Lucario led me into a traditional-style dojo with tatami mats covering the floor. The walls appeared to be made of screens that looked like they could be broken easily; however, the presence they gave off told me that would not be the case.

  Everywhere I looked, I saw small markings. Upon closer inspection, I realized they were in the shape of Unown.

  “Why is there writing in the Unown language here?” I asked.

  Lucario appeared surprised for a moment before schooling his face. “It is rare for someone to recognize the language. They are there to reinforce the room with aura; this will allow us to train without destroying it,” he responded.

  Leading me to the center of the room, he gestured for me to sit, which I did. As I did so, Manaphy released herself from her ball.

  “Phy?”

  “Huh, I didn’t know you could release yourself. That’s good information to have,” I mused as I tried to work out what Manaphy wanted.

  “The small one wishes to learn aura control as well,” Lucario said, answering my unasked question.

  “You want to train too? I don’t know, Manaphy—you were only just born this morning.”

  Lucario let out a scoff. “The young one is linked to your aura. Training without them would be foolish,” he said.

  Looking down at Manaphy, a few thoughts rushed through my head. She was only born this morning, so she was extremely young—but she was also a Pokémon. They developed at different rates than humans. The pertinent question was how different that rate was for Manaphy’s species. Unfortunately, due to the extremely rare nature of Mythical Pokémon, I doubted anyone had the answers I needed.

  “Aura training won’t hurt her or impact her development, will it?” I asked.

  “No, of course not. If anything, it will help her grow stronger,” Lucario replied.

  I wasn’t too sure about this. Lucian had said that Lucario’s training would be brutal, but I guessed we could try it for now.

  “Relax. Tonight we will just be talking and practicing some breathing exercises. You have had a long day, and while all that aura might be keeping you energized, your body still needs rest,” Lucario explained.

  Huh. I guess it really had been a long day—being rescued from the wilds, explaining my life story to two of the strongest people in the region, not to mention the teleportation.

  “Alright, how do we get started?” I asked.

  “First, tell me everything you know about aura. We will start by making sure your understanding is not flawed; a poor foundation will hinder us moving forward.”

  “Makes sense. So, from what I know, a person’s aura is kind of like their life force. Everyone has it, although being able to manifest it outside the body is rare. It can also come in different types—I’m told I have a water aura. I assume there are a total of eighteen types of aura, one for each Pokémon type, but I could be wrong there. Let’s see what else… Oh! Aura can be transferred to a Pokémon to help boost the power of their moves,” I listed off.

  Lucario was silent for a minute as he pondered my words. “Only some of what you said is correct,” he eventually commented.

  “Aura is not life force; however, the two are intrinsically linked, so I can see how one would come to that conclusion. Life force is something every living being has—be it Pokémon, human, or even plants. Aura is created when life force is manipulated by the will of the user. This, in turn, makes your situation uniquely perplexing.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “I cannot detect any will in your aura. If I had to guess, it is almost as if your body is overflowing with life force and expelling the excess, transforming it into aura—something that is only possible in theory. Normally, producing aura this way without molding it with your will would be like building a home out of sand. While it may hold its shape, it will not stand up to pressure and is far more effort than it is worth,” Lucario explained.

  “Well, I was given life by Arceus himself,” I muttered.

  “All of us are given life by Arceus,” Lucario replied, “although I feel you are speaking more literally than I am. It would require a being of that level of power to give you as much life force as you currently possess. My immediate concern is that your body is expelling all the unneeded life force. While this isn’t a problem currently, what happens when that life force starts to run out? If you don’t learn to turn that tap off, you might end up expelling everything—killing yourself in the process.”

  “Kingdra mentioned something like that. Horsea and I had been training so that he only draws a portion of my aura instead of all of it. It was meant to help me get better control over holding onto my aura,” I said.

  “Not a bad exercise to begin with. It is something we will be working on. Now, back to my explanation: everyone has life force, but not everyone is able to manifest it into aura. In theory, anyone could learn the technique, but it is not something taught freely. Not only does it require extensive practice before one is able to manifest aura, but playing around with one’s own life force is more likely to get someone killed than not—at least without adequate supervision. That’s also not to mention the dangers someone with aura poses.”

  “Dangers? What are you talking about?” I asked, confused.

  “With suitable training, an aura master can bring about power close to that of Pokémon. Having a large number of humans walking around with that level of power is not the safest thing,” Lucario explained.

  “That doesn’t really make sense,” I said.

  “How so?” Lucario asked, looking almost confused.

  “Well, yes—let’s say an aura master is as strong as a Pokémon and can cause a lot of damage. I understand how that could be a concern. However, you’re overlooking something. You know what else is as strong as a Pokémon and that everyone has access to? Pokémon themselves. You let ten-year-old's go out on journeys where they collect Pokémon, so everyone already has access to that level of power, no?”

