The Mystery of Aura
Chapter Four – Lucario

Ash stared at the creature before him with confusion, not quite sure what to make of it. Kneeling beside him, he heard Misty inhale sharply, and May's hand that was on his shoulder was squeezing a bit. The creature had yet to move from its kneeling position; Ash could see that most of its fur was a bright blue, though its chest was a yellow-cream colour, and it had lines of black around its face, almost like a mask, with black hands, legs, and some black around its shoulders and around its waste. It had pointed ears, though he was confused for a moment because it almost look like it had floppy ears too, but realized that the black shapes on the back of its head weren't ears, with a blue tail and sharp, white spikes coming from its chest and on its hands. Ash stared at it with confusion, haven't ever seen something quite like that before.

"What is it?" Misty whispered to him. She had come into contact with even less Pokemon than him, so she was hoping that he knew. He shook his head, not really sure what to say. A quick glance in May's direction told him that she had no clue what it was either.

The Pokemon stood up slowly, and seemed to almost look around the room, though its eyes were closed. Ash got to his feet, keeping the staff held tightly in his hand as Misty helped up May. He stood slightly in front of both of them, though that was more of an instinctive movement than a thought out one. Both girls could take care of themselves, but he saw May as a younger sister and a student, someone to be protected, and while he definitely knew Misty could handle herself, he was still wary of this Pokemon.

His dark brown eyes looked up towards the staff and at the crystal on top. He could still feel the energy flowing through the staff, almost easier than he could feel it before, like a floodgate had burst open when the Pokemon was released. Did it act as some sort of ancient pokeball? If so, that was strange. Not as strange as the fact that Ash would swear that he could feel the people around them. He was very aware that Misty and May were behind him, and he could actually feel Brock come up beside the two girls. Everyone else, it was almost like they were background noise, but he was still aware of them. He had no idea what was happening.

The Pokemon moved suddenly, straightening up a bit, its head looking around as the black things on it suddenly stuck out and started vibrating. Misty shifted behind him and whispered, "They look the same as the decoration on the staff."

Ash looked up at the staff quickly and realized that she was right. So they were probably modelled after this specific Pokemon. The question was why.

"Sir Aaron!" It jumped high into the air, startling everyone, landing directly in front of Ash, who took a few steps back, keeping the staff in one hand and shoving his friends back with the other. He felt someone grab both the back of his cape and his shirt, pulling him away from the Pokemon. "Why did you abandon the queen?"

"Telepathy," Ash whispered, suddenly understanding what he had been hearing earlier. The Pokemon must have been talking to him from the crystal, but the question was why had he heard it when no one else did? And why did it think that he was Sir Aaron?

"Answer me," it demanded.

"I don't understand," Ash said to it, keeping rather calm despite the fact that the Pokemon was both clearly agitated and skilled, if its high jump and locating him specifically without even opening its eyes said anything.

"Get away from it," Misty whispered to him, trying to pull him back more, but Ash ignored her, watching as the Pokemon slowly opened its red eyes.

He stared at Ash for a moment before jerking back with surprise. He looked around the room with confusion before quickly leaping away, disappearing out of one of the windows.

Ash pulled away from Misty, running up to Lady Ilene and her lady-in-waiting and asked, "Who was that?"

"Lucario," the elderly woman said in awe.

"Lucario?" Ash repeated slowly.

"According to our legends, Lucario served under Sir Aaron, much like the Pokemon for trainers would do for them today," Lady Ilene explained to him.

Ash looked at the stone on top of the staff and said, "He came from in here. Is this what a pokeball was like back then? Why didn't anyone let him out?"

"They didn't have anything like pokeballs back then," the old woman told him. "They used special harnesses and displays of power and might to control Pokemon. Some did so with friendship and loyalty, but it wasn't like it is today. No one could have guessed that he was in that staff."

"Yes. No one has ever garnered such a reaction from the staff in the thousand years that it's been here," Lady Ilene told him, and Ash looked back at the staff.

He could still feel the energy flowing through it and suddenly turned to face Brock. He held it out to him and said, "Tell me if you feel anything strange. Anything at all."

Brock took it from him, shifting the staff around in his hands before shaking his head and handing it back. "No. It just feels like a staff. Why?"

