Ever since the first games were released in 1996, Pokemon has become a multimedia giant that goes beyond a simple video game franchise. Over the decades, the franchise has had anime, movies, manga, and even branded snacks, all based on the sensational video games.
Pokemon Adventures is one such adaptation, and it chronicles the events in the games quite closely, even going as far as to have separate chapters for each new generation of Pokemon. The Red, Green, and Blue chapter (known as just Red and Blue in the west) chronicles the events of Pokemon Red and Blue, but there are a few creative liberties taken that sets the manga apart from the original games.
10 Red Has His First Pokemon Before Meeting Professor Oak
In the games, your very first Pokemon is limited to being either Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle, some of the most iconic starter Pokemon in the series. It is firmly impossible to ever catch another Pokemon because Professor Oak will stop you before you can even take one step out of town.
However, in the manga, this is not the case. Red has a Poliwhirl from an earlier adventure before he even meets Professor Oak. While he does eventually receive a Bulbasaur and a Pokedex in the same way as the games, his first Pokemon will always be the Poliwhirl.
9 Pokemon Battles Are Brutal
Pokemon is generally a kid-friendly game. The worst thing that can happen to a Pokemon is fainting. While the entire game is not always sunshine and rainbows, in general Pokemon is quite light-hearted and charming.
Things are different in the manga, however, as Pokemon can be broken apart or even shattered into pieces. In addition, the trainers themselves can get drawn into battle and become heavily injured themselves. While nothing truly graphic is ever depicted in the manga, it's still far more violent than the games would have you believe.
8 Type Effectiveness Is Inconsistent
Type effectiveness is a very important part of Pokemon's gameplay. Taking on a Gym Leader with the wrong type of Pokemon will lead to a quick defeat while making sure you have the right types can hand you an easy victory.
While type effectiveness is present in the manga, there are also times when it's ignored for the sake of the story. For example, when Red is battling against Brock, he manages to seal the match with his newly caught Pikachu. Brock's Rock/Ground-type Pokemon are supposed to be immune to Electric moves, but Pikachu can defeat both of Brock's signature Pokemon with no trouble at all.
7 Green Is A Major Character
In the original Pokemon Red and Blue, Red and his rival Blue are the only major characters that aren't Gym Leaders or members of Team Rocket. As the player travels through the Kanto Region earning Gym Badges and fighting off Team Rocket, Blue is the only other trainer that he meets with consistently on their journey.
However, in the manga, a female character named Green appears and forms a trio with Red and Blue. A conniving femme fatale who steals Professor Oak's Squirtle, she eventually helps Red and Blue in their fight against Team Rocket. While she may not appear in the original games, she gives the story some flair with her shenanigans and antics.
6 Team Rocket Takes Center Stage
The Pokemon series has always had mysterious organizations working in the background, and the very first of such organizations was the iconic Team Rocket. In the original games, Team Rocket often worked in the background, trying to keep their activities as secret as possible. While the player would encounter Team Rocket occasionally, their main goal was to conquer all of the region's gyms and eventually defeat the Pokemon Champion.
In the manga, things are a little different. While Red still occasionally visits Pokemon gyms on his journey, his adventures are mostly concerned with stopping Team Rocket's nefarious deeds. Team Rocket plays a bigger role in the story overall, to the point where previously unrelated characters become key members.
5 The Gym Leaders' Side Jobs
In Pokemon Red and Blue, the Gym Leaders are there to provide challenges to players and hand out badges on defeat. They don't have much of a role outside of that, despite the interesting backstories that these Gym Leaders often have.
In the manga, the Gym Leaders are much more involved in the story, with some like Lt. Surge and Koga being high-ranking members of Team Rocket. Other Gym Leaders like Misty and Erika spend their time away from their Gyms fighting Team Rocket's efforts, giving everyone a role in the story.
4 Team Rocket Captures The Legendary Birds
In Pokemon Red and Blue, Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno are legendary Pokemon that are known as the bird trio. If the player wishes, they can travel to their hiding places and attempt to capture them for themselves. They are somewhat hidden and they don't play any part in the story.
That's not the case in the manga, which has capturing the legendary birds as one of Team Rocket's major goals. Furthermore, they are successful and manage to capture all three legendary Pokemon. Luckily, Red and his friends can free them, but not before Team Rocket puts them to use in their unsavory experiments.
3 Pallet Town's Unique Significance
Pallet Town is where players start their adventure in Pokemon Red and Blue. Outside of that, however, it plays no role in the story as a whole, although there are still a few interesting aspects about the player's hometown.
However, in the manga, Pallet Town is revealed to be one of the goals of Team Rocket's devious plans. Supposedly, the people of Pallet Town have an unusually strong empathy with Pokemon, and the area itself is free of pollution, which is why it is a safe haven for wild Pokemon. Protecting Pallet Town is Professor Oak and Blue's main motivation for fighting Team Rocket.
2 Pokemon Fusion
In the games, fusing Pokemon is not possible. While there are some Pokemon like Magnetite have evolved forms that are essentially multiple Magnetites fused together, that is a lore aspect and not something that affects gameplay at all.
In the manga, however, Team Rocket has devised a way to fuse multiple Pokemon together. They do this to the legendary birds, creating a chimera that has the powers of all three. While Red and Blue manage to cancel the fusion after a hard-fought battle, the fact that it's possible is a big departure from the original games.
1 The Elite Four Are Never Fought
Once all eight Gym Badges have been obtained, the player must travel to the Indigo Plateau and fight both the Elite Four and the Champion. The Elite Four are considered some of the most powerful Pokemon trainers in the game, and they represent the ultimate challenge.
Except in the manga, where the Elite Four don't even appear aside from a small cameo near the end. The fight to become Pokemon Champion is instead a tournament-style fight that eventually pits Red and Blue against each other. While the Elite Four will eventually appear in the manga later on during the Yellow chapter, they are conspicuously absent during the Red, Green, and Blue chapter.