Despite being best known as a game and anime, Pokémon also has a manga iteration, in which Pikachu is much stronger at its early stages. Pokémon Adventures initially follows the adventures of Red, a young trainer set on catching every Pokémon. His early adventures mirror Ash’s, but there are some major differences worth noting.
Pokémon Adventures began publishing in 1997, from the creative team of Hidenori Kusaka and Mato. It has continued alongside the ever-growing franchise and wrapped up the Sword and Shield arc last year. Its early chapters were very similar to the games and the anime, which is interesting considering the manga series started releasing a month before the anime began airing.
Revisiting Pikachu’s Battle Against Brock’s Onix
In chapter five, “Onix is on!“, Red goes to the Pewter City Gym to catch up with his rival Blue. Unlike Ash, Red and his Pikachu haven’t quite bonded at this point in their journey, particularly since the electric mouse wasn’t his first companion. Nonetheless, he is forced to use Pikachu in the gym challenge against Brock. The most surprising aspect of this version of the Pikachu vs. Onix match-up is that the small rodent manages to win without needing any special power-ups, unlike this duo’s anime counterparts. Onix has the clear advantage here, as usual, but even so, it isn’t able to claim victory over Red and his newest Pokémon.
The first season of Pokémon features the episode, “Showdown in Pewter City,” which features Ash using Pikachu to battle Brock. The match-up has the electric mouse at a serious disadvantage, resulting in a defeat, then an eventual power-up from Brock’s father, Flint. The rematch shows Pikachu winning the gym challenge despite its type disadvantage, but only because it was supercharged. Contrarily, the manga proves that a Pikachu has the potential to defeat an Onix without too many issues if it’s strong enough. In this case, Red’s companion struggles, until it bonds with its trainer and opens itself up to friendship, becoming a manga and anime cliché in the best way.
Pokemon Adventures Forges Bond Between Pikachu & Red Similar to Pikachu & Ash
In another strange occurrence, during their gym battle, Red blocks Pikachu from being hit by an attack. This is similar to the way Ash protects his Pikachu from Spearow and Fearow. By putting themselves in harm’s way, these trainers prove they are willing to give it all to protect their new friends, resulting in a very strong relationship developing. When this happens in the manga, Pikachu has the willpower and determination to finish the fight definitively, blasting apart Onix’s segmented boulder body. While this is an unconventional gym battle than most Pokémon fans are familiar with, Red’s Pikachu proves to be stronger than Ash’s at the same point in their journey when put in the same match-up.
