Magical Pokémon Journey



Magical Pokémon Journey (Japanese: ポケットモンスター ＰｉＰｉＰｉ★アドベンチャー Pocket Monsters PiPiPi ★ Adventures) is a ten-volume  series by mangaka Yumi Tsukirino. It was serialized in the shōjo magazine Ciao and then published in collected volumes by Shogakukan in Japan.

The story centers around a girl named Hazel who develops a crush on Almond, a Pokémon Trainer from whom she is constantly rebuffed. To receive a love potion from a scientist named Grandpa and thus gain Almond's affection, Hazel agrees to catch Pokémon for his research.

This series chronicles Hazel's attempts to make Almond like her, as well as her friendship with several Pokémon she meets — mainly, , and (Pikachu, , and , for whom the series was named) — and her rivalry with Grandpa's granddaughter, Coconut. Gradually, the focus of the series shifts away from collecting Pokémon and more to the relationship between Hazel and Almond, as well as the relationships between other human characters, between Pokémon, and the friendships of both humans and Pokémon.

Following the completion of the series, Tsukirino created a sequel set in the same world, entitled Pokémon Chamo-Chamo ☆ Pretty ♪. This manga series features Generation III Pokémon.

English translations
In North America, the first forty-three chapters of the manga were published in monthly issues of two to three chapters each by VIZ Media. These chapters were later re-released into seven collected volumes. VIZ Media's translation of Magical Pokémon Journey was printed in a left-to-right format with reversed artwork, as this was how manga was typically localized to Western countries at the time of its release. VIZ Media's translation of Magical Pokémon Journey was available in, , , and South Africa; it is currently out of print.

Chuang Yi has also released a translation of the series, continuing to the end of volume ten, past where VIZ Media ended their translation. Like VIZ Media's, Chuang Yi's translation is in a left-to-right format with reversed artwork. Chuang Yi's translation of Magical Pokémon Journey used to be available in, , , , and  and is now rare.

International translations
In, the first five volumes were translated by Da Ran Culture to Traditional Chinese (Taiwan version) under the title , and the first four volumes were translated to Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong version) under the title by its Hong Kong subsidiary, Da Ran Culture (Hong Kong).

Magical Pokémon Journey were translated into by Glénat under the title Pikachu Adventures!. Only the first five volumes were translated. This translation was based on the original Japanese version, however, the artwork was still printed in reverse from the original for publication in France.

In, two different editions of Magical Pokémon Journey were released. The first edition was published by m&c! with the title Pokémon PiPiPi Adventure. It is based directly on the Japanese version. Another translation was released by a different publisher, Panda Books. The Panda Books edition was based on Chuang Yi's English translation and was released under the Indonesian title Petualangan Ajaib Pokémon.

Magical Pokémon Journey () was translated into by Planet Manga, a subsidiary of Panini Comics. Only the first two monthly issues were translated into Italian, based on VIZ Media's first edition.

Magical Pokémon Journey was also translated into by Toukan Manga. This release is a direct translation of VIZ Media's version, using the same English title "Magical Pokémon Journey" and with all artwork printed in reverse from the original Japanese version.

In, Magical Pokémon Journey has been translated to Thai with the title '. All ten volumes have been translated into Thai.

Magical Pokémon Journey has also been translated into as  by Haksan Culture Company.

Trivia

 * Unlike most Pokémon canon, many Pokémon in Magical Pokémon Journey can speak the human language.
 * ,, , and Ash's Pikachu make cameo appearances in bonus chapters.
 * Most of the human characters in Magical Pokémon Journey have names based on nuts. Hazel's name is likely based on a . Almond, Peanut, Cashew, Pistachio, and Walnut all have nut-related names, and although Coconut's name is not an actual nut, it is still a reference to the theme of nut-based names in this manga series.
 * Apricot and Plum also have similar names, as they are both based on pitted fruits.
 * Magical Pokémon Journey is the first Pokémon manga that was aimed at teenage readers in the 13-to-18 age bracket. The later two Pokémon manga sharing this target audience are Pokémon Chamo-Chamo ☆ Pretty ♪ and Pokémon RéBURST.
 * Additionally, despite that these Pokémon manga are aimed at teenage readers, they are serialized in different manga magazines due to slightly different target audience. Magical Pokémon Journey and Pokémon Chamo-Chamo ☆ Pretty ♪ were serialized in Ciao, while Pokémon RéBURST was serialized in.
 * In the English translation of, a manga also created by Yumi Tsukirino and published by VIZ Media, the "about the author" sections mention she is the creator of a manga titled "PiPiPi ★ Adventure". This not only omits the "Pocket Monsters" or "Pokémon" portion of the name but also is in spite of the fact that the manga was published years earlier by VIZ Media as the title "Magical Pokémon Journey".
 * The about the author sections also mention she is the creator of "Chamo Chamo ☆ Pretty ♪", similarly omitting "Pocket Monsters" from the title.
 * Magical Pokémon Journey, Journey 5: Going Coconuts is the most expensive volume in the series with prices ranging from $130 to $6,500, the reason for why this volume is far more expensive than others in the series is unknown.

Related articles

 * List of Magical Pokémon Journey chapters
 * List of Magical Pokémon Journey volumes
 * List of Magical Pokémon Journey monthly issues