Chapter Summaries

Cynthia and Roy stopped at an ice cream truck, where Cynthia ordered several flavors and complained that Mega Evolution slowed her Garchomp down. Roy teased her by saying the speed loss was useful in Trick Room, then ran as Cynthia chased him through the park.

• Roy and Cynthia arrived at the park still holding hands, then ordered ice cream from a clerk watching a Galar Trial Tower livestream with her Alcremie.
• Cynthia ordered several ice cream flavors and released Glaceon, who chose matcha; Roy bought enough ice cream for them and their Pokémon.
• Cynthia sampled her ice cream and passed the unfinished portions to Roy, while Glaceon ate neatly beside her.
• Cynthia complained that Mega Evolution made her Garchomp slower, and Roy distracted her by feeding ice cream to Little Absol.
• Roy told Cynthia that Mega Garchomp was faster in Trick Room, then fled with Little Absol as Cynthia angrily chased him and Glaceon stayed on the bench.

Cynthia confronted Roy over his teasing about Garchomp, but the two soon shared a barbecue and discussed a possible alternate Mega Evolution. The chapter ended with Cynthia riding behind Roy on Dragapult, her arms around his waist and her hands deliberately roaming over his abdomen.

• Cynthia pinned Roy down and punched him for mocking Garchomp, then made him apologize before resuming her sulk when he admitted he would do it again.
• Roy offered to make barbecue, and Cynthia put off ending their friendship to eat with him; she watched him cook while Glaceon eventually played with Little Absol.
• Roy described a hypothetical Mega Garchomp that gained speed but lost its Ground type, and Cynthia worried about the trade-offs while asking whether it could learn Dragon Dance.
• At evening, Roy prepared to take Cynthia back to the Ruins of Alph on Dragapult, and Cynthia asked to sit behind him.
• Cynthia wrapped her arms around Roy's waist and felt around his abdomen, moving her hands even more after he asked her to behave.

Roy and Cynthia returned to the Ruins of Alph, where Professor Carolina deciphered murals revealing that Ancient Sinnoh immigrants helped found the Alforf Kingdom and built the Sinjoh Ruins in northern Johto. The ruins were said to hold an Arceus statue, but Johto's prosecutors had found no trace of them beneath the vast, ancient snowfields.

• Roy and Cynthia returned to the Ruins of Alph, and Officer Jenny explained that Roy had left two prosecutors waiting all day at Goldenrod City port when he picked up Professor Carolina without telling them.
• Professor Shuli told Roy that Professor Oak had gone back to his lab in Pallet Town after researchers repeatedly questioned him about reviving Golurk.
• Cynthia changed into a lab coat and glasses, then asked Professor Carolina what she had discovered in the murals.
• Professor Carolina revealed that Ancient Sinnoh immigrants helped establish the Alforf Kingdom and later built the Sinjoh Ruins in northern Johto, where Arceus had appeared and a grand statue had been erected.
• Professor Carolina and Professor Iwaizumi explained that Johto's prosecutors could not locate the Sinjoh Ruins because northern Johto's enormous, year-round snowfields might have buried them for at least 1,500 years.
• Cynthia asked whether the Sinjoh Ruins would therefore never be found.

Roy proposed that the passage to the Sinjoh Ruins was a Space-Time Rift, and Golurk's memories revealed that he had been created as a key. The Ruins of Alph's runes activated when Golurk stood on the Altar, and a group of Unown rushed toward him.

• Professor Carolina explained that she had found no ordinary passage in the Ruins of Alph, and Roy suggested it might be a Space-Time Rift.
• Professor Carolina appealed to Roy by saying she wanted someone reliable for Cynthia, and Roy agreed to help find the entrance.
• Roy released Golurk and asked him about the ruins; Golurk remembered his creator calling him a key.
• Roy placed Golurk atop the Altar, causing runes to glow and form a pentagram that included the Ancient Sinnoh word for “Sinjoh.”
• Professor Shuli called after a group of Unown as they rushed into the chamber and flew toward Golurk, while Cynthia released Garchomp and Togetic to stop them.
• Roy watched the Unown and suddenly came up with a new idea.

Roy and the others opened a Space-Time Rift that might lead to the Sinjoh Ruins, but they hesitated to enter when its destination and safety remained uncertain. In the universe, Arceus sensed the call and Giratina’s presence and decided to investigate the human world himself.

