Chapter Summaries

Sato’s Ariados defeated Volkner’s Raichu, then Sato switched to Houndoom against Magnezone. Houndoom was revealed as Zoroark after a clash of powerful attacks, leaving Magnezone trapped in Zoroark’s relentless assault.

• Ariados poisoned Raichu with Venoshock and defeated it in a head-on clash against Wild Charge.
• Volkner sent out Magnezone, and Sato used Baton Pass to switch Ariados for Houndoom.
• Houndoom pressured Magnezone with Flamethrower while Volkner raised Light Screen and used Lock-On to prepare Zap Cannon.
• Houndoom fired Focus Blast at Zap Cannon, and the explosion revealed that it had actually been Zoroark using Illusion.
• Sato ordered Zoroark to keep attacking with Focus Blast, forcing Magnezone into a punishing exchange of attacks.

Sato’s Zoroark survived Magnezone’s Explosion, and Luxray then entered the battle poisoned by Sato’s Toxic Spikes. Ariados stubbornly endured Luxray’s overwhelming attacks, leaving Volkner increasingly furious.

• Zoroark struck Magnezone with Sucker Punch, but Volkner ordered Magnezone to use Explosion.
• Zoroark survived the blast by using Protect, while Magnezone lost its combat capability.
• Volkner sent out his Pseudo-Elite Four Beginner Luxray, which was poisoned by Sato’s Toxic Spikes.
• Sato sent Ariados back into battle, and Volkner accused him of looking down on Luxray.
• Luxray repeatedly battered Ariados, but Ariados used Sticky Web, Protect, Substitute, and dodges to endure the attacks as Volkner grew angrier.

Ariados endured Luxray’s Discharge and broke through to Pseudo-Elite Four during the battle, leaving Volkner shaken by his defeat and his doubts about his standing. As Sato departed the Sinnoh Alliance, he challenged Flint to a battle when he returned to Lilycove City.

• Volkner ordered Luxray to finish Ariados with Discharge, and Sato told Ariados to shield itself with Electroweb.
• Ariados endured the lightning, recalled its bond with Sato and its companions, and resolved to keep growing stronger.
• Ariados broke through to Pseudo-Elite Four, and Volkner stopped Luxray from attacking during the breakthrough.
• Volkner left the arena, and Chikuno told Flint to let him face reality on his own.
• Chikuno and Flint saw Sato and his companions off, and Sato arranged to battle Flint after returning to Lilycove City.

After changing course to avoid Volkner’s territory, Sato and his companions reached remote Boxi Town and stayed with its mayor, Grandma Haixi. They met her close-knit family and learned that the town had only one Trainer, a fact that left Sato and George puzzled.

• Sato read sensational reports about his match against Volkner and suspected someone was using the news to warn Sinnoh Gym Leaders.
• Sato, Mark, and George voted to travel west toward Veilstone City instead of heading south toward Lakeside City.
• The group crossed a strait to Boxi Town and accepted Grandma Haixi’s offer to stay at her home.
• Grandma Haixi introduced the visitors to her family, whose children were frightened when the Trainers released their powerful Pokemon.
• Grandma Haixi said that one local Trainer taught Pokemon knowledge at the school, and Sato and George wondered how the isolated town managed with only one Trainer.

Sato, Mark, and George met Guting, Boxi Town’s only Trainer, and grew more suspicious when she knew little about the town’s safety. They agreed to stay two more days to investigate, while Guting hurried to a hidden mountain cave and woke a Giant Gliscor.

• Grandma Haixi took Sato, Mark, and George to meet Guting at the town school, where they listened to her teach about Mothim and Wormadam.
• Guting said Boxi Town had always been peaceful but claimed she knew little about powerful Wild Pokemon nearby, deepening Sato and his companions’ suspicions.
• George suggested staying in Boxi Town for two more days, and Mark agreed; Haixi welcomed them and asked them to deliver something to her eldest son in Veilstone City.
• Guting entered a hidden cave behind Boxi Town and called for a sleeping Giant Gliscor to wake up.

Sato, Mark, and George investigated the Wild Pokemon around Boxi Town, but Mark encountered a powerful Floatzel and George failed to return by nightfall. Sato went to search for George, who was descending the Back Mountain injured and dishevelled.

