Chapter Summaries

Molten Mountain used Heatran to reach a deep underground source of Gigantamax Energy while carrying Malice in the Prison Bottle. Malice realized its supposed allies did not intend to free it and resolved to escape, as Molten Mountain began harvesting energy from the sleeping Disaster Dragon.

• Molten Mountain defeated a Gigantamax Durant with Heatran and continued toward her destination with Malice in the Prison Bottle.
• Malice tried to provoke Molten Mountain into releasing her destructive impulses, but her mental conditioning left her unmoved.
• Malice recalled its dealings with two outsiders and suspected they had no intention of setting it free, deciding it needed to find a way to escape.
• Molten Mountain reached the site beneath the planet's crust and ordered Heatran to melt through the rock toward the upper mantle.
• Dark-red Gigantamax Energy emerged from the sleeping Disaster Dragon, and Molten Mountain began collecting it despite the risk of accelerating its awakening.

Su Hao found Tori Pendragon and a group of Elite Four trainers battling three giant Claydol that guarded two doors in the dungeon. He helped defeat the guardians, which returned to stone spheres and seemed able to revive.

• After nearly two days exploring the dungeon, Su Hao reached a large chamber where Tori Pendragon and seven or eight others fought three enormous Claydol.
• Su Hao summoned Hisuian Braviary and Incineroar, turning the battle in the trainers’ favor with Hurricane and Snarl.
• Tori Pendragon’s Sirfetch'd defeated one Claydol, which transformed into light and returned to a stone sphere before the doors.
• After learning the Claydol could revive, Su Hao ordered Incineroar and Hisuian Braviary to defeat the remaining two quickly.
• The other Claydol also returned to the stone spheres, leaving the group facing the two guarded doors.

Su Hao defeated the three Claydol guarding the underground city and helped the Elite Four investigate the ancient doors they had protected. He revealed that the doors led to the true guardians and opened the dark-red one with Cycloze, leaving the group baffled when an Elite Four-level Machamp could not move the other door.

• Su Hao confirmed that the three Claydol would not revive after being defeated in quick succession, while the group found no treasure chest or obvious door mechanism.
• Tori Pendragon identified the stone spheres and doors as likely ancient technology and gathered the Elite Four to search the doors.
• Tori Pendragon explained that she had reached the underground city before Su Hao because her route had a shortcut, while his route had been longer.
• Su Hao told Tori Pendragon that the doors concealed the true guardians and that they could be opened by pushing them.
• Su Hao summoned Cycloze, which pushed open the dark-red door, while an Elite Four member's Machamp failed to move the pale-yellow one.

Su Hao entered the dark red gate alone and discovered a statue containing immense Dragon-type energy, which he identified as Regidrago. Behind him, Tori Pendragon led most of the Elite Four into the pale yellow gate to confront its guardian, while the others retreated.

• Su Hao left Tori Pendragon and the Elite Four to explore the pale yellow gate together and entered the dark red gate alone.
• The dark red gate closed behind Su Hao, while the stone sphere outside began to glow and threatened to summon the Claydol again.
• Tori Pendragon vowed to venture forward for the Great Britain Alliance and led more than half of the Elite Four into the pale yellow gate; two members turned back.
• Su Hao found a clay-like statue blocking the path and sensed immense Dragon-type energy within it.
• Su Hao recognized the statue as Regidrago, and a message appeared instructing him to defeat the true guardian and gain the hero's recognition.

Su Hao awakened Regidrago by solving the altar’s dot pattern and discovered that the Legendary Pokémon was at Late Champion Level. He sent Milotic to test its strength, and after Regidrago badly wounded Milotic, Su Hao prepared to use Pseudo-Origin Pulse.

• Su Hao learned that Cycloze could understand the task asking him to earn the hero’s recognition.
• Su Hao followed the flashing dot pattern on the altar and awakened Regidrago.
• Su Hao assessed Regidrago’s strength and worried that Tori Pendragon’s group might face another powerful guardian.
• Su Hao sent Milotic to test Regidrago, but Regidrago’s Dragon Claw overwhelmed Milotic’s Aqua Tail and wounded it.
• Su Hao ordered Milotic to use Pseudo-Origin Pulse.

Su Hao’s Milotic tested its strength against Regidrago but was overwhelmed by the guardian’s Dragon Energy until Cycloze stopped the attack. Su Hao then sent Diancie into the battle, drawing the attention of the two mysterious figures watching the altars, who recognized her.

