Chapter 315: Riolu
Lucario was incredibly agile, weaving and dodging while unleashing fierce attacks with Bone Rush and Aura Sphere. However, Byron lived up to his reputation as a master of defense — his Bastiodon was practically a walking fortress, managing to hold its ground despite Lucario's relentless assault.
But even the strongest defense has its limits. A small opening in Bastiodon's footwork was all Lucario needed. It seized the moment, pressed the advantage, and finished the battle decisively.
After recalling their Pokémon, Riley looked over at Ryan and Lillie and said, "You two found your way here on your own? That's not easy to do." His tone was calm, neither impressed nor dismissive — just observant.
Byron let out a laugh and clapped Ryan on the shoulder. "Riley, you've been out here long enough that you've missed a few things. This is Ryan, President of the Mercenary Guild. His strength is well above our level — I've seen it firsthand."
"So you're the organization Leng joined," Riley said, piecing it together. After his student had joined the Mercenary Guild, she'd written to him about it. Riley had told her at the time that as long as she wasn't using her Aura for anything illegal, he had no objection to her choice.
Ryan stepped forward and introduced himself properly, Lillie at his side. He offered Riley the letter his student had written. "I'm Ryan — feel free to call me that. This is my fiancée, Lillie. We came to Iron Island specifically to ask you to assess whether Lillie has the aptitude to learn Aura. If she does, we'd be grateful if you'd be willing to teach her."
Riley took the letter, unfolded it, and read it carefully. He didn't respond immediately.
Byron looked the two of them over with an appraising eye. "I have to say, you're younger than I expected. About the same age as my son Roark, if I had to guess. I genuinely don't know how someone your age gets that strong."
Ryan smiled slightly. "I just train consistently. Nothing special about it — I think I've mostly been lucky enough to avoid going too far down the wrong paths."
Riley folded the letter and tucked it away. "I understand the situation. I'm happy to assess Lillie's aptitude. I should be clear, though — not everyone can learn Aura. It requires a specific kind of sensitivity. If the aptitude isn't there, no amount of instruction will change that."
Lillie nodded. "I understand completely, Mr. Riley. I'm not asking for much, honestly. I heard that Aura can be used for telepathy, and that's primarily what I'd want — it would make communicating with Pokémon so much easier."
Riley nodded. The letter had given him the full context of the situation, and he trusted his student's judgment. Ryan's reputation was well-established in Sinnoh, and the request itself was straightforward.
"Come on out, Riolu," he said, releasing the Pokémon from its Poké Ball.
Lillie blinked and leaned forward slightly. "This Riolu seems very young, doesn't it?"
Ryan looked it over as well. The Riolu was small — genuinely small, even by Riolu standards. It had the characteristic blue fur, black legs and lower torso, the yellow collar around its neck, and the white rounded pieces on the backs of its forepaws that would one day grow into Lucario's signature spikes. Its red eyes were bright, and the black mask-like markings on its face had the slightly unsteady quality of a Pokémon still growing into itself. Everything about it gave off a distinctly newborn impression.
"This Riolu hatched two days ago," Riley confirmed. "I'd normally offer a Riolu egg for this kind of assessment, but I don't have a spare at the moment, so this one will serve the purpose. Riolu are exceptionally sensitive to Aura — in some ways more useful for this test than Lucario. Lucario perceives Aura at the level of a wave: broad, strong, suited for battle. Riolu perceives it at the level of a ripple: subtle, fine-grained, well suited to detecting trace amounts of Aura in someone who hasn't developed it yet. For assessing potential, Riolu is actually the better instrument."
At Riley's direction, Lillie crouched down. The small Riolu stepped forward carefully and placed one tiny paw against her forehead, then closed its eyes and went still, concentrating.
Byron rested his pickaxe across one shoulder and watched. "Aura's useful, no question — but the aptitude requirements are steep. If it were easy, I'd have had Roark train under Riley years ago. In a serious battle, being able to give commands telepathically and have your Pokémon understand them instantly is a real edge."
Ryan nodded in agreement. "I use psychic abilities myself, so I know exactly what you mean. In battle, the gap between a command being understood and a command being executed — if you can close that gap, it can decide the outcome in a single exchange."
While Ryan and Byron were talking, the Riolu withdrew its paw from Lillie's forehead and shook its head slowly at Riley. Riley exchanged a few quiet words with it, then turned back to them.
"Lillie does have some aptitude," he said. "But it's marginal. Learning even basic telepathy would be a significant struggle. I want to be honest with you both before you decide whether to pursue this."
He'd put it as gently as he could. Under different circumstances, he might have simply said there was nothing to work with. But his student had vouched for Ryan, and that counted for something.
Ryan looked at Lillie. "What do you want to do?"
Lillie was quiet for a moment. Then she reached out and gently patted the small Riolu on the head. It blinked up at her with its red eyes. "If I don't have the aptitude, then I don't want to waste Mr. Riley's time," she said, with a small, composed smile. "I'll just work with Manaphy on proper speech instead — that way I'll have a translator."
Ryan let out a quiet sigh. He knew she'd wanted this. But if the aptitude wasn't there, there was nothing to be done — and she'd made her decision.
Lillie stood and turned to Riley. "Thank you for taking the time, Mr. Riley. We appreciate it."
Byron waved a hand before they could move toward the exit. "What's the rush? Iron Island has had a lot of new Pokémon moving in lately — you should take a look around while you're here. And Ryan —" he turned to him with a straightforward expression — "Canalave City is organizing a Pokémon competition. We'd like you to come as a special guest. It would mean a lot to have you there."
Ryan considered it for a moment. "A competition. It's been a while since I've done one properly. If the schedule works, I'll be there."
Byron grinned. "Good. That's settled, then."
(End of Chapter)
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