Chapter Summaries

Su Hao and Diancie defeated Bai Du’s Noivern, earning Bai Du’s respect and a chance to visit the Dragon Cave. Afterward, Su Hao celebrated a chess victory over Articuno, while the Primordial Arena’s repair crew faced an exhausting night of work.

• Diancie defeated Bai Du’s Gym-level Noivern, and Bai Du conceded while praising Su Hao’s potential.
• Bai Du offered Su Hao a chance to visit the Dragon Cave and agreed to pay for the arena’s repairs.
• Su Hao saved the battle footage, planning to share it with his mother and obscure everyone’s faces before making it public.
• At a park, Li Hua and Jiang Chengcheng discussed their eventful day while Su Hao revealed that he had just beaten Articuno at chess.
• Su Hao planned to tempt Articuno into playing again by offering leave and a visit to its home if Articuno won.
• Zhang Tiedan returned to the ruined Primordial Arena after his leave was canceled and began an overnight repair shift for five times the pay.

Bai Du told Liao Xingchen that he had found a promising prospect and asked about the Great Britain Alliance’s breakthrough involving Gigantamax Pokémon. Meanwhile, Zhong Li briefed Yang City’s four semifinalists on their opponents and warned Su Hao to hide his strength before his widely watched battle with Cang Yun.

• Bai Du called Liao Xingchen, hinted at a promising prospect who had tripped him up, and asked about the Great Britain Alliance’s breakthrough.
• Liao Xingchen said the breakthrough could affect Pokémon strength and might be connected to Gigantamax Pokémon and proposed World Championship rule changes.
• Zhong Li reviewed the semifinalists’ opponents and warned Li Hua, Jiang Chengcheng, and Kong Lingwei about their matchups.
• Zhong Li told Su Hao that a Professional Level Pokémon was also competing for Imperial City and urged him to conceal his trump cards against Cang Yun.
• Su Hao reassured Zhong Li that he was confident and said he could answer Cang Yun’s challenge with an Aura Bullet.

Su Hao faced Cang Yun in a high-profile quarterfinal after Cang Yun’s team tried to turn their feud into a publicity opportunity. The chapter ended as Su Hao rejected Cang Yun’s ceremonial handshake and the two prepared to battle.

• The broadcast drew a huge audience as viewers debated whether Su Hao could defeat Cang Yun’s three Pokémon in three moves.
• Cang Yun and his manager celebrated their rising follower count and planned to profit from the controversy, while Cang Yun vowed to withstand Su Hao’s attacks.
• Su Hao entered the arena and inspected the field that had been repaired after his previous battle with Bai Du.
• Cang Yun criticized Su Hao for his behavior, then extended a friendly hand for the cameras.
• Su Hao refused the handshake, taunted Cang Yun about surviving three moves from his Incineroar, and returned to his command position.

Cang Yun hoped his rain-boosted Pelipper could withstand Su Hao’s Incineroar, but Incineroar revealed overwhelming Professional-level strength and broke through Protect. The battle left Cang Yun stunned as his plan collapsed.

• Cang Yun realized influential people had allowed Su Hao to act within the law, but he still hoped to endure the battle and win public attention.
• Cang Yun sent out Pelipper, whose Drizzle spread rain across the Primordial Arena, while Su Hao sent out Incineroar.
• At the start of the 3v3 singles battle, Cang Yun ordered Protect and Su Hao ordered Thunder Punch.
• Incineroar leapt high enough to reach the airborne Pelipper and struck its Protect shield with a charged punch.
• Incineroar shattered Protect in under a second, and Cang Yun realized it had advanced from Mid-Elite to Professional Level within a month.

Su Hao’s Incineroar overwhelmed Cang Yun’s Pokémon in the semifinal, defeating Pelipper and Nutoking in two moves. Cang Yun sent out his Starter Pokémon, Kingdra, as the crowd roared and the match continued.

• Incineroar knocked Pelipper out with Thunder Punch, and Cang Yun’s jealousy and despair deepened.
• Cang Yun sent out Nutoking and ordered it to use Body Press against Incineroar.
• Incineroar met Nutoking’s attack with Flare Blitz and knocked it out, leaving the score at two moves.
• Cang Yun recalled Nutoking and sent out his Starter Pokémon, Kingdra.

