Welcome to Book 7! I'm Purim, the author! I won't waste your time with much, just a few housekeeping notes:

* First, this story and the next three books all take place before JN113 "Chasing to the Finish!" (Japanese: ラストミッション！ レジエレキ・レジドラゴをゲットせよ！！ The Last Mission! Catch Regieleki and Regidorago!). Events from episodes up to that point will be referenced, so here's your spoiler warning.

* Second, I would like to thank Viroro, pennychu_, and mezamun for beta reading and helping me catch errors.

* Third, the cover art was drawn by the talented jessu_uu on Twitter! Please give her a visit and check out her incredible art!

Without further ado...

Project Mew.

It was a special research project founded and organized by Professor Macbeth Amaranth with the purpose of locating and studying the Mythical Mew to help discover the origins of creatures called Pocket Monsters, though most people simply called them Pokémon.

Professor Amaranth, through his years and years of research had narrowed down the supposed habitats of Mew to a faraway mountain that almost always enshrouded in a thick blanket of fog, making any real exploration or investigation of this place impossible.

However, there was a small window of opportunity.

Once a year, as the seasons around the mountain turn from wet to dry, the impenetrable fog lifts from the mountain, which would give a small, adaptable, and highly skilled team the time they need to search the mountain for information related to Mew. The search for this highly skilled help is why Professor Amaranth founded Project Mew in the first place.

He was working to assemble a team of five assistants, who would be called Chasers. The Chasers would be chosen from a pool of candidates, called Challengers, who succeeded in difficult tasks called Trial Missions and earned Tokens - only the three with the most tokens would be added to the ranks of the two already-chosen Chasers.

Success, at this time, seemed to be something Goh could scarcely remember grasping.

His previous two Trial Missions - the Raid Battle against Articuno and the Battle Royal against other Challengers in Sea Mauville - had both ended in failure. True, he had earned something from his efforts, a few pity tokens. But the leaderboard was clear - He was in a distant 7th place compared to the front runner Gary Oak, and even his old friend Horace.

The latter burned particularly brightly in his mind. Horace had become a Challenger only a few months ago, and yet his talents had leapt clear over Goh to the point where he was the one currently in third place (albeit as part of a five-way tie, but that was still a better position than Goh was in).

There was a bitter, dark part of his heart that wished he let Horace surrender and had taken the victory for himself, but his better nature wouldn't allow his friend to sacrifice part of his important dream, and so he set himself up for his own failure.

Just like with his inability to work as a team against Articuno.

One of the Chasers, Quillon, had been warning him that he was falling behind, and yet he had been spending his time trying to catch Pokémon, watching Ash's rise into the Masters Eight in the World Coronation Series, and going on dates with his girlfriend.

And now it seemed that his sloth was catching up to him.

He desperately needed more tokens, and so he set out towards the location that he knew he had to head towards if he was going to have any hope of success. He got a set of bus tickets for himself as well as Ash and Chloe and informed them that they were all headed to the Kingdom of Rota, and thankfully they both agreed.

He wasn't sure how things would go, but he would be thankful for all the help he could get.

He sat staring out the window of the bus they had to get on far too early for his taste, but he was unable to sleep with his mind racing from all the thoughts in his mind. On the other side of the seat at the back of the bus was Ash, dozing off with Pikachu in his lap, bored from the trip and only excited about reaching their destination. By his side was Chloe, who held her Eevee in her lap. She was dressed in her pink blouse and blue jeans outfit she often wore when they were headed to places they would be doing a lot of walking, and given the nature of their destination, neither of them seemed to believe there would be much modern convenience waiting for them.

On Chloe's shoulder, having moved there from his own while he groused, was his Pokémon Grookey. Chloe, Grookey, and Eevee all shared the same concerned look in their eyes, though in the case of Eevee, Goh wasn't sure if it was legitimate concern or if she was just copying the others.

"Goh…"

Chloe's voice, soft and sweet, finally forced him to turn around and face her.

