In the waking world, Burnet arrived in the room with an old machine. "I had to to see if the Dream Rader still works, now hook this here and..."

A screen is shown with several images; one of an island with a tree slowly being engulfed in shadow, images vary from relatively peaceful to distorted almost glitch liked imagery, Lillie found one that has Elio and a Mimikyu fighting a large totem boosted Goliosopod.

The Mimikyu in the waking world jumped up as she heard Elio say. "Good work Lost. Okay Isaac, lets keep going."

Guzma laughed at image. "Ha! Yeah, he heard me alright."

Lillie recognized the pink feline. "Mew?"

Guzma looked at the image of Elio hugging both Mew and Mimikyu. "He is seriously working with that Mew? That thing was the reason he is in this mess and he treating it like nothing happened. Hey kid, this the first time he got hurt by one of these shadow pokemon?"

Lillie took her focus from the screen as she turned around to let out a Leafeon. "This is Cain, the first shadow pokemon we encountered... he caught Elio off guard when he was trying to pr..."

Guzma looked back at the screen, too bored to want to hear the details. "Okay... that make sense."

Burnet looked over at the screen and brain waves, she noticed something stranger than the Mew. Elio and the two pokemon left one chamber, the screen went static as the Goliosopod disappeared.

Burnet asked. "Lillie, you said the Mew has Elio in a psychic link and is the reason that he is in this coma?"

Lillie nodded as she watched the team on the screen progress deeper in. "Yes."

Burnet thought it for a moment. "This explained why the dream world is... distorted. The Mew we see on the screen seem to be the dormant remains of its mind before it was turned into a shadow pokemon. This and the shadow Mew are both the same and two different entities."

The group tried to make sense over what was said as Burnet continued. "The Mew we see now is trying to help Elio wake up so he can help it. The shadow Mew is trying to keep Elio in the dream long enough for it to reestablish control over his mind. The only good thing about this is that the shadow Mew's mind is... broken, meaning that as long as Elio does not give it the power, he should wake up relatively fine."

Lillie looked at the distorted purple images moving sporadically, the writings composed of dark words and the image of shadows. "This is the shadow Mews doing?"

Burnet nodded as she read a note that came out. "Okay here is what the fuel is. The Mew's move set composed of psychic, flamethrower, knock off and dark pulse. The last one being where the fuel comes from."

Kukui was about to explain what dark pulse is until Guzma interrupted as an act of spite. "Dark pulse... that move that ... crap."

Kukui responded back to the Guzma in a smirk. "I thought you knew of that move since your Honchkrow has that in its move set some times."

Guzma yelled back. "I know! Its a move that is powered by bad thoughts. That Mew was so nuts it tried to kill itself, why... never mind, those lunatics knew of that problem and probably probed it to not blow itself up on the first chance."

Lillie looked at the screen and thought of what Guzma was speculating. "When the Mew forced a mind link... it did that as a way to escape Ardos's control over it?"

Guzma laughed. "If you even call that control. That Mew found someone more than willing to give it freedom then made him its new master after giving that Ardos chump a piece of its mind it tried just that."

The screen altered to Elio walking down a hallway burning in flames and ashes, Guzma's bored expression changed to a startled one. "Okay... this is something new? The Mews doing?"

Lillie took a deep breath. "No... Elio always had the desire for the heat of battle. Most of the things he fought in this coma are from his own mind."

Guzma nodded. "Right. He had a thing for fire types anyways. God damn moth helped prove that!"

On the screen Elio and the two pokemon walked past a fogged door to find a bonfire and a Larveseta. Elio approached the bonfire, a large Volcarona flew into the room. Guzma calmly excused himself to the three people in the room. "I will be outside banging my head against a wall!"

Vs Totem Volcarona its special attack has increased.

