July 11th; morning came again, and despite her ongoing worries about Coral, Agate, and Sidian along with the rest of the Explorers, after she, Mistral, and Mr. Hu were shown the myriad of countermeasures created by Sarah to combat them, Lazuli was able to sleep more at ease. She groaned as the morning sun peeked through the clouds and its rays poured into her room, getting into her face and making her groan, rubbing her eyes to get rid of the sand in them while Pantherra and Galaxagus slept nearby.

She put herself in a sitting position just as her bedroom door opened to find Sarah and Race arriving with breakfast made for her and her partners.

"You feel okay, Lazuli?" asked the little princess as she gave the swordswoman her breakfast plate while her husband gave Pantherra and Galaxagus their breakfast bowls which woke them up.

"Yeah... Just, peachy... After you've shown me all of those arrows and darts you've created," Lazuli replied quietly. "Still, since we're going to the Galar Region, I'm worried for your friends there..."

"I wouldn't worry too much for them; one of my friends in the region is the current Pokémon Monarch, there is a competition going on in the world known as the World Coronation Series, and whoever gets to reach up to his rank after going through a series of classes with every battle they have will have the honor of battling him. It's a testament to his status and current position as a Pokémon trainer in his own right. Also, one of my other Galar friends is the current Galar Champion after him and the other two with them are some of the strongest of Galar's finest behind her."

Sarah then pulled out what looked like a Palisman in Wood Form which had a carved staff topper resembling a regal unicorn head that had intricate details etched into the wood and showed it to Lazuli as she puzzled her, "By the way, do you know anything about this? It ended up in my bedroom last night and I don't know where it came from."

Lazuli gasped in shocked surprise as she hurriedly snatched the Palisman from Sarah's hands and looked at the staff and its head over; the mane on the unicorn's head gave off an elegant flow that went down the back of the staff and it was adorned with small carved stars that looked as though they shimmered in the sunlight, the eyes showing a deep wisdom within them which exuded a sense of ancient magic.

At that moment, a new memory came before her as she thought back to where she had seen the Palisman in her old life; while she was growing up, since her days as a baby, she could remember seeing a small wild unicorn that always appeared around Maya and who always looked after her whenever she was away; the little unicorn was white as freshly fallen snow all over and its long, flowing mane resembled numerous cascades of stardust. Then, another memory came to her mind, the swordswoman seeing herself in her old childhood days before her ill-fated kidnapping being introduced to the unicorn when it was a small pearlescent orb that shimmered with an otherworldly glow, being adorned with intricate patterns resembling the astral constellations.

The former Explorer, still in shock, looked at Sarah and breathed, "Princess, I remember her; she once belonged to my mom, a unicorn came from this staff and she was usually my babysitter until I was five and kidnapped. Mom named her 'Stardust' and introduced me to her when she was once an egg but not like any other egg I've ever seen. Where did you get this?"

Despite being startled by how the swordswoman reacted upon seeing the staff and its unicorn head, Sarah could only reply, "I told you, it appeared in my bedroom just when I was about to turn in last night. But, by the sound of it, your mother once had a Palisman on her, and now, it's with you."

"A what?" Lazuli echoed in disbelief at her until Mittens (in her Live Form) jumped onto Sarah's right shoulder and gave the Female Battousai a small but friendly meow in greeting.

"A Palisman; it's a kind of sentient magical totem sitting on top of a magic staff. Palismans are usually made in the shape of animals including a cat, a dog, and in your and your mother's case, a unicorn, and can switch between their Wood Forms and Live Forms at will. Mittens?"

Meowing in agreement, Mittens demonstrated her transformations as she changed into her Wood Form and landed in Sarah's right hand before she changed back to her Live Form and rested herself on her owner's shoulder again.

"Amazing, truly amazing!" gasped Mr. Hu in astonishment as everyone in Lazuli's bedroom turned to find the Tiger Zodiac and Mistral at the door, having witnessed Mittens' transformations firsthand. "Now, I understand why that little kitten of yours kept following you around whenever she appeared."

Sarah nodded and Mittens happily meowed, leaving Lazuli in amazement as she looked back at her mother's Palisman, realizing that a lost part of her mother was now with her. Feeling the unicorn head on the staff as she ran her fingers on it, she started to cry and held the staff tightly, fearing that it would disappear from her hands if she let it go.

All the while, as they rode on the clouds alongside Rajhu, Seiya and Maya's spirits watched from her bedroom window, the deceased woman smiling and shedding a transparent tear at the sight of her Palisman now in the hands of their daughter while the former placed a comforting hand on her right shoulder. They all knew it still wasn't time for them to appear before her, especially since they knew too well that the dead no longer are allowed to remain among the living and didn't want to break that rule, but they knew they had to take a chance as they sensed a future conflict that would befall upon her and her friends.


While that was going on, Roy and Liko were in Dot's room as the young adventurer was telling Dot what he saw during his and his team's second sparring match with Killowattrel, Serpent, and Cap regarding Cap himself.

"Hold on, back up... Are you saying, Cap flew...? Like, he actually flew in the sky?" the young recluse questioned, skeptical of Roy's claims.

"I saw it with my own eyes, Dot. It was right at the moment when Serpent distracted us after she transformed into a form I've never seen her in; just when Fuecoco was about to hit him, he used his tail to avoid his Tackle attack," Roy insisted.

"Me, too," Liko agreed, having also seen Cap using his tail to fly.

"But, you do know that's impossible, right? Come on, Pikachu don't normally fly. Not even Blitz and Curly are capable of pulling off such a feat," Dot denied as she turned to her computer.

"But, I saw it for sure! Wattrel, Fuecoco, and I could've gotten him if he didn't use his tail to fly!"

"Are you sure? That kind of thing's not ringing any bells for me."

"It happened! I saw him do it; I'm telling you, Cap is a special Pikachu that can fly! There must be something he did to make him fly like that!"

"And, as with any other mystery, you'd like to solve this one?"

"That's right!" Liko replied, nodding in confirmation as she was also eager to see how Cap was able to fly.

"So, when exactly did Cap become captain of the Brave Olivine?" Roy questioned the young recluse, wanting to know more about Cap's backstory.

But, Dot simply replied, "He was Cap before I got here. To be honest, he's always been like that so I never really thought about it ever since I joined the crew."

"But, now it makes you wonder! Right?!" Roy and Liko grinned as they got in her face, causing Dot to sweatdrop at them.

But, she smiled and shared a high-five with them, sharing their enthusiasm over uncovering Cap's backstory as she replied, "Oh, yeah...Totally."

"Alright, let's ask Friede about it! He can tell us all about it."

"Great idea! Dot, you're coming with us, right?"

"Sorry, hard pass. It's too much of a pain but to make up for it, I'm gonna hook you up," Dot said, handing them her Rotom-Phone on what's called a Rotom-Stick.


