Heyo! Before anything else, huge thanks to user "HeWishesToBe" for suggesting the main plot of this story, and if you're reading this, well I hope it turns out a bit how you imagined it! Also, before anyone who has read my previous story (Thank you btw!) gets confused, the two stories have nothing to do with each other, and nor is this one a sequel, although some concepts may be similar. Anyways I've said enough, hope you enjoy it and feel free to let me know your thoughts in some reviews! (Story takes place directly after Pokemon Journeys episode 75)

The Return of the Regi Master

"Calm down Piplups your food will be ready soon just hold on a sec…" Exclaimed a exasperated Professor Cerise. He, alongside Ren and Chryssa, were currently trying to get all the Piplup that had just hatched under control, though with very little success considering the sheer quantity of them currently roaming around the research facility. Only a few moments after he had managed to catch one of the runaway Piplup that was playing with the projector, Ren came out of the kitchen with a tray full of Pokemon food.

"Alright, here's lunch you guys." Ren was then immediately tackled to the ground by at least 10 Piplups, all of whom started to immediately devour the food that he had brought. "I-Im o-ok… I think..." He said faintly whilst immobile on the ground.

"Why did we have to keep them here in the first place, couldn't we have just put them in a daycare or something?" Asked an exhausted Chrysa.

"That was the plan, but since we can't even manage to get them to stop running around the whole place, how are we supposed to keep them all still to bring them to a daycare…" Replied the Professor, earning a sigh from his assistants. The front door then suddenly opened up and they were greeted with the sight of 3 familiar faces.

"We're back!… What happened here?" Asked Ash, confused as to why the research facility was seemingly infested with Piplups.

"We had a bunch of eggs hatch at the same time and they all turned out to be Piplups, although we can't seem to get a hold of them, they've only just calmed down because we gave them food." Answered Ren whilst slowly picking himself up from the ground as he watched Pikachu, Eevee and Grookey try to sneakily get some food from the tray, but quickly decided against it when the army of Piplups started giving them death stares.

"Seems like you guys had fun…" Said Goh sarcastically.

"Well I guess I can't be angry anymore at you cancelling our family vacation, it seems like you're suffering enough as it is..." Added Chloe, which Professor Cerise replied to with a sigh.

"Anyways… I'm glad you're all back safe from Sinnoh, did you find what was the issue with all the nightmares?"

"Sure did!" Replied Ash with a grin. "Turns out it was Darkrai afterall and he was just looking out for Cresselia who was being hunted by Team Rocket."

"You encountered a Cresselia too?! Just how many Legendary Pokemon can you guys meet…" Professor Cerise then suddenly remembered he had to show something to the boys. "Oh yeah I almost forgot, Ash and Goh, look at this." He quickly sat down at his computer and pulled up a few pictures that looked like abandoned ruins onto the projector.

"What is that?" Asked a curious Goh.

"It's a temple located in the Crown Tundra in Galar, we've been getting multiple reports of mysterious readings coming from inside it. I know you guys just came back from Sinnoh, but do you mind checking it out? Seems like a good excuse to explore the surroundings for some new Pokemon."

"Of course, we're always ready for the next adventure, right Goh!"

"You bet!"

"Mind if I come along? I've been wanting to see the Crown Tundra, I've never really gotten the chance to explore snowy areas, especially here in Vermillion." Chloe suddenly asked

It was safe to say that Goh and Ash were pretty surprised at the fact that Chloe would want to go on a research mission with them, she always seemed hesitant when it came to joining them on their trips. Goh and Ash looked at each other and smiled, and Goh replied: "Sure! The more the merrier!"

"Great! Well have fun out there you guys, and don't forget to take pictures of what you find along the way." Said the Professor.

"We will, see you! Responded the trainers simultaneously.

And with that, the trio consisting of Ash, Goh and Chloe, alongside their partner Pokemon, were once again on their way to the region of Galar. The Professor and his assistants waved them goodbye until they were interrupted by the sounds of growling Piplups, who all looked at them angrily with no more food on the tray.

"Oh boy here we go again…" Simply said Chryssa.

"Wow! Hammerlocke sure is beautiful! Right Pikachu?"

"Pi-pika!"

