Recaps

After Ash and Pikachu’s Gigavolt Havoc shattered their Electrium Z, Ash resolved to complete Alola’s Island Challenge and grow strong enough to use Z-Moves. Later, Cynthia visited Li Wei in Alola, enjoyed his cooking, and asked him about Tapu Koko.

• Tapu Koko disappeared after Ash and Pikachu unleashed Gigavolt Havoc, and the others were amazed by the attack’s power.
• Kiawe and Professor Kukui explained that Ash’s Electrium Z had shattered because he lacked the strength and training to control the Z-Move fully.
• Ash declared that he would complete Alola’s Island Challenge and earn the right to use Z-Moves, and his friends encouraged him.
• Professor Kukui led Ash and the others back to school as Ash’s Island Challenge began.
• Cynthia arrived at Li Wei’s seaside villa with Hoopa, ate the Alolan meal he had prepared, and asked him about Tapu Koko.

Li Wei explained Ultra Space, Ultra Megalopolis, and its Distortion World to Cynthia, while assuring her he did not yet need help with the threat posed by Necrozma. The next day, Cynthia returned to Lily of the Valley Island and Li Wei went to teach at the Pokémon School.

• Li Wei told the Chat Group that Ash had encountered Tapu Koko, but the others were not concerned because they trusted Li Wei to handle any danger.
• Cynthia asked Li Wei about the Island Guardians and Ultra Space, and he described Ultra Megalopolis and Ultra Space’s Distortion World.
• Li Wei explained that Cosmog would need to become Solgaleo so they could open an Ultra Wormhole and confront Necrozma, but said he did not need Cynthia’s help yet.
• Li Wei asked Cynthia to stay overnight and had Hoopa take her back to Lily of the Valley Island the next day.
• Li Wei went to the Pokémon School and began teaching Ash’s class.

After the Midseason Championship, Li Wei began streaming Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver on their release day and explained what players could expect from the games. He recommended early Pokémon choices while Red and Blue played SoulSilver, whose story followed Silver’s growth and included his confrontation with Giovanni.

• Red won the Midseason Championship, with Cynthia as runner-up after defeating Blue in the semifinals.
• Roland defeated Ash using her newly revealed Regidrago, while Professor Kukui reached the Top 8 and Diantha used Mega Hawlucha against Leon.
• Kalos excavation teams uncovered Evolution Stones, and news of six newly discovered Mega Evolutions sparked discussion.
• Li Wei started his evening livestream as HeartGold and SoulSilver launched and told viewers that the first playthrough ended with a challenge against Red on Mt. Silver.
• Red and Blue chose SoulSilver to avoid playing as Akin, while the game’s story showed Silver rejecting Team Rocket and choosing to join the Investigators after defeating Giovanni.
• Li Wei recommended Totodile, Growlithe with Intimidate, and searching Ilex Forest trees for Heracross.

Professor Kukui gave Ash a Rotom Pokédex and helped him activate it, while Li Wei learned about the gift and checked in with his Pokémon after training. The story left Li Wei’s Pokémon reporting their progress, with Zeraora claiming victory over Tapu Koko.

• Professor Kukui gave Ash a Rotom Pokédex, and a Rotom emerged from an outlet and entered the device.
• Ash activated the Pokédex Rotom, which registered him as its user and greeted him.
• Professor Kukui explained that Ash’s friends could share the Pokédex Rotom and that Ash and Rotom would need to learn to understand each other.
• Ash showed Pokédex Rotom to the Chat Group, whose members told him it was a rare and valuable device.
• Li Wei saw news of Ash’s gift, then asked his Pokémon how their training had gone.
• Zeraora told Li Wei that it had beaten Tapu Koko in a battle.

Li Wei led Ash and the other students on a field lesson through Lush Jungle, where they encountered a tired Litten surrounded by Yungoos. Ash intervened to protect Litten, and an aged bark interrupted the standoff.

• Li Wei introduced his students to Pokédex Rotom and led them into Lush Jungle for a field lesson.
• Ash was struck by an Alolan Exeggutor's tail and caught by Charizard as he fell.
• The students observed the jungle Pokémon while Li Wei guided them and reassured Lillie.
• The group found several Yungoos surrounding an exhausted Litten, and Li Wei stopped Ash from intervening at first.
• Litten used Ember to fend off the Yungoos, but Ash rushed to its side when they surrounded it again.
• An aged bark sounded as the Yungoos faced Ash and Pikachu.

