[[YMMV/{{Pokemon}} The franchise in general]]
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* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation/{{Pokemon}} Shares a page with the rest of the franchise.]]
* AmericansHateTingle:
** The ''Ruby and Sapphire'' arc is THE most popular arc from the manga in Japan. While certainly not ''hated'' in the US, it's more divisive based on the AssPull resolution. Satoshi Yamamoto (the artist) agreed with fans on this.
** The [=B2W2=] arc (mainly due to its [[ArcFatigue multiple hiatuses]]) and the remake arcs that aren't ''[=FireRed=]/[=LeafGreen=]'' (HGSS and ORAS) are generally unpopular in America, while the Japanese fanbase eats them up. The former has become [[BetterOnDVD better received upon completion, though.]]
* AngstWhatAngst: Black doesn't seem all the worse for wear despite [[spoiler:being trapped in the Light Stone for ''two years''. Anyone else might have lost their minds by then.]] This could be somewhat justified by [[spoiler:the fact that he wasn't actually ''inside'' the Light Stone in all that time, but in the Dream Realm that the stone's power connects through, so to him those two years would have felt like a long dream that he's only now awakening from.]]
* ArcFatigue: [=B2W2=] started in 2013, around half a year after the games it's based on, but its run immediately ended due to the manga not having enough magazines and the need to promote the XY arc (since Gen VI was already underway). The arc would only continue in ''2016'', after both XY and ORAS have wrapped up and SM (aka Gen ''VII'') has begun. Only in 2017 did the arc start to show signs of approaching the climax, though progress stagnated once again since the 18th chapter, which was released in February 2018, only to resume in March 2019, well over a full ''year'' later, and concluding a full year after ''that''. Especially ironic in that the arc itself is a short one, spanning only 24 chapters.
* BaseBreakingCharacter: [[BaseBreakingCharacter/{{Pokemon}} Shares a page with the rest of the franchise.]]
* BetterOnDVD: The [=B2W2=] arc [[ArcFatigue was a nightmare to get through in serialization]], but its completed form has become better received when read in the volumes.
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: When doing their manzai routine in the Old Chateau, Dia delivers scary remarks instead of punchlines. Sure, they’re in a haunted mansion, but Dia of all people does it.
* CatharsisFactor:
** After such a long time enduring Ghetsis commit atrocities and [[KarmaHoudini get away with them]] all while keeping his [[SmugSnake smug]], FauxAffablyEvil composure, it's so satisfying for the reader to reach the penultimate chapter of ''[=B2W2=]'' where [[spoiler: he loses control of everything, suffers a TraumaCongaLine of a defeat, and undergoes a VillainousBreakdown that ends with him as a [[LaughingMad hysterically laughing lunatic]] whose [[DirtyCoward cowardice is on full display for all to see]].]]
** In the ''Sun & Moon'' arc, seeing [[spoiler: Faba be injected with toxin and [[DraggedOffToHell dragged through an Ultra Wormhole]] by a bunch of Nihilego. LaserGuidedKarma at its finest considering what he did to Lusamine and Mohn.]]
* CommonKnowledge:
** Like with the games, many assume the Dex Holders were ten when they all started out on their journeys due to the anime. This is only true for Sapphire, as everyone else was at least a year older. There is also no age rule for when you can go out on a journey either, although Professor Oak did think that nine is too young an age to go out on a journey, so he withheld Emerald's Dex from him until he was a little older.
** Plenty of fans and non-fans as well refer to ''Pokémon Adventures/Special'' as "the Manga". But there are many, many other ''Pokémon'' manga. There is no single "''Pokémon'' manga", there are multiple. From the older ''Pokémon Zensho'' and the ''Electric Tale of Pikachu'', to the more obscure manga like ''Pokémon Gold & Silver: the Golden Boys'' and ''Pokémon: Gotta Catch 'Em All'', there is a wide variety of manga that remain relatively unknown. That said, Adventures ''is'' the only manga advertised on the official Japanese Pokémon site.
** Many fans seem to be under the impression that only one of every "starter" Pokémon exists; Ultima/Kimberly has all three Johto starters, Tucker has a Charizard, an army of Galactic grunts commanded a bunch of Charmeleon and Combusken and X has his own Charizard.