The streets of Hammerlocke were as per usual pretty busy and lively, even though it was already pretty late as the sun could be seen slowly setting in the horizon and a few stars could also be seen appearing in the sky. People were still happily walking around visiting the various attractions that the city was known for and Pokemon and trainers were battling excitedly against each other at every turn, though this was to be expected by one of the Galar's region biggest cities.

"I mean, if you're comparing it to the last time we went here where, oh you know, it was quite literally being destroyed by a rampaging Dynamax Pokemon, then yes Ash, it is very beautiful..." Replied sassily Goh to Ash's remarks.

"Alright you two…" Started Chloe who currently had their only map in hand. "According to this, the station that can take us to the Crown Tundra is just east from here, so if we don't distracted we should be there in a couple min-

"Look Pikachu! A battle cafe!" Without any warning, Ash and Pikachu started to sprint in the complete opposite direction to where they were supposed to.

"Why am I not surprised…" Sighed Chloe as she alongside Goh went after Ash.

As they ran through the streets of Hammerlocke, Ash and Pikachu started to get weird looks from the locals of the city, all wondering why a boy with his Pikachu were so happily and carelessly running around the city, though that didn't seem to bother nor slow them down at all. After running for a while, the duo eventually made their way to the battle cafe, where they immediately busted open the front door and exclaimed "I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and I wanna have a battle!"

Everybody currently in the battle cafe simply looked up in silence at the stranger who seemingly was just itching for a battle, which created an awkward tension between everybody in the building. Chloe and Goh then soon caught up to Ash and when they realized how big of a scene he was making, they simply sighed once again and then the two Vermillion city trainers grabbed one of his arms each and started to slowly drag him and his Pikachu currently sitting on top of his head out of the battle cafe.

"Did you forget why we were here in the first place? You know the temple in the Crown Tundra we were supposed to investigate?" Started off Chloe.

"But I haven't had a Coronation series battle since my battle with Iris!" Tried to desperately explain and convince Ash.

"Speaking of which, she was probably right about you being a little kid after all…" Muttered Goh.

"Hey come on, not you too Goh!"

"You can have your battle later, right now we got stuff to research." Chloe said getting more and more irritated with the Pallet Town native.

"Fine…" Ash said disappointed not being able to battle, to which Pikachu simply patted his trainer's head in sympathy.

As the trio left the battle cafe, they earned multiple reactions from the people in the cafe. Most of them were now just simply watching in amusement at the antics of the three young teenagers, now finding it more funny then awkward, but a certain pair of eyes watched the scene play out a little bit more intrigued than others.

'Ash Ketchum? Now there's a name I haven't heard in a while...' The man thought to himself. He took a sip of his coffee as he turned his attention to the window, where he could still see the group of 3 teens that had just come into the cafe. The purple haired girl was still dragging the young Pallet Town trainer currently complaining and she still seemed visibly embarrassed and angry at what her companion just did, whilst the other boy behind the two simply watched awkwardly as the two continued to argue. He then quickly thought back to what the girl had said about researching a temple in the Crown Tundra.

'Seems like they are for the same reason I am...' He smiled to himself and took another drink of his coffee. 'Looks like my little adventure got a lot more interesting…"

"You really are quite dumb sometimes Ash…"

"What's wrong with wanting to have a battle!?"

"Can you not think about Pokemon and battles for two seconds and focus on what you actually have to do!?"

"How about YOU let me have fun for once!"

Goh watched with more and more amusement as his two closest friends continued to argue, something that had been going on ever since they left the cafe. Goh had moved on pretty quickly from Ash's actions, since he was pretty used to him doing this kinda stuff, but clearly Chloe hadn't, and kept arguing with him about it ever since. He had a feeling this would happen eventually, the two of them always seemed like opposites; Chloe was the calm and collected shy girl who usually would only focus on the task at hand, whilst Ash was the energetic and social kind of guy that would always get sidetrack and did what he wanted to do, no matter the situation. Although that being said, the two sometimes act like one another as well; Chloe has shown that she can have fun and let loose every once in a while, whilst Ash had also previously demonstrated that he can get serious when the situation demanded it. They seem so different, yet they can have some things in common as well. Grookey, Pikachu and Eevee, now following behind Goh, were starting to get increasingly more worried about the two constantly bickering.

