Chapter Summaries

Caitlin secretly realized that Cynthia and Xia You had an intimate relationship, then noticed Skyla following their group on the way to Dawn’s Pokémon Contest. After Caitlin identified Skyla as the Mistralton Gym Leader, Xia You learned that Cynthia had previously battled Elesa in the city, while Skyla’s reason for following them remained unclear.

• Caitlin used her psychic powers to discover that Xia You had visited Cynthia’s room, then concealed her knowledge while the group ate breakfast.
• Caitlin encouraged Dawn before the group set off for the Pokémon Contest Hall, and Dawn confidently declared she intended to win the Ribbon Medal.
• Caitlin sensed a red-haired woman following the group and identified her as Skyla, the Mistralton Gym Leader.
• Xia You asked Cynthia about her earlier visit to Mistralton City, and Cynthia admitted that Elesa had challenged her to a battle.
• Xia You guessed Skyla might be following them to report what she had seen to Elesa, then urged the group to continue to Dawn’s contest.

Dawn won her fifth Ribbon Medal and qualified for the Grand Festival, while Xia You celebrated with the group and handled calls about Team Plasma's destroyer. He learned that Shelly and Courtney had secured the ship and were holding Linda aboard it.

• Dawn won the Contest's Battle Evaluation, earned her fifth Ribbon Medal, and qualified for the Grand Festival.
• Xia You joined Cheryl, Makomo, Cynthia, Caitlin, and the others in planning a celebration for Dawn.
• Looker asked Xia You about Team Plasma's destroyer, and Xia You claimed he had found no sign of it before leaving Driftveil City.
• Xia You video-called Shelly, who reported that she and Courtney had erased Team Plasma's information and taken control of the destroyer.
• Shelly showed Xia You that Linda was being held behind bulletproof glass aboard the ship.

After leaving Mistralton City, Xia You and his companions traveled toward Icirrus City and explored Mistralton Tower, an empty landmark used for a festival competition. They learned the event was not happening soon, then continued their journey with Ross Mountain ahead.

• Xia You told Shelly and Courtney to keep watching Linda and warned them that Looker was investigating further.
• Xia You, Cheryl, Dawn, and Makomo said goodbye to Cynthia and Caitlin and left Mistralton City for Icirrus City.
• The group traveled through increasingly steep wilderness toward Ross Mountain, while Xia You let Meloetta and Mewtwo experience the outdoors.
• The travelers found Mistralton Tower and discovered it was a venue for a commemorative festival and competition where the winner rang its bell.
• Makomo explained that the festival was still far off, and the group rang the bell before admiring the mountain scenery.

Xia You and his companions endured a miserable night in Mistralton Tower before continuing across Ross Mountain to Dongge Town. After hearing about a Fighting type Tournament there next month, Xia You invited Bea to enter, and she agreed.

• The group abandoned their windy camp inside Mistralton Tower at three in the morning and slept outdoors instead.
• Xia You, Dawn, and Makomo crossed Ross Mountain and reached Dongge Town after passing through a volcanic area.
• At the Pokémon Center, Xia You heard that Dongge Town would host a Fighting type Tournament the following month.
• Xia You messaged Bea about the tournament, and she immediately replied, "Okay."

Xia You and his companions reached Icirrus City to challenge Brycen, but learned he had gone to the Ice Lake for training and registered to wait for his return. As they explored the city, Makomo told them Brycen had been a famous movie star before Alder invited him to become a Gym Leader.

• Xia You and his companions entered chilly Icirrus City and went to the Icirrus Gym to challenge Brycen.
• A Gym staff member told them Brycen was away training at the Ice Lake, so Xia You registered his contact information for a later challenge.
• Dawn, Cheryl, and Makomo left the Gym and decided to look around the city while waiting for a notification.
• Makomo explained that Brycen was known as the Ice Masked Hero and had starred in action movies before retiring after a serious filming accident.
• Makomo said Alder visited Brycen in the hospital and personally invited him to become the Icirrus Gym Leader, impressing Dawn.

