"Hehe...", Lillie replies, with a slightly sheepish look, "I guess I hadn't realized that with all the overthinking I did!"

The two then decide to head back to the farmer and ask her how to sheer Wooloo tuft

We then cut back to the boys, appearing to stand on top of a small cliff

"Where did it go???", Gladion said aloud, as he looks around despite being out of breath

Meanwhile, Ash and Goh are behind him, and they appear to be exhausted to say the least, breathing heavily and trying to catch their own breath

"Gladion...", Ash asks, "you think we can take a minute?"

"What?", Gladion asks in response, "But we need to find Glastrier to get father back!"

"I know", Ash replies, "but-"

"But we've been chasing this horse for so long that if I don't get a minute to rest IM GOING LOSE MY MIND!!!!!!", Goh interjects, with the look of the insane very visible in his eyes, just before he falls onto his face out of pure exhaustion

Gladion looks at them for a moment, and then takes a look at his Lucario, who also appears exhausted. They ultimately agree to take a break for the moment

They sit down on a pair of logs, with Ash sitting next to Goh and Gladion on his own log. Ash hands Gladion a bottle of water that resembles the ones he and Goh are using

"Thanks", Gladion says, before immediately replacing his smile with a scowl as he looked down to the ground

Ash picks up on this, and asks if he's ok

"I'll be 'ok' once we've caught Glastrier already...", Gladion replies, clenching his fist, "father's waiting for us, I just know it!"

"Gladion...", Ash replies, "I know you want to get your father back, we all do, but there's nothing wrong with taking it one step at a time"

"But what if we lose it?", Gladion says, "We almost had it the first time, but then we screwed up! How can I be sure that we're even strong enough to do this?"

"The same way I know I'm strong enough to catch Mew!", Goh interjects, surprising both of them

"Gladion, was it?, Goh tells him, "I get that you're determined to get your father back, but we're never going to catch Glastrier if we just rush right through this!"

"I mean, Glastrier isn't even the only one we have to catch", Goh continues, "we still have a whole other steed to go for after this, and that's not mentioning these 'reins of unity' the girls have to make!"

"I'm not giving up!", Gladion tells him 

"Nor am I saying we should", Goh replies, "but if we're going to have any chance at catching these steeds, then we need to slow down and take things one step at a time!"

Gladion looks at Goh, regressing from an angry tone to a more calm one

"We have time for all of this, and I promise we'll get your father back in the end", Goh continues, "but for now, let's just calm down a minute and make sure that the next time we face Glastrier, we're at full strength!"

Gladion thinks for a moment, but ultimately he ends up smiling

"You're right...", Gladion says, "the only way we'll stand a chance against Glastrier is at our best, and that will require a calm mind."

The boys sit there for a few moments and chat

"So Goh...", Gladion asks, "how did you manage to catch a legendary Pokémon, anyways?"

This has Ash curious, as he stays tuned and listens

"Oh, Zapdos? It was all part of that Project Mew mission I was on yesterday", Goh replies, "basically we have to either catch the Galarian birds or collect a feather from them for research purposes. I caught Zapdos, but right now the others are looking for Moltres and Articuno."

"Wait, you need their feathers? Well then boy, do I have a surprise for you!", Ash tells Goh, grabbing his attention

Ash then pulls out the Galarian Moltres feather he collected after the battle in the mountain

"A-Ash???", Goh says, expressing a tone of both shock and excitement, "How did you get that???"

"Me and the others had to battle Moltres on our way to Mohn's place", Ash explains, "and I had a hunch you'd like one of its feathers!"

Goh gives a look expressing both pure excitement and overjoy

"Ash, you're the best ever!!!", Goh says, as he excitingly hugs Ash and collects the feather

"What's this I hear about you two battling those crazy birds?", a voice appears, seemingly an adult man enthusiastic about hearing about the birds, "And did I hear you're trying to catch that ice horse too?"

The boys look into the direction of the voice, and they see a tall man in an orange winter suit and what appears to be some kind of construction hat. Ash and Goh are confused by his presence, while Gladion is a bit wary of him

"Uh... yeah?", Goh tells the strange man, "I caught Zapdos, and right now we're trying to catch Glastrier!"

"Now that's what I call ambition!", the man replies, keeping a constant tone of enthusiasm and excitement, "Are you trying to complete some kind of collection or something?"

"I... need this Pokémon in order to get my father back", Gladion tells him

The man then drops his look of constant enthusiasm for a moment, but then returns to it with a slightly softer tone

"So you're doing this to get your old man back, huh?", the man replies, "That sounds great. Mind if I lend a hand?"

The boys look at each other, unsure of what to believe from this strange person they've never met. Ash is neutral, while Goh and Gladion are a bit wary of him

"With all due respect sir...", Goh asks him, "who are you, exactly?"

The man stumbled for a moment upon hearing this question

"M-my apologies", the man says, with a sheepish look in his face, "allow me to introduce myself..."

