Prologue: Mother of Aura
The island of Ora's thick jungles shivered in the breeze, with many Zarude, Pideoto, Pansages, and other Pokemon fleeing across the canopy while smoke rose up through the foliage.
Yet even as these Pokemon and many more on the jungle floor fled, over three-dozen figures moved like swift shadows across the branches and vines, now slowing down even as the smoke hit them.
"Orahaoya! Orahaoya!" A woman screamed, tears in her eyes as she knelt at the edge of her burning village and looked up at a great temple resting near the top of the island's jungle.
"Come here!" A booming voice roared before he grabbed the village woman by the hair and dragged her with the others past burning wooden buildings and smashed stone structures much like the massive temple.
Dozens of Viking marauders mercilessly pillaged the settlement alongside Ursaring, Toxicroak, and other similar Pokemon.
"Take everything!" The Lead Viking roared in terrible laughter as he and a Urshifu, Rapid Strike Style, made their way through the burning village. The local inhabitants wore almost sleeveless bluish tunics with short trousers for the men and skirts for the women. Additionally, each wore various blue symbols painted across their faces and exposed arms.
Men were ruthlessly beaten while the women, children, and Pokemon, including several Riolu, were dragged and chained.
"There's no silver here, Chief Ragnar!" A Viking snarled angrily as he set fire to one of the farming fields.
"No matter, what we lack in coin, we've more than made up for in flesh!" Ragnar laughed sadistically while gazing at the captive men, women, children, and Pokemon.
"Gather the men and their precious Riolu!" At Ragnar's command, the grown men and Riolu were placed in front of him, leaving the remainder to watch in dread.
"No, please!" They cried, tears swelling in their eyes.
"Behold, you men and your precious Riolu will serve us well! Odin demands blood sacrifices, and as a reward here on Earth, he's given us your women and children, and then eventually, Valhalla!" Ragnar roared.
"Valhalla!" His men echoed.
The five Riolu tried desperately to break free, but to no avail, and the men stared back towards the temple.
"Orahaoya!"
Ragnar and his men only laughed.
"No one can save you. You belong to me now-"
"Urs!"
"What?" Ragnar saw his Urshifu pointing to the trees. There, a pair of glowing blue eyes stared back at him from the shadows.
"Who's there!? Show yourself!" Ragnar snarled while drawing an ax alongside his men.
The villagers all gazed up in awe and wonder as more blue eyes lit up the canopy, causing the Vikings and their Pokemon to tighten ranks.
"Leave this place now and never return." A voice filled all of their heads telepathically. The voice almost sounded feminine, incredibly powerful, and yet loving.
It filled the villagers and their Pokemon with a sense of hope and relief while Ragnar and his Vikings scoffed.
"You have no idea who you're dealing with!"
The figure remained silent, but those around her now moved like swift assassins. Upon entering the light, they were revealed as humans wearing blue robes and body paint similar to the villagers' tunics, only with hoods and some padding on their elbows and knees and cloth covering their mouths.
The remaining figures beside them were all Lucarios.
"The Aura Guardians!" The villagers cried in pure joy alongside their Pokemon.
"Attack!" Ragnar snarled before his Viking band surged forward. However, this proved fruitless as the Aura Guardians unleashed a series of energy attacks with channeled blue aura, coming in the form of spheres, pulses, lassos, or even swords.
The villagers and their Riolu watched in pure awe and wonder as the Aura Guardian warriors made short work of the Viking attackers with almost superhuman fighting abilities.
One Aura guardian evaded incoming ax and shield blows as if she'd known her entire life where they'd come from.
"Hold still, you little-" The aura guardian cut him off with an acrobatic kick to the face. At the same time, a Lucario came beneath her in near perfect coordination and hit the Viking's Toxicroak with Low Sweep, similarly knocking him out.
At the same time, another Aura Guardian and his Lucario saw a Viking and his Ursaring charge straight towards them. Both screamed and entered a berserker state.
The Aura Guardian pair both inhaled before their eyes flashed blue together. Both then unleashed an aura-enhanced punch into their opponents' faces, sending the pair sprawling onto their backs.
The Viking berserker and his Ursaring reached into their mouths and felt around, realizing every tooth was gone.
"Ahhhhh!" The Viking screamed like a little girl and ran off.
Ragnar and his Urshifu watched in disbelief as their Viking band was made mincemeat out of by the Aura Guardians.
"How unfortunate that you Vikings fall apart whenever someone fights back." The voice said, earning a tenacious snarl from Ragnar.
"I'll show you! Bring them in!" Ragnar laughed while pointing to his fleet of longships.