Ash didn't answer, instead handing it to May next. She shook her head and passed it to Misty, who just shrugged and handed it back to him. This alarmed him a bit, because it didn't feel just like a staff to him. It almost felt like it was alive somehow. Whatever was happening was happening only to him, or maybe it was happening because of him. Trouble and living legends seemed to follow him everywhere he went.

He looked back to where Lucario went. That Pokemon was trapped in the staff, so maybe it had answers. The question was where he went. Ash closed his eyes in thought, and a faint blue light started to appear in the blackness. He opened his eyes again in confusion before closing them to see if it happened again. It was like he could see shapes, even with his eyes closed. Most of it was faint, but he could clearly make out the staff (specifically the gem), and the people standing closest to him, though his friends stood out quite a bit. Almost like it was in the distance though, he could see something shining as brightly as the staff in his hands. He opened his eyes and without saying a word, started running.

"Ash!" He could hear his friends call behind him, but he ignored it, rushing out of the room. He stopped, closing his eyes again, deciding to question what was going on later and just go with it for now, and then started running again. It was almost like he could feel the Lucario moving. He was also aware that his friends were following him, but that didn't particularly surprise him.

Finally, he rushed past a fountain and came to a stop outside of an opened door. Lucario was inside, he was sure of it. He heard footsteps behind him, and turned to see Misty, Brock and May coming towards him. He was surprised to see that Lady Ilene and her lady-in-waiting were behind them, moving just as quickly.

"Lucario's in here," he said slowly, looking back inside of the dark room.

"How could you possibly know that?" May demanded, staring at him oddly.

Lady Ilene gave him a searching look before nodding her head and walking inside, everyone else following her closely. Just as Ash said, Lucario was in the room, looking around at everything with confusion.

"Lucario," Lady Ilene called out to him, and he swung around to look at her.

He suddenly seemed excited as he said, "Lady Rin."

The old woman turned on the light, and Lady Ilene shook her head. "I'm afraid that I'm not who you think I am." She started walking toward him while everyone else hung back. "My name is Lady Ilene. Lady Rin was one of my ancestors." Without showing any fear, she calmly walked up to the visibly confused Pokemon, and hugged him to her. "You've been asleep for a very long time."

"Is it...possible?" he asked, more to himself than anything else, though it projected to everyone in the room.

"What I say is true," she said sadly, willingly letting go of the Pokemon as he backed away from her.

"But it—it can't be. I was here, in this room, just days ago."

"Please believe me," she said softly. "It may seem like days to you, but you haven't walked in this palace in centuries."

"This is heartbreaking," Misty whispered from beside Ash. She looked over at her, seeing that she looked honestly upset. He was a bit taken back by that, but he knew that Misty wasn't heartless. As much as she teased him or sometimes right out seethed at him that he only understood Pokemon and not people, she seemed to empathize with them much more too. The whole situation was strange, because Ash was sure that he could feel the emotions coming from everyone since there were only a few around.

Lucario was confused and upset, Lady Ilene was sad but slightly excited at the same time, her lady-in-waiting projecting almost the same emotions. Brock and May were both confused and in awe, while Misty was a bit upset.

He didn't like that last one at all. He reached out, grabbing her hand and squeezing it, never taking his eyes off of Lucario and Lady Ilene. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw Misty look around at him with surprise, but she didn't say anything, something he was thankful for. Instead, she just squeezed his hand back.

Lucario looked away from Lady Ilene, staring at the items inside of the class cabinet. He looked back around and asked, "What happened?"

"Come to the throne room, and I shall explain everything there to the best of my abilities, but..." Lady Ilene turned around and stared at Ash. "I don't think I can explain everything."

Ash looked down at the staff before looking back up at her. He wasn't sure he could help explain anything, since he was just as lost.

...

The throne room was much smaller than the ballroom, though there was a similar painting of Sir Aaron there with his staff. In this one, he was atop his Pidgeot, looking just as strong and proud as the other. Lady Ilene sat in the throne atop a raised level, looking both regal and authoritative with her lady-in-waiting standing behind her with Mime Jr. in her arms.