"I... am the Great Peony!", the man says, revealing his identity, "I'm sure you've all heard of me at one point or another!"

The boys are a little confused by this, not hearing of this man once in their lives

"... who?", Goh asks, causing Peony to stumble again

"The Great Peony!", Peony says, "Legendary challenger to Dynamax Pokémon of all kinds, and former Champion of Galar!"

"Wait, Champion???", Ash asks, extremely curious after having heard this information

"Yeah! Who do you think held the champion crown in these parts before Leon himself took me on?", Peony explains

"Can I have a battle with you?", Ash asks, extremely pumped to challenge the former champion of the region, "I'm trying to beat Leon, and to do that I have to battle very strong opponent I can find!"

"Hahaha!", Peony says, "I like your bearings kid! You know what? Yeah, I'll battle you!"

"That's awesome!", Ash replies

"I'd like to battle you as well", Gladion tells him, slightly surprising Ash, "I want to see how I measure up to a former champion..."

"M-me too!", Goh says

"Sounds good to me!", Peony says, "A Triple Battle it is!"

The battle begins. It's the Great Peony verses Ash, Gladion, and Goh. Peony uses three of his Pokémon, while the boys use one each

Ash sends our Dracovish, while Goh sends out Inteleon, and Gladion...

"Show everyone your night-striking might!", Gladion says, as he throws his Pokéball high into the air

Everyone is looking, blinded to the Pokémon by the sun, until it finally comes down and lands on its too legs. It's... it's a black Greninja?

"A Greninja!", Ash says, in an enthusiastic tone

"You seem excited", Gladion remarks

"Yeah, I used to own a Greninja too!", Ash tells him, "He was one of my best Pokémon!"

"Well that's cool to hear", Gladion replies, "but my Greninja is especially special..."

Ash and Goh look at each other, interested in what exactly Gladion means by this. Although, they also have doubts that Gladion's Greninja take a form that looks like him and battle Mega Evolved Pokémon like Ash's could and still can

Meanwhile, Peony sends out Aggron, Perrserker, and Excadrill

Peony has Aggron charge up Meteor Beam and Excadrill use Dig, while Perrserker charges at the opposing team with double team

Ash has Dracovish spray with Water Gun, while Greninja hits them with water shuriken, and Inteleon readies a Snipe Shot

The double teams are taken out, and Perrserker leaps at Greninja with Slash. Greninja counters this with Night Slash, while Dracovish hits it from the side with Water Gun

Aggron finished charging its meteor beam and prepares to fire. Inteleon is about to snipe shot Aggron just before it can fire, but Excadrill comes up from the ground and hits it hard, causing it to loose balance and accidentally hit Dracovish. Aggron then fires meteor beam and heavily damaged Dracovish

Gladion then has Greninja engage Excadrill with Night Slash. Excadrill counters with Metal Claw, while Peony has Aggron charge at Greninja with Headsmash. Ash has Dracovish counter this with Dragon Rush. The two moves are heavy in collision, but Perrserker hits Dracovish from behind with Fury Swipes. Inteleon uses snipe shot on Perrserker, sending it far, but Dracovish has now taken heavy damage

"Do you guys always battle this sloppy?", Peony asks, "How are you even going to dream of catching Glastrier when you can't even work together?"

The boys look at each other, and realize that they've been so caught up in the goal of catching Glastrier and getting Mohn back, that they've become unfocused and they need to slow it down a bit

The three then think for a moment, and Ash & Goh decide to follow Gladion's lead, as this whole thing is his family's mission to begin with. Gladion tells Ash to have Dracovish go against Aggron and Goh to provide support for their side, while he has his Greninja deal with Excadrill and Perrserker

Peony has his Aggron charge at the gang's team with heavy slam, but Ash has Dracovish counter it head on with Dragon Rush. Perrserker attempts to use fury swipes on Dracovish again, but Inteleon hits it with snipe shot before it can connect. Excadrill uses dig, transversing underground

"Guys, I have an idea!", Ash exclaims

Ash whispers something into Gladion and Goh's ears, and they agree to his plan

Gladion then has his Greninja use water shuriken on Aggron, while Inteleon runs sideways and fires Snipe Shots at Perrserker, grabbing its attention. Perrserker hits a metal screech on Inteleon, stunning it where it stands, but Dracovish interrupts it with Dragon Rush and heads for the hole Excadrill came into. Dracovish then uses water gun in the hole, causing Excadrill to come out damaged. In that moment, Greninja and Inteleon hit it with water shuriken and snipe shot respectively, causing major damage to it

"Now that was a mighty fine trick!", Peony says, "Where'd you learn that from?"

"I battle like this all the time", Ash replies, "and it's how I'm going to beat Leon!"