"Sorry for dragging you out here like this."

His only response at the moment was self-pity and defeat.

Chloe shook her head and scooted closer on the seat, reaching and taking his hand gently. "Don't be sorry for something that isn't your fault and don't beat yourself up for things you can't control," she chided while squeezing his hand. "I know it's not the most comforting but you did the right thing by giving Horace his chance."

He grunted and looked away again.

"Goh…?"

The inflection told him that she was growing less patient.

"...Sorry. I guess I'm just nervous, you know? I could be running out of time. Sooner or later, they could send out a notification that they've made their choice and decided on who their Chasers are. And… I guess I'm worried that I won't be able to meet Mew again if I don't become a Chaser."

Chloe shook her head. "You'll make it. I know you will. You've always had this way of looking cool and rushing off towards your dreams and making them happen. You worked hard to become a research fellow for my dad, and you worked hard to join Project Mew. I know you'll get this, too."

Goh shot her a smile, but he wasn't sure if her words were sophistry or if they were a genuinely held belief in something he couldn't see.

He briefly recalled the definition of the word 'faith' that Ash's friend Serena had shared with him, and he wondered if Chloe's faith in him, too, was born of love.

Still, he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. She did love him, after all.

"Thanks, Chloe."

And he loved her, too.

She inched closer, and Goh opened his arm up to allow her to get even closer before putting his arm around her. Grookey moved back from her shoulder to his once more, and she rested her head against him as the bus went on, its sounds and Ash's quiet snoring being the only accompaniment to the quiet countryside this early in the morning.

The Kingdom of Rota was nestled on the eastern side of the Raizen Mountains. Founded much earlier than the creation of the regional government, it was one of the small independent nations of the world that did not formally belong to the world government that most of the planet belonged to. There was much speculation as to why the kingdom wasn't absorbed into the Kanto Region proper over the centuries, but the reason put forth in the majority of the texts Goh had researched in preparation for heading here were the treaties that the ancient kingdom had signed with its neighbors, and these treaties were still being upheld even to this day, though now Rota was dealing with the successors of the states that the treaties had previously belonged to rather than the signatories themselves.

Still, Goh thought, it was a pretty interesting situation the Kingdom of Rota found itself in. He had heard of a few other states that were their own sovereigns still existing in the world, but for the most part, these seemed to be small, single city-states rather than the sorts of expansive kingdoms he'd read about in books. Rota itself claimed dominion over not only the small city that shared the kingdom's name, but also the vast wilderness that stretched further north to an ancient rock formation in the shape of a tree that was called the Tree of Beginning, despite being neither a tree nor the start to anything as far as Goh had learned. It was merely a habitat for rare Pokémon and thus without express permission from the royal family, outsiders were forbidden from approaching it, so he never considered heading there to fill more pages in his Pokédex.

From his seat on the bus, Goh saw the city drawing closer until they finally entered its walls. The architecture was completely different from what he was used to seeing in the older parts of Kanto, looking more like Lunargent Town and the other old cities and towns of Kalos than anything Kantonian in origin. As the bus pulled through the otherwise fairly normal looking city, Goh couldn't help but notice the strange crystals that seemed to be growing from the ground. They were a clear blue that perfectly matched the hue of the sky and seemed to grow not just from the ground, but on older buildings as well as through the sidewalk at places. He wasn't sure how the crystals could even form like that naturally, unless the buildings were hewn from much larger and older rock. He couldn't even imagine how inconvenient working around them was when planning the roads for the city.

The bus drew to a stop, and Goh roused Ash and Chloe from their naps and the three teens and their Pokémon all stepped off the bus.

"So Goh," Chloe asked. "Where's this Royal Library supposed to be?"
He put a hand to his chin, a motion which Grookey, and then Eevee, copied. "It's supposed to be in Cameran Palace, which means we need to ask the ruler for permission to get inside."

