. Bored-looking Aura Guardians served food of varying quality to the hungry children and Pokemon, who quickly moved to their seats. Aaron moved to sit with his bunkmates and their Pokemon, only to see they were a ways off from the others.


"What's going on?" said Aaron, blinking.


"People don't like sitting next to us," said Louis, Rook chittering in confirmation.


"Except her!" said Callie.


"Her...?" said Aaron, looking over.


A black-haired girl approached the table, looking around nervously, before sitting down with the group. A Gligar followed shortly after.


"Hey guys..."


"Hi!" said Aaron.


The girl blinked. "You're new."


The Gligar snickered.


"I'm Aaron, and yep I'm new!"


"...I'm Eve. Guess I'm not the new kid at the freak table anymore."


"Huh? Why are we freaks?"


"It's a long story, but seems you've already been marked as one by association," said Louis. "Also what happened with you and Polly."


"Huh? I can't be a freak! I was always a freak at home! I came here to not be a freak!"


"Tough luck," said Atta.


"Kids are cruel," said Callie, shrugging as Munchkin snuck bits of food.


Aaron groaned, and the Gligar chuckled at him further."Cut it out, Iuroidea," said Eve to the Gligar. Iuroidea reluctantly stopped.


"Now what do I do?" said Aaron.


"Do what we do. Survive." said Louis.


"Or join Necrozma!" said Callie.


"You don't really need to convert every new person, Callie," said Eve.


Callie tilted her head. "I... Don't?"


"This is the tenth time I've told you this."


Callie just stared. Her eyes glazed over. A whip from Munchkin's tail snapped her back to reality. "Isn't this food great?" she said.


Aaron looked at his plate and then Callie's. His had decent-looking vegetables and potatoes, but hers... What even was that?


~Don't question it,~ said a voice in Aaron's head.


Aaron blinked, then looked over to Eve. She winked.


Right, Aaron thought. Everyone has powers here. I'm at least not alone in that sense. Though...


"Uh..." said Aaron. "Weird question, what powers do you guys have?"


In response, Louis held up a ball of orange Aura. Callie wove wisps of Spectral Obscura through her fingers. Atta snarled and conjured Dark Obscuric claws. Eve sent a telepathic message of ~You already know.~


"Right," said Aaron. My powers are more like Louis', here, watch..."


He started charging a ball of Aura between his palms. He focused on it, containing it.


Then the power suddenly swelled. The sphere swelled. Aaron couldn't contain it any longer.


BAM!


Aaron was knocked to the ground. His food was sent flying. Everyone stared.


Everyone then laughed.


"Well, if you weren't with us in the freak club before you certainly are now," said Louis.


Aaron just lay there panting.


--------------------


That night, Aaron lay in his bed, listening to the others in his bunk. Lewis muttered obscenities in his sleep. Callie muttered incantations to Necrozma. Atta simply snarled. Their Pokemon seemed to be the only ones who slept normally.


Aaron thought to himself. His first day here... Hadn't gone so well. Polly had humiliated him, her Metagross had refused to help, he was immediately lumped with the "freak" kids, and he humiliated himself again trying to bond with them. Was the entire time going to be like this?


