"Dude you're trying to like… draw it out, you should be draaaawing it out."
In a dimly lit musty room, a Lucario and Riolu sat across from each other. With his legs crossed, the Riolu was intently trying to draaaaw out and visualize his partner's life force.
Evidently, he was going about it wrong.
"Okay, chill, this isn't working."
At that, Riolu abandoned his attempt and looked back to his teacher. While the Lucario was the type of Pokémon to never let the relaxed smile fade off his face, Riolu didn't need aura to tell that he was disappointed.
"You're just like… not feeling it man. Dunno what to tell ya."
Riolu lowered his head and nodded. Another teacher already giving up on him— at least he made it to round 2 this time.
"Hey, pick your head up little dude. Your mom seemed chill, I'll just explain it to her. You just gotta be a bit more… there. Then you'll get it."
Lucario nodded to himself, proud of the philosophical conclusion he came to as he walked to the lone shelf in the room. Soon enough, a lamp bathed the entire room in an orange light.
"Wanna snack? Got tons in here."
Riolu peeked upwards at the Lucario, who was waving a chocolate bar towards his now-former student. After studying it for a few seconds, Riolu slowly reached out.
He managed to devour it all right as the doors to the temple slammed open. Even before his eyes could adapt to the sudden influx of natural light, Riolu knew exactly who it was: another Lucario, far more distinguished looking than his ex-mentor.
"Miss! Been waiting for ya. Wanted to tell ya something about your kid-"
The newcomer shot a glare at the other Lucario, causing him to flinch. She let the silence in the air linger for a few more seconds, before shifting the target of her gaze to Riolu.
"Another failure?" Her voice was definite, as if she already knew the answer and asking the question was a mere formality.
"Y-yes." While the courage to raise his head away from the ground was beyond him, Riolu was at least able to summon enough wits to respond.
"Hmm… unfortunate." Lucario looked back to the mentor, who seemed to stop slouching as soon as he entered her eyesight. "I was told you were skilled in turning around problem cases. What is different about Riolu?"
"I-err-well… he's just… not there? He's gotta work on his, like, essence-"
"I don't want vague feelings, I want concrete reasons as to why Riolu has been unable to utilize aura."
The younger Lucario gulped. Even under normal circumstances he'd struggle to answer the question, but with the all-too-imposing eyes of a parent on him— he was completely at a loss for words.
"He just can't channel it, I don't… know what else to say."
"…The same thing the others said. Riolu, come with me, we are leaving."
Riolu nodded, slowly shuffling across the temple floor back to his mom. The mentor looked at the pair, giving a final wave to his student.
"Your payment will be sent to you by mail. For future reference, please ensure that if you are going to fail in your job, you are at least coherent when trying to explain why."
"Nice, uh… doing business with you too. Ma'am."
The doors to the temple slammed shut, as once again Riolu and Lucario stepped out.
While it was slightly overcast outside, that didn't slow down the activity on the street. Hundreds of Pokémon of all sizes bustled through the road. Alongside them was the occasional carriage transporting the lucky few Pokémon wealthy enough to avoid bothering with peasant affairs like walking.
Lucario was one of these Pokémon, as she and Riolu climbed into a bare-bones wagon pulled by a Rapidash.
"Take us home," Lucario ordered.
Rapidash didn't utter any words of acknowledgement, simply stepping forward and merging into all the other traffic.
Riolu, meanwhile, just kept his head down. Focusing on the way the wooden boards of the cart creaked along the road was a great way to avoid the impending sense of dread from-
"Riolu. Look at me."
That.
He meekly raised his head to look up at Lucario, who practically towered over him.
"Tell me what went wrong with this tutor."
"I…" Riolu's voice was soft. He knew there were no right answers here, it was just a matter of finding the one that was least wrong. "I don't think he… communicated how to… feel the aura well?"
"…Hmm…" Lucario took out a notebook from a drawer within the wagon, putting down some quick footprint runes. "Your next instructor will need to have superior communication skills then."
Of course there would be a next one. Riolu failed, he'd need to try again.
"Naturally, you are to be grounded for the interim period," Lucario added, looking back to the road. "You are to continue studying the topic of aura channeling in your room until your next practice session. Hopefully that will be sufficient to overcome your barrier."
Riolu… knew that was coming. It was the same as every other failure. He made sure to not let his tail slump, no matter how much he wanted it to. Any invitation for Lucario to scan his emotions would reveal much more than he was comfortable with— a breakdown would have to wait until his mom couldn't see him.
