This is the first special chapter, and it will focus on Chairman's Rose past and how Lysandre survived Zygarde's Core Enforcer. To distinguish from normal chapters, they have an "Sp" in front and use Roman Numerals.

Warning: Rose's backstory is a little dark.

Special Chapter I: The Past and The Present

Chairman Rose sipped his typical morning tea. Usually, he would look outside and see the beautiful view of Galar on this tower in Wyndon City, but things were different now. After his failed attempt to trigger another Darkest Day, he fled from his beloved region and was now sitting in dorm room inside an underground laboratory that belonged to Team Flare.

"Chairman," a voice quietly said behind him

He turned around while holding his tea and saw his secretary Oleana standing. She continued while twirling her hair, "Do you really trust these people? Team Flare was responsible for the Kalos Crisis, and they wanted to destroy the region."

Chairman Rose gently placed his tea on the table and responded in a neutral tone, "They seek a better life for the people of Kalos. They saw the greediness in humans and believed that rebuilding society would fix it. I am more concerned about Galar's energy problem than the behavior of its citizens, but I admire their love for Kalos. I have to admit that they should have planned a way to minimize causalities, but it is easier to pick out certain people than to reeducate everyone." He picked up his tea once more and continued drinking from it before placing it back on the table.

"I am aware of our energy problem, Chariman," Oleana spoke with a slightly nervous tone. "But shouldn't we have waited for the Darkest Day? The people of Galar do not admire us. They feel betrayed and angry."

Chairman Rose raised his left hand and calmly answered. "Energy is important. A world of unlimited energy means more than just a better environment, Oleana. It means that all our dreams could come true. Why don't we have flying cars or spaceships that can travel close to the speed of light? Because of our limited energy source. The entire human civilization is depended on energy, and if we change that, we change how society works. It would be a new breakthrough for the people of Galar."

Oleana nodded at Rose's words, but she continued insisting, "Couldn't we at least tell the people that before we captured Eternatus. There's no rush. You said that our energy source would be all used up in 1000 years. What difference does a couple of years make?"

Chairman Rose's entire body went tense upon hearing Oleana's words. The calm smile on his face was gone, and his eyes were twitching. He then slammed his hand on the table, causing the teacup to topple and the remaining tea to spill onto the wooden table. "You don't understand," Rose barked at Oleana with a furious expression as he pointed at her. "It may seem nothing to do you, but it means everything to me!" Oleana was shocked. She never seen the chairman behave like us, especially at her. But before she could apologize, Rose stormed out of his room and slammed the door behind him.

"Why though?" Oleana whispered to herself as she recalled Rose's harsh words. "Why does energy mean so much to you, Rose?"

Lysandre was sitting in a large conference room that was dimly lit by an orange hanging lamp. His most trusted advisors, Aliana, Bryony, Celosia, Mable, and Xerosic, were occupying the other chairs, and they were all in the middle of an important discussion.

"How is the operation going?" Lysandre asked as he gently tapped his fingers on the conference desk.

"Good," Xerosic responded with a grin. "The data that we have collected about Zygarde last time is proving to be useful. Its connections with Xerneas and Yveltal are strong. We are still trying to locate them. According to legends, Xerneas is a tree, and Yveltal is a cocoon."

Lysandre nodded after hearing Xerosic words and spoke, "We must not make the same mistake as last time. It is crucial that we remain hidden and discrete. The International Police assumed that I am dead and hid the news regarding your escapes from prison since they didn't want to cause panic and they believed that you weren't much of a threat alone."

Mable muttered under her breath, "True, but they are still looking for us. Particularly, Alain and Malva since there were former members." However, no one heard what she said.

"Are you sure about the plan?" Bryony questioned as she casually leaned on her chair. "It would be easier to catch the Legendary Pokémon and control them."

"That was what we did last time, and we failed," Mable responded as she rolled her eyes. "I think Lysandre's plan is better. Genetically creating our own Pokémon based on the Legendary Pokémon's energies would be safer, and we could easily control it."

"But creating a Pokémon from scratch is not easy!" Celosia pointed out as she stood up to face her colleagues. "No one has successfully created their own Pokémon."

Xerosic chuckled as he heard Celosia's words, "How naïve. I was doing research on Ash Ketchum, and I stumbled upon what the International Police and G-men said about him. He has been sticking his nose in other people's businesses for quite a while."

"Get on with it!" Aliana exclaimed as she pointed at Xerosic with one of her fingers. "You have been obsessed with Ketchum and his friends ever since they messed up our plans. How does this help us now?"

"There is an organization called Team Plasma in Unova who had alleged revived a Pokémon from a Fossil and modified it to create a new Pokémon called Genesect. Not only that, I did some research on Team Rocket, and I learned that they attempted to clone a Pokémon using DNA. The report is quite old and didn't say the experiment's result, but I wouldn't be surprised if they succeeded."