The Volcarona burst a Totem Aura as it glowed. Elio pointed at the Mimikyu. "ALRIGHT LOST! LETS BURN THIS FLAME OUT! USE SWORDS DANCE TO BOOST UP THEN SHADOW CLAW!"

The Mimikyu danced as the Volcarona performed a quiver dance dance to increase its special attack, special defense and speed. The Volcarona emitted a strong heat wave in an attempt to burn the Mimikyu. The Mimikyu's disguise plopped before a claw emerged from underneath her cloak to rake through the Volcarona.

The image distorted to a humanoid with the same fiery wings of Volcarona, the figure itself has flames glowing from every orifice in its body. "Ye who seek to the flame... prove thyself worthy."

The figure crushed a white stone, summoning an electrical lion known as Luxray.

It intimidated the Mimikyu out of some of its vigor before Elio shouted. "Lost, again and don't stop till it is down!"

Mimikyu clawed at the Luxray before she was countered with a wild charge, another shadow claw knocked the Luxray back toward the figure, fading in white ashes. The figure summoned an Alolan Muk.

Elio shouted again. "LOST USE PLAY ROUGH, KEEP AT IT TILL THE MUK IS DOWN!" The Mimikyu punched her wooden tail into the Muk before being crunched with its hazardous fangs. Mimikyu prepared to play rough again before the Muk sneaked behind her from the shadows in an attempt to sucker punch her. The Mimikyu rolled and repeatedly attacked the Muk's flank before slamming it to the wall for a K.O, fading like the Luxray.

The figure sent out a strange creature to Elio, it looked like Araquanid except the watery bubblers have orange flames in place.

Elio blinked. "Okay that is weird, Lost switched out for Isaac." The Mimikyu switched positions with Mew before the Araquanid lunged to use bug bite for super effective damage.

Elio found it more suspicious as he ordered the Mew. "Isaac... USE KNOCK OFF!"

The Mew looked in confusion as it swatted something off the Araquanid, it looked like a piece of ember that faded to ashes.

What was a fiery Araquanid started to form watery bubbles and spewed water at the bone fire in protest.

The figure shouted toward the Araquanid. "You fool, do you want to darkness to come?!"

Elio laughed at he figure. "The flame has to die sooner or later." The figure drew out a fiery sword in an attempt to lunge at the Araquanid.

Elio gritted his teeth in shock and shouted. "Isaac, knock that sword off of him before he hurts that Araquanid!"

The sword was swatted out of the figure as it was pushed back by the Araquanid's liquidation.

Elio shouted. "Okay Quenclag back up, let me finish this fight. Then you can come along."

Elio posed for the Mew to use its finishing move. "GENESIS SUPER NOVA!"

The flaming figure got up to find a double helix forming into a blast; it attempted to dodge to no avail as the ball homed in and blasted into the figure. The figure began to crumble in ashes as it was slammed across the wall.

Elio looked at the dying flame to find the Larvesta still there, shivering and wet as he whispered to it. "Hey little guy... you want to come with Quenclag and me?"

Elio looked back to find the Araquanid disappeared. "Okay not Quenclag."

The Larvesta approached the Mimikyu who was eating sitrus berries, both became fast friends as they saw the flame die. Elio shrugged as the Larvesta and Mimikyu were worried about the fire going out. "Don't worry about it you two. One flame dies, another would rise even stronger."

Elio picked up the Larvesta and left the flame. "I'll call you Embey."


In the waking world.

Lillie looked at the screen to see the bonfire go out in shock as the imagery grew much darker. Unlike the distorted imagery of of the Mew, it looked much more like a natural darkness; unfathomable, oppressing, primal. Lillie tried to figure out what the imagery meant. "What... what just happened?"

Burnet saw some notes coming out and frowned in anticipation. "He choose to walk the dark... in other words. He is going to be facing much more hostile creatures in the dream. He has to do this anyways to wake up."