Thankfully, with Lucario focusing on Rapidash and the road ahead, Riolu could step towards the back of the wagon and watch the city pass by.
Ingen was a fascinating place. Giant towers of brick and stone loomed over the paved roads, alongside the occasional empty lot or small park nestled in the heart of the city. But even the traces of greenery felt dull and lifeless under the skyscrapers and clouds. What really made it pop was the Pokémon traveling in every direction.
A Frogadier climbing on the faces of buildings to avoid the traffic of the road proper, a Magmar firing a warning shot at some Pidgeys camped out on his clothes wire, a wagon right behind their own with a tired looking Mudsdale listening to a Scyther rattle on about… something or other.
For how subdued the giant buildings were, the Pokémon gave Riolu something to admire.
Of course, that would eventually draw to a close. The path became bumpier as the buildings grew shorter, the wagon taking them into the suburbs and estates of the city's wealthy. Dense apartments gave way to extravagant lawns as Rapidash started to slow down.
Lucario's residence was one of the smaller ones in the area, not that it meant much here. The mansion was still far larger than a family of three had any need for, a fact Lucario had pointed out several times when she and her husband were first looking for a home to buy.
That ultimately did very little to stop the final purchase, and lo and behold Lucario has only used three rooms over the past 20 years she's lived here.
Infernape, on the other hand, wouldn't subscribe to any such limitations.
The fire type stepped out from the mansion's main entryway as he saw the wagon pulling in, helping to lift Rapidash's harness up so he could be dismissed to his stable.
"Did you figure out your aura stuff yet?" he asked, eyes centered on the Riolu gingerly climbing out of the wagon.
"He did not," Lucario answered. "The tutor rejected him once again."
That caused the flame on Infernape's head to shoot up. He stomped over to Riolu, who just landed on the ground. "How did you fuck up another one?"
"I- I don't think he communicated-"
"That's FUCKING BULLSHIT, there is NO FUCKING reason that six tutors have rejected you and it's somehow not your fault!" His flame grew to an inferno as he stomped the ground a few more times.
Riolu was left stuttering."I- Well- I just-"
Thankfully, his sorry excuse for a rebuttal was cut off by his mom. "Lower your voice. We already discussed this, and I will be making plans to ensure the next mentor does not have the same weaknesses. Until the next set of lessons, Riolu will remain in his room to study."
Infernape growled, but didn't argue any further. "You don't know how much these tutors cost…"
Riolu only nodded as he shuffled indoors. All it took was a staircase and a small hallway before he could safely lock himself inside his room away from his mom and dad's gaze. He sprinted up the staircase on all fours, rushing past the tacky paintings lining the wall and using the post at the top to pivot himself 90 degrees.
It wasn't much longer before he made it, shutting the door behind him. With his back still facing the door, he let himself collapse on the ground.
It was the same damn problem again. Mom was annoyed, dad was pissed, and all it'd take was a few days before they'd find a new tutor for him and the cycle would start all over again.
He looked back over the stuff laying around his room. For how much time he spent grounded in here, there wasn't a whole lot to it. A decent bed, a desk loaded with piles of aura channeling self-help books, and a couple random knick-knacks he's managed to collect.
He walked over to the most valuable of them all, a poorly-knitted together Riolu plush. He picked it up and pulled it close, just wanting to feel something other than the same muddled mix of fear and rage.
The actual plush was a gift from a Spidops who said Riolu had inspired him to work towards his next masterpiece, and that the quickly thrown-together bundle of blue yarn was the least he could do to thank him. It was equally fortunate that Infernape was with him that day instead of Lucario— the Spidops incessantly praising his parents for how great a job they must have done in raising him probably played a part in Riolu not being forced to throw it out the moment they were out of Spidop's eyesight.
For now though, it was a very nice comfort to have. Even as thunder began to crackle outside, he was safe enough in here.
Riolu spent a few hours like that. At some point, he transitioned from lying on the floor to pulling himself onto his bed, though the plush remained right at his side. The thunderstorm outside seemed to be growing more intense, which was perfectly fine with him. The sound of rain pattering against his window was relaxing.
It did unfortunately conceal the sound of a knock coming at his door. Not that Riolu paying attention would have changed anything, as Lucario immediately opened the door after the first thud.
"Riolu, your father and I have a Federation board meeting tonight. You are to remain in your room. Understood?"
Riolu quickly jumped up off his bed to face his mom, leaving the plush concerningly exposed.
"Y-Yes. I understand."
