Recaps

Xinhai learned that the Black Wolf Gang had raised its protection fee on Orange East Village and that the gang was connected to Petalburg City’s Black Flame Team. After the village chief planned to seek help from Officer Jenny, Xinhai considered how he might respond, knowing the Black Flame Team had grown powerful after its leader obtained a gifted Shiny Charmander.

• Xinhai followed A-Cheng back to Orange East Village after A-Cheng reacted fearfully to the Black Wolf Gang’s motorcycles.
• A-Cheng told Xinhai that the gang collected protection money from nearby villages and had arrived early this year.
• A-Cheng’s family and other villagers explained that the gang had demanded a protection fee twenty percent higher than last year’s.
• The village chief told the villagers he would report the gang to Officer Jenny in Petalburg City the next morning.
• Xinhai asked A-Cheng’s father about the gang, who warned that its leader had a powerful Mightyena and that the gang had ties to the Black Flame Team.
• Xinhai reflected on the Black Flame Team’s rise and learned that its leader had obtained a gifted Shiny Charmander.

After learning that the Black Wolf Gang was tied to the Black Flame Team and intimidated local berry-growing villages, Xinhai decided to act despite the warnings of A-Cheng’s family and Nurse Joy. With his Pokémon ready to support him, he called his father and waited for a message before continuing his studies.

• Xinhai reassured A-Cheng and his parents that he would not recklessly confront the Black Wolf Gang, and A-Cheng’s father told him about its base, members, leader Iron Claw, and protection-fee scheme.
• Xinhai left A-Cheng’s home and headed back to the Pokémon Center with Ralts, promising A-Cheng not to get involved.
• Xinhai asked Nurse Joy about the Black Wolf Gang and learned of its ties to the Black Flame Team and Iron Claw’s dangerous Mightyena.
• Xinhai considered what to do with his Pokémon, then decided to follow his wishes and told them they had something to do later.
• Xinhai called his father, Yantai Bai Mu, received a message a few minutes later, and returned to his studies.

Xinhai disguised himself and entered Petalburg City's Black Market with Mightyena, following directions from his father. After seeing the caged Pokémon and illicit goods inside, he found the secluded shop he had come to visit and knocked on its door.

• Xinhai changed into black training clothes, swallowed a voice-altering pill, put on a Gengar mask, and released Mightyena.
• Xinhai and Mightyena reached the Black Market entrance hidden behind Old Zhang's General Goods Repair and used the knock pattern his father had provided.
• Xinhai paid the entry fee to the Black Flame Team guards and entered the market.
• Xinhai walked past stalls selling caged Pokémon, Eggs, potions, and other goods while Mightyena stayed close beside him.
• Xinhai found a secluded shop with a black wooden door and knocked; footsteps approached, and the door opened.

Xinhai learned that the Black Wolf Gang likely served the Black Flame Team and decided to wait for support rather than confront them alone. He returned to Orange East Village, helped A-Cheng with the Berry orchard, and joined the villagers as they awaited the village chief’s report from Officer Jenny.

• Xinhai paid three information brokers and learned that the Black Wolf Gang likely answered to the Black Flame Team and extorted nearby villages on its behalf.
• Xinhai left the Black Market and decided at an inn that he needed to wait for support before facing the gang.
• Xinhai visited A-Cheng and helped patrol the Berry orchard while their Pokémon chased away Wurmple and trained.
• The village chief returned from meeting Officer Jenny and told the gathered villagers that he had explained the Black Wolf Gang’s twenty-percent increase in its cut.

After Officer Jenny offered only increased patrols and surveillance against the Black Wolf Gang, the village chief posted a C-rank Mission to hire two Advanced Trainers to protect Orange East Village’s harvest. Xinhai suspected the ten-day protection might bring risks after the Trainers left, but he learned no more about the chief’s plans and resolved to stick to his original plan.

• The village chief told the gathered villagers that Officer Jenny required evidence before taking action against the Black Wolf Gang.
• The village chief revealed he had posted a C-rank Mission using the village’s emergency reserves to hire two Advanced Trainers for the ten-day berry harvest.
• The villagers took heart from the mission, while Xinhai worried the gang might retaliate once the Trainers departed.
• Xinhai went to lunch with A-Cheng and noticed A-Cheng’s father remained troubled after speaking with the village chief.
• A-Cheng’s father said families would take turns guarding the orchards at night, and Xinhai decided to stick to his original plan.

