Aura: Difference between revisions

Ash using Aura

Aura (Japanese: alternately はどう wave and 波導 wave-guiding) is a form of spiritual energy introduced in Lucario and the Mystery of Mew. It is described as the essence of every living creature.

In the anime

Lucario using Aura

In the Pokémon world's past, there were once humans that could sense Aura and control its power. These humans, known as Aura Guardians, traveled around doing good deeds and passing on their skills to those who also possessed this innate ability. One famous Aura Guardian was Sir Aaron who took a Lucario as his apprentice and became a hero when he sacrificed himself to stop a war from destroying the area around the Tree of Beginning. In The Keystone Pops!, the group heard the story of how a Spiritomb was sealed away by an Aura Guardian who traveled with a Pikachu. In Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu! (Part 1), Ash and his friends meet a Riolu that can use Aura. Ash demonstrates the ability to sense Riolu's Aura several times over the remainder of the episode and the next. Later in Sliding Into Seventh, the Pokédex entry of Medicham reveals it has the capability to read Aura.

The Aura Guardians disappeared from history for some undisclosed reason a long time before the present era. The only humans in the present time known to have the ability to control Aura are Riley and Ash, though Ash has chosen to continue his journey as a Pokémon Trainer rather than follow up on the revelation. However, he did follow in the footsteps of both known Aura Guardians by helping Lucario to save the Tree of Beginning and resealing Spiritomb.

Riley using Aura to contain an explosion

Known abilities of Aura

• Ability to read minds and actions of another being.
• Ability to "sense" other Auras and view surroundings even with a blindfold, also allows users to view through some objects.
• Projection of one's Aura; such as to create barriers or attacks. It can also be used to transfer Aura to others but that method can be fatal to the user.
• Activation of time flowers.

Aura Guardians

• 

  Sir Aaron was a fully realized Aura Guardian

• 

  Lucario (M08) was training to become an Aura Guardian

• 

  The Keystone Pops! briefly features a fully realized Aura Guardian

• 

  Riley is training to become an Aura Guardian

• 

  Riley's Lucario is training to become an Aura Guardian

In the manga

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

Riley and his Lucario using Aura

Aura in the Pokémon Adventures manga is explained as a wave that can be picked up by people just like sound. Certain Pokémon and humans can pick up this sound, allowing them to see and sense the Auras of others. However, due to the fact that Aura is the same as sound, it can be interrupted by anything that cuts the airspace.

Known users of Aura include Riley and his Pokémon, Lucario and Riolu. Riley and Lucario had their Aura abilities blocked by two Roughnecks that were attacking Iron Island when they used their Mothim to use Air Slash, cutting up the airspace around it. This prevented Riley and his Pokémon from tracking their Aura, along with blinding their eyes with Vespiquen honey. Once Diamond defeated the Mothim, thus causing the Aura to be visible again, Riley and Lucario unleashed their wrath upon them.

Known abilities of Aura

• Ability to read minds and actions of another being.
• Ability to "sense" other Auras even while blinded.
• Ability to track an Aura belonging to a specific person as long as they have a piece of the Aura to track.

In the Phantom Thief Pokémon 7 manga

Lily using Aura

Aura is first revealed in Escape From Team Galactic as a form of energy that all humans and Pokémon emit. While Pokémon like Hiori's Lucario can naturally sense Aura, there are certain cases when a human can sense it. One known human who can sense Aura is Hiori's sister, Lily, and it was this ability that Team Galactic kidnapped her at a young age for their own selfish, evil goals.

A special cloak made by Team Galactic was shown to be able to hide the Aura of the user, preventing them from being tracked.

Known abilities of Aura

• Ability to sense other Auras.
• Ability to see the Auras of others.

In the games

Lucario using Aura Sphere

Various Pokémon can use Aura. Aura Sphere is a move that uses Aura, along with the moves Dragon Pulse and Dark Pulse. In Pokémon, Aura manifests as a blue-green to purple type of energy. The move Detect is sometimes implied to be based around using Aura to sense the movement of others as well. The move Force Palm also implies that it uses Aura, focusing Aura through the palm of the user's hand.

