Chapter Summaries

Three days after Pokémon devastated Teran Star, Lu Li left his apartment to search for food after the power and water failed and the convenience store was emptied. He cautiously headed toward a distant mall, avoiding dangerous Oddish and Caterpie along the way.

• Lu Li surveyed the ruined city and recalled how Pokémon had destroyed civilization, severed communications, and begun preying on people.
• With no food left at home, Lu Li took a baseball bat and left his apartment, ignoring a neighbor's faint crying because he could not afford to get involved.
• Lu Li reached the convenience store and found every shelf empty, so he decided to search the mall across the road.
• Lu Li spotted Oddish in the road median and detoured to avoid their poisonous attacks.
• Lu Li then encountered Caterpie stripping trees bare and continued cautiously, aware that even these apparently occupied Pokémon could be deadly.

Lu Li entered Zhongxing Mall to find food but was rescued from a pack of rat monsters by Jun Shutong, a former public security officer leading a survivor camp. He reached the camp on the sixth floor, learned its safety guidelines, and discovered it had thirty-seven members.

• Lu Li detoured around people trapped in cocoons and entered the dark mall to reach its supermarket.
• A pack of rat monsters threatened Lu Li, but Jun Shutong warned him and led him away from the basement.
• Jun Shutong introduced herself as the leader of the Zhongxing Mall survivor camp, and Lu Li told her about his classical forging degree.
• Jun Shutong and Lu Li reached the camp on the sixth floor, where a chubby young man admitted Lu Li inside.
• The chubby young man gave Lu Li the apocalypse survival guidelines, and Jun Shutong said the camp had thirty-seven people.

Lu Li learned how dangerous the Pokémon outside were while settling into Jun Shutong’s shelter in the mall. He decided to stay, then witnessed a Pidgey kill and eat a Caterpie.

• The chubby boy explained the dorms, food ration schedule, and shortages at Jun Shutong’s shelter, while Lu Li considered how he might become a Trainer.
• Lu Li learned that a child’s parents had been trapped in Bug Cocoons after the child sprayed a Caterpie with a Water Squirter.
• The chubby boy told Lu Li that the child and an elderly relative watched the Caterpie, hoping a bird Pokémon would kill their enemy.
• Lu Li agreed to stay at the shelter because he had no food at home and feared returning past the Caterpie.
• After hearing a Pidgey call, Lu Li watched it pierce a Caterpie’s head and swallow it as nearby Caterpie tried to escape.

Lu Li explored the Aquarium despite warnings about the Water-type Pokémon inside, hoping to find a weak Magikarp. He discovered a Pokémon hiding in a trash can and was surprised to find one even less capable of fighting.

• Fearow killed the Pidgey that had been trapped by Caterpie's String Shot, and the chubby boy said Pokémon preying on one another was good news for humans.
• The old woman mourned her grandson's death, while the chubby boy explained that the survivors had split between those awaiting rescue and those focused on survival.
• Lu Li volunteered to search the floor, took a walkie-talkie, and headed toward the Aquarium despite Sister Jun's warning about monsters gathered there.
• Lu Li found the Aquarium's tanks smashed and realized land-capable Water-type Pokémon might eventually leave when their food ran out.
• Lu Li heard bubbles from a trash can, opened it, and found a Pokémon he believed was even weaker than Magikarp.

Lu Li rescued a starving Feebas from a trash can and tried to feed and encourage it, hoping to make it his Pokémon. Jun Shutong allowed him to keep Feebas in a separate storefront near the Aquarium, but banned it from entering the Camp.

• Lu Li found Feebas in a trash can, moved it into a fishbowl, and fed it fish food.
• Lu Li carried Feebas back to the Camp while praising its beauty, and Chubby Boy warned him about the danger of keeping it.
• Lu Li asked Chubby Boy to contact Jun Shutong about arranging a separate room for Feebas.
• Jun Shutong refused to let Feebas into the Camp but agreed to move a bed into a storefront near the Aquarium for Lu Li.
• Jun Shutong warned Lu Li to keep Feebas secret from the hostile Camp residents.

Lu Li cared for Feebas in the survivor camp and wondered whether Trainers could awaken Wild Pokémon’s emotions. The next morning, Fatty Lei told him that Jun Shutong had work for the camp’s young and able-bodied residents.