Xinhai and A-Cheng trained their Pokémon in Petalburg Woods, where Combusken pushed its left leg against a wire but failed to break it. At the Pokémon Center, Xinhai received two Elite-level Pokémon, Rapidash and Quagsire, from his father and decided to keep them hidden, especially from the Black Flame Team.

• Xinhai and A-Cheng trained their Pokémon, and Combusken repeatedly kicked against a wire with its left leg.
• Combusken failed to break the wire, and Xinhai checked its leg before recalling it to rest.
• Xinhai and A-Cheng ended training and went their separate ways in Petalburg City.
• At the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy gave Xinhai a package from his father.
• Xinhai found Poké Balls containing Rapidash and Quagsire and decided not to reveal their strength or confront the Black Flame Team directly.

Xinhai prepared for a nighttime mission after Nurse Joy warned him that Petalburg City might soon become dangerous. Suspecting the Black Wolf Gang was about to face trouble, he disguised himself and reached its guarded warehouse hideout to investigate.

• Xinhai collected his recovered Pokémon and thanked Nurse Joy, who warned him to stay safe because Petalburg City might not be peaceful.
• Xinhai connected the village chief’s request for Advanced Trainers with Nurse Joy’s warning and suspected something was about to happen to the Black Wolf Gang and the Black Flame Team.
• Xinhai equipped himself at an inn, changed into a disguise, and left his backpack hidden beneath the bed.
• Xinhai summoned Mightyena and followed it through the northwestern district toward the abandoned warehouse area.
• Xinhai spotted four guards and their Pokémon at the main entrance, then circled the perimeter and found two more guards at the rear entrance.

Xinhai and his Pokémon infiltrated the Black Wolf Gang’s compound and silently subdued its guards. They left five sentries unconscious while remaining alert for further threats.

• Xinhai chose a damaged section of the right wall and had Ralts sense the area before leading his Pokémon inside.
• Ralts detected two nearby guards, and Xinhai’s group crept toward them through abandoned debris.
• Ralts warned Xinhai about a hidden Zubat and Poochyena as well as a Machop guarding the two Black Wolf Gang members.
• Ralts incapacitated the Zubat, Eevee put the Poochyena to sleep, and Ralts knocked out the two men and Machop with Confusion.
• Xinhai checked that the guards would remain unconscious and ordered Mightyena and Combusken to watch for danger.

Xinhai interrogated two Black Wolf Gang patrolmen and learned the gang's strength and the location of its boss. After preparing his Pokémon and boosting Rapidash with Combusken and Eevee's power, he charged toward the gang's central warehouse.

• Xinhai captured and questioned two patrolmen, learning that twenty-three gang members were on duty and that their boss was in the blue-roofed central warehouse.
• The patrolmen identified the boss's Pokémon and three trusted enforcers, while Xinhai judged their answers truthful and had Ralts erase their memories before tying them up.
• Xinhai fed his Pokémon high-quality Pokéblocks, released Rapidash, and ordered the group to follow their plan.
• Combusken and Eevee boosted their abilities, then used Baton Pass to transfer their enhancements to Rapidash.
• Xinhai mounted Rapidash with Eevee and Ralts concealed beneath his cloak and charged toward the central warehouse, alerting the district with Rapidash's overwhelming Presence.

Xinhai and Rapidash defeated the Black Wolf Gang, while a Black Flame Team officer escaped from the warehouse. Xinhai questioned the gang boss and found the gang’s stored resources, but the chapter ended before he decided what to do with them.

• The Black Wolf Gang panicked as Xinhai approached, and the boss rallied his captains to confront him.
• Xinhai ordered Rapidash to use a restrained Flamethrower, incapacitating the gang’s Pokémon without killing them.
• Ralts warned Xinhai that a powerful Pokémon was escaping through a rear passage, so Xinhai let the Black Flame Team officer flee and demanded the gang boss identify himself.
• Xinhai made the gang recall their Pokémon and put the boss and his men to sleep with Sleep Powder.
• The boss told Xinhai that the escaped officer, codenamed Dire Wolf, had delivered instructions to the gang.
• Xinhai followed the boss to the warehouse and inspected its supplies, cash, and gold bars, then asked whether that was everything.

Xinhai forced the Black Wolf Gang leader to reveal his hidden stash, then took the gang’s resources and left evidence about the Black Flame Team for the police. After he departed, the International Police’s Night Owl team arrived and reported the raid to Officer Jenny.