No. He couldn't let that happen. He'd find a way to improve things. He just needed to figure out a way how.


~~~~


In the forest, light dappled in the trees as a Riolu approached a Lucario.


"Hey mom," said the Riolu.


"Hello, son," said the Lucario. "Today you're going to learn how to hunt."


Riolu rubbed his paws together awkwardly. "That means I have to... Kill, right?"


"Yes. It is what we must do to survive. However... Your Auric abilities will make it painful to bring harm to another without training. So getting practice in this early is essential."


Riolu nodded and looked around. "So... What do I have to do?"


"There is a Buneary denning further into these bushes. You must kill it and bring it back to me."


Riolu looked over hesitantly to the bushes in question and headed in.


------------


It was quiet except for the rustling leaves. Riolu could sense life with the feelers on the sides of his head, and it drew him further in. Eventually, he reached a burrow nestled in the fallen foliage, and he stood and waited.


Eventually a Buneary poked their head out, sniffing the air with their small, moist nose. They slowly, cautiously crept out and looked around.


That's when Riolu lunged with a Force Palm.


The Buneary gave a yell and tried to dodge, but the Force Palm managed to connect, causing them to fall over. Riolu recoiled from the empathic feedback, but pounced on the Buneary as they screamed, attempting to bite their throat. The Buneary suddenly gave a kick with their powerful legs and flipped the grappling Pokemon over so the Buneary was on top.


Instinctively, Riolu tried to kick the Buneary's side. Suddenly, Riolu's leg erupted into flame as he kicked the Buneary's torso with a sickening crack. The Buneary was sent flying with a pained scream before crashing, and trying to crawl and limp away. Riolu recovered from the empathetic shock and wondering what it was he'd even done before dashing over and giving a Force Palm straight to the Buneary's neck. He recoiled. The Buneary fell limp.


Riolu gasped and panted, clutching his body from the amount of feedback aches he felt. It was a while before he had recovered enough to slowly drag the Buneary out of the bushes.


---------------


Eventually Riolu managed to drag the dead Buneary out to his mother. She smiled.


"Good job! Excellent you got it on your first try."


"Thanks... Now what do I do with it?"


"Shouldn't it be obvious? You eat it."


Riolu stared down at the dead Buneary. Then at his mother. Then at the dead Buneary. Then at his mother. Then at the dead Buneary. Before finally digging in.


It was... Good. Better than the dry scraps he usually got, or even his mother's milk. He had blood all over his face but he was enjoying it.


His father approached. "Oh hey, I see you got one!"


"I did," said Riolu, looking up from his meal.

Seeing them both, he was reminded of something. "Mom, Dad? When I was kicking that Buneary to kill it, my leg caught on fire! But it didn't hurt at all! What does that mean?"


His mother's eyes widened. Ginji gave a beaky bird grin. "Well then! You learned one of my moves!"


"...I... Did?"


"Pokemon can learn moves passed down from their parents," said his mother. "Even if they're of different species."


"Yes! And you got my Blaze Kick!" said Ginji.


"...Huh, wow," said Riolu. "Guess I'll do it again sometime!"


He then resumed digging into the Buneary while his parents conversed.


"Should he use that move around the pack?" said his mother.


"He'll be alright." said Ginji. "If anyone gives him trouble they'll have to deal with me."


"You can't intimidate them forever."


"...I know. But I'll do whatever it takes to protect you both."


Eventually Riolu finished his meal and joined his parents, who headed back to the pack.


--------------


Riolu sat by himself, poking at rocks. It's usually what he had to do when his parents weren't immediately available - all the other Riolu avoided him for some reason. Every time he tried interacting with them they'd just move away or mutter something about their parents not letting them. Or both.


His ears perked up. Was that his mom?


He headed over, clambering over a few rocks and pushing through a few bushes to get there. When he found his mother, however, he saw she was facing another Lucario - an old, scarred individual most of the rest of the pack knew to stay away from.


"You! You've been a burden for as long as this pack's existed! You hunt less, you keep watch less, you train less!"


Hey! That wasn't true. Riolu checked, his mom did all those more than everyone else!


"And now you're cavorting with your birdbrain mate and your freak offspring!"


His dad wasn't a birdbrain. He wasn't a freak.


...Was he?


"Your overgrown pile of feathers you call a mate can't protect you two forever! Someday judgement's gonna come down! Hell, it may very well be from me! Ha!"


That does it.


Riolu's leg erupted into flame. He rushed forward and began kicking the old, scarred Lucario in the legs as he howled in agony. His mother quickly grabbed him and started running away as the old, scarred Lucario yelled after them clutching his leg.


"Freak! Freak! Freak!"


---------------


"And you what?" said Ginji, in a forest clearing with his family a bit later.


"I... I used your move... I just didn't want him to hurt you and mom..."


"That bag of bones? He's too old and lame to do anything but make threats. If I was aware he was harassing your mom I would have busted him in short order, so you should have gotten me."


"Dear," said Riolu's mom, "You really don't have to deal with every member of the pack who-"


"Yes I do!" said Ginji. "I care about you two! You're the only family I have after what happened to my Trainer!"


He paused, panted heavily. "I... I'm sorry, I got ahead of myself..."


"...Dad? Thank you."


"Thank you for everything Ginji."


Ginji paused. Then carefully pulled the other two into a hug.


------------


The old, scarred Lucario was limping back to the rest of the pack.


"Oh, just wait until the alphas hear about this!" he said. "That damn bird will be history!"


It was then he noticed a distinct glow in his Aura senses, but couldn't ascertain its exact location.

"Eh? Who's that?"


His Aura feelers flared as he tried to pinpoint the source.


It was then he realized the source was right on top of him.


Claws and teeth dug in, rending limbs in spurts of blood. Fire burnt into flesh, loosening it from bone.


The old Lucario screamed.


***

Gruesome.

Also! I should note here some of the fic's characters are inspired by those from the We Are All Pokemon Trainers community, and these characters have been loosely based on some of those from said community, with the gracious permission of their owners. While these characters themselves are mine they are still close enough to cameos I ought to credit the ones I based them on. In order of debut:

-Vince, based on Vierr by BittersweetNSour

-Louis and Rook, based on Lucius and Bishop by Herbert40k

-Atta, based on Jetta by Pres_Stalkeyes

-Eve and Irodea, based on Lillith and Sasorina by DarkerShining

Callie and Munchkin are also based on things but not from WAAPT. I presume people will kill me when they figure out who.

[Umbramatic]

Forgot to add this last time but have a Ginji by DeliriousAbsol!


----------------------


Have a bonus chapter! This is a tie-in to the Missing Mod Madness event on the Serebii.net forums. It is, however, designed to be understandable to those outside said forums. It is also 100% canon. Seriously.


Bonus Chapter 1: Missing Polly Madness


Carol was having a good day.

The Psychic Aura Guardian was carrying some books, getting ready to teacjh her students about Pokemon and Aura matchups, and had several things in mind. Grass vs. Poison, Ice vs. Flying, and oh, her favorite, Psychic vs. Fighting... She needed to show her friend Polly!

She looked around. Wait, where was Polly?

She put down her books and got to searching. She looked in empty domrorotories, in the cafeteria, in the library... Nothing.No sign of her.

This was bad. She needed to find someone.

Quickly she located Vince, who had just finished sorting some kids into their dorms. ~Vince?~ she said telepathically, ~Have you seen Polly?~

"Last I heard she was giving these kids their initiation," said Vince. "Why?"

~Well she's not anywhere now. I checked.~

Vince shrugged. "Check more?"

~Vince you terrible wizard I already did,.~

Vince winced at the "terrible wizard" moniker. "Are you ever going to let me live that down?"

~No.~

Vince sighed. "Fine, I'll help you look."

Carol dragged Vince everywhere around the massive monastery, and they checked and double-checked everything. Still nothing.

"This is bad," said Vince.

~Indubitably so.~, said Carol.

"We need backups."

From their staffs they summoned a Honchkrow and Gothitelle.

"Henry!" said Vince. "Scan the area from the air!"

~Lovegood!~ said Carol. ~Scan the area psychically!~

Lovegood the Gothitelle nodded. Henry the Honchkrow gave a shrill cackle. The two Pokemon searched the area around the monastery much as their Trainers did. Still, they returned to said Trainers empty-handed.

"Ah fuck," said Vince.

~Language,~ said Carol.

"Look, that's not the point," said Vince. "Maybe Ryan knows where she went to."

Carol thought to herself a bit. Ryan was the leader of the Genesis Mountain Aura Guardians. If anyone knew where Polly was, it would be him.

~Yeah, we should ask him.~

They made their way to Ryan's quarters. Ryan, a dark-skinned man with short, curly hair, sat writing notes on some document while his loyal Swampert slept nearby. Upon the arrival of Vince and Carol, the Swampert yawned and stretched while Ryan looked up and raised an eyebrow.

Dragon Pulse"Let me guess, need something?" said Ryan. "That's about all anyone talks to me for these days."

"Er, yes, actually." said Vince. "You see-"

~Polly's missing,~ said Carol.

"...Polly? She was always a free spirit but I wouldn't expect her to disappear so suddenly," said Ryan. "Something's up."

"That's what we're saying!" said Vince, before Carol nudged him.

"We need to work together. You two and your Pokemon come with me."

The group left the monastery side-by-side, heading into the mountain forests as Lovegood and Ryan scanned the area with their Psychic and Auric senses. Henry needled Ryan's Swampert with taunting jeers, which the Swampert ignored.

Suddenly, the group leaders stopped.

~I sense something big up ahead,~ said Lovegood telepathically.

"So do I." said Ryan. Prepare yoursel-"

the A Dragon Pulse was shot in Ryan's direction. Ryan quickly used Detect to get out of the way, and the group turned toward the source.

A glowing blue and white webbed portal lay before them, and emerging from the portal was a purple, almost insectoid dragon. The dragon gave a literally unearthly screech and charged.

Immediately Lovegood threw up a Protect. Henry dived in for a Night Slash as Vince conjured his own Night Slash blades. Carol hit the dragon's brain with a psychic assault while Ryan's Swampert and Ryan himself both hit it with Brick Breaks.

The dragon was pummeled by the group assault and let out another screech. Through the portal came several smaller purple creatures with spouts on their heads, and all sprayed toxic sludge in the direction of the Aura Guardians.

Vince cut through the incoming sludge with his blades, while Carol and Lovegood deflected it with psychic power. Ryan, his Swampert, and Henry weren't so lucky,being doused in sticky fluid.

"This is going to be a pain to clean off," said Ryan, who quickly fired an Aura Sphere at the flock of small purple creatures. His Swampert roared and tackled the dragon, the two wrestling as Henry divebombed the smaller purple creatures.

Suddenly another portal opened and from it emerged Polly and her Metagross and Dunsparce. Metagross immediately blasted the dragon and its companion creatures with a Psychic while Dunsparce fired Thunderwaves and Polly herself fired small projectile Psyshocks.

The dragon screeched and finally gave in, diving back into the portal from whence it came, the smaller purple creatures following. The portal closed after them.

"You all alright?" said Polly.

"More or less," said Vince. "What happened to you?"

"Got drafted into solving some weird crisis in another world. Stuff about living stories and people called "mods.""

~It's a long story we'll have to explain when we get back,~ said Metagross.

Dunsparce gave a hiss and a nod.

~Other worlds?~ said Carol. ~Do those even exist?~

"They do," said Ryan. "I suspect Polly leaving our world temporarily weakened the boundaries between worlds long enough for those creatures to break through."

~Well at least we scared them off,~ said Lovegood.

"Anyway," said Vince. "Now that that's over can we just go back to the monastery and hear Polly's side of the story?"

"I'm happy to tell it," said Polly.

~Okay! Afterwards we can talk lesson plans!~ said Carol.

"Let's go home," said Ryan. "We could all use a break."

The Aura Guardians and their Pokemon all headed off.

Shortly after they left a purple creature popped its head out of the bushes and proceeded to follow their trail.


***

Carol and Lovegood based on Psyche and Selene by ConflictedPsyches


Ryan and his Swampert based on Tagg and Muddy by rmctagg09

[Umbramatic]

Some old art I haven't shared in this thread yet:

Our protagonists by autobottesla, ordered by Spiteful Murkrow (I imagine Aaron doesn't have the cape yet but everything else is 100% accurate and 200% adorable)

Polly and co. by the same artist except ordered by me

and Polly and her Dunsparce by our very own Dragonfree !

Well! Here's Chapter 4! In which we get to some worldbuilding on the Aaron end and peril on the Riolu end!

Chapter 4: All In The Type


It was time for the first day of training.


Aaron kept staring at the training dummy. It seemed to stare back. He looked around at the other kids and their Pokemon preparing. He was alone. He looked back at the training dummy and his hands glowed with Auric power. He yelled, rushed at the training dummy... and tripped, falling flat on his back.


"...Good grief," he said.


He hesitantly got back up and rushed the dummy again. This attempt was more successful, doing decent damage to the dummy. Smiling, he looked around for his companions. Louis and Rook were slicing up a dummy, Callie and Munchkin were pelting one with Obscura bolts and fire, Atta and Stabby were gnawing and stabbing at one, and Eve... Weird. She was lying on the ground clutching her head, with Iuroidea tending to her. Did she trip too? Maybe-


It was then Aaron noticed a shadow looming overhead. With dread he looked up. There was a blonde boy with spiky hair standing on the head of a massive Onix above him, crossing his arms and giving a not exactly friendly smug smile down.


"You! You're the new freak kid, right?" he said.


"Uh... No?"


"Bah! You think you can fool the mighty Gabriel? I'll show you!" He snapped his fingers. An explosion of Psychic power happened at Aaron's feet, knocking him back as he yelped. "Ha! Too easy," said Gabriel. "Let's try some more." A strange construct that seemed to resemble a Psyshock but spear-shaped appeared by his shoulder and fired down at Aaron, with Aaron yelping and rolling over to avoid it. "You're a fun one. Most people just run away and I have to bother chasing them. Not that that isn't funny either."

His Onix gave a strange whimper.

"Easy, Patricia, we're almost done with this one," said Gabriel. "Lean down a little will you girl?"

Patricia slowly moved her head down to ground level so Gabriel could get off, upon which he picked up Aaron by the scruff of his neck and held up his other hand, crackling with Psychic explosions, in Aaron's face. "You're just like the rest of them. Worthless. If you think you came here to have a good time, I'm here to teach you otherwise. Not any kid on the Auric Spectrum can be an Aura Guardian, and I'm gonna weed out the ones who can't. Like you."

He dropped Aaron and stormed off, Patricia looking at Aaron oddly for a few moments before following after. Aaron was hyperventilating on the ground until he saw Callie and Munchkin peering down at him.

"You okay?" said Callie. Or at least Aaron thought she said that, her accent was still always odd and unplaceable.

"No."

"Good! The Necrozmaists say adversity builds character!"

She helped him up. "But yeah, Gabriel is mean. He makes the Aura Spectrum look bad!" Munchkin hissed at her in agreement.

"What's wrong with him anyway?" said Aaron.

"Apparently he was from a rich family and got protected from how people usually treat us. And his powers are really strong! So he thinks he's better than everyone else!" said Callie. "I'd like to teach him the might of Necrozma!"

"Let's just try to avoid him for now..." said Aaron.


"Aww, okay," said Callie. "Come on, Ms. Carol is gonna teach us about type matchups! Maybe Munchkin can show off!"


Munchkin gave an excited hiss, and they all headed off.

----------------

The Aura Guardian trainees and their Pokemon gathered around a young adult woman Aura Guardian with a dark uniform, long wavy red hair, and green eyes. She surveyed the group until all had settled and then spoke up... telepathically.

~Alright kids! Carol here, and I'm going to teach you how to deal with type matchups! Who here has a Pokemon partner?~

Everyone but Aaron gestured to their partner or held them up. Aaron fidgeted nervously before addressing Louis.

"Why does she only talk like that?"


"She's mute," Louis said, whispering. "Can't speak with her mouth. Can't hear that well either. Something about an incident with a Pangoro. Don't know the rest, don't really care."

Aaron nodded before his gaze shifted back to Carol.

~Okay then!~ said Carol. ~Now, as you may know, Pokemon have different attributes called Types. These affect the sorts of Aura Spectrum powers Pokemon can produce - way more of them and with way more power than humans on the Auric Spectrum! This is helped by the fact that Pokemon produce an additional energy called Infinity Energy to power up their Auras, which can only be sensed in trace amounts in humans. Pokemon types are strong and weak against other types, depending on the type and type combination, and to demonstrate that...~

She paused, holding stock-still. There was a roar, and a Salamence descended from the air and approached Polly.

~Good girl,~ said Carol exclusively to the Salamence, scratching the dragon's cheek as she purred. ~Can you show off for these kids again?~

The Salamence winked and gave a quiet "Sal!"

~Alright,~ said Carol. ~Now I need, hmmm...~ She combed her finger through the audience until she reached a boy and his Cleffa. ~You! Bring me your Pokemon.~

The boy's eyes widened in shock. He looked around. Then, very hesitantly, he passed the squealing Cleffa to Carol. Carol placed the Cleffa down across from the Salamence, ignoring his "Clefs!" of protest. She quickly backed away.

~Becky! Use Outrage!~

Becky the Salamence roared as her entire body glowed green with dragonfire and she charged the Cleffa. The Cleffa covered his eyes and braced himself for impact. The dragon pummeled the Cleffa with claws and bites and headbutts. When the dragonfire died down and the dust cleared... nothing. The Cleffa was totally unscathed. He uncovered its eyes, looked up, gave a "clef!" of surprise at Becky still being there, and ran back to his Trainer, who hugged him.

~As you can see,~ said Carol, ~Type matchups - as well as things like Trainer and Pokemon creativeness and cleverness - are what really makes a battle. Not Pokemon strength.~

The gaggle of Trainees and their Pokemon started a bit before nodding. Carol smiled.

~But!~ said Carol. ~You will learn more in subsequent lessons! For now, you've got a history lesson with Polly! I'll take you to her!~

She and Becky, along with a Gothitelle she summoned from her staff, herded the kids toward the mountain.

----------------

Eventually the group of children were directed to Polly, alongside her Dunsparce and Metagross. Polly looked them over, then looked at Carol and her Pokemon. "You're good to go."

~Thanks!~ said Carol, and she, Becky, and her Gothitelle Lovegood exited.

"Alright," said Polly. "Time to teach you new kids some stuff about this place. Kids who have heard it before, don't try to sum it up please."

A few hands lowered.

Polly started leading the kids up the mountain, going on some winding pathways with tall trees and various signs of wild Pokemon. Eventually, the group came across a cliff overlooking something Aaron couldn't make out at first. When he got there, however, he stared in awe.

In the distance stood a mountain unlike anything Aaron had ever seen. It was massive, and shaped like a tree, clouds swirling around it. Aaron could barely make out glittering green crystals decorating the mountain's rocks.

"Say hello to the Tree Of Beginning," said Polly.

"Why is it like that?" asked Aaron.

"Long ago, the people and Pokemon of Kanto and Johto suffered a great famine. They begged the gods for help, and their calls were heeded by a Legendary from another land, who created the Tree to ward off famine and pestilence. Its crystals absorb energy from sunlight, and its roots as a result fertilize this whole area. The ecosystem around here depends on it."

"Wow..." said Aaron. Some of the other kids oohed and aahed as well.

"But don't dare venture inward; there are monsters inside the tree, and you know what they do to any human that visits?"

"...What?"

Polly suddenly got in Aaron's face with a wicked grin. "They eat them!"

Aaron screamed. And screamed, and screamed, and screamed for an unusually long time until Polly said "Kid, relax, relax, they're not going to get you."

"...Okay," said Aaron. The other kids giggled.

~Told you you shouldn't have done that~ said Metagross. ~Even if it was funny.~

Dunsparce snickered.

Polly sighed. "Anyway, the other hazard of the Tree is the Mew that lives there. The Tree can't sustain itself, so the Legendary created a lesser Legendary, a Mew, to keep it in balance. But the Mew is... Mischievous. It's known to cause a ruckus and spirit objects and even Pokemon away to the Tree."

