Sage looked at Gin and sighed. Lynx and Alain walked in front of them, whistling and pausing once in a while to ask if Sage was fine. It wasn't really a walk in the park so Sage really had to commend them for their efforts. At the very least, his three friends were trying to cheer him up.

"Hey, are we ever going to compose another song?" Lynx crossed his arms, tilted his head backwards and winked at Gin. Eyeing at Sage, he licked his lips. "Arf! Sage, you can get to songwriting again."

"Stop barking." Sage wiped his brows. "You want to hold a concert or something in the middle of this chaos?"

"Why not?" Lynx shrugged. "Music's good for the soul. We got to have at least one before we're exterminated, nya."

"Exterminated...? Oh, Wyatt and Yvette." Alain bit his lips. "Isn't it funny how Valencia and Wyatt are rather powerless unlike what their names suggest?"

"Uh-huh," Sage mumbled. Talk about asymmetrical power dynamics.

"We can have one in Kalos after we escape," Gin suggested.

"Why don't we go somewhere further? Kalos is near this island, right? They can find us and kill us easily. No!" Alain shook his head. "What about Alola? Sinnoh? Unova? Galar?Hoenn? Or anywhere else that's not Kalos?"

"Not Hoenn." Lynx's expression darkened, his eyes widening as beads of perspiration drip down his forehead. "Nya, too many Psychic-types in a region can give you a Shattered Psyche."

"Now's not the time for Z-move puns," Gin muttered.

"There should be some sort of comic relief at least? C'mon, we're here to cheer Sage up." Lynx glanced at the drummer in bandages. "Well? You fine?"

"Yeah," Sage said with a frown. It was getting so boring. Was there anything better to do? Something interesting that could catch his attention?

He checked his phone just as a notification popped up on his locked screen. There's a Gengar licking the glass in a blue-black background—good thing he had a protector since that Pokémon seemed so real. It just kept reminding him of Shrike.

Mei: Jo, Ferro and Clay are dead.

Sage gasped. Just when the death count stopped, it increased once again? Another message caught his eye.

Unknown: When are you coming back? I miss you.

Sage: who is this?

Unknown: Please come back. Come back to me.

Sage didn't know what to do or how to reply to the message. It was so strange. He's never seen the phone number before and he surely couldn't tell from the Gothorita profile picture.

"You look pale, Sage."

Sage eyed Gin and scratched his neck. He was about to slide his phone into his pocket when another notification popped up. He gasped, took a step back and fell into a bush.

「With only three players left, the real game will now begin.」

Sage punched his password and unlocked his phone, swiping till he spotted the Healer Killer app. The icon seemed so different from before. The background was white, the cross and circle now red, and a pair of eyes, black as a moonless, starless night, watched him. The pupils followed his gaze as he tilted the phone upside down, to the left and right before returning it to portrait.

He entered the app and held his breath. Gin, Alain and Danny seemed to distance themselves from him and they ran in the direction of the academy. He couldn't understand what was going on. Why were they leaving? Why would they leave him there, alone and afraid?

The story mode function he barely touched had disappeared, and so did the gachapon. The only unused Killer card occupied the centre of the screen and the same pair of Stygian eyes stared at him above the card. At the top right hand corner was a vectored avatar which he guessed was the profile icon. The background was a black hole swallowing light.

He clicked the profile icon and shuddered. His avatar looked exactly like him, making the same twisted expression he had on his face at the moment. It imitated every twitch he made then and there, mirroring every vein that popped out, reflecting the tears swirling in his eyes. He glanced down.

Name「Sage」
Username「Sanguine」
Status「Alive」
Aura「Dark」
『Crimson Oblivion』
"Every beginning has its end
just as every end has its beginning."

Sage squinted at the screen. What did it mean by him having a dark aura? And what's with that fancy quote?

