Recaps

Xia You and Sabrina visited the Blackthorn Gym, where Lance and Gym Leader Clair postponed his Rising Badge challenge because they needed to confront a Pokémon hunter using Dark Balls. Lance persuaded Xia You to join them, and they set off before he could learn more about their target.

• Xia You and Sabrina arrived at the Blackthorn Gym, but found no staff in the entrance hall.
• Lance and Clair came downstairs and explained that they could not hold Xia You’s Gym battle because they had to leave on urgent business.
• Lance urged Xia You to help, while Clair objected that the Dragon Sanctuary was forbidden to outsiders.
• Lance explained that a Pokémon hunter had used Dark Balls to steal Pokémon from innocent Trainers and said the dragon tamers lacked other available fighters.
• Xia You agreed to help, and Lance led the group off to discuss the details on the way.

Xia You, Sabrina, Lance, and Clair traveled to the Dragon’s Den to stop Team Rocket executive Vicious from reaching the Dragon’s Sacred Land and enslaving its Pokémon. After learning Vicious had already entered the cave, the group prepared to follow him through its dangerous waterways.

• Lance told Xia You that Vicious was hunting Pokémon in the Dragon’s Sacred Land, and Xia You recalled the executive’s ambitions against Giovanni.
• Clair praised Xia You for keeping up during their flight, and he credited his Pokémon’s talent.
• The group landed beside the Dragon’s Den, where Kabu reported that Vicious had entered the cave.
• Clair introduced Xia You and Sabrina to Kabu, and Lance urged everyone to pursue Vicious before he reached the sacred land.
• Lance and Clair released their Gyarados for the journey through the cave, and Xia You’s imposing, scarred Gyarados intimidated them.

Lance, Clair, Kabu, and Xia You traveled through the Dragon's Den while searching for Vicious, then reached the secluded Dragon's Sacred Land. Xia You saw that the hidden valley was a thriving habitat for Dragon-type Pokémon and many other species.

• Lance led Xia You, Sabrina, Clair, and Kabu through the lake and into the Dragon's Den, where Kabu explained the cave's legend and the Dragon Washing Ceremony.
• Lance found a fork in the cave but no trace of Vicious, so Xia You advised heading straight for the Dragon's Sacred Land rather than trying to follow Vicious's route.
• Lance led the group through the waterways and down an underground waterfall into a frigid pool.
• Lance showed Xia You the Dragon's Sacred Land, a hidden valley accessible only through the cave and protected from discovery by a mysterious power.
• Xia You saw Dragonite, Dragonair, Dratini, and many other Pokémon living in the lush valley.

Lance, Clair, and Xia You went to the Dragon Shrine to warn the Dragon Tamer elder about a Pokémon hunter, and the elder invited Xia You to join the family. The invitation was refused, but an explosion on the mountainside revealed a dark opening, leaving the group facing a new threat.

• Lance, Clair, and Xia You reached the Dragon Shrine, where Lance explained that its Flame of Prayer had burned for five hundred years.
• Dragonite woke the sleeping head elder, and Lance told him that a Pokémon hunter threatened the Dragon's Sacred Land.
• The head elder invited Xia You to join the Dragon Tamer Family, but Xia You declined because he liked Pokémon beyond Dragon-types.
• The head elder told Sabrina that her psychic powers left her with no affinity for the Way of the Dragon.
• An explosion shook the mountainside, and the group saw a pitch-black opening amid the falling rocks.

Vicious emerged from the cave in a mechanical spider with Team Rocket members, forcing Lance to split the defenders into groups. Xia You joined Clair against Team Rocket while Sabrina went to support Lance, and Xia You’s Pokémon turned the battle against the attackers.

• Vicious rode out of the cave in a mechanical spider, followed by more than a dozen armed Team Rocket members.
• Lance assigned himself to fight Vicious and sent Clair and Xia You to stop the Team Rocket members from reaching the sacred land’s heart.
• Lance told Kabu to protect the Dragon Elder, then attacked Vicious’s mechanical spider with Dragonite while Clair charged the Team Rocket members.
• Xia You asked Sabrina to back up Lance, and she flew toward the mechanical spider using her psychic powers.
• Xia You joined Clair’s fight, releasing his Pokémon to overwhelm the Team Rocket members’ Golbat and Weezing and ease the pressure on Clair’s team.

