"Everstones. I couldn't believe it when the madman first showed us. We had come all the way to this region just to look at a mine full of the most mundane power minerals known to mankind. The student explained his theory. Everstones, ordinarily used to prevent a Pokémon from evolving, had the potential to be altered so they could stabilize the energy imbalance in our test subjects.

Could the answer to our problem really be that simple?"

- doctor Harrison

Flashback

The monsters were back.

Espeon could see them again the moment it extended its consciousness to the odd human. But its trainer rushed right through them like they weren't there, opening the door and disappearing down the hallway.

So the monsters weren't real for everyone? They sure looked real to Espeon, blocking the way out and slowly approaching the Pokémon like they had the first time. Espeon separated its mind from the odd human again and at once, the monsters vanished. The doorway now free, Espeon ran after its trainer. So monsters and the odd human were linked? Espeon could only see them when it connected itself to his mind. But no other humans had ever made things appear in the real world before. It was strange and terrifying.

The psychic Pokémon slowed down as it approached the odd human's room, light and voices streamed out of the open door.

"When I put a hand on his shoulder to wake him up he got startled and fell. I don't understand why he won't calm down."

"You shouldn't have touched him."

Espeon peered around the doorframe, keeping its ears flat so they wouldn't stick out and give away its presence. The round human from before was there, hands over her mouth, very clearly distraught. The odd human was there too. Except he turned out to be just a cub. And he was on the floor with his back against the wall, trembling violently with his palms over his eyes and his fingers in his hair. He was mumbling and shaking his head.

Espeon's human crouched down next to the cub and spoke to him soothingly. But he didn't seem to be hearing it.

"Ash, you're having a flashback. You're alright. What you're seeing is not real."

Not real? Espeon disagreed. When it reached out to the cub's mind again, it nearly fell over from the weight of what he was experiencing. From this proximity, it was so much worse.

Monsters surrounded the cub, their eyes glowing red with hatred, tar-like smoke distorting their forms. They were tormenting him, jaws opening unnaturally wide, claws long as sabers inching close to his face. Espeon could hear screaming, not from the monsters but from people. People that it couldn't see. They were just out of sight, crying out in pain, begging for help. But no help was coming. They were going to die. Espeon gritted its teeth against the tidal wave of misery. Betrayal, terror, pain, confusion, loss, and, above it all, guilt. So much guilt. All the while the cub just kept on mumbling. And now Espeon could hear what he was saying.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Espeon couldn't take any more of this. It staggered back into the hallway, severing the connection. Finally, it understood. These monsters were memories. And the reason they appeared in the real world was because the cub's mind was making them real. That's why the psychic could see them and the others could not. It shook Espeon to its very core to see such a young human in such distress.

"You're alright." Said Espeon's human calmly. "You're safe."

Lies.

It was at least an hour before the cub quieted down and Espeon dared to chance another glance into the room. He was sitting back on the bed, looking slightly calmer, but with his face colorless and his expression haunted. Espeon's human was still talking to him softly, offering him a glass of water.

Despite having been ordered not to approach, Espeon really wanted to go comfort him. No one should have to face such nightmares alone. It stood there, trying to gauge how angry its human would be for disobeying her a second time. What if it didn't care? Espeon felt it was worth being scolded a hundred times if it meant the cub would feel even a little better.

Just as it put a single paw inside, footsteps sounded from down the hallway. Turning to look, Espeon noticed the silhouette of two humans. And a giant cat.

Furious with itself for having wasted its chance, Espeon scurried away to hide under a closet again. It was lucky that the humans were too busy talking or they might have seen it. But Persian had narrowed its eyes. Espeon kept perfectly still as the men walked up to the room and halted their conversation to look inside. It studied the face of the taller, black-haired human. His expression was unreadable. When using telepathy didn't reveal anything about his emotions or thoughts either, Espeon realized he had to be the brick wall it had felt when it first arrived. It was common knowledge, at least to psychic Pokémon, that there were people who kept such guard over their emotions that it was nearly impossible to look into their minds. But Espeon had rarely met those types personally.

The Brick entered the room. Thankfully the foul cat and second human, an older man with a mustache and glasses, stayed behind. The Persian turned its eyes instead on the closet beneath which Espeon was hiding.

Oh, it knew alright.

Espeon's trainer said something about crowds and the round human exited at once, wiping her eyes. Mustache human softly asked her what happened. Espeon wished they wouldn't talk, their voices, along with the continuous sound of the rain against the windows made hearing what was being said inside the room difficult. Though at least with them around, Persian couldn't get away with openly bullying Espeon.

Brick sounded displeased, Espeon's human disbelieving in turn. Perhaps because of her indignation, she spoke the next part a little more loudly than intended.

"If he gets any worse there will be no other option but to take him back to the hospital."

"Doctor, the reason you are here is so he doesn't need to go back to a hospital" Brick said silkily, his voice cold as ice.

Round human sniffled, making Espeon unable to hear the reply. And then their voices were again too quiet to hear. A few minutes later Brick exited the room.

"Patricia, you are dismissed."

"S-sir I'm really sorry."

"I don't need to hear it. Now go."

Head hung low, round human shuffled off. Espeon's tail twitched. It didn't like the Brick. Mustache human looked at him rather nervously like he expected to be snarled at as well.

"Stay here in case she needs anything." Brick ordered, nodding back at Espeon's human and then he walked away.

"Yes, sir." Mustache human nodded solemnly.

Persian, however, was still staring insolently at the closet, its tail swishing in annoyance. But when its master curtly said its name, it had no choice but to follow. It gave the closet one final, incensed look before prowling after the Brick. Mustache stayed.

It wasn't looking like Espeon would get to the cub tonight with so many people around. Admitting defeat (for now) it snuck back to its human's room the long way around. But as it dutifully waited for her to return, the psychic promised to itself that it would free the young human from the nightmares that held him hostage. No matter what it took. No matter how impossible. Espeon would find a way.