Xia You and Makomo went to the Icirrus Gym, where Gym Leader Brycen recognized Xia You and mentioned his achievements and scandal with Diantha. Brycen prepared to give the Gym battle his all, while Makomo watched and wished Xia You luck.

• After Brycen returned, Xia You left the Pokémon Center with Makomo to head for the Icirrus Gym.
• On the way, Makomo realized she and Xia You were alone together, and Xia You told her Ho-Oh’s blessing kept him from feeling the cold.
• Xia You and Makomo met Brycen on the Gym’s icy battlefield.
• Brycen recognized Xia You’s four consecutive Conference victories and his scandal with Diantha.
• Brycen challenged Xia You to show his strength, and Makomo wished Xia You good luck.

Xia You began his three-Pokémon Gym battle against Brycen, who opened with Cryogonal and faced Tyranitar. In Driftveil City, Looker investigated the Team Plasma Destroyer and followed a lead involving Charles and a group called Dr. Ice Pillars.

• Brycen interrupted the referee’s explanation and declared that he would use his strongest Pokémon in the three-on-three Gym battle against Xia You.
• Brycen sent out Cryogonal, and Xia You answered with Tyranitar as Makomo prepared to record the match.
• The referee started the Gym battle between Xia You and Brycen.
• Looker investigated the harbor but could not confirm whether the strange sailing ship people recalled was the Team Plasma Destroyer.
• Looker identified Xia You as someone who had asked about the ship and learned that Charles had disappeared while searching for his missing childhood friend.
• Looker heard that Charles had fought masked thieves called Dr. Ice Pillars and decided to investigate whether they were connected to Team Plasma.

Bea set out for Unova after Xia You’s announcement stirred her feelings, while Xia You defeated Brycen and earned the Ice Pillars Badge. As he and Makomo returned to the Pokémon Center, Xia You reassured her that companionship did not depend on being useful.

• Bea stopped training and began packing after hearing that the Don George Fighting Tournament would take place next month, then decided to leave for Unova immediately.
• Xia You defeated Brycen’s Cryogonal with Tyranitar, then beat Vanilluxe and Walrein with Snowman Snorlax on the Ice Field.
• Brycen presented Xia You with the Ice Pillars Badge, giving him eight Gym Badges by count, though two were identical Basic Badges.
• Xia You and Makomo left the Gym and headed back to the Pokémon Center in the afternoon heat.
• Makomo admitted she felt increasingly unable to help Xia You, and he told her that being companions was not about being useful.

After earning the Icirrus City Gym Badge, Xia You and his companions headed west, but three Absol launched a coordinated attack against him on the road. Mewtwo and Gardevoir stopped the attackers, while the group remained wary of whoever had sent them.

• Xia You returned to the Pokémon Center with Makomo after winning the Gym battle, and he showed Dawn and Cheryl his new Badge.
• Makomo showed Dawn and Cheryl footage of Xia You’s battle, and the group chatted before setting out west from Icirrus City.
• Three Absol sprang from the bushes and attacked Xia You from different angles.
• Mewtwo and Gardevoir emerged from their Poké Balls and knocked the three Absol into the trees, killing them.
• Dawn, Cheryl, and Makomo gathered beside Xia You and watched for further attackers, while Makomo suspected that someone was hiding nearby.

Xia You and Mewtwo discovered the Dark Trinity hiding nearby and confronted them. Mewtwo defeated their coordinated backup attack with overwhelming force, leaving the three officers’ fate unresolved.

• Mewtwo sensed the Dark Trinity hiding behind rocks on a nearby hill and approached them before they could retreat.
• Mewtwo immobilized the three officers, but one used a special smoke bomb to disrupt its psychic perception and briefly escape its hold.
• The Dark Trinity released Banette, Accelgor, and Bisharp to attack Mewtwo from three directions with super-effective moves.
• Mewtwo stopped all three Pokémon with sheer force and sent them crashing into rocks and trees, knocking them unconscious.