Chloe frowned. "And you didn't think to send any letters or anything ahead to ask for this permission?" Her tone carried her disappointment clearly - even having her romantic feelings known and returned did little to change how Chloe acted, it seemed.

But this wasn't going to change how Goh acted, either.

"I just happen to be one of the most well known research fellows who works under the famous genius Professor Cerise. I'll just go in and ask to see the books. It's not like I'm here to cause trouble."

"It's not like your arrogance has ever gotten you into trouble, either," Chloe volleyed back, another round in their never ending game to prod and tease the other.

Even as in love with her as he was (and he was, indeed) he couldn't help himself, and he figured Chloe was the same, herself.

There was always a rush of excitement to this sort of flirting, he found.

"It's in th' castle?" Ash asked, still somewhat asleep from the bleary look on his face. "Lemme talk to 'em, then."

Goh found himself frowning in irritation. "Let me guess, you just happen to know the people who are in charge of the castle?"

Ash yawned in his fairly blasé way. "I mean, yeah sort of," he said with a shrug. "It's a long story, I won't bore you with it."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I think whenever I deal with royalty it's totally not worth mentioning either."

For once, the two of them were on the same page. Ash's ability to 'just happen to know' someone was starting to grate on his nerves, given how often it seemed to come up.

Still, he wasn't about to look a gift Pokémon in the mouth, so he shrugged. "Whatever gets us in there is fine by me. It's more important that we get a look at the library and see if we can find anything that can connect the scroll Morty had and Kurt saw to the people who founded Stone Town."

Their search for information had brought them to the Kingdom of Rota by way of the Poké Ball craftsman Kurt of Azalea Town. While tracking down information about a powerful Poké Ball that could even bind the god-like Legendary Pokémon with its power, they came to the craftsman who indicated that he had first heard the legend here. This was in a long line of following a trail that started with a mysterious white feather they had found in Stone Town that they thought was tied to the Legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh, but after their trips to Johto and Kalos, Goh wasn't so sure it was connected to Ho-Oh anymore.

But if it wasn't tied to Ho-Oh, why did it react to the powers of Entei, Raikou, and Suicune found on Mount Tensei? Goh turned in the direction of the mountain, distant but still somewhat visible on the horizon from where he stood in Rota, and his thoughts returned to the tablet that Professor Cerise had uncovered there.

"Where the Rainbow begins and Kingdoms end…"

"Goh?" Chloe asked, drawing him from his thoughts.

Goh looked up to see Ash, Chloe, Pikachu, Eevee, and even Grookey staring at him.

"S-Sorry. I guess I'm just lost in my thoughts a bit."

It felt like a puzzle he was close to putting together, but he was missing a few key details that he needed to see how the pieces truly fit together. He was sure uncovering the true meaning of the legend would be the key to understanding this feather and the connection to the god mentioned in the temple.

But thanks to Team Rocket, the face of this god was unknowable. They would have to do the legwork the hard way.

Ash shrugged. "C'mon, the castle's across this bridge!"

"Pika!"

The Palletonian began walking away from the town of Rota and towards the castle that stood on an island in the middle of a great lake. The castle was connected to both sides of the lake by a great stone bridge, and the road the bridge supported looked like it could go far into the wilderness towards the Tree of Beginning.

Goh put it out of his mind and began following Ash, and Chloe followed closely behind, clutching Eevee to her chest.

As the three teens walked across the bridge, Goh took notice of more of the strange crystals that dotted the land and the bridge itself. He shuddered at the sight, feeling his frown growing deeper and deeper.

"Be careful," Chloe warned after nudging him with her elbow. "Your face might get stuck like that."

"Don't you think the crystals here are a bit… unnatural?" he asked, turning to her.

She glanced towards Ash before looking back at him. "Yeah, they are a bit weird, huh? I wonder what they're about?"

"Me, too…"

Ash, however, either didn't hear their conversation or felt there was nothing to add, Goh thought. He said nothing and kept his eyes focused forward.

