Recaps

Manga artist Shiraishi Ritsu faced Saffron City Gym Leader Sabrina after his Pokémon Adventures portrayed her as a Team Rocket executive. When she questioned why Giovanni was her boss in the manga, Ritsu realized that Giovanni was actually Team Rocket’s leader in the real world.

• Shiraishi Ritsu and Smeargle finished a Pokémon Adventures issue after three days of work, and Smeargle negotiated extra payment for his effort.
• Sabrina came to Ritsu’s studio and challenged him over portraying her as a Team Rocket executive despite her being a respectable Psychic-type Gym Leader.
• Ritsu tried to explain that the manga was fictional, but Sabrina pointed out how closely its Sabrina matched her real identity and Gym.
• Smeargle drew Sabrina in a Team Rocket uniform, worsening the awkward confrontation, though Sabrina praised his drawing skill and said she disliked the outfit.
• Sabrina questioned why Giovanni, the real Ground-type Gym Leader of Viridian City, was depicted as Team Rocket’s leader and her boss.
• Ritsu realized that he may have accidentally portrayed the actual Team Rocket boss in his manga.

Shiraishi Ritsu struggled to train his Smeargle and find enough money to continue his journey as a Trainer, until Smeargle revealed extraordinary drawing talent. Ritsu decided to pursue a new plan and asked Smeargle if it wanted to become the world's number one manga master.

• Shiraishi Ritsu woke up in Celadon City with Smeargle as his partner and resolved to become a Pokémon Trainer.
• Shiraishi Ritsu trained Smeargle, but Smeargle struggled in a battle against a boy's Rattata despite learning Tackle with Sketch.
• Shiraishi Ritsu realized he was running out of money and searched unsuccessfully for work around Celadon City.
• Shiraishi Ritsu sketched a crude drawing of Luffy, and Smeargle transformed it into a polished, lifelike illustration.
• Shiraishi Ritsu excitedly asked Smeargle if it wanted to become the world's number one manga master.

Shiraishi Ritsu and Smeargle struggled to sell manga based on unfamiliar worlds until they created Pokémon Adventures, which became a hit. Their success ran into danger when Sabrina confronted Ritsu over the manga’s portrayal of Giovanni as Team Rocket’s boss.

• Shiraishi Ritsu discovered Smeargle could draw full manga pages and partnered with him to create comics.
• Their early submissions, Naruto and One Piece, earned praise for their art but confused readers and failed to gain a large following.
• After overhearing children discuss Pokémon, Shiraishi Ritsu decided to create Pokémon Adventures, and Smeargle illustrated Red, Green, Blue, and their Pokémon.
• Kikkawa Maho enjoyed the new manuscript, and Pokémon Adventures secured serialization and quickly gained popularity among readers and young Trainers.
• As the manga introduced Sabrina, Lt. Surge, Koga, and Giovanni, Sabrina confronted Shiraishi Ritsu about depicting Viridian City’s Gym Leader as Team Rocket’s boss.
• Sabrina floated the studio’s drawing pens and demanded that Masuda Senbei explain the portrayal.

Shiraishi Ritsu tried to convince Sabrina that the Sabrina in his manga was fictional, but she challenged his use of real Gym Leaders as characters and villains. After examining his detailed notes on Psychic-type Pokémon, Sabrina asked whether he was a Pokémon Trainer.

• Sabrina confronted Shiraishi Ritsu about depicting her in Pokémon Adventures, and he insisted that the manga and real life were different.
• Sabrina questioned why Shiraishi Ritsu had made her a villain, and he explained that her strength and Psychic powers made her a compelling antagonist.
• Shiraishi Ritsu showed Sabrina reader survey results and promised that her manga character would have exciting future storylines, calming her enough to lower the floating paintbrushes.
• Sabrina asked why Giovanni was portrayed as Team Rocket's leader, and Shiraishi Ritsu claimed he had learned about Giovanni from public information and Pokédex material.
• Sabrina found Shiraishi Ritsu's detailed Psychic-type battle notes and asked whether he was a Pokémon Trainer.

