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| Manga Guide | Den-geki!
Pikachu
Publication Date: February 28th, 1997
36 Pages (CoroCoro Comics Special), 41 pages (graphic novel collection)
In Masara Town, a young boy named Satoshi finds a wild Pikachu inside the walls of his house. While he tries to figure out what to do with the Electric-Type he runs into Shigeru, a rival Trainer who encourages Satoshi to finally set out on a Pokémon journey of his own. Satoshi and Pikachu head toward Tokiwa City but it doesn’t take long for Satoshi to realize just how much his new Pokémon doesn’t like him. Later, a Trainer named Kasumi happens to be passing by when she spots Satoshi’s Pikachu and instantly starts making friends with it. She then gives a quick explanation of how the Pokémon League works before riding off on her bicycle off and so Pikachu starts to chase after her. The Electric-Type soon finds itself lost in the middle of a field. A rustle from the tall grass startles Pikachu into shooting off an electric attack that causes a flock of Onisuzume to start attacking! Satoshi catches up to his battered Pokémon, picks it up, and makes a run for it. The two eventually bump into Kasumi again and, without thinking, take her bicycle to help them get away. The bird Pokémon catch up to them anyway and so Pikachu steps up and uses a powerful electric attack to weaken its leader enough for Satoshi to get it in a Monster Ball! With their first big adventure behind them Pikachu's finally warmed up to its Trainer! Kasumi and her destroyed bike, on the other hand…
Notes
This chapter borrows elements from Pocket Monsters (1997) Episode 001 "Pokémon I Choose You!"
This manga chapter was released over a full month before the animated TV series started.
Publication Date: April 28th, 1997
34 Pages (CoroCoro Comics Special), 34 pages (graphic novel collection)
Satoshi is being followed around by Kasumi as she demands payback for the bicycle his Pikachu destroyed and so the young Trainer assures her he’ll pay her back just as soon as he becomes a Pokémon Master. He’s already caught a bunch of new Pokémon since the last time she saw him so he sets out for Nibi City to challenge its Gym Leader Takeshi. Satoshi has no trouble earning himself a Gray Badge and so he decides to keep the momentum going by heading to Hanada City next. When he arrives at its gym he meets the “Four Sisters of Hanada”: Ayame, Botan, Sakura…and Kasumi!? It turns out the young girl who’s been following him is one of the Gym Leaders Satoshi’s going to have to face! After her Gyarados swipes Satoshi’s cap off his head and gives it to Kasumi she sets the rules of the match: retrieve the cap from her head to earn the badge. What should be an easy task is complicated by the fact that none of Satoshi’s Pokémon want to battle! Kasumi bribing Pikachu with a snack gives Satoshi the idea to do the same with his team so he lobs a ball of Pokémon bait at Kasumi’s head. His Onidrill suddenly appears out of nowhere and snatches up both the food and the cap all in one swoop! Satoshi’s officially completed the criteria set out for him to win the Blue Badge, bringing him that much closer to becoming a Pokémon Master.
Notes
This chapter borrows elements from Pocket Monsters (1997) Episode 003 "Get Pokémon!" (Satoshi getting Caterpie and Pigeon, Caterpie evolving into Trancell), Episode 004 "The Samurai Boy's Challenge!" (Trancell evolving into Butterfree), Episode 005 "The Battle at the Nibi Gym!" (Satoshi's Gym Battle against Takeshi), and Episode 007 "The Water Flowers of Hanada City" (Satoshi's Gym Battle against Kasumi). Of these four episodes the two Gym episodes (Takeshi and Kasumi) had not aired yet.
Kasumi is stated to be thirteen years old in the CoroCoro Comics Special version and twelve years old in the graphic novel collection. Various guidebooks related to the animated series, meanwhile, lists her as being ten.
Kasumi's custom-made bicycle is said to have cost 1 million yen.
The chapter consistently refers to Gym Leaders as "Pocket Masters" (ポケットマスター), for some reason.
The nicknames Satoshi gives his Pokémon are:
Kasumi reveals her very first partner Pokémon was a Koiking who she was able to evolve into a Gyarados.
