Chapter Summaries

Su Hao raced through Sky Tower, overcoming increasingly difficult floors with Naganadel before bringing in Dragapult and the Dreepy siblings. He reached the seventy-fifth floor, where he found Bai Du still struggling and asked how he had fallen so far behind.

• After clearing the tenth floor, Su Hao sped through the tower and asked a Swablu flock to help any later challenger around his age.
• Naganadel helped Su Hao break through the dangerous Fossil Pokémon on the fifty-fifth floor, but Su Hao switched to Dragapult and the Dreepy siblings on the next floor.
• Su Hao and Dragapult reached the Firmament Maze, where Su Hao used Aura to find the Togetic carrying the key to the seventy-fifth floor.
• Twelve hours after entering Sky Tower, Su Hao reached the seventy-fifth floor and found Bai Du in a sorry state.
• Su Hao asked Bai Du how he was still stuck there and how he had become so bad in only a few days.

Su Hao joined Bai Du on the seventy-fifth floor of Sky Tower, a vast wasteland formed from Rayquaza’s weathered scales. Bai Du revealed that an awakened phantom of Rayquaza’s cast-off shedding lurked beneath the rift, attacking anything nearby and blocking the way to the next floor.

• Su Hao treated Bai Du’s injured Salamence with Tokiwa Power and asked what had stopped Bai Du on the seventy-fifth floor.
• Bai Du led Su Hao across the Dragonbone Wasteland toward an altar built from a gigantic dragon-shaped skull, explaining that its bone-like structures were artificial and modeled after Rayquaza.
• Su Hao and Bai Du inspected the altar, where the eroded stone tablets offered no useful clues, then Bai Du revealed that the stairs to the seventy-sixth floor lay beneath the rift.
• Bai Du explained that the silver-gray sand came from Rayquaza’s weathered scales and that the rift contained the shed skins of Dragon-type Pokémon, including Rayquaza’s Sky’s Cast-Off Shedding.
• Bai Du said that earth-vein power and repeated electrical discharges had revived a recent cast-off shedding, whose phantom attacked any living being that entered its range.

Su Hao and Bai Du descended into Shedding Abyss to confront the resurrected Sky's Cast-Off Shedding, which Su Hao hoped to defeat and use as material for a body capable of bearing legendary power. As a piercing dragon roar sounded ahead, the group prepared for the approaching threat.

• Su Hao reasoned that Sky's Cast-Off Shedding was weaker than Master Level and that the lack of Discharge made this the best time to defeat it.
• Su Hao recognized the shedding as valuable material for preparing a body for Tail Spirit, and he told Bai Du to descend into the ravine.
• Bai Du agreed, hoping to grow stronger before his approaching Legend Cup semifinal against Antonio.
• Su Hao and Bai Du reached the bottom of Shedding Abyss, where Bai Du admired the vast stores of Dragon-type shed skins.
• Bai Du sensed the phantom approaching and warned Su Hao as a harsh dragon roar rang out and their Pokémon faced the sound.

Su Hao and Bai Du encountered a shattered, Rayquaza-like Void Monster in the Shedding Abyss and began a plan to exploit its weakness. The Void Monster attacked with overwhelming electricity, leaving Bai Du struggling to hold its attention while Su Hao prepared a strike at its cracked tail.

• Su Hao identified the creature as a Void Monster, whose Electric- and Flying-type energy came from the Dragonbone Wasteland.
• The Void Monster charged at Su Hao and Bai Du, who took to the air on Dragapult and Mega Salamence.
• Su Hao and Bai Du split up, with Bai Du drawing the Void Monster toward him while Su Hao approached its tail with Dragapult.
• The Void Monster unexpectedly launched a massive electric attack, forcing Bai Du to evade currents that suppressed Mega Salamence.
• Su Hao ordered the Dragalge siblings to strike the cracks in the Void Monster's tail with Shadow Sneak.

Su Hao and the Dragalge siblings used Giratina’s Reversal Annihilation Power to cripple the Void Monster on the 75th floor. With Lucario stopping time, they bypassed Rayquaza’s Shed Skin and destroyed the monster’s core.

• Su Hao sent Dragapult and the Dragalge siblings to attack the Void Monster, using Reversal Annihilation Power to break through its lightning and crack its body.
• Bai Du struck the Void Monster with Mega Salamence’s Hyper Beam, making it collapse onto the rift floor.
• Su Hao realized that further attacks on the Void Monster’s outer Shed Skin could make it burst, so he called Lucario out and ordered it to stop time.
• Lucario froze time across the 75th-floor Secret Realm, allowing Su Hao and the Dragalge siblings to move while Bai Du and the others remained still.
• Su Hao directed the Dragalge siblings through gaps in the Shed Skin, and they annihilated the Void Monster’s energy core before time resumed.

