Weekly Shonen Jump x Pokémon Collaboration 2025

Dogasu's Backpack | Manga Guide | Weekly Shonen Jump x Pokémon Collaboration 2025

The main component of this collaboration is the 20 pieces of artwork created by each of the manga creators who have series currently running in Weekly Shonen Jump. A breakdown of each piece of art can be found below.


Akane-banashi	Blue Box	The Elusive Samurai	Ekiden Bros	Harukaze Mound

Hima-Ten!	Ichi the Witch	Kaedegami	Kagurabachi	Kill Blue

Me & Roboco	Nice Prison	Nue's Exorcist	One Piece	Otr of the Flame

Ping-Pong Peril	Sakamoto Days	Shinobi Undercover	Ultimate Exorcist Kiyoshi	Witch Watch

Series	Akane-banashi (あかね噺)
Artist	Takamasa Moue (馬上鷹将)
Series Synopsis	"Akane takes on the world of rakugo to avenge her father!" (from Viz's Shonen Jump website)
Character	Akane	Pokémon	Sonansu
Why This Pokémon?	The main character in Akane-banashi, Akane, aspires to be a master of the Japanese comedy style known as rakugo. The Pokémon Sonansu is widely understood to be based on the famous rakugo comedian Sanpei Hayashiya, making it a perfect fit for the aspiring comedian.

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Series	Blue Box (アオのハコ)
Artist	Kouji Miura (三浦糀)
Series Synopsis	"A badminton guy falls for a basketball girl. Do these sports-crossed lovers have a chance?" (from Viz's Shonen Jump website)
Character	Chinatsu Kano	Pokémon	Waninoko
Why This Pokémon?	Waninoko was most likely chosen because its blue color goes along with the title of the manga. For what it's worth Miho Tanino, the character designer for the Blue Box animated series, also drew a piece of artwork that pairs Chinatsu with Waninoko. Blue Box is believed to be one of the three pillars of modern day Shonen Jump (after One Piece, of course) and so that's probably also why it's being paired with one of the three starters of the Pokémon Legends Z-A game.

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Series	The Elusive Samurai (逃げ上手の若君)
Artist	Yusei Matsui (松井優征)
Series Synopsis	"A samurai tale of redemption and revenge by Yusei Matsui, creator of Assassination Classroom!" (from Viz's Shonen Jump website)
Character	Houjou Tokiyuki	Pokémon	Eevee
Why This Pokémon?	Houjou Tokiyuki is very young and inexperienced while Eevee is sort of a representative of a Pokémon with limitless potential. Eevee can also have the Ability "Run Away," whose Japanese name Nige-Ashi (にげあし) sounds very similar to the Japanese title of this manga series, Nige Jouzu no Wakagimi (にげじょうずのわかぎみ).

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Series	Ekiden Bros (エキデンブロス)
Artist	Daiki Nono (野乃大生)
Series Synopsis	N/A (Viz's Shonen Jump website)
Character	Nobunaga	Pokémon	Gallop
Why This Pokémon?	Gallop is a Pokémon also known for long distance running.

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Series	Harukaze Mound (ハルカゼマウンド)
Artist	Kento Matsuura (松浦健人)
Series Synopsis	"Twin brothers have aspiring dreams to pitch at the baseball championship, but making it to the top isn’t always an equal path!" (from Viz's Shonen Jump website)
Character	Nagiharu Kuzumi	Pokémon	Mega Gaburias
Why This Pokémon?	There is a widely circulated meme in Japan where fans have observed that the real world baseball player Shohei Ohtani shares the exact same height (1.9 m) and weight (95 kg) as the Pokémon Gaburias. Choosing Gaburias as the Pokémon for the baseball manga Harukaze Mound may be a nod to this.

