Sir Aaron: The Aura Guardian Who Lied to His Student

He lied to his student to keep him away from his own death. Sir Aaron is the legendary hero of the franchise's eighth movie, the one devoted to Lucario. An Aura Guardian serving the queen of Rota, he sacrificed himself to keep a war from engulfing the kingdom. The film doesn't follow him: it pieces him together.

Contents

• An Aura Guardian in Rota's Service
• The Staff, the Lie and the Tree of Beginning
• The Chocolate, the Annual Festival and the Cards
• Two Echoes: Ash and Riley
• Sir Aaron at a Glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

An Aura Guardian in Rota's Service

His profile gives him a profession rather than a noble title: Aura Guardian. He serves in this role under Queen Rin, who ruled the kingdom of Rota in his day, which makes him as much a courtier as a fighter.

Aura isn't a gift he keeps to himself: he teaches it. His Lucario isn't just a traveling companion; he's his student in the ways of Aura, and it's this master-and-disciple bond that drives the whole story.

His profile credits him with only one other Pokémon, Pidgeot, used just before his final sacrifice. That's not much, and it fits a character whose career we never see — only his last acts.

The Staff, the Lie and the Tree of Beginning

When war threatens to destroy Rota, Aaron makes the decision that will turn his closest ally against him: he seals Lucario inside the Aura Guardian's staff, leaving him convinced that his master abandoned the kingdom in its hour of need.

He never gives the reason while he's alive. He goes off to sacrifice himself in the Tree of Beginning, while his student remains sealed inside an object, with nothing but the memory of a man who supposedly ran away.

It's a time flower that sets the record straight in the final part of the film: Aaron reappears in it to tell his student that he was his friend, and to finally explain why he sealed him in the staff. Lucario then chooses the same sacrifice as his master, to protect the same Tree — and it's there, and only there, that the two are reunited.

🔵 The student ended up outshining the master: see the section Lucario.

The Chocolate, the Annual Festival and the Cards

The end credits grant him one last image: Aaron hands Lucario some chocolate, exactly as Max had done earlier in the film. The gesture says in a second what the story took its entire running time to establish.

Rota hasn't forgotten its guardian. A festival is held every year in his memory: a ball, fireworks, and a tournament whose winner earns the right to carry the Aura staff.

The character has had his own trading cards, too. His first appearance in the card game dates back to July 2005, in a Japanese expansion released alongside the movie's theatrical debut.

Two Echoes: Ash and Riley

Lucario is the only character able to make the comparison, and he does: Ash's Aura reminds him of his former master's. It's the only bridge the film builds between the legendary hero of the past and the hero of the series.

The other echo crosses over between media. Riley, the Trainer from Iron Island, bears a close resemblance to him: the same Aura power, a Lucario each, a similar silhouette. The symbol engraved on Riley's collar is in fact the one that adorns the Aura Guardian's gloves.

Sir Aaron at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who is Sir Aaron?
  The legendary hero of the eighth Pokémon movie, the one devoted to Lucario. In it, he is an Aura Guardian serving Queen Rin, the queen of the kingdom of Rota.
• Why does he seal Lucario inside the Aura Guardian's staff?
  The film only reveals the explanation at the end, through a time flower: Aaron comes back to tell Lucario that he was his friend and to explain what he did. At the time, Lucario simply believes his master abandoned the kingdom as war closed in.
• Which Pokémon is Sir Aaron known to have?
  Lucario, his student in the ways of Aura, and Pidgeot, which he uses just before sacrificing himself. His profile credits him with no others.
• What becomes of him at the end of the film?
  He has sacrificed himself in the Tree of Beginning. Lucario later makes the same choice to protect the Tree, which allows the two companions to be reunited. The end credits show them together one last time, sharing some chocolate.
• Why does Riley look so much like Sir Aaron?
  Both have a Lucario, master the power of Aura and look alike. The symbol on Riley's collar even mirrors the one on the Aura Guardian's gloves.

In short

Sir Aaron appears in just a handful of scenes and acts only in the past, but he's the one who gives the film its subject: a master who accepts being misjudged by the only being who mattered to him. Rota honors him with an annual festival, the series modeled Riley on him, and Lucario found in him the reason for his own sacrifice. A character told entirely in hindsight, who nonetheless weighs on every scene.