** There's also the misconception that most fans make about the manga being very "dark and edgy" that gives new and non readers the impression of expecting a lot of death and blood and such, which is clearly not the case; while this manga does have the occasional blood and psychological scenes mixed in, especially in the first two generations, it is still essentially a children's manga. It's darker than the ''Pokémon anime and games,'' that's for certain, but outside of the franchise, it's just a kodomo manga.
* CompleteMonster: The following [[Characters/PokemonAdventuresEnemies villains]] are much, much [[AdaptationalVillainy worse]] than in the games and anime:
** ''Yellow'': [[EvilOldFolks Agatha]] of the Kanto Elite Four was the brains behind the group's operations and its one truly vile member. Desiring to settle a petty grudge against Professor Samuel Oak and prove that [[TheSocialDarwinist only the truly strong trainers can spearhead the future of Pokémon]], Agatha coaxed Lorelei into becoming her protégé by playing on her trauma, spurred Lance's desire to KillAllHumans, and [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwashed]] the honorable Bruno. Agatha was also particularly sadistic in her methods, such as nearly killing her own pawns; threatening the life of an innocent child accompanying Blue; trying to drain the life from Blue and Koga; and mentally enslaving armies of Pokémon into being living weapons for terrorist attacks on cities. Unlike [[WellIntentionedExtremist her comrades]], Agatha's motives are entirely self-centered, and she never plays fair in a fight.
** ''Black & White''; ''Black 2 & White 2'': [[DiabolicalMastermind Ghetsis Harmonia Gropius]] is the leader of Team Plasma, posing as a kind person seeking Pokémon freedom from trainers, but is in truth a sociopath who plans to [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist disarm trainers and exploit Pokémon]] so that he can conquer Unova and from there the world. Viewing his son N only as a tool, Ghetsis [[AbusiveParents raised N in an isolated environment]] and groomed him to be the hero of legend later, savagely beating N with his cane when N opposed him. Ghetsis also used [[MindRape hypnosis]] on several people, making them release their Pokémon companions. When battling Black, Ghetsis attempts to have the boy and all his Pokémon burned alive by flames, and then has them [[AndIMustScream sealed inside the Light Stone]]. Ghetsis later captures Kyurem and forces it to decimate many cities, freezing populated areas solid, planning to cover the entire continent in ice. Ghetsis is willing to kill anyone who opposes him, even his own son, to the point where he self-destructs the Plasma Frigate to end his own life and the lives of everyone on board, including thousands of captive Pokémon.
* CrackPairing: ''[[http://shipping.bulbagarden.net/side/special.html Many ships]]'' [[https://forums.bulbagarden.net/index.php?threads/neverending-romance-the-shipping-list-revival.273465/ in this fandom]] are between humans who've never even met and/or humans who in all probability would ''not'' get along if they did meet up, to say nothing of the ones [[InterspeciesRomance between humans and Pokémon]].
* EndingFatigue: Once Groudon and Kyogre begin their battle, the climax of the ''Ruby and Sapphire'' arc goes on, and on, and ''on''.
* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Wally for awakening a legendary and whom TookALevelInBadass. Fans who wish he took Emerald's spot as the main character in the Battle Frontier are common.
** Petashi/Leo, the Youngster/Pokémaniac cross who makes it to the Unova quarterfinals, thanks to his adorable appearance and his awesome pants.
** Blaine and Mewtwo in the first arc, Norman and Courtney in Hoenn.
** Mimi and Zuzu, Ruby's Milotic and Swampert respectively, are also very popular.
* FanNickname:
** The manga itself tends to be [[PortmanteauSeriesNickname affectionately abbreviated]] as "[=PokéSpe=]" or "[=PokéSupe=]" in both Japanese and English.
** Crystal's mom is Lady Gaga due to her bizarre outfits.
** Lady Berlitz has half of the fans calling her Platinum, while the other half calls her Platina.[[note]]''Purachina'' is the Japanese loanword for "platinum", so while the game did end up getting named Platinum, those fans cling to Platina because it sounds more feminine, can fit in the seven-digit name input when the game asks you to name your character and is technically a more literal transliteration of ''purachina''.[[/note]]
* FirstInstallmentWins: An official poll conducted in 2005 saw Red, the first protagonist, voted as the most popular character in the series. In second was Yellow, the second protagonist, who at the time of the poll had not made an appearance in ''years''. A later human and Pokémon poll shows Red topping yet ''again'' (with Gold, Ruby, and Yellow ranking 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, respectively), while Pika tops the poll for the Pokémon.
