Chapter Summaries

Aoki explained that his many League jobs only barely covered the cost of feeding his Snorlax, and Luo Mu accepted one of their Pokémon Eggs for his farm. Calyrex then identified Luo Mu’s mysterious crystal as the soul of a deceased Pokémon, which Luo Mu recognized as a Heart Drop left by Latias or Latios; he kept it safe and prepared for Naranja Academy’s opening ceremony.

• Aoki told Luo Mu that his Snorlax kept producing Munchlax Eggs, leaving him unable to afford their food despite working several League jobs.
• Luo Mu accepted Aoki’s Pokémon Egg and asked Oranguru to settle it alongside the other egg at the farm.
• Calyrex revealed that the crystal orb Steven Stone had given Luo Mu contained the soul of a deceased Pokémon.
• Luo Mu recognized the crystal as a Heart Drop left behind by Latias or Latios and agreed to keep it safe.
• Luo Mu went to bed before Naranja Academy’s opening ceremony, where he planned to welcome new students Kieran and Carmine.

Kieran and Carmine began their first day at Naranja Academy, where they met Botan and learned that Luo Mu had returned from Hoenn. After the opening ceremony, Luo Mu prepared to bring Kubfu to class with the students.

• Xue Zhong and Shu Zi dropped Kieran and Carmine at Naranja Academy before leaving to travel around Paldea with their new friends.
• Kieran and Carmine enrolled in Class 1-D, and Kieran learned that Luo Mu might still be in Hoenn.
• Carmine encouraged Kieran to stay confident, and the siblings attended the opening ceremony with their classmates.
• Botan introduced herself and told Kieran and Carmine that Luo Mu wanted them to go to the Battle Arena after the ceremony for a training battle.
• Geeta told Luo Mu that the Hoenn League wanted a cooperative relationship, and they discussed how his activities there had drawn attention.
• After the ceremony, Luo Mu found Kubfu waiting under a tree and told it that it would start attending classes with the students.

Luo Mu took his students to Rampage Waterfall for field training and introduced Kubfu as their new classmate. After reaching the falls, he told Kubfu that it would train there regularly and prepared to begin waterfall training.

• Luo Mu announced a field-training trip to Rampage Waterfall and revealed that his customized RV would take the students there.
• Luo Mu introduced Kubfu as a new classmate who would train alongside the group.
• The students rode in the RV, began getting to know one another and Kubfu, and arrived at the Bamboo Forest near the waterfall.
• Luo Mu led the students through the quiet Bamboo Forest to Rampage Waterfall and chose a smaller cascade for their battles and punishment.
• Luo Mu told Kubfu that it would train at the waterfall every day and prepared it for waterfall training.

Luo Mu tested Kubfu's moves against Popplio, then began training it beneath a waterfall to build its physique and Inner Focus. Kubfu overcame its fear and endured the waterfall for a minute, and Luo Mu decided to focus on its basic training before choosing a fighting style.

• Luo Mu had Kubfu battle Popplio and found that Kubfu knew only Leer, Rock Smash, Endure, and Focus Energy.
• Luo Mu explained how waterfall training could strengthen Kubfu's body and Inner Focus, then encouraged it to endure the rushing water.
• Kubfu hesitated because of its lingering trauma but stepped into the waterfall and held on for a full minute.
• Serperior caught Kubfu with Vine Whip when it stumbled, and Popplio used a bubble to help it float.
• Luo Mu praised Kubfu and decided to train its physique and Inner Focus before developing its combat techniques and eventually taking it to the Isle of Armor.

Luo Mu assessed his students’ progress during an outdoor training trip, exposing Botan’s month of slacking and Arven’s lack of improvement while praising Pippa, Kieran, and Carmine. After they set up camp, Kieran and Carmine returned from exploring with news of a strange chained lid behind a waterfall.

• Arven brought out Koraidon and Miraidon, but Luo Mu forbade him from using Pokémon he had not raised himself and assigned the students’ battle matchups through rock-paper-scissors.
• Pippa narrowly defeated Kieran in a two-on-two battle, while Luo Mu noticed Kieran had improved Incineroar’s move selection.
• Botan’s overweight Sylveon and Flareon lost to Carmine’s team, so Luo Mu ordered Botan and her Eevees to begin daily morning training at the academy.
• Luo Mu defeated Arven’s Annihilape and Mabosstiff, observed that neither had improved during the vacation, and told Arven to adapt to more intense training for his goal of crossing Area Zero.
• Luo Mu let the students explore and helped establish a campsite near the water; Kieran and Carmine returned and reported finding a strange lid sealed by four enormous chains behind a small waterfall.

