Chapter Summaries

Chen Shi showed Big Goo and the Goodra group around his Farm before asking Steven for researchers to staff his new institute. He warned Steven that his secret research concerned a threat capable of destroying the world, then asked him to invite respected professors from every region to the institute in three days.

• Chen Shi showed Big Goo and the Goodra group the Farm and explained that the Berries would be made into Pokéblocks rather than eaten straight from the trees.
• Mew caught Hoopa Confined picking unripe Berries, and Chen Shi calmed them by giving Hoopa Pokéblocks and threatening to study Dark Mew.
• Steven arrived at the Farm, and Chen Shi asked to borrow researchers from Devon Corporation; Steven said he could lend only a few.
• Chen Shi explained that he could not openly hire researchers because the work was too sensitive and might attract spies.
• Chen Shi told Steven that the research involved a possible world-destroying threat connected to Eternatus and asked him to keep it secret.
• Chen Shi asked Steven to invite the most respected professors from every region to his research institute in three days.

Chen Shi sought a way to fight dark matter beyond relying on his own power, while Xerneas arrived with a sealed cactus infected by dark particles for him to purify. The cactus gave Chen Shi a chance to study dark matter without traveling to Eternatus's world.

• Chen Shi decided he needed help researching dark matter and considered traveling to Eternatus's world if he could not find a Shadow Pokémon nearby.
• Xerneas brought Great Needle Peak to fulfill their agreement, and Dragapult defeated the Beedrill in a brief sparring match.
• Chen Shi asked Xerneas where he could find more Shadow Pokémon or dark matter, explaining that his strength alone was limited.
• Xerneas revealed that dark particles had assimilated a desert cactus during Dark Eternatus's attempted Eternamax and that it had sealed the cactus with the Fairy Plate.
• Xerneas reassured Chen Shi that Arceus had inspected the area and found no other infected plants or Pokémon.

Chen Shi investigated the Dark Cacturne and decided he needed Mewtwo’s expertise, then visited Viridian Gym to confront Giovanni. He accused Giovanni of using Mew’s genes to create Mewtwo and demanded that he return Mew’s son.

• Chen Shi studied the Dark Cacturne and concluded that its gene virus could only be removed with Psychic Power or by dying again.
• Chen Shi decided to seek Mewtwo’s help researching the dark matter.
• Chen Shi brought Jirachi, Victini, Hoopa Confined, and Mew to Viridian City and entered the Viridian Gym to meet Giovanni.
• A Team Rocket receptionist contacted Giovanni, who returned to the Gym and met Chen Shi in his office with a psychic girl.
• Chen Shi accused Giovanni of making a son from Mew’s genes and demanded that he return Mewtwo, prompting Giovanni to glare at him with murderous intent.

Chen Shi took Mewtwo from Giovanni and brought it to his research institute, where he asked Xerneas to teach the newly created Pokémon about the world. Mew objected that Mewtwo was its child and argued that it should be the one to guide it.

• Giovanni asked how Chen Shi had learned about Mewtwo, and Chen Shi claimed that Rayquaza and Zygarde had revealed Team Rocket’s secret.
• Chen Shi said he wanted Mewtwo as a researcher, then traveled to Cinnabar Town to retrieve it from Giovanni.
• Giovanni refused until Mew nearly flattened his Mega-Evolved Beedrill, after which he let Chen Shi take Mewtwo.
• At the institute, Mew confirmed that Mewtwo carried its genes and angrily threatened to confront the humans who had taken them.
• Chen Shi explained dark matter’s effects on genes and asked Xerneas to teach Mewtwo, while Mew insisted that it should be the one to guide its genetic descendant.

Chen Shi gathered the regional professors to explain that Dark Eternatus came from a parallel world and that dark matter could infect and transform all living things. The professors realized a Pokémon from that world with the power to travel through space-time might have brought Dark Eternatus to their world.

• Chen Shi welcomed Steven, his father, and the visiting professors, then led them to his laboratory and conference room.
• Chen Shi showed footage of Dark Eternatus appearing in Dahara City and explained that Eternatus's leaked energy had caused Galar's Dynamax phenomenon.
• Chen Shi revealed that Dark Eternatus was a threat to humans and Pokémon alike because dark matter could infect living organisms and turn them into shadow creatures.
• Chen Shi explained that the first Eternatus had come from a parallel world that had already fallen to shadow creatures.
• Steven wondered whether a Pokémon capable of space-time travel had helped Dark Eternatus cross worlds, and Professor Carolina suggested that the Pokémon might have come from the other world.

