Recaps

After the King of Persia's apparent death, Lu Chen suspected the enemy had used a stand-in and warned that the real threat remained. Steven confronted Lu Chen about his identity, and Lu Chen revealed that he was born tens of thousands of years ago before transmigrating to the modern era about a year earlier.

• Ash passed out after the King of Persia's soul dissipated, and Misty and Brock checked on him.
• Lu Chen suspected the King of Persia had used a stand-in and warned everyone that the real King of Persia might still be alive.
• Hokuto and Brandon regretted excavating the ruins, but Lu Chen reassured them that the King of Persia would have escaped eventually.
• Lu Chen kept the goddess statue with him and gave it to Gengar while Steven reported the threat to the Pokémon League.
• Steven asked Lu Chen about his identity, and Lu Chen admitted he had been born in the super-ancient era and transmigrated to the modern era about a year ago.
• Lu Chen called Aaron his disciple, prompting Aaron to proclaim him his ancestor before Lu Chen calmed him down.

Lu Chen revealed that he came from the super-ancient era and explained his history with the King of Persia, then asked everyone to keep his origins secret. As Ash resumed his Battle Frontier plans and Lu Chen prepared to return to Pallet Town, Brandon challenged him to a battle.

• Lu Chen told Steven and the others that he had brought his Pokémon from the super-ancient era and had once thwarted the King of Persia's plan to capture Ho-Oh.
• Lu Chen stopped everyone from asking more questions and made them promise to keep his identity secret; they agreed to hide the truth from Ash when he woke up.
• Lu Chen told Ash that a trap's sleep-inducing gas had knocked him out, and Misty claimed they had been discussing Persian cosmos.
• Lu Chen decided the King of Persia would remain a threat until the Pokémon League investigated, while Ash chose to stay at the Battle Frontier and challenge its facilities.
• Lu Chen set off for Pallet Town to look after the farm and enjoy Delia's apple pie, but Brandon stopped him and asked to challenge Gouging Fire with Regirock.

Lu Chen's Gouging Fire easily defeated Brandon's Regirock, which Lu Chen identified as a human-made imitation, before Lu Chen flew back to Pallet Town. He arrived to find Sinnoh Champion Cynthia waiting at his farm.

• Brandon challenged Lu Chen to a battle between Regirock and Gouging Fire, and Lu Chen accepted.
• Gouging Fire's Sacred Fire overwhelmed Regirock's Rock Wrecker and Protect, knocking Regirock out.
• Lu Chen told Brandon that his Regirock was likely a human-made imitation rather than one of the true Legendary Titans created by Regigigas.
• Lu Chen left the Battle Pyramid on Aerodactyl and flew toward Pallet Town, planning to check on Omanyte's and Kabuto's families and visit Delia.
• Lu Chen arrived at his farm and saw Cynthia waiting at the entrance beside her Garchomp.

Lu Chen returned to the farm, where Delia welcomed him and asked after Ash before Cynthia requested his help teaching Garchomp Dragon Dance. He refused because they were not friends, and after Cynthia left, Professor Oak asked what Lu Chen had gained in Hoenn, leaving him to reflect on how enormous his gains had been.

• Lu Chen landed at the farm and Delia mistook Cynthia for his girlfriend before he introduced her as the Sinnoh Champion.
• Delia gave Lu Chen butter cookies, and he told her Ash was in Hoenn challenging the Battle Frontier.
• Cynthia offered Lu Chen money and her word as Champion in exchange for helping Garchomp learn Dragon Dance, but he refused.
• Lu Chen told Cynthia he usually only helped friends, and she left without explaining what she understood.
• Professor Oak asked Lu Chen about his Hoenn trip, and Lu Chen reflected that he had gained far more than he could have imagined.

Lu Chen told Professor Oak that King of Persia had survived as a possessing spirit, and Oak reported the danger to the Pokémon League. Meanwhile, King of Persia possessed the masked Hunter J and claimed her body and name for himself.

