Chapter Summaries

Xin Mu brought Regirock to a research gathering, where professors examined its ancient rock composition and Professor Oak spoke with Xin Mu. Meanwhile, Meownei encountered a female Sprigatito, who fled behind an elderly Trainer before explaining why she had approached.

• Regirock gave Meownei a Leaf Stone, which she ate, then ranked Steven Stone first among the donors because of his abundant stones.
• Regirock went back to sleep while geology professors examined its ancient rocks and uncovered traces of past environments.
• Professor Oak introduced himself to Xin Mu and mentioned that Ash looked forward to battling him after challenging the Hoenn League.
• Meownei heard a Sprigatito nearby and questioned her as the nervous Pokémon approached.
• Sprigatito hesitated, then ran behind an elderly Female Trainer.

Mania explained Sprigatito’s past and asked Xin Mu how he had raised Meownei, while Meownei took Sprigatito aside to address her fear of her own strength. The chapter ended with Meownei offering advice that sounded more like leadership training than emotional counseling.

• Mania told Xin Mu that Sprigatito had been ostracized after accidentally hurting her companions while rescuing them from Spidops.
• Xin Mu credited Meownei’s exceptional talent for her success, and Mania concluded that the two were close.
• Meownei picked up Sprigatito and reassured her that fear and misunderstanding could be eased through communication.
• Meownei gave Sprigatito a homemade cat treat and began explaining how to handle her companions, prompting Xin Mu to suspect she was teaching Sprigatito to lead.

Meownei encouraged Sprigatito to lead the Cat House Pokémon by becoming strong, while Xin Mu warned Mania about the possible upheaval. As Meownei tested Sprigatito’s Leafage, researchers found her own power exceeded their equipment’s limits, and Professor Oak called Ash to update his Pokédex for Hoenn.

• Meownei told Sprigatito that becoming strong enough to lead and protect others could help her make friends, while Xin Mu cautioned Meownei not to lead her astray.
• Xin Mu warned Mania that Sprigatito was being encouraged to lead the Cat House group, and Mania accepted that the change could be beneficial.
• Meownei demonstrated her powerful Leafage on a test target, then encouraged Sprigatito to attack and explained that growing stronger together could help the other Pokémon overcome their fear.
• Sprigatito used Leafage, but Meownei easily deflected it; the test equipment could not display Meownei’s power, astonishing Lü Ming and the researchers.
• Professor Oak took Ash’s video call, promised to update his Pokédex with Hoenn data, and advised him to study the region’s Pokémon and battling styles.
• Lü Ming asked Xin Mu to help Professor Oak with the equipment.

Xin Mu and the researchers wrapped up their work on Regirock as Mania prepared to return to Paldea with Sprigatito. Before Sprigatito left, Meownei brought her home for a farewell visit and began teaching her Magical Leaf.

• Ash and Brock greeted Xin Mu during a video call, and Ash learned he would encounter Legendary Pokémon in Hoenn.
• Steven returned to his work after admiring Regirock, while Sprigatito grew more confident under Meownei’s care.
• The Regirock research ended, and Mania prepared to return to Paldea to care for her Pokémon.
• Meownei brought Sprigatito home for a farewell party, and Squirtle watched as the young Pokémon arrived.
• Sprigatito tried Xin Mu’s training equipment but was thrown off the treadmill, so Meownei taught her Magical Leaf instead.

Sprigatito graduated from Meownei’s training and returned to Paldea with Mania as the research expedition ended. Back at Xin Mu’s home, Meownei began training Corvisquire to fly and use Aerial Ace, while the other Pokémon joined in by jumping from the second floor.

• Meownei gave Sprigatito a Berry matcha cream cake and encouraged her to keep training before Sprigatito returned to Paldea with Mania.
• Xin Mu received Lucario’s Mega Stone holder, and Mega Evolution became part of Lucario’s training, though the group struggled to decide who should carry the Key Stone.
• Meownei learned that Corvisquire fought on the ground because it had taken its elder’s advice about adapting to its slower future body too literally.
• Meownei urged Corvisquire to make use of its ability to fly and began teaching it Aerial Ace.
• Meownei and Corvisquire jumped from the second floor to practice, and Lucario, Squirtle, and Eevee joined the strange spectacle while Regirock watched.