Chen Shi gathered the professors to explain dark matter’s history and the lack of reliable ways to cure those it assimilated. The professors recognized that he wanted them to join his research, and several began arranging to stay and help.

• Chen Shi showed the professors Dark Cacturne and asked them to lend trustworthy researchers to help find a way to eliminate dark matter.
• Chen Shi explained that Eternatus’s three known methods for saving those assimilated by dark matter were impractical for nearly everyone.
• Chen Shi recounted how Xerneas, Rayquaza, and Lugia had been infected by dark matter in the past.
• Mujin and Professor Oak realized Chen Shi wanted to borrow the professors themselves rather than their laboratory staff.
• Professor Sycamore planned to return with supplies, while Professor Magnolia decided to stay and asked Sonia to bring her things.

Chen Shi arranged safe research on Dark Cacturne and faced Cynthia after forgetting to contact her, then Cogita arrived with an urgent request and triggered an upgrade for his System Panel. The chapter left Chen Shi startled by the upgrade prompt as he dreaded being drawn into another errand.

• Stone Mu Jin offered to build a dormitory and provide staff for the professors at Chen Shi's research institute, and Chen Shi accepted.
• Chen Shi helped the professors put on protective suits so they could take samples from Dark Cacturne without touching it.
• Cynthia confronted Chen Shi for leaving her house without a word, and Chen Shi apologized until she softened.
• Cogita arrived, said she needed Chen Shi's help urgently, and patted him on the head while offering part of his reward in advance.
• Chen Shi's System Panel announced that it had met the requirements to upgrade, and Chen Shi cursed and said he wanted to return to the countryside.

Chen Shi learned that Cogita had created his system and chosen Dreepy for him, then heard about the survivors in Eternatus’s world. He refused to take on a dangerous mission to help them, choosing to protect the people who cared about him.

• Chen Shi confronted Cogita privately and learned that she had created his system and personally selected Dreepy for him.
• Cogita explained that she had chosen Dreepy to help Chen Shi grow stronger and upgraded the system so he could inspect the detailed stats of powerful Pokémon.
• Chen Shi asked about Cogita’s mission, and she revealed that a small group of humans and Pokémon had survived the dark matter disaster inside Mt. Silver but lacked basic supplies.
• Chen Shi refused to go, explaining that he could not save the survivors alone and did not want to risk leaving his loved ones worried or grieving.

Chen Shi resisted traveling to Eternatus’s darkened world until Cogita warned that countless dark worlds could eventually invade their own. She equipped him with protective measures and four Psychic Power Orbs, and Chen Shi agreed to go while planning to seek another way to fight Dark Matter.

• Chen Shi explained that he feared losing the people he loved and did not want to enter a world where the dark side would target him.
• Cogita warned Chen Shi that failing to stop Eternatus’s world from spreading darkness could leave their own world facing an invasion from countless dark worlds.
• Cogita gave Chen Shi four Orbs designed to store his Psychic Power so people in that world could use them to purify Dark Matter.
• Cogita explained that her hidden avatar, Eternatus, and the Pokémon Sword and Shield Kings could protect Chen Shi while he freed Rayquaza and other Tier 1 Legendary Pokémon from the darkness.
• Chen Shi asked when he would leave and how to bring supplies, and Cogita promised to upgrade his Space Backpack.
• Cogita urged Chen Shi to observe the ruined world before rescuing everyone, saying that hope and miracles could emerge from despair.

Chen Shi prepared to leave for Eternatus's world to save its inhabitants, while arranging supplies and deciding who could accompany him. After Arceus's protection reassured Eternatus and the Pokémon Sword and Shield Kings, Chen Shi checked Eternatus's stats and discovered it was a level 121 Supreme God.

• Chen Shi agreed to take Jirachi but refused Steven's request to come along, then asked Steven to have Devon Corporation prepare as much ready-to-heat food as possible.
• Cynthia asked about the woman Chen Shi had met in the Hisui Region, and Chen Shi confirmed they had met but withheld her identity; Cynthia said she would wait for his return.
• Chen Shi entered his Grass-type Mystery Realm and told Eternatus, Zacian, and Zamazenta that he planned to visit their world and try to save its inhabitants.
• Zacian warned that the three Legendary Pokémon might not be able to protect Chen Shi from the Dark Side, but Chen Shi said Arceus would protect him and proposed rescuing Tier 1 Legendary Pokémon first.
• Eternatus, Zacian, and Zamazenta were reassured, and Chen Shi used his System Panel to learn that Eternatus was level 121, a Supreme God.

