It was early the following day, and Timothy, Coovers, and Electchu had finished breakfast at Professor Magnolia and Sonia's house. Timothy and Coovers packed their things with Timothy making sure he had his letter of endorsement in his jeans pockets, and Professor Magnolia and Sonia walked the two men and Electchu to the train station in Wedgehurst. After Timothy and Coovers had bought their tickets, they turned to Professor Magnolia and Sonia, with Timothy giving them a polite smile.

"Thank you, ladies, for your hospitality, and Sonia, thank you, especially for the food," he said.

"It's my pleasure," Sonia said with a bright smile. "Don't be a stranger here."

"I wouldn't dream of it, madame," Coovers said with a kittenish look. "I hope we will be seeing each other again very soon."

Sonia nodded before her grandmother stepped up and gestured to Timothy and Coovers to come close to her.

"Remember, the fate of Galar may rest in your plan," she whispered. "Do everything you have to do to ensure that Chairman Rose's dream does not come to pass."

"Don't worry, Professor. We understand what's at stake," Coovers assured. He turned his head to Timothy with a confident smirk. "Timothy's Collected Gym badges in Pokémon Leagues from Kanto to Kalos. He knows the drill. Plus, he has his best Pokémon team. Isn't that right, Timbo?"

"That's right," Timothy said, looking at the Pokémon Professor deep in the eye. "Professor, I will do whatever it takes to earn the chairman's trust. My Pokémon and I won't hold back. You have my word."

Professor Magnolia smiled in approval and looked past Timothy to look at the clock on the wall.

"You three better get going, or you're going to miss your train," she said.

Coovers turned his head and looked at the clock.

"Oh boy, you're right," he said. "Hope to see you again when we're done."

"Absolutely," Sonia said with a bright smile. "I'll make a nice meal to celebrate when the Gym Challenge is over."

Coovers gave his crush another dreamy look and said, "I'd like that."

Timothy rolled his eyes and lightly pushed Coovers to make him walk. He turned his head and waved at Professor Magnolia and Sonia, calling, "Goodbye, Professor. See you later, Sonia."

"Raichu!" Electchu shouted as it waved with its partner.

"Goodbye, Timothy! Best of luck!" Sonia called out as she and Professor Magnolia waved back.

Timothy, Coovers, and Electchu waved until the Pokemon Professor and her granddaughter was out of sight. They got on the train heading to Motostoke, showed their tickets to the conductor, and found a table to sit on just a few minutes before the train began to depart. As the train grew farther away from Wedgehurst, Coovers rested his head with his arms and stared at the sky with a blissful smile, his mind still on Sonia. He then turned to Timothy, sitting opposite him and playing a game on his Rotom phone while Electchu sat next to him and watched.

"Hey, Timothy?" Coovers said.

"Hmmm?" Timothy hummed, his eyes still on his phone.

"Do you remember when we parted ways with Ash, Serena, Brock, and the rest of our friends in Viridian City?" Coovers asked.

Timothy scoffed with his mouth closed and said, "You mean when Serena kissed Ash, and he was still clueless about her feelings? How can I forget?"

Coovers chuckled before he said, "But do you remember what happened after that? You talked to Ash about how there may be more important things than being a Pokémon Trainer and told me you might be a little interested in that."

Timothy stopped playing his game and looked up at his friend with a suspicious look.

"What are you getting at?" He asked.

"Well, it's been about two years, so have you been thinking about maybe finding a special lady in your life?" Coovers asked.

Timothy rolled his eyes and said, "No, I haven't. "

"Oh, come on!" Coovers shouted. "I thought you really meant it."

"Well, I haven't had many opportunities to dwell on it since then," Timothy claimed. "After defeating Team Rocket, it was back to training and trying to win more Pokémon Leagues as usual."

Coovers groaned and said, "Timothy, if you keep focusing solely on being a Pokémon trainer, you'll be no better than Ash. Say what you will about that boy, but his passion for making Serena happy led to him defeating you at the Indigo League."

"I also said I don't know how I can look for someone special while still pursuing my dream," Timothy pointed out. "All I can do is keep moving forward, and maybe I'll find someone."

"But what if you can't really do that without someone special?" Coovers asked. "What if the motivation to make someone smile like Ash did was the key to defeating Drake?"

"Coovers, if dating someone was the key to winning Pokémon battles, then everyone would want a boyfriend or a girlfriend just for that," Timothy said. "Besides, I don't hear you going on many dates in your spare time while working for the International Police."

