Chapter Summaries

A trained Sakagami Ayumi to enter a hidden underground passage and transform, while Ash used the girls’ desires to grow stronger and revive three Riders to hunt the Pretty Cures. The chapter ended with Rikka and Aguri worrying about Mana and Ash as they prepared for the next confrontation.

• A told Ayumi that they needed to build practical strength together, while Ash gained power from the girls’ desires and resolved to wait for an opportunity.
• Ash revived Kamen Rider Ryuga, Kamen Rider Timons, and Kamen Rider King from the discarded items and ordered them to find their Pretty Cures.
• A led Ayumi to an underground passage, encouraged her when she hesitated, and told her to transform before they encountered enemies.
• Ayumi transformed using the prototype Smile Pact, surprising A, who suggested that she might not be as ordinary as she claimed.
• Rikka told Aguri that she was worried about both Mana and Ash, and Aguri said they would correct Ash if he caused trouble again.

Rikka, Aguri, Reika, Yayoi, Yuri, and Erika encountered Riders resembling Ash and prepared to fight despite their grief and confusion. Meanwhile, Ayumi proved herself a formidable fighter while helping A battle monsters, and Cure Moonlight and Cure Marine attacked Timons outside Nasta Café.

• Rikka pulled Aguri away from a mirror just before a fireball struck, and Ryuga emerged as their memories of him returned.
• Yayoi ran toward King Sword believing Ash was alive, but he wounded her and kept advancing, so Reika transformed to fight him.
• Yuri and Erika recognized the red Rider Timons outside Nasta Café and transformed when he refused to answer them.
• A encouraged Ayumi to face the monsters, and she swiftly defeated several Yummy and other enemies while impressing him with her combat skill.
• Cure Moonlight charged Timons with a punch, and Cure Marine joined her with a barrage of attacks.

Erika, Yuri, Rikka, and Aguri confronted Ash in the forms of Kamen Rider Timons and Kamen Rider Ryuga, recognizing his fighting style and pleading with him to respond. Reika and Yayoi then faced King, with Reika concluding that she did not want to fight Ash again as the chapter ended.

• Erika and Yuri realized that Kamen Rider Timons fought like Ash, and Erika tearfully demanded to know why he had returned to being their enemy.
• Timons transformed into a monstrous form, and Yuri condemned him for making the people who loved him worry.
• Rikka and Aguri fought Kamen Rider Ryuga, restrained him, and Rikka confessed how deeply she cared for Ash before declaring she would make him face what he was doing to himself.
• Yayoi told Reika she could not accept Ash as an enemy and begged her to help him.
• King emerged from a spatial rift and confronted Reika and Yayoi, while Reika admitted she did not want to fight Ash again.

A and Ayumi defeated a group of monsters, and A questioned why they dropped items and whether exploiting the Pretty Cures’ longing for Ash would hurt them. After Ayumi insisted on continuing their fight, she chased a lone Greeed despite A recognizing the likely trap.

• Ayumi rapidly improved in battle under A’s guidance and defeated the monsters while he watched.
• A examined the dropped Cell Medals and other objects, then worried that using the Pretty Cures’ longing for Ash to gain power would harm them.
• Ayumi gave A yakisoba bread as a gift between friends, and he teased her before agreeing to help her repair her destroyed homework.
• Ayumi asked to keep exploring and reminded A that she would help defeat the final boss but he had to deliver the finishing blow.
• A spotted a lone Greeed and warned Ayumi it was likely a trap, but she rushed after it to get a Medal for him.

A abandoned Ayumi when their enemies overwhelmed them, but memories of his painful childhood and regret over leaving his first friend pushed him to return. After rescuing Ayumi and taking the coins, he transformed to face the remaining monsters.

• Ayumi was ambushed and badly injured by Disaster, Golden Phoenix Thunder, Olteca, and Ankh Greeed, while A prepared to flee.
• Ayumi stayed behind to protect A, and he ran through the corridor, reflecting on her ordinary courage and his own weakness.
• A recalled his childhood, when his mother left his family, and a mysterious girl comforted him as he regretted abandoning Ayumi.
• A took the Medal Slash Saber and returned, stabbing Ankh Greeed and demanding coins from Ayumi.
• A inserted the coins into his driver, swept them with the O Scanner Ring, and transformed to fight the remaining monsters.