* FriendlyFandoms: With ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'', due to how many similarities the two share. Such as how they are both long-running series with a subsequent different generation of protagonists, and how the manga often uses tactics and strategies in Pokémon battles that wouldn't be out of place in Jojo's.
* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff:
** The manga is almost just as popular in the West as it is in Japan and has amassed a large following who consider the manga to be one of the best adaptations of the games, due to it being TruerToTheText and DarkerAndEdgier compared to other adaptations like the anime series. The fact that it's one of the few ''Pokémon'' manga to get officially localized in America and Europe is a true testament to its popularity.
** The ''Black/White'' arc and its main characters aren't very popular in Japan, mostly overshadowed by ''Black 2 and White 2'' arc from the fans. However, it is the opposite in the West.
* GrowingTheBeard: The manga really started to hit its stride in the second volume with the introduction of Green, the expansion on Team Rocket's plans, and the first glimpse at Mewtwo. Then it ''really'' took off in the following volume with the raid on Silph Co.
* HarsherInHindsight:
** The ''Ruby and Sapphire'' arc was chosen via poll to be re-released in wide-ban format. The arc whose legendaries had nature-based abilities and used them to wreak havoc on the region. Cue the horrific earthquake and tsunami that ravaged Japan right afterward. The aforementioned Tohoku Earthquake caused the publisher to postpone the release of second and third volume of wide-ban format.
** When fans first saw the image of [[spoiler:White trapped in the Nimbasa Ferris Wheel with N]], there were a lot of rape jokes going around. When the following chapter came out, [[spoiler:what N did to White is possibly one of the biggest tear jerkers in the entire series. It was even called a G-rated version of Netorare]].
** In the ''Black 2 and White 2'' chapter, Blake states that Looker's battling skills aren't as polished as they should be. [[spoiler: In the ''X and Y'' games, Looker's Croagunk apparently died during a mission.]]
* HumorDissonance: Diamond and Pearl's BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine [[LostInTranslation doesn't always appeal to Western audiences]], but the characters that they're performing it for in-universe seldom fail to find it hysterical.
* HypeBacklash: It happens occasionally as a result of its common perception as the "official" manga or the one and only manga, and the fact that it greatly overshadows the other manga in the fandom's eyes. Of course, the reason it overshadows the other manga is that most of them [[NoExportForYou never get released outside of Japan]] or are seen as not being long enough to warrant much discussion (with some being as painfully short as ''three chapters''). Ironically, this series is also a victim of ObscurePopularity, as detailed further below.
* IdiosyncraticShipNaming: Really a lot. ([=SpecialShipping=], [=OldRivalShipping=], etc.)
* IKnewIt: The collective fan reaction to [[spoiler:Silver]] being Giovanni's son, and officially video game canon when ''[=HeartGold=] and [=SoulSilver=]'' came out.
* LauncherOfAThousandShips:
** Green has been shipped with a plethora of characters, including Red, Blue, Silver, [[FoeYayShipping Sabrina,]] and [[StealthMentor Yellow.]]
** Despite Yellow's [[EveryoneCanSeeIt obvious]] crush on [[ObliviousToLove Red]], fans have shipped her with many, ''many'' other characters, including those [[http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/8395/linkshipping.jpg who have yet to appear]]!
