Chapter Summaries

Lu Li and Tropius defeated Li Zhi and Pikachu to secure a place in the tournament’s top ten. Afterward, Yu Lili told Lu Li about her family’s crisis, and Liu Li asked him to connect the Qingmu Black Market with Gym Leader Yao Yifei.

• Tropius used its exceptional vitality to withstand Pikachu’s Thunder Shock and knocked Pikachu into a pit with Body Slam.
• Li Zhi urged Pikachu to stand up, and Pikachu briefly recovered before Tropius defeated it with Stomp.
• Long teased his sister about her upcoming match, while Lu Li reviewed Tropius’s performance in the lounge.
• Yu Lili told Lu Li that her family had fallen out with her maternal grandfather’s family, faced pressure over the Qingmu Black Market, and could not get her father’s Aggron back from the Lei Family.
• Lu Li suggested publicly accusing the Lei Family of trying to seize Aggron, but Yu Lili decided to wait before taking that risk.
• Liu Li asked Lu Li to introduce the Qingmu Black Market to Gym Leader Yao Yifei as a potential backer, and Lu Li agreed to ask her.

Lu Li agreed with Yao Yifei to accept a share of the Black Market’s profits, while the Divine Cult stole a Master Ball and made a deal with a North American Alliance mole. At the College Entrance Exam Tournament, Lu Li challenged Long Ying directly and knocked her down, leaving her humiliated.

• Lu Li told Yao Yifei about the Black Market proposal, and they agreed to take thirty percent of its profits.
• A Divine Cult operative stole the Master Ball from an American laboratory, and Freya Russell traced the theft to the cult before learning of a possible lead about her missing mother in Southern Kyushu.
• The Pope named Reggie a Holy Son and sent him to deliver the Divine Cult’s agreement to Plant, the North American Champion who had supplied the Master Ball in exchange for the cult targeting reserve Emissaries of Truth.
• Lu Li faced Long Ying in the tournament, and they both sent their Pokémon into battle while charging at each other.
• Lu Li blocked Long Ying’s attack, swept her legs out from under her, and asked whether his purity was high enough as she sprawled on the ground.

Lu Li defeated Long Ying and the Wang Family’s young lady to reach the College Entrance Exam final, where he faced Peng Kaka and his Snorlax. As the final began, Long Ying learned that Snorlax had mastered Dynamax, casting doubt on Lu Li’s expected victory.

• Lu Li’s Tropius defeated Long Ying’s Deino after a fierce battle, and Long Ying left vowing to find a way to counter his Secret Technique.
• Lance reminded Long Ying that she had lost their bet and would have to become Lu Li’s lackey after the competition.
• Lu Li defeated the Wang Family’s young lady, refused her attempt to recruit him, and prepared for the final with Tropius.
• The next morning, Lu Li entered the packed Pokémon Center for the College Entrance Exam final and exchanged greetings with Peng Kaka.
• Peng Kaka sent out his Experienced-level Late Stage Snorlax to face Lu Li’s Tropius, and the Wang Family’s eldest daughter revealed that Snorlax had mastered Dynamax.

Lu Li’s Tropius defeated Peng Kaka’s Gigantamax Snorlax by turning Leech Seeds into Sitrus Berry trees that drained Snorlax’s Life Energy. Lu Li won the tournament championship and stepped onto the highest podium.

• Peng Kaka Gigantamaxed Snorlax and commanded it to attack Tropius with Snore.
• Lu Li had Tropius plant special Leech Seeds on Snorlax, then used Grassy Terrain and Special Growth to make them grow into Sitrus Berry trees.
• The trees drained Snorlax’s Life Energy, and Peng Kaka’s attempts to stop them with Rest and Rollout failed.
• Snorlax reverted from its Gigantamax state and lost the ability to battle, so Peng Kaka conceded and acknowledged Lu Li and Tropius.
• The referee declared Lu Li the champion, and Lu Li stepped onto the highest podium as the crowd cheered.