Lucario knelt on one knee in front of her, staring up at her with respect, as Ash, Misty, May, and Brock all stood behind him, the staff still in Ash's hand.

"Our stories tell us that you vanished during the battle," Lady Ilene said, staring at the Pokemon with interest. "Can you tell us what happened, Lucario?"

"There were two armies on the move," he explained. "They were both huge with people and Pokemon alike. Each had sworn to destroy the other, and the palace was trapped in the middle of the chaos. I left to see if there was a way to stop the fighting, but it was hopeless."

Ash tilted his head a little as he stared at Lucario, unable to hold in his question. There was something about that story that didn't add up. "So how was Sir Aaron able to make peace?"

"What?" Lucario asked, looking over at him with surprise.

"Our legend says that Sir Aaron found a way to stop the battle and save the palace," Lady Ilene said, drawing their attention back to her.

"Impossible!" Lucario cried out as he stood up.

"Why?" Misty asked, moving a little closer to Brock for cover when Lucario shot her a sharp look. She wasn't afraid of Pokemon (in general, bug types don't count), but she was wary of him.

The Pokemon looked away from them to stare at the floor, shock starting to build up on his features, though Ash was fairly sure he could actually feel the emotion pulsing off of him. "Sir Aaron," Lucario said, sounding hesitant and choked up at the same time. "He fled and trapped me inside of the staff."

Ash could feel the turmoil coming off of Lucario. He knew that the Pokemon fully believed what it said, but how could the legend of Sir Aaron be so wrong and backwards? It didn't make sense to him.

The four of them looked at one another, and May said, "In the legend, Sir Aaron's a hero."

"Could it really be wrong?" Brock asked.

Misty looked at Lucario, who's eyes snapped open at Brock's words. The Pokemon turned his attention up to the painting of Sir Aaron, obviously not sure what to make of the situation. She could only imagine how confused and conflicted he felt, but she was willing to listen to his story too. She had the feeling that the others were skeptical about it though.

"We will look in to this to see what is truth and what is fiction," Lady Ilene spoke up.

"I will do what I can to help," Lucario said, sounding almost relieved that she was at least willing to listen to him.

She smiled warmly at him and said, "Though much has changed for you, one thing has not. This palace is your home. Feel free to stay here for as long as you like."

Lucario stared up at her in awe before moving his paw to his chest and bowing his head in respect. "I am deeply grateful, Your Highness."

There was a pause before Ash moved forward a bit. He had so many questions with so few answers, and maybe this Pokemon could help answer them. Lucario turned to face him, red eyes locking with the staff in Ash's hand. He wasn't really sure where to start, so he said, "Lucario, why did you think I was Sir Aaron? Is it because this costume makes me look like him?"

Lucario looked over at the painting before saying, "No. The aura I sense in you is like Sir Aaron's."

"Aura?" Ash asked slowly. He was curious earlier about what a 'Guardian of Aura' was exactly, so he tried looking it up in his pokedex to see if anything using the term aura came up. The only thing he found was a reference to the fighting-type attack, aura sphere. He decided to make this known, and said, "What is aura, exactly? I know aura sphere is a fighting attack, but that's about it."

"I'm impressed you know that much," Misty teased him, and he shot her a weak glare.

Before Lucario could answer his question, the sound of rushing footsteps caught their attention as Max's voice echoed to them, "Hey guys!"

They all looked around to see a stampede of their Pokemon all led by Max. None of them were particularly worried about them, because they were bound to be exploring the castle, but as Ash looked at the group, an uneasy feeling settled inside of him. They were all panicked and confused, and Pikachu wasn't there. His brown eyes shot from one Pokemon to the next, but they all just seemed helpless.

"Max, what's wrong?" May asked, worry tinting her tone as she took a few steps towards her younger brother.

"You won't believe it!" he exclaimed excitedly. "I saw Mew!"

Ash's questions about aura and what was happening to him quickly flew out of his mind at Max's words. For a moment, there was a flash of a small creature flying across a cloudy sky after a storm, then there was another, blurred flash of the same creature surrounded in pink energy giggling and bouncing on a pink bubble one moment and then angrily blasting its energy in another. He shook his head as he heard the old woman say, "Oh, what an adorable boy! That costume he's wearing is so precious. He looks just like a little doll."

