One of the most successful entertainment franchises in the world, Pokemon has bragging rights to some of the most prolific gaming, anime, and manga cultures on the market today. The gaming series consists of many installations of titles like FireRed and LeafGreen which went live in 2004, with additional manga adaptations that were released during the same year.
Like many manga series with their own gaming adaptation, there are bound to be various elements, characters, and events missing from the story's plot to make said game more playable. Although both FireRed and LeafGreen are independent successes in their own right, the manga format of each game can stand alone on its own.
10 Protagonist Confusion
As in most of the Pokemon games, the player chooses the gender and ultimately names the characters they will play throughout the FireRed and LeafGreen events. However, given that the manga has important plot and story expectations, characters are given personality and backstories to enrich the reader's experience. Characters like Green Red, Silver, and Yellow are presented throughout the many fights and scenes that play out in the manga, who have a lot in common with trainers from the game franchise.
9 Kidnapping Oak
Professor Oak can be seen throughout the first portion of the game helping start the player off on their journey and provides a trio of starter Pokemon to choose from. While he plays a similar role in the manga to help set off Red and Blue after the professor is captured by the legendary Pokemon, Deoxys.
This is a stark contrast to the more placid beginning for the game series, yet the kidnapping is essential to get both Red and Blue to search around the Sevii Islands. also available for exploration in the game adaptations.
8 Sevii Islands
While the Islands play a large part in the manga, the players in-game only have the opportunity to travel there after beating the Elite Four. The players are looking for Lorelei, one of the members of the Elite Four who fled after being bested in a Pokemon Battle. Team Rocket has dug themselves into the islands in an attempt to find mystical crystals said to hold impossible power, however within the manga version Giovanni already had possession of these gems.
7 Mysterious Gems
Much of the gameplay towards the end of FireRed and LeafGreen revolves around defeating Team Rocket once and for all and getting the Ruby and Sapphire gems back safely. These gemstones have different meanings within the manga and game but are both seen as equally important. A large reason for the names of these gems is due to the manga Giovanni having already secured these crystals in the previous chapters, also called Ruby and Sapphire. He was utilizing their power for his ability to control the climate in Kanto. The gaming platform gives the player a more intense back and forth of intercepting Team Rocket before they can put the gems to full use.
At the end of this struggle and more than a few rare Pokemon intervening, the players end up securing the two crystals and installing them on One Island. Doing so allows trading with Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Colosseum, and XD.
6 Legendary Interception
Legendary Pokemon are some of the most highly sought-after prizes in the games themselves, but play a similar role to most other tameable monsters in the playthrough. Many have intricate zones and hiding spots, yet few of them play large roles in the overall plot until later installments like Black and White. The manga has a more personalized take on these powerful creatures and their inherent value. At one point, Mewtwo aided Red in fighting against Giovanni who had enslaved one of the two Deoxys, displaying an interest from Mewtwo not only in fighting corruption but helping Red personally.
5 Giovanni... You ARE The Father
Most fans of Pokemon know Giovanni as a cold-hearted, selfish man who would exploit both people and Pokemon alike to get what he wants. This can be seen in the game series as well, but the manga takes a more shocking spin to the growth of his character.
During the events of the FireRed and LeafGreen manga chapters, Silver, with the help of Yellow attempt to find out more about his past and who Silver's father really is. This spans a majority of the chapter until the battle against Giovanni and Deoxys on his airship, where it is revealed that Silver's father is none other than the head of Team Rocket himself.
4 Evolution Tactics
Another feature that is added to improve gameplay is the concept of manual evolution. After a certain level is achieved by a specific Pokemon, the players will watch their beloved pocket monsters evolve into a new and more powerful form. Throughout the manga and even in the anime adaptation, this is seen in an entirely different way. As Ash's Pikachu has resisted evolving for the entirety of the franchise, so do the Pokemon that accompany the protagonists who choose their own form in the FireRed and LeafGreen manga chapter.
These Pokemon instead tend to evolve through drastic or stressful encounters, like Green's Jigglypuff, Snubbull, and Nidorina evolving into Wigglytuff, Granbull, and Nidoqueen respectfully during PS288, "Give It Your Best, Blastoise!"
3 Magic Trainer Abilities
Another interesting facet of the manga adaptation is something that should definitely be considered as an addition to the game franchise. Of the main protagonist team within the manga, each trainer seems to have their own special ability when it comes to interacting with Pokemon. Specifically, in the FireRed and LeafGreen chapter, Yellow is clearly defined as a Healer because she was born in the Viridian Forest. This gives her the ability to heal Pokemon, while other characters like Green are known for her ability to Evolve Pokemon.
2 Deoxys Identity Crisis
One of the star players of the manga, Deoxys is constantly adding more complexity to the protagonists who are only trying to fend off the constant attacks of Team Rocket. Organism 2, the second Deoxys that was stolen by the criminal organization Team Rocket was let loose to fight and strengthen itself, before settling on Birth Island. This is where players in-game can find the legendary Pokemon, but the manga double of this monster is far more complex. At one point Yellow uses her ability to read the minds of Pokemon to inform Red that the second Deoxys believes that it is also Red.
1 Ominous Ending
While Mewtwo also plays a large part in the events of the manga chapters of FireRed and LeafGreen, fans might also notice another element carried over from other Pokemon versions. Despite the protagonist's best efforts, the chapter itself leaves off with Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Silver all being turned to stone. Their states are similar to Ash Ketchum being turned to stone during the fight against Mewtwo in Pokemon: The First Movie. This starkly contrasts the end of the game under FireRed and LeafGreen in which the protagonist emerges victorious and very few issues are left to resolve after Team Rocket's defeat.