Coovers winced and said, "Yeah? Well, at least I found someone I want to pursue."

"And you think you have a chance with Sonia?" Timothy challenged.

"Maybe. We did have a nice time shopping yesterday," Coovers said.

"Oh, nice time shopping? Well, that settles it. I can hear wedding bells already," Timothy said sarcastically, earning a snicker from Electchu and a glare from Coovers. "Seriously though, Coovers, I get that you worry about me. I really do, but we can't focus on that now when we need to focus on nabbing the chairman. Even if you hit it off with Sonia and I find someone I want to date, that won't mean anything if the entire region is destroyed."

Coovers opened his mouth to protest but stopped himself, begrudgingly accepting that Timothy had a point. Timothy took Coovers's silence as permission to go back to his game. As the two of them and Electchu sat in silence, they began to hear the other passengers whispering among themselves. Timothy, Coovers, and Electchu turned their heads to see people and Pokémon looking worried as the sky suddenly grew dark. They looked outside the window to see the sky covered by a blanket of red clouds.

"What is going on?" Coovers asked. "Is the chairman carrying out his plan already?"

"I hope not," Timothy said.

"Raichu," Electchu said worryingly with its ears hanging low.

Suddenly, while the train was turning around a hill, the train driver blew its horn, and the train began screeching to a stop. People and Pokemon panicked, struggling to stay in their seats until the train stopped. Timothy, Coovers, and Electchu held on to their seats as the ground shook violently and the clouds suddenly cleared away, letting the morning sun shine over the Wild Area again.

"Attention, ladies and gentlemen, we are experiencing some technical difficulties," the train driver said through the speakers. "A Pokémon Dynamaxed in the middle of the tracks, and we are stopping for the next 10 minutes. We apologize for the inconvenience."

"A Pokémon was Dynamaxing?!" Timothy shouted in alarm. "Is he saying it grew gigantic at random?"

"I don't know, but if this has to do with the chairman, we should check it out while the train isn't moving," Coovers suggested.

Timothy nodded, and the two of them and Electchu got out of their seats and went outside. They walked over to the front of the train, where they saw a tan, sixteen-year-old boy with black hair and red stripes talking to a Pokémon that looked like a white rabbit. The train driver was also outside, staring at the polls for the railroad crossing that were bent. Lying down near to them was a Snorlax snoring softly.

"Looks like we missed all the action," Timothy said.

"Do you think it was that Snorlax or that little Pokémon that grew gigantic?" Coovers asked.

"Maybe," Timothy said. "But if either of them did, why did they suddenly Dynamax? Did they suddenly become victims of the chairman's plan or...?"

Timothy's voice suddenly died in his throat as he, Coovers, and Electchu made it to the front of the train to see another sixteen-year-old boy with raven hair with a Pikachu on his shoulder and a sixteen-year-old girl with honey blonde hair. The two teenagers had their backs to them, watching the other teenager celebrate with the Rabbit Pokémon sitting on his arm. Timothy, Coovers, and Electchu stared in shock for several seconds before Coovers smiled.

"Ash! Serena!" He called out.

Ash and Serena turned their heads, and their faces lit up as Serena shouted, "Coovers!"

"Timothy!" Ash shouted.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu shouted.

The teenagers and Pikachu ran toward their friends, with Pikachu and Electchu running toward each other and began playing. Serena hugged Coovers, who chuckled as he hugged her back while Ash and Timothy high-fived each other.

"I can't believe you guys are here." Ash said.

"I can't believe you are here." Coovers said. "I thought you were traveling to collect Contest Ribbons, Serena."

"And I thought you were in Alola, Ash." Timothy said.

Serena and Ash smiled, and the former said, "I'm still collecting Ribbons, but now we're research fellows for Professor Cerise in Vermillion City with our friend, Goh."

"Goh? Who's Goh?" Timothy asked.

"That would be me," the tan boy answered as he walked over to them with the Rabbit Pokémon walking behind him. "Are you two friends of Ash and Serena?"

"We sure are. I'm Coovers, this is Timothy, and the Raichu there is his partner, Electchu. We crossed paths with Ash and Serena a lot when we were all traveling in the Kanto region," Coovers said.

"And Ash is my rival," Timothy added.

"Cool. Nice to meet you," Goh said before pointing at the rabbit-like Pokemon next to him. "This is my partner, Scorbunny. I just captured it."

