Ash, Goh, and Chloe get word about a mysterious Pokémon sighting in The Crown Tundra, a mountainous region in Galar covered in a dense snow. But as they arrive there to investigate—another group of familiar faces arrive in town as Lillie, Gladion, and Lusamine, along with their Pokémon, seemingly conclude their search for the missing Mohn. But as they learn that Mohn has forgotten his past, someone else is determined to protect him and the life they've built together.
This episode contains the following tropes:
- Adaptational Late Appearance: Mohn was already present in the Pokémon Sun and Moon video game pretty early on, with his past being later expanded upon in the game. This marks his first in-person appearance outside of flashbacks, far after his debut series already wrapped.
- Bookends: When audiences first met Lillie back in Sun and Moon, she was deathly scared of Pokémon as a result of a traumatic experience, later revealed to be the result of a Nihilego attacking her. Her personal journey ends with her not only showing no fear in the face of a Nihilego, but even inviting it to be a part of her family.
- The Bus Came Back: Although they were briefly shown during Ash's return to Alola, this is the first in-person appearance of Lillie and Gladion since the end of Sun and Moon. Likewise, this is also the first appearance of Snowy, Magearna, Lusamine, Zoroark, Lycanroc (Midnight Form), Umbreon, and Silvally since they departed in search of Mohn.
- Call-Back:
- Mohn's history, including his time with his family prior to his disappearance, his obtainment of Magearna as a gift for Lillie, and his vanishing during his research into Ultra Wormholes, is recapped here.
- Goh recognizes Lillie's name from when he visited Alola.
- Character Development:
- Thanks to her having undergone a great deal of growth since she was first introduced, Lillie shows no fear in the face of the Ultra Beasts. In fact, she personally thanks Nihilego for saving her father's life and invites it to join her family.
- While he does initially attack Nihilego (and is only stopped thanks to Lusamine), Gladion has no objection to letting it join the family. In fact, he not only encourages it, but as shown in the next episode, he's the one who takes ownership of it—a far cry from how he was only out to destroy the Ultra Beasts as payback for traumatizing his sister.
- The Cloud Cuckoolander Was Right: When Ash, Goh, and Chloe were interviewing the old man who saw a mysterious new Pokémon in a snowstorm, he couldn't remember if it was white, yellow, or both. Turns out what he saw was a shiny Nihielgo, which was those colors.
- Color-Coded for Your Convenience: The Nihielgo named "Lillie" happens to be a shiny variation of the species, but it also has the same colors as the real Lillie's outfit.
- Contrived Coincidence: Ash, Goh, and Chloe happen to arrive in the Crown Tundra at the same time that Lusamine, Lillie, and Gladion arrive in search for Mohn.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: And big time for Lillie's family. After having gone through numerous traumatic experiences, a lot of familiar heartache and hardships, Demonic Possession, and spending God knows how long searching for their missing father, Lillie is able to find Mohn, help him recover his memories, and welcome another "Lillie" into the family out of gratitude for its actions.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: When Mohn was sucked into an Ultra Wormhole, the shiny Nihilego saved his life and took him to the Crown Tundra, but the injuries he sustained zapped his memory of everything except his daughter. Nihilego kept the windows in their cabin darkened and removed all the mirrors to keep Mohn from remembering his past life, out of fear that he would abandon it. With Lillie and Gladion's help, he's able to recover his memories.
- Mysterious Animal Senses: While searching for the mysterious Pokémon in the Crown Tundra, Pikachu is able to detect Lillie nearby. Fortunately, it happens to be just in time, as Nihilego is about to attack her while she's snooping around the cabin.
- Tears of Joy: Lusamine breaks down crying when Mohn recovers his memories.
- We Named the Monkey "Jack": Mohn named the Nihilego who saved him "Lillie" after his own daughter, although that was due to him mistaking it for the real deal. The rest of his family continue to call it Lillie when they welcome it into their own.
