Shadows of Aura Chapter 7

Pokémon Shadows of Aura
Chapter 7: The Lake

A long hard worked month had passed since Henry began his training. Things have gone well for him during the past month. Not only did he master the moves Leah had originally taught him, but he also managed to learn how to use double team and extreme speed. He and Dalius have begun to know and understand each other. Henry could now enter and leave Dalius' library at will. There was however one thing that was constantly on his mind. Leah.

Henry couldn't get over her. To him, she was the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. He greatly admired her soft and shiny yellow fur, her marvelous ruby red eyes, her caring and very cheerful attitude. Everything about her made his heart soar.  Henry however was very shy around her. Every time he'd look into those stunning eyes, he'd feel butterflies in his stomach. He knew he liked her, but he was incredibly conflicted. After all, she is a Lucario, and while Henry may be in the body of a Lucario, he still felt human. Henry couldn't take it anymore! He needed someone to talk to.

From there, Henry sat alone in the calm nightly forest. Everyone else was already asleep. Henry however, couldn't. Not while all this was going on. He sat there mediating on a rock as his mind traveled to Dalius' library. This experience is fairly new to Henry. He'd have to concentrate to allow himself to travel to the library. Henry's concentrated on his aura as the white void started to take it's form. Bookshelves fell into place as the void began to become darker. The floor became a became hard and cold as cobblestone took its place. The light of the void shortly vanished as the last of the library was being assembled. Shortly after, Henry turned his gaze over to the library's desk where a Lucario sat, dressed in his usual clad armor. No surprise to Henry, he was reading another book. Henry sighed to himself. How was he going to tell Dalius of his problem, and would he even help? Henry began stepping toward him and greeted with, "Hello Dalius."

Dalius rolled his eyes. Once again Henry had interrupted him and his reading. "Oh fantastic!" he bellowed sounding rather irritated. "You always show up when I'm reading Henry!"

"You're always reading." chuckled Henry lightly. He had to admit, he loved being able to do this to Dalius. It always got him fired up.

Dalius glanced up with him giving Henry a forewarning glare. "I am, and for good reason." he replied sharply. He paid his attention back to his book. He reached the last of his word current page. He flipped the page and began reading anew. Without looking up at Henry he inquired, "So what is so important that you must bother me in my library?"

Henry introverted his gaze from him, as he felt himself begin to heat up. "I-I need your advice on something."

Dalius' ears perked up with a hint of excitement. "Really now, my advice?" he said in a surprised tone. "Oh this'll be interesting." Dalius shut his book and placed it on his desk as it sat neatly with all his other arrangements. Dalius crossed his arms and gazed up at Henry. "Tell me now, what it is you need my advice on."

Henry took a deep breath. He could feel his paws begin to shake as he lightly began to sweat. He felt as if all of his strength had been sapped out of him. He face grew red as he began to blush heavily. With trembling stand, Henry finally managed to confess, "I…..I think I may have feelings for Leah….."

Dalius placed his face into his paw. "Oh Beatrix….." he muttered to himself.  He sat in his chair with a secluded smile on his face. He was trying his hardest not to laugh. Seeing Dalius like this made Henry very uneasy. He didn't know what was on his mind. After a few long drawn out minute, Dalius finally managed to get himself back in control. He looked back up at Henry with an amused look on his muzzle. "Very well and you bring this to me why?"

"Well who else was I going to bring it to?" Henry snapped sounding very defensive. "Who else could I have brought it to, Jared?"

A look of disgust took form on Dalius' face. He had resentment towards him. He never liked how much of a smartass he was. "No! No! He's an idiot!" barked Dalius. He let out a heavy sigh allowing his nerves to cool. "Well then, what do you want me to do Henry?" he inquired in flat tone. Dalius leaned back in his chair gazing up at Henry. "You know what you have to do here."

"But Dalius I'm a human!" protested Henry. He looked down at his paws, coated in blue and black fur. He let a heavy pained sigh. He did not know what to do about his current situation. Finally he continued with a troubled voice, "I'm not a Lucario……"

"And yet you like her." replied Dalius. Dalius uncrossed his arms and let them rest on his leg. "You have feelings for her and besides, didn't your human mate leave you because of this change of yours?" Dalius mildly observed as he watched Henry weakly nod his head. "This female Lucario likes you even though she knew you were once human." he stated.