Xin Mu’s household continued its winter routine as the Pokémon trained and gathered indoors, while Xin Mu completed his semester exams. The chapter ended when a package of Cat Treat Sticks arrived, revealing that Meownei had taken on an advertisement for the League.

• Squirtle misjudged a jump into the hot spring area and planted his head in the frozen ground, then claimed it was a new training method.
• Meownei pulled Squirtle out of the ground and increased his training difficulty after he got distracted by the thought of truffles.
• Xin Mu and his Pokémon settled into winter as snow covered the streets and Lucario slept after her exam with Meownei.
• Xin Mu completed his semester exams, and a Donghuang Post delivery worker brought him a package.
• Xin Mu opened the package and found Cat Treat Sticks, which Meownei explained were League samples from an advertisement she had taken on.

Meownei tested the League’s Energy Bars before agreeing to promote them in her livestream, while Xin Mu watched Lucario enjoy a fighting tournament. Xin Mu recognized the champion Primeape as Ash’s long-forgotten Pokémon and emailed Ash a photo.

• Meownei inspected the League’s Energy Bars, sampled them, and asked Corvisquire, the Oddish, and Eevee to try them before deciding their taste was acceptable.
• Meownei placed the Energy Bars prominently in her livestream room and tested the camera angle.
• Lucario watched the P1 Fighting type Grand Prix final, where Shan Dou’s Primeape defeated Ayun’s Hitmonchan and defended his championship.
• Xin Mu promised Lucario he would take her to see a fighting tournament in person once Corvisquire evolved.
• Xin Mu recognized the champion Primeape as Ash’s Pokémon and emailed Ash a photo with a message asking if he remembered Primeape.

Ash received news about Primeape and a Regirock stone in Rustboro City, while Xin Mu prepared to travel north and scout a crowded winter attraction before trying a restaurant. The chapter left Xin Mu facing the chef’s unusual chocolate guobaorou.

• Ash read Xin Mu’s email about Primeape’s championship and decided to visit Primeape when he returned to Kanto.
• Professor Oak sent Ash a small fragment from Regirock’s body, which Brock considered useful for courting Roxanne.
• Meownei planned to pursue a car advertisement, while Xin Mu packed to challenge the Xuantai Gym and left Regirock to guard the house.
• Xin Mu traveled north and sent Corvisquire to scout the crowded Ice and Snow World, deciding to visit after his Gym battle.
• Xin Mu went to a restaurant and encountered the chef’s chocolate guobaorou.

Xin Mu filled in as acting Gym Leader at Xuantai Gym, battling a stream of challengers for prize money while the real Gym Leader worked next door. Squirtle overwhelmed the morning’s opponents but tired out, then perked up when Meownei offered premium meals as a reward.

• Xin Mu learned that the Xuantai Gym Leader was working in an Abomasnow costume next door and accepted the acting Gym Leader job.
• Xin Mu reviewed the one-on-one battle rules and brought Squirtle onto the Gym’s icy winter arena.
• Squirtle defeated the first challenger’s three Fire-type Pokémon with Hydro Pump.
• Squirtle battled challengers from sunrise until noon, using Hydro Pump and Ice Beam to defeat them and reshape the arena.
• Xin Mu sent Squirtle to rest and prepared Lucario and Corvisquire to take over.
• Meownei told Squirtle that the winner’s share of the bonus would go toward premium meals, and Squirtle volunteered to keep fighting.

Squirtle recovered his stamina with Rest while Meownei warned him not to lose without a good reason. Lucario defeated a Poison Heal Breloom, and the gym judges discussed the team’s strength as the event’s afternoon challengers approached.

