Chapter Summaries

Mark’s Single-Headed Dodrio overwhelmed Ding Xuepeng’s team, surviving repeated Destiny Bond attacks and Weezing’s Explosion through its awakened pressure. Unable to send out his remaining Pokémon, Ding Xuepeng surrendered.

• Mark sent out Single-Headed Dodrio, which used Foresight to spot Ding Xuepeng’s Gengar and defeat it with Thunder Kick.
• Gengar’s Destiny Bond struck Single-Headed Dodrio, but Ancient Power (Legendary Blood) let it withstand the attack.
• Ding Xuepeng sent out Weezing, which used Explosion and Destiny Bond, but Single-Headed Dodrio survived both attacks.
• Ding Xuepeng’s second Weezing froze under Single-Headed Dodrio’s pressure and fell to two Thunder Kicks.
• Ding Xuepeng could not send out his remaining three Pokémon under the pressure, so he surrendered.

Mark led Hack Pokemon Academy to defeat Maple Leaf Pokemon Academy 3-2 and claim Fallen Leaf Province's top seed, overwhelming Leo in the ace battle with Caterpie. After the victory ceremony, Victini grew stronger and Caterpie received its long-awaited limited-edition Pokeball set.

• Ding Xuepeng surrendered after Mark's Single-Headed Dodrio suppressed his Pokémon, and Leo changed Maple Leaf Pokemon Academy's lineup to avoid being swept.
• Mark and Aya defeated Sha Lian and Zhuge Ming in the doubles match, giving Hack Pokemon Academy a 2-0 lead.
• Fang Ping and Maple Leaf Pokemon Academy's Tailong and Feng Qiang won the next two matches, tying the score at 2-2.
• Mark's Caterpie defeated Leo's Resonance State Blastoise, and Leo surrendered after his remaining Pokémon fell, giving Hack Pokemon Academy the 3-2 victory.
• Hack Pokemon Academy celebrated its provincial top seed, Victini grew stronger, and Caterpie received the limited-edition Pokeball set.

After Victini joined Mark’s Pokémon, Mark spent two Points to begin Caterpie’s evolution training in the Stat Point Dream World. Near the end of three months there, Mark realized that Caterpie should not evolve inside the dream; the goal was to change its evolution talent before it evolved in the real world.

• Caterpie treasured its Pokeball Commemorative Set while Mark stayed in Maple Leaf City to help film a documentary.
• Victini accepted Mark as its trainer and joined the group’s training, while Leafeon chose to train without becoming his Pokémon.
• Mark returned to Fallen Sky Mountain, researched Ditto, and decided to spend one Point on Caterpie while saving the other.
• Mark entered the Stat Point Dream World with Caterpie, Victini, Leafeon, Jirachi, and his other Pokémon, and began writing Caterpie’s evolution training plan.
• After nearly three months, Mark finished a plan of almost three hundred pages, then tore it up after realizing Caterpie should gain an evolution modifier in the dream rather than evolve there.

Mark and Caterpie spent decades repeatedly interrupting evolution to sense and control Caterpie’s evolution talent, eventually learning to alter its post-evolution traits. After 150 years of training beside Clear Stream Lake, they had slowed down, with their work still ongoing.

• Mark proposed that Caterpie train its evolution talent by repeatedly interrupting evolution, and Caterpie agreed to try the dangerous method.
• After a month of preparation, Mark and Caterpie attempted their first evolution interruption; Mark used punches to help stop the evolution, but Caterpie sustained hidden injuries and sensed no talent.
• Through more than three thousand interruptions, Caterpie learned to stop its own evolution at will without suffering injuries.
• After thirty-six thousand interruptions, Caterpie used intense desire and psychological suggestions to make its evolved body more resilient; later, Mark and Caterpie developed Evolution (Robust Physique), Evolution (Extreme Speed Body), and Evolution (Flying Body).
• Mark and Caterpie continued developing other evolution traits, including Evolution (Gigantamax), Evolution (Minuscule Form), and Evolution (Mental Specialization), as 150 years passed and their movements slowed beside Clear Stream Lake.

After Caterpie discovered Bug-type Hundred Styles and visions of its ancient ancestor, Mark and Caterpie developed ancient and future evolution forms in the Stat Point Dream World. They completed Paradox Evolution (Origin, End) after 378 years and escaped the collapsing dream world.