• Lu Chen recounted his journey to the Aura Holy Land and warned Professor Oak that King of Persia had escaped as a remnant soul.
• Professor Oak reported King of Persia's survival to the Pokémon League and told Lu Chen that his fossil Pokémon were reproducing quickly and his farm was overgrown.
• King of Persia drifted toward the Hoenn-Sinnoh border, weakened and searching for a body to possess.
• King of Persia watched Hunter J and her subordinates capture a Shiny Beautifly after Hunter J petrified it with a device.
• King of Persia possessed Hunter J, took control of her body, and declared that he would use her name.

The King of Persia discovered that possessing Hunter J had left him trapped in a woman’s body while Hunter J’s consciousness resisted him. Back at his farm, Lu Chen found Ditto helping Fossil Pokémon breed rapidly, then met Cynthia bringing him a homemade apple pie with Delia.

• The King of Persia examined his new body, realized he had possessed Hunter J and become a woman, and broke down in despair.
• Hunter J’s consciousness resisted the King of Persia and gave him a splitting headache as he searched her memories.
• Lu Chen found nearly twenty Pokémon in the river and discovered that many were Ditto disguised as Fossil Pokémon.
• Lu Chen concluded that Ditto were accelerating breeding and asked Lapras and Aerodactyl to widen and deepen the river.
• Lu Chen prepared to clear the overgrown fields with Garchomp, but Delia and Cynthia arrived with apple pies.
• Cynthia awkwardly apologized that her first homemade apple pie had not turned out well.

Cynthia tried to win Lu Chen over by baking him an apple pie and having her Garchomp help with farmwork, hoping he would teach her Dragon Dance. Meanwhile, Ash watched Reggie arrive at the Battle Pyramid for his third challenge against Brandon, determined to defeat Regirock and clear the Battle Frontier.

• Cynthia brought Lu Chen a homemade apple pie, and he praised it despite its burnt, overly sweet taste.
• Cynthia sent her Garchomp to cut weeds, and Lu Chen had his own Garchomp join it; Professor Oak was astonished to see the Champion's Pokémon doing farmwork.
• Cynthia watched the Garchomp work and hoped her efforts would persuade Lu Chen to teach Dragon Dance, while Lu Chen searched for valuable Berries to grow.
• At the Battle Pyramid, Ash reflected on his third consecutive loss to Brandon's Regirock, and Misty and Brock encouraged him to challenge other Battle Brains first.
• Reggie arrived with his younger brother Paul and announced his third challenge against Brandon; Paul confidently declared that Reggie would win, while Ash stayed to watch.

Reggie lost his third challenge to Brandon and traveled with Paul to Pallet Town to ask Lu Chen for advice. They found Champion Cynthia and her ace Garchomp working on Lu Chen’s farm, and Reggie asked Lu Chen where he was falling short.

• Brandon defeated all six of Reggie’s Pokémon with Regirock and explained that his own training had made him stronger.
• Ash told Reggie that Lu Chen lived in Pallet Town, while Paul questioned whether Lu Chen was really so powerful.
• Reggie and Paul traveled to Pallet Town and found two Garchomp working in Lu Chen’s fields.
• Reggie and Paul recognized Cynthia weeding the farm and identified the larger Garchomp as her ace.
• Lu Chen introduced himself, and Reggie asked him to explain why he kept losing to Brandon.

Lu Chen advised Reggie on how to coordinate his Pokémon against Regirock, then refused to take him as a disciple. In Celadon City, Lu Chen recognized Ho-Oh’s aura on a girl who stole his wallet and followed her with Cynthia.

