Chapter Summaries

Lin Hao had Charizard pretend to struggle against Wataru Kaze’s Dragonite before decisively defeating it with Seismic Toss in the Indigo Plateau Top Eight battles. As Lin Hao headed for the cafeteria with May, the reigning Kanto League Champion, Lance, stopped him to comment on Charizard.

• May warned Lin Hao that Wataru Kaze was a member of the Dragon Tamer Family and would bring his powerful Dragonite to their battle.
• Lin Hao told his Pokémon to stay out of the match and instructed Charizard to make the fight look close before winning.
• At the Indigo Plateau arena, Wataru sent out Dragonite and ordered it to attack Charizard with Hyper Beam and Dragon Rush.
• Charizard pretended to be pushed back by Hyper Beam, then caught Dragonite during Dragon Rush and knocked it out with Seismic Toss.
• Lin Hao left the arena with May and complained that he was hungry.
• Lance stopped Lin Hao in a passage and praised Charizard, but Lin Hao said he was in a hurry to reach the cafeteria.

Lin Hao defeated James and his Victreebel in the quarterfinals, then learned James was a Team Rocket member competing for prize money. James warned Lin Hao that Team Rocket had targeted him and that he should be careful that night.

• Lance told Lorelei to keep a close eye on Lin Hao after Lorelei reported that his background was a blank slate.
• May told Lin Hao that his quarterfinal opponent was James, an ordinary trainer who had reached the quarterfinals with his Pokémon.
• Lin Hao defeated James’s Victreebel after Pikachu endured Razor Leaf, countered Acid with Thunderbolt, and blew Poison Powder back at it.
• James thanked Lin Hao for going easy on Victreebel and confessed to Lin Hao and May that he was a Team Rocket member competing for the five-million prize.
• James warned Lin Hao that Team Rocket had set its sights on him and told him to be careful that night.

Lin Hao turned Team Rocket’s midnight assassination attempt into a bounty opportunity, capturing six intruders with Greninja and Pikachu. After May learned they would split the bounty, she discovered Lin Hao’s semifinal opponent was a League Hidden Examiner with a powerful Shiny Metagross.

• May warned Lin Hao that Team Rocket’s assassination squad was targeting him, but he focused on the League bounties for capturing them.
• At midnight, Lin Hao waited in the dark with May and Pikachu while Greninja counted six intruders outside the balcony.
• Six Team Rocket elites entered the suite, but Greninja swiftly knocked out their Pokémon and Pikachu blocked their escape.
• Lin Hao forced the intruders to hand over their valuables, then tied them up and told May to collect the bounty and split it with him.
• May received notice that Lin Hao’s semifinal opponent was a League Hidden Examiner personally assigned by President Charles Goodshow, who had a powerful Shiny Metagross.

Lin Hao and Pikachu defeated Iron Defense’s Shiny Metagross in the Indigo Plateau semifinals, advancing to the final. That night, Charles Goodshow ordered May to uncover Lin Hao’s last trump card before the final and warned her that someone was watching her.

• May explained that Iron Defense was a veteran Elite Four-level examiner with a Shiny Metagross known for its unmatched defense, but Lin Hao insisted Pikachu would fight.
• At Central Stadium, Iron Defense sent out Metagross and attacked Pikachu with Meteor Mash, but Pikachu blocked the blow and stayed standing.
• Lin Hao ordered Pikachu to use a lightning-enhanced Mega Punch, and Pikachu shattered Metagross’s armor and knocked it unconscious with one hit.
• The referee declared Lin Hao the winner, sending him to the finals as the stadium erupted in cheers.
• That night, Charles Goodshow called May and ordered her to discover Lin Hao’s last trump card, warning that someone was watching her.

As the championship final approached, May and Giovanni tried to learn more about Lin Hao’s Pokémon, while Team Galactic began watching him for signs of Legendary Pokémon. Red warned Lin Hao that Team Galactic believed he had one, leaving the threat hanging over the final.

• Lance ordered May to find out what Pokémon Lin Hao had beyond Pikachu, Charizard, and Greninja before the final.
• Giovanni reprimanded Apollo for attacking Lin Hao and ordered Team Rocket’s science division to bring an energy collector to the final.
• May questioned Lin Hao about his Pokémon, but he denied having any beyond the three already known and refused to reveal more.
• Red drove off a Team Galactic scout who asked about Lin Hao and his unusual energy fluctuations.
• Red told Lin Hao that Team Galactic was seeking Legendary Pokémon and believed Lin Hao had one.

