Ash was in the room Professor Birch had given him, checking his things over. He only had a few days left before he was scheduled to head back to Kanto, and wanted to make sure he didn't forget anything. "Ashley, do you have a moment." Professor Birch's wife said from outside his room. "Of course, come in." Ash said sitting up. The two had not interacted much during Ash's time here, but she had always taken time to check on Ash when possible. "I know you were here for research, but I wanted to give you something to remind you of your time here." She said, holding out a box. "It's something you can only get here in Hoenn." She said handing the box to Ash. Ash opened the box to find a Pikachu plush. "Thank you for the gift." Ash said, kindly. He was never not much for plushies or dolls, but he was thankful for the gift. "You should be going to the lab soon, I know my husband was looking for you to do one last job."

"Ahh, Ashley good to see you here." Professor Birch said from across the lab. "What were you hoping to have me look into?" Ash asked. "This should be a fun one. I want you to investigate the innermost areas of Meteor Falls, I've heard rumors of dragons living back there. Take your time and enjoy this one." Professor Birch said with a smile. After gathering his gear, Ash and Pikachu set off for Meteor Falls. "Well Pikachu, Professor Birch told us to enjoy ourselves, so how about we finish the research quick, and maybe do some sightseeing?" Ash offered as they flew off.

"We should be done with this in no time. I mean how hard can it be?" Ash asked himself as they walked into the cavern. In front of him a giant waterfall. "Oh right, waterfalls." Ash said. "Too tight for Dragonite. I guess I'm climbing." Ash said walking towards a wall with a lower ledge. A bit later, Ash had made it to the top of the waterfall, and was carefully walking forward, when he lost his footing and slipped down the waterfall. 'What in the?' Ash thought to himself seeing an underwater passageway. Coming up for air only for a moment before he and Pikachu dove under again swimming through the passage.

"Amazing!" Ash said in shock. There were dragons everywhere. While some noticed Ash, most paid him no mind. "This is an incredible discovery." Ash said, taking out his phone for photos. "Come on Pikachu let's see what else we can find in here." Ash said carefully making his way forward. The last thing he wanted was to get into a fight with all of these Pokémon. Wringing his hair out, Ash looked upwards, it seemed this area was the majority of the mountain, as there were layers upward that held even more dragons. "Dragonite I need your help." Ash said, sending out his Pokémon. Taking photos of the area as they went up, Ash stopped. "No ones ever been here." Ash said, realizing how special this place was. "And if I inform Professor Birch of this, all of these Pokémon wouldn't be safe." Ash said looking at everything around them. "I'm sorry Professor, but this stays a secret." Ash said, deleting the photos.

"Bagon!" A Pokémon called out shooting a small fireball at Dragonite. "What in the…" Ash said stunned looking forward, he saw an oddly colored Bagon. Pulling out his phone to look up the Pokémon, Ash saw that the average Bagon was blue, while a shiny was green. But this one, this one was red. "Wow you must be a one of a kind!" Ash said, impressed. "Bagon!" The Bagon shouted again, shooting another fireball at them. "Do you want to battle me?" Ash asked. "Bagon!" The Bagon replied, shooting another fireball. "Well alright then." Ash said landing Dragonite. "You ready Pikachu!" "Pika!"

"Pikachu use Quick Attack!"

Pikachu sped forward hitting the Bagon into a nearby rock.

The Bagon shot back another fireball, but it sizzled out before even reaching Pikachu. "Umm, I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this any more." Ash said sheepishly. "Bagon!" The Bagon shouted charging forward. Pikachu quickly jumped out of the way. Unfortunately Bagon didn't stop, it charged right off the ledge, falling to the ground below. "Oh no!" Ash said jumping after it. "Got ya!" Ash said hugging the Bagon close. "Now who's got me?" Ash screamed seeing the ground close in fast. "DRAGO!" Dragonite yelled, grabbing them just in time, flying upwards before landing. "Thanks Dragonite." Ash said hugging it back. "Are you alright Bagon?" Ash asked. "Bagon!" The Bagon said, smiling. "Don't worry, I'll keep this place a secret, no one else will find out about here." Ash said turning towards the pond he came out of. "Come on Pikachu, let's let them all live peacefully." Ash said walking towards the water.

"Sorry Professor, I didn't see any dragons in there." Ash lied. "Well thank you for the help, I'll see you when you get back. Have a good night Ashley." Professor Birch said hanging up the phone.

It was two days later at the pier. "Thanks for everything." Ash said politely to Professor Birch. "No thank you Ashley. And if you ever want to come do research here, I'd be more than happy to have you as an assistant." Professor Birch said happily. "Thank you for the offer, but I think I'll stick to Kanto for now." Ash said, heading a fog horn go off. "That's my boat, I should get going." Ash said, turning to leave. "Send me a message once you've docked back in Vermillion." Professor Birch called after him. "Well Pikachu, we're heading home." Ash said looking as the dock faded away. "Come on let's go check out our room."

Unbeknownst to anyone on the ship, deep in the cargo bay was a stowaway. A red Bagon was asleep between a few crates.