I have finally managed to write something!
This has been stuck in my mind ever since episode 21 of Pocket Monsters or Pokemon Journeys (for us English folk) aired and I've finally managed to put words to Word document and wrote this. I LOVE the Pokemon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu two part-er and still kinda wish Riolu had gone with Ash in that series, the fact he has his own Riolu now is irrelevant.
Before we begin, warning, this is a slightly darker universe than normal due to the nature of some aspects of it. You'll see part of it already in the first chapter. Also, personal headcanons surrounding Aura and how it works will be applied to this series. It'll be some time until I get to write a full explanation (coughcoughRileycoughcough) but it will be hinted throughout the story leading up to that point.
With that all said and done, thank you all so very much for reading, I hope you enjoy and stay safe!
Kellyn was quite surprised when the pager on his Vatonage Styler told him to head to Chairwoman Elma's office immediately, especially since Top Rangers were rarely pulled from their current objectives to start another. The Chairwoman gave Top Rangers their missions and yet she could also reassign missions depending on circumstances. A highly important mission must have sprung up and thus someone else would be picking up the pieces on his work whilst he took this new job. Kellyn thanked Arceus he was meticulous in his work; with all the notes and files he had carefully arranged it would make the new Ranger on the job's life easier.
His walk was filled with suggestions of what could be so important that his current mission had to be dropped. Dealing with Team Dim Sun in Almia was of the utmost importance to the Ranger's Union, there couldn't really be much else that could draw one of their Top Rangers away from dealing with that. Kellyn wondered if a legendary Pokémon had something to do with it. Dangers to the mighty beasts seemed common in this day and age, leaving the legends alone when threatened could lead to cataclysmic and/or world ending consequences. Kellyn, himself, had not yet dealt with a Legendary Pokémon and was rather anxious at the prospect of potentially having to encounter one for a mission. The Top Ranger pulled himself from his musings as he entered the Chairwoman's room, standing to attention beside a familiar female ranger.
Solana gave him a relatively curious glance, which he returned in kind. She wasn't a Top Ranger, as far as Kellyn knew, but Solana was known for dealing with the League Regions and by extension Legendary Pokémon. From what he had heard was that she was an incredible Ranger, quick-witted and always accompanied by her cheery partner Plusle who was currently clinging from her left shoulder. Kellyn didn't have a partner Pokémon to call his own but knew how useful they could be in the heat of a mission. His mind began to run again over what this new mission could be, since Solana was assumed to also be on the same mission. Was he heading to one of the League Regions or was a Legendary Pokémon that needed their assistance? A light cough turned both of their attentions back in front of them to their higher ups. Chairwoman Erma rose from her seat, using her cane to help push herself up onto her feet. Beside her, Professor Hastings had finished fiddling around with the gigantic computer screen behind them. With one last tiny cough, a sincere expression rested itself upon Erma's face.
"Ranger Solana… Top Ranger Kellyn… thank you for responding to my pager as quickly as you did," she spoke with a sombre tone, highly unusual and unnerving to hear from the cheery and gentle woman. "I am sure you are both wondering why we pulled you from your missions, however a much more pressing matter has presented itself. Hastings?" The professor gave her a brisk nod as he picked up his personal tablet. With a couple of quick jabs from his fingers, a CCTV recording appeared on the big screen.
The recording showed the doors of some sort of institution being blown open, even without audio the Rangers assumed there were alarms blaring in the background. A group of men dressed entirely in black, with dark glasses and hats covering the majority of their faces, burst out from the smoke in a hurry with a small Riolu following them. Three scientists had seemingly managed to follow the group, the middle one starting to yell at them until one man released a Golem and commanded it to use something. A full powered Hyper Beam struck the building, narrowly missing the scientists as a van appeared on screen. The men and the Riolu rushed into it before speeding off into the night as the camera feed cut out.
"During the investigation into this footage," Erma continued, frowning at the screen whilst Hastings re-wound it to a point where a symbol on one of the men's jackets was in full view of the camera. "We found these men were 'rescuing' a Riolu that was taken from its home in the Sinnoh region."
"Rescuing?" Solana inquired, glancing over the paused footage again. Just from looking at the scene revealed barely anything about the true intentions of the event.
"Indeed," Hastings answered, pulling up a page with an image of the institute during the day without any of the damage it had received in the feed. "The institute focused on Pokémon experimentation. In this case, they took a Riolu from the nearby Lucario Kingdom rather… forcefully…" he coughed with a pained expression, hinting to the Rangers to what lengths these people would go to. "… Much of the village was destroyed and those who survived fled to the larger cities nearby for protection."
"Why was this institute so interested on that specific Riolu?" Kellyn asked, recalling his knowledge on the species as he spoke. "I'm assuming there were lots of Riolu and Lucario living there."