Ash stared up at her blankly, not really sure what that had to do with anything. Max stomped his feet against the ground angrily and said, "You're not listening to me!"

"We are Max," May insisted. "Where's Mew?"

"It just suddenly disappeared with Meowth and Pikachu," he said quickly, looking up at Ash, his excitement changing to panic.

Ash inhaled sharply. He knew something was wrong when Pikachu wasn't with the others, but how could he deal with Mew teleporting away with his best friend? Weak Pokemon could only teleport so far, but a Mew was an entirely different thing. It never occurred to him to question Max to see if he had actually seen a Mew, or if he was mistaken, since with all the weird things happening around him, there was bound to be a Legendary Pokemon around somewhere. It was just how things went with him.

"Mew?" Lucario asked from behind Ash, moving to peer around him at Max.

The young boy stumbled back in surprise, swinging his arms around to regain his balance as he let out a startled yelp. Once he had his feet firmly placed on the ground again, he shifted his glasses, as if making sure that they were on right, before he asked, "Who are you?"

"Oh, this is Lucario, a Pokemon who was sealed inside of the staff of the Guardian. Somehow he managed to set it free." Brock nodded at Ash as he spoke, and made the situation sound like it was a normal, everyday occurrence. People tended to get used to weird things happening when they were around Ash Ketchum

"Are you sure you saw Mew?" May asked, putting her hands on her hips as best as she could, though the puff of her gown made it hard to do. "Not a Pokemon that looked like it?"

Ash blinked at her, a little confused by the fact that there seemed to be two different conversations going on at the exact same time. He looked around at Misty, and asked, "What Pokemon that looks like a Mew?"

"Mewtwo?" Misty replied with a shrug. They both knew that, despite obvious similarities, there was no way to mistake Mewtwo for Mew.

"Mew was here," a new voice interrupted as Kidd walking into the room, a serious expression on her pretty face. She walked towards them quickly, and said, "I was on the roof when I saw Mew turn into a Pidgeot. It flew away with Meowth and Pikachu."

"But why would it take Pikachu?" Ash asked, sounding almost desperate.

"Could this Meowth talk?" Misty interrupted, a suspicious tone to her voice.

"Yes, it could," Kidd asked, seemingly surprised that she knew this.

"I knew I recognized those two who pushed their way through the crowd earlier!" Misty cried out. "It was Team Rocket!" She made a face. "Ew, May. You danced with James."

The younger girl looked slightly sickened by that fact.

"Who cares if Team Rocket is here?" Ash snapped, sounding annoyed by her interruption. "There's no way Mew was working with them, so it must have taken them for another reason."

"It was probably playing," the old woman said, and everyone turned their attention back to her and Lady Ilene. For having a Legendary Pokemon appear, neither of them seemed particularly surprised.

"Mew has a tradition of showing up here at the palace to play games and make mischief," Lady Ilene explain, an affectionate tone to her voice. "He's a well-guarded secret here too, since he never goes into the town in his true form." She looked up at the picture on the wall opposite of Sir Aaron's, which showed Mew above a rocky structure with clouds in the sky, the entire painting, aside from Mew, tinted green.

"It shows up here and takes toys all the time," the old lady said. "Never to be seen again."

Alarm rushed through Ash, and his hands clenched into fists. Legendary Pokemon or not, Mew was not allowed to take his friend away forever. "Does anyone know where Mew took them? I have to go rescue Pikachu!" There was no question about it, Ash was going after his loyal Pokemon whether anyone else wanted him to. He was no stranger to Legendary Pokemon, and where most people would have stood back and stared at them in awe, he was quite willing to go up to one and punch it in the face if need be. Another blurry image rushed through him of himself trying to punch Mewtwo. He didn't really remember that though, sure that he hadn't punched Mewtwo when he met him.

"Ash, calm down," Misty said to him, putting her hand on his arm.

He looked around at her and said, "I can't. What if he's hurt?"

"Mew is a gentle soul; he wouldn't hurt anyone," the old lady tried to assure him.