He looked up, and his eyes widened. His distorting surroundings merged and separated like the image in a kaleidoscope, black, yellow and red. He wasn't sure if he was encircled by mirrors, and he didn't know how he got there. The same murder of Darkness Pokémon displayed evanescence, and their beaks would appear again out of nowhere. Some of them went clockwise, and others flew by him in the opposite direction.

Sage brought himself up on his feet and reached out, feeling the cold trickle of water. He patted himself down and furrowed his brows at how he remained dry. He studied the numerous pairs of unnatural scarlet eyes that opened and closed like Clamperl shells. They shifted to the left in a neat fashion every few seconds.

The caws soared through the air. Amidst the chaos were legato hoots, reminding him of the lone Hoothoot and the flock of Murkow from quite some time ago.

"Is this a dream?"

Beneath his feet, an uneven path lit up, inviting him into the mystical darkness. He brought his head down and treaded forward, one step at a time. His heart itched, and his head throbbed, so he couldn't make a decision to follow either heart or mind. He could only hope the path led him somewhere else that was less discomforting.

"Mei? Titan?" Sage called out and was met with silence. No echoes, nothing. He stomped his feet, but no sounds bred. It was such a quiet place. Was this the app's doing?

He carried on, feeling the pressure from the countless watchful gazes. Mist thickened in a haste. A red door stood in his vision. Sage turned around. An inky feather reached his feet. Bending over, he picked it up, and a screaming tempest raged around him. His ears were blocked, his eyes now slits, and his body failed to resist the force. Letting go of the feather, he reached for the handle, pushed it down and flung the door open.

The gale hit him and sent him flying through, with the slam of the door right after. He got on his feet and swept the dust off him.

In front of him was a long table full of plates, bowls, cutlery and Pokémon. Ariados crawled about, shoving their eight legs into the holes of silver skulls. Seviper slithered across the table, hissing and licking eyeballs. A Drapion lashed its tail at a bowl of human livers and pushed one into its mouth, all while watching the boy.

"Gross," Sage muttered. "Just where am I?"

Sage strode past purple roses and black lilies, glimpsed beige floating platforms and a waterfall that flowed upward.

"The Distortion World?"

He followed the path, turning left and right, then stopped. He was walking in circles, seeing the same red door for what seemed like the hundredth time, and each time he passed by the Pokémon's never-ending feast, he looked away, always a little too late. The dishes changed every time, displaying various human organs on the table. Sage shuddered. Was this karma since humans fed on some Pokémon? He pushed the thought away and quickened his pace.

This didn't seem like the Distortion World he knew of. He saw pictures and sketches of it, but there was never a place like this. It was a lair of Poison-types.

In an attempt to distract himself, Sage glanced at his shirt, hoping to stare at the adorable Gengar for comfort.

He shrieked.

It was a full black shirt. The Gengar imprint was no longer there. What was going on? He felt goosebumps rising all over him, and he shivered. This place was giving him too many creeps, and he loathed it.

He dashed to the door, realising it was unlocked, and charged past the door frame.

"I should have just left this eerie place long ago."

Instead of the kaleidoscopic surroundings from before, what the brown-haired boy saw was a blue-haired girl and a maroon-haired boy cuddling each other in a dimly-lit cave. Stones piled up, making steps at two sides, leading to a platform. A second look at the setting told him they were neither on the island nor in Kalos. Turning back, he watched the door gradually vanish starting from the bottom, and strings of green numbers rose like smoke from where the door had been.

"Titan! Mei!" Sage averted his attention to them and ran forward to embrace them.

"What's this? This place is giving me the creeps. I can't use both of my Singularities at all. Mei couldn't, too," Titan said.

"You both received the message?" Sage asked. He earned nods from them and knitted his brows. "What about the app? No chat function, no story mode, no gachapon, but just the—"

"Cards and profile." Mei showed him her profile.

"You think this app is really Yvette's doing? This is all too supernatural, like we're marionettes," Titan remarked. He glimpsed at the stalactites and wondered if they would ever fall. Looking at his friends, he said, "Let's take a look at Mei's profile first."