Lu Li chose a Metagross Egg despite being warned about the enormous resources needed to raise one, then accepted Kyushu University's offer because of its Knowledge Vault. The League delivered an egg from a Champion-level Shiny Metagross, leaving Lu Li excited to raise a rare Shiny Beldum.

• Lu Li chose a Metagross Egg, and the secretary warned him that its evolution required costly Fusion or Split Evolution.
• Lu Li selected a Fire Gem as his Pokémon Secret Treasure after deciding his Milotic would benefit more from a Water-type treasure he could seek out himself.
• Vice-Principal Ji and Vice-Principal Li competed to recruit Lu Li, and Lu Li chose Kyushu University for access to its Knowledge Vault.
• Lu Li cooperated with League reporters, who promoted him as a commoner trainer and a model for the Academy Faction.
• The secretary delivered Lu Li's Metagross Egg and revealed that it came from a Champion-level Shiny Metagross.

Lu Li returned Home with his Shiny Champion-level Beldum Egg and received secret Starter Pokémon breeding data and Pokémon. After crafting a practice Storage Ring, he planned to have Charmander help extract Apricorn material for a larger Space Ring.

• Lu Li learned Ekaterina was going Home and decided to return Home himself after confirming through Divination that the journey was safe.
• Lu Li arrived Home, reunited with Baobao, and received two Backpacks from Gardevoir containing Adult Starter Pokémon and confidential breeding data.
• Lu Li caught up with Wei about Kubfu and Chimchar's progress, then spent time playing video games with Baobao.
• Lu Li refused to give Charmander the Fire Gem until it reached Elite-level, and Charmander demanded extra training and Elixir.
• Lu Li refined an emerald-green Storage Ring with ten cubic meters of space and decided Charmander could help extract Apricorn material for a larger ring.

Lu Li trained Charmander to extract Apricorns so he could refine Storage Rings, then asked Qu Suxin to shelter the Adult Starter Pokémon he had stolen. Qu Suxin agreed, while also arranging for her nephew Qu Gang to travel with Li Zhi and resolving to obtain information about the Fairy King.

• Lu Li taught Charmander to extract Apricorns, and Charmander worked until exhaustion before Lu Li refined five Storage Rings and a bracelet.
• Lu Li decided he needed a safe place for the Adult Starter Pokémon and called Qu Suxin for help.
• Qu Suxin discussed the League's reward information about the Rainbow Hero and Fairy King, then told her secretary to let Qu Gang decide whether to travel with Li Zhi.
• Qu Suxin agreed to shelter Lu Li's Adult Starter Pokémon and promised to deliver them once he found a place for them.

Lu Li gave Yao Yifei, Baobao, and Wei Storage Rings, then gifted Wei an Elite Four-level Torchic Egg. He arranged to visit a volcano in a Small Secret Realm at Deep Gray City, where he intended to investigate whether the Nuts they had found were dormant Mythical Beast Infants.

• Yao Yifei told Lu Li that the Jin Family was eyeing the Black Market, but said its strongest member was only a half-baked Gym Leader-level Trainer.
• Lu Li gave Yao Yifei, Baobao, and Wei Storage Rings with one hundred cubic meters of space, and warned them to keep the items secret.
• Lu Li gave Wei an Elite Four-level Torchic Egg, and Yao Yifei and Wei marveled at its potential.
• Yao Yifei told Lu Li about a Volcano in a Small Secret Realm at Deep Gray City, and Lu Li decided to go there with her.
• Lu Li told Yao Yifei that he had a more important reason to visit the Volcano and asked whether she remembered the Nuts they had found.

Lu Li prepared to enter the volcanic Secret Realm with Yao Yifei, teaching Tropius the Spirit Imbuing Art and accepting Combee Honey from Vespiquen before leaving for Deep Gray City. There, Yao Yifei explained the rivalry between the Shen Family and the Pewter Gym, which was led by a member of the Qu Family.

