In an underground facility a red flashing light and a siren go off, then a sharply dressed man in a grey suit along with a stern-faced tall woman in a red and white trench coat blouse entered a large room and walked across a bridge all the way to large sphere on a platform where a couple of people in jumpsuits where around it seeming concerned. The woman demanded to know "what's the problem here" and one of the workers informed them "the core went into overload just as it was absorbing Galar particles" in which she told him "isn't that what this hanger is for" however the worker worriedly said "well you see the energy has breached the hanger walls" in which she replied escaping again. Just then the core started glowing a red light and emitted a weird energy signatures that created beams which passed right through the ceiling making it's way to the surface.
The energy beams made their way to the surface and shot out from a stadium gym and into the atmosphere, they then broke into smaller pieces and landed all over the Galar Region. Back in the hanger the woman order everyone "reinforced the hanger at once" so while the workers followed their orders the sharply dressed man then overwhelmingly said "it's truly limitless energy made real, stupendous isn't it Oleana" the woman though simply nodded her head in agreement and stated, "yes it truly is Chairman Rose".
Meanwhile all the way back in the Kanto Region Ash had just gotten ready for bed and then told Pikachu "alright buddy I'm turning the lights off now" as he did he carefully tried to navigate his way to the bed in the dark but thankfully Pikachu emitted a little electricity which glowed the room like a night light allowing Ash to see "thanks buddy". Just as Ash was about to go to bed he noticed a weird red light glowing behind him so he looks over to all his trophies and souvenirs and saw that the Dynamax band he got from Leon was glowing.
The next day he went to Professor Oak to see if he knew anything about what was going, Professor Oak held and also questioned why it glowed in the Kanto Region "trainers from the Galar Region use these wristbands to turn Pokémon into Dynamax Pokémon which causes them to turn giant sized but there are details to the method that remain a mystery" Ash then responded, "I've wondered that as well like why they can only do it in stadiums or the wild area but I haven't figured out why". Oak then activated the big monitor which displayed a map of Galar and a bunch of arrows pointing everywhere and told Ash "well recently there have been a few exceptions because there have been reports of them growing huge in places they're not supposed to like towns, farmlands and even city streets which is baffling" Ash then pointed out "maybe that's why my Dynamax band glowed all the way here in Kanto", Oak then had an idea "well as much as I want to investigate I unfortunately I have some pressing work here but maybe you could check it out if you're up to the task" Ash happily accepted the task "of course I won't let you down actually I think I might have a friend in Galar that can help me".
After another plane ride back to the Galar Region Ash and Pikachu arrive back at Wyndon City and heads to the stadium and as they make their way up the stairs they find their old friends Hop and Wooloo, when Ash saw them he called out "hey guys it's me" they noticed and were excited to see them too "hey guys" Pikachu and Wooloo ran up to each other and hugged. Ash then thanks Hop for helping him "I really gotta thank you for helping me out here" and Hop replies "no problem I'm also trying to figure out why the Pokémon are randomly Dynamaxing but anyway follow me into the stadium". As they were approaching the stadium entrance Ash noticed there were a lot of people here despite there not being a battle scheduled "there's no battle so what's with all the people" Hop then happily answers him "they're mainly just tourists and tour groups because belive it or not there's a lot of history behind Galar and Wyndon Stadium also acts as sort've a museum and belive it or not a lot of historic events happened right here in" Ash and Pikachu were amazed and overwhelmed by this and proceeded to follow Hop inside.
As they entered the main lobby they saw a giant screen depicting last week's battle showing Leon and Charizard facing off against a trainer with a hoodie that resembled a dragon and a Pokémon that looked like a tiny miniature tower, Ash then questioned what exactly was happening back then "hey Hop who's that guy you're brother faced off again" Hop answered "oh that's one of Galar's Gymleaders he's called Raihan a dragon type specialist and that's his ace Duraludon", Ash then looked up the Pokémon with the Pokedex app "Duraludon the Allow Pokémon: a Steel and Dragon Type, Duraludon sports a metallic body with a beautiful lustre of polished shining metal" Ash was impressed but continued to follow Hop.
