Chapter Summaries

Sato helped Gardevoir recover after it gave up the Sleeping Divinity, while Darkrai absorbed the Divinity and offered them compensation before leaving to fight Cresselia. Sato returned to the Pokémon Center with two treasures, but by morning he still could not identify one of them.

• Sato replenished Gardevoir with Dark Power as Darkrai absorbed the Sleeping Divinity and grew much stronger.
• Gardevoir told Sato that it would now only be his Pokémon, and Darkrai offered to repay them for what it had taken.
• Sato asked for a lifespan-extending treasure suited to Poison- and Bug-type Pokémon, while Gardevoir requested a Nightmare Orb; Darkrai gave them both items.
• Darkrai chased Cresselia into battle, and Gardevoir teleported Sato away from the collapsing cave to the North Coast.
• Sato and Gardevoir left as Officer Jenny's team arrived, then returned to the Pokémon Center and searched unsuccessfully for information about one of the treasures.

Sato trained Skorupi with Ariados at the Sinnoh Alliance Headquarters Pokemon Center, but nearby Trainers provoked a confrontation over his Shiny Pokemon. He demonstrated Ariados’s precise control of Toxic Spikes and challenged the crowd to fight, leaving the choice of battle format to them.

• Sato asked Gardevoir how to use the Poison Dragon Heart for Ariados, but Gardevoir admitted it did not know.
• Sato brought Ariados and Skorupi to the training ground and had Ariados supervise Skorupi’s toxin-condensation practice.
• Onlookers mocked Skorupi and provoked Sato, while Ariados defended it and the crowd grew increasingly hostile.
• Sato ordered Ariados to use Toxic Spikes, which scattered poison around the crowd while avoiding every person.
• Sato stepped forward with Ariados and Skorupi and challenged the onlookers to choose a one-on-one battle or a group battle.

Sato intimidated the Training Ground crowd before confronting Cyrus, who challenged him to a battle for a Mega Evolution Stone. Sato accepted a 1V1 match and sent out Gardevoir against Cyrus's Gyarados.

• Sato used Ariados's Toxic Spikes and display of poison control to deter the crowd while Skorupi trained.
• Cyrus arrived and mocked Sato while pretending to defend him, then challenged him to battle for a Mega Evolution Stone.
• Sato accepted Cyrus's 1V1 challenge, intending to use the match as a test for Gardevoir.
• The Alliance official began the match, and Sato sent out Gardevoir while Cyrus sent out Gyarados.

Sato’s Gardevoir defeated Cyrus’s Mega Gyarados with overwhelming strength, despite Cyrus’s taunts and Gardevoir never moving from its spot. The battle ended with Gyarados knocked out and Gardevoir still calm and untouched.

• Cyrus Mega Evolved his near-Elite Four-level Gyarados and mocked Sato for not Mega Evolving Gardevoir.
• Sato ordered Gardevoir to use Magical Leaf, and the attack tore deep wounds through Gyarados’s tough scales.
• Gardevoir’s Thunderbolt overpowered Gyarados’s Dark Pulse, forcing Cyrus to use War Roar and Gyarados to fight back at full strength.
• Sato commanded Gardevoir to finish the battle with Focus Blast as Cyrus answered with Giga Impact.
• Gardevoir’s Focus Blast stopped and blasted Gyarados backward, knocking it out while Gardevoir remained in place.

Sato led Mark and George to confront Cyrus at a Pokémon League meeting after Mark recognized him as the man who had tried to steal his Pokémon Egg. The chapter left them entering Cyrus’s conference room with Elite Four Chikuno and a group of Alliance Trainers.

• Mark recognized Cyrus as the man who had tried to steal his Pokémon Egg and stormed off to challenge him, but returned when Sato and George did not follow.
• Sato proposed confronting Cyrus face-to-face, and Mark and George joined him.
• Sato asked Flint and Volkner to help arrange a meeting with Cyrus, and Flint obtained Cyrus’s schedule at the Pokémon League.
• Cyrus brooded over his defeat by Sato’s Gardevoir while negotiating technology prices with Alliance Officials, then resumed the meeting after his secretary called him back to attention.
• Chikuno led Alliance Trainers into Cyrus’s conference room, with Sato, Mark, and George among them.

