REVIEW: ‘Pokémon Adventures Collector’s Edition,’ Volume 6

Last time in Pokémon Adventures, we leaped directly into the Hoenn region, the third region in the franchise. Here, we met Ruby and Sapphire, two teenagers with big ambitions. Ruby, our male lead, is big on fashion contests and wants to take home every ribbon he can. Sapphire, our female lead, is a literal wild child set on defeating every gym leader. They soon strike up a bet: reach their goal in 80 days. That’s going to take a whole lot of effort. However, both Ruby and Sapphire are ready to get into the mix, which is exactly what happens in Pokémon Adventures Volume 6, published by Viz Media, written by Hidenori Kusaka with art by Satoshi Yamamoto.

Pokémon Adventures Volume 6 picks up in medias res with Sapphire’s battle against Roxanne, the rock-type gym leader of Rustboro City. Roxanne, also known as “the rock-loving honors student,” is quite the foe. Coupled with her Nosepass -who can manipulate magnetic fields- Sapphire finds herself in a pinch until she finds a way to take Roxanne down.

Ruby is also having plenty of adventures himself, including meeting the mysterious Steven Stone. Like his surname, Steven is a stone collector who goes around hunting for evolutionary stones. Pokémon Adventures Volume 6 doesn’t give us more than a taste of his character, but I sense we’ll get a lot more development in the next omnibus. Ruby also meets his father, Norman, who we met in the previous omnibus. While I won’t spoil that reunion, I will say that it’s pretty intense. I was left wondering how things will play out in future volumes.

Pokémon Adventures Volume 6 also fully introduces this region’s big baddies—Team Magma and Team Aqua. They’re just as cool as they are in the video games and pack a somewhat sinister punch, especially Team Magma. They’re not above harming others casually to get what they both need and want. 

Naturally, they start to get tangled up in Ruby and Sapphire’s challenge, which means trouble abound for our two protagonists, especially as the plot thickens. And boy, howdy, does the plot thicken! Before long, the kids find themselves caught up in both Team Magma and Team Aqua’s desires to roil the earth and dramatically alter the climate. As I said, it’s pretty sinister, which is probably why Team Magma, Team Aqua, and the Hoenn region, in general, are some of my favorite aspects of the Pokémon franchise.

One of the most interesting things about Pokémon Adventures Volume 6 is the translation and localization. There are a few times where Pokemon that didn’t exist at the time of the single volumes’ printings are mentioned. The one that stuck out to me most was the mention of Furfrou, which is a Kalos region Pokémon. 

While these little quips don’t take the reader completely out of the story, it clarifies that these volumes got a touch-up after some of the more recent games. In the end, I honestly just thought that was kind of a neat addition, especially since these came out ahead of regions like Kalos and Alola.

Pokémon Adventures Volume 6 has a lot of neat world-building, as well a lot of foreshadowing regarding the climax of this region. As a fan of the region in the video games, I enjoyed this take on a beloved region. I can’t wait to spend more time with Ruby and Sapphire as they strive towards their goals.

Readers who have played the video game might think they know where things are heading. However, I encourage you to kick back and enjoy the ride so you can see where Pokémon Adventures Volume 6 is taking the overarching story. I think it’s going to be pretty great!

Pokémon Adventures Collector’s Edition Volume 6 is available wherever books are