Borrowed Strength

In Viridian City, Blue observes that Giovanni's gym operates on an unspoken, highly effective meta-strategy: rather than raising versatile generalists to handle diverse threats, the gym members train their pokemon—such as raising an absurdly tanky krookodile to absorb specific blows—to hyper-specialize for specific roles within a single, curated team. Discussing the tactic with Elaine over the phone, Blue notes that while this approach leaves a trainer vulnerable in the wild, it creates devastatingly powerful synergies in structured trainer battles. Realizing that this level of extreme specialization is required to overcome the overwhelming power of an eight-badge Gym Leader, Blue finally abandons his stubborn reluctance to buy new pokemon. He commits to purchasing and training a dedicated, custom-built team specifically designed to counter Giovanni's Ground-types, determined to leave nothing to chance.

Returning to the trainer house, Blue is haunted by the image of Red lying comatose in his hospital bed. He calls Laura, who shares cautious but profoundly relieving news: Red’s vital signs have stabilized, and he has managed to sleep peacefully for hours without any medical intervention. Although the news fills in some of the hollow void in his chest, Blue remains weighed down by grief and fear. The region faces mounting threats from Team Rocket and the looming political complications of negotiating with the renegade ninja clans, and Blue is terrified of facing these burdens without his friend. Desperate for connection and strategic advice, Blue texts his team ideas to Red's silent phone. Drawing on a past conversation about mental models, Blue deliberately visualizes an "inner-Red," painstakingly playing out their familiar, argumentative banter in his head to stress-test his strategies. The simulated debate helps him discard gimmicky concepts—like attempting to sweep with an all-Dragon team—and leads him to review their old childhood route plans, identifying practical, high-tier captures like pidgeot and alakazam to construct a team capable of surviving Victory Road.

Meanwhile, Leaf waits in an Indigo League reception room, bracing herself for an interrogation. She is summoned before Champion Lance, Special Administrator Looker, Director Tsunemori, Elite Agatha, and Professor Oak. The atmosphere is tense, and Lance reveals a disturbing development: fifteen researchers across four different labs have abruptly quit their unown projects, citing sudden changes of heart, newly discovered passions, or a profound fear of the apocalyptic warnings. The leadership realizes that the Dreamer possesses a terrifyingly subtle capacity to manipulate minds remotely, altering fundamental desires without leaving obvious mental scars.

Because Leaf was the one who published Dr. Fuji's story, the leadership suspects the Dreamer—whom they still believe is Fuji or someone operating through him—might be subtly manipulating her as a pawn. To prove her autonomy, Leaf submits to a deep psychic scan by Elite Agatha. Agatha meticulously prompts Leaf through her memories of meeting Fuji and writing her novel. Leaf uses her anti-psychic training to try and shield her unrelated secrets, struggling to avoid thinking about her ongoing, highly illegal negotiations with the hidden ninja clans. Agatha seamlessly navigates the merger, entirely unbothered by Leaf's mental evasions, and eventually withdraws, declaring Leaf's mind and motivations to be entirely her own.

Cleared of suspicion, Lance formally asks for Leaf's help. He warns that the Dreamer's actions amount to terrorism, and if they continue targeting regional labs, Indigo will be forced into an open conflict they cannot afford. Hoping to prevent an all-out war—especially since she privately suspects the Dreamer might actually be the powerful psychic hybrid—Leaf agrees to help establish a line of communication. She offers to embed a message directly into her published story, operating on the assumption that Fuji is still reading it. In exchange for this massive risk, she refuses physical protection and instead demands independent access to Indigo's restricted criminal records. She intends to use the information as crucial leverage in her upcoming meeting with the ninja clans. The leadership reluctantly agrees to her terms, while Leaf quietly resolves to uncover the truth about the Dreamer's identity before they inevitably collide with human society.