"Perfect." With her message conveyed, Lucario left the room as quickly as she entered.
Riolu stood perfectly still for another few seconds, not daring to relax until he heard Lucario's footsteps descending down the staircase.
Freedom again. Not that he'd actually leave his room— his mom would inevitably ask when she got home and if she had any doubt, she'd just read his aura. Not an experience he wanted to go through.
But removing the threat of mom or dad barging into his room whenever they felt like was a weight off his chest. He could rest for a bit, then start digging into the books he was supposed to get through.
The storm outside seemed to have other plans, however.
He managed to get through a few hours of reading, though by this point it was mostly him forcing his mind to scan word after word— trying to understand what each sentence actually meant stopped being a concern 40 minutes ago.
This process was interrupted by a strike of lightning, landing right outside. The resulting thunder came immediately after, prompting Riolu to look out through the window.
It wasn't exactly a pleasant sight. The stable that Rapidash lived in was smoldering, small trails of smoke floating up away from it.
Mom and dad probably took Rapidash to the meeting, right? Otherwise he would have gotten out of the clearly not-safe glorified shed.
...The smoking didn't look like it was stopping. Why was it even smoking? Shouldn't a building designed to house a Pokémon covered in open flames be fireproofed?
After looking at it for a minute, Riolu came to the realization that it would probably continue smoking if no one did anything. Unfortunately for him, he was the only one around, and mom made it extremely clear he shouldn't leave his room. But if that was an actual fire and it spread…
Lucario was intimidating, but rational. Even in the worst case scenario, she could verify that he was legitimately concerned something could go wrong, it wasn't just him trying to get out of his punishment.
Riolu slammed open his door and bolted down the stairs. All the paintings seemed much more intimidating in the darkness, like they were spying on Riolu and just waiting to rat him out to dad.
Thankfully even if they felt strongly about Riolu's escapade, they did nothing to stop him from pushing open the massive set of double doors in front of the mansion.
Scrambling out into the rain, he ran towards the stable. While the scent of smoke filled the air, the actual building itself looked fine from down here.
Rapidash was nowhere to be found. While he felt a pang of sympathy for the fire type who'd inevitably have to haul a wagon back here in the middle of the thunderstorm weather, it was probably a good thing he wasn't inside during the strike.
The stable interior, while blessedly dry, also showed no signs of the smoke's origin. This lasted for all of 30 seconds, before the roof collapsed.
A large wooden pillar fell right in front of him, causing him to jump back. Then another one came down on top of the first, this one on fire. Watching the open flames cackle in spite of the rain coming down on them, Riolu was beginning to see the problem.
Like any well raised child, he knew what to do. Get away, and get authorities to help.
However, he was also a poorly raised child, terrified of retribution in case he left the house for too long— so running the few miles to the fire station wasn't an option.
Thankfully, it was still pouring outside; as long as the fire didn't spread somewhere indoors it'd be fine. That meant all he had to do was make sure that the stable interior had nothing small and dry that could easily catch fire. Such as the three bales of straw pushed up against the stable wall.
Riolu took a deep breath and ran back in, trying to take as much as he could out into the rain. The bulk of the interior should've been fireproofed, so if he got the kindling out-
His train of thought was interrupted by a spark jumping off the open flames and onto the bundle of hay he was dragging. As soon as he saw the speck of orange he immediately yanked it behind him, letting it slide to a stop in the rain outside.
It didn't catch. Not that it was guaranteed to light up anyways, but now that the hay was uncomfortably wet, there was no way the fire could spread further.
After repeating the process two more times and taking out all the other random items that might be able to catch fire, all that was left for Riolu was sitting outside and waiting for the already-burning piles of wood to die off.
As the adrenaline waned, he decided that irrespective of potential punishments, standing out in the rain wasn't gonna help anything. He moved over towards the entrance of the mansion, using the door's overhang to shield himself from the storm.
It also happened to give him a very clear sight line of the entrance gate to the mansion, meaning he had little else to think about aside from what would happen when they got back.
It took another hour before Lucario and Infernape's wagon rounded the corner. Riolu didn't dare go back inside though. Trying to hide or downplay what he did would only make things worse.
He didn't avert his eyes from their cart. While the rain concealed Lucario well, Infernape's open blaze was fairly obvious. It was equally obvious when Infernape noticed the damage as it flared up.
"RIOLU!"
He didn't wait for Rapidash to come to a stop before vaulting out and flying towards Riolu.
"What did you do!?"
