Katrina was waiting there for us holding that same sparkling stone from before. When she saw us walking up she quickly tucked it away and began walking into the guild. Sir Lance signaled for me to follow her and I ran to catch up to her.

No words were spoken throughout our walk. It felt like there was a small wall of tension between us. I tried to catch up to her to walk beside her, but she didn't let me stay at the same pace as her.

We eventually arrived at the ladder that we entered days ago. She motioned at the ladder and I began to climb it to the top. I found myself in the small room, staring at the Braxien. Her uninterested stare fixated on me. I turned to see Katrina exit the tunnel behind me. She walked on and I quickly followed her, confused at what we were doing?

The street outside was filled with pokemon. Making it hard to follow Katrina. I squeezed past all the different types of pokemon and followed Katrina to what looked like a small shop that had all kinds of trinkets. A purple Kecleon stood at the front, trying to persuade the crowd to stop and take a look inside. His eyes lit up as he saw us approach.

"My dear friends, welcome to the kecleon brother's shop. Where all you need is all you will find here in this shop. Please, come in and take a look."

Katrina walked past him like he wasn't there. I walked and nodded towards the purple Kecleon. He only watched us walk into the shop.

I was amazed by how much was in the shop. The wooden walls were lined with all sorts of trinkets, bags, and items. It was amazing. Katrina walked up to the wooden counter that was at the back of the store. A green Kecleon sat behind the desk. He looked as if he were counting something, maybe taking inventory.

He looked up from his papers for a few moments and saw Katrina walking up to his desk. "Aaah, Katrina. My favorite customer. To what do I owe this pleasure?" He asked while sliding the papers away.

"Hello Kalvin, I am here for my special order." She said while leaning over the counter. I stood behind her and wondered what she was talking about.

"Aww yes. It was finished just this morning." He said as he dropped down from his seat and rummaged around.

He emerged with a shiny metal cylinder in his scaly hands. HE had a proud smile on his face as he set the piece of metal on the counter in front of us.

"Here you go."

Katrina picked up the cylinder and unclasped the side to open it up. She slipped on the metal and locked it on. There was an indent on the top, like something was supposed to hold something there.

"Is it to your liking Ms. Katrina?" Kalvin asked.

"It fits well, but I would like you to find someone to color it." She asked, taking off the gauntlet and setting it on the counter.

"Of course, of course. You have to be stylish as you help others. It will be delivered to your room in the guild tonight. No better treatment for our customers. " Kalvin said, taking the gauntlet and setting it under the counter.

"Oh, we are also going to need a starter explorers kit for him." Katrina said, pointing to me.

"Wait, what for?" I asked, confused at what she was doing.

Katrina was already taking out a small pouch from her side bag and poured out a small amount of golden coins onto the counter.

"You are going to need them to fulfill your sentence Koro." She said so calmly.

Kalvin left the cover of his counter and began to walk around his shop with a bag that looked like Katrina's, just a little cleaner and was less discolored. I followed the Kecleon around the shop as he grabbed items from the shelves.

He grabbed seeds, orbs, and berries and stuffed them into the bag. The only things I understood were the berries, the rest I didn't know why they were being added.

"I assume this is your first time. I have helped many a pokemon in your 'situation' to prepare themselves for the dangers of the mystery dungeons. Have you been taught about them?" Kalvin said.

"I-I have only been taught about the mystery dungeons, but not these orbs or seeds that you have. Are we going to plant them somewhere?" I asked.

The Kecleon laughed at me and grabbed the seed from the bag. He held them out to me to see them and I began to see small differences between them. Some were large, others had dark colors on them.

"These seeds have special powers. The fruits that bear these seeds don't give us anything, but soup to fill our bellies. In their pure form they help us in and out of mystery dungeons, like this one." He picked up the seed that was greener than the rest of them.

"This one will help you regain your energy and health if you are too faint to fight. This dark one, if cracked open, will cause a great explosion and cause a great deal of damage. These seeds hold this great power, but it is difficult sometimes to have these seeds in stock so don't expect them here all the time."

These orbs here are special pieces. They hold powers that allow those who hold them to exit a mystery dungeon at instance, or petrify all those who appear as enemies to you and your team, but the most interesting part is that these orbs are useless everywhere outside of mystery dungeons. These small orbs pack an amazing punch in the mystery dungeon, but out here they only look like large blue pearls."

He handed me one of the orbs and I rolled it in my paw, staring at it in awe. Something the size of a large rock holding so much power. I guess the equipment used on these adventures.