~Legendaries in general aren't to be trusted.~

Dunsparce gave a hissy, irritated "sparce".

~For your information I do not mention that every time Legendaries come up, thank you very much.~

Polly sighed again and gestured with her staff to the region beyond the Tree. "Beyond the tree is the kingdom of Rota. It was founded by refugees from a great disaster about 2000 years ago. Since then they've grown to thrive, and are a valuable ally to us Genesis Mountain Aura Guardians. Any questions?'

The children were silent. Aaron tried to think of something to say, but couldn't just yet.

"Alright, back to the monastery, so you kids all can have lunch."

She and her Pokemon headed down the mountain, the children and their Pokemon heading after. Aaron followed along quietly for a while, then noticed another kid didn't have a Pokemon partner either. Aaron moved closer to him and noticed he not only had pink hair but pink clothes as well.

"Excuse me-"

The other child turned his head toward Aaron, holding a finger to his lips and winking. Aaron blinked. A Pokemon made a noise in the forest, causing Aaron's attention to turn to it briefly; when he turned back the other child was gone.

----------------------

"How long has it been stalking us?"

"Days, now. Ever since it first killed one of our own, possibly further."

"It seems to have acquired a taste for our kind's flesh..."

"What do we do, Grandfather Alpha?"

"Give me a moment to think..."

Riolu was listening in to all of this from behind a nearby boulder. There was a predator stalking the Lucario pack and he wanted to know more about it. He also wanted to do something about it but he also knew he wasn't strong enough... Maybe if he could-

"I sense an aura!"

"Behind that boulder!"

Oh no. Quickly he tried to get out of there, only to be grabbed by a Lucario and held aloft.

"Okay, whose pup is this?"

"...That would be ours."

Riolu awkwardly gestured to his parents. His mother sighed while Ginji shook his head.

"How much do you know, kid?"

"There's a predator killing pack members... we need to stop it..."

"Let him go," said Grandfather Alpha. "There is no harm in him knowing the truth; we were going to tell the other pups eventually."

The Lucario placed Riolu down, and he shook himself off. Grandfather Alpha sighed. "Now where were we?"

"The predator?" said a Lucario.

"Right. By the time anyone sees or Aura Senses it it's too late, but scorch marks on the remains it leaves behind indicate it's a Fire type. Therefore..."

He pointed toward Ginji. "You're probably our best bet for taking it down."
Ginji pointed to himself. "Me? And I thought you all didn't want me doing anything important."

"Those are the ignorant words of my children and their mates. This pack is family. No matter what."

Rilou's mother beamed.The other Lucario mumbled amongst themselves.

"You shall lead a team to take this predator down for the sake of our pack," said Grandfather Alpha. "I wish you luck."

"Don't worry, that predator's as good as gone."

Riolu looked between his father, mother, and Grandfather Alpha and then the other packmates, the latter of which were still grumbling among themselves, with concern.

----------------

That night, in a small cavern, Riolu was nestled up with his mother while Ginji was keeping watch. Riolu slowly got up and approached his father.

"Dad?"

"Yes, son?"

"Are you gonna be OK?"

"Well, I never know for sure. What exactly do you mean?"

"With this predator. Do you really think you can take it on?"

"Oh, that thing? Sure I can! It's just another Pokemon, and we Pokemon have strengths, weaknesses, all that that can be advantages and disadvantages. If you know how to use those, you're golden." He paused. "At least, that's what my old Trainer always taught me."

"Did you trust your old Trainer?"

"...Yes. While he was alive, more than anyone in the world."

"That's a lot."

"Yes. Yes it is."

"I trust you, Dad."

Ginji gave a bird smile. "Thanks, so-"

A yell echoed. Ginji stood at attention. Riolu's mother bolted upright.

"Riolu! Stay here!" said his mother.

"We'll take care of this!" said Ginji.

They bolted off.

Riolu, naturally, waited a bit before following.

---------------------------

He came across his parents in a battle for their lives. Nearby was a cowering Lucario. Before them was a large reptilian Pokemon, orange scales, large wings, and flaming tail illuminated by the moonlight. The Pokemon breathed jets of flame at Riolu's parents, Ginji zipping out of the way keeping him distracted with Speed Boosts, and his mother lobbing Aura Spheres at his head.

The predator roared and rushed the two. Riolu's mother lept aside while Ginji vaulted and delivered a kick to the predator's face. The predator roared in pain, and deciding his quarry wasn't worth the pursuit anymore, flew off into the night. The young Lucario the couple had saved ran back off into the night.

"Do you know what that is?" said Riolu's mother.

"Shit. It's a Charizard." said Ginji. "Powerful critters. Think they're apex predators of wherever they claim territory of. Suspect he's as much showing the pack who's boss as he is claiming meals."

"Do we tell the Alpha?" said Riolu's mother.

"Certainly." said Ginji.

They ran off into the night as well. Riolu quickly headed back to the cave, where the rest of the pack would be nearby.


***

[Umbramatic]

And here's Chapter 5! Do note this chapter is... kind of dark, and deals with subjects like vomiting, eye mutilation, and general blood and death.


Chapter 5: Don't Fear The Reaper


Aaron waited for the ball. And waited, and waited. The other kids and their Pokemon seemed intent to keep it away from him, the "freak" kids, and their Pokemon, but he certainly tried to get it. Finally, it sailed his way, and he reached, stretched, grabbed -


And it sailed down the mountain, bouncing down a gentle slope until it was out of sight amid the trees. Aaron started. Then looked at the other kids, who were staring at him. One piped up.


"You go get it!"


Aaron looked to the other "freak" kids and their Pokemon, who shrugged or did the Pokemon equivalent. Aaron groaned and started making his way down.


The bushes and shrubs seemed to claw at his face. He heard wild bird Pokemon squawk and fly away at his approach. Finally he found the ball and reached down for it.


It was then he noticed the ball had landed next to the disfigured corpses of an Aura Guardian and his Sawsbuck. The corpses had suffered various forms of abuse - fire, crushing, acid - and seemed relatively fresh. A Murkrow was in the process of plucking an eye from the Aura Guardian's skull and promptly swallowed it before eyeing Aaron warily.


Aaron stared in horror before vomiting the contents of his lunch earlier that day, forming a puddle next to the bodies, and after regaining his bearings slightly grabbing the ball and racing back to the monastery. As soon as he got back he haphazardly tossed the ball back to the other children - much to their confusion- before going to find Polly. Polly was reading on a bench in the monastery when Aaron found her. "Kid, what's up?" she said. "Why are you out of breath?"


"Dead Aura Guardian... In the woods... His Pokemon too..."


Polly's look grew grave. "Show me."


Aaron took Polly out to the woods, down the slope and through the trees, until they reached the dead bodies. Polly looked at them in shock. "Dale... No..." She looked around. "No sign of Melissa but we'd have to search... Kid? You're going back to the monastery."


Aaron nodded and headed back once again, but the image of Dale and his Sawsbuck's dead bodies were thoroughly burnt into his mind.


---------------


Polly now had two other Aura Guardians gathered with her around the corpses with their Pokemon: Vince, a Dark Obscuric, with his Honchkrow Henry, and Ryan, leader of the Genesis Mountain Aura Guardians, with his Swampert. Polly's Metagross was there too, analytically scanning the bodies. Henry tried to peck at Dale's Sawsbuck's remains when Vince gave him a stern look and he backed off with a disappointed coo.


"Did Aaron see any sign of who did this?" said Ryan.


"Not at all," said Polly. "Kid just stumbled upon them playing ball."


"Can you track them, Ryan, Metagross?" said Vince.


"I would," said Ryan, "But someone's been good about covering their tracks."


~It's likely they teleported out somehow,~ said Metagross.


"And Melissa and her Luxray are missing too..." said Polly.


~No sign of them either,~ said Metagross. Ryan's Swampert shifted uneasily.


"Shit," said Vince. "This isn't good. At all. Someone's after us and we don't know who."


"We need to fortify our defenses in case whoever did this strikes again," said Ryan. And we're going to have to investigate this event as much as we can." He turned to Polly and Vince. "We three will head the investigation team. I will ask Nightjar for help as well."


"I'll ask Carol and Hannah then," said Polly.


Vince groaned. "Hannah? Really?"


Polly frowned. "She's perfectly qualified for this," said Polly. "Plus she's our friend."


"You and Carol's friend, maybe," said Vince. "She's too bubbly and picks on me and gets on my nerves."


"Be mature, Vince," said Ryan. "I trust Polly's judgement and so should you."


"Alright, fine," said Vince.


Henry snickered. So did Ryan's Swampert. Even Metagross joined in. Vince gave them all harsh looks.


It was then, however, that Metagross turned to the others. ~There is one thing I sensed I should note.~


"What is it?" said Polly.


~One of the murderers had powers like your own.~


---------


Aaron had spent all day thinking about the bodies and being pestered by the other about the interruption of the ball game and subsequent involvement of Polly and further subsequent security lockdown of the monastery for several hours. He wanted to sleep. He ignored the noises made by his bunkmates as he climbed into bed.


Was he gonna be okay? His mother said Dialga would always protect him, and he believed that with all his heart. But his father had believed the same thing and... and...


He tried to push the memories out of his mind and as always they came back stronger and stronger until exhaustion claimed him.


---------


Aaron woke up in a place that was definitely not his room. He looked around to find himself in a red cavern of sorts, with black veins crisscrossing it. He immediately froze when he saw what was perched at the end of the cavern.


There before him, with massive wings, crooked talons, and sharp beak, was her. The dread Yveltal, death and destruction goddess of Kalos.


~Well,~ she said. ~Isn't this a wonderful first meeting?~


She can talk like Metagross does? thought Aaron. Probably because she's a goddess...


~You are correct,~ said Yveltal.


Aaron gulped. "I-I guess you can hear me no matter what..."


~Also correct!~


"What are you here for?"


~To warn you my dear...~ She leaned in close - uncomfortably close - and gave a beaky grin. ~You know full well your first encounter with death wasn't with the corpses in the woods. And those will be far from your last encounters either.~


"I... I..."


~You have a long road ahead of you, Aaron. Just remember - Death is inescapable. Even if it doesn't find you... You'll just find it.~


She suddenly lunged, talons bared. Aaron screamed and tried to shield himself with his arms.


-----


He woke up in a cold sweat, not bolting upright but panting, feeling paralyzed. Eventually the numbness wore off and he sat up, staring off into space, before collapsing again and waiting for dawn to come.


-----------


The next morning, Aaron was sitting by himself, exhausted, despite the insistence rom the other members of his group to join them.


"Are you sure you don't wanna have breakfast?" said Callie.


"We know you like grits," said Eve.


"I'm... Fine," said Aaron.


"Whatever then," said Louis.


"Let's just go," said Atta.


The four left, their Pokemon looking back and chittering amongst themselves with concern. Aaron just kind of stared after until he heard a telepathic voice in his head.


~You okay kid?~


Aaron jumped before realizing that the voice was not Yveltal's but that of Polly's Metagross next to him. ~Polly wanted me to check up on you after yesterday and, well, I always feel sorry for you humans easily.~


"Er yes, I'm totally, absolutely... Not okay. I had a nightmare last night."


~After seeing what you did I don't blame you. That said you probably should eat. Not eating's hell on the anxiety, I should know after knowing Polly all her life.~ He paused. ~Don't tell her I said that.~


Despite himself Aaron managed a snicker. "I won't!"


~Good. Now come on, let's go eat with your friends. I can definitely convince them to give you food if they say you're late.~


Aaron smiled. "Thanks."


He followed Metagross out.


---------


The small purple creature watched the small biped and large quadruped head off from their hiding place. It couldn't understand the words of the creatures of this dimension, though was starting to pick up a few. What they did know was that the place the two were going had food.


Stealthily, the purple creature floated after them. It floated through a gap in a window and looked around a small room. Suddenly, a noise. The purple creature hid as a biped entered the room, looked around, picked something up, and left. In its wake the creature noticed it had dislodged a small, green and red sphere from a nearby box. They inspected it, then tasted it. It was edible, success. The purple creature nibbled happily on their newfound prize.

---------------


A number of Lucario were gathered around Ginji.


"What's the plan, birdbrain?" said one.


"We're going to corner the thing in its den," said Ginji, "and I'll be at the center holding it off while we all take it down."


"What if it goes after us?" said another Lucario. "With those fire attacks we're toast! Literally!"


"My job is to make sure that doesn't happen," said Ginji. "Now come on."


The group stalked off into the forest, Ginji keeping his sharp eyes peeled while the Lucario had their Aura feelers flared. Eventually, the group reached what appeared to be a den. They stood stock still and silent while Ginji scanned it.


"Okay," he said, whispering. "We're going to quietly go in there and-"


"Look out!" shouted a Lucario.


Ginji looked over just in time to see the Charizard ram into him from the side rather than from the entrance to the den. The Charizard attempted to bite down on Ginji with a Crunch and managed to injure his shoulder, but not before Ginji could sock him in the jaw with an Aura-infused punch. The Charizard was further annoyed by being pelted with Aura Spheres from the assorted Lucario, before flying upward and launching a Heat Wave, which caused the Lucario to quickly fall back. Ginji wasn't so phased and hurled a rock at the Charizard, hitting him badly and causing him to swoop out of view.


"Yeah, that's right, run away, you overgrown reptil- urk!"


A wicked sharp blade of air left a massive, bleeding gash across Ginji's chest. As he fell over, bleeding out, the Charizard lunged at the Lucario group, as they attempted to dart out of the way. One took advantage of the chaos to hurl another rock at the Charizard's wing with a sickening crack, causing him to roar in pain and trample off for real this time. The Lucario then turned to the badly bleeding Ginji.


"Oh no... What the hell do we do?"


"Do we just... Leave him?"


"Father Alpha would be furious... We bring him back. See if he can be saved..."


They picked up the still-bleeding Ginji and hauled him, dripping with blood the whole way, back to the pack. Riolu and his mother noticed their return and gasped in horror.


"G-Ginji!"


"Dad!"


They rushed over to his side, Ginji looking at them weakly.


"Honey... Son... it'll be alright..."


Tears fell down Lucario's mother's face. "Ginji, no..."


"D-Dad?" said Riolu. "Are you..."


Ginji placed a talon on Riolu's paw. "Son... You're gonna do big things beyond this pack... I just know it.... Do... Me... Proud..."


"D-dad..."


Ginji said no more. He fell limp.


----------------

It had been a few days since Ginji's death. Riolu's mother was sitting away from the pack, staring off into space.


Eventually she felt an Aura behind her, felt a forepaw touch hers. She looked to see it was her son.


"Mom?" he said.


"Yes, sweetie?"


"Now... Now that dad's gone I worry I don't belong in the pack anymore. That I'm not safe..."


"What? No, of course you're-" The words got caught in her throat.


"I... I want to find someplace else. Anyplace else. And I want you to come with me."


"I... I can't."


"Why not?"


"Grandfather Alpha... I can't leave him..."


"The pack doesn't love me. You do."


"I do. And... I think if you want to do this you are strong enough to go on your own."


"But... I can't leave you..."


Riolu's mother nodded. "I'll be OK. The pack will re-accept me before long. Your father was right. You can do better."


"I..."


There was a pause. Then Riolu embraced his mother, careful to avoid her chest spike. She embraced him back.


"Take care... It's a dangerous world out there, but you're smart, and brave, and I know you'll find safe haven eventually."


"I know you're right Mom."


Riolu stared at her a while longer.


Then turned and broke off into a run.



***

[Umbramatic]

Anyyyyyway Chapter 6!

Chapter 6: Strength


Aaron was staring down the dummy. It seemed to stare back. Desperate, he sized it up, looking for a weak point. The dummy did not yield.


Finally Aaron's fist charged with Aura, and he yelled, barreled toward the dummy. The dummy broke... But the recoil sent Aaron flat on his back.


"Really trying to show off, huh?" said a voice.


Aaron looked up to see Lewis and Rook approaching.


"You don't get it!" said Aaron, sitting up. "I have to do this!"


"Why?"


"Dangerous stuff is happening! If I don't get stronger people will get hurt!"


"You talking the weird stuff you saw the other day? The stuff the senior Aura Guardians were all worried about?"


"...Y-yeah."


Rook clicked his scythes together awkwardly.


"I hate to say it but you don't stand a chance," said Lewis. "Whatever killed that guy's not to be messed with by kids like us. So don't be stupid and leave it to the adults."


"But I'm the one who found the dead guy! It's on me! And I'm tired of being weak!"


"Listen. You're just gonna get yourself killed. Give up like I did."


"...Like you did?"


"...You heard nothing. Absolutely nothing. Stop making things up."


"But you just said-"


"Yadayada I can't hear you! I'm out of here."


Lewis stormed off. Rook turned to Aaron and uttered a "Scyther scythe..." in an attempt to tell Aaron something, then chittered sadly and loped off after his human companion.


"I gotta find someone else to help..." said Aaron.


----------


Aaron was looking around the monastery, trying to find someone who could help him in his quest. Those he did find, however, either did not acknowledge him or said "sorry"or the like before moving on. Finally, however, he found Callie and Munchkin.


"You guys! I need your help!"


"What with?" said Callie, her perpetually slurred voice distinct as ever. Munchkin gave a curious hiss.


"I need to find a way to get stronger!"


"Stronger huh?" said Callie, scratching her chin. "Stronger how?"


"Uh, I don't know, however."


"I have just the thing!" said Callie.


She grabbed Aaron's arm and started pulling him along, Aaron looked on worriedly as Munchkin snickered. They eventually reached a dark, musty room of the monastery that smelled like... wait, what was that smell?


"Now where is it..." said Callie, rummaging around.


"Where's what?"


Callie eventually pulled out a bottle of swirling black liquid.


"It's my special Necrozma tonic! Made it myself."


"...This will help me get stronger?"


"Yep! Improves the cons... cons... Constitution!"


"Okay..."


Aaron opened the bottle, tasted it... and immediately gagged.

"What's in this thing?"


"Oh, ground up Beedrill thorax, Goodra slime, essence of Oddish leaf, eye of Sobble... you know, the works!" said Callie, grinning and displaying her unusually pointy teeth.


"...Why?"


"For Necrozma!"


"I uh, think I might need to find some other way," Aaron said, heading off.


"Okay, take care!" said Callie!


Munchkin simply snickered again.


---------------


Aaron looked further around the monastery, trying to find someone who at least looked helpful. In the process he did not notice two shapes sneaking behind him, until it was too late.


A roar echoed out as the two shapes lunged toward Aaron, one tackling him as he screamed.


After a second, realizing he wasn't dead, he looked up to see Atta snarling and breathing in his face, as Stabby waved his arms around nearby.


"Uh, hi?" said Aaron.


Atta just snarled more. Stabby continued waving his arms about.


"Is there a... reason for this?"


"Practice."


"For what?"


"Hunting. Getting... stronger."


Stabby gave some clicks and an "ard!" of affirmation. Aaron's eyes lit up.


"Really? Maybe you could help me!"


"With what?"


"Getting stronger!"


"No. You're too weak."


"I can change that!"


Atta raised an eyebrow. Stabby chuckled.


"The laws of the wild are cruel little one."


It was Aaron's turn to raise an eyebrow. "You... know those kinds of words?"


"Sometimes."


"...What happened to you anyway?"


"Not your business. Don't ask."


"Okay. But will you teach me the whole getting stronger thing?"


"No."


"...Okay."


Aaron got up and left, glancing worriedly at Atta and Stabby the whole while.


-------


Aaron was glancing around one of the courtyards of the monastery when he noticed Eve and Iuroidea. Perking up, he approached them, and tapped Eve on the shoulder.


"Eve? Do you know any advice for getting stronger?"


~...How so?~


"Like... Just... Stronger."


Iuroidea faceclawed.


~That's awfully vague..." said Eve. "You need a more coherent goal than that. Like how I don't want my powers to-~


