Chapter Summaries

Calyrex explained how the Three Legendary Birds had transformed their powers through Inner Focus and paired each of them with one of Roy’s Pokémon for training. Ninetales left with Articuno to learn Ice Cold Gaze, while Electivire and Mimikyu prepared to train with Zapdos and Moltres.

• Calyrex explained that Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos had fused Inner Focus with their elemental energy, gaining new powers while giving up their original attributes.
• Calyrex matched Ninetales with Articuno, and Ninetales eagerly asked Articuno to teach her Ice Cold Gaze so she could overcome Frozen Body’s side effects.
• Articuno acknowledged Ninetales and flew away with her to begin training, leaving Roy feeling guilty about their parting.
• Calyrex matched Electivire with Zapdos and Mimikyu with Moltres, saying their abilities suited the Pokémon’s current training goals.
• Zapdos challenged Electivire to run fifty laps around the Crown Tundra with lightning covering its body, and Electivire accepted the training.

Mimikyu mastered a stronger Ghost energy after Moltres forced her to experience her deepest jealousy, and Calyrex then told Roy about a Shelgon whose attempt to absorb Gigantamax Energy left it unable to evolve. Roy was left wondering whether Gigantamax could prevent a Pokémon from evolving.

• Roy asked Mimikyu to demonstrate Envy Fire, and Moltres used Burning with Rage to trap her in a mental illusion about a clone stealing Roy’s affection.
• Mimikyu’s jealousy overflowed, allowing her to merge jealousy energy into Ghost Style and tear apart the illusion; she then hid in Roy’s shadow.
• Moltres returned to its nest, and Calyrex offered Roy advice about capturing pseudo-legendary Pokémon.
• Calyrex recounted how a gifted male Bagon tried to absorb Gigantamax Energy, evolved into Shelgon, then became too weak to stand after a painful Gigantamax episode.
• The Shelgon never evolved while its former peers became Dragonite, and its once-close female companion grew distant and resentful.
• Roy recognized the Shelgon’s story and asked whether Gigantamax Energy could prevent Pokémon from evolving.

Roy accepted Calyrex’s suggestion to investigate an unusually oversized Shelgon that could not evolve, then rode Glastrier into the Crown Tundra and encountered the Sheng Hai University team. The pseudo-legendary tribes stopped fighting and bowed to Roy, and he began arranging for his teammates to catch Pokémon.

• Calyrex explained that Gigantamax energy had disrupted Shelgon’s development, leaving it enormous and unable to evolve, and suggested Roy consider catching it.
• Roy agreed to inspect Shelgon before deciding whether to take it, and Calyrex lent him Glastrier to travel there.
• Fang Hang, Mo Xuexin, and the two Yang Bowen watched powerful pseudo-legendary tribes battle and worried about how to catch one.
• Roy rode Glastrier onto the battlefield, causing both tribes to stop fighting and bow before him.
• Fang Hang, Mo Xuexin, and Yang Bowen followed Roy, who recognized them and introduced Glastrier as Calyrex’s envoy before asking it to help them.

Roy visited the Dragonite tribe to find a Pokémon skilled at flying and chose to meet a Shelgon that had once been a prodigy but was now rejected by its tribe. After learning about Shelgon’s history and meeting the dispirited Pokémon, Roy faced Scarface’s doubts about capturing it.

• Roy rode Glastrier to the Dragonite tribe, while Fang Hang and the others realized Roy had a connection to the Legendary King.
• Scarface told Roy that a former Dragonite prodigy had left the tribe with a human Trainer who was an Elite Four member, then returned to beat Shelgon.
• Roy recognized the story as a likely match for the Russian Elite Four member whose Dragonite he had ridden.
• Scarface led Roy to Shelgon’s cave and urged him to consider Scarface’s son instead.
• Shelgon emerged with a massive shell, showed little interest in Roy, and urged Scarface to hurry so it could sleep.

Roy tried to reignite Shelgon’s will to evolve by telling it that its former sweetheart, now an Elite Four-level Dragonite, was seeking a mate. After Shelgon’s anger returned, Roy offered to help it evolve and regain its dignity, leaving Shelgon to decide whether to trust him.

• Roy examined Shelgon with Aura Power and discovered that its Dragonite body was growing too slowly and lacked the strength to break its shell.
• Roy showed Shelgon a breeding website reporting that its former sweetheart, an Elite Four-level Dragonite, was seeking a mate with a Milotic.
• Shelgon’s old sense of betrayal and fury resurfaced, though it despaired over its weak, cumbersome body.
• Roy offered Shelgon a Poké Ball and promised to help it evolve if it worked hard and trusted his judgment.
• Roy explained his accomplishments and why he wanted to help, while Shelgon silently weighed the risks of trusting him.

