As Ash and Serena stop in front of the items shop, they find a woman named Marli, and she says, "You're the newcomers who fell from the sky! Are you heading outside the village?"
"We are." Ash and Serena nod.
"Of course, you are - the Survey Corps must have to get out and about to compile that "Pokedex" book they're working on, right? Well, on your way, kindly do me a favor: find out all about Starly! Pokemon certainly are terrifying creatures...but when I see Starly, I feel simply...whole! Not that I have the least desire to actually TOUCH one, mind you. Please let me see the Starly's entry in that Pokedex the moment you've completed it." Marli says.
"We have already completed it, you can see it." Serena shows the Pokedex to the woman, who reads about the Pokemon's entry.
"Hmm...Wait one moment - male and female Starly have different appearances?! Let me see..." Marli mutters. "So the markings on their foreheads are different sizes! Incredible - I had no idea! Thank you for letting me read its Pokedex entry. Now that I know more about it...I imagine I might finally bring myself to touch a Starly! Please, if you can find it in your heart - catch a Starly and bring it to me! There's not a Pokemon in the world so adorable as Starly, I tell you."
"Well, all Pokemon are unique." Ash says as they rush to the pasture to get one Starly, and after showing the woman a Starly, she says, "The smooth curl of the feather on its head...Those lovely, round eyes...Oh, it's lovely through and through! I adore it down to the last feather! Well, hello there, Starly!"
The Starly just chirps, and Ash asks, "So do you want to pet it?"
"NOOO!" Just then, the woman rushes far from the Starly, as she says, "I-I think I'm quite satisfied just looking at it after all! Besides, it might let loose a move...Who outside of the Survey Corps and Security Corps could actually do something so frightful as approach a Pokemon willingly?"
"I think we are still in the past...it is no wonder..." Serena frowns.
"All the same, I must thank you for showing me this sweet Starly. Some people will see a Pokemon and simply flee on sight, you know. Perhaps being able to read all about Pokemon in that Pokedex might put them more at ease..."
She gives them 10 Poke Balls as rewards, which they already have a lot of them already. Then they decide to find another man named Toshi, who is standing in front of a Photography Studio.
"I know Shinx's ears had odd markings on the insides...but what were they?" He turns around and faces Ash and Serena. "No use! I can't remember. This'll keep me up all night..."
"What's the matter?" Ash asks.
"Hey, aren'tcha with the Survey Corps? If you catch a Shinx, could you show it to me? I've gotta see one with my own eyes!"
"Why do you want to see a Shinx?" Serena asks.
"Please! I can't remember for the life of me what those ears look like - it's drivin' me up the wall!" Toshi panics.
"Fine." Ash says as he shows the Shinx, and he says, "All righty. Let's have a peek at these round ears."
As he bends down and watches closely, he says, "That's it! Its ears have that yellow cross pattern on them - kinda like a star! Can't tell you what a relief this is. Felt like I had a bone stuck in my throat, only the throat's my brain and the bone's a thought! Thanks for helpin' me get that bone out!"
He gives them three potions as thanks since they really need them. And then they go to the guard to the named Dorian, as he also has a quest for them.
"Can Pokemon of the same species really come in different sizes? I know the professor said they do, but I'll have a hard time believing it unless I see a different-sized one lined up side by side. If there really are Buizel bigger than mine, I'd love to see them alongside the one I have, for comparison's sake."
Ash frowns, as he also misses his Buizel, and they haven't caught any Buizel in the Obsidian Fieldlands as well.
"And you're a natural when it comes to catching Pokemon, right? I bet you see where I'm going with this. If you catch a Buizel bigger than mine, would you let me have it I'll make it worth your while!"
"Sure." Ash says. "So that is a quest we can't finish right now..."
"And let's continue to find some before we go to the Obsidian Fieldlands." Serena says.
And when they find a boy named Sho, he says, "Oh hey, survey guys! Know what you need to do to be a super awesome member of the Galaxy Team?"
Ash looks at Serena, who says, "Well, you sure try to be super brave?"
"No! I mean, I guess that's also important...But you need to have a partner Pokemon! With a great partner Pokemon backing you up, you'll be as strong as 100 people! I really wanna catch a Pokemon of my own someday, so I've been throwing balls to get my aim spot-on. Now I think I'm ready to practice with real Poke Balls! I bet you have loooads of them, since you're in the Survey Corps and all!"
"We do have a lot of them." Ash says.
"Do you think you could give me just five of your Poke Balls? Pleease?" Sho asks.
"Sure, we don't really need a lot of them." Ash says as he hands over 5 Pokeballs.
"Woo-hoo! Now I can catch a partner Pokemon of my own! Here's a reward, just for you - some Grit Dust! It was super hard to collect, so I hope you like it. If you wanna know more about what it does, you can ask Captain Zisu! She knows all about it."
"Okay." Serena nods as she takes the items.
"Anyway, I'm gonna practice loads with the Poke Balls you gave me. If you find a Pokemon that'd be a great partner for me, let me know so I can go catch it!"
"Sure." Ash and Serena then bid the young boy.
"I guess we should take a rest, for now, let's go to the Obsidian Fieldlands." Serena says.
"You're right." Ash says as they quickly go to the Obsidian Fieldlands.
Once they arrive at Obsidian Fieldlands, they hear someone say, "Boo!"
They quickly jump and turn around to see that it is no other than Volo, "Did I surprise you? I bet I did!"
"You really did. It's not funny." Ash mutters.
