Anime adaptations for manga tend to veer off course for better or worse. Sometimes the changes are slight such as with My Hero Academia while other times, studios completely change endings such as with Soul Eater. The Pokemon Adventures manga, however, is completely different from the Pokemon anime from the start.
The storyline, characters, and themes of the Pokemon Adventures manga differ greatly from the anime. Many fans argue that the manga is much better because of these differences, but that is subjective. This article isn’t going to argue “which is better,” but rather talk about some of the enormous differences between the main Pokemon manga and anime.
Pokedex Holders
The main characters of the manga are essentially all “pokedex holders,” which are trainers who have the privilege of obtaining a pokedex from their region’s professor. Each Pokedex holder usually has some kind of exceptional trait that catch’s the regional professor’s attention. Red, the first main character introduced, for example, is incredibly caring with his Pokemon. This is actually a trait that Ash and Red share. While the first main character of the Pokemon Adventures manga is typically known as "Ash’s manga counterpart," the main character actually changes over time.
The first arc for the Pokemon Adventures manga follows Red with his rival Blue, who's usually considered Gary's counterpart. Blue’s name is translated as Green occasionally, which causes a lot of confusion when the actual character named Green, who is actually a girl, is introduced. The second story follows a different main character and so on. Each of these characters have their own storylines, pokemon, and journeys which create an arguably more interesting and relatable series.
Gym Badges
Gym badges are different from the games and anime but what about the manga? In the anime it's stated that badges serve mainly two purposes: getting to battle in that region’s Pokemon league and gaining the respect of certain Pokemon. For example, Ash’s Charizard doesn't listen to him when it evolves because Ash doesn't have enough badges according to Cassandra’s grandmother in episode 44 of the anime.
In the manga, badges affect the obedience of a Pokemon as well, but they also have more properties. They’re similar to the games in the sense that they can affect the literal strength of the Pokemon rather than just signifying a trainer’s strength. Badges also have other mysterious properties in the manga, such as being used to combine the three legendary bird Pokemon Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos.
Pokemon Battles
In the anime, Pokemon death isn't really talked about much. In the earlier seasons, it's mentioned that Charmander can die if their tail flame goes out but this isn't seen on screen. In Pokemon adventures on the other hand, the risk is more apparent. This can be seen in early fights such as Red’s brief “fight” with mew where his pokemon actually get hurt, but this is also really prevalent in fights against villains such as team rocket. In the manga their pokemon are severely injured or killed. The trainers themselves are also subject to consequences unlike the anime. In other words, the pokemon anime treats battles like a child’s show while the manga treats them as actual shonen battles where there are seemingly way bigger consequences for the characters.
Team Rocket and Other Villains
Team rocket is way less silly in the manga. In the anime, the main “villains” are Jesse, James, and Meowth. They’re incredibly silly and not really “villianous,” even helping Ash and other characters from time to time. Some Pokemon fans even argue that James isn’t really meant to be a villain due to his nice nature. While they do appear in some of the spin-off manga based specifically on the anime, they don’t appear at all in Pokemon Adventures. Instead, Team Rocket in the manga is an actual evil syndicate group that experiments on Pokemon.
When they’re first introduced in Red’s story, they seem like your typical shonen manga villains. In fact, some of the Gym Leaders seen in the anime are actually secretly part of Team Rocket in the manga. Similar to the games, other villains are also prevalent, such as Team Galactic, who are introduced in the Emerald arc. Unlike the games and anime, however, the different syndicate groups are connected, as they are seen helping each other from time to time.
Professor Oak and Other Professors
In the anime Professor Oak is a well-loved professor in the starting town, but in the manga he's seen as a creepy old guy to stay away from. Children also don't need to go to Professor Oak to start their journey as a Pokemon trainer as it’s inferred in the anime. Red is considered a pokemon trainer before the manga even starts. The only difference between him meeting or not meeting Professor Oak is the pokédex. Other regions have other professors, who also give out pokedex to trainers they deem worthy of one.
Target Audience
Many people talk about the Pokemon Adventures manga as if it’s incredibly dark and gritty. While the manga is “darker” than the anime, the way people talk about it is usually blowing it out of proportion. It's true to an extent - the manga definitely has more mature themes such as death, deceit, and a more complex storyline. On the other hand, this manga is pretty similar to other popular shonen manga such as My Hero Academia or One Piece.
These manga can be “darker” but still aimed at a younger audience. Older fans of Pokemon can definitely enjoy the manga like they would other shonen manga, but so can little kids! The anime, on the other hand, is a lot sillier and targeted at children who are anywhere from babies to maybe 11-year-olds. While the target audience for the anime is much younger, that doesn’t mean older fans can’t still enjoy it.
All in All
Even though the Pokemon Adventures manga is vastly different from the anime, it’s still a fantastic story. People who weren’t fans of the anime might enjoy the manga more due to its similarities to the games. As mentioned earlier in this article, there are also plenty more characters to connect with. The manga is also a short read with less than 100 current volumes.