Chapter Summaries

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.

Lance caught and trained new Pokémon before defeating Roxanne’s Rustboro Gym with help from Cynthia’s advice. Treecko evolved into Grovyle, but Lance doubted the owner’s claim that it would eventually gain the Dragon type.

• Lance trained a Caterpie until it evolved into Butterfree, then caught a Rockruff in a cave northeast of Rustboro City.
• Lance challenged Roxanne again and used Rockruff to counter Archen, eventually winning after half an hour of careful battling.
• Treecko evolved into Grovyle after the Gym battle and learned Giga Drain.
• Lance wondered when Grovyle would gain the Dragon type and questioned whether the owner had been lying to him.

After earning the Stone Badge, Lance defeated Paul after grinding his team and left for Dewford Town. He entered Granite Cave, curious about its legendary Pokémon story sequence but convinced that Legendary Pokémon were only myths.

• Lance left Rustboro Gym with the Stone Badge and TM-Rock Tomb, but Paul challenged him outside the Pokémon Center and defeated his team.
• After grinding his Pokémon three levels, Lance returned and narrowly beat Paul, then told the camera that Pokémon were partners and should not be judged by their worth.
• Lance boarded Mr. Briney's boat for Dewford Town and spotted a shipwreck, but the chat explained that he needed Surf to reach it.
• Lance arrived in Dewford Town, healed his Pokémon, and went to Granite Cave to see the story sequence about legendary Pokémon.
• Lance entered the cave while dismissing Legendary Pokémon as inventions and wondering whether they could be real.

Lance explored Granite Cave, caught Aron, and discovered Team Rocket searching for something. When the real Lance appeared in the game and drove Team Rocket away with an unfamiliar Dragon-type Pokémon, he praised the player character for reminding him of himself.

• Lance navigated the first floor of Granite Cave in under five minutes and brushed off the chat's complaints that he had not gotten lost.
• Lance caught Aron on the second floor and noted its Sturdy Ability and Steel and Ground typing.
• Lance found Team Rocket members in Granite Cave discussing a mission to retrieve something that was not there, and they confronted his character after noticing him.
• The real Lance appeared, summoned a powerful white Dragon-type Pokémon, and sent Team Rocket and their Pokémon fleeing.
• The in-game Lance introduced himself as a Kanto Elite Four member and praised the player character for reminding him of his younger self, leaving Lance surprised to be praising himself.

Lance’s game session ended after he lost to the Dewford Gym and ran out of computer time, but he earned a mystery box and an Ability Capsule. He left determined to beat the Gym and investigate Team Rocket’s base in Mauville City when he returned the next day.

• In the game, Lance received a Dragon Fang from his in-game counterpart, then became fixated on finding the white Dragon-type Pokémon he had seen.
• Lance delivered Steven’s letter, trained in the Cave, and challenged the Dewford Gym, where his team was defeated by the Gym Trainers’ Pokémon.
• Lance’s computer time expired as he tried to reload his save, and he awkwardly explained to Iono that he had stood up because his wireless mouse’s cord was tangled.
• The session results gave Lance six Internet Café Points and a blue mystery box, which contained an Ability Capsule for unlocking a Pokémon’s Hidden Ability.
• Lance told Luo Chen goodbye and left with Dragonite, while Iono remained nervous around him and Dragonite planned to practice the Outrage techniques Luo Chen had explained.

After Lance left the internet café, he ordered an investigation into a suspected Team Rocket base in Mauville City and defied Pokémon League officials who tried to stop him. Meanwhile, Iono started a livestream and chose to keep playing on easy after viewers urged her not to raise the difficulty.

• Lance returned home, sent Dragonite to practice, and learned that Cynthia had found flower seeds connected to her search.
• Lance ordered two squads to investigate a suspected Team Rocket base in Mauville City, despite a League official warning that personnel were scarce.
• Lance argued with another League official, insisting that protecting ordinary people mattered more than safeguarding the League’s headquarters or his own position.
• Iono restarted her game and livestream, greeted her viewers confidently, and thanked them for their support.
• Iono asked whether she should try the harder difficulty, but her viewers urged her to stay on easy, and Luo Chen thought it was fortunate Lance was not there to read their comments.