Su Hao defeated Cang Yun in three moves when Incineroar knocked out Kingdra, advancing to the Group A Finals. After dismissing Cang Yun’s plea for help, Su Hao learned that his next opponent was Lin Xingyan and arranged with Miao Yin to travel to Olden City after the High School Cup.

• Cang Yun ordered Kingdra to evade Incineroar, but Su Hao had Incineroar use Abyssal Thrust to catch up.
• Kingdra fired Hydro Pump, but Incineroar split the attack and struck him with Hell Funeral Hand Blade, knocking him out.
• The referee declared Su Hao the winner and announced that he had advanced to the Group A Finals.
• Cang Yun begged Su Hao not to blacklist him, but Su Hao said Cang Yun’s career troubles were not his responsibility.
• Su Hao learned that Lin Xingyan would be his opponent in the finals.
• Miao Yin told Su Hao they would travel to Olden City in the German Alliance to see a Pokémon after the tournament.

On the final day of the regional finals, Su Hao faced Lin Xingyan while his newly Professional Level Incineroar rested. Su Hao’s Dragonair gained the upper hand over Lin Xingyan’s Arcanine, leaving the battle unresolved as Dragonair struck from another dimension.

• Su Hao told Lin Xingyan that Incineroar would sit out because he was recovering from injuries, though Incineroar had already been healed.
• Su Hao and Lin Xingyan sent out Dragonair and Lin Xingyan’s Early Elite Level Arcanine to begin their match.
• Arcanine used Agility and Fire Fang to attack, but Dragonair dodged and answered with Dragon Pulse.
• Dragonair and the Dragapult riding on his head combined their Dragon Pulses, overpowering Arcanine’s Flamethrower and blasting him backward.
• Dragonair used Shadow Sneak to emerge beneath Arcanine and strike him before he could dodge.

After Dragonair defeated Arcanine, Su Hao recalled it and sent out Braviary to test its abilities against Lin Xingyan’s Pokémon. Braviary struggled against Lin Xingyan’s experienced Charizard and was left vulnerable to a sneak attack.

• Dragonair knocked Arcanine out, then Su Hao recalled Dragonair before Lin Xingyan sent out his second Pokémon.
• Lin Xingyan sent out Blaziken, while Su Hao revealed an alternate-form Psychic-type Braviary.
• Blaziken charged at Braviary, but Braviary’s Whirlwind blew it back into its Poké Ball and brought out Lin Xingyan’s Charizard.
• Braviary and Charizard traded attacks in the air, but Charizard’s greater experience let it injure Braviary with Thunder Punch and evade its strikes.
• Braviary’s Aura Wings finally pierced Charizard’s Flamethrower, but the lingering paralysis from Thunder Punch spread through its wings as Charizard vanished from view.

Su Hao’s Braviary traded blows with Lin Xingyan’s Charizard, leaving both Pokémon unconscious and out of battle. Milotic then defeated Blaziken with Mist Ball, giving Su Hao the advantage as the battle continued.

• Su Hao spotted Charizard diving from above and guided Braviary through his numbness so he could counter with Sky Attack.
• Braviary and Charizard collided in the air, exhausted themselves, and were both declared out of battle.
• Su Hao comforted Braviary after recalling him, and the battle resumed with Milotic facing Blaziken.
• Blaziken’s Thunder Punches failed to overcome Milotic’s healing, so Lin Xingyan ordered Jumping Knee Kick.
• Su Hao commanded Milotic to fire Mist Ball, which stopped Blaziken’s attack and knocked him out.

Su Hao said goodbye to Jiang Chengcheng and Li Hua as they left to train for the High School Cup, and he realized Jiang Chengcheng’s family dojo might be connected to Kubfu and Urshifu. After claiming his tournament reward and earning an Intermediate Nurturer certificate, he headed back to Yang City to wait for Miao Yin’s contact.

• Su Hao learned that Jiang Chengcheng was flying to her family’s Secret Realm to seek the Secret Armor, while Li Hua was going to Dragon Cave for a Trial.
• Su Hao connected Jiang Chengcheng’s Flowing Water Dojo and its Secret Armor to Kubfu and Urshifu, but he kept his theory to himself.
• Jiang Chengcheng and Li Hua said goodbye to Su Hao and departed for their respective training trips.
• Su Hao selected a Flying-type resource from the tournament treasury to help Braviary develop its Flying-type energy.
• Su Hao earned an Intermediate Nurturer certificate, then boarded a bus to Yang City while waiting for Miao Yin to contact him.

