Recaps

Gongping’s Lileep defeated Will’s Mega Gardevoir in the decisive King Battle, and Gongping went on to beat Will 6–5 to win the Regional Tournament. After the match, Will vowed to keep fighting, while a girl confronted Gongping over rumors that he had hurt Rosa.

• Lileep overwhelmed Mega Gardevoir with sandstorms, venom, and Ancient Power, then threw her out of bounds and restored her injuries afterward.
• Jynx and Ran Niao fought Lileep, but Gongping’s healthy Swampert defeated Ran Niao and secured his 6–5 victory over Will.
• Agatha praised Gongping, while Pryce told Karen to enter the next Regional King Tournament and Karen suggested Koga instead.
• Will shook hands with Gongping and said he would keep pursuing the pinnacle of training, and Gongping left the arena without celebrating.
• A girl blocked Gongping in the competitors’ passageway and accused him of hurting Rosa, but he asked her to let him pass.

Gongping improved the Dream System, remembered his former companions, and cared for Swinub before attending the Elite Four's weekly meeting. Lance assigned him to help establish the International Police Academy as its vice principal and director of discipline, and to conduct strict inspections of Kanto's Gyms.

• Gongping worked on the Dream System after Will's battle revealed weaknesses in its calculations.
• Gongping looked at a photo of himself, Rosa, and Trip, then cooked dinner for Swinub and cleaned the kitchen.
• Lance announced that the Pokémon League had approved funding for a branch of the International Police Academy in Kanto.
• Lance assigned Agatha to oversee the new school and appointed Gongping its vice principal and director of discipline.
• Lance made Gongping responsible for future Gym assessments and ordered him to inspect Kanto's Gyms strictly.

Gongping and Agatha arrived in Vermilion City to prepare the Kanto Branch, where Gongping planned an intensive curriculum, Trainer journeys, and new facilities. He took charge of the academy’s recruitment and funding plans while Agatha warned him not to neglect his Gym assessment duties.

• Gongping and Agatha traveled to Vermilion City to establish the Kanto Branch before its entrance ceremony.
• Gongping rejected a list of famous Trainers as teachers and proposed hiring specialists for a broad, demanding five-year curriculum.
• Gongping planned two-month regional trips in which students would earn eight Badges, with tournament results improving their grades.
• Gongping proposed giving students Starter Pokémon and Pokédexes, and personally teaching several subjects to reduce costs.
• Gongping asked Agatha to help secure a new Pokémon Center and announced that he would seek investors because his plans would strain the school’s funds.

Gongping sought funding for an elite school and failed to secure Silph Co.'s sponsorship, but Giovanni offered to finance the project and provide teachers in exchange for training his son. Gongping agreed to consider the arrangement, and Giovanni said his son would come after competing in the Silver Conference.

• Gongping contacted Giovanni and asked him to recommend the school project to Silph Co.
• Giovanni accompanied Gongping to Silph Co.'s headquarters in Saffron City, where the executives rejected the sponsorship proposal.
• While discussing the Kamiya Foundation, Gongping learned that it had funded the Hunter Association in Sinnoh and was linked to ancient Pokémon fossils.
• Giovanni took Gongping to a café and offered to fund the school and arrange teachers if Gongping trained his son.
• Giovanni said his son was competing in the Silver Conference in Johto and would attend the school afterward.

Gongping’s new school drew public attention, and he faced an angry Silver, who challenged him to a battle rather than take a test. Gongping’s Swinub defeated Silver’s Feraligatr with Freeze-Dry, and Gongping corrected Silver’s mistaken belief about the move.

• A leaked schedule for Gongping’s school sparked online mockery and regional arguments before parents took notice and enrolled students worried about the five-year program.
• Gongping discussed building a new-model Pokémon Center on Cinnabar Island with Lorelei, who promised to secure support as construction quickly began.
• Silver told Gongping he refused to spend five years at the school and challenged him to prove it was useless.
• Gongping sent out Swinub against Silver’s Feraligatr and used Hail to give Swinub cover in the snow.
• Swinub struck Feraligatr with Freeze-Dry, and Gongping explained that the move was super effective against Water-type Pokémon.

Yin battled Gongping’s Piloswine with Feraligatr but lost, then agreed to attend the opening ceremony and vowed to defeat Gongping to earn early graduation. After the Indigo League ended, its Hoenn champion Lu surprised the crowd by choosing to challenge Gongping instead of Lance and said she would avenge her big sister Rosa.