Kalvin filled the bag with more items and went back to the counter. "Now let me get all of the costs together while you pick out your team colors."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, but before he answered I felt a tug at my arm and I saw Katrina motioning towards another part of the store.

I followed her over to an area of the store that held all types of fabrics. It was a rainbow of cloth hanging from the ceiling. I saw scarfs, sashes, and and all types of accessories. What were these for?

"What are these for?" I asked.

Katrina rubbed her scarf and said, "It's to show which team you belong to. Who you work with. Who your friends are."

My heart skipped a beat. She called me her friend. She walked away and brought over red scarfs. She wrapped them onto my neck and brought me over to a mirror. I laughed at how excited she was getting. This was so out of character for her.

The scarf didn't feel right so she brought over other red themed pieces of clothing. I eventually settled on wearing a red handkerchief around my neck with it draping down my back. I turned to Katrina and asked, "What do you think?"

She smiled and said, "Looks like you."

I stared at her. She had a beautiful smile. It was nice. She quickly looked away and I saw the smile fade away. She walked back to the counter and began talking with Kalvin.

I took another look in the mirror. I felt my scars, passing over my right eye and left thigh. My fur refused to grow back on those scars. I looked a little menacing with these scars. I looked at the darkened fur around my wrists and thought about how I am still a criminal to pokemon. A monster. I looked back into the mirror, but I didn't see myself. A large creature that filled the frame of the mirror stood in my place. A large head with red crimson eyes stared back at me. A fang filled grin smiled back at me.

I was frozen with fear and slowly backed away from the mirror. My breath was being stolen away as my heart began beating faster and faster. I couldn't escape the image in the mirror.

I bumped into someone as I walked backwards and quickly turned to see who was there. Carter turned and saw the worry in my eyes.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked as he grabbed my shoulder.

I looked back at the mirror and saw nothing there. Though my heartbeat didn't slow.

"Hey. Koro, right? You look like you saw a ghost type or something." He said with a half-smile.

"I- nothing. Yeah, I am Koro." I said, taking a deep breath and looking at Carter.

"That scarf looks awesome! Doesn't it get you fired up?!" He said, almost squatting to the floor.

I was very confused at what he was doing? I didn't know how to react to him, but I did know that he was distracting me. My heart was slower now.

"So, how come I have never seen you around? Where are you from?" Carter asked.

"I-uh." I didn't know how to answer.

"Don't pester him, Carter." I heard from behind me.

I looked over and saw Carmina hobbling over to us with a crutch under her arm.

"But he is right though Koro. You may act differently than any Lucario we know and yet you still have their amazing ability to stay mysterious." She said as she popped a berry into her mouth.

"He is from Grandon Village. That's where I picked him up. " Katrina said, appearing next to me.

"Wait, Grandon Village?! Were you there? When the monster was there?" Carter asked.

I felt my heart drop as Carter mentioned the darkness in me. He didn't understand what was going on.

"He was scheduled to leave earlier in the day, but the monster had appeared." Katrina said.

"Wait, scheduled for transport? Koro, were you a criminal?" Carmina asked with a skeptical look on her face.

I didn't know what was going on. Where was this tall tale coming from? I looked at Katrina and felt her aura being pushed at me with a strong force to comply.

"I don't know what happened? I told everyone that it wasn't my fault." I finally said.

"You've gotta be innocent. Oooh maybe we can find the one that framed you?!" Carter said with small flames beginning to fume from his ears the more excited he got.

Carmina still seemed skeptical about what was said. She popped another berry into her mouth and wobbled over to the fabrics on the shelves. I felt more calm about the situation and breathed a sigh of relief.

Katrina handed me the bag that Kalvin had put together. I slung the bag over my shoulder and felt it's weight, but it wasn't as heavy as the burden I felt along with it. This could be the beginning to adventures of helping pokemon and giving them hope.

We walked back to the filled streets and heard the purple Kecleon scream to the pokemon on the streets, " See my friends! Another satisfied customer and we are waiting to help you better prepare yourself or to just treat yourself to the luxuries of this world! Please join us, friends!"

We walked away from the shop and I followed Katrina through the crowd. The crowd seemed bigger than when we entered the shop. I could feel the excitement of the other pokemon around us. Their happiness was pouring out of them. I looked around and watched the pokemon walk towards a large tent. Yelling and whistling were coming out of the tent.