On the bus to Yang City, Su Hao dreamed of a powerful voice calling him a human qualified to become its hero and telling him to find it in the First Tower. He woke with a transparent white key in his consciousness and suspected Reshiram was behind the vision.

• Su Hao reviewed his newly certified Elite Trainer status before falling asleep on the bus.
• Su Hao became trapped in a scorching mental world where a mysterious voice said he was the only being able to connect with it and urged him to find it in the First Tower.
• Su Hao briefly saw a boundless world of cyan-blue flames before waking on the bus with his powers and system functioning normally.
• Su Hao connected the voice and the First Tower to Reshiram and noticed a transparent white key floating in his consciousness.
• Su Hao decided to ask Articuno about Reshiram.

Su Hao asked Articuno about Reshiram and learned that it had never heard of Reshiram or Zekrom, then planned to visit the Spiral Secret Realm after returning to Yang City. On the bus, he learned that a mysterious eruption had expelled everyone and every Pokémon from the realm and left its key unable to open the gate.

• Su Hao persuaded Articuno to answer his question by agreeing to play five more games with it.
• Articuno said it knew Kyurem but had never heard of Reshiram or Zekrom, leaving Su Hao to suspect the two dragons had remained asleep as the Light Stone and Dark Stone.
• Su Hao decided to visit the Spiral Secret Realm the day after returning home and test the key in his mind.
• A news report announced that an energy eruption had expelled everyone and every Pokémon from the Spiral Secret Realm, disabled its key, and injured seventy-two people.
• Su Hao was stunned as the report said Pokémon League experts would investigate and Senior Trainers and police were rounding up the scattered wild Pokémon.

As the bus approached Yang City, Su Hao connected the Spiral Secret Realm’s sudden closure to Reshiram’s message and the key left in his mind. When a Professional Level Krookodile attacked the bus, Su Hao stepped forward to confront it and recognized it as a Pokémon expelled from the Secret Realm.

• Passengers on the bus discussed the Spiral Secret Realm’s accident, and Su Hao wondered whether the key Reshiram left in his mind could open it.
• A Krookodile caused an Earthquake on the forest road, and Su Hao sensed it with Aura.
• The driver pressed the emergency distress button and prepared to hold off the Krookodile until help arrived.
• Su Hao stopped the driver, got off the bus, and approached the Krookodile with a Luxury Ball.
• Su Hao identified the Krookodile as a late Professional Level Pokémon likely expelled from the Spiral Secret Realm and noticed faint black mist around it.

Su Hao and Diancie defeated a berserk Krookodile whose black aura and strange effect on Diancie raised questions about the Spiral Secret Realm. Special Investigator Li Xiang arrived and discovered that Su Hao had already taken the Krookodile down.

• Su Hao sent out Diancie, who blocked Krookodile’s attacks and knocked it down with Dazzling Gleam.
• Diancie used Moonblast to render Krookodile unconscious, and its black aura vanished as her disgust toward it faded.
• Su Hao asked Articuno about Krookodile’s berserk state, but Articuno said the cause was unknown and distinguished the aura from Dark Matter.
• Li Xiang arrived on Luxray after responding to an emergency rescue mission and recognized Su Hao as the person who had defeated Krookodile.

Su Hao learned how the Pokémon League Trainer App assigned emergency tasks and received Merit Points for helping defeat the berserk Krookodile. He discovered that he possessed a Secret Realm Key and, despite Li Xiang’s warning, planned to investigate the Spiral Secret Realm that night.

• Su Hao showed Li Xiang the Trainer App and confirmed that he was the Elite Trainer assigned to the emergency task.
• Li Xiang explained the App’s emergency tracking settings, helped Su Hao submit proof of task completion, and transferred him 30 Merit Points.
• Su Hao asked what would happen to the berserk Pokémon, and Li Xiang said they would be observed before release while the suspected source of infection remained inside the sealed Spiral Secret Realm.
• Li Xiang explained that a Secret Realm Key could open a passage anywhere in its realm, and Su Hao suspected the illusory key in his mind was one.
• Li Xiang warned Su Hao to stay away from the Spiral Secret Realm, but Su Hao privately decided to investigate it that night.

Su Hao decided to enter the Spiral Secret Realm before Alliance experts arrived, hoping to find Reshiram while avoiding the risks of exposing Articuno. He agreed to let Diancie accompany him after setting safety rules, and the group set out at midnight as Yang City grew ominously dark.

