Chapter Summaries

After Articuno withdrew, Ye Li explained his apparent foresight as knowledge gleaned from ancient texts, but Matori secretly took one of his hairs to investigate him. As Giovanni watched her actions, Ye Li prepared to lead the expedition toward the poachers’ camp for Articuno’s trial.

• Apollo enthusiastically praised Ye Li for negotiating with Articuno, and Ye Li escaped his fervent attention to rest.
• Matori questioned Ye Li about his uncanny predictions, and he claimed ancient texts had helped him anticipate Articuno’s trial.
• Matori pretended to accept Ye Li’s explanation while secretly collecting a hair from his collar.
• Giovanni watched Matori take the hair and welcomed her investigation into Ye Li’s origins.
• Ye Li recalled the poachers’ camp’s location, route, and defenses from his game knowledge and prepared to guide the team.

Ye Li guided Apollo’s team safely across the Seafoam Islands’ dangerous snowfield and located the poachers’ camp. After Ye Li identified the camp’s vulnerable power and communications systems, Apollo ordered a coordinated assault while Matori recorded her growing suspicions about Ye Li.

• Ye Li presented Apollo with a safe route across the glacier, and Apollo ordered the elite squad to follow it.
• The squad avoided dangerous wild Pokémon and reached a sheltered ridge overlooking the poachers’ camouflaged camp.
• Ye Li identified the camp’s generator and communications antenna as weak points and proposed striking them simultaneously.
• Apollo assigned two squads to destroy the generator and antenna while the rest prepared a frontal assault.
• Matori secretly documented Ye Li’s uncanny achievements and resolved to uncover his secret.

Team Rocket captured the poachers on the Seafoam Islands and discovered rare Water-type Pokémon frozen alive in a hidden crate. Ye Li proposed turning the evidence and prisoners over to the Pokémon League to fulfill the agreement with Articuno, avoid handling the captives, and publicly embarrass the League, and Giovanni ordered Matori to arrange the delivery.

• Team Rocket disabled the poachers’ generator and communications antenna, then Apollo led an assault that subdued the camp.
• A search squad found a concealed cabinet containing dozens or hundreds of rare Water-type Pokémon frozen alive, including juvenile Dratini.
• Apollo ordered operatives to document the frozen Pokémon as evidence, while Ye Li devised a plan to hand the footage and captured poachers to the Pokémon League.
• Giovanni approved Ye Li’s plan and ordered Matori to make the League Marine Patrol discover the evidence and prisoners by chance.

Ye Li and Team Rocket fulfilled their pact with Articuno, earning permission to record the Plate’s ancient knowledge without taking it. As the expedition returned with the copied data, Matori grew increasingly suspicious of Ye Li’s hidden influence.

• Giovanni ordered Matori to follow Ye Li’s suggestion, so she had Team Rocket deliver the captured poachers and evidence to a Pokémon League patrol as a staged discovery.
• Ye Li told Articuno that the intruders had been driven out and their crimes dealt with, and Articuno permitted the researchers to approach the Altar.
• Dr. Anya’s team scanned and made impressions of the Plate, after which its blue glow faded and it became an ordinary gray stone.
• Articuno gave Ye Li a searching look, then flew back behind the icefall as the expedition prepared to leave with the recorded data.
• Apollo celebrated Team Rocket’s success aboard the returning ship, while Matori connected the mission’s unusual developments to Ye Li and wondered what secrets he concealed.

On the voyage home, Matori lured Ye Li to her cabin and threatened him with Weavile, demanding to know his true identity. Apollo burst in and rescued Ye Li, leaving Matori and Weavile facing Apollo and Machoke.

• As the fleet sailed away from the Seafoam Islands, Ye Li hoped to return to Team Rocket Headquarters and recover from the mission.
• Matori invited Ye Li to her cabin for coffee, where she confronted him about the suspicious knowledge and actions he had displayed on the islands.
• Matori ordered Weavile to hold a claw against Ye Li’s throat and accused him of being a spy or another organization’s operative.
• Apollo broke down the cabin door, saw Weavile threatening Ye Li, and shouted at Matori.
• Machoke drove Weavile away from Ye Li and stood between him and Matori, ready to fight.

