The episode begins with the boys exiting the mountains on Zapdos and Silvally, as they head for the farm

Ash notices a big smile on his face. Normally, Gladion is really serious and stoic, but here he seems to be somewhat enthusiastic

"Hey Gladion", Ash says, grabbing his attention, "you seem happy!"

"Yeah", Gladion replies after giving a nod, "we're so close to getting father back, I can almost feel him hugging me now!"

Ash smiles back at Gladion, as he appears glad to see him this happy at the moment

"I don't mean to ruin the good mood", Goh interjects, "but we still need to get the other steed and fix the reins of unity!"

Ash and Gladion nod, as they head over to the farm

We cut to Lillie and Peonia, walking through the woods. They appear to be talking about something

"So... Lillie", Peonia asks, "do you think you're ready to try mega evolution again?"

Lillie pauses for a moment, and then looks at Absol, who appears to be looking back

While Lillie is contemplating, however, Absol sees a purple light appear from behind Lillie. Absol counters the been with Psycho Cut, startling Lillie and Peonia

"What was that???", Lillie asks

They hear a distorted noise from around them. Absol is ready to fight, but Peonia tells them they should make a break for it and try to head out of the forest

They make a run for it, but the blasts keep firing and are getting closer as they go

"Snowy, use hail!", Lillie commands, as Snowy summons a hail, damaging the mysterious figure

The mysterious creature fires another purple blast, but Snowy summons an Aurora Veil

"Hop on!", Peonia says, as she sends out her Luxray

Peonia, Lillie and Snowy hop on, while Absol follows behind them

The boys make it back to the farm. They hop off of Zapdos and Silvally and return them both

"Chloe", Gladion asks, "how are those reins coming?"

"We have the Wooloo tuft needed to make them", Chloe tells him, "but I'm still waiting for Lillie to come back here with a Radiant Petal to get... started..."

She then sees Peony right behind them

"Uh... who's that?", Chloe asks, pointing at Peony

"This is-", before Ash can finish, however, Calyrex possesses him again, slightly startling everyone

"This is the Great Peony, a trusted friend of mine!", Calyrex explains

"Ha! Good to see you again, Calyrex!", Peony says

"Wait, you two know each other?", Goh asks

"Yeah! Truth is, I've also been looking to reunite Calyrex with those steeds of his", Peony explains

"Is... that really why you're helping us?", Gladion asks

"Sort of", Peony replies, "when you said those steeds could help you get your old man back, I figured it had to have something to do with the King of the Harvest, so it's a win for all of us!"

Everyone pauses for a moment, but ultimately they can tell that Peony is telling the truth

"Anyways, you have managed to capture Glastrier, great job! However...", Calyrex tells the gang, "Spectrier will be a much more formidable opponent than my Glastrier..."

"How come?", Gladion asks

"Because Spectrier hides in a place called the Max Lair", Calyrex tells him, "a massive den full of Dynamaxed Pokémon."

The gang jump a bit to this, slightly intimidated by the word 'Dynamax'

"Does... this mean Spectrier will also be Dynamaxed?", Goh asks

"Indeed", Calyrex replies, "and that's not even accounting for the other Dynamax Pokémon you must get past just to reach Spectrier at all."

The gang appears concerned by this, but Ash steps up and speaks

"So... we get to battle a Dynamaxed legendary Pokémon!", Ash says, rising to a more exciting tone, "That's gonna be so awesome!"

"Y...yeah", Gladion says, "I guess that will be quite the challenge!"

"And of course you know we aren't giving up until we succeed!", Goh says

Everyone begins to get hyped up, though Chloe remains reluctant about going to the Max Lair

"Anyways, where is Lillie?", Gladion asks

Before Chloe could answer, however, everyone hears mild explosions coming from the woods

"She went into the woods to get the radiant petal", Chloe says, though with a hint of newfound worry in her voice, "I-in that way!"

Everyone gets ready for a fight, as they head to that side of the gate near the forest. They are met with Luxray jumping over a log and firing a thunder wave to counter the purple blast. It lands outside of the fence, with Absol just behind it

"Lillie, what's going on???", Ash asks

"I don't know!", Lillie replies, "Me and Peonia were walking back to the farm, and then this thing just-"

"Wait, Peonia???", Peony says, interrupting Lillie, "What are you doing here?"

"Really dad, right now? We're in the middle of something!", Peonia tells him

Everyone is jumps to hearing this

"Wait", Goh asks, "you two are family???"

