Recaps

Lance visited Luo Chen’s internet café seeking clues about Team Rocket, but a stone from Gengar greatly strengthened his Dragon-Taming Power and sharpened his vision. After Gengar’s stream ended, it gained the Pickup Ability and produced a huge Dragon Scale, leaving Lance stunned.

• Lance absorbed the golden light from the stone and gained greatly enhanced Dragon-Taming Power, allowing him to sense distant Gible and Axew.
• Luo Chen told Lance that an internet café game contained clues about Team Rocket, so Lance waited for Gengar to finish streaming.
• Lance drank a Berry drink and discovered that he could track Lapras’s movements in a battle video and see distant Pidgey in extraordinary detail.
• Gengar’s stream ended with a B- rating and earned it a Pickup Ability Capsule as an additional reward.
• Gengar swallowed the capsule, gained the Pickup Ability, and produced a massive Dragon Scale, which Lance recognized as an extremely rare resource.

Luo Chen received an upgraded Pickup ability after Gengar found a Dragon Scale, which he let Lance keep. Lance began playing Ultimate Emerald and livestreaming, but viewers mistook his League identification for a prop.

• Gengar's Pickup ability appeared in a system notification, and Luo Chen received the upgraded ability It Ain't Mine, Nobody Wanted It.
• Luo Chen told Lance to keep the Dragon Scale, and Lance accepted it gratefully.
• Lance started Ultimate Emerald, saw a mysterious emerald-green figure, and felt his Dragon-Taming Power react.
• Lance's livestream opened as he played, and viewers assumed he was a cosplayer rather than the real Lance.
• Lance showed his Pokémon League investigator identification to prove who he was, but viewers praised it as a realistic prop and asked for a link to his cape.

Lance defended his identity as a Dragon-type Champion while playing Ultimate Emerald, then chose Treecko as his starter. After hearing that Cynthia had picked the highest difficulty, he decided to raise his own difficulty too.

• Lance objected when viewers called him a Flying-type Champion, but the chat pointed out that most of his Pokémon could fly and teased him about his past Pidgeot.
• Lance asked Luo Chen for a Dragon-type starter, and Luo Chen suggested Treecko because Grovyle could become Dragon-type after Mega Evolution.
• Lance chose Treecko despite viewers warning that it was a difficult starter, defeated the Poochyena attacking Professor Birch, and continued playing to look for clues about Team Rocket.
• Lance learned from the chat that Cynthia had chosen the highest difficulty and decided to select it himself, confident that the game would not be too hard.

Lance played Pokémon on Insane Mode, learned the hard way that his Treecko was underleveled, and struggled through Petalburg Woods. He insisted on raising only Dragon-types, leaving the story with his Treecko repeatedly fainting and the chat mocking his obsession.

• Lance set the game to Insane Mode and lost to a Level 10 Poochyena, which knocked out his Treecko in one hit.
• Lance trained Treecko to Level 10, learned Giga Drain and Quick Attack, then defeated the roadside Trainer who had beaten him.
• Lance encountered Buzzwole and Xurkitree during the Ultra Beast events, then reached Petalburg City and entered Petalburg Woods.
• Lance repeatedly lost to higher-leveled Bug- and Grass-type Pokémon in the forest and returned to the Pokémon Center three times.
• Lance ignored the chat's advice to buy Antidotes or catch another Pokémon and declared that he only wanted to train Dragon-types.

Lance encountered a Team Aqua member in Petalburg Woods and used his viewers’ comments to learn that Team Aqua planned to expand the ocean and had summoned Kyogre. After leaving the forest, he gathered items and headed to Rustboro City’s Gym, determined to progress faster than Cynthia.

• Lance met a Devon Corporation employee searching for Shroomish, then drove away a Team Aqua member who tried to steal the employee’s package.
• Lance asked his viewers about Team Aqua and learned about their goal of expanding the ocean and their connection to Kyogre, though they refused to explain what Kyogre was.
• Lance escaped Petalburg Woods, collected Berries, obtained Bullet Seed, a Burn Heal, and Wailmer’s Wailmer Pail.
• Lance heard viewers compare his progress with Cynthia’s and declared that he would advance faster than her before heading to Rustboro City’s Gym.