• Lu Li fed Feebas and gambled that he could raise it until it evolved into a Milotic that would accept him as its Trainer.
• Lu Li joined the orderly camp for dinner, then played a feeding game with Feebas and observed that it ate far more than its size suggested.
• Lu Li considered whether Pokémon on Teran Star were undernourished or had bottomless appetites, and favored the undernourishment explanation.
• Lu Li met Fatty Lei for breakfast, learned the public restrooms still had water from the mall’s rooftop tank, and heard that Jun Shutong had assigned work to the able-bodied survivors.

With the Federation still out of contact, Jun Shutong imposed food and water rationing and sent camp members to search for supplies. She and Lu Li headed to the mall’s second floor, where they cautiously began checking stores near the basement supermarket.

• Fatty Lei told Lu Li that Jun Shutong could not bring herself to extinguish the camp’s hope in the Federation.
• Jun Shutong announced that the camp would reduce meals, ration drinking water, and require supply teams to hand over thirty percent of the food they found.
• Jun Shutong paired with Lu Li for a supply run and explained that she planned to search the second-floor health supplement stores despite the nearby risk of monsters.
• Jun Shutong led Lu Li into the second floor, and the two began cautiously checking beauty stores after finding the area less chaotic than expected.

Lu Li and Jun Shutong explored the mall’s second floor, avoiding a Pokémon in a cosmetics shop before fleeing from a playful Mime Jr. They collected health supplements and prepared to leave by the emergency stairs, though their route would pass the Aquarium.

• Jun Shutong warned Lu Li that Pokémon might still be hiding on the second floor, and they heard a strange, mechanical sound coming from a cosmetics shop.
• Jun Shutong and Lu Li avoided the shop and spotted signs that Pokémon had attacked the mall’s stores.
• Jun Shutong saw Mime Jr. behind Lu Li and mouthed a warning, so they ran to the other end of the mall.
• Jun Shutong concluded Mime Jr. had stayed behind because it was amused by their startled reaction.
• Lu Li filled a sack with health supplements while Jun Shutong gathered supplies in her backpack.
• Jun Shutong opened the emergency stairwell door and chose a route past the Aquarium.

Lu Li treated Feebas with skincare products while the camp worried that Blondie’s team had not returned. When Lu Li and Jun Shutong searched the arcade, they found signs of an earlier Aggron attack but no trace of the missing team, and Lu Li spotted something that made him urgently want to leave.

• Lu Li fed Feebas supplements and fish food, then gave it a full-body treatment with skincare products.
• The camp discovered that Blondie’s team was missing, and Jun Shutong and Lu Li volunteered to search the arcade.
• Jun Shutong explained that an upright steel monster had attacked the arcade three days earlier, killed people, eaten the tokens, and smashed through a wall.
• Lu Li and Jun Shutong found no sign of Blondie’s team or fresh damage in the arcade.
• Lu Li spotted something near a claw machine and urged Jun Shutong to leave, so she agreed to check elsewhere.

Lu Li recognized a Mimikyu in the arcade and warned Jun Shutong, who concealed its identity while cautioning the Survivor Camp to avoid the area. The camp debated whether to relocate, while Lu Li returned to care for Feebas, hoping it would become his future source of strength.

• Lu Li told Jun Shutong that he had spotted a Ghost-type Magical Beast in the arcade, which he identified as Mimikyu.
• Lu Li suspected Mimikyu had caused Blondie and the others to disappear, possibly after they saw its true appearance.
• Jun Shutong decided to keep Mimikyu's identity secret and warned the camp that there was Magical Beast activity near the arcade.
• The campers argued about whether the danger meant they should relocate, leaving Jun Shutong exhausted and uncertain.
• Lu Li went home to feed Feebas and praised its growing beauty.

Lu Li reassured Jun Shutong about the different kinds of Ghost-type Pokémon as she considered moving the camp away from the Arcade. Their discussion left the fate of Yellow Hair and his companion unexplained, and Lu Li wondered whether a Psychic-type Pokémon had made them disappear.