"Scorbunny." Scorbunny said with a big grin.

"Scorbunny, huh?" Timothy said as he took out his Rotom Phone and scanned the Pokémon.

"Scorbunny. The Rabbit Pokémon. A Fire type." Rotom said in a feminine voice. "Once Scorbunny is ready for battle, the pads above its nose and under its feet give off intense heat. The soles on its feet are also said to bring good luck."

"So, what brings you two to Galar?" Serena asked.

"I'm going to compete in the Galar League," Timothy said.

"The Galar League?!" Ash shouted with stars in his eyes. "Galar has a Pokémon League?!"

Serena and Goh chuckled, with the former shaking her head. She took a step closer to Ash and took his hand.

"Calm down, Ash." she said.

Timothy also chuckled and asked, "Did you really not know that there's a Pokémon League here?"

"Um, Timothy, I think the real question is what is with the hand holding?" Coovers stated.

Timothy turned to Coovers, confused, and Coovers pointed at Ash and Serena. He turned back to the teenagers, and his confusion turned into a mixture of confusion and shock. Ash and Serena looked down to find that the two men were staring at their hands clasped together. They turned away, with Serena's cheeks turning pink and Ash scratching the bottom of his nose, but they did not let go of each other's hands.

"Ash, Serena, what's going on?" Timothy asked.

Serena's blush grew, and she turned her head back to Timothy and Coovers.

"Well, you see...."

****************************************************************************************************

Several miles east from the train, a female Unfezant and its three baby Pidove were napping on a nest up on a tree. The Pidove snuggled beside Unfezant while their mother laid its wing on them.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake, and the bird-like Pokémon instantly woke up at the sound of two screaming male voices.

"ASH DID WWWWHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTT!?!?!?!"

The Unfezant and Pidove flapped their wings vigorously as the ground shook so violently that their nest fell off the tree branch. When the ground stopped shaking, Unfezant and Pidove landed on the branch, the little ones shaking in alarm while their mother let out an annoyed caw, wanting to attack whoever disturbed their nap.

************************************************************************************************

The train eventually began moving again, and Timothy and Coovers convinced the train conductor to let Ash, Serena, Goh, Pikachu, and Scorbunny on board. The five humans and three Pokémon found a table large enough to sit together, and Ash and Serena began telling their stories of what they had been up to since they parted ways at Viridian City. Timothy and Coovers listened with intrigue as Serena talked about competing in Pokémon contests in the Johto region. Ash told them about his adventures in Alola, including competing in the Alola League. They then gave the full story of how Ash went to find Serena at Indigo Plateau and confessed his love for her, which left Timothy and Coovers even more stunned. Finally, Ash, Serena, and Goh explained how they became Research Fellows and all their adventures since then, finishing with what happened on the train tracks.

"So, you're telling me that red orbs of energy entered Snorlax's body, causing it to grow gigantic, and the only way to revert it back to normal size was to give it a large piece of fruit attached to the tree on its stomach?" Coovers asked.

"Yep, pretty much," Goh said.

Coovers chuckled in astonishment and said, "Pokémon can grow gigantic without Dynamax Bands. This is crazy."

"I'll say," Timothy said before looking away and muttering to himself with a dumbstruck look, "Seriously, a Snorlax growing gigantic with trees and fruit coming out of its stomach, and Ash confessing his love first? How is this real-life?"

Ash and Goh chuckled while Serena smiled brightly and said, "It was an incredible experience. Have you guys not seen a Pokemon Dynamax before?"

"No, but we've heard about it," Coovers said. "In fact, Timothy will need to Dynamax his Pokémon when partaking in the Gym Challenge."

"What's the Gym Challenge?" Serena asked.

"It's the term they use for collecting Gym Badges for the Galar League," Timothy explained.

"Wow, sounds awesome. I want to do the Gym Challenge," Ash said.

"Pikachu," Pikachu said in agreement.

"Ash, we have to go back and report to Professor Cerise," Goh said.

"Oh, right," Ash said, defeated.

"And besides, you can't compete without a letter of endorsement and have to be at the Motostoke Gym for the opening ceremony to compete," Timothy said. "That's where we're going."

"You need a letter of endorsement? That's silly," Serena said.

"Tell me about it. What annoys me more is Alola has a Pokemon League, and I didn't know about it. I speak for my Pokémon when I say we would have liked to have a rematch with you, Ash," Timothy said, giving Ash a competitive look.