"Don't worry you guys, I'm sure they'll get along eventually… I hope…" He wasn't entirely confident with that statement, but he had faith that in future they could become great friends, despite their constant arguing at the moment. Opposites do attract one another after all…

Nevertheless, they continued on their way to the Hammerlocke station, which was now beautifully lit by multiple lanterns as it illuminated the night sky. When they finally arrived, Ash and Chloe were still mad at one another, but they had managed to tone down the constant fighting a bit as the excitement of going to the Crown Tundra quickly took over. They entered the surprisingly small train station and were greeted by a fairly young looking man.

"Hello and welcome to Hammerlocke Station, what can I do you for you three today?" Said the man with a warm smile.

"We would like to have 3 tickets to go to the Crown Tundra station please." Responded excitedly Goh.

"Of course! Just a moment…" The man then typed something on his mini computer and after a few moments, a 'ding' sound was heard from the machine and the man handed over 3 tickets to Goh. "Here you go, have a nice trip you three!"

"Thank you!" Responded the 3 trainers simultaneously.

"Alright! I can't wait to get the Crown Tundra! I wonder what kind of pokemon we will meet?" Exclaimed Ash.

"Of course that'd be your first thought…" Chloe muttered

"What did I ever do to you Chloe!? Do you have to complain about every single thing I say?!"

"If everything you say sounds like I'm listening to a 5 year old, then yes, I do."

Ash, now getting really tired of everybody using Iris's old saying of him being a little kid against him, growled in response as sparks could now be seen between the two trainers. The trio's pokemon sweatdropped whilst Goh simply held his head, as their constant bickering that had toned down a bit earlier quickly came back in full swing.

The group were then suddenly interrupted by multiple bursts of electricity as they quickly noticed that the lights had stopped illuminating the station, and some loud mechanical noises could now be heard alongside a really thick fog now being dispersed, resulting in everybody panicking as they could no longer see a thing of what was happening.

"What in the world? Ash, Chloe, you ok?"

"Yeah we're fine Goh."

"Speak for yourself Ash! I can't see a thing!"

"Alright everybody calm down, we'll have this issue resolved soon, just stay still and don't panic." Said the young man from earlier into a megaphone, though it did little to stop the people from worrying. Ash and co quickly followed where the sound of the megaphone was coming from and eventually bumped into the young man.

"What's going on sir?" Initially asked Ash.

"I don't know…but I can't really try to figure it out if I can't even see because of this fog."

"I highly doubt this could have been done naturally, someone must have turned off the energy to turn off the lights and then spread this thick fog everywhere." Thought Goh out loud.

"Who in the world would do such a thing?" Asked innocently Chloe

"Prepare for trouble because we would do such a thing!"

"And make it double because of the chaos we will bring!"

Ash, Goh and Chloe didn't have to think twice about the origins of the two voices, as Goh after realizing who it was, shouted angrily "Come on! Not you guys again!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nations!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth that's right!

"Wobbuffet!"

"Do you HAVE to say that everytime you show up? It gets annoying really fast..." Asked Chloe, annoyed by their sudden appearance.

"You dare criticize our wonderful motto!? Why you..." Jessie then had to be held back from attacking the young girl by James, Meowth and Wobbufet.

"Also, I hope you realize we only got to HEAR the dang motto because we can't see a thing with this fog!" Continued Goh.

"That's why we came prepared!... for once..." After a slap to the back of the head from Jessie, James continued and said: "We brung goggles that can see through any fog or sandstorm with zero hindrances to our vision!"

"But doesn't it defeat the purpose if the people doing the motto are the only ones able to see it?" Asked once again Chloe.

"Quit it purple haired twerpette! It doesn't matter anyways, once we steal all the pokemon in the station, you not seeing our motto one time will be the last of our issues!" Meowth proclaimed as he then pressed a button that made a decently sized machine in the middle of the building create a vacuum like effect, making it try to suck in anything in its path. People and Pokemon alike were now desperately trying to hold on to anything to keep them from getting sucked in by the machine

"Argh… We have to find a way to get rid of this fog before dealing with Team Rocket's machine, we can't even see where the thing is!" Said Goh whilst struggling to stay on his feet against the violent winds of the machine with Grookey holding onto him as well.