• Lu Chen told Reggie that his team fought without coordination and advised him to train his Pokémon to work together.
• Reggie asked Lu Chen to take him as a disciple, but Lu Chen refused.
• Lu Chen and Cynthia traveled to Celadon City to buy Starf Berry seeds from Erika.
• Blue stole Lu Chen’s wallet as she brushed past him, but Lu Chen stopped Cynthia from intervening.
• Lu Chen sensed Ho-Oh’s aura on Blue and followed her into the crowd with Cynthia.

Lu Chen and Cynthia cornered Blue over a stolen wallet, but Blue escaped after Aerodactyl overwhelmed her Pokémon and she used a Hydro Pump to launch herself over the alley wall. Lu Chen sensed someone hiding in a nearby passage and called out to the small figure standing in the shadows.

• Lu Chen confronted Blue about stealing his wallet, and she summoned Blastoise and Nidoqueen when Aerodactyl blocked her escape.
• Aerodactyl walked through Blastoise’s Hydro Pump and pinned it down, while Lu Chen discovered Blue’s hidden Poké Balls and she sent Jigglypuff and Clefable to attack him.
• Gengar caught Jigglypuff and Clefable, but their Eject Buttons returned them to their Poké Balls as Blue rode Blastoise’s Hydro Pump over the wall and escaped.
• Lu Chen sensed a presence in a narrow passage, prepared Gengar and Aerodactyl for a possible encounter, and called out to the small figure hiding there.

Lu Chen and Cynthia investigated the ice sculpture used by a powerful Ice-type Trainer and learned from Erika that Blue had been abducted as a child before escaping. After leaving Celadon Gym, Lu Chen used a scrap of Blue’s clothing to have Aerodactyl track her to abandoned factories on the outskirts of the city.

• Aerodactyl shattered an ice sculpture that had impersonated Blue, but its frostbite revealed that a Champion-level Ice-type Trainer had created it.
• Erika arrived, brought Lu Chen and Cynthia to Celadon Gym, and explained that Blue had been abducted as a child, brutally trained, and recently returned to find her family gone.
• Lu Chen thanked Erika for the information and ordered a hundred Starf Berry seeds from her.
• Lu Chen gave Aerodactyl a scrap of Blue’s clothing to track, and Aerodactyl followed her scent to abandoned factory buildings outside the city.

Lu Chen captured Blue and learned that the Masked Man had abducted her as a child with a rainbow-colored bird she believed was Ho-Oh. The Masked Man confronted them outside the factory and revealed Ho-Oh, leaving Lu Chen and Cynthia face-to-face with the Legendary Pokémon.

• Lu Chen entered the factory with Cynthia and Aerodactyl, and Blue surrendered after seeing she was surrounded.
• Lu Chen questioned Blue, who recounted being kidnapped by the Masked Man and trained alongside other children before escaping and becoming a Trainer.
• Blue described the Masked Man's giant rainbow-colored bird, leading Lu Chen to suspect he had captured Ho-Oh.
• The Masked Man spoke from outside and demanded that Lu Chen leave, while Blue recognized his voice and Aerodactyl reacted angrily.
• Lu Chen asked whether the Masked Man had a Shiny Fearow or Ho-Oh, and the Masked Man sent a Poké Ball through the factory roof.
• Ho-Oh emerged in a burst of golden light before Lu Chen and Cynthia.

Lu Chen and Cynthia confronted a weakened, controlled Ho-Oh and battled it with Lu Chen's Pokémon. After Ho-Oh resisted their attacks, Lu Chen Mega Evolved Aerodactyl, Gengar, and Garchomp together, and Mega Aerodactyl prepared a Stone Edge strike.

• Lu Chen recognized that Ho-Oh was weakened and seemed controlled, while Cynthia prepared to fight beside him.
• Lu Chen sent out Gouging Fire, Aerodactyl, Lapras, Gengar, and Garchomp, then ordered Gouging Fire to attack with Sacred Fire.
• The Masked Man commanded Ho-Oh to use Flamethrower, and Ho-Oh's ordinary flames overpowered Gouging Fire's Sacred Fire.
• Aerodactyl struck Ho-Oh with Stone Edge, while Lapras's Hydro Pump barely affected it.
• Lu Chen Mega Evolved Aerodactyl, Gengar, and Garchomp simultaneously, then sent Mega Aerodactyl diving at Ho-Oh with Stone Edge.

