Pokemon Special/Adventures is THE hands-down best adaptation of the games. Full stop. I rate this manga an 8/10 in general, despite it being one of my personal favorite manga series; but based purely as an adaptation of Pokemon it's an easy 10/10.

This is because, while it has an overarching continuity (much like the games do), every generation of games is told in a standalone arc that features characters, pokemon, gameplay elements, and plot points from that generation. It does not suffer from Ash Ketchum Itis, in which Red and Pikachu show up in Sinnoh for some reason and write half of the protagonists from Diamond/Pearl/Platinum out of the plot.

Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow save Kanto. Silver, Gold, and Crystal save Johto. Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald save Hoenn. Et cetera. Each individual generation of Pokemon games has an individual arc in this manga dedicated to doing its story, its characters, its Pokemon, and its concepts, justice.

And - incredibly - despite having TWENTY-ONE protagonists, it never feels stale or recycled because every new generation is told in a fresh light that amplifies the uniqueness of that generation. The Black/White arc features detective series tropes; Ruby as a protagonist is a selfish brat who cares more about contests than battles; Gold's strength is as a breeder of Pokemon; Moon is a pharmacist. I repeatedly found myself finishing a generation's story and thinking "I'll never like the next one as much as this one, I don't want to move on," only to be proven wrong and fall in love all over again. It's a single series with multiple distinct identities contained within, and it never feels like it loses its vision.

(It's also worth mentioning that many characters have ridiculously convoluted mechanisms for catching Pokemon, including but not limited to: bow and arrow, kicking, pool sticks.......)

This manga made me fall in love with Pokemon I didn't particularly care for before. Feebas specifically has skyrocketed to the very top of my list of favorite Pokemon thanks to the R/S chapter, and Munna as a result of B/W. There are so many relationships between trainer and Pokemon that are developed in so many interesting ways that some of them are bound to stick with the reader. It will change how you feel about at least one Pokemon, this I absolutely guarantee.

The biggest weakness of this series, in my opinion, is that the arcs corresponding to sequels and remakes tend to be very weak. The Fire Red/Leaf Green arc stood out to me as being the first one I felt honestly disappointed by, and the Heart Gold/Soul Silver seemed similarly uninspired. (By the time the Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire arc debuted, I knew what to expect and was able to enjoy it for what it is - and because the R/S arc is my favorite, I was happy to just have more content in Adventures!Hoenn. That said, it still was far from the best chapter). I also found myself struggling to get into Emerald because it seemed significantly less grounded in the games than previous and subsequent arcs. The shaky stories are virtually all shorter and less prominent than the main entries, however, so overall the series remains solid.

My other criticism is that, as the series progresses, there are more and more instances in which female characters are drawn in an uncomfortably sexualized manner, especially considering the childlike and cute art style and youthful characters. There is nothing explicit, just the occasional unnecessary booty shot or rendered cleavage on a 10-year-old that I would enjoy the manga more without.

Overall and despite its flaws, this remains my favorite manga series. 8/10 story (10/10 for the main stories, dragged down by the generally blander remake and sequel stories); 6/10 art (cute and fun, nothing special, but bogged down by weirdly objectifying certain characters); 9/10 characters (what makes this series what it is); 10/10 enjoyment - especially for Pokemon fans; 8/10. If you enjoy Pokemon games, you WILL enjoy this manga.