Abyssal Ruins (Japanese: VSチョボマキ VS Chobomaki), titled VS Shelmet in the Shogakukan Asia translation, is the 543rd chapter of the Pokémon Adventures manga, and the 19th chapter of the Black 2 & White 2 arc.
It is subtitled Shelmet (Japanese: アビシャル・リューインズ Abyssal Ruins) in the VIZ Media translation and Abyssal Ruins in the Shogakukan Asia translation.
Plot
Upon reading the notice of his firing from the International Police, Blake realizes that the handcuffs he put on Whitley were deactivated as a result. Without his International Police equipment and only having Kelden on top of his injured Genesect, Blake reasons that he will need to capture additional Pokémon to defend himself. Considering the Swords of Justice to be too strong to subdue, he turns his attention to the nearby wild Pokémon. Meanwhile, Whitley asks Cobalion why it told Kelden to trust in Blake despite Kelden's concerns over Blake's lack of emotions. Cobalion points out that Blake, like Kelden, is intent on stopping Team Plasma and freeing Kyurem from their control; his calm rationale is necessary in assisting the group's efforts, and the Swords of Justice will decide if Blake merits their trust after the crisis is averted.
Sensing Whitley's unease, Virizion and Terrakion thank Whitley for her concern over Kelden, but Whitley admits that having witnessed Team Plasma's mistakes, her own convictions have been shaken and she is uncertain if she truly understood Pokémon, or if she acted out of self-interest. Virizion agrees that humans assume the emotions of Pokémon based on their own judgements, and Terrakion encourages Whitley to take her time to find her own answer. Arriving at an epiphany, Whitley approaches Blake as he investigates the Abyssal Ruins, asking if she can help. Blake explains his rationale, offering Whitley a Quick Ball to capture a nearby Karrablast; having never handled a Poké Ball before, Whitley is traumatized at the idea of capturing a Pokémon, prompting Foongy to knock the ball out of her hand and make the capture. Blake proceeds to trade Whitley's new Karrablast for his Shelmet, prompting their simultaneous evolution into Escavalier and Accelgor. As Whitley reads up Shelmet's Pokédex entry, she realizes that she can use the Pokédex to understand Pokémon more. Realizing that the ruins' power will let her talk to Foongy, she attempts to talk to him, but is interrupted by the ruins' security mechanism, causing the structure to quickly flood. The Swords of Justice prompt everyone to evacuate, but not before Whitley offers them her thanks as the group moves towards the water surface in bubbles.
As Hugh comes to, he realizes that he's back at the Trainer School in Aspertia City. Rood makes himself known, and is promptly attacked by Hugh's Eelektross as Hugh demands for his sister's Purrloin. Rood recalls the details of Team Plasma's first abduction, and acknowledges that Purrloin is safe and sound, but he cannot bring Hugh to Purrloin until the Team Plasma Frigate has been brought down, and the key to that lies in the memory card Hugh retrieved and left in his room. Rood informs Hugh of the two factions within Team Plasma, and Hugh recognizes the black faction as the team he fought in the Castelia Sewers. As Rood finishes his explanation, members of the black Team Plasma show up to bring Rood into their custody, releasing their Pokémon to attack. To Rood's surprise, Hugh intercepts the attacks, and the boy admits he doesn't fully trust Rood, but acknowledges that given the circumstances it's his only option. Handing Rood the key to his room with Leo, Hugh tells Rood where to find the memory card, letting Rood escape unscathed. Making it to Hugh's room, Rood locates the card behind a framed photo of Hugh, his sister and Purrloin from five years ago; overcome with remorse, Rood offers an apology as he retrieves the card.
In the sky, Kyurem and Zekrom continue to fight. Colress is frustrated that Kyurem hasn't performed its Absofusion yet; upon hearing Zinzolin gloat, Colress uses his Beheeyem to force the answer out of Zinzolin. Despite an attempt to resist, Zinzolin blurts that Kyurem requires the DNA Splicers to trigger Absofusion; the item was not on Kyurem when he captured it, but ordering Kyurem to call to it will draw the Splicers to Kyurem. Excited, Colress asks Ghetsis to relay the command. Under the sea, Whitley realizes that Blake's bag is shining, and he produces a white sphere which he explains was found with him as an infant. Whitley is stunned to learn that Blake was orphaned as a child, and Blake reveals that the International Police found him as a baby at a crime scene. They realized he had great physical and mental aptitude, and thus put him through tests and training to be an investigator. However, Blake eventually learned that he lacked the ability to understand his emotions and those of other people, motivating him to memorize various manuals so he would always be able to present appropriate emotions to achieve desired results in communication. He muses that his experiences have proven that the manuals he read were inadequate, but given that he's been fired from the Police, he has no reason to report on his findings.
Whitley is shocked that Blake has been fired, and asks why he's still intent on saving Kyurem. Blake admits that he has no understanding of morality or the difference from right and wrong, adding that as part of his training, the investigator assigned to his care taught him a tenet: he had to pursue and arrest violent criminal individuals and organizations to bring them to justice, even if it meant ignoring or violating the rights of citizens in the process. Blake concludes that his pursuit of Team Plasma despite his firing is the only way he knows how to live. The moment is interrupted as the sphere in Blake's hand starts glowing, abruptly pulling Blake - along with Kelden and Whitley in their bubble - towards the surface, breaching the water as Whitley sees N standing atop Zekrom. Unable to hold onto the sphere any longer, Blake is tossed back into the ocean, forcing Whitley and Kelden to dive back in and rescue him as White watches from a distance. Colress realizes that the sphere itself is the DNA Splicers, and asks Ghetsis to prompt Kyurem to activate it, causing the sphere to change into its active, spike-shaped form before it is absorbed into Kyurem.
With the DNA Splicers absorbed, the ice on Kyurem's wings shatter as it looks towards N and White. N orders Zekrom to dive at Kyurem, and Kyurem releases several beams from its wing spikes, forcing Zekrom to revert into the Dark Stone along with N despite White's pleas. As the Dark Stone is taken in, the Light Stone suddenly flies towards Kyurem, dragging White along with it as she is absorbed into the Light Stone. In a void, White is stunned as she knocks into someone.
Major events
- For a list of all major events in the Pokémon Adventures manga, please see the history page.
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Debuts
Pokémon debuts
Characters
Humans
Pokémon
Trivia
- The first part of this chapter was released on March 15, 2019, while the second part was released on April 19, 2019. The previous chapter was released 14 months earlier.
- In the original version of this chapter, Blake traded his Karrablast he caught in a Poké Ball for Whitley's Shelmet she caught in a Quick Ball, yet Blake ended up with an Escavalier in a Quick Ball while Whitley received an Accelgor in a Poké Ball. This was corrected in the volume version to have Blake catch Shelmet and Whitley catch Karrablast.
In other languages
French
German