Lu Chen and Cynthia fought Ho-Oh and the Masked Man, forcing them to retreat after Mega Aerodactyl wounded the Masked Man. With their Pokémon exhausted, Lu Chen agreed to discuss his Garchomp’s unusual Mega Evolution with Cynthia later, and Lance arrived nearly ten minutes after the escape.

• Lu Chen used Gouging Fire, Mega Aerodactyl, Mega Gengar, and Lapras to hold Ho-Oh to a stalemate while Cynthia attacked the Masked Man with five Pokémon.
• Cynthia noticed that Lu Chen’s Mega Garchomp Z had a strikingly different form from her own Garchomp but kept fighting.
• Mega Aerodactyl broke through Delibird and Dewgong’s ice walls and wounded the Masked Man in the shoulder.
• The Masked Man abandoned his attack on Blue, called Ho-Oh to his side, and escaped on its back after Lu Chen stopped Mega Aerodactyl from pursuing.
• Lu Chen ended his Pokémon’s Mega Evolutions, and Cynthia asked him about Mega Garchomp Z; he put off the discussion until they returned.
• Lance arrived nearly ten minutes after the Masked Man escaped.

Lu Chen told Lance that the battle in Celadon City had been against the Masked Man, who controlled Ho-Oh, and Cynthia asked if they were friends before trying to ask him to train Garchomp. Lu Chen left for Pallet Town with Blue, while Lance began considering the growing threats in Kanto.

• Lance arrived after Lu Chen had treated his injured Pokémon and learned that the Masked Man had controlled Ho-Oh and attacked them with an Ice-type Champion’s help.
• Cynthia asked Lu Chen if they were friends, and he agreed before she tried to ask him to train Garchomp.
• Blue told Lance that the Masked Man specialized in Ice-type Pokémon, controlled Ho-Oh, and had kidnapped children to train them.
• Lu Chen told Lance he was returning to Pallet Town, then invited Blue to come along so Professor Oak could decide what to do with her.

After returning to Pallet Town, Lu Chen let Blue settle into farm work and helped Cynthia’s Garchomp gain power with an ancient medicine. Aaron then arrived with a clue about a world-changing power hidden in Cameran Palace and invited Lu Chen there, a place he considered his true home.

• Lu Chen returned to Pallet Town with Cynthia and Blue, where Delia welcomed them with afternoon tea and noticed the Pokémon’s injuries.
• Blue expected Lu Chen to take her to Professor Oak to apologize, but he gave her Berry seeds and sent her to work in the fields with Garchomp.
• Lu Chen gave Cynthia’s Garchomp an ultra-ancient secret medicine, which triggered a powerful Dragon Dance.
• Lu Chen explained that his Mega Evolution form suited Special Attack and suggested Cynthia’s Garchomp might have a physical-attack form if she found its Mega Stone.
• Aaron arrived and told Lu Chen that ancient texts pointed to a world-changing power hidden in Cameran Palace, then invited him there.
• Lu Chen reacted with complicated feelings because Cameran Palace was, in truth, his home in the Pokémon world.

Lu Chen agreed to travel to Cameran Palace with Cynthia and Aaron, while Professor Juniper arranged to study the farm’s fossil Pokémon with their consent. As the group flew toward the palace, Lu Chen remembered a drunken first queen pleading with him not to leave, and the King of Persia ordered an investigation into the Masked Man who had used his methods to capture Ho-Oh.