Matori accused Ye Li of being a spy, provoking Apollo to defend him and bringing the two executives to the brink of battle. Giovanni stopped the confrontation and ordered an investigation upon their return to headquarters, leaving the rift between Apollo and Matori exposed.

• Apollo burst into Matori's cabin and demanded to know why she was attacking Ye Li.
• Matori declared that she believed Ye Li was a high-level spy infiltrating Team Rocket.
• Apollo defended Ye Li's loyalty and threatened anyone who tried to harm him.
• Apollo's Machoke and Matori's Weavile prepared to fight as Ye Li feared the damage to the airborne warship.
• Giovanni ordered Apollo and Matori to stand down and warned that anyone acting rashly would be executed.
• Apollo and Matori recalled their Pokémon, but their distrust deepened as Giovanni promised to investigate at headquarters.

Matori presented evidence that Ye Li was an unidentified outsider and possible League spy, leaving his fate in Giovanni’s hands. Giovanni praised Matori’s investigation instead of immediately condemning Ye Li.

• The fleet returned to Team Rocket’s headquarters, where Giovanni summoned all A-rank and higher executives to an emergency meeting.
• Matori showed the executives evidence of Ye Li’s extraordinary knowledge and apparent foreknowledge during the Seafoam Islands operation.
• Matori revealed that Ye Li’s genetic sequence matched no records in Team Rocket’s database or the known residents of Kanto, branding him a person of unknown origin.
• Apollo defended Ye Li, but the executives became suspicious, while Ye Li feared his secret identity would be exposed.
• Giovanni smiled at Matori’s report and praised her insight and loyalty to Team Rocket.

Giovanni turned Matori’s investigation of Ye Li into a false account of an ancient family that could predict the future, presenting Ye Li as Team Rocket’s secret special advisor. He promoted Matori to lead a new Internal Inspection Department, while Ye Li realized Giovanni had bound him tightly to the organization.

• Giovanni told the executives that Ye Li was not a spy and claimed his identity was an S-rank secret.
• Giovanni fabricated a story that Ye Li came from an ancient family of star-watchers and was recruited as a special advisor for his ability to predict the future.
• The executives accepted Giovanni’s explanation, while Matori stood stunned and Apollo proudly admired Ye Li.
• Giovanni established the Internal Inspection Department and appointed Matori as its first director, giving her independent authority and direct access to him.
• Ye Li recognized that Giovanni had neutralized the crisis, strengthened his control, and made Ye Li’s false identity—and continued service to Team Rocket—difficult to escape.

After Dr. Anya's team deciphered the Seafoam Islands tablet and identified Zapdos's location, Giovanni ordered Ye Li's Supreme Staff Headquarters to lead an operation to capture it. Ye Li accepted the assignment and realized the Abandoned Power Plant held dangers beyond Zapdos, including Voltorb and Electrode that could explode at close range.

• Dr. Anya's research team deciphered the tablet, revealing how the Sea Flute could affect the Legendary Birds and locating Zapdos at the Abandoned Power Plant on Route 10.
• Giovanni read the report, summoned Team Rocket's executives, and ordered an immediate Zapdos capture operation under Ye Li's command.
• Ye Li reluctantly accepted Giovanni's order, despite dreading the power plant's hazards and wishing for a break after the Seafoam Islands mission.
• Ye Li returned to his office and recalled that Voltorb and Electrode could disguise themselves as items before using Explosion, making the power plant especially dangerous.

Ye Li planned to upgrade the Ghost Unit for the Abandoned Power Plant by evolving its Flash Golbat into Crobat and equipping them with specialized gear. Giovanni approved Ye Li’s plan and ordered every relevant department to prioritize its resources.

• Ye Li decided the Ghost Unit needed to evolve into Crobat to handle the Abandoned Power Plant’s terrain and magnetic interference.
• Ye Li asked Dr. Anya to research a scientific method for quickly increasing friendship between Golbat and their Trainers.
• Ye Li gave Engineer Wang designs for geomagnetic-navigation helmets and tactical launchers with insulating capture nets, and Engineer Wang promised prototypes in three days.
• Ye Li submitted his Ghost Unit Upgrade Plan to Giovanni, who approved it and ordered all relevant departments to fulfill Ye Li’s resource requests as a top priority.