• Sato, Mark, and George split up to survey the sea and land around Boxi Town.
• Sato found many Wild Pokemon and sent Sharpedo to ask whether any boss lived nearby, but Sharpedo learned that the Pokemon generally avoided interfering with humans.
• Mark and Lapras spotted a huge tail, then encountered a powerful Floatzel that trapped them in a Whirlpool until Sharpedo helped them escape.
• Sato brought the shaken Mark to Haixi's home and sent Gengar to look for Guting after seeing children leave school.
• When George still had not returned, Sato left to search for him, while George began a slow descent from Boxi Town's Back Mountain with Bayleef supporting him.

Sato rescued George after he collapsed from overusing Viridian Power, and Bayleef helped him recover. George told Sato and Mark about powerful Totem Pokemon Gliscor and Floatzel, and the chapter ended when Gengar reported that Guting had gone to the Back Mountain.

• Sato followed Zoroark up the mountain, found George collapsed with Bayleef, and carried him home.
• George woke the next morning with a severe headache, and Bayleef's Aromatherapy helped ease it while he rested.
• George told Sato and Mark that a powerful Giant Gliscor had defeated him through a war of attrition, while Mark reported encountering a strong Floatzel.
• Sato suspected Gliscor's Poison Heal ability and Toxic Orb explained its strength, and the group wondered why the Pokemon had spared Boxi Town for so long.
• George proposed that they search for Gliscor together, and Sato agreed they should look on land before investigating Floatzel in the sea.
• Gengar reported to Sato that Guting had gone to the Back Mountain.

Sato, George, and Mark found Guting with a Giant Gliscor and confronted her about the Pokémon attacks in Boxi Town. As Guting began explaining herself, Sato’s Weavile fought Gliscor and gained the upper hand with repeated Blizzard attacks.

• Sato and the others followed Gengar to Guting, where Gallade blocked Gliscor’s surprise attack with Protect.
• Mark accused Guting of controlling the Pokémon that attacked George and Mark, while George and Mark pressed her for an explanation.
• George pointed out that Gliscor did not fully obey Guting, and she began explaining as Sato battled it.
• Weavile used Blizzard to expose Gliscor among its Double Team clones and landed a series of Ice Punches.
• Gliscor struck Weavile with its tail and escaped into the air, but Weavile hit it with a second Blizzard.

After Weavile broke through following its victory over Giant Gliscor, Sato learned why Boxi Town had relied on a single Trainer for generations. The town remained vulnerable because its aging guardian Pokémon might stop protecting it at any time.

• Weavile defeated Giant Gliscor and broke through past the Pseudo-Elite Four Level, and Sato recalled it to master its new power.
• Mark told Sato and George how Gusu had left Boxi Town with companions, returned alone, and spent his life protecting villagers who never learned what had happened to the others.
• Guxi took over his father's duty, negotiated an end to the old grudges, and later left Gliscor and Floatzel to guard Boxi Town while he went away with Yanmega and Cherrim.
• Mark and George explained that Guxi's Gliscor and Floatzel lacked Totem Authority and might abandon the town, leaving it exposed to Wild Pokemon.

Sato persuaded Gliscor to reconsider its promise to guard Boxi Town and proposed a way for it to gain freedom. Afterward, Sato and his companions went to the shore to battle Floatzel, but it avoided fighting and fled when threatened.

• Sato ordered Gliscor to keep protecting Boxi Town under Guting’s direction, then reminded it of its past with Guxi and the burden of their final promise.
• Sato called Guting over and explained a plan intended to let Gliscor fulfill its desire for freedom without guilt.
• On the way down the mountain, Sato said he would contact Flint for help keeping watch over Boxi Town.
• Mark reminded Sato and George that Floatzel remained unresolved, so they went to the shore to battle it.
• Floatzel refused to surface or fight directly and fled whenever the battle threatened to drag on.

Sato, Mark, and George left Boxi Town and camped on the snow-covered mountain, where Mark challenged Sato to an Air Battle between Togekiss and Murkrow. As the group prepared to sleep, mournful cries rang out from elsewhere on the mountain.