Lin Hao stopped a Team Rocket and Team Galactic attack on the Indigo Plateau because he wanted to protect his five-million tournament prize. After capturing the attackers and collecting their bounty, he learned the final would proceed as scheduled and that his opponent had a team of Pseudo-Legendaries.

• Lin Hao left with May for the Main Stadium after learning that an attack might cancel the final and cost him his prize money.
• Lin Hao confronted Apollo and Jupiter as their combined squad planted bombs in the stadium, then sent Pikachu and Greninja to defeat their Pokémon.
• Lin Hao ordered Pikachu to use Thunder, knocking out the retreating attackers, and had May tie them up so he could claim their bounties.
• Lance arrived with League Elites, and Lin Hao demanded payment for the captured villains while Charles Goodshow confirmed the final would still happen.
• Lance told Lin Hao that his opponent was a lunatic with an entire team of Pseudo-Legendaries.

Lin Hao defeated Tatsuya’s all-Pseudo-Legendary team in the Indigo League final while his Pokémon pretended to struggle for the crowd. After the match, Steven and Cynthia praised Lin Hao, and Cynthia pointed out that Legendary Pokémon willingly hid in his shadow.

• Lin Hao dismissed Tatsuya’s challenge and demanded that Charles Goodshow have his prize money ready.
• At the Indigo League final, Tatsuya sent out Tyranitar, but Pikachu faked being badly hurt before knocking it out with Iron Tail.
• Tatsuya’s Garchomp fought Greninja, which pretended to tire before defeating Garchomp with Water Shuriken.
• Tatsuya sent out Salamence, and Charizard staged an even clash before defeating it with Fire Blast.
• The referee declared Lin Hao the tournament champion, and Steven and Cynthia stopped him afterward to praise his strength.

After winning five million League Coins, Lin Hao learned that May had been ordered to spy on him, but she destroyed the Communicator and chose to stay by his side. Charles Goodshow then called to say the League was sending Lin Hao a bill, leaving him anxious about the email.

• Charles Goodshow gave Lin Hao the five-million-League-Coin championship prize, and Lin Hao headed back to the hotel with May.
• May showed Lin Hao the League’s orders to watch him, investigate his Legendary Pokémon, and use seduction if necessary.
• May told Lin Hao she would not betray him, smashed the encrypted Communicator, and offered to become his bodyguard in exchange for room and board.
• Lin Hao agreed to let May travel with him, provided she paid for takeout.
• Charles Goodshow called Lin Hao about a bill, and Lin Hao opened an email that made his hand tremble.

Lin Hao discovered that damage caused during the Indigo League cost nearly all his winnings, so he fled Kanto with May for Johto. They arrived in Violet City, where Lin Hao planned to eat barbecue and sleep, while strange auras stirred his Pokémon and Arceus's scale.

• Lin Hao and May learned the Indigo League's repair bill totaled 4.9 million, leaving Lin Hao furious and nearly broke.
• Lin Hao decided to flee Kanto and avoid returning to Pallet Town because Team Rocket and Team Galactic might be waiting there.
• Red gave Lin Hao tickets to Johto and a new Pokédex for collecting Pokémon data, then left by smashing through a hallway window with Charizard.
• Lin Hao and May boarded a cruise ship, and Arceus's scale began glowing as Groudon, Kyogre, and Mewtwo sensed powerful or hateful auras in Johto.
• The ship arrived in Violet City the following afternoon, and Lin Hao set out to find barbecue and a soft bed.

Lin Hao and May struggled to find lodging in crowded Violet City, then spent the night sharing a bed at a run-down inn. The next morning, May ordered Lin Hao to investigate reported Team Galactic activity, and he headed toward the Bell Tower mainly because it promised plenty of snacks.

• Lin Hao and May ate an expensive barbecue meal before discovering that Violet City's inns were full for the Bell Tower festival.
• Lin Hao rented the last room at an old inn, where he and May argued over sharing its one big bed.
• May wrote in her work notebook about Lin Hao's poor vigilance, and they slept in the same bed without incident.
• May told Lin Hao that Champion Lance had reported signs of Team Galactic activity and threatened to expose his financial trouble until he agreed to investigate.
• Lin Hao and May set out through Violet City, and Lin Hao chose to check the area around the golden ancient tower for its snack stalls.

Lin Hao and May investigated reports of Ho-Oh sightings at the Bell Tower, where a false Rainbow Wing and unexplained bell ringing suggested someone was impersonating the Legendary Pokémon. When the bells suddenly rang again and Mewtwo detected foreign law energy, May rushed toward the tower’s locked upper level with Lin Hao following.