She stopped.


"To what?"


"Never mind."


Aaron blinked. Why wasn't she using telepathy anymore?


"Anyway..." said Eve. "You could probably start by standing up for yourself?"


"Standing up for myself?"


"Yeah. Like... Showing people who's boss."


"Ryan's the boss though."


"Not literally. Just... Be more assertive."


"Insertive?"


"No. Like... If someone gives you a hard time, don't just take it. Give them a hard time back and make them back off."


"I can do that?" said Aaron, his eyes lighting up.


"Well yeah but it takes some practice..."


"Practice... I can do that! I know just the thing!"


He rushed off.


"...He's doomed," said Eve.


Iuroidea nodded sternly.


---------------


Gabriel was content. He was resting on a mat he'd stolen from the monastery, Patricia curled up beside him.


And then the pebble hit him.


He wasn't even hurt. He almost didn't react. But the words that came immediately after made his eyes snap open.


"Hey loser!"


Gabriel stood up, glowering, then turned to the source of the voice. There, standing proudly, was Aaron. With a pile of pebbles.


"You... You smell! You're the smelliest! Yeah!"


Gabriel gave a mirthless chuckle. "Pathetic."


He snapped his fingers twice. The first caused a blast that sent the pebble pile flying, some striking Aaron and leaving gashes. The second sent Aaron himself sprawling.


Aaron groaned, before Gabriel stomped on his chest.


"Let's face it. I know why I'm top of the food chain. I know why you're not. Know your place."


"Why... though?" said Aaron.


Gabriel gave an uncharacteristic frown. "That's my buisness. Not yours."


"You're not... Like the bullies that used to bug me." said Aaron. "You don't... do it out of fear. You seem to do

it... for some other reason... Why?"


"Shut up before I Psyshock you again."


By now Patricia was looking over them with concern.


"Come on Pat. The weakling's learned his lesson. We're done here."


He headed off. Patricia, on the other hand, seemed to slither off in a completely diffrent direction. Aaron just lay where he was, trying to ignore the pain of the gashes.


Then Patricia returned, and this time she was accompanied by the mysterious child Aaron saw before.


"Thanks Pat!" said the child. "I'll take it from here."


Patricia nodded, and slithered off after Gabriel. The child started looking Aaron over, and from there Aaron could get a better look at his appearance.


He looked about fourteen, with very fine clothing, all in various shades of pink. Long pink hair framed blue eyes and a yourhful face. And... was that a tail? It looked illusory, like it wasn't even there.


"Hey! Need help there?"


"Well... duh," said Aaron.


"Okay, gimmie a second..."


Before his eyes Aaron watched the boy transform into a large, blue shrimp-like Pokemon that blasted a pulse of pink energy at his wounds. Within an instant, they healed, and the boy reverted to normal.


"Wow! That was incredible!" said Aaron, sitting up. "You gotta teach me how to do that!"


"Uh, I'm not sure Transform is a move you Auric humans can cover."


"Aw really? Thanks though."


"No problem! In return... You got any toys?"


"Uh... Not really no. Never had any of my own."


"What? Ah geez. You Aura Guardian kids usually have some good stuff."


Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Really?"


"Yeah! Though not as good as the Rotan kids. Those guys are loaded! Like my Rotan noble getup by the way? They're suckers for it." The boy started for a second. "Oh, by the way? Name's Mithos."


"Why do you collect toys, Mithos?"


"Where I live? I get bored. Real bored. Human toys are my go-to for fixing that."


"Oh, neat!" said Aaron.


He looked over at where Gabriel went. "Why is he like that?"


"Some people... are just... Jerks? Damn kid keeps getting away with being the way he is, even with more powerful Psychics around he's good at playing innocent and getting people not to talk."


"No it's not that! I saw his Aura when I was sneaking up on him! It was different from my old bullies but not like that!"


"...Huh. Kid, you're smarter than you look."


"Than- Hey!"


Mithos snickered.


~You.~ said a voice.


Aaron and Mithos turned to see Metagross leering at the latter.


"Well well well!" said Mithos. "If it isn't Mr. No Fun Allowed!"


~Get away from the kid.~


"I was helping him! This bully roughed him up, see, and I healed him! Simple as that."


~I shouldn't have to ask twice.~


"I shouldn't have to ask twice!" Mithos repeated mockingly. "Fine, fine." He turned to Aaron. "You owe me one toy." And with that, he turned back to Metagross, stuck out his tounge at him, and teleported away.


"Why'd you yell at him like that?" said Aaron.


~He is not to be trusted, Aaron.~ said Metagross. ~Stay away from him.~


"But-"


Too late. Metagross was trudging off. Aaron hmphed, sighed, and headed back to his room.


The quest to get stronger would have to wait another day.


-------


Polly was looking around the monastery carefully when a pink-haired Aura Guardian with a Musharna companion approached her.


"Oh! Hello Nightjar, LazyBones," said Polly. "Have you seen Metagross?"


"We have not," said Nightjar, "but that's not what we're here for."


~It's a message from Ryan,~ said LazyBones, floating idly as mist drifted from his head.


"...What kind of message?"


"Regarding the murders and disappearances. In addition to our efforts we will also be seeking... outside help."


"What? We're doing perfectly fine on our own."


"And you have how much new evidence of the culprit?"


"Ha ha.We'll get there."


"This is a serious matter, Polly."


"Well you and Ryan aren't taking me seriously! We can handle this."


"Don't be so stubborn. This will be beneficial to all of us."


~You're getting awfully defensive,~ said LazyBones.


"...Fine. But we'll get it done, without this outside help or not."


She stormed off, only then running into Metagross.


"There you are! Where were you?"


~Dealing with... a nuisance,~ said Metagross.


Polly sighed. "Same."


--------------


Riolu wandered through the forest, lost, seeking a place to stay. The trees and rocks seemed to stretch on forever, but he knew he had to keep going.


It was then he heard a noise.


His head turned to see a very familiar Charizard stomping through the bush. he didn't notice Riolu at first, but Riolu was frozen in fear, and soon their eyes locked. There was a long moment of silence before the Charizard spoke.


"...You'll do."


The Charizard lunged. Riolu bolted and ran.


He zigzagged through the underbrush, the Charizard charging behind him all the way. He ran past trees and boulders and then straight into a pair of Furret.


"Hey! What's the rush?" said one Furret.


The other Furret pointed and screamed, and the two and Riolu darted out of the way as the Charizard charged.


Riolu kept going, not caring how sore his legs got, fear of his impending demise keeping him going. Then he came across a ravine.


He paused, quickly judging if he could make it over the gap. Then, knowing he'd be doomed anyway if he didn't, he leapt, sailing far and far and - just barely grabbing the ledge and hoisting himself up.


He almost paused to congratulate himself but heard stomping behind him and remembered Charizard could fly.


So he kept running, running that intensified as he heard wingbeats behind him, until he came across a cave barely visible in the undergrowth and darted inside.


Riolu darted along the corridors and stalactites, eventually hiding behind one of the former to catch his breath. He heard the Charizard enter behind him.


"Heh, you've been giving me good exercise kid. But you're going down."


More stomps.


"You see, I'm not just doing this for a meal. Mons like you are competition. And I want to be absolute alpha of my territory."


The stomps grew closer. Riolu could see the light of the Charizard's tail, hear his breathing.


"And if it means killing every last one of you here than so be i-"


A massive shape lunged out of the depths of the cavern, past Riolu and right at the Charizard. Riolu could just make out the form of the Charizard being clutched in the massive jaws of a huge creature, before the Charizard was dragged screaming into the darkness, its tail light winking out.


Riolu stood completely still as the mincing of flesh and the crunching of bone grew quieter and quieter until it faded to silence. He stayed completely still even after that until a booming, feminine voice echoed throughout the cavern.


"Relax, child... I do not wish to harm you. That Charizard was intruding on my domain for a while now... You are not."


A metallic, serpentine creature slithered out from within the depths of the cave. Riolu stood still for just a bit longer before speaking.


"Your... Domain?"


"Call me the Mountain Keeper. I have been hearing about this Charizard that has been intruding on my lands and being a bully to the populace via the Zubat that roost in this cave. About time I did him in."


"Th-thank you?"


"Doesn't seem the sort of thing I should say "you're welcome" to but I appreciate the sentiment," said the Mountain Keeper. "Now... What's a Riolu like you doing away from your pack? You'd be safer with them."


Riolu paused, then hung his head.


"I don't belong in my pack," he said. "Especially... Not anymore."


"Hmm, I see... Are you looking for a new pack then?"


"...Yes. Yes I am."


"There is a human settlement down the mountain to the east filled with many different humans and Pokemon. Perhaps you can find a new pack there."


"...You can do that?"


"Of course. I sense you are strong, young Riolu. Your strength will find you friends in time."


Riolu nodded, then moved to go.


"Oh, though," said the Mountain Keeper. "I do have a favor to ask of you."


"What is it?"


"I have a daughter that lives with the humans... Do try to find her for me."


"I will. I promise."


Riolu then headed out.


--------


Riolu headed through the trees and rocks, following the sun to try and stick to the Mountain Keeper's directions. Eventually, the trees thinned, and Riolu was met by a sight unlike any he'd ever seen before.


Strange nests stretched out before him, made of stone, clay, and plants. Moving between these nests were Pokemon the likes of which Riolu had never seen before and -


...What were those? They were so strange, were so lanky - save the few that were chunkier or bulkier - had so little hair, had such flat faces. Were these really the humans his father held in such reverence? The creatures that held such a special bond with Pokemon?


Only one way to find out, he thought.


And he headed in.


***

Before I go, a few commissions:

Ryan by CidFox: [MEDIA=imgur]KNN9Lg2[/MEDIA]
View: https://i.imgur.com/KNN9Lg2.png


Carol by edlinklover: [MEDIA=imgur]PoZx3yD[/MEDIA]
View: https://i.imgur.com/PoZx3yD.png


Vince by prayforelves: [MEDIA=imgur]zsHhc6F[/MEDIA]
View: https://i.imgur.com/zsHhc6F.png


Nightjar by Goldieclaws: [MEDIA=imgur]W0d6N5e[/MEDIA]
View: https://i.imgur.com/W0d6N5e.png


Mithos by CidFox: [MEDIA=imgur]NTxnFaS[/MEDIA]
View: https://i.imgur.com/NTxnFaS.png


Nightjar and Lazybones based off of Maggie and SleepyHead by CorvusAtrox

[Umbramatic]

Surprise! You thought I was DONE with Fire Emblem crossovers after Rude Awakening?! Well think again! This fic is going in a whole new direction with more FE characters than Smash Bros, starting... Now!


Bonus Chapter 2: Fire Emblem Heroes After All


Polly was resting on a bench outside the monastarey. It was a peaceful day - the sun was shining, Butterfree were flying about, there was a soft breeze blowin-


A noise. A specific noise Polly didn't recognise. She saw Metagross trudging toward her.


~Polly! Soldiers. They're approaching a village to the south.~


"What? We should evacuate the citizens right awa-"


~There's something else.~


"What?"


~They came out of a portal.~


------------


A young girl in elaborate royal attire looked out over the landscape, curious.


She was pretty sure she had set her sights on the World Of Blazing. Her troops were ready to conquer and make contracts. But something seemed... off.


It wasn't until she noticed a very strange brown and gray bird perch nearby that she realized how off.


She tapped a soldier on the shoulder. "Do you know what bird that is?"


The soldier looked over. "Er, no, your highness."


"Doesn't look like anything native to the World Of Blazing."


The bird gave a chirp and a "star, staravia."


"...We seem to be far from our intended destination," said the soldier.


"...Keep going," said the girl. "Perhaps we can find something useful here."


She ordered the troops onward.


----------


Aaron was idly scratching doodles in the dirt with a stick when he noticed the older Aura Guardians scrambling around in a panic. For a second he considered heading inside, where he'd be safe.


But then he thought a bit. If he couldn't really help with the dead and missing Aura Guardians back then, he could stand to benefit from helping now...


He quietly placed his stick down and started following the senior Aura Guardians.


----------


The purple creature noticed a rush in activity in its new home. Curious, they quietly hovered over the hurried bipeds and their companions, evading notice.


Then they saw a strange, pink creature hovering nearby.


~Heh... They're really in a hurry! Looks like fun.~


The purple creature eyed the pink one quizzically. The pink one looked at them and smiled.


~Wanna watch them with me?~


The purple creature gave a chitter of affirmation.


~Alright! Let's go.~


The pair headed off after the bipeds.


-----------


Polly, Vince, and Carol all hid behind some trees, watching the strange enemy soldiers walk by.

"This is so weird," said Vince. "These soldiers are like nothing in the Genesis Mountains."


"Well they did come out of a portal," said Carol.


"We need to find out what their deal is," said Polly. She turned a bit. ~Dunsparce?~


Dunsparce slithered out of some nearby bushes and toward the soldiers, burrowing underground when she got close. After a bit Polly could pick up on Dunsparce's thoughts.


~Woah,~ said Dunsparce. ~They're some... Embian Empire, they came from another realm, and, uh, they don't know what Pokemon are? Weirdos.~


Polly relayed the information to her companions.


"This is... concerning," said Vince.


"We need to report this to Ryan," said Carol.


Dunsparce slithered back to the group and they snuck back off to camp.


------------------


Aaron trudged through the forest after the senior Aura Guardians, trying to find where they'd gone. He had no clue what was going on, but he'd be darned if he couldn't-


He bumped into a leg coming out of some bushes and fell over.


"Ow..."


A boy noticeably older than him with blue hair looked down at where he lay. "Are you all right?"


"Ugh, yeah..."


"Oh, he's so cute!" said a blonde girl peeking over. "Is he one of the Heroes of this world?"


"Calm yourself, Sharena," said another, redheaded girl. "He's probably just a civilian."


"N-no I'm not!" said Aaron,sitting up. "I'm an Aura Guardian!"


"Hmmm, Aura Guardian?" said the redhead. "That sounds impressive... and marketable."


"Anna knowing you you'll just bring it up as a side thing and forget about it completely later."


"Don't question my strategies! Well at least not more than Kiran's. But Kiran has the flu so you all will have to listen to me!"


"Point is, can we keep him?" said the blonde girl, holding up a squirming Aaron.


"Sharena we can't just adopt every Hero we find," said the blue-haired boy.

Sharena pouted and put Aaron down. "A girl can dream Alphonse."


"Wait, so who are you guys?" said Aaron.


"We're the Order Of Heroes!" said Alphonse. "Dedicated to protecting the multiverse from the Emblian Empire and similar threats!"


He looked around. "Though, uh, this seems a bit far from home multiverse-wise...."


Aaron's eyes were sparkling. "That sounds so cool! I totally wanna join!"


"Well, normally, Kiran has to summon you," said Anna. "But we could let you meet the team we brought along if you'd like!


"Sure thing!" said Aaron.


He followed the three away.


---------------


Mithos and the purple creature were hovering over the advancing Emblian army, ogling them curiously.


~Man these guys look like bad news,~ said Mithos.


The purple creature gave a chirp of agreement.


~Wanna mess with them?~


Another chirp.


~Good. Now...~


There were telepathic whispers, and the two separated to wait.


----------------


Polly, Vince, and Carol were talking to Ryan and Nightjar in the camp the group had set up.


"So yeah. They're extradimensional, they're here to conquer, but they have no idea what this world really is," said Vince.


"If that is the case, we may be able to convince them to look elsewhere with minimal casualties," said Nightjar.


"Are you sure diplomacy is the best idea in a situation like this?" said Polly.

"When we're potentially outgunned, certainly," said Ryan. "And at the very least we have our Pokemon if worst comes to worst."


"Very well," said Carol. "Let's get ready."


They started preparing.


-------------


Aaron was lead to a camp populated by four people - a girl in a blue dress clutching a gemstone, a man with two large wings sprouting from his back, a green-haired man in blue with a book, and a green-haired woman tending to a Mudsdale.


"Hello there," said the girl in the dress. "I'm Ninian."


"I'm Tibarn," said the winged man.


"I'm Merric!" said the green-haired man.


"I'm Lyndis, but you may call me Lyn," said the green-haired girl.


"Nice to meet you all!" said Aaron. "I'm Aaron."


"I still think we should have brought Ballista Wolt on this mission," said Anna.


"No," said Alphonse, fear in his voice. "He's too powerful."


"But we use Grima and Duma on missions all the ti-"


"TOO POWERFUL."


Meanwhile, Aaron was inspecting Ninian and Tibarn in particular.


"So, what are the wings and stone for?"


"Oh, for this!" said Ninian.


Ninian raised the stone and suddenly transformed into a Hydreigon. Tibarn similarly transformed into a Braviary. Aaron's jaw hit the floor.


"That's so cool! I wish I could do that!"


"Their forms do look... different here," said Merric. "As does my magic." He cast an Air Slash.


"My horse looks different too..." said Lyn.


"Huh... You're not from here?"


"None of us are," said Tibarn, shifting to his normal self. "We're from other realms."


"So that's why you can do all this cool stuff?"


Lyn chuckled. "Pretty much."


"Attention!" said Anna. "Emblian troops are heading this way! We need to engage!"


The people in the camp immediately began to move. Sharena picked up a protesting Aaron and carried him following the others.


-----------------


The Emblian army's journey was almost at an end. They had almost reached the village.


"Halt."


The girl's head turned. There was Ryan, flanked by Polly, Vince, Carol, Nightjar, and several other senior Aura Guardians, as well as their Pokemon.


"We wish to negotiate."


"With what?" said the girl.


"This world is not the one you wish to intrude upon. It has nothing for you. Turn back and avoid wasting your time."


"Bah, you think I, Princess Veronica, am so easily swayed? The strange creatures of your world have so much potential... If we can fully harness it then-"


"Princess Veronica! We aren't going to let you do that!"


Saying this was Alphonse, who was leading his party up to the front lines. Veronica simply scowled.


"You all are interfering again? Very well. Troops, charge them both!"


Veronica prepared her dark magic spell, but since the author of this segment forgot what her personal tome is, let's say she left it at home and cast Fenrir instead.


The Aura Guardians managed to evade the blast of magic, and they and their Pokemon fired back with their powers. Shades of blue, pink, black, and lighter pink flew across the battlefield, knocking down a few soldiers and causing Veronica to scowl further.


From above, Ninian (in her new Hydreigon form) fired off a stormy Draco Meteor, the thunderbolts and lightning causing many enemy soldiers to be very frightened, scampering off the battlefield screaming “Galileo, galileo figaro, magnifico!” (hey they were from the Italian localization of FEH, don't blame me)


Tibarn swooped in and used Brave Bird, a move which disrupted the enemy formations enough for Merric and Lyndis to come in with an Aeroblast and a couple of Murgleis shots. Soldiers soared through the air like dragons and their dragon mounts crashed to the ground like humans.


Aaron had been sticking behind Sharena the whole time. Then he noticed Veronica nearby and got an idea.


He hid behind a small tree near her and started charging a Focus Blast right next to it. There was a crack and a flying of splinters as Aaron fell and so did the tree, straight toward Veronica. Veronica wasn't crushed due to the tree being small, skinny, and dead but it knocked her asunder, sending the troops into a panic.


It was then a booming laugh echoed across the battlefield and a Zekrom descended.


~Foolish mortals! I am the dragon god Morkrez, patron deity of this world! All who interfere shall suffer two punishments - one the sticky threads of fate!"


The purple creature flew around, leaving a poisonous glue that bound the panicked troops in place.


~And two... THE RAIN OF DEATH!~


“Surprise motherfuckers!” announced Ballista Wolt, who began firing Arrowspate bolts from the heavens. He then launched some Hoistflamme shots and some BlizzardBlasts, scorching and freezing the battlefield. Zaps of electricity from the brave-effect magic-based Zap Cannon ballista rained down from the sky. And to top off the siege of doom with the icing on the cake of increasingly potent siege weapons, Wolt loaded a trebuchet full of hatchets and fired, thus finishing with the very same weapon that slew the Demon King Fomortiis: the AxeLauncher.


Everyone stared in equal measures shock, awe, and horror, except Anna and Lyn, the former of whom grinned.


"I knew bringing him was a good idea!"


"My hero!" said Lyn, sighing wistfully.