Soon, Cameran Palace was looming overhead. It was a glorious castle, looking like something out of a storybook, and yet Goh was looking upon it with his own eyes. Two guards stood at the door and scrutinized the teens as they approached.

"Sorry, kids," one of the guards said, dressed in what looked to Goh like traditional metal armor one would find in an old RPG rather than in real life, "Cameran Palace isn't open to the public today. Please come again another day."

"Actually, I'm a friend of Queen Ilene," Ash said, gesturing to himself. "And I was the Hero about three years ago?"

The guard that had approached them frowned. "Three years…?" His eyes then went wide, as though he had remembered something important. "Let me check to see if Queen Ilene is available. Can you remind me, your name is…?"

"My name's Ash, and this is my buddy Pikachu," Ash said, gesturing to his partner on his shoulder before motioning to his other friends. "And these are Goh, Grookey, Chloe, and Eevee. I need them t' come with me."

The guard called the other guard over and relayed this information, and the second guard was off quickly. The teens only had to wait for a few moments before the great wooden doors that lead into the castle began to open.

"Right this way," the guard said, gesturing for them to enter the castle.

Goh glanced at Chloe, whose eyes were wide with wonder. The castle was a gorgeous, regal palace with tall towers and intricately designed murals engraved on the walls. The teens were quickly ushered inside, and through the entrance hall up a quick flight of stairs into what Goh could only describe as the throne room.

The western wall was made chiefly of windows and a glass door that showed the beautiful gardens that were being maintained by various gardeners and maids at this moment in the early morning.

The eastern wall, however, had much more of interest. There were several huge paintings on the wall, each the size of a gigantic banner. These paintings all showed various scenes, including a Pidgeot flying through stormy weather, a painting of the Tree of Beginning, and one of a man in an ancient garb wielding a staff alongside a Lucario.

The final picture, however, was covered with a red felt curtain, hiding its contents from public view.

Goh frowned, and found himself wondering what was under the curtain.

Turning his attention forward, there was a small raised area of the room, and seated on the rather modest throne was a woman who looked to Goh to be about his mother's age, if a bit older. She had long blonde hair that went down her back, with two long rivlets framing her face. She wore an incredibly ornate pink dress, and on her head she wore a golden crown set with a green gemstone.

Ash approached the throne and kneeled before her, with Pikachu hopping off his shoulder doing the same. Goh and Chloe followed suit, with Eevee and Grookey doing so as well.

"Nice t' see you again, Your Highness," Ash said, smiling.

The queen had an amused look on her face. "Actually, Ash, you're supposed to address queens with 'Your Majesty'," she said, waving a hand at him. "Now, you and your friends can rise. A hero and his friends don't need to kneel in this chamber."

Ash laughed somewhat nervously as they stood, and as Goh looked up, he saw a Pokémon standing on the arm of the Queen's throne, mimicking her body language silently. The Pokémon was pink with a red nose and dark-colored hair that seemed to end in a little round ball.

Though he recognized it from the one Professor Amaranth had, Goh took out his phone and pointed it at the Pokémon, and a picture of her appeared on the screen. "Mime Jr.," the phone said, "the Mime Pokémon. A Psychic- and Fairy-type. Mime Jr. is known to turn up in bustling marketplaces. It mimics people much as a child would, then watches how they react with sparkling eyes."

The Pokédex's words reminded Goh of Eevee, and his eyes were naturally drawn to her and her trainer just as his childhood friend began to speak.

"So how does a wandering Pokémon Trainer like Ash know you personally, Your Majesty?" Chloe asked, frowning.

Goh felt his frown return as well. "He mentioned something about being the hero three years ago?"

The queen giggled. "Oh, that? That's simply a title he earned in a tournament three years ago." She gestured to the large portrait of the man and the Lucario. "Every year in the summer we hold a Pokémon Battle Tournament in honor of the great hero Sir Aaron and his noble partner Lucario who protected our kingdom from devastation in the ancient past. The winner is honored at a grand banquet and given the title of this year's Hero."

