I tried to understand why Sir Lance was pushing so hard for me to train. If there was a way to stop this darkness, why not take it? Confusion haunted my mind. I wanted to understand. Why was I needed?

I remembered what Katrina had said to me before. My heart filled with hope and courage. I knew I could trust Sir Lance. After all that he had done for me. The ways he has fought for me and continued to have faith in me. I had to trust that he could help me.

"My boy. I can help you. It would only take a few treatments and I could help you control the beast inside you." Lord Ferris said slinking over to me. His presence didn't feel right to me. I felt uneasy and weary of his offer, but he seemed like he only wanted to help. Why though? Was he willing to help me to rid the world of a dangerous force or to simply help a scared Pokémon? I couldn't tell, but what I did know was that my heart moved a little faster the closer the Lord got to me. "I-I am think.."I started.

Katrina stood behind Lord Ferris, her eyes fixed on him. It wasn't a stare of wonder or amazement, but fear. Like she was a scared animal. Her ears stood straight up and she held her arms low. She looked like she was ready to strike. She was afraid of him.

"I need to think." I said as I walked towards the door, Katrina trailing behind me. I don't think she took her eyes off of him.

We left the Lord in the room and walked down the dark corridors. The hallways made me think more and more about the fight I had with the beast.

Katrina took the lead as we walked along. I began to notice the familiar path that led us to my room.

"I'm glad you won for now." Katrina said as we stopped outside of my room.

I looked at her. I was surprised that she had said something like that. It wasn't like her to show emotion like this. I didn't know how to react to it.

"Th-thank you." I replied.

She opened up her side bag and handed me a few berries. I reached for the berries and she placed them in my paw. She closed her bag and watched me as I popped a berry into my mouth.

"I will see you tomorrow for training. Good night Koro." She said as she walked away from my room. I stood there in my confusion. Why was she different? She was talking more to me and helping more.

I walked into my dark room and sat down on the pile of hay. There was so much to think about, but my head was too tired to understand anything anymore. I felt tired. I felt tired from all the questions in my head running through my head. I felt annoyed at the same wall I kept running into with the questions blocking the answers.

I laid down, but fear of my dreams kept me awake. I just waited for the time to pass. I don't remember really closing my eyes, but there was darkness as I slept.

The morning came with a knock on the door. The noise scared me to wake up and sit up right away. Hay stuck to my face as I tried to shake the sleep away from my mind.

I slowly rose from the floor and felt something cold touch my feet as I tried to walk towards the door. I looked down and saw the shackles on the ground. Small bits of rust were already starting to form on the shackles.

I stepped over the shackles and walked out of the room. Katrina stood there waiting for me and began walking off before I was able to greet her. Maybe things were back to normal.

Sir Lance was waiting for us in the center of the training area. He watched us come in. I stopped a few feet away and I saw him flick his ear to the side. Katrina walked forward and stood next to him as he whispered something in her ear. She bowed her head as if she was ashamed of something.

He signaled to me to follow him to the log area. We walked along and I felt unusual as we walked to the training area. How could we just put things in the past and move as if nothing happened?

"Now this time Koro, feel the aura. Do not think of anything else?" He said as he wrapped the cloth around my eyes.

I heard him walk out of the clearing and grip the rope. I felt my heart begin to race as I waited for what was going to happen. I heard the whistling coming closer and closer to me. Time seemed to slow down as I tried to feel the logs racing towards my head. Pulses of aura popped into view, but nothing stable enough to see what was there. The pulses allowed for me to see the first few logs and I quickly jumped out of the clearing, skidding to halt on my stomach.

I ripped the cloth off and covered my face with my paws. I tried my best to calm down my beating heart, but nothing seemed to help.

"Am I sensing fear in the beast's heart?" Sir Lance asked almost sarcastically.

I sat up and watched the logs swing back and forth until they slowed to a stop. I lowered my head and tried to feel the aura, but my mind was too cluttered to really see what was there.

"Maybe your problem is not what should be pushed out of your head, but what you should put in it." Sir Lance said.

"You have been hit with only sadness, pain, and fear ever since you can remember. Grandon village, here in the guild, and in the infirmary. You have been afraid. Afraid to become the dark beast, afraid of dying. Why do you continue to fight? Why do you get up everyday? What do you fight for?" He asked as he crouched down.

I continued to look at the logs, panting as my heart finally began to slow down.

"Koro, Lucarios spend most of their lives learning to control their emotions because that is what helps us see aura. There is strength behind our emotions. An untapped potential where we leap beyond our limits. It is seen when with fits of rage, or of great courage. All of these are done because of emotions, but they need a reason behind them. Some choose to fight for family, others for their own self interest, but they have a reason. What is your reason?"

I turned to Sir Lance and answered, "I do it because I have to."

"That's not good enough. Meditate and ponder. Find your reason and push past your limits. " Sir Lance said as he stood up and

I looked back to the logs and thought. What is my reason to live? I thought about the people that had died because of me. The ones that bled in my paws. I thought about Nora and how she had given me hope. Those people have helped to build me. Give me reasons, but none of them felt strong enough.

I looked at the scars and remembered what Nora had said about them. They were a memory of my promise I made. Do I want to dishonor that promise. It felt wrong to let others down.

I began to feel my heart race again, but this time it was different. It wasn't filled with fear or dispair. I felt strong with each beat and I stood to let he flower flow through my body.

"What is your reason to fight?" I heard Sir Lance say to me as he landed in front of me.

"I fight for honor. To honor my promise and those that have helped me." I said with confidence in my voice. I think that was the first time that I was confident in something that I did.

Sir Lance smiled and said, "Good."

He signaled for me to go into the center of the clearing. He exited and nodded. I put the cloth back on to cover my eyes and waited for the logs to come at me. I heard the whistling again from the logs.

"Close yourself from your fear. Focus on your purpose and your reason to fight." I heard Sir Lance say to me. I reached and felt the aura with my purpose in mind.

The aura came faster than before. It was more consistent too. No gaps between the pulsing. Everything was clear. I tilted my head up and saw the logs coming at me. There was a simple pattern in their movements and an obvious gap between their movements to easily evade them.

As I moved I felt the logs move past me as I stepped around and weaved through the logs. I began to smile. I had done it. The logs were beginning to slow down and not one had hit me. I looked towards Sir Lance and saw him directly behind me with his cane already in motion at me.

I raised my forearms and blocked the attacks, but I was knocked to the ground. I ripped the blind fold off and said, "What was that for?"

"You must be aware of all of your surroundings. Do not limit yourself to one spot." He said as he held his paw out to me.

I took it and he pulled to my feet. He motioned towards the logs and said, "Again." And I began to reset the logs for another round.

We did this till the moon was smiling at us in the sky. I fell to the gourd in exhaustion after the last log had stopped. Sweat matted my fur , making my body feel heavier than ever before or maybe that was my body being tired. Bruises lined my arms and legs. I lost my concentration a few times, but nothing to where I had my head in the path of the charging logs.

Sir Lance stood over me with a grin on his face. I think this was the first time he wasn't giving me that intense glare. I stood up and waited for him to say something. After a little he spoke, "You have made good progress today. I can see a difference in you. A light of hope has been sparked in you. Do not let it die." He said as we walked back to the entrance hole.