• Xinhai took an anonymous bank card and cash from the Black Wolf Gang leader, then uncovered a hidden drawer compartment containing more cash and two Type Gem Fragments.
• Xinhai exposed a wall safe and had Ralts use Hypnosis on the leader to open it, finding more money, a Dark Stone, a Water Stone, and documents about the Black Flame Team.
• Xinhai collected the gang’s resources, left the documents with its unconscious members, called the Petalburg City police station, and rode away on Rapidash.
• Night Owl and his International Police team arrived, inspected the scene, and noted that the Black Wolf Gang members were incapacitated and the supplies were gone.
• Night Owl told Officer Jenny about the unidentified Trainer’s raid, the evidence left behind, and the escape of Black Flame Team officer Dire Wolf, then agreed to take the gang members into custody.

Officer Jenny and Gym Leader Norman launched a League assault on the Black Market after an unidentified Trainer wiped out a Black Wolf Gang stronghold and left evidence of Black Flame Team crimes. Norman rushed to confront an Elite-level Black Flame Team member who had annihilated the Seventeenth Tactical Squad, and the chapter ended as he arrived with Gallade.

• Night Owl ordered his team to collect combat data and recover everyone after Xinhai vanished.
• Officer Jenny reported the Black Wolf Gang stronghold's destruction and the recovered evidence to Norman, who ordered the operation to begin.
• League forces stormed the Black Market, clashing with Black Flame Team members as Officer Jenny oversaw the assault.
• The Seventeenth Tactical Squad encountered an Elite-level opponent, lost contact, and vanished from the command-center display.
• Norman disappeared from the command center and arrived with Gallade at South E, where a masked Black Flame Team member waited atop a dark Charizard amid the squad's scorched remains.

Gym Leader Norman confronted Black Flame in the Black Market, where their Elite-level Pokémon clashed beneath Ninetales’s blazing “Little Sun.” Xinhai watched the battle from a rooftop as both sides launched attacks, and the fight remained underway.

• Norman summoned Slaking, Linoone, and Swellow to join Gallade against Black Flame and Dark Charizard.
• Black Flame brought out Camerupt, Houndoom, and Ninetales, whose “Little Sun” illuminated the Black Market and much of Petalburg City.
• Xinhai sensed the pressure, rushed to the Black Market, and watched the standoff from a rooftop with binoculars.
• Black Flame ordered a combined assault, but Norman’s Pokémon countered it, with Slaking’s Hyper Beam breaking apart Charizard’s Blast Burn.
• Houndoom intercepted Linoone while Ninetales strengthened Camerupt with Helping Hand, and their battle continued.

Norman and Slaking stopped Matsuba Taro’s attack, but Taro revealed that Matsuba Jiro had joined the battle and attacked from behind. Kato Rin appeared alongside Norman, exposing the Matsuba brothers’ deception, and both sides brought out more Elite-level Pokémon as the melee was about to begin.

• Slaking redirected Matsuba Taro’s Eruption and helped thwart his attacks on the Sunny weather, while Norman identified the masked Black Flame as Matsuba Taro.
• Matsuba Taro launched a surprise Solar Beam at Norman, but Gallade blocked it and Norman released Pidgeot, Ursaring, and Stantler.
• Matsuba Jiro emerged with an Elite-level Vileplume, and Norman revealed that he had already uncovered the Matsuba brothers’ deception with Kato Rin.
• Kato Rin and his Elite-level Alakazam appeared beside Norman, shocking Matsuba Jiro and Matsuba Taro.
• Matsuba Taro sent out an Elite-level Magmar and Torkoal, while Matsuba Jiro released Cherrim, Exeggutor, Jumpluff, Whimsicott, and Venusaur.

Kato Rin revealed his powerful Pokémon and confronted Matsuba Taro and Matsuba Jiro, who explained how the League’s past betrayals and injustice drove their family to seize control of Petalburg City. Kato Rin and Norman listened in silence, acknowledging that the League’s early history included real abuses.