Roy captured Shelgon and gained Master Level Dragon Tamer Power, then explained to Calyrex how he planned to use it and Gigantamax Energy to help Shelgon evolve. Calyrex confirmed that Shelgon had absorbed Necrozma’s power and recognized Roy’s plan as promising.

• Roy captured Shelgon and used 99.8 million points to obtain Master Level Dragon Tamer Power.
• Roy returned to Calyrex and described natural evolution through resources as the safe way to treat Shelgon.
• Roy deduced that Shelgon’s enlarged body came from absorbing Necrozma’s power, and Calyrex confirmed it had absorbed a trace of that power.
• Roy proposed using controlled Gigantamax Energy to promote Shelgon’s evolution into Dragonite.
• Roy revealed his Gigantamax Band and Dragon Tamer Power as tools to control the energy and help Shelgon absorb it, and Calyrex judged the plan promising.

Roy began training at Crown Temple, using his newfound wealth to buy Z-Crystals for his Pokémon and test their Z-Moves. Lucario showed promise in learning Fighting-type Sage Art, while Metagross and Blastoise struggled more, and Roy’s team continued preparing for Shelgon’s evolution.

• Roy and his Pokémon cleaned a room at Crown Temple and settled in for the night, with Shelgon joining the team and Mimikyu enjoying Roy’s arms while Ninetales was away.
• Roy began training in the Crown Tundra, prioritizing Shelgon’s evolution while planning to improve the rest of his Pokémon.
• Roy spent three hundred million points on Fighting, Water, Steel, and Electric Z-Crystals and Mimikyu’s exclusive Z-Crystal.
• Roy used Lucario’s Fighting Z-Move, One-Hit Wonder Fierce Fist, and Lucario said it could master the related Sage Art with time.
• Metagross and Blastoise demonstrated Corkscrew Crash and Hydro Vortex, but Roy saw that they would need more effort to comprehend Sage Art.

Roy and Calyrex helped Shelgon absorb Gigantamax Energy, beginning a process that could strengthen the Salamence form within its cocoon. After ten days, a crack appeared in the cocoon, while Roy remained away as the students gathered for the official Gigantamax event.

• Roy ordered Mimikyu to train her Fairy-type Moves and roused her fighting spirit by warning her that only strength could prevent tragedy.
• Calyrex and Roy took Shelgon to a Crown Tundra energy point and used the Gigantamax Band to stabilize the Gigantamax Energy.
• Roy and Calyrex jointly controlled the energy as Shelgon absorbed it successfully, avoiding damage to its body and life force.
• Roy found that Shelgon's body-nurturing progress had reached 10% and arranged a day's rest after each energy point.
• After ten days of training and absorption, a crack appeared in the cocoon nurturing Shelgon.
• The students from the four strongest schools gathered for a Gigantamax event, while Hu Jun worried that Roy had not returned and prepared to search for him.

Shelgon evolved into a powerful Dragonite, and Roy Mega Evolved it to reveal its specialized flying form. Mega Dragonite briefly lost control to its violent instincts, but Roy calmed it with Dragon Tamer Power.

• Hu Jun worried that Roy was vulnerable while away from the group, but Fang Hang explained that Roy was riding a legendary Pokémon and Hu Jun concluded that even Calyrex respected Roy’s divine patron.
• On the tenth day, Shelgon’s shell cracked, and Roy took it to Crown Tundra’s highest peak to evolve.
• Shelgon evolved into an unusually large Dragonite, whose accumulated strength brought it directly to the Professional level.
• Roy gave Dragonite a Mega Stone and used his Key Stone to trigger Mega Evolution.
• Mega Dragonite’s instincts turned violent, but Roy suppressed them with Dragon Tamer Power, and Dragonite calmed down remorsefully.

Roy developed a training direction for Mega Dragonite’s Aerilate Ability and gave it a powerful welcome package after it evolved from Shelgon. Electivire returned from training with Zapdos having learned to combine Fighting and Electric energy in its Thunderous Fist.

• Roy tested Mega Dragonite’s Aerilate with Hyper Voice and planned to develop a small-scale turbulence domain modeled on Rayquaza’s airflow control.
• Roy decided he would visit Lugia to learn more about precise airflow manipulation.
• Roy gave Dragonite customized Energy Cubes, Master Level Move Disks, team abilities and training methods, and Flyinium Z and Dragon Z.
• On the tenth day after arriving at Crown Tundra, Shelgon evolved into Dragonite, while Blastoise hoped Roy would help it fly someday.
• On the eleventh day, Electivire returned with Zapdos and showed Roy that it had learned to combine Fighting energy and Electric Energy in a Thunderous Fist powered by Teralvolt.