• Yin’s Feraligatr fought Gongping’s Piloswine with Water Gun and Aqua Tail, but Piloswine defeated it with Hail, Freeze-Dry, and Ice Shard.
• Yin picked up his test papers and left after agreeing to attend the opening ceremony and challenging Gongping to let him graduate early if he won.
• Giovanni called Gongping, who promised to teach Yin and arrange extra coaching if needed.
• A Hoenn Trainer named Lu won the Kanto Indigo League after more than a week of competition.
• Lu chose to challenge Gongping rather than Champion Leader Lance, saying she would wait for him and avenge her big sister Rosa.
• Misty complained about Lu’s attitude toward Gongping as the audience cheered for the young champion.

Yin discovered that his dean, Gongping, was the Sandstorm King after Lu challenged him following the Kanto Regional Conference. Their battle began at the Indigo Plateau, where Gongping’s Alolan Sandslash revealed a second way to use Ice Ball against Lu’s Alolan Ninetales.

• Yin watched Lu challenge the Sandstorm King, while Gongping learned that Lu had specifically requested to battle him.
• Gongping recognized Lu as the withdrawn child he and Rosa had once helped, then traveled to the Indigo Plateau and adjusted his lineup.
• The delayed closing ceremony was kept lively with a water ballet by the Cerulean Sisters and poetry recited by Professor Oak.
• Gongping arrived at the arena, and Yin realized that his dean was the Sandstorm King.
• Lu sent out his Alolan Ninetales, while Gongping chose the Alolan Sandslash that had fought Misty during the Gym assessment.
• Gongping’s Sandslash dodged Ninetales’s Ice Shard, struck it with Ice Ball and Metal Claw, then made its Ice Ball multiply into two revolving ice balls.

Lu recalled his wounded Alolan Ninetales, but his Beartic was also defeated by Gongping’s Alolan Sandslash after a fierce battle. Gongping then revealed that he had not intended to counter Lu’s snow team and sent out an Alolan Ninetales of his own.

• Lu recalled Alolan Ninetales to protect his snow team’s weather setter and sent out Beartic against Sandslash.
• Beartic used Bulk Up and Brick Break while Sandslash countered with Ice Ball, Defense Curl, and Chip Away.
• After a prolonged close-range fight, Sandslash defeated Beartic, and Gongping recalled his badly injured Pokémon.
• Lu sent out Weavile as Gongping said he had never intended to counter Lu’s snow team.
• Gongping sent out his own Alolan Ninetales, which also had Snow Warning, and snow spread across the field again.

Gongping revealed the power of his Alolan Ninetales and its elaborate ice-and-mirror battle strategy while facing Lu. Its redirected Moonblast struck Weavile, leaving the battle's outcome uncertain.

• Gongping's Alolan Ninetales tried to convince Lu that Gongping was not the person Lu believed him to be, while Meowth translated their words for Jessie.
• Gongping explained that his Alolan Ninetales was the parent of Lu's Vulpix, recalling how it and Rosa's Ninetales had trained together years earlier.
• Lu ordered Weavile to use Metal Claw, but Gongping's Alolan Ninetales summoned snow and created Aurora Veil and an enormous moon of ice.
• Lorelei and Bruno recognized the Alolan Ninetales's precise control of the ice mirrors and its potential for group battles.
• Gongping ordered Moonblast, and Alolan Ninetales redirected its beam through the mirrors until it struck and engulfed Weavile.

Gongping’s match against Lu continued as a masked attacker raided the Cinnabar Island research institute and battled the Pokémon he had left to protect it. After learning Lu had helped keep him away from the island, Gongping confronted her at the Indigo League venue.

• Gongping’s Ninetales defeated Lu’s Weavile, then tested Lu’s Alolan Ninetales during their battle.
• A blackout struck Cinnabar Island, and Yin went with Houndour to investigate the Pokémon Center’s damaged power supply.
• A woman wearing a Pikachu mask attacked Dr. Fuji’s research institute, killing staff and Pokémon before Gongping’s Tyranitar, Scizor, Lucario, and Swampert moved to protect him.
• The masked woman’s Greninja evaded Lucario’s Aura Sphere by merging into dark flames as Gongping received news of the attack through his Dream System.
• Gongping questioned Lu about the attack, and she admitted that a woman had asked her to keep him occupied while she gathered evidence.