Lance struggled against Roxanne’s Gym in the game, where Archen defeated his Treecko in one hit, and decided to catch Pokémon of other types rather than lower the difficulty. His computer session ended before he could continue, and he saw Luo Chen obtain an even more impressive Dragon Scale.

• Lance reached Rustboro City’s Rock-type Gym and defeated its trainers with Treecko’s Giga Drain.
• Lance sent Treecko against Roxanne’s Archen, which moved first and knocked Treecko out with a super-effective Wing Attack.
• Lance realized Archen was faster than Treecko and considered lowering the difficulty, but chose to catch non-Dragon-type Pokémon instead.
• Lance’s computer session ended before he could resume the game, and he discovered that an hour had passed.
• Lance watched Luo Chen summon a Dragon Scale larger and more lustrous than the one Gengar had found.

Lance finished his internet café session with a Dragon-type reward and asked Luo Chen to meet his Dragonite before leaving. Dragonite’s unstable condition flared up, and he unleashed an attack at Luo Chen.

• Luo Chen secretly used his ability to obtain a Dragon Scale from a place Lance had visited, then hid it.
• Lance received a C- evaluation, four points, and the B-rank ability Dragon Mark, which promised him a Dragon-type Pokémon Egg in his next session.
• Luo Chen refused Lance’s request to continue playing, and Lance prepared to leave, satisfied with his gains.
• Lance released his unusually large, aggressive Dragonite after Luo Chen asked to see him.
• Luo Chen admired Dragonite, but Dragonite’s unstable state worsened and he fired a blast of blue energy at Luo Chen.

Luo Chen discovered that Lance’s Dragonite’s berserk episodes came from Outrage and cured it with a Lum Berry, then completed his first task and activated an interdimensional communicator. The communicator summoned Iono from Paldea just as she worried about saving Levincia Gym, leaving Bellibolt alone in the empty chair.

• Dragonite’s berserk attack was intercepted by the internet cafe, and Luo Chen recognized its symptoms as Outrage confusion and calmed it with a Lum Berry.
• Luo Chen explained Outrage’s side effects to Lance and gave him Lum Berries, and Lance and Dragonite promised to return the next day.
• Luo Chen completed his beginner task, unlocked the Internet Cafe Shop function, and received an Interdimensional Communicator.
• The communicator established contact with Iono while she worried about Levincia Gym’s dwindling challengers and viewers.
• White light transported Iono away, and Bellibolt noticed that his Trainer had vanished.

Iono arrived at Luo Chen’s Origin Internet Cafe, where he helped her begin streaming Pokémon Emerald and she discovered an enthusiastic audience. Meanwhile, Luo Chen unlocked the Pokémon Guest Reception Device, which could eventually let him summon special Pokémon guests.

• Iono appeared in the internet cafe without her Poké Balls, and Luo Chen introduced himself and reassured her.
• Iono explained that her Levincia Gym was struggling and asked Luo Chen to send her back, but he encouraged her to practice streaming at the cafe.
• Luo Chen opened Pokémon Emerald for Iono, and her stream quickly drew viewers who recognized her and urged her to do her signature pose.
• Iono performed the pose, warmed to the audience, and began playing while viewers suggested she build an all-Electric team and mentioned legendary Pokémon.
• Luo Chen spent his points to unlock the Pokémon Guest Reception Device, which adapted games for Pokémon and could unlock Pokémon summoning after an A+ evaluation.

Luo Chen explored the Internet Cafe’s new redemption options while Iono streamed and asked viewers for advice on improving her broadcasts. After returning to Levincia with a new Emotion Prediction ability, Iono began a fresh stream by teasing a secret to her audience.

• Luo Chen reviewed the shop’s buildings, games, and items, noting the special streamer facility and the costly rewards still beyond his reach.
• Iono asked her viewers how to become a better Gym streamer, and they offered advice on audience interaction, giveaways, and stream content.
• Iono’s one-hour session earned a B rating, 88 new followers, five Internet Café Points, a two-hour session for the next day, and the special ability Emotion Prediction.
• Luo Chen told Iono how to return to the Internet Cafe, and she vanished through its door before reappearing in Levincia with Bellibolt.
• Iono started another stream and used Emotion Prediction to change her opening, telling the small audience that she would quietly share a secret.

