As the sun begins to set, our heroes are traveling through the snowy plain of the Crown Tundra, making pace and talking as they go

Gladion and Lillie were standing next to each other, with Lillie being on the far left, Gladion standing to her right, and Chloe in between Gladion and Ash

Pikachu, perching on Ash's shoulder, notices Snowy walking up next to Ash. Pikachu alerts Ash, as Snowy nudges it's face on Ash's right leg, showing him affection

"Aww... hey Snowy!", Ash responds, while leaning down to pet it. Snowy then jumps into Ash's arms, wanting Ash to hold it

"Vul, Pix!", Snowy sounds, leaning close to Ash as he holds it

"Wow, Lillie's Vulpix really likes you!", Chloe says, with Lillie seeing this as well

"Aha! Yeah!", Ash responds

Lillie giggles at this, finding her Pokémon and her crush getting along to be cute

"I guess a Pokémon really does get a lot from their trainer...", Gladion whispers to his sister, capped off with a wink

Lillie blushes a jumps a bit to this, though she gets over it momentarily

"So... Lillie?", Gladion whispered to his sister, grabbing her attention

"Yeah?", Lillie asked

"I don't mean to intrude on your business and all, but...", Gladion asks, "when are you going to tell Ash... y'know... the thing?"

Lillie blushes a bit, but then replies with, "I will after we find father and go back to Alola. Right now doesn't seem like a good time"

Gladion nods in agreement, respecting his sister's decision

"Hey Gladion", Ash asks Gladion, grabbing his attention, "you said earlier that you'd tell me how you got a mega Lucario!"

"Yeah, actually, I'd be interested to hear about it too!", Chloe said, overhearing what Ash had said

Gladion stared at them for a moment, but ultimately smiled and agree to tell them about it

"During our journey, we've traveled a long way.", Gladion explained, "This of course led to us having to take the occasional pit stop, our longest one by far was at a region called Kalos"

"We weren't originally meant to be there for very long, but during our pit stop, we found ourselves in the same city as a gym with an incredibly powerful gym leader", Gladion continued, "the gym leader there was incredibly powerful, one who wore... rollerblades, for some reason?"

"W-wait wait wait", Ash asks, evidently surprised by what he thinks he's hearing, "you mean you met Korrina?", he continues with excitement in his voice

"Yeah!", Gladion replied, "Do you know her?"

"Yeah", Ash answers, "she's a really good friend from my Kalos journey. She trained really hard to master mega evolution and become super strong!"

"Indeed", Gladion says, "I actually got a battle with her too!"

"You did?", Chloe asked

"Of course", Gladion replies, "I battled her with my Lycanroc, and I... got absolutely crushed by her.", he continues, with a hint of embarrassment in his voice, surprising everyone

"I was doing well before she used mega evolution, after that I didn't stand a chance", Gladion admits, "her Lucario was stronger, faster, and more powerful when it was mega evolved!"

"Yup, that's Korrina for ya!", Ash replies

"The thing is...", Gladion continues, grabbing Ash's attention, "had Korrina been an enemy, and she wanted to get in our way from finding father... how much of a chance did I really stand against her?"

"That's why I decided that I wanted to learn more about the power of mega evolution", Gladion continued, "I wanted to make sure that no matter what came to stand in our way, I'd be ready for it!"

Gladion then explains how Korrina offered to train him to learn the power of mega evolution, and how she gifted him his own Lucario as she'd been asked by her grandfather to train and find a worthy trainer for

"The training was ruthless and unforgiving", he said, holding his arm, "but when I was finally able to use mega evolution for the first time, and proved our strength by defeating Korrina in a rematch... it was worth it!"

Ash and Chloe applauded Gladion for the story, though Lillie looked a bit down about it. Ash, having taken a notice to this, wonders why she seems upset

Before Ash can ask Lillie what's wrong, however, Magearna points its laser again. Everyone rushes over to Magearna, looking at where the laser was pointing at. They see the laser point directly at a wooden cabin. Lillie concludes that Mohn must be there

Lillie, having realized how close her father is to her now, rushes towards the cabin as fast as she can go

Before the others can begin to catch up, Ash hears something. "NAAAAYYYYYYYHAYAY", something akin to a... Rapidash, perhaps? Or maybe a Mudsdale? Either way, Ash was unsettled by it

"Guys...", Ash asks, feeling rather unsettled by what he had heard, "did you all hear that?"

