Ash decides to prepare for a day before heading to the Hoenn Region, Arceus knows that having both Ash and Lillie alone won't be able to stop Team Rocket as it is the biggest criminal organization. So she decides to search for volunteers, and eventually, she finds a company that might be willing to help Ash and Lillie: The Macro Cosmos in the Galar Region.

The chairman of Macro Cosmos: Rose, is now sitting in his office while looking into the documents until Oleana knocks on the door and informs him that they have visitors. The visitor is Mewtwo in disguise, and he says, "You must be Chairman Rose, is that right?"

"Who are you? And why do you want to meet me?" Rose asks with a suspicious tone.

"Let's say I am a friend of your nephew: Ash Ketchum. And he needs your help." Mewtwo says.

Chairman Rose widens his eyes as it has been a long time since he has heard the name, he gives a serious face and says, "I'm listening."

That afternoon, Delia gets a call from Chairman Rose, she asks, "Rose? What do you want?"

Rose says, "Hello, Delia. I'm going to visit you guys, is Ash still here in the Kanto Region?"

Delia blinks with surprise and says, "Of course he is, but why the sudden visit? Aren't you busy in the Galar Region?"

"It's true that I'm busy these days, but I can take some time off as long as I'm meeting with Ash right now." Rose replies.

Delia sighs as she nods, "Okay. I'll inform Ash about it."

After ending the call, Delia tells Ash that Rose is coming and that he is excited to see him again. He also shares the news with Lillie, so that she will be meeting him as well. When asking Delia if she wants to meet him, Delia refuses since she has to go to the League building, so it will be only Ash, or so she thinks.

"Uncle Rose! It's so great to see you again!" Ash hugs his uncle after greeting him.

"Hello, Ash. Too bad that Delia can't come as well." Rose says with a smile. "Look at you, you're the League Winner of the Johto League."

"Yeah." Ash says as he turns to Lillie, "Lillie, this is my uncle from my mother's side, he is also the head of the biggest cooperation in Galar Region."

"It...it's nice to meet you..." Lillie says while bowing at him.

"Don't worry, Lillie. Mohn and Lusamine have been my old friends." Rose says with a smile. "Anyway, I have to admit that you're getting a great process of having a girlfriend right now."

"I know, but we tend to keep our relationship a secret even from our families. We just don't want to get too many problems once the news spread out." Ash says with a little begging tone.

Rose says, "But that would be easier for the offer I'm giving you two. A friend of yours has asked me to aid you guys with the future that you're dreaming of. And that's why I have an offer to you.'

Ash and Lillie realize that Arceus is the one that asks Chairman Rose to help them, and Lillie asks, "And what will that be?"

Chairman Rose says, "We of the Marco Cosmos have connections with the Narauva Academy located in the Paldea Region. They provide online classes so you can learn anything you want."

"That sounds great." Ash says. "Narauva Academy is quite famous. I always wanted to enroll there, the only problem is my age, though..."

"Yes, they only enroll those who are over 15 years old, and the two of you aren't." Rose says. "That's why Director Clavell of the academy is nice enough to provide you programs instead."

"That will be nice, thank you." Lillie says.

"And I also have some presents for you." Chairman Rose gives them each an endorsement. "These are the endorsements from our Champion Leon of the Galar League. I wish that the both of you can partake in the league over there once your Hoenn League challenge is completed."

"Is that so? Uncle?" Ash says, "Why can't we do it now? I am sure that we can go there."

"That's because our league is different from the other leagues, if you want to enter the Galar League, you have to attend the open ceremony in Motostoke City. Which won't be happening until next year." Rose says. "But I am sure you will attend it, right?"

"We will try our best." Ash and Lillie say in unison, and Rose smiles, "Good, now that my work here is done, I should be heading back to my office."

Once the Chairman leaves, Arceus says, "So you got an endorsement to the Galar League and a package of all the online courses, that sure is some wonderful news."

"I know." Ash says, "Uncle Rose is so nice... and these programs will also help with the upcoming journey as well."

"But we still have work to do... and I don't know if I have the time to watch them..." Lillie frowns.

"Don't worry, you'll be staying at the Aether Foundation, right? I'm sure you can just watch them without any problem." Ash says.

Arceus says, "You know, I have been wondering about something."

"And what is it? Arceus?" Ash asks.

"I want you to tell me everything about a Company and how it works." Arceus says.

Ash and Lillie look at each other and they giggle a little. "Sure, it is not a big deal." Ash says.

"But something tells me that there are more..." Lillie mutters.