Luo Mu investigated a hidden cave behind a waterfall and recognized the chained, glowing lid as the sealed Fire Calamity Shrine imprisoning Gu Yu Fish. He found one of the eight Seal Stakes needed to weaken its seal, leaving the larger search ahead.

• Kieran and Carmine led Luo Mu and the others to a concealed cave behind the waterfall where they had found a glowing lid bound by chains.
• The group entered the cave, startled its wild Noibat, and spotted a Sableye watching them from behind a rock.
• Luo Mu recognized the lid as the seal of the Fire Calamity Shrine and concluded that eight Seal Stakes were needed to undo it.
• Luo Mu led the group higher up the mountain and discovered a hidden platform inside the waterfall.
• Luo Mu found a pitch-black Seal Stake on the platform and explained that thirty-two such stakes were scattered across Paldea.

After returning from Paldea’s sealed shrine, Luo Mu began planning how to help Kubfu grow through battles and reopened the farm for spring planting. He found the Gracidea Flowers blooming in the Glass Greenhouse, where Shiny Zygarde Core was watching Comfey’s Eternal Flower with a complicated expression.

• Luo Mu reminded Arven, Botan, Pippa, Kieran, and the others to keep the shrine and Seal Stake secret, then told Botan that Hageru would start exercising with her at six each morning.
• Luo Mu drove Kubfu back to the farm and considered using battles against different trainers to build Kubfu’s confidence and strength.
• Luo Mu returned to the farm, resumed spring cultivation with the Pokémon, and chose not to force crops to grow faster with Composite Grassy Terrain.
• Luo Mu visited the Glass Greenhouse and found the Gracidea Flowers blooming alongside Combee, Comfey, and Shiny Zygarde Core.
• Shiny Zygarde Core stared at the Eternal Flower on Comfey’s flower ring with a complex expression.

Luo Mu planted the Eternal Flower and more Gracidea Flowers at the farm before Luxray showed him rare Gold and Silver Series Berries growing in the Berry Garden. He decided to risk using the scarce fruit to help Luxray become stronger, leaving the farm preparing to guard the harvest.

• Zygarde Core asked Luo Mu where he had found the Eternal Flower, then accepted his account of finding it in Sootopolis City and returned to bask in the sun.
• Luo Mu and Comfey transplanted Gracidea Flowers outdoors and planted the Eternal Flower in the Glass Greenhouse.
• Luo Mu tasted spring honey from Vespiquen and her Worker Bees while tending the flowers.
• On the morning of February 3, Luxray woke Luo Mu and led him to Gold and Silver Series Berries growing among the farm's Berry trees.
• Luo Mu considered using the rare Berries to raise Luxray into a Partner Pokémon and ordered Luxray to summon Oranguru, Calyrex, and the others to guard the Berry Garden.

Luo Mu reviewed the berry harvest, settled into farm and teaching life, and learned how his students and Pokémon had been progressing. On February 16, the Saiyu Conference began, and he watched the livestream, eager to see how Ash, Zhen Si, and Joy Shizuka would fare.

• Luo Mu counted the Silver and Golden berries from three trees, and Calyrex advised him against accelerating their effects through mass consumption.
• Over the next half month, Luo Mu worked on spring planting, taught at Naranja Academy, and helped Kieran and Carmine consider new Pokémon; Delibird joined the farm's milk deliveries.
• Professor Turo and Professor Sada returned to Area Zero with Koraidon and Miraidon, while Luo Mu watched for developments related to Booster Energy and the future events there.
• The Leader delivered fifteen Paldea Ancient Coins to Luo Mu, bringing his total to just over six hundred as he continued saving toward Gholdengo's evolution.
• Luo Mu stayed home on February 16 to watch the Saiyu Conference, where Ash, Zhen Si, and Joy Shizuka were all competing.

Luo Mu watched the Saiyu Conference’s Preliminary Tournament, where Ash, Zhen Si, and Shizuka advanced, then drove to Porto Marinada with Calyrex to visit a fish-feed store. They arrived to find the city caught up in some kind of disturbance.

• Ash defeated his first Preliminary Tournament opponent, Tomono, with Torkoal and Armarouge, while Zhen Si won with Torterra and Ursaring.
• Shizuka overcame a tough opponent’s Sceptile and Poison Heal Breloom with Chansey and Skarmory, though Skarmory was knocked out.
• Luo Mu reflected on how travel had helped Zhen Si and Shizuka grow as Trainers, then decided to take his pickup truck out for a drive.
• Calyrex joined Luo Mu, saying it wanted to understand modern human life better.
• Luo Mu and Calyrex drove to Porto Marinada to check out a fish-feed store, but found the city in the midst of a disturbance.

Luo Mu arrived in Porto Marinada, where widespread water vapor had disrupted the city and ruined Mulan’s fish-feed stock. He went to City Hall to investigate the cause himself, where he found the officials discussing a blurry photograph that appeared to show Suicune.