Li Wei and his students encountered Ash protecting a Litten from a group of Yungoos, before an elderly Stoutland appeared and led Litten away. Li Wei explained that Stoutland had raised Litten, leaving Ash with a growing concern for the pair.

• Ash stepped between the Yungoos and Litten, and Pikachu joined him to help.
• Stoutland barked, scaring the Yungoos away, then comforted Litten and led it into the woods.
• Stoutland looked at Li Wei and thanked Ash with a soft bark before departing with Litten.
• Li Wei told the students that Stoutland was elderly and had raised Litten as its caregiver.
• Li Wei taught the students that Pokémon bonds could cross species, and Ash felt a special concern for Litten and Stoutland.

Li Wei led Ash and the others through Lush Jungle, where Ash encountered a Rowlet raised by a Toucannon flock. After learning how deeply the flock cared for Rowlet, Ash gave up on catching it and decided to head back.

• Li Wei apologized to Ash for telling him not to help Litten and taught the group to admit mistakes and correct them.
• Li Wei and the others stopped for lunch, where a Rowlet stole a Pokéblock from Shiny Haxorus without upsetting it.
• Ash asked Li Wei to help him catch the Rowlet, and the group followed it to a nest where Toucannon, Trumbeak, and several Pikipek lived together.
• Li Wei used the Power of Overcoming to learn that Toucannon and Trumbeak had raised Rowlet from an egg as one of their own.
• After Li Wei explained the flock's care for Rowlet, Ash chose not to catch it and said he wanted to head back.

Ash caught Rowlet after it chose to join him, and Li Wei introduced the next outdoor lesson, a sea-fishing trip with a special instructor. The chapter ended with Lana’s twin sisters tormenting Pikachu until it unleashed a burst of electricity.

• Ash let Rowlet return to its family, but Rowlet climbed into his backpack and chose to travel with him, so Ash caught it.
• Li Wei announced an ocean-Pokémon lesson involving boating and fishing, and asked Lana to assist the still-unnamed special instructor.
• Lillie said she wanted to join the lesson and use a secret weapon to manage her fear of touching Pokémon.
• Lana offered Ash a fishing rod and took him home, where her twin sisters Shiting and Shihan crowded around Pikachu.
• Pikachu endured the twins’ rough handling until it finally released a powerful burst of electricity.

Li Wei arranged an outdoor fishing lesson for the Pokémon School students, with Yellow arriving as their special lecturer. After the students showed off their fishing gear and boarded Lapras, the group headed out to sea, where Li Wei began asking what they knew about Lapras.

• At Lana's house, Ash borrowed a fishing rod after Pikachu's sparks left everyone with afros and soot-blackened faces.
• Li Wei told Yellow that Hoopa would bring her to the outdoor lesson, and the Chat Group arranged for Rotom to record it.
• Yellow arrived at the beach and introduced herself to the Pokémon School students as their fishing instructor.
• Ash, Sophocles, Lillie, Lana, Kiawe, and Mallow showed Yellow their fishing equipment.
• Lana helped the students board their Lapras, and Yellow led the group toward deeper waters while Li Wei followed by speedboat.
• Li Wei asked the students how much they knew about Lapras.

Li Wei and Yellow taught Ash and the others about Lapras conservation and fishing during an outdoor Pokémon School lesson in Alola. The group held a fishing contest, while Ash kept catching Magikarp and a group of Gyarados retreated from Milotic's and Kyogre's intimidating presence.

• Li Wei explained how Lapras had recovered from endangerment in Kanto and become abundant in Alola, and Yellow warned the students to protect Pokémon and their environment.
• Yellow demonstrated safe casting and fishing techniques, explained how to target Pokémon by depth and lure, and proposed a fishing contest.
• Yellow caught Feebas, Corsola, and Sharpedo, while Lana caught Luvdisc, Lumineon, and Finneon; the Pokémon were recorded and released.
• Ash repeatedly caught Magikarp despite changing his position and fishing methods.
• A group of Gyarados approached the commotion but fled after sensing Milotic's pressure and energy pulses from Kyogre's Blue Orb.

Yellow joined Li Wei, Ash, and the others for an ocean fishing lesson before Li Wei sent her home after dinner. Later, Ash and his classmates set out to find Litten and check on its elderly companion, Stoutland, while Li Wei stayed behind.