• Lin Hao concealed Ho-Oh inside his cap while May tried to persuade him to visit the Bell Tower and investigate a recent sighting.
• A witness’s story and photographs described seven-colored light, a falling feather, and bells ringing at the tower; Ho-Oh told Lin Hao the feather was a forged imitation.
• May used her League Investigator credentials to question the tower keeper, who reported nightly bell ringing and broken surveillance equipment.
• The tower keeper said the seven-colored light would appear again during the evening ceremony, and May secured Lin Hao’s agreement to investigate by promising him barbecue.
• The bells rang chaotically before the ceremony, and Mewtwo detected abnormal energy involving laws from another world at the tower’s top.
• May charged up the stairs toward the locked upper level and ordered Lin Hao to follow.

Lin Hao and May left the Bell Tower after its keeper barred them from investigating during the day, then Lin Hao challenged the Violet Gym for travel benefits and a promised meal. He won the Zephyr Badge with Pikachu and accepted a pass to that night's tower ceremony, where Janine warned that someone was searching for something dangerous.

• The tower keeper refused to let Lin Hao and May climb the Bell Tower during the day, so they agreed to return at night.
• May told Lin Hao that the Violet Gym was accepting challengers, and he agreed to go after learning badges could earn travel subsidies.
• Janine, filling in for Falkner, challenged Lin Hao to a one-on-one battle and promised him a meal if he won.
• Pikachu dodged Fearow's Aerial Ace and knocked it out with a casual tail swipe, earning Lin Hao the Zephyr Badge.
• Janine gave Lin Hao and May passes to the Bell Tower's nighttime blessing ceremony and warned that someone was searching for something they should not find.

Janine warned Lin Hao and May that Team Galactic planned to use a replica of the Ancient Bell at Bell Tower to summon a dangerous projection of Ho-Oh. When Janine revealed that Cyrus had become the festival’s sponsor, Lin Hao recognized the danger and agreed to go to the tower.

• Janine showed Lin Hao and May a family heirloom that had grown hot when Lin Hao entered the Gym, and Ho-Oh recognized its mark as one it had left long ago.
• Janine told them Team Galactic had arrived in Violet City three days earlier and was targeting the Ancient Bell inside Bell Tower.
• Janine explained that ringing the real bell with a replica could summon a warped Ho-Oh projection and threaten the city.
• Janine offered Lin Hao and May passes to enter Bell Tower during the blessing ceremony, but Lin Hao initially refused and said he wanted to sleep.
• Janine revealed that the festival sponsor had been replaced by a man from Sinnoh, and Lin Hao identified him as Cyrus before heading for Bell Tower with May.

Lin Hao and May traveled to Ecruteak City after Janine traced a strange Ho-Oh-related disturbance there. Chizuru, the manager of Dancer Hall, warned that spirits had marked Lin Hao and would seek him out that night.

• Janine told Lin Hao and May that the source of the disturbance was in Ecruteak City, then stayed behind to watch Sprout Tower.
• Lin Hao and May rode a bus to Ecruteak City, where Lin Hao stopped for dumplings before they headed toward Dancer Hall.
• Chizuru introduced herself and recognized the unusual presence associated with Lin Hao's hat.
• Chizuru warned that something would stir near the bell tower and seek people carrying Ho-Oh's scent, so Lin Hao tried to leave.
• Lin Hao discovered a glowing red thread tied to his shoelace, and Chizuru warned him not to close his eyes that night.

Lin Hao challenged Ecruteak Gym Leader Morty and won the Ghost Badge with Greninja. Morty then warned that something sealed beneath Bell Tower was imitating Ho-Oh’s aura to lure it out, and that Lin Hao was connected to its awakening.

• Lin Hao and May entered Ecruteak Gym, where Morty recognized Lin Hao as the Kanto Champion and challenged him to a battle in the dark.
• Morty sent out Gengar, which used Hypnosis, Shadow Sneak, Shadow Punch, and Curse against Greninja.
• Lin Hao ordered Greninja to scatter Water Shuriken across the gym, exposing Gengar, and Greninja defeated it with Shadow Claw.
• Morty awarded Lin Hao the Ghost Badge and questioned Greninja’s unusual strength and resistance to Curse.
• Morty stopped Lin Hao and May as they left, warning that something sealed beneath Bell Tower was mimicking Ho-Oh’s aura and that Lin Hao was connected to its awakening.