Lillie stared at Burnet as the sun started to set. "You saying that if he let it stay aflame, the imagery would get worse?" Burnet nodded to Lillie. "And if he let it die it will come sooner. Most of what he faced are manifestations of his own thoughts. That Goliosopod and Volcarona, the types of pokemon he enjoys battling; one of the things he fought before I was able to bring this machine was something he feared."

Lillie frowned at the screen as her Leafeon stared with her. "If he has a reason to hide what he feels, it is because people are watching. The only thing he really hid during our time on Orre is what he really felt about all the pokemon Cipher..."

Lillie took a deep breath. "Just hope Elio likes what he is about to see."

Later in the night; Kukui and Burnet went home while Elios mother arrived to watch how her sons journey into the dream was progressing. It has been rather an uneventful night save for the creatures of the dream representing one major mindset Elio believed in. The difficulties life has and having to find ways to overcome them. With only a Mew, Mimikyu and a Larvesta on his side, the creatures of the dream have on multiple occasions knocked his team out and forced him to the few safe zones on the path way. Lillie looked up what type of memory it was and discovered that the hat she bought for Elio in Orre was related to a brutally difficult game.

The Audino wrote down two words as it saw Elio fall. "You died!"

Lillie cringed in mental pain as she watched a video of a knight repeatedly killed by a goat like creature holding two machetes, she asked herself. "Why does someone play this game if it only brings pa..."

Elio's mother recognized the music as she saw the dream radar. "This one is my fault. I am a gamer and ever since he was little I let him play some of the games I have. He also became a gamer when I saw him burn his entire allowance on a collection. That habit reached its conclusion around three years ago, when he saw me play this game and wanted to play it. I helped him set up a character, told him everything he needed to know about the difficulty AND if the game became too hard for him I get him this bullet hell rpg game he knew about."

Lillie was startled at Elio's mother as she continued. "Long as Elio did not mindlessly kill everyone, it would have been a difficult but fun time. Instead he kept playing this for three months... from the Asylum all the way to confronting the Father of the Ab..."

Lillie looked over to another video, a knight fighting what looks like a crippled swordsman.

Elio's mother looked at the dreamscape he was in, her eyes widen at what the place resembled. "Uh oh!"

The group heard a loud roar as they saw Elio fight a crippled looking Lucario that was going mad. "EMBEY USE FLARE BLITS ON THAT LUCAR... SCRATCH THAT; MOVE!" Elio and the Larvesta dodge out of the way of a rampaging Lucario that was moments away from mega evolving. The Larvesta flare blitz itself into the Lucario mid mega evolution and knocked it out.

Elio's mother sighed at bad memories. "He struggled on a level like this for a whole weekend but the boss getting to the level was more of a lore character but it is a fast pace fight though and you are better off moving when the boss moves."

Lillie saw Elio hold the Larvesta out and cheered over the vanquished foe. "He had a similar experience when he fought Totem Wishiwashi. He kept loosing to that pokemon over and over shouting about an Alomomola." Elio's mother smiled at Lillie. "And he found a way to defeat it anyways! He did call home about that one. Took him a whole day with the pokemon he had with him... now he is descending into the Abyss." Hau walked in with food, he noticed the dream radar reacted to Elio using a Z move on a strange red looking Mismagius that was hurling shadow balls. "What about an Abyss?" The two ladies looked at each other when Elio dropped down an elevator. "He blocked the worse out, he is skipping strait to big one!"

Elio descended down the elevator, he had his pokemon healed up after a gauntlet of annoying enemies. "Alright, this is our spawn point so any difficulty we have past this fo..." Elio approached the fog door, a fire lit up by his side and a massive hand reached out to grab the party. They were thrashed wildly and dragged in. Elio and his pokemon awoke to find a large Slaking, with dark fur, and spike like growths on its back. The fight began and Elio was quickly defeated by the one command strategy he had enforced on his pokemon from the day he started as a trainer, all the way to the recent events on Orre. Being fast to act and being aggressive when the enemy reacts.

