After Ash and Goh returned to Cerise Laboratories with the necessary ingredients (and explaining to Professor Cerise why it took so long for them to go back), they introduced Serena to the Pokémon Professor. He told them that he'd already encountered her before and they explained that she wanted to come with them and also be a research assistant.

Professor Cerise was more than willing to welcome her.

And finally, after dinner and a change of clothes, the three of them were finally able to rest after the long day they had.

Little do they know, but the next day might be even more exhausting for them.

.......................................................................

Beep beep beep. Beep beep beep. Beep beep beep.

The alarm clock that Goh set on his Rotom-Phone has activated, signaling that it was morning and the boys should wake up. While his face was still pressed against his pillow, Goh reached out, grabbed his phone and turned the alarm off.

"Hey, Ash, it's morning already..." Goh groaned.

"Got it..." Ash replied, still half asleep.

"Seriously, Ash, you gotta get up..."

"So do you, you know...?

Even though they both acknowledged the fact that they were supposed to wake up, neither of them actually made an attempt to do so.

The door to their room opened and Chloe walked in, already dressed up. She took one glance at the boys and sighed loudly. She pulled out a megaphone out of nowhere and yelled:

"TIME TO WAKE UP!"

Needless to say, Ash, Goh, Pikachu and Scorbunny jumped when they heard Chloe's shriek. Don't worry, it's just her way of saying 'good morning'. Still, the boys didn't really appreciate it and fell out of their beds. Because the two shared a bunk-bed, Ash fell face first on the ground... and Goh fell and hit Ash.

"Good... you're awake..." Chloe said, placing her hands on her hips. "Dad called... he says he needs you two and that new girl at the meeting room as soon as possible..."

Ash and Goh groaned in pain, but managed to each give her a thumbs up.

"Next time maybe don't wake up the whole neighbourhood with us, Chloe..." Goh suggested, pain still eminent in his voice.

Chloe huffed and looked away from Goh with her face a little red. She ignored his suggestion and slammed the door shut after walking away.

"Is she still mad at me about what happened yesterday?" Goh asked.

"I don't know..." Ash moaned. "But now I know how Team Rocket must feel..."

"Pi Pikachu..."

"Bun Bun..."

.......................................................................

The boys quickly got dressed and walked into the main research area of Cerise Laboratories. Serena and Fennekin were waiting there, and the two marvelled at the amount of advanced technology they were seeing.

"It's amazing..." Serena said in awe.

"It sure is..." Ash said with a huge smile on his face.

"How else could things be?" Goh asked sarcastically. "Don't forget our special status here! We're this lab's three and only official research fellows!"

"And good morning to you too, boys..." Serena greeted them.

"Good morning..." Professor Cerise said as he walked into the room with Chloe, Yamper, Professor Kukui and one other individual.

"Good morning, Professors..." Ash greeted.

"You too, Ash!" Professor Kukui greeted back. "Did you sleep well?"

"Just like a log!" Ash exclaimed.

"Yep. The beds are so comfortable..." Goh said. "This place is the best!"

"I don't think I've ever had a more peaceful sleep..." Serena commented.

"Pika Chu!"

"Scor Bun!"

"Fennekin!"

As the professors and the research fellows were having their conversation, Chloe grabbed a bowl and filled it up with water.

"Yamper!" She called out, catching the Puppy Pokémon's attention. "I'm leaving your food and water right here, kay?"

"Yamp!"

Chloe placed the bowl of water on the floor next to a second bowl which was filled with Pokémon food. As soon as Yamper started its breakfast, Chloe stood up. "See you later!" She called out before walking towards the door.

"Right! You take care, Chloe!" Professor Cerise said.

"You could stay and research with us, you know that right?" Goh said, genuinely hoping that his friend would stay with them.

"I've... got my own research to do..." she said with a passive aggressive tone. "If you were ever around at school, you'd know that!"

And with that, she exited the building.

"I don't think she's mad at you just because of yesterday..." Ash whispered to Goh.