Xia You and Clair defeated Vicious's Team Rocket subordinates while Lance fought Vicious, who captured Lance's Dragonite with a Dark Ball and turned it against him. Sabrina arrived in time to protect Lance, but Vicious ordered the corrupted Dragonite to attack again.

• Xia You and Clair's Pokémon overwhelmed Team Rocket's forces, and Clair learned that Xia You had caught a Dratini on Dragonite Island.
• Xia You and Clair subdued the Team Rocket members and returned their Pokémon to their Poké Balls.
• Vicious trapped Lance's Dragonite in a Dark Ball, nullified Lance's attempt to recall it, and released it under his control.
• The corrupted Dragonite fired a Hyper Beam at Lance, but Sabrina stopped the attack before it could hit him.
• Lance called for Dragonite to resist the darkness, briefly stirring a flicker of struggle before Vicious ordered it to finish them off.

Sabrina blocked Vicious’s corrupted Dragonite while Xia You and Clair joined the confrontation at the Dragon’s Sacred Land. Vicious tried to capture their Pokémon with Dark Balls, but Gardevoir escaped, and Lance proposed destroying the Dark Ball in Vicious’s hand to free the controlled Pokémon.

• Sabrina blocked another attack from Vicious’s Dragonite, and Xia You and Clair arrived with Gardevoir and Charizard.
• Vicious revealed that he had come to capture Pokémon for Team Rocket and threatened the group with Dark Balls.
• Vicious threw Dark Balls at Gardevoir and Charizard; Clair dodged, and Gardevoir’s psychic power failed to stop the black light.
• Gardevoir used Teleport to escape the Dark Ball’s reach while Xia You considered how Vicious’s Dark Balls compared to Mewtwo’s black Poké Balls.
• Lance urged the group to attack together and break the Dark Ball in Vicious’s hand to restore the controlled Pokémon.

Xia You, Lance, and Clair launched an all-out attack on Vicious, who sent his Dark Ball-controlled Pokémon into battle. As the fight intensified, Vicious targeted Clair, but she evaded the evil Dragonite with remarkable agility.

• Clair, Lance, and Xia You sent Charizard, Aerodactyl, Gardevoir, and other Pokémon to attack Vicious, who released Houndoom, Ursaring, and Beedrill from Dark Balls hidden on his vest.
• Xia You realized Vicious relied on his Pokémon's strength rather than directing them tactically, while Lance noted that Vicious had few Dark Balls left.
• Lance and Clair sent out four more Pokémon, and Xia You added Venusaur and Scyther to the battle.
• Vicious released the last two Pokémon from his vest, then ordered the evil Dragonite to attack Clair during the chaos.
• Clair dodged the evil Dragonite's attacks and leaped between tree branches, astonishing Xia You.

Xia You sent Gengar to steal and destroy Vicious's Dark Balls, freeing the controlled Pokémon and turning the battle against Team Rocket. Vicious escaped aboard his mechanical spider, and Xia You stopped Lance from pursuing him.

• As Clair struggled against the evil Dragonite, Xia You decided that destroying Vicious's Dark Balls was the key to winning the battle.
• Xia You sent Gengar through the shadows to approach Vicious and destroy the Dark Balls while Lance and the others kept the enemy Pokémon occupied.
• Vicious tried to capture Lance's Aerodactyl, but Gengar snatched the Dark Balls from his hand and smashed them with a Shadow Ball.
• The controlled Pokémon, including the evil Dragonite, regained their awareness, and Lance and Clair realized Xia You's plan had succeeded.
• Vicious used smoke and thrusters to escape in his mechanical spider, but Xia You warned Lance not to chase him because Vicious might still have Dark Balls.

After helping Lance and Clair defeat Vicious and Team Rocket, Xia You received a Mega Stone from the Dragon Elder as a reward. He chose the yellow stone for Mega Charizard Y, leaving him with a second Mega Stone before his journey to Kalos.