Henry felt his face burn up as his heart began to soar. "Wait what!?" yelped Henry taken by complete surprise. His blush grew deeper. Could this mean he would have a chance? "You…You think she likes me?"

Dalius rolled his eyes after hearing Henry's ridiculous question. He couldn't believe he'd just ask that. "Please Henry!" he barked. "It doesn't take a psychic to know. Since day one, I could see her blush and shyly gaze at you. She keeps checking you out. Not to mention the time when she tripped on you. She was right on top of you, and you didn't seem to mind. Neither did she." He stated knowingly.

Henry's blushed deepened as his mind traveled back to the moment. He remembered how he relished the feeling of her being close to him and how he didn't want it to stop. When it did happen instead of immediately asking to get overly embarrassed over it, they were rather playful about it. "It's true…" exhaled Henry. "I…..I enjoyed being close to her….." he confessed.

Dalius gave a sinister chuckle. "Among other things. Even you can't deny it." Dalius leaned forward, placing her arms on the desk. "Why not go to the hay with her and seal the deal?" he said slyly while giving him a smirk.

Henry went wide eyed. His jaw dropped. He couldn't believe what Dalius was saying. "Wha-what!!?" he cried out.

"It's what you did back then." Dalius leaned back in his chair once more, crossing his arms. "What do mates do? They mate!" he said sharply.

"B-but we're not mates!!" stuttered Henry. Henry couldn't believe what Dalius was saying here. He's been around her for a month and he's already calling them mates.

Dalius chuckled aloud. He had to admit, he loved being able to do this to Henry. "So you think Henry, but, training together, meditating together, and sparring together? It's what mates do." clarified Dalius. Henry's blush deepened as he bowed his head, not able to say a word in response. Dalius had beaten him. "What is it Henry? Can't accept the fact that you're going to be with a Lucario even though your human?" he questioned.
Henry gave Dalius a sideways glance, feeling incredibly shy. "It just seems weird. I mean….." He glanced at his paws once more. He could clearly see paw pads replacing his palms with black fur covering the rest. He flipped his paws over, seeing the spikes that came out. He sighed before continuing with, "have I left my humanity behind me?"
Dalius shook his head. "Your mind is obviously still here. Not all was left behind, and while it may seem weird to have feelings for another, you have to remember that's what love is. Weird."

Henry sighed heavily. He knew Dalius was right. However, he still had one last question to ask him. "Dalius…..what am I? Am I a human or a lucario."

The armor clad Lucario grinned to himself. He had been waiting for Henry to ask this question for some time. "Your mind is that of a human, you have the body of a Lucario but, how will you answer the question?" he asked in a serious tone. "Tell me Henry, what ARE you?"

Henry gasped to himself. He didn't expect Dalius to throw his question back at him. He shut his eyes and began to think long and hard about this. At first he wanted to say human as memories of Jen started to play in his mind. However, he mind quickly shifted to his change and how Jen reacted to it. She kicked him out! His mind then began to wander to when he met back up with Jared and the one he cares for, Leah. He thought of the month that they shared together. How close as friends they had become. By this point, the choice was obvious. Henry opened his eyes as his eyes met Dalius' He now had an answer. "I am a Lucario! Jen destroyed my humanity." He answered sharply.

A satisfied grin played on Dalius' lips. "Exactly! Forget Jen, she was never faithful. But Leah….Leah is. Go for her Henry."

Henry responded by giving a smile of his own. He now had a clear idea of what he needed to do. "Thank you Dalius."

"You're quite welcome. Now, can I continue reading now!?" he said impatiently.

Henry chuckled to himself as the library began to fade around him. "Sure." laughed Henry. "You can continue to read now." The library continued to fade to white until it became a total white void. Henry slowly opened his eyes with the starry night sky greeting him. Henry laid there in peace gazing at the bright stars. He tried connecting the stars in his mind to form figures as he pondered on his thoughts. 'Leah……I hope things can work out for us…..'

