It was morning the next day, and Ash, Serena, Goh, Pikachu, and Raboot were riding a train heading to Wedgehurst. The exact time that Galar Particles escaped the Energy Plant, Ash's Dynamax Band that he got from Leon was glowing from his backpack just as he, Pikachu, Goh, Sobble, and Raboot were about to go to sleep. They went to Professor Cerise and his team about it, and the professor was puzzled that Ash's band was glowing far away from Galar. Eventually, Professor Cerise received a call from Professor Magnolia, requesting that he send his research fellows to Galar immediately. So, Ash went to wake up Serena in her bedroom, and Professor Cerise drove them to the airport to take the next flight to the Galar region.

As soon as the plane landed, Ash, Serena, Goh, Pikachu, Sobble, and Raboot headed straight to the train station. They napped during the first few hours of the ride, with Serena resting on Ash's shoulder and their hands clasped together. Once they were well rested, the teenagers and their Pokémon ordered a plate of scones.

"No trip is complete until I eat a whole bunch of these yummy things!" Ash chirped.

"They're called scones," Goh said.

But Ash didn't listen to his friend. He handed a scone to Pikachu before they and Serena began eating their snack. While Serena and Pikachu ate their scones at a regular pace, Ash took big bites of two scones at once. He swallowed only for the food to get stuck in his throat. Goh sighed and sweat dropped as he held up his cup of tea.

"Have some tea," he said.

"Thanks a lot," Ash gasped.

"Honestly, Ash, when will you stop scaring me like that?" Serena asked as Ash washed the scones down with the tea.

"Sorry, Serena. I just can't help how these taste so good," Ash said.

"If you like them so much, I could find the recipe and make some for you," Serena said before adding in a motherly tone, "But you have to promise to eat slowly, or I won't make anymore. Deal?"

"Deal," Ash replied, beaming. "I bet you'll make the best yummy things in the world, Serena."

Serena giggled with her mouth closed as her cheeks heated up.

"Wow. I hope you haven't forgotten why we're here, Ash," Goh said in annoyance.

"Course we haven't. We're going to Wedgehurst so we can meet up with somebody Professor Cerise knows," Ash said. "I think her name was..."

"Professor Magnolia," Serena finished.

"Yup. She's the top professor in Dynamax research," Goh said.

"That's right," Ash said, acting as though he already knew the answer.

Serena smiled and shook her head at her boyfriend's absent-mindedness. Her face then softened as she looked out the window, her mind on the Gigantamax Snorlax she, Ash, and Goh stopped with their Pokémon the first time they came to the Galar region.

"I wonder what Professor Magnolia wants from us that made her want Professor Cerise to send us to Wedgehurst right away," she said. "It seems odd."

"Maybe it has something to do with how we were able to shrink Snorlax back to size or how Pikachu can Dynamax without going into its Pokéball," Goh said.

"Whatever it is, we're up to the challenge," Ash declared with a confident smirk. "And when we're done, I wanna find Timothy, introduce Odyssey to Riolu, and then challenge Timothy to a World Coronation Series battle. His Gengar against my Gengar."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu chirped.

"Classic Ash. Always eager for a battle," Goh said with a sigh.

"Well, Riolu would love to meet Odyssey, and I have to admit I wonder how Gengar will do against Timothy's Gengar," Serena said. "I'd also love to see how Timothy is doing collecting Gym Badges, among other things."

"Huh? What other things?" Ash asked.

But Serena playfully smiled and winked as she said, "It's a secret."

Ash tilted his head, growing more curious about Serena's answer. Suddenly, they heard the sound of brakes screeching against the train's wheels, and the train began to slow down. Ash, Serena, Goh, Pikachu, Sobble, and the other passengers looked around in confusion as their train slowed to a halt.

"Attention. We've received word of a thick fog forming along our route, so we'll be forced to stop here momentarily," They heard the conductor say through the speakers. "As we might be stopped here for a while, several car doors will be opened."

"Thick fog?" Serena asked.

Ash opened the window, and he, Serena, Goh, and Pikachu poked their heads outside. They found they had stopped next to a hill leading to a forest, the car doors facing the hill were open, and while the sky was gray, there was no hint of fog.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked, confused.

"I don't see any fog around here," Ash said.

"Me either," Serena said.

Goh frowned sadly and said as they sat back down, "That's too bad. And we're so close to where we're going too."

"Pika!" Pikachu squealed.

Ash, Serena, Goh, Sobble, and Raboot, who had been napping, looked where Pikachu was facing to find a Bunnelby standing on the edge of the window with a scone in its mouth. Everyone stared at Bunnelby as it awkwardly stood still, realizing it had been caught.

"Bunnelby," it said.

Ash, Serena, and Goh screamed in alarm. Pikachu and Sobble gave Bunnelby friendly greetings in their respective languages, while Raboot sweatdropped from the teenager's reactions. As soon as he stopped screaming, Goh took out his Rotom Phone and scanned the wild Pokémon, smirking with his tongue sticking out.

"Bunnelby. The Digging Pokémon. A Normal type." Rotom said. "Sensitive to danger, if Bunnelby hears the sound of a Corviknight's wings, it can dig a hole to hide in almost immediately."

The trainers and their Pokémon stared at Bunnelby again as it continued to stay still. Then, the rabbit-like Pokémon stood up, jumped off the window, and began hopping to the forest. Goh watched it hop away for a few seconds before he grinned and stood up.

"Now's my chance to catch it!" He shouted.

"Do it, Goh!" Ash shouted, smirking.

"Wait, Ash, Goh, we should stay here and wait for the train to start moving," Serena said.

But when Serena finished her sentence, Ash and Pikachu scooted past her from their seats and followed Goh, Sobble, and Raboot out the door. The honey blonde girl sighed, feeling like a mother struggling to control her children.