After the explanation, Arceus requests them to make a company on their own, which causes them to get pale. "But establishing a company is not an easy walk in the park. It needs a lot of money, staff, and even the grounds, not to mention that we keep our relationship a secret, how are we going to do it without the others noticing us as the presidents?"

"You don't need to worry about that, remember who I am? I can help you with it. But you'll have to do the easy part on your own." Arceus says.

"Now I think I am going to regret this..." Lillie frowns.

"Don't worry, Lillie. We will like to have a great challenge." Ash says to Lillie.

The two of them are thinking of how the company will go and the possible places to establish, not to mention the type of company they are going to set up. All of them are brainstorming and it is until an hour that the two of them are exhausted. But the way that both of them are talking will make others seem like they are a happy couple who are thinking of raising a family.

"Besides going to the Hoenn Region, how about we also travel around the Johto Region with the two of us together?" Ash asks. "Since we have the power to teleport, we can just go to a few places instead of walking through all of the places on foot."

"That will be nice." Lillie says. "And you're also going to capture new Pokemon as well, right?"

"Of course..." Ash says with a smile. "It will be great to have more Pokemon to help us out."

After Delia returns, Lillie has already left for the research camp. Delia and Ash are having dinner at the table when Delia asks, "So Ash, what did Rose tell you when he comes to visit?"

Ash says, "He is congratulating me on the Johto League, and he decides to give me the endorsement of the Galar League and the online classes package of the Narauva Academy in the Paldea Region. So that during my free time in the Hoenn Region, I can just watch those online lessons without attending there."

"Is that so?" Delia says with a slight surprise. "I'm happy that he did this to you, but are you sure you'll be able to learn everything from those classes? Lessons from Narauva Academy are pretty hard for those your age."

"I'm fine, Mom." Ash says. "My dream is to become a Pokemon Master, but I also want to try out new things other than just Pokemon Battling. No matter how hard it takes, I won't give up until it's over."

Delia smiles, she is very proud of her son, if only Adam was there to see him... and by thinking of Adam, Delia frowns again. Ash notices the frown and asks, "Mom? Are you thinking about Dad again?"

Delia flinches a little and she says, "Don't worry, it's nothing. I'm sure that your father will return safe and sound."

Ash nods and he continues to eat the dinner in silence. That night, Ash and Lillie are having an online call. Arceus says, "Ash, Lillie... this is what Mewtwo found at the Cinnabar Lab, I think you should see this."

Lillie looks at one document, and she is surprised, "What is this? By transferring the powers of Legendary, Mythical, and Ultra Beasts, creating the strongest Cyborgs in the world? Are they nuts?"

Ash asks, "What is a cyborg?"

"Cyborgs are human beings that are experimented with mechanical properties, they will become half-human half-robot. I have seen some horror movies about how some people are taken by force and become cyborgs, their free will are taken and they have only the means to conquer or kill with the weapons attached to their body..." Lillie says.

"This is disgusting." Ash grits in anger. "How could they just do something so inhumane? And how many cyborgs are going to be there?"

Arceus appears beside them and she says, "About that, I might be able to tell you, besides the normal base, Team Rocket has set up 18 bases and this lab in all 9 regions."

"18 bases? That sure is a lot...and we also have Team Magma, Team Aqua, Team Galactic, Team Plasma, Team Flare, and Team Skull to get rid of... I guess with great power comes great responsibility." Lillie says.

Ash says, "18 bases sure are a lot, but what I want to know is how we are going to deal with those cyborgs. We don't know if they'll separate the cyborgs or not?"

Lillie sighs, "I guess that's why we are going to search for them on our own. Team Rocket won't be setting their bases on places that will get in the other team's way, and those cyborgs need the power to move on."

Lillie looks at the documents on the table and says, "We just need to gather more information from Team Rocket to find out more about these cyborgs, as well as what kind of power source they are using to move."

"You're right." Ash says, "And that's why Uncle Rose gave us the programs for technologies and engineering."

Lillie says, "Well, looks like our ship is about to arrive at the Alola Region, so we'll meet next weekend."

"Of course, see you." Ash says with a smile before ending the call, and he is also going to pack his things so that he will be taking the ferry to Hoenn tomorrow.

And I'll end the chapter right here, as you can see, this Secret Relationship is going to be a long one, considering that Ash and Lillie are also working together as a team to stop Team Rocket and the other villain teams. They will mostly deal with Team Rocket since the other teams will be destroyed just like in the anime. I hope you like this chapter and the next chapter will be the beginning of the journey arc.