Iono explored the Pokémon Emerald game, caught Pikachu after a disastrous first attempt, and tried to quiz her viewers about it. The chat revealed that it knew facts and game mechanics she had never heard of, leaving her confused by references to Alola Raichu, Volt Tackle, and Z-Crystals.

• Iono explored the area around Rustboro City and followed the chat’s directions toward Dewford Town.
• Iono encountered a rare Pikachu in Petalburg Woods and failed to catch it with five Poké Balls before Pikachu knocked out Combusken and made her black out.
• Iono reloaded her save and caught Pikachu with her third Poké Ball.
• Iono asked the chat how to tell a Pikachu’s gender, and viewers correctly explained the difference in its tail shape.
• Iono answered that Pikachu evolved into Raichu, but the chat told her about Alola Raichu and questioned her about other mechanics she did not know.

Iono thanked her viewers for helping improve Levincia Gym’s streams, then finished her game session and received a mysterious USB drive. Luo Chen suspected Iono’s game module had yet to activate and prepared to give Gengar a turn at the computer.

• Iono guessed that Ma Zhide had the world’s strongest Pikachu, but her chat insisted it was the Pikachu that could zap Arceus.
• Iono thanked her viewers for their earlier streaming advice and asked how to turn her audience into fans of Levincia Gym.
• The chat suggested Gym check-in rewards, challenges, prize draws, and tournaments, and Iono resolved to try their ideas.
• Iono played through Granite Cave, defeated Brawly with Pikachu and Combusken, and reached the beach before her two-hour session ended.
• Iono received eight Internet Café Points and a Wondrous Black USB Drive that could choose music and help edit videos.
• Luo Chen concluded that Iono’s special game module might activate later, then turned his attention to Gengar, whose computer session was next.

Iono watched Gengar begin livestreaming and playing Ultimate Emerald, where his charm quickly drew a large audience. After Gengar cleared the Rustboro Gym with help from spawned items, he asked Luo Chen where he could find a Gengar in the game, and Luo Chen checked what rewards the stream had earned.

• Iono saw Gengar adapt the computer and headphones to fit him, then watched as his livestream audience surged past five hundred when he greeted viewers.
• Luo Chen told Iono that any Pokémon could use the computers and invited her to bring Bellibolt next time; Iono considered whether Bellibolt could attract viewers too.
• Gengar played Ultimate Emerald, collected items that appeared in front of him, and used them to beat the Rustboro Gym with a Combusken.
• After his computer time ended, Gengar told Luo Chen he wanted to find and battle as a Gengar, but Luo Chen explained that the nearest place was Mt. Pyre, which he could reach only later.
• Luo Chen suggested Gengar seek out other Ghost-type Pokémon in the game, then checked the rewards after Gengar's livestream passed a thousand viewers.

After Gengar’s livestream earned him a red mystery box, Luo Chen discovered it contained a Mega Stone for Mewtwo, then received special rewards from Cynthia and Iono when he closed the café. Cynthia’s reward was a map pointing to a legendary relic in Unova, far from the café on Mount Coronet, and Luo Chen turned to see what Iono’s reward was.

• Gengar opened his red mystery box and found a Mega Stone, which Luo Chen recognized as Mewtwo’s, then agreed to keep it safe for him.
• Luo Chen closed the internet café, reviewed the day’s point earnings, and received higher-tier rewards tied to Cynthia’s and Iono’s sessions.
• Cynthia’s reward gave Luo Chen a map that could locate a legendary sacred relic, though its destinations were dangerous and the map had a month-long cooldown after a treasure was obtained.
• Luo Chen activated the map and found its red marker in Unova, far across the world from his café on Mount Coronet in Sinnoh.
• Luo Chen put the map away and turned to inspect the special reward from Iono.

Luo Chen redeemed Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX, completed the internet café’s first main quest, and upgraded the café and its facilities. The café now had four computers, while Luo Chen prepared to test his upgraded Berry Juice Machine.

• Luo Chen redeemed Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX and completed the main quest, earning a B-rank treasure chest, Building Points, and an internet café level increase.
• The café expanded to twice its previous size and gained four computers, leaving Gengar stunned by the sudden change.
• Luo Chen unlocked new game and building options, then spent Building Points to obtain an Automatic Restocking Snack Cabinet.
• Luo Chen upgraded the Berry Juice Machine to Lv. 2, increasing its drink output and its chance of producing special drinks.
• Luo Chen decided to use his three additional chances to make drinks immediately.