"Because that Riolu knows Aura Sphere." Erma informed him, her grip on her cane tightening with barely concealed anger.
"Wait, what?" Solana's jaw had dropped slightly. "Riolu can't learn Aura Sphere, only its evolution Lucario can!"
"Exactly," the professor nodded at her. "That is why the institute wanted Riolu. They attacked Riolu's home and took it, naming it Project RX-1. The plan was to copy what allowed this Riolu to be able to use Aura Sphere before evolution and create multiple RX projects. Of course, that never came to be."
"So why are we getting involved?" Kellyn crossed his arms. "Those rescuers weren't there to grant Riolu its freedom, were they?"
"As sharp as ever, Kellyn," Hastings gave him a bright grin, dropping it as he set about enhancing the symbol on the screen. Once he had managed to do so, he turned back to the two Rangers with an air of disgust at the image. "This is the crest of the Lucario Kingdom… and as you two know the kingdom was destroyed when Riolu was first captured. It turns out the institute weren't the only people who wanted Riolu for themselves."
"So, we have to find those people and get Riolu back, right?" Solana smiled at her Plusle, who clapped its hands with a chirp of agreement.
"Quite the opposite," the elderly man added. "Riolu is an Aura powered Pokémon, empathy is like second nature to it. This Riolu realised the true intentions of its 'rescuers' and escaped from the van."
"So, we're being tasked to find Riolu and bring it to a safe meet up spot, correct?"
"Indeed," Erma half smiled at Kellyn for his assumption. "But if that was all we wouldn't be asking our best League Region Ranger and a Top Ranger to take control of this mission. There are two other factors contributing to why we need you two specifically. The first is the easiest to explain, it is heavily implied that the notorious Hunter J is going to be involved in the re-capture of Riolu as her aircraft has been spotted within the area."
"I've heard about her," Solana spoke to Kellyn, clasping her chin in her hand as she wracked her brains for her knowledge on the woman. "She is highly dangerous and ruthless. J will not hesitate to kill those who get in her way. One of her most recent sightings suggested she sent her own henchmen to their deaths by ejecting a part of her aircraft they were on."
"Yes, and she also works for those with mountains of money," the Chairwoman sighed heavily. "From what we've seen, the client who wants Riolu seems to have more than enough to gain her attention."
"That is why we want you, Solana, to work alongside the Sinnoh Police Force to track J down," Hastings announced. "Officer Diana Jenny has agreed to be your partner for this mission. Your job is to keep an eye on J at all times and stay in constant contact with Kellyn, who will be responsible for bringing Riolu to rendezvous point. You will both be getting a pager with your roles and the precise coordinates for rendezvous shortly."
"What about the other factor?" Kellyn questioned, rather intrigued that potentially having to deal with Hunter J of all people was the easiest factor to explain. Both the adults gave each other worried glances.
"What we are about to reveal must not leave this room under any circumstances," Erma's weary face grew stern once more. "Do you understand me?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Both Rangers stood to attention, arms pressed into their sides as tightly as possible.
"Very well, I trust I can hold you two to that," Erma gave Hastings a slight nod, to which he began tapping on his device once again. The camera feed and the details of the institute vanished, instead a map with a blue dot appeared across the screen with the dot moving steadily in a westward direction. "Due to the second Cipher incident in Orre twelve years ago, the Ranger's Union have asked Professor Krane to create a larger Aura Reader that can be fitted onto the neck of a flying type. Our initial reasoning was in case a third Cipher resurgence occurred, and we would need to identity Shadow Pokémon on a much larger scale. However, it has shown itself to be quite useful now."
"Pokémon of the Aura lines would always show up on the Aura Reader, shockingly enough," Both rangers tried to hide a smirk at the snarky comment from the professor. "So, we've been using our Sinnoh based flying types to try and find our missing Riolu out, equipped with Aura Readers that were designed to purposefully seek out strong auras and relay the findings back to us. We've been tracking Riolu's movements and discovered something quite… interesting…" Hastings dragged his fingers across the screen, reducing the zoom on the map. Riolu's blue dot shrunk in size and, shockingly, a purple dot appeared at the leftmost corner, following one of the travelling paths at a much slower rate than Riolu seemed to be.
"Another strong Aura?" Solana leaned forwards, noting the difference in colour. "Does blue represent Riolu whilst purple represents a Lucario or a Togekiss?"
"Not at all," Hastings winced slightly at the image, before continuing his explanation. "All Pokémon with strong Auras would appear as blue on the map, however we have been able to confirm by our flying types that it was our Riolu in question they spotted. Shadow Pokémon would appear under the colour black, if one was to be caught under the device. At first we had no idea what that purple dot could be until our Iron Island based flying type reported in." He brought up a smaller map in front of the other, on this the centre of a rocky island could be made out with a purple dot and a blue dot right next to each other, neither of them moving an inch.
