Chapter Summaries

Ishihira and the League forces fought Team Rocket as Armored Mewtwo’s armor began to fail. Giovanni threatened to detonate explosives across Kanto and Johto, forcing the Elite Four to consider letting him go.

• Ishihira ordered Weavile to attack, but the Matilda Matrix Squad was eventually defeated, and he collapsed from his injuries.
• Bruno and Agatha noticed Team Rocket’s attacks weakening as Mewtwo’s armor deteriorated from its Psychic-type power.
• Lance and Lorelei arrived with Articuno and Latias, prompting both sides to pause their fighting.
• Giovanni demanded to be released and claimed he had planted explosives in more than half the cities across Kanto and Johto.
• Tetsuya and Cynthia arrived and heard Giovanni’s threat, while Lance contacted President Alder to report the situation.

President Alder learned that Giovanni had threatened to detonate bombs planted in major cities, forcing the League to weigh civilian safety against letting him escape. As Giovanni demanded that his subordinates leave with him too, Lance received a call that shocked Tetsuya.

• President Alder told the conference room that Giovanni had threatened the League with bombs planted in major cities.
• Alder reported that investigators had found explosives in two of the three cities they checked, then ordered the League to focus on resolving the crisis.
• Giovanni told Lance that he wanted his subordinates to leave with him, but Lance rejected the demand.
• Lance received a call, and Tetsuya used his keen perception to catch fragments of the conversation and react with shock.

Tetsuya and Cynthia realized Giovanni knew the League’s plans, and the standoff between the League and Team Rocket erupted into battle. As Tetsuya targeted Lambda, the executive used a mass Koffing explosion and smoke screen, prompting Tetsuya to send out every Pokémon he had.

• Cynthia secretly asked Tetsuya what the Kanto Alliance had said, and he replied with a single word that visibly startled her.
• Tetsuya stepped in front of Cynthia and confronted Giovanni, who said he understood the League’s thinking and needed no one to inform him.
• Lance started the battle by ordering Latias to use Dragon Breath and Dragonite to use Hyper Beam.
• Tetsuya sent Blaziken, Pidgeot, and Togekiss to attack and support the fight, then challenged Lambda, whom he called easy to bully.
• Lambda ordered ten Koffing to use Self-Destruct, damaging Blaziken, then had Weezing cover the area in Smokescreen.
• Tetsuya sensed Pokémon inside the smoke and threw every Poke Ball he had.

Tetsuya overwhelmed Lambda’s swarm of Koffing and Weezing with his stronger team and confronted him over treating Pokémon as tools. After Gallade teleported an Elite Four-level Weezing away before its Self-Destruct could harm them, Tetsuya left Lambda facing the explosion overhead.

• Lambda struggled against Tetsuya’s larger-than-expected roster of individually powerful Pokémon and cursed him for being a genius.
• Tetsuya answered that he had devoted most of his waking hours to training and studying, then ordered several Pokémon to attack through the Haze.
• Tetsuya’s attacks incapacitated Lambda’s Koffing and Weezing, leaving Lambda wounded and furious.
• Lambda defended sacrificing his Pokémon as a way to survive, and Tetsuya attacked again with enormous energy.
• When an Elite Four-level Weezing began to Self-Destruct, Tetsuya had Gallade teleport it into the sky, where it exploded beyond the battlefield.

After defeating Lambda, Tetsuya surveyed the other battles as Bruno and Agatha kept Team Rocket's executives occupied. Lorelei and Lance coordinated Articuno and Latias against Giovanni's Armored Mewtwo, while Giovanni's Mega Beedrill wounded Dragonite and Lance ordered it to retaliate.

• Tetsuya saw through Lambda's act and had Blaziken burn him to death, then collected the defeated Team Rocket Pokemon.
• Tetsuya observed Bruno overpowering Apollo in battle and in hand-to-hand combat.
• Agatha used her Ghost Type Pokemon to pressure Athena and Lance, leaving them struggling to fight back.
• Lorelei and Lance coordinated Articuno and Latias to restrict Armored Mewtwo, which struggled to counterattack because of its armor and lack of battle experience.
• Giovanni linked mentally with Mega Beedrill and sent it to slash Dragonite, prompting Lance to order Dragonite to use Outrage.