Ash thought about his possibilities on what to do. Calling out another Pokemon didn't seem like the best idea, as it would probably just get sucked up by the machine, so Pikachu was realistically his only option, even if he couldn't actually see him because of the fog. Soon enough, an old tactic from the past came to mind, though it had been a while since he had used it, so Pikachu might have forgotten it, but considering their recent run in with Dawn, he hoped Pikachu had remembered it as well. It was a long shot, but it might just work, he just needed to warn everybody first before he injured other Pokemon by accident. Luckily, he had a plan for that.

"Hey Sir, could I borrow that for a bit?" Ash asked strangely politely considering the situation whilst pointing at the megaphone the man had in his hands.

"Um yeah sure…" The man replied confused as he gave him the megaphone.

"Thanks!" Ash took a deep breath, approached the megaphone to his mouth and shouted: "Everybody take cover or lay on the ground, and cover your eyes as well!" The people in the station including Goh and Chloe did what he said and the Hyper Class trainer finished by screaming: "Pikachu! Counter Shield!"

"Pika?"

The surprised reaction by the electric mouse initially scared Ash, as he thought he had forgotten the move, but fortunately for him, Pikachu was simply confused as to why he would say that now, but he quickly caught on to what Ash wanted to do and grinned.

The electric type then quickly got on his back and started spinning whilst using Thunderbolt, making Team Rocket have to cover their eyes as they were the only ones that had not listened to Ash's instructions, and since their goggles were no good against bright flashes. They were quickly blinded by multiple spinning yellow lights of electricity, causing the thick fog to disperse and the machine, who thankfully had yet to suck in any Pokemon, to explode after it got hit by multiple Thunderbolts.

"Alright! Nice going Pikachu!" The trainer complimented his Pokemon

"Pi-Pika Pi!" The mouse replied now back on all fours still with a grin on his face.

"Now give them your strongest Thunderbolt! Full Power!"

"Not so fast Twerp! We don't give up that easily… Wobbuffet do your thing!" Jesse commanded as her Psychic type immediately jumped in front of the group and took the Thunderbolt straight on, and with double the power, sent it straight back at Ash and Pikachu with Mirror Coat.

"Eevee! Copycat the Mirror Coat and send it right back to Team Rocket!" Chloe, acting on instinct, commanded her beloved Eevee to copy Wobbuffet's move. The normal type didn't even hesitate as it jumped in front of Pikachu and after it's tail glowed pink, Eevee used Mirror Coat, which made the Pokemon flinch slightly from the double powered Thunderbolt, but nevertheless managed to send back the beam of electricity which landed right in front of Team Rocket and sent them flying into the night sky.

"Argh, how is that fair?! The twerp using the Sinnoh twerpette's move like that!" Complained a frustrated Jessie.

"Well at least that tells us the twerp remembers his adventures with her which is nice to see." Meowth then followed up.

"Don't think that's very nice for us though…" James added

"Team Rocket's blasting off again~!" They all shouted simultaneously as they flew further into the sky.

Once they saw that Team Rocket was gone for good, Ash and Chloe jumped for joy and were about to give each a high five, but they childishly remembered they were still mad at each other and scowled at each other instead and turned to congratulate their Pokemon, who just stared dumbfounded at their attitudes towards each other.

The people in the building applauded the two trainers for their actions and the sir working at the station came to thank them. "Thank you for saving the station from those criminals, who knows what could have happened if you two didn't step in."

"You were awesome you two, nice going!" Goh added, earning a smile from his 2 companions. "Shame that Team Rocket had to cut the power source though, our train will probably get delayed until they fix the issue."

"Yeah you're probably right, oh well, I guess that gives us a bit more time to check out the city." Chloe replied, trying to look at the bright side.

"You want to explore the city and have fun? Wow, that's probably the most surprising thing I've heard all day…" Ash provoked uncharacteristically.

"Shut it Ketchup! You would have been toast if I hadn't told Eevee to jump in and save you from that Mirror Coat. And you are supposed to be the 99th best trainer in the world, yet you can't even defeat Team Rocket on your own? HA! Nice joke!" Chloe replied sassily to Ash's remark.