Mewtwo effortlessly defeated and captured the Dark Trinity after they attacked Xia You. Xia You identified the Team Plasma assassins and contacted Looker, leaving the three awaiting transfer to the Officer Jenny and the International Police.

• Mewtwo overwhelmed the Dark Trinity's Pokémon and immobilized the three attackers when they tried to flee.
• Mewtwo brought the captives back to Xia You, and Dawn demanded to know why they had attacked him.
• Xia You identified the attackers as Team Plasma's Dark Trinity, and they threatened him on behalf of the organization.
• Xia You called Looker, who arranged for the International Police to take custody of the Dark Trinity.
• Xia You asked Makomo to contact the local Officer Jenny while the captives remained restrained.

After the Shadow Triad’s failed attack, Xia You and his companions resumed their journey, and he vowed to bring down Team Plasma. That night, Makomo overheard Xia You and Cheryl together and began wondering what their relationship meant, then noticed the discarded rubbish outside their tent the next morning.

• Looker abandoned his pursuit of leads about Dr. Ice Pillars to focus on securing the capture of the Shadow Triad.
• Xia You and his companions handed the Shadow Triad to Officer Jenny and continued traveling; Xia You promised to make Team Plasma pay and bring the organization down.
• At camp that night, Makomo overheard Xia You and Cheryl in their tent and wondered whether they were merely friends and companions.
• Makomo noticed that Dawn was also awake, but the two agreed without speaking to act as though nothing had happened.
• The next morning, Makomo saw Cheryl cooking breakfast and noticed the rubbish outside Xia You and Cheryl’s tent, recalling that Xia You had Ho-Oh’s power inside his body.

Makomo secretly collected a sample from Xia You’s trash, hoping to investigate the effects of Ho-Oh’s blessing. Dawn caught her conducting an experiment and looked through the microscope, leaving Makomo scrambling to explain what she saw.

• During breakfast, Makomo recalled Xia You’s claim that Ho-Oh had blessed him and decided to collect a sample for research.
• Makomo secretly opened Xia You’s trash bag, gathered a sample in a test tube, and buried the evidence.
• Back at camp, Makomo hurried into her tent to examine the sample with her research instruments.
• Dawn returned to pack, noticed Makomo’s microscope, and asked to look through it.
• Dawn peered into the microscope and cried out in surprise, so Makomo took her place and called the sample ordinary microorganisms.

Xia You and his companions crossed the Icirrus Wetlands, where a Pokémon Ranger warned them about a red-haired girl known as the “Dragon Buster.” They soon encountered the girl, who asked if they were Trainers, and Dawn challenged her rude approach.

• Xia You asked why Makomo was acting strangely, and she let him believe she felt unwell while privately thinking about her research on his unusual tadpoles.
• Dawn spotted Stunfisk, and Makomo explained that a past fire had driven Pokémon, including Keldeo, from the wetlands.
• A Pokémon Ranger reminded the group that fires were prohibited and warned them to be careful around a red-haired girl calling herself the “Dragon Buster.”
• The group encountered the red-haired girl searching the wetlands with a wooden stick, and she asked whether they were Trainers.
• Dawn asked the girl why she had not introduced herself before questioning them.

Xia You accepted Langley’s challenge and battled her Beartic with Dragonite. Dragonite struck back with Thunder Punch, sending Beartic flying and paralyzing it, leaving Langley stunned.

• Langley introduced herself as the Dragon Buster and challenged Xia You to a battle with his Dragon-type Pokémon.
• Xia You agreed and sent out Dragonite, while Langley chose Beartic.
• Langley ordered Beartic to attack with Ice Punch, and Dragonite met it with Thunder Punch.
• Dragonite dodged Beartic’s Ice Punch and hit it in the face with Thunder Punch, sending it into a puddle and paralyzing it.
• Langley was shocked that Beartic had lost the clash of strength.