After defeating Lu in an exhibition match, Gongping exposed the Pikachu-masked woman’s role in manipulating him and the massacre on Cinnabar Island. Gongping and Lance left for the island, while the Pokémon League faced public backlash and Lu was taken into custody for questioning.

• Gongping defeated Lu’s Ninetales, then slapped Lu and showed him images of the brutal killings on Cinnabar Island.
• Lu admitted that the woman had coached him to win the regional tournament, and Bruno sent him with Officer Jenny for questioning.
• Lorelei identified the woman in the Pikachu mask as a notorious criminal who had returned to Kanto to collect ancient relics.
• Gongping told the Kings that the woman had influence within the Pokémon League and asked Lance to take him back to Cinnabar Island on Dragonite.
• Agatha said Lu would lose his tournament title but might retain his Trainer status depending on his conduct in juvenile custody.
• The Pokémon League’s announcement drew public criticism until an employee posted photographs of the Cinnabar Island massacre, and Niko’s brother defended disciplining Lu.

A woman in a Pikachu mask battled Gongping’s Pokémon at the Cinnabar Island laboratory and broke into its innermost room. She escaped with the cracked Golden Gem before Gongping and Lance arrived to find the laboratory wrecked.

• Greninja used its Protean Ability and skilled fighting techniques to contend with Lucario, while Gongping and Lance watched remotely and recognized the opponent’s King-level strength.
• Scizor joined the fight, and Greninja’s varied moves helped it withstand attacks from Lucario and Tyranitar.
• Cacturne confused Tyranitar and attacked, while Lucario and Scizor tried to defend their allies.
• Swampert attacked the masked woman, but her enormous Drapion intercepted it as she struck Dr. Fuji, who was revealed to be an Ice Punch Substitute.
• The masked woman blasted open the inner laboratory door, took the cracked Golden Gem, and escaped with Greninja, Cacturne, and Drapion.
• Gongping and Lance arrived ten minutes later and found the laboratory wrecked and the scene bloody.

After the Cinnabar Lab massacre, Gongping buried the dead Pokémon and revealed Salamence, then Mega Evolved it to pursue the masked woman toward the Seafoam Islands. The chapter left him racing through the storm as a blond boy and his Eevee watched the island’s strange weather.

• Gongping and Tyranitar buried the Pokémon killed in the Cinnabar Lab attack while Lance and the others dealt with the aftermath.
• Gongping gave Rosa an age Key Stone necklace and released Salamence, whose violent nature made the other Pokémon prepare to restrain it.
• Gongping learned that Swampert had placed a tracker on the masked woman and that she was heading toward the Seafoam Islands.
• Gongping left Lance behind to help the victims’ relatives and flew toward the Seafoam Islands on Mega Salamence.
• A blond boy on the Seafoam Islands noticed the unusual weather while holding his Eevee.

A disguised man activated a device on the Seafoam Islands to open a passage to the Reverse World, but Gary damaged it and disrupted his plan. As the man attacked Gary, Gongping arrived on Mega Salamence and struck Cacturne, then charged toward the man.

• The strange man dressed in Erika’s yukata watched the unstable passage open above the Seafoam Islands and became enraged when the device’s energy faltered.
• Gary found the device on the main peak and ordered Arcanine to attack it, while Greninja countered and damaged its backup systems.
• Eevee pushed Gary out of the way of Greninja’s Water Shuriken, but one still wounded his right arm before the strange man confronted him.
• The strange man used Cacturne’s Teeter Dance to weaken Gary, Arcanine, and Eevee, then threatened to kill Gary.
• Gongping arrived on Mega Salamence and used Hyper Voice to knock Cacturne unconscious before charging at the strange man.

Gary escaped the battle after helping stop a device that threatened Seafoam Islands, while Gongping confronted the two-toned-faced freak and his coordinated team. As both sides began their King-level battle, Gongping and Lileep transformed the summit into a vast desert with Sandstorm Purgatory.

• Greninja repelled Mega Salamence’s sound attack, and Gongping protected Gary and thanked him for destroying the device that threatened Seafoam Islands.
• Gongping asked the two-toned-faced freak about the Kamiya Foundation, then surrounded him with Tyranitar, Swampert, Scizor, Lucario, Lileep, and Mega Salamence.
• The two-toned-faced freak revealed Gardevoir, Incineroar, Muk, Pangoro, and Drapion, while Gardevoir copied Greninja’s Protean and coordinated the opposing formation.
• Gongping recognized Gardevoir’s tactics as Scizor and Lucario launched probing attacks, but Skill Swap and Ally Switch let the opposing team counter them.
• Gongping and Lileep drained moisture from the land, turning Seafoam Islands’ main peak and the surrounding sky into a desert domain called Sandstorm Purgatory.