Name「Mei」
Username「Sayo」
Status「Alive」
Aura「Fairy」
『Azure Geomancy』
"Stars are bound to collide;
some collapse."

"What's this? The Aura Trio?" Titan cocked his head sideways and revealed his profile.

That leaves Titan with Zygarde. What could this possibly mean? Surely we aren't incarnates of the Aura Trio. That's ridiculous. Sage thought to himself.

Name「Titan」
Username「Inukai」
Status「Alive」
Aura「Break」
『Stygian Wrath』
"Sometimes, you add;
sometimes you subtract;
sometimes you nullify."

Sage sighed and shook his head. He still could not piece together how this new addition was linked to the "real game". Furthermore, no one knew what that game was.

"It's strange how the colour corresponds to our hair's but yours and Sage's are swapped." Mei nudged Titan and pointed to Sage.

"Yeah. You think it actually means something," Titan said as he kept his phone.

"Do you think we're in a dream?" Mei unclipped her hairpin and held it in her hand. "But it seems so real."

"How did you come here anyway?" Mei turned to Titan and shot him a look. "I thought you wanted to avenge Ferro and Clay."

"I was on my way to kill Yvette but this happened."

Sage observed the boxer. Titan was perspiring profusely as he spoke, making gestures and shifting his gaze between the two listeners. Sage made a guttural sound.

"Titan, you know a lot about Pokémon abilities, right? Do you think this has something to do with it?" He asked.

The boy in question lowered his head and swept his maroon hair to the right, revealing his eyes. Sage and Mei both noticed that his eyes were one orange, one red, which should only be possible when Titan's second Singularity was in activation. This situation they were in was so incomprehensible.

"No, but the flowers growing here... Tapu Lele?"

"Tapu Lele dwells in Alola though. But there are the flowers in a cave of sorts like in the textbooks so it's possible we're somehow in Alola. Probably Teleport," Sage mumbled. He was about to say something when a growl cut him off.

"How do we get out of here?" Mei released Mimikyu out of his Poké Ball just as Titan let his Heatmor out. She waited for Sage to move, but he didn't. It took a while for her to study him and realise that Blade wasn't with the boy.

"We got to fight," Titan said as he opened his legs and bent forward a little. He glanced over his shoulder to see Sage staring at the Gengar on his shirt, the brown-haired boy whispering to himself that it's back. What happened next made Titan's jaw drop. The Ghost-type emerged from the fabric and shook zir head. Sage and Mei gave similar reactions, though the former calmed himself down quickly.

"Welcome to the Ruins of Life."

At the voice, three heads swung to the platform where glowing scales rained onto rocks and an intimidating figure took centre stage. It surely wasn't because of zir black torso or pink curly hair, and it was neither because of the thin arms nor the digit-less hands separated by thick pink bracelets. Sage glared at the zir shell, the markings on them akin to a face, and the small, butterfly-like wings at the back. Tapu Lele seemed angelic, yet zie exuded a rather devilish aura. Blue eyes with pink lines in the middle of the irises returned the glare.

Tapu Lele, the Land Spirit Pokémon, was known for zir guileless cruelty. Zie pointed zir cone-shaped top at them and curled inward, the closed shell resembling a bug with a curled mouth at the bottom.

"Is Tapu Lele sleeping?" Mei hardened her gaze. "Well then, Mimikyu, strike with Shadow Ball!"

"Heatmor, Fire Lash!" Titan pointed at the floating Pokémon.

Sage patted his Gengar, still a little confused from what was happening. "Gengar, shall we go with Poison Jab?"

Are you Shrike? Sage frowned, watching the action unfold before him.

Mimikyu flung an inky blob at the pink Pokémon just as a burning lash extends from Heatmor's claws to hit the deity. Gengar sprang forward with a glowing, purple hand and smacked the side of Tapu Lele. The Land Spirit Pokémon simply grimaced but did not retaliate.