Shiraishi Ritsu and Smeargle drew Sabrina two portraits, including one that showed her smiling and stirred memories of her childhood. Sabrina accepted the drawings but criticized her portrayal in Pokémon Adventures, leaving Shiraishi Ritsu to wonder whether she would keep reading the manga.

• Sabrina asked Shiraishi Ritsu whether he was a Pokémon Trainer, and he explained that he had abandoned that dream to draw manga with Smeargle.
• After admiring Smeargle’s manga artwork, Sabrina agreed to sit for a portrait with her Kadabra at Saffron Gym.
• Smeargle finished a portrait of Sabrina’s usual cold expression, then drew a second portrait showing her smiling after the doll remarked that she did not look happy.
• Sabrina studied the smiling portrait, accepted both drawings as gifts, and seemed to ease the tension in the studio.
• Sabrina criticized the manga’s portrayal of her as an idiot who took orders and made foolish decisions, then told Shiraishi Ritsu not to draw her that way again.

Shiraishi Ritsu negotiated with Sabrina over Pokémon Adventures, agreeing to address readers’ confusion while continuing the manga. Sabrina allowed him to proceed, but discovered that her character was set to appear in the next issue.

• Sabrina questioned Shiraishi Ritsu about how he planned to portray her, and he explained that changing the manga’s established story would disrupt the work he and Smeargle had already done.
• Sabrina showed Shiraishi Ritsu a reader-made profile claiming she was a Team Rocket executive, and he promised to add disclaimers and clarify that the manga was fictional.
• Sabrina’s doll said it enjoyed Pokémon Adventures and wanted to see the cold girl smile, encouraging Shiraishi Ritsu to keep drawing.
• Sabrina agreed to let the manga continue, provided he and the publisher formally handled the misunderstandings and concerns about her portrayal.
• As Sabrina prepared to leave, she noticed a storyboard showing her with a Team Rocket emblem and asked Shiraishi Ritsu if she was in the next issue; he guiltily admitted she was.

After Sabrina confronted Shiraishi Ritsu over her portrayal in Pokémon Adventures, he and editor Kikkawa Maho agreed to add a clear disclaimer and review the manga’s use of real Gym Leaders. Kikkawa then shared that the latest reader poll showed the series had grown even more popular.

• Sabrina left Shiraishi Ritsu’s studio after warning him not to make her look foolish, and he called Kikkawa Maho to tell her about the visit.
• Shiraishi Ritsu and Kikkawa Maho agreed that the publisher would add a prominent fiction statement, address reader misunderstandings, and review the portrayals of real Gym Leaders before collecting the manga.
• Smeargle drew a four-panel comic depicting Shiraishi Ritsu being frightened by Sabrina and turned into a doll, then showed it to him.
• Kikkawa Maho laughed at Smeargle’s comic and suggested the magazine might feature a column about the author’s daily life.
• Kikkawa Maho told Shiraishi Ritsu that Pokémon Adventures had become even more popular in the latest reader poll.

Shiraishi Ritsu learned that Pokémon Adventures had climbed into the magazine’s top three and that sales had risen, partly because readers loved Sabrina as a villain. After the publisher prepared a disclaimer and Shiraishi read the fan mail, Sabrina checked the disclaimer herself and became absorbed in the manga.

• Kikkawa Maho told Shiraishi Ritsu that Pokémon Adventures had reached the magazine’s top three and that sales had increased, with Sabrina’s popularity contributing to the rise.
• Shiraishi Ritsu agreed to visit the publisher and approve a disclaimer clarifying that the manga’s characters and events were fictional and that its Team Rocket executives were unrelated to real Gym Leaders.
• At the Shonen Adventure editorial department, Shiraishi Ritsu approved the disclaimer and read letters praising Red, Green, Blue, and especially Sabrina.
• Kikkawa Maho showed Shiraishi Ritsu fan art and letters celebrating Sabrina, while he worried that the real Sabrina might take offense if she saw them.
• At Saffron Gym, Sabrina confirmed that the publisher had added the disclaimer, then read the latest installment and reached its cliffhanger before her doll teased her for liking the story.