Langley’s Beartic and Pawniard were both easily defeated by Xia You’s Dragonite, forcing her to recognize the gap in their strength. Determined to defend her title as a Dragon Buster, she sent out Vanilluxe for a third battle.

• Dragonite dodged Beartic’s punch, struck its head, and then knocked it down while paralysis left it unable to move.
• Langley demanded another battle, and Xia You agreed to face her next Pokémon.
• Langley sent out Pawniard, but Dragonite defeated it with ease.
• Langley accepted that Dragonite was overwhelmingly strong and sent out Vanilluxe, determined to give everything she had.

After losing to Xia You, Langley explained that she had been challenging Dragon-type Trainers to grow strong enough to defeat the Dragon Master who once beat her. Xia You and his friends encouraged her to work alongside her Pokémon, and Langley left determined to improve before challenging them again as they prepared to leave the wetlands.

• Langley revealed that a defeat in the Dragon Village had driven her to challenge Dragon-type Trainers and seek stronger Pokémon.
• Cheryl and Makomo asked Langley to consider why she wanted to grow stronger, and Makomo said she needed to battle together with her Pokémon rather than only give them orders.
• Dawn encouraged Langley and listed Xia You’s tournament victories and honors, leaving Langley stunned by his accomplishments.
• Langley thanked Xia You for his training advice, vowed to grow stronger with her Pokémon, and promised to challenge him again.
• Langley also promised to battle Dawn next time, then departed as Xia You and the others set off to leave the wetlands before dark.

Makomo failed to collect a sample from Xia You and Cheryl’s tent after oversleeping, then continued traveling with the group to Opelucid City. As they arrived in the city where past and future intertwined, Xia You found himself thinking of Cynthia.

• Makomo stayed awake listening to sounds from Xia You and Cheryl’s tent and planned to collect a sample in the morning.
• Makomo overslept, discovered Cheryl had already taken care of the trash, and returned to camp disappointed that her chance to collect a sample was gone.
• Makomo ate breakfast with the others while privately resolving to obtain Ho-Oh’s blessing and blaming Xia You for keeping her awake.
• Xia You, Dawn, Cheryl, and Makomo crossed Tubeline Bridge and traveled west toward Opelucid City.
• Makomo described Opelucid City’s history and modern technology, while Xia You thought of Cynthia and realized she was growing more important to him.

Xia You and his companions explored Opelucid City and learned about its history and Dragon Village. At the Opelucid Gym, Xia You found that Drayden required advance appointments, so he scheduled a battle for nine the next morning.

• Xia You, Dawn, Cheryl, and Makomo listened to traditional musicians and discussed the uncertain origin of Opelucid City's name.
• Xia You explained that Drayden was a powerful Dragon-type Gym Leader from the Dragon Village, prompting the group to connect the village with Langley.
• The group crossed Opelucid City and reached the Gym, where a staff member told them Drayden was also the city's mayor and required challengers to book ahead.
• Xia You made an appointment to challenge Drayden at nine the following morning.

After the group got caught in a sudden downpour, they returned to the Pokémon Center and spent the afternoon indoors. Makomo became preoccupied with Xia You and Cheryl next door, and the chapter ended as she formed a bold idea after seeing Xia You head to dinner.

• Makomo told the group that Drayden might soon close the Opelucid Gym before a new Gym Leader took over.
• A sudden downpour soaked Xia You, Cheryl, Dawn, and Makomo as they hurried back to the Pokémon Center.
• Dawn and Makomo showered and settled into their room, while Dawn quickly fell asleep and Makomo tried unsuccessfully to focus on her research.
• Curious about Xia You and Cheryl, Makomo crept into the corridor and overheard Cheryl's faint, trembling voice from their room.
• As Cheryl called Makomo and Dawn to dinner, Makomo saw Xia You walk ahead and decided she might secretly do something.