(Theme Song - Anywhere My Pokémon Go)

I love watching how my Pokémon grow

I'm sharing everything my Pokémon know

(We open with Sarah and her family with the Viking Teens as they find themselves in Paldea as part of Sarah's vacation plan before the little princess and Race are shown finding Miraidon and Koraidon on the beach before meeting Nemona, Penny, and Arven from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet)

Nighttime, daytime, there are shining more so

I'll go anywhere my Pokémon go

(We see Sarah and Hootie joining forces with Liko and her partner, Sprigatito, as they all perform Leafage before we meet a boy named Roy and his Pokémon, Fuecoco, battling Sarah as she summoned her Primarina, Aqua, and they begin to have a battle. Then, we cut to one of the villains belonging to a new team of foes named Amethio using a Ceruledge to square off against Sarah as she fights with Kaji and Keldeo before a new Pokémon Professor, Friede, and his crew: the Rising Volt Tacklers are shown with their Pokémon)

Anything you wanna see, (Ooh!) anything you wanna do

Promise you can be with me, be with me, (Yeah!) I can be with you

(We soon find our heroes joined by Edgar, Henna, Stoick, Gobber, their Pokémon and dragons, Nemona, Penny, and Arven as they find themselves in Area Zero where Sarah's Walking Wake and Iron Leaves, Link and Zelda, are facing an army of Paradox Pokémon in front of them. Then, Sarah and Race's necklaces glow with the former accessing the power of Terastallization for her Pokemon as she Terastallizes and Mega Evolves them before the royal couple, the Viking Teens, Miraidon, Koraidon, Liko, Roy, Nemona, Arven, and Penny are shown together as they stare out into the heavens)

I wanna go around and around and around the world with you

I'll go anywhere my Pokémon go

Trials of Sarah: Pokémon Horizons

(End Theme Song)


And, so it was arranged; joined by Dot's Quaxly, and with her Rotom-Stick and Rotom Phone at hand, Liko, Roy, and their partners began their mission to uncover Cap's backstory and go viral with it. They even had to beg Sarah and Race to help them with the video documenting his origins much to their embarrassment and despite their unwillingness to pry into Cap's life before he became the Mouse Pokémon that he is now.

"Yo, there!"

"All you awesome Pokémon Trainers!"

"It's time for a brand new video from the Ever-Classic Liko & Roy Channel!" they greeted cheerfully (despite Liko's nervousness over being on camera) as they recorded.

"It's showtime!" Quaxly cheered.

"Yeah!" grinned Fuecoco.

"…Seriously?" Sprigatito meowed uncertainly.

"Oh, brother," Sarah groaned quietly as she facepalmed herself and Race pinched the bridge of his nose, both of them having decided to not get on camera given the paparazzi they and their family had to deal with sometimes.

"We've got a sweet plan cooked up for you guys today, right, Liko?"

"Yeah, here it is! For today's topic..."

"We're trying to solve the Mystery of the Flying Pikachu!" And, with that, they entered the bridge and began to film Cap from behind until...

"What...?"

"Can I help you?"

Roy and Liko gulped in surprise and even Race and Sarah flinched at how suspicious he sounded when he and Cap (whose ears twitched upon hearing them enter the bridge, making him turn in his chair to see them) noticed what they were doing and the unconventional professor asked them, "You all Nidothing's interns now?"

"What are you talking about? Race and I had nothing to do with this mini-documentary," Sarah replied defensively, raising her hands in surrender.

"I thought making this video could be a fun way to mix things up a bit. And, if it generates the buzz, then viewers should bolt rocket like an Eelektross! I mean, I'm this close to being more popular than Iono!" Dot explained from her bedroom.

"That may be but if you're not in the video, what's even the point?"

"Hey, Friede! Can you tell us what Cap's secret is?" Roy asked eagerly with Liko giving an agreeing nod.

"Secret?"

"Yesterday, while Roy, Fuecoco, and Wattrel were having their sparring rematch against Cap, Serpent, and Killowattrel... When Fuecoco tried to tackle him, it looked as though Cap was actually flying when he dodged him," Liko clarified as Quaxly, Sprigatito, and Fuecoco enjoyed the view of the sea from the bridge.

"Oh, yeah, right! That, I guess you could call it 'flying'."

"When did you two meet?"

"And, why is he captain?"

"Come on, Friede!"

"Yeah!" the pair begged, getting excited and desperately wanting to know more about Cap which left the unconventional professor flustered for a moment.

"Err! Whoa, wait a minute! Slow down, you two, go easy on him," Race said, imitating a stopping car as he and Sarah came between the pair.

"Friede's pretty sensitive when it comes to Cap's past. Besides, Sis' grandpa told me he's very camera-shy and he doesn't want to talk about how they first met to anybody besides those closest to him," Sarah added, trying to have them cut Friede some slack as well.

Friede was thankful for the save as he then told Liko and Roy, "It's not that big a deal, Cap is just Cap: our leader, the one who we can depend on."

"Exactly so," Cap finished proudly, prompting the young trainers, Sprigatito, Fuecoco, Quaxly, Dot (via her Rotom-Stick), Sarah, and Race to leave the bridge and leave him and Friede to their own devices once more.

Despite that, Roy, Dot, and Liko couldn't help but feel unsatisfied with Friede beating around the bush as he did as they bantered, "I think Friede just gave us the runaround."

"It only makes me more curious."

"The key to this is to get more info from everyone who knows about him which means we should ask the other crew members."

"Good luck trying to hear that from them from what Grandpa told me," Sarah sighed, shrugging.

"You think they don't know much about him compared to him and Friede themselves?" Race clarified, getting a nod from his wife.


Sarah was right; when they first interviewed Mollie, all she gave them was, "You talkin' about Cap? That's one tough Pokémon, can't say I have to teach him much, at all. I don't know about flying, though; He's swift on his feet so it seems like he could fly that way."

Next, they asked Murdock and all they got from him (while he and Alcremie were peeling potatoes) was, "Cap's a good one, for sure. He doesn't gripe about my food; in fact, he loves everything I make. He couldn't have that much strength and speed without getting the right nutrition, that's for sure."

"True, true," Alcremie grinned, agreeing with what her trainer and fellow chef said about him.

Then, they questioned Ludlow about him, "Ah, yes, Cap; where true bonds are born."

"What do you mean, 'Where true bonds are born'?"

"Does that mean he was the Rising Volt Tacklers' first crew member?" Roy and Liko quizzed.

"Indeed. Why, he was the forerunner of this crew long before either of you and your friends were brought on. If it weren't for Cap, then Friede would've never concocted the Rising Volt Tacklers in the first place."

This got Liko curious about the Brave Olivine and how it related to the birth of the Rising Volt Tacklers through Cap and Friede as she asked the old fisherman, "Wait a second, if I'm not mistaken, didn't you say that the Brave Olivine was once your fishing boat one time?"

"Yeah! And, then, after seeing Orla, she converted it into an airship," Roy agreed as the pair recalled Orla telling them about the Brave Olivine being Ludlow's old fishing boat before their delayed departure from Paldea.

"Both Orla and I helped with the kindling along with Johnathan and Diane but the one who lit the flame in Friede's heart was Cap. You wanna know about Friede and Cap? Their fateful meeting on that day opened up a whole new world of exploration and discovery."

Sarah blinked in surprise as she then said, "Wait a minute; my grandparents from Sis' side know about him along with Orla given that they're old friends. Maybe they know how he and Cap first met and how they came to be the pair team they are now."

"Then, I guess we better go find them and ask them about Cap and Friede's first meeting. Along with the old man, they did know about them for a long time, longer than the rest," Race suggested.


Finally, they went to Orla, Johnathan, and Diane to ask about Cap and Friede's past, and this time, they were getting somewhere on the subject as they were being served berry juice coming from the crew's Shuckle.

