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Changes made to the graphic novel collection

VS

The opening of the graphic novel version is about two pages longer than what was printed in CoroCoro Comics Special. Here's what the first page looked like in the original CoroCoro Comics Special run:


And here are the equivalent pages from the graphic novel. The first page takes the establishing shot of Masara Town from the CoroCoro Comics Special release and then adds in some new panels of Satoshi drinking a soda. The image of Pikachu chewing on a wire, meanwhile, gets mirrored and moved over to Page 2.

The first two pages of the chapter as seen in the Japanese graphic novel

The third page of the graphic novel is brand new.

CoroCoro Comics Special version	Graphic Novel version

The fourth page of the graphic novel takes the bottom half of the second page from the CoroCoro Comics Special version and replaces the first panel. Shading is also added to Satoshi's gloves, the lawn outside his house, etc.

CoroCoro Comics Special version	Graphic Novel version

Small changes are made to the text between both versions. When Satoshi's talking to Shigeru outside his house, for example, he tells his rival he's going to become a "Pro Pokémon Trainer" (プロのポケモントレーナー) in the CoroCoro Comics Special version. This gets changed to "Pokémon Master" (ポケモンマスター) for the graphic novel release.

Later, we meet Shigeru's sister. A floral background is added to her introductory panel in the graphic novel collection. Her dialogue is also altered so that she's saying "You're going to be a Master too?" (サトシくんも、プロに？) instead of "You're going to be a Pro too?" (サトシく んも、マスターに？).

CoroCoro Comics Special version	Graphic Novel version

A bit later, we see Satoshi leaving Masara Town to start his Pokémon journey. In the graphic novel collection the sun (???) in the top panel is made larger and the Nyorozo in the bottom panel gets replaced with a new image of Shigeru's sister.

CoroCoro Comics Special version	Graphic Novel version

After the edit above, two new pages are added to the graphic novel that explain the world of Pokémon. These two did not exist in the original CoroCoro Comics Special original.

CoroCoro Comics Special version	Graphic Novel version
CoroCoro Comics Special version	Graphic Novel version

Next, we get a bit of a time skip. The word balloon goes from "two weeks later" (二週間後) to "one week later" (一週間後) for the graphic novel release. The tip of Pikachu's ear is altered as well.

CoroCoro Comics Special version	Graphic Novel version

Throughout the entire rest of the chapter Satoshi's pants are white in the CoroCoro Comics Special version. They're colored in grey for the graphic novel.

CoroCoro Comics Special version	Graphic Novel version

Once Satoshi arrives in Tokiwa City he attempts to grab Pikachu from behind. The effect of Pikachu electrocuting Satoshi as payback for this is greatly enhanced for the graphic novel collection.

CoroCoro Comics Special version	Graphic Novel version

This attack attracts the attention of two female police officers. The graphic novel collection adds tights to the their bare legs that weren't there in the CoroCoro Comics Special version.

CoroCoro Comics Special version	Graphic Novel version

When talking about starter Pokémon, the light haired police officer's dialogue is slightly different depending on which version you're reading:

CoroCoro Comics Special	Japanese Graphic Novel
Police Officer:  "I thought beginners normally choose Pokémon like Hitokage, Fushigidane, or Zenigame for their first partner Pokémon" 警官　「そ れに初心者はヒトカゲやフシギダネ、ゼニガメからはじめるのが基本なのに、」	Police Officer:  "I thought beginners normally choose Pokémon like Hitokage for their first partner Pokémon" 警官　「そ れに初心者はヒトカゲとかをパートナーポケモンに選ぶのが基本なのに、」

After Satoshi unsuccessfully tries to convince his Pikachu to go into its Monster Ball his Bestiary explains why this might be the case:

CoroCoro Comics Special	Japanese Graphic Novel
Pokémon Bestiary:  "There are also Pokémon who do not like being kept in small spaces." ポケモン図鑑　「「ポケモンの中には狭い所 がキライなポケモンもいる」？」	Pokémon Bestiary:  "There are also Pokémon who do not like being kept in Monster Balls." ポケモン図鑑　「「ポケモンの中にはMBがきらいなポケモンもいる」？」

Later, Satoshi encounters Kasumi and gets a crash course in how the Pokémon League works. The shot of the Pokémon during Kasumi's explanation gets a lot of shading added.

CoroCoro Comics Special version	Graphic Novel version

Finally, the pages where Satoshi's trying to outrun the flock of Onisuzume gets completely redone. The first page after Satoshi steals the bike from Kasumi is exclusive to the graphic novel version:

CoroCoro Comics Special version	Graphic Novel version

The first two panels of the CoroCoro Comics Special version of the next are removed, the middle three panels are moved to the top, and the bottom panels are redone for the graphic novel collection.

CoroCoro Comics Special version	Graphic Novel version

The next page is exclusive to the graphic novel version.

CoroCoro Comics Special version	Graphic Novel version

And finally, the cute image of Onidrill at the top of this page gets replaced with a more threatening one.

CoroCoro Comics Special version	Graphic Novel version

Changes made to the Viz English graphic novel version

VS

The Japanese refers to Satoshi's Pokémon Bestiary as a "Pokémon Handler's License" (ポケモン取扱い免許書) consistently throughout the chapter. In the Viz version they just refer to it as the PokéDex instead.

The first of many, many breast reduction edits for this series takes place in the panel when we're first introduced to Gary's sister May.

Japanese version (graphic novel)	Viz English version (graphic novel)

Later, Gary runs into Ash in Viridian City. A line of dialogue he has about how Pokémon Trainers are judged gets slightly altered for the Viz release:

CoroCoro Special	Japanese Graphic Novel	Viz English Translation
Shigeru:  "Pokémon Trainers are judged by the number of wild Pokémon they catch and raise on their journey in a year." シゲル　 「トレーナー修行ってのは、一年間でどれだけたくさんの野生のポケモンをつかまえ育てられるかが評価ポイントだ」	Shigeru:  "Pokémon Trainers are judged by the number of wild Pokémon they catch and raise on their journey in a year." シゲル　 「トレーナー修行ってのは、一年間でどれだけたくさんの野生のポケモンをつかまえ育てられるかが評価ポイントだ」	Gary:  "Pokémon Trainers are judged by the number of wild Pokémon they catch and raise on their journey."

Once Misty arrives on the scene is when the bulk of the chapter's visual edits come into play. The very first panel is, confusingly, left as-is:


...but in every other panel after that her chest size is reduced and her form-fitting undershirt gets replaced with a less revealing black shirt.

Japanese version (graphic novel)	Viz English version (graphic novel)
Japanese version (graphic novel)	Viz English version (graphic novel)

When Ash is batting away the flock of bird Pokémon he says "Get away from him Spearows," adding an -s to the end of the Pokémon name even though the standard convention is for the singular and plural of a Pokémon name to remain the same.

The remaining two edits of the chapter are more Misty edits. From Viz graphic novel Page 43:

Japanese version (graphic novel)	Viz English version (graphic novel)

And Page 53:

Japanese version (graphic novel)	Viz English version (graphic novel)