• Vicious fled and abandoned his defeated Team Rocket subordinates, while the battle left much of the valley damaged.
• Lance and Xia You reassured Clair that the Dragon's Sacred Land would recover, then decided to turn the prisoners over to Officer Jenny after reporting to the Elder.
• As they headed to the Dragon Shrine, Xia You asked Clair how she had dodged so skillfully, and Lance praised Gengar for turning the battle around.
• The Dragon Elder thanked Xia You for his help and offered him one of two Mega Stones for Charizard, explaining that the stones came from Kalos and could not be used together.
• Xia You chose the yellow Mega Stone for Mega Charizard Y.

After helping capture Team Rocket members in the Dragon's Sacred Land, Xia You and Sabrina stayed at Blackthorn Gym as guests of Lance and Clair. The chapter ended with Gengar revealing that he had secretly kept one of Vicious's Dark Balls, which Xia You decided to save as a souvenir rather than use.

• Xia You and the others handed the captured Team Rocket members over to Officer Jenny, while Lance vowed that the Dragon Tamers would hunt down the escaped Vicious.
• Lance and Clair invited Xia You and Sabrina to stay at Blackthorn Gym, where Clair postponed Xia You's Gym battle until the next day.
• Xia You and Sabrina shared a lavish dinner with Lance and Clair, then received separate rooms because Clair did not know they were a couple.
• Gengar showed Xia You that he had secretly kept one unused Dark Ball from Vicious's collection.
• Xia You examined the Dark Ball and decided to keep it as a collectible, hoping he would never need to use it.

Alone in his Johto room, Xia You reflected on his painful history with Serena and their growing distance after he rejected her confession. Her affectionate messages made him consider returning to Kalos after the Silver Conference to face their unresolved relationship.

• Xia You read Misty's update that she, Ash, and Brock had reached New Bark Town to take the GS Ball to Professor Elm.
• Xia You reviewed Serena's old messages and recalled how they grew close in Kalos before he distanced himself and rejected her confession.
• Xia You messaged Serena, who replied that she had been showering and asked about his journey in Johto.
• Serena congratulated Xia You on winning the Orange League and revealed that she had watched every match.
• Xia You decided he should stop avoiding the problem and considered visiting Serena after the Silver Conference.

Xia You challenged Clair at Blackthorn Gym, and Lance told the former Gym Leader that Xia You was powerful enough to defeat her. Xia You asked to face Clair’s strongest Pokémon in a simultaneous three-on-three match, and the former Gym Leader recognized him as the Indigo Conference champion.

• Xia You and Sabrina followed Clair to Blackthorn Gym’s battlefield, where Lance arrived to watch their match.
• Lance’s uncle, the former Blackthorn Gym Leader and head of the Dragon Tamer Family, joined him and discussed Team Rocket’s attack on the Dragon’s Sacred Land.
• Lance praised Xia You’s strength and rapid improvement, telling his uncle that Clair would lose to him.
• Kabu announced the three-on-three elimination match rules, and Xia You asked Clair to use her aces and send out their Pokémon simultaneously.
• Clair agreed to Xia You’s proposed match rules, and Lance’s uncle recognized Xia You as the Indigo Conference champion.

Xia You’s Gardevoir defeated Clair’s Charizard in the first round by anticipating its attacks and knocking it out with Hypnosis. Clair recalled Charizard before it fell into the pool, conceding the round as the battle continued.

• Clair sent out Charizard while Xia You chose Gardevoir for the opening round.
• Charizard dodged Gardevoir’s Confusion and attacked with Flamethrower, but Gardevoir escaped with Teleport.
• Clair ordered Charizard to keep attacking, while Xia You used his familiarity with Charizard and Telepathy to help Gardevoir anticipate its moves.
• Gardevoir wore Charizard down, then used Psybeam, Psychic, and Hypnosis to send it falling toward the pool.
• Clair recalled Charizard before it hit the water, and Kabu declared Gardevoir the winner of the first round.

Xia You’s Crystal Steelix battled Clair’s Altaria despite its disadvantage against the Flying type, then gained the upper hand with an unexpected Dragon Breath and a well-timed counterattack. Altaria was left downed by Iron Tail, while the battle’s outcome remained unsettled.

• Lance praised Xia You’s strength, and his uncle left rather than watch Clair lose.
• Clair sent out Altaria while Xia You sent out Crystal Steelix, and both trainers recognized the matchup’s advantages and drawbacks.
• Altaria repeatedly attacked while Crystal Steelix struggled to land its Rock-type moves and defended against the onslaught.
• Xia You caught Altaria during a Wing Attack with Dragon Breath, burning it and dealing double damage.
• Crystal Steelix used Gyro Spin to throw Altaria to the ground, then struck it with Iron Tail before it could recover.

