Two weeks later he realizes they were going the opposite direction.
Pokemon: I Choose You
Viz Media, LLC (May, 2019)
“I Choose You!” movie adaptation
(originally published in 2017)
WRITER/ARTIST: Ryo Takamisaki
TRANSLATION/ADAPTATION: Emi Louie-Nishikawa
TOUCH-UP ART/LETTERER: Jame Gaubatz
Pokémon Adventures: “Bulbasaur, Come Home!
(originally published in 1997)
WRITER: Hidenori Kusaka
ARTIST: Mato
TRANSLATION: Kaori Inoue
MISCELLANEOUS TEXT ADAPTATION: Ben Costa
TOUCH-UP ART/LETTERER: Wayne Truman
The first story is just an adaptation of Pokémon: I Choose You, a reboot of the anime series. The scene involves Ash trying to make friends with Pikachu, who will have none of it until a mistake on Ash’s part causes a flock of Spearow to attack them. For some reason they attack not Ash but Pikachu, and Ash races to protect him. This wins Pikachu over and he attacks the Spearow, the result being in the movie, full manga, or just the pilot episode of the TV show, minus Misty and her bike.
In the second tale Red visits Professor Oak’s lab but nobody’s home. He does find a bunch of Pokémon in their Pokeballs and sees one Bulbasaur apart from the others. When he introduces it to his Polywhirl the Bulbasaur freaks out just as an angry Professor Oak walks in, believing Red to be a thief. In the confusion Oak’s Pokémon are released and Red helps Oak recapture them all, having to chase some of them into town. They finally find Bulbasaur in a gym, where Red tries to comfort the scared Bulbasaur. A wild Machamp living in the seemingly abandoned gym attacks them and the pair work together to take it down. Oak gives Red the Pokémon and a Pokedex, thus beginning his adventure.
Well, not “new” exactly. Pokémon Adventures came out during the games’ early success in the states and around the same time in Japan as the games, while the movie adaptation is of course based on the anime, with Ash Ketchum instead of Red Nolastname. The two takes are very different. In Red’s world the red part of the Pokeball is see-through and you can see the Pokémon while it can see out. It’s also a different humor as I think a Pidgey poops on Oak’s head. The art styles are also different but both pretty good.
Red is not quite as cocky or hotheaded as Ash, although even Ash is a bit more relaxed than his show counterpart. However, both prefer to have a strong bond with their Pokémon and in Red’s case it convinces him to give Red the Bulbasaur, not the smart way Red powers up Bulbasaur despite not having Ash’s knowledge of Pokémon. It’s an interesting contrast and similarity between Red and Ash. I still find Adventures to be a bit more interesting, but that could be because I already know Ash but not Red and the first tale is just adapting a story I already know.
Both look really good though and depending on your tastes are worth checking out.
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