"Hear what?", Chloe asked, being the only one near Ash as everyone else was rushing to the house

Before Ash can reply, however, they hear a massive crashing sound. As they look to the right of the wooden cabin, they see a massive avalanche heading in their direction, threatening to destroy everything around them

"G-guys!!!!", Ash yells, pointing at the avalanche

"Let's grab father and get out of here!", Gladion yells

"That isn't going to work", Chloe tells him, in a worried tone, "we aren't fast enough!"

"Well we can't just do nothing!", Lusamine says, with a good deal of stress in her voice

Ash thinks for a moment, but then grabs Gladion's hand and runs into the direction of the avalanche

"Ash, what are you doing???", Gladion asks

"If we combine our Z-Moves, we might be able to stop this avalanche!", Ash replies with conviction, "Are you ready?"

Gladion nods, but then sends out both his Lucario and his Lycanroc

"Ash", Gladion tells him, "I want you to use your Firium Z with my Lucario, can you do that?"

Ash is confused for a moment, but then looks at Gladion's Lucario and ultimately agrees

Gladion and Lycanroc perform the rock type Z-Move, Continental Crush, while Ash ask Lucario perform the fire type Z-Move, Inferno Overdrive

As a result, Inferno Overdrive destroys much of the avalanche while Continental Crush prevents the rest from getting too far, although there is much fog after this. Everyone, including Lillie, is knocked over by the sheer impact around them

When the fog finally begins to clear up a bit, Ash can see something in the distance. Some kind of... pointy horse Pokémon? Roaring and running away. Ash had a lot of questions, but ultimately focuses on getting the others up and running over to Mohn's place

Lillie helps her mother up, while Ash helps up Chloe and Gladion. After checking to see if everyone is ok, Lillie immediately blitz's over to her father's house while sayings "Now let's meet father!", causing her family to follow her lead

"Say, Ash?", Chloe asks, "Am I the only one worried they're getting too reckless over this?"

"They haven't seen their dad in a while, of course they're in a rush to see him!", Ash replies, "Let's just make sure the rest of this trip is a safe one!"

Chloe agrees, as they run and attempt to catch up to the Aether family. Though Ash makes a slight grimace when he looks ahead at Lillie

"Lillie...", Ash thinks to himself, "what are you not telling us?"

They all run to the house, with Lillie speeding ahead of them, with determination in her eyes. She was locked in, and nothing was stopping her from reaching her father

When Lillie gets to the house, she notices how dirty the windows are, and begins to take a peek. She's something inside. Although she can't make out what it is, she finds it... unsettling

"Father, where are you...", Lillie thinks to herself

Before she could do anything, however, someone comes out through the door

"Hello?", a strange man says, "What was all of that noise?"

The man then looks at Lillie

"Who... who are you?", the man asks

Lillie then pauses for a moment, and takes a step back, covering her mouth with a light blush and a look of disbelief. She couldn't believe it... it was her father, right in front of her!

She then tackles her father with a hug, shedding tears of joy and smiling like she never had before

"Father! You're here, you're actually here!", Lillie said, in a grateful voice

"F...father?", Mohn questions

Lillie then breaks from their hug

"Yeah! Father!", Lillie replies

"It has been a while, we haven't seen each other since... well...", Lillie continues, thinking about the accident that got him lost in the first place, "but the important thing is, I'm Lillie! Your daughter!"

Mohn still looked confused, which started to make Lillie's smile fade away

"You... remember me... right?", Lillie asked

Before Mohn could answer, we hear a voice. "Lillie, where are-", Gladion says, before being stunned by the sight of his father. Lusamine catches up, and is also stunned by the sight of her long lost husband

"F...father?", Gladion says, almost in disbelief. "It's... it's really you!", Lusamine says, shedding a tear of joy

Zoroark comes in and rubs his head onto his former partner, showing him love and affection

"Wow!", Mohn says, with a slight laugh to what he's saying, "Your Pokémon here sure is affectionate, isn't he?"

"That's your partner Pokémon, father!", Gladion responds, still smiling, "Your oldest friend?"

"I...", Mohn replies, "I don't remember ever owning a Zoroark."

Zoroark, confused by this, steps back and looks at him

"Perhaps you have the wrong guy?", Mohn suggests, "I've never met any of you in my life."