• Roy stopped Cynthia from attacking the Unown, which circled Golurk and helped him tear open a Space-Time Rift.
• Professor Shuli recorded the Unown’s arrangement, while Professor Carolina and the others questioned whether the rift still led to the Sinjoh Ruins and whether anyone could return.
• A blast of icy wind and snow came through the rift, and Professor Iwaizumi recognized it as coming from Johto’s northern snowfields.
• Professor Carolina moved toward the rift, but Cynthia grabbed her hand to stop her from taking the risk.
• Arceus sensed a call from the human world alongside Giratina’s presence and saw Giratina happily watching an image of Arceus beating Dialga.
• Arceus suspected Giratina was hiding something and decided to visit the human world to investigate.

Arceus created a death-infused duplicate and sent it into the universe while Roy and Cynthia prepared to enter the unstable Space-Time Rift at the Ruins of Alph. Roy joined Cynthia to investigate the ruins, and Professor Iwaizumi gave them a locator so the others could track them.

• Giratina sensed that something was watching him in the Distortion World, then dismissed the feeling as an illusion.
• Arceus used the dark purple Plate to transform an identical duplicate into a death-aura form and sent it into the universe.
• As the Space-Time Rift at the Ruins of Alph began to close, Professor Carolina tried to enter it, but Cynthia stopped her.
• Cynthia offered to investigate the rift herself, and Roy stepped forward to accompany her.
• Professor Carolina accepted Roy's offer, and Professor Iwaizumi gave Roy a locator to use when they found the ruins.

Roy and Cynthia emerged from the unstable Space-Time Rift into a dark, freezing enclosure and suspected they had reached the Sinjoh Ruins. They remained trapped behind indestructible snow walls, with no way to contact anyone, while Roy kept Giratina as a last resort.

• Roy and Cynthia entered the Space-Time Rift together as Golurk and the Unown collapsed from exhaustion.
• Roy pulled Cynthia through the rift’s exit, but they fell into darkness until Dragapult caught them.
• Roy used Chandelure to light their surroundings and found enormous snow walls enclosing them on all four sides.
• Roy and Cynthia released their Pokémon to search for an exit, but Roy’s locator and Communicator could not reach anyone.
• Dragapult reported that the only openings above the walls led to endless snow, and Roy suspected they had reached the Sinjoh Ruins in northern Johto.
• Roy’s Pokémon tried fire and physical attacks on the snow walls without effect, so Roy ordered them to conserve their strength and held Giratina in reserve.

Roy and Cynthia explored the Sinjoh Ruins and discovered a statue of Arceus, who manifested as a Ghost-type avatar and confronted Roy about his connection to Giratina. The chapter ended with Roy finally able to move again, struggling to explain himself to Arceus.

• Roy and Cynthia explored the Sinjoh Ruins, recognized their links to the Spear Pillar and the Ruins of Alph, and found bite marks resembling those in the Ruins of Alph.
• Roy searched for an exit while Cynthia photographed the ruins, but she soon called him to the center, where a gigantic statue of Arceus had appeared.
• Cynthia fainted as Arceus's power immobilized Roy and their Pokémon, then Arceus emerged from the statue as a Ghost-type avatar carrying the Ghost Slate.
• The Ghost Slate fragment flew from Roy's Spatial Bracelet to Arceus, who sensed both the fragment and Giratina's aura on Roy and demanded to know their relationship.
• Arceus released his hold on Roy, who began to address him but still did not know how to explain his connection to Giratina.

Roy revealed to Arceus that his Ghost Power had strengthened Giratina, and Arceus summoned Giratina to verify the connection. As Arceus remained puzzled by Roy’s unexplained ability, Giratina suggested it might empower Arceus too, leaving the creator reconsidering the possibility.

• Roy told Arceus that he could boost Ghost-type moves and showed him Giratina’s Scale as proof of his connection to Giratina.
• Arceus opened a Space-Time Rift and pulled Giratina from the Distortion World to confront him.
• Giratina admitted that Roy had helped him break through Dialga’s Roar of Time, and Arceus scolded him for keeping it secret.
• Seeing Arceus focus on Roy, Giratina suggested that Roy’s power might boost Arceus as well.
• Arceus dismissed the idea, then began to consider what it would mean if Roy’s energy could empower him.

Roy spent most of his saved Popularity Points raising his Ghost Power and used it to empower Giratina, demonstrating the strength of his boost to Arceus. Arceus tested Giratina’s boosted Shadow Ball in the Distortion World and reinforced his barrier just before it gave way.