Two Vikings performed a distinct action. Moments later, the water burst as two Gigantimax'd Drednaw emerged and made their way towards the Aura Guardians.
"Ha! How do you like that!" Ragnar laughed far louder.
However, two more Aura Guardians and Lucario revealed themselves beside the still hidden figure. Both Aura Guardians held out a hidden bracer on their wrists and touched a glittering stone contained inside.
Matching bracers rested on one the same wrist of each Lucario, both similarly containing an orange gemstone which then lit up.
"What the!?" Ragnar yelped upon seeing colorful spheres surround the Lucario and then burst apart, revealing Mega Lucario.
"Grrrr! Destroy them!" Both Gigantimax'd Drednaws unleashed G-Max Stonesurge sending massive sharp rocks towards the Mega Lucarios.
"Grouu!" The first Mega Lucario channeled aura together with his Guardian and unleashed a boulder-sized Aura Sphere which smashed through the incoming rocks and then hit the Drednaw.
Simultaneously, the second Mega Lucario and Aura Guardian swiftly leaped off the incoming stones before reaching their opponent.
There, Mega Lucario sent the Drednaw flying with a Focus Punch.
Ragnar panted heavily as he watched his Vikings crumble before him.
"Stand and fight you, cowards! Stand and fight! Grrrr! Urshifu, use Brine!"
"Urs!" The legendary Pokemon lit up the trees, but his target had seemingly vanished in a veil of blue light.
"What the!?" Just then, a flat circle of blue aura appeared directly in front of Urshifu, and a Pokemon burst out, delivering a punishing kick to his face.
Urshifu stumbled backward, and the villagers cried out in glee.
"Orahaoya!" Ragnar breathed heavily when he stared at her. The Pokemon almost looked like a Mega evolved Lucario, but taller, with more cyan coloring and enhanced features.
"Shadow Claw!" Ragnar snarled.
Orahaoya's fists glowed blue, and without even turning her head, she punched two Gengar who'd appeared out of the shadows behind her.
"What the!?" Ragnar yelped in disbelief that somehow her strikes made contact.
"Destiny bond!" A third Gengar tried to bind Orahaoya to her, but the legendary Pokemon threw another piece of aura in front of herself before vanishing.
"Gar?" The Gengar frantically looked around until Urshifu frantically pointed behind her.
Orahaoya had reappeared behind the Gengar and sent her flying with an aura kick.
"Close Combat!" Urshifu threw himself forward and unleashed a barrage of punches like a thunderstorm. However, Orahaoya merely dodged or parried their blows with unnatural speed and precision, her eyes and fists still glowing blue.
"Just hit her damn it! Dynamic Punch." Ragnar snarled while running up Orahaoya, ax raised.
Orahaoya kicked Urshifu's punch away and then delivered one of her own, sending Urshifu sprawling backward with a dazed look and trembling body.
Ragnar tried to bring his ax down, but Orahaoya threw down another aura portal and vanished inside it. Ragnar stumbled about, nearly tripping as his ax hit air.
"Where are you!? Come, face me you coward-" Ragnar yelped like a child when Orahaoya appeared in front of him and seized his neck.
The Viking chief dangled in the air as she held him up and stared deeply into the eyes.
"Wait, wait! You don't want to do this! If you kill me, my sons will come and avenge me! They'll burn your filthy little jungle to the ground, then enslave all your people and Pokemon!"
Orahaoya didn't respond. She merely stared at the dangling Viking, who did his best not to glance at Urshifu, who carefully moved up behind her.
Just then, the legendary Pokemon raised her off-hand and sent Urshifu flying across the jungle with an aura sphere until he smashed through one of the longships.
"You will leave this place behind and never return. You will also give up your career as a Viking. You will no longer make your living off of stealing human and Pokemon flesh."
Orahaoya threw down another aura portal and tossed Ragnar inside. A moment later, he appeared inside a longboat, surrounded by trembling Vikings and their Pokemon.
"You damn cowards!" Ragnar moaned as the band fled across the sea with their tails between their legs.
Orahaoya exhaled deeply and recentered her aura. Yet she soon found herself swarmed by over a hundred villagers and their Pokemon.
"Orahaoya!" They cried, tears swelling their eyes as they tried to embrace her or the Aura Guardians.
Orahaoya let out a soft smile and occasionally patted one of the children or Riolu on their heads.
"Orahaoya! Mother of Aura, you saved us all! We're forever in your debt!" The village leader fell to his knees before her.
Orahaoya placed her paw on his shoulder and eased him via her aura, not even speaking to him. Taking another deep breath, Orahaoya raised her hand to the ocean and flashed both eyes with aura. Moments later, a dozen or so Staryu and Cloyster emerged from the ocean and started putting out the fires with Water Gun.
