Chapter Summaries

Meownei ambushed and killed two Hunter Organization members, but a second armed vehicle arrived towing a petrified Regirock. Xin Mu and Tang Zi destroyed the vehicle, leaving Regirock largely unharmed on the sand.

• Meownei used Bomb Flowers from an underground tunnel to kill the two hunters waiting to intercept Xin Mu and the others.
• Squirtle dragged Riolu back through the tunnel, while Xin Mu and Tang Zi checked on the unconscious researchers after the vehicles overturned.
• A second hunter vehicle appeared with Regirock petrified on a platform and the group's car immobilized.
• Tang Zi operated the hunters' weapon while Meownei charged Hyper Beam, and they fired together to destroy the vehicle.
• The explosion threw the protected, petrified Regirock onto the sand, where it remained largely unharmed.

Xin Mu freed Regirock from the petrification device, but the awakened Pokémon attacked Meownei in a rage. Meownei survived Regirock’s Explosion, while Regirock shattered in the blast.

• Tang Zi destroyed the burning armored vehicle, and Xin Mu told her to contact the professor’s associates while he went to check on Regirock.
• Meownei turned Regirock over, and Xin Mu released it by pulling a lever on the base.
• Regirock attacked Meownei as soon as it woke, and she restrained it with vines and drained its energy with Giga Drain.
• Regirock broke free enough to use Superpower, then grew angrier as its attacks missed.
• Xin Mu warned Meownei that Regirock was about to use Explosion and told her to change her type with Shadow Claw.
• Regirock unleashed Explosion, leaving Meownei unharmed and itself shattered.

Xin Mu defeated and captured Regirock, then learned that it had been tricked and attacked by Pokémon hunters. After the League arrived, Lü Ming agreed to help Xin Mu negotiate for nearby land and search for Mega Stones in exchange for studying Regirock.

• Meownei found miniature Regirock among the rubble after its Explosion, and Xin Mu caught it with a Poké Ball.
• Absol explained that Pokémon hunters had captured Regirock with a petrification beam, and Regirock agreed to accept Xin Mu as its victor after a rematch at full strength.
• Absol left after its duty guarding Regirock's resting place was complete, while Regirock began repairing its body.
• Tang Zi asked whether Xin Mu had caught Regirock, and Lü Ming accepted Xin Mu's account of fighting the Pokémon hunters in self-defense.
• Lü Ming asked to study Regirock and offered to help Xin Mu access land behind the school and find Lucario or Blastoise Mega Stones.

After Xin Mu's group was rescued from Pokémon hunters, the League ended Lü Ming's Gobi expedition and kept the group at a local Pokémon Center while the area was secured. Tang Zi then went to a shooting range to practice, where the others watched their Pokémon train and she complained that the guns were chained down.

• A League search-and-rescue team found Xin Mu's group, treated the injured, and learned about the hunters' Petrification Gun.
• The rescuers identified the hunters as likely connected to Hunter J's organization and ordered Lü Ming to end the expedition until the Gobi was safe.
• Xin Mu's group stayed at a local Pokémon Center, where Corvisquire received treatment and Tang Zi attended counseling.
• Tang Zi asked about a nearby shooting range and brought the others there to practice.
• Squirtle, Riolu, and Meownei demonstrated their attacks on the range's targets.
• Tang Zi complained that the range's guns were chained down, and an employee explained that the rule followed a past shooting incident.

Xin Mu found the nearby Water-type Gym closed because its Leader had been called away to deal with Pokémon hunters in the Gobi, so he visited the aquarium instead. After touring it with Squirtle and Riolu, they stopped at a knife-cut noodle shop, where Riolu wondered how the owner could cook the noodles evenly.

• Xin Mu learned that the Gym Leader had returned but was called away by the League, and he left a reservation so the Gym could notify him when the Leader came back.
• Xin Mu, Squirtle, and Riolu toured the aquarium while Corvisquire remained at the Pokémon Center and Regirock stayed hidden.
• Squirtle mistook the aquarium exhibits for possible food and refused an invitation to play with the young Squirtle in the Pokémon interaction area.
• Xin Mu and his Pokémon left the aquarium and entered a knife-cut noodle shop run by a one-armed owner and his Chikorita.
• Riolu watched Chikorita cut noodles into the boiling pot and asked how the owner could tell when each noodle was cooked.