"And I won," Ash said, puffing his chest out proudly. Pikachu hopped back on Ash's shoulder and did the same. "It was when Pikachu an' me were travelin' around Kanto to challenge the Battle Frontier."

Goh frowned, feeling like his memories were being scrambled. "Wait, the Battle Frontier? Isn't that in Hoenn? Where we met Hodge?"

Ash chuckled. "Well, they do have one in Sinnoh, too, while we're mentionin' it."

"I don't think even he knows what goes on around him sometimes," Chloe snarked.

"Eievui," she said, though it was really more of a sneeze than an agreement.

"But what brings you all to Cameran Palace?" the queen asked.

Ash gestured back towards Goh. "My buddy Goh here'd like to check out your library," he said. "He's been doin' a lot of research and he's been trying to get to the bottom of some feather we found in a ruin an' our research's lead us here."

The queen looked suitably impressed. "I am well acquainted with the contents of the royal library," she said, looking over Ash and at Goh. "Tell me, what are you hoping to find?"

Goh locked eyes with her, but in his mind, he was once again viewing the scroll that had led him to Kurt.

That led him here.

"There is a story of an ancient king who wanted to use something like the feather we discovered, as well as other powerful artifacts to create a Poké Ball that could catch even a Pokémon as powerful as Ho-Oh," he said. "We learned from a Poké Ball expert that he read about it here, and so we were hoping that your library had a bit more information on it than that, to give us a lead to our next destination."

The queen put her chin in her hands and looked to be in thought. Mime Jr. did the same, quietly copying her. "I do recall some writings in the library that may point you in the proper direction…" she said. "The library is located under the staircase that leads to the upper levels, and you may have free reign over anything you find there so long as you do not take any books on your way out."

"That's… very kind of you," Goh said, somewhat taken aback. He wasn't expecting it to be this easy.

"Any friend of Ash's is welcome here, and I'm sure you'll learn a lot by looking into this," she said, giving a smile that was friendly, if a little guarded. "If you need anything, please call for one of the servants and they'll attend to you."

Ash chuckled. "Well, I didn't get anything to eat this morning," he said. "The bus from Vermilion City came pretty early."

"Pikapi…" Pikachu chided, causing everyone in the room to chuckle.

Everyone but Chloe.

Goh raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"Why don't we start with brunch, then, and then you can check out the library?" the queen asked.

Feeling hungry himself, Goh agreed to delay checking the library just a little longer.

He turned another page in another tome of ancient history before taking a drink of a tea the servant who brought it promised would pep him right up.

He was fearful that it wasn't working anymore.

Goh and Chloe were sitting across from each other at a table in the library, each leafing through books on history of the area as Eevee and Grookey ran around the library playing some game known only to them. Argent the Umbreon was out as well, lying next to the table and watching Eevee and Grookey play. Goh opted for the Dark-type instead of Cinderace in case the rabbit tried to run and his big, heat-generating feet put burns in the carpet.

The library was well stocked, a huge chamber easily the size of the Ecruteak Gym's battlefield, with walls and shelves lined with books. Chloe was impressed with the size, but rather than getting to pick and choose, she directed her efforts to searching for books that seemed dedicated to the ancient past in hopes of finding information that could help them.

That was several hours ago. Brunch felt like a distant memory.

He glanced up at Chloe and saw the fatigue in her green eyes. She was trying her best to help him, but he could tell this wasn't how she wanted to spend her weekend.

He'd have to make it up to her later with a gift of some kind. Or maybe a date to the movies. Or something.

Ash had set off right after brunch had ended, saying he wanted to let his Lucario see the things this ancient heroic Lucario had once owned. He also cracked a joke at not wanting to interrupt their date, and Goh felt his cheeks burn with irritation.

He was almost a little thankful that Mika and Deliah had left on a Pokémon journey so his occasional run-ins with the two girls wouldn't result in getting teased by them as well.

Goh turned the page again and frowned.

"What the…?"