Xia You's Crystal Steelix defeated Clair's Altaria in the second battle, surviving Clair's attempt to knock it into the pool because it had resistance to water. With Clair trailing 2-0, she asked Xia You to use Gyarados in the final battle.

• Xia You ordered Crystal Steelix to bite Altaria, and Altaria escaped by attacking from inside its jaws.
• Clair had Altaria charge Crystal Steelix into the pool, hoping its weight would keep it from climbing out.
• Crystal Steelix emerged unharmed, and Xia You explained that it had gained resistance to water and had once lived underwater.
• Crystal Steelix pulled its unconscious, bound Altaria from the pool and tossed it back to Clair.
• Kabu declared Crystal Steelix the winner, and Clair recalled Altaria before asking Xia You to send out Gyarados for the final battle.

Clair challenged Xia You to a Gyarados battle, but his scarred Pokémon overwhelmed hers and forced her to concede. Lance invited Xia You to battle him, but Xia You declined until after the Silver Conference.

• Clair asked Xia You to battle their Gyarados, and he accepted her challenge.
• Xia You's Gyarados intimidated Clair's Pokémon with its roar and charged into battle without waiting for his commands.
• The two Gyarados fought at close range, but Xia You's Pokémon relentlessly overpowered and wounded Clair's.
• Clair stopped the one-sided match and conceded, and Kabu declared Xia You the winner.
• Lance asked Xia You to explain Gyarados's ferocity, then challenged him to a battle; Xia You declined until after the Silver Conference.

After earning the Rising Badge, Xia You told Lance about Team Rocket’s base in Mahogany Town and continued there with Sabrina. On the way, he spotted a Larvitar and prepared to catch it.

• Clair awarded Xia You the Rising Badge, and he told Lance, Clair, and Kabu that he was heading to Mahogany Town to help Looker deal with Team Rocket.
• Clair suspected Vicious might flee to the Mahogany Town base, but Lance declined to join Xia You because he had urgent business in Kanto.
• Xia You and Sabrina left Blackthorn City and traveled northwest through the mountains toward Mahogany Town.
• Xia You spotted a Larvitar searching for food among rocks and decided to catch it.
• Xia You used his Pokédex to learn that Larvitar ate soil as it traveled toward the surface.

Xia You cornered and battled a wild Larvitar, catching it after Dratini defeated it. Dratini evolved into Dragonair, leaving Xia You with a new Pokémon and the task of choosing which Pokémon to transfer back because his team had reached its limit.

• Xia You, Charizard, Gengar, and Sabrina surrounded Larvitar, and Xia You challenged it to battle Dratini.
• Dratini battled Larvitar while Xia You watched, and Larvitar used Sandstorm to escape before Dratini caught it with Bind.
• Xia You threw a Poké Ball at the unconscious Larvitar as Dratini evolved into Dragonair.
• Larvitar's Poké Ball clicked shut, confirming the capture and bringing Xia You's Pokémon count to fourteen.
• Xia You realized he had to transfer one Pokémon back and wondered who to send.

Xia You sent Venusaur back to Cerise Laboratory and, after Looker warned him that Team Rocket might be alerted, met with the International Police outside Mahogany Town. He joined Looker and Zero at their temporary camp as preparations shifted in response to Team Rocket's evacuation.

• Xia You returned Venusaur to Cerise Laboratory and asked Chloe to look after it.
• Looker warned Xia You not to enter Mahogany Town because Team Rocket might recognize him and become suspicious.
• Xia You told Looker about helping Lance defeat Vicious, and Looker realized Team Rocket had begun clearing out its base in anticipation of their arrival.
• Looker sent Xia You and Sabrina coordinates for an International Police camp in a forest near Mahogany Town and the Lake of Rage.
• Xia You put on his Gengar mask, entered the camp with Sabrina, and greeted Looker and commander Zero.

Looker introduced Will and Karen as allies for the International Police operation against Team Rocket. With Team Rocket already withdrawing, the group prepared to raid two sites in Mahogany Town and at the Lake of Rage.