"I was trying to, anyway." Volo chuckles. "There's a secret technique to catching Pokemon, you see. It's what I call the Secret Back Strike Technique! Hitting a Pokemon's back with your Poke Ball will surprise it, making it easier to catch or giving you an advantage once a battle starts!"
"Okay, but why are you talking to us about this?" Serena asks.
"If you're part of the Survey Corps now, working to create that Pokedex as they all are, you might end up meeting every last Pokemon here in Hisui. You should know I'm already looking forward to the day you accomplish that!" Volo smiles as he leaves, much to the two's confusion.
They continue to walk and find a man named Morel. He says, "Ooh, you're that boy from the Survey Corps who fell from the sky, aren't you? Listen here a moment. I need to tell you about this great cake-lure recipe I invented! I call it...the Mushroom Cake! I poured 20 years of mushroom foraging know-how into coming up with this recipe, and I just know it's a winner. Problem is, the folks around here just aren't catching on to my recipe's amazing potential..."
"So what does it have to do with us?" Ash asks.
"But you're the talk of the village! If people see you two making my Mushroom Cakes, famous as you are, I'm sure they'll want to give it a go, too. I'll teach you the recipe - all you have to do in return is spread the good word by using it! Oh, and you'll need to go get the key ingredient for the recipe yourself. "Scrounge not from the forages of the fellows," as the old saying goes! One Springy Mushroom's all you need. I'll be waiting!"
Ash and Serena sigh as they decide to search the Horseshoe Plains for the Springy Mushroom, and they manage to get one in the end. But before they go back, they stop as they see a lot of Pokemon gathering around in an area. Serena asks, "I wonder what is that all about?"
Ash says, "Let's go check it out."
As they walk forward, they notice that a Sylveon is dancing as Pokemon like Shinx, Wurmple, Starly, Ponyta, Bidoof, and even some Eevees are watching as well.
"A Sylveon in the wild?" Ash asks, "But that dance..."
Serena gasps, "No way...that dance..."
She rushes as a lot of Pokemon are now staring at Serena, but the Sylveon stops dancing and rushes towards Sylveon, using the feelers to give her a hug.
"It really is you! Sylveon! I can't believe you are here as well!" Serena hugs the Pokemon.
Ash says, "So not only my Pokemon, even Arceus bring your Pokemon here as well. That's a good thing to know."
Sylveon also notices Ash as she rushes to nuzzle him. "How are you doing, Sylveon?"
The Pokemon yelps, and Serena asks, "So does that mean Braixen and Pancham are somewhere in Hisui as well?"
Sylveon shakes her head, pointing at herself. Serena frowns, "I guess only you are here in Hisui while the others are in Aether?"
Sylveon nods, and Serena smiles, "But no matter, it is great to have you back as well."
Like Staraptor's, Sylveon's Pokeball also changes into the ancient kind as Serena recalls the Pokemon. They also use the chance to do the Pokedex for Eevee.
Eevee's Research Tasks: Number caught:1,3,6,12,25 Number you've caught without being spotted:1,2,5,10,20 Times you have seen it use Quick Attack:1,3,8,20,40 Times you've given it food:1,2,3,4,5 Number of different forms you've obtained:2 Number you've evolved:1,2,3,5,10 Investigated move about how Eevee evolves:1
Hisui Dex Entry No.25: Eevee: The Evolution Pokémon: Normal-type. Harbors the potential to evolve into manifold forms. Within Eevee lies the key to the mysteries of Pokémon evolution—I'm certain of it.
And Serena decides to do Sylveon as well, unlike Ash, who decides to wait until later to do Staraptor.
Sylveon's Research Tasks: Number caught:1,2,3,4,5 Times you have seen it use Baby Doll Eyes:1,2,4,10,15 Times you have seen it use Fairy Wind:1,3,8,20,40 Times you've seen it use an agile style move:1,3,10,30,70
Hisui Dex Entry No.33 Sylveon: The Intertwining Pokémon: Fairy-type. Evolve from Eevee with high friendship and a Fairy move. It emits a soothing aura from its ribbon-shaped organs. It wraps these appendages around quarrelers to instantly restore calm to the situation.
After that's done, they quickly go back to Morel, and he says, "Oh! Now that's a nice Springy Mushroom if I ever did see one! I'm glad I chose you for my request. You've got what it takes to be a fine mushroom forager! By the by, did you know that Springy Mushrooms like this one multiply in no time? That's why you'll find them all over the Obsidian Fieldlands!"
"We do, actually." Serena says.
"And they're versatile, too. Fry 'em, stew 'em - they'll taste great either way! But I digress. Let's geet to teaching you my recipe. I'll just use that handy workbench over there..."
After making the Mushroom Cake, he says, "And here you have it! The delectable Mushroom Cake, beloved by Pokemon far and wide! Just throw one at a wild Pokemon and, if it's partial to a nice mushroom snack, you can bet your bottom toadstool it'll go after the cake-lure. You can use that opening to make your getaway, or, of course, to try to catch the Pokemon!"
He takes out some Cake-Lure Bases and says, "Here - I'll give you some of my own Cake-Lure Bases so you can get crafting right away."
After accepting those bases, Morel continues, "Now get out there and throw a generous - no, gratuitous - number of Mushroom Cakes to lure Pokemon left, right, and center, you hear? I'm counting on you to make my recipe famous!"
After that, they decide to leave and go find Akari and Mai.
Here is a new chapter and this wraps up the side requests 2,3,5, and 6. And Serena also gets Sylveon back, which is the only old Pokemon Serena will have in this story. I hope you like this chapter.