"Who is… Dawn?" Jira said.

"Ahh, a friend of mine." Goh spoke. "She is with three others. They are the ones who are looking for Ash for two years now."

"And why are you typing… so much?"

"It's because… they must be in absolute shock right now. Do you know Brock?"

"You mean me?" a voice suddenly spoke.

"Brock?!" Jira spoke. "Hey dude, what's up?"

"Ah, Jira, good to see you. My mind… is all over the place. Ash is finally here."

As Brock and Hop were introduced to each other, Brock asked Goh what is going on.

"Brock", Goh spoke, "didn't you search for Ash for a while?"

"Yes… for one year…"

"But then you ultimately pursued your career again."

"Yeah... I couldn't make money. I kept losing battles for some reason..."

"I get it... what about them, though?"

"These four girls, man, I swear they never, ever gave up searching for him. Sure, they did Contests and all, but they always asked about Ash everywhere they went."

Meanwhile, back in the Johto region

"Wait, a message!"

"Who is it?"

"It's Goh. Let me see, is it about his Project Celebi?"

Dawn opened her phone, and saw a few images from the Galarian Summit Tournament, at the beginning of the Ash vs Paul battle, as Froslass and Dragonite were having their intense battle. She gasped.

"Dawn, what is it?" Misty spoke, as she grabbed the phone with Serena and May looking all over. And they gasped as well. Their eyes widened so much.

"It's… it's… let me look closer…"

"No… no way…" Serena gasped, and tears started to form in her eyes. She looked at the other girls and noticed the same reaction. All four of them were covering their mouths in shock and did not say a word. The four girls looked at the phone one last time, with their last rational thoughts, and zoomed in upon that familiar face. It was him. None other than Ash.

Misty, May, Dawn and Serena were looking for their lost friend for two years now. Misty instructed her sisters to take care of the Cerulean Gym, as she had three trustworthy friends with her. She wasn't alone, after all. The other three were still having successful careers as Pokemon Coordinators, but they seemed to prefer local Contests at most, and avoided signing up for Grand Festivals. Dawn, May and Serena were still solid Hyper Rank performers, so it was clear they wanted to focus on what they wanted to do.

But all four girls thought Ash was still here. They've looked for him everywhere, and until the day he was confirmed dead, they sweared they would never give up. He can't dissappear for such a reason. No, he isn't affiliated with Team Rocket now. That's what they thought.

So when Goh informed Dawn that Ash Ketchum is finally back, that's when every kind of rational thought ended. All four girls began to cry loudly in each other's arms. They finally knew where he was, and most importantly, that he was alive.

After about fifteen minutes of hugging and crying, "ASH!" and "where have you been" shouts, bonding over their lost friend, and ugly yet cute faces, Serena suddenly spoke:

"Where… where is that tournament thing?"

"In Galar… at Wyndon…" Dawn tearfully said.

"We have to catch the next flight to Galar!" Misty shouted. "We have to be quick! Dawn, quickly tell me when is the next plane!"

"Let me… check quickly…" Dawn quickly said. "It's at… 4:30 PM… and it takes 4 hours…"

"Quick, order four tickets!" May suddenly spoke.

"Okay!" Dawn said. She paid all tickets off her own account, but she was so happy in the end. "Who cares about that… Ashy is here!" Dawn spoke as she hugged her friends.

Back to the battle

"Ash." Paul said. "Your Dragonite will not win a second time. Garchomp, battle standby!"

"Garchomp? Just like Cynthia's… wait, no. I actually battled that Garchomp before, if I think about it."

"Dragonite", Ash whispered, "let's be careful. This thing is fast for sure."

"Dragon Claw!" Paul shouted immediately.

"Fire Punch!" Ash responded.

Both Pokemon charged at each other, but Paul noticed that Dragonite seemed significantly faster. Ultimately, Fire Punch and Dragon Claw cancelled each other, producing a draconic-like explosion.

"Must be those stupid Dragon Dance boosts. I'll have to think up a way for sure."

"Dragonite, fly up!" Ash smiled. "Use Hurricane!"

"Garchomp, cover yourself. Use Dig."

The landshark Pokemon dug up its hole just before it was hit by the Flying-type move. But it was of no use, because Dragonite still felt like it could fly until tomorrow morning. So Paul needed to think up a different strategy.

"Garchomp, come back up." The landshark Pokemon immediately returned.

"Hmmm… this might be it." Paul smirked. "Garchomp, that Dragonite is going to come after us. Let's wait."

"Dragonite! Grab Garchomp!"

"So you're trying that again, Ash?" Paul said. "Block it."

Dragonite flew towards Garchomp with its impressive speed, but Garchomp managed to grab it by its wings as Dragonite tried to lift it up. Ash felt like Paul had his number again, just like back then.

"Dragonite! Shake that Garchomp off!"

"Garchomp! Fire Fang!"

Garchomp bit Dragonite's head with sheer force and made it flinch. Dragonite seemed it lost control over the battle.

"Let's finish this! Dragon Claw!"

"Dragonite, stay strong! Extreme Speed!" Ash shouted.

This time, it was Garchomp who shot towards Dragonite, who barely dodged its attack. But Dragonite was visibly getting tried against the grounded dragon's continous attacks.