Sato helped Elite Four Chikuno arrest Cyrus after presenting evidence of Galaxy Technology’s crimes and warning her about an undercover agent in the Pokémon League. Cyrus was taken away, while Sato reflected that he had now sent three future underground leaders to prison.

• Chikuno ordered Flint and the building’s Trainers to seal off the Alliance Building and prevent anyone from entering or leaving.
• Chikuno confronted Cyrus and showed him recordings of his orders to commit crimes, including targeting Manaphy’s egg and covering up incidents.
• Cyrus accused Sato of framing him and protested his arrest, but Chikuno said they had the original recordings and had captured his subordinates too.
• Chikuno acted quickly after Sato warned her that Galaxy Technology had an undercover agent within the Pokémon League, and Cyrus was arrested with help from hypnosis.
• Sato left the Alliance Building, reflecting that Archie, Maxie, and Cyrus had all ended up in prison after provoking him.

Sato, Mark, and George said goodbye to Cynthia, Flint, and Volkner at Lily of the Valley Airport before boarding a flight back to Johto. As their Sinnoh journey ended, an unexpected visitor arrived at the Dark Night Gym.

• George explained that he had been invited to give a public class at a Pokemon Breeders' gathering, while Mark joked about supporting him.
• Cynthia arrived with Flint and Volkner to see the group off, and Sato learned that she had become an investigator.
• Sato said he would enter the Pseudo-Elite Four Competition, and Flint and Volkner announced they would compete too; Cynthia declined because her Garchomp was nearing Elite Four level.
• Sato, Mark, and George boarded their flight to Johto after saying goodbye to their friends.
• An unexpected visitor entered the Dark Night Gym and said that merely challenging the Gym would be boring.

Team Rocket launched coordinated attacks across Johto while Sato’s plane was forced to return to Sinnoh. As Little Ming and Uncle An fought off attackers in Dark Night Town, Sato asked to join the first support troops heading to Johto.

• A man attacked Dark Night Gym, and Little Ming fought back with Donphan, Houndoom, and Espeon while sending the other students to find Uncle An and Nicole.
• Uncle An was harassed by attackers at the Intelligence Department, who also threatened to take Nicole, leaving him unable to advance.
• The attackers struck Dark Night Town to tie up its defenders while Team Rocket members launched coordinated assaults on Ecruteak City, Olivine City, Violet City, and New Bark Town.
• Sato learned that Johto was under attack and his flight had been canceled, so he asked the crew to contact the Underground Command and let him join the first support troops.

Sato assigned Little Ming to protect Dark Night Town while he and his companions joined the response to Team Rocket’s invasion of Johto. As the Alliance assembled a counterattack, Team Rocket’s attacks also drew desperate people toward the organization, advancing its plan to grow stronger.

• Sato told Little Ming that Team Rocket had been repelled from Dark Night Town, sent Honchkrow and Houndoom to support him, and entrusted him with the town’s safety until Mark returned.
• Sato, George, and Mark left for Johto aboard a military transport and met Flint, Volkner, and Cynthia, who had volunteered to help.
• After Team Rocket destroyed New Bark Town’s Pokémon research institute and withdrew, Elite Four Sen ordered relief efforts and reconnaissance while preparing a counterattack.
• Elite Four members arrived in Ecruteak, Olivine, and Violet Cities as the Johto Alliance organized a region-wide response.
• As people feared Team Rocket’s strength, some who felt mistreated by the League began seeking the organization out for shelter, furthering Team Rocket’s plan to expand.

Sato and George were sent to Olivine City, where Sato joined the battle against Team Rocket and routed the attackers near the lighthouse. A wounded League Trainer reported that Gym Leader Tieyi had died and that Olivine Gym was still under attack, so Sato was left facing a new emergency and wondering why the expected Elite Four Trainer had not appeared.

• Officer Jenny assigned Mark to guard Dark Night Town, Sato and George to Olivine City, Flint and Volkner to Ecruteak City, and Cynthia to New Bark Town.
• As Sato and George flew toward Olivine City, Sato spotted a Skarmory approaching and had Sharpedo knock it out of the sky.
• Sato and George left the helicopter and headed for the lighthouse battle, where Sato’s arrival raised the League Trainers’ morale.
• Sato used Sharpedo’s Surf and Hidden Power to defeat or capture the nearby Team Rocket members and their Elite Group captain.
• A wounded League Trainer told Sato that Tieyi had died and that Team Rocket was still attacking Olivine Gym.
• Sato prepared to support Olivine Gym and wondered why the Elite Four Trainer expected in Olivine City had not arrived.

