Pokemon Adventures Manga Discussion

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What is Pokemon Adventures?

Pokémon Adventures (known as ''Pokémon Special'' in Japan) is a manga adaptation of the Pokémon games series. Creator Satoshi Tajiri has stated that it is more faithful to his original idea than any other adaptation.

The primary difference between it and the anime is that instead of the same main character going to a new region with different companions, the protagonist changes every time the previous protagonist's story is through. It's also somewhat violent, as it is one of the few adaptations where you actually see Pokémon and people get badly wounded and even killed.

The manga series is authored by Hidenori Kusaka. It was illustrated by Mato for the first 9 volumes, and since volume 10, has been illustrated by Satoshi Yamamoto. It is published by Shōgakukan under the Ladybird Comics Special imprint. In the United States, Viz Media released only the first two chapters (corresponding to the Generation I games) originally, though they have started publishing the series again starting with reprints of Gen I and continuing from there (albeit with some quirks, such as skipping Gen III entirely for some time). While Viz played catch-up, the closest official English translation for the missing chapters was the Singaporean version by Chuang Yi Comics, which translated the series up through Volume 41. After Chuang Yi went bust in early 2014, a subsidiary of Shogakukan called Shogakukan Asia has continued from where Chuang Yi left off.

Some "rules" to obey while discussing this manga:
1) Green is Red's rival. Blue is the girl with Squirtle.
2) Scanlations are not allowed otherwise the mods will lock this thread.
3) Due to the crazy release schedule, one can expect spoilers in the thread.
4) Have fun.

I'll start off some discussion here:
1) The finale of the RGB arc which comes down to a battle between Red and Green. The way in which both players revealed that their interactions had made them both better trainers and people were awesome to watch. Red's finishing move was also well-done and not over-the-top like some of the later moments in the manga.

2) The flashback in the RS arc reveals that Ruby, a kid, managed to fight off a wild Salamence with just Ralts, Poochyena and Skitty. In case the previous sentence doesn't have enough explanations, Ruby managed to fight off a wild (and likely pissed off) pseudo-legendary with just 3 "cannon-fodder" basic Pokemon and escaped with just a scar on his head. The fact that the manga managed to conceal this fact by showing Ruby's Pokemon's contest stat instead of their levels is just icing on the cake.

3) The manga does share some not so awesome moments though, imo. In the Yellow arc, the protagonist nearly causes a mass genocide by not making her Pokemon go stronger and evolve just because she wants them to be cute. The fact that she cried when her Pokemon evolved and she actively pressed the Cancel button to prevent her Pokemon's evolution (and her Pokemon might have wanted to be stronger to you know, prevent the End of the World as We Know It) is really annoying. It's something like drawing an action manga (say, One Piece) but have Luffy becoming a coward who refuses to fight and hides behind Zoro / Sanji all the time. Not helping matters is she hogs the spotlight and has one of the most OP powers in the series.
 
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I don't really know much about this particular manga, to be honest, but it seems to be the only Pokemon manga that people think exists. There are at least 40 or 50 other Pokemon manga by various authors and illustrators.

Pokemon ReBURST and Pokemon Pocket Monsters (Kosaku Anakubo) are two of them. Go check them out!

On a side note, when you made a comparison to One Piece, I think you meant Zoro and Sanji.

Anyway, I've looked up stuff about the BW2, XY, and ORAS arcs a while back. It seems like they're being written simultaneously, correct? I'm not sure if the BW2 arc is being ghost-written, though. Speaking of which, are manga authors even willing to hire ghost writers?
 
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I know other Pokemon manga exists but those are very difficult to get hold of outside of Japan. Even the relatively more well-known (in my area) Adventures only had a handful of volumes sold and I had to use the Internet to read most of the arcs. Not sure about ghost writers though but I'm pretty sure they hired somebody else to draw the manga (because the mangaka injured their wrists sometime ago)
 
I used to read it online often several months back, and got into the 3rd generation, but haven't been able to continue, due to having a hard time finding the time.
 