• Lu Li agreed to leave for the Secret Realm after lunch, and Yao Yifei, Wei, and Baobao helped him prepare the meal.
• Lu Li inspected the Orchard and taught Tropius the Pokémon-ized Spirit Imbuing Art to help it develop the Leech Seed Machine-Gun Form.
• Vespiquen thanked Lu Li for the Gracidea Flowers and gave him Combee Honey, promising to guard the Orchard.
• Lu Li asked Milotic to join the trip, but she refused, so he planned to bring Charmander and Onix instead.
• Lu Li arranged for Ekaterina to collect the Berries and Combee Honey, then traveled with Yao Yifei to Deep Gray City.
• Yao Yifei told Lu Li that the Shen Family controlled the Secret Realm but was losing ground to the Pewter Gym and its Qu Family Gym Leader.

Lu Li and Yao Yifei entered the Deep Gray Secret Realm and traveled to its volcanic region to find a magma pool. After Charmander’s undeveloped Flash Fire Ability made the heat worse, Lu Li asked Yao Yifei’s Flareon to teach it how to develop the Ability.

• Yao Yifei dismissed Young Master Shen’s offer to guide them, while he ignored his grandfather’s warning not to pursue her.
• Yao Yifei took Lu Li into the Secret Realm on Togekiss and flew with him to the volcanic region.
• Lu Li released Onix to dig a passage into the volcano, then asked Yao Yifei to use Psychic Ability to carry them through it.
• Yao Yifei explained that her Flareon’s developed Flash Fire absorbed the surrounding heat, while Charmander’s undeveloped Ability made the area hotter.
• Lu Li introduced Charmander to Flareon as its new teacher, and Charmander eagerly accepted the chance to learn.

Lu Li began refining Steel Essence in a volcano while Yao Yifei explored nearby. When Young Master Shen tried to lure Yao Yifei into rescuing him from a pursuing Mawile, Lu Li's divination warned him that he was caught in the crossfire and faced great misfortune.

• Yao Yifei brought Lu Li to a volcano, where he set up the Smelting Furnace and began refining Steel Essence, while Flareon stayed behind to teach Charmander.
• Young Master Shen went to Mawile's territory seeking help with a staged encounter, but Mawile demanded his Fairy Gem, so he fled toward the volcano on Archen with the Dominant Mawile in pursuit.
• Yao Yifei intercepted Young Master Shen and agreed to fight the Dominant Mawile, releasing six Gym Leader-level Pokémon as Young Master Shen brought out his own three.
• Lu Li sensed danger, stopped refining, and used the Tortoise Shell to divine an omen of great misfortune and being caught in the crossfire.

Yao Yifei escaped Dominant Mawile after Young Master Shen’s borrowed Pokémon failed to defeat him, then returned and killed Shen after learning he planned to abduct Lu Li and force her into the Shen Family’s Hypnotic Modification Technology. Her interrogation revealed that the Shen Family had joined the Divine Cult, and she decided to report its infiltration to Qu Suxin as Lu Li arrived.

• Young Master Shen’s Aggron, Graveler, and Rhyperior attacked Dominant Mawile, but he crushed Graveler and claimed the Fairy Gem Young Master Shen surrendered.
• Yao Yifei left, but Espeon sensed Young Master Shen’s malice toward her, so she returned and killed him and his Pokémon in battle.
• Yao Yifei used Espeon to hypnotize Young Master Shen and learned he planned to capture Lu Li and use him to coerce her into accepting the Shen Family’s Hypnotic Modification Technology.
• Young Master Shen confessed that his grandfather had led the Shen Family into the Divine Cult, and Yao Yifei had Espeon destroy him while leaving his unconscious Graveler behind to conceal her involvement.
• Yao Yifei decided to report the Divine Cult’s infiltration of the Kyushu Region to Qu Suxin, and Espeon told her that Lu Li had arrived.

Lu Li stayed in the Deep Gray Secret Realm while Dominant Mawile used Shen Gong’er's Fairy Gem to begin a breakthrough to Elite Four-level. Shen Bao blamed Dominant Mawile for his grandson’s death and confronted it, while the city prepared for a possible Pokémon stampede.