On one of the pages before him was a complex geometric pattern that made no decipherable sense on its own.

It reminded him of the previous time he saw this, months ago back in Vermilion City, in a map that supposedly led to Mew's home. While he had acquired that map after a certain trial that also caused him to meet Argent when he was only an Eevee, it had been shelved since there weren't any leads that they could follow up from it, with their focus instead continuing on the feather.

On the opposite page, though, he found actual written information.

Chloe looked up and did a double take on the map. "Hey… that's like the one we got from Felix…"

Goh read the page, his eyes quickly scanning. "It says that this is an example of the ancient cipher used by the neighboring kingdom of Pokélantis to encode maps and other secret documents…"

"It's a cipher?" Chloe asked. "So there's a way to decode it and read the message beneath?"

"There should be…" he said. "But this book doesn't say anything about it…"

The two of them groaned, but the groan became a yawn before too long, and they both sighed.

"How long have we been at this?" she asked.

"Not long enough, apparently," he said, taking the next book from the pile. "This one's called 'The History of Pokélantis'…"

Chloe looked up at him. "What even is that?" she asked, the fatigue easy to catch in her voice.

"It's supposed to be an ancient kingdom that used to exist about two-thousand years ago," he said, already skimming the pages. "Maybe it had some dealings with Rota in the past?"

She frowned.

"I mean I guess it's possible…" she said. "But why's it called Pokélantis," she asked. "Did Poké Balls even exist that long ago?"

Goh shrugged. "They're supposed to be only about two-hundred years old, not two-thousand. At least, that's what Kurt said…"

Maybe that's why the scroll called it a talisman rather than a Poké Ball, he thought. The gold-and-silver colored ball was set on the table next to the books, in hopes that by having it in sight, either Goh or Chloe might see something that brought the object to mind and give them some sort of clue.

He continued reading the book, flipping through to hopefully see some sort of connection to the kingdom of Rota. For a book with 'History' in the title, the book was remarkably light on details regarding the founding of this ancient kingdom, only stating that it seemed to be founded in the distant past. He skimmed the book and looked towards the end, hoping for something he could dig into.

He felt his breath catch in his chest when he saw those red eyes glaring back up at him from the page.

Embossed by a hand clearly dedicated to their craft was the image of a great phoenix Goh was familiar with. With wings spread wide and talons prepared to strike, the image of the Legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh stared back at Goh and reminded him of his too-close encounter with the Pokémon back in Ecruteak City.

This chapter of the book was titled 'The End of Pokélantis'.

As Goh began flipping through and reading the pages, Chloe set down the book she was holding. "Did you find something?" she asked.

He nodded. "According to this," he said, "Pokélantis was an aggressive, war-hungry kingdom in those days, and often tried to invade its neighbors, including Rota," he said, continuing to read.

Chloe frowned and picked the book she was just holding back up. "I guess Rota's got a bit of history with being invaded, then," she said. "This one talks about how even back in feudal times, the neighboring city-states that eventually became Cerulean City and Pewter City would try to invade it."

Goh frowned. "I guess the land here looks really good," he said with a shrug. "I'm not sure why anyone would start a war over it, though."

"Well, just be thankful we live in peaceful times and not back then," Chloe said, with a tired smile.

"Heh, yeah."

He returned to reading his book.

"The wicked king of Pokélantis coveted the power of Legendary Pokémon," he said, reciting what was written. "And it was this lust for power that would be Pokélantis' undoing…"

This was beginning to sound familiar.

"The king was eager to capture the Legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh and use their power to dominate the kingdom's neighbors… but before the king was ready to enact his scheme, Ho-Oh descended upon the kingdom and scoured it from the face of the planet."

"Goh…! The scroll!"

He nodded and quickly pulled the document tube from his backpack, removing the scroll they had borrowed from Kurt and unfurling it on the table.

The scroll depicted an ancient king seated in his throne with a feather surrounded by three dots of red, yellow, and blue, a silver feather, and a clear crystal. On the opposite side was Ho-Oh, bathing the ground in holy, purging fire.