Ash then asked what exactly was the plan here "so what exactly will we do" and Hop explained "there's a train that leaves here shortly we'll board it and get off at a town called Wedgehurst there we'll meet up with Professor Magnolia who might be able to shed a little light on the Dynamaxing Pokémon" Ash agreed to the plan but then took notice a large golden statute of a man holding a sword and shield "woah what's that" Hop walked up and happily explained "that my friend is a statue known as the legendary hero of Galar" Ash was still confused but Hop explained it more "you see this guy was once a legendary hero that protected the Galar region in times of need although not much was known" then they heard a voice saying "that's because you barely pay attention" hearing this made Hop annoyed "ALRIGHT WHO'S THE WISE GUY MAKING THE JOKES" just then a redhaired girl with green sweater and brown jacket came out from behind the statue in which Hop recognised her "oh hey Sonia, Ash this is Sonia Leon's friend and Professor Magnolia's granddaughter slash research assistant" Ash kindly greeted "nice to meet you" and she kindly responded "nice to meet you too Leon's told me much about you…" immediately she noticed Pikachu and couldn't resist touching it "what a cutie pie" although it made Pikachu feel very uncomfortable. Ash then asked Sonia what exactly the real story behind the statue was "hey Sonia what exactly is the statue supposed to be off" Sonia gladly then explained the story behind it "well you see that's a famous Galar region hero, long ago a great black storm covered the Galar region and the land was assaulted by gigantic Pokémon" Hop then took a second to think about the giant Pokémon "gigantic huh kinda sounds like Dynamax" Sonia then continues with the story "but they were defeated by a single young hero bearing a sword and shield so the statue here is supposed to depict that young hero of the legend". Impressed by the story Hop then comes up with some theories "still do you think that storm could've just been a hurricane or thunderstorm" Sonia replies "I'm still not really sure just what it was or even if the legend actually occurred but I want to know what kind of person they were and where the sword and shield are now not to mention what does it have to do with Dynamaxing so you could say investigating this is a bit of homework, but speaking of which what exactly are you two up two" Hop answered "we're trying to understand why the Pokémon are Dynamxing outside stadiums and the wild area like the time that Drednaw we faced Gigantamaxed outside the stadium" Ash also adds on "plus last night my Dynamax band started glowing all the way in the Kanto Region" hearing this really baffled Sonia "now that really is strange but anyway I have to get going so good luck with your mission" in return Ash and Hop said in unison "good luck with yours".
Later the boys board a train and make their way to Wedgehurst and Ash was enjoying the train ride "travelling by train is a lot of fun, I haven't been on one of these things since Unova" Hop then remarks well it's one of the things that makes Galar known for like these bad boys" he opens up a bag and lays a bunch of delicious scones on the table, Ash became enticed by them and couldn't resist eating them quickly "ooh they look delicious time to dig in" he gave Pikachu one as they both eat Ash unfortunately ate his too quick and started choking but Hop gave him a drink to help wash it down all while trying not to laugh "here have some tea". After clearing this through Ash then asked, "so this Professor Magnolia she'll be able to help us" and Hop retorts "you bet she's the world's leading expert on Dynamax not to mention she helped develop the Dynamax band".
Shortly though they feel and hear the train stopping and then the conductor speaks on the intercom "attention passengers we've received word of a thick fog forming along our route, so we'll be forced to stop here momentarily" the train then makes a complete stop so Ash and Hop look out the window but are confused because it's clear as daylight outside "strange I don't see any fog" Ash said. The conductor also announces, "As we might be stopped here for a while, several car doors will be opened so feel free to step out for a bit to stretch your legs but please don't stray too far away from the train". As the train doors open the boys become disappointed "that's too bad we were so close to where we were going too…" Hop says but becomes interrupted by small light brown Pokémon with bcuk teeth and huge tail, it was trying to steal one of the scones however it surprises Ash and Hop in which Hop yells out "A SKWOVET" Ash then pulls out his phone and checks "Skwovet the Cheeky Pokémon: a Normal Type, Skwovet keeps Berries in its cheeks, but if its stomach is already full, it can temporarily store food in the tufts of fur on its tail also Hiding and building up food stores is Skwovet's signature behaviour" Skwovet then runs off with one of the scones in which Hop decides he wants to catch it "I'm going after it to catch it" and then encourages him "do it Hop".