  Lucario let out a laugh. “Not quite, but again, I can see how you came to that conclusion. Traditionally, journeys can be taken as young as ten years old, but many wait until they are older. It takes a special type of person to brave the wilds so young. Most people who go on a journey only catch one or two Pokémon, which they then raise to around the two-badge level of strength. When I said an aura master could be as strong as a Pokémon, I was referring to one trained to the eight-badge level.”

  “Ah, that makes a lot more sense,” I said.

  “Another misconception you had was aura having types. This isn’t quite true. While aura will often resonate with a certain type, it is created when life force meets will. There are certainly more than eighteen types of people in the world,” Lucario laughed. “When aura is created, it can absorb ambient TE, making it reflect a certain type. The amount absorbed is normally minuscule; however, in your case, since your aura lacks will, it was drinking up ambient water TE, making it appear like pure water aura. This isn’t to say your aura isn’t naturally aligned with water TE—it clearly is, otherwise that wouldn’t be possible. Most people’s aura will end up resembling a specific type over time. This explanation is important so you don’t believe your aura benefits are limited to Water-type Pokémon. While they will benefit more than Pokémon of other types, with training, this difference will be reduced.”

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “This is a lot,” I said after a short pause. “Is all of this explanation really necessary?”

  “Yes, it is. Aura is a very personal thing, and while others can guide you in its use, the work has to be done by you and you alone. If your understanding of this force is flawed, then your development will be severely impacted—and you have too much aura for your control to be anything less than perfect.”

  I didn’t reply, instead taking some time to think internally about everything that had happened. Kingdra was my first teacher in aura, although it appeared her explanation hadn’t been entirely correct. I supposed it made sense that Lucario—the Aura Pokémon—would be more informed than a random wild Pokémon. Still, even if I’d had this explanation from the start, I didn’t think it would have changed my actions. I still needed to learn control.

  “So what’s next?” I finally asked.

  “Next? Next, you sleep. You have had a long day. We will start training in the morning. You can sleep here.”

  As Lucario spoke, he walked over to the side of the dojo and pulled open a sliding door, revealing a small bedroom with a sleeping mat and blanket on the floor. The rest of the room was empty.

  “The bathroom is over there,” he said, pointing to another sliding door on the far wall, “and the kitchen is through there.” He gestured to a third door. “There is a tap for water and a fridge stocked with food, should you wish to eat. Once you have done so, I advise you to get as much rest as possible. I will be back early in the morning to start your training.”

  With that, Lucario walked out of the dojo, leaving Manaphy and me alone.

  ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

  “Well, that was a lot, wasn’t it?” I asked Manaphy, who was still sitting in my arms.

  She wiggled a little before giving me a big smile that filled my heart with joy. I carried Manaphy over to the kitchen, determined to make us all some dinner. Opening the fridge, I almost cried with joy.

  Fresh fruit, vegetables, cheeses, and meat. The fridge was fully stocked. Having lived on foraged goods for so long, the sight of proper food brought me a comfort I hadn’t realised I needed.

  Looking around the kitchen, I noticed that the sink was particularly deep. Putting a plug in, I filled it with water before releasing Horsea so he could eat as well. After that, I made us all a simple meal of cooked meat and vegetables. I wasn’t too sure where the meat had come from, as it wasn’t labelled and had already been processed, but it was delicious nonetheless.

  After a quick dinner, I sat in the kitchen with Manaphy and Horsea.

  “Okay, guys, it’s time for our first team meeting,” I said, as both Pokémon looked at me in confusion.

  “Up until now, I’ve been doing whatever was required to survive one day to the next. But now that we’re relatively safe, I think it’s time we start thinking about the future—and about what we all want,” I explained. “Manaphy, you were only born this morning, so I don’t expect you to want anything other than a chance to grow up, something I’ll do everything in my power to give you. Horsea, you’re a little older, so you’ve had more time to think about where you want to go. I know you want to get stronger, like your mother, and that’s something I’m happy to help with as best I can. But I also want you to consider if there’s anything else in this world you want to try.”

  “Horsey, hor, horsey,” Horsea replied.

  “What do I mean?” I continued. “Do you want to travel and see different parts of the world? Find new foods to eat? Develop a hobby? There are endless things you could try, and all you have to do is ask—I’ll do what I can to help you fulfil your dreams.”

  “Horsey?”

  “No, you don’t have to give me an answer now. Take your time to think about it. And even if tomorrow you decide you want to try one thing, then change your mind later, that’s okay too. I may be getting better at understanding you, but I can’t read your mind—so please let me know if there’s something you want.”