Gongping’s Sandstorm Team battled the Yin-Yang-Faced Freak’s Pokémon across Seafoam Islands while the Pokémon League monitored the growing crisis. The satellite anomaly vanished, revealing a vast desert battlefield, and Agatha learned that the League had not yet responded to the masked King-level criminal.

• The Yin-Yang-Faced Freak Mega Evolved Gardevoir, which used Confusion to swap allied Pokémon and help Drapion withstand Mega Salamence’s sound attacks.
• Gongping’s Pokémon traded attacks with Lucario, Scizor, and Mega Salamence as sand and Ability exchanges supported their tactics.
• Swampert tricked Greninja with Substitute, strengthened itself with Curse, and countered Greninja’s attacks with boiling water and steam.
• At Pokémon League headquarters, Agatha heard that the anomaly might have been a passage to the Reverse World and learned that it had disappeared from satellite images.
• Lorelei suspected Gongping’s Sandstorm Team was fighting a King, while Agatha said the League had no response yet to the masked criminal.

Gongping’s battle against the Yin-Yang-Faced Freak worsened as the Freak sacrificed a young Alolan Vulpix to give Muk the Snow Warning Ability and disrupt the sandstorm. Enraged by Vulpix’s death, Gongping attacked the Freak personally while Greninja was left vulnerable to Swampert.

• Scizor and Lucario fought Pangoro and Drapion while Mega Salamence’s Hyper Voice was sealed by Muk’s Disable.
• Mega Salamence unleashed an Aerilate-enhanced Hyper Beam that knocked Drapion out, but Drapion confused Mega Salamence with a parting Confuse Ray.
• Greninja fought Swampert, which used its speed and Ice Balls to create an opening and begin strengthening itself with Curse for a third time.
• The Yin-Yang-Faced Freak released a young Alolan Vulpix, then killed it and used Muk’s Power of Alchemy to give Muk its Snow Warning Ability.
• Muk’s toxic snowfall spread across Seafoam Islands, while Tyranitar and Lileep formed a sand shield that carried Gongping toward the Freak.
• Gongping attacked the Yin-Yang-Faced Freak with a short blade, and Swampert struck Greninja while Vulpix’s death disrupted its assault.

Gongping and his Pokémon defeated the Yin-Yang-Faced Freak in a battle that destroyed the Seafoam Islands' main peak. After the man was rescued, Greninja killed him and freed himself, then walked across the sea as the weather cleared.

• Gongping and his Pokémon battled the Yin-Yang-Faced Freak and his team as the Seafoam Islands' main peak began to collapse.
• Swampert completed six Curses and struck with a second Stomping Tantrum, flattening the peak and knocking out Pangoro and Muk.
• Greninja rescued the Yin-Yang-Faced Freak from the rubble, and the man planned to recover his Pokémon after the Pokémon League arrived.
• Greninja slit the Yin-Yang-Faced Freak's throat, then the dying man released Greninja from his Poké Ball.
• Greninja walked across the sea as the weather around the Seafoam Islands returned to normal.

Gongping tried to stop the Seafoam Islands from collapsing and helped evacuate its residents, but Articuno ultimately rescued him from the mudslide. After the Yin-Yang-Faced Freak’s death was reported, a blue-haired boy arrived in Vermilion City and wondered how Gongping was doing.

• Gongping and his Pokémon struggled to hold back the collapsing eastern island while Gary rallied local trainers to help.
• Gongping ordered the residents to evacuate to the Western Island and stayed behind to cover their retreat.
• After the sand wall collapsed and the mudslide rushed toward Gongping, Articuno froze it, rescued him, and carried him to the Western Island.
• Gary checked on Gongping as residents reported finding the Yin-Yang-Faced Freak’s bloodied corpse on the shore.
• A blue-haired boy arrived in Vermilion City aboard a cruise ship and wondered how Gongping was doing.

The Pokémon League handled the Seafoam Islands aftermath as political tensions grew over the dead criminal’s identity and the documents in his base. Gongping woke from a nightmare determined to become stronger, but his attempt to seek Blaine’s guidance led to an unexpected Gym assessment.

