>>28468689this is definitely the case op. these beings, whatever they are, seem to mimic people. or perhaps the characters that they resemble are in-fact not human themselves.
is it possible that lusamine came to the alola region from another dimension herself? perhaps her children don't even know what they really are.
regardless the ultra beasts seem to be personifications of the internal desires of the people whom they mimic: lusamine wants beauty and gladion wants influence. lillie's ultra beast seems to be hollow though. maybe she hasn't yet decided what she wants? maybe that is the crux of the plot.
lillie stands beteween her mother and her brother, each of them has chosen a side, and she is in between.
i wouldn't be surprised if we get a third ultra beast which resembles plumeria and faba. they are both very stylized characters. perhaps they will share ultra beast 3.
overall my theory is that these beasts aren't really creatures as much as they are reflections of the characters. perhaps a special pokemon is causing these shadows to appear.