Veronica got up, glowering at the others


"Imbecles! I'll be back for this world! And I'll have backup!"


She opened a portal and stormed through it, the remaining troops following. The Zekrom disappeared and a pink wisp was vaguely visible exiting the area.


"We... We did it," said Vince.


"Woo!" said Aaron. "...Ow, splinters."


"Your world is threatened no longer," said Ninian.


"Whee!" said Sharena, picking up Aaron and spinning him around. "You did great! One of our healers can probably fix up those splinters-"


"And after that you are giving him back because he's ours," said Polly. "Kid how did you get here?"


"I followed them!"


Meanwhile Ryan was conversing with Alphonse.


"The Genesis Mountain Aura Guardians are grateful for your support," said Ryan.


"And the Order Of Heroes is grateful for yours," said Alphonse.


"I'm not certain our respective groups will cross paths again but I have a feeling our worlds might."


"Well, the multiverse is pretty big, and we've got a lot closer to home to defend," said Alphonse, grinning, "but I certainly wouldn't mind coming here again. These Pokemon are fascinating!"


"Indeed they are," said Ryan. "I guess only time will tell."


-----------


Riolu, making his way through the human town he'd encountered, felt like he'd missed something.


He decided it was probably nothing.


***


Yes this was an April Fools joke and I'm not sorry.


You can blame both Fire Emblem being my second-favorite Nintendo franchise after Pokemon, Fire Emblem Heroes being the one mobile game to ever hold my attention for long, and my friend Vanillite the Dragonslayer/Purple Mage - this whole shebang was his idea and he even wrote some of the fight scenes. The all-powerful monstrosity known as Ballista Wolt also originates from a FE8 romhack he did.


Anyway yeah this is canon but has no effect on the rest of the story so don't worry I'm not pulling any permanent crossover plots... in this fic anyway.

[Umbramatic]

Oof, five months. Worldbuilding June and Artfight ambushed me and made me lose track of fic stuff. But I've got a chapter here anyway! Hope you enjoy:

Chapter 7: Encounters


Aaron had taken some time to himself to explore the monastery. Partially because he was bored, and partially because the monastery was just that huge - there were various facilities and nooks and crannies, spiraling towers and sprawling courtyards, that he was certain he hadn't uncovered all of yet.


It wasn't long, however, before he got a bit lost.


In his hapless wandering he turned a corner and bumped straight into a Scyther. The Scyther let out a startled buzz and brandished its scythes as Aaron yelped. A pale, dark-haired boy quickly approached.


"Easy Rook it's just the dweeb."


Rook blinked and then shrunk back from Aaron sheepishly, clacking his scythes together.


"Er, sorry about that," said Aaron.


"It's not you, for once," said Louis. "Rook's startled pretty easily."


"Don't worry," said Aaron. "I... I wasn't scared."


Louis raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"


"Positive!"


A mischievous smirk appeared on Louis' face. "Is that so? Well then, why don't you take a gander at... Him?"


Louis pointed dramatically over to a patch of grass by the greenhouse. Upon that patch of grass sat a snoring Rhyperior.


"See him? That's Andalas. Legendarily grouchy Rhyperior. If you're not afraid of a Scyther surely giving him a poke isn't too scary."


Aaron gulped. "That's... That's diff-"


He shook his head. "I can do that! Just you watch!"


"Good luck," said Louis, snickering. "You're gonna need it."


Rook just nervously looked between Aaron and the sleeping Andalas.


Aaron looked at Louis again, then to Andalas, then started slowly creeping toward the latter.


He eventually got close enough that he could see the fine details of the massive creature. He was still sound asleep, his rocky body subtly heaving with each breath.


Aaron reached out a finger. It would be OK, he thought. The Rhyperior's rocky hide probably wouldn't even feel it.


He touched it. It felt like rock yet somehow... warm, and alive. He quickly drew the finger back. Andalas was still asleep. He looked backward. Louis and Rook were gone. He looked back to Andalas. Still asleep. Aaron almost sighed in relief, but held his breath to avoid waking the Rhyperior up.


Then Andalas' eyes snapped open anyway.


A rocky paw lunged itself in Aaron's direction. Aaron instinctively yelped and raised up his hands, an Aura barrier forming. The paw bounced off the barrier harmlessly, but Andalas' other paw swung around and grabbed him from behind. Aaron screamed as Andalas yanked him upward and brought him close to his face, dangerously close to his two horns. Aaron whimpered.


"I'm so sorry mister Andalas! Please forgive me!"


Andalas opened his mouth. For a second Aaron thought he was going to swallow him whole.


Then Andalas started making Pokemon noises at him - a careful mix of "rhy"s, "perior"s, and strange high-pitched whinnying bleats. Aaron almost felt as if the massive Pokemon was scolding him.


~Put him down.~


Andalas turned, pulling Aaron around with him, letting Aaron see that Polly's Metagross was standing next to the both of them. Andalas gave a bleat and a "rhy" at Metagross.


~He's my responsibility.~


Andalas grunted in annoyance, tossed Aaron in front of Metagross, then stomped off. Aaron lay on the ground in shock for a few seconds before picking himself up.


"T-Thanks..."


~Don't mention it. Andalas wouldn't have hurt you but he probably would have kept lecturing you for several hours.~


"...Really?"


~He's like that.~


"...Huh."


~Anyway, I'm not just here to save your ass from Andalas. Class with Polly is soon.~


"Oh! I forgot! Thank you for reminding me!"


He made to move off, then stopped and turned back to Metagross.


"Which way?"


There was a long, drawn-out mental sigh.


~...Follow me.~


And Metagross led Aaron off.


----------------------------


Aaron was sitting at the back of the class. As usual. People were less likely to notice and pick on him back there.


Polly arrived at the front of the class and looked around at the assembled students. "Alright. Today's lesson... well, let me get something out real quick.


She dug within a desk drawer and pulled out a strange, crystaline flower. Aaron leaned over his desk, curious.


"This... Is a Time Flower," said Polly. "It actually gives the monastery its name."


Aaron raised his hand. "This place has a name?"


Polly gave him a look. "Yes. This place is called the Time Flower Abbey. You didn't pick that up?"


Aaron did not reply, just lowered his hand sheepishly as the other kids giggled.


"Anyway," said Polly. "Ought to show you how these things work..."


She waved her other hand over the Time Flower as her palm glowed with Aura. The Time Flower immediately responded, projecting an illusion of Polly giving a similar lecture to a different class. The class oohed and aahed.


"Time Flowers are crystalline life forms that bud from a bigger crystalline life form, the Tree of Beginning. They grow through this whole area and are a major export - precisely because they can generate Obscuric illusions that record sound and images. At least, if you have a human on the Auric spectrum or Pokemon to activate them."


Callie raised her hand. "Are the illusions like a Zoroark's?"


"Yes, precisely. Why they react this way to Aura is still unknown. But they take root anywhere there's rock and their illusion abilities are useful for messages, so they're worth a lot of money."

Polly chuckled.

"In the old days me and Metagross used to go on Time Flower runs."


"How did you meet Metagross anyway?" asked Eve. "He seems so strong..."


Polly thought a bit.


"Metagross has been with Time Flower Abbey as long as I can remember. His species lives a very long time. I... I didn't actually choose him as my partner Pokemon. He chose me. After-"


She shook her head. "We're getting off-topic. Right, we were on the Tree... It's not just a resource. People make pilgrimages to see it in the name of Xerneas and Mew, though they never go inside for... reasons I mentioned before."


Aaron gulped.


"You see, the people of Kalos and Galar and nearby nations had their own Tree, not too far away. They made pilgrimages to that instead. Then the Demon King AZ came into power and fired his Ultimate Weapon. The weapon devastated that tree to the point most thought it was dead, and so refugees headed off across land and sea to this Tree, as I mentioned before eventually forming Rota. Eventually a band of heroes found the old Tree still clung to life and saved it, but the Rotans remained, and the Genesis Mountain Aura Guardians made this monastery to aid them, as well as..."


Polly looked around and sighed. "Alright kids, time for the awkward part. Which of you are Obscurics?"


Dead silence. Then slowly kids started raising their hands. Aaron did not - he was a Fighting Auric apparently.


"Right," said Polly, "I'm not gonna ask you all to share your stories just yet. But you all know about discrimination. Aurics, Psychics, it depends on the place but most of us can at least survive. Obscuirics... They're hunted. Executed. Slaughtered. And that's why we're here. To protect all people on the spectrum."


Aaron was taken aback. He had dealt with enough being an Auric, but apparently the Obscuric kids had it even worse? As Polly changed the subject to the abbey's architecture Aaron resolved to ask his Obscuric bunkmates about it.


-------------


After class, Aaron looked around for two people in particular. Eventually he found them - Callie and Atta, talking with each other about lunch. Munchkin and Stabby were arguing about... something.


"Hey? You two?" he asked.


Both girls gave Aaron puzzled looks.


"Yes?" said Callie.


"This better be good," said Atta.


"Remember what Polly mentioned in class about Obscurics having a hard time?" said Aaron. "What was that like for you guys?"


"Oh! The Necrozma cult loved Obscurics!" said Callie. "They were good vessels for the Blinding One because they canceled out the Psychic energy!"


She frowned. "But... Some mean people... They killed most of the cult... Took me... The Aura Guardians had to rescue me..."


"Same here..." said Atta. "Parents abandoned me because I was Obscuric. Bisharp took me in, raised me with his Pawniard pack. Aura Guardians found me, Bisharp sent me and Stabby with them."


Munchkin and Stabby, overhearing all this, lowered their heads sorrowfully.


"O-oh," said Aaron. "That's... not good."


"What happened to you Aaron?" said Callie.


"My dad died... I don't wanna talk about why," said Aaron. "But other than that I've mostly been bullied."


"Chump," said Atta.


"Atta you can't just say that!" said Callie.


"N-no, it's fine," said Aaron. "You both have been through a lot..." He gulped. "We should probably go get lunch now."


"Sure!" said Callie.


The three, as well as Munchkin and Stabby, headed off to lunch. Even so, Aaron thought to himself.


Guess I'm not the only one who wanted to escape... but... things haven't changed much...


-----------


Polly was winding down at the end of the day, heading to the back of the kitchen to get a snack. As she did, however, she noticed a rustling in one of the bags of apples. Sighing, thinking it was probably a Ratatta or a Bidoof, she grabbed a broom and lightly thwacked the moving lump.


What emerged from the bag, however, was decidedly not a Ratatta or a Bidoof, but a smal purple creature with a large pointy head, which buzzed and sprayed sticky goo in Polly's direction. Polly, just barely stepping out of the way of being sprayed, gaped in shock.


"Hey! You're one of those portal varmints!"


The purple creature snickered at her distress and flew off.


"Oh no you don't!"


Polly gave chase, running after the creature until she emerged in an open courtyard, the setting sun barely illuminating the scene.


"Damn it... where did the little brat go?"


She saw a flickering.

"Aha!"


She swung the broom at the flickering.


With lightning speed, Polly's broom was knocked out of her hand and she was pinned to the ground. She could make out a cloak, a mask, something almost... tasting her.


Then the being let go, faded from corporealness, and was gone. Polly lay on the ground gaping for breath.


"That... Definitely wasn't one of the portal varmints."


After a bit she got up, grabbed her hat, and booked it to Ryan's quarters. This could be a lead on the killers. But she wondered.


If that was the case why did they let her live?


--------------------


Riolu walked down the streets of the busy human town, the roofs and bricks seeming to stretch far beyond what he expected. His Aura feelers flared and eyes peeled for any sign of danger. So far there were none, but the humans and Pokemon here alike sometimes gave him funny looks.


Speaking of the latter, Riolu was astounded by the variety of Pokemon on display, countless species he had never seen in the mountain forests. One Pokemon that seemed to be a chunk of solid ice with a head and limbs trudged by him, giving him a chill.


That chill gave way to a rumbling stomach. Riolu realized he needed food. Looking around, he saw some apples sitting at a bazaar. Surprised they were just laying there, he reached out to grab one.


"Hey!" said a human. "You gonna pay for that?"


Riolu paused. The food was right there. But apparently he had to do... Something for it.


"Pay? What is pay?"


"Don't yap at me!" said the human. "Pay up!"


The human couldn't understand him? Weird. Different Pokemon could understand each other, apparently humans were an exception. How could he communicate with this human?

Then he had a realization. His kind could communicate via Aura... Maybe if he tried that with a human...

~What... Is... Pay?~

The human jumped a bit. "You can talk? You don't look like a Psychic type. Anyway pay is money. You got money?"


~N-o?~


"Then you can't take the apple."


Riolu paused, looked at the human, then at the apples, then at the human, then at the apples again. Then he grabbed one and ran.


"Hey!" said the human, giving chase.


Riolu ran through the streets, dodging left and right as if that Charizard was still chasing him. That said, that human didn't look too tough. No claws, no fangs, what could it even do to him if it caught hi-


"Maurice, get him!"


There was an unholy screech of "Hey! That's my human's apple!" as a Staraptor swooped in from overhead. Riolu's eyes widened as he booked it further. The Staraptor lunged as Rolu ducked out of the way, just in time, taking cover under a shop stand. Crawling desperately while still clutching the apple, he emerged on the other side and kept running.


"Hey! Over here!" said a voice.


Riolu noticed a strange orange lizard Pokemon gesturing to him from an alleyway. Riolu ran toward him, ducking behind him. The lizard grabbed him and pulled him inside a barrel as the Staraptor flew past. Seconds passed before Riolu punched and kicked at the lizard, trying to get out of the barrel.


"Woah woah woah buddy," said the lizard. "I'm not gonna eat you, or your apple. Looks like you came straight from the woods."


"...I did," said Riolu.


"It doesn't work that way around here. No predator-prey stuff. Pokemon help each other, and humans take care of food and shelter."

"They... do?"


"Yeah! Listen, you did a good job nabbing that apple. I know some folks who'll like you."


"Oh?"


"Come on."


The two climbed out of the barrel and headed off.


----------------


Eventually, Riolu and the lizard reached an abandoned building. It was crumbled, worn, with eaves falling inward, and a door hanging ajar. The lizard slipped in, Riolu following.


Inside were an assemblage of different Pokemon; a froglike Pokemon counting Berries, a green and white biped cutting vegetables with his scythes, a monkey with a flaming head reading a book, and a smaller monkey with a flaming tail watching.


"Hey!" said the lizard. "I found someone interesting!"


The others turned to look at Riolu. The large monkey in particular scrutinized him with his green eyes.


"Aww, it's a little puppy!" said the frog.


"Meh. Do we have to clean after it?" said the biped.


"H-hi," said the smaller monkey."


"Hmm. And you are?" said the big monkey.


"I'm... I'm Riolu. What are you all?"


"I'm Grog! I'm a Toxicroak!" said the frog.


"I'm Vallant, the Gallade," said the biped.


"I'm Shifty the Scrafty!" said the lizard.


"I'm... I'm Nicolas the Chimchar, nice to meet you," said the small monkey.


"And I am Koba the Infernape, the leader of this little band. We call ourselves... The Wonderful Fighting Thieves."


"The humans provide and we take anything we want!" said Shifty.


"And we work together to do it!" said Grog.


"It's a good gig, I suppose," said Vallant.


"Dad makes sure everyone's taken care of..." said Nicolas.


"This Riolu was doing some nice work nabbing an apple from old man Victor and his Staraptor Maurice," said Shifty. "He could do some nice work for us!"


"Hmm... He probably has a lot to learn, but I'll allow it," said Koba. "Riolu, you'll get food, shelter, company for your services... If you're willing to stick with us of course."


Riolu stared at the others, feeling their Auras carefully. He took a moment to look down and think to himself, clutching the apple, before looking back up.


"...Sure."


***

[Umbramatic]

Anyway I was able to motor it and produce Chapter 8! This one is BACKSTORY HO, plus some new peeps:


Chapter 8: Stories


It had been a few weeks since Polly was attacked.


The other Aura Guardians had organized squads to find the perpetrator. There was no luck. Polly herself was fine. Fine. She'd dealt with worse.


She was idly sipping some tea, Metagross and Dunsparce by her side, when Carol and Lovegood approached.


~Are you OK dear?~ said Carol.


"Don't call me dear. And I'm fine."


"~Well you've been kind of... sulking.~


"It's because our potential culprit to those murders was literally right in my face and we still haven't gotten any further than that!"


~Polly, calm down,~ said Metagross.


Dunsparce hissed worriedly.


"I'm fine," said Polly.


~No you're not,~ said Carol. ~Come on, hang out with the rest of us. It's staff luncheon day!~


Lovegood nodded. ~Socialization may help with aggravated mental states, depending on the person.~


"Hrm. Fine." said Polly.


She got up, and she and her Pokemon followed Carol and Lovegood out.


------------


There was a party going on at least. With refreshments - double good.


Even so Polly wasn't feeling particularly up to socializing with anyone other than the food. Regardless Carol approached her.


~How's it going?~


"Okay."


~That doesn't sound convincing.~

"It wasn't meant to be."


Carol gave a telepathic sigh and sat down next to Polly.


~Look, I know you're frustrated about the lack of leads. But don't beat yourself up. We've been through worse. Way worse. Remember how I lost my voice?~


"...Yes. You were born to a noble house. A rival lord's Pangoro beat you. You survived, but lost your voice and much of your hearing and your family disowned you for it. You've had a hatred for the rich since."


~Well I hate them for a lot of reasons! That was just the catalyst. Point is, I've been through shit, you've been through shit... together some murder mystery is no big deal.~

"Alright, thanks." Polly sighed. "I... I miss Eliot. And Sir Donovan."


~We all do.~


"This is kind of getting depressing for party conversation."


~Agreed. Let's go find someone else.~


The two got up and started looking around the party - as well as sampling food - before they found Vince.


~Vince! Hey!~ said Carol.


"How are you doing?" said Polly.


"...What do you two want?" said Vince.


"Someone better to talk to than each other."


~It's better in threes, you know.~ Carol winked.


Vince winced. "No thanks."


"What, are you too good for us?" said Polly.


"N-No. I mean yes. I mean gah."


Carol telepathically snickered. Vince sighed.


"Honestly I wish I was too good for you guys. But I know I'm not."


Polly raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"


"I've been put down all my life," said Vince.


~Is this about the "terrible wizard" thing?~


"No. Or at least. Your little nickname isn't the worst of it."


"I think I know what you're getting at." said Polly. "Didn't your parents try to keep you away from the outside world because you were an Obscuric?"


"Not even because that," said Vince. "Because I wasn't even a very good Obscuric. Even after I finally ran away and found the monastery it took years for me to get to where I am today. And in the meantime... everyone picked on me. Except you two. And... I still don't feel like I'm good enough."


~Ah, yes, I remember now...~ said Carol.


"I feel sorry for that Aaron kid," said Vince. "He was in the same boat I was."


"I've been keeping an eye on him," said Polly. "So has Metagross."


"That's good."


"Guys! Guys! Hey!" said another voice.


"Not her," whispered Vince under his breath.


A redheaded woman with a red, white and pink uniform approached the three. "Whatcha guys talking about?"


~Our lives, Hannah,~ said Carol. ~It involves lots of suffering. Join us.~


"Ooh, uh, well, I stubbed my toe earlier if you're talking about suffering!"


Vince rolled his eyes.

"You guys should probably cheer yourselves up!" said Hannah. "Have you seen any cute Pokemon around?"


"My Dunsparce is probably hiding from you again," said Polly.


"Aww, too bad! She's wonderful. I love Dunsparce - so buzzy and sweet!"


Polly chuckled. "Take it easy on her."


"I will!"


"What are you all yammering about?" This time Nightjar approached the growing gaggle of gossiping Guardians.


"Cute Pokemon!" said Hannah.


"Our lives," said Vince.


"Hmph," said Nightjar. "Sounds trivial."


"Well, it's better than sucking up to Ryan constantly," said Vince.


"Ooh, burn!" said Hannah.


"Y-you take that back!" said Nightjar, eyes widening and taking an aggressive posture. "Ryan- he- you plebeians don't understand!"


"Plebeians?" said Polly. "You're the one who-"


"Enough."