Roy reunited his team in the Crown Tundra, where Electivire and Ninetales both reached Professional-level, then prepared to leave and asked Calyrex whether Cosmog could still evolve. Calyrex used its foresight to examine Cosmog, but the chapter ended before it answered.

• Electivire returned to Roy's team after training with Zapdos, said an emotional goodbye, and bonded with Dragonite over their tragic romantic pasts.
• Blastoise admitted it had pretended to relate to their tragedies because it thought their backstories seemed cool, leaving Dragonite and Electivire to exclude it from their conversation.
• On the final day of the restricted zone's opening, Articuno brought Ninetales back, and Roy confirmed she had learned Extreme Cold Psychic Power and reached Professional-level.
• Roy thanked Calyrex before leaving the Crown Tundra and asked whether Cosmog could still evolve.
• Calyrex joined its mental power with Spectrier's, looked into the flow of time, and began examining Cosmog.

Roy learned from Calyrex that Necrozma’s seal was weakening and that Roy might be a crucial variable in the coming crisis. On September 1, Roy skipped Sheng Hai University’s opening ceremony to take the Professional-level assessment.

• Calyrex warned Roy that a tremendous trial awaited him and hinted that Alola might offer a path to faster evolution.
• After Roy and Dragonite left, Calyrex discovered Gigantamax Energy near Crown Temple and feared he could no longer contain Necrozma beneath the Bottomless Pit.
• Calyrex took heart from the signs that Roy, marked by multiple gods, could help confront Necrozma.
• Professor Xing called Roy about missing Sheng Hai University’s opening ceremony and the New Star Cup, but Roy said he was taking the Professional-level assessment.
• Roy told Professor Xing that he had six Professional-level Pokémon, and Professor Xing approved his leave.

Roy registered for the Professional-level Trainer assessment and arrived at the Sheng Hai examination grounds, where his presence drew national attention. As the first stage was about to begin, nine examiners arrived and called the first five examinees.

• Roy registered for the Professional-level assessment at the Sheng Hai Trainer Association and read about its three stages.
• Roy joined forty-four other East China Trainers at the assessment venue, where examinees and social media users reacted to his appearance.
• News of Roy’s assessment spread online, while Zenia Reginald complained that he had missed the Sheng Hai New Star Cup.
• Noah Reginald learned Roy was taking the assessment, inferred he would join the Island Challenge Trial, and sent a message canceling the original plan.
• Nine examiners arrived at the grounds and called examinees No. 001 through No. 005 to accompany them.

Roy faced Senior Lin Qing in the Professional-level assessment and sent out his Ice-type Ninetales against her Fire-type Ninetales. Their opening attacks revealed that Roy’s Ninetales could withstand Lin Qing’s flames, but Lin Qing shifted tactics and began draining its energy and life force.

• Roy met Lin Qing, learned she had completed seventeen missions the previous year, and waited for his assessment after the first three candidates failed to score against her.
• Roy chose his Ninetales, while Lin Qing sent out her own Ninetales; the male fox tried to court Roy’s Pokémon, who dismissed him.
• Roy and Lin Qing ordered Ice Beam and Flamethrower, and their attacks met evenly despite Lin Qing’s Ninetales having the Fire-type advantage.
• Lin Qing recognized that Roy’s Ninetales used Unmelting Ice, a defensive High-grade energy that resisted her Ninetales’ unusual flames.
• Lin Qing ordered Inferno to fill the arena with Ghost-infused heat that drained Roy’s Ninetales’ life force and energy, then followed with another Flamethrower.

Roy’s Ice Ninetales defeated Lin Qing’s Ninetales by combining three kinds of Ice-type High-grade energy, earning praise and passing the first assessment stage. Roy then sent Mimikyu to battle Lin Qing’s Arcanine, and the chapter ended as Mimikyu’s three illusory attacks passed harmlessly through it.

• Ice Ninetales used Ice Cold Gaze to briefly freeze Lin Qing’s Ninetales, then struck it with a Sage Art Blizzard that left half its tails frozen.
• Lin Qing conceded defeat and praised Roy’s Ice Ninetales for mastering three complementary kinds of Ice-type High-grade energy.
• Lin Qing let Roy count his proven competition results and Ninetales’s victory toward the assessment, asking him to show two more combat Pokémon above Professional-level.
• Roy sent Mimikyu to face Lin Qing’s Arcanine, which absorbed the lingering Inferno flames with Flash Fire.
• Mimikyu vanished into the Spirit World and created three copies that attacked Arcanine with illusory Ghost Claws, but the blows passed through harmlessly.