"Order up!" Shuckle grinned as he finished a glass for Liko.

"Oh, that story, huh?" Orla chuckled as she handed the young girl her filled glass while the others helped themselves to their own drinks (via a glass or, in Sprigatito and Quaxly's cases, a bowl). "Done. Here, drink up."

"Yeah, thank you," Liko thanked the mechanic before she took a swig.

"I know Friede to be camera-shy about things that hit pretty close to home but even I have to admit, he was beating around the bush earlier regarding Cap and his origins. Especially since Ludlow told us that the Rising Volt Tacklers began with them, him, you, and this ship," Sarah replied.

Orla, Johnathan, and Diane laughed as the mechanic said, "He's not being cagey, he's just shy; at least, about reminiscing."

"And, judging by that Rotom-Stick you have on you, he also hates talking on camera as I've told you before, honey," Johnathan chuckled, pointing at Dot's Rotom-Stick knowingly.

"Oh, really? Sarah did say so when she and Race stopped us earlier but I never would've guessed that," Liko realized.

"Friede and I had known each other since we were kids; we both grew up in the Kanto Region and with Johnathan and Diane, we met them when they were just around Nikki and James' ages. But, later on, I moved out to Hoenn. The next times we all met were on this ship."

"Tell us the story!"

"We wanna hear all about it!" Roy and Liko requested ecstatically, their eyes twinkling over the thought of finally getting the story through her, Johnathan, and Diane.

"I guess we don't mind telling you the story but we do have a way of getting Friede here so he can tell you all about it himself. Rotoscope," Diane chuckled as she called for her adoptive granddaughter's Rotom Phone.

"What's the dig, cool cat?" Rotoscope asked Diane.

"Set yourself to the Rising Volt Tacklers app for a special announcement."

"Rock on!" the pink Rotom Phone grinned as he accessed the app in question and tapped into the airship's PA system, allowing Diane to make the surprise announcement in question.

"Attention, Brave Olivine crew members, report to the briefing room for a mandatory assembly and a special telling of the story of Friede and Cap!"

Johnathan and Orla couldn't help but snigger uncontrollably as they tried to contain their laughter with the mechanic squeaking out, "He's so gonna throttle you for that one...!"

"Trust me, he's gonna want to let the kids in on the tale involving his and Cap's origins if he's gonna beat around the bush on the way to Galar. And, I think it's only fair if my granddaughter's sister and her husband hear it from him along with the others in the Dragon Craft if they're hooked up. Ah, speaking of which," Diane replied in amusement before she heard Friede running on his way to the briefing room.

"Diane, what are you doing?! This is completely out of nowhere!" he demanded as he and Cap (riding on his right shoulder) arrived at the door and looked at her, Orla, and Johnathan in flustered annoyance.

By now, Orla had managed to control her laughter as she placed her arms around Liko and Roy and spoke on Diane's behalf, "These two couldn't stop asking about you."

The unconventional professor sighed as he leaned against the doorway and said, "You're still on the story about me and Cap? I mean, what am I supposed to say?"

"It's not that big a deal, we all know Lazuli's story and that of Sarah and her hubby when Diane and Johnathan told us about them and the last Alolan Royal Family. Don't we all want to keep getting to know our friends better? So, tell them already!"

Friede and Cap balked as they soon found themselves at the mercy of an intrigued Murdock, Ludlow, and Mollie along with Sarah's human family (with the addition of Magearna, the Tomoe Squad, and Absol), and her, Race, and Asha's classmates as they all got Diane's announcement and grinned at them, all of them wanting to know more about their origins as well.

"Looks like we have Detectives Ammongus~!"

"Inquiring minds are always a Nosepass," Murdock and Mollie joked as everyone else chuckled at Friede and Cap's expense.

"Ha-ha, very funny," Friede grumbled as he slouched.

"What's wrong with storytime involving you and Cap, Friede?"

"I'm sure we're all dying to know how you gave birth to the Rising Volt Tacklers."

"And, I'm most eager to find out how Cap was able to fly despite being a Pikachu," Nemona, Arven, and Penny added as they and their classmates were just as eager to hear about Cap and the unconventional professor's origins.

"Please, Professor Friede!" Team Star and the Blueberry Academy students pleaded with an eager and begging bow.

Friede was embarrassed but he had to relent as he sat down on the front end of the table and prepared to tell everyone their story, realizing that he and Cap weren't getting out of the mess they were in now, "Alright, might as well, if that's what you want. A good time as any, as they always say. Alright, you all, storytime is in session, the story of how me and Cap first met; as luck would have it, it was the perfect time to get the Rising Volt Tacklers off the ground."

"That's right," Cap nodded, becoming sentimental about his and Friede's first meeting.

"At that time, I had only quit my mundane job as a corporal researcher and was taking some much-needed time off..."


(Flashback - a few years ago)

It was not long after Friede left his original job that we find him on the stern of the ship belonging to Ludlow (who was actually his grandfather) while his first partner, Charizard, was lounging about and napping as he basked in the sun. They were fishing together as they had their fishing lines out and waited for something to bite their lures. And yet, despite having quit his day job for a long-awaited break, the unconventional professor was getting bored and had nothing to do with the knowledge he gained from his time as a corporeal researcher. As a result, he felt lost and a little unhappy with his life as it is similar to how bored Nikki and James were with their own lives before their fated meeting.

"Wonderful weather we're having, aren't we?" Ludlow quipped with a peaceful smile hidden under his beard and mustache.

"Yeah, I guess..." his grandson replied, feeling bored.

"Still no nibbles on that line of yours, eh?"

"Looks like it."

"Want to try heading farther offshore on this old thing? You might catch the big one that you're missing."

Charizard yawned in the back while Friede just sighed, telling his grandfather, "Man, you said a mouthful there."

Just by hearing how bored his grandson is, Ludlow knew what Friede's problem was as he inquired, "How many more days do you intend to spend in liberate inertia?"

"What do you mean?"

"Young people like you shouldn't be waiting around for a bite, they are usually the ones on the move working for the catch."

"Easy for you to say, I've got nothing else to do."

As Friede wondered what he should do after quitting his day job, his line suddenly jerked and he reeled it in to find a big fish on it but instead, he ended up reeling in a large male Slowbro.

"Oops, sorry about that. Don't mind me, I'll be going," the male Slowbro apologized before he walked along the deck and jumped back into the water, making Friede groan as he plopped onto the deck, still feeling lost.

"What's the point? I've got nothing," he griped as he reached his right hand up into the sky, hoping for something that could nudge him in the right direction towards something that he would love doing and make the most out of his life and everything he learned from. "You got it good, Old Timer; you have your ship, you can go anywhere you choose at any time..."

Understanding Friede's plight while he caught a Barraskrewa in his hands and tossed it back into the sea, Ludlow suggested to him, "Perhaps, you need to grow some wings of your own."

"Recently, this one has been doing a whole lot of what you're seeing here," Friede retorted as he petted his Flame Pokémon while he continued to laze about and also had nothing better to do with his life. "What are we supposed to do now, buddy? Any ideas?"

Their chance came sooner than expected as his smartphone (before he changed to a Rotom-Phone during his days in the Rising Volt Tacklers) rang and he got a surprise call. He answered, and sure enough, he and Charizard found themselves in the Paldea Region, entering the Medali Gym (a Normal Type Pokémon Gym located in Medali City, home to the Paldean Normal Type Gym Leader: Larry, and which doubled as a restaurant called the Treasure Eatery).

