There's many a culture that speak of myths and legend about the 'spirit', as the soul of the body, and sometimes how to manipulate it. And while most rumours and theories of about ghost Pokémon being dead humans and the like are most likely fake (though the case of the unovan Yamask seems somewhat promising in that regard), one idea of the spirit I've come across that seemed nigh true, was the Sinnohan idea of 'Aura'.

Aura is, to put it simply, the embodiment of one's spirit and is said to be the "Essence of all living creatures", as a sort of life-force, oddly moving at the same wavelength as sound (which means it CAN be interrupted by anything that cuts the airspace). Now, because it is said to be in all living creatures, Pokémon OR human, it isn't unique to one specific species. In truth, the usage of aura lies in many different moves: Force Palm, Bone Rush and the titular Aura Sphere, just to name a few. However, few a Pokémon seem to be connected to the Aura as the Sinnohan evolution line of Lucario.

Lucario, and its pre-evolution Riolu are Sinnohan fighting types (or fighting/steel, in the case of Lucario.) that often hunt in packs and occupy numbers 447-448 in the national pokédex. They often train and live nomadically, deep in the Sinnohan Mountains and are likewise exceptionally rare to find. Even rarer, are female Lucarios, with a gender ratio of approx. 87.5% to 12.5% percent. Now, the black appendages attached to lucario's and Riolu's head rise when Lucario reads or manipulates aura, and act much like antennae, connecting it to the aura around us.

These 'aura sensors', as I've heard them called by human and Lucario alike, grant them certain powers through Aura. Notably:

· mind-reading

· telepathy (allowing the Lucario line the potential ability to talk to the common mass)

· Mind control prevention

· Ability to track an Aura belonging to a specific person as long as they have a piece of the Aura to track (wonderful for finding people I imagine)

· Sensing auras even when blinded

· different aura-based moves and other offensive and defensive capabilities, such as aura barriers, used to contain things or protect people from attacks, like explosions and the like

· As well as the abilities to manipulate Time Flowers.

These flowers, pictured here, project a 3d image when interacted with though a certain wavelength of Aura. Its images are 3d recordings of past events. The material it is made out of is more crystal-like than organic however, being made of an undefinable element. The local Lucarios forbid me from taking it out of the ground however, as that would understandably destroy the image related. The Time Flowers are also said to be connected to the 'Tree of Beginning', a crystalic tree said to be an Aura Generator, said to be located in a kantonese mountain range between Pewter City and Moon Mountain.

However the biggest; and possibly my favorite, revelation in my investigation of this topic is that even humans can utilize Aura, under the right training, with all of the above abilities. Legend has it that there were once humans that could sense Aura and control its power. These humans, known as Aura Guardians, traveled around the world, doing good deeds and passing on their skills to those who also possessed this innate ability. One Aura guardian of particular note was Sir Aaron of Cameran Palace.

Though he was naught but a knight of Cameran Palace with affection for Chocolate (which his Lucario reportingly shared) He was regarded as 'the first true Aura Guardian'. According to legend, he was born with the ability to manipulate Aura, but he decided to be a knight instead of an Aura Guardian, only teaching his Lucario how to use Aura. The two were as such immensely close, much like close friends.

But then Aaron left the castle to stop a war between two unknown armies before they destroyed his kingdom and the Tree of beginnings. He found Lucario, whom he told that he was never going back to the castle. Lucario however instantly jumped to the wrong conclusion: he thought Aaron had left the kingdom for dead. To protect Lucario from the war and prevent him from stopping him, Aaron then sealed Lucario in his staff, where he is said to remain to this day.

According to local sources, before Aaron died, he sent a message to Lucario using a Time Flower, saying he was his friend and that he did not want Lucario to share the same fate he suffered. "Aura is with me," as he said, before restoring Mew (The protector of The Tree of Beginning)'s power by sacrificing himself. Mew then restored peace to the land, stopping the war.

Now in recent times, teaching of Aura has gone into obscurity, thanks to the advent of technology. But to my surprise, there was one Aura Guardian I was able to meet, by the name of Riley Tetsushima, an apparent Sinnohan descendant of Sir Aaron. He was the provider of a lot of my information and I have to thank him for helping me along this journey. He was rather humble about his Aura abilities, not wanting to teach anyone it, let alone me. Nonetheless, he was an irreplaceable source on the topic of Aura.

All in all, the idea of Aura was an exciting one for me. Learning about the Lucarios of Sinnoh and Kanto was a thrilling experience, one hard to replicate. Talking with the Lucarios and the Rotan historians was like revealing a hidden history lying under our noses. To that end, this research was satisfying, to be sure.