• Yellow and Lana caught the most varieties of Pokémon during the fishing lesson, and Lillie made progress catching Water-type Pokémon.
• Li Wei invited Yellow to dinner at Aina's Kitchen, then had Hoopa send her home.
• Li Wei noted that Alola would skip the May Midseason Championship and needed to establish its own Pokémon League Conference.
• Li Wei learned that Zarude lived in groups in Okoya Forest but decided not to pursue one.
• After Ash passed his Melemele Island trial, he and his classmates discussed Litten stealing his sandwich and wondered how Stoutland was doing.
• Li Wei gave Mallow Pokéblocks and assigned Sirfetch'd to protect the group as Ash and the others went to look for Litten and Stoutland.

Principal Oak assigned Li Wei one of two Pokémon Eggs, but Li Wei declined and let Ash and the others care for the Alolan Vulpix Egg. When Officer Jenny called him to investigate damaged farmland and a dangerous road, Li Wei found that Dugtrio had burrowed beneath it and arranged for Diancie and the Dominant Gumshoos to drive away the Pokémon.

• Principal Oak offered Li Wei one of two Vulpix Eggs, but Li Wei declined and left the Alolan Vulpix Egg with Lillie and the other students.
• Lillie took responsibility for the egg, and Ash offered to escort her home while the group studied it.
• Officer Jenny called Li Wei to investigate damaged farmland and a road that risked collapsing.
• Li Wei and Lucario discovered that Dugtrio had loosened the soil beneath the road, while Rattata had caused a Tauros cart to stop nearby.
• Li Wei sent Latios to fetch Diancie and asked Ash and the others to find the Dominant Gumshoos in Verdant Cavern and seek its help driving away the Rattata.

Li Wei addressed the Rattata infestation and the dangerous road connecting the village to Hau'oli City by sending Ash's group to recruit Totem Gumshoos and using Diancie to build a temporary Diamond Road. The construction crew arrived soon afterward, while Ash and his companions were still heading to Verdant Cavern.

• Li Wei asked Ash's group to persuade Totem Gumshoos and its Yungoos to drive Totem Raticate and the Rattata away from the farmland, while Professor Kukui agreed to watch the Pokémon Egg.
• Officer Jenny closed the road after Rattata tunnels left cavities beneath it, and Li Wei summoned Diancie with Latios's help.
• Diancie used Earth Power to collapse the unsafe road section and rebuild its foundation, then Mega Evolved and laid a sturdy temporary Diamond Road with Diamond Storm.
• Li Wei tested the new road with Latios's Dragon Breath and told Officer Jenny it would serve until the construction crew arrived.
• A construction company under the Rainbow Group arrived sooner than Li Wei expected.

Li Wei arranged for the Rainbow Group to reinforce the road where Dugtrio had caused trouble, then left Ash and the others to handle the Rattata. In Verdant Cavern, Ash defeated the Totem Gumshoos, earned a Normalium Z, and secured its help driving the Rattata away from the farmland.

• Li Wei ordered the Rainbow Group crew to fill cavities and reinforce the damaged road with concrete, then asked Latias to take Diancie home.
• Ash and his friends entered Verdant Cavern and found the Totem Gumshoos surrounded by Yungoos.
• Ash and Pikachu battled the Totem Gumshoos and won with Iron Tail and Thunderbolt.
• The Totem Gumshoos gave Ash a Normalium Z and agreed to help drive the Totem Raticate and Rattata from the farmland.
• Ash led the Totem Gumshoos and its Yungoos troop out of the cavern toward the farmland.

After helping resolve the Alolan Rattata infestation, Li Wei returned home and watched Red defeat Bruno in the Kanto Regional Division of the Master League. Bruno’s Primeape displayed a way of combining hardness and softness, leaving Li Wei eager to see how the competitors would continue to grow.

• Ash and the others used the Dominant Gumshoos and Yungoos to drive the Rattata away, and the Dominant Raticate led its underlings back into the wilderness.
• Li Wei returned to Jubilife City through Hoopa’s ring and spent the afternoon preparing dinner ingredients and making Pokéblocks.
• Li Wei watched the Kanto Regional Division match between Red and Bruno with his Pokémon.
• Bruno’s Machamp battled Red’s Venusaur, and Li Wei noticed signs that Bruno had grasped the Softness Secret.
• Red’s Charizard defeated Bruno’s Hitmontop, and Red’s Pikachu beat Bruno’s Primeape with Volt Tackle to win the match.

Li Wei livestreamed a morning stroll through the Pokémon Theme Park, showing viewers its Pokémon, performances, and training areas. He ended the two-hour stream by saying goodbye and promising to return the next day.