After Su Hao and Mega Salamence destroyed Rayquaza’s Sky’s Cast-Off Shedding, Su Hao divided the remains with Bai Du and continued climbing Sky Tower with him. Su Hao and Dragapult rapidly reached the stairs to the ninety-ninth floor, where Bai Du read the monument’s inscription: “Path of Divine Descent.”

• Bai Du and Mega Salamence watched Sky’s Cast-Off Shedding shrivel after Mega Salamence’s Sky Skin: Hyper Beam struck it, while Dragapult retrieved its siblings from the shed skin.
• Su Hao divided Sky’s Cast-Off Shedding with Bai Du, stored his share for Mewtwo, and agreed to let Bai Du accompany him upward.
• Su Hao sensed spatial fluctuations at the bottom of the ravine and led Bai Du to the stairs to the seventy-sixth floor.
• Su Hao and Dragapult crushed their opponents on the upper floors and reached the ninety-eighth floor in three hours.
• Bai Du stood before the stairs to the ninety-ninth floor and read the monument’s inscription, “Path of Divine Descent.”

Su Hao and Bai Du committed to ascending the ninety-ninth floor despite the warning that there was no path back. As the celestial stairway erased its steps behind them, Reshiram sensed an approaching Dragon Ascent.

• Su Hao and Bai Du read the stele’s warning and considered whether to continue toward the Path of Divine Descent.
• Bai Du chose to take the risk and led the way to the ninety-ninth floor, with Su Hao following.
• Bai Du and Su Hao entered a celestial stairway where the air was dense and the surrounding laws of Gravity had collapsed.
• Su Hao discovered that the indigo steps vanished after he left them, then took the lead while Bai Du followed at a careful distance.
• After ten minutes of climbing, Reshiram sensed a shift in the laws and warned Su Hao that Dragon Ascent was coming.

Su Hao and his companions faced the 99th-floor trial, where a Rayquaza projection attacked them on the heavenly staircase. Diancie fought it off, and Su Hao reached the Dragon Fang Gate with the Green Orb already in hand.

• A Rayquaza-shaped projection launched Dragon Ascent at Su Hao and Bai Du, and Su Hao sent Diancie to meet it outside the staircase.
• Diancie used Ultimate Burst and its mastery of light laws to withstand the void and block the projection’s attack.
• Su Hao identified the projection’s core as the Green Orb and judged its strength before ordering Diancie to use Diamond Storm.
• Su Hao and Bai Du continued up the staircase while Diancie battled the projection, and the staircase’s end appeared.
• Su Hao reached the Dragon Fang Gate and found Diancie beside him holding the Green Orb, apparently having received the trial reward early.

Su Hao took the Green Orb, the Sky Tower’s energy core, and entered its hundredth floor with Bai Du and his Pokémon. There, he realized he might have removed the power source for the floor’s final challenge, while Rayquaza prepared to descend and confront him.

• Su Hao explained the Green Orb’s role in sustaining the Sky Tower, and reassured Bai Du that its Secret Realm Spaces would remain stable while it was temporarily removed.
• Su Hao and his companions found no exit behind them, so they entered the hundredth floor through the dragon-fang gates.
• Su Hao found the hundredth floor silent and empty, then guessed that the Green Orb might have powered the Rayquaza projection meant to serve as its final challenge.
• Rayquaza sensed Su Hao’s familiar aura inside the tower and considered whether Su Hao had come to apologize.
• Rayquaza decided to descend to the hundredth floor and judge Su Hao for itself.

Su Hao and Bai Du escaped Sky Tower’s hundredth floor after Su Hao opened the exit without Rayquaza’s recognition, then Bai Du left to prepare for his match. At the Legend Cup semifinals, Entei defeated Antonio’s Master Level combatant, but Antonio’s final Pokémon, Regigigas, appeared as Legend Island began to tremble.

• Su Hao fed Bai Du and their Pokémon while they waited on Sky Tower’s hundredth floor for Rayquaza to arrive.
• Rayquaza appeared, and the floor announced that only someone recognized by the god of the sky could leave.
• Su Hao opened the exit without Rayquaza’s recognition and led Bai Du and Salamence out of Sky Tower.
• Su Hao escaped through a Space Channel to Mewtwo Research Institute, while Bai Du left to prepare for his match.
• At the Legend Cup semifinals on Legend Island, Entei defeated Antonio’s Master Level combatant, and Antonio sent out Regigigas as the island began to tremble.

Regigigas defeated Entei and Bai Du’s Mega Salamence, securing Antonio’s place in the Legend Cup finals and leaving Su Hao to face David Carlisle in the semifinals first. After leaving Sky Tower, Su Hao rested in Yang City and planned how to use the Green Orb’s Natural Energy to strengthen his Pokémon.