Before they could wonder more about Chloe, some guy ran into the lab yelling "I'm so sorry!" .

"My bus got caught in a huge traffic jam!" The guy panted, resting his hands on his knees.

"I guess I didn't have the chance to properly introduce you all..." Professor Cerise commented.

"Hi. I'm Ren..."

"And I have one other assistant..." Professor Cerise turned towards the individual who walked into the room with them. "Her name is..."

"Chrysa"

"Nice to meet'ya!" Ash exclaimed.

"Anyways..." Professor Cerise said. "I'm sorry I had to wake you up just to tell you this, but if you sleep for too long it can mess up your biological clock... because of how long yesterday's assignment took, I want to give you a day off..."

"Woah... thanks, Professor..." Goh said, crossing his arms.

Serena on the other hand, sighed. "Aw man... I could've slept for longer..."

"You'll get used to waking up early eventually..." Ash assured her. "I know I did!"

"Pika Pi..."

"Right..." Serena said, somehow instantly cheered up and enthusiastic. "If that's the case, can you show me around Centra City? I heard there's a boutique around here with the cutest clothes, and a bakery that has the best pastries you've ever tasted!"

"Alright! Now you're talkin'!" Ash exclaimed.

"I don't know about the boutique but you heard right about the bakery..." Goh said. "Why don't we all go there for breakfast?"

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Ash said.

"Pikachu!"

"What are we waiting for?!" Serena said with excitement. "Let's go!" She started running towards the door.

"Hey! What's the hurry?!" Goh yelled as he started running after Serena.

But before Ash could run after them, Professor Kukui placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Sorry for keeping you in a Bind for now..." he said. "But a lady came here yesterday and she wanted to give this to you..."

Professor Kukui pulled some sort of gem out of his pocket. It was carved into the shape of a diamond, had a semi-transparent light grey tone and had the image of a circle inside of two semi-circles at the center.

"What's that?" Ash asked.

"A Normalium-Z Crystal..." Professor Kukui explained. "On your first day here, Professor Cerise handed you that Z-Ring... well, with that Z-Crystal you can create a more powerful version of a Pokémon move; known as a Z-Move..."

"Awesome!" Ash called out. "I can't wait to use it!"

"Ash! Hurry up!" Goh popped his head back inside the lab.

"Gottago! Seeyalaterprofessor!" Ash mumbled super quick before running after his friends. Professor Kukui was left there smiling and reminiscing.

.......................................................................

After a bit of searching, and checking the map application on their Rotom-Phones, the three friends and research buddies found the bakery that Serena mentioned. Each of them ordered what they liked (for them and their Pokémon) and ate. Like always, Ash gobbled up his food like a food-vacuum, and the other two finished eating some time later.

"Man, that sure hit the spot..." Ash said as he rubbed his stomach.

"Kachu..."

"Sure did!" Serena chuckled. "Can we go check out that boutique, now?"

"I didn't see any boutique on the map..." Goh said. "If you wanna go there, I can't really help you..."

"That's no problem..." Serena said as she checked her purse. Before long she found what she was looking for and brought it out, exclaiming; "Ta-da!"

"What's that?" Ash asked.

"And what's with that 'ta-da'?" Goh also asked.

"It's a tablet my mom gave me for my birthday..." Serena decided to answer only Ash's question. "It can find almost anything if you type it: from groceries, to Pokémon supplies to even locations!"

"Wow! Science is so amazing!" Ash said in awe.

"Hold on..." Goh questioned. "How was your mother able to afford something more advance than Professor Cerise's state-of-the-art all-in-one Rotom-Phone?"

"Eh..." Serena froze. A comically large drop of sweat appeared on her forehead. "That doesn't matter! What matter is that according to it, the boutique is on the other side of Centra Park!"

"Great! We've spent a whole day there so we should know our way around there!" Ash said with above-average optimism.

Goh sighed. "Fine... let's go before I change my mind..."

The three of them got up and started walking towards the direction of the park.