• Milotic and Regidrago exchanged attacks, but Regidrago’s Dragon Energy gradually overpowered Milotic’s sixteen Pseudo-Origin Pulses.
• Su Hao told Cycloze to intervene, and Cycloze shattered Dragon Energy with a single claw before escorting Milotic back.
• Su Hao praised Milotic for learning from the fight and sent Diancie out to face Regidrago.
• Two illusory figures watched the battles from within the fog and judged Su Hao’s group to be the visitors they had awaited.
• The two figures froze when Diancie appeared, recognizing her as she entered the battlefield.

Su Hao and Diancie defeated Regidrago, earning the hero’s acknowledgment and access to the passage beyond the altar. In the mist beyond, Su Hao saw through the obscured space and identified Zacian.

• Diancie used “Dawn Break” to overwhelm Regidrago and leave it unable to fight.
• Regidrago reverted into a stone statue before Cycloze could reach it, and Su Hao stopped Cycloze from breaking the apparent dungeon energy core.
• The dungeon declared that the true guardian had been defeated and the hero had acknowledged Su Hao, directing him to proceed to the hero’s tomb.
• Su Hao and his Pokémon entered the passage, where thick mist blocked Aura from exploring the surroundings.
• A mysterious Roar sounded, and Su Hao declared that he could see through the mist and called out Zacian.

Su Hao’s group encountered the spirit fragments of Zacian and Zamazenta, who explained that their trials awaited brave challengers. Cycloze defeated Regieleki to complete the trial, and Zacian and Zamazenta welcomed the group to the Hero’s Grave.

• Zacian appeared as a fragment of a soul and told Su Hao that the group had to finish the other trial before Zamazenta could appear.
• Tori Pendragon and the other challengers struggled against Regieleki, which overwhelmed their Pokémon.
• Cycloze entered the trial chamber and defeated Regieleki with one punch, completing the test.
• Zacian summoned Zamazenta, and the two wolf Pokémon revealed themselves as soul fragments.
• Zacian and Zamazenta cleared the mist and welcomed Su Hao’s group to the Hero’s Grave, where two rust-covered weapons stood before a ruined archway.

Su Hao learned that the two Zacian were remnants left to reveal the truth, then drew the Sword and Shield and entered an illusory realm formed from their memories. The realm showed him an ancient city under Calyrex’s rule, where a priestess brought the weapons to the two Zacian.

• Zacian and Zacian explained that they were Ghost-type remnants of the fallen heroes and said revealing the truth was their purpose.
• Su Hao took the Sword and Shield from the stone monument, triggering a change in his surroundings.
• Su Hao consulted Reshiram, who identified the new setting as an illusory realm built from memories carried by the weapons.
• Su Hao saw a grand city and a temple resembling a restored Calyrex Temple, and suspected the city was Ice King City under Calyrex’s rule.
• A veiled girl approached the two Zacian and presented divine artifacts infused with King's Power, left behind by the King before an expedition.

Zacian and Zamazenta took up the Intrepid Sword and Dauntless Shield and flew to confront Darkest Day and Infinite Comet, leaving a priestess behind to await their return. Years later, she received their Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield and placed them at a monument honoring the heroes.

• Zacian and Zamazenta explained that they had to defend the world while the King and other Legends fought elsewhere, and refused to wait for the sleeping Kyurem as Darkest Day approached.
• The priestess gave Zacian the Intrepid Sword and Zamazenta the Dauntless Shield, and they transformed into their King of Swords and King of Shields forms.
• Zacian and Zamazenta set out to slay Darkest Day and shatter Infinite Comet, while the priestess watched the dark-red sky stop spreading and prayed for them over the years.
• A young Diancie and her Carbink escorts arrived in Ice King City carrying a Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield, which the priestess accepted.
• The priestess placed the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield at a monument identifying Zacian and Zamazenta as heroes and their resting place.

Su Hao witnessed Calyrex’s memories of Ice King City’s decline and the creation of its underground city, learning that Zacian and Zamazenta’s sacrifice led to the Sword and Shield being preserved for future generations. Calyrex revealed that Pokémon had left Blue Star at Arceus’s summons and left Su Hao with a promise to find it at the World Tree.

