PS487 : A New Perspective
Black & White arc
PS489 : Drawing Bridges
Growing Pains
Deerling
PS488.png
VSシキジカ
VS Shikijika
Info
VIZ Media mini-volume Adventure 28 in Vol. 8
Kurokawa mini-volume Chapter 28 in Vol. 4
Shogakukan full volume Chapter 488 in Vol. 46
VIZ Media full volume Adventure 28 in Vol. 4
Series Pokémon Adventures
Other

Growing Pains (Japanese: VS シキジカ VS Deerling), titled VS Deerling in the Shogakukan Asia translation, is the 488th chapter of the Pokémon Adventures manga, and the 28th chapter of the Black & White arc.

It is subtitled Deerling (Japanese: 別離 Parting) in the VIZ Media translation and Growing Pains in the Shogakukan Asia translation.

Plot

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

In the park outside the Nimbasa City Gear Station, White attempts to catch a Pokémon. A wild Summer Form Deerling appears, and White quickly throws an empty Poké Ball but is off target by a wide margin. White falls to her knees and complains about the difficulty of her task. She even apologizes to the watching Baker Chris for wasting so many of her Poké Balls, but Chris reassures White and suggests a break for her, and offers her some freshly baked buns. White thanks the Baker for the offer.

White uses the break to catch up with her business contacts, informing each and every one of them via Xtransceiver that she is suspending her business and will return all Pokémon hired by the BW Agency. She also compliments some of the Pokémon involved, and thanks their original owners for showing interest in her agency. After all calls are settled, Chris discusses with White about the advertisement she put out a while ago, which White is surprised that Chris knows about. White eventually states the reason why she decided to suspend her business, although she admits that it has since made her feel empty. Chris responds by voicing encouragement, and suggesting that she find and catch new partners to accompany her on the Battle Subway trial.

Black watches on from the porch of the Gear Station building, when Marshal approaches. Marshal, thinking Black is upset, points out that Black turned down the offer which White accepted afterwards. Black asks why two people can't trial the Battle Subway together, and Marshal responds with the fact that Black is obtaining Gym Badges for a Pokémon League challenge, and White is only beginning to learn how to battle, meaning the two are clearly on a different level. With that, Marshal picks Black up and tosses him towards the grass where White is, claiming that he should stop complaining and start helping.

Black gets up and doesn't hide his impatience towards White's attempts to catch a Deerling, and even wonders whether she wants it. She admits that she found Deerling adorable, but thinks she provoked it too many times. As soon as she says that, Deerling angrily charges towards her and White screams as Deerling chases her around in circles. She trips on a rock and falls on her face, looking behind just in time to see Deerling about to crush a leg on her. However, just before the leg makes contact, a Servine appears and pushes Deerling away with its vines.

Black, knowing the Servine is the same one that spooked White before, now wonders what it really is there for. After a thought, he tells White that she should be the one who commands Servine. White hesitates, but a serious Black relays the command to tell Servine. Left with no choice, White calls for a Leaf Tornado as Black requested, and to White's surprise, Servine executes the move and traps Deerling in a swirl of leaves. After initially celebrating, Black assesses the situation and decides to show White what to do next by targeting a stray Tirtouga that he finds next to a nearby stream. He calls Tula out and makes sure White is looking at her target, Deerling, before they together command Tula and Servine their attacks on the target.

After a few attacks, Deerling and Tirtouga are sufficiently weakened, and Black gets White to throw a Poké Ball at the same time that he does. In a flash of light, both Tirtouga and Deerling are captured, and the two Trainers rejoice.

Soon, White is ready to embark on her Battle Subway trial train, and stands at the platform with Black and Marshal. After a brief conversation with White, Black sees that his newly-caught Tirtouga's Poké Ball is rolling towards Marshal. Marshal recognizes the Tirtouga, revealing that he released it only yesterday. Alder, who has by then returned to the platform, then calls out towards Marshal for the city mayor. Marshal says that he left yesterday, and he told the mayor that a normal person would be offered a trial Battle Subway run, which was taken up by White. Alder is surprised that they proposed this.

White gossips about Alder towards Black. Alder hears the gossip but sheepishly admits to it, though with a correction. He claims to be living out a journey of the heart. He then asks why White chose to trial the Battle Subway, and White remarks about the Pokémon that she lost, and the path that it wishes to choose. White concludes her reason for the trial by confidently declaring that she wants to explore the path of battling in order to learn about it and support it. Alder thus admits that he was defeated by White in terms of speeches, causing Black to fall over.

Ingo and Emmet soon help White onto the train and prepare to drive it away from the platform. White takes her seat with Servine and Deerling, then peeks out of the window behind her to say farewell to Black. Black uses the opportunity to pledge his loyalty to the suspended BW Agency, and ask how much debt still needs to be cleared.

The train is eventually out of Black's view, but not before Black throws a Poké Ball into the tunnel. The ball bounces into the carriage where White is, and White sees that Black has loaned Brav to her. Black, still on the platform, admits he didn't tell White earlier, but White needed three Pokémon for the trial. With that, he wishes White good luck.

Major events

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

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

Characters

Humans

Pokémon

Trivia

In other languages



PS487 : A New Perspective
Black & White arc
PS489 : Drawing Bridges
  This article is part of Project Manga, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each series of Pokémon manga.