Roy's Mimikyu used her Double Team and Destiny Bond tactics to wear down Lin Qing's Arcanine, then interrupted its final attack with Dazzling Gleam and struck with a Master Level Play Rough. The battle's outcome remained undecided as Mimikyu's finishing move hit Arcanine.

• Lin Qing's Arcanine defeated Roy's three Mimikyu doubles with Extreme Speed and Fire Blast.
• Roy's Mimikyu created hundreds of Double Team illusions and used Destiny Bond to drain Arcanine's vitality whenever a double perished in its flames.
• Lin Qing used Harsh Sunlight to distort the illusions and expose Mimikyu's remaining doubles, but Arcanine took two more Destiny Bond curses while destroying them.
• Roy's Mimikyu emerged from the Spirit World as both Pokémon neared their limits, and the trainers ordered their final attacks.
• Mimikyu used Dazzling Gleam to interrupt Arcanine's Burn Out, then struck it with her Master Level Play Rough.

Lin Qing sent out her strongest Pokémon, Blaziken, to battle Roy’s newly evolved Electivire, whose Overclock Drive Mode revealed a powerful new ability. Blaziken’s extreme speed overwhelmed Electivire until Electivire began tracking its movements, leaving Blaziken stunned.

• Lin Qing chose Blaziken as her ace, and Roy sent out Electivire, explaining that it was Electabuzz’s ordinary Evolution.
• Lin Qing’s Blaziken used Speed Boost and explosive Flame Kicks to strike Electivire faster than Roy’s other Pokémon could match.
• Roy told Electivire to stop playing, and Electivire activated a more controlled Lightning Armor called Overclock Drive Mode.
• Blaziken accelerated into the domain of Extreme Speed, but Electivire followed its movement with its eye and began raising its left arm.

Roy's Electivire defeated Lin Qing's Blaziken, and Roy's group passed the first stage of the Professional-level assessment. Lin Qing then explained the second stage's simulated life-and-death six-on-six battles, which Roy was about to face alone.

• Roy's Electivire seized Blaziken with Teralvolt and forced Lin Qing to surrender before it could finish the attack.
• Lin Qing accused Roy of hiding Electivire's transformation, and Roy stepped aside for candidate No. 25's test.
• All five members of Roy's group passed the first assessment stage, while Roy's Pokémon chatted about flying through their Aura connection.
• Lin Qing announced that the second stage would be unrestricted six-on-six battles using remotely controlled metal Substitutes in place of Trainers.
• Lin Qing said defeating her guaranteed a pass and that others could pass with a score above sixty; Roy's turn arrived at five in the afternoon.

Roy and Lin Qing began their Trainer Association assessment, pitting Roy’s versatile team against Lin Qing’s all-Fire-type Four Protect One formation. The battle escalated as Roy’s team disrupted Arcanine’s Flame Fusion, leaving their Water Pulse and Lin Qing’s Fire Blast colliding.

• Roy controlled a Substitute in the assessment arena and chose Blastoise as his main force against Lin Qing’s all-Fire-type team.
• Torkoal and Ice Ninetales clashed to control the weather, while Lucario, Electivire, and Mimikyu attacked Lin Qing; her Pokémon combined their flames to protect her.
• Lin Qing’s Arcanine absorbed the four flames through Flash Fire, powering up as the core of her Four Protect One team.
• Roy Mega Evolved Blastoise, while Metagross blocked Blaziken’s kick and Ninetales froze it long enough for Metagross to strike back.
• Blastoise fired a massive Aura-powered Water Pulse at the Flame Shield Wall, forcing Arcanine to stop fusing flames and answer with Fire Blast.
• Roy’s Water Pulse and Lin Qing’s five-flame Fire Blast collided, producing a burst of evaporation.

Roy and Lin Qing’s team battle left both sides with only two Pokémon standing, but their duel continued as Arcanine and Electivire clashed. When Lin Qing attacked Roy directly, he revealed he could use Confusion to immobilize her Substitute.

• The Power of Steam knocked out Lucario, Mimikyu, Ninetales, Metagross, Blaziken, and Camerupt, leaving Roy with Electivire and Blastoise and Lin Qing with Arcanine and Camerupt.
• Lin Qing congratulated Roy on passing the second stage of the assessment, then accepted his challenge to settle the battle completely.
• Electivire fought Arcanine and, with Teralvolt, disrupted Arcanine’s fused flames and raised its lightning power to match them.
• Blastoise and Camerupt battled while Lin Qing charged Roy and attacked him with martial arts to prevent him from using a Z-Move.
• Roy used Confusion to lift and immobilize Lin Qing’s Substitute, revealing that he had powers beyond Aura.