"It's like they're multiplying..." murmured a really tiny person, who was reading a newspaper on a table right next to that which Ash, Serena and Goh were sitting moments earlier.

"So what? A twerp is still a twerp! Even if there's 10 of them!" Replied a purple haired woman, holding her newspaper a bit too close to her face.

"And that just means more Pokémon to get for the boss..." a blue haired man added, his face almost going through the newspaper in his hands.

"So let's get to work!" The tiny person said before dramatically putting their newspaper down, revealing that they were a talking Meowth with a pretty awful disguise.

"WOBBUFFET!"

.......................................................................

The three friends, and their partner Pokémon, were walking around a heavily wooded area of the park.

"As long as we're in the place we found Erika the other day, I'd really like to take a shot and look for another Gym Leader..." Ash said.

"Pikachu..."

"Ash..." Goh said. "It's probably a good idea to keep in mind that you haven't been in Pasio for long... so why don't you utilize your time to catch some more Pokémon?"

"Yeah! That's a good point..." Ash replied. He started to look around the area they were in while at the same time not straying away from their path too much. "Now, where's my next Pokémon hanging out?"

Goh sped up his pace a bit until he was walking next to Serena.

"So..." he said. "What made you decide to go on a journey?"

"Huh? Hmmm..." Serena thought that it would be best to show him. She smiled, closed her eyes and when she opened them again, she was looking at Ash.

She took something out of the pocket in her dress and walked over to the raven-haired boy. 

"I wanted to give this back to you..." Serena said, catching Ash's attention. "It's yours..."

She presented Ash with an old handkerchief. It was white with a blue line crossing its border and it had a Poké-Ball illustration right next to the line.

Ash's eyes widened at the sight of it. He was silent.

"Remember when we were talking about going to Professor Oak's Pokémon Summer Camp back when we were younger?" She asked.

"Y-yeah..." Ash stuttered.

"Well... you let me borrow this, way back then..."

"Hold on, Ash... this handkerchief's yours?" Goh asked.

"Yeah..." Serena answered on Ash's behalf. "I wanted to give it back to you for so long but never really had the chance to do it..."

She handed Ash the handkerchief.

"Thank you..." she said with a sweet smile.

"S-sure..." Ash stuttered again. Her story rung so many bells in his mind. He knew they met before in the Summer Camp, he just couldn't piece together the whole story.

"But then, when I saw the giant Drednaw news story on TV and saw it was you, I knew it was time for me to try to track you down!"

"Hold on!" Ash suddenly exclaimed. "No way! It really is you! The girl with the straw hat!"

Serena's cheeks turned a shade of pink and her smile widened when she realized that Ash did in fact remember her.

"And you came all that way just to give this back?"

"Not just that..." Serena said as she turned her back to Ash and took a few steps forward. "You see, I really wanted to see you..."

She stopped.

"But..." she continued. "I never guessed you wouldn't remember me at all..."

Serena puffed her cheeks angrily.

Ash gave an embarrassed giggle and scratched the back of his head. "Uh, yeah! Sorry about that..."

"Pika Pika..." Pikachu facepalmed.

The two started laughing. No particular reason.

"Wait! You mean you two were there when I saw Mew!" Goh said while pointing at the two.

"I guess I could've been there..." Ash said Mareep-ishly. "My memory of the whole thing's a little clouded, I just now remembered Serena and... WOAH!"

A sudden gust of wind surprised the three Trainers. It was quick, came from nowhere and was so strong it almost caused them to fall down.

"What was that?!" Serena gasped.

"I have no idea!" Goh replied. "It was so fast!"

Something then appeared in front of the three of them. Whatever it was it was hovering above the ground and looked like a Pokémon.

"What... what's that?" Goh murmured before checking his Rotom-Phone for the Pokédex.

No data available

"WHAT?!" Goh gasped in confusion. "This must be some sort of never before seen Pokémon!" He took out a Poké-Ball from his pocket. "And I'm gonna catch it! Poké-Ball... GO!"