• Luo Mu and Calyrex discovered that heated water was producing vapor across Porto Marinada, and Calyrex lifted their pickup truck to the second-level district after the elevators were shut down.
• Luo Mu visited Mulan’s Feed Store, where she explained that nearly a day of humidity had damaged feed and harmed fish and aquatic Pokémon.
• Luo Mu told Mulan the incident would soon be resolved, then used Teleport with Calyrex to reach Porto Marinada City Hall.
• Luo Mu entered the mayor’s office and found the mayor, Mr. Hai Dai, Officer Jenny, and other officials meeting over a photograph of a Pokémon that looked like Suicune.

Luo Mu joined Porto Marinada’s response to the Steam Incident and learned that Lei He had brought a Suicune-like Pokémon from the Paldea Great Pit, where it had taken over the city’s underground water system. As Luo Mu prepared to help confront it, Lei He returned with its identity: it was Walking Wake, not Suicune.

• Luo Mu recognized that the Pokémon in the photograph resembled Suicune but was a different, possibly Paradox, Pokémon.
• Officer Jenny and Hai Dai explained that Porto Marinada’s waterways were heating up and that the city’s underground circulation system was the source of the problem.
• Officer Jenny revealed that Naranja Academy history teacher Lei He had brought the Pokémon from the Paldea Great Pit while searching for Suicune to purify Seal Stakes.
• Hai Dai said he and the others had failed to subdue the Pokémon after it occupied the underground reservoir and changed the waterways to suit itself.
• Luo Mu agreed to help, then asked why Lei He was absent; Officer Jenny explained that she had sent her to Naranja Academy to consult old texts.
• Lei He burst into the meeting room and announced that the Pokémon was an ancient Pokémon called Walking Wake, not Suicune.

Lei He identified Walking Wake as an ancient Pokémon and suggested meeting its needs to make it leave the underground reservoir, so Luo Mu led a small team into Porto Marinada’s water system. They found Walking Wake in the boiling reservoir, where it attacked them, but Calyrex blocked its Dragon Pulse unharmed.

• Lei He shared records describing Walking Wake’s violent temperament, then suggested they try to make it leave the reservoir without force.
• Luo Mu agreed to resolve the incident, and Officer Jenny insisted Lei He join the team in case they needed her help communicating with Walking Wake.
• Lei He released her Zoroark to guide Luo Mu, Calyrex, Hai Dai, Officer Jenny, and an engineer through the underground passages.
• The group donned protective suits and oxygen tanks as the tunnels grew hotter and the water vapor became dangerous to humans.
• Luo Mu spotted Walking Wake in the boiling reservoir, and it attacked the group with Dragon Pulse.
• Calyrex raised a Psychic Barrier that stopped Walking Wake’s attack and remained unharmed.

Luo Mu and Calyrex subdued Walking Wake and stopped it from flooding Porto Marinada with superheated steam. Walking Wake explained that it had occupied the reservoir because it loved the hot water, while Lei He had only led it there indirectly.

• Walking Wake ignored Lei He's attempts to calm it and attacked Calyrex, which restrained it and blasted it into the reservoir with Energy Ball.
• Walking Wake unleashed powerful steam Hydro Pumps, but Calyrex blocked them and then captured Walking Wake with Confusion.
• Luo Mu had the engineers pause the Water Circulation before the boiling water could spread through Porto Marinada.
• Luo Mu, Hai Dai, and Officer Jenny questioned Walking Wake through Calyrex's Telepathy, learning Lei He had not directed it to occupy the reservoir.
• Walking Wake revealed that it had taken over the reservoir to create a hot-water habitat and had refused to leave because it loved soaking in hot water.

Luo Mu brought Walking Wake back from Porto Marinada to live at his farm, hoping it could help him create a hot spring. On the morning of February 17th, he found that Walking Wake had been beaten up after picking fights with Tapu Fini and Swampert at Thunderclap Lake.

• Luo Mu persuaded Walking Wake to join the farm as an Unofficial Member instead of returning to the Paldea Great Pit, and he left Porto Marinada with it and a truckload of fish feed.
• Walking Wake secretly ate the entire sack of fish feed during the drive home, and Luo Mu settled it at Thunderclap Lake with warnings not to boil the water or attack other Pokémon.
• The next morning, Luo Mu found Walking Wake bruised and battered, and Politoed explained that Tapu Fini had beaten it for bullying Popplio before Swampert stopped it from boiling the lake.
• Luo Mu had Audino treat Walking Wake while he scolded it, and the subdued Pokémon lamented that it had not known so many powerful Pokémon lived at the lake.

