Ash glopped up his breakfast in the pokemon center, eager to go and find Lillie's brother. Afterwards, both Ash and Dawn bolted out the pokemon center. But then Ash stopped in the middle of the road.
"…Where does Lillie live again?" Ash asked.
"I… don't know. Maybe we should just continue on." Dawn said.
Then Kukui and Lillie came up towards them.
"Hey! Fancy running into you two!" Kukui shouted.
"Lillie! There you are! Have you found Nebby?" Ash asked.
Lillie gave a shocked look. "W-What?"
Kukui laughed. "Nebby is just fine, Ash!"
Ash sighed, believing that meant that they've found him.
"Hey Lillie, can we talk for a minute?" Dawn asked.
"Oh… Sure," Lillie replied.
Dawn and Lillie then left the guys, and once they were out of earshot, Dawn explained what she told Lillie about Nebby.
"Anyways Ash, me and Lillie were on our way to the festival in Ikki Town. You and Dawn should go and head down there too! It's a lot of fun!" Kukui said.
"yeah! Sounds great!"
"Alright! See you there!"

"…I see. Well, thank you so much for keeping Nebby a secret like you said," Lillie said.
"No problem… But, you can trust Ash about Nebby," Dawn said.
Lillie looked away with an uncomfortable look. "I just think… the less who know about Nebby, the safer he'll be."
"Hey! We should hurry, before we miss the festivities!" Kukui shouted.
Lillie looked over at Kukui and nodded. "Right!" She then faced Dawn again. "I must get going now. Thank you again."
Lillie and Kukui then left.
"Hey Dawn! Kukui said there will be a festival! We should go and cheek it out!" Ash said.
Dawn nodded. "Sure! Let's go."
They dashed a few feet away, when Dawn noticed a Pichu.
"Oh wow! Is that a wild pokemon? I want it!"
"Go for it Dawn!"
"I will!" She sent out Litten. "Alright! Now use Scratch!"
Litten charged towards it, but before it could hit the pichu with Scratch, it dodged and Litten face planted in the ground.
The pichu laughed, and angered Litten. So Litten went on a rampage with its Ember.
"Hey! Wait! Litten!" Dawn shouted.
But it was no use. Litten wasn't listening to her, and continued to go after the Pichu herself. Which the poor thing was now extremely spooked with the situation. Pichu used Thundershock to try and protect himself, and he got a critical on the tiring Litten, and Litten fainted. But the poor Pichu hurt itself in the process.
Dawn sighed and returned Litten. Then sent out Buneary.
Listening to Dawn's commands, Buneary used Bounce off a tree, and slammed right into it, which knocked it out. So Dawn used a pokeball and caught the pichu.
"Alright! Now let's hurry to the festival!" Dawn said.
"Right!" Ash replied.

Ash and Dawn arrived to Ikki Town, and Hala came up to them, as well as Lillie and Kukui.
"Thank you so much for coming! This festival is to give thanks to the Four Island duties, who are all like Tapu Koko. There might not be a lot of us, but we do all go out!" Hala said.
Ash looked around, and saw everyone enjoying themselves in the festival. "Yeah! I'll say!"
"Anyways Ash, I know you two just got here. So we are wondering if you two can show us how you battle in this here festival."
"Us?" Dawn questioned.
"Of course! We usually battle here on the festival to appease Tapu Koko. But I think a lot here are interested in how our newcomers battle!"
Ash smirked. "Well, I'm game!" He turned to Dawn. "What about you, Dawn?"
Dawn smirked back at him. "Of course! I'm ready when you are!"
"… I really don't like pokemon battles, as the pokemon often get hurt. But as this is an important event, I shall watch you two," Lillie said.
"Don't worry Lillie! If our pokemon get hurt, we'll take them to Nurse Joy!" Ash reassured.
"Of course. That is what you should do…"
"So, are you two ready for this battle?" Hala asked.
"Yes!" Ash and Dawn shouted.
"Then let it begin!"

