PS468

Listening to Pokémon (Japanese: VS オタマロ VS Tympole), titled VS Tympole in the Shogakukan Asia translation, is the 468th chapter of the Pokémon Adventures manga, and the eighth chapter of the .
It is subtitled Tympole (Japanese: 戴冠 Coronation) in the VIZ Media translation and Crowning in the Shogakukan Asia translation.
==Plot==
A year ago, the Seven Sages crowned as King of Team Plasma. During the coronation, N, accompanied by two young women, made his way towards Ghetsis to accept his crown. The other six sages acknowledged N as the son of Harmonia, and kneeled down one by one, as Ghetsis placed the crown on N's head before introducing him to his followers.
N's reminiscence is interrupted when yanks free from his grasp. Black demands to know who he is and why he says such things about the Pokédex and Poké Balls. N calmly says that the Pokédex is a device intended to collect data on Pokémon, and for the sake of completing the Pokédex, more and more Pokémon would be confined in Poké Balls, which he believes is cruelty. As hides behind the brick wall looking on, N introduces himself and urges Black to listen to his Pokémon's voices, before commanding to attack. Musha tumbles backwards. Black, now realizing that all this "listen to your Pokémon" talk was about battling, orders Musha to use to knock Purrloin back. Black declares that he accepts N's challenge, but not what he said about the Pokédex and Poké Balls.
With that, he orders Musha to use , sending Purrloin flying, but it immediately recovered and knocked Musha down with its claws. Black calls on White to get ready to battle. White stammers and tries to refuse, but Black insists, saying that it's the only way she can protect herself if he loses. Just then, Purrloin ambushes Gigi. White quickly picks up Gigi and scolds Purrloin for attacking it. An annoyed and impatient Black shouts to White that she should just command her Pokémon to use an attack, but before he can finish, White bursts into tears and admits that she's never battled before. The revelation leaves Black dumbfounded. He asks about the , , and next to White, who, still with tears in her eyes, responds that they are just BW Agency recruits, and so is Gigi. White claims that she's only responsible for their acting skills, and never wanted to be a Pokémon Trainer herself. Black is unable to comprehend what he just heard.
Suddenly, N commands his to use . The attack knocks Tep against the brick wall. Black checks using his Pokédex. N, upon seeing this, sighs at Black's reliance on a device, and claims that Black cannot win the battle because he wastes time on information retrieval, whereas N, through listening to his own Pokémon as well as his opponents', knows the best time to use an attack. With that, he motions and to take on Brav, while Purrloin and Tympole face Tep. N claims that Brav and Tep, as well as the long-defeated Musha, are suffering because their Trainer cannot hear them. He cries that the longer Pokémon should stay with humans, the longer they remain miserable.
At that moment, Black tells N to shut up. He claims that every one of his Pokémon share the same ambition of winning the , and are connected to each other in this way. He calls out towards Tep, Brav, and Musha, who all agree with him by nodding. Black also absent-minded calls out towards , which he nicknames Tula, and to his surprise, Tula raises its foreleg in acknowledgment. Black wonders if it means Tula wants to join their team. Tula nods, and Black accepts by holding Tula's foreleg. Black tells N to see for himself.
Black also explains why the Pokédex was developed. He concludes by saying that he needs the Pokédex and Poké Balls to connect with Pokémon, because he doesn't have N's hearing capability. And with that, he tells Tep to demonstrate their connection with each other. Tep charges through Tympole's to Tympole back towards N, who crashes against the brick wall. As Black rushes to check on Tep, who landed on its side, N states that he has heard the Tepig's voice, but didn't expect it to say what it just said. And with that, N stands up while carrying Tympole, motions his other Pokémon to follow, and starts to leave. Black tries to stop him, but N continues to walk away, musing about another equation to solve.
Once N is out of sight, Black remembers to give Oran Berries and Potions to his Pokémon. He also commends their efforts. White wonders if N may be connected to Team Plasma, and is worried that they have powerful people like that as proof that their preaching is valid. Black tells White not to worry, because N landed next to Musha earlier, and his dreams were eaten. From the pink smoke coming out of Musha's nose that he saw, he envisioned N at peace with his own Pokémon in his own world, and deems N not a bad person.
Meanwhile, N has just returned to his castle along with the Pokémon that battled beside him.
==Major events==
* continues his battle with .
* Black decides to keep and nicknames him Tula.
* After hearing Tep's voice, N leaves.
===Debuts===
* Anthea and Concordia
====Pokémon debuts====
* 
* 
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* 
* 
* Ghetsis (flashback)
* Bronius (flashback)
* Ryoku (flashback)
* Giallo (flashback)
* Zinzolin (flashback)
* Rood (flashback)
* Gorm (flashback)
* Anthea and Concordia (flashback)
* s (flashback)
===Pokémon===
* (Brav; 's)
* (Musha; 's)
* (Tep; 's)
* (Tula; 's)
* (Gigi; 's)
* (; dream)
* ('s; dream)
* (×2; 's; dream)
* ('s)
* ('s)
* ('s)
* ('s)
==Trivia==
* When this chapter was collected into volume 44, Ghetsis's right arm was recolored black, as it appears in the opening cutscene of Black and White.
* When this chapter was collected into volume 44, Musha's was changed into , thus removing the mistake of why a move hurt the .
==In other languages==
de:VS. Schallquap
es:PMS468
fr:Chapitre 468 (Pocket Monsters Special)
it:LGA468
zh:宝可梦特别篇 第468话