At the Pokémon Center, Riolu practiced slowing her fall with Aura while Corvisquire served as her catcher, and Xin Mu prepared a formal rematch with the recovered Regirock. The chapter ended with Tang Zi questioning how Xin Mu had disabled the training-ground cameras.

• Xin Mu could not answer Riolu’s question about cooking without his special tools, and Riolu continued enjoying the noodles.
• Corvisquire recovered from his injuries, and Riolu asked him to catch her as she practiced jumping from the Pokémon Center roof.
• Riolu’s Aura rod spun out of control and exploded, but Corvisquire caught her before she hit the ground.
• Squirtle reassured Chansey that Riolu’s Aura explosions were just fireworks.
• Regirock recovered and challenged Xin Mu’s group to a rematch, so Xin Mu asked Tang Zi to referee and turned off the training-ground cameras.
• Tang Zi asked Xin Mu how he had disabled the cameras, and he said he had studied hacking in Alola.

Xin Mu and Meownei battled Regirock so it would recognize Xin Mu as its trainer. Meownei used Xin Mu’s precise commands and the Pokémon Center’s glass roof to defeat Regirock with Solar Beam, leaving it kneeling and smoking.

• Meownei told Xin Mu to command her while she tried to earn Regirock’s recognition for him.
• Xin Mu commanded Meownei to use Aura Sphere, and Regirock blocked it with Protect while starting an Earthquake.
• Xin Mu directed Meownei to jump with Aerial Ace, and Regirock used Lock-On before charging at her with Fire Punch.
• Xin Mu ordered Solar Beam, and Meownei harnessed sunlight refracted through the Pokémon Center’s glass roof to fire it without charging.
• Meownei’s Solar Beam struck Regirock, which failed to land its Fire Punch and dropped to one knee, smoking.

Xin Mu and Meownei defeated Regirock, which conceded and went to sleep to recover. After Xin Mu recalled it and Dugtrio repaired the battlefield, Tang Zi watched her Alolan Dugtrio work, while Riolu slowly floated down after apparently mastering her first step.

• Meownei struck Regirock with Low Kick, and Regirock conceded the battle after falling facedown.
• Tang Zi announced Regirock's surrender, and Regirock sat down and fell asleep to recover.
• Xin Mu recalled Regirock and asked Dugtrio to repair the battlefield.
• Tang Zi watched Dugtrio work and explained that she had never seen its body beneath the ground.
• Xin Mu returned Meownei to the Pokémon Center's recovery area, where he saw Riolu slowly float down beside Corvisquire.

Xin Mu helped Riolu practice flying before the first snow fell, and the Pokémon Center’s residents turned the snowfall into a snowball fight. Squirtle went from dismissing the game to leading a team, then ended up buried in his own giant snowball as Meownei teased him.

• Riolu tried to land beside Xin Mu and the others, and Corvisquire brought her safely down while Xin Mu praised her progress.
• Snow began falling, and Xin Mu showed Riolu how snowflakes formed as Nurse Joy brought vulnerable Pokémon indoors.
• Riolu hit Squirtle with a snowball, drawing him into the fight, where he became a commander and tried to launch a giant snowball.
• Squirtle’s snowball collapsed and buried him, so Meownei pulled him out and mocked his excuses and lack of dignity.
• Meownei reminded Squirtle that Regirock was far older than he was, complicating Squirtle’s claims of seniority.

Heavy snow blanketed the city while Xin Mu learned that the Gobi blizzard was ordinary weather, not a sign of Regice. Meanwhile, the Gym Leader returned to find a long line of challengers and began clearing the backlog with very short battles.

• The two Umbreon defended the villa's backyard from a Persian and its Meowth, driving them away while allowing other Pokémon to shelter there.
• Lü Ming called Xin Mu from the Gobi and asked him to find out whether Regirock sensed Regice behind the blizzard.
• Regirock remembered that Regice lived far away in snowy mountains, and Meownei translated that the snowfall carried none of Regice's power.
• Xin Mu told Lü Ming that Regice was not in the Gobi and that the snow was ordinary, so the archaeological fieldwork resumed.
• The Gym Leader returned to her Gym and began facing the seventy-nine waiting challengers in battles that appeared to last about three minutes each.

