ThePokemongame series has seen a lot of manga spin-offs over the years, butPocket Monsterswas one of the first on the scene. Now, after 23 years, the manga’s finally coming to an end.
Fans of the manga were surprised to discover that it would be coming to an end shortly.CoroCoro magazine, which the manga is published in, announced that the manga would be coming to a close.
RELATED:Pokemon Sword & Shield Shows New Footage of First Town
Pocket Monsterswill end its 23-year run in the next issue of CoroCoro Magazine. The exact reason for its sudden conclusion is unknown, though it may be as simple as the author needing a break.Pocket Monstersrivals even some of the longest-running manga series out there, and it’s quite understandable if the artist involved is tired or experiencing artist’s block.
Pocket Monstersactually premiered before the originalPokemonanime, and followed Red, not Ash, on hisPokemonadventures.Pocket Monsters' protagonist is followed around by a troublemaking Clefairy as his main Pokemon. This actually matches up with the anime’s original plans to haveAsh’s companion be a Clefairy, not Pikachu. While the anime ultimately scrapped this idea, the manga preceded it and stuck with it.
Of course, fans of thePokemonmanga don’t have to give up on the genre completely. There have been a number ofPokemonmanga series over the years, and one of the longest-running ones,Pokemon Adventures, is still running to this day. It too started in 1997. It also follows Red instead of Ash, but Pikachu is the companion in this particular series. While it’s primarily a fun manga, it has its share of some of thedarkestPokemonmomentsin the genre, too.
While it’s still understandable for thePokemonmangato end now, it’s somewhat of a shame. WithPokemon Sword and Shieldon the horizon, there could have been a slew of new content for the manga artist to utilize in the series.
For fans of thePocket Monstersmanga, now might be a good time to start a re-read of the entire saga. Even speed readers will likely be able to keep busy for some time plowing through the entire series.
MORE:Should You Buy Pokemon Sword or Pokemon Shield?