Publication Date: June 30th, 1997
38 Pages (CoroCoro Comics Special), 38 pages (graphic novel collection)
Satoshi goes to a Pokémon Center to get his Pokémon Bestiary evaluated and finds out he’s still at Trainer Level “Blue,” the second lowest rank there is! He’ll need to start getting some really rare Pokémon if he wants to raise his Trainer level so he seeks out a shop nearby selling maps to the locations of rare Pokémon. He picks up a map showing the location of the Fairy Pokémon Pippi and immediately sets out for the Moon-Viewing Mountain. After spending a few weeks in the area he finally spots his elusive prey ducking into a cave. Satoshi follows behind only to be greeted by an angry Iwark and so he sends out his Butterfree to subdue it with a Confusion attack. Iwark starts to thrash around in its confusion and ends up sending a pile of rocks falling directly on to of Satoshi! When the young Trainer regains consciousness he comes face-to-face with Dr. Ookido, the world-famous Pokémon professor! Dr. Ookido explains he’s currently in the area together with Masaki, the developer of the Pokémon Transfer System, to do field research on the Pippi, adding that tonight they’re going to get a rare opportunity to sit in on one of the Pippi’s evolution ceremonies! Satoshi, Dr. Ookido, and Masaki all gather around as pieces of meteorites are used to trigger the evolutions of Pippi into Pixy. The next day Satoshi bids farewell to the two adults, leaving the mountain with a renewed appreciation for the wonders of Pokémon.
Notes
This chapter borrows elements from Pocket Monsters (1997) Episode 001 "Pokémon I Choose You!" (meeting Dr. Ookido), Episode 006 "Pippi and the Moon Stone" (the overall Pippi storyline), Episode 009 "The Fail-Safe Pokémon Manual" (Seiyo's cameo), and Episode 013 "Masaki's Lighthouse" (meeting Masaki). The Masaki episode would have aired shortly before this chapter would have been published in CoroCoro Comics Special.
Satoshi gets a Mankey and a Spear, two Pokémon he never gets in the TV series.
Satoshi trades his Mankey for a map to where Pippi lives, making this the first time a Pokémon is traded away in this series.
Dr. Ookido reveals his first Pokémon was a Hitokage he nicknamed Hi-kun (ヒーくん) and that he managed to evolve it all the way to a Lizardon.
Dr. Ookido's full name is revealed to be Yukinari Ookido (オーキドユキナリ) while Masaki's full name is revealed to be Masaki Sonezaki (ソネザキマサキ), making this chapter one of the earliest pieces of Pocket Monsters media in which these characters' full names are revealed.
Publication Date: August 30th, 1997
?? Pages (CoroCoro Comics Special), 37 pages (graphic novel collection)
Satoshi’s arrived in Yamabuki City to take on Natsume, the city’s Psychic-Type Gym Leader. Takeshi, the first Gym Leader Satoshi ever beat, also happens to be in the area and so he decides to sit in on the match. Natsume and her Casey are able to defeat Satoshi without any trouble and so the young Trainer decides to stick around a while to watch others’ matches. That night, Natsume is rushed to the hospital after falling unconscious! Satoshi soon learns that a giant Ghost the locals have dubbed “Black Fog” has been terrorizing the area with its Dream Eater attack, and Natsume has ended up its latest victim! As the adults in the room wonder how to defeat the Pokémon Satoshi wonders why they don’t just use a Monster Ball to get it; wouldn’t that solve their problem? The adults agree and immediately get to work building a giant Monster Ball. After tracking “Black Fog” down to nearby Shion Town both Satoshi and Takeshi send out all their Pokémon to weaken it. With help from Natsume, who’s able to use her psychic link with her Casey to lend a hand from afar, the young Trainers weaken Ghost enough to get it into the giant Monster Ball. The giant Ghost manages to break out anyway but is now in such a weakened state that Satoshi’s able to get it with his last remaining Hyper Ball! Now that “Black Fogt” has been taken care of Natsume finally snaps out of her coma.
Notes
This chapter borrows elements from Pocket Monsters (1997) Episode 022 "Casey! The Psychic Showdown!" (Satoshi's match against Natsume) and Episode 023 "Get Pokémon at the Pokémon Tower!!" (the entire Ghost storyline), though the overall story differs vastly from what we see in the TV series. The first Natsume episode would have debuted right around the time this chapter would have been published in CoroCoro Comics Special.