"Iron Island…" Solana murmured, repeating the words until her eyes widened in recognition. "That island is strictly watched over by the Sinnoh League, something on it is protected by its jurisdiction and rarely do normal trainers get the chance to go anywhere near it. Level Five clearance only."
"Yes, the most guarded location in the Sinnoh region outside of its official League headquarters," Erma validated Solana's knowledge with her statement, slowly sitting back down so she wouldn't collapse since her legs had began to shake. "The blue dot on the screen was confirmed to be a Lucario…"
"… And the purple dot its trainer, a man named Riley." Hastings finished for her, wishing he had made himself a calming cup of tea before this had all started. "A man believed to be the last of the Aura users in the world."
"Aura users?" Kellyn frowned in slight disbelief. "I thought they were made extinct a thousand years ago in the mass culling following Sir Aaron's disappearance?"
"Almost all who resided in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Kalos and Alola died, yes," Erma relaxed slightly in her seat, not at all happy to be talking about the mass murders of an entire group of people. "But Sinnoh and Unova were neutral during the wars and genocides that followed. Those who did survive fled to those two regions. And with Aura being such the finicky power that it is, many bloodlines died out within the first two hundred years following the tragedy. When Sinnoh was left with the only remaining family of Aura users left, they sent them to live on Iron Island under constant surveillance and protection. When his parents died, Riley was assumed to be the last one left with the gift."
"However…?"
"However, this device was made to pick up strong auras," the professor continued following Kellyn's request for further information. "Since both the dot that symbolises Riley and the other purple dot on the screen exist at two separate places at the exact same time, we believe that we have stumbled across another Aura user." Silence reigned over the room for the time it took for this revolutionary piece of information to sink in.
"Another Aura user?!" Solana seemed ecstatic, beaming at her bosses as Plusle bounced around on her shoulder. "This is HUGE! Maybe there are more out there we haven't been able to find! They may not be as close to extinction as we once thought!" Both Erma and Hastings seemed relieved at Solana's interpretation of the news, but Kellyn's response was far more sombre.
"Whomever that person is, they are in extreme danger… aren't they?" Solana's happy mood faded instantly at his point.
"Indeed," Hastings slightly nodded at him, removing the Iron Island map to a case file that seemed sixty years old. "Because of their rarity in the modern day and age, they are extremely valuable on the black market or for experimental institutes. The last known case of this led to the ending of a long-lasting bloodline as their last Aura user was kidnapped and sold for billions of PokéYen, only to be found deceased when the League finally found their location. This case was why Sinnoh put its last Aura family under extreme surveillance and hid them away from the rest of the world. For all cases and purposes Iron Island does not exist to the public eye."
"But whomever this new potential is either slipped under the radar by dampening their abilities or they have no idea they have Aura in the first place," Erma pointed the tip of her cane in the direction of the purple point. "This, Kellyn, is why we requested you to retrieve the Riolu, because we also want you to protect the Aura adept as well."
"But won't that be hard?" At the confused looks he was granted, Kellyn decided to rephrase his thoughts and words. "Of course, Riolu is the key focus of this mission but I cannot be in two places at once."
"Riolu, as the baby Pokémon they are, tend to be drawn to stronger Auras and others of their kind," Hastings added helpfully, returning full screen attention to the map. "Based on the trajectory and the speed of travel, Riolu is heading in the direction of this unknown Aura adept. The reason why many Aura users of the ancient past paired with a Lucario or a Riolu was because of the inept sense those Pokémon had of the energy."
"That is your mission," Erma began the summary, placing both hands over the top of her cane. "Ranger Solana, we want you to work alongside the Sinnoh Police to make sure Hunter J does not get her hands on either Riolu or the Aura adept. Top Ranger Kellyn, we want you to protect them both and get them to the rendezvous point as quickly as possible. You both need to keep in constant communication at all times and update if anything new comes to light during the course of your mission. Can I trust you both with this?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Solana and Kellyn saluted the head of the Ranger Union.
"Very good, I know you both will accomplish your roles with the utmost care," she bowed her head to the Rangers in respect. "Both of you will be taking Staraptor to the Sinnoh Region, they are waiting for you outside the Union building. Good luck." With those final words, the two Rangers rushed out of her room respectfully. They were against the clock and there was no time to waste. Hopping onto their designated Staraptor, with one final nod to each other, they took off into the skies.
~O~o~O~
"… I will pay you 1,500,000 PokéYen upon capture and return of Riolu to me," the sleazy man on the call said, fingertips touching as he spoke between the gap of his hands. "I have heard great things about you, Huntress. I do not expect to be disappointed."