"Yeah, well, gentle and playful or not, that didn't stop one from getting nasty before and nearly killing me," Ash snapped back. Though that memory was blurry, like it was wiped from his mind before and slowly starting to come back, he knew it was true. He didn't notice it, only a single being in the room did, but there was a slight flare of blue energy around his clenched, shaking fist that was pressed against his side.

Lucario stared at his hand for a moment before looking up at him, tilting his head slightly as his eyes narrowed. His attention moved back to Lady Ilene, but his eyes shot to Ash every once and a while.

Lady Ilene stood from her throne and walked towards the balcony at the other end of the throne room. She motioned for everyone follow her, leading the way and stopping only when she reached the railing.

"Mime mime," Mime Jr. said as it jumped up onto the stone railing, small features lit up by the glowing crystals around them.

Lady Ilene motioned for Ash to come to her side, and said, "Though it looks like a large tree, that is actually a stone formation." She pointed towards a silhouette in the distance that almost blended in with the night sky, clouds and fog blocking most of it from view.

"That's amazing," Brock said in awe.

"It's beautiful from here," May agreed as Max gasped in awe.

Ash didn't say anything his dark brown eyes already locked on the rock formation in the distance. He knew exactly where this was going.

"Because of its great age, our ancestors called it the Tree of Beginning," the old lady explained.

"The Tree of Beginning, huh?" Ash said, his voice tense and serious, earning worried looks from all of his friends.

"That is where you'll find Mew," Lady Ilene explained.

Clenching his fists again, Ash nodded his head, his eyes never leaving the shadowed structure. Already any of his friends could see the determination on his face and knew that this was once again a challenge he would never back down from. Ash Ketchum didn't know how to say no to something like this.

"You must remember that Mew can change its form to look like any Pokemon in the world," Lady Ilene warned him. "It rarely shows its true form to humans, so you may have trouble recognizing it."

May sighed and said, "How do we find it and Pikachu then?"

"Yeah," Max agreed. "It could walk right by us, and we'd never know."

The lady-In-waiting smiled at them and said, "The legend says that Lucario could lead the Guardian to anyone, because it had learned the power to see the aura inside all things."

That caught Ash's attention, and not just because of the implication that Lucario could help him find Pikachu. What she said, seeing the aura inside of things, struck something in him, and he remembered how earlier he could almost see things without actually being able to see them.

"Lucario," Lady Ilene said, "do you have the ability to see the aura inside things?"

"Yes, I do," he answered with a nod.

She turned to face him and asked, "Could you lead Ash on his journey to find Mew?"

Lucario hesitated as he felt another presence coming up behind him, but once he realized it wasn't a threat, his eyes turned to look at Ash for a moment, studying the young teenager, before nodding his head at Lady Ilene. Bowing to her like he did earlier, he said, "If that is your wish, it would be my honour."

Misty, who remained silent throughout the entire exchange, looked up as Kidd came onto the balcony, or at least, she thought it was Kidd. She was wearing a completely ridiculous outfit made of shiny, magenta fabric, with matching knee and elbow pads, black outlining the whole thing. The most ridiculous part of her getup though was her hair. It was long and beautiful when it was down, but she had it in two pigtails that stuck out for no apparent reason. Misty made a face, finding that the girl looked more like some adventure-themed hooker than anything else.

At that thought, Misty came to the conclusion that she needed to get away from her older sisters.

"Hey Ash, I'm coming with you to the Tree of Beginning too," she said, her voice demanding and leaving no room for argument.

"You are?" Ash asked hesitantly as he exchanged a confused look with May. They didn't even know this girl.

Apparently Brock did, if his sudden yell was any indicator. Mime Jr picked up on it, mimicking every move Brock made. "Ahh! Wait a second! I know you! You're Kidd Summers!"

"Mime! Mime mime mime! Mime mime mime! Mime mime mime!"

Brock rushed forward, Mime Jr moving beside him, still mimicking him. Brock grabbed her hands into his own, shaking them excitedly. "I've seen you on TV before, but you're much more captivating in person! I've your biggest fan! Please forgive me for not recognizing you right away! My love must have blinded me!"

"Mime mime!"

Misty didn't know what to make of the situation, and neither did Max, since neither of them moved forward to stop Brock. Ash just gazed on with a confused and slightly annoyed expression, while May innocently asked, "She's famous?"