Everyone is shocked to hear this. Ash and Chloe, having just arrived to hear this, are also surprised

"But... but we followed Magearna here", Lusamine says, denying that the man who stands before her isn't the man she had married all those years ago, "it has to be you!"

Mohn then takes a look at Magearna, who is pointing its laser directly at him

"I... don't know what a Magearna is", Mohn says, "maybe it's broken?"

Everyone is taken aback by this, especially Lusamine. Lusamine begins to faint, before Gladion and Chloe catch her fall, while Lillie remains in disbelief. Ash puts his hands on Lillie's shoulders and gently pulls her close in an attempt to comfort her

"Say, it's getting late...", Mohn says politely, "would you all perhaps want to stay the night?"

The Aether family all think for a moment, still in disbelief in what is going on, but after seeing the sun set and the night begin to near, they ultimately agree to stay the night

They all sit near the table, still pondering what on earth is going on. Ash almost tries to break the silence, but ultimately reads the room and remains silent

Mohn, having fixed everyone tea, comes to the table and hands everyone a cup

"I hope you all enjoy!", Mohn says

Everyone has a down look on their face, something Mohn picks up on

"Is... there a problem?", Mohn asks

"Do... you really not remember any of it?", Lusamine asks, in a saddened voice, "Our family? Our Pokémon? Our home? ...our life?"

Mohn thinks for a moment, as he looks at the Aether family

"I'm sorry", he replies, "but I don't remember any of that..."

"What about Z-Moves? Don't you remember those?", Ash asks, as he shows Mohn his Z-Ring

Mohn take a close look, but confirms he doesn't remember it

"Are... are you really saying you don't remember your life in Alola? The most beautiful place on earth?", Ash asks, in a slightly pleading voice, "You don't remember any of it?"

Mohn thinks for a moment, before looking at Lillie

"Well... maybe her", he says, while pointing at Lillie, surprising everyone

"M-me???", Lillie asks, sounding quite surprised

"Well, not 'you', you", he says, "you just look a lot like my own daughter!"

Everyone pauses for a moment, wondering what is going on

"Because... she is your daughter?", Ash asks, optimistically hoping they're getting somewhere

"No, I've been living with my daughter for the past ten years!", Mohn says, "And she actually shares your name, Lillie, what a coincidence?"

Everyone is in shock of this, not realizing that they were not alone

"Your... daughter???", Lusamine asks, heavily unsettled by this information and fearing the worst. Gladion and Ash put their hands on her shoulders in an attempt to comfort her

"Yeah, would you all like to meet her?", Mohn asks

Everyone looks at each other for a moment. They, although reluctantly, agree to meet her. They arrive at his daughter's room, with Mohn opening the door

They cannot believe what they're seeing, it's Lillie, in a white and yellow dress playing the piano

"Hey Lillie, we have guests!", Mohn tells her, "Care to say hi?"

Everyone is in shock of this, but Ash takes a closer look. 'Lillie' looks back at him, and for a split moment, Ash saw a Nihilego

Ash jumped back, clearly disturbed by this information, but then steps in front of Lillie, standing in front of her protectively

"Ash, what's the matter?", Lillie asks, quietly

"That thing is an ultra beast!", Ash replies, shouting in a quiet whisper

Everyone else, save for Mohn, having heard this, is confused, but then confirmed the same. Everyone went from unsettled, to disturbed

"Come on Lillie, don't be shy.", Mohn tells her

"Does... he not see it?", Chloe asks Ash quietly, though Ash is unresponsive

"I apologize on my daughter's behalf", Mohn says to everyone, "my daughter is a bit shy when it comes to the occasional house guests."

Zoroark growls bit, knowing very well what an illusion is when it sees one

Mohn then goes to the kitchen to make more tea. Once he's left, Gladion looks at Zoroark

"Come on Zoroark," Gladion tells to Mohn's former partner, "let's deal with this!"

"Zoroark!", Zoroark sounds, as it gets ready to attack

"Gladion, wait!," Lillie says, stopping him, as Lusamine calms Zoroark down

"Right now, father thinks this... thing, is his daughter", Lillie tells him, "what would attacking it do for us right now? In his home?"

"Lillie's right", Lusamine tells them, "we need to play it cool for now, at least until we have some kind of idea as to what's going on."

Everyone nods in agreement. After a long night of failure to get Mohn to realize who he is, everyone goes to bed. Ash and Chloe sleep on the seats in Mohn's dining room, Lusamine sleeps in a chair, and Gladion sleeps on the floor with the Pokémon so his sister can sleep on the couch. Everyone is sound asleep...