The boys leave the train and pursue the Skwovet Ash yells out "HEY WAIT UP" and hop then realises where they were "looks like it's going into the forest we call the Slumbering Wield", Ash then says "come on it's getting away".
When chasing it into the forest they lost it and Ash becomes disappointed "aw where'd it go" but ultimately they were having a hard time seeing through the fog "man the fog is thicker than I remember" Hop says, Hop then notices the Skwovet so he and Wooloo continue to pursue it however he didn't realise Ash was looking away and didn't notice him leave. When Hop had it in his sights he threw a poke ball at it however it broke free and ran away "aw man sorry Ash I wasn't able to catch it…Ash are you there", Hop and Wooloo now realised they was completely separated from Ash and Pikachu.
Meanwhile in another area of the forest Ash and Pikachu find themselves separated from Hop and begin calling out for him "Hop where are you" Pikachu then feels the presence of something "what's up Pikachu" whatever was out there made Pikachu become defensive. Ash looks around him to also feel the presence of something but nothing was there, however Pikachu still felt it and began ready to attack but then they saw what it was, it was a large blue dog Pokémon with white legs and had long red braids from the side of its head. It didn't move or approach them just starred directly at them but still Ash wanted to know what it was "who's that Pokémon" he held out his phone but all it did was show a red warning sign and says, "this Pokémon does not match any recorded data" and this surprised Ash greatly "no way a new kind of Pokémon", but then all of a sudden it begins to pounce.
While Hop was searching for Ash Wooloo felt a presence of something, Hop looked around but saw nothing however he could also feel something was out there but then it stood in front of them it was a large red dog Pokémon with white legs and had a large red mane around it's neck. It didn't move or approach them but just starred directly at them "who is that" Hop took the opportunity to find out but when he pulled out his phone it showed a red warning sign and says, "this Pokémon does not match any recorded data" so this surprised Hop immensely "it's a new kind of Pokémon", although without warning it begins to pounce at them.
Back with Ash the one he encountered attempted to punce of them but they got out of the way but then he became excited "this is what it's about let's have a battle". Pikachu attempted to use Iron Tail however he just passed straight through it which baffled Ash.
With Hop he attempted to catch it "gotta catch it right now" however as he hurled a poke ball at it, the ball just passed right it and not touch it at all which confused him "what was that". Wooloo charge straight at it with Take Down however Wooloo just passed right through it again which really confused Hop now "it just went right through".
As both trainers starred at the mysterious Pokémon in complete confusion both the Pokémon began to howl and then create the fog around them and disappear into it without a trace.
From what feels like a little while later Hop wakes up and finds himself and Wooloo all alone in the Slumbering Weald "what the where am I…oh that's right where's Ash" Hop begins to panic but calls out to see if Ash is around "where are you, Ash where are you, ASH" as he calls out he still hears nothing.
Hop then continued to try and find Ash but as he trekked through the forest there was still no sign of him "come on Ash where are you" he then thought about Ash might've gone headed back "he wouldn't have gone back to the train by himself, but would he though", Hop figured that he should then try and call Ash on his phone "Rotom Phone will you please call Ash" the phone then began to contact him "now calling Ash, now calling Ash, now calling Ash" however Ash still didn't pick up the phone. Hop became a little disappointed since he thought that would work "I guess Ash doesn't know how to properly use his phone does he…" just then Hop heard the train sound it's horn and became worried he'd miss it "oh no".
