Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Ginji's Rescue Team
Encyclopedia
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Ginji's Rescue Team (ポケモン不思議のダンジョンギンジの救助隊 Pokémon Fushigi no Danjon Ginji no Kyūjotai) is a 6-part manga serial that first appeared in Japan's
CoroCoro Comic in the fall of 2005. Its English language
translation was released in Nintendo Power
magazine from the September 2006 issue to the February 2007 issue, presented in the same right-to-left format. After the manga's last volume, Viz Kids
has released the entire serial in one book in the English translation.
, finds himself in a new world, and meets a timid Mudkip
who wants to be part of a rescue team. Throughout the comics, Ginji shows a huge desire to become human again. To help Ginji, Mudkip tells him of a Pokémon known as Xatu that can see the future.
As they set off to meet Xatu, they are joined by the Pokémon Gengar
who claims that he wants to return a borrowed item from Xatu, but really just wants to steal. As the group scales the mountain to find Xatu, they meet Zapdos
. Ginji attempts to fight Zapdos, however he is easily overpowered. The battle is won when Mudkip overcomes his fears and uses Mud Sport on Zapdos to reduce the legendary Pokémon's attack power. Ginji then finishes him off with a close-range Flamethrower. When the team finds Xatu, the Pokémon reveals that Ginji is human, however can only tell him that there is a dark future.
When the team returns to the village, Gengar tells the other Pokémon that Ginji is the cause of the many natural disasters that have been occurring. Gengar claims that years ago, a human touched a tail of Ninetales
just for fun. Normally, this would have resulted in a thousand-year curse, however before the human could be cursed, his friend Gardevoir came forward and took the curse instead. Ninetales asked the human if he would save Gardevoir, however the human chose to run away. Ninetales made the prophecy that in one thousand years the reincarnated form of the human would be transformed into a Pokémon and destroy the world.
To find out if he really is that human, Ginji sets out, along with Mudkip. Their journey is interrupted by Moltres
, who was turned against Ginji by Gengar. Moltres traps Mudkip on an island in a river of lava and asks Ginji if he would abandon his friend like the human in the story. Ginji uses Sand Attack to escape, but does not actually abandon Mudkip. Instead, he uses his fire powers to send a jet of lava flying at Moltres. While the lava is in midair, Mudkip shoots it with a Water Gun turning it into Moltres' weakness, the attack Rock Slide.
The team continues through the Frost Forest, where they meet Absol. Absol is wrongly believed to be the cause of disasters and understands Ginji's situation. They are attacked by Articuno
, however Absol saves them by talking Articuno out of it. The team finally makes it to Ninetales' cave, where they are attacked by another Pokémon team led by Alakazam. Ginji and Mudkip fight and Alakazam notices that Mudkip has become much braver and stronger. The fight ends when Ninetales appears. He tells them that it is Gengar, not Ginji, who is the reincarnated human turned into a Pokémon and that Ginji was actually turned into a Pokémon to save the world, not destroy it. The natural disasters where a precursor to the awakening of Groudon.
Meanwhile, Gengar uses a Gravelerock to break open the earth and awaken Groudon. Ginji, Mudkip, Alakazam's team, and Ninetales set out to fight it. Gengar saves Mudkip from being buried under falling rocks and feels sorry and a bit hurt that he abandoned Gardevoir. This causes Gengar to join the fight, mentally telling Ninetales that he didn't "run away this time". He is not seen again, presumably killed after using Double-Edge on Groudon. The group is further aided by Absol and the other Pokémon from the village. Groudon is defeated at last and the Pokémon rejoice. In the midst of the celebration, Ginji wakes up as a human in his home. He wonders if it was all just a dream, but then finds his Pokémon team rescue badge. He realizes that Mudkip is much braver now and will always try his best planning. Ginji sets off for school and also vows to try his best.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
CoroCoro Comic in the fall of 2005. Its English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
translation was released in Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
magazine from the September 2006 issue to the February 2007 issue, presented in the same right-to-left format. After the manga's last volume, Viz Kids
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
has released the entire serial in one book in the English translation.
Story
The comic tells the adventures of a young, impatient, human boy named Ginji, who transforms into a TorchicTorchic
Torchic, known in Japan as , is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, it first appeared in the video games Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed...
, finds himself in a new world, and meets a timid Mudkip
Mudkip
Mudkip, known in Japan as , is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Mudkip first appeared in the video games Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed...
who wants to be part of a rescue team. Throughout the comics, Ginji shows a huge desire to become human again. To help Ginji, Mudkip tells him of a Pokémon known as Xatu that can see the future.
As they set off to meet Xatu, they are joined by the Pokémon Gengar
Gengar
Gengar, known in Japan as , is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Designed by Game Freak, their name it is both the singular and plural name of the species. First appearing in Pokémon Red and Blue, they later appeared in subsequent sequels, spin-off games, related...
who claims that he wants to return a borrowed item from Xatu, but really just wants to steal. As the group scales the mountain to find Xatu, they meet Zapdos
Zapdos
is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Zapdos is one of the three winged mirages along with Articuno and Moltres. It was originally conceived by Game Freak's character development team and finalized by Ken Sugimori...