• Caterpie broke through its Normal-type Hundred Styles and comprehended dozens of Bug-type moves, then envisioned a powerful ancient giant bug and a white creature from its past.
• Caterpie decided to evolve into its earliest ancestor, and Mark suggested developing a future evolution as well and combining the two paths.
• Mark and Caterpie completed Caterpie's ancient evolution form after more than ninety years, then used power from the Stat Point Dream World to reveal its future path.
• As Mark and Caterpie continued training, the Stat Point Dream World trembled and deteriorated, while both grew senile and ignored the worsening spatial turbulence.
• After the apocalyptic landscape inspired Caterpie to finish its future evolution, Mark and Caterpie achieved Paradox Evolution (Origin, End) in year 378 and escaped the Stat Point Dream World.

After the Stat Point Dream World session, Caterpie evolved into a Pokémon able to shift among several forms, but realized it had failed to fuse its opposing origins into a form that could rival Legendary Pokémon. It approached Mark sadly, regretting that it had evolved before they could continue training.

• Mark and the Pokémon emerged from the Stat Point Dream World and devoured food and anything else they could find as extreme hunger overwhelmed them.
• Caterpie evolved into a massive black cocoon, then shifted through a white spherical cocoon and an ordinary-looking Kakuna while Little Zapdos investigated and was twice knocked away.
• Caterpie emerged as a small Caterpie and demonstrated that it could transform among its small, giant, muscular, black-cocoon, and white-cocoon forms.
• Caterpie realized its origin and end forms remained separate, meaning it had failed to become an existence capable of rivaling Legendary Pokémon.
• Caterpie regretted evolving before it could receive more stat points and walked toward Mark with the expression of a child who had done something wrong.

After Caterpie’s evolution failed to match its plans, Mark and the Pokémon comforted it and proposed ways to improve or revise the result. Caterpie regained its fighting spirit, while Leafeon remained baffled by everyone treating the powerful evolution as a failure.

• Mark blamed his stubbornness for pushing himself and Caterpie too far in the Stat Point Dream World, causing their attempt to fail.
• Jirachi, Golisopod, Butterfree, Ivysaur, and Vikavolt comforted Caterpie, while Little Zapdos complained and was beaten up by Caterpie, Jirachi, and Mark.
• Victini celebrated Caterpie’s evolution and its effect on the team’s win rate, while Leafeon wondered why everyone considered the evolution a failure.
• Mark suggested that Caterpie could fuse its past and future forms with its present form, or seek help from Celebi or a fully recovered Jirachi to change the result.
• Mark encouraged Caterpie to rise after failure, and Caterpie and the other Pokémon regained their fighting spirit as Leafeon copied Caterpie’s determined pose.

Old Man Qian learned that Mark’s Caterpie had undergone a strange, failed evolution that left it small, then watched it transform into two powerful chrysalis forms. He was left wondering what Mark had done to Caterpie and why it considered the result a failure.

• Old Man Qian turned away challengers who had come to Clear Stream Village looking for Mark.
• Old Man Qian reflected on Mark’s growing fame and discovered that he had gained Clear Stream Power, which helped Machamp reach the Master-level.
• Mark’s Caterpie visited Old Man Qian and explained that its evolution had failed, leaving it smaller than before.
• Old Man Qian used his Clear Stream Power to examine Caterpie and joked that Mark had tried to make it evolve into Rayquaza.
• Caterpie transformed into its black Source Origin Chrysalis and white Final End Chrysalis forms, startling Old Man Qian with their powerful auras.

Mark explained Caterpie’s unusual evolution and his plan to travel to the Rom Federation while still competing in the Academy Cup. He revealed that Vikavolt and Multi-Magnemite had fused into Vikavolt Multi-Magnemite, leaving Vikavolt able to rely on Mark to handle the technical problems behind high-speed flight.

• Old Man Qian comforted Caterpie until it cheered up and began playing Jirachi’s game console with Jirachi and Victini.
• Mark arrived and told Old Man Qian he planned to visit the Rom Federation to find a Ghost-type Pokémon and seek guidance for himself and Caterpie.
• Old Man Qian questioned how Mark could travel abroad while preparing for the Academy Cup, and Mark said he would develop faster flight for Vikavolt and use Jirachi’s Small Wish for emergencies.
• Mark explained that Caterpie’s evolution had caused Vikavolt and Multi-Magnemite to fuse-evolve into Vikavolt Multi-Magnemite.
• Mark realized Vikavolt’s fusion had barely improved its flight speed but let him solve the mathematics and magnetic-field problems Vikavolt had struggled with.

Mark discovered that Vikavolt had fused with Multi-Magnemite and worried that Vikavolt had stopped pursuing what it loved. After Vikavolt showed how much it enjoyed flying, Mark developed Magnetic Field Curvature Flight with it, reaching about four times the speed of sound and learning that Vikavolt was studying the technique too.