Luo Mu showed Walking Wake around the farm, where it chose a site for its future hot springs and met Roaring Thunder Drum and the Shiny Zygarde Core. He watched the Saiyu Conference preliminaries, where Zhen Si and Shizuka advanced, then saw the draw pit Zhen Si against Ash in the first round of the Final Tournament.

• Luo Mu toured the farm with Walking Wake and warned it not to cause trouble in the Farming, Ranch, Lake, or Back Mountain areas.
• Walking Wake and Roaring Thunder Drum eyed each other warily before Luo Mu introduced them and the Shiny Zygarde Core, which questioned Walking Wake through Telepathy.
• Walking Wake chose a sunny, open area near Tinkatuff's Blacksmith Workshop for its hot springs, then returned to Thunderclap Lake while Luo Mu planned the construction.
• Luo Mu watched the Saiyu Conference, where Zhen Si's Lairon evolved during a battle and helped him advance to the Final Tournament.
• Shizuka also advanced, though Luo Mu worried that her five-Pokémon team would be at a disadvantage in full six-on-six matches.
• The tournament draw matched Zhen Si against Ash in the first round of the Final Tournament.

Ash challenged Zhen Si to a battle using only Pokémon he had caught or recently trained in Hoenn, giving up his broader team advantage to earn a decisive acknowledgment. After Ash and Zhen Si joined Nemona for hours of sparring, Shizuka won her morning match and advanced to the top sixteen, leaving their rivalry match as the afternoon’s main event.

• At the restaurant, Ash confronted Zhen Si and declared he would face him using only Pikachu and Pokémon from Hoenn or recently trained there.
• Zhen Si accepted Ash’s challenge, and he and Ash agreed to spar with Nemona that night.
• Luo Mu told Shizuka not to interrupt the sparring and urged her to rest before her morning match.
• Shizuka defeated Xiao Feng, losing only one of her six Pokémon, and advanced to the top sixteen.
• Luo Mu watched the result and looked forward to Ash and Zhen Si’s rivalry match that afternoon.

Ash and Zhen Si began their highly anticipated round-of-thirty-two match, opening with Pikachu against Torterra before their battle escalated into a clash between Armarouge and Skeledirge. Zhen Si’s Torterra survived Armarouge’s powerful Armor Cannon and was recalled, leaving Ash’s Armarouge to face Skeledirge as the fight continued.

• The Rock Field was selected, and Ash sent out Pikachu while Zhen Si chose Torterra.
• Torterra overwhelmed Pikachu with Stone Edge and Frenzy Plant, but Ash switched Pikachu out for Armarouge.
• Armarouge struck Torterra with Armor Cannon, but Torterra endured the super-effective attack.
• Zhen Si recalled Torterra after its immobilization ended and sent out Skeledirge to battle Armarouge.
• Ash and Zhen Si ordered Torch Song and Flamethrower, then Armarouge dodged Skeledirge’s Shadow Ball.

Ash lost Armarouge after recklessly sending it into close combat against Zhen Si’s Skeledirge, which defeated it with Yawn and Hex. Ash’s Swellow then turned the battle around with its Guts-boosted Brave Bird, leaving the legality of its ability to fight through sleep as a mystery.

• Zhen Si’s Skeledirge put Armarouge to sleep with Yawn and knocked it out with Hex, giving Zhen Si the first victory.
• Ash apologized for his mistaken command, held Pikachu back, and sent out Swellow.
• Swellow broke through Skeledirge’s Torch Song with Aerial Ace and repeatedly attacked while Skeledirge tried to recover with Slack Off.
• Skeledirge landed Yawn on Swellow, but Ash urged Swellow to show its Guts and use Brave Bird.
• Swellow unleashed a Guts-powered Brave Bird and knocked Skeledirge into the arena wall, earning Ash the win.
• Zhen Si and Luo Mu questioned how Swellow could fight through sleep and activate Guts.

Ash’s Pupitar used Sandstorm to counter Zhen Si’s Froslass and battled Ursaring fiercely on the Grass Field. Just as the referee was about to declare Pupitar unable to battle, Ash’s encouragement sparked its evolution in a burst of light and a savage Roar.

• Zhen Si’s Froslass defeated Ash’s Swellow with Hail, evasion, Thunderbolt, and Ice Beam, bringing Ash’s losses to two.
• Ash’s Glalie challenged Froslass but lost, triggering the battlefield redraw and changing the arena to a Grass Field.
• Ash sent out Pupitar, which used Sandstorm to overwhelm Froslass’s Hail and land repeated super-effective Snarls, knocking Froslass out.
• Zhen Si sent out Ursaring, which battered Pupitar as Pupitar repeatedly charged it with compressed-gas bursts.
• Ash urged Pupitar not to give up, and Pupitar’s shell began glowing as a powerful Roar sounded from within the light.