Cresselia~~

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I love the FRLG arc. The story is well written, the panels are well drawn, and Lorelei's really pretty in that! XD!

The manga gave us a broader understanding of how the Pokemon world is like, and apparently, Satoshi Tajiri said the manga was the closest to the world he was trying to create-- more than the anime or even the games! (He openly stated that he doesn't like the B2W2 games)

I like how it's more realistic, when you can directly attack a trainer with your Pokemon. And that the Pokemon ecology is way better reflected than the anime.
However, it is also more cruel and more violent, and I advice only teens or above to read it.
Pokemon can be chopped into half, or have their wings pierced through with holes remaining on the wings until being treated.
Arbok was shown to be chopped into half, and its tail still wriggled after a few panels have passed.
Red's Aerodactyl had its wings pierced in the FRLG arc.

I'm a little disappointed that we can't discuss other mangas here on this forum.
(It's hilarious how Jynx was shown to be a complete narcissist in at least 3 different manga sagas!! And how Zigzagoon is shown to like collecting zigzag objects, and Linoone is shown to like collecting striped objects. )
But I can see how they are difficult to get hold of. I'm not even sure if they are available in English.
 

Cresselia~~

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Um I'm pretty sure Green is the girl. #FlameBait

Haven't read this for a while, but I did enjoy it more than the anime when I did. Mask Man is an irredeemable asshole, though.
Green is the girl in the American version because you guys dun get Pokemon Green
But in the Japanese version Blue is the girl

To be honest i find it quite stupid to change her name from Blue to Green because Squitle is obviously blue.
 

Pikachu315111

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Green is the girl in the American version because you guys dun get Pokemon Green
But in the Japanese version Blue is the girl

To be honest i find it quite stupid to change her name from Blue to Green because Squitle is obviously blue.
By that logic Red should be named Green since he picked Bulbasaur and the rival should be called Red because he picked Charmander. :P
 
Pokemon Yellow is still my favorite Adventures chapter. That final battle of the Elite 4 vs the major characters and the evil gym leaders of Red and Blue was awesome although it was awkward seeing them as villains.
 

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Pokemon Yellow is still my favorite Adventures chapter. That final battle of the Elite 4 vs the major characters and the evil gym leaders of Red and Blue was awesome although it was awkward seeing them as villains.
I loved that part too
But then I decided to like FRLG more
 
I personally like DP more. The comedy act and Character Development of Dia from somebody who only follows orders to a hero of justice based on his own feelings is great. It is also a great contrast to the Big Bad Cyrus. As stated in the OP, I hated Yellow because of her character.
 

Cresselia~~

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I don't like Yellow neither. Although she has the power to heal Pokemon and understand Pokemon, somehow it doesn't feel cool on her.
It's like she's always just messing around and doing nothing apart from healing the Pokemon.
Oh, I also hate how she doesn't allow Pokemon to evolve.
 
I really like Yellow... especially when Gold makes her take off her hat, Red's expression is priceless! Also, don't mind if this thread hasn't been posted for a while, I've been reading Pokemon Adventures a lot lately and I'd enjoy discussing it.
 
By that logic Red should be named Green since he picked Bulbasaur and the rival should be called Red because he picked Charmander. :P
You know they actually tackled this in the FRLG arc? There was a chapter (they were learning the ultimate moves) where Red was training with Green's Charizard and vise-versa with Green and Red's Venusaur. Mewtwo or someone made a joking comment about their character growth as Fire Red and Leaf Green.
 

Pikachu315111

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You know they actually tackled this in the FRLG arc? There was a chapter (they were learning the ultimate moves) where Red was training with Green's Charizard and vise-versa with Green and Red's Venusaur. Mewtwo or someone made a joking comment about their character growth as Fire Red and Leaf Green.
Well you gotta shove in the new game titles in somewhere. :P
 
I've only read the Yellow chapter and the first part of Gold in-depth, but I already really like Gold--particularly this description of him:

"We thought Red was too rash, but this kid makes his kind of rash look like a pimple"--Professor Oak
 
I started off with the HeartGold/SoulSilver special, after reading them I decided I wanted to start the series from the beginning. Sadly I missed Gold/Silver 12, because for unknown reasons my library doesn't have it, and I feel bad for skipping it and now being in the Ruby/Sapphire arc. Where do you all read the issues online?
 