• Kato Rin sent out his Elite-level Arcanine, Rapidash, and Volcarona, along with his Champion-level otherworldly-flame Charizard, shifting the battle decisively in the League’s favor.
• Kato Rin condemned Matsuba Taro and Matsuba Jiro for betraying the League, harming civilians and colleagues, and planning a large-scale disaster.
• Matsuba Taro and Matsuba Jiro accused the League of betraying their family, recounting how their great-uncle was murdered in internal power struggles and their grandfather was denied a Gym position.
• Matsuba Taro revealed that he faked his death to establish the Black Flame Team and claimed Petalburg City should be ruled by the Matsuba Family.
• Kato Rin and Norman listened without responding as the brothers described the League’s history of internal injustice.

Kato Rin and Norman condemned the Matsuba Brothers’ crimes as the League sealed the Black Market inside an Energy Isolation Barrier. The Matsuba Brothers launched a coordinated assault that concentrated overwhelming Fire-type attacks on Norman, who called on his Pokémon and allies to strengthen their side.

• Kato Rin and Norman rejected the Matsuba Brothers’ grievances as justification for their crimes and declared that the Matsuba Family had to end.
• The League raised an Energy Isolation Barrier around the Black Market, trapping everyone inside while the Matsuba Brothers prepared to fight.
• Matsuba Taro ordered an attack, and Whimsicott gathered Fire-type energy to empower the Matsuba Brothers’ Fire-type Pokémon.
• The Matsuba Brothers coordinated boosted attacks, including Dark Charizard’s Fire Spin and Camerupt’s Eruption, to target Norman and block his escape.
• Norman ordered Helping Hand and Hurricane as Slaking, Stantler, Linoone, Gallade, and Ursaring began strengthening Kato Rin’s and Norman’s Pokémon.

Norman and Kato Rin led their Pokémon in unleashing the Lava Storm, overwhelming the Matsuba Brothers’ desperate counterattack and erasing them and their Pokémon. The storm struck the Black Market’s energy barrier, which held, leaving the League victorious and the battlefield silent.

• Ursaring empowered Volcarona as Norman coordinated Pidgeot and Swellow to create a colossal Twister.
• Kato Rin directed Volcarona, Charizard, Arcanine, and Rapidash as they fused their flames into the Lava Storm.
• The Matsuba Brothers used Torkoal, Ninetales, and Exeggutor to gather their Pokémon’s Solar Beams into a miniature sun, but the Lava Storm tore it apart and absorbed it.
• The Matsuba Brothers’ Pokémon surrounded them with Protect barriers, but the Lava Storm swallowed them all without a trace.
• The Lava Storm carved a vitrified trench before crashing into the Black Market’s energy barrier, which held as Norman and Kato Rin stood amid the ruins.

After the Matsuba Family’s defeat, Matsuba Taro used his final words to warn Kato Rin and Norman that the League was corrupt and the regions faced chaos within ten years. Kato Rin lowered the Barrier, and League teams began treating the wounded and recovering the dead.

• Xinhai fled the rooftop with his Pokémon after witnessing the devastating Lava Storm.
• Kato Rin and Norman found Matsuba Jiro dead, Matsuba Taro barely alive, and Gengar fading away after its final look at the brothers.
• Kato Rin gave Matsuba Taro medicine, and Matsuba Taro warned Norman to grow stronger and predicted the League would collapse amid rising regional unrest.
• Norman closed Matsuba Taro’s eyes, and Kato Rin ordered the Barrier deactivated.
• League medical and engineering teams entered the Black Market to treat the wounded, clear dangerous ruins, recover the fallen, and inspect the Barrier generators.

After the League dismantled the Black Flame Team, Chairman Miyakawa arranged for the recovered Pokémon of the Matsuba Family to retire and ensured their descendants could live safely. Xinhai watched the League’s announcement and set out for Orange East Village to find A-Cheng.

• Kato Rin ordered League personnel to search the Black Market ruins for evidence connected to the Black Flame Team and the Matsuba Family.
• Investigator Ito reported that seven Matsuba Family Pokémon had been recovered, while a Gengar had died protecting the Matsuba brothers.
• Chairman Miyakawa said the League had blurred the Matsuba descendants’ memories and arranged their inheritance, then directed Ito to take the seven Pokémon to the Life Sanctuary.
• Xinhai watched the news report the destruction of the Black Flame Team and recalled the battle’s devastating purple-gold lava storm.
• Xinhai gathered Eevee and Ralts and left for Orange East Village to find A-Cheng.

Xinhai returned to Orange East Village, where A-Cheng celebrated the League’s defeat of the Black Flame Team and Black Wolf Gang before joining Xinhai for training. In Petalburg Woods, Xinhai began a new mental training method for Combusken by temporarily giving her Sandile’s Moxie Ability.

