Chapter Summaries

Xia You and Xiaojuan, Xiaotao, and Xiaoyu agreed to stay together after their relationship changed, while the sisters canceled their performance and began adjusting to their new family dynamic. The next morning, Xia You decided to remain in Ecruteak City for a few more days, then placed three Great Balls on the table to discuss something with the sisters.

• Xia You told Xiaojuan, Xiaotao, and Xiaoyu that he would take responsibility for their relationship, and Xiaoyu and her sisters accepted staying with him together.
• Xiaotao remembered the sisters' scheduled performance, so Xiaojuan suggested canceling it and taking a few days off.
• Xiaojuan, Xiaotao, and Xiaoyu worried that Xiaomei and Sakura had witnessed them with Xia You in the dining room.
• The next morning, Xia You joined the sisters and May for breakfast, where Xiaomei and Sakura realized his relationship with their older sisters had changed.
• Xia You told the sisters he would stay for a few more days while awaiting his battle with Brandon and helping May prepare for her Grand Festival.
• Xia You set three labeled Great Balls on the table and said he had something to discuss with the three women.

Xia You entrusted Entei, Suicune, and Raikou to Xiaojuan, Xiaotao, and Xiaoyu, asking them to care for and train the Legendary Beasts while keeping them out of public view. The sisters then brought up their family’s Clear Bell, hinting that it could offer Xia You a power connected to the Legendary Beasts.

• Xia You revealed that Entei, Raikou, and Suicune were inside the three Great Balls, then released Suicune to prove it.
• Xia You entrusted Entei to Xiaojuan, Suicune to Xiaotao, and Raikou to Xiaoyu, while Xiaomei and Sakura received no Pokémon.
• Xia You told the three women to keep the Legendary Beasts out of public view, train them, and develop combination techniques.
• Xiaojuan said she would buy a Poké Ball Transfer Machine so the Legendary Beasts could be sent to Xia You when needed.
• Xiaojuan asked Xiaoyu about the Clear Bell inherited by their family, and Xiaoyu said their family history might provide Xia You with an equivalent power in return.

Xiaoyu revealed the Clear Bell and explained how Xia You’s family hoped to use the Legendary Beasts to summon Ho-Oh. Xia You agreed to summon Ho-Oh after midnight so he could challenge it, then spent private time with Xiaojuan and Xiaotao before Xiaoyu arrived at his room.

• Xiaoyu showed Xia You the Clear Bell and recounted her family’s history with Ho-Oh, Lugia, and Ecruteak City’s towers.
• Xiaojuan explained that her family believed the Legendary Beasts could act as a catalyst to summon Ho-Oh with the Clear Bell.
• Xia You said he did not intend to catch Ho-Oh but agreed to summon it after midnight and settle their previous score.
• Xiaojuan and Xiaotao separately visited Xia You’s room to talk and became intimate with him.
• Xiaoyu arrived after her sisters, realized they had already visited Xia You, and entered his room.

Xia You and the five sisters prepared to summon Ho-Oh while enjoying Ecruteak City's festival with May. On the way to the Bell Tower, they met a boy whose grandfather had lost hope of seeing Ho-Oh again, and Xia You promised that Ho-Oh would appear that night.

• Xia You woke in the evening, joined May for dinner, and learned that the sisters had dressed formally to honor their tradition before summoning Ho-Oh.
• Xia You asked the sisters to dress May in a kimono, and May returned wearing an orange kimono that earned everyone's praise.
• Xia You took the group to Ecruteak City's festival, where they bought masks, browsed stalls, and played games before heading toward the Bell Tower.
• Xia You found a boy carrying a broken Ho-Oh kite and learned that the boy hoped to restore his grandfather's confidence in finding Ho-Oh.
• Xia You told the boy to go home because Ho-Oh would appear that night, then continued toward the Bell Tower.

Xia You and Xiaojuan’s sisters summoned Ho-Oh at the Bell Tower, where Xia You revealed his Legendary Birds and challenged Ho-Oh to battle. Ho-Oh accepted, and the two sides prepared to clash above the tower.

• Xia You used Gardevoir’s Teleport to bring himself and Xiaojuan’s sisters into the closed Bell Tower, and they climbed to its rooftop.
• As fireworks began over Ecruteak City, Xiaojuan and her sisters danced with the Clear Bell and the Legendary Beasts’ hairs to summon Ho-Oh.
• Ho-Oh arrived and recognized Xia You as the Trainer who had captured the Legendary Beasts it once protected.
• Xia You sent out Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, then challenged Ho-Oh to a proper match.
• Ho-Oh accepted the challenge, and the Legendary Birds charged toward it to begin the battle.