I actually was inspired by the manga to work on a project of mine. A show of a sort using the world inspired by the manga but using game elements.

Also, Red is just as cool as ever in the manga. Just saiyan.
 
I actually was inspired by the manga to work on a project of mine. A show of a sort using the world inspired by the manga but using game elements.

Also, Red is just as cool as ever in the manga. Just saiyan.
Not really game elements though as they kinda screw the rules several times in the manga. ( Pikachu defeating Brock's Onix with a Thunderbolt, Lance's 7 Pokemon army, and Green's Scyther somehow OHKOing Agatha's Gengar with Slash ).

However, I do like the fact that the mangaka got lucky ( or Game Freak notices ) that some of the things in the manga do get integrated into the games later . Examples are the cave behind the Tohjo Falls ( where Suicune was fought in the manga ), Silver being Giovanni's son, and Kangaskhan being able to beat Gengar with a Normal-type move ( it got Scrappy ).
 
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Not really game elements though as they kinda screw the rules several times in the manga. ( Pikachu defeating Brock's Onix with a Thunderbolt, Lance's 7 Pokemon army, and Green's Scyther somehow OHKOing Agatha's Gengar with Slash ).

However, I do like the fact that the mangaka got lucky ( or Game Freak notices ) that some of the things in the manga do get integrated into the games later . Examples are the cave behind the Tohjo Falls ( where Suicune was fought in the manga ), Silver being Giovanni's son, and Kangaskhan being able to beat Gengar with a Normal-type move ( it got Scrappy ).
I would be using game elements :P At any rate, this is true. Lots of manga elements became canon to the games. ..I would love to see Lorelei be the voodoo ice witch in game canon though... that's hilarious and scary at the same time.
 
I have so many things to say about Pokémon Adventures so I'll divide it to like, 4 posts and post them with half a day or some posts between them. Jeez, whatever:


We could see the pokémon utilizing their biological superiorities and what they were given in their designs to the fullest.

An example to this: Cyrus' Weavile almost skewered Milotic's tail in order to escape, it also froze the keystone(?) of Cynthia's Spiritomb which made Spiritomb unable to battle. Hitmonlee extended its legs to prepare an ambush, Gallade lengthens his blades to escape Empoleon's clutches.



Well these are all I can think of, for now.
 
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Just got into the Emerald chapter and... I really don't like Emerald's design.

Ewwughhh. His personality I like, but just his hair and that gemstone ruin it for me.
 
For me, Emerald is one of the poorest character in the manga. He has a stupid haircut, woobie backstory and shitty personality, all traits which combined makes for an extremely unlikeable character. The fact that the writers gave him victory over Red also makes me think he's a Creator's Pet of sorts.
 
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Cresselia~~

Junichi Masuda likes this!!
I find Emerald stupid too. Especially that hair.

I have so many things to say about Pokémon Adventures so I'll divide it to like, 4 posts and post them with half a day or some posts between them. Jeez, whatever:


We could see the pokémon utilizing their biological superiorities and what they were given in their designs to the fullest.

An example to this: Cyrus' Weavile almost skewered Milotic's tail in order to escape, it also froze the keystone(?) of Cynthia's Spiritomb which made Spiritomb unable to battle. Hitmonlee extended its legs to prepare an ambush, Gallade lengthens his blades to escape Empoleon's clutches.



Well these are all I can think of, for now.
And how Jynx can grab/ tie/ choke people with her hair
And how Lorelei can sit inside Cloyster's shell.

Man, I wish this series gets to be animated, instead of the shitty anime we've always had.
Pokemon showcases are the only thing I watch the anime for.
 

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