• Arceus decided to let Roy empower him but first had Giratina test Roy’s power.
• Roy spent 30.72 million Popularity Points to raise his Ghost Power from level 10 to level 12.
• Roy empowered Giratina, whose attempt to form a Shadow Ball near Arceus’s statue was interrupted to prevent damage.
• Arceus transported Roy and Giratina to the Distortion World and challenged Giratina to attack his energy barrier.
• Giratina launched a gigantic Roy-boosted Shadow Ball, and Arceus reinforced his shaking barrier until it stopped the attack.

Arceus tested Giratina’s boosted strength, then agreed to be caught by Roy so he could receive the same Ghost Power boost. After Roy caught and released him with a Luxury Ball, the boost awakened Arceus’s dormant power, and he prepared to try out a skill.

• Arceus created a Time Disc, but Giratina’s Origin Forme attack—strengthened by Roy’s Ghost Power—nearly broke through before Arceus suppressed him.
• Arceus asked Roy to boost him, and Roy explained that a Pokémon had to belong to him first, meaning he needed to catch Arceus.
• Roy and Giratina persuaded Arceus that entering a Poké Ball was necessary, and Arceus agreed to let Roy catch him.
• Roy caught Arceus in a Luxury Ball, then released him without the ball being damaged.
• Roy’s Ghost Power entered Arceus and awakened his constrained energy, leaving Arceus eager to test a skill.

Arceus tested Roy’s power by unleashing Judgment and Spacial Rend in the Distortion World, then restored the damage and accepted that Roy could boost him. He left Giratina responsible for protecting Roy, but refused Giratina’s request to grant Roy Divine Authority because Roy’s body could not withstand it and the rules did not allow it.

• Giratina refused to serve as Arceus’s target, so Arceus fired Judgment into the Distortion World while Giratina sheltered Roy inside his body.
• Arceus used Roy’s boost to strengthen Spacial Rend, tearing open more than a dozen Space-Time Rifts in the Distortion World.
• Arceus repaired the Distortion World with Ghost-type energy and brought Giratina and Roy back to the Sinjoh Ruins.
• Arceus praised Roy, decided the human’s power could benefit him, and ordered Giratina to protect Roy without reporting his passage through Space-Time Rifts.
• Giratina asked Arceus to give Roy a Divine Authority, but Arceus refused because Roy’s human body could not withstand it and the universe’s rules forbade it.

Roy asked Arceus to turn Mimikyu from a ghost into a Pokémon, and Arceus used the Ghost Slate to transform her. After Mimikyu celebrated her new abilities, Arceus returned to his statue and gave Roy back the half Ghost Slate and Giratina's Scale.

• Roy explained Mimikyu's situation to Arceus and brought her out of her Poké Ball.
• Arceus used the Ghost Slate's power and Mimikyu's Reaper Cloth to transform her into a Pokémon.
• Roy scanned Mimikyu and found that she was a level 22 Pokémon with the Disguise ability and several moves.
• Mimikyu tried Double Team, and Roy identified the real one among her two crude copies.
• Arceus warned Roy and Mimikyu not to tell anyone he had appeared, then returned to his statue and restored Roy's half Ghost Slate and Giratina's Scale.

After Arceus and Giratina left the Sinjoh Ruins, Roy and Cynthia explored the site and found a way out through a gap in the snow wall. The ruins vanished behind them, leaving them stranded on an unknown northern snowfield as they tried to find their way back.

• Giratina returned to the Distortion World, and Cynthia woke with no memory of Arceus’s visit; Roy told her she had fainted after passing through the Space-Time Rift.
• Cynthia photographed the Arceus statue and prayed, then she and Roy documented the ruins before finding no other way out.
• Dragapult spotted a gap in the snow wall, and Roy and Cynthia rode through it onto a vast, unfamiliar snowfield.
• The snow wall and the Sinjoh Ruins vanished, and Roy comforted Cynthia as they realized they were stranded without a working Communicator, locator, or compass.
• Roy directed Dragapult to fly across the snowfield and shifted Cynthia behind him to shield her from the bitter wind.

Roy and Cynthia struggled to cross the northern snowfield after Dragapult succumbed to the freezing weather, with Chandelure clearing their way. When they became lost and Cynthia injured her ankle, Roy carried her and eventually stopped to make shelter and eat.