The four in the waking world watched Elio lose to the Slaking before being swatted into a bottomless pit, Guzma entered to room with stitches on his forehead to find Elio muttering. "Damn it!"

He and his pokemon emerged from the bonfire. Guzma looked on as he saw Elio yanked into a fogged door again by the massive hand. "What the hell is he.." The Slaking swatted at the Mimikyu and was countered by a burning willo wisp. Despite having used a move the previous turn, the Slaking roared as it continued to beat down on Mimikyu.

Guzma watched and asked in a grin. "Okay anyone tell me what this is because I like what I am seeing!"

Hau and Lillie glared at Guzma, Elios mother took a deep breath. "He is fighting a boss... I think this one is suppose to be made from a memory of one having the title; Father of The Abyss."

Guzma raised an eye brow at the title. "What?"

Elio's mother answered back. "Only thing you need to know is that he is aggressive, fast and unrelenting in a game infamous for having you die repeatably."

The Audino wrote down a sentence. "Only cure for this is to get good at the game or quit, kid is not going to quit,"

Lillie looked at Elio's mother in questioning. "How long did it took for him to beat this boss?"

Elio's mother laughed. "A whole week of attempts, good news though, it look like he is making progress on this one a..."

Elio was down to his last pokemon, the Slaking blew out a stream of darkness, Elio found himself at the bonfire only to be yanked in yet again.

Elio's mother was impressed as she approached her sleeping son. "Not bad for a second attempt. Elio, do what you did last time but save that Mew for last and if that Larvesta can heal itself do that instead of just attacking. Have to stay in the fight longer to win!"

Elio's mother shrugged as the others watched, Lillie sighed in frustration. "A Slaking without Truant is a difficult enemy to face as it is."

Elio saw the Slaking glare at him yet again. "LOST USE WILLO WISP!"

The Slaking swatted at the Mimikyu as she countered with a willo wisp.

Elio shouted. "LOST USE PLAY ROUGH!" The Mimikyu took the order it and repeatedly attacked the Slaking, lowering its physical attack.

Elio ordered. "OKAY LOST BACK AWAY UNTI..."

The Mimikyu ran past Elio as the Slaking prepared to lunge, Elio cringed in panic. "OKAY I AM BACKING AWAY!"

Elio and the Mimikyu ran together as the Slaking kept trying to attack them until he was at the end of his combo. The Mimikyu rushed toward the Slaking again to play rough with until she was swatted back by a shadowy claw. The Mimikyu rolled and attacked until the Slaking leaped into the air to crush her for a K.O.

Elio sighed as he prepared to switch. "Lost you did good. Embey open up with a flare blitz, then roll back and use Morning Sun!"

The Slaking was annoyed by the Larvesta's flare blitz and attempted to attack. When the Larvesta rolled he used the power of the sun to heal himself as Slaking attacked again again. Elio was prepared to run to the Larvesta. "EMBEY LETS KEEP ROLLING AND DODGGING. THEN WE CAN SWITCH AGAIN IN STYLE."

The Slaking was charged yet again, it proceeded to swat a tide of darkness. Elio grabbed the Larvesta and rolled toward the Slakings side. Elio found an opportunity and tossed the Larvesta at the Slaking. "EMBEY USE U TURN!"

The Slaking was pelted in the head by the Larvesta as the Mew flew in its place, Elio grinned in confidence. "Isaac! Since this specific Slaking is part dark type, a Z move is not going to bail us out. So just focus on flamethrower and dodge when he swings. This means get within arms reach, so wait until it gives an opening!"

The Mew rushed toward the Slaking as it closed his hand and shot bullets of darkness at the Mew from all sides. The Mew flew under them and shot a flamethrower, the Slaking roared in pain and tried to punch to Mew, it missed as the Mew dodged. It raised its hand to the air and called dark rain down to knock both Elio and the Mew out. Both slide underneath and the Mew shot again; the Slaking slammed the Mew to the ground with his hand as it found an opening.