• Li Wei began his livestream at the Central Plaza and crossed Swan Lake, where Swanna, Ducklett, and two Milotic swam as Arcanine raced past.
• Li Wei took a photo with an enthusiastic young visitor, then showed Diancie, Meloetta, and the Pokémon Girl Group rehearsing onstage.
• Li Wei showed Shaymin playing with Budew and Petilil among the flower beds and explained that Lucario, Zeraora, Metagross, and Melmetal were training in the Battle Tower.
• Li Wei visited the Panda Pavilion, where Pancham tussled and Pangoro munched on bamboo and nudged the little Pokémon away.
• Li Wei wrapped up the two-hour livestream, thanked viewers, and promised to return the next day.

Li Wei arranged care for Steven’s Steel-type Pokémon and personally treated Metagross, Aggron, Skarmory, and Corviknight at the Jubilife Pokémon Theme Park. After their hot spring visit and essential oil treatments, the refreshed Pokémon were lined up for a photo that Li Wei sent to Steven.

• Li Wei discussed the day’s work with Dayou and Mizuki, deciding to handle Steven’s Pokémon treatments and delegate newcomer training to Dawn and Shiyin.
• Lalami asked Li Wei to evaluate a new Super Fragrant Poffin flavor later at the Workshop, and Li Wei agreed.
• Li Wei took Metagross, Aggron, Skarmory, and Corviknight to the Hot Spring Wellness Center while Steven attended a Devon Corporation meeting.
• After the Pokémon soaked in a mineral hot spring, Li Wei polished Metagross’s shell, applied maintenance oil to Aggron, and groomed Skarmory’s and Corviknight’s wings with Wing Care Essential Oil.
• Li Wei admired the four refreshed Pokémon, took their picture, and sent it to Steven.

Li Wei made Golden Pokéblocks in the Jubilife Pokémon Theme Park’s public Berry Workshop while Dawn and Shiyin taught aspiring breeders nearby. Dawn invited a curious child to join the Park’s free Junior Breeder Field Trip.

• Li Wei arranged Spotlight Sunbathing for Metagross and the others, told staff to check their comfort, and fed them Pokéblocks beforehand.
• Li Wei cooked for fully booked customers at the Pokémon Restaurant, then began making Pokéblocks with the Park’s finest Berries as visitors watched.
• Li Wei produced perfect-quality Pokéblocks in his first batch, switched to a clean machine, and made crystal-clear Golden Pokéblocks that surpassed them.
• Dawn taught newcomers to make basic Pokéblocks while Shiyin showed others how to prepare Poffins.
• Dawn approached a little girl watching the workshop and told her parents about the Park’s free Junior Breeder Field Trip.

Lalami asked Li Wei to assess her new Poffin recipe, and he suggested replacing Thunder Berry with Nanab and Kelpsy Berries. The next day, Lalami still struggled to perfect the recipe, so Li Wei reminded her to review the video of him making it.

• Lalami brought Li Wei pink Poffins made with six kinds of Berries and asked for his advice.
• Li Wei said the Thunder Berry made the flavors unbalanced and recommended using Nanab and Kelpsy Berries instead.
• Lalami accepted Li Wei's advice and hurried off to test the revised recipe.
• The next afternoon, Lalami had made several flawed batches despite following Li Wei's suggestion, while Li Wei knew she needed to discover the remaining problem herself.
• Li Wei reminded Lalami to watch the video Pokédex Rotom had recorded of him making the Poffins.

Li Wei learned that Stoutland had died peacefully and helped Ash and the others face their grief. After Litten vanished from beneath the bridge, Li Wei urged Ash to find Litten and offer a new bond, leaving Ash and Pikachu setting out to search.

• Lana told Li Wei that Stoutland had died beneath a bridge in Hau'oli City as the last leaf fell from a tree.
• Mallow explained that Stoutland had passed away peacefully beside Litten, and Kiawe said the group had taken Stoutland to the Pokémon Center for cremation.
• Lillie told Li Wei that Litten had returned beneath the bridge after Stoutland's burial but was gone when they checked that morning.
• Li Wei reminded the class that Stoutland had lived a fulfilling life protecting and raising Litten, helping the children understand the loss from Stoutland's perspective.
• Ash worried about Litten and, at Li Wei's encouragement, left with Pikachu to find Litten and offer it a new family.

Li Wei brought Ash and his classmates to Kiawe's family ranch for a hands-on lesson in Pokémon care and emotional well-being. As the lesson continued, Ash startled a Mudbray by tugging dried mud from its hoof, and it kicked him.