When Ancient Remnants terrorized Ecruteak City, Lin Hao sent Mewtwo’s psychic power across the street to destroy them while May evacuated the residents. The crisis ended, but the sealed presence beneath Bell Tower sensed Mewtwo’s aura.

• May woke Lin Hao after ghostly cries and purple mist began spreading through the inn and Ecruteak City.
• Lin Hao learned from Mewtwo that the apparitions drained people’s psychic power and told May to evacuate the residents while he stayed behind.
• May used Furret and Light Screen to protect residents, but Furret’s Shadow Ball passed through an apparition without harming it.
• Mewtwo spread psychic power across the street and destroyed the Ancient Remnants with Psyshock.
• May returned to the inn and suspected Lin Hao was hiding his connection to powerful Pokémon, but Lin Hao went back to sleep without explaining.
• A bronze bell rang faintly near Bell Tower as the presence sealed there sensed Mewtwo’s aura.

Lin Hao told May that he had powerful Pokémon and trusted her to keep his secret after she confronted him about the psychic power from the previous night. As they prepared to visit Bell Tower, Morty warned them that Cyrus had appeared nearby with Team Galactic.

• May questioned Lin Hao about the voice and psychic power she sensed the previous night, and Lin Hao admitted that he had powerful Pokémon he needed to keep secret.
• May promised not to reveal Lin Hao's secret, and he trusted her because she had smashed her Communicator rather than betray him for money.
• Lin Hao and May headed out for breakfast, where May said she would stand by him no matter what happened.
• May warned Lin Hao that Bell Tower was closing for a blessing ceremony and that the sealed presence might act, but Lin Hao said someone else was more anxious than he was.
• Lin Hao showed May Morty's message that Team Galactic had appeared near Bell Tower, and May realized their leader was Cyrus.

Lin Hao and May avoided Cyrus and detoured to Azalea Town, where Lin Hao freed and healed a wounded Steelix controlled by Team Rocket devices. May seized the experiment records, and they headed to the town’s Gym while a girl spread word that Lin Hao had healed Steelix.

• Lin Hao refused to confront Cyrus and took May to Azalea Town instead of going to Bell Tower.
• A wounded Steelix pursued a Team Rocket researcher through town, and Lin Hao stayed behind to stop it while May chased the researcher.
• Lin Hao used Mewtwo’s help to deactivate Steelix’s control devices and heal its wounds, then let it return to the mountains.
• May brought back the researcher and confiscated the experiment records, which revealed that Team Rocket was modifying nearby Shelgon and Onix.
• Pikachu destroyed the capture-site master controller, and May and Lin Hao set off to battle the Gym before dark.
• A girl who had watched Lin Hao heal Steelix ran into town to tell her mother.

Lin Hao defeated Bugsy at the Azalea Gym and accepted a photo with his fan before leaving with May. At the station, May revealed that Team Rocket had at least seven experimental sites across Johto, sending Lin Hao and May toward Goldenrod City.

• Lin Hao defeated Bugsy's Heracross with Charmeleon's Flamethrower and received the Bug Badge.
• Bugsy asked Lin Hao for a photo, and Lin Hao agreed to a picture that hid most of his face.
• Bugsy posted the photo online, and it spread to Kanto League headquarters, where Charles Goodshow told Lance to monitor Lin Hao without making contact.
• May received intel from Morty that Team Rocket had at least seven experimental sites in Johto, including locations near Goldenrod City, Cianwood City, and Blackthorn City.
• Lin Hao and May decided to make Goldenrod City their next stop.

Lin Hao and May infiltrated Team Rocket’s underground base beneath Goldenrod City and discovered experiments using Legendary Pokémon samples. They found an unstable artificial Moltres, and a man arrived after noticing the surveillance feed had gone dark.

• Lin Hao and May traveled to Goldenrod City after learning Team Rocket’s largest base lay beneath it, and Mewtwo located its energy core in the North District Warehouse Complex.
• At Morty’s Safe House, Lin Hao identified the warehouses as the likely entrance and planned to follow a truck inside with May.
• Lin Hao and May entered the warehouse using a stolen access card and Pikachu’s electricity, then overheard researchers discussing Legendary Pokémon cloning.
• Pikachu paralyzed two guards at the third underground level, allowing Lin Hao and May into laboratories containing Ho-Oh and Lugia samples.
• Lin Hao and May opened Core Room Three and found an unstable artificial Moltres in a cultivation chamber; a man outside announced that he knew they were there.