Officer Jenny’s interrogation of the Seafoam Islands poachers led Lorelei to suspect Team Rocket was targeting Legendary Pokémon, prompting Champion Lance to issue a Red Alert. Lt. Surge dismissed the order and assigned only a few inexperienced Gym Trainers to watch the Abandoned Power Plant, leaving Team Rocket’s Ghost Unit free to approach it.

• Officer Jenny learned that an unidentified, highly trained force had defeated the poachers and left them for the Pokémon League patrol.
• Lorelei connected the Seafoam Islands incident to earlier attacks and found an energy anomaly resembling Articuno’s power, leading her to suspect Team Rocket was pursuing Legendary Pokémon.
• Champion Lance issued a Red Alert and ordered surveillance of sites associated with Legendary Pokémon.
• Lt. Surge dismissed the threat and sent a few inexperienced subordinates to guard the Abandoned Power Plant without conducting patrols inside.
• Team Rocket’s Ghost Unit prepared to head quietly to the Abandoned Power Plant, unaware of the League’s alert or the weak guard detail.

Ye Li devised a plan for Team Rocket to infiltrate the Abandoned Power Plant disguised as a utility crew, using Erika’s authority to obtain an official access permit. Apollo led the disguised team through the League checkpoint, leaving Team Rocket inside the restricted area.

• Ye Li proposed posing as a Celadon City Electric Company maintenance crew to enter the Abandoned Power Plant legally.
• Giovanni approved Ye Li’s plan and assigned Matori to secure a permit from Erika through Team Rocket’s business dealings.
• Matori offered Erika a discounted electricity agreement, and Erika signed the agreement and access permit.
• Apollo and the elite operatives disguised themselves as electrical maintenance workers and drove utility trucks to the power plant checkpoint.
• Apollo presented Erika’s signed permit, and the guards let the convoy pass into the restricted area.

Apollo and Ye Li led an infiltration team into the abandoned Power Plant, where Ye Li’s detailed map helped them evade Electrode disguised as Poké Balls. After they found Zapdos’s feathers and confirmed the Legendary Pokémon was deeper inside, an alarm sounded, and Ye Li arranged a diversion to draw Lt. Surge’s guards away.

• Apollo split the team into groups to stage maintenance outside the Power Plant while he and Ye Li led an elite squad inside.
• A team member nearly approached Poké Balls scattered through the workshop, but Ye Li warned that they were Electrode traps and guided the team around them using his map.
• The team found golden feathers in an abandoned control room, and Dr. Anya confirmed they belonged to Zapdos and that the Pokémon was near the core generator unit.
• An alarm went off, and Ye Li ordered Lin Feng to falsify electrical fault reports at Generator Units Three and Four.
• The guards rushed toward the reported faults, giving Ye Li’s team time to continue its infiltration.

Ye Li’s newly evolved Flash Crobat disabled the Abandoned Power Plant’s electrified defenses, allowing the team to reach its core. There, they encountered the Legendary Pokémon Zapdos.

• Thirty Flash Golbat evolved into Flash Crobat under Dr. Anya’s accelerated Friendship breeding program and Ye Li’s investment in training and resources.
• Ye Li sent the Flash Crobat through the electrified maze while Apollo’s regular troops could not advance.
• The Flash Crobat skillfully dodged the electrical hazards and fired insulating nets at the grid’s power supply nodes.
• The nets disabled the defensive grid, and Apollo watched the Flash Crobat return in awe of their capabilities.
• Ye Li and the team crossed the safe passage and reached the central generator, where Zapdos appeared from its nest.

Zapdos unleashed a devastating assault on Team Rocket in the Power Plant, overwhelming their Pokémon and resisting Apollo’s Houndoom. Hiding nearby, Ye Li recalled that Zapdos might briefly stagger after using Thunder and realized the moment could be their only chance.

• Zapdos’s cry overloaded the Power Plant’s remaining systems and filled the core with lightning.
• Zapdos struck the battlefield with a relentless storm, quickly defeating Team Rocket’s Golem, Sandslash, Onix, and Rhyhorn.
• Apollo ordered Houndoom to attack Zapdos with Flamethrower, but an electric field dispersed the flames before they reached it.
• Ye Li hid behind an abandoned transformer and searched his memories for a way to survive.
• Ye Li remembered that Zapdos might briefly stagger after unleashing Thunder and identified the recovery interval as a possible opening.