"I didn't need your help! I would have been just fine without it, and what did you just call me?!"

"Do they always act like this?" Whispered the man working at the station to Goh.

"No, but they've been fighting ever since this afternoon and they haven't stopped since." The Vermillion city replied.

"That's a shame, they seem to make a good team…"

"I know, I know…" Goh said, hanging his head, knowing the pair were too childish to realize it.

"Well, what should we do now guys? Goh started off, wanting to know what his companions thought about what they should do at the moment. They had just recently left the Hammerlocke station where the young man working there announced that the station should be up and running by tomorrow midday and that their tickets bought earlier would still be valid then, which did upset some people, but they figured after Team Rocket's surprise appearance, it was understandable. "I'm personally not tired yet, and after what happened with Team Rocket, I doubt you guys would just wanna go to the Pokemon Center and sleep, so what's the plan?"

"I wanna find someone to battle!"

"Let's go check the shops for some clothes!"

Ash and Chloe glared at each other when they both exclaimed their ideas at the same time. Feeling the tension rise even more between the two of them, Goh quickly took control of the conversation before the fighting got out of hand again.

"How about we compromise? Let's go shopping first, because we do need some clothes to combat the weather in the Crown Tundra, but after, let's go watch Ash have a battle, it has been a while after all. Sounds good?"

"Fine…" "Sure whatever…" Muttered the two others. Goh really had to restrain himself this time from not saying anything, he thought the two were supposed to be friends, yet now, they acted like mortal enemies. Yeah he knew their friendship mainly consisted of them being mutual friends with him, but he still thought they had at least known to get along with each other after their multiple travels together. After a few seconds, Goh sighed and said: "Alright, well since you're the one who suggested it, Chloe, feel free to lead the way."

Her current hatred towards a certain raven haired trainer was quickly replaced by excitement, as when she spotted a small building with glass doors and a shirt logo close to a bridge, she exclaimed: "Alright! Let's go check out that store first!"

She proceeded to rush to the building like her life depended on it and was soon followed by Goh and a less enthusiastic Ash. It didn't take long before they arrived and Chloe quickly ran inside, similar to Ash and the battle cafe earlier, and said: "Wow, look at this place!"

When Ash and Go entered the building, even they had to admit the place did look quite stunning. It wasn't the largest or more complex looking store in the world, but the mix of the white glossy tiles and wooden flooring gave the store a modern look. It wasn't very crowded and there were a bunch of displays showing plenty of items ranging from regular T-shirts and shorts to shoes, hats, bags, gloves, anything you realistically would want from a clothing shop.

"Yeah, even I have to admit this place looks pretty nice." Goh said sincerely.

"No kidding! Oh Eevee, look at those shoes, and that sweater, and that beanie! I'm gonna waste my whole allowance on this place!"

"Eevee-vee!"

Chloe and her Pokemon then proceeded to run around the whole place a bit too excitedly, earning strange looks from the little amount of people currently there, causing Ash and Goh alongside their partner Pokemon to sweatdrop.

"And she calls me a kid…" Ash said to himself, though loud enough for the others around him to hear.

Goh ignored the irony of Ash's word considering he basically did the same thing earlier at the battle cafe and said: "Alright well, whilst she's busy let's go find something for when we go to the Crown Tundra tomorrow. Grookey, Pikachu, try not to cause too much trouble okay?"

The electric type gave the young trainer a thumbs up with a wink signally 'Don't worry, we won't!', but as soon as the trainers left to explore the store, Pikachu turned around only to find Grookey running around hitting every mannequin on display with its branch, causing them to rock back and forth to the point of almost falling over.

"PIKA?!" Shrieked a now panicking Pikachu as he chased around the grass type starter in hopes of stopping him from doing anymore damage to the store.

"I think that's enough for today Eevee, any more and I won't be able to carry all this stuff…" Said an exasperated Chloe, holding at least a dozen clothing items in her arms, and earning a worried look from her Pokemon.

It had been about 20 minutes since the group's arrival at the clothing store, and during that time, Chloe had basically run around the whole store and picked up anything and everything that looked even mildly interesting to her. "Alright. let's go find the boys and get out of here, now where could they be?" She finished.