Hop and Wooloo ran as fast as they could towards the train however just as they got out the forest the train was already on its way and they had just missed it. Hop couldn't believe he missed it and was now stranded but then he noticed two bright pink lights falling from the sky and into the horizon "hey those things they look a lot like when a Pokémon Dynamax". Hop became enticed by the lights but then became startled and screamed when a pink car pulled up right beside him, and more surprising he sees Sonia lean out the window with binoculars observing the lights "fascinating even way out this far" they then both notice each other's presence and silently stare at each other and become both scream in surprise of seeing each other.
Meanwhile back in the forest Ash and Pikachu was waking up and became baffled on why he was asleep "ow did we fall asleep in a place like this…huh wait where's that Pokémon" Ash looks around to see nothing but an empty and calm forest, but then he remembers about the train leaving soon "man we'd better get back to the train quick".
As they head back to the train they try calling out to Hop to see if he was in the area "Hop, Wooloo lemme know you're around", Ash then became worried they would miss the train "we'd better move or we'll miss the train, do you think maybe Hop just went on ahead without us, we'd better get there quick". As Pikachu jumps onto Ash's shoulder they also witness the pink lights in the sky falling to the ground far away, however he sees one land into a town and once it hits a beam of light shoots out the ground and then a large, long red Pokémon starts to grow humungous while setting everything on fire. Ash new people could be in trouble so he pulled out a poke ball and threw it open "Charizard I choose you" Charizard then emerged and roared while breathing fire and tells it "Charizard we need to get to that giant Pokémon and hurry", Ash and Pikachu got onto Charizard's back and flew towards the danger.
At the village the giant red Pokémon starts scattering and rampaging through the streets soon enough Ash flew down onto the scene and then asked the people what was going on "excuse me this isn't a stadium or the Wild Area so what's going on" a man with a red scarf holding a little girl then explained what was happening "it was glowing red and started Gigantamaxing with me doing a thing, Centiskorch didn't obey any commands I gave it and I'm it's trainer" the little girl then became worried about it "what could be wrong with poor Centy, it was so friendly a few seconds before". Ash pulls out his phone to see what info it had on it "Centiskorch (Gigantamax Form) the radiator Pokémon: a Fire and Bug Type, Gigantamax energy has evoked a rise in its body temperature so now it reaches over 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit so its heat waves incinerate its enemies, the heat that comes off a Gigantamax Centiskorch may also destabilize air currents and can even cause storms", Ash then assures them that he can help it "we're gonna take care of this you just wait here" however the man had doubts "don't try it your in over your head" however despite the warnings Ash, Pikachu and Charizard flew into the fight.
At first Ash at least tried to reason with it "Centiskorch stop it, you're scarring everybody please you've gotta calm down" Centiskorch noticed them and tried slamming it's head right on top of them but thankfully Charizard managed to get out of the way. Despite the attack and how menacing it looked Ash knew something wasn't right "something made you do this right Centiskorch, I've gotta figure out how to do this and fast" Ash landed back onto the ground and dismounted and then threw out two more poke balls "Hawlucha and Donphan I need your help" Ash releases Hawlucha and Donphan who were ready to fight. The four Pokémon then begin to attack with Pikachu throwing an Electro Web at Centiskorch's head to distract it while Donphan fires a Hyper Beam and Charizard fires a Flame Thrower at it and land direct hits, however it breaks off the Electro Web and shoves rubble at them however Hawlucha leaps between the rubble chunks and uses Karate Chop on every last one before they hit Ash and the others. Centiskorch then started to use the move Max-Flutterby and created bunch of sparkling lights around itself and harnessed them into glowing orbs which then transformed into a beam of destructive butterflies but Donphan starts using rollout into the dirt and starts spinning it all out and created a wave of dirt to protect everyone but as they collided it made a huge explosion.