I saw Carter and Carmina going with the flow of the crowd and she saw us walking towards the guild. Carter saw me and waved for us to follow along, but that didn't feel like a good idea. I shook my head and continued to follow Katrina, but Carter grabbed my arm and began tugging me towards the tent. I yelled for Katrina, but the sound of the crowd drowned out my cry for help.

"You're gonna love this. These are the fighters of our guild. The real strength of the guild." Carter said, putting his arm around my shoulder to secure a good grip on me so I couldn't get away.

The crowd circled a raised platform and I saw a loudred stomp around the edge, waving the crowd further into the tent. He waved his hands and yelled for the crowd to quiet down.

"Alright, alright. Let's go this show on the road. Lady and poke gentes, we have a special treat for you today. The carnival has received the number one arena team for a showcase! Team Leaf!!!" He yelled with a burly voice that shook my bones.

The crowd cheered and screamed as the team walked in, but I didn't feel the same excitement because I saw Seeradans walk in behind his teammates. A Ryhorn and a Milotic took the stage before Seeradans, but the crowd was still focused on Seeradans.

He raised his claws into the air and the crowd went crazy as he ran forward. He leaped high into the air and did a few flips before landing on the platform. The crowd was eating up his performance, but I could feel something off. He seemed tired and a little discolored as he smiled at the crowd.

"Look at'em! These are the best of the best! They wanna show us why!" The loudred yelled to the crowd and the team posed for the crowd.

The team began to flip around showing off different moves. All meant to entertain the crowd and get them cheering. I wasn't cheering though. I could see Seeradans getting more sluggish and tired with every movement. This wasn't how he acted before.

The team stopped their small performance and the Loudred came back to the stage clapping and said, "Give'em another round of applause they deserve it!"

The crowd went wild with applause. After a few moments of applause, the Loudred waved his hands to calm the crowd down again.

"Alright, alright! They have more they want to show, but they want you to join them on the stage!" He yelled and everyone raised a paw, wing, anything to show that they wanted to participate.

I tried to slowly creep back out of the tent, but squeezing past the crowd was difficult. I could hear the team picking out pokemon from the crowd and inviting them up to the platform, but I noticed that it was quiet. Everyone was looking at me. I turned my head back to the platform and Seeradans was pointing a claw at me. A deathly stare following the claw.

The crowd chanted for me to get onto the platform. A path was made for me to walk straight to the team. They were waiting for me. In the background I could hear Carter cheering for me, but it didn't help my mood.

I slowly made my way to the platform and climbed onto the stage. Loudred explained that the team was going to show some drills with the pokemon on the stage, but I didn't really focus on him. I kept my focus on Seeradans. I didn't dare look away from him.

He had a large open mouthed smile on his face, freeing his tongue to droop around a little to lick his lips. His discoloured body began to swing side to side. I could feel his anger and desire to hunt in his aura. It felt dark and unsettling.

Loudred waved a hand at us and I saw the other Pokémon on the platform begin fighting, but it looked fake. We're they sparring? Seeradans smile grew and he charged forward with such speed that I wasn't prepared enough to dodge his attacks.

He swung claws and blades that he produced and wouldn't slow his assault. I did my best to dodge his attacks, but his attacks began to kick up dust and he realized what he was doing and sweeped my legs. I fell to the ground with a thud and looked up at Seeradans as he kicked the dust into my eyes. I felt a kick to my gut and I rolled to the edge of the stage. My mind was panicking and I tried to focus my aura to see what was going on.

Seeradans stood above me and I saw it. His aura was changing. It was like mine, but worse. The blue or warmth inside him was slowly dying and fading away. A red darkness was building inside him. Beating brighter and brighter as the warmth faded.

"Seeradans. This isn't what we discussed." The Ryhorn sadi taking a step towards us.

Seeradans snapped his head towards him and said, "He-you did something. You did something to me….I hear it all the time. Ever since you came. I have been hearing it."

"Seeradans. Are you alright?" The milotic asked.

I rubbed the dust out of my eyes and looked at Seeradans. His eyes were different. His eyes no longer had white around his pupils. Only his red slits in the darkness of his eyes. Like purity and innocence that was in him was lost.

"He wants him." Seeradans said and snapped his head back to me.

Everyone looked at each other in confusion. They didn't understand what was going on. I remember those red eyes, but his were worse. His darkness was worse than mine. He was gone.

The Loudred slowly walked over to Seeradans and reached out to Seeradans. "Hey, are you doin alright? You're scaren the people." He said.

Seeradans grabbed the Loudred's and I could see the pain in his face as his hand was being crushed.

