The episode begins with the battle between Ash and our heroes, and the Manevolent Pokémon Galarian Moltres, shaking the cave around them

"Moltres!", Ash yells, "Get out of our way before we have to battle!"

But the Galarian Moltres roars in intimidation, refusing to back down to anyone's charge

"There's only one way we're getting past Moltres, and that's with a fight!", Gladion says

Ash nods in agreement. "Chloe, stay behind us, we've got this!", Ash says to her, with Chloe nodding in agreement and standing behind him

Ash commands Pikachu to use Thunderbolt, while Gladion commands his Lucario to use Aura Sphere, Lillie for Snowy to use Powder Snow, and Clefable to use Moon Blast

However, all the moves are countered by Moltres unleashing some kind of Fiery Wrath. Moltres then uses Air Slash

Pikachu dodges it, while Lucario helps Snowy dodge it and Clefable uses Protect

"Attacking it head on isn't going to work!", Gladion states, "We need to get tricky!"

Gladion looks at Lillie, and they both deliver a mutual nod

"Snowy, use Hail!", Lillie commands, as Snowy uses hail

Moltres attempts to hit the team with Fiery Wrath, but Snowy uses Aurora Veil to weaken the attack, while Clefable stands in front of it and uses Protect, shielding the attack

"Awesome job Lillie!", Ash says

"Uh... t-thanks!", Lillie replies, slightly flattered

"Alright Pikachu, use quick attack!", Ash commands. "Lucario, use Thunder Punch!", Gladion commands

But before Thunder Punch can connect, Moltres sends Lucario flying back with its wings

"Pikachu, use Electro Web!", Ash commands, as Pikachu uses Electro Web to catch Lucario

Lucario then bounces off the web and lands Thunder Punch, staggering Moltres

"Good thinking Ash!", Gladion says. "Thanks!", Ash replies

Moltres knocks Lucario to the wall and attempts to hit it with a Brave Bird, but Lucario jumps off, causing it to slam into the wall and for rocks to start falling

Lillie and Chloe take cover, as the rocks come their way, but Pikachu uses Electro Web to catch the rocks and save Lillie and Chloe

"Thanks Ash!", the girls say. "Any time!", Ash replies, with a wink in Lillie's direction, who then showed a light blush in response

Moltres continued to roar and shake the mountain with its violent cries

"This Pokémon is going to bring the whole mountain down at this rate!", Chloe says

"Then we need to end this battle quickly!", Ash says

"I agree", Gladion says, while stepping past Ash, seemingly ready to do something

"In order to defeat Moltres and get to our father", Gladion says, while pulling something off from his neck, "we must take it down with everything we've got!"

Gladion holds up a necklace, one with a bit of a glow to it. As he held it up, Lucario looked ready for something to happen. In that moment, Gladion taps the necklace and it releases a great glow of light

"Is that...", Ash said in shock, "Is that a Key Stone???"

"Lucario, with all our power and determination!", Gladion says, as Lucario is engulfed in light, transforming as he goes, "May the grit of our efforts define the end of this battle, may the brawn of our fists strike true to our hearts, and may the form we now take mark the strength of our bond! Lucario, Mega Evolve!"

And in that moment, Gladion's Lucario mega evolves into Mega Lucario, and unleashes a wave of aura that sends everyone a step back, even Moltres

"Your Lucario can mega evolve?", Ash asks in utter excitement

"I'll tell you about it later", Gladion replies, with a confident smile on his face, "now let's take this Moltres down!"

Everyone nods in agreement, as the battle rages on

"Lucario", Gladion commands, as he clenches his arm, "use aura sphere!"

