Chapter Summaries

Tetsuya heard how Wallace’s perfection had strained his relationship with Winona and offered to introduce him to someone who might help. Norman’s family arrived in Hoenn and settled in Petalburg City, where Tetsuya and Wallace surprised them with a visit and met their Pokémon.

• Wallace explained that he had given up his Elite Four position to support Winona as a Gym Leader, but his constant guidance made her feel overshadowed and led to arguments.
• Tetsuya offered to introduce Wallace to someone who might advise him about his relationship with Winona.
• Norman, Mitsuko, May, and Max arrived in Petalburg City, where Norman reunited with Professor Birch and moved his family into a new mansion.
• Tetsuya and Wallace arrived to congratulate Norman, and Max and May became excited to meet Wallace.
• After Mitsuko took the children shopping, Wallace saw Tetsuya’s Urshifu and complained that Tetsuya was far too lucky.

Tetsuya and Norman spent time with their Pokémon before leaving together to explore Hoenn ahead of their competition. They reached the region’s vast desert, where they planned to search for something nearby.

• Tetsuya calmed Ursaluna and explained that it had been caring for young Pokémon at Professor Oak’s lab while Urshifu taught Fighting techniques.
• Wallace’s Milotic caught Serperior’s attention, prompting Tetsuya to stop the two from getting too close.
• Norman and the others restored the courtyard after his Pokémon ate through the grass and trees, then Mitsuko returned home with May and Max.
• Tetsuya and Norman decided to leave early to explore the area, and Mitsuko reluctantly accepted Norman’s departure while worrying about him.
• Wallace and Professor Birch parted ways with Tetsuya and Norman, who traveled northwest and arrived at Hoenn’s immense desert.

Tetsuya and Norman explored a desert, where Zangoose defeated three Sevipers before Gigalith sensed a powerful Sandstorm approaching. They took shelter, and Tetsuya sent Gallade and Serperior to help heal Slaking as the storm battered their refuge.

• Tetsuya and Norman entered the desert with Blaziken and Norman's Zangoose, then traveled across the dunes while Norman collected Pokémon materials.
• Zangoose sensed three Sevipers and defeated them, though the battle left it with minor injuries.
• Tetsuya grew uneasy near Cacturne and sent out Gigalith, which detected a powerful Sandstorm approaching.
• Tetsuya and Norman quickly built a leeward shelter, where Slaking braced the entrance as sand poured through the gaps.
• As the Sandstorm continued to batter Slaking, Tetsuya sent out Gallade and Serperior to heal it.

Tetsuya and Norman survived a sandstorm, then faced a second one that was deliberately aimed at them. Krookodile and Elite Four Level Flygon attacked, and Blaziken and Urshifu began battling them as the fight continued.

• Tetsuya and Norman emerged from their shelter after the first sandstorm passed, and Slaking recovered with Rest while Tetsuya recalled an exhausted Gigalith.
• A second sandstorm approached with a purposeful advance, so Tetsuya sent out Blaziken and Urshifu to confront the attackers.
• Krookodile burst from the sand and attacked Tetsuya, but Blaziken intercepted it and forced it out of hiding.
• Flygon appeared and used a powerful confusion-inducing song, and Tetsuya identified it as an Elite Four Level opponent.
• Urshifu took on Flygon while Blaziken attacked Krookodile; Urshifu blocked Flygon’s Air Cutters and countered with Brick Break before Tetsuya called for Swift.

Tetsuya and Norman defeated a Flygon and Krookodile in the desert, then continued their journey with Norman’s Elite Four Level Spinda. After several uneventful days, they spotted a floating tower that Tetsuya recognized as the legendary Mirage Tower.

• Urshifu used Swift to knock Flygon from the air, then finished it with a Wicked Blow and a long series of punches while Blaziken subdued Krookodile.
• Tetsuya and Norman discussed how Flygon and Krookodile evolved from predator and prey into hunting partners, then left the defeated Pokemon behind and camped for the night.
• The next day, Norman introduced his Elite Four Level Spinda, and he explained that it was powerful despite its unsteady movements.
• Tetsuya and Norman traveled through the desert for several days, encountering no especially strong opponents.
• Norman noticed a stone tower floating in the distance, and Tetsuya identified it as the legendary Mirage Tower.

Tetsuya and Norman struggled to approach the mysterious Mirage Tower until Norman’s Spinda discovered that its swaying walk could reach it and guide them there. They entered the tower with their Pokémon, beginning an exploration of the place no one had ever reached.

