PS189
VS. Ludicolo (Japanese: VS ルンパッパ Vs Runpappa or 対決 青装束 Clash With the Team in Blue) is the 189th round of the Pokémon Adventures manga in the Ruby & Sapphire arc.
Synopsis
Sapphire sends out Rono and Toro to battle the three Pokémon that have just leapt from the broken fountain. Rono and Toro battle with Sharpedo and Carvanha respectively, but that leaves Lombre free to attack Mr. Stone, and it steals something out of his pocket before taking off running, Carvanha and Sharpedo following. Sapphire throws Mr. Stone over her back and dashes away after the fleeing Pokémon, Maryann and Tyler in hot pursuit. As they run, they discuss the situation, and all agree that this is an attack that has been planned and coordinated by someone.
The Pokémon escape into Petalburg Woods, but Sapphire claims she can still hear them, explaining that because her father is a Pokémon researcher, she was brought up around nature. She tells Toro to attack a hole in the bushes, and the three thieves are revealed, one of them impressed that Sapphire was able to tell where they had made a place to hide using Secret Power. Sapphire suddenly notices that the Lombre is still missing, and it leaps out of the undergrowth to attack Maryann and Tyler. One of the thieves tells Sapphire that her Pokémon are more worn out than she thinks, particularly since they've had contact with Sharpedo's Rough Skin, and to add insult to injury, the woman uses a Water Stone to evolve the Lombre into Ludicolo. Now facing a fully-evolved Pokémon, Sapphire's Rono and Toro are in for an even tougher battle.
The three thieves receive a call from their boss Archie on a PokéNav, and their names are revealed to be Ark, Angie, and Amber. They explain that they've successfully stolen a secret component of the new S.S. Kaien I submarine from the Devon president, and the only thing left to do is kill the people who have seen them. Sapphire wonders what to do until Mr. Stone's Castform appears before her and changes to its Sunny Form; Sapphire orders Toro to attack again, and the powerful blast of fire knocks down Ludicolo and creates a diversion for them to escape.
On the outskirts of the forest, near Rustboro City, Maryann thanks Sapphire for saving them all, but Sapphire gives Castform all of the credit. By showing her its change into Sunny Form, it let her know that the sunshine had strengthened and thus Toro's Fire-type attacks would be much more powerful. Mr. Stone then wakes up, and Sapphire apologizes for not being able to retrieve the stolen component. Maryann and Tyler offer to alert the police and the Devon Corporation about the theft, and Mr. Stone thanks them before giving Sapphire a letter. He tells her to deliver it to a man called Steven in Dewford Town if she ever finds herself out that way, and to tell Steven about this theft. Sapphire says he can count on her.
Major events
- Maryann and Tyler are attacked by Team Aqua's Ludicolo.
- Sapphire defeats Team Aqua, but they successfully steal the Devon Goods.
- Mr. Stone gives Sapphire a letter for Steven.
Debuts
Pokémon debuts
Characters
Humans
Cameos
Pokémon
Trivia
- This is the first chapter to not have "VS." in its Japanese title.
Errors
- The Team Aqua members said what caused the hole in the Petalburg Woods was Hidden Power, but it was actually Secret Power.