"Yeah we have a bit of a-", before Peony can finish, however, more purple blasts fire from the forest

Everyone takes cover, as Luxray shields Lillie and Peonia from harm. Absol, who has had enough of this, charges into the direction of the purple blasts and cuts through them with psycho cut. It jumps into the air, dodging the purple blasts, and lands a ranged psycho cut onto the mysterious creature... and what they saw was even more surprising

The creature that had been attacking Lillie and Peonia, it was none other than 'Lillie'!

"Nihilego???", Gladion says. "What is it doing here?", Goh asks

Ash gets closer to Lillie and makes his way in front of her

Nihilego fires another Venoshock, but Pikachu catches it with Electro Web. Nihilego begins to charge up Meteor Beam, but Luxray paralyzes it with Thunder Wave, while Gladion sends out his Greninja and has it use Water Shuriken. Meteor Beam fires, but everyone manages to dodge it

"STOP!!!", Lillie says, putting a halt to the action, "Nihilego, or... Lillie?"

"Why are you doing this?", Lillie continues, "We're all Mohn's family, and we all love him. Shouldn't we all be doing what is best for him?"

'Lillie' pauses for a moment, almost as if it's contemplating what to do now. However, it notices everyone looking at it, as if they're ready to attack at any moment. By this point, 'Lillie' gets aggressive again and fires another Venoshock

"It's no use", Gladion says, "it's not going to listen!"

"No, there has to be a way to stop this!", Lillie says, not wanting this fight to continue, "We should all be on the same side!"

Nihilego continues attacking. Pikachu attempts to hit it with quick attack, but Nihilego dodges it and smacks Pikachu into the ground with is tentacles. 'Lillie' then fires a meteor beam, hitting Greninja and Luxray. 'Lillie' then goes in and attempts to get Lillie, but Ash has Pikachu trap it with Electro Web and smack it down with Iron Tail

However, before Pikachu can finish it with another Iron Tail, 'Lillie' uses its tentacles to grab Pikachu and sends it flying after a flurry of hits. It breaks out right afterwards

Absol tries to hit it with Night Slash, but Nihilego restrains it with its tentacles, and fires it to the ground with a point blank meteor beam, critically injuring Absol

"Absol!!!", Lillie says in distress, worried for her Pokémon's well-being

Absol struggles to stand up, and is visibly close to fainting. Regardless of its condition, it stands ready to fight. 'Lillie' prepares to swat Absol away, but Lillie won't allow it

"Don't... you... dare!!!", Lillie yells, as she jumps in Absol's way

Before anyone knew it, Nihilego's swat that was directed at Absol had hit Lillie instead, slamming her into the fence and breaking it on impact

Everyone is stunned by this, even the Ultra Beast

Ash covers his mouth, with a worried look on his face

"LILLIE!!!!!!", Ash yells, as he and the others make their way to Lillie to see if she is ok... except for Gladion, who is stuck standing where he is in utter shock and disbelief of what he had just witnessed

The gang try to get Lillie to wake up, but it's no use, she's knocked out cold

"Is she gonna be ok???", Chloe says

"Come on Lillie, you've gotta wake up!!", Ash says, as he nudges Lillie, desperately trying to wake her up. Alas, it is no use

Nihilego continues to fire Venoshocks around. Everybody makes an effort to cover themselves and Lillie. However, before anyone can be hit, Calyrex protects them with a mystical shield. Though this shield barely holds, and Calyrex is using what little power it has to its extent, and even then it's beginning to faint

Meanwhile, Gladion is still staring at Lillie from afar

His mind races, and he begins to look downward, as the venoshocks continue to fire around him. Eventually, his right fist clenches up, to the point where the fabric of his glove actually begins to tear

"Nihilego...", Gladion says quietly, though with a visibly aggressive tone in his voice, grabbing Nihilego's attention and allowing for Calyrex's shield to let down, causing it to faint

"You... have hurt my family... FOR THE LAST TIME!!!!!!!!", Gladion yells, with a fire of anger and conviction in his voice, as he has his Greninja barrage Nihilego with Water Shurikens

Nihilego dodges them, but is then met with a Night Slash, slamming it to the ground. Gladion then puts the Darkium Z in his Z-Ring, and prepares to use the Z-Move Black Hole Eclipse

The Z-Move hits, leaving the ultra beast weakened and attempting to flee. Gladion tries to have Greninja go after it, but Ash stops him

"Ash, what are you doing?!," Gladion says

"Let it go, Gladion", Ash tells him

"But that THING hurt Lillie!", Gladion tells him, with a loud but broken voice, "Just like it keeps hurting my family over, and over, and over again!!!"