• Lu Li photographed Feebas, moved it into a larger tank, and stored extra fish food in his room.
• Jun Shutong asked Lu Li what he thought about relocating the camp to the apartment building across the street, and he warned it might not be safer than the mall.
• Lu Li explained that Ghost-type Pokémon could feed on life energy, souls, or emotions, and suggested the Arcade Pokémon might feed on emotions.
• Jun Shutong asked whether the Arcade Pokémon might have taken Yellow Hair and another man alive, but she and Lu Li could not explain their disappearance.
• Lu Li speculated that the missing men might still be alive and considered whether a Psychic-type Pokémon was responsible.

Lu Li and Jun Shutong watched a Houndour pack led by a Houndoom ambush residents fleeing a burning apartment building, which Lu Li recognized as his former home. Lu Li and Jun Shutong reassured the mall’s survivors that the pack was unlikely to target them, then Jun Shutong thanked Lu Li for calming the crowd.

• Jun Shutong postponed moving the camp after Lu Li explained that the Ghost-type Pokémon nearby might not be dangerous.
• Fatty Lei reported that a building in the Star Sea Residential Community was on fire, and Lu Li and Jun Shutong rushed to look.
• Lu Li recognized his former apartment building and saw a Houndour pack led by a Houndoom waiting at the emergency exit to attack fleeing residents.
• Jun Shutong pulled the curtains shut as survivors watched the horrific scene, while Fatty Lei and Lu Li suspected the Pokémon had started fires around the city deliberately.
• Lu Li told the survivors the Houndour pack would likely leave and target more populated residential buildings, and Jun Shutong backed up his reassurance.
• Jun Shutong sent the crowd upstairs and thanked Lu Li for helping calm them; Lu Li said his analysis was based on his Pokémon knowledge.

After the Camp’s water supply failed, Jun Shutong and the survivors considered how to find more water, but the dangerous options left them with no easy solution. Jun Shutong broke down under the burden of protecting everyone, while Lu Li comforted her and returned to caring for Feebas.

• Jun Shutong thanked Lu Li and gave him a large bag of chocolates, which he hid and took back to his quarters.
• Lu Li learned that the Camp’s restroom taps had stopped running, and the survivors met to discuss the water shortage.
• Lu Li suggested searching vending machines, and a mall worker mentioned machines and alcoholic drinks on the roof, but Fatty Lei rejected the dangerous route.
• Lu Li suggested conserving water and searching near the mall, including a Water Station in District One, but Jun Shutong said the journey was too risky.
• Jun Shutong admitted that she no longer knew how to protect the civilians and began to sob, while Lu Li told her she had already done more than enough.
• Lu Li left the office, collected his meal of eggs and corn, and returned to feed Feebas.

Huang Jiafei and Old Xu returned to the Camp after being trapped by a magical beast in a strange space. Their account suggested the beast had watched Lu Li and Jun Shutong search for them, and Lu Li left the meeting with a theory he planned to discuss privately.

• Huang Jiafei and Old Xu reached the Camp, where Fatty Lei recognized them and summoned Jun Shutong.
• Huang Jiafei collapsed from exhaustion, while an elderly woman gave Old Xu water.
• Jun Shutong arranged for Huang Jiafei and Old Xu to be taken back to rest.
• Jun Shutong told the meeting that a magical beast had trapped the men in a strange space, where they could watch events through a mirror but could not move or speak.
• Fatty Lei worried the beast might follow them to the Camp, and Jun Shutong judged that unlikely because the Arcade was nearby.
• Lu Li said the beast did not seem to consider the Camp’s residents food, while Jun Shutong realized he was withholding something.

Lu Li proposed sending two Camp members to the Arcade each day to satisfy Mimikyu and reduce the risk of it attacking everyone, and Jun Shutong accepted the plan. She announced that she and Lu Li would go first, appointed him her deputy, and organized a lottery for the remaining members.

• Lu Li told Jun Shutong that Mimikyu fed on human fear and despair, and warned that it would seek food again.
• Lu Li proposed sending two people to the Arcade each day, and Jun Shutong agreed that the sacrifice could help protect the Camp.
• Jun Shutong announced the plan to the Camp and said she and Lu Li would go first to try to communicate with Mimikyu.
• Jun Shutong appointed Lu Li her deputy and exempted them both from future sacrifice lots after their first trip.
• The thirty-six other Camp members drew lots to determine their turns, and Jun Shutong promised each pair a full meal before going to the Arcade.