Lt. Surge stormed into the Power Plant and ordered his forces to attack Zapdos, turning Team Rocket’s desperate battle into a three-sided conflict. Giovanni heard Ye Li’s plan and ordered Apollo to withdraw and wait for an opportunity to claim the spoils.

• Lt. Surge blasted through the Power Plant wall and discovered Team Rocket fighting the legendary Zapdos.
• Lt. Surge ignored Team Rocket and ordered his Electric-type forces to attack Zapdos so he could capture it.
• Ye Li saw Lt. Surge’s arrival as a chance to make his forces wear down Zapdos while Team Rocket stayed back.
• Giovanni heard Ye Li’s plan and ordered Apollo to retreat and let Lt. Surge’s forces exhaust Zapdos.

Giovanni ordered Apollo and Team Rocket to withdraw from the front line and conserve their strength while Lt. Surge’s legion attacked Zapdos. Zapdos overwhelmed the Electric-type Pokémon, but their repeated assaults began to drain its energy.

• Giovanni ordered Apollo to pull Team Rocket back and take defensive positions behind abandoned generators.
• Apollo relayed the order, and Team Rocket withdrew with the wounded and Pokémon unable to battle.
• Lt. Surge ignored Team Rocket’s retreat and ordered his Electric-type legion to attack Zapdos with Thunderbolt, Zap Cannon, and Thunder.
• Zapdos redirected a golden lightning bolt to defeat Raichu and reversed the magnetic field to smash three Magneton with metal debris.
• Lt. Surge’s Pokémon suffered heavy losses, but their repeated attacks slightly weakened Zapdos’s aura and slowed its flight.

Ye Li and Team Rocket weakened Zapdos with Lt. Surge’s battle and an Electric-Absorbing Device, then captured it in a special net. As they prepared to secure Zapdos, Lorelei and a large Pokémon League force arrived at the Power Plant.

• Zapdos exhausted itself using Thunder to destroy Lt. Surge’s remaining troops.
• Ye Li ordered Team Rocket to attack, and Apollo led the main force and the Flash Crobat unit into battle.
• Dr. Anya activated the Electric-Absorbing Device, cutting Zapdos off from surrounding electrical energy.
• Apollo trapped the weakened Zapdos in an Anti-Electromagnetic Capture Net.
• Lorelei arrived at the Power Plant with a large Pokémon League force and confronted Team Rocket.

Lorelei attacked Team Rocket to free Zapdos, while Apollo fought to hold her off. As the battle raged, Ye Li abandoned his capture plan and decided to try calming Zapdos with an ancient instrument.

• Lorelei sent out Cloyster and Lapras and ordered Cloyster to break the net holding Zapdos.
• Apollo ordered Houndoom to block Cloyster's Ice Beam, and their attacks erupted in a blast that filled the battlefield with steam.
• Lorelei and Apollo exchanged further attacks as Lt. Surge hid nearby and Ye Li watched from a distant corner.
• Ye Li realized he could no longer capture Zapdos while Lorelei was present and decided to communicate with it instead.
• Ye Li recalled the Seafoam Islands tablet's ancient rituals and planned to use an ancient instrument to soothe Zapdos.

With the Power Plant battle in chaos, Ye Li recalled the Sea Flute inscription and gambled that its ancient notes could be simulated as a sound wave. The strange sound reached Zapdos, and the furious Legendary Pokémon faltered, leaving everyone unsure what would happen next.

• Ye Li remembered the Sea Flute illustration and its inscription saying its sound could calm the sea and soothe the sky’s thunder.
• Ye Li asked Giovanni to have Lin Feng simulate a sound wave from the ancient musical notation.
• Giovanni trusted Ye Li and ordered Lin Feng to synthesize the sound, which he completed in under three minutes.
• Giovanni had Dr. Anya play the dissonant sound through the Power Plant’s disguised loudspeakers.
• The noise agitated the fighters, but Zapdos suddenly faltered and showed bewilderment, causing Lorelei and Apollo to stop fighting and stare at it.