Chapter Summaries

Shiraishi Ritsu prepared to travel to Saffron City with Smeargle for a promotional event, while Sabrina contacted him to ask about the next Pokémon Adventures installment. When Sabrina mentioned an incoming challenger from Pallet Town with a Pikachu, Ritsu suspected the Trainer was Ash and wondered whether to warn her about the Saffron Gym challenge.

• Shiraishi Ritsu packed for the Saffron City promotional event, and Kikkawa Maho reviewed the interview arrangements with him.
• Sabrina read a grateful letter from a young Trainer and wondered when the next issue of Pokémon Adventures would arrive.
• Sabrina called Shiraishi Ritsu to ask about the manga's next installment, and he told her it would feature Red, Green, and conflict with the boy in the cap.
• Sabrina praised Smeargle's portrait, and Smeargle excitedly reacted to her compliment.
• Sabrina told Shiraishi Ritsu that a young Trainer from Pallet Town with a Pikachu was heading to Saffron City, and Ritsu suspected he was Ash.

At a Pokémon Adventures promotional event in Saffron City, Shiraishi Ritsu met Ash, Misty, and Brock and learned Ash planned to challenge Sabrina. Sabrina later confirmed she had considered turning Ash into a doll, leaving Ritsu worried that he and Smeargle would need to visit the Saffron Gym.

• Shiraishi Ritsu recognized Ash, Misty, and Brock at the manga exhibition and introduced himself as its creator, Masuda Senbei.
• Smeargle drew Pikachu, while Ash discussed battle tactics with Ritsu and showed him the three Badges he had earned, including Lt. Surge's Thunder Badge.
• Ash announced that he planned to challenge Sabrina at Saffron Gym, and Ritsu warned him that she was extremely strong.
• After Ash, Misty, and Brock left, Sabrina messaged Ritsu that a boy wearing a cap had come to challenge her Gym.
• Ritsu asked Sabrina not to turn Ash into a doll, but Sabrina replied by asking how he knew she would do that, prompting Ritsu to plan a visit to the Gym with Smeargle.

Shiraishi Ritsu tried to dissuade Sabrina and her rag doll from turning Ash into a toy, while Smeargle’s comic made Sabrina more curious about him. The next morning, Sabrina agreed to accept Ash’s formal Gym challenge and ordered the staff to let him in.

• Shiraishi Ritsu nervously explained to Sabrina that his warnings about turning people into toys came from researching psychic-power ideas for manga.
• During a video call, Shiraishi Ritsu urged Sabrina to give Ash a proper Gym battle, and Smeargle showed them a comic depicting Ash and Pikachu as dolls.
• Sabrina agreed to battle Ash according to Gym rules, while Shiraishi Ritsu ended the call before she could say what might happen afterward.
• At Saffron Gym the next morning, a staff member told Sabrina that Ash from Pallet Town had formally applied for a challenge.
• Sabrina remembered Smeargle’s comic, then told the staff member to let Ash in.

Ash challenged Sabrina at the Saffron Gym, but Pikachu could not overcome Abra, which evolved into Kadabra during the battle. After Pikachu was badly hurt, Ash forfeited and left without a Badge, only for Sabrina’s doll to demand that he play with it.

• Ash entered the Saffron Gym with Misty and Brock and began a one-on-one battle against Sabrina, sending out Pikachu against her Abra.
• Abra repeatedly used Teleport to evade Pikachu’s attacks, then evolved into Kadabra during the battle.
• Ash tried to counter Kadabra’s Psychic with Pikachu’s movement and Thunderbolt, but Kadabra caught Pikachu and threw it across the field twice.
• Seeing Pikachu injured, Ash forfeited the match and told Sabrina he would return to challenge her again.
• At a Pokémon Adventures promotional event, Shiraishi Ritsu told a reporter that Trainers should know when to admit defeat to protect their Pokémon.
• As Ash turned to leave the Gym, Sabrina’s doll smiled and told him that, since he had lost, he had to play with her.

After losing to Sabrina, Ash, Misty, and Brock were shrunk and trapped in Sabrina’s dollhouse, where a doll chased them through a dangerous game. A mysterious psychic restored them to normal and warned Ash to keep away from the Saffron Gym while Pikachu recovered, leaving Ash without the Badge.

• Sabrina’s doll shrank Ash, Misty, and Brock and transported them into a dollhouse after they tried to leave the Gym.
• The doll forced the group into a game of hide-and-seek, using animated toys to chase them while injured Pikachu remained in Ash’s arms.
• Ash called out to Sabrina, but the doll continued the chase and began drawing the toys together to trap them.
• A mysterious psychic intervened, returned the group to normal size, and warned them to stay away from the Saffron Gym.
• Ash accepted that he could not yet defeat Sabrina’s Kadabra, and the man told him to take Pikachu to the Pokémon Center before leaving.