• After Ash caught Litten, Li Wei invited Kiawe to host a breeding lesson at his family's ranch and arranged to buy Moomoo Milk.
• Li Wei told the class they would visit the ranch, and he assured Lillie that she could observe and take notes while she worked toward overcoming her fear of touching Pokémon.
• At the ranch, Li Wei demonstrated massaging Miltank and explained how gentle care and soothing music supported Pokémon's health and happiness.
• Lana bathed Mudbray, Sophocles groomed Ponyta, and Mallow spent time with Miltank while Lillie watched and recorded notes.
• Ash tried to pull dried mud from a Mudbray's hind hoof, and the startled Pokémon kicked him as Pikachu tried to warn him.

At Kiawe’s family ranch, Li Wei taught the students about Pokémon care and the types and Abilities of Mudbray, Ponyta, and Rapidash. Ash realized how much he could learn from Lillie’s notes, and the group ended the day as Kiawe’s family invited them to dinner.

• Ash tried to lift Mudbray’s hind hoof, got kicked onto a haystack, and listened as Li Wei explained how to handle Pokémon gently.
• Li Wei quizzed the students about Mudbray’s weaknesses and Abilities, and Lillie explained its three known Abilities.
• Ash recognized Galarian Rapidash, while the students discussed other Psychic- and Fairy-type Pokémon and learned that Ash’s Mr. Mime was also a Fairy-type.
• Lillie showed the class her notes, and Li Wei promised her a reward for the next day’s lesson.
• Hibu and Amara invited everyone to dinner, while their daughter Xing'er admired Li Wei and Kiawe privately wished she admired him instead.

Ash learned about Melemele Island’s pancake competition and entered the Pokémon Pancake Relay Race with Pikachu, eager to win a year’s supply of pancakes and face Noya’s Alolan Raichu. That evening, the Chat Group discussed joining the competition, and Li Wei said he was interested in both contests.

• Mallow explained the pancake competition to Ash and said Bounsweet was practicing carrying a stack of pancakes for the relay race.
• Ash saw a poster featuring last year’s champions, Noya and her Alolan Raichu, and watched Raichu demonstrate its psychic gliding ability.
• Pikachu challenged Alolan Raichu with a glare, and Ash decided to enter the race after learning the prize was a year’s supply of pancakes.
• Noya invited Ash and Pikachu to practice, where Pikachu ran with pancakes on its back but lagged behind the flying Alolan Raichu.
• Jessie and her companions decided to enter the race after spotting the poster.
• Ash told the Chat Group about the competition, and Li Wei said he was interested in the pancake-making contest and might enter the race too.

Li Wei learned that Cynthia was excavating Hisui ruins containing evidence that Ursaring evolved into Ursaluna, while he signed up for Alola’s Poffin Race with Arcanine. The chapter ended with Cynthia warning him that he had entered the competition incorrectly, after registration had already closed.

• Ash announced that he and Pikachu would enter Alola’s Poffin Race, prompting Akin, Blue, Yellow, Dawn, Jasmine, Steven, and others to consider joining.
• Li Wei decided to enter the poffin-making competition and signed up for the race with Arcanine after learning that Arcanine wanted to compete.
• Cynthia told Li Wei that excavations in Eterna City had uncovered a Hisui statue and records describing Ursaring’s evolution into Ursaluna with a Peat Block under a full moon.
• Cynthia said she and Professor Rowan would test the discovery with several Ursaring in three days, while Li Wei stayed in Alola.
• Cynthia asked Li Wei whether he had read the race rules, and he admitted he had not after she suggested changing his entry; he had already registered.

Li Wei discovered that the Poffin race required him to pull Arcanine up hills, while Cynthia and Sinnoh’s scholars successfully evolved Ursaring into Ursaluna using a Peat Block under the full moon. Their experiments did not explain Bloodmoon Ursaluna, leaving its origins and evolution conditions unresolved.

• Cynthia teased Li Wei into reading the Poffin race rules, and he learned that he would have to pull Arcanine, who weighed over 350 kilograms, in a food cart.
• Li Wei decided to enter anyway and kept quiet about the difficult rules while Akin planned to compete with Typhlosion; the Pokémon School students also prepared to participate during two days off.
• At the Eterna City ruins, Cynthia, Professor Carolina, Professor Lin'en, Professor Rowan, and Vera gathered to test an ancient inscription about Ursaring evolving under a full moon.
• Vera guided Ursaring to touch a Peat Block, and the Ursaring evolved into Ursaluna as the scholars recorded the results.
• Cynthia and Professor Carolina proposed that Bloodmoon Ursaluna might require special conditions or represent a further evolution, while Professor Rowan said more clues and research were needed.