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Series	Hima-Ten! (ひまてん!)
Artist	Genki Ono (小野玄暉)
Series Synopsis	"This house-cleaning high schooler's new client is a literal hot mess!" (from Viz's Shonen Jump website)
Character	Himari Yoshino	Pokémon	Wash Rotom
Why This Pokémon?	The Hima-Ten! manga is about a professional house cleaner and so a Pokémon who can help with the laundry is a perfect fit.

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Series	Ichi the Witch (魔男のイチ)
Artist	Shiro Usazaki (宇佐崎しろ)
Series Synopsis	"In a world where only women can be witches, one unsuspecting boy acquires their power." (from Viz's Shonen Jump website)
Character	Ichi	Pokémon	Mega Erureido
Why This Pokémon?	Kirlia is a Pokémon who evolves into different Pokémon based on its gender; females evolve into Sirnight (Psychic, Fairy) while males evolve into Erureido (Psychic, Fighting). In that respect Ichi, being a male witch, is not unlike a Kirlia who evolved into an Erureido. The Pokémon's cape and arm knives also fit in well with Ichi.

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Series	Kaedegami (カエデガミ)
Artist	Jun Harukawa (遥川潤)
Series Synopsis	"Abandoned as a child, Kou agrees to be possessed by the monster that raised him in order to help her recover what she’s lost!" (from Viz's Shonen Jump website)
Character	Kou	Pokémon	Mega Gyarados
Why This Pokémon?	Kaedegami is a manga with a Chinese motif, and so Gyarados may have been chosen since the species is based on the Chinese "Dragon Gate" legend.

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Series	Kagurabachi (カグラバチ)
Artist	Takeru Hokazono (外薗健)
Series Synopsis	"Chihiro's cursed past sends him down a quest of bloody vengeance!" (from Viz's Shonen Jump website)
Character	Chihiro Rokuhira	Pokémon	Pokabu
Why This Pokémon?	Fire and flames are a big part of the series. Many fans also believe that Kagurabachi is believed to be one of the three pillars of modern day Shonen Jump (after One Piece, of course) and so that's probably also why it's being paired with one of the three starters of the Pokémon Legends Z-A game.

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Series	Kill Blue (キルアオ)
Artist	Tadatoshi Fujimaki (藤巻忠俊)
Series Synopsis	"A graduate from the school of hard knocks, hit man Ogami faces his greatest challenge yet…middle school!" (from Viz's Shonen Jump website)
Character	Juzo Ogami	Pokémon	Mega Hellgar
Why This Pokémon?	The Pokémon Bestiary in Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl video games states that "Long ago, people imagined Hellgar's eerie howls to be the call of the grim reaper from Hell." This connection to death may have been what inspired it to be paired with the protagonist of a series called Kill Blue.

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Series	Me & Roboco (僕とロボコ)
Artist	Shuhei Miyazaki (宮崎周平)
Series Synopsis	"Roboco Quiz! How crazy is this maid?!" (from Viz's Shonen Jump website)
Character	Roboco	Pokémon	Mega Burshamo
Why This Pokémon?	Both Roboco and Mega Burshamo are known for their knee based attacks.

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Series	Nice Prison (ナイスプリズン)
Artist	Tatsuya Suganuma (すがぬまたつや)
Series Synopsis	"A prison filled with the most out of control criminals sounds like a nightmare, but for one model prisoner, it’s the only home he knows!" (from Viz's Shonen Jump website)
Character	Horo Mitsuboshi	Pokémon	Cleffey
Why This Pokémon?	When you're locked away in the slammer, like Nice Prison protagonist Horo Mitsuboshi is, it's probably not a bad idea to have a key Pokémon like Cleffey around!

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Series	Nue's Exorcist (鵺の陰陽師)
Artist	Kouta Kawae (川江康太)
Series Synopsis	"A powerful spirit sealed in a room for 60 years awaits the right human to free her!" (from Viz's Shonen Jump website)
Character	Gakuro Yajima	Pokémon	Mega Absol
Why This Pokémon?	Absol is thought to be based on the yokai Nue (鵺), the same yokai on which the manga series' titular Nue is based. Absol's ability to sense disasters before they happen also makes its a good match for Gakuro.