• Mark returned to Clear Stream Lake and released Vikavolt, concerned that its fusion evolution meant it was handing all its work over to him.
• Vikavolt showed Mark that flying remained its favorite activity, fused with Multi-Magnemite, and took Jirachi, Victini, and Caterpie for a ride.
• Mark used Thought Synchronization to develop Magnetic Field Curvature Flight with Vikavolt Multi-Magnemite and achieved a first flight of 310 meters at 0.7 times the speed of sound.
• Over three days of testing, Mark and Vikavolt Multi-Magnemite increased their sustained flight speed to about four times the speed of sound, or 4,800 kilometers per hour.
• Mark realized Vikavolt had been imitating his work and had already learned to use Magnetic Field Curvature Flight for more than ten seconds.

Mark traveled to the Emerald Archipelago to investigate Hoopa Unbound’s treasure and give Golisopod a chance to see its homeland. After finding no trace of Hoopa at the Emerald Battle Arena, Mark saw a report about a mysterious saboteur and suspected Kartana.

• Mark flew from Clear Stream Village to the Emerald Archipelago because Doctor Locke was away and the islands were connected to Hoopa Unbound and Golisopod’s origins.
• Golisopod looked over its old homeland before turning its attention to the nearby city, while Mark’s other Pokemon occupied themselves.
• Jirachi used Small Wish to find a clue pointing to Hoopa Unbound’s treasure at the Emerald Battle Arena.
• Mark and his Pokemon visited the arena, watched a Gym League match, and found no sign of Hoopa.
• Mark saw local news about a saboteur cutting objects in half and suspected the culprit might be Kartana.

Mark connected the Severing Destruction Incident and other strange phenomena around the Emerald Archipelago to the beginning of the Ultra Beast storyline. After Milly introduced the Strange Phenomena Investigation Team, Mark asked what he needed to do to join.

• Mark recognized the reported cutting incidents as resembling Kartana’s behavior and considered whether the Ultra Beast storyline had begun.
• Milly approached Mark with her Lucario, introduced herself as a member of the Strange Phenomena Investigation Team, and offered him a card.
• Milly privately hoped to recruit Mark for her brother Johnny, who needed new members to maintain his standing in the organization.
• Mark asked about the team’s investigations, and Milly mentioned the Severing Destruction Incident, green rockets over the sea, and white phantoms in Kalos.
• Mark identified the incidents as likely signs of Kartana, Celesteela, and Pheromosa, then asked how he could join the team.

Milly brought Mark to meet her brother Johnny so he could join the Strange Phenomena Investigation Team, while worrying that Mark’s connection to Yan Yong would make her future exchange at Hack Pokemon Academy awkward. Johnny took Mark to the team’s base, where Mark hoped to learn more about several mysterious incidents.

• Milly learned that Mark was a Formal-level Trainer, Deputy Master of Clear Stream Gym, and an incoming student at Hack Pokemon Academy.
• Milly discovered that Mark knew Yan Yong, whom she hoped to meet during her upcoming exchange, but decided to help Mark for her brother’s sake.
• Milly returned home and told Johnny that Mark wanted to join the Strange Phenomena Investigation Team, instructing him to take Mark directly to the base.
• While waiting, Mark and the three invisible Pokemon searched online for clues about Ultra Beasts, the green rocket, and the White Phantom but found no useful information.
• Johnny picked Mark up with Torracat and drove him to the team’s base, sharing information about the incidents along the way.

Mark joined the Strange Phenomena Investigation Team in Danya City and learned about its loose structure, its founder Bunt, and Johnny’s troubled past. As Johnny drank and talked, his pendant began flashing green, signaling a strange incident nearby.

• Johnny showed Mark the Strange Phenomena Investigation Team’s base and explained its membership ranks.
• Mark passed the entrance test and became a core member candidate, temporarily assigned to work under Johnny.
• Johnny treated Mark to dinner, where he explained the pendant’s alert and its supposed benefits for sleep.
• Johnny told Mark that Bunt funded the organization and described how joining it had given him hope after debt and repeated setbacks.
• Johnny’s pendant flashed green, alerting them to a strange incident nearby.

Johnny woke in Mark’s laboratory after a strange forest battle and underwent hypnosis to recover his memories. He identified the Pokémon in his visions as Nihilego, and Mark suspected it had influenced the formation of the Strange Phenomena Investigation Team.