** Red himself has also been paired with just about everyone. Misty, Yellow, Blue, Green, Gold, Crystal, etc.
* MagnificentBastard:
** [[DiabolicalMastermind Giovanni]] is the Boss of Team Rocket and the former Gym Leader of Viridian City. Giovanni aims to transform Team Rocket into a world power by building an army of powerful Pokémon, capturing various Pokémon and conducting experiments on them before releasing them into the wild to regain their primal, savage instincts. All the while, Giovanni remained under the radar of the authorities, pretending to be missing so as to continue his experiments undisturbed. A competent battler, Giovanni more than often stays one step ahead of his opponents through brilliant and perfectly calculated tactics, even facing down various [[OlympusMons legendary Pokémon]] undaunted. Not only that, his sheer charisma and faith in his henchmen yield UndyingLoyalty among the ranks of Team Rocket, rising Team Rocket from the ashes despite despite their strings of defeat. At the same time, however, Giovanni is also a surprisingly [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes caring father to his son Silver]], going so far as to use his own body as a human shield to protect his son from burning debris. When Silver rejects Giovanni's offer to join Team Rocket and vows to change his wicked ways, Giovanni simply [[SoProudOfYou expresses pride in his son]] and hopes he would one day succeed. While even more ruthless than his other counterparts, Giovanni still retains his sense of [[NobleDemon honour and respect]], often [[EnemyMine allying with the heroes]] to save the world from greater threats.
** [[WellIntentionedExtremist Lance]] is the leader of the Elite Four, a group who wishes to wipe out most of humanity and create a utopia for Pokemon by summoning the spirit of Lugia. Despite his [[MisanthropeSupreme hatred for humanity]], Lance minimizes casualties as much as he can, allowing humans to live longer lives before wiping them out. After seeing how capable of a trainer Red is during the Pokemon League, he has Bruno test his abilities before having Agatha and Lorelei ambush him during the battle, resulting in Red's near death. Later, Lance and Agatha send their forces to terrorize the region, tricking their enemies into thinking they're unprepared for an attack on Cerise Island, and hides his Gyarados and Dragonite underground to ambush Blaine and Yellow during his battle with them. Even when seemingly defeated by the untimely appearance of Giovanni, Lance tricks him into coming to the center of Cerise Island, resulting in Lance successfully summoning Lugia and nearly wiping out mankind. Despite his cruel nature, [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans Lance truly cared about making the world a better place for Pokemon]], and after [[HeelFaceTurn changing his ways]] when Yellow defeats him, works to protect humans and Pokemon alike from future threats.
** [[StrawNihilist Cyrus]] is the polite yet chillingly stoic Boss of Team Galactic. Disappointed by the "incomplete" state of the world, Cyrus decides to build a "complete" one from the ground up, by [[FinalSolution destroying the existing universe first]]. Through careful planning, series of tactical diversions, and [[TheUnfettered sheer determination]], Cyrus manages to stay one step ahead of the heroes and succeeds in capturing the Lake Guardians, harnessing their power to create the Red Chains. When the second one was incomplete due to the Guardians' escaping, Cyrus had a weaker artificially-created Red Chain [[CrazyPrepared as a substitute]]. With the Red Chains, Cyrus takes control over Dialga and Palkia, forcing them to fight each other. The resulting clash will tear apart the Space-Time continuum, allowing Cyrus to create his "complete" world in its wake. Upon his defeat, Cyrus begins to see the error of his ways and later returns to assist the Dex Holders in taking down the [[TheStarscream traitorous]] Charon. Cyrus then departs alongside his loyal commanders to lands unknown, commending the Dex Holders for their noble and "complete" hearts.
* MemeticMolester: [[MemeticMolester/{{Pokemon}} Shares a page with the rest of the franchise.]]
* MemeticMutation:
** It's quite popular on Website/{{Pixiv}} to take a scene from the manga and render it anime-style.
** Medleys are also popular on Website/NicoNicoDouga, usually with fans (as the characters) singing original lyrics.
** Fans have no doubt in their minds that the author, Hidenori Kusaka, can see into the future. That, or he may just have a Celebi.
** As of recent, fans have started to see Sou as secretly evil due to his pragmatic ways.
* {{Moe}}:
** Many a Dia fan has stated that he is the personification of adorableness.
** Crys has her moments in ''[=HeartGold=] and [=SoulSilver=]'', mainly due to her new outfit (Lyra's from the games.)
** Yellow was this in the first few arcs she was featured in, prior to [[SheIsAllGrownUp her appearance in the FR/LG arc.]]
* MoralEventHorizon: [[MoralEventHorizon/{{Pokemon}} Shares a page with the rest of the franchise.]]
* {{Narm}}:
** In general the naming of the Dex Holders is sometimes hard to take seriously since they are all named after the main series games. Some examples would be male protagonist of ''Ruby and Sapphire'' being called [[GenderBlenderName Ruby]] and the protagonists of ''Black 2 and White 2'' being called Lack-Two and Whi-Two. The Viz translation uses different names in the latter case; see {{Woolseyism}} below.
