Error 404: Aura Not Found

| Rio POV |

Night's fallen over Petalburg. The city hums with quiet life—crickets chirping, wind rustling through leaves, and the soft buzz of streetlamps flickering like sleepy fireflies.

Inside the Pokémon Center, May snores like a dying Whismur. Torchic's curled up beside her, twitching every so often like she's fighting ghost-types in her dreams.

Me?

I'm wide awake, because my legs still think we're mid-battle and my nerves are playing Aura Sudoku.

I quietly slide off the bed, padding to the door with all the stealth of a ninja with a stubbed toe. With one last glance at my Trainer and the Overcooked Chicken™, I slip out into the night.

Time to claim my prize.

The forest just outside the city is drenched in moonlight, silver glinting through the trees. It's quiet—eerily so. But my Map lead me forward, step by step, until I reach it:

A fallen log, cracked with age, nestled in a grove just like the overlay told me.

[You have discovered: Forgotten Grove]

I look around at the towering trees, memories of the beginning of my own journey floding in, man, can't believe its already almost been a month, I wonder how Weedle is doing?

I sit on the lone log as I go over my system interface, my not so thought over name... species... nature? What does that even do? Oh well. A messed up stat sheet That makes my OCD trash in my brain, a shit ton of moves, OH RIGHT!! I got an extra item In the gym!

[Item Acquired: Beastite]

[Beastite – A mysterious fragment of primal energy. Said to resonate with deep instincts. Equippable.]

The crimson shard glows faintly as It lands in my paws. It's smooth, pulsing with a low heat—like it's breathing.

A deeply unsettling energy, almost unnatural, emanates from it. I don't know what it does yet. But it hums at the edge of my aura. Wild. Dangerous. Should I be worried?

I pocket it in my belt pouch. That's tomorrow's mystery. A mystery i don't think i wasnt to uncover, but oh well, the plot must go on!

For now, training montage!

I find a wide clearing, pick my target—a poor, unsuspecting oak—and draw in a breath.

"Okay. Force Palm. It's just a palm strike. With force. I've punched gods in my nightmares. This should be easy."

I line up.

Breathe.

Focus.

"HAA!"

SMACK.

My paw slaps bark with all the force of an angry poodle. The tree shakes slightly, but other than that, no serious damage.

"Okay, okay. That was just a warm-up. Let's go again, maybe this time I should actually move the aura, not just wrap it around my limb"

I ready another strike, this time, making sure to let my aura flow with my movements, feels like trying to throw a punch, except doubled? Hard to explain.

My paw hits the tree again, half a second later, another hit lands with a thump against the bark, Wait a minu—

[New move learned: Divergent Fist]

"...huh?"

I blink at the screen. The words hang there, glowing faintly in the darkness like they don't quite belong here. The name tastes weird in my brain—Fist? Divergent?—like a cheat code someone slipped under the table.

That definitely wasn't in my move list. I don't even remember unlocking it. I was aiming for Force Palm, not... this!

I glance at my paw.

It's fine. No aura spasms. No third arm sprouting out of my shoulder. So far, so good.

Except now I'm curious.

"Okay. Once more—this time I'll try to use it like a move."

I line up again and let my body move on instinct. Aura pools in my arm—then something else. A delay. A doubling. Like there's an echo hiding behind my punch, waiting.

I swing.

SMACK.

And then—BOOM.

A split-second later, the air ripples. The bark explodes off the tree in a puff of splinters. Not just a delayed strike—more like my aura got drunk and threw a second punch out of spite.

My ears ring.

"Okay... definitely not Force Palm."

The system pings again.

[Passive unlocked: Cursed Echo]— You've brushed against the edge of another domain. Energy from a distant system now trickles in. Cross-interference detected. Stability: 87%.

"...What?"

I stare at the message like it's speaking in Wingdings. Another domain? Distant system? Cross-interference?! That sounds like a very programmer-y way of saying "oops, you just caught a stray bug from another multiverse."

The air shifts around me. Not wind—pressure. Like the world just exhaled through clenched teeth.

I clutch my paw, feeling the phantom of the second strike humming under the surface. It's not aura. Not exactly. It's... heavier. Meaner. Like it wants to hurt something. 

I blink and shake my head.

"On the bright side, I can hit Ghost types now, Right?."

CRACK.

An acorn hits me square in the forehead.

"Ow! What the hell?!"

I look up.

A Pachirisu, eyes crusty with sleep and fur puffed up like a static bomb, glares at me from its hollow.

"Sorry! Sorry! I didn't know this was your house! Chill!"

It chitters something rude and lobs another acorn. I duck and shuffle away in shame.