Inside the gym's Treasure Eatery, he looked around for whoever called him, seeing all sorts of trainers including Uva Academy and Naranja Academy students, tourists, locals, and even Larry himself sitting down to a meal. Eventually, his eyes were soon fixed upon a young woman at an empty table in the back waving him over, the woman revealing herself to be Liko's mother who also doubled as his personal teacher and mentor during his school/college days: Lucca.

"Friede, come on in! Here! This way, I'm over here!" Lucca grinned as she waved him over to the table she reserved for her, Charizard, and him before they sat together.

"It was my old teacher and mentor, Ms. Lucca, suddenly sending a message to me from out of the blue."

"My goodness, look how big you've grown!" Lucca cooed at Charizard who growled cutely at her as she gently caressed his head.

"Gotta say, I never thought about seeing you here in the Paldea Region," Friede chuckled, smiling.

"Well, I got married recently and we moved over here from Kanto."

"You're still teaching?"

"Once my kid is old enough, then I'll go back," Lucca informed, showing Friede her wedding ring as it glistened before him.

"You're a parent?" he quipped in surprise before he gave her a blissful sigh, "Man, that's amazing, I couldn't even imagine that."

"So, why'd you quit working for your old company? I'd figured you'd be over the moon over getting paid to research Pokémon after you graduated, are you saying you didn't like it?"

"Turns out I'm not meant to be sitting around in a lab chair 24/7."

"Then, if that's the case, why not just do your own research?"

"I did. A lot, in fact; I am a genius Pokemon Professor, after all. I know everything there is to know about Pokémon, what else am I gonna learn about them?" Friede admitted, unsure of what else to learn about Pokémon as he looked through the clear water he was drinking from his glass.

Lucca couldn't help but poke fun at him as she raised a cheeky eyebrow at her old student, "So, you're completely lost, then?"

"Not really, I decided it was time to set myself free. Who wouldn't take the time to relax a little?"

"Great! So, it's settled then; we'll see you in the morning."

Now, Friede was surprised; this was also something he wasn't expecting her to say out of left field, "Huh, we?"

"Listen, Friede. Early tomorrow morning, there's someone and an acquaintance of his we'd like you to meet, especially now," Lucca finished with a promising wink.


Early the next morning, Friede and Charizard woke up and were flying tiredly on their way to meet up with Lucca, the unconventional professor yawning as he could only mutter, "So tired... What kind of person sets up a meeting at the crack of dawn?"

Charizard yawned in agreement, not understanding what Lucca could've planned for them. Eventually, they came to a secluded coast in Cabo Poco where they found Lucca waving to them up ahead while she was wearing a sweat jacket, sweatpants, and sneakers. But, she wasn't the only one waiting for them and they blinked in surprise to find the unconventional professor's old friends, Johnathan and Diane (both of whom were in their early fifties back then), with her as well.

"Morning, you two, you're right on time. And, I brought a few friends of yours along to help with your new subject," Lucca beamed as they landed.

"Johnathan, Diane! I don't believe it, what are you two doing in Paldea?!" Friede puzzled in shocked surprise at Asha's grandparents.

"Well, you know, Nikki and James have moved to Alola recently with our adopted granddaughter and things have settled down on our end since then."

"Also, we were wondering how you've been getting on so we'd come to Paldea to see you and Ludlow and we happened to bump into Ms. Lucca along the way. She told us about you quitting your original job and offered our assistance to you to help you find your new calling," they told him.

Friede playfully rolled his eyes as they chuckled at him, "Very funny."

He then turned to his old teacher as he said to her, "You're out here by yourself with them but I thought you were going to meet someone and an acquaintance of his."

Lucca nodded and pointed him to a tree in front of him, specifically, to where a male Pikachu (who would eventually be named Cap) was resting, "Take a look at that, right over there by that tree. He's gotten quite the reputation around here, recently."

"...You brought me out here, to meet a Pikachu?"

"Not just him, there's also his acquaintance and it's quite the mystery to everyone in these parts," Diane added as they then saw something else coming out from behind the tree, revealing itself to be not a Pokémon but a black dragon (a Night Fury, to be exact).

Friede was shocked by what he saw as the Night Fury sat down and stared at the horizon in front of it and the male Pikachu, balking in bewilderment as he quietly yelled, "A dragon...?! But, that's impossible! Dragons can't exist, they're meant to be mythical creatures that exist only in legends and fairytales!"

"That may be but that little fella over there is living proof that some legends are true," grinned Johnathan as they watched the Night Fury continue to stare at the horizon before it turned to the male Pikachu who woke up and joined it just as the sun was beginning to rise.

Despite his shock about the Night Fury dragon, the unconventional professor seemed doubtful about the Pikachu with it as he lounged about on a nearby rock and told Lucca, "Sorry to tell ya this, Teach, but I know almost too much about that species already. Their ecology, biology, the attacks they can learn; there's really nothing-"

"Stop talking, Friede," Lucca smiled, knowing what she wanted to show her old student as she kept her eyes on the male Pikachu and his Night Fury companion. "I think it's time."

Friede and Charizard yawned in response but to the Flame Pokémon's surprise, he, Diane, Johnathan, and Lucca saw the male Pikachu nodding at the Night Fury and begin to use Volt Tackle close to the dragon. He circled 'round and 'round at blistering speeds while the dragon watched on, immediately creating a huge twister of black smoke and electric power as lightning bolts crackled violently around it.

"Ah! Hey, Friede, look there!" Charizard roared urgently, having his partner look at the twister the Pikachu created and seeing it dissipate to reveal the Mouse Pokémon himself in the air while the Night Fury watched on, smiling at him.

The unconventional professor was astonished by the sight of the male Pikachu flying in the sky using Volt Tackle as he tumbled off the rock he was on and quipped while continuing to watch what just happened in stunned awe, "This isn't happening!"

"Surprised, are you?"

"Well, it's real; that right there is a Pikachu who can fly," Johnathan and Lucca grinned.

"Who can fl-duh!? It's a Pikachu...who can fly?!" Friede echoed as he and Charizard looked flabbergasted at the male Pikachu as he descended and used his tail to break the wind he caught from his descent.

Even Charizard couldn't wrap his head around the strange male Pikachu as he and his Night Fury companion landed on the ground before they went back to the tree to relax, curling up together to rest until Friede came up to the pair with Lucca, Johnathan, Diane, and Charizard joining him.

"Hey, you can fly. That's amazing, very impressive," the unconventional professor commended, getting the pair's attention as they woke up and looked at him blankly. "My name's Friede, I may not look it but I'm a genius Pokemon Professor. I'd like to learn more about you two if that's okay, would you let me study you?"

The male Pikachu and the Night Fury were silent for a moment but after looking at each other, the former frowned at him and rammed him by his stomach and the latter gave him an unamused look at the request. They didn't care about hurting Lucca as they were not used to seeing someone else other than her near them, and because Charizard is a fellow Pokémon like the male Pikachu and Johnathan and Diane posed no threat to them, they gave the trio no problems, either.

"I'll take that as a no."

"Oh, no!" Lucca cried as she, Charizard, Johnathan, and Diane rushed over to him, the Night Fury, and the male Pikachu with Romeo and Juliet appearing from the latter two's Pokeballs to help check on the unconventional professor.