The scroll, as explained by Morty, told a story of a man who wanted to control Ho-Oh's power but was instead destroyed by that which he sought to control.

"...these have to be the same story," Chloe said.

"Yeah… Morty said it was about a distant kingdom, but maybe they didn't realize how close Kanto and Johto were back in those days…"

Chloe nodded. "Well, keep reading! What does it say happened?"

Goh kept flipping. "Let's see… Ho-Oh destroyed the kingdom, but the legends say that the king survived the destruction and vowed revenge…"

"Does it say where this place might have been?" Chloe asked.

Goh flipped back to the first pages of the book. "It's kind of vague…" he said. "It seems to say it's north of Pewter City somewhere, but it isn't clear just how far 'north' it is."

Chloe took out her phone and began tapping on it. "Maybe there's something about this Pokélantis place online…?" she asked.

"I hope so…" Goh said, leaning over the table to see what was loading on her phone.

A map appeared, seemingly taken by a satellite that circled the planet. "Here… it looks like it's pretty far from Pewter unless you go out of your way, but there is a place that's supposed to be a Pokélantian Ruin…"

Goh decided to ignore Chloe flexing her computer literacy skills and focused on the important details the phone was showing them.

"But that's not so far that we couldn't fly there with our Pokémon! And check it out!" He took the phone from her hands and scrolled the map to the east. "Look, here's Rota, where we are now! It's just on the other side of the Raizen Mountains!"

"The Raizen Mountains…!" Chloe gasped. "Where we did those weird trials with the feather?!"

Goh nodded. "Maybe the feather originally came from Pokélantis?"

"Then how'd it end up in Stone Town…?" Chloe rebutted, asking the obvious question.

He wasn't sure.

"I guess that's something we might learn in Pokélantis," he said. "If it used to be a big city-state like every other big city in Kanto, then maybe this ruin is the ruin, and we won't have to look through a bunch of small places to find what we're looking for."

Goh dipped his hand into his pocket for his phone and hit the auto-dial for Ash's number. He set the phone on speaker mode and sat it on the table.

It rang for a little while before it was finally answered. "Hey, Goh! What's up?"

There were sounds in the background that sounded like a Pokémon battle. Goh could only hear what sounded like Lucario battling in the background, but he couldn't tell who the opponent was.

"I think we have a new lead," he said. "At least, it seems to be something that ties the story we heard from Morty to a location we can visit, and if this place is tied to where that ancient king lived, it might give us some insight into the feather and where it came from."

"That sounds awesome!" Ash's excitement seemed to pour out even through the phone. "Where is it?"

"It's this place called Pokélantis," he explained. "It's north of Pewter City."

There were a few more sounds of the ongoing battle before Ash called it off. "That place, huh…"

"Have you been there before?"

"One time. We were lost on our way during the Battle Frontier and stumbled inside," he said.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Of course, he's been there before. Why not?"

Goh kept his own disbelief at bay, for the moment, but Ash having visited these places before was only getting more and more unbelievable.

"Well regardless, that's where we're going. Are you up for it?"

"Of course!" he said. "Are we leaving now?"

Goh looked at the phone and frowned. "I think it may be a bit late to make that trip today… we can head there in the morning."

"Awesome!" Ash said. He turned away from the phone and shouted to someone, asking to go another round. "I'll see you guys at dinner, then! Have fun on your date!"

With that, Ash hung up, leaving Goh and Chloe to sit in the silence of the library, embarrassed.

Eevee and Grookey rushed over to the table and leapt upon it, becoming a quick distraction for the couple.

Still, Goh couldn't shake the feeling that there was something strange in the air. But he needed to get to the bottom of this if he was going to get more tokens and secure his position as a Chaser. So he tried to set those feelings aside and begin preparing for the trip he and the others would be taking tomorrow.

Thankfully, it was now spring, and longer days meant more time to investigate.