• Xinhai heard the villagers celebrate that the League had eliminated the Black Flame Team and Black Wolf Gang.
• A-Cheng told Xinhai he wanted to train to become strong enough to fight evil, while A-Dou stayed behind after A-Cheng promised to buy him an Eevee someday.
• Xinhai and A-Cheng took their Pokémon to the familiar clearing in Petalburg Woods and began training.
• Xinhai had Ralts swap Sandile’s Moxie Ability onto Combusken so she could experience the confidence that followed victory.
• Combusken felt her confidence surge, and Xinhai explained that the method was meant to help awaken her hidden potential.

Xinhai trained Combusken to use Moxie's confidence to strengthen its kicks and taught Sandile to turn Speed Boost into momentum for stronger bites. Ralts then sensed an unfamiliar Pokémon with weak psychic fluctuations downstream, and Xinhai went to investigate.

• Xinhai watched Combusken use Moxie to kick the wire with greater confidence and power.
• Xinhai reflected on mental training and concluded that will and belief could help Pokémon unleash greater strength.
• Xinhai taught Sandile to build up speed and channel its momentum into its Bite, making its attacks more powerful.
• Ralts sensed an unfamiliar Pokémon with weak psychic fluctuations near aquatic plants downstream and alerted Xinhai.

Xinhai discovered a severely starved and emotionally numb Feebas in a stream and captured it to save its life. He used a Water Stone to stabilize its body, but Feebas remained hollow and unresponsive.

• Ralts sensed a strange Pokémon downstream, and Xinhai found a Feebas near death in the creek.
• Xinhai caught Feebas without resistance and hurried back to the clearing for emergency treatment.
• Xinhai placed a low-quality Water Stone in stream water to infuse it with Water type energy, then released Feebas into the basin.
• Feebas’s condition stabilized and it opened its eyes, but it showed no awareness or emotion.
• Ralts confirmed that Feebas’s mind remained numb and empty.

Xinhai left the recovering Feebas in Ralts’s care and continued training with his Pokémon. He helped Combusken awaken the power of its will, then began training its other leg as Combusken struggled to sustain that strength.

• Xinhai placed Feebas beside the stream and asked Ralts to monitor it while it absorbed the Water Stone’s energy.
• Xinhai stopped Combusken’s kicking practice and told it to focus on the will to smash through every obstacle.
• Combusken channeled its strength and determination into a kick that snapped the special wire.
• Xinhai praised Combusken, gave it Pokéblocks, massaged its left leg, and set up a new wire for its right leg.
• Combusken began kicking with its right leg, but Xinhai noticed that the power of its will fluctuated between strikes.

Xinhai trained Combusken to make its will-infused kicks instinctive, then checked on his companions and helped them recover. He taught A-Cheng proper massage techniques for Rattata, leaving A-Cheng determined to care for it better.

• Combusken broke the wire with a will-infused kick, and Xinhai continued drilling it until it could hold the focused state longer.
• Xinhai checked on Ralts and Feebas, then praised Sandile's Bite training and massaged it after giving it Energy Cubes.
• Xinhai gave Energy Cubes and massages to Eevee and Mightyena, and rewarded Zigzagoon for bringing him a glass bead.
• Xinhai praised Rattata's Crunch practice and gave A-Cheng an Energy Cube for it.
• Xinhai taught A-Cheng massage techniques suited to Rattata and explained that proper care supported healthy training.

Xinhai brought the severely weakened Feebas to the Petalburg City Pokémon Center, where Nurse Joy found it physically injured and psychologically shut off. He decided to catch Feebas and agreed to Nurse Joy’s week-long treatment plan before taking it home.

• Xinhai ended training with A-Cheng, checked Combusken, and recalled Feebas after using the Low-Quality Water Stone to stabilize it.
• Xinhai and A-Cheng left Petalburg Woods, and Xinhai headed to Petalburg City with Eevee and Ralts.
• Xinhai asked Nurse Joy to treat Feebas, Combusken, and Sandile, emphasizing Feebas’s critical physical and mental condition.
• Nurse Joy examined Feebas and reported severe starvation, internal injuries, and deep psychological trauma that conventional treatment alone could not resolve.
• Xinhai decided to catch Feebas, and Nurse Joy arranged a week of treatment and monitoring before he took it home.