Obviously, the fanbase of the long-running Pokemon Adventures manga pales in comparison to the number of people who know about the Pokemon franchise in general. But, when it comes to Pokemon Adventures, the opinion usually boils down to something like, “Isn’t that the dark version of Pokemon?”In fact, that’s actually not the case at all.
That's especially true for the Emerald section of the story. This specific section feels the most unique or isolated in comparison to the rest. So, let’s take a closer look at it, and see what resemblance it has (if any) to the game that shares its name.
Disclaimer: This will have spoilers for the Emerald (and any related) section of the Pokemon Adventures manga.
10 Its Plot Has Little To Do With The Game It's Based On
The Emerald section has almost nothing to do with the Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald story from the games. Pokemon Emerald was the third and more “complete” version of Ruby and Sapphire, which told (mostly) the same story.
In Pokemon Emerald, players got to fight both Team Aqua and Team Magma, as well as encounter all three Legendaries in the Weather Trio. But in comparison, the Emerald Adventures manga section has almost nothing to do with that plotline. Instead, it is almost entirely centered around the Battle Frontier.
9 Emerald Isn’t Like Other Pokemon Adventures Protagonists
Like most of the other Adventures sections, the main character of this section has the same name as the section itself, Emerald. But unlike most of the other characters, Emerald isn’t based on either of the playable characters of the games. Instead, he's a completely original character unique to the manga series.
There’s only one other example of this in the Pokemon Adventures series: Yellow, the happy-go-lucky female trainer and main character of the Yellow section. Both of these characters actually have a lot in common too.
8 The "End Goal" For This Section Is Unique To The Manga
If the Emerald section of Pokemon Adventures has almost nothing to do with the Ruby and Sapphire game plot, what is the point of it all? At first, it seems like it’s all about Emerald’s journey of conquering the Battle Frontier — a pretty simple premise.
But as more events unfold, it turns out that Emerald is trying to conquer the Frontier to find Jirachi. He hopes to use this Wish Pokemon to un-petrify Silver, Green, Blue, Yellow, and Red from the stone they were encased in at the end of the Ruby and Sapphire manga.
7 Rayquaza Doesn't Even Show Up
The Emerald section is one of the only examples in the manga where the flagship Legendary on the corresponding game box doesn’t show up at all. Even Kyogre and Groudon don’t make an appearance in these volumes, though there is a Kyogre lookalike that pops up near the end.
Rayquaza is one of the most beloved (and best designed) Pokemon in the franchise, so its absence from Emerald's adventures seems like an odd choice. Luckily, this is fixed in the Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire section, where Rayquaza is the most intimidating (and deadly) it has ever been.
6 Pokemon Snap's Todd Is A Central Character
Of all the main characters of the Pokemon games, Todd Snap, the protagonist of Pokemon Snap, is likely one of the least memorable. Oddly enough though, the Emerald section of the manga gives this photographer a lot of unexpected characterization.
Todd basically functions as Emerald’s closest confidant throughout the events of the Emerald section. It's only at the end of this story that Oak shows up, and invites Todd to the island where Pokemon Snap would eventually take place.
5 Introduces The Concept Of Latios & Latias Raising A Human
Latios and Latias are Legendary Pokemon introduced in the Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald games. Like the Legendary Beasts, they travel all across the map, forcing the player to chase after them. In the games, that's their main purpose. But in the manga, anime, and movies, Latios and Latias have a lot more character and agency.
In the 2003 movie Pokemon Heroes: Latios and Latias, the Eon Duo show off their skill at disguising themselves as humans. In the Emerald manga, the Duo show off this power again, as well as their ability to share their sight with anyone they choose. Latios and Latias don’t play a huge part in the story, but they do help on occasion. Plus, they're the ones who raised Emerald since he was very young.
4 Gold & Crystal Are Around More Than Ruby & Sapphire
The two main characters from the Ruby and Sapphire games have little impact the story of Emerald. A lot of previous protagonists show up over the course of events in this section, but Ruby and Sapphire arguably contribute the least. In fact, Gold and Crystal seem to do more in comparison, even before all the other Pokedex holders are un-petrified.
Maybe the Adventures team didn’t want to put too much focus on these two, considering they were the focus of the previous arc of the manga. It only gives more credence to the idea that the Emerald manga is an entirely separate story from the Emerald game.
3 The Concept Of Calming Pokemon Using Soil
One of the most interesting concepts in the Adventures manga is each Pokedex Holder's special power or expertise, unique to them. For example, Red is the best battler, while Blue is the best trainer. Gold is a hatching expert, and Silver is a pro at evolving Pokemon.
For his part, Emerald is the “Calmer." He uses this power to calm Pokemon by surrounding them with little balls of soil from that Pokemon's native environment. Though this ability has nothing to do with any concepts from the games, it matches the theme of empathy that the games promote.
2 Jirachi Is The Main Focus
As mentioned before, Emerald’s end goal for this section is to un-petrify the Pokedex wielders who were frozen in stone. The Wish Pokemon, known as Jirachi, also dwells on the same island as the Battle Frontier. Emerald was planning on using Jirachi’s wish-granting ability for this purpose.
Again, it is very odd that Jirachi takes center stage over Rayquaza, considering Rayquaza is the iconic Legendary of the Emerald game. Then again, there's no conceivable way that Rayquaza could have un-petrified those heroes.
1 Guile Hideout Is A Brand New Villain (Sort Of)
The antagonist of this section is completely unique as well. Technically he's not a new villain, considering it’s just the leader of Team Aqua, Archie, in a special suit of armor. But, this version of Archie is a lot more fanatical. He has a sword that can reflect any attack, and is more bent on destruction than ever before.
Common sense might predict that Archie is trying to catch Jirachi, in order to wish that his body would stop breaking down after being "possessed" by Kyogre in the previous section. But in reality, he wishes for something a lot more nonsensical. This armored madman ends up using Jirachi's wish-based powers to summon a gigantic body of water in the shape of Kyogre. He aims to flood the Battle Frontier, take out his enemies, and possibly even flood the entire planet. But if that was his goal, why not wish the planet was flooded from the get-go?