The Legendary Birds fought Ho-Oh above Bell Tower while Gardevoir protected the people below, and the spectacle drew Trainers from Ecruteak City. Xia You sent Deoxys to block the newcomers, then ordered the Legendary Birds to end the battle with their Three-Bird Combo.

• Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres attacked Ho-Oh, but Ho-Oh blocked their opening moves and answered with Sacred Fire.
• The Legendary Birds protected themselves from Sacred Fire while Gardevoir shielded Bell Tower, then they overwhelmed Ho-Oh in close combat.
• Several dozen Trainers ran toward Bell Tower after noticing the battle, and Kurio recognized Ho-Oh in the sky and showed his grandfather.
• Xia You summoned Deoxys and ordered it to stop the approaching Trainers, whose clones held them back as they fought through the seemingly endless copies.
• Xia You called to the Legendary Birds to stop playing around and use the Three-Bird Combo.

Xia You used the Legendary Birds’ Three-Bird Combo to force Ho-Oh to defend the Bell Tower, while Deoxys and Gardevoir prepared to protect the people below. As the attack descended, Morty and the other Trainers remained trapped in the forest by Deoxys’s duplicates, and Morty witnessed the blast.

• Xia You ordered Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos to unleash their Three-Bird Combo, and he explained that Ho-Oh would have to choose between blocking it and letting the Bell Tower be destroyed.
• Xia You named Deoxys as his backup plan, but Xiaojuan, Xiaoyu, Xiaomei, Sakura, and Xiaotao refused to leave him.
• Gardevoir and Deoxys raised barriers over the Bell Tower as the Legendary Birds released the energy torrent toward Ho-Oh.
• Deoxys’s duplicates held Morty and the other Trainers back in the forest, where they recognized Ho-Oh and the Legendary Birds but could not identify the strange Pokémon blocking them.
• Morty looked up as the energy torrent descended and saw a sight he would never forget.

Morty and the Pokémon Trainers fled as Ho-Oh confronted the Three-Bird Combo, which Ho-Oh survived and recovered from. After Ho-Oh approved of Xia You keeping the Legendary Beasts in Johto, it gave him a life-powered feather that merged into his body, leaving him to endure its energy as Ho-Oh flew away.

• Morty and the other Pokémon Trainers ran from the energy waterfall and the pursuing Deoxys duplicates as Ho-Oh faced the Three-Bird Combo at the Bell Tower.
• Ho-Oh charged into the attack, endured its blast, and healed its wounds before descending to meet Xia You.
• Ho-Oh approved of Xia You keeping the Legendary Beasts in Johto and declared that he had passed its test.
• Ho-Oh gave Xia You a feather that merged into his body and filled him with surging energy.
• Deoxys and the Legendary Birds attacked Ho-Oh, but it dodged their strikes and flew away after telling Xia You to endure its power.

After Ho-Oh blessed Xia You, he felt intense heat and thirst but gained extraordinary energy and recovered quickly. He spent the night and morning with Xiaojuan, Xiaoyu, and Xiaotao until the heat subsided, then realized Ho-Oh’s blessing had left him with seemingly limitless stamina and made up his mind that Ho-Oh was his best friend.

• Ho-Oh flew away after blessing Xia You, whose exhausted body recovered but began burning with heat and thirst.
• Xia You and the women escaped the Bell Tower as monks and arriving Trainers gathered there, including Morty, who tried to reach the tower’s summit.
• Back at home, Xia You’s heat and desire intensified, and he went to Xiaojuan’s room, where they spent the night together.
• The next morning, news reports discussed Ho-Oh’s clash with the Legendary Birds while Xiaoyu and Xiaojuan talked about Xia You’s condition and the possibility of pregnancy.
• Xia You’s prolonged activity with the women finally extinguished the heat, and he realized Ho-Oh’s blessing had given him abundant energy and stamina.

Xia You and May left the five sisters’ home and traveled to the city hosting the Grand Festival, where they reunited with Ash, Brock, and Max. As May prepared to compete, she declared that her special training had made her confident and determined not to lose.