Chen Shi prepared to enter Eternatus's fallen world with the Legendary Pokémon and his companions to confront the growing forces of darkness. Cogita sent them through a golden gate, while Chen Shi reminded her to protect his Farm and prepare his reward.

• Chen Shi learned that Eternatus was a Supreme God and saw that the Pokémon Sword and Shield Kings were powerful Tier 1 Legendary Pokémon.
• Chen Shi told Eternatus and the Pokémon Sword and Shield Kings they would leave the next day, and they agreed to wait.
• Mew admitted to Chen Shi that it feared the dark world, but Chen Shi explained that they had to take the initiative against the forces of darkness.
• Chen Shi collected supplies from Steven, gathered his Pokémon, and met Cogita at Back Mountain.
• Cogita told Chen Shi to wear the White Robe and Mask, then opened a golden gate to Eternatus's world.
• Chen Shi and his companions entered the gate with Eternatus and the Pokémon Sword and Shield Kings, after Chen Shi asked Cogita to look after his Farm and prepare his reward.

Chen Shi and the Legendary Pokémon entered the Distortion World to find Giratina and rescue it from Dark Matter. Chen Shi began purging the contamination, leaving Giratina astonished as the Dark Matter fled its body.

• After arriving in a desert, Chen Shi and the Legendary Pokémon agreed to find Giratina so they could use the Distortion World to hide and travel.
• Chen Shi released Dragapult, which opened an entrance to the Distortion World, and the group entered.
• They found Giratina resisting assimilation after Marshadow had contaminated it four days earlier.
• Chen Shi reassured Giratina that they had come to rescue it, then teleported onto its shoulder and channeled pure white light into its body.
• The Dark Matter reacted to Chen Shi's power by fleeing Giratina, leaving Giratina stunned.

Chen Shi arranged to use Giratina’s Distortion World as a base for rescuing Legendary Pokémon and traveled to Mt. Silver to find surviving humans. When Steven and the other former Champions confronted him, he introduced himself as “Ba” and invited them to call him “Baba.”

• Chen Shi and the others agreed with Giratina to use the Distortion World as a base for rescuing Legendary Pokémon and clearing the dark matter.
• Chen Shi filled Cogita’s Orb with Psychic Power and gave it to Giratina to use on Rayquaza, then asked Giratina to take him to Mt. Silver.
• Giratina brought Chen Shi through the Distortion World to an exit near the human shelter, and Chen Shi left to check for survivors.
• Chen Shi climbed Mt. Silver with Mew, while the shelter’s staff detected an S-rank Psychic Legendary Pokémon and alerted Steven, Lance, and the others.
• Steven and the other former Champions confronted Chen Shi, who introduced himself as Ba and said they could call him Baba.

Chen Shi arrived at the Mt. Silver Shelter with a group of Mythical Pokémon and agreed to be tested for Dark Matter contamination. After demonstrating that Mew and Dragapult could bypass the Shelter’s defenses through the Distortion World, he called the intrusion a minor incident, and the staff prepared to test him and his companions.

• Steven questioned the masked Chen Shi, while Diantha and Lorelei struggled not to laugh at Chen Shi calling himself Steven’s father.
• Chen Shi asked to join the survivors, and Lance agreed on the condition that Chen Shi and his companions undergo contamination tests.
• Diantha brought the group to the Shelter’s alloy gate, where Lorelei described its extensive defenses.
• Chen Shi had Mew restrain Steven, Lance, and Lorelei, then used Dragapult’s Distortion World gateway to bypass the closed gate.
• Chen Shi called the intrusion a minor incident, Steven accepted his explanation, and staff members approached with blood-drawing equipment.

After proving that he and his Pokémon were free of Dark Matter, Chen Shi joined Steven’s group and learned that the Shelter was running out of food and had no cure for Dark Matter. As Lance and Lorelei argued over who should risk searching outside, Chen Shi brought out a hot pot and invited Diantha to eat.

• Chen Shi passed the Shelter’s inspection, and Steven welcomed him aboard as Baba.
• Lorelei asked how Chen Shi had breached the Shelter, and Chen Shi proposed they sit down and talk over lunch at Diantha’s place.
• Diantha revealed that just over twenty thousand humans and fifty thousand Pokémon remained, Dark Matter had no known cure, and the Shelter’s food would last only twelve days.
• Lance said he would go searching for food, but Lorelei challenged him and then volunteered to go herself.
• Chen Shi unpacked a complete hot pot and ingredients, leaving Steven, Lance, and Lorelei stunned as he invited Diantha to eat.

Chen Shi shared a hot pot meal with Diantha, Steven, Lorelei, and Lance, then explained how Dragapult entered their Shelter through the Distortion World. The group discussed their search for food and the danger of carrying supplies back from Indigo Plateau.