Riolu's earlier confidence that leaving his room was justified evaporated under Infernape's gaze.
"Well… there was-"
"A lightning strike," Lucario interrupted, walking up to Infernape's side while looking at the stable. "Which caused the non-fireproofed outer surface of Rapidash's stable to catch fire. Riolu, being able to see this from his room, came outside to assess the damage, and made the decision to remove all flammable materials from the inside of the stable before they could ignite and result in total structural collapse, with the potential of spreading to the building proper. Am I correct?"
Riolu nodded. Lucario always seemed to be able to piece these things together instantly. That was probably a good part of why she was so high up in the Explorer's Federation.
"We told you to stay in your room!" Infernape shouted. "The entire damned house is fireproofed, this shouldn't have been-"
Infernape was cut off yet again by Lucario grabbing his hand and yanking him away.
"Riolu made the correct choice with the information he had. You will not scold him for this."
"What's the point of grounding him if you're just gonna be soft on him?"
As Infernape and Lucario's argument began to escalate, Riolu backed off a few steps. It wasn't particularly common for them to disagree like this, but the last thing he wanted was to be in the middle of it.
"You're letting your emotions blind you again," Lucario explained, pressing a paw against her forehead. "…Riolu, return to your room for tonight. I'll discuss this further with your father, but I'm proud of your decision making here."
Riolu nodded, quickly scrambling indoors. The more distance he could put between himself and his parents right now, the better. Yet despite that, he couldn't help but linger in front of the door for a few more minutes, just to hear what they were saying.
"I can scan his aura tomorrow morning to gauge his intentions. It's obvious he was making the right choice, however."
"You're just trying to make excuses! He wanted to get out-"
"You're being ridiculous. Aside from the fact that it is still thundering outside and the scorch marks are visible from the lightning strike, he does not know any attacks that could cause such a thing."
"Just because you're some bigshot in the Federation doesn't mean you know what's going through his head all the time!"
Riolu didn't quite know what to do. Dad was pissed— mom might be able to talk him down, but then he'd just blow up about some other pointless nothing.
Though what other choice did he have? Actually trying to defend himself would go worse than just shutting up and taking whatever Infernape wanted to do, and he didn't have anyone he could ask for help.
A bolt of lightning briefly illuminated the mansion's interior, shedding light on another choice: the back doors, completely unlocked. With Lucario and Infernape in the front still arguing, and the storm making it impossible to see anything, no one would notice if a Riolu slipped out through there.
He took a breath. It was a stupid idea; the Exploration Federation's number one job was to hunt down Pokémon who were missing or on the run, and Lucario ran one of its most prestigious departments. If she suspected he was missing, all of Ingen's top teams would be hunting for him within 12 hours.
Lucario's voice briefly broke his train of thought. "I will explain to him the importance of following the rules we lay down, however I expect you to apologize for losing your temper tonight."
"Why the hell would I?" Infernape shouted back. "He was the one who fucked up."
Riolu took one more breath. They thought he was in his room right now, and weren't gonna check until tomorrow.
"Like I said, I will inform him as to why obedience is important, I just ask you to cooperate with me."
Obedience. Just shut up and listen to her.
Another bolt of lightning struck. When would he get a chance like this again? They assumed him to be cowering in his room, no one would be out tonight, and a storm that could cover his tracks?
That bolt was the last sign Riolu needed. He took a step forward, then another one. He briefly paused at the staircase, taking a look up. He could go back to his room, and just-
He walked past, continuing to the back door.
Some of the best exploration teams Ingen has to offer could come after him, and bring him back to a home that would be way worse than it is now. But things weren't getting better, and if mom and dad wouldn't listen…
The door opened for a brief moment, before gently clicking shut.
The Exploration Federation wasn't infallible, and they had one giant and overwhelming weakness: tracking someone down through a mystery dungeon was hell.
Running across a muddy backyard and vaulting over neighbor's fences, Riolu had a good idea where to start.
A/N: Hey I'm back now. So for those who don't know this is a prequel to PMD: Sierra 10, however you won't miss anything if you haven't read it already. If you did, then please enjoy liberal servings of dramatic irony. Also the fic's cover art is really cool, check out the AO3 version if you want to see it with more than 10 pixels.
As always, shoutout to my beta readers, Timelocke and NikelNani; go check out their stuff if you're interested.
Updates are gonna be roughly 2 chapters every 3 weeks, so expect alternating between weekly and bi-weekly uploads.
Ch 2 - All Thanks to Everyone - 10/28/23