Ginji is a regular anime schoolboy. Though he's full of pep and vigor, he couldn't care less about studying. He'd rather play his videogames than spend any time on schoolwork. But one morning, he wakes up not as a human, but as a Pokémon, a Torchic, to be exact, which is a fire-based baby chicken Pokémon.
His first concern is, of course, to get changed back into a human. But when he encounters a Mudkip whose training ground was destroyed by an earthquake, he finds out that the Mudkip was training to become a member of the Pokémon Rescue Team. There's only one problem: the Mudkip is a coward, so much so that when they hear cries for help coming from a great hole in the ground, he's ready to run away and find someone else to help.
But Ginji won't allow him to, and forces him to jump down into the hole along with Ginji. After several encounters with angry Pokémon, they find a Caterpie and must rescue it from a hungry Spider-type Pokemon. They work together to rescue it, despite the Mudkip's fear, and manage to take care of the Spider-Pokémon. Afterwards, Mudkip is angry that Ginji forced him to use his powers and got him hurt, only to realize that Ginji is even worse off than he is, and realize he's a hero.
The Mudkip wants to form a Pokémon rescue team with Ginji, but Ginji only wants to become human again. The Mudkip suggests they go see Xatu, a Pokémon that can see the future. Along the way, they are approached by a Gengar for help. He also needs to go see Xatu, but he's afraid of the monsters in the Mountains on the way to Xatu. Since Ginji and the Mudkip are on the way to see Xatu anyway, they agree to escort the Gengar through the mountains.
Once in the Mountains, they must defeat Zapdos, angry at being awakened. But the Gengar seems to have a hidden motive for his trip, thinking of Ginji and the Mudkip as its "partners in crime". When Xatu reveals that Ginji is not a Pokémon, but a human, and has a dark future, the Gengar accuses him of being the reborn spirit of a human who touched the tail of a Ninetails for fun. The Ninetails cursed him, but his Pokémon, Gardevoir, took the curse to spare him. Instead of staying to help the now-cursed Gardevoir, the human ran away, and the Ninetails put a curse on the human, saying in 1000 years, the human would be reborn as a Pokémon. Ginji, therefore, must be that human!
Ginji figures the only way to get the curse taken off him is to go and see the Ninetails himself, and the Mudkip goes with him. But the Gengar runs ahead of them, causing trouble for them with every passing Pokémon, and blaming the recent disasters the land has been experiencing on Ginji, but when they finally reach the Ninetails, they learn Ginji has nothing to do with the destruction... it is due to an awakening Groudon. Can they fight it, and get the curse removed from Ginki so he can go back to being a human, and not a Torchic?
This was actually not bad of a manga. Though it was inspired by the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue Team/Blue Rescue Team game,it was refreshing to have the storyline not being about "Gotta Catch 'em All!" for a change. The story was well-told, if with some familliar and over-used elements (Ginji being a student who apparently doesn't care about studying or doing well in school). But his bravery stands him in good stead in the world of Pokémon. I also found it somewhat suspect that he pardoned the Gengar for bringing him so much trouble so easily (if that had happened to me, We'd have had words before I came to forgiveness), but that fitted in well with Ginji's character and the apparently universal requirements of manga and anime heroes.
The story is short, fitting in to one volume, and cute, with nothing offensive and no bad language. As such, it is suited for all ages. For kids interested in Pokémon, this would be a great story to give them, and is a welcome change from the usual run of Pokémon stories. Recommended.
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