• Regigigas awakened, overwhelmed Entei with a single grip, and left it unconscious in a crater while Reshiram warned Su Hao of its immense power.
• Su Hao and Reshiram discussed Regigigas’s origins and why it was helping Antonio, the United Nations Assembly president.
• Regigigas knocked Bai Du’s Mega Salamence from the sky, sending Antonio to the finals and ending Bai Du’s run in the semifinals.
• Su Hao left Sky Tower with Mewtwo’s help and returned to Yang City to rest before his semifinal match against David Carlisle and Tapu Koko.
• Mewtwo examined the Green Orb and advised Su Hao to reserve some Natural Energy for research while letting Milotic absorb most of it and Braviary train beneath its aura.
• Su Hao avoided Metagross’s pleading look and reminded himself that it needed to help finish cracking Genesect’s genetic lock.

Su Hao reviewed his Pokémon’s rapid growth and learned that his World Championship semifinal against David Carlisle would take place at Island Sanctuary in a full 6v6 battle. Shen Yun also relayed a rumor that Tapu Koko might join the fight only if the battle became exciting enough, leaving Su Hao to face an uncertain extra threat.

• Su Hao gave Mewtwo Rayquaza's Sky Shed Skin so it could extract the Legendary Dragons Factor and prepare a body for Tail Spirit.
• Su Hao assessed his team's gains from training, including Diancie nearing Class Two Legendary and the Dragalge siblings reaching late Champion Level.
• Shen Yun told Su Hao that the semifinal against David Carlisle would be held at Island Sanctuary on January 26 under full 6v6 rules.
• Shen Yun reported Xing Tiandao's uncertain account that Tapu Koko might wait to see whether the battle became exciting before joining in.

Su Hao entered Island Sanctuary with Xing Tiandao before the Legend Cup semifinals, openly challenging the White Eagle Alliance as tensions with the Divine Land Alliance rose. David Carlisle worried that he could not make his battle with Su Hao excite Tapu Koko, while Tapu Koko privately decided that it alone would judge what counted as a thrilling fight.

• The White Eagle Alliance profited from Trainers seeking Z-Moves at Island Sanctuary and used its Island King connections to control access.
• Su Hao and Xing Tiandao passed through the White Eagle Alliance's blockade and headed to Island Sanctuary ahead of the semifinals.
• The White Eagle Alliance learned of Su Hao's arrival, and the news reached David Carlisle as he prepared for his match.
• David Carlisle recalled Tapu Koko's warning that it might refuse to battle if his match with Su Hao failed to stir its fighting spirit.
• Tapu Koko watched David Carlisle and decided that even Su Hao crushing him one-sidedly could count as a battle worth watching.

Su Hao visited Akala Island and learned that the Tapus knew of the Sun-Moon Altar’s light energy and the stranded offspring of the sun and moon gods, though they did not know who had forcibly closed the Ultra Wormhole. The story then shifted to Viridian Forest, where Li Qingyi and Jiang Yueluo noticed a mysterious young foreign girl heading into the forest.

• Su Hao explained how he used precise Psychic-type control to create footholds in midair, impressing Xing Tiandao.
• Tapu Lele teased Su Hao about his unchanged Psychic-type strength and revealed that forces within the other world had closed the Ultra Wormhole.
• Su Hao asked Tapu Lele about the Sun-Moon Altar, the sun and moon gods, and their stranded offspring, and Tapu Lele confirmed it knew about them.
• At the edge of Viridian Forest, Jiang Yueluo and Li Qingyi noticed a golden-haired foreign girl purposefully heading into the forest.

Li Qingyi and Jiang Yueluo tracked the mysterious girl into Viridian Forest, where they encountered Zygarde and learned that a great battle was imminent. Zygarde sent them away and explained to Kalos that it planned to wound the two Life Deities to restore the balance between life and death.

• Li Qingyi took Jiang Yueluo with her to follow the blonde girl into Viridian Forest after he offered to help with his Tokiwa Power and Flabébé’s ability to see the future.
• Li Qingyi and Jiang Yueluo found the girl beside a black-and-green hound that introduced itself through Telepathy as Zygarde and recognized Jiang Yueluo and Flabébé.
• Jiang Yueluo saw a future in which Zygarde had ruined Viridian Forest, and Zygarde warned them that a great battle would soon erupt near the forest’s inner region.
• Zygarde used its power to sweep Li Qingyi, Jiang Yueluo, and Altaria to the edge of Viridian Forest, prompting Li Qingyi to plan to alert the Pokémon League and Liao Xingchen.
• Zygarde told Kalos that it would seek the two Life Deities and grievously wound them to restore the balance of life and death, reserving Yveltal’s rampage as a last resort.