He threw his Poké-Ball towards the mysterious Pokémon. It barely moved its head and a spark of electricity shot out of its body, hitting the Poké-Ball and completely destroying it, much to everyone's shock.

Ash's Froakie suddenly popped out of its Poké-Ball on its own and charged towards the Pokémon.

"What?! Froakie, wait!" Ash called out for the Bubble Frog Pokémon too little too late.

Froakie jumped into the air and put its hands in front of its body. It formed a light blue ball of energy in between them. It then pushed the ball with its hands, slightly making it smaller. It then throws the orb at the Pokémon.

The front of the Pokémon's wings glowed a metallic blue and silver before swatting it at Froakie's Water Pulse, causing it to be completely destroyed.

Before anyone else could do anything else, the Pokémon pointed at Ash.

"Huh?" Ash said. "Wait... what's going on...?"

The Pokémon emitted a sound that could be described as a combination of a growl and a chirp. It pointed again, this time towards Pikachu.

"I think..." Ash pondered. "I think it wants to have a battle..."

"Koko..." the Pokémon nodded.

"Are you sure about this, Ash...?" Goh asked.

"We don't want you to get hurt..." Serena added.

There was a moment of silence, during which Ash and Pikachu were staring at the mysterious Pokémon. Soon enough, they smiled.

"You got yourself a deal!" He exclaimed. "I choose you, Pikachu!"

"Pika Pika!"

Pikachu hopped in front of Ash.

After the Pokémon did what can only be described as a song, it released multiple bolts of yellow electricity from its body, causing its body and the surrounding area to glow yellow.

"An Electric Terrain...?" Goh murmured. "But that Pokémon didn't even use a move..."

https://youtu.be/cKr616BOslU

The front of the Pokémon's wings once again glowed a metallic blue and silver. It charged at Pikachu and hit him with one of its Steel Wings, moving so fast it appeared to disappear for a moment.

Pikachu was sent sliding across the ground, but was able to regain his balance.

The Pokémon then released a bright white light from its body. It then flies in the air and rainbow colored rays of light come from the white light. The rainbow colored rays then shoot out towards Pikachu.

"Dodge it!"

Pikachu quickly managed to evade the rainbow-colored beams that were about to hit him.

"Awesome!" Ash congratulated. "Now let's show it what we can do! Use Thunderbolt!"

After Pikachu leaped into the air, his cheeks crackled with yellow electricity before releasing a powerful bolt of yellow electricity from his body at the Pokémon. Pikachu's Thunderbolt scored a direct hit, and exploded in the Pokémon's face.

"Way to go!" Ash exclaimed with excitement and a smile on his face.

His smile soon faded when he saw that Pikachu's attack appeared to have done next to nothing.

"It didn't do a thing!" Serena said.

"That's got to be one powerful Pokémon..." Goh added.

"Powerful enough for the boss, that's for sure..." Jessie whispered from behind a bush.

"If we're able to catch it, that is..." James whispered back.

The Pokémon then began to charge at Ash. Frightened, Ash crossed his arms in front of his face, trying to shield himself. This caused the Pokémon to stop dead in its tracks. The Pokémon simply touched Ash's Z-Ring and this caused the thing to suddenly come to life. It emitted a bright yellow light and blue sparks started flying everywhere. Ash realized this and looked at his wrist. Looking underneath the light, Ash noticed a different Z-Crystal suddenly manifesting itself on his Z-Ring. It looked just like his Normalium-Z but was yellow and had the image of a lightning bolt.

The Pokémon hovered away from Ash and Pikachu.

"Wait a minute..." Ash said in realization. "You want me to use it?!"

Ash looked down at his wrist.

"The Z-Ring... and an Electric type Z-Move..." Ash looked amazed for a few more seconds before smiling wide and bringing his arm in front of his body, showing the Pokémon the glowing Z-Ring. "I have no idea how to do this... but I'll try!" Ash swung his arm to the side, leaving behind a yellow and blue trail. "Kay, Pikachu! Let's show our Z-Move!"

"Pikachu!"