• League staff cremated and buried the Yin-Yang-Faced Freak, found his Western Island base, and sent its documents to supreme Pokémon League headquarters.
• Lorelei told Gongping that the dead man had been a Regional King, and Gongping refused to let Lu’s pardon be used as a bargaining chip.
• Lance revealed that another region’s King-level Trainer had tried to keep him at Cinnabar Island, while Lorelei agreed to look after Gongping.
• Gary told Professor Oak he wanted to enroll at the Kanto Branch, and Oak offered to speak with Agatha.
• Gongping woke from a nightmare about Vulpix and went looking for Blaine, but Blaine dismissed the Cinnabar Gym assessment and said he might stop running the Gym.

Gongping sought Blaine’s advice on becoming stronger, but Blaine left him a notebook about advanced battle tactics instead of meeting him. After returning to Cinnabar Island, Gongping prepared for the school opening and reunited with Trip, who reassured him about losing an arm.

• Gongping waited in the Cinnabar Gym’s lava area for Blaine, then received Blaine’s notebook after deciding to leave.
• Gongping read Blaine’s account of a Champion-level defector whose six Pokémon used three seamlessly coordinated tactics, and considered how to build a second system compatible with his Sandstorm Team.
• Agatha prepared to travel to Cinnabar Island for the opening ceremony, while the League’s leaders prepared for the new school and Pokémon Center.
• Gongping reviewed the finalized student list and textbooks at a mobilization meeting, then left the school after finishing the edits.
• Trip arrived on Cinnabar Island and told Gongping he was heading to Johto for its Regional Tournament.
• Trip put an arm around Gongping and reassured him that losing an arm for his brother was nothing to apologize for.

Gongping and Trip battled with Delphox and Mega Blastoise, whose courtship antics continued throughout the fight. Elsewhere, a young man used Incineroar’s reconnaissance footage to pressure King Koga into joining a mission, with three Hunter Association Commissioners set to assist him.

• Gongping sent out his Shiny Delphox, and Trip answered with Blastoise, who immediately became infatuated with her.
• Trip Mega Evolved Blastoise, but the Pokémon resumed trying to impress Delphox instead of fighting.
• Gongping and Delphox used Ally Switch and Mystical Fire to evade Blastoise’s attacks and reduce his Special Attack.
• In an office in the Johto Region, a young man recalled Incineroar after it recorded the battle between the Yin-Yang-Faced Freak and Gongping at the Seafoam Islands.
• The young man threatened King Koga with a scandal from his time in Fuchsia City and demanded that he join the mission.
• The young man said three Hunter Association Commissioners would accompany Koga as assistants.

Trip and Gongping reunited over a drink in Vermilion City, where Gongping's Pokémon clashed over Florges. Meanwhile, Koga accepted the Pikachu Mask and orders to continue his predecessor's work collecting Platinum Shards and finding a passage in Kanto.

• Trip and Gongping called off their battle between Delphox and Mega Blastoise and went to an iced-drink shop in Vermilion City.
• Gongping summoned Delphox, and Florges took Delphox's drink before using Aromatherapy to ease Gongping's headache.
• Delphox and Blastoise nearly fought over Florges, but Gongping stopped Delphox and promised to order her another drink.
• A young man gave Koga the Pikachu Mask and ordered him to collect the remaining Platinum Shards and find a more suitable passage in Kanto.
• Koga received information and an offer of help from core members of the Hunter's Guild, then silently stared at the mask.

After Trip left for Johto, Gongping attended a memorial for the Cinnabar Island victims, accepted Silph Co.’s donation, and discussed his progress toward developing a second core. In Johto, Koga hosted a tense banquet, while a masked youth attacked a departing merchant and stabbed him repeatedly.

• Gongping gave Trip a modified data watch before Trip departed for the Johto Region to compete in the Silver Conference.
• Gongping, Agatha, Blaine, Giovanni, and other guests attended a memorial ceremony for the Cinnabar Lab staff who died in the disaster.
• Giovanni gave Gongping Silph Co.’s funding for new Pokémon Centers and schools, and Gongping told Blaine he had ideas for a second core.
• Koga hosted a banquet in Johto as the Kamiya Foundation’s new head for the Kanto Region, and a merchant stormed out after arguing with him over the food and the Foundation’s policies.
• After Koga learned that someone had stolen his safe, a youth wearing a Pikachu Mask blinded the merchant with golden electricity and stabbed him dozens of times.