Recaps

Yong defeated Volkner and Candice to earn his final two Sinnoh badges, then trained before beginning the Battle Zone challenge. He won the Battle Factory’s three-round trial and set his sights on the Battle Stage.

• Yong defeated Volkner’s Octillery and Electivire with Rhydon and Aggron, earning the Lighthouse Badge and applying to challenge the Battle Zone.
• After reaching Snowpoint City and recovering from a cold, Yong evolved Rhydon into Rhyperior and defeated Candice’s Abomasnow and Weavile with Aggron and Rhyperior to earn the Icicle Badge.
• Yong trained his Pokémon on a frozen beach while Scott, Palmer, and the Battle Brains prepared for his arrival, then traveled with Scott to the Battle Zone.
• Kofu warned Yong that Battle Brains could push their Pokémon beyond elite class, and Yong chose the Battle Factory as his first facility.
• Yong lost the Fighting-type round to Tucker’s Combusken, then won the Fire-type round when Tucker conceded against Yong’s level 42 Camerupt.
• Yong used Blissey to defeat Tucker’s Snorlax in the Normal-type round, earning the Silver Commemorative Print and ten Battle Points.
• Yong declared that he would collect every print and chose the Battle Stage, where Argenta greeted him and learned he had passed the Battle Factory trial.

Yong cleared the Battle Stage’s ten-tier challenge and defeated Argenta in the final battle, earning the silver print. After Muren Under the Moon tried to pressure him for his training methods, Yong left the Battle Stage determined to grow stronger and chose the Battle Roulette.

• Yong chose the single-Pokémon rules and used Swampert to defeat the first four rounds of trainers, advancing through opponents with increasingly strong Pokémon.
• Yong drew Grass and Flying types for round four, where Swampert defeated Akiya’s Sceptile and Unfezant before facing Junzhi’s Torterra.
• Yong accused Junzhi of pretending to fight, then Swampert defeated Torterra and beat Junzhi’s Haxorus in the final round.
• Muren Under the Moon confronted Yong and demanded his training methods, but Yong refused, and Argenta stopped Muren by advancing their challenge to the final battle.
• Yong and Argenta began their three-on-three match, where Claydol defeated Skarmory and Aggron defeated Bisharp before losing to Dragonite.
• Yong sent out Steelix, which used Skyward Force and Iron Tail to defeat Argenta’s Dragonite and complete the challenge.
• Argenta awarded Yong the silver print and raised his challenge points to 100, while Yong said he intended to keep growing stronger.
• Yong chose the Battle Roulette at the fork between it and the Battle Chateau.

Yong cleared the Battle Roulette and defeated Caitlin at the Battle Chateau, revealing Mega Evolution to those present. He then challenged Palmer at the Battle Tower, where Aggron won the first round but lost to Noivern in the second.

• Dahlia welcomed Yong to the Battle Roulette, where random status effects and weather shaped his battles with Gardevoir, Scrafty, and Dusknoir.
• Yong won two of his three Battle Roulette rounds, awakened his own battle will during Rhyperior’s fight with Scrafty, and earned his third Silver Commemorative Print.
• At the Battle Chateau, Caitlin’s Gallade defeated Aggron, but Steelix beat Reuniclus and Mega-Evolved to defeat Metagross, giving Yong the victory.
• Yong explained Mega Evolution to Caitlin, Darach, Scott, and Kofu, while keeping important details about Mega Stones to himself.
• After showing Palmer his four Silver Prints, Yong rested and prepared to challenge the Battle Tower Tycoon at the Final Battlefield.
• Yong’s Aggron defeated Palmer’s Milotic with Thunderbolt and reached level 61.
• Palmer’s Noivern overwhelmed Aggron with Supersonic and Dragon Rush, leaving Yong to send him back after the second-round loss.

Yong defeated Palmer to become a Frontier Brain, then caught a Shiny Metagross and began intensive training for the Lily of the Valley Conference. The month of training strengthened his team as attention around his Mega Evolution discovery grew.

• Yong defeated Palmer’s Heatran with Mega Steelix and was named the new Frontier Brain.
• Yong drew system rewards, met Bertha, and learned how the League had constrained Under the Moon while protecting his interests in Sinnoh.
• Yong parted from Kofu, spoke with his parents about a possible assignment in Kalos, and set out to prepare for the Lily of the Valley Conference.
• Yong found a Shiny Metang on Rock Mountain, helped it evolve into Metagross, defeated it with Rhyperior, and caught it.
• Cynthia investigated ancient writing about Mega Evolution as League figures and professors rallied behind Yong, who was named a Pokémon Junior Researcher.
• Yong organized specialized training for his team, including Mega Stone practice for Aggron and move and energy drills for his other Pokémon.
• After a month of beach training, Yong saw his Pokémon gain levels, Roggenrola evolve into Boldore, and several partners learn new moves as the conference approached.