| Table of Contents |
||
| Chapter |
Title |
Debut |
| Chapter 1 |
Pikachu ピカチュウ |
CoroCoro
Comics Special April 1997 Issue |
| Chapter 2 |
Kasumi カスミ |
CoroCoro
Comics Special June 1997 Issue |
| Chapter 3 |
Moon-Viewing
Mountain オツキミ山 |
CoroCoro
Comics Special August 1997 Issue |
| Chapter 4 |
Shion
Tower シオンの塔 |
CoroCoro
Comics Special October 1997 Issue |
| Chapter
1 "Pikachu" CoroCoro Comics Special April 1997 Issue |
Publication Date: February 28th, 1997
 |
 |
36 Pages (CoroCoro Comics Special), 41 pages (graphic novel collection)
In Masara Town, a young boy named Satoshi finds a wild Pikachu inside the walls of his house. While he tries to figure out what to do with the Electric-Type he runs into Shigeru, a rival Trainer who encourages Satoshi to finally set out on a Pokémon journey of his own. Satoshi and Pikachu head toward Tokiwa City but it doesn’t take long for Satoshi to realize just how much his new Pokémon doesn’t like him. Later, a Trainer named Kasumi happens to be passing by when she spots Satoshi’s Pikachu and instantly starts making friends with it. She then gives a quick explanation of how the Pokémon League works before riding off on her bicycle off and so Pikachu starts to chase after her. The Electric-Type soon finds itself lost in the middle of a field. A rustle from the tall grass startles Pikachu into shooting off an electric attack that causes a flock of Onisuzume to start attacking! Satoshi catches up to his battered Pokémon, picks it up, and makes a run for it. The two eventually bump into Kasumi again and, without thinking, take her bicycle to help them get away. The bird Pokémon catch up to them anyway and so Pikachu steps up and uses a powerful electric attack to weaken its leader enough for Satoshi to get it in a Monster Ball! With their first big adventure behind them Pikachu's finally warmed up to its Trainer! Kasumi and her destroyed bike, on the other hand…
Notes
This chapter borrows elements from Pocket Monsters (1997) Episode 001 "Pokémon I Choose You!"
This manga chapter was released over a full month before the animated TV series started.
| Chapter
2 "Kasumi" CoroCoro Comics Special June 1997 Issue |
Publication Date: April 28th, 1997
34 Pages (CoroCoro Comics Special), 34 pages (graphic novel collection)
Satoshi is being followed around by Kasumi as she demands payback for the bicycle his Pikachu destroyed and so the young Trainer assures her he’ll pay her back just as soon as he becomes a Pokémon Master. He’s already caught a bunch of new Pokémon since the last time she saw him so he sets out for Nibi City to challenge its Gym Leader Takeshi. Satoshi has no trouble earning himself a Gray Badge and so he decides to keep the momentum going by heading to Hanada City next. When he arrives at its gym he meets the “Four Sisters of Hanada”: Ayame, Botan, Sakura…and Kasumi!? It turns out the young girl who’s been following him is one of the Gym Leaders Satoshi’s going to have to face! After her Gyarados swipes Satoshi’s cap off his head and gives it to Kasumi she sets the rules of the match: retrieve the cap from her head to earn the badge. What should be an easy task is complicated by the fact that none of Satoshi’s Pokémon want to battle! Kasumi bribing Pikachu with a snack gives Satoshi the idea to do the same with his team so he lobs a ball of Pokémon bait at Kasumi’s head. His Onidrill suddenly appears out of nowhere and snatches up both the food and the cap all in one swoop! Satoshi’s officially completed the criteria set out for him to win the Blue Badge, bringing him that much closer to becoming a Pokémon Master.
Notes
This chapter borrows elements from Pocket Monsters (1997) Episode 003 "Get Pokémon!" (Satoshi getting Caterpie and Pigeon, Caterpie evolving into Trancell), Episode 004 "The Samurai Boy's Challenge!" (Trancell evolving into Butterfree), Episode 005 "The Battle at the Nibi Gym!" (Satoshi's Gym Battle against Takeshi), and Episode 007 "The Water Flowers of Hanada City" (Satoshi's Gym Battle against Kasumi). Of these four episodes the two Gym episodes (Takeshi and Kasumi) had not aired yet.
Kasumi is stated to be thirteen years old in the CoroCoro Comics Special version and twelve years old in the graphic novel collection. Various guidebooks related to the animated series, meanwhile, lists her as being ten.
Kasumi's custom-made bicycle is said to have cost 1 million yen.
The chapter consistently refers to Gym Leaders as "Pocket Masters" (ポケットマスター), for some reason.
The nicknames Satoshi gives his Pokémon are:
Pikachu:
Jean-Luc Pikachu (ジャン＝リュックピカチュウ),
a reference to Jean-Luc Picard
(ジャン＝リュック・ピカード), the
captain of the USS Enterprise in the show Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Onidrill: Maka Onidrill (マカ・オニドリル) in the CoroCoro Comics Special verison or Akka Onidorill (アッカ・オニドリル) in the graphic novel colleciton.
Pigeon: Pigeon Pigeon (ピジョン・ピジョン)
Caterpie: Randolph (ランドルフ), with Kasumi guessing the initial "ra" comes from "catipillar."
Onidrill: Maka Onidrill (マカ・オニドリル) in the CoroCoro Comics Special verison or Akka Onidorill (アッカ・オニドリル) in the graphic novel colleciton.
Pigeon: Pigeon Pigeon (ピジョン・ピジョン)
Caterpie: Randolph (ランドルフ), with Kasumi guessing the initial "ra" comes from "catipillar."