Within a short time, Henry got up and began making his way over to the campsite where he found Jared and Leah sleeping without a care in the world. Henry warmly smiled seeing her like this. Shortly after, Henry laid down on his sleeping bag and shortly after fell asleep.

--
    
Henry, Leah and Jared all made their way down the forest path. Jared had decided this would be a good day to relax, seeing as to how he decided to have them spend it at the lake. He also figured since seeing Henry and Leah having worked hard together, that they'd need a break. Leah could hardly contain her excitement. She loved to swim. "Oh my god I can't wait!!" she squealed. "This is going to be so much fun!!"

Henry chuckled to himself. Seeing Leah this way made his heart soar. "You seem excited Leah."

Leah turned to him with the largest smile on her face. "Oh I am! I'm very happy we're going!" she exclaimed before she began skipping while humming a happy little tune.

Jared let out an annoyed groan while placing his face into his palm. "Leah……" he said in an embarrassed tone.

About a half an hour later, they had arrived at the lake. Leah gasped at its beauty. The lake truly was a beautiful sight to behold. The water was perfectly reflected the image of the scenery around them. A border of trees surrounded the lake. A small dock hung out over the lake where someone could jump off of it. A group of wild Pokémon played at the other end of the lake. "Oh wow this is beautiful!!" exclaimed Leah.

"Indeed it is Leah." agreed Henry.

The three of them made their way over to the dock seeing as to how Jared needed someplace to stick his bag. The dock hung out over the lake at about a good ten feet and was made from a lighter colored wood. From their standpoint, there was a small hill leading to the lake which allowed the dock to elevate over the water. The walkway led out to the platform which had two benches, one of the left and one on the right. There was no railing at the end of the platform allowing people to jump off.

Jared placed his bag on one of the benches. "There!" he said aloud. Henry stood at the end of the dock looking over the edge into the water. A light grin appeared on his face, as he saw his reflection. Little did Henry know that Leah was slowly creeping up behind him. A mischievous smile spread across her mug as she slowly crept up on him. For her, this was too good to pass up.

Without warning Leah thrust her arms forward into Henry's back, pushing him into the water. Leah watched as the blue Lucario plummeted into the water below followed by a splash. Leah burst into laughter as she saw Henry surface. "I got you!" giggled Leah.
   
"Oh come on! That's not fair!" whined Henry. "That was a cheap shot Leah!" Henry chuckled to himself. Leah was rather playful, and he'd have to find a way to get payback on her.

Jared walked over to the end of the dock standing next to Leah. He chuckled as he saw Henry in the water. "Good one Leah." he complimented. "I didn't think you'd have it in you."

A smug grin appeared on Leah's lips. "Oh I do Jared. I thought it'd be funny." She said slyly. She stepped behind Jared with a sinister grin on her face. She wished to the same thing to him as she did to Henry. "It's too bad….." She thrust herself into motion, getting ready to push Jared in. "that you're going in too!"

But before Leah could push him in, Jared managed to sidestep of the way. Unfortunately for her, by the time she could stop she was already past Jared. Jared chuckled to himself. "I don't think so!" Jared placed her hands on her back and pushed her forward off the dock. "But I think you will!" he teased in a cocky manor.

Leah let out a yelp as she freefell into the water below. Both Henry and Jared watched as her body hit the water with a loud splash. Both Henry and Jared burst into laughter as Leah rose to the surface. Leah quickly swam over to a more shallow part of the lake. She got to a point where she could touch the bottom and water was up to her upper belly. Henry was already there chilling out. "Damnit!" she cursed. "I almost had him." She couldn't believe Jared was able to elude her like that.

Henry burst into laughter. "Yeah, you got owned." laughed Henry.

An embarrassed blush appeared on her face. "Oh, shut up!" she pouted while splashing him.
After the wave had struck him, Henry's expression turned from one of amusement to one of surprise. He hadn't been splashed in years. Henry's adrenaline pumped as his inner child was being released. A playful smile sprouted on his muzzle. "Oh splash me will you?" he said playfully. Henry slowly stuck his paw in the water, prepping for his counterattack. "Then you realize, this means war!" Henry thrust his paw forward causing a large wave to form that completely engulfed Leah. "Splash fight!" He called out before splashing Leah.