Shiraishi Ritsu and Smeargle enjoyed an ordinary day of meals, art-supply shopping, and working on Pokémon Adventures, while negotiating over difficult backgrounds. That evening, Kikkawa Maho called with news that the publisher had proposed releasing the manga in collected volumes.

• Shiraishi Ritsu woke late and took hungry Smeargle out for breakfast and errands.
• Shiraishi Ritsu bought drawing supplies and agreed to get Smeargle new paints if Smeargle completed the backgrounds for the next three installments.
• Shiraishi Ritsu and Smeargle planned battle scenes, argued over a complicated Team Rocket base background, and worked out simpler storyboards.
• Shiraishi Ritsu and Smeargle counted their savings and imagined buying a large house with a dedicated studio.
• Kikkawa Maho called Shiraishi Ritsu and told him the publisher had formally proposed releasing Pokémon Adventures in collected volumes.

Shiraishi Ritsu and Smeargle helped finalize plans for the first Pokémon Adventures collected volume, which the publisher soon announced to eager readers. Meanwhile, Lt. Surge discovered the manga had depicted him as a Team Rocket executive and demanded to know when he had joined the organization.

• Shiraishi Ritsu celebrated the publisher's approval of a collected volume, and Smeargle eagerly began sketching cover ideas.
• Shiraishi Ritsu and Kikkawa Maho discussed the volume's contents, print run, royalties, legal disclaimers, promotion, and cover designs with the publisher.
• The publisher chose Smeargle's cover showing Red and his Pokémon outside Pallet Town, while Shiraishi Ritsu signed the contract and received an advance.
• Shonen Adventure announced the collected volume, prompting excited readers and bookstores to show interest.
• Lt. Surge saw Pokémon Adventures portray him as a Team Rocket executive and demanded to know when he had joined Team Rocket.

Lt. Surge read Pokémon Adventures and was angered to find himself portrayed as a Team Rocket executive, though he admired the battle scenes and Smeargle's artwork. After noticing Sabrina and Koga were also depicted as executives, he called Sabrina to ask what she thought.

• Lt. Surge complained that the manga portrayed him and Raichu as Team Rocket members, despite his status as a Pokémon League-certified Gym Leader.
• He became engrossed in Raichu's battle scenes and praised the manga's accurate depictions of Electric-type Pokémon battles.
• An apprentice told Lt. Surge that the manga artist was Masuda Senbei, whose Smeargle drew the series.
• Lt. Surge noticed Sabrina and Koga were also depicted as Team Rocket executives and laughed at the artist's bold choices.
• Lt. Surge called Sabrina to ask how she would react to her manga portrayal.

Sabrina spoke with Lt. Surge after he discovered that Pokémon Adventures portrayed them as Team Rocket executives. Lt. Surge decided to contact the publisher and confront Shiraishi Ritsu about his defeat in the manga, while Shiraishi and Smeargle unknowingly planned to make Lt. Surge look even fiercer in the next installment.

• Sabrina trained Kadabra in precise Psychic control at the Saffron Gym.
• Lt. Surge called Sabrina to complain that Pokémon Adventures depicted him as a Team Rocket executive, and Sabrina told him she had already met Shiraishi Ritsu.
• Lt. Surge initially accepted the villain role as recognition of his strength, but became furious after reading that his Raichu lost to Red and the other young Trainers.
• Lt. Surge resolved to contact the magazine publisher and arrange a visit with Shiraishi Ritsu to discuss the battle.
• Sabrina praised Smeargle’s artistic ability, and Lt. Surge ended the call before searching for the publisher’s contact information.
• Unaware that Lt. Surge planned to visit, Shiraishi Ritsu and Smeargle discussed making Lt. Surge look fiercer in the next installment.