• Dragapult developed frostbite in the air, so Roy landed and treated him before sending him back to his Poké Ball.
• Roy and Cynthia continued on foot through Chandelure's cleared path, and Roy shielded Cynthia from the wind.
• Cynthia sprained her ankle, so Roy treated it with Healing Spray and Chandelure's Sacred Fire, then carried her.
• When Cynthia worried they might die, Roy teased her by comparing her weight to Dusclops, lifting her spirits.
• Roy and Cynthia realized they had walked in a circle, then made a sheltered space with Glaceon and Chandelure and ate Pokéblocks.

Roy replenished Chandelure’s Fire-type energy and continued across the snowfield with Cynthia, but they were confronted by ten powerful Piloswine. Roy and Cynthia prepared their Pokémon for a possible battle while Roy readied Ancient Gengar to ambush the trainer behind them.

• Roy crushed a high-grade Fire Stone and used it to make ten powerful Pokéblocks for Chandelure, restoring its Fire-type energy.
• Roy carried Cynthia onward across the snowfield while Glaceon guarded them.
• A sudden blast of snow and wind warned Roy that a Pokémon was ahead, and a level 77 Piloswine appeared.
• Nine more Piloswine, all Intermediate King-level, approached, revealing that the group was likely owned by a trainer.
• Roy released Misdreavus and Annihilape and told Ancient Gengar to prepare an ambush, while Cynthia sent out Garchomp and Spiritomb.

Roy and Cynthia encountered Pryce in the northern snowfield, where he rescued them with his Piloswine. Roy learned that Chandelure’s Sacred Fire had helped Pryce walk again, and Pryce learned how Roy had traveled from the Ruins of Alph to the Sinjoh Ruins.

• Pryce arrived with a group of Piloswine and stopped the blizzard, revealing that the Pokémon belonged to him.
• Roy recognized Pryce, and Pryce stood from his wheelchair before explaining that Chandelure’s Sacred Fire had restored feeling to his legs.
• Roy told Pryce that he and Cynthia had traveled through a Space-Time Rift from the Ruins of Alph to the Sinjoh Ruins.
• Pryce said he had brought Swinub and his Piloswine to the snowfield to train their skills.
• Roy noticed that Swinub was diverting the wind and snow around Pryce.

Roy and Cynthia escaped the northern snowfield with Pryce and reached his mountain arena, where Cynthia discovered Pryce’s powerful Delibird was unexpectedly courteous. Pryce showed Roy the completed Dynamax facilities and asked how Roy had made his Pocket Watch activate a Wishing Star, hoping to create a Dynamax accessory of his own.

• Pryce led Roy and Cynthia through a mountain pass, using ten Piloswine to shield them from the snow and open a path through the mountains.
• Roy and Cynthia entered Pryce’s ice-carved Dynamax Arena, where Cynthia rested and Delibird quietly brought her tea and a blanket.
• Pryce showed Roy the arena, its connected training caverns, and a Transport Device linked to Galar and cities in Kanto and Johto.
• Pryce revealed his icy-blue Dynamax Band and asked Roy how he had made the Wishing Star in his Pocket Watch trigger Dynamax.

Roy put off making Pryce’s Dynamaxing accessory to watch Froslass train with Pryce’s Delibird. After Froslass completed a morning’s practice and spotted Roy outside the Training Ground, she hurried toward the entrance to see him.

• Roy heard Froslass training nearby and followed Pryce to the Training Ground, where he watched through the window.
• Pryce stopped Roy from calling out so he would not disturb Froslass during her lesson with Delibird.
• Delibird showed Froslass how to absorb energy from the falling snow to charge Ice Beam more quickly.
• After ten attempts, Froslass successfully used the snow to shorten her Ice Beam’s release time, and Delibird ended the morning’s training.
• Roy called to Froslass through the window, and she recognized him and floated toward the entrance.

Froslass showed Roy the results of her training with Pryce, revealing her strength and Mega Evolution to Cynthia and Glaceon. Glaceon challenged Mega Froslass, and the chapter ended as the two prepared to battle.

• Froslass reunited with Roy, and he learned she had reached level 61 after training with Pryce.
• Pryce brought Roy and Froslass to the Dynamax Arena, where Froslass unleashed a powerful Blizzard.
• Roy Mega Evolved Froslass, whose regal presence awed Glaceon and surprised Cynthia.
• Glaceon asked Cynthia to arrange a battle with Mega Froslass, and Roy accepted the challenge.
• Glaceon took her place opposite Mega Froslass as Roy and Little Absol watched.