"Stone Edge!"

"Fire Punch!"

As Garchomp launched a flurry of stones towards Dragonite, the latter seemed to punch its way through, but eventually it got overwhelmed and got hit at point blank by quite a few stones, as it crashed to the ground.

"Dragonite! No!" Ash shouted.

The dust cleared… and Dragonite was still standing! Now it was Paul's turn to get slightly frustrated.

"Urghh! Just what is this guy?!" he thought.

"Garchomp, listen for its next movement!" Paul shouted.

"Dragonite! One more Extreme Speed!"

"Take it." Paul smirked.

"Huh?" Ash thought.

Dragonite charged towards Garchomp with its last bit of sheer force and hit it straight in the stomach. As the dust settled, Garchomp was visibly struck, huffing and puffing. But that was also when…

"Dragonite!" Ash shouted, as his Pokemon was struggling in pain because of making contact with Garchomp. It ultimately tumbled over and fell to the ground.

"Dragonite is unable to battle! Garchomp wins!"

"And the match is now 1-1! Paul is trying to turn things around!" the announcer said.

"That's Rough Skin, Ash." Paul smiled. "Anyone who makes contact with Garchomp is bound to get hurt."

"Uhhh…" "I did not expect this. Actually, why do I keep thinking like that? This guy copied my Counter Shield strategy. But he's a strong trainer who can adapt." Ash thought.

"Dragonite, return." Ash said. "Thank you so much. You can have a nice rest."

"I have to get my way against Rough Skin, then. Looks like I'll go with this."

"Gengar, I choose you!"

As Ash's own Ghost-type Pokemon appeared on the battlefield, it seemed to face a tired, yet battle-ready Garchomp.

"Paul," Ash said, "Your Garchomp kind of reminds me of Cynthia's. It's strong and resilient. That's why… I have to use other means."

"My Garchomp trained with Cynthia's Garchomp herself, actually," Paul added. "It went through a lot of pain."

"That's visible." Ash said.

"Gengar, wait for Garchomp's movements."

"Charge towards Gengar! Dragon Claw!"

"Gengar, jump!" Ash spoke. Gengar immediately took the command, and dodged its opponent's move.

"Now! Dazzling Gleam!" Ash shouted. Gengar seemed to have the momentum now, seeing as it was behind Garchomp. The Fairy-type move struck. It was super effective and caused a rose explosion.

When the dust settled, Garchomp was left on the ground, but it managed to get up.

"This is our last chance…" Paul thought. "Draco Meteor!"

"Gengar! Charge up a Shadow Ball!"

While Garchomp was shooting meteors in the sky, Gengar charged its move. The meteor was above in the sky before it exploded into a multitude of smaller ones.

"Wait, Gengar… not yet…" Ash spoke.

The meteors got closer.

"Just a little more…"

And closer.

"Now! Use Shadow Ball!" Ash told Gengar, as it fired at Garchomp right before the meteors struck, causing a huge explosion.

When the dust settled, Garchomp this time was free. It could now rest.

"Garchomp is unable to battle! Gengar wins!" the referee announced.

"And it's now 2-1! What a show we have in the Wyndon Stadium!"

"Return, Garchomp. Thank you." Paul quietly said.

"Thank you, Gengar! Take a quick rest!" Ash decided to recall his Gengar for now, feeling like it would need his powers later.

"So you decide to switch things around", Paul spoke. "Then it's confirmed."

"Drapion, battle standby!"

"Sirfetch'd, I choose you!"

"So it's back." Ash thought.

Meanwhile, in the stands

"Oh Arceus." Brock said. "So you decided to inform the girls without asking Ash?"

"Yes…" Goh said shyly. "To be honest, I kind of want this to be a surprise for him. Ash would certainly not be able to sleep if he knew this beforehand."

"You're right, Goh." Brock laughed.

"If it was just you, Brock," Goh added, "I'm sure he would have happily slept, eagerly waiting for the reunion with someone like you. But these girls are literally from another planet."

"You speak of them like they are psychopaths", Hop said.

"They are anything but. Their bond with Ash was almost like a blood bond. Ash has had many friends in the past", Goh said, "but most of them ultimately led their lives on. Although I'm sure they are happy he is back. "

"From what I understand, Brock", Jira spoke, "you were Ash's best friend. Why didn't you keep searching?"

"I did for about one year, but I found out I couldn't support myself and my family anymore. You see, I have no talents to become a Coordinator or something, and I don't really like participating in leagues and all that. I'm happy with being a Gym Leader. So I decided to return to my passion."

"May, Dawn and Serena on the other hand," he continued, "can make enough money from even small contests to support themselves, and Misty just… tagged along. She has her other three sisters to take care of her Gym. Misty told me she wins money by participating in small tournaments and by defeating other trainers."

"These girls are crazy, man." Hop said. "Wait, weren't they idols or something?"

"No, they gave up that life. And so did Lisia." Brock said.

"Dawn told me," Goh said as he changed the subject, "that she and the other girls cried hysterically. I can feel they are so happy to know that he is okay. And yes, they are coming to Galar immediately. It could even be this evening."

"Maybe they just want to live in peace with Ash and his friends." Jira spoke.

"Let's hope so… it looks like Misty doesn't have her mallet." Goh said.