"Are you alright, Friede?" Johnathan asked his old friend.

"It's nothing, I'm fine. It was really just a playful tap," Friede answered before Lucca rushed past him while Johnathan, Diane, and their partners tended to him, making her way to the male Pikachu and the Night Fury since the former had scratches on his tail from Volt Tackle.

"You poor thing, you're injured, aren't you? How did this happen?" his teacher questioned the male Pikachu as she sprayed some Super Potion on his tail (which he and the Night Fury permitted) while he crossed his arms with a huff at Friede's attempt to buddy-buddy with him.

"Urk-That's what you're worried about?!" Friede balked, getting hearty laughter from the others with him.

Then, Diane watched as Lucca turned her attention to the Night Fury, looking over some scratches he had on his body and seeing that they were all healed.

"Hmm, looks like you're doing better with those scars, big fella. You feel alright now?" Lucca asked the dragon who nodded with a gentle purr and smile as he allowed her to caress his head for a moment before she continued her treatment for Pikachu.

"Where did those wounds on his tail come from, did I do that?" puzzled Friede as he and the others came over.

"Of course not, the little one's doing okay. If you don't recall, Volt Tackle is one of those powerful moves that cause damage to both the wielder of the attack and its opponent. It's a move that follows Isaac Newton's Third Law of Motion, 'For every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction'."

"You remember learning how Volt Tackle causes recoil damage, right, Friede? The scratches on his tail must've come from it," Johnathan and Diane explained.

"Just leave me alone, 'kay?" the male Pikachu quipped in reply before he ran off with his Night Fury companion waddling close behind him.

Now, Friede was even more impressed by the Pikachu's spunky attitude, the Night Fury from its loyalty towards its Pokémon companion, and how they go together as a pair team which got him smirking with determination to study them further as he quipped, "Well, no way I'm giving up now. Time for a research reboot!"

This garnered amused smirks from his friends and old teacher as they could tell some dragon and Pokémon hijinks were coming his way regarding the male Pikachu and the Night Fury.


Shortly after morning fully broke, and Lucca, Johnathan, and Diane left them to do their own things (including looking after a young Liko back in Cabo Poco), the male Pikachu and the Night Fury came together on or near a small rock but they were immediately tailed by Friede as he came up from behind them.

"Hey, there," he greeted, only to get deadpanned and unamused looks from them while the Night Fury's ear appendages flopped down before they scrambled off and he immediately gave chase, "This game of 'Cat & Mouse' you're pulling is not going to defeat me, you know!"

The Night Fury and the male Pikachu didn't care as they began to run around in circles (an exercise that tested and strengthened their speed, stamina, and endurance to the point when they could outrun almost anybody and any Pokémon wanting to challenge them in a contest of speed) while he continued to tail them. But, his speed, stamina, and endurance paled by comparison as he quickly tired himself out and plopped onto the ground on his back, panting heavily while they made their getaway.

"They've got stamina and endurance like I've never seen!" he groaned as Charizard came up to him.

"You feeling pepper there, buddy?" the Flame Pokémon asked him.


Later, the male Pikachu and the Night Fury were resting by their tree as the Pikachu's stomach growled. They were growing hungry and they hadn't had breakfast since sunrise when the Mouse Pokémon did his Volt Tackle flying exercise.

Friede and Charizard knew this, too, and they arrived with some fresh berries they picked out for him and his dragon friend in their arms (since they were also a peace offering to reassure them that they meant no harm), "Hey, pal, brought you and your winged friend a peace offering. Eat as much as you two want, don't hold back."

"They're all yours," smiled Charizard as the pair looked at them before the male Pikachu refused and then did something that further shocked them: practicing a set of squats using his tail.

Friede and Charizard watched on, goggle-eyed and jaw-dropped and unsure of what to say while the Night Fury laughed at their faces as the dragon warbled and pointed at them. Indeed, the Pikachu before them was no ordinary Pikachu since by using Volt Tackle to fly, having stamina, speed, and endurance that would put an untrained runner to shame, and doing squats with his tail which is something virtually no other Pikachu is ever capable of doing, he was in a completely different class. If anything, everything he did would certainly put Blitz and even Ash's Pikachu to shame and have their work cut out for them.

This prompted the unconventional professor to balk in his shock, "Y-You're doing squats, with your tail? What's with that?! There might just be some major secret behind that tail!"

Finally, the male Pikachu's stomach growled again and he was forced to flop over on his back in hunger and give up as he stopped doing his squats.

"Daaah, so...! …Hungry," he groaned in defeat, prompting Friede to laugh before he handed him the berries he picked much to his confusion as he looked between the berries and him.

"Here you go. Pikachu, working out is all well and good but you won't get far on an empty stomach."

Intrigued by his kindness, the male Pikachu sat up, sniffed out the berries, and picked the ones he could eat before he could continue his training as he moved a few feet away to eat. Even the Night Fury was impressed by what he did as it sniffed out the berries as well and took some for himself before joining his Mouse Pokémon friend.

"Clearly, not a picky eater or two, They destroyed them," Friede noted with a grin as Charizard took a berry for himself.


The next morning, the male Pikachu and the Night Fury were up bright and early as they prepared to go through with the former's ritual again. But, they weren't going to be spending the morning and the entire day alone as they were in the presence of some familiar company that came up from behind them.

"Pikachu, friend! Nice weather we're having today," Friede greeted the pair as he and Charizard arrived with Johnathan and Diane joining them for the day.

While the Night Fury just looked blankly at the small party, Pikachu frowned in annoyance as he was beginning to think the unconventional professor was now being a Caterpie on his side (despite him still having no problems with Charizard, Diane, and Johnathan whatsoever). Not wanting his ritual to be disturbed and wanting his and his companion's private space, he proceeded to ram him in the stomach again to push him back.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! I'm used to that by now," he smirked as he began to observe them before Pikachu rammed him again by his head, forcing them to duke it out in a small game of Push-Shove since he was still determined to research them. "No, not yet! Come on, I want to study you two!"

"Leave me alone!" Pikachu spat back as the Night Fury, Johnathan, Charizard, and Diane couldn't help but enjoy the show with the Flame Pokémon going so far as to cheer for his partner.

Of course, one thing Friede had forgotten was that Volt Tackle was not the only move Pikachu had on him as he fired a Thunderbolt and struck him hard, leaving the Mouse Pokémon victorious as he stood on the defeated unconventional professor and crossed his arms with a smug yet confident smirk, simply declaring to everyone within hearing range, "Game!"

"Pfft... Okay, fine, you win. I can't handle your electric attacks," Friede groaned in pain and defeat while the Night Fury laughed in his face while pointing at him again, leaving him to pout at the dragon, "Very funny, Joker, you wouldn't be laughing if you were on the receiving end of 10,000 volts, would you?"

At that moment, Friede's smartphone rang and he answered as the group found Lucca on the other side of the call from her home, "Hey, Friede, how's your research going? Seems like it's off to a roaring start by how you're bouncing off of your topics for the day."

Friede smirked back as he joked at her, "That's what you take away when you look at this scenario?"

"I said it because of what I see," she grinned, getting a groan from her old student, a smug "Bust." from Pikachu, and another warbled laugh from the Night Fury.

Minutes later, Pikachu and the Night Fury slept at their usual places on the tree as Friede decided to observe them from afar while continuing his call with Lucca, "So, you learning anything from your observations?"