Brock shot around so quickly that it actually startled them all, and causing Misty who was standing the closest to him, to take a step back, stumbling a bit over her dress, but Ash reached out to stop her from falling, sending her an amused look as they all turned their attention back to Brock. "Hello!" The oldest of the group yelled at them angrily, but his expression cleared quickly as he pulled his guide book out of nowhere. "Kidd Summers has set a world record for setting the most word records, aaand..." He held the book out to them, "...she's soared hired, dived deeper, and space traveled farther than any human being in history! Kidd's also a surfing expert, a gourmet cook, and a badminton champ! To say that she's a super woman is the understatement of the century!" He spun around to look at Kidd again, holding his hands out like he was presenting her to the group. "She's super duper!"

Kidd laughed weakly at him, and Misty rolled her eyes.

"It'd be great to have you with us, Kidd. As long as we can find a cage for Brock," Max joked.

"I agree," May said with a laugh.

Ash looked over at Misty and asked, "Are you coming? Don't feel like you have to..." He trailed off, not really sure what to say.

Misty grinned and winked at him, "You bet I am. Besides, who's going to rescue you when you get into trouble again if I don't go?" Yes, she said when, not if he got into trouble, because this whole thing just spelled disaster, and she knew there was no avoiding it. Ash Ketchum was a trouble magnet, and this was usually how it started. Misty just hoped that they didn't find some sort of ancient prophecy that just happened to be about him.

Ash smiled at her before turning his attention to Kidd, who moved over to sit on the balcony. "I came here to study the Tree of Beginning and solve the mystery of what it really is." She turned to them and smiled broadly. "Yet another first for me."

"Yet another first for me," Misty mocked quietly, not sure if she liked this older girl or not. She wouldn't be outwardly mean, because there was no way that this girl would be anything like Melody or Bianca. Ash was far too young for her.

"And I can help you!" Brock cried out excitedly

"As long as you don't get in my way," Kidd replied teasingly.

"Yes sir, ma'am!" Brock said with a salute.

"We're going to find Pikachu, Brock," Misty said blankly.

"Yeah, but we'll be doing both at the same time!"

Misty just shook her head at him and held up her fingers so that he could see. Brock's hand instantly went to his ear and he cringed, though she didn't even touch him.

Ash smiled weakly at them all before turning away, staring back at the Tree of Beginning, his smile melting away as he did, being replaced by a worried look.

May noticed this, and stared at him for a moment before smiling and saying, "You know, I bet Pikachu is having a lot of fun with Mew. Maybe even Meowth too."

"Maybe," Ash said with a shrug. "But I'm still worried."

May tilted her head slightly, sapphire eyes flashing uncertainly before she asked, "You said earlier that you'd seen a Mew before. Did it really try to...kill you?"

Ash thought for a moment, trying to work through the blurred memories. As he tried to remember, he recalled Mewtwo taking the memories of him and everyone else involved with the incident away. It wasn't the first time that these specific memories flashed in his mind. Whatever was happening now, it seemed to be really clearing his mind, allowing him to remember more. "Not intentionally. She saved me, actually. She was really nice and playful, which was really out of place because...well there was another Pokemon there that wasn't quite as nice. They fought one another and...the Pokemon were fighting so viciously. Their abilities were blocked, so all they could do was hit, claw, and bite at one another. It was horrible." Ash frowned and looked down at his hands. "I tried to stop it and got caught between the two psychic attacks and then...well, I don't remember. The next thing I knew, I woke up and Pikachu was there. I was so sore and tired; I couldn't remember what happened but...but I think I was gone." He shook his head at May's horrified look. "That was a long time ago now. This Mew probably won't hurt Pikachu, but I'm not going to relax until I get him back." He was a bit stunned with himself. The memories came back to him as he spoke, and he was surprised at how much he could recall.

May stared at him, not really sure what to say. She looked around, back at all the other Pokemon who stayed inside of the throne room, watching them silently. She clenched her hands into fists and said, "Well, no point waiting! Let's get changed into our normal clothes and get going!"

Ash smiled at her enthusiasm, and nodded his head, "Yeah." He looked back at the Tree of Beginning one last time before going inside. "Don't worry, Pikachu, we're coming."