• Su Hao prepared to investigate the Spiral Secret Realm before the Divine Land Alliance's experts arrived, since he wanted to find Reshiram and feared increased security would block him.
• Diancie asked to explore alongside Su Hao, and he agreed after Articuno said her unique evolution might make her resistant to the strange black mist.
• Articuno agreed to the plan, then soaked Su Hao's living room with its icy entrance effects and had to clean up before they left.
• Su Hao established rules requiring Diancie to heed Articuno, follow his judgment in danger, and accept being recalled into her Poké Ball without sulking.
• Su Hao, Diancie, and Articuno set out around midnight as the sky over Yang City grew dark and oppressive, heading toward the Spiral Secret Realm to learn what had happened to Reshiram.

Su Hao opened the Spiral Secret Realm Gate after two police officers left to respond to a Scyther disturbance, then discovered the realm had become a blood-red wasteland. A Reshiram negative energy phantom attacked him near Dragon Spiral Tower, and the system issued an emergency task to defeat it.

• Su Hao used Aura to search for a way to distract the two police officers, but Houndoom detected a disturbance and the officers left to support a team dealing with frenzied Scyther.
• Su Hao activated the glowing Secret Realm Key and entered the Spiral Secret Realm through the opened gate.
• Su Hao found the realm covered in crimson mist, with its plants withered and ruined, and Diancie appeared beside him.
• Articuno sensed a dangerous aura at Dragon Spiral Tower as a Reshiram negative energy phantom dove at Su Hao.
• The system identified the phantom as a Mid Gym Level Dark- and Dragon-type Pokémon, assigned Su Hao an emergency task to defeat it, and warned that Articuno could not destroy it completely.

Su Hao, Articuno, and Diancie encountered a Reshiram-shaped phantom made of Negative Energy inside the Spiral Secret Realm. Articuno retreated to the realm’s upper boundary to assess the unknown threat, while Su Hao’s System Panel revealed that it was protecting him from the alien energy.

• Phantom Reshiram attacked Su Hao and the others with a blast of blood-red energy, and Articuno carried Su Hao and Diancie high into the sky to evade it.
• Articuno explained that the phantom was an aggregate of Negative Energy rather than a Pokémon and asked whether Su Hao and Diancie felt its effects.
• Su Hao saw a System Panel warning that alien energy had been detected and protection activated.
• Articuno said it had never encountered Negative Energy in this form and wanted to learn the phantom’s abilities before fighting it.
• Articuno warned that the Negative Energy saturating the Spiral Secret Realm might leak into the main world and grow by feeding on negative emotions.

Su Hao, Articuno, and Diancie planned to destroy the Negative Energy Phantom and purify the Spiral Secret Realm before its corruption could escape. Articuno gathered samples of the mist while Su Hao and Diancie prepared to test whether Diancie’s unusual light power could counter it.

• Su Hao and Articuno ruled out Latios and Latias as reinforcements because their Purifying Power was unlikely to affect negative energy.
• Su Hao and Articuno decided that Diancie should try to break the deadlock, and the group agreed to conduct a control experiment.
• Articuno collected samples of the blood-red mist at the forest’s edge without provoking the Negative Energy Phantom.
• Su Hao and Diancie reviewed Diancie’s moves and considered whether the light power from her absorbed Sparkling Stone explained her immunity to the negative energy.
• Articuno suggested that Ultra Necrozma’s light might counter Dark Matter, though she had never heard of the Radiant God appearing in their world.

Su Hao, Diancie, and Articuno tested Diancie's moves against the blood-red mist and discovered that Fairy-type moves infused with Radiant Power could destroy Negative Energy. They planned to have Diancie attack the Negative Energy Phantom while Articuno restrained it.

• Articuno contained the blood-red mist in ice balls, and Su Hao had Diancie test Light Screen and Reflect against it.
• Articuno described how the mist affected Pokémon and suggested a third force had expelled them from the Secret Realm; Su Hao identified Reshiram as the likely culprit.
• The mist corroded Reflect but was weakened by Light Screen enhanced with Radiant Power.
• Diancie found that Fairy-type moves infused with Radiant Power destroyed the mist far more effectively than her other moves.
• Su Hao reassured Diancie, and Articuno offered to restrain the Negative Energy Phantom so Diancie could destroy it in one attack.