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| Kusaka, Hidenori Fic K968 2009 |
Pokémon Adventures (Japanese: ポケットモンスターSPECIAL Pocket Monsters SPECIAL) is a manga series authored by 日下秀憲 Hidenori Kusaka. It was illustrated by 真斗 Mato for the first nine volumes and starting from Volume 10 it has been illustrated by 山本サトシ Satoshi Yamamoto. It is published by Shogakukan under the Ladybird Comics Special series.
It is popularly known as Pokémon Special even outside of Japan, and often shortened as PokéSpe (Japanese: ポケスペ / ポケSP PokeSupe).
Unlike the anime—which, though drawing much inspiration from the
games, does not follow them exactly—Pokémon Adventures is a mostly
game-based manga, with the nineteen main characters taking their names
from the core series games and their various adventures tending to stay restricted to their home region. Also unlike the anime, which has gone to great lengths to indicate the danger of a legendary Pokémon being captured, the main characters of Pokémon Adventures have captured and sometimes use their own legends, much as the player
can in the games. Pokémon Adventures also contains darker elements than
other media, including certain characters and some Pokémon actually
dying.
On October 26, 2009, it was announced that Gakunen magazine Grade 5 and Grade 6 (at the time serializing the Diamond & Pearl chapter) would cease publication at the end of the fiscal year. In February 2012, Grade 4—which was serializing the Black & White chapter at the time—also ceased publication. Publication will continue in CoroCoro Ichiban and Pokémon Fan magazine.
Pokémon Adventures is one of the most successful Pokémon manga
ever created, having sold over 150 million copies worldwide. Pokémon
creator Satoshi Tajiri has endorsed the series, stating "This is the comic that most resembles the world I was trying to convey." Game producer Tsunekazu Ishihara has also praised the series, saying, "I want every Pokémon fan to read this comic!"