A and Ayumi fought their way back against the three monsters, while Erika and Yuri defeated Timons after recovering their teamwork. Timons returned to his normal self and comforted Yuri, who tearfully asked whether the Ash before her was real.

• A transformed into OOO, joined Ayumi, and used their coordination to fight Golden Phoenix Thunder, Olteca, and Calamity.
• A and Ayumi lured the monsters into striking each other, then combined Ayumi's purifying energy with OOO's finishing kick to defeat them.
• Yuri attacked Timons recklessly in his fourfold gene-armored form until Erika stopped her and urged her to calm down.
• Erika and Yuri regained their teamwork and overwhelmed Timons, then Erika purified the malice from his body with Pretty Cure Blue Forte Wave.
• Yuri failed to remove Timons's belt and broke down in tears, and Timons wiped them away before she asked if he was the real Ash.

Ash reunited with the HeartCatch Pretty Cure before his fading body warned them that a war was coming and promised they would see the people they missed again. Elsewhere, Aguri and Rikka fought Ryuga, while A sought help carrying an injured girl and Ashu watched from a rooftop.

• Yuri, Erika, Rei, and Itsuki embraced Ash and wept over his return, while he comforted them and admitted that his time with them had made him happy.
• As his body began to dissolve, Timons warned the HeartCatch Pretty Cure that the gathering of many Pretty Cure would become a war and urged them to keep fighting.
• Aguri and Rikka attacked Ryuga, challenged Ash to face them honestly, and Aguri invoked the Pretty Cure’s Five Oaths.
• Motohei encountered A, who asked him for a ride while carrying an exhausted brown-haired girl on his back.
• Ashu watched A from a rooftop and encouraged him to grow stronger and attract more attention.
• Aguri and Rikka continued fighting Ryuga, shattered his shield, and Aguri urged him to give up as Rikka told him that Reika had noticed how much gentler he had become.

Rikka and the other Pretty Cure defeated Ryuga and brought Ash back, then urged him not to sacrifice himself or leave them again. Ash reunited with the girls, while Rikka began confronting her growing feelings for him.

• Rikka trapped Ryuga in a diamond, but he escaped through the Mirror World and attacked the girls from the scattered shards.
• Cure Rosetta protected Rikka, Cure Sword cleared the shards, and the four Pretty Cure purified Ryuga with Lovely Straight Flush.
• Rikka caught the unconscious Ash and pleaded with him to wake up, while Arisu embraced him and welcomed him back.
• Ash thanked the girls and explained that their love had filled his once-empty heart, but Rikka argued that he deserved happiness and should stay with them.
• Rikka struggled with her feelings for Ash and wondered whether she could love both him and Mana, while Arisu encouraged her to be honest with her heart.
• As the others teased the increasingly romantic atmosphere between Ash and Rikka, Ash tapped Rikka on the forehead.

Ryuga disappeared after warning the girls that their enemy was also him and that Mana was key to the incident. Reika and Yayoi defeated King, only to hear Ash's voice coming from the Dark Sword Tsukuyomi.

• Ryuga told the girls to be understanding toward the other Pretty Cure, then vanished after speaking privately to Rikka.
• Cure Beauty and Cure Peace fought King, and Reika challenged him while Yayoi resolved to stand by Ash.
• Reika and Yayoi combined their attacks and defeated King, leaving the Dark Sword Tsukuyomi embedded in ice.
• Miyuki, Akane, and Nao arrived and comforted Reika and Yayoi as they wondered why Ash had returned.
• Violet flames surrounded Tsukuyomi, and Ash's voice answered the girls before Reika realized the sword had been able to speak all along.

Ash reunited with the Smile Pretty Cure, explained that their feelings had summoned him, and vanished after asking them to keep smiling and promising Miyuki a gift. Ayumi woke from a troubling dream and began patrolling with A, who reassured her that he had chosen her for who she was.

