Lucario and the Mystery of Mew Reference

For those who watch the TV series and the movies would already know this but I still had to point this out. Riley is a character who uses aura and owns a Lucario.






See that image? He looks like Sir Aaron! Sir Aaron is a movie character who used aura and owned a Lucario 100 years ago. (Lucario and the Mystery of Mew)


















So is Riley meant to be a descendent of Aaron? Or is it just a funny reference that the creators decided to use? More likely, is it a little bit of both?