Having played the original Gameboy videogame 23 years ago, Will and James take a trip down memory lane and decide to read up on its popular manga adaptation. Does it make us want to play the game or does it make us want to read more manga? Now that is the question!
Skip plot summary @ 10:11
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116: Pokémon Adventures vol. 1
Chapters 1 to 14, 'A Glimpse of the Glow' and 'That Awful Arbok!'
Story by Hidenori Kusaka
Art by Mato
English Translation by Kaori Inoue
Lettering and touch up by Wayne Truman
Pokémon depicts a world of creatures known as Pocket Monsters, a.k.a. the titular Pokémon. Some use Pokémon as pets, others for fights, and if you are like the Rocket gang, you use them for labour and genetic experimentation. But the story starts with a boy named Red who is a trainer and catcher of Pokémon, and upon hearing a commotion in the woods, secretly follows the Rocket gang as they hunt the legendary Mew. A Pokémon of great mystery. Red encounters a trainer like himself, Blue, who teaches Red that they are both not ready to catch a Pokémon as strong as Mew.
This prompts Red to visit Proffessor Oak, a Pokémon researcher who can help Red become a better trainer. However, Red makes the mistake of releasing all the monsters in Oak's lab and so he helps Oak find and capture the escaped monsters. In turn Oak gives Red a Pokémon, the grass type Bulbasaur upon seeing red demonstrate good knowledge in harnessing Bulbasaur's talents. Oak also gives Red a Pokedex, an electronic encyclopaedia that is used to log the existence of Pokémon, the same gadget that Blue also has, which is no surprise since Red learns that Blue is Oak's grandson. It's in their second encounter that Red stops Blue from capturing a Kangiskhan, Red remembers Oak's advice that to be a good trainer takes heart, not just brute strength and power. He then heals a wounded Pokémon that is hidden within Kangiskhan's pouch, then goes on his separate path away from Bluem by this point Blue shows a lack of humility whereas Red is the compassionate of the two.
It is on his quest as Oak's protégé that Red learns of a Pikachu terrorising a town, he captures and tames the electric mouse type that is the Pikachu as well as reunite many other characters with their Pokémon. When Red reaches Lavender Town he learns of Blue having entered a haunted tower but never having come out. Red investigates and finds Blue possessed by a Gastly, a ghost type monster resembling a purple ball of gas. Red defeats the Gastly by having Bulbasaur using the bulb on its back as a vacuum sack, sucking up Gastly and spitting him out as a devastating beam that blasts through the tower walls.
Afterwards Red and Blue make their way up the tower only to be attacked by the Ninja Koga and his venomous Pokémon. Red recognises Koga as a Rocket gang leader he fought on Mt. Moon and Koga reveals that the tower is a secret base for the Rocket gang.
A Little Context:
Pokemon was first released on the Gameboy in February 1996 in Japan, in the following years it would see multiple editions released with a special Pikachu Edition (Pokemon: Yellow) released in Japan within the fall of 1998 and finally released for English speaking countries between the fall of 1999 and the summer of 2000. Pokemon: Yellow would be a tie in with the anime spin-off and coinciding with the release of the franchise's first Theatrical release, unoriginally called Pokemon: The First Movie, but affectionately given the subtitle Mewtwo vs. Mew in Marketing. The games would get a sequel during this time so western audiences could see new Pokemon within the movie, Including Marill who was bizarrely named "Pikablu" by fans.
The Gameboy and the Gameboy Color was a must have toy because it had Pokemon as the dominating app for it. And for many American and European children it was the first anime they grew up watching, thus their first experience with Japanese culture, albeit having undergone heavy localisation by 4Kids entertainment.
Differences from other Media:
· Like the game, Pikachu is caught near Viridian City, unlike the TV Anime where Oak gives away his newly caught Pikachu. Dengeki Pikachu follows the plot of the anime however Pikachu is captured upon invading the main character's home and eating it's the electrical wiring.
· Brock is more representative of his game counterpart, a stoic man and gym leader who does not join the main character on his quest.
· Ninja Koga is the main Rocket antagonist within the first chapters, where as in the TV Anime series it was original characters, Jessie and James (whom are named after the American outlaw, whilst in Japan they are named after rival samurai).
· It takes a "Pokéflute" to wake a Snorlax, however in this manga it took the smell of a Bulbasaur drenched in honey to do the trick.
· Gastly is a far more malicious being in this manga compared to the TV Anime show. It retreats once the sun rises in the show but in the manga, Red uses his Bulbasaur to defeat it.
References:
· The introduction to the character Bill is inspired by the 1958 movie, 'The Fly' (remade in 1986) Based on a short story by James Lagelaan.
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