• Tetsuya and Norman tried to reach the Mirage Tower on foot and found that it seemed to move farther away whenever they approached.
• Blaziken and Gallade sensed an unusual energy inside the tower, but Pidgeot could not fly any closer to it.
• Spinda wandered to the tower’s entrance and returned, revealing that it alone could approach the structure.
• Tetsuya and Norman each took one of Spinda’s hands and matched its erratic steps until it led them to the tower.
• Tetsuya and Norman prepared their Pokémon and opened the tower’s sand-slab entrance.

Tetsuya and Norman explored Mirage Tower, fought energy-made Illusion Pokemon, and discovered that the tower’s floors manifested new opponents. They ascended to the second floor, where shaking began and White Light appeared.

• The tower sealed its entrance, then White Light created white Sandshrew, Sandslash, and Cacturne that attacked with unusual moves.
• Norman’s Slaking and Tetsuya’s Blaziken and Togekiss defeated the Illusion Pokemon and observed that their strength faded as their energy dwindled.
• Tetsuya and Norman named the creatures Illusion Pokemon, waited to see if they would return, then sent Spinda up the staircase to the second floor.
• They found Stone Pillars on the second floor, and the ground began shaking after Norman wondered where the Illusion Pokemon were.
• Tetsuya lifted Norman with his Psychic abilities while Blaziken carried Togekiss and Spinda above the ground as White Light filled the area.

Tetsuya and Norman battled more than a hundred Quasi-Elite Four Level Illusion Pokemon on the tower’s second floor, with Tetsuya’s large team dominating the fight. After clearing the floor, they faced the prospect of an even harder battle on the third floor.

• Tetsuya and Norman sent out their teams to fight the numerous Illusion Pokemon, and Tetsuya used Blaziken’s Fire Spin and Pidgeot’s Hurricane to sweep across the floor.
• Norman’s Pokemon finished off Illusion Pokemon weakened and stunned by Tetsuya’s attacks, prompting Tetsuya to send Ursaluna and Urshifu into the melee.
• Ursaluna and Urshifu charged through the Illusion Pokemon while Togekiss struck down an Illusion Krookodile, and Norman’s Slaking fell asleep instead of joining the fight.
• Escavalier watched and trained, Alolan Ninetales returned to Tetsuya for attention, and Empoleon and Ampharos intensified their attacks.
• Tetsuya’s team cleared the second floor after about twenty minutes, leaving Tetsuya and Norman to wonder how they would handle a third floor filled with Elite Four Level Illusion Pokemon.

Tetsuya and Norman searched the second floor of Mirage Tower for a way forward, then uncovered a hidden passage beneath the stairs. They found a Braille tablet in the underground chamber describing a sealed Eternal Existence, but they had not located its door by the end of the chapter.

• Tetsuya and Norman rested, examined the second floor’s pillars, and found no mechanisms or way back down.
• Tetsuya sent Ursaluna digging, and he and Norman concluded that Mirage Tower was likely an Ancient Civilization ruin made of separate rooms rather than stacked floors.
• Tetsuya and Norman ordered their Pokemon to smash the walls, revealing Braille dots on the ground that Tetsuya translated as an instruction to dig beneath the staircase.
• Zangoose dug at the marked spot and vanished into a passage, so Tetsuya and Norman followed with Gallade.
• Tetsuya and Norman reunited with Zangoose in a dark underground chamber and read a Braille tablet describing a sealed Eternal Existence.
• Tetsuya and Norman found no life in the chamber and could not locate the door mentioned by the tablet.

Tetsuya and Norman followed an ancient passcode through a hidden passage and found the legendary Regirock imprisoned beneath the Hoenn desert. Regirock awakened around them, leaving the two men facing an uncertain encounter with the Legendary Pokémon.

• Gigalith sensed hidden patterns in the stone tablet, and Tetsuya translated them into a sequence of directions ending with Rock Smash.
• Tetsuya followed the sequence to a rock wall, and Norman ordered Slaking to break it open, revealing a door as the platform began to collapse.
• Tetsuya, Norman, and Gallade stepped through the door and teleported to a dim cavern, where Tetsuya collected several fossils.
• The cavern shook, and orange stone pillars rose from the ground as Regirock awakened around them.
• Tetsuya and Norman realized they were inside Regirock's body and feared how the Legendary Pokémon would react to them.

Tetsuya and Norman awakened Regirock and used Braille to learn why it had been sealed and how the Ancient Civilization created Illusion Pokemon. Regirock opened an exit, but Norman challenged it with Slaking, and the chapter ended as Regirock struck Slaking and shook the desert.