"Boys," she said to herself.

She got up from her seat and got off the train, holding on to her hat as she rushed to catch up with Ash, Goh, and their Pokémon.

"It's heading to the forest," Ash said.

Goh checked the map on his Rotom Phone and said, "It says the forest is called the Slumbering Weald. What a name."

Ash, Serena, Goh, and the Pokémon looked ahead to see Bunnelby hopping closer to the forest. Ash smirked as he raced toward the Pokémon with everyone else falling behind him.

"Wait up!" Goh called out.

"Ash, wait!" Serena shouted.

Ash, Serena, Goh, Pikachu, Sobble, and Raboot ran into the forest, hearing Bunnelby hopping in the distance. As they ran deeper into the forest, the sound of Bunnelby grew faint until all they could hear were the sounds of their own feet stepping on the grass. Eventually, everyone stopped running and realized they were so deep in the forest that there was fog all around them. Serena grew worried about making their way back to the train while the boys still searched for Bunnelby.

"Aw, where'd it go? Come on," Ash whined.

"Huh. This fog is thicker than I thought," Goh said.

Ash furrowed his brow and held his hands up to his mouth, shouting, "Bunnelby!"

"Pika!" Pikachu called out.

"Ash, we should head back to the train," Serena suggested.

"But I wanna see Goh catch Bunnelby," Ash protested.

"Ash, look how thick the fog is. If we don't hurry, it'll be so thick that we might not be able to make our way back to the train," Serena said.

Ash stared intensely at the forest, still determined to find Bunnelby. Then he hung his head in defeat.

"Yeah, guess you're right," he said.

"Pika Pika," Pikachu said with its ears hanging low.

Serena smiled, relieved that her beloved was listening to reason. She turned her head to talk to Goh, but her smile disappeared as she realized Goh was not where she last saw him. Serena looked around the forest, growing worried by the second as she saw no sign of Goh, Sobble, or Raboot.

"Ash, Goh's gone," she said.

Ash turned around to find no one but Serena and Pikachu beside him. He looked deep into the forest to find his friends, but he could only see as far as a few trees with the thick fog surrounding them.

"He's probably still looking for Bunnelby," Ash said. "We better go find him quickly."

Ash felt something firmly grab his hand, and he turned his head to see Serena standing close to him with a serious look.

"Let's hold hands, so we don't lose each other," she said.

Ash smirked and nodded before they walked deeper into the forest hand in hand, with Pikachu walking ahead of them on all fours. Serena tried to keep track of where they were so they could retrace their steps, but all she could see were trees and bushes with nothing standing out. Ash began to grow as concerned as Serena as they began calling out to their friends.

"Goh? Where are ya?!" He shouted.

"Sobble! Raboot! Answer us!" Serena called out.

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted.

But try as they might, there was no sight or sound of Goh and his Pokemon anywhere. Suddenly, Pikachu's ears perked up, and it stopped walking, staring at the direction ahead of it curiously.

"Pika?" It asked.

"What's up, Pikachu?" Ash asked.

Pikachu stood still for a moment before it growled and made a defensive stance. The sound of echos surrounded the area, confusing Ash and Serena. They looked around until they heard the rustling sound of footsteps. It didn't sound like a person's footsteps or a small Pokémon like Sobble, Raboot, or Bunnelby, but the sound of something tall and four-legged. Serena stepped closer to Ash. Yellow sparks came out of Pikachu's red cheeks as it prepared to attack what was coming to them. On the other hand, Ash looked confused as a figure came out from the fog and stopped right in front of them.

The creature was a large, cyan lupine-like being with yellow eyes, a pink tail, and pink braids going down the side of its body. Two pink fringes of fur were on its back, battle scars on its sides, and part of its left ear was missing. The Pokémon stared at Ash, Serena, and Pikachu, making no sound to imply if it was going to pass by them or was going to attack. Pikachu glared at the lupine-like creature with sparks still coming out of its cheeks while Ash took out his Rotom Phone.

"Who's that Pokémon?" He asked.

Rotom scanned the Pokémon for a couple of seconds before an error sign popped up on the screen.

"This Pokémon does not match any recorded data," Rotom said.

"A new kind of Pokémon?" Serena asked.

"No way," Ash said in shock.

Suddenly, the Pokémon's eyes glowed yellow. It let out a low growl and pounced at Ash, Serena, and Pikachu with its mouth wide open, showing its sharp teeth. Ash, Serena, and Pikachu jumped away, and Ash's shock turned into a competitive smirk.

"This is what it's all about! Let's have a battle!" He shouted.

"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu shouted.

The new Pokémon stood still, waiting patiently for Ash to make his move. After several seconds of silence, Ash's smirk grew, and he held a fist out to the unknown Pokémon.

"Now, Pikachu, Iron Tail, let's go!" He shouted.

Pikachu jumped into the air with its tail glowing white and did several flips before it swung its tail at the Pokémon's face. But instead of making contact, Pikachu phased through the Pokémon, finding itself standing completely behind the wild creature. Pikachu got on all fours again, ready for another attack, but the wild Pokémon remained still. Ash and Serena looked at the Pokemon flabbergasted.

"Whoa, did you see that?" Ash asked.

"It went right through," Serena said.

The Pokémon let out an unearthly low growl, and the fog grew thicker until the Pokémon was beyond the trainers and Pikachu's line of sight. Ash, Serena, and Pikachu looked around as the fog surrounded them, wondering if the strange Pokémon was going to attack again. Serena grabbed Ash by the bottom of his jacket before it became too hard to see him, and, on instinct, Ash wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a protective hug. Serena tightly hugged Ash back as, within seconds, all they could see was white. And then, they blacked out.