** Mewtwo wielding its spoon is supposed to signify its status as the ultimate Psychic Pokémon, but it can oftentimes come off as comical. [[https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-uxpkzfbGBthVWdT3rTSnF_zw6JGuz-n/view?usp=sharing This picture of Mewtwo looking all serious in the XY arc is especially hard to take seriously.]]
** During the climax of ''Gold, Silver, and Crystal'', there's a moment where Gold reads Oak's letter detailing the unique skills of the various trainers and sees he not on the list. He takes this to mean he has no special skill and yells "TELL ME!!!". Narmy enough. But then it turns out there was another letter stuck in the envelope detailing his skill.
* NeverLiveItDown: The scene where Koga's Arbok gets decapitated by Blue's Charmeleon is probably one of the most infamous moments in the manga for its FamilyUnfriendlyViolence. This is despite subsequent chapters toning done the {{Gorn}} (though still admittedly dark for the franchise's standards) and the fact that Koga's Arbok was able to survive by regenerating its body.
* ObscurePopularity: Although having many overseas translations, the manga is rarely talked about, even amongst the ''Pokémon'' fanbase. Forums and fan-sites instead focus on the anime. The series seldom gets discussed outside of noteworthy adaptation choices (the AdaptationalVillainy of several characters, the FamilyUnfriendlyViolence, Ghetsis', Lysandre's, and Lusamine's dark characterizations, etc). This then makes the manga at the same time a MainstreamObscurity.
* OneTrueThreesome: Diamond/Pearl/Platinum is notable for being pretty much ''canon''; it is constantly said how the three of them represent the three parts that make up the perfect spirit, they all cried the first day they were separated since their journey, and the Platinum arc ends with them being surrogate parents to a Manaphy and a Phione.
* SeasonalRot:
** The [=Emerald=] arc is mostly regarded to be one of the weaker arcs, largely due to Emerald himself [[TheScrappy being rather disliked by much of the fan base]].
** A good chunk of the reader base, especially in the West, considers this to be happening to the manga from the [=B2W2=] arc onwards. It has been speculated that Kusaka is actually pacing the manga to the game releases and his own personal playing experience, as inferred from the infamous 4+ year hiatus in the official volumes when it was around the [=B2W2=] arc while the author skipped ahead to write Generation VI instead of using the chance to flesh out the [=B2W2=] arc. This attempt to play catch-up with the mainline games has resulted in the pacing of the story and character arcs afterwards to be very rushed in comparison. This may also be why there is no story arc based on Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl.
* ShipToShipCombat:
** Despite the shipping fandom being peaceful in general, small breaks happen every now and then. The less said about the ongoing [[BodyguardCrush Dia/Platinum]] vs. [[WellExcuseMePrincess Pearl/Platinum]] debate, the better.
** Most N/White shippers tend to have quite a bit of flak to launch at Black/White shippers, and vice-versa. A bit ironic, really, since the game-verse ship ([[IdiosyncraticShipNaming Ferris Wheel Shipping]]) comes from the ever-famous ferris wheel scene, while in the manga, that scene is [[spoiler:probably one of the biggest TearJerker moments in the series, with White losing Gigi to N and falling a good dozen feet to the ground, landing on her back/side.]] Unsurprisingly, said scene hasn't halted the shippers even slightly.
* SignatureScene: What most non-fans remember about the manga is Koga's Arbok getting chopped in half, which establishes the manga's darker atmosphere compared to the anime and the games.
* SlowPacedBeginning: The ''Diamond and Pearl'' arc takes slower for the action to start compared to most of the other arcs, taking until its third volume for the big turning point that kick-starts the villainous team's involvement with the plot to happen.
* SpoiledByTheFormat: For the first half of ''Diamond and Pearl'' chapter, [[LateArrivalSpoiler Platinum's name]] was never mentioned until the confirmation of the game with the same name. By the time Viz published the said chapter as a separately-numbered series, they had to rename it to ''Pokémon Adventures:Diamond, Pearl, & Platinum'' to keep people from confusing it with their ''other'' [[Manga/PokemonDiamondAndPearlAdventure Diamond and Pearl manga]], thus completely spoiling Platinum's name from the beginning. It also doesn't help that ''Pokémon Platinum'' had already been out by then for years, allowing fans to easily connect the dots on their own.