"Oh please! The only things Team Rocket is good at is being a huge pain," Bryony spoke as she remembered a group of three with a talking Meowth and a Wobbuffet.

"But still!" Mable babbled as she got up and walked around the room. "Modifying an existing Pokémon or cloning one is still different than creating one from scratch. How are we going to do it? How will this Pokémon help us destroy and then rebuilding Kalos?"

Lysandre coughed, and everyone in the room instantly turned to look at him. "We aren't going to create our own Pokémon from scratch, but we will create one based on existing Pokémon. We did that last time with the Giant Rock when we made it to mimic Zygarde's behavior, and it nearly succeeded. Now, this is where Chairman Rose of Galar comes in. Show them the footage you found, Xerosic," he calmly said as he gestured toward the scientist. "Some of you may have saw it a while ago and forgotten about it."

"Gladly," Xerosic replied with a smile as he pulled out a remote. A footage began to show a large purple Pokémon looming over Hammerlocke City, and it continued playing.

After storming off, Rose needed some fresh air, so he left the underground compound and was standing outside. It was currently pouring, and the forest he was in looked gloomy without the sun. As he was let the rain fall on him, he felt a familiar presence behind him

"It was raining like this on the day he died," Rose grieved as he remembered that day as clear as yesterday. "I was only a young child."

Oleana walked toward Rose while she was carrying an umbrella. "Tell me what happened on that day," she serenely said as she looked at the chairman.

Rose continued looking ahead and sighed, "I wasn't the only one in my family who worked in the coal mines. My father did. He worked hard day and night in those mines, so he could supply Galar with energy. He was a great man, and he helped me caught my Copperajah when it was just a Cufant."

"What happened to him?" Oleana prompted as she turned toward Rose. Rose rarely talked about his past, and she was curious to know what Rose went through.

"He died in a coal mine accident when the cave collapsed on top of him," Rose flatly responded. "Mother was devasted, and my brother was just a baby. Since that day, I became the man of the family."

"I'm sorry," Oleana commented. It made more sense why Rose was obsessed about energy, but Rose wasn't finished.

"I was forced to leave school and work in the mines. While other kids had fun and friends, the tough miners and heavy coal were my only company," he continued speaking. "My mother raised my brother as a distraction for her and would always tell him how I was better than him. Eventually, the death of my father got to her, and she couldn't take it anymore."

Oleana stammered, "W-What happened?" but she had a feeling she already knew the answer.

Rose turned to Oleana with bitterness on his face. "She took her own life," he quietly said. "I found out when I came home from the mines and saw my brother crying on the floor."

As soon as the video was over, Xerosic turned it off with his remote. The other scientists were shocked by the video's contents.

Bryony was rubbing her eyes. "Now, I remember! When I saw Ketchum in Galar, that other boy with him was in the video as well! What was his name again?" she asked.

"Records show that he is called Goh," Xerosic responded. "A strange name to be honest."

"Ash Ketchum messes another person's plan again," Celosia dryly laughed as she ruffled through her hair. "I guess persuading Rose to join us in our plan will be easy."

"Indeed," Lysandre said as he got up to conclude the meeting. "I promised him to deliver what he wants if he gets me what I want. The meeting is now dismissed. We will talk more about our plans next time."

The girls began leaving the room, but Xerosic still lingered behind. "Sir," he said as Lysandre was about to leave. "What exactly happened? You didn't tell us everything, and you just appeared when we broke out of prison."

Lysandre groaned. Xerosic kept asking him the same question over and over again, even when he refused to answer. He decided to give in this time since he was ready to talk. "Fine." Lysandre responded as he sat back down in his chair. "I'll tell you what happened."

Xerosic quickly sat down as well and eagerly leaned toward Lysandre. He was finally going to know what happened to his boss.

"Where to start?" Lysandre mused out loud. "Maybe I should start after Zygarde attacked the Giant Rock."

Xerosic nodded in response, but Lysandre didn't seem to notice. "After the attack, I didn't remember much, and I woke up in a strange place." Lysandre continued speaking. "It's difficult to describe, but I think Zygarde sent me to another dimension."

"Another dimension," Xerosic gasped when he heard Lysandre's remark. "Are you sure?"

"Quite certain. The Pokémon there were strange, and I spent some time there." Lysandre responded as he closed his eyes. "I left when a portal seemingly opened out of nowhere. I walked through it."

Xerosic eyes were now wide open. "A portal!" he exclaimed as he thought how lucky Lysandre was. "What did it feel like? What did you see?"

Lysandre pressed his hand onto his forehead and muttered, "I can't remember. Everything seems fuzzy to me. I wandered there for only a short time, until I stumbled upon another portal back to this world. After leaving, I couldn't remember who I was for a second, until the memories slowly came back to me."

Xerosic was now writing down what Lysandre was saying. "Fascinating!" he uttered as he glanced through his notes. "Where did you end up?"

"A tropical island in the region of Alola," Lysandre responded. "I believe that the region is important for our plans as well."