Shiraishi Ritsu learned from Sabrina that Lt. Surge was angry about his portrayal as a Team Rocket executive and planned to confront him. After the publisher sent Lt. Surge an apology letter, signed manga, and a flattering Smeargle illustration, Lt. Surge admired the picture but found himself depicted as a Rocket again in the manga and called the editorial department to say the matter was not settled.

• Sabrina told Shiraishi Ritsu that Lt. Surge was upset about his manga portrayal and intended to visit him.
• Shiraishi Ritsu and Kikkawa Maho agreed to send Lt. Surge an explanation, a signed sample, and an illustration of him with Raichu.
• Smeargle drew Lt. Surge and Raichu in a heroic pose, and the publisher mailed the package to Vermilion Gym.
• Lt. Surge praised the illustration and had it framed in the Gym's lounge.
• Lt. Surge read the sample manga, saw himself in a Team Rocket uniform reporting to Giovanni, and called the editorial department to say the picture had not settled the matter.

Shiraishi Ritsu considered putting Pokémon Adventures on hiatus after Gym Leader Lt. Surge complained about his portrayal, but Kikkawa Maho persuaded him to continue by showing him the manga’s growing popularity and the cost of stopping. He agreed to keep drawing, then revealed that the next installment prominently featured Lt. Surge and Raichu, leaving Kikkawa worried about how the Gym Leader would react.

• Kikkawa Maho told Shiraishi Ritsu that Lt. Surge had praised his illustration but still wanted to address the manga’s portrayal of him.
• Shiraishi Ritsu proposed a hiatus, but Kikkawa Maho showed him that Pokémon Adventures had topped the reader popularity poll and explained how stopping would disrupt the magazine and cut into payments.
• Shiraishi Ritsu warned Kikkawa Maho that future arcs would feature many real Trainers, and they agreed on advance reviews, careful disclaimers, and protecting his contact details.
• Kikkawa Maho advised Shiraishi Ritsu to speak directly with Lt. Surge, while Shiraishi and Smeargle joked about whether Smeargle could battle Raichu.
• Shiraishi Ritsu abandoned the hiatus and handed Kikkawa Maho the next installment, which featured Lt. Surge and Raichu in a major Team Rocket battle.
• Kikkawa Maho worried that Lt. Surge would object to the new storyline, while Shiraishi Ritsu confidently insisted he knew where to draw the line.

Shiraishi Ritsu and Smeargle refined a tactically sound, dramatic battle between Red’s group and Lt. Surge for Pokémon Adventures. Readers praised Lt. Surge and Raichu’s portrayal, and Lt. Surge himself approved of the finished manga.

• Shiraishi Ritsu guided Smeargle through revising Raichu and Sandslash’s battle, emphasizing type matchups, speed, and both Trainers’ tactics.
• Smeargle grew tired after hours of drawing, so Shiraishi Ritsu gave it a break and Berry treats.
• The new issue of Shonen Adventure went on sale, and readers praised Lt. Surge’s strength and Raichu’s Iron Tail battle scenes.
• Shiraishi Ritsu read the positive letters with Smeargle and said villains needed to feel strong for the heroes’ eventual victory to matter.
• Lt. Surge read the issue at Vermilion Gym, praised the tactics, and delightedly showed Raichu how cool it looked.

After another failed attempt to capture Pikachu, Jessie, James, and Meowth discovered a manga featuring Team Rocket and decided to send a copy to Giovanni. They bought one after working part-time, hopeful that the gift would earn them promotions and raises.

• Jessie, James, and Meowth failed to capture Pikachu when James's faulty trap malfunctioned, and Pikachu's Thunderbolt sent them flying to the outskirts of Saffron City.
• The three found a manga called Shonen Adventure at a restaurant and noticed that its Team Rocket members, Secret Base, and Giovanni resembled the real organization.
• Jessie and James imagined using the manga to promote Team Rocket, while Meowth suggested giving Giovanni a copy to win his favor.
• After the restaurant owner said they could not take the reading copy, the trio agreed to earn money through part-time work.
• That evening, Jessie, James, and Meowth bought a new copy in Saffron City and looked forward to Giovanni rewarding them with promotions and raises.