• Lu Li returned to the Volcano to continue training, and Yao Yifei stayed to guard him.
• After two days without news of Shen Gong'er, Shen Bao entered the Secret Realm and learned from Graveler that Dominant Mawile had taken the Fairy Gem and knocked Graveler unconscious.
• Dominant Mawile’s breakthrough caused a storm and threw the Deep Gray Secret Realm into turmoil, prompting the Excadrill Legion to request support and prepare the city for evacuation.
• Shen Bao brought his Pokémon to Dominant Mawile’s camp and demanded that it stop its breakthrough and explain what happened to his grandson.
• Dominant Mawile denied harming Shen Gong'er and ordered Shen Bao to leave, but Shen Bao grew angrier and resolved to act against it.

Shen Bao’s attempt to stop Dominant Mawile’s breakthrough turned into a devastating battle, and Yao Yifei and Lu Li intervened to end it. Dominant Mawile reached Elite Four-level, rewarded them with a Wishing Star, and sealed Deep Gray Secret Realm for ten years while Yao Yifei took responsibility for punishing the Shen Family.

• Shen Bao ordered his Pokémon to attack Dominant Mawile during its breakthrough, and the battle left many Pokémon dead on both sides.
• Yao Yifei warned Lu Li that the Secret Realm’s Pokémon might riot, and Lu Li chose to join her in stopping the disaster.
• Yao Yifei joined the battle and ordered her Pokémon to attack the Pokémon with Trainers, while Lu Li knocked Shen Bao unconscious.
• Dominant Mawile completed its breakthrough, vaporized Shen Bao with Frustration, and thanked Yao Yifei and Lu Li with a Wishing Star.
• Dominant Mawile announced that it would seal Deep Gray Secret Realm for ten years, and Yao Yifei promised to hold the Shen Family accountable.
• After leaving the Secret Realm, Yao Yifei told the Legion Commander what had happened and said she would handle the Shen Family herself.

Yao Yifei and Lu Li raided the Shen Family estate, uncovering its ties to the Divine Cult and taking the family’s research materials. Espeon then revealed a nearby Divine Cult laboratory connected to the Steel Holy Son and a Divine Item, leaving Yao Yifei about to ask Lu Li for help investigating it.

• Yao Yifei and Lu Li arrived at the Shen Family estate, where Espeon broke through its protective barrier with six Hyper Beams.
• Yao Yifei used Espeon’s Psychic Ability to learn the treasury’s location from the Shen matriarch, who later died when a tampered brain caused her head to burst.
• Yao Yifei ordered Espeon to deal with the household servants while she and Lu Li searched the treasury with Shen Bao’s daughter-in-law.
• Lu Li collected rare Berries, ores, and Divine Cult research documents about human metalization and mechanical ascension, with Yao Yifei’s permission.
• Espeon reported that a Divine Cult laboratory in Deep Gray City had once hosted the Steel Holy Son and might involve a Divine Item.
• Espeon advised Yao Yifei to bring Lu Li because the laboratory leader’s Quagsire had peak Gym Leader-level strength, and Yao Yifei began asking Lu Li for help.

Lu Li and Yao Yifei investigated a Divine Cult Laboratory beneath an abandoned mine, but left after Lu Li confirmed it had no Divine Item and discovered it was modifying humans into mechanical lifeforms. Back at Home, Lu Li found that Meltan was absorbing Steel Essence and decided to use a Spirit Gathering Array to speed its awakening.

• Yao Yifei told Lu Li that Espeon had found a Divine Cult Laboratory guarded by a Trainer with a Quagsire, and Lu Li agreed to help investigate.
• Lu Li scanned the underground Laboratory with Divine Sense and found mechanical experiments but no Divine Item, so he and Yao Yifei withdrew and she prepared to report it.
• Yu Lili worried that Lu Li had not visited her, while Jin Fengjiao explained that the League’s raid on the Shen Family had ruined Qingyun Gym’s planned metal-supply deal.
• Lu Li watched Meltan slowly absorb Steel Essence and estimated it would take years to awaken, so he decided to try making a Spirit Gathering Array with the Evolution Stones he had looted.