• Meownei challenged Squirtle’s claim that he was nearly exhausted, and Squirtle revealed he had reserve energy before using Rest to recover.
• Lucario faced a Breloom whose trainer ordered Toxic, which could not affect her Steel typing.
• Lucario struck Breloom with Aerial Ace, and Breloom got back up thanks to Poison Heal and a Toxic Orb.
• Lucario finished Breloom with Aura Sphere, leaving him unable to battle.
• The gym judges scored the battle, criticized the Toxic command, and wondered whether Meowscarada could keep the team undefeated against the afternoon challengers.

Xin Mu collected his Badge at Xuantai Gym while the Gym Leader was away helping workers recover unpaid wages, then went looking for dinner. At a night market, he found a vendor selling Max Mushrooms and Max Honey and bought all of them to prepare Max Soup for his Pokémon.

• Xin Mu learned that Xuantai Gym's Gym Leader was away assisting workers with an unpaid-wage dispute.
• Xin Mu and his Pokémon left the gym, and Squirtle complained that it deserved a feast after its battles.
• Xin Mu chose a nearby barbecue restaurant instead of returning to the restaurant that served unusual fruit-and-meat dishes.
• Xin Mu spotted a vendor selling Max Mushrooms at the night market and explained that they could be used to make Max Soup.
• The vendor offered three portions each of Max Mushrooms and Max Honey, and Xin Mu bought them all.

Xin Mu and his Pokémon enjoyed a winter barbecue before visiting the crowded Ice and Snow World at Lucario’s request. After securing Ferris wheel reservations, they rode around the park on a rented inner tube and boarded the Ferris wheel, where Lucario gazed at the illuminated ice city.

• Xin Mu confirmed that the Max Mushrooms and Max Honey were genuine, then visited a barbecue restaurant where a Magmar cooked skewers.
• Xin Mu and his Pokémon ate the barbecue, and Lucario asked to visit the Ice and Snow World.
• Xin Mu booked Ferris wheel reservations, and the group went to the crowded park to see its nighttime ice sculptures.
• Lucario rented an inner tube and pulled Xin Wei and Meownei around the park while Squirtle stayed in its Poké Ball.
• Xin Mu and his Pokémon boarded the Ferris wheel, and Lucario admired the city of ice at night.

After enjoying the ice sculptures, Xin Mu showed Lucario how boiling water could freeze into mist in the cold, and she eagerly tried it herself. They returned home through heavy snow and found the backyard Pokémon adapting to the weather in their own ways.

• Xin Mu rode the Ferris Wheel with Lucario and the others to see the ice sculptures from above before they left Ice and Snow World.
• Outside the hotel, Xin Mu tossed boiling water into the freezing air, creating a cloud of ice crystals that fascinated Lucario.
• Lucario fetched hot water and copied Xin Mu, so he took her back to their room and boiled more water for her to experiment with.
• Xin Mu took the Pokémon home the next morning, and they arrived to find heavy snowfall.
• In the backyard, the Oddish swept snow away with their leaves, the Eevee family cleared the entrance to their burrow, and Regirock remained disguised beneath the snow.

As Xin Mu stocked up for the holidays, Corvisquire evolved into Corviknight and began carrying cargo home. Later, Meownei found a cold, apparently catlike creature hiding in a trash can and left it supplies to keep warm.

• Xin Mu shopped with Meownei, Lucario, and Squirtle, and let Squirtle keep some dried noodles to eat before they expired.
• Xin Mu summoned Corviknight, who had evolved from Corvisquire after battling migrating Spearow, and sent it home with the shopping bags.
• Xin Mu returned home by subway and sorted the groceries while Meownei took the discarded packaging outside.
• Meownei noticed something hiding in a trash can, left a box filled with foam nearby, and pointed the hidden creature toward Xin Mu’s warmer house.

A stray Litten, abandoned during a crackdown on Pokémon hunters and later driven away by Persian for losing its ability to breathe fire, hid beside Xin Mu’s home. Meownei brought it formula, and Litten began to see hope in the kind gesture.

