The best way I can describe the second arc of 'Pokemon Adventures' is joy. Absolute joy reading this when I did. So far I have read up to the emerald arc and I have to say this arc is still my favourite. Trust me I hope the series doesn't peak this early but as of right now no other arc captured the pokemon world quite like this. So why is that? What gives this arc the push it needs to be the best in my opinion? Well there are alot of reasons, some of which involve later arcs but since this review is targetted not towards the manga as a whole I'll stick to only talking about the arc before this in reference. So as a quick recap Yellow is the main character of this arc, taking over from Red after his shocking and swift exit from the manga as of the start of this arc. Yellow is a manga exclusive character who barely appeared during the first arc. She has a special connection to pokemon and uses this power during the arc to grow and form a team of pokemon that on first glance appear weak but due to her strong sense of compassion and empathy end up saving the day (as cheesy as that sounds). So as should be expected the plot isn't anything mind blowing but that isn't where the strengths of this manga shine. I would argue what this manga really excells in is - world building, characters, imagination and scope. Especially when compared to other properties of the pokemon brand. Yellow while at first not quite resinating with me due to her replacing Red soon grew into one of my favourite characters by the arcs conclusion. She is a fun character with a good design, neat concept and great execution. Starting the arc on a darker note as compared to the lighter beginning of the first arc really adds to the anticipation and intrigue of the story, I do like alot of the more fun sol moments of adventures but having a clear goal from the start more serious does wonders for the story and helps ease readers into the new arc. The 'evil' elite four members are admittedly a little derivative of team rocket and the gym leaders from the previous arc though they make up for this in even greater strength, character and unity. They really feel like a force and by the climax of the arc when even the team rocket leaders are teaming up with our heroes to take each out it couldn't be more intense. Lance as the main villain was cool and while his motivations weren't deep I found him to be a compelling anti-yellow that I wanted to see be taken out. While I do wish we saw a bit more of the older characters I must admit overall this was a great second arc that exceeded my expectations. It had great characters, a fun simple but enjoyable story and a great end to really solidify 'Pokemon Adventures' as a must see for all pokemon fans. My main complaint is that this arc did such a good job with Yellow that I was sad knowing she wouldn't do much more afterwards.
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