Lucario hits Moltres with a powerful aura sphere, sending it flying back. Moltres retaliates with a Brave Bird, but Lucario jumps above it and lands another aura sphere to the back, causing it to stumble

"Pikachu, use Electro Web!", Ash commands, as Pikachu attempts to cover Moltres with an Electro Web. However, Moltres dodges it and comes after Pikachu with Brave Bird. However, Lillie has Snowy use aurora veil, softening the attack, while Lusamine has Clafable hit Moltres with Meteor Mash

"Thanks Lillie!", Ash says. "You're welcome Ash!", Lillie replies

Gladion has Lucario use another aura sphere, however Moltres sends it back at Lucario with Fiery Wrath. But just before Lucario is hit, Ash has Pikachu use Electro Web to catch the aura sphere. Lucario then sends the Aura Sphere back at Moltres using Blaze Kick, blasting right through the Fiery Wrath and doing critical damage to Moltres

"You and Pikachu are good at using Electro Web!", Chloe says. "Thanks!", Ash replies

Moltres, again, sends out a raging roar, shaking the cave around them. Moltres uses Brave Bird and aims for Lucario. Lucario attempts to dodge it, but this time Moltres anticipates it and lands the hit, sending Lucario to the air. Pikachu hits Moltres Thunderbolt, damaging it, but Moltres retaliates with Fiery Wrath, sending Pikachu, and Clefable back

"Pikachu!", Ash yells, in response to his partner being heavily damaged

Pikachu is battered and bruised, as are Clefable and Lucario. Snowy dodged the hits thanks to its ability and hail, but the aurora veil fades, as does the hail

"Everyone, listen up!", Lillie says to everyone, "I have a plan!"

Ash listens up. Gladion, and Lusamine look at each other for a moment, but ultimately nod in agreement

"Brother, Mother, I need Lucario and Clefable to distract Moltres as much as you can!", Lillie says, with an assertive tone, "and Ash, I need Pikachu to place a Electro Webs wherever you can! I'll have Snowy bring back the hail and the aurora veil!"

"Right!", everyone replies

"Is there anything I can do?", Chloe asks, having not done anything during this raid battle

Lillie thinks for a moment, but then asks "Does your Eevee know Copycat?"

"Yes it does!", Chloe replies

"Excellent!," Lillie say, "Get it to copy Pikachu's Thunderbolt, we'll need as much voltage as possible!"

Lillie then whispers something into Ash's ear. "That sounds crazy...", Ash replies, "let's do it!"

Lusamine has Clefable circle Moltres from its left, while Gladion has Lucario do so from the right, firing aura spheres and swift as they go

While Moltres dodges most of the hits, Lillie has Snowy set up hail while Ash has Pikachu place Electro-Webs on the walls. Moltres uses Fiery Wrath, but Snowy uses Aurora Veil while Pikachu shields it with another Electro Web

While the smoke clears, Pikachu uses one of the Electro Webs on the walls to jump onto the back of Moltres, and zaps it with Thunderbolt. Eevee uses copycat and copies the move

Moltres cries in pain as it tries to shake Pikachu off, but the electric mouse isn't going down that easily. Eevee proceeds to hit Moltres Thunderbolt as well while Gladion has Lucario hit it with Thunder Punch at any given opportunity

"Almost there...", Lillie thinks to herself. She must have been giving a determined look, as Ash wondered what the endgame of this plan really was, but gives her a look of assurance and a nod, causing her to worry less

Eventually, Moltres is able to shake Pikachu off. Clefable catches Pikachu, while Lucario sends Moltres back again with Thunder Punch

"Please tell me it worked...", Lillie said quietly

"Please tell you what worked?", Gladion asked

Before Lillie could answer, however, Moltres let out another roar. Moltres begins to spread out its wings, seemingly to prepare for another Fiery Wrath

"Everyone, get down!", Lusamine says. Everyone stands behind Clefable and Snowy, who are preparing to use protect and aurora veil respectively. However, when Moltres attempts the move... nothing happens

Moltres is unable to move fully. Everyone is perplexed as to why, until electric sparks begin to engulf Moltres

"It's... it's paralyzed!", Gladion says

"It worked!", Lillie said, surprising everyone

"This was your plan?", Chloe asked

"Great thinking Lillie!", Ash said

"Thanks!", Lillie replied, with a light blush in her face, "Now let's finish this off!"

"Of course it worked...", Ash thought to himself, looking at Lillie a soft smile and a look of admiration, "this is Lillie we're talking about!"

