diff --git a/crates/ml-alpha/src/trainer/integrated.rs b/crates/ml-alpha/src/trainer/integrated.rs
index 140444d77..a30a24a65 100644
--- a/crates/ml-alpha/src/trainer/integrated.rs
+++ b/crates/ml-alpha/src/trainer/integrated.rs
@@ -3208,10 +3208,20 @@ impl IntegratedTrainer {
             // Layer 3 (Inventory) EMAs — NEW in v9.
             (crate::rl::isv_slots::RL_INVENTORY_PENALTY_BETA_INDEX,  0.0_f32),  // sentinel
             (crate::rl::isv_slots::RL_INVENTORY_VARIANCE_EMA_INDEX,  0.0_f32),  // sentinel
-            // Reward-clamp EMAs — NEW in v9.
-            (crate::rl::isv_slots::RL_POS_SCALED_REWARD_MAX_EMA_INDEX,   0.0_f32),
-            (crate::rl::isv_slots::RL_NEG_SCALED_REWARD_MAX_EMA_INDEX,   0.0_f32),
-            (crate::rl::isv_slots::RL_REWARD_CLAMP_CLIP_RATE_EMA_INDEX,  0.0_f32),
+            // NORMALIZATION EMAs intentionally NOT reset (refines
+            // [[pearl_adaptive_carryover_discipline]] via
+            // [[pearl_popart_reset_at_eval_boundary_shocks_normalization]]):
+            //   RL_POS_SCALED_REWARD_MAX_EMA_INDEX
+            //   RL_NEG_SCALED_REWARD_MAX_EMA_INDEX
+            //   RL_REWARD_CLAMP_CLIP_RATE_EMA_INDEX
+            //   RL_POPART_MAX_ABS_REWARD_EMA_INDEX (F4 envelope)
+            // These calibrate signal scale, not predict behavior. The model
+            // was trained against rewards at this scale; preserving the
+            // scale keeps the reward clamp armed (cap = pos_max_ema × ratio)
+            // and popart's envelope at train-final magnitude. Resetting
+            // them disabled the clamp (cap = 0 × ratio = 0) and let outliers
+            // explode the envelope σ 1500× over ~14 steps → -$185M eval
+            // loss (alpha-rl-6kghr fold 1, 2026-05-31).
             // v9 — arm the defensive warmup window.
             (crate::rl::isv_slots::RL_REGIME_TRANSITION_REMAINING_INDEX,   warmup_steps),
             // Regime observer boundary policy (F1.7 — spec 2026-05-31 v3,
@@ -3222,7 +3232,8 @@ impl IntegratedTrainer {
             //   - KELLY_EPS_RECOVERY_LIVE → 0.50 (= ε_max default)
             //   - PREV_WORST_PNL → 0 (CRITICAL — must align with the just-reset
             //     session_pnl_worst above to prevent spurious 3σ tail event)
-            //   - POPART_MAX_ABS_REWARD_EMA → 0 (F4 envelope reset)
+            //   - POPART_MAX_ABS_REWARD_EMA intentionally NOT reset — see
+            //     normalization-EMA preservation block above.
             //   - Welford state (M2/MEAN/COUNT) intentionally NOT reset — the
             //     variance of session_pnl_change is regime-invariant.
             (crate::rl::isv_slots::RL_REGIME_DEAD_ZONE_FLAG_INDEX,           0.0_f32),
@@ -3232,7 +3243,6 @@ impl IntegratedTrainer {
             (crate::rl::isv_slots::RL_REGIME_RECOVERY_FACTOR_INDEX,          1.0_f32),
             (crate::rl::isv_slots::RL_KELLY_EPS_RECOVERY_LIVE_INDEX,         0.50_f32),
             (crate::rl::isv_slots::RL_REGIME_PREV_WORST_PNL_INDEX,           0.0_f32),
-            (crate::rl::isv_slots::RL_POPART_MAX_ABS_REWARD_EMA_INDEX,       0.0_f32),
         ] {
             let mut args = RawArgs::new();
             args.push_ptr(self.isv_dev_ptr);