...

As much fun as Misty had being dressed up, she was relieved to pull on her clothes again, enjoying the feel of her shorts over the dress. She checked on her pokeballs as she folded her dress and accessories into her bag, sure that her sisters would be delighted to see it. She was about to pull her hair up into a ponytail again when she heard a thump from outside of her door.

Moving quickly Misty opened the door and saw Max rubbing his arm. "Are you okay?"

"Ah! Oh, Misty, you scared me," Max said with a laugh, though he seemed embarrassed. "I just ran into the table. Wasn't looking where I was going. Is May ready yet?"

Misty looked back at the closed bathroom door where May vanished into earlier, and shrugged. "I don't know. Are Brock and Ash ready?"

"Yeah. Brock's following Kidd around," Max said while rolling his eyes. "She can handle herself though. I..." His expression dropped a bit. "I'm a bit worried about Ash. He's normally not this...broody."

"He's just worried about Pikachu," Misty said while putting her hand on the top of Max's blue hair. "Don't worry, I'll go talk to him. You get your sister moving."

"Can do," Max said, sounding a little more cheerful as he rushed into the room. Misty smiled, shaking her head a bit, as she grabbed her bag and left the room in search of her friend.

An excited thrill went through her, because as much as she was worried about Pikachu, this was another adventure, something she'd been craving for a while. It was no doubt be dangerous, but an exciting adventure would do her good from time to time.

She headed towards the front doors rather than going to the room that Ash was given. As the actual winner of the tournament, he got his own room while they got paired into twos, but none of them complained about it. She figured that he'd be more likely waiting for them to get moving than waiting around his room.

Misty caught sight of him exactly where she thought he'd be and had to applaud herself for still knowing him well enough to predict his actions. She walked down the stairs towards him, catching his attention, and he stopped the pacing that he'd been doing for a while.

"Is everyone else ready?"

"They'll be down in a minute," Misty said with a nod, a frown working its way onto her face. "Ash, Pikachu will be okay. You know that, right?"

Ash looked away from her and said, "I'm a horrible trainer. Who doesn't even worry a bit when all their Pokemon wander off?"

"You are not a horrible trainer. We all thought that they were okay here," she argued. It was true; Ash wasn't the only one who didn't blink twice when the Pokemon weren't around.

"But Misty, this always happens. I mean, Team Rocket's even here. They always trick us, and they shouldn't, and I'm worried about Pikachu, and I don't understand what's happening to me. I don't get how I unlocked Lucario, or how I know where he is now, or how I can still sort of see things with my eyes closed, and I feel so strange and don't say it's growing up because it's not, because I didn't feel this in the morning. This weird stuff always happens to me, and I don't know why." His eyes were wide with panic. "What's happening?"

Misty had no idea what he was rambling on about, and if they were older, she'd be worrying about him having a midlife crisis. She wondered if there was such a thing as an early-life crisis too, because that would explain a lot. He really seemed bothered about whatever was on his mind. The one thing that she did register was one of the last things he said. It was true; weird stuff always did seem to happen to him; way too often to truly be a coincidence. Region to region, group to group, Ash was always pulled into adventures with life-threatening, world-ending consequences, and he was always the one who had to help fix the problem.

"Okay, calm down," Misty said to him sternly. "What in Mew's name are you going on about?" She remembered earlier (it felt like days ago instead of hours) when he asked them to hold the staff to see if they felt anything strange. That must have been what he was talking about. The energy from when Lucario was released must have been messing with him a bit.

Lost in her thoughts, she hadn't even realized that Ash turned away, staring out into the darkness at something else until he walked away from her. "Hey, where are you going?"

"I'll be back in just a sec!"

Misty huffed angrily. As much as she thought she understood that boy, everything about him was truly perplexing.

...

Lucario didn't know what to make of the whole situation he was in. It was hard to accept that he was thrown into a whole new world, that what he remembered as only yesterday was now ancient history. There were small things that were similar though, such as Lady Ilene. While she wasn't Lady Rin, she was very similar and he was thankful for that. Everything else was so different, but there was one thing that he found, strangely enough, rather soothing. It was having another person with such a strong aura around.