Ash smirked and said, "That would've been awesome, but I would have beaten you again and still won the league, no doubt."

"Pikachu," Pikachu said.

"I doubt it. My Pokémon have gotten much stronger since we've last seen each other," Timothy said. "In fact, why don't we have a full-on battle when we get to Motostoke?"

"Raichu!" Electchu shouted in agreement.

"Timothy, we don't have time for that. You need to be at the opening ceremony, and we need to start traveling to the first Gym right after that," Coovers said.

"Oh. Yeah. Right," Timothy grumbled.

"And besides, I only have Pikachu with me," Ash said. "All of my other Pokémon are back in Pallet Town."

"Pikachu," Pikachu said.

"Phooey," Timothy said. "Well, the next time we meet, I would like to have enough time for us to battle again. Got it?"

"You bet," Ash replied, his smirk growing as he raised his hand to his head and turned it into a fist. "And when we do, I'm going to win no matter what."

Goh turned to Serena and asked, "Are they often like this?"

"They sure are," Serena said with a smile. "Comes with being rivals."

"Pika, Pika," Pikachu said.

Coovers chuckled and nodded in agreement while Timothy and Ash still gave each other competitive stares. The moment was broken when Coovers looked out the window and saw that the train was getting close to a city made of bricks. He elbowed Timothy and said, "Looks like we're at Monostoke."

Timothy looked out the window and frowned as he said, "Looks like it. I wish we had more time with you guys."

"Don't worry. We'll definitely see each other again," Ash said with a toothy grin.

Serena nodded in agreement before she realized something and asked, "Hey, do you guys have Rotom phones?"

Timothy and Coovers looked at the honey blonde girl, surprised, and the latter said, "Yeah, we do. Since when do you guys have Rotom Phones?"

"Since we became Research Fellows at Professor Cerise's Lab." Ash answered.

"Well, that's lucky," Timothy said. "Why don't we exchange contact info?"

"Sounds good to me," Ash said with another toothy grin.

The five of them gave each other their Rotom Phones and added their numbers. By the time they returned them, the train had come to a complete stop in Motostoke Station.

"Well, this is us," Coovers said. "Catch you guys later."

"You bet," Ash said. "Good luck at the Galar League, Timothy."

"Thanks, Ash, and don't forget, be ready for a battle next time we meet," Timothy said, pointing at Ash.

The raven-haired boy smirked and nodded.

"It was nice meeting you," Goh said.

"Same to you, Goh," Coovers said. "Take care, Serena."

"You too," Serena said.

With their goodbyes said, Timothy, Coovers, and Electchu began walking toward the exit. But when they were halfway there, Timothy stopped. He debated with himself before he turned around and jogged back to Ash, Serena, Goh, Pikachu, and Scorbunny. The kids heard him run back, and they turned their heads just as he stopped next to Serena, who was sitting at the end of their side of the table. The honey blonde girl looked at Timothy, confused, as he gave her a warm smile.

"Serena, I just want to say I'm happy for you," Timothy said. "I hope for the best with your goal achieved."

It took a moment before Serena realized he was referring to her relationship with Ash, and she smiled brightly.

"Thank you, Timothy. I really appreciate it," she said.

Timothy's smile grew, and he looked up at Ash, saying, "You better take care of your girlfriend, Ash."

"You don't have to worry about that, Timothy," Ash assured. "I want to always see Serena be happy no matter what."

Serena turned her head to her boyfriend with a loving look, which he returned with a smile. Timothy nodded in approval and said, "Well, see you guys later."

"Bye, Timothy!" Serena called out as Timothy ran to catch up with Coovers and Electchu.

The three of them exited the train just before the doors closed. They waved at Ash, Serena, Goh, Pikachu, and Scorbunny, who waved back as the train started moving. When the two men and Electchu were out of sight, Ash and Goh took out their Rotom Phones and started playing a game on them while Pikachu and Scorbunny watched. Serena scooted closer to Ash and rested her head on his shoulder, deciding to take a nap after an exciting adventure. She smiled in bliss as she closed her eyes for a moment before she opened her eyes and frowned.

"That's right. I didn't ask Timothy what H.A.K. stands for now that I've won a Grand Festival," she thought. Serena's smile then returned after a couple of seconds, and she closed her eyes again as she thought, "Oh, well. I'll have a chance to bring up our bargain. It's like Ash said; we'll see them again."