Before Moltres can move, Lillie pulls out her Z-Ring and begins to perform the move, doing the poses and allowing Snowy to perform the Z-Move, Subzero Slammer

Snowy is scaled atop a massive pillar of ice, and fires the Z-Move at Moltres. A super effective Z-Move that shakes the rest of the cave

"Did... did that do the trick?", Gladion asked

The smoke clears, and Moltres jumps out and roars at the gang. Everyone prepares to continue the battle, with Ash standing in front of Lillie for cover... but Moltres instead chooses to fly away, cutting the battle short and leaving behind one of its feathers

Ash picks up the feather and keeps it with him

"Goh might like this!", Ash says to Chloe, who replies with a nod of agreement

However, as Moltres flies out, rocks begin falling down and the cavern starts crashing everywhere

"Oh no!", Gladion says

"All of that battling must've shaken the cave too much!", Lusamine says, "What do we do???"

Ash thinks for a moment as everyone panics, but then has Pikachu use Electro-Web to catch the rocks for the time being, and then turns to Magearna

"Magearna", Ash asks, "can you show me the direction of Lillie's father?"

Magearna nods, and then points a laser to the direction of a wall

"Everyone, follow me!", Ash says, as he pulls out his own Z-Ring and places in the Steeluim Z

"Ash, what are you doing?", Lillie asks out of worry

"Getting us the heck out of here!", Ash says, with Pikachu standing in the direction of the laser

"Pikachu, with all our power!", Ash says, while performing the steel type Z-Poses, "Get us out of here, with Corkscrew Crash!"

In that moment, Pikachu uses the Z-Move to drill a hole through the wall, all the way out of the mountain

"Everyone, follow Pikachu!", Ash shouts, as he grabs Lillie's hand and everyone to follows him through the hole

After a few minutes of running, everyone makes it out of the cave safe and sound, with Pikachu greeting them at the entrance

"Good thinking Ash!", Lusamine tells him

"I'll say", Gladion remarks, "Leave it to Ash to save the day with a crazy strategy like that!"

Everyone nods in agreement, causing Ash to blush a bit as he is flattered

"Aww, thanks guys", Ash replies, "I'm just glad to help!"

"And good strategy back there Lillie", Ash says, "that was really clever!"

"T-thanks!", Lillie says, flattered by Ash's compliment, "I wasn't sure it would work myself to be honest!", causing everyone to share a nice laugh

"Yep", Ash thinks to himself, "that's the Lillie I know..."

"W-wait", Lillie says in panic, "how do we get to father now? It's not like we can go back through the cave..."

"Don't worry", Ash says, "I made sure Magearna was pointing to your father's direction before using Corkscrew Crash. We should still be on the right path!"

In that moment, Magearna points its laser again, pointing through the sea of snow ahead of them

"Looks like smooth travels from here!", Chloe says

"Then let's do it!", Gladion says, as he begins to sprint down the hill and into the direction of the laser, "We're coming, Father!"

"Gladion, slow down", Lusamine says, as she and the others begin to sprint down as well

Before following, Lillie stops Ash for a moment and gives him a hug, surprising Ash

"Thank you for helping us Ash", Lillie tells him, "I can always count on you to help me out..."

Ash blushes hard, but ultimately hugs her back and holds her close

"For you, Lillie...", Ash replies with a soft voice, "any time."

They hugged for what seemed like forever, but in reality it was only about 20 seconds. They retract and Lillie runs down the hill to catch up to her family and Chloe. Ash, however, looks back at the cave with a hint of concern

"Pika?", Pikachu asks. "Pikachu...", Ash replies, with a hint of concern in his voice, "what else do you think is out here?"

Pikachu gives him a look of confusion. Ash has a slight look of concern in his face... but it soon shifts into a look of excitement

"I guess there's only one way to find out!", Ash says

"Ash!", Lillie asks, "Are you still coming?"

"Yeah! Wait for me!", Ash replies, as he sprints down the mountain and follows the gang

The episode ends with Ash and the gang running down the hill and following the laser... and a mysterious figure watching them through the distant trees, with its blue glowing eyes

Will Ash and Lillie succeed in finding Mohn? Will they be strong enough to face whatever comes their way? And more importantly... who's gonna confess to who? Also, what's Goh been up to while all of this has been going on? Find out next time, as the journey continues!

Writer's talking-

Hey guys, hope you all enjoyed this chapter. The original version of this story didn't even have the legendary birds and I just recently thought of a way to incorporate them into this story, so here we are with bird #1: Moltres

Stay tuned for the next chapter, next time we'll be seeing what Goh has been up to