"Yeah. Amazingly, Pikachu's body is small but it has tremendous leg strength; stronger than most Pikachu, if I may add."

"That would explain why he's lightning fast and so light on his feet."

"And, obviously, combined with his effective Volt Tackle, that's the secret ingredient for why he could fly. He ran around in circles to generate electricity and went faster the more energy he generated before concentrating it all into an energy tornado. Then, he uses his strengthened tail as a springboard to leap into the air when the cyclone comes forward, that's how he got so high during those rituals he performed. The dragon especially surprised me since it used those same bolts from Volt Tackle to jump into the air and get to the same height as its friend."

"That makes sense."

"Then, by fluttering his tail at the end while he's airborne, he can float in the air or so it seems."

"Nicely done, Professor Friede! It's amazing to me that you figured it all out, I'm so proud of you!"

"Pikachu's the amazing one here; he must've failed to pull something like that off so many times but he never gave up and kept challenging himself. Compared to such a feat, I'm hardly worthy; I mean, who's the 'genius' professor here? The truth is I had no idea what Pokémon could really do and I never would've imagined dragons actually existing until his black friend came in."

At this, Lucca couldn't help but grin playfully as she asked him, "By the way, have you found out anything about the big fella?"

"Well, for the most part, he's highly intelligent; I'd imagine him giving many Pokemon a run for their money and he's gelling well with Pikachu given how cool they were together. I'd imagine he didn't have much contact with humans, and yet, before Johnathan, Diane, and I came in, he was really comfortable with you. He's hanging himself upside down like a bat but by his tail, and by the looks of his wings, he's a powerful flyer and a fast one given his streamlined body: no spikes, no horns, nothing to obstruct his aerodynamics and increase air resistance. He did display behaviors that are typical of a dog or cat such as climbing a tree and knowing who to trust by instinct. I'm willing to think he's warming up to me, especially since he had me eat a half-eaten fish yesterday and I tried to please him, even though it was disgusting..."

Lucca giggled as she replied, "It's a good thing then; I'm glad we got you, Pikachu, and that dragon to meet each other."

Friede blinked in bewilderment before he spluttered indignantly, "Hang on, is that why you three-?! Guys!"

Lucca giggled again and Johnathan and Diane burst out laughing while the unconventional professor could only sigh at them for their dirty trick for his sake.

"Mommy!"

Unbeknownst to Friede, however, a young Liko arrived for breakfast, getting her mother's attention as she noticed her daughter coming to her.

"Oh, Liko. Good, you're awake," Lucca grinned before Child Liko took notice of Friede.

"Who's that, Mommy?"

"A young man who has a very bright future ahead of him," she replied, leaving Friede a little flustered by his teacher's praise before she grinned at him a final time before ending the call, "Good luck, do your best."

"Right, thanks a lot, Teach," Friede smiled back as the call ended and he continued his research which carried on for days since then.

"I kept observing the two for days. There were a lot of things about them I didn't understand but I was determined to figure them out."

As he watched Pikachu and the Night Fury carry on with their ritual for the Mouse Pokémon, Friede was still determined to discover why the former was going through such an intense training regime involving his flying and what his purpose was for doing so. Already, in addition to what he already knew about him and his dragon companion, he saw that he had no interest in battling wild Pikachu as was evident when he turned down a challenge from a small flock of Staravia that clearly wanted to fight him as he ignored them and the Night Fury scared them off. The Pikachu performed this ritual once at the crack of dawn each day and was able to lick his own wounds with the help of his close and only friend until he met Friede, not bothered by the recoil damage he'd taken from Volt Tackle, at all. Despite that, he still had no clue as to why Pikachu wanted to fly so badly like his companion and was always pushing himself to such lengths to fulfill that wish.

"Why does he push himself so hard? It apparently isn't to battle wild Pokémon; he only flies once a day and always at the brink of dawn with his dragon friend beside him monitoring his performance close by. He's even willing to take on damage from his own Volt Tackle, too... What actually makes him want to fly just like his exotic friend?"

"The more I learned, the more I wanted to know as a Pokémon Professor, and as a Pokémon Trainer."

His chance to learn the reason for Pikachu and the Night Fury's ritual finally came early one morning when Friede started to pack his tripod and camera as he felt like there was something in his research he was missing, something that actually involved learning from experience rather than taking notes and video recordings.

"I give up. Studying, did my analysis, field notes..." he sighed, getting Charizard's attention as he woke up to find himself in self-contemplation about his methods of research just as Pikachu and the Night Fury got together to perform their ritual again.

It was at that moment he knew what he had to do to truly understand Pikachu's motives for flying with the Night Fury's support and his determination driving him to achieve his wish as dawn broke, "This isn't the way to figure out what they wanted and what makes them tick."

Soon, Pikachu began to use Volt Tackle again to create his energy tornado. As he did so, the Night Fury began to absorb the tornado's sparks, preparing to join his little friend for he had a feeling this was the day when his wish would be granted at last.

"That's it, I gotta move, too! Let's follow 'em," the unconventional professor decided as he jumped aboard Charizard (who smiled as he found his motivation and method for his research and the seedlings of his new path). "Charizard, let's fly! We haven't gone all out in a while but let's go!"

"Roger!" Charizard smirked and they took off after Pikachu and the Night Fury, flying alongside the energy tornado with Pikachu climbing higher and higher just as the Night Fury joined the trio once he charged himself up with enough electricity.

"We got to keep flying, pal! Come on, let's get higher! We're climbing this thing, too, Charizard!"

Finally, the moment had arrived; as soon as they felt like they were high enough, Pikachu canceled his energy tornado and the Night Fury stopped beside him, both unaware that Friede and Charizard had joined them from behind. And, just as they saw the sun over the horizon, he understood what drove them to achieve such a feat and why Pikachu did what he did with their ritual: it was to see the horizon in front of them, seeing the sunrise peaking out as it covered the sea and sky in a radiant coat of orange, red, and yellow lights.

"Whoa..." Pikachu breathed, awestruck.

"Incredible! It feels like, we flew even higher than the sun!" Friede beamed, sharing Pikachu's sentiments. "Pikachu wanted to see the sunrise!"

"Huh?" Pikachu puzzled as he and his dragon companion finally noticed Friede and Charizard.

"This is the most beautiful view I've ever seen!"

That was a compliment they were not expecting as they saw Friede giving them a thumbs-up and they couldn't help but smile proudly as they shared the gesture while Pikachu smirked, "Good on ya, dude!"

But, Friede soon remembered the Mouse Pokémon's tail which was crucial for his descent back to the ground (seeing as he had it pointed down) as he couldn't help but question him, "Hey, pal, shouldn't you...move your tail?"

That was Pikachu's mistake as he suddenly began to drop down and flail at terminal velocity, leaving him terrified as he could only scream, "HO, LY, SHIIIIIIT!"

"Let's go, Charizard!" Friede urged his partner as they rushed to his rescue with the equally shocked and panicked Night Fury quickly joining them to save his companion.

All the while, Pikachu could only flail about in his panic and fear as he couldn't position himself to use his tail to slow down his descent and ultimately decided to brace himself for the impact on terra-firma. That was until he opened his eyes and found himself mere inches from the ground having just been saved by Friede and his Night Fury friend as they managed to catch him before he could crash-land.

