Hunter walked up to his bedroom as storm clouds gathered outside. He looked out a window as lightning flashed. The Riolu in his arms covered its face with its paws and nestled deeper into his embrace. Hunter gently placed the Riolu on the bed, closed the shades, and went into the bathroom to change into his pajamas. When he came out, the Riolu was curled up on top of the bed, fast asleep. Being very careful, so not to wake it, Hunter got into bed and turned out the light. He went to sleep, the Riolu's Aura filling his vision as he dropped off.
A few hours later, but what seemed like minutes, Hunter woke at the touch of a little paw on his face. He opened his eyes to stare into the wide, frightened eyes of the Riolu. It was on his chest, both paws pressing into his shoulders. Hunter cocked his head. "You scared of the storm?"
The Riolu nodded. Hunter rolled his eyes and lifted the bedspread. The Riolu jumped under them, coming up near Hunter and snuggling up against him. Hunter smiled, scratched the Riolu behind the ears, and fell asleep again.
The next morning, the storm had cleared. Hunter took the Riolu outside, showing it both its first glimpse of the world, and a world after a rainstorm.
The Riolu looked around in wonder at the sparkling landscape. The air smelled fresh from the rain, and the Riolu jumped slightly as a droplet of water falling from the roof landed on its nose. Buizel came out the open door to stand beside Hunter. Hunter placed the Riolu down beside Buizel.
The Riolu nervously backed away. Buizel, wanting to get closer to this new Pokémon, followed it. The Riolu pawed at Hunter's leg, trying to get him to pick it up. Hunter knelt in front of the Riolu and pressed into its mind that Buizel wasn't going to hurt it.
The Riolu turned back at Buizel, who was sitting, waiting for the Riolu to do something. The Riolu nervously walked closer to within about a hand span of it.
Buizel kept getting closer until it was right in front of the Riolu. Its black nose twitched, sniffing the newborn before flaring its nostrils, blowing a gust of hot air into the Riolu's face.
The Riolu tumbled onto its bottom. Hunter chuckled and picked the Riolu up. Its stomach growled. Hunter smiled. "I guess you're hungry. We'll all eat then."
He went into the kitchen, Buizel following.
He filled a small bottle, used to feed Buizel when it was an infant, and took the Riolu in his arms as he gently poked the bottle into its mouth. Holding Riolu in one hand, he took a can of Pokémon food in the other and poured it into a bowl that Buizel immediately pounced on. He took a bagel from a cabinet nearby and started munching. The Riolu, in the meantime, guzzled the milk down, removing its mouth once to burp before drinking again. Hunter smiled. After the Riolu was done, he put the bottle in the sink, then took the little one into the living room.
He turned on the news. The Riolu, tired again already, fell asleep with its head pressing against Hunter's chest. He smiled at the little one. Buizel jumped onto the couch, smiling as well.
He gently picked the Riolu up. It woke instantly, looking up at Hunter, puzzled. He smiled at it. "It's okay, little guy. We're just going somewhere."
He went upstairs, changed, then came back down. He snapped his fingers at Buizel and it jumped off of the couch, walking out of the door with the pair.
Hunter started walking towards the Pokémon Center, Buizel trotting faithfully at his side and the Riolu staring from Hunter's arms at the city. Many people looked at the trainer and, more specifically, the Pokémon he carried, but he sensed no malice in any of them.
Eventually they got to the Pokémon Center. It was a nice place inside. A blue carpet stretched wall-to-wall in a waiting room to the right of the tiled check-in room. One wall of the waiting room was made up of windows that stretched from the floor to the ceiling, about thirty feet up. Outside the windows was a small pool. Chairs and couches dotted both rooms. Hunter walked up to the Nurse Joy in charge. "This Riolu hatched last night. Can you check up on it?"
Nurse Joy smiled. "Of course. Follow me, please."
She led Hunter, still carrying the RIolu, into a small room. Hunter set the Riolu on the table in the center of the room. It was still staring around at all of the unfamiliar scenery.
Nurse Joy walked in, a stethoscope around her neck. The Riolu looked at Hunter, then back at Nurse Joy at Hunter's gentle prodding that the nurse was nice.
Nurse Joy placed the stethoscope to Riolu's chest, both listening to it breathe and checking its heartbeat. She completed the rest of the checkup with a series of nods.
After she finished, she patted the Riolu on the head and turned to Hunter. "Congratulations. It's perfectly healthy."
Hunter smiled back. "Thank you, Nurse Joy."
A few minutes later, Hunter sat in the waiting room, watching Buizel and Riolu tussle playfully with one another. He had his eyes closed when he discovered a strong Aura presence other than his and RIolu's. He turned discreetly to watch a young girl with pink hair and a bandage across her nose turn in three Poké Balls to Nurse Joy. After a short while the nurse handed the balls back and the girl released one of them. The bright flash of light dissipated to reveal a Lucario. The Lucario then straightened and turned, eyeing Hunter as it walked over to him. The girl saw him and smiled. Hunter smiled back as the girl walked over. "Hey, Maylene. How are you?"
Maylene smiled again. "Fine. It's been a while since you've come through Veilstone. How long are you staying?"
"I've settled down, now." He nodded towards Riolu, who was laughing as Buizel licked its face. "He just hatched last night."
Maylene smiled. "Did you find its egg?"
Hunter shook his head. "A friend gave him to me before he hatched."
Maylene's Lucario was staring intently at the RIolu, its eyes darting back to Hunter for a moment before focusing on Riolu again.
Riolu, perturbed by the stare, walked over to Hunter and wrapped its arms around his leg. Hunter picked the little one up and sat him in his lap, scratching its head. "It's okay, Riolu. He's a friend."
He looked at Maylene. "How've you been?"
"Busy, being gym leader."
That came as a shock. "When did you become a gym leader?"
"A few months ago. Lucario and I had the best battle of our lives a few days ago." She looked at Lucario. "Isn't that right?"
Lucario smiled and nodded, giving an affirmative grunt.
Hunter cocked his head. "Who were you up against?"
"A boy from Pallet Town, by the name of Ash Ketchum."
Hunter raised his eyebrows. "I've heard of him. He's supposed to be pretty good. He beat all of the Frontier Brains."
Maylene smiled. "Yeah. He and that Buizel of his actually came to a draw with me and Lucario."
"He must be good then."
Maylene looked slightly ashamed. "I…I wouldn't give him a battle at first."
Hunter looked puzzled. "Why?"
Maylene looked around. "Can we discuss this somewhere private?"
Hunter nodded. "Sure. We can come back to my place."
Well, here it is! Sequel to "Teacher of the Aura". If you haven't read the first story, go and do it. This one will wait. Anyways, this isn't going to be as long as its predecessor, so just bear with it. And now you know more about Hunter's past. More to come soon! R and R!