When the smoke cleared Ash saw Centiskorch was still standing tall "nothing, whoa that didn't work at all", Centiskorch was mad now so it started using it's special move G-Max Centiferno, it lined up it's body like a giant radiator and started glowing brightly. Ash became very worried now "this isn't looking good at all…EVERYBODY RUN" as Centiskorch charged it's attack Charizard grabbed Donphan while everyone else got on it's back and they escaped to the air. When they got to safety they then saw millions of rocks fall from the sky and onto Centiskorch's body causing it to collapse, Ash and the others become surprised by this but as they look up and as the dust settles they none other than Leon riding Charizard which amazes Ash "wow I can't belive it's Leon" and he responds, "right Ash and you can leave the rest to me". Leon and Charizard engage with Centiskorch and bombarbs multiple Air Slashes on top of it causing it to be defeated and revert back to normal, when Centiskorch regained concoius it became confused about what had happened but all of a sudden the little girl came running in "my Centy oh no" she immediately ran up to it and started worriedly hugging the poor Pokémon "thank goodness you're all right" she worriedly says and Centiskorch embraces her showing everything will be alright.
The girl's father walks up and thanks everyone for what they did "thank you all so much Eva and I were so worried about Centiskorch" Leon then states "it had that suspicious look in its eyes but it's fine now", the whole town came out and praised Leon for his efforts in saving them all but instead of accepting the glory Leon simply just said "well I only did what any other champion would have done, everyone I know you're concerned about the rampaging Dynamax Pokémon who have recently appeared but I assure you I will find out the cause and see that it won't happen again, but for now I ask that you do everything you can to protect yourselves all right". As Leon mounts Charizard Ash runs up and asks "Leon where are you going now" he responds "now that they're safe I'm going to stop all the other Dynamax Pokémon from rampaging" Ash pleads with Leon for him to help "please Leon let us help you" unfortunately Leon couldn't allow it "I'm glad you want to help but…" Ash interrupts "please" and gives him a stare showing determination and will power in which Leon has to accept "very well but we're leaving right away" hearing this made Ash excited, he returned Hawlucha and Donphan into their poke balls and got on his Charizard and then the both of them took to the skies.
Meanwhile on the road Hop had joined Sonia in her little mission however it was going to be a very bumpy ride as the car kept serving and bouncing making Hop and Wooloo very uncomfortable "no offence Sonia but you really need to brush up on your driving skills" Sonia annoyedly states "don't be rude the problem is my car's really old" Hop blankly stares at her and says "right the car is old…oh yeah please Rotom Phone would you try Ash again" the phone politely says "right away" and puts Hop on with Ash.
Back in the skies Ash and Leon were on their way to stop the next rampaging giant Pokémon but then Ash's phone started chiming "you have a call from Hop, you have a call from Hop, you have a call from Hop" Ash then happily answers the phone "hey there Hop where are you know…" however he was met with a really angry Hop "YOU ANSWERED, WHERE AM I WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU" Ash then informed him "I'm with your brother and we're gonna stop the Dynamax Pokémon from rampaging" hearing this surprised Hop "wait your with my brother" Ash responds "yeah it's a long story" and Hop replies "my story's long too I met up with Sonia and we're on our way to check out some ruins in Turfield" hearing made Ash surprised "wait you found Sonia" and Hop answers "yeah and she thinks the rampaging Dynamax Pokémon in the Galar Region have something to do with the very same hero legend, that's why she and I are going to Turfield so we can figure out the mysteries of that legend, but for now let's both focus on what's in front of us and catch up afterwards" Ash happily says "right with yeah…". Ash becomes distracted as the sky turns red meaning another Pokémon grew huge and Leon tells him "here it comes you can see it now" and replies "got it, okay Hop talk to you later", Ash hangs up the phone and then he and Leon then engage with a giant Pangoro.
Back in the car Ash hung up the phone on Hop again "okay Ash and Leon are handling the Dynamax Pokémon everyone should be fine for now" Sonia then remarks "I guess that means your vuddy is teaming with Leon" and Hop tells her "yep that's what he said…AHH" the car shakes rapidly again causing Hop to panic. However, what the two of them didn't know was that a suspicious looking gentlemen was tailing them.
Something big is happening in the Galar Region but what will Ash and Hop find at their destination either hope or danger, the answers will come as the journey continues.