After Ash lost to Sabrina and escaped her dollhouse with help, a mysterious man advised him to seek Ghost Pokémon in Lavender Town before challenging her again. Shiraishi Ritsu recognized the suggestion as a chance for Smeargle to find new manga material.

• Shiraishi Ritsu worried that Ash had not returned from challenging Sabrina, while Smeargle showed him a comic depicting Ash shrunk into a doll.
• A breeze opened Pokémon Adventures to a page featuring a tiny pink Pokémon, which a matching figure outside the window noticed before vanishing.
• Ash returned with Misty and Brock, explained that Sabrina's Kadabra had defeated him, and described how Sabrina's doll had shrunk them and trapped them in a dollhouse.
• Ash vowed to challenge Sabrina again, and Shiraishi Ritsu considered how they might prepare for the next attempt.
• The man who had rescued Ash and his friends advised Ash to seek Ghost Pokémon in Lavender Town, and Shiraishi Ritsu saw a chance for Smeargle to find new material.

Shiraishi Ritsu learned that the mysterious psychic who had helped Ash and his friends was Sabrina’s father, and heard why he had struggled to reconnect with her. The conversation ended with Sabrina’s father recognizing Ritsu as the manga artist who had portrayed Sabrina as a villain.

• Ash decided to travel to Lavender Town to seek Ghost Pokémon that might help counter Sabrina’s Kadabra, and Shiraishi Ritsu chose to go as well with Smeargle.
• Shiraishi Ritsu suspected the mysterious psychic was concerned about Sabrina and later encountered him outside a shop, where the man confirmed he was Sabrina’s father.
• Sabrina’s father showed Ritsu a childhood photograph and explained that Sabrina had withdrawn from family and friends as she devoted herself to training her psychic powers.
• Sabrina’s father said he had tried to bring her back into ordinary life, but she regarded such efforts as a waste of training time.
• Shiraishi Ritsu told Sabrina’s father that Sabrina had objected to her portrayal in Pokémon Adventures, and the man recognized him as the manga artist who drew her as a villain.

Shiraishi Ritsu told Sabrina's father about her interest in manga and encouraged him to connect with her through ordinary conversation. After getting permission from Kikkawa Maho, Ritsu and Smeargle joined Ash, Misty, and Brock on their trip to Lavender Town to gather reference material.

• Shiraishi Ritsu told Sabrina's father that Sabrina read Pokémon Adventures, answered readers' letters, and had asked Smeargle to draw her portrait; her father realized she had been changing in ways he hadn't known about.
• Shiraishi Ritsu advised Sabrina's father to talk with her about manga and readers' letters, and the man thanked him before warning him about the Ghost Pokémon in Lavender Town.
• Shiraishi Ritsu called Kikkawa Maho to request a two-day trip to Lavender Town for manga references, and she agreed after he assured her the next installment would stay on schedule.
• Shiraishi Ritsu and Smeargle prepared a checklist for studying Lavender Town, Pokémon Tower, Ghost Pokémon, and potential comedy-manga material.
• The next morning, Shiraishi Ritsu and Smeargle met Ash, Misty, and Brock on the road and joined their journey to Lavender Town.

As Ash read Pokémon Adventures on the road to Lavender Town, Shiraishi Ritsu discussed Smeargle’s training with Brock. During their rest, a wild Pidgey showed unusual interest in the manga before flying away, leaving the group unaware of its reason.

• Ash eagerly read Pokémon Adventures and asked Shiraishi Ritsu about Red’s future adventures, while Misty scolded Ash for reading as he walked.
• At lunch, Shiraishi Ritsu and Brock discussed Smeargle’s sketches, exercise, and Quick Attack training, and Brock offered to review Smeargle’s training plan.
• After lunch, a wild Pidgey ignored Brock’s Berries and moved closer to watch Ash read the manga.
• Pidgey flew away when Shiraishi Ritsu approached, and the group assumed it had been drawn to the colorful pictures.

Ash, Misty, Brock, Shiraishi Ritsu, and Smeargle explored the outside of Pokémon Tower before entering, where they heard a mysterious laugh. Haunter watched the group and became fascinated by the Pokémon Adventures manga sticking out of Shiraishi Ritsu’s backpack.

• Shiraishi Ritsu and Smeargle sketched Pokémon Tower while Ash and Misty argued about whether Ghost Pokémon were frightening.
• Ash led the group toward the tower after they heard laughter from inside, despite Misty’s unease.
• Shiraishi Ritsu warned Smeargle to stay close and be cautious around Gastly and Haunter as they entered the tower.
• Haunter watched the group from the ceiling and first considered scaring Ash, but then noticed the manga in Shiraishi Ritsu’s backpack.
• Haunter became curious about Pokémon Adventures and reached toward the book instead of frightening Ash.