The Mew floating up dazed as Elio gave one more order. "OKAY ISAAC HE LOOKS INJURED ENOUGH DODGE ITS NEXT ATTACK AND BU...ZZT!"

The dream radar went static, the people in the room heard a distorted screech and a voice hissed in Lillies head. "Mi...ne!"

Lillie recognized the shadow Mew's screech and searched the machinery to see what was wrong. The brain waves looked normal and Elio grinned in his sleep. Guzma was looking at the screen and shouted in frustration. "Oh come on I wanted to see the good part!"

Elio's mother took a deep breath when she saw her son grin. "Don't worry he beaten him. He makes that smile when ever he beats a boss that would give him trouble."

Guzma looked at the mother confused. "You battle at all? Because that kid seem to take a lot from you!"

Elios mother giggled as she dismissed it. "I have made a name for myself over the years, one my titles involved how well I am with my Meowth!"


In the dream world.

Elio cheered as he healed up the three pokemon. He noticed the Slaking still moved as it reverted back to a far less corrupted form. It was in pain from the burn, Elio took a deep breath of frustration as he handed over a bunch of berries to treat the Slaking of its wounds and burns.

He asked the Slaking. "You want to join this team, we need a power house and you are our best option. You might have Trua..."

Elio was about to finish the question when he heard Lillie whisper. "Wake up soon please!"

The Slaking looked around in an attempt to discover where the voice came from, Elio raised his finger to the dark ceiling and smiled. "That voice right there was the reason I walked into this hell and did not give up no matter how quickly you beaten me. If you want to join, mind if I call you Manny?" The Slaking grinned as it offered to carry the team of three up the tree.

The Slaking carried Elio, Mew, Mimikyu and Larvesta up in the tree for what felt like eternity. They found themselves in a rocky hall way filled with odd glass like formation's. The Slaking lead the way until the group found a strange floating creature; a Nihilego holding a balloon. Elio stopped the Slaking from attacking. "Relax, I kind of know this one... Krell?"

The Nihilego approached Elio, but not too close and kept a fair distance. Elio nodded toward the Mew in a frown. "Bad enough that Cipher turned you into a weapon Isaac, but injecting you with this things venom while kn..."

The room distorted as the Mew was reverting back into a shadow pokemon, its eyes looked black with yellow pupils as it hissed.

Elio shouted in defense of the Nihilego. "Isaac it is not even this things fault!" The Mew twitched back toward him.

Words distorted around the cave as the Nihilego backed away shivering. "Who!? You know! The witch caused all this! Burn her at the stake!" Elio took a deep breath. "And if Lillie saw this..."

The Nihilego floated toward a corner and cowered as two familiar voices were heard. "Mother? What are you doing here?!"

Elio's eyes widen as he realized what was happening in the waking world. "Isaac... please calm down what is happening out side shou..."

The distortions did not calm down as the area started to go static. The older voice answered. "You were here for nearly a week and no one has told me anything, save for Gladion leaving to visit this hospital once a day. I know that once you two fought that Mew... nearly everything started to collapse."

Elio sighed in worry. "Right... she got herself dragged into that part of the fight when you ported us down into the labs. Now I have the pleasant image of her being in the same room as..."

The static began to get worse as the voices continued. "Mother, what happened after we were teleported out of the Aether Labs is none of your business. I did call that something bad had happened and I would be very busy."

The older voice responded a firm tone. "Yes you did. Still even in comparison to the last shadow pokemon I seen, the Mew's behavior was... disturbing. What have they done to that Mew?" Elio kept himself between the Mew and the Nihilego as he prepared to listen.


In the waking world.

A day has past since the Dream Radar went static, most had went home for the night baring Lillie and she had a surprise visit from Lusamine who was asking questions about the Mew she was better off not knowing. Lillie told Lusamine that the Mew was among the XD class shadow pokemon and was driven to complete insanity.