"Flying's better than falling, isn't it?" Friede joked before they safely got back down and the unconventional professor expressed his gratitude to Pikachu and his companion for the eye-opener he was given.

"Pikachu..." he began.

"Hmm?" Pikachu puzzled.

"I want to thank you and your friend here; you two have shown us something we've never seen before. Now, I've seen a Flying Pikachu and a dragon, two things that have far surpassed even my wildest expectations... It's a big world and there's so much that I don't know about it yet."

He then stretched out his right hand to the Mouse Pokémon and made an offer he couldn't refuse, "Would you consider traveling with me? We'll rise higher than the sun every day and explore all the world has to offer."

The Night Fury was astounded by the offer given to his companion but he felt happy for him nonetheless despite his sadness in knowing that they won't see each other for a while after that; having earned each other's respect and with Friede having found his new path as the man and researcher he is now, and since Pikachu had fulfilled his wish to fly and see the sunrise using only Volt Tackle, it was time for them to go their separate ways until the day they would meet again.

Pikachu felt the same way as he smirked in agreement at the offer and gave him a tail slap, telling him, "Deal."

Thus, he allowed himself to be caught and became Friede's partner and his official go-to Pokémon throughout their adventures which gave birth to the rise of the Rising Volt Tacklers.

The Night Fury looked at Friede and the unconventional professor smiled at him, reassuring the dragon, "Don't worry, friend, I'll take good care of him for you. You've done a great deal for him with your help and there's no doubt you two are pretty close from what I've seen. But, for his sake and your own, it's best that nobody knows about you. You'll be safer that way. I know we'll meet again no matter where we are. And, who knows? Maybe I'll find wherever you came from and visit you again, someday..."

Being an intelligent dragon, the Night Fury understood that Friede said what he said for his own safety and he didn't want to give people other than him and Lucca the wrong idea. Giving a final happy nod to his new friends, and after sharing fist bumps and nuzzles with them and Pikachu, the black dragon flew aloft to parts unknown (knowing that their paths would cross again one day) while Friede and his new team of two went off to begin their new journey together with Johnathan, Diane, and their Pokémon joining the trio.

"Pikachu and I became partners from then on while the dragon flew off, free and happy. And, I started moving forward again with purpose, excited for a brand new future."

His excitement for the new future he and Pikachu were going to make together was made clear when the small party met up with Ludlow at the harbor he was moored in and Friede got his attention, asking his grandfather, "Mr. Ludlow, I got a favor to ask of you. I was wondering if you'd let us take the Olivine?"

Seeing Pikachu with his grandson, Ludlow couldn't help but grin proudly at him for finding his flame again, "Ah, I see. It appears you found yourself an ideal companion."

"Greetings, Sir," Pikachu greeted as he crossed his arms with a smirk.

Then, the group met up with Orla at a harbor in the Hoenn Region to extend the favor he made to his grandfather to her as well regarding her mechanical skills. It turns out that after moving to Hoenn and her hometown of Slateport City, she got a job as a harbor mechanic for large-scale ships. Of course, when they arrived in Slateport and found Friede's childhood friend (who was currently working and having her hands full with her job while only having her Metang (long before he evolved into Metagross at the time)), she had no idea what she was in for.

"What with this all of a sudden? I'm up to my neck in work here," she said, not wanting to slack around with her job given how tight her schedule was.

"Well, I've got a request that only your skills can make happen: I want to take the Olivine and I want to turn it into the greatest airship in the sky!" her childhood friend grinned at her much to Ludlow's bewilderment as he blinked at him.

"That's ludicrous," Orla replied, sharing Ludlow's sentiments given how outlandish his request was.

But, Friede was undeterred and asked her, "So, can you do it?"

The ship mechanic was silent for a moment but she smirked and replied, "Oh, you know I can!"

Orla was as good as her word as she and her Metang set to work on the Olivine's reconstruction and rebirth. In no time at all, after two weeks of extensive work and wiring and such, it was converted into the airship it is now.

Needless to say, when Pikachu, Diane, Johnathan, and Friede came over to see the results of the Olivine's conversion by Orla's hands once those two weeks were over, they were flabbergasted by how incredible it looked now as an airship.

Friede, in particular, stammered for a moment before he finally breathed, "...This is astounding!"

"Crazy cool coolio," added Pikachu, feeling equally amazed.

"Amazing!"

"What a beauty," Diane and Johnathan blurted out, stunned.

Friede grinned brightly as he marveled at Orla's reconstruction of his grandfather's ship into his own airship and cried out, "That design just screams 'bravery'! Maybe it needs a name... We have to call it the 'Brave Olivine' from now on!"

Orla, Diane, and Johnathan deadpanned at this as the mechanic quipped, "You still need to work on your naming skills."

Friede, however, ignored her jab as he then asked Pikachu, "What do you think, Pikachu? We can go wherever life leads us with this."

"Just my kind of craft!" Pikachu smirked, satisfied with what he was seeing.

"I'll be, Orla! You are the world's greatest mechanic, thanks so m-huh?" Friede thanked his old friend before she stuck her left hand out at him, waiting to be paid.

"Pay up," she told him, putting immense pressure on him as he realized she needed the money to cover for the conversions.

"...I might have to pay for installments," he stuttered as Pikachu gave him a deadpan smirk while Johnathan and Diane sniggered at him for how he jumped the shark with his request.

But, Orla just chuckled and waved it off before she then said, "I don't need it but you do owe me. So, now, I'm coming with."

"Orla..." Friede began, surprised.

"This ship's going to need a mechanical expert, right? Honestly, I've been getting bored with the work I've been doing around here."

The unconventional professor was delighted by the news that his childhood friend would be joining him as he said, "An airship mechanic? You already look the part, I like it!"

"So, I guess this means you're captain, right?"

"Nope."

He then produced a small ship captain's hat and placed it atop his new partner's head, officially declaring Pikachu as their crew's leader and captain (essentially making him the very first member of the Rising Volt Tacklers alongside Friede, Orla, and Ludlow, officially dubbing him as "Captain Pikachu" from that day forward). The male Mouse Pokémon was astounded by the position he was given as he didn't expect Friede to hand over leadership duties to him like that.

"Friede?" he asked his partner who could only smile at him.

"Pikachu, I'm making you captain of the Brave Olivine; you will be Captain Pikachu."

Captain Pikachu (or Cap, for short) could only smirk in acceptance of his new position as he agreed, "Captain's honor!"

"The same way that you rose and flew into the sky with your Volt Tackle, we'll all rise and fly high! We'll call ourselves, the Rising Volt Tacklers, deal?"

"Deal as always, pal!" Cap smirked as he, Friede, and Orla shared fistbumps while Ludlow happily settled himself on the airship's stern, feeling proud of his grandson's new path forward.

"Alright, Cap, time to embark on our first voyage," Friede grinned as he took the wheel on the bridge.

"Anchors away!" Cap declared proudly as the Brave Olivine took off on its maiden voyage, becoming the living and physical embodiment of the promise he and his partner made to look for exciting adventures and untold discoveries the world had to offer while always rising higher than the sun on the horizon (all while the sky's the limit and no ocean or borders would contain them then).

"We'll have the freedom to travel around the world in this ship, chasing all the weird and wonderful mysteries of Pokémon and creatures beyond our wildest imaginations like his dragon friend whom I would later find out was a Night Fury thanks to Sarah sometime later! And, that's the story of how Cap and I began sailing the skies together."