• Sato and the others said goodbye to Grandma Haixi and headed up the steep mountain behind Boxi Town.
• The group made an ice house around their tent with Lapras and Weavile, then ate the dinner George prepared.
• Mark challenged Sato to an Air Battle, and Togekiss struck Murkrow with Extreme Speed before Murkrow countered with Pursuit.
• George ended the battle and told everyone to rest before their journey the next day.
• High-pitched, mournful cries suddenly sounded from the other side of the mountain as the group prepared to sleep.

Sato, George, and Mark discovered Pokémon Hunters trapping Mamoswine and Abomasnow with heated iron nets, then ambushed and defeated them. Gengar found two more Hunters nearby, leaving the group with six captives and the rescued Pokémon.

• Sato, George, and Mark followed the cries and found a herd of Mamoswine fighting Abomasnow over territory.
• Pokémon Hunters trapped the Ice-type Pokémon in heated iron nets, and Sato decided to attack them.
• Sato sent Ralts after one Hunter and Gengar to search the area while George and Mark joined the attack with their Pokémon.
• Sato's group quickly took down the four Hunters, and their Magmar and Toxicroak stopped fighting and surrendered.
• Gengar returned with two additional Pokémon Hunters, bringing the captured total to six.

Sato, George, and Mark rescued the Pokemon captured by Pokemon Hunters and accepted the Abomasnow herd’s Snow Pine Nuts as thanks. After spending the night with the Mamoswine herd, they descended the mountain and set off toward Veilstone City.

• Sato left Mark to handle a Pokemon Hunter while he and George went to rescue the Mamoswine, and George led the group in treating the injured Pokemon.
• The Abomasnow gave Sato and his companions dozens of kilograms of Snow Pine Nuts, and the Mamoswine carried them to their sheltered nest for the night.
• In the morning, Sato checked their map and estimated that Veilstone City was three days away after they descended the mountain.
• The Mamoswine carried Sato, George, and Mark down to the foot of the mountain, then returned to their herd.
• Sato announced that they were heading for Veilstone City, while Mark shouted that he wanted a new partner.

Sato, George, and Mark encountered a powerful Lucario on the way to Veilstone City, and each tried to make it their partner. After Lucario attacked them and they surrounded it with their Pokémon, Lucario felt drawn to George but had a strange intuition that it belonged with Mark.

• Sato, George, and Mark found Lucario defeating a Skuntank in the forest and each wanted to capture it.
• Lucario hurled Skuntank at Mark, giving him a chance to capture a new partner, and Mark challenged Lucario to choose one of them.
• Lucario attacked all three humans with Bone Rush, but Sato, George, and Mark dodged its softened strikes.
• Togekiss, Houndoom, and Gallade surrounded Lucario as their trainers tried to persuade or provoke it into choosing them.
• Sato used Dark Power to intimidate Lucario, while George used Viridian Power to draw it closer, and Lucario sensed it might belong with Mark.

Mark battled and captured Lucario, finally adding a fifth Pokémon to his team after three years without catching a new partner. As Mark celebrated and introduced Lucario to his other Pokémon, Sato and George watched, and Mark suddenly asked Sato if he had said something.

• Lucario chose to fight Togekiss, and Togekiss overwhelmed it with repeated Air Slashes that caused it to flinch.
• Mark threw a Heavy Ball at Lucario and captured it, celebrating his fifth Pokémon after three years of trying to find a new partner.
• Mark released Lucario and introduced himself as its trainer, while Lucario despaired at its future with him.
• Mark brought out Arbok, Lapras, and Reuniclus to welcome Lucario, completing the introductions to his current team.
• George remarked that it was lunchtime, Sato agreed, and Mark suddenly asked Sato if he had said something.

Mark celebrated catching Lucario and introduced it to the group, where Lucario quickly learned that Sato ran the camp and George controlled the food. After George won Lucario over with a meal, Lucario concluded that Mark’s status was equal to or lower than a Pokémon’s, and the group prepared to resume traveling.