"What happened to you and your brother?" Oleana asked another question to the grim chairman.

Rose sighed at the question, but he responded, "I was old enough to work in the mines and live alone, but I was still too young to legally raise my brother. He was sent to an orphanage."

"And you never saw him again," Oleana guessed, but the chairman shook his head as the rain continued to fall onto his body.

"We did meet up," Rose stated as he turned to face his secretary. "He became a Gym Leader and went on to become a former Champion of Galar."

Oleana was surprised at this. "He must be powerful," she commented, thinking of all the Champions before Leon. "How did it go?"

"The reunion was bitter, and he resigned when I became the chairman of Macro Cosmos," Rose hastily said as he began to turn back toward the entrance of the underground base.

Oleana followed while she held her umbrella over the both of them. She recalled, "Peony was the Champion of Galar during that time, and he used to be a Steel-type trainer. Are you saying that he's your brother?"

Rose nodded at Oleana's question. "Yes," he responded as he closed the door behind him and walked down the stairs. "There were projects revolving on the concept of unlimited energy when I was young, but none of them succeeded. If we had unlimited energy, none of this would have occurred."

"But aren't you doing this for yourself, chairman?" Oleana asked as the Chairman dried himself off with a towel. "I fail to see how this is connected with the people of Galar."

"I'm doing this more than myself," the Chairman said as he was cleaning the spill on the table. "I'm doing this for the coal miners, and I'm doing this for the other people who struggle in their lives at such a young age like you Oleana."

Oleana remembered how she grew up in a poor family and that her only friend was a Trubbish she found. She later worked hard to become a researcher in Dynamax, and Rose hired her after seeing her talent. "You saw something in me, didn't you?" she asked as she saw the chairman hold the teacup in the air.

Rose nodded as he looked the teacup. "You reminded me of myself," he stated as he moved the teacup closer to his mouth. But before he drank from it, he hesitated for a second and said, "I'm sorry for overreacting, Oleana." He then drunk the tea.

"Alola!?" Xerosic asked with a confused expression on his face. "That faraway region with its own strange culture? What does Alola have that we need? We already have the chairman and his plans."

Lysandre got up and began to walk out of the room, but he turned around when he was at the doorway. "Powerful Pokémon that would be vital to our plans," he said before leaving.

Xerosic was left puzzled in the conference room, while Lysandre walked to his own private room. He pulled out a key and unlocked the door. He glanced quickly at both sides of the hallway before entering and locking the door behind him. He typed some words on a keyboard and pulled up a video call. He slightly adjusted his attire, until the person on the other end picked up his call.

"Lysandre!" the other person said with an enthusiastic smile. He wore a white suit and had green glasses. "What do you need? Let me take the time and thank you once more for your generous donation! Thanks to you, more Pokémon have been saved, and we have done more research than ever before!"

Lysandre put on his best fake smile and warmly responded, "Your welcome, my dear friend! I also have a passion in science, and I have been fascinated with Ultra Beasts as well. Now, tell me. How is the device going? Do you need more money? Supplies? Anything I can help with?"

"No need!" the person said as he was tinkering with a device in his hand. "The device isn't ready yet, but we are still working on it! If we could get this to work, think of all the new Pokémon we could meet and the new data we could collect!"

Lysandre nodded at the man and smiled once more. "I look forward to hearing about it. I know you are busy, and I'll let you continue work!" he said as he hovered his hand over the cancel key.

"Goodbye, Lysandre! Thanks again!" the man cheerfully shouted as he waved his left hand.

Before hitting the key, Lysandre nodded and calmly spoke, "Goodbye, Faba."

Lysandre has successfully tricked both Chairman Rose and Faba, and Team Flare has gained some influence in Galar and Alola as a result. Lysandre is still engrossed in his plans for a better world, and Rose's traumatic past has clouded his logic. The next region the trio will visit will be Hoenn, and they will attempt to discover more about Mega Evolution. Hopefully, it will be a good trip, and Professor Cerise doesn't waste any more money.

Besides AmourShipping, will there be a VermillionShipping as well?

I'm not sure. There probably won't, but I will consider the idea and implement it if I could make it work with the characters and the story.

Oh, would you please include the Pokémon types in the Pokédex entries next time, just like the anime does?

Sure. I'll add the types in the future.

And will Ash gonna use Z-Moves again in the future?

Yes. He will, but it'll be a while before he uses them. He'll need a reminder from his old rival to encourage him to use everything he learned in the past for the PWC.

In the future chapters will ash catch more Pokémon like non-canon ones?

I do have plans, but I believe his current Pokémon like Farfetch'd and Dracovish need some development first. His old Pokémon like Gible and Palpitoad also deserve some development. Once there's enough, new Pokémon will be introduced.

Will ash get a mega stone for lucario? If so could you have them battle korrina and her lucario again?

Yes, and he will battle Korrina once more.