• Ash fought the girls to confirm their resolve, then removed his helmet and revealed himself to them.
• Ash explained that he was a dream summoned by their desires and that their feelings had been exploited as part of a conspiracy against Pretty Cure.
• Reika and Miyuki told Ash they would not give him up, and he vanished after asking them to smile and telling Miyuki to check her desk for a gift.
• Ayumi woke from a dream in which A merged with a darkness after the Pretty Cure fell, then panicked when she realized A was beside her bed.
• Ayumi apologized for slapping A after learning her mother had changed her clothes, and A said he had stayed because he felt responsible for her.
• A reassured Ayumi that he had chosen her as herself, and they set out to patrol together.

A confronted Ash in Aida Mana’s hospital room and challenged his possessive desire for her. Their fight blew a flaming hole through the wall as Mana began to wake.

• A left Ayumi behind and hurried to the hospital after sensing Ash heading there.
• Ash entered Aida Mana’s room, knocked out a nurse, and reached toward the sleeping girl.
• A arrived and taunted Ash while the two circled Mana’s bed.
• Ash declared Mana belonged to him and dismissed A and Ayumi as worthless.
• A defended Ayumi and told Ash that Mana belonged only to herself, then challenged him to understand love.
• A loud blast tore a flaming hole through the wall as Mana groggily woke and hospital staff rushed into the room.

A fought Ash’s Ancient King OOO form to protect the hospitalized Aida Mana, but Ash badly wounded and defeated him. As Ash prepared to kill A and claimed he would take Ash’s identity and make Pretty Cure part of his Desire, Mana rushed between them.

• Ash transformed into Ancient King OOO and overwhelmed A in combat, repeatedly knocking him down as he tried to defend the hospital.
• A continued fighting to protect Mana, but Ash slashed through his armor, ended his transformation, and crushed his wrist beneath his foot.
• A accused Ash of being a separated part rather than the real Ash, and Ash revealed that he wanted to become the only Ash and claim power over everyone connected to him.
• Ash raised his claws to kill A, while Mana woke in the hospital and ran downstairs to stop the fight.
• Mana appeared between Ash and A and shouted for them to stop.

Aida Mana and Sakagami Ayumi tried to protect A from King OOO, but Ash attacked them until Ayumi's transformation gear cracked. Momozono Love and the other FRESH Pretty Cure arrived and confronted Ash, who admitted he was their enemy; they transformed and attacked him, but his shield and armor held firm.

• Aida Mana struggled against an unknown force draining her strength as she tried to reach Ash outside.
• Sakagami Ayumi stood between King OOO and A, declaring A her friend and refusing to leave him.
• King OOO battered Ayumi until her Smile Pact and Cure Decor cracked, then kicked her and A aside.
• Momozono Love and her companions arrived, and Ash admitted he was the mastermind behind the attacks.
• Ash leered at the FRESH Pretty Cure, prompting Momozono Love, Aono Miki, Inori Yamabuki, and Setsuna Higashi to transform and attack him.
• The FRESH Pretty Cure's attacks failed to break through King OOO's shield and armor, and Cure Peach prepared to use her Peach Rod.

Aida Mana recognized A beneath his mask as Ash, but he rejected her and left to find Ayumi. After Mana collapsed, Ash caught her, questioned his pursuit of strength, then reaffirmed his belief that power made his actions right.

• Momozono Love's finishing attack was split apart by Ash, and King OOO challenged the defeated girls to kneel.
• A struggled through the rubble to search for Ayumi, then accepted help from Aida Mana while concealing his face behind a Tiga mask.
• Mana recognized A as Ash, but he apologized and walked away, saying someone else was waiting for him.
• Mana tried to follow A but collapsed from her recurring drowsiness, and Ash caught her as his bone mask opened.
• Mana murmured for Ash to stop, prompting him to question whether he was truly strong and whether he had been wrong.
• Ash saw the defeated FRESH Pretty Cure and decided that power made even wrongdoing righteous.

Ash turned away from the unconscious Mana and began a new Pretty Cure hunting game, while A woke in Ayumi’s room and confronted his monstrous nature. Ayumi accepted him as her friend, but A remained troubled by the memories of Pretty Cures he could feel yet could not reach.