Leah giggled as she began splashing Henry in response. In Henry's mind was Dalius, watching Leah and Henry go at it. He shook his head in disapproval. "So childish." he scoffed. He rolled his eyes. "They're acting more like Riolus than Lucarios."

Jared looked out from the top of the deck watching Henry and Leah's little skirmish. He chuckled to himself. "Well they seem to be having fun." he said jealously. Slowly he backed up to the end of the platform about to give himself a running start. "Screw a splash fight, I'm going in." Jared sprinted forward and when he was about a foot away from the edge, he leapt off the dock and dove into the water below.

--

The three of them enjoyed a good hour's worth of swimming. Both Henry and Leah sat on the dock waiting for their fur to dry. Jared had gone away to get back into his usual attire. The two of them sat in silence as the cool breeze pierced them. Both of them had no idea what to say to each other. Both had their head shyly turned away from each other, pondering on their thoughts. Finally, Leah who could hardly stand it any longer broke the silence with, "That was a blast!" Henry ears perked up as he turned to face her. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

Henry gave a warm smile, nodding at her. "Yes I did Leah. I haven't had that much fun in a while." Leah chuckled giving a warm smile of her own in response. "So how about you Leah?" started Henry. "Did you have fun?"

Leah nodded her head. "Yes I did especially...." A hint of red began to show on Leah's muzzle. Instead of hiding her blush, she kept her gaze on Henry and relished it. "especially since you're here....." she said softly while scooting closer to him.
Henry had a growing blush of his own but just Leah he didn't hide it. A smug and yet playful grin played on Henry's lips. "Oh really?...." he said slyly while he scooted closer to her.

"Yes..." giggled Leah scooting up to Henry, her arm brushing his. Both of them feeling very content on being this close to each other. "You've done amazingly well this past month. You've been able to master everything I've taught you." Leah turned over Henry's paw to where his pads were exposed and gripped it, making Henry feel stiff. She warmly smiled at him. "I'm very proud of you."

Henry couldn't believe what was happening. She was holding his paw! Dalius was right! Feeling rather uneasy at first, Henry gave her a warm smile as he gripped her paw. He couldn't be happier. "Thank you."

Leah giggled gripping his paw a little tighter as a way of showing her affection. "You're quite welcome Henry." sighed Leah. The two of them sat there simply enjoying the moment. However, it'd be short lived as both of them shot up after hearing a nearby explosion. The explosion was loud enough to cause a mild ringing sound in their ears. "What was that!?" roared a startled Leah.

Henry rubbed his head to try and force himself from not listening to the ringing that played in his ears. It wasn't painful or defining, just annoying. "I don't know. It came from over there!" he replied pointing to the line of trees. "Let's go..." Henry's sentence was cut off as he saw Leah had already started moving to where he had pointed to.

"What are you waiting for!?" she called out without looking back. "Let's go check it out!"

Henry groaned to himself before he began sprinting to the line of trees. Little by little, he was able to catch up to Leah. He was pretty fast for a Lucario. Within a few seconds, he had caught up to Leah. Henry looked to Leah as she looked to him giving an amused smile as the wind rushed past them. Both he and Leah leapt several feet above the ground and landed on some very sturdy tree branches. The two of them quickly dashed through the forest by jumping from branch to branch. Henry was quite surprised he was able to do this, almost as a second nature. During the past month, Leah had been teaching him how perform such a feet. He failed a few times, resulting in him falling out the tree. However he was able to master within a few days!

Both Henry and Leah continued down their path until they reached a decently open part of the forest. They could sense the aura that caused the explosion was nearby. "Henry, we should stop." she advised as she began to slow her pace.

"I agree." said Henry as he slowed his pace at the same time. "We should proceed with caution. We don't know we're up against." Henry jumped to one last branch before coming to a complete stop. "I'll go down first. You follow shortly after."
Leah nodded. "Ok, but please be careful."