• Regirock held Tetsuya and Norman aloft before Tetsuya communicated with it by writing Braille.
• Tetsuya learned that Regirock had willingly been sealed at Regigigas's request and had awakened after sensing Regigigas's aura through him.
• Tetsuya explained that the Ancient Civilization's Illusion System turned unreal forms into real Pokemon using energy and available data.
• Regirock revealed an exit passage and prepared to sleep again, but Norman asked Tetsuya to challenge it with Slaking.
• Norman sent out Slaking, and Regirock struck it, causing tremors that sent desert Pokemon fleeing.

Tetsuya and Norman escaped Regirock’s chamber only to find themselves facing an Illusion Regirock inside Mirage Tower. Tetsuya sent Mega Blaziken into battle, and the chapter left the fight underway as Blaziken landed a rapid series of attacks.

• Regirock knocked out Norman’s Slaking with one punch, and Tetsuya reassured Norman before teleporting them toward the exit.
• Tetsuya and Norman reappeared inside Mirage Tower, where Illusion Regirock formed from the walls, floor, and ceiling.
• Tetsuya identified Illusion Regirock as a peak Quasi-Champion Level opponent and chose Mega Blaziken to fight it while Norman watched.
• Mega Blaziken dodged Illusion Regirock’s Heavy Slam and counterattacks, while Tetsuya discovered the illusion could restore its body with rocks and had no blind spots.
• Tetsuya ordered Brick Break, Double Kick, Low Sweep, and Low Kick, and Mega Blaziken struck Illusion Regirock with a rapid combination.

Tetsuya’s Mega Blaziken fought Mirage Regirock through waves of powerful attacks, but Regirock repeatedly replenished itself and endured the beating. After Blaziken exhausted itself, Tetsuya’s other Pokémon and Norman’s team joined the fight, and a staircase to the final floor appeared.

• Tetsuya directed Mega Blaziken through a rapid Fighting-type assault that knocked Mirage Regirock down, but it recovered with its body only slightly faded.
• Mirage Regirock used a combination of Stomping Tantrum and Rock Blast, and Blaziken advanced through the barrage with Acrobatics before meeting its Rock Hands head-on.
• Blaziken used stacked Bulk Up strength to force Regirock’s hands apart and slam it with Revenge, but Regirock replenished itself again.
• Blaziken spent more than a dozen minutes attacking Mirage Regirock until it exhausted itself and left Mega Evolution, then Gallade teleported it to safety.
• Tetsuya sent his other Pokémon to attack Mirage Regirock, and Norman let his own Pokémon join in; after Regirock dispersed, a staircase to the final floor appeared.

Tetsuya and Norman discovered Musharna maintaining the Illusion System with Dream Energy and learned how to escape the underground space. After they emerged into the desert, Tetsuya warned that the Mirage Tower could disappear within a few years.

• Tetsuya and Norman explored the silver-white Illusion System chamber and sensed that its Dream Energy was running low.
• Togekiss detected Musharna, which explained that it lived there and asked them to leave its home.
• Musharna showed Tetsuya and Norman a dream recording revealing the hidden passage out of the chamber.
• Tetsuya and Norman followed Musharna’s directions and emerged on a desert sand dune, where Norman struggled with the abrupt landing.
• While they ate, Norman reasoned that Regirock’s dreams supplied the machine’s Dream Energy, and Tetsuya estimated that the Mirage Tower would disappear in a few years.

After Tetsuya and Norman left Mirage Tower, Tetsuya told Professor Oak about its Illusion System, and they agreed to keep its components buried while sending the research principles to Professor Aurea Juniper. The two crossed the desert and reached Trainer’s Hill, where they met other Trainers gathered for the upcoming Qualification Challenge.

• Tetsuya called Professor Oak and described Mirage Tower, Regirock’s sealing site, and the Illusion System.
• Professor Oak and Tetsuya agreed that the Illusion System’s principles could be studied, but its components should remain buried; Professor Kenzo and Jung would organize the materials for Professor Aurea Juniper.
• Tetsuya and Norman continued through the desert for more than ten days, then reached the green outskirts of Trainer’s Hill.
• Miss Joy confirmed Tetsuya and Norman’s identities and told them that five other Trainers had already checked in for the Qualification Challenge.
• Anabel and Greta introduced themselves to Tetsuya and Norman, and the three other Trainers staying nearby came out of their rooms.

Tetsuya and Norman arrived at the qualification tournament venue and met several of their fellow competitors, including Hills, Kukui, and Noland, who would later become Battle Frontier facility heads. After a restful night, Tetsuya accepted Anabel and Greta’s double-battle challenge on the condition that he face both twins alone.