• Ash left Mana behind, bound the defeated Fresh Pretty Cures to bone crosses, and declared that the Pretty Cure hunting game would continue.
• A woke in Ayumi’s room and asked whether any Cell Medals remained so he could heal.
• A transformed into a monster and devoured the medals, but Ayumi held onto his claw and insisted he was still her friend.
• A returned to his familiar appearance, apologized for frightening Ayumi, and accepted comfort from her.
• Ayumi asked about the red-haired Pretty Cure and A admitted that Ash had known many Pretty Cure friends whose memories he could feel but not claim.

A struggled to understand how he differed from his other self and realized that finding the answer might be his only chance to stop him. After sharing a warm evening with Ayumi, he went to sleep unaware that two figures had found him.

• A wondered what he should do with the little time he had left and resolved to find the decisive difference between himself and his other self.
• A broke Ayumi's bed, then eagerly accepted the bath she had prepared for him.
• A learned that Ayumi's parents were away and she was used to being alone, and he reflected on how her loneliness resembled his own.
• A asked why Ayumi continued helping him, and she said she wanted to help her friend without needing a reason.
• Two figures tracked A to Ayumi's house and watched him sleeping through the window.

A realized that his bonds with Ayumi gave him a reason to fight and asked Ash for strength. After waking, he found Regina and Dark Precure had come to see him, bringing news that Mana was sick and that his return had moved them deeply.

• Ayumi comforted A and urged him to rest, while he worried about the dangerous Rider who resembled him.
• In a dream, A recognized that his connection to Ayumi distinguished him from the other Ash and resolved to face his desires rather than hide or run.
• A asked Ash for strength, and Ash gave him three radiant coins.
• A woke to find Regina and Dark Precure beside his window, with a purple mochi-like figure greeting him as his brother.
• Regina explained that she had sensed Ash while heading to see the sick Mana, while Dark Precure said Hanasaki had told her Ash had returned.
• Regina embraced A and cried over his return before someone pulled her away by the collar.

Ayumi discovered that Regina and Dark Precure had reunited with A, while the girls learned that monsters attacking the city were connected to him. A began explaining how he came into being and how his demonic shadow was split into black and white halves.

• Dark Precure sensed Ayumi outside the door and knocked her into the room with black energy feathers.
• A stopped Regina and Dark Precure from threatening Ayumi, then insisted that they leave so he could change clothes.
• A kept Ayumi beside him in the living room while Regina asked whether the monsters that attacked the city were connected to him.
• Dark Precure asked why they had sensed two Ashes, and A agreed to reveal the truth while assuring Ayumi he had never lied to her.
• A recounted his origin and described how the demonic shadow on Finonai Academy's rooftop had been split into black and white halves.

A told Regina and Dark Precure that he was a part of Ash and asked them to help stop his other self, while Ayumi wrestled with what his identity meant for their friendship. The chapter ended with Ayumi agreeing to keep fighting beside A, though he left their future unspoken.

• Ayumi realized that A and Ash were connected and worried that they were brothers who would have to fight each other.
• Regina accepted A as Ash and agreed to help him, while Dark Precure explained that she was her own person despite being created to imitate Cure Moonlight and also chose to fight.
• Ayumi decided she would stay by A and help him for as long as she could, even if her damaged compact soon prevented her from transforming.
• A confronted Ayumi, told her that she had changed him and was irreplaceable to him, and asked her to stay with him and help him fight.
• Ayumi accepted A's request, while A avoided promising what would happen after he confronted his other self.

The Pretty Cure teams compared their encounters with Ash and debated whether the different Kamen Riders were versions of the same man, while affirming they would fight him if necessary. When several expected teams failed to arrive, the girls realized they might have been attacked, and Ash was shown defeating the Suite Pretty Cure and tormenting Ako and Ellen.

• At Nasta Café, the Pretty Cure girls shared reports of Ash and watched footage of him fighting near Mana's hospital room.
• Rei and Rikka proposed that the Kamen Riders named Ash might be connected, while the girls worried he had forgotten their feelings; the gathered Cures vowed to fight him if they had to.
• Nagisa drank Ash's Mars Coffee and collapsed, but Hikari determined she had only passed out from its intensity.
• Karen reported that Miki and four others had not gone home, and the girls realized the absent Suite Pretty Cure might also be in danger.
• Ash defeated the Suite Pretty Cure, dismissed their music, grabbed Ako, and stepped on Ellen as they struggled to resist him.