Riley's sprite in Platinum. (Notice the glowing hand)

Riley's animation in Platinum seems to suggest he can use Aura as well (incidentally confirming it for humans in the games if true), as his hand lights with a blue glow. This is appropriate as he gives the player the only Riolu Egg naturally in the game, as well as training a Lucario and being somehow related to Sir Aaron in design. In his anime debut, he was revealed to be a user of Aura.

Aura also plays a minor role in the GameCube RPGs. The process that creates Shadow Pokémon surrounds them with a darker Aura that, while still invisible to most people, can be seen by Rui of Pokémon Colosseum. By the time of Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, the Aura Reader had been developed to automatically identify this Aura for those that can't normally see it.

The beginning of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness mentions Aura. After answering the quiz, the player's Aura is read, and described as being a particular color, which is determined by the Nintendo DS's UI color or MAC address.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, almost all of Lucario's moves use Aura. In the game, thanks to Aura, the more damage Lucario has, the more powerful its attacks are. Furthermore, when Lucario gets a Smash Ball, it can execute its Final Smash, Aura Storm. During the attack, Lucario focuses its Aura into a powerful beam that the player controls.

In the TCG

This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring Aura or its Pokémon in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

Aura's Pokémon Cards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format. Cards listed with a green background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats.
Card	Type	English Expansion	Rarity	#	Japanese Expansion	Rarity	#
Aura's Lucario					PCG-P Promotional cards		075/PCG-P
Aura's Lucario					PCG-P Promotional cards		079/PCG-P
Aura's Lucario					PCG-P Promotional cards		090/PCG-P
Aura's Lucario					PCG-P Promotional cards		092/PCG-P
Aura's Lucario					Movie Commemoration VS Pack: Aura's Lucario		012/020
					PCG-P Promotional cards		093/PCG-P
Aura's Lucario ex					Side Deck		006/012
Other related cards
Card	Type	English Expansion	Rarity	#	Japanese Expansion	Rarity	#
Aaron's Aura	T [Su]				Movie Commemoration VS Pack: Aura's Lucario		019/020

Inspiration

Aura is a field of light said to surround living beings, the color of which is determined by the particular person's disposition. It is often used in artwork to cause objects or people of high importance to stand out. It could also be based on the Chinese concept of qi, which often refers to the life-force existing in all living things. Aura may also have been inspired somewhat by the Force from Star Wars, due to the fact that they both emanate from all living things, and allow those who can manipulate it to sense things that others normally cannot. This theory is further implied by how similar the line from Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, "The Aura is with me," is to the line from Star Wars, "May the Force be with you."

Aura and Psychic powers

A frequent misconception is that Aura manipulation and Psychic powers are the same, which is not necessarily true but not completely false.

When he first met Lucario, Ash thought that he was communicating with him using telepathy, with the concept of Aura being introduced later in the movie. Later in the series, more Lucario appeared, but, despite their relation with Aura, they were incapable of speaking human language as they were not trained as Sir Aaron's Lucario.

In FireRed and LeafGreen Versions, one of Sabrina's quotes describes her Psychic powers much like the way Aura manipulation is, however Sabrina's relation with Aura is yet to be confirmed, since the concept of Aura was not fully introduced at the time of the game's release.

In the Vs. Empoleon round of Pokémon Adventures, Platinum asked her borrowed Medicham to read the Aura of her Pokémon to ensure they were fighting properly against her. Medicham's power is also described in its Pokédex entries in the anime. It should be noted that Medicham is also a Psychic-type Pokémon, which would mean that Medicham is able to use both Aura and Psychic power.

While Psychic powers are usually associated with reading mind, manipulating objects, and put it in the form of an attack, Aura manipulation is not that different from the former and the latter. But while not known to be able to make objects float or bend, it can be used to manipulate the Odd Keystone to seal Spiritomb. This could imply that Aura manipulation is like Psychic powers in a more abstract form. Since both exist in the anime canon, but never were shown at the same time, it can be said that they can be a parallel of each other.