Lu Li set up an Enhanced Energy Gathering Array for Meltan, then welcomed a newly hatched Beldum and began training it in alchemy. After working through the day to make pills, he was confronted by Yao Yifei, Baobao, and Wei for neglecting his health, and suggested that Audino examine him.

• Lu Li used Steel Essence to build an Enhanced Energy Gathering Array for Meltan and decided to reserve one kilogram of Steel Essence for Onix.
• Beldum hatched, told Lu Li it was hungry, and absorbed Steel Essence as its first meal.
• Lu Li made Steel Energy Pills for Beldum and noticed that it could use Psychic Ability to control the Alchemy Furnace, so he encouraged it to learn alchemy.
• After two hours of refining pills, Lu Li planned to make Elixirs for Yao Yifei's Pokémon, but Yao Yifei called him away from the Alchemy Room at midnight.
• Yao Yifei, Baobao, and Wei scolded Lu Li for skipping meals and working too hard, and Lu Li offered to have Audino check his health.

Lu Li introduced his new Shiny partner, Beldum, and revealed his unusual Spiritual Power before giving Yao Yifei attribute-specific Elixirs for her Pokémon. Yao Yifei accepted his trust and agreed to let him handle her Pokémon’s Energy Blocks, while Espeon eagerly tried its first Elixir.

• Audino examined Lu Li and confirmed he was healthy, prompting him to explain that his Spiritual Power gave him extraordinary stamina and endurance.
• Lu Li introduced Beldum, whose Champion-level aptitude and Telepathy Ability impressed Yao Yifei, Wei, and Baobao.
• Lu Li gave Yao Yifei Elixirs tailored to her Pokémon, and Baobao explained their effects to her.
• Yao Yifei promised to protect Lu Li’s trust, and she reflected on how her mother had supported her choices and ambitions.
• Lu Li agreed to provide Energy Blocks for all of Yao Yifei’s Pokémon, and Espeon eagerly ate a Super Spirit Pill after he advised limiting them to two per day.

Lu Li learned more about the Elixirs’ effects, arranged for Yao Yifei to secure steel-mining companies, and considered attending the Deep Blue Black Market convention after his divination failed. Two days later, Wei brought news that the Greater Russia Region had withdrawn from the European League and become the Polar Ice Empire.

• Espeon explained that Elixirs could gradually improve a Pokémon’s talent, prompting Yao Yifei to warn Lu Li not to reveal their value to Ekaterina.
• Yao Yifei offered Lu Li the Shen Family’s mining companies and told him about the upcoming Deep Blue Black Market trade convention.
• Baobao asked Lu Li for another Ralts, and Lu Li decided to consider attending the convention after his divination could not predict its outcome.
• Lu Li developed a plan to use Beldum’s Telepathy as an external brain while his Pokémon continued their training.
• Wei rushed into the basement with news that the Greater Russia Region had left the European League and renamed itself the Polar Ice Empire.

Lu Li learned that Ekaterina had restored the Polar Ice Empire and was being crowned Empress, then returned to caring for his Pokémon and considering Onix’s development. He asked Yao Yifei about Metal Coat, and she hinted that she knew where the world’s best one came from.

• Lu Li and Yao Yifei learned from a livestream that Ekaterina’s family had restored the Polar Ice Empire and that Ekaterina was being crowned Empress.
• Lu Li checked on the recovering Meltan, cared for Beldum, and taught Milotic about the Nourishing Art while worrying over its growing fascination with beauty.
• Lu Li encouraged Charmander and visited Onix at the Farm, where he considered how its rock-based training would fit its eventual evolution into Steelix.
• Lu Li asked Yao Yifei about Metal Coat, and she said she knew where the world’s best one came from.