Sulking, I trudge off into the woods, rubbing my forehead.

"Learn forbidden cursed techniques once, and suddenly I'm the bad guy. Tch."

I walk aimlessly into the darkness, thoughts spinning faster than a Hitmontop on espresso.

If I can learn Divergent Fist... then what else is fair game?

Kamehameha?

Easy. Just compress Aura. Probably. I'd need a name for it—Aura Cannon? Nah, that's lame.

Rasengan?

Swirling aura in my paw? Sounds doable. Probably hurts like hell to learn, though. Imagine the recoil if I botch it. Rasenslap, critical self-hit in confusion.

Thunder Breathing?

Okay, now that sounds sick. Real swordmaster vibes. I'd need a blade... Honedge, maybe? Or hack it with Iron Tail and a big stick? Would the system allow anime combo logic?

I glance up at the moon.

"...Am I going insane?"

The system doesn't answer. Typical.

I open my move list again, now warily eyeing every line like it might suddenly say Getsuga Tenshō or Detroit Smash. Divergent Fist sits there, glowing faintly like a smug little easter egg.

And below it—new text.

[Cross-System Permission: LIMITED GRANTED]Origin Tag: JJK-Verse_Ref.00BETACaution: Continued integration may result in destabilization or narrative collapse. Proceed at your own risk.

Narrative collapse?

"That's... not threatening at all."

I squint. No button to turn it off. No tutorial. Just a vague warning label and the creeping suspicion that if I'm not careful, I might sneeze and summon Sukuna or Daddy Mahoraga himself.

I rub my temples.

Okay. Deep breaths. One thing at a time. First, figure out what this "Divergent Fist" actually does. Then maybe test if I can throw an Aura Ball. Or a Spirit Gun. Or a—

I trip over a root and faceplant into a bush.

"... Right. Focus."

I lay there a bit longer, face mushed into the leaves, rereading the system's warning like it might suddenly say "just kidding, go wild!" Spoiler: It doesn't.

[Continued integration may result in destabilization or narrative collapse.]

Cool cool cool. Definitely nothing to worry about there. Just the complete unraveling of the world's plot thread. NBD.

I blow a leaf off my snout with a sigh.

"Alright, let's just think about this rationally…"

Opening a rift to another universe is obviously technically a bad idea. Cross-contamination of power systems. Lore fragmentation. Potential dimensional bleed.

But like, come on—this world already has talking psychic balloons, time-traveling dinosaurs, and a literal god of antimatter chilling in a cave somewhere. Is a jujutsu sorcerer really that scary by comparison?

I mean… Gojo might be busted in his own world, but what's Infinity gonna do when Palkia bends space around it like a pool noodle?

Exactly.

Honestly, what's the worst that can happen? Even if demons do start invading, they'd just be free EXP. Bonus loot. Could even pull a rare item. Like cursed candy. Maybe a double-jump upgrade.

...Okay maybe let's not DOOM the world because I want to cosplay as the Slayer, yeah?

Best case? I get to spam Black Flash and uppercut a Garchomp into orbit. Win-win.

I roll onto my back, arms spread wide, staring up at the canopy.

Deep breaths. I'm not a villain. I'm just curious.

And also a little greedy.

But mostly curious.

I pull up the move description for Divergent Fist again, studying its mechanics—timing, aura displacement, enhanced kinetic sync. Apparently if I hit just right, I double-impact my target. Sounds OP. Sounds fun. Sounds like I'm going to break my wrist practicing.

Still. Worth it.

A gentle breeze rustles through the trees, carrying with it a strange scent. Faint, like starlight and static.

I sit up.

That's when I feel it.

A presence.

Not hostile… but aware. Focused on me—or more accurately, on what's inside of me.

My aura prickles.

Something's watching.

A shimmer of movement ahead—barely a flicker—but my instincts flare up anyway, aura coating me like a reflexive barrier.

Then… she steps out from behind a tree.

Small.

Elegant.

Glowing softly under the moonlight, her whole body seems to shimmer in grayscale, like she stepped out of an old photograph.

A Ralts?

But… her hair isn't green. It's a soft silvery-blue. Her "horns" gleam in a soft orange, like the warmth of dawn.

Wait—wait a second—

Oh.

Ohhhhhh now I get it.

[Lucky Encounter Met!][ A Wild Shiny Ralts appeared!]

Word count: 1577

Boy oh boy, who would have thought? Don't worry, no multiverse shenanigans ( outside of the Pokémon lore I meant) will be popping up, just some items, powers, and a non-healthy amount of fanboying.

MC: Awww, I Won't be meeting Shoko?

Unfortunately not.