Pocket Monsters Special

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My First Big Special: Pocket Monsters Special Ruby & Sapphire Vol. 3 (My First Big Special ポケットモンスターSPECIAL ルビー・サファイア) is the 3rd volume in a special re-release of the Ruby & Sapphire chapters of Pocket Monsters Special. It collects content found in the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first volumes of the Pocket Monsters Special graphic novels.

Volume Information

Release Date: November 21st, 2014	Published By: Shogakukan
Price: 556 yen	Page Count: 350
Size: 17.6 x 12.6	ISBN: ISBN 978-4-09-119633-0

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Chapter	"My First Big Special" Vol. 3	Original Graphic Novel Collections
50	"vs. Todozeruga" (VS ドドゼルガ)	Volume 19, Round 230 "vs. Todozeruga"
51	"vs. Amemoth" (VS アメモース)	Volume 19, Round 231 "vs. Amemoth"
52	"vs. Namazun" (VS ナマズン)	Volume 19, Round 232 "vs. Namazun"
53	"vs. Kyogre & Groudon I" (VS カイオーガ＆グラードンＩ)	Volume 19, Round 233 "vs. Kyogre & Groudon I"
54	"vs. Kyogre & Groudon II" (VS カイオーガ＆グラードンＩＩ)	Volume 19, Round 234 "vs. Kyogre & Groudon II"
55	"vs. Kyogre & Groudon III" (VS カイオーガ＆グラードンＩＩＩ)	Volume 19, Round 235 "vs. Kyogre & Groudon III"
56	"vs. Kyogre & Groudon IV" (VS カイオーガ＆グラードンＩＶ)	Volume 19, Round 236 "vs. Kyogre & Groudon IV"
57	"vs. Kyogre & Groudon V" (VS カイオーガ＆グラードンＶ)	Volume 19, Round 237 "vs. Kyogre & Groudon V"
58	"vs. Kyogre & Groudon VI" (VS カイオーガ＆グラードンＶＩ)	Volume 19, Round 238 "vs. Kyogre & Groudon VI"
59	"vs. Kyogre & Groudon VII" (VS カイオーガ＆グラードンＶＩＩ)	Volume 20, Round 239 "vs. Kyogre & Groudon VII"
60	"vs. Kimori" (VS キモリ)	Volume 20, Round 240 "vs. Kimori"
61	"vs. Samayouru" (VS サマヨール)	Volume 20, Round 241 "vs. Samayouru"
62	"vs. Volbeat" (VS バルビート)	Volume 20, Round 242 "vs. Volbeat"
63	"vs. Armaldo" (VS アーマルド)	Volume 20, Round 243 "vs. Armaldo"
64	"vs. Kyogre & Groudon VIII" (VS カイオーガ＆グラードンＶＩＩＩ)	Volume 20, Round 244 "vs. Kyogre & Groudon VIII"
65	"vs. Vibrava" (VS ビブラーバ)	Volume 20, Round 245 "vs. Vibrava"
66	"vs. Tekkanin" (VS テッカニン)	Volume 20, Round 246 "vs. Tekkanin"
67	"vs. Kyogre & Groudon IX" (VS カイオーガ＆グラードンＩＸ)	Volume 20, Round 247 "vs. Kyogre & Groudon IX"
68	"vs. Kyogre & Groudon X" (VS カイオーガ＆グラードンＸ)	Volume 20, Round 248 "vs. Kyogre & Groudon X"
69	"vs. Kyogre & Groudon XI" (VS カイオーガ＆グラードンＸＩ)	Volume 20, Round 249 "vs. Kyogre & Groudon XI"
70	"vs. Kyogre & Groudon XII" (VS カイオーガ＆グラードンＸＩＩ)	Volume 21, Round 250 "vs. Kyogre & Groudon XII"

Untold Stories Behind the Production of the Ruby & Sapphire Chapter
File 04

"Pocket Monsters Special," a series whose graphic novel sales have topped more than 12 million copies. How did the "Ruby & Sapphire Chapter," which is being collected here in this "My First Big Special" series, come to be? We asked Mr. Kusaka.

Odd and Unexpected Choices: How We Chose Who Gets What Pokemon

After we played the demo version of the game we were able to sit down and plot out the story arc all at once but the smaller details of each character, on the other hand, took more time to figure out.

For example, who gets which pokemon.

When it came to choosing a starter pokemon for Ruby, we looked at what he other main characters had before him and gave him a Mizugorou (Water-Type). Because Red had a Fushigidane (Grass-Type) and Gold had a Hinoarashi (Fire-Type), you see. We wanted to rotate among the three starter Types - Grass, Fire, and Water - and give one to each new main character.

Giving a Mizugorou to a Contest boy who loves beautiful things... The reason we added Hinbass later on was because we thought it'd be interesting to have an "ugly duckling pokemon" pokemon mixed in with the likes of pokemon exploding with cuteness like Pochiena and Eneko. We also wanted to write about what true beauty really is and so we made it a member of Ruby's team.

After we figured out Ruby's team we had to do the same for Sapphire. Since Sapphire is a wild girl we wanted to give her pokemon who gave off the image of being real monsters. Don't pokemon like Bossgodora, Donphan, and Tropius give off that monster vibe? When you line them up next to Ruby's pokemon you can clearly see each Trainer's personality reflected in their teams.

But it's because of that that we had trouble with choosing the starter pokemon.

We had already talked about rotating from Grass to Fire to Water with each new Chapter but I had to give out one of each to a main character, a rival, and a heroine.

The rule had been to give the rival character the starter that was strong (Type-wise) against the pokemon given to the main character. And then the heroine would get the pokemon that was the Type strong against the rival's pokemon.

With this rule in mind, and because we had already decided to give Mizugorou to Ruby, Sapphire would have gotten Kimori if she had been the rival. We thought that Jukain, the final evolved form of Kimori, was a perfect fit for Sapphire and so at first we gave her Kimori.

To be continued in File 5...

Untold Stories Behind the Production of the Ruby & Sapphire Chapter
File 05

Two Become One: Ruby and Sapphire

Sapphire's going to have a Kimori...after deciding that I asked Mr. Yamamoto about it but to tell you the truth we were still going back and forth between Kimori and Achamo even then. If you look at how Ruby and Sapphire are competing with each other to reach their goals then Sapphire is definitely Ruby's rival. But to me, I was thinking that maybe Sapphire is the heroine instead...?

We debated about this up until the eleventh hour but decided at the last minute to have a new Grass-Type using rival show up later. So Sapphire slid into the role of the heroine and had her pokemon changed to Achamo. This was before "Pocket Monsters Emerald" had even been thought up (laughs)

Because of this, the rough sketches of Sapphire's very first scene had her with a Kimori, not Achamo. When I was going over the rough drafts I had to go to Mr. Yamamoto and say "I'm sorry but could you please change this Achamo into a Kimori?" And so he redrew it. This was the main thing that the two of us fought about. We had already hashed out the basic plot of the Chapter but the small details like who gets what pokemon and how that would affect the battles that take place is something that caused us a lot of headaches.

I think Pocket Monsters Ruby & Sapphire is beautiful because it's all about conflict. Boys and girls, the Magma-Dan and the Aqua-Dan, the land and the sea, Groudon and Kyogre, and Contests and battles. We couldn't complete anything if we just focused on one of those things so we did all of it and worked with how they complimented each other. We'd be thrilled if you can experience the deep beauty of the "Ruby & Sapphire Chapter," whether it's through this "My First Big Special" collection or the regular graphic novels.

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