Su Hao faced David Carlisle in the Legend Cup semifinals and opened the battle with Zeraora against David’s Boltund. Zeraora unleashed Thunder God Mode and struck Boltund before it could react, leaving the match’s outcome unresolved.

• David Carlisle and Su Hao exchanged remarks before the referee started their semifinal battle on Melemele Island.
• David sent out his Elite Four Level Mid-stage Boltund, and Su Hao answered with Zeraora.
• David privately revealed that he knew about Zeraora and Te Lang’s death, then considered using the match to arrange an alliance between Su Hao and Ophelia.
• Su Hao activated Zeraora’s Thunder God Mode with Plasma Fists as David ordered Boltund to attack with Crunch.
• Zeraora used Quick Attack and landed eight rapid electrified claw strikes on Boltund before it could react.

Zeraora overwhelmed David Carlisle’s Boltund and then countered Pelipper’s attempt to exploit its aerial advantage. The battle continued with Pelipper struck by Zeraora’s plasma thunder whip.

• Zeraora defeated Boltund with an eight-hit lightning combo, ending the first round almost instantly.
• David Carlisle recalled Boltund and sent out Pelipper, whose Tailwind and Wind Power boosted its speed and charged its body.
• Pelipper hit Zeraora with Charge Beam, but Volt Absorb absorbed the electric energy and restored some of Zeraora’s stamina.
• David Carlisle had Pelipper evade and bombard Zeraora with wide-area air blades, while Su Hao ordered Zeraora to use Plasma Bolt Punch.
• Zeraora formed a plasma thunder whip, pursued Pelipper through the air, and struck it after it attempted to maneuver behind Zeraora.

David Carlisle sent out his mid-Champion Level Electabuzz after Zeraora swept his team, hoping to turn the battle around with Mega Evolution. Su Hao answered with Incineroar, which began countering Mega Electabuzz with its full-power Magnetic Field Manipulation: Lava Overload and Evil Aura.

• Zeraora defeated David Carlisle’s Malamar and Electivire, leaving him with only two Pokémon slots and in a desperate position.
• David sent out his mid-Champion Level Electabuzz and chose to save one remaining slot for Tapu Koko.
• Su Hao recalled Zeraora and sent out Incineroar, whose desire for revenge focused on the Electabuzz that had beaten it before.
• David Mega Evolved Electabuzz, but it dodged Incineroar’s Fake Out with Double Team.
• Incineroar cleared the clones with Snarl and activated Lava Overload, swatting aside Mega Electivire’s Thunder before unleashing Evil Aura.

Su Hao’s Incineroar crushed David Carlisle’s Mega Electabuzz, which unexpectedly reverted from Mega Evolution before being knocked out. As David hesitated to send out his final Pokémon, Su Hao summoned Diancie and sent Tapu Koko a secret message, prompting the Guardian Deity to appear.

• David Carlisle ordered Mega Electabuzz to use Agility and Discharge, but Incineroar endured its lightning and countered with Snarl and a surprise Flare Blitz.
• Incineroar spared Mega Electabuzz after striking it, and Electabuzz unexpectedly exited its Mega Evolution despite still being able to fight.
• Electabuzz made one final attempt to attack, but Incineroar split its thundercloud and lightning with Shadow Strike and knocked it out.
• David Carlisle hesitated to send out his last Pokémon as the referee began a countdown, while Tapu Koko prepared to leave after watching the lopsided battle.
• Su Hao recalled Incineroar, sent out Diancie, and delivered a secret message to Tapu Koko through Aura.
• Tapu Koko changed its mind and appeared in a flash of lightning just before the countdown ended.

Diancie fought Tapu Koko in the Legend Cup semifinals, enduring its island-powered attacks while drawing closer to a new Legend Plate. The battle left Diancie badly injured, but it refused to give up and received Arceus’s blessing as its breakthrough neared.

• Tapu Koko ignored David Carlisle’s request to fight for the White Eagle Alliance and challenged Diancie, opening with Electric Terrain and Dazzling Gleam.
• Su Hao ordered Diancie to use Ultimate Burst, and Diancie weakened Tapu Koko with its Radiant Power field while defending against its Discharge with seven Light Screens.
• Diancie strengthened itself with Earth Power, but Tapu Koko answered with Nature’s Madness, drawing on Melemele Island’s natural power.
• Diancie and Tapu Koko’s attacks collided in a massive explosion, leaving both injured and Diancie near the end of its stamina.
• Diancie refused Su Hao’s offer to withdraw, answered the Authority Shell’s question about what light meant to it, and began approaching a new Legend Plate.
• Legendary Pokémon across the world sensed the impending Legend Plate, and the god of creation blessed Diancie.