PS397

← PS396 : Getting Past Gastrodon

Diamond & Pearl arc

PS398 : Tackling Tangrowth →

Outwitting Octillery
The Bomb and the Countdown

VS オクタン

VS Okutank

Info

Shogakukan full volume	Chapter 397 in Vol. 36
VIZ Media full volume	Adventure 60 in Vol. 7
Series	Pokémon Adventures

Other

Location

Lake Valor Lake Acuity Lake Verity

Outwitting Octillery (Japanese: VS オクタン VS Octillery), titled VS Octillery in the Chuang Yi translation, is the 397th chapter of the Pokémon Adventures manga, and the 60th chapter of the Diamond & Pearl arc. It is subtitled The Bomb and the Countdown (Japanese: 爆弾とカウントダウン Bomb and Countdown) in the VIZ Media translation and Bomb and Countdown in the Chuang Yi translation.

Plot

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

Pearl and Rad Rickshaw cycle on their two-seat bike and arrive at Lake Valor. They stop at the edge of the lake, and Pearl calls out his three Pokémon to look around for anything suspicious. Rickshaw's two Clefairy, Cliff and Cliffette, also patrol the area using their fairy wings to gain altitude for a better look. Once he is certain of no strange activity, Pearl drags a fallen log into the lake. He explains to Rickshaw that he has no surfing Pokémon, and must therefore use other means of crossing water.

Pearl gets his three-member party onto the log while he wades in the water and holds onto one of the log's branches. Using Chimler's flame-propelling, he assures Rickshaw that he will be safe, and urges him to leave quickly. Unfortunately, once Pearl and Rickshaw no longer face each other, a tentacle lashes out of the lake to pull Rickshaw in. Pearl is almost at the lake's central island when another tentacle grips his left foot and also threatens to pull him in. As Chatler and Rayler pull Pearl the other way, Pearl sees that an Octillery was lurking inside the lake. Before Pearl can warn his team, Octillery fires an Octazooka to blast the log and throw everyone into the water.

Pearl, once he is able to catch his breath, gasps at the sight above him. On a UFO-like vessel is Commander Saturn, who demands to know why Pearl targeted the central island of Lake Valor. Nevertheless, he reveals to Pearl that he caused Rickshaw to drown, and smirks that only three minutes remain before Team Galactic detonates their bomb. He lifts Pearl out of the water with the vessel's 'hands', and repeats his demand, while his Pokémon desperately try to free him.

At Lake Verity, Mars is using her Zubat to hold Johanna hostage, and demands Diamond to surrender his Pokémon immediately. Mars reminds him of their previous encounter, and formally introduces herself, as her Yanmega, Purugly, and Bronzor move beside her. From a distance, Roseanne hides behind the bushes and is unsettled that Diamond hasn't tried to escape. Sebastian, the Berlitz family's butler, has already prepared his Rapidash-drawn carriage, and hopes nothing bad has happened.

Diamond demands that Mars let his mother go. Mars taunts Diamond in reply, and tells him that he will be one to witness the Galactic Bomb's detonation. With that, she starts pulling Diamond by the arm, but he breaks free easily and declares that he will resist seeing a lake blow up. Mars, disappointed at his remark, has Bronzor strike Diamond and Lax with Gyro Ball. Johanna, horrified at the brutality on her son, distracts Zubat by squirting a Pecha Berry at it to break free from it. She tells Diamond that she is free, and Diamond responds by collecting his Poké Balls and sending out Drifblim to lift him up. At the top of his voice, Diamond directs his mother towards the nearby bushes where Sebastian and Roseanne are waiting.

Mars, stunned at the turn of events, becomes furious once she realizes Diamond is aiming for the aircraft above the lake. Mars climbs onto her Yanmega to chase, and orders a U-turn from it. When Diamond recognizes the Yanmega from an earlier encounter, Mars grins that she orchestrated the infiltration of Professor Rowan's lab. She calls on Purugly to resume the battle, and Purugly strikes at Drifblim to make it let go of Diamond, but he holds on. At this moment, Mars starts counting down from 20.

Sebastian's Rapidash-drawn carriage leaves the Verity Lakefront with Johanna and Roseanne, just as Mars gets her Grunts ready to operate the capture device on Mesprit. At Lake Acuity, Platinum gets close to Candice and Maylene as they can only watch on after suffering at the hands of Jupiter, who calls on her Grunts to get ready to capture Uxie. At Lake Valor, Pearl continues to struggle in vain against the "hands" of Saturn's UFO-like vessel. Saturn, however, notices the timer hit 10, and orders his Grunts to deploy the capture device on Azelf as soon as it appears.

All three aircraft above each lake start deploying their devices, just a few seconds before the countdown reaches zero, with Diamond, Pearl and Platinum all at separate lakes not knowing who will feel the full force of the detonation. From one of the aircraft above one of the three lakes, the Galactic Bomb detonates.

Major events

• Diamond rescues his mother and attempts to attack the Galactic airship, but is stopped by Mars.
• Pearl arrives at Lake Valor and is attacked by Saturn.

For a list of all major events in the Pokémon Adventures manga, please see the history page.

	Spoilers end here.

Characters

Humans

• Diamond
• Pearl
• Platinum
• Maylene
• Candice
• Mars
• Jupiter
• Saturn
• Johanna
• Rad Rickshaw
• Sebastian
• Roseanne
• Team Galactic Grunts
• Valley Windworks manager (flashback)

Pokémon

• Munchlax (Lax; Diamond's)
• Torterra (Tru/Wig; Diamond's)
• Shieldon (Don; Diamond's)
• Lickilicky (Kit/Tung; Diamond's)
• Chatot (Chatler/Chahiko; Pearl's)
• Infernape (Chimler/Chimhiko; Pearl's)
• Luxray (Rayler/Rayhiko; Pearl's)
• Drifblim (Fantina's)
• Abomasnow (Candice's)
• Bronzor (Mars's)
• Zubat (Mars's)
• Purugly (Mars's)
• Yanmega (Mars's)
• Sableye (Jupiter's)
• Octillery (Saturn's)
• Clefairy (Cliff and Cliffette/Pippirin and Pippiran; Rad Rickshaw's)
• Rapidash (Sebastian's; ×2)
• Dunsparce (Roseanne's)

In other languages

Language		Title
Mandarin Chinese		VS 章魚桶 (Taiwan) VS 章鱼桶 (Mainland China)
French		Compte à rebours
German		VS. Octillery
Italian		VS Octillery
Korean		VS 대포무노
Spanish	Latin America	VS Octillery - La bomba y el conteo
	Spain	Contra Octillery
Vietnamese		VS Okutank - Đếm ngược thả bom Ginga

← PS396 : Getting Past Gastrodon

Diamond & Pearl arc

PS398 : Tackling Tangrowth →

This article is part of Project Manga, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each series of Pokémon manga.