Xin Mu waited all day for his turn at the Water-type gym and sent Squirtle out first to prepare the battlefield for Riolu. The match began with Squirtle confronting a strong Kingdra, but Squirtle slipped from a rocky platform and fell into the water.

• Xin Mu assigned Squirtle to lead, planning for him to freeze the water and create a platform for Riolu.
• Meownei observed that the Water-type gym's young Gym Leader fit the pattern of unusual new Gym Leaders.
• After waiting until dusk, Xin Mu began a single battle under the gym's two-Pokémon limit.
• Squirtle judged the waiting Kingdra to be strong and said he would take the battle seriously.
• Squirtle jumped onto a slippery rocky platform, lost his footing, and fell into the water.

Xin Mu’s Squirtle battled Zhao Ying’s Kingdra at the Water-type Gym, escaped its Whirlpool, and froze the arena with Ice Beam. Zhao Ying ended the match early and awarded Xin Mu the Cascade Badge, leaving the Gym to prepare for its next challenger.

• Squirtle slipped into the water before the battle began, embarrassing Meownei and himself.
• Zhao Ying ordered Kingdra to use Whirlpool against the underwater Squirtle.
• Xin Mu told Squirtle to use Liquidation to escape the whirlpool, and Squirtle burst out of the water.
• Zhao Ying ended the battle and awarded Xin Mu the Cascade Badge after seeing Squirtle’s strength.
• Zhao Ying sent Gyarados to melt the ice while Squirtle returned to Xin Mu, boasting about his tactics.

After Riolu missed the Gym battle, Squirtle took her to the practice area while Xin Mu discussed flying licenses with the instructor. On his way back, Xin Mu visited a juice shop, heard about its owners’ feud involving a disguised Sudowoodo, and bought winter scarves and knitting supplies.

• Riolu returned to the Pokémon Center and learned the Gym opponent had surrendered, so Squirtle took her to the practice area for a teaching match.
• Xin Mu discussed the Flying License with the instructor, then headed home the next day after his Gym battle delayed the trip.
• Xin Mu visited the juice shop, where the owner explained that his rival’s money tree was a Sudowoodo that ran from water after the shopkeeper tried to drench it.
• Xin Mu bought three Winter Scarves, while Meownei requested extra yarn and knitting needles so she could make a scarf.

Xin Mu and Meownei returned from shopping and discussed the Silver Conference, their Pokémon’s growth, and the need to find Riolu a Lucario Mega Stone. On the walk home, Riolu came out to play in the snow, and she began evolving while running away from Meownei.

• Meownei chose green and pink yarn, and Xin Mu browsed news about the Silver Conference on the way home.
• Xin Mu watched Ash’s tournament highlights and discussed his team’s strength with Meownei, who urged him to prioritize finding a Lucario Mega Stone.
• Xin Mu declined rides at the subway terminal and walked home with his shopping bags.
• Riolu left her Poké Ball to explore the snow, but she could not scoop up a snowball because it had frozen solid.
• Xin Mu wrapped a scarf around Riolu, and Meownei chased after her to fix his knot.
• Riolu ran away from Meownei as white light enveloped her and her body began to grow.

Lucario completed her evolution while playing and began adjusting to her new body, while Xin Mu settled Corvisquire and Regirock at his home. Xin Mu learned that Persian had left a Magikarp in the hot spring’s cold-water pool and decided to return it to the river.

• Riolu evolved into Lucario, formed an Aura Sphere with ease, and found that her heavier body made takeoff difficult.
• Meownei assigned Squirtle special training alongside Lucario, ending his hopes of retiring from sparring.
• Corvisquire chose to build a nest on Xin Mu’s roof, while Regirock settled into the backyard near the back door.
• Eevee’s family emerged from their burrow and shared their stored nuts with Xin Mu, who gave them Pokémon biscuits instead.
• Xin Mu had Meownei translate Eevee’s explanation that Persian had brought the Magikarp from a nearby river and left it behind after losing a territorial clash.
• Xin Mu decided to release the Magikarp back into the river the next day rather than risk raising one that might evolve into Gyarados.