Iono turned her Levincia Gym stream into a success by sharing Electric-type training advice and giving away a Thunder Stone, pushing its audience past 200. The resulting reward gave Luo Chen a one-use game module, which he installed in Ultimate Emerald, and an enhanced Dragon ability with an overlooked effect that made Dragon-type Pokémon strongly favor him.

• Iono shared Electric-type training knowledge with viewers, and the stream's audience grew as the chat responded enthusiastically.
• Iono offered a high-quality Thunder Stone as a prize for a viewer who correctly answered a question and followed and liked the stream.
• Luo Chen received the Adaptive Circuit module after Iono's stream exceeded 200 viewers and installed it in Ultimate Emerald.
• Luo Chen closed the internet café and gained the S-rank ability Dragon's Friend after Lance obtained Dragon Mark.
• Luo Chen prepared to collect Berries and search for Gengar's cave, unaware that Dragon's Friend also greatly increased Dragon-type Pokémon's favorability toward him.

Luo Chen discovered that Gengar’s presence frightened away the Ursaring and other wild Pokémon, suggesting that Gengar was far stronger than he realized. Back at the internet cafe, Luo Chen built a kitchen and began cooking, while Giovanni visited the laboratory where the embryo was developing.

• Luo Chen explored Mount Coronet with Gengar, but Gengar could not explain how strong he was and left to search for Berries.
• Four Ursaring surrounded Luo Chen, then fled when they sensed Gengar approaching; Gengar returned with a Berry, unaware of what had happened.
• Luo Chen realized Gengar’s aura was likely frightening other Pokémon and gathered new kinds of Berries with him.
• Luo Chen spent his remaining three Building Points to build a Simple Kitchen and used Emotion Points to buy pork ribs.
• Giovanni entered the underground laboratory, inspected the developing embryo, and asked the researcher for a progress report.

Giovanni ordered Team Rocket to intensify its search for a faint signal near Mount Coronet while overseeing the embryo’s development. At Luo Chen’s internet café, Gengar took an interest in antiques, and Lance and Cynthia arrived early the next morning, with Cynthia revealing she had already waited three hours for the café to open.

• Giovanni learned that a weak signal had appeared near Mount Coronet in Sinnoh and ordered the researchers to find its precise location.
• Luo Chen showed Gengar an antiques appraisal program, and Gengar watched it intently.
• Luo Chen received a quest to grow the internet café by attracting guests, accumulating computer time, and redeeming a game.
• Gengar woke Luo Chen by licking his face and showed him a purple stone he had found outside.
• Luo Chen made two Dragon Scale Berry drinks and a C-rank Mixed Juice before the café opened.
• Lance arrived early with Dragonite and found Cynthia and Garchomp already waiting; Cynthia said she had been there for three hours.

Lance and Cynthia returned to Luo Chen’s internet café, where Lance thanked him for helping Dragonite and Cynthia continued exploring the game. Dragonite and Garchomp nearly fought over Luo Chen before drinks calmed them down, while Lance watched Cynthia’s helpful livestream chat and resolved to prove himself after hatching his Pokémon Egg.

• Lance told Cynthia that the tablet had greatly strengthened his Dragon-Taming Power, and Cynthia said she had found an intriguing cave in the game that might relate to legendary beings.
• Lance and Cynthia arrived at Luo Chen’s internet café, where Lance gave Luo Chen a gift in thanks for helping Dragonite recover from using Outrage.
• Dragonite and Garchomp clashed over their closeness to Luo Chen, but Luo Chen stopped the confrontation by threatening to withhold their drinks and entry to the café.
• Cynthia began streaming her game, and viewers guided her through Slateport City while Lance noticed how much more helpful her chat was than his own.
• Lance watched Cynthia play and vowed to hatch his Pokémon Egg and prove that he was a true Dragon Tamer rather than the Flying-type Champion.

Cynthia uncovered Team Aqua’s plan to expand the ocean while playing through Slateport City, and Lance verified that the game’s leader Archie matched a real man presumed dead. Lance left to alert the Pokémon League and ordered surveillance of Hoenn, while wondering what Team Rocket might be planning.