Kasumi reveals her very first partner Pokémon was a Koiking who she was able to evolve into a Gyarados.
| Chapter
3 "Moon-Viewing Mountain" CoroCoro Comics Special August 1997 Issue |
Publication Date: June 30th, 1997
38 Pages (CoroCoro Comics Special), 38 pages (graphic novel collection)
Satoshi goes to a Pokémon Center to get his Pokémon Bestiary evaluated and finds out he’s still at Trainer Level “Blue,” the second lowest rank there is! He’ll need to start getting some really rare Pokémon if he wants to raise his Trainer level so he seeks out a shop nearby selling maps to the locations of rare Pokémon. He picks up a map showing the location of the Fairy Pokémon Pippi and immediately sets out for the Moon-Viewing Mountain. After spending a few weeks in the area he finally spots his elusive prey ducking into a cave. Satoshi follows behind only to be greeted by an angry Iwark and so he sends out his Butterfree to subdue it with a Confusion attack. Iwark starts to thrash around in its confusion and ends up sending a pile of rocks falling directly on to of Satoshi! When the young Trainer regains consciousness he comes face-to-face with Dr. Ookido, the world-famous Pokémon professor! Dr. Ookido explains he’s currently in the area together with Masaki, the developer of the Pokémon Transfer System, to do field research on the Pippi, adding that tonight they’re going to get a rare opportunity to sit in on one of the Pippi’s evolution ceremonies! Satoshi, Dr. Ookido, and Masaki all gather around as pieces of meteorites are used to trigger the evolutions of Pippi into Pixy. The next day Satoshi bids farewell to the two adults, leaving the mountain with a renewed appreciation for the wonders of Pokémon.
Notes
This chapter borrows elements from Pocket Monsters (1997) Episode 001 "Pokémon I Choose You!" (meeting Dr. Ookido), Episode 006 "Pippi and the Moon Stone" (the overall Pippi storyline), Episode 009 "The Fail-Safe Pokémon Manual" (Seiyo's cameo), and Episode 013 "Masaki's Lighthouse" (meeting Masaki). The Masaki episode would have aired shortly before this chapter would have been published in CoroCoro Comics Special.
Satoshi gets a Mankey and a Spear, two Pokémon he never gets in the TV series.
Satoshi trades his Mankey for a map to where Pippi lives, making this the first time a Pokémon is traded away in this series.
Dr. Ookido reveals his first Pokémon was a Hitokage he nicknamed Hi-kun (ヒーくん) and that he managed to evolve it all the way to a Lizardon.
Dr. Ookido's full name is revealed to be Yukinari Ookido (オーキドユキナリ) while Masaki's full name is revealed to be Masaki Sonezaki (ソネザキマサキ), making this chapter one of the earliest pieces of Pocket Monsters media in which these characters' full names are revealed.
| Chapter
4 "Shion Tower" CoroCoro Comics Special October 1997 Issue |
Publication Date: August 30th, 1997
?? Pages (CoroCoro Comics Special), 37 pages (graphic novel collection)
Satoshi’s arrived in Yamabuki City to take on Natsume, the city’s Psychic-Type Gym Leader. Takeshi, the first Gym Leader Satoshi ever beat, also happens to be in the area and so he decides to sit in on the match. Natsume and her Casey are able to defeat Satoshi without any trouble and so the young Trainer decides to stick around a while to watch others’ matches. That night, Natsume is rushed to the hospital after falling unconscious! Satoshi soon learns that a giant Ghost the locals have dubbed “Black Fog” has been terrorizing the area with its Dream Eater attack, and Natsume has ended up its latest victim! As the adults in the room wonder how to defeat the Pokémon Satoshi wonders why they don’t just use a Monster Ball to get it; wouldn’t that solve their problem? The adults agree and immediately get to work building a giant Monster Ball. After tracking “Black Fog” down to nearby Shion Town both Satoshi and Takeshi send out all their Pokémon to weaken it. With help from Natsume, who’s able to use her psychic link with her Casey to lend a hand from afar, the young Trainers weaken Ghost enough to get it into the giant Monster Ball. The giant Ghost manages to break out anyway but is now in such a weakened state that Satoshi’s able to get it with his last remaining Hyper Ball! Now that “Black Fogt” has been taken care of Natsume finally snaps out of her coma.
Notes
This chapter borrows elements from Pocket Monsters (1997) Episode 022 "Casey! The Psychic Showdown!" (Satoshi's match against Natsume) and Episode 023 "Get Pokémon at the Pokémon Tower!!" (the entire Ghost storyline), though the overall story differs vastly from what we see in the TV series. The first Natsume episode would have debuted right around the time this chapter would have been published in CoroCoro Comics Special.
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