A sly smile spread across his muzzle. "Of course I'll be careful I'm Henry!" he said proudly. Henry slowly made his way down the tree, making sure he wouldn't lose his grip. One he was only a few feet off the ground, he let go using his feet to push off the tree. Henry landed gracefully. He looked up to where Leah was walking over to her tree. "You're turn." he called.

Leah took a deep breath. She always hated this part. She slowly began to make her way her way down however, little did she know that the tree was weaker than the others. About halfway down, the piece of bark she was gripping gave way. Leah let out a yelp as she fell back. She shut her eyes expecting the worst.

Henry quickly sprung into action. He stuck out his arms out and got himself into posistion, focusing all his weight to his legs. Within less than a second later, Leah fell into Henry's arms. Leah's breathing was shaky, but she slowly opened her eyes realizing her landing was actually quite soft. She looked up to see Henry gazing at her. A surprised look appeared on her face, but it soon died once she realized Henry had caught her. A sly smile appeared on her face as she lightly giggled. "Thanks for saving me Superman." teased Leah placing a paw to his chest.

Henry chuckled with a playful smile of his own. "You're quite welcome Ms. Lane."

A playful grin spread across her face. "You keep catching my falls. Is this going to be an ongoing trend?" she teased.

Henry chuckled. "Perhaps...." He slowly tilted Leah to her feet. Leah climbed out of his arms, much to her dismay as her paws hit the soft grass.

Suddenly Leah and Henry jumped a little after hearing a voice call out, "Now use flamethrower!!"

Henry's ears perked up. "Did you hear that!? It sounded like Jared!" Henry began jogging forward. "Come on!"

Leah shuttered to herself. "Flamewheel?" she questioned. She let out a pained sigh. "Don't tell me he's out....." groaned Leah. By the time she looked back up, Henry was already a fair distance away. Leah felt her heart skip a beat. He really was fast. "Hey wait up!!" she called out as she began jogging.

Henry stopped as soon as he heard her. He watched as Leah ran up to him, however she seemed troubled for some reason. It seemed as if something serious was on her mind. Feeling concerned, Henry asked, "Hey, you alright?"

Leah, looked up to him with a hint of uncertainty in her eyes. "I guess........it's just......" Leah let out a another sigh looking away from Henry's gaze. "Nothing.......I'll.....tell you a little later....." She paced past Henry with each step feeling more and more painful than the last. She knew the one she hated was out of his Pokéball. "Let's press on." she ordered.

Henry's expression quickly to changed to once of bewilderedness and concern. What was wrong with her? Henry decided to drop the subject and pressed on, he knew he'd get his answer soon enough. Leah slowed her pace so Henry could catch up. Leah nudged at his paw, indicating she wanted it. Henry opened his paw to her as their paws pressed together, but Leah didn't even gaze at him. Henry knew whatever was on her mind was greatly troubling her and that she wanted someone close to her.

"Good work! Now use blaze kick!" called out a voice! The voice was followed by a low bellow.

A look of excitement spread across Henry's face. "Perfect! Jared sounds very close by!"
Leah however showed no excitement. She simply bowed his head. "And so does he........" she said softly to herself.  

Henry began quickening his pace without letting go of Leah's paw practically dragging her along. "Come on! He should be past this line of trees!" Leah quickly caught up to Henry's pace. Within a few moments they passed the last line of trees to an open section of the forest. It wasn't very large, but it was large enough to house a battle. Sure enough a battle was underway. Standing to their left was Jared and to their right, was another trainer. The trainer was a young man around the age of sixteen or seventeen. He had brown hair and hazel eyes. He had on a navy blue zip up sweater with a visible black shirt underneath. He wore tan pants and navy blue shoes with shades of gray on them. With him was a Toxicroak and by the looks of it, he'd been beaten pretty badly.

With Jared standing tall, was a Blaziken.  Henry could remember him. While he was a trainer Blaziken was only a combusken and he was quite strong and a rather proud creature. From what Henry could tell, Blaziken had no scratches, bruises or anything whatsoever. Blaziken let out a loud triumphant roar as his wrists burst into flames. Leah hid behind Henry as she gripped his paw tightly. She buried her face in his back as she lightly trembled. Henry could easily sense from the aura Leah was emitting, that she was scared. "Damn.....I was right......" Leah faintly cried out, her voice being muffled by Henry's fur.