Viridian City's residents learned that Giovanni was secretly the leader of Team Rocket as Giovanni and Lance fought a destructive battle in the skies above the city. Their Pokemon's clash ended in an apparent draw, but Lance judged that Giovanni had the advantage and warned him to prepare to die.

• Officer Jenny calmed Viridian City's residents after evidence revealed Giovanni's true identity.
• Tetsuya watched Dragonite and Giovanni's Mega Beedrill trade attacks in a fierce aerial battle.
• Dragonite's Outrage weakened, and Lance used Dragon Power to ease its exhaustion and confusion as Beedrill left its Mega Form.
• The battle devastated buildings across several hundred meters before both Champion Level Pokemon faced each other, exhausted.
• Lance told Giovanni that he had hidden his strength well and threatened to kill him if that was all he had.

Tetsuya realized that the Giovanni fighting Lance was a clone and deduced that the real Giovanni had escaped Viridian City. He rushed off with Gallade to pursue him, while warning the League that Giovanni might use Mewtwo to teleport the Legendary Pokémon away and leave the League’s forces to deal with them.

• Lance ordered his Pokémon to attack Giovanni, and their Champion Level Pokémon clashed.
• Tetsuya noticed that Giovanni’s behavior did not fit his usual character and considered how he might escape.
• Tetsuya used his Aura with Blaziken to examine Giovanni and discovered that the man had no energy in his body, proving he was a clone.
• Tetsuya realized the real Giovanni had likely slipped away while the clone fought Lance and had not used Aura to heal Beedrill.
• Tetsuya deduced that Giovanni planned to have Mewtwo teleport the Legendary Pokémon away, then took Gallade and sent the League a warning as he pursued Giovanni.

The League mobilized to find Giovanni after Tetsuya reported evidence that he might not be the real Giovanni, and Alder ordered Tetsuya and Chen to search likely hiding places. Tetsuya investigated the coordinates around Viridian Forest and detected an aura at the last location, where Giovanni answered his challenge.

• Alder and the League think tank assessed the chance that Giovanni was an impostor and coordinated a search around Viridian City.
• Alder ordered Tetsuya and Chen to investigate the likely locations while the League restored surveillance and analyzed Mewtwo's energy.
• Tetsuya and Gallade searched seven coordinate points in Viridian Forest but found nothing at the first six.
• At the final location, Tetsuya sensed a concealed aura and called for Giovanni to come out.
• A familiar voice replied to Tetsuya's challenge.

Tetsuya faced Giovanni, who revealed that he had anonymously funded the orphanage where Tetsuya grew up and made a final attempt to recruit him into Team Rocket. Tetsuya refused and demanded Giovanni surrender, but Giovanni chose to fight as Gallade reached Resonance Three.

• Giovanni greeted Tetsuya and revealed that he had anonymously funded Tetsuya's orphanage before Team Rocket used other orphanages to recruit talent.
• Giovanni defended Team Rocket as a force that could surpass the League and offered Tetsuya one final chance to join.
• Tetsuya refused Giovanni's offer and demanded his surrender, saying the League would spare him because he still had value.
• Giovanni challenged Tetsuya to demonstrate his strength, and Tetsuya retreated as Gallade entered Resonance Three.

Tetsuya and Chen confronted Giovanni after exposing his identity as Team Rocket’s leader, but Giovanni lured them into a forest clearing and revealed that he had completed a new creation modeled on Mewtwo. The ground began to shake as powerful auras rose from underground, leaving the showdown poised to escalate.

• Tetsuya and Gallade fought Giovanni’s Champion-level Persian while Tetsuya stalled for the League reinforcements to arrive.
• Chen arrived with Blaziken, which restrained Persian and contained its Shadow Ball inside an Aura Sphere before sending it skyward.
• Chen confronted Giovanni over his Team Rocket identity and their former friendship, while Giovanni abruptly attacked with Persian’s Pay Day.
• Tetsuya and Chen surrounded Giovanni in a forest clearing, but Giovanni revealed that he had completed a creation based on Mewtwo.
• The ground shook beneath the clearing as several powerful auras surged up from underground.

During the battle in Viridian City, Giovanni revealed three powerful Legendary Birds created by Team Rocket, forcing Tetsuya and Chen to flee after barely surviving their attack. Chen then stopped in the forest, leaving his next move unresolved.