Sato reached the ruined Olivine Gym and found its survivors hiding in an underground passage. After saving Bassho from poisonous gas, Sato agreed to let Jasmine study at Dark Night Gym once the Team Rocket crisis was over.

• Sato left George to treat the injured and flew to the ruined Olivine Gym on Sharpedo.
• Ralts found an escape passage beneath a collapsed house, and Sato followed it with Umbreon and Ralts.
• Sato used Teleport to enter a secret room where Gym Trainers, women, and children were hiding, including Jasmine and the unconscious Bassho.
• Sato had Umbreon and Ralts treat Bassho, who woke and asked about Olivine City.
• Bassho thanked Sato, reprimanded his eldest grandson, and asked whether Jasmine could study at Dark Night Gym; Sato agreed.

After Team Rocket’s attack left Olivine Gym devastated, Bassho chose Sato as the Gym’s new leader and gathered the apprentices willing to fight. They regrouped with the survivors at South Port, where Bassho took charge of the rescue efforts and Sato remained to help.

• Bassho woke in the secret room, and Jasmine told Sato that Team Rocket had attacked nearly ten hours earlier.
• Bassho explained that Olivine’s Security Forces had been concentrated at South Port, leaving the Gym exposed, and admitted his family’s role in the city’s failures.
• After learning that the fighting at South Port had nearly ended in mutual destruction, Bassho asked the Gym apprentices to join him; most volunteered, but his eldest grandson hesitated and stayed behind.
• Jasmine supported Bassho as he opened the secret exit, and Sato used Gengar to transport the group to the lighthouse at South Port.
• George and the other surviving Trainers updated Bassho, who took charge of organizing rescue efforts while Sato stayed to help.

Sato discovered that Athena and Hypno had trapped the Pokémon Center’s staff and civilians in nightmares, then helped Gardevoir free them. Athena prepared a night raid against Olivine City’s reinforcements as the town learned that the team sent to the Police Station had been wiped out.

• Sato left Bassho to organize the rescue and rushed to the apparently untouched Pokémon Center on Sharpedo.
• Sato and Ralts found the Center’s occupants unconscious, and Ralts used Darkrai’s Nightmare Orb to absorb the nightmare energy.
• Sato identified the pink-purple energy as likely Athena’s work, while Gardevoir evolved and cleared the Center more efficiently.
• Athena confirmed that Hypno’s nightmares had been broken and ordered Team Rocket to launch a night raid against Olivine City’s second wave of reinforcements at two in the morning.
• Gardevoir and Sato awakened the people at the Center, and Sato deterred their anger after they discovered their Poké Balls were missing.
• Bassho told the survivors that Olivine City had been attacked, and investigators returned with news that the team sent to the Police Station had been annihilated.

After Team Rocket attacked Olivine City, Bassho organized the remaining Trainers to prepare a counterattack while Sato and George searched the forests for the enemy. George encountered Elite Four Shaka, who asked him how Olivine City was doing.

• Bassho revealed that his son Tieyi had died defending Olivine Gym and urged the crowd either to leave or help reclaim their stolen Pokémon.
• Most Trainers retrieved reserve Pokémon and joined Bassho’s preparations, while Sato and George were assigned to investigate opposite sides of the city.
• Sato entered the eastern forest with Gengar and found two unlabeled medicine bottles that could lead him to Team Rocket.
• George used Viridian Power to locate a pool in the western forest, where he found Elite Four Shaka fishing.
• Shaka invited George to sit beside him and asked how Olivine City was doing.

George escaped Shaka’s attempt to recruit or kill him, while Sato located Team Rocket’s base and uncovered its plans to attack Olivine City again. Sato returned to help prepare an ambush, but George failed to respond to the recall message.

• George learned that Shaka was the Pokémon League’s western investigator, and Shaka admitted that he had betrayed the League and offered George a place in Team Rocket.
• George used Teleport with Gallade to escape Shaka, who sent Claydol after them.
• Sato followed the scent from the medicine bottle to Team Rocket’s hidden base and sent Zoroark inside to scout.
• Sato learned that Athena and Boa were at the base, that Team Rocket was preparing another assault, and that the Elite Four Trainer had likely defected.
• Sato marked the base entrance with Strange Fragrant Powder and returned to Olivine City, where Bassho recalled the scouting trainers to organize an ambush.
• George did not respond to the recall message.