It was agreed to be two pokemon each. Hala stood in front of a platform. "For all lifeforms on the island… and for those who take the island challenge with joy in their hearts… we pray for their protection… for them and all of Melemele. May this battle be an offering to our island's guardian deity – Tapu Koko!" Hala turned his head to the left. "Before him stands Dawn – a coordinator who hails from Twinleaf town!"
Dawn walked up a couple of stairs onto the stage.
Hala turned his head to the other side. "Before him stands Ash – a pokemon trainer who has traveled may regions and made it to the semifinals in the Kalos pokemon league!"
Ash came up the stairs on the other side of the stage.
"I ain't gonna go easy on you Dawn!" Ash shouted.
"Great! Wasn't expecting you two!" Dawn replied.
"Ash! Dawn! Bring forth the power of your pokemon!" Hala shouted.
Ash sent out Rowlet, while Dawn sent out Litten. Litten started off with an Ember, and Rowlet dodged and used Peck. It hit Litten, but Litten came right with an Ember that hit. Rowlet tried to come in with another Peck, but got hit straight on with Litten's Ember and fainted. Ash then told Pikachu to come out in the battle. Litten came after Pikachu with a Scratch, but was hit by Pikachu's Thunderbolt, and fainted. Dawn told Piplup to come out, and he jumped up and spun around with a perfect landing to get into the fight. The crowd cheered at Piplup's performance. Pikachu went for Bolt Tackle, but Piplup went for a Spin Dodge then turned around and used Hydro Pump and hit Pikachu hard. Pikachu got up and circled around Piplup with Quick attack. Piplup used Whirlpool to stop Pikachu in its track, and Pikachu got stuck in the whirlpool. Piplup then jumped into the water and homed in on Pikachu with a Drill Peck. But Pikachu used his full powered Thunderbolt, and with the water the electricity spread throughout amplified and hit Piplup. The whirlpool stopped and Piplup hit the floor, while Pikachu landed on it. Pikachu then finished Piplup off with a Quick Attack, and he fainted.
"You did great Piplup!" Dawn said then returned Piplup.
"Great job, Pikachu!" Ash shouted. Pikachu ran up to Ash and jumped into Ash's arms and nuzzled him.
The crowd that was watching was cheering loudly.
"Well! This was an extraordinary battle this year! Tapu Koko must have loved watching it too!" Hala shouted.
A loud "Kokoko kok okokooo!" filled the area.
"Yes! Tapu Koko has sang his approval!"
Ash then noticed something that hit the ground that hit the ground in between Dawn and him. "Huh? Where did these come from?" Ash ran up to them.
Hala looked over to Ash as he moved towards the items and saw what he was looking at. "What? These are…" He picked them up. Then he motioned Dawn over, and once she came over he looked at the both of them. "Well you two, it seems Tapu Koko has taken quite a liken to you both… or maybe it has a mission for you."
"Mission?" Dawn questioned.
"Who knows the purpose of why, but in any case Topu Koko wants you two to have these… So I guess I should be giving you these." Hala give them Z rings. "I've made these rings that are from stones I've found. Tapu Koko must have token them from me, to give to you. These Z rings can draw out power that lies deep within pokemon… which is called their Z-Power!"
Ash looked at it with a shocked look. "Woah! Cool!"
"But, you'll need to collect Z-Crystals from the Island Challenge in order to draw that power out!"
Dawn looked at the ring with a frown. "But… I didn't come here to do the island challenge."
"Well, what you do is for you to decide."
"In any case Ash, I guess this means it's time to start your island challenge!" Kukui shouted.
Ash pumped his fist in the air. "Alright!"
Pikachu happily cheered too.
Kukui grinned. "Well, I'll explain more about it later! For now, just enjoy the festival."
Ash agreed. Then music started playing. Ash asked Dawn if she'd like to dance, and she decided to.
Dawn had a lot of fun seeing Ash dance. She laughed a lot that night. Dawn felt really glad that she was here now, and able to travel with Ash again. Just seeing him battling and being able to goof off made her remember the times that they traveled together three years ago. But Dawn then suddenly frowned, as she remembered that she's still lying to him about Nebby… To a guy who was with her throughout Sinnoh and helped her get moves down, cheered her on for all her contest, and comforted her throughout all her hard times. She started wondering why she's doing this to him.
Ash has noticed that Dawn is feeling down and asked, "hey Dawn? You okay?"
Dawn put on a smile. "Yeah! No need to worry!"
Ash felt unsure, but trusted Dawn's word. "Right!"

Ash excitingly ran back towards the pokemon center, as Kukui, Lillie, and Dawn slowly walked towards their destination.
Lillie then walked besides Dawn. "Tapu Koko is amazing, isn't it?"
Dawn nodded. "It seems very strong and wise."
"It is. That's why it is our guardian… I hope that someday, I can meet it again and thank it for saving Nebby."
Nebby moved around in the bag and shouted, "pew!"
Dawn smiled. "I'm sure you will!"
"Surprisingly, it saved your life too, and gave both you and Ash a Z-ring even though you are strangers to this place."
Dawn crossed her arms with a frown. "That's… true."
Kukui has stopped as he noticed Lillie was far behind. "Hey, it's about time we head home now!"
Lillie nodded. "Well, goodnight Dawn."
"Night Lillie!" Dawn replied. Then they all left.