• After the Pokémon hunters were arrested, Litten’s egg was thrown into a river and eventually hatched among a group of Meowth led by Persian.
• Litten kept the group warm by breathing fire, but malnutrition and overuse caused its fur to fall out and its status to decline.
• Persian beat Litten and drove it away, and Litten settled near a dumpster in the winter cold.
• Meownei returned with formula left over from Riolu’s early feeding and brought it to Litten.
• Squirtle joked that Meownei was luring another Pokémon away, while Litten glimpsed hope beside the dumpster.

Litten lost the cardboard shelter Meownei had brought after a human kicked it away, then carried a Golden Orb to Xin Mu’s backyard. There, an Oddish evolved into Gloom and then Bellossom after touching a Sun Stone embedded in Regirock, while Squirtle and the others noticed Litten’s arrival.

• Litten ate the food Meownei brought and discovered that a human had taken its cardboard shelter.
• Litten tried to reclaim the box, but the human kicked it aside, knocked over its milk, and left with the box.
• Litten retrieved a Golden Orb it had stolen from the Meowth group and went to Xin Mu’s backyard.
• The leading Oddish evolved into Gloom, then touched a Sun Stone fragment on Regirock and evolved again into Bellossom.
• Squirtle and Eevee noticed Litten at the backyard gate, and Squirtle recognized a wrapper label from the supermarket on its body.

Squirtle accidentally knocked out a badly weakened Litten while trying to bathe it, and Xin Mu brought it indoors for help. Mania diagnosed severe malnutrition and exhaustion and advised Xin Mu how to care for it.

• Squirtle used warm water to wash Litten, but the weakened Fire-type fainted.
• Xin Mu recognized Litten and carried it into the house while Squirtle insisted it had been faking.
• Meownei asked whether Xin Mu could treat Litten or should take it to the Pokémon Center.
• Xin Mu called Mania, who diagnosed malnutrition and exhaustion and gave him instructions for Litten's recovery.

Xin Mu and Meownei discovered that the stray Litten was bloated from overeating, cared for him by the fire, and waited for him to wake. Litten recovered, while Squirtle mistook her gaze for affection and warned her that, as a female, she was more likely to be kicked out.

• Mania advised Xin Mu and Meownei to check Litten for swallowed objects and help him recover, while Meownei discussed the Sprigatito apprentice’s ambitions with her.
• Lucario used her Aura to confirm that Litten had no foreign objects in his stomach and had simply overeaten Energy Bars and milk.
• Meownei realized Litten was the Pokémon she had found hiding in a garbage bin, and she and Xin Mu compared him to Squirtle, another Pokémon they had taken in.
• Meownei kept watch beside Litten near the fireplace, and he woke up while Squirtle polished his shell nearby.
• Squirtle told Litten not to get attached to Meownei and, after learning Litten was female, warned her that she was more likely to be kicked out.

Squirtle tried to persuade the exhausted Litten to stay in the household, but Meownei interrupted him and challenged him to learn Zen Headbutt. Meownei then discovered that Litten was a shiny female, making her an exceptionally rare Pokémon.

• Squirtle explained the household hierarchy and warned Litten she might be sent away when the weather warmed up.
• Squirtle tried to persuade Litten to ask for his help so he could gain a sidekick, but Meownei hit him with a chopstick.
• Meownei said Squirtle should combine his psychic powers and Headbutt to learn Zen Headbutt, then showed him an image of Incineroar.
• Meownei returned to the living room and noticed that the white patches on the sleeping Litten were her natural fur color.
• Meownei realized Litten was a shiny female, a particularly rare combination among starter Pokémon.

Lucario and Corviknight went to battle Fearow while Xin Mu and Meownei cared for the stray Litten. After Litten began trusting them, Meownei caught her in a Poké Ball, and Xin Mu took her to the Pokémon Center for a checkup.

• Lucario teamed up with Corviknight to fight the Fearow that had challenged Corviknight's territory.
• Xin Mu checked on Litten, and she cautiously approached him after Meownei and Squirtle had told her about the household.
• Meownei woke, saw that Litten was enjoying her attention, and caught her in a Poké Ball.
• Squirtle prepared breakfast while Xin Mu took Litten to the Pokémon Center.
• Meownei volunteered to accompany Litten during her examination so she would not overreact and hurt the doctor.