If you were looking for the form of energy used to produce Z-Moves also referred to as "aura", see Z-Power.

Aura (Japanese: 波導 wave-guiding) is a form of spiritual energy described as the essence of every living thing. The concept was first introduced in Lucario and the Mystery of Mew.

Ash using Aura

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 of Rota, 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!, Ash and his friends heard the story of how a Spiritomb was sealed away by an Aura Guardian who traveled with a Pikachu.

 
Riley using Aura to contain an explosion

In Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu! (Part 1), Ash and his friends meet an unnaturally strong Riolu capable of using the move Aura Sphere. Ash demonstrates the ability to sense Riolu's Aura several times over the remainder of the episode and the next.

In Sliding Into Seventh!, the Pokédex entry of Medicham revealed that 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.

 
Ash's Lucario using its Aura vision

In Caring for a Mystery!, it was revealed that Riolu are capable of sensing Aura even before they hatch and are able to react to it. This ability is demonstrated in Ash's Riolu, who, after hatching, ran away from Ash and Goh's room in search of the Aura that it had sensed prior to hatching. When Ash and Pikachu found Riolu battling an Onix, they prepared to help Riolu fight it off. In the process, Ash started emitting the same Aura waves Riolu sensed earlier, driving it to help Pikachu and Ash fight the Onix.

 
Ash's Greninja using its Aura

In Sword and Shield... The Legends Awaken!, Ash's newly evolved Lucario contacted its Trainer using its Aura and requested to use Aura Sphere instead of Vacuum Wave while battling Rose.

In An Adventure of Mega Proportions!, Ash's Lucario had its Aura power enhanced when Ash received a Key Stone, which Korrina attributed to their already strong bond. Using its new power, Lucario was able to sense a Lucarionite on Mega Island. When Ash and Lucario were separated after arriving on the island, Lucario used Aura to locate the Lucarionite and telepathically guided Ash to its exact location. Also during the separation, Ash's Aura powers enhanced through the Key Stone, which helped him sense his Lucario from great distances.

 
Ash using his Aura in the alternate continuity

In Catching the Aura of Fate!, Ash claimed that Lucario's Aura felt similar to his bond with his Greninja. Greninja later demonstrated this Aura ability and helped Lucario polish its own Aura. After training with Greninja, Lucario and Ash were able to sync up more than before, allowing Lucario to create a giant Aura Sphere. In Aim For The Eight! and Whittle While You Work!, Lucario used this newfound synchronicity to draw power from the Aura of its allies and make its Aura Sphere grow even bigger than before.

In Distant Blue Sky!, Ash was able to see and speak to Sunny, a boy who had passed away due to an illness, because of his Aura. Ash later used his Aura to allow Sunny to touch Pikachu, fulfilling his wish to touch a Pokémon and allowing him to pass on.

Capabilities 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, a method that can be fatal to the user.
  • Activation of time flowers.
  • Telepathy.
  • To see and speak to the spirits of the dead.
  • To allow the spirits of the dead the ability to touch the physical world.
  • When in sync with the Trainer and by invoking the bonds with its friends, a Pokémon can use its Aura to supercharge an Aura Sphere to a gigantic size.
 
Ash feeling Lucario's Aura through his Key Stone

When used in conjunction with a Key Stone, Aura allows a Trainer and their Pokémon to:

  • Locate the matching Mega Stone even from miles away.
  • Create a telepathic vision, in which they can feel each other and anyone inside the other's Aura from far away.

Aura Guardians

In the games

 
Lucario using Aura Sphere

Core series

 
Riley's sprite in Platinum

The move Aura Sphere explicitly uses "aura power" (Japanese: 波導の  wave-guiding power) and is in a group of aura and pulse moves that can be boosted by the Ability Mega Launcher.

The Pokédex entries for Lucario, Medicham, and Cutiefly state that they have the ability to sense auras. While Galarian Moltres and Mega Absol are both described as having a sinister aura around themselves, only the entries for Umbreon, who absorbs aura from the moon, along with Lucario and Sylveon confirm that the Pokémon make use of aura. During Mega Evolution, Lucario's aura expands and races through its body, with the black streaks on Mega Lucario's body showing where its aura has intermingled with the energy of Mega Evolution.

Riley's animations in the Sinnoh games suggest that he can use aura as well. In Platinum, his hand lights up with a blue glow in his opponent animation. In Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, his hair and hat will shake in his idle animation, similar to Lucario's aura-sensing appendages. The Riolu Egg he gives the player is the only available Riolu in the game, and Riley also trains a Lucario.

In Pokémon X and Y, Korrina claims that something in the player's aura (Japanese: 波動 wave) is the reason why one of her Lucario feels a bond with them, which drives her to give that Lucario to the player.

According to Lucario's Pokédex entry in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, aura was named by Professor Laventon.

Side series

In both Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, a "black aura" surrounds Shadow Pokémon and can only be seen by a character named Rui, or with a device called an Aura Reader. These Pokémon are described as "corrupted", and must be purified.

Spin-offs

In Pokémon Masters EX, Riley's profile directly states that he can use aura.

The personality quiz at the beginning of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky 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. series

In the Super Smash Bros. series, almost all of Lucario's moves use Aura. Due to Aura, the more damage Lucario has, the more powerful its attacks are. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, 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. During the Subspace Emissary, Lucario used its Aura to see Snake hiding in his box.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U, Mega Evolution, Lucario's new Final Smash, maximizes the Aura, which normally requires it to take at least 190% damage.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Lucario combines its previous Final Smashes into one by Mega Evolving into Mega Lucario before using Aura Storm.

In the manga

Pokémon Adventures

 
Riley and his Lucario using Aura

Aura in Pokémon Adventures 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 the Roughnecks commanded 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.

Korrina's Lucario is also able to use Aura, preventing Celosia's Aegislash from mind controlling those around it.

Capabilities 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
  • Ability to prevent mind control of itself and those around it

Phantom Thief Pokémon 7

 
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, who was kidnapped by Team Galactic at a young age in order to use her power for their own selfish 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.

Capabilities of Aura

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

Pokémon Try Adventure

  This section is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.
 
Riolu using Aura

Manami's Riolu used Aura in TA34.



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 silver 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
 


Origin

In paranormal theory, an 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. Aura could also be based on the Chinese concept of qi, which often refers to the life-force existing in all living things.

In other languages

Language Title
Mandarin Chinese 波導 Bōdǎo
波動 Bōdòng
  Dutch Aura
  Finnish Aura
  French Aura
  German Aura
  Italian Aura
  Korean 파동 Padong
  Polish Aura
  Brazilian Portuguese Aura
  Russian Аура Aura
  Spanish Aura
  Vietnamese Linh khí