"And that's why we can't go after it", Ash tells him, with a slightly broken voice and a bit of water in his eyes, as he points towards Lillie, "we have other things to worry about!"

Gladion looks at Lillie. His anger begins to calm, and he nods at Ash in agreement

Ash picks Lillie up and carries her in his arms, and the gang head to the Pokémon center, in the hopes that not only their Pokémon, but Lillie will be able to heal there too

We cut to the Pokémon center. Everyone is waiting outside of an emergency room, in deep thought and quietness. Nurse Joy comes out

Ash runs up to Nurse Joy

"Is Lillie going to be ok?", Ash asks

"She'll be fine. Her injuries, while rough, aren't at all permanent", Nurse Joy tells them, "but it may take some time for her to heal."

"How much time?", Gladion asks

"A week, at least...", Nurse Joy tells them

"Do... we have time to wait that long?", Chloe asks

"We'll wait as long as we have to...", Gladion says, before he looks past Nurse Joy and sees Lillie, with Snowy and Absol watching her as she sleeps

The gang head to the main room of the Pokémon Center, contemplating what to do next

"So", Peony asks, with his daughter by his side, "what's the damage?"

"We're gonna have to wait a while before Lillie is fully healed...", Ash tells them

"I'm so sorry for what happened", Peonia tells them, "if I ever see that 'Ultra Beast' thing again..."

"Well at least I'm not the only one who thinks that", Gladion says, as he begins to walk past Peonia and her father

"Where are you going?", Peonia asks

"To make sure that thing never hurts anyone ever again...", Gladion says, with a Pokéball in his hand

"Gladion...", Chloe asks, "are you sure that's the best thing to do right now?"

"Chloe's right", Goh says, "right now the best thing we can do is be here in case Lillie needs us. I mean, what if Nihilego comes back and you're not there to stop it?"

Gladion thinks for a moment, but ultimately, he agrees to stay

Nurse Joy then comes out with the healed Pokémon, including Calyrex

Everyone greets their Pokémon and tells them they did a good job today. However, Calyrex possesses Nurse Joy for a moment, grabbing everyone's attention

"My friends... I am sincerely sorry for everything that has happened", Calyrex tells them, "and... that I didn't do more to help..."

"It's ok Calyrex, you're not at full power yet", Goh tells him, "all we need to do now is get Spectrier and we can finish what we all set out to do!"

Calyrex nods, but then finds Gladion ready to ask a question

"Hey... Calyrex?", Gladion asks, grabbing its attention, "I know you've done a lot for us, but would it be possible for you to speed up Lillie's healing?"

"Gladion...", Calyrex tells him, "even I was at full power right now... I work minds, not bodies. I'm afraid there is nothing I can do right now..."

"But maybe I can!", Goh says, grabbing everyone's attention

"What do you mean?", Peonia asks

"Back at the lab, I have a Pokémon called Lilligant, and it knows the move Healing Wish!", Goh tells them, "So I'll just get it and have to help!"

Everyone's mood has been lightened after hearing this, and Goh gets to the phone to call the Professor so he can get his Pokémon

Ash contemplates for a moment, and he decides he's also going to use the phone

"Ash, where are you going?", Gladion asks him

"I'm going to call Professor Kukui", Ash replies, "If Spectrier really is as powerful as Calyrex says it is, then I have a couple of Pokémon who's help I'll need for this!"

Gladion nods in agreement, as he decides to go back and check on Lillie

Goh and Ash make their respective calls and retrieve their respective Pokémon. Goh requests Lilligant, while Ash goes to speak with Kukui

Ash hooks up the phone, and dials in the number to call Professor Kukui. Kukui answers, and is delighted to see Ash

"Ash!", Kukui says, "Surprised to see you here, how's it going?"

"Going good", Ash replies, "say, I have a favor to ask you."

"I'm all ears!", Kukui replies

"Me and my friends are going to battle a powerful Pokémon", Ash tells him, "to do that, I'm going to need a couple of my Alola Pokémon to help."

"Sounds good", Kukui replies, "I'm sure they'll love to help you out here!"

"Thanks!", Ash says, though he begins to look down, as if he's in contemplation of something

"Hey... Ash?", Kukui asks, "Is everything ok?"

Ash jumps a bit and he lightly blushes

"I-it's nothing!", Ash says, "It's just..."

"Today, Lil... one of my friends got hurt...", Ash tells him, "and I really want help her."