Xin Mu released a Magikarp, finished filming a wild Eevee for his ecological assignment, and heard about several students whose projects had gone disastrously wrong. The chapter ended with Lü Ming telling him there was a lead on Lucario's Mega Stone, but the seller demanded a piece of Regirock's body in exchange.

• Xin Mu released the Magikarp into a river and saw Officer Jenny arrive after people nearby mistook a group releasing bottled mineral water for polluters.
• Xin Mu fitted a camera around the wild Eevee's neck for his assignment, while Tang Zi used her Dugtrio to record wild Pokémon on the outskirts.
• Xin Mu and Tang Zi watched Breeding Studies students fight after one student's Snover ate another student's hybrid Berry assignment.
• Tang Zi told Xin Mu that an astronomy senior's three-year comet study had been ruined when the comet exploded, possibly after Rayquaza ate it.
• Lü Ming told Xin Mu that someone had a lead on Lucario's Mega Stone but would only trade it for a piece of Regirock's body.

Xin Mu arranged to provide Steven Stone with stones shed from Regirock and prepared for a gathering of professors, then tried to qualify for a Flying License under new rules. The chapter ended with Lucario demonstrating that she could fly by spinning her Aura Staff like a helicopter, leaving the flight school staff member to consult a supervisor.

• Lü Ming told Xin Mu that Steven Stone wanted stones from Regirock and explained that several professors, including Oak Xuecheng, would visit to study the Legendary Pokémon.
• Xin Mu gave Lü Ming a stone Regirock had shed, which contained traces of a fossil, and showed him the Eevee family's warm tunnels and storerooms.
• Xin Mu learned that new Flying License rules required applicants to demonstrate two Pokémon capable of flight.
• Xin Mu presented Corvisquire and Lucario to the flight school staff member as his flying Pokémon.
• Lucario spun her Aura Staff and lifted off like a helicopter, prompting the staff member to seek a supervisor's approval.

Xin Mu got Lucario approved for the flying license test after she demonstrated that she could carry him aloft, while the chapter later followed Lucario through a snowy morning as she set a trap for whoever kept ruining her snowmen. She caught a young passerby kicking her snowman and went outside to confront them.

• Xin Mu had Lucario demonstrate Hand-Waving Takeoff and carry him so the driving school would accept her flying ability and let him continue the license test.
• Xin Mu finished the written rules test, leaving the practical test for after Corvisquire evolved.
• Lucario built a snowman around an ice pillar, posted a warning sign, and waited by the window to catch whoever had been destroying her snowmen.
• A young passerby kicked the snowman, hurt their foot on the ice pillar, and froze in surprise.
• Lucario put on winter clothes, grabbed a shovel, and went outside toward the culprit.

Lucario caught someone kicking her snowman, and Xin Mu’s household discussed the unreliable heating and Squirtle’s reluctance to train. A coal herder then arrived with Rolycoly, offering their shed coal as fuel for the winter.

• Lucario chased off the person who had kicked her snowman, then rebuilt it with an icy trap nearby.
• Meownei planned extra training for Squirtle, who complained about the cold and tried to pass off sleeping as Rest practice.
• Lucario spotted a coal herder approaching, and Xin Mu saw him guiding Rolycoly that shed coal as they ate grass.
• The coal herder offered Xin Mu coal, and a Carkol tossed a few pieces over the gate as a sample.

Xin Mu brought Regirock to a university research symposium, where professors offered Evolution stones in exchange for time studying it. Regirock chose a stone by grabbing it, leaving the researchers to interpret its choice through the nameplate beneath it.

• Xin Mu put Squirtle in charge of the fireplace and went to the backyard to take Regirock to the research symposium.
• Lü Ming gave Xin Mu a briefcase of professors' Evolution stones and a Lucario Mega Stone, and offered to arrange a custom mount for Lucario.
• Xin Mu introduced Regirock to the visiting professors and laid out the stones with their providers' nameplates.
• Regirock pointed at the nameplates, then chose a stone and absorbed its energy and residue.