Lucario and Riolu

Collection & Personal Narrative

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Introduction

One of my earliest memories of Lucario, of Pokémon in general, was a glimpse of the Diamond and Pearl anime on Cartoon Network; I was about five years old then. I vaguely knew what Pokémon was from commercials and chat at school, but I had never seen this character before. I had seen Piplup, Pachirisu, Meowth and of course Pikachu, but this Pokémon seemed different. I would learn at a later age that this one was a bit different than its peers later in my tweens.

Lucario, the Aura Pokémon, made its official anime debut in the eighth Pokémon movie, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew. Admittedly, I had not seen this movie until August 2024, though I had seen clips of the film years before. The movie acted much like the move Wake-Up Slap, a shock of reality for myself. I couldn't believe I had actually forgotten how much this dog-like Pokémon meant to me, especially to the younger me who had first seen it.

The Significance of the Aura Pokémon

I have several favorite Pokémon, from spirited Blaziken, to the graceful Eon Duo, to the many Eeveelutions, to the famous Pikachu. If you asked me who my all time favorite was, I would have a hard time saying so! However, the Pokémon that has the most emotional significance for me? That would have to be Lucario and its pre-evolution, Riolu.

Ever since I was a child, I was very sensitive. Perhaps due to the fact that my way of processing the world around me was a bit different from others, I had some trouble making sense of things others seemed to know so well, or became fixated on a topic that was usually dismissed. Most of all, I had a deep fear of upsetting someone, even on accident, a trouble I still deal with today. As a very young child, it was slightly less severe, but as I grew older, my emotions and sensitivity grew stronger. I hated seeing people cry, and as a child the sight would make me physically ill for some reason. A rather embarrassing memory I have from my childhood is watching a kid's show and seeing a character break down unexpectedly, knowing that it was of course not real, but still feeling like I had to comfort the animated drawing. It was a peculiar emotional phenomenon that I am thankfully better at dealing with now, thanks to my awareness on navigating strong empathy (and simply being a highly sensitive person in general).

Now, you're probably wondering how and where Pokémon relates to all of this.

I was introduced to the concept of auras through Pokémon and Lucario. In reality, auras are an invisible air that appears to emotionally surround a being, object or place. In Pokémon, however, auras are a source of power. Lucario is not only able to clearly perceive auras as they are, but can harness them and even change its own as physical, tangible energy. For a young teenager still figuring out how to live, especially as a sensitive person, this discovery had me in awe. For the first time in a long time, my sensitivity didn't feel like a curse, but something cool. Obviously, I did not have aura powers, but seeing a piece of media include a character that was sensitive to the world like me and was confident and powerful in their own right was strangely empowering.

Meet the Team

A special section for the Lucario I have raised over the years. From the very first one I trained in Pokémon X to the Aura Pokémon of ancient Sinnoh, I always treasure the chance I have to add one of these special Pokémon to my team in the games.

Pokémon X

My very first game, after years of (poorly) denying myself that I liked Pokémon, was Pokémon Alpha Sapphire for the 3DS. I had been keeping this secret interest to myself due to insecurity about looking juvenile, likely due to past experiences of being picked on. Thankfully, I'm at a point where I've learned to distance myself from individuals like that, and instead surround myself with those who love me and accept the fact that I'm a little young at heart. But back to the 3DS.

I forget if I first saw Lucario again because of watching the Pokemon XYZ anime or from reading guidebooks, but I immediately recognized it. I was also surprised to find that it was a one-of-a-kind species, the first Pokémon stated to harness the ability to not only sense the auras of each living thing, but to harness it as pure energy. For some reason as a kid, this concept was incredibly fascinating to me.

When I recieved my second game in my collection, Pokémon X, I learned that I could find Lucario's pre-evolution, Riolu, early in the game. Outside of Santalune City, where the first Gym was located, there was Route 22. In the patches of grass, if I was lucky, I would find this special Pokémon.

I was ecstatic when I found Riolu! I can still remember how overjoyed I was when the game algorithm finally presented Riolu as my next encounter. Online articles said that to evolve him, I needed to become good friends with Riolu. I trained him a ton, helping the little Emanation Pokémon level up, and making sure to play minigames and feeding him snacks. Then, one day, on the coasts of Kalos, he evolved. It was one of the coolest gaming moments for me, and one I still fondly remember.

As a child, I wanted to give my Pokémon "cool" names, hence the name Tsunami. I also had an Absol named Storm in Alpha Sapphire and a Charizard named Flameclaw (I was a Warrior Cats kid) in X.

Pokémon Violet

Unsurprisingly, when I found out that Lucario and Riolu were available in Pokémon Violet, I quickly headed over to the South Providence Area Four mountain region to find a Riolu; I found a female one I nicknamed Yuki after one of the main characters in Wolf Children (a favorite movie of mine).

Yuki was (and still is) a star on my Violet team, the one to call upon during some especially tough battles thanks to her speed and broad movepool. Compared to previous games, the amount of Riolu and even Lucario I have encountered in the wild is abundant! I would like to see if I am able to evolve more Riolu and train them into an awesome team.

My trainer avatar and Yuki the Lucario. Much like her predecessor Tsunami, she too possesses a brave nature.

Collection

My collection is always growing, so whenever I manage to find a new item, I will be sure to update it here!

Collection Update #1

My collection so far, not including my cards. Mew pin is there for a little nod to the Lucario movie!

Pokémon Takara Tomy Kuta Kuta Tatta 2020 Plush: Riolu (S)

This little guy was a dream item of mine for a while, though at first I hesitated on the purchase because I could only find them out of the country and I had never used a proxy before. My good friends spoke highly of Buyee Japan for their own collection hauls and walked me through my first use of the site, and it went really well! Riolu came in perfect condition with his tags still attached, though I had removed them later and stored them for safekeeping. As he is in the small size, he's pretty tiny, but still an adorable little companion and great for taking goofy photos.

Riolu sitting on top of my Comfy Friends/Fuwa Fuwa Daki plush.

Bandai Riolu & Lucario Pokémon Model Kit

I found this for a good price at a local anime goods store and thought this would be a fun addition to my collection! I still have the model box for safekeeping, though I have an image of it before building in my first collection update. I don't usually do model kits so this was my first time ever! It was a little tricky at first but overall pretty easy to build! I'm happy with how Lucario and Riolu turned out.

Lucario teaching Riolu the power of Aura Sphere. You've got this, little dude!

Pin Otaku Fanmade Riolu and Lucario Pins

Pins I found at a local anime store. From what I know, they are fanmade and sold at certain stores. They are very nice!

aurasphere 2024