Lu Li and Jun Shutong entered the Arcade to negotiate with Mimikyu, and Lu Li proposed a daily arrangement to keep it occupied and prevent it from killing people. Mimikyu tacitly accepted, but then struck both Lu Li and Jun Shutong with a strange pink light.

• Jun Shutong left the Camp with Lu Li, asking Lei Hao to take charge in case they did not return.
• Jun Shutong and Lu Li entered the Arcade, where Lu Li told her to wait by the entrance while he approached Mimikyu alone.
• Lu Li reviewed Mimikyu’s traits and offered to send people to visit it daily in exchange for it not killing them.
• Mimikyu understood Lu Li’s proposal and tacitly accepted it, while thinking that it still needed to keep people captive.
• Mimikyu’s head flopped over, and it struck Lu Li and Jun Shutong with a strange pink light.

Lu Li and Jun Shutong recovered after Mimikyu used Confuse Ray to make them leave, and Lu Li told the Camp that the Ghost-type Pokémon had accepted their terms. He returned to his quarters determined to keep communicating with Pokémon, while Jun Shutong made him her deputy.

• Lu Li and Jun Shutong came out of their daze, and Fatty Lei explained that they had walked in blankly and ignored everyone.
• Lu Li realized that Mimikyu's Confuse Ray showed its strength, but its disdain for him made becoming a Trainer seem difficult.
• Lu Li told the Camp that Mimikyu had agreed to their terms and suggested the sacrifice plan could protect them, easing the residents' fears.
• Jun Shutong took Lu Li to her office, thanked him for negotiating with Mimikyu, and offered him the deputy position.
• Lu Li accepted the role without taking on day-to-day management, then returned to his quarters to feed Feebas and work on understanding Pokémon.

Lu Li planned to secure a long-term water supply for the Survivor Camp by collecting rainwater from the mall's rooftop tank, and Jun Shutong agreed to lead a small team that night. As dinner ended, Lu Li prepared to explain why he wanted Yellow Hair and Old Xu on the team.

• Lu Li identified the camp's shut-off water supply as its most urgent survival problem and proposed collecting rainwater in the mall's rooftop tank.
• Jun Shutong agreed to lead a nighttime team, and Lu Li volunteered to join her.
• Lu Li proposed a five-person team of himself, Jun Shutong, Fatty Lei, Yellow Hair, and Old Xu, promising to explain his reasons after dinner.
• The survivors ate a substantial meal, and Lu Li observed an old man pick up and eat meat his grandson had dropped.
• Fatty Lei teased Lu Li about looking after him, and Lu Li suggested they help one another survive.

Lu Li explained a nighttime plan to reopen the water tank lid, and Jun Shutong led a group to the rooftop despite the danger from bat Magical Beasts. The group reached the water tank without seeing any bats, ready to proceed cautiously.

• Fatty Lei told Lu Li that more survivors were arriving at the mall, but people entering the basement supermarket had not returned.
• Lu Li told Fatty Lei to attend a nighttime operation, then explained the water tank plan to Jun Shutong and the others in her office.
• Lu Li persuaded Fatty Lei, Old Xu, and Yellow Hair to join by explaining their usefulness and the chance for Fatty Lei to prove himself as an administrator.
• Jun Shutong armed herself with the Camp's bulletproof vest and police pistol, promising to cover the others' retreat if bats attacked.
• Jun Shutong led Lu Li, Fatty Lei, Old Xu, and Yellow Hair up the emergency stairwell to the rooftop, where she saw no bat Magical Beasts and told them to stay near the wall and keep quiet.

Lu Li’s group reached the water tower to open it, but the loud crash attracted a Zubat. They escaped into the emergency stairwell, and Zubat flew away, leaving them to hurry back before more Pokémon arrived.

• Lu Li assigned Huang Jiafei and Old Xu to open the water tower while Fatty Lei prepared to lure away any bat Magical Beast and Jun Shutong kept watch.
• Huang Jiafei and Old Xu dropped the heavy lid, making a loud crash, and Lu Li led the group toward the emergency stairwell.
• When a Zubat appeared, Lu Li told everyone to stay still because it attacked moving creatures, but Fatty Lei continued running.
• Jun Shutong shot Zubat in the wing, disrupting its flight long enough for Fatty Lei to reach the stairwell.
• Zubat sensed other predators nearby and flew away, and Lu Li urged the group to return quickly.