• Lu Chen agreed to go to Cameran Palace with Cynthia and Aaron after hearing Aaron’s discovery about its legendary power.
• Professor Juniper asked to research the fossil Pokémon, and Lu Chen obtained their agreement before allowing the research.
• Lu Chen introduced Blue to Professor Oak, who forgave her for stealing Squirtle after seeing her bond with Blastoise.
• Lu Chen left Professor Oak in charge of the farm and flew toward Cameran Palace with Cynthia, Aaron, and Blue.
• Lu Chen recalled the first queen leaning against him and asking him not to leave as the group traveled.
• The King of Persia examined photographs of Lu Chen and the Celadon City ruins, recognized his own methods in the Ho-Oh capture, and ordered an investigation into the Masked Man.

Ash returned to Pallet Town after failing to defeat Brandon, then followed Lu Chen to Cameran Palace, where a festival was underway. Lu Chen reunited with Ash's group, introduced them to Cynthia, and had Aaron use his Aura to gain access to the castle celebration.

• Ash came home to rest after losing to Brandon, learned Lu Chen had gone to Cameran Palace, and set out there with Misty and Brock.
• Lu Chen arrived in Rota with Blue and Cynthia and saw a festival play about Sir Aaron and the Tree of Beginning.
• Ash, Misty, and Brock caught up with Lu Chen, and Ash explained that he had come after hearing Lu Chen was there.
• Lu Chen introduced Blue and Cynthia to Ash's group, who were astonished to meet the Sinnoh Champion.
• Castle guards said only festival winners could enter, so Lu Chen sent Aaron to the guards, where Aaron's Aura startled them.

Lu Chen and his companions arrived at Cameran Palace, where Queen Ilene recognized his name from records of the First Chief Warrior, a legendary aide to the first queen. As the queen showed them the palace, a mural of the Chief Warrior strengthened the resemblance, and Lu Chen remained evasive about his connection to the ancient figure.

• Aaron revealed his Aura Guardian power at the castle gates, and the guards brought the group to Queen Ilene.
• Ash and Aaron both identified themselves as Aura Guardians, surprising Queen Ilene and the others.
• Queen Ilene told Lu Chen that Cameran Palace's records described a First Chief Warrior named Lu Chen who had served the first queen.
• Lu Chen denied being the Chief Warrior, but Queen Ilene pointed out that he resembled the figure in an old portrait and invited the group to the banquet.
• Queen Ilene showed the group a mural of the Chief Warrior, and Lu Chen studied it while continuing to deflect questions about his identity.

Queen Ilene recounted how Cameran Palace’s commander pioneered bonds with Pokémon, then shared an unofficial account that he fathered the royal bloodline with the first queen. After dinner, Aaron remembered the important business that had brought the group to Cameran Palace and began to raise it with the queen.

• Queen Ilene explained that the commander rejected violent methods, bonded with an Aerodactyl, and made his Pokémon-taming methods public.
• Misty asked whether the commander and the first queen became a couple, and Queen Ilene said official histories claimed they did not.
• Queen Ilene shared an unofficial account that the first queen got the commander drunk, slept with him, and gave birth to a child who began the royal bloodline.
• Lu Chen denied the rumor, while Misty, Brock, and Aaron remained convinced it might be true.
• Queen Ilene led the group to dinner, where they enjoyed a feast of mountain produce and freshwater fish.
• Aaron remembered their reason for visiting and told Queen Ilene they had come on important business.

Aaron told Queen Ilene about an ancient Aura Guardian’s world-changing secret, but Ilene said Cameran Palace knew little about it. During Ash and Aaron’s Aura Guardian investiture, the queen’s scepter released a rampaging Lucario, which Gengar restrained as Lu Chen identified its condition.

• Aaron asked Queen Ilene about the secret left behind by an ancient Aura Guardian, and she admitted Cameran Palace knew little about it.
• Ash won the festival battle tournament, and Queen Ilene invited him and Aaron to take part in the Aura Guardian investiture ceremony.
• As Ash accepted the queen’s scepter, it flashed, burst apart, and released a dark, berserk Lucario.
• Lucario lunged toward Ash, but Lu Chen sent Gengar to grab it and hold it still.
• Lu Chen explained that Lucario’s long confinement and Aura fluctuations had triggered its emotional rampage.