Everyone stood at attention when Ryan showed up.


"Er, Ryan, lovely to see you," said Nightjar. "I wasn't arguing on your behalf again I swea-"


"I said enough, all of you."


Everyone grew quiet. Ryan turned to Polly. "Polly. I need to talk to you about a few things."


Polly raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"


"I've gotten a bit of help for our case."


Polly was now paying full attention. "Go on."


---------------


Two Aura Guardians walked into a bar.


Polly looked around as she and Ryan took their seats. "Are you sure he's here?"


"He said that's where he'd meet us. Hard to overhear in this place."


Polly looked around. There were various humans and Pokemon in the bar, in varying states of drunkenness. A man was passed out in his chair. A Gardevoir was drunkenly floating around hiccuping. A Spinda was actually walking straight for once.


Then Polly saw a slim man and his white Florges approach. Polly noticed the man was wearing a white cloak and robes, and had green hair, purple eyes, and a pretty, cheerful-looking face.


"Hello! You two must be the Aura Guardians I'm looking for."


Polly immediately scanned the man's surface thoughts. She couldn't get much further than that but what she did pick up was friendly, warm, inviting.


"...Yes. Yes we are."


"Nice to meet you, Beo," said Ryan.


"My pleasure!" said Beo.


"Polly, Beo is the head of the Blue Wave Society. Another organization that protects those on the Auric Spectrum." He gestured to his Florges. "This is Madam Sprout."


Polly stared a bit and nodded before telepathically addressing Ryan.


~...Why do we need more than one?~


~The Aura Guardians have a wide reach, but are scattered and divided into separate factions. The Blue Wave Society is more concentrated, precise.~


~Okay, but why do we need their help for a murder and a dissapearance?~


~Beo will explain.~


"So, Beo," said Polly. "What do you know?"


"The murders and disappearances you encountered were far from the only ones," said Beo, frowning. Madam Sprout hung her head.


Polly's eyes widened. "There have been... more?"


"Yes. Aurics found dead or, more often, missing in very specific ways matching your description all over this region. And mentions of suspicious activity beforehand for each. This has included Aura users under the Blue Wave Society's care."


"This... This is concerning," said Polly.


"Which is why we're joining forces with the Blue Wave Society. They have valuable resources to help," said Ryan.


"Very well then, Beo. What can you provide us?"


"People! More eyes and ears to figure out who's doing this... Ooh, ooh, and we can share supplies too!"


Madam Sprout chittered in response.


"I ought to help," Beo said. "After all..."


He held up one of his hands. A tiny pinprick of Fighting Aura light shone before disappearing.


"I'm an Auric myself!"


Polly thought. She didn't entirely like getting outside help but if this guy was one of them and could help then...


"Alright!" said Polly. "Welcome aboard."


"Yay! Drinks on me then!" He turned to the bartender. "One scotch on the rocks!"


Polly and Ryan stared. Beo gave them a quizzical look.

"What?"


------------


Two Aura Guardians walked into a completely different bar.


"Why are we doing a different bar?" said Polly.

"Easier to cover our tracks," said Ryan.


The two sat again. This bar was much the same as the last, albeit with different people and Pokemon.


The person that approached them, however, was new. A young man, around Polly's age it seemed like with dark blue and black clothes, icy blue hair and eyes, and glasses, and a Corviknight approached.


"And you are...?" said Polly.


The man stared at her and Ryan for a moment before nodding, as did his Corviknight. "Terrence Morendo, at your service. I'm here on a mission. This is one of my Pokemon partners, Zawisza" His Corviknight gave an affirmative "cor" and a squawk.


"And that mission is..."


"One of my friends and his Pokemon partner are missing. I've tracked whoever did it here, to the Genesis Mountain range, and now found you Aura Guardians. And I could use your help. In return I will lend you my services."


Polly raised an eyebrow. She scanned Terrence's surface thoughts and found she was being suppressed, even harder than with Beo. She didn't like that.


"...What kind of services?"


"I don't have powers like you do. But my Pokemon and I are good fighters. And good at tracking down the kinds of people who'd do such a thing."


Zawisza cawed and nodded.


"Terrence contacted me about our current crisis," said Ryan. "Thought he could help. Thought he ought to help. We'd provide him with lodging at least."


Polly gave Terrence a look. Beo she could tolerate, but this guy just waltzing right in with his mental reinforcements and making himself at home?


~Are you sure about this guy Ryan? I can't read him. That's bad.~


~As far as I can tell he means no harm and is just as invested in this case as we are. Give him a chance.~


~...Fine.~


"We will gladly accept your help, Terrence.

Terrence nodded and bowed. "Thank you, Aura Guardians. I suppose we celebrate with a drink."


He turned to the bartender. "Give me a mixed berry drink for me and my Corviknight please!"


Polly and Ryan stared again.


"What?" said Terrence.


------------------


It had been a month or two. Riolu had gotten used to life with his new companions. Even if said life was a bit... hectic.


He and Shifty had just commandeered a pile of bananas (which were apparently different from Nanab Berries) and going to town on them.


"Man, this is great!" said Shifty.


He slumped back.


"Reminds me of the old days..."


"Old days?" said Riolu.


"Uh, yeah! You don't think I just crawled out of the egg and ended up where I am now, did you?"


"...Really?"


"...Okay I kind of did. But then it got complicated I swear."


Riolu raised an eyebrow. "How?"


"Now, see I was born a street Rattata, like I am now, in a faraway land! But then, a band of pirates found me! We went on all sorts of pirate adventures! We even saw Kyogre!"


"Wait, really?" said Riolu.


"Yeah!" said Shifty.


"...What are pirates?"


"Thieves like us but on a boat!"


"...A boat?"


"It's... I'll explain later. Just know it was awesome."


"Then how did you end up here?"


Shifty frowned. "One of the pirate adventures went wrong. A bunch of nasty humans started cracking down on piracy. Our whole "steal from the rich" policy came back to bite us. I woke up in a cell in a bar with no memory of how I got there. My crew was gone. I eventually escaped and wound up with the others by chance."

"Oh. I'm... I'm sorry I guess..."


"Nah, not your fault. It was those asshole humans." Shifty pat Riolu on the head. "Heh... You kinda remind me of me back then. Nowhere to go until you found the right peoplemons."


"...Heh. Were... were the others pirates too?"


"Huh? Heck no. You know what, you should ask them. I'll save you some bananas."


"...Sure."


Riolu trotted off, leaving Shifty to idly munch on bananas.


-----------


Riolu found Grog scrubbing himself with a towel.


"Wha- Oh, hey Riolu! Was just giving myself the old wishy-washy!"


"I thought you said Wishiwashi was a Pokemon."


"It's both, silly!"


Riolu sighed. "Anyway. Shifty said to ask you what you did before the Fighting Thieves?"


"Oh, uh." Grog shifted worriedly, clacking his claws together. "I... I killed people."


Riolu stared. "You mean, like, killed other Pokemon for food?"


"No, I... Killed humans. I was an assassin. It was awful."


Riolu's eyes widened. "You what? My dad said- my dad said the Vow forbade Pokemon killing humans!"


"Apparently these humans didn't care! I had to do it or they'd kill me!"


"That's... that's awful!"


"The good news," said Grog, perking up. "Was that I wasn't very good at it. I was too polite. I would always yell "Sneak Attack!" before I struck my foe."


"What happened after that?"


"Eventually they got fed up with my poor performance and I got fed up with them and I escaped here! I've been much happier without them!"


"Hm. I see."


"...What's wrong?"


"...Nothing. Do you know where Vallant is?"


"Oh yeah! Over that way."


"Thanks."


Riolu headed off. Grog looked at him in confusion before scrubbing himself again.


--------------


Rilou found Vallant cutting firewood with his arm scythes.


"Vallant?"


"What do you want, kid?"


"What happened to you before you joined the Fighting Thieves?"


Vallant sighed. "Okay, why do you want to know?"


"I was curious."


"...Fine. I was a knight."


"...A knight?"


"See there's this human that's arbitrarily in charge of all the other humans in a given area right? Sort of an... alpha female or alpha male, I haven't heard of humans having any alpha enbies except in like... Unova, long ago, and that was a Pokemon anyway. They call them a king or a queen. Knights work for the king or queen."


"Oh. So you worked for the alpha human?"


"Yeah! And it was glamorous. I got all the food and attention and, hehe, attractive boy mons I could ever hope for."


"...But then something happened."


"Yeah. This asshole human knight got jealous of me. Framed me for a crime I didn't commit. I was exiled. Now I'm stuck here, committing actual crimes to survive."


"Oh... I'm sorry."


"Meh. I never needed them."


"...I'm going to find Nicolas now."


Riolu trudged off. Vallant shook his head.

"Weird kid."


-----------


Riolu found Nicolas studying a tree stump.


"...What are you doing?" said Riolu.


"Science!" said Nicolas.


"...What?"


"It's how you learn how the world works!"


Riolu raised an eyebrow. "...How do tree stumps tell you how the world works?"


"Well, I'm trying to look at the rings on trees! See how they age!"


"...That's how you tell?"


"Yeah! Human scientists figured that out!"


"They did? Neat..."


"Yeah! I've been learning to be like them!"


He frowned.


"Humans probably won't let a Chimchar do science with them though..."


"They won't?"


"Yeah! What I hear is they only let other humans do it! At least in the Rotan and Kantonian courts..."


"Really? That's no good..." Riolu looked around. "Where's your dad?"


"Oh, he went that way," said Nicolas, pointing.


Riolu headed off in that direction as Nicolas continued investigating the tree stump.


---------


At last, Riolu found Koba sitting, meditating. Riolu moved to tap Koba on the shoulder when Koba spoke.


"I know you're there."


Riolu stopped. Then sat next to him.


"Koba?"


"Yes?"

"Your whole deal is being a leader to the Fighting Thieves... Why?"


Koba was silent for a moment.


"They're all like me. Did you speak to the others before coming to me?"


"Yes. Why?"


"Did you notice a common thread in their stories?"


''...Humans?"


"Yes. humans always let them down, disappointed them. I too, was like them when I was young."


"How?"


Another pause.


"There was a human I loved very much, who I aimed to please, both out of the ancient laws of the Vow and out of sheer desire for friendship. But he did not love me back. He beat me, berate me, told me I wasn't strong enough. Eventually, heartbroken, I fled."


"O-oh..."


"You see, Riolu... Humans can very well make Pokemon stronger, smarter, greater. But the human always wants something out of the bargain. If you are to make a pact with one you must know the risks."


"I... I see."


"And even if it succeeds... the relationship is always one of master and servant. Nothing more, nothing less."


Riolu paused. Then shambled off, leaving Koba to his meditation.


Now Riolu too was lost in thought.


***


Some art:


Hannah by Daydre

Beo by Lidjia


Beo by Zakuru


Terrence by Enduro


Terrence by yubakeme

[Umbramatic]

Anyway... AT LAST. I have been wanting to get to this chapter for a LONG time for REASONS and now it's finally here, so please, enjoy:


Chapter 9: Separation Anxiety


A few months had passed. Aaron was slowly starting to get more adjusted to life at the Time Flower Abbey.


There was just one problem.


"What do you mean you still don't have a Pokemon partner?" said Louis incredulously at the lunch table.


"I... I..." said Aaron.


"At this point, everyone but you has one..." said Atta.


"D-don't rub it in!"


"Hard not to when it's true," said Eve.


"You should make a sacrifice to Necrozma so they can send you one!" said Callie. "Light for the light god! Crystals for the crystal throne!"


"...No thanks," said Aaron.


"I guess you could, you know," said Eve, "try harder to find one?"


"Er, yes, I will do exactly that!" said Aaron, rushing off.


"...He didn't finish his lunch," said Louis.


"More for me then," said Atta, shoveling it all into her mouth.


--------


Aaron was just outside Time Flower Abbey, looking around. He knew any Pokemon he found inside probably was the partner of someone already, so out here was his best bet of finding one for him.


Then, he spotted one. A Wynaut, foraging for Berries - Aaron still didn't understand the difference between them and regular fruit even in class - and blissfully unaware of his presence. This small creature would do.


"Hey there?"


The Wynaut froze, then turned toward him.


"Do you want to be my friend?" said Aaron.


"Wynaut!"


"Really?! Oh this is great, I finally have a Pokemon par-"


"Wynaut." The Wynaut followed this up with a wobbling noise.


"...Wait, right, that's part of your name. Do you still want to be my partner?"


The Wynaut made another wobbling noise as it waved their headfeelers in Aaron's direction.


"Do you still want to be my partner?" said Aaron. Wait. He'd already said that. "Do you still want to be my partner?" Oh no, not again. And he was frozen in place too. Aaron realized he had been hit with the Wynaut's Encore.


The Wynaut snickered and headed off. Aaron was stuck in place parroting himself for a few minutes before it wore off and he collapsed with a moan.


-------


Aaron had since moved into the forest, where he was looking around wildly at any noise. Then, in the dappled sunlight of the treetops, he saw it: A Weepinbel, curled around a tree branch and swaying in the breeze.


"H-hey!" Aaron shouted up at it. "Do you want to be my partner?"


The Weepinbel glared at Aaron and pointed their leaf toward some rustling in a nearby tree.


"Uh..." said Aaron. "Is that food?"


The Weepinbel nodded.


"Uh, I guess... No, Metagross says all Pokemon are intelligent like people," said Aaron. "I can't help you."


The Weepinbell just rolled their eyes and kept staring.


Aaron looked at the Weepinbell. Then at the rustling. Maybe if he helped the Pokemon the Weepinbel was trying to eat then they'd help him?


He concentrated, sending an Aura blast at the other tree, knocking him back. There was a crack, then splinters everywhere, before a swarm of angry Beedrill emerged and headed straight for Aaron. His eyes widened.


"Oh no."


He exited, pursued by Beedril.


------


A few stings later, Aaron stumbled back toward Time Flower Abbey, rubbing himself. It was then he noticed a sleeping Munchlax.


"Maybe them..."


He approached the Munchlax and poked it. "Hey! You want to be my friend?"


The Munchlax kept snoring.


"Hello?"


The Munchlax rolled over. Aaron scowled and pushed the Munchlax, attempting to move them. The Munchlax raised a finger and waggled it, resulting in a wave of sludge that promptly washed Aaron away.


-------


Now sore, stung, and with sludge stains in his clothes, Aaron stumbled to a patch of grass a bit away from Time Flower Abbey. It was then he saw a Mareep. Aaron thought to himself for a bit. If asking directly didn't work maybe he could catch it...


He snuck closer to the Mareep. They kept grazing. He leapt to tackle them, and immediately got shocked, stumbling back. Aaron was now staring down a very angry Mareep.


"Uh, hey, hehe, I just wanted to be friends..."


He bolted, the Mareep chasing after back to the monastery.


----------


Several other children were hanging out, chatting and playing, in the courtyard, when a screaming Aaron burst in pursued by an angry Mareep. Aaron tripped and fell, and the Mareep zapped him one last time and stormed off in a huff.


Aaron slowly got up, sore, covered in stings, sludge, and electrical burns, and noticed the other kids were staring at him.


"Uh... Hi?"


The other kids started laughing, and pointing.


"Wait, no, please, stop," said Aaron, cowering and hiding his face. "I just wanted to- "


They kept laughing. Aaron ducked and cowered.


"Hey! Leave him alone! Shoo, shoo!"


Things got quiet. Aaron looked up and saw the other kids were gone and Hanna was standing over him. "You OK?" she asked.


"...No."


"Aw, come here," said Hannah, pulling Aaron into a hug. Aaron yelped and squirmed.


"Ow, that hurts!" Aaron said.


"Oops, sorry," said Hannah, putting him down.


"What's going on?" said a voice. "I heard a commotion..."


A strange blue-haired man in glasses approached. Aaron recognized him as the man who had been hanging around Time Flower Abbey for quite some time but had never gotten the name of.


"Oh, Terrence!" said Hannah, solving Aaron's problem in that department, "Poor Aaron here was being teased by the other kids for... What was it again?"


"I tried to befriend a bunch of Pokemon but they all attacked me."


Terrence leaned down to inspect Aaron, looking him up, down, left, and sideways, before standing back up and nodding.


"Yep, he got fucked up pretty bad."


Hannah gasped and covered her mouth. "Watch your language around the children!"


"I think what's important here is he gets medical attention," said Terrence.


Hannah nodded and picked Aaron up, causing Aaron to yelp in pain.


"...We need to get it to him carefully," said Terrence.


Hannah put Aaron down, and the two led him off to the infirmary.


----


Aaron's injuries had been patched up. His wounds bandaged. But his feelings still hurt.


He wandered around outside Time Flower Abbey, not wanting to be in contact with anything or anyone. He thought to himself.


He had come to Time Flower Abby as an escape. But it had changed nothing. He was still unwanted. Still singled out.


He let out a scream of frustration, sending a blast of Aura at the ground. It kicked up a lot of dirt and dust, and made a loud bang as bird and bug Pokemon scattered. Aaron panted from the exertion in the aftermath, hunched over.


Eventually, he stood up. And that's when he saw something approach.


--------


The Fighting Thieves were all gathered together in their, Koba standing on a platform a bit taller than all of them.


"Friends, partners," he said, "I have a lead... on the ultimate heist."


There were gasps and murmurs among the group, except Riolu, who kind of just raised an eyebrow, and Vallant, who scoffed.

"Ultimate heist? This oughta be good," said Shifty.


"Ooh! Ooh! What are we stealing?" said Grog.


"Is it a fun thing?" said Nicolas.


"Please don't let it be something stupid," said Vallant.

"Easy, easy," said Koba. "As for what it is... I have located a monastery to the north of here, up the mountain, known as Time Flower Abbey. There is a stash of strange crystals there that the Aura Guardians there use to transport their Pokemon servants. Those crystals are worth quite a lot of human money."


"So we break into the monastery, grab the crystals, then sell them to some other humans for a wagonload of cash?" said Vallant. "I like the sound of that!"


"We'll never go hungry again!" said Grog.


"What about security?" said Shifty


"It's... Tighter than usual. But I know a workaround. Follow me."


"Let's do this!" said Nicolas.


The group headed out of the hut. Riolu remained silent the whole time. Yes, this would be good for him and his friends, but... he had a bad feeling about this.


----------


Eventually, after traversing a forested mountain outside the village, the group came to Time Flower Abbey. It was huge, built into the mountain, forested and grassy plateaus extending from the parts that weren't, its spires stretching up into the sky, its structures laid out like a miniature city, decorated with stone sculptures of time flowers. The group looked on in awe.


"Damn." said Shifty. "How the hell are we gonna break in there?"


"I'll show you," said Koba.


He led the group around the side of the monastery across one of the forested plateaus until they found a series of bushes nestled around one of the walls. Koba parted the bushes to reveal a tunnel.

"A secret entrance," said Vallant. "Of course."


"Hey if it works it works!" said Nicolas. "I knew Dad would figure something out."


"Well..." said Riolu. "I guess we're going in."


"Of course, Captain Obvious!" said Shifty.


They entered.


-------------


It was dark in the tunnels, but not completely dark due to the fire on Koba's head and Nicolas' tail. The two of them lead the others through the winding cave. Riolu kept eyes and Aura feelers out for hostile Pokemon.


Finally, they emerged in an empty room, filled with boxes of food, including a bag of apples that had been recently ripped into, a sticky glue-like substance left behind.


"Look at all this food!" said Grog.


"If we stole this too we could eat like kings!" said Vallant.


"We need to keep our priorities straight," said Koba." The coast is clear... For now. We need to hurry."


The group grabbed some sacks from the room and hurried through dark stone back hallways, hiding at any peep of human and Pokemon activity. Eventually, they got to a large, vault-like door.


"This is it," said Koba with visible excitement. "This is the place!"


"Shiny." said Grog.


"Sounds great," said Shifty. "But how do we even get in?"


"Simple, we break it open," said Vallant.


"And make noise? That tells peoplemons we're here?" said Nicolas.


"Wait," said Riolu. "I have an idea."


He moved his Aura senses over the structure of the door until he found the gears and mechanisms inside. Carefully, he placed a paw on them and then Force Palmed what he saw as a weak point.


The door creaked, murmured. Koba pushed it. It opened.


"All right! Nice lockpicking Riolu," said Shifty.