• Cynthia collected five bottles of Soda Pop from the Soda Pop House but could not afford to buy more.
• Cynthia followed the chat’s instructions to visit Slateport Shipyard and the museum, where she learned Team Aqua was searching beneath the sea and obtained TM Thief.
• Cynthia defeated two Team Aqua administrators in the museum, then encountered their leader, Archie, who declared his plan to cover the continent in seawater.
• Lance recognized the threat and called the Pokémon League to investigate Archie, learning that a man by that name from Hoenn had supposedly died in a shipwreck years earlier.
• Lance matched the old photograph of Archie to the game’s character, ordered Archie placed on the highest-priority wanted list, and sent people to watch Slateport’s shipyards and Oceanic Museum.

Cynthia continued playing Pokémon Ultimate Emerald, where she found a sealed urn tied to a Hoopa storyline, while Iono returned to the internet café and mistook Lance for a notorious villain from her history books. The chapter left Lance demanding to know where Iono had heard the bizarre account of his supposed crimes.

• Cynthia restored her Pokémon at the Slateport City PC Center and discovered a sealed urn after speaking to a strange old man.
• Cynthia obtained the Sealed Urn and learned she would need to find Sealing Rings before breaking its seal.
• Luo Chen watched Cynthia's new storyline unfold and wondered how the game would manifest for Lance and Iono.
• Iono returned to the internet café and found Cynthia, Lance, Luo Chen, and several powerful Pokémon there.
• Iono recognized Lance as the League figure from her textbooks and believed he had betrayed the League for Team Rocket two hundred years earlier.
• Lance heard Iono's account of his supposed crimes and demanded to know where she had learned such wild history.

Luo Chen reassured Iono that the Lance in his world was trustworthy, while Team Aqua prepared raids in Slateport City. Cynthia reached a punishing Rival battle in Insane Mode, where Marshtomp survived through its bond with its Trainer and defeated her Combusken.

• Luo Chen explained that Iono came from a different world and assured her that Lance was a good person and she was safe in the internet café.
• Team Aqua members confirmed their targets at the Oceanic Museum and Slateport Shipyard and prepared to strike that night.
• Cynthia explored the Trick House, obtained a Rare Candy, and encountered her Rival on the bridge.
• Cynthia battled the Rival in Insane Mode, losing most of her team while defeating his Pokémon one by one.
• The Rival’s Marshtomp survived Combusken’s Double Kick with one HP through its bond with its Trainer, then knocked Combusken out with Mud Shot.

Cynthia defeated her rival after several attempts, reached Mauville City, and prepared her team before challenging Wattson. Wattson’s Bellibolt turned out to have an Air Balloon and used Soak to change Dugtrio into a Water type, leaving Cynthia and Iono stunned.

• Cynthia reloaded her save and defeated her rival, who gave her an Itemfinder before leaving.
• Cynthia reached Mauville City, collected Rock Smash, and trained her team to the Level 27 cap, evolving Shroomish into Breloom and Diglett into Dugtrio.
• Cynthia entered the Mauville Gym and used Dugtrio to defeat the Trainers before facing Wattson.
• Wattson sent out Bellibolt, which stayed in battle despite Dugtrio’s Arena Trap Ability and avoided Magnitude with an Air Balloon.
• Bellibolt used Soak on Dugtrio, changing its type to Water and shocking Cynthia and Iono.

Cynthia restarted her battle against Wattson and devised a plan to break Bellibolt’s Air Balloon before defeating it with Dugtrio. Just as she thought the rest of the fight would be easier, Wattson sent out Eelektross, leaving Iono wondering what trick he had planned.

• Iono realized Bellibolt could use Soak and resolved to overhaul her own Bellibolt, while Cynthia restarted the battle after learning the Air Balloon could be popped by an attack.
• Cynthia led with Dottler to set up screens, but Bellibolt’s Thunderbolt nearly knocked it out and paralyzed it before it could move.
• Cynthia tried again, successfully set Reflect with Dottler, then used Mightyena’s Crunch to pop Bellibolt’s Air Balloon before Bellibolt knocked Mightyena out.
• Cynthia sent out Dugtrio, which defeated the weakened Bellibolt with Magnitude.
• Wattson sent out Eelektross, and Iono wondered how the pure Electric-type could threaten Dugtrio.

Cynthia struggled through Wattson’s Mauville Gym battle, using a carefully refined strategy to defeat his team and earn the Dynamo Badge and a Thunderbolt TM. Iono marveled at Wattson’s unconventional Electric-type Pokémon and wondered how powerful a team equipped with Thunderbolt could be.