(End Flashback)


"And, we all lived happily ever after," finished Cap with a proud smirk as he and Friede got a round of rapturous applause and cheers from everybody gathered.

Unbeknownst to everyone in the briefing room, Lazuli (joined by Mr. Hu and Mistral while she held onto her mother's Palisman in its Wood Form) was listening in from behind the door, having heard the entire story once she had discovered everyone had been called over to hear about Friede and Cap's origins before she decided to tail her group. Humbled, amazed, and astounded by what she had heard, her heart glowed and she held her unicorn Palisman close to her heart with a tearful smile before she decided to quietly return to the Dragon Craft with Mr. Hu and Mistral following her, also smiling humbly at the touching story they heard.

Liko was indeed floored by the entire story as the others were but what shocked her the most was the fact that her mother was Friede's teacher and the young man she had seen from her video call years ago was the same professor she discovered examining Cap.

She stuttered as Friede grinned at her and replied, "I know. Pulled at your heartstrings, didn't it, Liko?"

"...M-MY MOM WAS YOUR TEACHER?!"

Friede faltered at her as he spluttered, "D-Didn't I tell you that?!"

"No! Neither did you mention you and Cap meeting a stray Night Fury that was living in Paldea long before my family and I first met Winter, Shadow, and the other dragons with them from Berk!" cried Sarah, flabbergasted by the fact that the unconventional professor and Cap met a dragon from the Barbaric Archipelago beforehand.

"I had no idea there was an actual dragon in Cabo Poco!"

"Me, neither!"

"That's amazing!" Nemona, Arven, and Penny gasped, astonished that they never knew about the Night Fury before.

"Friede!" groaned Diane and Johnathan before they laughed at him again.

"He always glosses over the big stuff," Mollie sighed knowingly.

"Got that right," agreed Murdock in amusement.

"Hey, Liko, if it weren't for my old friends and Ms. Lucca, then Cap and I wouldn't have met. For that, I'll always be grateful to her," Friede replied as Cap smiled at the young girl, making her realize how much of an impact her mother made on him and their intertwined futures.

"Still, it does make me wonder who the dragon hanging out with Cap and met you was," Astrid noted.

"That's true..." Hiccup nodded before he felt a nudge and noticed Toothless, seeing him show off a tiny reminiscent of scars that were mainly masked by his black scales and it wasn't until he recalled Friede mentioning the dragon being covered in healed scars when Lucca checked him over did he start to put two and two together. "Wait, Friede, that dragon you mentioned... Was he covered in scars when you first met him?"

"Yeah, I told you that, didn't I?"

"And, you mentioned that he acted like a dog or cat to you including that bit he made with the half-eaten fish, right? That's exactly what happened to me when I first started to bond with a dragon I once shot down and made friends with shortly after meeting Sarah and her family..."

The other Viking Teens thought it over while they looked at Toothless (who could only stare cutely at them and everyone else), and then, it immediately clicked with all of them as they flustered, "He, can't be-!"

"No way!"

"Ah, the dragon-!"

"He's-!"

"Is he really-?!"

"Unreal/Holy Odis!"

"Hiccup, are you thinking...what we're thinking?" Astrid asked Hiccup, wanting to be absolutely sure as he only nodded in shocked confirmation.

"Oh, that's what he was thinking! Eh... Wait, what's he thinking about?" Tuffnut peeped.

"He's thinking that the Night Fury Friede met and who's close buddies with Cap was actually..." Zenna began before her and Hiccup's eyes shrunk like pinpricks as they suddenly realized who the dragon in Friede's story was after looking back at Toothless' tailfins, imagining his original left tailfin in place of the prosthetic fin.

Then, Toothless looked at them and an equally staggered Cap and Friede as the former Viking underdogs could only point at him, screaming, "TOOTHLESS?!"

"Seriously!?" Cap gawked as his jaw dropped.

"Whoa! That was you all along?" Friede balked in shocked realization at Toothless as he came up to him and Cap, nodding eagerly and giving them loving licks which got them laughing heartily over the surprise and unknown reunion that had taken place.

"You've got to be kidding..." Sarah blinked with widened and shocked eyes, stunned that Friede and Cap were Toothless' first-ever friends long before he met Hiccup and the Barbaric Archipelago and Paldea were remarkably closer to each other than she had first thought (along with the fact that he could fly on his own back then given he still had both of his original tailfins before the events of HTTYD).


Later that night after dinner, while everyone else turned in for the night (with Sarah currently checking on Lazuli since breakfast when she had given her Stardust), Liko and Sprigatito were thinking over the entire story Friede told them regarding his and Cap's origins, thinking of the role Lucca played in spurring him towards his destiny as well as meeting Toothless and Cap for the very first time.

She was still trying to get her head around what she and everyone else was told until Dot, Roy, Fuecoco, and Quaxly came up alongside her from her right and left.

"Hey, Liko," Roy greeted.

"The video I shot and everything we heard, I'm done editing it but what do you want to do with it?" asked Dot, wondering what they should do regarding the video they have on them.

"That's good... But, you know what? I think it's best if we keep it to ourselves and not make it public," Liko answered.

Roy concurred as he said, "I agree, Toothless will be in danger if we put it out there. But, still, I get goosebumps whenever I think of Friede and Cap's bond. I'm gonna try to make my bond with Fuecoco stronger, too, just as they did!"

"Yeah! Friends forever, like them!" Fuecoco cheerfully agreed, inspired by Friede and Cap's story as well.

"And, that with Wattrel, too?" Dot reminded.

"Right, him, too!"

"...That's it, I finally know why I'm here," Liko began, getting her friends' attention as they all looked at her while she discovered why she was even with the Rising Volt Tacklers at all.

"It's because of my mom, Johnathan, and Diane that Cap and Friede first met along with Toothless. And, years after that, I met up with Sarah, Race, and their family along with the Rising Volt Tacklers. Then, I met up with you, Roy, and you too, Dot... We're all friends now, because of Asha's grandparents, and my mom..."

Roy beamed happily as he nodded in agreement, "It's like we're connected from that very moment; us, the Vikings and Dragons of Berk, Sarah, Race, their family, the Rising Volt Tacklers, all of us came together because of Cap, Friede, and Toothless as well as your mom and Asha's grandparents."

"Mm-hmm...! Next time I see my Mom, I'm gonna tell her all about Sprigatito. I just know she's going to love her!"

"Liko, guys, look!" Roy then blurted out, pointing his friends toward the Galar Region (the fatherland of Penny, Calyrex, Spectrier, Glastrier, Zacian, Zamazenta, Nebula, Eternatus, and Rapidash and her family as well as Leo and Sarah and Race's Galar friends).

"The Galar Region..."

From the window of her bedroom, Penny smiled sadly (not wanting to think of her father) as she thought to herself, "Well, Galar, I'm back. If only for a short period, really..."

On the Dragon Craft's sundeck, the Galar Pokémon in question stood or hovered above the aircraft, eyeing their former fatherland and wondering what was ahead for them the moment they and the Brave Olivine would land the following day.

"There it is, Zash," Zamazenta said sentimentally.

"Yes, Zam, good ol' Galar..." added Zacian softly.

"Home..."

"…Sweet home," Wooloo and Ponyta cooed.

To Be Continued...