She then did the same with her other paw, this time drawing out several Zarude, Grotle, and Sunflora, who began using various grass-type moves to restore the burned crops.
Just then, she vanished into an aura portal, reappearing in the canopy with her Aura Guardians quickly following and then disappearing even as the villagers continued to cheer.
Orahaoya led her Guardians and Lucario back towards the temple when she suddenly stopped.
"Orahaoya?" One of the Guardians asked as he and the others tried to find out what was happening via aura sight and heightened senses. However, Orahaoya remained silent and merely gazed off into the distance in roughly the same direction as the village.
"Go on without me. I just need to check on something."
The Guardians and Lucarios bowed their heads before continuing on. Orahaoya threw up another portal and leaped inside, reappearing further across the canopy. From there, she continued to race across the vines and tree branches until she heard the sound more clearly.
From there, she closed her eyes and used aura vision to feel her surroundings. The legendary Pokemon gasped upon feeling an aura presence stronger than any of her Guardians.
Orahaoya opened her eyes and saw a pack of ravenous Houndoom approaching a pair of human bodies near a riverside. From their appearance, the man and woman looked like villagers who'd fled, both having hatchets sticking out of their backs.
Orahaoya closed her eyes again in sorrow. She'd failed to protect them, she'd-
"Waaaaahh!" Orahaoya's eyes shot upon and the legendary Pokemon gasped when she heard the wailing of a human infant.
Peering closer, she saw something moving beside the man and woman's bodies and almost yelped upon seeing the Houndoom approaching.
"No!" Orahaoya threw down another portal and appeared directly among the Houndoom. With five swift blows, she sent them flying and then made sure each one fled before lowering her arms.
Orahaoya now carefully looked down and saw him, a human baby wrapped in cloth, crying as he flailed his arms around.
Orahaoya slowly knelt down and picked him up, staring at the human baby with sorrow for his loss but also intrigue.
"It couldn't be. You're just a baby." Orahaoya reached out to his aura and felt her mouth drop upon feeling the overwhelming power inside him.
Just then, his crying stopped.
"Huh!?" Orahaoya opened her eyes and realized he was staring back at her with glittering light blue eyes and a cheerful smile. The baby let out a soft approving noise as he reached for Orahaoya's snout.
It was only then that Orahaoya realized that he'd connected to her aura instinctively. The legendary Pokemon slowly smiled and held out one of her paws to let him grab it with his tiny finger.
Orahaoya giggled slightly and then stroked his soft head, which already showed faint signs of raven-black hair.
Orahaoya's happiness dipped when she looked back at his deceased parents.
Taking another deep breath, she laid their bodies out respectfully and then held her hand to the ground between them. Within moments, light blue crystals formed around them in a makeshift grave.
After this, Orahaoya threw up another portal and leaped inside with the baby. She eventually returned to just above the village, where she waited for a long time, staring back at the villagers and then at the baby in her arms.
Orahaoya looked more than a little conflicted, especially as the baby smiled and reached for her. The legendary Pokemon let out a single tear and held him closer.
Inside the great temple, Orahaoya's Aura Guardians and Lucario watched in disbelief as she appeared holding a baby in her arms.
"What?"
"Groouu!?"
Orahaoya moved across the various walkways and vines connecting portions of the temple from its jungle interior before reaching a chamber at the very top where she stopped.
"Orahaoya." Three Guardians and their Lucarios arrived before her and quickly bowed their heads before staring at the baby.
"Orahaoya, what happened? Who is that?"
"A survivor from the village. His parents had fled during the raid but died of their injuries. I found him near a river."
All six sighed and gave sympathetic looks towards the bay before realizing what Orahaoya had.
"His Aura!"
Orahaoya nodded with a growing smile.
"This is fate. We were meant to find him."
"Yes, with proper training, he could become the strongest Aura Guardian to ever live!"
Orahaoya nodded again but with more tenderness than pride.
"Orahaoya, Jiraiya, and I can look after him. Our boy is getting older and we wouldn't mind another-"
"No!" Orahaoya almost growled and held the baby tighter in her arms very protectively. The Aura Guardians and Lucario jumped in fright before Orahaoya relaxed.
"No, I'll look after him myself. An aura with this much potential requires very close guidance." The Guardians and their Pokemon glanced at each other warily. It wasn't the tone of a teacher that Orahaoya used but that of a mother.
"Of course, mentor." They said before bowing again.
They were about to leave when one turned back.
"Orahaoya, what are you going to name him?"