• Cynthia’s Dugtrio’s Magnitude failed against Eelektross’s Levitate, and Eelektross knocked Dugtrio out with Giga Drain.
• Iono admired Eelektross’s unusual ability and moves and began planning to catch one for her own team.
• After repeated attempts, Cynthia developed a strategy using Dottler’s Reflect, Mightyena’s Intimidate, and Breloom to defeat Bellibolt and Eelektross.
• Cynthia used Dugtrio to defeat Wattson’s Manectric and Raichu, winning the Gym battle after half an hour.
• Wattson awarded Cynthia the Dynamo Badge, permission to use Rock Smash, and TM024: Thunderbolt.
• Cynthia realized none of her Pokémon could use Thunderbolt, while Iono wondered whether a game team could teach the move to all six Pokémon.

After Cynthia earned her third Badge, a sealed entity reached through a mysterious ring in a flower garden, but a green Pokémon drove it back. The Pokémon gave Cynthia a Gracidea that matched a flower from her memories, then the flower withered into a seed.

• After Cynthia left the Gym, the Sealed Urn flew into a garden and a giant golden-patterned arm reached through a ring of light.
• A green Pokémon attacked the arm until it released the ring and withdrew, allowing Cynthia to move again.
• Cynthia retrieved the Sealed Urn and saw that one of its five seal patterns had lit up.
• The green Pokémon gave Cynthia a Gracidea, and she recognized it as the flower from her memories of the day she met him.
• The Gracidea withered into dust, leaving Cynthia with a gray-glowing Gracidea Seed.

Cynthia ended her computer session disappointed by her low rating and lack of extra time, then received a special map that pointed to Floaroma Town in Sinnoh. Believing it could lead her to more clues about the mysterious flower, she left the internet café with Garchomp.

• Cynthia saw the livestream chat identify Shaymin and the Gracidea flower before her computer session ended.
• Cynthia received a B- rating and realized she needed to connect more with viewers instead of treating them as sources of game information.
• Cynthia received four Internet Café Points and a special Blooming Map that led to Floaroma Town in Sinnoh.
• Cynthia told Lance she had found a clue about him, said goodbye to the little girl at the café, and left with Garchomp.

Lance streamed Pokémon Emerald and received a rare egg that was supposed to hatch into a Dragon-type Pokémon. After hatching it, he discovered it was Applin, leaving him confused.

• Garchomp threatened Dragonite before leaving with Cynthia, while Dragonite smugly pulled Luo Chen closer with its tail.
• Lance began streaming and received a mysterious egg that would hatch into a random Dragon-type Pokémon.
• Lance followed a prankster viewer's instructions and released the egg, then reloaded his save and retrieved it.
• Lance learned to hatch the egg by walking and ran around Rustboro City until it began to crack.
• The egg hatched into Applin, surprising Lance.

Cynthia followed a map to a home in Floaroma Town, where an elderly woman showed her a barren flowerbed and gave her the last seed of a Gracidea Flower to try to grow. The woman asked Cynthia to bring her a bloom if she succeeded, revealing that the flower reminded her of her late husband.

• Cynthia arrived in Floaroma Town, signed an autograph for a child, and continued searching for the map's marked location.
• Cynthia found an elderly woman at a small house and asked her about Gracidea Flowers.
• The woman invited Cynthia inside, told her about her late husband, and led her to the backyard flower fields.
• The woman showed Cynthia the barren patch where Gracidea Flowers had once grown and gave her a bottle containing the last seed.
• The woman asked Cynthia to grow the flower and bring one back, explaining that her husband had once given her a golden bloom and praised her beauty.

Lance struggled to train his newly hatched Applin, whose weak stats and limited moves left him unable to challenge Archen. After learning Applin needed an evolution item whose location was unknown, Lance asked the livestream chat for early-game Pokémon recommendations.

• Lance checked Applin's Dragon/Grass typing and Ripen Ability, then took him to Petalburg Woods to train.
• Lance switched Applin out for Treecko in battles so Applin could gain experience until reaching level fifteen.
• Lance discovered Applin still knew only Astonish and Withdraw and had poor stats, leaving him worried about facing Archen.
• The livestream chat explained that Applin needed an item to evolve but could not identify where to find it in the mod.
• Lance sighed and asked the chat for recommendations for early-game Pokémon.