"Seeradans, stop it! You could break his-'' The Ryhorn started, but stopped when the sound of a snap rang through the tent. Then a scream from the crowd as we all looked at the Loudred as he recoiled holding his arm that was misshapen and flopping around.

"Dain…I-I think he's fallen. " The Milotic said while checking on the Loudred.

I heard someone scream from the crowd, "She's right! His eyes! They are blood red!"

A wave of gasps rushed through the tent and then they started to run. Seeradans smiled. He began to laugh at the crowd.

"You've only just seen the beginning. The voices started way before. You call me fallen and dark, but I am in all of you. You've heard me before." Seeradans said, but his voice was becoming more scratchy and harder to understand. He grabbed his chest and screamed in pain.

"T-the voices. Won't stop. M-make them stop." He pleaded for the crowd, his fear flowing like a river in his aura.

He roared at the crowd and laughed as he watched them scramble and tumble towards the exit. I stood and watched him turn back to me.

"Don't think I have forgotten about you, my dear Koro." He said and charged forward again.

This time I was ready for his attacks and I felt the surge of aura through me. I began blocking his attacks and throwing him away from me. The Ryhorn charged forward, but Seeradans merely dodged him and pulled out blades to stab him as he ran past him. He lunged, but the milotic wrapped her tail around his wrist and wrapped herself around him to trap him.

He laughed even more and I watched as he swung his leafy tail into his teammate's body. Leaves stuck into her and pierced her skin. She slunk to the floor and Seeradans smiled at me. He walked forward, covered in blood.

"I think you remember something like this." He said lifting his claws and letting the blood drip from them.

My heart dropped. I felt pain in my head again and I fell to my knees gasping for air. I could feel it. The voice was screaming in my head. Like a ringing bell. This was bad.

"This is gonna be fun. You will hear their screams again.", but then he bent over acting as if he wanted to hurl. He also fell to the ground still crawling towards me. "H-help m-me please."

"Nghhhaaa." I said, struggling to stand.

"You can smell it. Can't you. It's intoxicating." He said, bringing his claw closer to my face.

The smell was suffocating me. It filled my lungs and I wanted it gone. I wanted to taste it like before. No. I can't let it out.

"I wonder what if Katrina's blood is as sweet as Patricia's." He whispered into my ear.

I felt something snap and I quickly grabbed his throat. He laughed and began to say something, but I slammed him into the platform. Small cracks from around him as I tried to push him further into the ground. His annoying laughing wouldn't stop.

"Koro! Stop!"

I looked over to the entrance of the tent and saw Katrina staring at me with terror in her eyes.

"Oh, I love that look." Seeradans said, but

I felt tears on my paws.

"You don't know anything." I responded.

"How could I not? I was there with you in Grandon Village. You are not ssssstttttrrrrrrrrrroooooooonngg." He whispered through a tight throat.

I threw through the tent, ripping a hole as he flew through. I charged after him and saw him land in the middle of the street. They weren't filled with pokemon anymore. They were empty and desolate. Windows were closed and only propped opened a little to see what was going to happen.

Seeradans was still laughing as he slowly sat up from the ground. He could barely get the laughing out through the blood in his mouth. My rage rose with every chuckle that left his mouth.

I grabbed him again by the throat to stop him from breathing. I looked away as I felt him struggle in my paws. I felt his body slump in my paws and I lowered him slowly to the ground. His face still had a smile on it and tears wetting his black and red eyes.

"Koro?"

I slowly turned and saw Nora stand at the end of the street. She covered her mouth and she was horrified.

I felt a pit in my stomach and I didn't know what to do. I took a step towards her, but something tackled me to the ground. Storm clouds formed above me and a flash blinded me. I felt my muscles cramp up and I couldn't move. I felt weak and electrified at the same time. My lungs wouldn't take in any air, but my heart was still beating. That was the only movement from my body.

I felt a weight leave my back and air began to creep into me, giving me more life. I saw black fur paws walk in front of me. A yellow tail swished in front of my eyes.

"Koro!" I heard Katrina yelled and then a paw laid onto my back.

"Katrina! Give me one reason why I shouldn't blast him from existence!" I heard.

"Zeina! You need to back down." Katrina said.

"I just saw one of our best just fall to the darkness and hurt many pokemon and he said that it was his fault!"

I couldn't see if they were looking at me or pointing at me, but I could feel them looking at me. I tried to turn my head, but I felt another surge of energy sent through my body, causing my muscles to tense up more than they should.

"Don't you move you monster!" Zeina screamed at me.

"Now tell me, what is going on?!" She yelled away from me.