. Ginji attempts to fight Zapdos, however he is easily overpowered. The battle is won when Mudkip overcomes his fears and uses Mud Sport on Zapdos to reduce the legendary Pokémon's attack power. Ginji then finishes him off with a close-range Flamethrower. When the team finds Xatu, the Pokémon reveals that Ginji is human, however can only tell him that there is a dark future.
When the team returns to the village, Gengar tells the other Pokémon that Ginji is the cause of the many natural disasters that have been occurring. Gengar claims that years ago, a human touched a tail of Ninetales
Ninetales
Ninetales, known as is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Ninetales evolves from Vulpix when exposed to a special item. Created by Ken Sugimori, it first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue and later appear in subsequent sequels, various merchandise,...
just for fun. Normally, this would have resulted in a thousand-year curse, however before the human could be cursed, his friend Gardevoir came forward and took the curse instead. Ninetales asked the human if he would save Gardevoir, however the human chose to run away. Ninetales made the prophecy that in one thousand years the reincarnated form of the human would be transformed into a Pokémon and destroy the world.
To find out if he really is that human, Ginji sets out, along with Mudkip. Their journey is interrupted by Moltres
Moltres
is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Moltres first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue and later in subsequent sequels. Moltres is one of the three winged mirages, along with Articuno and Zapdos...
, who was turned against Ginji by Gengar. Moltres traps Mudkip on an island in a river of lava and asks Ginji if he would abandon his friend like the human in the story. Ginji uses Sand Attack to escape, but does not actually abandon Mudkip. Instead, he uses his fire powers to send a jet of lava flying at Moltres. While the lava is in midair, Mudkip shoots it with a Water Gun turning it into Moltres' weakness, the attack Rock Slide.
The team continues through the Frost Forest, where they meet Absol. Absol is wrongly believed to be the cause of disasters and understands Ginji's situation. They are attacked by Articuno
Articuno
Articuno, known as in Japan, is a fictional character in the Pokémon franchise. Articuno is one of the three winged mirages, along with Zapdos and Moltres. It is a large bird, noted for its ability to control cold. Articuno was one of many designs conceived by Game Freak and finalized by Ken...
, however Absol saves them by talking Articuno out of it. The team finally makes it to Ninetales' cave, where they are attacked by another Pokémon team led by Alakazam. Ginji and Mudkip fight and Alakazam notices that Mudkip has become much braver and stronger. The fight ends when Ninetales appears. He tells them that it is Gengar, not Ginji, who is the reincarnated human turned into a Pokémon and that Ginji was actually turned into a Pokémon to save the world, not destroy it. The natural disasters where a precursor to the awakening of Groudon.
Meanwhile, Gengar uses a Gravelerock to break open the earth and awaken Groudon. Ginji, Mudkip, Alakazam's team, and Ninetales set out to fight it. Gengar saves Mudkip from being buried under falling rocks and feels sorry and a bit hurt that he abandoned Gardevoir. This causes Gengar to join the fight, mentally telling Ninetales that he didn't "run away this time". He is not seen again, presumably killed after using Double-Edge on Groudon. The group is further aided by Absol and the other Pokémon from the village. Groudon is defeated at last and the Pokémon rejoice. In the midst of the celebration, Ginji wakes up as a human in his home. He wonders if it was all just a dream, but then finds his Pokémon team rescue badge. He realizes that Mudkip is much braver now and will always try his best planning. Ginji sets off for school and also vows to try his best.
Differences between the comic and the video games
Although the manga is based on the video games, there are noticeable differences between the manga and the Blue and Red Rescue Team video games.- Gengar is not part of any rescue team. In fact, Team Meanies does not exist in the manga; neither does Medicham nor Ekans. He also wants to destroy the Pokémon world for making him a Pokémon as a result of "The Curse of Ninetales".
- Ginji does not remain a Pokémon after he saves the Pokémon world, unlike the protagonist (the player) of the video games.
- Ginji remembers what it was like when he was a human, also unlike the games' protagonist.
- In the games, the protagonist is just simply awakened by his/her partner. In the manga, Ginji is awakened by a small earthquakeEarthquakeAn earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
and Mudkip's cry for help. - Ginji seems to have already become an experienced Pokémon right from the beginning. The video games' protagonist isn't anywhere near experienced upon starting his/her life as a Pokémon.
- In the games, the strange frequency of natural disasters in the Pokémon world is caused by an asteroidAsteroidAsteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
(called a starStarA star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
by the games' characters) plummeting towards the ground, which ended up being destroyed by RayquazaRayquazais a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Rayquaza first appeared in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated, printed, and film adaptations of the franchise. Rayquaza also appears on the cover...
. In the manga, the disasters are caused by the awakening of Groudon, who was defeated by the manga's characters. - In the games, Gengar rescues Gardevoir and changes his cold ways. In the manga, he is possibly killed while battling Groudon.