  “Horsey! Horsey, horsey!” Horsea beamed at me.

  “You want a name?” I asked, unsure if I’d understood him correctly.

  “Horsey!” He nodded enthusiastically.

  “Hmm… okay. Did you already have a name in mind, or do you want me to give you one?” I asked. I was fairly sure Horsea wanted me to choose, but names were important, and I wanted to be certain.

  “Hor.”

  “You want me to give you one. Alright—let me think for a moment.” I’d never been great at naming things in my past life, and I doubted my recent experiences had improved that skill.

  “How about something cute like Bubbles or Splashy?” I asked, a small grin creeping onto my face.

  “Horsey!” Horsea shouted, firing a Water Gun straight into my face.

  “Okay, not a cute name,” I laughed, wiping water from my eyes. “How about Nereus, then?”

  “Ho?” Horsea tilted his head. So cute, I thought.

  “The name comes from ancient Greece—something from my old world. As far as I remember, he was associated with the sea and known for his truthfulness and virtue,” I explained. My memory of Greek mythology wasn’t perfect, but I’d always liked the sound of their names.

  Horsea thought it over for a moment before nodding in approval.

  That, in turn, got Manaphy asking for a name of her own.

  “As for you, Manaphy… how about Nerissa? It also comes from Greek mythology and roughly translates to ‘from the sea,’” I suggested.

  “Mana?”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite understand that.”

  “Horsey, hor, horsey horsey, ho,” Nereus explained.

  “You’re saying that you’re not from the sea—you’re from Papa?” Did I get that right?

  “Manaphy!” she cried, throwing her arms into the air.

  “That’s not quite right, dear,” I said gently. This was something I should clear up now, though I needed to be careful about it. “You came from an egg that I helped hatch, and while I’m very happy to be your Papa, Manaphy are actually known as the Prince of the Sea. It’s said they can make friends with any sea Pokémon and often make their homes in the deep ocean, surrounded by many companions.”

  “Mana?” Manaphy asked, tilting her head.

  “No—you’re still my daughter, and I’ll stay by your side as long as you’ll let me,” I quickly reassured her. “I was just explaining where Manaphy come from naturally. Your species is extremely rare, so no one really knows where Manaphy eggs originate.”

  “Manaphy?”

  “No, Manaphy can’t have baby Manaphy. It’s actually quite interesting—of all the Pokémon I’m aware of that can produce eggs, only two can’t produce eggs of their own species. Ditto is one; it can breed with almost any Pokémon, but the egg is always the other species. Manaphy is the second. Instead of baby Manaphy, any eggs you produce would hatch into Phione.”

  “Phy?”

  “A Phione is like a smaller Manaphy. Instead of two antennae, they only have one, and they have slightly lower base stats—but overall, they look very similar. Please don’t ask me why Manaphy produce Phione instead of more Manaphy. I have no idea, and I doubt anyone else does either.”

  “Phy, phy?”

  “You want to know if you’ll ever have a Phione? I won’t say never, but not for a very long time. You were only born this morning, silly. You have plenty of growing up to do before I’m ready to become a grandpa,” I laughed.

  That seemed to placate Manaphy, who went back to happily wiggling her arms in the air. “Mana, ma, phy.”

  “So you do like the name Nerissa? Okay—Nereus and Nerissa it is. Whoever joins our team next will need a name that doesn’t start with N, or this is going to get very confusing,” I joked.

  “Anyway, it’s late, so time for you two to go to sleep. Do you want to rest inside or outside your Poké Balls?”

  Both Nereus and Nerissa chose to sleep inside their Poké Balls for the night, which suited me just fine. Once they were settled, I returned to the dojo. While Lucario had advised me to get as much rest as possible, that wasn’t what I planned to do.

  Lucario’s hints earlier hadn’t been subtle. He’d mentioned that someone with as much aura as I had could be as strong as an eight-badge Pokémon. He’d also said that I needed perfect control. What he hadn’t said was what would happen if I failed to achieve that control. I couldn’t imagine the League letting me wander around freely in that case. Worst case, they might decide I was too much of a threat to public safety and put me down—something I was very keen to avoid.

  Steeling my resolve, I sat down in the center of the dojo and began to meditate, trying to feel my aura. I’d improved a lot since training with Kingdra. While I was still far from being able to manipulate it properly, I could at least sense it now when I focused.

  With my eyes closed, I reached out with my senses and immersed myself in the swirling aura around me. It felt like dipping into a lazy river, my consciousness being gently carried along its flow through my body. The sensation was strange, but it helped me develop greater awareness and control.

  Like that, I sat—losing track of time—until morning arrived.