PS397

/ or Bomb and Countdown (Japanese: VS オクタン VS  or 爆弾とカウントダウン Bomb and Countdown) is the 397th round of the Pokémon Adventures manga.

Plot
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, 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 was lurking inside the lake. Before Pearl can warn his team, Octillery fires an 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 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 to hold Johanna hostage, and demands  to surrender his Pokémon immediately. Mars reminds him of their previous encounter, and formally introduces herself, as her, and  move beside her. From a distance, Roseanne hides behind the bushes and is unsettled that Diamond hasn't tried to escape. , the Berlitz family's butler, has already prepared his -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 with. 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 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 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. At Lake Acuity, 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. 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 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

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

Humans

 * Maylene
 * Candice
 * Mars
 * Jupiter
 * Saturn
 * Johanna
 * Rad Rickshaw
 * Roseanne
 * s
 * Valley Windworks manager (flashback)
 * Roseanne
 * s
 * Valley Windworks manager (flashback)
 * Valley Windworks manager (flashback)

Pokémon

 * ('s)
 * (Tru/; 's)
 * (Don; 's)
 * (Kit/; 's)
 * (Chatler/; 's)
 * (Chimler/; 's)
 * (Rayler/; 's)
 * (Candice's)
 * (Mars's)
 * (Mars's)
 * (Mars's)
 * (Jupiter's)
 * (Saturn's)
 * (Cliff and Cliffette/; Rad Rickshaw's)
 * ('s; ×2)
 * (Roseanne's)
 * ('s; ×2)
 * (Roseanne's)

In other languages
Kapitel 397 (Pocket Monsters SPECIAL) PS397 PS397 PS397