* {{Squick}}: When Trevor confronts Lysandre at the Team Flare HQ, it's shown that Trevor wet himself before demanding Clemont to take him to Lysandre.
* StoicWoobie: X. A promising young trainer who became a depressed and desensitized shut-in due to the traumatic experience he had with the paparazzi.
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: By Satoshi Yamamoto's own admission, this was the initial reaction when he took over as artist for the series when Mato fell ill, and many a fan didn't take the change well, which discouraged him at first. Fortunately for him, said fans moved on, and these days, even those who prefer Mato's art direction hold nothing against Yamamoto, and he's stated he doesn't regret taking the job.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter:
** Throughout the events of the ''Ruby and Sapphire'' arc, Wally was heavily foreshadowed to become the next Dex holder for ''Emerald''. Unfortunately, when the ''Emerald'' arc finally came around, [[CanonForeigner a new character was created]], and Wally was quietly pushed to the side, [[EnsembleDarkhorse to the disappointment of many a fan]].
** The ''[=FireRed & LeafGreen chapter=]'' introduced Sird as a GreaterScopeVillain, having played a large hand in the plans of Team Rocket, Team Magma, Team Aqua, and Team Galactic. However, her motives for working with all these unrelated teams and where her true loyalties lie have never been fully established, and excluding flashbacks her final appearance to date was in the ''Platinum'' chapter, which saw her [[KarmaHoudini escape without suffering any consequences for her actions]]. Given the manga is now restricted to only making chapters based on the first set of games in each Pokémon Generation, with the games tending to only prominently feature older characters in subsequent versions and remakes, [[AbortedArc it's unlikely that this plotline will ever be resolved]].
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: The manga based on the first two ''Pokémon Ranger'' games are made canon with the ''Diamond, Pearl and Platinum'' storyline. ''Pokémon Colosseum'', despite having a manga, has not been given this treatment. Funnily enough, it was revealed around May 2020 that Kusaka did want to make an arc based on Orre in the early 2000s.
* ToyShip: Any ships involving 2 Dex Holders before ''Black and White'', since they're still underage.
* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic:
** [[spoiler:Pryce]], aka the Masked Man. The reader is supposed to find him sympathetic since he [[spoiler:lost his two Lapras to a freak accident]], and it's made obvious that he truly cares about his Pokémon in general. That doesn't really justify kidnapping children to be forced to work for him, brainwashing a group of criminals, funding a program that forces evolution (which is implied to be painful), and attempting to murder 2 minors. He can easily come across as a huge {{jerkass}} because of all the things he did just to reunite with them instead of just accepting a loss that wasn't really his (or anyone else's) fault, or even trying to go about it in a less extreme manner. The only mitigating factors are that [[spoiler: one chapter shows that he ''does'' care about the children he captured but due to his frigid emotional state he can't express this except in ice sculptures, and that he seems to feel guilty about all that he's done, as he attempts to strangle himself after it appears to have all been for nothing.]]
** Several fans feel this way about Norman as well, feeling that [[spoiler: his way of protecting Ruby from the fallout of Rayquaza's escape did far more harm to his son's mental and emotional state than good, that him looking down on Ruby for wanting to pursue contests over battles felt too much like [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything a bigoted father not accepting his gay son for comfort]], and that him [[AbusiveParents physically striking his son]] out of anger for him running away makes it way too hard to like or sympathize with him afterward.]]
* UnnecessaryMakeover: While Green has worn her ''[=FireRed and LeafGreen=]'' outfit following the arc based on that game, her most iconic and preferred outfit from the manga remains the black dress and white gloves she wore up to the ''[=FireRed and LeafGreen=]'' arc.
* TheUntwist: [[spoiler:The Ice-type Gym Leader who frequently hints a sinister side toward the audience is the Mask of Ice? [[SarcasmMode No way!]]]]
* ViewerGenderConfusion:
** Thanks to his [[LongHairedPrettyBoy long red hair]], there's hardly a reader who hasn't mistaken Silver for a girl upon seeing him for the first time.