• Chen Shi took off his mask and ate hot pot with Diantha while Lance and Steven struggled to resist the food.
• Lorelei joined the meal, and Chen Shi identified Charizard and Dragapult as his partners and Jirachi and the others as his friends.
• Chen Shi explained that Dragapult had entered through the Distortion World and that he could travel there because he was on good terms with Giratina.
• Steven returned from the bathroom and ate more hot pot, prompting Lance to realize that Steven had made himself vomit to make room.
• Steven said the group planned to get food from the Underground Granary beneath the Johto League on Indigo Plateau, and Diantha explained that carrying supplies back had led to Leon losing three partners to shadow Pokémon.

Chen Shi, calling himself Miracle, joined the Champions for hot pot and explained how he had survived outside by hiding in the Distortion World. When they hoped to use it to bring food to the Shelter, he claimed Giratina had been infected and made the route too dangerous, while secretly keeping Giratina’s purification and his own ability to cleanse dark matter hidden.

• Diantha told Chen Shi that Leon’s three Pokémon had probably become Shadow Pokémon and were wandering outside.
• Cynthia arrived and met Chen Shi, while Mew and Jirachi nearly revealed that they knew her from another world.
• Chen Shi introduced himself as Miracle and said he had survived outside for months by hiding in the Distortion World.
• Lance realized Chen Shi might be able to use the Distortion World to reach the Indigo Plateau and bring food to the Shelter.
• Chen Shi said Shadow Marshadow had infected Giratina, making the Distortion World too dangerous to use.
• Chen Shi privately concealed that he had already purified Giratina and wanted to see whether the Champions could create a miracle on their own.

Chen Shi refused the Shelter’s offer of help and declined to stay, while Cynthia took him aside for a walk. After the others accepted that he would not assist them, Lorelei prepared to leave on a food mission, and Lance volunteered to go with her.

• After the meal, Steven invited Chen Shi to stay at the Shelter, but Chen Shi refused because he wanted to remain with his friends and monitor rescue efforts.
• Diantha and Steven warned Chen Shi about the dangers outside, but he insisted his friends could protect him and promised to visit the Shelter again.
• Cynthia offered to show Chen Shi around, and he agreed, suspecting she wanted to question him privately.
• After Chen Shi and Cynthia left, Lorelei, Lance, Steven, and Diantha concluded that Chen Shi would not help them and agreed to rely on themselves.
• Lorelei said she would leave the day after tomorrow to seek food, and Lance volunteered to accompany her.

Chen Shi toured the Shelter with Cynthia, told her about his life with her counterpart in another world, and explained why he would not help the survivors until he completed his own mission. He left Cynthia with no reason to expect him to intervene, calling himself a spectator.

• Cynthia showed Chen Shi the Shelter and recalled how survivors had sacrificed themselves during dark matter’s rise.
• Cynthia realized Chen Shi came from another world, and he confirmed it.
• Jirachi and Mew told Cynthia about her counterpart and Chen Shi’s future daughter, and Chen Shi showed her family photos.
• Chen Shi explained that he had come to find a way to deal with dark matter after Dark Eternatus and the Pokémon Sword and Shield Kings tried to invade his world.
• Cynthia asked whether Chen Shi’s origins explained his refusal to help, and he said he would not assist until he completed his own mission.

After learning that the Legendary Pokémon had rescued Rayquaza, Kyogre, and Groudon, Chen Shi approved a plan to split into teams and rescue the remaining Tier 1 Legendary Pokémon. Chen Shi and Eternatus headed for Kanto to free Ho-Oh, whom Eternatus had pinned down to prevent the dark matter from harming the world.

• Giratina told Chen Shi that the group had rescued Rayquaza, Kyogre, and Groudon, then Chen Shi left Cynthia and returned to the Distortion World.
• Eternatus explained that the rescue of Rayquaza had caused a commotion, and Zacian proposed splitting the group into teams to save the other Tier 1 Legendary Pokémon.
• Zamazenta suggested teams of Zacian and Zamazenta, Hoenn's big three, and Eternatus alone, with Giratina providing support from the Distortion World.
• Chen Shi assigned Hoenn's big three to find Kyurem and two others, Zacian and Zamazenta to deal with the Kalos Three Gods, and himself and Eternatus to seek Ho-Oh and Lugia in Kanto.
• Eternatus told Chen Shi that Ho-Oh had asked to be pinned down with poisonous spikes after becoming contaminated with dark matter, and Chen Shi promised to help rescue Ho-Oh.