Lusamine nodded as she continued. "Yes you told me about those, for what was an empty shell it acted far too chaotic. I ask again, what have they done to that Mew?"

Lillie was hesitate to answer. "They... forced it into a endless state of Hyper Mode."

Lusamine placed her fingers over her forehead in frustration that Lillie was being very vague. "Hyper mode?! That is one reason why the Mew mind was gone. Being a powerful psychic type...

Lillie tried to hide her tears as she interrupted. "It tried to use Elio as a means to escape it all."

Lusamine took a deep breath. "What do mean by escap..."

Lusamine's eyes widen as she realized what happened. "It took that boy's mind over when you were about to capture it, did it?!"

Lillie nodded back "Something called a psychic link... it was not even a minute long and I saw Elio break."

Lusamine at the master by Elios side, tried to think about what to say and smiled back in what would have been a gentle smile. "You two still did a good job in capturing it before it got wor..."

Lillie shouted out in tears wanting her mother to stop. "It was about to have Elio order it to use a shadow explosion! Mother, you know what that move does!"

Lusamine froze at what she heard, Lillie spoke loudly no longer in the mood to continue the conversation. "I know you are trying to make me feel better... but I think it is best if you just leave."


In the dream world.

Things were much more chaotic as distorted words scattered across the room. In place of the Mew were three strange looking amalgamation's of Tentacruel, Ariados and Beheeyem; the Mimikyu and Larvesta were under their control.

Elio saw himself in a corner with only the Slaking and Nihilego to protect him. "DAMN IT ISAAC! KRELL SHOOT THE ONE IN THE BACK WITH POWER GEM! MANNY SHADOW CLAW THE ONE ON THE LEFT!" The Slaking had difficulty breaking through the mental power of the strange creature as he clawed one of the three down. The Nihilego shot at the one in the back for rather significant damage as the other two try to establish control over the Slaking.

Elio shouted. "MANNY HOLD!"

The distorted words spread and he heard voices. "What do you mean she improved!? Guilty! Put her down!"

Elio took a deep breath as he tried to reason with the Mew. "Isaac, Cipher would have hurt you regardless if Ultra Wormholes were discovered or not. From the voices in the waking world are telling me; I know Lusamine is not trying to talk down on Lillie this time, she is not trying to attack her this time or is trying to do something to keep me from waking up. Now are you going to calm the hell down or are you going to keep impersonating Krell. Your scaring her."

The Slaking struggled as he awaited the next order, Elio noticed. "You are done lofting? SHADOW CLAW THE ONE IN THE MIDDLE! KRELL FINISH THE LAST ONE!" The Slaking clawed the next creature down as the Nihilego shot final one out. The three distorted back into a Mew, with the Mimikyu and Larvesta falling unconscious.

Elio went over to the hissing Mew. "It is going to take a long time before Lusamine even comes close to make up for the things she has done... don't think I don't know this!"

The Mew had a seizure and screeched before it teleported away, leaving Elio alone to shout. "Damn it! Hey Krell, you want to come with us? Subconscious is a puzzling thing sometimes as to why you were here."

The Nihilego hovered where it was for a moment in consideration and shook in refusal.

Elio frowned in disappointment. "I take that as a no?"

The Nihilego pointed at the two unconscious pokemon and prepared to leave through an opened up Ultra Wormhole.

Elio smiled as he waved goodbye. "Thanks for the help Krell, I know it stinks for you, compared to the other Ultra Beasts I have to keep safe... I can't even really touch you, I hope you understand why."

The Nihilego turned around like it forgot something and gave Elio a photo. It pointed toward the cavern and up the ceiling like a child would in giving directions; took its balloon and left for the wormhole, leaving Elio to see what the photo was. A photo of him, Lillie and Hau when his adventures in Alola began.