• Articuno lost focus after hearing a cry, allowing Mewtwo to hit it with a Shadow Ball while Lance and Cynthia reported on the battles elsewhere.
• Bruno said he was nearly finished with Apollo and would soon support the others as Team Rocket's members began to panic over Giovanni's apparent failure.
• Giovanni unleashed three enhanced Legendary Birds—Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos—against Tetsuya and Chen.
• Aggron, Blastoise, and Gallade's defensive barrier saved Tetsuya and Chen, and Chen sent word of Team Rocket's three Legendary Pokémon to Alliance Headquarters.
• Tetsuya and Chen ran in different directions to escape the Legendary Birds, but Chen stopped in the forest as Giovanni questioned him.

Giovanni and the Three Legendary Birds cornered Chen, while Tetsuya struggled with whether to go back and help him. Cynthia and Bruno arrived to support Chen, but Giovanni began a new attack as the Three Legendary Birds glowed with White Light.

• Giovanni chose to pursue Chen with the Three Legendary Birds and tried unsuccessfully to recruit him to Team Rocket.
• Chen reported that the Legendary Birds were unusually violent and fought them despite the overwhelming odds.
• Tetsuya received Chen's plea to escape and Cynthia's warning not to intervene, but he waited for Cynthia and Bruno to arrive.
• Cynthia flew Tetsuya toward the battlefield while Bruno charged there on Steelix.
• Bruno found Chen barely alive and the Legendary Birds defeated, then sent Machamp to attack the still-mobile Moltres.
• Giovanni welcomed the arriving reinforcements as the three Legendary Birds on the ground began emitting intense White Light.

A massive explosion struck Viridian City during the League’s battle with Mewtwo, and Trainers rushed to protect the city and search for Tetsuya and the others. Giovanni’s Pokémon escaped, Mewtwo left after breaking free, and Lance ordered an investigation while blaming himself for provoking Team Rocket too soon.

• Tetsuya sensed imminent danger just before a huge explosion erupted near Viridian City, shaking the city and surrounding areas.
• Lance and Lorelei feared the blast had hit Tetsuya and the others, while Brock, Erika, and other Kanto Gym Leaders used their Pokémon to protect residents and contain the damage.
• Mewtwo’s armor shattered, and Giovanni’s Pokémon teleported away, with Lance and Lorelei intercepting only two of them.
• Mewtwo said it had fulfilled its promise, then vanished as Lance and Lorelei and the two exhausted legendary Pokémon watched.
• Lance ordered more emergency responders to Viridian City and sent powerful Trainers to investigate the blast and find Tetsuya and the others.
• Lance admitted that his pressure on the League to intensify sanctions against Team Rocket may have helped provoke Giovanni’s attack.

After the battle in Viridian City, Agatha dismissed blame for the explosion and joined the rescue effort as news exposed Giovanni as Team Rocket's boss. At Alliance Headquarters, officials struggled to locate Tetsuya Tamaki, Shinwa Cynthia, Tatsu Suzuki, and Giovanni, and Alder ordered an exhaustive search of the explosion site.

• Agatha told Lance and Lorelei that the explosion would have happened even without the attack, then vanished to help with the rescue.
• The news that Giovanni was Team Rocket's boss and that Team Rocket had attacked Viridian City spread across the Pokemon Forum.
• A bespectacled man reported to Alliance Headquarters that officials had found no traces of Tetsuya Tamaki, Shinwa Cynthia, Tatsu Suzuki, or Giovanni.
• Asuka struck the conference table and demanded that the missing Trainers be found.
• Alder ordered everyone to search the area around the explosion's Center Point for traces of the four Trainers.

Tetsuya recovered underground after the Legendary Birds' self-destruction, with Celebi's help, and began searching for the others. Gigalith awakened and found someone or a Pokemon nearby, though their identity remained unknown.

• Tetsuya remembered that he and Gallade had used Teleport during the explosion and sensed that Gallade was still alive, but he could not determine whether Cynthia and Chen had survived.
• Tetsuya realized Celebi had healed him through the GS Ball and thanked it before resting.
• Tetsuya regained most of his Inner Focus and decided to search for the nearest passage.
• Gigalith awakened, expanded the underground space, and joined Tetsuya in searching for Gallade, Cynthia, and the others.
• Gigalith detected someone or a Pokemon nearby.