The Fighting Thieves headed inside, and within were exactly what they came for - a veritable pile of the strange crystals, and other gems. Atop the pile, however, was something Riolu noticed was different from the others - a strange, pulsating crystal orb that Riolu could sort of feel was alive.


"Take as many as you can carry, but be careful - they can suck unwary Pokemon inside of them," said Koba.


The others started gathering up gems carefully, placing them gently in the sacks. Koba grabbed the orb, treating it extra-carefully. The sacks started bulging with loot.


Then they all heard a voice mentally sigh in their heads.


~I don't know how the hell you got in here, but you need to put those back please or there will be consequences.~


Everyone turned to see a Musharna floating in the doorway.


"Oh no, the living bong is here to stop us, I'm so scared," said Vallant.


The Musharna sighed again. ~Your funeral.~


He telekinetically flung one of the staff gems at Vallant. He yelped as he was sucked inside and the gem was pulled to the Musharna's side as it shook wildly.


"Oh shi-" said Shifty before the same to him. Grog screamed loudly as he was also ensnared. The Musharna threw another at Koba, but he threw up a Protect, shielding himself, Riolu, and Polly.


"Nicolas! Riolu! Go!"


Nicolas paused. Riolu promptly grabbed him and bolted out of there. The two ran and ran down seemingly endless stone hallways until-


"Hey, watch it!"


Riolu tripped over the Aura Guardian's shoe, sending him and Nicolas sprawling. In confusion and panic the two ran in separate directions until they lost track of each other completely.


-----------

Shifty, Vallant, Grog, and Koba were all restrained in a dungeon cell as Nightjar and her Musharna companion looked them over.


"Raiding a vault full of gems? Thankfully for you our penalty for petty thievery isn't death or tourture or anything, but you're still staying her a long while." Nightjar turned to the Musharna. "Thank you for apprehending them, Lazy Bones."


~Not a problem, miss Nightjar,~ said Lazy Bones.


"Anyway," said Nightjar, "I will be reporting this to Ryan. Don't get too comfy."


She and Lazy Bones headed off.


"What are we going to do?!" said Grog, rattling his Aura-reinforced chains.


"Simple!" said Vallant. "We escape and blow this joint!"


"Not just that..." said Koba. "Nicolas and Riolu are still out there..."


"Yeah! We can't leave without either of them!" said Shifty. "Not on my watch!"


------


Eventually, Riolu made it outside, through the courtyard, out the front gate until he was a fair distance away from Time Flower Abbey. He gasped and panted before turning back to the massive building, panicking.


He had only had a short time with the Fighting Thieves, and they had already been torn away from him. Flashbacks to his parents, his father, filled his mine. Everything happy in his short life felt ephemeral, meaningless... He...


No. He would not accept this. He would free them. But how?


Then he heard a noise. A flash of bright light he recognised as Auric out of the corner of his eye.


He turned. A human boy had kicked up a cloud of dust with that display. That human had done it? Riolu's Aura feelers flared - indeed, that human had a rare spark of Aura that he rarely saw away from here.


Then he had an idea. Humans were the masters and Pokemon were the servants. But humans were willing to work with Pokemon. Could this human... help him find his friends? If he made a pact? It was risky but...


Riolu approached the human. The human slowly looked up from his lurching position and his expression turned from one of anger to one of wonder and curiosity. Riolu gulped. He should probably keep this formal...


~...I ask of you. Will you be my master?~


***

[Umbramatic]

I LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE

I will respond to reviews later maybe i just want to make this chapter finally happen its been so long i'm so sorry

Chapter 10: I Just Met You And I Love You

Aaron stared. And stared. And stared some more. Until he was finally able to reply to the small Riolu in front of him.

"You can talk? Like a Psychic type can? Are you a Psychic type?"

Riolu raised an eyebrow. ~What? No. I'm a Fighting type. Anyway you didn't answer my question.~

A big smile sprouted on Aaron's face. "Wait, you really want to be my partner?"

~Well, yes, but only to-~

He was interrupted by Aaron hugging him.

"That's great! We'll be best friends!"

~Wait but-~

"We can train together and show bullies who's boss and play games and - oh! I've got to show you to the other kids and their Pokemon! They'll love to meet you!"

It was then Riolu realized his mistake. The human was clearly desperate for the partnership to be a permanent affair.

~Um, I-~

"I'm Aaron, it's so nice to meet you! Do you want a human name?"

~No.~

"That's okay! Come on!"

He grabbed Riolu's paw and started dragging him to the monastery. Riolu thought quickly. If Koba had ditched his human couldn't he do the same with this one? But there was what his dad said about human-Pokemon bonds being special and having a Vow around them... Why did this have to be so hard?

---------------

Eve, Louis, Atta, and Callie, along with Iuroidea, Rook, Stabby, and Munchkin, were passing a ball around - though Rook and Stabby were just watching due to their increased ability to cut the ball open. It was then Aaron dragged Riolu in.

"Guys! Guys! I found a Pokemon partner!"

The kids and their Pokemon froze. The ball dropped to the ground and rolled away. Everyone stared at Aaron and the Riolu inexplicably next to him.

"Callie?" said Louis. "Did you sneak something funny into our lunch again?"

"It wasn't me I swear!" said Callie.

"Then... He did it!" said Eve.

The group gathered around Aaron and Riolu.

"A Riolu?" said Atta. "Isn't that cliche for an Auric?"

"I mean it's a cliche for a reason," said Eve. "Aren't Lucario Fighting-type Aura powers the most similar to humans usually?"

"Why the bloody dogs got it I don't know," said Louis. "Aaron, where did you even find him?"

"He just walked up to me and asked if he could join me!"

"Doubt." said Atta.

~It's true though.~ said Riolu with a sigh. The others jumped back.

"He can talk! Cool!" said Callie.

"So he's like Polly's Metagross then..." said Louis.

"Yeah!" said Aaron. He then shifted a bit. "So, uh, any tips for like... Taking care of him?"

"Well..." said Eve.

The kids went into a huddle; meanwhile Riolu was pulled away by the other mons.

"Well the dweeb finally got a partner!" said Munchkin. "Did he give you a name?"

"No," said Riolu, shaking his head.
"Regardless, Riolu," said Rook, "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Don't be so formal, Rook, the guy doesn't seem like the type," said Iuroidea.

"He seems... Stoic! Like some kind of gruff loner mon!" said Stabby.

"I'm fine, really," said Riolu, shaking his head.

"Well welcome aboard!" said Stabby. "The human kids are happy to see you, and we're due for some action!"

"Please no action today," said Rook.

"By the way," said Riolu, "Have any of you seen a Chimchar around?"

"No?" said Munchkin, scratching his head. "Someone as canny as I would remember seeing one of those here."

"You could try asking some of the other Pokemon around," said Iuroidea. "Knowing Aaron he's probably going to show you off to everyone anyway."

Riolu nodded. "I'll do that."

-------------

Polly was sitting quietly with Metagross and Dunsparce, enjoying some tea, when Aaron dragged Riolu before her.

"Polly, look! I have a Pokemon now!"

Polly spat out her tea, causing Dunsparce to recoil and hiss. If Metagross had movable eyebrows he would raise one.

"How- Er, yes, Aaron, that's lovely! A Riolu huh? Did you name the mutt?"

~I'm not a mutt.~

"No, he didn't want one."

"Some Pokemon don't," said Polly. "I never gave Metagross or Dunsparce one. Felt weird."

"Huh..." said Aaron. "That's a big thing for Pokemon, so I guess it's okay."


"Yep."

"But I have him now and it's great!"

Ignoring Aaron for the moment, Riolu approached Metagross and Dunsparce.

"You two seen a Chimchar anywhere?"

"Nope!" said Dunsparce. "I would know if I saw a monkey with its butt on fire."

"I haven't seen one." said Metagross. "Why do you ask?"

"...They're a friend."

"I won't pry. And I don't read people's minds without permission anymore. I hope you find them. Maybe ask Aaron for help?"

Riolu paused. Then sighed.

"Maybe."

Once again Metagross would raise his X-shaped metal eyebrow if he could.

---------------

Aaron walked, - no strutted toward Gabriel, Riolu in tow, as Gabriel slumbered on Patricia's back.

"Hey Gabe! I got a Pokemon! How about that!"

Gabriel's eyes snapped open. He quickly looked over at Aaron.

"Wimp? What do you wa-"

He caught sight of the Riolu and just kind of stared.

"...Whose Riolu is that?"

"He's my partner!" said Aaron, puffing out his chest and placing his hands on his hips.

At this Gabriel visibly panicked and almost fell off Patricia.

"You got a Fighting type?! If you got a fighting type then-"

He shook his head.

"No - even with the type advantage you're a wuss! The wussiest wuss to ever wuss! You'll see!"

There was a pause.

"...Patricia, could you move us elsewhere? We need to hi- prepare for a showdown against this twerp."

Patricia gave a "s-sorry about him" only Riolu could hear as her individual segments rotated in tandem so she could roll away, Gabriel running in place on top of them as his purple eyes locked on Aaron with a glare until they vanished.

"Oh yeah! You have a type advantage against Onix! I didn't even think of that!"

~Well now you know.~

"We really will make a great team!"

Riolu paused. And sighed.

~Yeah. Though... Have you seen a Chimchar around?~

"Uh, no, why?"

~I came here to look for him. And I figured one of the humans could help me.~

"Oh really? Sure thing! Anything for my new buddy!"

Riolu looked left and right. ~Yeah...~

"Come on! We'll check the cellars first!"

The two ran off.

---------------

Polly had finished her tea and was walking to Ryan's office when she saw Terrence approaching, along with a Duraludon.

"Polly!" he said.

"Yeah?"

"You available? I have some things I wanted to ask you."

"Sure?"

Terrence looked around. "This place. It's huge. And It seems like it's been around a long time. How'd it get here?"

Polly raised an eyebrow. "Why do you want to know?"

Terrence gave her a look and shrugged his shoulders. "I mean. I've been staying here long enough and I ought to know more about this place. Plus I'm just curious."

His Duraludon made puffing noises and nodded.

"Rohe would like to know too."

Quick brain check. The Duraludon was indeed named Rohe and would indeed sincerely like to know. Polly sighed.

"Alright. This place... you can probably tell, but it's old. Real old. At least 200 years old, and that's probably undershooting it."

"Wow... You Aura Guardians built it I presume."

"Yeah! So people with Aura powers can have a place to be protected and socialize with people like them and taught to use their powers for good!"

"What about fighting evildoers?"

"That shit's dangerous. Only when absolutely necessary."

Rohe made a disappointed noise.

"Oh come on you get what I mean."

Terrence chuckled. "Okay then, seems like we've mostly gone through the obvious. So next question... How did YOU get here?"

Polly blinkled. "You mean in like a metaphysical sense, how I got here on this planet, or..."
Terrence rolled his eyes. "To the monastery."

"Right, right. I was brought here, along with some of the other senior Aura guardians here, mainly Vince, Carol - though she didn't call herself Carol back then and everyone thought she was a boy - and-

She stopped.

"And who?"

"...Elliot."

"I haven't seen him around."

"There's a reason for that. He's... He's gone."

Terrence's eyes widened behind his glasses. "Oh, oh... I'm sorry... Didn't mean to go there..."

"It's fine. You aren't a Psychic. You couldn't have known."

Rohe placed a reassuring stump on Polly's side and gave a "dur" of reassurance.

Terrence paused. "I... I have a reason I'm here too. I'm looking for a friend."

"A friend?"

"Yeah. One that went missing. And I think it has to do with the disappearances you all were investigating. Hence why I signed up to help."

"Oh. Oh that makes sense.'

She then squinted at him.

"...Why didn't you say so in the first place?"

Terrence shrugged. "Personal info. This was a professional job. Most employers don't wanna hear a sob story."

Polly rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine."

"Anyway, wanna head over to the mess hall? They've got Watmel berries."

"Ooh, I love those."

Rohe thirded them with a trill of excitement, and they headed on over.

----------

It was late evening. Vince was patrolling the Time Flower Abbey grounds. It was then he saw Louis, with Rook beside him.

"Hey! Kid! You and your Scyther! What are you doing out so late?"

Louis yelped and practically jumped out of his pants before Rook put a reassuring blade on his shoulder.

"Uh, um, I-"

"What is it?"

"...I needed some space. To think."

"About what?"

"...What it was like. Before I came here."

Vince's expression softened. "Oh. Yeah. You were... With that abusive family right?"

Louis flinched. "Yes."

"The Cains?"

Louis flinched harder. "Also yes."

He pulled down his collar to reveal a tattoo on his shoulder. One of two Corvinight mauling each other.

Vince scowled. "Damn Kalosian noble families. Pieces of work, all of them." He blinked, shook his head, and shrugged. "No offense of course."

"...None taken. I'm... I'm glad I'm here."

"Same. I know I was-"

Suddenly Rook perked up, pivoted his entire body in a direction, and snarled. Vince and Louis to look. Something nearby was flickering.

The flickering lunged.

"Get down!" Vince yelled as he summoned both a Night Slash blade and Henry. Both lunged back at the flickering as Rook lunged as well and Louis jumped back. The three of them tackled the flickering, revealing it to be someone in a strange red and white cloak and mask, who was quickly overpowered and knocked back. Vince acted quickly, binding the person to the ground with dark Obscuric whips, which the person attempted to turn intangible again and phase through to no avail. Vince turned to Louis.

"Get the others, quick!"

Louis nodded, then scrambled off. Vince turned back to the strange figure.

"Now... Who the hell are you?"

***

[Umbramatic]

I'm sorry I'm slow as fuck, but I muist perservere, like a Magikarp riding up a waterfall to become a Gyarados. HERE IT IS, THE LONG-DELAYED:

Chapter 11: Impressions

"Now, Riolu, let me introduce you to an old nemesis!"

The two were standing before Aaron's "favorite" training dummy. Riolu raised an eyebrow. ~This thing?~

"Don't underestimate it!" said Aaron, waving his arms wildly. "That dummy's a menace! I swear it's out to get me!"

~...Sure.~

"Listen if you don't believe me why don't you hit it yourself?"

Rolu nodded, walked up to the dummy, and smacked it with a Force Palm. It wobbled and settled itself without incident. Aaron blinked.

"...It never doies that. Let me try!"

He advanced toward the dummy and promptly tripped. Riolu snickered as Aaron got up.

"Look- maybe we don't do the dummy for now. Maybe we fight each other!"

~...Each other? I'll kick your butt.~

"I'll kick YOUR butt!"

~If you insist.~

Riolu instead rushed at Aaron with a Force Palm. Aaron attempted to counter with one of hios own but missed and was hit in the chest, falling over backward."

~...Maybe it's just you."

"Is... Is not!":

~Mabye you should change your approach.~

"...Change...My... Approach... Uh, got it, I guess."

He slowly got back up and stood at the ready.

Riolu charged him again. This time Aaron extended his palms and created a large barrier in front of himself, which Riolu promptly bounced off of and skidded back from.

~Wow... You're actually pretty good at THOSE.~

Aaron blinked and dissipated the barrier. "I... Am? I've never tried using them much..."

~Well start now. Those Aura barriers of yours are surprisingly strong.~

"Wow..." said Aaron. He grinned. "Hey! Me and you! This proves we can be a great team! We'll be a sword and shield! Like Zacian and Zamazenta!"

~Like who and what now?~

"I mean we make a great offense-defense combo! You offense, me defense! It'll be great!"

~Oh, uh. Are you sure? As like a long-term thing?"

"Of course! Isn't that how Pokemon and humans work together?"

~Right, yeah...~

"Come on, let's do some more!"

They kept sparring well into the afternoon, a sinking feeling forming in Riolu's gut the whole while.

---------

Aaron and Riolu approached the other kids and their Pokemon, who were doing slime sort of knights-and-Dragon-Types game with each other. Aaron turned to Riolu.

"You remember the plan?"

~Are you dure about the plan?~

"Of course! You just gotta trust me!"

~...Trust you, huh.~

"Yeah! Now come on!"

He turned to the other kids and Pokemon and yelled.
"HEY LOSERS!"

Everyone stopped. A few dropped their props.

:What?" Atta said, finally, grumpily.

"Watch this!" said Aaron.

Aaron threw up an Aura barrier as Riolu jumped atop it and backflipped into a Force Palm that Aaron blocked. They separated into a coordinated hand-to hand display of Auric energy before dissipating their powers and bowing.

The other children and Pokemon paused. Then Callie and Munchkin started clapping. Slowly, but surely, all the other children joined in.

"Not bad, I guess." said Louis.

"Pretty good," said Eve

"Fancy." said Atta.

"That was great!" said Callie.

"We... we did it!" said Aaron. "We impressed them! I never do that!"

He turned to Riolu. "It's all thanks to you buddy!"

Rioolu grimaced a bit. ~Uhuh, sure...~

----------

That night, Aaron and Rioluu sat outside the monastery looking at the stars. For whatever reason Aaron had insisted on it, even if it meant sneaking out past the senior Aura Guardians - not an easy feat when many of both they and their Pokemon can sense thoughts and auras.

"Hey Riolu?"

~...Yeah?~

"I'm glad you're here with me now."

~...Thanks.~

Aaron paused. "It hasn't been the same since. "

~Since what?~

"...Since my dad died."

~...Your dad died?~

"...Yeah. It was a few years ago when.. When he got very sick, and..."

He stopped.

~...Oh.~

Riolu also paused.

~My dad...~

"Did he...?"

~Yeah. A Charizard killed him. Left my old pack because of it.~

Aaron frowned even harder than he was already. "I'm so sorry..."

~It's. It's fine.~

"No it's not. I can tell. It's OK for it to be not fine."

He touches Riolu's paw.

"I've got you."

Riolu paused.

~...Thanks. I appreciate it.~

They went back to looking at the stars.

--------

Atta was chewing on something of indeterminate origin when Callie approached her.

"Hey there!" said Callie.

Atta spit out the Thing and snarled. "What?"

"Well I ws thinking-" Callie started to say.

"You think?" said Atta.

"Callie scoffed. "Of courrse I do! Anyway, what IS life with Pawniard and Bishatrp like?"

Atta paused. "...Hazardous."

"Oh, because they're sharp and pointy?" said Callie.

"That and the hunts."

"Ooh, what are those like?"

"We chase something. Usually it fights back. Sometimes we manage to kill it. But it's very dangerous."

"Ooh, exciting!" said Callie.

"...Exciting?" said Atta.

"Yeah! It sounds adventuresome!"

"It was scary and we just did it to eat." She shook her head. "Was it 'adven-toor-some' with your Necrozma cult?"

"Well um." Callie paused. "How do I phrase this? Yres and no!"

Atta raised an eyebrow. "That is contradictrory."

"No, no, I mean - we had a set chill routine, but some fun stuff happened with said routine!"

"Like what?"

"Like we would make these big sacrifices to Necrozma!"

"Human sacrifices? Pokemon sacrifices?"

"What? NO. It was always offerings of things that gave light."

"Light?"

:"Yeah! 'Cause Necrozma lost its light long ago see? And we're trying to help get it back!"

"Ohhhh, right. That makes sense."

:Atta paused.

"Getting to know you more made me... Happy Is that that friendship Aaron talks about?"

>...Huh I guess it is! Nice to get to know you too!" said Callie.

She extended a hand.

"...What?" said Atta.

"You're supposed to shake it!"

"Oh."

And so she did.

--------------

Nicolas was rummaging around in a dark corner of the Abbey, scrummaging for... whatever he could grab really. It's what he'd been doing ever since he got stuck at this place.

He basically had to learn quickly how to survive on his own. Especially since he had not located where his father and his compatriots were being kept. The Abbey was a scary place.

But he had to conquer it. He had to.

Though if only he had allies...

---------

Meanwhile the Fighting Thieves Nicolas was seeking were idling about in the Pokemon-proofed cel they were stuck in.

Shifty tossed a rock at a wall and it clanged and clattered as it fell to the ground.

"Be quiet in there!" said the Aura Guardian standing guard.

Shifty paused, smirked a little, then did it again.

"I SAID be quiet!"

The guard stood up from where he was sitting to glare at Shifty.

Shifty outright grinned and did it yet again.

The guard came very close to the bars. "How many times do I-"

Shifty suddenly lunged with a Sucker Punch and slammed the guard headfirst into the cage bars, causing him to collapse in a daze and drop his keys, which Shifty promptly scooped up.

"Guys, horry!"

The others rushed over, and Koba used his nimble hands to reach through the bars, unlock the door with the keys, and swing said door open.

"We're FREE!" said Grog.

"About time," said Koba

"Go go go!" said Vallant.

And they all rushed out and away just as the guard slowly started to recover.

-----------

Elsewhere, further and deeper in the dungeons, several Aura Guardians had gathered around the masked, cloaked figure, who had been tied up with cords charged with Obscura so they couldn't phase out and escape, their Pokemon contained in crystals to the side.

"All right gang," said Vince. "Let's see who's really behind that mask."

He quickly removed the mask and hood to reveal a woman with dark skin and long, swirling purple hair.

~Hm, no one we know.~ said Carol. ~Time to take THAT off the conspiracy board.~