Jessie, James, and Meowth spent their scarce money on a hardcover Pokémon Adventures manga, wrapped it with a letter, and sent it to Giovanni through Team Rocket’s internal channels. The gift reached Giovanni’s office, where an executive identified the trio as its senders.

• Jessie persuaded James and Meowth to buy the expensive hardcover manga as a gift for Giovanni, leaving them with little money for food.
• The trio wrapped the manga, wrote a recommendation letter, and decided to send it before another Team Rocket member could claim credit.
• Jessie, James, and Meowth handed the package to a warehouse worker, who inspected it and sent it toward headquarters.
• Shiraishi Ritsu and Smeargle discussed cover sketches and Giovanni’s character design at the manga studio, unaware that the gift was on its way.
• A Team Rocket executive brought the package to Giovanni and told him that Jessie, James, and Meowth had sent it.

Giovanni examined a manga Jessie, James, and Meowth had sent him and discovered that it portrayed him as Team Rocket’s leader. Unsure whether the author had guessed his secret or learned it from someone, he ordered an investigation into Masuda Senbei while keeping the inquiry discreet.

• A Team Rocket executive delivered Jessie, James, and Meowth’s gift and recommendation letter, and Giovanni began reading the manga, Pokémon Adventures.
• Giovanni recognized Team Rocket in the story and found a character bearing his name and likeness, with Persian at his feet.
• Giovanni and the executive noted that the manga also made Gym Leaders Sabrina, Lt. Surge, and Koga into Team Rocket executives, but Giovanni cautioned that much of the story was fictional.
• The executive read the publication details identifying Masuda Senbei as the author of a manga published in Celadon City, and Giovanni ordered a discreet check of the author’s background and contacts.
• After the executive left, Giovanni kept the manga and told his investigation contacts to look into Masuda Senbei.

A suspicious collector visited Kikkawa Maho to seek Shiraishi Ritsu’s identity, studio, and unpublished Pokémon Adventures artwork, focusing on Giovanni and Team Rocket. After hearing about the visit, Shiraishi Ritsu feared that the real Giovanni had discovered the manga’s portrayal of his secrets.

• Kikkawa Maho met Murata, who repeatedly asked about Shiraishi Ritsu’s identity, studio, work, and upcoming Team Rocket storylines.
• Murata offered ten thousand League coins for original pages featuring Giovanni and asked Kikkawa Maho to arrange contact with Shiraishi Ritsu, but she refused.
• Before leaving, Murata said he was looking forward to seeing what Giovanni did next, and Kikkawa Maho reported the encounter to Shiraishi Ritsu.
• Shiraishi Ritsu realized the collector’s unusual interest in Giovanni could mean the real Team Rocket had read the manga and learned that Giovanni’s secret identity was depicted.

Shiraishi Ritsu worried that a suspicious collector might be connected to Team Rocket, so he and Kikkawa Maho took steps to protect his unpublished manga. After a day of drawing and joking with Smeargle, he received an unsigned letter that questioned whether his manga was really just a story.

• Shiraishi Ritsu told Kikkawa Maho he feared Team Rocket might be reading Pokémon Adventures, and she agreed to protect his contact details and unpublished pages.
• Shiraishi Ritsu organized his studio and stored his original pages securely while Smeargle drew a picture of them as a bodyguard duo.
• Shiraishi Ritsu and Smeargle finished several pages about the Team Rocket Base and set aside their worries about the collector.
• Shiraishi Ritsu found an unsigned envelope addressed to Masuda Senbei in his mailbox and read its question: “Do you really think everything you draw is just a story?”

Fuchsia Gym Leader Koga discovered that the popular manga Pokémon Adventures portrayed him as a Team Rocket executive. After studying its battle tactics, he became interested in meeting its author, Masuda Senbei, to discuss Pokémon battles.