• Tetsuya and Norman met Hills, Kukui, and Noland, and Tetsuya recognized them as future Hoenn Battle Frontier facility heads.
• Tetsuya settled into his room, released his Pokémon, and slept through the night after the exhausting desert journey.
• The competitors gathered for breakfast and discussed why the League had moved the tournament from Petalburg City to the desert venue.
• Anabel and Greta challenged Tetsuya to a 2v2 double battle and offered him the choice of a teammate.
• Tetsuya proposed facing Anabel and Greta alone in a double battle, prompting Norman to react with a hint of danger.

Tetsuya and Norman faced Anabel and Greta in a 2v2 Double Battle at Trainer's Hill, where Tetsuya let the twins set up before launching a surprise attack. The battle remained unresolved as Ampharos and Blaziken pressed their assault against the twins' defensive pair.

• Anabel and Greta challenged Tetsuya and Norman to a Double Battle, and the group agreed to meet at Trainer's Hill that afternoon.
• Kukui carried Norman away to begin five hours of horse-stance training, while Tetsuya, Hills, and Noland stayed behind to talk.
• Kukui introduced the League-built arena, and Miss Joy began the 2v2 battle between Anabel and Greta's Xatu and Claydol and Tetsuya's Blaziken and Ampharos.
• Anabel and Greta had Xatu use Calm Mind and Trick Room while Claydol set up Light Screen and Cosmic Power, but Tetsuya's Pokemon remained still.
• Tetsuya silently directed Blaziken to burst from underground and hurl Ampharos at Xatu, breaking Light Screen and striking it with electricity.
• Anabel used Ally Switch to swap Xatu with Claydol, which resisted Ampharos's Electric attack, as Blaziken charged back into the fight.

Tetsuya's Blaziken and Ampharos battled Anabel and Greta's Xatu and Claydol in a tense Double Battle shaped by Trick Room. As the twins coordinated attacks to target Ampharos, it gathered overwhelming electric energy, leaving the next exchange poised to begin.

• Blaziken focused its Flamethrowers on Xatu, but Xatu used afterimages to evade them and Greta commanded it to use Wish.
• Anabel ordered Claydol to use Earthquake, while Ampharos used magnetism to stay above the shaking ground and charged Claydol with Ice Punch.
• Xatu used Reflect to protect Claydol from Ampharos's Ice Punch, and Wish restored Xatu's stamina as it was knocked back.
• Ampharos fired Signal Beam at Claydol, which used Psybeam under Trick Room to blunt the attack.
• Tetsuya told Blaziken to wait, then had it begin using Flame Charge as Anabel and Greta ordered Psychic and Earth Power against Ampharos.
• Ampharos unleashed powerful Electric Energy across the field and began forming dragon-like lightning.

Tetsuya’s Blaziken and Ampharos defeated Anabel and Greta’s Xatu and Claydol after Thunder disrupted their Trick Room strategy. As Kukui and Hills began their match, Tetsuya and Norman discussed how much stronger they were than the trainers they had faced and anticipated tougher opponents later in the competition.

• Ampharos’s Thunder shattered Xatu’s Psychic defense, while its remaining power weakened Trick Room and caught Anabel and Greta off guard.
• Ampharos used Earth Power pillars to maneuver around Claydol, then struck it with Body Slam before it could set up Trick Room again.
• Blaziken’s speed surged as Trick Room faded, and it kicked Xatu unconscious before joining Ampharos to defeat Claydol.
• Miss Joy declared Blaziken and Ampharos the winners, and Tetsuya exchanged congratulations with Anabel and Greta.
• Kukui and Hills began their battle as Tetsuya denied Norman’s claim that he had been acting and said he had merely gone easy on the twins.

Tetsuya and Norman watched the Trainers gather at Trainer's Hill after the day's battles, discussing the competition and the regional rivalries. Enishi Tatsuya arrived and teased Tetsuya about being in enemy territory, prompting Tetsuya to demand something from him.

• Hills defeated Kukui's Medicham with Swampert, leaving their privately arranged battle tied one to one.
• The Trainers praised each other's skills, while Miss Joy returned to the Pokemon Center and the participants went off to train.
• More Trainers arrived, including Hoenn Elite Four Mura and his granddaughter, as rumors circulated about Mura's retirement and a possible successor from Mt. Pyre.
• Tetsuya joked with Norman about becoming Hoenn's next Elite Four and warned that Norman's Petalburg Gym Leader appointment might depend on connections.
• Enishi Tatsuya joined Tetsuya and Norman, asked how Tetsuya felt in enemy territory, and Tetsuya held out his hand and demanded something.