• Mark explained that he had customized his Pokémon’s Poké Balls and promised George he would obtain two Master Balls.
• Lucario’s arrival delayed the group’s travel, so George prepared a welcoming lunch while Mark introduced Lucario to everyone’s Pokémon.
• Mark bragged about Sato’s Pokémon, and Reuniclus used Confusion to fling him away after Gengar shoved him.
• George served Lucario an iron-gray meal, and Lucario began massaging him after Mark claimed George would cook for it every day.
• Sato told everyone to finish eating and get back on the road, and Lucario decided Mark had a mascot’s status, equal to or lower than a Pokémon’s.

Sato and his companions arrived in Veilstone City, where they learned the Gym Leader A San was expecting a challenge. At the Pokémon Center, Sato watched Reiji try to settle a dispute between children by proposing a Pokémon battle.

• Sato, Mark, and George reached Veilstone City and went to the Pokémon Center, where Nurse Joy said Gym Leader A San would be waiting for Sato.
• Mark and Sato discussed challenging the Fighting-type-focused Veilstone Gym, while Sato considered which Pokémon to use.
• During lunch, Mark noticed two groups of children arguing in the Pokémon Center's training yard and took Sato and George over to watch.
• A Li accused Shinji of bullying Xiuzhi after Shinji's Skorupi defeated Xiuzhi's Cherubi, while Shinji insisted he had done nothing wrong.
• Reiji proposed that A Li and the others settle their grievances with one Trainer battle, and A Li accepted.

Sato and George saved the children watching A Li and Reiji’s battle after Riolu’s Counter sent a powered-up Razor Leaf toward them. The children thanked the men and introduced themselves, and A Li reacted with alarm when she learned Sato’s name and hometown.

• A Li’s Riolu and Reiji’s Turtwig fought to a stalemate until Riolu used Counter against Razor Leaf, reflecting the attack toward the watching children.
• Sato ordered Gengar to use Telekinesis and stop the Razor Leaf before it hit the children.
• George used Bayleef’s Aromatherapy and Chansey’s Heal Bell to calm the children, then warned them to watch battles from farther away and learn to protect themselves.
• A Li, Reiji, and the other children thanked Sato and George and introduced themselves; Shinji admired Sato’s Gengar.
• George introduced himself as a Pokemon Breeder from Johto, and Sato said he was a Pokemon Trainer from Dark Night Town in Johto.
• A Li covered her mouth and stared in alarm after hearing Sato’s name and hometown, and Sato asked what was wrong.

Sato and his companions arrived at Veilstone Gym for his assessment match, where the Gym’s people tried to intimidate them. Sato’s Gengar froze the welcoming crowd with its Ghost-type power, and Sato faced the old man who had given him the Great Demon King title.

• A Li admitted that her grandfather had called Sato the Great Demon King from Johto and revealed that Veilstone Gym had to defeat him to keep operating.
• Sato declined Reiji and Shinji’s invitation to visit, promising they could see his Pokemon when he challenged Veilstone Gym the next morning.
• Sato, George, and Mark arrived at Veilstone Gym and passed through a corridor of apprentices and Registered Trainers shouting to startle them.
• Gengar plunged the Gym’s entrance into darkness and left the apprentices and Registered Trainers twitching and unable to move with fear.
• An old man greeted Sato inside, and Sato said he had come at Elite Four Chikuno’s request to assess Sinnoh Gyms before asking to begin.

Sato’s Murkrow defeated Gym Leader A San’s Medicham in the first match of their 3V3 Gym Assessment, overcoming its stamina-based tactics with a feint and a final Brave Bird. Murkrow showed signs of a possible breakthrough, but they faded, leaving the assessment match to continue.

• Sato and Gym Leader A San began the assessment match with Murkrow facing Medicham, and both opened with status moves.
• A San used Mind’s Eye to ensure Medicham’s High Jump Kick hit Murkrow’s Substitute, then pressed the attack while Sato tried to regain the initiative.
• Sato recognized that Medicham’s stamina-focused fighting style could use Pain Split, Recover, and Reversal, so he ordered Murkrow to counter with Brave Bird.
• Murkrow dodged Medicham’s High Jump Kick at the last moment, then struck Medicham from behind with Brave Bird and incapacitated it.
• The referee declared Murkrow the winner, while Sato noticed its faint breakthrough signs disappear.