"Ash... Ash... Ash...", a mysterious voice echos in the abyss, growing gradually more quiet as it goes on. "Ash... Ash... ... ... Ash...", by this point, the voice becomes nearly silent...

"ASH WAKE UP!!!!!", the mysterious voice shouted, as the face of something appeared, something with a big bulb head and blue eyes

Ash shoots up from his sleeping area, with sweat covering parts of his face. Pikachu jumps onto his lap, nudging his stomach and bringing him back to reality. Ash then looks around, and realizes that it was all a dream

"What the heck was that...?", Ash thinks to himself

Ash then noticed that Lillie is not sleeping on the couch, she is nowhere to be seen. Ash then looks around and sees the door slightly opened

Ash puts his snow gear on, and exits the house. Looking around, he finds Lillie sitting on a bench in front of the house, with Snowy sitting by her lap, in the direction of the full moon

"Oh father...", Lillie mutters to herself, in a slightly broken voice, "we came all this way to find you, to get you back... and now I feel like I'm back at square one

Lillie begins to shed a tear, before Ash comes in and says "at least I'm not the only one who couldn't sleep!", surprising Lillie, although surprise is not enough to change her mood at the moment

Ash sits next to Lillie, hoping to comfort her

"Y'know... it's a beautiful night tonight!", Ash says, while pointing at the stars above

Lillie looks above, and gazes at the beauty of the night sky

"Yeah... yeah it is", Lillie replies

"Y'know, I read in a book once that the legendary Pokémon, Solgaleo and Lunala, become the sun and moon respectively", Lillie continues

"Wow, really?", Ash replies, "That's awesome! You're so smart, Lillie."

Lillie blushes to this compliment, as she forms a something of a smile on her face

"Thanks!", Lillie replies, "I wonder if Nebby's watching us from here... watching over us..."

They then see a shooting star. Lillie and Ash took this as a confirmation that, be they Nebby or not, somebody is up there watch over them

"Lillie...", Ash tells her, "you'll get your father back, even if we haven't figured it out yet!"

"How do you know that, Ash?", Lillie asks, in a frantic voice, "How do you know we can do this? Father doesn't seem to remember anything and we have no clue where to start!"

Lillie begins to break down, grabbing her face with her hands

"I-I want to save him, but I-I c-can't, I'm not strong enough to do any of this...", by this point Lillie can't even muster up the right words

"Lillie!", Ash says, as he puts his hands on Lillie's shoulders and shakes her, snapping her out of it. She gave him a troubled look, but Ash gazed back at her with a soft smile, which put Lillie at ease

"Well, to answer your question...", Ash replies, "because we already did this before!"

Lillie is confused, though curious in what Ash is about to say

"I mean, think about it! Nihilego has your parent under some sort of spell? You have no idea how you're going to save them, but won't give up until you do?", Ash continues, "We already saved your mom from this ultra beast, I know we'll find a way to do it for your father too!"

"But... but that's not the same thing", Lillie says

"Sure it is!", Ash replies, "Because you didn't give up on your mother when she got taken, and I know you're not going to give up here either, you're too strong for that!"

"Y... yeah, maybe you're right!", Lillie says, while she blushes and smiles, though her smile quickly fades, "But... I still don't know how we're going to get father back this time. I still feel so lost..."

Ash thinks to himself, wondering how he can help Lillie. But then, Ash has an idea

"Lillie...", Ash says, standing up and pointing right at her, "I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!"

There comes a moment of silence, until Lillie reacts

"W-what???", Lillie asks, with a surprised voice, "A battle this late at night? With you???"

"You said you were feeling lost?", Ash replies, "Well, a Pokémon battle is just the way to fix that!"

"Part of why I like battling is because when your opponent pushes you to your absolute limits, and you're backed into a corner, everything just comes together!", Ash continues, with a visible fire in his voice, "When you're deep enough in a battle, you know exactly where you are, because where you are is in the moment!"

Lillie is surprised by this view on battling, she also blushes as it reminds her of how he'd inspire her back in Alola, a feeling she has long missed...

"I... never thought of it like that.", Lillie replies, with a hint of fondness in her voice

"So how about it?", Ash asks, "Care to show me how much stronger you've gotten?"

Lillie thinks for