"That's the spirit!", Peony says

Peony then has Aggron charge at Greninja with Headsmash, but Greninja dodges it as it lands multiple water shurikens on it from behind. Perrserker then tries to land fury swipes on Greninja, but Inteleon Snipe Shots it before land, and Greninja kicks it into the air with Arial Ace. Perrserker then uses double team in the air and charges at Greninja with all its might, fury swipes ready to land

Ash attempts to have Dracovish use water gun in them, but Excadrill charges at it with drill run, which Dracovish counters with Fishious Rend. Greninja and Gladion look at the double teams, until Greninja indicates that he's spotted the right one. Gladion then tells Greninja to launch itself at Perrserker head on and use Lick. Greninja and Gladion give each other a nod, as if they have some kind of crazy strategy up their sleeves, something Ash picks up on

Greninja readies Lick and charges at Perrserker, but it doesn't get ready to counte fury swipes. Greninja doesn't ready itself to block the attack. Perrserker lands the attack, but it... phases right through?

"What the-", Peony says, as everyone else is surprised by this

"Greninja...", Gladion commands, as Greninja prepares its attack, "use Night Slash!"

In that moment, before Perrserker can react, Greninja lands a hard hitting Night Slash that sends Perrserker into the snow, knocking it out

"What on earth was that???", Goh asks. "Yeah, I didn't know Greninja's could do that!", Ash says

"That's because on top of its unique form...", Gladion replies, "my Greninja has its hidden ability: Protean! It can change into any type of the move it uses!"

"That is so awesome!!!", Ash tells him

Before anything can resume, however, they hear a sound. "NAYYYHAHAYA". Everyone recognizes that sound. They all look into the direction of the sound, and they see Glastrier running about

"Let's do this!", Gladion says, as everyone else agrees and gets ready to roll

Before they can arrive, Glastrier spots them, with Goh and Gladion riding upon Zapdos while Ash adn Peony are on top of Dragonite. It runs away, but the gang aren't letting it go so easily

They chase it into the mountains, where there is a deep fog and a cold winter storm. Gladion remarks that something is... off

Glastrier uses Icicle Crash into the sky, and it proceeds to run into the fog. The gang arrive and begin to chase, but are halted by a mysterious purple beam from the sky. They see a big purple bird, it appears to have long tail feathers and some weird crescents on its eyes. It isn't even flapping its wings, it's floating in the air while holding one wing in front of the rest of its body

"What is that??", Gladion asks

"Wait", Ash says, "If we've battled Moltres, and Zapdos is right here, then this must be..."

The bird squawks at them, letting out a terrifying echo that shakes the mountains, as it stares at the gang

"Yeah", Goh interjects, visibly shaken by this, "it's Galarian Articuno!"

"We can take it!", Peony says, "If we all band together-"

"No!", Gladion interjects, "That's just what Glastrier wants us to do, we're to loose it if we don't continue!"

"But how can we continue with Articuno right here?", Peony asks, "It's not going to stop until we make it!"

"Then let's do both!", Ash says, as he sets Peony onto Zapdos's back, "The rest of you can go after Glastrier, I'll deal with Articuno!"

Articuno squawks again, ready for battle

"If you're staying here to fight this thing", Goh tells Ash, "then I'll be here to help!"

Before Ash can speak, Ash tells Zapdos to follow Glastrier and help Peony and Gladion take it on. Everyone ultimately agrees to this, as Zapdos runs off with Peony and Gladion in the direction Glastrier was headed

Ash and Goh look at Articuno's imposing stature, ready for a battle

"Ready?", Ash asks. "Ready!", Goh replies, as they pull out their Pokéballs and begin to battle

We then cut back to Lillie and Chloe, as they are being told by the farmer how to sheer Wooloo tuft

Lillie looks at Absol, lying down in the snow. The farmer had just gotten her Wooloo sheering kit out, as she got ready to teach them how to do this

Lillie then pulls out a treat, and decides to walk over to Absol

"Now let's get to-", the Farmer says, before she and Chloe notice Lillie walking out to the back, "what... is she doing?"

Lillie walks up to Absol. Absol notices Lillie, as she leans down and shows it a treat, grabbing Absol's attention

"Absol...", Lillie tells it, "I want to understand you, and I want to get to know you better!"

"I know I haven't really earned your respect yet, and I know I've been very focused on other stuff lately...", Lillie continues, "but I want to be the best trainer I can for you, and I can only do that if you give me a chance. So what do you say?"

The episode ends with Ash & Goh ready to face Articuno, Peony & Gladion chasing down Glastrier, and Lillie ready to do whatever it takes to earn Absol's respect, as Chloe watches by

Can Ash and Goh take on Articuno together? Will Peony and Gladion stand a chance against Glastrier? And how is Lillie going to earn the respect of her Absol? Find out next time, as the Journey Continues!

Writer Speaking-

Hey guys, sorry it took so long to write this chapter... and that this chapter is very long to begin with. As you can clearly see, I put a lot into this one and I hope you all will enjoy it as much as I hope you will!

Also, sorry there wasn't a ton of Aureliashipping stuff in this one, weren't many opportunities for it lol. Anyways, stay tuned for the next chapter. Tootles!