He was used to Sir Aaron's presence, traitor or not. The times when he was without his Master left him feeling a little alone, because as a user of aura, he was always aware of other auras and having a strong one around was almost comforting.

The boy who released him, Ash, was somewhat of an enigma in Lucario's mind. His presence felt almost exactly like Sir Aaron's, his aura shining bright enough for any aura user to notice it. He seemed to be completely unaware of his abilities, but the power wasn't innate. He'd used it before, though Lucario suspected that it might have been subconsciously. It wasn't uncommon for an aura user's abilities to grow in leaps and bounds when they were introduced to others who were already trained to use aura or things that could channel it like the crystals around the castle. Surely the boy noticed something strange happening to him now. Aura users used to be trained exclusively around Cameron Palace, since the natural aura there was much, much stronger than most other places, bringing out abilities that the users didn't even know they had.

There was also the boy's proclaimed bond with the Pokemon they were going to look for. Lucario trusted Sir Aaron, who turned out to be a traitor in the end, so how could he trust this younger, inexperienced, volatile human?

Lucario entered a darkened room, not bothering to turn on the lights, staring up at the picture of Sir Aaron that was in the ballroom. He didn't know what to make of the situation because history said something completely different from what he knew, and then there was the boy who not only had the same aura as Sir Aaron's, but similar looks as well.

He felt the presence coming towards him before he heard the footsteps, and though Lucario knew who it was, he felt the need to leave a warning. He jumped up onto the wall, watching as the teenage boy walked into the room, looking around the darkness.

Lucario moved quickly, jumping down and tackling the boy, causing his hat to fly off of his head and land on the floor. Lucario's arm was around Ash's neck as the boy struggled, but not enough to hurt him. It was just a warning.

Ash struggled against the grip of his attacker. He vaguely realized that it was Lucario holding onto him, but his mind was panicking over everything else.

Lucario finally let go, and Ash took in a deep breath before twisting around and growling, "Why did you do that?"

"You snuck up behind me. That is always a mistake," Lucario answered, the warning as clear as the moon that night.

Ash stared at the Pokemon curiously before saying, "Hey, Lucario..." He was going to ask about the whole aura thing, but lost the nerve to do it. He might get some answers, but he wasn't sure if he really wanted them yet. "I'm really glad you're coming along to help me find Pikachu."

Lucario looked over his shoulder at Ash and asked, "This Pikachu, are you its Master?"

"Master?" Ash repeated, slightly startled by the term. Sure, he wanted to be a Pokemon Master, but he didn't believe that the title made him a Master over Pokemon, like a ruler where they were forced to listen to him. The thought of that seemed wrong, but Pokemon Best Partner In The World didn't have the same ring to it. A smirk appeared on his lips at the thought of him being Pikachu's Master. He laughed as he went to collect the hat that was knocked off of his head in the attack, putting it behind him already. "Are you kidding? No. Pikachu and I are best friends."

"Friends?" Lucario repeated.

Ash frowned a bit as he brushed off his hat. Lucario sounded like the term was completely foreign to him, and he wondered if Sir Aaron, who was idolized in their time, wasn't what he seemed to be. "Yeah. I mean, on paper I'm his trainer and he's my Pokemon. He belongs to me. In that way I guess you'd be right, but I don't see it like that. All my Pokemon are my friends, and I'd do anything for them. I help them, and they help me. It's what we do. I'd do anything for any of them, but Pikachu, he has a special place here." As put his hand over his heart, grinning at Lucario again. "Pikachu and all of my other Pokemon are just as important as my human friends. If one of your friends was lost, you'd want to bring them back too, would you?"

Lucario considered this for a moment before saying, "I don't have any friends, and I don't want any."

Ash watched the Pokemon walk out of the room, not quite sure what to make of him. He shoved his hat back onto his head and grumbled, "Nice attitude." Lucario didn't exactly seem like the friendliest or most open of Pokemon, so he was starting to believe Sir Aaron's story more than the Pokemon's.

Ash moved towards the door and stared up at the sky. He was completely exhausted, but he wasn't lying when he said he wouldn't relax until he got Pikachu back. He clenched his fist and said, "Pikachu's my friend, not my servant, and I'm going to get him back, no matter what it takes."