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Series	One Piece (ワンピース)
Artist	Eiichiro Oda (尾田栄一郎)
Series Synopsis	"Join Monkey D. Luffy and his swashbuckling crew in their search for the ultimate treasure, the One Piece." (from Viz's Shonen Jump website)
Character	Monkey D. Luffy	Pokémon	Pikachu
Why This Pokémon?	Monkey D. Luffy is the de facto mascot of Weekly Shonen Jump, just as Pikachu is the de facto mascot of the Pocket Monsters franchise. Luffy's rubber-like body makes him immune to Pikachu's electric attacks.

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Series	Otr of the Flame (灯火のオテル)
Artist	Yuki Kawaguchi (川口勇貴)
Series Synopsis	"The flame of a young cook burns brightly in this Viking manga by the creator of The Hunter's Guild: Red Hood!" (from Viz's Shonen Jump website)
Character	Otr	Pokémon	Mega Lizardon X
Why This Pokémon?	Otr is on a journey to be a cook for the troops of the Forest Kingdom and so a Fire-Type like Mega Lizardon X is a perfect partner.

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Series	Ping-Pong Peril (ピングポング)
Artist	Yoshiharu Kataoka (片岡誉晴)
Series Synopsis	"Former prodigy Taira plays ping-pong again to get out of crippling debt, but against the degenerates of the underworld, all the rules are off the table!" (from Viz's Shonen Jump website)
Character	Taira	Pokémon	Nyarth
Why This Pokémon?	Taira, who's in crippling debt, appears to be taking advantage of Nyarth's ability to use "Pay Day."

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Series	Sakamoto Days
Artist	Yuto Suzuki (鈴木祐斗)
Series Synopsis	"Kill some time with former hit man Taro Sakamoto!" (from Viz's Shonen Jump website)
Character	Taro Sakamoto	Pokémon	Chicorita
Why This Pokémon?	Taro is known for being able to weaponize random objects and so him using the seemingly harmless Chicorita to cut his targets down is very much on-brand for him. The green coloration of Taro's apron may have also played a role. Sakamoto Days is believed to be one of the three pillars of modern day Shonen Jump (after One Piece, of course) and so that's probably also why it's being paired with one of the three starters of the Pokémon Legends Z-A game.

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Series	Shinobi Undercover (しのびごと)
Artist	Santa Mitarashi (みたらし三大)
Series Synopsis	"A nervous ninja and a total klutz spark an unlikely friendship in a school full of danger!" (from Viz's Shonen Jump website)
Character	Yodaka	Pokémon	Gekkouga
Why This Pokémon?	Gekkouga is often associated with ninja.

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Series	Ultimate Exorcist Kiyoshi (悪祓士のキヨシくん)
Artist	Shoichi Usui (臼井彰一)
Series Synopsis	"Meet the strongest exorcist the world's ever known!" (from Viz's Shonen Jump website)
Character	Kiyoshi Harai	Pokémon	Mega Gangar
Why This Pokémon?	Kiyoshi is an exorcist, so it being paired with a Ghost-Type isn't all that surprising. In the author's comments section in the back of Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 36-37 Shoichi Usui states that "I love Gangar so much I even have Gangar plushies in my house, and so it was a huge honor to get to draw one."

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Series	Witch Watch (ウィッチウォッチ)
Artist	Kenta Shinohara (篠原健太)
Series Synopsis	"A teen witch wants to get familiar with her familiar! From the mangaka of Astra Lost in Space!" (from Viz's Shonen Jump website)
Character	Nico Wakatsuki	Pokémon	Pippi
Why This Pokémon?	Pippi is well known for using "Metronome," a technique that causes its user to summon a random attack. Nico, similarly, does not always know what's going to happen whenever she uses her magic.

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