Henry let go of Leah's paw, and turned himself around to face her. Leah took a step back so she could face Henry. Her eyes darted between Blaziken and Henry as she continued to tremble lightly. Henry gripped Leah's paw as a way to show his concern. Leah gasped as her eyes fixated back onto Henry, his expression showing worry. "Leah, what's wrong?" he asked softly, trying to calm her.

Leah's gaze shifted away from Henry's, her expression still showing she was troubled. "I-I don't like Blaziken. He.....scares me......"

In the back of Henry's mind Dalius spoke out with, "I can understand her fear. I've never been too fond of them myself. They may be powerful fighters, but they're far too proud. They're very ill-tempered and are merciless in combat."

Henry turned his head to watch the battle between Blaziken and Toxicroak come to its climax. Judging by how roughed up Toxicroak looked, he knew this battle was almost over. Henry gritted his teeth, could Jared's Blaziken be just as cruel? "Now Blaziken use Blaze Kick!" ordered Jared. Blaziken roared as he charged the near incapacitated Toxicroak. His right leg engulfed into a burning blaze. When in range, Blaziken performed a roundhouse kick that struck Toxicroak to the side of the head. A tight cringing pain struck Henry's gut. He knew whoever was on the receiving end of that attack was not getting up. Toxicroak was viciously knocked over by Blaziken's attack as his limp body hit the ground.

"Toxicroak!!" the trainer screeched. After seeing Toxicroak could not continue, he pulled out his Pokéball. "Toxicroak return!!" A red beam emerged from the ball as it engulfed the fallen Toxicroak. The beam then pulled Toxicroak back in.
  
Blaziken let out a satisfied chuckle. "He was no match for me!" he said to himself crossing his arms.

Jared chuckled to himself with a smug grin plastered on his face. "Anyone else you wish to use as a punching bag!?" scoffed Jared.

The trainer growled at him gritting his teeth. He would not go down without a fight! He pulled out another Pokeball. "Go Empoleon!!" he roared after chucking the ball. While in midair the ball opened as a bright light emerged from the ball. The light eventually took the form of a five foot penguin. The light eventually faded and was replaced by the large bird Pokémon. Empoleon let out a loud roar as it glared at Blaziken.

Jared gritted his teeth, he knew Blaziken was in trouble due to the type differences. Jared pulled out Blaziken's Pokéball. "Blaziken return!!" A red beam came out of the ball and pulled blaziken back in. Jared was about to reach for another one of his Pokeballs until he spotted Henry standing with Leah nearby. A large grin spread across his face. "Hey Henry!!" called Jared. Henry's ears perked up, as he looked over to Jared. Jared waved his hand, signaling him to go over to him. "Get over here! You're up!" he ordered.

Henry's eyes went wide with surprise. W-What!?" he stuttered. He couldn't believe Jared would throw him under the bus like he just did. He felt very nervous he's never been in a actual battle except for sparring against Leah. He turned his gaze to Leah. "Leah, I don't know if I can do this."

A sly smile spread across Leah's face. "Sure you can. I know you can." she said reassuringly. Henry's expression however still didn't change. Leah sighed to herself. "Look I know you're nervous, but this is the perfect way to see how far you've come along."

Henry sighed to himself. He knew she was right. "Alright I'll go."
Leah giggled feeling very pleased by Henry's response. "Good I know you'll do well." She turned him around and shoved him forward towards Jared. "Now go out there and kick some ass!" she roared enthusiastically.

Henry chuckled to himself after hearing Leah's enthusiasm. He took deep stress relieving breathes while walking over to where Jared stood. He spent the last month training for such an event. He knew he would have to do this eventually, but Leah had taught him well. Not only did Leah teach him how to use his attacks, but Jared also helped him in coordinating them. They spent hours with Jared giving him orders of what attack to use at what specific time. It was finally time to put his training to good use.
Within a few moments, Henry stood in front of Jared, posed for battle. Both he and Empoleon exchanged glares. With his hands engulfed in a purple fire, it was clear, he was ready.