"Is that Withdraw?" Titan held out a fist. "Heatmor, stand back and give it a good Flamethrower!"

Heatmor roared and spewed a burst of flames from its ajar mouth, but somehow, when it touched the pink shell, Tapu Lele vanished from sight. Instead, replicas of the Pokémon took spots all around the cave, their shells opening steadily. The scales dropped onto rock and skin, and it hurt.

"What the?" Titan cried.

"Those scales can be dangerous if too many come into contact with us." Sage warned, stepping back and scanning his surroundings. Flowers were blooming, their heavy aroma pricking his nostrils, forcing him to sneeze. He glanced at his Gengar and coughed. This was wrong! All of their Pokémon, not just Gengar, were in excruciating pain, despite Gengar's smile. Not all smiles expressed happiness, and Sage was an expert on that. At this rate, their Pokémon could hardly hold up.

However, another issue brought more concern; Sage, Titan and Mei grew lethargic and felt their lives flashing before their eyes.

"Nature's Madness, damn it!" Titans stomped the ground. "If this goes on, our health and theirs will keep getting halved and go down! Ugh, Heatmor, Overheat!"

"Are you out of your mind? We're all gonna die from that!" Mei wiped her brows and went for her Mimikyu. "Use Protect!"

Sage shook his head. What were the chances of them winning? Those damn scales weren't melting under the intense heat, and Mei's Mimikyu definitely had a limit. He glanced at his Gengar, then back at himself. Their Singularities could not be used here, so he couldn't fling the scales away with Shadow Scar.

Think, Sage, think! Is this the real game? Are we all going to die like this? This is just a never-ending nightmare! Sage gritted his teeth. That's it. I know what to do. Just please let this work.

Sage knitted his brows. "Gengar, mass Hypnosis on all of them Tapu Lele! Follow up with Nightmare, Dream Eater and Hex!"

He needed this to work, badly. A sleeping Pokémon would stop attacking unless zie was capable of Sleep Talk or zie was a Komala. Nightmare would reduce Tapu Lele's health by a quarter and Dream Eater would return some health to Gengar. Hex would deal excessive damage to a Pokémon inflicted by status conditions, and being asleep was one of them.

"Sage, look! Those copies are gone." Titan pointed at the only remaining Tapu Lele with a smile. "You're smart. How many badges do you have?"

How many badges do I have? Very funny. The first battle I ever had was a mental battle. I never had a Pokémon battle before. Sage frowned and shook his head.

"I just put whatever I read before to good use. This is actually my first Pokémon battle," Sage replied.

He liked this feeling. It felt great to do well in something he did for the first time, with the help from all the books he had read extensively. He was glad this hobby actually helped him when he least expected it. His pulse raced at the thought of receiving recognition and he felt his life was worth living.

He turned to Tapu Lele and observed as zie shook a little. So this was the said guilelessly cruel Pokémon? Zie wasn't as strong as the books said.

"How did Yvette even drag Tapu Lele into this? This is—" Titan was cut off by a husky growl.

"No, this is a distraction." Mei pointed at the Land Spirit Pokémon, watching it dissolve into green binary codes, along with their surroundings.

Sage picked his phone up and glanced over the red words.

「The roles and auras have been confirmed. Thank you for participating in the trial.」

Sage averted his gaze to his surroundings, realising he was lying in the bush, now wondering how long he had been there and where Mei and Titan had gone to. His Emo-Senpai friends were standing around him, staring at him. His chest rose and fell as he released a few breaths.

We can escape via teleportation. Who knows, once we are out of the island, we could all be away from Yvette's influence!

As the thought slid into his mind, he got up and produced a smile. "I'm fine. We just need to gather everyone and escape."

"No," Gin said. "You sure you're fine? You just fainted."

"I'm fine. Let's get going before it's too late."