• Xia You and May said goodbye to Xiaojuan and her sisters, who wished them a safe journey and May success at the Grand Festival.
• Xia You and May flew by Charizard to the Grand Festival city, where Ash, Brock, and Max were waiting for them.
• Ash told Xia You that he had lost to Brandon’s Regirock and that Brandon had postponed their rematch while searching for Regice.
• Xia You explained that his Charizard had defeated the strongest Charizard in Charizard Canyon and reached the top.
• After settling into the crowded festival town, May told Ash, Brock, and Max that her special training had made her confident and that she did not want to lose.

Xia You finally let Eevee choose its evolution, and Eevee evolved into Umbreon after deciding it loved the moon. The chapter ended with Xia You showing Umbreon to Xiaoyu and her sisters on a video call, where Xiaoyu was quietly delighted.

• Xia You reconsidered Eevee’s possible evolutions and narrowed the choices to Umbreon and Leafeon.
• Xia You took Eevee for a moonlit walk and asked it to choose between Umbreon and Leafeon.
• Eevee told Xia You it loved looking at the moon and chose Umbreon, then immediately evolved.
• Xia You returned to the Pokémon Center with Umbreon, surprising Ash, May, and the others.
• Xia You video-called Xiaoyu and her sisters, showed them Umbreon, and saw Xiaoyu smile at its evolution.

Xia You spent the day before the Grand Festival exploring Indigo Plateau and watching Ash’s old acquaintance Aipom cause chaos by stealing hats. Drew and an unidentified woman intervened, leaving Aipom floating toward Ash under Psychic.

• Xia You recognized Jessie disguised as reporter Musashi Ling, but left the Team Rocket Trio alone when Lilian praised her work.
• Xia You joined May and the others during a call with Mitsuko, who asked him and Ash to cheer May on at the Grand Festival.
• Aipom arrived at the Pokémon Center and stole hats, prompting Ash to explain how he and his friends had met it on the road.
• Aipom returned the stolen hats but grabbed Ash’s cap and fled, leading Ash, Pikachu, and Brock to chase it through the crowd.
• Drew’s Roselia trapped Aipom with Petal Dance, then an unidentified woman ordered Slowbro to use Psychic and floated Aipom toward Ash.

Ash and the others met Saori, a skilled Coordinator who had once defeated Drew in a Contest and knew him well. Saori joined May’s group for coffee and recounted Drew’s first major loss, while the Grand Festival approached.

• Aipom fled the Pokémon Center after causing a commotion, and Drew scolded Ash for disturbing the tense Coordinators.
• Saori arrived with Slowbro, revealed that Drew used to get nervous, and greeted Drew and Brock, who eagerly tried to court her.
• Drew praised Saori’s skills, then left after warning May that Saori was a tough opponent.
• Saori joined May, Xia You, Max, Ash, and Brock at a café, where she recognized Xia You as a winner of Conferences in three regions.
• Saori explained that she had met Drew in a Contest final, narrowly defeated him, and watched him grow stronger after his first loss.

May prepared for the Kanto Grand Festival as Xia You warned her that Saori would be a formidable rival and a suspicious black rose from Harley revealed his continued attempts to prank her. The Grand Festival then began in Indigo with 270 Coordinators competing, and Lilian opened the appeal stage preliminaries.

• Xia You warned May that Saori, who had defeated Drew, was likely to be her strongest opponent and that they might meet in the finals.
• At the crowded Pokémon Center, Max received a black rose for May from a cloaked stranger, but Xia You stopped May from taking it before it sprang open as a prank.
• Ash searched for Harley after the prank, while Xia You said Harley's tricks showed that he no longer felt able to manipulate May or defeat her directly.
• At the Indigo Grand Festival, Lilian welcomed the spectators and announced 270 competitors, the Grand Ribbon Trophy, and the judges, including Vivian.
• Lilian began the first preliminary round, the appeal stage performances.

May and the other Coordinators performed in the Grand Festival’s preliminary round, where each contestant had one move to impress the judges. May earned a solid score, Saori and Drew also performed well, and Harley’s bizarre imitation of May left her mortified before the judges began choosing who would advance.

• Jessie, disguised as Wu Ling, appeared as an assistant judge for the Second Stage and energized the audience.
• A teenage boy opened the preliminary round with Rapidash and earned a score of eighty.
• May performed with Combusken, using Sky Uppercut to smash a flying disc, and received a score of eighty-four.
• Saori impressed the audience with Lapras’s Sheer Cold, while Drew later earned a high score with Masquerain’s Silver Wind.
• Harley revealed an outfit imitating May, then performed with Banette’s Will-O-Wisp as May and her friends watched in embarrassment.
• The preliminary performances ended, and the four official judges began their final selection of contestants for the next round.