• Looker introduced Will and Karen to Xia You and Sabrina as specialists invited to help fight Team Rocket.
• Will greeted Sabrina enthusiastically, but she ignored him, leaving him awkwardly embarrassed.
• Xia You introduced himself as Player, and Karen accepted his explanation of the name while Will made a theatrical introduction of his own.
• Zero announced that Team Rocket had begun withdrawing, so the operation had to start immediately.
• Looker assigned Will and Karen to raid a shop in Mahogany Town, while he, Player, and Sabrina would lead officers against a research base on the shore of the Lake of Rage.

Xia You, Sabrina, and Looker’s squad prepared to raid Team Rocket’s research institute at Lake of Rage while Vicious left the base. After Karen reported that the Mahogany Town assault was going well, the International Police launched their attack, but a rugged Team Rocket leader ordered his people to fight back.

• Xia You and Looker spotted Vicious preparing to leave, so Looker sent someone to follow him while Xia You informed Clair of his whereabouts.
• The group waited until the other International Police squads had surrounded the base, and Karen told Looker that she and Will were advancing through the Mahogany Town base and battling Lance.
• Team Rocket members noticed the approaching officers and rushed to move supplies after learning that the Mahogany Town base was under attack.
• Looker ordered the raid, and International Police officers and speedboats advanced on the research institute from several directions.
• A rugged Team Rocket man emerged from the institute, stopped his panicking members, and ordered them to wipe out the International Police.

Looker’s assault on Team Rocket’s base faltered when a radio-wave attack incapacitated the International Police’s Pokémon. Xia You identified the nearby signal tower as the likely source, and Sabrina prepared to destroy it.

• Looker confronted Tatsumi, captain of Project R’s execution unit, and ordered Team Rocket to surrender.
• Tatsumi’s Golbat and Weezing fought back, but a sudden radio-wave attack left the International Police’s Arcanine in pain and unable to fight.
• Gengar told Xia You that the radio waves were draining his strength, then retreated into his Poké Ball.
• Xia You deduced that the signal tower was broadcasting the attack and suggested destroying it to restore the Pokémon.
• Xia You looked to Sabrina, who nodded and prepared to step in despite the danger.

Sabrina destroyed Team Rocket’s Signal Tower, freeing the International Police’s Pokémon and allowing Xia You and the officers to drive Team Rocket back into the research facility. Inside, Dr. Sebastian ordered Tatsumi to destroy the records and admired Xia You’s Gyarados as the battle outside ended.

• Looker’s officers used smoke grenades to cover Sabrina as she advanced toward the Signal Tower.
• Sabrina lifted a Team Rocket truck with her psychic powers and hurled it into the Signal Tower, destroying its transmitter and ending the radio-wave interference.
• Xia You released Charizard, Gyarados, Jolteon, and Scyther to help the International Police defeat Team Rocket’s forces outside the research facility.
• Tatsumi ordered the surviving Team Rocket members to retreat into the research facility as the International Police captured the surrounding facilities.
• Tatsumi told Dr. Sebastian that the base was lost and that the records had not been destroyed; Dr. Sebastian ordered him to destroy them physically.
• Dr. Sebastian watched Xia You’s Gyarados defeat the last Golbat and declared that it was the Gyarados he wanted.

Xia You, Looker, and the International Police reached Dr. Sebastian’s laboratory and learned that Project R used radio waves to force Pokémon evolution. Dr. Sebastian struck Xia You’s Gyarados with the signal, transforming it into a gigantic scarlet Pokémon that lost control.

• Gyarados smashed through the institute’s gate, and Looker, Xia You, and the International Police pushed through the building to the central laboratory.
• Dr. Sebastian introduced himself and explained that Project R stimulated Pokémon DNA to force evolution and increase their strength and destructiveness.
• Dr. Sebastian admitted the Red Gyarados at the Lake of Rage had been an escaped failed specimen, then revealed he wanted to use Xia You’s powerful Gyarados for his research.
• Looker moved to arrest Dr. Sebastian, but the doctor activated the signal transmitter and struck Xia You’s Gyarados with a radio wave.
• Gyarados grew larger, turned scarlet, and roared as it lost all reason and became uncontrollably furious.