"You will have your Riolu, I promise you that," J crossed her arms, internally scowling at how demeaning her newest client had been towards her thus far. "As long as I get my payment…"
"Oh, trust me, you will get paid dear Huntress!" he seemingly didn't notice her raised eyebrow, that or he seemingly didn't care. "I have heard of your methods; all I need to send payment is for Riolu to be alive and moving. I am not one to deal kindly to betrayal."
"Then we both agree on something," she paused, enjoying the hidden nervousness her newest client showed at her lack of words. "Very well. I will begin your request immediately; you will be notified once the Riolu is secure."
"I thank you deeply, Huntress," the client – she couldn't keep referring to him as the sleazy man anymore, that would be bad for business – smirked. "I eagerly await our next call." At that, one of her henchmen ended the face call, noticing she was close to fuming at that point. J despised clients that belittled her, that believed they needed to tell her how to do her job. If it wasn't for the fact he was paying her extremely well, then she would have refused his request outright. A Riolu that knew Aura Sphere was rare, but it wasn't her usual taste in targets. She knew a power crazed moron when she saw one, after all she was only a hunter for the money, and it was normally the ones obsessed with power who were able to pay for her services.
Leaning back in her seat, she frowned as tops of trees lazily went by the windows of her aircraft. If it wasn't for the special equipment she had obtained, finding that special Riolu would be like finding a needle in a haystack. How would the client have expected her to find the target for him then? Did he simply think she just stumbled across rare and powerful Pokémon? Of course not, but equipment like that costs money and that was why she only accepted the highest prices. Getting her hands on a blueprint of the Ranger ordered Aura Reader was not easy, and getting the men to upgrade it and match it with her thermal imaging/night vision camera was no small feat either, but it meant finding that Riolu would be ten times more easier than whatever her client potentially expected her to do.
"Ma'am!" she groaned as a grating voice of one of her henchmen interrupted the peaceful flight. Her glare snapped over to the shaking man operating the camera, affecting him even through her visor. "Err… sorry for interrupting you… ma'am, but the Reader is picking up on two Aura signatures."
"Two?" J's initial fury had melted away, only to return at the thought of her client potentially lying to her. "Explain, now."
"Of course!" the henchman squeaked, to which the others in the cockpit sniggered at. "The one closest to us, the blue Riolu, is our target, but there is a purple human shaped one in the near distance that our target is heading towards."
"A… human shaped one?" For once in her career, J was shocked. She was used to psychics and their uncanny abilities over the mind and body, she'd even helped in the capture and selling of some herself in her early days. J had never truly cared about psychics; they were a dime a dozen and the most powerful of the bunch held roles within the Leagues giving them protection from people like her. But their counterparts, the largely extinct Aura users and adepts, they intrigued her. Their ways were practically a mystery, lost in time, but what was known was that they were unique in the ways they wielded their own life energy as a weapon. It was such a shame she had never been able to get her hands on one, the money that sale would have generated would have her set for life.
"Yes, ma'am…" the henchman shuddered a bit from the stare she was giving him. "I'll put it up on the screen for you."
"Yes, you do that," she focused her attention as indeed a purple human shaped form was shown not too far from where the target was, two blank human outlines flanked them on either side with a blank Pokémon form on their persons. A travelling trainer, perhaps? In that case, it would be all too easy to swipe them and leave their travelling companions tied to the trees on the road. "Interesting. Remove the Reader filter, I'd like to see my own personal target." A few seconds later and the filter was gone, revealing the blurry forms of three familiar brats. Her hands clenched at her armrests in pure rage, they had been responsible for her only two failures, her black marks on her record. With an icy tone to her voice, she asked. "Is this a joke?"
"Of course not! Ma'am!" the henchman stuttered and stood as straight as a ruler. "The Aura signature is coming from the boy in the middle, and its much stronger than the target's, ma'am!" At first, she scowled at how fate's cruel whim had determined that those brats would continue to cross her path. But then, she realised that fate might be a cruel mistress, but she had single-handedly dumped the answer to her wildest dreams right in front of the Hunter.
"I see," A calculating smirk crossed her lips. "I guess I should be grateful that boy didn't die when I dropped that hanger then, shouldn't I?" Rising from her chair, she looked out at the horizon of forest through the glass. "We will be landing shortly and be traversing by vans; our goal is to locate and obtain the Riolu our client ordered us to get for him."
"And what about you ma'am?" One of her other henchmen asked, with more confidence than he really should have had by daring to question her. Instead of yelling, her smirk deepened.
"For now, I'll be seeing how much some of our more… esteemed clients will be willing to pay for the last of a kind."