• Calyrex returned to a frozen, abandoned Ice King City, cleared away the snow, and buried the preserved dead.
• Zacian and Zamazenta’s soul fragments asked Calyrex to grant their final wish, and Calyrex agreed to give the surviving citizens a purpose by building an underground city around Hero’s Grave.
• Calyrex installed Regidrago and Regieleki as guardians and later told Su Hao to find the World Tree and come see it.
• The illusion ended, and Su Hao realized that Zacian and Zamazenta had sacrificed themselves fighting Nihilego and that Calyrex had preserved their Rusted Sword and Shield.
• Su Hao concluded that Pokémon had left Blue Star at Arceus’s command and that Calyrex expected him to find it at the World Tree.

Su Hao learned that the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield held powers meant for Queen Diancie to stop the Darkest Day, and he set out for the Ore Kingdom to deliver them. There, Queen Diancie prepared to use the artifacts despite the danger, believing this was her one and only final chance.

• Zacian and Zamazenta transformed into the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield, revealing that the artifacts held single-use power for Queen Diancie to end the Darkest Day.
• Su Hao returned to the surface of the Sirius Secret Realm and told Diancie, Milotic, and Cycloze that they would go to the Ore Kingdom.
• Su Hao showed the artifacts to Tori Pendragon and set out with a tactical squad, while Tori ordered her forces to keep fighting the coming Darkest Day.
• Queen Diancie refused the Diamond Ministers’ pleas to reconsider using the artifacts and said she had found a suitable successor in Xiao Qi.

Queen Diancie sought to wield the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield to sacrifice herself against the Darkest Day, but Su Hao refused to hand them over. After her subjects revealed her plan, Queen Diancie insisted that confronting the disaster was her responsibility and the only way.

• Queen Diancie remained determined to face the Darkest Day herself, believing a prophecy and the heroes’ divine artifacts could give her a chance to defeat it.
• Su Hao entered the hall and presented the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield, then learned they could unleash the heroes’ power at the wielder’s risk of death.
• Queen Diancie asked Su Hao to entrust her with the artifacts, but he refused after realizing they could kill her.
• Queen Diancie tried to take the artifacts, but Diancie held her back as Xiao Qi revealed that the queen had chosen her as a successor and planned to sacrifice herself.
• The Carbink and Diamond Minister urged Su Hao to dissuade Queen Diancie, but she told him the Darkest Day was her responsibility and that sacrificing herself was the only way.

Queen Diancie prepared to sacrifice herself against the Darkest Day, but Su Hao revealed that Leafeon and Ogerpon could wield the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield instead. With the sword and shield spirits offering to empower them, the group began preparing the two Pokémon for battle.

• Queen Diancie insisted that sacrificing herself was the only way to create a chance against the Darkest Day, but Su Hao refused to give her the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield.
• Su Hao summoned Leafeon and Ogerpon and had them transform into King of Swords and King of Shields.
• Zacian and Zamazenta's phantoms emerged from the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield, stunned by the Pokémon who had inherited their powers.
• Su Hao told Queen Diancie that he had faced and imprisoned a different world's Darkest Day, then explained how Leafeon and Ogerpon had inherited Zacian and Zamazenta's powers.
• Zacian and Zamazenta proposed temporarily lending their divine artifacts' power to Leafeon and Ogerpon, sparing Queen Diancie from burning her life and origin.
• Queen Diancie accepted that she might not need to sacrifice herself, and the group began special training to prepare Leafeon and Ogerpon to face the Darkest Day.

Su Hao prepared Leafeon and Ogerpon to train toward Champion Level while Queen Diancie recounted the Ore Kingdom’s past battle against Darkest Day. The chapter ended with Su Hao learning that Queen Diancie still could not locate Nihilego beneath the mountains.

• Su Hao showed Queen Diancie Reshiram and Cycloze’s power, persuading her to help them suppress Nihilego rather than sacrifice herself.
• Queen Diancie told Su Hao how Darkest Day devastated the Ore Kingdom, how the previous Queen Diancie sacrificed herself, and how Zacian and Zacian left behind divine artifacts before perishing.
• Queen Diancie explained that the Ore Kingdom had left Blue Star at the Creator God’s call, though she did not know how or why it had happened.
• Leafeon and Ogerpon began sparring with the mid-Champion Level Diamond Minister while the phantoms of Zacian and Zacian watched and advised them.
• Su Hao asked Queen Diancie where Nihilego was hiding, and she said that searches with the Great Britain Alliance had failed to find its energy source deep beneath the mountains.

Tori Pendragon and Augustus Umair found Molten Mountain and Heatran excavating a deep hole in the Augusto Mountains, but the New Star Organization triggered the eruption of Gigantamax Energy. The Darkest Day awakened before the Great Britain Alliance was prepared, leaving Tori and Augustus retreating as the ancient disaster began.