• Johnny recalled following the green light from his pendant with Mark to investigate a severed streetlamp, then pursuing a disturbance into the West Suburbs forest.
• Johnny remembered seeing a paper puppet battle a powerful Golisopod, which was shattered and then reformed from water before Caterpie transformed into a giant insect and attacked.
• Mark explained that he had brought the unconscious Johnny to his personal laboratory and used a shielding device to protect him from his pendant.
• Mark had Butterfree hypnotize Johnny, who described seeing a strange ocean and something like a jellyfish.
• Mark showed Johnny a drawing, and Johnny identified the Pokémon as the creature he had seen; Mark named it Nihilego and suspected it had influenced the Strange Phenomena Investigation Team's creation.

Johnny recovered memories showing that the Strange Phenomena Investigation Team had altered his memories, while Mark explained that Nihilego might have been searching for its companions. Johnny asked Mark to help him become a Trainer, and Mark offered training in exchange for help with a Spirit World experiment.

• Johnny remembered how an older woman recruited him into the Strange Phenomena Investigation Team and realized that his interest and sense of belonging had been induced by altered memories.
• Mark suggested that Nihilego might have been seeking its companions, and Johnny concluded that the strange incidents he had investigated involved Nihilego finding other Ultra Beasts.
• Mark explained that Kartana had attacked him after destroying his pendant, then vanished before he could continue tracking it.
• Johnny realized Mark had really fought Kartana and knelt to ask him for help becoming a Trainer.
• Mark agreed to help Johnny pass the Trainer assessment in exchange for his participation in a Spirit World test, and Johnny saw a Dusknoir in a bottle while Leafeon warned him away.

Johnny and Incineroar endured Mark’s intense training while Mark investigated the information Nihilego sent through Johnny. Mark found coordinates near the Emerald Archipelago and realized Nihilego’s indicated time coincided with the Academy Cup League opening ceremony.

• Johnny and Incineroar recovered from training injuries with Wiki Berries while Bald John recalled how Mark had once force-fed berries to him and Electivire.
• Mark recognized that Johnny possessed a Heart of Strength and decided to train him despite his weakness.
• Johnny and Incineroar asked John and Electivire to test a move they had devised, but the pair brutally beat them.
• Mark used Nihilego’s data to identify coordinates near the Emerald Archipelago and noticed the indicated time matched the Academy Cup League opening ceremony.

Mark and Caterpie chose to attend the Academy Cup opening ceremony instead of searching for Nihilego, though Mark planned to notify it if possible. Nihilego waited in disguise on Rainbow Stone Island for the invited person to arrive.

• Mark asked Caterpie whether to pursue Nihilego or attend the Academy Cup opening ceremony, and Caterpie chose the ceremony.
• Victini and Jirachi supported the decision, while Mark gave Leafeon a phone after realizing it wanted to play games.
• Mark and Butterfree considered sending Nihilego a message, but they had no way to contact it directly.
• Nihilego disguised itself as a suited man, went to Rainbow Stone Island during a storm, and waited for the invited person.

Mark’s experiment on the Spirit World summoned a zombie-like Gengar, and he sought Ling Liushu’s knowledge about it. John brought Ling Liushu and Johnny to Fallen Sky Mountain, where Mark was waiting for help.

• Mark’s experiment summoned a Gengar Zombie that attacked nearby humans and Pokémon but could not be captured, and neither Mark, George, nor Gengar knew what it was.
• Mark decided that Ling Liushu might know more about the Gengar Zombie because he had owned the bottled Dusknoir.
• John and Johnny found Ling Liushu working as a cleaner at Clear Stream Gym, and John told Johnny that Ling Liushu was a powerful Trainer whose memories might return.
• John asked Ditto to transform into Dragonite, then took Ling Liushu and Johnny toward Fallen Sky Mountain.

Mark used a Memory Potion and hypnosis to restore Ling Liushu’s consciousness, then recruited him as an assistant after learning about his knowledge of Ghost-type Pokemon. Ling Liushu discovered that Jirachi intended to keep him on the potion, leaving him under Mark’s control.

• John explained that the Sceptile in Fallen Sky Mountain had originally belonged to Ling Liushu.
• Mark gave Ling Liushu a Memory Potion and used a Hypnosis Gun, leading Ling Liushu and Johnny to conclude that Mark ran a powerful, secret organization.
• Ling Liushu struggled to remember his original name, and John told him the potion could cause confusion in his memories.
• Mark questioned Ling Liushu about a Gengar Zombie, and Ling Liushu explained how Ghost-type Pokemon corpses could persist in the Spirit World.
• Mark made Ling Liushu his research assistant, and Jirachi told him he would continue taking the Memory Potion and be hypnotized whenever his memories were restored.