Pokémon Adventures Vol.4 Review

Written by Hidenori Kusaka
Art by Mato
Published by VIZ Media, LLC, San Francisco, CA (2009)
ISBN: 978-1-4215-3057-4

The year is 1998, Pokémon fever has spread across Japan and is also beginning to infect the western world. Volumes one to three of the Pokémon Adventures manga have sold very well. The next game in the Pokémon series has just released, which is Pokémon Yellow, a remaster of the original games but reworked to include references to the anime. This presents a problem for the Pokémon Adventures manga. How are you supposed to adapt a story that you have already told in your last three volumes? Somehow writer Hidenori Kusaka managed to do just that, by expertly rearranging aspects of the world and story that were left out of the first three volumes of the manga. Then artist Mato expertly brings this amazing story to life with their beautiful, and often, striking artwork! Volume four continues the amazing quality from the last three volumes. Let’s dive into this manga and unpack what makes it so good!

Volume four of the Pokémon Adventures picks up two years after the events of Volumes one-to-three. Both Red and Blue have been training following their victory and defeat respectively. Things go awry when Red gets an invitation challenging him to a battle with Bruno of the Elite four. Unable to turn away from a challenge, Red accepts and leaves Pallet town. Weeks later, with no word from him, Pika, Red’s Pikachu returns to Professor Oak’s lab, battered and on the verge of death. Professor Oak contacts Misty and the two start to form a plan to find and possibly rescue Red. In the middle of this, a strange young man, Yellow, turns up, heals Pikachu via touch then leaves to save Red. Professor Oak, seeing that Yellow and Pika have a bond and seem to know each other, entrusts Yellow with Red’s Pokédex. From here we follow Yellow’s journey across Kanto as he and Pika attempt to save Red from whatever fate has befallen him, all the while they are hunted down by the Elite four.

The first obvious change to the status-quo from the video games is that the Elite Four are now the villains of this piece. For those unaware, the Elite Four in the games are the final challenge of the Gen 1 main story. They are friendly, but difficult, boss battles, one after the other with no chance to visit a Pokécentre for healing. During Volume three of Pokémon Adventures the Pokémon League was a tournament between existing characters instead of the Elite Four. This means that the Elite Four are making their first appearance in the manga after being absent from the first three volumes. I really enjoy this change. Moving the Elite Four from the Pokémon League into the story of Yellow is such a smart move. This turns Yellow’s journey across Kanto into a sequel to Red and Blue rather than a remaster. Making the Elite Four villains also allows them to have a presence throughout the story rather than just appearing at the end as a final challenge. It’s obvious that Writer Hidenori Kusaka not just played and understood the strengths of the games’ plot but also understood the strengths of his own medium as well. This allowed him to adapt this story in a clever and enjoyable way that takes the core idea and world of the games but adapts them to this new medium.

Outside of that clever writing and use of adaptation, I just really enjoyed the characters introduced here. This includes the villainous Elite Four. These are not the cartoony and often comedic antagonists from the anime, the Elite Four here want, try to, and almost succeed in killing not just the Pokémon of our heroes, but the heroes themselves. This allows them to feel like much more of a threat than what most fans may be used to within this series. I love this change. For one thing, it allows the selfless, and kind-hearted actions of Yellow and other allies of Red to stand out as braver simply because it feels like there is far more at risk now. While Red often showed care and affection for his Pokémon, this is nothing compared to the level of compassion and empathy that Yellow has towards the Pokémon in his care. This is a major plot point with Yellow having a stronger bond with the Pokémon around him than any other character we’ve seen so far, possibly even supernaturally strong. This ties into Yellow’s calm personality, with him often meditating, calmly thinking through his next action. This stands in stark contrast to Red who was very brash and often blindly ran into situations with no plan. I love this about Yellow! He’s a great character and one I’m sad we haven’t ever seen in the games or anime.

On top of all of this we have the amazing artwork that was an absolute standout in the last three volumes and continues to be just as enjoyable in this fourth volume! Mato is able to bring a sense of soft cuteness when it’s called for but then switch it up and lean into dramatic over-the-top action when are heroes are forced into Pokémon battles and other dangerous situations. As someone that is far more familiar with British and American comic books than Japanese manga, it continues to surprise me how Mato can deliver so much character into black and white artwork.

Ultimately, I don’t think anyone is that surprised that Volume Four continues to deliver the same high quality that has become standard for the Pokémon Adventures series. A fun reimagined version of the Pokémon world that expertly adapts the story from Pokémon’s first generation into a manga. Both kids and adults into the Pokémon series should give this astounding manga a read if they’re able.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