Orahaoya hadn't thought of that and looked back at the baby for several moments before smiling.
"Aaron. His name will be Aaron."
That night as the stars shined over Orahaoya, who lay on a hammock of vines inside her chamber. Aaron still rested in the legendary Pokemon's arms as they stared up at the night sky together.
Moments later, Aaron began to cry.
"Shh, don't cry, little one." Orahaoya eased Aaron in her warm arms and soon reached out to his aura, giving him natural comfort in her presence.
"You don't have to be afraid anymore. I'm going to take care of you now." She promised the baby, who'd stopped crying and giggled while reaching out to her snout again.
Days soon turned into weeks, and weeks into months. Orahaoya awoke every morning and tended to Aaron's every need, feeding him, bathing him, and taking him around the jungle in her arms.
The mother of aura still managed to perform her duties, but more and more, her Guardians noticed she devoted herself truly to Aaron. Very soon, he began showing signs of his great potential and even began using aura in small amounts.
Each day she cared for him, Orahaoya loved Aaron more, so much that she found it nearly impossible to be away from her adopted son. Only temporarily giving him to her most trusted Aura Guardians when she absolutely had to.
One day, she stood atop the canopy with Aaron in her arms, both gazing out across the jungle island together with their aura.
"Isn't it beautiful, Aaron? Some day you'll protect it too. Then who knows, maybe you'll travel beyond the sea and protect faraway lands! There are other Lucario out there." Orahaoya giggled while tickling his stomach.
However, Orahaoya's expression changed when she saw a terrified look on Aaron's face.
"Aaron, what's wrong?"
He let out a soft cry and pointed to the horizon.
Orahaoya reached out with aura sight and gasped when she saw a sea of red aura approaching. Hundreds of Viking longships now descended upon the island of Ora.
"No!"
The battle dragged on for what felt like days, and Orahaoya struggled to keep fighting even as dozens of defeated Vikings and Pokemon lay at her feet and the jungle burned around her.
Orahaoya's Aura Guardians, their Lucario, and dozens of wild Pokemon who'd answered Orahaoya's call to arms similarly wavered against the sheer number of Viking marauders who just kept coming.
"Ha ha ha ha! There you are!" Orahaoya grit her teeth and slowly looked up at Ragnar, who approached with a horribly smug expression.
"You should've killed me when you had the chance, stupid Pokemon!" Three Urshifu backed up Ragnar, and despite her overwhelming fatigue, Orahaoya fought on.
After a brutal fight, Orahaoya managed to knock out two of the Urshifu but suffered another heavy Focus punch and fell to one knee.
"Ha ha ha ha ha! This island is mine now! So are the people and the Pokemon!" Orahaoya grit her teeth and looked around at her Guardians, about to become overwhelmed. Reaching out with her aura, she sensed the countless Pokemon and numerous villages who'd be at Ragnar's mercy, and of course, Aaron.
The legendary Pokemon clenched her eyes shut but took a deep breath and held both paws to the ground.
"Huh? What are you doing!?" The entire area almost lit up in aura, causing the Viking horde to stop.
"What is this!?"
"Orahaoya, no!"
"Grouuu!" The Aura Guardians and Lucarios cried, tears filling their eyes as they watched crystals form around them, which began unleashing pure aura that sent entire groups of Vikings flying off into the distance.
"No! Kill her!" Ragnar and his remaining Urshifu tried to charge her, but Orahaoya channeled more aura and held them in place.
Just then, she looked back and saw Aaron standing a few feet away, tears in his eyes.
Orahaoya choked up and felt several tears fall down her cheeks.
"Goodbye, Aaron. I love you."
"Grouuu!" Orahaoya roared as she sent Ragnar and his army away before getting enveloped in light.
Aaron had to cover his eyes, but upon opening them again, he saw Orahaoya was no longer there. Instead, a great crystal grew where she'd knelt and emanated with a familiar aura.
"Orahaoya." The Guardians, Lucario, and other Pokemon broke down into sorrow upon seeing this, and soon people from various villages arrived in horror alongside more wild Pokemon.
"Mama." Aaron muttered as he slowly approached the crystal and touched it.
"Mama!" Aaron sobbed before one of the Aura Guardians knelt down and wrapped her arms around him.
Author's note
I hope you guys enjoyed the prologue
The next chapter will move on to Ash and company, but I needed to get things set up first
Yes, I modeled Aaron and Orahaoya off Tarzan and Kala's relationship with a bit of added tragedy
For those wondering Orahaoya is the ancestor of the Lucario species, somewhat similar to Manaphy and Phione
So until next time,
Please review, comment, suggest, or ask (VIA PM)