Lu Chen calmed the Lucario sealed in Queen Ilene’s staff, and Zorua translated its claim that Sir Aaron had abandoned it rather than sacrificed himself. That night, Mew befriended Pikachu and Lapras, then teleported away with them when Lu Chen spotted it, leaving Ash stunned.

• Lu Chen used massage techniques to calm Lucario, which then recoiled from Ash and Aaron.
• Queen Ilene identified Lucario as the partner of the legendary Sir Aaron, but Lucario insisted through Zorua that Aaron had sealed it in the staff and deserted it.
• Lu Chen and Aaron considered whether Lucario was the secret behind the ancient records, while Queen Ilene postponed further questioning until morning.
• Mew visited Ash and Pikachu’s room, beckoned Pikachu outside, and led it to play with Lapras in the castle grounds.
• Lu Chen spotted Mew playing with Pikachu and Lapras, so Mew grabbed both Pokémon and teleported away as Ash watched in shock.

Mew brought Lapras and Pikachu to the Tree of Beginning, where Lapras and Pikachu ate Fruits of Life and grew stronger. Lapras ascended to the Divine Realm, and the two agreed to play hide-and-seek with Mew.

• Mew teleported Lapras and Pikachu to the Tree of Beginning, where Lapras confronted it and demanded to be sent back.
• Mew explained that leaving the Tree of Beginning was difficult, and Lapras attacked it with Hydro Pump before Pikachu stepped in to stop the fight.
• Mew offered them life-rich Berries, and Lapras sensed that eating one could help it break through its peak Champion limit.
• Pikachu gained strength from a small bite, while Lapras ate a second Fruit of Life and shattered its barrier, ascending to the Divine Realm as a Third-Tier God.
• Lapras noticed changes to its body and abilities, then it and Pikachu agreed to play hide-and-seek with Mew.

After Mew took Pikachu and Lapras to the Tree of Beginning, Ash and Lu Chen refused to wait for their return and prepared to pursue them. Lucario agreed to guide them there, while Lu Chen suggested that it could use a Time Flower to learn the truth about its past.

• Lu Chen and Ash learned that Mew had taken Pikachu and Lapras, and Queen Ilene explained that Mew usually brought Pokémon to the Tree of Beginning and eventually released them.
• Ash and Lu Chen rejected the idea of waiting years and asked Queen Ilene where Mew had taken their Pokémon.
• Lu Chen recalled that Sir Aaron and his Lucario had entered the Tree of Beginning, and Aaron wondered whether the rampaging Lucario held the secret mentioned in Cameran Palace's ancient texts.
• Lucario entered the hall and offered to lead the group to the Tree of Beginning, while taunting Ash about whether he would abandon Pikachu.
• Lu Chen suggested Lucario use a Time Flower near the Tree of Beginning to learn what had happened in the past, then set out with the others.

Ash and the others climbed the mountain to reach the Tree of Beginning and saw a Time Flower reveal footage of Sir Aaron and Lucario. After the group continued onward, Lu Chen returned to the flower and discovered it could replay memories from his own past, showing Rin’s determination and his promise to help her save her country.

• Ash and the others began climbing the mountain after learning that its strange power prevented Pokémon from flying.
• Ash touched a Time Flower, but it only bloomed when Lucario touched it, revealing Sir Aaron climbing the mountain with Lucario beside him.
• Lucario watched the footage, called Sir Aaron a liar and coward, and turned away as the flower closed.
• After the group moved ahead, Lu Chen touched the Time Flower and saw footage of Rin climbing the mountain during the invasion of her homeland.
• Rin tearfully asked whether she could save her country, and the young Lu Chen told her he believed in her and would help.