It didn't take long before she eventually found Goh, who was sitting on a small bench in front of the changing rooms while scrolling through his Rotom phone.

"Hey Goh, I'm done shopping now, so where's the other sorry excuse for a researcher?" She asked, referencing Ash.

"You two really need to learn to get along..." He muttered. "He's just trying on a jacket we found to face the cold." The door to the changing rooms then opened and soon Ash emerged from it. "Speaking of which..."

Ash came out wearing a not too thick orange jacket with multiple zippers and two pockets at the front. The main zipper of the jacket was slightly opened at the top allowing them to see to white cotton coming from the inside that was the main protection against the cold. He had also ditched his shorts and was now wearing slightly ripped dark jeans where an extra layer of cotton under the ripped parts could be seen. Finally, he had taken off his hat which revealed his raven black hair, but it looked a bit more tamed and combed than usual. Chloe hated to admit it, but he did look quite good, and this new look made him look more like an actual researcher going on a mission, but she would never say it to him out loud.

"Wow Ash, looking good!" Goh approved with a thumbs up. "What do you think Chloe?" He then asked his friend.

"...What? Oh yeah he looks ok I guess… Makes Ketchup over here look like less of a kid." She said a bit flustered.

"Whatever Chloe I don't need your opinion anyways... and could you stop calling me Ketchup for Arceus sake!" Replied a frustrated Ash as he went back into the changing room.

"You two really are a lost cause…" Sighed Goh.

A few minutes later Ash came back out of the changing room wearing his normal clothes again, with his trusty hat and all.

"Well, seems like we're all done here, so let's pay and go find Ash someone to battle." Goh said, earning a huge grin from his fellow research partner.

"Alright finally! But before that… Do you guys know where Pikachu and Grookey are? I haven't seen them since we came here." Asked the Pallet Town trainer, only earning a shrug for his companions.

Luckily for them, a few seconds later, Grookey out of nowhere, jumped onto Goh's head, making him yelp a bit at the sudden appearance.

"Well there's Grookey, but where's Pikachu?" Questioned Goh.

"Rookie rookie!" Exclaimed the grass type while pointing behind him.

The trio turned their heads towards where the Pokemon was indicating and they saw Pikachu, looking like it had just finished battling 20 legendary Pokemon in a row. He had bags under his eyes and was basically dragging himself across the floor of the store.

"Pikaa~" Said faintly the little mouse whilst trying to hold one of its paws in the air.

"What on earth happened to you buddy!?" Asked worriedly it's trainer.

Alkbenoist to the rest group, Pikachu had been running around, fixing and trying to stop all of the chaos the monkey Pokemon was causing for the past 20 minutes, and whilst he did succeed, it took a lot of effort from the electric type. From almost breaking every mannequin in the store, to almost breaking the glass mirrors, he had been running non stop. That being said, the mouse only replied by a simple gesture signally 'Don't bother asking', not wanting to waste their time by explaining everything that had happened in detail.

"Um sure… if you say so, bud…" Ash picked up his starter and awkwardly laid him on top of his shoulder where he simply flopped and was struggling to keep an eye open.

"Ok well… we found them I guess so let's get out of here." Goh said, moving on from whatever happened to Pikachu.

"Alright, now I just need to find my opponent for the day…" The Hyper Class trainer exclaimed out loud whilst scanning the area for a person to battle after exiting the doors of the clothing store with his bags.

"You do realize what time it is right? It's close to midnight already and I doubt there would be another person as dumb as you to still want a battle a this hour…" Chloe remarked smartly.

"Please don't start fighting, please don't start fighting...' Silently prayed Goh, not wanting to deal with this again.

Ash growled at the girl for what seemed like the millionth time today and said: "Plenty of people wanna battle at this hour! We just need to find them!"

"Yeah sure Ketchup…"

"Why you…"

"I wouldn't mind a battle." Said a deep voice coming from behind the group.

The trio turned around only to be found face to face with a man looking to be in his 40's with brown hair and black eyes. He had a pretty big green coat and wore pants of the same color. The man looked pretty menacing, almost towering over the group with a sly smile. The Vermillion city trainers were about to say something to each other about his intimidating stature, but were beaten by Ash, who after looking at him for a little bit, exclaimed mouth agape.

"...Brandon!?"