Pokémon Pocket Monsters: Difference between revisions

Pokémon Pocket Monsters (Japanese: ポケットモンスター Pocket Monsters) is a shōnen Pokémon manga based on the Pokémon games by Kosaku Anakubo. It is also the first true Pokémon manga. It stars a Pokémon Trainer named Red and his rude Clefairy. It is chiefly a gag manga, using crude humor and slapstick. It has four sequels: Pokémon Ruby-Sapphire, which takes place in Hoenn, Pocket Monsters DP, which takes place in Sinnoh, Pocket Monsters HGSS, which takes place in Johto, and Pocket Monsters BW, which takes place in Unova.

Pocket Monsters was serialized in CoroCoro magazine. Including its sequels, it is the second longest running manga in CoroCoro. It is also the longest-running Pokémon manga ever based on starting date.

The series diverges somewhat from the Pokémon video game and anime canon: most Pokémon can speak human language and regular animals (like birds and fish) appear alongside Pokémon. Evolution is also significantly different in Pokémon Pocket Monsters: Pokémon can evolve at any time, and they are also able to reverse the evolution. Green's Charmander also seems able to skip the Charmeleon stage and evolve directly into Charizard.

Red, his Clefairy, and his Pikachu make a cameo appearance in the anime episode Lights, Camerupt, Action!. They are the only characters from any Pokémon manga to make an appearance in the anime.

English translations

Pokémon Pocket Monsters was translated into English by Chuang Yi in Singapore, as well as its first sequel, Pokémon Ruby-Sapphire. This translation is now out of print, although it is still listed on Chuang Yi's website.

Chuang Yi announced a planned North American release in the late 1990s; however, this never happened. The series and its sequels have never been translated into English by VIZ Media in Western regions. There is much speculation by fans as to the reason for this, as the manga is quite popular in Japan. Theories range from the fact that the art style is so different (many of the Pokémon and characters can be unrecognizable) as well as the fact that Red and Clefairy's genitalia are visible at the end of the second chapter.

International translations

Pokémon Pocket Monsters (神奇寶貝) was translated in Taiwan by Ching Win Publishing Group. It was also translated by a different company in mainland China with the title 神奇宝贝.

Pokémon Pocket Monsters has been translated into Indonesian by Elex Media Komputindo since 2001. After volume 12 was released in April 2003, the manga was not continued for several years until the last two volumes were released in 2010.

• Pocket Monsters 13 Indonesia.png

  Volume 13 cover artwork in Indonesian

See also

• List of Pokémon Pocket Monsters chapters
• List of Pokémon Pocket Monsters volumes

External links

• Dogasu's Backpack
• Volume list on Chuang Yi's website

This article is part of Project Manga, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each series of Pokémon manga.