• Tori Pendragon and Augustus Umair investigated disappearances in the northwestern Augusto Mountains and found Molten Mountain with Heatran beside a deep hole.
• Augustus ordered his Froslass to stop Molten Mountain, but it refused to approach the hole out of fear.
• Molten Mountain left with the Prison Bottle and warned that energy would soon pour out of the opened hole.
• Gigantamax Energy erupted from the hole, shook the mountains, and began falling as corrosive, infectious rain.
• Augustus and Tori retreated as an ancient presence awakened and roared from deep underground.
• The Darkest Day descended before the Great Britain Alliance was prepared.

Leafeon and Ogerpon broke through after enduring Queen Diancie's Diamond Storm, and Su Hao's group discussed how to contain Nihilego when the Darkest Day arrived. The chapter ended with Queen Diancie's plan to have the Ore Kingdom's Carbink use Trick Room to stabilize distorted space-time and support her battle.

• Leafeon and Ogerpon broke through their limits during Queen Diancie's Diamond Storm, which she stopped once they succeeded.
• Su Hao healed Leafeon and Ogerpon with Tokiwa Power, then ordered them to rest and adjust to their new strength.
• Su Hao's group returned to the Ore Kingdom's castle to discuss preparations against Nihilego and the Darkest Day.
• Queen Diancie explained that they needed to confine the Darkest Day to the Augusto Mountains before Nihilego could grow stronger by spreading its influence.
• Queen Diancie and the Diamond Minister revealed that Carbink throughout the Ore Kingdom would work together to use Trick Room to stabilize space-time and aid Queen Diancie in battle.

Su Hao’s group prepared to contain Nihilego, but the Disaster Dragon awakened before their plan could begin. Nihilego overwhelmed the Alliance forces at the Augusto Mountains and turned its attention toward a familiar pink aura.

• Su Hao outlined a plan in which Reshiram and he would suppress Nihilego, Cycloze would use Terastal Transformation as Miraidon to deploy Hadron Engine, Queen Diancie would maintain Trick Room, and Leafeon and Ogerpon would prepare Zacian and Zacian for a decisive strike.
• Queen Diancie ended the meeting, but an Earthquake and a resounding Roar revealed that Nihilego had awakened ahead of schedule.
• Nihilego emerged from the great pit in the Augusto Mountains, grew to fill the sky, and distorted the surrounding space-time with its power.
• Tori Pendragon, Augustus, and the arriving Elite Four attacked Nihilego, but their moves were blocked or effortlessly shattered, leaving the fleeing residents in despair.
• Nihilego ignored Froslass after its Blizzard briefly pierced the spatial blockade and stared toward a rising pink aura in the mountains.

Queen Diancie used the Carbink’s power to stabilize spacetime around the Augusto Mountains and slow the spreading disaster, while news of the crisis in Great Britain spread worldwide. In Yang City, Mewtwo reassured Su Xu about Su Hao and noted that Rayquaza had flown from the Sky Tower as the Space-Time Instrument began showing unusual fluctuations.

• Queen Diancie completed Mega Evolution and used the Carbink’s power to create a space that stabilized the distorted spacetime around the Augusto Mountains.
• People fleeing London gained hope when Diancie’s intervention calmed the apocalyptic landscape, while leaked images of the crisis spread across the world’s news and social networks.
• Su Xu worried that the bone dragon crisis might involve Su Hao, but Mewtwo told him that Su Hao would be fine and promised to act if needed.
• Mewtwo recalled that Rayquaza had recently flown away from the Sky Tower and checked unusual readings from the Space-Time Instrument it had recreated.

Queen Diancie battled Nihilego while Su Hao and Miraidon carried out a plan to stabilize spacetime and cut off the earth veins. As Queen Diancie fell into danger, Su Hao arrived with Reshiram, whose cyan flames appeared over the Augusto Mountains.

• Queen Diancie used Trick Room, Magic Mirror, and her Diamond Longsword to fight Nihilego, while Nihilego’s power threatened to grow further.
• Su Hao rejected orders to evacuate and sent Miraidon to activate Hadron Engine, sealing the earth veins beneath the Augusto Mountains as Su Hao flew toward his target on Hisuian Braviary.
• Nihilego overwhelmed Queen Diancie with Cross Poison, and Augustus prepared to stay behind with Froslass to assist her.
• Su Hao arrived above the battlefield, and Reshiram declared that it fought only for its hero as mysterious cyan flames spread across the sky.