I had high hopes for this manga one shot because it was based off of the greatest Pokemon film of all time. That’s a pretty big feat and it’s one that will probably never be surpassed. It would only make sense for this manga to be the greatest Pokemon film adaption and it would definitely rise up to great things during its journey through the years. Was it as good as I had hoped? No, it was even better!

The plot is essentially the same as in the movie, but I shall recap the plot in case you somehow missed out on it. Genesect has been awakened after millions of years and he wants to return to his home. Since it is no longer there, he decides that he shall just conquer an area and make it his! There are a few other Genesect who are with him and are ready to help…willingly or not! Ash and friends don’t realize the gravity of the situation as they have fun at a local area. While they’re playing with the Pokemon, Genesect viciously attacks and even defeats the All Powerful, Invincible, Indestructible, Immortal, Light Speed, Universe Buster Legendary Pikachu! Ash doesn’t take this very well and he gets pretty emotional. Since Ash is no longer a threat, the Genesect only have one Pokemon to contend with….Mewtwo!

It’s a pretty awesome plot and an even better manga! Genesect is easily one of the greatest Pokemon of all time and his personality is pretty intense. This guy will remind you of a classic Shonen Jump villain and he definitely knows how to fire a nice blast. The other Genesect are around, but not really likable. One of them gets his own subplot, but it was mainly just to make Ash and friends seem useful. The main Genesect was the only truly awesome character and his speed/power are at incredible levels. This is one guy that could hold his own against fighters like Goku.

Mewtwo is also pretty awesome and I dare say that the manga made her even cooler than in the movie. She actually tells Genesect that she is faster than him and that’s something that you will usually find in DBZ or Bleach. The line was extremely hardcore and just so epic that you really had to stop and think about it. Not bad….not bad at all! Mewtwo did pretty good in her base form, but when she went Mega, it was a whole new ball game. Mewtwo was able to fight all of the Genesect while they were teaming up and it was definitely a testament to her incredible power. She has a variety of attacks and her high level of speed means that she is the perfect fighter to battle any opponent. Mewtwo has no weaknesses and she can even use her mind abilities if she needs too.

Unfortunately, Ash doesn’t look very good. Ash’s role just isn’t as good as it should be and he doesn’t seem like he has the amount of experience that he should have developed by this point. Ash has fought opponents like Gary and Paul in the past and he’s even went up against foes like Team Rocket and Team Magma in the past. He should have taken the whole Genesect battle in stride, but that’s not what happened. Pikachu looked good since he was able to block Genesect’s strongest attack and he probably would have defeated him if he was not double teamed. Pikachu did his part and even though he did not fight for the rest of the volume, it was a decent attempt.

Ash just didn’t have Pikachu’s courage or finesse. He couldn’t bear to see the Pokemon fighting so he tried to end it all by becoming a martyr as he jumped in the middle of the blasts. Mewtwo was around to bail him out, but I didn’t see anything heroic or epic in that scene. It was just Ash making a pretty bad call and I can’t even say that I was really surprised. It’s too bad because Ash used to be such an intense main character. I’m sure that he’ll go back to his roots, but it’s definitely sad that he couldn’t really help against the villains. At one point, he tells the main worker that he has to go to the park to see what’s happening, but it sounded more like a question than a demand and Ash looked a little too emotional at that point.

The art for the volume is pretty clear, but I don’t think that the artist is great at facial expressions. They actually remind me a lot of the Maximum Ride volumes and that’s not really a good thing. It just doesn’t translate that well, but the rest of the art is solid. The fight scenes show us that Pokemon are pretty high tier when they want to be and the art is solid for these scenes. The battle art reminds me of Bleach and that is certainly a good thing. The fact that you can completely understand every panel is a sign that the art is good and it’s easy on the eyes. It’s fun art and it fits perfectly for Pokemon. The writing is also a step up from the previous film adaptions and it has a more serious feel to it. This definitely isn’t the classic days! They’re actually going all out!

Overall, this manga was extremely good. This is how you write a successful Pokemon manga and it would have made an awesome ongoing series. Mewtwo is a solid fighter and he has a pretty cool demeanor. Genesect was an awesome villain and he may have been the first Pokemon villain to be truly evil…at first anyway. You could also argue that he was just misunderstood. I still liked the ending because it was essentially a parody of Man of Steel and showed what Superman should have done. At least Mewtwo didn’t erase their memories at the end which is always a good thing. I highly recommend this volume and it may be the perfect jumping on point for new Pokemon fans except for the fact that Ash doesn’t look so good. Get ready for some intense action!

Overall 8/10