Tetsuya searched the cave with Gigalith after finding Gallade and then located Cynthia, who had survived the blast with Garchomp and Lucario protecting her. He revived Cynthia with Serperior’s Grassy Terrain, but the whereabouts of Chen and Bruno remained unknown.

• Tetsuya found Gallade recovering in a passage Gigalith had made, recalled it to its Poke Ball, and told Gigalith to continue searching.
• Tetsuya worried about Chen, Cynthia, and Bruno, comparing their likely injuries after the explosion.
• Gigalith searched the surrounding area, and Tetsuya found Cynthia held by Garchomp while Lucario lay unconscious nearby.
• Tetsuya found that Lucario had suffered serious mental damage and Cynthia had lost a dangerous amount of blood.
• Tetsuya used Serperior’s Grassy Terrain to help Cynthia recover, and she woke and asked where Garchomp was.

Tetsuya and Cynthia searched the underground cave for Chen and Bruno, but Gigalith’s search suggested they might be buried far away. They decided to reach the surface and let the League continue the search, emerging near Viridian City as workers dug nearby.

• Tetsuya told Cynthia that Garchomp needed rest and that Lucario was injured, then explained that Chen and Bruno were still missing.
• Cynthia’s Roserade joined in using Grassy Terrain, while Garchomp cleared weeds and Gabite ate the grass; Gigalith searched through the rock and soil.
• Tetsuya and Cynthia worried about Chen, Bruno, Giovanni, and the damage to Viridian City, then decided to go up and leave the League to search for the missing trainers.
• Gigalith opened a passage, and Tetsuya and Cynthia used Psychic-type energy to ascend to the surface.
• Near Viridian City, a foreman ordered workers to take cover after the ground shook and small stones began bouncing.

After Tetsuya and Cynthia were rescued, Alder told them Team Rocket’s executives had been captured but Giovanni remained missing. At Chen’s funeral, Tetsuya received the late Chief Instructor’s notebook of Pokémon-raising knowledge and prepared to honor him by eventually bringing Giovanni to justice.

• Tetsuya and Cynthia emerged from the pit, and the foreman celebrated that they had survived.
• Alder told Tetsuya and Cynthia that Team Rocket’s executives were in custody, but Giovanni had not been found; Chen and Bruno were still being searched for.
• Tetsuya and Asuka attended Chen’s funeral, where Bruno, badly bandaged but mobile, vowed to capture Giovanni and bring him to Chen’s grave.
• The League announced that Chen had died during the operation against Team Rocket and reported the arrests of thousands of members and all four executives.
• Alder gave Tetsuya a notebook Chen had left for him, filled with Pokémon-raising advice and notes on Blaziken and Gallade.

Tetsuya assessed his team’s progress and comforted Serperior over the gap between it and its strongest teammates. Asuka discussed Viridian City’s slow recovery and the threat of Giovanni, then she and Tetsuya received President Alder’s summons to a meeting that seemed likely to bring major news.

• Tetsuya estimated that Blaziken, Pidgeot, and Gigalith would reach the Quasi-Champion Level before Chinese New Year.
• Tetsuya reassured Serperior that it would catch up, while noting that some of his partners needed help improving their aptitude.
• Asuka told Tetsuya that Viridian City residents feared another Team Rocket attack and were considering moving because Giovanni remained at large.
• Asuka said the League was concerned about Viridian City’s recovery because of its importance to the Kanto Alliance.
• Tetsuya and Asuka received President Alder’s message summoning them to a meeting, and Tetsuya suspected it would bring astonishing news.

At the Indigo Plateau meeting, Lance stepped down as Kanto's Prosecutor General and recommended Tetsuya Tamaki as his replacement. The Alliance also named Agatha Viridian City's acting Gym Leader and announced plans to establish Johto's Elite Four and regional Champion, with Lance and Bruno sent to advise.

• President Alder announced that Lance had resigned as Kanto's Prosecutor General, and Lance recommended Tetsuya Tamaki to replace him.
• Asuka, Minglan, Lt. Surge, Sabrina, Erika, Blaine, and others supported Tetsuya's appointment.
• President Alder announced that Agatha would serve as Viridian City's acting Gym Leader and station her ghost legion there.
• President Alder said Kanto would hold a Gym Leader competition in two or three years to choose Viridian City's permanent Gym Leader.
• President Alder revealed plans to establish Johto's Elite Four and regional Champion, and said Lance and Bruno would go to Johto to provide guidance.