Kukui jumps a bit, but then gives a curious look

"Is there something else you wanna talk about?", Kukui asks, "I can't help but get the feeling you've got something on your chest."

Ash thinks for a moment, and then looks back at the room Lillie's in, and then turns back at Kukui

"Kukui...", Ash asked, "when you fell in love with Professor Burnet... what changed?"

"I... I don't- what do you mean?", Kukui responds

"I mean, I have a lot of friends that I'm close to", Ash says, "but one of them... I'm starting to feel things differently about her..."

"N-not a bad different", Ash says, as he begin to blush red, "I guess it's just..."

Kukui begins to smile, knowing very well what's happening

"Heh, I see what's going on...", Kukui says, grabbing Ash's attention, "you're entering the phase in your life where your feelings are becoming more complicated, and that includes how you feel about others!"

"I... am?", Ash replies, confused by Kukui's words

"This feeling you have for this girl, is it... special? Unique, in any way?", Kukui asks, "Do you feel like... nobody in the world can replace her?"

Ash pauses for a moment, and begins to contemplate on what Kukui is saying. Ash then gently nods, as his face is colored in a red hue

"Yeah", Kukui says, with a slight giggle in his voice, "that's pretty much how I felt about Burnet when I fell in love with her!"

"I-it's is??", Ash says, blushing even heavier

"You want my advice?", Kukui tells him, "Follow your heart, speak to her with both your words and your actions, and let her know when you feel the time is right!"

"Who knows...", Kukui continues, "maybe you two already know you love each other and are just waiting for the other to make the first move? That's how it was with me and Burnet!"

Ash is surprised to hear this, and thus pauses for a moment before bringing back up a look of confidence

"Thanks Kukui!", Ash tells him, "Now, can I have the Pokémon I need for this please?"

"Sure thing!", Kukui replies

Ash tells Kukui that he wants Melmetal and Incineroar. Kukui returns them to their Pokéballs, and sends them over to Ash

"Thanks Kukui!", Ash says

"Hey Ash", Kukui says, just before Ash is about to hang up, "one more thing..."

"Huh?", Ash says

"Tell Lillie I said hi!", Kukui says, with a wink on his face, just before he hangs up himself

Ash is surprised Kukui knew, but then chuckles a bit, as he heads back to Lillie with Goh

Goh asks Ash what he called for, and Ash explains that he brought a couple of his Alolan Pokémon over to help deal with Spectrier, though Kukui told him to wait for a Mail Drop as he might need it

"That's cool!", Goh tells him, "By the way, I also called the Project: Mew crew to show them my progress. They're gonna freak!"

Ash and Goh give each other a fist bump, as they make their way to Lillie's room. Lilligant uses Healing Wish, greatly speeding up Lillie's healing process

"How long will it take now?", Chloe asks

"I'd say she'll be ready this afternoon!", Nurse Joy tells them, "Though I would recommend being patient, wait for her to be ready when she's ready."

The gang nod, feeling slightly more optimistic for what will happen soon

As everyone begins to walk out Ash turns back at Lillie

"Hey, Nurse Joy?", Ash says, grabbing her attention

"Do you mind if I stay in here while Lillie recovers?", Ash asks, "I just..."

Nurse Joy puts her hand on Ash's shoulder, and gives him an approving nod

The others walk out, with Peonia giving a curious look at Ash and Lillie as she goes

We cut to the afternoon, where the sun sets and reveals a beautiful orange light setting beyond the mountains

Peony, Peonia and Gladion are discussing battle strategies against Spectrier while everyone else is sleeping on the furniture, with Goh sleeping upwards while Chloe rests on his shoulder

Goh's Rotom-Phone buzzes and wakes him up. He checks, and he sees that the Project: Mew Crew are waiting for him outside. He gets up and lays Chloe down on the couch as quietly as possible, hoping not to wake her up, and meets them there at once

He shows them that he has the feathers from Moltres and Articuno, impressing everyone

"Wow, you managed to get all three", Quillon says, "I'm impressed!"

"Yeah, not just anyone can collect the feathers of all three legendary birds!", Asahi tells him, "Great job!"

"Eh, would've been cooler if you actually caught them", Gary says, in a slightly smug tone

"Well at least I got the feathers at all! What have you-", Goh rambles, before seeing Gary's smug smile and realizing what's going on

"Wait- AHA!", Goh says, immediately shifting to a hyper-confident tone, "You're doing that thing where you mock me because you're secretly impressed, aren't you!"

Gary chuckles for a moment

"Mayyyybe?", Gary