** The Shadow Triad appear to be [[Manga/DeathNote Mello]] {{Exp|y}}ies.
* VindicatedByHistory:
** The Black/White arc. Initially, a common reaction was that people would dislike Black for supposedly being a generic shonen protagonist, and White for being a weak female character. However, many fans ([[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff at least in the West]]) have warmed up to it and its main characters overtime, citing how much they improve as the story progresses, and many would now even say that this is the best arc or at the very least the peak of the manga prior to its perceived SeasonalRot.
** The following Black 2/White 2 arc as well. For a long time, fans ([[AmericansHateTingle particularly in the West]]) disliked it for [[ArcFatigue the constant hiatuses it went on]] and how long it took until any resolution on the dangling threads from the Black/White arc were resolved. Once the arc ''finally'' finished and those threads ''were'' resolved, however, more fans have begun deeming it a worthy follow-up, [[BetterOnDVD flowing very well together without the hiatuses.]]
* TheWoobie:
** Mewtwo. [[spoiler: The revelation that the Sinnoh chapters take place after [=HeartGold=] and [=SoulSilver=] (not to mention that this still hasn't been resolved as of Black and White) means that he's been chasing after Sird for ''years'', probably under the belief that the Kanto Dex Holders (plus Silver) are still petrified. Thankfully, he finally gets confirmation that they're all right when he is reunited with Blue and Blaine in the X and Y arc.]]
** White after Gigi leaves her for N, just moments after she gets accosted by him in the Ferris Wheel. And if that wasn't enough, the manga decides to [[YankTheDogsChain yank her chain]] as she [[spoiler:sees Black get trapped in the Light Stone and disappear, for ''two whole years''.]] And she is surprisingly well-adjusted by the time the [=B2W2=] chapter starts, so she could count as an IronWoobie.
** N, as he is in the games. This ''especially'' holds true in the [=B2W2=] arc, where he has [[TookALevelInKindness become much kinder than he was in the BW arc]], and ends up expressing his love and forgiveness for his father Ghetsis in spite of all he's done only for Ghetsis to respond by [[OffingTheOffspring attempting to savagely beat him to death with his cane.]]
** The Kalos kids, who [[spoiler: have their hometown destroyed in the ''first'' round of their chapter]].
* {{Woolseyism}}:
** Viz switching Green and Blue's names around may be this seeing as Red and ''Blue'' were the original games to come out in the US.
** During ''Gold, Silver, and Crystal'', Gold faces the Sprout Tower's sages. In the Japanese original, they have [[PunnyName punny names]]; this is kept in Chuang Yi's version, but Viz played it for game accuracy and the pun was lost.
** When the Gym Leaders are introduced during the Pokémon League, Lt. Surge is referred as "The Lightning Soldier" rather than his official game title, "The Lightning American". [[HilariousInHindsight This ended up being carried over to the Let's Go! games where he was called "The Lightning Lieutenant".]]
** At the end of ''Gold, Silver, and Crystal'', rather than editing out the image of Gold patting Green's butt, Viz made Gold claim it was an accident. Since Gold's face still indicates him doing it on purpose, it works by making him seem like he was making excuses for himself.
** Dia and Pearl's pun-based manzai skits are different in every translation since the jokes would be LostInTranslation otherwise.
** In the Viz release, the main characters of ''Black 2 and White 2'' are named Blake and Whitley, rather than the Japanese names of ''Lack-Two'' and ''Whi-Two'', which work fine for Japanese...not so much for English. This did lead to a problem when Blake's codename in the Japanese version is Black No. 2 which was changed to ''Blake'' No. 2 in the English version.
** A fan translation has taken to spelling Sword and Shieldmilia's names as ''Soudo and Schildemilia'', due to the [[SpellMyNameWithAnS unique way they were spelt in Japanese]].[[note]]Sword's name was written in full kanji (a series first) as ''Soudo'' Tsurugi, as opposed to the usual ''Sōdo''. The ''Shield'' in Shieldmilia's name meanwhile lacks the usual elongation, bringing her name closer to being pronounced as ''Shildmilia''.[[/note]] In [=ViZ=]'s translation, their names were changed to Henry Sword and Casey Shield.
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