Blue is one of the most important characters in thePokemonfranchise. He was first introduced inPokemon RedandBlue, the video games that kicked off the franchise, as the players' rival. Blue also appeared in the manga series,Pokemon Adventures.
These twoversions of Blueshare a lot of similarities, but also have enough differences that fans may like one much more than the other. From the journeys they went on to their personalities, these are how the two versions of Blue compare against each other.
RELATED:Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Gimmighoul Sets a Strange Precedent With Pokemon GO Exclusivity
Blue In The Games
Blue’s journey began inPokemon RedandBlue, when he received a Pokemon from his grandfather, Professor Oak, as well as a Pokedex to gather information on Pokemon all around the world. As Red was also given a Pokemon and a Pokedex from Professor Oak, the two of them became rivals. Throughout theGen 1Pokemongames, Blue battles against Red multiple times. Eventually, Blue proved to be strong enough to become Kanto’s Champion after fighting the Elite Four, only for Red to defeat him afterwards and take the title for himself. Blue then decided to become Viridian City’s gym leader, succeeding one of Red’s greatest enemies, Giovanni.
In the games, Blue was arrogant and always wanted to prove thathe was a better Pokemon trainerthan others, especially Red. He could be very rude and didn’t work well with others. He didn’t like Red at all and would constantly antagonize him. While this may have made him an annoying character, that was exactly how the developers had wanted players to feel about him, seeing as how his sole purpose was to fight against Red throughout Gen 1.
Blue In The Manga
InPokemon Adventures, Blue is a much more likable character. He starts out as the type of trainer who constantly made his Pokemon work while also keeping their limitations in mind, causing him to have an intense rivalry with Red, who had different beliefs when it came to training and battling Pokemon. However, they helped each other become better trainers as they competed and later teamed up to fight Team Rocket. AfterRed defeated Blueat the Indigo Plateau and became Kanto’s Champion, he disappeared. Blue joined forces with Red’s other friends to do whatever was necessary to find him, leading Blue to become a mentor to Yellow. They ended up fighting against the Elite Four after learning that they were responsible for Red’s disappearance, with Blue playing a role in saving the world.
While Blue still antagonized Red in the beginning of the series, this version of the character proved to be much friendlier than the version from the games. He was usually very serious and would fulfill his goals at any cost. In the beginning of the series, he hoped to simply be a better Pokemon trainer than Red, buthe cared deeply for his Pokemon, family, and friends, including Red, as time went on. He would even join forces with those he did hate, such as Koga, if it meant helping those he cared for.
Comparing The Two Versions Of Blue
While both versions of Blue start off as rivals to the main character, they are very different people. InthePokemonmanga, Blue takes things much more seriously and is there to help others when needed, while he only seems to care about himself in the games and isn’t nearly as collected. Blue from the manga would likely consider his video game counterpart to be a joke while Blue from the games would probably attempt to prove that he could defeat thePokemon Adventuresversion of the character.
Both versions of Blue are perfect for what they needed to be in each story. In the video games, players need someone that they want to fight against by putting a rival in their place or earning a valuable gym badge, while the manga’s version of Blue provided a valuable character arc as a friend and a Pokemon trainer. WithPokemon Adventuresongoing and the next installments in the video game series,Pokemon ScarletandViolet, coming soon, fans may get to see more ofPokemon’s Blue in the near future.
MORE:How Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Gimmighoul Could Shape a Different Competitive Meta Than Gen 8