After advancing to the Grand Festival’s main tournament, May congratulated Saori and accepted her challenge to face her in the Battle Evaluation. Saori then asked Xia You for a battle, and the chapter ended with a huge explosion and a fire erupting in the forest where they were fighting.

• The preliminary results named 64 qualifiers, with Saori and another male contestant tied for first, Drew eighth, May twenty-first, and Harley twenty-second.
• Saori congratulated May and said she looked forward to facing her in the Battle Evaluation.
• Saori invited Xia You to battle; May agreed to go ahead to the restaurant so the challenge would not inconvenience her.
• Xia You and Saori went into the forest for a one-on-one battle, and Xia You sent out Charizard while Saori chose Slowbro.
• At the restaurant, Ash, Max, Brock, and May heard an explosion and saw a fire blazing in the direction of the forest.

Xia You returned from defeating Saori in a battle between Charizard and Slowbro, then gave Brock blunt advice about his romantic habits. At the Contest’s first Appeal Performance Stage, Drew, Harley, and Saori impressed the audience before May began her routine with Munchlax, whose attack made a surprising sound ring through the arena.

• Xia You told Ash and the others that Charizard had defeated Saori’s Slowbro, which was recovering at the Pokémon Center.
• Brock asked Xia You how to become popular with girls, and Xia You advised him to stop pursuing every pretty woman.
• Lilian opened the Contest’s Appeal Performance Stage, and Drew earned a high score with Absol’s Flash, Water Pulse, and Razor Wind.
• Harley performed with Octillery, which danced amid flames after using Fire Blast, and received a relatively high score.
• Saori performed with her recovered Slowbro, earning the highest score so far with a graceful routine using Confusion and Water Gun.
• May took the stage with Munchlax, which struck its Solar Beam with Focus Punch and sent sunlight fragments raining down as a pleasant sound filled the arena.

May earned the highest score in the first round of the Grand Festival, then drew Harley as her opponent in the second-round double battle. As May faced Harley’s Cacturne and Wigglytuff with Munchlax and Eevee, Brandon sent Xia You and Ash news that he had caught the last Regi, setting up their next journey after the competition.

• May’s Munchlax dazzled the audience and judges, earning May the highest score in the first round.
• May ranked first among the 16 contestants advancing, while Saori placed fourth, Harley seventh, and Drew tenth.
• May and Harley were paired against each other for the second round, and Brandon messaged Xia You and Ash that he had caught the last Regi.
• May and Ash found Drew practicing with Absol after his performance mistake and offered him encouragement.
• May and Harley began their double battle, with Munchlax and Eevee facing Harley’s Cacturne and Wigglytuff.
• Wigglytuff blocked May’s opening attacks by inflating, then moved aside as Cacturne launched Poison Sting at Munchlax and Eevee.

May defeated Harley’s Cacturne and Wigglytuff, then overcame Drew in a close Grand Festival quarterfinal with Combusken and Squirtle. After May advanced to the final four, Combusken evolved into Blaziken.

• May coordinated Eevee’s Shadow Ball with Munchlax’s Focus Punch, knocking out Harley’s Cacturne and sharply reducing Harley’s appeal points.
• Harley sent Wigglytuff into a relentless attack, but May read its patterns and defeated it with another combined move.
• May waved to the cheering crowd after Harley left, while Drew and Saori also won their battles and joined May in the final eight.
• The afternoon matchups paired May with Drew again, and May chose Combusken and Squirtle while Drew sent out Flygon and Absol.
• May combined Combusken’s Fire Spin with Squirtle’s Bubble to seize an appeal-point lead, then held it through an intense battle to defeat Drew as time ran out.
• May celebrated with Combusken and Squirtle, and Combusken evolved into Blaziken.

May defeated Drew and advanced through the semifinals to face Saori in the Grand Festival final. The final began with Saori gaining the advantage, while Xia You predicted that May would ultimately lose.

• After defeating Drew and celebrating with her friends, May practiced with her newly evolved Blaziken to adjust her tactics.
• May defeated her semifinal opponent, and Saori also won, setting up their final match.
• Saori visited May before the final and encouraged her to give everything she had.
• May and Saori began the final with Blaziken and Munchlax facing Slowbro and Pidgeot.
• Saori's Slowbro blocked May's opening attack, and Pidgeot's Feather Dance weakened May's Pokémon.
• Xia You told Max, Ash, and Brock that May was bound to lose, though he expected her to put up a fight.