"Alright!" Ash said as he once again crossed his arms. This time, the same lightning bolt symbol that was on the crystal flashed in front of him as the crystal started to emit a bright yellow light. At the same time, something tucked under Ash's shirt started glowing as well, with all the colors of the rainbow. He spread his arms apart in a semi-circle formation, and Pikachu appeared to be mimicking Ash's movements.

On the opposite side of the Battlefield, the Pokémon brought its wings forward (with one on top of the other), as if it was teaching Ash how to do the Z-Move.

Ash and Pikachu did the same before sliding their left foot to the side and then bringing their left arm the front of their bodies and then circling them over their heads and finally striking a pose that is semi-reminiscent of a lightning bolt.

"Go! Pikachu!" An electric aura surrounded Ash's body and streams of energy fly out of said aura and into Pikachu. Pikachu absorbs the energy beams and is also temporarily surrounded by an electric aura, before it disbursed, causing a Z esque shape to flash in front of Pikachu's body.

"Pika!"

Pikachu gathered all the Z-Power that was building up inside of him to form a giant ball of electricity.

"Here we go... full power..." Ash and Pikachu once again started moving in unison, bringing their fists backwards and readying to throw a punch. "NOW!"

Pikachu used his fist to launched the powerful ball of electricity at the mysterious Pokémon, and the impact resulted in a massive explosion.

If you really concentrated you could barely hear three voices yelling: "WE'RE BLASTING OFF AGAIN!"

After the dust cleared, Ash stared forward, just having opened his eyes (because he was trying to shield himself).

"So that's a Z-Move..." he murmured. "Aw man..."

Pikachu was just laying there, panting like crazy.

"I don't believe it..." Serena muttered.

"That was amazing..." Goh muttered as well.

"Fenn..."

"Scor Bun..."

"Fro..."

Everybody soon recieved a shock of a different kind when they saw that the mysterious Pokémon appeared to not have suffered a scratch from that massive attack, having used its wings as a shield.

Nobody was able to say or do anything before the Pokémon flew away.

"KOKOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

.......................................................................

"YOU GUYS MET TAPU-KOKO?!" Professor Kukui exclaimed in shock, almost causing him to drop the Pokémon food he was carrying for one of the Pokémon he was taking care of.

"Tapu-Koko?" Ash, Goh and Serena replied in unison.

"Tapu-Koko is the Guardian Deity of Melemele Island... the Island of Alola I was born and raised in..." Professor Kukui explained. "The description and powers you gave sounded exactly like it!"

Ash took a look at his Z-Ring with his newly acquired Electrium-Z. "I guess we did..."

Professor Kukui gave a heartfelt laugh at how nonchalantly Ash said he met and battled a Legendary Pokémon.

"Listen, Ash..." Professor Kukui said. "I'm very impressed by this turn of events... and since you actually met the Legendary Guardian of the Ruins of Conflict, what do you say I bring my students from Alola over here and you can tell them what you experienced?"

"Sure!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pikachu!"

"Wonderful!" Professor Kukui shouted. "It might take a few weeks until all the arrangements are made, but keep that in mind, kay?"

Ash nodded.

"So... what now?" Goh asked.

"Yeah... it's getting late..." Serena added.

"Now, we get a good night's rest..." Ash said. "Tomorrow's gonna be waiting for us... and until then..." Ash turned to face his friends. "I'm really psyched to find out what our next adventure will be!"

"Pikachu!"

Goh and Serena nodded and gave determined smiles.

Ash and Pikachu have made some interesting revelations! First re-discovering where Ash and Serena met in the past, and then being challenged by the Legendary Tapu-Koko! How will these events affect the course of their path...?

"Good night, Ash..." Goh said as he got into bed.

"G'night, Goh..." Ash replied, having already laid down. He yawned and fell asleep almost right away with Pikachu next to him.

Ash's jacket was hanging on a nearby desk when something under it began to sparkle. Soon enough, a multi-colored glowing feather fell from under the jacket and hit the floor.

Find out next time...

As the Journey continues!