Sato left Olivine City to find George and discovered him injured after a battle with Elite Four Shaka, who had joined Team Rocket. Sato refused Shaka’s offer to join Team Rocket and began fighting him, but Claydol’s next attack threatened Gardevoir.

• Bassho asked Sato to return to help protect Olivine City, and Sato promised he would come back after finding George.
• Sato and Ralts followed traces of Gallade’s Teleport into the western forest, where Ralts rushed ahead after sensing danger.
• Sato found George badly weakened, with Gardevoir facing Shaka’s Claydol, and George identified Shaka as an Elite Four member working with Team Rocket.
• Shaka offered Sato and George better resources if they joined Team Rocket, but Sato refused and ordered Gardevoir to attack.
• Shaka used Claydol’s Earth Power to shake the battlefield, then ordered Rock Slide as Gardevoir countered with Magical Leaf.
• Claydol appeared beside Gardevoir and fired Signal Beam at it.

Sato and George used Gardevoir and four supporting Pokémon to force Elite Four Shaka to bring out Donphan, then amplified Cacturne to Elite Four level. Shaka recognized George’s Viridian Power and revealed that its previous wielder was his disciple, Giovanni.

• Gardevoir used Trick Room and Imprison to counter Claydol, while George’s Pokémon repeatedly healed it and kept it fighting.
• Gardevoir’s attacks and Future Sight overwhelmed Claydol, forcing Shaka to send out Donphan.
• Sato sent out Cacturne and amplified it with Dark Power through his Key Stone.
• George’s Viridian Power combined with Sato’s Dark Power to raise Cacturne to Elite Four Beginner level.
• Shaka recalled Claydol and Donphan, recognized George’s Viridian Power, and revealed that its previous wielder was his disciple, Giovanni.

Sato and George fought Elite Four Shaka after learning Giovanni was his disciple and would eventually come for George. They defeated and captured Shaka, then decided to hide him rather than hand him to the Pokémon League.

• Shaka revealed that Giovanni was his disciple and that Giovanni would seek out George when the time came.
• Sato launched a sudden attack on Shaka, and George supported him as their Pokémon battled Donphan and Claydol.
• Sato used Gengar's Hypnosis to put Shaka to sleep, letting their Pokémon defeat his disorganized team.
• Sato searched Shaka, secured him, and took his Poké Balls after explaining to George that Giovanni led Team Rocket.
• Sato and George decided to hide Shaka until the crisis had passed instead of turning him over to the Pokémon League.

Sato and George returned to Olivine City after defeating a powerful Team Rocket scout, then learned Dark Night Town was safe and prepared for another battle. When Gengar discovered Team Rocket was approaching from the north instead of the east, Bassho ordered the defenders to reposition for Plan B as Athena and Boa led a hundred Rocket members toward the city.

• Sato and George reported that they had defeated a strong enemy scout but failed to catch his escaping Pokemon, and Bassho concluded Team Rocket would likely attack that night.
• Sato and George called Mark, who confirmed Dark Night Town and its people were unharmed, then joked with him until he flew into Incompetent Rage.
• Sato and George rested, restored their Pokemon, and went with Bassho to prepare for the ambush, while Bassho ordered his forces to wipe out the attackers.
• Gengar brought back word that Team Rocket was approaching Olivine City from the north, so Bassho ordered everyone to follow Plan B.
• Athena and Boa led a force of one hundred Team Rocket members toward Olivine City, while Athena felt uneasy about the battered town ahead.

Sato and Bassho led the Pokémon League’s ambush against Athena and Boa’s Team Rocket force in Olivine City. After the League surrounded the attackers, Sato faced Athena again and pressed his advantage with Zoroark and Weavile.

• Bassho ordered the League forces to let Team Rocket advance deeper into Olivine City before attacking.
• Athena sensed something was wrong and stopped her team, but Sato’s Pokémon ambushed her and Boa with Shadow Balls.
• Sato used Mean Look to frighten Team Rocket, while Boa’s Houndoom broke the illusion with Howl.
• The League Trainers arrived and surrounded Team Rocket, and Bassho took Boa while Sato confronted Athena.
• Sato sent Zoroark and Weavile to attack Athena’s Alakazam and Espeon, and continued their assault after Espeon used Miracle Eye.