• Janine showed Koga a Pokémon Adventures panel depicting a character named Koga as a Team Rocket executive, and Koga accepted it as artistic fiction rather than taking offense.
• Koga studied Venomoth's battle in a narrow corridor and praised the tactical use of terrain and Stun Spore while suggesting improvements to the Double Team strategy.
• Janine told Koga that Masuda Senbei wrote the manga and that a Smeargle illustrated it, and Koga admired the accuracy of the Pokémon's movements.
• Koga agreed to let Janine buy the first collected volume, but told her she would have to analyze its battle tactics as training.
• Koga said he would like to meet Masuda Senbei and discuss Pokémon battles after reading the manga's credits.

Koga called Lt. Surge to discuss Pokémon Adventures, and they brought Sabrina into the conversation to examine its battle tactics. After discovering that Sabrina secretly followed the manga closely, Koga decided to visit its artist, Masuda Senbei, in Celadon City.

• Janine asked Koga whether he planned to confront the author, and Koga called Lt. Surge to ask about Pokémon Adventures.
• Lt. Surge showed Koga a drawing from Masuda Senbei and complained about being portrayed as a Team Rocket executive who lost to young trainers.
• Koga and Lt. Surge contacted Sabrina, and the three Gym Leaders discussed the manga's battle tactics and their fictional villain roles.
• Sabrina recalled a specific command error from the latest issue, and her doll revealed that she had reread an earlier issue, prompting Lt. Surge to tease her before she ended the call.
• Koga told Janine that he planned to visit Celadon City and meet Masuda Senbei.

Shiraishi Ritsu rejected Kikkawa Maho’s plan to invite Sabrina, Lt. Surge, and Koga to promote Pokémon Adventures, fearing their manga portrayals would put him in danger. After Smeargle drew a mock poster showing Ritsu surrounded by the three Gym Leaders, Maho shelved the idea and proposed a reader meet-and-greet with a signing.

• Kikkawa Maho proposed inviting Sabrina, Lt. Surge, and Koga to promote Pokémon Adventures, but Shiraishi Ritsu insisted they needed the Gym Leaders’ consent and opposed the plan for now.
• Shiraishi Ritsu suggested safer promotions, including reader polls, character previews, and a Pokémon drawing contest, while Smeargle eagerly began sketching.
• Smeargle drew a poster of Shiraishi Ritsu looking terrified between the three Gym Leaders, and Kikkawa Maho laughed at the picture.
• Kikkawa Maho put the Gym Leader collaboration on hold, then showed Shiraishi Ritsu a proposal for a volume one reader meet-and-greet and suggested holding a signing.

Shiraishi Ritsu agreed to attend his first public signing as Masuda Senbei, with Smeargle joining him as the manga’s artist. The event’s eighty reservations sold out in under half an hour, leaving Ritsu nervous about meeting his readers.

• Kikkawa Maho proposed a signing, and Shiraishi Ritsu agreed on the condition that his identity and private information would remain protected and three Gym Leaders would not be invited.
• Shiraishi Ritsu and Smeargle designed a commemorative illustration of Red setting out with Poliwhirl and Bulbasaur.
• Kikkawa Maho approved Smeargle signing sketches, so Shiraishi Ritsu and Smeargle practiced their signatures and drawings.
• The publisher announced the Celadon City signing, and all eighty reservations were filled in less than half an hour.
• Kikkawa Maho told Shiraishi Ritsu that the reservations had sold out, and he became nervous about meeting the readers while Smeargle eagerly anticipated the event.

Sabrina read reader letters about her portrayal in Pokémon Adventures and was surprised that children admired her and wanted to learn from her. She agreed to consider answering Pokémon training questions and became interested in attending the manga’s signing event in Celadon City.

• After training Kadabra, Sabrina read the latest Pokémon Adventures installment and quietly finished it despite claiming it was only all right.
• Sabrina read letters from young fans, including a child who wanted to become a Psychic-type Trainer and a girl asking how to train her sleepy Abra.
• Sabrina decided to keep the letters separate and told her staff to send her readers’ Pokémon training questions so she could consider replying.
• Sabrina found a flyer for a Pokémon Adventures signing event in Celadon City and kept looking at it as she thought about seeing Masuda Senbei and Smeargle.