The tied-up woman snarled, revealing unusually pointy canine teeth.

"Shit," said Polly as she and the others started backing away. "She's an Aura Vampire!"

"Yes, you got that right." said the woman angrily. "Now where is she?"

"Where is who?" said Vince.

"Medea. My girlfriend. She went missing in this region. Thought you Aura Guardian fucks were responsible."

"We're not fucks." said Vince, clutching a hand to his chest.

~I'm a fuck,~ said Carol, her eyebrows wiggling.

"So wait, you weren't here to suck us all dry of Aura in our sleep?" said Polly.

"Only if you did kidnap my girlfriend. Which you don't seem to have, so you don't deserve it," said the woman, shrugging her shoulders as best she could in her binds.

"Reassuring," said Vince.

~Say," said Carol. ~We're investigating a murder and a bunch of dissapearances. Maybe this Medea of yours is related.~

"Really now?" said the woman, raising an eyebrow.

"...Yeah, probably," said Polly. "Whoever's responsible for those probably took your girlfriend."

"If that's the case then I'll help," said the woman.

The trio of Aura Guardians stopped and stared.

"You want to help?" said Polly.

"But you're an aura vampire," said Vince.

Carol nudged him. ~Don't be an ableist.~

"How is not trusting an Aura Vampire ableist?" said Vince.

:"It's like a chronic illness, isn't it?" said Polly. "By various means you wind up with a continued deficiency in your Aura, and need to turn to external sources to replenish itt."

Vince paused... "Fuck you're right."

He turned to the wioman. "Still though. If I untire you so you can help ujs do you promise not to murrder us all?"

"I promise," said the woman playfully.

Vunce removed the cords.

Everyone stayed stock still for a minute.

"Boo," the woman said finally.

The Aura Guardian trio yelped and jumped. The woman laughed.

"Olivia Hallow. Pleasure to work with you all."

***

[Umbramatic]

Ahahahaha! Happy Hallolween, one and all! It's time for a spooktacular bonus episode of Heroes After All. What horrors await our protagonists? Find out in:
Bonus Chapter 3: HAAlloween
It was Murkrow season again.
Every year, in the fall, the Murkrow descended upon Time Flower Abbey. Every year they were impossible to get rid of. They infested every corner of the abbey - rooftops, courtyards, even getting inside from time to time. After multiple attempts to get rid of them, the residents of the Abbey had learned to just deal until they eventually went away.
This Murkrow season was a particularly bad one. Aaron, Riolu, and friends were moving through a flock of them trying to get back to their rooms for the evening from class, and they keept screeching at them and delivering sudden pecks.
"I hate these thi-OW!" said Louis. He brushed away a Murkrow jabbing at him.
<They can hear you....> said Rook.
"I for one think they're cute!" said Callie.

<I DON'T,> said Munchkin.
Aaron shook his head. Riolu scowled in the Murkrow's general direction.
"We, uh. Probably shouldn't irritate them..." said Aaron.
He looked over to Vince and Terrence nearby, who weretrying to communicate as best they can with Henry and Zawisza.
"Are you SURE you can't get them in line?" said Vince to Henry.
Henry simply gave a squaky laugh.
"You can't either? Seriously?" said Terrence to Zawisza.

Zawisza just shrugged her wings.
~The adults aren't having any luck either, human OR Pokemon...~ said Riolu.
"Can we eat them?" said Atta.

<I can poke them to death!> said Stabby.
<I doubt that...> said Iuroidea.
"Then what DO we do?" said Eve.
Aaron put his hand to his chin and pondered a bit. Then a large open-mouthed smile crossed his face.
"I've got it! If I make a large enough bang with my Aura powers it'll be sure to scare them off!"
"Wait, Aaron, that's crazy!" said Eve.

Too late. Aaron was already charging a ball of aura.
~Aaron, don-~ Riolu started to say.
Too late. Aaron had generated an exceptionally loud bang.
The Murkrow initially responded by all flying up in the air and cawing raucously. Then they all started divebombing and attacking Aaron and Riolu specifically. Aaron and Riolu screamed as the Murkrow started chasing them further and further away from the others.
-------------
Eventually, after much running and screaming, the Murkrow dissipated, flying off in various directions. Aaron and Riolu swerve left to tend to sore peck spots and brush off feathers.
~What were they chasing ME for?~ said Riolu. ~YOU made the noise!~
"Maybe they could sense our strong friendship?" Aaron said with a sheepish grin.
~...Yeah, sure. Whatever,~ said Riolu.
He looked around. ~Where ARE we anyway?~
Aaron looked around. They seemed tyo be in some heavily wooded area. "I... Don't know."
~So you mean we're lost?~
"...Yes."

~This is your fault you know.~

"...Yes, I know.~
Riolu huffed. ~Well we'll just have to find a way back I GUESS.~
"Y-You're right. I-it can't be far!" said Aaron.
The two started searching through a path in the woods.
------------
A couple hours passed. It had gotten dark out at this point. The two had made no headway.
~Gah,~ said Riolu. ~I can't find anything, even with my Aura sense...~
"Me neither..." said Aaron.
Riolu kept scanning and scanning for traces of something that could lead them back. But then he picked up something. Strange.
Reaching out further he was able to tell it was big. -
And it was moving.
Moving this way.
~Aaron we should get moving,~ Riolu said frantically.
"I thought we already we-" Aaron started to say.
~We need to do it FASTER,~ Riolu said with growing panic.
"Uh, okay, okay!" said Aaron.
They started moving through the woods faster. It was then the two could hear the rustling of something very large.
Not too far behind them.
Aaron opened his mouth to scream but Riolu immediately covered it with a paw.
~Just run,~ said Riolu.
Aaron immediately did, Riolu not far behind.
The rustling continued to follow them.
-----------------------
The two kept running. And running. And running. Until they finally ran out of breath, panting and wheezing from their efforts.
"Do you think..." Aaron said, gasping for breath. "...We lost it?"
More rustling.
~Apparently not!~ said Riolu in a panic.
"What do we do?!" said aaron.
Riolu looked around until he spotted an embedded tree hollow, sticking out of the earth.

~In there!~
Aaron and Riolu ducked into the hollow and peeked out.
It was dark. Very dark. But the two could see a thick body lurching out from the underbrush. It heaved across the earth in front of the two's hideaway, moving around as if it was in search of something.
The pair quickly realized it could be them.
Eventually, the creature left. Aaron and Riolu waited, and waited, until they were sure it was gone. Then they removed themselves from the log.
"What WAS that?!" Aaron said in a panicked whisper.

~I don't know,~ said Riolu.~But I suspect it wants to eat... Us~
"EAT US?!" said Aaron.

~Whatever you do., don't scream. It'll just come back.~
"R-right..." said Aaron.
~Listen, I've been in this situation before,~ said Riolu.
"You have?!" said Aaron.
~Yeah. And what I've found is you have to keep running until you find someplace safe... Or a place with something stronger and tougher that won't also eat YOU.~
"...So we gotta get back to Time Flower Abbey then?"
~...Right, before that thing gets US.~ said Riolu. ~The adults can handle that thing hopefully maybe.~
"Right! To-"
More rustling.
~Oh no! It's coming back! Move it!~
And the two bolted for it.
--------
Eventually the trees started thinning. More moonlight started peering through the leaves.
But the rustling in pursuit continued.
Aaron and Riolu were running out of breath. Their steps were faltering.
Finally, Aaron tripped. Collapsed.
~Aaron!~ said Riolu.
It was then the creature emerged from the bushes. It was dark and bloated, with a wide and tall form...what was most apparent was its massive mouth, filled with writhing tongues and massive pointy teeth.
"N-No...." said Aaron. "I... don't want to die...."
Riolu froze, looking between Aaron, then the strange dark creature. Then determination set in his eyes and he charged forward, putting himself between Aaron and the monster.
~If you're going to eat him then you're going to have to get through me!~
The dark creature leaned in closer. It opened its mouth to show its teeth again, then closed them. Its face scrunched up into a look of... Concern?

<...Are you two quite all right?>
~...Huh?_ said Riolu.
"You... Don't want to eat us?" said Aaron.
<Of course not,> said the creature with a distinct Galarian accent. <I may be a Guzzlord but I'm not so uncouth!>
~Guzzlord?~ said Riolu.
<Yes! Said the creature. ~We're a rare type of Ultra Beast,, from a dimension far from here, I landed in Galar before coming here, had to learn the language of the native Pokemon... ! Anyway, my name is Eustace Francisco Guzzichum, Esquire.>
"Nice to meet you Eustace!" said Aaron, getting tol his feet.
<My pleasure as well.! I am here because I was looking for directions to Rota, my Trainer is there... but all the local Pokemon are too scared of me to help!>
~We were trying to get back to Time Flower Abbey. Maybe the peoplemons there can help,~ said Riolu.
<A marvelous idea! Let us go posthaste!>
"Let's go then!" said Aaron.
And the very unusual party continued onward.
-------------
Eventually they encountered not the monastery but certain people and Pokemon from it.

"Aaron! Riolu! All the Aura Guardians have been looking all over for you" said Polly."Thank Lugia you're allri-"
She noticed Eustace.

"Behind you! Duck for cover!"
~You won't touch them, beasti. You have no hold in this dimension.~
<Yeah they're no lunch!> said Dunsparce.
~Guys, relax, he's with us,~ said Riolu.
"Yeah he helped us find you!" said Aaron. "Eustace is great!"
<Oh dear, sorry to startle you...> Said Eustace.
"....It's all right," said Polly. "Thank you so much for bringing these boys back to us... Especially after those damn Murkrow chased them into the woods."
Eustace immediately perked up.
<Murkrow? Why I love the taste of Murkrow! Gamey but with just the right amount of juicy tenderness!>
Polly paused, then looked at Metagross with a snide grin.

"Are you pondering what I'm pondering?"
~Of course I am, we're psychically in synch, said Metagross~
<Uh... yeah, Polly, but where are we going to find rubber pants our size?> said Dunsparce.
"Good. Let's escort this Kwazai to the Abbey," said Polly.
-----------------------

The Murkrow were up to their usual mischief at Time Flower Abbey. Pecking, shrieking, stealing, the works.
Eventually, however, a contingent of Aura Guardians emerged from the mountain forest near the abbey.
Followed by Eustace.
The Murkrow stopped to stare at this new visitor.
Eustace bared his teeth in a wide, hungry, grin.
And lunged.
----------------
The Murkrow never bothered Time Flower Abbey again.
***
And there you have it! Have a spooktacular Halloween! Don't let the Guzzlord bite!

[Umbramatic]

Heeeeeeeeeeeeere finally is a new chapter. Kind of a lowkey one but it is setting up for things to come. I really need to fix my glacial pace. Anyway:


Chapter 12: Booming Thunder

Aaron and Riolu were walking along outside Time Flower Abbey,Aaron attempting to explain something to Riolu.

"Look, I just think Ser Luise Trinigard is the coolest Galar knight!"

~I still have no idea what you're talking about..~

Suddenly they both heard a very loud squawk. They looked around wildly for the source before hearing it again from bushes near the abbey.

~Let's just leave-~ Riolu started to say.

"Let's check it out!" said Aaron, rushing over. Riolu sighed and followed.

The two crawled deeper into the bushes. There they found a Pidgey, struggling with a rather large stick.

<Begone foul beast!> said the Pidgey. <I will have the better of you!>

Riolu told Aaron what the Pidgey was saying.

"...We should help her."

:~...Fine.~

Riolu went over and snapped the stick in half. The Pidgey looked at him with wide eyes.

"Spectacular! You have done a great favor to Bird Arceus!"

After translating Riolu shook his head and said ~I think this Pidgey got hit hard in the head with that stick.~

"The poor thing..." said Aaron. He turned to the Pidgey. "Are you OK?"

"I am perfectly fine thank you!" said the Pidgey. "But I ought to repay your service, I just don't know how..."

She thought a bit, then chirped. "Oh! Human, you seem to be a Pokemon weilder. Would you like the help of Bird Arceus?"

~Absolutely no-~ Riolu started to say.

"Of course!" said Aaron.

~...But why?~ said Riolu.

"They volunteered so why not?" said Aaron.

~Lots of reasons!~ said Riolu.

"Give her a chance, please?"

Oh no. Aaron was giving him The Eyes.

~...Fine,~ said Riolu, ~but you're the one keeping an eye on her.~

"Wooo!" said Aaron. "Just one thing though..."

"Yes?" said the Pidgey.

"Bird Arceus is... a bit of a mouthful," said Aaron.

~Also pretentious,~ said Riolu.

"You wanna go buy something different?" said Aaron.

The Pidgey scrunched up her face in thought. "Still need something with oomph," she said, her feathers puffing out dramatically as she said "oomph".

"How about... Thunder?" said Aaron.

The Pidgey trilled. "That's perfect! The thunder that smites my enemies!"

~Sure thing buddy,~ said Riolu.

"That's great!" said Aaron. "We're glad to have you with us!"

Thunder chirped and hopped onto Aaron's shoulder.

"We're gonna show you to all our friends!" said Aaron.

At this Riolu felt a pang of a strange feeling. It felt vaguely like... Jealousy? No. Not possibly. Ridiculous.

~...We'll see if they're impressed,~ he said.

The trio went off back toward the Abbey.

-----------------

As they did, eyes watched them.

These alien eyes were mystified, entranced, by these strange creatures and their alliances. The little purple creature bobbed and floated out of sight, wondering.

Wondering if it could be a part of it too.

It would have to watch them closely. And then, perhaps, it would learn enough of their ways to join them.

------------------------

Deep in the night of Time Flower Abbey, there was movement.

A familiar group of Fighting types was making their way about. They kept their movementa calculated and quiet, staying behind cover. Finally one spoke up.

"Why are we still sneaking around here again?" said Vallant.

"Don't you remember?" said Shifty. "Riolu and Nicolas are still here!"

"I am not leaving without my son at the very least!" said Koba.

"Yeah I'd rather not leave either of them behind..." said Grog.

"Oh. Right," said Vallant. "But that raises another question. How do we find them? Place is pretty big. And it's swarming with humans and hostile Pokemon. We've barely been evading them as is!"
"We've gotta find SOME way!" said Grog.

"I know that!" said Vallant. "But we need. Y'know. A plan."

Shifty put a hand to his chin. "Well we've tried staying stealthy."

"Mabye we could try disguises!" said Grog.

"Vetoing disguises," said Koba. "Clearly our first priority is actually finding them. Then extract them."

"But how do we find them? We keep missing them!" said Vallant.

"Well we've been all over the place right?" said Shifty. "Maybe we keep missing them!"

"I have a proposal then," said Koba. "We find a good place to hide long term. And then... we do a stakeout."

"A stakeout?" said Grog. "What's that?"

"Basically it's hiding inand sticking to one spot to keep an eye out for something," said Vallant. "In this case Riolu and Nicolas."

"Oh! That sounds like a good idea!" said Grog.

"A stakeout it is!" said Shifty. "Now where do we set it up...?"

"Better start looking," said Vallant with a sigh.

The gang started stealthily scrounging for a spot.

-------------

Polly was idling around Time Flower Abbey, Metagross and Dunsparce at her side. It was then she noticed something. Or rather someone.

It was Beo, looking around the Abbey with interest. He noticed Polly and gave a slight bow.

"Hello there! How have you been?"

Polly blinked. "Beo What brings you here?"

"I just thought I'd check in is all," said Beo. "Are things going well?"

Polly paused. "It's been going well. We found a lead on the disappearance cases. Kind of"

Beo perked up noticeably. "Really? That's good to hear! What kind of lead?"

"Well you see," said Polly, "We found... an Aura Vampire."

Beo's eyes widened. "Really? Were... Were they...?"

"The stereotype would say yes but it actually wasn't, as far as we can tell. She's looking for the same people we are. She'll hopefully cooperate with us further."

Beo blinked. "That's a surprise. Good to hear she's helping though."

"She's been cooperative, yeah... mostly," said Polly.

"Mostly?"

"She's not exactly the most personable individual."

"...Oh dear."

"But we're managing."

"Good! Hopefully you'll find more..."

Polly shrugged. "Have YOU found anything?"

Beo thought to himself for a bit. "Not in particular... We have been busy. "

Polly raised an eyebrow. "Who's "we" again?"

"The Blue Wave Society! We help Aurics in need, just like you Aura Guardians!"

"Oh right," said Polly. "Well, I guess we work on Training Aurics to their full potential while you focus more on the shelter and carte from oppression but.... I guess you're right."

"We all have our parts to play in life!" said Beo.

"You don't have to try to be deep," said Polly.

Beo chuckled and winked. "If you say so. I'll see you Aura Guardians around."

He headed off. Polly scoffed.

"The nerve."

--------------

She entered the senior Aura Guardian quarters a few hours later. She didn't have time to worry about Beo and his teasing. She had work to do.

Waiting for her were Vince, Carol, Nightjar, Hannah, Ryan, and Olivia. Polly raised an eyebrow.

"Is this all we have?"

Ryan sighed. "These were all the Aura Guardians we could spare to assist Olivia here."

"I'm here too," Terrence said awkwardly from the back.

Polly sighed. "I guess it'll have to do."

She turned to Olivia. "What lead did you want us to help you chase again?"

"There's one thing in particular," said Olivia. "Down south, in a nearby village. There were signs of my girlfriend."

"Which village in particular?" said Polly.

"Cherihill," said Olivia. "Or at least I think that's what it was called."

"Oh that's pretty close by!" said Hannah. "Should be no problem at all1"

"If we don't meet any unwelcome surprises that is," said Vince.

"Well," said Ryan, sighing, "let's get going."

-----------------

The gaggle of Aura Guardians (and Terrence, with his Pokemon) entered the village. Carol eyed one of Terrence's Pokemon in particular.

~She looks... longer,~ said Carol.

"Hm?" said Terrence. He glanced over to where Carol was staring. "Oh, you mean Rohe?"

Rohe was indeed much longer.Her entire body structure had changed, with oprotruding segments and a body that bent in a V-shaped position.

~...Yes,~ said Carol. ~What the hell happened?~

Rohe growled and puffed in protest.

"Oh, well," Terrence said. "She found a strange metal alloy and... ate it."

~Ate it?~

"Well not quite ate it. More it got... absorbed into her? And then she evolved. You know how it works."

~...I guess? Neither of my Pokemon evolved quite like that.~

"Well now you know."

Rohe rumbled in affirmation.

"Be quiet," said Vince. "We''re already conspicuous enough."

~What you should be worried about is Nightjar over there if she sees a Barbaracle.~ said Carol.

"Excuse me?!" said Nightjar.

~You heard me,~ said Carol.

"Y-You can't just blab that to everyone!" said Nightjar.

~Watch m-~ Carol started to say.

"Enough," said Ryan.

Everyone immediately froze.

:"We came here for a reason. That reason was not to bicker. Are we clear?"

Everyone simultaneously sighed and said "yes sir."

"Now where were we..." said Ryan.

It was then Polly noticed something. "Psst. Guys, look."

Everyone indeed turned to look. There nearby was a woman, seemingly looking around frantically for something.

"That woman..." said Olivia, piping up. "I think I've seen her before."

"Should we talk to her?" said Polly.

"...Most likely," said Olivia.

The group started slowly approaching the woman. She noticed the group of odd individuals approaching and seized up.

"H-Hello?"

"No need to be alarmed -" said Polly.

~Be not afraid,~ said Carol.

"...Ignore her," said Polly. "We're looking into some Auric disappearances, do you know anything about that?"

The woman's eyes widened. Then she pointed at Olivia."Wait! I remember now! You were there! When we were both looking for - "

"Yes!" said Olivia. "Aurics who'd disappeared! You were looking for your daughter, right?"

"Yes! My dear Alia! She vanished a while back!"

"Have you found any leads as to where she went?" said Olivia.

"I found one thing..." said the woman. "I saw these strange miscreants. They were hanging around where I last saw Alia..Dressed in real conspicuous gear too."

"What did the gear look like?" said Ryan.

"Hooded. Lots of strange equipment on their persons. Sadly no identifying insignias I could make out."

~That equipment might be anti-Auric,~ said Carol.

Olivia grit her pointy teeth. "This confirms my suspicions."

"And what were those?" said Vince.

"Whoever's behind these disappearances... They're organized. This is a group effort. Whoever is behind this is not to be underestimated."

"The question is finding them..." said Hannah.

"Yes, that's the tricky part..." said Olivia. "Are any of you good at aura tracking?

"I am," said Ryan. "It just depends on when any signs were left and where."

"Well we need to find these signs then..." said Terrence. "Ma'am, where did you last see these... miscreants?"

The woman thought to herself for a bit. "Let's see.... It was around Cerrula Town, to the east."

Carol gulped. ~That's a long ways to the east.~

"We're going to have to prepare," said Polly. "We need to go back to the Abbey and get supplies for the trip..."

"Well back to camp we go," said Vince, sighing.

"Thank you for your help," said Olivia to the woman.

"Anything to see my dear Alia..." said the woman.

She and the Aura Guardians went their separate ways. As they did Polly sighed.

"It's. Something. But we've still got a long way to go..."

+++

Thunder's name is a homage to AmericanPi's character of the same name!